Joo Won 주원 [Current Drama 2024 - The Midnight Studio/ 야한(夜限) 사진관]

[kittyna]

2 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

I think at some point Nae Il would start playing her own music and Yoo jin will get mad and start scolding her

 

Oh, well, now you're just giving me ideas  But in all honesty, I think they do reach their own equilibrium sooner or later - Nae Il knows that she can only take it so far with Yoo Jin before she loses him. And Yoo Jin does seem to end up taking pride in being able to match Nae Il's playing, no matter how crazy it gets.

 

2 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

His voice sounds very different when does that, even if I re-watch that particular scene I would still be surprised when I hear him saying "Gomoni" or "Emmoni"

 

Yeah. And that's just him speaking loudly - he's not even yelling yet. Which, by the way, really does end up scaring me every single time in his dramas, especially if he just bursts rather than slowly building up to it.

[kireeti2]

On 5/14/2020 at 9:22 PM, kittyna said:

Once again, please do not re-post anything from this fic on any other site. If you wish to share it, just embed or post a link back to this site - thanks!

Thanks a lot for this mother version of fan fiction It was heart warming to read through the mother's perspective, especially given that only 3 series like "BAKER KING,GOOD DOCTOR and OJAKGYO FAMILY", have show mother's perspective, that too in limited way. The mothers version in all the series were only used to further the plot, so this fan fiction was fun to read.

On 5/14/2020 at 9:22 PM, kittyna said:

The Prince

This version was very related to the drama, but unfortunately they have already shown a lot in the drama about Ma jun's mother in series, so most the reading felt repetitive.

On 5/14/2020 at 9:22 PM, kittyna said:

The Helper

This was refreshing to read, since there were no scenes of younger version characters in this series and it was never explored the idea how joo won's character got close with the family and his mother

On 5/14/2020 at 9:22 PM, kittyna said:

The Survivor

This one showed the good side of Joo won's character and also his resilience nature before he turned into a oppressor. And also his relationship with his mother was also not well depicted in the series, it has mostly shown his love for his brother. It felt like seeing prequel of the Bridal Mask

On 5/14/2020 at 9:22 PM, kittyna said:

The Jester

This one made me laugh a lot and now I know that Han pil Hoon gets his comedic side from his mom

On 5/14/2020 at 9:22 PM, kittyna said:

The Dreamer

This one has teared me up, and it made me feel for si on's mom. Like she can only protect him from his dad if she leaves him. The part where she found out that si on's one of favorite thing was listening to her heart beat just made cry with joy. This one is hands down my favorite version, the others are equally good, but here the relationship is bit complex to read and very relatable.

On 5/14/2020 at 9:22 PM, kittyna said:

The Prodigy

 

It was refreshing to know that Yoo jin was a child too, given his fuss character in the series only left me with an impression that he was always like that, now I can also imagine his child version

On 5/14/2020 at 9:22 PM, kittyna said:

The Protector

This version had also felt like child version of yong pal, like how he use to protect his mom and little sister from his abusive father

On 5/14/2020 at 9:22 PM, kittyna said:

The Philosopher

 

This version is cultural enriching and enlightening to read. Although Confucius spoke about family relationship and their importance to have a moral and happy society, he did not considered the gender perspective, which I think it is manifesting today in east Asia in the with high  gender gap politically,financially and status in family Given that the plot of "My sassy girl" starts with questioning the chastity of the queen, even though it very difficult for a queen to have an affair, she was accused and pronounced guilty without trial shows how biased the laws were in those times against women in such a way that even queen was not safe.

 

[kireeti2]

Off topic- The king: Eternal monarch is officially flop, at least in south Korea, I hope "Alice" does not meet the same faith, given that they both are aired on SBS . On top of that "ALICE" did not released any official posters also, which point out that they are not doing enough on publicize the drama. I hope it'll pick up as the release date of the drama approaches

[kittyna]

5 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

This version was very related to the drama, but unfortunately they have already shown a lot in the drama about Ma jun's mother in series, so most the reading felt repetitive.

 

Yeah. In terms of expanding on what was already shown in the drama, this one was the toughest: on the one hand, you have quite a significant amount of screen time showing Ma Jun as a child and his relationships with individual members of his family (even before Tak Gu shows up), but on the other hand...there isn't much, actually? Like, no-one's close to anyone else, and I got the impression that the same people argue over the same things on a nearly daily basis. Not the sort of environment where I'd want a child to grow up, but sadly rather realistic as well.

 

5 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

This was refreshing to read, since there were no scenes of younger version characters in this series and it was never explored the idea how joo won's character got close with the family and his mother

 

I know - we see the one flashback when Tae Hui's mom disappears, and the rest are little throwaway comments here and there. So my focus here was just on the loving warmth of this family, since we do know that was there at least  Plus, we also know that Tae Hui was the one who would (usually) stay out of trouble, such that his parents and grandmother later remember him as this perfect child who never acted up or cried. Yeah, no way is that realistic, so I just thought that that was his usual or normal state rather than a constant - hence the contrast between him and Tae Pil here.

 

5 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

This one showed the good side of Joo won's character and also his resilience nature before he turned into a oppressor. And also his relationship with his mother was also not well depicted in the series, it has mostly shown his love for his brother. It felt like seeing prequel of the Bridal Mask

 

Because the tragedy of Kang To's dark turn is that it was initially motivated by his love for his family combined with his resilience/survival instinct.   He's willing to do anything to get his family the financial support they need, and it turns out he literally means anything. But we do get short flashbacks showing how close they all were before that point.

 

5 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

This one made me laugh a lot and now I know that Han pil Hoon gets his comedic side from his mom

 

To be honest, I don't know much about Han Pil Hoon's mom at all. Because most of what we see of her in the drama that I remember was when she kept pushing him to start dating and to do something more practical with his life - yet she still does tease him affectionately in a way his father doesn't. Later, once he's grown up, I don't think either of his parents approve of his choice to join the NIS - but I figured that some leeway could be possible while he's little (since, hey: if it gets him to actually concentrate on his work rather than making mischief, then why not?).

 

5 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

This one has teared me up, and it made me feel for si on's mom. Like she can only protect him from his dad if she leaves him. The part where she found out that si on's one of favorite thing was listening to her heart beat just made cry with joy. This one is hands down my favorite version, the others are equally good, but here the relationship is bit complex to read and very relatable.

 

I'm glad you liked this one, since it was definitely a challenge to write.  

 

5 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

It was refreshing to know that Yoo jin was a child too, given his fuss character in the series only left me with an impression that he was always like that, now I can also imagine his child version

 

We do see a bit of what Yoo Jin was like as a child, and while he probably was very serious and proper at times, we do see that once it involves music...there's no stopping him. That's when we see him at his most talkative and mischievous: we see him literally sneaking into Sebastian Viera's rehearsal and he doesn't have any qualms against interrupting to point out that the violins were off-tune  I did try to sneak his later workaholic nature into this snippet - it's just that for him, it's not work.

 

5 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

This version had also felt like child version of yong pal, like how he use to protect his mom and little sister from his abusive father

 

To be fair, in the flashbacks, we mostly see Tae Hyun's mom shielding both him and his little sister, but I figured that that would only last until he's old enough to fight back. He does take on the role of head of the household really early on, and even his decision to downplay the abuse here, in my imagination, was done with that in mind: because they would still need his father's income (no matter how painfully it comes) in order to survive and you don't get that if he's in jail.

 

5 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

This version is cultural enriching and enlightening to read. Although Confucius spoke about family relationship and their importance to have a moral and happy society, he did not considered the gender perspective, which I think it is manifesting today in east Asia in the with high  gender gap politically,financially and status in family Given that the plot of "My sassy girl" starts with questioning the chastity of the queen, even though it very difficult for a queen to have an affair, she was accused and pronounced guilty without trial shows how biased the laws were in those times against women in such a way that even queen was not safe.

 

This one's actually my personal favourite out of all these snippets because, if you look closely, Gyun Woo's words at the end are meant to reflect back on the whole thing:

 

Spoiler

"But if a woman’s father has read a thousand books yet is foolish and lacks virtue in his own life, how could she, as his daughter, learn what is virtuous? And if her husband is the same, then how could she raise her son to follow the right path? So, in truth, women are our greatest mirror. If Joseon lacks virtue as a nation, it will be in its women – who must look up to its men – where we see it first.”

 

I did want to show Gyun Woo's later openness to the education (if not the emancipation) of women, but at the same time, this starts to hint at how he does end up believing the gossip about the Queen and all the stuff that happens as a result. But even more than that, it's worth taking this statement and looking back at all the mother-son relationships I wrote about here: you'll find that most (but certainly not all) of them succeed.  

[kittyna]

1 hour ago, kireeti2 said:

Off topic- The king: Eternal monarch is officially flop, at least in south Korea

 

Oh. But apparently it's really big online - or at least I see references to it on online news sites, Instagram, etc. constantly. Again, this is probably due to differences between Korean and international audiences.

 

1 hour ago, kireeti2 said:

On top of that "ALICE" did not released any official posters also, which point out that they are not doing enough on publicize the drama. I hope it'll pick up as the release date of the drama approaches

 

There are still a good number of dramas between now and when Alice airs, so chances are, it's just not its turn yet. Also, I think they're still filming (it appears to be a fully pre-produced drama), so there's likely still more work that needs to be done before official promotions begin.

 

I don't think we'll need to worry about there not being anything, though - since this is JW's comeback drama (albeit a year later than anyone initially expected his comeback to be!), SBS and Huayi Brothers, if nobody else, are going to make the most of it while they can.

[kireeti2]

28 minutes ago, kittyna said:

Oh. But apparently it's really big online - or at least I see references to it on online news sites, Instagram, etc. constantly. Again, this is probably due to differences between Korean and international audiences

I don't think there is difference between offline and online audience, if they the audience in offline liked a series the online audience will also like it and vice versa, and on top of that offline audience feedback is more valued than online, as you can see "The Heirs" owes its success to offline audience, who gave a positive review which in-turn made the online audience to show interest in the series.

The online buzz is mainly due to leads past work and writers past  success, buzz is really easy to create online all they need is just few motivated fans to trend it(if you know what I mean, like fakes accounts with fake comments, saying I am from this country and all they talk about is this drama etc etc)

Now the fans are doubting the ability of the audience to make series hit/flop, they had no problem when they got high ratings for series like "Boys over flowers, The Heirs and The legend of blue sea", now, when the rating of this drama is low, the fans are like "AuDience Are DuMb, They laCk tAste and ClaSs". I hope lead actor/actress are more mature than fans and take this as a critical feedback and try to improve they acting, rather than living in world like their fans; thinking everything is fine and fault lies with the public

[kittyna]

1 hour ago, kireeti2 said:

The online buzz is mainly due to leads past work and writers past  success, buzz is really easy to create online all they need is just few motivated fans to trend it(if you know what I mean, like fakes accounts with fake comments, saying I am from this country and all they talk about is this drama etc etc)

 

I do - but I'm more reluctant than you to consider "fake accounts with fake comments". Maybe it's because I live in North America, but it's become such a knee-jerk reaction now (especially due to a certain American president) to say that anything you don't agree with is "fake" (e.g. bots, "fake news", etc.) that I'm really cautious about assuming that things people post (at least when it comes to matters of opinion rather than fact) are fake. 

 

What I do know - and it's been like this for as long as I've been in Hallyu - is that certain actors/actresses tend to just naturally appear in any social media algorithm related to K-pop or K-drama in general. Like, I have to actively search up stuff relating to JW, but there are tons of actors for whom pictures, updates, posts, etc. will automatically appear in my feed or recommendations on YouTube or Instagram or Pinterest. That tells me something about what computer algorithms, at least, have learned are "popular" among Hallyu audiences - whether that's due to bots or just a whole ton of uber-faithful fans like us (just for different artists) is not my place to judge.

 

1 hour ago, kireeti2 said:

Now the fans are doubting the ability of the audience to make series hit/flop, they had no problem when they got high ratings for series like "Boys over flowers, The Heirs and The legend of blue sea", now, when the rating of this drama is low, the fans are like "AuDience Are DuMb, They laCk tAste and ClaSs".

 

Because (building on what I've just said), I've seen occasional comments like this from fans of JW's dramas, too. Things like, "Good Doctor is so great and actually has a good message, but all people seem to care about are cliché dramas like [insert name here] featuring the rich chaebol male and the candy female." Or "JW's acting is so much better than [insert name here], but fangirls are so dumb and shallow - they only like [insert name] because he's hot." While I can see the value in promoting the merits of an underrated drama or artist, I don't see why people have to take it that step further by comparing things or blaming the viewers.

 

I don't like that blaming the audience is such an instinctive reaction among fans, but since it is...to take a line from I just used in my fic, "When we see men of worth, we should think of equaling them; when we see men of a contrary character, we should turn inwards and examine ourselves."

 

And I also know that this is exactly what JW doesn't like to see, so whatever happens with Alice, let's hope we can all do better than that.

 

1 hour ago, kireeti2 said:

I hope lead actor/actress are more mature than fans and take this as a critical feedback and try to improve they acting, rather than living in world like their fans; thinking everything is fine and fault lies with the public

 

Well, if it's any consolation, JW does appear to be his own worst critic, as far as his acting is concerned. Even when everyone else is praising him, he'd still be going, "Okay...but this here could have been better, and I could have done it more sensitively there...and maybe I overdid that facial expression there, but that's really what people look like when they're upset, and...."

 

lol - You get the idea  

[kireeti2]

36 minutes ago, kittyna said:

Well, if it's any consolation, JW does appear to be his own worst critic, as far as his acting is concerned. Even when everyone else is praising him, he'd still be going, "Okay...but this here could have been better, and I could have done it more sensitively there...and maybe I overdid that facial expression there, but that's really what people look like when they're upset, and...."

 

lol - You get the idea  

True that!! He is never satisfied with his performance, be it in musical or acting, he always says he could have done better and I agree with him. He needs lot of improvement in his comedic timing and while he portrays antagonist characters well, still it feels like he was not acting to his potential.

43 minutes ago, kittyna said:

And I also know that this is exactly what JW doesn't like to see, so whatever happens with Alice, let's hope we can all do better than that.

Yeah, I too hope we can react in a measured way, even if the series goes south. I do think I'll be able to write a critical review, if the series doesn't do well and I certainly not kind of fan to defend the series just because joo won is in there. I will also try not to blame writers ans editors, because no matter how bad story line or direction a series have, the leads acting should at least be able to portray character in convincing way, just like kim hee sun does, while series "Angry Mom" had predictable story line, her acting saved the series from being disaster and won few awards also. I hope Joo won's acting can match up to hers

52 minutes ago, kittyna said:

Because (building on what I've just said), I've seen occasional comments like this from fans of JW's dramas, too. Things like, "Good Doctor is so great and actually has a good message, but all people seem to care about are cliché dramas like [insert name here] featuring the rich chaebol male and the candy female." Or "JW's acting is so much better than [insert name here], but fangirls are so dumb and shallow - they only like [insert name] because he's hot." While I can see the value in promoting the merits of an underrated drama or artist, I don't see why people have to take it that step further by comparing things or blaming the viewers.

I think the fan who was comparing "The Heirs and Good doctor" was just confused or had no sense of judgement. For starters, both the series were aired at different time slot, on top of that Good doctor finished before "The heirs", and both dominated their own time slots in their own network. While the "Good doctor" series went to win best drama award in Korean broadcasting awards, The heirs was a commercial hit and targeted audience were different for both the series. The sharp contrast between the two dramas can be seen in the way awards were won by them; Good doctor series was success because collective efforts all the characters in the series, while The heirs owes it's success to 4 to 5 main cast members, so the series "The heirs" ended up winning more awards than Good doctor, but some of the awards were ridiculous, for instances, a award for best dress? What kind of effort one has to put in to win this award other than spending money for it

[kittyna]

10 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

He needs lot of improvement in his comedic timing and while he portrays antagonist characters well, still it feels like he was not acting to his potential.

 

In terms of comedy, I tend to prefer JW's "straight man" humour (e.g. his performance as Cha Yoo Jin in Nae Il's Cantabile) rather than when his character is actually meant to be funny (e.g. Level 7 Civil Servant, Catch Me, and some moments in My Sassy Girl). He also seems to pull off the dry/wisecracking style of humour, too (like what we see from Kim Tae Hyun in Yong Pal).

 

And I'd also like to see him exploring an antagonistic role again. The thing is, though, it feels almost like the peak that everyone strives for in the Korean entertainment industry is playing the first lead - i.e. the protagonist. Antagonistic characters seem to be relegated to up-and-coming actors or veteran actors - in other words, since JW's already played first lead for a while now, we may have to wait until he's literally outgrown his own "oppa" potential and firmly become an "ahjussi".  

 

10 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

I think the fan who was comparing "The Heirs and Good doctor" was just confused or had no sense of judgement. For starters, both the series were aired at different time slot, on top of that Good doctor finished before "The heirs", and both dominated their own time slots in their own network. While the "Good doctor" series went to win best drama award in Korean broadcasting awards, The heirs was a commercial hit and targeted audience were different for both the series.

 

Generally, I don't compare dramas - for me, it's just whether I like a drama or not individually. So ratings, popularity, etc. aren't all that relevant to me - great to have when they're there, but not a priority.

 

That said, I'm not in the position to judge here since I haven't watched The Heirs. All I can say is that I really, really like Good Doctor  

 

And this is cute: a collection of K-drama backhugs 

 

 

 

Only one of JW's dramas appears here, but I will say that it's one of my favourite backhugs, full stop.  How about you guys? What's your favourite backhug scene?

[kireeti2]

2 hours ago, kittyna said:

How about you guys? What's your favourite backhug scene?

Back hug from Yong pal is my favorite one

 

2 hours ago, kittyna said:

And this is cute: a collection of K-drama backhugs

It was kind of cultural shock for me though, at first I was watching Good doctor on Viki site,so, when si on day dreamed about his date with cha yoon seo, they had a kind of back hug moment and people in comment sections were going Gaga over it and I was like whats such a big deal? And when I started my further probe in Kdrama, then I had found out that it's much bigger deal than kiss. And while probing about the back hug, I had also learned about Noona Romance term, which was bigger cultural shock, at first I though noona means only sister, but later I found out it has some many meanings.

 

2 hours ago, kittyna said:

I haven't watched The Heirs

You dodged a bullet, trust me, it is equal to mental torture if you value logic and plot in a drama series. If you are into looks and cringe moment then you'll be fine(although acting was good, I can say it was lee mi ho best acting so far)

 

2 hours ago, kittyna said:

In terms of comedy, I tend to prefer JW's "straight man" humour (e.g. his performance as Cha Yoo Jin in Nae Il's Cantabile) rather than when his character is actually meant to be funny (e.g. Level 7 Civil Servant, Catch Me, and some moments in My Sassy Girl)

I second you, his serious comedy is more fun to watch than his actual comedy, but Level 7 civil servant was good in terms of comedy, I wouldn't say it was good but certainly not the worst. Catch me comedy was such a disaster though, and my sassy girl was also kind of boring, although it had its own charm. Cha Yoo jin performance in terms of comedic time was good but not on par with Good doctor comedy, Good doctor comedy was by far best of Joo won.

 

3 hours ago, kittyna said:

we may have to wait until he's literally outgrown his own "oppa" potential and firmly become an "ahjussi"

I think his transformation into ajussi was already done in his 20's, since he had spent most of it in doing work. I never imagined joo won playing a oppa role, he is  suited  more  for serious roles and also suited for Gang member roles. And coincidental his favorite Hollywood actor is Robert De Niro, who is famous for his antagonist roles.

[kittyna]

5 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

Back hug from Yong pal is my favorite one

 

As I've already suggested, the one from Nae Il's Cantabile is one of my favourites, but it's actually in a tie with this one:

 

 

The backhug from Nae Il's Cantabile is a huge step forward in Yoo Jin and Nae Il's relationship: not just romantically, but in terms of their emotional understanding of each other (especially when, after finding out about what Nae Il did, Yoo Jin pulls her in for a second hug because he's so touched). But this one, from Ojakgyo Brothers, I love for just how understated it is: it's what I personally imagine when I think of the term "backhug", and I love how Tae Hui nuzzles into Ja Eun's shoulder in particular.

 

In both instances, I think what I like is how the backhug scenes are moments when the guy is able to open up and show his vulnerability - that's not the case in every backhug, but it is for these two.

 

5 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

It was kind of cultural shock for me though, at first I was watching Good doctor on Viki site,so, when si on day dreamed about his date with cha yoon seo, they had a kind of back hug moment and people in comment sections were going Gaga over it and I was like whats such a big deal? And when I started my further probe in Kdrama, then I had found out that it's much bigger deal than kiss. And while probing about the back hug, I had also learned about Noona Romance term, which was bigger cultural shock, at first I though noona means only sister, but later I found out it has some many meanings.

 

The progression of physical intimacy in Korean dramas is definitely different from North American dramas - so we actually get to see holding hands and hugs as milestones before we get to kissing and beyond (because let's be real: "beyond" does happen off-screen quite often in K-dramas, no matter how squeaky clean they look).

 

I think I realized the bit about noona romance pretty quickly - at least in terms of the dual meaning of the word "noona" - since I learned the dual meanings for "oppa" so early, it didn't take me long to realize it could go the other way.

 

5 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

I second you, his serious comedy is more fun to watch than his actual comedy, but Level 7 civil servant was good in terms of comedy, I wouldn't say it was good but certainly not the worst. Catch me comedy was such a disaster though, and my sassy girl was also kind of boring, although it had its own charm. Cha Yoo jin performance in terms of comedic time was good but not on par with Good doctor comedy, Good doctor comedy was by far best of Joo won.

 

True. I hadn't thought much of Good Doctor as comedy, to be honest. Park Si On is funny, but I can't forget that a good chunk of his humour stems from his autism, so I try to be conscious about how or why I end up laughing when I watch him.

 

So, for example: as a fanfic author, I'm perfectly fine with teasing Cha Yoo Jin (and I do, a lot), but I'm more cautious with Park Si On. Because when I use Si On's point of view, he's not thinking about being funny; and when I use Cha Yoon Seo's point of view, she's going to be careful to always be laughing with Si On and not at him.

 

5 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

I think his transformation into ajussi was already done in his 20's, since he had spent most of it in doing work. I never imagined joo won playing a oppa role, he is  suited  more  for serious roles and also suited for Gang member roles. And coincidental his favorite Hollywood actor is Robert De Niro, who is famous for his antagonist roles.

 

What I meant wasn't JW playing an oppa role (honestly, he's only done that once - Cha Yoo Jin - while his other roles have been other archetypes) - but that he's still marketable as an "oppa" for audiences. As long as that is the case, the entertainment industry will push for him to continue playing the main lead/protagonist due to its romantic hearthrob potential.

 

So, by "ahjussi", I mean getting to the point where he could play the hyung/mentor sort of second lead to a younger first lead (e.g. Joo Sang Wook's character in Good Doctor) or some other sort of role that's usually assigned to a veteran actor (including antagonists). And that's something that still needs time - he's got to make his comeback as the main lead, at least, before we can see if his "oppa" potential has already been spent enough that he could consider more diverse roles.

[kireeti2]

1 hour ago, kittyna said:

But this one, from Ojakgyo Brothers, I love for just how understated it is: it's what I personally imagine when I think of the term "backhug", and I love how Tae Hui nuzzles into Ja Eun's shoulder in particular.

It baffles me that they did not get best couple award

1 hour ago, kittyna said:

What I meant wasn't JW playing an oppa role (honestly, he's only done that once - Cha Yoo Jin - while his other roles have been other archetypes) - but that he's still marketable as an "oppa" for audiences. As long as that is the case, the entertainment industry will push for him to continue playing the main lead/protagonist due to its romantic hearthrob potential.

 

So, by "ahjussi", I mean getting to the point where he could play the hyung/mentor sort of second lead to a younger first lead (e.g. Joo Sang Wook's character in Good Doctor) or some other sort of role that's usually assigned to a veteran actor (including antagonists). And that's something that still needs time - he's got to make his comeback as the main lead, at least, before we can see if his "oppa" potential has already been spent enough that he could consider more diverse roles.

OH!! Now I get it , yeah,you are right, it would be great to see Joo won mentoring his junior in a drama or movie. I think we would do great in that role, since he was doing the same thing in off-camera. I read some articles that joo won is really a great senior who is always ready to help his juniors and guide them, and he always says that he wants his acting skills to reach a point where he can teach others.

 

[kireeti2]

Wow!! I guess joo won did pretty good job in the army, his army friends are still calling him as sergeant, at least that's what translation says.

[kittyna]

12 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

It baffles me that they did not get best couple award

 

They didn't? Well, at least Ojakgyo Brothers did get something in that category (Hwang Tae Beom + Cha Soo Young), even if it wasn't Tae Hui and Ja Eun  

 

12 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

yeah,you are right, it would be great to see Joo won mentoring his junior in a drama or movie. I think we would do great in that role, since he was doing the same thing in off-camera.

 

He does have some experience doing that on set already, since I've noticed numerous times that junior/younger actors from his agency also end up taking on supporting roles in his dramas. But I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more of that on screen as well  

 

And, going back to your earlier comment about  wanting to see JW play a gangster-type character...yeah, that would be fun. Or a con artist. That would be fun, too - viewers would get so many different sides from him then.  

 

But more than that, I want to see JW take on a big meaty role in a serious sageuk - My Sassy Girl's great for what it is, but it is ultimately a youth/fusion sageuk, and I'd love to see JW tackle the real thing. 

 

[kireeti2]

3 hours ago, kittyna said:

JW play a gangster-type character...yeah, that would be fun. Or a con artist

That's what exactly I was thinking about the roles Joo won would do great job. Especially after seeing his acting in "SWEET SIXTEEN", a gangster who is stoic in nature role would be great fit for him and a con artist who only thinks about him and money, but acts as a good person would be great to watch, it would be both entertaining and fun to watch

 

3 hours ago, kittyna said:

 My Sassy Girl's great for what it is, but it is ultimately a youth/fusion sageuk, and I'd love to see JW tackle the real thing. 

I think My sassy girl was imposed on him by his agency, just like they did it with "Catch me" movie they wanted to give him a good farewell before his enlistment. I think the agency had good intention but not good story, since it was same director who directed "Yong Pal"

[kittyna]

8 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

That's what exactly I was thinking about the roles Joo won would do great job. Especially after seeing his acting in "SWEET SIXTEEN", a gangster who is stoic in nature role would be great fit for him and a con artist who only thinks about him and money, but acts as a good person would be great to watch, it would be both entertaining and fun to watch

 

Considering that Kim Tae Hyun already claims he's halfway to becoming a gangster in Yong Pal (because that's the environment he's been in all this life), I think it'd be fun to see JW go all the way. Whether as an actual baddie or as a reformed gangster - or, like Lee Joon Ki's character in Two Weeks, one who's just starting to try to make a better life for himself but is awkwardly caught in between the gang and law enforcement.

 

As for con artist, I think that the standard type could be fun, but I'm actually envisioning the sort that you see in Squad 38 (yes, I do watch crime/suspense dramas a lot - problem? ), where the con artists are actually recruited into scamming corrupt members of society. So, sort of Robin Hood-esque, but not so familiar with being the good guys that they actually feel that sense of drive/mission yet. Putting it that way, it's sort of like the financial version of Lee Kang To's Gaksital (as opposed to Kang San's, which actually is more idealistic).

 

Point is: we've seen JW playing cops so many times that it'll be fun to see him play the other side of the law again, or someone in the massive grey area in between. I mean, we've seen him do it before - like in Yong Pal - but I'd definitely want to see that again.

 

8 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

I think My sassy girl was imposed on him by his agency, just like they did it with "Catch me" movie they wanted to give him a good farewell before his enlistment. I think the agency had good intention but not good story, since it was same director who directed "Yong Pal"

 

Personally, I think this was a case where they were trying to please everybody by covering as many bases as possible - JW said that fans had been wanting him to do a sageuk to begin with, and his agency probably wanted him to do some sort of lighthearted period rom-com (building on the popularity of shows like Love in the Moonlight)...and maybe they all forgot that that wasn't really JW's forte? Not to mention that adapting such a hugely popular film like the original My Sassy Girl would have been a controversial decision no matter how they did it (a lesson they should probably have learned from Nae Il's Cantabile, if you want me to be blunt).

 

As for the director, Huayi Brothers came up with the concept for My Sassy Girl first, and it took them a lot of asking around for them to find a network (SBS) and a director (the one who did Yong Pal) to take it on. Which...might not be the most promising way to start a production, if you ask me.

 

Which is why I so want him to try a serious sageuk for once - it'd satisfy those cravings for a historical piece, but work more in line with JW's strengths. He could do the stoic scholar again, or (and I know a number of fans want this) he could take on a warrior or royal role.

 

And we've got a couple more pics from Alice behind-the-scenes:

 

 

 

[kireeti2]

7 minutes ago, kittyna said:

Which is why I so want him to try a serious sageuk for once - it'd satisfy those cravings for a historical piece, but work more in line with JW's strengths. He could do the stoic scholar again, or (and I know a number of fans want this) he could take on a warrior or royal role.

That would epic!!!! If Joo won get to play a role like that, scholar,stoic and pessimist And also a loyal warrior, who only has loyalty but cannot distinguish between moral and immoral decisions, some what like a guy who is indebted to an evil nobleman.

 

10 minutes ago, kittyna said:

yes, I do watch crime/suspense dramas a lot - problem?

No problem ma'am, I head it these dramas are good for mental health

12 minutes ago, kittyna said:

Love in the Moonlight

I had saw the first episode and skipped to the last episode for this series, and I did not regret it, the ending was so predictable, in the last young prince with his wits saves the day and gets the girl

 

15 minutes ago, kittyna said:

a lesson they should probably have learned from Nae Il's Cantabile, if you want me to be blunt

Cantabile tomorrow was way better than My sassy girl, of course both were joo won's low rating series.

16 minutes ago, kittyna said:

Considering that Kim Tae Hyun already claims he's halfway to becoming a gangster in Yong Pal 

In Yong pal he almost acted the "Gang doctor"(this was series name used in South asia and south East asia regions) in the early episodes, he played it with ease and naturally, I hope he takes such kind roles more in the future

 

20 minutes ago, kittyna said:

Two Weeks

He can do better than this series, although, this series was new, but still it had inherently conventional drama features, like 2nd lead syndrome, Father-Daughter love etc. I want him to take more complex role, which can show all the subaltern features, since most of the people in crime world enter out of desperation and not willingly, it would awesome to watch all the dilemmas,human dark side and in the end a hopeful ending but not totally a happy ending.

[kittyna]

lol - I'm starting to think, @kireeti2, that you mind tropes/clichés way more than I do, considering the number of times you pointed out not enjoying something because it was predictable or conventional. I actually don't mind that in a story, as long as I come away thinking it made sense for the characters to think/act/react the way they do, cliché or not.

 

Mind you, I was the kid who probably got on a lot of playmates' nerves by insisting that pretend games and scenarios don't have to always have a happy ending. Like, if I want a happy ending for a story, it needs to be one where I think that happy ending is merited (e.g. the main couple ends up together because both parties possess a considerate and selfless love for each other); I have little patience for stories with happy endings just because it's what fans want or because that's what's expected for a finale.

 

Spoiler

Which means that, yes, I was probably one of the few people who watched Descendants of the Sun who wouldn't have minded if the male leads had actually died - I thought that that could make a really strong point about what it's like for veterans' families.

 

So, addressing a few points individually. For those who read this forum mostly for JW-related stuff, please forgive me a couple of tangents - I promise I will get to JW again shortly! *salute*

 

9 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

I had saw the first episode and skipped to the last episode for this series, and I did not regret it, the ending was so predictable, in the last young prince with his wits saves the day and gets the girl

 

To be honest, I mostly watched Love in the Moonlight out of curiosity: I wanted to see what all the fuss was about, and I already liked Park Bo Gum's portrayal of Lee Yoon Hoo in Nae Il's Cantabile, so the factor of casting (i.e. whether I actually enjoy watching the main actors) was settled on that front.

 

While the clichés were definitely there, I think the most regrettable part of it for me, actually, was that I would have liked to see more about the serious history behind it. The drama was an alternative history concerning an actual Joseon prince who was a brilliant scholar and big pusher for political reform, but who died before he could ascend to the throne. Knowing in advance that it would end happily (i.e. with said prince actually surviving), I wanted to see what the drama writers thought might happen as a result. Things like: what contributions might he have made if he could have become King? Would he have been a strong monarch or a weak one? You know, that sort of thing. So I felt like there was some wasted potential here: the story, as it was, could have worked with a completely fictional prince, so why go to such lengths to market it as an alternative history?

 

9 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

He can do better than this series, although, this series was new, but still it had inherently conventional drama features, like 2nd lead syndrome, Father-Daughter love etc.

 

As for Two Weeks, I think the tropes, for what they were, were pulled off in rather interesting ways. Maybe I just haven't watched all that many dramas featuring a strong father-daughter bond (so I might not be in the position to argue), but I actually thought that was a good change from the emotionally distant (at best) to abusive (at worst) fathers I tended to see in dramas. And I was definitely intrigued by the idea that it was finding out about this daughter that prompted the lead to turn his life around and start going straight - and I really wanted to see him succeed in doing that.

 

So when it comes to JW (finally!), I would like to see him playing a father who holds a strong love for his children, no matter how that is played out or expressed in the drama itself. I would also like to see JW playing a character who goes through that sort of bad-to-good growth arc again: he did it once with Gaksital, and he pulls it off well.  

 

9 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

I want him to take more complex role, which can show all the subaltern features, since most of the people in crime world enter out of desperation and not willingly, it would awesome to watch all the dilemmas,human dark side and in the end a hopeful ending but not totally a happy ending.

 

lol - To be honest, if it's the socio-economic and/or political facets of the underworld you're looking for...Yong Pal is one of the best I've watched. Not a lot of dramas actually examine that side of the criminal underworld, I find: they tend to be either very action-based or the criminals are just one-dimensional bad guys (which, come to think of it, I could point out as a critique I'd have for Two Weeks - cartoonish villains). But Yong Pal actually tried to touch on some of those aspects through Tae Hyun's character: we see him as someone who grew up exposed to the underworld, who tried his hardest to escape it (by getting a good education and becoming a doctor - i.e. upward social mobility), but who wound up getting sucked back into it anyway due to systemic factors (e.g. poverty, Korea's massive social inequality and its repercussions in the medical system, etc.). 

 

The only other dramas I could think of off the top of my head that also touched on these things (albeit not as overtly as Yong Pal) would be Bad Guys (the first one - not the sequel, which I haven't watched) if you prefer a darker grittier version, and Prison Playbook if you want something more heartwarming (it doesn't go into socio-economics all that much, but does a great job humanizing the people we just think of as criminals). But Yong Pal's the one I would recommend if anyone asked me for a drama that focuses on the socio-economic cross-section of Korean society that you're talking about - and it's also the drama universe that I use for exploring these topics in my fic-writing.

 

9 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

In Yong pal he almost acted the "Gang doctor"(this was series name used in South asia and south East asia regions) in the early episodes, he played it with ease and naturally, I hope he takes such kind roles more in the future

 

Yeah - I think JW completely nailed Tae Hyun's "diamond in the rough" personality  And he seemed to have a lot of fun playing such a role as well.

 

9 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

Cantabile tomorrow was way better than My sassy girl, of course both were joo won's low rating series.

 

I'm with you - I personally enjoyed Nae Il's Cantabile more, but what I meant was that any sort of adaptation of existing material has a hard time winning audiences over (it's the classic "The book was better" idea). So if JW's agency wanted to put together something big for his send-off, I think they would have been better off with a completely original story rather than an adaptation - especially of such a huge blockbuster as My Sassy Girl.

 

9 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

No problem ma'am, I head it these dramas are good for mental health

 

Actually, I got into that because I noticed that a lot of North American dramas showed either a lot of violence or a lot of sex - and I figured the degree of violence that featured in police/crime dramas (since most of the more graphic stuff is shown off-screen) would be the lesser of two evils.  

 

That doesn't hold true for K-dramas, though, since for the most part (the rare 19+ drama notwithstanding), sex scenes are implied rather than shown on screen. So for K-dramas, I generally prefer deep "makes you think" dramas over action or suspense.

[kireeti2]

3 hours ago, kittyna said:

its repercussions in the medical system, etc.). 

I was shocked when I had see  such scenes where doctors were acting like sales guys and trying to woo wealthy patients. In our country we do have issues in medical service, but the Korean issue seemed very big, like every doctor was at disposal for the rich/chaebol and loan shark characters were also a kind of cultural shock for me, I never knew there would be such kind of heartless people

3 hours ago, kittyna said:

That doesn't hold true for K-dramas, though, since for the most part (the rare 19+ drama notwithstanding), sex scenes are implied rather than shown on screen. So for K-dramas, I generally prefer deep "makes you think" dramas over action or suspense.

Yeah, k-dramas are very clean, when it comes to romantic part, but they kind of go all in when it comes to action part.

 

3 hours ago, kittyna said:

While the clichés were definitely there, I think the most regrettable part of it for me, actually, was that I would have liked to see more about the serious history behind it. The drama was an alternative history concerning an actual Joseon prince who was a brilliant scholar and big pusher for political reform, but who died before he could ascend to the throne. Knowing in advance that it would end happily (i.e. with said prince actually surviving), I wanted to see what the drama writers thought might happen as a result. Things like: what contributions might he have made if he could have become King? Would he have been a strong monarch or a weak one? You know, that sort of thing. So I felt like there was some wasted potential here: the story, as it was, could have worked with a completely fictional prince, so why go to such lengths to market it as an alternative history?

Really!!! Omg, they wasted a good story and turned it into a teenage drama. It sounded intriguing when you said that prince was trying to reform politics, it would have been great if they have explored that aspect instead of romance, it could have been "Korean version King Aurthur"

[kittyna]

9 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

I was shocked when I had see  such scenes where doctors were acting like sales guys and trying to woo wealthy patients. In our country we do have issues in medical service, but the Korean issue seemed very big, like every doctor was at disposal for the rich/chaebol and loan shark characters were also a kind of cultural shock for me, I never knew there would be such kind of heartless people

 

For me, it was the other way around - I saw so much of this in the dramas that I was later surprised to learn how much of Korea's health care system is still publicly funded and accessible to average people. But there does seem to be a major discrepancy between treatments and services covered by the basic government-funded health insurance and those that are not - and many treatments for serious illnesses or major surgeries seem to be the latter. 

 

It probably helps that even though I'm Canadian (where a lot of our health care is covered by the government), I also live close enough to the States (where it isn't) to realize how much of an impact one's income and social class could have on the treatment (or lack thereof) that one receives. So, for me, seeing these things in dramas has simply been a case of transferring what I've seen in one context (the USA) to another (Korea). 

 

As for the loan shark type characters, they're also quite prevalent in Hong Kong's popular culture, so I was aware of that. I don't know how much of what we see in dramas is realistic, though, or how much is exaggerated or the worse case scenario.

 

9 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

Yeah, k-dramas are very clean, when it comes to romantic part, but they kind of go all in when it comes to action part.

 

I find them to be on-par with the North American dramas in terms of action, violence, the graphic nature of said violence, etc. - is it more graphic than what's the norm in India?

 

There's also a difference between whether the Korean drama is shown on a basic network (KBS, MBC, SBS) or a cable network (tvN, JTBC, OCN, etc.), with more graphic content allowed on the latter. It can still get pretty brutal on a basic network (Gaksital, anybody?), but if I know that the police/crime drama I'm about to watch originally aired on a cable network...I know to expect some pretty crazy stuff.

 

9 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

Really!!! Omg, they wasted a good story and turned it into a teenage drama. It sounded intriguing when you said that prince was trying to reform politics, it would have been great if they have explored that aspect instead of romance, it could have been "Korean version King Aurthur"

 

Maybe I misunderstood the ending of the drama, since all I know was that I saw the prince in the regalia of a king, but my own curiosity-driven research starting from yesterday shows that he was crowned regent (i.e. ruling in place of the king) in the last few years of his life. More of the history is explained here (from a K-drama fan) and here (news article source).

 

And the more I look into this prince's life, the more I want an actual serious sageuk to be made about it - there's something really appealing about a Crown Prince who's highly intelligent, interested in reform, and a massive patron of the arts, all in one. It's like Joseon's version of an Enlightenment-style ruler. If there ever were a serious sageuk on the subject, though, I'd want to see JW in a supporting role rather than the lead: as someone who advises or mentors the teenage prince rather than as the prince himself.

 

And, to be honest, I'm starting to wonder if this person was a possible inspiration for Gyun Woo's character in My Sassy Girl. Of course, Gyun Woo is not a prince (not even by marrying Hye Myung - that's actually a loss in power/status for him since it legally bars him from any government position), but the whole "Joseon era child genius" concept is there.

 

Finally, some late night filming for Alice: