Fashion is like the sinkhole of K-dramas. I seriously cannot think of a single K-drama that centered around the fashion world or even tangentially related to fashion where it wasn’t either a hot mess of epic proportions (Fashion King, Cinderella Man) or just plan bad (Cheongdamdong Alice, Style). That seems so counterintuitive to me. Fashion seems perfect for a K-drama treatment – rivalries between designers, hot chaebol head of fashion houses, perfect PPL opportunity, everyone can look pretty in the latest stylish threads. Yet K-dramas can’t seem to get anything right when it comes to creating a compelling world of fashion and intrigue, but I gotta give them credit for continuing to try. Up next to try and break this streak is the jTBC drama Her Legend, which premieres in early August taking over the Mon-Tues slow from Cruel City (Heartless City). There is no guarantee that a good drama will yield another one but the mere fact that frothy HL is following the gritty and intense CC makes me laugh at the incongruity of it all. Starring Kim Jung Hoon, Choi Jung Won, Seo Eun Soo, Park Eun Jae, and Shim Eun Jin, all we know is that two woman with swapped fates find themselves as rival handbag designers and get involved with a man who has it all.
I’m curious about this drama for various reasons – I have a soft spot for both Kim Jeon Hoon and Choi Jung Won, and directing will be veteran PD Lee Seung Ryeol who hasn’t done a drama since Rude Women in 2006 but I remember him the most from Save the Last Dance for Me way back in 2004. That was an addicting drama though went crazy makjang in the second half. In this drama apparently Seo Eun Soo, Park Yoon Jae, and Shim Eun Jin’s character all attended Parson’s School of Design and return to Korea to work for the same fashion conglomerate run by Kim Jung Hoon. This sounds about as clichéd as expected but I like to believe the experimental jTBC saw something unique here to scoop up this project. The first stills have been released and I’m liking Kim Jung Hoon’s haircut though it annoys me how bumbling Choi Jung Won is made to look at the hardscrabble handbag designer crawling her way up the fashion food chain. I feel like this is such a minimal commitment drama, if its good then folks have something to watch, if it sucks then everyone will move on with a shrug and not much disappointment.
First teaser:
[youtube id=”Nx6gc8WcKhU” w=”650″ h=”450″]
Could go either way. I do love Choi Jung Won though, I loved her in Stars Falling From The Sky. I like Kim Jong Hoon but don’t love him I really wish he could switch over to Goddess of Marriage and have Kim Ji Hoon pair up with Choi Jung Won again! They had amazing chemistry and are so compatible looks-wise and skill-wise. Maybe this will be better though and I will grow to love Kim Jong Hoon (which is hard post INR, I hated him SO MUCH! But have liked him in other projects). Here’s hoping for a good drama and not a hot mess!
wow that would be awesome:D cuz i really dont know why but i cant watch this goong guy for some reason 🙁 kim ji hoon would be perfect i really liked their pairing in stars falling from sky:D
So cliched….
as far as dramas that centered around fashion, i’d have to say baby-faced beauty is probably the best i’ve seen. jang nara’s character grated me here and there, but overall it was really addictive. and she was pretty cute with daniel choi. and we can’t forget the awesome ryu jin.
agreed.
Enjoyed Babyfaced Beauty. Although I wish the female lead didn’t accept suffering as her lot and pushed back against some of her adversity.
Ohhh!!! I loved BFB! How’d I forget about it! I agree it was good, and it wasn’t a hot mess!
i cant quite agree with filing chondamdong under ‘plain bad’
yea, it wont go into the ‘good’ bucket, but it was somewhat well thought out. as far as character setups and general ideas go, the groundwork was pretty good and using an alice concept like that is definitly a creative kind of background for a plotlayout.
the writer just couldnt really handle anything of it practically.
Baby Faced Beauty represented the fashion world pretty well. I can’t vouch for its accuracy, but it was at least entertaining. *g*
“Me too flower!” Was sort of centred around fashion. I thought it was a great drama.
I liked Me Too Flower too…but it wasn’t very realistic or fashion focused LOL
Choi Jung Won is going to stick with these hard luck roles eh? I need her to go be GLAMOROUS!
JTCB reveals that the storyline of Her Legend bearing close resemblance to one Korean home grown brand -Helianthus. The character portrays by Choi Jung Won exhibiting similarities to Kelly Nam, the founder of Helianthus.
Please check out the brand story of Helianthus: http://helianthusseoul.com/brand-story-kr.php
You can google Kelly Nam, and you will see that she is about the same age of CJW and a woman with great drive and aspiration. It is great to see CJW portraying someone who is alive and kicking, and perhaps will mentor her by the side on entrepreneurship and transfer some creativity vibes to her to make the drama more realistic. Am looking forward to it. It is not a cliché, as many of you commented!! In fact, Financial Times (UK) has recommended Helianthus as one of the brands to look out for if one is interested in Gangnam style.
Again, google FT and Helianthus, you will find the link.
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