It’s not unheard of for movie stars to visit other film sets in support of friends, but the unannounced arrival of Won Bin on the set of the new film Le Grand Chef 2: Kimchi Battle came as a surprise, particularly since Won Bin is known for lying low and not doing a making a lot of appearances.

Kimchi Battle is the sequel to the popular original film starring Kim Kang-woo (which was based on the same manhwa that was adapted into the drama Gourmet with Kim Rae-won). It stars Kim Jung-eun and Jin Gu, the latter with whom Won Bin acted in his recent film Mother. He’d also once shared the same management with another cast member, Wang Ji-hye, and had worked on the movie Taegukgi (which solidified his status as a top star) with Kimchi Battle’s producer Lee Sung-hoon.

According to one source, the visit was completely unplanned and Won Bin came bearing snacks for the staff and greeted the director and actors individually. He is currently taking a break after finishing promotional activities for Mother, and is considering his next project.

Via Sports Seoul

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• Mother will get a U.S. theatrical release
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• Kim Jung-eun prepares for a kimchi battle
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• Gourmet (SBS)

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It was announced a while back that the 2007 hit film Le Grand Chef (which spawned the successful drama series Gourmet) would be coming out with a sequel, which has been cast with a new set of actors.

The original film starred Kim Kang-woo, Im Won-hee, and Lee Hana; the sequel, Le Grand Chef 2: Kimchi War, stars Kim Jung-eun (Forever the Moment, General Hospital 3) and Jin Gu (Mother). It wouldn’t be Le Grand Chef without main character Sung-chan, who has been portrayed by two different actors already, Kim Kang-woo in the film and Kim Rae-won in the drama. Jin Gu will give the character his own spin as the third Sung-chan.

Interestingly (to me, at least), despite being one of the main leads, Kim Jung-eun hasn’t been cast as Sung-chan’s love interest but rather his older half-sister. The two were entrusted with differing kimchi-preparing techniques by their separate mothers, and as you may know, kimchi-making can be a fiercely competitive thing (the older the ajumma/grandma, the fiercer the pride, it seems). Sounds like a simple plot, but both the drama and film were able to find success for its lovely execution, so perhaps Le Grand Chef 2 will prove to be enjoyable, if not strictly necessary.

To prepare, Kim has been busy with cooking lessons; she explains that she enjoys cooking as a hobby, and is fairly comfortable with her way around a kitchen. The film begins shooting in mid-July, and is aiming for release later this year.

Via Sports Khan

RELATED POSTS

• Tazza and Le Grand Chef sequels in the making
• General Hospital may get third season
• A Rising Star for Kim Jung-eun
• Gourmet (SBS)

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Yoo Oh-sung

Swallow the Sun [태양을 삼켜라] has something of a puzzling name (imo), although I suppose it’s more evocative than the “All In 2″ it’s been dubbed (due to the reuniting of the PD and scriptwriter from the original All In). It’s also another of the highly anticipated summer dramas (although not so much for me), and will air on Wednesdays and Thursdays on SBS.

The drama features a pretty extensive cast list (see below), headed by Ji Sung (New Heart), Lee Wan (Insoon Is Pretty), and Yoo Oh-sung (Invisible Man Choi Jang-soo), who play close friends since their UDT (underwater demolition) training days. The ladies include Sung Yuri and Go Doo-shim.

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Won Bin is currently in France for the Cannes Film Festival, along with the cast and director of his latest film, the Bong Jun-ho-directed thriller Mother (see pics below); this coincides with his latest France-set photo shoot (with the Eiffel Tower in the background, natch) for the June issue of Harper’s Bazaar.

Inside the magazine, the “original pretty boy” talks about acting and films, as well as his five-year hiatus, his days starting out as an actor, his family, hometown, and other diverse topics.

Mother releases on May 28 and will be his first film in five years.

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