Ji Sung in MBC’s Kim Suro
by javabeans
Ji Sung (Swallow the Sun) is taking the titular role in MBC’s upcoming drama Kim Suro, as pictured in these newly released stills. He has acted mostly in contemporary dramas such as New Heart and All In, but jumps back two millennia to play the first king of the Kaya nation, who reigned in the 1st century A.D.
In addition to Ji Sung and his co-star Yoo Oh-sung, the drama has added actress Seo Ji-hye (I Love You) and Go Joo-won (OB-GYN) to its cast.
Go Joo-won plays Kim Suro’s rival as his half-brother by a different father; their mother is played by Bae Jong-ok. Seo Ji-hye will play Kaya’s first queen, Heo Hwang-ok; according to Suro’s legend, she was a princess who traveled to Kaya from a far-off kingdom Ayodhya (located in current-day India). Her parents had been told in a dream that a man named Suro was sent by Heaven to found the Kaya state, and were instructed to send their daughter to be the new king’s spouse. Once she had arrived via ship and met Suro, he confirmed that he had also foreseen that his wife would be sent to him.
The drama will air on weekends beginning in late May.
Via Joy News
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Tags: Go Joo-won, Ji Sung, Kim Suro (drama), Seo Ji-hye
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1 kerik
April 16, 2010 at 12:31 PM
Ah...why Go Joo-won? Now I have to watch this
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2 Kiara
April 16, 2010 at 12:34 PM
Yummy...more Kaya men please lol.
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3 jjwu
April 16, 2010 at 12:36 PM
ew..... those rubber boots.... do they even make these in 1st century A.D?
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4 annae
April 16, 2010 at 12:36 PM
thanks JB...so excited for the drama....i can't wait.. has three of my fav actors... yeah!!
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5 ockoala
April 16, 2010 at 12:56 PM
Man looks good! The pic w/ the bow and arrow - I'm getting total flashbacks to KJH circa HGD. Anyways, can't wait for Kim Suro. I'm got a secret soft spot for hero-making sageuks, like Jumong and KotW, and less interested in the palace intrigue ones like Yi San and The King & I. Moar man on horse with big sword, please!
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6 yenthi
April 16, 2010 at 1:06 PM
STLDFM was an ooey gooey classic. He has a soft spot for me, so I might check this out.
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7 dramagrl17
April 16, 2010 at 1:19 PM
The armor looks pretty amazing! But those boots... look way too rubbery to belong in the first century AD.
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8 hjkomo
April 16, 2010 at 1:27 PM
@ ockoala
Real horses or mechanical? :P
Seo Ji Hye's in this, too? Aigoo, so much to watch...
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9 oi
April 16, 2010 at 1:27 PM
lol @ kerik
That is good news. Go Joo Won in this one. Not a fan of Ji Sung, but will check it out for "Dr Lee".
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10 mina
April 16, 2010 at 1:29 PM
I'm melting....Ji Sung!!! this is his first lead role on a sageuk so I'm quite nervous and excited at the same time.The fact that it's airing on MBC, makes me anticipate even more because they generally have good sageuks(e.g. dae Jang Gum, Jumong,) I just hope it's not another Queen Seon Duk where at the end quality didn't matter as long as it is a giant money making machine.
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11 trixicopper
April 16, 2010 at 1:33 PM
@#5 ockoala
I'm with you. I like the warrior sageuks better too! Man on horse with big sword! Oh baby, oh baby! :)
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12 ockoala
April 16, 2010 at 1:39 PM
@ hjkomo and trixicopper
Real, of course! Ladies, I am not remiss in saying that Song Il-kook has set the bar high, real high, for kingmaker sageuks. We're talking trampling the ground on a real horse, shooting a bow and arrow convincingly, and waving a big big sword without falling off or tripping.
Ji Sung's done with his army duty. Lemme see some army training put to use. Not that the korean army teaches horseback riding, shooting with a bow and arrow, or sword fighting. Stilll....
I like the entire cast so far, this is one saguek I'm bestowing an early stamp of approval. Which I can rescind if it all goes to heck in a handbasket.
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13 Anne
April 16, 2010 at 1:46 PM
CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!!!!! Me LOVES ji sung! yesss! I am way more interested in this drama now
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14 chop2
April 16, 2010 at 1:53 PM
rather than the armor, the simple outfit with the sword looks much better...btw does anyone also think that the bow is too big?
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15 hyewon
April 16, 2010 at 2:12 PM
is this becoming a trend when male actors in saguek no longer put on a wig and instead use their own long hair? i don't like this. the chuno boys' hair were too long and messy.
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16 Ah Yuan // wingstodust
April 16, 2010 at 2:26 PM
Argh, why Go Joo Won? It makes me almost want to watch this... But the whitewashing of Heo Hwang-ok in the show bugs me...
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17 cathy
April 16, 2010 at 2:38 PM
Agree , those boots look so modern , so shiny , please fix them . The reason we like
historical drama bc we like history , please don't make K historical drama in modern setting and clothes , make it more believable .
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18 chasen8888
April 16, 2010 at 2:39 PM
I love watching historical kdramas, they are so interesting, therefore I am looking forward to this one.
@7 I was thinking the same thing regarding the boots, too rubbery for 1st century A.D. One advice to the PDs -"change those boots" or at least hide them.
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19 KonaBeans
April 16, 2010 at 3:04 PM
I've watched Ji Sung in some dramas including Swallow the Sun. Not a big fan, but I don't mind watching him in a good drama. On this promo pics, he looks good on the robes but the armor is not fo him, sorry. It seems oversized for him. And what's with the rubber boots? Since I like sageuk especially in the three kingdom periods, I'll make sure catch this drama and see how it goes.
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20 Vecchio
April 16, 2010 at 3:30 PM
Ji Sung is not sageuk material, sorry.
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21 sandy80
April 16, 2010 at 3:38 PM
I feel sorry for lee bo young cause she is dating him he is so boring
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22 mina
April 16, 2010 at 4:59 PM
@#21 how do you know he's boring? have you ever met him in real life?! just saying...
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23 Hanjae
April 16, 2010 at 5:07 PM
@ kerik
LOL, my sentiments exactly. I had a passing interest in this before, but now that they've gone and casted Go! Joo! Won!, it looks like I'm going to have to watch this. I was hoping he'd take up another contemporary drama after OB/GYN, but hey, I'll take anything he throws at me.
Agree with "boots are too rubbery!" comments, too. It should be less noticeable once they muddy it up a bit, though, and it probably won't show up too much in action? I mean, most of us will be staring at his face, not his shoes...
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24 all4movies
April 16, 2010 at 5:40 PM
Hopefully those welliies were just for the promo shots, otherwise I will be sniggering about them thorughout the series.
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25 manu
April 16, 2010 at 7:06 PM
those boots! those horrifying boots!!
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26 djeedjes
April 16, 2010 at 7:13 PM
Life at that time must be easy if you can find your soulmate because you ( and/or your parents ) had dreamed of him... and given the exact address where you can find him.
Of course Suro would say that she's the woman in his dream too, it's Seo Jihye! She's so pretty I like her. :P :P
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27 Asarako
April 16, 2010 at 7:23 PM
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.....
Go Joo-won will be in the series?? i love him in OB_gyne....
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28 Sunshine
April 16, 2010 at 8:06 PM
You need tall and masculine actors to wear that kind of "heavy" armor to look proportionate if not then....
Wardrobe dept. need to do more refine research on the saguek costume to make it more realistic for that era if not netizen will be criticising it again and again till the end of the drama.
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29 Taohua
April 16, 2010 at 9:05 PM
Was not initially planning on watching this even if I did think Ji Sung was cute...but now with Seo Ji-hye, I might have to give it a shot.
But those shoes, I agree...doesn't really fit the whole sageuk concept at all. PD-nim, those need to go!
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30 KonaBeans
April 16, 2010 at 9:07 PM
@12 ockoala and @28 Sunshine, can't agree with you more. You need to be tall to look good in armor as an warrior. Song Il-Kook has set the bar high. Since I haven't seen Ji Sung in sageuk, I'll give him the benefit of doubt. Let see how the drama turns out. I once had high hope for Queen Seon Duk but had to give it up at 1/3 of the way.
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31 mimim
April 17, 2010 at 1:04 AM
probably big project of MBC not MAn called God or Dong yi but Kim sooRo .
i have a feelings this drama gonna be HIT!
i think after went army his acting improves so well.
Fighting
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32 vindy
April 17, 2010 at 2:08 AM
In Voice Letter, I love Seo Ji Hye so much more than Kim Ok Bin, different from many of my friends. She was good in Shin Don too. But doesn't Princess Heo is an Indian born? Shouldn't they choose a dark skinned actress instead? Initially I thought Park Si Yeon would be suitable hmm...
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33 KoJooWon
April 17, 2010 at 4:03 AM
not a fan of sageuk drama, but I will have to check it out for Go Joo Won!!!!
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34 Soobi
April 17, 2010 at 6:08 AM
Interesting! I quite liked him in Swallow The Sun...
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35 estelle
April 17, 2010 at 7:06 AM
Ji Sung looks kinda comical in these shots... =X
And he really looks like Hong Gil Dong in the 4th pic!
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36 cathy
April 17, 2010 at 8:31 AM
I'm not Korean and i'm interested in K historical drama , it would be more believable.
for me , Immortal Admiral YI , Jumong ,Jewel in the palace , damo , Yi san are all excellent drama .
QSD is unrealistic , unbelievable , repeated plots are so childish , Misle evil character is very common in Chinese historical drama , QSD can not convince
me that she is smart with excellent leadership .
I 'm watching Dong Yi now , so far so good .
My opinion .
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37 gailt
April 17, 2010 at 10:00 AM
ayiii! ji sung and seo ji hye, why must it be a sageuk? i always say I will watch this actress/actor in that sageuk, but i've never actually done so.
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38 Rovi
April 17, 2010 at 10:17 AM
YAY!!!
Ji Seong-i!!!
So cute, I remember him from way back STLDFM, and I hadn't even noticed that he was in STS, until I saw the resemblance...
...but then, he was too cute to be Gwanghaegun in King's Woman, I thought he was Jeong Tae-woo (who almost always plays the deposed Kings)...
(although I never saw the drama, others said it was bad...)
Yay also for Go Joo-won, he was so cute WITHOUT the beard in King & I...
@20 Vecchio
how can you say Ji Seong is not sageuk material? Have you watched "King's Woman" (왕의여자)???
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39 fionnula
April 17, 2010 at 2:47 PM
I love the costumes so plain and simple. Brilliant.
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40 fionnula
April 17, 2010 at 2:52 PM
Just thought I should add a note about when people think actors are not sageuk material. Being an actor/actress means taking on different roles. Just because Ji Sung has been in many a modern drama does not mean that they will not be able to act the role in a sageuk. I mean if we take the Western world for example, Keira Knightley has done a lot of period dramas but then she's done modern films as well. You can't just assume that an actor can only do one type of acting. The very definition of an actor/actress is a chameleon that can change according to different circumstances and all objections like 'so, so and so won't fit the tone of a sageuk' are totally needless because the very definition of an actor/actress means adapting and changing to the different roles they face.
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41 Martha
April 17, 2010 at 4:45 PM
Sorry duck , but I'm positive Ji Sung was not in All In, he was in a casino-themed series set in Jeju island (hence the mix-up?) called Swallow the Sun. That drama was inferior to All In and was plagued by spectacularly badly written (and acted) female characters. Ji Sung does have a photogenic face, but he's not an intense, imposing actor (and I don't think an actor necessarily needs to be tall to be imposing. The late Alan Bates was about my height, 5'5'', maybe a couple of inches taller, but he projected like a giant through the command of his material). JS appears buried under his warrior costume, like a schoolboy who strikes a manly pose in front of a mirror, enacting his own little fantasy of masculinity, but without the pathos of the schoolboy's frangibility.
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42 song4u2
April 17, 2010 at 7:02 PM
I am so looking forward to this drama...I hope we get recaps right away...hehehe.
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43 Javabeans
April 17, 2010 at 7:07 PM
@Martha,
Ji Sung was most certainly in All In, as well as Swallow the Sun. He played Choi Jung-won.
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44 Martha
April 18, 2010 at 6:38 AM
#43, Javabeans
Mea culpa. He completely passed out of memory , and even the promptly produced photographic evidence has failed to jog it. I think it is down to the LBH megabytes leaving no free hard disk space.
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45 lb_tmi
April 19, 2010 at 7:09 AM
i love me some Ji Sung. really. but i'm on the same boat as those that say he just doesn't seem like saeguk material. it's like, he's way too pretty to do manly horse riding, bow shooting, sword fighting. i do hope that i eat my words tho. cuz i love me some Ji Sung.
JB--
that is some awful hair in that pic on Ji Sung.
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46 belleza
April 19, 2010 at 9:20 AM
Give him a go at carrying a sageuk before dropping him. I ddin't think Song Il Guk would be that good in a sageuk (watch his earlier dramas), but as it turns out, he's the Charleton Heston of the fusion genre. Ya never know!
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47 Stylish~
April 19, 2010 at 3:32 PM
wouldn't it be cooler if they got an Indian actress for the Indian princess role?!!
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48 Hanjae
April 19, 2010 at 6:54 PM
@ 47 Stylish
Only if they managed to find an Indian actress that could not only speak fluently in Korean, but also handle the ancient language AND be able to act to boot! I can't imagine the producers would take such a risk with the lead actress.
I've heard a lot of complaints about Seo Ji Hye being too pale and clearly oriental to be a convincing Heo Hwang Ok, but I'd honestly prefer they cast a GOOD actress who'd ace the role than cast someone who's physically suitable but has little acting experience. Think positively; perhaps all Seo Ji Hye needs is a tan!
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49 cecilia
April 20, 2010 at 1:45 AM
omg!!!!!ji sung oppa~~~
i never watch sageuk coz korean sageuk just dont interest me and they're way to long
but ji sung oppa~~~~guess i'll have to make an exception
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50 Gauri
April 30, 2010 at 1:06 PM
i can't wait for this drama...and the princess is supposed to be indian form what iv read...
and someone commented that a darker person should have been chosen, but that would have been incorrect...simply because Princess Hwang was north indian and as such, the royal family from that side had ppl who were very fair (from what legend keeps saying..)
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