The first stills are out for upcoming romance sageuk A King Loves, which true to it’s title is based on a novel all about said king’s love for a woman. Maybe there’s the typical palace and power play intrigue involved but all I see in the synopsis is a love triangle set in period garb. Starring Im Shi Wan and Yoona of SNSD, the drama released the first batch of stills showing the two leads as their respective characters. It’s a testament to how visually burned I’ve been from the recent batch of sageuks featuring the worst hair pieces ever, namely Hwarang and to some extent Rebel: The Thief Who Stole the People, that my first reaction is relief that the hair looks good here. It’s not the first sageuk for either lead but Im Shi Wan’s turn as a childhood era character in The Moon Embraces the Sun was actually one of the most underwhelming among all the talented youngsters so here’s hoping he can take the improvement shown in Misaeng and translate it into sageuk style.
Rounding out the cast is notably Hong Jong Hyun as the second male lead and the other point of the love triangle while Park Hwan Hee is the second female lead. Veterans Oh Min Seok, Jung Bo Seok, and Jang Young Nam, among others, add depth to the proceedings, with the drama being directed by the PD of Glamorous Temptation, Mama, 7th Grade Civil Servant, Royal Family, and Dong Yi.
I wish they would give second lead their own love story rather than the usual love triangle … I will give this drama a try and I hope it will be good
Well, if they follow the novel closely, it definitely wont be the usual love triangle… or the usual love lines for that matter.
I read the novel summaries on a forum, and imo the romance is more intrigruing than what they’ve been advertising.
(*SPOILER-ish*) In the novel, it’s more about a King who got jealous seeing his bestfriends fell in love with each other. Despite adoring the man and loving the girl, he couldnt stand to see them together and he eventually began to tear them apart for his personal ambitions.
San/Yoona actually chooses HJH’s character Rin and they have the “romance” Siwan is an anti – hero…..it’s quite interesting actually.
I’m not really convinced by the cast. I like Im Shi Wan but for a drama based on a love story, I’m not sure. I’m not a big fan of Yoona like an actress, in K2 I didn’t like her character and I think that it’s a part of the writting but not all. And Hong Jong Hyun was not really good in Moonlight Lovers (like all the princes except LJK and KHN).
To be fair, Hong Jong Hyun stepped up his game in the later half of Moon Lovers. He was stiff in the earlier episodes but his turn into a manic king was one of the highlights, though he is still a long way to the level of LJK and KHN.
Im Si Wan always seems too delicate, too tender to actually portray a ruthless king. But may be it’s a good trick cause that gives him a deceiving personality. He has proven himself in Misaeng but sageuk is really a genre to verify whether an actor can really act or otherwise. His fellow ZeA’s band-mate, Park Hyung Sik is fantastic for a sageuk first timer despite the mess that is Hwarang. A lot only stay watching the trainwreck because of him. So I am even more intrigued of whether Im Si Wan could really deliver.
On a side note, the hair in Hwarang is really not that bad except the miraculous hair case of Park Seo Joon. Don’t be fooled by stills because the boys do look decently good, esp PHS who could give LJK a run for his money.
Park Hyung Sik need another sageuk seriously, he looked so good with long hair and hanbok like he’s really a person from that era, he need a serious sageuk next time.
The first still of Yoona with the loose flowing hair gives me IU’s vibe. That scared the hell out of me since I wish to forget the nightmare of trademark O_O expression.
Oh man.. I had enough of conniving, morally corrupt, power hungry royals and concubines with their thirst for thrones & love triangles saeguks. The recycled plots are getting boring and tiresome. Don’t even get me started on that royally piece of mess of tht Hwarang
I wanna see saeguk with serious tone. I’d prefer Saeguk with more martial arts, more intrigues and more political or strategy issues. There is the love story but not the main part which makes the drama more interesting since usually the heroine is as strong as the hero. But most of korean-saeguk makes the heroine is so weak and should be protected by the hero. Sigh. I think Chinese historical drama is still the best for me.
You obviously didn’t watch enough historical korean dramas. The best ones arent the overhyped light-hearted messes such as Hwarang. It’s dramas like Six Flying Dragons (probably the best korean drama of all time), Empress Ki, Queen Seon Deok which have everything you mentioned (political/strategy issues, serious tone, martial arts and little romance) and are true masterpieces. As someone who’s watched over 100 chinese and korean historical dramas, korean ones are better if you watch the right one
Instead of saying that Korean historical dramas are better than Chinese ones, maybe you can just say that you prefer Korean ones. I personally believe that everyone has their own preferences, and I totally agree with Klopoy. For me, a lot of Korean historical dramas are lacking in some schemes and traditional arts within their dramas while Chinese historical dramas incorporates every single art and intriguing schemes into their storylines. But no matter how much I admire Chinese historical dramas more, I would not say that Chinese historical dramas are better than Korean historical dramas because even sometimes Korean historical dramas are better. It all depends. Also, since you said that you watched over 100 Chinese historical dramas, do you mind providing me some historical Chinese dramas to watch? I’m bored, I need new stuff to watch. However, if you were just exaggerating to solidify your case, then I understand for you needed credentials to substantiate your claim that Korean historical dramas are better.
ISW will be find yoona ating is still not good. she only better then SUZY IU in turn of acting.