[2025 Year in Review] One actor, two roles
by Dramaddictally
Is it just me? Or were there a lot of good-looking men showing up on my screen more than once this year? Sure, it can happen that an actor takes on multiple roles in the same calendar year. But I swear 2025 was all about the déjà vu of seeing some of my favorite actors in double.
Am I complaining? Not even a little. In fact, since all these pretty faces added so much to my drama enjoyment this year, I felt like I needed to do a head count, take a trip down memory lane, and present my findings here. Because there’s no better way to ring in another year than to remember the things that matter most — like smoky eyeliner and unnecessary glasses.
Jinyoung – The Witch & Our Unwritten Seoul
God, I love Jinyoung. And seeing him in two dramas back-to-back this year felt like an omen that more good things were on the way. It wasn’t just that he appeared twice, but that both dramas were excellent — way above average — and each in their own way.
It started with The Witch — a quiet story that took me by storm — and Jinyoung was the perfect person to play such an obsessed character without making it (overly) creepy. He’s just got an innocence about him that comes through as a slight withholding — a subtle distance or delayed reaction — that says he’s constantly contemplating. I used to think that he’d never outdo his role as Yoo Bobby in Yumi’s Cells 2, but that was before I saw him doing statistics and pushing up his glasses.
And then this was followed by Our Unwritten Seoul, where he played yet another amazing character, who was also introspective and always thinking through problems (sometimes while crocheting). He’s got a knack for playing perfect boyfriends, but in this case it was the storyline with his mom that had me tearing through the tissues. I will watch any drama this man makes — and I see he’s slated for two more in 2026 (good omen indeed).
Lee Jun-young – Melo Movie & When Life Gives You Tangerines
How did Lee Jun-young have time to do so many dramas in the past two years? (Six?!) His acting career has taken off like a shot and he gave two of my favorite performances of 2025 (uh, no, one of them was not Pump Up the Healthy Love).
The first was the brooding heartbroken ex-boyfriend of the second loveline in Melo Movie, which (don’t tell anyone) had me way more enraptured than the leads. Not only did he have a soft side, he moved back and forth between forlorn puppy and angry a-hole. And I gotta tell ya, I was taken in by all that anger. Buried not far below was a world of hurt, and it didn’t take much to rip open the surface skin and let out a whole lot of bad behavior. Jerky? Yes. Genuine? Yes. Definitely a drama I’d fast forward through a second time just see these scenes.
And the second performance I loved was his conservative character in When Life Gives You Tangerines. He goes from buttoned-down and unbothered to sobbing in the snow. Playing opposite IU as her first love, of course I was on her side. But man did it hurt when these two lovers, who were also best friends, tried to pull themselves apart. In a drama with so many reasons to watch, Lee Jun-young sticking the landing on the boyfriend without a backbone is just one more.
Choo Young-woo – The Tale of Lady Ok & The Tale of Lady Ok
I know, Choo Young-woo was actually in a second drama with dual roles this year (Head Over Heels). But his dual role in The Tale of Lady Ok totally captured me and showed me what this actor is made of.
The first time I saw Choo Young-woo was in Once Upon a Small Town back in 2022 and I was right away smitten with his city-boy-turned-small-town-vet character. But after that, I wasn’t always bowled over by his roles (looking at you Oasis). In The Tale of Lady Ok, he started 2025 off right, playing two characters in a single drama, who couldn’t be more different. And when he embodied each character, I was truly looking at distinct people.
On one hand, you could say, yeah, that’s called acting. But on the other, we don’t usually get a chance to see an actor play two roles side by side in order to compare (but see the brilliant job Park Bo-young did in Our Unwritten Seoul this year). I loved watching his romantic storyteller character butt up against his die-for-the-cause activist character, and how the essence of each came through. I’ll admit, I fell in love with the wrong one first — but I don’t feel too bad, since even the female lead didn’t see trouble coming.
Kim Jae-young – My Lovely Journey & When Life Gives You Tangerines
Yes, this one is stretching the concept a little since Kim Jae-young only had a short cameo in When Life Gives You Tangerines and I’m not even sure if he had any lines (it’s possible he only drove around looking good in sunglasses). His true second drama of 2025 (I Dol I) is currently airing, so I’ll have to get back to you about that one next year.
In the meantime, let’s talk about the fact that his cameo — speaking part or not — had me squealing with glee because it came out of nowhere. I was steadfastly covering the drama in recaps — angrily jotting notes about the era of illegal tutoring for rich kids by the poorest and brightest — when this beautiful face appeared on my screen, which I hadn’t seen in far too long. Talk about a reason to rewind.
And the reason I hadn’t seen my favorite model-turned-actor in so long (aside from skipping The Judge from Hell) is because his next drama, My Lovely Journey, was super delayed. Unfortunately, when it finally aired, I watched it all the way through, wondering how a man with the nickname Sexy Charisma could be made to appear so boring. It’s Kim Jae-young! Somebody had to work hard to make my eyes glaze over, but alas, that story was a dud.
Junho – Typhoon Family & Cashero
Ok, now I’m definitely cheating. But there is no way I’m letting this list end without including the fabulous face of Lee Fox. And since all the episodes of Cashero dropped before the New Year’s Eve ball did, I’m jamming it on here, so help me.
After the success of The Red Sleeve Cuff in 2022 and King The Land in 2023, who knew we’d have to wait another two years to see our boy starring in another drama (no, the cameos did not suffice). But then he came back strong with consecutive releases of Typhoon Family and Cashero, almost like paying interest on a past due bill.
And in both cases, the premise didn’t sound that satisfying, until I got inside and saw how the stories worked. I mean, maybe you can understand how a superhero character would be exciting (nothing wrong with watching Junho lift a bus), but in Typhoon Family, he somehow made office work seem fun. Who knew fax machines were hilarious! Apart from that, he played a romantic who knew how to woo with that classic Junho look of intent. Just sayin’, failing company or not, I’d take any job where he was my coworker.
Well, that about wraps it up for my review of pretty pouts that we got to see twice. There were others, but these were my favorite five. (Sorry Choi Woo-shik. I guess you’ll have to star in another two dramas next year).
RELATED POSTS
