There are two queen based K-dramas coming out around the same time so lots of juicy roles for veteran actresses to shine. Queenmaker will premiere in mid-April on Netflix starring Kim Hee Ae and Moon So Ri in a strong woman partnering with another strong woman to succeed in a man’s world story. Kim Hee Ae is the queenmaker in … Continue reading →
Another year another record I guess, and once again the headliner is top Hallyu actor Kim Soo Hyun. For his starring role in the upcoming drama One Ordinary Day (That Night), he is reportedly paid $500 million won per episode, which is 2.5x higher than what he got paid for his last drama It’s Okay to Not be Okay. Conversely … Continue reading →
The Forbes 2021 ranking of Power Celebrity is out for South Korean entertainment and it includes not just actors and actresses but all celebrities including sports stars and MCs. This remains more a snapshot of who had popular/breakout/buzzyworthy projects in that year than the overall popularity and power status in the industry, though it is worth noting if star stays … Continue reading →
The release continues for the K-actor 200 list, the 5th release with the second half of the compilation left to come. It’s always interesting to see the cool collection in each release and this one has plenty of diversity and talent across the board. Hyun Bin and Kim Hee Ae are probably the biggest names in the actor and actress … Continue reading →
The two-part (so far) fantasy K-movies Along With the Gods broke box office records and is among my personal faves for how well it adapted the expansive source manhwa into a thrilling big screen romp. The director’s next film is confirmed to be The Moon, trading fantasy for sci-fi and feels a bit like Gravity. The male leads are D.O. … Continue reading →
RACOI is a kind of system for value analysis in South Korea, achieved by estimating the value of broadcast program contents based on not only viewing rates combined with viewers’ responses from lots of social media activity (i.e. search, mentions, etc.). Since it’s a combo method, an actor or actress with a highly rated drama but not a lot of … Continue reading →
Yes, the Queen slays and I love how she tops a poll followed by 6 men. The Joynews Korea 16th anniversary poll of the best actor/actress of 2020 is out, sampling over 200 entertainment industry professionals per the earlier poll topics. The World of the Married brought Kim Hee Ae ratings success and critical acclaim so she got 67 votes … Continue reading →
The 2020 Korean Popular Culture and Arts Awards took place this week in Seoul with an actual ceremony though very understated as it’s a government sponsored function. It’s organized by the government’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the awards go to all entertainer groups. Of the actors and actresses here are the winners: Order of Cultural Merit went … Continue reading →
The top two highest paid actresses in K-drama land has been the same for ten years – Jeon Ji Hyun and Lee Young Ae get 100 million won per episode (around $83,000 USD). Below them but with a significant gap is Ha Ji Won, Choi Ji Woo, Kim Hee Ae, and Song Hye Kyo at 75 million won. K-ent is … Continue reading →
The Baeksang Awards doesn’t have a popularity award and for the most part it’s stayed relatively true to its determination of merit over buzz despite nearly all Korean entertainment awards devolving into a popularity contest to draw in viewers. It’s not immune to buzz but it does surprise still in picking left field winners. The 2020 ceremony is scheduled for … Continue reading →
All hail the new ratings champion on cable – jTBC Fri-Sat makjang melodrama The World of the Married took the topic of cheating and deceit and emotionally devastation to a new level of success as the most recent episode 12 became the highest single episode rated cable drama ever. It notched 24.332% surpassing the former ratings leader Sky Castle which … Continue reading →
Now it’s just a matter of how high can it go, as jTBC Fri-Sat drama The World of the Married crossed over the impressive and vaunted 20% ratings mark on its episode 8 with 8 more episodes to go. Sky Castle, the current network and cable ratings leader didn’t break 20% until episode 18 and holds the crown at over … Continue reading →
I am…..utterly at loss for commentary. I do not know why this drama is garnering so many viewers not because I think it’s bad but because even great dramas haven’t gotten this type of traction this quickly. jTBC Fri-Sat drama The World of the Married just buried it’s Cinderella ratings predecessor Itaewon Class, already a total winner, in the wake. … Continue reading →
