Han Hyo-joo throws the opening pitch (”a faster pitch than other female celebrities”) for the Doosan–Lotte game.
July 31, Jamsil Baseball Stadium, Seoul.
Iljimae’s Han Hyo-joo (also of Spring Waltz, As Much as Heaven and Earth) is expanding her repertoire to include songwriting and singing.
The song she sings and helped write (as she was singled out as the lyric writer, presumably music credits belong elsewhere) serves as the theme song for the upcoming film Race On, Bicycle [달려라 자전거], for which the cast held their movie press conference on July 25. The song, sharing the same title as the movie, is used in the last scene.
Race On, Bicycle is directed by Im Sung-woon and depicts young love (both “sweet” and “painful,” the kind of puppy love that leaves a lasting impression). Han Hyo-joo plays a university student, while her love interest is played by co-star Lee Young-hoon (GP506).
Personally, I like Han Hyo-joo as a celebrity but I think she’s still got a long way to go as an actor — she’s still pretty green and I think her biggest detractor is that she hasn’t figured out a way to commit 100% to her characters yet. She’s a natural in front of the camera and gives off a sweet radiance (I’d like to see her try something edgy), but her acting has yet to develop real presence. I haven’t a clue if she’s talented as a singer, but something tells me this song is probably a one-off deal and not really an attempt to add careers.
The movie releases August 7.
Via Asia Economy
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The cast and production team of SBS’s Iljimae gathered at Yongsan CGV today (July 24) to watch the finale of the drama together. The hit fusion sageuk premiered on May 21 to viewership ratings of 14.8%, which steadily climbed over the course of the drama’s run to end in the near-30% range.
In attendance was the drama’s star, Lee Junki, with co-stars Lee Young-ah, Han Hyo-joo, and Park Shi-hoo, as well as PD Lee Yong-seok. Approximately 400 to 600 attendees were present (the numbers vary according to different reports), most of whom were members of Lee Junki’s fan club and the drama’s online fan café members. [SPOILER, highlight to read] By the way, it appears the fans are in a spot of denial about the drama’s ending, saying, “He may have died, but he’s not really dead.” Which sounds to me like dude’s dead. Reading the article’s summary of the ending, wherein Iljimae confronts the eeeevil king and engages in a hard fight against the king’s men, it also seems to bear similarities to the ending of Hong Gil Dong, actually, which was an ending I appreciated but would rather avoid repeating in more dramas of its kind. Chil Woo had better stay alive, is all I’m sayin’. [/SPOILER]
Lee Junki and PD Lee both expressed their thanks for the fans and staff, although Lee Junki did wish they’d had more time to present a better finale episode (”If we’d had more time, we could have shown you a better result, but I’m a little disappointed that we weren’t able to do that”), referring to how things fell behind schedule. Apparently the drama finished filming its last episode… on the day the last episode aired. (Yeesh! The last time I heard of something that frantic was with Fantasy Couple’s finale, which sounded insane.)
The drama Working Mom (starring Yeom Jung-ah and Bong Tae-gyu) will air in Iljimae’s time slot starting next week, on July 30.
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SBS’s Iljimae isn’t necessarily BAD… if you don’t mind over-the-top, ham-fisted schlock. Perhaps that’s harsh, but I have a bad feeling about it — it’s like Hong Gil Dong but less realistic, which tells you a lot right there. The series starts off with grown-up Iljimae in an action sequence that is as ridiculously cheesy as it is logically riddled with holes. Then, as many sageuk dramas do, we jump back to childhood to establish our characters in the Tragedy! and Chaos! that informs their adulthoods, and it’s in the past that the series does a borderline decent (though convoluted) job of building the intertwining relationships.
The current-time sequence that starts us off is what bothers me most — because although we spend a mere ten or fifteen minutes in that time period before the story jumps backward and improves, I know we’re going to be returning to the “present” time eventually. And when it does, if things continue in the vein of the series start, I am going to be incapacitated by Howls of Laughter at the Ridiculous.
The acting ranges from acceptable to laughably over-the-top, the directing is okay, the effects are not as good as they could be, the music is pretty good, and Lee Junki is as much a ham as he ever was. (He’s always had a tendency to overact, and his best moments are when he pulls back from his excess. He doesn’t restrain himself much here.) Can I see why the series got off to a quick start and healthy ratings? Yes. Do I agree? Umm… not really.
SONG OF THE DAY
Gummy - “따끔” (sting) [ Download ]
With On Air winding to a close, SBS is prepping its next Wednesday-Thursday series to take its place: Iljimae starring Lee Junki as the titular honorable thief and Han Hyo Joo as his love interest.
SBS provided viewers with a first glance at Iljimae with a teaser spot after last week’s On Air broadcast, and has just come out with a second trailer (watch below). I admit the trailer looks flashy — is the traditional sageuk dead? Are all historical dramas now taking on budgets and scales of movie proportions? — but I can’t say I’m too excited. But I’ll still be keeping an eye on it, partly because I like Han Hyo Joo and partly to see how it compares to MBC’s version starring Lee Seung Gi, slated to air later this year.
SBS’s Iljimae is produced by Green Snake Media (Jumong, Lobbyist), with PD Lee Yong Seok (Korea Secret Agency aka Invincible Parachute Agent, and sub-PD on War of Money) and writer Choi Ran, whose credits run toward more educational programming with TV Talks Book and HD History Special. It airs its first episode on May 21
Via Segye.com
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Best Actress winners Yoon Eun Hye (drama), Kim Min Hee (film)
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 ]
Full awards list for the 44th BAEKSANG AWARDS >>
