The little girl who stole viewers’ hearts as the precocious HIV-stricken Bom in last year’s Thank You, ten-year-old Seo Shin-ae, is returning to television in KBS’s new daily drama Glory of Youth, playing the youngest child in a family growing up in the 1960s.

In the drama, Seo is the youngest (11-year-old) daughter to a bus driver, who has twin sisters and a slightly dim-witted brother. Although she has a loving father, she also receives the brunt of her stepmother’s frustrations.

While child actors don’t usually grab headlines when they are cast in drama series, Seo Shin-ae is one of the newest crop of scene-stealing kid stars. After debuting in 2004 in CFs, she already has several movie roles under her belt and worked with some high-profile adult actors, such as Park Shin-yang in Shiny Day and Jang Hyuk, Gong Hyo-jin, and Shin Goo in Thank You. Add her to the list of young actors to keep an eye on, joining others like Yoo Seung-ho and Shim Eun-kyung of Legend, Park Bo-young of King and I (although she’s growing out of the “child actor” label), and Kim Hyang-gi of When Night Comes.

Daily dramas really aren’t my cup of tea, but they tend to be good learning experiences for young or inexperienced actors since they shoot every day and offer more chance for growth than, say, much shorter miniseries. The drama will take to the airwaves after Big Sister finishes in mid-November.

Via OSEN

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• Golden age for child actors

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Kim Sun Ah as Samsoon

Anyone’s who’s been watching kdramas for a number of years has probably, at some point, noted the same thing as the following article. Early Hallyu kicked off the hallmarks of The Korean Melodrama (And Boy Do I Mean Drama!), and I think more recent offerings are unfortunately still colored (dare I say tainted?) by the tropes established in the early stuff. For instance, the impoverished but virtuous female, the Prince Charming who rescues her, the evil and jealous second female lead who’d do anything to sabotage the main romance, the second male lead who never had a shot, the cancer, the tears, the angst. Consider: Autumn Fairy Tale, Winter Sonata, Stairway to Heaven, Star In My Heart, Glass Slippers, All About Eve…

Judging from those early dramas alone, I wouldn’t blame people outside the culture for thinking, “Boy those Koreans sure have a lot of young rich studs and poor beautiful damsels in distress. Imagine how productive the country would be if everyone stopped trying to futz around with each other’s love lives and just got their act together.”

Anyway, many dramas these days still play on the old stereotypes, but the tenor has changed. The stage is gradually shifting, perhaps most notably in the female roles:

Female Characters, Boundless Transformations

Where’s the end to actresses’ transformations? Nowadays, female characters in every kind of drama and film are evolving. In particular, with the success of projects depending less on plot than character, actresses are taking “meaningful risks” in going for a different image or acting that evokes audience sympathy.

TV miniseries in the ’80s and ’90s employed the “Cinderella story” formula in search of success, and brought about a general trend following the “Candy”-esque [the manhwa] philosophy: “Though I’m loney, though I’m sad, I don’t cry.”

In these stories, a kind and obedient female would overcome all sorts of adversities to realize her success in the form of love with a successful man. As a result, popular actresses cultivated innocent images that would elicit a protective instinct. Typical examples include Shin Aera of Love In Your Arms [Sarang eul gudae eui poom ahn ae] and Choi Jin Shil of Star in My Heart.

SONG OF THE DAY

My Name Is Kim Sam Soon OST – “She Is” by Clazziquai. This song makes me totally nostalgic every time I hear it. [ zShare download ]

My, how dramas have changed >>

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[And now for Dahee Fanel's comprehensive take on the past year! --javabeans]

First of all, I’d like to bow my head in deep gratitude to Javabeans, the highly esteemed writer of this blog, for inviting me to post a few thoughts here. I hope she won’t regret her decision after reading what I have to say, hehe.

2007 was an interesting year, at least for me, particularly when it comes to Korean dramas. I’ve watched dramas on a regular basis since I was old enough to walk and talk (I am, after all, Korean), but I’ve never undergone such a transformation in terms of how I approach dramas as I have in the past couple of years…although I suppose you could argue that it’s turned me into nothing but a picky bitch. (But weren’t you always a picky bitch, Dahee?)

Still, despite my pickiness, I managed to watch quite a handful of dramas this year, although I certainly didn’t manage to finish them all (blame school and the crappy work that some PDs and writers dish out, putting off viewers like me). In fact, I watched so many, I can’t possibly talk about them all here. So I’ll just pick a few notables and dish out some kudos, as well as one or two boos. Because boos are just as fun as kudos, if not as well-received.

DAHEE’S SONG OF THE DAY

Jo Kwan Woo – “천년애” (chun nyun ae), from the soundtrack of the drama The King & I. [ zShare download ]

In which I am embarrassingly long-winded

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[And now, please give your warm welcome to guest blogger Thunderbolt, who shares with us her year-end review! --javabeans]

Has this happened to you? You’re reading a book on the bus or train and all of a sudden you burst out laughing. Everyone’s staring but you can’t stop grinning. And all because that line you just read was so unexpectedly funny.

Here’s another scenario. You’re watching one of the hit kdramas of 2006 and after being entertained for the first eighteen episodes or so, you’re down to the last few episodes. And though you had been warned that it was going to be draggy from here, you had no idea how draggy. So now you’re climbing the walls. Your mood’s so foul from the plot shenanigans you want to hurl two cartons of rotten tomatoes at your TV screen.

That was my 2007. A year where I laughed and cried my way through dramas so good they made me even more of an addict. A year where I watched stuff that people were raving about and I shook my head and said, “Something’s seriously amiss with me because I. JUST. DON’T. GET. THE. HYPE.” I raved, I ranted, and just like that, a year has gone by. Here’s my “hits and misses” (how original a title, right?^^) roundup for 2007.

THUNDERBOLT’S SONG OF THE DAY

Uhm Tae Woong – “사랑하지 말아줘” (Don’t love me) from the OST of Devil. Singing must run in the family. (Older sis is the “Korean Madonna” Uhm Jung Hwa.) [ zShare download ]

And it comes with a video! Live performance by actor/singer Uhm Tae Woong:

Thunderbolts gems and head-scratchers >>

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Yoo Seung Ho, Shim Eun Kyung (both from “Legend”)

 
Longtime kdrama lovers have noted for a while now that Korea’s got some serious talent in the child-acting department. Ever since young Moon Geun Young stole the show in Autumn Love Story, perhaps even eclipsing her adult counterpart Song Hye Gyo (one of Korea’s most famous natural beauties, but never noted for her acting skills), lots of child actors have gained notice not just as props in a series but as legitimate, moving characters.

There’s been a boom lately, too, one of the reasons being the recent crowd of sageuk dramas, which tend to span more of a character’s life, often including his/her childhood.

According to Star News:

Child actors’ contributions to dramas are growing larger, to the extent that some say they influence one’s success or failure. The actors portraying the childhood roles of the adult actors in dramas like MBC’s Legend, SBS’s King and I, MBC’s Yi San etc. are garnering attention with their roles. …

(Random) SONG OF THE DAY

Maybee – “Day dream” [ zShare download ]

Continue reading >>

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