i watched and enjoyed BOF i have to admit that! buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuttt..... seriously this man right had never be one of the reasons for me to watch it!

when i saw this article i was like...whatttttt??? for real?? ugh! and comparing him to Top?? a BIG NO!!!

okay let's just pray he has tons of works and piled up schedule that he had to reject the offer!!! huuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

please... seriously i've been anticipating this drama since Cha Sung Won joining! anddddd pleaseeee...dont kill my anticipation by this.

and sorry for all the fans! i'm not an anti tho. seriously i'm a big fan of him in we got married. but acting??? he need seriously need to learn from his idols fellow.

Let him try. Maybe acting with the veterans might bring out the best in him, just as Sohn Yejin has done for Lee Minho.

Who are you people to judge KHJ.Do you know that He has a lots of fans around the world after BOF and He is recognized by BYJ.Don't be jealous about his popularity, maybe your idol is not popular as KHJ.The more you critize him, the more people will support him.

I am not one of his fangirls but...

I want to give him a chance to discover what he can and can't excellently do.

He knows that his acting is inadequate but he challenges himself constantly . I think he is VERY BRAVE to accept another drama offer knowing he'll face more harsh criticisms if he does not deliver the second time around. I guess it's part of growing up in the entertainment industry.

I find him charming and that draws me to watch him. I hope he will do well. I want him to succeed.

cute talented singer but his acting in BOF is so painful to watch , who know his acting might be better in this drama , casts in this drama including LJA and this handsome singer , could be worst drama of the year , my sincere opinion .

"Who are you people to judge KHJ"

We're the people who watch dramas and we judge his acting, and the man can't act. Its frankly ridiculous that he ever got casted for anything.

"Do you know that He has a lots of fans around the world after BOF and He is recognized by BYJ."

Does he? Who are these fans? He's popular for his face and thats it, the man can't act.

"Don’t be jealous about his popularity, maybe your idol is not popular as KHJ.The more you critize him, the more people will support him."

Our Idol? Sorry but most of us don't want Idols in our dramas. Especially Idols who don't even want to act and barely make an effort. As for your last comemnt, grow up.

I was hoping that he would never act again.... what is Athena thinking?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! ....

omg, nonono, kim hyun joong, please make the correct decision by turning this offer down.
i'm not trying to say i hate him or what, but he just can't make it as an actor. and for this high quality of drama series, he is actually going to be cast in it? i don't care if he gets cast in some other idol dramas or what, but just not this. it doesn't seem right. yeah, you may say top is also a bad choice, but then like everyone else had said, he actually can pull off the looks as a spy. no matter how i look at this, i don't see how kim hyun joong can fit to any role in Athena. i'm sorry.

judging KHJ? wow, is there any charater assassination involved? if we don't wanna see a trying hard actor, it's not because we are jealous of that person's popularity. we just wanna see good dramas. and if KHJ is recognized bh BYJ, so what? BYJ wouldn't act in Athena, whatever recognition he gives won't really help in making Athena a good drama. he might have a lot of fans, but does he have the acting skill? don't think so!

btw, i'm not a KHJ hater. i just hate stupid, biased comments. if your IDOL is not good in one thing, accept it! i think it's about time to give your constructive criticisms so that he can improve in his craft.

hey all
im not a fan of KHJ
this is also the same for lee min ho from BOF
at least kim bum can act

to have KHJ becoming a spy
HE CANT ACT FOR SHITE
and before everyone defends him
LOOK at his acting in BOF and in WGM
he is stiff, uninteresting and his acting is not even close to say kim bum
why would you consider him

there are a few people in the industry i dont class as actors
they are TOP, KHJ, LEE MIN HO

TOP could act cold cos he has the face but he was promoted as a lead but his airtime is not of KTH or LBY
tell me, is he there just so he can be pretty
i really really dislike him
i hate his story about him running away and was really hardcore about him being homeless and shit
but still why would they consider him
im sure there at least half a dozen candidates who are better actors than he is
HE IS REALLY ULTIMATELY TAKING AWAY THE CHANCE FOR REAL ACTORS TO ACT, NOT THESE WANNABES
HE SHOULD STICK TO SINGING AND THATS IT
HE CANT EVEN SPIT OUT A DECENT LINE IN HIS DRAMAS
WHY EVEN CONSIDER HIM AT ALL
TAEWON YOU RATHER GET AN ACTOR THAN A SINGER TO PARTAKE THIS DRAMA
by having KHJ you are tarnishing the IRIS franchise, same goes for lee jia

oh all these CAPS are there to highlight my points, and its not considered yelling
TY

lol

"I’ll give you Kim fans fair warning and a minute to leave this post, so you don’t feel you have been unfairly subjected to the opinions of a stupid silly poopyhead who sees nothing positive in this news whatsoever"

oh JB you're so funny.

Well, I LOVE SS501 and I love the leader-ssi as well. But, Athena? No. He's gonna need more experience for that.

Oh no! :( Athena is one of the kdrama I'm most looking forward to and this is a buzz killer.

JB, I agree with you on everything you said. KHJ needs a lot more experience before he should be allowed to play in a drama like Athena. I know you weren't dissing him and I'm not dissing him, either; it's just a reality check. KHJ fans may not like this, but it's irrefutable that he needs lots and lots of experience.

I just disagree on one thing and that is that T.O.P was a bad actor I think he was actually preaty good. and i dont think Kim Hyun Joong would make a great spy maybe a computor geek or something but spy no way he just doesnt have the look for it.

Okay ! I was about to Post the same reaction like everyone else. I really hope KJH don't read dramabeans.

I will be little light on him. With Jung Woo-sung, Cha Seung-won and Su Ae on it, I am ready to watch KJH with one eye closed. I with Two Ravishing Male Lead, am sure he will just be a side kick. I just hope KHJ treat this as an Acting Boot Camp.... if he happen to get a role in Athena.

KHJ is good-looking and I'm assuming that in real life, he is a nice fellow. However, this is acting! Viewers do not watch you in a drama because you are a nice person personally. Viewers watch dramas because of good story AND good acting!

About his fan girls going wild saying stuff that people are just jealous and everything, it is ridiculous to look pass his good looks and praise him for his acting! My goodness, the only reason why I watched BOF is because of Kim Bum and Goo Hye Sun but the whole time KHJ was just there to make the picture look nice (again, thanks to his beautiful face).

Athena has actors that are great in their craft and it would be a pity that if one of their co-star can't even reach their level of greatness. KHJ would ruin the whole drama especially the drama is known to have a serious action/spy genre (which does not fit him AT ALL!). Some people are criticizing TOP's acting in Iris, but tell you what he actually fits the character's cold persona and it worked for him (given that he could act better than KHJ). If KHJ wants to be an actor, he needs to learn FOR A VERY LONG TIME!!!

These are just my opinion, so I don't really give a SH*T if I get hate comments after this because I'm a viewer of dramas and one of the things that I could do freely is to judge the actor's acting. I'm not some robot that would just watch or do something without acting on my own opinion.

I know everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I like Kim Hyun Joong a lot and yeah....his acting wasn't up to par in BOF.....but wasn't that like his first try in acting? And even though he got bad reviews, the drama was a huge success because of him and Lee Minho......and I guess Kim Bum as well.....All I'm saying is he will definitely try to improve his acting abilities......and we just need to give him a chance. I think he will do great....!

ok so i'm gonna let the fangirls burn me with this... and i'm happy to read the other comments, so i know i'm not alone in this LOL!

i actually like the guy. his 4D personality got me during WGM days. (yeah i kinda like the weird ones LOL!) and i'm gonna admit he was one of the reasons why i watched BOF. but sadly, i was disappointed in him there. ok so it was his first acting job blah blah! and i'm gonna agree with JB, KHJ actually got lucky with the Jihoo character coz it was pretty much the cookie cutter perfect 2nd lead in all of Kdrama-landia. any idol or newbie actor could've played Jihoo and would probably gain the same attention/love from fans.

there have been a lot of buzz about Athena mainly coz it's IRIS' sequel and then they revealed the new great cast which now puts it in an even more higher level. again, i'm not hating on KHJ, but the dude just doesn't belong in Athena. unless he undergoes extensive acting workshops before actually filming (which i suggest he should do if he were to be serious about acting, coz like JB, i don't get the feeling from KHJ that he actually wants to act.) and yeah at least TOP looked bad ass enough to play an assassin. i can't even imagine KHJ holding a gun & trying to look like he can kill you and that he will! get it?

TAEWON Ent. please!! there are a lot of young actors out there who are good looking and can actually act. and KIM HYUN JOONG, too, please don't disillusion (once again) the people who actually like you. stick to singing & dancing please! for your own good!

i don't think its a wise choice to cast him in Athena either.

It will boost the ratings and the buzz, but the extent of it is very limited, considering that JWS is a ratings AND buzz gurantee. add on to the fact that CSW, who is enjoying a career/ popularity high since last year's City Hall, KHJ won't make much of a difference to the whole project.

Keeping in mind that he will be pitted against heavy weights (JWS, CSW, SA) who have solid acting chops under their belts, it's either do or die for him; either he delivers a truly outstanding breakout performance, or be slammed for a complete lacklustre delivery.

Can anybody give me a name of any singer or idol who turned into an actor and was superb in their first acting job? Even in Hollywood it's hard to find this kind of person. We don't even know what role are they offering to KHJ so what's the hype all about? KHJ is a hardworking and openminded person and so all these criticisms will affect him in a good way so as to improve his acting skills. I think with or without KHJ, Athena is going to be a big hit.

@skelly: On Taec with CS, I think his character was supposed to be like that considering his character as a little boy. So far I think he has done a good job acting the supportive and silent character who is cutesy and naive, and at the same time has an immense sense of loyalty towards his Noona. Is he a complex character? You're right, compared to others, he isn't. But that is his character and not so much his acting. I don't think he hasn't had a lot of major parts in the drama to actually give his acting a full on analysis, but what he has done so far is pretty good.

By the way, I am not a fan of his. I never even knew he was in 2PM (or a singing group) until all the fangirling that has been going on around here.

What I do agree with you on is KHJ. I'm not gonna slam the guy on his acting since I haven't really seen him in action (yeah, I fast forward through most of BBF) and I'm not one to speak since I suck just as bad. I am gonna say that I can't see this guy as a spy. He is no double-oh-seven.

I agree with Alleah. We don't even know what role they offered him so we must not crack our heads imagining that he's going to be a spy or something...!!! Until they give their OFFICIAL decision on whether they're going to cast him or not and as to what role he is going to participate in..... I'm not going to give my opinions just as yet!!!!!!!!

@21 Will Smith in Fresh Prince sitcom.

@24 Will Smith superb? Hehe. Even he talked about how he knew everyone's lines and you can watch old episodes and see he mouthing the lines along with other people. He said this, taken from imdb.com

"[On his first season of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" (1990)] "I was trying so hard. I would memorize the entire script, then I'd be lipping everybody's lines while they were talking. When I watch those episodes, it's disgusting. My performances were horrible."

Just wanted to add, Will has improved. I enjoyed watching him in Seven Pounds.

@21 I haven't watched BOF, but most people seem to feel Kim Hyun-joong did a horrible job, as opposed to other idols turning in decent performances such as recently Taec in Cinderella's Sister, Seulong in Personal Taste, and earlier, Hongki was eh, overacting but not horrible in YAB, and Jung Yong Hwa as well.

I dont think there's anything wrong with KHJ trying out acting again....my take on this is he should choose the right project that will best suit his acting abilities.
I would love to see him in a romantic comedy with a little bit of action, something light just to gain more acting experience like Lee Min Ho.

@ 21 Alleah

Singer turned actor who did well on the first try? I have one - Yoon Kye-sang. I had to backtrack and ask others whether he was singer bc he sang in this one scene that had me all weepy (so I was wondering how this guy could sing so well - the entire time I thought he was an actor), and that was after he already hijacked the entire show from the real male lead Kim Jae-won (who granted isn't the height of great heavyweight actors, but has plenty of experience).

YKS was a member of G.O.D. and his first drama was She is Nineteen/My sister-in-law is Nineteen, and I loved him in it. He was wonderful, still raw, but god so much talent and charisma. He really did steal the show from all the veterans. I still have not watched Who Are You?, but hear he's great there, too.

I am surprised that KHJ may be cast in Athena, but he's a third male lead and really should not impact the drama too much even if he's stiff and not up to par with the others.

Ah...uh...ugh...
I about groaned when I saw the headline.
Like most people, I followed BOF avidly. I caught most of the episodes (I skipped episode thirteen and fourteen after watching five minutes of it) and tried to enjoy it with my brain tossed out the window.
But that was BOF.
Athena? Really? This is a far cry from something like BOF. This isn't even on the same level. Thinking of KHJ working with Jung Woo Sung makes me want to cry. It's not that I hate KHJ, who looks pretty and seems to have a nice personality, but I consider him a very brave and sturdy person not be overswayed by all the negative comments, which he should listen to. Or maybe he did, and improved, and will be less painful. But I really do wish they cast better than last time. This drama will be addicting enough without an idol for an actor.

no offence, but the korean bof was one of the worst kdramas i have ever seen. the acting was beyond embarrassing and the storyline was beyond ridiculous. the actors may look good, well...not really, but hello!!!!......the acting......was BAD!!! the japanese version was so much better and entertaining. btw lmh is doing alot better in personal taste with a first class actress like syj to support the drama.
khj needs to get his head out of the 4th dimension and see reality as it is........

c'mmon guys, give that guy a break.... how can he improve if he will stop on trying.

TOP should be re-casted, not because he was great, only to save Hyun Joong from embarrassment.

So I can see the logic in casting KHJ somewhat since he will be drawing the teen crowd but what was the logic of casting Lee Jia again?

@21 Alleah: I think we should be able to count Choi Si Won. He is pretty good considering "Legend of Hyang Dan" and "Oh! My Lady", even if the dramas themselves were/are not ratings breakers.

@26jamieguo: But the fact is Will Smith came from rapper/hip-hop (American version of an idol?) to good actor. And for its time, Will Smith did a great job on Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, even if he thinks otherwise (Humility anyone?).

I agree with @20 regarding less attractive yet miles-above actors that are being replaced with pretty boys....tsk, tsk SK. May Hollywood never come calling for these lesser actors, but the brilliant ones will take. Feed your audiences tween-kies instead of veggies.

he is going to get casted without going thru audition again?

In BOF, 3 actors need to go thru auditions except KHJ.

In BOF, at least Lee Min Ho and Kim Bum saved the drama in some ways, otherwise this drama will be the worst of all the versions we have seen.

I still can't forget the scene when he(Ji Hoo) went to save Jandi & Junpyo after they were abducted. Before he fight with the other guy, he was like strolling the red carpet before giving a punch.

Korea TV Production PDs, please, don't lower the quality of the korean dramas that i have always praised to my friends/relatives.

KHJ acting again? Oh no. I have one thing to say, "Ha ji ma!" Stick to music and modeling.

Let's hope KHJ takes acting lessons befote teaminbg with the A listers in this drama, other wise his limited acting will stick out like a sore thumb among the veterans.

EVERYONE CHILL!
I'm pretty sure he'll just be playing a supporting character! I'm not a fan of his acting but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy seeing him on TV

After reading all the comments, I guess I feel bad for the guy now.. I really wish now he gets a supporting role and prove to us all that we're wrong about his acting skills... I can't wait to see if who would triumph.... Is it going to be KHJ fans or javabeans? Lol....

I'm amazed how this blog create all this discussion over nothing -KHJ was not yet offered any role at all. He may not be interested in this drama or his schedule does not permit being in a drama at this time .

Granted that he did not do a good job in BOF at par with your standards of quality acting -should you condemn him for the rest of his acting days ?

Credible critics of movies, dramas, live performances release or issue their judgement after the fact not before. The basis for the current comments that are in truth pre-evaluation was on a previous performance . A person can always improve based on constructive criticisms . I understand the meaning of expectations and disappointments on the part of the viewing public regarding the artist's output . But remember artists or any professional as they carry their portfolio of achievements -do not only show an instant flashpoint of success but also how they progress along the way. .

I'd like to see the day when blogs would be informative and instructive rather than fomenting scathing remarks about a person's or persons' abilities .I would also like to see the day when the power of social media is devoted to the creation of a productive milieu not a destructive one .

I actually thought TOP did quite a good job - with his psychotic eyes and cold personality. It's so hard to please the audience. What a tough crowd.

Although I like KHJ alot - I hate to admit that he seriously has to do heaps and loads to pull off a spy-espionage role. :P

Love KHJ in variety shows and talk shows though - he is soooo funny and interesting with great in-your-face humour.

KJH Fighting!

I for one am hoping whatever his role, he will do a good job. That if he wants to be an actor well he is on set with (in my opinion) two of the best!

I will watch Athena.

waaaaaaah sooooryyyy for sayin this
but who wrote this article is a really person with no eyes
nd the ppl who write stupid things about khj are more stupid than wat they wrote
can u ask ur self from were this guy got his pupularity?? he has fans all around the world...do u know that?dont say because hes a singer coz everyone knows that he was a singer also before bof and dont say because he has a pretty face ...well there are manyyyy mannyyyy actors out there has pretty face and didnt get famous as khj

face the truthhhh antiiiis ...he got his pupularity all around the world because he did a great job at bof
and he will do the best at his next drama whether athena or not
and ull remember wat i said after the ending of the drama or maybe from the first ep and ill laugh happilyyy on wat u said about him and his acting...just wait

Errr.. If he acts as some cold-blooded spy cum assassin/mercenary, I think he could...

Have you guys seen his performance in the SS501 solo special compilation video...?
Where he played the role of some killer/assassin?

I thought his performance there was great!

Interested ppl should check this out - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFMpxk9qgbI

I'd say give him a chance to explore, and show the audience what he can do~
We shouldn't just shoot him down when we haven't even seen his performance in Athena...

Though some may think his acting in BOF was horrid...

Athena's a whole different role, different persona~

Give him a chance people! ^^

i think why he can act better in MV is because it is a 3-4min video..there is less pressure on himself, whereas a drama takes months to film, his stress level increases as it goes..

i still highly recommend he do some cameo roles first.. slowly go into supporting roles before choosing a lead role.

But if he still choose to take a lead role in this drama, then he is just another gold digger, because he is using his popularity to do what he can't do..