Being a K-Pop idol and being a K-Drama actor/actress are definitely not mutually exclusive. Many entertainment companies in South Korea are acting agencies as well as music labels, and in the great movement that is the South Korean entertainment industry and the Korean Wave, a talented individual can be both.
And for those multi-talented stars who have the acting bug, there’s more than one path to transition from music superstar to star of the silver screen. Some idols choose to start acting in K-Drama while their group is still active—while others wait for disbandment or a general dwindling of their group schedules before stepping onto the set. What’s certain, is that there are many examples of people who have shined in both careers, becoming household names in both music and television.
Here’s your guide to some of the most famous and beloved idols-turned-actors (complete with K-Drama recs, of course)!
Lee Jieun (IU, soloist)
One of the most successful female soloists currently active, Lee Jieun, stage name IU, is a much-beloved celebrity throughout her home country, in Asia, and the world beyond. So it’s no surprise that she also has a brilliant acting career under her belt—one that she pursues in parallel with her musical work.
The latter began in 2008 when IU was just fifteen and debuted under LOEN Entertainment (after having famously been rejected by JYP Entertainment) with the EP Lost and Found. Her acting debut happened a couple of years later, in 2010, with a supporting role in the drama Dream High.
Among her ten-ish roles, you definitely have to check out Hotel del Luna—where she plays Jang Manwol, the millennia-old owner of a hotel that caters only to ghosts. And funnily enough, Hotel del Luna features two other idols-turned-actors in its cast—Kang Mina, a former member of both Gugudan and I.O.I. and Pyo Jihoon, known as P.O., one of the rappers in boy group BLOCK B. You can stream it on Netflix.
Bae Suji (Suzy, Miss A)
Nicknamed “The Nation’s First Love,” Bae Suji—more commonly known as Bae Suzy—debuted in 2010 with Miss A under JYP Entertainment—one of the most popular girl groups of the second generation of K-Pop. Her fame skyrocketed when she made her film debut, though, with the 2012 movie Architecture 101—where she played the younger version of the main character.
Since then, Suzy has re-debuted as a solo artist in 2017 and continued growing her acting career. Her filmography has expanded to include almost twenty titles between movies and dramas. I especially recommend watching her in action in the 2017 fantasy romance While You Were Sleeping and the 2019 thriller Vagabond—the former is on Viki while the latter is on Netflix.
Kim Jisoo (Jisoo, BLACKPINK)
Jisoo is the lead vocalist and visual of global sensation BLACKPINK, the de facto most popular K-Pop girl group—especially on the international scene. Unlike the other three members of the group, who joined YG Entertainment with the specific goal of debuting as idols, Jisoo initially joined to pursue a career in acting—something that became a reality in 2021 when she starred as the lead actress in the historical romance drama Snowdrop (which you can watch on Disney+ in certain regions or on Viki).
Jisoo’s performance was very well received, even though the drama itself was the subject of controversy both before and after its release (for how it handled the particular moment of South Korean history it was set in).
Kim Taehyung (V, BTS)
BTS needs no introduction, and neither does Taehyung—stage name V—one of the group’s most popular members and, so far, the only one out of the seven to make an acting debut—even though who knows what the future holds now that the group is on an official hiatus.
Taehyung’s debut as an actor was in 2016 when he played a supporting role in the star-studded drama Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth—the story of how the Hwarang, an elite group of warriors in the Kingdom of Silla in the 6th century CE, was formed. You can catch the K-Drama on Netflix.
Taehyung was one of the youngest people in the cast and he has formed a famously strong friendship with his “Hwarang hyungs”—something that the rest of BTS has jokingly always been very jealous of. One of these Hwarang hyungs is another idol/actor, Choi Minho—the main rapper and visual of the beloved second-generation boy group SHINee.
Lee Dongmin (Cha Eunwoo, ASTRO)
Lee Dongmin is much more well-known by his stage name, Cha Eunwoo, with which he debuted in 2016 as the vocalist, visual, and face of the group Astro. While his debut as an actor technically happened before that, with the 2014 movie My Brilliant Life, his breakout arrived when he was cast as the male lead in the 2018 drama Gangnam Beauty—which saw his popularity skyrocket immediately after it first aired.
His filmography contains around ten titles between movies and dramas, and you definitely can’t miss the period piece Rookie Historian Goo Hae-Ryung —which you can catch on Netflix—and especially the blockbuster modern romance True Beauty. An adaptation of the webtoon of the same name, it was THE drama of 2020—you can stream it on Viki and decide which one of the two male leads you’re rooting for.
Park Jinyoung (Jinyoung, GOT7)
Last, but certainly not least, there’s Park Jinyoung—known as Jinyoung, the center and face of the group of GOT7. He actually debuted as an actor first—in 2011, with the drama Dream High 2—and then as an idol—in 2014, with the EP Got It?.
Jinyoung has had, and continues to have, a very successful career as a member of GOT7—even now that the group has collectively left its debut company, JYP Entertainment—and he’s also starred multiple K-Dramas. Among the titles in his discography, definitely check out the much-beloved fantasy romance The Legend of the Blue Sea and psychological romance Yumi’s Cells—you can find the former on Viki and the latter on Netflix.
Who would you add to this list? And what is your favorite K-Drama starring a K-Pop idol?
(featured image: tvN)
