By Jae-Ha Kim
Substack
September 18, 2018
My name isn’t uncommon in Korea. But, as you can imagine, I never had to worry about a classmate sharing my first name after we immigrated to Chicago. On the other hand, whenever my friends and I went to the mall to buy keychains or anything that had a name pre-printed on it, I never found my name listed anywhere along with the Julies and Kevins. Imagine my delight when I started watching Korean Dramas and saw characters who share my name!
With that said, here is a list of the Jae-Ha’s I have seen in K-Dramas. Do you know of any more? If so, let me know (in the comments below) where you saw them and which episode, if possible, so that I can update this post from time to time.
This guy, from “Dream High,” wasn’t really a reporter, but an undercover talent agent (if memory serves me correctly). But check it out–he even has my last name, too. Woot!:
This Jae-Ha (little boy in the vest) makes a brief appearance in “Call Me Mother“:
One of my favorite actors is Ji Chang-Wook and he plays a character with my name (though spelled slightly differently in Hangul) in “The K2“:
Actor Shin Jae-Ha portrays the younger version of Gi Jae-Myung in “Pinocchio.” In a clever meta moment, he returns for the series finale as a broadcast journalist interviewee whose name is … Shin Jae-Ha.
And in 2024’s “Lovely Runner,” Tae-seong (Song Geon-hee) talks about an upcoming 돌잔치 (first birthday party) for a friend’s son, who is named Jae-Ha. (It may actually be Jae-ah, but I’m going with Viki’s subtitles here!)
I haven’t watched Lee Seung-Gi’s “The King 2 Hearts” yet, but I do know he plays a character named King Jae Ha. I like the sound of that!👑
© JAE-HA KIM | All Rights Reserved
This is awesome! I love it. I’ll try to find Korean dramas with my name in it too. hahaha
LOL! I’ll be sure to let you know if I come across any more Jae Ha’s as I watch.
I like you!, Am from Nigeria my name is Hamzat quyum,i usually watch your videos like the k2,haeler and mene also, so am trying of this country.