Broadcasters kick off battle of dramas
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Jun Ji-hyun in “The Legend of the Blue Sea” / Courtesy of SBS
By Park Jin-hai
Drama fans will want to be on the lookout this month as a he full line-up of much anticipated shows will premier this week on major networks.
The three major broadcasters KBS, MBC and SBS will all air new drama series in different genres starting Wednesday, raising much hype about who will be the winner in the ratings.
The most anticipated and expensive show is SBS’s “The Legend of the Blue Sea” starring two big name hallyu stars Jun Ji-hyun and Lee Min-ho.
The fantasy romance penned by Park Ji-eun, the same writer of 2014 megahit drama “My Love from the Star,” is a love story of a conman and a mermaid.
Lee Min-ho in “The Legend of the Blue Sea” / Courtesy of SBS
The drama is inspired by a classic Joseon-era legend from Korea’s first collection of unofficial historical tales, which tells the story of a fisherman who captures and releases a mermaid. Actor Lee will play the double roles of a modern-day con artist and the son of a noble Joseon family and actress Jun will play a mermaid who lands in Seoul from the Joseon era and struggles to adapt to modern life.
The drama, which sees the two leads are returning to the small screen after a hiatus, reportedly has been sold for $500,000 per episode to a Chinese media company.
MBC airs a coming-of-age sports drama “Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-Joo.” Starring both model-turned actress Lee Sung-kyung and actor Nam Joo-hyuk, the drama will depict what happens to a female university athlete who focuses on exercising after falling in love for the first time. The story is inspired by the life of Olympic gold-medalist Jang Mi-ran.
A still from “Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-Joo” / Courtesy of MBC
Screenwriters Kim Su-jin of “Old Miss Diary” and Yang Hee-seung of “Oh My Ghostess,” who have earned credits for making mostly romantic comedies, have also joined the project.
Taking a rarely selected subject for a drama, actress Lee will star as a weightlifter and actor Nam a university swimmer.
In the same time slot, KBS taps a humanity drama “Oh My Geumbi,” a family love story involving an early-onset Alzheimer’s suffering 10-year-old girl Geum-bi.
Actor Oh Ji-ho will play the father of the girl and will portray how he learns about the responsibilities of parenthood.
“Many dramas have portrayed stories of an elderly person losing their memory, but it has never been told about a child suffering from the disease. The drama aims to give viewers a chance to reflect on the true values of life,” said Lee Myung-hee, the screenwriter.
A scene from “Oh My Geumbi” Courtesy of KBS
The show was directed by Kim Young-jo, who previously worked on the blockbuster action series “Iris” and the epic drama “Jang Yeong-sil.”
Since the three dramas deal with different subjects, genres and target audiences, it is hard to jump to conclusions about which show will be the final winner in the viewership ratings race. “Since each show has different appeal, it might happen that the three will share the pie evenly. In that case, the show that has the most impressive first episode is likely to gain the upper hand, I think,” said an industry insider.
This month, other unique dramas have also been introduced, grabbing viewers’ attention to the small screen.
In the Monday-Tuesday timeslot, SBS’s new medical melodrama “Romantic Doctor, Teacher Kim” starring veteran actor Han Suk-kyu in the title role, has opened to positive reviews, while tvN has ambitiously launched a remake of HBO’s popular show “Entourage,” telling the reality of life behind the scenes of Korea's entertainment industry.