[HanCinema's News] Namkoong Min Marks First Historical Project in Ten Years With "My Dearest"

Last week's confirmation that Namkoong Min would play the leading role in "My Dearest" has drawn increased interest to the historical drama. Despite his prolific career in a wide variety of genres, Namkoong Min is not well-known for historical costume dramas. His last such project was the evening daily soap opera "Guam Heo Jun" way back in 2013. At that time Namkoong Min had a much lower profile than today, and was only credited as the second male lead.

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Still, "Guam Heo Jun" was likely an important career experience for Namkoong Min, if only because it proved that he could endure a difficult work schedule. "My Dearest" will be Namkoong Min's tenth leading role since "Beautiful Gong Shim" in 2016 which marked the beginning of his current career as a headliner. Indeed, Namkoong Min being attached to any project at all has lately been a harbinger for success, so he's had no shortage of offers.

"Beautiful Gong Shim" ended with 15.1% ratings. "Chief Kim" with 17.2%. "Falsify" 12.4%. The lone failure is "The Undateables" from 2018 with 2.8% ratings. But it was quickly followed up with "Doctor Prisoner" with 15.8% ratings, and "Stove League" with 19.1% ratings. "Awaken" and "The Veil" had relative underperformances with 6.2% and 8.8% ratings respectively. But "One Dollar Lawyer" was a smash hit with 15.2% ratings last year despite controversy over its truncated episode run.

History suggests that "My Dearest" is far more likely to be popular than not. And Namkoong Min is also a frequent honoree at awards ceremonies, another key indication of how he is seen as the major driving force behind the strong performance of his dramas. His leading lady Ahn Eun-jin lacks such a record, her strong performance as a supporting cast member in "Hospital Playlist" leading to a relatively weak debut as lead in "The One and Only" from two years prior.

With Namkoong Min and Ahn Eun-jin both being the only actors ever mentioned in connection with "My Dearest" it seems likely that director Kim Sung-yong of "The Veil" has something specific in mind for the historical romance. We won't know what that is until new marketing material makes the premise of the drama more clear. However, Namkoong Min has shown that he has a good eye for good ideas. His return to the historical and romance genres will likely be something to watch.

Written by William Schwartz