For KBS, this kind of deja-vu should actually be pretty pleasant, as 주몽 (Jumong) started with a similar premise, and then ended up making over 80 million dollars in overseas DVD sales, broadcast rights and domestic ad revenue, closing its 8 month run with ratings over the 50%. The biggest drama of the season, which starts airing on September 10 and will air a preview special tomorrow night (Korean time), 바람의 나라 (Kingdom of the Wind) already sold out all the ad slots for the month of September, and after countless requests from oversea fans will air its press screening live on the net (again tomorrow), where a good 10 minute promo of the series will be aired. But that’s just the beginning: the real news is that Japan’s Pony Canyon, which earlier this year bought other KBS sageuk from the past like 용의 눈물 (Tears of the Dragon) and 무인시대 (The Age of Warriors), already secured broadcasting rights for the show, at what’s reported to be a record high price.
One rep from KBS Media commented that, although no detailed figure can be disclosed at this time, the amount is the biggest ever for a KBS drama, and it’s very likely the show will end up broadcasting on one of the major Japanese networks, such as Fuji TV or NHK. Other sources claim the figure is around 100 million won per episode, which would turn out to be a very impressive 3.6 billion total (that’s just broadcasting rights, mind you), unless the show gets extended later. The drama stars Song Il-Guk, Jung Jin-Young and Choi Jung-Won, is produced by Kang Il-Soo of 해신 (Emperor of the Sea), while Jung Jin-Ok of and Park Jin-Woo wrote the screenplay. In some ways, you could consider this a sequel of Jumong, as it covers an historical period just a few decades removed from the events in the superhit of 2006. Another couple of teasers have been released by KBS, a little longer and with more money shots than the previous 30 second one. Check the links below.
[Star News] [Hanguk Ilbo] [Joy News]
Oh oh, Mama. This is good stuff.
It’s sort of ironic, or maybe even a little pathetic, that two of the best dramas of the year coincide with the end of a certain format. After wasting their time with season dramas that had no seasons, MBC scored a winner with their last “season drama” 라이프 특별조사팀 (Life: Special Investigation Unit), mixing Japanese genre drama tropes with Korean sentiment. And now it seems SBS is following the same path, with the conclusion of their Friday Dramas hitting the jackpot right on their last effort, 신의 저울 (The Scale of Providence), which started airing yesterday. A few weeks ago, SBS announced they’ll terminate the Friday Drama format. That is because, apparently, trying to fund innovative genre dramas among rubbish for the ajumma junta holding the remote is easier said than done. Which, essentially, means The Scale of Providence will be the last Friday Drama we’ll see until next year, when things will get back to normal (on paper).
But, after watching the first two episodes, one thing’s for sure: this is not only a badass, exciting court thriller. It might actually be 2008’s equivalent of 부활 (Resurrection), Kim Ji-Woo and Park Chan-Hong’s masterpiece from 2005. Genre is a little different, but at least the vibes are quite similar. And it’s no surprise if you look at who’s behind the camera: PD Hong Chang-Ok’s 강남엄마 따라잡기 (Gangnam Mom) was one of last year’s biggest surprises, and he certainly keeps that ironic, pungent touch alive in Scale, which might actually become really critical of the Korean justice system, as the episodes go on. But why the vibes feel similar to Resurrection can be explained also through this drama’s writer: it’s Yoo Hyun-Mi of 그린 로즈 (Green Rose), which has a bad rep as a low-rent Resurrection, but it’s a really solid drama that can stand on its own. Cast, led by veteran Moon Sung-Geun and promising youngster Song Chang-Wi, seems to be excellent, and if the start is any indication, we might have one of the best dramas of the year on our hands. Check a little clip below the break (spoilers, but it’s the cliffhanger of episode 1 that sets up the entire drama, so maybe even better than a trailer).
Continue Reading "SBS’ 신의 저울 (The Scale of Providence) the new 부활 (Resurrection)?"...
The violent elegance of the brush, moving frenetically across the hanji, like a sword penetrating a river; the red paint flowing like an ocean of future tears and blood, drawing the most nefarious and tempting eleven strokes known to man: 殺, to kill. Add another three characters to that maxim, and you’ll explain a good portion of history: 殺而求國, killing others to save your country. Emphasis on your country. It wasn’t always a physical death, like sending an army to face your neighboring enemy, and protect your homeland; it could have been the invisible hands of censorship and their bastard, ugly offspring called self-censorship, strangling any dissenting voice; or maybe using culture as the flagbearer of your new age imperialism, starting from the disruption of local markets to the invasion of the fries. Whichever wild metaphor you wish to choose, history, particularly when it comes to Korea, has always been written by strife, by that dog-eat-dog mentality, by those who won those battles, shaping the future through their ruling ideology. But also indirectly enriched by those who lost, leaving us important lessons, and keeping that hope alive through their constant struggles.
Relics can tell us something about the difference between “them” back then and “us” now, but one thing which keeps that endless dialogue between past and present called history alive is exactly strife, among those peculiar animals called men. Check every single important even in the five thousand year history of the Korean peninsula, and you’ll find it colored by a certain political diatribe. Internal strife, most likely dealing with the vestiges of tribal consciousness, was what led to Gojoseon’s self-destruction, even before Emperor Han Wu attacked that dying prey in 108 BC; it was another political conflict, this time between “hawks” and “doves” and their diplomatic slant toward Tang China, which began the escalation leading to Goguryeo’s downfall in the 7th century. And, most predictably, Joseon history is filled to the brim with genealogies of bickering between parties and clans, generally spending more time trying to kill each other, than worrying about the people they allegedly had to “protect” in the name of heaven. A lot of pundits waste torrents of inks on political symbolism, ethical matters and historical legacies when dealing with Korea’s almost 45 year long love-hate story with sageuk. But those four characters explain those five thousand years of history a lot better, and it’s quite ironic that one of the best Korean sageuk of all time, 한성별곡-正 (Conspiracy in the Court), started exactly with those words.
Continue Reading "[SAGEUK WORLD SPECIAL - pt1] 한성별곡-正 (Conspiracy in the Court)"...
I guess any man with a router and a keyboard more or less knows who Aoi Sora is. What some people probably don’t know is that the AV star also does “proper” work from time to time. She had cameos in J-Dorama like ガリレオ (Galileo) and 特命係長只野仁 (Detective Tadano Hitoshi), and had her share of starring or supporting roles in erotic doramas like 嬢王 (Jyouou). She also recently had a role in Songyos Sugmakanan’s Thai comedy ปิดเทอมใหญ่ หัวใจว้าวุ่น (Hormones), and is now looking to add Korea to her CV. News of Aoi’s debut on Korean cable TV started spreading the last two weeks, but it sounded a lot like those rumors Korean “journalists” often try to throw at the wall. But now more details are out, and it’s starting to sound a lot more like reality.
The idea was that Aoi would star in a “normal” (as in, well, clothed?) Cable drama, produced by Park Jun-Hyeong and unfolding over 4 episodes. 3 Japanese actresses (all AV stars, apparently) would be the star of one episode, about Japanese students visiting Korea and falling for some local men, and they’d all three star in the final episode. Doesn’t sound too different from the massive array of quasi-softcore porn which permeates Korean cable TV, but producers stress it’s quite tame even compared to what airs on domestic cable, as Aoi seemingly wants to strip (ahem) her previous AV starlet image. The actress was in Korea last July to shoot her scenes, and although groups like CJ Media are denying they even heard of the show, it seems Park is negotiating with 3-4 cable channels to air the show later this year. Any announcement regarding the channel or the airing date is slated for after the Olympics.
[Daum News]
It would be much easier if that mantra, “people are scarier than ghosts,” was just a cliché you could attach to the most conventional, childishly idealist of works. But a quick look at the history books, from any country, and you’ll start believing those words a lot more. It’s possibly for that reason, my falling in love with East Asian history, that I’ve never really felt anything viscerally entertaining, or even remotely scary, about a bunch of dead girls in white robes, glam rock hairdos and with chronic back spasms, wandering the globe in search for a decent chiropractor. Because, in a way, they’re just empty puppets; slaves of our imagination, thrown at the screen to make you forget for a moment that it’s those who don’t need a violin riff or nails against a chalkboard to do scary things who really deserve our attention. You could draw that equation then, where most stripped-to-the-bones visceral horror is to psychological thrillers what toilet humor is to pungent, deadly sarcastic black comedy. But that would erase decades of historical legacy from one of the most ancient genres in all of filmmaking. Not that I’d care. Did I just say that aloud?
Continue Reading "[SAGEUK WORLD] 전설의 고향 (Hometown of Legends) - Ep. 4 귀서 (Ghost Letter)"...
From the first Japanese horrors around the turn of the century to Lon Chaney and Nosferatu, the rise of horror films walked hand in hand with the history and development of the medium itself. Korea was no different, getting into the horror game straight from the beginning, but there’s a peculiar coda to it: it was in the form of a sageuk. 1924’s 장화홍련전 (The Tale of Janghwa and Hongryeon) directed by Kim Young-Hwan was in fact Korea’s first ever horror film, adapting a famous novel from the Joseon Dynasty, set during King Sejong’s reign. Or better, it was the first time an all Korean cast and crew shot a film at that home they couldn’t call home anymore, with the constantly looming shadow of Japanese Imperialism. If the Korean title seems familiar, you won’t be too far off the mark: not only it was remade over the years, once in the 30s and later in the immediate postwar. But Kim Ji-Woon borrowed its Korean title for that masterful little gem of a film called 장화, 홍련 (A Tale of Two Sisters). Famous sisters, all right.
Why Koreans opted for horrors of the past in a present full of horror, and essentially kept going back to that until the Golden Age of the 60s started pumping out contemporary horror films, might have to do a lot more with cultural issues outside the film canon than simple technological matters. But it’s ironic that TV, the medium which was supposed to steal viewers from the big screen, started the game once again with a very similar background. Although finding the very first horror on TV might be hard, due to the impervious conditions of TBC’s early archives and the lack of info about 60-70s Korean TV, what was likely to be the first bonafide hit on TV dealing with horror was a simple but tremendously successful idea called 전설의 고향 (Hometown of Legends).
Continue Reading "[SAGEUK WORLD] 전설의 고향 (Hometown of Legends) - Ep. 1 구미호 (Fox with Nine Tails)"...
For better or worse, 주몽 (Jumong) changed the face of the domestic TV industry, especially for what concerns sageuk. It had a legendary start, one of the best of the last 10 years, and an equally legendary last four months, one of the very worst of the last 10 years, milking the cow until it got mad. It changed the landscape of big budget productions in Korea, and made its writer Choi Wan-Gyu a quasi Jerry Bruckheimer-ish “creator,” influencing way too many shows in the last two years. This is where KBS’ 바람의 나라 (Kingdom of the Wind) made its start: a tremendously popular story to adapt, the manhwa by Kim Jin which sold millions and was even turned into a video game; the production team behind 해신 (Emperor of the Sea), and particularly the writing team. Choi played supervisor, but the ones writing the script are Jung Jin-Ok of Emperor of the Sea and Jumong, and particularly Park Jin-Woo, who wrote last year’s 한성별곡-正 (Conspiracy in the Court).
The show recently completed its 45 day Chinese shoot in Wuxi, Huangshan and Lanzhou, finally revealing to the press the complete top cast. Taking the role of Muhyul, the future King Daemushin of Goguryeo and grandson of Jumong, will be Song Il-Guk, in what looks to be an opening quite similar to 2006’s record breaking Jumong. King Daemushin (roughly “The Great God of War") was in fact known for his territorial expansion and military conquests, which will make for plenty of very pretty war scenes (KBS is the best in the business when it comes to this aspect, and if you count in the expertise shown by Park Jin-Woo in his debut, it could be pretty badass). Perhaps the most interesting detail is that the show will mostly try to stick to history, which will certainly disappoint fans of the original manhwa, more oriented towards fantasy. But I have no complaints whatsoever. There’s been enough fantasy stinking up sageuk in the last two years. Cast looks top notch, with Jung Jin-Young making his TV comeback after 14 years, sageuk veterans like Kim Myung-Soo and Jung Sung-Mo, and talented actresses like Oh Yoon-Ah and Choi Jung-Won (although they’re both fresh when it comes to sageuk). Now the question is, will this turn into another Jumong? That is, great start, falling into endless repetition in the middle, abandoning history for daily drama-like storytelling towards the end? Answer from this September 10.
[Daum News]
At one time, Pulitzer Prize winner Edna St. Vincent Millay said she loved humanity, but hated people. Other than one of the most prestigious lyrical poets of her era, was she one of those “compassionate misanthropes” as well? Not to play Devil’s advocate once again. But, more often than not, it’s the opposite that seems to be true. Sure enough, lovers of history will find that it’s often humanity that turns some of the best people into victims of the system, slaves of their own environment, or the throne (physical, or virtual) they are sitting on. And it takes great minds to fight the laziness of the masses and do something worth remembering.
For instance, It doesn’t really matter if he put the finishing touches on it first hand, or the scholars under his guidance were a little more responsible. But the sole fact something like the hangeul was created at all, essentially eliminating (wait for corny pun.... on paper!) the cultural divide between nobles and commoners, can’t help but put King Sejong on a pedestal as one of the greatest rulers of all time. If it was just another king on that throne, the complaints of the ruling class would have moved him to forget about it, pursue a quick solution that only smelled of change. But he fought for it, and now even a six year old kid from the other side of the world can learn the Korean alphabet in a day.
Continue Reading "[J-DORAMA REVIEWS] パンドラ (Pandora)"...
Okay. Can’t say I saw this coming. Simon Pegg is a bang up bloke. I’ve met him a couple times. He remembered me the second time. A guy who remembers the little people is okay by my books. But is he okay in George Lucas’?
It is no big secret to fans of Pegg how he felt about the Star Wars prequels, specifically The Phantom Menace. It was a big part of the character Tim Bisley in his landmark Britcom series SPACED [which you all should have bought on R1 DVD by now!]. However, unlike his character, it apparently still ‘doesn’t hurt’ for Simon Pegg anymore.
Now he has his heart set on working for the forthcoming TV series of the legendary franchise - but fears he has made himself an enemy of the production company with his comments. Pegg says, “I might try to wheedle my way back into the affections of Lucasfilm (Lucas’ production company) and write an episode of the new live action Star Wars TV series.”
Can you say ‘most watched episode of Star Wars ever’? No one would question Pegg’s skill as a writer. Nor would anyone question his love for Star Wars because that is what really drove Pegg to take the stance that he did with his character in that series. Anyone who speaks ill or well of Star Wars I think mostly does it out of passion for it. But if he were able to write an episode for the series, if he buries the hatchet and all is forgiven [does it need to be?], it would be freaking awesome!
What do you think?
It started it all on 1977, October 18, for what would become a 16 year run (with a pause in between), and a total of 652 episodes. Some of the biggest stars, the most important writers and producers of today made their debut there, or established themselves through the franchise. 전설의 고향 (Hometown of Legends) was more than a simple way to cool off the summer heat with the usual dose of horror, it was a bonafide cultural phenomenon. After the late 1990s version ended with (deserved) complaints of silly CG and corny storytelling, horror almost disappeared from Korean TV for close to a decade, until now. The new version of Hometown of Legends continues KBS’ experiments with sageuk, which saw the elegant, low-key political struggles of 대왕세종 (Sejong the Great) open the dances, and the “Zorro in Joseon” b-movie extravaganza that is 최강칠우 (Strongest Chil Woo) give some energy to a dying genre.
But Hometown of Legends didn’t just bank on its traditional appeal, or the constantly changing sageuk landscape, as its cast and crew proves. Not only promising youngsters like Park Min-Young (photo), Park Ha-Seon or Kim Ha-Eun, but also established stars like Lee Min-Woo, Ahn Jae-Mo and Jae Hee, and sageuk veterans like Choi Su-Jong and Lee Deok-Hwa. Directed by Kwak Jung-Hwan of 한성별곡 正 (Conspiracy in the Court), trailer for the first installment to air on August 6 on KBS2, 구미호 (Fox with Nine Tails), is finally out. You can find it below the break.
Continue Reading "전설의 고향 (Hometown of Legends) Unveils its Fox with Nine Tails"...
Can’t possibly call this good news, but the actors’ safety is always paramount, so it’s not so bad either. Recently, on the set of the upcoming KBS sageuk 천추태후 (Empress Cheonchu), veteran Chae Si-Ra injured herself falling from a horse during practice. Despite the injury Chae joined the script rehearsal session at the KBS headquarters in crutches, not to delay proceedings any further. But the injury would get the better of her on her way home, and tests revealed the fracture is more serious than they expected, forcing the star of 해신 (Emperor of the Sea) to eight weeks of complete rest. This puts the drama in a tricky position. Usually weekend historical dramas on KBS tend to take a good 4 months of headstart, to always find themselves shooting at least a month ahead of broadcast—the reason you tend to see exciting and elaborate battles almost only from that format is because it takes a very long time to shoot them, obviously. Most weekly dramas don’t have the luxury, with scripts often coming out a week before the shoot. But with two months of forced rest, it’s very likely the drama will have to be postponed.
The most likely scenario now is 대왕세종 (Sejong the Great) being extended a dozen episodes, perhaps until the end of the year. This wouldn’t be so bad, because the drama starring Kim Sang-Kyung spent way too long on its introductory phase, and will need to rush during the last twenty episodes, if it really wants to portray King Sejong’s reign effectively. Another option could be throwing a 16 episode miniseries in between, but there’s really no available substitute at the moment, unless KBS wants to break the “blood-line” that saw historical dramas on weekends become a tradition ever since the early 80s, albeit they changed station from KBS1 to KBS2 and even showed a dubbed Chinese sageuk in the middle. Still, PD Shin Chang-Seok says he will wait for Chae, so we’ll have just to wait and see as well. Empress Cheonchu is the long awaited return of the Goryeo series on KBS. It tells the story of Cheonchu, consort of King Gyeongjong; the political schemes that engulfed the Goryeo throne at the time, and the war with the Khitan led by legendary general Gang Gam-Chan. Produced by Shin Chang-Seok of 명성황후 (The Last Empress) and 무인시대 (The Age of Warriors), it’s written by Son Young-Mok of the forgotten (not by me!) gem 천둥소리 (Roll of Thunder), and is filled to the brim with sageuk veterans. Other than Chae, cast includes Choi Jae-Sung, Lee Deok-Hwa, Kim Suk-Hoon, Jung Jin, Shin Ae, Kim Myung-Soo, Im Hyeok, Kim Ho-Jin and more.
SOURCES
[Daum News], [Daum News]
It was a fixture of Korean TV ever since the late 70s, and it arguably became the spark that influenced all the 처녀귀신 (virgin ghost)-themed summer horror films. But the, well, legendary 전설의 고향 (Hometown of Legends) eventually fell prey to the constantly changing environment of Korean TV, and slowly disappeared along with the entire horror genre. There were tentatives to resurrect horror on TV, such as the hilariously campy 1994 Shim Eun-Ha “shocker” M, and a remake of the original “Legend” series in the late 90s, but they both didn’t quite live up to expectations. If you want to get pedantic, the genre did resurrect on Cable TV in recent years, but it’s mostly as an excuse to make quasi-softcore porn, with some scares thrown in the mix. Ironically, whereas the genre seems on its last legs on the film side, it’s coming back to Korean TV after almost a decade, with the new Hometown of Legends.
It could feel like a little out of place in 2008, particularly as we’re dealing with period dramas with a very traditional notion of horror (again, the virgin ghost, the goblin and the like), but it suddenly becomes interesting when you look at the cast & crew. The show is structured just like the old format: 8 self-contained stories, with different producers, writers, and cast. The most interesting of the 8 is certainly 구미호 (Fox with Nine Tails), produced by the insanely talented Kwak Jung-Hwan of last year’s 한성별곡 正 (Conspiracy in the Court). Among the list you can also find PD Lee Jung-Seop of 쾌도 홍길동 (Hong Gil Dong). The real interesting point is the cast: for a relatively low-profile show like this, Hometown of Legends is full of sageuk veterans and interesting youngsters. Just to name a few, Choi Su-Jong of 대조영 (Dae Jo Young), Lee Deok-Hwa, Ahn Jae-Mo, Kim Ha-Eun of Conspiracy in the Court, Ahn Seok-Hwan, Park Ha-Seon, Song Ok-Sook, Kim Jin-Tae, and more.
Teaser trailer below the break is rather teasing (and kind of corny), but it’s good to start. This might just become the surprise of the year, considering the talent involved. First story airs on August 6.
Continue Reading "Horror Comes Back to Korean TV with 전설의 고향 (Hometown of Legends)"...
The inseparable pack of cigarettes on one side, the burdensome emptiness of a blank page on the other, all the menacing sound of silence enveloping it; the pen next to it, bearing the pomp and circumstance, the weight of a sword ready to penetrate into that endless white. Like a war fought with one’s imagination, choosing where and how it will start, what will signal that long awaited, mentally draining end. The bittersweet aftertaste full of lights and shadows; a moment of relax, and the urge to start again, because as much as it pains you to go on, that thirst is what keeps you alive. Jung Ha-Yeon still writes dramas in that old “analogue” way, just like when he started writing plays in the 1960s. A thousand handwritten characters per page; twenty five, thirty pages per episode at most. Words catching fire, as if pens were an idrant pouring creative fuel on an inflammable surface. Forty long years, spent running after that elusive, mysterious fire fate only bestows upon the best.
Korean TV dramas have always been accompanied by that exacting moniker: 대중문화, culture for the masses. Although we’re dealing with the most drama-crazy nation on Earth, there’s nearly no critical discourse about this medium online or in print, unlike the rivers of ink spent over Chungmuro’s karmic trips. It’s in that sense that the work of Jung Ha-Yeon, particularly in the last decade, feels like a scimitar wading through an ocean of condescending mediocrity, showing what dramas can really achieve. But, on the other hand, only a tiny portion of Korean drama fans are willing to make that emotional and intellectual investment into something that shouldn’t always be a mere divertissement, sandwiched in between dinner and sleep. It all makes things like 달콤한 인생 (La Dolce Vita) feel like broken glasses of the most savory of wines, half of their flavor wasted on all the cracks of the system, slowly dripping away.
Continue Reading "[K-DRAMA REVIEWS] 달콤한 인생 (La Dolce Vita)"...
You’d think things like these happened only on silly, pseudo-"drama vérité” like 온에어 (On Air). After Choi Dong-Hoon’s film version a few years ago, Heo Young-Man’s bestseller manhwa 타짜 (War of Flowers) will get its TV treatment on SBS later this summer, but the bone of contention right now is casting. Most of the casting for the show, which will go against MBC’s blockbuster 에덴의 동쪽 (East of Eden), has been completed, with the real problem being the role of Madam Jung, played by Kim Hye-Soo in the film. Sung Hyun-Ah was cast first, apparently, but yesterday Olive9 announced the casting of Gang Sung-Yeon, who played Jang Nok-Su in 왕의 남자 (The King & The Clown). Was it just a case of the good old switcheroo? Sung Hyun-Ah learned of this all on the net.
Now, who would give justice to the role, that’s up to debate (although both would be just fine). But a sort of war of words started raging today: Sung Hyun-Ah complained on her blog of unfair practices by Olive9, who just abandoned her and her efforts the last few months to cast one of their actors. And of course Gang Sung-Yeon replied on her site that she was originally cast in the role, and when the writer had to change and her role got a little smaller, producers might have misunderstood her intentions and cast someone else in the role. But she never stole anything from anybody, and the role belongs to her.
Although netizens are already casting the blame on one or the other party, the only parties to blame are really the producers Olive9, who allowed this to get out in the open so overtly, and the system itself. With producing companies also playing the part of talent agencies, the practice of what we could call “block casting” has become increasingly popular. Last year’s 고맙습니다 (Thank You) was filled to the brim with actors contracted under producers Sidus HQ, and since containing the spiraling costs of casting has become more and more important, it’s no surprise such practice is on the rise. It wouldn’t be so outrageous, then, if Gang Sung--Yeon (who’s under Olive9’s wings) was chosen over Sung Hyun-Ah for the same exact reason, although who’s feigning and who’s telling the truth is something we can only endlessly speculate.
War of Flowers starts airing in September, ironically right after another drama adapted from a Heo Young-Man manhwa, 식객 (Gourmet).
SOURCES
[Daum News]. [Daum News]
When discussing any industry’s output, be it on a yearly or seasonal basis, the most over-used cliche might just be the good old “best of times, worst of times” mantra. After all, any mature business environment will eventually have to deal with both ends of the spectrum sooner or later. For instance, the incredible boom Korean films went through during those fantastic ten years, 1996 to 2006, was fueled by a generation of filmmakers who replaced Kellogg’s and milk with molotov cocktails, Playboy with Cahiers du Cinema, and the smoking sessions inside putrid school bathrooms with editing short films. Or maybe they did both?
The result was new blood who changed the landscape of Korean cinema in ways few people could ever imagine. Chungmuro became one of the few remaining Gaul villages fighting against the mighty Roman Empire of filmmaking with their magic potion. But then, all of a sudden, the potion was stolen under their noses, sold off to the enemy along with their fighting spirit. In no time, the whole village had turned into a collection of youngsters and old farts who didn’t know how to direct their punches, with the occasional Obelix still hanging around with his magnificent menhirs. Chungmuro’s current crisis might have been a predictable outcome, a sort of post dot-com bubble burst going at 24 frames per second, but with a few adjustments things could get better. Alas, when it comes to TV Dramas in the first half of 2008, bringing out that old cliche wouldn’t be just optimistic. It would be a mere illusion, as it was the worst of times. Let’s find out why.
Continue Reading "[2008 K-DRAMA] First Half Wrapup"...
