New Stars Drive Hit Content Formula

Content featuring fresh faces and artistic merit, rather than flashy top stars, is consecutively achieving box office success, signaling a shift in the formula for box office hits in the content market.

The Netflix series "Gyeongseong Creature" topped the global non-English TV shows category within two weeks of its release and ranked number one in 24 countries, including Korea. Despite being a new genre of Korean YA horror, the series achieved greater global success than expected. It is noteworthy that this achievement was accomplished with a cast primarily composed of new actors. Lead actress Jeon So-nee is in her second year of acting, while Baek In-ho and Hyun Woo-seok, who debuted in 2023 and 2019 respectively, took on their first leading roles in this series. Only Kang Mina is a familiar face, but she has limited experience leading a box office hit as a main cast member. Director Park Seo-joon stated that he wanted to showcase realistic horror and freshness through new actors.

The film "The Plot," which recently surpassed 3 million viewers, a first for a horror film in 23 years, also cast relatively new faces. Lead actress Kim Hye-yoon is a leading role on television but is considered a fresh face in commercial films. Lee Jong-won is in his first leading role on screen, and Yoon Jae-chan and Jang Da-ah are making their debut. The synergy between rookie director Lee Sang-min and the new actors led to the "3 million viewers" phenomenon. New actors with proven acting skills, instead of familiar stars, delivered a lifelike realism to the audience, maximizing immersion.

The TVING original series "Study Group" also succeeded at the box office with a cast centered on new actors. All five main cast members, led by Hwang Min-hyun, are new faces, and Hwang Min-hyun took on his first solo leading role. Lee Jong-hyun and Gong Do-yu are in their drama debut roles, while Shin Soo-hyun and Yoon Sang-jeong are in their first leading drama roles, all selected through auditions. Despite this, "Study Group" achieved unprecedented box office success, ranking first in paid subscribers for TVING for five consecutive weeks and entering the weekly top 5 in 143 countries on the global OTT Rakuten Viki. A second season is currently being filmed with the same cast.

The consecutive box office successes of new cast members demonstrate that audiences can be won over by the quality of the work and the actors' performances alone, without relying on celebrity status. This can lead to the discovery of leading actors in the long run. Park Ji-hoon, who gained attention for the film "Duksung," led the box office success of the drama "​Weak Hero Class 1" alongside new actors, receiving praise for both its story and direction. Producer Han Jun-hee stated that the new actors were well-prepared and that it was a good opportunity to introduce them. Director Jang Hang-jun also came to know Park Ji-hoon through this work, which led to his casting in other projects.