Kim Tae-young Stuns Fans With His Dark New SBS Occult Drama Role

Actor Kim Tae-young, a member of the buzzy Korean actor collective New Name (뉴네임), has been officially cast in the upcoming SBS occult exorcism thriller Gakseong (각성, "Awakening"). The announcement landed like a thunderclap among Korean drama fans — not just because of the show's dark premise, but because of how dramatically different this role is from the one that first put Kim Tae-young on the map.

In Gakseong, Kim plays Jang Si-hoon, the second son of the president of the fictional Danyu Group — a conglomerate that controls luxury resorts and hotels across South Korea — and the grandson of its chairman. At Sungnyeong High School, where the drama is set, Jang Si-hoon is known as the ultimate "엄친아" (eomchinah), a Korean term for someone who seems to have it all: aristocratic looks, quiet intelligence, and a family name that opens every door. But this is not a story about someone who has everything. It is a story about what happens when those who chase academic success at any cost invite something far darker into their world.

From the Baseball Diamond to the Occult

To understand why this casting has fans so excited, you need to know where Kim Tae-young came from. His first role — in MBC's Brilliant Your Season (찬란한 너의 계절에) — introduced him to audiences as Cha Yu-gyeom, a warm-hearted high school baseball pitcher with a quiet emotional depth. Even in a debut role, Kim displayed a natural presence and precision that typically takes years to develop. Viewers awarded him affectionate nicknames: "the ideal boyfriend type," "the grandson I never knew I wanted." The praise was immediate and heartfelt.

Now, just months later, he is stepping into the shoes of a chaebol heir shrouded in mystery. Jang Si-hoon moves through the hallways of Sungnyeong High School with the quiet authority of someone who has never had to fight for anything — yet his composed, intellectual demeanor conceals something far more complex. His agency describes it as a "180-degree turn" from everything audiences saw in his debut. That transformation is exactly what has his growing fanbase buzzing.

The drama's central premise is both timely and chilling. Sungnyeong High School has become, as the show's logline describes it, "a playground for evil spirits" — the consequence of a culture so obsessed with academic achievement that students and parents alike have crossed lines they cannot uncross. Into this nightmare steps Father Antonio, a lone exorcist priest who puts his very soul on the line to save the students. It is the kind of high-concept storytelling that Korean television excels at: rooted in real social anxiety, elevated by the supernatural.

A Cast Built for the Story

Leading the drama is Lee Jun-hyuk, one of Korean television's most respected character actors, known internationally for his acclaimed work in Kingdom and Signal. As Father Antonio, Lee brings the kind of weathered gravitas the story demands — the sense of a man who has seen too much to be surprised, but not enough to feel safe.

Also confirmed is Yoon Se-ah, a veteran actress whose involvement in the project was first reported in January 2026. With decades of acclaimed performances in Korean drama and film, Yoon Se-ah adds a significant layer of prestige to a project already generating serious industry attention. The combination of Lee Jun-hyuk's intensity, Yoon Se-ah's depth, and Kim Tae-young's electric newcomer energy creates the kind of ensemble that goes immediately onto fans' watch lists.

Industry observers have noted that the production's willingness to place Kim Tae-young in such a prominent role alongside two veterans speaks to how quickly the young actor has earned the trust of casting directors — a level of confidence that typically takes far longer to build.

New Name: An Actor Collective Rewriting the Rules

Kim Tae-young's rise cannot be separated from the broader story of New Name, the four-member actor collective that has upended nearly every convention about how Korean actors enter the industry. Along with Kim Jun, Woo Hyun-jun, and Won Gyu-bin, he belongs to a group that did not debut through auditions or bit parts in supporting roles.

Before any of its members had appeared in a single frame of television, New Name was attending Paris Fashion Week as official invitees and gracing the pages of major fashion magazines. It was a deliberate, carefully executed strategy — one designed to establish the members as cultural figures before they had proven themselves as actors. The calculated ambition of that approach has become a case study in modern Korean entertainment marketing.

The bet is paying off. Won Gyu-bin is drawing global attention for Cheongdam International High School 2 (청담국제고등학교 2) and has joined the ensemble of tvN's I'll Still Go to Work Tomorrow (내일도 출근!). Woo Hyun-jun is currently appearing in KBS2's Last Summer (마지막 써머). And now Kim Tae-young is about to step into one of SBS's most anticipated upcoming thrillers. For a group so new to the scene, the collective momentum across multiple high-profile projects is remarkable.

What Fans Are Saying

Social media reactions to the casting announcement were swift and enthusiastic. The most common theme was inevitability — a feeling among fans that Kim Tae-young's natural aristocratic bearing, composed demeanor, and quietly intense presence make him precisely the kind of actor who should be playing a mysterious chaebol heir in a high-stakes supernatural thriller.

"He's been playing the sweet boy-next-door type, but you can tell there's something deeper there," wrote one fan in a widely shared response. "This role is going to show what he's actually capable of." Others highlighted the contrast: having spent his first drama role as the warmest, most approachable character imaginable, Kim Tae-young is now being asked to flip that image entirely. For an actor still early in his career, the challenge is substantial. For audiences, the anticipation is real.

The announcement also reignited interest in Brilliant Your Season, with fans going back to rewatch Kim Tae-young's scenes with fresh eyes — searching for the early signs of the complexity he will soon bring to Gakseong.

Gakseong is currently in active production and is targeting a 2027 broadcast on SBS. With a compelling high-concept premise, a heavyweight supporting cast, and a rising star making his boldest move yet, the show is already among the most talked-about upcoming productions in Korean television. For Kim Tae-young, it is the next chapter in what is shaping up to be a very compelling story.