Joo-won, Kim Tae-hee get their nemeses in SBS’s Yong-pal

by javabeans

Jo Hyun-jae, Jung Woong-in, Jo Bok-rae

The plot thickens for SBS’s upcoming Wednesday-Thursday series Yong-pal, which is described in somewhat bemusing Engrish as a “spectacle unique melodrama,” which I’m taking to mean intensely dramatic and spectacle-filled. The show did undergo some rough waters when its director was switched, but now seems to be settling down, its casting complete as the production readies to begin filming.

Joo-won was cast early on to play the lead role of a brilliant surgical resident who resorts to taking on illegal backdoor cases for cash, offering his medical services to the wealthy in order to pay for his sister’s expensive dialysis treatments. He’s drowning in debt and willing to do anything for money, which puts him in the unique position of being privy to some shocking, scandalous goings-on amongst the moneyed elite.

Among those he encounters is the “Sleeping Beauty” played by Kim Tae-hee; she lies in a prolonged coma on the VIP floor of Hanshin Hospital, put there on the orders of her very own (half-)brother, the Hanshin Group chairman (Jo Hyun-jae has confirmed the role). She’s the first in line to inherit the chaebol group, but oppa ignored Dad’s will in order to take over, and keeps his sister conveniently out of the way in her VIP suite. Jo has spend a career mostly playing good (if sometimes cold or brusque) guys, so I’m looking forward to seeing how he manages a full-on villain. I’ve never felt Jo pushing his abilities quite as far as I’d like him, stretching himself beyond his safe zone, but I want to see if he can expand that range here, like Yeon Jung-hoon’s doing in Mask or Go Soo did in Empire of Gold.

Jo’s character is married to Chae Jung-ahn (Prime Minister and I), who seems like a calm chaebol wife on the surface but keeps an uncannily close eye on the goings-on of that VIP wing. There’s also Jung Woong-in (Pinocchio, Endless Love, I Hear Your Voice) to once again tap into his creepily villainous side as the surgeon in charge of the VIP floor who put Kim Tae-hee in her coma in the first place. She’s watched over by a nurse with a “chilly charisma,” played by musical actress Bae Hye-sun.

Then there’s movie actor Jo Bok-rae (recently famous for his turn in C’est Si Bon) as the chief of surgery who initially takes a liking to Joo-won’s resident character. However, that changes at a certain point and the relationship takes a turn as he becomes a love-to-hate type of character. It doesn’t sound as though he’ll be a serious villain—a constant pest, maybe—though he has the potential to do some damage since he knows about Joo-won’s illegal side activities, which for now he remains silent about.

The supporting cast also includes a detective who chases the elusive “Yong-pal” (Joo-won’s code name when visiting patients), the gangster whose life he saves, and the loan shark who holds our hero’s immense debt. Sounds juicy.

Yong-pal will premiere in August on SBS.

Via Star News, IS Plus

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