MBC’s Iljimae, formerly known as Lee Seung-gi’s Iljimae, has got its work cut out for it, following SBS’s recent hit with Lee Junki’s Iljimae. And that was even before Lee Seung-gi dropped out of the titular hero role in a move that had many disappointed with his replacement, teen heartthrob Jung Il-woo, who had shot to fame playing a rebellious, silently brooding teenager in the family sitcom Unstoppable High Kick.

He did follow that with a part opposite Lee Yeon-hee in the “omnibus” (multi-vignette) film My Love, but then Jung Il-woo’s star kinda sputtered and he faded from the limelight, so this news came while his popularity was on the wane.

On July 30, he resurfaced on his own homepage with a post titled “Already been a year” and talked about his upcoming Iljimae role.

“It’s already been a year since High Kick ended… Since then, many projects have been canceled and I’ve struggled and worried a lot, so I think it’s better to do a project and regret it than to not do a project and regret it.”

…which, actually, makes some sense.

“I’ll be seeing you possibly in November, or at the latest, January. It’s true that there have been a lot of worries and discussion about it, but any project is bound to have burdens and concerns. I’ve taken a break for a long while, and I’ll come back that much more grown-up and mature.”

I’m not all that excited about seeing Jung Il-woo as Iljimae, but I’ve gotta give him props for recognizing (and admitting) that the drama’s got a rocky road ahead of it. Some might say it’s better to not admit your faults lest you draw attention to them, but I’m pretty sure everyone was aware of theirs. Plus, it’s worse when people brag about disasters in the making as though they live in some alternate-reality bubble, willfully ignoring the opinions of the public they hope to attract.

MBC’s Iljimae is scheduled (for now) to begin in November, and co-stars Kim Min-jong (Woman of Matchless Beauty Park Jung-geum, Hyena) and new actress Yoon Jin-seo.

Via My Daily

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Tags: Iljimae, Jung Il-woo

Filed under: Drama Casting & News by javabeans - 5 Comments →

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.

Via Star News, E Daily

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Tags: fanmeetings, Han Hyo-joo, Iljimae, Lee Junki, Lee Young-ah, Park Shi-hoo

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Lee Seung-gi has left the cast of MBC’s upcoming Iljimae, only to be replaced by… Jung Il-woo?

On July 9, his management issued the reason: “Because Iljimae kept being pushed back and will film in China for a month, it will add difficulty to his shooting for 1 Night 2 Days. His departure from the drama was achieved through mutual agreement on both sides.”

Now the two Iljimae leads will be played by Jung Il-woo and Yoon Jin-seo (Beastie Boys), which MBC plans to air in November.

I call BS, since he seemed willing enough to leave 1 Night 2 Days (which is, after all, merely a stint on a variety program versus headlining his own big-name drama) before SBS’s Iljimae came out starring Lee Junki. Perhaps they’d held out hope that SBS’s drama would flop and are now using 1 Night as their excuse to back out. MBC’s drama, directed by Goong PD Hwang In-roi, had originally boasted an advantage over SBS, securing the licensing rights to the books upon which the story of Iljimae is based, but now it’ll face an uphill battle trailing such successful competition.

That means Jung Il-woo will leave his role in MBC’s upcoming ice-skating drama Triple, directed by Coffee Prince PD Lee Yoon-jung and co-starring “luxury nose” possessor and rookie singer Min Hyo-rin (he as a speed-skater, she as a figure-skater). Triple has now been pushed back to next year.

And… I no longer care to watch Iljimae. I’d been hoping that MBC’s version would provide an interesting variation, particularly since I didn’t love the SBS version. And yet, while I would happily watch Jung Il-woo in a cast of young trendy actors doing a fluffy ice-skating drama, I really don’t think he’s gonna be able to pull off a sageuk hero.

In other casting news, Moon Sori (Legend, Forever the Moment) has been selected to lead MBC’s new weekend family drama Golden Years of My Life, also starring Lee So-yeon (Why Did You Come To Our House?). The drama is drawing attention with its writer-director combo: Surgeon Bong Dal-hee writer Lee Jung-seok and Trap of Youth PD Kwan Rok-eui. It follows the currently airing Woman of Matchless Beauty, Park Jung-geum.

Meanwhile, Seo Hyo-rim (little sis from Insoon is Pretty) has been cast with Song Hye-gyo and Hyun Bin in their upcoming KBS2 series The World They Live In, directed by Full House (and Insoon) PD Pyo Min-soo. The drama starts filming at the end of July and plans to air in November.

Finally, Moon Jung-hee, currently in SBS’s Friday drama My Sweet Seoul, has lined up her next project as SBS’s new morning drama Daughter-in-Law and Daughter-in-Law, to follow Aquarius. She’s the daughter-in-law who works through issues with the new in-laws in this “warm” family drama, starting July 21.

Via OSEN, Star News, My Daily, Sports Chosun, No Cut News

SONG OF THE DAY

Lee Seung-gi - “미련한 사랑” (love that won’t let go) [ Download ]

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Tags: Iljimae, Jung Il-woo, Lee Seung-gi, Lee Yoon-jung, Min Hyo-rin, Moon Jung-hee, Triple

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MBC’s When Night Comes, SBS’s Iljimae

 
The following article from OSEN takes a look at the difference between the types of dramas on the air these days. I find a lot of mainstream entertainment press to be oversimplified (I’m sure I’m just not looking in the right places), but it’s something to chew on, for those of us who are curious about the relationship between ratings and the popularity/quality/success of a drama — as much as we all like to say it doesn’t matter.

Popular Dramas, Buzzworthy Dramas — There’s a Difference

There are dramas that bring in high viewership ratings but don’t get talked about much. On the other hand, there are also dramas that don’t pull in strong ratings numbers but are constantly being discussed. A drama’s content, actors, and its PR are all potential factors in drawing attention, but they don’t necessarily correlate to good ratings. Because there are many ways to watch a drama these days, the significance of ratings is gradually receding, but it’s still the primary factor in deciding advertising, and is the standard for measuring popularity. …

SONG OF THE DAY

Gourmet OST - “너에게” (To you) by Casker. I’m still trying to catch up on Gourmet, but for now I will say it has a standout soundtrack. [ Download ]

 
More popular and buzzworthy dramas >>

Tags: daily dramas, drama ratings, Gourmet, Iljimae, La Dolce Vita, Lee Dong-wook, manhwa adaptations, mania dramas, My Sweet Seoul, Oh Yeon-soo, sageuk dramas, Sohn Ye-jin, Spotlight, Strongest Chil Woo, When Night Comes, You're My Destiny

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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 ]

First dates, by which I mean… >>

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

Filed under: Drama Reactions & Reviews by javabeans - 101 Comments →

• Su Ae will have the distinction of being director Lee Joon Ik’s first female lead actress after he made his name with male leads in The King and the Clown, Radio Star, and The Happy Life. In You’re Far Away [님은 먼곳에], she’s a woman who becomes a traveling performer during the Vietnam War in search of her husband who went off to serve. Shot in Thailand, the movie releases July 24.
• In response to the audience’s issues with the CG in the recently premiered Iljimae, PD Lee Yong Seok admitted on Internet message boards that he had to “sacrifice realism” and use CG for actor and crew “safety.” Yes, because realistic plots and characterizations are so unsafe. He defended his use of the invisibility cloak, saying, “It might look awkward to adult eyes, but I figured that it would be a fun treat for young fans of Harry Potter.” What, no Quidditch?
• Currently promoting Girl Scouts and filming her new drama When Night Comes, Kim Sun Ah has revealed that she’s no longer with her boyfriend from her Samsoon days. She explains wanting a boyfriend who can understand her job as an actor (or perhaps be one himself).
• Crown J, enjoying a rise in popularity from the MBC variety show We Got Married, is pairing up with supa-star Jang Dong Gun in a Max Beer CF. Apparently they spent so much time filming Crown J that Jang Dong Gun joked, “Hey, what about me? I can do a good job too…”
• Shinhwa singer Kim Dong Wan has considered appearing on We Got Married — if his partner can be Hwang Bo: “I think I’m the only person who can show her dual personality” (easygoing on the outside, but with an extremely feminine side). He joked that it’s something her partner on the show, Kim Hyun Joong, can’t pick up on due to his youth — but he can. Kim Dong Wan is currently promoting his second solo album.
• A gay couple marries on cable channel tvN’s program Coming Out, which follows two gay couples who live together over seven episodes and records them as they plan their wedding. Aww. The program airs on May 26.

 
SONG OF THE DAY

3rd Coast - “My Soul” [ Download ]

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Tags: Hwang Bo, Iljimae, Jang Dong-gun, Kim Dong-wan, Kim Sun-ah, news bites, Su Ae

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