Inch by inch, Kim Jae-wook has been stealing the show in SBS’s Bad Guy, with his deeply layered portrayal of a wounded feral animal, otherwise known as Hong Tae-sung. In a recent interview with 10 Asia, Kim discusses Tae-sung, acting, and his music.

Good acting AND an indie band? Are you trying to make me spontaneously combust from second-lead love?

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Read the rest of Triple threat Kim Jae-wook (669 words)

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Post tags: Bad Guy, Coffee Prince, Kim Jae-wook

While Eun-jo never called Ki-hoon “oppa,” she certainly used her share of banmal with him

One of the things I find endlessly fascinating about the Korean language is the magnitude of what people call each other, and how they address one another as relationships evolve. As javabeans noted, in romantic comedies, we often squee equally over kisses as we do over the first time characters use banmal with each other. So what is banmal, and what are the rules? How can banmal be rude in one moment, and romantic in the next? Who gets to use banmal, and why is it meaningful when characters switch from jondae to banmal?

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Read the rest of Glossary: Banmal (1,448 words)

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Post tags: Boys Before Flowers, Cinderella's Sister, Coffee Prince, Pasta

Hey, girlfriday here to kick off a new series that we’re doing, to call attention to some of the recurring motifs in kdramaland, by way of pop culture. Topics will range from cultural bits of Koreanness, to drama tropes, folktales, to things we simply find amusing or interesting, in tv/film/music. It’s intentionally broad, so that we can keep it free and loose, and we invite you to ask questions about things you’ve always wondered about, like why people in dramas always take out their cell phone batteries. (Answer: It’s a more dramatic action onscreen than pressing the OFF button, which is visually ambiguous.)

We thought long and hard about the inaugural post, and realized, of course, that it had to start with the mother of all drama tropes: The Piggyback Ride.

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Read the rest of Pop Culture: Piggyback Rides (755 words)

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Post tags: Coffee Prince, My Name Is Kim Samsoon, Personal Taste

Perhaps you’ve seen that Glossary link in the menu to the left, languishing in neglect with nary an update. I decided, what better way to update than to expound upon those familiar kdrama terms and concepts in a Glossary Series? Because while longtime drama lovers may know exactly what a chaebol is, why pojangmachas rule, and why makjangs induce eye-rolls, sometimes we toss around these Korean terms freely without explanation. And we suspect (we being myself and girlfriday, of course!) that some people are left in confusion.

Hence: the Dramabeans (Extended) Glossary. First up in this ongoing series is that ubiquitous, loaded term that we see in practically every drama ever: “Oppa.”

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Read the rest of Glossary: Oppa (1,416 words)

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Post tags: Bad Guy, Cinderella's Sister, Coffee Prince, My Girl, Triple

I’m sure many of you have seen many (maybe even all) of the dramas on this list. But some others who haven’t racked up as many drama-watching hours may want a guide to help them navigate the many, many offerings out there.

First, we’ll start with the other the Hong Sisters dramas…

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Read the rest of Romantic-comedy drama recommendations (2,941 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 262 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Bad Family, Coffee Prince, Dal Ja's Spring, Delightful Girl Chun-hyang, Fantasy Couple, Full House, Goong, Hong Gil Dong, My Girl, My Name Is Kim Samsoon, Soulmate, The Last Scandal of My Life, What's Up Fox

(These are short mp3 clips that you can download onto your phone IF your phone is capable of mp3 ringtones. I know some phones have size limits for mp3s — mine is 500kb — and most of these clips are under 30 seconds and in the 200kb-400kb range. Download link at bottom.)

For example:

YOU’RE BEAUTIFUL

I’m sure most of you are familiar with this soundtrack so I don’t need to post clips, but I’ll put them up just in case:

Jang Geun-seok – “말도 없이” (Without Words)

Jang Geun-seok – “Good Bye”

A.N.JELL – “Promise” verse

A.N.JELL – “Promise” chorus

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Read the rest of Drama theme-song ringtones (721 words)

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Post tags: Boys Before Flowers, Coffee Prince, Goong, Goong S, My Fair Lady, My Name Is Kim Samsoon, Return of Iljimae, Story of a Man, Strongest Chil Woo, The World They Live In, You're Beautiful

O-M-G. Coffee Prince is being made into a movie!

A producer confirmed that rights have been acquired to adapt the novel into a movie (fyi, the Coffee Prince novel came first, after which the original novelist also wrote the drama). Since this will be the third version of this story to be told, the rep said that “the movie will show a different story from the drama.”

After the script is completed in May, the production will begin casting for its characters of Go Eun-chan, Choi Han-gyul, and the rest. I wouldn’t get my hopes up for Yoon Eun-hye and Gong Yoo to reprise their roles (it would be great, but I wouldn’t want to get too excited), but the producers aren’t ruling out that possibility, either. Both scenarios are possible: either the old cast will be invited to return or, barring that, they’ll cast with new actors.

This is apparently the second instance of a drama being adapted to film format, following the sageuk series Damo which was turned into the film version Duelist. (The opposite scenario is more common, where films are adapted into dramas, such as with Tazza and Gourmet.)

Part of the drama Coffee Prince‘s charm was its wonderful directing by Lee Yoon-jung, and with a different PD behind the camera, the end product may end up with a very different feel. Still, I’m excited nonetheless — I loved the drama and I thoroughly enjoyed reading the novel, and I certainly don’t need this movie to be a direct replica of the drama.

The production’s plan is to begin filming in October, and aim for a February 2010 release, with simultaneous premieres in Korea, Japan, China, and Southeast Asia.

Via DongA

RELATED POSTS

• Coffee Prince: Behind-the-Scenes Special
• Shameless Prince Eye Candy
• Second Interview: Writer of Coffee Prince
• Gong Yoo’s Han Gyul exactly as writer pictured
• Coffee Prince Store # 1

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 105 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Coffee Prince, Coffee Prince the novel

I was thinking how I’ve been watching lots of first episodes of dramas these days, but haven’t found anything to dive into since the end of Who Are You? It’s starting to feel like going on a string of disappointing first dates — measuring up expectations versus performance, anticipation versus letdown, etc.

You know, there’s that date you’re really looking forward to, so you get dressed up and put on your heels and makeup and count down the hours, and he turns out to be a total dud. Or the date you agreed to because it was easier to give the guy your number than to try to invent an excuse not to because those excuses always come out embarrassingly half-assed — like you say you don’t have a phone and then it rings, or something — but then you end up having a good time.

I didn’t exactly intend to go off on an extended metaphor, but when I thought about all the recent dramas I’ve caught, they all seemed to fit (more or less).

SONG OF THE DAY

G.O.D. – “Falling” [ Download ]

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Read the rest of First-date dramas (1,378 words)

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Post tags: Bulhandang/Robbers, Coffee Prince, Hong Gil Dong, I Love You, Iljimae, La Dolce Vita, On Air, ranty/ravey, Rivals, Spotlight, The Last Scandal of My Life, Tokyo Showers, Who Are You?, Why Did You Come To Our House, Yi San

The 44th Baeksang Arts Awards were held in Seoul on April 24, handing out top honors to the films and television programs of the previous year.

Big winners included films The Chaser and Forever the Moment (aka The Best Moment In Our Lives); Yoon Eun Hye won for her trend-setting turn as Go Eun Chan in last year’s smash drama Coffee Prince, while War of Money took home Best Drama.

SONG OF THE DAY

MC Mong – “옛날 옛적에” (Once upon a time) from his recently released fourth album. [ Download ]

 
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Read the rest of 44th Baeksang Arts Awards (501 words)

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Post tags: awards, Coffee Prince, Go Ara, Han Hyo-joo, Hong Gil Dong, Hyun Young, Jang Geun-seok, Jung Il-woo, Jung Ryeo-won, Kang Ji-hwan, Kim Jung-eun, Kim Min-hee, Kwon Sang-woo, Lee Byung-heon, Lee Dong-wook, Lee Jia, Lee Seon-kyun, Lee Yeon-hee, Lee Yoon-jung, Legend, Park Shi-yeon, Park Shin-yang, Park Yong-ha, Sohn Ye-jin, Song Kang-ho, Sung Yuri, War of Money, Yoo Gun, Yoon Eun-hye

The adorably apple-cheeked director with the resounding belly laugh — Coffee Prince‘s PD Lee Yoon Jung, that is — is taking on her next project: a figure-skating drama for MBC titled Triple.

The drama may not be that much of a stretch for her; prior to hitting it big with Coffee Prince, Lee Yoon Jung directed the Olympic-sports-themed short series Taereung National Village, which also showed her trademark ability to mine small moments out of big events and highlight emotion with a humanistic touch.

The drama will likely air near the end of the year as a Wednesday-Thursday series, and centers around 18-year-old figure skaters who aspire to success in a competitive field. The drama’s currently searching for its young female leads, and will cast till the end of the month.

Despite not having named its writer(s) or set its cast, you can be sure you’ll get a few things out of a Lee Yoon Jung drama: lots of poignant moments and a great soundtrack featuring lots of Western artists amidst indie Korean ones.

Via Star News

SONG OF THE DAY

Bluedawn – “보옴이 오면” (When spring comes). If you recall, Bluedawn had a prominently placed song in episode 9 of Coffee Prince in that key nighttime beach scene. [ Download ]

RELATED POSTS

• More awards for Coffee Prince
• Taereung National Village
• Coffee Prince behind-the-scenes special
• Second interview: Writer of Coffee Prince
• Gong Yoo’s Han Gyul exactly as writer pictured

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2008. | Permalink | 13 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Coffee Prince, Lee Yoon-jung, Triple