Kim Joon leads cable drama City of the Sun
by javabeans
Cable station MBC Dramanet is gearing up to air a new 20-episode drama come the new year, titled City of the Sun, and already has managed to sell to both Japan and China. Perhaps we can attribute that to its source material, since the project is based on a novel by Japanese author Ikeido Jun (Tetsu no Hone, or Bones of Steel), which was then adapted into a Japanese drama in 2010.
The project will give Kim Joon a nice bump up to leading man status as City of the Sun’s titular role, although I guess calling it “titular” only works in Korean because the word for sun is tae-yang, and that’s his character’s name. The drama is about a young man who works at a construction company and harbors ideals of building people homes to live in, only to find that his company is engaged in corrupt activities.
The Japanese version mixed mystery with economics and was built around somewhat heavy material, but that didn’t stop it from amassing praise. (The novelist also wrote the original book that was the basis for last year’s drama Hanzawa Naoki, which recorded 42% ratings — the highest in Japan since the ’80s.) So I can see the reason for Japanese interest in the Korean version, although I wonder if expectations ought to be adjusted given that this is MBC Dramanet, whose original shows tend to be smaller affairs, and the cast appears to be mostly lesser-knowns.
Kim Joon has done a few projects in the past years (weekend melo Endless Love, which ended recently, and Crime Squad in 2011), though I still think of him as number four of F4 in his drama debut, Boys Before Flowers. He was kind of terrible in that but oddly appealing, in spite of — surely not because of? — his hilariously bad English street talk. (Yo yo yo ma bro and all that.) But maybe a serious project like this is just the thing for him to stretch himself and show a more thoughtful side.
Directing City of the Sun is Park Ki-hyung (Gangster High, Whispering Corridors). The drama will premiere on Friday, January 30.
Via My Daily
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Tags: cable programs, Kim Joon
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1 MsB
December 27, 2014 at 12:08 PM
He was terrible but was it his fault? He had like 2 lines in the drama!! Well, no one will sub this but if they do, I sure will watch it
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2 pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉
December 27, 2014 at 12:34 PM
hahaha omg the slang in BOF, it's pretty much all I remember him for. The poor guy had nothing much to do, and Kim Bum stole all possible attention for tertiary leads anyway.
This new drama certainly has an interesting premise, but I do wonder how much will change in the adaptation.
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blueribbon
December 27, 2014 at 12:50 PM
Is it a coincidence that as I am reading this article the picture at the top in the dramabeans logo is that of Kim Bum, poor Kim Joon. XD
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kpopjungirl
December 27, 2014 at 9:13 PM
Lol. Same, only I see Lee Min-ho instead of Kim Bum
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3 4D
December 27, 2014 at 12:44 PM
That's......interesting. I refer to him as #4 as well. I honestly have no thoughts on this project good or bad.
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4 dmohican14
December 27, 2014 at 12:46 PM
Hmm, I didn't know Kim Joon was still acting, his character was pretty useless in Boys Over Flowers, but I hope this goes well for him.
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lucy
December 28, 2014 at 3:36 AM
for me he is more appealing than kim hyun joong.in BOF i don't think he got no talents, the script itself was meehhhh. i dont understand why KHJ got all the hyped when we can clearly see how bad his acting is.
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5 mel
December 27, 2014 at 1:33 PM
Wasnt yul from goong attached to this (I forgot his name) I thought I read that here months ago
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aznative
December 27, 2014 at 3:04 PM
You're right. Kim Jeong-Hoon (John-Hoon) was originally cast according to AsianWiki, and dropped out shortly after filming began.
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6 darcyM
December 27, 2014 at 1:51 PM
Hahaha. I loved his gangsta Engrish. There was a YouTube compilation of his Engrish that I may possibly have watched numerous times. That aside, I actually enjoyed his character in BOF.
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7 aznative
December 27, 2014 at 2:59 PM
Watched "Endless Love". Kim Joon was cast amongst some stellar cast....his part was not small, acting was okay but obscured a bit from the great veteran actors he was cast with. I see potential but acting is a skill that needs to be honed.
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8 Mar
December 27, 2014 at 3:19 PM
It's nice to see his face and I hope this is a good project for him. I did not realize he was in a drama after he completed his military service! As it appears it was a melo, that is probably why. Ha, his portrayal of Song Woo-bin in BOF still makes me smile.
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9 Keren27
December 27, 2014 at 3:25 PM
i've been waiting for him to do a drama after his army comeback. i liked him in BOF even with the awkward gangsta lingo. didn't know he was in endless love. here's hoping he'll do good in this.
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10 natium
December 27, 2014 at 4:21 PM
Well his acting is not bad , B.O.F and endless love he was great ..... i love him good luck oppa fighting ♡♥♡
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11 Adal
December 27, 2014 at 4:43 PM
If they sub this, I will definitely watch this for him.
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12 Mandy
December 27, 2014 at 5:08 PM
I think the Korean version had the worst F4 bromance amongst all the Boys Over Flowers remakes. Kim Joon had like three lines in the drama and I never felt the friendship between the boys. But oh well, this may just allow him to at least start getting meatier roles.
He's a terrible actor though, so I wouldn't be too sad if someone else gets the bigger dramas out there. This one's too vague to have an opinion on. Maybe if they get a good actress...
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13 FlyingShoebox
December 27, 2014 at 5:36 PM
Surely if the drama is being linked to the likes of Hanzawa Naoki then it must be promising? Although now that this is also a remake people will definitely be comparing the two.
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14 Felicia
December 27, 2014 at 5:37 PM
When I saw the picture I thought, wait isn't that guy from BOF? Haha I always felt kinda bad for him because it seemed that all the male leads of BOF had the spotlight on them during / after BOF ... except him
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MissA
December 27, 2014 at 7:29 PM
Same here, he's really no.4 back then :( :(
Hope this drama is good!
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15 Heartoppaya
December 27, 2014 at 6:16 PM
Me too, Felicia! I looked at his pic and was like "... Is this that cutie from BOF? No, can't be..." but it was!
I particularly enjoyed his little bromantic moments with Kim Bum. Like that drunk-suicide moments that rendered laughs outta me.. I loved his street talk!
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16 mira
December 27, 2014 at 7:40 PM
Well I found Kim Bum the most awful one in BOF but look at him now. People improve, let's give him a chance :)
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17 quirkywhit
December 27, 2014 at 7:51 PM
Yay! Weirdly, that was my first reaction. Probably because of BOF - I've watched every adaption of that show (HYD was my first ever Asian drama, so I have a major soft spot for it...even if I find the romance a little troublesome) and the Mimasaka Akira character has always been my second fav. - right after Nishikado Sojiro. :) That being said, he was pretty terrible in that drama...but kinda everyone was. Doesn't change how much I loved it at the time, and hopefully he's improved. Also, thanks! I had no idea he was in another drama, off to find it!
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18 jat
December 27, 2014 at 8:28 PM
Haha me and my friend also call him to the no 4 guy
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19 Den
December 27, 2014 at 9:43 PM
He was in the live action Lupin III film this year with Oguri Shun, and despite the meh script, directing, and OST, he was decent in it. The weakest actor IMO was Jerry Yan who continued to be smirky and smarmy since his Meteor Days.
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Den
December 27, 2014 at 9:44 PM
*Meteor Garden days.
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pompom10
December 28, 2014 at 2:48 AM
I watch it, too and I agree with you. It was all meh, accept for the gorgeous shot of the beautiful casts. IMO, the movie is pure fanservice.
Although Kim Joon's part is not that much, he is ok in it.
I wonder if Jerry Yan awkward acting was because he has to alternate between Japanese and English..
Love Kuroki Meisa, Oguri Shun, Tetsuji Tamayama, and Gou Ayano, though.
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Lc
December 28, 2014 at 5:56 AM
So he was the tech whiz guy in the Lupin III film?? Sorry, I recognised only Jerry Yan, whom I found serviceable enough in it. It's not as if he has a great character to work with.
Agree that the film is pure fan service for the various audiences and maybe investors in the different regions.
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20 mary
December 27, 2014 at 9:43 PM
He was my bias in F4. (Because I was always Team Vaness hahaha) Unfortunately, drama god casting talismans weren't common back then.
Hope his drama does well.
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21 Dramafed1782
December 27, 2014 at 10:25 PM
You got me at Hanzawa Naoki. Gosh that drama was just different. I was like who would even watch a drama based on banks. But the underdog story was compelling and riveting. As Alexandre Dumas said "Revenge is sweet" only in the drama it was more than 20 years in the making.
I am cracking with laughter watching Masato Sakai doing a total reversal in character in Legal High. Who knew it was the same man playing different roles and catches you in the pit in totally different ways :)
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22 saranga
December 27, 2014 at 11:59 PM
oh i actually liked him best out of the four at the time! (of course, this was after i got over dreaming/obsessing over lee min-ho the first 3 weeks). i thought he had a good voice and not THAT terrible of an actor. kim hyun-joong was terrible. beautiful, but terrible acting. kim joon, though, i remember being pretty impressed with how well he did with what little material he was given. on a side note, he was also the best spoken and eloquent out of the four in the interviews/talk shows that ensued.
i don't think i've really seen him in anything since, but i am glad for him that he's got this.
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23 whitewire
December 28, 2014 at 3:46 AM
I am so happy for Kim Joon. Argh, praying for more projects to come his way. Big 3 dramas should come to him, now!
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24 abc
December 28, 2014 at 5:51 AM
he was the main reason i even bothered that crappy BOF(though i failed to watch the drama as a whole anyway, too cringeworthy for me) since i'm a fan of his underrated group then n really wanted to see how he'd fare in acting. well, the drama did bring some fortune to T-Max though, especially for all the osts. they're already awesome anyway.
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25 LionessHeiress
December 28, 2014 at 9:10 AM
hoping all Kdramas next year will have a recaps here.. i was excited with pride abd prejudice but wasn't continue here..
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26 Mel
December 28, 2014 at 11:06 AM
Kim Joon didn't have much to say but to me was unforgettable in BOF... GOOD LUCK to you, it's your turn to shine!
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27 Z
December 28, 2014 at 12:59 PM
I will love him forever simply because he was brave enough to say "yo, yo ma bro!" on camera for the whole world to see. I was always waiting for his character to actually have a plot because i preferred him to KJH. That was in my early days of kdramas and i was still not used to the girly-boy standard of make beauty so KJH's character didn't do anything for me at all (still doesn't). Plus i weed like, literally everyone else in this show has a story line, it's not fair. I always root got the underdogs.
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28 fab
December 28, 2014 at 1:08 PM
That's sad... I thought Kim Joon had his breakthrough after BOF, because I have seen him in Crime Squad and thought he was decent.
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29 apluszee
December 28, 2014 at 4:22 PM
whoa I haven't seen Kim Joon since forever.
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30 Chiaki
December 28, 2014 at 5:40 PM
WOW, I didn't even know this guy was still acting. I thought his career was never going to take off but I am wishing him the VERY BEST <3
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31 Goryeo princess
December 29, 2014 at 5:08 AM
BoF was my first Asian drama ever so I also have a special spot for it (the Korean version)... anyway, I always felt he was underused....maybe they could have told us more about his past, about his whereabouts and of course more development... Or I don't know,maybe I have sth like a "crush" for "bad boys"/"gangster" chaebols who knows (only on dramas of course!) ;) Maybe if there are more fans out there we could ask some producers/dramagods for a pre sequel and his story in BoF?....or better ...also another one for Kim Bum character too!.... Still, f4 (Kim Joon), despite not having that many lines, I Loved your character!!!!
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32 jiya
December 29, 2014 at 10:15 PM
I like his performance in Endless Love. Look forward to City of the Sun. Good luck Kim Joon.
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33 Omg!
April 2, 2016 at 11:09 AM
OMG! Me too! And no,because of it. He would have been an otherwise 4getable(hee) no 4,pretty nonetheless. But his Gangster Engrishi was so fantastical bad it was too Good,and that made him MEMORABLE as a result. He had his charm.
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