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News bites: March 15, 2023


Park Hyung-shik, Park Shin-hye, Yoon Park, Gong Sung-ha

  • JTBC’s upcoming Doctor Slump confirmed their lineup, with Park Hyung-shik (Our Blooming Youth), Park Shin-hye (Sisyphus), Yoon Park (Please Send a Fan Letter), and Gong Sung-ha (Through the Darkness) leading the series. With casting now finalized, filming for the rom-com has officially begun with scripts by Baek Sun-woo (My Roommate Is a Gumiho, What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim) and PD Oh Hyun-jong (The One and Only, Find Me in Your Memory) at the helm. [JTBC]

  • Bringing in a new wave of medical dramas, JTBC is also gearing up for Doctor Cha Jung-sook, which will be premiering next month on April 15. The new poster features our story’s main pair, Uhm Jung-hwa (Our Blues) and Kim Byung-chul (All of Us Are Dead), who is in for quite the journey of his own now that he’s forced to learn that his wife’s dreams are just as important as his. [JTBC]
  • A new poster is out for tvN’s Family as well, showcasing a conspicuous Jang Hyuk (Red Heart) while wife Jang Nara (Sell Your Haunted House) pretends not to notice. The comedy will be launching on April 17 with scripts by Jung Yoo-sun (That Man, Oh Soo) and directing done collaboratively by PD Jang Jung-do and PD Lee Jung-mok. [News1]

  • Jun (a.k.a. Lee Jun-young) (May I Help You) has been cast in You Have Done Well, joining IU (Hotel Del Luna) and Park Bo-gum (Record of Youth) in the period romance. Production is still in the planning stages with Im Sang-chun (When the Camellia Blooms) penning the scripts and PD Kim Won-seok (Arthdal Chronicles, My Ajusshi) as the talent behind the camera. [SBS]
  • Rising star Cha Hak-yeon (Tomorrow) has been added to the lineup for Desert Island Diva, taking on the role of Chae Jong-hyeop’s (Unlock the Boss) older brother. At the story’s onset, the two discover Park Eun-bin (Extraordinary Attorney Woo) by chance and help rescue her from the island. Filming for the rom-com begins later this year. [News1]

  • In the meantime, we’ll be seeing Cha Hak-yeon in MBC’s Joseon Lawyer, along with Woo Do-hwan (The King: Eternal Monarch) and his partner-in-lawsuits Bona (Twenty Five Twenty One). The sageuk released a new poster this week and will be coming to our screens later this month on March 31. [MBC]
  • It’s a busy week for JTBC, starting up the promo run for King the Land as well, with new stills of a chaebol Junho (The Red Sleeve Cuff). Slated to broadcast later this year, the rom-com also stars Yoon-ah (Big Mouth) as a hotelier, with production led by PD Im Hyun-wook (Reflection of You) and writer Choi Rom. [JTBC]

 
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These all sound good. I'll take Junho anywhere, anytime! Looks like doctor shows and saeguks will line our screens this year and it makes me pretty happy!

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Doctor Slump appears to have some great talent behind it, so I'm feeling less skeptical about the quality of this one. But I will say that although I truly don't have anything against Park Shin-hye, I find that I don't much like the dramas she chooses. The one exception is "Father is Strange" but she didn't have a prominent role in that one, and was very green.

Junho look amazing in that poster, but I'm not sure about this drama.

I'm still not sure about the plot of "Joseon Lawyer," but I cannot resist Woo Do-hwan (or, more accurately, his voice). If he's saying words out loud in this drama, I will watch it.

Love the poster for Family! That looks fun.

You Have Done Well sounds promising, especially with that cast.

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The more I see of King the Land, the more disappointed I am that this is Junho's next project. Admittedly, there hasn't been a lot of info, so maybe it could still surprise us - and there's still time to change that terrible title.

Speaking of which, everything about Doctor Slump looks promising except the name. Somehow I've never seen a Park Shin-hye drama. 🤔

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I am waiting for Junho to breakaway from playing these wrapped uptight guys. Granted I have I only seen three if his dramas: WOK, CONFESSION and SLEEVE but in all three he is anything but loose.

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Wanna see him loose? Try Chief Kim, where he's a free-wheeling nasty with an enormous appetite.

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CHIEF KIM/GOOD MANAGER (Viki US) has been on my long term ‘must get to’ list of dramas.
Someday I want see Junho cut loose like Kim Min-jae did playing Moo-hak in DALI.

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Gluttonous Psychopath! He's terrific in that. His character in Just Between Lovers (called Rain or Shine on Netflix) is quite different from the others you mentioned, too.

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Park shin hye wasn't in My father is strange. That was Ryu hwa young. They look a lot alike. Park shin hye has been acting for quite a while so she can't be that green. I haven't watched any of her more recent dramas though.

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Thank you so much for the correction! Wow, they really do look alike!

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At this point, I'm interested in any and all Park Hyung-sik dramas, and I'm not mad about the writer from WWWSK either. I don't have anything against Park Shin-hye, but does anyone know if she's learned to kiss yet? I feel like that could be important in a romcom.

Everything about Family seems amazing. I'm so so excited for this!

Always jazzed to get more info about You Have Done Well and Desert Island Diva, but trying not to get too hyped too early.

I'd probably watch Junho in anything, and chaebol looks good on him.

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Does anyone know if Yoon Bak (Park is a romanised spelling and the first name is spelt with a b ‘ㅂ‘ which gets pronounced somewhat closer to a p when it is at the beginning of a syllable block) is his birth name as Wikipedia doesn’t include a birth name. If it is, is quite unusual to have a Korean (first) name (윤박) comprised of only one syllable block.

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I thought it was a stage name, but Namu Wiki says it is his birth name. 박 is pretty unique for a single syllable given name. Common ones that come to mind are 진 Jin, 준 Joon, or 훈 Hoon.

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@tccolb: Thank you for reminding me of the other three!

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Hi, did namu wiki explicitly refer to 박 as his given/first name, or was it that they noted 윤 as the family name?

Yoon Park could be the same as what Gong Yoo has said about his stage name, that it’s a combination of his father’s last name and his mother’s last name.

US wiki makes the same notation for both actors, pointing out which part of their name is the family name, Yoon and Gong, but not that the other part is a given/first name.

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It says that it is not a stage name. This means 윤 is his family/surname and 박 his given/first name. In case you're curious, they also list 파평 윤씨 as the specific Yoon clan he descends from.

Gong Yoo is a stage name, his real name is Gong Ji-cheol.

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"JOSEON LAWYER" has officially started for me.

"Donkeys in Korea"
https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/culture/2021/07/317_246256.html

Maybe next week we can talk about his gat. 😋

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The donkey is cute!

But it's weird that it's the Princess who is the one on the ground, watching up and without full silk clothes. But she doesn't seem bother by it :p

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Not really. She is probably disguising as a maid to get out of the palace.

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@kiara: I’ll legit be sad if I can’t access this.

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Me too @dncingemma. 🙏

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Also, thanks for posting the link. I particularly like the last sentence: “The hypocritical mocking of Korean folk remedies by the Western missionaries merely proves not all asses in Korea had four legs”.

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Same here, especially since the writer of the article is a historical researcher from the west.
This is a podcast interview with Robert Nerf, who wrote the article. I like how the late Joseon’s history is viewed from different perspectives. From the general public in Joseon to an outsider looking in.
I like what he is saying here because there’s truth in it.
“ You see the great white knight coming all the time [with their mission civilisatrice]. It’s a constant thing. “You people need to be civilized!” What is civilization? It’s a matter of perspective. Korea was a very civilized country at the time – but it wasn’t western civilization.”

https://www.koreaandtheworld.org/robert-neff/

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@kiara: Thank you also for the podcast interview link! I look forward to listening to it.

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Thanks for the article. Do you think it was a slow news day as they seem to have included every random mention of donkeys. I love the fact the donkey owner turned a bank into a pawn shop and used the process to save himself the costs of maintaining the donkey so hopefully that meant the debt was cleared quicker!

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It's just an old article from 2018 under Lifestyle. It's probably something that he thought the public would be interested in then.

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4. ...goes about his spy ways while his wife pretends not to notice...🤭😅. What better way to present this than that poster. This poster deserves a spot on Caption This.

Cha Hak-yeon's sideview almost made to not recognize him. How much I love that smile. Even though her attires have been uniform-like unlike our three seasons, Bona is oozing the grace nonetheless.

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If you meant the poster with Bona, that’s Woo Do-hwan 😅

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Based on this post I have a lot of potentials to add to the long list. However, I will continue to watch and wait, it’s too soon to get excited. The poster art is great, it’s still giving off the light carefree vibe for all three dramas.

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Park Shin Hye with Park HyungShik is a nice pairing and good to see them reunite after Heirs project. I think this will be a good romcom.

JunHo really looks good for his drama, but I just dont like him pairing with Yoona. Her acting is medicore and she doesnt have the charm to draw her viewers in to watch her show. Very bland actress

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That's where Junho comes in. He can elevate actresses to do their best just being in the drama with him.(Did i say I love you Junho?!)

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It’s clear to me that the Junho-Yoona pairing only happened to capitalize on their viral ‘Senorita’ performance, because I legitimately don’t understand why else these two were cast together. Junho, post-Red Sleeve Cuff fame, now has the reputation of a “serious” actor with a willingness to take on risky and emotionally dramatic roles. Yoona, not so much. This entire project reeks of commercial capitalization, bleeding dry the virality of putting two popular second-generation kpop stars together in hopes of high ratings and cash, quality be damned. It will be almost embarrassing to watch how much work Junho will do to cover for Yoona’s mediocre screen presence and genuinely terrible acting.

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I don't think it's fair.

I'm not a fan of Yoona but she got better. She took risk too. Hush wasn't a big drama but she could act with Hwang Jung-Min, he's not anybody. Big Mouth has great ratings. She made some movies too.

And Junho just took the same kind of role that he did in Red Sleeve but in a modern area.

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I have never understood all the hate for Yoona's acting. She isn't spectacular but I have always liked her in the few roles I've seen her in.
Jo Jung Suk is a fantastic seasoned actor but I never once had the feeling that he was covering for Yoona in movie Exit.

Anyway, I don't judge a show before starting it. Remember how people were criticizing the pink filter in Call it Love promos? Now everybody is loving the show.

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I have nothing against Yoona personally, nor do I wish to come off as unnecessarily hating on her. It’s just that in every project of hers I’ve seen her in - television and film - she’s always been the weak link and the one whose acting distracts me from getting fully immersed.

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Accidentally clicked ‘send’ before I finished my comment, so here goes:

I’m glad that you found improvement in Yoona’s acting and find that she’s been getting better and managing to keep up with her fellow actors, but I’m not there yet. If I ever change my mind or find that she had drastically improved to the point of me liking one of her performances, I’ll be the first to admit I was wrong and take back everything negative I’ve said about her acting. Honestly, I hope that happens because I never enjoy harrumphing over an actor’s work.

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I don't think that Junho is as good as you think, neither Yoona as bad as you do.

But the words "Yoona’s mediocre screen presence and genuinely terrible acting" are very severe.

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@kurama: That’s fair. We all have different perspectives and favourites among actors. It’d be odd to expect you to have the exact same opinion as me.

My opinions on Yoona are severe, but the unvarnished truth. It does sound a tad too much, especially if you like her as an actress, but that’s genuinely what I think and I didn’t want to sugarcoat things. Again, that’s just my opinion. Anybody’s free to have a range of opinions on the talents of any actor and that would be completely within their right to do so as an audience member. Yoona just so happens to be that one actor I cannot stand for some reason.

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100% THIS. And I don't usually speculate on actors' private lives, but I wonder if Junho was willing to do it partly because he's friendly with Yoona? Friendship can blind people to others' lack of talent or make them willing to overlook it. More likely, you're right that it's all about the money. Junho can bring out the best in any costar, but when their best just isn't very good, he can't work miracles. The "smile/anti-smile" setup also sounds silly, and not in a fun way.

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The ‘smile/anti-smile’ setup is extremely silly and something straight out of a bad 2000s romcom. Maybe if the execution is good I could warm up to it, but I seriously doubt it.

And yes, I do think this pair-up is just as much about their personal friendship as it is about the commercial success on behalf of the stakeholders and distributors. As someone who actually worked on stage before, I can tell you straight up that it is always better to work with someone who’s been a longtime friend - even if the script wasn’t great - than awkwardly dealing with newcomers and distant acquaintances. It can be awkward and sometimes you just want to chill! The members of 2PM and Girls’ Generation have been friends for over a decade now (heck, Nichkhun and Tiffany even dated), so I do think the decision could be somewhat chocked up to a, “hey, let’s work together, it’ll be fun!” type of arrangement between the two, the difference in acting ability be damned. Well, it’s not like Junho would ever say to his friend that she is a mediocre actress. And the people behind the scene wouldn’t care about any of that to begin with; this duo can bring in that sweet, sweet money and that’s what it’s ultimately about for them.

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Park Shin Hye and Yoona, they're pretty and I like their personalities but seen them in drama/movie kind of on/off to me. It must be depends on the writer and the execution of the drama, because I like Park Shin Hye in Pinocchio (or is it because Lee Jong Suk? )

Actually Yoona is kind of turn me off after getting excited for Junho (even Lee Jong Suk can't save her for me to watch Big Mouth) (I may get hate for this lol)

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I think PSH was even better than LJS in Pinocchio. Definitely one of her best works.

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Park Shin-hye is actually a pretty good actress with versatility across genres and character types. It’s just that her one weakness are romances/romcoms and that’s the niche dramaland forced her into during her heyday. I would highly recommend checking out more of her work in film to get the full range of her talent because dramaland sure wasn’t interested in showcasing it.

Yoona, on the other hand… she’s a solid no for me no matter what genre or medium I’ve seen her tackle, which is not a lot IMO because her roles are typically very one-note or repetitive.

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I was looking forward to another Junho drama, but knowing Yoona's going to be his costar? No thanks. I'll wait until the next one. Don't care for her as an actress, and I doubt they'd have much chemistry, if at all.

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I’ll sit through it just for Junho, but am prepared to FF or drop it the moment the plot gets unwatchable or Yoona’s acting gets horrendous. The sh-t you watch for your faves, I swear to god…

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1 - aaand with Yoon Park on board I can't resist anymore *tears* Why do you have to do this to me, dramagods?! Did I sin that much by not liking Hyungsik with Han So Hee? But they didn't look and feel like blood siblings at least! I'm sure they'll have all the fun filming this, but aren't we supposed to have fun too while watching the final product? No, @jls943, she didn't improve that much kissing-wise as far as I know, but I could've live with that if only she learned how to act being in love with her leading men to make up for the lack of smooching skills. Watch this becoming a smash hit somehow to just make me head-desk harder. At least it's not tvN again, I'm really tired of them lately. Then again that title... that writer... the premise (ML is a PLASTIC SURGEON - can you feel this HUGE potential for relatable doctor drama already? *sarcasm*).

3 - who's the owner of that not-so-hidden gun? Wife, I hope?)))

4 - Jun is cute, but NO. Really like the leads here - together and away from my faves for the time being.

5, 6 - my boy is a busy bee this year, damn. Can I hope he's not THE second lead in 5 at least since he's ML's hyung?

7 - another epic pairing I can happily report I don't give a tiniest single damn about. Ugh, what a bipolar news report, feel legit exhausted now...

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MBC’s JOSEON ATTORNEY viewers in the US finally have some good news on availability. JA is now on Kocowa’s “Coming Soon” list so we can hope it will soon appear on Viki US’s “Coming Soon” list.
I just noticed that MDL is going with the title: JOSEON ATTORNEY: A MORALITY.
Side note. I see in the cast that Song Geon-hee (who was so good as Thomas in MISSING: THE OTHER SIDE) will be playing Yi Hyul (King of Joseon). Well it looks like SGH will be playing a young king. I hope he really is a good king being manipulated by evil ministers that our hero WDW will take on.

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Attorney with morals? Now that's unexpected))) And surely won't go well. MDL is tripping, that additional part isn't even in korean title, why?

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The good news for US viewers is that Woo Do-hwan’s upcoming F/S drama from MBC JOSEON ATTORNEY is now on Viki US’s “Coming Soon” list under the title: JOSEON ATTORNEY: A MORALITY. Episode one airs March 31.
Availability angst assuaged.

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Thank you! Good news indeed!
I tried to watch “Guesthouse” for Ahn Nae-sang and Oh Man-seok but only got a few seconds of one of them.

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I decided GUESTHOUSE will have to be a pass. On M/T I am already watching OBY and OASIS.
When JOSEON ATTORNEY begins on March 31 there will only be a one week overlap between OBY and JA. Watching multiple sageuks simultaneously is always a challenge for me.

Also in cdramaland I have been having a Zhang Ruo Yun fix the last couple of weeks. I started his JOY OF LIFE (2019) (Viki US) and I have watched 14 of 46 episodes. That is in the mix now. I love it.
ANS and OMS are favorites and speaking of Oh Man-seok, his 2006 drama from KBS, THE VINEYARD MAN is now on Viki US’s “Coming Soon” list under a different title of course: THE MAN OF THE VINEYARD.

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I wish they were cast in JA, so I don't have to go back and cringe through it to get to their character.

I'm mostly watching C- period/historical dramas. "The Knockout" and "The Wind Blows From Longxi" are next on my list.
I love "Joy of Life." I hope you'll finish it before the 2nd one starts.

I wish there were more meatier sageuks; we are getting too many dress-up sageuks with many newbies who've never been in a sageuk before. I have a tough time getting into one.
I'm glad viki is bringing back old dramas. It's fun to go back and revisit old faves.

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so donkeys and mules are the main attractions now first in Banchees of Inisherin and now Joseon lawyer

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2020s the decade of donkeys. I for one am here for it.

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1. There’s a lot about about this project that seems promising… until I remember the title and get the reality-check that this is also a medical drama. I also hope Park Shin-hye has ditched the fish-eye kisses for good. We don’t do that here anymore. *Chooses to ignore the red flag that is the writer*

2. Kim Byung-chul in a lead role, now that’s surprising. He’s so firmly established himself as a supporting character actor that it’s a little jarring to see his name as one of the leads. A good kind of jarring, of course. I always like to see talented actors break out of their typecasting. That said, why yet another medical drama, give me a freaking break…

3. They both look so good!!! Gahhhhh I’m so excited about this drama, I need this to be good so badly. It’s essential for my well-being and sanity that this drama is a resounding critical and commercial success. Anything that will give me a dozen more projects headed by this duo.

4. I would’ve thought Lee Jun-young had broken out of the second lead stages by now, but I suppose when you’re starring opposite the likes of Park Bo-gum and IU you really are small-fry. Hopefully this is his breakout role as a serious actor because I do think he’s got real talent and charm.

5. “Later this year.” Oh man, why would they disappoint me like that? I love the cast already and I sorely miss watching Park Eun-bin on my screen.

6. Round two of “omg they look so good” squeeing from me. This is another drama I need desperately to not fall flat on its face. I have literally waited YEARS to see Do-hwan in a drama, much less a leading role. I cannot be let down. I simply cannot.

7. The more I think about it, the even more disappointed I get that Junho’s big comeback project is something this bland and predictable. Say what you will about the execution of Red Sleeve Cuff, but that was a fresh, exciting project with endless potential to show off his dramatic chops and inner turmoil. King The Land, well…. who are we kidding, this is a monumental backslide. At least we’ll get plenty of suited Junho eye candy??? I’ll take what I can get.

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some of dramas look good but I'm not sure about the cast and the other one, I like the cast but not sure about the drama. so far, none drama fit in with my desire yet. I need to check on it, maybe I'll like it better

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How is Yoon Park still playing second lead in such dramas.

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I don’t get it either and it’s a travesty.

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Oh wow we’re finally getting rom-coms. Here’s to hoping it’ll stick to that genre and not add thriller to the mix.

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