The following article looks at pop singers who make the jump to acting and kind of falls into the “No duh” category with its statement of the obvious. But I think the topic is interesting, even if the article is overly simplistic. (It could have been a more persuasive piece if it had looked at more examples, for instance.) As a jumping-off point, it does the job, given how many idol stars are trying to make the leap into acting careers these days, some with more success than others.

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Read the rest of Idol stars struggle with acting debuts (647 words)

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Post tags: Brilliant Legacy, Cinderella Man, Kim Hyun-joong, Lee Seung-gi, Park Su-jin, Queen Seon-deok, Yoon-ah

And wouldn’t we all?

Oh, Kwon Sang-woo. I understand that you’re in something of a career slump after being one of the hottiest hotties of the early 2000s, and yeah, both your best buds Song Seung-heon and So Ji-sub came off pretty strong series in the past two months… but is bargaining for more viewers really the way to go about it?

Ratings for his new trendy drama Cinderella Man have been low, and Kwon offered that if they rose above 20% (ha!), he’d personally ask co-star Yoon-ah’s girl pop group Girls Generation (SoShi) to make a cameo.

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Read the rest of Kwon Sang-woo would like more viewers, please (648 words)

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Post tags: Bad Love, Cinderella Man, drama ratings, Han Eun-jung, interviews, Kwon Sang-woo, Sohn Tae-young, Song Chang-eui, Yoon-ah

On Wednesday, Cinderella Man premiered to a disappointing 9.3% rating, which dropped further to 6.7% on its second day. (It was up against Cain & Abel and I Hate You But Let’s Try Again, which both pulled in numbers in the 15%-19% range.)

I’ll always take the stance that ratings aren’t strictly indicative of a show’s quality, so I don’t think the numbers automatically say the show sucks. However, after seeing the first two episodes, I can see why the show received such a lukewarm response. Articles discussing the show’s first week point out the shaky quality, which range from complaints of Kwon Sang-woo’s muddy diction (”It requires subtitling!”) and exaggerated accent, as well as Yoon-ah’s acting and insufficient range of expression.

Personally, I didn’t think Cinderella Man was actually bad. It was okay. Inoffensive. It just… wasn’t very exciting.

SONG OF THE DAY

Biuret – “Dreams Come True.” Hm, maybe this song is too energetic for this post… Oh well. Just know that the drama ain’t anywhere near as upbeat as this fun song by Biuret, whose second album released a couple months ago. [ Download ]

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Read the rest of First impressions: MBC’s Cinderella Man (1,837 words)

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Post tags: Cinderella Man, episode recaps, Han Eun-jung, Kwon Sang-woo, Song Chang-eui, Yoon-ah

I admit to poking a bit of fun at MBC’s upcoming series Cinderella Man, but I will say from photos of the drama’s production press conference, it does have one good-looking cast. (Of course, merely casting pretty actors never ensures quality, but when you’re approaching a drama with low expectations of the body-switching, weirdly-cast, cliché-ridden story, eye candy becomes important.)

Kwon Sang-woo and Yoon-ah, above, still look a little more like “Daddy’s little girl” than romantic counterparts, but I’m willing to give it a shot.

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Read the rest of Cinderella Man production press conference (293 words)

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Post tags: Cinderella Man, Han Eun-jung, Kwon Sang-woo, press conferences, Song Chang-eui, Yoon-ah

Here are some new stills of Kwon Sang-woo in his upcoming dual-role as the lead character(s) in MBC’s Cinderella Man [신데렐라 맨]. These were taken from a recent shoot on Jeju Island, before a group of Japanese fans, who tagged along to the site to cheer on the drama production.

According to a production staff, this Jeju shoot comprised three nights and four days, starting on March 18 at Jeju International Airport.

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Read the rest of Cinderella Man’s island shoot (320 words)

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Post tags: Kwon Sang-woo, Yoon-ah

Musical and screen actor Song Chang-eui (Scales of Providence) is in final negotiations to appear in the upcoming Cinderella Man — as Kwon Sang-woo’s older brother.

I’m starting to think that Cinderella Man is purely an exercise in Kwon Sang-woo’s vanity. I mean, I’ve always kinda thought that, but now it’s becoming pretty obvious. Especially as this comes on the heels of news that his love interest is Girls Generation pop singer Yoon-ah, who’s only 18 (by Western age count).

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Read the rest of Kwon Sang-woo gets an older brother (341 words)

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Post tags: Kwon Sang-woo, Song Chang-eui, Yoon-ah

This is such a bizarre pairing to me — Yoon-ah, actress and singer of pop group Girls Generation (SNSD), is being paired as love interest to Kwon Sang-woo (Bad Love). It’s weird, right?

There’s nothing wrong with either; it’s that they’re from entirely different spheres. The 33-year-old Kwon has been around forever and he’s entering that second phase of his career where he’s no longer the fresh young lead. Yoon-ah, on the other hand, is 14 years younger (at 19, she’s still jailbait) and is more affiliated with the youth and kpop markets.

The role comes in the upcoming drama Cinderella Man, which will follow Return of Iljimae on MBC. The fashion-themed series casts Yoon-ah as a fashion student studying in Paris, who returns to Korea upon her father’s death. She operates a stall in the Dongdaemun market (which is where Kwon’s character also works). The role had initially been offered to Terroir’s Han Hye-jin, but she dropped out of the project.

If you’re confused because Han Eun-jung was already cast as Kwon’s leading lady, that’s because he’s playing a dual role. Sounds like his main role is the poor Dongdaemun store owner, while the man who happens to look exactly like him is a chaebol/businessman of a major fashion corporation. The poor dude ends up posing as the rich dude in a take on “The Prince and the Pauper.” Hijinks ensue.

Yoon-ah gained some acting cred with her role in the family drama You’re My Destiny, which started strong and then came under fire as one of the worst dramas in recent memory, although opinions remained favorable for her performance. (The writing was what turned that drama insane.) Cinderella Man premieres in April and airs on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Via OSEN

RELATED POSTS

• It’s a baby boy for Kwon Sang-woo and Sohn Tae-young
• Cinderella Man’s leading lady Han Eun-jung
• Two Kwons for the price of one

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Post tags: Kwon Sang-woo, Yoon-ah