TVXQ member and actor Yunho is going viral for his transformation as Beol Gu in the new Disney+ original series, 'Low Life'.
Although Yunho began acting early on in his career, landing a leading role in the 2009 drama 'Heading to the Ground', the TVXQ member has thus far received mixed feedback from viewers on his rather "poor" and "unnatural" screen performances.
However, his recent transformation as a local 'thug' in 'Low Life' has captivated onlookers. Notably, Yunho's character Beol Gu is a native of Jeolla Province. Yunho then, being a native of Jeolla Province himself, was able to effortlessly pull off Beol Gu's thick Jeolla dialect, adding dimension to the rugged and quite difficult character.
In fact, many netizens pointed to the differences in Yunho's acting when speaking Seoul dialect, compared to his native Jeolla dialect. They commented,
"His acting when using Seoul dialect was honestly trash but here, it looks like he's been reborn."
"Was it actually that Yunho couldn't speak Seoul dialect? That's why he seemed so bad at acting before?"
"This role was literally made for him."
"It seriously feels like a Hollywood actor trying to speak Korean in a K-drama versus him speaking in his native language in an American film."
"When you compare him to the other actors whose characters speak Jeolla dialect, you can tell that his accent is the 'authentic' accent."
"How can his acting improve this much just because he switched to his native dialect lol."
"His dialect is insane kekekeke."
"His accent is so good, he's making the other actors look bad kekekeke."
"Mystery solved. It wasn't that he wasn't getting better at acting. It was just that he couldn't speak Seoul dialect lol."\
Fellow SM Entertainment label mate Heechul of Super Junior also gave Yunho's "dialect acting" a shoutout, writing on July 18 KST,
"I was watching 'Low Life' on Disney+ and seriously, why is Jung Yunho this good at acting keke. This is the accent he had when I first met Yunho in the trainee dorm at age 20. Yunho had come from Kwangju, Donghae had come from Mokpo, and I had come from Wonju. That accent is the exact same accent that Yunho and Donghae both had back in those days. Wow, this is taking me back..
I remember thinking, 'Why do they talk like that,' but then you two would say, 'Why do you talk like that' keke. You know, there's not much of a regional dialect in Wonju. But the trainers at the time heard me speak and said to me, 'Heechul.. you need to work on fixing your dialect'. I guess I still had some traces of it in my tone. How did I speak back in those days?? Well, in conclusion, Yunho's role in this series is so perfect for him."
Meanwhile, 'Low Life' follows the story of an unlikely crew of country bumpkins who sets out into the sea in search of a lost treasure ship. Its star-studded cast lineup includes Yang Se Jong, Ryu Seung Ryong, Kim Eui Sung, Lim Soo Jung, and more.
SEE ALSO: Yunho’s solo track "Thank U" climbs charts again as fans rediscover hidden gem
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