I continue to love the drama work product out of the upcoming MBC Wed-Thurs drama Miss Korea. To be honest, months earlier when I heard this drama was being prepped I was already inclined towards it. As a kid I enjoyed watching beauty pageants because it was always a spectacle and a family watching event. Nowadays its more a side show and has-been what with all the other entertainment available, but in the 80’s and 90’s these things were big. And beauty pageants were taken seriously and there was less homogeneity or fear of being politically incorrectly when judging a contestant on her beauty. Oh the debates over whether Ms. ________ deserved the crown or Ms. ________ was totally robbed because she was so glorious she made the sun pale in comparison. Heh, something like that was amusing for a kid, who of course grew up to understand that beauty is within and pageants are the bad patriarchal institutions that need to be done away with. But for the sake of drama narrative, I think Miss Korea has all the ingredients to be fun and incisive, to tell this story as well as make a few insightful digs about beauty and fame and fortune along the way.

I loved the first teaser trailer and now the first official drama posted has been released and I’m just as impressed with how captivating it looks. None of that putting the four leads in one frame and have them look at the camera and then photo shop in a backdrop. In this poster, Lee Yeon Hee is aspiring Miss Korea contestant Oh Ji Young who is dressed for the evening gown competition and already rocking a tiara. Lee Seon Kyun is Kim Hyung Joon, the man responsible for the brilliant idea to turn their high school queen bee into Miss Korea, and in the poster he’s doing her nails with a paint brush. Lee Sung Min plays a gangster ahjusshi who joins forces with Team Miss Korea but he’s not exactly the smoothest guy around, so his idea of fixing Ji Young’s shoes is to use a welding torch. And finally Song Seong Mi plays a director at the failing cosmetics company owned by Hyung Joon and she’ll be the no-nonsense handler for Ji Young as she navigates the treacherous waters of the beauty contestant world. This poster is beautiful and tells the audience a bit about what to expect from the drama. Check out some more new stills below and we should be getting more previews soon since the drama premieres next week and goes head-to-head with You From Another Star with Kim Soo Hyun and Jeon Ji Hyun. Continue reading →