The Ultimate Guide to Jung Hae In

5. His flirting  He is the master of flirting while riding a bike.

Dramas

Where else other than dramas would you start exploring Jung Hae In? There are options galore and we’re sure you’ll find the drama that just sparks with you. You can choose anything from slow-paced romance to historical comedy. Why not watch him in a fantasy thriller or a melodrama? 

Whatever you choose, Jung Hae In shines in any role he gets; so just get your favorite drink, a cozy blanket, some snacks, and most importantly, your uwus ready. Don’t worry about the rest, we got you. Or more like, he got you.

Something in the Rain (2018)

This was Jung Hae In’s first main lead role, and oh, what a role it was! 

While running around in sneakers and a variety of trench coats (see banner), Jung Hae In plays the part of 25-year-old Seo Joon Hee, a boy from a broken family who falls for his (10 years older) sister's best friend. He is the perfect boyfriend, the kind that probably anyone would want to have. He is supportive, understanding, always cheerful, and the most important thing, he trusts his loved ones no matter what happens. But he has to face being judged for his lacking family background.

“This is where I fell in love not only with Jung Hae In but with Korean dramas all together.” - Shiro

This drama tackles several heavy issues and will most probably both break your heart at least once or twice and make you angry at every single person in there (some more than others). You may also find yourself wanting to do anything to protect Joon Hee's smile, oh, what a smile that is. This drama is probably the one where he has the biggest amount of irresistible sweet scenes (the kind that could probably give you diabetes) out of all his roles, but it is also probably one where we see him hurt the most. Just look at that pretty face: 

One Spring Night (2019)

If Jung Hae In could describe One Spring Night with one word, he would use “heart fluttering”. If we were to describe Jung Hae In in One Spring Night, the word we'd use is dreamy. 

Made by the same creators as Something in the Rain (those creators truly found the perfect actor for their melodramas) and tackling important issues, this drama may not always be easy to watch, yet Jung Hae Ins's smile is never far away helping viewers through the tough parts.

In this drama, Jung Hae In gets to show another part of his range while spending half of the drama trying to hold back his feelings. We get to witness him play basketball, fall in love at first sight, and break down just to get rebuilt. Jung Hae In brought his puppy-like face, his well-known charm, and charisma to portray a pharmacist with a kid and he of course nailed it.

A Piece of Your Mind (2020) 

In this very slow-paced and beautifully made drama, Jung Hae In plays the role of a genius AI engineer that is having trouble letting go of his first love, causing him to try to use his engineering skills to get a hold of just a piece of her mind. 

In our opinion, it is a lot easier to portray roles of happy and optimistic people, while deep and emotional roles like this are always challenging. Moon Ha Won’s character showed his possessiveness towards his first love but in the end, we have to let go. The most important thing that we learned from his beautiful character is how to let go of the person we love. We all might have someone we liked in our life but that doesn’t mean we are all destined to be together.

He was charming but also in pain, stuck in his past/memories, and not ready to move on. Jung Hae In did a brilliant job in acting, we could feel his pain just looking into his eyes or by the expression on his face: 

“Watching him in the drama made me weep a lot.” - Caspleo

So check out the drama if you are a Jung Hae In fan, or a fan of melodramas that include a healing process. We are sure you won’t be disappointed at all. :)

Not the Male Lead but Stole the Show

While You Were Sleeping (2017)

Jung Hae In plays the role of Han Woo Tak, a kind and selfless police officer. His character has a major role in the drama's premise. He managed to deliver not only a cop who was kind-hearted but also absolutely irresistible both for romance and bromance. But then again, JHI has always been successful in portraying sweet, cute, sincere, and lovable characters. This was one of Jung Hae In’s big breakthrough roles, right before he got his first role as the main lead:

"This was my first time seeing Jung Hae In and I was left speechless.” - Succerforhappyendings

Not to exaggerate or anything, but he was nothing less than perfect in our eyes and was an ace at stealing the show, although, we must warn you that major SLS (Second Lead Syndrome) may hit you if you choose to watch this.

Prison Playbook (2017) 

This beautiful and emotional drama shows the bonds between cellmates and tells the stories behind the people locked up in prison. Jung Hae In plays the role of Captain Yoo, who is imprisoned for allegedly killing a soldier. At first glance, his character appears cold and terrifying but is actually a kind-hearted person. JHI is very genuine in acting, which makes viewers fall for his character even harder. He excelled in conveying both a cold-hearted, evil soldier as well as a lovable prisoner in one character. Jung Hae In's acting is so good here that you can't help but get hooked and eagerly want to see more of his scenes, so even though Jung Hae In played a supporting role, his flawless portrayal of Captain Yoo was not left unnoticed.

Blood (2015)

In Blood, Jung Hae In plays the male lead’s stereotypical nerdy yet pretty badass sidekick. How they chose to cast him as the sidekick instead of the main lead is beyond us (no offense to Ahn Jae Hyun and his fans). Okay, it was 2015 and Jung Hae In had barely made his debut, but still. Though his character may not be the best both styling and character-wise, Jung Hae In’s acting is spotless, showing yet another part of his wide range. By the way, have we mentioned that he has a wide range to his acting skills? Yes, good, he has a wide range of acting skills.

The Three Musketeers (2014)

This is a drama that truly shows some Jung Hae In appreciation, playing one of the king’s closest men, smart, beautiful, and good with a sword. If only he had more screen time… The drama itself may not always be politically correct and does have some questionable scenes, but it is hard not to laugh when a big hoard of maids come running through the courtyard to catch a glimpse of Jung Hae In bathing. And while Jung Hae In does look pretty good in drag, it felt more like a punchline than appreciation. This drama is still worth a watch if you are looking for a short historical comedy.

Short but Memorable Roles 

Goblin (2016), Reply 1988 (2015)

 ^{Jung Hae In in Reply 1988} 

Whatever you do, do not look away because you may just miss his appearance in these two shows. There are probably not many people who can pull off being remembered after just having a guest role in a drama. Jung Hae In, however, is great at making his presence noticeable. To be honest, some of us wished the girl(s) would have chosen him. Should we call it GLS - Guest Lead Syndrome or  GS - Guest Syndrome? Whatever we should call it, we got it.

Ah, Goblin… where I encountered him for the first time. As a person who doesn't care about looks but is more influenced by acting skills, just a few minutes of his appearance still remained memorable to me and one of the main reasons was his precious smile. (This gif is still making me smile from ear to ear.) - Anushka

Bride of the Century (2014)

It may be hard to imagine Jung Hae in as a bleached Idol Star, but if you want a good old-fashioned romance mystery,  you can catch a few glimpses of Jung Hae In as the brother of the lead in this drama. Even though he has way too little screen time, the time he is there is very sweet and is sure to make you smile.

Movies 

If you don't have the time to watch a full-length drama or just need something short between dramas, you can choose to watch one of his movies.

Tune in for Love (2019)

In this romantic melodrama movie, Jung Hae In plays the role of optimistic Hyun Woo, together with stunning Kim Go Eun. The film tells an emotional story of the second/third/fourth…  chance romance between the characters Mi Soo (Kim Go Eun) and Hyun Woo that lose touch with each other after several unfortunate circumstances. Jung Hae In and Kim Go Eun make an impressive performance, sharing a lot of chemistry. That is also one of Jung Hae In's many talents; having good chemistry with his co-stars, we can not think of a single co-star with whom he lacks chemistry, can you?

Start Up (2019)

In this little gangster/finding one's place in life-themed comedy, Jung Hae In is listed as the main character but plays the lead's best friend. His screen time is pretty limited, but then again, we probably say that about all his projects where he is not playing the main lead. But if you just want some easy-to-watch comedy accompanied by Jung Hae In’s smile, this may just be worth your time. 

The Age of Blood (2017)

In this historical action movie, Jung Hae In portrays a brave royal guard officer and prison guard by the name of Kim Ho. When a man wishing to dethrone the king escapes from the prison he is guarding, Kim Ho finds himself in a situation where he must do everything in his power (including sacrificing himself) to prevent this from happening. 

Jung Hae In is barely recognizable here, proving once again his huge versatility. We truly believe there's no role he can't play. We don't often see him acting in very dark and manly concepts, so it's refreshing to see that he can pull them off. So if you are in the mood for some historical action, this could be just the movie for you. 

The Youth (2014)

This movie consists of four short stories, where Jung Hae In plays the role of Park Man Jae in the part called "Wonderwall". According to the English band Oasis, Wonderwall is "an imaginary friend who's gonna come and save you from yourself."

“Wonderwall” is about two friends who need to enlist in the army (Jung Hae In seems to get a lot of army roles). His character is unwilling to do compulsory military service,  and therefore goes to great lengths intentionally injuring himself so he can avoid it. (He really, really, really does not seem to want to go). 

Jung Hae In's character is kind of immature and annoying and has a bad temper. He is a young man unwilling to leave his comfort zone, including his romantic interest, behind him. His character expresses himself a lot with an annoyed tone as well as uses his eyes (and does it really well, it is amazing what those eyes can do) to convey his state of mind. This is definitely not how we are used to seeing him, but then again, it is just another part of this guy's huuuge range. So if you are curious about if Wonderwall can save him from himself, you can probably skip the rest and just hop to the part with Jung Hae in.  

P1H: The Beginning of a New World (2020)

The smallest movie role, but all the more memorable. In this sci-fi-filled film, Jung Hae In portrays the past version of a character named "Ahjussi", who is a very mysterious figure. The role of "Ahjussi" is divided into three different eras in time: past, present, and future, which all have different actors. Although Jung Hae In plays a very small role, he still manages to surprise and make people smile with his appearance. 

Other Places to find him

If you have fallen deeply or just want to see more of him, there are plenty of wonderful options to find out more about this multi-talented guy.

 Travel Log (2019)

As if all his shows and movies aren’t enough, Jung Hae In chose to take us fans with him on a vacation to nowhere else than New York City. In a mini-series of 8 episodes, Hae In conquers the Big Apple and documents it to us in a way friends would do. Get ready for funny incidents like him getting his fortune told in the middle of the street by a random person, saying he’ll find love next year; or also a bartender telling him he’s too young to order a beer (he was 31 at the time).

200 % enjoyable and totally recommended for the “stay-homers” this summer because you’ll feel like you’ve actually been there, with the best company. ;)

Cult of the Cutie Pie on MDL

That's where you will find us sharing pictures, articles, and even deciding on writing this article.

_{https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVWYQ2CkniQ} 

Upcoming Projects

Snowdrop

Will it ever air? Nobody knows… This drama is even more controversial than standing in the wrong place at the Baeksang Awards. The airing of this drama is the subject of a lot of rumors. We, the fans, do hope that the rumors are just that; rumors, and that this drama will calm all the rumors once it finally airs (if it ever airs). We say this not only as fans wishing for Jung Hae In's best but also for the industry as well as those who could otherwise be offended. In this drama, Jung Hae In plays a man who, after escaping from political prison in North Korea, finds refuge and is cared for by a student in Seoul, despite the danger of being exposed. _{(Source: Snowdrops page on MDL)} 

D.P

Soon to air on Netflix, we can not wait to see Jung Hae In back in uniform, playing the “calm, but inflexible Sergeant Park (D.P)".  This drama will only have six episodes, other than that, we do not know much about it. But still looking forward to it!

Awards: 2016 SAF Acting Awards New Star Award 2018 54th Baeksang Arts Awards Star Century Popularity Award 2018 APAN Star Awards K-Star Award / Excellence Award for Male Actor in a Mid-length Drama 2018 2nd Seoul Awards Hallyu Artist Award / Popularity Award for Male Drama 2018 ASIA ARTIST AWARDS Artist of the Year / Asian Trend Award / Best Emoji Award 2019 4th London East Asia Film Festival / Best Popularity Award 2019 ASIA ARTIST AWARDS Potential Award / Best Icon Award for Actor 2019 MBC Drama Awards: Best Actor in a Wed-Thu Drama 2019 10th Republic of Korea Popular Culture and Arts Award Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism 2020 56th Grand Bell Awards / Best New Actor Award Source: FNC Entertainment, translated by Google

Some last words from us, the Cuties:

• Have you fallen for Jung Hae In yet or were you already a fan when you started reading this?
• Did you get Bing(o)?
• Do you want to guess the number of times we mentioned the words smile, acting skill, and Jung Hae In in this article? The answer might surprise you!  
• What do you like most about JHI and do you have a favorite JHI movie or drama?
• Thank you for reading, we would love to read your thoughts and hope this guide made you smile at least once!

We do not own any of the images used. Credits go to the respective owners. Images are from the official stills and posters, drama screenshots, and Google search. GIFs and screenshots are either self-made, taken from the drama scenes or have a direct link to their source in them. Also, links here colored purple instead of the regular blue.

^{Edited by: devitto (1st editor)}