Romantic Island finally makes it to the big screen. It was first announced as I Feel Happy (or I Feel Lucky), and while name changes are common, that was almost a year ago and I was starting to wonder what was up with the movie. All the actors had gone on to work on other projects — multiple projects for some — but now here they are, promoting the movie to be released in time for Christmas season. (The movie opens Christmas Eve.)

The plot of Romantic Island is described a bit whimsically: “To shed the tiresomeness of everyday reality, four strangers head to the island of Borocay, where dreams turn into reality, and experience a romance fluttering with excitement.”

The cast features Lee Seon-kyun (Coffee Prince), Lee Soo-kyung (Lawyers of Korea), Eugene (Three Dads, One Mom), and Lee Min-ki (Mixed-up Investigative Agency). The four seemed to have a fun at the production press conference on November 24.

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Tags: Eugene, Lee Min-ki, Lee Seon-kyun, Lee Soo-kyung, press conferences

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Kim Haneul and Kang Ji-hwan

Did the Blue Dragon Awards sneak up on us this year or what?

As one of the largest year-end awards shows, the Blue Dragon always tends to draw out a good number of A-listers, and we saw plenty of them out on the red carpet on November 20 and posing pretty for photos.

One big winner of the night was the “kimchi Western” The Good, The Bad, The Weird, as was the thriller The Chaser and even the sports movie Forever the Moment, from way back in January.

But, as with any awards show, sometimes the fun is less about the actual awards and more about parsing all the red carpet looks.

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Tags: awards, fashion, Go Jun-hee, Han Chae-young, Han Eun-jung, Han Ye-seul, Joo Ji-hoon, Jung Jun-ho, Kang Ji-hwan, Kim Haneul, Kim Hye-soo, Kim Joo-hyuk, Kim Min-sun, Kim Nam-gil, Lee Bo-young, Lee Jung-jae, Lee Ki-woo, Lee Mi-yeon, Lee Soo-kyung, Park Shi-yeon, Shin Hyun-joon, So Ji-sub, Sohn Ye-jin, Song Yoon-ah, Su Ae, Uhm Tae-woong

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The crew of MBC’s upcoming Wednesday-Thursday drama Lawyers of the Republic of Korea gathered on the afternoon of June 2 in Seoul’s Kangnam neighborhood for the show’s press conference.

The drama centers around the world of divorce law (and the warring divorce attorneys on either side), in which Lee Soo Kyung (Soulmate, Golden Age of the Daughter in Law) plays a lawyer who passed the bar in last place in her class. She’s still bitter over an ex who left her, played by Ryu Soo Young (18 vs. 29, Bad Couple), and currently is in a career rut, unable to get any of the good cases.

That changes with the high-stakes divorce suit between her actress best friend, Han Eun Jung (Full House, The Person I Love), and fund manager husband Lee Sung Jae (Daisy, Stranger than Heaven). But Best Friend Actress hires lawyer Ryu Soo Young of the top law firm in the country, while husband chooses Lee Soo Kyung. Uh-oh! I’m sure the sparks start flying soon enough.

(Pet peeve: It’s not the Lawyers of the Great Republic of Korea; it’s simply “Republic of Korea.” But speaking of titles, it seems to be going for a cutesy vibe, even punctuating it differently [대~한민국 변호사] to suggest the ever-popular sporting cheer: Daaaae~ han min guk! *clapclap* *clap* *clap!*)

Since this is the drama that Lee Soo Kyung abruptly left When Night Comes to star in, I’m curious to see if it was a good choice on her part. I do like the actors of Lawyers, but I’m not intrigued by either the plot or preview. But Lee Soo Kyung’s bright, lively personality is always a breath of fresh air to watch.

Lawyers of the Republic of Korea airs after Spotlight retires; it premieres on July 9.

Via Newsen

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Aquibird - “Kiss Me” [ Download ]

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Tags: Han Eun-jung, Lawyers of Korea, Lee Soo-kyung, Lee Sung-jae, press conferences, Ryu Soo-young

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Let’s choose to look at this positively and not as a sign of trouble, shall we?

MBC’s long-awaited When Night Comes may have been garnering buzz for its lead stars Kim Sun Ah and Lee Dong Gun, but it’s had far less luck hanging on to its supporting actors. First, Lee Soo Kyung dropped out abruptly after filming had already commenced in Japan to headline the cast of her own drama, the upcoming Lawyers of Korea. Slated to play the third leg of the love triangle, she traded up from a supporting role in Night to a leading one in Lawyers.

Then, model-singer-actress Park Jiyoon was brought in to fill her spot, but almost as quickly as her role was announced, she suddenly pulled out of the project.

Now they’ve cast Kim Jung Hwa to mix up the budding romance between the two leads; her character is described as an overtly sexy woman who manages to also convey a cute and lovable appeal. Frankly, I think her image is a better fit for the description than Lee Soo Kyung as a “sexy fox” type seductress — Lee’s past roles have been more cute and cheery — although Park Jiyoon’s image also works.

With only about two weeks left till the series airs (June 16 premiere), hopefully this is the drama’s final cast shakeup.

Via IS Plus

SONG OF THE DAY

Loptimist - “널 사랑한 내가 밉다” (I hate the me that loves you) [ Download ]

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Tags: Kim Jung-hwa, Lee Soo-kyung, When Night Comes

Filed under: Drama Casting & News by javabeans - 18 Comments →

For some reason I can’t quite fathom, the news is full of reports of renewed denials that Lee Soo Kyung and Shin Dong Wook, who played a couple in MBC’s Soulmate two years ago, are NOT dating. I wasn’t aware that it was much of a question these days, so I smell publicity maneuver, although it just seems so weirdly irrelevant. Anyway, both sides are denying that they’re anything more than friends. O-kay.

Of the two, I suppose Lee Soo Kyung is more in the public eye at the moment: Originally having agreed to appear in Kim Sun Ah and Lee Dong Gun’s upcoming drama When Night Comes, she has suddenly withdrawn from that project to headline her own, MBC’s Wednesday-Thursday drama Lawyers of Korea, set to follow Spotlight. Although the move has earned her some criticism, you can’t blame an actress for dropping a supporting role in favor of a leading one. Lawyers also stars Ryu Su Young (Bad Couple, 18 vs. 29) and starts in July.

In other casting news, Han Ye Seul will be starring in SBS’s drama Tazza, a television version based on the gambling film of the same name. She plays Madam Jung, the role originated by Kim Hye Soo in the film. (Umm, not so sure the casting fits for that one…)

And SBS’s upcoming “premium drama” My Sweet City has also cast Choi Kang Hee (Thank You, My Scary Girl) as an editor at a publishing firm. The drama co-stars Lee Seon Kyun (White Tower) and premieres on June 6.

I’m not necessarily drawn to any of the dramas in this batch, but since I’m not too drawn to a particular drama at the moment, at least the new spate of incoming series offers a change of pace. I’ll have to see if any of them sticks.

Via Mk.co.kr, My Daily, Hankyung

SONG OF THE DAY

Outsider - “사랑할수있을까?” (Could we love?) [ Download ]

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Tags: Choi Kang-hee, Han Ye-seul, Lawyers of Korea, Lee Seon-kyun, Lee Soo-kyung, My Sweet Seoul, Shin Dong-wook, Soulmate, Tazza

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