A 2nd Gen K-Pop Idol Thought He Was Being Fired, But Ended Up Starring In A Global Hit K-Drama

Two months ago, veteran soloist Kim Jaejoong announced he would be debuting a new variety talk show, and the talented singer has already released nine episodes of the show, named JaeFriends.

Kim Jaejoong | @jj_1986_jj/Instagram

So far, Jaejoong has hosted actors, fellow idols, and comedians. With the exception of Epik High‘s Tablo and MAMAMOO‘s Moonbyul, the majority of the K-Pop idol guests have been fellow second-generation idols such as Girls’ Generation‘s Sooyoung, TEEN TOP‘s Niel, INFINITE‘s Sungjong, and CNBLUE‘s Jung Yonghwa.

On the show, the artists have often revealed behind-the-scenes information about K-Pop’s second generation and shared new stories as they reflected on their past promotions.

CNBLUE’s Jung Yonghwa (left) and Kim Jaejoong (right) | uhmg/YouTube

CNBLUE’s Jung Yonghwa was the most recent guest, and while on the program, he opened up about the early days of his career and the unexpected way he scored his guest starring role on the Hallyu hit K-Drama, You’re Beautiful, which helped launch his acting career.

Park Shin Hye, Jang Geun Suk, CNBLUE’s Jung Yonghwa, and FTISLAND’s Lee Hongki

Jung Yonghwa revealed he was scouted after posting a photo of himself on the social media site Cyworld.

The photo made its way to a popular Ulzzang site and caught the attention of FNC Entertainment, who contacted Jung Yonghwa on Cyworld, asking if he would be interested in auditioning for their upcoming band, having recently debuted FTISLAND.

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Jung Yonghwa passed the audition and revealed that before CNBLUE debuted, they were sent to study abroad in Japan.

While in Japan, he received a call from FNC Entertainment asking him to fly back to Korea the next day. The CNBLUE leader thought he was being fired, but the company revealed that he had an audition for a K-Drama. They cautioned him not to expect anything from the audition but insisted he return anyway.

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Jung Yonghwa passed his audition and only “frantically” took acting lessons after booking the role. Jung Yonghwa went on to make his acting debut before he even officially debuted with CNBLUE in Korea.

The K-Drama was massively successful, with Jung Yonghwa having many memorable scenes.

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Check out more about Jung Yonghwa’s pre-debut days in the video below!