Mega drama duo signals hot winter

Two mega dramas of cinematic proportions are taking over weekday nights on SBS.

Though both promise to deliver, at best, a saccharine dose of romance and melodrama, great fodder for one and top stars for the other forecast a successful winter for the major broadcasting channel.

Starting tonight, the long-awaited and aptly titled "Terroir" brings the magical world of wine to audiences. Headed by the talented film/television actor Kim Joo-hyuk and his beautiful co-star "Jumong" actress Han Hye-jin, this drama - arguably Korea's first dramatic series on wine - hopes to lure viewers in with lush scenes of France and the intoxicating combination of wine and romance.

Responses to the upcoming drama, however, have been mixed.

"Since this is a drama on wine, I hope that its content does not twist the truth in regards to its topic," one viewer wrote on the show's official bulletin board. "I am saying this because I am worried that a lot of snobs will come out of the woodwork after this series airs."

Another viewer wrote: "I think this drama will truly depict a romance that is like wine ... I think this drama will help warm a cold winter for me."

Whether "Terroir" - which parallels the establishment of a wine restaurant and the relationship between a wine master and his prodigy-cum-love interest - will deliver an accurate portrait of the world of wine; remains to be seen.

One thing is for certain, "Terroir" sets the precedent for future wine-related dramas in Korea; though news reports state that there may be a TV adaptation of the popular Japanese comic book series "Kami no Shizuku," which translates to "Drops of God," in the future.

Unlike the hit comic series, however - which is credited with creating an explosive new demand for wines in Asia - "Terroir" does not focus on a wine enthusiast's quest to find the top 13 vintages in the world. Like its title, it is rooted in a sense of place, namely the restaurant around which this drama revolves, and how that place comes to create a deep and elaborate story for the characters involved.

Kim Joo-hyuk (left) and Han Hye-jin star in "Terroir" [Yedang Entertainment]/Choi Ji-woo (right) and Yoo Ji-tae star in "Celebrity Sweetheart"[Olive Nine]

But the success of "Terroir" will lie in its ability to strike a balance between romance and wine. Too much emphasis on wine may incite boredom, excessive melodrama may cause the series to lose its credibility. With a serious oenophile-oriented series taking up the Monday and Tuesday night slot, SBS seemed to think it wise to put something a bit more mainstream into its Wednesday and Thursday night slot.

Following close on the heels of "Terroir," comes the star-studded and therefore appropriately titled "Celebrity Sweetheart."

Headed by top Hallyu star Choi Ji-woo, this series does not pretend to be anything other than a full-blown epic melodrama.

Bearing scenes shot in Japan, this romance documents the relationship between a top Asian actress and her relatively poor ghostwriter.

Sound familiar? "Celebrity Sweetheart" director dispelled all confusion about the inspiration behind his series.

"This drama drew its inspiration from 'Notting Hill'," director Boo Sung-chul said in a press conference held last week.

"We wanted to give audiences a 'melo-gift box set,'" he added.

Actress Choi Ji-woo, known for her tear-jerking roles in the hit series "Stairway to Heaven" (2003) and "Winter Sonata" (2002), is a perfect fit for the drama. Co-star Yoo Ji-tae, however, may prove to be a wild card.

The talented actor, who swept audiences away in the dark flick "Oldboy" (2003), admitted to a lack of experience in the world of television.

"This is the first time I am doing a drama," said Yoo.

Actor Yoo seemed to take comfort from the quality of the filming, stating: "The filming itself used a lot of cinematic techniques as you can see from the preview."

Perhaps the film-like quality of this drama will put Yoo at ease. And despite his relative newness to the medium, his superb acting chops are sure to imbue this potentially sappy script with a good dose of realism.

"Celebrity Sweetheart" starts airing on SBS on Dec. 10 at 9:55 p.m.

"Terroir" starts playing tonight on SBS at 9:55 p.m.

'My Friend & His Wife' drifts into melodramatic formula

"My Friend & His Wife," directed by Shin Dong-il, has been gathering dust in the storage room for about two years. It's finally hitting theaters on Nov. 27.

The unusually long delay suggests the film's box-office odds were fairly low in the eyes of cash-hungry studios and marketers. But this does not necessarily mean its artistic level would meet the lofty standards of local art-house cinema fans.

The film's ostensible theme revolves around the competition between friendship and love. Friendship involves two men; love concerns a woman who gets entangled with the two men - one is her lawful husband and the other his best friend.

But the potentially intriguing alternative theme, which is not explicitly dealt with in the film, is the female character's subservient status - a wife who has to depend on either her husband or his wealthy friend to climb up the social ladder.

In the film, Ye-jun (Chang Hyun-sung) is a high-flying fund manager who is always willing to help out Jae-mun (Park Hee-sun), a hardworking cook who dreams of becoming a chef some day. They first met in the military, and they now regard each other as best friends.

A hint about the strangeness in their male bond is presented in an opening scene where a blurry home video footage shows the three main characters posing together at a wedding ceremony. Strangely enough, Ye-jun seems to stand closer to the bridegroom Jae-mun than the bride, Ji-suk (Hong So-hee).

`My Friend & His Wife`

But don't expect a same-sex complication - at least, not an outright one. Instead, what's unusual about the three characters is the extent of the male bond. For instance, while most newlyweds do not care about their friends in the middle of the night, especially in bed, Jae-mun is quick to answer a phone call from his buddy Ye-jun and quicker jump out of bed to meet him at night, leaving his wife jealous and grumbling.

The movie tries to depict the twisted relationships between Ye-jun and Jae-mun, which goes beyond simple friendship. But one question is likely to pop up among the viewers: How come the two men seem to have no other friends or drinking buddies, except for each other? Again, there is no thought-provoking development that justifies such a relationship between the two men, nor is there a convincing back story about why the two men are so deprived of a conventional boy's network.

The film attempts to change the tone and accelerate plot turns by inserting a tragic incident at Jae-mun's house. Predictably, this crucial moment occurs when he is drinking with Ye-jun. Ji-suk is conveniently absent because of her trip to Paris to advance her career as a hairdresser.

Following the unrealistic turn of events that prompts the beginning of the end of the supposedly normal relationships between the three characters, Jae-mun decides to sacrifice himself in order to protect his best friend by taking all the blame, including a two-year jail term. Ye-jun, riddled with guilt, takes care of Ji-suk emotionally and financially.

A big hole in plot, however, is unbearably obvious when Ji-suk returns from two-year training in the United States. Even though she never formally divorced her faithful husband, Ji-suk does not know her husband's whereabouts, who is out of prison by now.

She has to ask her husband's best friend for contact information, but he is in no mood to help the couple reunite. For he is now drawn to Ji-suk's newly discovered charms. Before the horrible incident, she was just an innocent and supportive wife of Jae-mun; after a two-year absence, she radiates mysterious self-confidence, an aura of success and sex appeal as an up-and-coming hair stylist.

It is not at all plausible that Ji-suk transforms into such a different character, even considering that she has gone through life-changing trauma. After all, people rarely change at a deeper level, which is somewhat jarringly illustrated in the pathetic overconfidence of Ye-jun and the troubling incompetence of Jae-mun. With the social status of Ji-suk barely explored, the two men's obsessive friendship goes nowhere in typical melodramatic fashion, a point that would have, rightly, influenced the marketers who opted to delay the release date of the film.

'General Hospital 2' Return to Small Screen

A string of medical dramas, including "Behind the White Tower" (MBC) and "Doctor Bong" (SBS), have recently swept the Korean drama scene. However, these dramas would not have been possible if not for "General Hospital," the first medical drama in Korea. After 14 years, "General Hospital" is returning.

Familiar faces from season one _ Lee Jae-ryong, Cho Kyoung-hwan and Kim So-hee _ are on aboard for the second season 2. Lee is no longer a struggling first-year resident but a mature, self-possessed staff doctor. Cho retains his position as general surgeon while Kim is now the head nurse.

The spotlight is now on the new first-year residents _ Kim Jung-eun plays Jung Ha-yoon, Cha Tae-hyun plays Choi Jin-sang and Ryu Jin plays Baek Hyun-woo. Ha-yoon is a law school graduate with an ulterior motive. Having passed the bar exam, she joins the medical profession only to become a medical malpractice litigation specialist.

Her agenda is to look at the hospital from a patient's point of view and to expose the doctors' hypocrisy. But as she works shoulder-to-shoulder with her colleagues, she gradually becomes a real doctor. Joining Ha-yoon is Jin-sang, a regular troublemaker who has fumbled his way through medical school, just to live up to the expectations of his toiling mother. His knack for trouble continues, especially with Ha-yoon at his side.

Baek Hyun-woo is the ultimate elite doctor, but he's got no heart, figuratively speaking. He warms up to Ha-yoon though, helping her in some of her wild adventures, yet is unable to explain his mixed feelings towards her.

"I wanted to avoid all the politics and power play dominant in American and Japanese medical dramas and focus more on human relationships between doctors and patients," said producer Noh Doo-chul at a press conference held last week.

He also added that "the characters here are more realistic and multi-dimensional. For one, Ha-yoon's character starts off from a unique position as an aspiring lawyer that strives to reveal medical hypocrisy. Jin-sang is also an aberrant character that adds diversity to the conservative image of doctors while Hyun-woo is a figure that embraces both elitist aloofness and human compassion. As such, there is no simple black-or-white conflict but a more complicated and realistic portrayal of characters and relationships."

This is Cha and Kim's second medical drama together. Different from their doctor-patient relationship in the 1998 drama "Sunflower" (MBC), this time they meet as resident colleagues. But they said that they intend to keep the previous drama's comical element. "Cha and I have a wonderful chemistry together and we see no reason to avoid this playful aspect of our relationship, since it's what we think the audience will enjoy as well," Kim said.

"General Hospital 2" will start Nov. 19, Wednesday, 9:55 p.m. on MBC.

Source: Korea Times

'General Hospital' a cheerful sequel

MBC struck ratings gold for two years running with medical dramas "Behind the White Tower" and "New Heart." Now the broadcasting channel is going for a third win by resurrecting an oldie.

Fourteen years have passed since "General Hospital" aired in 1994. And now, in the hopes that a revival of a past favorite will keep viewer ratings up, "General Hospital 2" is coming to TV screens across the nation tonight.

But in a market saturated by international medical dramas, namely America's "Grey's Anatomy" and "House," and Japan's "Iryu-Team Medical Dragon," MBC's latest medical installment will need novel plot twists and a fresh approach if it wants to wow audiences already numbed by gruesome surgeries, high-stakes stories and touching moments of humanity.

On second thought, a hefty dose of comedy just might do the trick.

And judging from the lead actor and actress, Cha Tae-hyun and Kim Jung-eun, it looks like MBC is going for a feel-good and laugh hard approach.

"I want to make it as fun and cheerful as possible," said Kim, 32, at the press conference last week.

Co-star Cha will be joining in on the fun by playing the usual dimwitted yet lovable sidekick.

Kim Jung-eun/Cha Tae-hyun[MBC]

When asked about his tendency to get typecast into comedic roles, Cha, 32, answered: "I am not an actor who tries to play radically different characters."

Standing in his scrubs, Cha - who bowled Asian audiences over in "My Sassy Girl" (2001) - looked every bit the part. Wearing an expression of childlike wonder, he posed for the press, not, it seems, as Cha, but as first year resident Choi Jin-sang.

Kim Jung-eun, also in scrubs, joined Cha on stage, carefully putting on a pair of spectacles to pose as Jung Ha-yoon, a first year resident who wants to become a lawyer that specializes in medical lawsuits.

While her character has entered the profession with a vindictive purpose in mind, namely to use her expertise against doctors, Kim Jung-eun refrained from pulling a "Kill Bill."

"I think it is more realistic to mix humor with melodrama, rather than just be a dark and vengeful character," she explained. "So, I went for a lighthearted approach."

But not everything will be fun and games on "General Hospital 2." And while both Kim and Cha are more known for their comedies, "General Hospital 2" director Noh Do-chul testified to the hard work this pair put into their roles as surgical residents.

"These scenes are made from the broth of their sweat," he said.

According to Noh, both Kim, Cha, and fellow cast members took part in a three-day workshop at the Catholic University of Korea Kangnam St. Mary's Hospital. They slept for two nights in the hospital's dormitories, shadowed both surgical and medical emergency residents and took part in morning rounds.

A firm believer in teamwork, director Noh even brought his gargantuan cast, which includes four members who starred in the original "General Hospital," to the press conference.

Noh's commitment to his team and his decision to film the series at the Catholic University of Korea Seoul St. Mary's and Kangnam St. Mary's Hospitals may help him pull off the crucial balance of humor, wit and drama needed to make "General Hospital 2" worth watching.

"General Hospital 2" airs tonight on MBC at 9:55 p.m.

Source: Korea Herald

Erotic `Portrait' Fails to Capture Subject

A scene from ``Portrait of a Beauty,'' a film about the famed folk Joseon painter Shin Yun-bok

Shin Yun-bok, the famed folk painter of the late Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910), has received much attention in recent months. It all started last year when a best-selling novel described the male artist as secretly being a woman.

In truth, there is little historical documentation of Shin's life, and none that questions his gender. Nevertheless, the fictional work was popular and provocative enough that it was made into the successful television drama, ``The Painter of Wind,'' as well a new feature film.

If ``The Painter of Wind'' is a family-friendly version of the historical fiction, then the film, ``Portrait of a Beauty,'' is its steamy, adults-only twin. While the TV series stars the perpetually wholesome Moon Geun-young in the lead role, the film features the sexy and feminine actress Kim Min-sun.

Unlike Moon, Kim doesn't quite convince the audience that she is trying hard to pass herself off as a ``he.'' However, this is not a problem in ``Portrait,'' which is less interested in the issue of pretense and more interested in exploring Shin's repressed feminine side. Kim's Shin may be effeminate and awkward, but her sexual longing simmers just beneath the surface.

As the film makes clear, the real Shin did in fact often deal with erotic subject matter in his paintings. Along with vivid and often humorous depictions of daily life, Shin was also a keen observer of the lives of gisaeng, or female entertainers, and their relationship with the upper class. ``Portrait'' is at its best when drawing connections between Shin's art and his - excuse me, her - observed world. The film also shows the conflict between Shin's art and the moralizing attitudes of the Joseon royal court.

Ultimately, the film implies that the real reason for Shin's interest in the sensual world of gisaeng was not her wish to observe them, but rather to be one - or more precisely, to be a woman. Indeed, Shin's womanly desires become more blatant as the film progresses.

Confused and conflicted, the artist finds help exploring her sexuality in a poor but smoldering hunk from the lower class. To spice up the amorous tale, "Portrait" then proceeds to throw in generous portions of romantic drama cliches, including love triangles, secret trysts, tragic choices and - what else - naked body painting.

This is where ``Portrait'' begins to look uncomfortably like a half-baked erotic offering on late night cable television. That's fine if you're just looking for a little titillation, but if that's all this film was after, then there was probably no need to drag a historical figure like Shin into the whole gender-switching business in the first place.

Source: Korea Times

Postwar Pain Made Into Bad Melodrama

Actors Song Chang-ui, left, and Lee Wan star in ``Once Upon a Time in Seoul.

When the Korean War ended in July 1953, South Korea was in a state of chaos. Much of the country, especially Seoul, was in shambles, many of its buildings were destroyed, and law and order had a fragile hold on society.

The film ``Once Upon a Time in Seoul'' (titled ``Boys Don't Cry'' in Korean) is set in this tumultuous period in South Korean history and describes the daily struggle shared by the war's survivors. The story is told through the experience of orphaned children - the most destitute and helpless of Seoul's residents - and their contact with the world of crime as they fight to survive.

According to the film, the black market was one of the few aspects of postwar Seoul that was thriving. Cigarettes, liquor, canned foods and other rare items made their way out of U.S. military bases and into the hands of those who could afford it. (And they continued to do so for many decades afterwards.) This underground market of imported goods was controlled by criminal gangs led by violent and corrupt war veterans.

There's a sense here that we are witnessing the birth of the nation's organized crime world, as the violent urges and codes of conduct that were perhaps needed to fight in the Korean War are redefined and used in the accumulation of personal wealth and power. Through this transformation, familiar archetypes from the gangster film genre, seen and done to death in countless Korean dramas and comedies, take on an added layer of meaning.

Sadly, after working so hard to create such a complex historical setting, ``Once Upon a Time in Seoul'' then proceeds to dilute it with a formulaic storyline and one-dimensional characters. The film revolves around Jong-du (Lee Wan) and Tae-ho (Song Chang-ui), two orphaned friends who become involved in the black market but dream of making enough to one day escape from crime and poverty. Their journey takes them deeper into the world of both gangsters and street children.

This main storyline - of criminals trapped in a cycle of violence and compromise, and their longing to break free - is one of the most overused formulas of gangster films, and aside from its novel historical approach, ``Once Upon a Time'' adds little to the genre. Rather, the pathos evoked by the orphans and their desire for a better future are played up for maximum sentimental effect. And in place of character development, the movie relies on predictable scenes of violence and dramatic plot twists to get its point across.

There are several moments when ``Once Upon a Time'' hints at something deeper, particularly regarding the anger lingering from the Korean War and its tragic effects on postwar Seoul and beyond. Unfortunately, the film chooses to avoid its own painful questions, and opts for pat, melodramatic answers instead.

Source: Korea Times

[MOVIE REVIEW] Shin Yun-bok painted with a lewd brush

"The Portrait of a Beauty (Miindo)," directed by Jeon Yun-su, starts off with a tricky warning: "Some of details in the movie are not based on historical facts."

This is misleading. The film's core assumption - that a famous Joseon painter was in fact a woman disguised as a man - is utterly, if not outrageously, fictional.

Shin Yun-bok, better known by his pen name Hyewon, is a real figure who produced a host of thematically provocative and artistically excellent paintings in the 18th century.

The possibility that he might have been a woman, according to existing historical documents, is not almost zero but absolutely zero.

But viewers should be aware of the second trick hidden up Jeon's sleeve: explicit sexuality, sleekly packaged as a statement on the nature of art.

In one crucial scene, main characters debate the boundary between art and vulgarity. The conclusion foisted upon us by the director, who solidified his filmmaking career with "Le Grand Chef" last year, is that if you see obscenity in a picture where sexual innuendo abounds, it's because your mind is muddled with dark, sinful thoughts.

Such simplistic justification is, after all, inevitable in a film that gratuitously indulges in nudity, trans-sexuality, homosexuality, and China's version of the Kama Sutra. Add to the already complicated mix the sexual tension between a teacher and his beautiful student, and the impact is disturbingly powerful.

"The Portrait of a Beauty"

Of course, the movie is not entirely about sex. Universal human emotions, notably obsessive jealousy, are juxtaposed along with Hyewon's gracefully satirical paintings, many of which poke fun at adulterous and sexually charged situations involving the pretentious upper class of the Joseon period.

The initial trigger comes from retired court painter Shin Han-pyong's desire to settle an old score with the then top-rated painter Kim Hong-do (played by Kim Young-ho).

Shin expects his son Yun-bok to emerge as a new star painter and then confront Kim, but the plan skids to a halt when Yun-bok commits suicide over his lack of talent.

Shin's twisted passion, however, does not end. He pushes his daughter Yun-jeong to disguise herself as her brother and enter the turbulent world of court painters. The grown-up Yun-jeong (played by Kim Min-sun), who is now known as Hyewon Shin Yun-bok, finally makes it to the court and learns to paint under the guidance of Kim Hong-do, a prominent painter who has the trust of King Jung-jo.

Kim Hong-do quickly notices Yun-bok's huge potential as well as his girlish features. Things remain normal until Yun-bok goes out and comes across a playful seller of mirrors, Gang-mu (Kim Nam-gil). When their romantic adventure takes off, it is Kim Hong-do who ends up heartbroken. Kim's jealousy, and his desire to own Yun-bok physically and emotionally, soars to a perilous level.

A love triangle is by no means a creative novelty. What's new is the boldness of the underlying attraction that bolsters the treacherous relationship: Yun-bok's trans-sexual appeal. Even in a man's clothes, she's beautiful thanks to her radiant boyish charms. Gang-mu seems to be struck chiefly by Yun-bok's feminine beauty but Kim's obsession about her is much more complex, because he lives in the same quarters of the court where Yun-bok pretends to be a man.

The movie throws in other explicit scenes, one of which is a closed-door demonstration of Chinese sex positions by two scantily clad female entertainers.

Actress Kim Min-sun has certainly created a new silver-screen image by taking a role that involves plenty of nudity. The film, to be released on Nov. 13, is expected to post better box-office numbers than other historical pieces, not least because of the huge publicity about explicit sex scenes. But a relentless mixture of sex and art does not necessarily make it appealing - or even all that inspiring - however creative director Jeon's interpretation about Hyewon's life may be.

New comedy tests Cha's star power

No Korean actor automatically conjures up a comic image on the silver screen as much as Cha Tae-hyun

This is largely due to the huge success of his role in "My Sassy Girl," which opened the floodgates for the Korean Wave of cinema across Asia. This cuts both ways, however.

Cha comes back to the big screen with another comic role in "Speed Scandal (Gwasok Scandal)," to be released on Dec. 4. It is hardly surprising that he plays a character who is supposed to create, well, comic relief.

What's surprising, though, is that he has accepted a role whose identity is somewhat similar to his own experiences as a leading star in Korea. In the film, directed by Kang Hyung-chul, Cha plays Nam Hyun-su, a former idol who captured the hearts of teenage fans.

Yes, he "was" a big star in the good ole days, but he is now in his mid-30s, and his star power has significantly diminished.

But Nam retains some of his recognition. That is why he keeps a DJ post at a local radio show, a situation which may remind local audiences of numerous other Korean entertainers who have followed a similar path.

Things begin to turn drastically comic, or absurd, when a young woman named Jeong-nam (played by Park Bo-young) shows up and claims to be Nam's daughter. The movie's title, "Speed Scandal," becomes clearer at this point because the central plot turn involves the male character's "speeding" during his past relationship.

The problem is, Nam has no memory of Jeong-nam, who begins to pop up everywhere and proclaim her wretched situation, to the embarrassment of the former idol.

It remains to be seen whether Cha pulls off a box-office success with his latest comic role, but what's certain is that it's time for Cha to reinvent his image and break the mold.

Early last year, he tried to tweak the formula a bit by playing a singer in "Highway Star (Bokmyeon dalho)." In the movie, co-directed by Kim Sang-chan and Kim Hyeon-soo, Cha jumped into the terrain of melodramatic Korean pop songs - a genre known here as "trot" that is quite similar in melody and lyrics to Japanese melodramatic enka songs - but the results at the box office were hardly inspiring.

"Speed Scandal," which is partly about life's timing, will demonstrate whether Cha still maintains public appeal because his box-office power has steadily declined since "My Sassy Girl."

The outlook remains largely negative, however. For all the peculiar plot and details, "Speed Scandal" does not attempt to redefine Cha's image. Rather, it sticks to his decade-long silver-screen persona.

In recent years, "My Girl and I," "Two Guys," "Happy Erotic Christmas" relied on Cha's trademark comic talent but failed to win laughs in the end.