Rain in Talks for Male Lead of Hong Sisters Drama Set on Jejudo
I’ll cut to the chase and skip the preamble since so much has already been said about this upcoming drama. Let’s get right to pondering the male actor who is currently in talks for the lead now that earlier discussed possibility Kim Woo Bin has passed on the project. Rain (aka Jung Ji Hoon) is in talks with the Hong sisters for their upcoming drama Feeling Warm and Good (formerly Jejudo Gatsby). The Korean title is based on a Jeju Island slang phrase for how the island makes one warm and happy so I’ll go with whatever MBC decides officially is the English title since it’s hard to translate.
I still love Rain despite his last K-drama being one of those hot mess disasters. My Lovely Girl (My Lovable Girl) was incorrectly cast with either Rain or Krystal maybe working but definitely not the two together. The script was also a giant stinker so if Rain wants to quickly come back to drama land to wash away the remnants of MLG then I’m all for it. I do find the selection from Kim Woo Bin to Rain completely jarring, I like both but they are soooooo different in all ways from age group to acting style to fan base. This drama follows after the just started airing Angry Mom so I’m expecting Rain’s casting talk to pull through since it’s pretty late to just throw names out there.
Rain and Kang Sora is not a coupling I’ve ever considered before but don’t have a problem visualizing together. Kang Sora can bring the chemistry with guys older or younger than her, case in point the way she brought equal sizzle with Lee Jong Seok and Park Hae Jin in Dr. Stranger. Kang Sora also hasn’t confirmed her role yet and one wonders if she’s waiting to see who her leading man will be before signing on the dotted line.
Rain needs a drama where he plays a well-written character otherwise there is too much Rain that seeps through whenever he’s asked to play cardboard cutout chaebols and the like. It’s hard to say if Rain’s popularity in Korea really is as tarnished after his military service hullabaloos as netizen comments indicate, leading to MLG’s flop, but I’m more inclined to believe everyone in Korea just recognized it was a crap drama and avoided it. Here’s to hoping this latest Hong sisters drama has a good story otherwise it’s all pot whoever is cast.
I had to look this up myself but apparently both LJS and PHJ are older than KSR… who’d have thunk it?
In any case, I like Rain a lot so I hope he takes a chance on this drama.
woah! I really thought KSR is older than LJS.
Not in anyway interested with this drama, hong sisters is not my cup of tea and never like Bi’s acting but he is hot though 😀
LJS is considered the same age with sora in korea because he was born in september, but yes, sora’s appearance and voice is so mature for her age,,so maybe she will have a good chemistry with bi,,
I hope kang sora pulls out if rain gets casted…I don’t think I would believe chemistry.
Military scandals in Korea mean kiss of death, plus if it isn’t a very angry character he is bland. On the plus side, it will sell well in China.
Yes, yes and yes 🙂
yes please rain. never cross my mind he will be in this drama.. he is better choice than kim woo bin with better acting skill. maybe this one will turn out like kill me heal me? praying….
I hope it works like kill me heal me. But I am not sure about his acting recently in my lovely girl. I
He’s not my favorite, but he’s definitely the Hong Sisters type of hero.
The sisters like their hero to be the jerk-like type… but one that viewers will still love anyway because when they finally fall for the girl…they fall hard and wholeheartedly…
Who would not like a guy like that?
That’s why Cha Seu Woon was perfect, so was So Ji Sub; And that’s why they were courting Kim Won Bin (Heirs anyone?)…
and Rain is one actor that I bet can convincingly pull the jerk that we hate to love.
I have to admit, the choice from KWB to Rain is definitely random and odd. I do think Rain’s a much superior actor than Woobin but he’s also the sunbae so there’s that. Their fanbases are pretty similar in that they’re both popular in China, although I do see the argument for younger fans vs. older.
Either way, I’m stoked for this casting news. Rain is such a good actor when given the right roles, and he’s in desperate need of something great after the fail that was MLG. I’m not sure about his coupling with Kang Sora, but if I were to pick between having only one of them, if pick him over her anyday. Hopefully they’ll have chemistry though; that’s hallmark in every Hong Sisters drama.
Is it just me phasing out of Kdramas or has there been fewer and fewer good dramas to watch? Though I scour this site and DB for promising dramas, I haven’t been able to watch one since healer ended. So far the only ones that caught my interest are Producer, ?Descendent of the Sun (solely for SJK), and ??In Time With You. I was interested in this when KWB was considering, but not sure why I lost all interest after reading this news.
there are plenty of good currently airing dramas like Heard It Through The Grapevine, Maids, and the just-started Superdaddy Yeol and Angry Mom. None of those have typical Hallyu-bait leading actors or are all about a love line, is all.
I agree with Gina. There are some some fantastic dramas airing right now. But yes, Hallyu-baiting is sadly rampant on public channels.
Agree with you… Nothing addicting on like punch or healer right now. I tried Heard it through the grapevine – stopped watching at episode 4. Tried Blood and could only get through 4 episodes again. Unkind women is watchable.
I’ve always been partial to comedies and I’d recommend Ho Goo’s Love, it’s been entertaining so far. Super Daddy looks promising too in the first few episodes. Then again, I wasn’t a fan of either Punch or Healer so our tastes in dramas may be too different.
If rain accepts, better not give him a very young Female lead. He is better off acting with actress who is around his age. Kang Sora is OK since she does look mature than her age.
I was traumatized in MLG.. lol.. I think he’s good in that drama but others particulary Krystal really messed it up. She’s bad in acting.
Krystal isn’t bad at ALL acting like Suzy etc, she’s actually really good at comic delivery and timing like in High Kick or Heirs, but useless at melos.
I agree. With comedies you can just deliver your line in a funny way, you don’t really need to be able to show a wide range of emotions through your facial expressions, but melos require that and unfortunately Krystal lacks that talent.
Yeah Agreed even during “happy” scenes she seemed soooo depressed & gloomy! Rom coms or feel good stories are better choice for her.. Though I find it ridiculous that My Lovely Girl was considered a rom com to so many people…
It was just a horrible mismatch with Rain. There was good chemistry in MLG with the 2nd male lead L which everyone acknowledged and many were wishing he was 1st male lead, and she had great chemistry with her co-star in The Heirs.
Yeah!I don’t like his previous drama my lovely girl. But I hope he will accept it. Rain is woo bin’s hyung. Jong suk and woobin are good friends with Rain. They did variety shows together. I thought that Rain felt not so good because his younger bro and junior declined the role that now he will take.
It could work, though the potential pairing does not excite me the way the Woobin/Sora pairing would have.
Rain is a good actor right from a young age, anyone who thinks otherwise has probably never seen him in his Lee Kyung Hee melos. But I wonder if he can pull off the Hong sisters kind of broad-strokes comedy.
Ah, finally someone says something substantive about Rain’s acting. Lately I feel like the memory goes back only 1-2 years when it comes to critiquing acting. Rain + Lee Kyung Hee = brilliance. And not everyone can do a Lee Kyung Hee character work, plus she did two dramas with him which says a lot. Rain can basically coast for quite a few more years for me based on Sang Doo and ATK goodwill.
With that said, my biggest problem is basically the Lee Kyung Hee and Hong sisters dichotomy. They are literally opposite ends when it comes to storytelling and character building. The only one who has done both types and come out smelling like roses is So Ji Sub (MiSa and The Master’s Sun). Gong Hyo Jin did well in Thank You but was a miss for me in both Best Love and TMS. Shin Mina lost me in ATK but was adorable in My Girlfriend is a Gumiho. And the only good acting to ever come from Han Ye Seul was in Fantasy Couple and she stunk up the joint in Will it Snow for Christmas.
Basically my fear is that Lee Kyung Hee prone Rain isn’t suitable for a Hong sisters character. But it feels like an existential fear at this stage.
hehe I actually like Gong Hyo Jin and Shin Mina both in their Lee Kyung Hee AND Hong sisters dramas, in general I find them to be actresses who can carry both melo and comedy well. Though GHJ has a tendency to act as a ‘grounding’ force for her more flamboyant costars so I felt she balanced out SJS and CSW very well (but better romantic chemistry with SJS).
but I agree with you that very few people can pull off both Lee Kyung Hee and Hong sisters type dramas. I can visualise say, Song Joong Ki doing it because he was so great in Nice Guy and also pulled off his role in Sungkyunkwan Scandal, but he was probably not an option for the Hong sisters at this stage since that Kim Eun-seok drama is casting. I don’t know if Rain can do that kind of comedy or if it will just be like a repeat of Full House where I didn’t like either his or Song Hye Kyo’s acting.
I never thought that Rain acting is good. He is hot and a great singer. His last drama was one of the failures in 2014. I lost my interest in this drama.
Hmm, this is entirely unexpected. I was thinking the drama wanted a younger actor for its male lead. But Rain is not a bad choice. Playing a Hong Sisters’s character won’t be too much of a problem for him. If he accepts, hope this time turns out good for him. ^^
rain!!!! but please no kang sora. i dont hate her but shes just not into me as female lead. and rain he is a great actor (sangdo full house etc) MLG is his worst work (krystal was so bad on that drama). i hope he accept this drama. he is hong sister style but NO!! kang sora please!!!
+1
Hell no. He is not a bad actor, but he is just not funny. Stick him into a melo and he’ll do well, but it’s Hong Sisters. He does not match their humour.
Really! Have you seen Fugitive Plan B? Rain was amazingly funny in that show…even if the drama was flawed.
Dropped it, it was boring.
And no, he wasn’t funny. He just acted like a clown.
He’s a good actor and I think he’ll do good, but I don’t really see Kang Sora as a female lead. I don’t know why, but I just can’t see the amazing talent in her that everyone else sees. I’ve only seen her in DS and whenever she cried it made me cringe. Oh well, good luck to both of them if they decide to accept it.
she’s still more deserving of lead roles than all the useless idol actresses and people like the lead girl in DS who can’t act at all. And she did good work in Sunny, Ugly Alert, Misaeng, etc. so at least she showed that much capability.
Kang Sora, IMO, is one of the best K-actresses of her generation. It’s not fair to base an opinion on one role alone, and she was great in Doctor Stranger but overall it was a flop in terms of storytelling. And Jin Se-Yeon, really? She has like 2 default expressions.
Sora was AMAZING in Sunny, Ugly Alert and Misaeng.
so, i m mot the only one who cant see how good she is as many people claim. i like her enough, but not what i image as a leading material. However, i rather she gets a lead role than the other actress she worked with in DS, or any idols for that matter.
yeah people! better pray hard so that the other trainwreck aka Jin Se-yeon, wont replace KSR as a lead. Prey really hard cuz she got the tendency to replace other people’s left over 🙂
she got track record to prove it.
@sweetdream please don’t even mention that possibility, the idea of her being a Hong sisters heroine when her only two expressions are smiling brightly and frowning constipatedly….
Thank god.
Now I don´t have to watch, lol.
Don´t get me wrong, I like KSR a lot, but she alone is not enough to get me to suffer through another Hong Sister´s Drama.
Hmmm interesting choice! Never thought of Rain but i am definite he can pull this off! Will never understand why KWB rejected this though, it would be one of those unanswered mysteries of dramaland same with why in the world hyun bin rejected KMHM!! But Rain yeaaah! And i can definitely see him with sora!
He’s not a bad actor but I don’t think he’s suitable for a Hong sisters production at all.
I think a younger male actor would be best and KWB is a very talented young actor.
So far Kang Sora hasn’t confirmed yet either, right?
Being a picky viewer I am, think I will just pass this drama.
Rain had proved he’s a good actor in the past but not sure about it now. His MLG sucks big time. And I don’t think kang sora can pull off the lead actress yet. Although she was like 100x better than female lead in DS. She’s talented but I’m not convinced enough with her acting so far.
Have you seen Ugly Alert? You’ll fall in love in love with the otp!
Yup she is aweome in Ugly Alert & not to mention superb in Misaeng.
Kang Sora was also great in Sunny.
Interesting!! He was actually one of my choices for In Time with Ha Jin Won, cos I think he can play a beta male which would have made interesting viewing when juxtaposed with his uber alpha looks. But I will take him doing a silly, fun Hong drama too. I hope something with lots of witty repartee. I really only watched Best Love from them,and I may be in the minority but absolutely loved it.
Great! hope he will take it!! he is a really good actor and had take many styles of characters, and he was just great!
And yeah… My lovely girls was a mess, but the script was hopeless..just bad! nobody.. any actor could have saved that drama, it just was that bad.
But with a good story and team work.. I’m sure Rain will show to everybody how amazing actor he is
None of the potential leads are my favorite. I’m still traumatized by overexposure of Kang Sora as the 2nd female lead in Dr. Stranger and zero chemistry between Rain and Krystal in MLG. But I usually give more credits and also liability to writers/PD than cast. Since this is a Hong Sister’s drama, therefore I’ll pay attention to it and may give a shot. Kang Sora seems to be a much better actress than Krystal anyhow. Perhaps she will make a good pairing with Rain.
Hey Rain, pls don’t spoil this drama!