yay can't wait :]

".....trading his noona-magnet gentle image for a more rough and masculine one. (Something tells me the noona-magnetism will remain intact.)"

He can change his clothes and his hair, but he can't change that cute face, heheh.

The original was good, and theres been so many remakes of mangas/manhwas and Japanese dramas this year! Hopefully this will be just as good as the original (or in it's own way...).

he's cute ^o^

Dragon Zakura was a really good show, kind of a sober-faced anecdote against the feel-good vibes of GTO and Gokusen. Yamapi fans will note that two of the actresses from the show -- Nagasawa Masami and Arakagaki Yui -- would be paired in future dramas with Yamashita Tomahisa.

"(Something tells me the noona-magnetism will remain intact.)"

Thus, the "Yoo Seung Ho crushing over Bae Doo Na" subplot. "What do you mean I'm too young for you Doona Noona. I was Prince Chunchu in a previous lifetime! See this smile; I nearly defeated Mishil with this smile!" :D

Oh noo. I quit Dragon Zakura halfway through. Didn't appeal to me as much as GTO or (call me crazy) The Queen's Classroom.

Wishing this adaptation all the best.

I loved Dragon Zakura! Abe Hiroshi was funny and hot. I don't see the hot part in the Korean counterpart but I'm being shallow here >.<.

Yamapi was charming as always for having only a few facial expressions but somehow he worked it. Teppei was so adorable.

Hongki was supposed to star in this. I can't help but wonder how it would have turned out.

Yoo Seung ho is so talented so I'm keeping my expectations mildly high but not too high.

I loved Dragon Zakura, and I adore Abe Hiroshi. . . he was so good in this show,
The show depends on a strong lead...

I agree with Biscuit. . . the original was so good. . . hopefully this can be as good...

i cant wait to see chunchu in different role. he looks super cute in that hat. :D

i hated the jdrama version of it... had a really horrible first episode.. lol. hope this will be alright... however isnt getting good views amongst netizens because the previews look cheesy. also not many koreans even know about the history of the storyline..so most think its cheesy and cliche typical teenybopper drama... maybe it'll get good rating since its starting during winter break...however wonder how it will come out... hey maybe it'll be a hit like you're beautiful.. (doubt it..though)

i hated the jdrama version. this new drama news isnt even getting much excitement since the previews suckd butt

OMG I'm so sick of Yamapi, esp. after Buzzer Beat. And sorry, but he does NOT match the tough guy image, even w/ the clothes change.

Somehow, I'm confusing this with the "Woman Who Can't Get Married". ??

YOO SEUNG HO <33
and it's okay cuase we're both 16 <33

an, ppl have been complaining for the past year or two that jdramas were "stealing" from too many kdramas or manga and that the scriptwriters weren't being imaginitive anymore. i think this trend in kdramas just shows that the "stealing" isn't exclusive to jdramas, and i really don't think the practice should necessarily be frowned upon. it's just giving a story another outlet for it's telling... granted, it may be a bit of a commercial cop out but hey.... there's a tried and true story with a willing audience out there. low hanging fruit isn't always a bad thing, is it?

"an, ppl have been complaining for the past year or two that jdramas were “stealing” from too many kdramas or manga and that the scriptwriters weren’t being imaginitive anymore."

To be honest, I'd say there's been (WAY) more Japanese-to-Korean remakes than the other way around. Part of that is financial. It costs Korean production companies less to buy the rights to a Japanese manga or novel, than Korean.

In any case, I love remakes. There's enough founding differences between J-dramas and K-dramas that you just won't see a literal adaptation. The experience will still be different.

Ironically, Park Ye Jin (who played YSH's mom in QSD) was originally slated for this show. It would be really interesting (and when I mean interesting, I mean awesomely CREEPY) if Chunchu started hitting on mommy Princess Chun Myung.)

I think, korean drama and japanese drama is still different.. Altough they come from the same idea (just adaption).

The cast, the culture, and other factors cause that way....

Believe me... :P

And to proof what I'm saying, just put this drama on your drama list to watch at 2010

:)

i really liked dragon zakura. It wasn't really meant to be like other drama plots. I would watch an episode and get so motivated that i'd actually WANT to go study or do homework.

Probably should mention that I absolutely hated the teacher in Dragon Zakura. A lot of viewers mentioned the honesty and reality regarding what Abe Hiroshi's character says . . . but having been on the other side of it, the teacher (as well as the writer) is actually WRONG. Really, really wrong. As in, pre-recession when the Japanese economy destroyed the illusion that merely going to a great university would set you up for life wrong. And his character's a hypocrite and demagogue for demanding standards that he himself could not fulfill.

Nevertheless, it is still a valuable opposite from shows like GTO and Gokusen, which goes completely feel good on the adolescent experience while gleefully the whole point you go to school. One side for the other.

A great Korean adaptation of Dragon Zakura would be somewhat like Beethoven Virus, the vicarious pleasure of an authority figure making kids feel like spoiled crap for being kids. All adults and parents can subscribe to that! :D

"To be honest, I’d say there’s been (WAY) more Japanese-to-Korean remakes than the other way around. Part of that is financial. It costs Korean production companies less to buy the rights to a Japanese manga or novel, than Korean."

Ehhhh... i don't disagree with you about the number of japanese-to-korean remakes historically, but i wouldn't count those chickens yet either...
off the top of my head, in the past ~3 years there have been jdrama remakes of:
hotelier
my sassy girl
the devil
a moment to remember
last gift
my boss, my hero
my name is kim sam soon (at the very least heavily lifted from, if not explicitly marked as a remake)

as far as i can tell, in the past ~3 years kdrama remakes have been limited to:
hana yori dango
kekkon dekinai otoko
*maybe* itazura na kiss
and *maybe* dragon zakura (which i honestly couldn't bring myself to finish either)
am i missing anything else?

mind you, i'm not including anything that was remade for theatrical movie release (e.g. sekai no chuushin de, ai wo sakebu = my girl and i), but all in all, i think the hallyu wave definitely had a deeper impact on japanese entertainment than you'd think...

"moment to remember"

Moment to Remember was a remake of the J-drama Pure Soul.

"my name is kim sam soon"

Which one? Sapuri? :D

"as far as i can tell, in the past ~3 years kdrama remakes have been limited to:"

Drama Front:
One Spring Day (2005) was a remake of Heaven's Coins. Wanted to mention this, because Heaven's Coins is one of the seminal Japanese melodramas.
Dal Ja Spring was a remake of Anego (still baffling to me why the OL genre isn't bigger in Korea.)
Beethoven's Virus is inspired by Nodame Cantabile (not going to see remake.)
BBF was a remake of Hana Yori Dango (though I guess you can say that BBF and HYD were remakes of Meteor Garden, since MG is still viewed as "the model franchise.")
Alone in Love was an adaptation of a Japanese novel.
The Man Who Can't Get Married was a remake of Kekkon Dekinai Otoko.
One Fine Day was a loose adaptation on a Japanese manga.
I'm Sam was an adaptation of a Japanese manga.
White Tower was a remake of Shiroi Kyoto.

Movie Front:
My Girl and I was a remake of Sekachu.
Antique Bakery was a remake of Antique.
200lbs Beauty was an adaptation of a Japanese manga.
White Nights was a remake of Byakuyako.
Oldboy (2003) was an adaptation of a Japanese manga.
Indie movie Ad-Lib was an adaptation of a Japanese short story (makes sense BTW, given its secret subject.)

There's actually more, but that's what I can think of at the top of my head. There's been Korean remakes of Japanese properties since, I think, the late 90s. (Not a Korean trend, per se. Japan sells its creative sources to Taiwan and HK too. Again, it's just favorable prices, just like how Hollywood buys rights from other countries.) It's only been maybe the last 2-3 years where we've seen it happen in reverse, which is great.

In terms of J-drama remakes, there was also a tanpatsu remake of Korean movie Marathon. Usually the Japanese remake Korean blockbuster movies. I don't think the My Sassy Girl remake was that bad actually. The Maou remake was encouraging, and I'd love to see the Coffee Prince remake actually happen.

I'd gotten myself all excited about it when Hongki and Park Yejin had been slated as the cast members and was pretty disappointed when it fell through. So I'm interested now than I was before but Yoo Seungho's great and I hear Bae Doona is too, so we'll see.

As for Dragon Zakura, I thought it was great - Masami's character in Proposal Daisakusen reallly irritated me (actually the only good thing about that drama IMO was sortof Pi, the side characters and the Halleluyaaaaaah - CHANCE! and Don-tuh Knock-uh New York catchphrases, and that thing Masami's grandad said - people are strong, by telling someone they love them they won't break) but I actually ended up adoring her and her and Pi's ship in DZ. The show was a great motivator, like dulcedeleche, it made me want to study! All short-term effects, of course. :D While I didn't hate the teacher, I also was a bit turned off on the whole 'you only need to get into the university and your life is set' thing.

In any case, my expectations aren't high but I wish this version luck. Thing with jdramas being so short is they're pretty low maintenance, kdramas take a greater commitment to stick with to the end so IDK.

Yeah, ProDai was Pi's "graduation" drama. For young Johnnies, they usually will not end up with the girl or have a kiss in their drama in order to prevent themselves from alienating their fangirl base. (Very important in J-pop world that the Johnnies seem attainable, yet vague. Any kind of vague female-male attraction onscreen is looked at with suspicion. You just don't go there. :D ) That is, until they graduate into their "adult lead" phase. Yamashita Tomahisa, who's been more or less give "Next Kimutaku" label since Nobuta, finally got his graduation with ProDai. Thus, ProDai's referential bias to his then most popular shows -- Nobuta, Kurosagi, and Dragon Zakura.

"While I didn’t hate the teacher, I also was a bit turned off on the whole ‘you only need to get into the university and your life is set’ thing."

Yeah, I was like "alright buddy. You're asking them to game the entrance examination to compensate for 5 years of doing nothing at school, and you're selling them on the dream that going to the Harvard of Japan will set them up for life, which is blatantly untrue in the post-bubble Japanese economy. You, Mr. Teacher Guy, are not only a douchebag; you're a LIAR. But at least you're getting the kids to take school seriously. Yay you."

"Thing with jdramas being so short is they’re pretty low maintenance, kdramas take a greater commitment to stick with to the end so IDK."

J-dramas get a shorter leash with me. If the show doesn't take in 2 episodes, I immediately drop them. This is because J-dramas work with an episodic structure, and most dramas survive on plot details and narrative mechanics rather than on memorable acting.

Ohhhhhh. So that's why he got to actually make out with Keiko in Buzzer Beat? That's some kinda graduation, LMAO. :D So then how come they're allowed to get that frisky with other male Johnnys??!

I don't know much about the Japanese economy, neither did I have any idea about the Japanese economy or labour market when I watched the show but it just seemed so off. =/ Still, I really did enjoy the show. And Pi's arms. And Teppei. &hearts

You mean jdramas re: the plot vs acting? I've seen a lot less jdramas than korean or taiwanese but from what I've seen most of the young'uns are pretty decent actors, or at least don't stick out for being so very new to it like Hyunjoong, Yonghwa, Yunho.

"So that’s why he got to actually make out with Keiko in Buzzer Beat?"

Yeah, Pi had to make up for lost time. Are they really together now?

"So then how come they’re allowed to get that frisky with other male Johnnys??! "

Mm hmm! The ending to Nobuta wo Produce is sort of a wink-wink at the audience that, well, the only girl fit for a Johnny is another Johnny. ;) Nobuta is part coming-of-age show, part meta-Johnny show.

"but from what I’ve seen most of the young’uns are pretty decent actors"

Different circumstances due to idol dramas dominating J-drama programming. (BTW, no shame in calling a show an "idol drama." Majority of Kimataku's classic shows are considered idol dramas too. Virtually all the J-drama crossover shows are idol dramas.) Most would-be actor and actress leads o through the idol-making machine: Johnnies for the boys, and U15 and teenage swimsuit stuff for the girls.

I find Yoo Seung hun so cute & adorable since I watched him in Sad Love Song where he played young teen character of Kwong Sang woo. I was so amazed that he looks like a junior SO JI SUB! How he's grown still cute & a handsome young man. Enjoy watching him as Chun chu in QSD _ a surprise

I'll watch just for Bae Doo Na. Someone posted some production photos on their blog at KBS, http://blog.kbs.co.kr/camed

The swapping of hoodies sounds pretty convincing to me. They had great chemistry, I wouldn't be surprised. And Rainie and Show have been snapped together a LOT, too, plus apparently been asked to do another drama together like end of next year I think. TBH I'd be pretty happy about both those couples, they both seem great together and Show and Rainie have so much fun backstage (although I have no idea how you wouldn't have fun with Show *cough*bias*cough*). Ah but even though Pi couldn't kiss Maki in Kurosagi, the un-hug was hot stuff, how my ovaries exploded at that OMG. -.- I miss that, Pi was so lacklustre in Buzzer Beato.

Nobuta has hands-down one of my favourite drama ending ever. I LOVE that Shuji-Akira were the ultimate OTP. I honestly don't get that mentality though, I always find it so hot; Hiro and Ayaka, I almost died from the awesome, it was just like a drama!

Wasn't it you who said people, 'adults' in Japan viewed dramas with distaste? I mean, thinking back to what I know of jdramas and what I've seen, basically all have indeed included Johnnys. Surely people see the market for dramas targeted to adults? What about stuff like Majo No Jouken, Takki's a Johnny right (am I right to assume every young prettyboy as being a Johnny? ^^ Talk about monopoly), I assume that was aimed at adults...?

@xiahkixiri

"I’d gotten myself all excited about it when Hongki and Park Yejin had been slated as the cast members and was pretty disappointed when it fell through. So I’m interested now than I was before but Yoo Seungho’s great and I hear Bae Doona is too, so we’ll see."

I'm actually more excited with the new cast from acting point of view. Hongki is not a seasoned actor and Park Yejin I've never found compelling though I love her in Family Outing. Also I just love Bae DooNa, she could be clipping her toenails and I'd watch her. The only gripe--the preview is not terribly exciting

@ nycgrl: Well Hongki's done acting since he was young so he's not seasoned but he's no nooB either. I have to admit though I was excited mostly because I know and adore both of them, I've never seen Yejin or Bae Doona act TBH. What would you rec Bae Doona in? I've heard a lot of praise for her.

"What would you rec Bae Doona in?"

Bae Doona is one of the Korean "film queens of quirk." Until Host, she was probably still more popular overseas than in her home country.

She's done some drama work (esp. Country Princess and an older drama with Won Bin), but she's mostly known for her film work (Host, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Linda Linda.) Bae Doona did a really racy movie with Kim Rae Won in Plum Blossom when they were both starting out.

I'd probably start with the movie Linda Linda, which is a Japanese "girl power" film a la Swing Girls and Kamikaze Girls. Very fun.

If you're curious about dramas, I'd recommend Someday.

"I mean, thinking back to what I know of jdramas and what I’ve seen, basically all have indeed included Johnnys. "

Yup, thus the divergence in opinion. Some of the Johnnies are really strong actors (esp. from the SMAP and Arashi), but most of them are kinda . . . Pi? ;)

"Surely people see the market for dramas targeted to adults? "

Yup, thus the fine line between idol drama and serious drama. (And any given year in J-drama, you still have great shows. The law of averages still applies.) Also, the 90s "Golden-era of J-drama" is perceived with warm affection because it marked the transition from trendy drama to genre drama.

The idol system works in the sense that it produces a built-in audience that facilitates more freedom with drama. In other words, if you sign a Johnny, you can go more out there with the show and get reasonable return of investment. (Not completely true, as a Johnny still needs to be viewed favorably to protect their idol career.)

@ xiahkixiri
Besides her film work and the two dramas Belleza recommend which I also would recommend I also want to add the kdrama "How to Meet a Perfect Neighbor". She is totally quirky which is why I love her. The first time I saw her was in "Barking Dogs Never Bite " which was one of her more memorable roles.

@belleza
"Bae Doona did a really racy movie with Kim Rae Won in Plum Blossom when they were both starting out."

I did not see this one but I'm not surprised that Bae Doo Na would do nude or sex scenes but I'm shocked about Kim Rae Won. He is like Mr Boy Next Door .

"I’m shocked about Kim Rae Won."

Yeah the sex between he and BDN in Plum Blossom is pretty vigorous. Much stronger than what you'd expect in a mainstream American film.

@14...
OMG!!! please say it ain't so!! NOOOOOOOOO!!!
But then again, Cheonmyeong Gongju didn't make it, so no fear...

Aww, Lee Hong-ki...I miss Jeremy already...

~i like his smile. yah !!

WAHHhhhh
SEUNG KO KEREN N CUTE abissss
mau dongggg kalau seung datang k indonesia
bisnya di indonesia ngga punya aktor kayak seung............

he is so dam fucking cute!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:)

I don't know why, but for me he looked like yesung without the cheeks 8D

yu seungho so cute....to those who want to watch this drama,and have astro(malaysia..)..just watch at 303(KBSW)..every mon and tuesday at 9.00pm until 10.10pm...he he...(sorry if my eng.. not so good..) ^_^

yu seongho soooooooooooo cute..and YAYsung..that was right!!!!!!!!!he looks like yesung(super junior).. >_<

ack!! where's THIS recap?

kim chun chu!!!! you look like andre endique!!!

you're so cute...
hope you visit the philippines...

he's the cuteeeeesstttttttttttt!!!!

LOve this drama and this guy sooo muchhh....

I love you Yoo seung hoo..yeah..pls visit Philippines..you are a much better actor thar LMH...love u so much!

i just watch this drama and fall in love with them.. I wanna know did baekhyeon and pullip be together???