It’s hard pressed to find a bigger bucket of cold water to dump over a promising new K-drama than to announce that Yunho has been cast as one of the leads. He may not qualitatively be the worst idol actor out there but his name surely shows up near the top of any list. He’s personally on the top of my list and unlike other wooden idol actors such as Taecyeon or Changmin, both of whom I freely acknowledge mostly suck at acting, Yunho doesn’t have that personal charisma to charm me despite the lack of acting ability. Hearing that he’s been cast in upcoming MBC fantasy supernatural sageuk Records of a Night Watchman makes me want to bang my head against the nearest pole and ask “why? oh god why him?” I knew MBC was bound to include one idol in the main cast to heighten the Hallyu appeal and I honestly have been lulled into complacency lately with some marked improvements in the quality of idol acting that I forgot there were still a few who remain hopelessly bad, such as Yunho.
Jaejoong is doing a decent job in Triangle, Yoona was awesome in Prime Minister and I, I actually like Taecyeon’s effort in Wonderful Days despite his panned saturi, Bora is serviceable in Dr. Stranger, Seung Ri is entertaining in Angel Eyes, Im Seulong rises above the risible material in Hotel King, Lee Hong Ki killed it in Bride of the Century, I’ve heard only raves for Lee Joon in Gap Dong, even Kim Hyun Joong held his own and sometimes even carried the underwhelming Age of Feeling. The laundry list above is just recent examples of idols not stinking up the joint whereas Yunho stunk up Poseidon and Queen of Ambition with zero improvement from his bottom of the barrel debut in Heading to the Ground. Will he manage to improve in his first sageuk when he hasn’t hacked it in comparatively easier modern dramas? I don’t know but his track record does not look promising in the least. Can I have a do-over with this casting choice?
Yunho joins already cast leads Jung Il Woo and Go Sung Hee in the drama which heads into production next month. There are four night watchmen which means one more main lead still needs to be cast. This drama is in the hands of a very established PD and scriptwriter with plenty of sageuk success and comes from the production company behind Sungkyunkwan Scandal. If it falters because of bad acting then imma going to be really really pissed. I still remember the huge public outrage when Yunho was in talks for You From Another Star to play Lee Hwi Kyung, the role that later went to actor Choi Min who then got injured at the start of filming and Park Hae Jin had to swap roles from villain Lee Jae Kyung to play the lovesick puppy Hwi Kyung. The end result was all that was good and perfect since Park Hae Jin was awesome as Hwi Kyung and his original role went to Shin Sung Rok who nailed it in both intensity and unintentional menacing hilarity. Sadly Yunho is confirmed for Night Watchman so no amount of nay-saying will deter this boy this time. Bummer.
hee.. I had been lol reading comments about Yunho. aigoo..
Well, good luck~
Nooooooo!! Ugh, why, did they have the cast the worst idol actor out there 🙁
Ahem, one of the worst but NOT the worst. Other articles and surveys I’ve seen, Infinite’s L was voted worst idol actor among Yunho, Taecyeon, and Minho.
Well this casting really put off the fire I have for this new saeguk. Of all drama will he choose this one and worst this is a period drama. All the drama he acted in are so so in rating and not very memorable. I never know that he was in Heading to the Ground??
From the list of idol actors that have done well I have to say that I think over the last couple of years Kim Hyun Joong has really worked to improve his skills and physically change his image. He no longer looks like the idol from “Boys Over Flowers”.
I also think SM has more to do with YunHo’s continued forays into acting because of the success of JYJ in dramas and musicals.
Well i think Kim Hyun Joong went from bad to serviceable which is much better than i expected from him.
Im Seulong impressed me in Mandate of Haven he made me really care for his character.
This is going to be Yunho’s breakthrough role and he will amaze everybody.
Your comment almost sounds sarcastic. Lol
hahahaha
I prefer tongue-in-cheek.
For one moment there I thought he was gonna be in Joseon’s gunman with lee jun ki and I was like Nooooooooooooooooooo!
Not that this is any better because we all know that Jung ll Woo is gonna cream him.
That said, this is the year that SM artists have surprised us what with Yoona, Lee Yoon Hee and Go Ara..so he may have improved?
That`s only female actors, SM male actors still suck, saving Siwon.
I don’t want to comment regarding Yunho’s acting as I NEVER saw his acting before. btw I’m always loving him as a singer TVXQ’s U-Know.
To add the laundry list above, I would like to add BEAST’s Doojoon. he is okay on IRIS 2 that I never know he’s an idol before and I think he’s doing a pretty decent job on Let’s Eat. not to mention JYJ’s Yoochun who takes sageuk role as his debut drama; Sungkyunkwan Scandal. he improved a lot year by year and just finished Three Days. I am admitting him as a good and popular actor.
the others which I pretty love are B1A4’s Baro and APINK’s Eunji. Their characters in their respective dramas are memorable even though its only small roles.
well.. we’ll see how Yunho will improve.. wait.. did I mention if they can change the role of the actors.. err..
p/s : what if Hongki took sageuk role.. err.. hahaa.. okay, not as lead but the young character of the lead maybe.. xD
P/S : waiting Joo Won on sageuk role. >_<
I’ve never seen anything Yunho has been in, so I don’t know whether he’s good or not, but going by hilarious screams of nooooooooooo from dramabeans, I just had to check your reaction and as usual you never dissapoint. I will check out the drama for my JIW and to see how bad Yunho actually is or who knows he might have improve anyrhing is possible.
I’m inclined to believe SM paid someone or promised to take over some costs of the drama so Yunho is allowed to appear (I’m not going to say act before actually does that) in the drama. Only logical explanation! Plus he is a 86liner, he will enlist this year (probably afterwards) so they may have gave him the go. But why???
Not really. Since the drama is marketed to young viewers ( and Kpop fans are it target), casting popular idol(s) will increase its chance to success. Also, TVXQ has huge fans in Japan,Changmin’s drama “Mini” is ranked as no.1 bestseller in Japan, followed by Yunho’s last drama. Thus, it s logical that the production team wants to cast TVXQ’s members
Sigh, even though I haven’t seen his dramas before, but the overwhelming amount of objections, even from his diehard fans, is enough to clue me in. Well, since he’s definitely in, I can only hope that he’s given a role that requires little emoting, like the cold, emotionless kind.
Oh god, NO NO NO NO NO! NOT him!!
I wish yunho would just acknowledge his horrible acting & just stick with singing!
he cant act. period.
Yunho, my dear, can’ t act even if his life depends on it. PERIOD. I love him as an idol but he is the bright example of idol should never take on job that beyond their cute little head. Because it hurts the fan to have to admit that their idol suck beyond redemption.
NO JUST NO …. Jung Il Woo will eat Up Jung Yunho ….. Oh god why he have to act with Jung Il Woo … As a DBSK fan it’s really embarrassing …. Some artist are not made for acting and he is one of them …. Gosh I love you dancing, singing, hip thrusting and smiling YunHo but I cannot stand actor YunHo … I have never ever hate any actor than YunHo. He was so bad at Heading to the Ground, it’s just embrassing.
Why casting director why
hahahahaha. ha.
I solemnly vow to watch the first scene he is in, and then skip the rest.
Just to make it look like I tried.
Ms Koala, you really need to watch Gap Dong, Lee Joon has really surprised me!! I purely wasn’t going to watch it because he was in it… I’ve had enough of these idols appearing in almost every drama I watch BUT and a big BUT… I’m now ONLY watching Gap Dong for his performance!!
@lana, lurker, daisy, ILUKD
Yes, Yunho’s acting was very bad in dramas….HTTG and Yawang. Surprised he still got cast for Nightwatch Man. He should stay far away from Kdramaland because he tends to overact and have blank face. However, he’s good at theater. He got positive reviews for his performance in the Goong Musical, in which he portrayed Crown Prince Lee Shin. He is more natural and charismatic with stage acting….so he should focus more on theater and be a musical actor.
Finally, after the Queen of Ambition, Yunho will be in a drama again. And with Jung Il Woo oppa.. Excited
Why? I don’t mind bad acting if the guy provides eye candy but Yunho isn’t even good looking and his acting isn’t just bad, it’s horrendous. I still enjoyed the craziness that was Queen of Ambition and hate-watched it for kicks.
@Millie
He is not the best, but I hope you realize MOST people find him attractive and think he’s cute in a manly way. Based on comments I’ve seen on Facebook and Twitter, he’s perceived as one of the sexiest idols.
I concur. I don’t find Yunho attractive. In fact, this goes to all members of DBSK. But this doesn’t mean I don’t find them talented in the music scene. I really like their ballad songs.
As for Yunho’s acting, he is terrible. I skipped his part in Yawang and the only part that I actually didn’t skip was his death. Yea, I’m that cruel. I enjoy every second of his death. Lol. He just had to go.
For this drama, I’ll do the same. The power of the skip-button will surely come in handy.
It’s okay if you don’t find any member of TVXQ attractive. I don’t think they’re handsome, but they are talented. Most people recognize their contributions to the Kpop industry and find certain members of the group attractive.
I thought I was the only one who didn’t find him attractive but after long time observation, I realized we’re not in the minority–it’s just that his fans tend to take shielding him to the extreme and will flood comments sections in order to manipulate opinions.
@Nola
Even if his fans try to manipulate opinions, they can’t force people to change their mind against their will. After long time observation, I can’t help but notice that MOST people find Changmin and Yunho attractive. Sorry, but you’re still part of the minority, compared to the millions of TVXQ’s fans around the globe. Even Kpop fans with other biases find them attractive. I do not think these guys are handsome but I can see their appeal. I like them because of their talents in music.
*le sigh* I was really looking forward to this drama, but I think I have to pass on this.
Yunho’s acting is horrible. He over-emotes and you can see that he’s trying, but he ends up looking to awkward. He reminds me a bit of SSH; however, SSH has onscreen charms, so he can get get away with it in ron-coms.
And don’t get me started on his delivery. God, the thought of him trying to attempt a saguek is painful.
Even I that knows Next to nothing about acting thinks he is a bad actor!! You can see his forced expressions and it just makes me cringe!!! In my opinion since he is martial arts person maybe an action drama!? Hu hu hu!?!? More fighting and less acting!?!? Just saying.
And before you fan girls kill me….. I’m talking about his ACTING not HIS LOOKS OR SINGING!!! Uff (I hope that saves my neck)
Ps Hotel King is full of K-pop Idols, 3 that I recognize.
I pulled a muscle in my neck from shaking my head over this casting choice. So many good actors out there and even good idol actors to choose from and they choose Yunho. He is nice on variety shows and seems just the kind of person that you would want your daughter to date. He is also already really successful. Why the need to keep trying this?
I don’t really care, he isn’t the lead. The plot seems good and i love Jung II Woo, I’ll watch the drama and just hope he will improve, if he really is a bad actor.
i havent seen yunho act before so i couldnt really judge him but you have a point right there, some dramas nowadays just cast idols and some of them cant really act well, more like they expect citizens to watch that certain drama because of that FAMOUS idol..
btw, jyj yoochun is a very good actor and also lee joon, i was really shocked while watching gapdong bc lee joon was really amazing (playing a role of a psychopath isnt easy) compared to idols playing cutesy roles
🙂
I am willing to give him a chance, the same chance everyone gave Minho. Yoona, oh lord there are so many who can’t act but are popular. What is up with Suzy, everyone accepts her. So if Yunho needs acting lessons, he probably will get them. He seems like someone who doesn’t give up on anything he tackles. yoonchun decided to throw his career in the toilet…and yes it was totally his decision.