Choi Kang Hee Confirmed for Secret Lovers while Kang Ji Hwan Uncertain in His Drama Return
Despite the general hue and cry over Choi Kang Hee potentially being cast opposite a ten-year younger Joo Won in Secret Lovers (The Secret Agent Wars), she has in fact been confirmed now for the role. She’s been a rather harmless actress for me up until she did Protect the Boss, where I found her performance effortlessly winning. I loved her character from the get to, though towards the end her attitude got a make over and she became the stereotypical bland self-sacrificing heroine. While the initial script for Secret Lovers called for the couple to have met in college, that has now been changed so that Choi Kang Hee plays the older more experienced secret agent to Joo Won’s rookie hot shot. She’s described as hard working and comes from a poor family, having the whole package except for the bling. He’s described as a newbie secret agent born of a well-to-do family, and together their relationship hits rocky patches due to their issues with money. I feel like this is the recipe for every single rom-com out there, except this one adds the secret agent ingredient to the mix instead of office politics.
While Choi Kang Hee’s involvement in Secret Lovers has been confirmed, this week sees a twist thrown into Kang Ji Hwan‘s potential dramaland return via The Incarnation of Money, the upcoming drama from the creative team behind Giant and History of the Salaryman. I don’t know what it is about Kang Ji Hwan and his agency, but this week his current agency S-Plus filed a motion with the Korean Entertainment Management Association lodging a complaint about Kang Ji Hwan allegedly ending his contract with S-Plus. The same thing happened 4 years ago when Kang Ji Hwan was switching agencies from Jambo to S-Plus, and at that time KEMA suggested he cease his entertainment activities but he didn’t and went ahead and did Coffee House, which ended up being produced with cast and crew that were not KEMA-members because KEMA staged a boycott. His dispute with Jambo even went so long as to cause him to be unable to do Faith and that drama languished until it was resurrected this year with Lee Min Ho and Kim Hee Sun. This latest agency-dispute just started so there is no confirmation as to whether he may end up not doing The Incarnation of Money, though rumors have Eunjung also joining the cast along with reported leading lady Hwang Jung Eum. That would mean a mini-CH reunion which would be so cute.
oh no….handsome..and the…………ld
She’s described as hard working and comes from a poor family, having the whole package except for the bling.
hahahahahaha///LOL…..
please….don;t joke around
KJH what on earth? This news worries me more each time it’s mentioned. At this point, I just don’t get it. Is it him or his manager or is he just being picked on? Cause I would think he’s adult enough to not repeat his previous mistakes, without just cause or lack of knowledge. Truly hope it’s worked out soon.
Also, I admit, I’m not a fan of the JW-CKH pairing but it has nothing to do with the age(which I dont get that gripe) or the fact I’m a fan of either, cause I’m not. I was looking forward to this remake but this news is just plain disappointing. I won’t bow out just yet, because everyone has the potential to surprise but I’m very skeptical. The initial setup with the characters as young professional equals really appealed to me and the movie was complete fun. Ah!! expectations bite you right there, each time!!
Guess, on all fronts, it’s a wait and see game.
If KJH gets a boycott again, I really worry whether this will be the end of his career…*tears*
What a roller-coaster ride this week is turning out to be! One minute I was excited over the possibility of KJH on my screen again, the next minute he’s pulled a stunt a la Lee Jin-soo. I’m still hoping everything gets settled soon enough so he won’t lose a good project. The way he lost “Faith”. Aja!
Im in if Kang Jihwan accepts it…
Right now, the plot of Secret Lovers is putting me off. I mean, you’re friggin’ secret agents for goodness sake – can’t you find something more interesting than money to bicker about? Like the fate of your country,terrorists or evil geniuses? Same song,different tune I guess.
Is there any news about who will play the second leads?
Also, I’m really curious; has anyone ever shipped a male lead with the second female lead (assuming she is/isn’t the typical evil homewrecker) I know most viewers tend to fall hard for the second male lead, but what about the other way round?
Warrior baek dong soo? I totally shipped the second female lead with dong soo, she was badass!
Hmm n
Warrior baek dong soo? I totally shipped the second female lead with dong soo, she was badass!
Hmm not sure about the secret lovers thing even though I loved the film and joo won!
The incarnation of money though is something I’m sure off cos I loved giant and HOTSM and I’m sure the story will pull through! I really hope Kang Ji Hwan joins because it will be a good career move after LTM.
Gaksitaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal!
King Geunchogo I shipped the male lead with the second female lead. She was the total package, so bad-ass, ambitious, self-reliant but the male lead was still hang-up over the dreaded first lady love.
Thanks for answering 🙂 Decent second females leads tend to be a rare phenomenon,so I was curious what others thought. I plan on watching these dramas soon 😉
I am not sure if eunjung will join the cast as her company released a statement a couple days ago about her puting the acting on hold to focus on t-ara promotions. I do hope she does a drama though.
I rather Eunjung rejects the role as she will be playing the second lead everyone hates.. And gain more antis especially after the scandal
She’s described as hard working and comes from a poor family, having the whole package except for the bling. He’s described as a newbie secret agent born of a well-to-do family, and together their relationship hits rocky patches due to their issues with money…..
same description for every k drama… Not interested
Oh no… I hope the whole KJH thing get resolved… I miss him on screen.
Waaah, Capt. K, why do I get the nagging feeling that some people want to fry wuri Ji Hwan six ways to Sunday? I dunno, I find the timing rather suspect. But am keeping all fingers and toes crossed that he’ll be able to sort out this issue successfully and avoid another ban. The Incarnation of Money seems really promising based on the story concept/synopsis I read over at DB, not to mention the fact that the peeps in charge of the drama have really good track record.
Aja aja, Ji Hwan-ssi!
Sigh…actors should be chosen based on the script, not the other way around. The met-in-college love-rivalry thing sounds wayyy more interesting than your done-to-death noona romance.
About KJH…So disappointed. Just what’s the matter now again. I’m still hurt over FAITH. He should just set up his own company.
No I don’t want a Tara member there or any idol. I hate when some idol fans think there idol is why the drama is doing good and call us haters when we say they suck.
KJH – what’s up??? Is he really getting screwed a second time or is there something more here than meets the eye? It just seems strange that something like this is happening to him twice… and he couldn’t have foreseen this? The poor guy.
Nice pic of CKH. She paired fine with Jaejoong in PTB. So she should look ok with Joowon.