Byeon Woo Seok Tops Rankings, Park Ji Hoon Second

Byun Woo-seok ranked first in the May 2026 drama actor brand reputation, followed by Park Ji-hoon in second and Kim Jae-won in third. The Korea Corporate Reputation Research Institute analyzed 116,645,333 pieces of big data related to the brands of 100 actors who appeared in dramas aired from April 13 to May 13, 2026. This figure represents a 42.65% increase from the 81,772,786 pieces of data analyzed in April, indicating a significant expansion of public interest in the drama market.

The brand reputation analysis was conducted based on participation index, media index, communication index, and community index. Byun Woo-seok secured the top spot with a total brand reputation index of 9,363,025, recording a participation index of 2,121,748, a media index of 2,191,545, a communication index of 2,634,116, and a community index of 2,415,616. Park Ji-hoon, ranking second, had a brand reputation index of 5,999,640, while Kim Jae-won, in third place, had 5,032,801.

Gu Chang-hwan, the director of the Korea Corporate Reputation Research Institute, stated regarding Byun Woo-seok's brand that "in the big data link analysis, 'heartwarming, modeling, advertising' appeared frequently, and in keyword analysis, 'Prince Ian, 21st Century Grandson's Wife, Mailbox' were prominent." He also revealed that the positive sentiment ratio was analyzed at 93.78%. He added that the big data for drama actor brands increased by 42.65% compared to the previous month, showing an upward trend in all categories including brand consumption, issues, communication, and spread.

The actors who made it into the top 30 in this survey include Byun Woo-seok, Park Ji-hoon, Kim Jae-won, Kim Hye-yoon, Kim Go-eun, IU, Lee Sang-yi, Ha Jung-woo, Go Youn-jung, Gu Kyo-hwan, Gong Seung-yeon, Woo Do-hwan, Ha Ji-won, Jeon So-young, Nana, Yoo Yeon-seok, Chae Won-bin, Park Bo-young, Kang Min-a, Ju Ji-hoon, Noh Sang-hyun, Go Soo, Lee Som, Yoo Soo-bin, Ahn Hyo-seop, Baek Sun-ho, Park Hae-joon, Lim Soo-jung, Jung Yi-chan, and Park Hae-soo.

Director Gu Chang-hwan analyzed that online buzz and fandom influence are becoming more important than simple viewership ratings in the drama market, and that brand reputation is becoming a key indicator that can gauge not only an actor's current influence but also their future value in the advertising and content markets. Experts predict that the competition for drama actor brand reputation will intensify further due to the expansion of OTT platforms and the increase in global content consumption, which strengthens the structure where an actor's personal buzz translates into the success of a project.