2020’s Hottest K-Drama Actors

This year started out with such promise. Concerts! Movies! K-Dramas! A fresh start! And then coronavirus hit hard and turned everyone’s lives upside down. But even in times like this, we can find a little joy in small pleasures…such as watching our favorite K-Drama actors knock it out of the park with their work. There are so many wonderfully talented actors that deserve to be highlighted. Due to lack of space, we selected just a few fan favorites. 

Park Seo-Joon

Park Seo-Joon has come a long way since his 2012 K-Drama debut in “Dream High 2.” Over the past couple years, his career trajectory has soared. He played a bossy chaebol in 2018’s “What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim,” made a pivotal cameo appearance in 2019’s Oscar-winning film “Parasite” and broke hearts playing an orphan who fulfilled his dreams of becoming a successful restaurateur in this year’s hit series, “Itaewon Class.” He and IU are already hard at work shooting the feature film, “Dream” (slated for a 2021 release). 

Classic Park Seo-Joon K-Dramas:

“Fight for My Way“

“Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth“

“Kill Me Heal Me“

“She Was Pretty“

Hyun Bin 

Hyun Bin is one of those actors whose looks have actually improved as he has aged. And he started off ridiculously good looking to begin with. The 2018-2019 series “Memories of the Alhambra” put him back on everyone’s radar, but it was “Crash Landing on You” that kept viewers riveted to their screens. Coronavirus disrupted filming of his next project, the feature film “Bargaining,” but the cast and crew began production near the end of April.

Classic Hyun Bin K-Dramas:

“Hyde, Jekyll, Me”

“My Lovely Sam Soon”

“Secret Garden” 

Lee Jae-Wook

Lee celebrated his 22nd birthday just two months ago, but he has become a go-to actor for nuanced roles that belie his age. He played a bad boy in 2018’s “Memories of the Alhambra” (which starred Park Shin-Hye and Hyun Bin). But it was 2019’s “Search: WWW” that got him noticed for his role as a sweet and little-known actor who falls in love with one of the female leads. That led to the second male lead part in “Extra-ordinary You.” He had a co-starring role in this year’s “When the Weather is Fine” and filmed a cameo appearance for the upcoming K-Drama “Move to Heaven.” But his first leading role is slated for release in August on KBS2. In “Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol,” Lee stars opposite Go Ara.

Ahn Bo-Hyun 

The sweetest success sometimes is that which comes slowly. For Ahn Bo-Hyun, 2020 has been his big year. The actor, who turned 32 in May, made his K-Drama debut in 2014’s “Golden Cross,” which was followed up with small roles in a variety of series. His visibility went up considerably in 2019’s “Her Private Life,” where he played the second made lead to Kim Jae-Wook. They were both vying for Park Min-Young‘s attention. But this year, the 6-foot-2-inch former model ate up the scenery playing Park Seo-Joon‘s nemesis in “Itaewon Class.” Fans were charmed by his appearances on variety shows like “Home Alone” and “Running Man,” where he showed off his talent for singing and comedy. He’ll next be seen in the MBC K-Drama “Kairos,” which is slated for release later this year.

Who are some of your favorites actors who have made 2020 a little easier to take? Let us know in the comments below!