News bites: May 9, 2023

21 May 9, 2023May 9, 2023

by tccolb

New character posters have arrived for ENA’s Happiness Battle, featuring our five fierce moms: Lee El (My Liberation Notes), Jin Seo-yeon (One the Woman), Cha Ye-ryun (Gold Mask), Park Hyo-joo (Now We Are Breaking Up), and Woo Jung-won (Under the Queen’s Umbrella). Caught up in a social media war and a mysterious murder, the suspense thriller begins this month on May 31. [Newsen]

tvN released new stills for the upcoming Delightfully Deceitful, showcasing some of the supporting cast: Lee Yeon (Duty After School), Yoo Hee-je (One Ordinary Day), and Hong Seung-beom (The Heavenly Idol). The revenge drama premieres on May 29, airing in the Monday-Tuesday slot following Family: The Unbreakable Bond. [Newsen]

In the meantime, tvN has begun work on the new sageuk Won-kyung and the title role has been offered to Cha Joo-young (The Real Has Come). Set in the early Joseon era, the story follows the woman who becomes Queen Won-kyung, wife to Lee Bang-won (a.k.a. King Tae-jong) and mother of King Se-jong. Production is being led by the team behind Money Game, PD Kim Sang-ho and writer Lee Young-mi. [Osen]
Kim Eui-sung (Taxi Driver 2) confirmed casting for Netflix’s Black Knight, playing a skilled mechanic who looks after Kang Yoo-seok (Payback). Also starring Kim Woo-bin (Our Blues), Song Seung-heon (Voice 4), and Esom (Taxi Driver), the dystopian sci-fi launches this week on May 12. [Osen]

A new group poster has dropped for ENA’s Oh! Young-shim, with the rom-com’s happy cast led by Song Ha-yoon (Please Don’t Date Him) and Donghae (God’s Quiz 4). Premiering next week on May 15, directing is helmed by PD Oh Hwan-min (Fly Again) and PD Kim Kyung-eun, with scripts by Jeon Sun-young (A DeadbEAT’s Meal). [News1]
New stills have arrived for Wavve’s Park Ha-kyung’s Travels, giving us another peek at the special guest appearance lineup, which includes Gu Kyo-hwan (Monstrous), Han Ye-ri (Hometown), Seo Hyun-woo (Behind Every Star), and the singer Sunwoo Jung-ah. The slice-of-life series stars Lee Na-young (Romance Is a Bonus Book) and launches this month on May 24. [Newsen]

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1 bong-soo

May 9, 2023 at 7:51 PM

No. 3. WON KYUNG. Another addition (#21) to my list of possible upcoming sageuks and period dramas.

Fans of KBS’s KING OF TEARS: LEE BANG-WON (2021/22) (Viki US) will recall that in that drama the character of Queen Wongyeong was beautifully played by Park Jin-hee.

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kiara

May 10, 2023 at 5:07 AM

Goodness, do we need another Yi Bang-won era sageuk so soon?

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bong-soo

May 10, 2023 at 9:10 AM

This is a head scratcher for me also since we recently covered this territory.

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TBF, this was time period truly rich in dramatic material. And a project focusing on the queen who is a bridge between a king reputed to be brutally but productively effective and his successor, widely accepted as Joseon's wisest king sounds more than interesting. Also, this is hardly the first time this kind of thing has happened. I seem to recall around 2015, there were 3 or 4 Sejong era dramas in a 1-2 year time frame.

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kiara

May 10, 2023 at 4:44 PM

"The Great King Sejong" and the most recent "King of Tears" covered Queen Wongyeong's role and contributions to the founding of Joseon in details.
I'm.not sure what else is left to tell.

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halofan68

May 13, 2023 at 12:55 PM

Sure, the ground has been trod before, but those projects you mention centered around Sejong and Taejong. I think one told from the Wongyeong's perspective is intriguing, much in the same way Wide Sargasso Sea is intriguing even though Jane Eyre has been adapted many times.

PYC

May 10, 2023 at 6:43 AM

Cha Joo-young is climbing up quickly post evil roles in The Glory and now The Real Has Come.

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2 Reply1988 -❣️Mother Bean❣️

May 9, 2023 at 9:34 PM

I think someone read our comments about the last batch of posters for Park Ha-kyung’s Travels! That drama and Oh! Young-shim are going to be my happy places for the next few weeks. Yes, I am calling it because I am confident they are both going to be low key storylines with no unnecessary dark themes. The travel drama will be trying to fill the massive Finland Papa hole of a slower paced slice of life.

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kiara

May 10, 2023 at 5:11 AM

I’m excited to see Han Yeri’s dancing. It reminds me of Six Flying Dragon.

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kiara

May 10, 2023 at 5:14 AM

Dragons

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Isa is always time travelling

May 10, 2023 at 5:44 AM

Just today I have watched the episode where Yeri's character appears for the first time in Six Flying Dragons (Episode 27).
Wow, a brief scene but difficult to forget.

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kiara

May 10, 2023 at 6:46 AM

Her dance background was to her advantage with the sword fights. She joined the drama late and it was supposed to be a short appearance, but she rocked it so they kept her for the rest of the show.
I shipped her character with Moo-Hyul but alas, she stayed true as a Goryeo loyalist.

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3 ladynightshade wants her own ryu sunjae

May 9, 2023 at 11:31 PM

1. “… and a mysterious murder” aaaand here goes my interest in the drama. Seriously can we have ONE, just one, drama without a fucking murder? Either South Korea secretly has the highest murder rates in the world or screenwriters have gone insane.

2. Never would’ve imagined saying this even a few weeks ago, but here goes: I can’t wait for the Jang Hyuk/Jang Nara drama to be over so that I can watch the (almost definitely) better Chun Woo-hee drama.

3. Exciting to see so many upcoming sageuk projects headlined by female protagonists playing real-life historical figures. Maybe a sign of the focus shifting from fusion, fluffy fare back to more serious, politically-focused storytelling? I hope so. I wonder who’s playing Lee Bang-won this time. In another timeline, maybe he could’ve pulled a Jang Hyuk and reprised the role for a second time in a different project, but sadly that’s not an option anymore…

4. May 12th! Can’t wait!! ~~please don’t disappoint please don’t disappoint please don’t.~~

5. They really turned the brightness up to a hundred in that poster, huh. It’s blinding.

6. Holy shit, that cameo list is stacked! I already wanted to check this out, but now considered me hooked, line and sinker.

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Emperor

May 10, 2023 at 3:26 AM

Well, it is a thriller, so a murder plot there won't be out of place ... my complaint is more on - why every makjang thriller drama plot is getting more and more similar these days?
I mean, of course, everything has to start with murder (or suicide) which involves someone falling from the rooftop ...

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Reply1988 -❣️Mother Bean❣️

May 10, 2023 at 5:15 AM

It’s the frequent flashbacks to that falling scene randomly throughout the rest of the drama that annoys me.

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Emperor

May 10, 2023 at 10:10 AM

It does feel like a filler scene sometimes to fill in the show's runtime ..... SBS is the worst offender of this, I still remember clearly how they repeat Oh Yoon-Hee's death scene in Penthouse 3 a thousand times. Not to mention it was a pretty graphic death scene (compared to other death-by-falling scenes) with her knees and feet first crushed by a moving car before falling over the cliff ....)

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ladynightshade wants her own ryu sunjae

May 10, 2023 at 11:08 AM

I guess so. My complaint still kind of stands because why does every thriller have to involve a murder mystery of some kind? I know it’s usually a common element, but can’t writers come up with something more creative? I don’t know, I’m just exhausted from seeing the same thing over and over again.

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kiara

May 10, 2023 at 7:01 AM

This will depend on the writer. I don’t trust Tvn with more serious political sageuks.

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4 Emperor

May 10, 2023 at 3:29 AM

ENA probably needs Happiness Battle the most, since it will probably be a blood-boiling makjang that could easily boost its rating .... as a channel, they can't stay in a 1-2% rating dip forever.

Having said that though, from what I've heard the reviews on the original Happiness Battle novel aren't very good. Hopefully, they can improve upon the original source material (quite a task, I'd say ...)