First Wives Club

director

cast

Kim Hye-seon

Oh Hyeon-kyeong

Kim Hae-sook

Ahn Nae-sang

Oh Dae-gyoo

Lee Jun-hyeok

Son Hyeon-joo

Kim Hee-jeong

Han Jin-hee

Lee Mi-young

Park In-hwan

Yu Ha-na

Byun jeong-min

Yoon Sang-hyun and Cho Yeo-jung to Star in New Drama

Yoon Sang-hyun and Cho Yeo-jung will star in the KBS 1TV daily drama “The Road Home.” The new drama is slated to air next January when the drama “You are My Destiny” comes to an end. “The Road Home” will portray love and conflicts between family members running a general hospital. Producer Moon Bo-hyun, who helmed the KBS 1 TV daily dramas “As Much as Heaven and Earth” and “Single Papa's Passionate Love,” will team up with writer Gem-rim, who wrote the dramas “Eun-shil,” “When I Miss You” and “Blue Mist.” Yoon, who played a comedic character in the sitcom “The secret of CooCoo Island,” will take on the role of Yoo Min-soo, the eldest son of the hospital’s CEO. Cho will play Yoo’s wife Jang Mi-ryeong, who bears a child out of wedlock but raises it with maternal love. Lee Sang-woo, who played Goo Se-ju in the drama “The Five Wives Club,” will also appear as the younger brother of Yoon.

Are family dramas' glory days over?

Gone are the days of Sunday night soaps and romantic comedies, as what appeared to be a blip in the SBS weekend drama line-up turns out to be something of a trend. The highly popular family-oriented series "First Wives' Club" signaled a shift from the usual syrupy romances that SBS used to churn out. The result was a huge success. Ending on a high note last Sunday with nationwide viewer ratings of 40.2 percent (AGB Nielsen Media Research), the hit SBS drama revealed an untapped market. But will SBS' winning streak continue? The major broadcasting channel is willing to test the waters with yet another family drama. Starting tomorrow night, the new weekend series - titled "Glory of the Family" - explores the tangled and less than perfect lives of the illustrious Ha family. Centered on the filial granddaughter of the household Ha Dan-ah, played by Yoon Jung-hee, and her twin brothers, this drama is significantly weightier and more traditional than its predecessor. "I think this drama will showcase the importance and pros of an extended family," said actor Jun No-min, 42, at the press conference on Monday. Slated to play the morally upright twin brother of the family, veteran actor Jun stressed the pedantic nature of the upcoming drama. Yet the series is not entirely devoid of comedy. Co-star Kim Sung-min, who is taking on the role of the playboy twin to Jun's character, is set to bring in laughs via an unlikely romance with tomboy singer-turned-actress Maya. Kim won audiences over with his portrayal of a wicked and selfish husband in the hit drama "Fantastic Couple" (2006). Skilled at playing the cad, Kim looks like he will have his hands full keeping up with his loud and vivacious co-star. But Kim and Maya's romance is a mere sidebar to the family-oriented series, which focuses on the granddaughter of the family, Ha Dan-ah. "I wanted to write a story about a very backward woman," explained scriptwriter Jung Ji-woo. "I wanted to see how a woman who cannot speak up for herself and likes to sew could survive in modern society." Jung's backward character Ha Dan-ah will be played by actress Yoon Jung-hee. Yoon rose to fame in the popular SBS drama "Dear Heaven" (2005) in the role of a sweet and filial daughter. And it looks like she has been typecast, yet again, into an equally sugary part. As a counterpoint to Yoon's innocent character, co-star Park Shi-hoo is starring as her love interest. "My character is a bad guy with irresistible charm," said Park, 30, at the press conference. Inklings of a potential romance between Park and Yoon's characters will take root in the first few episodes of "Glory of the Family," with the passing away of the head of the Ha household and the ensuing traditional funeral rites. The preview screening showcased the expansive funeral procession. "I wanted to revive the significance of our dying traditions," said director Park Young-soo. "I worked hard to capture that." "Glory of the Family" airs tomorrow night at 10 p.m. on SBS.

Feisty TV mom clobbers husband for cheating

The stereotype of a Korean ajumma, or housewife, is a stocky woman with a tight perm wearing loose pants and a bubble-patterned kerchief around her neck. And most seem to deploy sharp elbows on the subway. So it’s a bit of a surprise that the Kim Hye-sun, 38, has transformed herself into such an ajumma in SBS TV’s weekend drama, “First Wives’ Club” (2007). Kim plays Han Bok-soo ― which means revenge in Korean ― one of the toughest matrons around. Bok-soo is loud and assertive. She takes on her husband when she finds out he’s having an affair with Jung Na-mi (Byeong Jung-min), his secret girlfriend. Bok-soo feels even more betrayed because she has spent her whole married life selling fish at the market to support her husband, who wants to become a doctor. In previous dramas like “Lotus Flower Fairy (2004)” and “The Infamous Chill Sisters (2006),” Kim was a good-tempered shaman and a homely housewife, respectively. It’s the first time in Kim’s 20-year career that she has played against type. “I completely got rid of my image,” she said. When Moon Young-nam, the scriptwriter, offered Kim the role, she accepted without hesitation. She had some doubts at first about how to play the role, but after rehearsals she began to feel her way into her character. She finds the strength of the character attractive. “Most actresses would crave this role,” Kim said. “You must try out this kind of character sooner or later.” She says actresses eventually play characters like mothers or grandmothers to continue their careers. While establishing her new character, Kim came to realize the importance of natural beauty. She says actresses who are getting older look prettiest when they are not deeply attached to artificial beauty. “In the past, it took me several hours to finish my makeup,” she said. But now, for this role, it takes five minutes.” All she does is powder her face. Such a natural look emphasizes her character’s job as a fish vendor. To learn about the job, Kim visited Garak Market in southern Seoul and learned some fishmongering skills. “Actually, real-life fish vendor ajumma polish their nails and wear earrings,” the actress said. “But if I appeared on television with such a look, viewers would think I looked unrealistic.” Kim heard that some viewers had said Bok-soo’s husband had an affair because of Bok-soo’s looks. But she saw the situation differently. “Bok-soo’s husband is the kind of guy who would have an affair no matter what his wife looked like.” she said. That’s probably why her husband’s name ― Lee Ki-jeok ― sounds like yigijeok, Korean for selfish. The character Lee even turns down Na-mi in fear that he might be prevented from becoming a professor. Bok-soo gets her revenge. She browbeats her husband into signing a written promise to give up all his money, his property and custody of their child. She even high-kicks Na-mi, without using a stuntman. “I caught a cold while preparing for the action scenes,” Kim said. She even coughed up blood from all the screaming and crying she did during certain scenes as Bok-soo. The character wasn’t always so upbeat, though. Bok-soo was heartbroken by her husband’s adultery. In one episode, as she hugs her friend Hwa-shin (Oh Hyun-kyung) whose husband had also cheated, the tears flow freely. Though it was Bok-soo the TV drama character that cried, it was Kim who shed the tears. Kim didn’t cry because she was in character; she was actually genuinely upset. She was thinking of all the hardships that characters like Bok-soo and Hwa-shin went through in real life. “Those husbands who feel guilty reading this better return back home,” Kim said. “The drama tells us that adultery is not allowed under any circumstances,” she said.