KBS premiered a new Monday-Tuesday drama this week, Invincible Lee Pyeong-gang (KBS World title: Taming of the Heir), to replace Princess Has Returned. Contrary to the historical costuming above, this drama is a contemporary piece but has sageuk bits woven through it, since the story references the folk tale upon which it is based (”Princess Pyeong-gang and the Fool On-dal”) in a comic way. This, I think, is the drama’s highlight, which I’ll go into more below.

The drama probably won’t make a dent in Queen Seon-deok’s continuing domination. Still, I love Nam Sang-mi, who I think has a lot of charm despite some middling performances. I find her most winning in comedy fare, and have been wanting to see her try more of it following Bad Family. She was adorable there, and she carries over a lot of similar plucky humor here.

I don’t think Invincible Lee Pyeong-gang is going to be a great drama, but there’s something about it that caught my interest. It’s cute if you like goofy, over-the-top romantic comedies. It’s not the best of the genre, but its fusion-sageuk angle has viewers calling it fresh and fun, and it’s a light counter to the other Monday-Tuesday programming out there.

SONG OF THE DAY

Invincible Lee Pyeong-gang OST – “나란 남자” by MC Mong [ Download ]

INVINCIBLE LEE PYEONG-GANG Episodes 1-2 >>

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KBS’s current Monday-Tuesday show, Princess Has Returned [공주가 돌아왔다], has been pretty unremarkable (in ratings and in response) and ends on a similarly quiet note this week. On the other hand, I’m looking at the show to take over its slot next week with some interest — Invincible Lee Pyeong-gang [천하무적 이평강] seems to have come together rather under the radar, but now it’s got me perked up in interest.

The drama blends together sageuk elements with the contemporary in its reimagining of the classic folktale of Princess Pyeong-gang and the Fool On-dal. The fusion drama stars Nam Sang-mi (Time of Dog and Wolf) and Ji Hyun-woo (My Sweet Seoul).

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Kim Heung-soo, Jung Chan

The director of movies Singles and I Like It Hot, Kwon Chil-in, is back for another movie titled Loveholic [러브홀릭]. (Speaking of which, can we have a moratorium on things called “Loveholic” now?)

The movie focuses on a “normal married couple” and features four main leads (two men and two women) with their intertwining love- and storylines. Cast as the lead is one of Kwon’s actors from I Like It Hot, Kim Heung-soo, also of dramas like Life: Special Investigation and Radish Kimchi. He’s half of the married couple and his character is described as “quiet but masculine.”

Meanwhile, throwing a wrench into the mix is his friend, played by Jung Chan (Lovers), a plastic surgeon who can’t help himself from falling in love with his friend’s wife, played by Chu Ja-hyun (Portrait of a Beauty). Han Soo-yeon (Doremifasolatido) rounds out the quartet. Jung has taken some time off to recover from an ankle injury, and is now getting back to work.

I can’t say the plot interests me much, but I do like the actors. Jung Chan’s was the only character I liked in Lovers — I hated Lee Seo-jin’s wishy-washy cheating gangster, and hated Kim Jung-eun’s mopiness, but loved! Jung Chan’s confidence and charisma. I even watched Auction House for him (although I couldn’t finish it, too boring). I should really watch more of his work.

Loveholic began shooting on July 20 and will wrap up production by September; it plans to release in December.

Via Star News, Star News

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Jang Nara arrives with father and brother

For the next ten days, the city of Bucheon, not far from Seoul in Kyunggi (Gyeonggi) province, is hosting the 13th Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival, or PiFan. (Like Pusan International Film Festival, the film festival has kept the old spelling and acronym although the city names are now romanized with the “B” instead of the “P.”)

PiFan is a genre film festival, focusing on thriller, mystery, horror, and fantasy selections. This year the festival screens more than 200 films in eight categories that include Family Fanta (fantastic genre films appropriate for families), Ani Fanta (animation, one of the festival’s main categories), World Fantastic Cinema, and Fantastic Shorts. The Retrospectives portion comprises a “City of Romance” subcategory, screening Hong Kong movies from the ’80s, as well as “Eroticscape,” featuring Korean urban erotica from the ’80s.

The festival opened on July 16, its red carpet walked by celebs like Jang Nara, Lee Jong-hyuk, and Gu Hye-sun. PiFan will close on July 26.

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