12 Up and Coming Korean Drama Actors To Watch Out For This 2021

2020 was quite a year for Korean dramas, especially with its fan-base growing exponentially over the past few months. More than just the influx of binge-worthy dramas that came out in the past year, viewers were introduced to newer faces in the film and television scene who immediately caught our attention. Fortunately for us fans, many of these rising actors and actresses will be coming out with new dramas this year to entertain us in quarantine. 

We may not have enough information on those dramas yet, but we put together a list of actors we think you need to keep tabs on this year - check it out:

Kim Seon-ho has been cast as a second lead in way too many dramas, so in the upcoming year, we can’t wait to see him take on a well-deserved lead role and finally get the girl. 

While we patiently wait for any new dramas starring Kim Seon-ho, you might want to binge his old dramas such as 100 Days My Prince, or 2 Days 1 Night (2020) - a variety show where he is a regular cast member. Fans of Kim Seon-ho will surely be delighted to see a different side of the actor on the travel variety show!

Lee Do-hyun is slowly but surely dominating the Korean entertainment industry - especially after his spectacular performance in “18 Again”, which earned him a Best Actor nod at the 7th APAN Star Awards and the 19th Korea First Brand Awards. The series is a South Korean adaptation of the Zac Efron-led film “17 Again” following a 37-year-old man who morphs back into his 18-year-old body to fix the mistakes that led to his problems as an adult. 

Prior to this, Lee made his debut as an actor in the 2017 dark comedy, “Prison Playbook”, and played IU’s love interest in Hotel Del Luna, both of which you can also watch on Viu.

If you haven’t seen or heard of Hwang In-yeop in the past few months - are you living under a rock? Kidding aside, this up-and-coming young actor stole hearts in the recent rom-com drama, “True Beauty” opposite Moon Ga-young and Cha Eun-woo. It’s safe to say that viewers from all over the world suffered from a serious case of second lead syndrome while watching the drama and you probably would too. We can’t wait to see him in a lead role - and hopefully soon!

The 22-year-old K-Drama actor has consistently wowed fans since his screen debut in 2018. Since then, he has already earned several notable awards including the Best New Actor award at the 2019 MBC Drama Awards and Rookie of the Year award at the Asia Artist Awards for his performance in “Extra-ordinary You”, a webtoon adapted drama following a 17-year-old high school student who discovers that she is a mere extra in a comic book with a miserable fate. In this particular drama, Lee Jae-wook plays the typical arrogant popular guy, proving his versatility as an actor especially after being cast in much older roles like in When the Weather is Fine. 

This German-born Korean star is the charming and relatable lead character in the recent hit rom-com series “True Beauty". Moon Ga-young has been gradually building her acting resume since 2007 at the age of 10 and has already earned an Excellence Actress Award at the 2018 MBC Drama Awards. It’s hard to believe that she was also able to balance her thriving acting career with school, recently graduating from the prestigious Sungkyunkwan University - beauty and brains indeed!

Moon Ga-young has starred in many other dramas you may have heard of - one of which we think all audiences would love is Welcome to Waikiki 2 alongside Kim Seon-ho. 

Like many other Korean drama actors, Ahn Bo-Hyun originally debuted as a model and started his acting career in 2014. You may remember him as one of the team Alpha members, Piccolo, in the 2016 romantic drama “Descendants of the Sun'' or opposite Park Min-Young in “Her Private Life”.

Most recently, he starred as a main cast member in the fantasy thriller “Kairos”, which had themes of time travelling. It tells the story of a man named Seo Jin whose life crumbles when his wife passes and his daughter is kidnapped. In an attempt to restore everything to its normal state, he has to help a woman named Ae Ri search for her missing mother, 31 days in the past. 

This 5’7” charmer made his acting debut as a supporting character in the teen mystery drama “Who Are You: School 2015”. Since then, Jo Byeong-gyu’s career has only gotten better, starring in top Korean dramas like “Hot Stove League” and “Sky Castle” which is the second highest rated drama series in South Korean cable TV history. The satirical family drama depicts realistic conditions of the South Korean education system, especially in the upper classes of South Korean society.

With already such an impressive resume in his back pocket, we’re sure any upcoming dramas from this young actor will knock it out of the park!

Kim Se-Jeong is best known as a K-Pop idol under the alias Se-Jeong. She first appeared in MNET’s survival talent competition called “Produce 101”, which led to her career as an idol under groups I.O.I and Gugudan until their disbandment. Apart from her vocal talents, Se-jeong has been dipping her toes in the acting scene - already starring in three dramas since 2017 so we’re sure to see even more of her in the coming year! 

Se-jeong’s first major acting role as the lead of KBS’s teen drama “School 2017” still stands out and should definitely be on your watch list should you want a light, nostalgic drama. The coming-of-age drama follows several high school students as they deal with the difficulties and pressures of teenage life.

The gorgeous 6-foot actor and model rose to fame with his role in the hit drama series, “The Penthouse” in the last year; a blockbuster suspense drama about the life, dark secrets and controversies of South Korea’s ultra-rich families living in the exclusive Hera Place. Apart from this, Kim Young-Dae also starred in MBC’s teen drama “Extra-ordinary You”, and KBS’s “Cheat on Me If You Can”, both of which he received best new actor nominations for and can watch on Viu. 

Probably one of the industry’s underrated actresses, Shin Se-kyung is finally getting the recognition she deserves! The actress has been acting since she was a child, working hard to earn lead roles for mainstream TV - a notable one being “The Bride of Habaek”.

"The Bride of Habaek" is a 2017 drama spinoff of the manhwa Bride of the Water God. The story revolves around the water god, Habaek, who visits Earth to fulfill his mission to claim the throne of the Divine Realm. He seeks the help of his servant in the human world, a psychiatrist named So-ah, who is the remaining living descendant of a family fated to serve him for generations. Shin Se-kyung’s portrayal of So-ah will surely have you looking forward to her upcoming roles!

Kim Ji-soo, better known as Jisoo, made her entertainment debut in 2016 as the lead vocalist of the K-pop girl group, BLACKPINK. If that wasn’t impressive enough, the singer is said to star in a drama in 2021, building on her career as an actress on top of her idol success. 

However, this won’t be Jisoo’s first acting gig - she has done several cameos in dramas before, one of which being “The Producers” back in 2015 which starred Cha Tae-hyun, Gong Hyo-jin, Kim Soo-hyun and IU. 

Another K-pop idol on the list is Im Si-Wan, better known as Siwan—vocalist, and visual for the boyband ZE:A. After his discharge from the military, he starred in the psychological thriller “Strangers from Hell” alongside Lee Dong-Wook. This K-drama is adapted from the webtoon, Hell is Other People which tells the story of Yoon Jong-Woo (Siwan), a country boy who moves to Eden Studio in Seoul where he meets mysterious and abnormal strangers seemingly sent straight out of hell.

This multi-talented star is not only skilled in singing and acting, but also plays the violin, attended Engineering school in Busan, and has a huge passion for fashion. Talk about being the total package - we’re sure to see more of him in the coming years!