For some reason I can’t quite fathom, the news is full of reports of renewed denials that Lee Soo Kyung and Shin Dong Wook, who played a couple in MBC’s Soulmate two years ago, are NOT dating. I wasn’t aware that it was much of a question these days, so I smell publicity maneuver, although it just seems so weirdly irrelevant. Anyway, both sides are denying that they’re anything more than friends. O-kay.

Of the two, I suppose Lee Soo Kyung is more in the public eye at the moment: Originally having agreed to appear in Kim Sun Ah and Lee Dong Gun’s upcoming drama When Night Comes, she has suddenly withdrawn from that project to headline her own, MBC’s Wednesday-Thursday drama Lawyers of Korea, set to follow Spotlight. Although the move has earned her some criticism, you can’t blame an actress for dropping a supporting role in favor of a leading one. Lawyers also stars Ryu Su Young (Bad Couple, 18 vs. 29) and starts in July.

In other casting news, Han Ye Seul will be starring in SBS’s drama Tazza, a television version based on the gambling film of the same name. She plays Madam Jung, the role originated by Kim Hye Soo in the film. (Umm, not so sure the casting fits for that one…)

And SBS’s upcoming “premium drama” My Sweet City has also cast Choi Kang Hee (Thank You, My Scary Girl) as an editor at a publishing firm. The drama co-stars Lee Seon Kyun (White Tower) and premieres on June 6.

I’m not necessarily drawn to any of the dramas in this batch, but since I’m not too drawn to a particular drama at the moment, at least the new spate of incoming series offers a change of pace. I’ll have to see if any of them sticks.

Via Mk.co.kr, My Daily, Hankyung

SONG OF THE DAY

Outsider - “사랑할수있을까?” (Could we love?) [ Download ]

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Tags: Choi Kang-hee, Han Ye-seul, Lawyers of Korea, Lee Seon-kyun, Lee Soo-kyung, My Sweet Seoul, Shin Dong-wook, Soulmate, Tazza

Filed under: Drama Casting & News by javabeans - 12 Comments →

I was looking through some of my files today, and came across this list of songs for the series Soulmate, sorted by episode. (I’d found it compiled on a Korean site when first watching the drama, and translated the list.) Those of you who’ve been reading this site for a while know how much I ADORE SOULMATE. Until Flowers For My Life came along earlier this year, it was my favorite all-time drama; now they both share that spot.

Soulmate is also a series that makes serious use of its music; Coffee Prince doesn’t hold a candle to it. CP uses music very well, but it’s rarely a story point; Soulmate lives and breathes music. Songs are woven into the series not only as well-timed background music, but thematically as well. Each episode is, furthermore, titled after a song that is used at some point (with some significance) in the series.

Once again: Here’s the complete SOULMATE UNOFFICIAL SOUNDTRACK LISTING.

SONG OF THE DAY

Basement Jaxx - “Broken Dreams” [ zShare download ]

SOULMATE’s love affair with music >>

Tags: bloggy, Soulmate

Filed under: Off Topic/Blog Stuff by javabeans - 32 Comments →

Now that With S2 has just released the rest of Dal Ja’s Spring to finish our 30th project (30 kdramas! In just over a year!), I had a few thoughts on fansubbing as a whole… The more I fansub and translate, the more I’ve gotten comfortable recognizing wordplay in Korean, which I always get a little kick out of. I like wordplay of all sorts, and I think people enjoy understanding them, because it gives you a deeper appreciation into the language of a drama, for instance, rather than merely the plot. I’ve also seen a couple of comments noting interest in some of my Korean language explanations, which made me realize if I get a kick out of little details, other people probably would too.

SONG OF THE DAY

Uhm Jung Hwa - Eternity (bossa mix) [ zShare download ]

[Read more →]

Tags: Delightful Girl Chun-hyang, fansubbing, Goong S, Hello! Miss, Korean language, lost in translation, Soulmate, Witch Amusement

Filed under: Fansubs by javabeans - 40 Comments →

Although I’m busy with “work” and life and all those other things, and still have to catch up on recaps of Dal Ja’s Spring, I think the next series I’ll try recapping is the MBC show SOULMATE, broadcast in mid-2006. Partially because (1) it’s an awesome show, and (2) there doesn’t seem to be a lot of information available about it.

.

BASIC INFO:
Director(s): No Do-chul, Sun Hye-yoon
Screenwriters: Jo Jin-kook, Park Eun-jung, Nam Ji-yeon
Broadcast period: 2006 March 13 - 2006 June 26
Episode total: 12* (see note at bottom)

Official MBC Website: http://www.imbc.com/broad/tv/ent/soulmate/soul/index.html

(Torrents and subs available at d-addicts.com.)

SONG(s) OF THE DAY

A universally praised aspect of the show is its amazing, eclectic, perfectly selected soundtrack. There are too many songs featured to even list properly in one post, but these are a few key tracks:

Nouvelle Vague - “This Is Not A Love Song.” This serves as kind of the anthem of the first episode. [ zShare download ]

Mon Murmure - “Jazz Cocktail.” This gives you an idea of the playful nature the show sometimes adopts. [ zShare download ]

Fantastic Plastic Machine - “L’aventure Fantastique” [ zShare download ]

Lasse Lindh - “The Stuff” [ zShare download ]

[Read more →]

Tags: Lee Soo-kyung, Noh Do-chul, Sa Kang, Shin Dong-wook, Soulmate

Filed under: Drama Reactions & Reviews by javabeans - 109 Comments →