[Beanie Recs] Where to start with Jung Hae-in and Jung So-min
by DB Staff
Ahoy, Beanies! It’s time to gather your collective genius for a recommendation series that features you and your drama knowledge. We’ll drop a drama conundrum and leave it up to you to provide a drama rec, and the appropriate rationale behind it, be it long or short.
I am (not so) patiently waiting for Love Next Door to premiere in August because I’m crazy for the concept of a “boy/girl next door” romance, but also, I’ve loved Jung Hae-in and Jung So-min in the dramas I’ve seen them in so far (only two: One Spring Night and Because This Life is Our First). As a newbie drama watcher, can the Beanies help me out with where else to start with either of these fresh-faced actors? I want to dive into one of their dramas as a lead-up to Love Next Door. Thanks!
Have a very particular drama itch that needs scratching? In need of a Beanie Rec? Email us at hello @ dramabeans.com and we’ll feature your topic in a future post.
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Tags: Beanie Recs, Drama recommendations
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1 sonai
July 31, 2024 at 11:42 AM
For JHI:
* If you liked ONE SPRING NIGHT, then I’d definitely recommend SOMETHING IN THE RAIN next. It’s also a PD Ahn drama, so the vibe is really similar (just cover your ears whenever the soundtrack kicks in!). JHI and Son Ye Jin (who plays the female lead) have exceptional chemistry in this romance.
* I also really liked him in A PIECE OF YOUR MIND, but have tissues ready. Since the drama is dealing with heavy topics like grief, you might want to be in the right mood before you start watching.
* For a quick fix, I’d really recommend to watch the movie TUNE IN FOR LOVE, which is a really nice melo-leaning romance with Kim Go Eun playing the female lead.
For JSM:
This might not really fit the “boy/girl next door romance” bill, but in case “costume fantasy” is your jam, JSM was a joy to watch in ALCHEMY OF SOULS. This drama has a nice ensemble cast in general!
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TT
August 2, 2024 at 9:48 AM
for SITR the soundtrack wasn't that bad! Yes, you got a little sick of some of them but the ones from Rachael Y were magical.
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2 Nessa (Bebe) 🌹
July 31, 2024 at 11:48 AM
I echo @sonai in recommending those 3 dramas for Jung Have In. A Piece of Your Mind still has quite a special place in my heart after all of these years.
As for Jung So Min, I'd recommend Because This is Our First Life -- a more slice-of-life drama, but so comforting and so relateable
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Nessa (Bebe) 🌹
July 31, 2024 at 12:01 PM
*Jung HAE In
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3 Midnight
July 31, 2024 at 12:14 PM
I have maybe unfortunately only liked JHI in his two first roles: The Three Musketeers, and Bride of the Century.
Jung So Min on the other hand was completely underwhelming in her initial roles which were mostly the sweet innocent candy. Then she went on to play the hilariously wacky second lead in Big Man which was a terrible drama, but she completely won me over! 😄👌
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owl 🦉 🫰
July 31, 2024 at 1:25 PM
Three Musketeers, yes, but Midnight, do you recall the letdown when they canceled the other 2 dramas that were supposed to follow to make it a trilogy?
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Midnight
July 31, 2024 at 1:40 PM
Honestly? I was relieved. We were shown kind of a preview, and I didn't like it at all. As it was, I was glad that they didn't overstay their welcome and left me completely satisfied.
SPOILER
I was pretty displeased that the villain was going to come back alive again and give us just some repetitive story.
If we had been shown a new villain I too would have been disappointed at not getting the second season.
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4 Siona ⭐️ (@DramaticFoodie)
July 31, 2024 at 12:23 PM
JSM was great in Because this is my first life. You can check her movie Love reset - its good with HEA and drama Alchemy of souls P1.
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Siona ⭐️ (@DramaticFoodie)
July 31, 2024 at 12:24 PM
And in drama - Monthly magazine home.
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late as always
August 2, 2024 at 9:26 AM
I love JSM but did not like Monthly Magazine Home. I never warmed up to the male lead. Bad SML syndrome in that one. Though the secondary characters were really great.
Alchemy of Souls is one of my all time faves! The rest of the cast is terrific too, from Lee Jae Wook and Yoo Joon Sang to Oh Na Ra. But you have to like fantasy, and you have to be willing to put up with ridiculous, My-Little-Ponyesque hairstyles among the men.
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Siona ⭐️ (@DramaticFoodie)
August 2, 2024 at 12:59 PM
My-Little-Ponyesque hairstyles among the men
I think they looked great🤣🤣
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5 Isa is always time travelling
July 31, 2024 at 12:29 PM
For Jung Hae In, as @sonai I recommend the movie Tune in for love. I liked it very much. (But I can't recommend One spring Night. I finished it but I didn't like it).
And my favorite drama, where he is a secondary character but you won't forget him: Prison Playbook.
He was very nice as SML in While you were sleeping too.
I have only watched Jung So Min in Because this is our first life and Alchemy of Souls. I want to watch The smile in your eyes too.
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tabong is ironing the crosswalk
July 31, 2024 at 12:35 PM
Prison Playbook!!! Of course.
Ignore my comment anonymous beanie. Do not bother to google Blood or Bride. Just watch this. 😆
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Isa is always time travelling
July 31, 2024 at 12:42 PM
*I meant The smile has left your eyes. A melo with Seo In Guk.
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abalyn
July 31, 2024 at 1:18 PM
The smile has left your eyes is well acted but super tragic in the second half. I can't remember if I left it with a bad feeling because the plot was so frustrating or it was just such a tragic ending. Seo In Guk and Jung Hae In had amazing chemistry, though. They are good friends IRL.
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6 tabong is ironing the crosswalk
July 31, 2024 at 12:32 PM
So Min: The Sound of Your Heart, My Father is Strange and D-Day (tbh, I don't remember how good she was on D-Day, I just liked the show lol)
Hae Jin: A Piece of Your Mind.
Everyone talks about DP, so I guess that would be good too. But I haven't watched it yet.
He was cute in Blood and Bride of Your Century too, but he wasn't main character and watching those shows just for him... Not recommended. Bride was nice at the beginning tho, so maybe you would survive the drag the last few episodes are.
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Storyenthusiast
July 31, 2024 at 3:51 PM
I loved Jung So Min’s character in D-Day! She was so persistent and perky but also relatable.
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7 Kittystanden
July 31, 2024 at 2:55 PM
JSM was very winning in Father is Strange, my favorite family drama of all time (and possibly the only family drama I have ever finished??). Would highly recommend!
JHI was great in A Piece of Your Mind, one of my favorite dramas of all time. As others have said, he’s also very good in supporting roles in Prison Playbook and While You Were Sleeping.
I’m triangulating for dramas I liked them in and dramas I liked—I think JSM was good in Monthly Magazine Home but I ended up really disliking that drama!
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Relisher
July 31, 2024 at 4:41 PM
I love Father is strange so much! I watched it all the way through a couple of years ago and i keep rewatching bits and pieces even now. My favorite parent couple, one of my favorite kdrama female characters (Lee Yuri being absolutely wonderful as the oldest sister) and such a fun slightly annoying but also simultaneously soft and squishy and empathetic male character (Lee Joon).
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8 Healer’s
July 31, 2024 at 2:59 PM
If you start with Something in the rain and stopped at ep8, you’ll love Jung Haein (and bonus: you won’t hate anyone else).
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dramamad
July 31, 2024 at 9:34 PM
oh yes! the second half was awful
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Bunny Sonaki
August 1, 2024 at 1:28 AM
There is one certain character that was rightfully awful since the first time she appeared on screen. (If you know what I mean.)
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Healer’s
August 1, 2024 at 1:36 AM
Yes I do 😅 I thought of that character after posting my comment 😅
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Bunny Sonaki
August 1, 2024 at 2:57 AM
That character gave me a trauma.
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9 Kurama
July 31, 2024 at 4:10 PM
For me, you can watch every drama with JHI. If you can handle violence, D.P. was really good and will show a different facette of him.
JSM was really good in The Smile has left your Eyes. But it's not an easy story.
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10 Relisher
July 31, 2024 at 4:29 PM
Jung So Min was delightful in My Father is Strange, it's a long ensemble family drama and does take a few episodes to get into it's stride, but it is my favorite family kdrama, rivaled only by Life is beautiful (2010). Incidentally, both share the same absolutely wonderful lead parent couple, Kim Hae Sook and Kim Yeong cheol. Jung So Min is lovely in it but the oldest sister character (played by Lee Yuri) is one of my favorite female kdrama characters, and Lee Joon (So Min's lead male) is a wonderfully intriguing ml so it has a lot going for it.
So Min is a lot more central in Because this is my First Life and I thought she was wonderful in that too and the female friendships in that one was very cute.
Jung Hae in I enjoyed in both A Piece of your Mind and One Spring Night. The latter a bit more overall than the former as a full drama. The only character i couldn't stand in One spring night was the fl's, Han Ji Min, father and the fact that he never got real consequences for being a pos to his daughters soured a bit of my enjoyment, but i thought the lead couple was really nice and their dynamics felt real and grown up. It's an ahn pan seok drama so be prepared for overplayed english songs, but it was balanced out by realistic feeling situations and dialog and character interactions.
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Relisher
July 31, 2024 at 4:36 PM
Lol i just realized One spring night was already mentioned so i didn't need to go into that much detail. So I would recommend A Piece of your Mind for sure. It was a slightly strange drama in some ways, but really sweet and kind of soft and relaxing in other ways, and I really enjoyed it.
He was good in Prison playbook too, but i was so irritated by how the lone gay character in the kdrama (and a rare openly gay character in most of kdrama world) ended up that i just can't recommend that to anyone. I was super into it for a bit and Jung Hae in is actually very good in it for his role, but the show pissed me off to much near the end.
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PYC
August 2, 2024 at 5:38 AM
@Relisher - I’m so pleased to find another Beanie after all these years who also loves Life is Beautiful (2010). That’s my all time favorite weekender family drama!! Hi-five!!
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Relisher
August 2, 2024 at 10:11 AM
Hi-five!! I watched Life is Beautiful as it was airing and I don't know how I managed it because I'd only watched one kdrama before that and that was from a friend who had it recorded, but I somehow googled enough and found out how to get subs from the fansite that was doing subs and watch on their forum and follow LiB updates as it unfolded and tried to figure out plot lines if subs took a while... What a time!
A (mostly) well-rewarded labor of love. As much as I had a few gripes with some of the storylines, the massively amazing lead parent couple (and their wonderfully healthy dynamics with each other) and their relationships with their kids, especially the mom and oldest son and the dad and oldest daughter, still sticks with me and I still rewatch bits and pieces of it now. It's a little sad though that a 2010 drama was more progressive with lgbtq rep and not burying their gays than most dramas are now. It's always good to find other fans of it even now :)
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PYC
August 7, 2024 at 6:49 AM
I became aware of this drama after it was aired - but it was my stress relief. I watched at my own pace, like 5 or 6 ep per week (during a very hectic work era). This might just be my first ‘healing’ drama as I gained warmth and comfort from this drama.
To me, the main couple is the parents who are selfless and sensible to support all their kids. The eldest son’s coming out journey is well crafted with right pacing and thoughts - never thought a kdrama would handle it so very well. You’re right that a 2010 drama seems doing it better than now in a most progressive and sensible manner. When Kim Hae Sook and Kim Yeong cheol team up again as parents for My Father Is Strange, I have no hesitation to watch it.
Any good family drama should have well developed side stories for the family members. I love the two uncles - a slacker and a career man. The latter’s romance is always what I look forward to. Oh, may be time to re-watch if I can find it somewhere. (I used to have a DVD set but my DVD player died now.)
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11 jillian
July 31, 2024 at 6:11 PM
For Jung So Min, I liked her in Because This is My First Life and Alchemy of Souls S1.
For Jung Hae In, I liked him in his supporting role in Prison Playbook.
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Bunny Sonaki
August 1, 2024 at 1:27 AM
Seconding this.
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12 Bunny Sonaki
August 1, 2024 at 1:26 AM
For Jung Hae-in, you can watch:
While you are sleeping, he is the second lead but he was stunning.
He was also the main lead in Snowdrop but this is such a heavy drama.
For Jung So-min
There is Alchemy of Souls, a fantasy drama but she only appeared in the first part.
Also, there is Monthly Magazine Home, a light romcom.
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jillian
August 1, 2024 at 8:09 AM
I liked JSM a lot in AoS S1. She was one of the reasons I stayed and watched it all
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13 Darky
August 1, 2024 at 3:08 AM
I’ve watched one spring night and something in the rain interchangeably for more than 10 times, engaging dramas and engaging actors , JHI is extraordinary as lead in both, not to mention being such eye candy 😝 I’ve also watched his DP and whilst you were sleeping a bit. Go for the first 2 if you are into romance and all.
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14 technicat
August 1, 2024 at 9:29 AM
I like Jung So-min in everything I've seen. I think she's a very distinctive actor. I recommend checking out Bad Guy because that's where she got her start and the entire show is an entertaining train wreck, and Playful Kiss, if you can put up with the premise and bland co-star, is where she showed she can shine as a lead. I liked her character in Big Man (ignoring the Kang Ji-hwan issues). Without caveats, as has been mentioned by others she's great in Father Is Strange and Because This Is My First Life. I also thought she was good in The Smile Has Left Your Eyes and Monthly Home Magazine, although I didn't finish those shows.
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15 bong-soo
August 1, 2024 at 10:21 AM
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16 bong-soo
August 1, 2024 at 10:32 AM
My favorite Jung Hae-in role: Private Ahn Joon-ho in Netflix’s D.P. (2021). He was terrific in that role and his physicality i.e. fighting was outstanding. Lol somehow I don’t think you want to begin your Jung Hae-in education with that one.
JHI out of competition reality show recommendation: JUNG HAE IN’S TRAVEL LOG (2019/20). (Available as a playlist on KBS World-Youtube). Reality shows are really not my thing but this is one of my favorite JHI’s ‘shows’ dramas included. JHI’s first visit to NYC. After a couple of episodes 2 of his buddies show up (Lim Hyoun-soo and Eun Jong-geon) and it is the 3 guys exploring around NYC and eventually going up to Niagara Falls with some spectacular footage up there. I lived in NYC (2013-2021) and I think this was filmed during October 2019 so there was beautiful autumn weather (including a stunning and funny night visit atop the Empire State Building) and you get to see a vibrant NYC before the pandemic in 2020 made parts of Manhattan ghost towns. Highly enjoyable. (I think JHI was 30 when this show was filmed and he ordered a beer at a place and the waitress asked to see his ID to verify he was old enough to drink in NYC. The drinking age in NYC is 21. He was a good sport lol.)
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17 kay4625
August 1, 2024 at 12:34 PM
* For Jung Hae-in, I could recommend Something In The Rain, but I won't, because I'm not that evil. I haven't seen him in anything else outside of One Spring Night, which I'm currently watching.
* As for Jung So-min, she's excellent in Alchemy of Souls S1, which is just a great show in general. Outside of that, I also loved her in D-Day, which I think is a rather underrated drama, and one I really loved for the most part, though I may be slightly biased due to my love for disaster dramas & movies in general.
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18 late as always
August 2, 2024 at 9:29 AM
DP was very good, especially the first series. And JHI was excellent in it. But it's harrowing and hard to watch.
I also echo Isa Is Always Time Traveling--Prison Playbook! Such a great ensemble cast--I can't even decide who my favorite character is. JHI is not the main character but his arc is great and really shows his range as an actor.
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