Following the premiere of SBS's "Scarlet Heart: Ryeo," lead actress IU and EXO member Baekhyun has come under criticism from Korean viewers for their terrible acting. In the 20-episode historical drama, the two portray Hae Soo and 10th Prince Wang Eun, respectively.
On Aug. 29, Monday, SBS's "Scarlet Heart: Ryeo" aired its first episode with national viewership ratings of 8 percent. The historical drama recorded 9.3 percent for its second episode airing right after the first one.
However, Baekyhun and IU performance in the second episode has not been well-received by many viewers, expressing that their acting was awkward and unnatural, All Kpop reported. Some viewers even demanded that IU and Baekhyun should stick to the music industry.
The second episode showed a fight scene between Hae Soo and 10th Prince Wang Eun after the latter was caught peering the maid undress through a tear in the door. Hae Soo requested the tenth prince to apologize, which Wang Eun cannot even fathom doing.
"Baekhyun's acting was so bad that it even buried IU's bad acting," one Pann user commented. "I don't know why they thought casting someone with no basic sense of acting like him was a good idea. I think the producers cast him because he's an EXO member and thought that would help the viewer ratings, but I can't stand watching the drama because of him."
In the historical drama, Baekhyun's character is described as a cheerful and bumbling prince, who loves games and has no interest in studying or politics. He has an unrequited crush on Hae Soo, but the two later become close friends.
Based on the 2005 Chinese novel "Startling by Each Step" (Bu Bu Jing Xin) by Tong Hua, "Scarlet Heart: Ryeo" follows a 25-year-old woman from the 21st century, Go Ha-Jin (IU), who got transported back to Goryeo Dynasty during King Taejo's (Jo Min-Gi) reign. There, she got trapped in the conflicts and battles between the seven princes of Wang's House.
Other stars include Lee Joon-Gi as 4th Prince Wang So, Kang Ha-Neul as 8th Prince Wang Wook, Hong Jong-Hyun as 3rd Prince Wang Yo, Yoon Sun-Woo as 9th Prince Wang Won, Nam Joo-Hyuk as 13th Prince Wang Wook aka Baek-Ah and Ji Soo as 14th Prince Wang Jung. The drama is directed by Kim Kyu-Tae.
Check out the latest episode of SBS's "Scarlet Heart: Ryeo" below: