Filming has begun this week on the South-Korean-fighter-pilots-bombard-the-North blockbuster movie Red Scarf, wherein Rain (Runaway Plan B) goes Top Gun playing the fighter-pilot hero. Shin Se-kyung (High Kick Through the Roof) stars as his love interest.

The first shoots took place on March 15 at a Kangnam club in Seoul, and also featured actors Kim Sung-soo, Lee Hana, and Lee Jong-seok, all pictured below. (It still surprises me how Shin Se-kyung has been able to leapfrog her way over more experienced stars into plum leading roles like this one, and Blue Salt with Song Kang-ho and Chun Jung-myung. Girl has got some effective management, that’s for sure.)

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Read the rest of Rain takes the pilot’s seat in Red Scarf (187 words)

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Post tags: Kim Sung-soo, Lee Hana, Lee Jong-seok, Rain

Rain’s new movie Red Scarf, co-starring Shin Se-kyung as his love interest, is beefing up its cast with several new additions: Lee Hana (Triple), Kim Sung-soo (My Precious You), musical and film actor Yoo Joon-sang (Moss), and Secret Garden’s Tae-sun, Lee Jong-seok.

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Read the rest of More cast members join Rain’s Red Scarf (238 words)

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Post tags: Lee Hana, Lee Jong-seok, Rain, Shin Se-kyung, Yoo Joon-sang

Done! Finally!

I’m pretty conflicted about Triple‘s end — part of that has to do with the plot, but it’s more to do with the drama as a whole. More on that below.

SONG OF THE DAY

Triple OST – “짙은 바람” by Sub [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Triple: Episode 16 (Final) (3,780 words)

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Post tags: Kim Hee, Lee Hana, Lee Jung-jae, Lee Seon-kyun, Min Hyo-rin, Song Joong-ki, Triple, Yoon Kye-sang

I admit I approached Triple recaps with a bit of a “Let’s get this over with, sigh” attitude, but rewatching this episode reminded me of all the little touches that I enjoyed about it. I’ve been meaning to finish off this drama for ages, and never entertained the idea of dropping it. (Whereas, in contrast, I had to actively throw up my hands in frustration with My Sweet Seoul and A Star’s Lover because I just couldn’t keep going.) I feel bad about the delay because Triple is such an inoffensive show, and there are things I quite like about it, but I do think there are some fundamental issues that hindered it from being more — more memorable, more substantial, just more.

SONG OF THE DAY

Triple OST – “사랑은 지고 달빛은 빛나고” by Low-End Project [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Triple: Episode 15 (1,932 words)

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Post tags: Lee Hana, Lee Jung-jae, Lee Seon-kyun, Min Hyo-rin, Song Joong-ki, Triple, Yoon Kye-sang

I’ve previously mentioned the movie Fair Love, which depicts a romance unfolding between a 50-something bachelor (Ahn Sung-ki) and his friend’s 20-something daughter (Lee Hana). The film, which is described as light-hearted and humorous, was well-received at Pusan International Film Festival, and has now released a preview trailer, which is pretty cute (watch below).

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Read the rest of Fair Love turns Ahn Sung-ki into Korea’s Oppa (170 words)

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Post tags: Ahn Sung-ki, Lee Hana

When Fair Love screened at this year’s Pusan International Film Festival as part of its Gala Presentation, it was hailed by critics as “the year’s most lovable film” and received a lot of praise. The film stars Lee Hana (Triple) and one of Korea’s most-loved veterans, Ahn Sung-ki, and has set a date for its wide theatrical release: it will open in January 2010.

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Read the rest of Fair Love follows festival success with January premiere (120 words)

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Post tags: Ahn Sung-ki, Lee Hana

Two more episodes left…

It’s almost odd how Triple is nearing its end but doesn’t feel like it’s winding down. Perhaps that’s because it’s already so meandering to begin with, and I don’t mean that as an insult. It’s that this drama is SO slice-of-life that you almost don’t see an end in sight, because there’s no neat wrap-up for these stories. It’s like we started the drama mid-scene, so we may as well end it similarly and let the characters continue living out their everyday lives. This quality is, in my opinion, both Triple‘s asset and its liability.

SONG OF THE DAY

Lee Seon-kyun – “소년” (Boy). This is Lee Seon-kyun’s re-recording of the 1993 Yoon Sang song originally sung by Kim Hyung-joong of EOS (original version here). I actually like the other version better as a song, but I do love Lee Seon-kyun’s voice in just about anything. [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Triple: Episode 14 (1,938 words)

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Post tags: Kim Hee, Lee Hana, Lee Jung-jae, Lee Seon-kyun, Min Hyo-rin, Triple, Yoon Kye-sang

Only three more episodes to go…

I was watching this episode, again really pleased with the visual palette, the acting of Lee Jung-jae and his interactions with Min Hyo-rin, the cute and resilient Poong-ho, and the lovely music. And those attributes just irritated me even more with the story, because Triple really, really deserved a better plot. It has everything but story, but unfortunately, that’s really the only one thing that’s essential.

SONG OF THE DAY

Triple OST – “Feel Alright” by Zitten [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Triple: Episode 13 (2,151 words)

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Post tags: Kim Hee, Lee Hana, Lee Jung-jae, Lee Seon-kyun, Min Hyo-rin, Triple, Yoon Kye-sang

It’s funny how I’ve actually enjoyed watching the individual episodes of Triple — and found myself smiling through a few scenes in this one, for example — but in the larger context, it all kind of blurs together. How can something be pleasant and yet also dull? Or be refreshing and yet fail to make any sort of lasting impression? It’s a curious contradiction.

SONG OF THE DAY

Triple OST – Zitten – “Because” [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Triple: Episode 12 (2,906 words)

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Post tags: Kim Hee, Lee Hana, Lee Jung-jae, Lee Seon-kyun, Min Hyo-rin, Triple, Yoon Kye-sang

Triple is ending this week, and while I’ve enjoyed watching it, I’m finding that I’m in no rush to finish it. I think it’s because it feels like this series has been treading water for a while now. Yes, I understand that it’s a less-plot-driven, more slice-of-life sort of drama, but slice-of-life dramas still have to go somewhere. This meandering is both Triple‘s charm and its weakness; on one hand, it IS refreshing to watch relationships unfold without necessarily knowing exactly how the ending will turn out. On the downside, however, this is still a television series on a broadcast station that relies on the attention of its audience to stay afloat.

SONG OF THE DAY

Sung Shi-kyung – “Baby You Are Beautiful” [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Triple: Episode 11 (2,870 words)

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Post tags: Kim Hee, Lee Hana, Lee Jung-jae, Lee Seon-kyun, Min Hyo-rin, Triple, Yoon Kye-sang