Romance, revenge, and ambition in Sponsor with Lee Ji-hoon
by missvictrix
After some behind the scenes kerfuffles and a rejigging of the original broadcast plan, Sponsor (previously Desire) has finally gotten an air date — and it looks like a cracktastic ride. The romance-thriller melo is set to premiere on February 23 and will now air jointly on MBN and IHQ — the networks stated that they hope their combined and unique audiences will bring more attention to a drama that deserves a bigger viewership.
To amp up some buzz before the premiere, the drama has released some teaser keywords to give viewers a taste of the drama (literally) to come, and they include: ambition, revenge, adult romance, deep relationships, fatal charm, multifaceted pasts — and that’s not even all of them. The drama was already being compared to a Penthouse-style story, so those keywords are the icing on the cake.
Sponsor centers on four characters whose stories and ambitions are noted as being intertwined and twisty. Lee Ji-hoon plays a warm and ambitious photographer who hides a deep thirst for revenge due to his tragic past. Han Chae-young plays a CEO who’s beautiful and successful, but still wants more. Gu Ja-sung plays an aspiring fashion model, and he’s married to rising star Ji Yi-soo, who struggles to balance motherhood and her career.
An additional keyword not listed above is basically “runaway train,” and it describes all four of our characters’ greed and desire… and what’s the good of a runaway train metaphor without the resulting train wreck, right? The wreck promises to be a tangle of these four characters, their intrigues, affairs, and even — whomp — the sponsors that help them achieve their aims. In the case of melos like this, the “go hard or go home” approach seems to work best — rather than settling in a safe middle ground, the crazier the better. So bring on the train wreck! Posters, stills, and a teaser below for your enjoyment.
Directed by Kwak Ki-won (It’s My Life, Still Loving You) and written by Park Kye-hyung (It’s My Life), Sponsor premieres in its Wednesday-Thursday slot on February 23.
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Tags: Gu Ja-sung, Han Chae-young, Ji Yi-soo, Lee Ji-hoon (2), Sponsor
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1 latebloomer
February 8, 2022 at 10:13 AM
I wonder whether Lee Ji-hoon is drawn to these roles or whether he's been typecast. It's hard to get excited to see him play this kind of role again.
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2 jerrykuvira
February 8, 2022 at 10:34 AM
Wow! Penthouse level makjang - water testing check. Every lead character is with solid work or job(so happy) and good background info- check. Just make a realistic Penthouse. I still haven't gotten over how messy it became.
A desperate plea + prayer. I hope they make Han Chae Young's character count. A Man Called God was a very bad first impression.
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OldLawyer
February 8, 2022 at 5:46 PM
Just when you need some makjang- here we go.
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jerrykuvira
February 9, 2022 at 2:02 AM
It seems decent, I'm just having a necessary cold feet.
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3 Miky
February 8, 2022 at 10:35 AM
Hope to be decent after all that backstage drama..Read some news that say that Lee Ji-hoon was even relegated to second lead because all that fiasco but who knows...
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la wants to feel liberated too
February 8, 2022 at 11:23 AM
Yeah I saw JTBC promoted this drama on instagram. Idk if it was with a post or not but they promoted this drama with Han Chaeyoung and Goo Jasung as main leads, not Lee Jihoon...
I can only wish them all good luck
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miss h
February 8, 2022 at 12:02 PM
I saw that too. From the texts he released when he was being accused of power tripping, it sounded like he was supposed to be first lead but was being written like a second lead with hardly any airtime, and that was before all the fiasco. I imagine he wishes he never took the role but hopefully it turns out somewhat decent.
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4 Kurama
February 8, 2022 at 10:48 AM
When I said, I would like to see Lee Ji-Hoon in a lead role, it wasn't I was expecting...
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5 bbstl 🧹
February 8, 2022 at 12:20 PM
Heavens I love Han Chae Young but can hardly recognize her here.
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6 Lily left the valley
February 8, 2022 at 12:41 PM
Am I the only one that involuntarily flinches when I see what's supposed to be a romantic/passionate whoosh moment, except the female's head smacks the wall behind her so hard I'm flinching and holding my breath waiting for a comedic break as she passes out? (It might not have been actual marble slabs on those walls at the 00:10 mark, but...OUCH! 😵)
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hacja
February 9, 2022 at 8:43 AM
Funny! After your comment I watched this a couple of times and I think they used a stunt double for the kiss!
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7 bomibeans
February 9, 2022 at 11:29 AM
I have a feeling this is not going to be a runaway train wreck but also a runaway hit. If it's batshitcrazy enough.
Also, this is a new low in naming k-drama. "Sponsor" is unamusing and invites connotations such as, "pimp", "john" and corruption.
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bomibeans
February 9, 2022 at 11:30 AM
*not going to be just
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