The power duo of writer Choi Wan-kyu and PD Yoo Chul-yong are back with a third drama, and given the successes preceding them—2003′s mega-hit All In and 2009′s Swallow the Sun—there is some talk of this being another “All In 2.” You may recall that the same was said during the build-up to Swallow the Sun, which ended up not being so much a sequel or spinoff or second All In after all, despite similarities and shared cast members.

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Read the rest of All In producers back together again for Round 3 (302 words)

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Post tags: sequels, Swallow the Sun

After a pretty meh 2008, I was ready for the drama landscape to fire back up with 2009. And while there were a number of misses and disappointments — isn’t there always? — I was pretty satisfied with the dramas I watched in 2009. I still don’t think there were as many top offerings as, say, 2007, but I found a number of series to entertain me and satisfy my drama craving. There were a few selections early on that got me pumped for the year and things lagged during and after the summer months, but all told, I had an entertaining year.

(Okay, this is LONG. I tried to contain myself, really.)

SONG OF THE DAY

IRIS – “Empty” by Juni [ Download ]

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Read the rest of All Told, A Pretty Fun Year [Year In Review, Part 4] (7,596 words)

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Post tags: Boys Before Flowers, Cinderella Man, Dream, Heading to the Ground, Hero, Hon, IRIS, Kyung Sook Kyung Sook's Father, My Fair Lady, Partner, Queen Seon-deok, Return of Iljimae, Smile, Sons of Sol Pharmacy House, Story of a Man, Style, Swallow the Sun, Tamra the Island, Triple, Will It Snow For Christmas, year in review, You're Beautiful

Swallow the Sun was never on my radar — I tried really hard to understand what was going on, but Episode 1 made my head hurt — but it has performed well throughout its run. (The story went all over the place (Vegas, Africa, Jeju Island), but I suppose it must have worked, Episode 1 notwithstanding.) It didn’t break 20%, and I’m not sure the blockbuster-action-melodrama lived up to the hype of being “All In 2,” but it did cap off with a series high this week with a finale episode at 18.8%.

The drama allowed SBS to claim Wednesdays and Thursdays this summer, but it may have been more of a benefit to its stars than the station; the three leads credit the drama for taking them another step further in their careers. Ji Sung, Lee Wan, and Sung Yuri have raised their profiles another notch, and spoke about their feelings as the drama wrapped.

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Read the rest of Stars weigh in on Swallow the Sun’s end (673 words)

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Post tags: Ji Sung, Lee Wan, Sung Yuri, Swallow the Sun

The production of the new drama Swallow the Sun, which had recently been shut down after staffers came down with swine flu, is ready to get back to work: shooting resumes on July 11.

However, this will occur with one concession, which is an extension of the quarantine for the drama’s original crew members. According to instructions by the Center for Disease Control, staffers were to remain isolated at home until nighttime on the 11th. However, because of a relapse of the illness, the production has decided, in accordance with requests from those in Jeju Island and from the CDC, to extend its delay until the 13th. To work around this, new staffers will be brought in from Seoul to start filming on the afternoon of the 11th.

I agree with comments that the swine flu scare has generally been blown out of proportion, but I think the extended quarantine speaks to the public’s worries more than fears of actual contagion. As one production rep explained, “The team currently sequestered in Jeju Island will for the time being continue to be sequestered so as not to cause misunderstandings with the country’s citizens and Jeju residents.”

A pre-show special for Swallow the Sun aired this Wednesday, followed by Episode 1 on Thursday. I haven’t seen it yet (it’s downloaded, ready to be watched, though) but it pulled in a pretty decent first showing with a 14.8% rating, which beat out both Partner and Triple. But first episode numbers are often misleading, so we’ll see the real competition heat up next week.

Via Star News

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Post tags: Ji Sung, Lee Wan, Sung Yuri, Swallow the Sun

Eep! The team working on SBS’s new big-budget Wednesday-Thursday drama Swallow the Sun has been hit by swine flu as four crew members have tested positive for the illness.

With only a day (and a half) left before its July 8 premiere, the production has been advised by health officials to prioritize the health of the public at large over its shooting schedule, and has decided to cut its planned July 7 production press conference.

The cast and crew had left for Las Vegas on June 14 for overseas shoots and returned to Korea on July 2. Among the staff, one member had been suffering from a cold and body aches before leaving on the trip, and still suffered from fever upon return. After being tested for swine flu, the results came back positive and the staffer is currently quarantined in Incheon.

Furthermore, the team that had traveled to film in Jeju Island last month reconvened with the team returning from the States to continue filming. After the first staffer tested positive, the rest of the crew submitted themselves for tests at a health clinic in Jeju and carefully resumed filming, accompanied by several medical professionals. However, results came back on July 6 confirming that three more crew members had tested positive for swine flu and filming has now completely stopped. Those three are receiving medical treatment in Jeju. The Swallow the Sun team is following the instructions set forth by the Center for Disease Control, particularly with regard to keeping separate from the general populace, and are confining themselves to their homes to keep worries at bay.

Meanwhile, the actors (which include Ji Sung, Sung Yuri, Lee Wan, Yoo Oh-sung) expressed some concerns over the production delay but said, “The drama is important, but more important is to put the people’s health first, so even if it hinders our production we’ve had to shut down.”

The producers are taking an optimistic line, saying, “We have shot parts already that can air, so the broadcast will proceed without problems. We plan to resume filming after this situation has passed, so don’t worry too much.”

Swallow the Sun will not hold its July 7 pre-show press conference, and will air a special on the 8th, followed by the first episode on the 9th.

Via TV Report

RELATED POSTS

• Prime-time battle of the ex-FinKL stars
• Sung Yuri stalkers fans, take note
• Swallow the Sun heads to Las Vegas
• Swallow the Sun preps for July premiere
• Ji Sung goes all in for Swallow the Sun
• All In gets a sequel

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Post tags: Ji Sung, Lee Wan, Sung Yuri, Swallow the Sun, Yoo Oh-sung

Former ’90s pop group FinKL kick-started a couple acting careers, namely with Sung Yuri and Lee Jin, who are set to star in competing dramas this summer. (Fellow FinKL member Ok Joo-hyun has had a successful career as a musical actress, while Lee Hyori — well, no explanation needed for her.)

Sung Yuri’s drama Swallow the Sun airs first, premiering on July 8 and taking up residence in SBS’s Wednesday-Thursday broadcast slot. Lee Jin will join in the ratings battle a month later with her horror series Hon [혼], which means Spirit or Soul; it also stars Lee Seo-jin.

In Swallow the Sun, Sung Yuri plays a young woman whose family meets with ruin and decides to head off alone to the States to study and make money (which probably explains how she ends up in Vegas). She’ll form a love triangle with a rich chaebol’s son (Lee Wan) and orphan Ji Sung. (And we’ve got at least five clichés right off the bat! Poor girl studies abroad and works to support family, has a chaebol suitor and forms a love triangle contrasting rich and poor.)

Meanwhile, this is Lee Jin’s second summer horror series in as many years; she appeared in last year’s summer horror anthology series Hometown of Legends. In Hon, she plays the prosecutor girlfriend of Lee Seo-jin‘s criminal psychologist character. The story that begins when the soul of a murdered high school student enters the body of the main character.

Swallow the Sun has the higher budget and the bigger hype, but I’ve never really been onboard with the story. Too bad I don’t have the stomach for horror, because I’d throw my vote to Hon / Soul.

Via E Daily

RELATED POSTS

• Sung Yuri stalkers fans, take note
• Swallow the Sun heads to Las Vegas
• Lee Seo-jin brings horror to summertime
• Swallow the Sun preps for July premiere
• Hyori gets some old-school backup

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Post tags: Lee Jin, Lee Seo-jin, Sung Yuri, Swallow the Sun

When it was announced that the cast of Swallow the Sun was heading to Las Vegas, you wondered where they’d be shooting.

Photos have been recently released showing Sung Yuri filming scenes on June 17, in which the actress rides a bicycle along the Strip. Her scenes start at the entrance to the Mirage casino/hotel as she heads toward the Bellagio, at which point her character runs inside on foot.

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Read the rest of Sung Yuri stalkers fans, take note (85 words)

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Post tags: Sung Yuri, Swallow the Sun

Ji Sung and Sung Yuri are heading to Las Vegas for the latest shoots of their upcoming SBS drama Swallow the Sun [태양을 삼켜라] (aka the All In sequel).

The actors and crew left Korea for the States on June 16, and plan to shoot there for approximately two weeks. This is the drama’s second overseas location shoot, following their end-of-March trip to Johannesburg, South Africa.

In the drama, Sung Yuri plays a successful international concert/event planner, whose first job comes as part of the planning team at Vegas’ Cirque Du Soleil show. Co-stars Yoo Oh-sung and Lee Wan also traveled to the Vegas shoot, where all four characters meet and begin their “intertwining fates.”

Swallow the Sun is planning for 24 episodes and follows City Hall on Wednesdays and Thursdays in July.

Via Newsen

RELATED POSTS

• Swallow the Sun preps for July premiere
• Ji Sung goes all in for Swallow the Sun
• All In gets a sequel

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Post tags: Ji Sung, Lee Wan, Sung Yuri, Swallow the Sun, Yoo Oh-sung

Swallow the Sun [태양을 삼켜라] has something of a puzzling name (imo), although I suppose it’s more evocative than the “All In 2″ it’s been dubbed (due to the reuniting of the PD and scriptwriter from the original All In). It’s also another of the highly anticipated summer dramas (although not so much for me), and will air on Wednesdays and Thursdays on SBS.

The drama features a pretty extensive cast list (see below), headed by Ji Sung (New Heart), Lee Wan (Insoon Is Pretty), and Yoo Oh-sung (Invisible Man Choi Jang-soo), who play close friends since their UDT (underwater demolition) training days. The ladies include Sung Yuri and Go Doo-shim.

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Read the rest of Swallow the Sun preps for July premiere (247 words)

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Post tags: Ji Sung, Jin Gu, Lee Wan, Sohn Hyun-joo, Sung Yuri, Swallow the Sun, Yoo Oh-sung

So, what’s airing these days?

After a popular phenomenon of a drama ends, people tend to wonder, What next? Even if you haven’t been watching Boys Before Flowers, maybe you’re wondering what else is out there.

So here’s a rundown of all the dramas currently airing, and a list of those to keep an eye on as they beginning premiering soon. I can’t speak for every single drama out there, but I’ve tried to provide most of them with a short description and/or personal impression.

SONG OF THE DAY

Fly to the Sky – “Song For You” from their latest (and last) album, “Decennium.” [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Currently airing dramas: A roundup (1,878 words)

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Post tags: Cain and Abel, Cinderella Man, City Hall, Friend, IRIS, Iron Empress, Ja Myung Go, Queen of Housewives, Return of Iljimae, Six Months, Sons of Sol Pharmacy House, Story of a Man, Swallow the Sun, Triple