*This content was translated by AI.
Kakao Entertainment's "Hot Rookie" actors are attracting attention with their brilliant presence across genres and platforms. As they have established themselves as a trend by building unique characters in their works with solid acting skills, distinct personality and charm, expectations are rising for their 2026 moves.
The 'hot rookie' that has been attracting attention since the beginning of 2026 is Moon Sang-min (Awesome ENT). Recently, KBS 2TV's Saturday mini-series "My Dear Bandit" (script Lee Sun, director Ham Young-girl, production studio Dragon) has attracted attention for its wide range of acting, encompassing romance, comedy, and seriousness. It is so popular that it is called the "Loco Grand Prince without Exit," drawing the excitement of viewers with its delicate and in-depth eye acting and sweet lines. "My Dear Bandit" is a dangerous and great romance that somehow changes the souls of two men and women, who became the most bandits in the world and chased her. So far, it has recorded the highest viewer rating of 7.7% (5 episodes, based on Nielsen Korea's national households), showing an upward trend. In particular, Moon Sang-min is said to be completing the three-dimensional nature of the character by convincingly embodying a complex set-up character mixed with status, gender, and emotions as a two-person role in which the soul is reversed. There is a lot of praise for adding depth to the play's narrative by stably portraying subtle emotional changes that vary depending on the situation. On February 20, the Netflix film 'Pavanne' (director Lee Jong-pil, production of The Lamp) will show another charm. It is a youth melodrama in which the three who closed their hearts and live together become light and face life and love, and Moon Sang-min plays Gyeong-rok, a young man who gives up his dreams and lives in reality in the play. It plans to convey the fresh excitement of a lover who begins love with an attractive chemistry with a hidden woman, Mi-jeong (Go Ah-sung), from people's uncomfortable eyes.
Choo Young-woo (J-Wide Company), who has become a "general trend of confidence," is expected to be busy this year, following his hard-working moves to and from TV, OTT, and screens in 2025 from JTBC's "Occy Lady Exhibition," Netflix series "Severe Trauma Center," "Place," tvN's "Gyeonwoo and the Fairy," and the movie "Tonight, Even If This Love Disappears from the World." Choo Young-woo, who has established himself as a hot actor with a wide range of genres, ranging from medical, noir, and romance fantasy, will make viewers excited with his authentic melodrama through the drama "Dr. Love" (directed by Ahn Pan-seok, scripted by Min Hyo-jung, planned KT Studio Genie, and production studio Gotti), which is scheduled to be broadcast as a Monday-Tuesday drama through the ENA channel this year. Dr. Love is a graduate Ph.D. student who was a swimmer in high school but lost one leg to a disease, and wanders after losing his career path In the story of a graduate student in a master's program who entered a new path, Choo Young-woo gave up her dream of becoming a swimmer and played Park Min-jae, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. As a person who continues his research slowly but sincerely by finding a new life of robotics in the place of his cut-off dream, he will present a different romance set in the robot lab with Kim So-hyun.
Cynthia (Management Forest) is fully supported by Gen.Z's generation, having previously made an impression with the films "Papa," "Tonight, Even if This Love Disappears from the World," and tvN's "Life of a Major Someday." As the next film, he will be cast in the Netflix series "Grand Galaxy Hotel" (directed by Oh Choong-hwan, scripted by Hong Jeong-eun and Hong Mi-ran, and produced by Imagineers) and continue his hard work. It is a story about a new president and a bold human hotel manager who is not afraid of ghosts meet at the Grand Galaxy Hotel, which comforts souls with the best service, and Cynthia plays Sang-soon, the hotel manager who is the only human among the employees. As it challenges a new genre called mystery romance fantasy, expectations are high on what characters will be drawn this time.
Kim Min-ju (Management Forest) will meet viewers with JTBC's Friday series "Shining" (script Lee Sook-yeon, director Kim Yoon-jin, production SLL, Kakao Entertainment), which will premiere on March 6. "Shining" is a drama about young people who share their own worlds becoming a light that shines on each other's beliefs and directions of life. Kim Min-joo will transform into Mo-na, a former hotelier-turned-Seoul guok stay manager, and join Park Jin-young, who plays the role of subway engineer Yeon Tae-seo. It delicately unravels the emotional line that shakes between the missed first love and the present life, and beautifully depicts a fresh and nostalgic first love narrative. Kim Min-joo has previously demonstrated her presence with new faces in each of her works, creating three-dimensional characters with various facial expressions and detailed emotional changes through MBC's Undercover High School and the movie 'Cheongseol'. As a result, expectations are high on how the "Shining" will attract viewers.
Hong Hwa-yeon (BH Entertainment), who is receiving favorable reviews for her unnew acting spectrum such as SBS's "Treasure Island," ENA's "Your Taste" and TVing's "Running Mate," will also return with tvN's new drama "Secret Appreciation" this year (script Yeo Eun-ho, director Soohyun Lee, creator Yang Hee-seung, production studio Dragon, and Dermodori). "Secret Appreciation" is a close-up audit romance between the charismatic audit manager Joo-ah (Shin Hye-sun), who kept a secret, and Roh Ki-joon (Jong-myeong), the ace in the audit office, who was demoted to the spot in charge of detecting internal rumors (PM). Hong Hwa-yeon plays Park Hae-jung, who has a unique appearance and professional work skills in the play, and transforms her character. He will portray the human aspects of the character who has always defended himself with delicate acting.
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*This content was translated by AI.
