K-pop boy band EXO member Chanyeol, girl group Red Velvet’s Irene and former Berry Good member Johyun were voted as the worst film actors in Korea in 2021.
The two were chosen through the 5th Raspberry Film Festival, the Korean version of the Golden Raspberry Awards, or Razzies, in the US.
Korean mediat outlet Sports Kyunghyang conducted a survey for the 5th Raspberry Film Festival among 22 film reporters from leading media outlets to select the worst films and actors, and movie stars with the worst manners from those released from December 2020 to Dec. 15 this year.
EXO’s Chanyeol was voted the No. 1 worst film actor in Korea in 2021, getting eight of 22 votes, or 36 percent. He got the top ranking for the movie “The Box,” which was released in March 2021. The musical film stars Chanyeol as an aspiring singer and Jo Dal-hwan as a producer. The movie sold 122,469 tickets and earned $802,238 at the box office, according to the Korean Film Council (KOFIC).
Chanyeol took the crown for the worst film actor in Korea from Apink’s Chorong, who was voted worst film actor in 2020 with eight votes for the film “Road Family.”
Sports Kyunghyang reported that Chanyeol was described as a “problematic idol whose hobby is acting.” Another comment stated that “it reaffirms the fact that there should be no cases where people only believe in the value of an idol’s name and jump into the lead role at once.”
Red Velvet's Irene got six votes and ranked as the second worst film actor in Korea in 2021. Irene starred in the film “Double Patty,” which was released in February. The movie sold 15,383 tickets and earned $111,831 at the box office, according to KOFIC.
According to Sports Kyunghyang, Irene disappointed many with her poor acting skills that she could not even speak properly. Among the comments by the voters for Irene were “acting that cannot be expressed or did not convey emotions” and “It would have been a disaster if her face was not pretty.”
Voted third worst film actor in Korea in 2021 is former Berry Good member Johyun who got three votes for the films “Dragon Inn” and “Hypnosis.” One comment about her is “please get some acting training.”
Actors Park Yoo-na, Lee Wan and Lee Yeon-hee are not idols but they received two votes each for worst acting.
Worst Manners
Voters also selected actors with the worst manners. Berry Good’s Johyun took first place with 11 votes out of 22. The report stated that during the promotional interview for “Dragon Inn,” she was with an agency official who tested positive for COVID-19. She never informed reporters who were present. Afterwards, the reporters underwent self-quarantine.
During an interview in March for her next movie “Hypnosis,” Johyun implied that Berry Good had disbanded but her agency denied it. Within two hours, she clarified her statement. In May, Berry Good disbanded.
Seo Ye-ji was voted the second actor with the worst manners. Seo Ye-ji was embroiled in the gaslighting controversy related to actor Kim Jung-hyun. The report stated that before the release of her movie “Recalled” in April, she did not participate in the promotion of the movie without any proper explanation.
Park Yong-woo, Cha Seung-won and Jo In-sung got two votes each for worst manners.
Worst Korean Films of 2021
Voted as the No. 1 worst Korean film of 2021 is “The Dragon Inn” with eight votes followed by “The Labyrinth” with four votes and “The Blacklist” with three votes.
Getting two votes each are “Pipeline,” “Young Adult Matters,” “Shades of the Heart” and “Whispering Corridors 6: The Humming.”