Seo In Guk and A Pink's Jung Eun Ji were co-stars in the tvN comedy "Reply 1997" and while their "Reply" characters occasionally quarreled they grew to love each other.
Jung Eun Ji's character Si Won was a fangirl who loved the band H.O.T. Seo In Guk's character Yoon Je was the quiet brooding boy who lived next door to her. The singer-actors not only played the friends turned lovers so well that the drama topped viewer ratings for its time slot for six weeks. They even performed together on the drama soundtrack.
The characters meshed so well in "Reply 1997" that people thought the actors were dating in real life. But Jung Eun Ji quickly dispelled those rumors. When asked about their relationship on the "Go Show," she made a joke of it, saying that it could never happen. The reason she gave was that although Seo In Guk's "Reply 1997" character is cool and caring in real life the actor is nothing like that.
She joked that his love confessions toward her created a lot of pressure.
But now the two stars are in dueling comedies that are well matched for laughs.
Jung Eun Ji is winning hearts with her performance as a plucky trot singer in "Trot Lovers" and Seo In Guk is playing a high schooler living a double life in "High School King of Manners."
The two comedies are both shown on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Seo In Guk's comedy is shown on the cable station tvN, while Jung Eun Ji's airs on KBS. But even though they compete for viewers in the time slot, there can't be a winner, at least not when measured in ratings.
"Trot Lovers" has so far peaked at regular Nielsen ratings of 8.5 percent. While "High School King of Manners only peaked at 1.95, those ratings don't match up, as cable ratings are different from those for the major networks.
The boardroom/classroom drama "High School King Of Manners" also stars Lee Ha Na as Seo In Guk's love interest and Lee Soo Hyuk as his rival. "Trot Lovers" also stars Ji Hyun Woo and Shin Sung Rok as two men who are both in love with Jung Eun Ji.
Both comedies have a lot to offer in terms of comic acting, funny situations and fun plot twists. So instead of choosing one, viewers may want to find a way to watch both.
