Hwang Jung Eum Declines 'Monster' To Focus On Wedding

Hwang Jung Eum has decided not to take a part in the upcoming 50-episode drama "Monster." Instead she will focus on her upcoming wedding, which is planned for the end of February.

According to her agency, C-JeS Entertainment, she never agreed to take the role and was only considering it. On January 21, an agency representative was quoted in the Korean media outlet TV Report.

"From the start, it was never confirmed that Hwang Jung Eum would appear in 'Monster.' She was only in talks."

The 31-year-old actress will be married during the last week of February at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul. Her fiancé is Lee Young Don, a golfer-turned-businessman. He manages a Japanese gold firm as well as a steel company. The couple only dated for four months before going public with their relationship in December and then announced they would marry in January. She plans to continue acting after her marriage.

Hwang Jung Eum is a very bankable k-drama star. She was considered the k-drama actress of the year in 2015 due to her appearance in the two hit dramas, 'Kill Me Heal Me" and "She Was Pretty." And she's not just good in comedies. She also has a track record in melodramas, having appeared in the 2014 surprise hit melodrama "Secrets." The role that Hwang was considering in "Monster" was the leading female role.

Kang Ji Hwan, last seen in the melodrama "Big Man," is reported to be considering the leading male role in MBC's "Monster." Seo Kang Joon, currently playing the second lead in "Cheese In The Trap,"  was also considering the drama.

The drama's hero is a working class man who takes revenge against the the wealthy elite. He wants to show the world what those in power are really like.  The story of "Monster" spans 20 years beginning in 1997 during the IMF crisis.

"Monster" is set to follow "Glamorous Temptation," will which end in April.