Kim Jun, one of the four actors who starred in the 2009 Hallyu hit "Boys Over Flowers," is back with a new role. He will play the part of Kang Tae Yang in the upcoming drama "City Of The Sun."
The 20-episode drama is based on the Japanese novel "The Bones of Steel" by Ikeido Jun, and was previously adapted into a Japanese drama in 2009. In "City of The Sun" Kim's character is an idealistic young man who discovers he works for a corrupt construction company. And it's not just the company he works for that is corrupt. The supervising agencies set up to prevent such practices are corrupt too. As one man he must fight a monstrous system.
The role of Kang Tae Yang may be just the comeback role that Kim Jun needs.
He achieved instant stardom in "Boys Over Flowers" but then did not quite achieve the career success of his co-stars Lee Min Ho, Kim Bum and Kim Hyun Joong. The slow pace of Kim Jun's career success may have something to do with the fact that he stopped acting for a while, focusing instead on getting a master's degree in Global Culture Content at the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.
And he had other things on his mind. Like his fellow F4 member Kim Hyun Joong, Kim Jun is also a singer-turned-actor. He debuted as a rapper with the band T-Max in 2007 and it was their song "Almost Paradise" that played throughout the "Boys Over Flowers" soundtrack. The band broke up just before he enlisted for his mandatory military service in 2011.
After "Boys Over Flowers," Kim Jun was cast in a few variety shows and in a musical "Youthful March." He also starred in the drama "Homicide Division," playing a homicide detective who is scared of corpses.
The singer-actor was discharged from his mandatory military duty in June 2013. After his military discharge he signed with a new agency, Chang Company, and began to consider new drama and film offers.
In 2014 Kim Jun played Kim Tae Kyung, the son of the prime minister, in the weekend melodrama "Endless Love." He also had a role in the Japanese film "Lupin The Third."
The role of Kang Tae Yang was originally given to Kim Jeong Hoon but he dropped out after the filming began. Park Ki Hyung, who directed "Gangster High" and "Whispering Corridors," will direct "City of the Sun," which premieres on Jan. 30.