At a time where increasingly many idol singers are turning to acting, let’s take a look at some of those who have juggled their acting careers alongside their singing day jobs.

Recently, the hot topic in showbiz is how idol singers are taking on the challenge of acting. Among the recent crop of dramas, trying to find a drama that doesn’t feature a singer-turned-actor is like trying to pluck a star from the sky. Im Shi Wan in ‘The Moon That Embraces The Sun’, Jung Eun Ji and Seo In Gook in ‘Answer Me 1997′, have all received good reviews for their performances and have successfully established themselves as ‘acting-dols’.

At a time when it’s difficult to leave an impression just by singing, who are the singers who have taken up acting in the past and then going on to straddle both fields?

# The Nation’s Fairy, S.E.S Eugene

# Fin.K.L’s maknae, Sung Yuri

# No.1 popularity in g.o.d, Yoon Kye Sang

# Shinhwa’s Eric, isn’t there a burning smell somewhere?

In 1998, H.O.T’s management company SM Entertainment unveiled a 6-member idol group Shinhwa in grand fashion. 14 years later in 2012, the group has stood firm by their name and has gone on to become the longest-running idol group in Korea. At some point, Shinhwa member Eric took a step to stand in front of the public as Mun Jung Hyuk.

After his debut drama ‘Breathless’, he went on to romance the late Lee Eun Joo in MBC’s ‘Phoenix’, where his line ‘do you smell something burning’, became a popular phrase. Word has it that his fellow Shinhwa members, who were monitoring him in the drama, were cringing upon seeing him onscreen.

For Eric, the public’s criticisms targeted at his acting skills didn’t last very long. After taking home a Top Excellence award at the MBC Drama Awards for his performance in ‘Super Rookie’, Eric went on to establish himself as a bona fide actor with his roles in ‘Super Rookie Ranger’ (aka Korea Secret Agency / Invincible Parachute Agent) and ‘Que Sera Sera’. He further ventured onto the big screen with his turn in the movie ‘Diary of June’ (aka Bystanders).

However, his next drama ‘Strongest Chil Woo’ suffered from low ratings, and he suffered more humiliation when his post-army comeback drama ‘Spy Myungwol’, was plagued by controversies arising from the Han Ye Seul incident and his Twitter comments. Low ratings aside, for someone who had won acting awards such as Best Newcomer and Top Excellence in Acting, his acting skills once again came under fire from the general public.


Credits: TV Daily + Absolut Shinhwa