Jang Hyuk, Han Hyo-joo, Oh Ji-ho

With her hot drama Brilliant Legacy heading toward its close (and achieving a 40% rating), Han Hyo-joo has picked out her next drama, which she’ll begin filming right away. The series is Chuno [추노, or Pursuing Servants] and it casts Han in the role of a daughter to servants (sometimes translated as slaves, though there are arguments against that nomenclature) in the mid-Joseon era.

She will act alongside Jang Hyuk (Tazza) and Oh Ji-ho (Queen of Housewives), who are two actors who strike me as seeming rather “modern” for a sageuk like this (Han has previous sageuk experience, although Iljimae was really a fusion drama). However, I have to look upon this drama with a favorable eye if only for its director, PD Kwak Jung-hwan, who also did the wonderfully dark fusion sageuk thriller Conspiracy in the Court [한성별곡]. Writing is Level 7 Civil Servant screenwriter Chun Sung-il.

Aside from Jang Hyuk and Oh Ji-ho, Lee Jong-hyuk (Crush and Blush, Rivals) and Gong Hyung-jin (I Love You, Dal Ja’s Spring) have also been cast. Okay, one WTF moment: I understand that Oh Ji-ho’s career has experienced a rejuvenation with Queen of Housewives‘ massive popularity, but he’s not really getting top billing over Lee Jong-hyuk, is he? (And in a historical drama to boot?)

The drama is produced by the company behind Level 7 Civil Servant, Harimao Pictures, and is scheduled to air on KBS Wednesdays and Thursdays in October following Please Take Care of the Lady (aka the former Lady Castle).

Via Asia Economy, Star News

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SBS’s current Monday-Tuesday drama, sageuk King and I, is coming to a close, and moving to replace it is the upcoming drama billed as “a lively and sweet love story for a different, new-generation couple,” I Love You. The romantic-comedy series is based on a manhwa of the same name, whose creator also wrote the manhwa upon which the upcoming drama Gourmet is based. Following in the newer trend, the 16-episode drama has already finished filming, meaning its production will have completed well before its premiere date in March.

Starring are Ahn Jae Wook (Oh Pil Seung Bong Soon Young, Star in My Heart) and Seo Ji Hye (Over the Rainbow) in a somewhat mismatched pairing — he’s 36 (counting by Western standards), she’s 23 — although the unlikeliness of the couple is part of the point. Her naive 21-year-old bank employee character meets his 35-year-old comic-book-writer character on the subway, and mistakes his behavior for harassment. Thus begins their relationship, which complicates when she becomes pregnant and he’s less than thrilled about it.

Also cast are Hwan Hee of pop ballad duo Fly to the Sky in his second acting gig (his first was alongside Seo Ji Hye in Over the Rainbow), who’ll be paired with new actress Park Hye Young, as well as philandering lawyer husband Gong Hyung Jin (who played philandering Sae Do from Dal Ja’s Spring) and his long-suffering wife, Jo Mi Ryung.

The drama differs from its original source — the manhwa starts with the couple’s marriage, whereas the drama starts pre-wedding — and handles such issues as premarital pregnancy, abortion, cheating, and other sex-related topics “in a light fashion.” Ahn Jae Wook explains, “If the topic of premarital pregnancy is treated overly seriously, the drama becomes less like a light show that can be watched with family and more like a documentary.” Seo Ji Hye adds: “Filming this drama has made me think lots of happy fantasies of married life, and it makes me want to get married.”

Hmm, I’m on the fence about this one. I’m all for a light-hearted series, but Seo Ji Hye and Ahn Jae Wook seem such an awkward pairing — which I know is the point — that I’m not sure how I’ll like it. And I haven’t really enjoyed anything SBS has put out recently — their series have nice acting and nice moments but the ones I’ve seen recently tend to the low-stakes, low-tension end of the spectrum.

Via Kyung Hyang News

SONG OF THE DAY

Fly to the Sky – “Kissing You” [ zShare download ]

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