Korean Independence Romance and Thriller K-drama Whale Star: Gyeongseong Mermaid Confirms Full Cast of Moon Ga Young, Choi Woo Shik, Heo Nam Joon, and Gong Seung Yeon
Well this is a mighty stacked cast, and with a source material in an interesting period era is one of the bigger project K-dramas on deck. Whale Star: Gyeongseong Mermaid has confirmed earlier casting news and unveiled the full cast of Moon Ga Young, Choi Woo Shik, Heo Nam Joon, and Gong Seung Yeon. It’s a story set in 1920’s era Korea during the time of the Japanese occupation and the drama revolves around pro-independence activists. Directing is award winning movie director Hur Jin Ho adapting the webtoon of the same name.
Interesting. China has a lot of “republican era” dramas but I don’t remember Korea having any in a while. Last that I can remember are Mr. Sunshine (2018) and Bridal Mask (2012)—both of which were big hits. However, I hope the production will be very careful and conduct “due diligence” to avoid any cancellation scandals afterwards.
Yes, I think they’ll be consulting with the best historians to make sure they don’t have to have everyone and his cat on set apologise, delete or change stuff to avoid accusations of historical distortion and the like.
@Jeannie – considering how relatively recent the Japanese colonial era is and how much of a sensitive subject it is even today (I would say much more than even whatever the fuss made about China was) the production will probably be conditioned to be extra careful to begin with.
It’s a good cast though I agree with the commenter below that CWS has never struck me as a good romance lead.
Ah it is a webtoon I barely skimmed once upon a time but only partially a long while ago. The story was fairly interesting but I believe at the time I only was able to read a few chapters and never completed it or found more chapters if that makes sense. It should be interesting to watch so I’m not sure how sad this will be because this era is always full of sad tragic happenings.
The casting must’ve happened before both Heo Nam Jun and Gong Seung Yeon got famous cause they both blew up this year with Perfect Crown and MRN. But the webtoon was really tragic……I think Heo Nam Jun is playing the most interesting role for sure
Agreed. HNJ is charismatic in My Royal Nemesis. Great acting along with Lim Ji Yeon in MRN! MRN surpasses my expectation, ranking #1 of global non-English show on Netflix in the first 2 weeks and currently sitting at #2.
Choi Woo Shik has yet to convince me of his charm. Although Choi was cast for hit movie Train to Busan and prestigious Parasite, I haven’t been able to warm up to him on small screen YET. Perhaps, I should watch A killer Paradox since I gravitate towards that kind of genre. Like Jung Hae In who changed my perception about him in D.P., Choi perhaps showcased his acting chops in non-romance genres.
Starting to really love Heo Nam Joon. Happy he is getting roles left and right!
2 leads are meh. Choi woo sik can’t carry a drama. Moon ga young same old boring one note acting in everything ive seen her in.
The second leads are interesting though!
Both leads aren’t bad actors but they both need strong co-lead. And yes 2nd leads are interesting
CWS is a decent actor for me. But his visual isn’t working for me. He looks like a rebellious kid. Not a suitable visual for a mature lead
As someone who read webtoon and liked it a lot I’m really pissed of by this casting choice.
Main actors don’t look like main characters at all. Neither by their look/faces, neither by acting vibe they bringing in their dramas. Especially CWS. Not only he’s complet miscast for main lead, he’s 35 yo and main character is 21 yo. Age gap is 15 years. I can’t comprehend how casting director did their job, did they even read webtoon?
And it’s not only my personal opinion, many fans of webtoon expressed the same.
Netizens said MKY would suit better for the role of noble young lady from first chapters, “owner” of female lead who kinda was her slave. And I couldn’t agree more.
This noble lady is strong, charismatic and tragic character, and I think MKY could shine in this role, make remarkable appearance, interesting tragic storyline and showcase her acting skills.
I can’t imagine her as Sua’s character at all, she’s just miscast.
I think big actors shouldn’t take just main roles, I think they should play something what would be better for them showcase their acting skills, choose characters which would help them shine more. Sometimes it’s better to play strong second lead character and make remarkable appearance and good reception of it. Not just take main lead role because it considered more prestigious in SK and has bigger paycheck.
The only people who don’t look like miscast and suit for their character’s appearance are Heo Nam Joon and Gong Seung Youn.
Main leads are complete miscast.
And with CWS as male lead I can tell this story will turn into love triange where everyone will rut for second male lead no matter what he did to female lead, just because actor is more charismatic.
Even tho in webtoon there wouldn’t be such question at all.
I can already tell HNJ and GSY will get more pros from this drama than main leads.
Gosh, I’m very pessimistic.
But who can blame me after I saw how they adapted My dear X, He’s a black dragon (with MKY as fl), Obviously yours, and when everyone who read Whale star webtoon can tell casting director either didn’t make their research on characters either didn’t care