And now to conclude the Big 3 Broadcaster awards with SBS, featuring some of the most popular dramas of the year. Tree With Deep Roots was the big winner of the night, winning six trophies in total, including the Daesang for Han Seok-kyu, and the Top Excellence Award for Best Drama. There were no big upsets in any category, because they kind of have a category for everyone, but that’s the name of the game. I’m just happy for Han Seok-kyu’s big win, and the fact that he didn’t have to share the glory with any split-award hullabaloo.

Protect the Boss cleaned up as well, winning Best Couple and acting awards for the stars, as well as an additional netizen popularity award for Choi Kang-hee. As expected, Thousand Day Promise had a strong showing in the acting categories, as did fellow melodrama Scent of a Woman. It certainly was the year for tearjerkers. The winners…

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Read the rest of 2011 SBS Drama Awards (1,653 words)

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Post tags: awards, Choi Kang-hee, Eom Ki-joon, Gu Hara, Han Seok-kyu, Im Soo-hyang, Jaejoong, Jang Hyuk, Jeon Gwang-ryul, Ji Chang-wook, Ji Sung, Jung Kyeo-woon, Jung Yumi (2), Kim Rae-won, Kim Sun-ah, Lee Dong-wook, Lee Mi-sook, Lee Min-ho, Lee So-yeon, Lee Yo-won, Seo Hyo-rim, Shin Hyun-bin, Shin Se-kyung, Song Joong-ki, Su Ae, Wang Ji-hye, Yoon So-yi

The 16th Busan International Film Festival opened on October 6, and the red carpet to the opening screening — So Ji-sub and Han Hyo-joo’s tragic romance Only You — was awash with stars.

(For those of you used to seeing the festival called PIFF, it recently changed its spelling. The festival is in its 16th year and began back when the city was spelled Pusan. The spelling of the southern city officially changed to Busan in 2000, but the festival kept its former spelling, which naturally led to some confusion. Yeah, the Korean romanization system changes hasn’t been the most easy to follow.)

It’s been a while since we’ve had a big, star-packed red carpet, but this reminds me that we’re heading into awards season, and will soon be seeing lots of events like this. Which means, lots and lots of red carpets to ooh over, or, as the case may be, snark.

There were some questionable outfits (always fun), but overall I really like what I saw, even if there was an overwhelming trend toward leg slits Up To There and a good amount of side-boob. But the colors! Yay for colors!

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Read the rest of 16th Busan International Film Festival’s opening red carpet (1,347 words)

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Post tags: Byun Jung-soo, Cha Seung-won, Daniel Choi, Eom Ji-won, film festivals, Go Soo, Gu Hye-sun, Han Hyo-joo, Hong Su-ah, Hwang Woo-seul-hye, Jang Dong-gun, Ji Sung, Jung Seok-won, Kang Hye-jung, Kang So-ra, Kang Ye-won, Kim Dong-wan, Kim Haneul, Kim Min-joon, Kim Sae-ron, Kim Sun-ah, Lee Beom-soo, Lee Je-hoon, Min Hyo-rim, Nam Sang-mi, Park Jin-hee, Park Ye-jin, So Ji-sub, Sung Yuri, Wang Ji-hye, Yeh Ji-won, Yoo Ah-in, Yoo Inna, Yoon Jin-seo

We’re in for a whole new ride with today’s theme: Protect the Boss – Last Team Standing. It’s an episode of adventure for some, horror for others, and still yet, some cast members are near non-existent in this episode. Who do you think the bosses are? Guess wisely though, because things are not always as they appear…

EPISODE 59. Broadcast on July 31, 2011

When our cast arrives, they’re immediately paired off as they await their mission. Jae-suk waits for his team partner – could it be Choi Min-soo? After all, he did ask to be scheduled for Running Man again to get revenge on Jae-suk. But no, it’s Kwang-soo, who runs to meet him like the Kwangvatar he is. It looks like the new name suits him, given his tall stature and long legs, much like an Avatar straight out of James Cameron’s blockbuster.

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Read the rest of Running Man: Episode 54 (1,517 words)

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Post tags: Choi Kang-hee, featured, Haha, Ji Suk-jin, Ji Sung, Kang Gary, Kim Jong-kook, Lee Kwang-soo, Running Man, Song Ji-hyo, Yoo Jae-suk

We’ve got posters and character promo stills out for SBS’s Protect the Boss, and I have to say that this drama is slowly growing on me with what appears to be an offbeat, wacky vibe. It just may be quirky enough to work.

I wasn’t initially too enthralled by the chaebol hero and the boss-secretary setup (Ji Sung and Choi Kang-hee, respectively), but this looks like no typical K-drama setup, and no typical chaebol. Instead of being the coolly perfect businessman we’ve become so familiar with in dramas, this hero’s kooky and eccentric, while she literally kicks ass. The plot unfolds as she undertakes Project Tame The Errant Boss, and romance ensues.

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Read the rest of Protect the Boss posters and character stills (121 words)

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Post tags: Choi Kang-hee, Jaejoong, Ji Sung, Protect the Boss, Wang Ji-hye

What weird stills. I guess they’re taking the title literally for SBS’s upcoming Protect the Boss (at least in the fight scenes at the bottom of the page) — and they sure weren’t joking when they described the leading man played by Ji Sung (Royal Family) as a “deficient boss.” In fact, you could sum up the plot of this “lively romantic comedy” as Project: Tame the Bad Chaebol, which is the drama’s description of its story, not mine.

The stills here come from the shoots for the drama’s title sequence, and I’d say they’re pretty good at capturing the antagonism and bickering that characterizes the boss’s relationship with his new secretary (Choi Kang-hee), with whom he’ll fall in love eventually. Meanwhile, his perfect cousin-rival (Jaejoong) provides a sharp counterpoint to the hero’s eccentric personality with his tailored suit and polished appearance.

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Read the rest of Protect the Boss takes its name literally (133 words)

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Post tags: Choi Kang-hee, Jaejoong, Ji Sung

Maybe third time’s the charm: The SBS romantic-comedy series now titled Protect the Boss has already ditched two previous titles, The Boss Has Changed and Last Secretary. Let’s see if it sticks this time.

The drama has also added another cast member to join its main four of Choi Kang-hee (the new secretary), Ji Sung (the boss), Jaejoong (the sharp businessman), and Wang Ji-hye (the cool lawyer). Now rookie actress Lee Hee-won, pictured above, joins them to play Jaejoong’s perfectionist secretary.

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Read the rest of Protect the Boss changes name, adds to cast (193 words)

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Post tags: Choi Kang-hee, Jaejoong, Ji Sung, Lee Hee-won, Wang Ji-hye

SBS’s upcoming rom-com series Last Secretary has been renamed The Boss Has Changed, which is a title change I like; already it goes from sounding vaguely serious to light and fluffy, which is what you want in a romantic comedy, no?

The drama has also finalized its lineup. The first two to be confirmed were Choi Kang-hee (My Sweet Seoul) as our heroine and Lee Hee-jin (Best Love) as the hero’s friend and senior secretary at his company. Looks like the latter has dropped, but now, we can add Ji Sung (Royal Family), Hero Jaejoong (Heaven’s Postman), and Wang Ji-hye (Personal Taste) to that list.

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Read the rest of Last Secretary becomes The Boss Has Changed (292 words)

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Post tags: Choi Kang-hee, Jaejoong, Ji Sung, Wang Ji-hye

New drama alert! Choi Kang-hee (Petty Romance) is returning to television in SBS’s new Wednesday-Thursday drama Last Secretary, which airs later this summer.

In it, she plays a heroine despairing at her inability to find employment, when she’s hired as a secretary in a major company and falls for her boss. Of course. (One of these days, I’d love to see her fall for the guy at the bottom of the office totem pole. Or the cute coffee clerk in the lobby. Or the IT geek. Just something different.) Given that 34-year-old Choi Kang-hee is famous for her own baby face, the immediate premise reminds me of Baby-Faced Beauty (if the heroine fell in love with the hot boss instead of her co-worker) — although, admittedly, the secretary-boss dynamic is hardly new and can be found, oh, everywhere.

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Read the rest of Choi Kang-hee back to TV with Last Secretary (267 words)

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Post tags: Choi Kang-hee, Ji Sung

The first preview has been released for MBC’s Royal Family, which follows My Princess but bears very little resemblance to that show, despite the similarity in their names. Where My Princess is fluffy and romance-centric, Royal Family is going for a darker, more serious vibe, as you can see in the video

The “royal” part of the title is metaphoric, and refers to the chaebol’s status as modern-day royalty; the teaser refers to the people occupying the top 0.01% of society. Nothing like extreme riches and elitism to make characters relatable, hm?

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Post tags: Ji Sung, Royal Family, Yeom Jung-ah

MBC’s upcoming drama Royal Family has cast its lead actors, pairing Yeom Jung-ah (Jeon Woo Chi) with Ji Sung (Kim Suro, Swallow the Sun). The drama had previously teased the possibility of casting Lee Mi-yeon as the lead, but went with Yeom instead.

Yeom is an actress I haven’t seen much, but I think I like this casting better; she had a role in the fantasy-action flick Jeon Woo Chi and the 2008 drama Working Mom, but I remember her most strongly from the fascinating psychological thriller Tale of Two Sisters, where she was superb. (Trivia! She played Im Soo-jung’s stepmother there, then teamed with her in Jeon Woo Chi to play her rival.)

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Read the rest of Royal Family finalizes its leads (192 words)

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Post tags: Ji Sung, Royal Family, Yeom Jung-ah