Lee Shi-young seems like a strong person with a sense of perspective, and she has once again surprised people with her frank response to her critics. The actress who rose to fame through her role in Boys Before Flowers, followed by her stint on We Got Married with now-ex-boyfriend Jun Jin, has encountered a bit of netizen negativity in her still-new career. I wouldn’t say her anti’s are especially harsh, but she’s been criticized for anything from plastic surgery (which she openly admits) to her age scandal (she debuted somewhat late and had listed her age as 25 when it was in fact 27).

At the recent open set day for her new action movie Hong Gil Dong’s Descendants, Lee Shi-young explained that her response to online negativity is to laugh: “If I get angry, I write back, ‘Worry about yourself instead.’”

She has also been refreshingly candid about her breakup with Jun Jin, saying, “Everything that has been reported in the news is true, so it doesn’t stress me out. I’ve dreamed of being an actress for a long time and the path I have to take is clear, so those reports don’t affect my spirits, and I’m not bothered about negative comments.”

I think Lee Shi-young shows promise as an actor, so it’s nice to see her focusing on the work and not getting caught up in the white noise of celebrity life. She said she is very happy to have dramas and film projects to work on, “and I’d love it if I could keep working like I did this year. I want my acting to be judged based on my skills.”

Via Hankyung

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• Lee Beom-soo kicks butt as Hong Gil Dong’s descendant
• Hong Gil Dong’s descendants carry on the crime-fighting legacy
• Cast additinos to I Love You Ten Million Times
• Stars caught lying about their ages

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As previously mentioned, Lee Beom-soo and Lee Shi-young are starring in a new movie featuring Lee as a descendant of Joseon hero Hong Gil Dong in a movie called, aptly, Hong Gil Dong’s Descendants [홍길동의 후예]. While Hong Gil Dong is a 15th-century figure, the movie features his modern-day descendant who carries on the legacy of crime-fighting, while maintaining a cover as an average high school teacher as his day job.

These photos show some of the action filmed in Hanam, Kyunggi province, on September 9 when the film production held an open set day for reporters.

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What would happen if the descendants of Joseon-era Robin Hood-like hero Hong Gil Dong were alive today and secretly carrying on his legacy of punishing evildoers and helping the poor?

That’s the premise behind the new movie Hong Gil Dong’s Descendants [홍길동의 후예], and it stars Lee Beom-soo (On Air) as that descendant, We Got Married’s Lee Shi-young as his love interest, and comedian Kim Su-ro (Our School ET) as his nemesis.

If you’ve seen the recent drama version of Hong Gil Dong, you know the basic premise of the story (even if the Hong sisters’ writing is prone to the overly exaggerated comic gag). What Hong Gil Dong’s Descendants does is reinvent the basic tale of a chivalrous bandit and place him in modern times, crossing the old folk legend with a dash of Clark Kent-ian Superman.

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Lee Shi-young, Kim Heechul

I Love You Ten Million Times [천만번 사랑해] is a new SBS weekend drama whose main cast has already been filled by Lee Soo-kyung, Ryu Jin, and Jung Kyeo-woon. I’d noted the interesting-sounding plot when the drama was first announced; it deals with surrogacy and the complications that arise when the surrogate ends up marrying into the family of the infertile couple she is helping out.

Adding some color to the younger supporting cast are Super Junior’s resident oddball Kim Heechul and Boys Before Flowers‘ Lee Shi-young (both of whom are known for their rather offbeat “fourth-dimensional” personalities). Heechul plays a cheerful, saucy character who works a part-time job at a restaurant. He has a romantic storyline with Park Su-jin (mehhh), the singer-turned-actress who played Kim Bum’s ex-girlfriend in Boys Before Flowers.

Meanwhile, Lee Shi-young plays a woman who works at the information desk at the same office as Ryu Jin. She harbors a crush on him, while he is attempting to have a child with his wife (Go Eun-mi) via surrogate (Lee Soo-kyung); the story hints at a possible affair between him and Lee Shi-young.

I’m hesitant about the story (though I like that it’s different), but I like all the actors involved (minus Park Su-jin). Lee Shi-young was much better than expected in BBF, while Heechul has a fair amount of acting experience; his last drama was Golden Bride, and he was quite sweet in Bad Family.

Via Asia Today, Asia Economy

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• Two brothers and a surrogate in I Love You Ten Million Times

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The upcoming omnibus film Ogamdo [오감도] has a provocative new poster out, and the first question — given its star-studded cast — is which of its leading ladies is featured in the nude photo. The answer: none. The production explained that the poster — which conveys the movie’s primary motif of “eros” — used a body model, not one of its high-profile actresses (like Kim Min-sun or Uhm Jung-hwa).

The tagline reads: “See, pass by, feel…” and is followed by the subtitle “A story about more than eros.” Each of the film’s various vignettes falls under the love/eros theme, but will be filmed by a different director, of whom there are five signed on to the project:

Heo Jin-ho (Happiness)
Byun Hyuk (Interview)
Yoo Young-shik (Shim’s Family)
Oh Ki-hwan (The Art of Seduction)
Min Kyu-dong (Antique Bakery)

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