Dramabeans » Lee Jong-hyuk

Han Hyo-joo goes from Cinderella to Chuno

javabeans — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 04:59:24 +0000

Jang Hyuk, Han Hyo-joo, Oh Ji-ho

With her hot drama Brilliant Legacy heading toward its close (and achieving a 40% rating), Han Hyo-joo has picked out her next drama, which she’ll begin filming right away. The series is Chuno [추노, or Pursuing Servants] and it casts Han in the role of a daughter to servants (sometimes translated as slaves, though there are arguments against that nomenclature) in the mid-Joseon era.

She will act alongside Jang Hyuk (Tazza) and Oh Ji-ho (Queen of Housewives), who are two actors who strike me as seeming rather “modern” for a sageuk like this (Han has previous sageuk experience, although Iljimae was really a fusion drama). However, I have to look upon this drama with a favorable eye if only for its director, PD Kwak Jung-hwan, who also did the wonderfully dark fusion sageuk thriller Conspiracy in the Court [한성별곡]. Writing is Level 7 Civil Servant screenwriter Chun Sung-il.

Aside from Jang Hyuk and Oh Ji-ho, Lee Jong-hyuk (Crush and Blush, Rivals) and Gong Hyung-jin (I Love You, Dal Ja’s Spring) have also been cast. Okay, one WTF moment: I understand that Oh Ji-ho’s career has experienced a rejuvenation with Queen of Housewives‘ massive popularity, but he’s not really getting top billing over Lee Jong-hyuk, is he? (And in a historical drama to boot?)

The drama is produced by the company behind Level 7 Civil Servant, Harimao Pictures, and is scheduled to air on KBS Wednesdays and Thursdays in October following Please Take Care of the Lady (aka the former Lady Castle).

Via Asia Economy, Star News

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Post tags: Chuno, Gong Hyung-jin, Han Hyo-joo, Jang Hyuk, Lee Jong-hyuk, Oh Ji-ho, sageuk dramas

KBS nominates (practically everyone) for acting awards

javabeans — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 13:29:35 +0000

Like MBC before it, KBS has also released its list of year-end acting award nominees.

And while Hong Gil Dong (above) wasn’t the most prominent drama featured among the contenders (that would have to be the daily drama Mom’s Dead Upset, which brought in a whopping four nominations just in the Daesang category), it’s the one I watched and enjoyed in what I thought was a rather lackluster list. (Also! Kang! Ji! Hwan!)

The (very long) list of KBS actors is topped by a subset of nine Daesang contenders, which includes the aforementioned crowd of Mom’s Dead Upset veterans as well as Song Il-kook in the sageuk Kingdom of the Wind, Kim Sang-kyung in the sageuk Great King Sejong, and Kang Ji-hwan in the fusion-sageuk Hong Gil Dong. (A big sageuk year, no?)

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Post tags: awards, Hometown of Legends, Hong Gil Dong, Jang Geun-seok, Kang Ji-hwan, Kim Ji-soo, Lee Hana, Lee Jong-hyuk, Park Min-young, Rivals, Sung Yuri, Women in the Sun, You're My Destiny

Preview event for Portrait of a Beauty

javabeans — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 16:36:41 +0000

The film Portrait of a Beauty [미인도] held its press conference and VIP preview on November 4, and a bevy of VIPs showed up to catch an advance look at the risqué period film. It has attracted much comparison to the drama series Painter of the Wind (see trailer below), as both deal with the life of the Joseon artist Shin Yoon-bok. They also seem to share a similar cinematic flair, although obviously there are key differences between a film and a drama series.

The cast also talked to reporters at a press conference, led by lead star Kim Min-sun and her co-stars Kim Young-ho, Chu Ja-hyun, and Kim Nam-gil, who for some reason has changed his stage name from Lee Han (of Goodbye Solo, When Spring Comes). I don’t get this whole changing-names-mid-career thing (see also: Go Jun-hee). Why bother at this point?

Portrait of a Beauty opens to the public on November 13.

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Post tags: fashion, Han Hye-jin, Jeon Hye-bin, Jung Ryeo-won, Kim Haneul, Kim Hye-soo, Kim Min-sun, Kim Nam-gil, Lee Jin-wook, Lee Jong-hyuk, Lee Jung-jae, Lee Tae-ran, press conferences

News bites: September 29, 2008

javabeans — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 18:51:54 +0000

It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these, huh?

Newlywed Park Eun-hye is returning to work following a recent miscarriage of what would have been her “honeymoon baby” (she wed in April). She plans to attend the upcoming Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF), which screens her film Night and Day.
Speaking of which, Kim Rae-won (Gourmet) and Han Eun-jung (Lawyers of Korea) will take a particular place on Wednesday’s opening-night red carpet at PIFF, as brand models for the festival’s sponsor, L’Oreal Paris.
Song Il-kook had his day in court and won; the reporter who accused him of assault (whom he countersued for false accusations) has been sentenced to a year’s imprisonment. Ouch. We may never know the truth of whether he struck her as claimed, but a year in the slammer seems harsh. Well, that’s what happens when you go up against a rich actor with powerful connections.
Sigh. Things are hard enough for Ahn Jae-hwan’s widow Jung Sun-hee, whose husband killed himself over large amounts of debt, and has endured accusations of kidnapping Ahn by his sister. She underwent an additional round of police questioning, spending four hours at the police station on the 29th. Jung roundly denies Ms. Ahn’s claims, and also denies rumors that she’s heading overseas for rest (which doesn’t sound like a bad idea, actually — the press was all over her collapses at Ahn’s funeral, and she again collapsed after emerging from the police station).
I don’t think many people outside of Korea are watching cable drama Chosun Police [조선과학수사대 별순검], but the MBC Dramanet fusion sageuk gained a following as a “Chosun-era CSI” and is now set to launch its season 2. The production press conference was on the 29th, featuring lead actor Lee Jong-hyuk, who admitted he’d purposely avoided watching Season 1; he wanted to differentiate his character from its original actor, Ryu Seung-ryong.
Kim Min-jung (26, of New Heart) has been cast in the lead of MBC’s drama 2009 Foreign Baseball Team, which was originally a hit manhwa in the ’80s. Actors Yoon Tae-young (Legend’s Hogae), Park Sung-min (Legend’s Saryang), Park Jung-hak (Kingdom of the Wind), Song Ah-young (Moon Hee), and Kim Sun-kyung (Legend’s Lady Yeon) are also cast. There’s a whole lotta Legend there. It should air sometime next year.
After spending most of his recent energies trying to make a dent in the international film scene, Rain is back to kpop after two years away with his fifth album. He’s announced that his title track will be a dance song, followed by a ballad, to go on sale in October. Rain, here’s a fundamental rule of showbiz: Show, not tell. We’re happy to welcome ya back if your work is good, but g/d I’m sick of hearing so much about it.

2nd Chungmuro International Film Festival

javabeans — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 18:56:18 +0000

Stars came out in full force, from A-listers and all the way down, to the opening night of the 2nd Chungmuro International Film Festival, held on September 3. The celeb list boasted some big-name actors and even a few kpoppers (Girls Generation) who turned out in fine feather on the red carpet. (Well, minus a few sartorial misses.)

Attendees included the likes of Chae Rim (above), Jang Dong-gun (below), and event representative Kim Jung-eun, for starters.

The festival, headed under the theme “Discovery, Restoration, Creation,” runs over the next week and closes on September 9.

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Post tags: Chae Rim, Choi Su-jong, Eom Ji-won, Eugene, fashion, film festivals, Girls Generation, Ha Ji-won, Jang Dong-gun, Kim Jung-eun, Kim Min-joon, Lee Hana, Lee Ji-hoon, Lee Jong-hyuk, Lee Mi-yeon, Shin Ae, Shin Hyun-joon, Yoon So-yi

News bites: April 26, 2008

javabeans — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 21:04:31 +0000

Sung Yuri is set to appear in her first solo talk show appearance on SBS’s new The Star Show; the show concept is centered on deep conversation with “big stars.” Originally veteran actor Choi Min Soo was scheduled for the show’s second episode, but that was scrapped with his recent scandal for beating up a 70-year-old man. Episode airs May 5.
Chae Rim admits to having her eyes done on a recent episode of Happy Together. She was also asked, somewhat uncomfortably, “Why don’t you get married?” (uncomfortably because of her public divorce). She broke the awkward mood and explained, “When I see others living with their husbands, I don’t really feel envious.”
In the same episode, MC/funnyman Yoo Jae Seok revealed he’d gone to the same university as Chae Rim and Rivals co-star Lee Jong Hyuk, but he’d never graduated (he’d been working as a comedian and had to often leave to go to the broadcast station).
In middle school, Kim Rae Won was always ranked (academically) in third place — from the rear. (He continued, “I quit playing basketball, shocked to hear my grades wouldn’t be good enough to continue to high school, so I started studying harder.”) He’s currently filming manhwa-based drama Gourmet.
Epik High rapper Mithra Jin has a girlfriend (Tablo disclosed the fact when the group appeared on Love Letter on the 26th). Mithra said that although that’s true, they only have time to meet once every two or three weeks to confirm they’re still alive.
Go Soo was released from military duty on April 25, and he sure looks happy. Welcome back, dude.
…and goodbye to pop singer Eru, who took the stage to bid goodbye before beginning his military service next month (May 1), appearing on MBC’s Music Core on the 26th with new hit group Mighty Mouth. He performed, appropriately enough, the song “Last Concert.”

SONG OF THE DAY

Mystic Puzzle – “A Fairy Tale” (Featuring Epik High) [ Download ]

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Post tags: Chae Rim, Epik High, Eru, Go Soo, Lee Jong-hyuk, Mithra Jin, news bites, Sung Yuri, Yoo Jae-seok

Rivals (KBS)

javabeans — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 22:15:01 +0000

Rivals isn’t necessarily a bad show… but there’s something about it that smacks of the ridiculous. Chae Rim is pretty good and so is the subtler Lee Jong Hyuk; they have good chemistry despite a really obvious setup. But there’s something that reminds me really strongly of Air City, and it’s not just the Lee Jin Wook connection — and those of you who suffered through that series alongside me will know that’s not a good thing in my book. It’s over-the-top and tries really, really hard — and while it hits the mark half the time, that means it misses the other half.

I will say, though, that if it does prove to be bad, at least Rivals shows signs of being the fun-bad type. I laughed a lot in the first two episodes — although probably in all the wrong places. Rivals is funny partly because it takes itself so seriously, but it should really let itself in on the joke.

SONG OF THE DAY

Oriental Funk Stew – “날아” (Fly) [ zShare download ]

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Post tags: Chae Rim, episode recaps, Lee Jin-wook, Lee Jong-hyuk, Rivals