Shin Hye Sun is a Cold Ballerina in First Stills for KBS Fantasy Romance Dan, Only Love

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• I scoffed as well when I saw the stills. That is not the posture for a ballerina let alone someone who is suppossed to be a Prima Ballerina. I like her as an actress but cosplaying as a ballerina is more than just copying movements. Wang ji won has the ballerina aura for obvious reasons and this time I agree would have been a better fit.

  • I’ve seen the trailer and it looks excellent. I can’t wait for this show to start. I really dreaded these comments when I saw those stills. Someone who also has no dance experience took and picked these photos to unfortunately post. I love the storyline and I don’t think it’s fair to judge a book by its cover or an actress’s ability for a role based on a couple stills. Lord knows we’ve all seen some amazing stills of actors looking their part & hated the show or their acting once we watch it. I love both leads and the team behind this show is solid so I have great anticipation & hope for this show.

• I used to do ballet until I was 14, it's really easy for me to spot when it's not a trained dancer on the screen, whether it's Shin Hye Sun here or Natalie Portman in Black Swan (minus the CGI shots where they pasted her head on an actual ballerina's body).

  Anyway this is just for a kdrama, I bet there won't be more than 2-3 scenes of SHS dancing anyway. In this case it's better to hire a good actress who's not actually a dancer, than to hire some 'dancer' who can't act.

  • For what it's worth, Wang Ji Won is not a 'dancer', those quote marks imply doubt over the validity of the description. A graduate of the Royal School of Ballet and a member of the Korea National Ballet, she was definitely the real thing.

    • I think you meant to make an original comment and not a reply to me haha. Wang Ji Won holds herself like a dancer for sure.

    • Ballet is a type of performance dance. If a ballerina is not a dancer, what are they? LOL. Literally, a ballerina is a ballet dancer.

• The story is that of a gifted ballerina who looses eyesight at like her teen years and looses her career and grows cold and bitter. So, I do not think she is supposed to play a seasoned ballerina to perfection. And Wang Ji Won, as talented as she is has yet to headline a drama with high ratings on her own merit so it is pointless to drag her into this. Shin Hye Sun is at her career's peak phase now and hence keeps getting offers and she worked hard without any agency for a long time to get here. Just saying.

  • Even shin hye sun got lucky because she was given a chance the same could have happened to wang ji won if she was cast for the drama. She could have pulled in high ratings too for all we know.

• I don’t even dance but these stills look awkward and if she was going for the clunky pose she sure nailed it. Also visually if L is suppose to fall in love with her it definitely won’t be for her visuals maybe she’s a great conversationalist or it’s her dancing? Either way 2 guys in a typical K drama trope; falling in love with the same girl who just happens to be cold and distant yeah...nah not interested. I find the same scepticism with Nokdu Flower with Han Ye Ri. Yoon Shi Yoon and Jo Jung Seok also fall in love with her. Yes I’m shallow when I watch my K dramas because I want beautiful drop dead gorgeous actresses on my screen especially when 2 guys are fighting for your love.

• As a BIG fan of Wang Ji Won, I applaud your comments, but I'm actually happy she's not in this Drama. I was told she was initially considered for this role, before the network changed its mind and offered to the name with the bigger drawing power. As someone else said, this makes commercial sense. Wang Ji Won is currently building her profile and name recognition by returning to her ballet roots, and it's going well. tiny.cc/wangzylog

  • The thing is we don't know how good WJW would have been since she hasn't been cast. I personally find her to be an interesting actress and for this specific role she might just have been the right combination of real life ballerina and actress. I know the bigger name must always get the lead but sometimes an experiment can be a good idea like Come and Hug Me.

    • I understand your reaction totally. ESPECIALLY because WJW's life story very closely matches that of the lead character. She didn't give up ballet by choice, but was forced to when she broke her pelvis and spent 6 months in a wheelchair. So she would have had plenty of real life experience and emotions to draw on in playing the part. I believe her own bitter break with ballet, having to give up a dream she spent 17 years pursuing, would have brought a realism to the part that few could match

      But in the end, money talks: At the time of casting she was still, for too many people, "Wang Ji Who?", whereas Ms Seon is a known name with strong pulling power. I've been a fan of Wang Ji Won for 6 of her 7-year acting career, I can keep waiting for to get the chance she deserves

    • With all due respect Come and Hug Me casting Jin Ki Joo was no experiment or happy accident. She landed the role right after her critically lauded role as the cold, manipulative and ambitious young anchor trying to climb up in one of the most successful show of that year aka Misty. Jang Ki Yong too came from successful role in My Ahjusshi and Go Back Couple. Both leads had enough good review and positive buzz before being cast as leads.

• Likewise, Shin HyeHye Sun was casted for My Golden Life after she was lauded for a stellar performance as a supporting role who died in Secret Forest. She went on to prove her worth with her acting in My Golden Life and Thirty But Seventeen as a lead. To be honest she's one of the few upcoming actresses that can act well. She is an actress portraying different roles and not cosplaying. It's a totally different meaning. How many cases do you actually get an actor with professionally dancing skills to act as a dancer or an ex lawyer turned actor to act as one? The answer is no and that's how acting is. Wang Ji Won may be the best choice given her background as a professional ballerina but in the end I would rather see a actress taking up the challenge of a ballerina rather than a ballerina acting as one.

  • Your comment basically undermines Wang Jiwon's acting ability which is at par with Shin Hyesun in many ways. Wang Jiwon has never disappointed even in the small roles she has played and was clearly the primary choice for the role that means that someone in the casting thought she had the ability as well. They only went for Shin Hyesun because she happens to be a bigger name just like Suzy was the bigger name but Suzy turned down the drama which is why it went to someone like Jin Kijoo. If Shin Hyesun had turned it down Wang Jiwon might have gotten the role and proven her merit as both an actress and dancer. There is hardly an difference in their skill levels it is only an exposure difference.

    • Well said Nomi, many thanks!

    • I liked WJW in ‘Fated to love’ you where she actually performed as a ballerina and even then I was amazed at her dancing technique and afterwards after reading up on her background I was equally impressed so it does suck two fold when you do read of her tentative casting for this drama knowing full well she would have excelled in the role if she was given the opportunity. Plus she has the perfect aura too. Oh well next time then.

    • Oh, I wasn't aware that Wang Ji Won was offered this role before Shin Hye Sun. I read reports and thought all along that Shin Hye Sun was the first casting choice. Any source saying Wang Ji Won was originally considered for this role? No intention to demean anyone here, my comment was only to say like what Gem and Kat said, no one got lucky. Shin Hye Sun did well and broke out in supporting roles before getting lead role status, not lucky as some has said. Wang Ji Won will get her break one day, I believe.

    • Suzy and Shin Hye Sun is on a totally different level. Shin Hye Sun is still nothing compared to Suzy's bigger name and pulling power.

    • Half of being an actor is luck because everyone struggles through side roles unless you are a super popular idol. SHS struggles are not bigger than WJW and since this drama isn't even a big drama since they cast L for the lead role why not have WJW as the lead? Its not like SHS needed this role if she is that popular she could have gone for a bigger budget drama with a more experience actor like PSJ or LJH. Neither of the male leads are very popular actors so why bother casting a 'big' name female lead give the opportunity to stars like WJW who have the necessary real life experience. She is just lucky to have gotten this role due to some of her last projects doing well but she does look very bad in these still cuts not convincing.

    • Wang Jiwon is from YG isn't it?
      A big agency. Ask her agency to get her some lead roles instead of complaining here.
      Shin Hyesun is not at fault for accepting the role. If you want to judge her acting, wait till her drama airs before bashing her based on a still cut.
      As an audience, I have no idea who Wang Jiwon is before seeing her name here, so I understand why the producers wouldn't want to cast her as the lead.

    • That is exactly the point that everyone is making. Cast an unknown for the lead role rather than someone who can't even pretend properly to be a ballerina. This is not the same as playing a doctor or lawyer. Playing a dancer is extremely difficult and a top ballerina would never have such poor posture so the the disconnect has already happened in the still cuts. JBL, Psychometric and Hug Me did well despite having unknown stars in the lead female role. For this particular role everyone is in agreement that a real ballerina would have been a much better casting. A known name isn't even a guarantee for ratings anymore so why bother casting her when she is barely famous. She could do better in some other role that would be a perfect fit for her because this one isn't it. Even in the trailer she looked very awkward just sitting on the stage because her posture was all wrong.

    • So whats your point? Shin Hyesun to step down and Wang Jiwon to take her place? No way is that going to happen so why cry foul over here? Are Wang Jiwon fans going to say that every ballerina role is hers from now on? Even Song Jihyo played a ballerina in Goong with zero dance background and look at how successful the drama was. If they are going to cast a real ballerina, might as well make a documentary instead of a drama. But too bad, Wang Jiwon didn't get the role. So fans can only whine and cry here. And if this drama is going to be a hit, fans are going to be even more bitter. Hilarious.

    • It seems like fans of Wang Jiwon are trying to push an agenda here. Interesting.
      SHS fans, just ignore fans of that actress. Most important thing here is that SHS got the role and the other one didn't. Its understandable why the other side will feel bad about it and try to start a fanwar. Don't give any attention to them. Just trust in the taste of the production team and audience because its them who chose SHS.

    • And just to clarify, there is literally no news about Wang Jiwon being offered the role. If anything, it is just guess and speculation that she would have gotten the role had Shin Hyesun rejected (which she didn't) because of her ballerina background. Stop misleading people that Shin Hyesun had stolen anyone's role.

  • I agree with you and Gem.
    Those actors had well known supporting roles before being elevated to lead, and not just because they are "lucky" or what like those fans assume.

  • Her character is a blind former ballerina....chances are she will not be performing ballet as often as you Wang Ji Won fans think. So why can they not cast her?? They can also use a body double which is fairly common and I believe the why they are going to go. See, I have been following the developments and the production have ballet companies aiding them. The arguement is going in circles here. Until this point, I had not heard Wang Ji Won being considered for the role. Yes, she is good but you cannot change the fact that she is not the same draw as Shin Hye Sun. She has yet to get that one second lead role that puts her in the map. I am sure she can shine but has not happened yet. So why drag her into this. This drama has not aired yet. How about wait and see. It may turn out to super bad or decent or excellent. So I would wait before judging Shin Hye Sun's performance from two promotional stills. Also Wang Ji Won is under a good label, maybe they should be more proactive in getting her these roles. Also, maybe just maybe she wants to distance herself from playing ballerinas, who knows. Lots of ifs and what ifs.

    • It seems to be standard for actresses who've recently broken out and are praised by critics and korean drama watchers as talented, to get shit on by some faction of koalasplayground commenters as "overrated", "lack of range" etc.

      To add insult to injury, they get talked about as if they don't deserve opportunities compared to even shitty idol-actresses who don't have even half their talent or can't deliver an actual ratings success. Shin Hye Sun is just the latest of these, the previous targets for shitting on used to be actresses like Kim Ji Won, Chae Soo Bin, heck I even remember seeing comments denigrating Seo Hyun Jin.

    • Wang Ji Won is not an idol actress you dimwit. Get over yourself. She is a trained Ballerina with acting skills to match those of Shin Hye Sun. None of the actresses except Seo Hyun Jin you have mentioned are considered good actresses by a large faction of the drama viewing majority hence their lack of popularity.

    • She might be good but apparently not smart enough to choose the right scripts. Thats why she is sinking in nugudom and her fans have to run to Shin Hyesun's drama articles to promote herself.
      Kim Jiwon and Chae Soobin might not be top-tier level at the moment but they have gained enough popularity to lead dramas now. Esp Kim Jiwon who is the lead of the big-budget Arthdal Chronicles.

• Sen - re the casting change, it's not something I *KNOW*, which is why I was careful to say "I was told". It may have happened; after all casting changes are routine for any number of reasons. Or, it may not. What IS a fact is that the Drama as currently cast has an actor with greater name recognition than WJW, a longer career in both film and Drama than SHS, AND a degree in ballet. Kim Bo Mi has actively kept up ballet as a hobby for years, it's a prominent feature of her IG. The reasons given for not casting WJW don't apply to Ms Kim, that's for sure. :)

• The video's teaser look good btw

• Seriously I have never seen any news of WJW being offered the role, why drag WJW into this unnecessary scenario. From what I read, SHS have been the official first choice all along. SHS is far from being a big name who has the luxury of choosing roles and I think she takes every role that is being offered to her. Is that any wrong to accept roles that is being offered? She's not even a big name to be paired with established popular actors. I notice that WJW fans always like to start wars against SHS and go around saying SHS took roles which would have been a much better fit for WJW. This makes me want to show my support for SHS even more. I hope this drama will be a hit and shut off all these haters.

  • L is the male lead. You have high hopes of a hit with his awkward acting. It'll be lucky if they have any chemistry at all. The writer is from Lucky Romance that had the worst most idiotic female lead. You're expectations of a hit are just dumb.

    • Same here @Sen I am not a fan of Shin Hyesun too but its kinda annoying to see her being accused of something so dumb.

      Btw @Jaby
      L has improved alot. He received good reviews in both Miss Hammurabi and Ruler. I watched both dramas and he isn't awkward in them at all.
      Why put down related actors and the drama just because Wang Jiwon didn't get the role? Whether this is a hit or not, it has nothing to do with her or her fans (like you).

• Poor excuse and argument calling out WJW fans for being disgruntled - so far from it. I’m not a fan of either actress but can understand casting can either make or break a drama and judging from these stills alone SHS can’t even strike a simple pose so yes using a body double will definitely assist with her cause. Again, visually; how can eye candy L and Lee Dong Gun bring themselves to fall in love with SHS? Cos it certainly won’t be over her dancing that’s for sure. Straight up chemistry factor is 000%. Hope the script will save this drama.

  • I wonder how you have been. This drama and the cast ( SHS ) u insult so much, has gain MORE recognition and lauded for her acting and hardwork.just info..she practice and start taking ballet lesson for give her best.