Grah I am sooooo ready for this K-drama, so perhaps it’s good that I’m traveling next two weeks and perhaps can be kept so busy that when I return to the real world this baby has arrived on July 22nd. tvN released new posters and stills for romance drama Serendipity’s Embrace this week and I’m just grinning with happiness seeing how adorable Kim So Hyun and Chae Jong Hyeob are together and separately. I hope there is no big misunderstanding from their high school days and perhaps both just grew up and that initial spark from their youth gets re-lit as smoldering romance in their adult days now.
Awwwww, such a deserving recognition and a long time coming for K-actress Jang Nara. She's…
It's still crazy that the two biggest K-dramas of this year 2024 aired basically at…
So there are new posters, stills, and a first teaser out already for modern C-drama…
This is an interesting twist on what sounds like a standard legal K-drama, the male…
So Xu Kai is back in period drama land and has a new actress costar…
So Kim Soo Hyun recently became the new face of fragrance house Jo Malone in…
This website uses cookies.
View Comments
This is the feel good romance drama I need for this season. Serendipity and Love Next Door will get me through this season.
Wow, that poster is so pretty and calming to look at 🫶🏻
My body is ready for this drama too! Just the kind of drama I need to unwind after a long day. And of course, I'm always rooting for KSH. On top of being pretty and adorable, she's always been an excellent actress whose acting has never disappointed me, even in meh dramas. I haven't seen the male lead in anything but I've never read a bad comment about his acting, so fingers crossed KSH won't have to do the acting heavy-lifting this time!
Excited for the premiere!
CJH and KSH is the adorable pair we didn’t know we needed. I’ve been rooting for him since Hot Stove League! Too bad it’s only 8 episodes but as long as it’s full of cuteness and sweetness with a lot kisses will accept it. No noble idiocy just pure romance and heart fluttering. Wish this drama would boost both their careers and make them an iconic OTP.
i'm so jealous of sohyun's small and pretty face. when I wear a hairstyle like that, my face looks like a giant potato 😭
I adore Kim So Hyun.... I really hope she is in good hands for her career. Looking forward to this drama.
Yes as fans one can only hope she's happy doing what she does but many of the dramas being offered to her do typecast her. Still she is only 25 and many stars breakout in their 30s these days so she has plenty of time to grow and challenge herself to new roles if willing. Nonetheless SE has the vibe of a sweet healing drama and thankfully is just 8 episodes so it should be a light and easy watch.
To be honest, I dont mind typecasting whilst she is trying to gain momentum. I believe once her show rating goes up, she will have more script choices. Now, as long as the script is good, just take it for now.
I am aware many do not like typecasting...but I think it works for some artistes, not everyone. (Not including Kim So Hyun as she can take a wider range of roles). It is often not artiste's choice to be typecast..it is investors and Producers. We have seen many artistes that tries other genre, it does not work, it can affect their rice bowl. Then they loss their brand value. Too high a risk to take.
Of course typecast has its disadvantage too. But somethings are out of hand of the artistes. They are just paid to do a job.
@HL Unfortunately KSH being typecast isn’t helping her career in any way and instead is getting her hate and she’s fallen off the list of trendy actresses. Her endorsements have dried up and she’s not as active as she used to be. She needs a major career overhaul and Good Boy is definitely a step in the right direction but she needs to explore movies and more non romance dramas. Her management team needs to promote her more too so that the public knows what she’s been doing. Image building is their job but they don’t put any effort into it. It’s disappointing to see less talented actresses who focus more on brand deals getting undeserved roles.
@rasq all true, unfortunately. and can ieum give her a new stylist already? she's so beautiful but her makeup and styling aren't bringing out her beauty like her styling did in her sidus hq days. hopefully, good boy will be the start of a new era in her career. but yeah, they gotta start with change of styling and then more promotion of her
Her stylist and makeup team have been putting in minimum effort into her looks for years. Her styling and makeup for her travel variety show in the US were the best. Even her Dazed Korea shoot and Chanel shoot last year had excellent styling and make up but when it comes to public appearances they put in no effort. They should give her more smoky eye and eye liner and get rid of the ugly aegyo sal makeup. Her short hair can be styled much better than just bangs and a bob. Someone also needs to tell her to change up her hair color from time to time. The black hair is getting very boring and repetitive. Give her an idol look once in a while too. She’s young and it’ll suit her and get rid of her bangs. She looks better with her forehead exposed. High ponytail looks so good on her but no her stylists are bent on sabotaging her visuals and she never trends for her looks anymore. Even Knetz have been complaining about how her face doesn’t match her body which is long and slender. Her proportions are too god to be saddled with those ugly clothes. When will she finally find the right combination of agency, styling and promotions? It’s been years but her career and styling seems to be regressing. It’s sad to admit it but it’s happening and it needs to not be ignored.
@Winterchill I agree with most of what you said. I don't know what's her stylist's deal. Is her stylist trying to sabotage her or something?
I agree that the idol look suits her a lot, which was kinda her look for her 2017 Samsung Securities CF:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DI7l2PIVYAMHICA.jpg:large
and during her Under 19 stint: https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSfoGiD6bmzZlFfgZ8A-buP6q2FcgvYtRCA7A&usqp=CAU
I loved the glittery eye makeup on her!
I think the fairy look that's trendy among idols would look great on her too, since her features are very soft and feminine. I disagree about the smoky eye tho, she rocked smoky eye makeup during the Gentle Monster event around 2019, I think? And it looked too harsh on her soft features: https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQpiJ8Iq22nEB-ooIkKP5ITLK2-pcYvx6vjtwd8x9zGnD9J1mSe51Yi99wc&s=10
I don't know who her stylist and makeup artist are for her Blue Dragon Awards 2018 look, but I LOVED this look of her and this was her best look in my opinion: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DssQaNZU4AA1-VU.jpg:large
I love it when she has side swept bangs and her eye makeup is lashy, which really emphasizes her doll-like big, round eyes. I personally think dolly makeup style suits her the best since she has naturally doll-like features.
I think another problem with her styling is that she seems to have a neutral undertone that leans cool, but they keep dressing her in very warm, earthy colors.
I personally think she looks best in cool colors. Look how much brighter her face looks when wearing cool colors:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/De2cbLsUcAAxezp.jpg
https://a.ksd-i.com/a/2023-01-14/145456-962964.jpg
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQT2CxxNsztO1ksWWR-3UWDCHs9mlVaop4Gkw&usqp=CAU
https://img2.jiemian.com/jiemian/original/20170812/150251005631984000_a700xH.jpg
...and how her face looks way less bright when wearing warm clothing or warm makeup (tho still beautiful, of course):
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR-YabS4EO4HBmK8GwZf3ZOhTasUjbC54k7L3yaAIayAEYFfd5dK4dDv8Y&s=10
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GPUOVlYbQAAnrVI?format=jpg&name=large
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fi0gIQuacAAuuo6?format=jpg&name=large
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS2ptUxiLAZ2-8wjciHyFPKjBcYjx5KweupsQ&usqp=CAU
And YES to the no-bangs look! The times where she looked the most beautiful were when she had no bangs, in my opinion.
I mean, why hide this perfection: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EwmCvxWVEAIyVf6?format=jpg&name=large
@Winterchill @Marshmellow Her most superior red carpet look will always be Baeksang 2016 and her most superior drama look is Page Turner. These two looks were flawless. Her next best red carpet look is from 2016 KBS drama awards and her next best drama looks were in School 2015 and RWTMR. Beyond that everything has been mediocre. Her Bausch-Lomb high ponytail look is her best idol look and her Hazzy's cf with YSJ is another great look. She does better with magazine shoots but those have heavy editing too. I agree about the smoky eye makeup being a good look on her as seen in the Vogue Korea shoot from last year was one of her best pictorials. The inconsistent styling is what prevent her from having a signature style and the bangs seem be the only thing her stylists prefer. She needs a stylist who truly understands her to help her understand what looks would work for her and flaunt her strengths.
@raq @expensivegirl @winterchill @marshmello @vinas i sadly agree with all of you. i really thought i was the only one who thinks her styling/hair/makeup have been regressing over the years, when it should be the opposite. her look should be getting elevated as her star rises so i have no idea what's going on there. 2016-2018 was her peak visuals-wise imo. i remember watching ruler master of the mask and thinking it's such a bad drama but my, did sohyun looked so damn pretty there! also in goblin and bring it on ghost. sadly it's been downhill for her since 2019, both career-wise and visuals-wise (not saying she's less pretty now, i'm moreso talking about her styling). she was also super pretty like a doll in under 19 and because this is my first twenty. if they're going to give her bangs, they can just give her maybe curtain bangs or side bangs instead of the full fringe that just hides her beauty in my opinion and makes her look like any other korean actress. and yes to the hair color change. to me she looked great with the light brown hair color she had in radio romance. or the red hair in reset.
I loved her dress in the recent belotero event in thailand but the makeup is lackluster. and the hair, they should've put her hair up with some hair in the front framing her face. but no, they seem to have an obsession with giving her thick-ass full fringe that doesn't do anything for her beauty 🤦🏻♀️
all of this are just my opinion of course
LMAO I knew I'm done with KSH's stylist when I saw her photos from the Chanel Coco Crush event last week. Seems like they're hell-bent on making her look as dowdy as possible. Gotta give it to her styling + makeup team, it takes a special kind of talent to make a beautiful woman with a great body like KSH look bad 🙃
@raq @expensivegirl @winterchill @marshmello @vinas i sadly agree with all of you. i really thought i was the only one who thinks her styling/hair/makeup have been regressing over the years, when it should be the opposite. her look should be getting elevated as her star rises so i have no idea what's going on there. 2016-2018 was her peak visuals-wise imo. i remember watching ruler master of the mask and thinking it's such a bad drama but my, did sohyun looked so damn pretty there! also in goblin and bring it on ghost. sadly it's been downhill for her since 2019, both career-wise and visuals-wise (not saying she's less pretty now, i'm moreso talking about her styling). she was also super pretty like a doll in under 19 and because this is my first twenty. if they're going to give her bangs, they can just give her maybe curtain bangs or side bangs instead of the full fringe that just hides her beauty in my opinion and makes her look like any other korean actress. and yes to the hair color change. to me she looked great with the light brown hair color she had in radio romance. or the red hair in reset.
I loved her dress in the recent belotero event in thailand but the makeup is lackluster. and the hair, they should've put her hair up with some hair in the front framing her face. but no, they seem to have an obsession with giving her thick-ass full fringe that doesn't do anything for her beauty 🤦🏻♀️
all of this are just my opinion of course
Yes, her stying during under 19 was so good. Her agency really need to buckle up and promote her fully instead of being passive. Her stylist should know what works better for her body. She is a petite woman so, they need to syle her accordingly instead of drowning her in an outfit. And yes, they really need to do something better with her hair. They have been giving her same hairstyle in every drama so, it's hard to differentiate between her roles. In RWTMR, her makeup and styling was so good. It really suited her face. They need to do something like that again.
Really excited for the show. I was waiting for more teaser but they are only releasing the posters😔. Please give us more teaser.
Looking forward to this pairing. The photos are cute but I wish they would give us another teaser.
Between this and her drama with Park Bo Gum and Oh Jung Se it feels like Kim So Hyun is finally going to have a good drama year.
Hi Sunny!! How are you? I am looking forward to her other dramas too...
@HL: Hello!👋 I hope you are doing well! Yes, her upcoming dramas are finally looking good. Her drama output as an adult sadly hasn't matched her ability. I think she has struggled to find a suitable agency since she left Sidus in 2017 which I think has impacted her career a bit. Her fans have been complaining about her current agency, Ileum Hashtag, but I think the fact that they can help get her a lead role in a drama with Park Bogum and Oh Jung Se and the director of 'Beyond Evil'/'The Good Bad Mother'/'At Eighteen' says something positive about the agency.
@Sunny, what project will she work with the director of Beyond Evil? I just finished Beyond Evil not long ago. It was one of the dramas I'd recommend to fans interested in crime/legal/mystery genre.
@Somebody: It's the upcoming drama "Good Boy" with Park Bo Gum. From the synopsis it sounds like that drama is going to be lighter than "Beyond Evil" though. I think it will be more in line with the director's more comedic dramas like "At Eighteen"
Beyond Evil was such a great drama. It certainly deserved all the accolades. Have you watched "Flower of Evil"?
@Sunny, I am watching My Name Is Gabriel with Park Go Gum.. Love him in that variety show. Looking forward to his coming drama.
@Sunny, aw that's interesting. Good director and solid cast with PBG. I have watched Flower of Evil. These two "evil" dramas are among my favorite. LOL. These crime/suspension dramas have qualities that C dramas are still not on par with and should look up to. So far, I found C dramas in these genres still pretty weak.
@HL: The premise of "My Name is Gabriel" is really interesting but I find the format of Korean variety shows with the commentators really annoying so I don't usually watch them. I'm looking forward to PBG's dramas. I can't believe it's been 4 years since he was last onscreen. It's impressive how he has maintained his popularity since then.
@Somebody: I was going to recommend "Flower of Evil" to you but you have already watched it haha! :D
I hope her agency didnt waste her momentum like they did after RWTMR and MLL :/
I know it not megahit drama, but if the agency is wise they should use it even just a bit momentum.
RWTMR got broadcast 4th in Japan, setting a Korea historical wave and they even got their own webtoon. She got many nominasi and award, but her agency make her lose that momentum :/
Even after they give her medioker script like MLL, that drama still make it no.1 in 141 country and even Studio Dragon it self said they got many profit from MLL sale overseas (CMIIW, the MLL staff even got holiday to japan). But once again her company waste it...
Sigh... Like i don't know what to do anymore with her agency.
I don't expect much with SE, since it her first drama that heal her from stress. I just hope the script was okay, well i believe in her and CJH acting.
But GB, i hope it big success :") so success even her agency cant stop her to shine.
Exactly. These days, you don't even have a TV ratings monster hit drama to be a popular actor/actress. You just need a memorable role, lots of online buzz, a good agency to do media play and get you lots of exposure, etc. Just look at Han So Hee, Song Kang, and Byun Woo Seok, all super popular without a TV ratings hit (okay, HSH had World of the Married, but point still stands IMO). It would've been even easier for KSH to be superstar-level because she also has a reputation as a great actress and she has the GP's goodwill. She doesn't need a huge TV ratings hit to be extremely popular, just a good agency that's actually interested in promoting her. But Ieum is so bad at star-making that I'm not expecting anything anymore. Even if Good Boy becomes a hit, I doubt they will suddenly start promoting her a lot. Sadly.
So yes, unless she changes agency, I'm not expecting much at this point, which makes me sad as a KSH fan
agreed. i mean, yes i know people on this blog cringe at media play, but let's be honest, it's a very useful tool to elevate actors and actresses. you mentioned han so hee, which makes me remember her agency's media play during nevertheless days. nevertheless was a huge flop ratings-wise, but han so hee's agency still managed to make publications write about how han so hee's role in nevertheless cemented her leading lady status, that the low ratings aren't her fault, that she's charismatic on screen, etc. and articles highlighting her buzz-worthiness. that's actually quite genius. and indeed, han so hee has managed to become a very popular actress even after nevertheless and it's only her scandal that made her a little bit less popular. proof that having a good agency is everything if you want to become a superstar. hopefully, KSH leaves ieum soon and find one that's actually competent. let's be real, if it was another actress from another agency who was the leading lady in love alarm, she would've had a luxury brand ambassadorship by now
@heejin I think the same too about LA, even if many people said bad thing about LA that drama still hug hit and popular world wide 🤣 they have their own market (like teenage, who today became SK main force).
If her agency are insane they should do media play about SunJoo shipper 🙄 like she do with Sungjae after School15, so even if they didnt ended up together, she will not get hate that much.
@🤦🤦🤦 Sohyun definitely need media play so all her momentum she gain will not vanish without giving her any benefit 😭 gahhh... I hate all her agency so much 🤧
Like all of them waste her, when she is one of actress who got full package. Good acting, pretty, good image, etc
Agree HSH is an example of successful mediaplay. She is a third rate actress and doesn't have any hit projects but she does have visuals so her agency mediaplayed the hell out of her as if she is a top S-List actress and it worked to make her popular. The World of the Married wasn't a success because of her but HSH was successful because of it. That drama would have hit just as big whomever they cast in the role of the husband's mistress. The drama's success was all about vengeful Kim Hee Ae, the outrageous plot and the fact that the world went into lockdown just as the drama aired. It was also remake of a huge hit BBC drama and JTBC knew it was going to be a hit. HSH's agency seized that moment to take advantage of the exposure and have worked overtime to push her PR even with the failure of all of her projects since.
Regarding Love Alarm: KSH was at Culture Depot at that time and it seems there were internal issues because she and other clients left the next year. I wonder if that's why they didn't take better advantage of LA's popularity? Really only Song Kang seemed to benefit much from Love Alarm's popularity because of his agency's hard work. Poor Jung Garam didn't benefit much from Love Alarm either
@Sunny I think So Hyun was still under E&T Story during her Love Alarm days? If I recall correctly, she transferred to CD around 2021. I remember many fans were complaining about E&T Story's management of So Hyun. But looking back now, that little agency did better in promoting her than CD and Ieum combined. Plus she looked great in her E&T Story days, her styling was youthful and pretty as it should be. I think her falling off the radar as a trendy actress really started when she transferred to CD. Sad because I remember fans were expecting a lot when the news that she's transferring there first came out, given that CD had Jun Ji Hyun and star writer PJE.
@Redvelevet: I'm going by Wiki here but her agencies since leaving Sidus in 2017 were:
E&T Story Entertainment - Dec 2017-Jan 2021
Culture Depot - Jan 2021 - Aug 2022
Ieum Hashtag - Aug 2022-present
The first season of LA came out in Aug 2019 when she was with E&T but the second season came out in 2021 when she was with CD. Yeah, the move to Culture Depot was when things started to go downhill and she started to become kind of irrelevant. Aside from the lacking roles, she doesn't have hosting gigs anymore, rarely attends events, styling is lacking, gradually lost all her domestic CFs and endorsement. The only endorsement she has now is the APAC ambassador for Belotero which is so random to me as that product is for injectable fillers and So Hyun is-or appears to be anyway-a natural beauty. Culture Depot do seem to be trying to build up a relationship with So Hyun and Chanel Korea. She has done some editorial ads and attended Chanel events in Korea but Chanel haven't given her any official role
@Rasq and @expensivegirl agree with you both. I think she is going on a right direction now since good boy is not a romance drama (that's what I heard). Even I am also very disappointed with her recent style. Most of them have been miss. Her present agency did one good thing by getting her Good Boy with senior actors but they are really failing with the promotions. They have ig but they are not even promoting her properly. I have seen other actor's agency have their own youtube channel and they do everything to promote their artists. I am also quite confused why she has stopped doing movies.
We hardly see her when she is not doing any dramas. Most of her projects have been miss for me so, I hope this one and her next will be good. Also, I have noticed that she has lost a lot of weight recently. I hope this drama and good boy put her in the radar of a popular actors again. I hope good boy manage to showcase her talent properly cause I see many people underming her talent recently.
It’s maddening to see people criticising her acting and all of it comes from the international side since Koreans still love her acting the most out of her peers. It’s ridiculous how she’s saddled with roles that don’t do her justice and keeps carrying rookie actors and idols who can barely act. KSH plays off the energy she receives from her co-star so the acting ability of her male leads makes a huge difference to what she brings to the project. She hates overshadowing her co-stars so she never experiments to her full potential because she wants to see the others shine instead. She herself has said this repeatedly that it’s not nice when only one person stands out because it makes the production unbalanced. She would rather be the wallflower that goes unnoticed if it means the other can shine instead. Even though Good Boy will focus entirely on the male lead hopefully it will give KSH the canvas she needs to be noticed. Though am sure she would rather stay in the background instead. What she needs instead is media play something her agency refused to give her. No media play and no fan meetings and no cfs. It’s a sad reality.
yeah i hate all the comments i'm seeing in social media sites like, “omg, another high school student role?”. like, are these fools forgetting that in her last three dramas, she didn't even play a high school student? it's like these people have selective memory or something. her last high school role was in 2019, for f*ck's sake! and yes, hate how international audience are always downplaying her acting skills. uhm, this is the youngest baeksang best actress nominee y'all are talking about, so sit down. ugh. i swear, this whole thing happened after love alarm season 2. many of these immature song kang fangirls started hating her because they think her character should've chosen song kang's character, which is just annoying. can't these people separate the character from the actress? ugh. i mentioned that because i feel like apart from fans of you-know-who, i barely saw any hate from international audience prior to love alarm season 2. after love alarm season 2 happened , that's when i noticed an uptick of international audience hating her and downplaying her acting. wish there wasn't a season 2, tbh
@heejin Honestly, as a long time fan of Sohyun, those comments do hurt but I also have to accept that Sohyun doesn't really have a
good script sense. There are some actors who have good script sense so, even if they are not a good actor, good writing help with their acting whereas Sohyun has a opposite problem. I have seen many good actors suffering because of bad script sense. Sohyun also need to choose a better drama. I really hope both of her drama this year is good. She also needs to choose a different role which she hasn't done before and completely different from her personality, only then those perception about her would change.
I am happy that Good boy won't have much romance because that is what is needed for her right now. Otherwise most of the audience are fighting for which ML is better.
@Jimmy We have to admit that Kim SoHyun is also not being offered good scripts because she’s not considered trendy enough to bring in ratings or investment. Don’t expect too much from Serendipity’s Embrace because it’s a cliche romance drama. Which is not a bad thing but it’s something she’s done before many times so it won’t be a new challenge for her. However Good Boy will be a big challenge for her but fans should be prepared that she might not have more than 10-15 mins of screen time per episode because she’s not the main focus of the plot. Still it would be better for Kim SoHyun to take these less screentime roles which are more diverse than doing the same romance dramas over and over. She’ll meet better actors , writers and directors as long as she isn’t the main star and doesn’t have to bring in the investment. Once she climbs to a higher status by piggybacking off these veteran actors , writers and directors she will be ready to lead her own dramas with complex characters like Kim TaeRi does. Right now she’s not ready and she needs to step back from top billed only roles and instead focus on the writer and director she’s working with. Quality of script matters more than anything else. If she can do that then she’ll have a strong career and can never be pushed aside.
@tannei: Agree. I think she needs an explosive supporting role in a top director/writer's drama or film like Shin Ye Eun in "The Glory" to remind people who she is and the acting she is capable of. A few years ago Shin Ye Eun was sobbing onscreen because her dramas kept failing and her drama offers were drying up. She took the supporting role in "the Glory" and it has turned things around for her.
Happy to announce that the drama will be available on Disney+ Japan. Unfortunately for the rest it’ll be on Viki. Maybe this drama will help KSH regain her popularity in Japan and we can we blessed with content of the two leads. It’s impossible for this drama to have more than 2% ratings because of the time slot and genre but it deserves to have popularity on an international level and with the 20-49 index. Both actors are accomplished and their chemistry is radiating from the teasers and posters.
It looks cute and fun, perfect for the summer.
I'm really excited to watch her in her next drama, the last being pretty disapointed (bad writing and bad ML).
I love her hairstyle in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_0DxL4xdI0
Lol why does she have better hairstyle here compared to when she's in the red carpet 😭
I agree, she looks so pretty with that hairstyle. It's been a long time since I've seen her try something other than full bangs + hair down and I like it
because ieum hashtag stylists and makeup artists are S*CKS. but since she still wants to stick in that sh*t agency, just let her be. coz no matter how many times the fans protest, she and the agency won't care. so it's better to be casual fans instead of die hard fans. u won't be disappointed with her decisions. so it's understandable she got less popular and less fans now.
Ditto about her hairstyle. I hope her character in Good Boy won't solely stick to Dora-like full fringe throughout the show but instead also experiment with side bangs or no bangs. Never seen her yet in a bangless short-haired role.
Speaking of the video you've shared, I've always pictured the 30s Kim So Hyun in a role like Penthouse's Cheon Seo Jin so it's interesting that the said character was mentioned when she and Chae Yeon were talking about her dream role. Maybe she's hinting about returning to her roots (playing a villain) one of these years.
I also hope she changes her hairstyle. Look like for this drama, she is gonna have the same hairstyle as My lovely liar. I want to see her without bangs too just lime love alarm. They can style her hair differently instead of giving same style everytime. It can also help thr character and can make the difference.