Park Hae Jin's New Drama Has An Airdate

Park Hae Jin's new drama "Cheese In The Trap" finally has an airdate. The drama has been confirmed as starting on October 5.

The actor confirmed his role in the webtoon-based drama in late May and that led to high expectations for the drama, but there have not been a lot of developments since then.

The drama's production company, Eight Works, was eager to cast Park Hae Jin, saying that he perfectly matched the webtoon character of Yoo Jung.

"We persistently sent him love calls," said an Eight Works representative.

The character of Yoo Jung is kind, handsome, wealthy, smart and stylish. He's known on his college campus as Mr. Perfect.

According to the Korean media outlet Joongang Daily, the actress who would play his co-star has not yet been cast.

"We are trying our best to find the actress who perfectly fits the image of the character. It doesn't matter whether she is a newbie or a veteran," said a tvN representative.

The female role the producers are now auditioning for is that of to hard-working college student Hong Sul. She's so cynical she can't believe that her fellow student Yoo Jung is so perfect or is really interested in her. He must have an ulterior motive or be hiding a terrible dark secret. Things started to go wrong in her life once she met him. What's up? Is it a coincidence? Or is there a mystery to unravel?

The drama is based on the Naver webtoon "Cheese In The Trap," which is popular in Korea, China, Thailand and Indonesia.

Basing a drama on a webtoon can result in successful ratings but there's no guarantee. Webtoon-inspired dramas that were a success include the surprise hit "Misaeng," "The Girl Who Sees Smells," and "Flower Boys Next Door." But there's no guarantee "Hyde, Jekyll and Me," "Pretty Man" and "Doctor Frost" did not do well in the ratings.  Casting the right actors is essential.

Park Hae Jin is known for his roles in "East of Eden" and "My Daughter Seo Young," as well as playing Jun Ji Hyun's long-suffering second-lead suitor in "My Love From Another Star." He played Lee Jong Suk's romantic and professional rival in "Doctor Stranger" and also appeared in the OCN series "Bad Guys."

This year, he also stars in the Chinese drama "Secret Society of Men - Friends" and has a part in the film "Snow In Sea Breeze."

Have you read the webtoon? Which actress do you see playing Hong Sul?