I don’t know what to make of this news. Does it make me happy? Perplexed? Strangely relieved? Trading one hot mess for another? I don’t know but I’ll be keeping my eye on this as it develops. First came news two months ago that Jang Geun Seok was returning to K-dramas through the Group 8 produced manhwa drama-adaptation of Beautiful Man. Then last month word on the street was that MBC was interested in picking it up for a year-end time slot of Wed-Thurs, thereby pitting Jang Geun Seok up against fellow near-age pretty boys Kim Soo Hyun in Man From the Stars and Kim Hyun Joong in Age of Feeling (Inspiring Generation). I actually thought that was a lock and all that was left was nailing down the rest of the Beautiful Man cast, which started to take shape when movie actress Han Ye Ri and K-drama regular Lee Jang Woo were in talks to join the drama. So this latest shake up took me by surprise, and I don’t know if it’s a blindside to the Beautiful Man production as well, but this weekend news outlets are reporting that the PD-screenwriter duo from the 2010 Gong Hyo Jin–Lee Seon Kyun drama Pasta is reuniting to bring a comedy drama to MBC airing after Medical Top Team. That would be the time slot previously in discussions for Beautiful Man. The new drama is called Miss Korea and is about a group of men in a small neighborhood who band together and try to make a girl from their neighborhood into the next Miss Korea. I…..don’t know what to think about this. Beauty pageants are veritable minefields for comedy, and this year the Miss Korea pageant got lots of international publicity when a gif of all the contestants in a row proved that the proliferation of plastic surgery and the same standard of beauty has turned every contestant into near clones of each other. It was hilariously sad. This Miss Korea production team did Pasta together, but each has their own other works that I also thought were pretty decent. In addition to Pasta, the PD helmed Golden Time, My Princess, and What’s Up Fox, while the he screenwriter did Romance Town and The Lawyers of the Great Republic of Korea. There isn’t a complete dud between them.
No word yet on the cast or whether Miss Korea is a lock for the post-Medical Top Team time slot. I do like something different and this sounds really really different. There have some entertaining and incisive beauty pageant themed movies in the past from Drop Dead Gorgeous, Miss Congeniality, and Little Miss Sunshine. It’s not a topic I’m particularly interested in but I’ll see who ends up in the cast and decide from there. Above is a picture of all the contestants for the Miss Korea 2013 pageant. About the mid-point is when my eyes glossed over because I seriously couldn’t figure out who was who or even render a superficial opinion of who was the prettiest. It’s pretty much the same woman modeling twenty different hairstyles and outfits. The only way this drama will work is by being blunt honest about the superficiality of the beauty pageant and then try to humanize those who participate and desire to win it.
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New drama actually sounds better than Beautiful Man. It would've been interesting though if it was scheduled as I previously thought against KSH & KHJ's dramas.
Re: the contestants. Got dizzy. Except for the hairstyles, eyes, nose, smile all look the same. Reminded me when I was new to kdramas and couldn't match the names to the faces of k-celebs as they all looked the same to me.
Lol at the last part! I had trouble myself with that issue.
Miss Korea sound more interesting than the so called "Beautiful Man"
I think the premise give me a feeling that this could a good funny rom-com drama if done right :)
Away from the drama, actually the true face for the contestants in Miss Korea has been revealed and it seems that it was the make up and photo shop that made them all seem the same person in those official pictures.
THAT WAS VERY BAD PHOTOSHOP MOVE!!!!!!!!
http://kotaku.com/blame-photoshop-for-koreas-beauty-queen-clones-482285894
Yes, if you watch the video of the contestants, it's super obvious that these images have been photoshopped. (And they're actually Miss Daegu contestants.) However-- Korea does have a particularly narrow definition of beauty and it is really disturbing to see how many actresses look similar thanks to the dominant plastic surgery templates. I hope that the Miss Korea drama pokes fun at the industry.
As far as the JGS drama goes-- I've come to expect WTF-news about him and his endeavors. I think he's gonna have a really hard time when he does his military service.
You are totally right, I think most Koreans feels so insecure about their physical looks and they always try to abandon their Asian look for more western look. It is indeed disturbing.
And I think this is something that needed to be shown on TV and I hope that they will indeed tackle that with some depth in this drama. This is a strong point show, USE IT!
From Beautiful Man to Beautiful Woman then... Lol. Seems like it's another drama not for me (but never say never...) ;)
I'm more interested in Miss Korea..
The contestants look so much like each other that its almost scary. Was it like a group thing!?! You know, the surgery?:
Ladies first!
LOL
This drama does sound more interesting and even though I'm not the biggest fan of the Pasta writer, I do like that PD a lot....but I have to admit that I'd be a wee bit disapointed if A Beautiful Man doesn't make it to air though, I was look forward to seeing Han Ye Ri in a whole entire drama and maybe even looking forward to her duking it out with Jang Geun Suk
This project sounds sooo much better! I can't wait to see who'll get casted. As long as its someone I like, I'd definitely check it out.
As for 'beautiful man'; good riddance! I hate the whole premise of that drama, what with a narcissist male and a doormat female lead. MBC finally did something right... Other than GFB and HYI, they've not had a single ratings hit this year. And BM isn't one to change that record, I reckon.
The rumors of course from SM and SM CC-all the possible actresses in that company and maybe one or two actresses that most of you didn't like at all in here.
For one thing the actresses must be tall.
Okay so this is kinda unrelated but I thought of it the moment I saw the Pasta poster. I just read your last article about Park Shiny Hye about her amazing luck with male leads and I have to say that I feel the same about Gong Hyo Jin... except you know the ahjussi version.
I have this secret list of ahjussis that I fawn over though my friends find it really weird because most of them are old enough to be my father or at least an uncle (I'm not that young though at 19) but seriously Gong Hyo Jin. Every single one of them. Jang Hyuk, Lee Sun Gyun AND CHA SEUNG WON??? How? Okay I know how, it's cause she's an amazing actress. But seriously my trio of sexy men who old enough that my friends think I'm weird for pawing the screen when I see them (well
weirder than when I do it with guys who are more age appropriate). Hell, all she has to do is do something with Uhmforce and then I'll just have to fly to Korea and maybe steal her phone just for the contacts....
Btw, PSH already worked with Uhmforce in the Cyrano Dating Agency movie so you can book that flight to Korea and plan the burglary already ;)
I think the only 'older' actress who has luck comparable to PSH's with flower-boy costars (as opposed to Flower Ajusshis, though she has a few of those too like pre-ajusshi Jang Hyuk and So Ji-sub) is Shin Mina - her list of costars is pretty mind-boggling too (when the most recent costar was Lee Jun-ki and the next one will be Kang Dong-won, it's quite something). Though of course she is a spectacular beauty herself.
Park Min-young, too.
She has a list of co-stars I like a lot - especially if you count all three in SKKS.