I have major deja vu vibes from last fall watching Vagabond, writing about it each week hoping it gets better and getting those hopes dashed while watching my baby boy Lee Seung Gi valiantly hard carrying the nonsensical plot. At least that drama was well made but The King: Eternal Monarch fails on all levels and finishing up episode 10 I think there is probably enough footage from 10 episodes to stitch together 1 episode worth of good drama worth watching. Here’s what’s good: the detective squad, both Woo Do Hwan’s AFTER they met and now Jo Yeong and Eun Seob are gold and the only cute gems in the show, Eun Seob’s little sister of the twins and her don’t mess with me sass, Shin Jae (he should have been the male lead and if viewers want Lee Min Ho to play him should he have been the male lead so be it), Luna, and……that’s it. Anyways, the show remains terribly directed and the romance between Lee Gon and Jung Tae Eul is so poorly developed and wanly exhibited it’s like a 4th grader wrote it as her first attempt at a romance novel. At this point one should finish watching as either a fan (good for you!) or a complete-ist otherwise it’s a better use of your time watching ANY OTHER Kim Eun Sook drama from her 12 earlier works.
Koala did everything she could now it’s time for the drill and the pattern to come full circle.
This is like Koala 2.0 during Heirs she bashed ratings yada yada drama rised and had the buzz everywhere Koala got bitter started to throw her toys away and get personal we are now at this stage. Where Drama couldn’t be stopped and the moment where Koala loses it and there you have it folks. It comes clock wise and certain things are bound to complete the pattern
Lmao. I was thinking the exact same. Koala is predictable
Criticizing koala’s opinion on this drama and calling it “banishing” is so one dimensional. This drama is really, really bad. Everything koala said I agree 100%. But it’s my opinion and hers is hers. Anyone who has the same opinion on a drama that continue to produce crappy episode 10 years down should expectedly be predictable. Why not? Who told the production people to produce this extra hype drama this year way? And a big budgeted one at that. You like the drama? Good for you! But I don’t. Koala dont. Many others dont. Why do you think the ratings drop? Continue to watch and support it if you like, but don’t force your opinion on anyone.
Correction: “bashing”
The fan delusion is strong here – y’all think Koala’s making up ratings and domestic relevancy like an evil fairy going poof with her wand? Wake up and smell the flop, kids, this one has hit the bin hard and nothing short of a miracle is going to save it.
However, I have, like Koala, officially given up. I can’t suffer through this speed train’s journey to Hell any longer. Fans want to act like this shitpile’s charm is that it’s ~deep~ and ~meaningful~ and ~complex~ but absolutely no-freakin-body signed up for this much investigative work just to understand what the hell is going on half the time. We wanted an alluring fantasy with just enough humour and mystery to keep us engaged and what we got instead was a PPL fest with terrible acting and a script that even a high school drama teacher would fail.
TWOTM is finally over but considering the complete lack of public interest in this nonsense, the ratings won’t be positively affected by it. CLOY is still dominating Netflix in Asia on a daily basis so even there this isn’t at the top but we’ve already had the “Netflix relevancy” conversation before so……yeah. SBS and Studio Dragon must be going absolutely bonkers right now lol they probably thought they’d bagged a DOTS/Goblin all-in-one blockbuster when they green-lighted this disaster.
I am Cloy fan But I don’t think you have been following closely about who is dominating asia or Netflix. Lets keep the discussion about local shall we
@ Base – LOL. If we keep the conversation local than TKEM is even more screwed than normal. CLOY started off with great ratings (6% – approx 10-12% if adjusted to the free-to-air shows) and only went up with every episode. It ended with 21% (approx 35-40% with adjustment), which is a great achievement for free-to-air shows in modern times but extraordinary and record breaking for cable shows. TKEM broke into double digits like four times since it’s debut (and has only been going down since) and I’ll bet my kidney that it doesn’t hit that again until maybe the last episode. So, locally speaking for your benefit, TKEM is even more worse off locally than it is on Netflix. Hope you’re happy!
King is trending in Netflix in countries such as Philippines,Malaysia,HK, Thailand, etc.
In Japan CLOY is no. 1 followed by IC. And Japan has got the largest number of subscription in Asia.
Also CLOY is in top 10 in other Asian countries since many weeks.
@bella
People are slow these days. The only reason I said keep it local was because I know TKEM is trending worldwide and has been trending everywhere
@Japan dose not have more Subs than other countries you mentioned It’s about the same. TKEM is in fact WW hit while Cloy can’t compete with it on that front. I am telling you this as CLOY fan take it from me
@Base Are you sure Japan is happy with this drama? Quite frankly, this drama is almost like a Chinese propaganda.
Not meant to be political, but just saying this drama is being broadcasted at a wrong time.
very well said,you expressed things I was thinking as well,I gave up half way through episode 8,was bored,bored,bored.
Sorry girl but this drama is still a flop.
You think its ratings are going to rise? Wake up and smell the coffee.
You know, I think that it’s extremely rude to read another person’e blog and bash her views. Even if they were unfounded and spiteful, you can simply NOT read it. But you do, that’s the amazing thing. And her views are neither unfounded nor spiteful. She’s not bashing LMH, not even the writer, but just writing what she thinks. LOL, you can have your views, but she can’t? Moreover, this particular post actually lists what she LIKES about the drama. It’s you who should tamper your comments. It’s like going to someone’s open house and criticising their interior deco and the food they serve. Don’t go if you don’t like it, don’t eat if you don’t like the taste. Just don’t go round complaining.
There are actually options you have:
1. Stay away.
2. Write your own blog!!!
3. And if you don’t have the skill for that, you can always still find another blog that gushes about the drama.
4. Start a chat group with those who like the drama and only want to gush about it.
I have been reading Koala’s blog since 2013 I know her and know her tendencies like I know my girlfriend. I have fun reading her blog on and off maybe you are new and don’t know her. She is consistent if anything she simply dosen’t change anything. She has the right to voice her opinion I am not her to shout her up. She tends to get personal with some celebs which I find slightly not my style to go there but aside from that I think she is a decent blogger and I have no issues with her. I would even drink with her if possible and she could bash all she wanted. The truth is I like Koala she is good company
Ms Koala is not making up the numbers. These are DISMAL ratings, especially for a free-to-air channel, and look even more pathetic against the ratings achieved by the recently ended World of the Married, which smashed past 25% – astonishing for a cable show.
Viewers, at least in Korea, are letting their fingers do the talking, and their message is “bye bye” to this turkey. Since Netflix doesn’t reveal detailed ratings, the only objective numbers available are these, and they do not make for pretty reading.
Talking about Heirs, it also got beaten by Secret rating+quality. Kinda the same as World of Married with the King, no one expected Secret to beat up Heirs and Heirs only get better rating after Secret ended.
No one also expected that World of Married beat The King with enormous gap, both Secret and WoM has makjang element that execute very well by acting, producing and the whole crews.
I think this is a lesson that what makes drama good is when everything can be link together, work together as ensemble cast and not just bringing famous people even if they doesn’t match.
Show like Misaeng, Prison Playbook and Hospital Playlist or Reply Series will always be on everyone recommendation from time to time but show like Heirs (that now associated with bad drama that no one recommended), DOTS (who is now associated with boring and doesn’t even come up in recommendations) and Goblin (who is now associated with overrated and getting less less recommended) because it’s something that when the rose coloured glass is off, people start noticing the negative things about them.
Even drama like Secret is beloved with people who love angs and makjang.
I think the fans should just see that KES doesn’t have the longevity that will make it recommended beyond its years. Rather than blaming a blog, look at the quality.
Even CLOY feels the same as MLFAS, that’s people stay away to recommended now while show like Reply 1997 is still on the radar.
Heirs wasn’t a legacy to be hold to said that a blog ruined them when you can find a lot of people think it’s the worst drama ever.
Heirs and Secret Garden was written by the same writer Kim Eun Sook but I can say i love SG it was well-written why I got bored when The Heirs is playing only woke up when OST is playing and Kim Woo Bin is on screen we can’t deny The heirs had a great OST. In all the hype I don’t like DOTS at all all that close up shots mess the drama and SHG acting is lacking that’s why I like Goblin the most but in all KES drama I love CITY HALL and MR SUNSHINE they are all both well-written and all the characters came out strong. CLOY got all the hype and I enjoyed watching it and all but for me I still love MLFAS more. I think Kim Soo Hyun’s acting and Jun Ji Hyun;’s chemistry is more better for me and they portray their characters very well. I’m not against CLOY but as a long time Korean drama viewer my expectations is really high now.
Secret played by jisung. Not hajiwon and Hyunbin’s secret garden.
OP talked about Secret (2013) by Jisung and Hwang Jeung Um not Secret Garden
Why do people never do their research when talking shit about CLOY? Its been critically acclaimed by worldwide news outlets for months now, is still dominating Netflix and has become a viral sensation in Asia since it began airing. The North Korea / South Korea topic alone makes it intriguing and set for longevity, even if it does borrow some aspects from MLFTS. People have been recommending it for quarantine watching in droves so I don’t know where you managed to get the idea that “people stay away to recommend” but try not to bring up stupid ideas like this again.
Looking at MLFAS, people hadn’t been recommended it after it years, that will happen with CLOY, no longevity like many KES hit drama
Heirs will always be popular within a certain age group because what it did, it did very well. Don’t shit on past KES projects that were very successful, they were successful for a reason. I would recommend people watch Goblin, DoTS and Heirs because they hit a certain sweet spot in kdramas. It’s too bad about TKEM, but it has life on netflix and who knows what the opinion of it will be years from now. CLOY is one of my favorite dramas and would recommend it whole heartedly.
Very well said.
Koala is not wrong to write what she feels about the drama on her own blog, come on. You like the drama? Well good for you because many don’t and I personally dropped it at episode 6. I was almost tempted to pick it up again when I heard Episode 7 and 8 were great but after this week am glad I didn’t. Am not a fan of KES but I hope she comes back better and not only bigger next time.
All the Criticism aside, koala is really capitalizing failure of this drama.
To quote Winston Churchill: “Never waste a good crisis”
finish twom now back with the king,i dont care bout the rating,romantic development or what but i do love this drama and cant wait to see the story unfold.i love the storyline.everyone have their own cup of coffee❤️
I am enjoying this drama currently. Everyone for his own they say. I have been hugged on it since the day I binged 4 episodes.
I like the cast and everything surrounding and mostly the premise is what kept me going.
U r just bitter at the single digit rating.
I am real fan of his. I good with the rating. Not bitter at all but satisfied with it. I think it has been good drama for him to be part of
I think Ady’s comment just got deleted. I was replying to her.
I love the drama thats all I can say. I have been following it since the beginining. Very interesting storytelling by KES it keeps you on the edge which is one of the reasons why I am watching this to begin with.
I am fan of art and not actors, writers etc etc nor antis. It should be avoided specially the later one you can like something but being obseessed with celebs you don’t like is not good.
ALL in all great drama by the way and can’t wait to watch more
By the way. I am real Fan of his I don’t share any of Ady’s opinions on the drama or on Koala stop swearing first of all
Not a fan of his but I love the drama and I think it should get a 2nd season and will probably get a second season. That will be great imho. I think Ady is Koala’s alternative account trying to generate traffic with her
nice try but ady is, sadly, not a sock puppet of koala. They’ve been seen on kpop blogs too.
Have you read what Ady’s post here before? She often make many spelling or grammatical errors in her English. Besides, didn’t she mention that she was from India or something. I don’t think Koala has posted articles and etc with so many glaring mistakes
I’m still enjoying this drama. Did not liked LMH that much in first 8 episodes but I think he’s turning it around in 9 & 10. also reading theories about this drama has become my favorite timepass.
Regarding the debate about its popularity. I think a LMH or KES drama is always going to be popular in Asia. I was actually surprised it’s reaching top 10 every week here in India on netflix. They may be on decline but they are still going to be relevant for few more years.
I think the problem with LMH was that he didn’t get to do much in the earlier episodes besides being the lovesick lead. KGE to a lesser extent suffered from this too. KKN got to actually be interesting by having his own arc and by being allowed to show his conflict and angst. WDH didn’t have much to do at first, but at least he has double roles, and now he gets to showcase his skills by having those double roles impersonate each other (and getting the best comedic moments in the show). I think LMH gets to show his skills now that the show has reached its central conflict.
I understand that you dislike the drama (and that’s okay! Different strokes for different folks), but your criticisms are getting ridiculous now. I love Shinjae and KKN is absolutely stellar in his role, but making him the lead doesn’t make sense at all. The story is essentially a battle between the king and his usurper, and even the parallel worlds and fantasy elements of the show were only made possible because of the king and his bloodline. It’s okay if you don’t like Gon or even LMH’s acting, but way to miss the point of the story. And these 10 episodes can be compressed into 1? How would that work when there are multiple story arcs? I bet you would still complain because the story would be too fast then.
I think Lee Gon is so poorly developed that the character could become a catalyst while the central character and emotional development is Shin Jae being kidnapped as a child from the Kingdom to the Republic and his romance with Tae Eul. I don’t mind if the drama casts Lee Min Ho as Shin Jae, it’s not Kim Kyung Nam but the character being much more richly developed vis-a-vis Gon.
Yeah, but I personally feel that KKN is doing more justice to that role than LMH’s current level of acting would have, if the roles were reversed. I’m not a LMH hater btw, and I’m just judging by how they’ve acted in the drama so far. I barely felt Lee Gon’s sadness during his uncle’s funeral, although his eyes were sad, he was still quite stoic/expressionless.
Honestly, it would be fun. The yoyo boy read King Arthur, after all Guinevere was in love with Lancelot too 😀
I just think that Shinjae is too grounded as a character to be the lead in a KES drama. She seems to have always preferred the larger-than-life type for her male leads except in Mr. Sunshine and DOTS to a lesser extent. Mr. Sunshine was a serious sageuk so it made sense while Yoo Shijin still had the classic KES alpha male bravado. And to be honest, I enjoy the lore and alternate history so much in this show, and those tie to Gon’s character, that I also like him too. Your concept for Shinjae is very interesting, and I would honestly watch it but only if handled by a different writer. Signal’s writer comes to mind.
You made me think about how sometimes, the second (or in this case, the third) leads are better written or more interesting than the first lead. I thought that Baek Kyung was more interesting (and better acted) than Haru in Extraordinary You. There were even cases, for me at least, in previous KES dramas like Youngdo in Heirs, Reaper in Goblin, or Dongmae in Mr. Sunshine. But even in those cases, I thought the male leads were fitting for the story. Same here in TKEM.
And I just don’t see anyone else playing Shinjae as well as KKN. Maybe LMH would, who knows. Unlike his hardcore fans, I don’t think he’s the best actor out there, but I feel like the other extreme downplays his skill too much.
Totally not convinced of the romance between Lee Gon and Jeong Tal Eul either!!!
1. How can Lee Gon not realised that it was a guy who saved him when he was young? ><
2. Maybe she is the girlfriend of the guy who saved him? That’s why the name tag is with him? Or the guy stole it?
3. The date on the name tag is a clear proof that the guy who saved him was a time traveller. The girl is likely to be one too.
Honestly, I last thing I would do is to date her….
He knows the guy who saved him is not JTE. Also the person who saved him was himself. There’s time loops. The reason he fell in love with JTE is due to residual feelings they had for each other in previous time loops. KGE always had a feeling about something with him and that their relationship would be short lived so she rushed with her confession. LG had loved her from previous time loops and will always keep loving her. That’s why the savior had her ID in his pocket because it was himself.
I’m sure some people will take extreme exception to anything koala has to say about this drama, but I agree with the comment from the last King post that comments need some moderation.
Be mad at her or at others for having the “wrong opinions” on her blog if you want but just know that you sound like deranged misogynists using words like b*tch, cnt and words like that against other people just for liking or not liking some actor, or saying their skills are poor/drama is a flop. This is not just about TK/LMH posts btw. If you’re that invested in some celebrity (and I say this as a fan of some Korean celebrities myself), GET HELP.
I agree with you. I have been reading but the language used is not socially acceptable. I am surprised that Ady person is allowed on this site. No commenting for a long time because of that. Thank you. I miss Ginger Crunch and prettyautumn. You are always sensible.
candycane! Good to see you back.
I’m no prude, I don’t mind if people say ‘fck’ every once in a while but slurs are never acceptable language to direct at other people.
I’m glad you agreeing with my comment from the last King post. To be honest I’ve been coming to this blog for news and recap of Korean dramas for YEARS and I’ve never commented until yesterday. To have to repeatedly see this Ady person hurling insults at anyone who disagrees with her was just too much for me to not say anything and the fact no one was complaining or asking for her to be blocked was strange. I’m surprised Koala is letting this person on this blog.
I’ve politely asked them to stop namecalling and swearing before but they then denied they were namecalling at all or say they were teaching the “haters” a lesson, or say that it’s ‘misogynist’ to point out that this one group of fans is freaking crazy. The persecution complex is too strong.
I don’t mind people having strong opinions or using strong language, I will openly mock the delusional no matter whose fans they are but this was off the charts. Thank you for speaking up. I get koala might not have the time to moderate comments but at least I think comments swearing at other commenters should be removed.
I try not to ban a specific person but moderate comment content more but it’s getting harder…. There are so many really extreme drama viewers out there, does make the silly happy loving freewheeling days of yore even more precious and nostalgic.
I miss the old crew so much, too! I will keep doing my best to moderate while balancing the delicate line in allowing different opinions. I’m so busy sometimes I can’t get around to deleting offensive comments until a day or a few days later but rest assured I will do my best to keep this Playground a cordial place.
Thanks, koala. I realise real-time moderation is hard but the comments have been a bit much lately.
Thanks for saying this. Look, I’m no saint and admit to being a “hater” of certain artists, but that Ady fangirl is on another level of toxic. I’ve honestly lost count on the number of times she’s called people btch, whore, hag, fcker, retard, racist, etc. Nothing against cussing once in a while, but every sentence? lol
It’s not just one person. But it really poisons the atmosphere on here and I’m sick of it.
I think we can all agree that if your victim complex on behalf of your faves has caused you to call people cnts and whres while defending people you don’t know and will never meet, you’ve lost the plot.
@ Royal We
That Mama is also one of the extreme-lover of LMH and the drama. She basically make Koala a gold-digger and a money-crazy lady, just because she writes something bad about the drama.
Finally, I’ve able start watching this drama. I must say I don’t wonder why this drama is not doing well. That political statement in the drama is just so wrong in many levels esp in the midst of current happenings.
Let us just say Lee Min Ho has chosen the wrong project.
He might have wanted to get an easy comeback with a delusional writer who promised him no acting and just to look good by standing around. Lazy attitude for a lazy person getting low rating. No pity for a loser.
So true….
He didn’t choose wrong project based on writer’s track record and how her dramas elevated her last few male lead’s career. He only needs to look good and the rest is done for him, right up his alley for an actor with mediocre acting skills and is only known for his looks to hallyu fans. He is not even considered that handsome in Korea.
Right. I have not seen any his poster in Seoul subway stations for a long time. LMH is so old and long gone. How many CFs does he actually have now?
LMH is the weakest actor compared to GY, SJK and LBH. Can he really act? LMH will be forever known to be the lowest rating of KES dramas. LOL.
Sorry I don’t agree on bashing LMH, that’s not fair. I was only referring to the political aspect of the drama. That was wrong, I am curious why it was even allowed to be aired.
It’s interesting to recall that Hyun Bin’s post military comeback (Hyde Jekyll) flopped hard too.
I think between Hyun Bin’s flop, Ji Chang Wook’s recent flop, and LMH’s current potential flop, there are two main takeaways:
1. Female leads are hugely important. Even a popular handsome Hallyu actor can’t hold up a drama if the female lead does not have enough charisma or star power.
2. The story is hugely important. Trying to play it safe for your post-military comeback with a bland, uninteresting plot is not going to cut it.
Hyde Jekyll was with Han Ji Min… You do not get a bigger female star than her. JCW is a good actor, but he always has been one level below the popularity of Hyun Bin, Gong Yoo, Lee Byun Hun, Kim Soo Hyun or even Lee Min Ho.
I think that the drop in popularity has to do with the fact that people are forgetful (out of sight, out of mind). It is difficult to reignite your career after post-army/break, as you do not appear in anything anymore (not even CFs or SNS). So the average fan goes to support other actors. Real stars will eventually bounce back, but only if you are an A-class acting talent and get multiple chances such as HB.
LMH made the wrong chess move. He went for the easy way out and wanted to restore his career as grand and as quickly as possible, but it backfired. If he went for a lower budget series, he would get the same buzz outside of Korea and the viewership ratings would still be the same in Korea as his dedicated diehard fans will watch the show no matter how bad it is. Heck, with a little bit of luck he would have hit a homerun with an unexpected success such as Kang Haneul. Interesting will be to see how Kim Soo Hyun will perform. He took the time to find a good story and went for a relatively low-budget story, so he can only go up from there.
Han Ji Min is a good actor but she’s never truly carried a drama by herself or generated buzz simply by being involved. S-Tier actresses (who can actually act) like Son Ye Jin, Jun Ji Hyun or Jeon Do Yeon captivate audiences from the get-go with sheer involvement in a project but also manage to keep that allure with their acting prowess as well, hence their several acting awards and commercial success for multiple projects. Hyun Bin needed an actress like that for his comeback but more importantly, needed to choose a better script than the garbage that was Hyde, Jekyll, Me. Lee Min Ho chose to comeback with a weak actress and a hyped script from an overhyped writer – can’t blame him for the first one since I’m sure he wasn’t completely involved in that decision but he really should’ve read the script for this more thoroughly. It’s proved at least one thing about big stars returning from their military service though – either you hit it out of the ballpark or you strike out. There really seems to be no in between.
Han Ji Min is not a very good actress IMO. I tried getting into Hyde Jekyll Me, and I thought she was boring and had no charisma.
Also, in my opinion Han Ji Min is not nearly as popular or well known as the likes of Song Hye Kyo, Jun Ji Hyun, Son Ye Jin.
I don’t even know what roles Han Ji Min is known for, and I’ve been watching kdramas for almost a decade.
@Asdf, have you watched Dazzling? HJM has also won lots of awards in Movies. She did poorly in HJ&M but this is only one flaw. SYJ is also very bland in Personal Taste. If you don’t know what HJM is known for, watch some of her movies, not just kdramas!
Han Ji Min’s role in Ms Baek won her a Blue Dragon, Baeksang for best actress… A Grand Bell is still pending.
Song Hye Kyo is far from being so acclaimed. More popular? Yes… Better actress? No way…
Han Ji Min is a beautiful actress and had good chem with HB. The story was ambitious. Hyde J & Me is not a bad watch IMO. I don’t think all is a loss with LMH, diehard fans will watch and TKEM technically didn’t lose any money so you can only go up from here.
Winning acting awards is different from having the popularity or charisma to carry a drama or draw audiences. That’s the biggest test, and SHK has proven that ability much more so than Han Ji Min.
I don’t understand why CF is a measurement of success. CF is just a fallback for some actors. They do CF because they don’t earn enough from their main source of income. Have you seen well established actors doing CF left and right? Only rising newbies do that and long time actors who accepts acting projects once in a blue moon.
Won Bin
Jean lol. Is wonbin still considering as actor? Not even a single movie… he’s rich as a CF model.
But SHK, KTH, JJH are established actresses. They did CF a lot. Actors? The moviw actors did it too. Ah also LMH, KSH, PBG did it. They are established already.
CFs keeps your face out there. It relates to the out of sight, out of mind comment.
When artists go to the army, they disappear overnight. So if they have a CF or a very active IG-account, people will remember them. If you have ever been to Korea, there are so many actors and idols debuting every year that it is becomes difficult to keep up your reputation if you are out of the spotlight.
Also do not think that CFs are not a measurement for success. Artists such as Won Bin, Lee Young Ae, Jun Ji Hyun, Song Hye Kyo, Kim Tae Hee, Lee Byung Hun, Hyun Bin, Gong Yoo, Kim Soo Hyun and Lee Min Ho earn tens of millions dollars (and even 100m USD before the Hallyu ban in China) strictly from endorsements. It is definitely not a fallback. Acting in a CF cost relatively little time in comparison to a movie/drama, but the pay is the same.
Prestigious actors such as Choi Min Shik or Song Kang Ho are definitely not richer than the Kim Soo Hyun’s of this world. Have you ever wondered why Moon Sori (one of Chungmuro’s best actresses next to Jeon Do Yeon and Kim Hye Soo) and Lee Hee Joon decided to appear in Legend of The Blue Sea in support roles? They hoped to boost their fame, so that they could appear in more CFs. CFs are the real money makers.
Those fallback CFs you are referring to are those CFs for some random app that idols appear in. The big ones for Amorepacific brands or soju brands are definitely more lucrative than appearing in movies on a per minute basis
Did those well-established actors specifically say they don’t want to do CFs coz they’ve already made enough money from their movies or you’re just assuming coz you haven’t seen them endorsing products?
Yui. Once an actor always an actor. Look at Tom Hanks. Won Bin’s resume is very impressive. LMH, on the other hand, has received NO prestigous award except popularity, I don’t even want to comment on him because of his crazy fans. Anyways, my point is – Won Bin is an established actor. SHK, KTH, JJH are established actresses too, I agree. But I thought we are talking about actors, not actresses, correct? For actors, I can only think of Won Bin. This is my opinion.
Nad, I think that Choi Min Shik and Song Kang Ho are one of those actors that take their profession very seriously. They want to have the aura of a high-quality actor and will not sell out with CF appearances. Nonetheless, they will never be able to sell make up or sports brands such as NEPA (Jun Ji Hyun), Discovery (Gong Yoo) or National Geographic (Ju Ji Hoon).
But you cannot disagree that the likes of Jun Ji Hyun, Gong Yoo and Ju Ji Hoon are people that need to supplant their kdrama/movie income with “fallback CF money”. They do them, because it pays and not because they lack “enough money from their main source of income” such as MistyEyes claims.
My apologies Nad, I thought you were reacting to me, but you were reacting to MistyEyes. Anyways, my previous comment is still relevant, albeit aimed at MistyEyes and not you:P
Did many actors say no to CF? The answer is big YES.
I agree with point 1. Very much. But for LMH, this project was not an uninteresting plot. I’ll say the story is very interesting on paper but somehow failed when executed.
Ep 10 was more interesting than ep 9 but the thing is the team is not consistent. I wonder if the production team changed cos I got some of the heart fluttering moments in the romance dept this episode. A wee bit but better feels than previous. The whole scene, the music and the timing was much better executed IMO.
Anyway, good actors will come back. No need to worry. They’ll have failed projects but they’ll get offers. Just maybe not as much as they hope to get?
@Astar. Thank you for your comment, but I believe my statement is actually more factual than you think. The script is the same, so story wise it would still be good.
By why do I claim that Jun Ji Hyun would be more popular than Son Ye Jin in terms of viewership? First of all, Jun Ji Hyun is a much bigger star than Son Ye Jin in Asia. Every shirt, ever lipstick she wears… it sells out. Son Ye Jin does not have this power prior to CLOY. Second of all, it would be her long-awaited comeback. This is another factor.
With a story like CLOY, any S-tier actress or actor could carry it. This means that if Hyun Bin would be replaced with Gong Yoo or Kim Soo Hyun, it would still be popular. What I am trying to say is that people downplay the power of the story. That comes first… the actors are second. As long as they are S-tier, they will pull in the ratings. Which S-tier couple would be the highest mainly depends on extraneous factor such as “whether it is a comeback”, “the popularity outside Korea” etc. and less so on acting potential (since all S-tier actors have a base level of acting and will have some chemistry with each other). But the claim that Son Ye Jin could carry it without an S-tier actor or Hyun Bin could carry it without an S-tier actress is straight up bull. But we both agreed on that statement earlier.
agreem CLOY wouldn’t get even half of the rating without SYJ, to be fair, she has the best recent track record with pretty noona than HB
Yes, and same with DOTS without SHK.
Memories of the Alhambra was more popular than Noona Who Buys Me Food… Hyun Bin definitely had the best recent track record…
PSH is a rating darling, even doctors gets high rating despite many people don’t think it’s the best drama,
has it just HB, nah, not even half, not to mention people all disappointed because of that drama
@pppp. I am only disappointed with PSH especially her crying in MOA. HB is acting very well in MOA and the bromance is perfect. Don’t get me started on the MOA rampage. PSH is the miscast. Why do you bring up such an unnecessary person in this article which has nothing to do with her? How dare you compare her to A-listers SYJ? Their resumes are not even close. PSH has no movie credits. Has that Call movie seen any light of being released?
@smh
Bringing PSH because the female lead is important in drama rating.
CLOY will not get half the rating number without SYJ just like how MoA will not even get half the rating number like PSH.
As much as people wants to dismiss PSH filmography, it’s true that she is rating darling in SK, no matter how she act or the drama quality, she always gets high response. This isn’t SYJ vs PSH things. Lol smh
I believe MOA ratings would remain the same with or without PSH. MOA storyline did not revolve any loveline. Emma can be anyone. The sister is a more interesting character than the forever crying face. Didn’t you say Heirs wasn’t really a hit? I wonder who was the FL in Heirs. Examine your words. Don’t be a hypocrite!
Besides Noona Who Buys Me Food and CLOY, most of SYJ’s drama were doing average. They did between 10-15% on public channel. During that era, dramas were doing 30%. Look at Han Hyo Joo’s earlier works… She is a rating machine. Same with Jun Ji Hyun. Son Ye Jin is known in Korea as a film actress, not necessarily for her dramas.
Furthermore, Hyun Bin has always charged the most per drama (the others are Kim Soo Hyun, Jun Ji Hyun, Lee Byun Hun and Lee Young Ae). You can only charge that much, because he is popular. Also, PSH hardly played a role in MoA. She was a main lead on paper, but was off the screen 50% of the time.
Finally,I can bet you that Hyun Bin, if paired with Jun Ji Hyun, would have done even higher than with Son Ye Jin. SYJ is part of the success, but I think Hyun Bin has his equal share. Were it Jung Hae In or Nam Joo Hyuk (A-list star, but not S-tier), the drama would not have done so well.
@ Watcher. i fully disagree that if JJH was in CLOY it would have been more popular.What was the basis of your conclusion?Acting Prowess?? Popularity??. I don’t think it is the first one cause both are veterans so no point in comparison. However if popularity in terms of successful drama streak counts then JJH indeed has an edge over SYJ.But we all know popularity alone cannot drive a drama to success for exa TKEM. I dare not compare LMH acting with JJH but in terms of popularity and fame I can.
SYJ may have pretty average dramas ovee the years but she takes diverse roles. Everyone loves their work to succeed but SYJ herself admitted that ratings only is not her priority. If it gives satisfaction to her then she is happy.
I watched MLFTS way before CLOY. And I thought I could compare them as both had many similarities in terms of theme involving star crossed lovers. The fl characters were also somewhat similar. JJH was good at comedy but I couldn’t connect with her in emotional scenes. I was not able to feel her pain of separation in MLFTS but with CLOY I did.The final dmz scene says it all.I don’t remember shedding a single tear for the former one but SYJ’s emotions nailed it. CLOY was touted as a rom-com but the latter half required heavy melo scenes .And who else is know as melo queen of Korea.Thus I don’t see anyone else as befitting as SYJ for YSR.
I m saying this from the p.o.v of a neutral audience as I was not a fan of the actresses when I watched MLFTS or CLOY.
Moreover CLOY wouldn’t have been half as successful if not for the chemi of HB-SYJ. People couldn’t believe that it was only acting and nothing else. I m not talking about pre- existing shippers but those who later on were awed by their chemi and are pretty new to HB ,SYJ or the kdrama world itself.They complemented each other on-screen.Sure some may not like it but I m talking about majority.
CLOY has certainly set the bar high for their future on -screen partners and it would be hard to beat.Last but not the least,both HB-SYJ had their equal share in it. Can we not pull one down to make the other shine.
These were my opinion regarding your statement and I m entitled to mine as you are entitled to yours.However there is no doubt on JJH’s calibre and she indeed is a top star.
Apparently they aired a special episode today on Eternal Monarch to help explain some of the confusions audiences are having—-that’s really sad that they need to do this, it’s troublesome, they’re getting desperate.
I loved everything with double Woo Do Hwan and would watch that drama if they made it into a standalone one. Also, I laughed so hard when Kim Go Eun broke into tears, it was so over the top and dramatic, I am like girl what is is happening in the background to warrant that sort of reaction. I really wish they would just drop this romance entirely or at least play it on a level where the audience can relate. No matter how much they try, this epic love of theirs is hard sell and they are poorly presenting it. At the very least they could play it on the background with subtlety and some nuance. Having your heroine weep in the ground in the puddle of her own tears is just so not in character with Tae Eul neither is the love of theirs so grand. Also, for once I think the prime minister made a genuinely good request to Lee Gon..she has the right to know about Lee Rim given how deranged he is, I still think she is capable and is not on Rim’s side but we will see. If you just step back, this show has the right characters, right actors on most parts and some very compelling stories but the execution is a mess. They focus on unnecessary things, withhold information where they should not and editing is pure confusion. I will largely blame KES for this mess but Kim Go Eun and Lee Min Ho need to step up. Both of them are so weak, I loose interest the moment these two are on screen together. Kim Go Eun is decent around her squad and Lee Min Ho around Rim and his royal guard and to a small extent even around thirsty prime minister. Beyond that God help me, I find them to be least compelling out of all characters.
Say it louder!!! I posted something like this in Soompi and they told me to fuck off. Lol
You shouldn’t say anything that aren’t praises to LMH to the seven heaven in those forums like Soompi….You might get torch alive by his rabid fangirls…haha
I personally do think they have a grand love story. The issue is that KES is starting the love story from the middle or end and not at the beginning so viewers who tune in only see them falling in love so rapidly and it feels jarring. But considering how many times LG had went back in time just to see/meet JTE in short intervals through frozen memory shows how dedicated he is to JTE. JTE crying is because she felt the longing for him probably from prior time loops. LG was saying farewell at that time. She won’t see him again but that LG wasn’t her LG but LG from the future.
The viewership rating might look as if it increased, but for the second episode it actually dropped in comparison to last week Saturday. Last week it was 8.1%, this week it was 7.8%. It did get higher for the first episode than last week Saturday, so the bottom for the first episode seems to have stabilized. The rating is nothing to be optimistic about. Yes, if you compare it to Friday’s. But that is not the right comparison, because Friday’s are normally lower than Saturday’s. You also do not compare ice cream sales in the summer versus the winter… The only thing that TKEM can look forward to is the fact that there seems to be a second wave of Covid-19 outbreak after people visited a club in Itaewon. But to be proud to see a spike after people stay home is like feasting on a person’s dead body.
Regardless this drama will never beat 28% The World of the Married with excellent acting, directing and editing. The King is just a lazy person project with lots of commercial breaks.
@Laura
We don’t see other under-performing dramas from other dramas doing it. I think they want to chase after the ratings or approvals, that TVN and JTBC have been enjoying lately.
I agree it’s really strange, maybe because they invested so much money and they’re hoping to recoup their investments by hoping ratings will grow in the last 6 episodes since world of the married won’t be dominating the buzz anymore lol
It’s not really uncommon I think. If I’m not mistaken, Scarlet Heart also had complaints from viewers due to the choppy editing and a few other probs so they decided to post the edited version of its first few episodes to help ease the confusion. Although it didn’t make a lot of difference to the ratings.
@Nad actually its not that common either. Scarlet Heart and King were both hyped to the sky and beyond and then under-performed. So, its not really a good sign. What I don’t understand is why not just run your pilot to a focus group first to gauge response. This could save a lot of money and time for a lot of people when you do big budget drama or film.
@Gem Seems like this is one bad move made by KES. At this point, most of the viewers are gone. It’ll be a miracle if they come back.
I have never understood the popularity of this writer, always found all her dramas quite bland, and not very interesting storywise. I couldn’t bring myself to finish any of her dramas, Heirs, DOTS…not even the mega popular Goblin….so boring, only Gong Yoo was worth to tune in. Nevertheless, I can see the appeal of a project with a lot of hot actors and expensive production. But in any case, I’m not surprised about the writing being weak.
I only like secret garden, partly because of HB. Heirs is the worst and as for DOTS I still don’t understand how it can get so popular, sometimes luck has a part to play. But I am surprised this is the outcome of the King. Never have I imagined ratings can go as low as 5-6% range.
I like dramas with good plot but also watch ‘hyped’ dramas just to be entertained. Ratings/Reviews are important to me as these also help me decide whether to start a drama eg even I like HB, I didn’t watch Hyde Jekyll Me. And now I am not sure if I should watch the king. Unlikely if based on the review and ratings.
I don’t like Heirs or DOTS and I only watched Goblin’s beginning and end but I am enjoying TKEM.
Actually I never even watched DOTS but I only said I don’t like it cause the story synapses didn’t appeal to me. I watched Heirs fully but find it boring.
Let’s see if this drama will follow The Heirs’ rating trajectory. As most of us know, The Heirs became a ratings hit by episode 13 out of its 20 episodes. In that case, TKEM should managed to hit double digit by episode 10 or 11. So, next week is very crucial. I still can’t believe that this is a KES drama. I didn’t expect that this will perform that low ratings-wise.
It is possible but I think chances are low.The heirs started at double digit and it was almost stagnant for the entire 13 episodes with little spikes here and there. Also that was a simple story which didn’t require any prerequisite. However in the case of this drama the people who have been religiously following since day 1 also get confused most of the time.How come people who dropped it in 4-5 episodes which reflected in the dipped ratings , would come back to get more confused.To reach double digit they will require almost twice the number of current audience. It is not an easy task.
I watched epi 13-14 of WOM out of curiosity and it was a cryfest for me. I instantly connected with the actors and plot .That is called acting.
heirs wasn’t really a hit, since it was beaten by Secret (2013) during it aired, especially domestic viewership, it may look popular internationally but it was always chosen as the worst drama too.
heirs only gain momentum after secret ended (as the commenter above pointed out) which kind of like hopeless momentum
FYI, Heirs’ peak rating is at 25.6% while Secret’s is only 18.9%.
To be like Heirs? It is impossible when it is already 11-12, especially with so many PPL controversies, poor chemistry, editing and writing skills that irk Koreans. Don’t forget they have a big budget and an extra producer at hand. Yet, it did nothing to change the dismal performance of the drama.
I agree with ockoala. The good things about this drama are:
1. Kim Kyung Nam/Shin Jae’s arc and trajectory
2. Luna
3. The elderly court lady
4. That little boy who sits by the unidentified bookshop ( is he the equivalent of God in this drama?)
5. Woo Do Hwan in his dual roles
6. Eun Seop’s little sister
7. The detective squad
8. The overall two parallel world’s story
9. The prime minister (whatever you say about her she’s kickass, and I like the scenes of her with her ex).
What sucks about this drama:
1) Lee Gon’s and Jung Tae Eul’s romance – the drama never really showed us how they fell in love, we the viewers are supposed to accept it because the script says so?
I also don’t appreciate how they turned Jung Tae Eul into a watering pot in episode 10. She’s supposed to be a fairly strong person, yet how many times did she cry? There was even a scene very reminiscent of Goblin, where she cries as Lee Gon disappears. What the h3ll was that?! Now they’re copying from past dramas? And so obviously too???
2) Lack of a different color palette in filming to differentiate between the two worlds- makes it very hard for the audience to tell which world we’re watching. Good example of dramas where this was done exceptionally well: W-Two Worlds and Signal
3) Disjointed scenes – creates a lack of continuity in the story telling
4) Reliance on too many pseudo “flashbacks” – also creates discontinuity in the story telling
5) Wooden or over the top incompatible acting and chemistry between the 4 lead actors and actresses that was particularly noticeable in the first 4 episodes , which eventually toned down in latter episodes. Either that, or we just got used to it.
5) A one dimensional villain. Most kdramas are guilty of this. Mostly C-dramas take the trouble to flesh out and humanize their villains due to their numerous episodes. Some background of the villain, why he became what he is, would have better rounded out the story.
Just my analysis and 2 cents. I don’t hate the drama. I’m just seriously disappointed at what a wasted opportunity this is. This drama could have been great.
I do agree the execution for the drama had mostly been flawed but I still was able to enjoy it due to the plot. The villain is one dimensional and very much like most villains in many other kdrama shows. They do repeat lots of scenes and I sometimes wonder if KES is just doing it on purpose as easter eggs referencing to her previous dramas. I don’t watch all her shows so idk. You’re right different color palette would’ve helped viewers understand the show better. What world are they in and what not. There are lots of disjointed scenes due to her attempting to large of a story to tell with so few episodes. I think it would’ve been better executed with more seasons or so where there are different arcs and have different sub villains all linked to the main villain for each arc. It would help with all the slow beginning when KES is just trying to throw in a bunch of clues for viewers without much going on in actuality. Clues should be given slowly since it does get tiring for viewers to keep looking for clues and not be able to enjoy the characters more.
I was watching episode 1 and 2 and already spotted a copy scene from SG. The scene where KGE quickly put a swab stick into LMH’s mouth while he was talking grandly at the police station to ID his DNA. It was copied from the scene in SG where HJW quickly stuck a piece of pork skin into HB’s mouth while he was talking in a pompous manner while having dinner with HJW and her stuntmen colleagues in a pork skin BBQ type restaurant.
I read a comment on youtube which perfectly summarised what was lacking in the drama. The point which caught my attention was about the romance. The commenter said that KES dramas are most of the time based on instant romance without any solid development.That build up is missing and same is the case with The King. Then it made me realise that why none of KES’ dramas OTP ever clicked with me.I have watched SG,DOTS and Goblin.I don’t much remember about the Goblin but for other two ,it was indeed correct.There would be a snap and lo! one of the leads would fall head over heels for god knows why within the first two episodes .We couldn’t even know what was the connection.However unlike King,those dramas had awesome actors which compensated for writer’s part and thus became hits.
I m writing this in parts cause otherwise it can disappear.
The commenter is a British and said why the hell the citizens would want The PM to hook up with the King just because they are visually pleasing. In their country people never want the involvement of politicians in royal affairs. And dating would be the last thing any one would ask. The Monarchy in UK maintains neutral stance in terms of political matters.
Lol !! and what we get here,all KOC news outlets are like a gossip tabloid keeping up with King’s and PM’s romance..??.It literally sounds so childish.
Honestly No disrespect I think Gong Yoo is a good actor no doubt. But he would never be able to pull of LMH characters that is beyond him and unachievable. But objectively speaking LMH could do wonders in Gong Yoo roles. Like Coffe Prince, Train to Busan which is the easiet on the list just carrying around your daughter in a zombie war. BIG and couple of other Gong Yoo would be an easy job but vice-verse just forget. Everyone this is impossible.
@Youi1 I watched that one good movie. KSW killed that role and did well in it.
@pete You already disrespect gongyoo for comparing him with LMH, and even put lmh in higher level than him. This Lmh who cant nailed his simple role as a king. LMH with his super limit acting, who saying his dialog like reading the script. And you think he can take gongyoo role? U kidding?
Gong Yoo, the director and OST carried Goblin, IMO.
Because of the director and Gong Yoo, the cast was tight-knit and able to bring their connection on to the screen, each episode was tightly connected via good camera/CGI work and editing thus the audience did not feel nor realized that the story was weak. And the OST just made it a home run.
From the last three dramas of KES I prefer 1. Mr. Sunshine, 2. Goblin and DOTS will be last.
My all time favorite KES dramas are still City Hall and On Air.
The cinematography really helped elevate her paper thin stories. It’s like watching an hour long music video. The scenes are so pretty to look at but in reality lacks substance.
@Jushi
Thus, she needs leads (or at least one lead) that can act and carry the whole series through till the end because you can’t rely only on cinematography (Instagrammable shots) to retain viewership.
That’s one of the stark differences between Goblin and TKEM, I think (besides the obvious differences of directing and editing). I compare those two dramas, because they feel alike, the OST and cinematography feel the same as well.
I am not really much into this as an avid viewer but I can objectively say that Gong Yoo is not comparable to Lee Min Ho as they are different actors. Gong Yoo may have experienced somewhat of success with Goblin. But LMH has carried a dozens of drama bigger than Goblin. LMH carried an entire entertainment forget about carrying a role or a drama. They are just not the same actors Gong Yoo may have a variaty of roles under his belt but he dosen’t have the Charisma, Screen presence and Intensity of Lee Min-Ho. Which makes him an Iconic actor. Simple fact LMH is one of the most signficiant actors in recent memories in our lifetime. Majority of people realize this and a popular census
@Pete
Sure, Jan. Whatever helps you sleep at night.
@Pete. I don’t know. Maybe we define acting differently. Gong Yoo is an actor because he’s proven he can act by playing diverse characters in films and TV. Lee Min Ho with the lack of diversity in his resume is a celebrity. He may have the charisma and stage presence, but it’s one’s body of work which defines one’s career. And Gong Yoo is miles ahead of Lee Min Ho in that department.
I honestly don’t want to pit them against each other because 1) fans of either can be extremely sensitive to criticisms even if those criticisms were given without malice, and 2) years in the business.
I honestly like Lee Min Ho. Guess cause the last time I saw him was BOF and saw potential in him. But Lee Gon is too one-dimensional to be an interesting character. And he is portraying him too straight-faced no nuance whatsoever, hence, Gon appears too stoic all the time. Add to that the sloppy editing and directing his character (and all of the characters honestly) couldn’t build momentum.
@Mel, Gong Yoo is definitely more experienced and talented. But Goblin as a character is already more interesting than The King. It’s not like LMH is totally without fault as I have already said above. But chances of him making the character more endearing is much slimmer given that the writing, editing, and directing are already sabotaging whatever he can bring to the plate.
@Pete
Your comment about Gong Yoo is really WAY off. Were you into Kdrama when Goblin came out? That drama was so popular and trended every week in South Korea, becoming a pop-culture impact which even top idols comment and copied on their social media account. At the same time, his movie Train to Busan came out that same year and was both a SK and Asia hit. GY’s commercial value ranked at #1 for months on end after Goblin. As for charisma, acting and screen presence, GY has huge spades of that, and in my POV, way above LMH. Please do your research properly before doing this kind of comparison.
A body of work? Dosen’t mean much if you can’t make your characters iconic. Example there are characters who take low chellenging characters but they make them iconic this is basically what LMH has been doing. His the actor of the people. He can pull of roles that are chessy and low chellenging and make them memorable it requries strength to attain. Put taking on different multiple roles dosen’t signify you except you have experience since you have a variety of roles.
Aside from that you could cast LMH into Gong Yoo’s roles he would pull them off but you won’t be able to vice-verse. Why because Gong Yoo simply dosen’t have what it takes to capture audience like LMH period it would be like hunting with your cat instead of your dog. Im specifically talking about Charisma, Screen presence and Intensity
@Jushi Oh, agree about that, the characters were more interesting in Goblin despite the already weak writing. I’m still wondering why she can’t do that with TKEM. Perhaps the rumors are true, her writers’ room did all the work, hence, when some of them decided to venture on their own, TKEM is the best that she can do.
@sys I assumed Pete also lacked the knowledge that Gong Yoo was also part of the team that made all these “Trendy Dramas” happened (Coffee Prince). God forbid he’ll compare Lee Min Ho to Song Kang Ho, now. LOL.
I agree with Pete on this. They are apples and oranges but Lee Min Ho is the most certainly captivating actor of the two thats for sure and overall I find it to be an strange comparison. Gong Yoo may have more experience as in variety of roles etc etc but Lee Min Ho shines areas and it’s not even close
@Halima Why is it strange? Both are the male leads for KES’ fantasy, big budget dramas. I think people are right to compare; similar genre and similar writer. People can also compare to W and the male lead, LJS.
Meant to say same not similar. LOL.
There are actors similar somehow to LMH in the way he acts and dose his thing where as Gong Yoo is very different. They come from two different areas in the acting world and are way different actors. Despite Goblin I just find them to be a strange comparison as they are so different as anyone can get.
Lee Min Ho’s acting is swaggish based example the walks you see BOF, Gangnam Blues battle enters, some of the horse rides etc etc and walks you see in The King or even LOTBS. His acting style is swaggish where as Gong Yoo is complete different and more of subtle acting style and toned down. Gong Yoo is good in silent movies or dramas because he has the subtleness to carry them.
Where as Lee Min Ho is good casting in energetic movies where things get dramatic. His more suitable playing Arrogant, loud, aggressive, passionate lover, and bad guy. He has alot of intensity and Charisma.
These two are like the most different guys you will come across. SSH is actully an actor who could technically pull of Lee Min Ho-esque roles he has the swagger. I saw him in ”He was cool” and ”Mr.Black”
@Halima
I watched once Kwon Sang-woo pull of a LMH-esque character before LMH got into acting back in 2003 in the movie called My Tutor Friend.. Basically your average LMH type roles. While watching the movie was thinking for myself damn this Character is LMH bread and butter
@ Halima Song Seung Hun is not actually known for his acting skills, though.
I don’t really get what you meant with “swaggish”, as actors usually just mold into the characters (be it rough or soft and dark or light characters), but I’ll try; If you meant brash and rough perhaps, compare to Jung Woo Sung? Is that more to your liking?
@Pete “Aside from that you could cast LMH into Gong Yoo’s roles he could pull them off but you won’t be able to vice-verse.”
And how would you know that if LMH never stepped outside of his comfort zone to demonstrate that? At least when we say that Gong Yoo can play vastly different characters and can do it well, it’s based on experience, because we actually saw him do that. LMH stayed in the same lane for over 10 years now.
I would challenge anyone saying that Gong Yoo can be replaced in Coffee Prince. That drama is iconic and actually stands the test of time.
@Halima I think young Gong Yoo played “arrogant, passionate, etc.” roles to a T. He moved away from those roles, but he did them before he turned 30. The already mentioned Coffee Prince was a role like that.
Swaggish acting style is not brash or rough no thats not what it means. It means acting swaggish in every setting whether your petting a cat or walking on the streets. Whether your a gangster or a boyfriend or school boy.
It comes with aura and executed with class so everything becomes mostly flashy and flamboyant. Making sometimes characters that are really not flamboyant or flashy into Flamboyant and flashy characters
@ Halima, Pete
An actor who can act don’t need and cannot be typecast.
Sure there are the likes of Song Kang Ho who prefer avant-garde/independent movies, But there are also the likes of Gong Yoo, Jang Dong Gun, Son Ye Jin, Jeon Ji Yeon, Tom Hanks and Robert De Niro (and many others) who can easily switch back and forth between indie and blockbusters. Heck, even Song Kang Ho does blockbusters (The Host).
The actors that I mentioned have gone on to act in various roles, be it swaggish, mob roles, comedic roles, nice guy roles, dark or light roles.
Producers and filmmakers trust their instinct and skills as the actors will mold into their characters.
Re: Gong Yoo not fit into swaggish roles. As what Ami has said, GY did that. He did that early in his career, as many other actors with decent matinee look (Hyun Bin, Jung Woo Sung, Jang Dong Gun, etc) but they did it early and before they were 30. They grew past that roles. KSW did not, SSH did not. Can we say the same for LMH?
Typo, I meant Jeon Do Yeon, LOL.
@Halima
Re: Acting swaggish in every setting
Though I know each actor have their own style and unique expressions when acting, which become their signature, there’s also a risk of it becoming “One Note”. If this same style becomes the only style in every setting of the actor, then each character starts to appear the same. That is when audience starts commenting that the actor only has one acting style or expression. It’s in fact both a strength (as it’s unique to him or her), but also a weakness, esp in the long-term of an actor’s career, as the actor gets typecasted.
@Mel
Most of these you mention have different acting style and good actors indeed but there acting is not swaggish based. SSH dose different roles outside of swaggish but I have seen him to be able to enter that swaggish on and off in different characters example when a man falls in love he also did it and then he can zone of it in other roles. The last one he zoned in was Mr.Black. But Lee Min Ho dosen’t zone of that at all. He could play a beggar on the street he will pull it off with swaggish based interpretation.
It’s not typecasting but it’s his strength and interpretation of the roles. It makes him shine bright. He puts alot of class on it so it appears flamboyant even as a beggar. I even saw him GB he was playing a homeless guy in the beginning of that movie he pulled him as flamboyant homeless guy.
So in all essence there are different types of acting and it necessarily dosen’t mean because you have multiple of roles that you can pull of something low chellenging roles as the other guy is nailing it. Thats not how it works. Some can make small roles really good and thrive on them.
Gong Yoo dose something similar to method acting which is good but he can’t translate that into swaggish acting style which is why he couldn’t be able to do LMH-esque roles it’s beyond him and unattainable
both actors are good in there own ways. I tend to agree every different actors. To the point comparison is pointless.
Nobody can replicate lmh I agree he is own unique actor he dosen things different and his own way. Gong yoo is also different in his own way.
Lmh is definitely the more captiviting of the two actors no doubt his more energetic and explosive and charismatic. Gong Yoo dose more of literary acting and follows the traditional way of acting. He could work in more toned down roles more than LMH can and where as LMH would work better than him in explosive and dramatic environment roles
Since when is swagger style = acting ability? If the guy can’t turn it off no matter what role he plays that sounds awful. Some roles don’t require that and he can’t do even this much? Eh…
@ami
You misunderstood perhaps my wording or the way I put it. I don’t mean just swagger. He can zone out of it in real life I have seen him in interviews and in the real life he dosen’t enter that realm unless he wants which he dose sometimes.
What I initially meant was ”Swaggish acting based” interpreting every single act via a swaggish style dosen’t limit your range nor is it an handicap because one can do it in every set of character whether it’s homeless, poor or weak character. It’s a form of interpreting roles into your own unique style. It’s not a handicap but a strength. This makes him appear flamboyant in each role allowing him to connect with the audience much easier. It can be used in every aspect
I watched the first 2 episodes, and just didn’t continue…but, then I heard a lot of people saying episode 8 was really good…So, I watched it, and I literally felt like I didn’t miss anything. What happened in 3-7? Anyhow, I made it 60% through episode 8 and turned it off. I was really REALLY excited about this drama…but, to me, it’s not watchable, and a real disappointment.
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@Mel
I nearly banged my head on the table when I read that comparison with GY. Wasn’t even planning to join the discussion, just happily reading all the interesting comments. But that post was just so ……. “uninformed” may be the most polite word to use. I mean, post Goblin, GY was almost at legendary and iconic status (maybe I exaggerate, but I think not) and was virtually untouchable on commercial value, respect and status in k-ent. Add to that his previous Coffee Prince mega-hallyu hit, and movies Train To Busan, Age of Shadows ALL in the same year 2016……he was SO IN DEMAND, he literally went into hiding cuz he couldn’t take the intense focus on him.
Anyways, everyone have their own POV. But let’s not get way OFF mark on opinions and present it as facts.
@sys
I know, they’re beginning to look and feel like idol-fans, ignoring the facts and not knowing anything about the industry their idols are in, just focusing on their idols and the “truth” as they see it.
Even before 2016, GY has already established himself in Chungmuro, heck even before he went into the army in 2007. Sure, BIG was a dud, hence why he was reluctant to go back to dramas. His gamble paid off thankfully with Goblin.
I just hoped these fans manage their expectations and can see that LMH does not have the pedigree that they think he has in Chungmuro. Hopefully he can learn from this experience and start choosing “risky” roles (diverse roles) and sharpen his acting skills.
@Mel
Yes, I think so too that some of these fans are not so in touch with the K-ent industry facts and trends which made them under-value others and over-value their own idols. Pedigree is a brilliant word to use. In the end, a balance view is needed so that one does not become disappointed later. LMH is no doubt a very popular and established star, but if he wants to be taken seriously as an actor for a very long time, now is a good time for him to diverse his roles – a crisis can be turned into an opportunity.
I do know about “Big”and its failure, and how GY seems to have focused more on making movies vs dramas for quite a long time. In fact, KES herself said that she pursued GY many times to star in her dramas but he refused each time, until Goblin came along. The script, role and timing must have been just right for it. Glad he took it and created the role of Goblin which is still so memorable till now.
Btw, isn’t Big GY’s 1st kdrama post-military? He was riding high after Coffee Prince but didn’t enjoy the benefits cuz he went straight to military. What is it about post-military 1st kdrama jinx? There’s GY, HB, JCW and now LMH (though the drama has not ended so let’s wait and see).
You guys are revisionists. But the reality remains different I do reckon however that GY is a good actor who has different roles but that dosen’t mean he can do what Lee Min Ho dose. In fact nobody can do LMH in this age and time or replicate him in his roles. He can make small roles iconic. In the my honest opinion GY will not function in Lee Min Ho thats the truth. You can become a revisionists but it’s not gonna change.
As some of the above mention who seems to be more in line with reality when it comes to acting and measurement you can’t just say X and X has multiple different roles so his better than X and X who dosen’t while the one who dosen’t have can actually make his characters impactful and count in the larger scale of things.
LMH could do Train to busan and other dramas GY did and maybe do it better then him but you can’t tell anyone with straight face that he can pull LMH characters as LMH it’s not realistic just saying and again I like GY his a good actor. LMH is also a good and perhaps sensational in this time period and I know alot of people will resort to revisionism but it dosen’t solve anything becoming revisionist reality will remain the same
@ Yalla That’s not what “revisionist” means. Nobody erases LMH’s past successes. Comparing acting styles is not revisionist. What IS revisionist is saying that Goblin was “somewhat of a success.”
Tbh not a hater of any K-drama actors and actresses but I’d tune in to a GY’s drama over a LMH’s drama anyday ^^ If the other commentors mean LMH looks classy then yes, I agree, but that is not the measure of acting ability. LMH is entertaining to watch in his typecast roles, but to claim only he can pull those roles off is a stretch imho, and so is the claim that LMH can easily pull off GY’s past roles.
Alot of misconception mentioned here. LMH has gone into different type of roles the typecast thing has never really ring any bells with me whenever I do proper research but I think it’s do to some of his famous charactes that may overshadow some of his others making it appear to ppl that his only doing them but in fact he has done a quite different stuff already.
Faith, City Hunter, Gangnam Blues, BH etc etc. These are sort of different roles out of his norm I would say. Aside from all that LMH can do extremely chessy stuff and make them work. I geninuely feel like LMH could step into GY roles but it couldn’t happen the other way around for a good obvious reasons that I don’t wanna go in depth with here as others have already touched on it
Not a stretch but simple fact. GY can’t possibly capture all that charisma, screen presence, Intensity and flamboyance which is why he won’t be able to pull off a LMH role like LMH did pull of them off initially. It is what it is. Still won’t make GY a bad actor tho as he is a good actor. apples and oranges
It’s one thing to say that you (not just you speifically, but LMH fans in general) prefer LMH to GY. That’s just personal taste. But it’s a whole other level a hubris to be saying that LMH can easily replace GY in any of his roles.
@ Pete “he won’t be able to pull a LMH role”
If there is such a thing as “a LMH role,” it means he plays the same kind of character over and over again. How is this a compliment? No, thanks, he can keep it.
I didn’t say that exactly but o’right Whatever rocks your boat
@Pete Disrespecting someone’s work by saying it can be easily replaced doesn’t rock my boat. And I’m glad I’m not that kind of person.
@Pete: No it’s not a fact, Pete. It’s just your assumption that LMH can pull off GY’s roles while the vice versa wouldn’t work ;). It’s only a ‘fact’ when the swapping actually happens and various measurements are formed to evaluate both actors’ interpretation of the same role(s) (e.g. Ratings, prestigious awards, critics and buzz combined etc).
You can think LMH is a better actor alright. It is your opinion and you’re entitled to that, but passing it as ‘fact’ to disregard opposition to your opinion and assumption is not right 😉
I loved episode 8 and I thought that it would only improved from there, or maintain at the very least. But both episodes 9 & 10 regressed. The product placements confused me. I would have been more forgiving if they did anything to move the story forward. And it’s infuriating to spend and invest all this time only to watch an advertisement.
The love story is forced and the leads’ chemistry remains 0. I can even say it sometimes hovers in the negative region because some of their scenes together make me cringe.
I’m only staying for Woo Do Two and KKN.
Product placement is annoying and I think even the actors/actresses feel the same as their lines get more absurd. At this point I think even KES realize how silly they are and in episode 10 there was a scene that just seem like a parody to PPL as all the cops just sit there and made it so obvious to the PPL. I had a good laugh over it as I do enjoy parodies but to some it may seem jarring as this drama isn’t meant to be gag and more on the serious side. That to me just makes it more humorous.
@Koala
Thank you for your comment,
I used to read this blog often years ago, and when I came back here few months ago I was really shocked by some comment’s violence.
My first comment ever was actually towards this ady girl.
There is also “Chi”, whose insults are even meaner I think.
Whatever, I don’t understand the use of this kind of words and violence in a place that is supposed to be a playground of common interests.
Please. How can people compare Gong Yoo to Lee Min Ho? It is a blasphemy. Lee Min Ho can only pull off one character. His looks make up for the rest of it. I do not know what LMH fans drink to force this comparison. I am not even a big Gong Yoo fan, but this is so ludicrous I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
@Sandy
Shakes my head and join you to either laugh or cry. Some delusional fans who present opinions as facts, and using it to insult another senior, much more respected actor, only serve to bring embarrassment to their own idol. But whatever I say will probably fly over their heads cuz the delusion is great.
I burst out laughing comparing GY and LMH. I really want to know Ms Koala’s opinions on this topic. Foreign fans who rely on subtitles really can’t compare their acting because they don’t know the language. They can’t even tell whether LMH is reciting lines with emotion or not but South Koreans can tell. Foreign fans are only dribbling at his model height and looks.
I see some discussions and perhaps some strange outcries. I don’t agree with anyone off you. Lee Min Ho is not some sort of niche actor celebrated by some niche cult. His an entertainer and he dose that for everyone and everytime he brings it. His good entertainment not some niche actor where some cult holding him up high. It dosen’t fly with normal consumers such things. The Question is also strict can you do it for me or not. Thats where Lee Min Ho comes in the picture he dose for them as they seek.
Do I think LMH is superior to GY most certainly because he dose for me like he dose for many more. His not some niche actor his the peoples actor. So you better step back and take a hard look at yourself at mirror before you start saying things that necesarily dosen’t reflict the reality
@Hanna
My exact sentiment. They were the once who started the debate which was a decent convo and still is but they were the once who started if you check it up. It’s hilarious. They were spewing revisionism stuff Mumbo jumbo! Telling people this guy is good or his good just because you respect them dosen’t mean its true but that is not how it works. Can he sparkle and can he shine or can he deliver the job or can he capture the audience etc etc. There is so many things that goes into it then just some niche opinion. This kind of opinion is niche and major revisionism as talent is nearly overlooked for some seniority bs and good faith yada yada all that dosen’t fly with the end viewer this is a fact
No, it was started by Pete. But we can certainly end it by agreeing to disagree.
Wow I don’t even know how I got here
Too much negativity on lee m ho
I really hope you swallow back your words in the next few years to come