The steady stream of youth sageuks continue even with a batch aired already. 2021 started off with River Where the Moon Rises followed by Lovers of the Red Sky then now The King’s Affection. This week Secret Royal Inspector and Joy premiered followed by The Red Sleeve Cuff, which is the only one that isn’t quite a youth sageuk and more a traditional one despite the young leads. There’s another coming and the first stills are here for Thinking of the Moon When the Flowers Bloom. The drama stars Yoo Seung Ho, Hyeri, Byun Woo Seok, and Kang Mina, and I’m just soaking up the return of Seung Ho-sshi and worrying less about the cast acting as a whole until the drama airs. It’s set during Joseon’s most restrictive prohibition era and the hijinks that arise when the male lead’s magistrate cracks down on all that hooch when the female lead is a secret brewer. I love the visuals of Yoo Seung Ho in his first stills and happy there is another sageuk with a premise that interests me and a cast that I’m willing to give a chance to.
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Another drama Yoo Seung Ho needs to hard-carry. While Hyeri is serviceable in romcoms, in sageuk she is just bad. Her tone and diction is not meant for historical works. Not sure about Kang Mina because I haven't seen anything with her, but Byun Woo Seok may as well be considered an idol with how bland he is.
In 2012, i really thought Yoo Seung Ho was on his way to becoming A-list and face of the 20s actors, but his string of mediocre quality dramas with underperforming ratings really affected his rise. Instead, Park Bo Gum and even Yeo Jin Goo have taken those spots. Heck, even Cha Eun Woo is more buzz worthy. It's really a shame because he's extremely handsome and talented, but I guess luck is not on his side.
Agreed. He literally doesn't lack anything to be a superstar, he has good looks, talent in spades, charisma, commanding screen presence, star factor... He has it all, he just doesn't have much luck in choosing his dramas, it seems, which makes me so sad because I'm rooting for him since his teenage actor days. I know not every actor aims to be a-list, but still...
Sigh.
He's basically the male version of KYJ. Both of them have what it takes to be A-listers from visuals to acting prowess, but they don't seem to be lucky in choosing good projects after RMOTM and LITM. The fact that they are two of the most domestically well-loved former child actors for almost two decades didn't help either.
@melody True that. Can't fully blame them though, some scripts do sound good on paper at first (RMOTM and LOTRS)
PBG yes but YJG gets outclassed even by supporting actors in his own drama but CEW is definitely the most in demand young actor next to SK and LDH. With regards to the drama I don't even think YSH has what it takes to hard carry a drama he's been progressively less invested in his characters and just picks whatever project he gets which I'm guessing is not a lot. He barely does any acting these days and does feel like he doesn't love it enough to be a top actor. Completely agree on BWS being bland and just plain bad and trust when I say Minah is even worse. There isn't a single actor in this drama worth watching.
CEW? His next projects are second roles... I don't think he will shine more than Kim Nam-Gil in Island or Kim Rae Won, Park Byung Eun and
Lee Jong Suk in Decibel.
CEW is choosing to be the 2nd lead he doesn't have to be. Producers would happily cast him as the lead and he may not out act anyone but he will walk away with the most fame at the end. He's using senior actors to cement his acting career and has never had one flop drama till now. That's more than I can say for YSH who has only had flops in his entire adult career. NJH and CEW many not be able to carry a drama on their own but because of their popularity they will always only be cast opposite S list stars and their career will always be evaluated as being highly successful.
@truthisthis
Truth is this: you are a delusional CEW stan who is spinning lies and spewing bullsh!t to make your mediocre, wooden embarrassment of an actor seem greater than he is and will ever be.
Honestly what YSH needs right now is for Netflix to back him up like what they did with Song Kang & Kim Seonho. That way, he can get as popular as Cha Eunwoo. But of course with a great script and character that suits him best.
YSH, is another example that luck is also needed to reach the heights . The guy has all and after his performance in Missing you , i thought that he was becoming an A list actor . Not to mention that he did well during the military service . But awesome actors as Yeo Jin Goo or Kim min Jae are taking the spots even Cha Eun Woo, Ro Woon, are getting more coverage . It's sad and i really do hope that the drama will do well but Hyeri is until now a big no for me .
Too Many Sagueks Ugh! What a very boring year.
Also yoo seung ho deserves a better cast and career ?
True. If only there was at least one youth sageuk that exceptionally stood out among others, I wouldn't even blame the trend of having an excessive number of historical dramas this year. But oh well, no wonder 2021 has been generally a lacklustre year for Kdramas.
YSH really need to learn to pick a good project
smh
Why is it that Korean sageuks love to have "Moon" in their title? Moon Embracing the Sun, Moon Lovers, Love in the Moonlight, River Where The Moon Rises...
Yoo Seungho, aside from picking better projects, needs to work with more popular female leads in order to get people hyped and talking again. He hasn't had a memorable pairing in a long time. I'm not into noona romances, but I think it would help his career if he acted alongside an established S tier actress like Son Yejin, Song Hyekyo, Han Hyojoo, and so on. Or a ratings magnet like Shin Hyesun. If it has to be idol, at least on the level of Suzy or IU because like them or not, they are popular and bring in buzz.
My favourite pairing of his post-military dramas was him with Chae Soo Bin in I'm Not A Robot but it got really screwed over in ratings - partly because of the strike that meant MBC didn't air any dramas in its time slot for months. But they had great chemistry and both gave good performances.
In this day and age no one actor is a true ratings guarantee if the drama doesn't hold up or other factors come in, not even Jun Ji Hyun (though she brings viewers, even she can't make a drama a hit). The problem isn't YSH's female leads, the problem is his lacklustre choices in dramas over the last few years.
Hyeri is watchable and even engaging as a comedic actress but she is BAD at speaking and can't do serious emotions - but as long as they have chemistry and the story/script is decent, there's a chance this can be ok.
He has never had an eye for projects but he also isn't that great of an actor either. His talent has always been overblown. There are many actors in the same age range or younger who can out act him. He's hitting 30 now so his competition is going to get tougher and I don't see him as the type to even try even things get too competitive. I would not be surprised if he gets married and semi retires in the next 2 years or so.
@Overy - he's very skilled in the technical aspects of acting - his pronunciation is clear+he can emote, plus he could pull off playing more mature characters as a teenager which was very unusual.
Where I feel that he's lacking, is that he often has no chemistry with his female leads. There are exceptions like Park Eun Bin, Chae Soo Bin and even Yoon Eun Hye, but it's maybe in one drama every few years. I hope Hyeri is another exception but I usually know not to expect any actual chemistry when I watch.
I agree about his talent being overstated. His tonal delivery is good and he was definitely good in his younger days but his acting in all his recent dramas has been mediocre. If you put LDH and YSH against each other in the same drama LDH would not only at circles around him he would charm the socks of everyone both on and offscreen. Even PBG and SKJ have more charisma than YSH so I'm honestly not surprised his career is tanking and he continues to be handed very mediocre projects. His lack of chemistry is a definite problem and YJG has the same problem but even then YJG is a much better actor than him. However I can see why CEW, KYD etc are more popular than both of them. There is this 'je ne c'est pas' quality that these actors have which both YSH and YJG completely lack. Its like they don't know how to be free and happy like normal young people. They just come across as too serious and unapproachable and by extension unrelatable. Since they've been onscreen for a long time their image is also worn out and there isn't anything fresh or unique about them anymore especially YSH his anti social personality just doesn't work in the current era.
I tried watching him in i'm not a robot. Fell asleep after the mid episodes. I thought his chemistry with csb would be fiery but fell flat like pancakes. Nobody raved about his chemistry with pmy either altho remember did well in the ratings.
@RoyalWe Agree about his lack of chemistry with female leads. He's indeed a good actor, but that is his weakness. But to be fair, I feel like it's a weakness for several former child actors/actresses. In my opinion, the one whom I've felt has had consistent chemistry with her costars is Nam Ji Hyun.
A big yes to Nam Ji Hyun as the chemistry queen. I'm super hyped about her pairing up with People Magazine's sexiest men on tv lister Wi Ha Joon in Little Women.
Wi Ha Joon is paired opposite Kim Go Eun who is the main star of Little Women and the key protagonist.
He, like Yeo Jin Goo, shines more in melodramatic stuffs. They are excellent actors with amazing expressions and charisma. Given their shorter physique compared to other korean actors, i am not sure if rom-coms is the right track for them to go higher and achieve more recognition.
His co-stars are not specially good. Hyeri is just good when she can act herself...
There are other sageuks, so not sure I will watch this one.
I love sageuks..so the more the merrier - if good.
Which agency handles him? He seemed poised to succeed after he returned from the military. If this sageuk could give his career a boost then good luck to him and the cast.
When he did that sageuk with KSH I though it was going to be as big as TMETS. This time it's going to be tough. Hyeri seemed awkward with him based on the stills above.
Story J Company handles him. Same one that handles Kim Jung Hyun after his SYJ scandal & Seo In Guk after his enlistment controversy. Others in the agency includes Kim Tae Hee, Kim Ji Suk, Lee Si Eon and Kwon Soo Hyun, etc. The agency is not the problem. He is the problem. YSH has always been overrated imo due to his child acting bgrd. His acting has regressed as an adult.