‘Cheese In The Trap’ Movie: Sandara Park And Kim Hyun Jin Finalize Main Cast

The first K-drama the Total Variety Network (tvN) aired last year was Cheese in the Trap. Starring Park Hae Jin (My Love From Another Star, Doctor Stranger) and Kim Go Eun (Goblin) was highly-anticipated as it was based off a very popular web comic. As a matter of fact, it was so popular prior to airing that it was already considered one of the most popular K-dramas the year before. Fortunately for whomever made that prediction, it was proven to be true as Cheese in the Trap was the first successful K-drama by tvN for the year if we do not count the 2015 to 2016 K-drama Reply 1988.

Though Cheese in the Trap was successful, it did receive a lot of criticism too. As seasoned K-drama fans know, most K-dramas are made to last one season. The web comic in which Cheese in the Trap is based off of is still on-going. As a result, tvN had to figure out a way to “conclude” the K-drama. This divergence from the source material was mostly unwelcome by purists especially with the sudden emphasis on the second male lead. The chaos afterwards was so intense that the cast and crew escaped by taking a vacation.

Cheese in the Trap will get a “second chance” of sorts as it will be re-done into a K-movie. Just recently, the main cast was finalized with Sandara Park and Kim Hyun Jin.

The news was made known by the production agency, Mountain Movement Story, on Friday, March 24. They released the following statement on the casting, as reported by Korean news outlet Naver.

“Dara [Sandara Park] will be playing the role of Jang Bo Ra and rookie actor Kim Hyun Jin will be acting as Kwon Eun Taek. Both Dara and Kim Hyun Jin have been cast in the final lineup.”

The roles will be excellent opportunities for both Sandara Park and Kim Hyun Jin. Sandara, who used to be a member of the popular K-pop girl group 2NE1, has been pushing for a career in acting in which her movie in which she plays the female lead, One Step, releases next month. As for Hyun Jin, he is a rookie actor with very little experience. Being part of a highly-anticipated movie such as Cheese in the Trap is an excellent way to jumpstart his career.

For Sandara Park, she might contribute to the issue many Cheese in the Trap purists have for the casting. It was already known as that Park Hae Jin would reprise his role as Yoo Jung, but fans hoped younger actors would be cast to make the movie more realistic. Instead, they got Oh Yeon Seo as Hong Seol, Park Ki Woong as Baek In Ho, and Yoo In Young as Baek In Ha. These actors and actresses are in their late 20s to 30s, which is clearly not the common age demographic for college students.

Nevertheless, the primary cast for the Cheese in the Trap movie has been set and they will all meet up for the first time, possibly for a script reading, on March 25. The movie will began filming the following month in April.

Also, for those who are interested in watching the K-drama adaption of Cheese in the Trap, it is available to view in its entirety on DramaFever, Viki, and OnDemandKorea depending on its region availability.

[Featured Images by YG Entertainment/Sandara Park’s Instagram and HanCinema]