Actress Han Ji-min (Cain & Abel) has put out a book titled We’re Already Friends — Han Ji-min’s Philippines Donation Book, which includes stories of her time spent in a deep mountain village in the Philippines helping at a village school. (The book also contains drawings, which Han drew herself.)

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Post tags: books, good deeds, Han Ji-min

Finally, some news on Lee Junki’s new drama, Hero [히어로], which was announced last year but has remained rather quiet. The drama was first titled “Strange Heroes,” then “Unseen War,” and is now back to “Hero,” although the production indicates it is a working title.

Cast as the female lead is Cain and Abel’s spunky Han Ji-min, who plays a passionate reporter with a strong sense of responsibility who often grows furious at social irregularities. Lee Junki’s a reporter who rushes recklessly into accidents and incidents without fear; he’s also a guy “who doesn’t have much, nor does he want much.” As ordinary citizens, the reporters stand up against the inequalities between society’s masses and its very elite.

Lee Junki and Han Ji-min have both had very good luck with their last few projects; his Time of Dog and Wolf and Iljimae were both action hits, while her Cain & Abel and Yi San both enjoyed good ratings. We’ll see if that luck continues when they combine forces in this latest project.

Hero will begin filming in September when it finishes casting. The series will air on Wednesdays and Thursdays on MBC this fall.

Via OSEN

RELATED POSTS

• Lee Junki 2009 in Japan for Splendor
• Lee Junki back in Japan
• Junki’s “Episode 2: The Mask” concert
• Cain & Abel: First impressions
• News still from Cain & Abel
• Legal issues resolved for Lee Junki
• Another hero role for Lee Junki

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Post tags: Han Ji-min, Hero, Lee Junki

How time flies, huh? It felt like just the other day I was writing up my first impressions on the SBS revenge drama Cain & Abel, and now it’s already over. (The last episode aired Thursday, April 23.)

As with other popular shows I haven’t followed, I’m opening this up to an Open Thread, so you can discuss Cain & Abel’s run, its ending, whatever, go wild. (Previous end-of-drama open threads: Tazza, East of Eden).

Starting next week in Cain’s Wednesday-Thursday SBS timeslot is Kim Sun-ah’s City Hall.

SONG OF THE DAY

Cain & Abel OST – “운명” (Fate). One of these days I’d like to see a kdrama soundtrack (particularly a thriller) NOT feature a song named “운명.” Just for a change, you know? [ Download ]

RELATED POSTS

• Currently airing dramas: A roundup
• Cain & Abel: First impressions
• Showing some brotherly love for Cain and Abel
• New stills from Cain & Abel

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Post tags: Cain and Abel, Chae Jung-ahn, Han Ji-min, Shin Hyun-joon, So Ji-sub

Caveat: This isn’t a proper recap. It’s not even a proper review. After catching the first few episodes, I wasn’t intending to write about SBS’s new Wednesday-Thursday drama, Cain & Abel, but I got a lot (a lot!) of emails from people asking what I thought of it and requesting recaps.

The thing is, I didn’t know how I would feel about Cain & Abel going in, but was expecting one of a few scenarios: to love it or to hate it. To be drawn in right away or turned off right away. To be impressed or to be disappointed.

What I did NOT expect, however… was to be bored.

SONG OF THE DAY

Cain & Abel OST – “미련한 사랑” (Foolish love) by G (So Ji-sub) (he’s the rapper) and Chae Dong-ha [ Download ]

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Post tags: Cain and Abel, Chae Jung-ahn, episode recaps, Han Ji-min, Shin Hyun-joon, So Ji-sub

So Ji-sub and Shin Hyun-joon may be cast as competitive brothers embroiled in strife, but they look anything but antagonistic in front of reporters, no?

SBS is about to premiere its new drama, the (long, long-)awaited Cain & Abel, which follows the just-ended Star’s Lover on Wednesdays and Thursdays. (With the big names of A Star’s Lover failing to attract ratings — the Choi Ji-woo and Yoo Ji-tae-led series went out with a disappointing 6.2% — SBS is hoping that this star-studded series will have better luck.)

The high-profile cast was on hand for the drama’s production press conference, which was held in North Chungcheong on the afternoon of February 13. The drama airs its first episode next week, on February 18.

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Read the rest of Showing some brotherly love for Cain & Abel (153 words)

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Post tags: Cain and Abel, Chae Jung-ahn, Han Ji-min, Shin Hyun-joon, So Ji-sub

Cain & Abel has released some new stills to stir up interest as it gears up for its premiere. The series will take SBS’s Wednesday-Thursday slot over from the current drama A Star’s Lover.

The release of new photos comes with the opening of the drama’s official website (http://tv.sbs.co.kr/cain). In the show, So Ji-sub (I’m Sorry, I Love You) and Shin Hyun-joon (Last Present) play brothers and doctors, whose rocky relationship is thrown into conflict (naturally!) over two women, played by Han Ji-min (Capital Scandal) and Chae Jung-ahn (Coffee Prince).

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Post tags: Cain and Abel, Chae Jung-ahn, Han Ji-min, Shin Hyun-joon, So Ji-sub

Note: The following is taken from a Korean article, so the opinions therein aren’t necessarily my own. Still, it’s a look into the trends we can expect in the coming year of dramas. (For instance: Not one, but TWO figure-skating dramas?)

2009 looks like a bright new year. This year, there are many dramas to be produced and aired that may capture viewer hearts. Last year, the economic slump and the shrinking of the drama market caused many difficulties for drama production, a number of dramas still drew viewer notice.

Last year, the sageuk, which used to be a sure thing, fell back, and professional-themed series like medical- or broadcast-centered dramas came into the spotlight. Also, daily and weekend dramas that were strongly criticized had high ratings with trite characters, sharp contrasts between good and evil, conventional conflicts, extreme plot setups, and so forth. On top of that, there were many dramas looking to score success featuring top stars that failed.

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Post tags: Cain and Abel, Chae Shi-ra, Cinderella Man, drama production, Go Hyun-jung, Han Ji-min, IRIS, Iron Empress, Ja Myung Go, Ji Sung, Kim Tae-hee, Lee Byung-heon, Lee Yo-won, Min Hyo-rin, Park Min-young, Queen Seon-deok, Return of Iljimae, Shin Hyun-joon, So Ji-sub, Sung Yuri, Swallow the Sun, Triple, Yoon Kye-sang