Hallyu Spotlight: 5 Byeon Woo-seok drama appearances you might have missed

Everyone’s been talking about Byeon Woo-seok and the K-drama Lovely Runner (2024) recently.

Byeon is the male lead of the 16-part series alongside leading lady Kim Hye-yoon (Im Sol). The duo displayed their powerful chemistry and acting chops in this genre-bending K-series that comprises romance, time slips, fantasy and more.

 

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Since the show premiered, Byeon’s popularity saw a meteoric rise. And this is perhaps Byeon’s most career-defining role to date.

Here, HallyuSG looks at Byeon’s career trajectory and we take you through five dramas he appeared in.

1. Dear My Friends (2016)

Here, Byeon took on the role of Son Jong-sik, the nephew of Oh Choong-nam (Youn Yuh-jung). This marked the beginning of his acting career, as he debuted with the character Son Jong-sik.

2. Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo (2016)

This heart-wrenching period series starred big names IU, Lee Joon-ki, Kang Ha-neul, Nam Joo-hyuk and more. And it remains a fan favourite till today.

Byeon appeared as Go Ha-jin’s (played by IU) ex-boyfriend in the first few episodes of the series. While it was a smaller role, it was necessary for the character development of Go later on in the show.

3. Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo (2016)

In this rom-com surrounding the lives of aspiring athletes, Byeon was cast as the school senior of lead actor Nam Joo-hyuk.

The show was also headlined by Lee Sung-kyung who plays the title female character Kim Bok-ju. Byeon appeared in the last episode of this iconic light-hearted serial as a cameo.

4. Welcome to Waikiki 2 (2019)

The sequel to Welcome to Waikiki 1 (2018), the story revolved around the daily lives of friends who live in the same house.

Welcome to Waikiki 2 brought the “friends to lovers” storyline to live, sprinkled with various comedic elements. The second season was fronted by the six main casts Kim Seon-ho (Cha Woo-sik), Moon Ga-young (Han Soo-yeon), Lee Yi-kyung (Lee Joon-ki), Shin Hyun-soo (Kook Ki-bong), Ahn So-hee (Kim Jeong-eun) and Kim Ye-won (Cha Yu-ri).

Again, Byeon took on the role of a senior, Yoon Seo-joon. This time, he was the senior of Cha Woo-sik (Kim Seon-ho) and Han Soo-yeon (Moon Ga-young).

His cameo, especially with the two, is fun to watch as their interactions spark jealousy in Cha.

5. Search: WWW (2019)

The plot revolved around three women in their late thirties, Bae Ta-mi (Im Soo-jung), Cha Hyeon (Lee Da-hee), and Song Ga-kyung (Jeon Hye-jin), navigating their careers in the two top web portal companies.

They strive to be the cream of the crop despite the multiple obstacles encountered. Byeon appeared as Han Min-gyu several times here. His character was a model-actor sponsored by Song Ga-kyung.

It’s worth noting that since Search: WWW (2019), Byeon started to take on meatier roles in familiar dramas such as Record of Youth (2020), and Strong Girl Nam-Soon (2023), amongst others.

Separately, he will also be heading to Singapore for the first time for his fan meet on Jun 30. Titled “Summer Letter”, the event will be held at Singapore Expo Hall 3A.