2015 was a good year for k-drama comebacks. Among the five most notable, two were absent from the small screen because they fulfilled their mandatory military duty. One actor stayed away because of a scandal. One actress was busy with films and another was busy raising a family.
Here are five comebacks by actors who have been absent from the small screen for at least two years.
Song Joong Ki: The 30-year-old actor was discharged from his military duty in August 2015 and was had drama plans almost immediately. He is currently filming his comeback role in "Descendents of the Sun." He plays the leader of a peacekeeping unit who comes into conflict with a doctor working for a humanitarian organization. Song's last drama was "Nice Guy" in 2012.
Yoo Seung Ho: The 22-year-old actor was discharged from his military duty in December 2014 and has since made an impressive comeback. He starred in the film "The Joseon Magician" as a magician in love with a princess. He appears in two dramas, the light and funny "Imaginary Cat" and the melodramatic "Remember." Many k-drama actors wait until their career is well established to fulfill their military duty, but Yoo got it out of the way while he was young. His career is stronger than ever.
Park Shi Hoo: It wasn't military duty but a scandal that kept Park Shi Hoo from the small screen. He had just finished a successful comedy "Cheongdamdong Alice" when he was embroiled in a scandal with a woman who claimed he raped her. He said their relations were consensual. All the charges were eventually dropped but he did not appear in a drama after 2012. He appeared in a Japanese film "Scent." He is due to make his comeback when the film "After Love" is released and when he stars in the OCN drama "Neighborhood Hero." "After Love" was due to be released in 2015 but the release may be postponed until 2016.
Song Hye Kyo: The actress appeared in her last k-drama in 2013 and it will be 2016 before she is seen in another one. Her drama "That Winter The Wind Blows" was very successful but she followed it with a 2014 k-movie, "My Palpitating Life," then the Chinese films "The Crossing" and "The Queens." The actress will join Song Joong Ki in "Descendants of the Sun" playing a doctor who works for Doctors Without Borders. They will fall in love in a war-torn area.
Lee Young Ae: The longest absence from the small screen is Lee Young Ae's. It has been 12 years since Lee was in "Dae Jang Geum" aka "Jewel in the Palace." The award-winning drama had viewer ratings of over 50 percent in Korea. The actress spent the last decade at home raising her twins. In 2014 Lee Young Ae was offered a part in the "Dae Jang Geum" sequel but declined the role. Instead she will return to dramaland in "Saimdang: The Herstory," a drama about the Joseon-era painter Shin Saimdang. Her co-star Song Seung Hoon is also making a comeback as he has not appeared in a drama since the 2013 drama "When A Man Loves."
