From K-pop to K-drama. BLACKPINK’s Jisoo was cast as the lead role in Snowdrop, an upcoming Korean drama series that will air on the South Korean network JTBC. A source from YG Entertainment, BLACKPINK’s management company, confirmed the news to Soompi on Tuesday, August 18. “It is true that Jisoo is starring in the new drama ‘Snowdrop,’” the statement read.
Snowdrop will be written by Yoo Hyun Mi and directed by Jo Hyun Tak, the screenwriter and director duo behind the popular TV series SKY Castle, which aired from November 2018 to February 2019. Before Jisoo’s casting news, Joy News 24 reported in July that Kim Hye Yoon, who starred in SKY Castle, was also offered a role in Snowdrop, though it’s unclear if she was ever officially cast.
According to Soompi, Snowdrop will be Jisoo’s first lead role. Before she was cast in Snowdrop, Jisoo made a cameo in KBS 2TV’s The Producers. She also starred in 2019’s tvN’s Arthdal Chronicles as Song Jong Ki’s character Sa Ya’s old first love, Sae Na Rae. News of Jisoo’s casting also comes ahead of the release of BLACKPINK’s first full-length album, The Album, on October 2. BLACKPINK, who released their first single, “How You Like That,” from their upcoming album in June, will also release another single on August 28. The single will be a collaboration between the four-member K-pop girl group and American singer Selena Gomez.
YG Entertainment also confirmed in June that Jisoo—along with two of her BLACKPINK bandmates, Lisa and Rosé—will release solo tracks after the release of The Album in October. The solo tracks come after Jennie’s “Solo” in November 2018. “YG has released Jennie’s first-ever solo single SOLO back in November 2018, and has been working on Rosé’s first-ever solo track for over a year,” YG Entertainment said in a statement in June. “We ask for your understanding on taking more time than expected, since we were planning to release multiple songs in an album format, rather than releasing a digital single. Rosé’s solo works have already been completed, and its release date is planned to be in September after the release of BLACKPINK’s first-ever full-length album. It is because all the members agreed that BLACKPINK’s comeback as an entire group and their first-ever full-length album release is more important than anything. Furthermore, Lisa’s amazing solo single is already prepared for release, and we are currently preparing for Jisoo’s solo single release as well.”
In April, fans worried that Jisoo had retired from acting after she was no longer listed on a page for YG Entertainment’s acting label, YG Stage. It’s unclear why Jisoo was removed from the YG Stage page, but it seems that she’s not retired from acting given the recent casting news. In an interview with Elle Korea in June 2019, Jisoo opened up about how much she’s overcome over the years.
“When I look back at the time that’s passed, it makes me think, ‘I’m actually quite a strong person,’” she observed. “Even when I was going through difficult times, I never really thought about relying on others,” she said at the time. “If possible, I always tried to worry about my problems on my own and solve them myself.”
She continued, “I think that it’s because of the tough times I endured alone that I was able to become this strong now. Even now, I don’t really like talking about my struggles. When other people think of me, I want them to always be smiling.”