Song Joong Ki Says Goodbye to Captain Yoo Shi Jin at Post-drama Press Conference for Descendants of the Sun

View Comments

• "There is no word on his next project" Huh? His next project was already announced around Feb 2016, which he mentioned at DOTS press conference. The movie is Battleship Island, in which he plays the role of a soldier again (some independent forces). It's set against backdrop of WW2, where he's part of some mission to rescue some 400 Koreans captured by Japanese. And I heard the female lead is a comfort woman. Filming is going to take place end of May or June until year end. As much as I dislike historical military movies, I'm going to watch this one just for SJK.

• LOL are you sure you even read what was said at the conference? No word on his next project? The news of him starring in a film with So Ji Sub was out weeks ago and he confirmed it once more at the conference where he even added he'll shave his head for the part. I know you don't offer the best info, but at least try.

  • Cool it.

    Koala is a human like the rest of us and has every right to make mistakes or forget things.

    You just try running a blog and having to post updates every few hours and keep track of news continuously to see what it's like.

  • No need to be rude.

  • I think she means after the movie you are talking about. She knows about the movie she wrote about it a while ago. So come down she is not coming from negative place.

  • It's okay guys. ^^ Thanks for the support but I guess some people feel the overwhelming urge to be patronizing. I'm sure their blog is always 100% accurate at all times. XD

    • "There is no word on his next drama but he has a movie lined up, and he’s certainly going to get his pick of roles and CFs."

      No, yours is accurate, it's just that they are selective on what they read and mixed the whole idea. Really, get a grip guys.

    • I know right? It's not like you have a real life. And keep track of Korean,Chinese and Japanese entertainment news. Plus watch dramas and do recaps.

      Some people just concentrate on obsessing over their bias and thinks the whole world should know their every move.

      I like SJK but not bothered to read about his news outside of a drama or movie he is currently starring in.

  • She said there is no word about he's next drama but he has a movie liend up

  • super rude. i know you don't offer the best comments but at least try to be less patronizing

  • I don't really nor do I think we should think Koala's blogs as some sources of news media. I consider her blogs as open forums for drama fans to share ideas and opinions more than entertainment news updates. For that purpose, this is a pretty decent place to play around.

  • "There is no word on his next drama but he has a movie lined up, and he’s certainly going to get his pick of roles and CFs."

    If you want to quote her line make sure it is correct. It was clearly written so please don't mix up things. Read with comprehension. Read it again and make sure you don't change the wordings.

    • I don't expect ockoala to have all the info 100% of the time, but that part was edited later. I know what I read, it was "there is no word on his next project" then straightaway mentioned he'll get his pick. Anyway, if it's edited, pls don't pretend it wasn't.

  • @ghiru - don't be so rude!! READ FIRST before commenting.

• To be honest, his character in DOTS was not that interesting. His character was the same in ep 1 as in ep 20. There was no character development or growth...it was just "I'm Mr. Awesome Badass Charming Soldier" from beginning to end. SHK's character was the one with depth and growth.

  I hope that in his next drama, he takes a role that actually has a strong, interesting character arc.

  • Yep, I agree with everything you said. And on top of it, I don't even think he was all that believable as "Mr. Awesome Badass Charming Soldier". Charming maybe, but definitely not buying the awesome badass. IMO he couldn't quite portray the hard edge that his character (a special ops captain with 15 years experience) required. Like Koala said, we bought it regardless because he did play the witty, flirty, confident side of his character pretty well. But overall I think SJK is a bit too gentle, soft, baby-faced and not masculine enough to play roles like this.

  • Yes, but he was charming and engaging to watch. Both characters needed each other and complimented each other. I do wish SJ had a bit more depth though, though I feel his job being so difficult was part because he couldn't open up much. He needed support and understanding from MY, but he wasn't ever going to be more than he was, which was a positive guy who helped people.

    • Though agree 10000% that MY's character carried the show and SJ was there to change her and she grew from her love of him, usually it's the opposite where the female lead is there for the male lead to grow... but here it's all MY.

  • I couldn't agree with you more :)

  • Is there a guide or measurement system that measures the interesting degree of characters based on only character growth/development? To say that a character is not interesting because it did not have any character growth is quite ... underwhelming. There can be irritating/bitchy/get-on-my-nerves characters who develop a lot during the drama, but I can still dislike them. There are other factors such as personality of the character, what the actor brings into his character, acting skill etc.

    So yes, we all know Yoo Si Jin as a character did not grow much throughout the drama. (No need to keep repeating that point) Understandably, a character with 15 years of army experience is already a stable character. If the director / scriptwriter wanted a male lead that developed a lot, they would have set it as a young soldier of conflicting background who just started out in the army - that would ensure lots more growth (i.e. just like Onew's character).

    And despite the flat character growth, most people still find Yoo Si Jin an interesting character.

    • Can't agree more! When or where did it say in playwright 101 that an interesting drama character must entail character development? LOL..I don't see any particular character development in other critically acclaimed dramas and films. Only fans in Kdramaland dwell on this element so much.

• I totally forgot about his movie, prolly cuz I am only looking forward to his dramas, heh. But more SJK in anything is great for his career!

• Love the man! I'd watch a movie of him eating cereal.

• The movie actually sounds interesting. The problem with actors when they reach hallyu status (and he was getting there or already there even before DOTS because I think he's a major factor in the drama's success.) is they tend to stay away from dramas. I don't begrudge them their CFs and making money in China and movie careers....really I don't; I just like to see them in drama world. I do think there is a fear factor in jumping into another drama again after having such a huge hit because you just never know if it is really going to work out or be a dud. I guessed DOTS would be successful but nothing like what happened. I enjoyed parts of it, but it was definitely flawed and my final thought was: this could have been epic, but it wasn't.

  • I think working environment and pay scale are the major factors that rising acting talents may prefer to stay away from dramas once they are demanded in other sectors such as filming and CFs. Why not? We like our favorite actors/actresses to have more frequent appearances in drama that is more accessible to us. But from their perspectives, getting offers from movie industry and CFs is like huge promotion.

    • agree. we all know dramas are one hellish three months of no-sleep, all night filming. Luckily more Hallyu and A-list actors are pushing the pre-produced method like DoTs and Uncontrollably Fond. And then you have actors who have a special relationship with the director or writer and is willing to come back for them like Jo In Sung. But Song Joong Ki seems like a loyal guy and would be down to come back for a drama if the opportunity fit. Right now though, I think he wants to challenge himself more as an actor so I can also see him doing different roles in all types of medium and genres, and can be more experimental in his characters. Considering how he's protective of his privacy and is more down to earth, I'd be surprised if he went for another mainstream type of drama like a rom-com just to get more fans/cater to them; i think he's gotten plenty of love.

    • The only reason K-dramaland is pre-producing is because of China's new censorship laws which means they have to see the drama completed or it cannot air simultaneously. I agree they should get everything they can when success hits because it can be very fleeting....doesn't mean I won't miss them though.

• Adore this man.

• Love to watch him in everything. His looks are not my favorite. But somehow he exudes a lot of charm in his dramas thanks to his versatile acting talent. He may not look masculine as ppl perceive to be but he looks great in uniform to the surprise of the DotS PD and the producer. He was also extremely badass in action scenes thanks to his agility;even his costars in DotS Alpha Team all said that he's man of man in action scenes. Special forces don't necessarily look masculine in appearance. (Can see that from the documentaries of several US special forces units.) The most important qualifications of special forces are physical endurance and agility besides other more intellectual criteria such as sharp acumen and leadership. Masculinity is never in the list of special forces criteria.

• I'm not sure if my gut feeling is right or not. I always think ep 12 could have been a complete and good wrap up of DotS. But product placement demands from investors prompted either the extension of unnecessary storyline to more episodes or the other way around by cutting several scenes in the last 4 episodes so that they could be forcing comical/awkward PPL into the script. Such a pity. Perhaps they could have had more narratives using Uruk as backdrop. But because of PPL demand from investors, they had to snatch the setting back to S. Korea. Who would really drive a new Hyundai model in a war-torn country anyway? LOL.

  • see the funny thing is, they broke even way early in the drama, like ep 4 i think. so for them to recut and focus more on PPL in the last episodes is ridiculous. But since the upfront cost was so high in the millions and that pre-produced dramas have had low success rates, i can see why production wanted to cover their butts by contracting a ton of PPL before the drama aired and then they became obligated to show them. i just wish kdramas had a better advertising format to more easily recoup these costs instead of depending on selling foreign rights after the fact

    • I guess the PPL demand from the investors of DotS must have been overwhelming given the exorbitant production cost that's actually equivalent to that for film production. Several news reported that DotS investors have recouped all their investment costs and started reaping huge profits from PPL in DotS until now. While I'm happy that pre production with sufficient financing from these investors has made DotS such a huge hit and SJK shoot to Hallyu stardom, this could also be a concern that any talented script writers can ever come up with sensible screenplays without comical interruptions from PPL.

• read many comments here on YSJ having no character development... just because the writer did not put much effort in changing YSJ. I feel SJK is doing great to play this role, but this is not his best acting. I enjoy Werewolf Boy and The Innocent Man a lot more in terms of his range and emotions portrayal. I trust that he can show us a whole lot more if he is given a better script...

  • YSJ was already "perfect" to start with. He didn't need to change.

    • Does that mean he didn't need a real acting, just look handsome and stay as a kool badass captain throughout the whole drama? Interesting.

    • @Rockyroad, I guess you're not a fan of SJK as many other ppl and I. So you sound very sarcastic. It's your taste you don't appreciate his acting in DotS. Nonetheless, staying cool badass also entails skills. Some actors can't look cool even they try extremely hard. Interesting!

    • @rockyroad
      No? I'm definitely not down playing SJK. I love him and Captain Yoo. He did a wonderful job and was very compelling and beloved for a reason. It's wonderful to see a nice guy who was respectful and brave as a main character for sure. SJ also had an air of sadness to him as well, but he hid it well. But you could tell he really needed MY to make his life happier. He just didn't dwell on it.

    • @mel, this Rockyroad along with some other visitors of Koala's blogs are troll to DotS and the cast. I've already read multiple comments of theirs on different threads. They just snuck on to grind their axes and deliberately dissed up the drama as well as the cast. After reading so many of their comments about DotS and SJK or SHK, I won't bother to have reasoning with them.