Dominating both TV and the stage, Gong Myung, Heo Nam-jun, and Lee Bong-jun are the industry's hottest names right now — and they all have one thing in common: unmistakable "puppy visuals."
Recently, Gong Myung stole viewers' hearts with the tvN series Filing for Love, Heo Nam-jun made a lasting impression in SBS's My Royal Nemesis, and Lee Bong-jun left a powerful mark with the Netflix series Teach You a Lesson. Here's why these three scene-stealers have everyone obsessed.
First up, Gong Myung is the entertainment world's official "human golden retriever," a title even fellow actors unanimously agree on. At the 2023 production briefing for the film Killing Romance, Honey Lee called him "like a giant retriever." More recently, at the Filing for Love press conference, co-star Kim Jae-uck affectionately described him as "somewhere between a Maltese and a retriever." In an interview with fashion magazine W Korea, Kim added, "He's a lovable friend who brightens the set just by being there," showering him with praise.
Perhaps thanks to that image, Gong Myung plays Min-seok — Si-nae's (Kang Han-na) current husband and a warmhearted veterinarian — in the Netflix film Husbands in Action. When Jin Sun-kyu's character jokingly calls him a "dog doctor" in the movie, the line hilariously aligns with Gong Myung's real-life vibe and becomes a fun highlight.
By contrast, Heo Nam-jun is considered the "Doberman" of the puppy-visual spectrum — bold, sharp, and sexy. Thanks to his intense performances in the Sweet Home series and Your Honor, fans say, "He's definitely puppy-faced, but he gives off a guard-dog aura." His all-black styling and slicked-back pomade hair in Your Honor cemented the nickname "lethal Doberman."
Lee Bong-jun's surprising duality also shines — his fair skin and deep dimples bring to mind a "Maltese." After building his résumé with Chief Detective 1958 and Resident Playbook, he's now winning global attention by nailing the ultimate villain in the buzzy series Teach You a Lesson. Off-screen, his gentle, adorable daily-life posts on Instagram are making fans' hearts flutter, a stark contrast to his chilling on-screen presence.
Meanwhile, Gong Myung is set to transform into a former baseball player in his next project, the MBC drama Your Ground. Heo Nam-jun has joined tvN's period drama set in Gyeongseong, Whale Star: The Gyeongseong Mermaid. Lee Bong-jun is currently lighting up the stage with pure, bright energy as Noah in the musical Mad Hatter.
Behind their soft, puppy-like visuals lie razor-sharp acting skills. As these "it-boy doggos" keep revealing new sides of themselves across genres, fans are eager to see what range of performances they'll deliver next.