Aaron Yan and Kim So Eun Play Past Lovers in Upcoming C-movie
At this point it’s not a question of who else is going to be doing a crossover project with China, but a matter of when with respect to all the popular and rising Korean actors and actresses. I find it funny that Jang Nara already did this over a decade ago when she was making Chinese dramas left and right. Up next on the train to China is Kim So Eun, riding a career uptick thanks to the tvN drama Liar Game as well as being one-half of the popular We Got Married couple with Song Jae Rim. Kim So Eun is already in China as filming is about to commence on the rom-com movie Past Lover (昔日恋人 Lover of Days Past).
Kim So Eun has got herself a red hot leading man in Taiwanese actor-singer Aaron Yan, himself riding new career highs in both acting (hit dramas in Fall in Love with You and Just You) and music (hit mini-albums). I have no problems with this pairing of Aaron with So Eun, only wondering what the heck the movie story line is going to be and whether the movie will in fact turn out to be both comedic and romantic. Joining in to make the requisite love triangle is C-actor Song Yang, a newer face in the acting industry but got a recent big break in the latest turdy Condor Lovers adaptation. The movie will be a joint Korean-Chinese production and directing will be the Korean PD Park Young Hoon who directed Innocent Steps and Bravo My Life.
The movie’s costume design will be led by the Korean designer behind Misaeng, Heirs, Two Weeks, and Dream High, while the movie set design will also helmed by the Korean team from Late Autumn, Thieves, and New World. With such talent behind the scenes, and surely lots of money thrown in, I sure hope this movie ends up working.
What the Chinese are doing is knowledge acquisition. They are bringing all teams from Korea director, set designs, writers and basically learning how to do things the korean way.
I hope the Koreans are not training their replacements.
But good luck to her and her project.
Zhang Yimou once said that he hates working with Korean teams because they jealously guard their secrets and don’t really engage in knowledge sharing. So I don’t really know much learning is going on from all these collaborations. Plus, I’d prefer industries to have their own flavors instead of becoming clones of each other.
I agree. I prefer watching each country’s own way of making films. I enjoy k-drama but at times I think there are certain elements of c-china that makes it unique and different.
@Coolrepublica, there is truth in what you are saying. I remember reading in some newspaper, how China was looking at the high interest dramas like Heirs were generating in the younger population and looking on how to achieve the same.
At the end of the day, it’s all part of the culture wars. South Korea promotes itself by tooting the Hallyu wave mantra. Japan continues to increasingly close its cultural borders (i.e. restricting online sharing of MVs, dramas, etc.) and now China is jumping into the fray.
Over the last few years, China has improved their production, no more slap stick, poorly done Kung Fu movies, now they are churning out, well produced, high budget movies and dramas. The Koreans are excited at the new income, especially since the former go to, Japan, isn’t providing similar high dividends.
The question remains, how long these new partnerships will work and who will become the eventual loser. Will the Chinese lose their own style and flavor or are the Koreans training their own replacements?
While I can see how some of the Koreans may hide secrets, isn’t there enough evidence in the final product to learn how to reproduce? Reverse-engineering so to speak?
There are so many film classes from all over the world, why is the only way to learn directly from the filmmakers? What would a SK film guy know that a Danish or Italian or UK maker wouldn’t be able to share?
In this age and day, knowledge acquisition takes place everywhere, not just in the entertainment industry and not just in China.
And I believe that the Koreans will also learn from the Chinese. Like maybe on how to produce dramas without a live shoot system?
This maybe in Korea there has most things now because Japan or China will always be more formal .
The Korean would reach a kind of absurd and beautiful Grail which consists of films that are both playful and serious, formalist . Korea is a very worked with the desire to make sens in doing anything unusual.Difficult briefly compare the two countries wich are both so close and so far , also difficult to ignore the stormy relations between the two countries!
Awww AAron Yan and Kim So Eun , They will make a cute couple on screen , can’t wait to see the final result!
I like what you said about learning to not live shoot
Exactly, koreans are selling out themselves. They need to bring their asses back to korea.
I don’t see it as selling out. Crossovers, cross collaborations, cross exchanges etc these days are the way to go. It’s a pooling of resources and hedging of risks.
And everyone has something to gain from it because they are pulled out from their comfort zone. That’s the way to learn these days.
Tbh, I think the Chinese are doing mighty fine by themselves, but it doesn’t hurt to get a new perspective on how things are done.
I wonder when the mainland industry will realize that throwing money at Korean directors and film/design staff instead of developing their own expertise will backfire in the long run?
With so many crossover projects happening and so many already done, only Bratty Princess can be considered a bona fide hit. I’m not keen on these type of dramas, they are not at all entertaining. I think C-dramas should just stick to their own flavors. I’d rather watch a proper C-drama (not those war stuff though). And their period/historical dramas look a lot better, they should make more of those. As a kid I loved the adaptations of the martial art novels. They just need to choose the right people, and stop using parrots as inspiration for costumes.
‘stop using parrots as inspirations for costumes’
I can’t stop laughing, this is so true.
Ooooh. I approve this pairing!!! Hope it turns out to be a good movie…
Ikr, as soon as I read the title I was excited! love this pairing!
What a unique pairing lol, would never have thought these two together.. but never the less, the casting is making me curious of what the storyline will be… I think aaron an so-eun are very good actors, its just the dubbing that worries me..
CANT WAIT for the movie to come out!
-also Ji hyo’s c-movie is coming out soon too..
I am forever a GuiLun fan and also forever a SoEulmates fan. So the fact that they’re throwing 1/2 of my two favorite couples together in a movie actually makes me very curious as to what they’ll come up with. I like Aaron and usually adore Kim So Eun so I am excited to see if the two will have chemistry together. Hope to hear more about the storyline soon!
Haha~~me too…but more of an avid GuiLun lovers. And not to mention So Eun are of the same age of Gui Gui. I’m praying for another drama that will featured our GuiLun once more. Although I highly doubt there would be any in the near time.
OMG me too! Gui Gui and Aaron are such good friends in real life it’s adorable <3 I really wish they'd reunite in a drama soon, but I feel like the chances are slim until Gui Gui makes a return to Taiwanese dramas or Aaron makes the leap to Mainland.
I absolutely love the director who paired them up. I don’t think both of them are the best actor/actress out there but both of them look so cute.
Never been a great fan of any collaboration between Korean/China/Taiwan as I witness much or any success story of such collaboration.
For So Eun, it may help her to break into the China/Taiwan market but such collaboration are never well received in Korea itself though she will probably make more money in China than Korea. But then again to me, making it big in Korea is more important as that’s they fastest way to make money after that in rest of Asia.
Hmmm I don’t see any way how is the collaboration going to help the two other male stars as well other than probably just more exposure and money?? They are definitely not going to be make it big in Korea and whether it’ll make money in rest of Asia depends very much on the storyline.
nice, i hope they hit it off. can’t wait to check out the bts for the film if there is
maybe they will make it big in the rest of Asia
personally, i don’t think Koreans will accept this movie..haha
but this is a big break for Kim so eun..love her so much
love the pair too..
kim so eun and aaron.. hope they will look great together on screen can’t wait to see the drama… love u Aaron……
I hope puff guo..it follow in the movie with aaron yan ..