Gang Dong-won, Park So-dam Named Most Promising Actors for New Year

Gang Dong-won (left) and Park So-dam

Gang Dong-won and Park So-dam have been voted 2016's most promising male and female actors.

Advertisement

In a survey conducted by Yes24 at the request of the Chosun Ilbo, Kang received 246 votes, beating out Ha Jung-woo (186) and Yoo Ah-in (172) among male stars. Im Si-wan and Hwang Jung-min followed with 98 and 88 votes.

Newcomer Park So-dam (186 votes) was a surprise winner among actresses, edging out veterans Son Ye-jin (144), Kim Hye-soo (111) and Jun Ji-hyun (101). Another young actress, Park Bo-young, came in fifth with 81 votes.

The poll questioned 3,461 people, of whom 63 percent were women, from Dec. 28 to 31.

Kang has unique qualities as an actor, making fantasy seem real and bringing a sense of fantasy to realistic scenes. Since his debut in 2003, he has appeared in 15 films and three TV dramas. In his latest film, "The Priests", Kang proved that his ability to set fashion trends extends even to a priest's simple clerical shirt and tab collar. The film attracted 5.44 million viewers.

Park started to get serious attention with her supporting roles in "The Silenced" and "The Priests" last year, during which she also appeared in "C'est Si Bon", "Veteran" and "The Throne". She has worked on many small-budget and independent films since her 2013 debut.