Kim Hyun Joong is the male lead of Playful Kiss

Since joining Keyeast, Kim Hyun Joong’s career has got off to a good start, with his very own variety show in Japan and now he has more or less been confirmed as the leading man for Playful Kiss (aka It Started With a Kiss).

It’s a known fact that Kim Hyun Joong and Keyeast have been in constant consultations for the leading man role in Playful Kiss with the production company, Group Eight recently. And while there’s still the formality of signing a contract, it’s verbally confirmed/decided and an official statement will be issued soon.

The drama which will be based on the popular manga series, Itazura na Kiss with some changes, has already been adapted as dramas in Japan and Taiwan.

Hyun Joong had faced compeition from the likes of CNBLUE’s Jung Yonghwa and TVXQ’s Changmin but the former got the nod in the end.

The race for the female lead remains wide open with over 100 female stars auditioning for it. Hot favorite Park Bo Young is being kept in reserve because of her legal woes with her management agency. Others who have auditioned for the role include Park Shin Hye, f(x)’s Sulli, KARA’s Seungyeon although the latter has dropped out of the running because of her group’s Japan schedules.

The drama will take over the current timeslot held by Road No.1 and the tentative airing date would be September 1st through MBC.