Profile | Who is Jung Hae-in, the star of K-dramas Connect, D.P. and Snowdrop with a tough yet sensitive screen persona?

Unlike many of his peers, Jung Hae-in rose to stardom after university and national service, chiefly through his role in Guardian: The Lonely and Great God
Since then, the actor known for gentle, naive characters has featured in Tune in for Love, and had edgy parts in army drama D.P. and Takashi Miike’s Connect

K-drama news

Pierce Conran

Published: 7:15pm, 17 Dec 2022

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Early in December, Jung Hae-in became the first Korean actor to headline two Korean drama series on Disney+, after teaming up with maverick Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike on the show Connect.

Jung takes on his grungiest role yet in the series. His character is kidnapped by organ traffickers as soon as he appears on screen and winds up cut open and harvested for organs on an operating table.

Though that doesn’t sound like the kind of part an actor like Jung would take on, his sweet and gentle screen persona slides comfortably into the show, softening the cartoonish blood and guts that are among Miike’s trademarks.

Over the past few years, Jung has taken on several roles that have expanded his range into more adult fare, without ever losing the persona that made him a star in the first place. It’s an image that has endured throughout his screen career, though Jung started much later than many of his Korean wave peers.

After dabbling in musicals at Pyeongtaek University, where he also earned a degree, Jung made his screen debut in 2014 at the age of 25. By then he had already completed his South Korean military service, unlike many of his male peers, who normally have to pause their careers while they complete their 21 months of obligatory service.

That year he acted in the Chosun TV drama Bride of the Century and also featured in the omnibus indie film The Youth, which premiered at South Korea’s Jeonju International Film Festival.

Connect: Takashi Miike’s wild and grungy K-drama debut loses its way

He followed these with several other small roles in TV dramas. One such role, in the hit drama Guardian: The Lonely and Great God, was what first got him serious attention. He played the first love of the show’s lead, Kim Go-eun, in the show.

Why we love him

Audiences love Jung for his bright and pure image. He has a tendency to play handsome but sometimes naive young men who tumble through the situations they find themselves in.

Jung Hae-in and Son Ye-jin in a still from Something in the Rain (2018). Jung has made his name playing characters who are as green as they are handsome.

He has a well-honed deer-in-the-headlights look which foregrounds the innocence and vulnerability of his characters, but behind the delicate emotional skills that make an ideal romantic lead, he also maintains a sharp physical presence that makes him ideal as a dynamic protagonist.

In many of his recent roles, he has found himself on the run, both as the pursuer and the pursued.

The star-making roles

Guardian: The Lonely and Great God may have got him noticed, but the show that made Jung a household name in South Korea was the 2017 fantasy romance series While You Were Sleeping.

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Though he didn’t play the main character, his name was, for a while, the most searched term on the Korean portal service Naver, thanks to his heartthrob role as police officer Han Woo-tak.

That same year, Jung impressed in the black comedy Prison Playbook. His performance as a military captain imprisoned for assaulting a soldier in his unit who later died struck a chord with viewers.

The iconic parts

The following year, Jung teamed up with Son Ye-jin in Something in the Rain, his first hit playing a leading man. The show was a success across Asia, propelling Jung to greater stardom and winning him a slew of awards.

Jung Hae-in in a still from D.P. (2021). Photo: Netflix

In 2021, he was back in the military, playing a conscript charged with tracking down deserters in the Netflix military drama D.P., which added an edge to his usually soft screen image.

For better or worse, one of his biggest roles came late last year as a North Korean agent hiding in a girls’ dormitory in the 1980s-set drama Snowdrop.

Owing to charges of historical distortion, the series was controversial in South Korea, where it failed to find a large audience, despite being the very first K-drama streamed by Disney+.

Jung Hae-in (left) and Jisoo in a still from Snowdrop (2021). Photo: Disney+

However, it was a very different story with young viewers overseas, who were less concerned with Korean historical inaccuracies and enjoyed the show’s outlandish mix of period university romance and spy thriller, not to mention watching Blackpink singer Jisoo, who starred alongside Jung, in her first major role.

The unheralded performance

Three years after Guardian: The Lonely and Great God, Jung and Kim Go-eun were given a chance to perform a fully fleshed-out romantic story in director Jung Ji-woo’s redolent 2019 period romance Tune in for Love.

Playing a stoic young man recently released from juvenile detention, the role was an ideal showcase for Jung’s tough-yet-sensitive charms.

Jung Hae-in and Kim Go-eun in a still from Tune in for Love (2019).

Tomorrow’s turns

Jung will return to screens in the follow-up season of D.P., which will see him reunited with Koo Kyo-hwan as they once again pursue military deserters for director Han Jun-hee. Production finished recently and the show will air at some point next year.

Jung will also return to the big screen for the first time since dramedy Start-Up in late 2019, as he is currently filming alongside Hwang Jung-min in the hotly anticipated sequel Veteran 2, from director Ryoo Seung-wan.

Since he is expected to play the villain, many are curious to see how Jung will transform himself and if he can live up to Yoo Ah-in’s memorable performance in Veteran.

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