‘Why Her?’: Hwang In-youp Stars Alongside Seo Hyun-ji in a Mystery K-Drama With an Age-Gap Romance

South Korean actor Hwang In-youp is making a name for himself in K-dramas. He gained recognition as the bad boy in True Beauty and now as Il-deung in the webtoon adaptation of the K-drama The Sound of Magic. As Hwang enthralls fans in the whimsical musical K-drama, he is set to star in Why Her? alongside Seo Hyun-ji. He plays a college student who becomes enamored with an older woman and his new law professor for this drama.

Hwang In-youp has played young characters in the past before his role in ‘Why Her?’

The actor is certainly on the rise to stardom with a growing fan base who praise every role he is in. Despite being in his 30’s, Hwang is known for portraying characters much younger than his actual age. He began his career as a model before his TV role in The Tale of Nokdu in 2019. In 18 Again, he played the supporting role of Goo Ja-sung.

Hwang had his breakthrough role in True Beauty as Han Seo-jun. The 2020 teen K-drama is one of the most successful and became Twitter’s top-searched drama. Hwang’s character is the charming and handsome bad boy who rivals his former best friend. A tragic incident in the past causes him to give up his dream of becoming a singer. At the same time, he starts falling for the female lead who has her eyes on his former best friend.

In The Sound of Magic, Hwang plays a high school student once again. He portrays Il-deung, a top student with a preplanned path for success thanks to his parents. But soon realizes his life is not his own, and flowers do not bloom on smooth asphalt. Hwang returns to portray a student in Why Her? K-drama.

‘Why Her?’ stars Hwang In-youp as a student who would do anything for his new law professor

Actor Seo Hyun-jin stars in a new upcoming June K-drama, Why Her? with Hwang. Oh Soo-jae (Seo) is cutthroat in her legal career. With her determination to win her cases and a strong sense of justice, she became the youngest partner at TK Law Firm. The firm is considered the best of the best in Korea.

According to Soompi, Seo explains, “Oh Soo Jae is straightforward, and she is an independent woman who doesn’t try to lean on others. It is also interesting that she’s a figure standing between good and evil as she does whatever it takes to achieve what she wants.”

But Soo-jae gets caught up in a case that goes awry, and her years of hard work disappear. She gets demoted and forced to work as an adjunct professor at a local law school. While she adapts to her new role, she still holds a grudge. Her heart starts to warm again when meeting college student Gong Chan (Hwang).

Gong Chan becomes enamored with Soo-jae the moment she walks into the room. He vows to protect her and starts to develop feelings for her in an age-gap relationship. All the while, Soo-jae holds onto a painful past and Gong Chan has a connection.

Fans are excited to see the chemistry between the two actors on screen

Looking at Hwang’s past work before Why Her?, his characters never manage to get the girl. According to the K-drama’s synopsis, Gong Chan might finally win. A fan on Reddit commented, “Ohhh a noona romance between an adjunct professor and a university student? I’m glad we finally get to see Hwang In Yeop in a main lead role this year.”

One fan was concerned that Hwang is getting typecasted in young student roles, but another fan pointed out that his on-screen character is roughly 27-years-old. The fan explains Gong Chan goes to law school late in life. Besides Hwang in the lead, fans are excited to see Seo after her role in You Are My Spring.

“Seo Hyun Jin pushes the boundaries on visuals anytime she does one of these top charisma characters. I thought I’d have to wait a bit after You Are My Spring to see her again, but coming back this fast has me excited,” said the fan.

Why Her? will premiere on June 3 at 10 p.m. KST and be available on Viki.