Korean idols are usually not just singers, but also dancers, models and actors, because music videos, for example, often resemble three-minute short films.
Some idols also show off their skills in "K-dramas", as Korean TV series are often called.
Idols who don't have any acting experience in TV series yet often make their “acting debut” in web dramas, whose episodes are much shorter than those of typical Korean series and are therefore also popular with fans who don't have much time to watch TV or don't want to commit straight away to more than 16 hours.
Before their debut in 2015, the boy group Astro even produced their own web drama in which fans could get to know the members, who played themselves. In the series “To be Continued”, the band travels back in time to the day before their debut stage.
EXO also has its own web drama called “EXO Next Door”. Chanyeol, D.O., Baekhyun and Sehun play a fictional version of themselves. One day, the four members of the popular band move into a house next door to the female lead, who is a huge EXO fan. She gets hired as a cleaning lady and ends up caught in a love triangle with Chanyeol and D.O.
Besides web dramas, idols of course also star in the typical Korean dramas, whose 16 to 30 episodes each run a full hour.
These include, for example, series about idol bands such as “Imitation” or “Entertainer”.
Imitation mainly revolves around the three-member rookie girl group “Tea Party” on their way to success and the famous boy group “Shax”. Then there is the boy group “Sparkling”, who are still hoping for their big breakthrough, and “La Lima”, a solo artist who dominates the charts with Shax. Everyone involved fights their way through the harsh show business and also gets to know the dark sides of success. Of course, the odd secret relationship develops too. Shax and Sparkling are played by members of SF9, Ateez and Jun from U-Kiss, among others. Jiyeon from T-ara portrays La Lima, while “Tea Party” consists of Lim Na Young, formerly of Pristin, and Kim Minseo, among others.
Shax, Tea Party, Sparkling & La Lima with their joint song “Your Sign”.
Entertainer is about a once successful manager who loses everything and ends up in prison. After his release, he meets the talented student Jo Haneul and decides to make him famous. In the course of the series, he forms the four-member band “Entertainer” with Haneul as lead singer. The main cast of the series includes Hyeri from Girls Day, Minhyuk from C.N.BLUE and L.Joe, formerly of Teen Top.
Quite a few idols also build a serious acting career alongside their music career and regularly appear in K-dramas, which is why some series fans actually know them more as actors than as singers. Below, we introduce you to a few of the idols who have made a name for themselves as actors:
D.O. / Do Kyungsoo (EXO)
Do Kyungsoo from EXO made his acting debut in 2014 in a supporting role in the film “Cart” and also released a soundtrack for it.
In the same year, he followed up with a supporting role in the K-drama “It`s Okay, That`s Love”, for which his bandmate Chen sang a soundtrack. In 2015, D.O. was nominated for awards both for his role as a psychopath in the series “Hello Monster” and for his role in “Cart”.
Later, he played, among other things, the lead role in the thriller comedy “Room No.7”, in the film “Swing Kids”, which is set in a South Korean prison camp during the war, and alongside Kim So Hyun in the romantic film “Pure Love”. In 2018, he then got his first lead role in a K-drama: “100 Days My Prince”. The series was a commercial success and is one of the most successful dramas in the history of Korean cable television.
Kyungsoo has already confirmed a lead role in the upcoming drama “Secret” for this year and has also just released his first solo album “Empathy”. So fans can probably look forward to a lot more from the idol, who can express his emotions through his songs as well as through his acting.
IU/ Lee Ji Eun
Lee Ji Eun debuted at the young age of 15 under the name “IU” and achieved national fame by 2010 at the latest with her single “Good Day”.
Shortly afterwards, she began her acting career with a supporting role in the K-drama “Dream High” in 2011. This was followed by lead roles in a series of dramas such as the historical fantasy romance “Moon Lovers”, in which Hae Soo, played by IU, accidentally travels back to a time when a king still ruled over South Korea, then called Goryeo. Little by little, Hae Soo meets the king's many sons and, in this foreign time, has to fight not only for love but also for her survival.
In her most recent series “Hotel Del Luna”, IU portrays Jang Man Wol, the manager of a very special hotel: its guests are exclusively ghosts who cannot yet cross over to the afterlife because unfinished business holds them back. Jang Man Wol and her staff are ghosts themselves, and while they help their guests settle their affairs, they are confronted with their own stories.
You can order the official soundtrack of Hotel Del Luna, which includes songs by NCT`s Taeyong, SNSD`s Taeyeon and IU herself, here in our shop!
Bae Suzy
Suzy debuted in 2010 in the girl group “Miss A” from JYP Entertainment and, like IU, began her acting career in 2011 in the teen drama “Dream High”, in which she played the lead role Go Hye Mi. The series revolves around six students who learn to sing, compose and dance at “Kirin High School” in order to become famous singers later on. Besides Suzy, the students are played by Kim Soo Hyun, IU, Eunjung from T-ara as well as Taecyeon and Wooyoung from 2PM. One of the teachers is even played by Park Jin Young, the founder of JYP Entertainment! For her role in Dream High, Suzy won the award for “Best New Actress”, and together with Kim Soo Hyun the award for “Best Couple” at the KBS Drama Awards.
Due to the massive success, a second season of Dream High was released in 2012, starring Jay B and Jinyoung (Got7), Jinwoon (2AM), Jiyeon (T-ara), Hyolyn (Sistar), Ailee, Kang Sora and Park Seo Joon. Park Jin Young returned as a teacher.
After Dream High, Suzy went on to lead roles in “Big”, “Gu Family Book” and “Uncontrollably Fond”. The latter is about a producer who is supposed to shoot a documentary about the top star Shin Yoon Jong, her former classmate and friend.
In 2017, Miss A disbanded. Since then, Suzy has released two solo albums and played the lead role in several films and three more dramas. That is why many fans may now know her more as an actress. You can find the official soundtrack to “Vagabond”, a drama in which Suzy plays a spy, in our shop!
We could go on endlessly with the list of idols who have built a successful acting career. Eunwoo from Astro, Minho from SHINee, Jinyoung from Got7, Kim Myung Soo from Infinite, Krystal from f(x), Yook Seungjae from BTOB, Seohyun from SNSD and Taecyeon from 2PM are just a few of the names that belong on it too.
As has already become clear in this article, the official soundtrack albums of popular series repeatedly include songs by well-known bands or individual members and, increasingly, photocards and other extras. So they are the perfect addition to your collection! You can also find soundtracks in our shop, and we are continuously working to expand our range.
Which idol would you like to see in a series or a film some day? Which soundtrack would you like to see on your shelf? Let us know in the comments!
