Errrrrmmmm
No please 😏

I didn't expect them to cast someone so young for this drama. And agreed with @javabeans that I still don't want to see him playing a morally corrupted character in drama yet. From the content, I think this role suited someone at least in their late twenties or even middle thirties.

So this is not sageuk? I thought this is going to be sageuk. Bae Jong-yoon was in late 20s /early 30s when he did Untold Scandal so I expected we would see older actors in this drama. Need to hear more details.

He's got the acting chops for it, and with that voice he could seduce anyone, but . . . HE'S STILL SO YOUNG. He is barely legal, and I mean that literally. I also want him to pick a good project cause he deserves it but this might be a dangerous move for his career, or it might be great for his career, who knows. I'd prefer a sequel to Circle. Circle 2 would be right up my alley. But if he signs on, I'd watch.

no. pleeeeease, no...

He can do it and he will be brilliant and I think this might be a challenging role that will make him shine, I like when a good actor act a bad character, but the problem is that he's so young for the role and there's a chance that he will act opposite much older actress like RW or an idol who this drama will be her debut, and it's hard to watch that. I hope he won't do it.

Thanks for the update, @javabeans. This is indeed looking less and less tenable.

Will MBC sanitize this setup, or will it step outside of its comfort zone? (My bet’s on door number three: that it’ll try to do both and not quite achieve either.)

I'm with you on this latest casting news. "No, no, a thousand times, no!"

So this will be like Cruel Intentions in a way that it will also be a modernized version. I'm also divided in this tbh. Just the premise alone is quite weird already. I feel like this is another drama where they will half-ass the production and directing like Reunited Worlds and I don't want another drama like that for Jingoo. He deserves better. Aka another Circle. I hope he considers his fellow cast and production team behind it before accepting.

I was hoping he'd do Hong Cheon Gi drama since that was a novel turned drama from the same author of Moon Embracing the Sun but I guess it won't be happening. :(

No. He looks kids to me, I don't see any 'sexy' about him, also his acting is not charming at all.

please skip on this. i'm not sure i'm ready to see him in these kinds of roles.

honestly, i think it would be better for him to follow yoo seung ho's example and enter the military early. by the time he gets back, he can get leading man roles which are age appropriate.

Why don't they cast a 30+ year old actor? So many around. He looks too young to seduce a woman

I remember ryan philippe suited the role in cruel intentions, but yeo jin goo is too baby faced for this. He doesn't have the vibe. Maybe someone with a more grown up and matured face, there are so many actors to choose from. It just doesn't match his persona.

Maybe this is gonna be more to "She´s all that" level witch is more innocent and light hearted (the bet is about making an unattractive girl into prom queen). I predict in this drama the bet between the cousins is about an apartment since they say he got kicked out of his parents house. to get the apartment he need to make the heroin to fall in love with him. to do so he does thing that typical male lead does in dramas. consider they mention realization joy of true love this is not gonna be as dark and heavy as the original story. derfor I guess he fit in as the character.

He's a bit more of a Danceny than a Valmont?

Eek, I love Yeo Jin Gu, and don't necessarily mind him in this role, but considering SK's obsession with 'images' and all that, I'm worried that he'd get a lot of flak for taking on a role like this when he's still relatively young.
Is this going to be modern or sageuk, though? Might I suggest a Seo In Guk X Go Ah Sung pairing? Or Park Hyung Sik X Han Yeri? Or Song Jae Rim X Park So Dam? Or Lim Ju Hwan X Lee Sung Kyung? (I've been dwelling on this show's casting a LOT, in case you can't tell lol)

I'd prefer Yoo Ah-in who would be more comfortable with this kind of role.

I like Yeo Jin-gu’s child career more than his adult one. I like that he’s switching up his roles and choosing to star in different types of dramas, but honestly, although he’s talented, it feels like he’s miscast in majority of those dramas with the exception of Circle. The description of this drama seems like the role would be better suited to a more mature actor.

"Mostly, I want Yeo Jin-gu to pick good projects, since he’s got some clunkers in there (Reunited Worlds, Jackpot, Orange Marmalade, I Miss You…)"

It's nearly impossible to avoid clunkers but he is one of those actors who still shine in them.
I don't know about his acting in "Reunited Worlds" I had to pass on it (allergic to Lee Yeon-hee) but he was fantastic in "Jackpot." He was in familiar territory in "I miss you" like he's done that before in some of his movies. (I would love to see him again with Kim So-hyun in a full drama).
My least favorite of his performance was in "Orange Marmalade" but he was still good.

I'm looking forward to "1987" where he gets to flex his acting muscle in a film with the likes of Kim Yoon-seok, Ha Jung-woo, Yoo Hae-jin etc.

Well... He is incredibly talented and of course I want him back on the small screen as fast as possible. But I say if actresses like Kim Yoo-Jung and so on are already getting scolded to finally getting their leading roles and playing romantic leads. I have to say NO to this because while I believe Yeo Jin-Gu is capable of being sultry/seductive/whatever, at his age he can only be that to some extent.

It just feels so wrong.

My heart is saying: Yeo Jin-Gu + sageuk = YES YES YES
But my brain is saying: Yeo Jin-Gu + this premise = NO NO NO

Agree totally...love him as sweet and kind. Also too young for that warped mind. Don't do it!

This drama sounds like it might be a watered down version of Gossip Girl and I don’t know how I feel about that

What is with dramas and changing the basic premise of their source material? Modernizing this, turning My Sassy Girl into a sageuk, modernizing Bride of the Water God. I feel like whenever they do this it fails horribly.

1: It always scares me when they are describing the story and don't even have a writer yet. Sounds like a recipe for a really lame script. I mean they have enough trouble getting it right when it starts with a writer with a script and they decide it is good enough to proceed with. Starting with a concept & a deadline -- run!!!!!!!
2: No writer should mean no script yet (unless they have chimpanzees typing it) and it's starting in January !!!? Hope they find someone who can type fast.
3: Quick! Hire the Ji-ho from Because This Is My First Life.

I gotta say I Miss You, I really felt for his character to a point. The rest of that show was utter crap on soooooo many levels

hmm...has no one here watched him in Hwayi? Young actors taking on dark roles is always kind of hard for me. I worried endlessly for Lee Joon, with his mental health issues, and all the very violent and dark roles he took on. So glad to see he has some lighter roles these past couple years.

Yeo Jin Goo is more than capable of taking on dark. He has terrific range and I think he will only take on roles that help him grow or that he enjoys. He can afford to be picky even at his age. But I'm coming down on the side of the idea that this is going to be PG and our 2 older folks are going to end up being fairy godparents with a competition to have him choose the girl of their choice. Perhaps they will each pick a different girl? Or one will secretly support the Cinderella of the story? Because no way are they going to have Valmont/BYJ lusting after our lead girl. In Kdrama main storylines it's not okay to have an older man chasing/bedding a young girl...only older women chasing and getting young guys.

Sungjae keeps saying he wants to do a villainous role, hand this one over to the boy, pretty please. Maybe it will be an interesting acting exercise for him . :/

I actually don't think I would mind Yeo Jin-gu in this role and unlike most beanies, I actually loved I Miss You. That being said, I'm more curious for the potential actresses they're going to cast in this role. I think that would determine if I'll be against his casting or not.

i think its gonna be a more childish version of the movie. he will be a playboy type who makes a bet to make an innocent girl fall in love with him and also listen to every command of his.
This has been done in many Japanese mangas.
For the female lead, i nominate IU. she is looking for a drama anyway. Might as well do this one as she looks very innocent as well.

I think it'd be best if this combo didn't happen...

I love Cruel Intentions! A Korean drama version could be interesting but it would be better on cable where adults are allowed to be sexual. MBC would probably barely let them kiss. It would be nice if they were college students instead of high schoolers, need more dramas about college students, high school is so over done. Plus it would be more uncomfortable to see high schoolers act sexy. I think YJG could do it, he has had darker film roles and could bring that same energy to a drama.

If this drama sticks close to Untold Scandal then as much as I love Jin Gu I just couldn't see him pulling it off. He's so young and I'm not sure I'd believe it. The role seems like it would call for someone who was at least 30 or no younger than 25. But who knows how the dramas going to be? Jin Gu's great so if he does take it, maybe he'll surprise me.

So...more like Cruel Intentions?

Initial reaction was yes! More Yeo Jin Goo. But reading your article, I agree with you. Can't he just make Circle 2?

Yeo Jin Goo is too young this drama. They should cast someone who is in his late 20s to early 30s. The male lead is suppose to be a predatory womanizer who can get any woman on his bed. Like come on I can't see YJG as like that yet. Even if they won't include sex scene in the drama unlike the movie it's still more appropriate to get an older actor since the role isn't a young man after all.

I think Yoo Ah In is perfect for this. The guy have dangerous aura in his eyes and can look and act predatory and a wild beast. Lee Jun Ki or Park Hae Jin would be perfect too. They just got that look in their eyes.

i can't see it either but he could use a big dose of something else so that he doesn't get stuck in overly sweet good-guy roles.

OMG very mixed feelings about this too.

Tbh I used to be his biggest fan but recently I've started losing confidence. He says himself that his acting changed for the worse since his middle school days.

Anyways I would have no problem actually with him acting a dangerous and morally corrupt character, I also suspect that he would like to have such a chance. BUT. In no way can I imagine him doing well in a role where charisma, seductiveness, manly dangerousness? and it seems a certain amount of weariness of life is required. He just screams "I'm barely past puberty! I don't know what's wrong with me and I don't feel right in my body yet!" with every cell of his body to me.