Ji Jin-hee, most recently of KBS’s j-drama adaptation The Man Who Can’t Get Married, has been cast to be Han Hyo-joo‘s leading man in the upcoming MBC sageuk drama Dong Yi [동이].
This’ll be the second time Ji teams up with PD Lee Byung-hoon, with whom he first worked in the hugely successful Dae Jang Geum. PD Lee also directed several other hit sageuk series such as Heo Jun and Yi San.
Ji Jin-hee will play Joseon-era King Sook-jong, portraying both the leadership skills of the king as well as the pure heart and affection of the man. Han Hyo-joo is to play Sook-bin, a water maid who becomes the king’s concubine and bears him a son, a future Joseon king.
Han has been playing more mature roles as she transitions from rookie actress to leading lady, but this is still a pretty wide age gap — 16 years, as Han is 22 and Ji is 38. I tend to find age gaps less of an issue with sageuk dramas, so I’m keeping my mind open for the pairing, although the thought of Han taking on another sageuk makes me nervous. (She’s improved a lot in her short career, but I don’t think sageuk is her thing, and I thought her turn in Iljimae was one of her weaker performances.) Of course, as we know, his role in Dae Jang Geum makes Ji no stranger to the historical epic.
Dong Yi will air next March on MBC.
Via Joy News
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I fell in love with Ji Jin-hee in Dae Jang Geum so am glad to hear he is doing another sageuk drama, and with PD Lee to boot! As for Han Hyo-joo in a sageuk … eh?
i had the biggest crush on ji jinhee/his character in dae jang geum *_* this was back when i watched dramas on rented video tapes!
aww….i love ji jin-hee and all, but i feel like he is waaaay too old for han hyo joo!!! oh well i am looking forward to this drama nonetheless!
God I loved him so much in Dae Jang Geum. I suddenly want to go on a Dae Jang Geum watching spree again.
even he is good actor, ji jin hee is just to old to han hyo joo
aw cuties.
the funny thing is that he who can’t get married and shining inheritance shared around the same airing time.. and those were the two dramas that i watched ^^ although i was of course more excited for shining inheritance, he who can’t get married held its own. i’ll be honest i’m not too into time period dramas though..
but i’m okay with the age difference because he and kim so eun looked so freaking adorable together in he who can’t get married. honestly if he were about 15 or so years younger i’d like them together better than her with kim bum.
PS han hyo joo imo is like one of the prettiest korean actresses.. imagine that picture of her but just with longer hair.. beautifulllll
This is really good news!
Watching Dae Jang Geum always made me think Ji Jin Hee suits sageuk a lot, and his acting has improved greatly since then, so this should be even better!
I loved him in He Who can’t marry, and Dong Yi should be a big change from that.
Hm…Han Hyo Joo in a sageuk… *cough* Lee Byung Hoon, what are you thinking? *cough*
JB, you didn’t mention that 숙빈최씨 is the future Yeongjo’s mother…
So Dong Yi would be a triad of 장희빈 (2003 version), 이산, & 대왕의길…
Oh, and from what I read in wiki, 숙빈최씨 was a musuri (무수리; female servants who, as earlier mentioned, a water maid; other tasks include doing other miscellaneous jobs and in assiting other gungnyeo) in Queen Inhyeon’s quarters.
One night, she was praying in her chamber for the Queen’s wellness (Inhyeon was now 폐비 at this point, Jang Hui-bin being the de facto Queen) when Sukjong, who was crossing outside after a trip outside of the palace, heard her and, moved by her kindness (Sukjong was having his regrets at that time for expelling his Queen), made her his concubine. She became 숙빈 after the future Yeongjo’s birth in 1694.
Yeongjo, unfortunately, was very sensitive about his mother’s class during his lifetime, avoiding any mention of her humble origins
@Rovi, is wiki the best place to read up on some ancient Korean history? I like to know the background before I watch a saeguk.
I love sageuks with stories like that…looks like this one’s gonna be good!
oooh Ji Jin Hee + Sageuk + PD LBH? I loved Dae Jang Geum and I thought Ji Jin Hee’s character in it was awesome (plus he’s hot). Yi San was good too (tho not as good as DJG and it dragged a bit, but I still enjoyed it), so I think I’ll check this out when it premiers.
@hjkomo
Excuse me, but I’m going to do a Samsooki….Ji Jin Hee ***swoon ….HE”S MINE…and the fact that it’s sageuk (where ,last time in Dae Jang Geum,I fell for his hotness)…why do I feel like langdon whenever LMK is mentioned…
I did not watch him in Dae Jang Geum but love him in He Who Can’t Marry.
HWCM becomes my favorite romantic comedy now.
I’m looking forward to his new drama. Han Hyo-joo is so cute, she might look too young for Ji Jin Hee.
PD Lee Byung Hoon helmed the following sageuks:
Hur Joon – didn’t get the chance to see thisbut i heard it’s great
Jewel in the Palace (Lee Young Ae + Ji Jin Hee) – love the story very much!
Seo Dong Yo/Ballad of Suh Dong/Song of the Prince (Jo Hyun Jae & Lee Bo Young) – my most favorite sageuk of all time coz it has my love JHJ in it and because the story is very, very, very good!!!!
Yi San (Lee Seo Jin & Han Ji Min) – i watched this but skipped many episodes because the story started to drag (not surprising since it has 77 episodes). i like the actress who played the Queen Mother, great actress – she scared me a lot.
These are great sageuks. Sure JJH was part of Jewel but he is not the lead character so often he is overlooked. Jewel is more LYA’s drama than JJH’s. However, this time, JJH will be taking the lead. This is a big responsibility for him. He has great shoes to fill considering the performance of the PD Lee’s previous works. I hope this time JJH will no longer be “the man who can’t get ratings”. Wish him and Han Hyo Joo the best.
@hjkomo
Word! I was so surprised at the casting of HHJ that I dismissed it as an unfounded rumor at first. She’s certainly easy on the eyes, but as Choi Sukbin, with Jang Heebin and Inhyeon running around in the background? She’ll have to do a lot to outshine considerably more interesting characters. Fingers crossed I’ll be proved wrong though!
And Ji Jin Hee! I’m still having trouble forgetting his Min Jung Ho, LOL.
Yeah first thought was the age difference!
Concubines are supposed to be young..
It’s all hotness to see JJH in the Joseon robe again..
I feel bad for JJH, he’s not the main focus here because this is a female title-role. But I’m sure he’ll do well here, I’m doubting with HHJ though, she’s too early for this. Not just because her previous works (specially Brilliant Legacy) are very successful this will turn out to be like those also. We all know sageuk’s doesn’t rely on the popularity of the main actors/actresses for the ratings but it relies on brilliant acting. Hopefully HHJ can prove that she really is deserving for this role.
Probably one the biggest Han Hyo Joo fans here. I see so much potential with her as an internal actress. But . . .
No I don’t think she’s ready to LEAD A MBC SAGEUK. (And, yes, I’m well aware of LBH’s reputation with his vacation-spot sageuks of late. But still people. STILL) The expectations are at a completely different level than her beauty pageant performance in Iljimae. STILL!!!
I do wish her the best though. I thought Don Xi was going to air in the winter, but news of the production have only started coming out this week.
BTW. Where. The. Hell. Is. HEAVENSPOSTMAN. C’mon SBS, spill it already!!!
Like most of everyone here, I don’t think Han Hyojoo is ready to take on something like this. Despite Brilliant Legacy’s huge success and the fact that I loved it to bits, I still recognize that HHJ’s acting was still just average, some moments even bordering on being lame. I was hoping she would take on something low profile to improve her acting instead.
I thought HHJ was terrific in Brilliant Legacy. She knows how to bring “troubled misfit” out of pretty much any role. It’s just that in a proper sageuk, even a concubine role has to nail the dialogue and command sufficient presence.
@belleza
Like deeta, I thought that HHJ’s acting in Brilliant Legacy is nothing spectacular(to brag about), I think MCW’s character portrayal/acting was even better. Well, that’s just my opinion. But I really hope for the best for HHJ here, this is a big-big project for her. This series will surely affect her status whatever the outcome may be. Criticisms will surely arouse if she can’t portray the character properly. It’s not yet late? Maybe she can still back out? OR maybe be dropped(just like Sung Yu Ri in Queen Seon Duk) if netizens will take some *ehem* action. Oh well, just good luck, really. I’ll wait for this!
And the next news I’ll be awaiting is the actress who will become the notorious JANG HEE-BIN!!! Also the one for poor Queen Inhyeon (though of less enjoyment; I haven’t had the chance to watch the 2003 Jang Hui-bin, as I wasn’t aware (and awakened
) to Korean culture at that time)…
@S
well, I’m not a hypocrite to say that wiki is the best place for everything, esp. Korean history, but the articles I’ve gotten them has some Korean sources referred into it…But basically my comment above has the summary of Sook-bin Choi-ssi’s history as a musuri…
@tiny
Regarding the Queen Mother thing, you might be referring to Queen Jeongsun of the Andong Kim clan, portrayed by Kim Yeo-jin (who coincidentally played Jang-deok at Dae Jang-geum).
@Lemoncat
You’re right there; HHJ might get eclipsed by the actresses who’ll portray Jang Hui-bin and Queen Inhyeon, as Sukjong was well-known because of his women’s rivalry…She got the upper hand of things when the 2 women died in 1701, and when her son became King…
Hope they don’t turn this one into a fusion sageuk…
And I can see the royal wigs (*cough* King and I *cough*) and royal dang-ui again!!! WEEEEEEEE!!!
Hope JJH makes a smexy Sukjong…*nosebleed*…
me too~ i also had a crush on jjh in dae jang geum. and PD LBH is so awesome!! i believe anything in his work. DJG is still my most fav drama so far. i’ve watched Yisan, its also great! best of luck to HHJ. i can imagine she’ll be so pretty& beautiful in sageuk drama like in iljimae. but i hope her acting will improve. i like her.
I’ll only judge HHJ on her last saguek performance in Illjimae – where she seems to have been unable to portray quiet, steely grace and instead came across as inanimate. But let’s be optimistic, she’s been casted already – maybe she’ll pull one out like Gu Hye-sun did in King and I. I think HHJ is so pretty, and the saguek outfits fit her image like a T. Now just bring your A-game, girl, you can do it.
dunno why but she reminds me of fukada kyoko
i can’t help but comment re age gap as most of the ppl here were so critical of the recent team up betwn my fave actor Yoon sang hyun & Yoon eun hye but this is more than the age diff of the latter actors! I personally don’t find any problems with that depending on the storyline so JJH & HHJ fighting!
Ji Jinhee & Kim So Eun in The Man Who Can’t Marry has even bigger age difference. So Eun’s only 20. but true, the age is just a minor problem here. Han Hyo Joo in another sageuk… i didn’t buy her acting one bit in Iljimae.
In terms of historical accuracy, it just makes sense to get an actress who’s a lot younger than the actor playing Sook Jong as Choi mu su ri was a lot younger than the king. I am curious as to how Han Hyo joo will pull off Dong Yi as Choi Mu su ri (future Sook bin) tends to be shuffled to the side compared to the other famous wives Jang Hee Bin and In Hyeon Wang hoo in previous sageuks based on this time period. Han Hyo Joo has her work cut out for her.
it’s to be expected that in sageuks the one who’ll play the Kings are older and the concubines or Queens Consort much younger. It’s the norm in the Joseon Dynasty period, even in ordinary weddings at that time. Sometimes the groom is twice the age of the bride, who is usually at the mid-teens.
I Like Han Hyo Joo.
Forever.
I like HHJ , hopefully she is doing well in this drama .
I like ji jin hee and han hyo jo. HHJ is just ok, she’s concubine and concubine should be young. hope to see other episodes.. pls. dont take too long, im waiting always,
Glad to see that Dong Yi is getting huge ratings, now I’m going to have to watch He Who Can’t Marry, JJH is my man, sorry, I adore him. Love his portrayal of Sukjong, who seems niave, but intelligent at the same time, and so much romance those three kisses, were a surprise especially for a historical drama, usually just get a hug.
unnie han hyo joo saranghaeyo =) i love dong yi…hope han hyo joo feat with lee seung gi again in the new next drama …=)
JJH…love U oppa..looks so hot as a King…droooling..all the best to U in your career. We will support u
sarange han hyu joo sangat mendukung mu kau begitu bagus dan sangat bijaksana mengeluarkan keputusan kau pantas di ajung kan jempol sebagai ratu . aku sangat mengagumoi peran mu sebagai dong yi.mudah-mudahan menjadi lebih bagus lagi di peran yang akan datang fauting han hyu joo.go go go………………!