KBS’s upcoming politics-themed drama President has added Kim Heung-soo to its cast, which piques my interest because this guy can be a pretty sexy bastard onscreen (which is the description that came most often to mind when watching romantic-comedy drama Invincible Lee Pyeong-gang, where he played a scheming villain).

It’s fitting, then, that he should play a confident Casanova here, described as free-thinking, frank, and fashionable. His Ki Soo-chan character is a political consultant who takes on the job of campaign manager for a presidential candidate. Though he starts off in the opposition’s camp, he’s scouted to the other side because he’s just that good.

That presidential candidate will be played by veteran actor and sageuk king Choi Su-jong (Dae Jo Young, Comrades), which makes this a reunion for him and Kim Heung-soo six years after they acted together in Emperor of the Sea. Notably, Choi’s real-life wife Ha Hee-ra will act as his onscreen first lady.

President will follow Runaway Plan B, which means that it’ll air directly opposite SBS’s big presidential drama, Daemul, for a few weeks before that drama wraps. Normally I’d say that there ain’t nobody in the K-drama world who could put up a fight against Go Hyun-jung when she’s on a hot streak (and I wouldn’t count on this drama toppling Daemul from its perch), but Choi Su-jong is a pretty formidable challenger in terms of name recognition, experience, and gravitas. While Dameul seems to be heading into makjang territory, I’m very curious to see how President approaches the subject from a different angle in devoting more time to the process of getting the lead into the Blue House.

President’s first episode airs December 8.

Via Mk.co.kr

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Post tags: Kim Heung-soo

Aie, is it that time of year again? We’re heading into the holiday months, which also means that awards season is about to descend upon us. (It’s still early, but I bet you’ll tire of them soon enough!) Here we have the 47th Grand Bell (Daejong) Awards, which were held on the evening of October 29, giving out awards to films in 22 categories.

The event was emceed by comedian Shin Dong-yub and actress Kim Jung-eun (I Am Legend), and big winners included Poetry, which notably won the best screenplay prize at Cannes; Moss, the dark thriller from the director of Silmido; Ajusshi, the dark thriller starring Won Bin, who picked up two awards; and Lee Min-jung, who likewise took home two trophies.

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Post tags: awards, Cha Ye-ryun, Chu Ja-hyun, Daniel Choi, Eom Ki-joon, Hwang Jung-eum, Jeon Do-yeon, Jin Gu, Jung Jae-young, Kim Heung-soo, Kim Jung-eun, Kim Sae-ron, Kim Yun-jin, Lee Min-jung, Min Hyo-rin, Oh Ji-ho, Park Hee-soon, Seo Young-hee, Shim Eun-kyung, Song Seung-heon, TOP, Won Bin, Yoon Yeo-jung

Here’s an on-set look at KBS’s Invincible Lee Pyeong-gang, which has taken up a small corner of the Monday-Tuesday prime-time lineup. While Queen Seon-deok rakes in the big numbers (although they did drop precipitously by over 10% after the exit of one big character who shall remain nameless for spoiler purposes), and while Angel’s Temptation is encountering smooth sailing as it goes uncontested in the previous hour, Pyeong-gang is quietly doing its thing. It is generally recognized for its cheery narrative even if it’s not commanding the big numbers.

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Post tags: Cha Ye-ryun, Invincible Lee Pyeong-gang, Ji Hyun-woo, Kim Heung-soo, Nam Sang-mi, Seo Do-young

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 ]

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Post tags: Cha Ye-ryun, Choi Myung-gil, first episodes, Invincible Lee Pyeong-gang, Ji Hyun-woo, Kim Heung-soo, Nam Sang-mi, Seo Do-young

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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Read the rest of Nam Sang-mi is the Invincible Lee Pyeong-gang (707 words)

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Post tags: Cha Ye-ryun, Choi Myung-gil, Invincible Lee Pyeong-gang, Ji Hyun-woo, Kim Heung-soo, Nam Sang-mi, Park Ki-woong, Seo Do-young, Yeon Mi-joo

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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Post tags: Jung Chan, Kim Heung-soo

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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Post tags: Ahn Sung-ki, film festivals, Gu Hye-sun, Jang Nara, Jo Jae-hyun, Joo Da-young, Kim Heung-soo, Lee Young-jin, Oh Yeon-seo