Where are they? Top actors missing in action

Actor Bae Yong-joon /Korea Times files

By Kwon Ji-youn

Some of the country’s top actors and actresses have disappeared from the small screen and theaters, prompting concern among fans about whether they intend to return, and when.

Among them are Bae Yong-joon, who appeared alongside Choi Ji-woo in “Winter Sonata”; Ko So-young, wife of actor Jang Dong-gun; and Won Bin, who recently married actress Lee Na-young. Bae and Ko have been missing in action for the past nine years and Won Bin for the past six.

Bae’s last dramatic appearance was in 2007 with MBC’s “The Legend.” In 2011, he made a brief appearance in KBS’s “Dream High,” which starred miss A member Suzy and Kim Soo-hyun, but that was it.

Actress Ko So-young

Ko, in 2006, attempted a return to the big screen with “Project Makeover,” and in 2007, followed with a dramatic appearance in SBS’s “Blue Fish.” But when both failed to turn heads, she stopped acting.

Bae and Ko were more familiar to viewers for TV commercial gigs, but even advertisers are now looking for new blood.

Ko, 42, last year canceled a contract for a TV commercial for a Japanese company that has a money-lending business. Ko was criticized for shooting the commercial for “J Trust Group,” which has several subsidiaries that lend money with interest as high as 29.2 percent. Ko admitted she did not pay enough attention to the commercial until media reports about the company.

She has also been replaced by a younger actress in a skin-care product commercial.

Bae, who kindled the hallyu (Korean wave) boom with “Winter Sonata,” was once the face of Lotte Duty Free, but has been replaced with younger stars who are more active in the industry. These include idols Super Junior and 2PM, and actors Kim Soo-hyun and Park Hae-jin. Actress Choi, on the other hand, is still a model for Lotte Duty Free.

Actor Won Bin

Won Bin, whose last cinematic appearance was in 2010 with “The Man from Nowhere,” is another actor fans are hoping to see more often on the big screen, if not the small screen.

Other actors of his caliber, including Gang Dong-won and Hwang Jung-min, have been keeping themselves busy shooting film on top of film, and so Won Bin’s disappearance is only becoming more conspicuous. It was anticipated that the actor, who shot to stardom after appearing opposite Song Hye-kyo in “Autumn Story,” would be cast for the drama “That Winter, the Wind Blows” and coming film “With God,” but both deals fell through.

But there is still hope as Won Bin, who fathered a child in December, is said to be looking for comeback opportunities, according to industry insiders.

Kim Nam-joo is also said to be considering a comeback to the small screen with KBS’s “War of Roses.”

Kim notched huge successes with her appearances on MBC’s “My Wife is a Superwoman” and “Queen of Reversals,” and KBS’s “My Husband Got a Family.” In 2010, she won the grand prize at the MBC Drama Acting Awards and won again at the KBS Drama Acting Awards.

But the actress, 44, has disappeared from the small screen since. Should she fix a role in “War of Roses,” it will mark a comeback after almost four years.