I’ve mentioned two of the upcoming trio of Strong Female Leader sageuks — Empress Cheon-chu and Queen Seon-deok. Now let’s talk about the third, Princess Ja-myung.

Jung Ryeo-won (My Girlfriend Has Two Faces) is headlining, and Park Hyo-joo, above, has been added as a noblewoman who was dragged from her native land at a young age and forced into servitude. She now waits on the queen (played by Lee Mi-sook), mother of Princess Nak-rang (Park Min-young). The series comes from the minds of writer Jung Sung-hee (Seoul 1945) and PD Lee Myung-woo (Bad Couple).

Park has been rising in profile in the past year, notably in the cable drama Chosun Police Season 1, followed by a role in The Chaser. But I know her better from her previous role playing a spunky government agent in Air City — which started off decently but took a sharp downturn, leaving Park as one of the only good things remaining at its end (perhaps the only other being my hunny Lee Jung-jae).

I predict we’ll be hearing more comparisons being drawn between the dramas, with Ja-myung the long(est) shot of the three; however talented Jung Ryeo-won may be, she just isn’t yet in the same category as Chae Shira (Cheon-chu) or Go Hyun-jung (Seon-deok).

Via OSEN

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There are several different ways to serve out one’s mandatory military enlistment — some, like Eric, serve desk jobs, usually due to injury (or pulling of bureaucratic strings); others go into the air force, like Ohn Joo-wan; and others (Jae Hee, for instance) serve regular active duty.

Singer and sometime actor Lee Jung (Unstoppable Wedding), pictured here, has finished his military training and will be joining the marine corps later this week to serve out the duration of his army duty.

Via Newsis

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Management company Yedang Entertainment has gotten a bunch of its star-clients into the December issue of Elle magazine under the photo-spread header “Share Happiness.”

Included are East of Eden’s Han Ji-hye (above), along with Lee Jung-jae (Disturbance In Her Barroom), Kim Sun-ah (When Night Comes), and Kim Haneul (On Air), below.

Huh. For promoting such a warm holiday theme, Han Ji-hye and Kim Haneul sure look pissy. If that’s your happy face, ladies, I’ll share my happiness with Lee Jung-jae and Kim Sun-ah instead, thanks.

Via Herald Biz

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Jang Jin-young, who was diagnosed with stomach cancer in September, has spent the intervening time receiving treatment. She is now talking to press about her condition in her first interview since the diagnosis.

In a phone interview with the MBC program News Who on November 29, the 34-year-old Jang said that her condition has improved with the aid of traditional Oriental medicine, such as acupuncture and moxibustion (treatment using mugwort herb). She explained that those treatments “really helped a lot. Of course, I’m receiving care at the hospital as well, but because anti-cancer medicine affects all of my body’s cells as it fights the cancer, it’s been difficult. With the moxibustion, my condition has improved and has made me hopeful. The hospital is pleased [with the improvement] as well.”

Currently, she has received three rounds of treatment, and the question of surgery remains in the air. People had speculated that Jang was suffering from late-stage cancer, and she explained that that was probably because she hadn’t released much information about her condition. She did, however, reveal that “it had looked very bad.” She is hopeful for a healthy recovery and an acting comeback.

Via Joy News

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Lee Hana’s Peppermint, the music-themed program that replaced the popular Yoon Do Hyun’s Love Letter, has dropped in the ratings since its premiere. The last episode of Love Letter drew a 4.7% rating, while Peppermint’s premiere dropped to 4.3%. The second outing recorded a further drop down to 3.6%.

Note: The numbers themselves aren’t the problem, considering that these programs air past midnight. (For a point of comparison, Kim Jung-eun’s Chocolate, another late-night music talk show — which airs on a different day — generally gets ratings in the 3% and 4% range.) However, the article points out, the downward trend is a cause of worry, particularly when the show is so new, and “a drop of 0.7% within its time slot is a grave matter and a severe blow to the program.” It has also been unable to retain the established viewership of the long-running Love Letter.

I wouldn’t worry about cancellation just yet, and it’s inevitable that Lee Hana, who may still be a bit awkward as an MC, needs some time to find her feet. Still, I do think expectations were high given her relative lack of experience.

Via E Daily

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