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Many more cast additions to Playful Kiss

After all those rumors and teases about possible cast additions, it’s good to know this drama is actually making decisions now. Some make me happy, others I have no opinion on, and others are decidedly meh.

Let’s start with one that makes me happy: Jung Hye-young, the actress married to former k-popper Sean, whose casting makes sense given that she starred in director Hwang In-roi‘s last project, Return of Iljimae. This role will allow her to show a much lighter side, as she plays a cheery matchmaker who helps along the main loveline between Kim Hyun-joong and Jung So-min‘s characters.

I’m not getting hopes up that Jung Hye-young’s role here will be too significant, which would be too bad because I loved her acting in Return of Iljimae. She was brilliant in it, as luminous as she was melancholy, and was a tremendous source of pathos and heart as Iljimae’s mother.

In case you’re unfamiliar with the story, in the original manga the lead female Kotoko (Oh Ha-ni in this drama) is a bad student with lousy grades who finally tells her crush, Naoki (named Baek Seung-jo here), that she likes him. He’s pretty much her opposite — talented, smart, and cold — and rejects her. They come to live under the same house temporarily (her house gets wrecked, their fathers are friends). The third main character, Kinnosuke, likes Kotoko and watches after her. Lee Tae-sung has been cast in that role.


Lee Shi-young, Yoon Seung-ah

Next, there’s Lee Shi-young (Birth of the Rich), whose casting is still in “unconfirmed” status. (She’s the only one in this post who is not yet finalized.) The role she is up for is a haughty character who is the vice president of the university’s tennis club, and would come into the picture halfway through the drama’s run.

I haven’t read the manga, but it appears the two male leads (Naoki and Kinnosuke) are tennis players, so I presume she’d be a viable rival for one or both of their attentions. I’m actually a little surprised that she’d be up for Playful Kiss because her career has started to take off and I’d expect her to pursue more headlining roles. But it is still early in her career and she did get famous from her brief run in Boys Before Flowers, so maybe it’s not TOO much of a retread to take on another buzz manga adaptation.

Then there’s rookie actress Yoon Seung-ah, who plays Dokko Min-ah, Ha-ni’s best friend. She is a boyish and quirky type who’s constantly at the foot of the class and has no interest in studies, preferring to dream of becoming a manhwa writer.

If she looks familiar, it’s because she debuted in Alex and Jisun’s MV for “These Heartbreaking Words” (that’s where I saw her!) as the girl in the shell who is rescued by Park Shi-hoo. She followed that with parts in the Lee Jun-ki drama Hero and the upcoming horror flick Death Bell 2.

As for the rest…

Top row: Ha-ni’s father will be played by comic actor Kang Nam-gil (Goong and Who Are You?), while Seung-jo’s father will be played by a familiar CF actor, Oh Kyung-soo. Seung-jo has a younger brother who’s just like him (read: hard to please), played by young child actor Choi Won-hong.

Second row: Playing a girl who is jealous because of Ha-ni’s single-minded devotion toward Seung-ho is Jang Ah-young, who last played Yoon Eun-hye’s snooty chaebol cousin in My Fair Lady. Then there’s another of Ha-ni’s friends from her last-place class, Hong Yoon-hwa.

Third row: The first photo is Yoon Seung-ah again, and the next is Hwang Hyo-eun, a familiar face who has played many comic roles in dramas like Oh My Lady, Assorted Gems, and Queen of Housewives. She’ll play Ha-ni’s homeroom teacher. On the other hand, Kang Doo (Goong S, mehhhhh) takes the role of Seung-jo’s homeroom teacher.

Playful Kiss premieres on September 1.

Via TV Report, Hankyung

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KHJ could probably pull off the earlier brooding without too much harm - but the required growth, which can come across as sickly sweet and REALLY needs a good actor to pull off- he'll probably struggle with. unless he gets a good writer. but otherwise, him pulling of what i remember to be some pretty cheesy (but romantic) dialogue from ISWAK (yeah, i didn't read the manga but i assume it's be the same-ish) seems difficult. it's a testament to joe cheng's ability to immerse himself in the character of Zhi Shu that he carried off some of the lines he had as well as he did. (and, for me, while i even liked cheng i found he couldn't always pull it off, it was just so cheesy. but that may just be me). because the character, while needing that standoffishness at the beginning, needs the intensity later on to make it work.

still... I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS! (^-^) because the drama can still work with his mediocre talent. i don't think it's as destructive to the enjoyment of a drama as some suggest; merely unimaginative, stiff and perhaps detached, but i can compartmentalise fairly well. i don't think his acting will break the drama alone; i think it depends on other factors again.

and the other factors? looking pretty good. i am like, pretty happy for the girl's casting. she's cute, youthful, has decent ability (from what i've noticed in bad guy) and i can so imagine her in the role.

and this new news? sweet. i'm not unhappy with any of it xD

@37 yeah, i feel like watching it i should be shaking in feminist!rage at some points but... it works for me. it pretty much does divide viewers - some find the girl cute and adorable, some find her to be a complete chattel. so, again, the very premise is tricky to be working with for the remake. but the bits that are romantic to me are so cute that i can pretty effectively ignore the cringe-worthyness.

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I think this is one of those storyline that you either hate or love! You know i agree at first i think kotoko character is a bit over the top and really annoying however as you continue watching the character if you can find one endearing quality about her then she will deffinately grow on you. If you are able to over looked that, because it is a heartwarming story, there is substance. But if you cant then the storyline probly is not for you. The director can make kotoko less annoying but the storyline is about a girl chasing shamelessly after a guy!

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ahhh.. september pls come fast... I've seen the anime, dorama ISWAK and read the manga and i'm waiting for more suprising addition to this Dorama tt I really adores..
Infact, when it was announced last year, I started to read and watch all the instalments because they said they wanted to cast Lee Minho... But casting Hyun Joong is perfect for me.... Hope that I will get more stronger points from him.

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lol. i'd watch for jung hye young. can't wait to see how she become so persistent. love love love loved the mom in the taiwan version, how she always managed to drive her son nuts!

btw, are they gonna make kim hyun joong's character dressed up as a girl when he was younger? his mom did wanted a daughter. that would be epic. XD

loved the taiwan version even though it was hot mess. i trust the director this time to bring in some very lovely shots. :D any news bout who's the composer?

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