Byun Woo Seok Cast as Male Lead in the High Profile Netflix K-drama Adaptation of Mega Hit Webtoon Solo Leveling
Well it’s a two-for-two for last year’s K-ent breakout star Byun Woo Seok in terms of his next projects after K-drama Lovely Runner. He’s going to be the male lead opposite IU in the romance fantasy monarchy K-drama Wife of a 21st Century Prince. That’s filming/filmed as we speak and now he’s signed on for his next project after that in a totally different genre. He’s going to be the male lead in the Netflix K-drama adaptation of mega hit webtoon Solo Leveling. It’s basically the originator of those demon fighting webtoons that got really big, including ones already adapted to live action such as upcoming movie Omniscient Reader Viewpoint and K-drama Sweet Home. I asked the very target audience of said type of webtoons Koala teen young man and he has read them all and said Solo Leveling is THE FIRST AND BEST of that genre. Super happy for Byun Woo Seok to really capitalize on his popularity, taking his time to pick projects and landing on really high profile ones.
Very happy for him too. He is choosing the right scripts, first a romcom with IU to solidify his Hanllyu status, and then this mega action Netflix series to round out his leading man image. Worth the wait after the Lovely Runner hype. Live action adaptations of manhwa depend a lot on CG and fight scenes; a really insane budget would probably help. Fingers crossed.
Omg!! I love Solo Leveling!! This is such a big deal for him. I didn’t even know they were making a live action.
Lovely Runner was a hit to many. I personally don’t get the hype, not in any level. That being said, BWS’ acting was convincing in LR. Yet his visuals and aura aren’t up my street. I have to watch him more to see if he is really on par with my favorite K actors.
@Somebody with all due respect, but he is still far from your favorites — his acting skills do not yet have a wide range or versatility, even though he has been acting for about 10 years. On the other hand, one of your faves in particular already had acting chops when he was still a supporting actor.
I recognize that Byeon Woo Seok’s work in Lovely Runner is memorable, but it’s not enough for me to call him a great actor overall.
“One of your faves in particular already had acting chops when he was still a supporting actor.” I wonder if you knew you were talking about Nam Goong Min. LOL. True! I already rooted for NGM since the first time watching him as a supporting role in an unknown drama. I don’t even remember the name of the drama, nothing from the drama except for a new actor back then that was NGM. lol
Ok, NGM is older, a seasoned pro with more experience. But even comparing with his peer actors or younger generation, I consider some others better than BWS in all aspects including acting range, visuals, and charisma. Park Bo Gum, Lee Do Hyun, and Lee Jae Wook to just name a few.
@Somebody Yep! But the mention of Namkoong Min was not to point out that his acting is better because of his years in the industry. My intention was to question why he, Kim Nam Gil and even Lee Byung Hun, were able to be reasonably good at their craft in their debut days? If I compare them to today’s newcomers and rising stars, there is a gap that I cannot ignore. I firmly believe that those who have a passion for acting do not need to participate in a lot of projects or have the lead role to develop skills.
I’m not familiar with the two Lee’s. Lol. I have dramas of both of them on my list though. Park Bo Gum didn’t get positive reviews at the beginning of his career as a supporting actor, but within a couple of years, he was able to work on himself and has delivered fine performances since then. It is a good example that an actor should be focused on the requirements of his profession.
I like Byeon Woo Seok’s visuals a lot, that’s why I’ve watched 70% of his dramas. Lol. But only in Lovely Runner was he able to show his potential. I hope he continues to develop it favorably.
@1+1 @somebody two b*tches got together to drool and bark over an actor who is already old enough to retire. Kim Namgil and Jisung have already expired too, so they will never know what it’s like to have the popularity that young Byeon Wooseok has. Or his height, since Jisung is between 177-179cm ㅋㅋㅋ. Who cares about their superb acting level if they can’t compete with young and attractive actors. That’s why these hags are not widely known names overseas.
@1+1, K dramas continue to evolve. I do find many more veteran K actors than the younger generation had way stronger presence on scree to catch my eye, just to the opposite of Cdrama. All those alpha K actors you mentioned were very versatile in their heyday. I also highly recommended LDH in everything from him I watched and LJW similarly although the scripts the latter picked were not as good as LDH’s in general. LJW was charismatic in Alchemy of Souls series and he saved a bit underwhelming My Dear Hongrang.
I only watched BWS in LR and later Record of Youth as a supporting role. I didn’t see the differentiation in his aura and the ways of expression/acting style between the two dramas. That’s why I think I need to watch him more to be convinced of the hype over him.
@glendu, did you fail your English class so that you had trouble communicating properly with appropriate wording? @1+1 and I did “bitch” a bit about BWS, but that’s totally different from us being beaches. LMAO. Go look up! BWS is basically a nobody here in the US too. What do you want to brag about him and look down upon other actors? We’ve just been discussing our own personal opinions and preference. I don’t think we tried to drug you so that you couldn’t think clearly but only got adrenaline rush triggered. Lol.
@Somebody regarding China, I would have to know if you mean film or television veterans. I have seen a LOT of veteran C-drama actors, and their acting range is nothing out of the ordinary. Even many of them dare to use the same mannerisms with different characters (Qin Hao for example). However, since their characters writing tends to have more dimensions than those in idol dramas, it creates a false sense that there is more versatility.
I’ll start my journey with Alchemy of Souls! I haven’t seen a fantasy K-drama in a while.
@glendu, in just one role of theirs there is more versatility than in the whole career of some actors who are more popular overseas. KNG and NKM in particular had no connections when they started in their craft. Their youth years were spent acting in minor roles until their passion and talent paid off. Now, they are highly respected actors, being named as role models by other respected actors. And you know that perfectly well. So that’s why you had to use personal attacks to the topic which was acting skills. Lol. You also called Kim Jae Wook a hag in another thread when he was compared to BWS.
@1+1, agreed with you about Cdrama veteran actors. Most of them are predictable and boring to me.
Wow!!!!! What a hugeeeeee break for Byeon Woo Seok! Solo Leveling is the biggest anime (based on a korean manhwa) everrrrr. Rising breakout k actor + big global phenomenon anime name seems like a good formula to be highly anticipated live action adaptation.
Big shoes to fill in as die hard fans are really looking for expensive CGI since that’s what the A-1 anime studios brought out. I noticed most netizens were clamoring for Cha Eun Woo (who is in military service so can’t do this) and a few minority for Lee Joon Gi. Visuals wise they have the looks and acting chops for Sung Jin Woo so I understand why netizens are mentioning their names.
Byeon Woo Seok is an interesting choice. I don’t have anything bad to say about him since he’s been improving a lot compared to his first dramas. He’s a hard worker so it’ll be nice to see what kind of Sung Jin Woo he’ll bring out. Arise lol.
I binged watch the two seasons of the anime earlier this year. This is going to be awesomeeee!! The fact there’s a live adaptation in the first place goes to show how many fans there are with the original material.
How I wish Kim Hye Yoon has this kind of opportunity
I agree, love her to bits!
But I do think this is smart of him, if it’s a hit it’ll work for him like City Hunter did for Lee Min Ho.
A strong acting level is not required for this adaptation considering that the main character wears a cold expression 90% of the time. Visually, Byeon Woo Seok doesn’t look right for the role to me. His face in motion gives me the impression that he has obvious plastic surgery, even if he doesn’t have it. I feel the same about Song Kang.
This is an entertaining anime, no need Kdrama adaptation. The action being the best part, it will look weak… I don’t think BWS is a good choice for this role neither. He’s too soft or flower boy for this kind of character.
Chae Eun Woo is a pretty face but dude has zero charisma or manliness to deliver this cold, menacing aura that is CY. There is simply no other young male k actors at the moment with the right visuals, physique, gravitas, or name recognition (within and beyond Korea) to play this role other than BWS. He has at least played this smexy, cold, menacing villain in Strong Woman. I personally think that Woo Do hwang is a good fit and so charismatic, but he is not as famous outside Korea and probably does not have the height or physique for the role.
Don’t care about the other dudes but Byun Woo Seok’s face looks like a plastic surgery prototype to me.
His fans are working hard on other sites to convince others about his role, they’re busy replying to every comment which mentions he’s not the best choice. If they’re not in this blog, helping with traffic, it would be a miracle. Well, @eva is already getting ready.
There are support comments for him from newly created accounts on MDL. I understand that they are happy for him but affection does not have to turn into despair and even less so when fans of the other actors who were considered by netizens for this role, aren’t pestering him.
He has yet to prove that he is a credible actor. If I remove his work in Lovely Runner, there is nothing exciting to say about him, especially when he has been in the industry for close to a decade.