Most Overrated Korean Actor/Actress

 birdsingreek:

I think there's a prejudice about idols that's sometimes exaggerated, especially given that many "actors" are no better.

agreed. agreed. there are those who started out as actors but are very obviously idol actors in disguise. I honestly think the term idol actor itself is exaggerated. There are bad actors and good actors amongst idols and the same go for traditional drama actors. Their skills should be evaluated first and foremost, not how they started out in the industry.  fans of mediocre actors are also just as annoying as some kpop fans when it comes to being blind to faults yet only the latter gets called out. actors like Hyung Bin, Song Seung Hoon, and Song Hyeo Kyo can be considered idol actors looking at their works but are considered veterans just because they debuted at a convenient time when there wasn't so much demand for the Hallyu wave. They never bothered to improve their skills or branch out into different genres because they are protected by the actor-actor status. If a master never tries to improve, then they're no better than a beginner. 

There are many bad actors and actresses who look like idols that they are mistaken for idols since they tend to be bad. There are too many 5th-tier, 4th-tier, 3rd-tier idol groups so it's a common mistake to assume that a talentless new ML or FL with obvious work done to him or her is from some semi-anonymous kpop band.

 Sunset:

I find it funny this problem doesn't exist with daily dramas because there are no "popular" actors in them lol they always use lesser known actors for their main casts who are usually supporting/guest roles in mainstream dramas. 

I also exclusively watch the makjangs and I think Seowoo was such a good actress with great versatility who kind of disappeared. I don't know what happened to her. Yoo Seung Ho is another great actor who transitioned from a makjang star to a mainstream actor. I don't watch his stuff anymore but he was great in his melo roles. lee yoo ri is also a standout. daily drama actors are honestly underrated, especially the ones in makjangs. even the teacher from sky castle, Kim Seo Hyung started out as the b*tch in Temptation fo Wife. 

 larami:

I think you made a lot of good points but some are too harsh. 

I wholeheartedly agree with the last one though. I like all of the women you mentioned BUT only as idols. I always try to check their dramas out expecting to see something different but nope. And they can't even use the "they're just starting out" excuse like Cha Eunwoo. It s been years since they started yet no improvement. 

Harsh? *Shrugs* To each their own. 

Yes - and ngl Cha Eun Woo isn't someone I class as starting out, dude has been around for awhile. It's been the same for years, they most likely will never improve.  

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@Larami and your long post which I will paste here: 

I dont really agree with this. It might've been true five years ago but there is rarely any infantilizing going on in modern dramas anymore, especially Korean dramas. even with cdramas, the independent working woman is more popular. it only really applies to high school romances which have kids rightfully acting like kids.

But if you dislike it then that's fine. However, being so condescending to a culture you only know of from kdramas and kpop is a bit much. there's also a lot of difference between popular media and real life so if you haven't lived in Korea and experienced life there first hand don't assume things. A lot of i-fans have this weird superiority complex when it comes to Korea despite liking their media. Yes some are close minded and the country is behind in a lot of progressive movements but saying they are some backward degenerates who find "grownwomen acting like 5 year old kids as cute and attractive" is just disrespectful.  

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DO NOT attempt to lecture me here. Or make assumptions about my character or where I lived off a post. And stop making weird sweeping statements about "i-fans" and painting the group with the same brush, a group which you probably also belong to, LOL. 

You have NO idea who I am or where I've lived before or where I was born. Suprise, suprise, I'm of Chinese/Korean ethnicity, speak BOTH languages,  lived AND worked in both countries. Worked/lived all over Asia.  But that is beside the point, are you actually insinuating that we have to be living in those countries to be critical of their dramas? What has living in Korea/China gotta do with people not liking how certain female characters are written?

Also nobody here used the phrase: "backward degenerates who find grown woman acting like 5 year old kids as cute and attractive" - YOU did. So who is the disrespectful one? 

After having watched dramas for 13-14 years, I've every right to criticise what I am consuming. ANYONE watching k-dramas has the right to criticise no matter where they are born. Is public discourse or criticism not allowed? Or did you think that people need to be spewing positivity about everything that they watch, just like you? 

You only have to open your eyes and watch more content to notice that the candy/infantilising dramas are still around. Candy women are still being written as characters - they are just not written in super obvious ways with the stereotypical tropes. In fact, the so-called genuinely "independent women" are still written in stereotypical fashion - cold, tsundere types who work all day, can't relate to others well, can't fall in love and ALWAYS need a man. Real-life independent women don't behave like that - they come in shades. K/C dramas have a long way to go in writing truly independent, empowering female characters, ESP K dramas.

Weird superiority complex? You are the only one in this thread that is sitting on a high horse trying to lecture what people should post or not.  And criticising the poster personally - the oppsite of what you keep preaching: respect.

 Stop coming around here and policing what people are thinking or writing if you can't handle it. If my posts are getting you all hot and bothered. Act like the respectful adult that you think you are and scroll past. 

@Sukai, @Emperor

I actually thought I was clear but I will just summarize again: I thought I clearly said I DO NOT think idols should just come and be actors if they can’t act. I said, there’s a reason to why they were selected they didn’t just jump out from nowhere, and that was because of their commercial value after years of working. The producers and companies saw that as money sources. Singers and actors despite being two drastically different talent, in history they are always interchangeable careers. 

And I thought I was being clear to say that I DO NOT agree but I am merely stating the reality that is currently happening. 

And lastly, I certainly did not stop people from voicing that out. I for the record have said many times in the posts about I would like it for a change. I was merely saying “they did not just jump out from nowhere”.

If you don’t agree or you simply didn’t read through my post, then sure, we can agree to disagree. I won’t comment on this more as the busy adults we are :)

As for movies getting their returns, yes and no, the Covid situation indeed made the industry difficult. But no, I also did my research hence I posted what I posted. The movies that are getting that much return are still relatively rare cases. There are still a lot of movies being pumped out every year and couldn’t reach its investment value. 

 larami:

um... you did? aside from the backward degenerates part, it was all you. i just added that part to convey what i viewed your post as. but now i realize i  jumped to conclusions. i apologize. have a good day. 

Nope. I was responding to @emperor who said this “I think one of the issue with female actresses in Korea or other asian drama is the "infantalization of female lead…in order to act cute or baby like  , funny , many of the actresses end up doing over acting .. "

By mentioning this: “The infantalising seems to be a thing in a lot of East Asian productions, unfortunately. I see it in alot of C-dramas as well. I feel like it could be a cultural thing, I'm from Asia as well, but my culture doesn't see grown women acting like 5 yr old kids as "cute" or "attractive", fortunately. ”

As commentary on how art imitates life, as these actresses wouldn’t be told to act in such a manner if it wasn’t acceptable in their culture to do so. My (100% Asian) culture doesn’t socialise women to behave this way and thus actresses in my culture don’t act this way either on-screen. That’s all.  

You misconstrued it completely by insinuating that I meant people from these cultures are 1) backward degenerates 2) because they liked grown women who act like kids. It was all you. I’m done discussing this anyway, so good day to you.

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 lord_varvara:

Plus, I'm going to call out the drama dishonesty. If someone doesn't like it and thinks it's an attack on a culture, well, deal with it. Yes, I'm attacking the dishonest drama culture. 

Exactly. The sanitising in K-dramas vs K-movies which is all gore and porn is quite an interesting divide (and topic of discussion). I have a huge problem with infantilising female characters as I feel it is an insult to women in general. Like we discussed earlier in the thread, even "independent" women characters are never properly written/acted. They walk around with stone-cold faces, yet are written to not be able to survive without a man. Case in point - Search www. Great drama but all 3 women (esp the main lady with her underwhelming, irritating partner) have romance written in for them - why? The msg it sends across is that women cannot survive without love or a man, that they can be powerful at work or elsewhere, but can never be single. And there's something inherently wrong with them, if they are. 

That sort of messaging needs to die a painful death, and I will criticise any culture - drama or not - that still sells that idea in the 21st century. 

@redmists

"

 Like we discussed earlier in the thread, even "independent" women characters are never properly written/acted. They walk around with stone-cold faces, yet are written to not be able to survive without a man. Case in point - Search www. Great drama but all 3 women (esp the main lady with her underwhelming, irritating partner) have romance written in for them - why? The msg it sends across is that women cannot survive without love or a man, that they can be powerful at work or elsewhere, but can never be single. And there's something inherently wrong with them, if they are. 

That sort of messaging needs to die a painful death, and I will criticise any culture - drama or not - that still sells that idea in the 21st century. "

Bingo! and great examples with Search WWW. It's one of those surface level girl power drama that's really all about getting or keeping a man.  I had this problem with Love ft Marriage and Divorce. You have 3 career women who get cheated on and all they care for is get their men back. So by the end of Season 1, you started to side with men which might be the point. In Season 2, women got even worse, the usual claws out makjang trash that gives Real Housewives a run for their villain money. Those shifts to female villainy or female passivity to prop male characters even in dramas focused on women is a big problem. I'm not saying every drama should be ra ra feminism but at least don't pretend you are telling a story about female independence when you clearly aren't.