If Cheongdamdong Alice attempted to explore the futility of the have-nots and the luck of the haves when it comes to the pursuit of money, its follow up drama appears to take it one step further. Or perhaps its simply more straightforward in its thematic narrative – The Incarnation of Money is clearly going to be driven by money money money. Knowing it comes from the creative team behind the grandiose Giant and the subversive History of the Salaryman, I have faith this drama is going to try something new and interesting in presentation or narrative. Giant was a throwback epic that spanned generations and warring families but managed to be intense and fascinating by never coming across as makjang. History of the Salaryman transplanted the Chinese historical personages from Romance of the Three Kingdoms and turned them into modern day Koreans battling for corporate supremacy. Despite my predisposition towards this drama on paper, the two teasers haven’t piqued my interest and this press conference doesn’t either. Starring Kang Ji Hwan, Hwang Jung Eum, Park Sang Min, Choi Yeon Jin, and Oh Yoon Ah, the cast is that weird schism where I love the men and really am supremely meh about the ladies. Hwang Jung Eum is hit-or-miss for me and once again she sports a hideous hairstyle for a drama role. It’s like she is contractually not allowed to look fashionably coiffed onscreen. Oh Yoon Ah is an okay actress but not very compelling, but Choi Yeo Jin freaks me the heck out with her face and all the work done on it. I feel like one extra wide smile and something is going to crack. I wonder if all that recent agency dispute nonsense has taken a toll on Kang Ji Hwan because he looks exhausted and worn down, not to mention the Dumb and Dumber hairstyle is so ugly it pains me to see it on him. One interesting bit I saw in the teaser is the child actors for the leads are played by Park Ji Bin and Seo Shin Ae and those two are yet another talented child actors in a growing group of good looking and blossoming crop of youngsters. I’m still working through my disappointment over CA so hopefully once this drama starts it’ll wash away the lackluster weekend vibe and inject some energy back into SBS. As for the obligatory fashion critique of this press conference? I have just one word – boring. Continue reading →