‘Why Her?’: Hwang In-youp’s Character Gong Chan Has a Mysterious Backstory to Tell
The June K-drama Why Her? stars rising actor Hwang In-youp in one of the leading roles as Gong Chan. Fresh after starring as Il-deung in Netflix’s The Sound of Magic, Hwang takes on another student role but with a dark past. Why Her? centers on a ruthless and cunning female lawyer who gets demoted to become a professor. She wants justice and starts to open up to her student Gong Chan.
‘Why Her?’ has the leading character entangled in a bigger and darker story than they expected
Oh Soo-jae (Seo Hyun-jin) is one of the top, if not the best, lawyers at TK Law Firm. She has high morals and a sense of justice and will do anything to win a case. Everyone sees her as being a touch too ruthless and cold. But when she gets involved in an unsuspecting case, her career vanishes.
The official trailer for the K-drama implies her antics during a case led to another lawyer taking their own life. Instead of losing her, the firm demotes her to become an adjunct professor at a local university. For Soo-jae, it is the ultimate betrayal she wants retribution for.
According to Soompi, her character poster reads, “Instead of regretting, I became resolved. To have everything.” As she is forced to become a teacher, she meets Gong Chan, a student. The teaser hints at a complex relationship between the two in Why Her? as Gong Chan also has a dark secret.
Gong Chan is not the simple college student fans assume in ‘Why Her?’
While fans believe Gong Chan is a college student, he is actually 27-years-old and dreamed of becoming a lawyer. But the teasers reveal he has a connection to Soo-jae that has not been revealed. When he first sets his eyes on her, there is a familiar feeling that he has met her before. While Soo-jae is cold toward him, he starts to warm her heart. Gong Chan is also not shy to let her know his feelings for her in the trailer’s elevator scene.
According to Soompi, Hwang explains, “Gong Chan becomes hurt after an incident in the past. Nevertheless, he doesn’t have any rebellious or negative thoughts, and he’s a confident and cool character who always tries to live the world in a positive and right way.”
Could the past being referred to have been teased in the K-drama trailer? A small snippet shows a young Soo-jae talking to an inmate who is blurred from the scene. The inmate says no one will believe him, but Soo-jae answers, ” I believe in you.” The trailer also gives the assumption that Gong Cha is remeeting her by some act of fate.
Gong Chan has an undying devotion to her fans will explore in Why Her? But the sweet and kind character has a secret that he admits he is hiding from her. A fan on Twitter comments that he is “an ex-convict who runs multiple businesses (pub and fishery), promoted as the insaeng character, a soft, empathetic man with many secrets, but wants to live fully after meeting Oh Soojae!”
Hwang In-youp breaks away from his teen image in ‘Why Her?’
Actor Hwang has gained fame for his roles as a teenager in 18 Again, True Beauty, and Netflix’s The Sound of Magic. On Reddit, some fans were worried Hwang was being typecasted in the type of character role. But looking further at his character Gong Chan in Why Her,? Hwang is breaking his mold.
While the character is a college student, he is far from a teenager and is in his late 20s. Hwang will retain his youthful and charming demeanor but with a dark twist. A fan on Twitter quotes a character description saying, “‘it contrasts with gong chan’s pure face, which is covered in some kind of DARKNESS, and draws attention to the relationship between the two’ I knew it, Gong Chan has a pinch of mystery and darkness in him. No way he’s only a regular softie boy.”
Fans are excited to see Hwang in a more mature role as Gong Chan, who is not afraid of his feelings but keeps his past hidden for a reason.
Why Her? premieres on June 3 at 10 p.m. KST and will be available on Viki.
