K-actor Ji Chang Wook is yet another 87er who is slated to enter mandatory military service sometime this year, and he hasn’t confirmed his enlistment date so it’s not yet certain what his final acting project will be prior to serving his country. It could end up being C-drama Mr. Right (Chinese title My Male God), which he is filming right now in Shanghai and will soon head to Korea for a location shoot. Costarring leading lady Wang Xiao Chen and second male lead Zhang Dan Feng (from Journey of Flower fame), the dram has Ji Chang Wook playing double duty as twins, one the perfect specimen and the other a rebellious wastrel. Guess which one is the male lead and ends up winning all the ladies hearts. The first stills are out for the drama and everyone is looking suitably animated and engaged. It looks promising enough not to bemoan Ji Chang Wook for slumming it, and honestly a ratings hit is what matters at the end of the day.
I am so watching it…what to say I am hopeless when it comes to ju Chang wook
Where can I watch this?
Oh my wookie boy..how can i miss the show of wookie thou i dont watch chinese drama but this guy make me to watch it…Really looking forward to it..
Miss him! Can’t wait to see him gracing my screen again. Hope for a Kdrama before he enlist!
*sigh* i wish it was a korean drama. So..I guess no JCW’s real voice huh..
JCW seems very popular in China now. He showed up several times on Chinese variety shows and was awarded something (I can’t recall) by the end of 2015. I also happened to see a list of top 50 male actors on a Chinese ranking site and he was among the other three Hallyu stars who made it to the list, following Jee Jeong Sook, Kim Soo Hyun, and Lee Min Ho. Idk if we can tell anything significant about drama quality by merely looking at stills or trailers. I never trust what pics or trailers or premiers try to sell. Take the over-hyped web adaptation of the popular novel, the Lost Tomb, for example. The trailers and stills looked so finely done and intriguing. But the entire drama season 1 is an epic fail.
Well, JCW is a sincere and hard-working actor with good work ethics. I hope his foray into C ent is successful. I’ll definitely check this one out.
*Lee Jeong Sook.
Showing up at various Chinese shows tells nothing but that he is easily available. You really think the people there think highly of him? They need to give him an award for being at their bids and calls.
I agree that he works very hard but a bit too ambitious. After healer he should try another k drama to set his print deeper in his own country. To the Chinese, he is just another Korean actor trying his luck in China. He still lacks experience and don’t look good if the 2nd male lead is better than him.
He’s also ranked among the top 50 popular actors along with other popular C actors on a rating site. Chinese variety shows wouldn’t give a shit to a nugu given that they have tons of domestic heartthrobs from young to old to boost ratings. Chime doesn’t ring if there’s no wind. Without certain popularity and fans in the mainland, those shows wouldn’t randomly invite a foreign entertainer as a guest. JCW appeared along with other hottest young actors on one famous show. Even you don’t like him, you can’t deny the fact his popularity in China is rising after Healer.
Well, rather than availability, I think it’s more about money. That’s why all the big names are venturing into China. If not dramas, then movies or Cfs. Korean productions have been underwhelming as well, so in a way they’re not losing much. Still think JCW’s acting is pretty impressive,though.
For Angel, I believe that after Healer, Ji Chang Wook has another movie named “Fabricated City”. And I believe that he already has his print in Korea. China is a big market, no wonder why big korean actor such as Kim Soo Hyun also spans his wing to China.
Chinese drama production is getting better and better. I’ve been venturing out from K drama land to C ent. And my diversion is very satisfying so far. Without fresh ideas and breakthrough inside K ent, K drama dominance eventually will be taken place by C drama in the international market, just saying. I don’t think it’s a bad idea for some K actors/actresses to take offers from C ent, either CFs or collab with C showbiz. Not for the sake of making more $$$$ only, but career wise, why not explore more opportunities outside the domestic market? Are actors paid well in S. Korea? I know in K music industry, even some (internationally) famous Kpop idols are underpaid by the American standard given that they are so good compared with average American singers.
“K drama dominance eventually will be taken place by C drama in the international market, just saying.”
I don’t see it happening for as long as dubbing is still prominent. I hear they even dub Chinese actors, right? Dubbing takes you out of any emotional connection you’d have for a drama because it washes away a lot of a scene’s emotional impact. I rarely watch cdramas myself so I won’t doubt you when you say the quality’s getting better or that they’re more interesting, but because of dubbing it wouldn’t cause a mania fanbase like kdrama does.
If they fix the dubbing then I’d be more inclined to believe they have a fighting chance in the international market.
If C ent can continue to produce dramas like Nirvana in Fire, dubbing isn’t a big deal at all. Being a K drama freak for years, I’ve just started to follow C drama recently and found it refreshing. What does really matter is storyline, directing, setting, styling, and use of cameras. K dramas are running out of topics with repetitive cliches and predictable plots. That’s way more a bigger problem than dubbing. When everything else is as good and doping as Nirvana in Fire, nobody really cares about voices being dubbed. It’s your choice not to watch dubbed C dramas. But I just observed that more and more international viewers like me divert our interest to C dramas from K dramas, just saying. I believe many fans including me are getting a bit tired of K dramas (specifically with typical stupid air-headed heroines). Besides, Chinese history is so rich and never runs out of material to be adapted into drama. Given good directing and cast, the story telling in C historical drama is often more colorful and nuanced than Sageuk. Film setting (such as ancient buildings, towns, palaces, and battlefields etc) is another aspect that obviously C ent has an inherent edge over K ent. After watching quite a few C historical dramas, I felt that those sageuks I watched before looked pale in cinematography compared with C counterpart.
Plus, C actors/actresses look more natural than plastic K actors/actresses. Sometimes I have trouble telling one K actor/actress from another bcos they look so much alike in facial features. LOL
Did Nirvana in Fire gain a big international following/fanbase? Good for it if it did. But I’m not talking about which has better quality, it takes more than quality to stir a passionate mania following (as we see a lot of crap kdramas causing mania and getting popular like Heirs), I’m talking about international appeal. Dubbing really stunts that appeal for majority of people regardless if you believe it or not
I welcome this kind of open discussions as long as no one gets foul mouthed and takes different opinions/perspectives personal.
I’m not saying at this moment C drama outperforms K drama. It’s not there yet. But read my first comment carefully. I said it would happen under a premise “without fresh ideas and breakthrough inside K ent,..” It’s an annoying but undeniable fact that the current K ent looks like exhausting their think tank for fresh ideas and lacking creativity. Nirvana had been broadcast in S. Korea and will be aired in Japan very soon. At least, not many (if not none at all) C dramas were purchased to be aired outside the vast C-speaking market. Nirvana is one of the recent C dramas that have gained much more popularity than other C products. Another one is Love Me, if You Dare. I read online blogs raving about these two dramas, specifically NiF. I’ve never seen attention to C dramas like this before. As to dubbing, I didn’t like it either. But as I said, other production qualities outweigh voice. Even K dramas never use dubbing, I’m gradually losing my passion to watch any K drama given stupid heroine characterization, idiotic plots, poor historical film settings and styles, and dull storylines. Well, while K ent stagnates inside their own cocoon, C ent is striving to beat their once-dominant neighbor to take a share of international market.
One last important fact. There are a lot of C-speaking international fans or some people like me who understand some Chinese. We used to be an avid K drama fan since there were not comparable rivals in the Asian drama land in terms of production quality. But once this club of audience find C drama improving and in some examples outperforming their K counterpart, they won’t hesitate to switch their entertainment venue and invest more time watching C drama. Language matters after all and this c-speaking league is HUGE.. For them (including me), dubbing is still better than crappy English subtitles and easier to follow. Some C dramas, though still did dubbing, used actor’s own voice to dub anyway. I believe all the C dramas eventually will get rid of dubbing practice. Why not? C-speaking T dramas have never used dubbing. It’s not like this is something difficult to get over.
I feel like we’re going around in circles because we’re mainly focusing/talking about different things lol. I said I’m not talking about quality and it was never about quality from my first reply. For all I care, both kdramas and cdramas have pretty bad production value in comparison to the western world. What draws people to asian dramas is that it can riles up emotions when people think American TV is cold. The emotions that get you wrapped up in the characters, not the storyline– that’s what causes a mania following. You think Boys Over Flowers or Heirs got big all through Asia because of storyline or quality? Of course not. Everything comes into play of being able to rile emotions and a big part of it is the voice and its true portrayals of emotions right in that moment. Dubbing takes away that quality of emotions no matter what and it leaves the international audience passive, people have a harder time connecting to it. That’s why I think for as long as dubbing exists, cdramas have no chance against kdramas regardless if you think the quality is better. The main thing people want is emotions.
“Some C dramas, though still did dubbing, used actor’s own voice to dub anyway.”
That’s not the point. You can never duplicate the same emotions, inflexion, breathing, tone, small details as when you’re acting out your scenes versus standing in a booth in front of a mic. I also agree with what ‘skelly’ and ‘whatever’ said under us. The voice is just as important as the face and body when conveying how you feel.
“I believe all the C dramas eventually will get rid of dubbing practice.”
Good, I already said it’d stand a better chance in the international market if it did.
Anyway, we have differing opinions and that’s fine. It’s not like I’m passionate about this subject lol.
We both agree we have different perspective and there’s no way one can win over the other’s point by maintaining our own positions. Well, for you and perhaps many other drama viewers as you claimed, dubbing devalues a drama more than anything else. But for me and also many others I believe, other drama production qualities still outweigh mere voice dubbing. We don’t understand Korean anyway, so in most cases we can’t really feel emotions from a spoken language we don’t understand given many English subs are really weird. In the past, K dramas appear to be interesting. But as I said, K production squads seem running out of topics to keep audience hooked. On the other hand, viewers of C dramas are increasing. And I attribute that rising viewership to gradually improving production values whether you like this trend or not. Since you rarely watch C dramas yourself and I’ve been an avid K drama fan for years, therefore I don’t think we’re on the same page to have any more positive exchange. Enough being said. We both just expressed our own opinions.
Nirvana in Fire is masterpiece where dubbing arent noticeable at all! Chinese dramas has evolved in quality and production.
You should watch Nirvana In Fire then. I loath dubbing before but this one drama the most emotional, heart-tugging and intense drama I ever watch.
@anastasia
It doesn’t matter if I think the quality or production is good, that was never the point. I’m sitting here talking about mass international appeal (and how dubbing stunts it) and you’re still talking to me about quality. If it was ever about quality then there are far more superior kdramas than Boys Over Flowers and Heirs that could have gotten internationally popular, you know why they didn’t? Because a quality storyline or production has never been top priority to the audience. It’s naive to think that just because a drama is good that majority people will flock to it– that is rarely the case.
You guys, I appreciate everything you’re saying but please stop replying to me since you’re never going to get it. You’re way too invested in the idea that quality will win over everything else but that’s not realistic.
sounds promising although I usually loathe dubbing.cant stand knowing it is not his own voice.
Same here. For me, the voice is a large part of an actor’s appeal – for example, everyone says that Alan Rickman’s voice was one of his greatest assets as an actor. He could keep his face totally impassive, and his voice would portray anger, resignation, distaste, wry humor. The voice is responsible for at least as much emotion and interpretation as the face and body! I think I would have given up on Sung Joon a long time ago – he keeps skating through productions playing assy characters with minimal effort – if it wasn’t for his voice.
I think for most people dubbing is a sign of a cheesy production; a sure sign that the acting is not being taken seriously.
I really agree with that last statement. When foreign movies are shown in theaters, they are never dubbed, always subtitled, which I prefer. Even when well done, dubbing can be awkward and distracting. It’s like you’re not getting the real thing.
I hope the drama do well and I may watched for Ji Chang Wook since I find him a compelling actor and I love the idea of him playing a twin role since he’s really good in complicated roles and this would be a new challenge for him!!
I haven’t watched many chinese dramas but I miss Ji Chang-wook so much I’ll watch this one.
I want another korean drama before he enlist tho…
i’ll give this chinese drama a chance for ji chang wook, but as others have written, it’s unfortunate to be dubbbing his wonderful voice
Be it chinese drama or korean drama. …Ji Chang Wook ..Hwaiting !!! ^_*:))
I cant wait to watch ji chang wook… again