[Drama 2013] Jang Ok Jung 장옥정, 사랑에 살다

[Guest kimbee]

just look at expression of OJ and LS's Lips... looks like same... 

 

[djappleblush]

I wanna write here not to rant about Kim Tae Hee's awful side; What I mean is, every actress has her own flaws and it's only normal.
After all, people are not born and made perfect, so to aspire for perfection - even from an actress - is a complete waste of time, fit for fools.
I came to dwell on the other side of the river, so to speak.
Kim Tae Hee might come a bit weak in some of her scenes, but I would like to praise her instead in her endless effort in making her character memorable.
What I love about this drama is that although Kim Tae Hee bears the name of the lead character, the whole plot does not only revolves around her.
It's engaging because it also gives us little stories about the other characters that surprisingly brought forth strong emotions, thus making the drama wonderful and interesting as a whole.
People should stop focusing on one character alone. We should appreciate the totality of the story, and how it was able to impart its story to us.
Cheer up, friends! A drama is great as long as you love it. Watch, and stop acting like an old lady that worries about every episode.
After all, a package contains a lot other details. You just have to learn to pick up the good stuff.

[Guest joinsung4ever]

xheonheex said:

[Guest purpleZ]

I share @joinsung4ever's opinion. I think I can safely say I'm quite objective about Kim Tae Hee, as I don't dislike her nor like her. I have seen her in Stairway To Heaven and My Princess. As STH was her, if I'm not wrong, first drama, so I won't judge her acting from there since it would be unfair. In My Princess though she was still very much overacting. And I would think that she should be doing better now over the years, I was hoping this time in JOJ, but I can say not much has changed. Maybe slightly. But her eyes... are expressionless. Here she always has that stiff look, awkward aura, when the scene is supposedly to be romantic. Before you all get me wrong, this is in NO WAY me trying to justify the poor rating. This is solely my opinion on Kim Tae Hee and her acting and nothing to do with her pretty face. This is an honest and non biased opinion and not a prejudice that a pretty actress can't act. There's a difference. Not all pretty actresses are labeled can not act, only those who have proven otherwise are free from the prejudice.

I think almost everyone here are supporters of the OTP but I don't feel anything for the two. Sorry about that. I was more attracted to In Hyun and DP's first interaction, but too bad they don't have any love line. And the constant accidental touchings of the OTP in one single episode was too much for me to handle. 8-|

For the drama in a whole, I will continue to watch this. I hope it gets better. And I hope they pay more attention to the details! Man, those mannequin and high heels are seriously a big mistake.:-S  Even they did explain why, even fusion, the setting is still Joseon and not modern days. Please be more careful.

[Guest superweirdme]

I dunno but I think KTH did a good job. I have no problem with her. The chemistry between her and YAI are insane. I never thought they would make a great couple before. Long to go JOJ, fighting ! Let's just love and accept all the casts

[Guest uburoi]

Enough about Kim Tae Hee, what about Kim Ha Eun? She was better in the last episode, than Hong Soo Hyun. I could see her more playing Queen Inhyun, she's more suitable to play the ideal confucian woman. Hong Soo Hyun has a little menace in her stare, she's more Lady Jang material. All in all, it's a pretty solid ensemble with just a few weaknesses.
I'm looking forward to the King's interactions with his future wives. Yoo Ah In has great chemistry with both of them.

[RanP]

It's okay, everyone has their own opinion. But in KTH case, i believe it's really become a prejudice against her. I'm not her fan or anything, but even when i don't watch a drama she's in (only watched 2 so far), i already hear about her bad acting before the drama even starts. just saying. Here so far i have no problem with her acting. because hey compared to HGI's wooden acting in MTETS (sorry to her fan), i'd prefer KTH at least trying to emote some sort of emotions here. About the chemistry, again, opinion opinion, one can feel it, other not. doesn't work on everyone doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
About those mistakes, funny how I've noticed so many, like modern people/staff in the shot, stunt men in lots of action scenes(when LS entered the chef guard's room and attacked him; when LS saved OJ in the forest), but none really disturbs me, cause to me it's not just that important. I prefer they pay attention to the narrative, the directing, the dialogues. In 4 eps, I have found many favorite quotes and it's 1 of reasons i'm loving this writer's style. I don't think she'd ever written a script for drama before (correct me if i'm wrong), but here i like her dialogues, very compelling. All that to say, my standards that make a good drama may be different than people who rather look at those details on surface. in my case, if i see it, i'd giggle a little then continue to watch lol

[briseis]

To say that I'm in love with this show again would be like repeating all over again that the earth is round. There are simply not enough words to describe my utter admiration for this drama anyway  :x . I know that I've written about the sheer gorgeousness of the costumes and the jewelry and it's probably getting boring how I constantly mention it in so many of my posts, therefore I've decided to created this mini blog about the glorious dresses, hanboks and accessories that the production team has been creating and serving us in spades with admirable perseverence  ^^ - we are only 4 episodes in and we have seen so many stunning attires  :x ! I'd like to gradually include all the costumes of the main protagonists (JOJ, LS, IH, IK, DY, ...). I hope you're going to enjoy it  .
THE JOSEON FASHION SHOW-JANG OK JUNG EDITION PART 1
1) THE MAGENTA CONCUBINE GOWNWe've seen KTH wearing this attire only in the promos and previews so far. This stunning piece is made of contasting colours - the black chima (long skirt), which is an unsual choice considering that skirts were usually made of very bright colours, and deep magenta dangui (originally a jacket of ceremonial dresses) embroidered with intricate patterns of white flowers bound together with a carribean green otgoreum (cloth string) - only members of royal family like princesses and queens could wear golden geumbak (golden embroidery) on their danguis.Her coiffure is arranged into a jjeokjin meori hairstyle with hair brought back and tied in a chignon which is fastened by binyeos (hairpins) and dwikkojis (smaller hairpins) of various shapes and a golden-purple cheopji (another type of hairpin). One binyeo is a phoenix-shaped hairpin called bongjam which were together with this particular deep shade of purple designated specifically for concubines.

2) THE LOTUS CONCUBINE GOWNAnother dress that has been shown only in BTS videos and posters thus far. Her haistyle is almost identical to the one she is wearing with the MAGENTA CONCUBINE GOWN only coordinated with the colours of this particular attire. Beside the lotus flower embroidery the imperial red jeogori (upper garment) is decorated with end sleeves and dongjeong (white collar) made of white silk, there is also a turqoise otgoreum (cloth string). The chima is made of another shade of deep purple and is complemented by stunning golden-black-and-red norigae (hanbok pendant) which serves both as an ornament and a good luck charm.

Coming up next: THE FLOWER NORIGAE GOWN and THE GREEN CONCUBINE GOWNHere is a little explanatory photo of the hanbok composition  :

Sources: Blog Naver, SBS official website, google images, Baidu forums, wikipedia

[Guest uburoi]

Don't get me wrong, I like them both as well.  HSH did indeed well, I just think her face, or mimics have some cruelty. I can't explain any better. It's not her acting per se, rather her appearance or attitude. Imo she'd make a great JOJ.
Ok Jung's mentor was another good actress.

[RanP]

I'm curious about how LS will treat IK too, I quiet like her, her feeling is genuine. but some part of me doesn't like guys who easily soften at the sight of weak girls/girls who declare their flame to them. idk anymore lol in LS case, he picked her over IH simply because her father is less evil. argh, i feel pity for her..

[Guest uburoi]

Briseis, you're a real Joseon fashion scholar! ^^

[Guest uburoi]

RanP said: I'm curious about how LS will treat IK too, I quiet like her, her feeling is genuine. but some part of me doesn't like guys who easily soften at the sight of weak girls/girls who declare their flame to them. idk anymore lol in LS case, he picked her over IH simply because her father is less evil. argh, i feel pity for her..

[RanP]

I know IK will die early, when they show her having asthma, i just guessed. or maybe minister Min will poison her, or indirectly makes her health worse  @-) but alone?! why? LS, act like a man, be with your wife!
  About HSH, i like her too. but i think because they wanted to portray JOJ, IH different here so HSH wouldn't fit JOJ. I think HSH does IH very well so far. JOJ is more dreamy about her pov about life and fashion. IH will be jealous of her later, so i believe HSH will be perfect.

[Guest uburoi]

I wonder how the show will portray Inhyun. I think because of the book, The True History of Queen Inhyun, she's the more iconic character. You can't mess with her and make her character evil. She's the ideal confucian woman, who gives up personal happiness for the public's greater good. I guess she won't be a total saint here, but still a woman with a strong moral center. The real jolly joker is Sukbin. She's the mysterious one, the one without much written record.

[RanP]

So far, IH doesn't appear to be evil to me, not even close. it's just she doesn't have choice, must obey to her father's order. Idk much about her in history, but i can tell she has an image she needs to maintain, i can't imagine her calculating or backstabbing someone because it'd hurt her pride. she rather stays in BG to remain as the last standing. that scene in ep3 when IH & JOJ spoke about their pov about life, pretty much foreshadowed what's going to happen to them.

[junkietiger14]

I understand why there is a lot of focus on KTH in this drama after all the drama's own name is Jang Ok Jung, Live in Love right? She plays the titular role and I would hope that JOJ is the "main" focus of the drama. That being said, the wave of negative press against her is quite amazing. I have seen DY, YS etc (I mention them because the characters are all related and descendants), and those dramas really revolved around the titular character even though there are a lot of important secondary characters as well. So I was expecting the same thing here. These characters swirl around OJ even though they have their own important roles.
So, I like KTH in that I think she has a lot of charm and brings her own spunk to performance. I don't consider myself a fan and I'm certainly not immuned to her many shortcomings as an actor (I didn't watch IRIS, only STH, LSAH and MP). I did worry for her cause once the going gets tough, the weakness shows even more. It's still a little crazy that they are harping so much on her. We get it, she's pretty but she doesn't act as well as she should. She's not the only one out there. Then again, the media's target audience is not me. I do think it's a little excessive that a lot of the headlines have to put also her down, instead of just elevating someone else. I don't think her acting thus far in this drama is all the bad.  @ranp - I agree with you. As for IH, I don't think she will become an insanely bad character just because she was thwarted in the love category. I think she will remain that queen that is perfectly written in the history books. She will clearly be a victim and a pawn in her father's quest for power. I think I will end up disliking Sukbin the most, and second, king sukjong. As in history, she will be the greatest threat to ok Jung and well, we all know that no matter how it actually all went down, it wasnt a pretty sight at all. In truth, everyone is just one of the pieces on the chess board in the deadly game of life. One person's actions set off another and another and another, and it seems that no one will get what they want. I supposed the only good thing that comes from all of it is that Joseon survived through it. Every stake is high and the price is one's life. I am hoping for a twist but I just don't think it's likely.

[RanP]

I avoid to comment about Sukbin cause Idk much about this character. I read from many fans of the drama Dong Yi though, she appears to be angel perfect. I'd like to see how they portray her kind of double face here. It's interesting that they compare her to JOJ, if think about it, they're quiet similar about their birth as a low status. I think SB being able to survive in the end because her not really being involved in the game of power, she's not on either side. She's an outsider who observes and takes advantage of the situation. Idk, parts of me still hope she's not completely evil, cause it'd be sad if LS would have to live his life like his father (his mother is like SB) I hope SB will somehow redeem in the end (in case she really had done bad things) so that it'd not be a bittersweet ending. These days i even fantasize about an after-life ending, where they show all characters' re-incarnations (lol) and somehow LS & JOJ are in a bookstore, picking up the last ex of 'JOJ LIL' novel at the same time, pretty much like their 1st meeting ^^ *weeps*

[briseis]

Fanarts  :

Source:http://gall.dcinside.com

[briseis]

Gifs :x :

Source: http://aegisyie.tumblr.com/post/48359792631

Source:http://shura.tumblr.com/post/48362770124/my-heart-races-when-i-see-fireworks-if-im-only

[Guest joinsung4ever]

Before JOJ, I never know that KTH has been criticized for her acting. I just know that something is just not right when watching her in the dramas. Just found this article and I could not agree more

http://www.kdramastars.com/articles/8603/20130318/kim-tae-hee-vs-song-hye-kyo-two-different-types.htm

"Kim Tae Hee opened her eyes wide when she was surprised and frowned when her character was sad. Her acting wasn't the worst but it wasn't attractive either."

After all it is not about jealousy over a prettiness. Visual attraction is only good at the beginning, but one could not pull it off longer for let say up to 24 episodes. Gosh.....

But she is witty, which is I like. At least she knew and admitted herself that something was still lack and was trying to improve, but gosh.... I praised Lee So Yeon's portraying Jang Hui Bin in Dong Yi during the airing time, and I praise her now even more.

http://www.allkpop.com/2011/01/kim-tae-hee-addresses-criticisms-of-her-acting-with-style

Yes... there is a limit for everyone. Just hoping she will improve by the episodes. If it is not because of Yoo Ah In's charm as king sukjong flirting with all the 3 ladies... I will step back from this one... See what happened with Gu Family Book after episode 2. Now I sort of understand why many of the actress and actresses state that acting in Saeguk is not easy even when you are good with modern drama.

Back to the story... what a lucky man king Sukjong is. It is written on Wiki that he has 10 concubines during his life... and I was like "Hwhat???" The well known 5 out of 10 we probably have learned from kdrama are queen Inkyung, queen Inhyung, Jang hui bin, Choi suk bin, and queen Inwon. Shouldnt they make another Saeguk covering the other 5. It would be very interesting... at least for me... Bring all the pretty ladies in front of the camera to portray them, but please... chebal... the ones who can perform a solid acting to keep me seat in front of the monitor even when it has to be 60 episodes like Dong Yi. Otherwise just give us the audience 2 or 3 episodes and not more. Just enough to provide visual candy and a glimpse of korean history.