Drama News Round Up - Castings and New Dramas Announced

[keytfelt.livejournal.com]

If you've noticed some changes in the K-drama world lately, it's likely due to China's ban on Korean cultural content! Here are the details: pic.twitter.com/WqVW1yrWLO

— Soompi (@soompi) May 18, 2017

This week marked the end of Rebel: Thief Who Stole the People on MBC, with OCN's Tunnel finishing it's run this Sunday. Starting Monday, three new dramas will be airing: Circle on tvN, Lookout on MBC and Fight My Way on KBS.

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Go Kyung-pyo has signed on for his first title role in the upcoming human drama Strongest Deliveryman, set for KBS’s summer Friday-Saturday slot following The Best Hit. He’ll be starring opposite Chae Soo-bin.

Strongest Deliveryman is an underdog success story about twentysomethings at the bottom of the employment food chain: part-time workers struggling to get by on hourly wages in “Hell Joseon,” a reference to the way contemporary youths see the socioeconomic climate of Korea. The main characters are jajangmyun delivery workers, and the drama gets its title from Go Kyung-pyo’s character, Choi Kang-soo (choi kang = “strongest”), a “veteran” deliveryman with five years experience. He’s described as a human turbo engine with no brakes, who puts his life on the line no matter what he sets out to do, whether fight or love. The drama will tell the story of his growth as he goes from delivering jajangmyun to becoming the CEO of his own delivery company. Chae Soo-bin’s character also delivers jajangmyun, and she’s so single-minded about making money that she turns down all advances from men.

Jang Mi-kwan and Lee Yeol-eum have confirmed roles in the supporting cast of the upcoming KBS drama. Our leads are the underdogs in a story about underdogs, the second leads are appropriately characters who appear on the outside to have it all. Lee Yeol-eum’s character has the looks, brains, and family background to be considered one of those “born with a golden spoon in her mouth” types. The original English colloquialism only really refers to a “silver spoon,” but Korea has expanded on that to describe various socioeconomic levels, i.e. dirt, bronze, silver, or gold spoons. In this case, Lee Yeol-eum aims to become a “diamond spoon,” and is described as practical and cold. Jang Mi-kwan will play a second-generation chaebol heir who enjoys the high-flying, partying life, but has been cast aside by his family. He’ll eventually find his ambition hidden deep within himself, and mature throughout the show.

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Kim Nam Gil and Kim Ah Joong have been confirmed as the male and female leads, respectively, of tvN’s upcoming Saturday-Sunday drama, ‘Live Up Your Name.' This fantasy medical drama explores a 17th century Joseon medical practitioner who travels through time to the 21st century and encounters a modern-day doctor.


Kim Nam Gil takes on the role of Heo Im, an acupuncturist of great skill who is blocked from living out his talents by his sad reality, until he ends up traveling 400 years into the future through an unexpected accident and finds himself in the center of Seoul. This particular character is based on a real-life figure of the same name who existed in the same era as Heo Jun, a highly respected court physician from the Joseon Era. Heo Im was the brain behind many developments in acupuncture. Heo Im and Heo Jun are revered as the leading pair of 17th century traditional Korean medicine.

Meanwhile, Kim Ah Joong will play Choi Ahn Kyung, a third year cardiothoracic surgery resident who hides secrets and her emotional wounds deep in her heart, behind her cold yet showy exterior. A perfect career woman who knows how to balance work and fun while being self-sufficient, she refuses to accept acupuncture as a legitimate form of medicine. When she meets Heo Im, she becomes swept up in a whirlwind of destiny.

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#BrideOfTheWaterGod confirmed as tvN's Monday-Tuesday drama and will follow 'Circle' in July. pic.twitter.com/NTSePzWLy6

— K-Drama News! (@kdrama_news) May 15, 2017

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#BestOneShot 1st teaser : pic.twitter.com/FO5Ed02AsW

— K-Drama News! (@kdrama_news) May 19, 2017

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OCN has confirmed plans for a new drama titled “Black” written by writer Choi Ran, who will be making a comeback after three years. She previously wrote “Iljimae” and “God’s Gift – 14 Days.” As for directing, director Kim Hong Sun of “Voice” is a likely candidate.


“Black” tells the story about a grim reaper who borrows the body of a human and falls in love with a woman. After falling in love, he breaks rules and gets erased from the memories of the world. The drama will stay true to OCN’s signature style and be a thriller.

OCN has the rest of 2017 planned out as it is currently airing “Tunnel” and will air “Duel” afterwards. After these dramas, “Save Me” starring Taecyeon and Seo Ye Ji will air and be followed up by “Black” in October. Following “Black,” “Bad Guys Season 2” will broadcast.

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Shin Sung-rok and Kang Ye-won will become man and wife for the upcoming MBC drama Man Who Dies to Live. It’s about a father who goes to a small faraway land in Arabia called Bodantia and comes back a nobleman. The drama will show the true meaning of family as he tries to reconcile with his estranged daughter and her husband.


Choi Min-soo will play the title character, an earnest worker who amasses success in the fictional kingdom of Bodantia to eventually become a count. Kang Ye-won is Choi Min-soo’s daughter, who is confused and taken aback when suddenly confronted by the reappearance of her father in Korea. She’s a dedicated wife who works hard to care of her childish husband, played by Shin Sung-rok. His character Kang Ho-rim is said to be born with flamboyant good looks that could have given him the fate of a powerful person’s consort (direct translation: First Lady), but in reality he’s lived his life as an ordinary salaryman.

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Sources: @soompi | Dramabeans/IS Plus Dramabeans/BizEnter/Xports News | Soompi/IS Plus | @kdrama_news | @kdrama_news | Soompi/Naver | Dramabeans/IS Plus

Comments

[ah0000.livejournal.com]

I'm excited for Strongest Deliveryman and Black. I'll also be watching Circle for sure.

Dramas that just started haven't really caught my eye. Of course, I haven't tried Ruler yet but I'm so not into Suspicious Partner.

So sad to say bye to Tunnel this weekend.

[keytfelt.livejournal.com]

I totally agreed with you last week on Suspicious Partner--the first pair of episodes was not good to me and I couldn't get into it, but the next pair of episodes was infinitely better and now with this week I'm really liking it.

I don't want Tunnel to end :(

[ah0000.livejournal.com]

Oh hmmm I didn't pick it back up after how bad 1-2 were. So actually I just watched a day of episodes lol but it really didn't inspire me too want to watch more. I'm reading the recaps on dramabeans tho. I think I'll wait out a few more eps and see how it goes, maybe pick up from there!!

[keytfelt.livejournal.com]

My best friend kept pestering me to pick it up after those first episodes and it got so much better (to me at least). Now they're more in the romcom vein that I was hoping for and he's not a jerk and I'm just enjoying it a lot. Hopefully if you decide to pick it up again you'll like it more!

[keytfelt.livejournal.com]

At this point next week I'm going to be watching 8 currently airing dramas because I'm an idiot. All 3 of the new dramas sound pretty great to me and I will be watching--my sister's coming to visit and I've got to figure out the time to watch without getting too far behind.

I'm liking Man to Man quite a bit--it's not must see tv for me, but I'm liking the relationships and the lead girl is much less annoying to me now than she was at the beginning. Park Sung Woong is hilarious in this show.
My Secret Romance continues to be not good, but Sung Hoon in dad mode is A+, he is a very handsome man.
I'm liking the characters in Ruler (AoY Sunbae as the bodyguard makes me happy) but I feel like it's still just setting up the story (I haven't watched yesterday's eps yet).
Suspicious Partner had a bad start, but now I'm digging the dynamic (cohabitation!!) and characters. I laughed a bunch when Ji Il Joo showed up once again as a creepy stalker ex. Dude's getting typecast. But I did appreciate that we got to see Healer beat up his dad haha. I still don't trust Tae Ho, no matter how cute he's acting as this character.
I'm super sad Tunnel is ending this week, it's been a fabulous drama and I hope they stick the ending.
I also watched Individualist Ms Ji Young and really enjoyed it minus a few nitpicks. Min Hyo Rin did a fantastic job and Gong Myung is great at being a cute puppy. I would love for more 2-4 ep shows to be made.

[tsuyoi-hikari.livejournal.com]

What do you mean by 'Sung Hoon in dad mode is A+'?

[keytfelt.livejournal.com]

In the drama, the girl has a little brother and his age matches up to their one night stand from three years ago and the girl's being stupidly vague about who he is, so he thinks it might be his kid (the drama's so annoying haha). Anyway, he's just hanging out with the kid being adorable and that plus his secretary's stylish suits are all I care about in the drama

[tsuyoi-hikari.livejournal.com]

This is so cute! It remind me of this scene:

http://tsuyoi-hikari.tumblr.com/post/97346872169/its-truly-an-unfortunate-thing-that-they-let-gun

ヽ(•‿•)ノ

[ah0000.livejournal.com]

Omg YES to Sung Hoon with the bb. The baby is sooooooo cute, I love it when babies just speak gibberish lol. I basically skip thru the rest of the show tho

[babyjenkski.livejournal.com]

My Secret Romance is my end-of-day drama. When I'm tired from watching all the kdramas I can possibly consume in a day, I end it with My Secret Romance. I dont need to think too much with everything that's happening (which is what I usually do specially for sageuks hahaha) coz its simple and light =)

[tsuyoi-hikari.livejournal.com]

BAD GUY SEASON 2. BAD GUY SEASON 2. BAD GUY SEASON 2

The only thing that made me excited lol.

I'm still having my Jdramas marathon now. I dont know when I will be back in Kdramas again since the quality (sometime) are too jarring to me. Usually when you start a Jdramas, 2/3 episodes in, you will say; 'Ahh, I'm gonna give this drama an 8/10. But then when you actually finish the drama, that 8 will become 8.5 or 9.5 lol. While its totally different from most Kdramas -- where you start with 7 or 8 but ended up with 5 or 6. OTL

I think Ruler and Tunnel will change my mind for sure. Will find time to watch those 2 since I only hear good reviews on it! :D

[ah0000.livejournal.com]

Lucky you, Tunnel ending this week means you get to binge all eps with no wait!!

[tsuyoi-hikari.livejournal.com]

Yes, I'm somehow really excited when I think of it esp when people said the drama remind them of Signal. Signal is really good and I remember keep saying how good is the drama when I watched it last year so hopefully Tunnel will give me the same feeling too. Some Kdramas' screenwriters are pretty good in writing complicated script so I have high hope Tunnel will be the same too.

[meyouthisthat.livejournal.com]

I'm exactly the same as you lol. I immediately get sucked into j dramas (they do medical dramas really well). But I've never felt that way for k dramas. Lol and to be honest I think the quality is really going down; has been on a decline for a few years now. And these days they alw cast really mediocre/downright shitty ppl as leads lol. I think the good actors/actresses flock more to movies and stay there

[tsuyoi-hikari.livejournal.com]

Jdramas do medical dramas really well! I always super impressed. Kdramas are the worst in the world when they involved anything medical (DOTS come to mind recently :() but Japanese did it really well. Iryu series are definitely the best for me. Arase-sensei will always always be my fave hehe. I think the only medical Japanese dramas that I dont like is Dr. X since the things they did in the dramas are pretty much impossible to imitate in real life though Yonekura Ryoko has always been fab.

What is your fave medical Jdramas from Japan?

[meyouthisthat.livejournal.com]

Yes! J med dramas always manages to draw me in cause I tend not to like medical dramas in any language lol. I can't remb the title of the one I've watched but it was sooo good I marathoned a few eps a day lol. I watched Dr X too! Some parts were ok but weren't terribly realistic. Omg Yonekura Ryoko is amazing. When will k dramas ever write such a fab female lead? Lol. Right now my mum and I are marathoning Yamapi dramas and we are super hooked on Five to Nine! I like that J dramas don't always have romance like the K ones. And when they do it's not done in an illogical, unrealistic way. What are u watching now? :)

[tsuyoi-hikari.livejournal.com]

Ahhh somehow I need to know what medical Jdramas is that. Can you just tell me what's it about? Hospital politic? Heart surgery? OBGYN? Good doctor practicing dark method (lol)?

Yonekura Ryoko is amazing! I love her. Her personality is even more awesome in real life. Yeah, Japanese are excellent in writing good female characters that is why I tend to love Jdramas more since its awesome when you actually like and enjoy the female characters you are watching. Ayase Haruka, Gakky, Toda Erika & Ueto Aya are among my faves.

Oh my God. Yamapi's dramas haha. Is this coincidence or what? I will start rewatching Kurosagi tomorrow and my marathon of Yamapi's dramas will be almost complete haha . IDC what anyone say but I will fight them and maintain how he has the most wonderful selection of dramas among J&A idols. He keeps selecting good project year after year so its fabulous to be his fan. Everytime I rewatched his dramas, it just keep getting better lol. IDK what sorcery is that. :P Like I super love Summer Nude (how pretentious is the title lol) and when I rewatched the drama, I keep remember how I love it and now I want to rate it 9/10 haha (8.5/10 is the original rating I gave it.). I love From 5 to 9 too! The beginning was WTF but the drama is hilarious. I originally gave it 7.5 but upon rewatching it again, I guess it deserved an 8.5 -- the ending was sweet, the theme song is amaaaazing and everything else is wonderful. Code Blue 3 will aired in 2 months so you can imagine how excited I am lol ⁙ὸ‿ό⁙

[nekokonneko.livejournal.com]

Butting in to squee at the fact that there's a Code Blue 3?!?! Are the original cast returning again? I hope the sassy nurse and the nerdy doctor finally get together in this one.

[tsuyoi-hikari.livejournal.com]

Yes, they are all returning. You can always get the full main casts back again with Jdramas as witnessed by most seasoned Jdramas -- Iryu did missed Dr. Kato is season 2 but she's back again in season 3&4. People has been saying that FujiTV must be desperate for ratings as their prestigious Getsu9 slot has been suffering from 1 digit ratings since the end of year 2015. Recently dramas on that slot has been getting 3% to 5% which probably their all time low.

Ohh I hope they're married and have kids now! I dont want any of the main characters to be divorcee or having marital problem since it will be too cliche like they all becoming Kurodo-sensei or Mitsui-sensei lol. Or even better, if they make Toda or Gakky character expecting. For season 3, The nerdy doctor and Gakky are still in the team while as expected, Aizawa is in brain surgery team now and Erika is in OBGYN department.

[meyouthisthat.livejournal.com]

Hey! sorry about the late one! I remember it was hospital politics - but so well written i was super sucked into it lol.

Yes she is! I've seen some of her interviews off-screen and she seems amazing. True - I much prefer the way Jdramas write their female leads. There's a fair bit of empowered, individualistic, cool/sassy leads who don't need to be dragged round by a guy/fall in love to validate their existence. Love it.

LOL you sound like my mum XD she's hooked on all Yamapi dramas now. He does tend to pick really good acting projects for an idol! I love 9 to 5! Though the beginning was so silly it grabbed me cause it was really funny and not in a corny roll-your-eyes sort of way. what good yamapi dramas would you recommend? :)

[tsuyoi-hikari.livejournal.com]

Really sorry for the late reply! You open a pandora box with that question (esp to someone who just basically marathoning his dramas lol). So be ready with a pretty long reply. :P

I basically categorize Yamapi dramas into 4; classic (a must watch for any fans), solid & strong script (the reason why I love him :P), successful seasoned drama (the reason why he attracts ratings), romance dramas (pretty much why he is a female magnet lol).

Classic: Nobuta wo Produce, Dragon Zakura, Kurosagi & Proposal Daisakusen -- all this dramas are simply classic (something fans refer to all the time/being talked for a very long time despite how old is the drama) among Jdramas fan. Classic dramas were associated with high ratings and cult faves and while not many actors has the privilege to act in any, he basically have 4 of them. Nobuta wo Produce esp is like the best high school drama in the whole world -- it has a great ending too. The subunit Yamapi did with Kame for the drama sold around 1.5 million copies. That era is glorious -- its like everyone is watching the drama and everyone loves the theme song. Dragon Zakura is not pretentious and very realistic HS drama -- I basically love every second of it. While Proposal Daisakusen has been remake in Korea & China -- Asians love the drama somehow. The script is great and the message of the ending is awesome as well if you manage to understand it.

Solid & strong script: Flowers for Algernon, Summer Nude & Ending Planner. I love all these 3 dramas lol. Nojima Shinji is my fave Japenese writer and Flowers for Algernon's has many deep and thought-provoking script. Its one of my very fave Jdramas without a doubt! I love love Summer Nude! Its a great story about friendship, dreams and how to let go of your first love. Yamapi looked his best here -- T-shirt and short suit him the best. :D And Ending Planner is something I never knew I wanted to see him in -- him acting as a big brother to 3 siblings. I really like the Ihara family no matter how flawed they are. And I never knew a story about a funeral parlor can be this interesting.

Successful seasoned drama: Code Blue. I dont need to say more. :D Its an all star-studded casts and you can guarantee ratings with this drama which is why FujiTV is bringing it back.

Romance dramas: From 5 to 9 & Buzzer Beat. Female International fans seemed to love this 2 dramas the most lol. Its basically Yamapi's dramas that recommended the most on the net.

All his dramas basically are very consistent -- its always above average to excellent in term of quality. The only dramas that I dont like are Long Love Letter, Stand Up! and Monster. That is because I just dont like the genre of it -- coming of age and detective style dramas. But Stand Up! is actually can be considered one of the Jdrama fans' favorite as the drama was hilarious and kind of wacky (and it starred 4 big names in Japan when they were kids). While Monster was kind of cute as they paired Yamapi with an plump lady as his love interest (not as a joke as his character really like her) and they're sooooo cute! XD The criminals in the drama basically commit perfect crimes but they expose themselves when they are tricked by the main characters during investigation. Its pretty much an interesting detective drama without a doubt.

My faves are all dramas in solid script category, Nobuta wo Produce and Dragon Zakura. :)

Seemed you are pretty much fussy when it comes to dramas in general so I was wondering so far in watching Jdramas & Kdamas, which dramas are your absolute faves?

[keytfelt.livejournal.com]

I loved Bad Guys, so I was super excited when they said there would be a season 2, but it doesn't look like any of the original cast will be back, which bummed me out. Kang Ha Neul got offered a role so I need him to accept ASAP so I can make a celebratory post. He keeps not confirming dramas he's been offered and it's driving me crazy.

I've only watched a handful of Jdramas, are you watching anything good right now?

[tsuyoi-hikari.livejournal.com]

Wait now I'm no longer excited. :( Not even LMH's dad from City Hunter is coming back? I'm actually kind of excited to see Park Haejin as a psychopath again lol. But if Kang Haneul is casted, then it could be interesting. The guy has been making terrible choices and keep missing opportunity when he could be as famous as Lee Jongsuk and winning award left and right. When I think about it, I didnt like any of his works but he is such a good actor.

Do watch a looooot of Jdramas! They really great in writing solid and strong script and although they didnt put lots of romance in their dramas, it just soooo good and sometimes too real even for my taste lol. Right now, I'm shamelessly have to admit that I'm actually on Yamapi's dramas marathon right now. :P What can I say, the guy is great at picking awesome projects. Its all started when i'm rewatching Nobuta wo Produce again weeks ago OTL.

Which genre do you want me to recommend? Mostly all Jdramas I have been marathoning in the past months has been receiving mostly 8 and above ratings from me. But since you like contract marriage kind of drama, I will proudly recommend Gakky's Nigeru wa Haji da ga Yaku ni Tatsu! It is a great drama with hilarious script. While the latest highest rated Jdrama from me recently would be Flowers for Algernon. I love mostly all Nojima Shinji's scripts and this one is pretty much very impressive, thought-provoking and deep. The drama received 9.5/10 from me which is very high even for my standard. :P

[kristinl356.livejournal.com]

Strongest Deliveryman sounds weird but possibly interesting. And Go Kyung Pyo's been killing me with his big dumb puppy face on Chicago Typewriter. I will probably give it a go.

[jinkiestabi.livejournal.com]

I'm just gonna rave about Rebel Thief in here again. IT WAS AMAZING. Lol.

But I am excited to see Circle and Lookout. I'm also anticipating Duel.

[babyjenkski.livejournal.com]

I love love love Rebel! And its not just because I love everything that Yoon Kyun Sang is in but because its really beautifully made.

[mjspice.livejournal.com]

Yay finally news for Bride of the Water God.