Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung Debuts with Low Ratings as K-netizens Eviscerate Cha Eun Woo’s Limited Acting

Oh bummer, I was hoping new Wed-Thurs sageuk Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung would get positive reviews, and definitely improved opinions on the acting ability of relative rookie actor Cha Eun Woo making his second drama lead appearance. I don’t know him to like or dislike him since I skipped his first drama but I have a feeling he’s being pushed to be the next Drama It boy what with two lead castings in one year with nothing other than a very pretty face and being a member of a boy band. If he’s going to be on TV then I want him to be good so he doesn’t end up ruining more dramas.

Sadly netizens are thumbs down on his first episode performance in Rookie Historian, and the screencaps of his bug eyed surprise acting are actually really funny because he appears to think acting = miming. Perhaps he’ll get better but so far it’s no bueno, and the ratings for a slew of new dramas premiering today are all so close, and so low, and nothing is quite hurting or helping Rookie Historian of its competitors. Rookie came in second with 4.0%, 6.0%, in first place is KBS detective drama Justice at 6.1%, 6.4%, and SBS had Detective Doctor getting 4.6%, 5.7&. Also new arrival OCN drama Mr. Temporary premiered with 1.814%.


Comments

Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung Debuts with Low Ratings as K-netizens Eviscerate Cha Eun Woo’s Limited Acting — 28 Comments

  1. Sageuk is a tough genre. A lot of times, good actors can be tested by acting in sageuk.

    In this case of Cha Eun Woo, he is perhaps too green to lead a sageuk. Not all idols are Park Hyung Sik or Im Shi Wan. Even those two took up few more modern drama roles before trying on sageuk.

    • didn’t Im Siwan make his acting debut in a sageuk though (Moon/Sun childhood part).

      Sageuk is not an easy genre for sure but Shin Se Kyung has been decent in more serious sageuks before (Six Flying Dragons, Tree with Deep Roots). But this guy, yeah….his acting so far is just not good (who am I kidding, it’s terrible, his eyes look either ‘trying too hard’ or dead).

      • Don’t get why korean netizen keep refering Im Shi Hwan as Idol who can act. He has limit range. Might be due to Misaeng days. But he is out of his depth in sageuk too

      • @missjb – he’s played villain roles, antihero, typical kdrama jerk, an average college student, a kind soldier, and finally, an average office worker. And netizen opiniom was that he pulled off all of them.

        Don’t spout nonsense about “limit range” so confidently, it makes it obvious you know nothing when there’s an entire filmography showing the opposite of what you say.

      • You and I are clearly not watching the same show. His eyes are either trying to hard or just look dead? You know what you sound like? A straight up hater. You know what else backs up my theory the fact you answered all those other people and said only negative things about him while saying only great things about the other people. Looks like you went into the show subconsciously wanting to find things wrong w/ his acting so you only came away w/ negative things even though there were many positives, even though in no way, shape, or form was he perfect. Also what do you know about the character he’s playing and by that I mean the way he’s supposed to act?

    • the theme may be quite limiting but perhaps it also depends on the storyline. not all sageuk tests the actors’ acting range. one could simply be a beloved due to the character.

      an episode or two is not enough to generally say that the actors are not good enough. they maybe really be shitty looking and stupid at first but grows on you and eventually be endearing. what matters more is the story. if it keeps you interested; glued to watch without a break; and kept anticipating for the next episode, whoever is staring in it — as long as its not an eye sore — the drama keep you excited each episode

      oh, well, i dunno, maybe because the last few “sageuky” dramas i have seen starred actors that grew in me — 100 days prince, hwarang, moon embracing the sun, scarlet heart. love the actors, love the story.

      oh btw, interesting cast and premise of mirror of the witch but somehow left it unwatched midway. and i’m gulity as hell for i still havent seen yoo ah in’s flying dragons…

    • You may actually be right – pretty face, zero acting talent but lots of media play and endorsements. Seems about right.

      • Or he could be the next Seo Kang Joon. It’s still to early to pass judgement on his acting.

      • Seo Kang Joon was only overrated at debut, not totally devoid of ability to form any comvincing facial expressions.

        It’s slightly insulting to him to be putting even his early work in Cunning Single Lady or What’s With This Family on par with, well, THIS.

      • I’m sure Seo Kang Joon would love to have his early work compared to Eunwoo ‘s, since theyre in the same company and are very close friends as they roomed together as trainees. You did know that right? I mean of course you did as you seem to know everything about Seo Kang Joon.

  2. In kdrama world, bad acting doesn’t mean much, they’ll give u a lot of chances esp if you’re good looking. Some do improve over time.

    Ex Suzy and IU.
    Suzy acting improved but slower than a snail on a hit day.
    IU she improved a lot but still needs improvement.

  3. I don’t think we can judge him based off one episode because the general view about the drama is positive. He might get better as the drama progresses like he did with Gagnam.

  4. Not surprising as his acting in My gangnam id is a beauty was bad when the 2nd lead was Kwak Dong Yun ! Still don’t understand how he got another lead role ? Don’t producers realize that popuplar and pretty faces are not enough anymore to make hit dramas. Only a few of idols became good actors. Not everyone has raw talent. They should study acting and theater first ! Currently watching search WWW and Lee sun Gyun’s wife is just “formidable” . What an amazing low key couple ? Both are talented .

    • JKY is soooo handsome. I like watching Search WWW ? I like all 3 couples there.
      I have not started this sageuk yet, I will wait for more few episodes before starting.

  5. At times, can’t trust Netizen judgement about acting. We are often times has different opinion. And at times, their opinion deceives you and just a pr stunt media play. But this times, I agree. I think it’s not about facial expression for me though. It’s surprisingly quite spot on. More about the timing between his words and facial expression doesn’t match, it feels so awkward and become insincere.

  6. Well I don’t think he’s that bad. I have seen him in three different dramas already and he was giving off a different vibe in each one. He’s green but I don’t think he’s necessarily bad; that we have yet to see.
    People tend to be too hard on pretty actors and sometimes are not able to see their talents. I remember that I loved Seo Kang Joon in Cheese in the Trap, but people criticised him a lot and said that he was there because of sponsors and got too much screen time. I also loved Lee Sung Kyung there while people complained about her overacting. Now the tide changed and people are praising them for being talented and hard working…

    • Honestly I don’t think the issue in Cheese in the Trap was ever the actors’ abilities, with Seo Kang Joon it was the excessive screen time to his character and with Lee Sung Kyung it was the director telling her to do over-the-top acting at first. Both were actually praised for their acting at different points during the drama, which says a lot.

      And “pretty” actors may often be underrated for their skills (Jun Ji Hyun is one example), but more often than not they benefit by getting chance after chance at roles despite bad acting. This is how you end up with no-talent actors scoring lead after lead just for their looks while fans keep making excuses every time their oppa/unnie flubs yet another role.

      • Eunwoo has shown a lot of talent though. He’s been in multiple roles and each time hes played a different type of character. He did start off w/ supporting roles even though many people think MIIGB was his first. Eunwoo was so convincing in MIIGB that people still believe his personality is like his characters, even though in real life he’s the biggest dork who is always smiling and who’s bandmates say you can always tell what hes feeling because he can’t hide his emotions on his face. It was actually really hard for him to play an unexpressive character.
        He had to practice a lot. His voice was also acting for him because as a trainee he was taught to speak 3 octaves higher and he was also very good at showing his emotions through his eyes. Also in the behind the scenes he was able to go from his giggly self to his blank expression in one second and vice versa. I mean I get you don’t like him but have you ever done research on him? You do have the internet right?

  7. I don’t understand why people judge so early especially k netizens infact i feel he was good…let the drama progress a little and he will surely do much better… K netizens are really harsh on pretty actors but I think he has a lot of potential… I loved my I’d is gangnam beauty…He is hard working and talented…if he is given appropriate chances he will surely prove himself…

  8. On the episodes 7-8, the rating for this drama increased and even the highest compared to all dramas on the same day from different TV stations. Sageuk usually has slow pace.
    I like their chemi/interaction (SSK and CEW) in the drama. The plot is getting interesting. Every character is not only interesting but also strong. Lee Ji Hoon and Park Ki Wong are two of the best one. Even the supporting role such as the head of the historian is even funny.
    I think there will be more character development of Prince Yi Rim (CEW) in the later episodes.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.