Kim Jae-wook — Dramabeans

Entries in the 'Kim Jae-wook' Category

Kingdom of Wind aims young with some idol faces

Posted on September 7th, 2008

' title=

I’ll admit I haven’t paid much mind to KBS’s upcoming sageuk (and manhwa adaptation) Kingdom of Wind because, well, I never cottoned on to Jumong and felt no particular thrill to see Song Il-kook back in his old-fashioned threads playing Jumong’s grandson.

But I will say I’m a little surprised at the casting of two up-and-coming new pretty boys who have hitherto been known mostly for their good looks, in their first sageuk roles: Coffee Prince’s Kim Jae-wook, pictured above, and Kim Hye-sung, who’s just started expanding his repertoire (Jenny, Juno; Unstoppable High Kick) to more daring roles, like the queer short Boy Meets Boy. (Well, everyone knows that when you want to prove your acting mettle, you either go theater or sageuk.)

Furthermore, three of Kingdom of Wind’s main cast are also making their first sageuk attempts: lead actress Choi Jung-won (Infamous Chil Princesses), supporting actress Oh Yoon-ah (Old Miss Diary, Someday), and actor Park Gun-hyung (Dancing Princess). Generally I find that an actor’s first time in a sageuk is often marked by stiff, awkward acting (because the cadence of a historical drama is so different from a modern one), but the mark of a versatile actor is one who adapts to the new milieu quickly.

Must be their strategy to try to rope in the younger viewers, I suppose? The drama’s competition will be MBC’s Beethoven Virus, with whom it shares a premiere date — this Wednesday, the 10th — and SBS’s Painter of the Wind, which premieres two weeks later on the 24th.

Via My Daily

Filed under: Drama Casting & News by javabeans - 8 Comments →

Stars mourn Lee Eon

Posted on August 20th, 2008

As previously reported, actor Lee Eon’s sudden death early on the morning of August 21 has proved a shock to the entertainment community.

Celebrities came garbed in funeral blacks to pay their respects to their deceased colleague/co-star/friend at the mortuary area in the hospital where the deceased’s body is being kept until the funeral service. Yoon Eun-hye arrived in tears at Seoul’s Soon Chun Hyang University Hospital, as did fellow Coffee Prince co-star Kim Jae-wook, who appears to still be stunned, reportedly sobbing as he kept his face hidden behind his hair. (Pics of the stars, and in particular Kim Jae-wook, make me feel uncomfortably voyeuristic; I admit to an interest in seeing pics, but not when they are clearly intrusive in such a raw moment.)

His co-star from drama Strongest Chil Woo, actor Yoo Ah-in, also showed up, grim-faced. If you’re wondering why certain people haven’t yet paid their respects, I’m sure they’ll be making their way to the funeral area as they learn about the accident today. I haven’t seen pics of the rest of his Chil Woo castmates, but apparently they were among the earliest to receive word. Eric received the phone call at 3am and headed directly to the hospital, along with cast and crew members, including Gu Hye-sun and PD Park Man-young.

Yoon Eun-hye with her party; Yoo Ah-in

Others who came by were former co-star Ryu Deok-hwan, and supermodel Park Dool-seon. (She is one of the main stars of modeling reality show I Am a Model, which Lee Eon was involved with; he had also reportedly dated supermodel Jang Yoon-joo, one of Park Dool-seon’s colleagues.)

His mother understandably was in a huge state of shock, and apparently still in denial; she resisted being led to the funeral room, wanting to go to a hospital room instead, as though unable to digest the truth.

Also, a report was issued contradicting early beliefs that the accident occurred on Lee Eon’s way home after the Chil Woo wrap party. A new report suggests that Lee Eon had already arrived home, then left again, after which he was in the accident. Some sources speculate that he had been on the way to the club where he had worked as a DJ. I’m sure these details will be sorted out in due time.

As to questions of his sobriety at the time of his death, police have stated that tests will be conducted to determine whether he was drunk, but will not have the results for approximately a week. Lee Eon is, however, reported to not be much of a drinker.

PD Lee Yoon-jung, who’d directed Lee Eon in Coffee Prince, also shared her words of grief, saying, “I don’t know what to say. I plan to pay my respects tonight. Lee Eon had a special passion for acting and was always a source of support for staff on the film set. He was a good person.”

The funeral service is planned for August 23. Other details as yet unconfirmed.

Kim Jae-wook, Park Dool-seon, Ilac

Via Yonhap News, Newsen

RELATED POSTS

Lee Eon dies in accident

Tags: Eric, Kim Jae-wook, Lee Eon, Lee Yoon-jung, star accidents, Yoo Ah-in, Yoon Eun-hye

Filed under: Celebrity News by javabeans - 48 Comments →

Kim Jae Wook’s “ice fortress”

Posted on November 16th, 2007

The Dear Cloud music video that Kim Jae Wook, aka Coffee Prince’s Waffle Sun Ki, had agreed to appear in for free (because the band members are his close friends) has come out, along with the band’s first album. Watch the video below.

The MV is for the main track off the album, “얼음요새” (Ice Fortress), and I’d mentioned earlier that I wasn’t quite sold on the band’s music based on preliminary listens. But now that I’ve had a chance to listen to the album in full, I’d say Dear Cloud is a band to keep an eye on.

The music can be generally described as melodic rock, but it demonstrates a bit more range than that mere term. At times moody and mellow, some of the songs sound similar to indie rock bands Adult Child or Bluedawn, while others have a stronger edge and are more in the vein of Nell or Peterpan Complex. Listen for yourselves…

SONG OF THE DAY

Dear Cloud - “얼음요새” (Ice fortress) [ zShare download ]

RELATED POST:

Waffle boy returns

Tags: Kim Jae-wook, music videos

Filed under: Kpop News by javabeans - 30 Comments →

Waffle boy returns

Posted on October 31st, 2007

Aren’t you glad there’s news on pretty-pretty model-actor Kim Jae Wook, aka Waffle Sun Ki?

This time, he’s making news for appearing in the music video for new artists Dear Cloud — for free. The band is described absurdly by Sportainment news as “British modern rock” (dude, British is a nationality, not a genre!), and its members are close friends with Kim Jae Wook.

Dear Cloud

I haven’t been able to get my hands on the music, but from what I’ve heard (via streaming), they’re mellow pop rock, like a quieter My Aunt Mary or — to go with the Britrock comparison — a bit like Travis or Keane. Which means I don’t know if I like them or not — they’re melodic and listenable, but could verge on bland. Or not.

Following the success of Coffee Prince, Kim Jae Wook had received lots of offers from big-name singers and artists to appear in their music videos, but he chose to focus carefully on his own future and declined the offers. However, upon hearing that his friends’ band was coming out with their debut album, he wanted to offer whatever help he could, and made the proposal to appear in their music video, under the condition that he wouldn’t get paid for it. He explained: “I’m really glad to have been able to participate with my friends in their first step into the recording industry.”

Dear Cloud is with Antenna Music, the same company managing Toy and Lucid Fall, and their title track is called “얼음요새” (Ice Fortress). You’ll have to wait till mid-November to see the music video, but you can start drooling now.

Source: Sportainment

SONG OF THE DAY

Instant Romantic Floor - “The Last Waltz”
[ zShare download ]

RELATED POSTS:

Tags: Kim Jae-wook, music videos

Filed under: Celebrity News by javabeans - 13 Comments →