Awards, awards, awards! And tons of pretty people.

As with yesterday’s MBC Drama Awards, note that winners are decided in part due to popularity, in part due to ratings and politics. That said, I don’t think anyone will argue with their Daesang winner, Shin Ha-kyun (below), who has been tearing it up on Monday and Tuesday nights with medical drama Brain.

Also no surprise was the awarding of runner-up acting prizes to The Princess’s Man‘s pair, Park Shi-hoo and Moon Chae-won (above), which bagged a number of awards.
As did weekend hit Ojakkyo Brothers.

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Read the rest of 2011 KBS Drama Awards (2,271 words)

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Post tags: awards, Chun Jung-myung, Daniel Choi, Eugene, Han Eun-jung, Han Hye-jin, Hong Soo-hyun, Hwang Woo-seul-hye, Jang Nara, Joo-won, Jung Jin-young, Jung Woong-in, JYP, Kim Min-seo, Kim Soo-hyun, Lee Jang-woo, Lee Jong-hyuk, Lee Shi-young, Lee Yoon-ji, Moon Chae-won, Moon Jung-hee, Park Jung-ah, Park Min-young, Park Shi-hoo, Shin Ha-kyun, Suzy, UEE

I actually really like the tone and feel of this show, which is a nice changeup in the current k-drama landscape. It starts out light and goofy, but it’s well-acted, so the dramatic turns don’t feel weightless. I’m a fan of cop procedurals to begin with, but I’ve honestly never seen a solid one in kdramaland. This might actually be the first time I stick with one. We’ll see how it goes.

The first two episodes premiered to low ratings (7-8% range), which isn’t surprising given that The Duo just got its adult cast going, and has had a few weeks’ head start. I think Crime Squad isn’t the type of show to be a breakout hit anyway, but so far I like it best out the current Monday-Tuesday lineup.

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Read the rest of Crime Squad: Episode 1 (3,216 words)

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Post tags: Crime Squad, featured, first episodes, Kim Joon, Lee Jong-hyuk, Song Il-kook, Song Ji-hyo, Sung Ji-ru

Crime Squad preview is out!

I’m a little ashamed to say that my main takeaway from the trailer is supremely shallow: OMG Lee Jong-hyuk, why so hot? I’m even a little sorry, as I don’t even care that Kim Seung-woo dropped out, paving the way for Lee Jong-hyuk’s inclusion as the cold-hearted police chief.

My second response is a little more substantive: The drama is, to my surprise, going for a much lighter, almost outright comedic tone than I’d suppose of a crime-procedural. I was anticipating something more along the lines of 2007′s cop drama H.I.T starring Go Hyun-jung, and instead it’s more like 2009′s comedy-melodrama Hero. (Given that H.I.T was (pardon the pun) a hit and Hero a huge flop, I’m not sure that’s the most promising comparison, but there ya have it.)

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Read the rest of Preview clip for KBS drama Crime Squad (170 words)

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Post tags: Kim Joon, Lee Jong-hyuk, Song Il-kook, Song Ji-hyo, Sunwoo Sun

With Crime Squad premiering next month, we have a couple new batches of stills from the procedural cop drama. Frankly, it bums me out a little that I like the cast so much, and yet find the plot so humdrum. (Kangnam police station + criminals + investigations. Eh.) Well, here’s to hoping that the story surprises with some added interest. It could happen.

Looks like Lee Jong-hyuk is now fully onboard and incorporated into the cast as well, after being a late replacement for Kim Seung-woo, who dropped out due to personal reasons. And…I think a lot of fans are happy about him, to put it mildly. I think if anyone were to match Kim Seung-woo as the cold-hearted (yet totally hot) bastard police chief, it would be him.

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Read the rest of More scenes from police drama Crime Squad (197 words)

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Post tags: Kim Joon, Lee Jong-hyuk, Song Il-kook, Song Ji-hyo, Sunwoo Sun

Say it ain’t so!

It looks very likely (update!) is now confirmed that Kim Seung-woo will be dropping out of his upcoming drama, KBS’s Crime Squad, despite the late date. Only a month before the show’s premiere, producers confirmed with the press that Kim has decided to leave because of personal reasons, and that it’s not because of injuries sustained during IRIS shoots.

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Read the rest of Kim Seung-woo to drop Crime Squad (203 words)

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Post tags: Kim Seung-woo, Lee Jong-hyuk

Here’s #2 in our First Episodes series: 2005′s thriller-revenge-melodrama Green Rose, a 22-episode SBS series which starred Go Soo and Lee Da-hae.

I don’t talk about this drama much so you may not have seen this recap coming, but I wanted to mix things up a little and highlight a show that seems to fly under the radar a bit. Although at the time, Green Rose was hardly low-flying; it had solid ratings that surpassed 30% and was extended by 2 episodes (having originally been planned for 20).

So what is Green Rose about? At the core you’ve got a young man who becomes the fall guy for something much larger than himself, whose happy life is turned upside-down and devastated, who comes back even stronger to reclaim what he lost. Corporate malfeasance, arson, attempted murder, a frame job, gangsters, industrial espionage, wrong-side-of-the-tracks love, revenge… yep, it’s got ‘em all. The pace is zippy, the hero sympathetic, and after his downtrodden beginnings, his road to revenge is enough to you a warm feeling of satisfaction.

SONG OF THE DAY

Green Rose OST – “그린로즈” (Green Rose) by Just [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Green Rose: Episode 1 (3,694 words)

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Post tags: featured, first episodes, Go Soo, Green Rose, Lee Da-hae, Lee Jong-hyuk

It’s always cool to see fans giving gestures like this one, in support of an actor and his current project. Lee Jong-hyuk (Chuno, Crush and Blush) was surprised by his fan club on the 25th, who organized a boxed lunch for the 80 staffers on the set of his KBS Saturday-Sunday drama Marry Me.

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Read the rest of Lee Jong-hyuk’s fans buy drama staff lunch (122 words)

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Post tags: Lee Jong-hyuk

Chuno has taken a very serious turn, and I was extremely surprised by what happened in the last episode. It is as if PD Kwak gathered together all of the Chuno writers, and announced, “Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I think we can make Dae-Gil’s life even more brutal…” and then all of them started chanting in unison, “blood, blood, blood…” If you don’t know what happened in Episode 14, I suggest you hit that recap first (wonderfully written by thundie), and then come back here.

SONG OF THE DAY

Long Long Way To Go – by Def Leppard [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Chuno: Episode 15 (3,470 words)

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Post tags: Chuno, Jang Hyuk, Lee Da-hae, Lee Jong-hyuk, Oh Ji-ho

Hi, I’m thunderbolt and I’m the last of the 2009 year-end reviewers writing a Chuno recap. That means there are five of us recapping what many believe will be crowned Drama of the Year. Some detractors, however, think Chuno is more joke than jewel. Varying opinions aside (and it is not unusual to feel conflicted about the drama’s merits and flaws, changing one’s mind from episode to episode or even frame to frame), there is no denying we are looking at some truly outstanding production values.

As this is my first recap for Dramabeans, I must warn readers that my recaps have been likened to grandmothers’ tales, filled with digressions and make-believe. Also, my inability to think or write linearly (read: “As It Unfolds”) means my comments are scattered everywhere. Don’t send a ferocious slave hunter (eyes blazing, dagger pointing sideways) after me because of that!

SONG OF THE DAY

Return of Iljimae OST (Yearning) by Bae Hae-sun. I recently finished The Return of Iljimae and can’t stop thinking about it. I’ve chosen two songs whose titles and lyrics match the scenes being recapped.
[ Download ]

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Read the rest of Chuno: Episode 14 (5,758 words)

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Post tags: Chuno, Han Jung-soo, Jang Hyuk, Kim Ji-suk, Lee Da-hae, Lee Jong-hyuk, Oh Ji-ho

Well, this is the episode! It took 10+ years, thousands of miles, scores of drawings and over a dozen episodes, but this interminable story line of near-miss after near-miss has finally come to an end. Dae-Gil has found his beloved Un-Nyun. But this Un-Nyun is not the beautiful and carefree slave girl of Dae-Gil’s memory. No, this runaway slave has gone and turned herself into a noble woman named Hye-Won and on top of that, and on this day of discovery, she is marrying someone else. On this day of days, Hye-Won is dressed in her wedding finery and is marrying another runaway slave – former General Song Tae-Ha. A day late and a nyang short, Dae-Gil takes out his blade.

SONG OF THE DAY

“Here Without You” – by 3 Doors Down [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Chuno: Episode 13 (4,082 words)

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Post tags: Chuno, Jang Hyuk, Lee Da-hae, Lee Jong-hyuk, Oh Ji-ho