Do you still remember the popular Korean teen-musical drama, "Dream High"? The two-month run of the show was indeed unforgettable and was definitely loved by many teenagers that it reached eighteen to twenty percent of viewership ratings. Due to its fame, no wonder that the respective projects and activities of the original casts are still supported by their fans even if nine years had already passed.
This teenage drama series was broadcasted from January 3 to February 28 in 2011, which talks about six high school students from Kirin High School who dreamed of becoming K-pop idols. Aside from its plot, one of the reasons why the drama got several support from the audience was because of the amazing lineup of casts, introducing six rising stars of 2011; Kim Soo Hyun, MissA Bae Suzy, IU, 2 PM Taecyeon and Woo Young as well as T-Ara Eun Jung.
Since Dream High was released then, it eventually became one of the most loved teenage drama series in Korea. Due to its popularity, "Dream High" even launched a Season 2 for the drama; however, a new set of characters and casts were introduced.
Nine years later, due to the quarantine and lockdown, K-drama fans are looking back to the dramas that captured their hearts way back then and one of the most memorable is "Dream High." Due to this, fans can't help but wonder, "Where are the original casts now?"
In this regard, here are the original cast of "Dream High" Season 1 and what are they up to as of now:
Kim Soo Hyun as Song Sam Dong
After the success of Dream High, Kim went on and dominated the Kdrama world. He was even chosen as Gallup Korea's Actor of the year in 2014. With so much success, he is currently the highest-paid Korean actor for 2020. He is considered as a top Hallyu star, and a certified CF star. Not only that, but Kim is also the richest celebrity in Korea as of now. His current show, "It's Okay to Not be Okay" is also on the limelight as it receives so much love from international fans.
Bae Suzy (Go Hye Mi)
Suzy eventually dreams high as her name skyrocketed not only in Korea but all over the world. She has been named as the first Korean female celebrity to win a singer rookie award, drama rookie award and film rookie award.
Her performances in "Uncontrollably Fond" with Kim Woo Bin and "Vagabond" with Lee Seung Gi have brought her to become a top Hallyu star. Suzy is currently filming the drama "Startup" wherein she's going to play the role of an aspiring businesswoman alongside Nam Joo Hyuk.
Ok Taecyeon (Jin-guk/Hyun Shi-hyuk)
Taecyeon continues to dream higher not just an actor but as a rapper, singer, songwriter and entrepreneur. He is very fluent in English, Korean, and Japanese. In Japan, Taecyeon has a pool of supporters. Due to fame in Korea, he even gave up his American permanent residence visa. And well, it was a wise move as he is now among the "act-dol" whose both successful as a singer-rapper of 2PM and an actor.
Plus, he has developed the character of "Okcat", a green-colored cat character, to the public and opened an Okcat shop. The drama, "The Game: Towards Zero" with Lee Yeon-hee was his most recent project which ended last March.
IU as Kim Pil Sook
At an early age, the love for entertainment is already in IU's blood. Her passion for singing grew bigger when she was just in middle school. Though her first album was not really successful, it made her humble and appreciate her staff with that unfortunate event and moved her to be successful.
She even had doubts of her acting when she was cast for dream high but as the drama went on, she enjoyed the overall experience. She is currently filming "Dream" with Park Seo Joon, which is set to be released next year, 2021.
Ham Eun Jung as Yoon Baek Hee
She debuted as a member of T-ara in 2009, but has gone solo as Elsie with her mini-album "I'm Good." "Dream High" was her biggest break and "golden era" and opened doors for other projects where she was the main role including "Micro Love" and "Missing 2" as well as she also starred in the drama series "Sweet Temptation," "Sisters-in-Law" and "Lovely Horribly"
Jang Woo-young as Jason
Woo Young is another cast coming from K-pop group 2PM, along Taecyeon. He debuted as an actor and started his acting career in Dream High. His last television drama, "The Miracle" was aired last 2013. Aside from acting, he continued as a performer but took a hiatus when he was enlisted in the military in 2018.
However, due to the pandemic, he was discharged early in the military on February 2020. Currently, he is still mot revealing his upcoming projects or series, but who knows what will the future be for Jang Woo-young, both as an actor and a singer.
