Where have we seen the K-drama cast of The Penthouse before? Eugene was in first-generation K-pop girl band S.E.S, but what about co-stars Kim So-yeon and Lee Ji-ah?

Mar 2 , 2021

Lee Ji-ah, seen in a still from hit K-drama The Penthouse, is one of three lesser-known actresses returning to the screen. Photo: SBS

Glamour queen Lee Ji-ah appeared alongside K-pop idol IU in My Mister and Bae Yong-joon in The Legend, before starring in SBS TV’s The Penthouse: War in Life

Since making up one-third of record-breaking K-pop group S.E.S, Eugene has appeared in Save the Last Dance for Me with Ji Sung and Love Truly with Lee Min-ki

Buzz-worthy K-drama The Penthouse: War in Life doesn’t have huge names. But a closer look shows a cast made up of veteran actors, comeback queens, former K-pop idols and new talent. Some of the villains have starred as romcom leads before, and their image then was far from the icy, spiteful exterior they display in this drama.

Check out these clips of three The Penthouse cast members before they joined the hottest murder mystery on our screens.

Kim So-yeon

A lead character and a villain at the same time, Kim So-yeon plays a wicked but famous soprano and musical school director named Cheon Seo-jin. What put her on the map way back when – and perhaps informed this role – was her manipulative role in the highly rated melodrama, All About Eve (2000). Prior to that, Kim won a brand-sponsored beauty pageant (Miss Binggrae) at age 14, helping her snag some minor roles in TV dramas and a hosting spot on the popular music show, Inkigayo.

The actress is praised for being kind and thoughtful in real life, unlike her scheming on-screen roles. And, though they weren’t all such huge hits, she has played the female lead female roles in romcoms, including in We Got Married opposite Kwak Si-yang (she married actor Lee Sang-woo in reality).

Lee Ji-ah