I’m just laughing at the all-over-the-place feeling of Heirs, from the casting to the script concept. But it appears that Kim Eun Sook is going to throw whatever the heck at the board and see what sticks. She’s got established young actors Park Shin Hye and Lee Min Ho returning to high school, if fangirls or fanboys want idols then she’s nabbed Krystal from f(x) and Park Hyung Sik from ZE:A, if it’s the up-and-comers then Kang Ha Neul and Kim Ji Won fits the profile, if it’s the current It Boy then none is hotter than Daddy Gumiho Choi Jin Hyuk. And if she wants to appeal to the crowd that demands talented and quirky, she will give you Kim Woo Bin (who looks like an alien but is too awesome a talent to be bogged down by his non-conforming striking looks) and now Im Joo Eun joins the cast as well. I seriously love her, she makes everything better whether its in an ensemble cast of What’s Up or in a cameo-level supporting role in Arang and the Magistrate or just being a funky part of Wild Romance. Along with this new addition, there are some more drama leaks about Heirs spreading like wildfire all over DC. The first is that the second male lead may not yet be revealed – Kim Woo Bin is reportedly NOT taking over the role of Yoon Chan Young (son of the Empire Group secretary) offered to Jung Yong Hwa and will instead be playing guy3 Choi Young Do (brother-by-marriage to rich hotel heiress Rachel Ryu and himself the heir to a resort conglomerate). But SBS never confirmed what role he would be playing so we’ll have to wait and see. The official script reading is supposedly taking place on July 17th at the studio so I hope SBS announces the casting for guy2 soon otherwise it feels incomplete with a major cast member missing. Another bit of news is that insiders who have read the first two episode completed scripts are all buzzing on social messaging sites over what a great role the male lead is, continuing in the tradition of Kim Eun Sook writing very memorable and attractive male leads. Reportedly the consensus is – Lee Min Ho’s fans will LOVE this role. The unspoken other side of this sentiment is that Kim Eun Sook typically writes terrible female leads, and even the okay ones come off as either shrill and demanding or submissive and weepy with very little in between. I pray for the love of Park Shin Hye that she doesn’t end up being decorative window dressing to what will become The Lee Min Ho Show.
Chinese fans have assembled the current casting and character chart and have discovered that the top four handsome rich boys at Empire High School will be called the Z4. Yes – Kim Eun Sook baldly ripped of Hana Yori Dango (and no, she didn’t rip of Boys Before Flowers, which is a drama adaptation of the manga Hana Yori Dango which coined the phrase F4). The Z4 consists of Lee Min Ho, Kim Woo Bin, Kang Ha Neul, and Park Hyung Sik. Right now all the high school girl characters seem to be in the air, I’ve heard Krystal will either be playing Rachel Ryu or Lee Bo Na, depending on how busy her f(x) schedule is, with Kim Ji Won taking the other role.
Im Joo Eun’s character is the high school teacher Jeon Hyun Joo, 25 years old and has a loveline with Choi Jin Hyuk’s 31 year old character. Kang Ha Neul’s character is Lee Hyo Shin the son of the Chief Prosecutor and is also the school president of Empire High. He’s described as the perfect smart handsome student, and he’s also a year older than the other three Z4 members and he has a crush on teacher Jeon Hyun Joo. Park Hyung Sik’s character is Jo Myung Joo, the son of the President of a famous car import company, he’s a layabout that doesn’t want to inherit the family business and someone quick to think on his feet.
When I say the casting is ALL OVER THE PLACE, I really mean it. Witness: Lee Min Ho is a ’87er which makes him 26 and he’s playing an 18 year old high school student, but Im Joo Eun is an ’88er which makes her a year younger than Lee Min Ho but she plays his teacher! A 25 year old teacher like her real life age. Choi Jin Hyuk is an ’85er which makes him just 2 years older than Lee Min Ho in real life, but in the drama they are 13 years apart. He’s 31 years old and the President of Empire Group, and Lee Min Ho is 18 and his super young kid brother. Finally Park Shin Hye is a ’90er and is a mere 23 years old playing 18, which might be the least random casting of the leads.
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I happen to love all the writer's dramas and all her female leads (don't kick me off the playground, pls :P) but much as I like Park Shin Hye, now I am wishing Im Joo Eun would be the female lead as I like her much better (I think PSH is charming and pretty but a very limited actress). Alas...
Im Joo Eun is like milk - does a drama good. Any drama. I'd never kick you off, even if we always disagree more than we agree. Yes? :-D
Looks like we are in the same boat... And I too would have preferred IJE as the lead. Oh well, we'll see how it goes.
Well, Im Joo Eun has fantastic chemistry with her male co-stars so I expect her scenes with Choi Jin Hyuk will sizzle. Trying to imagine PSH in IJE roles (Arang and Wild Romance), just can't picture her making those small bits a success.
I love Im Joo Eun especially her character in Wild Romance. But I am not going to watch Heir. The casting is all over the place and High School students for Lee Ming Ho will not work. He looks too old for High School student. Furthermore, there are too many fanatic fans to enjoy a good conversation about the drama - look at Soompi page on Heir and you will know how to avoid it like hell.
Too many females in my opinion. -___-.
I liked this first because it had Park Shinhye. And park Shinhye alone. I'm super allergic to rich snobs. Went to High School with a bunch of them, and lets just say I nearly knocked some teeth out. Rich school story setting = the most annoying female characters ever. Guys are jerks too, but hey, I'm a fangirl. I'm sorry.
I don't know about the other chicks but Kystal and Kim Ji Won do bitch faces real good. And chances are they're gonna be one dimensional rich snobs. I got a strong feeling about it.
I almost forgot that Kim Eun Sook does not know how to write female characters... I may pull my hair out if she revives the women in Gentemen's Dignity.
Yes, her female characters in GD were beyond aggravating!
ITA, I hated nearly all of the female characters - especially the crier and the lead who acted twelve years old - in AGD, a show I detested. But I really liked the female characters in City Hall - after a bumpy start, the lead was downright inspiring, and she had a fabulous relationship with her best friend. Even her bitchy enemy was multi-dimensional.
She can write really good relationship scenes, and I still watch City Hall too see Kim Sun Ah and Cha Seung Won burn the place up. If she writes that sort of relationship story for Im Joo Eun and Choi Jin Hyuk, and then use the bumbling self-conscious AGD heroine role for PSH (that behavior will work much better for an 18-year-old than a 30-year-old) then it could work.
Omg, Miss Koala - Jung Yong Hwa was cast as the lead in another KBS drama... is this your Yoon Eun Hye - Jung Yong Hwa pairing coming true?
For the love of God, I seriously don't have the strength to watch Kdramas anymore with all these utterly horrid pairings :-/
The gods have smiled upon us - it appears YEH said no, and is considering a different drama. I want to see her with someone that can match her strength and intensity, like Gong Yoo.
Or Joo Ji-hoon, or Kang Ji-hwan.....basically, no idol-actors who can't emote, please.
God I really like Kim Woo Bin but this is becoming very ridiculous I don't know if I want to watch this anymore.
Oh my god, how could I forget Kim Woo Bin is in this too?
Kim Woo Bin and Im Joo Eun are definitely more than enough to sign onto this drama for. Lee Min Ho and Park Shin Hye have been a hit and miss for me before. With so many other casted, I'm surprised I like them all too, with the exception of Krystal (more indifferent towards).
Does Kim Eun Sook secretly hate women or something? Has she EVER written a decent female character?
This comment proves that you didn't watch half of her filmography. Geez, people, please check what you are saying before repeating blindly what your favorite blogger says. I'm really getting tired of all that KES bashing, furthermore when we are talking about a drama not entirely written yet.
Doormat girls are a problem but that problem is a global issue of SK Dramaland. KES is better than your average writer in that area: Stuntwoman with a dominant side in the bedroom, female politician, writer with an ego, rich woman with a trophy husband, successful music manager, actress with a moral code... Those are a few examples of characters she's written.
Way too much cast that I know won't get enough screen time or character development since I'm sure most of the focus will be on lmh and psh. I feel like its a waste of so many actors I'd like to see lead other dramas (or even second leads since this has way way too many people)
A "role that Lee Min Ho's fans will love"?
I didn't know he was the son of a resort tycoon who spends his days topless; testing tubs, pools, and showers for the company.
LMAO
I'm watching just for LMH...don't know or care much about the others, except for maybe Choi Jin Hyuk, who I loved in Panda & Hedgehog (crappy show, but awesome bromance). So I'll definitely keep my up with updates about this show and can't wait for it to air! Thanks Ms. Koala for the posts! :)