Is it me, or is upcoming KBS drama Arbitrarily Fond getting a lot of media coverage? It’s not just in Korea, China is covering more on this drama than its same network and arguably even bigger budget and scope Descendants of the Sun. I’m equally excited about both from a screenwriter and cast stand point, but am wondering if Kim Woo Bin being the male lead of Arbitrarily Fond is the deciding factor in that drama getting more updates in the press. Two news items came out this week worth noting – the first is Arbitrarily Fond getting confirmed scooped up by China’s largest video streaming portal Tudou Youku (once two rival portals but since merged into one mega site).
The CEO of the site held a huge press conference this week to showcase upcoming dramas premiering exclusively on the site in 2016, and Arbitrarily Fond was the only K-drama touted as a big deal offering for viewers. All this before one scene has been shot? The drama better deliver on all the hype. Luckily for me, the project may have landed an additional acting talent I love to sweeten the pot – actor Im Joo Hwan is in serious talks to join as the second male lead. At least we know his height is capable of going head-to-head with Woo Bin, and hopefully Suzy will have even more impetus to come alive opposite these two two awesome leading men.
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I love Im Joo Hwan and looking forward to Kim Woo Bin in a drama.
Must say I am not excited by Suzy. Should have cast a way better actress but then she seems very popular in korea and china.
Star power really is something, huh? On paper, based on what we know so far, this sounds like any other opposites-clash-and-then-fall-in-love rom-com drama. There are about 5 cliches already from the plot description alone. And then there's Suzy.... I sure hope it turns out to be more than the usual setting, hijinks and plot conventions Korean writers seem to be in love it. Woo Bin really managed to avoid the boring mess that was Warm&Cozy, so it would be a shame to be stuck in another lame drama after Heirs.
Sometimes I feel so alone in my worries for this drama. While everyone goes on and on about how rom-com cliché it looks on paper, I'm thinking this is a Lee Kyung-hee script.... and I worry it'll turn into an angst infest makjang melo. All this talk about opposites attrack rom-com and it's young main leads makes me look forward to it, actually. But just thinking how I could end up checking the drama, liking the characters and enjoying the plot, only to have the truck of doom hit, leaves me numb and cold. Like all her dramas.
Tudou and Youku are probably the slowest streaming sites I have the misfortune to use though. There hasn't really been any Korean drama that excites me recently. I was looking forward to Decendants of the Sun for Song Joong Ki, but I can't get myself interested in the genre or the writer, so this long wait has almost completely killed my interest. I have much more faith in the Song Sisters, so this drama might actually turn out for the better, but so far my interest has still been well below the C dramas this year.
kim woo bin's hallayu star power is baffling tbh. yesterday i saw a video on naver about the real hallayu star ranking (must be because of Korean Pop Culture & Art Award yesterday) and as much as i love him, woo bin at #8 ahead of jong suk #9 is just..... say what?! he still dont has a first lead drama under his belt aside school 2013 (and school 2013 is nowhere a big hit anyway). He is the only one who didnt get commendation from KPCA award but still ranked top 10
lol just cuz they call it real ranking does't make it real.
Daebak koala really like suzu.. everything relate suzy always tobe hot news here like a gossip, keep aplause
I'd rather have him headline a cable drama. The plot, being cliche, is not much of a problem to me. Hard to find something new under the sun. Harder than getting a needle in a haystack. But even the character descriptions are meh. And it's such a waste to have him play as typical second lead.
Still, the exposure won't be a bad thing. :/
I was going to watch that drama anyway but Im Joo Hwan is a great bonus! too bad he doesn't get main roles, he's so good!
hope the drama won't be dissapointment.
I can't decide to watch or not. I love IJH but not a fan of either KWB or Suzy. Sigh....Why is that IJH not leading anymore? Imho, his acting is much more versatile than both the leads.
I guess you are not posting about Korean Popular Culture and Arts Awards
It's hard for us int fans to gauge how much coverage a drama/movie/event is getting (in Korea and/or China) because we rely on int sites like this one to get our fix of K-news, so I really wouldn't know if the hype is bigger than DotS. Just reading blogs, news sites, etc. I would imagine DotS and Cheese in the Trap had much more hype, even before filming anything, than UF. Guess it means I-fans are looking forward more to the first two, and therefore have more available info and updates in English.