Argh, Dream did it again. After Episode 1 had aired, I was on the fence about continuing the drama, but pretty close to jumping off that fence. Most of Episode 2 did little to convince me otherwise, and I was content to let this drama go on without me. But again, the last ten minutes managed to be more interesting than the first fifty combined, so I find myself dragged along a little bit longer. (Note: I don’t think I’m going to continue recapping — not unless Episode 3 is whiz-bam-bow! fantastic, and really, those odds aren’t high — just to let you know.)

The reason for my (and the public’s) lukewarm reaction, I think, is simple: When you put Kim Bum and Sohn Dam-bi together, meh. He’s adorable, she’s bland. Together, they’re boring. Then you try the combination of Sohn Dam-bi and Joo Jin-mo, but again, yawn. He’s great and she’s, again, bland, and together they are predictable.

But then you put Kim Bum and Joo Jin-mo together, as they do in this episode, and things finally wake up.

SONG OF THE DAY

MC Mong – “나비효과” (Butterfly Effect) [ Download ]

DREAM Episode 2 >>

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I had a mixed reaction to today’s premiere episode of the SBS drama Dream. Perhaps viewers agreed, as the first installment drew a low 5.4% rating against MBC’s Queen Seon-deok (32.7%) and KBS’s The Man Who Can’t Get Married (8%).

Note that this number was marginally better than its predecessor Ja Myung Go’s opening number (4.1%), but lower than its finale last week (7.2%). But I’ve said many times that a first episode rating number doesn’t necessarily mean much; it speaks more to the anticipation, not the quality.

SONG OF THE DAY

Bobby Kim – “Maybe” [ Download ]

DREAM Episode 1 >>

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Ja Myung Go is wrapping up this week, and you know what this means: Next Monday, the much-buzzed-about new drama Dream premieres.

The SBS drama held its production press conference in Busan on July 21, and the lead actors came looking fan-tas-tic. See for yourselves!

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SBS really is aiming their upcoming Dream at the youth market, isn’t it? Which is too bad, since Joo Jin-mo is the best actor in the cast and he’s getting passed over in news and attention for his younger colleague Kim Bum (not that Kim Bum isn’t adorable).

With only a little more than a week left till it airs, Hong Ah-reum is the latest addition to the cast as Kim Bum’s love interest. The 20-year-old actress appeared not long ago as a young single mother in the KBS weekend series My Precious You, sporting an unfashionable hairstyle and Saturi accent. Her storyline depicting the conflict between her love for her son and her first love earned her a year-end nomination for best new actress.

In Dream, she goes in the opposite direction, portraying a bright, cute Yuri character who falls for Kim Bum’s Jang-seok, and thus begins their romantic loveline. She follows him around everywhere to cheer him on, and uses her father’s money to become a strong supporter and sponsor to him and sports agent Jae-il (Joo Jin-mo). Since love geometry is an essential kdrama component, she finds out that Jang-seok likes So-yeon (Sohn Dam-bi) and sizes her up as her love rival.

With Ja Myung Go ending next week, Dream is poised to take over the following Monday, July 27.

Via Chosun

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SBS’s new drama Dream is about to replace the historical drama Ja Myung Go on Mondays and Tuesdays, and on the 15th held its customary pre-show ceremony to wish for good luck and a successful broadcast.

With the buzz this drama has (mostly over its lead cast of Kim Bum, Joo Jin-mo, and Sohn Dam-bi), expect that curiosity to show itself in the premiere numbers. Whether it can hold onto viewers against MBC’s powerhouse Queen Seon-deok is another story.

Kim Bum explained feeling the weight of expectations, saying, “Of the F4 members, I’m the first to show a transformation. It’s true that I feel pressure. I was aided a lot by borrowing the shell of the So Yi-jung character from the popular original series. I don’t think to be content with one image, but that I should wake up from fantasy and have to change.”

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