There are a couple of new dramas on the block, although I don’t know if either of them will make a splash. Both come from MBC, who’s probably sweating bullets now that East of Eden has left the building, and taken with it its high-profile stars, its twisty storylines, its onscreen and offscreen drama — and oh yeah, its consistently solid ratings.

The first of the new shows to air is the Chae Rim vehicle Good Job, Good Job [잘했군 잘했어], which kicked off this weekend. Next will be Monday and Tuesday’s new offering, Queen of Housewives [내조의 여왕].

The reason I think both MBC dramas have a steep uphill climb ahead of them isn’t because they’re both sure to suck. Rather, both look cheerfully good-natured; too bad this is the age of the “makjang drama” — those over-the-top dramas we love to hate but watch anyway (or 욕하면서 보는 드라마).

(No really, it’s practically becoming a genre in and of itself. Evil characters, birth secrets, terminal illnesses, over-the-top violence, convoluted love geometry — this is the era of all of ‘em.)

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Read the rest of Good Job, Queen of Housewives (451 words)

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Post tags: Chae Rim, Daniel Choi, drama ratings, Eom Ki-joon, Ja Myung Go, Job Well Done, Kim Nam-joo, Oh Ji-ho, Queen of Housewives, Seo Hyo-rim

Chae Rim is returning to television with a new short haircut and a new skill (pottery).

She’s taking the lead in MBC’s weekend drama Good Job (which literally translates to the somewhat redundant-in-English “Good job, good job”), starring opposite Eom Ki-joon in the role recently vacated by Myung Se-bin.

Her character works at a ceramic and pottery company, and also creates her own pieces. As we can see in these photos, Chae Rim has been busy studying pottery daily in preparation for her role, while her formerly long hair was chopped short to match her character’s single-mom status.

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Read the rest of Chae Rim prepares for new role in Good Job (175 words)

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Post tags: Chae Rim

As previously mentioned, singer-dancer-actor-designer-CEO-”world star” Rain is coming out with his own fashion line, “Six to Five,” which he kicked off in style on the 23rd with a fashion show–launch party–mini concert. Trust Mr. Multihyphenate to give the same treatment to his big events.

The launching party took place in Ilsan and was attended by some of Rain’s industry buddies, though not a whole slew of them; some key attendees included Hyori, Yoon Kye-sang, Chae Rim and Kim Sun-ah.

Apparently, the rocket was chosen as the brand symbol to express “the spirit of challenge that overcomes time and space.” Er….. Furthermore, the brand name is based on the concept of moving from the five senses into the realm of the sixth… in which case, shouldn’t the brand name be Five to Six? O_o

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Read the rest of Rain hosts, struts, sings, and dances at Six To Five launch (405 words)

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Post tags: Byun Jung-soo, Chae Rim, fashion, Jung Jun-ho, Kim Sun-ah, Lee Hyori, Park Ji-yoon, Rain, Seo In-young, Yoon Kye-sang

Stars came out in full force, from A-listers and all the way down, to the opening night of the 2nd Chungmuro International Film Festival, held on September 3. The celeb list boasted some big-name actors and even a few kpoppers (Girls Generation) who turned out in fine feather on the red carpet. (Well, minus a few sartorial misses.)

Attendees included the likes of Chae Rim (above), Jang Dong-gun (below), and event representative Kim Jung-eun, for starters.

The festival, headed under the theme “Discovery, Restoration, Creation,” runs over the next week and closes on September 9.

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Read the rest of 2nd Chungmuro International Film Festival (524 words)

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Post tags: Chae Rim, Choi Su-jong, Eom Ji-won, Eugene, fashion, film festivals, Girls Generation, Ha Ji-won, Jang Dong-gun, Kim Jung-eun, Kim Min-joon, Lee Hana, Lee Ji-hoon, Lee Jong-hyuk, Lee Mi-yeon, Shin Ae, Shin Hyun-joon, Yoon So-yi

• Sung Yuri is set to appear in her first solo talk show appearance on SBS’s new The Star Show; the show concept is centered on deep conversation with “big stars.” Originally veteran actor Choi Min Soo was scheduled for the show’s second episode, but that was scrapped with his recent scandal for beating up a 70-year-old man. Episode airs May 5.
• Chae Rim admits to having her eyes done on a recent episode of Happy Together. She was also asked, somewhat uncomfortably, “Why don’t you get married?” (uncomfortably because of her public divorce). She broke the awkward mood and explained, “When I see others living with their husbands, I don’t really feel envious.”
• In the same episode, MC/funnyman Yoo Jae Seok revealed he’d gone to the same university as Chae Rim and Rivals co-star Lee Jong Hyuk, but he’d never graduated (he’d been working as a comedian and had to often leave to go to the broadcast station).
• In middle school, Kim Rae Won was always ranked (academically) in third place — from the rear. (He continued, “I quit playing basketball, shocked to hear my grades wouldn’t be good enough to continue to high school, so I started studying harder.”) He’s currently filming manhwa-based drama Gourmet.
• Epik High rapper Mithra Jin has a girlfriend (Tablo disclosed the fact when the group appeared on Love Letter on the 26th). Mithra said that although that’s true, they only have time to meet once every two or three weeks to confirm they’re still alive.
• Go Soo was released from military duty on April 25, and he sure looks happy. Welcome back, dude.
• …and goodbye to pop singer Eru, who took the stage to bid goodbye before beginning his military service next month (May 1), appearing on MBC’s Music Core on the 26th with new hit group Mighty Mouth. He performed, appropriately enough, the song “Last Concert.”

 
SONG OF THE DAY

Mystic Puzzle – “A Fairy Tale” (Featuring Epik High) [ Download ]

RELATED POSTS

• News bites: April 21, 2008
• Rivals (KBS)
• News bites: March 4, 2008
• Anticipating Go Soo’s comeback
• Kim Rae Won for UNICEF

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Post tags: Chae Rim, Epik High, Eru, Go Soo, Lee Jong-hyuk, Mithra Jin, news bites, Sung Yuri, Yoo Jae-seok

Phew, lots to talk about today:

• Get ready to welcome Go Soo back from the military! He completes his mandatory service this week; he’ll be released on the 25th and plans to have a fanmeeting that very day in Seoul. He gets back to work immediately in a play (read here) which premieres in May.
• On Air, which is doing very well in the ratings, has its next batch of all-star cameos lined up. They’ve already featured Lee Hyori and Jeon Do Yeon, among others; now they’ll feature Shin Dong Wook, Lee Dong Kyu, and comedian Kim Jae Dong. The series has been extended three episodes for a total of 23.
• As for other extensions, On Air’s timeslot competitor Who Are You? has been rumored to be extended by one episode to 17 total, and while I think this may be likely, I’m not ready to get excited until I see it confirmed somewhere outside the fan message board. (No offense to fans — they often have the earliest info, but I’d rather play it safe with an official statement.)
• Chae Rim suffered an injury over the weekend while filming for her new series Rivals. In a scene where her character argues with Lee Jin Wook’s bratty presidential-son character in a ramen restaurant, Chae Rim slipped on some fallen ramen on the ground and hit her hip on a sharp corner (of, I assume, a table). She was taken to the hospital, but no bones were broken and the injury appears to be manageable.

• Choi Jin-yi, the lead singer of rock band Rumble Fish, is set to go solo with her first single “Brilliant Days” (she’d already recorded a song with the group MC The Max earlier this year). Wait, Rumble Fish is still together, right??
• Singer-actor Lee Ji Hoon (Hello Miss, New Heart) takes his next role starring with Girls Generation pop star Yoon Ah in the upcoming KBS daily drama You’re My Destiny. He’s also set to release his sixth album (his first in four years) on May 13.
• At the wrap party for their film I Feel Good on the 18th, stars Eugene (Three Dads, One Mom) and Lee Seon Kyun (Coffee Prince, White Tower) engaged in an impromptu mini song battle. While singing karaoke, the two were prodded on by continuous encores, so they complied and sang four or five songs. In the film, she plays an pop-singer idol; it also stars Lee Soo Kyung (Soulmate, Golden Age of Daughters-in-Law) and Lee Minki (Mixed-up Investigative Agency, Dal Ja’s Spring), who were also in attendance, along with approximately 100 staff members.

 
SONG OF THE DAY

Rumble Fish – “으라차차” (eu-ra-cha-cha) [ Download ]

RELATED POSTS

• Rivals (KBS)
• Who Are You: Episode 13
• News bites: April 13, 2008
• Broadcast delays for Who Are You?, On Air
• On Air: First impressions
• Anticipating Go Soo’s comeback
• Eugene and Minki back together

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Post tags: Chae Rim, Eugene, Go Soo, Lee Ji-hoon, Lee Seon-kyun, On Air, Rivals, Who Are You?

Rivals isn’t necessarily a bad show… but there’s something about it that smacks of the ridiculous. Chae Rim is pretty good and so is the subtler Lee Jong Hyuk; they have good chemistry despite a really obvious setup. But there’s something that reminds me really strongly of Air City, and it’s not just the Lee Jin Wook connection — and those of you who suffered through that series alongside me will know that’s not a good thing in my book. It’s over-the-top and tries really, really hard — and while it hits the mark half the time, that means it misses the other half.

I will say, though, that if it does prove to be bad, at least Rivals shows signs of being the fun-bad type. I laughed a lot in the first two episodes — although probably in all the wrong places. Rivals is funny partly because it takes itself so seriously, but it should really let itself in on the joke.

SONG OF THE DAY

Oriental Funk Stew – “날아” (Fly) [ zShare download ]

 
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Read the rest of Rivals (KBS) (1,603 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2008. | Permalink | 34 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Chae Rim, episode recaps, Lee Jin-wook, Lee Jong-hyuk, Rivals