Wow........
............Impressive.............
.......I AM IN THE FIRST COMMENT -- so finally!

** Oh, it's true, I am sure that it will develop slowly to changes to character's personality toward to end of this drama, mm. I think that Lee Da Hae is still beautiful young actress without makeup AND with makeup either! (grins) **

I don't really feeling like Seol-hwa is in the same boat and Lee Da Hae's character. I find her character enjoyable, interesting. She is scrappy and resourceful and an entertainer. I appreciate the realism of the constraints of her ending up an entertainer/whore without some sort of male protection unlike Lee Da Hae's character who is like some dreamy blank slate of ideal beauty.

To be honest, I find Lee Da-hae fascinating in her role as Un-nyun. As the drama progresses, Un-nyun is developing as a character evident in her relationship with Song Tae-ha, in what I believe is an attempt to move on from the past. Simultaneous to this growth, Lee Da-hae is also growing as an actress. At the beginning, she seemed uncomfortable (understandable since Chuno is her first sageuk). However, that awkwardness is dissipating, and she is easing into her character. She still has 12 more episodes to fully reach her potential, and until the finale, I will give my final verdict (please don't disappoint).

If the drama shows the backstory of Un-nyun, of what occurred in those 10 years between her enslavement and recent-storyline, the criticism may be stunted; it might explain Un-nyun's passiveness (I hope).

I am somewhat ambivalent with Chun's excuses and javabean's argument; both sides have their points (I'm slightly siding with javabean). Personally, I believe a major theme of the drama is the relationship between men and women. Instead of dismissing the role of women as weak and submissive, wouldn't you agree that the women are the support system of the men in the drama (and especially vice-versa)? This is emphasized in the relationship between Eop-bok and Cho-bok, Dae-gil and Seol-Hwa, Dae-gil and Un-nyun, and of course Un-nyun and Song Tae-ha.

If you want a strong woman in the drama, look at what I believe is a manipulating/evil kisang who is seen with our resident evil politician. Can't wait to see what happens with her.

Un Nyun/Hyewon is such a wet blanket. She's a pitiable character, but not a likable one. She grates on your nerves. She reminds me of Kim Ahjoong's character in That Fool, who halfway through the series, underwent changes because there were a lot of complaints.

But I don't know, unlike Kim Ahjoong, I actually do think that Lee Dahae is making the best out of this blah character. She conveys UN/HW's desperation and passiveness really well, she's hard to read because she's weak most of the time, but then one or two moments make me think that there's something fiercer lying beneath.

Choices. I didn't find LDH's character too weak. I find her weak because her of time and it's a very doggy dog world (for lack of term here). And, this world is brutal and interesting. Slaves and all, and at times a little too excessive (too many people die). And, how many times do we have to have the episodes end with Lee Jong Hyuk running in slow mo with his fierce eyes, but I digress.

LDh made some crappy choices by being in a drama that is essentially the same drama (Hello! Miss) as the one she previously starred in (My Girl) and by being East of Eden as a throwaway character (was the big production a lure for her?).

She came across a little too dolled up in Robbers. Not naturally beautiful looking but like she came out of Cosmos. Then, in Chuno.... YIKES!!! She is running away for cyring out loud and in Joseon era! She looks too Glamour.

That's no fault of the writer.

People can't stand snooty glamour girl.

She could have just said "excuse me PD and writers, but isn't it strange that I have to show so much gratuotious cleavage in some scene? Hello makeup people, why am I so made up like a model of Cosmos? I am not at one of my modeling or CFs!"

I can understand if she is naive and don't know how to speak up, but some level of conscience in her could have made stand up and say "excuse me" or "hey!". But, maybe she is really that fatuous and that's why she made those choices.

Some of the complaints netizens are making are so ridiculous.. First they complain that her nails are too perfect, then that her makeup is too perfect. Please. If her nails were chipped and nasty with dirt and her skin was dirty, they would complain. At least they're not dissing on her acting..

Right now, her character's blandness fits w/ the story. And like samsooki said, there're enough episodes that bring her character to life. Like the scenes of her and Jang-hyuk back in the day. She's obviously bland because she never got over him. But there are moments where you see her character start to develop, so let's not worry too much :P

I was heartened to hear in this post (and in the comments of a post previous) that the writer acknowledged that Un-nyeon is a flat character at the moment but that she will evolve throughout the course of the drama.

I agree with #5 in that LDH is making the best out of what she has been given. In all of the flak thrown at LDH I haven't seen any commendations for the emotional scenes she has had so far (few, but still there.) In particular I thought the scene where she is crying out for Dae-gil while being dragged away was well done, and was an important memory/story point for a future interaction with Seol-hwa.

@Bunde:

I would only blame LDH for her perfect makeup and gratuitous cleavage if it were HER CHOICE and HER INSISTENCE that it be that way. How can you blame LDH for being so well-made-up if you don't blame the makeup people and the PD for not bringing up the issue as well? She can't be blamed because she's simply DOING HER JOB as an actress. I would definitely be able to blame her if her character was written to have smudged makeup and unwashed hair and she insisted on looking pristine, but that might not be how it is. Then again, I will gladly eat my words if you can prove to me that it's LDH's own doing that she has to look perfect in every scene.

I almost feel bad for her because of all the criticism she gets. I mean, you'll never hear me say that LDH is a good actress, but she doesn't deserve NEARLY as much criticism as she's getting with this show. I hope she chooses something better for her career as her next acting project; she's been on a downhill slide recently.

Re: LDH's je ne sais quoi that tends to attract negative response.

It could also be a classic case of schadenfreude.

LDH character still has room for improvement and you can see it on each episode. Torn between being a noble lady and her past as a slave, she is in a struggle within herself. But each situation, you can sense that there is more to her than just looking pretty.

One thing for sure...she has great chemistry with Oh Ji Ho and JH and that is one of the most important thing. Every scene LDH with Oh Ji Ho...I don't want it to be over....there is a spark between them...:) same goes with JH in the flashback...

I love Chuno no matter what the criticisms are. Like LDH, this is my first time to watch historical drama and I am enjoying it to the hilt.

Thanks Javabeans.

My only complaint (so far) is that she IS too pretty. Her hair, her clothes, etc.
You just don't get the feeling that she's a (former) slave on the run. She's been in the wilderness, and there's not even a bit of dirt on her. At least make her hair messy!

She's been gone for a while since she ran away from her marriage, but you can't really tell if she's led a hard life because.... she's just so neat and clean.

I won't go into the "perhaps she did/didn't tell the make-up artists that her make up was etc etc" because we have no clue what goes on behind the scenes.

This isn't directed toward LDH herself, but I wish the people in charge of her wardrobe and make up would do something about this.......

I sometimes do not understand why Korean public is so criticizing toward Lee Da Hee. I mean I love her, not just because she is really really pretty but she is an outstanding actress.

You know, there are plenty of actresses like Kim Tae Hee or Jung Rye Won who cannot really act but famous for their look. But Lee Da Hee, she CAN act, not just but really WELL.

I am getting frustrated here because people are too criticizing her.

I really hope that she will not be too stressed about this issue and show the public what really she is capable of!!!

i think it's true that her cleaniness has attracted a lot of criticism, but ppl have to move past that stage...we already heard about it from the news, and if they don't want to make her dirty then so be it

i find it funny that the author apologizes to lee da hae, if he thinks that he did nothing wrong, there really is no point in apologizing. if let's say the author was going to change the plot a bit or speed up the character's development..then alright. but i feel like he's apologizing because he just wants to defend his own story and tell ppl "hey, it's not LDH'S fault, but it shouldn't be mine either, you guys are just too impatient to see her development. and seriously all women acted that way during that time, so you guys should be more understanding."

so in a way i do agree with dramabeans that this shouldn't be the excuse for such a dull character. anyways i think the drama has lived up to a lot of my expectations, and you know how people are they love finding flaws in everything and it just so happens that LDH is a good target for something like this. btw i think her acting is pretty good.

ISK,

I don't want to be one of the netizen. Being in America, I expected more responsibility from her. At least, I expect the star to handle their handlers a little more. I haven't find anything bad with LDH in real life. So, why does she look so annoying in the last few dramas? Her manager, make-up artists and PR people needs to do a better job. I can't blame that on some people's jealousy or perception. Perception is crafted.

I was trying more to explain why it's not really the writer's fault, and why I can understand why people dislike her character, as well as her.

Actually, I don't find any problems with her acting. I am a guy and sorta fell in love with her character in first few episodes. And, only if she dressed sloppily when she is running away with the the ex general, it would not have been a distraction and a real comic eye sore to a really great show.

I think Un Nyun character is the most difficult to portray because of her fatally grieved past and her life not being able to lead a normal girl/woman life because of her "bi" or "na" (female) slave. I would rather say that her development is a little bit slow that viewers are not patient enough to wait for the character growth in her because the other characters have a fast pace in every episode.

What sort of change do we want to see in Un Nyun?. drastic?.
Will the change be suddenly or eh !! how come she change so fast !! not realistic enough , another criticism.

We hope the scriptwriter will try to blend her character well - more appealing or astounding then it is right now. I still think the wardrobe dept did botched on Un Nyun look even if the actor voice their concern, we don't know behind the scene right?..

Yes I do remembered Un Nyun hardships that was good acting, and hope to see more then she can deliver.

In most K dramas the women are just like LEE DA HAE character in CHUNO.
So why is everyone complaining. I can give a a LONG list of women in Kdramas that do absolutely NOTHING to move the story forward.

well as I have yet to watch this drama, waiting for more episodes to get sub treatment. It is true that woman of that time had little or no freedom, unless they belong to someone, either a man or family. Without that they just victims waiting to happen, if they are unfortunate enough to be attractive. So in that the writer has a point, but then again this is not really a 100% historical correct drama, so its more the writer trying to make some point than anything else. The complaints may mean he not getting that across very well.
I can not comment of either her acting or the character Lee Da-hae plays but Javabeans is totally correct in for some reason certain actors/celebrities do get more negative response than they can 'logically' deserve.

Since there's been so much criticism, I wonder why the makeup artists/costume directors do not change the "pristine" look immediately--I mean, this is something that actually can be altered, unlike the characterization, which is supposed to have been in development for the past episodes.

My biggest complaint about the drama isn't Lee Da Hee (although it would be more realistic for a former slave to display some survival skills. I mean, really. she totally has none.) but the storyline. At the rate the drama is going, it seems the climax will come at the very end. How many more hours do we need to see DaeGil running at the end with that beady glare, holding his dagger and made to believe he'll meet UnNyun but never doing so? It's been 12 long hours with no real character or story development.
It just seems like the writers are stringing us along and I feel so deceived with each episode. I had to skip a couple episodes b/c never-meeting-UnNyun fatigue is setting in on this viewer.

I think the other mistake of this storyline is that they've made the 2nd male lead Tae Ha essentially the lead -- in terms of screen time, capturing the female lead's affections (so soon), making him so virtuous compared to DaeGil's hot-tempered ways, and basically causing the audience to like him better than the lead.
I am rooting for DaeGil and his acting is superb, but with all that's stacked against him by the writers, how can he ever take his place?? I wouldn't be surprised by the way things are going if they made him die at the end and had TaeHa end up with Un-Nyun.

Beside what Chun expressed, the problem in writing her character and along certain directing/stlyist issues, I found out after almost 10 episode, that Dahee failed to bring more dimension and soul towards her acting. Her eyes is deep and expressive but her other body language is stoic and numb. The way she scared, startled, jumped, is so funny. On the raft, they way she pretend to be boy, she runs and screamed was laughable and unbelievable.

We can write one dimension character but still a brilliant actor/ess can bring it more depth and play it magnificently. In this case, Dahee failed to amaze me.

Other than cried, moved and think about the past which I think she did great , she disappointed me in her others potrayal.

I just screamed on the screen!

Just acting it convincingly even it is not interesting/one dimension character! Let me buy your acting!

Ouch, ohww, and put a finger on your mouth only you can do?. I can still bear it-the not so interesting character they gave you- if you make it believable but sad to say, it come out laughable to me.

Beside what Chun expressed, the problem in writing her character and along certain directing/stlyist issues, I found out after almost 10 episode, that Dahee failed to bring more dimension and soul towards her acting. Her eyes is deep and expressive but her other body language is static and numb. The way she scared, startled, jumped, is so funny. On the raft and they way she pretend to be boy was laughable and unbelievable.

We can write one dimension character but still a brilliant actor/ess can bring it more depth and play it magnificently. In this case, Dahee failed to amaze me.

Other than cried, moved and think about the past which I think she did great , she disappointed me in others.

I just screamed on the screen!

Just acting it convincingly even it is not interesting/one dimension character! Let me buy your acting!

Ouch, ohww, and put a finger on your mouth only you can do?. I can still bear it if you make it believable but sad to say, it come out laughable to me.

Honestly, I just really bad for Lee Da-hae. I think she's a good actress that doesn't deserve the illogical scrutiny she's getting. I think it's becoming more and more of a mob mentality where pick on Da-hae is the thing to do. Yes, I do acknowledge her flaws in the drama and the disappointment of the East of Eden debacle, but to continue to rant and rave over little matters and other things outside of her control is simply pathetic.

As I have said many times I have no problems with Lee Da hae as passive Un/Nyun or Hye won. I have suspected that this is intended to make her character develop as she travels/ run away with TH. We have seen her spark a few times. Since the traumatic separation from DG whom she she thinks perished in a horrifying manner caused by her brother, she has become passive with that burden.
She lived 10 years after that as a free woman(adopted by a noble family?) protected by her brother so its her first time to be alone out there. She happens to meet a man who choose to protect (her). I'd like to believe that her neat appearance is to express her personality. Without make up or smeared with dirt she would always have that angelic look of beauty. She is beautiful. Her beauty can intimidate some women who think their partner might like to fantasize on.

I'd like to believe that she will shed her burden of the past as she runs away protected by TH. Her experience with him will change her gradually. I don't think she is a public menace. She is chased by many & so her fear of being caught makes her that scared.

I'm glad that the writer explain to the viewers UN character & apologised to LDH who is being targeted & ridiculed for her role as UN/HW & accuse her for being responsible for her role in Chuno. Some should go to the set of Chuno to observe & see for themselves. Some arrogant ridiculous comments say that she can still tell the writer, director make up artist how she should be presented.

After seeing LDH in My girl I believe in her ability as a capable actress. I hope that the writer & director will guide her well in her role as UN/HW as they develop her character with her experiences with TH then when she meets DG she would be zapped to change faster.
Thank you recap. Thank Chuno.

I agree with JB.

I think aside what so called directing./stylist problem etc, I really want to look what Dahee can bring in brilliant acting since she in MY VERY WATCH list to look for. I have a high hope for her in Chuno. I don't thinks words like, you are jealous, they can't appreciate beauty, haters, anti's whatsoever is reliable anymore when it comes to serious/profesional critics. I will against brutal/harsh or unreasonable critics too but LDH is one actress that promises so much but keep dissapointing us the lover of great acting.

Well, how can you say, yeah she is doing her job. Aren't a great/good actor/ess can add spices, ideas, additional, and her own creativity with the PD and the writers?

That what we called a true actor. Like JH did with the fighting scenes. He did his howework and added the spices. Discuss with the PD.

This is not the first time. I can accept and just get passed it if this is the first time.

But she did the same in My Girl and Robbers. The vanity is tiring me off.

@firewife: I can't accept that. I really understand this is fusion seaguk thus the woman can be beautiful whatsoever. SH is not my fav. But at least her hair look rumbles and her face is dirty while she was cooking. She didn't care of her hair to look straight and on the places ALL THE TIME.

On the other hand, Dahee can't she suggest and discuss with the makeup/stylist to put a lil bit sand on her hanbook-at least- (if not her face) when she indeed was hiding on the house and sleep on the sands.

Duh!

I can imagine how Ha Ji Won can make this character beautifully and convincingly.

I don't really have issues with LDH. She is gorgeous and talented at the same time. She has amazing chemistry with OJH and I absolutely every scene HW and TH are together. I'm looking forward to seeing how the love triangle will play out. People should stop complaining about ridiculous things already and enjoy a good drama.

Yes, please please please give UN some more character development.

The only thing I remember from episodes 8-10 about UN's character is her standing in the side screaming while TH is fighting. I can't help rolling my eyes and laughing every time I hear her scream. Is this all the script calls for her to do? Oh yeah, that and her constantly showing off her chest.

typo: hiding under the house

def PASTA hair

UN is boring , too ordinary character from the beginning , as former slave , constantly fighting for life she should pose smarter surviving skills ,helping STH during their journey ,
can not so passive , being a big obstruction for STH . For last week epi , UN is
better , more active .
By saying it , i hope LDH having more chance to act as intelligent lady who will help
STH in saving the country.
LDH is talented and pretty actress .

I adore LDH but i'm really disappointed with her acting in this drama. I feel she's been terribly miscast. Whenever she acts scared, I find myself giggling. That's how lazy and unrealistic her reactions are.
So we have a one dimensional character and an actress who looks dead in the eyes most of the time. It's a lose/lose situation.

I find myself more interested in the secondary female lead. While the way she is written isn't much better, at least the actress brings some sort of life and spunk into this character that's very enjoyable to watch. She manages to stand out and at times even steal a few scenes.

@35 cathy,
i also think that way too... UN IS a former slave (althought she and her brother would not admit it), being a former slave, wouldn't her character have some surviving skills, from the previous episodes, she always gives a noble lady air about her, well it's understandable if she want everybody thinks she is, but now she's on the run, no? still a noble lady for me...
i really think the writers really intended to show us the gloriousness of male in Chuno (not that i'm complaining there), with the thinking of most women are helpless and need to be rescued all the time...

woot :] go lee da hae

oh goodness, people will still watch anyway. so just watch the show. she'll develop.

I think LDH's character is about a girl who first love was already a forbidden one. So she does not have a choice of leading her own life but follow the only family's member that she has : her brother. But she does realize that you don;t have the choice of your parents but you do have the choice of marrying someone. And so she decided not to marry to that old man. She does not possess any martial art skill so she then has to follow TH on the way to gain her freedom and I'll bet in mind, she also has hope to reunite with DG. So if the she' ever changed according to this script , then either she will learn some kind of martial art skill to protect herself or she would be depending on either man that she is following or falling in love with.

I just think this drama has a lot of abs showing and women are commonly falling for those which is a bit unusual. I guess the author wants to show that the commoners of that era had nothing to do but just that :). And perhaps he just wants to put some humour into a serious sageuk flick.

Poor character writing, a bloated cast, miscasting, and continued negativity at LDH may all have contributed to the failure of Un-nyun to make any meaningful impact in this series. But ultimately, it's about LDH's failure to make anything with all these lemons. When it comes to her inability to deliver a badly written character in a memorable and distinctive way, she can't pass the buck anywhere else.

LOL, Reading some of the comments here feels like a walk in the park compared to reading at some of the Korean boards; there, Da-hae's getting sliced left and right. Where are her fans from My Girl to defend her there? Holy Geebuz! no wonder writer Chun had to do the pr call this time, since Jang-hyeok and Oh Ji-oh apparently couldn't stem the arrows down that are coming at Da-hae.

I admit that I am totally watching Chuno for the guys. I'm shallow that way.

As for LDH, while I think that she is a beautiful girl, I am not convinced that she is all that when it comes to acting ability. I have seen her in 6 dramas now and I have to say that I don't find her all that impressive. I have seen worse but I've also seen a lot that were better.

But like I said I'm watching this for the guys. :)

If someone tells me "you're too beautiful so you don't belong here". My automatic response would be "you're just jealous!". Its an automatic natural response. I would find it just as ridiculous & awkward to explain & discuss the way I look & unwanted for it.
I feel sorry for LDH that she even had to explain about her healthy glossy pink nails! I'm glad that the writer has come out to tell the viewers about his portrayal of UN>HW. LDH deserves the apology because she has been targeted with negative criticism. Too much! Why the focus on her?

When I noticed her neat quiet look I thought that this way she looks more desirable for DG & TH. I would find her unattractive for a man with the likes of ooh lala TH & DG to have desire & passion for an untidy careless woman. Warm or cold, won't it be nice to see her bathe in the lake. TH too! I trust the makers of Chuno as they have entertained me incredibly in the past episodes. Of course they can't please everyone. Its a matter of choice.

Shut up people!

Just enjoy the drama. Can't believe people get so carried away by make-believe TV dramas that certainly have no bearing on everyday life.

When this drama finish screening it will be just another trash in the bin like 'Iris' , a copycat drama stealing stories from 'Bourne Identity', 'Enemy of the State' and James Bond.

I just have to laugh. I can't believe how much strong emotion this issue is attracting. Really! The world's fate is not going to be determined by whether it is right or wrong to criticise LDH. :-)

Personally, I think people aren't taking to UN because of a combination of flat character writing and LDH not being able to rise above it; *maybe* in real life she's vain (a trait not unknown in people who have to be beautiful for a living) -- but who knows? And who cares? Well, *I* don't really care, I have to confess. I'm just enjoying watching Chuno! And, actually, the incongruity of LDH's clean white hanbok doesn't bug me nearly as much as the improbability of disguising blood spots on it as blossoms with just a deft application of charcoal - now, THAT impossibility really bugs me!!

Is is a case of Lee Da Hae's vanity compromising the quality of Chuno?

How could she possible looks so clean and flawlessly made up with make up after many days wandering over hills, mountains, valleys, caves, rivers, sleeping under trees on the ground, in caves etc. etc.. etc..

This is so absurd, is it a case of her vanity? I would certainly expect so.

That dress remains so white and pristine and her face is as white and stiff as a porcelain doll throughout here time in the wild. There is not even a single hair out of place.

She needs to get down and dirty with the role and show us her true qualities as an actor.

I am severely dissapointed in her wooded, plastic and expressionless acting.
Looks like she has overdosed on botox!

And what has happened to her fine acting skills?

Has she lost them all?

Im starting to believe that she has been totally miscast in such a high quality drama.

One would expect that she has much more now a diva than an actress!

Another comment to put through, many negative comments, that mean she played her character well that she attract your attention.

If they keep on with the nanny post then her character will be dead end but if she run away on her own from STH and meet the mountain bandit jjawagi the leader is a woman then you will see her character growth. I hope Dae gil will meet her soon rather then in the end with a tragic death since his wish is to be with her.

Why ?, she has to carry and cover her head with the long green silk robe up and down the mountain and cross river and to jeju island and carrying the crown prince with the green robe?. Simple, all those stops she make are at nobles house.

Director Kwak is very experienced in his work so let give them space to deliver and also embrace their artistic talent .

Her antis are trying hard to confirm people LDH is a bad actress, actually this will draw more attention to her and this what I like. Usually in a case like this, brainy people will do their research, ..then the result..well just googled..and I can tell u, more than 80% are wonder what are these nonsense people are talking about..

Some even pointed out where is LDH fans to defend her..well should we defend some silly comments or just ignore it..actually if you go to her internatinal forums, most of fans (except me) they just don't play with this, they prefer to do more intelligent things, do wonderful recaps, etc.

JB, you should also give 31 reasons why people don't like Lee Da hae/UN. it is listed in most of Korea website-from there u can tell how sick is Knetizen.

Actually, LDH can make a police report already (based on malicious and stupid accuse (ex, the writer, PD and make up artist just follow her isnstruction, not the other way round), she got a case there i.e for her own protection and reputation, and she admittted recently she accepted criticms if her role make people hate her, but she cannot accept if people said she is actually the one running the production i.e CHUNO.

here is the list, just found it.

http://www.soompi.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=303202&st=2720

http://www.soompi.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=303202&st=2740