Lovers in Prague (Drama - 2005)

'City Hall' to Bring Public Officials to TV

Source | 2009/04/21 | Permalink |

By Han Sang-hee
Staff Reporter

The makers of hit dramas and some of Korea's favorite actors are getting together to bring the life, passion and love of public officials working at city hall.

Created by producer Sin Woo-cheol and writer Kim Eun-sook, who brought hit television series such as "Lovers in Paris" (2004), "Lovers in Prague" (2005) and "On Air" (2008), the new drama "The City Hall" portrays the story of public officials working in a small town finding their way to success, plus a bit of romance along the way.

"We were not going for a political drama. We just wanted to talk about people, and a lot of them, and that's how we set the backdrop in a city hall. The drama will be about people we meet and see everyday", said the producer at a press conference held in Incheon.

Kim Seon-ah, 33, who played the quirky and lovable character Sam-soon in the hit drama "My Lovely Sam-soon", will appear as Shin Mi-rae, a low-ranking official who's been making coffee for her supe...| More

TV Drama Getting People Travelling

Source | 2009/02/26 | Permalink |

By Bae Ji-sook, Kwon Mee-yoo
Staff Reporters

Thirty-year-old Park Hyun-ju is getting married in March and has seriously considered New Caledonia as her honeymoon destination.

"I never knew there was such a place, but after watching TV drama "Boys over Flowers", it suddenly got on the map", she said. She gave up the plan and has chosen somewhere else, but said her friends are also considering the location as a honeymooner's nest.

New Caledonia Surges as Popular Place

Japanese writer Katsura Morimura described the place as "The Island Closest to Heaven", but it wasn't until four fabulous boys took a little girl out on a romantic spree that New Caledonia has appealed to Koreans as a must-visit destination.

The small screen smash hit shows glimpses of the luxurious lives of jet-setting, wealthy heirs. With the tourism industry struggling due to the plummeting economy, Korean audiences are smiling, with people rushing to catch a glimpse of the F4 ― the four fabulous ...| More

Four 22 Year-old Star Actors Up and Coming

Source | 2009/01/22 | Permalink |

Lee Min-ho, Jeong Il-woo, Moon Geun-yeong, Jang Geun-seok

Lee, of the hit new drama series "Boys over Flowers", has shot up to stardom. Jeong is also getting significant attention, and his drama "Iljimae Returns - Moon River" has yet to start.

Moon, who won the Grand Prix at the SBS TV awards late last year, was the heroine of the historical drama "Painter of the Wind" while Jang cemented his popularity for his role in the hit music drama "Beethoven Virus".

All four were born in 1987. The talented foursome of 22 year olds is set to rule 2009.

◇ Tall, handsome, born stars
The four all have handsome looks and long, slender legs. Lee is 186cm, tall, Jeong 184cm tall, and Jang 182cm tall. Moon appears small but she is in fact 165cm tall.

Lee is well built. In the drama, his character sports curly hair so his head looks bigger on screen but strong facial looks match his masculine figure.

In contrast, Jeong and Jang have more of a feminine flair. They have smooth, sm...| More

Should TV Actors Be Paid Exorbitant Fees?

Source | 2008/12/12 | Permalink |

Actress Kang Soo-yeon, who appeared in the 2001 SBS TV drama "Ladies in the Palace", was paid W4 million (US$1=W1,364) to W5 million per episode. Kim Hye-soo who appeared in the 2002 drama "Jang Hee-bin" and Lee Young-ae from the 2003 drama "Jewel in the Palace" ("Dae Jang Geum") received W6 million per episode. That jumped in 2005 to W15 million per episode received by actress Jeon Do-yeon in the SBS drama "Lovers in Prague". By 2006, Ko Hyeon-jeong was being paid W25 million for the MBC drama "Fox, What Are You Doing ?", while in 2007, Kwon Sang-woo got W50 million per episode of the KBS drama "Bad Love". In the MBC drama "East of Eden" currently being shown on MBC, Song Seung-heon receives W70 million per episode.

The dramatic jump in fees for soap opera protagonists was caused by the huge overseas successes enjoyed by dramas "Winter Sonata" and "Jewel in the Palace" ("Dae Jang Geum") in 2004. Increasing numbers of Independent drama production companies began to compete, raising ...| More

Bae Yong-joon is highest-paid actor

Source | 2008/12/02 | Permalink |

A phenomenal Korean star in Japan, Bae Yong-joon is the highest paid actor in Korea, raking in 250 million won ($171,600) per episode, an unusual release of the details of actors' payrolls showed this week.

A seminar on Korean television drama took place on Monday in Mok-dong, Seoul, hosted by the association of Korean television drama production directors to tell the difficulty in footing production costs.

Broadcasting stations and production companies have been raising concerns about costly payments to stars in recent years. They contend the payments create serious difficulties in financing television programs.

At the event, details of the payments for popular actors and actresses during the last two years were revealed by professor Kim Jin-woong of Sun Moon University.

Bae Yong-joon was found the most expensive star of all while he starred in the autumn hit of 2007, "The Legend". The number, however, is an approximation, as Bae was paid in a form of splitting profits be...| More