kdrama and kpop

By Han Sang-hee
Staff Reporter


The new drama “Swallow the Sun” offers first-ever scenes from South Africa.
With Ji Sung, front left, starring as the tough Jung-woo aiming for revenge,
the program will air starting Thursday at 9:55 p.m. on SBS. / Courtesy of SBS

A passionate tale of lovers follows in the heels of "The City Hall," the Cinderella story of public officials with a happily ever after, tonight on SBS.

The new drama "Swallow the Sun" is about young and headstrong protagonists risking their lives for success and love, and also to make Jeju Island one of the most popular cities in the world along their journey.

"Sun" made a buzz months before the actual airing due to its cast, which includes Ji Sung ("New Heart," 2007), and former member of the now disbanded girl group Fin.K.L., Sung Yu-ri, and also the makers of the program, producer Yoo Chul-yong and writer Choi Wan-kyu.

"We chose actors with potential and spirit. They are not only great in acting, but also considerate to everyone working on the set. We have traveled around to bring the best and viewers will get to see the spectacular scenery of Jeju, Las Vegas and even South Africa. We are ready to receive both compliments and critique," Yoo was quoted as saying by SBS.

Indeed, SBS and the drama crew have been stressing the series being filmed in various locations, including Africa, where no other Korean drama has been filmed until now.

The two drama makers proved their star power with the hit drama "All In" in 2003, starring heartthrob Lee Byung-hun ("The Good, The Bad, The Weird," 2008), and Song Hye-kyo ("Full House," 2004), and their collaboration is one reason many are waiting for the first airing.

"Sun" revolves around three main characters: Jung-woo, Su-hyun and Tae-hyuk. Jung-woo, played by Ji Sung, lives his life as a poor orphan until he saves the rich and powerful Jang Min-ho's life. His life takes a turn when he swears to serve Jang and his son Tae-hyuk as a servant, but when Tae-hyuk, played by Lee Wan, starts to demand more than Jung-woo can handle, he starts to wonder if he can continue. Things get complicated when Jung-woo is suddenly sent to prison instead of Tae-hyuk, and his journey for revenge and love begins from the cold ground of his cell.

"I remember the scene where I had to ride a truck and shoot with my gun the whole day. There was also an underwater shoot where I had to stay in the water for more than eight hours, and my eyes started to swell up," Ji Sung was quoted as saying to SBS. The 32-year-old actor trained hard to look the part of the strong and tough Jung-woo, and he said it was all for the best.

"The directors and staff tell me that the harder I train, the easier the viewers will understand my character, and I agree," he said. Another must-see feature is the renowned Canadian circus troupe "Cirque du Soleil," which will offer scenes from behind the set and during the show, the first time in the troupe's history. Actress Sung Yu-ri was the first actor to ever lay foot on the troupe's stage as part of a drama.



"Sun" is actually based a novel written by Kang Chul-hwa, a novelist and also the head of drama production company New Port Pictures. "The book was inspired by a love story I heard during my visit to Jeju Island. I traveled to the island about 120 times, and then Africa, and also casinos to finish the book," Kang said in a separate press statement. Kang added that the title also changed many times to match the story.

"The sun represents many things depending on the characters: For Jung-woo it's success and family, while for Su-hyun it's to become a famous show director. Finally for Tae-hyuk, it's his love toward Su-hyun. We added the verb 'swallow' to bring the determination of the characters trying to fulfill their dreams," said Kang.

Yoo also mentioned that the strong title was one of the reasons why he chose to recreate the book into a drama." It was a page-turner and I just had to remake it into a television series. I hope the viewers appreciate my decision throughout the airings," he said.

Meanwhile, the press conference for the drama had been scheduled Tuesday, but was canceled due to suspicions of H1N1 flu among the crewmembers. "The production team arrived in Incheon last Thursday from Las Vegas. There was a staff member who felt sick and tests confirmed that he had swine flu. Thus, we decided to cancel the press conference and further shoots for the time being as we cited the importance of the health of our staff," the promotion team of SBS said through a press release.

The drama will air on schedule, July 8 at 9:55 p.m. on SBS.

Credits: sanghee@koreatimes.co.kr

By Patrick Frater



Official Website fantasiafest.com

HONG KONG -- Japanese and Korean films take the biggest bow this week at Fantasia in Montreal, reputed to be the biggest fantasy festival in North America.

The event, which has been extended by two days to include its bulging lineup, opens Thursday with Miike Takashi's "Yatterman" and includes 50 Asian movies in its 115 title presentation, running from July 9 to 29.

Asian highlights include the North American premiere of Park Chan-wook's "Thirst," South Korea's Rotterdam prize-winner "Breathless" by Yang Ik-june, Ning Hao's "Crazy Racer" and a 13-title special section documenting the history of Japan's erotic film genre or "pinku eiga" aka "Pink Movies."

Source: hollywoodreporter.com

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This is so cool that there's an article about it, as the Festival is happening at my Uni = D. I should go.

‘King & Clown’ star talks about his rise to celebrity, and fall back to earth


Korean actor Lee Joon-ki talks about his acting career. Although he has starred
in just a handful of films, he is ranked as one of Korea’s biggest box office draws. By Jeong Chi-ho

There are certain things you might expect when meeting a star actor: crazy good looks, fabulous lifestyle and, perhaps, a bit of attitude.

Such was this reporter’s expectation before an exclusive interview with Korean actor Lee Joon-ki on a recent afternoon. Lee, once a young and struggling actor from the port city of Busan, was catapulted to stardom with his impressive portrayal of an androgynous clown in the 2005 hit film “The King and the Clown.”

Today, Lee is ranked as one of Korea’s biggest box office draws. The few films he has made have attracted almost 20 million people, according to the latest figures.

This puts the 27-year-old actor on par with some of Korea’s most successful veterans, like Song Kang-ho, Sol Kyung-gu and Ahn Sung-ki. Yes. The looks were there, although many would agree that Lee’s androgynous features aren’t what you would call typical, bordering somewhere between male and female.

The lifestyle was there, as well, with his entourage serving him one iced Americano after another and attending to his appearance from time to time to make sure that he felt and looked his best.

But it’s pretty difficult to say whether his attitude is typical of his peers. “I’ve had my fall from grace,” Lee said with a serious face and a low voice as he sat dressed for a photo shoot in an impeccable black suit, white shirt and black tie.

“After my performance in The King and the Clown, I found myself at the forefront of this ‘pretty boy’ trend, whether or not that was my intention. Suddenly, people were interested in me, and there was all this praise and criticism all at the same time. Everything was just so overwhelming. I felt like I was floating on air.”

The “pretty boy” look for men has become more popular in recent years and since then Korean pop culture and the industries that support it have never been the same. Men as pretty as (or prettier than) women have become popular icons, and men who take care of their looks are much in demand.

Although the trend is still going strong, it hasn’t guaranteed Lee success. His subsequent films - “Fly, Daddy, Fly” (2006), “May 18” (2007), and “Virgin Snow” (2007) - have either fallen short of expectations at the box office or cast Lee in minor roles, to say the least. He has, however, managed to stay in the spotlight with TV dramas like “My Girl” (2005) and “The Time between Dog and Wolf” (2007).


Fans greet Lee at his Shanghai concerts last month.
Provided by Mentor Entertainment

Looking back, Lee described his early days as a rising celebrity as having been marked by loneliness and failure. "I think I became a bit full of myself with The King and the Clown. Then came the slump and the big fear of ‘what will I do when I stop shining?’” he said calmly. “But I certainly didn’t want to go back, considering all the effort it had taken me to get there. So in a way I had no choice but to gather myself together and push myself to get out of the darkness.”

Many would agree that Lee did have some success in getting out of his slump. His performance in the SBS drama “Iljimae” last year brought him top honors in the 2008 SBS Drama Awards last December.

The epic drama in which Lee plays a heroic thief who steals from corrupt Joseon Dynasty government officials and gives his take to the poor, enjoyed ratings of over 30 percent, and its DVDs sales were twice those of “Jumong,” another award-winning epic drama that was hugely successful here. Iljimae went on to air in Japan, and started its run on Monday on TV Tokyo.

The Japan deal is hardly surprising. Despite his relatively short career, Lee enjoys a fair amount of recognition in China, Japan and other Asian countries. A recent survey ranked Lee fourth as the hallyu (Korean wave) actor with the biggest potential.


Lee says he defines himself as a clown, the role
he played in “The King and the Clown,” the 2005 film
that catapulted him to stardom. [JoongAng Ilbo]

Hallyu refers to the increase in interest in Korean pop culture in other Asian countries. Lee was the representative for the Seoul Hallyu Festival last year.

In response to calls from his Chinese and Japanese fans, Lee held fan appreciation concerts in Shanghai and Hangzhou in China, with attendance up around 10,000. He also plans to present similar concerts in Kobe and Yokohama in Japan. Being a public figure, there aren’t many ways for me to relieve stress. And over the years, I’ve lost some of the people in my life. In that sense, I just want to have fun with my fans. My fans mean a lot to me.”

What was evident in the hour I spent with Lee were his seriousness and intensity, quite unusual for such a young celebrity. He also seems to possess the kind of insatiable ambition and endless tenacity people often attribute to “Gyeongsangdo guys,” guys from the Gyeongsang provinces in the southern part of the peninsula, like Lee.

Growing up, Lee’s family wasn’t rich. Lee says that is what made him who he is today.“I just hated losing,” Lee said, sipping his iced Americano. “I had to constantly fight for things in life. Nothing could be taken for granted. Thinking back, had I grown up in a wealthy family, I think I would’ve taken things more slowly, and approached things in a more relaxed way. Perhaps I would’ve focused more on my studies, too,” Lee giggled, as if he had long ago made peace with his humble background.

Throughout the interview, Lee listened attentively to my questions, digesting them to the fullest, and responded in an extremely firm and thoughtful manner.

The thing he said with perhaps the most conviction came during a conversation about his relationship to his King and Clown character.

“Clowns [in the Joseon era] came from the lower classes, but had such longing for artistic creativity and freedom. Through their performances they could explore such desires, while at the same time bringing people joy,” Lee explained. The King and the Clown ends with Lee’s character Gongil yelling that he will become a clown in his next life. For Lee, the answer would perhaps be the same.

By Kim Hyung-eun [hkim@joongang.co.kr] via INSIDE JoongAng Daily