I've loved Seo In-guk from the first glimpse I caught of him in I Remember You. I've watching the majority of the drama he's starred in since, and I have to say I'm seriously impressed. The boy practically came out of nowhere, and he's been churning out unforgettable performances ever since - here are a few to entertain yourself with.
NOTE: This list is not written in order of which I liked the most, it is written in order of release date.
Love Rain was, as I've said a million times over, a terrible show. It was so bad. They took a fairly interesting idea and turned it into a twenty-episode angst fest. I get angry thinking about it. It starred Jang Geun-suk and Yoona in double roles; firstly, as innocent lovers in the 80s who were forced to separate, and then as the respective sons and daughters they had with other people who also fall in love. I loved the first six episodes or so, and then the show fell into a depressive spiral. Anyway, this was Seo In-guk's acting debut, and he was one of the few highlights of the show. I'm pretty sure he was the reason I decided to try Love Rain in the first place. His double role as a musical country boy and his rocker nephew was absolutely golden. By the time I reached the final episode of Love Rain I was just glad to be done with it, but Seo In-guk's tiny epilogue actually managed to help me leave that disaster of a drama with a smile.
Reply 1997 was Seo In-guk's first lead role, and what a show to choose. Reply 1997 was the first in tvN's three-part Reply series (expect a post on this soon). Known for being side-splittingly funny whilst equal parts nostalgic and heart-warming, the drama was responsible for rocketing Seo In-guk to stardom. The drama exists around a mystery - which of her childhood friends did Sung Shi-won, the main character, marry - and flits back and forth between the past and the present. We watch the characters grow and change, experience their fill of heart-break and anguish. It's no wonder such a unique and well-written series got two spin-offs. It's amazing how memorable Jung Eun-ji and Seo In-guk's characters were, even though they were simply playing slightly quirky teenagers. They had fantastic chemistry, and although I personally wasn't satisfied with the show's conclusion, I still consider it a great ode to youth.
I recently wrote a review of comfort food drama High School King of Savvy. Seo In-guk stars as high-schooler Lee Min-seok, who's more concerned with hockey than anything else, and has become used to the fact that he never sees his older brother Hyung-seok any more. He's supposed to be coming home soon, considering he just landed a job in Korea, but Min-seok gets a call from him late at night with a request. He wants Min-seok to pretend to be him for a while. Min-seok eventually agrees, which results in all sorts of fun. Seo In-guk is hilariously relatable as a teenage heart-throb with literally no idea of how to survive in the workforce, and his improvisation helps to make High School King of Savvy his best comedic performance yet.
I Remember You will probably always be my favourite thriller. I loved every aspect of this drama - but that's to be expected, I guess, when you place Jang Nara amongst a practically all-male cast and then throw in some serial killers for good measure. There wasn't anything massively ground-breaking about Seo In-guk's character, here. Lee Hyeon was cold and calculating, effectively the straight man in a family of goofy detectives but equally matched amongst a few criminal master minds. He suits comedy well, but I'm not about to say that means he isn't suited for darker drama. In fact, it's quite the opposite. Seo In-guk surprises me mainly for always managing to pick a project wildly different from his last one, over and over again, and suit every role he chooses. His subtle, supportive romance with Jang Nara was adorable, and his bromance with Park Bo-gum was beyond that. I don't know where to start in explaining how fantastic and underrated this drama was, I suggest you just read my review.
Okay, now for a confession - I still haven't finished Police Unit 38. There just isn't enough hours in a day. Nevertheless, I can still praise this show without having seen the last three episodes. It stars Ma Dong-seok as Baek Sung-il, a government worker who must collect taxes. He and his team, however, aren't very good at it, and it usually ends pretty badly whenever they go hunting. The rich people successfully evade tax, and the poor people always end up suffering for it. Baek Sung-il absolutely hates this - and this is where ex-convict Jeong-do comes in. He offers to help him, by scamming the tax evaders into giving up their money. This is probably Seo In-guk's most ingenious character yet. With a thousand different faces and a thousand different disguises, it's difficult to uncover Jeong-do's real motives. That just makes the show all the more addictive.
And the award goes to Shopping King Louie for Seo In-guk's most adorable character ever. Shopping King Louie hasn't finished airing yet but it makes for one of Seo In-guk's most unique performances. He plays the titular Louie, a childish rich boy who's been locked away in France for the majority of his life, and shops constantly to fill the void in his heart. Louie gets into an accident and is pronounced dead, although in reality he's just lost his memories. How will Louie survive? He finds Go Bok-shil, a girl from the rural part of Korea who moved to the city to find her runaway brother. Louie's first love is about to start.
How is it physically possible for a person to be this cute? Seriously? Who else, apart from Seo In-guk, would be capable of turning a spoilt immature person into someone so sweet and endearing? I can't comprehend it. Shopping King Louie is my favourite ongoing show at the moment, and only the world's most persistent power cut will stop me from watching it.
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