‘Tinted With You’: A.C.E’s Jun latest K-pop idol to be cast in historical BL drama
While South Korea and the K-pop industry might be conservative, A.C.E’s Jun has become the latest K-pop idol to be cast in a BL (boy love) drama. Even though countries like Thailand and Taiwan have popularized the BL genre, it is still not considered mainstream in South Korea due to the fact that the genre focuses on gay love stories. But more and more K-pop idols, actors and productions are challenging the orthodox mindset and are trying to fairly portray and speak up on LGBTQ+ issues.
While in the past a gay character was used as a punchline or a joke in K-dramas, we have new K-dramas like ‘Mine’ and ‘The King’s Affection’ (which in fact stars K-pop idol Rowoon of SF9) handling it sensitively. We have more and more idols playing LGBTQ+ characters like ex-Infinite member Hoya in ‘Reply 1997’, SHINee’s Minho in ‘Yumi’s Cells’, VIXX and ex-The Boyz members in the BL ‘Color Rush’ and NCT’s Jaehyun in ‘Bungee Jumping of their Own’.
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A.C.E's Jun cast in a BL
While K-pop has gone global, agencies still measure their artists’ success with how popular they are among the locals and South Korea’s general population. And with them being quite conservative and still considering LGBTQ+ issues as taboo, agencies warn their artists to stay safe and steer clear of anything that can become remotely controversial in the country. We still have openly gay idols like Holland who is still not fully accepted by the industry. But that is gradually changing as seen with A.C.E’s Jun being one of the many idols now acting in LGBTQ+ related projects.
Plot of 'Tinted With You'
A few months ago, it was rumored that A.C.E’s leader had landed the main role in a BL. While Jun debuted as an actor in 2014, he has done only guest roles in K-dramas. He got his first main role this year in the anthology drama ‘Sometoon 2021’ where each episode was about a different character. On November 30, it was confirmed that Jun had been cast in the BL ‘Tinted With You’ which is set to air on December 23 on the OTT platform VIKI. A.C.E had also previously sung the OST for the BL 'Light On Me' with Jun explaining that it meant a lot to them.
‘Tinted With You’ is the second South Korean historical BL following ‘Nobleman Ryu’s Wedding’ which also stars K-pop idol Kang Insoo. ‘Tinted With You’ is a historical fantasy where A.C.E’s Jun plays Eun-ho, a high school painter in the present day. He slips into his painting and meets the exiled prince Heon played by Yoo Hyun-woo and his bodyguard Geum played by Kim Tae-jung. Eun-ho struggles as he has to choose between returning to his old life and finishing the painting he has been tasked with or staying back for the prince.
Airdate and where to watch
'Tinted With You' has 8 episodes which will air every Thursday and Friday starting from December 23. Each episode is said to be 10 minutes long. It will be broadcast on the OTT platform VIKI. We also have got the first trailer.