Dramabeans » Lee Soon-jae

The Princess’s Man: Series review

javabeans — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 22:45:59 +0000

Epic, moving, suspenseful, and superbly paced. If I were limited to only a handful of words, that’s how I’d describe The Princess’s Man, KBS’s romantic melodrama and premium sageuk from earlier this summer. Then again, I’ve never been good with brevity and I do have an open-ended word count available, so let’s cut to the chase and get right to it. Sit back and settle in; this may take a while…

SONG OF THE DAY

The Princess’s Man OST – “Destino (운명)” [ Download ]

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Post tags: featured, Hong Soo-hyun, Lee Soon-jae, Moon Chae-won, Park Shi-hoo, Song Jong-ho, The Princess's Man

A Thousand Kisses releases its first stills

javabeans — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 12:05:19 +0000

Y’know, I wasn’t sold on the noona-dongsaeng pairing of Ji Hyun-woo (Birth of the Rich) and Seo Young-hee (Bedevilled), but they’re looking cute and comfy with each other in these first stills from MBC’s upcoming weekend drama A Thousand Kisses.

It looks like the drama’s playing with the question of age differences in romance, and promo descriptions state that it’ll explore a variety of love relationships. The main pairing, above, explores the younger-man-older-woman dynamic, with Ji romancing a divorced single mom. Seo Young-hee’s character is the hard-working type who’s faced a lot of bitterness in her life, while Ji Hyun-woo plays a former national soccer player who’s now a sports agent. And if anyone can do the doting dongsaeng role, it’s Ji, who combines leading-man status with boyish charm.

But main couple aside, I’m more interested in some of the side characters — namely, Ryu Jin (Baby-Faced Beauty) and Kim So-eun (Fine Windy Day). Furthermore, cranky grandpa Lee Soon-jae (My Princess, High Kick Through the Roof) even gets his own loveline with a May-December romance, featuring “80s flower heroine” Cha Hwa-yeon (Love and Ambition, Thorn Birds).

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Post tags: Ji Hyun-woo, Kim So-eun, Lee Soon-jae, Ryu Jin, Seo Young-hee

Indie film I Love You sweeps the nation

girlfriday — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 20:10:12 +0000

Lately, the talk of the town in Korean cinema isn’t a huge blockbuster with megastars or even a Hollywood import, but a little indie film that could, about finding love and happiness even at the tail end of your life. The heartwarming romantic comedy I Love You [그대를 사랑합니다] opened six weeks ago without much ado, but has slowly spread by word of mouth and critical praise, becoming a box office success and cultural darling among industry peers.

The small story about the inevitability of the things we face at the ends of our lives and the choices we make in spite of (or maybe because of) them has caught the best kind of buzz an indie film could get, shooting it up the box office ranks past big-budget fare. A film that once couldn’t secure financing to be made is now recouping four times its cost in just a few weeks.

The film stars the always fantastic Lee Soon-jae (My Princess, every drama ever) as a grandpa who falls in love for the first time in a long time, and finds himself out of sorts in the dating game. His character is a milkman with a stubborn streak, who swears a lot. I already love him. Yoon So-jung (I’ll Give You Everything) plays his love interest, Song Ee-peun, whose name literally means “pretty.” Much of their courtship is light and funny, and full of heart.

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Lee Soon-jae is Daemul’s (other) president

javabeans — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 01:30:26 +0000

Everyone’s favorite grumpy grandpa Lee Soon-jae is joining buzz project Daemul, playing the sitting president. Go Hyun-jung‘s character is the newly elected president and Korea’s first woman to gain that position, and will get tangled up with Kwon Sang-woo‘s gigolo character.

Lee Soon-jae is one of those veterans who is constantly working; no doubt you’ve seen him in a half-dozen projects, or more. Among them: Coffee House, Wish Upon a Star, High Kick Through the Roof, Queen Seon-deok, Beethoven Virus, Mom’s Dead Upset, I Love You Don’t Cry, Yi San. (And that’s just in the past few years!) Lee has also played a president before, in Good Morning, President with Jang Dong-gun.

Filming on Daemul is scheduled to begin filming in late August or early September. (Note that it was supposed to have begun in June, and constant delays are one of the drama’s recurring problems.)

Via Hankook Ilbo

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Cast additions to Coffee House

javabeans — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 19:33:05 +0000

Rumors have been confirmed and the second female lead of PD Pyo Min-soo‘s upcoming drama Coffee House will be Ham Eun-jung, the leader of girl group T-ara.

She’ll join Kang Ji-hwan and Park Shi-yeon, who have already been cast, and plays “Kang Seung-yeon,” the daughter of a coffee shop owner who is studying to take the civil service examination. Her personality is bright despite “difficult circumstances” and she becomes the secretary to Kang Ji-hwan’s bestselling novelist character. The love triangle will be completed by Park Shi-yeon, who plays a publisher. Though more famous these days as a pop starlet, Eun-jung, now 21, was actually a child actor and had roles in the 2004 drama Toji, the Land and the 2002 movie Madeleine.

Additionally, actor Jung Jun-ho, most recently of action blockbuster IRIS, has been confirmed for a special appearance in the first two episodes. He agreed readily upon PD Pyo’s request. Veteran actor Lee Soon-jae (High Kick Through the Roof), Chuno and Queen Seon-deok baddie Ahn Gil-kang, and familiar grandma Kim Ji-young (Wish Upon a Star) have also signed on.

The drama is being marketed as the second in a “House” series, following 2004 hit Full House, but it’s also being described as “the story of professionals whose lives burn with passion,” which is a lot like how Pyo’s last drama, The World They Live In, was described. Since Coffee House is a romantic-comedy series, I’m guessing the tone will be somewhere between the two.

Coffee House will air after Oh My Lady ends on SBS.

Via My Daily, BNT News

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Post tags: Coffee House, Ham Eun-jung, Jung Jun-ho, Lee Soon-jae

Good Morning President sells out at PIFF in 1 minute

javabeans — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 22:27:30 +0000

Technically, 1 minute and 35 seconds.

Such is the box office draw of one of Korea’s favorite actors, Jang Dong-gun. The warm and humorous Good Morning President is his first film in several years, and Korean audiences are eager to see Jang back onscreen, as he has been out of the Hallyu spotlight to pursue Hollywood interests (The Warrior’s Way is still forthcoming). Thus they’ve leapt at the chance to get their first glimpse of his latest role when President opens October’s Pusan International Film Festival.

Sure, he only plays one of three presidents in the movie (with Lee Soon-jae, Go Du-shim) and stars opposite glamorous Han Chae-young, but really, the pull is all about Jang Dong-gun.

Tickets went on sale at 5pm on September 21, and according to a rep at PIFF, they sold out completely in the first minute and 35 seconds. This follows a similar response to last year’s PIFF opener, Gift to Stalin, which also sold out in under 2 minutes. Some previous fast sellers include The Coast Guard (which also starred Jang Dong-gun and sold out in 2 min 4 sec) in 2002, The Last Witness (2 min 28 sec) in 2001, and Traces of Love (2 min 45 sec) in 2006. President is therefore the fastest-selling Korean film at PIFF, which seems to me a strange statistic to keep track of, but oh well.

Via Joy News

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Post tags: film festivals, Go Du-shim, Han Chae-young, Jang Dong-gun, Lee Soon-jae

Good morning, three presidents

javabeans — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 03:40:16 +0000

The first posters are out of Jang Dong-gun’s latest movie, Good Morning President [굿모닝 프레지던트], which features him as one of three presidents along with Lee Soon-jae and Go Du-shim.

Each presidential figure is noteworthy in his/her own way: Jang Dong-gun’s character is a handsome and single president (Han Chae-young plays his love interest), and his tagline reads, “Thanks to the president, the ratings for the 9 o’clock news are skyrocketing.”

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Post tags: Go Du-shim, Jang Dong-gun, Lee Soon-jae

High Kick Through the Roof begins filming

javabeans — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 17:20:37 +0000

The upcoming High Kick Through the Roof, the new MBC sitcom brought to you by the makers of Unstoppable High Kick, started filming this month and has already put in its first all-nighter.

The family sitcom’s first day on the set was August 20 at the Ilsan Dream Center in the city of Goyang. (The first outdoor shoot was on the 12th.) All of the main players were present, which includes grandparent characters Lee Soon-jae and Kim Ja-ok, parents Jung Bo-seok and Oh Hyun-kyung, and the younger cast including Daniel Choi (The World They Live In), Seo Shin-ae (Thank You), Shin Se-kyung (Queen Seon-deok), Hwang Jung-eum (We Got Married), Julien Kang (Dream), and new singer AJ.

The show is being called “High Kick 2,” although it’s not really a sequel and employs all new characters. What it has in common is its PD Kim Byung-wook, who is known for creating “syndromes” (pop-culture sensations) with his sitcoms, which may lack grand visual tableaux but are bolstered by interesting stories about ordinary families that draw in viewers.

High Kick Through the Roof will premiere on September 7.

Via No Cut News, Review Star

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Post tags: High Kick Through the Roof, Lee Soon-jae, Seo Shin-ae, Shin Se-kyung, sitcoms, Unstoppable High Kick

Jung Il-woo seeks acting advice

javabeans — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 12:21:12 +0000

What do you do if you’re a hot young actor about to take on a potentially career-boosting role in a highly anticipated new drama? If you’re Jung Il-woo — which means you’re hard-working (some might say over-working), obsessive about learning the art of acting and script analysis, and blessed with well-known actor friends — you go to those friends for advice.

Given that My Fair Lady is one of the year’s more anticipated trendy series, primarily (but not solely) because it’s the comeback project for Yoon Eun-hye, Jung Il-woo has turned to his sunbaes in preparation for his chaebol character. One handy resource is his best bud Lee Min-ho, who already played a chaebol character to great success earlier this year in Boys Before Flowers. Too bad he doesn’t give such great advice; Jung says that Min-ho merely told him, “Just do your best.” Ha!

He then turned to his High Kick sunbaes, Lee Soon-jae and Na Mun-hee (who played his grandparents). Jung has sought their advice before, so it seems he has a good relationship with his elders and is eager to learn from them. This time, they told him, “Don’t try to look cool, don’t overexert yourself by trying. You’ll be fine if you enjoy yourself and let that show through.”

Jung Il-woo’s lawyer character Lee Tae-yoon boasts smarts, looks, and a “warm and gentle disposition,” but also shows a “cool-headed charisma” when it comes to work. (I’m guessing that he doesn’t get the girl — oh, sadness — but he’ll hopeful liven up the romantic rivalries.)

My Fair Lady premieres next Wednesday, August 19.

Via Segye

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Post tags: Jung Il-woo, Lee Min-ho, Lee Soon-jae, My Fair Lady, Na Mun-hee

High Kick is no longer unstoppable

javabeans — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 21:32:07 +0000

Lee Soon-jae, Kim Hye-sung

…but it IS “through the roof.”

The producers of Season 2 of Unstoppable High Kick have decided to christen the new show with a different name; rather than calling it “Season 2,” it’s being tentatively renamed High Kick Through the Roof [지붕뚫고 하이킥]. (They are entertaining other options, but “Through the Roof” is a top contender.)

This name change is probably a good idea when considering that while Through the Roof is using a similar format to its predecessor as well as one of its main actors (grandpa Lee Soon-jae), the new series is not a spinoff, or even a sequel. It’s simply a similar setup being produced by the same folks of the original, but employs different characters and storylines.

Still, expect to see some familiar faces from the original: For insance, Kim Hye-sung, who played the smart, well-adjusted “Min-ho” in the first season, will be making a cameo in Through the Roof. It’s being reported that “most of the main actors of Unstoppable High Kick will be making cameo appearances” throughout the sitcom’s planned 120 episodes. (This ought to come in handy for ratings purposes — a reunion with Kim Hye-sung, as well as Jung Il-woo, Park Min-young, and Kim Bum? I bet they won’t all come back at once, but one can hope.)

Episode 1 airs on September 7.

Via Asia Economy, Today Korea

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Post tags: High Kick Through the Roof, Kim Hye-sung, Lee Soon-jae, Unstoppable High Kick