Sunday, January 11, 2009

Thoughts on KPN cast


I was asked what my thoughts on the KPN cast were, and although I said that I have only seen two episodes, hardly enough to make up my minds about any of the cast, I thought that I would write my initial impressions of them now and then when we're further into the drama, read back and compare my thoughts then with my thoughts now.


Gu Jun Pyo was initially someone that I had not noticed, if everyone remembers, all I saw then was Hyun Joong, Hyun Joong and Hyun Joong. But I must say, he was someone that totally blew me away with his representation of the Almighty F4 leader. He expresses his character really well, and has been so far, the best leader that I have seen in all three adaptations. I honestly enjoyed his arrogance, and his ignorance. And most of all, I enjoyed his many expressions when he is around Jandi. I look forward to more of his antics and amazing portrayal as the leader.


Ji Hoo... what can I say... he looks the part, but he doesn't sound the part. Don't get me wrong, I think that he does make a good Rui, but there's just something lacking when he delivers his lines. He looks perfect when he's quiet, deep in thought and just... well.. standing there. Granted that this is his first drama, and he comes from a K-pop background, so I am anticipating to see him improve more as the drama goes on.


Yi Jung has a really, really addictive smile. But also the cheesiest line in the drama. He's cute though, and I really look forward to his side story with Ga Eul. I don't really remember much of him from the two episodes, only that he kept repeating that Jandi was amusing and that he was having the time of his life watching their stories unfold. Interesting watch in the future, I reckon.


Woo Bin is adorable! But like Yi Jung, I haven't really seen much of him in the drama. I remember him as the one that gave Jun Pyo the juice to pour down the shirt of the other guy. Ah, and he was the one that went all gangsta-rap. I hope he gets more airtime than the Taiwanese version though, who was the guy in that adaptation again?


Jandi was really annoying when I first saw her, she was trying to hard to be the role that she forgot that too much is not good at all. But when I watched the second episode, I began appreciating her character more, she really has some good expressions and she can seriously sound really irritated with Jun Pyo! They make such a cute loggerhead couple!! I think Jandi can grow on you. Not instantly like Makino, but give Jandi some time. She's working it.


Seo Hyun is a perfect rendition of Shizuka. She has that grace and air about her that makes one look at her and really take notice of her. This is the one thing that I have noticed in all three adaptations, all of them have really good Shizukas. Han Chae Young was an excellent choice for this role, and I felt that she really did seem like Shizuka talking about Rui when she was talking about Ji Hoo.

And yes, the nickname that Shar and I wrote does stand for Plastic Barbie, for known reasons, not personal ones. In comparison to the other Shizukas, I think she comes second when it comes to looks, the first being the one from Taiwan. The Taiwanese Shizuka has that flawless look, but isn't much of an actress I felt, whereas Seo Hyun embodies the character.


Ga Eul is my favorite Yuki! She is spunky and cute and isn't the helpless being that the other two adaptations portrayed. I'm hoping that she remains this way!! And I'm looking forward to the Ga Eul- Yi Jung pairing!!

These are my thoughts so far about the characters. I wonder what my thoughts will be a month from now... Hmmm...

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

thank you for sharing your thinking. I agree with you on ji hoo, he is lacking something which i can't tell either. hopefully he will doing better in the next episode, but again HJ never fail to crack everyone. chonsa would you please help us to translate this article, i use google but can't understand. i think it's relate to joongbo. thanks in advance
황보 누나는 너무 무서워요!”

최근 세 명으로 잠시 재편한 아이돌그룹 SS501이 멤버 김현중과 함께 MBC ‘일요일일요일밤에’의 인기코너 ‘우리결혼했어요’에 가상부부로 출연했던 가수 황보에 대해 “정말 무서운 누나”라고 밝혀 눈길을 끌었다.

현재 ‘U r MAN’이란 곡으로 활동 중인 SS501의 세 멤버 허영생, 김규종, 김형준은 최근 스포츠월드와의 인터뷰에서 ‘우리결혼했어요’에 김현중-황보 가상 부부와 함께 녹화에 참여했던 때 황보가 김현중의 눈을 피해 선배로서 군기(?)를 잡곤 했다고 말했다.

SS501은 “황보 누나가 현중이가 잠시 자리를 피하거나 다른 곳을 쳐다볼 때마다 터프한 여성으로 돌변하곤 했다”며 “그리고 저희에게 ‘현중이는 나의 이런 모습을 알리지 말라’고 협박까지 했을 정도”라고 너스레를 떨었다. 한편, 멤버 김현중과 박정민이 KBS 2TV 월화극 ‘꽃보다 남자’와 뮤지컬 ‘그리스’에 각가 출연하며 개별 활동 중인 SS501은 6월 모두 함께 모여 정규 앨범을 발표할 예정이다.

스포츠월드 글 한준호, 사진 김두홍 기자

Anonymous said...

if you need the source then here is the link. thank you very much.


http://sportsworldi.segye.com/Articles/Ent...&subctg2=00

Julie said...

In the Taiwanese drama, Ken Zhu of F4 paired up with Rainie (the friend of Shan Cai) to be the Ga Eul-Yi Jung pairing.

As for Woo Bin's character, in the Taiwan drama it was Vanness Wu of the F4 Taiwan group who played that part. His interpretation was different, further away from the gangster stuff. He was into dancing at the clubs, bodybuilding, and the casual dating of course too. But in Meteor Garden 2 (sequel to the first Meteor Garden), the show paired him up with a childhood friend/acquaintance who had grown up loving him and was a musician (cello or violin?). Vanness Wu is a pretty cool guy -- he was the one who collaborated with Kangta for the songs like Scandal, 127 day, Good Vibrations which they did in an album together that had korean, mandarin, and english.

Hope that helps :o)

Anonymous said...

I like HCY as an actor enough, but I still don't think she's a good Shizuka. I feel like Shizuka is someone who is stubborn and decisive, but her outward appearance is soft, mellow, and so very lady like. And while HCY represents Shizuka's inner character, I think her face features are too sharp and strong to make a great Shizuka.

Jihoo, lol, yes, he looks great shutting up or only saying few clipped words, but when he has to deliver longer lines, Hyunjoong's stiffness becomes really apparent.

OMG, you totally touched base on Kimbum and his smile. DUDE!! His smile is...jhvjkasdhfgjkshdfkfjs. And he seems to do it so effortlessly. Gaawwwddd, I wish they would do his side story with Gaeul (whom I love a lot too)deeper.

Anonymous said...

@Julie: She played CELLO! and Vanness Wu was my favorite CHARACTER in the TAIWANESE version. =] For some reason didn't really like the JAP version as much. LOL!


I can't wait for the episode 3 to come out already on YT. ^__^


This is my favorite DRAMA. =]

SheaX said...

im beginning to like Gu Jun Pyo too! he plays his part well...the korean version is a breathe of fresh air compare to the other versions, but Shun Oguri will always be my favorite Rui...as much as i love HJ , im still trying to accept him as Rui! xDD

Like everyone, im expecting to see a lot of improvement on HJ's acting as the story unfolds, we all know how hard working he is...

thanks again for all the latest updates chonsa, you and sharry make a great team! xDD

Anonymous said...

i love Gu Jun Pyo! lol which is funny because he plays a character that i should want to hate, but i think he's doing such a good job! quite impressed. What i'm not too impress about is hyun joong. I know he's probably doing his best but i don't need to be a fan of the manga to know he's lacking something. I really miss seeing hyun joong's real personality on tv, now that wgm is over for the lettuce couple. Nonetheless, the drama is very entertaining, i think i may be a dedicated fan already lol

sshutingg said...

yeahh.. my fav is vanness from Taiwan ver of F4... and for some reason i didnt watch japan ver too... dont attract me after 1st season...

as for korea version.. my one and only reason for watching it is HJ~ bcoz i have read numerous time on manga, anime and taiwan ver.. thats why the storyline is kinda not that interested for me anymore.. but i will watch korea ver only when i can get hold of dvd and watch it at one go...

miss joongbo~ miss Hyunjoong smile.. cheerful smile in front of hwangbo..

Anonymous said...

Lee Min Ho - good acting , believable as Junpyo ... 5 stars

Hj - good smile , acting seems lacking ...hope he doesn't regret going into acting later ... but I love him nevertheless ...

kim kibum - cute smile , yet to see the acting ,but looks promising

GHS- overacting ! Jap. Makino is way better ...

plot is moving so fast ...can't digest the story well ...

not looking forward to Mondays and Tuesdays ...



JOONGBO forever !!!!

Chonsa , you rock !!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

I totally agree about Jandi... she was sooo annoying and i dun really know why.. but yeah.. and i love Gu Jun Pyo!!!!!! he is definitely HOTTT

Anonymous said...

chonsa~
I am real really surprised reading your comments on them...
every single one of them is the same as mine...
about min ho, ji hoo, kim bum, jan di...
I also look forward for kim bum n ga-eul part...
hahahaha...
maybe that's what everyone think...

Anonymous said...

Lee Min Ho is amazingly good on his character as f4 leader "thou It's my ist time seeing him"

Kim kibum is quite impressive too,
NOt because he has this
million dollar smile but because is
he is good,"I saw his acting in East of Eden" and his really good

to our HJ well I guess everyone right
about him,he looked like Rui when his not opening his mouth,hihihi!
but of course its a long way to go,so much time for improvements,

Woo Bin, well his naturally good too,

And I am anticipating Jun Pyo
and Ji Hoo's Coming punches to
each other,hope our HJ will carry well for the character..

Fighting..!!

My Name is Far said...

chonsa! thx for the KPN summaries..btw, mind if u share the song that played for KPN? from the moment when the intro to KPN cast (where HJ changing his clothes) up to where Jandi cried for Jun Pyo bullying her? i love those song! huu

.¸¸.·`¯`·.¸¸.ஐ: the.G said...

You hit the nail on the head mentioning about HJ's voice in the show. I thought his portrayal of Rui Hanazawa was fine, but still lacked some sort of 'oomph' -- however I couldn't put my finger on it. What you said was really spot on! :) Maybe HJ isn't quite 'feeling' his character..?

I think I'm beginning to fall for Gu Jun-pyo too. He's an interesting character to watch -- and yes, his arrogance and ignorance!

Anonymous said...

however i tried,i can't go into this drama.
I'm sad although i want to see hj more and more, i don't want to be disappointed.

Anonymous said...

Don't get me wrong, Chonsa. I agree with your perception about Hyun joong's Rui. He definitely lacking something.

But what I can't understand is, why you say that the one played Domyouji Korean version was the best leader among the three versions?

In my opinion (and my friends' opinion too, which are a total fans of Korean drama), I think that the best Domyouji is the Japan version.

Yes, I'm Arashi fans, and you think I'm so addicted to Arashi that I'm blind about anything else, so maybe you just brush my comment off.

But we can perfectly see the difference between the Japan & Korean from the Domyouji role. Not that I said the Japan version is better (which is very true), but I simply don't understand the character of Domyouji Korean. He is arrogant, yes, but he is definitely not Tsukasa. He is just being... arrogant. That's all.

Anyway, that's just my opinion, so don't think much of it. Maybe I'm just sick of people out there (who are SS fans, and I know they want to promote Hyunjoong so bad) said that Korean Hanadan is the best.

Last, thanks for all your effort to caps the dorama ^^

Anonymous said...

I think if HJ be himself he will be more successful with the character. His personality is already shy, no talking to person he doesn't know so no need to act he will be more successful. This is just my opinion.

Anonymous said...

i read sumwhere in javabeans people there said that ep4 of KPN is better than ep3 cuz the absent of our shillang in dat ep...i dunno y but it somehow affects me...cuz part of it kinda true*sigh..deep sigh*..hj is a bit stiff as compared to the rest..but im still giving him a huge chance to proove dat he can act well since they'll b like 20 more eps to go...so fighting hj..keep on improving urself..if u have sum trouble jus lean on ur buin..i still remmbr dat hb once said dat *if u need me i'll be 365 24/7 for you..*if only he can let loose in potraying himself as ji Hoo that'lll b nice..cus he seems trying v hard in his actig debut..i mean i really miss his charm and all. y cant he show dat in KPN instead of the im-bein-forced-to-act kind of face...nevertheless im only judging om d first 4 episodes..who knows wat hj has up on his sleeve as Ji-hoo..i'll always keep on anticipating dis drama...btw so happy buin is doin v well!!(jus happy to address them as shillang n buin cus i miss them 2 much..hehe)FIGHTING JOONGBO...PLZ SHARE WIF US UR GOOD NEWS..a simple statement wwould do like YESS..WE ARE DATING!!!..HEHE..

Anonymous said...

juuchan, i think something needs to be cleared up here. chonsa said that it is her opinion that he is better than the other tsukasas. she is free to that opinion, the same way you are free to have your own opinion. she never said that it was true what she thought, but you seem to insist that what you think is true. what you said also made it seem like chonsa is unable to view the drama on it own and in a way is insistant that the korean version is the best.

you are making chonsa sound like all she is doing is supporting the people she likes, but she is not. she said herself that she never noticed jun pyo but looked at it from her own perspective. she is a fan of hyun joong and she admits that he's not as outstanding as the other actors.

don't get me wrong here, everyone is free to have their own opinions. but i just don't think that you should judge people coz they don't share your opinion. it's a free world, and as chonsa says, these are her thoughts. you don't have to understand why she thinks that way, just view it with an open mind, not a clouded one.

Anonymous said...

I really hope Hyun Joong will not let the pressure hold him back cuz I have faith in him that he can do so much better than what we see in BOF. I know he work so hard for the role and whenever I read bad comments abt him it makes me sad. He is the only reason why I watch BOF and I will cont. to support him. Hyun Joong fighting!!!

sharry said...

erm Juuchan. Seriously Ur comment just made me laugh. U are one typing contradiction.

on 1 hand u say that u think that the best domiouji was matsumoto. But u say it as an Arashi fan, and u dare say that u are sick of SS fans who are trying to promote HJ??

Please don't stop posting, me and chonsa were highly amused.

Also the fact that u try to make ur comment sound as it has more credibility just because ur "friends" agree with you.. honey .. of course they do.. there are after all your friends.

And please stop the rui, jihoo comparisons (not from now, but the other post comments). Oguri shun did the same role he always does as the "weird guy who no one understands but yet is likable" that he does in 60% of his dramas. When he starts acting on the likes of Nagase tomoya then u can talk.