After appearing on MBC's 'A Real Man' in 2014, Girl's Day's Hyeri became one of the most popular kpop idols. She is now the most sought-after commercial model and is currently appearing on commercials of various products including cosmetics, ramen, convenience store, and mobile application. She gets about 200,000 USD per commercials.
She is also receiving love calls from many dramas. After the broadcast of 'A Real Man', she appeared on JTBC's 'Detectives of Seonam Girls' High School' and SBS' 'Hyde Jekyll, Me'. And she was recently cast in the lead role of tvN's upcoming drama 'Reply 1988'. As you may know, 'Reply 1997' and 'Reply 1994' have achieved a sensational level of popularity in Korea in 2012 and 2013.
After the announcement, Hyeri said "I thank for the opportunity to appear on the drama even though I still have a lot to learn. I'm so nervous now, but I will try not to harm the drama by doing my best."
By the way, there is some criticism toward the idol star's appearance on the drama in Korea. They say that Hyeri is an untested young actress and is disqualified for the drama. Well, it's true that Hyeri didn't show "outstanding" performance through her former works such as 'Detectives of Seonam Girls' High School' and 'Hyde Jekyll, Me'. But she was not that bad. She was cute and she showed her potential.
Actually, many people still have preconceived ideas about idol stars who appear on dramas.
A manager who has been managing an idol(She became an actress and she no longer sings) told me, "When we were filming our first ever drama, not only the public but also the drama staffs seem to have preconceived ideas about the actress. We always got the go-by at the drama shooting. There is some criticism toward Hyeri, but it is because of her great popularity. She has to overcome everything if she wants to be a real actress."
3 years ago, APink's Jung Eunji had a similar experience. When she was cast in the lead role of 'Reply 1997', there was a public opposition. However, she showed great acting skills through the drama and calmed the controversy. Yeah, Hyeri also needs to prove her competitiveness as an actress by showing good acting ability.
The official said "When Hyeri had a meeting with the production crew of 'Reply 1988', she showed huge potential. And she suits her character really well. That's why she was cast in the lead role of the drama."
