I don’t know whether to celebrate or cry or just scratch my head in bewilderment. =\
The currently airing KBS1 daily drama Everybody Cha Cha Cha has, for the first time, reached 30% ratings. 30.3%, to be precise, if you believe the stats churned out by AGB. These ratings were reached for the episode aired on the 10th, episode 97. Just last month, the drama was pulling in ratings in the teens, but they’ve recently taken an upswing, with the current results.
Conversely, its competing dramas, Enjoy Life and The Wife Returns, drew in 10.0% and 12.4% on the 10th respectively. Everybody Cha Cha Cha will end at episode 150 on January 8 2010. (No, I haven’t been counting down the days. What are you talking about?)
I’m happy for Oh Man Seok’s sake that the drama is doing so well, but I must admit that, well…I really don’t understand why it’s doing so well. =\ What’s so entertaining about this show? The script is atrocious, the directing lazy (although the PDs seem to be experimenting with different camera angles a little more nowadays), and most of the acting is stuck in cruise mode. There’s nothing here that we haven’t seen before. I refuse to believe that none of these viewers realize how bad a drama it is. So…why are they watching it? Out of boredom? Because it’s a little more entertaining than the other shows on at the same time? Because, like me, they can’t keep their eyes off of Oh Man Seok? I am so confused.
So Ji Sub has been cast in the upcoming war-themed drama Road Number One, whose PD is none other than the great Kim Jin Min (Shin Don, La Dolce Vita, Time Between Dog and Wolf). Also cast is Son Chang Min in a supporting role. Called the Korean Band of Brothers, the drama focuses on two men whose friendship is torn apart by war, and by their love for the same woman. So Ji Sub plays the role of Lee Jang Woo, a strong yet gentle lieutenant. He had grown up poor on a farm, and started out as a noncommissioned officer, but slowly rose up in the ranks to company commander. The reason he entered the military was so he could pay for the medical school fees of Soo-yeon, the daughter of the farm’s owner.
They will start preparations next month, and enter filming in January 2010, to continue until May. Road Number One will start airing in June.
AHHHHH I’M SO EXCITED. So Ji Sub, I knew you wouldn’t let me down! Now this is one drama that looks promising, FAR more promising than that headache-inducing Cain and Abel. Taking the reins from your buddy Kwon Sang Woo, eh? I think it’s written by the same folks behind Time Between Dog and Wolf? And it’s directed by none other than Kim Jin Min – which basically guarantees a good drama. I could not be happier. Now just let the rest of the casting go well, and I’ll be truly ecstatic.
All-around entertainer HaHa and announcer/actress Ahn Hye Kyung, who have been together for the past five years, broke up last month, and have decided to remain friends. HaHa is currently serving his military time in public service, while Ahn Hye Kyung is busy with a play and a drama (the upcoming The Invincible Lee Pyung Kang). Due to their busy and conflicting schedules, the two naturally grew apart, and finally ended their relationship that began in 2005, and was publicly announced in 2006 through the now-cancelled talk show Ya Shim Man Man.
HaHa will be finishing up his public service in February.
This makes me so, so sad. I loved this couple together. They were so cute! How depressing. At least HaHa’s getting out of the military soon? I can’t wait to see him on Infinity Challenge again.
I wish the both of them the best of luck in future.
Today’s a gray, rather depressing day, weather-wise. Thus, it’s the perfect kind of day to watch a Heo Jin Ho film!
I love Heo Jin Ho. I loved Happiness, One Fine Spring Day, and…this film. This short, eight-minute film made for the Twentidentity collection, starring Yoon Jin Seo, titled Alone, Together. It’s very short indeed, but it’s full of raw emotion and power. I’m pretty sure that anyone who’s ever broken up with someone will be able to relate.
It doesn’t have subtitles, but it doesn’t really need them – you can understand what’s going on perfectly well without them. Enjoy!
After Kim Min Jung had to pull out of Hero due to a serious shoulder injury, I was holding my breath and praying that they would pick a good actress to replace her. And now we hear the news that Yoon So Yi has accepted the offer to take on the leading role, and has already begun filming.
And I’m…disappointed. I was actually hoping that Moon Chae Won, the other possibility, would accept, and not Yoon. It’s not that Yoon is a bad actress or anything. She’s quite okay, really, and she did well in Goodbye Solo. But she has no screen presence, no charisma, no energy. I can’t imagine her playing the role of a spunky female detective, especially one that Kim Min Jung was essaying before her. And especially with pretty much no preparation and in such a rushed atmosphere.
I’m still looking forward to Hero, because I think the PD-writer duo is promising, and Lee Jun Ki and Eom Ki Joon own my heart. But this is a major setback for the show, and I don’t know if they’ll be able to recover. Here’s to praying that they beat all the odds, and that their second(!) replacement for leading actress manages to help it land on its feet.
Dear MBC: Grow a heart (and a brain) and PUSH BACK THE PREMIERE DATE. You dickwads.
Don’t you just love the plethora of news coming out about dramas/movies I’m looking forward to nowadays? I do.
New character stills have been released of the four main characters in director Lee Joon Ik’s upcoming sageuk film Like The Moon Escaping From Clouds. They feature Hwang Jung Min (above, as the blind swordsman), Cha Seung Won (as the man fighting for social justice), Han Ji Hye (as the gisaeng who sacrifices all for love), and Baek Sung Hyun (as the young man out for revenge). I also discovered a still of Hwang Jung Min and Cha Seung Won’s characters in the midst of filming. I feel like I’ve won the lottery!
And to top it all off, all of these stills are gorgeous. Like, seriously. So this is what they mean by the phrase “a feast for the eyes”…
Here’s an interesting teaser poster for the upcoming Kwak Jung Hwan sageuk Chuno, where you can read a little blurb in English on the drama’s plot. Isn’t it pwetty? I think it’s pwetty. In fact, everything coming out about this drama sounds pwetty – or should I say badass? Yeah, badass is a really good word for it.
Furthermore, a few days ago, a little collection of highlights from the first few weeks of filming was released, and watching it made my heart do somersaults out of my throat. SO EXCITING. Like seriously, I’m not even all that worried about Oh Ji Ho anymore. He looks good, don’t you think? And Jang Hyuk seems fine, and Lee Jong Hyuk looks as sexy as ever. (But where’s Lee Da Hae, yo?)
Chuno airs its first episode on January 6 2010. But I wish it were airing tomorrow instead.
Does that, or does that not, look kickass? And ohmahgawd Im Soo Jung’s so hot. I think my girlcrush on her just deepened twofold…and I didn’t think that was even possible! And Kang Dong Won sure looks like he’s having a blast, huh? And Kim Yoon Seok!! *fangirly sigh*
Happy Belated Halloween! And in celebration of the holiday, I figured I’d might as well highlight my favourite horror film (yes, Dahee has a favourite horror film!), director Kim Ji Woon’s A Tale Of Two Sisters. Starring Im Soo Jung, Moon Geun Young, Yeom Jung Ah and Kim Gab Soo, this hit Korean theatres in 2003, and went on to both commercial and critical success.
I normally stay as far away from the horror genre as humanly possible, but my girlcrush on Im Soo Jung is so unbelievably strong that I actually agreed to watch this with my sister a few years ago. (Then again, this was at a time when I was more open to the idea of watching horror films in general.) And while I admit I had my hands over my eyes for all the really scary parts, I was deeply impressed with the gorgeous look of the film, and the heartbreaking storyline. (The acting, of course, was phenomenal too.) When I think about this film, I think about that final tragic yet beautiful scene, and my heart still squeezes with sadness.
I was going to post the official trailer here, but I kind of hate the English subs provided for it, since they’re so incredibly inaccurate. Plus, the trailer kind of freaks me out. So instead I present an unsubbed (but perfectly understandable even without subs) clip of the behind the scenes bond of stars Im Soo Jung and Moon Geun Young. It’s absolutely adorable, and a must-see if you’re a fan of both actresses.
Lee Chun Hee plays the male lead in ballad singer K.Will’s new music video for the title track off his second album, “I Miss And Miss And Miss You”. The story is a tragic one (of course), and he had to portray the sorrow of parting from the woman he loves through a crying scene. The entire staff was so moved by his acting that once filming for this scene ended, they all gave Lee Chun Hee a standing ovation.
Lee Chun Hee is currently acting in the SBS weekend drama Smile, and in spite of his busy schedule, agreed to appear in this music video right away. It seems that he’s been a big fan of K.Will’s since hearing his song “Tears Falling” off of his last album, and he loved this new song so much that he listened to it nonstop for 24 hours.
K.Will released his second album on November 5th, and is currently undergoing promotional activities for the title track.
Confession: I’ve never listened to a K.Will song. I…tend to try to stay as far away from the mainstream K-music scene as humanly possible. But if Lee Chun Hee’s in this music video, I will definitely be watching it. Hopefully this indicates an upswing in work for him?
I think it’s written by the same folks behind Time Between Dog and Wolf? And it’s directed by none other than Kim Jin Min – which basically guarantees a good drama. I could not be happier. Now just let the rest of the casting go well, and I’ll be truly ecstatic.
