And now to conclude the Big 3 Broadcaster awards with SBS, featuring some of the most popular dramas of the year. Tree With Deep Roots was the big winner of the night, winning six trophies in total, including the Daesang for Han Seok-kyu, and the Top Excellence Award for Best Drama. There were no big upsets in any category, because they kind of have a category for everyone, but that’s the name of the game. I’m just happy for Han Seok-kyu’s big win, and the fact that he didn’t have to share the glory with any split-award hullabaloo.

Protect the Boss cleaned up as well, winning Best Couple and acting awards for the stars, as well as an additional netizen popularity award for Choi Kang-hee. As expected, Thousand Day Promise had a strong showing in the acting categories, as did fellow melodrama Scent of a Woman. It certainly was the year for tearjerkers. The winners…

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Post tags: awards, Choi Kang-hee, Eom Ki-joon, Gu Hara, Han Seok-kyu, Im Soo-hyang, Jaejoong, Jang Hyuk, Jeon Gwang-ryul, Ji Chang-wook, Ji Sung, Jung Kyeo-woon, Jung Yumi (2), Kim Rae-won, Kim Sun-ah, Lee Dong-wook, Lee Mi-sook, Lee Min-ho, Lee So-yeon, Lee Yo-won, Seo Hyo-rim, Shin Hyun-bin, Shin Se-kyung, Song Joong-ki, Su Ae, Wang Ji-hye, Yoon So-yi

We’re just two Bachelors into the Six Pack, which is slow for my liking, but on the upside I just adore what we’ve seen of them so far. Mostly Tae-yang, who brightens up the screen with his presence, his warm spirit, his good humor… and okay, the sheepish half-nakedness surely doesn’t hurt.

Frankly, the proportion of actual bachelors and vegetables to Crazy Mom and her snooty chaebol world is still woefully small. The former is winning and feel-good; the latter, trite and, for lack of a better term, feel-bad. Let’s get on with the show, drama gods! We’ve all seen Baker King, haven’t we? Or at least a good 40% of the viewing public has. It’s time to move past those shenanigans and get to the heart of this story. By which I mean: the bachelors.

SONG OF THE DAY

Sweet Sorrow – “나랑 같이 해줄래” (Will You Join Me) [ Download ]

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Post tags: Bachelor's Vegetable Store, featured, Ji Chang-wook, Wang Ji-hye

Finally! Ji Chang-wook! Boy, did you make me suffer through a whole lot of backstory to get to you. The second episode spends most of its time still stuck in the past, throughout which I’m continuously mumbling, yeah, we geddit. But the good news is, once we get out, things look brighter. Let’s just hope they stay that way.

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Post tags: Bachelor's Vegetable Store, featured, Ji Chang-wook, Wang Ji-hye

I thought we’d only have one bachelor in upcoming drama Bachelor’s Vegetable Store — played by Ji Chang-wook — but we get SIX? The more, the merrier. Bring on the pretty!

They are, in order of the photo below:

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Post tags: Bachelor's Vegetable Store, Ji Chang-wook, Kim Young-kwang, Lee Kwang-soo, Park Su-jin, Wang Ji-hye

It’s confirmed: Ji Chang-wook will take the lead role in the drama series Bachelor’s Vegetable Store, which will air on cable (surprise surprise) on Channel A. The news was teased a while back after Yoon Shi-yoon dropped from the list of candidates, filling his schedule instead with the upcoming Me Too, Flower, and Ji was tapped to fill the slot.

Playing his love interest in her first leading role is Wang Ji-hye, who’s coming off a string of secondary roles in well-received dramas like Protect the Boss and President. Meanwhile, Ji Chang-wook will get rid of his lustrous warrior’s locks (sob) from Warrior Baek Dong-soo to portray the young hero here. Don’t get me wrong, he’s pretty any way you cut it (in this case, “it” being his hair), but it means for the time being we’ll have to say goodbye to this:

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Read the rest of Veggie Store gets its bachelor, broadcaster, and leading lady (204 words)

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Post tags: Bachelor's Vegetable Store, cable programs, Ji Chang-wook, Wang Ji-hye

The 16th Busan International Film Festival opened on October 6, and the red carpet to the opening screening — So Ji-sub and Han Hyo-joo’s tragic romance Only You — was awash with stars.

(For those of you used to seeing the festival called PIFF, it recently changed its spelling. The festival is in its 16th year and began back when the city was spelled Pusan. The spelling of the southern city officially changed to Busan in 2000, but the festival kept its former spelling, which naturally led to some confusion. Yeah, the Korean romanization system changes hasn’t been the most easy to follow.)

It’s been a while since we’ve had a big, star-packed red carpet, but this reminds me that we’re heading into awards season, and will soon be seeing lots of events like this. Which means, lots and lots of red carpets to ooh over, or, as the case may be, snark.

There were some questionable outfits (always fun), but overall I really like what I saw, even if there was an overwhelming trend toward leg slits Up To There and a good amount of side-boob. But the colors! Yay for colors!

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Post tags: Byun Jung-soo, Cha Seung-won, Daniel Choi, Eom Ji-won, film festivals, Go Soo, Gu Hye-sun, Han Hyo-joo, Hong Su-ah, Hwang Woo-seul-hye, Jang Dong-gun, Ji Sung, Jung Seok-won, Kang Hye-jung, Kang So-ra, Kang Ye-won, Kim Dong-wan, Kim Haneul, Kim Min-joon, Kim Sae-ron, Kim Sun-ah, Lee Beom-soo, Lee Je-hoon, Min Hyo-rim, Nam Sang-mi, Park Jin-hee, Park Ye-jin, So Ji-sub, Sung Yuri, Wang Ji-hye, Yeh Ji-won, Yoo Ah-in, Yoo Inna, Yoon Jin-seo

We’ve got posters and character promo stills out for SBS’s Protect the Boss, and I have to say that this drama is slowly growing on me with what appears to be an offbeat, wacky vibe. It just may be quirky enough to work.

I wasn’t initially too enthralled by the chaebol hero and the boss-secretary setup (Ji Sung and Choi Kang-hee, respectively), but this looks like no typical K-drama setup, and no typical chaebol. Instead of being the coolly perfect businessman we’ve become so familiar with in dramas, this hero’s kooky and eccentric, while she literally kicks ass. The plot unfolds as she undertakes Project Tame The Errant Boss, and romance ensues.

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Post tags: Choi Kang-hee, Jaejoong, Ji Sung, Protect the Boss, Wang Ji-hye

Maybe third time’s the charm: The SBS romantic-comedy series now titled Protect the Boss has already ditched two previous titles, The Boss Has Changed and Last Secretary. Let’s see if it sticks this time.

The drama has also added another cast member to join its main four of Choi Kang-hee (the new secretary), Ji Sung (the boss), Jaejoong (the sharp businessman), and Wang Ji-hye (the cool lawyer). Now rookie actress Lee Hee-won, pictured above, joins them to play Jaejoong’s perfectionist secretary.

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Post tags: Choi Kang-hee, Jaejoong, Ji Sung, Lee Hee-won, Wang Ji-hye

SBS’s upcoming rom-com series Last Secretary has been renamed The Boss Has Changed, which is a title change I like; already it goes from sounding vaguely serious to light and fluffy, which is what you want in a romantic comedy, no?

The drama has also finalized its lineup. The first two to be confirmed were Choi Kang-hee (My Sweet Seoul) as our heroine and Lee Hee-jin (Best Love) as the hero’s friend and senior secretary at his company. Looks like the latter has dropped, but now, we can add Ji Sung (Royal Family), Hero Jaejoong (Heaven’s Postman), and Wang Ji-hye (Personal Taste) to that list.

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Read the rest of Last Secretary becomes The Boss Has Changed (292 words)

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Post tags: Choi Kang-hee, Jaejoong, Ji Sung, Wang Ji-hye

I’m not usually a huge fan of Céci photo shoots (a lot of them are on the boring end of the spectrum), but I like these photos of Wang Ji-hye, the actress in KBS’s President, though I know her more as the love-to-hate-her In-hee (Bot) of Personal Taste, aka the girl who did not understand the meaning of the words “No,” “I’m just not into you,” or “Get the hell away from me, I mean it.”

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Read the rest of Wang Ji-hye’s spread in Céci (119 words)

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Post tags: photo shoots, Wang Ji-hye