I have not followed the drama Stormy Lovers, but I admit my interest is piqued by the latest news that the MBC drama is being cancelled, cut short by more than half its run due to low ratings.

Stormy Lovers is a daily drama, which means it airs Monday Through Friday (in the 8 pm hour). In my wholly unscientific recollection of past daily dramas, because of the steady dinnertime audience, it’s not unusual for dailies to pull in 30%+ ratings, and sometimes even 40%+. (Examples: You’re My Destiny, Everybody Cha Cha Cha, Smile Donghae.) So it’s disappointing that Stormy Lovers has been resting in the 5% to 8% range. Even if I recall reading quite a bit of criticism about the bad acting of lead actress Choi Eun-seo (of Personal Taste, in her first leading role).

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Read the rest of MBC cuts another drama short, angers people (318 words)

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Post tags: Cha Soo-yeon, Choi Eun-seo, Choi Myung-gil, drama ratings, Hwanhee, Jung Bo-seok, Jung Chan, Lee Jae-yoon

Choi Eun-seo played bratty Hye-mi in Personal Taste earlier this year, which was the highest-profile role of her young career to date. Now she’s getting her first leading role, and will head an MBC daily drama called Stormy Lovers [폭풍의 연인], which also stars Fly To the Sky singer Hwanhee.

This drama tells the story of the love and hardships encountered by a woman who is disabled but possesses a beautiful spirit. Choi Eun-seo plays that character, named Shim Eun-hye, whose physical healing and recovery will be expressed symbolically within the story. You may recall Choi in her first big break, the youth series Sharp #2, or from teeny parts in Dal Ja’s Spring and Coffee Prince.

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Read the rest of Choi Eun-seo in first leading role opposite Hwanhee (436 words)

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Post tags: Cha Soo-yeon, Choi Eun-seo, Choi Won-young, Hwanhee, Jung Chan

Take a look at the famous faces featured in the exhibition “THE Faces” by Koyote singer Bbaek Ga (real name Baek Sung-hyun), which opened on May 11.

The subjects of the photos — which include singers and actors like Eugene, Hwanhee, Wheesung, Hwang Bora (above), and Yoo Ah-in — also came to the opening of the exhibit to take a look at the finished product.

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Read the rest of Bbaek Ga’s photo exhibition “The Faces” (230 words)

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Post tags: Bae Soo-bin, Bbaek Ga, Brian, Eru, Eugene, Hwang Bo, Hwang Bora, Hwanhee, K.Will, photo shoots, Shoo, Yoo Ah-in

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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Post tags: Ahn Jae-wook, Gong Hyung-jin, Hwanhee, I Love You, Seo Ji-hye