Talk about a quick about-face from the production of the upcoming SBS music and romance K-drama My Lovely Girl (She’s So Lovable). The casting was going at light speed with news of Krystal in talks to be Rain‘s leading lady followed a day later by Krystal being confirmed for the part. The lead casting always gets more media interest but there was also lots of positive feedback with the subsequent addition of talented Im Joo Eun as the second female lead in the drama. Just as it appeared the drama got all its ducks in a row and could start filming now for a September 17th premiere, the cauldron got shook up by the abrupt departure of the just arrived Im Joo Eun. Huh? Im Joo Eun’s agency has released a statement that she has ultimately turned down the role as the perfectionist music director role due to a combination of scheduling conflict and having a different direction of where she wanted the role to go versus the production.
The former makes no sense since yesterday she didn’t have a scheduling conflict when she accepted while the latter is obviously the real reason which doesn’t bode well for the drama at all. Im Joo Eun is talented but not always the most finicky project picker, heck she accepted a role in Heirs that was basically wallpaper token poor girl with a total of maybe 2 minutes of screen time per episode were I to average out her appearance in the drama. She wasn’t even lucky enough to be the Cinderella who gets her prince since in the end the dude married the bitch rich girl to keep his inheritance. If Im Joo Eun was fine being in Heirs in that nominal role but doesn’t want to be in My Lovely Girl in the second female role as Rain’s right hand woman with likely a crush on him, I’m basically writing off that role as pointless conflict generator for the OTP. Sigh, so much drama for My Lovely Girl and it hasn’t even started filming yet!
At least there was a press release about Im Joo Eun leaving My Lovely Girl. Over at MBC‘s My Spring Days with Kam Woo Sung and Sooyoung, second female lead Yang Jin Sung, who had news articles confirming her casting, left the production completely under the radar and I only found out when reading news articles that Jang Shin Young had been cast in the same role as the OTP spoiler love rival. Woooweee it sure is hard out there being firmly in second female lead territory.
is it hard to be a second lead these days or is it hard to be a second lead in projects where the female leads are SM-idols?
i feel like SM interferes the plots of these two projects where its idols play THE female leads.
My thoughts exactly. If I had to play against an SM idol, I would run FAR away.
at least Karma taking it’s toll on them w/ most of their dolls flopping the drama ratings! That’s what you call, dont play God!
Can K-drama just stop making second lead girl/guy fall for the lead guy/girl while there’s no way lea
d
Sorry, accidentally click post comment. That’s why I hate texting in phone T_T
*while theres no way lead girl and lead guy will NOT end up together 🙁 Is there any drama where we actually have first lead couple and second lead couple, instead of tiresome love triangle or rectangle?
Anyway, im glad u r out. Good luck next time.
Protect the Boss eventually had the first leads and second leads end up with each other.
Happens very rarely in kdrama.
Gotta watch jdrama instead, where it happens at least sometimes, or where sometimes no one ends up with anyone.
I could so do without love triangles, especially love triangles that are contrived (e.g. ex thinking s/he has rights after ludicrous separation scenarios or those love triangles where the leads semi-respond because of feelings of guilt/idiocy/bla bla bla).
I hope she’s out because it means that finally someone realised she better be given a lead role in a good project.
@JEN
I thought those were the leads in Protect the Boss?
Dream High might be an example… at least Taecyon seemed like he was half of the OTP until a turn rather later. (Not sure how the casting officially was in terms of leads there, but to me that drama always seemed like it did a switcheroo.)
Alone in Love comes to my mind. And in a way anything by Ahn Pan Seok, there’re love triangles, but they aren’t that obvious.
there are dramas where the leads did not end up together, best example is Baker Takgu. Eugene’s character ended up with JooWon’s character who was the half brother of Yoon Shi Yoon..
Other dramas I can think of is Feast of the Gods, Queen of Reversals…
as for dramas where the 1st leads were a couple as well as the 2nd leads ended up together, I think Heartstrings had that already. I think Master’s Suns is a another good example.same with Emergency couple were the supporting casts ended up paired up but i guess not really have 2nd leads ending up together…
Secret Garden 🙂
Maybe if they didn’t always make the second lead the rude & annoying girl more people wouldn’t mind as much playing that role.
Ding, ding, ding! Her saying goodbye is a very bad sign for the drama. That character must have been written on a post-it & must be cliche as hell. Maybe she earned enough money with her Heirs apparition & doesn’t need another underwhelming drama on her filmo. 😉
Second female leads in kdramas are always a stereotype at this point except for some exceptions…the only way these characters make a mark is sometimes when they steal the show from the leading lady thanks to their better acting or charisma.. Anyway I wasn’t going to watch this show b just for her so I’m glad she’s out
yang jin sung deserves better… she is a good actress and if she plays 2nd lead it has to be a really good role and worth it
She certainly does. When she made such an impression in Bride I figured they’d do nothing worthwhile for her afterwards & they’ve lived up to expectations. No wonder I’m in a drama slump.
Good for her, 2nd lead sucks when she have so much more potential than Krystal.
They both deserve better than being a part of those upcoming flop messes.
HOPE NO MORE…I WONT BE SURPRISED IF RAIN PULLS OUT TOO LOL FREAKING KYRSTAL FOR FEMALE LEAD aRGH!!! shoot already will yah.
*phew* Im Joo Eun escaped in time! That drama is going to be a mess!
I’m guessing they promised her an interesting role, but after she signed on they told her it would be a lame and cliche role after all.
I know she is really not picky with her projects. She just made an appearance on “Endless Love”, acting a few short scenes that got her no attention at all.
Please Im Joo Eun, pick a lead role next. Go for cable dramas!
haa.. anticipate Im Joo Eun and Yang Jinsung as REAL leads in another drama someday.. Im Joo Eun so beautiful as heaven’s fairy monster in Arang and Yang Jinsung is very loveable in Bride of the Century.. yeahh.. life must go on.. maybe they deserve in better projects in the future.. 🙂
I never care much for second leads guy or girl mostly because they are usually annoying and trying way too hard but I gotta say in joseon gunman I love the second female lead I would rather she ended up with the male lead but I know thats not gonna happen also I feel like they ate gonna kill her
There are a few times that I’ve shipped for the 1st and 2nd lead OTP, which of course didn’t happen and simply means I left the drama hanging or will never watch the drama again. The last one was for ‘Big Man'(somehow it seems to always be Kang Ji Hwan Dramas…)
The second ‘lead’ title is pretty misleading as much of the time they aren’t really integral to the storytelling but simply penned in to provide something for the OTP to work against. So it’s fully understandable for talented/ pro actresses to feel sidelined if the lead has less experience and/or is an idol. I’m not saying idols can’t act, I’m just saying it’s a lot less grating if they honed their skills from working 4th, 3rd, 2nd ‘leads’ before they are given the top job.
I was really brokenhearted when I read that Im Joo Eun would play second lead to Kyrstal only to find out a moment after that I misread and she backed out!!! Brave girl! I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels personally wronged whenever I see talented actors and actresses playing second lead to freaking idols. I’m not totally an idol-hater but let’s give proper credit where it’s due. Im Joo Eun and the others are worth so much more. God if only kdrama makers thinks this way.