By now kdrama viewers are used to idols acting in dramas and stars becoming singers, but there has not yet been a drama that cast all five members of a single group to play ongoing roles.
It's true that Kara members Gyuri, Hara, Seungyeon, Jiyoung and Nicole will appear in a five-part drama "Secret Love," but they will each only appear in one episode. And more than one member of the boy band 2PM appeared in "Dream High." And when one band member stars in a drama, there are occasionally cameos by other band members. But a new series is trying something different. The drama, described as a drama toon, will feature the five members of the band Surprise as regular cast members. Surprise will join actress Kim So Eun in the drama toon "Roll The Dice," also called "After School Luck or Not" or "After School Bokbulbok."
Those five band members Seo Kang Joon, Lee Tae Hwan, Kang Tae Oh, Gong Myung and Yoo Il appear in the drama as members of a special after school club. The club's members meet to play a game of chance that determines how lucky they are. Each episode will send the club's students on a new mission.
"Each episode has missions that are very imaginative and the process of carrying out these missions is innovative," said Kim So Eun, who appeared in "Boys Over Flowers" and "A Thousand Kisses."
Seo Kang Joon will play the club's leader. Lee Tae Hwan will be the club's smart guy, while Yoo Il is said to be the pretty one. Kang Tae Oh will be the strong one and Gong Myung will be the sensitive guy. In this club, there's a kdrama guy for everyone.
Jung Jung Hwa, the man responsible for the comedies "Flower Boy Ramen Shop" and "Flower Boy Next Door," will direct the drama.
The drama toon is expected to combine elements of a drama with those of a web toon and feature manga-like visuals. It will be distributed online and through mobile portals in Korea.
Fantagio, an entertainment agency, and Group 8, a production company, which has made manga adaptations of popular dramas, will produce the drama toon. The agency is home to actors Kim Da Hyun, Joo Jin Mo, Ha Jung Woo, Jung Gyo Woon and Yeom Jung and its also Kim So Eun's agency.
The members of Surprise have been training in acting, singing and dancing for over two years. Soon, viewers will be able to see the results of that training. The drama toon will begin its run in September.
