With this batch of episodes, we head into some of my favorite territory, which coincides with the ending of one (tiresome) love line and the beginning (or elevation) of another, more interesting one.

SONG OF THE DAY

Sons of Sol Pharmacy OST – “말해요” (Say it)
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SONS OF SOL PHARMACY Episodes 29-31 >>

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Recaps are back! Sorry for the wait, but you know how these things go. The show recently wrapped and claimed the slot as highest-rated drama of the year, but as far as recaps go I think we’re just starting to head into deeper plot territory with these episodes, now that we’ve got one brother (Sun-pung) happily married off and out of the way.

Sun-pung’s had the least dramatic courtship so I think it was smart to start off the series with his and Eun-ji’s romance — I know I was tuning in to the earlier episodes mostly to follow their development. I’m a little sad that the Sun-pung–Eun-ji relationship will probably recede now, since they are my favorite pair, but I suppose they need to make room for the others now.

SONS OF SOL PHARMACY Episodes 26-28 >>

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As noted in the previous post about weekend drama ratings, Sons of Sol Pharmacy ended on a strong note. Its Sunday finale brought KBS a series (and year) high with ratings of 48.6%.

This also means that it has surpassed SBS’s Brilliant Legacy to claim top spot of the entire year out of all three broadcast stations (Brilliant Legacy’s high was a 47.1%). There are three dramas that have broken the 40% mark this year; MBC’s Monday-Tuesday historical series Queen Seon-deok is the third.

I won’t get into plot spoilers about Sol Pharmacy’s finale, but suffice to say that there were laughs and tears, and generally satisfying wrap-ups for the relationships of each of the Song family sons, as befitting the series’ emphasis on family and comedy. Next up in its time slot: Three Brothers (or Three Suspicious Brothers), which comes from the writer of Infamous Chil Princesses. Lee Jun-hyuk (A Star’s Lover), Ahn Nae-sang (First Wives Club), and Oh Dae-kyu (First Wives Club) star as the three brothers; the drama’s tagline reads, “Is family a yoke or a refuge?”

Via OSEN, Star News

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• Another Sol Pharmacy son gains endorsement power
• Sol Pharmacy son Lee Pil-mo enjoys sharp rise in popularity
• KBS orders extension for Sol Pharmacy
• The Sons of Sol Pharmacy House / My Too Perfect Sons

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Queen Seon-deok

Yep, we as drama-lovers tend to have a love-hate (mostly hate, I think) relationship with drama extensions and, even worse, unexpected cuts. Even a good drama can be ruined in the end by unnecessary extensions — a long-running epic series may suffer less from adding episodes than a short drama whose story was never meant to go beyond 16 or 20 installments. I know that this trend stems from that pernicious habit of broadcast stations’ knee-jerk reactions to ratings, but as much as we hate that, I think we all kind of understand why a station places so much importance on ratings. Here’s an article that discusses the trend.

[Read more →]

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KBS’s warm family drama Sons of Sol Pharmacy is doing 40% ratings and has given its cast heightened profiles. For known actors like Lee Pil-mo (Dae-pung) and Han Sang-jin (Sun-pung), this means an increase in popularity and more endorsement deals. For a newbie like 22-year-old Ji Chang-wook (youngest brother Mi-pung), it means a sudden shot to stardom out of obscurity.

Now Ji Chang-wook has scored his own advertising deal, and will appear alongside Gu Hye-sun as the new brand model for Shinhan Financial Group. They recently shot a CF together playing boyfriend and girlfriend, which shows an image shift for Ji. While he currently plays the sweet, timid (and “sissy”) Mi-pung in Sol Pharmacy, his new CF image portrays him as “wolfish” and assertive.

His drama role has also led to multiple offers for follow-up projects, as well as potential CF advertising deals. Ji Chang-wook made his debut in the 2006 film Days… [데이즈] and had a role in the 2008 drama I Like You [난 네게 반했어]

Via CBS.co.kr

RELATED POSTS

• Sol Pharmacy son Lee Pil-mo enjoys sharp rise in popularity
• KBS orders extension for Sol Pharmacy
• The Sons of Sol Pharmacy House / My Too Perfect Sons

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