Looks like they’re taking the title literally for Love Rain, with series leads Jang Geun-seok and Yoon-ah meeting in the rain in the above still.

The multigenerational “premium melodrama” from melo king PD Yoon Seok-ho (he of the Season dramas) has already pre-sold to Japan, no doubt owing a lot of its hype to the two stars, both of whom have heightened profiles abroad as well as home. The drama has been filming since September, starting with the earlier 1970s period; it’ll then cover the following decades and resume with their children’s generation. The analog-versus-digital dichotomy is one of the main motifs, in addition to the youthful-love-and-angst melo plots we’ve come to expect from PD Yoon. (...)
Read the rest of Love Rain, literally (99 words)

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Post tags: Jang Geun-seok, Love Rain, Yoon-ah

Huh, script reading already? Love Rain isn’t scheduled to air till 2012, but the main cast convened recently for its first script reading, which included actors Jang Geun-seok, Yoon-ah, Kim Shi-hoo, Sohn Eun-seok, Hwang Bora, and Seo In-gook. (I use the term scheduled loosely; technically Love Rain isn’t scheduled at all, in that it doesn’t have a concrete timeslot, but producers are aiming to secure a broadcast slot for early next year.)

Regarding the drama’s story, Yoon PD said, “There were a lot of one-sided loves in the ’70s era, a time period that the actors haven’t experienced for themselves. It was also a happy time, and the script reflects a lot of the emotions and experience that still linger in my memory.” According to one production company source, “Veteran PD Yoon Suk-ho led the proceedings and explained everything in detail, not leaving out even the smallest thing.”

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Read the rest of Love Rain holds initial script reading (243 words)

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Post tags: Jang Geun-seok, Love Rain, Yoon-ah

Looks like it won’t be Han Hyo-joo after all; “Season drama” director Yoon Suk-ho has cast pop idol and SNSD member Yoon-ah as the female lead in Love Rain (still a working title, apparently), opposite Jang Geun-seok.

The plot: Love Rain is “a melodrama that transcends generations and paints a pure love story with emotion.” It spans from the “pure love of the 1970s analog age, to the trendy ways of today’s digital age.” Yoon-ah plays Kim Yoon-hee, a young woman with a pure appearance, in the 1970s portion of the drama, and then also plays her daughter, named Yuri.

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Read the rest of Yoon-ah cast as Jang Geun-seok’s leading lady (274 words)

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Post tags: Jang Geun-seok, Yoon-ah

javabeans: Hey, have you heard Lee Min-ho is on his way to your neck of the woods?

girlfriday: *drops everything, gives jb full attention*

javabeans: Uh, so, Lee Min-ho is on his way to your neck of the woods. He just hopped on a plane a few hours ago.

girlfriday: OMG, did I finally get through to the powers that be?

javabeans: You’ll have to fight it out with everyone else in LA who just dropped their Monday plans to stalk Lee Min-ho through the (very large, might I add) city.

girlfriday: Koreatown’s not so large. I’m on it.

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Read the rest of Lee Min-ho heads for Los Angeles (599 words)

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Post tags: conversation post, Lee Min-ho, Yoon-ah

The 46th Baeksang Arts Awards were held on March 26 in Seoul, which is one of the biggest awards ceremonies in the industry, in both television and film. Only, this year I’ve got to say my reaction at the winners was mostly: WTF, Baeksangs?

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Read the rest of 46th Baeksang Arts Awards (1,652 words)

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Post tags: awards, Choi Kang-hee, Daniel Choi, Go Hyun-jung, Ha Ji-won, Ha Jung-woo, Han Hyo-joo, Hong Su-ah, Hwang Jung-eum, Jang Geun-seok, Jang Hee-jin, Jo Ahn, Joo Jin-mo, Jung Yong-hwa, Kang Ye-won, Kim Ah-joong, Kim Nam-gil, Kim Nam-joo, Lee Chae-young, Lee Min-ho, Lee Min-jung, Lee Min-ki, Lee Seung-gi, Moon Geun-young, Park Bo-young, Seo Woo, Shin Se-kyung, So Ji-sub, Sohn Ye-jin, Sunwoo Sun, Yoon Shi-yoon, Yoon-ah

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.

[Watch the series at DramaFever]

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 (1,842 words)

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Post tags: Cinderella Man, first episodes, 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