Kim Hyang-gi, Ong Sung-woo
Wow, this drama makes me feel so old on several levels. JTBC has a pretty great track record when it comes to high school dramas, with acclaimed shows like Solomon’s Perjury and SKY Castle (which was sort of a high school drama), so I’m excited that there’s several more in the works over at the cable channel. In addition to A Beautiful World, which is due to premiere next month, JTBC is planning a youth drama called A Moment at Eighteen, with Kim Hyang-gi (Innocent Witness, Along With the Gods) and former Wanna One member Ong Sung-woo set to star.
In addition to the young leads, A Moment at Eighteen has added Kang Ki-young (My Secret Terrius) and Astro’s Moon Bin to the lineup. Both will play characters related to Ong Sung-woo’s character: Kang Ki-young will play his assistant homeroom teacher, who’s described as a bit hapless and will mature as a teacher as the show goes on. As for Moon Bin, he’ll play a popular high school student, well-known for his looks and athletic abilities. He becomes Ong Sung-woo’s sole friend at school, and sounds like a bit of a mother hen, cooking food for the latter, who is a transfer student and lives alone.
So, I do have to admit that I’m a tad nervous about this lineup, which is a mixed bag. On the one hand, I adore Kim Hyang-gi and find it a little incredible that she’s now old enough to star as a drama lead (also, she’s a college freshman now, which blows my mind). And Kang Ki-young is a reliable scene stealer whatever he’s in, and I have no doubt that he’ll act the heck out of his character.
Kang Ki-young, Moon Bin
But Ong Sung-woo and Moon Bin are both complete newbies to dramaland, and I’m just preconditioned to be wary of untested talent that way. Ong Sung-woo’s character sounds like it might require a bit of dramatic chops, too, as a loner transfer student whose loneliness has become a “habit.” Let’s just hope he’s up to the task. Moon Bin technically had his drama debut way back in 2009’s Boys Over Flowers as a baby Kim Bum (another “where has the time gone” moment, by the way), but he hasn’t had an acting credit since that brief appearance, so we’ll just have to wait and see whether he has some decent acting chops.
The youth drama, which promises to portray that particular feel of being eighteen, when even the smallest incidents trigger a whirlwind of emotions, will be penned by writer Yoon Kyung-ah, whose credits include Perfect Wife and Medical Top Team. Directing will be Shim Na-yeon, who has two web drama credits to her name: Hip-hop Teacher and Memories of Summer.
A Moment at Eighteen is expected to start production next month and is slated to air sometime in the latter half of this year.