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

[kittyna]

And here I am with my own answers to my Musical Theatre Challenge. lol - Told you guys it would take a while, and even now, I think some of my responses are a bit silly, so don't take them too seriously  

 

Spoiler

1. "Stars" (from Les Miserables)

 

Musical character: Javert

 

So, with the whole concept being that we're dealing with a police officer antagonist, like @kireeti2, Gaksital seemed the most natural drama for me to go to. However, rather than Shunji, I'm going to answer Kimura Taro, and here's why: Shunji hates what he's doing and what he's become, but Taro seems to genuinely believe he's acting for the greater good of the Empire.

 

2. "The Room Where It Happened" (from Hamilton)

 

Musical character: Burr

 

I remember answering once in another challenge that the dynamic between Burr and Hamilton in Hamilton was similar to that between Park Tae Yong and Kim Tae Hyun in Yong Pal. Like Burr, Tae Yong believes that he should have an innate advantage over Tae Hyun because of factors like socio-economic status: he's most likely from an upper-middle class background and an elite university, whereas Tae Hyun is, for lack of a better term, from the gutter (with the bold attitude to match). So, Tae Yong's always been a bit of a bully: shooting snide remarks in Tae Hyun's direction, foisting less desirable patients on him, etc. However, as Tae Hyun rises in favour in the eyes of their professor, the 12th floor doctors, etc., Tae Yong decides that he needs to take things a step further if he wants to pull ahead...and reports Tae Hyun to the police as Yong Pal.

 

3. "Wonderful" (from Wicked)

 

Musical character: The Wizard of Oz

 

So, this answer may be crack, but hear me out: I actually wound up thinking of The Teacher from Alice. I know that the Teacher (who I do see as separate from the teenage Evil Jin Gyeom, by the way) is a far darker persona overall, but I think the way he's somehow wound up revered as this eminent god-like figure by the time travelers is quite similar to what we see with the Wizard. Also, since we don't know when or how the Book of Prophecy came about, or who wrote it, it actually crossed my mind once that the Teacher may have written it himself as a way to justify his actions ("I'm not bad - I'm just doing it to prevent all of us time travelers from disappearing!") by painting 2050 Tae Yi/Park Sun Young as some sort of traitor to Alice (which is what the Wizard does to Elphaba with a whole smear campaign to make her the Wicked Witch of the West).

 

4. "The Neva Flows" (from Anastasia)

 

Musical character: Gleb

 

Not gonna lie: this one was tough for me. I knew I wanted someone who's mostly cool and calculated - someone who takes pride in a belief he's fighting for a higher cause and who also looks down on those who would waver or show mercy at the last moment. At the same time, I wanted someone who felt like he would spout propaganda or represent some sort of corrupt official body (we see that Gleb dismisses rumours that someone from the royal family might have survived in a glib "don't you worry your pretty little head" sort of way). Also, Gleb eventually receives orders to find and kill Anya (the female lead) in response to speculation that she actually might be a surviving royal. So, all those factors now lead me to choose Gi Cheol Am from Alice.

 

5. "I Will Prevail" (from Wonderland)

 

Musical character: The Mad Hatter

 

Okay, while Evil Park Jin Gyeom, or the Teacher (or both) would be the shoo-in response here, the Mad Hatter in Wonderland is female, so we need to look for a girl  And while I'm not familiar enough with Wonderland as a musical to know if this is a good match (I literally stumbled across this song for the first time while preparing this challenge), something about the sly cunning of the character and the fairy tale references in the song - which make me think of a dark princess of sorts - make me think of Jung Da Yeon from My Sassy Girl. Because let's face it: she's a way more satisfying villain to watch than her father  

 

6. "Mother, Did You See?" (from Love Never Dies)

 

Musical character: Mme. Giry

 

If you will permit me to bend the story a little - such that the words reflect her feelings for herself rather than on her daughter's behalf - I could see some similarities here to Oh Si Young from Alice. We see that Si Young and 2050 Tae Yi were friends at one point, but when they went their separate ways in 1992, Si Young convinced herself that Tae Yi was the one in the wrong for breaking Min Hyuk's heart and that she might actually have a chance to win him around to her side by stepping in as his close friend. However, when 2020 Tae Yi comes into the picture, Si Young comes to the hard realization that Min Hyuk would only ever see her as a friend; yet, rather than being content with this or wishing him happiness, she lets her own jealousy consume her.

 

7. "Poor Unfortunate Souls" (from The Little Mermaid)

 

Musical character: Ursula

 

Here, I wound up thinking of Lee Chae Young from Yong Pal, actually. Like Ursula, she's got a great deal of behind-the-scenes influence: an asset that she likes to flaunt to those around her. So we see Chae Young offering all sorts of advantages and protections to the people she wants to get close to or control (like Tae Hyun or Han Yeo Jin); however, her help always comes with a price. In the case of our two leads, she wants to take Tae Hyun as her lover, and she wants Yeo Jin to let her have him. Um...okay? At least we can say she's determined.

 

As for Ursula's chauvinistic comments about women (i.e. that men like a girl who doesn't speak up for herself), we can see that Chae Young does play dumb in front of her husband and his staff, even if she's actually a lot craftier under the surface.

 

8. "The Madness of King Scar" (from The Lion King)

 

Musical character: Scar

 

Yeah, so I also think that Han Do Joon from Yong Pal is the best fit here, so you guys will just have to forgive the repeat . However, as a silly back-up answer, if we were to just narrow down Scar's character to his jealousy towards his brother and how unhinged he gets...Kimura Kenji from Gaksital also has those qualities  

 

 

lol - Looking back at my answers, I guess I have to commend the writers of Alice for giving us quite a broad range of villains to choose from 

 

And, on an entirely different (and only vaguely JW-related note), I recently started watching My Wife's Having an Affair This Week. Why "vaguely JW-related"? Look it up  

[kireeti2]

7 hours ago, kittyna said:

And, on an entirely different (and only vaguely JW-related note), I recently started watching My Wife's Having an Affair This Week. Why "vaguely JW-related"? Look it up

Lol! It took me a while to understand your statement, I thought Joo won had some cameo or something but when I looked at the cast, I understood what you were saying

[kittyna]

1 hour ago, kireeti2 said:

Lol! It took me a while to understand your statement, I thought Joo won had some cameo or something but when I looked at the cast, I understood what you were saying

 

Actually, I think a cameo would have been fun, but considering that JW and BoA hadn't gone public about their relationship at the time (the series was from late 2016, and they went public in early 2017), it would probably have been too obvious if he did.

[kireeti2]

56 minutes ago, kittyna said:

Actually, I think a cameo would have been fun, but considering that JW and BoA hadn't gone public about their relationship at the time (the series was from late 2016, and they went public in early 2017)

I think they started their relationship in early 2017, I think they were just friends when Joo won was helping or giving tips to BoA about acting for her drama. Maybe, they realized their feelings after completion of the drama. Anyway, its really hard to know exactly when they started dating, since both are really private and never likes to reveal their personal things in public domain.

 

Wow! The chemistry between these two is off the charts. I sort of enjoyed interaction between these when I have first seen them on "Global Request Show". I wouldn't mind watching a drama if these two are in lead roles. I sort of Joo won having good chemistry with Park Ji Yeon than with IVY, not that its IVY's fault, she has better chemistry with other musical actors than Joo won.

[kittyna]

8 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

I think they started their relationship in early 2017, I think they were just friends when Joo won was helping or giving tips to BoA about acting for her drama. Maybe, they realized their feelings after completion of the drama. Anyway, its really hard to know exactly when they started dating, since both are really private and never likes to reveal their personal things in public domain.

 

I remember at the time the news broke out that longtime fans were saying they'd already been together for a while and just chose to go public after rumours started. But then again, sometimes it's hard to determine when a friendship transitions into a romantic relationship, even for the actual parties involved. So it's also true that only the two of them will ever know for sure.

 

8 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

Wow! The chemistry between these two is off the charts. I sort of enjoyed interaction between these when I have first seen them on "Global Request Show". I wouldn't mind watching a drama if these two are in lead roles. I sort of Joo won having good chemistry with Park Ji Yeon than with IVY, not that its IVY's fault, she has better chemistry with other musical actors than Joo won.

 

I don't know if Park Ji Yeon also does screen acting (and her bio is hard to search for to begin with, since there's a more popular singer/actress with the same name. But if she does, that would definitely be fun  

 

Article summarizing an interview JW did last month about Ghost - He talks about how he wants to continue doing both stage and screen acting in the future, and how doing a stage show is different from filming a drama.

[kireeti2]

5 minutes ago, kittyna said:

since there's a more popular singer/actress with the same name. But if she does, that would definitely be fun

Here is her profile, apparently she did few side roles in popular dramas. Like, Life, The King Of Eternal Monarch and Stranger 2

 

 

[kittyna]

1 hour ago, kireeti2 said:

Here is her profile, apparently she did few side roles in popular dramas. Like, Life, The King Of Eternal Monarch and Stranger 2

 

Speaking of dramas like Life and Stranger 2, I really hope JW picks a cable drama sometime soon. It may be a stereotype, but I tend to associate Korea's cable networks with meatier or more complex roles. So, I feel like those would really help push and challenge JW as an actor.

[kireeti2]

11 minutes ago, kittyna said:

It may be a stereotype, but I tend to associate Korea's cable networks with meatier or more complex roles. So, I feel like those would really help push and challenge JW as an actor.

Yeah, I have thinking the same thing. Like, Joo won had never done a drama in Cable networks, which are known for producing Korean dramas which are unconventional, like, they show more creativity and are much bolder in story line, which might be seen as scandalous in traditional networks like SBS, MBS and KBS. I think Joo won is the only actor who has not yet done a cable network drama, although he appeared in few interviews in cable networks. And also, I feel like Joo won's international reach will increase if he does a drama in cable network, since the cable networks always have translations for their drama promos. I hope he takes his next drama which produced by JTBC, then he can go to "Knowing Bros"for promoting his drama, and meet Lee Soo-Geun

 

 

[kittyna]

5 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

Yeah, I have thinking the same thing. Like, Joo won had never done a drama in Cable networks, which are known for producing Korean dramas which are unconventional, like, they show more creativity and are much bolder in story line, which might be seen as scandalous in traditional networks like SBS, MBS and KBS

 

I feel like, before and after Alice, my wish list for JW's future projects hasn't really changed much:

• A more cerebral cable network drama - especially now that I've finished watching Stranger (which was great, by the way) I'd love to see him taking a role like the lead there
• A serious sageuk - I don't care if he's a royal, a scholar, a warrior, or something else entirely. Just a sageuk that's not a rom-com
• A villain or antagonist role - @kireeti2, do you remember when I said during the early episodes of Alice that I thought Jin Gyeom was dark and you were like, "No, he isn't"? And then we agreed that yeah, he wasn't. And then Episode 12 happened  Basically, Evil Jin Gyeom's whetted people's appetite for JW playing the bad guy, so I think I've seen fans asking for this again. Actually, we kinda always do  
• A husband or father role (or both) - Lord knows when he'll get there, but I do want to see it at least once. Like, I know he's played married characters before (or at least characters who get married), but I want to see him in a role where that's part of the character description to begin with. So...yeah, I wanna see him in an Ahjussi role rather than an Oppa one for once. (Actually, he doesn't even get Oppa often; it's mostly him as the Dongsaeng!)

 

5 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

I hope he takes his next drama which produced by JTBC, then he can go to "Knowing Bros"for promoting his drama, and meet Lee Soo-Geun

 

lol - If that should ever happen, I'd love to see how Lee Su Geun reacts to him now. He was one of the 1N2D hyungs who was always prompting JW to open up and show his mischievous side more, so I think it'd be fun to see what he thinks of JW now  

[kireeti2]

5 hours ago, kittyna said:

So...yeah, I wanna see him in an Ahjussi role rather than an Oppa one for once

I think he did acted as a Ajhussi and as a Husband (briefly) in Ojayako Brothers. But yeah I would like to see more of these characters with much more complexity and lot of conflicts

5 hours ago, kittyna said:

do you remember when I said during the early episodes of Alice that I thought Jin Gyeom was dark and you were like, "No, he isn't"? And then we agreed that yeah, he wasn't. And then Episode 12 happened  Basically, Evil Jin Gyeom's whetted people's appetite for JW playing the bad guy, so I think I've seen fans asking for this again. Actually, we kinda always do

Lol! That really was surprise to me, seeing evil and good character of joo won in one drama.

5 hours ago, kittyna said:

A serious sageuk - I don't care if he's a royal, a scholar, a warrior, or something else entirely. Just a sageuk that's not a rom-com

Perhaps, a serious movie like Great Battle would do. I am really not a fan of rom-com when it comes to Historical dramas. Now that Rom-com dramas are not getting much ratings, especially in Korea, I think joo won will definitely choose a serious role for his next drama, and given that he already did a serious role for his upcoming movie "Firefighter" I hopeful that he would choose his next project which as some action and lot of conflicts with his character

5 hours ago, kittyna said:

lol - If that should ever happen, I'd love to see how Lee Su Geun reacts to him now. He was one of the 1N2D hyungs who was always prompting JW to open up and show his mischievous side more, so I think it'd be fun to see what he thinks of JW now

I think the whole point of "Knowing Bros" show is to bring out funny side of their guest, so, I guess if Joo won goes to that show everyone will try to bring out funny side of joo won, not just Su Geun

 

 

5 hours ago, kittyna said:

I've finished watching Stranger

Stranger 1 or 2? I sort of find the season 2 draggy and had no spark like the first season had. It's like more of a tussle between corrupt cops and prosecutors, in season one the tussle between the lead and corrupt prosecutors comes after the case gone wrong, in the second season it does starts with the case but the case as no solid ground or dept to justify the tussle between the cops and prosecutors. But it did well in domestic market like ratings were steadily increasing, but again it was the case for all the cable network dramas, lot of cable network dramas have now crossed the 4% rating with ease

[kittyna]

3 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

I think he did acted as a Ajhussi and as a Husband (briefly) in Ojayako Brothers.

 

He played a husband, but I wouldn't say Hwang Tae Hui was really an "ahjussi" sort of character - the running gag in the show was that he should have been an "oppa" (once you consider his age alongside Ja Eun's), except that he felt really awkward being called that and so Baek Ja Eun called him "ahjussi" instead.

 

3 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

But yeah I would like to see more of these characters with much more complexity and lot of conflicts

 

That's what I mean: complexity or conflicts. Generally speaking, JW has had a decent track record for choosing such roles for himself, but I would like to see him continue further in that direction and really be able to stay on in the industry as a character actor.

 

3 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

I think the whole point of "Knowing Bros" show is to bring out funny side of their guest, so, I guess if Joo won goes to that show everyone will try to bring out funny side of joo won, not just Su Geun

 

Speaking of funny variety shows, I finally had the chance to watch the Radio Star episode, now that Alice is done. It was great to see how much more relaxed JW was here compared to his previous talk show appearances: he's gotten better at bouncing off the hosts and fellow guests, and he also appears to be more willing to laugh at himself. If nothing else, he shared way more about the funny or awkward incidents from Alice filming than he did for previous dramas (e.g. his thoughts about the rooftop scene, or even his part as teenage Jin Gyeom).

 

By the way, I can't be the only one who thinks that as embarrassing as his early impression in front of Kim Hee Sun was (i.e. passing out after just one glass of wine right in front of her), it probably helped to better establish the dynamic between their respective roles as mother and son.  

 

But even with the changes, there was enough of the JW I knew from before that I could sense he hadn't changed much over the years. For instance, he was still the serious/diligent straight shooter type during his enlistment (funny that the editors chose the same type of "Joseon man" CGI effect here as the editors for Win Win did in 2012), he still cringed when IVY talked about the bugs in her garden, and he still did look away awkwardly during the more sensual opening of Choi Jung Won's dance. Those little tiny adorkable parts of him were still there, and I loved that  

 

Another favourite JW moment from this show for me: when the hosts brought up how he cried at the Alice press conference, and he was defending himself by being all, "I was just tearing up; I don't cry that much in real life," you could see all his fellow Ghost cast members staring at him like, "Um, yeah, you do." 

 

3 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

Stranger 1 or 2? I sort of find the season 2 draggy and had no spark like the first season had. It's like more of a tussle between corrupt cops and prosecutors, in season one the tussle between the lead and corrupt prosecutors comes after the case gone wrong, in the second season it does starts with the case but the case as no solid ground or dept to justify the tussle between the cops and prosecutors.

 

The first one. To be honest, watching Stranger with family alongside watching Alice on my own...yeah, in hindsight, that was pretty nuts  Both dramas featuring leads with alexithymia aside, it was crazy how both of them had all these twists and turns where you were never quite sure who was good and who was bad. Stranger had the more conventional "evil boss revealed from the start" structure, though.

 

Also, from other dramas, it feels rivalry between the police and the prosecutors is a common trope - which feels really weird to me, because I'm always like, "But aren't you technically on the same side...?" I asked my mom about it while we were watching Stranger, and she said it's likely that they just both want to get the credit for cracking the case.

[kireeti2]

2 hours ago, kittyna said:

"But aren't you technically on the same side...?" I asked my mom about it while we were watching Stranger, and she said it's likely that they just both want to get the credit for cracking the case.

Yeah there is that, but the real issue is the autonomy of the police from prosecutor, like, we know that police force in any country needs to put under the control of the elected representatives and their discretion should be limited. My lecturer use to always says that "Police are basically organized gang with legitimacy over violence"(he is not some social justice warrior but a proper right winger with intellectual brain). So, yeah south Korean authorities also thought the same thing and made the police force subservient to Prosecution of the country, thinking that they might keep the country from becoming a police state just like a the system in USA , but the downside was that Prosecutors are selected on the basis of exams, just like civil servants, and acts like bureaucrats rather than judicial officers. So, the amount of the power they wield over the police immense, like they literally act like judges, like, in some dramas I have seen that the police needs prosecutors' permission to arrest, search or bring in someone for questioning. Whenever I see the Korean dramas in which prosecutors are depicted, I draw parallels to my country's state level government ministers, who often country the police force of a state. So, in Stranger 2 they have shown it nicely how prosecutors and police often fight over enforcing laws, especially criminal laws and financial laws. Since most of the prosecutors work for sometime for the government and take job in a conglomerate as a legal advisor, I am sure you have seen these depiction in K-drama a lot, where a corrupt prosecutor often helps a Chaebol to get away with tax evasions(rarely) and murders(mostly)

[kittyna]

A bit quiet on the updates front, so here are some miscellaneous Instagram goodies:

 

Looks to be a work in progress, but this piece of fanart looks nice as it is

 

After (or before?) Ghost selfie

 

And, for those who just can't get enough of Yoo Min Hyuk (don't worry - I feel ya), Kwak Si Yang's already got an offer for his next drama - It's still early stages (so nothing's confirmed yet), and it's kinda disappointing that this is still a second lead role, but it's still nice to see he's going places  

[kireeti2]

9 hours ago, kittyna said:

and it's kinda disappointing that this is still a second lead role, but it's still nice to see he's going places

It is really hard to break that second lead barrier and get a role as main lead. I think Joo won was lucky in this case, even though he debuted as a second lead, he was able to break that barrier and promote himself as a main lead. Too, bad we won't be seeing Joo won's drama anytime soon, he said in an interview that he is busy with Ghost musical so we will not be taking any drama for the time being.

[kittyna]

1 hour ago, kireeti2 said:

It is really hard to break that second lead barrier and get a role as main lead. I think Joo won was lucky in this case, even though he debuted as a second lead, he was able to break that barrier and promote himself as a main lead.

 

JW definitely was lucky, because there was quite a fortuitous series of events leading up to his first appearance as the main lead in Gaksital.

 

I didn't see this play out in real time (since I only became a fan of JW in 2016), but from what I've managed to piece together from news articles from 2011/2012, JW followed King of Baking, Kim Tak Gu with Ojakgyo Brothers, which was an unusual choice for someone who's just done a successful run as the second male lead. In essence, while it's true that taking on a long weekend drama would present great opportunities for honing one's acting skills (because your character inevitably develops a ton over the whole half-year period), that sort of drama also isn't worth much when it comes to fueling Hallyu stardom. I don't know what went on behind the scenes to make it happen, but point is that it did - and word is that Ojakgyo Brothers was a script that JW chose himself.

 

Well, JW started getting really well-known to domestic audiences this way, so that's a plus for him in the long run. And, close to the end of Ojakgyo Brothers' run, he was actually in negotiations to take the second male lead role in Moon Embracing the Sun (i.e. the part that eventually went to Jung Il Woo). So what happened? Ojakgyo Brothers got a whopping 8-episode-long extension due to its popularity  Because of that, MES was now out of the question due to a scheduling conflict, which left JW open to other scripts and offers.

 

At the same time this was going on, the producers for Gaksital were running into issues casting their first male lead. This was when Japan formed a huge part of the Hallyu market, so taking on the role of Lee Kang To/Gaksital was risky. But JW read the script, thought the character and story were interesting, and somehow (again, I don't know how) convinced his agency to let him do it. And the rest is history  

 

In short: if it hadn't been for Ojakgyo Brothers and that extension, JW might have stayed on with second lead roles for a while longer.

 

1 hour ago, kireeti2 said:

Too, bad we won't be seeing Joo won's drama anytime soon, he said in an interview that he is busy with Ghost musical so we will not be taking any drama for the time being.

 

I know. It's for the best, though; after finishing Yong Pal, JW did point out that he needed to slow down and rest more, so I like that he's taking his time now. Who knows? Maybe we'll end up with a result like his post-enlistment hiatus where he actually has the time to choose his own next project again. If Alice does well during the awards season, I think that's definitely a possibility. 

[kireeti2]

13 minutes ago, kittyna said:

Well, JW started getting really well-known to domestic audiences this way, so that's a plus for him in the long run. And, close to the end of Ojakgyo Brothers' run, he was actually in negotiations to take the second male lead role in Moon Embracing the Sun (i.e. the part that eventually went to Jung Il Woo). So what happened? Ojakgyo Brothers got a whopping 8-episode-long extension due to its popularity  Because of that, MES was now out of the question due to a scheduling conflict, which left JW open to other scripts and offers.

 

At the same time this was going on, the producers for Gaksital were running into issues casting their first male lead. This was when Japan formed a huge part of the Hallyu market, so taking on the role of Lee Kang To/Gaksital was risky. But JW read the script, thought the character and story were interesting, and somehow (again, I don't know how) convinced his agency to let him do it. And the rest is history  

 

In short: if it hadn't been for Ojakgyo Brothers and that extension, JW might have stayed on with second lead roles for a while longer.

I thought of bringing up this same thing in my next reply, like, even though the Moon Embracing was a popular drama, being a second lead is almost like being a supporting character. So, it was blessing in disguise for Joo won, if Ojakgyo didn't had extension of episodes, Joo won would had fallen into the second lead loop and never would have got a chance to play as main lead. Most of his peers like Lee Mi Ho, Lee Jong Suk were already debuted as lead role, so, I think the underdog nature of Joo won comes from the fact that he got his lead role for his third drama, where as he got a lead role straight away in musical, so, that's why Joo won is still interested in Musical despite being a successful K-drama actor.

19 minutes ago, kittyna said:

I know. It's for the best, though; after finishing Yong Pal, JW did point out that he needed to slow down and rest more, so I like that he's taking his time now. Who knows? Maybe we'll end up with a result like his post-enlistment hiatus where he actually has the time to choose his own next project again. If Alice does well during the awards season, I think that's definitely a possibility.

Yeah, I do think he needs a break, since he had also done a movie project this year, so probably he must be exhausted. Musical is little less stressful, since he doesn't need to perform continuously like drama or movie shooting. I really hope his movie does well, since he never got an award in movie category.

21 minutes ago, kittyna said:

If Alice does well during the awards season, I think that's definitely a possibility. 

Yeah, about the awards I am not really hopeful. At the best Alice might get awards in actress category for Kim Hee seon, like in 2019 there were lot of awards  under categories like mid-lenght dramas, mini-series.And also, Kim Hee Seon has less competition with other actresses compared to Joo won, he needs to compete with best actors like Han Suk-Kyu, Namgoong Min. And I think to accommodate TKEM, Alice might loose few awards. So, I see Alice wining minimum 1 or maximum 2-3 awards or less.

[kittyna]

6 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

Most of his peers like Lee Mi Ho, Lee Jong Suk were already debuted as lead role

 

Not sure about Lee Min Ho, but Lee Jong Suk also started off with supporting roles (e.g. Secret Garden). His break came in 2013 with School 2013, which has a more ensemble-style casting structure, and he made first male lead after that with I Hear Your Voice (and again, the rest is history).

 

Most prominent actors follow a similar route starting out (supporting to second lead to first lead), as producers aren't likely to risk casting newcomers in leading roles without any idea of whether they'll end up becoming popular. Kim Tak Gu was a bit of an outlier for casting two newcomers as its male leads: usually, if there's one new guy playing the first lead (this was Yoon Si Yoon's second drama, so he was still new), studios will cast a more experienced actor as the second lead. Or vice-versa. So to have a completely unknown actor like JW playing the second lead as well was definitely a gamble - a successful one, in the grand scheme of things, but still a gamble.

 

6 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

I think the underdog nature of Joo won comes from the fact that he got his lead role for his third drama, where as he got a lead role straight away in musical, so, that's why Joo won is still interested in Musical despite being a successful K-drama actor.

 

Personally, I attribute JW's underdog status among Hallyu stars to be due to the roles and projects he's chosen. Generally, JW's characters appeal to older audiences or industry insiders, but his agency's attempts to promote him as a teenage heartthrob through the classic youth or rom-com dramas (which was made many of the others so successful) have fallen flat (e.g. Level 7 Civil Servant, Catch Me, Nae Il's Cantabile, and My Sassy Girl). And since so much of Korea's entertainment industry is driven by Oppa/Unnie culture - especially internationally - if you can't really make it as an "Oppa" type of actor, you're not gonna be as popular.

 

But I feel like it's actors like JW who will actually pass the test of time. One can't play the Oppa forever - nor can even the most prominent actors play first lead forever. Sooner or later, if one wants to survive in this industry, one needs to step back down into supporting roles to make room for the next generation of Oppas; and the more an actor could promote himself as a strong character actor, the better. Diversifying roles is one way of doing it, and I feel like that's the direction JW's taking when we look at his career as a whole. He likes to take on projects that feature characters or concepts that are outside of the box, sometimes with more success than others.

 

7 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

Musical is little less stressful, since he doesn't need to perform continuously like drama or movie shooting.

 

Rather than less stressful, I'd say it's a different sort of stress. I've noticed that JW gets a lot of "two show days" (i.e. playing Sam in two consecutive performances - afternoon and evening). Personally, I see stage acting as more of a marathon, since you need to really stay focused and in character for long periods of time (2-3 hours). Screen acting does involve a more frenetic schedule, though - so there's that.

 

Mind you, this is just a general comparison. COVID-19's something of a monkey wrench in the whole theatre industry, which JW brought up in his Radio Star interview. Not only are audiences smaller, but the cast and crew are risking their health every single time; if one main lead gets sick, the entire rotating group will get sick (which JW demonstrated by talking about the cold that they literally all got in Ghost's first run - I remember that bit from Life Log, actually). These are, of course, factors that also affect dramas and films, but something about how cautious the rest of the world has been re: live performances makes me particularly concerned for Ghost.

 

7 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

Yeah, about the awards I am not really hopeful. At the best Alice might get awards in actress category for Kim Hee seon, like in 2019 there were lot of awards  under categories like mid-lenght dramas, mini-series.And also, Kim Hee Seon has less competition with other actresses compared to Joo won, he needs to compete with best actors like Han Suk-Kyu, Namgoong Min. And I think to accommodate TKEM, Alice might loose few awards. So, I see Alice wining minimum 1 or maximum 2-3 awards or less.

 

As of right now, I think Romantic Doctor Kim 2 is stiffer competition for Alice than TKEM, because that was the big winner for SBS re: ratings. But then again, the entertainment industry culture is shifting, so maybe TKEM's success internationally will trump everything else, as you've pointed out.

 

Personally, I never really hold out on anyone winning any awards; if they get them, I'm happy for them, but if they don't, I don't really care. I do think that JW will end up nominated for an acting award - and probably Daesang as well - but who ends up getting it doesn't really matter to me.

[kireeti2]

7 minutes ago, kittyna said:

but Lee Jong Suk also started off with supporting roles (e.g. Secret Garden). His break came in 2013 with School 2013

Yeah, but Lee Jong Suk started as a model, and I think producers will rather take chance with models over any other new comers in the entertainment industry. Like, at least they would think that the  show will garner some rating because of the looks. I am not pointing that models have no acting skills but they do have advantage over others when it comes to getting lead roles, and I think joo won is lucky in this sense, he never got any role based on his looks rather he got opportunities based on his acting skills.

12 minutes ago, kittyna said:

I do think that JW will end up nominated for an acting award - and probably Daesang as well - but who ends up getting it doesn't really matter to me.

I think Joo won did get nominated in some award thing like the ones in which all the dramas compete with each other, I saw it in some fan Instagram account. I think Kim Hee Seon might be nominated for Daesang in SBS drama awards and in  other award functions, for playing such a versatile role.

21 minutes ago, kittyna said:

As of right now, I think Romantic Doctor Kim 2

But "Hot Stove League" managed to beat this drama in 56th Baeksang Art Awards. For some reason I was not able enjoy this Hot Stove League drama like did for Romantic Doctor Kim 2, maybe it as to do with Korean Baseball thing, like, something only Korean audience were able to enjoy it.

[kittyna]

4 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

I am not pointing that models have no acting skills but they do have advantage over others when it comes to getting lead roles, and I think joo won is lucky in this sense, he never got any role based on his looks rather he got opportunities based on his acting skills.

 

Of course, there are a ton of models who end up strong actors as well - Lee Jong Suk's the most obvious example (incidentally, he actually wanted to be an actor from the start, but he wound up getting modelling gigs first), but I could also say the same for Kim Young Kwang  

 

As for JW, I do think he's got some points in the looks department, but I often get the sense that his looks are something of an afterthought. As you pointed out, no-one casts him for his looks; and even people who are first drawn by his looks end up becoming fans due to his acting, personality, or both. It probably helps that JW's not afraid of looking ugly or unphotogenic in order to bring out the characters he plays: he's got some really handsome expressions and angles, and then some that are really grotesque (e.g. his infamous "ugly cry"), and I love that he's willing to go there. 

 

4 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

I think Joo won did get nominated in some award thing like the ones in which all the dramas compete with each other, I saw it in some fan Instagram account.

 

Do you mean APAN? I think that's a bit different, since it's up to netizens' votes. I'm more interested in the industry-based acting awards, because I know that JW doesn't really stand a chance in popularity contests to begin with (lol - some fan I am, but I mean it). I want to see him being acknowledged as an actor by his peers and seniors, that's all  

 

4 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

But "Hot Stove League" managed to beat this drama in 56th Baeksang Art Awards. For some reason I was not able enjoy this Hot Stove League drama like did for Romantic Doctor Kim 2, maybe it as to do with Korean Baseball thing, like, something only Korean audience were able to enjoy it.

 

Hot Stove League? To be honest, I hadn't heard of it until you brought it up (which shows how much I care about sports ), but the stats are definitely impressive, now that I look it up.  

[kireeti2]

19 minutes ago, kittyna said:

because I know that JW doesn't really stand a chance in popularity contests to begin with (lol - some fan I am, but I mean it)

I share the similar opinion. Joo won's popularity is dwarfs when we compare with his peers, like, you mention Kim Young Kwang, he played as supporting role in Good Doctor, but now in terms of popularity he does surpass Joo won.

 

21 minutes ago, kittyna said:

As for JW, I do think he's got some points in the looks department, but I often get the sense that his looks are something of an afterthought. As you pointed out, no-one casts him for his looks; and even people who are first drawn by his looks end up becoming fans due to his acting, personality, or both. It probably helps that JW's not afraid of looking ugly or unphotogenic in order to bring out the characters he plays: he's got some really handsome expressions and angles, and then some that are really grotesque (e.g. his infamous "ugly cry"), and I love that he's willing to go there. 

Here also, I share the same sentiment. I think already mentioned this, in Good Doctor I have first noticed Joo won's acting and then his looks. And, like you mentioned he does look stunning in few angles, I got to see it in Alice. In few angles he was looking better than usual and we can clearly see that there are few facial changes(in natural way). Only thing he now needs to do is select scripts which are unique yet relatable for the audience, preferably Korean audience, international fans only tend to give importance to that Oppa/noon culture. And speaking of unique scripts, I got to watch a kiss scene in "18 Again" drama where female lead is twice the age of the male lead, and it was like a moment where K-drama broke the class ceiling by reversing the roles. Like, it was always like a female high school student who always falls for a older guy, in this drama it was like reverse thing and it was quite refreshing to see it. Btw the drama is remake of "17 Again" movie.

Whenever I see a drama where the script and characters are complex, I wished Joo won was part of  that drama, at least in a supporting role, and I really think now that he has matured as an actor, he can play complex roles really well.

29 minutes ago, kittyna said:

Do you mean APAN?

I guess, that's what comes first before the Channel awards

30 minutes ago, kittyna said:

I want to see him being acknowledged as an actor by his peers and seniors, that's all  

For that he needs to pick unique script and needs to play complex characters with unconventional looks, I still think his agency wants him to flower boy type, but that phase is over and joo won needs to take lot of dark roles or a character with lot of scars from the past,  which has lot of arcs. I am secretly hoping that he would take of "John Wick" remake, that would be dope, like it would be lit as hell to see Joo won with a beard killing lot of people, since  he did pretty good job in Alice holding a gun and it was pretty natural.

39 minutes ago, kittyna said:

Hot Stove League? To be honest, I hadn't heard of it until you brought it up (which shows how much I care about sports ), but the stats are definitely impressive, now that I look it up.  

It's more like "Money Ball" movie as a drama. And it was much complex than the movie, I think the drama was meant for the Base Ball fans, since Base Ball is also popular sport in Korea or for that matter, it is quite popular in whole East Asia.

No wonder it got award for outstanding Korean Drama in Seoul International Awards beating the "Crash Landing On You, Dr Kim 2, and The World Of Married" .