Kim Ha Neul’s Recent Interview About the Lack of Scripts Offered Confirms the Third Year of Continued Drop in K-dramas Being Produced

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• Maannnnn, they're in the C-ent slump. Their stories have been WEAK and their tropes overdone. K-dramas better re-invent because talent is NOT up enough to redo overdone stories.

• The Kdrama industry is contracting in on itself. I would be interested to know what the figures were for productions pre-streaming boom. I think part of the problem is the huge overspending and overproduction that came with the streaming boom from about 2020 onwards. There are still many drams awaiting airing and no income coming in.

  K-drama fans should be grateful if their fave Korean actor have work because there are no guarantees with even for the top actors and actresses struggling.

  • Agree with you

• I feel we are overexposed with all kinds of entertainment now in life. nothing feels original anymore. It all depends on execution and story telling that personally interest you to enjoy but not what the masses are saying duo sometimes plays a part. Korean actually do well in bringing unique storyline from time to time.

• I haven't finished one kdrama in a long while tbh. The over the top shallowness (this is not a criticism) in many of the kdrama scenes, overused stories and recycled genre just give me a massive headache each time I attempt to watch one. I can even spot the bad ones so as easy now lol. I am now turning into quality Chinese dramas to feed my drama needs. Even their awards season now produce extremely boring results. 😴 They need to re invent fast or they'll lose their prominence. Other asian countries are catching up. The ultra heavy plastic surgery of actors are a turn off too. They were just too dang obvious nowadays.

• She's old... Of course the scripts are lacking,younger actors are more bankable,value for money.

  • Sad. Just look at Han Chae-young, who broke out as Chun-hyang in 2005 and was popular enough to attempt Hollywood and have a career in China in 2010.

    Now, at 44 years old, she is playing the 54-year-old evil stepmother (and second female lead's mother) in KBS2's 100-episode daily soap opera Scandal. More actresses will have to take on their first daily soap opera roles, even though that space is shrinking too.

    • Its a cycle and bound to happen to most actresses. Unless they TaeJiHye level popularity, beauty and adoration its hard to survive. Even Kim Sunah is out of work for the last 2 years and even before that she has been doing makjang dramas for sometime now. Kim Heesun will also soon head that way but she has very youthful looks so she is still surviving for now but majority of her recent dramas have tanked. SYJ is another exception for obvious reasons but post 40 roles do dry up and even GHJ has only done 1 drama after When Camellia Blooms which is a long break even by her standards. On the other hand Kim Hyunjoo is booked for drama after drama with Netflix even though she was never that popular during her younger days and most of her tv dramas weren't hallyu hits either. Its also about networking and lobbying. If they build the right bridges they'll forever stay in demand even in their 50s or 60s. Most people have been saying that 20s actors hardly have dramas to lead on their own unless its opposite older stars in their 30s or 40s. Most male leads in their 20s are gravitating towards noona romances and most female leads in their 20s are child actors riding the nostalgia of their glory days. HSH and GYJ are the few exceptions but they are 30 or soon to be 30 and GYJ has yet to properly lead her own drama. The ones she has filmed haven't released yet so her big breakout as a lead may not even happen till 2025-26 by which time she will be 30. If you ask me its the 30s-40s that has the most visible celebs and star power right now. Not the 20s like most assume.

• I've only watched a few Korean dramas these past 2-3 years. It feels like Hallyu is over.

  • K-pop is more happening now than Korean dramas. Still there has been a hit or two but it has been very slow. But streaming dramas is definitely doing better than most. Popularity does run cold though. And older actors had their era and might have to settle for second fiddle roles instead of main main roles which can be hard to transition into but it might happen or join ensemble cast and share the limelight with others.

    • Another thing is that dramas have gotten much shorter now but the filming time has increased. Big projects like Squid Game, Ask the Stars, Tangerine or Gyeonsang Creature take up to a year to film. Both actors and film crew are therefore occupied for that long duration of time and won’t be able to commit to other projects. The cost of production has gone up from 10-20 billion for big budget dramas to 50-70 billion even though the episode count has actually reduced. Additionally Netflix plays faves and isolates many actors while focusing on only their few actors who are the same faces getting cast over and over again for their originals. The inflated production costs also means there is only so much money to go around and not everyone can have their own dramas. People like Kim Handel should give up wanting their own lead dramas and move on to supporting roles in big budget dramas lead by more bankable and popular actors. It’s also the greed of older actors to be the stars of their own show when only a handful still have the star factor and skills. Top billing isn’t going to come for actors like her anymore they need to accept that. It’s better to do a Moving than a Red Swan.

• Agree with the other commenter that K-pop is dominating more so that K-dramas. Do we have to go back to idol dramas to make kdramas more popular again? Personally I loved that time - Boys Over Flowers, To The Beautiful You, You’re Beautiful, Heartstrings - just to name a few!

  • Maybe it’s because Kpop is more trendy fewer idols are going into acting at the peak of their group careers. In the olden days people like Karina and Jang Wonyoung would have already been leading their own dramas. The current 4th and 5th gen idols are focusing more on music than acting probably because world tours are more the norm these days which earn more money than acting. The current brand of popular idol actors are all from the 3rd gen. It’s also true that Cha Eunwoo, Suzy and Yoona are more popular than their actor counterparts. I’ll even say IU is an idol in many ways. Barring maybe Byeon Wooseok recently actors rarely achieve the kind of popularity idols do these days. The older Hallyu actors like Lee Minho and Kim Soohyun obviously still have their influence and popularity but the late 20s and early 30s are largely dominated by idols from 2nd and 3rd gen. Which is probably why there is drought for super popular actors in the 20s since idols are not going into acting. Netflix would go crazy for idols like Wonyoung, Minji, Wonbin and Karina. I’m sure even Sung Hanbin will be flooded with acting offers once ZB1 activities end.

    • kpop idols now get brand deals etc without having to go into acting and it's no longer a necessary step for them to make money if they're popular enough to have world tours....but they're mostly as disposable as ever and unless they are BTS or Black Pink level, they will inevitably be replaced by newer/younger groups in the public eye within 5-7 years. If they have a fanbase, they can continue touring and make money that way, but otherwise they'll just go into variety or acting as usual.
      That said, I don't know what counts as 3rd gen idol but what I have noticed in the actor side is that there is a serious deficiency of star power+talent among the male actors in their 20s (people who have one of those inevitably lack the other), there have been no breakout male stars after Park Bogum and that was 8 years ago. Lee Do Hyun is the one who's come closest and he's in the military right now. Oddly this is not an issue among female actors, just male ones. Compare the scene right now to 10 years ago when the top/rising male stars in their 20s were Kim Soohyun, Lee Minho, Song Joongki, Yoo Ah In, Lee Jongseok, Kim Woobin, Kang Haneul etc....do they even have any 2020s equivalents, idol-actor or not? Netflix pushed Song Kang a lot but even leaving out the issue of his poor acting skills, he's never had a hit drama with his name as main lead so he's basically disposable too (they also favour Go Minsi but she brought stronger results from her dramas as main lead).

      Also no female idol is really the most popular among actresses in the 20s right now, even among those in the early 30s I don't think Yoona or Suzy can be considered more popular as actresses than say, Park Shin Hye or Kim Go Eun. For starters Kim Go Eun can actually sell movie tickets (a rarity in that age group and especially for women) and PSH despite her marriage/baby hiatus has a long track record of successful dramas including ones basically carried by her. I think Kim Haneul's issue isn't just the reduced number of dramas in production, it's her own age (offers drop for those in their late 40s) and lack of recent hits projects. Like others have said, it would be more relevant to see what kdrama production numbers were before 2020 and the streaming boom.

    • @Royal Wee
      Lee Jae Wook, Yeo Jin Goo, Choi Hyun Wook.
      I don't know if it counts or not, but I think actor Lee Won Jung have good skills, and can have that star power, as he got popularity on second lead roles. Not sure about numbers, but I think to have 1 million followers on insta after low drama like Hierarchy is pretty good. Now I wait when he will get main lead role.
      Are supporting actors count or not? Because some of 20s actors doesn't have main roles yet. Most of them. If yes, I think actor Yoo In Soo suits too. He playing second lead roles, but his characters are remarkable, and many people remembering them.
      Anyway, I think these 2 actors already have that star power by themselves, as they can play remarkable characters decently in whatever offered to them.

    • @Olesya compare the actors I mentioned when they were at the same age that Lee Jaewook/Yeo Jin Goo/Choi Hyun Wook currently are and I think what I mean will become clear.

      I'm not saying the younger actors are not talented or can't be successful in the future, they just have not broken out or shown the star power to carry a drama or even have a hit drama the way a young Lee Minho, Kim Soohyun or Park Bogum did by age 22-23. Like, everyone can immediately tell you the name of the older actors' characters in at least two of their hit dramas even now, who's going to forget Do Minjoon? Even on the women's side, playing a supporting character doesn't stop an actor from being memorable, I remember during Queen of Tears all the comments about Kim Jiwon kept mentioning Yoo Rachel. But can we even say that about those 20s male actors who are active now? Either in lead or supporting role? Yeo Jin Goo maybe, but that's from his child days in Moon/Sun.

  • To be honest has idol kdrama even done well? I mean aside from the horrible storyline, any idol kdrama these years all have low rating even with addition from popular kpop group (well they weren’t the most popular tho) The heavenly idol, idol the coup, imitation, let me be your knight, liar and his lover. I remember they all got hit the curb rating

    • @Yuhyi yeah dramas with idols in lead roles seem to only do well if the idol is kinda retired from their group, like Lee Junho or Yoona. IU is the only one who's both putting out music and having successful acting projects at the same time but she's not really an 'idol' she's more of a solo artist like Lee Seung Gi

    • Yoona case is that snsd itself and herself was a sensation from the start. Notice how other snsd members don’t have as much star powers. Junho too, I don’t think he was touted as top idol actor before red sleeve. In the end their idol career is just a factor but they became famous cause of themselves

• I doubt it's related to amount of produced dramas, as Park Bo Young have 3 future dramas ahead, Kim Go Eun constantly filming in dramas and movies. Well, maybe it's because of their agency BH, maybe because of themselves, or maybe they filming without a rest in as much projects as they can right now, assuming they can face the same slump in the future.
  I didn't watch Kim Ha Neul's dramas, so don't know much about her except being veteran actress. Looking at her filmography it seems she didn't have any hype drama after A Gentleman's Dignity 12 years ago.
  So I dare to say, one of the reasons her lack of script offers can be due to weak profit from her dramas. Not like it's her fault, or her acting is bad, but if actors don't have k-pop popularity hype, they need to have good ratings, awards, connections or something like that.
  I read some article about producers looking at amount of followers on social media of actors before offer to them scripts. If not that, when they need very strong career as Lee Bo Young or Kim Hee Soo. Or strong agency. This is really lame, but this is reality.
  Some actors starting to produce their own dramas and movies to be safe.
  As Lee Min Ho producing a movie he filming into, Song Joong Ki's agency produced Reborn Rich and now My Youth. So, no matter of amount of offers, they can be safe by buying scripts and producing their projects.
  It's funny for me to read about k-pop dominating over k-dramas, as many k-pop fans now complaining about lack of good songs and performances comparing to 10 years ago, and that many nowadays k-pop fans obsessed with numbers.

  • like @Sunny said above, it's worth asking what number of dramas was being produced in 2019 before the streaming boom and to compare to that. Netflix increased their budget for Korean-language shows by 3x after Squid Game but it doesn't mean every drama will have Squid Game level success now we are no longer in lockdown, if anything their strongest performing Korean drama this year was Queen of Tears which is a classic kdrama in style, not the 'edgy' new age kind like Kingdom or Squid Game etc. Same for KHN, like you pointed out her hit dramas were from the early 2010s and it's not surprising if work dried up a bit since then because showbiz is not kind to actresses over 40 who don't have a massive pile of hits backing them up. But I have noticed several supporting-level actors not having done any acting projects for a couple of years, even ones in their early 30s, it seems to be a reflection of popularity as well as the low prospects in their market.

    • Oh, yeah, I kinda forgot many filmed dramas still didn't air.
      Netflix increased budget, but their choices in dramas confusing me. Hierarchy was a disaster, A Killer Paradox was good in first episodes, but didn't left much impression at the end. Chicken Nugget, well, this drama not for everyone.
      I didn't watch Sweet Home 3 and Gyeonsong Creature 2, but saw many comments complaining about weak plot.
      NF started korean wave and had successful dramas in it - Hellbound, All of us are dead, Duty after scholl and The Glory. After that their dramas started to get attention and criticism at the same time. They somehow failed to maintain their success.
      It seems for the next year NF review their tactic as they producing Gong Yoo/Song Hye Kyo/Hanee Lee, GY/SHJ, SZ/KWB, IU/PBG dramas with big writers/directors without thriller or dark genre. I'm wondering if it'll work, and these dramas will repeat QOT success.

      About supporting actors, YES!!! Just where is Kim Seul Gi? To keep her on support cast already a crime, but she didn't even film in any drama for last 2 years. People saying she's busy with theatre, I hope she'll come back.
      Not support cast but main lead Seo Ji Hye didn't film in anything for 2 years either, except cameo role in LND, and I'm waiting her comeback.

• It’s not like they were doing any better before Netflix/Disney/Hulu. They were on a downward trajectory. KHN’s time has come. Even Rain couldn’t get roles anymore along with other top kactors. That being said, the newer actors are doing 4-5 projects a year (including guests starting, reality shows, going on fanmeet). The true reality is all industry r suffering. American actors r also in the same case. How about release them shelved projects?

• I think they really are slowing down a bit, but at the same time, unfortunate as it is, showbiz is never kind to actresses over 40 and actors over 50. Most shows are about young people, and even in those where the age of the main characters is not relevant, producers still cast younger actors. It is sad, but actresses over 40 usually have to transition to mother roles to the main character, and of course if you are an actress that is used to be main lead, well, it's a tough thing to accept. This is why, exhausting as it is, I totally get why C-actors (idols) do one project right after the other, and on top cf, brand events, variety shows etc. The logic is grab as much money as you can while you can, and I can respect that. Life gets complicated even for talented main leads as they age, imagine for the talentless ones!