Min Jin Woong Of ‘Let’s Drink’ Stands Out In K-Drama Impersonating Hallyu Stars Like Song Joong Ki In ‘Descendants Of The Sun’ And Lee Je Hoon In ‘Signal’

The Total Variety Network (tvN) K-drama Let’s Drink has finally found its footing. The series had a bit of a rocky start as loyalists of Let’s Eat and Let’s Eat 2, the K-dramas Let’s Drink spins off from, showed their disdain for it. It does not help that some K-drama fans thought tvN was teasing a Let’s Eat 3 because series’ main male lead character Goo Dae Young — played by Doojoon of Beast (B2ST) — makes a special appearance in the finale of Let’s Fight Ghost. Eventually, Let’s Drink, which is also known as Drinking Solo, steps out of the shadows of its predecessors becoming its own K-drama with its own style.

Though many fans of Let’s Drink tune in to see what will happen next between the main lead characters Jin Jung Suk and Park Ha Na, played by Ha Seok Jin and Park Ha Sun respectively, one of the supporting actors is standing out from the rest for his character’s impersonations. Let’s Drink fans are also looking forward to who Min Jin Woong will impersonate next, as he already portrayed many Hallyu stars like Song Joong Ki in Descendants of the Sun and Lee Je Hoon in Signal.

In Let’s Drink, Min Jin Woong plays a character of the same name. In the first episode, we learn that Jin Woong is a professor of public administration, an elective course for those pursuing to work in civil service. Because his class is an elective and technically not necessary, he impersonates famous Hallyu stars through the iconic roles they play in K-dramas and K-movies to catch the attention of students.

Fans do not get to see much of Min Jin Woong’s impersonations in the first episode, as he only does a vocal impersonation of Yoo Ah In, an actor known for his roles as Jo Tae Oh in Veteran, Yi Bang Won in Six Flying Dragons, and Do Wan Deuk in Punch. However, Jin Woong’s impersonations suddenly come to the forefront when he impersonates Song Joong Ki as “Big Boss” Captain Yoo Si Jin in Descendants of the Sun. Needless to say, it was a surprise impersonation to see given that Descendants of the Sun was made by a competing Korean television company, but also unsurprising since the impersonation actually piggy-backed on its popularity.

Afterwards, Min Jin Woong’s impersonations became a concept to be used in every episode afterwards. In Episode 3, he impersonates Lee Je Hoon as Park Hae Young in the K-drama Signal, complete with portable radio. In Episode 4, he impersonates Lee Byung Hun as Ahn Sang Goo in the K-movie Inside Men, complete with the fake hand prop.

International fans may not know the latest impersonations Min Jin Woong used in the latest episodes (Episodes 5 and 6, as of the publication of this article), but they are popular among Korean viewers. In the fifth episode, Jin Woong impersonates Seo Kyung Seok, a popular comedian and host who is a part of the Korean variety show Real Men. Finally in the sixth episode, Min Jin Woong impersonates Chun Woo Hee in The Wailing, a horror-suspense K-movie that received critical acclaim. No worries though because Let’s Drink is 16 episodes long giving fans ten more opportunities to see Min Jin Woong impersonate other popular Hallyu stars.

As for the K-drama Let’s Drink itself, it is holding on strong with a high viewership for a series airing on a pay channel. According to the ratings provided by AGB Nielsen Korea and TNS Media Korea, the nationwide average so far are 2.771 percent and 3.21 percent, respectively. Such ratings can be the equivalent of 27 percent and 32 percent viewership if he show were on a free-to-watch Korean channel. Let’s Drink is doing very well and even better than Let’s Eat and Let’s Eat 2 when they initially aired.

Let’s Drink, also known as Drinking Solo, airs on Mondays and Tuesdays at 11 p.m. KST on tvN. For those who do not have access to Korean channels, it can be viewed for free, with ads, exclusively on DramaFever with the latest two episodes exclusive to premium members for one week.

[Featured Image by Total Variety Network (tvN)]