As I said in the Episode 1 recap, Triple is very cute. It’s got a very similar style and sensibility to Coffee Prince, so if you’re looking for something along those lines, you’re in luck. The music is again a standout feature, both well-chosen and diverse (with a mix of Korean indie and Western tracks).

I also find most, if not all, of the characters refreshing and with their own charm. I’m sure favorites will emerge, but for now mine are in a constant flux between the three male leads. I’m sure that will surprise no one.

SONG OF THE DAY

검정치마 (The Black Skirts) – “Antifreeze” [ Download ]

(...)
Read the rest of Triple: Episode 2 (3,887 words)

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Post tags: Kim Hee, Lee Hana, Lee Jung-jae, Lee Seon-kyun, Lee Yoon-jung, Min Hyo-rin, Triple, Yoon Kye-sang

TRIPLE DAY IS HERE!!!

NOTE: Thursday saw the broadcast of both Episodes 1 and 2. All along I had planned on recapping both of them in one introductory post, since it would save time and probably work out well given the airing schedule… but I liked Episode 1 a lot and decided to write them up separately anyway. Episode 2 will follow soon(ish)!

[Watch the series at DramaFever]

SONG OF THE DAY

Eco Bridge – “사랑을 시작하다” (Love Begins) Yellow Remix version [ Download ]

(...)
Read the rest of Triple: Episode 1 (3,424 words)

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Post tags: first episodes, Kim Hee, Lee Hana, Lee Jung-jae, Lee Seon-kyun, Lee Yoon-jung, Min Hyo-rin, Triple, Yoon Kye-sang

Look, it’s gonna be tedious calling out “MINE” for every single cast member and photo, so howsabout we just come to the understanding that they are ALL mine? Okay? Phew, I knew we could work that out.

Also, please note that this drama is now premiering on June 11, THURSDAY (not Wednesday). In the past few weeks, the date has been switching between the 10th and the 11th (even different news outlets for this very press conference posted differing information) but the official site now says that Episodes 1 and 2 will both show on Thursday.

Yunno, I no longer really care about the figure skating aspect of this drama, since it’s not likely to overshadow the plot. So, the main point for me is: It just seems like FUN.

(...)
Read the rest of Triple press conference (435 words)

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Post tags: Kim Hee, Lee Hana, Lee Jung-jae, Lee Seon-kyun, Lee Yoon-jung, Min Hyo-rin, press conferences, Triple, Yoon Kye-sang

(From top left, going clockwise, they are: Lee Hana, Yoon Kye-sang, Kim Hee, Lee Seon-kyun, Min Hyo-rin, and Lee Jung-jae.)

I don’t have much to add on top of what I’ve already said about Triple, other than that it has new posters out. The one above and the one directly below are almost exactly the same — I thought they were identical, at first — and show the six main characters and give us our first idea of how some will pair off. (Still not sure how lead character Min Hyo-rin will be treated, or how her ice-skating character relates to the ad executives.)

(Based on the order of the cast list, I’m going to guess that Lee Jung-jae takes the lead and Yoon Kye-sang, sigh, takes a backseat.)

Drama premieres on MBC on June 10.

(...)
Read the rest of Forget Partner, let’s look at Triple (57 words)

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Post tags: Kim Hee, Lee Hana, Lee Jung-jae, Lee Seon-kyun, Lee Yoon-jung, Min Hyo-rin, Song Joong-ki, Triple, Yoon Kye-sang

A fresh face has been added to MBC’s Triple: 27-year-old actress and model Kim Hee, a rising “CF queen” who’s been seen in advertisements for numerous brands like Lotte, Anycall, Basic House, KTF, Yahoo, and Missha cosmetics.

Kim doesn’t play a skater; she’s the sole female (lucky her!) out of the characters in the advertising firm, working alongside fellow ad execs Yoon Kye-sang, Lee Jung-jae, and Lee Seon-kyun. Her character is described as free-spirited and positive, whose brightness cheers those around her.

PD Lee Yoon-jung explained that she’d watched Kim Hee in a short film and thought, “She’s it.” Kim was cast immediately.

With the “triple” (or trio) of male leads set in stone, Kim Hee’s casting rounds out the female trio as she joins Lee Hana and Min Hyo-rin. Personally, I think the strength of the men far outweighs the women’s in both talent and appeal, but given that this drama’s viewership will probably skew heavily toward the female set, maybe that’s the intention.

Triple premieres June 11.

Via OSEN

RELATED POSTS

• First stills from Triple
• Lee Hana added to Triple
• Kang Ji-hwan drops Triple, Lee Jung-jae steps in
• Triple to follow Cinderella Man
• Min Hyo-rin takes to the ice

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 14 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Kim Hee, Lee Yoon-jung, Triple

That’s it. Triple has just shot up — over Song Hye-gyo and Hyun Bin, over the Korean Hana Yori Dango — as my new most anticipated drama. Because on top of casting Lee Seon-kyun, then following with Yoon Kye-sang, they’ve now rounded out their lead trio with…

…Kang Ji-hwan!

I don’t know if I could’ve picked a dreamier ideal dream lineup. Sure, there are a few other actors I’d put in my “top picks” bag, but these three are at the top of the list of those still doing dramas.

And lest I sound like a hormonally driven fangirl (which, hey, don’t judge), all three are actually — gasp! — good actors.

They all bring a different kind of energy, which should be interesting to see together. Kang Ji-hwan has done both slapstick and tearjerker — he can be goofy and comically spot-on, but turn on a dime into heart-wrenchingly intense. Lee Seon-kyun has spent much of his recent career playing to type as the reserved, thoughtful introvert. And Yoon Kye-sang can be both outrageous and wonderfully emotive.

Kang Ji-hwan will take on the role of a short-track speed skater (upgrade!), while Yoon Kye-sang and Lee Seon-kyun are ad-agency execs. With the three male stars being so much older than young newbie actress Min Hyo-rin, who barely registers a blip on the radar in comparison, I’m starting to think (hope?) that the tone of Triple won’t skew quite as young (read: green and awkward) as previously feared.

Now we can only wait to see what Coffee Prince producer/director Lee Yoon-jung whips up. For the first time, I look on Triple without dread.

Via OSEN

RELATED POSTS

• Maybe Triple will be watchable after all
• Triple-teaming the Triple team
• Trading one regret for the other
• Casting roll call: Iljimae, Triple
• Jung Il-woo scores a triple
• From pretty boys to figure skates

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Post tags: Kang Ji-hwan, Lee Seon-kyun, Lee Yoon-jung, Triple, Yoon Kye-sang

Wait, what in the hey-what-now?

Yoon Kye-sang has been cast in the figure-skating trendy drama, helmed by the director of Coffee Prince, Triple?

First, talented director Lee Yoon-jung managed to sway Lee Seon-kyun (Coffee Prince, My Sweet Seoul) into joining her for this latest drama venture, featuring a young and inexperienced new singer in her acting debut, Min Hyo-rin of the “luxury nose.” Now she’s got Yoon Kye-sang (Who Are You?, Crazy in Love) onboard as well.

(I loved Yoon Kye-sang in Who Are You? Was it a groundbreaking or even artistically challenging drama? No. But it was poignant and often engagingly funny, and he was the best thing in it.)

Yoon Kye-sang is described as taking the lead male role, but it doesn’t sound like he’s taking Jung Il-woo‘s recently vacated spot as a speed skater. Instead, he’s one of three employees in an ad agency (another being played by Lee Seon-kyun).

Huh. Triple just jumped up from being an embarrassing guilty pleasure to being a shameless guilty pleasure. Although I’m still not sold on Min Hyo-rin. Can we ditch her and just have our two lovely leading men fall in love instead? It’ll be like Coffee Prince: What Could Have Been if the Girl Who Looked Like A Dude Was Actually A Dude (on Skates).

Triple is scheduled for a January premiere on MBC.

Via DongA.com

RELATED POSTS

• Triple-teaming the Triple team
• Casting roll call: Iljimae, Triple
• Jung Il-woo scores a Triple
• From pretty boys to figure skates
• Who Are You?: Episodes 1 & 2

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Post tags: Lee Seon-kyun, Lee Yoon-jung, Triple, Yoon Kye-sang

Okay, I think I’m done posting pics of stars visiting Lee Eon‘s funeral room. If more information comes to light, I’m on it, but until then we’re just going to be getting photos of grieving folks, which is probably gratuitous.

I know it sounds hypocritical for me to dislike the photos and then post them. However, I do think it’s a matter of interest — just up to a point. When it starts feeling gratuitous, I step back.

Below are Strongest Chil Woo co-stars Eric, Gu Hye-sun, and Kim Byul. More pics beyond the jump.

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Read the rest of More stars pay their respects to deceased colleague (366 words)

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Post tags: Chae Jung-ahn, Eric, Girls Generation, Gu Hye-sun, I Am a Model, Jang Yoon-ju, Joo Ji-hoon, Kim Byul, Kim Sung-soo, Lee Chun-hee, Lee Eon, Lee Min-ki, Lee Yoon-jung, Oh Ji-ho, star accidents

As previously reported, actor Lee Eon‘s sudden death early on the morning of August 21 has proved a shock to the entertainment community.

Celebrities came garbed in funeral blacks to pay their respects to their deceased colleague/co-star/friend at the mortuary area in the hospital where the deceased’s body is being kept until the funeral service. Yoon Eun-hye arrived in tears at Seoul’s Soon Chun Hyang University Hospital, as did fellow Coffee Prince co-star Kim Jae-wook, who appears to still be stunned, reportedly sobbing as he kept his face hidden behind his hair. (Pics of the stars, and in particular Kim Jae-wook, make me feel uncomfortably voyeuristic; I admit to an interest in seeing pics, but not when they are clearly intrusive in such a raw moment.)

His co-star from drama Strongest Chil Woo, actor Yoo Ah-in, also showed up, grim-faced. If you’re wondering why certain people haven’t yet paid their respects, I’m sure they’ll be making their way to the funeral area as they learn about the accident today. I haven’t seen pics of the rest of his Chil Woo castmates, but apparently they were among the earliest to receive word. Eric received the phone call at 3am and headed directly to the hospital, along with cast and crew members, including Gu Hye-sun and PD Park Man-young.

Yoon Eun-hye with her party; Yoo Ah-in

 
Others who came by were former co-star Ryu Deok-hwan, and supermodel Park Dool-seon. (She is one of the main stars of modeling reality show I Am a Model, which Lee Eon was involved with; he had also reportedly dated supermodel Jang Yoon-joo, one of Park Dool-seon’s colleagues.)

His mother understandably was in a huge state of shock, and apparently still in denial; she resisted being led to the funeral room, wanting to go to a hospital room instead, as though unable to digest the truth.

Also, a report was issued contradicting early beliefs that the accident occurred on Lee Eon’s way home after the Chil Woo wrap party. A new report suggests that Lee Eon had already arrived home, then left again, after which he was in the accident. Some sources speculate that he had been on the way to the club where he had worked as a DJ. I’m sure these details will be sorted out in due time.

As to questions of his sobriety at the time of his death, police have stated that tests will be conducted to determine whether he was drunk, but will not have the results for approximately a week. Lee Eon is, however, reported to not be much of a drinker.

PD Lee Yoon-jung, who’d directed Lee Eon in Coffee Prince, also shared her words of grief, saying, “I don’t know what to say. I plan to pay my respects tonight. Lee Eon had a special passion for acting and was always a source of support for staff on the film set. He was a good person.”

The funeral service is planned for August 23. Other details as yet unconfirmed.

Kim Jae-wook, Park Dool-seon, Ilac

Via Yonhap News, Newsen

RELATED POSTS

• Lee Eon dies in accident

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Post tags: deaths, Eric, Kim Jae-wook, Lee Eon, Lee Yoon-jung, star accidents, Yoo Ah-in, Yoon Eun-hye

(Yeah, the headline’s a bit of a stretch. But I couldn’t resist.)

Wha–? Lee Seon-kyun is going to be in MBC’s figure-skating trendy drama Triple?

I mean, I guess it kind of makes sense. He’d starred in director Lee Yoon-jung‘s earlier series Taereung National Village (part of MBC’s Best Theater anthology). Following that, he’d agreed immediately to appear in Coffee Prince when she was planning that series. Now that she’s planning her next series, why not cast an actor with whom she’s had a good working relationship? This’ll be Lee Yoon-jung’s third drama series, and the third time she teams with Lee Seon-kyun.

Still, Triple seems like an odd choice, at least at first glance. (He should be moving on and doing hard-boiled crime thrillers and spare indie dramas with guys like Jang Dong-gun!) In this drama series, he’s been cast in the role of an ad agency exec who’s described as straightforward and honest with a sensitive side (so, like most of his roles then). The drama stars rookie actress Min Hyo-rin as its young figure-skating lead, but Jung Il-woo has been removed from the casting list (he was to play a speed skater) following his jump to another MBC series, Iljimae.

I’ll probably be watching Triple when it airs in January, but I’m on the fence as to whether it’ll be candy-coated fun, or a train wreck in the making.

Via Hankyung.com

RELATED POSTS

• ‘Fro my goodness
• Trading one regret for the other
• Jung Il-woo scores a Triple
• From pretty boys to figure skates

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Post tags: Jung Il-woo, Lee Seon-kyun, Lee Yoon-jung, Min Hyo-rin, Triple