SeoulFire

Ni hao everyone!! Just stopping by to mention some things that have no choice but to end in exclamation points.

• Makino, oh,…….Makino?! : They recently announced who would be playing the female lead, Makino, in the Korean “Boys Over Flowers” set to come out late this year. An actress named Goo Hye Sun and all I have to say to that is……WHO?!
  

  And the role of Makino goes to.....WHO?!

  Apparently she recently starred in a drama called “Strongest Chil Woo” and another drama “Pure 19″ which, obviously, I haven’t seen yet. I looked her up on DramaWiki and so far it looks like she has a pretty respectable resume so it may not be as bad as I’m thinking. I must say I was rather impressed with the fact that she had a cameo in “August Rush” which is one of my favorite movies. Now I have to go home and pull a “Where’s Waldo?” because as of this moment I don’t remember seeing her at all. “Hana Yori Dango” forum participants are freaking out a little because she’s older than the boys who will playing F4……which is depressing because she’s only two years older than me. Let’s face it though: Most Asian actresses don’t look their age until they hit ohhhhh……. 60!! And even then they only look like they’re in their late 40’s or at least they’re early 50’s. I was a bit nervous about this announcement because I have loved this character in every version and it’d be a shame if they ruined it in the Korean version of all versions.  So here it is ladies and gentleman, the lead actors in the Korean “Boys Over Flowers”:

Koo Hye Sun as Yeon Woo (Makino Tsukishi) (Shan Cai)

Lee Min Ho as Go Jun Pyo (Domyouji Tsukasa) (Dao Ming Si)

Kim Hyun Joong as Yoon Ji Hoo (Rui Hanazawa) (Hua Ze Lei)

Kim Bum as So Yi Jung (Sojiroh Nishikado) (Xi Men)

Kim Joon as Song Woo Bin (Akira Mimasaka) (Mei Zuo Ling)

They’re all a little TOO pretty don’t you think? I have to admit that I am hopelessly devoted to ”Meteor Garden” while the production is not nearly as good as the Japanese version was and what the Korean version will be it WAS, technically, the original. Plus I kinda have a semi-crush on Jerry Yan. Not only

Jerry Yan and his ADORABLE work

 is he abnormally cute but he is an ambassador for World Vision Taiwan (he

Viva Laughlin....Hugh Jackman dancing...and singing...in Las Vegas.....The fact that it was cancelled just baffles my mind!!

sponsors a rather LARGE handful of children,) AND he pulled an Angelina Jolie by adopting a child!! Talk about bringing your work home with you!!! Although one thing that none of the “Hana Yori Dango” remakes can claim is that they have Jun Ki Sang directing it. Jun Ki Sang directed “Delightful Girl, Choon Hyang”, “My Girl”, and “Witch Amusement”-all awesome, all will be in the next issue of ”Of the the Asian Persuasion”. So far it looks like they have got all the necessary ingredients to make “Boys Over Flowers” a MAJOR HIT!!! But it hasn’t air yet and in the “biz” what seems like a sure fire thing could turn out to be a sure fire bomb.

• All that hype…..FOR THIS?!: Well, they finally announced who would be leaving “We Got Married” and turns out it was…….well, Andy and Solbi. That’s right. The mystery couple leaving…..is the
  

  Thanks!!......FOR NOTHING!!

  couple we already knew was leaving. All the other couples will be sticking around for a little while longer and they have added two other couples bringing the grand total up to five couples. Of course I’m ecstatic to know that Alex and Shinae are sticking around. This episode was especially special to any “Alshin” lovers.  I’m excited about the other couples sticking around but they all feel like their expiration dates are coming up fast. Crown J and In young are now the only couple that have been together since the very beginning and now that they are going on a year pretty soon here. While the show is fun I’m sure doing this every week can be tiring. Even I would be tired of it after a while. As you may have noticed Kim Hyun Joong is all set to start filming “Boys Over Flowers” so we’ll see how long he’ll be able to stick around. Between filming, publicity, and the pure mania this role has in store for him he may have to choose between the two shows. My gut is telling me that he won’t be choosing WGM over BOF anytime soon. Honestly, I wouldn’t either. Lastly, as much as I love to see Alex every week the fact of the matter is that he is still having back issues and I would rather he give up the show if it gets to be too much for him than to continue the show in pain. Then to top it all off one of Shinae good friends committed suicide this past week and I hear she’s taking it pretty hard. There, unfortunately, seems to be a string of suicides happening in the entertainment industry over there. Prayfully, the trend will cease and desist ASAP.

• Stephen Chow is the SHIZZZ!!!!: I recently found out that the oh-so-lovable Stephen Chow will
  

  The SHIZZZ!!!

  be directing and co-starring in The Green Hornet……coming out in

  

  The Green....WHO?!

  2010. Yes, I know it’s a long ways off but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth getting excited about. Double bonus: Seth Rogen will be starring in the film and the script was written by him and Evan Goldberg. You know? Evan Goldberg. The OTHER guy who wrote Superbad. Honestly, I could care less about The Green Hornet (I’m a Superman fan), there’s a good chance that this could go completely wrong, and I think the first few people that see this will have to be established fans of any or all of the people involved.  I’ve been trying not to be so pessimistic lately but, honestly, I don’t know one person who sat and thought to themselves, “Wouldn’t Stephen Chow and Ken Miller from “Freaks and Geeks” make a GREAT TEAM?!?” Of course I don’t think anyone was thinking of teaming Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan and that turned out pretty nicely for all parties involved.

You'll always be Ken Miller to me, Seth Rogen

Previous Post Update: I FINISHED FULL HOUSE!!!! It was REALLY good. I can see why so many people loved it. The main actor is Bi (Rain). He’s huge. I mean, H-U-G-E. Not as in his size (trust me, no one could have a problem with his size. It’s hard to have a problem with size perfect. Haha. Yeah that was pretty bad. Sorry. But he is pretty hot.) but the sheer popularity of this guy is ridiculous. He’s basically the Korean Justin Timberlake. He was actually one of the performers at the closing ceremony for the Olympics this year and it was kind of a big deal. He’s trying to bring his popularity over here but not much luck yet. I guess time will tell. Although if everyone saw how truly adorable he was on this show he wouldn’t be having nearly as hard of a time. I love that he was able to be adorable while playing a spoiled actor with a bad temper. That’s gotta be hard. Major snaps for Bi!!! Although if he takes another supporting role in movies like Speed Racer again…….well we can only help him so much.

Unfortunately, it is not time for another issue of “Of the Asian Persuasion” (although it’s coming soon) but instead I thought I’d do an honorable mention. I have been watching this show religiously for the past few weeks and I just had to say something about it. There is this show called “We Got Married” and it’s what they call a variety show. Basically they pair up slightly famous people, get them “married”, then once a week each couple lives in their respective homes as a “married” couple as cameras watch them, and then at the end of the week all of the couples come to the studio and watch the edited footage together. Yeah. It’s pretty ridiculous but great all at the same time. Each couple is supposed to represent different types of couples in Korea.

The Couples (Left to Right): Crown J & Seo In Young; Alex & Sinae; Lee Hwi Jae & Jo Yeo Jeong; Solbi & Andy; Hwangbo & Kim Hyun Joong

Every week these couples get a new mission that they have to complete. It will all end with each couple having to decide if they would like to stay together or get a divorce. There are actually 5 hosts of the show that make little funny comments about the videos from the week. Three of the hosts do most of the talking then the other two hosts are two married men: one has been married for a long time and the other has been married a short period of time. They basically tape the couples Real World style except the cast is smaller, there’s not nearly as much alcohol present, and the people are funny in a ”hey-I-can-relate-to-that!!” way other than a “that’s-so-sad-and-pathetic-that-I can’t-help-but-laugh-because-you-make-me-feel-better-about-myself” way. So technically this is a Reality/Variety show. Which is a weird combination. It’s like taking “The Newlywed Game” contestants and taping a “day in the life of…..” of each contestant. That WOULD be fun though.

Crown J & Seo In Young aka The Fiery Couple: This is actually my favorite couple.

"A"!!!

 She complains, he plugs every project he’s involved in, she calls her shoes her “babies”, he freaks out if his clothes get wrinkled or his his shoes get scuffed, she whines, they find things to argue about, she’s a brat, and he does everything she tells him to do. Now I know they sound like the most annoying couple EVER and they are. But somehow together they make it work. If you watch the show from the beginning you’ll see them go from two selfish people to two people who are still selfish but display a shared give and take in the “relationship”. You have to remember that they are still entertainers and they want to keep a job so they make sure to live up to their couple type. I’m especially reminded when he does his trademark “A”!! He does it constantly!!! And she joins in!!!  They probably play it up a little but who cares??!!!! Underneath it all they seem like they genuinely like each. Do they like each other enough to keep the “marriage” going after the show? I doubt it. But you never know. If the US decided to do an American version of this show they would probably be someone like New York (Flavor of Love, I Love New York) and maybe one of her bachelor rejects from ONE of her shows. Except Crown J is not nearly as pathetic as most of them.

Alex & Sinae aka The Romantic Couple: You know the saying “Keeping up with the Joneses”? If they were a real couple, they would be the Joneses. She’s soft spoken and gorgeous while he’s sensitive and dreamy. God forbid they actually had children!! We would all be blinded by their beauty. It’s really unfair that the show has to tease us with this couple actually : ) In many ways they’re like Lois and Clark. She is always causing some kind of mischief and he always comes up some uber-romantic gesture that is almost always genius.

American Sinae?!!!

I have a hard time believing the heights he goes to impress her and even she has said that everything he does makes everything she does seem inadequate. Which sounds bad in a way but he only wants her to feel comfortable with him by being herself all the time and the more she opens up the happier he is. How much does it suck to have to watch that every week?! I guarantee anyone who watches this show with their spouse has turned to them at least once and screamed, “Why can’t you do that?! Alex did it and he’s not even in a real relationship!!!” I love this couple but they lose cool points with me because I find myself getting a little jealous when I watch them. Which I know is ridiculous but can you blame me?! Alex SINGS to her for heaven’s sake. And he’s REALLY good. REALLY GOOD. I guess he has to though since it’s his job. While it’s hard to watch them together I would pick Alex over any of the grooms on any day. He should get his own “The Bachelor” type show if it doesn’t work out with this one. Women would be falling over themselves to get to him. Me included. Even though he’s kinda short and, unfortunately for me, size does matter…..as in height ; ) I guess an American version would cast the girl that won Joe Millionaire (Zora?) and a slightly known actor who has a reputation for being pretty nice (The guy from the short lived show “Good Morning, Miami”? Mark Feuerstein? He always seemed nice : )  

*****SPECIAL REPORT******:Alex just came out with his solo album, MY VINTAGE ROMANCE (Great title). Please buy this CD. You won’t get it at your local

Awwwww.......ALEX!!!

 Wal-Mart but I guarantee you’ll get it on the internet. And don’t worry it’s totally worth it. He has stated that he would like to be known as Alex the artist and not so much Alex the romantic guy…….DON’T THEY ALL?!  And really it must be so hard to be known as the romantic guy with a voice like butta (That’s right BUTTA, not butter. Butta is better than butter. Take note.) So let’s help him be that artist by making his album sell like hotcakes!! Ok. Maybe not like hotcakes here in America (Although it would be nice.) I hope they are buying it up overseas though. I’m pretty sure he would do it for us. In fact I’m positive he would buy our albums if we put it out. Why? Because he’s ALEX!!!

Lee Hwi Jae &  Jo Yeo Jeong aka no longer a couple: She left. He hosts. Moving on.

Solbi & Andy aka The Cute Couple: This is mostly the couple you see once in a while who have known each other for so many years that it only made sense for them to get married because no one will know them like they know each other.

There's cute....and then there's too cute. This would be the latter.

 They’ll have little nicknames for each other, too many inside jokes, call each other their best friend, turn snuggling into a science, and have arguments that never amount to anything because they always end with laughter.  I like to call them ”The Gap Couple”. Whatever she is lacking he fills and vice versa. There are many times they try a little too hard to live up to their couple name but the only reason it is obvious they are is because they don’t realize they don’t have to try to be cute together, they just are. Most of the audience roots for them but I don’t see it going past the show. They could date for a while but I don’t see any kind of marriage happening. There was a really cute episode where they gave each other couple rings on the exact same day. It’s usually the guy who gives the couple rings but she lost hers and wanted to make up for it. The reactions they had when they realized they both had couple rings on the same day was classic. Just watch it if you get a chance. Very funny!!! For some reason I can’t think of an American equivalent for this couple. I think this would be the most difficult couple to find actually. Andy and Solbi had known each other before the show and they do have a natural comradery that the show doesn’t have to edit. That’s kinda hard to find in the entertainment industry considering a lot of people plaster their smiles on their faces to hide who they like and dislike. That would be the most interesting choice though. Maybe Dawn and Que from ”Making the Band”? Of course that probably won’t last all that much longer, I mean, let’s face it. They are cute but reality show couples don’t really have a long shelf life.   

Hwangbo & Kim Hyung Joong aka Age Difference Couple: I find myself slightly pulling for this couple. She’s 28; he’s 22. Yeah it’s interesting from time to time. There’s this constant awkwardness between that will

This is what they do when a spouse is absent. It's kinda funny and sad at the same time.

 more than likely NEVER go away. There are moments where they are more comfortable with each other but it never lasts. It seems this has become a trend in Korea but I don’t think the country has fully embraced it yet. The only thing that makes it work is that they are both likable people.  He’s really good at making jokes at those awkward moments and she tries everything to include him in everything that is going on. It’s not enough that they’ll stay together at the end but it’s fun to watch them now.

Ok. That’s all I’ve got for this post. PLEASE WATCH THIS SHOW!!!! It’s on YouTube. English subs and all. So you have no excuse. And you have to watch this week……the show is giving the couples CHILDREN!!  Why is it on YouTube? Don’t you know? (Insert blog title here) ZAI JIAN!!!!!!