Kim Ro-woon and Jo Yi-hyun become Joseon’s Matchmakers
by tccolb
The first promos are out for KBS’s upcoming rom-com The Matchmakers (previously The Battle of Marriage), tasking our leads Kim Ro-woon (Destined With You) and Jo Yi-hyun (All of Us Are Dead) to solve the lack-of-marriage crisis in a Joseon population abounding in golden singles.
Our hero Shim Jung-woo (Kim Ro-woon) once had a promising future, but is now stuck between a rock and a hard place. As a young widower to the now deceased princess, he has little opportunity to advance his career or even think about re-marriage.
Enter Jung Soon-deok (Jo Yi-hyun) who was also widowed early and is the second daughter-in-law to a government minister. But she also moonlights as a marriage matchmaker and is now infamous in Hanyang circles as one of the best in her trade.
Wearing his heart on his sleeve, in the cute teaser we see that Jung-woo is dumbfounded at first sight and he stutters out a sudden confession: “I… I… I have fallen for you.” Taken aback, Soon-deok stares back in confusion and it takes a long moment for our hero to gain control of his senses. Still stammering, the teaser then comes to a close as Jung-woo wonders, “What… did I just say?”
Rounding out our story’s world, we have Lee Hae-young (Moving) and Park Ji-young (Little Women) playing Soon-deok’s in-laws: the minister and his powerful wife. We also have the reigning king and queen of Joseon, played by Jo Han-chul (Race) and Jin Hee-kyung (The Killer’s Shopping List) respectively.
On the production side, PD Hwang Seung-gi (Memorials) and PD Kim Soo-jin (Nineteen Otters) are at the helm with scripts penned by Ha Soo-jin (Sell Your Haunted House). Premiering next month on October 30, KBS’s fictional sageuk The Matchmakers is slated to air in the Monday-Tuesday slot.
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Tags: Jo Han-chul, Jo Yi-hyun, Kim Ro-woon, Park Ji-young, The Matchmakers
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1 Seon-ha
September 26, 2023 at 7:05 PM
Now THAT is proof of a serious height difference. Jo Yi-hyun doesn’t even come up to Rowoon’s Adam’s apple.
I don’t want to re-open recently created wounds, but we’re in for another back-breaker, folks.
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lapislazulii
September 26, 2023 at 7:20 PM
They gotta start getting creative or they'll end up paying his chiropractor bills. My dude already has had back injuries in the past too 😭
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DancingEmma
September 26, 2023 at 7:27 PM
Poor you and him!
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Blue (@mayhemf)
September 27, 2023 at 6:47 AM
What! I thought she was seated ; ) Couldn't tell with the costume,
But then I see the one in modern clothes..
For Ro-Woon posture benefits hope they figure out good kissing techniques.
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Gikata
September 27, 2023 at 7:33 AM
That's sageuk, doubt there will be A LOT of lip locking anyway.
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2 lapislazulii
September 26, 2023 at 7:23 PM
"sudden confession" - sounds awfully familiar 👀
wonder if you could get type-cast playing spellbound characters....
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HopefulRomantic 🦋 Tigermoth 🦞
September 26, 2023 at 7:31 PM
Lol that's what I thought, too. Get a grip, Rowoon! 😅
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DancingEmma
September 26, 2023 at 7:35 PM
Yeah. Seriously though, I hope he doesn’t end up stagnating and will get better so more complex roles could be offered to him. But, he is a super-pretty and tall man in SK so his lot is a billion times better than those on the margins of the entertainment industry who are trying to break in/survive as themselves Yesterday, I read this really interesting article in the NYT: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/24/world/asia/kpop-lgbtq-qix-korea.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
I hope you can access it if you are interested in reading it.
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lapislazulii
September 26, 2023 at 7:47 PM
For sure! Now that he's fully focusing on acting, I hope it means exploring different roles but also investing in more training to deepen his craft and potential.
I can't read the article because it's locked behind a paywall for me 😭 but yeah he defs has a privileged position compared to others, thanks to genetics but also having been in the industry as an idol for so long which probably helps in opening doors too. Which isn't to say he's not worked hard because being an idol is gruelling work of course, but it's a fact that the exposure is different when you've been in the industry for a while and also come from a pretty well known agency!
Feels like the exposure thing becomes very apparent in the K-pop world too, when you have a lot of talented artists on the margins struggling to break in and others who aren't as talented comparatively but have made it big because of a combination of factors, one of which is almost always because of the reach of the entertainment companies they're housed under.
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DancingEmma
September 26, 2023 at 8:01 PM
I agree. I wish I could gift you a free article as I’ve a subscription but can’t do it anonymously. The paywall kicks in after a few free articles so out of frustration, I decided to subscribe a few years ago. Their reporting is not always good but in some areas including SK, it is good. This article is about a trio of LGBTIQ performers who are the first out fledgling idol group called QI-X.
An excerpt:
“ What makes them unusual is that they are proudly out — in their music, their relationship with their fans and their social activism. They call themselves one of the first openly queer, transgender K-pop acts, and their mission has as much to do with changing South Korea’s still-conservative society as with making music.
In the group’s name — pronounced by spelling out the letters — Q stands for queer, I for idol and X for limitless possibilities. Park Ji-yeon, the K-pop producer who started QI.X, says it is “tearing down the heteronormative walls of society.”
Very few K-pop artists, or South Korean entertainers in general, have ever been open about being lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer. Though the country has become somewhat more accepting of sexual diversity, homophobia is still prevalent, and there are no legal protections against discrimination’.
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DancingEmma
September 26, 2023 at 8:09 PM
Sorry! I should’ve said “one of the few out…”
Kurama
September 26, 2023 at 11:39 PM
The reason why he's in this drama is pretty simple, this drama is produced by FNC, his agency. It's not their first Kdrama, they produced School 2015 too. But they decided to produce more dramas in the future.
So I hope too he will get more varied roles in the future too.
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DancingEmma
September 26, 2023 at 11:45 PM
Huh. I didn’t know that extra info. You dug deep!😂
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lapislazulii
September 27, 2023 at 12:21 AM
I didn't even know they produced dramas! 🤯 The more you know!
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DancingEmma
September 27, 2023 at 12:30 AM
I strongly believe that about all areas of knowledge: The more we know, the less we know as we learn how much we still need to lear. That’s why ignorant people who know a bit about something but refuse to learn more and updated knowledge are so dangerous.
Gikata
September 27, 2023 at 7:38 AM
And here I m, completely forgetting that he is in fact FNC boy... didn't care for their artist for a looong time, so it's a revelation, thanks. Remember when they where on their prime during idol drama craze of late '00s- early '10s? Questionable dramas, but great times *sigh*
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Kurama
September 27, 2023 at 7:46 AM
FNC still releases good music with their groups.
Jung Hae-In is in FNC too.
Gikata
September 27, 2023 at 8:02 AM
@kurama They always did well music-wise, but it seems like their fame overall never got up there again. And they seems to be quite infamous for questionable management, but what kpop company isn't?
Oh, really? Didn't know.
Kurama
September 27, 2023 at 11:58 AM
Yeah, FNC has idols but actors and entertainers too.
Their biggest actor being Jung Hae-In and now, Rowoon is part of the actor category.
Unaspirated
September 27, 2023 at 4:57 AM
Just as long as they aren’t all spellbound in the literal sense, I’ll be okay.
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3 HopefulRomantic 🦋 Tigermoth 🦞
September 26, 2023 at 7:29 PM
THE PD FROM MEMORIALS?? Well now I'm definitely going to keep an eye out for this one. Hopefully it takes more of a Secret Royal Inspector and Joy approach with light-heartedness... or will it be Bossam realism with widows/widowers?
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mindy
September 27, 2023 at 5:08 AM
This is literally the only reason I’m interested in this drama 😭
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Gikata
September 27, 2023 at 7:40 AM
From what's written here, the main issue looks like about who the leads are in-laws with, not the fact that they are widowers. So probably not extremely realistic and gloomy.
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halofan68
September 27, 2023 at 4:29 PM
Only in a comedy sageuk can Jo Han-chul play the king. I love the dude but c'mon...it's hard to think of an actor who comes off as less regal than that guy (other than career buffoons.)
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4 Mani-chan
September 26, 2023 at 10:40 PM
Other than Rowoon who, lets face it, is the obvious draw for me, I am excited to see Jo Yi Hyun. Also the PD from Into the Ring and the writer of SYHH make me cautiously optimistic. Its definitely on my radar now
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5 Reply1988 -❣️Mother Bean❣️
September 26, 2023 at 10:46 PM
I was hoping this was going to be the historical drama where we could see life outside of the palace for once but unfortunately it does not seem like this is going to be that drama. I hope it does stick to the main characters and the matchmaking so we don’t have to deal with palace politics. I like the idea of this so will await the premiere to see if it is one to keep on the watchlist.
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6 Kurama
September 26, 2023 at 11:44 PM
I really like both PDs's and writer's last dramas. So I'm excited to watch it.
Now, I'm really not a fan of Jo Yi-Hyun. I didn't like her in School 2021, the second couple completely overshadowed the main one and I didn't like All of Us Are dead's female leads. In My Country, she was ok but her role was small. So I hope she got better.
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7 jerrykuvira
September 26, 2023 at 11:45 PM
I'm loving this mess already. And this are all a cast I want to see. Jo Han-chul as king🤣🤣🤣...finally his job description has changed.
And the writer and PD team can definitely make no mistakes. Another Saguek added to my watchlist.
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Unaspirated
September 27, 2023 at 5:01 AM
He was one before in 100 Days My Prince! But he was definitely of the incompetent variety, rather than menacing. I hope he isn’t too serious this time around either!
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8 🌸 Seeker 🌸
September 27, 2023 at 1:56 AM
So from next we will need to say - Get a grip, Shim Jung-woo! 😂
And why is Rowoon looking gloomy and not swoony. 😒 🤔
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Gikata
September 27, 2023 at 7:53 AM
His waif #1 died, leaving him to sad fate of Prince Consort (already pretty restrictive by law - no important court positions for him EVER, for starters) without any Princess for consorting to and little to no options to start anew with someone else because royal in-law is not the position you can walk away from. If I was him, I won't be very happy to waste my hot youth on that either. At least he's a man so he probably wasn't "kindly advised" to off himself to join his late spouse in death or forced to become a monk... or was he?
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🌸 Seeker 🌸
September 27, 2023 at 8:43 AM
Comment was deleted
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DancingEmma
September 28, 2023 at 5:30 AM
I hope his late wife wasn’t a waif! Sigh, we are all hostages to this site’s lack of a comment editing feature
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🌸 Seeker 🌸
September 28, 2023 at 5:52 AM
No worries... maybe if we're good, Santa may gift us an edit button!
🎅 🆖️ 🆕️
An article on mdl says Rowoon plays "Joseon's Grumpiest Man" in The Matchmakers, and the drama is described as "comical melodrama" (!).
Apparently, the princess passed away during the wedding ceremony with Shim Jung Woo and his appeal for the annulment of his marriage is pending for eight years.
So I guess that would explain the gloomy look! Looks like the husband in the waif in this case. 🤣
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Seon-ha
September 28, 2023 at 6:33 AM
Y'all really don't want an edit button. Just sayin'.
Good Beanies would use it for good. Bad "Fake Beanies" would use it for very, very ill.
We'll just have to be patient and kind with one another. It's a great virtue, forgiveness. Some might even say, it's the only important virtue. Dramabeans gives us practice.
🌸 Seeker 🌸
September 28, 2023 at 6:40 AM
Very good point.
I never thought I would say this but perhaps in this case typos are our friend.
mindy
September 28, 2023 at 7:01 AM
@attiton exactly this! I have seen edit buttons used for Evil on other platforms… especially on ones that don’t say when something has been edited!
Gikata
September 28, 2023 at 11:58 AM
Omg, that's wild! At least this didn't happen during their wedding night or he'd be left scarred for life... Well, maybe he is anyway.
All Prince Consorts are essentially the waifs in relationship, at least when it comes to Joseon and other hardcore monarchies. But what a rotten luck, poor guy...
🌸 Seeker 🌸
September 28, 2023 at 12:17 PM
The only question for now is -
What exactly is a "comical melodrama" and will it be similar to how Han Ji-min is supposedly a “romantic comedy queen” in Behind Your Touch?
9 Diana Hansen
September 27, 2023 at 7:50 AM
Sounds good. On my list. Love Kim Ro-woon. Love saeguks. Where do we send cooling patches for Rowoon?
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10 OldLawyer
September 27, 2023 at 4:27 PM
PSA: This show is listed as coming soon on Viki. Yes, it is on my Watchlist.
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