Kwak Dong Yeon may play hapless brother, Hong Soo-cheol, to sister Hong Hae-in in the hit tvN drama Queen of Tears but this versatile, young actor is known for his significant roles in several major dramas. Here are 5 of the best Kwak Dong Yeon dramas:
1) Love in the Moonlight
Kwak Dong Yeon can do action.
In the 2016 historical drama Love in the Moonlight (also known as Moonlight Drawn by Clouds), a 19-year-old Kwak Dong Yeon plays the mysterious swordman Kim Byung-yeon. Byung-yeon is head of Crown Prince Lee Yeong’s (Park Bo-gum) royal guard and as such, is the prince’s right-hand man. Anything but chatty, Byung-yeon is more a man of action. While the crown prince sends Byung-yeon off on missions, the guardsman carries out his own secretive activities, leading to speculation about his allegiance. But when it comes to protecting the Crown Prince and his love, Ra-on (Kim Yoo-jung), the young woman disguised as the prince’s eunuch, Byung-yeon is willing to risk everything.
Can’t Miss Scene: Moving into action as Byung-yeon does best, he places himself in jeopardy during the King’s birthday celebration. Kwak Dong Yeon’s performance during the subsequent exchange between his character and Crown Prince Lee Yeong, shows just how well he can wring out emotion – both his and mine!
Fun Fact: In one of the behind-the-scenes clips of Love in the Moonlight, Kwak Dong Yeon hilariously complains about his experience with the choreographed fight scenes featuring himself and Park Bo-gum. There he is, leaping around, brandishing a sword and working up a sweat fighting off opponents. Meanwhile, Park Bo-gum’s Crown Prince, calmly fights off his adversaries with little effort and looks super cool in the process.
2) My ID is Gangnam Beauty
Kwak Dong Yeon can do smart.
He may be known for portraying clueless brothers, but in My ID is Gangnam Beauty Kwak Dong Yeon is the smart, capable chemistry grad student/teaching assistant, Yeon Woo-young. He finds himself instantly attracted to Kang Mi-rae (Im Soo-hyang), an undergrad who, due to insecurities about her looks, had cosmetic surgery before entering college. An advocate for others, it’s Woo-young who calls out some of the male chemistry students for their poor behavior towards the Mi-rae and other female students in the department. Neat and meticulous, he also has a big heart. When Do Kyung-seok (Cha Eun-woo), a younger student in his department has no place to live, Woo-young takes him in as his roommate. If Woo-young has one flaw, it’s his insistence on liking someone only if they fit his “ideal type”.
Can’t Miss Scene: Woo-young is a stickler for hygiene and insists on brushing his teeth before going to bed. When Kyung-seok takes a drunk Woo-young home, he makes sure to brush his sunbae’s teeth, knowing how important this is to him. I could not stop laughing at perfectly straight-faced Cha Eun-woo working so hard to brush Kwak Dong Yeon’s teeth.
Fun Fact: Though Kwak Dong Yeon’s character is older than Cha Eun-woo’s character in the drama, in reality the two actors are only eleven days apart in age. The two also share a scene at a batting cage where Mi-rae and her friend comment on Kyung-seok/Cha Eun-woo’s amazing batting skills over that of Woo-young. This, despite the fact that Kwak Dong Yeon’s form is spot on. It’s no wonder. In 2019, he co-starred in the movie Batting Girl playing a high school baseball player.
3) It’s Okay to Not Be Okay
Kwak Dong Yeon can do mania.
Working with Queen of Tears co-star Kim Soo-hyun is nothing new. Kwak Dong Yeon had a memorable cameo in three episodes of It’s Okay to Not Be Okay. In the drama, he portrays Kwon Gi-do, the son of a politician, who is diagnosed with the mental and behavioral disorder, mania. As a result, he tends to run around in public sans clothing. Gi-do radiates energy from the moment he is brought into the mental hospital where Kim Soo-hyun’s character, Moon Gang-tae, works as a caregiver. But his behavior hides a deep-set need. Leave it to children’s book author Ko Moon-young (Seo Yea-ji), a person struggling with her own antisocial personality disorder, to provide a path for Gi-do’s healing.
Can’t Miss Scene: After acting out again, Gi-do has a difficult talk with his mom, but his subsequent words to Gang-tae provide significant insight into his character. Kwak Dong Yeon readily shifts from manic Gi-do to a poignant, misunderstood young man whose plight tugs at the viewers heartstrings.
Fun Fact: Kwak Dong-yeon prepared for the role by asking doctors for advice as he didn’t want the character to look too funny.
4) Gaus Electronics
Kwak Dong Yeon can do comedy.
No list of the 5 best Kwak Dong Yeon dramas would be complete without this quirky comedy. In Gaus Electronics, he plays Lee Sang-sik, an employee at the tech company who requires a lot of supervision. The person who provides that is his co-worker Cha Na-rae (Ko Sun-hee). She criticizes his work and nags at him every chance she gets. Then, Sang-sik discovers that his new, next-door neighbor is none other than Na-rae, giving them the opportunity to see each other in a whole new light. Kwak Dong Yeon shows off his skill in physical comedy throughout the drama with prank falls and coded eyeblinks that keep viewers laughing.
Can’t Miss Scene: When a big gesture toward his long-time crush doesn’t go as planned, Sang-sik finds himself dressed in a giant bear costume sitting dejectedly next to a trash bin. As rain starts to pour, he tries to hold a broken umbrella over the other discarded stuff animal by the bin. The last thing he expects is for his bossy co-worker Na-rae to appear and give him comfort.
Fun Fact: Kwak Dong Yeon gained weight for the role of Lee Sang-sik, believing that his normal face appeared too angular for the perpetually up-beat character.
5) Vincenzo
Kwak Dong Yeon can do cocky.
One of Kwak Dong Yeon’s most iconic performances can be seen in the 2021 Song Joon-ki drama Vincenzo. Working with Queen of Tears director Kim Ji-won, he takes on the role of Jang Han-seo, figurehead of the Babel Group. In truth, half-brother Jang Han-seok (Ok Taec-yeon) is the real chairman and treats his brother Han-seo like his own personal puppet. On the outside, Han-seo appears cocky. In reality, he is filled with fears and insecurities. When Vincenco, a Consiglieri for the Italian Cassano family, takes on Babel, Han-seo finds something in the Korean born lawyer he has never witnessed – a person to emulate. Han-seo’s arc in Vincenzo is one of the best of all of Kwak Dong Yeon’s characters and one of the many performances that make the show such a stand-out.
Can’t Miss Scene: Han-seo has many decisions to make during the drama, but none are as difficult as the choice to save his own life or take Vincenzo’s. Brother Han-seok sees only one answer for the ultimatum he gives his brother. The showdown between the brothers with Vincenzo in the middle keeps viewers on the edge of their seats.
Fun Fact: Kwak Dong Yeon is no stranger to ice hockey. One of his earliest roles is that of a hockey player in the 2016 show Puck! No wonder he looks like a natural on the ice rink.
That’s it for 5 of the best Kwak Dong Yeon dramas.
