Park Gun Tae | Kkonminam Rising.

When this young actor first appeared on Episode 2 of Warrior Baek Dong Soo, my initial reaction was, 'Omo! He's cute!'

As young Yeo Un in Warrior Baek Dong Soo.

And then I went, 'Jahkahnman... Where have I seen him before???' His face was oddly familiar, and I kept racking my brain for the answer. I even rummaged through my stash of Korean drama DVDs and went through the pictures on the disc covers. After thirty minutes of unsuccessful searching, I ended up going online and googling 'Warrior Baek Dong Soo'. (Which is what I should have done in the first place, lol.)

Turns out, this young man is Park Gun Tae whose acting career has spanned four movies and ten highly successful dramas - including Time Between Dog and Wolf.

As young Lee Soo Hyun in Time Between Dog and Wolf.

That was the answer to my question. I first saw him in Time Between Dog and Wolf. Then twelve years old, he played the role of the young Lee Soo Hyun - the drama's main character. Just to remind you, the adult Soo Hyun was portrayed by no other than my Lee Jun Ki. (This blog should really have a Lee Jun Ki counter, lol.)

A very young and very adorable Park Gun Tae. :)

Now seventeen (he celebrated his birthday last February 5), Park Gun Tae truly has the makings of a great actor. His performance in the 2008 drama East of Eden earned him the Special Child Actor Award from MBC.  And now, as the young Yeo Un in Warrior Baek Dong Soo, he commanded attention to the drama with his strong acting, charismatic smile, and undeniably, his kkonminam looks.

Spell intensity.

His splendid performance, albeit short (they have to grow up in the drama, you see), reminded me of some of my favorite and talented actors. I'll itemize them so as not to confuse you with the names.

• Jang Geun Suk as Lee Chang Hwi in the 2008 drama Hong Gil Dong
• Park Shi Hoo as Kim Seung Yoo in the 2011 drama The Princess' Man
• Lee Jun Ki as Yong in the 2008 drama Iljimae

See? I told you I love period dramas, lol. And no, this has nothing to do with their seemingly similar gorgeous mane of hair.

Watch out world, this rising kkonminam is not just a pretty face. He definitely has the acting skills to boot.

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