My Acting Favorites

As of 13 Sep 2015.

The Actors (in alpha order).

Cha Seung Won	Choi Jin Hyuk	Gong Yoo	Joo Ji Hoon
Joo Won	Lee Min Ho	Lee Seung Gi	Lee Sun Kyun
So Ji Sub	Sung Joon	Yoo Yun Suk	Yun Woo Jin

1. Cha Seung Won - He made the list because he is an amazing actor. In You're All Surrounded, the way he said so much without saying anything was one of the reasons I loved this drama and his character. We see him young and idealistic and then 11 years older and beaten down by life and he made you believe it. I can't say enough about how much I love this man's acting, which is why he's on my list.
2. Choi Jin Hyuk - I liked him as the serious Woo Duk in Pasta, even before his changed his screen name. He completely won my heart (and a lot of other people's) with his performance in Gu Family Book, to where I cried for him after one episode and cried even more after his redemption. His ability to be effervescent and joyful and then self-contained and dark make him an actor I enjoy watching.
3. Gong Yoo - I first saw him in the movie, Finding Mr. Destiny, and then I watched Coffee Prince, but it wasn't until I started watching Big did Gong Yoo cement himself as one of my favorites. Not because Big was the greatest series ever, but just because it struck me just *how much* of a range this man has.
4. Joo Ji Hoon - While I liked him as Prince Shin in 'Goong,' it wasn't until 'Mask' that I fell in love with Joo Ji Hoon. As the tortured Min Woo, he played a man desperate not to be crazy, forced into a marriage with a woman he doesn't like and who eventually falls in love with her doppelganger. 'Mask' is a melodrama, but Ji Hoon's performance was never over-the-top. Twitches and glances communicated what a lesser actor would make a production out of and no matter what was happening, you bought the absolute sincerity of his performance.
5. Joo Won - As I watched Baker King, Kim Tak Gu, I liked his intensity, but something about his character didn't make him endearing. But after watching his performance in Good Doctor, I am definitely a fan. One thing I appreciate about him is that he seems to give everything in each of his performances, to where there's a real sense of integrity to them.
6. Lee Seung Gi - I wouldn't have initially thought that he would be one of my favorite actors, but as I was watching King2Hearts it struck me that every series that I've watched him in, I've heartily enjoyed, partially *because* of him. He adds a touch of goofy as well as earnestness to his characters that I find endearing and it never takes me very long to warm up to his character. Even when he's arrogant, he's likeable from the beginning because he's a *nice* arrogant. His latest k-drama, You're All Surrounded, showed how he can play a serious role and still be endearing, even as that character is cold, rude and angry.
7. Lee Min Ho - I first met him as Gu Jun Pyo in Boys Over Flowers and since then, I have appreciated the vulnerability he has brought to his characters. Even as he's kicking butt and taking names, he's soulful and self-examined. Plus, the man has charisma oozing out his pores.
8. Lee Sun Kyun - He won my heart with his great performances and with that voice of his. The way the words rolls out of his mouth is equaled by no one. They don't call him Mr. Voice for nothing.
9. So Ji Sub - One thing I love about his man is the relish with which he embodies the character he's playing. His character in Master's Sun... I don't think I've seen a hero quite so arrogant, or so 'there' in his acting.
10. Sung Joon - my first encounter with him was in Lie to Me and since then, I've enjoyed his grumpy Ji Hyuk, his defiant Chi Hoon and his stoic Gon. I don't know what exactly it is that makes me love him so, but I really, really do. I think it's the utter sincerity of his acting and the vulnerability he adds to his characters, who are in no way wimps!
11. Yoo Yun Suk - He won my affection when he played Tae Seo on Gu Family Book. When the man cried, gut wrenching. But I fell in love when he played Baek Gun Woo in Maendorong Ttottot (Warm and Cozy). Not only did he make a rapscallion loveable, to where you loved him in spite of yourself, but he gave him a nuanced vulnerability that truly grabbed my heart. It was the minute reactions that communicated so much and solidified him as someone belonging on my favorites list.
12. Yun Woo Jin - As Gong Ki Tae in Marriage Not Dating, he took a prickly, selfish guy and from the beginning, made him someone likeable. Even when he's being the biggest jerk, there's a humanness about him. It was the little reactions that he gave to the character that make him accessible and appealing. Plus, Marriage Not Dating required a lot of physical comedy and he threw himself into any situation he was faced with... like being beaten with a fish; drunk muk, jji, bba; the scary fight that wasn't; or riding off (literally on a bike) with the girl. He wasn't above being goofy and his profession of love has got to be one of my favorites: "I like you, you frustrating woman!"

The Actresses

Bae Suzy	Ban Hyo Jung	Go Ah Ra	Gong Hyo Jin
Ha Ji Won	Han Groo	Jung Hye Young	Kim Sun Ah
Moon Chae Won	Park Min Young	Shin Min Ah	Yoon Eun Hye

1. Bae Suzy - She may not have won my heart in Big, but she definitely stole it in Gu Family Book. And unlike a lot of female characters that are supposed to be strong and tough, but come across as conflicted and unconfident, her Yeo Wool was able to kick butt, take names and still be a girl. Not once did I feel like she was just trying to be strong, she *was* strong; but it was wrapped in a girlie shell, even if that girl hated wearing dresses and was terrible at cooking.
2. Ban Hyo Jung - My favorite halmeoni, she is the epitome of dignity in any character she's portraying, even if it is one who is a biker chick in black leather. Maybe it's because she reminds me of my own grandmother, but every time I see she's in a series that I plan on watching, it immediately makes me smile. 
3. Go Ah Ra - Her performance in You're All Surrounded added her to my list. She made a character that easily could have hated, one that I really loved. I think it's the absolute sincerity and commitment of her performance which made me love a girl who wasn't always the sharpest, but had the biggest heart.
4. Gong Hyo Jin - One of her talents is playing a character whose life is a mess, that sometimes seems as though the slightest wind will blow her over, and still she fights for what she wants. Even when a character's absolutely pathetic, she gives her an accessibility which endears, rather than repulses, the audience. She's a great crier and when she weeps, I find myself weeping, too.
5. Ha Ji Won - I first encountered her in Secret Garden and have since seen King2Hearts and Empress Ki. What I appreciate about her characters is that they are strong, period. Whether a super stunt woman, the first female drill instructor in the Northern Korean Army, or the leader of a bunch of bandits, her characters aren't afraid to stand up to anyone and kick their butt, even as she's wearing high heels.
6. Han Groo -  As Joo Jang Mi in Marriage Not Dating, she took a clingy, oblivious girl and, from the beginning, made her someone likeable. Jang Mi could have easily been annoying, but quickly, she's the girl who you want as your best friend. She spoke her mind, cared about others and had a vulnerability that really made you feel for her. Plus, Marriage Not Dating required a lot of physical comedy and she threw herself into any situation she was faced with. She wasn't afraid of looking ugly and was great at being goofy, because she *became* Jang Mi.
7. Jung Hye Young - What I love about this woman is her layered performances. In Gu Family Book, she portrayed so many emotions with just a glimmer of a reaction on her face. In Mischievous Kiss, she was the mother of a sour-to-everyone genius who was just so sweet. Again, it was those micro-expressions that communicated so much.
8. Kim Sun Ah - She made a woman who sometimes reminded me of a fishmonger's wife one of my all-time favorite characters. Her grounded confident performance, even as she played a character that was quite unconfident, makes her an actress I absolutely love and her simply being in a drama makes me want to watch it.
9. Moon Chae Won - In Shining Inheritance, she was guilt-ridden about how she went along with her mother's schemes, and in Good Doctor, she was a woman with growing romantic feelings toward someone with autism. She excels in showing the internal conflict of a character. The way she makes her soul-searching so accessible, so that we love her even when she does things we hate, but love her more when she's fighting to do what's right, is one of the reasons why I love her.
10. Park Min Young - When I think of her, I think of her smile, which is so genuine and *there.* She has an ordinary, everyman quality to her, so that she feels like she's you, or your best friend. In both City Hunter and Sungkyunkwan Scandal, she was doing a job that women normally don't do and she wasn't doing it to prove something; she was just doing it to be true to herself. And that's why I think she appeals to me, that earnestness with which she portrays her characters.
11. Shin Min Ah - The thing I love about her is the joy, vulnerability and strength that are all rolled up in a very tiny package. She is the reason that her character was so winning in My Girlfriend is a Gumiho, because she's instantly likeable and the more you get to know her, the more you know that your first instinct was right.
12. Yoon Eun Hye - I'm sure it's not a surprise that she's on my list. Trying to sum up all the reasons that I like her would take too long. I think it's the authenticity with which she *is* her characters that makes her so appealing. That and that she leaves it all on the table with every scene she's in. She can be a tomboy or a stunning beauty, but she always feels like she's your best friend, even if she is more attractive than you are.