Kim So Hyun and Choo Young Woo in Talks for 2026 ENA K-drama Romance Expert
C-dramas have been on a casting spurt for 2026 projects and I hope to see more coming out of K-drama land as well. This one looks promising to me, Kim So Hyun and Choo Young Woo are in talks for a cable network ENA K-drama Romance Expert (or Romance Ph.D). Kim So Hyun’s character was a student about to major in fashion design but on the bring is embroiled in a school incident and cannot get into grad school. She ends up working in a robotics field and lab. Choo Young Yoo is a former competitive swimmer who loses his left leg and the will to live. He ends up pulled out of despair through robotics and gets into Seoul University’s robotics major after four tries. The drama is an uplifting romance and is from the PD of Secret Love Affair, Pretty Noona Who Buys Me Food, and Spring Night, and the return of a long ago famous screenwriter of Cat on the Roof, Full House, and Rules of Love.
Love the two of them. Hoping the drama itself will be interesting
Finally 99 liner for KSH! Happy its finally happening!
Finally, a casting news for my girl! And PD is solid too. But wasn’t CYW just involved in some controversy months ago? I personally don’t really care if it’s not a major scandal like Kim Soo Hyun’s, I’m just concerned whether his image might turn off people from watching the drama. Can someone who can read Korean tell me how he’s viewed in Korea nowadays? Are Koreans already over it, already forgave him or do they still dislike him? International fans from Twitter/X seem to still hate him, but then again, it’s X/Twitter folks and they pretty much hate everyone lol, just want to know what KNetz general consensus is about him?
To be honest if you see forum like theqoo you can see he is being hated. But it seems he has quite loyal fanbase and also pretty good connections since his project is sailing well
I have seen rebuttal about his scandal made by his fan, and honestly the entire thing is just what his fan want to believe (I went through similar things several years ago so I kinda understand)
Overall, I don’t really like this guy since small problem usually is just prelude to something bigger, I feel like he’s gonna have bigger scandal in the future
Same with me, I don’t like this guy either. Seems like the typical super thirsty guy at best and a misogynist who only sees women as sexual objects at worst. And that ped*philic phone case thing too is just gross 🤢
Now, before anyone here cries about “cancel culture” or whatever, I’m not saying this guy should be “cancelled” or be put in jail. I just personally choose not to support him or his works. Imagine playing good-guy/green flag type of characters in romantic dramas while being… like that in real life lmao. Anyone can keep supporting him if y’all don’t think his scandals are just a small deal, I personally just wouldn’t. Too bad because I really like Kim So Hyun. Guess will just have to wait for her next project
@Yuhyi, your last comment sounds so ominous but so true. THIS reminds me of the big scandal to the biggest star this year.
@Somebody
I still got goosebump when I remember I liked that guy for a bit in 2016. Thankfully I stopped liking him after movie Real came out back then
Ugh, Kim So-hyun gets stuck in some lightweight, nonsensical rom-com again.
My first reaction. I like her, but I just can’t get excited about this. Of course too early to predict or whatever, but my first thought was literally: Great, another romance drama that won’t do anything for her career and will only benefit the male lead 🙃
Seriously, when will she go back to female-centric dramas like River Where the Moon Rises? I know RWTMR wasn’t a huge hit or anything, but at least she got to show off her skills and the drama was focused on her, it even got her a Baeksang nom. She should do dramas like My Name
Yeah like, does she have no connection to get better script? Or does she purposely choose romcom?
Yay a university-setting drama!
Will be interesting to watch them. He was a good support cast in The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call.
I adore Kim So Hyun, I really hope this drama will suit her…
Like the age-appropriate casting. I hope the director invests in lighting, though.
I would like to watch her in a non-romance drama. The last romances she did were very lackluster. CYH has a lot of small contreversies…
I like this PD! I likw how he tells a story.
KSH to my disappoint has been taking scripts that made her performances underwhelming. It’s naturally for Kdrama fans to compare her with her peer, the other Kim girl. Kim Yoo Jung, on the other hand, is foraying into more challenging genres. I just started to watch My Dear X. Kudos to KYJ for taking such a challenge to play an anti-heroine in a dark thriller. I could see Yoo Jung’s efforts to transform herself into a serious actress. What about KSH? She kept assuming typical characters of heroines that all men should admire and chase. Nonetheless, her weak presence in Good Boy was specifically alarming to convince ppl of her acting range. Her recent choices of the scripts somehow imply she’s a lazy actress without ambition? Another school drama AGAIN? It’s not appealing to me.
I adore Kim So Hyun, like her grounded acting and her personalities. But she will always just be a actress, not a star. Everyone love good scripts but will it come their way?
Kim Yoo Jung has huge marketing value, she is a product of investments. She has Star quality, she has sponsors that will invest on creating new looks that will appeal to public. She get better scripts, more popular lead male actors and higher production budget. Plus, Kim Yoo Jung entered the industry so young, her fans range in all ages. Kim So Hyun cannot be compared to her…unfortunately. Lastly Kim Yoo Jung’s looks, skin texture, height, body shape sells products.
I personally always like Kim So Hyun alot… not a fan of Kim Yoo Jung’s acting for afew years now. But that can change as both are still growing.
KSH could have done better in Good Boy. She gave me the impression that she might just give up investing in that role. It’s undeniable Good Boy wasn’t well written and had A LOT of flaws from the get-go the the end. But at least I could feel that Park Bo-gum had tried his best to save the drama. However, I didn’t feel the same way about KSH. For me, she’s very passive not showing acting range and passion. She is someone with great potential cuz her acting is so natural, and that’s a rare gift. But she seemed to have reprised the same boring characters one after another.
I actually at some moments imagined the FL was KSH not KYJ in My Dear X. I believe KSH could slay the role of a psychopath given her talent. But she’s got no interesting scripts like MDX so far. She’s been in the industry for many years. No excuses for getting inferior projects given that she was even nominated for Baeksang.
What do you mean by Kim Yoo Jung’s skin texture and height? Both girls are beautiful and have beautiful glowing skin, so I’m not sure how KYJ is better in those aspects? Of course KYJ’s features are more “trendy” right now, but both girls have been praised for their beauties. And as for height, Kim So Hyun is actually taller, so I’m not sure why you included height? Not trying to fight with you, just wondering lol.
I agree that Kim So Hyun probably will never be a “star” but it’s not because of lack of beauty or talent, it’s because she obviously choose not to pick the type of scripts that will make her more popular with new gen KDrama watchers and her choosing not to promote herself much/lack of ambition from her part.
It’s true about KSH not wanting to be a star. She’s always been clear she wants to be an actress not a celebrity. It’s a choice her fans have struggled by blaming all her past agencies but KSH herself chose those agencies because they bring her work without the media play and investments. She’s always liked being anonymous and has wanted to be a normal person when she’s off camera. It’s time her fans stop forcing their own wilfulness onto her. She’s always stated she likes romance more than any other genre and she prefers works that makes others shine instead of focusing on one person. She even dropped out of college because she missed too many classes but her fans always insisted she was studying when she was on break. That’s all wishful thinking and not what she wants. KSH enjoys her current life and clearly her career ambitions have always been just to act for a long time not be a superstar or win major awards. She wants to work as long as she can and that doesn’t mean breaking into a superstar. Besides she’s getting an excellent director to work with so what’s the problem?
@Liz, I agree both have great skin. Just about sell products, Kim Yoo Jung has a look that seem to appeal to Koreans alot, the facial ads she does are just flawless.
I personally feel Kim So Hyun may just like being a actress. It could be her choice not to be a product of investors. I am very fond of Kim So Hyun, she always knows what she likes and is very grounded.
As for height, I see Kim Yoo Jung in amnay variety shows, she is quite tall with help from high heels. I may be wrong on Kim So Hyun being shorter…I dont see her on variety shows much.
@HL I’ve read that KYJ is 5’3 (or 5’4) in height while KSH is 5’5 so KSH is definitely taller lol. You could also see that when they stood next to each other in some Moon Embracing the Sun scenes.
And yeah, I see what you mean with your comment now. Both girls are beautiful but Kim Yoo Jung definitely has the look that’s currently more trendy now (having big, more exaggerated features), whereas Kim So Hyun’s softer/delicate beauty fits the old-school Korean beauty standards more, that’s why her look is reminiscent of older gen actresses such as Son Ye Jin and Han Ga In. I get what you’re saying now, of course advertisers would prefer someone with a more trendy look.
Anyway, I also prefer KSH’s acting style like you, but I do like both girls and I’m rooting for them lol
@Liz, yes, you described it well!! I was not as good as getting my words across.
Can you all please mind your own f*cking business? 😩 Acting like a good script is going to magically fall into her lap every time. Is everything a damn competition to you? Go get a life. The obsession you have with her career needs to be studied.
Yoojung got a good script. Good for her. But what does that have to do with Sohyun? Sohyun is Sohyun. Yoojung is Yoojung. Both totally different career paths. Why is it that whenever something good happens to either of them, you automatically think badly about the other? It’s 2025 and almost end, yet people are still out here comparing 🙄 Aren’t you guys tired of fan wars? Why can’t you just cheer for someone without bringing others down?
Honestly, most dramas these days recycle the same love interest plots. You’re acting like romance dramas are some rare genre, lmao.
And Good Boy? What did you expect? Male-centric drama, written by a meh writer. Only the male lead and villain get to shine, while everyone else is just side content. So it’s Sohyun’s fault? Nah. This isn’t a WLGYT writer who can make every character shine brilliantly.
Oh, she’s a lazy actress, right? So what’s it to you? You’re just a nobody. She’s unappealing to you? Cool. So please, do everyone a favor. Stop talking about her and focus on your real faves. Your so called righteous criticism does more harm than good to both the Sohyun and Yoojung. If another fan war happens, you guys are to blame.
“Mind your own business”? Lmao, Kim So Hyun is a public figure, so it’s just natural for people to talk about her career trajectory. I don’t like people bringing up Kim Yoo Jung either, but I guess it is what is, people will always compare these two. But the “mind your own business” thing doesn’t apply here. Again, she’s a PUBLIC figure, and it’s not like people here are discussing her private life or relationships or whatever lol
Public figure or not, you guys are seriously too nosy. Always comparing her to other actresses like it’s some kind of competition, lol. There’s a difference between sharing opinions and acting like you own her career. Just learn to respect boundaries for once. This look so pathetic. Where’s that same energy for other actresses in similar situations? That’s straight-up cyberbullying. Some even compare her body, figures, and everything. WTF? Why don’t you proceed to compare about their family, friends, boyfriends or whatsoever? Stop being a mean girl, be nice, and really just mind your own f*cking business. Being an outsider doesn’t give you the right to question or control someone’s career choices. Support her work if you want, but don’t act like you get to decide her path turn everything into a competition. Just respect her professional decisions.
@Yaya, seriously! What are you fussing about? You’ve got any issues IRL! Ppl were just calmly expressing different opinions, but you reacted like an angry bird! LOL
If there were any fan wars, you would be more likely the one who triggered the fights. LOL
Awww… so sweet of you. A nobody, eh, somebody. Thank you for belittling Sohyun and comparing her to Yoojung. Truly honorable and admirable, especially when you and your friends expressed and discussed it so calmly. Silly me for calling you out for saying Sohyun is an unambitious, lazy, and unappealing actress. Like HL said, she’s truly incomparable in comparison to Yoojung, from head to toe to skin. My fault for not agreeing with you. I should’ve agreed with everything you said 🥹 Very calm, very demure. So classy.
Sincerely,
Yaya the Angry Bird
Bro grow up. We’re all adults here and you can’t handle opinions? NO ONE said KSH is ugly or a bad actress, it’s just a fact that she’s been choosing meh scripts these days that don’t allow herself to grow and challenge herself as an actress.
Fans of Ji Chang Wook, Park Min Young, etc. have no issue when people say that JCW have been choosing objectively bad scripts and that PMY is allowing herself to be typecast, because those are true. So why are you so angry to the point of insulting the people on here? Literally what’s wrong with the comments here? Now I don’t know about “lazy”, but it’s absolutely true that KSH’s actions and choices in the past years show that she lacks ambition, otherwise she wouldn’t be picking all those blah scripts that do nothing for her career and she would have been promoting herself a lot in her social media accounts. Being unambitious as an actress is NOT a bad thing, maybe she just wants to act in light dramas here and there while collecting paychecks and chilling in life, with no goal of being a superstar A-lister. And again, that’s totally fine!
HOWEVER, part of the reason some people liked her around 2015-2019 was that she gave them the impression that she’s a go-getter ambitious actress, and if some of them have been disappointed to realize that she really isn’t, then it’s totally fine to not follow her career that much anymore. Celebrities are NOT owed fans’ loyalty. Us fans are the ones giving support to these celebrities, so if we don’t feel like they’re the same people we supported the first time, then it’s totally okay to stop supporting them.
While I don’t like that people brought up KYJ in the first place, it’s true that KYJ has better brand value and all that. Part of it is because KYJ makes efforts to promote herself, to pick projects that sometimes may not be the best but at least increases her name recognition and allows her to grow her acting abilities, such as picking a sociopath role in her new drama.
If KSH is less popular now, then a lot of it is her fault. She was having a good momentum around Tale of Nokdu/Love Alarm era, but she ruined it by again and again signing up with that agency (Culture Depot that becomes Ieum Hashtag and now Peachy or whatever), by not picking good a good stylist that can showcase her beauty, and by picking bad scripts that only benefit her rookie leading men. Good Boy was the only good choice she’s made in years, but even that wouldn’t have even come her way had Park Bo Gum not recommended her to the production.
If she wants to put herself out there, she totally can. She founded her own agency, E&T Story, after leaving Sidus, and she actually did well, she had brand deals, the projects she took weren’t bad, she gave people lots of content, etc. So again, if she wants to, she can. But seems like she just doesn’t care that much anymore. Again, totally fine, maybe her priorities changed. But people are allowed to notice, give criticisms as long as it’s not insulting, and to stop supporting her.
And yes, we’re nobodies here. No sh*t, Sherlock. So what? Us peasants can’t give our opinions about celebrities anymore or what? Y’all pedestalize these celebrities way too dang much lmao
And a certain somebody once said this righteously:-
Those who dislike her may as well just go find peace watching and praising their own favs’ works instead. They are simply wasting time mocking her and wishing her flops. LOL. It looks so hopelessly desperate. LOL. Why turning entertainment into self-inflicted torture? LOL.
hahahahahahahah. Oh this certain somebody.. You’re so right about this. Totally agree with you!
Nobody is mocking because even her long time fans have understood that KSH will never be a star or take part in mega projects that is female focused because she doesn’t want it. She never has wanted it and she hated Sidus for pushing her in that direction and even the own agency she set up was established by the same manager and team from Sidus who kept pushing her to do projects she didn’t want to which is why she left as soon as the contract ended but she keeps sticking with JJH and her choice of agencies because she likes slow pace and minimal media play her agencies invest in. If you’ve seen her vlong for Japan that Chaeyeon recorded you would know that she prefers the simple quiet life of being a normal person without being recognised by too many people. She likes ordinary fun and being an actress is just a job that pays the bills. She’s smart to pick just enough projects every year that keep her employed without impacting her regular life. She’s a good person and talented without doubt and has goodwill in the industry like most child actors but she isn’t ambitious nor is she interested in breaking the mould at least not yet. Maybe in her 30s once she’s married and settled she might try something challenging but for now she’s happy being young and sticking to roles that let her experiment without breaking her stereotype. Even her action roles in GB did nothing to change her cold, chic aura or the love triangles she’s been known for 10 years now. This new drama will be a romance melo more than romcom but my point is KSH could pick a zombie genre but he role, characterization and storyline with love triangles will always persist. She automatically gravitates towards those roles irrespective of the different genres she’s tried without truly stepping out of her comfort zone. Its time to accept this is how all her roles and dramas will play out even if they sound different the execution will ultimately be the same no matter how much the fans blame writers or directors for it.