This time around, Korea's major broadcasting channel MBC decided to capitalize on that foolproof formula with their latest Monday and Tuesday night drama, "Night After Night." In this detective story, celebrities Kim Suna and Lee Dong-gun play an unlikely pair of treasure hunters.
Actress Kim Suna, who rose to fame in the MBC drama "My Lovely Sam-soon" (2005), brings her tomboy persona to the role of a tough Cultural Heritage Administration cop. Pretty boy Lee Dong-gun, 27, takes on the fitting role of a womanizing arts scholar. The two team up to solve the crime of the century, falling in love along the way.
At the press conference held last week, Kim hinted at the comedic squabbling to come, stating: "Lee Dong-gun and I spent about four to five hours filming in the hot springs."
"I didn't want to hit him," the 32-year old actress explained, grinning. "But I was so overheated, my hand just went out."
She was referring to a key scene in the upcoming drama, where Lee's character catches Kim's in the nude while she is taking a dip in the hot springs. The outraged Kim slaps Lee. In fact, she hits him so hard he ends up falling over backwards into the water.
Lee, who was sitting next to Kim during the press conference, winced at the memory of the painful incident. Set to play an antiquities expert, this heartthrob first won female audiences over in the hit SBS drama "Lovers in Paris" (2004). His good looks and suave personality got him supporting roles in several melodramas before he started to make headlines in romantic comedies like "My Boyfriend is Type B" (2005).
Now, he gets to play a well-versed and slightly devious partner to Kim's rough and no-nonsense cop.
But will this drama deliver? Screenwriter Yoon Eun-gyung peddled the storyline as an educational experience, stating, "Our drama will put the unfamiliar topic of cultural assets in layman's terms for the masses."
While that sounds like a noble cause, it may lack the punch needed to beat out heavy-hitter "Sikgaek." The epic SBS drama topped viewer ratings charts last Tuesday.
Sikgaek's solid plot and top-notch actors drew in audiences, and it will prove hard to lure them away with cultural assets, unless it involves high-flying action, suspense and razor-sharp humor.
Judging from the preview, however, the upcoming miniseries looks more like a slapdash comedy than a tension-building mystery.
What it might lack in excitement, however, it promises to make-up for with accuracy. Lee Hyun-ju, the international and public relations team representative for the National Museum of Korea, said that "Night After Night" is the first drama to film at the museum.
"They filmed in the exhibition hall, in the museum lobby and in the scientific preservation room with a preservation specialist," she said.
Lee added that the museum has never been featured in movies or dramas before.
According to Lee, the museum staff has been providing advice on cultural assets. She also tipped off those who want to catch Lee and Kim in action.
"They film at the museum on Mondays," she said.
The drama starts airing tonight on MBC at 9:55 p.m.
By Jean Oh (oh_jean@heraldm.com)
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/
