Kang Ji Hwan, the dilemma of an actor four years into his debut
Coming off his role in the KBS 2TV Wednesday-Thursday drama Hong Gil Dong, which received favorable reviews for its fresh approach, Kang Ji Hwan appears wearing a goldenrod-yellow jacket. This was approximately a week after the drama ended, the impression of the series not yet faded.
Like he’s taken off the clothes of Hong Gil Dong, it feels like he’s taken off the character and returned to Kang Ji Hwan. He revealed, “At the start of Hong Gil Dong, I’d be in the mountains and wonder what I was supposed to do, but now that it’s over, it’s strange to be up in the morning without a schedule to meet. The week has passed slowly.”
Over the weekend, Sung Yuri held her first solo fanmeeting in her ten-year-long career (having pursued her acting after gaining her start as part of pop girl band Fin.K.L.). (An aside: Sung Yuri’s had a tough time gaining recognition as an actress, but I’ve been seeing articles floating around in recent days acknowledging that Hong Gil Dong just might be the breakthrough she needs to be called an actor. Her early role in Thousand Years of Love was panned; she didn’t fare much better in Prince’s First Love or Snow Queen. She’s admitted that her approach to acting has also changed over the years, and while I don’t think you could call her skilled just yet — her Hong Gil Dong role has been critiqued as overacting — it’s a sign that she’s improving.)
On the 30th, approximately 500 fans attended the two-hour-long event at Joong-ang University Art Hall in Seoul. Notably, the event was attended by her former Fin.K.L-mates Lee Hyori, Ok Ju Hyun and Lee Jin.
Well, Hong Gil Dong is officially over. A “special” broadcast Thursday wrapped things up with the cast and director on the set of the series and ran through the usual dog and pony show — behind-the-scenes snippets, some outtakes, hosts asking the cast a bunch of soft questions about the experience.
As a source of information, the special was pretty thin on material, but as a wrap-up to the series, it may be a soothing balm for those who were gravely offended by the finale. I still maintain that the finale was a cut above the rest of the series (for me, the series had a tendency to wander), but whether or not you liked it, the special showed everyone in full goofball mode, all jokey and light-hearted, so therat was nice to see.
Oh, and speaking of the finale — I’ve changed my mind about what the opening sequence of Episode 1 means. I’m pretty sure now that the slick first action scene was really the story of Gil Dong as retold by Eun Hye in her written version of his life. I remember noting that Eun Hye had wondered if her feelings for Gil Dong may have enhanced her telling of the story, and made Gil Dong seem extra-cool. That goes a long way in explaining why the opening sequence resembles the Gil Dong and Hwal Bin Dang we’re familiar with, yet they all look more polished and put-together than we’ve seen them. Their personalities remain intact despite the exaggerated quality (the flying through the air, their clothing) because Eun Hye is acquainted with them and knows their personalities.
Anyway. Just thought I’d put that out there.
(Not to be repetitive, but I’ll reiterate anyway — these are my opinions, so you may disagree.)
SONG OF THE DAY
Hong Gil Dong OST - “작은 배” (Small Boat) by Girls Generation [ Download ]
The more I think about the ending of Hong Gil Dong, the more I like it. I’ve mentioned that the series was starting to feel repetitive in recent episodes, and I’d wondered how this episode would wrap everything up to satisfaction.
Some people aren’t going to be happy, and I admit my initial impression was mixed. Though it’s not sad or tragic, it’s bittersweet, but mixed with an open-endedness and, dare I say, even hopefulness.
I didn’t expect the writers to pull out this kind of finale, but the more I consider it and the knee-jerk reaction fades, I think it achieves a kind of poignancy I didn’t think it would, or could. In fact, the finale actually brings the series up to scratch and vindicates some of the meandering plotlines for me. I like the series better for its ending, when I was actually prepared to go out on anticlimax. Although that may put me in the minority (sigh, once again).
Obviously I love Kang Ji Hwan, but I didn’t have to add any superlatives to the following praise given by Hong Gil Dong’s writing team, the Hong sisters. Normally I take these kinds of end-of-series interviews with a pinch of salt (because the comments are almost always going to be positive — who wants to alienate co-workers? — and therefore robbed of meaning), but in this case I find myself in total agreement.
Of course, that could be my bias taking over.
Hong Gil Dong’s sister writers Hong Jung Eun, Hong Mi Ran: “Kang Ji Hwan is an actor to be thankful for”
“As writers, it’s a fortunate thing to meet with an actor who acts with his all his passion and emotions like Kang Ji Hwan.”
In a recent interview with Newsen, sister scriptwriters Hong Jung Eun and Hong Mi Ran of KBS2’s Wednesday-Thursday drama Hong Gil Dong talked of feeling grateful toward actor Kang Ji Hwan as the main character who showed strong acting and bore the responsibility for leading the drama through its end. …
SONG OF THE DAY
Lee Seung Yol (or Yeol) - “새벽, 아침의 문” (Dawn, the door to morning) [ Download ]
