K-drama and K-pop have been growing tremendously in their own industries. Some people are into K-pop, some people love watching K-dramas and some people love both of them, that’s how mutually related they are.
Many K-pop idols have tried their fate in Korean dramas to see if their acting skills are as good as their singing skills to impress K-drama fans. K-pop idols master different skills like dancing and singing during their long hard training before their debut where some of them discover they enjoy acting too.
When the company sees the potential and acting skills in the idols, they happily encourage them to take roles in K-dramas. Korean dramas also welcome K-pop idols wholeheartedly who are truly interested in acting and these collaborations come as a treat for K-pop and K-drama fans both!
K-pop Idols in popular K-dramas
There is a large list of K-pop idols who played different roles in different K-dramas and some of them saw amazing responses from the audience for their undeniably great acting skills. Some of the most successful K-dramas have K-pop idols as the male protagonist. Here we listed a few K-pop idols who acted on some of the most popular K-dramas of all time:
1. Park Hyung-sik in Strong Woman Do Bong Soon
The Korean entertainment industry has seen many talented gems till now and Park Hyung-sik’s name comes at one of the top ranks in the list. He has won millions of hearts with his charisma in acting and singing. He first debuted in a K-pop group as a member of the band named ZE:A in 2010 after 3 years of training.
It’s hard to decide if he is more famous for his singing or acting in Korean dramas because people are not only mesmerized by his calm and beautiful singing but also his versatile acting skills. Whether it’s the character of a CEO, a Crown prince, or a Detective, he nailed every kind of role which made him loved by the audience a lot.
Among all his hit dramas like Happiness, Blooming Youth, Soundtrack #1, Suits, etc. he gained the most popularity and attention from the K-drama Strong Woman Do Bong Soon which is a fantasy thriller romantic comedy drama.
This drama is an iconic drama that counts as an all-time favorite for K-drama lovers especially because of the chemistry between the main leads Park Hyung-sik and Park Bo-young as their bond with each other was very realistic and cute to watch.
2. Cha Eun-woo in True Beauty
If you are a K-drama lover or interested in Korean pop culture then you must hear the name of the Korean heartthrob male actor and singer Cha Eun-woo. He is undoubtedly one of the most popular and good-looking idols and actors of all time.
Cha Eun-woo first debuted as a member of the K-pop group “Astro” in 2016 and later on he stepped his feet in the K-drama industry. From then till now, he has given the industry a long list of hit K-dramas and True Beauty tops them all. Many K-drama fans know him as a well-known K-drama actor but very few know that he is a K-pop idol as well.
True Beauty was based on a popular romantic comedy webtoon where Cha Eun-woo played the role of the male protagonist who was a popular high school boy with his own secret wounds. The character was so played by Cha Eun-woo because he has kind of similar personality in real life too which made his acting so realistic and charming.
People really appreciate how Cha Eun-woo manages to work as a singer and actor both but has no pride in his popularity and keeps himself down to earth. With his passion for acting and calm personality, he managed to win people’s hearts with dramas like My ID Is Gangnam Beauty, Top Management, Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung, Hit the Top, etc.
3. Lee Jun Ho in The Red Sleeve
The Korean singer and actor, Lee Jun Ho first debuted in a JYP boy group named 2PM in 2018 which was one of the most talked about K-pop groups of second-generation K-pop. After spending a few years in the K-pop industry, Lee Jun Ho debuted his acting career in 2013 in a movie named “Cold Eyes”.
Lee Jun Ho was always a good actor but he caught viewers’ attention the most in the historical drama “The Red Sleeve” with his impactful performance in the role of the crown prince who later became the emperor. People really loved seeing Lee Jun Ho with Lee Se-young (His partner in drama) together and the couple was titled as the best couple in the MBC Drama Awards of 2021.
Recently, Lee Jun Ho’s new Netflix show called ‘King the Land’ became the most-seen non-English show for the week which is a huge deal. It shows how brilliant an actor he is and how he is getting better and better in his acting career. Besides, he did many more popular dramas like Wok of Love, Good Manager, Confession, etc. which made him one of the top actors of all time.
4. Kim Taehyung in Hwarang
Kim Taehyung from BTS must be the first name that pops up in your mind who participated in Korean Drama being an Idol. There’s no doubt that Kim Taehyung tasted success both in his K-pop and K-drama career. Kim Taehyung is a very renowned face all around the world but only a few people know that he acted in a Korean drama too.
Kim Taehyung aka V debuted as a member of the K-pop band BTS in 2013 and he made his acting debut in 2016 with a historical Korean drama named “Hwarang: the poet warrior youth”. There he played the role of the youngest Hwarang of the group and also has a warm personality which people find very friendly.
The fun part is V was actually the youngest one among the other actors who played the role of Hwarangs. Even after the K-drama ended, V was on good terms with the other Hwarang actors whom he address as Hwarang Hyung (Hyung is used by males to address another older male) and his hyungs also adore him a lot. The drama won people’s hearts with the characters involved and many Army (Fans of BTS) started watching the drama for V but fell in love with the whole drama.
5. Kang Chan-hee in Sky Castle
Kang Chan-hee known as Chani made his debut in a K-pop group named SF9 in 2016 as a singer and rapper. No matter if it’s singing or acting, he always meets the expectations of the fans with his talent. He debuted in his acting career as a child actor in the television drama named “Listen to My Heart” and later he played roles in very remarkable Korean dramas like Under the Queen’s Umbrella, True Beauty, The Innocent Man, The Queen’s Classroom, etc.
Although he did justice with his performance in every role but his character in Sky Castle caught viewers’ eyes the most. The dark comedy family drama, Sky Castle was very successful on its own but Chani’s character as a high school boy who is smart and sweet by nature impressed many.
Kang Chan-hee handles both his singing and acting careers maturely and makes sure his work is fulfilled properly and that’s what makes people really like him. Another past member of SF9 named Rowoon has also chosen his path in the acting career and doing amazing in the industry with his renowned K-dramas like Extraordinary You, Tomorrow, Destined with You, etc.
Bottom Line
Fans indeed love watching their favorite K-pop idols on the screen playing different roles in new dramas, but it’s also true that they don’t want them to overwork themselves only for the sake of the fans and continue doing whatever they truly like and enjoy doing.
