News bites: October 1, 2016

by awcoconuts

Ji-soo

• Hooray, Ji-soo returned to the set of Fantastic this past week! His agency released a statement: “Thankfully, he is recovering well and quickly, but he will take extra care while filming.” The young actor stated, “Many people must have been concerned and I’m sorry to have made them worry. I got a tremendous amount of strength from the support of viewers and fans. With the concern shown for me, I’m so thankful and joyful that I was able to return to the set.” [Seoul Economy, Herald Pop]
• Song Seung-heon has been cast as the villain in the film Admiral Kim Chang-soo. It’ll be Song’s first attempt at a villainous role, and he’ll play the manager of the Incheon prison that the titular independence fighter is incarcerated at. Jo Jin-woong (Signal) has been cast in the role of Kim Chang-soo, but in sad news, Ma Dong-seok (Police Unit 38) has turned down the opportunity to play Jo’s right-hand man. Cameras for the movie will begin rolling before the end of the year. [Sports Chosun]


Song Seung-heon, Han Joo-wan

• Leading the first of ten drama specials to air on KBS before the end of the year is Han Joo-wan (Blow Breeze, King’s Family). In 20,000 Won to Pyongyang, he’ll play a young man who attended seminary and was ordained as a Catholic priest, but he’ll suddenly lose confidence in his chosen path and will give up his training to take up employment as a designated driver. On the road, he’ll learn the true meaning of life, discover how faith guides him, and experience love and heartache. [Sports Chosun]
• Unsurprisingly, sales of Yoon Yi-soo’s original novels for Moonlight Drawn By Clouds have received a boost from the popularity of the show, and have sold 200,000 copies to date since becoming available in March 2015 (sales had been steady until the drama premiered, and have skyrocketed since). The pace makes the Moonlight books the most popular youth sageuk romance since The Moon That Embraces the Sun — the 2005 novels were adapted into the Kim Soo-hyun and Han Ga-in-starring drama in 2011, which helped boost sales of those books to 800,000. The original work that Sungkyunkwan Scandal was based on sold 800,000 copies domestically, 150,000 copies in China and 140,000 in Japan, and there are plans to translate the Moonlight books into Chinese, Japanese, and Thai as well. [Sports Chosun]


Lee Shi-un, Kim Min-jae

• Ahhh, I’ll never stop hoping for a Su-bong and Seok-beom bromantic W spinoff, but in the meantime, I’m happy that Lee Shi-un’s landed a role in Man to Man, the upcoming JTBC drama that long ago cast Park Hae-jin as a bodyguard to a top Hallyu star (Park Sung-woong). Lee will play the star’s agency representative, and the show, which has cast Yeon Jung-hoon, Chae Jung-ahn, and others, will air on JTBC in early 2017. [Osen]
• Kim Min-jae (Twenty Again) will cameo as the king to Kim So-hyun’s queen on Goblin (hm, I wonder what this means for Kwak Dong-yeon’s cameo). The drama about a goblin (Gong Yoo) and a reaper (Lee Dong-wook) and their sad, strange, but beautiful lives will reunite the Descended From the Sun team of writer Kim Eun-sook and director Lee Eung-bok and comes to tvN on Fridays and Saturdays in December. [Joongang]
• Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-ju has finalized its supporting cast: Jo Hye-jung (Cinderella and the Four Knights) is the weightlifting bestie of the titular Kim (played by Lee Sung-kyung). She’s a girly girl with a heart of gold, and despite spending the bulk of her time lifting barbells, she loves getting her hair and nails done. Relative newcomer Lee Joo-young is a tomboy who completes the trio of weightlifting girlfriends. Her character found success later in life due to her sheer determination, and although she’s usually ranked second, she’s highly girl-crush-worthy. Oh Eui-shik (Moonlight Drawn by Clouds) is the weightlifting team captain, and although he’s of small stature, he’s got a powerful aura. The story about weightlifter Kim Bok-ju and her whirlwind of a first love will premiere in November on MBC. [Xports News]


Baek Yoon-shik, Sung Dong-il, Chun Ho-jin, Bae Jong-ok

• This film sounds like one to look forward to: Movie vet Baek Yoon-shik (Last Princess) and Answer Me dad Sung Dong-il will star in Aridong, along with Chun Ho-jin (Moonlight Drawn by Clouds), Bae Jong-ok (Monster, Bubblegum), Jo Dal-hwan (Mirror of the Witch), and Sohn Jong-hak (On the Way to the Airport). The upcoming blockbuster suspense feature from director Kim Hong-sun (The Technicians) is based on a popular webtoon called Aridong’s Last Cowboy. Baek and Sung will play two men following a series of murders in the neighborhood of Aridong, and the film will be produced by AD406 (Cha Tae-hyun’s brother’s company) and distributed by NEW. Production will begin in earnest at the end of October, and Aridong is targeting a 2017 release. [Sports Chosun]
• Age of Shadows has reached over 8 million in admissions sold and has remained number one at the box office for over 20 days. The spy thriller starring Song Kang-ho, Gong Yoo, Han Ji-min and Shin Sung-rok continues to make a strong box office showing despite being in the fourth week since its release. [Osen]


Jeon Seok-ho, Jung Hae-in

• Jeon Seok-ho (The Good Wife, Misaeng) joins the cast of Strong Woman Do Bong-soon as a personal assistant. To whom it’s not clear, but perhaps to Park Bo-young, who will lead the Friday-Saturday drama. Written by Baek Mi-kyung (Beloved Eun-dong) and directed by Lee Hyung-min (Ms. Temper and Nam Jung-ki), Strong Woman Do Bong-soon will premiere on JTBC in January 2017. [Sports Chosun]
• Jung Hae-in (Yes That’s How It Is, Three Musketeers) has been cast as the bodyguard of Lee Yo-won in Night Light, MBC’s upcoming Mon-Tues drama. He’ll stay as close to her as a shadow and protect her — perhaps from UEE, who’s been confirmed as her rival. Night Light, which comes from writer Han Ji-hoon (Last, Temptation, Dr. Jin), will debut in December. [TV Report]
• There’s a new sitcom in the works for SBS titled Superhuman Family, and Park Hyuk-kwon (Six Flying Dragons) has been cast as the lead. He’ll play the department chief at a big conglomerate — a 44-year-old everyman sort of character who’s at once a salaryman, a husband, a father, a firstborn son, a boss, and a subordinate. The first sitcom for SBS in five years, the schedule hasn’t been nailed down yet, but the broadcaster is looking at airing two 30-minute episodes late on Friday nights beginning January 2017. Superhuman Family will be directed by PD Shin Kyung-soo (also of Six Flying Dragons) and is expected to span 20 episodes in total. [Herald, Joongang]

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