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| Song Joong-ki plays Eun-seom in an upcoming TV series "Arthdal Chronicles." Capture from YouTube account of "tvN DRAMA" |
By Dong Sun-hwa, Park Si-soo
Forget Song Joong-ki being stylishly outfitted in "Descents of the Sun" and Jang Dong-gun in gentle tuxedo in "A Gentleman's Dignity."
They will appear in ragged animal skins, barefooted and dirt-coated from head to toe in cable network tvN's big budget (40 billion won) drama "Arthdal Chronicles."
Their stunning transformation came to light on Friday through the drama's 15-second teaser video.
Watch the teaser: bit.ly/2KznpZA
The clip starts with a narration: "Here is the place where everything begins." It shows Song and Jang competing or partnering in a ruthless race to take the helm of fabled ancient kingdom Arthdal, portrayed in the drama as the first monarchy on the Korean Peninsula.
While Song plays "Eun-seom," a cursed child who later takes control of Arthdal, Jang plays "Ta-gon," an ambitious war hero and rival of Eun-seom. Actress Kim Ji-won plays "Tan-ya," an unblessed woman who becomes the kingdom's first female politician.
The first episode of the 18-episode drama will be aired in June.
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| "Arthdal Chronicles" will premiere in June. Courtesy of tvN |
Meanwhile, the drama's producer has come under fire for its exorbitantly long shooting time that way exceeded the 68-hours-a-week legal limit.
Studio Dragon reportedly forced shooting crews to work more than 151 hours in seven days (Feb. 27-March 5) in Brunei, a blatant violation of the Labor Standard Act laying the ground for the upper ceiling for weekly working hours.
Some crew recently filed a complaint with the labor ministry, calling for an investigation into what they called "unfair" working conditions.
The production company said it "had strived to improve working conditions."
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