K-netizens Come Up with Dream Sageuk Pairings that Will Break 10% Ratings and Milk the Tears

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• Oh geez I already felt the pain starting in my heart just reading Park Eubin's synopsis.

  Yes those pairings can and will be a cryfest. The synopsis are a killer,

• Bravo Koala. Love love love this post. I miss the old sageuks terribly (still the best in terms of quality, scale and epic level). My own dream sageuk pairings below:
  Jang Hyuk & Ha Ji Won
  Oh Ji Ho & Ha Ji Won
  Ji Chang Wook & Park Min Young - these two need a detour back to sag, no more rom-com please, a waste of their talent.
  Kang Ha Neul & Nam Ji Hyun
  Kim Soo Hyun & Nam Ji Hyun
  Kim Soo Hyun & IU
  Kim Soo Hyun & Kim So Hyun

  • Yes to all of these, especially Kim Soo Hyun & Kim So Hyun, now that pairing would be a visual and intense acting overload!

    • @WinterBear, thank you! They're great individually or together.

    • She's 21 and he's 33, that would not be comfortable watch especially since she played the younger version of his queen in Moon/sun, they met when she was a minor and then they play lovers? *shivers*

    • @Misky

      Thank you, I couldn't agree more! (Shudders)

    • Its acting. Suspend your disbelief. Enough with the minor bs on every damn thing. She's a grown ass woman now and deserves to act against experienced actors too.

  • Like Jang Hyuk & Ha Ji Won pairing. But, JH in saeguk was like a curse. hahaha. Either he died or he doesn't got a girl or both.

    • @yoeda, yeah, I was so tortured emotionally watching JH in Chuno. That's the reason why he's so great in sag, full of Shakespearean level of tragedy, full blown betrayal, pain, yes lots of physical and emotional pain, lol.

  • @kKimchi Ajumma
    same here, i also would like to see kang Ha neul and Nam Ji Hyun in a sageuk.

    • @Paula, they were great in Angel Eyes but it's just my wishful thinking. They are both transitioning to different career paths. Don't think they will head back to sag hence KHN turning down Ondal role. NJH doesn't pick romance-centric/OTP focused dramas anymore and she's still only 25. She's pivoting towards female centric dramas like Off Route (mother-daughter r/ship, the runaway groom is just a side plot) and Welcome To Witch Restaurant (healing focused with no love plot). KHN most likely go Yoo Ah In route to cinema-land, already established and proved himself in k-dramaland.

    • @kimchi ajumma, I also notice changes in NJH's career movement. After her uni. graduation, I would have expected her to go full on CFs, v-live, new dramas, magazine photoshoots, brand ambassador promo, etc but opposite happened. All quiet after 365 Days ended in April last year. Only resurfaced for 2 ep Off Route filming in Nov and now 8 ep Witch drama. It's like NJH is doing less and less work as a full time actress compared to when she was a uni. student. Wonder what's holding her back or her agency not promoting her enough.

    • 365 days repeat year also no love line . NJH choose 3 dramas now she need not kiss a guy. Married actresses even not so picky choosing roles after married. Maybe she got bf already irl? lol.

  • @Misky

    Thank you!

• Park Bo Gum and IU sageuk pairing will be my most feast day. If that happens my prayer will be granted. Just by reading the narrative makes my heart palpitates because of the complexity of it. Ohhh, drama gods hear my request.When PBG returns from MS may the GumIU collab drama or movie will come true.

  • Ohhhh, yes to this sageuk team. I both love IU and PBG. I always watch the fusion videos in youtube and they really look so GOOD with eaxh other. If I were not mistaken they had their cf alao when they were still young and they were so into it. I hope this will comw true. I love this pair.

• I wonder any younger gen. actress can pull off 50 episodes sageuk anymore. The younger set seem to lack the acting gravitas of the older gen actresses. I'll probably get assassinated here by the usual crowd baying for blood for daring to demean their oscar winning queens. Seems like K-netz prefer older actresses with the younger two being IU and PEB, not KYJ or KSH.

  • LOL! ?

  • How true!

  • Anymore? I haven't seen a young actress in the lead role of a 50 eps sageuk.
    At least not alone but it can be done SFD style with 4 or 6 leads including sageuk veteran actors.

    Moon Geun-young was 21 yrs old when she was the lead actress in "Painter of the Wind" (2008). She won a well deserved daesang award and she is still the youngest actress in Korea to win one.

    I think the young Kims are more than capable of leading a successful fusion sageuks at their age. It's just a matter of picking the right project, pd and writer imo.

    • @Kiara Louder Please ♥️

    • @Kiara Agreed. Again, I don't follow younger actresses much, but the two Kims are great in my opinion. I've just started watching RWTMR, and IMO you can't watch KSH there and think she doesn't have enough gravitas, especially with her portrayal of Queen Yeon. As for KYJ, ironically, her biggest hit LITM isn't her best role, but she was great in her earlier sageuks. The way I see it, they really just need a great script and they will dominate kdramas easily. Not a fan of them, but I'm just grateful that we have talented young actresses like them amidst the prevalence of wooden idol-actresses lol

    • @Areumdaun

      I love these talented young actresses. Most of them started acting around the so-called golden era of sageuks, especially the 25+ child actors like Shim Eun-kyung, Moon Geun-young, Park Eun-bin, Park Bo-young, Nam Ji-hyun, Le Se-young....
      The 3 Kims, Jin Ji-hee, Kim Hyang-gi and more followed shortly after. Kim Yoo-jung did the most sageuks and that's how she is well known as the sageuk fairy. Saeron did mostly movies and So-hyun did more modern dramas back then. I didn't noticed her in a sageuk until THE DUO. It wasn't her first but her small role made an impression.
      I follow all of them and hope they'll continue to do well in their career.
      I think a lot of times they are being unfairly compared to the older actresses who had already gone through their awkward transition to adult roles. I'm much more forgiving and I have a soft spot for all of them.

      Anyway, I'm grateful too that we have these many young talents to entertain us now and in the future.

  • 50 eps saguk drama isn't a trend now... the drama now has been cut even a sageuk one to the extent at least 20 episodes but the daily drama / weeklong telecast still takes at least 50-100 eps. I think the trend changes. As of thesw days it is harder to make a story in that long episodes. I like this time drama lengths in term of episodes compare before.

• I just want another sageuk for Kim So Hyun and Yoo Seung Ho, with a competent writer this time who won't do them dirty! I know Yoo Seung Ho said he wants to work with So Hyun again in a modern drama, but I prefer another sageuk for them as it's their forte.
  Others I want to see in sageuks:
  Kim Soo Hyun & Kim So Hyun
  Yoo Ah In & Kim So Hyun
  Kim Soo Hyun & IU
  Kim Seon Ho & Park Min Young
  Kang Ha Neul & Moon Chae Won
  Park Seo Joon & Kim Tae Ri
  Lee Joon Gi & Kim Ji Won
  Jang Dong Yoon & Nam Ji Hyun
  Ha Ji Won & Jo In Sung
  And Kim Jae Wook with any good actress, I just want to see him in a leading role in a sageuk lol

  Yes these are very random pairings, I know lol

  • I like your Jang Dong Yoon & Nam Ji Hyun, Ha Ji Won & Jo In Sung, Kim Seon Ho and Park Min Young and Kim Jae Wook with any good actress pairings the best. When I first saw KJW in EY in sag costume, I thought kaboom, this guy suits sag compared to Ro Woon who was too stiff and his posture was too hunched over for a regal bearing. I love Lee Joon Gi too but not with KJW. Just finished FOE so deliciously satisfying far better than CLOY but I digressed. Back to LJG FL sag pairing, I love to see him with Yoon Eun Hye in sag. I can just imagine an older version of her Goong character in sag costume. YEH's emotional depth & warmth balanced nicely with JG's sexy coldness. I just can't see KJW has that emotional range to deal with 20-50 sags.

    • oops I mean 20-50 "episodes" sags.

  • HJW and JIS burned up the screen in Memories of Bali and their subsequent sizzling hot hair shampoo CF. I can imagine them tearing their sag robes off each other in passionate moments, lol. Ah, the joy of discussing older pairings.

    • @Aquarius Exactly! Would love to see a sageuk version of that hot as hell chemistry lol

    • Damn right @WinterBear, hot as hell is the apt description. What does it take to lure these veterans back to sag/k-drama again? Sigh. Nobody does hot like they do except Seo Ye Ji and Kim Soo Hyun came very close. Lol.

    • Omg! Their chemistry is on fire. Love the shampoo commercial too.

  • @Kimchi Ajumma Oh LJG and YEH would be great! Come to think of it, I wonder why they didn't get paired up during their peak popularity days, especially since they were popular in the same time period (around mid 2000s-early 2010s). Actually, I would really just want YEH to have a successful comeback in dramaland lol

    • @winterBear, great to hear you agree. They are like two ships that pass each other in the night. YEH coming back to drama-land would give the younger set a run of their money. The current k-actress landscape is just so dry at the moment (that's just my personal opinion, no offence to anyone). I want to see YEH in anything but a sag would be something new and fresh.

  • Lee Jun Ki & Moon Chae Won are my ultimate sageuk pairing.

• Man ,Song Joong Ki and Hong So Hyun? that would be juicy!

  • I miss Hong So-hyun, Kim Min-seo, Kim Ha-eun etc. They were awesome in sageuks but stuck mostly in supporting roles.

    Song Joong-ki and Han Yeri would be fantastic too. Did you know that they almost act together in "Haemoo" but he turned it down to enlist in the army?

    • How about Song Joong ki and Kim Tae Ri in Sageuk?

    • wow... do you mean Song Joong Ki almost starring with Han Ye Ri? talk about unlucky Song Joong Ki for went to army. jeezzz. or unlucky to us, hahaha. After TWDR. Innocent Man, it seems he is on demand on multiple meaty roles.

    • Gosh my memories. Homg Soo Hyun and Kim Min Seo were great as supportong actresses. Especially Kim Min Seo, who is so much better than the lead actress in Moon Embracing the Sun. (This is just my opinion don’t bash me)Back then, they were not the most popular, but I knew their names much more than whoever was starring in a modern drama that time.
      Yes, a Hong Soo Hyun and Song Joong Ki pairing would be great.

    • @missjb

      Yes unlucky us but here is hoping. Han Yeri was supposed to make a brief appearance in SFD but she was so good they kept her till the end. She also majored in traditional dance so they didn't cut any of her dance scene because she rocked it.
      That also transitioned well into interpreting her fight moves. You know when she is taking her time to figure out her opponent and when she goes for the kill. I was so impressed I want to see more of her playing that kind of diverse role in a sageuk.

      I just think they'd be awesome together in a heavy but not so old and outdated stuffy sageuk lol. They can both do the heavy lifting and more.

      Drama gods don't seems to like my prayers. You do it this time haha. I'll kowtow if I need to.

    • @Joy

      I think they'd be great together. I'd love to see her in a sageuk with Bhun Yo-han too. They were both excellent in "MR SUNSHINE."

      @123 girl

      I totally agree with you! The transition from child to adult between Kim Min-seo and Kim So-hyun went smoothly and naturally and she was consistent though out the whole show. I felt for her character the most.
      I missed Kim Yoo-jung terribly when the lead actress took over so you are not alone.

      I have a soft spot for those talented and under-rated 2nd leads. I too still remember them by name and the role that they played.

    • Hong Soo Hyun as princess Kyunghye in the Princess' Man and Kim Min Seo in Sungkyunkwan Scandal/Moon Embracing the Sun are some of my all-time favourite second lead performances (she had me obsessed in SS when her character was properly revealed). It's sad they didn't get to move on to lead roles, they had the talent and charisma for it.

• Can we have another Lee Yo Won and Kim Nam Gil pairing again? I was still gutted by QSD's tragic ending lol
  I also want to see my queens Song Hye Kyo, Jun Ji Hyun and Kim Tae Hee in any sageuk provided that they have a same-age bracket great actor as their male leads
  Not an avid fan of any of the younger actresses (early 20s), but I think Kim So Hyun really pulls off sageuk well and I'd love to see her paired up with an equally strong actor, so someone like Yoo Ah In or probably Yang Se Jong, probably the only two younger actors who I think are genuinely great aside from Yoo Seung Ho and Yeo Jin Goo
  People on this site love shitting on younger actresses, but I think it's mostly the writing of recent sageuks that went downhill. For example, even the great Lee Young Ae can't save Saimdang Diary. I think people need to give them a break, and I say this as someone who is an older drama fan

• I would love a Lee Jun Ki & Moon Chae Won pairing in a saeguk drama. They would be fire together.

  • Yes please. Something action pact like "Chuno" or romance like "The Princess Man."

    • Yes to LJK & MCW as star-crossed lovers like The Princess Man!! How I used to love that drama. Too bad I cannot stomach watching it now thanks to the trash actor who played the male lead.

    • Somebody on Youtube did an edit of "The Princess's Man" but with Lee Junki: https://youtu.be/LP60Bdr1LFg

      And this was quite before "Flowers of Evil"

    • @Pineapple

      Same here. I just can't watch it again no matter how much I loved it back then.

      @Daymare

      Sweet. I'll have to check it out.

      I'm not a K-fan but I'm waiting for it too @Yustin.

  • A lot of kfans are waiting for that 3rd reunion that they agreed/promised to us last year December. A sageuk.

• The new generation of Kdrama actors really needs to train harder ?. They all just look like flower boys/girls.

  The last glory lied with 87~89ers who have decent acting and charisma.

  (I wanna exclude Jin Goo but.. his dramas are either hit or miss misss!)

• Nope. Nope. Nope. All wrong sageuk pairings. Save my girl crush IU, all of the above ladies are not very exciting female leads. Now. Imagine. The Untamed or Heavenly Official type historical fantasy with Park Bo Gum and Jang Dong Yoon as main leads and love interest. Or passionate Lee Ji Hoon and flamboyant Song Jong Ki as main love interest. Now we are talking some serious ratings. Though, I will never forget Song Jong Ki’s pinning after brooding Yoo Ah In, that was the best unrequited BL feelings and pairing ever ( Sungkyunkwan Scandal)

  • Sorry. *Pining* not *pinning*. Lol

  • K-netz disagree with your assessment of "all of the above ladies are not very exciting female leads." Apart from IU, may I know other actresses you can quote to back up your list of very exciting female leads please? we are very interested to know your all very correct sageuk pairings please.

  • BL brigade to spice up the sageuk party. Yeah. All the korean ajummas will gasp in horror at BL fans ruining their beloved dream pairings. Lol. Hats off to you for preaching gender diversity though. Talking about sageuk bromance, how about older brooding actor & younger actor flower boy type love pairing?

    • Older actor and the flower boy? That was The King and The Clown 2005 movie. Nah. Great movie, but the age/power imbalance is not romantic at all. It’s too realistically disgusting - the dirty old geezers always crave the youngsters, be they boys or girls

  • Ha Ji Won not a very exciting female lead? Sorry, but.. what?

    • Didn't HJW help Damo, Hwang Jini and Empress Ki rake in above 20% ratings? Me think some silly pots and pans banging on pretending to know sageuk again.

    • I only liked Ha Ji Won in Damo and Duelist (2005 movie). In both, she played the same tough girl character (police damo) that suits her the most. It was 15 years ago. Nothing else memorable with her comes to mind. Empress Ki was a team effort with top actors. Ha Ji Won was overshadowed there by the little evil Empress actress.

  • Korean drama industry does not have the guts to pull off a BL sageuk like The Untamed or Word of Honor lol.

    Also, IU more exciting than all the other actresses in the list? What a JOKE. She's the weakest female lead in sageuk among all the actresses listed.

    • IU looks better than many other actresses in gorgeous female period costumes. She is believable as someone’s love interest in sageuk. As long as she doesn’t play a bandit or doesn’t have fighting scenes. She is too petite, pretty and dainty for that. I agree with you that she looks like a joke when portraying a female warrior. But if such scenes can be avoided, IU can carry a sageuk just fine.

    • @Marina So I guess I'm in the minority that liked IU's warrior portrayal in the sageuk portion of HDL lol. IU also played a rougher character in My Mister and she nailed it. It's not about being too pretty/dainty. Look at Kim Tae Ri, pretty and petite as she is, I wouldn't have thought she would be believable in action scenes, but she was so badass in Mr. Sunshine.

      Also, I think what OP meant by “exciting” is more about charisma/screen presence and the ability to draw viewers in when the actress is on screen. In that respect, I think both Ha Ji Won and IU make for exciting female leads (as long as IU is playing badass fierce characters like Jang Man Wol and Lee Ji An lol)

    • A remake on Word of Honor would be nice but I think lots of people would have complaints on the "bromance". But seriously the chemistry of the 2 leads on WoH is through the roof! It's definitely much spicier than The Untamed.

  • Lol ahjummas are in charge of the ratings in SK and they don't care about BL at all. They will be up in arms if they do that with historical figures too. I can see it being popular among younger girls (who form the bulk of the bl fandom), but a-list actors won't risk it unless it's for a film like The Handmaiden.

    And these actresses are not exciting? Didn't Ha Ji Won receive daesang for some of her sageuk roles? Her sageuks are ratings hits too. I love IU as a singer and an actresses (especially in her more recent roles), but she received a lot of criticisms for her only sageuk role. She was great in Hotel del Luna, but she wasn't convincing at all as a fighter in the historical parts. She can play a cold or tough role as long as there are no action scenes.