Won Ki-joon (원기준)

Tutoring popular among television stars... Why? 'For professional acting'

Source | 2008/07/03 | Permalink |

It is becoming common for actors to go have private tutoring before filming dramas. Many dramas these days have the theme of professionalism, and the main characters want to show the career realistically.

SBS "Gourmet" is about cooks who compete for the top cook spot, and it is a key point for the main characters to make it seem more realistic. The production company, JS Pictures, made Kim Rae-won, Kwon O-joong, and Won Ki-joon attend cooking school three months before filming.

Main characters of dramas to come later in the year are also receiving training or lessons. Yoon Soy, the female lead of SBS "City of Glass - Drama", set to air in September, and Jeong Da-yeong are attending Baek Ji-yeon's Speech Korea. These actors come out as announcers. A representative of Yoon Soy said, "Baek Ji-yeon has said that if they're going to do it, they might as well do it well. They are attending the same classes as future announcers".

MBC "Beethoven Virus" is about members of an orchestra...| More

Last drama by male stars to enter army… Who will round it off?

Source | 2008/04/03 | Permalink |

Stars who are anticipating entering military service are coming back with dramas at the end of the year. There is a big chance that their works in progress will be their last, because they can no longer push back military service.

Eric Moon will be playing Kang Chil-woo in the fantasy historical drama "Mighty Chil-woo". His character leads a double life, a law enforcement officer by day and leader of killers by night.

Eric Moon, who is negotiating the details, is planning to enter military service in September after the drama. The results of the drama are more important because he will enter the army shortly afterwards.

Lee Dong-geon, also expected to enter the army at the end of the year, will come back in the MBC drama "When It's At Night". He is currently in grief for his brother, who died in Australia, and is planning to film the drama after his funeral.

Jo Hyeon-jae stars as a cold fund manager in KBS drama "Three Dads, One Mom". He plays a character who donates his s...| More

'Gourmet' offers visual taste of Korean cuisine

Source | 2008/03/12 | Permalink |

Food has rarely played a leading role in a miniseries. But in "Gourmet" ("Sikgaek"), the SBS drama slated to air on May 26, food takes center stage. And not just any kind of food. Korean cuisine gets the spotlight this time around.

Based on Heo Yeong-man's bestselling comic book series of the same name, this 24-episode drama follows Korean chef Seong-chan, played by Kim Rae-won, on his travels throughout Korea. Driving a beat-up truck, Seong-chan searches for the essence of Korean food, looking for it in the remotest parts of this country.

With cuisine playing such a big role, the production team needed a food expert. And they knew exactly who to turn to.

Kim Su-jin-I, president of her own food consulting group, Food and Culture Korea, handled food direction for the film version of Heo Yeong-man's "Sikgaek", which hit screens nationwide as "Le Grand Chef", and topped national charts last year.

The mouthwatering dishes cooked up on the big screen served as testimony to her a...| More

A TV drama, in the form of a musical

Source | 2007/05/31 | Permalink |

The production took a total of two years and 6 billion won to create.

According to TNS Media Korea, the TV drama "Dae Jang Geum", or "Jewel in the Palace", attracted the greatest number of viewers of any show in 2004, with 47.8 percent of the people watching TV.
Hoping to capitalize on this popularity, MBC (the producer of the drama) and PMC Production (the company responsible for the comedy show "Nanta"), have joined forces to create a musical version of "Dae Jang Geum". Han Jin-sop is directing, according to a press release from the show.
It took a total of two years and 6 billion won ($6.5 million) to create the musical production, which is now running at the Opera House in the Seoul Arts Center.
The musical's storyline follows the plot of the 2003-2004 drama. It focuses on the life of Janggeum (played by Kim So-hyun in the musical), a female saenggaksi (a young lady of the court) who enters the palace as a royal chef and later becomes a court physician, a rare occurrence in ...| More

[MUSICAL REVIEW] 'Great Janggeum'offers a feast with unfilled dishes

Source | 2007/05/31 | Permalink |

A musical version of Korea's big hit soap opera "Dae Jang Geum" was revived on the stage at the Opera House of the Seoul Arts Center last Saturday.

Although the TV drama "Dae Jang Geum", a show about a palace cook's adventures that aired from Sept. 2003 to March 2004, is over, many Koreans still remember and sing the opening theme song, "O Nara Song". But the musical doesn't leave a memorable song for audiences to hum after the show is over.

The TV show, featuring sumptuous traditional Korean royal cuisine, was visually appealing and mouth-wateringly irresistible to fans. Combining Western orchestral music with traditional Korean group dances, it was transformed into a musical titled "The Great Janggeum". For example, when girls in the royal kitchen made dumplings to win the cooking competition, "plate dances" expressed the enthusiasm of the girls and the variety of dumplings.

An eye-catching 400 different traditional Korean costumes enhanced the beauty and scale of the stage,...| More