Cha Eun-woo Takes the Lead in ‘First Ride’ with Kang Ha-neul
Cha Eun-woo (left) and Kang Ha-neul (right). Photo: courtesy of Astro, Fantagio, and Han Cinema.
According to recent media reports, popular singer-actor and Astro star Cha Eun-woo has secured a starring role in the upcoming film First Ride, marking his first lead role in a film. The news broke online after the artist’s agency, Fantagio, announced the same.
Directed by Nam Dae-joong, First Ride is a story packed with adventure, comedy, and action, and follows four long-time friends as they finally set out on their long-dreamt-of trip abroad. Cha Eun-woo plays one of the friends alongside Kang Ha-neul. The cast also features Kim Young-kwang, Kang Young-seok, and Han Sun-hwa in key roles, whose diverse acting styles set the stage for nuanced portrayals that bring an added depth and richness to the story.
The plot hook arrives when the friends decide to celebrate their 30th birthdays in Thailand, their first-ever trip together abroad. Things take an intriguing—and at times chaotic— turn when the group faces unforeseen situations, injecting an element of suspense and unpredictability into the storyline, while also promising a rollercoaster of emotions and experiences.
The upcoming film represents a pivotal moment in Cha Eun-woo’s acting career, marking his big-screen breakthrough. It follows his last movie, Decibel—an action thriller released in 2022—in which he portrayed Jeon Tae-ryong, a Navy submarine sound detection officer, alongside notable Korean actors Kim Rae-won and Lee Jong-suk.
Cha additionally stars in the highly anticipated Netflix adventure fantasy drama The Wonder Fools, opposite Park Eun-bin, Kim Hae-Sook, and more. According to a Netflix article, the web series is a “unique turn-of-the-century superpower comedy action adventure,” with Cha Eun-woo as Lee Woon-jeong, a civil servant who gets involved in a mysterious case of people disappearing.
As for Kang Ha-neul, he brings to the project an impressive filmography that encompasses critically acclaimed performances in a slew of films such as Twenty (2015), Dongju: The Portrait of a Poet (2016), New Trial (2017), Midnight Runners (2017), Forgotten (2017), Love Reset (2023), and Streaming (2025), establishing himself as a seasoned and versatile actor in the Korean film industry. His presence in First Ride not only elevates the film’s profile, but also promises a powerful and subtle performance—something he’s best known for.
Kang’s notable upcoming projects include the dystopian survival thriller Squid Game Season 3, where he plays ex-marine Kang Dae-ho, player no. 388, with Lee Jung-jae, Lee Byung-hun, Wi Ha-joon, Yim Siwan, Park Sung-hoon, Park Gyu-young, among others, and the romantic comedy Tastefully Yours, in which he portrays Han Beom-woo, the heir to a major food business, co-starring Go Min-si.
