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[HanCinema's News] "On Your Wedding Day" Co-stars Park Bo-young and Kim Young-kwang Disappoint With "Abyss" and "The Secret Life of My Secretary"

Following the popular success of the film "On Your Wedding Day" last year Park Bo-young and Kim Young-kwang seemed like obvious choices to headline romantic themed television dramas. Instead, both "Abyss" and "The Secret Life of My Secretary" underperformed, begging questions as to just what went wrong.

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Part of the problem may just have been that too much faith was put in the star power of Park Bo-young and Kim Young-kwang alone to sell the projects. "Abyss" wasn't just a romance, but also a fantasy drama as well as a thriller. While Park Bo-young has had experience with all of these genres in the past, ultimately such ambitious fusion concepts are highly reliant on the script, over which Park Bo-young had little control.

"The Secret Life of My Secretary" had the exact opposite problem - a story so derivative that Kim Young-kwang lacked much in the way of opportunity to bring personal flair to the role. The wackier tone was also a deviation from the more serious romantic works Kim Young-kwang had done in the past. Which is ironic, given that Kim Young-kwang's past romantic roles have usually had strong comic relief elements.

Park Bo-young and Kim Young-kwang themselves have faced little direct criticism for the relatively poor performance of their dramas. Indeed, their chemistry with their leading co-stars has frequently been cited as a high point. Park Bo-young's "Abyss" co-star Ahn Hyo-seop is currently mulling over taking a role in "Dr. Romantic 2", though that drama currently faces dubious prospects.

But as for Park Bo-young and Kim Young-kwang, it seems likely they will try to break out of their current romantic themed niche and explore different kinds of roles. At present neither has any plans for a new drama.

Written by William Schwartz

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"On Your Wedding Day" is directed by Lee Seok-geun, and features Park Bo-young, Kim Young-kwang, Kang Ki-young, Ko Kyu-pil, Jang Sung-bum, Cha Yup. Release date in Korea: 2018/08/22.

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"Abyss" is directed by Yoo Je-won, written by Moon Soo-yeon, and features Park Bo-young, Ahn Hyo-seop, Kwon Soo-hyun, Lee Si-eon, Song Sang-eun, Han So-hee. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2019/05/06~Now airing, Mon, Tue 21:30 on tvN.

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"The Secret Life of My Secretary" is directed by Lee Gwang-yeong, written by Kim Ah-jeong, and features Kim Young-kwang, Jin Ki-joo, Kim Jae-kyung, Koo Ja-sung, Jang So-yeon, Han Ji-sun. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2019/05/06~Now airing, Mon, Tue 22:00 on SBS.

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