I haven’t seen Kim Ji Won since her late spring KBS drama Fight For My Way finished airing, with a relatively successful ratings run as the drama premiered over 10% AGB and mostly went up to end at 13.8% for the final episode. It was her first drama since doing the mega hit Descendants of the Sun, and this time she earned her upgrade to female lead opposite Park Seo Joon. My interest in the drama waned as it went on and impression of Kim Ji Won remains steady from her DotS performance, she’s good but not great, or maybe the feeling is better summed up as she doesn’t blow me away in star charisma onscreen. There are plenty of lesser actresses in technical acting ability that somehow make up for it in camera connection, but then again Kim Ji Won does have a bright future considering there is a lack of competition in the good actress contingent these days. She continued to do solid modeling work and the latest brand pictorial for J. Estina is perfectly lovely in the clean lines and soothing color scheme.
I loved her in dots,but her performance in fight my way was over the top. Though her chemistry with park seo joon was catching.
But yeah she is going to have strong career in future.
But i must say, Kim Ji Won looks really pretty here. She has a very dustinctive look which isn’t like the cookie-cutter looks of other starlets, she looks good in these clean lines.
Also I am really happy for her that FMW did well, it’s an even bigger achievement since it was a sleeper hit that started out at 5% and people initially thought was going to get buried by My Sassy Girl.
Also it’s funny how we constantly give shitty actresses a pass because they’re ‘nice’ or ‘worked hard’ but constantly nitpick the flaws of anyone said to have talent. She’s an actress who really elevates her material and is versatile to boot but if it wasn’t for Kim Eun Sook, KJW would still be relegated to second lead roles.
Kim Ji Won is so lovely. In some angles/expressions she kind of looks like an Asian Leighton Meester (actress who plays Blair Waldorf in Gossip Girl).
Omg she does! I see it. Both beautiful ladies.
She actually modelled her performance in Heirs on Leighton Meester in Gossip Girl so the resemblance is even more pronounced.
Both are beautiful ladies and great actresses, I hope they go far.
I totally disagree. I find the whole “star power” completely overrated anyways. She’s a true actress who understands that acting is about being a chameleon, about playing your part to further the story/narrative as a whole rather than stealing the limelight from partners and side characters. Her subtlety is what makes her a great actress. I don’t appreciate you shitting on her due to what you perceive as lack of “star power.” Korea has a weird obsession with idols, beauty, and star power over true acting talent. I feel it’s one of the things holding K-Dramas back from growing as a true artform.
Thank you. Not only Korea is in this situation. The whole entertainment industry around the world has been pushing mediocrity lately
??Well written. However, I find Kim Ji Won is very pretty also and I don’t think it’s just S. Korea beauty obsession. It’s probably most of South East Asia beauty obsession. The actresses that doesn’t conform to their normal beauty standards are the likes of Bae Doona and Gong Hyo-Jin but they have tons of talent to make up for it.
Well said. The dominance of product placement in kdramas is like poison for them in terms of quality, not just by the insertion of obvious and jarring PPL but by the casting of shitty actors whose only ‘talent’ is endorsing things, purely for the purpose of getting PPL. Is that going to be their legacy in the end, just product endirsements?
And I agree that Kim Ji Won isn’t a ‘star’, she is an actress and an excellent one at that, she got big through great performances and not via media play even if she too now has to do more endorsements to earn money and raise her profile.
Wow Kim Ji Won getting bashed for her looks and talent. She may still lack in some areas but she is so young and looks like she will surely improve. She needs good writers and directors to work with. About her looks I find her extremely pretty just because she is not styled like a Goddess doesn’t mean she can’t look prettier.
Meanwhile Suzy keeps getting heaps of praises here. Without the make up and styling Suzy looks just a girl next door by no means prettier than Kim Ji Won. And lets not even talk about acting talent here.
And there is definitely not lack of talented actresses on their age group and prettier too. There are plenty of them but they couldn’t get lead role due to shitty actresses getting preference.
Kim Ji Won and Jung so min are some of the few actresses in their age bracket who are the hope and future of Kdrama world. They are in equal terms beautiful and talented.
If we look at only star power and popularity then leading actress roles would fall in laps of popular idol ‘actors’ like Hyeri, IU or Suzy (I like them individually and as singers but as actors…..) *shudder*. Then it’s time up our bags and leave Kdrama world behind.
For some reason, I agree with you. I don’t know what the future holds for both these actresses but I hope all the good writers and PDs work with both of them so they can rule the small screen. This is because with the marriage and childbirth of the more mature actresses. We need the next generation (and with talent) to step up. Other more noticeable actresses that I hope can be given more chances are Park Eun Bin, Shin Hye-Sun.
KJW, JSM, PEB are all in the age range of PSH, KSR, PBY, HHJ, SSK, PMY, GAR and LYH. the 92-88 range is already saturated with a lot of good actresses and most of them like KJW and JSM are almost pushing 30. Odds are they’ll be married in another 2-3 years and having kids themselves. Their generation has already moved on. The upcoming generation is the 93-99 line which is still young enough to play 20s roles but NJH, Suzy, Krystal are all playing much older characters so the early 20s roles are not for them anymore. There isn’t much talent available for early 20s roles which is why we are seeing more and more late 20s and early 30s characters on TV.
KJW is only 26 though and JSM looks young for her age. I can’t guess what age actresses will marry but SHK got married at 36 which gives these actresses a good 4-5 years to make something out of their acting careers before KSH and KYJ step up. I don’t put Suzy and Krystal as the same league as these actresses because their acting aren’t on par and they are ‘idols’.
Yes KJW- 26
PSH,KSR,PBY,SSK,GAR – 27
PEB – 25
JSM – 28
LYH – 29
Add +1 to get their Korean ages which is how they are seen in Korea. They are all already pushing 30 and playing roles of 30 somethings as well.
TaeJiHye got married quite late by Korean standards but only because they are megastars who didn’t want to ruin their careers. Many actoesses get married early like HGI or not all like GHJ, HJW etc. Not sure how they will do in the future but some might get married and have kids in next 2-3 years while some will keep trying to reach the level of PSH and PBY. Most will stay as mediocre though. Doing small productions on cable which may become sleeper hits but won’t make them hallyu stars or give them a salary boost.
The 3 Kims are already superstars with screen presence, beauty and hallyu stardom. Starting next year they be playing all the 20s roles and then idol actors like Sejeong, Joy and Minah who have proven themselves will be the next Suzy, Hyeri, Yoona.
There are lot of actresses/actors who reach stardom at 30s and a lot of hyped young it girls loose them at their more matured age. All she needs is a smash hit project and good luck then all of the world will be in her awe.
Unfortunately the kim trio is not overhyped nor can their acting ever be topped by rookie actresses or even veteran 30-40 year olds. People say how can only a few actresses dominate the entire age category by park shin hye, kang sora, shin se kyun, park bo young and go ah ra stole all the roles 20 year olds at their time which is why jung so min and kim ji won have already been forced to play 30 year old olds and are really late to the game. Big stars like lee jong suk, lee min ho, kim rae won and even song sung by hoon will never act with kim ji won and jung so min. There best hope is to get a hold of actors like seo kang joon before they get popularity. Twenty year old roles now I belong to kim troika and all the big budget dramas as well.
@Hidel – really? Lee Jong Suk and Kim Ji Won have already played costars and love interests in High Kick before they made it big, and she got popular in a drama with Park Seo Joon and was reportedly considered for a drama with Park Bo Gum last year.
Maybe next time don’t behave like you’re some expert in who gets to work with whom, the Kim teen girls are talented but they can’t do every drama, there are only two of them in dramaland. And Yoo Seung Ho’s (Kim So Hyun’s most recent costar) next costar is Chae Soo Bin, so it’s not as if these 20s actress girls don’t have a chance now even if they had to work a lot harder than idols to get it.
@dreamcatcher, whilst it may seem these actresses are ‘trying’ to catch up with PSH and PBY. I feel differently, do you mean in catching up in terms of Hallyu status? However, that is just popularity status. Most drama audiences don’t just watch a drama due to ‘Hallyu’ status, especially if they can’t hold the audience as the drama continues. PSH and PBY will be doing films more anyway and they have kind of won every award out there from excellence award to President awards. The only thing they may need to push for is Daesang but that can wait since their age permits.
I agree the 3 Kim’s are popular but acting early 20’s and early 30’s are a different age bracket.
Catching up means in terms of popularity as well but not hallyu popularity but popularity in the public eye in all age categories from teen to haraboji-halmoni types. Most Korean actresses don’t appeal to a wide audience which is what makes TaeJiHye and PSH-PBY stand out. PSH may do more movies now but PBY has been doing movies and has now moved to dramas so its the other way round. PSH will still turn out one drama every other year if not every year even if she does do movies because she mostly does small roles in movies because she’s still trying to find her confidence. Also catching up means in the kind of roles offered. Will they be big productions that will get them a lot attention or will they keep doing those surprise hits now and again with no guaranteed audience support. I mean just because one drama happened to work doesn’t mean they all will but for PSH-PBY all their dramas work even very badly written dramas with stereotypes and cliches. I feel KJW is good so is JSM but their breakout happened much later than it should have. Now that they’ll only play 30s roles they have to compete with not just the entire 90s line but also GHJ, KTH, SHK, SMA, HHJ, PMY, JJH and more. If you notice even older actresses like GHJ and JJH have strated playing younger than their actual ages which never happens to 20s actresses but since no one wants to play 40s expect those in their late 40s like Kim Hee Sun and Kim Sun Ah who don’t have a choice all the top actresses are in their 30s now and they all are playing the early – mid 30s roles. So the pool of actresses for 30s roles is not small but those for 20s roles is small and those actresses who have already aged themselves up too much in the age groups they play won’t be able to play younger anymore because of the image they have created for themselves.
In the next year, SHK, KTH, JJH are baby-watching. I’m not sure JJH wants to come back to dramaland now after her last experience. GHJ and HHJ are on a different level to KJW, JSM, PEB, SHS, if a drama writer/PD was faced with choosing between these actresses, there isn’t even an argument who would be chosen. PMY has stressed she has found it difficult to not get stereotypical roles for some reason. That is why I say, I hope the good writers and famous PDs give these girls a chance and at the end of the day, it is up to us audiences to give these talented actresses a chance for their big break. It was not too long ago some people were doubting PBY, whether she was the same status as PSH but look at her now. PSH-PBY may have big fandoms but like you said some of their dramas are badly written (thou shall not name them). I’m not asking for them to reach SHK status (popularity and fame). Even a small peak in their careers (however long or short) is a good thing for them.
Il just say as far as acting goes.Inserts my favourite quote:
Kim Ji Won>>>>>>>>>>>>>Great Wall of China>>>>>>>>Suzy.And am being nice.You really dont wanna read my thoughts about this blog entry.
I give up, lets do this.Ok I do get what Unnie Koala is trying to say and to a certain extent, I agree but the timing is just wrong.Seriously, dragging KJW’s acting just after praising suzy in the blog right below it for her acting.Come on now????!!!
For starter’s the ratings speak for themselves.Fight my way, double digits throughout.WYWS single digits.The combo of Korea’s IT girl, star writer, hallyu actor, and a huge fanbase hasnt really helped matters.Even though,KJW is a technical actor and yes her on-screen charisma is a bit meh.Same with Park Seo Joon(in onscreen charisma), her partner.But their chemistry, acting and a slice of life story(which usually flop) manage to hook the audience from start to finish.This is why its funny that KJW is being looked down for her lack of “star power”.But I guess different flavours, for different folks.
Yeah it speaks volumes that a little-hyped slice of life youth drama has ratings so much higher than a romance thriller by a star writer with Hallyu/idol star leads.
Also agreed that it’s not a good look to be writing posts undermining young actresses whose performances, even if they are imperfect, are ten times better than anything Suzy has ever delivered. KJW isn’t the first to get this treatment on thus blog either, naturally koala can write what she likes but we can also observe patterns.
she looks pretty here. I also think her FMW performance was too basic. too much cliche acting for her first lead role tbh
I like kim ji won & park seo jun but tbh just couldn’t finish fmw. The second pairing was more likable than the leads the entire time but still my interest was lost for some reason. Will try and finish it eventually.
That’s a great way of undermining Kim Ji Won’s success. She has enough star power and star charisma to make a slice of life drama that would usually flop into a hit. FFMW wasn’t an average hit either, it topped online rankings and some of the scenes went viral. You have the nerve to shit on KJW who’s actually a good actress and one of the saving graces of DOTS while praising a no talent actress wannabe like Suzy. Your bias is showing lol
FMW wasn’t as big a hit as people make it out to be. It wasn’t even the highest rated weekday prime time drama and PSJ-KJW have a lot less screen presence than LJS-Suzy, YSH-KSH or even JCW-NJH. Everyone doesn’t have to like a person just because they have some acting talent. Even Park Shi Hoon is crazy talented does that mean we have to like him.
lol nice ‘alternative facts’ here but let me drop some true facts:
1. It premiered with very little publicity in the same slot against a hyped show with much bigger stars (My Sassy Girl) and its premiere ratings were like 5 percent.
2. By week 2, it had double digit ratings which rose all the way to 13.8 percent on Nielsen by the end, and it kept steady double digits almost throughout for full hour episodes. WYWS is still in single digits and got double digits only like once or twice in 24 half hour episodes. Suspicious Partner wasn’t first in its time slot either and Ruler is widely known to have lower ratings than MBC wanted after all its publicity.
3. It was #1 on the Contents Power Index which measures internet buzz for all tv shows, not just dramas – it was beating even Infinity Challenge, twice in a row. Do you see LJS-Suzie, JCW-NJH or YSH-KSH’s dramas doing that? Too bad for you that FMW was more successful, facts must hurt.
Sorry not to add fuel but am tired of seeing people drag down YSH-KSH for Ruler as if it was there fault the drama didn’t get higher ratings. Ruler still did pretty well on CPI even if it didn’t top it. It was consistent in the top 5 in the beginning and end and for the middle parts is stayed in the top 10. Basically it never performed poorly on CPI unlike what people keep making it sound like.
Yes Ruler didn’t hit 20% but no drama in the 2nd half had hit 20% yet. The new batch of dramas may do so but Ruler still has done well in a ratings starved environment and Kings Love and While You Were Sleeping as well as Sassy Girl had lot more hype than Ruler which was entirely dependent on their lead pairing for buzz and ratings.
How does Park Shi Hoo relate to Kim Ji Won though?In this case,we can clearly see that KJW and her talent is being dragged for a purely superficial reason i.e she is not gorgeous enough in Koala’s eyes.Or to put in another way, her success doesnt measure up to her looks.Thats why people are calling her out for it.That bullc*ap about her star power or charisma or whatever is just a cover up on what she really thinks about her.
On the other hand, Park Shi Hoo is not liked as of now, not because of his looks,talent or personality.Its because his image took a hit with that scandal plus his attitude toward the whole thing.Kim Ji Won has none of that.Unless you can enlighten us.
She is free to write whatever she wants to write..itd her blog.She is also free to like whoever she wants to like.we all do.everyone has biases.But its a free world and since this is a playground.Everyone is gonna have an opinion about her entries.Some aint gonna be prettty.
@RubyRed – that was very accurate. Koala has her biases and they are sometimes viciously expressed (look at the post about Hyeri getting cast in Reply 1988 and one of her group members having a wardrobe malfunction after that; I was reading back then and was shocked at the tone, and btw I don’t even like Hyeri).
This is slightly more subtle – complaints about young actresses recently elevated to lead roles ‘not having screen presence’ or ‘coming off like a shrieky second lead’ (when that was literally the type of roles they had before) and are joined by threatened fans of idol-actress types …I get it, likes are subjective and this is a personal blog but it’s still what I observe. Though I can respect that at least koala lets non-trolling disagreement in comments through.
I can’t take you seriously when you mention screen presence and Suzy in the same sentence. She’s like a blackhole of on-screen presence
@Sunshine – ikr? ‘Screen presence’ my foot. And don’t even get me into the dumb claims about ratings, the Nielsen ratings table for FMW compared to WYWS says enough.
I’m glad there are sane people like you who brings solid facts to refute the dumbass comments made on this website
I’m not surprised lol. I remember that before its release everyone thought WYWS would get high/decent ratings (double digits to teens at least) like the writer’s previous full-length dramas and crush its competition but it isn’t even consistently top of its time slot, nor is it the highest rated among the weekday dramas, and the vaunted ‘improvement of Suzy’s acting’ ain’t all that either, she’s no more regarded as a good actress now than Hyeri after Reply 1988.
As for buzz, Temperature of Love is getting more domestically and Because This Life Is Our First gets more buzz among ifans from what I can see. Cue the excuses (baseball! Chuseok! LJS’ dramas aren’t highly rated anyway!) and tantrums towards more successful people/dramas.
I’m just surprised Kim Jiwon isn’t considered top tier like Park Shinhye and Park Boyoung. She is gorgeous, good in acting and has starred in two hit dramas (three if you consider her supporting role in Heirs). Koreans seem to like her as well, they praised her beauty and said she doesn’t lose to Song Hyekyo in an article about Descendants of the Sun.
It’s because park bo young and park shin hye made an impression years ago. Kim Ji Won can definitely hold on her own and she proved it already. Now PDs have to cast her as a leading actress in more dramas. Unbelievable that Suzi with her no talent no skills got to act as a female lead only because of her looks and company power…
They aren’t even on the same playing field how can anyone compare superstars like shinhye & boyoung to a newbie like jiwon. Even seojihye doesn’t come close to hanhyojoo level. Stars who have big onscreen presence for a long time can’t be overshadowed by some newly discovered stars just because they are little talented.
@teacakes and sunshine, a big thumbs up. Keep up the good work. You’ve said it all what was in my mind.
Kim Ji Won has plenty of star power! She looks stunning in these pictures. Her acting in FMW was over the top at times but never cringeworthy. IMO, she is tons and heaps prettier than Suzy. Though Suzy has the innocent girl next door vibe that Koreans generally like. KJW has a more distinguishable face compared to Suzy’s cookie cutter face (aka Korean standard of beauty ?).
They aren’t even on the same playing field how can anyone compare superstars like shinhye & boyoung to a newbie like jiwon. Even seojihye doesn’t come close to hanhyojoo level. Stars who have big onscreen presence for a long time can’t be overshadowed by some newly discovered stars just because they are little talented. It takes years to build take kind of talent and new stars can’t catch up if they get their break too late.
Nobody is comparing Jiwon to PSH or PBY. We’re merely stating how KJW has what it takes to be a superstar. Its ugly to belittle newbies like that to buff up your superstars. For the record KJW isn’t even a newbie, she’s been acting for nearly a decade and her breakout happened 2 years ago so whether you accept it or not she’s an established leading lady
I Loved her since the heirs
she is always looks pretty
Big thank you to the above posters for standing up for a talented young actress. Always so encouraging to see someone rise up to lead role by virtue of their ability.
Those calling out the unsubtle dig at Kim Ji Won while Suzy gets championed here… u echo my thoughts
Pretty!! She looked like keiko Kitagawa for me..