There’s a new drama in the works for KBS’s Wednesday-Thursday timeslot, Thorn Birds, which hasn’t been much on my radar because it seems like a muddly mess in the making.

But first, the details: It stars Han Hye-jin (back to TV a year after 2010′s Jejoongwon), Joo Sang-wook (who revitalized his career with Giant), Seo Do-young (who took an edgier turn with his dark cable drama Yacha), and Kim Min-jung (in her first drama since being forced to drop Hero due to injury).

I have nothing against those actors; it’s the creative team that has me on alert. This drama is described as the story of two women who make radically different choices in pursuing their ambitions. It also centers around “a beautiful and fierce love” between the heroine and the two men (Han, Joo, Seo).

Han Hye-jin plays a tough woman who faces off against a difficult fate, while Kim Min-jung’s villaness character harbors a birth secret that leads her on a path of revenge against the world. Joo Sang-wook plays the heir to a powerful chaebol, while Seo Do-young plays a romanticist and film director whose affection for the heroine is described as a “shadow love.” Oh great, more romantic stalking.

(...)
Read the rest of KBS’s Thorn Birds begins rehearsals (177 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2011. | Permalink | 62 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Han Hye-jin, Joo Sang-wook, Kim Min-jung, Seo Do-young, Thorn Birds

I’ve mentioned cable drama Yacha before as a new OCN show boasting a high budget, special effects, and lots of action. The 12-episode series premiered last weekend to a very impressive — one might call it shockingly high — ratings number of 3.5%. To put it into some perspective, this is a cable drama that airs on midnight on Fridays, where anything above 1% would be hailed a success.

Yacha is set in the Joseon era against the backdrop of a secret organization running under the king’s authorization. The story unfolds around two brothers and one woman, and incorporates themes of fate, ambition, and revenge.

(...)
Read the rest of Cable drama Yacha makes a splash, sells overseas (529 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2010. | Permalink | 55 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: cable programs, Jeon Hye-bin, Seo Do-young

Here’s an on-set look at KBS’s Invincible Lee Pyeong-gang, which has taken up a small corner of the Monday-Tuesday prime-time lineup. While Queen Seon-deok rakes in the big numbers (although they did drop precipitously by over 10% after the exit of one big character who shall remain nameless for spoiler purposes), and while Angel’s Temptation is encountering smooth sailing as it goes uncontested in the previous hour, Pyeong-gang is quietly doing its thing. It is generally recognized for its cheery narrative even if it’s not commanding the big numbers.

(...)
Read the rest of From the set of Invincible Lee Pyeong-gang (275 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 19 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Cha Ye-ryun, Invincible Lee Pyeong-gang, Ji Hyun-woo, Kim Heung-soo, Nam Sang-mi, Seo Do-young

KBS premiered a new Monday-Tuesday drama this week, Invincible Lee Pyeong-gang (KBS World title: Taming of the Heir), to replace Princess Has Returned. Contrary to the historical costuming above, this drama is a contemporary piece but has sageuk bits woven through it, since the story references the folk tale upon which it is based (“Princess Pyeong-gang and the Fool On-dal”) in a comic way. This, I think, is the drama’s highlight, which I’ll go into more below.

The drama probably won’t make a dent in Queen Seon-deok‘s continuing domination. Still, I love Nam Sang-mi, who I think has a lot of charm despite some middling performances. I find her most winning in comedy fare, and have been wanting to see her try more of it following Bad Family. She was adorable there, and she carries over a lot of similar plucky humor here.

I don’t think Invincible Lee Pyeong-gang is going to be a great drama, but there’s something about it that caught my interest. It’s cute if you like goofy, over-the-top romantic comedies. It’s not the best of the genre, but its fusion-sageuk angle has viewers calling it fresh and fun, and it’s a light counter to the other Monday-Tuesday programming out there.

SONG OF THE DAY

Invincible Lee Pyeong-gang OST – “나란 남자” by MC Mong [ Download ]

(...)
Read the rest of Invincible Lee Pyeong-gang: Episodes 1-2 (3,616 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 31 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Cha Ye-ryun, Choi Myung-gil, first episodes, Invincible Lee Pyeong-gang, Ji Hyun-woo, Kim Heung-soo, Nam Sang-mi, Seo Do-young

KBS’s current Monday-Tuesday show, Princess Has Returned [공주가 돌아왔다], has been pretty unremarkable (in ratings and in response) and ends on a similarly quiet note this week. On the other hand, I’m looking at the show to take over its slot next week with some interest — Invincible Lee Pyeong-gang [천하무적 이평강] seems to have come together rather under the radar, but now it’s got me perked up in interest.

The drama blends together sageuk elements with the contemporary in its reimagining of the classic folktale of Princess Pyeong-gang and the Fool On-dal. The fusion drama stars Nam Sang-mi (Time of Dog and Wolf) and Ji Hyun-woo (My Sweet Seoul).

(...)
Read the rest of Nam Sang-mi is the Invincible Lee Pyeong-gang (707 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 43 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Cha Ye-ryun, Choi Myung-gil, Invincible Lee Pyeong-gang, Ji Hyun-woo, Kim Heung-soo, Nam Sang-mi, Park Ki-woong, Seo Do-young, Yeon Mi-joo

Are you excited for the new drama Friend, Our Legend?

If you’re not, that’s okay. I’m not, either, despite (or perhaps because of) all the hype. But there are a lot of dramas that I didn’t expect to like initially that I did in the end, so I won’t make a call until it’s aired. And that’ll be soon — with the weekend drama Strike Love meeting an ignominious end, Friend, Our Legend will be airing a little sooner than originally planned; it premieres on Saturday, June 27, on MBC.

(...)
Read the rest of Newest posters for Friend, Our Legend (59 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 24 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Friend, Hyun Bin, Kim Min-joon, Lee Shi-un, Seo Do-young, Wang Ji-hye

MBC’s much-awaited drama adaptation of the 2001 movie Friend, titled Friend, Our Legend [친구, 우리들의 전설], is set to premiere in a couple weeks, and the cast and crew held their drama production press conference on June 17 in Seoul.

The cast has some rather large shoes to fill, and none more so than Hyun Bin (The World They Live In), who takes the role originally played by Jang Dong-gun in the film that broke box office records at the time. Kim Min-joon (Tazza), Seo Do-young (Unstoppable Wedding), and Lee Shi-un fill out the quartet of friends.

(...)
Read the rest of Press conference day for Friend, Our Legend (334 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 32 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Bae Geu-rin, Friend, Hyun Bin, Kim Min-joon, Lee Shi-un, press conferences, Seo Do-young, Wang Ji-hye