Korea has been in the throes of older woman-younger man drama pairings for years so I’m pretty inured to it all. Unless its totally incongruous to me, for the most part if the storyline and the chemistry sells it then I’m game. Kim Tae Hee is a heck of a lot older than her co-star Yoo Ah In in their upcoming revisionist sageuk Jang Ok Jung, Live in Love (back to its original title), but in real life Jang Heebin was a few years older than King Sukjong so I didn’t have a conceptual issue with this pairing. The cast attended the press conference today and I almost burst out laughing when I saw Yoo Ah In in costume. He looks SO YOUNG. Not just younger, like seriously so young I thought he was prepping for his high school play on King Sukjong. In SungkyunKwan Scandal, he played a student-aged character, not to mention with his mane of wildness and facial hair he managed to look suitably dashing. Looks isn’t everything and a good actor can transcend visual limitation so I’m keeping my fingers-crossed that Yoo Ah In will bring the gravitas and intensity he’s shown in previous sageuks and just blow my worry out of the water. I don’t mind that Kim Tae Hee looks her age (early 30s), because she’s very pretty still and perhaps King Sukjong is attracted to her lush womanly charm. It’s impossible to critique outfits at a sageuk press conference when the cast shows up in character costumes, but I love how bright and colorful the outfits are which fits the Spring airing timeslot of this drama. I do have concerns that the second leads will outshine their headlining counterparts – Hong Soo Hyun is luminous as Queen In Hyun and this is a type of role where she’s already excelled once in The Princess’s Man, Jae Hee looks dreadful in this particular sageuk outfit but he’s got the intensity and charm to win hearts as the silent protector type, and Lee Sang Yeob is totally too cute for words but I’m guessing his Prince Dongpyong might be an antagonist type character to King Sukjung. We’ll find out next Monday whether JOJ is sink or swim from the get-go.
Third teaser for Jang Ok Jung:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=JJJJ_czGw3s
I’m more curious about what roles Lee Sang Yeop and Hong Soo Hyun will play in this. 🙂 I don’t like the idea of Jang Ok Jung being the victim of her family’s scheming. And still Kim Tae Hee needs to convince that she can act at all. Same with Yoo In Ah… after the Fashion King disaster he needs to be GOOD in this drama.
Pretty cast! I wish yoo ah in has a mustache so he’ll appear older maybe? I really am missing his character geol oh in sungkyunkwan scandal. I’ll try to give this drama a shot but Gu family book is on the top of my list for sure. 🙂
What’s with that dramatic music with the trailer full of sewing…? I seriously laughed. I’m not sure adding inappropriate music is the key to making things look more exciting. He does look really young. I think if he stood up straight he’d look older though. He looks like he’s drowning in his costume.
It just needs a Don Fontaine touch:
In a world where lives hang by a thread, and the smallest stitch in time could save nine thousand lives, one woman must bind life to life and heart to heart, and one King must choose.
GEE should I perhaps check this out for Sang Yeob? I don’t dig the trailer though. Sigh,the dilemma.
I like all the male actors here….but the drama sounds really boring….will wait for the reviews to try this one….
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Is 6 years really that much older though? I’m just thankful it’s ONLY 6 years given the fact that the drama industry seems much more willing to write roles for and debut young actors than actresses.
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It will be innerestin to see if they work the age thing just right, if the characters mention his baby-face, too. I think yai does have the weight in his acting that’ll help convince us he can be kingly.
Is it just me or does Jae Hee look different in these? He certainly looks like he gained some weight but there’s also something very different about his face, idk if its because he looks so sullen in the first two pics of him with the rest of the cast. Thank God for pic #3 of him smiling
Kim Tae hee is just 6 yrs older than Yoo Ah yin, which is what the real life difference was btwn jang heebin & the king.. so tae hee doesnt look too old next to him, imho…
The costumes & characters have definitely brought the pretty. Hopefully the acting & writing will hold up. *crosses fingers* I’m actually looking foward to this one!
I can’t wait to see Jae Hee again 😀
We love YOO HA IN & KIM TAE HEE so much!
i just finished watching jang ok jung, and i like it so much. Kim Tae Hee and Yoo Ah In plays their roles very well, they made a perfect couple for me. I love the way the king loves his jang hee bin till death do us part. I love dong pyung goon too, such a gentleman that you can count on for the rest of your life
The best drama so far for me. I cried buckets of tears and shivered a lot in most scenes. I like the lead actor YAI and KTH. The age difference doesn’t really matter and their chemistry was really transparent.