SBS Completes Casting for Yongpalyi with Kim Tae Hee, Joo Won, Jo Hyun Jae, and Choi Jung Ahn
Upcoming SBS Wed-Thurs drama Yongpalyi just firmed up the casting and production details, and then promptly went from intriguing to likely miss for me. I’m not rendering an early judgment on the drama’s potential quality or lack thereof, just that it ends up with certain elements that turn me off. The first is the PD switch from the Lee Dong Hoon who directed God’s Gift: 14 Days to the one who directed SBS weekend dramas Modern Farmer and Goddess of Marriage. Such a downgrade switch. This drama originally got on my radar when it was in the early stages of production solely because of the GG:14D director.
The second issue to rub me the wrong way is the casting of Jo Hyun Jae as the second male lead, rounding out the leads consisting of Joo Won and Kim Tae Hee as the OTP well as perennial second female lead Choi Jung Ahn. I love Jo Hyun Jae and am sad to see him relegated to second lead status, made even worse by the male lead being Joo Won who I basically have zero interest in. Doubling the ignominy is that Jo Hyun Jae and Kim Tae Hee played the headlining OTP over ten years ago in K-drama Nine-tailed Fox, and now he’s playing her older brother! *headdesk*
In addition to the PD switch and casting order being less than ideal, another worrying issue is the screenwriter has only the OCN cable drama Reset under the belt before tackling this noir sounding Yongpalyi about a doctor who does house calls to the rich and powerful to earn extra money for his little sister’s expensive dialysis treatment. SBS is currently leading the Wed-Thurs ratings with makjang melodrama Mask so the network will likely throw in everything its got to keep the streak going with Yongpalyi. Question is whether the end result will be a tasty treat or lukewarm offering with more effort than talent.
Joo Won is an established male lead, and a fantastic actor, I think its a pretty solid casting on that front
Joo Won is a great actor though. Far better than Jo Hyunjae.
i watch jo hyun jae in 49 days where i’m more attracted to the antagonist cast bae soo bin, see him a bit in 3dad 1 mom,n king daughter su baek hyang i like him there, n some drama that i forget, i still think joo won is better actor, i see him in many drama. if it base on the look i prefer manly look but i like him because his acting n his drama
Woooow i love all the cast can’t wait
I agree don’t find jo won good so I am gutted that jo hyun jae is second wish he was lead
You may not be interested in Joo-won, but he is one talented actor. I know your history with him, so meh… I take news you write of him lightly. Your bias overshadows everything.
But just so you know… Joo-won is leaps and and bounds better than Jo Hyun-jae. 😀
Shocking realization that I would have laughed at just five years ago –> Kim Tae-Hee might actually have to carry the acting load of the leading quartet.
We believe Kim Tae Hee. We’ll always support her. Kim Tae Hee fighting <3
Miss Koala, can you please write a post about the abused Leejunghee?
I have no interest with this drama at all. Joo Won play a doctor role again…boring! -.-
Joo won played a doctor only once before. And he was also autistic in that.
Same job doesn’t mean same character, wth?
You missed the point.
If the actor is someone you like, it doesn’t matter if this is the umpteenth time he plays a schoolboy or saeguk scholar or a chaebol heir.
I think you’re missing the point as well.
If it’s someone you actually like and care about, you’d probably be wishing for him not to get typecast and eventually lose all and any range he or she had, right?
Do the same role over and over and your range slowly but surely regresses. Liking someone doesn’t mean blindly accepting everything they do as the best thing since sliced bread, and being apologetic about it.
Joo Won is a good actor though, so your personal bias aside, he’s very fittingly the lead over JHJ. I’m more worried about the writing-PD combination than the acting. It looks solid aside from KTH who may have impressed some in JOJ but she is so not suited for serious roles. Look at LYH who was praised like she’s almost Oscar worthy in this blog and ended up being so grating I had to drop Hwajung despite the other winsome cast.
I wouldn’t say for sure that joo won is a better actor, but between the two he’s definitely the one with a greater range and who’s stretched himself more as an actor. I find Jo Hyun Jae tends to stick to rather similar good (if broody and reserved) guy roles and hasn’t really challenged himself as an actor, so I want to see his take as a full-onvillain
full-onvillain
Jo Hyun Jae probably doesn’t have any better offers right now so I don’t really see the big issue here, the guy wasn’t forced to take this role or something and as far as I know he’s playing a villain, so something he hasn’t exactly played before. Doesn’t sound like such a bad deal to me. And the fact that he played a couple with the female lead before is completely irrelevant, they’re acting in a different drama that has nothing to do with some other drama from ten years ago. If anything, I’d be rather interesting to see a different dynamic between the two. The drama can’t be faulted for extending him an offer which he took of his own accord. Surely better than not acting at all.
I can’t agree more. Why would the fact that JHJ and KTH played a couple years ago mean that they need to be the OTP in every drama they do together thereafter?
JHJ hasn’t got the widest range or maybe he didn’t have the opportunity so this might be it. Have you seen how well Yeon Jeong Hun is doing with his role as a villain in Mask? If the villain role is written well, a good actor can actually show a completely different side to his fans.
On the other hand, Joo Won’s acting and versatility is quite amazing and proven so no wonder he is the lead.
Yeah, agree with both comments. Good example of very well written villain is Lee YooRi character in Jang Bo Ri, she even got a daesang for that. Jo Hyun Jae has been out of limelight for years now and Joo Won is more established actor. It’s normal for actors to take on diverse characters. JHJ might be even more popular after this drama since if everything goes well. I am willing to give the writer a chance, also the PD. They may be fairly new but YongPal could be their first break out drama. So I am looking forward to this drama.
i like this cast .
Fighting, Yongpalyi
I think there;s a glitch on your site- the ads force me to watch their videos by bringing the page down to where the ad is and not letting me scroll up to read your posts. Same thing happens when you post a video of some kind like a trailer- page will scroll down to an ad video and then not let me scroll back up to watch the trailer unless I refresh 2 or 3 times.
But anyway, I think Joo Won’s acting is top-notch; didn’t find him attractive at all until I saw his performance.
Joo won looks like Song Minguk!
I like Joo won but I hope they style his hair better than Cantabile. I found his hairstyle just distracting in Cantabile. It didn’t suit his face at all. I hope this time around they do a better job.
Still cannot figure why Korean thinking Kim Ta Hae, is the most beautiful, just by flipping a Korean cooking magazine, I can see 100 models are more beautiful than her.
Same, I never really watch a drama for Joo Woo and I just can’t see any appeal with him. Before anyone jump at my throat for not giving his drama a chance…well, I did watched most of his drama and can’t see the hype for any. I did enjoyed Good Doctor but mainly for the storyline etc. The role isn’t really hard to act out and some scenes, JW needs some improvements on. For his star status, I truly feel he’s too over rated.
I like JHJ but its too bad, nowsaday, mostly the younger guys gets the main leading roles…
It’s so sad for me because JHJ is my top favorite actor and one of the reasons I love kdrama is because of him since I watched him in Love Letter. From then on, I followed all his dramas and movies, articles, blogs about him, everything. Maybe it’s time for him to step back and let the new generation be the lead.
I only watched Joo Won in Kim Tak Gu and no offense to others, I was not fascinated with his charm. He is a good actor, I admit.
I was kind of looking forward to this but I don’t know if I can sit through another one of Jung Woong In’s villains.
I’m quite shocked reading this post. Mostly because this is exactly how I feel about Yongpal.
Jo Hyun Jae taking the second lead role one more time (which actually is not that surprising since he wants to change his image very badly) is a let down for me. But the most shocking of all is that I never expect I’ll find someone else who feels this way about Joo Won. I’m not saying he’s a bad actor, it’s just I can’t feel his charms. Not, in Gaksital, not in Good Doctor. I kind of see why people like him in Cantabile but still feel nothing about him myself.
As expected with this kind of post you’ll hear an earful from his fans. But I guess you’re used to it Ms. Koala ^_^
For those who haven’t watched or liked Fobidden Love might not understand the feeling of seeing JHJ and KTH playing as brother and sister here,though i don’t see any problem with this it is quite different for others who love them in FL.FL is the Kdrama that I love the most and JHJ and KTH were the first onscreen couple i shipped in real life,so i’m happy seeing them reuniting but also quite unhappy bcoz they will be not playing as couple this time plus it adds JHJ playing 2nd male lead again.Nevertheless,i don’t mind that much that JHJ will play 2nd male lead again as long as he do a complete transformation here. I believe this will be very beneficial to his career right now and might turn the cable if he will do good and I think this is the only chance for him to show something new as an actor since he is a sweet and reserved in real he is tend to be casted for the same role also. I just hope that his role here is a total evil.For me this is a triple treat having JW,KTH and JHJ in one drama..I hope this drama is good.
I think majority of korean drama watchers still recognize Joo Won is at least decent, based on the other blog posts and comments about him. Only this blog dislikes him so much, ha ha.
Jo Hyun Jae as 2nd lead – hmm…but I understand he wanted to do something totally different and you don’t get that many villain roles as lead character. I wasn’t thinking of watching this but will check it out to see if JHJ can do well in this role.
KTH and JHJ didnot get a happy ending in Nine tailed Fox and so sad they still won’t have a happy ending in this drama :/ NTF is one of my fave drama plus among KTH partners in dramas I like her chemistry best with JHJ. I’m still going to look forward to this drama to see JHJ act as a villain, miss seeing him in drama.
Joo Won is a fabulous actor. We are so lucky to see him in dramaland. I too love Jo Hyun Jae. I have to trust his choice to take on this role, even though I am not sure I want to see him as a villain. What I do not trust is this script writer. In GOM she hardly gave any screen time to 2nd lead Lee Sang-Woo; In My Heart Twinkle Twinkle she shifted the focus from the wonderful OTP to young Nam Bo-Ra, whose character was childish and irritating in the drama.
I don’t mind JHJ playing villain in this drama. He has wanted to play a baddie for such a long long time now, so I hope this role will satisfy him. JHJ is the only reason I am watching this drama.
I don’t have any issue about JHJ and KTH playing brothers.
My issues about the drama:
I don’t like Joo Won. I am not saying he is a bad actor, I just don’t like his kind of acting. He overacts.
I am concerned about the writer.
I am also concerned about the director switch.