Dramabeans » Jung Kyung-ho

Army enlistment day for Jung Kyung-ho

javabeans — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 12:48:40 +0000

Another enlistment day for another actor: This time it’s Smile, You star Jung Kyung-ho, who headed off on the afternoon of November 30 for five weeks of training, to be followed by 20 months of active duty.

Jung debuted in the 2004 drama I’m Sorry, I Love You, and has since appeared in dramas Time of Dog and Wolf and Ja Myung Go — but it was really last year’s sweet, romantic family drama Smile, You, in which he starred opposite Lee Min-jung, that bumped him up to mainstream fame. I found him especially charming in that drama for being a hilarious example of the beta male — not always the most suave or the most commanding, but very endearing with his earnestness and spot-on comic timing. (He also had a nice role in a one-act drama, The Great Gye Choon-bin, which showcased a more somber, thoughtful side of his acting.)

Jung was sent off by a group of media and fans, and answered a few short questions before making his formal enlistment:

You’re enlisting in the midst of an unfortunate incident with the Yeonpyeong Island attack.

“With the current state of affairs, I have a heavy heart. But I’ll work hard and receive my training.”

Will you apply to serve in the entertainers’ unit?

“I haven’t thought about that yet, but I understand that there are currently no spots open in the entertainers’ unit.”

You’re older than most of your fellow soldiers. How do you think you’ll get along?”

“I’ll have to adapt myself to the ways of my younger friends. I think I’ll be able to do that.”

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Read the rest of Army enlistment day for Jung Kyung-ho (217 words)

Drama Special: The Great Gye Choon-bin

javabeans — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 02:00:29 +0000

I finally had a chance to give The Great Gye Choon-bin a whirl, which is a standalone episode in the KBS series Drama Special. The story synopsis caught my attention when it was first announced and I like both actors, so I was hoping for a fun hour. The episode turned out to be pleasantly entertaining — full of quirks and characterized by a low-key, indie-film sensibility.

The nice thing about the Drama Special series is that because each story is produced for television but essentially a mini-movie, you are able to tell a whole story without worrying about big hooks, big drama, or big angst. You also get stories running the gamut of genres, and it requires little commitment on the part of the viewer.

SONG OF THE DAY

Epitone Project – “선인장” (Cactus) [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Drama Special: The Great Gye Choon-bin (4,001 words)

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Post tags: Drama Special, Jung Kyung-ho, Jung Yumi

Jung Kyung-ho meets his Japanese fans

javabeans — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 16:00:32 +0000

Actor Jung Kyung-ho held his first-ever fanmeeting last weekend in Seoul, and followed that a week later with a fanmeeting in Tokyo. The event, held with an audience of 500, was part of promotional activities for his drama series Ja Myung Go that spanned two days, August 7 and 8.

The fanmeeting was held on the latter day at Tokyo’s IMA Hall and included a paht-bing-soo making session (bing-soo is a shaved ice dessert, and the paht version uses sweet red beans), which Jung shared with attendees. As Jung turns 27 on August 30, he also received birthday congratulations.

In typical fanmeeting fashion, Jung performed a song; he sang a selection from his 2004 drama I’m Sorry, I Love You called “소중한 사람” (My Precious Person), which you can listen to below. (It was originally posted in this Smile recap.)

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Read the rest of Jung Kyung-ho meets his Japanese fans (213 words)

Jung Kyung-ho holds first-ever fanmeeting

javabeans — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 12:30:09 +0000

Actor Jung Kyung-ho (Smile, Ja Myung Go) is holding the first fanmeeting of his career this weekend, which is also an early birthday party (he turns 27 on August 31, and the event occurs on the 1st). It’ll take place on Sunday afternoon at the SeongAm Art Center in Kangnam, Seoul.

Jung has been acting since 2004, but his newfound popularity mostly comes from the comic family drama Smile opposite Lee Min-jung last year. His management company, N.O.A Entertainment, explained that ever since that drama, his fans have been requesting fanmeetings.

Jung, who been preparing for the event for the past month, said, “I thank all my fans, who always treat me with sincere affection. I’ve wanted to get a little closer with them through an event like this, and I’m very glad to get this opportunity, thanks to my fans. I want to have the best time with them, and I’m extremely excited about it.”

Via OSEN

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Jung Kyung-ho clarifies military enlistment rumors

javabeans — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 20:15:24 +0000

There has been a wave of reports that actor Jung Kyung-ho (Smile) is up for army duty soon, and on July 9 his management company, N.O.A Entertainment, issued a statement to rebut those rumors and clarify the situation.

As a 1983-er, the clock is ticking for Jung but he has a little more time than his 1982-er counterparts, who must enlist by the end of the year. His rep explained that he will be going soon enough, but that he hasn’t yet received his draft notice. It was added, “When Jung Kyung-ho does receive his notice, he plans to enlist without delays, and the management company will make an official announcement through the press once his schedule is confirmed.”

In case you, like me, were curious about his Drama Special episode with Jung Yumi, titled The Great Gye Choon-bin, it had been previously scheduled to air last week but was postponed. It airs tomorrow, July 10, on KBS.

Via Chosun.com

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Jung Yumi teams with Jung Kyung-ho for Drama Special

javabeans — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 13:32:52 +0000

I’m happy about this news: After doing a string of film projects, Jung Yumi is coming back to television, three years after her last drama role in Que Sera Sera. She’s pairing up with Smile‘s Jung Kyung-ho in the next installment of KBS’s short-drama series Drama Special, titled “The Great Gye Choon-bin.”

The title is a play on the Fitzgerald novel The Great Gatsby (say “gye-choon-bin” super quickly, and you can kind of hear the reference). If it sounds slightly silly, that’s okay; the title is described as a “parody” of Gatsby, so there’s some leeway for interpretive fun. (There’s no indication that this is actually based on Gatsby, just the title.)

It’s just one episode, not a full drama series, but I’ll take it. The installment is a romantic comedy that centers around a “unique, quirky, and upbeat” kindergarten teacher (Gye Choon-bin, played by Jung Yumi) and a timid “art therapist” named Wang Ki-nam (played by Jung Kyung-ho). Despite his profession in therapy, Ki-nam himself suffers from acute fear of the dark. As he meets Choon-bin, he starts to treat his fears and also falls in love.

The story sounds adorable and I have hopes that the leads will elevate the material; they’re both talented actors with an offbeat charm. Quirky and cheery is certainly a role Jung Yumi can play — she’s played a version of that in several projects and does it brilliantly. Jung Kyung-ho showed wonderful comic timing in Smile and I can already see the couple being engaging and funny.

The Great Gye Choon-bin will be Drama Special‘s Episode 7, and airs on July 3.

Via BNT News

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© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2010. | Permalink | 30 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Drama Special, Jung Kyung-ho, Jung Yumi

Smile: Episodes 34-35

dw4p — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 23:30:25 +0000

These two were fun, sweet episodes. Nothing earth shattering but sweet and clean. Kind of like the next door puppy when she comes up to me for a belly scratch. I don’t love her like my dog but she’s sweet enough to smile at and play with for a few minutes. Smile has become like that for me. I don’t especially look forward to it nor do I think about it after the fact, but it’s a nice sweet moment while it’s in front of me. So onward with the recap!

SONG OF THE DAY

Jo Won-sun – “Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do” [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Smile: Episodes 34-35 (2,721 words)

© dw4p for Dramabeans, 2010. | Permalink | 39 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Jung Kyung-ho, Lee Chun-hee, Lee Kyu-han, Lee Min-jung, Smile

Smile: Episodes 32-33

soyjoy — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 15:25:19 +0000

These episodes were pretty tongue-in-cheek, bringing back the charm that’s been missing in the last umpteen episodes. Track suits aside, the moment above reminded me of the Royal Tenenbaums—this ensemble cast has really hit its stride, having established their character quirks and playing off each other for comedic effect.

Two things: Jung-kil bonding with Hyun-soo is actually really fun to watch. And the cute factor between Jung-in and Hyun-soo is BACK. Which means, this series is officially back in action. Let’s roll!

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Read the rest of Smile: Episodes 32-33 (3,114 words)

© soyjoy for Dramabeans, 2010. | Permalink | 24 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Jung Kyung-ho, Lee Min-jung, Smile

Smile: Episodes 30-31

dw4p — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 03:20:07 +0000

Surprisingly, rewatching these two episodes weren’t as torturous as I thought it would be. I wouldn’t say I enjoyed it, but just as soyjoy mentioned in her last recap, I can sympathize with the writer’s plight to stretch out a storyline by 16 episodes. Now that Smile has ended, I can look back and see how the frustrations of these two episodes fit into the big picture. But man oh man, it’s taking a circuitous and nonsensical route to get there. (More on this later.)

The one person that I’m enjoying immensely is Lee Chun-hee. I’ve recently finished watching the masterpiece, Conspiracy (BEST) in (DRAMA) the (EVER) Court (directed by the man behind Chuno) and my little crush on Lee has turned into a full on lovefest. I’m sure we’ve all had our fangirl/boy moments, so you’ll have to excuse my indulgence on all things Sung-joon in the recap. I especially found his scenes with Hyun-soo to be quite amusing and endearing. And the bathroom scene above where Sung-joon turns on the water is so reminiscent of Chunderella (see last recap by soyjoy) that it made me giggle with glee.

SONG OF THE DAY

Conspiracy in the Court OST – “일월지가” (Song of Sun and Moon) by Sunye of Wondergirls
[ Download ]

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Read the rest of Smile: Episodes 30-31 (3,151 words)

© dw4p for Dramabeans, 2010. | Permalink | 21 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Jung Kyung-ho, Lee Chun-hee, Lee Min-jung, Smile

Smile: Episodes 28-29

soyjoy — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:58:57 +0000

First, let me say that I’m sorry and embarrassed for taking SO long to do this recap. I intended to get this done about two weeks ago, but despite the best of intentions, I simply couldn’t keep up.

I imagine that’s how the writer felt, too, when she got slammed with writing 16 more episodes… and it shows. Episodes 28 & 29 are out of whack with the rest of the series: they’re weepers, but of the kind that make your eyes roll rather than tear up. There were some moments that made me smile, but most of them were due to Sung-joon and Ji-soo, which is why they get this recap’s top billing.

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Read the rest of Smile: Episodes 28-29 (2,654 words)

© soyjoy for Dramabeans, 2010. | Permalink | 33 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Jung Kyung-ho, Lee Min-jung, Smile