Overseas viewers are calling Kim Moo-yeol (left) in ‘Teach You a Lesson’ the “Korean John Cena”. Courtesy of Netflix and Getty Images Korea
Overseas viewers are repeatedly calling actor Kim Moo-yeol, who plays inspector Na Hwa-jin of the Office for Teacher Rights Protection in the Netflix series ‘Teach You a Lesson’ (Teach You a Lesson), “Korean John Cena (Korean John Cena)”.
On the US online community Reddit and on ‘Teach You a Lesson’ promotion accounts on Facebook and TikTok, reactions such as “Kim Moo-yeol in ‘Teach You a Lesson’ looks like Korean John Cena. Especially when his hairstyle changes” “Korean version ni John Cena” have been piling up. On TikTok in particular, the keyword ‘Kim Moo Yeol John Cena’ has even formed as a separate related search topic.
This is not the first time Kim Moo-yeol has been compared to John Cena. Back when he appeared in the Netflix drama ‘Juvenile Justice’, comments like “South Korean John Cena (South Korean John Cena)” appeared on Netflix UK Facebook, and in videos related to the Netflix series ‘Sweet Home’, there were also comments saying “his eyes resemble John Cena”.
John Cena is a Hollywood actor and former wrestler who won a record 17 world championships in WWE. Known for his closely cropped hair and massive muscular build as a ‘walking action figure’, he appeared in the ‘Fast & Furious’ series and ‘Peacemaker’.
‘Teach You a Lesson’ is a project that reunites Kim Moo-yeol with director Hong Jong-pan of ‘Juvenile Justice’, and it also stars Lee Sung-min, Jin Ki-joo, and Pyo Ji-hoon.
Performance indicators back this up. According to FlixPatrol, an OTT ranking aggregator, on the 8th ‘Teach You a Lesson’ ranked third in Netflix TV shows with a total score of 674, took No. 1 by country in 27 countries including South Korea, Japan, Thailand, and Taiwan, and entered the Top 10 in 88 countries.
However, the original webtoon of ‘Teach You a Lesson’ has a history of its service being suspended on Naver Webtoon in North America due to controversy over racist and misogynistic expressions. At an earlier production presentation, Kim Moo-yeol said, “Please watch the work and judge for yourself”.
