Jang Ok Jung Drops First Atmospheric Teaser with Kim Tae Hee

Soooooo……how should I put this……somewhere between zoning out and putting me to sleep was the first teaser for Jang Ok Jung. However much the first teaser for Gu Family Book was exciting and got me all interested, is however much the first teaser for JOJ failed epically to do the same. I get that the adults have just started filming recently and this one probably has a longer childhood sequence than GFB judging by the stills of the teenage Jang Ok Jung and King Sukjong frolicking in the snow and being all cute together. But SBS still couldn’t put together a better first teaser? First impressions do matter, even if a good drama can overcome bad promotional material in the long run. But a good start never hurt anyone, right? I seriously can’t predict domestic Korean interest in dramas – what excites overseas online viewers doesn’t necessarily align with what tickles the fancy of the remote control holders in Korean households. I can’t say Lee Seung Gi and Suzy are big enough draws over Kim Tae Hee and a revisionist take on the famous story of the seductress Jang Heebin.

The teaser for JOJ seems to acknowledge how famous Jang Heebin is in Korean lore and how many times famous Korean actresses over the years have played her since the video starts off flashing pictures of the former cinematic Jang Heebins over the years, from Lee Mi Sook to Jeon In Hwa up to the most recent including Kim Hye Soo and Lee So Yeon. Kim Tae Hee is actually the 9th actress to play Jang Heebin if one is keeping count, so talk about some big shoes to fill. She’s lucky that her version will seek to portray Jang Ok Jung as the heroine of her lifestory hence she’ll likely carve out her own personality and portrayal that deviates from canon and not subject her to as much comparison. The first teaser bored me to pieces because nothing happened other than Jang Ok Jung opened a door and slowly walked into her chambers. There was a nice reverse touch where her tears flowed back into her back eyes as she gave a little smile. Kim Tae Hee looks very good in a hanbok and has the regal calmness I would expect from a sageuk lead, but this drama has to kick up the excitement before it gets left to eat GFB’s dust as that one barrels out of the gate.

First teaser for Jang Ok Jung: