High school mystery Solomon’s Perjury finalizes main cast

by javabeans

Kim Hyun-soo, Jo Jae-hyun

Looks like JTBC’s adaptation of Japanese mystery novel and film Solomon’s Perjury is going in a different direction than its initial casting notices, which previously named Chae Soo-bin (Moonlight Drawn By Clouds) and Go Ah-sung (Heard It Through the Grapevine) as contenders to play the lead role. Instead, it’s been announced that the role will go to young child actress Kim Hyun-soo, which may seem like an unfamiliar name, though perhaps this list of credits will jog your memory:
 
Most famously, she played Jeon Ji-hyun’s child self in You From Another Star; she had a recent part in Kim Hye-soo’s movie Goodbye Single; she was Lee Jun-ki’s little sister in Joseon Gunman; she bonded with Joo-won in Good Doctor, playing a young patient whose sister struggled to pay her medical bills; she played young Shin Se-kyung in Tree With Deep Roots; and she had another connection to Joo-won by playing young Boon-yi on the run in Gaksital.

I would have liked to see Chae Soo-bin nab the leading role in a serious JTBC drama (and Go Ah-sung is always an awesome choice), but I’m fine with casting Kim Hyun-soo, which skews the role much younger. She’s got a warm charm to her, and at 16, she’s just the right age to play an intrepid high schooler who leads students in ferreting out the truth of a classmate’s death after it becomes clear that hypocritical adults, a corrupt administration, and an unhelpful system aren’t about to provide answers.

Kim Hyun-soo’s character is Go Seo-yeon, a hard-working model student at a prestigious high school who competes for top ranking with her privileged, wealthy schoolmates without any tutoring or outside help. She has a strong sense of self and is helpful to the weak and tough against the strong. She’s got a surprising other side, though, and enjoys practicing mixed martial arts outside of school. When her classmate dies and the school covers it up, she’s fueled by anger and rallies her classmates in opening a school trial, where she acts as student prosecutor to uncover the truth.

Jang Dong-yoon, Kim Yeo-jin, Sohn Soo-hyun

The role previously out to Infinite idol L (She’s So Lovable), who recently turned it down, will be played by a rookie, Jang Dong-yoon, which makes me think it’ll be a smaller role (Kim Hyun-soo is described as a solo lead). The character’s hame is Ji-hoon, and Jo Jae-hyun (Master—God of Noodle, Punch) has been cast to play his adoptive father, who is legal counsel for the school foundation and a former prosecutor who holds the secret to the situation at the school. I dunno about you, but casting Jo automatically makes me fear his character, since he plays shadowy, powerful villains so effectively, even though there’s nothing explicitly sinister about his character description. He initially met Ji-hoon when he was a prosecutor and working on a case, and ended up adopting him and is now a supportive father. However, his son has a secret he can’t have revealed, and his efforts to conceal it make him a key figure in the school trial. (It’s noted that this character will differ a bit from the one in the original.)

Kim Yeo-jin (Moonlight Drawn By Clouds) will play the lead character’s mother, described as warm-hearted normally, though she can turn into a fierce lioness when protecting her family. Sohn Soo-hyun (Puck!, Blood) will play a homerun teacher; she and Kim Hyun-soo both had small roles in the sageuk film The Treacherous.

Shin Eun-jung (Hwajung, Misaeng) will play another teacher, while Yoo Ha-bok (also from Hwajung) will play the school principal. Ahn Nae-sang (Moonlight Drawn By Clouds) has also confirmed being cast, though no word yet on his role.

Solomon’s Perjury will take up the weekend slot on JTBC following the recently premiered This Week, My Wife Will Have an Affair, and premieres in December.

Ahn Nae-sang, Shin Eun-jung, Yoo Ha-bok

Via TV Report, E Daily, Herald, Star News, My Daily

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