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Hero in danger of losing lead actress

With only nine days left till its premiere, MBC’s Hero finds itself in a precarious position: It’s looking likely that lead actress Kim Min-jung will have to drop out due to injury.

According to a production representative on November 2, Kim Min-jung expressed her intention to drop out to producers on October 31, forcing the production team to convene over the weekend for a last-minute strategy session in order to figure out how to handle the situation.

A rep from Kim’s side said, “She feels a sense of responsibility to the broadcast and is intending to do all she can do, but she finds herself in a dilemma as her speed of recovery is slow and she is in severe pain.” She had been in meetings up through the day before, but they couldn’t come to a situation: “With only one week remaining until the premiere, it’s an embarrassing situation, but if she were to continue filming like this she could encounter even graver circumstances, so we are waiting for the production to take action.” They expect to have a decision by the end of the day (on the 2nd, Korean time).

Her condition arose when an injury sustained while filming Strike Love in April went unattended too long. Training for Hero‘s action scenes aggravated the situation, and in early October, Kim Min-jung was diagnosed with calcific tendinitis in her right shoulder, which occurs when calcium deposits build up in the tendons. She is currently unable to use her right arm fully, as her tendons were damaged approximately 30%; she is only about halfway recovered. She is currently receiving laser surgery (she opted not to go for invasive surgery to avoid scarring) and will need about four or five treatments; she has currently received three but has not improved.

It sounds like Kim has no choice but to drop out, and even if she were replaced immediately, this puts the production very behind schedule even before they premiere. Who knows what MBC is thinking; it sounds like they may just be expecting the production to pull through no matter what. However, I’m thinking if they want Hero to have any chance at all of being competitive (against IRIS and You’re Beautiful), they’re better off throwing together some last-minute special programming to give Hero a few extra weeks. If they don’t, they’re essentially just giving up on the drama, and what’s the point in throwing away a production without giving it a fighting chance?

Hey, MBC, here’s an idea: Maybe you can air all the lost episodes you forced Strike Love, Tamra the Island, and Heading to the Ground to chop up because you were impatient for ratings? That would buy you an extra month!

Via Yonhap News

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Karma much, MBC?

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Wow... that's too bad...

Sad about all the effort and time everybody already put into it... now it's like starting from ground zero again... because I'm assuming all the shots and posters with Kim Min-jung will have to be redone..

Well, hopefully Kim Min-jung, does time the necessary time off to fully recover.

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"Hey, MBC, here’s an idea: Maybe you can air all the lost episodes you forced Strike Love, Tamra the Island, and Heading to the Ground to chop up because you were impatient for ratings? That would buy you an extra month!"

hear hear! I was gonna suggest that if you hadn't beat me to it! :))

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there's already drama before the drama airs..that's not a good sign..they should wait it out before jumping head first into airing the drama..but i have a feeling that this drama won't do that HOT even if it is a Lee Junki drama.

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MBC can't have it all... Queen Seon Duk may be winning by a land slide on the Mon-Tue drama, but they have been failing miserably on their other dramas..

I hope the actress gets better soon.

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LOVE your idea. I still feel so bad for all these cut dramas, despite the low ratings and disappointing plots (HTTG).

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Yup, this show has "Wolf" written all over it. Remember -- Kim Min Jung was only cast after Han Ji Min had to drop out. How much bad luck can a show have before you know it's not meant to be?

Now, it could be my medication talking, but I think this would be an excellent time to pull a Cinderella Man and have LJK play both male and female parts.

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Poor Hero. There seems to be a whole mess of issues recently, and it feels like MBC has pretty much given up on this drama even before it's started. It doesn't really interest me, but all dramas should be given a fighting chance : \

I wish Kim Min-jung the best in recovery.

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i sorta didnt like her for this role anyway. Oh! not to be mean, I'm very sorry she's hurt and I wish her all the best. But maybe its for the better?

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I think they should pull a kinda LDH and have the lead actress written out of the show at the point where KMJ filmed until and then bring in the replacement lead actress rather than scrap and refilm entirely with a new actress.

I'm sad, for everyone involved. And as much as we may hate MBC, the production of Hero I don't equate with the station, so I want it to do well. But karma does bite, and Hero seems a victim of terrible circumstances.

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See what you do when you push ur actors too hard. tsk tsk tsk.

"Hey, MBC, here’s an idea: Maybe you can air all the lost episodes you forced Strike Love, Tamra the Island, and Heading to the Ground to chop up because you were impatient for ratings? That would buy you an extra month!"

WORD.

"I think they should pull a kinda LDH and have the lead actress written out of the show at the point where KMJ filmed until and then bring in the replacement lead actress rather than scrap and refilm entirely with a new actress."

I think that's a more feasible way of doing things...but the writing needs to be convincing then.

"Now, it could be my medication talking, but I think this would be an excellent time to pull a Cinderella Man and have LJK play both male and female parts."

Now now...won't LJK be a fascinating female?? XD Hey...I read a new plot! WOOT~ I mean, LJK is a reporter after all...

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Hmm...well you know if they do have to recast...maybe they'll realize that the haircut isn't exactly working. I think longer hair and a not cut like that are much more professional. Hey, just a thought.

It sucks though that is happens so soon before the show airs. I hope they figure something out and that KMJ's shoulder heals.

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the poor show! it is definitely karma for MBC who gave all those other shows the axe, but it sucks that the other actors/actresses are put into a bad situation too. I also think it's going to end up like Wolf, where production just stops. they should have left heading to the ground alone even though it was bad. could have given more time for an emergency plan.

or Hero could go the route of this taiwan drama, Prince Princess 2, which began off great- thought I had found my tw drama crack for the first 7 episodes, then disagreements between the director and producer lead to a NEW director...and then the 2nd male lead got pleural effusion and had to be hospitalized....so they stuck in a very charismatic new second lead and changed all the characters' personalities so they were only mere shadows of their former selves. I am still bitter. if they keep Kim Min Jung's part and decide to have her disappear...the temporary lead actress needs to be someone BIG.

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Poor Kim Min Jung. It's unfortunate that she has to drop out right before the premier of the drama, but health comes first. I wonder why Han Ji Min dropped the project in the first place?

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sigh..... i have nothing to say when i read this news.... Hero is the drama i expect the most for this year because it's leejunki comeback for drama. i waited for 1 year, since the start.. the script writer was changed...so the plot changed.... Leading actress changed from HJM to KMJ due to unknown reason. and now... she's goin to drop it as well ? she's not so pretty like other actress but i think she has great chemistry with leejunki and her acting is not bad at all. So i start to like her but now she has to leave all of sudden?..

i felt really sorry for crews who work really hard. I wish MBC will do something to help the situation. Junki fans was sick of this station since "Time between dog and wolf" which MBC rarely promote it while all of attention went to Coffee Prince at that time.but the drama itself was great enough to win many awards and was infamous of interesting story. Anyway, hero has more trouble. I hope it can go through these difficulties.

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Problem is which drama A or B lost actress is available immediately, matches up with Junki and is well cast for whatever role, either as a replacement for KMJ's policewoman or a new character. Most of the ladies are either just finished a recent drama (SYR or YEH) or prepping for a new drama (LDH). I think GHS would ham it up too much with Junki, maybe Han Ji-hye? I don't know, but I totally interested in Hero on many levels, including the potential train wreck level. What was the Wolf backstory?

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lol, this is what MBC gets for being to quick with the axe.

I feel awful for her though. She's got to feel terrible and in lots of pain.
But I mean, she should have taken care of herself earlier. Holding it off only made it worse.

I hope everything works out!

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HMMM!!!!! Was never really interested with this in the first place but I agree with everyone.....with the way things are going, HERO will probably need a hero to save it from the axe that might befall it if the ratings aren't good and with all the problems that seem to come it's way, HERO might not stand a chance. Hope KMJ feels well soon.

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Bad news for MBC, it's definitely karma.

I don't know how they're gonna solve this, the only way I can think of is MBC giving the production team another month, while they fix things and they just air filler stuff like documentary etc. And if MBC is willing to axe this as well before giving any chances, what are they gonna air in replacement for Hero? Tough choice on both sides.

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This so sad -- but then maybe it has a silver lining: MBC should push back Hero's debut by a few weeks because at this point it has no chance in hell of competing against Iris or YB.

How awful that the actress had to go without treatment long enough that her injury calcified! I hope that she regains her arm movement. How terrifying for her.

I wonder if Hero would be canceled at this point so that Lee Junki can come back in a stronger vehicle. I watched the 5-minute trailer released last week, and OMG, it was boring as hell. Worst of all, it takes itself way too seriously.

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sorry folks, LDH is filming drama "Chuno" right now, so imposible to join 'Hero, furthermore this is MBC-she is still in trauma (I think) after her EOE.

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So... are they going to kill off the lead actress, and introduce someone new in Episode 3??

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Oh no this is horrible. MBC has to stall for a few weeks and find a good replacement. I hope they don't just grab the first available actress and stick her in there (If that's what they were planning). If they're going to cancel this then I say they put Jun Ki in Queen Seon Deok as a foreign prince or something (joke! LOL)

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ha!...karma!....they cut 'Heading to the Ground' TWICE and ended up with this situation...if they hadn't done this, the actress would've had at least an extra 2-3 weeks to heal....I don't feel sorry for MBC at all.

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well i couldnt very well sympathize with MBC with its axing its shows left and right. Although heading to the ground was poorly written , i cant help but feel sorry for the actors whose shows were shamefully cut prematurely... there are just things that are beyond your control. I guess its true that you really can't have it all, MBC killed all the competitors of queen seundok but its struggling with the other days but other networks are just on the same boat as they are... they have been struggling on their airing on Mon- Tues because of Queen Seundok but they never cut the shows this much... karma!

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Are they going to write out her character? How much of it have they actually filmed?

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for realz! they should just air those lost episodes...it'll give angry fans of those cut shows innitiative to return to mbc. don't they care about their reputation for good dramas at all...if not ratings, then they should atleast go down with a fight with a decent drama, instead of pulling horrible, awkward, unexplainable endings! if they don't fix this, hero might just add on to their growing list of bad dramas...

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Karma is a bitch, MBC. :)

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It`s karma indeed for MBC!! I also don`t feel sympathy for this station...And i agree with JB suggestion, instead of going with filler like documentary ( do people still watch this??) why not just filming the lost episode of the dramas that MBC cut, who knows maybe by doing the good deed (make right for what you`ve been wronged), things might turn out better for Hero...

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this is bad news!
This drama is not lucky....

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LOL I bet they're now regretting being so hasty to cut Tamra and Strike Love. Tamra, in particular, had a very vocal fan following that MBC was stupid to ignore, and they're probably now twiddling their thumbs wondering what they're going to do because if they had aired those episodes as planned, they wouldn't even be IN this situation in the first place! Sucks to be you, MBC. *shakes fist* All stations cut shows at some stage, but MBC really went off on an axing spree.

I feel sorry for Kim Min Jung, though! Both in pain and troubled over continuing with this drama, but it looks like she doesn't have much of a choice except to drop out. I wasn't overjoyed at the news of her casting, so I can't muster much disappointment, but I do wonder how they're going to get themselves out of this. Someone's suggestion to write her out doesn't seem a bad idea, though, depending on how much they've filmed so far. Go back with the original idea of Lee Jun Ki's first love interest being killed in action?

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i definitely want to watch the cut episodes of Tamra and Strike Love. Great suggestion, I just hope it reaches the heads of MBC.

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Aww... too bad for KMJ, i hope she will recover soon...

“Hey, MBC, here’s an idea: Maybe you can air all the lost episodes you forced Strike Love, Tamra the Island, and Heading to the Ground to chop up because you were impatient for ratings? That would buy you an extra month!”
I Agree to that!!

like most of the commenters above, i think it's karma for MBC, but it' too bad for other actors and production team of HERO if they were to replace the drama main actress just a week before premiere
i think MBC should just wait some more time to either get a replacement actress with the same (or better) quality than KMJ or wait until KMJ heals...

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Word... agree with JB statement and # 3,11, 32 & 33...

Yeah, MBC give us the drama that you chopped off coz you were impatient for ratings...
Especially HTTG... ok coz of my TXXQ-Yunho bias... but that was one drama that could have so much more potential from snippets I saw.

On the other hand poor KMJ. I know... anything associated with joints, especially shoulders hurt like a b*tch. Get well soon.

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grr.. i've been w8ing for this.. KMJ-get well soon :D

i hope they just make a lil change :D

like, make KMJ junki's 1st love that will die then after ** years

new lead actress for him :D

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A new lead actress would make her a third pick for the role..I can not see any big name wanting that hanging over their heads even if they by luck had time free at the right time to appear in the drama.
There always the option of bringing in a fresh new face/name, of course then you have the trouble of finding one cuter than Lee Junki lol.
MBC all about money and as it already been pre-sold to japan I can not see them just dropping the production.

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Sad news. I mean, the chemistry built up between the leads....have gone to waste. And rushing to find a new lead, AND film enough for the first ep within such a short timeframe...is quite impossible.

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Well, MBC really muck things up with all the drama cut short. I feel bad for Hero.

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The timing couldn't be worse! She already cut her hair into that unflattering do!

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This's so bad. I hope HERO will get the lead actress soon.
They have only about 1 week to film the first 2 episodes. This's scary!!!!
I hope LJK's drama before his enlist will do well. We won't see him in about 2 years. T^T

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It has been confirmed that she's leaving.

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Allowing all eps of Strike Love and Tamra to air would not have avoided the Hero situation - SL and Tamra aired on Sat/Sun, whereas Hero is a Wed/Thurs drama. I still say, air all the eps of Heading to the Ground and allow Hero to regroup - no matter what story line or who steps in - more time is needed to ramp the production back up. Or air filler material, it doesn't matter, it would also allow Hero to have less competition with IRIS and YB.

Yeah, this would suck if this is Junki's last drama before enlistment. I hope KMJ gets better soon, no permanent injury, and that the Hero crew stays positive and finds a workable solution.

Karma for MBC is one thing - Hero is NOT MBC, just a drama MBC picked up, so it's sad to see it suffer for MBC's hubris and mistakes.

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OUCH! MBC Weds+Thurs primetimes are cursed. LOL
Even Karma can't do much about QSD.

Oh~ I agree with the last paragraph. That would be a great plan. Someone tells them.
^ Can't they just move it to Weds+Thursday? I don't know if that ever happens in Korea, but they do it a lot for American shows.

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poor jun ki! he's such a good actor and he doesn't deserve a drama to be a flop!
i agree with bringing some of their cut dramas back
personally, i want them to air the tamra the island episodes back just because it was such an enjoyable drama to watch for me!

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Hope Kim Min Jung gets enough rest and recover soon.
Poor Junki! I'll give Hero a chance only because of him, because there's simply nothing else interesting about the plot/cast.
Will some kind soul elaborate on the backstory of MBC and Time Between Dog and Wolf? I caught the drama a few months after it ended and liked it a lot, but wasn't in the loop on all the behind the scenes action.

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Huh. Moon Chae Won may end up the substitute. Dude, if she has a shot at this, she should take it. TAKE THE ROLE. Absolutely zilcho risk for her and she'll have essentially 3 straight Hallyu properties coming out of this year.

"Will some kind soul elaborate on the backstory of MBC and Time Between Dog and Wolf?"

I wouldn't say TODAW underperformed (ratings were solid), but it didn't get the hype train that CP got prior to airing. Not just the Lee Jung Ki casting, TODAW recruited the screenwriters from the film Typhoon.

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Moon Chae-won would a a win for everyone involved, including MCW. I didn't think about her b/c she just finished MFL, but then again, she had just finished BL/SI when she started right away with MFL, the girl is sure striking while the iron is hot.

I can see loads of chemistry with Junki, and she's just ripe for a lead actress role, you hate her as an evil step-sister, and then adore her as a quirky best friend. She's ten shades of awesome, and apparently MBC has random programming ready to air for a few weeks to allow Hero to refilm everything, so I think Hero may end up winning on multiple levels - staying away from IRIS and YB as long as possible, and allowing the drama to be re-tooled slighty if necessary. But pleeeeze do not cut MCW's hair!

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brilliant idea JB!! "Hey, MBC, here’s an idea: Maybe you can air all the lost episodes you forced Strike Love, Tamra the Island, and Heading to the Ground to chop up because you were impatient for ratings? That would buy you an extra month!"

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