These K-Drama Stars Are K-Pop Idols, Too!
Isn’t it amazing how your favorite K-Pop idols, who are already so great at singing and dancing, can also impress you with their acting skills?
The people behind Korean entertainment are excellent at churning out quality production, be it music, film, or drama series. It's a definite treat to those who are both interested in K-Pop and K-Drama, when their favorites double as musician-idol and as an actor/actress. Imagine being excited on an album comeback and then be thrilled about a drama or a movie comeback next!
Thankfully, there is no shortage of K-Pop idols who also found success in acting. These amazing, talented K-idols and actors have proven that yes, indeed, you can have the best of both worlds with passion and dedication.
Scroll and read through the gallery below for our list of K-Pop idols who are also K-Drama stars:
K-pop Idol-Actors
K-pop Idol-Actors
IU ( Lee Ji-eun)
Leading the pack of recognized K-Pop idol-actors is IU, who also goes by her real name Lee Ji-eun in her acting projects. She’s not only the most followed Korean celebrity on Instagram, she is also the first and only second-generation female idol to be nominated as “Best Actress” in the prestigious 2019 Baeksang Arts Awards for her stellar performance on “My Mister.” The singer-songwriter isn’t only a certified chart-topper but also a reliable actress, showing a wide range on her projects “Dream High,” “You’re the Best Lee Son Shin,” “Pretty Man,” “Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo,” “The Producers,” Netflix's “Persona,” and “Hotel Del Luna.” She is set to make her big screen debut with Park Seo-joon for the movie “Dream.”
Photo Credit: @dlwlrma
Cha Eun-woo
It’s no secret that Cha Eun-woo’s breathtaking good looks always send many hearts a-flutter. As the visual of ASTRO, many fangirls swoon over his singing and dancing skills! His charm radiates onscreen that he landed lead roles on K-Dramas “My ID is Gangnam Beauty” and “Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung.”
Photo Credit: @eunwo.o_c
Im Yoona
Girls’ Generation, of which Im Yoona is a member of, is one of South Korea’s most successful girl groups. However, Yoona did not stop at simply being an idol. She went on to explore acting opportunities and managed to achieve success with projects such as “Love Rain,” “Prime Minister & I,” “The K2,” and “The King in Love.” Apart from K-Dramas, she also excelled with film work starring in “Confidential Assignment” and “Exit.” Both movies are among the highest-grossing films in South Korea.
Photo Credit: @yoona__lim
Bae Suzy
The Nation’s First Love Bae Suzy—beloved for her roles on “Dream High,” “Gu Family Book,” “Uncontrollably Fond,” “While You Were Sleeping” and “Vagabond”—is such an amazing actress that people often forget that she’s also a K-Pop idol. A former member of JYP’s girl group “Miss A,” Suzy served as the lead vocalist, lead rapper, visual and she’s also the maknae of the group. She was last seen in the hit Korean movie “Ashfall” and is slated to do a movie with Park Bo-gum, Gong Yoo, and Choi Woo-shik.
Photo Credit: @skuukzky
Park Hyung-sik
Park Hyung-sik is well-known and doing such a great job as an actor, so it’s often overlooked that he’s a member of the boy group ZE:A as well. He is the main vocalist of the group. He even sang “I’ll Be Here,” an OST for his own K-Drama “Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth.” ZE:A may be on hiatus right now but when Park Hyung-sik is not busting out a dance move or showcasing his vocal chops, he’s busy stealing hearts with his roles in “Suits” and “Strong Woman Do Bong Soon.”
Photo Credit: @phs1116
Krystal Jung
Krystal Jung is the lead vocalist and central dance peformer of K-pop group f(x) before venturing out in diverse roles on TV dramas such as “The Heirs,” “My Lovely Girl,” “Prison Playbook,” “Bride of Habaek” and “Player.” This year, she will be appearing on OCN military drama “The Search” where she is set to play an elite army officer.
Photo Credit: @vousmevoyez
Im Siwan
Not be outdone by his fellow ZE:A member Park Hyung-sik, Im Siwan also doubles as an actor apart from his singing and dancing duties. His impressive acting skills earned praises for his performance on the series “Misaeng: Incomplete Life” and the film “The Attorney.” He first won the hearts of viewers with his role in the hit drama “Moon Embracing the Sun” which starred Kim Soo-hyun. He recently made an impactful acting comeback after military enlistment with the thriller drama “Hell Is Other People.” He was also a recipient of the Excellence Award in acting at the 4th APAN Star Awards and won the Best New Actor award at the 51st Baeksang Arts Awards.
Photo Credit: @yim_siwang
D.O.
D.O. or Do Kyungsoo may be mega-popular with fans as a member of the super K-Pop group EXO but he’s not just easy on the eyes, he's got honey vocals and dance moves as well. He has been gracing K-Dramas with his excellent acting notably on “It’s Okay, That’s Love” which earned praises from critics and a nomination for Best New Actor at the 51st Baeksang Arts Awards. He later won Best New Actor at the Blue Dragon Film Awards for his performance on the movie “My Annoying Brother.” His movies “Along with the Gods” and Swing Kids” were also critically acclaimed. He landed his first small-screen leading role before his military enlistment on “100 Days My Prince” which was a commercial success.
Photo Credit: @overdokyungsoo
Kwon Nara
Fresh from the success of “Itaewon Class,” Kwon Nara is moving past her idol days as a member of the defunct girl group Hello Venus. While doing her idol duties as lead visual and center of the girl group, Nara also flexed her acting chops by taking on a major acting role in the romantic comedy drama "Suspicious Partner." This was followed by a role on the critically-acclaimed “My Mister,” the legal drama “Your Honor,” and the medical drama “Doctor Prisoner.”
Photo Credit: @hv_nara
Yook Sungjae
Who would dare forget BTOB’s maknae Yook Sungjae? Apart from being a charming talented boy group member, he is also an incredible actor. Many people adored him on “Who Are You: School 2015” but he’s become a household favorite with his attention-grabbing role of a spoiled but likeable rich, young brat on the Hallyu hit “Goblin.” He recently released a solo debut album titled “Yook O’Clock.”
Photo Credit: @yook_can_do_it
Joy
Park Soo-young, best known as Joy from the wildly popular girl group Red Velvet, is diversifying her career. Apart from banking on the popularity of Red Velvet, Joy also takes on acting by starring in K-Dramas “The Liar and His Lover” as well as “Tempted.” She’s also lending her voice to the animated film “Trolls World Tour.”
Photo Credit: @_imyour_joy
Kang Chani
Contrary to trends of idols turning actors, Kang Chani of the boy group SF9 started out as a child actor before becoming a K-Pop idol. He appeared on a number of television dramas like “Listen to my Heart,” “The Innocent Man,” and “The Queen’s Classroom.” He broke hearts of viewers on the hit cable series “Signal” but he is best known for his role as a smart and sweet student on the hit cable drama “SKY Castle.” Chani is also finding success in music as SF9 is starting to carve out its own path in the music industry, holding concert tours in and out of Korea and scoring several wins on premier music shows.
Photo Credit: @c_chani_i
Rowoon
Speaking of SF9, apart from Chani, Kim Seok-woo or Rowoon is also expanding his horizons beyond SF9. While he graces the music stage with his magnetic presence as well as dancing and singing skills, he is also busy with acting projects. He began his career as an actor with a minor role on “School 2017.” He then landed meaty roles on the KBS drama “About Time” and in SBS’ “Where Starts Land” which earned him a New Actor Award nomination. In 2019, he made a star-making turn as the male lead for the hit MBC fantasy drama “Extraordinary You.”
Photo Credit: @krwo_on
Choi Siwon
As a member of the famous boy group Super Junior, Choi Siwon could have just rested on his laurels and enjoy the massive success of his music career. But he didn’t stop there. He debuted on the Hong Kong epic film “A Battle of Wits” and subsequently acted on shows such as “Oh! My Lady,” “Athena: Goddess of War,” “Poseidon,” “The King of Dramas,” “She Was Pretty” and “Revolutionary Love.” He recently starred in the KBS crime comedy drama “My Fellow Citizens.”
Photo Credit: @siwonchoi
Kim Myungsoo
Kim Myungsoo, or L, is known as the vocalist and visual of the boy group Infinite. Two years after his group achieved success, he was cast in the romance comedy series “Flower Band” and in the sitcom “What’s the Deal, Mom?” He must have caught the acting bug because he kept going at it and scored roles on dramas like his first-ever lead role “The Day After We Broke Up.” His popularity rose even more with high-profile acting projects such as “The Emperor: Owner of the Mask,” “Ms. Hammurabi,” and “Angel’s Last Mission: Love.” He is currently lighting up the screen with the fantasy romance drama “Meow, the Secret Boy” where he plays a cat that turns into a human.
Photo Credit: @kim_msl
This is just a short list of the incredibly talented K-Pop idols who are also doing well in their acting careers. Surely, these stars on the list will still make it even bigger both in the music and TV/Film industries, and we’re just as excited as you are to find out what the future holds for them.
Photos from @dlwlrma @skuukzky @yoona__lim @phs1116 @eunwo.o_c @vousmevoyez @yim_siwang @overdokyungsoo @hv_nara @yook_can_do_it @_imyour_joy @c_chani_i @krwo_on @siwonchoi @kim_msl
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