January may be the coldest darkest month but plenty of birthday candles will brighten the next few weeks as some k-drama actors celebrate special days. Here are a few k-drama birthdays to celebrate and what the stars have been up to in the last year.
January 5: First up is Yoo In Young, who has had a great year playing unlikable characters. She is so good at being bad. She was Joo Ji Hoon's crazy sister in "Mask" and Shin Min Ah's rival in "Oh My Venus." She also appeared in two films in 2015, "Veteran" and "Female Teacher."
January 7: Model-turned-actor Hong Jung Hyun had a busy year appearing in the drama "Ivory Tower" and two films "Enemies-In-Law" and "Alice: Boy From Wonderland." In 2016 he will join the cast of the time travel drama "Moon Lovers" with co-stars IU and Lee Jun Ki.
January 11: Actress Son Ye Jin appeared in two films in 2015, "Bad Guys Always Die" and "Home Sweet Home." The next year promises a memorable role for her. She has been cast in the film "The Last Princess," playing the tragic role of Korea's last real-life princess.
Son shares her birthday with rising star Kim Young Kwang.
In 2015, Kim Young Kwang played a role in the web drama "Dr. Ian's Clinic" and also played a doctor in the disaster drama "D-Day." The actor turns 29 this year.
January 12: Lee Bo Young's last drama was "God's Gift - 14 Days" in 2014 and she also did a voice cameo in "PInocchio." The actress is taking some time off because she gave birth to her first child this year. Lee and her husband actor Ji Sung celebrated the birth of their daughter on June 12.
January 16: Lee Min Ki could be seen in the film "Shoot My Heart" in 2015 but the actor finished filming it the year before. He enlisted for his two-year mandatory military duty in 2014 and should be discharged early in 2016. He turns 31 this year.
January 18: Jung Yu Mi has not been in a drama since the 2014 drama "Discovery of Love" but she appeared in the live action film "Busan Bound" with Gong Yoo and Ma Dong Suk and she also has a cameo in the box office hit "Himalaya."
January 26: JYJ's Kim Jae Joong has not been in any dramas this year since he is serving his tour of duty in the army. But his fans have not forgotten him. They donated a book cafe to the Korean Army's First Division in the singer-actor's name. The cafe opened on Dec. 21 and is equipped with about 200 books, CDs and DVDs. He will be discharged in December.
Film actor Park Hae Il shares the same birthday as Kim Jae Joong. He appeared in "Love And" in 2015 and will co-star with Son Ye Jin in the upcoming film "The Last Princess."
