When you turn on a K-Drama, chances are that you will see an idol star acting their heart out. Whether it's JYJ's Yoochun on "Three Days", B1A4's Baro and SECRET's Han Sunhwa on "God's Gift- 14 Days", Kim Hyun Joong on "Inspiration Generation", After Shool's Uee on "Golden Rainbow" or SISTAR's Dasom on "Melody of Love", idol stars are taking over the K-Drama scene. They are dubbed "acting-dols", and they're changing the preconceptions that people had about idol actors.

"The Heirs" writer Kim Eun Sook said, "I held an audition from 9AM in the morning to 9PM in the evening and chose the best actors among them all. Krystal, Kang Min Hyuk, and Park Hyungsik were not given favoritism because of their idol backgrounds. People ask me all the time why I used idol stars, and I just ask them, 'why not idol stars?'"

Hallyu is not experiencing the abundant growth in popularity that other years have enjoyed, but idols are still extremely "exportable". That is, their appearance in a drama will increase the drama sales three fold or more. One producer stated this, saying, "Whereas a regular drama sells for $30,000 to $40,000 overseas, the moment a member of JYJ is featured that revenue jumps to $100,000 to $150,000. Some have even speculated that these idols generate over a $1,000,000 in additional revenues for a drama."

Of course, no director or producer would cast an idol star solely for the purpose of potential revenue. The producer of "God's Gift -14 Days" made it a point to emphasize that Han Sunhwa was cast because she can act. Idol actors are not singers pretending to be actors - they are genuinely talented actors. One might even say that potential rookie actors and actresses are debuting as idol stars first.

There was a point in time when idols were given the opportunity to act just because of their looks or popularity. Most of these actors and actresses did not stay actors and actresses because they were unprepared to be actors. This is the reason why major entertainment companies teach their trainees acting. Yang Hyun Suk, the CEO of YG Entertainment, stated that WINNER members were given acting lessons since their training days on Mnet's "WIN: Who Is Next." Unlike the days of past where rookie actors could be taught on-location, the high-scale, expensive filming techniques and equipment used in today's filming requires even rookie actors to come fully prepared and ready to shoot.

There are still those that would say that the idol stars are taking the jobs away from other actors and actresses. They say that idol stars are using their connections to land a role. However, as more and more skilled and talented actors and actresses come from idol groups, these misconceptions will cease. There are no more distinct differentiation between actors and idol actors. The point is that they are able to act, regardless of their title, and to that effect, they are all simply "actors".