Choi Su-jong, Lee Seung-yeon, and a young Bae Yong-joon

Another remake of an old kdrama is in the works, this time the 1996 series that brought Bae Yong-joon to fame, First Love. The new drama will be a joint Korea-China production, and adapt the story for Chinese audiences.

This is the first time a project of this nature is being done, with Chinese actors and Korean production (to be aired and distributed in China). As such, one rep expressed his hopes that this marks a new type of cultural interchange between the two countries.

This Chinese version of First Love will star top Chinese stars — the role originally played by Bae Yong-joon is set to be filled by Huang Xiaoming, while Choi Su-jong’s spot goes to an actor identified only as “Chen” (I can’t figure out which Chen this refers to, sorry! Chen Kun, perhaps?). In the original kdrama, Choi and Bae played brothers who fell for the same woman (Lee Seung-yeon). The wildly popular series also featured brief appearances by several budding actors who would later come into their own as Hallyu stars, such as Choi Ji-woo and Song Hye-gyo.

Via Segye

RELATED POSTS

• U.S. remaking My Name Is Kim Sam-soon
• Japan’s Sassy Girl

Tags: Bae Yong-joon, Choi Su-jong, remakes

Filed under: Drama Casting & News by javabeans - 19 Comments →

Kim Myung-min wins Daesang; Han Ji-hye takes home an Excellence Award

Stars came out on November 1 to the 2008 Korea Drama Awards in the South Gyeongsang province city of Jinju, although there were a few notable absences (Bae Yong-joon, Kim Rae-won).

The top winner of the night was Kim Myung-min for his portrayal of Maestro Kang (affectionately, Kang-mae) in currently running hit drama Beethoven Virus. Kim Myung-min rocks, so this is no surprise and is certainly deserved. (Also, whether you love or hate Beethoven Virus, we can probably agree that he is the best thing in it.)

In the next “tier” of acting awards below Kim’s Daesang were the Best Acting award winners, consistently solid sageuk actor Choi Su-jong for Dae Jo Young and Kim Haneul for playing a difficult actress in On Air. In the next tier for Acting Excellence were Kim Rae-won of Gourmet and Han Ji-hye for Likable or Not (who may pull in yet more awards this time next year for her performance in East of Eden).

Musical acts included performances by R&B ballad duo Fly To the Sky, balladeer Shin Hye-sung, and members of idol group Super Junior.

SONG OF THE DAY

Fly to the Sky - “혼자하는 약속” (A promise with myself) [ Download ]

More from the red carpet and awards ceremony >>

Tags: awards, Bae Yong-joon, Choi Su-jong, Han Ji-hye, Kim Bum, Kim Haneul, Kim Myung-min, Kim Rae-won, Park Min-young, Shim Eun-kyung

Filed under: Drama Recaps by javabeans - 40 Comments →

Lame, lame, lame. I’d kind of figured that the newish Seoul Drama Awards would be bland (it’s their third year) based on the voting and nominees, so the results weren’t as disappointing as they would have been if I’d taken the Seoul Drama Festival seriously. As it was, there was a total lack of drama.

First off, the actual awards themselves were kind of… wonky. With dramas from all over the world competing (33 countries, 152 entries), the actual Korean series entered for judging (and which advanced) were hardly Korea’s best work of the past year.

Secondly, and perhaps for the above reason, there was a serious absence of stars — aside from the ones who were either presenting or receiving awards, that is. I wouldn’t call the red carpet and pre-carpet events “beyond pitiful” as one paper did, but when the only way to get actors to come to your event is to bribe them, you know you’ve still got a road ahead to being taken seriously.

I can understand awarding the online popularity award to Nam Sang-mi (adorable) and Lee Junki, above, both of the thriller drama Time and Dog and Wolf. But Golden Bride? Jungle Fish? Erm……

Onward to the red carpet and ceremony >>

Tags: awards, Choi Su-jong, Eugene, Kim Sung-soo, Lee Junki, Lee Tae-ran, Lee Young-ah, Nam Sang-mi, Oh Man-seok, Time of Dog and Wolf

Filed under: Drama Casting & News by javabeans - 40 Comments →

Choi Su-jong of “Dae Jo Young,” Kim Haneul of “On Air”

Nominees are out for the 2008 Korea Drama Festival awards, and the list is rather ho-hum. For example, the nominees for Best Drama are: Legend (MBC), Mom’s Dead Upset (KBS), Dae Jo Young (KBS), and Gourmet (SBS).

At first I was disappointed in the list of nominees, but then I thought back to the year and realized it’s just been a ho-hum year for dramas overall. Although, if we’re nominating Legend for Best Drama, which premiered over a year ago in September 2007, surely there are other series that have been overlooked.

The Korean Drama Festival runs from November 1 through 5 in Jinju; see the nominee list beyond the jump.

[Read more →]

Tags: awards, Beethoven Virus, Choi Su-jong, City of Glass, East of Eden, Han Ji-hye, Hong Gil Dong, Jang Geun-seok, Kim Bum, Kim Haneul, Kim Myung-min, Lee Jin-wook, Legend, New Heart, On Air, Sung Yuri, You're My Destiny

Filed under: Drama Casting & News by javabeans - 40 Comments →

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.

Check out the CHIFFS red carpet >>

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 Soyi

Filed under: Chungmuro/Film by javabeans - 31 Comments →