Park Hae Jin Offered Swoony Male Lead in Drama Adaptation of Cheese in the Trap

Does Park Hae Jin ever rest? Apparently the answer is no as he’s now in talks to star in the drama adaptation of the fan favorite Korean webtoon Cheese in the Trap. He’s been offered the role of leading man Yoo Jung, by all accounts a beyond gushworthy romantic male lead character that has all the readers going ga-ga. The drama is being produced by the company that did OCN‘s God’s Quiz but it’s not clear yet which network Cheese in the Trap will be airing on or when it’s airing other than sometime in early 2015.

The story revolves around the life of a college student Hong Sul and her life on campus including run-ins with seemingly perfect sunbae Yoo Jung and good friend In Ho. It’s basically classic shoujo manga love triangle set in college and this particular webtoon is very popular and well-reviewed despite its less than original storyboard. The production explained that Park Hae Jin was offered the role because both the author and fans of the webtoon felt that he was the best choice to play Yoo Jung.

As seen from just a few of the fanmade casting compilations above, readers of the webtoon have been fan-casting Cheese in the Trap for years now. I love Park Hae Jin, and other than hoping he doesn’t collapse from doing three back-to-back dramas this year alone, I do think he may be a tad old to play a college senior. On the upside, the K-drama adaptations of manhwas (Korean comic books) and webtoons have fared a lot better than drama adaptations of mangas (Japanese comic books). I loved both the K-drama versions of Tamra the Island and Flower Boy Next Door. I’m definitely keeping my eye on this one whether or not Park Hae Jin is cast, and if he does join I hope the leading lady is someone I like. Jung So Min would be great! She’s got this manga female lead expressive face as shown in Playful Kiss.

 


Comments

Park Hae Jin Offered Swoony Male Lead in Drama Adaptation of Cheese in the Trap — 31 Comments

  1. are you talking after reading the manga? because it’s nowhere near being a typical shoujo manga and a typical love triangle. if they don’t change the story much it might be quite good. though it is somewhat boring after a while the beginning is interesting and definitely not ‘less than original’.

    • I agree. I read what was available in translation ages ago… and it definitely wasn’t the “typical shoujo manga” plot. (Maybe they could get the Misaeng scriptwriter on board, to make sure there won’t be even a trace of “typical” left?…)

    • I’ve been waiting for this!! I just read it once a long time ago wtv that was translated at the time but with all the adaptation happening i thought it’d be nice to adapt. It did seem to go the usual route when i left it (when a sorta 2nd lead appears). Problem is sometimes i couldn’t differentiats between characters. Overall interesting concept. I’m still hoping it doesn’t turn out to be just her paranoia.

  2. The first name popping to portray Park In Ho’s character was Kim Jae Wook and Kang Ha Neul instead of Park Hae Jin as Yoo Jung’s character. To each its own, I guess.

  3. LOL, I am starting to read this webtoon so it’s pretty awesome 🙂
    Frankly, it’s pretty understandable that he is working so much. You never know when you will stop being “hot” or “trendy” so it’s better to be in a lot of projects to secure your recognition even if your health is in danger. Gah, the life of a celebrity 😛
    No but really, it’s pretty much like Choi Jin Hyuk. But for latter, it’s more urgent because he still has to enlist and a two year absence in the industry can be pretty fatal, especially for an actor.

    I haven’t read much of the webtoon yet but I just know that PHJ is rocking in Bad Guys <3

    • I agree he needs to work hard.but he needs his rest.working too hard and he might collapse on day just like F(x) Krystal.plus,there are some people who gets tired of seeing actors on screen for too long(like me).so,it’d be better if he take a little break….

  4. So,is he rejecting the vampire Joseon?i wanted him to take the role before.plus,I hope he wins something in SBS award this year.his acting was more believable than KSH’s

  5. i read about this adaptation last month. and from that article, it seems like Go Ara, Park Hae Jin and Joo Won are knetz’s top fav, so i hope PHJ will pick this since i think this is a pretty good and fun webtoon

  6. I remember people freaking out on some korean cite cause Yoona cut her bangs, they thought she was cast as Hong Sul .People in Korea are obsessed with their ideal casting of this project lmao. No matter who they cast they are not gonna be happy.

  7. I really hope they do this manhwa justice. I’ve been reading it for some time and it is definitely a step above many others in its demographic.

    Park Hae Jin has sufficient chops to pull off Yoo Jung’s character, which requires a lot more than a pretty face. Yoo Jung gives me chills a lot of the time, and not in the good way…

    What’s most crucial is Hong Sul’s character, though. She’s smart, cynical, and equal parts fierce and fragile. I’m praying they find someone who’s able to balance that fine line, because Hong Sul is the heart and soul of Cheese in the Trap.

    Also, I never realized just how popular CitT is in Korea. So yay for that!

  8. Ooh, ung So Min and Park Hae Jin would be adorbs together! Hope they can cast her…I have also taken a paricular liking to Sooyoung and think she would be suitable too after Cyrano…I need to read this manhwa since its available in English

  9. I picked up reading Cheese in the Trap and thought it was pretty dull at first, but then found myself unable to stop and ready all 3 seasons up to date (waiting for more translations now!). Park Hae Jin is absolutely perfect for the role. It needs to be someone who you can’t tell if he’s a good or bad guy and who can flip his personality quickly.

      • Odd Squad have been doing translations for a while now! They have a browser plug-in that overlays the translation directly on top of CitT’s Naver page. That way, soonkki still gets page views = gets paid. They’re halfway through Season 3 so far. And there are summaries up to the latest chapter on CitT’s Invisionfree forum.

        Naver itself is doing translations, but they sound stilted and are, in my opinion, inferior. Not to mention they’re very far behind compared to Odd Squad.

  10. Idk about netizens, but Yoo Jung’s character is beyond creepy and scary, in my opinion. I love Hong Sul, one of my favorite characters along with Park In Ho.

  11. Given your description of Yoo Jung as well as calling the story a “classic shoujo manga love triangle” it doesn’t seem like you know much about it 😉
    Yoo Jung is definitely neither gushworthy or romantic lol As for the love triangle, there hasn’t been one. As much as some fans are pushing for Baek In Ho, he’s never been a romantic interest for Sul – not so far anyway. The romance is really not the main point of the story.

    • As for the adaptation, I just don’t think it’ll work. What’s good about the story is its characters. It’s very character driven with well executed character development and I just don’t think that type of story can translate well on screen with a limited amount of episodes.

    • AGREE!!!
      Yoo Jung’s character is not typical boring first male lead. And I can’t not to fall in love with his a lil bit psychotic behaviour. (strange but intriguing)
      Anyhow miss koala, this is not what so called ‘less than original story’ like you said.
      You better read it before judge it ^^

  12. Anyway I really hope PHJ accepts this role. He will be perfect Yoo Jung.
    But I gave no idea who to play as Sul. Jung So Min might be good, but as for chemistry Yoo In Na will be top notch. I like Kim So Eun as well.

    I really wish it’s not Yoona, I like her as Idol but not as actress (yet)

  13. dont know the story, cheese in the trap. but i truly that this drama could make park hae jin outstanding and challenge his acting! he’s one guy that goes international alot-admire him for his venture outside korea

  14. i’ve been following this manhwa for a couple years now and can attest that it’s superb to most shoujo/josei slice of life pieces out there. cheese in the trap isn’t heavily centered around romance — it’s a complex, character-driven work of art that focuses on psychology and social commentary. they casting will be crucial as to whether or not this drama will succeed or be flop (please, no idols!). i’m actually more worried about who they will choose for sul, the female lead, because it’s going to take maturity and serious acting chops to bring her personality to life. ideally, the drama would be as well-executed as misaeng, but i’m not getting my hopes up.

  15. YES. PHJ has to Jung, I mean, Cheese in the Trap is not the story of some female lead who’s googly eyed for her knight in shining armor. It’s more like the story of a college girl who does her best, has social problems, and has a borderline homicidal boyfriend. Maybe not that drastic, but he is certainly cold, calculating, and unattached. After seeing Bad Guys, I’m certain PHJ can pull it off, I hope he aims for a Shin Sung Rok sort of thing- by that I mean he can flip his expression like a coin. I can definitely see why the author and fans want PHJ to have that role.
    I just worry about Sul, she’s comes off as a regular girl in the first few chapters, but soon everyone (incl. the characters) realizes there’s more to her. She’s clever, observant, self-respecting, and more passionate. She makes mistakes but more than cleans up after herself. I am not confident enough to pick out an actress that will be able to convey her properly. Park Shin Hye? Maybe, I see a lot of her lately, and she does have a sort of presence in her acting, her looks also match. But I just described almost half of the female actors in the Korean film industry.
    I can’t wait for this release, I’ve been a fan of Cheese in the Trap for a long time.
    I’m off to find my dream cast.

  16. Ugh! Please have a little bit info about the thing you’re writing about will you? Typical love triangle my ***. You’re offending the writer and the readers.

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.