Aahana Swrup
Exploring the complex pathway to success in the age of social media influencers, ‘Celebrity,’ a Netflix South Korean drama show, follows Seo Ah-ri’s career as an e-celeb. As the mundane office worker finds herself thrust into the world of stardom, she pulls every trick in the book and quickly becomes the country’s most prominent influencer, with aid from an anonymous blogger, bbbfamous. Along the way, Ah-ri goes up against the city’s elite e-celeb group, “The Gabin Society,” and at her fame’s height, decides to reveal the harsh reality behind the industry in an online live stream.
At the very end of the first season, a known celebrity makes a cameo in the show. The same has garnered attention from fans in the short time since the show’s release. If you’re curious to know more about the cameo and what it could mean in-universe, here is everything you need to know about it!
Lee Jun-ho’s Brief but Impactful Celebrity Cameo
Yes, Lee Jun-ho does make a cameo in Celebrity. Best known for his musical career as the lead vocalist in the renowned K-Pop band 2PM, Lee Jun-ho appears in the show’s season one, episode twelve. At the end of the last episode, protagonist Ah-ri decides to leave the world of fame and influence behind, symbolized by her abandonment of an iPad left behind at bbbfamous’s house. Shortly after, a cleaning crew arrives at the scene, where one of the workers, Lee Jun-ho, comes across the device. As we see Jun-ho take an interest in the outpouring of love for Seo Ah-ri online, the show ends, wrapping up this chapter of Ah-ri’s life.
Although vague and seemingly inconsequential to the first season, the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo actually had a fair bit of thought behind it. When Director Cheol-gyu Kim approached Jun-ho for a cameo in his show, he did so because he wanted to leave an impression on the audience. Through Jin-ho’s character’s brief appearance, the narrative brings up the idea of new talent finding and interacting with the potential within social media fame.
In the show, Ah-ri starts off as a cynical, no-nonsense worker who is least interested in social media and wants nothing to do with it. Even after she enters the game and becomes an influencer herself, she retains her ideas and notions about celebrity culture and actively works toward showcasing its adverse effects. In the end, once Ah-ri has had more than her share of the same, she unknowingly passes the hunger for it down to another fresh-faced, bright-eyed candidate: Lee Jun-ho.
As such, even with his fleeting appearance in the show, Jun-ho’s character manages to make a statement about the cycle of stardom that remains streamlined with the rest of the show. Additionally, his cameo also hints at a possible thread to explore within a potential second season.
Alongside thriving as a musician, Jun-ho has also made a notable impact in the entertainment industry as an actor. With titles like ‘Red Sleeve’ and ‘Good Manager,’ Jun-ho has certainly left a mark on the audience as an actor. Given Jun-hos’s impressive acting career, it’s definitely within the realm of possibility for him to return for a more prominent role in the next season, should Netflix renew the show. Nevertheless, his cameo made for a delightful surprise and successfully brought ‘Celebrity’ onto his fans’ radar.
