Lee Soon-jae deciphers Nonsense mysteries in KBS sitcom

16 August 8, 2024September 21, 2024

Lee Soon-jae deciphers Nonsense mysteries in KBS sitcom

by tccolb

KBS announced a new fantasy sitcom called Nonsense (roughly translated) for this fall, bringing a welcome change in genre to our current drama landscape. Notably featuring a veteran cast as our central characters, who better to lead our salt-and-peppered team than the revered Lee Soon-jae (Family: The Unbreakable Bond).

Now, this does get a little confusing as Lee’s character is also named Lee Soon-jae and is also an actor. But our story’s Soon-jae has fallen from grace after allegedly acting entitled on a drama set and he runs away to Geoje Island. Here, he meets the former police dog Sophie and Soon-jae is shocked to realize that he alone can hear Sophie speak – referencing the drama’s title which literally translates to “dog sounds.” The two then form an unlikely duo as they set out to solve suspicious incidents in the village, beginning a new chapter in Soon-jae’s life.

As a side note, it has been common practice in Korean sitcoms for actors to use their real names. But tweaks and changes will be made of course according to the story’s needs. Adding to the fun meta, the IRL Lee Soon-jae has played another “Lee Soon-jae” previously in the High Kick series as well.

Nonsense’s Lee Soon-jae is thus joined by Kim Yong-gun (Tale of a Good Witch) playing Kim Yong-gun, who just so happens to be an actor too. Although long-time friends and colleagues, they had a falling out in the past. But now, Yong-gun finds himself living with Soon-jae on Geoje Island where their friendship is rekindled.

Building out our seniors club with media industry experts gathered at Geoje Island, Yeh Soo-jung (Maestra – Strings of Truth) takes on the part of gruff drama writer Yeh Soo-jung. Im Chae-moo (Want a Taste) plays the good-humored lighting director Im Chae-moo. And Song Ok-sook’s (The Goryeo-Khitan War) character, you guessed it, is Song Ok-sook – head of costumes and makeup.

In supportive roles, Park Sung-woong (The Killing Vote) plays Soon-jae’s kind-hearted son who has curiously been avoiding his dad. Noodle restaurant owner Kim Ji-young (Link – Eat Love Kill) and constable Yeonwoo (Bittersweet Hell) play mother and daughter. The large cast also includes Lee Soo-kyung (Left-handed Wife) as Yong-gun’s daughter.

On the production side, directing is helmed by PD Kim Yoon-jin (Revenge of Others, Handsome Guy and Jung-eum) with scripts penned by Byun Sook-kyung (Nonstop 5). Slated to air in the Wednesday-Thursday slot, KBS’s Nonsense follows Perfect Family in September.

Via MBC, Newsen (1), News3n (2)

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1 Reply1988 -❣️Mother Bean❣️

August 9, 2024 at 12:42 AM

This looks great. Didn’t they have a drama Flower grandpa investigation unit which had a similar idea of elders doing the investigating. I couldn’t watch it as the picture quality was terrible so not sure how similar the concept is this one.

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2 Midnight

August 9, 2024 at 1:11 AM

This sounds soooo cute! I have never watched a Korean sitcom! Could this be the first??

What is the usual time and date of sitcoms? A short episode every day? Or?

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Reply1988 -❣️Mother Bean❣️

August 9, 2024 at 4:54 AM

Gaus electronics and Unicorn were sitcoms they were on weekly I can’t remember if it was one or two episodes a week.

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Midnight

August 9, 2024 at 4:59 AM

Oh! Gaus was a sitcom?? Then I have already seen one! 😄 Thank you.

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3 redfox

August 9, 2024 at 1:24 AM

this is just adorable, mystery, grandpa and a talking doggy. But I do hope they don´t ruin it with bad CGI or worse, AI image of a talking dog.

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4 HopefulRomantic 🦋 Tigermoth 🦞

August 9, 2024 at 4:07 AM

This sounds so fun!! Looking forward to it!!

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5 Nothingmuch

August 9, 2024 at 4:27 AM

I’m in!

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6 kiara

August 9, 2024 at 5:29 AM

My favorite grandpa, Lee Soon-jae, is still going strong at age 89. From the successful theater "The Seagull" to the big screen and small screen.
I hope this will pull KBS out of its slump.

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bong-soo

August 9, 2024 at 5:58 AM

Lee Soon-jae is an reliable pro and was one of the highlights in the lamentable DO DO (2020) (Netflix). However when I saw this project mentioned on Soompi a couple of days ago it was also the casting of one of my favorites Ye Soo-jung that caught my eye. So I will be there.
What’s wrong with (according to Soompi) the literal title for this drama: DOG SOUNDS. I would prefer that to NONSENSE.
This is not a Korean remake of the Ron Howard Sci-fi comedy film COCOON (1985) but maybe closer to the American 1960s sitcom MR. ED.
Anyway, this may bring some life to Wed/Thur ratings but if I was KBS I would not air this after 8pm. The target audience is probably thinking about bed by then.

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Midnight

August 9, 2024 at 6:10 AM

Nice point to consider about 8pm ! 😄

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tccolb

August 9, 2024 at 7:02 AM

In this case, the title can be translated both ways and, like a lot of Korean titles, is a pun. "개소리" as an expression means "nonsense." But if you break it down, the first word means "dog" and the second is "sound."

I'll be surprised if they don't make it a running joke with LSJ actually talking about and understanding "dog sounds". If only I could have that power with my cat. 🐱😁

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bong-soo

August 9, 2024 at 8:08 AM

Thanks @tccolb for the language gloss. There is always more to the story.

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7 amfalulawatching

August 9, 2024 at 5:49 AM

At 89, I'm pretty intrigued and wowed that he will be leading a show. I like the cast. I watched his previous sit-com (High Kick) which was at times very funny and charming. But, it could also be corny and dull. It was structured like a sitcom with each episode being a mostly self contained story as opposed to a 16 episode drama (much like any American sitcom). It was a super hit, so I bet there will be lots of buzz about this. It had over 160 episodes (all short/about half hour) and launched many careers. It was more family oriented with many episodes focusing on the older members of the household as opposed to most Korean dramas that focus on the young and pretty. So, I'll tune in to this. Hopefully it will stream somewhere!!

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8 jillian

August 9, 2024 at 6:06 AM

I enjoyed watching him play various grandpa roles through the years. But my fave LSJ is the travelling grandpa in Grandpa Over Flowers.
This looks like a fun show. I will keep this on my list.