Park Hae Jin: Lead Actor Of K-Drama ‘Cheese In The Trap’ Not Satisfied With Direction Despite Show’s Popularity

Last month in January, K-drama fans tuned in to watch Cheese in the Trap. It is about a delicate relationship between Hong Seol, a female university student who does a multitude of part-time jobs because she comes from a poor household, and Yoo Jung, her senior who is wealthy, kind, and epitomizes excellence in both academics and athletics. However, Yoo Jung has a dark side to his nature as he holds ill feelings towards his childhood friends, Baek In Ho and Baek In Ha, who are also siblings.

Though the plot of Cheese in the Trap seems familiar as it is often used for numerous other K-dramas in the past, it already had a major following because it was based off a popular web comic. Not only that, the two main actors, Kim Go Eun, who played Hong Seol, and Park Hae Jin, who played Yoo Jung, also added to the drama’s hype. First off, Go Eun is a popular Korean actress who never acted in a drama before. All of her previous works were K-movies. Ergo, fans wanted to see how Go Eun would do in what is officially her first K-drama role. Secondly, Hae Jin is extremely popular in China specifically for his roles in My Love from the Star and Another Kind of Splendid Love. As a result, Cheese in the Trap was voted as one of the most popular K-dramas back in 2015 despite the fact that it has not aired at the time.

Now fans wait with bated breath for the final two episodes of Cheese in the Trap to air back-to-back on Monday, February 29, 2016, and Tuesday, March 1, 2016. However, there is one individual who is not satisfied with the K-drama despite its popularity. To the surprise of many, it is the lead actor Park Hae Jin.

Before anyone loses their cool over one of the main actors not being satisfied starring in a K-drama which is by all means popular, there is a legitimate reason Park Hae Jin is not satisfied. According to Kdrama Stars, there was a shift in focus in relationships which is contrary to the web comic. In the comic as well as the plot synopsis of the drama, the relationship focus is between Yoo Jung and Hong Seol. Recent episodes stray from this as they concentrate more on a relationship between Hong Seol and Baek In Ho who is played by Seo Kang Joon.

To be fair, the shift to such a relationship could assist in a plot’s conflict which in turn would make for interesting television. However, it came quite late in the K-drama. Park Hae Jin expressed his surprise during an interview with OSEN given the fact there are only two episodes left to film.

“I thought I was starring in the original webtoon Cheese in the Trap, but I don’t know where I am now. It would be a lie to say I was 100 percent satisfied. I believed in the original and decided to commit the the drama before anyone else was involved, even the director. Now I don’t believe in anything.”

Park Hae Jin is not alone is his dissatisfaction as many fans of the web comic have criticized the direction of Cheese in the Trap, specifically Yoo Jung’s part-time job keeping him away from Hong Seol, as reported by Korea Times.

Unless tvN is going to surprise fans with an upcoming second season, a rarity in K-dramas in general, they’ll have to do something amazing to wrap up Cheese in the Trap on a high note for everyone left with a bad taste in their mouths. Unfortunately, fans may just be given a vague and unsatisfying ending if there is weight to Park Hae Jin’s statement that he knows of no original scenes filmed and not all that is filmed is used. Let’s just hope tvN and the rest of the staff doesn’t butcher Cheese in the Trap any further than they already have.

[Image via Cheese in the Trap: OST Part 5 Cover, Edited by Jan Omega]