“She really can’t act, sigh…”
Director Kim Byung Woo’s recent explanation for casting BLACKPINK’s Jisoo in Omniscient Reader: The Prophet has sparked fierce backlash against the idol from Korean netizens.
Set to release on July 23 this year, Omniscient Reader: The Prophet is the highly anticipated first movie in an upcoming series based on the popular webtoon Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint. Jisoo stars alongside Lee Min Ho in the film, which marks her highly anticipated first leading movie role, following a cameo in Dr. Cheon and Lost Talisman in 2023
In a recent interview, director Kim Byung Woo explained his decision to cast the BLACKPINK star. He emphasized that he had clear criteria for casting Jisoo’s character Lee Ji Hye, stating that he wanted to work with “someone who would give their all.” Kim went on to praise Jisoo’s passion during their first meeting, noting that “she worked hard” during preparation for the movie.
I believed it was right to work with someone who would give their all. When I first met with Jisoo, she showed great passion, and during the script readings and prep sessions, she worked extremely hard… Jisoo put in a lot of effort to suit the character, and now, I’m very satisfied with her performance.
— Kim Byung Woo
The director acknowledged that while Jisoo’s role wasn’t particularly large, he believed she could “really capture the audience’s attention” and was pleased with her efforts to portray the character. However, his comments didn’t sit well with many Korean netizens.
In a viral post on The Qoo, netizens questioned whether effort alone justified the casting, stating that hard work is a trait all professional actors share. Several also expressed skepticism over the director’s alleged reasoning for casting Jisoo, with some claiming the choice was purely aimed at attracting international audiences.
- “Are other actors not trying hard, then?”
- “That’s such a ridiculous reason.”
- “This is giving déjà vu from that Squid Game director interview, almost the same vibe.”
- “This is clearly just aiming for international audiences.”
- “Trying hard isn’t enough. You have to be good. To be honest, just hearing she’s in it made me lose all interest. Her past acting was shockingly bad.”
- “She really can’t act, sigh…”
Other netizens, however, came to Jisoo’s defense, urging users not to judge her performance before seeing the movie.
In his interview, Kim Byung Woo also addressed concerns about the portrayal of Jisoo’s character (who was seen unexpectedly wielding a gun in a recent trailer for Omniscient Reader: The Prophet) being markedly different from the webtoon. Acknowledging fans’ worries, Kim said he was confident that everything would “make sense once you see it in the film.”
