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It’s not up to the overseas audiences whether the latest It Girl and It Boy of K-dramas, who happened to be paired together in the same drama, succeed with the domestic audiences. But they will have to succeed at some point to justify that each keeps getting cast in project after project in the past year. jTBC college romance Nevertheless with Song Kang and Han So Hee premiered this Saturday after lots of media attention, so this was not a drama that got forgotten by reporters and got plenty of coverage domestically. The first episode got 2.207% AGB nationwide ratings, contrast with predecessor Undercover with premiered with 3.471% and its predecessor Beyond Evil with got 4.451%. Even Hush which wasn’t the success the network hoped for premiered with 3.384% before dropping into the 2% range for the remainder of its run. I personally hate hype since it just raises expectations, and that both Song Kang and Han So Hee appear to be cast in or at have their names attached with so many potential projects just puts them out there for the public to pay more attention to whether they can actually bring in the ratings. So far the ratings are average for a cable jTBC drama but more alarming is the majority criticism of male lead Song Kang’s acting and a smaller volume of criticism of Han So Hee’s acting all from the South Korean domestic viewers. I need to watch for myself to ascertain.
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Poor han so hee this drama predicted to be flop.I hope this drama wont hurt her career and she continue getting a lot offer script drama and movie.See should choose acting with A-lister actor not with mediocre b-lister.Song kang back to back drama was flop getting paid 80-100 million per episode???Hull unbelieveble.
I checked Ep 1, I can’t help but distracted by awkward acting.
This SK guy is very bad at acting. I don’t know why he keeps getting lead roles. I’m sure it is all thanks to his agency, namoo actors. His agency is one of the biggest actor agencies, they are promoting him like crazy.
I watched it too and I did not see one awkward second. I loved it! I really don’t get it.
well he’s had many roles that need him to act awkward so I don’t see the need for this
These 2 actors just do not click with me. They’re bad actors. Sohee is like jin siyeon. I can’t relate to the hype.
@Lydia! Exactly! I finished watching it yesterday but HSH is so good even the lisp that their mentioning isnt that manifested. But SK is just so awkward. He isnt designed for this genre. He needs to stay in SH genre where his wooden acting is tolerable and accepted.
@SuzyFlopwhatevernameyouhave
SongKang here is paid 90-100 MKW per episode. Really?! Where did you get this. Pls enclosed here the link. Thanks.
@Lydia yes to that. I just finished it yesterday night and find him so bad in acting in a genre like this. He is better in Sweet Home coz wooden axting is tolerable there This genre does not suit him. The depthness is so lacking. His acting is so awkward.
If he has been paid 90-100MKW per episode, i dont know what to say about this. Oh his agency is Namoo this is the reason why he keeps on getting roles here and there. He need to improve his acting first.
I like HSH here. She is good.
Not just Song Kang, both of them lack at acting talents. I don’t really want to compare with Youth of May, the leads of YOM are also rookies around the same age as these leads, but they are so good at acting, even the plot went wrong, they still saved with their brilliant acting.
Here this drama got many hype with bad actors. It looks like they only care about looks than anything else.
I agree with this. I also felt like the leads’ acting was awkward, which I didn’t feel when watching Youth of May despite the leads there being rookies as well.
But hopefully Song Kang and So Hee warm up to their roles as the series progresses.
To be honest YOM and Nevertheless are not even remotely similar. This drama was always going to be seriously frustrating because the characters are very very flawed even in the webtoon. The good thing is the FL actually walks away from the very problematic ML at the end so the ending will be satisfying but the content for this drama needs very mature acting something Timothee Chalement level so don’t expect Song Kang to be able to do justice to the character. Just watch it for the visuals and a sensible ending but comparing it to YOM is pointless because even they would have struggled with this kind of very dry content. Most episodes nothing will happen because the drama is purely character driven and it’ll be a long time before warming up to them.
Just jumped on a different site and saw a lot of buzz and many international viewers, fans of the leads and also new to the leads, excited over the acting, chemistry, and the good looks of the leads. Funny how these things go.
LDH and GMS were great in YOM but I’m also an international viewer and don’t know what Korean viewers thought of them anyway so maybe it’s the same take as here or hopefully not.
Haven’t seen the show. Don’t know if I’m actually interested in watching. But Song Kang is currently trending on my Twitter. I think there is definitely international interest.
Both are very awkward actors.
Not only Song Kang but the female lead too.
Han So Hee is so pretty but her acting is meh. Same goes for the male lead.
How did they end up as leads for many acting projects?
The backing they got…hmm.
When someone like SK is shoved in your face enough (4 dramas this year?!?) then naturally he’s going to gain a following. We’ll see what his future holds but I see him fizzling out, especially after his military leave next year.
Had to look up his age since military is mentioned. Can’t believe he’s already 27. He looks his age but thought he’s younger being IT boy of the moment.
Only SK viewers have problems with their acting. International viewers in Twitter like “OMG! They look so good together. He is very handsome. She is very beautiful. Whoever casted them as leads deserves a raise, blah blah”
So true! I just saw in Twitter, “K-netizens are just haters. Our Oppa is very good at acting. Unnie is very pretty. Look at their insane chemistry” I’m like wtf, they really mean it??
Majority of them didnt understand Korean and relying on subtitles so they don’t realized Song Kang has serious pronunciation/diction problem
Perhaps that’s why. I dont understand Korean either but I saw a lot of comments by Knetz saying that the way he delivered his lines are like reading a book and very unnatural.
IMO Song Kang isn’t really it. Song Kang has no hit to his name so I’m not exactly sure what makes him “it”. His agency has done a lot trying to push him in the media and with the projects, but I don’t think he qualifies as “it”. I’m surprised though, because I did not think that Namoo has this level of influence in the industry.
Anyway, this timeslot hasn’t exactly been faring well and the ratings despite it being low is expected for a cast with no draw (I feel). There is perhaps some misalignment between the expectations of the audience and the amount of hype the show has been building and receiving, but it’s no big deal really. In fact, I think viewership might rise even if they both act like crap because there are some provocative scenes in this drama, and the fact that the ML is a douchebag also helps. As we all know, SK is leaning towards makjang dramas, and this one has its fair share of makjang elements.
Actually, Namoo is pretty huge and has many influence in casting. I heard Namoo, BH, Keyeast and Scoop have the power to make the casting choices, change with their rookies.
I don’t see Namoo making any power moves with their more established actors though. Compared to BH and other big agencies their stars don’t appear in high budget dramas often. They also don’t have a true top actor in their line up.
@kitai Namoo don’t have a true top actor? What do you mean? They have Ji Sung, Lee Joon Ki, Park Min Young,etc..
Lee Joon-gi and Ji Sung can arguably be considered top actors, but obviously I’m not talking about that level of top. I’m speaking in terms of popularity. As for PMY, I’m sorry but she’s not top in any manner. We can agree to disagree though.
@Lydia
Kitai is talking about top as in a big A-listers. You can actually see namoo has little influence in getting their actors to be cast in movies..only very few do movies and they are not a big budget ones. And yes, PMY maybe popular among Intl audience but she is no where to be in the top list
If it is really leaning to makjang, i don’t think bosam will be able to get more than 7% rating (highest rated program for MBN)and hospital playlist which manage to obtain a 10% rating for its debut episode
Hmm I thought HSH was fine at the start haha but still her voiceover was bad, SK is terrible as usual. I zoned out halfway through haha youth dramas don’t really get high ratings though but 2.2% is on the lower range since True Beauty was getting 3-4%
I’ve loved many dramas that had low viewer ratings. Shows with good actors also do get low ratings. More interested to see if whether this audience rating stabilizes here (or decrease, or increase).
The fact that this post may get several more comments from people who watched or didn’t watch already puts it ahead though and explains why they are currently the “it” actors in their age group.
The way Song Kang’s fans defending him is crazy. I am sorry,but Song Kang is now in the same group with Suzy and Cha Eun Woo. This is so embarrassing watching his acting. For Han So Hee, this role doesn’t suit her.
Honestly the only reason why he’s an “it” actor is because of the success of sweet home. And it seems like Netflix loves him to the point all his drama post sweet home are all on their streaming service.
As for his acting in nevertheless, it was really bad. He’s so awkward. I wish he will still improve though. Rest and take some acting lessons.
Love Alarm and Sweet Home are the reasons for his success. In fact it was after seeing his acting in Love Alarm that PD Lee Eun Bok personally asked him to audition for Sweet Home. Yes Netflix loves him and will not be giving up on him at any point it seems. They’ve officially referred to him as Netflix’s Son so you can be sure all his future productions will also be available on the platform. Having a backer like Netflix basically guarantees his ‘it’ status for a long time.
Frankly speaking though, that isn’t “it”. He didn’t actually star in a popular show that aired on TV, so he doesn’t draw the TV audience at all. It’s not like how Kim Soo Hyun or Park Bo Gum made it big with their drama hits, so in contrast he comes across as someone who’s not earned his stripes but gets stuffed in many productions. That just rubs people the wrong way. It’s like “I don’t know this guy and he can’t act what’s he doing on my screen”. He also isn’t popular. If he is, his fans could have manipulated the reviews of his dramas easily. Netflix can continue to love him though, if he acts enough he might improve.
He’s the ambassador for Prada how much more IT does he need to be? Gen LTE doesn’t need to tv ratings to become IT stars. If the endorsements come pouring in that’s IT enough.
I tried EP1 and the supporting cast seems to be more interesting than the leads.
This drama need subtle actor and Song Kang Is totally miscast in this. His acting is just doesn’t has the tools to add mystery and seriousity about him, and I don’t have the urge to find out about his character, though based on narative, we need too.
based on acting chemistry, they have zero chemistry.
I like Han Soo hee though. she at least make me feels about her point of view.
It’s better not to have chemistry because the relationship is already toxic. Even if they were “just friends” it would still be toxic.
Toxic relationships are the very ones that have the craziest chemistry though…
All the more that they need chemistry for the drama to work lol ala Chuck and Blair in GG (first ship that came to mind)
The problem is song kang dont have sex appeal in making the viewers believe his notorious playboy his just serving looks. Their intimate scene feels force because of lack of chemistry i dont know what twitter people getting their ovaries explode for him but han so hee is so pretty she such a eyecandy this drama will not affect her popularity and getting all those CF and casting
I find Song Kang pretty awkward when he is being a bit too smiley for my taste, at times, during Episode 1. I dont know if its due to the director’s instruction or his own interpretation of the character, but when I check the webtoon, the male lead was not shown like that. He did the flirting scenes in Love Alarm very well, and never awkward. In my opinion, Love Alarm director did a better job than the director of Nevertheless for such scenes. I find the execution better, smoother there. Anyway, overall, not a disappointing episode, and i’m looking forward to next!
I like it. I think i get why HSH is as big as she is. Very surreal visuals and its like Im watching a young song hye gyo. No problems with SK as well. Imo he fits the role, the handsome part, has the height, and was casually charming. Admittedly his flirting scenes were a bit awkward but both should turn up the heat in tonight’s ep. P.s – HSH’s onscreen presence is really strong and her roles are daring. If she continues to challenge acting boundaries with diversity, add in her outstanding visuals, her superstar future is set in stone way unless she gets embroiled into some major scandal. P.s – Nevertheless has a pre-distribution deal with netflix. I don’t think JTBC cares too much about domestic TV ratings since 1) they weren’t responsible for most of the production budget and 2)the source material’s target audience is less terrestrial tv viewers but young people in their teens and 20s who consume their entertainment through streaming platforms like TVING instead (owned by jtbc and CJENM).
I like both lead actors’ acting too! I can see Han So Hee’s character’s emotions play out through the changes in her facial expressions (even without her speaking) (such as when she sees one of the pieces at the art exhibition of her ex). As for Song Kang, I think he plays the part well. He seems sincere when getting the girl’s attention but then flirts shamelessly with other girls. To each his own, I guess. LOL. But looking forward to the next episodes. I hope it satisfies my expectation of a kdrama with a fresh take, not burdened with too many cliches, kdrama tropes or makjang elements.
I disagree, she’s visibly a lot less attractive in this role compared to The World of the Married and her acting us at best mediocre. I think her styling here just doesn’t work at all. She looks weird in motion compared to beautiful. As for Song Kang, it might be a difference in beauty standards, I’ve never found him good-looking in any way. Besides, if JTBC doesn’t give a damn about domestic ratings they could have just made it a web drama. The ratings do matter and it is underperforming. However, there is room for improvement. That’s all there is.
Its no.3 on tving streaming platform.
@lorraine I thought I was the only one who thought she looked weird in motion haha I’m like stunning where? I guess it’s all subjective and yh k beauty standards baffle me still.
I watched tthe ep expecting some hot mess based on all these comments but it’s OK?? The direction is definitely interesting and I haven’t seen either of these 2 in anything but they didn’t come off as particularly off to me. The relationship seems to be going the toxic route which could be intriguing depending on how it’s handled. And the actress is pretty cute, but they need to change some of her wardrobe.
Ok. Decided to watch. 15 minutes in and Han Soo Hee isn’t that bad. Also, this could’ve been the perfect character for her to showcase the tattoos. But I guess, Koreans aren’t ready for that.
Jung hae in,jan ki young,song kang etc etc they all bad actor.Can’t acting and lack charisma wonder why they kept getting role in drama and movie??
Fangirls
Jang ki young has been underwhelming in recent roles but he killed it in my mister. Jung hae in was good in prison playbook but now he seemed to be type casted for some reason. As for Song Kang I agree he’s devoid of everything even looks
What are you on Jung Hae In is a good actor, melodrama is very hard but he did well in that genre
Jung hae in get famouse because get paired with famouse A-lister noona like son ye jin and ha ji min.He cant carried drama with his name alone.
Jung hae in is an excellent actor, what are you talking about?
I watched the first episode and I liked it a lot. Looking forward to next week’s episode already. I wish it was 2 episodes a week. First time I’ve seen HSH in a drama and I quite like her. I think SK is serviceable here, but his acting requires a little more subtleness.
oh come on, it’s like people forget love alarm and sweet home, the boy isn’t even that good to begin with,
he reminds me of the dongsaeng character archetype that still look awkward and looking for his emotion
I like the college student part and I disliked the couple part. I don’t find the both actors attractive. They’re look good, but they lack charm or charisma for me. Their parts didn’t work, it wasn’t sexy or sensual but awkward.
I completely forget that N.Flying’s SeungHyub was in this drama, so I guess I will watch for him 🙂
I’m not feeling the chemistry either. They look like siblings to me haha but then again I thought seo ye ji and kim soo hyun looked too alike and found their chemistry to be explosive. But then again the latter are better actors.
I’m ashamed as i don’t know neither of these 2 IT actors . I m’ going to check this drama . I read the filmo of the actress and she was in 3 dramas that i watched ( Reunited worlds, 100 days my prince and Abyss) but i don’t remember her . When i saw the poster i mistook her with Song Hye Kyo !
Who are they sleeping with to get this many drama castings? LOL…(FYI, it’s a joke just in case y’all go crazy on me)
im developing an allergy towards SK. his character here doesnt help
I honestly don’t think his acting is as bad as what everyone says. He was a bit too smiley in the episode but other than that I thought everything was fine. He suits the role and has chemistry with HSH.
Yeah the comments keep talking about fangirls but all I am seeing is some mindless hate here…the show has a decent start and the actors have chemistry
Agree, I think that Song Kang is not that terrible here. I’m watching Navillera now, and I’m crying a lot, and many times it’s him who makes me cry. He’s simply fantastic in that drama. And here he gives off a different vibe.
Maybe the script is bad, or maybe he’s been miscast and too young for this role… He doesn’t strike me as the sexy type, he’s rather cute and looks innocent. Plus, the show seems to lean a lot on fan service. It looks like they are trying the viewers to experience the “butterflies” of falling in love, but sometimes it comes across as cringey, and this is not SK’s fault.
People are overreacting tbh, probably because they’re tired to see his face (he’s like everywhere nowadays)…Is he the best actor out there? Nope but there’s definitely room for improvement. I like him a lot in Navillera (his best performance to date imo)
I skipped ‘Love Alarm’ because I’m too old for that kind of dramas. As for ‘Sweet Home’, I mainly watched it for Lee Do Hyun (still I appreciated his performance)
Boy is nice to look at imo and he’s decent acting-wise so what’s not to like? Will keep an eye on his career for sure.
I agree with Ciel
Exactly! I love his acting! Have not watched Nevertheless yet, but loved him in Love Alarm, Navillera and Sweet Home, the characters are different, but he nails them. If maybe he hadn’t to enlist soon, he could have more time to dedicate to the roles and understand the characters better, but I still think the results were, at the very least, fine.
The hate these young actors gets in here is crazy for real, there should be chances to grow although I don’t like when there are too much hypes on young people but it’s not their fault is it?
SK is confirmed as ML in PMY office romance drama. Tbh, I prefer 2nd lead Yoon Park (33) with PMY (35) as they’re closer in age & their visuals are more matching. SK-PMY pairing gives me big sis little bro vibe. SK should be matched with Yura instead. Yoon Park deserves a ML role like Lee Soo Hyuk. The pairings are just all wrong.
Not bad for IT boy. Five dramas in three years are super impressive. He gotta strike while it’s hot. 2 years in ms is a long time in k-ent.
Talking about lee soo hyuk his acting is still bad and his pronouncing sucks even though I’m not fluent at korean but I can catch what they’re saying words by words without knowing what it means but with lee soo hyuk I can’t catch anything at all. He still has only one and two expressions. He should re enlisted
I’ve watched the first ep and i was laughing bcoz it was soo cringey the whole time Acting aside, the storylinea and characters suck.
i think not all people can bring out the bad boy vibe very well…for songkang, he not suited this character. Once his speak, his voice did not apply for bad boy character.Maybe it for me…but his still need to polish his acting skills. For han so hee, as before she play a mature character i can’t see her as a college student, eventhough she still young. Mybe this is just for me.
Exactly you’re right song kang dont fit this bad boy role he is not it. I don’t feel bad boy vibe from him at all. He’s just a weird boy trying to portray a bad playboy role. So hee is cementing her lead role but there’s time she’s not stable yet
I don’t get the hype with Han So Hee. Her facial expressions are weird. Is she the next queen? lol.
Strike while iron hot,If one day she has scandal like seo yea ji,she dont need to worry because she have ton of movie,drama and money.We dont know what happened in future right.
The thing is, if not because of the two main leads headlining, i dont think this drama will garner this much interest and capable of attracting people to watch and continue watching. The story itself does not have a likable storyline and characters. I actually salute Song Kang in his choice of projects post Love Alarm. They are all interesting projects, that people may mot even bother to watch or take interest in, if no popular or likable faces like him attached to them.
So far, i have yet to read people questioning the way the female lead fell for the hero instantly and obsessively. So, the casting of Song Kang is probably the right choice, its beliavable because its him based on what i read from the majority of the comments on twitter and other website.
I think Song Kang can take the complaints on his acting to improve further. If he has more time between his projects, he probably can study the character better and make better preparation. But reading that he will probably enlist next year, i guess its understandable that he keeps on taking project after project.
I love HSH’s portrayal but SK is like a tree talking to a human. I want more depth. He acting is so awkward. Why i got that feeling. I love him in SH but this kind of genre isn’t for him. His emotions ain’t deep. His face didn’t show what he wanted to convey.
I’m not saying that HSH is good nor bad, but somehow you passive-aggressively focusing on a perceived competitor to your bias is a strategy I’ve seen you do before (99 actresses before). You don’t come out directly, but your manner of writing is always leaning towards one by putting the other. Are you focusing negatively on HSH, just coz she is in direct competition with Suzy (your bias)?
But this was proven to be a hit internationally, which something I cannot fathom as I don’t really find that spark between these two. And my eyes does not see SK and HSH as aesthetically beautiful physically. But I always had that weird taste.? So I know a lot of people will disagree with me.
Another things is though I’m not a Korean, I’m quite bothered by the lisp. I can evidently hear it. What more if you’re Korean? We i-watcher solely depends on sub so it’s not something that majority will notice.
But it’s always like this there’s a lot of drama that receive great attention internationally but does average or poorly in SK such as True Beauty, though part of its average ratings was due to it being a highschool drama.