Lee Min-jung gets her first leading role
by javabeans
Lee Min-jung, most well-known for her recent role playing Lee Min-ho’s annoying (but endearing) fiancée in Boys Before Flowers, is getting her first leading role. It’ll be in the new SBS weekend drama Smile (more literally, Smile, You [그대, 웃어요], which is a working title).
At first glance, the story seems somewhat reminiscent of early descriptions for My Fair Lady — Lee Min-jung’s character is the immature second daughter in a chaebol family. However, one key difference is that this chaebol family is on the decline (while Yoon Eun-hye’s is very much still rolling in the riches). After they are thrown into sudden ruin, they are taken in by the family of their longtime chauffeur (played by Choi Bool-am, the grand chef in SBS’s Gourmet). One can only imagine all the sorts of shenanigans that arise.
I think I’m hooked already! The setup has got a lot of familiar elements, but employs just enough of a twist to make me want to see how all this plays out. This makes sense given the PD-writer team of Lee Tae-gon and Moon Hee-jung, who showed their ability to add refreshing touches to well-worn, familiar stories with last year’s updated Cinderella tale The Last Scandal of My Life, which was zippy fun. On top of all that, Lee Min-jung is bright, charming, and talented. Sign me up.
The drama which will follow the just-premiered Style and air in October. According to a representative with SBS’s drama department, Lee Min-jung’s casting is “almost finalized,” which means the documents have to be processed but the casting is pretty much a go.
Via Newsen
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Tags: Choi Bool-am, Lee Min-jung
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1 Balletgoddess
August 5, 2009 at 11:45 PM
I hope this drama is good too! I loved and hated her character in BFF plus after City Hall no drama has really caught my attention yet (not even Shining Inheritance/ Brilliant Legacy)
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2 Balletgoddess
August 5, 2009 at 11:52 PM
I meant BBF/ BOF
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3 ar_arguably romantic
August 5, 2009 at 11:56 PM
totally excited for this drama! I was just thinking about her earlier and how she would totally rock a Hong sisters (writers of My Girl) drama, but this drama is interesting too and the PD-writer team is great!
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4 Janette
August 6, 2009 at 12:02 AM
Oooo! Though I couldn't stand her character in BOF, she is a very talented actress. And quite pretty too! Does anyone know who the male lead is? Or is the casting still in progress?
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5 din
August 6, 2009 at 12:02 AM
when i read the description of the drama,
it feels like a mixture of shining inheritance, my fair lady &..
those movies/drama with a girl from a former rich lifestyle learning "human values" & "the normal average life" from the guy from the poor/average lifestyle & also falling in love with him in the process.
....oooh! i'm so looking forward to this :D hope it's good :D
plus, i find this LMJ pretty & has acting potential :)
congrats on landing on her 1st leading role :)
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6 melai04
August 6, 2009 at 12:20 AM
nice!
pretty pretty girl!
i love how she breaks my heart in BBF.. good actress indeed!
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uno
September 4, 2013 at 9:58 PM
Pretty plastic women
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7 gallivanter
August 6, 2009 at 12:51 AM
ooh, this does sound promising! I'll be curious to see who the male lead is.
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8 koalabear
August 6, 2009 at 12:59 AM
so this was the drama that Lee Min-jung was referring to in one of her recent interviews that she was about to start her new production sometime September or October and from the looks of it since its written by the Lee Tae-gon+Moon Hee-jung tandem, which I truly enjoyed watching their last drama The Last Scandal of My Life , I think this one looks promising!
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9 bluefire
August 6, 2009 at 1:22 AM
Lee Min-jung!! I love her! She's awesome!!
Can't wait for this one! It's interesting too! Yay!
Thanks for the news! Please let her male lead be good ^^
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10 kawaii
August 6, 2009 at 1:41 AM
WOW, looks promising, as i love 'the last scandal of my life'.
i agree with someone above who said this drama kinda mix of BL + my fair lady..but i believe it will have its own unique plot too. n lee min jung did show good potential from BBF, n she's pretty too but if i'm not forgotten one thing that bothers me about her in BBF was her voice. or maybe as the drama goes i did get over it. dont really remember. btw, still looking forward to this. n i really wanna know who the lead male would be. LMH would be interesting, since they did have chemistry in BBF. =)
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11 michi
August 6, 2009 at 3:02 AM
Oh wow!
I like this girl and she'd be great for the role.
Dunno the guy though..
And Last Scandal is one of my favorites so I am signing up as well! :)
Thanks for this, javabeans!
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12 tokai
August 6, 2009 at 4:03 AM
Yeah, she was cute. Wanna see more of her too. So I'm looking forward to this. :)
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13 Yoo Jin
August 6, 2009 at 4:08 AM
ooo i really want to see this! I loved her in Who Are You and BOF =]
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14 CyNurse
August 6, 2009 at 5:07 AM
Her features remind me of Yoon Eun Hye. I liked Lee Min-jung in Who Are You? and to some extent, liked her in BBF.
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15 aya
August 6, 2009 at 5:43 AM
I'm looking forward to this one. I love her!
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16 Nom_Kitteh
August 6, 2009 at 6:21 AM
First of all, one of my omputer keys is broken -- guess whih key!
Seondly, my reation to this story is: FINALLY! Min-Jung ompletely stole BOF away from the lead, and while the writers are partially to blame for giving her a billion episodes and essentially lead time for a million of those billion episodes, Min-Jung also really shined every moment she was on. And she is gorgeous.
The story sounds just right to me but the lead male will determine if I will stay with it. I am a total sexist and totally superfiial, so if the male lead isn't "hot," I will not stay.
ity Hall was my last drama and I am hoping Lady of the astle will draw me bak into K-dramas. If not, hopefully maybe this one?
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17 Snikki
August 6, 2009 at 6:31 AM
I like her too! She actually never annoyed me in BOF. *mutters to self* ...JanDi is the one I couldn't stand...
I'm adding this to my list!
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18 sunflower
August 6, 2009 at 7:29 AM
sounds like a spin-off from her character in BOF...not that it's a bad thing. i'm interested how this drama will be like.
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19 gailt
August 6, 2009 at 7:37 AM
wehehehe, i love nom_kitteh. do you have a cat?
i liked KMJ in BBF too. the twist seems interesting.
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20 lovenyc52
August 6, 2009 at 8:37 AM
ooh!! looking forward to this. i actually really liked her in BOF! she was spunky!!
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21 simi
August 6, 2009 at 9:27 AM
I'm glad she's finally getting a lead role....she has that "it" factor that draws people. with the right project she could be huge
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22 epyc
August 6, 2009 at 9:30 AM
Lee Min Jung is an actress of great potential. She really caught my eyes as Go Ara's friend in Who Are You. As for BoF, she lite up the screen everytime she's on screen even though her character was poorly written. I find her the better actress than the female lead in both dramas. Actually, how I wish she were given the role of jandi as I do think she can carry Jandi better than Go Hye Sun.
With the Last Scandal's team producing it, this drama sounds like a promising vehicle for Lee Min Jung. Wish her all the best!
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23 Svary
August 6, 2009 at 9:53 AM
Lee Min Jung has a great smile and a lot of acting potential. I'm excited for her next project, but why do some of her fans always have to bash another talented actress, Goo Hye Sun, to get their point across? It says more about the quality, or lack thereof, of her fans than about the charisma + star quality of the actress herself. And, like javabeans said about some of Hye Sun's fans, it's the fans who could really bias a person against said actor or actress. I don't want to stop liking Lee Min Jung just because of some of her fans.
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24 Liz
August 6, 2009 at 9:55 AM
oooh! this sounds fun! hopefully this drama will get me through all my AP classes im signed up for this coming school year. October, hurry up!
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25 Liz
August 6, 2009 at 10:02 AM
PS does this remind anyone else of Sabrina a little bit? The chauffeur's family...though the genders are switched that's what I thought of
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26 Biscuit
August 6, 2009 at 11:22 AM
Sometimes I found her voice a bit annoying in BOF, but since she will be the lead and in each ep, I think I'll get used to it... She's a good actress and I'm a sucker for Cinderella stories and cliches. I will be watching this.
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27 kimchii
August 6, 2009 at 11:46 AM
Interesting. Definitely looking forward to this one. I always felt sorry for her character in Boys Before Flowers.. Sadtimes.
Ps. In the picture her eyes are giving me a slightly insane kinda look..
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28 Nom_Kitteh
August 6, 2009 at 12:07 PM
@19 gailT: thanks for the love! Right bak at ya!
And yes, I have a at! 3.5 ats, in fat. The .5 one goes in and out of the house.
:-)
I am piking up a new omputer today and it should have all its keys working!
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29 sophia
August 6, 2009 at 12:58 PM
Interesting, - I have to admit that i really liked her in BOF and she seemed a lot more suited to the main male lead as she got him in a way i don't think jandi ever did, but hey ho...hopefully it will be good despite the same over used plot.
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30 NoRefund
August 6, 2009 at 3:47 PM
For all those that found her annoying in BOF it's because that's what her character was supposed to do :P That just means she did an amazing job heh. As for her chemistry with MinHo, i recently read in an interview with him that he still felt a little awkward with her at times especially since I "think" that they're still on formal speaking terms?
Excited to see what she can do as a lead role, it's about time! I've been following her work since she first started acting in dramas.
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31 MEIKO**** ^-^
August 6, 2009 at 6:12 PM
hope she wont have that strange voice...
she was itsy bit annoying.., but then all the characters had annoying scenes anyway.., especially Jandi and GJP..... ^-^
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32 Annie
August 6, 2009 at 6:50 PM
I like her! I don't know whether or not she's deserving to be a lead actress but I supose we'll see once the drama airs. Can't wait to hear more about the casting for this drama. Keep us updated dramabeans!
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33 Lal
August 6, 2009 at 11:06 PM
Been reading at another site that Lee Chun Hee Chunderella (ex host of Family Outing) has been casted as one of the leading man. Wondering how this drama will turn out...
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34 goldlilys
August 6, 2009 at 11:22 PM
A Taiwanese drama that comes to mind is Corner With Love where the girl starts out very rich, then her family incurred debts and left her behind.
As for the actress, she was very annoying in BOF (or was it just the way Group 8 prolonged her stay in the drama) but I admit that she's a good actress. Will keep watch for this drama.
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35 vere
August 7, 2009 at 10:15 AM
Can't wait to see her in this drama. She is really striking.
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36 deccu
August 23, 2010 at 9:28 PM
u r really beautiful n i like the way u behave 2 jandi.m dying 2 see u in another rama
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37 deccu
August 23, 2010 at 9:29 PM
m big fan of u 4m nepal
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