[Drama 2023] Payback/Law Money, 법쩐

[sadiesmith]

10 hours ago, the_sweetroad said:

Also, I love how snappy and cool the music is. Judging by the opening credits (played at the end of the trailer), we’re in for a treat. Except that mullet keeps showing up everywhere, even in the opening credits. 

 

Yes, I love that opening credits, both the music and the graphics. I wonder if this is a male lead centric drama ala Memories of Alhambra or a more ensemble cast one like My Mister. LSK seems to have a very big role here, but I hope other characters also have their own arcs.

 

Very surprised there was no press conference yesterday. When My Mister decided to delay holding a press conference before the premiere of that drama, they at least announced it. Now I am thinking they will have it today just ahead of the chat session.

 

More mullet: 

 

[sweetroad]

@sadiesmith I found this nod to a press conference:

 

Is it the same thing as the chat session you mentioned? Although… looks like the presser will be tomorrow. 
 

That mullet!! I seriously cannot handle it.  

[sadiesmith]

I just realized that Park Hoon is the scary baddie who gave me serious anxiety in Memories of the Alhambra. 

 

I wonder what genre LSK is thinking he hasn't done before because this guy has starred in pretty much every genre out there. Unless he meant "sweeping epic?" Yeah, that would be a new one.

 

“Because it's not a drama of the genre i’ve done before, There are some parts where I'm a bit nervous. I worked on this project with my heart.… Please look forward to it. ”

[sadiesmith]

I watched some of the presentation and posted the link on Youtube, but it was taken down immediately after it was over. I hope SBS would put it back up again.

 

They are so cute:

 

[sadiesmith]

Yes! Prime Video finally lists Payback for me although it is still "currently unavailable to watch in your location." I hope that would go away once the first episode airs in South Korea. Can't get over how handsome LSK looks on the show's page. 

 

https://www.amazon.com/placeholder_title-John-Doe/dp/B0B8SZDHDW/ref=sr_1_4?crid=3MCCSIPAE8HP9&keywords=payback&qid=1672988562&s=instant-video&sprefix=payback%2Cinstant-video%2C147&sr=1-4

 

 

[backstreetboysfan]

 SBS drama Payback press conference.

 

 

 

[sadiesmith]

https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2023/01/06/entertainment/television/Korea-Payback-SBS/20230106160452380.html

 

My favorite part:

Park Hoon commented that although his character Hwang Ki-seok, a chief prosecutor, is a villain, he has a “romantic” side to him that viewers should watch out for. “My character is a very economical person and a baddie throughout, but I hope to show different sides of him,” said Park.

[sweetroad]

@sadiesmith Was it this link? I think it's back.

 

 

Closed captioning set to English subtitles is working out OK, happy to say.

 

[sadiesmith]

I found a pretty thorough summary of the online presser yesterday, but it's in Korean. Now I understand what LSK meant by a genre he had't tried before this one. The super hero fantasy genre!! 

 

Can someone who reads Korean help me translate what LSK said here? The Google translation is not very clear. What exactly are "form-fitting roles?"

 

https://www.newsen.com/news_view.php?uid=202301061403441910&code=100100

 

Lee Seon-gyun, who returned to SBS after 15 years, said, "I was hesitant at first. It wasn't a genre I had played before. I was scared because of the notion that charismatic and form-fitting roles didn't suit me. But first, the script itself felt powerful and bold. I wanted to try it because it's a genre of , and the biggest point was the director. I was curious about making a dense and powerful film after watching his previous work 'Bad Man', and communication went well from the first meeting, so I came to think that I could trust it."

 

지금껏 내가 해왔던 장르가 아니었다. 카리스마 있고 폼 잡는 역할은 어울리지 않는다는 관념 때문에 겁도 났다. 근데 일단 대본 자체가 힘있고 굵은 느낌의 장르물이다보니 도전해보고 싶었다. 가장 큰 포인트는 감독님이었다. 전작인 '악인전'을 보고 밀도감 있고 힘있는 영화를 만들어 궁금함도 있었고 첫 미팅 때부터 소통이 잘돼 믿고 가면 되겠다는 생각으로 하게 됐다"고 말했다. 문채원 역시 

 

Lee Sun-gyun tried to reduce the excessive parts. Lee Seon-kyun said, "There were many things that were expressed like a hero like a fantasy. I felt that was too excessive, so I removed it. Still, I thought I would be immersed in the character only when I felt a little more humanity, so I asked the director. Then, while changing the acting tone according to the other person, I wanted to act. Then I thought the character would be rich," he said about the part he focused on.
 

이선균은 과한 부분을 덜어내려 노력했다. 이선균은 "판타지처럼 히어로처럼 표현돼 있는 게 많았다. 난 그게 너무 과하게 느껴져 그런 걸 걷어냈다. 그래도 좀 인간미가 느껴져야 인물에 몰입이 될 것 같아 감독님께 부탁을 드렸다. 그리고 상대방에 따라 연기 톤을 바꾸면서 연기하고 싶었다. 그럼 캐릭터가 풍부해질 것 같았다"고 중점을 둔 부분에 대해 이야기했다.
 

Here's another one in Korean that Google translates to "LSK curses at his wife on set."  I think what the director really said was LSK complained about his wife to him and they instantly became comfortable with each other. 

 

https://www.newsen.com/news_view.php?uid=202301061405161910&code=100100

[partyon]

Watched the first episode as I am a big Moon Chae Won fan.

 

While I loved the footage of the Mongolian steppes, I perceived the first episode as really slow and had to resort to using the FF button in the end. Also, why were there hardly any scenes of Moon Chae Won? She's like a supporting character, which is really not fair - especially since this is only a 12 ep drama.

 

I also found it iffy how Mongolia was depicted in certain ways. Yes, half of the population are  nomads and live in gers outside of Ulaanbaatar. But even the nomads use mobile phones . Am not sure why it was depicted that the ML was using a landline and faxes when the infrastructure for mobile coverage is a lot better even in the remoter areas? Especially compared to landlines which would require more infrastructure.

 

Mongolia

vs

Korea

 

Apparently according to k-drama logic. 

 

I will not be continuing this drama. For the rest of you peeps who will continue watching, have fun!

 

PS. If anyone wondered about the shaman camp the ML visited in the beginning? That's a tourist attraction about 100 km from the capital city, called the 13th century complex. It houses different camps that depicts life in the Chinggis Khaan era.

[sadiesmith]

LSK seems to have a lot of freedom with this script. What a contrast from his experience in My Mister where he had to stick to every letter and punctuation in the script. I have to say I am glad he chose to highlight the humanity of Eun Yong because that's playing to his strength as an actor.

 

https://m.k-odyssey.com/news/newsview.php?ncode=1065603871135598

 

SEOUL, Jan. 6 (Yonhap) -

 

"I was scared, but when I read the script, it was a genre with strength and pace, so I decided to try it." (Lee Sunkyun)

 

Actor Lee Sun-kyun transforms into a cheerful main character against the huge evil force in an active play.

 

Lee Sun-kyun, who plays the main character hedge fund manager Eun Yong in the SBS drama ‘Payback,’ said at the online production presentation on Friday, adding, “It wasn’t a genre I’ve played before, and I hesitated to play the role because I thought this charismatic role didn’t fit.”

 

Eun Yong, played by Lee Sun-kyun, is the beneficial owner and general manager of investment of the private equity fund ‘Change.’ He is a character who rarely appears in front of customers who live in Mongolia and invest a large amount of money.

 

Eun yong, who has lived a life of man who constantly makes more money with money for 10 years, returns to Korea after hearing unexpected rumor from his hometown and starts his revenge.

 

"In the beginning, Eun-yong felt like a hero in a fantasy," Lee Sun-kyun said.

 

He added, "The heroic setting also felt excessive, so I removed that part as much as possible, and emphasized the 'humanity' so that viewers could immerse themselves."

 

Lee Sun-kyun picked fascinating action scenes as the main point of the drama.

 

"Until the episode 6, I had to play a big action scene every episode, but I was worried and burdened because I was no longer at an age where I recover quickly."

 

At the same time, "Due to the characteristic of the drama, I didn't spend as much time practicing the action as I did when filming the movie, but I'm very satisfied with the result because the action team staff designed it so well,” added Lee Sun-kyun.

 

Moon Chae-won played the role of Major Park Joon-kyung, judge advocate who joined hands with Eun Yong to aim revenge blades at the top predators of capitalism.

 

"Payback" was written by writer Kim Won-seok, who wrote the drama "Descendants of the Sun," and director Lee Won-tae, who made the movie " The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil,“ first directed the drama.

 

"It showed the scene of human fighting over money and power very well," adding, "I started with confidence that it would be a good drama if I made the conclusion that 'the world is still worth living, justice can be won'," director Lee Won-tae said.

  

(This article is translated from Korean to English by Yunhee Cho.)

 

(END)

[sweetroad]

1 hour ago, sadiesmith said:

Here's another one in Korean that Google translates to "LSK curses at his wife on set."  I think what the director really said was LSK complained about his wife to him and they instantly became comfortable with each other. 

Haha, from the video and its automatic subs it actually sounded like the director complained about his wife and LSK sympathized with him. 

 

Haven’t watched the first episode yet; I got sucked into an Andor marathon with others this afternoon. Looking forward to it though.

[sadiesmith]

5 hours ago, the_sweetroad said:

Haha, from the video and its automatic subs it actually sounded like the director complained about his wife and LSK sympathized with him. 

Let's go with this one, shall we?

 

https://kbizoom.com/payback-moon-chae-won-i-applied-as-little-makeup-as-possible/

 

In the drama, Moon Chae Won plays the role of Park Joon Kyung, an army major and an elite prosecutor-turned-judicial officer who passed the bar exam and graduated from the training institute with top scores. She’s a three-dimensional character who is willing to become a monster to confront monsters in the examinations of justice.

 

Moon Chae Won said, “I watched many movies and dramas with the same type over and over again. I also watched the works of other actors and the director, and I think that helped me the most in acting.” Regarding her character, the actress said, “I had no difficulty getting immersed in Park Joon Kyung. I think I naturally started by becoming the character myself”.

 

Kang Yoo Seok also described his character – prosecutor Jang Tae Chun, saying “He’s a passionate and energetic person. His appearance represents hard-working young people nowadays.”

 

 

Director Lee Won Tae explained the casting. He said, “The character Eun Yong played by Lee Su Kyun is a hero who acts in his own way. It really depends on how the actor acts. Compared to the image of Eun Yong that I had, Lee Sun Kyun made the character become much freer, braver, and more impactful.”

 

As for Moon Chae Won, director Lee said, “I didn’t work with many female actors before, so I was really nervous knowing I would film with actress Moon Chae Won. While working with her, I kept exclaiming, ‘She acts so well’, ‘Moon Chae Won is doing it in her way’, etc.” He added, “Through the way she performed her lines, I could see that she studied and researched the character carefully before going to the set. I was very thankful for that. Even in difficult situations, she was always kind and all the staff liked her.”

 

Referring to his character Eun Yong, Lee Sun Kyun said, “I wanted to show a different acting tone when dealing with each person. I thought it would be a way to make my character become more impressive. Since Eun Yong makes a lot of deals, I focused on performing persuasive lines.” In addition, the actor confessed, “I was very worried about the action scenes. At my age, I couldn’t recover my energy fast for the filming the next day. However, the action team designed the scene so well and I trusted them”.

 

 

Regarding what she paid attention to the most when acting in this drama, Moon Chae Won shared, “I tried to apply as little makeup as possible. I gave up on my desire to look pretty because I believed that I could act in a cool way.”

 

When asked about the reaction she wants to receive through “Payback”, the actress said, “I would love to hear words like ‘Moon Chae Won has grown so well’, or ‘She has gotten older but her acting is still good. She gives off a new feeling’.”

[Shimmery-summer]

8 hours ago, sadiesmith said:

Payback" was written by writer Kim Won-seok, who wrote the drama "Descendants of the Sun," and

Really ? Isn't dos written by the glory writer?

 

I am a bit confused, seeing the show it looked like entire stock market is a farce as every company's stock is manipulated, does anyone informed know this is true or just exaggeration?

 

 

Okay I need help, so the uncle drives sports car to chinggis international airport, so wikipedia says it's the biggest airport in country and this guy is driving his personal car inside thre airport and casually leaving it on runway next to airplane? I am sure that airport must have a proper security checks system or is it possible for vvips? Why korean dramas always show  other counties specially non-western ones as poor, under developed and in bad need for korean businessmen's help who are generous enough to travel to those countries and shower wealth and attention on those inhabitants. I remember how much korean netizens were raging when lee jung jae was asked by an american reporter how he feels now that he is famous, she assumed he got successful after squid games, and that drove knetz crazy. The other day I was watching work later s2 and one character mocks china in 2 episodes for selling fake products..., like sorry but I am not tuning into shows to watch racisty depictions. 

[backstreetboysfan]

Here are the ratings for Episode 1! .

 

 

“Payback” Premieres To No. 1 Ratings As “The Forbidden Marriage” Soars To New All-Time High

SBS’s “Payback” is off to a strong start!

 

On January 6, the new revenge drama starring Lee Sun Gyun and Moon Chae Won premiered at the top of its time slot. According to Nielsen Korea, the first episode of “Payback” scored an average nationwide rating of 8.7 percent, taking first place in its time slot across all channels.

 

“Payback” also took first place in its time slot among the key demographic of viewers ages 20 to 49, with whom it scored an average rating of 3.6 percent.

 

“Payback” Premieres To No. 1 Ratings As “The Forbidden Marriage” Soars To New All-Time High | Soompi

 

[partyon]

3 hours ago, Shimmery-summer said:

Okay I need help, so the uncle drives sports car to chinggis international airport, so wikipedia says it's the biggest airport in country and this guy is driving his personal car inside thre airport and casually leaving it on runway next to airplane? I am sure that airport must have a proper security checks system or is it possible for vvips?

Something that caught my eye too. I can assure you that the airport has proper security checks and that it is of international standard. That doesn’t look like the main terminal building to me. I am thinking that they might have filmed this in the old Chinggis Khaan airport - the new airport opened in 2020 in a different location.

 

3 hours ago, Shimmery-summer said:

Why korean dramas always show  other counties specially non-western ones as poor, under developed and in bad need for korean businessmen's help who are generous enough to travel to those countries

Agree with this. I don’t understand why they had to make Mongolia look more under-developed than it really is.

Especially since they actually filmed it in a tourist attraction that is supposed to show what Mongolia looked like in the 13th century. 

[Nomorelisa]

4 hours ago, Shimmery-summer said:

Really ? Isn't dos written by the glory writer?

 

I am a bit confused, seeing the show it looked like entire stock market is a farce as every company's stock is manipulated, does anyone informed know this is true or just exaggeration?

 

 

Okay I need help, so the uncle drives sports car to chinggis international airport, so wikipedia says it's the biggest airport in country and this guy is driving his personal car inside thre airport and casually leaving it on runway next to airplane? I am sure that airport must have a proper security checks system or is it possible for vvips?

Was there a sign that says it is Chinggis International Airport?  I don't recall seeing it.  In most countries there are private airports, aircraft maintenance centres that have runways for private jets and helicopters.  The aircraft that he boarded is a small aircraft.

 

As for stock market speculation, it does happened.  When you state the "entire stock market" that is an exaggeration as that was not what was in the drama.  Corruption is real and prevalent everywhere, 1st and 3rd world countries have them. 

[sadiesmith]

15 hours ago, Shimmery-summer said:

Really ? Isn't dos written by the glory writer?

 

I have often read that Writer Kim Eun Sok (The Glory, Mister Sunshine) frequently works with other writers in her dramas, but they aren't always listed. However, Asianwiki specifically lists Kim Won-seuk as a co-writer for Descendants of the Sun. The setting in a foreign country definitely feels similar although I hope it serves a bigger narrative purpose than what we see in the first episode. I agree with the posts critisizing the portrayal of Mongolia, but for now I will just roll my eyes and chalk it up to the writer's penchant to go "excessive" like LSK said.

 

I'm glad the first episode is out of the way and all main characters are introduced. The nephew character got such a huge chunk of episode 1 that I started to itch to see more of Moon Chae Won's character. I feel her introduction is a bit lacking. A viewer who comes to this drama cold, without knowing anything about the characters, would have no idea who she is at the end of the episode.

 

Looking forward to episode 2!

 

 

[partyon]

2 hours ago, Nomorelisa said:

Was there a sign that says it is Chinggis International Airport?  I don't recall seeing it.

 

Yes there was. I looked at it again and now I realize that there are snow covered mountains in the background.

Unless it's winter, there are no snow covered mountains next to the airport. So I am starting to think that this scene has been partially created with CG...

Also, they made the airport look tiny - like you could just drive up to it with your car...

 

This is what Chinggis Khaan International Airport looks like IRL.

 

 

30 minutes ago, sadiesmith said:

I agree with the posts critisizing the portrayal of Mongolia, but for now I will just giggle and roll my eyes and chalk it up to the writer's penchant to go "excessive" like LSK said.

 

I just think it's unfair that k-netz are always up in arms when another country portrays South Korea in a certain way, but they have no problem doing that in their own dramas about other countries - especially if they aren't developed Western countries. And no, I am not from Mongolia.

[sweetroad]

@partyon I was just going to post the screenshots I just took 

 

This looks like the old airport, though, doesn’t it? I think you were right earlier, in that they chose to film there instead of the new one. This doesn’t look as fancy:

 

Maybe they could have portrayed it not as the main Chinggis Khaan airport though. I agree with you all that they’re not portraying Mongolia very well in the first episode, making it seem quite remote and underdeveloped. In fact where did LSK keep that fancy car of his the whole time?!

 

 The rest of the episode had some decent set up and backstory, which I think they’ll explore even more the second episode. Surprises for me were not seeing more of MCW, seeing so much of the nephew (he’s such an earnest fellow!) and not seeing even more backstory. For some reason I’d thought most of episode 1 would be dedicated to the backstory of both LSK and MCW. I didn’t know LSK walking slo-mo up the ramp to his jet would already come in Ep 1. I would’ve saved that as a nice climax later. 
 

I wonder if we’ll see more of LSK’s older sister when she was young, too, or if that was it for that actress.

 

All in all a good start, and I’m glad viewers are tuning in so far.