Jung Sung-il goes viral for his portrayal of Hwan’s father in the drama ‘Begins Youth’ based on BTS

The K-drama Begins ≠ Youth or Begins Youth, starring Seo Ji-hoon, Noh Jong-hyun, and Jung Sung-il, among others, released its first episode on April 30, 2024, on Xclusive. Based on the worldwide sensation BTS, the series follows the lives of seven young men as they navigate the turbulent journey of school years and personal growth, with a time-traveling friendship narrative taking center stage.

While fans lauded the entire cast, they were particularly mesmerized by the impeccable performance delivered by Jung Sung-il, who plays Hwan's father, Kim Chang-jun. In the ongoing drama, Hwan's character is based on BTS' eldest member, Kim Seokjin.

Jung Sung-il rose to fame with the Netflix series The Glory (2022–2023), where he played the role of Ha Do-yeong. Meanwhile, in the ongoing HYBE series, the South Korean actor portrays the character of a politician who is an extremely strict father. He dictates and micromanages everything in Hwan's life, creating a constricting environment for his son.

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Begins Youth explores the lives of BTS members from the HYYH series, sending fans into an emotional ride

In Begins Youth, Jung Sung-il immaculately portrays Kim Chang-jun's menacing stares and cold behavior towards Hwan. Despite being the father, his utter disregard for his son's comfort, happiness, mental health, and health makes his character even more loathsome.

In one of the scenes, Kim Chang-jun is seen having dinner with his father, a political colleague, and his son, Hwan. The colleague offered to pour a drink to Hwan, despite him being a school student. Kim Chang-jun then ordered his son to comply and accept the drink, resulting in Hwan drinking it hesitantly and later becoming severely ill.

Fans couldn't help but praise Jung Sung-il for playing Hwan's cruel father, who uses and manipulates his son in whatever way he sees fit for his political standing.

Begins ≠ Youth stars actors Seo Ji-hoon as Hwan (Jin), Noh Jong-hyun as Cein (Yoongi aka SUGA), Ahn Ji-ho as Hosu (J-Hope), Seo Young-joo as Dogeon (Namjoon), Kim Yoon-woo as Haru (Jimin), Jung Woo-jin as Jooan (Taehyung aka V), and Jeon Jin-seo as Jeha (Jungkook).

Kim Hwan, the protagonist of the story, is an outsider who returns to Songju-si and meets six guys in his new high school. The relationships between the characters change from mistrust to a close friendship in the face of rejection, violence, loss, poverty, and family responsibilities.

Fans noted that the actors' portrayals of all seven BTS members' characteristics were spot-on in episodes 1 to 4, which aired on April 30, 2024. The seven K-pop musicians' real-life equation with one another and the popular joke surrounding Jimin's height, Yoongi and Jimin's banters, J-Hope, and Namjoon's underrated friendship were well-researched by the performers, who deserve praise for integrating them into the narrative.

Furthermore, the current drama does a good job of portraying Namjoon's awkwardness and propensity for breaking things, J-Hope's upbeat attitude, Taehyung's silly and adorable traits, and Yoongi's sarcastically funny yet icy demeanor.

In 2023, HYBE released the official trailer for the drama, which caused an online frenzy. With allusions to classic BTS music videos like Spring Day—which topped the iTunes chart on December 13, 2024, after BTS enlisted in the military—and I NEED U, the full-length trailer offered a fascinating peek into the lives of each character.

Meanwhile, episodes 1, 2, 3, and 4 were released together on April 30, 2024. Significantly, the drama also included birthday celebration scenes from BTS' Spring Day and RUN music videos. The enactment was so precise that fans flooded X by sharing snippets from the episodes and stating that the actors and the scenes reminded them of the Bangtan boys.

The appropriate selection of the K-pop band's Mikrokosmos highlighted the trailer's celebration of camaraderie at the conclusion.

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The drama explores the rich fabric of BTS' made-up world, which is based on the band's album trilogy, The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, and spreads throughout several media platforms, including the Save Me webtoon and the video game BTS Universe Story.

Bang Si-hyuk, the founder of HYBE, is the creator of the BTS-inspired K-drama Begins Youth or Begins ≠ Youth, which was first announced in 2020 under the name YOUTH. The drama can be watched on Xclusive; however, all 12 episodes need to be purchased and would cost $9.99 per episode.