Categories: Fashion

Jin Se Yeon and Kang Sora are Lovely in Spring Magazine Spreads as Shipping Wars Heats Up Dr. Stranger

I hope the Dr. Stranger watching experience does not devolve into the fervor of last year’s epic and messy Answer Me 1994 shipper fan wars. That was over which of the two male lead characters ought to get the girl, and perhaps it’s refreshing to see DS with the opposite problem of which of the two female lead characters viewers ship with the titular stranger doctor. The two ladies Jin Se Yeon and Kang Sora are in various periodicals recently so I thought it nice to showcase both of their different but equally charming styles outside the show. Jin Se Yeon rocks the shorter do in both Nylon Korea and Singles Magazine while Kang Sora does a BNT International photo shoot that deftly toggles four different looks. I’m happy for Kang Sora that her second female lead character is so well-written, it’s good for her career and even better for the viewers to see that not all second female leads are bitchy, vindictive, obsessed, or marginalized in the story. Jin Se Yeon’s Jae Hee is heartbreaking but Seung Hee is just a cold slab of ugh at this point in the story. It’s disappointing to see some viewers continue to bitch about Jin Se Yeon as Jae Hee/Seung Hee while heaping praise on Kang Sora as Soo Hyun when the time could be better spent discussing the STORY since there is so much crazy going on with plot threads spouting every which way. If the urge to spew forth on the ad nauseam complaint of “I wish Kang Sora was the female lead and Jin Se Yeon is so blank of an actress” is still there, enjoy this spread and then go crazy in the comments section. Let’s leave the recap comments for what’s actually happening in the drama story itself and hopefully generate more interesting discussions.

I adore Soo Hyun and if that Dr. McGorgeous Jae Joon doesn’t start treating her sincerely then I’m all for her giving him the hand by the end of the drama. I don’t want her with any guy unless he loves her completely. Sadly that guy can’t be male lead Dr. McGenius Hoon because his entire character construct is that he loves Jae Hee. That is it, the doctor part comes naturally but is merely the means to an end for him to be with Jae Hee. Normally I’d want him to get a life outside of romance but we’ve seen from his entire growing up background that he literally does not have a functioning life outside of Jae Hee. That’s what makes his character so pitiable and what elevates the first love trope in this drama into something that has to have a happy ending for Hoon’s entire world to make sense. This is not a guy who can fall for another girl even if she’s better than Jae Hee for him.

ockoala

View Comments

  • It is a drama where currently, I am still trying to figure out who is the main actress and who is supporting....

  • Both girls have their own charm, they are so pretty but acting wise I do really think JSY is blank, I hope she will improve because we still can feel her character, she does not sell it well....Seung Hee if she's Jaehee could have shown more in her scenes with Hoon....The story is forcing her character on us, she has to win us over...I do understand the viewers' complaints :(
    Let's leave her a chance though

  • Jin se yeon looks pretty refreshing here. I hardly recognised her in 2 last spreads (nylon and single). Kang sora though looks drop dead gorgeous!!! She rocks every outfit and it is as if she's portraying a different character each time! Totally awesome. I'm so glad I got to see her acting skills in Dr. Stranger because I had bad memories from Dream high 2 so I wasn't at all happy when I first heard about Kang Sora being cast. Go girl!

    • Haha :) I've watched Ugly Alert, the main actress played by Kang Sora. U should watch it and have a refresh ur bad memory

  • About the shipping war... I actually also ended up adoring Jin se yeon's Jae Hee despite not being a fan of the actress, so kudos to that. Sadly the Seung hee character is pretty dull but I find the mystery around her pretty intriguing. If she really is Jae Hee, she and Hoon need a happy ending together! Although I also find myself shipping Soo Hyun with Hoon as mind boggling as that is, I really like their interactions. So for once I'm on both shipping sides and what's important is that the ending OTP will make sense to me and I'll be happy viewer :P

  • I actually gave JSY lots of chances to prove herself since Bridal Mask but I went mad every time she opened her mouth. Can't stand her voice + acting. Opposite to her KSR looked rather plain in her first daily but I loved Sunny and Ugly Alert so what can I say.

    • She was awesome in Ugly Alert, which was surprisingly really good. Definitely one of the highlights of 2013 IMO. If any one of you hasn't gotten on the Ugly Alert train, I highly recommend that you do. 133 episodes might look daunting but you'll fly right through them (I promise!)

      • I got every episode on my Hard Drive. Love how she's the initiative one in that relationship. And the design part in the drama is more realistic than other.

  • how can anyone ship JSY with any guy. this woman just dont have good screen with any guy cuz of her lack of acting/emotion. rally try to like her but her lack of acting/no emotion just trun me off.

    • yay! i can't agree more! At each character, SH and JH, she had got only one emotion! But i still love JH in the past! Not SH at now! So i support Sona to be the main character.

  • Not watching the series, but even in this spreads, Jin Se Yeon is rather plain looking. She's sporting the same exact smile in all her pictures. I love her hair and it looks good on her but nothing special about the pictures.

  • I actually find that Hoon being in love with Jae Hee as more potent and teeming of narrative possibilities, that there is more depth into it to be explored other than the superficial 'first love', if the show chooses to do so. For that I appreciate the fact that you're just as engrossed to that pairing koala.

    I like both Hoon and Soo Hyun as characters and they are the easiest to root for in the show, by far. They have chemistry, and in a rom-com format, I might have shipped them together too. But them becoming a couple is just too convenient for me. These days, people are so quick to jump the bandwagon of "first love trope is so overused, why can't he end up with the second lead?", that sometimes I cannot help but wonder if they're just saying it because it's in vogue, or they have other deeper motivations above shipping? Of course don't get me wrong, shipping is totally fine, and I ship many drama couples too. However, just as much as people want to see the 'first love' trope be subverted, I myself want to see the "why can't guys and girls be just friends" and "no romance policy" be upheld more. I would definitely like to see Soo Hyun grow more as a person as she continues to interact with Hoon and also admire his devotion to both saving lives and Jae Hee. Sometimes, an inspiration is better left to be admired from a distance rather than to be possessed for yourself, doing so, only make it lose its meaning and significance.

    Going back to Hoon and Jae Hee, I like for the fact that Hoon's love is more than just vanilla romance, that it has a dimension of dependency to it as well. Indeed, one of the many reasons to how Hoon became the person that he is now, is largely because of Jae Hee too. Outside of her, Hoon have virtually nobody left to care for. Arguably, she is one of the reasons that have kept Hoon in tact mentally and pushed him to keep going despite being imprisoned to NK's medical bootcamp from hell. And if I go further, the same can also be said of Hoon's current state in SK--he's a stranger both literally and metaphorically, as he lives in a world that he's long since forgotten, and his quest to finding Jae Hee is what anchors him back to his reality. For him to give up on her, is like giving up a part of what makes Hoon, Hoon.

    I also like the fact that both Hoon and Seung Hee (if JH is indeed SH that is) are not pure hero or heroines, that they do have shadows beneath their seemingly brighter facades. Hoon is definitely no angel, as he himself have done countless immoral practices of medicine, which arguably fast-tracked his growth and in part made him the genius doctor that he is now. Seung Hee, for the apparent nefarious plot that she's got herself into which I could only imagine as the means that she's willing to take to reach her end--emancipation from her NK trappings and eventually back to Hoon's hands. There is that sense of mutuality not only in feelings but also identity to both that I like, and would want to be explored some more. For that I take the Park Hoon-Jae Hee/Seung Hee couple as the more worthwhile couple over the cute and sassy Hoon-Soo Hyun.

    • OH Shoot, you said to leave the worthwhile discussion to the drama recap thread. So this is the bashing section? I'm in the wrong place then...

      • If I don't create a bashing section, imagine the utter monotony of every subsequent recap being a Clockwork Orange torture of the same complaints. Or maybe I'm too optimistic and it's never going to end. Quelle horreur...

    • A thoughtful well-reasoned discussion is welcome any thread here, Scientia. And is all the more precious because you took the time to share it.

      • Did I say that I want to have a debate? no. Did I say you can't express your opinion? no. You can express your opinion that defer from mine as free as you want for all I care. But I did ask not to argue with me on my own opinion and be all defensive.. in which you just did. End of discussion.

    • She's getting more and more beautiful. I thought she was luminous in Ugly Alert but she's managed to wow me even more here. *___*

  • No matter what you say, Iafter watched several of her dramas, IMOH, JSY is a flat and blant as an actress and it can not be helped that I voiced this opinion of mine in the episode reviews since that's how she performed (as I said, IMOH. So, I would appreciate if none of her defenders arguing with me on this. Thank you).

    • I never said she ISN't flat. Quite the contrary, she's flatter than a pancake as Seung Hee. But repeating it over and over again isn't going to suddenly make her (1) unflatten herself and rise up like dough, or (2) magically kill off her character from the show.

      The drama is going to continue as is. JSY will be in it until the point when either she's killed or the drama ends. As such, saying over and over that she's flat is just pointless at this time when the drama is already well underway and nothing will change. How about have an opinion about the story? Much more interesting, IMO, a topic to converse about.

    • So you want to spout out your opinion without someone else stating theirs? What is the point of having debate than?

      • The point is that the debate should MOVE ON. Stop harping on about things that will not change and debate to your heart's content about things yet to come!

      • You missed the point entirely. The problem is that a vocal group of people are stating the same opinion over and over again without anything else constructive to add to the discussion about the drama itself. Once and done better serves the enjoyment of the drama. Don't those folks have anything more/else to opine on with respect to the drama? Hello? Bueller? Bueller? Bueller? *crickets chirping*

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