4 Korean celebrities who will make their Hollywood debut in 2022

South Korea’s Hallyu wave is taking the world by storm with the help of K-pop idols and Korean celebrities. The global popularity of South Korean culture and media can be attributed to the immense success of the supergroup BTS, Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite, and the Netflix show Squid Game.

These Korean celebrities have paved the way for other Korean acts to venture into the west and showcase their potential to the world. Many Korean celebrities living in America, such as Ma Dong-seok of Eternals fame and Sandra Oh of Grey’s Anatomy fame have already established themselves as prominent actors.

However, there is a noticeable lack of Asian actors in major roles in the west, especially those who are not from the US. Despite this barrier, Korean celebrities like Rain and CL have managed to secure a small Hollywood debut. With the growing Hallyu wave, more media in foreign languages, such as Korean, is being accepted.

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4 Korean celebrities that are taking Hallyu to Hollywood

1) Jennie of BLACKPINK

It looks like Jennie is the newest member of BLACKPINK to dip her toes into the world of acting after Jisoo. Fans were shocked to see Jennie in the trailer for HBO’s TV show called The Idol, to be released in 2022.

She stars alongside Lily-Rose Depp and The Weeknd. BLINKs speculated that Jennie’s night outs in the US, where she was spotted with The Weeknd, were leading up to her big role. The Idol revolves around the female protagonist’s character, who is a pop star, and her relationship with her lifestyle guru.

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2) Cha Eun-woo of ASTRO

Jennie is not the only K-pop idol on her way to Hollywood. ASTRO’s Cha Eun-woo may have no experience in the west but he’s a well known K-pop idol turned actor in South Korea and has worked in popular K-dramas such as True Beauty.

This time, he has been cast in the lead role in the movie K-pop: Lost in America. He will star alongside Rebel Wilson of Pitch Perfect fame. The movie will revolve around a K-pop group, lost in Texas, trying to find their way to New York.

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3) Park Seo-joon

Park Seo-joon is a household name among Korean celebrities when it comes to K-dramas and advertisements in South Korea. The rom-com king, who also had a cameo in the movie Parasite, is set to make his Hollywood debut as well as Marvel Cinematic Universe debut with the upcoming movie, Captain Marvel 2: The Marvels, which is the sequel to the 2019 Captain Marvel movie, starring Brie Larson.

However, one doesn’t know the character Park Seo-joon will be playing. Some speculated that he could be playing the Korean-American hero, Amadeus Cho, a character who appeared in Avengers: Age of Ultron. However, the majority of the fans are positive that he is playing the character of the bisexual superhero Noh-Varr.

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4) Jung Ho-yeon

Jung Ho-yeon rose to fame because of her powerful portrayal of Kang Sae-byeok in the critically acclaimed K-drama Squid Game. Since establishing herself domestically, she has set her sights on Hollywood and is set to appear as one of the governesses in the upcoming movie, The Governess, alongside Lily Rose-Depp.

Jung Ho-yeon also appeared in The Weeknd’s music video, Out of Time, showcasing a carefree and fun side, completely different from her role as Kang Sae-byeok in Squid Game.

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While there is no confirmation on his Hollywood debut, the Squid Game actor, Lee Jung-jae, has also signed with an American management company named American Creative Artists Agency that manages big names in Hollywood such as Tom Hanks and George Clooney. Fans are excitedly looking forward to the Hollywood takeover by Korean celebrities.