OMG, the discussion here is always going in circle.The more you kick him down the more he gets going.

Its just the news that he is going to be the lead in a manhwa turned drama but the discussion went to his nose. If you want (I want to give my head some knock for stooping down at this level but anyway) to see his real nose, and the rest of his face look at his pictures when he play soccer. Blame the makeup ,the lighting, the photo shopping,the angle of the photography. Enough said.

If you have a lot of negative comments to say about his acting, don't watch his drama.Dramas are flooding the airwaves, so many to choose from. No one is forcing you to watch his drama. Don't be hard on yourself, spending so much time hating him. Nothing better to do perhaps ?Oh my watch your wrinkles ,you may have to buy the cosmetics line he is endorsing.

Yes,leave KHJ alone -he has enough fans to watch his dramas anyway. How many haters here ?You guessed right ,very ,very insignificant number.

some people keep saying "KHJ needs to leave drama for other" LOL
I say u haters need to LEAVE HIM ALONE and get a life. don't like don't watch that's all.

All these fangirl children need to get over their butthurt selves. People are merely stating their opinion sheesh. He is mediocre actor, it's really his looks that bag the audiences,so lay off him if he wants to do plastic surgery on his face a dozen times, it's his choice and way of living. That being said, while he was good in the mini movies all these fangirls have been desperately trying to push in our faces, this role will require much much much more than acting all badass and angsty. I'm really wondering why he's always chosen to be the lead, Im hoping this time round, given his acting skills, he should humble himself into getting secondary leading roles instead.

Oh god, not this guy again. Why will he not stick to singing, why does he keep trying to be an actor. Hey dude newsflash, you cant act, not even a little bit, so please stop ruining dramas i wish to watch by appearing in and ruing them for me. I try to watch them but seriously, the 90210 cast can act better than this guy. And i could care less what his fangirls think. Leave oppa alone? Dont make me laugh the dude is a joke of an actor and i really dont see the attraction, he's not attractive in my eyes, tries to be a pretty boy but is unable to pull that off aswell.

I don't want to fight with anyone.Here is just my own opinion. No one is perfect so as KHJ. He can't be pleased to everyone.He's got leading roles because there are so many people who want to watch him acting lead roles.
And of course,there are many of you who don't like him or who don't find him attractive or who think his acting is horrible.
He should work for the ones who love him not for the ones who hate him.As long as there are people who want to watch him acting,he will continue acting.So don't be so annoyed with his acting skills.Just think that he is working hard for his beloved fans,just doing his job.
Right?? That's simple.

he looks like he wants to cry.....

Its take a hell of courage to be honest .. yes he did say tht he had a small nose job ... and almost 90% of Korean celebrities had plastic surgery .. how many has the courage to be honest ... and dont forget that in todays world photoshop and make up makes a lot of difference in ones photo .. do a little bit more research and compare ..
I really dont understand why some of you bashing his acting skills ... did u read the characters diaries both in BOF and PK .. the characters were as such .. in BOF he was autism during childhood because of his traumatic experienced and in PK he was insecured about his manliness since childhood because of how his mother treated him ... well no dout his acting is not like wow!! wow!! ... but to say hes bad .. is too much ... i watched Sankduyung Scandal .. and Yoochun (JYJ) has tht typical arrogant Korean charater as well .. he acted stiff too ... but thts the character ... and like HJ he won the best newcomer too ..
Maybe the problem was not how he acted but the manwha character there ... of coz manwha character is unrealistic ... compared to the other ... so its hard for you to digest ... Takes a lot of fiber then ... for good digestion ... simply means more research please

it's KHJ...'nuff said..↖(^▽^)↗

havin' a good laugh over the manga character to his nose...lolz...however much you hate, you can't help but talk/comment 'bout him...what does that make u?

I can't believe Girlfriday posted a Kim Hyun-joong article without telling me! The sadness, it overwhelms me.

Yikes. Well, I won't promise to watch this because I am unconvinced that Kim Hyun-joong has the acting skill to carry off this role. While his acting in Playful Kiss was indeed better than it had been in Namjas Before Flowahs, it was still poor. However, I will promise to read the recaps with great enthusiasm, and I'll even try an episode or two if Girlfriday doesn't despise it with ever fiber of her being.

No pressure, Girlfriday. I'm just operating on the assumption that Dramabeans will recap the first episode or two, but if you and Javabeans decide not to, then I'll ask my friend what she thinks of it once the first few episodes have aired. *Air kiss!*

Wow, I am late to hear & discuss this news. But then reading the whole lot of comments at once was interesting.

I keep wondering about one thing though - if he is a mediocre actor according to the critics here, why do his dramas have such a huge following? On an international scale, even. I mean, people in far away places like South America or Europe are watching his dramas (and not watching other kdramas with supposedly "better" actors)? There's more to the story than just acting ability, ladies. Apparently, people all over the place want to see a drama with him in the lead, not because he is a good actor, but because of who he is, and that's why he keeps getting those offers from the producers.

Hello Ms. Girlfriday! I have notice almost all your readers are good for nothing critics. I just want to ask with all due respect, do you feel happy to read these unjustified criticisms? Are you just satisfied that the person whom you wrote an article about is being criticized?
But you know what? For these people who criticize I thank them because every time they criticize Kim Hyun Joong, the more successful he gets. I hope people won't easily pass judgement to others, we're all human being and no one is perfect.
Ms. Girlfriday, no offense I request your opinion so as the others, so i hope my opinion would be respected too. Thank you for lending this space, I just happen to pass by. God bless to everyone of you.....Have a nice day!

I Love KHJ so much and I will support him whatever it takes. To those people who critisice him because he has his nose done or think KHJ doesn't know how to act needs to understand that he's not the only one who does it and when it comes to acting, I'm sure he will become a good actor in the future because he is a very talented and smart person, he just need more experience/practice with his acting because acting is not his first priority. mind you..all those actors/actress who are very good now, went through the same as HJ before they became great one. I just laugh at some of the negative comments here about KHJ, they critisice him because his very famous and will become more famous! So for does people who doesn't really know him, better do some research and find out what the guy went through before he became what he is now! If you don't want to do that, then leave him alone and get a life. Thank you! My message for KHJ..You have done very well ever since you started in 2005. I am so proud of what you had become! We will all be here supporting you even until we get old. Fighting!

@Bibette Sia..I totally agree with you 101% percent! Well said!

It's really interesting to read all comments . I happened to open this article by mistake but it kept me till the end. Finally I start wanting to know more about this guy. I think all comments had its own reason and logic. Honestly the negative comments made me want to know more about the guy since i'm new for K-Drama.

So much energy, positive and negative, emitting from a single photo of Kim Hyun Joong.....the KHJ Effect?.....Whatever. The boy has grown up so he looks different. More important than his looks is if the man has a good heart. Don't know him personally, but in interviews and live shows, he seems to be genuine and spontaneous....real. In the celebrity world he lives in, that must be quite a feat. There's no way you can fake being nice 24/7. I'm not a starry-eyed KHJ fan, but raising money for those in need like Japan's quake victims or orphans in the Philippines, deserves a nod of approval. As for his acting, maybe the right role just hasn't fallen on his lap just yet. If we're no Meryl Streep or Dame Helen Mirren, who are we to criticize? PK might have gotten a low rating in Korea, but finding it in Netflix among the first Korean TV dramas being offered is really telling. The millions who watched the PK YouTube special is also telling.

Producer Baek Jin-dong's interview just came out: http://www.stardailynews.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=13978

In particular, the following two points should explain the situation quite well.

(overseas broadcast rights were sold for an amazing amount of money just with KHJ's name)
Q ‘도시정벌’이 이미 해외 선판매만 118억 원에 육박한다는 소식을 들었다. 축하와 함께 소감을 전한다면?

나도 놀라울 따름이다. 생각보다 현중이가 차지하는 아시아 시장은 무한대다. 도시정벌은 일본만으로도 미니멈 개런티 400만 불과 옵션계약이 따로다. 중국, 대만, 홍콩과는 계약서를 주고받고 있는 단계이다. 아마도 도시정벌의 해외 판매액은 150억 가량이 되지 않을까 예상해본다.

(global market and KHJ's popularity):
Q 한류에도 큰 영향을 미칠 것이라 생각된다. 해외시장을 염두에 두고 김현중을 캐스팅 한 것인가?

물론 그렇다. 얼마 전 미얀마를 다녀왔는데 김현중이 출연한 “꽃보다 남자”가 미얀마 국영방송 시청률이 55%라고 하더라. 일본을 비롯한 아시아 국가에서의 김현중의 인기는 단연 최고라고 확신한다. 아마도 이번 작품에서 그동안의 김현중의 연기를 생각한다면 큰 오산이다. 드라마 “도시정벌”에서의 백미르는 김현중이 100점이라고 확신한다.

Oh gosh, reading all of the negative comments is quite sad. I'm from the US and recently started watching Korean dramas and discovered KHJ through PK. I watched the Taiwanese version ISWAK and the male role was very similar in their expression. I'm currently watching BOF and I think the director told him to just stand there and be pretty. From what I read, he pretty much was hand picked without any acting experience; therefore, his role was meant to be sort of plastic. . . so I don't think it's his fault. He naturally has a quirky personality in real life. . .he is outrageously funny. I've watched him in several interviews and I can't help but just laugh at how funny he is not to mention how gorgeous he is. . .in the past and today.

As for his looks, I've noticed changes . . .every 2 years it seems his face changes and I'm a little baffled what he did this time around. I'm pretty sure it's his nose but also I think from exercising, his jawline is wider or more angular now. But then again, his face changes it seems in every photo. . .one photo he'll look very angular with thicker jaw line, then a month later, his face seem to shrink down to a more softer look. I find it quite insane that someone can look so different depending on the angle of his face.

I do prefer his look in his younger days and I still see a glimpse of it in his current photos but something has clearly changed but can't quite pin point exactly what it is.

I find him to be a very dynamic person. . .and it appears he wants to do the best he can in what ever challenges they give him and I truly admire someone like that. I think it's horrible that everyone is so mean to someone who wants to succeed in their field whether acting, singing, dancing, etc. and is working very hard to do well. I just watched a documentary on Rain and he talked about how he was rejected by the industry so many times because of how he looked. Through perseverance and someone giving him a chance, he catapult himself to where he is today. One of the most successful entertainer that Korea has had to offer thus far. I think that is what is going to happen with KHJ if continues to work hard, ignore trolls who criticize his every move, and do what ever it is he needs to do to succeed.

He seem to be a very nice person who truly appreciates his fans. It also appears that his peers whether it's other idols, show host, directors, and others that he has had contact/relation with really like him and admire him as a person. I've seen countless interviews of his peers who always say how they admire him as a person. I think that is what matters so I think we all should be kinder and not be so terribly mean to him.

I wish him the best in his new drama. I'm sure he will do well. . .:) I'm looking forward to watching it.

I'm probably in the minority but I found KHJ throught BOF and loved that character and actor. Maybe it's my penchant for the strong, silent type, but I found him so endearing in that show--truthfully, IMHO he's the best thing in it.

It wasn't until after I finished BOF (and had my heart ripped out) and went to learn more about KHJ that I found Playful Kiss, WGM, and that he was the leader of a boy band. Given that he seems to be the (slightly older) Justin Bieber of Korea, it's not surprising that the opinions of him are so disparate. I have never been one to fawn over pretty boys/boy band types, not even when I was a teenager. (I never was a huge fan on New Kids on the Block when other girls my age were....now that's dating myself!) By the time I learned that KHJ falls into that category, though, I was already smitten by his smile and nice-guy persona.

Anyway, my first post on DramaBeans--will probably be my last. Except, this kdrama thing is so addicting!

I <3 sooooooooo much kim hyun joong

COOLL