Park Bo Gum and Kim So Hyun Transform Their Olympic Athleticism into Policing in New Look at jTBC Drama Good Boy
I know that When Life Gives You Tangerines is the prestige drama with Park Bo Gum as the lead but I’m looking forward more to his other drama Good Boy on jTBC. There are two new stills and also a network promos of a few of its upcoming dramas that include clips from Good Boy and it’s giving strong physical energy from all the leads who play various Olympic athletes who transition to becoming police officers. The script is from the writer of Bring it On, Ghost and Life on Mars with the PD of The Good Bad Mother and Beyond Evil directing.
Teaser for Good Boy:
Shim Na Yeon PD comeback! Easily the best director in Kdramaland! Super excited for this cast, writer and director combination. It might be a long time before we experience such a talented team again! The 10 min long preview was intense and funny at the same time! The chemistry was chemistrying! May come soon!
I watched the 10min preview and there was hardly any scenes of Sohyun. She is 2nd billed among the cast but all other male actors had more screen time in the trailer and she again seems to be in a love triangle. I hope they don’t stretch it too long and Sohyun also has a good character development rather than just a love interest of ML.
I haven’t been able to enjoy Sohyun’s drama for a long time. Also, I know many fans have been waiting for the Bo Gum and So Hyun drama so, I hope this won’t be disappointing. I really hope So hyun will be able to breakout through this drama. Her last break out role was probably School 2015 but she was still a teen then. Btw, is this coming on March?
Going in everyone already knew that this was going to be a male lead focused drama only. It’s already compliment enough that a great production like this even chose her for such a big budget and high profile project. They could have gone for a more rookie or trending actress. Let’s be honest no high profile writer or director has worked with her since 2016. Being the cool girl love interest to the golden retriever male lead is good enough for SoHyun to at least remind the public she exists. The girl barely trends and South Korean netizens never obsess over her looks like they do for her contemporaries so the only things she can sell is her acting career which also hasn’t taken shape properly. Currently she is at best a mid actor with mid projects and even her follower count on Instagram constantly keeps falling and her engagement is low and her endorsements are bare minimum. After leaving Sidus her career declined and is on the verge of disappearing. She should stick to high profile male lead dramas like this to reinvent herself and get back in the public eye. Once she gains enough acclaim again she can go back to dramas that focus on her and hopefully they won’t be romance dramas. For now this is good enough and it’s an action drama so it’s something different. You need re look at her as a rising rookie actress and not a veteran former child actor because her career is not at the prestige level it was in 2016. It’s been 10 years since she was truly popular. Even this is a big leap for her and thankfully she won’t have to worry about ratings for once because Park Bogum exists to do that. He’s extremely popular and beloved by the general public and after his new drama this week his popularity will hit new highs.
Park Bo Gum’s drama may have huge ratings but they are extremely unmemorable. His last drama which was very popular was in 2016 LITM so, I don’t think only having him is going to work for this drama. Also, he seems to be getting typecasted in a good boy role. I know that he is more popular than KSH in Korea but he also has been a part of mid dramas recently and not trending so, this has to work for him too, not just in terms of rating but also in terms of his character.
@Jimmy PBG might have some mid dramas but never have been not popular. Also you are forgetting this drama has OJS who will easily overshadow KSH but PBG and him will be the two dramatic performances without a doubt. You also seem to forget that Tangerines comes out on Friday and is highly likely to earn him a Baeksang nominationand the awards show which will air just days before Good Boy and he will be the MC and carry over the hype to his new drama. Say whatever you want but its pointless to discredit PBG because even typecast he is more popular than her and I say this as a long time KSH fan.
@quira: Damn lol! This was a harsh but very fair and accurate critique of the state of Sohyun’s career at this point in time. Hopefully this drama can turn things around for her stagnant career.
Btw, I am surprised to see the actor from Squid Game. He looked like a compltely different person in the trailer lol. He was so scary in SG. He seems to be playing a comedy role here. His whole body language seems different.
The effort some people put into shading sohyun is actually insane. They write these long “critical” essays pretending to analyze her career, but let’s be rea. They’re just finding new ways to downplay her. If she’s so “irrelevant,” why are they working overtime to convince everyone?
They act like she hasn’t done anything in years, ignoring the fact that she’s still out here working. Instead of acknowledging that, they obsess over social media numbers and make it seem like being in a male-led drama is some kind of pity offer. if she wasn’t talented and relevant, she wouldn’t still be getting cast lol.
Yeah, she’s slowing down her career, but that doesn’t mean she’s disappearing. She’s moving at her own lane and pace. At this point, it’s not even critique. It’s a full-time job for them. Funniest part? she keeps doing her thing while they sit here writing think pieces, hoping people buy into their forced narrative. But sure, let me also write a whole essay just to give you the same energy. Stay mad i guess.
My previous comments didn’t post so I will try again. How long will yo lie to yourself that her career isn’t slow and stagnant when her peers are running far ahead of her. Fans like you are the reason her agency continue to mistreat her and she keeps picking bad agencies and bad scripts. Yes she has been working for the last 10 years only in bad projects. None of them have been hits and all of them have failed to help her career but have boosted the male leads popularity. Yes this male centric drama has clearly been earned through good networking but its not a like that dramas like Revenant and Anna or even When Life Gives You Tangerines are never offered to her. Not even big IP female lead dramas like Dear X and Delusion have come her way. Fans were praying all over twitter for her to get those dramas but neither went to her because she doesn’t have the popularity to carry those big IP dramas. Her last 2 dramas were low budget flops for the most part. Many people have left her fandom because it stagnated and there has been no growth. In a industry where trends move fast a slow career means one day she will be back in second lead roles. She still doesn’t have a next drama attached after Good Boy when most popular and relevant stars have 2 or more projects attached to them even while filming a current one. This is a problem and we have acknowledge that even if her screentime is shot which it definitely will be its better than being top billing in a low budget romance drama with unknowns.
I hate to admit it but I agree with you. I used to follow her religiously but now I am not crazy anymore because of her selecting mid dramas. Her last drama that I really enjoyed in terms of her acting is Page turner and in terms of chemistry would be TTON. After that, I haven’t really enjoyed her chemistry with ML that much. I also am not able to feel her chemistry with ML recently so, maybe she should not choose romance dramas for some time.
I did like her with Song Kang but that drama give me so much trauma just because of how much she was hated for her character. Also, I had a huge expectation from RWTMR and it sounded really good on paper too but somehow the execution was not that good and it ended up being unmemorable.
I also think she is being typecasted. She needs to a role which is completely different than her real life. She is an introvert in real life and I think that comes up when she is playing a character so, she needs to completely let go of her real personality when she playing the role. I have been her fan for a long time so, it is quite hard to see her career going nowhere.
Exactly.
The shading here is so pathetic it’s hilarious to me. KSH is one of the few actresses in her age group who has been nominated for Baeksang Best Actress and this was just a couple of years ago. She’s not in any star writer’s drama but who exactly amongst her “compatriot” is? She works hard, and has some very good projects in the past year as much as she had bad ones. Nokdu, Love Alarm to name a couple. Being extremely popular and beloved by the public means nothing in terms of successful dramas and ratings. GHJ is a living proof of that not 2 weeks ago.
And also, a drama can only succeed based on its merits and no trendy actor has ever been able to save a shit drama. Not Lee Jung-jae, not Kim Soo-hyun, not Kim Tae-ri, not Jun Ji-hyun. Whether Good Boy succeeds or not is based on the ability of the PD, Writers and actors alike, and not solely based on some male lead’s popularity.
KTR, KSH have not had a single flop drama and the flop JJH drama still had double digit ratings and buzz. GHJ has one flop drama in her whole career and none in her 20s. You can’t call facts as shading. GYJ and KYJ are both working with star directors and writers and NJU has a Kang Full drama which is extremely popular and let’s not forget MGY who has made even low budget romcoms a hit and is a global brand ambassador for DG and TUMI. Where exactly does KSH stand in front of them? Does she even come close to their success? All her peers are raking in endorsements and dramas aplenty but KSH has fallen off the grid and now that she finally has a real big budget drama her fake fans are cribbing about screen time. Just be glad she has this opportunity because it’s a huge deal to act with this actor and crew lineup. PBG as the male lead is always something to celebrate for anyone who is in a drama with him. This is a huge opportunity for her and it’s no shade to say her career is struggling at best. I’m extremely excited for this drama while also agreeing with the comments above. We’ve waited years for her to have this opportunity. Don’t start a fan war over facts.
She works had without a doubt. Nobody says otherwise but being trendy is more important than being hardworking. If any of her dramas had been a hit or broken records like Lovely Runner and True Beauty at the min this wouldn’t even be a conversation. She works hard but has nothing to show for it. One best actress nomination in which none of the judges voted for her performance in the final winner selection isn’t anything to celebrate. Lets hope that one nomination doesn’t become her only nomination of her entire career. Maybe we will have to wait till she is 40 for her to finally break out.
@Roses fanwar? Get over yourself. Everyone here is talking as calmly and as maturely as I’ve seen in this blog and that is a huge deal. PBG fans have been shading KSH article after article and you don’t see a single fan war breakout because her fans are clearly very mature.
Here’s a fact for you, PBG has not had a single hit in well over half a decade. His last movie is a humongous flop and his last drama is absolutely forgettable. His variety show is just as big of a flop and this drama is as essential to him as it is to KSH. Tangerine has IU first billed for a reason.
As for his fans claiming he will get a Baeksang nomination for a drama we haven’t seen a minute of is interesting. Nice globe of future prediction you got there when he hasn’t been nominated in again – well over half a decade. It’s even more interesting to then shade KSH’s nomination which happened just a couple of years ago because… she didn’t get a single vote? Wtaf? L O L. SJK didn’t get a single vote when he was nominated for Vincenzo too. Neither did RSR for Moving. Guess both these actors fan shouldn’t be celebrating those specific nominations.
@Wtf you all are already fighting over screen time when the drama hasn’t even aired demanding that KSH is too big for secondary roles or just to be a love interest when that isn’t true. She is not popular enough to not play second fiddle to PBG and that is a fact. Even without a single hit drama in almost a decade he appears in Gallup every year while KSH has never entered that list. You want to believe KSH is relevant just because she has one measly drama offer a year then your standards are very low. Both the dramas Bogum just filmed were offered to him even before he enlisted and basically they waited 2 -3 years before making the official casting announcement because they were waiting for his discharge. He is GBA for Celine and has many more endorsements than KSH. Why exactly does he need this more than her when he gets paid as much as big stars like SJK and LMH. His popularity is unshakeable we all know that which is why everyone was happy to finally have KSH cast opposite a big name star who is more popular than her.
@millies Point me to one comment saying that KSH is too big to play second fiddle to PBG? THERE’S LITERALLY NO COMMENT LIKE THAT lmao. That one comment about screentime was from Kiwi, and she simply said that for someone who has second billing, KSH seems to have very little screentime in the teaser. Kiwi didn’t even say that KSH should have more screentime than PBG, she just said that she wishes that KSH will have more screentime than the male supporting actors who are supposedly lower than her in billing.
Also, everyone knows that PBG is more popular in Korea than KSH, even us KSH fans know that and we never denied that. Wishing for more screentime for KSH doesn’t mean we think she deserves more screentime than the main star of the show, PBG.
Please learn to read before getting outraged lol
Given the combo of the writer, the PD, and the leads, my expectation of Good Boy is somehow elevated. PD’s Beyond Evil is one of my favorite dramas. PBG’s last drama before enlisting wasn’t a huge hit but his performance did impress me and turned me into his fan. I already like KSH and watched her dramas as much as I could. I enjoyed her little sweet rom com Serendipity’s Embrace that was an easy watch with pretty good chemistry between the two young lovers. Good Boy also reminded me to check out Life on Mars that some fans recommended. After When the Stars Gossip, I’m in the right mood to watch my favorite genres again. Rom coms just made me doze most of the time LMAO.
@af everything you said is on point. I mean they always bring about KSH’s past drama so clearly she’s getting offers to say she’s irrelevant. So Hyun must be living rent free in their head that they use formulated logic to shade her lol. Using words like “let’s be honest” is an overstatement. They cannot even be honest to come forward and hate transparently to save you some time lol.
smh why does every post about this drama here devolve into inane fanwars between the ML and FL?
like maybeee we can talk about the kickass preview of the drama that they just released that got positive attention both domestically and internationally? chill out ppl lmao
Because a lot of PBG fans get triggered when KSH fans express that we want more for KSH. A lot of PBG fans don’t have reading comprehension, as evidenced by their comments here, so when they see comments from KSH fans saying we wish KSH will have more screentime or have a fleshed out/well-written character, PBG fans think it’s an attack towards PBG or that KSH fans apparently think KSH is too good for PBG and should have more screentime than PBG, when LITERALLY NO ONE SAID THAT. Check out the other Good Boy posts on this site, PBG fans always inventing scenarios in which KSH fans apparently “downplay” their boy’s popularity or something lol.
For example, Jimmy said: “PBG hasn’t had a big hit in years either, so both KSH and PBG will actually benefit if this drama becomes a hit, not just KSH”
What PBG fans heard: “PBG is irrelevant and KSH is more popular than him”
What Kiwi said: “KSH seems to have very little screentime for someone who’s billed after the male lead. I wish she’ll have more screentime in the actual drama than the supporting actors who are supposedly billed below her.”
What PBG fans heard: “KSH deserves more screentime than PBG because she’s more popular than him
”
And there are many other instances like that on this site. I don’t know why PBG fans are always hellbent on misunderstanding KSH fans’ comments, to the point that they’ll write essays just to prove how popular their boy is. Nobody is even saying he’s not more popular than her lmao
@Ariana. Exactly! But I won’t generalise them to be PBG fans as I believe some of them to be full time sohyun’s hater coz to make a whole essay to shade her? That’s on another level of dedication. Only haters or fans did like that. You know what? Previously I said she’s SLOWING down her career, but that doesn’t mean she’s disappearing. She’s just moving at her own pace and lane. Yet some idi*ts twist my words, asking, “How long will you lie to yourself that her career ISN’T SLOW and stagnant when her peers are running far ahead of her?” Seriously, read what I actually said instead of inventing your own narrative.
And then there’s the constant whining about how “many people have left her fandom because it stagnated and there has been no growth” or claiming, “I used to follow her religiously but now I’m not crazy anymore because she selects mid dramas.” If you’re not a true fan, then why are you barking the loudest? Maybe focus on your real idols instead of obsessing over someone you only claim to “care” about when it suits you.
Thank god those so called fans left. Sohyun doesn’t need parasite fans who only adore her when she’s on top and disappear when things get tough. Instead of wasting time writing essays about her career, why not be a casual bystander and leave the real support to the genuine fans?
At the end of the day, she’s still here, still respected, and still working, while some people are busy belittling her with baseless critiques. That says it all.
@af Yeah, good point about the other comments probably coming from haters rather than PBG fans. KSH fans have nothing but respect towards PBG, that’s why we’re happy that they’re pairing up in the first place, so PBG fans don’t have any reason to be angry at KSH fans. We simply want our girl to have a well-written character that’s not just a plot device or a mere love interest for the interestingly written male characters to fight over. That’s all. That doesn’t mean we want her to overshadow PBG or anything like that. I’m sure reasonable and rational PBG fans understand that. You’re right, some comments here are probably the longtime KSH haters lurking on this site, waiting for any opportunity to bash and shade her. Longtime readers of this blog would know that there were intense fanwars that used to happen under every KSH article comment sections on this site. Wouldn’t surprise me that those bashers are back under the guise of being PBG fans or “former KSH fans” lol
You all saying this now but all know the minute the drama premieres and everyone realizes that KSH primary role is to be a love interest and romantic foil for the plot just like PSH was in Memories of Alhambra everyone here will be fighting like crazy and hating on the writers and directors when we already knew what KSH signed up for when she did this drama. The director already made it very clear in her first interview that this drama is about PBG only and all the characters revolve around him. Already you people are fighting on MDL and X and then claiming that KSH is being shaded when it’s obvious that her character will not be as complex as the male characters. This is the same writer as Chief of Staff and even SMA did not have much screen time or role in that drama. Male writers don’t write complex female characters and that is a fact. You will be disappointed when the drama airs and we are just warning you before hand not to hate on the other cast and crew because of it. KSH chose this knowing the script it’s her own fault if her character doesn’t shine.
If there’s a chance for a good actress to play in a promising drama, no matter male centric or not, it’s a possibility to celebrate it, not to be bitter about her past works or other projects.
What’s the point to remind her whole filmography and to be bitter about her career? People acting like KSH won’t have a chance to shine again, which isn’t true. Actress Park Ji Hyun got more offers after male centric Reborn rich. And even if KSH doesn’t have another promising drama offer right now, it doesn’t mean she won’t get it in the future.
Yes I agree. I mean, people on this site were also used to say that Kim Ji Won “has no X factor”, “has second female lead vibe”, that she’ll never be a huge star, and blah blah blah. And look at her now, she finally got a big breakout role in her 30s. K-ent and stardom are really unpredictable. The it girl/it boy of today may become irrelevant tomorrow. And the actors and actresses that people are downplaying now might get a surprise hit and become superstars tomorrow. So people shouldn’t speak so early lol
@Neue I don’t understand why you think I was discrediting PBG; I was just stating mu opinion and replying to the user above. I completely agree that Sohyun’s career is stagnant right now and her popularity can’t be compared to PBG’s. Also, I agree that Sohyun doesnt get high prodiction dramas like him. While his dramas have hugh ratings often, it’s important to note that a drama qith low ratings can be memorable, while a high-rating drama can be forgettable and his drama after 2016 falls under latter category.The drama that made the most noise for him was LITM in 2016, after that his dramas fauled to create such impact.
Additionally, I won’t give him all the credit for the high rating since his co-stars were Song Hye Kyo and Park So Dam, who gained attention after Parasite. I also haven’t forgotten the Tangerine drama but that drama hasn’t been released yet, so one cannot predict it’s fate. It can go either way. Having said that, I hope that Tangerine works for him, so that it will also helps “Good Boy”. Unfortunately, he is being typecasted in a “nice guy” role despite being capable of doing much more.
@Suzyyy
Yeah, for other examples actress Lee Haa Nee got her breakout role role at 37 yo, in a drama The Fiery Priest. After that she started to get offers to play in big dramas, and all of them were a hits. I doubt anyone said she has X factor before her breakout role.
No one could predict Byun Woo Seok would become so popular at 32 yo age thanks to one drama, when even tvN didn’t expect much from LR.
And people on this site also commented a lot about Kim So Hyun’s peer, actress Kim You Jung and her career, as she didn’t have good dramas for 6 years. But after romcom drama My demon, which people were very sceptical about and didn’t expect it to become OTT hit, now she filming in 2 interesting female centric dramas.
And there are a lot of examples like that, one drama can change everything.
exactly. byun woo seok is such a good example because dude had been playing small roles for years now, he’s already in his 30s, and nobody expected LR to be such a hit. just a couple of years ago, he’s just one of those nugu actors who people thought would forever be stuck in small roles but now he’s everywhere lol. people act like an actor’s career is over if they don’t get a huge hit in their 20s, which is just silly, especially when you consider the fact that the scripts that get offered to most young actors nowadays are dogsh*t lmao. there’s a reason why it’s rare for early 20s actors and actresses to break out now compared to early 20s actors and actresses from 10 or 20 years ago. people should just let actors and actresses move in their own pace. if they have what it takes, they WILL break out, even if it’s a bit later than their peers
@millies So me being a KSH fan can’t even simply express my dissatisfaction towards her low screen time in a 10 min trailer? She is a 2nd billed among the cast so, I was simply surprised to see that she had such a low screentime in the trailer. Nowhere did I or any other KSH’s fans have said that KSH shouldn’t be playing second fiddle to KSH lol. You might want to brush up your comprehension skills.
I am actually happy that she is in such high production drama after a long time with so many talented actors. This is her chance to shine so, I am just hoping that she has her own story instead of a token love interest.
@af I am KSH’s fan but I am not gonna be delusional here to think that her career has not been stagnant for a long time. I don’t think I have to prove to somebody that I am her fan, and not a hater in disguise. But again, just because I am a fan doesn’t mean I don’t have any right to express my negative thoughts,do I?
Her last drama came and went without any noise, same with her MLL drama. RWTMR managed to make a noise but for all the wrong reasons. It’s true that I haven’t been able to enjoy her dramas and I can’t fake my excitement. I will be happy if her role in Good Boy is actually of substance because that’s what I would like to see as a fan. I want to see her grow instead of being underused and typecasted in a drama. Is that too much to wish as a fan? I hope not.
If you’re this disappointed, maybe it’s time to stop being a fan and find another actress to support. The one who consistently delivers hit dramas. That way, you won’t have to deal with the ups and downs of an actress like sso, who like many others, has both hits and misses.
Fyi, your constant negativity only fuels the haters. At this point, you’re practically working with them, badmouthing her while claiming to be a fan. If you can’t handle the setbacks in her career, just move on and be a bystander instead of dragging her down. Just like those who left because of her career is stagnant. Do you think she can control it?
There’s nothing wrong with voicing negative opinions, but doing it repeatedly for years? That changes nothing. We all know how bad her agency is. Every true fan does. There’s no need to keep feeding the haters.
Aside from the KSH debate I am just hoping for something NEW from PBG. His latest drama with IU is getting good reviews but once again he is playing the goodest, greenest of flags, most devoted best boy. I just want to see something more edgy or a more flawed character from him and I am hoping it will be this drama.
As an aside I’m so tired of that contrived closed mouth wide eyed smile he does to all his leading ladies whilst they stare at him starry eyed and, of course, the first clip we get in the teaser with him and KSH is that!
I agree! I feel like people focus mostly on actresses when they’re giving criticisms about being typecast or playing the same roles over and over again. But so many male actors are typecast AF too. Would love to see PBG play something like his role in Hello Monster again.
And totally agree about that expression he always makes! As you said, it looks so contrived so it doesn’t make me melt or swoon lol. Actors like Jung Hae In, Park Hyung Sik, and Park Min Young, on the other hand, can convince me that their love interest in the drama is the reason for their existence, even without that contrived smile and just their eyes giving the “I’m genuinely so in love with you” look
hahaha
I love that you knew exactly what “look” I was talking about.
I read all the comments and critique here and all i can say is that KSH fans should also be open to constructive criticism. And should not be mad when confronted with Facts about her career and endorsements. Having critique to someone’s career is not tantamount to being hater. Well, sometimes truth hurts.
True. People who have been her fans for over a decade know very well how her career has declined while her peers are rising. Post 2017 there has been a huge downfall in her popularity and the majority of her dramas have done poorly or just mid. For someone who is 17 years into her career she hasn’t shown much growth especially because in her teen years she showed more potential and had more diversity but as an adult she is clearly struggling to build a good resume for herself. Even JJH and SHK are working more actively now but KSH seems to not be interested or doesn’t have the opportunity for doing more diverse work. For years fans have been asking her to go a good variety show but she refuses. Even for drama promotions she mostly does radio appearances and recently on YouTube shows but both were unpopular and one was just supporting a friend.