"Captivating The King," a fresh weekend K-Drama on Netflix produced by tvN, featuring A-list stars Jo Jung Suk and Shin Se Kyung, is causing a stir among viewers. The focus of the controversy lies in the portrayal of the female lead.

Shin Se Kyung's character, Kang Hee Soo, is the daughter of the Chief State Councillor. In her quest to gather ransom for captives taken to Qing, Kang assumes the identity of Kang Mong Woo, a man, and engages in betting as an unnamed baduk master.

An @star1 review drew attention to Shin's "full face of makeup," deeming it the least convincing aspect of the K-Drama. Online communities, such as theqoo, have become platforms for viewers to voice their opinions.

The critique acknowledged Shin Se Kyung's efforts to depict a woman pretending to be a man but claimed that her attractive appearance hindered the believability of the role.

Hwang Yeon Do from @star1 remarked, "Shin Se Kyung's face, even in the guise of a male character, radiates beauty. "

He added, "From her smooth skin to arched eyebrows and rose-pink lip gloss, there's nothing masculine about the character meant to deceive others."

Some viewers joined the conversation, pointing out the excessive makeup and comparing Shin to other actresses who successfully portrayed characters disguising as men, like Moon Geun Young, Yoon Eun Hye, and Park Eun Bin.

Netizens shared diverse opinions:

"I saw it as her portraying a delicate aristocrat man. People might see it differently."

"Actresses can't change their faces. Just enjoy the drama."

"It's a K-Drama; watch it for what it is."

"Should she change how she looks?"

"Men can be beautiful too, right?"

However, some criticized the critic for focusing on her beauty:

"Admit it. You all think the makeup is too much."

"I don't care about the makeup, but Park Eun Bin did a better job portraying a disguised female character."

"Color makeup for a character disguised as a man?!"

"Yoon Eun Hye in Coffee Prince nailed the 'disguise as a man' role. Shin Se Kyung is wearing too much makeup."

What are your thoughts?

Source[1]

BTS’s Jungkook is proving that his music is unstoppable, even while he’s serving in the military!

According to Spotify’s latest update (Feb 14–20), Jungkook’s first solo single Seven is still making waves, ranking No. 96 on the Weekly Top Songs Global chart.

84 WEEKS STRONG! Seven has now spent a record-breaking 84 weeks on the chart, making it the longest-charting song by any Asian soloist in history!

But that’s not all! His first solo album GOLDEN (released in Nov 2023) also hit No. 56 on the Weekly Top Albums Global chart, marking 68 weeks on the chart! Jungkook is now officially the first and longest-charting Asian soloist ever!

Both Seven and GOLDEN climbed higher from last week, proving their huge popularity worldwide. Even while serving, Jungkook ranked No. 162 on the Weekly Top Artists Global chart, holding his spot for 91 consecutive weeks. Fans are in awe, saying:

"Jungkook is still winning even in the military!"
"His music is legendary!"
"No one is doing it like him!"

Jungkook’s Spotify records keep stacking up! Seven is still the fastest song to surpass 100M, 900M, 1B, and 1.1B streams and is the first Asian song to hit 2.2B streams! Meanwhile, GOLDEN also became the first Asian soloist album to cross 5.2B streams on Spotify!

On top of that, Jungkook’s Spotify profile has now amassed 8.3B streams (pre-filtered), making him the first K-pop soloist and the fastest Asian artist ever to reach this insane number!

With all these achievements, fans can’t wait to see what’s next for him after he finishes his service. Jungkook’s reign isn’t ending anytime soon.

Source (1)