The Secret Lovers Cast Chansung from 2PM as the Second Male Lead

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Either Choi Kang Hee has been a very good girl and the drama gods are showering affection upon her, or else she’s collecting on some good karma from the past. A week after being confirmed for The Secret Lovers co-starring Joo Won, a decidedly versatile and mature onscreen young actor ten years younger than her, the other male lead for this drama shows up and PWNS Joo Won on the age difference easily. Formerly rumored and now confirmed, the other leg of the love triangle will be played by 2PM‘s Chansung, who I swear I have never laid eyes on until today. Strangely I actually know quite a few 2PM members despite not being a K-pop fangirl, such as Taecyeon who has acted reasonably well in Cinderella Unni and Dream High, Junho who did a single collaboration with Vanness Wu, Wooyoung from his chipmunky turn in Dream High as well, and Nickhun because he’s everywhere. Clearly I have no comment or opinion on Chansung’s casting (such as ability to act or even looks-wise) other than to point out that Joo Won fans have naturally been upset that he’s paired with a co-star 10 years his elder but Chansung is a 90er which makes Choi Kang Hee 13 years older than him. I wonder if 2PM fans are flipping tables right now? He’s set to play another secret agent and boasts considerable skill in taekwondo and kendo. The Secret Lovers will air in January on MBC following Missing You on Wed-Thurs. I swear this drama looks like a casting trainwreck already in terms of leaving viewers with a giant collective “HUH?”.

I may be in the minority but I think Joo Won and Choi Kang Hee will end up looking fine together and actually have chemistry. While she’s not a spring chicken in either real age or looks, her onscreen persona can be really fresh-faced and charming. Plus she can act! Really, I can’t stress enough how the ability to act without coming off like a screechy ahjumma trying to be a cute agasshi goes a long way in selling palpable chemistry and create a likeable character. I won’t lie and say I actually would have picked this cast (seriously, even aliens from Mars landing on Earth making their first K-drama wouldn’t have picked this cast), but its nowhere near the worst I’ve ever heard. My gut tells me this might end up having shades of Joo Won’s Baker buddy Yoon Si Yoon‘s last drama, where he was paired with much older Lee Ji Ah and they ended up rocking Me Too, Flower! beyond anyone’s wildest imagination. Here’s to hoping!

Comments

The Secret Lovers Cast Chansung from 2PM as the Second Male Lead — 41 Comments

  1. This gets odder, truly but one can never predict the magic of TV. Once on-screen all previous furrowed brows may smooth and trickle down to wrinkled lips and dented cheeks.

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  2. koala sis, i’m relying on the last paragraph of your post. i am one of those JW fans tho not acting violently (lols) on the pairing. i hope everything turns out well for Secret Lovers.

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  3. I honestly can’t think of a worse casting combo than these three (and Me Too Flower example is actually not reassuring for me because despite YSY being great in it, he was still miscast and his being much too young for the role kept sticking out there, distracting me from the drama. He was borderline OK with LJA but opposite HGE, I felt like there were weird Oedipal issues. Not even the best acting can save miscasting). It’s pretty clear this was initially thought of with a much younger female lead and the age difference is just going to be distracting.

    I am not into noona romances as a rule, but I can enjoy one if it’s well done/makes sense etc. My problem with this drama is to have such a huuuuge age difference in a breezy story about spy hijinks is just distracting and makes little sense (in the movie this is based on, the leads were about even in age).

    It doesn’t help that I find CKH an older version of Gu Hye Sun – OTT shrillness that passes for cuteness is just not my thing. Also, on a shallow note, she is judt not pretty. I mean, I would buy a 22 year old falling for e.g. Kim Tae hee ebcause she is so gorgeous, it wouldn’t matter she is that much older. But CKH? Really?

    Ehhh, there are a lot of other dramas coming out I am excited about so I will just give this one a miss.

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    • Sorry for horrendous spelling. For some weird reason, the comment form won’t let me scroll past first few lines so I have to type ‘blind.’

      I am literate, I swear!

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      • This happens to me all the time–to the point that when I know I am going to write a lot (Miss Rose postings), I just write my comment in a word processing program and paste it into the box.

    • MTE, MTE. I couldn’t get past the idea of YSY being paired with LJA – not only that she was much older but also because she was just coming off of her ‘scandal’. The casting for this drama leaves me speechless. I’m guessing they’ll be playing up the comedy factor and toning down the romance if they don’t want viewers to barf.

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      • I happen to love LJA and YSY individually and I did think they had chemistry but I just couldn’t get over the fact that YSY’s character was written as so much older (both in amount of personal history, trauma, behavior, and age of love interests) than YSY could believably pull off. I really with Kim Jae Won did not get injured and stayed with that drama – it was clearly written for him, not someone almost a decade younger.

        Now, if LJA and YSY decide to costar in a noona romance, I am all there, with popcorn and excitement.

      • Yep, I didn’t quite express myself correctly. I couldn’t believe that they made YSY and LJA the same age but with KJW’s injury, I could understand how the casting was kind of last minute.

      • I loved LJA and YSY – chosen by a casting genius, or the luckiest casting folks on earth! That team had literally hours to replace KJW who scenes had to be redone.

        It seems that The Secret Lovers could have tried harder and taken more time. Or even gone to CKH’s people and said, “Whatta ya think? Do you want to back out? We don’t mind.”

        Of course, I could be completely wrong here and they will be fabulous.

      • I always love spy theme drama, but i might skim this one due to the huge age gap. Im just sick of all these noona/ajuhma relationship…. seriously they couldnt find a younger actress…. if this drama passss 15 i will give it a try but highly doubt it…. smh

  4. I had zero problems with Choi Kang Hee being cast…in fact I may have even understood it…but now I’m beginning to wonder if the casting directors are on crack because even forgetting the age difference this is one of the oddest trios i’ve ever heard of…I sincerely hope he’s not second lead but a supporting character because I have a feeling that both CKH and JW are going to kick his butt in the acting department and he’ll come of a very ineffectual romantic rival

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  5. Koala, Chansung WAS in Dream High 1! 😀

    *MINI-SPOILER WARNING*
    He was the “imagined” flower boy who walked Teacher Kang’s sister home. The sister kissed Chansung and the camera panned around to show that it was actually the gangster boss. Heehee… I heard that Chansung didn’t know his cameo would involve a kiss until he was on the set and about to be kissed!
    *END MINI-SPOILER*

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  6. AWESOME !! About time, he was originally an actor before he became a trainee & became an idol singer. Honestly I was surprised that TAecyeon & Wooyoung were cast in Dream High instead of him since he had the experience. Still not fond of Choi Kang Hee but I’ll live with it since Joo Won & now Chansung are in the show.

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    • I didn’t know that (don’t really follow 2PM) but I looked it up just now and he was in the first High Kick. Interesting.

      You know, it’s funny because they keep giving Taecyeon big roles but I don’t think he’s good at all.

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  7. ROFL. Individually, I am a fan of all 3 of them.
    Collectively, in the casting director’s mind- together. Loveline. Kisses involved. His/her brain cells have gone down the drain from too much soju/beer/hard liquor.

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  8. That is one odd odd trio pairing
    Changsung is my favorite out of 2pm and I always wanted to see him in a drama as I think that he ha potential after seeing him in JOO’s mv, but with Choi Kang Hee? Personally not a fan of her but I’ll stick around as I do like chang sung and Joo won

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  9. I wonder if 2PM fans are flipping tables right now?

    I’m a Hottest and nope, in fact I’m thrilled that Chanana get a chance to act in his homeland (his previous big role was in japanese series Kaitou Royale).

    And yes, CKH must have saved a nation in her previous life.

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  10. Two hot males and one old and not pretty ajumma…
    And they want us to believe that both of them will love her???
    As if she was the only woman left in the world…seriously!!!

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    • LOL.

      Yeah, suspension of disbelief is required. I don’t even think CKH is old (old to me is 85 years old or something) but she is too old to be in a believable love triangle with two guys in their early 20s. In a way, casting a 22-year-old for secondary male role takes this from drama with questionable casting to sheer insanity land! If Joo Won’s romantic rival was CKH’s age, that would be more believable as a situation in the real world. Sometimes a younger man does fall for a much older woman (or vice versa) and that’s fine. But to have two of them do so! At the same time! With no indication that this is a drama that will address the unusualness of such a situation – no, thank you.

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  11. I don’t think age will ever be an issue in acting, uh all the cast of glee are definitely not highschool students….so I guess that’s why it’s called ACTING….? its supposed to be PRETEND….

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  12. I like JW, but couldn’t watch him in Gatiskal.
    It will be no problem to skip this one, which is giving me a sympathy stomach ache for CKH who is going to act her heart out and it’ll feel just too weird.

    I know this, because I went through a loud and blurry time portal in front of the Buddha in my downtown, and saw the future.

    I’m back, though.

    PS What about cutie-pie Li Ki Kwang from Beast? I want to see him again in a drama stat.

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  14. I’m sorry. I cannot stand Chansung. He can’t act (I saw him in mini-roles here and there) or sing/rap (whatever he’s supposed to be doing; I even heard him live…oh my). I guess he can sort of dance, but I find him very limited in talent. I do not understand his appeal. Then again, maybe he’ll prove me wrong and act his socks off.

    I’m sad that Joo Won is now stuck with this (potential) train wreck of a drama. I like CKH, but not with baby-faced young boys. Were there really no other actresses to cast?

    The story sounded fun and breezy, but the craziness of the casting has left me meh. I will still tune in to see how it all turned out, but I have close to no hope. :/

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    • Totally agree. Chansung has always been my least favorite member of 2PM – the rest of them have at least a little talent, mostly as MCs or pitchmen (they really know how to sell chicken and cellphones!) but Chansung is put in the back row for a good reason. Can’t dance, can’t sing, and way too much cutesy aegyo to pound it into your head that he is the baby of the group.

      I don’t see how they are going to create the romantic tension which is necessary to give the story some depth – with the two boys looking (and c’mon, really, behaving) much younger than the supposed love interest, I think it is going to end up devolving into a fluffy spy farce, like the really popular Japanese teen comedies. I forsee Spy Myung Wol meets Delicious Gakuen, and I feel really sorry for Joo Won but I guess every actor needs a few disasters to stay hungry and humble.

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  15. Calling Hottest around the world..*hehehe..
    after ride a daebak and awesome roaller coaster NG, this news give me a big exhale. Chan is very passionate maknae. i still mad at the cast picking, but just hope the best for all of them. and for Chan, give ur best oppa.. you can do as well as your hyungs as an individu. >.<

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  16. When it comes to the pairing between Choi Kang-Hee and Joo Won, I’m actually still in denial while also hoping that some last-minute changes happen and Choi Kang-Hee has no choice but to bow out of the drama. Now, I’m not saying I’m hoping for her to get in an accident of some sort, I just hope that something completely harmless happens to her which ends with her having to drop the drama.

    As for Chansung, I literally went “What??” when I spotted the post. But it’s not as unsettling as the thought of Choi Kang-Hee with Joo Won.

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    • LOL that’s during his debut days back in 2009.That’s how he get the nickname “General Hwang”. XD Don’t let that picture scared u.His looking so much better now.Check out his Men Health’s photoshoot or other magazines spreads.
      Actually i’m not that worried much about the age difference because Chansung always known for looking much older than his age.But I’m not yet sold about Joowon & CKH’s pairing.Maybe I’ll check out the first episode just to see how this pairing on screen.Who knows maybe their chemistry will top over the age difference. ^^

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  19. *scratches head* Casting producers are on crack. Unless they tweak the premise, I just can’t really buy that these two hot studs would fall for CKH. She is attractive but no goddess like a Kim Tae Hee or Ha Ji Won. She can act but she now has such an ahjuma vibe.

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  22. woah. I’ve been following the casting news for this show and I can’t help but cross my fingers in hoping that it’s cracktastic.

    Joo Won and Choi Kang-Hee were already a supremely Odd-Couple (in my mind) and NOW they sprinkle-in Changsung, whose best skill is this:
    ***note: sexy dance Youtube – watch without over-peering eyes ~

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIx74fyDLG0&feature=player_embedded

    I think this could be quite the WATCHABLE show if they make it really outrageous. If you’re going to do over-the-top-funny (and I think they mean to) …you REALLY have to stick with it and not pull a Spy Myung-Wol.
    That show lost it’s bearing when it tried to embrace reality. If it’s campy……GO CAMPY. invest in it.
    (I think Chansung’s casting is an indication that’s where it’s going) 😉

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  24. Chansung, God love him always always sounds constipated when he talks, sings, raps or hums (I’ve never heard him hum, but I’m pretty sure). Although he’s not my favorite from 2PM (Junho), he is easy on the eyes. There is hope though.
    Chansung was in Kaito Royale (Does anyone know how well he did?). He had to act as some sort of jewel thief and in Japanese no less. Jewel thief isn’t so far off from secret agent right? From all my years watching tv I can’t say I’m an expert on both occupations, but I know what I’m looking for. Both jobs require tip-toeing, wearing dark clothing, looking hot and being able to communicate to others without saying an audible word, while sometimes holding a weapon. These are things I’m pretty sure Chansung can do. Might of fact, that’s all I need him to do in this drama. Leave the acting to the pros and everyone will be happy.

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