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[K-drama Treasure Hunt] Lead actors reunite

Welcome to the K-drama treasure hunt, where we all go looking for K-drama treasure in the form of tiny drama details that we know and love. Sometimes these details take the shape of well-worn tropes (oppa Band-Aiding) or storytelling devices (Top Secret Deadly Allergy), but other times it’s just details we know we’ve seen in other dramas, but need help putting all the clues together.

Each week we’ll put you on the hunt for a piece of K-drama treasure, and you can report your findings in the comments.

There’s no umpire in this game, so if you find the detail we’re looking for, drop the drama title (or even better, drama title + episode number) in the comments, and we’ll all take your word for it. Or, we’ll go binge watch just to see it play out.

And remember, we’re here to map our way to the treasures not to the plot twists! We know how exciting as it can be to have all the hard-earned details stashed in your head, but let’s try to keep the spoilers out of the comments.


This week’s treasure:

Lead actors reunite.

 
Your mission:

What’s more fun than seeing our favorite leads together in a drama? Seeing them reunite in another drama! We’re looking for male/female leads that have starred together more than once (99% of the time this will be as an OTP). We’ll be needing the names of both (or all) dramas, please. But at least we can skip the episode numbers on this one (phew).


 
Have an idea for the next treasure hunt? Email your topic to hello @ dramabeans.com!
 

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A favorite cameo reunion is Lee Min-ki and Jung So-min in What's Wrong With Secretary Kim.

Jang Hyuk and Jang Nara in their latest reunion in Family : The Unbreakable Bond.

Sohn Ho-jun and Jang Nara are to be reunited in

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my fingers clicked a premature send🙄😒

...My Happy End.

Nam Goongmin is reuniting with Lee Chung-ah in My Dearest(sniffs tissues).

There's an impending reunion between Park Hee-soon and Kim Hyun-joo in a gravesite titled drama.

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Park Hee-soon and Kim Hyun-joo - I need a drama that can completely wash off the traumatic bitterness from Trolley.

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Ji Sung and Hwang Jung Eum - They were in 'Secret Love' and 'Kill me Heal me'

Lee Dae Wook and Yoo In Ah - Goblin (second OTP) and Touch your heart.

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Seo In-Guk and Jung So-Min as a cameo in Abyss after Hundred Million Stars From the Sky

Han Ji-Min and Nam Joo-Hyuk in The Light in Your Eyes and Josee.

Lee Byung-Hun and Shin Min-A in Beautiful Days and Our Blues.

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Lee Dong-wook and Yoo In-ah (the epitome of chemistry) in Goblin and Touch Your Heart

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Park Seo Joon and Hwan Jung Eum in Kill me, heal me and She was pretty.

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Lee El and Son Seok Ku in Matrimonial chaos and My liberation notes.

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Lee Bo Young and Lee Sang Yoon in Seo-young my daughter and Whisper.

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Nana and Park Sung-hoon in Justice and Into the Ring!!!

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Han Ji-min and Lee Min-ki in Behind Your Touch and it hasn’t happened yet but shhhhh it definitely will in the near future it has to it must it will everyone wants it we can all make it happen give them a proper romance drama I will not shut up until it happens

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These are side characters in both, but when I watched Our Blooming Youth I was so happy to see Kim Ki-doo and Lee Min-ji reunited as a married couple again after 100 Days My Prince!

Park Hae-jin and Park Sung-woong are both starring in The Killing Vote after starring together in Man to Man (and I don't care what anyone says - they are my OTP of both of these dramas even if it's not in a romantic sense).

Jung Il-woo and Kwon Yu-ri reunited after Bossam in Good Job. I haven't seen the first, but even I got the reference he makes to stealing her at the end!

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Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin in "Crash Landing on You" and the movie "Negotiation".

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Jung Yumi and Eric: Que Sera, Sera and Discovery of Love.
Kim Soo-hyun and Jun Ji-hyun: My Love from the Stars and Thieves (movie).
Park Eun-bin and Yoo Seung-ho: Operation Proposal, Queen Seon Deok and The Legend (as child actors).
Lee Jun-ki and Moon Chae-won: Flower of Evil and that one show that shall not be mentioned. Please do a sageuk reunion.
Son Ye-jin and Hun-bin: Crash Landing on You, The Negotiation (movie), Ye-jin cameo (Secret Garden).
Jang Hyuk and Lee Da-hae: Chuno and Robber.
Hwang Jung-eum and Si Jung: Secret, Kill me Heal me.
Yeo Jin-goo and Kim Yoo-jung: Iljimae, Moon Embracing the Sun (child actors).
Yeo Jin-goo and Kim So-hyun: Missing You, Moon Embracing the Sun. (child actors)
Yeo Jin-goo and Nam Ji-hyun: Giant, Warrior Baek Dong-soo (child actors)

I guess I'll stop here cause it's getting too long....LOL

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If you have more please do carry on ... we will not play music to chase you off the podium !!

🎶 🎺 📯🥁 🥁 🎺 📯 🎵

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I'll bring my recorder!

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I broke too many rules. One of these days I'd get exiled.LOL

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I second the reunion of Eric and Jung Yumi. I love both Que Sera Sera and Discovery of Romance.

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Both are great dramas

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Impressive list! 👏🏽

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Lee Jun-ki and Moon Chae-won: Flower of Evil and that one show that shall not be mentioned. Please do a sageuk reunion.

I would love a sageuk reunion!!

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Well this is an easy one for me haha

Lee Seung Gi & Bae Suzy
Gu Family Book (2013) & Vagabond (2019)

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Oh duh🤪
Lee Seung Gi & Lee Se Young
Hwayugi/ A Korean Odysessy (2017) & The Law Cafe (2022)

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Not so well-known perhaps but Ji Jin-hee and Kim Hyun-joo have been leads in 3 dramas together so far. Ms. Kim's Million Dollar Quest in 2004, I Have a Lover in 2015, and Undercover in 2021.

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They are excellent together on screen.

Funny enough those three dramas also show off their range, a rom com, a melodrama/makjang and a political thriller.

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Totally, they have great chemistry and a good range as said by @soyesterday.

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Older beanies would remember them fondly since the early 2000s. I love them in sageuks too. "Sangdo" (2000) with Kim Hyun-joo was my first, and "Dae Jang Geum" (2003) for Ji Jin-hee.
We seldom see sageuk dramas featuring veteran actors as leads; it’s mostly youth dress-up these days.

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Quite well-known to the older generation...

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❤ Best onscreen pair!

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Namgoong Min & Lee Chung Ah
Awaken (2020) One Dollar Lawyer (2022) My Dearest (2023)

Looking at this list, I'm wondering why nothing in 2021 haha

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Choi Woo-Sik and Kim Da-Mi as a cutesy reunited high school couple in Our Beloved Summer

And after 10 years of marriage wanting to kill each other in The Witch

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Shin Hye Sun and Cha Chung Hwa (in my heart she's a lead) in Mr. Queen and See You in My 19th Life

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They have a movie coming up - Brave Citizen which looks pretty fun.

https://youtu.be/1LinV73o7WM?si=lb-obJTnlkkmLaFe

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Oh wow that looks so bad*ss! Thanks for sharing ❤️

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Jo Yeo Jeong and Kim Kang-Woo
Haeundae Lovers (2012) and Woman of 9.9 Billion Won (2020)

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Lee Dong-wook and Lee Da-hae in My Girl and Hotel King.

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Jung So-min and Kim Ji-seok in Monthly Home Magazine and the drama special Came to Me and Became a Star.

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Lee Do-hyun and Go Min-si went from playing siblings in Sweet Home to lovers in Youth of May.

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Lee Min Jung x Joo Sang Wook = Cunning Single Lady, Fates and Furious.

Ji Sung x Kim Min Jung = New Heart, The Devil Judge.

Reply 97 cast reunion in Reply 94 (cameo).

Bonus: Ryu Jun Yeon and Kim Tae Ri (movies) = Alieniode, Little Forest

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Lots of older actors and shows references. Lovely.

Adding some that haven't been mentioned yet:

Ryu Duk Hwan and Park Se Young went from secondary couple husband and wife in Faith 2012, to kinda enemies in Special Labour Inspector Jo (she was the female lead, he was the second lead)

Kim Soo Hyun and IU went from classmates in Dream High 2011 to potential couple in The Producers 2015.

Jung Yong Hwa and Park Shin Hye, from main lead and second lead in You Are Beautiful 2009, to OTP in Heartstrings 2011.

Choi Jin Hyuk was the second male lead to Jang Nara both on Fated to Love You 2014 and The Last Empress 2018.

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Let’s have one with Choi Jin Hyuk winning Jang Nara, instead being the doomed SML in the last two.

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Yes please!

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The two I can think of aren’t leads, but I’m gonna channel my inner @kiara and put them in here anyway. We can break ALL DEM RULEZ, Kiara.

I loved that one of the “Undateable” couples in The Undateables was played by Kim Kwang-kyu and Jung Young-joo (he was the farmer and she was the socialite)…and that these two played Shin Ha-ri’s parents in Business Proposal. I actually like to think that they were the same couple.

The other is, of course, Kim Ki-doo and Lee Min-ji who play a precious married couple in 100 Days My Prince and then also reprise their sageuk-based marital harmony—only this time with more smuggling and shovels—in Our Blooming Youth.

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Thank you for mentioning Kim Ki-doo and Lee Min-ji. Many supporting couples deserved more love.

@Seon-ha: I'm sure we'd survived a Jeju Island exiled Joseon style. Lol

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Aw yeah, Jeju!!! Let’s do this!

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Ok, another Beanie may have listed this and I missed it, but Jung Il-woo and Kwon Yuri starred together as the OTP in Bossam: Steal the Fate, and then followed that up as the OTP in Good Job. They had intense, magnetic chemistry (IMO) in Bossam, even though *SPOILER* ... the ML and FL didn't share a kiss (but their chemistry was still better than that of some of the clingy OTPs in contemporary dramas). And that's part of why there was excitement for their matchup in Good Job. Part of what made Good Job delightful, was that it felt like the writers had made a fanfic about the Bossam OTP reincarnated in contemporary Seoul... and then it was made into a drama! 😂 Their chemistry was back in full force in Good Job, and *SPOILER* included a truly lovely kiss that had been built up for TWO dramas!!

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The build up over two dramas was something unique, and payoff so satisfying. 😃

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Lee Dong Wook ❤️ Yoo Inna - Goblin and Touch Your Heart
Kim Dong Wook ❤️ Moon Ga Young - Find Me in Your Memory and cameo in Sh**ring Stars
Jang Hyuk ❤️ Jang Nara - Successful Story of a Bright Girl, Fated to Love You and Unbreakable Bond
Namgoong Min and Lee Chung Ah - My Dearest, Awaken
Lee Jun Ki ❤️ Moon Chae Won - Flower of Evil and Criminal Minds

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Moon Ga-young had a cameo in Delightfully Deceitful with Kim Dong-wook too

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You are right! I probably remembered the one in Sh**ting Stars since they played the same characters as FMIYM.

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I love it when actors play their old characters

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Jang Dong-yoon and Seol In-ah - School 2017 and Oasis

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Han Chae-young and Jae Hee in Sassy Girl Chun-hyang and then showed up in a couple cameo in My Girl.

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Jung Il-woo and Yuri - they really work well together! BOSSAM and GOOD JOB

Ji Jin-hee and Kim Hyun-joo were enjoyable in 3 dramas - Ms. KIM'S MILLION DOLLAR QUEST, UNDERCOVER, I HAVE A LOVER.

Jang Hyuk and Jang Nara in 4 (mostly) fun dramas - SUCCESSFUL STORY OF A BRIGHT GIRL, FATED TO LOVE YOU, FAMILY, and a short drama.

Seo Kang-joon and Kim Hyun-joo in 2 - WHAT'S WRONG WITH MY FAMILY (not an OTP) and the awesome WATCHER. I would love to see them paired up in a melo. It was SKJ's wish, and I have been praying for it since then.

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Ji Sung and Ji Sung in Kill Me, Heal Me and Adamas.

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👏 👏 👏

Wonderful ... wish I could like it "twice"!!

🤣 🤣

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Gong Yoo and Jung Yu Mi in three movies (do Kfilms count?) and an upcoming one as well:
Silenced, Train to Busan, Kim Ji Young Born 1982, and Wonderland

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I feel like this happens all the time in C-Dramas. Does anyone have an idea why? Like:

Wu Jinyan and Xu Kai who were ill-fated lovers in The Story of Yanxi Palace and then became OTP in Royal Feast.

Bai Lu and Xu Kai who were the lead couple in The Legends and Arsenal Millitary Academy.

Bai Lu and Luo Yunxi who were the lead couple in Love is Sweet and Till the End of the Moon.

Yang Mi and Zhang Bin Bin - In Eternal Love she was the lead and he was the second lead, but later in Storm Eye they were OTP.

I'm sure there's much more but I think it happens quite a lot in C-Dramas. Sometimes I even think there's only like a couple of actors in China. You see the popular ones all the time.

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Elvira Cai and Peng Guan Ying in The confidence and Unexpected failing.
Zhzo Lu Si and Lu Wei in The long balad and Love like the galaxie.
Chen Fang Tong and Dai Gao Zheng in Maid's revenge and Forever love.
Yilia Yu and Tsao Yu Ning in Mysterious love and Love of replica.

When one drama works well due to the leads' chemistry it seems like a safe bet to have another drama with them. That's my hypothesis.

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I have one pair that acted in two dramas, but are OTP in neither. Does it count ?

Pyo Ye Jin and Shin Jae Ha are colleagues in VIP (2019) and in Taxi driver 2 (2023).

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Lee Min-Ki & Jung So-Min in Because This is My First Life and then in What's Wrong With Secretary Kim.

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