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

[kittyna]

1 hour ago, kireeti2 said:

Yeah, but they were like no sexist male characters in Joo won's drama, most of them were female characters, like Gu Ma jun's mom.

 

Point. Most K-drama guys in who might hold more sexist views aren't overt about it - you'd see it more in being dismissive of women or patronizing to them (i.e. "Don't worry your pretty little head - this is a man's job.") rather than being blatantly "women only belong in the domestic sphere" about it. And that's an attitude that I'd argue is more chauvinistic than sexist, if you want to split hairs - and there's a really fine line between that and just being chivalrous or a gentleman. Point is: it's complicated, and it comes down more to the guy's attitude/intentions than his words or actions. A girl will know whether a guy is trying to shield her out of good intentions or out of his own pride.

 

On the flip side, women in K-dramas police each other's behaviour a lot more. It's really obvious in stories that take place in a more historical context (e.g. Jung Da Yeon's attitude towards Hye Myung in My Sassy Girl; Seo In Sook's attitude towards both Shin Yu Kyung and her own daughters in King of Baking, Kim Tak Gu; etc.), but even in a more modern setting, you get some older women bemoaning how their daughters (or daughters-in-law) aren't as ladylike as they used to be. With the possible exception of Jeju-do - women were historically the breadwinners there, so....

 

As for my own responses to the challenge, I'll put them in a separate post - so stay tuned for that! Also, for anyone who hasn't figured it out yet: yes, I was inspired by JW's Ghost comeback  

[kireeti2]

34 minutes ago, kittyna said:

Point. Most K-drama guys in who might hold more sexist views aren't overt about it - you'd see it more in being dismissive of women or patronizing to them (i.e. "Don't worry your pretty little head - this is a man's job.") rather than being blatantly "women only belong in the domestic sphere" about it. And that's an attitude that I'd argue is more chauvinistic than sexist, if you want to split hairs - and there's a really fine line between that and just being chivalrous or a gentleman. Point is: it's complicated, and it comes down more to the guy's attitude/intentions than his words or actions. A girl will know whether a guy is trying to shield her out of good intentions or out of his own pride.

 

On the flip side, women in K-dramas police each other's behaviour a lot more. It's really obvious in stories that take place in a more historical context (e.g. Jung Da Yeon's attitude towards Hye Myung in My Sassy Girl; Seo In Sook's attitude towards both Shin Yu Kyung and her own daughters in King of Baking, Kim Tak Gu; etc.), but even in a more modern setting, you get some older women bemoaning how their daughters (or daughters-in-law) aren't as ladylike as they used to be. With the possible exception of Jeju-do - women were historically the breadwinners there, so....

Sometimes I feel like, you are interpretations give much meaning and deeper understanding of my choices. Like, I choice this character because he was an hard a** to everyone in the drama. But, the way you explained the choice gives more meaning to my statements. It's like turning dumb statements into wise words

[kittyna]

So now, here I am with my take on the Musical/Drama Character Challenge. You may agree or disagree with my choices, but this is all in good fun  

 

Spoiler

1. "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" from Les Miserables 

 

Like @kireeti2, I think Lee Kang To from Gaksital is a really strong contender for this one, for the reasons already described above. However, I also thought of Han Min Gyu (i.e. the high school student played by Park Bo Gum) from the same drama. Even though his part in Gaksital is a small one, I got a really strong sense that he started off as this wide-eyed idealist, but learned the realities of war in pretty much the worst way possible: by watching all his friends and classmates getting killed off around him.

 

2. "Her Voice" from The Little Mermaid 

 

Double-win for Bubblegum (a.k.a. Park Bo Gum - it's what my family calls him, don't ask ) here, because I also thought of Lee Yoon Hoo (and this time, I don't have a decent backup). However, rather than projecting ahead into the future, I literally thought of his feelings for Nae Il: given that his attraction to her started when he stumbled upon her playing the piano. That wasn't their first meeting, but it was the first time he actually felt something for her besides "girl I keep running into with a really messed-up boyfriend"  So my point still stands.

 

3. "Mr. Cellophane" from Chicago 

 

Not gonna lie: this one was a tough one for me, personally, because it feels a little bit odd to comment on a character's...insignificance? Even if it's just imagined? Anyway, be that as it may, I ultimately opted for Tamao (a.k.a. Lee Hae Suk) from Gaksital. He's a relatively passive and unassuming person by nature - and most of the time, he's perfectly cool with just staying in the background and having a more laidback approach to life. But with his family, his friends (especially Lee Kang To and Kimura Shunji) and even the woman he loves all getting caught up in the major political conflicts around him, he increasingly gets the feeling that he's been left out of something big. And that's especially true when Tasha (the bar owner he's got a crush on) openly meets with resistance members in front of him, assuaging their worries about his presence by literally saying that he doesn't matter. Oof.

 

4. "Why Does She Love Me?" from Love Never Dies 

 

This one was another tough one, because most of the marriages we see in JW's dramas are either healthy (and, thus, inapplicable here) OR have a husband who's not actually all that fazed at the hurt and damage he's causing (e.g. King of Baking, Kim Tak Gu, Good Doctor, Nae Il's Cantabile, Yong Pal...you get the idea). I guess the closest would be Gu Ma Jun in that sense, but he's not actually my official pick, for reasons you'll soon find out  

 

Instead, once I realized I was getting stuck, my mind went in a different direction: what if the "she" in the song wasn't the wife? (Yes, I know "she" was, but hear me out!) Because the song includes a line about being a poor "Husband and father", I started to think, "What if I went out on a limb, and thought about a father-daughter relationship instead? So, a father who knows his daughter needs him, but who consistently lets her down again and again?" And somehow, that got me thinking of the King (i.e. Hye Myung's father) in My Sassy Girl - because he knows in his heart that his daughter's acting out because she misses her mother, but rather than offering her the emotional support she actually needs, he either pushes her aside or tries to stop her (the bit about "I try to clip her wings" really resonates here). Is it perfect? Just by steering away from a husband-wife relationship, I know it won't be. But, again, this is about a behind-the-scenes look into how my imagination works, so here you go  

 

5. "Me" from Beauty and the Beast

 

This is where I actually thought of Park Chang Hwi from My Sassy Girl, @kireeti2. He's not particularly chauvinistic, I'll admit, but he is as self-inflated - and ultimately obtuse - as Gaston in the original song. It's like he thinks Jung Da Yeon would be all over him because he's got good connections, but she's not interested at all and he's somehow too dumb to notice. A few other commonalities between Chang Hwi and Gaston: he's got a massive ego that his own group of friends fan a lot, and he tends to pick on those he sees as being too intellectual and not "manly" enough, like Gyun Woo. We see in the first episode of My Sassy Girl that the tables have been turned, but there's enough hinted at in the times they run into each other for me to think that when they were kids, Chang Hwi was the classroom bully and Gyun Woo was the one he'd pick on to make himself look more important. Not that Gyun Woo ever cared, but you get the idea.

 

6. "Endless Night" from The Lion King 

 

Hm...deceased fathers don't show up a whole ton in JW's dramas, but absent fathers do. Thinking in that direction, I can think of two guys in particular who are deeply driven and motivated by a desperate desire for reassurance and support from their fathers: Gu Ma Jun and Cha Yoo Jin. And if I had to pick one out of these two, I think Gu Ma Jun edges out just a little bit in front. Why? Because if we go with the "father" Ma Jun actually wants (i.e. the Chairman), then there's reasonable argument that they were close at one point in the past, but have become more distant ever since Ma Jun discovered that he was actually born out of wedlock. He thinks that he has to fight for the Chairman's love and acceptance, but in fact, he's had it all along and just couldn't see it. 

 

7. "With a Little Bit of Luck" from My Fair Lady

 

For this one, I thought quite easily of Choon Poong (a.k.a. Prince Eun Sung) from My Sassy Girl, because he's got the same carefree "wine, women, and song" approach to life - at least outwardly, anyway. On the inside, I know, there's a whole more depth to his character. But if we're just going by a public image, this works well.

 

8. "Hurricane" from Hamilton

 

So I admitted already that this one's a challenge. But if I condense the concept down to someone who thinks and acts quickly; who is something of a self-made man and a bit of an intellectual; and whose opponents think they have him cornered but who then ends up surprising them all...I want to go with Kim Tae Hyun. He's someone who's grown up with the odds stacked against him, but who has managed to rise above his own family background and poverty through his own smarts (I mean, getting into medical school without a private tutor or a cram school? You know how tough that is - especially in Korea???). And whenever he finds himself on the verge of losing everything he's worked for, he keeps going, usually by thinking completely outside the box and creating solutions for himself where there aren't any obvious ways out.

 

Again, is this perfect? Not by any means  But this isn't a competition: just a mutual sharing of ideas  

[kittyna]

A few Alice updates:

 

1. New Trailer (English subbed version here)

 

 

I'm definitely left going around in circles about Kim Hee Sun's character at this point - are we gonna see THREE versions of her now? Like, in the past as Park Jin Gyeom's mother, in the present as Tae Yi, and coming in from the future as...future Tae Yi? What? I'm confused, but in a good way 

 

New stills and interview

 

I love that JW goes more into his actual reasoning and acting process here  And, yes, he is known for going out of his way to pick challenging roles: some more successful than others, to be honest, but that's his general MO.

[kireeti2]

1 hour ago, kittyna said:

I'm definitely left going around in circles about Kim Hee Sun's character at this point - are we gonna see THREE versions of her now? Like, in the past as Park Jin Gyeom's mother, in the present as Tae Yi, and coming in from the future as...future Tae Yi? What? I'm confused, but in a good way 

This 5th teaser is sort of felt off to me, like the music was off and it was mash up of last 4 teasers . The last 4 teasers were awesome to watch and sort of have new scenes, in this teaser we get to see few new scenes but they were not intriguing. Lets us hope trailer will be awesome and more intriguing than this last teaser

[kittyna]

3 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

This 5th teaser is sort of felt off to me, like the music was off and it was mash up of last 4 teasers . The last 4 teasers were awesome to watch and sort of have new scenes, in this teaser we get to see few new scenes but they were not intriguing. Lets us hope trailer will be awesome and more intriguing than this last teaser

 

I think the bit I did find intriguing from the new teaser is that it seems like Tae Yi is also on a mission to protect her child at all costs as well. Since we know from the character descriptions released by SBS that the time travelers from the future are acting in response to a prophecy that the end of time travel as they know it is linked to events from back in 1992, it makes me wonder whether Park Jin Gyeom has a greater hand in this than I'd initially thought.

 

Like, what if it turns into something like the story of Oedipus, where people's efforts to prevent a negative prophecy from coming true end up inadvertently bringing about those events?

 

 

And here's an article expanding on the one I'd posted earlier with JW's interview, this time including information about Kim Hee Sun's roles as well.

 

[EDIT]

 

By the way, that Oedipus video...kinda sent me down a CrashCourse rabbit hole (don't ask), and I found this one that actually does a way better job of explaining the intersection between Confucian philosophy and the Mandate of Heaven than I did way back in some earlier conversations on the subject (most notably, its implications in My Sassy Girl) here. 

 

So, just throwing this out here in case anyone's interested:

 

 

[kittyna]

Just coming round with Group Two of my Musical/Drama Character Challenge - last time was the guys, so this time, it's the girls!

 

Same parameters apply as last time, so here goes!

 

Spoiler

Musical/Drama Character Challenge: Girls

 

Listen to each of these musical theatre numbers, and answer the question: which GIRL from JW's dramas does this remind me of, and why?

 

By "girl", I mean ANY female character: lead, supporting, extra-without-a-name, doesn't matter. Just any girl. Also, there are no right or wrong answers here - my hope is to accumulate as many different possibilities as I can  

 

Also, as with the previous round, you are free to answer for as many or as few prompts as you want  I tried to do a mixture of what I thought were easier and harder prompts, but, well...difficulty level is subjective here, and you might think differently.  

 

1. "Shadowland" from The Lion King

 

Musical character: Nala

 

Context: A lioness (read: woman) decides that the only way to save her homeland from a corrupt ruler is to take matters into her own hands and go out into the wilderness in search of answers. Note: the word "pride" here is meant to have the dual meaning of a lion pride (duh!), but also personal pride.

 

 

2. "True Love" from Frozen

 

Musical character: Anna

 

Context: After discovering that her fiancé only liked her for her wealth and status, a girl finally realizes that the "true love" spoken of in fairytales doesn't actually exist in real life.

 

 

3. "No Good Deed" from Wicked (Lyrics)

 

Musical character: Elphaba

 

Context: A powerful-yet-idealistic witch comes to the rather dark realization that evil ultimately outsmarts good, such that all her goodhearted actions end up being twisted around to hurt her and those she loves. Thus, the only way left now for her to protect the man she loves (the "Fiyero" who's mentioned throughout) from her enemies is to become just as evil as them and beat them at their own game.

 

 

4. "Maria" from The Sound of Music (Lyrics)

 

Musical character: Maria (Note: she does not actually sing in this song, but the song is about her, so she's the one I want you to work with here)

 

Context: The senior nuns at an abbey/convent discuss the eccentric young novice in their midst.

 

 

5. "Her or Me" ("Now That I've Seen Her") from Miss Saigon (Lyrics - Note, this song actually went through several edits over time, so the version in the audio clip is a bit different)

 

Musical character: Ellen

 

Context: A woman has to wrestle with the fact that prior to falling in love with and marrying her, her husband had been in a serious relationship with another girl - a girl who has given birth to his son and who still seems to love him.

 

 

6. "Show Me" from My Fair Lady (Lyrics)

 

Musical character: Eliza

 

Context: Finally fed up with her mentor/benefactor's condescending attitude towards her, a young woman storms out of the man's house, only to run into a boy who's got a serious crush on her. Failing to read the atmosphere, he chooses that moment to confess, and...well, you'll see  

 

 

(Bonus: The audio quality isn't as good, but here's a live performance if you want to see just comical the tongue-lashing gets. )

 

7. "I am Here" from Come From Away

 

Musical character: Hannah

 

Context: Stranded in Canada on 9/11, a mother desperately tries to get a hold of her son, who's a firefighter in New York City.

 

 

8. "Heart of Stone" from Six (Lyrics)

 

Musical character: Jane Seymour

 

Context: As the third wife of King Henry VIII (yes, that Henry VIII - this musical's a feminist retelling of Tudor history), Jane is aware that her husband only loves her because she's able to bear him a son. However, because her own feelings for him are genuine, she's determined not to let that knowledge hurt her.

 

 

 

So that's it for the second batch - again, no deadlines, no right/wrong answers...just have fun with it!  

[kireeti2]

2 hours ago, kittyna said:

1. "Shadowland" from The Lion King

Han Yeo Jin. Not an ideal pick, but she sure fits the character of the artist in the musical. Like, I find the musical character in the song to be "Tenacious, strong willed and Stubborn" in nature

2 hours ago, kittyna said:

2. "True Love" from Frozen

Chae Hong-joo, again I am going with similarities and not exactly with the situation of the musical

2 hours ago, kittyna said:

3. "No Good Deed" from Wicked

Seo In-Sook

2 hours ago, kittyna said:

4. "Maria" from The Sound of Music

That sister(nun) from Yong Pal, who helped Kim Tae Hyun deliver the baby

2 hours ago, kittyna said:

5. "Her or Me" ("Now That I've Seen Her") from Miss Saigon

Second queen from My sassy girl

2 hours ago, kittyna said:

6. "Show Me" from My Fair Lady

Chae Do-Gyeong

2 hours ago, kittyna said:

7. "I am Here" from Come From Away

Park Sun-Young from Alice

2 hours ago, kittyna said:

8. "Heart of Stone" from Six

Oh Kyung-joo, Park Si-on's Mom

[mystylee33]

17 hours ago, kittyna said:

 

 

 

New stills and interview

 

I love that JW goes more into his actual reasoning and acting process here  And, yes, he is known for going out of his way to pick challenging roles: some more successful than others, to be honest, but that's his general MO.

 

I agree that's what I actually really like about joowon he has high standards in choosing his projects.. Even it takes very long time for him to choose next projects but i do believe in him. He is one of the best talented Actors in Korea, I admire Joowon & appreciate him as an Actor. I think it’s time for him to remind everyone of his existence and also give his contemporaries a worthy and good competition. Hope everyone considers that not only on his looks but his talent is exceptional

Joo Won Shares What Drew Him To His Role In “Alice” + Kim Hee Sun Prepares To Take On Action Sci-Fi Genre

Drama Preview

Aug 11, 2020

by C. Hong

 

Joo Won and Kim Hee Sun are gearing up for the premiere of their new drama, “Alice”!

“Alice” is a sci-fi thriller about a detective who discovers the existence of time travel (Joo Won) and crosses paths with a scientist who resembles his dead mother (Kim Hee Sun). Together, they race to solve a special secret that involves time travel and fate.

Joo Won’s character, Park Jin Gyeom, is a detective who was born with a lack of emotion. For this role, the actor must juggle his character’s explosive action scenes with this lack of emotion. Joo Won is known for taking on diverse roles and new challenges in his filmography, with several of his projects going on to receive great love from the public.

Asked why he chose “Alice” as his first project after mandatory military service, he said, “I was drawn to the extremely new concept and the appealing character. Everyone can relate to a story about a mother, but the time-slip concept introduced here is new. I thought that it felt more fresh than any other project.”

Joo Won also talked about the difficulties of expressing a character’s inner thoughts without emotion. He explained, “Park Jin Gyeom was born without emotion, but he was able to grow with the help of his mother’s hard work. I couldn’t express emotions like other people, so I tried to show things through his gaze. I tried to act emotions with as little expression as possible. There are some things that touch Park Jin Gyeom’s heart, so I wanted those to have as much impact as possible.”

 

more https://www.soompi.com/article/1418388wpp/joo-won-shares-what-drew-him-to-his-role-in-alice-kim-hee-sun-prepares-to-take-on-action-sci-fi-genre

[flutterby06]

Hello, everyone! Signed into Soompi after a long time.Hope everyone here is well.

 

 

My excitement with Joo Won's new drama started doubling with all these promotional activities.. Glad that SBS is doing very active promotion this time.

So glad that we get to his pictures and videos.His looks for this drama is sooo very handsome. 

 

 

(I think we have seen this look on his face too many times. )

https://board.sbs.co.kr/popup/pc/imageView?imageUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fphotocloud.sbs.co.kr%2Forigin%2Fedit%2FS01_P446840493%2F5f3379ab40490774645d66b2-p.jpg

 

 

 

His character Park Jin Gyeom said to be not very expressive. So looks like we may not get to see him smile a lot on screen. But good thing is he laughs a lot in off screen and SBS usually releases lots of BTS pictures.)

Excited for more trailers from Alice. 

[kittyna]

I don't know who watches their dramas where, but in case anyone needs to know: Alice is going to be available on Kocowa. Or, at least I think so, since they've started posting the Alice teasers on their YouTube channel.

 

 

4 hours ago, mystylee33 said:

I agree that's what I actually really like about joowon he has high standards in choosing his projects.. Even it takes very long time for him to choose next projects but i do believe in him. He is one of the best talented Actors in Korea, I admire Joowon & appreciate him as an Actor. I think it’s time for him to remind everyone of his existence and also give his contemporaries a worthy and good competition. Hope everyone considers that not only on his looks but his talent is exceptional

 

I tend to describe JW (and a number of others, actually, but this conversation is about him) as an actor I could trust. What that means is that I'd consider watching anything that he's in, because I trust that even if the script isn't that great, he'd be able to do something with his character that I'd enjoy watching.

 

By the way, now that we know JW's approach to acting out Park Jin Gyeom's emotions, a couple of golden moments from the teaser I just re-shared (the fourth one, if anyone's counting):

1. That single tear when he sees Yoon Tae Yi for the first time - JW's had a couple of really good subtle/single tear crying moments in the past, and this is one of the better ones once we understand it in the context of Jin Gyeom's character
2. The way his expression remains completely unchanged when Tae Yi does a literal spit-take in response to his question about whether she had a son - I'm really curious to know just how many NGs that scene took, because it's one thing not to laugh when that happens, but it's another thing to not show any sort of reaction (since it'd be human instinct either to flinch/blink or glare at this point).

4 hours ago, flutterby06 said:

His character Park Jin Gyeom said to be not very expressive. So looks like we may not get to see him smile a lot on screen. But good thing is he laughs a lot in off screen and SBS usually releases lots of BTS pictures.)

 

Hey, @flutterby06! It's been a while! 

 

And, yes, it's great to see that JW seems to be having a lot of fun behind-the-scenes  

 

Also, @kireeti2 - thanks for trying this challenge! I pretty much have completely different answers from yours (which I'll get to in a separate post), but overall, I was both surprised and excited by your choices. So here are some personal faves:

 

5 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

Han Yeo Jin. Not an ideal pick, but she sure fits the character of the artist in the musical. Like, I find the musical character in the song to be "Tenacious, strong willed and Stubborn" in nature

 

I wasn't expecting that connection, but I can see how it works  

 

5 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

Chae Hong-joo, again I am going with similarities and not exactly with the situation of the musical

 

Again - one I hadn't thought of, but that I actually really like. If we interpret most of her actions on a desire for love and acceptance from people around her...yeah, I can definitely see this  

 

5 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

Chae Do-Gyeong

 

Again, not a connection I'd thought of before, but now that you mention it, I can see the resemblance - if nothing else, just in sheer level of sass  

 

5 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

Park Sun-Young from Alice

 

This one's perfect - enough said  

[kireeti2]

2 hours ago, kittyna said:

That single tear when he sees Yoon Tae Yi for the first time - JW's had a couple of really good subtle/single tear crying moments in the past, and this is one of the better ones once we understand it in the context of Jin Gyeom's character

I heard it is really hard to do it

2 hours ago, kittyna said:

The way his expression remains completely unchanged when Tae Yi does a literal spit-take in response to his question about whether she had a son - I'm really curious to know just how many NGs that scene took, because it's one thing not to laugh when that happens, but it's another thing to not show any sort of reaction (since it'd be human instinct either to flinch/blink or glare at this point).

That was really funny, Joo won was casually asking her as if she had pet before. We can clearly see his apathetic behavior and tone

2 hours ago, kittyna said:

I pretty much have completely different answers from yours

Of course it will be different, you tend to go deep into the drama for answers, I just pick up the members around the leads.

2 hours ago, kittyna said:

because I trust that even if the script isn't that great, he'd be able to do something with his character that I'd enjoy watching.

I sort of disagree with you here. My sassy girl had worst script and Joo won's comedic timing was off in the drama. I wouldn't say it was his worst performance, but I wouldn't even call it decent one, if I compare with Joo won's acting standards. In Nae-il's cantabile, the script was a disaster, but joo won managed to put up a good show for us, even with such low grade script. The way I see it Joo won sort of lacks in comedy role, maybe it's because of his introvert nature. Don't get me wrong, joo won's acting does have a comedy angle if he is doing with other artists , but as an individual artist he still lacks in it. That's why I like to see him in serious roles or as a antagonist. As an antagonist Joo won never fails to give his best just like Namgoog Min, these two can play any role

[kittyna]

1 hour ago, kireeti2 said:

I sort of disagree with you here. My sassy girl had worst script and Joo won's comedic timing was off in the drama. I wouldn't say it was his worst performance, but I wouldn't even call it decent one, if I compare with Joo won's acting standards. In Nae-il's cantabile, the script was a disaster, but joo won managed to put up a good show for us, even with such low grade script. The way I see it Joo won sort of lacks in comedy role, maybe it's because of his introvert nature. Don't get me wrong, joo won's acting does have a comedy angle if he is doing with other artists , but as an individual artist he still lacks in it.

 

Don't worry, I feel you  I do think comedy is JW's weakest point - but even so, I still found his performance in My Sassy Girl enjoyable to watch. I think that's what I mean by trust - that I'll still enjoy watching his acting regardless. For example, I found parts of Level 7 Civil Servant to be poorly written: it felt like the writers couldn't make up their minds whether they were writing a spy thriller or a rom-com, and so we wound up with some really incompetent NIS agents as a result. But I still found moments where JW was able to deliver, given what he had to work with - my favourite bit was actually Han Gil Ro's relationship with his father, and I think JW did a great job with that. So, overall, I still enjoyed watching it at the time, even if it's now the least memorable out of JW's dramas for me.

 

What's funny in hindsight is that I found JW's real life chemistry with Choi Kang Hee (as evidenced by her guest appearance on 1N2D) more enjoyable to watch than that between Han Gil Ro and Kim Seo Won. I don't "ship" them or anything - Choi Kang Hee's already made her stance clear, so I'm not gonna push it. I just think they had a really cute noona-dongsaeng friendship going on.

 

1 hour ago, kireeti2 said:

I heard it is really hard to do it

 

I think I've heard that before, too - but for the life of me, I can't remember where. I also think JW's subtle acting deserves kudos here, since that's something that he had to learn specifically when transitioning from stage to screen roles (i.e. it wasn't his strong suit to begin with, but he's learning it well).

 

1 hour ago, kireeti2 said:

That was really funny, Joo won was casually asking her as if she had pet before. We can clearly see his apathetic behavior and tone

 

Okay, watching it again - he did close his eyes. But that's instinct rather than feeling - the look in his eyes is exactly the same before and after.

 

But, yes, it was really funny to see JW asking something that's actually so serious in such a matter-of-fact manner. Which makes me think that Park Jin Gyeom's humour (if there is any) will be of the "straight man" variety.  

 

1 hour ago, kireeti2 said:

Of course it will be different, you tend to go deep into the drama for answers, I just pick up the members around the leads.

 

Actually, I think you tend to beat me in terms of breadth (i.e. you're more likely to include side or supporting characters), whereas I tend to focus in on a handful of characters, but then really try to delve into their heads.

 

So, case in point: here are my responses to the Musical/Drama Character Challenge!

 

Spoiler

1. "Shadowland" from The Lion King

 

I went back and forth on a couple of characters for this one, but I'm ultimately settling on Princess Hye Myung from My Sassy Girl. No real elaborate explanation here: I simply see the same sort of tenacity here, as well as the deep love for her country and her people. Plus, the literal "going outside" bit helps, too  

 

2. "True Love" from Frozen

 

Like you, @kireeti2, I would up thinking more in terms of a general feeling rather than the specific situation, and my pick is Lee Chae Young from Yong Pal. Compared to Han Yeo Jin, we don't get to see nearly as deeply into her character, but I did get the sense that she's someone who placed a huge value on love. She was forced to break up with her boyfriend (who she actually did love) in order to marry Han Do Joon in what both parties knew would be a loveless match. Since then, I think her series of short-term flings (including solicitation) were attempts to find the love and affection she missed, even if she had to literally buy it. Now, she thinks that she might actually have the chance for something deeper with Kim Tae Hyun - but it turns out he's not interested, so she's still alone.

 

3. "No Good Deed" from Wicked 

 

For me, I wound up thinking of Han Yeo Jin from Yong Pal. We see that the reason she is reluctant to admit her feelings for Kim Tae Hyun to herself is - as she confides to the priest - because anyone she loves ends up being targeted by her enemies. She knows that in order to earn Tae Hyun's love, she has to cast aside her own anger, resentment, and desire for revenge - but in the end, it's for the sake of protecting him that she returns to Hanshin and resumes her fight to reach the top, even if it means losing him in the process.

 

4. "Maria" from The Sound of Music 

 

I hinted at it in my fics already, but for me, the most obvious connection is Seol Nae Il from Nae Il's Cantabile. So, she's not a nun (far from it, given her relationship with Yoo Jin), but just about everything that the nuns say about Maria can describe Nae Il's "Seollebal" side  She's dreamy, she's energetic, she's not particularly suited for a quiet life...basically, she confuses you, but you can't help liking her anyway.

 

5. "Her or Me" ("Now That I've Seen Her") from Miss Saigon 

 

This is actually where I wound up thinking of Chae Hong Joo/Ueno Rie from Gaksital. Again, it's not a literal parallel - the situations in the musical and the drama are quite different. But with Hong Joo, we see that same internal struggle, where she knows the man she loves (Lee Kang To) has his own first love elsewhere (Oh Mok Dan), and the lingering feelings from that past relationship are still around. So when, close to the end of the drama, Mok Dan goes to her for help, I can see some of these thoughts flashing through her mind: should she help Kang To, even when doing so would just bring him closer with Mok Dan and further away from her?

 

6. "Show Me" from My Fair Lady 

 

This one's a tough one for me, because the song is not so much a rejection of romance (it does appear that Eliza reciprocates this guy's feelings), but a demand that "If you love me, prove it through your actions and I'll believe you." So if I had to think of a girl who's in a relationship like that...I might be wrong (since it's been a while since I've looked into her) but I could see this working for Yoo Chae Kyung (i.e. Professor Kim Do Han's girlfriend) in Good Doctor. While there is the main difference in that Good Doctor features an existing long-term relationship, but it's one that's started to fall flat, because Chae Kyung no longer senses that Do Han's actually committed (like, he's not cheating or anything, but he's simply not fully there, you know?). And Chae Kyung is the sort of girl who would just straight-up demand better treatment - she's got that sass.

 

7. "I am Here" from Come From Away

 

Here, I actually wound up thinking of Kim Tae Hyun's mother from Yong Pal (I can't find her name), because I see Tae Hyun as the sort of person who'd throw himself headfirst into a dangerous or risky situation if he thinks it'd help his sister...and I can imagine just how much that would make his mother worry for him.

 

8. "Heart of Stone" from Six

 

It might be something of a stretch, but I actually wound up with Seo In Sook from King of Baking, Kim Tak Gu here. Even though she's far less mild-mannered than Jane from the musical is, but if I recall correctly, she does have genuine feelings for her husband, and she's determined to stay in this marriage for the sake of her son.

 

[kireeti2]

11 hours ago, kittyna said:

you're more likely to include side or supporting characters

That's because I don't want to end up giving same answer like you, it makes activity rather dull and for the first musical, my first choice was princess Hye Myung, I sort of anticipated that it can be similar answer, so I changed my choice

Spoiler

This sort of off tangent @kittyna, you know that cultural appropriation thing which we discussed about cultural appropriation, here's an interesting article about it

 

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/12/business/black-women-hairstyles-interview-scli-intl-scn/index.html?utm_source=fbCNN&utm_medium=social&utm_content=2020-08-12T23%3A12%3A00&utm_term=link

 

 

20 hours ago, flutterby06 said:

His character Park Jin Gyeom said to be not very expressive. So looks like we may not get to see him smile a lot on screen. But good thing is he laughs a lot in off screen and SBS usually releases lots of BTS pictures.)

Excited for more trailers from Alice. 

I guess we are in for another stellar performance like "Good Doctor". Apart from the similar first name "Park", I think detective Park Jin Gyeom and Dr. Park Si-on have lot of similarities. Like, not able to read the situation in the room, brutally honest behavior and sort taking things for their face value

[mystylee33]

 

[kireeti2]

It's good to see that joo won kept his promise. I remember in  his interview for "7th Grade Civil Servant" in Japan, where interviewer asked if he has ABS, he said his body was flat, and he promised that he will get ABS. The video almost felt like it was recorded for female fans. I guess lot of female fans had a field day with this video(at least at 0.50 )

I must say, joo won looks  huge in front of Kim Hee Seon and I wasn't expecting to see his body to buffed up in such way, like, it was way too much from my expectations

[kittyna]

8 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

I guess we are in for another stellar performance like "Good Doctor". Apart from the similar first name "Park", I think detective Park Jin Gyeom and Dr. Park Si-on have lot of similarities. Like, not able to read the situation in the room, brutally honest behavior and sort taking things for their face value

 

Okay, now I'm imagining some mixture between Park Si On and Hwang Tae Hui - since, apathy aside, Park Jin Gyeom does seem to have something of a hotheaded side to him. 

 

1 hour ago, kireeti2 said:

I must say, joo won looks  huge in front of Kim Hee Seon and I wasn't expecting to see his body to buffed up in such way, like, it was way too much from my expectations

 

As for me, as someone who doesn't like the super-buffed up look, I actually think JW's built in a way that I still find appealing or attractive. Which is a surprise, really, because I didn't get that sense from his earlier gym photos/workout videos. I think that in addition to just bulking up, he's also worked somewhat on toning in preparation for this role - if nothing else, I see more of his innate musculoskeletal build (athletic, but still on the leaner side, with just average shoulders in terms of broadness, but a tiny waist to compensate) here than I did in some other pics he's shared.

 

I'm well aware that actors do adjust their workouts to achieve whatever look makes sense for their characters, and what I get of Park Jin Gyeom so far is more that he's got an active lifestyle (which makes sense for a detective) than that he spends a ton of time doing weights at the gym or something.

 

For me, though, the moment that made me crack up was the blooper at the end, when Kim Hee Sun was trying to take off JW's sweatshirt and it got stuck. I'm not sure what was supposed to happen in that scene originally, but it was cute how JW literally fell over laughing. 

[kittyna]

And...it's a wrap: Alice has now finished filming!

 

I'm not really sure about the significance of the "1" on top of the mouse cake, though - maybe that's an inside joke JW has with his staff.  

 

And here's yet another pic of JW celebrating with his team. By the way, @kireeti2, you were saying that the size difference between JW and Kim Hee Sun was quite something, but can we talk about him in comparison with his female staff members? lol - He's practically a giant next to them! 

[kittyna]

And now, here I am with Group Three in my Musical/Drama Character Challenge. This one, though, is a bit different from the others, because it's about Pairs.

 

That's right - I've picked a bunch of duet pieces for this round, meaning that the answers will all involve two JW drama characters. That does mean that the rules have changed a bit, but the basic premise is still the same. So here goes!

 

Spoiler

Musical/Drama Character Challenge: Pairs/Couples

 

Listen to each of these musical theatre numbers, and answer the question: which TWO PEOPLE from JW's dramas does this remind me of, and why?

 

Note, this is NOT just about couples. You can think of any sort of relationship/dynamic you want: family, friends, romance, enemies, colleagues...the sky's the limit. The point is simply that you think about which two characters from JW's dramas (any characters) have a similar dynamic to what you hear in the musical theatre number.

 

However, there are a few constraints to keep in mind:

1. The two characters you pick for any of these prompts have to be from the same drama. 
2. Overlaps are allowed. What that means is that you can, for example, answer Park Si On and Cha Yoon Seo for one prompt, then answer Park Si On and Director Choi for another prompt.

Again, there are no right or wrong answers here - my hope is to accumulate as many different possibilities as I can   Also, as with the previous round, you are free to answer for as many or as few prompts as you want 

 

So good luck - and have fun!

 

1. "The Plagues" from The Prince of Egypt

 

Musical characters: Moses + Ramses

 

Context: Formerly best friends/brothers and now sworn enemies, neither is willing to back down even as Egypt falls apart around them because both have something to protect: Moses, his people; and Ramses, his father's legacy as the Pharaoh.

 

 

2. "No Matter What" from Beauty and the Beast

 

Musical characters: Belle + Maurice

 

Context: As the only bookish and outspoken girl in her village, Belle is frequently the subject of local gossip and derision. However, her father loves her just as she is - and she feels the same about him.

 

 

3. "What is this Feeling?" from Wicked

 

Musical characters: Galinda (aka Glinda) + Elphaba

 

Context: Two university students are assigned to the same dorm room, and, well...it's complicated. Maybe things would have turned out better if the rest of the student body didn't pick sides

 

 

 

4. "Aaron Burr, Sir" from Hamilton

 

Musical characters: Hamilton + Burr

 

Context: Hamilton, an eager young law student, seeks out one of his sunbaes, Burr, for advice. At first, it seems like they have a lot in common, but actually....

 

(Warning: the side characters who jump in halfway do get rather coarse in their humour in that way 20-somethings do, so headphones are advised )

 

 

 

5. "Look with Your Heart" from Love Never Dies (Lyrics)

 

Musical characters: Christine + Gustave

 

Context: A woman tries to comfort her son after he is, once again, brushed aside by his emotionally-distant father. Yet, even as she tries to reassure the child, she realizes that she, too, is starting to doubt her husband's love.

 

 

6. "What Do You Know About Love?" from Frozen

 

Musical characters: Anna + Kristoff

 

Context: Two travelers on the road bicker about their differing views on love and romance - specifically, Anna's belief in love at first sight combined with Kristoff's belief that true love actually takes time and effort.

 

 

7. "Someday" from The Hunchback of Notre Dame

 

Musical characters: Esmeralda + Phoebus

 

Context: Realizing that the fairer and juster world they'd dreamed of would likely not come to pass within their lifetimes, a pair of star-crossed lovers share with each other their hope that it will happen even after they're gone.

 

 

8. "Stop the World" from Come From Away

 

Musical characters: Nick + Diane

 

Context: Two people who met completely by chance find themselves developing feelings for each other, but they will soon have to go their separate ways.

 

 

 

[kireeti2]

3 hours ago, kittyna said:

 

I'm not really sure about the significance of the "1" on top of the mouse cake, though - maybe that's an inside joke JW has with his staff.  

It means it's his first drama in his 30s or first drama after discharging from military, something like that

3 hours ago, kittyna said:

ol - He's practically a giant next to them

Maybe it's because of all those workouts he did, that is why, he is even looking like a giant infront of his male staff

 

 

2 hours ago, kittyna said:

1. "The Plagues" from The Prince of Egypt

 

This one isnso obvious. "Kimura Shinji"

2 hours ago, kittyna said:

2. "No Matter What" from Beauty and the Beast

 

Ma Jun's elder sister

2 hours ago, kittyna said:

3. "What is this Feeling?" from Wicked

Jung Shi-Won and Yoo II-Rak. Not ideal pair but similar situation in drama

2 hours ago, kittyna said:

4. "Aaron Burr, Sir" from Hamilton

Park Si-On, he is like always after his seniors for advice like from professional to personal

2 hours ago, kittyna said:

5. "Look with Your Heart" from Love Never Dies (Lyrics)

Gu Ma-Jun's mother

2 hours ago, kittyna said:

6. "What Do You Know About Love?" from Frozen

Nae-il and Cha Yoo Jin

2 hours ago, kittyna said:

7. "Someday" from The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Lee Kang To and Mok Dan

2 hours ago, kittyna said:

8. "Stop the World" from Come From Away

Kim Seo Won and Han Gil Ro