Last week I made a list of actors I didn’t want to watch in 2024. Part 1 is here: Bitch Talk: On Leading Actors for 2024

This week, I made a list of actors I want to see more of in 2024. The list is in random order.

1. Rowoon

I bet you never expected that from me since I regularly pan his acting. But “The Matchmakers” won me over. Being the skeptic that I am, I want to see if his performance in said kdrama was a fluke or not.

source: leedongwook’s tumblr

Park Hyung Sik is another idol-turned-actor I’m eager to see this year. Saturday can’t come fast enough.

I hope his “Doctor Slump” (co-starring Park Shin Hye) is worth the wait, and the hype.

2. Lee Jun Ho

Because I need something to clean out that load of tripe the “King the Land” dumped in my mental reservoir.

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I blame it all on his costar, Im Yoona. Her acting was so stage-y and affected like she was simpering for her fans at a fanmeet.

Same with Song Kang. I’d like to watch him in another kdrama to expunge “My Demon” from my memories.

source: dramastream’s tumblr

3. Ahn Hyo Seop

His upcoming movie with Lee Min Ho, called “Omniscient Reader” doesn’t count. I want him in a leading role again in a kdrama, preferably romcom.

source: dramaism’s tumblr

I guess I can watch “A Time Called You” and kill two birds with one stone. Both AHS and Rowoon are on it.

source: zhanglinghez’ tumblr

Of course, I can’t write about this Canadian without mentioning the OTHER actors with Canadian ties:

a. Na In Woo

He’s in “Marry My Husband.” I hope he’ll have another hit drama this year.

source: smittenskittens’ tumblr

Oh! Before you swim off to the Shallow Island for Na In Woo, I want you to watch these two short clips from 2D1N.

His skills in table tennis were on display here. His team won only because the other team kept getting their points taken off as a penalty for speaking English.

And this clip showed him following the leaders/veterans of the show without knowing why. I don’t think his accident was scripted.

He’s such a good-natured and clumsy guy.

b. Choi Woo Shik

I like this actor because he’s a minimalist.

source: cuddlybitch’s tumblr

Do you see what he did there, right? In both scenarios, he showed that he liked her without doing much.

I like that he can project a sensitive, emotional guy without making exaggerated body movement or facial mannerisms. He doesn’t need to ham thing up. And when he does that, his character comes out as a more cerebral, introspective and thinking person.

You’ll understand better what I mean when you look at those Ok Taec Yeon gifs I posted on the other thread.

But it seems like the drama deities are listening to me. He has “A Killer Paradox” starting on February 9 on Netflix. Co-starring Son SeokGyu (“My Liberation Notes”).

Also “Melo Movie,” a kdrama written by the same screenwriter who created “Our Beloved Summer.” Lol. Mr. Choi must be her muse.

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4. Kim Min Jae

I find his voice sexier than his face.

source: xiaolanhua’s tumblr

I don’t care if his face isn’t symmetrical; I just want to listen to him speak.

And speaking of voices, the other actor I would like to see hear in a romcom this year is Yeo Jin Goo.

Although his looks seem to match melodramas, sageuks, and detective films better, I hope he gets a good romcom project this year. His drama picks have been too serious of late.

5. Kim Soo Hyun

Who hurt you, kiddo?

His last notable drama was “Psycho but It’s Okay” (2020). Crossing my fingers that he’d pick one interesting kdrama this year.

source: chaeyounjung’s tumblr

6. Lee Jong Suk

Same with this actor. What’s going on with him, too?

source: 1liv’s tumblr

I’m missing those winky-winks. He does them very prettily. They’re perfect when juxtaposed to Mr. Bean’s winks.

Anyway…

LJS used to pick good projects: “I Can Hear Your Voice” (2013), “Pinocchio” (2014), “W” (2016), “While You Were Sleeping” (2017) and then… it ended. I don’t know what happened.

No, don’t convince me that noona kdrama, “Romance Is a Bonus Book” was a good one. If the drama were a real book, it would be a wallbanger.

7. Seo In Guk

Seo In Guk is a perennial favorite of this blog. But please, I don’t want him playing death anymore. Does he have a death wish or something?

source: koreandragon’s tumblr

8. Park BoGum

Okay, let’s try this again, BoGummy.

I liked him in “Reply 1988” but he was so-so in “Love in the Moonlight,” totally unwatchable in that noona romance “Encounter,” and weirdly effete in “Record of Youth.”

I want him playing a tough, rugged, alpha male in a drama this year. I don’t care if he shows me “toxic masculinity” like Heath Ledger’s in “Ten Things I Hate About You.”

I just want him to break lose from this goody-two-shoes image he has.

Chae Jong Hyeop (“Castaway Diva”) is another cutie-patootie I want to see this year.

source: chaeyoojung’s tumblr

BTW, a note on Mr. Chae’s military service:

As Chae Jong Hyeop is now quickly approaching his thirties, the actor spoke candidly about enlisting in the military. He revealed that he has been diagnosed with epilepsy and has been approved to fulfill his military duties as a Wartime Labor Service Agent. This corresponds to Grade 5 in the Military Manpower Administration’s physical examination, where Grades 1-3 are qualified for active service. Chae Jong Hyeop stated that he first experienced symptoms of epilepsy when he was studying abroad and was officially diagnosed in 2018.

He shared, “There were a few times when I’d collapse while foaming at the mouth. When I got my physical examination [to enlist], I received a Grade 4 [meaning he is unfit for active duty], but if you don’t enlist within four years, you have to take another test. The military is a sensitive topic. That’s why I also wanted to be fully recovered but my reexamination date was decided so I got an electroencephalography [EEG] and they said I had epilepsy. I’m still taking medication now.”

Now that Chae Jong Hyeop is five years into his debut, he commented, “I know I’m lacking because I got here too quickly. That’s why I’m working that much harder.” He continued, “I am working tenaciously and diligently. I do not think of myself as the main character. I’ve just taken on the role of a character. Of course I know that I must take responsibility, but my desire to create along with all the actors and staff is greater.”

Source: https://www.soompi.com

9. Gong Yoo

A girl can dream, right?

“Coffee Prince” was a hit in 2007.
“Big” was filmed in 2012 (I read that this was what turned him off creating from kdramas. Gee, thanks, Hong sisters!)
“Goblin” was THE blockbuster 2016.

And that’s about it…unless I count the movie, “Train in Busan” also in 2016.

I want him to be in kdrama this year. I’ve seen actors like Song Kang, Lee Jun Ho, and Seo In Gook give stellar performances during emotional scenes. That’s their forte. They cry well. They express angst well. They project grief well.

But to me, only Gong Yoo can demonstrate how a man COPES stoically with extreme emotion. He delivers strong feelings despite an economy of facial expressions, and words.

And speaking of stoicism, here are the other ahjussis I like to see in kdramas.

a. Son Seok Gyu

I don’t want to see him in another gangster role, to be honest. Although I get why he’s typecast as a bad boy/rebel/thug (he’s a charismatic and intense actor), I want him to see him cleaned up, clean-shaven, clean-cut and in a romcom.

b. Han Seok Kyu

Or that Dr. Romantic actor. He’s another minimalist actor I want to see this year. This year, minimalism in my kdrama is my antidote to all the unhinged theatrics in Washington DC.

Come on, kdrama screenwriters, don’t be age-ists! Can’t we have a romance for senior citizens?

10. Last but not least, Lee JaeWook

Now, there’s nothing minimalist about this guy, but I like him. Because he can demonstrate a wide range of emotions, he’s simply mesmerizing to watch on the small screen. I never get tired of his face. Although I don’t find him a beauty, I could watch him for hours. I couldn’t do that with Cha Eun Woo.

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Also, I wouldn’t mind watching him with his co-star Go Yoon Jung again.

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Unlike the cloying couple scenes in “King the Land” and “My Demon,” which lost their verisimilitude halfway through the plot, I wish there were more romantic scenes for Uk and Naksu in “Alchemy of Souls: Season 2.”

That’s it for me.

Who’s on your list?