Lee Sun-Kyun 이선균

[Helena]

https://k-odyssey.com/news/newsview.php?ncode=1065593352526967
Drama ‘Payback’ kicks off with 8.7% viewing rate

YonhapNews / 2023-01-07 15:09:49
(This article is translated from Korean to English by Ha eun Lee)

▲ These photos, provided by SBS, show scenes from 'Payback.' (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

SEOUL, Jan. 7 (Yonhap) – The first episode of SBS Friday-Saturday drama, “Payback,” starring veteran actor Lee Sun-kyun, has kicked off with a viewing rate of 8.7%, according to data released from Nielson Korea.


In its first episode, which was aired at 10 P.M. Friday, Eun-young, played by Lee Sun-kyun, first appeared as a boy who does not hesitate to infringe the law as long as it would increase his fortune.


Eun-yong, who was released from the juvenile detention center, meets Myung In-jo – acted out by Kim Hong-pa –, who is the “big hand” of the Myeong-dong loan market. He eventually ends up making a fortune in the loan business as the henchman of Chairman Myung.


However, his dream was too big to be satisfied – Eun-young eventually leaves for Mongolia to scratch up even more money. Then, he decides to return home after 10 years as he hears the news from his hometown.


Meanwhile, Prosecutor Jang – played by Kang Yoo-seok –, who is also Eun-yong’s nephew, begins to dig into a series of stock price manipulation cases involving Chairman Myung and other big names. On the other side, Major Park – played by Moon Chae-won – who was in a bad relationship with Chairman Myung, also gears up to start her own revenge.


The new drama, which will be unraveling their revenge story against the top predators of capitalism, is adding suspense by hinting that Eun-yong and Major Park used to be homies, piquing the curiosity of viewers on whether the two will team up for their revenge. (END)
 

(C) Yonhap News Agency. All Rights Reserved

[sweetroad]

Full video from the Payback press conference:

 

 

And a nice comment from Park Hoon regarding sunbae LSK:

 

 

[sweetroad]

Lee Sun-Kyun Is Compelling In K-Drama ‘Payback: Money And Power’

Joan MacDonald

Jan 8, 2023

 

 

Lee Sun-kyun's character prepares to return to Korea and fight. Amazon Prime

 

Best known for playing the insensitive wealthy dad in the Academy Award-winning film Parasite and for his role as a compassionate engineer in the Korean drama My Mister, Lee Sun-kyun is a consistently compelling actor. His portrayal of Eun-yong in the drama Payback: Money and Power is no exception.

 

Eun-yong commands the screen, whether he’s cracking heads with a truncheon, riding horses across the steppes or boarding a lavish private jet. The character is vulnerable and ruthless, kind to small children, loyal, but also occasionally vicious. Despite his often unforgivable behavior, viewers will likely want this character to succeed whether it’s in business or revenge.

 

When Eun-yong, played as a younger man by Yoon Jung-il, leaves jail in 1990, he’s not sure what to do. With no money or education he has few legit options. So, to provide for his sister and young nephew he intimidates people for a thug, then manages money for a loan shark. “You’re nothing without money,” the loan shark tells him and Eun-yong takes those words to heart.

 

Working for the loan shark allows him to support his sister and fund his nephew’s education. Eun-yong has a gift for numbers and soon learns how to make money of his own, creating a successful financial business, before moving to Mongolia where he spends his time buying land.

 

His nephew Jang Tae-chun, played by Kang You-seok, grows up to be an ambitious prosecutor. When Tae-chun gets a tip to investigate the loan shark who previously hired his uncle, his corrupt superiors don’t seem eager to pursue the case. Yet the news prompts Eun-yong to leave his idyllic life in Mongolia and return to Korea. The anonymous tipster is Park Joon-kyung, played by Moon Chae-won, who starred in the 2020 hit drama Flower Of Evil.

 

Joon-kyung and Eun-yong are so close they consider each other family. When Joon-kyung’s mother mysteriously dies, Eun-yong suspects that it was murder and his former boss may be involved.

The drama’s screenplay was written by Kim Won-suk, who wrote Descendants of the Sun and The Queen’s Classroom. The storyline cleverly jumps back and forth in time to reveal new and sometimes surprising perspectives on the characters and their relationships with each other. The cast also includes Park Hoon, Kim Hong-fa and Kim Hye-hwa. Directed by Lee Won-tae, the SBS drama airs on Amazon Prime in the US.

 

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanmacdonald/2023/01/08/lee-sun-kyun-is-compelling-in-k-drama-payback-money-and-power/

 

 

[Helena]

https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/art/2023/01/688_343202.html
Lee Sun-kyun, Moon Chae-won to deliver message of justice with 'Payback'

By Lee Gyu-lee | 2023-01-08 

Actors Moon Chae-won, right, and Lee Sun-kyun, center, in a scene from SBS series "Payback." The series follows the two as they fight against a dark, corrupt financial cartel. Courtesy of SBS

SBS' new series, "Payback," starring actors Lee Sun-kyun and Moon Chae-won, is delivering a fast-paced, action-packed good-beats-evil story. 

"'Payback' is about a revenge story of (characters) fighting against the evils in this world," series director Lee Won-tae said during an online press conference for the series, Friday. 

"The important theme (of the series) is the corruption and injustice evident in society and human desire. When I got the script, I liked the energy the story had. It has different portrayals of people dealing with money and power. But most importantly, I thought we could offer a message that justice can win so I decided to lead it," Lee said.

The series debut of the director, who previously led the thriller film, "The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil" (2019), unfolds the story of a private equity firm owner, Eun Yong (Lee Sun-kyun), and a military judicial officer, Park Joon-kyung (Moon), going against a dark, powerful financial cartel. 

The first episode, which premiered on Friday, showed Yong's past and how he came to collect his wealth while living a nomadic life in Mongolia. Yong was a smart boy but as an adolescent, went to a juvenile detention center for trying to rob a bank. After he met Joon-kyung's mom, who took care of him like her own son, he became a part of Joon-kyung's family. 

Trying to get himself out of the loan shark business with its powerful boss, Yong leaves Korea for Mongolia, remotely running a private equity firm so as to gain enormous wealth. When Joon-kyung calls for his help to find the truth behind the entangled corruption that led to her mother's suicide and take revenge, Yong comes back to Korea. 

A scene from the series, "Payback" / Courtesy of SBS

The series, written by Kim Won-suk, who co-scripted the smash-hit series, "Descendants of the Sun," kicked off with a good start ― an 8.7-percent viewership rating on Friday ― although the rating slightly slipped to 7.4 percent for Saturday's episode. 

Lee Sun-kyun and Moon recalled that they both were hesitant to take the lead roles at first. 

"It wasn't a type of genre I've done before. And I felt like I'm not the right fit to play a charismatic, serious character. But I liked that the script had energy and was fast-paced, and because it felt like it has such a powerful genre, I wanted to take a stab at it," Lee said. "The biggest reason was the director. I had high hopes for the director, seeing how he has made such a powerful movie (with his previous work)."

Moon said that she took the role because of actor Lee. "I've never played this kind of role so I was hesitant to do it. But I've always dreamed of working with him. So the biggest reason I took the role is him," she said. 

"Because I've been wanting to do a project together with him, I was really happy throughout the filming. I understood why people praise him and felt I could learn a lot from him," she said.

"Payback" airs on SBS Fridays and Saturdays at 10 p.m.

[partyon]

 EVENT: Soompi Forums Awards - Vote for Your Favorite K-dramas (2022) (Poll #1)

 

Now is your chance to vote for your favorite k-dramas of 2022!

 

 

Your Event Organizers,

@partyon @agenth @confusedheart @Sleepy Owl

[sweetroad]

 

[Helena]

https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-pop/k-drama/article/3206387/amazon-k-drama-payback-money-and-power-parasites-lee-sun-kyun-form-spirited-crime-thriller
Amazon K-drama Payback: Money and Power – Parasite’s Lee Sun-kyun on form in spirited crime thriller

• Lee Sun-kyun plays Eun Yong, who goes from wayward orphan to criminal enforcer to eccentric financial wizard living peacefully in a yurt in Mongolia
• That changes when nephew Jang Tae-chun (Kang You-seok), an ambitious prosecutor, tracks him down to ask for help finding out about a crooked investment adviser

By Pierce Conran | 11 Jan, 2023

Lee Sun-kyun plays eccentric financial wizard Eun Yong in a still from K-drama Payback, streaming on Amazon Prime.

This article contains mild spoilers.

New K-drama thriller series Payback: Money and Power opens with a hirsute Lee Sun-kyun (of Parasite fame) galloping on horseback across the Mongolian steppe, spearing red flags into the ground as he marks his territory.

It provides a visually arresting start to the drama, made by South Korean broadcaster SBS and streaming globally on Amazon Prime, which has so far proved an enjoyable tale of good versus evil set in the murky world of law and corporate finance.

Lee plays Eun Yong, a wayward and orphaned youth turned financial mastermind who rises through the ranks of the criminal world before breaking off and becoming an eccentric financial wizard living in exile on the plains of Central Asia.

 

Yong’s ability to handle numbers and handle himself using his fists first garners him attention while in juvenile detention (at which point he’s played by Yoon Jung-il). Upon his release, he is immediately scouted by a mid-level gang boss running a shady construction company.

Rather than take his business card, Yong memorises the number on it for a rainy day.

He begins earning a hard but honest living to provide for his hostess sister and bookworm nephew, but soon realises he needs a better source of income and remembers the number on the card.

He begins working as an enforcer, ruthlessly breaking up protests on construction sites.

Thanks to his numerical aptitude, Yong eventually becomes the right-hand man of loan shark Myung In-joo (Kim Hong-pa), the so-called “Gentleman of Myeongdong”. As his fortunes rise, so do those of his nephew Jang Tae-chun (Kang You-seok), who grows up into an ambitious prosecutor.

In the present day, young prosecutor Tae-chun is trying to make a name for himself in Seoul, no small feat for a new recruit with a university degree from the countryside. He’s reminded of his low educational status when he receives a dressing down from hotshot prosecutor Hwang Ki-seok (Park Hoon) in a lift.

The only way he’s going to rise up the ranks is by bringing in a big case, and he sniffs one out when a traffic violation committed by the crooked investment adviser Yeoido Rambo lands on his desk.

He’s warned off the case because of Rambo’s influential connections, but presses on when he receives an anonymous tip about Solar Bio, a stock that Rambo pushed his followers to buy.

The problem is, he can’t decipher the brief he’s received alone and there’s only one person he can think of who can: his uncle.

Calling in a promise made because of an unfulfilled trip to an amusement park, written when he was a child, he puts Uncle Yong to work in his yurt in Mongolia, and the latter soon digs up dirt on Rambo as well as his former mentor In-joo, the investor’s shadowy backer.

With youthful zeal, Tae-chun forges ahead with the case while Yong becomes troubled overseas. “Who did the tip come from?” he wonders, until he realises it bears the mark of military prosecutor Park Jun-kyeong (Flower of Evil’s Moon Chae-won).

Yong and Jun-kyeong met each other years ago, when he came to her aid during a scuffle on a train and both of them landed in jail. Jun-kyeong’s mother, Yoon Hye-rin (Kim Mi-sook), a successful businesswoman, comes to bail her out but won’t leave until Yong is released into her care as well.

Hye-rin is the first adult to take Yong seriously and becomes a surrogate mother of sorts to him. Yet several years later she dies of an apparent suicide and a sceptical Jun-kyeong has been on the case ever since.

After cracking the Solar Bio code, Yong begins to have his own doubts and finally makes his return to Korea, after a shave and a haircut, aboard his private jet – equipped with its very own office suite.

Payback: Money and Power navigates some very familiar waters, but does so with vigour and a dynamic turn from Lee, who plays a brainy and fearless protagonist not unlike the one he recently portrayed in the Apple TV+ original series Dr Brain.

There’s more cockiness and humour on display here, which shines through in moments such as when he conducts an orchestra of illegal traders during his first head-to-head with In-joo, dictating the cadence of buying and selling into a crescendo of successful stock manipulation.

Also shining in these opening episodes is Park Hoon as the commanding and broad-shouldered prosecutor Ki-seok. After toiling through supporting parts for years, Park has been gaining notice for his steely charisma in recent roles such as the horror film Midnight and the Netflix series Remarriage & Desires.

Lee Sun-kyun as a clean-shaven Eun Yong in a still from Payback.

Payback: Money and Power has succeeded so far by the energy it brings to familiar scenarios, such as when Yong and Jun-kyeong reconnect in the present. They do so during a rainy night under Yong’s umbrella as he quips: “Still don’t carry umbrellas, do you?”

Hopefully the show will maintain that sense of fun going forward and find the space for at least a handful of small surprises to keep things from going stale during its 12-episode run.

Payback: Money and Power is streaming on Amazon Prime.

[widala]

These Lee Sun Kyun's photos from Hodu is absolutely gorgeous!

 

https://m.post.naver.com/viewer/postView.naver?volumeNo=35131851&memberNo=35214926

 

 

 

Sorry for the double link... I can't erase it 

[Helena]

https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/art/2023/01/688_343565.html
Travel shows head back overseas with big name stars

By Lee Gyu-lee | 2023-01-14 09:03

A still from Tving's new original series "Bros on Foot" / Courtesy of TVING

Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020, the production of many travel shows was suspended or canceled. But as travel restrictions have eased, more networks and streaming platforms are resuming the productions of such shows, but this time, with big-name stars as cast members.

Tving is set to roll out its new original travel show "Bros on Foot" this month, starring famous actors Ha Jung-woo, Joo Ji-hoon, Choi Min-ho, and Yeo Jin-goo.  The show will follow the four actors traveling around parts of New Zealand on foot. On their trip, the four come together to complete a series of missions to win chances for young adults to go on their dream trip.  The actors wrapped up taping for the show in New Zealand last year, and the show will be released on Jan. 20. 

TvN is making three travel shows, led by actors like Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Jin-woong and Heo Sung-tae, to debut in the coming months. 

Star producer Yoo Ho-jin, who previously led the variety shows "Two Days and One Night" and "Unexpected Business," has picked up a travel show as his latest project, "You Go to Sydney" (working title).  The new show, scheduled to air in the first half of this year, will invite four celebrities who are originally from Busan ― actors Heo, Ahn Bo-hyun, and Lee Si-eon and travel YouTuber Kwaktube ― to go on a working holiday to Australia. While taking short-term jobs in the country, the four will meet the locals and learn about its culture.  "There are a lot of people nowadays who feel the need to take a break from this hectic, repetitive life in modern society," the producer said through the network. "I wanted to see the cast members, who have been living on busy schedules, getting away from their daily lives and going through new, unfamiliar experiences."

Another of the network's shows "Europe Outside Your Tent," will return with its second season following the first one that ended last September.  In the first season, four actors ― Yoo Hae-jin, Jin Seon-kyu, Park Ji-hwan and Yoon Kyun-sang ― went on a road trip across Switzerland and Italy while camping at different sites.  Its new season will have a new set of cast members, actors Cho, Choi Won-young, Kwon Yul, and Park Myung-hoon. The four members will go on camping trips around Spain and enjoy its scenery and nature. 

Actor Lee Sun-kyun is taking on his first travel show in four years since tvN's 2019 "Trans-Siberian Pathfinders."  The new show, which is still in development, will see Lee and filmmaker Jang Hang-jun traveling to East Asian countries.

Producer Choi Bo-pil, who previously led SBS' popular show "Running Man," also has a new travel show underway, starring K-pop stars.  SBS announced earlier this month that singers D.O. of EXO, Zico, Crush and Choi Jung-hoon of Jannabi, and comedians Lee Yong-jin and Yang Se-chan have confirmed that they will join producer Choi's new variety show, which is scheduled to go on air in March.  "We are excited to see the synergy the four musician friends D.O., Zico, Crush, and Choi, who are also the same age, and two comedians, Lee and Yang, will create together," the producer said in a release.

[sweetroad]

5 hours ago, widala said:

These Lee Sun Kyun's photos from Hodu is absolutely gorgeous!

 

Love them! So glad your tweets are working on the forum now .

 

I went to the long Naver article and was amused that LSK often looks reserved in all those photos with just a smile. He almost even looks bored. But once the cameras are rolling he's so animated and funny. Maybe that's why I was surprised he was an INTP in his MBTI; he's often so chatty and larger-than-life in his interviews that I'd assumed he fell on the extraversion side.

 

That article had a link to this article, the behind-the-scenes from the commercial LSK and Jeon Hye Jin shot for SK Telecom. So cute. https://m.post.naver.com/viewer/postView.naver?volumeNo=34828810&memberNo=35214926

 

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

[widala]

15 hours ago, the_sweetroad said:

I went to the long Naver article and was amused that LSK often looks reserved in all those photos with just a smile. He almost even looks bored. But once the cameras are rolling he's so animated and funny. Maybe that's why I was surprised he was an INTP in his MBTI; he's often so chatty and larger-than-life in his interviews that I'd assumed he fell on the extraversion side.

 

I was surprised too when learning that he's INTP.

In interviews he's always laughing and joking, his co-stars also often said he's the set mood-maker. 

But he did say in an interview he doesn't really like doing promotion...

Maybe he's an introvert "forced" to be extrovert because occupational hazard idk

[sadiesmith]

@the_sweetroad What you noticed about LSK syling looking similar to Brad Pitt in Oceans 11 made me think that if Korea ever wants to adapt The Curious Case of Benjamin Button into a movie or drama, LSK might be a good candidate to play the titular character. After all, we've seen in Payback how a good camera team can make him look way younger than his current self. 

 

P.S: I have no opinion if the Brad Pitt's version is a good adaptation or not. Personally, I remember finding it disturbing on many levels.

[sweetroad]

6 hours ago, sadiesmith said:

What you noticed about LSK syling looking similar to Brad Pitt in Oceans 11 made me think that if Korea ever wants to adapt The Curious Case of Benjamin Button into a movie or drama, LSK might be a good candidate to play the titular character. After all, we've seen in Payback how a good camera team can make him look way younger than his current self. 

 

 

Nice, I can see that, too. Payback has definitely made him look fine as a 20-something year old all the way through a man in his 40's. He even looks younger now as Eun Yong than he did in My Mister. I think they made him look really weary in MM.

 

And I have the same feelings as you do about the Benjamin Button movie. I watched it because of Brad Pitt but the story itself wasn't that great.

 

By the way, have you watched the film Petty Romance? I found it on Daily Motion and watched it, though one part of the film was missing. The love story between LSK and the female lead was pretty cute and actually quite conservative, but some of the manhwa stuff was too graphic for me.

 

I'm also in the middle of Miss Korea right now, and I love that Oh Jung Se is in both Petty Romance and Miss Korea. Then he recently did Uncle with Jeon Hye Jin. The Korean entertainment industry is such a small world.

[sweetroad]

True, the visuals in Payback have been interesting in and of themselves. 

 

 

[sweetroad]

LSK singing "A Far Away Place" during today's broadcast of the KBS Lunar New Year 2023 concert:

 

 

[Sleepy Owl]

Quick Poll: Upcoming Kdramas 2023

 

 

Vote for the upcoming kdrama you are eagerly waiting for!!! 

 

 

 

Your Event Organizers,

@Sleepy Owl @partyon @agenth @confusedheart 

[sweetroad]

Cinemountain Season 2 Episode 14 podcast/ video, released January 23, 2023: 

 

 

[sadiesmith]

On 1/16/2023 at 7:37 AM, the_sweetroad said:

By the way, have you watched the film Petty Romance? I found it on Daily Motion and watched it, though one part of the film was missing. The love story between LSK and the female lead was pretty cute and actually quite conservative, but some of the manhwa stuff was too graphic for me.

 

Yes, watched it years ago and really enjoyed it. But at first I couldn't get used to the wild hair (he had it permed, so not a wig). Did he sport a mustache, too? It's just like him to suggest this particular styling for the character because at first the director had in mind a much more conventional awefully "handsome" man. Did you watch the BTS of the kissing in the rain scene?

 

Oh Jung Se is such a big name now. So are Lee Sung Min and Jo Ji Woong. Proves that turning 40 could be a great thing for Korean actors.

 

On 1/24/2023 at 6:57 AM, the_sweetroad said:

Cinemountain Season 2 Episode 14 podcast/ video, released January 23, 2023: 

 

Is there an English transcript of the podcast? Looks like he had a lot of fun. Someone on Twitter posted that one night he and his wife went out to drink in the middle a fight. When their nanny called to say that she had to leave urgently, his wife snapped at him for suggesting that she's the one who should head back. They are so feisty, but hopefully his laughing about it in the open means they are always able to work things out. Here's the only photo I've ever seen of them being physically affectionate in public.

 

 

 

[sweetroad]

2 hours ago, sadiesmith said:

Did you watch the BTS of the kissing in the rain scene?

 

I have not! Must go find it now .

 

2 hours ago, sadiesmith said:

But at first I couldn't get used to the wild hair (he had it permed, so not a wig). Did he sport a mustache, too?

 

Oh yeah, all of it was not that attractive. If this had been my first LSK project it would have taken a long time to subsequently find him appealing. Haha. Thankfully the first thing I saw him in was Coffee Prince. Then My Mister.

 

2 hours ago, sadiesmith said:

Oh Jung Se is such a big name now.

 

It's Okay to Not Be Okay was my first Kdrama, and I was blown away by his acting, as well as the cinematography, story, and quality of the show. It's funny to go back now and see him in these smaller roles.

 

2 hours ago, sadiesmith said:

Is there an English transcript of the podcast? Looks like he had a lot of fun. Someone on Twitter posted that one night he and his wife went out to drink in the middle a fight. When their nanny called to say that she had to leave urgently, his wife snapped at him for suggesting that she's the one who should head back. They are so feisty, but hopefully his laughing about it in the open means they are always able to work things out. Here's the only photo I've ever seen of them being physically affectionate in public.

 

I've been looking for an English transcript but haven't come across it yet. I saw the same thing on Twitter today, about the nanny calling him. LOL. Jeon Hye-Jin is great - don't you just want to be friends with her in real life?

 

I wonder how recent this photo is and what it's from. They are super cute together. I wish they attended more award events, etc, together.

[sadiesmith]

20 hours ago, the_sweetroad said:

I have not! Must go find it now .

 

Did you find it? I think I may have shared it here.

 

20 hours ago, the_sweetroad said:

I wonder how recent this photo is and what it's from. They are super cute together. I wish they attended more award events, etc, together.

 

If I am not mistaken, she was doing a stage show some years ago(after Love, Love, Love), and he came to visit her on set.