It’s the same as four years ago. Jisoo from BLACKPINK has once again faced acting controversy since the first release of ‘Newtopia’ due to her inaccurate pronunciation and confirmed expressions.
In the first two episodes of the Coupang Play series ‘Newtopia’, which premiered on the 7th, the new employee Young-joo (played by Jisoo), who has just started her social life, struggles with the constant attention from her soldier boyfriend Jae-yoon (played by Park Jung-min) and those around her. Ultimately, she decided to take some time apart, and Jae-yoon accepted the breakup with Young-joo.
Before she could even mourn the breakup, a horde of zombies appeared, and Young-joo sent a text saying, “I’ll come find you,” as she fought her way through the zombies towards Jae-yoon, marking the beginning of the main story.
‘Newtopia’ is a K-zombie drama where soldier Jae-yoon and his girlfriend Young-joo run towards each other through a zombie-infested downtown Seoul. ‘Newtopia’ consists of a total of 8 episodes, with one episode released every Friday at 8 PM on Coupang Play.
Jisoo plays the role of Young-joo, Jae-yoon's girlfriend and a goddess of engineering, making her return to the public after four years since her lead role in JTBC’s ‘Snowdrop’ (2021). Given the acting controversy that arose during ‘Snowdrop’, attention is focused on whether Jisoo has grown as an actress.
Jisoo faced challenges right from the first release. Criticism regarding her vocal delivery followed. In particular, her inaccurate pronunciation became more pronounced in scenes with other actors.
There were also criticisms regarding Jisoo's awkward and exaggerated facial expressions. In scenes showing her affection for her boyfriend in the military and her surprise at encountering zombies, her uniform expressions were said to break the immersion of the drama.
Viewers expressed concerns after the release of ‘Newtopia’, saying things like, “Jisoo is so pretty, but her acting expressions are too similar and awkward,” “She’s a visual genius, but her acting isn’t genius-level,” “Jisoo is so pretty, but her acting is disappointing. Has she practiced acting?” and “Her pronunciation and voice are really lacking.”
After the release of ‘Newtopia’ this year, Jisoo will continue her acting activities through MBC’s ‘Monthly Boyfriend’ and the movie ‘Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint’. It remains to be seen whether she can overcome the acting controversy and win over viewers with her acting that surpasses her appearance.
[Shin Young-eun, Star Today Reporter]
