On Air

Director

Cast

Kim Ha-neul

Park Yong-ha

Lee Beom-soo

Song Yoon-ah

Lee Hyung Chul

Han Ye Won

Hong Ji Min

You Seo Jin

Kang Joo Hyung

Lee Won

Nominees Announced for the 2008 Korea Drama Festival Awards

Nominees for the 2008 Korea Drama Festival Awards, scheduled for November 1st at Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, were announced yesterday on October 7. For the best acting award, nominees include respected actress Kim Hye-ja of “Angry Mom,” charismatic actor Choi Soo-jong of “Dae Joyoung,” acclaimed actors Kim Myung-min of “White Tower” and Jo Jae-hyun of “New Heart,” and top actresses Bae Jong-ok of “My Man’s Woman” and Kim Ha-neul of “On Air.” Nominees for the best drama category include “Legend,” “Angry Mom,” “Dae Joyoung,” and “Gourmet.” Life time achievement nominees are Choi Bul-am, Baek Il-seop, Na Moon-hee, and Kang Bu-ja. The first international festival for a single genre, the festival will feature a wide variety of interesting events, such as drama photo exhibition at the Jinju National Museum, Asian drama screening show, an international forum on Korean dramas, and a talent search.

Song Yoona and Park Yong-ha in Japan to Promote 'On Air'

Actress Song Yoona and Park Yong-ha are in Japan to promote the drama series "On Air." The two star actors will attend a press conference as well as the On Air premiere to be held at the Toho Cinema in Tokyo, Japan on June 12. Producers of On Air said the Japanese press is showing great interest in the drama series starring Hallyu stars Song and Park. Some 300 press members have registered to take part in the promotional event. M.net Japan will start broadcasting the drama series on June 30.

Drama 'Iljimae' has tough act to follow

New historical drama "Iljimae," airing tonight on SBS, will be hard pressed to live up to its predecessor, "On Air." "On Air," featuring Kim Ha-neul and Park Yong-ha, topped viewer ratings last Thursday, when its final episode was broadcast. A strong script and four top-notch actors carried this miniseries to success. The new drama also must compete with MBC's "Spotlight." With big stars Son Ye-jin and Ji Jin-hee playing reporters and talented screenwriter Lee Ki-won at the helm, "Spotlight" may nab viewer ratings for the Wednesday and Thursday night slot, leaving "Iljimae" out in the cold. But the verdict isn't out yet. Based on an ancient Korean hero of the same name, the historical drama "Iljimae" revolves around the good deeds of a Korean Robin Hood. However unlike Hong Gil-dong, a Korean hero who also stole from the rich and gave to the poor, Iljimae is primarily motivated by revenge. Hallyu star Lee Jun-ki will be taking on the complex role of this hero. And with a less than lackluster cast of potentially talented but relatively minor actors, this drama is expected to rely heavily on actor Lee's star power. Lee may just be able to pull off this one-man show. At the press conference held last week, hoards of reporters and fans vied for Lee's attention as he posed for cameras. "When I saw 'Iljimae' I had to do it," said Lee, 26, at the press conference, over the din of screaming fans. Lee, who shot to stardom when he starred in the blockbuster "King and the Clown" (2005), acknowledged the challenges that he and his character faces. "Everyone says Hong Gil-dong, Hong Gil-dong, so I want to portray Iljimae accurately," he said, aware that Iljimae is not as popular as fellow hero Hong. "The impression that I left with 'King and the Clown' was strong," he admitted. But that didn't stop Lee from taking on yet another period piece. "I always had an image of Iljimae in my mind," he said, excited to tackle the challenging role of a national hero that is a petty thief by day and a gallant rogue by night. A strong rival isn't the only challenge that "Iljimae" faces. Good stories have a habit of getting around, and MBC is slated to air its own version of the classic tale in November. According to MBC, their drama will be based on the original hit comic series by Ko Woo-yung with singer/actor Lee Seung-ki, 21, playing the lead. But SBS "Iljimae" producer Lee Yong-suk remains confident that their miniseries has an edge. "The 'Iljimae' we are making is purely Korean," he said at the press conference, confirming that the SBS drama is not based on the comic series. According to producer Lee, while the comic book's hero picked up his martial arts skills in China and Japan and is more effeminate, their Iljimae stayed in Korea and grew into a man's man. "We focused on highlighting Lee Jun-ki's and 'costar' Park Shi-hoo's masculinity," he said. "We tried to give it a very contemporary feel." But producer Lee shied away from calling "Iljimae" a fusion drama. "If you say fusion drama, it comes across as frivolous and light," he said. "But this drama is earnest. It is more like a traditional historical drama." Exactly how SBS "Iljimae" screenwriter Choi Ran will revamp this classic legend to suit modern Korean tastes remains to be seen. But judging from the preview, this drama will be action-packed and will remain true to the ancient Joseon dynasty hero, who swooped down in the night to steal from corrupt government officials, leaving behind a single branch of blood-red plum blossoms. Actor Park Shi-hoo, 30, who debuted in KBS' "Sassy Girl, Choon-hyang" (2005) plays Iljimae's rival. Actresses Han Hyo-joo, 21, who starred in MBC's sitcom "Nonstop 5" and Lee Young-ah, 23, who recently starred in SBS' "Golden Bride" (2007) play Lee Jun-ki's love interests. "Iljimae" will begin airing tonight at 9:55 p.m. on SBS.

KBS Drama at Advantage After General Elections

The KBS 2TV Drama "Three Fathers, One Mother" (Writer Cho Myung-joo, Producer Lee Jae-sang) saw positive effects from the General Elections. "Three Fathers, One Mother" reached record ratings of 11.9% yesterday (TNS Media Korea Survey), ranked second in its time-slot and pushed past the 7.9% ratings of the MBC drama "Who Are You." The SBS Drama "On-Air" has held a constant rating of 20%, but faltered slightly at 19.4% last night. "On-Air" and "Who Are You" broadcast at 10:10 p.m., ten minutes later than their scheduled time due to special programs concerning Korean astronaut Lee So-yeon. "Three Fathers, One Mother" began at 9:58 p.m. The increase in ratings for "Three Fathers, One Mother" was determined to have started a day earlier on the 9th during the 18th General Elections of Korea. All the other TV dramas in the same time-slot were cancelled due to the special General Election broadcasts, which is when the KBS drama rose from low single-digit ratings to 14.5%. "Three Fathers, One Mother" is a light-hearted TV drama about a woman who's impregnated by one of three sperm donors, and it stars Eugene, Cho Hyun-jae, Shin Sung-rok, and Jae Hee.

`On Air' Looks Into Making of Dramas

Some 20 dramas are aired every week. There are daily dramas, morning dramas, weekend dramas… and Wednesday-Thursday dramas. In this ``kingdom'' of drama, ``On Air,'' portrays how Korean soaps are made. ``On Air'' is directed by Shin Woo-chul and written by Kim Eun-suk, the creators of hit dramas ``Lovers in Paris'' (2004), ``Lovers in Prague'' (2005) and ``Lovers'' (2006). They teamed up again to give an exclusive behind-the-scenes view of Korean dramas. ``This is a drama about the people who create these dramas. Nowadays, Korean dramas are not only aired in Korea but in other countries as well. I wanted to write a drama about the processes and behind-the-scenes stories with a dramatic and exaggerative touch,'' said Kim at a press conference last week at SBS. Kim Ha-neul plays an arrogant topnotch actress named O Seung-a. Recently starring in the movie ``Lovers of 6 Years,'' Kim said ``it was not easy to play an `actress' character, but I found Seung-a very attractive. For example, I myself cannot appeal to the broadcasting station by refusing a Drama Award, but Seung-a can. I can empathize.'' In addition to the haughty actress, Kim plays a 25-year-old woman whose mental age is only seven in the drama-within-a-drama ``Ticket to the Moon.'' Lee Beom-soo plays Jang Gi-jun, O's agent. Famous for starring in movies like ``The Forbidden Quest'' (2006) and ``Short Time'' (2005), Lee's first appearance in the TV drama ``Doctor Bong'' as a bawling doctor last year was a big hit. ``By playing this agent character, I now have an objective and better view of my managers,'' said Lee. Song Yoon-a portrays a mean TV scriptwriter with a Midas touch, Seo Yeong-eun. She appeared in the movie ``Lost in Love'' (2006) with Sul Kyoung-gu. Song said ``Seo is the other side of writer Kim. I haven't thought about the difficulties of writers before, but now, I feel it like my own.'' Meanwhile, Park Yong-ha plays drama producer/director Lee Gyeong-min, who works with all of the characters above. Park is a hallyu star who starred in the hit drama ``Winter Sonata'' (2002). He has been active as a singer in Japan and this is his first appearance in a Korean drama in five years. ``I try to override my fragile image from previous characters,'' said Park. He also said that he might release an album as a singer in Korea as well. The drama is also known for many cameo appearances. The list of cameos includes queen of Cannes Jeon Do-yeon, K-pop diva Lee Hyo-ri, Kang Hae-jung of the movie ``Herb'' (2007), Um Ji-won of ``Scout'' (2007), Kim Min-jun, who starred in Shin and Kim's 2005 drama ``Lovers in Prague,'' and K-pop group F.T. Island. These actresses mostly appear as top stars like themselves. Song, who managed to bring most of these actresses to the TV screen, said ``It was not easy to ask them to guest star because it might misrepresent them despite the satirical nature of the drama.'' The drama will start airing to high expectations at 9:55 p.m., Wednesday, March 5 ― on SBS.

New SBS drama set to be a smash 'On Air'

The blockbuster-making duo Shin Woo-chul and Kim Eun-sook have teamed up again to create SBS' new drama "On Air." Producer Shin and TV scriptwriter Kim masterminded the hit SBS dramas "Lovers in Paris" (2004), "Lovers in Praha" (2005) and "Lovers" (2006). Their biggest hit, "Lovers in Paris," which starred actress Kim Jung-eun and actor Park Shin-yang, brought in a record viewer rating of 56.3 percent. Now, Shin and Kim are pooling their talent to create an entirely new and refreshing miniseries. They started off by exchanging their trademark byword "lovers" for a much less romantic title, "On Air." And that's not the only thing different about their latest project. "'On Air' is about how a drama is made," said Shin at a press conference last week. "It will start with the planning of a drama, to its casting, its filming, the airing of the first episode, the viewer ratings, and will go all the way through to the airing of the last episode. This drama will show the entire process." According to Shin, their new miniseries, which features four main characters instead of the usual two, is a behind-the-scenes look at the making of a drama. Just from the plot synopsis, it is clear that this isn't your everyday love story. But why make a drama within a drama? Will this lure viewers? Kim thinks so. "Now, Korean dramas are not just seen in Korea," explained Kim during the press conference. "They can be seen everywhere. So I think interest in Korean dramas is higher than it has ever been before." Kim may be onto something. Several Japanese reporters and fans attended the press conference, testifying to the power of Hallyu. And, of course, to the star power of Hallyu icon Park Yong-ha, who will be playing a producer in "On Air." Park, 30, who took part in the press conference, fielded a question about his current popularity in Japan by saying, "I find it to be a huge obligation ... I am trying not to think too much about it, and am focusing on my role." With a Hallyu star like Park on board, "On Air" is sure to catch viewer interest abroad. And it has already managed to get the attention of Taiwanese viewers, thanks to two weeks of on- location filming in Taiwan. But just how accurate will "On Air" be? When asked about how she conducted research for this drama, scriptwriter Kim answered, "I was worried that this question would be asked. I guess everybody is really interested in just how much of what I wrote was real, and who it was based on." She went on to say, "While writing this script, I realized just how little I actually knew about the drama-making process. Since I don't go on set often, I didn't know how they filmed a scene, so I went out on set. And since I didn't know the broadcasting station really well, I drew a map of it." When it came to researching celebrities, she played the part of a reporter, and talked to them in person. "I asked the actors and actresses here about their lives, both public and private," said Kim, gesturing to the cast of "On Air." "I asked them about fun incidents on sets, and things that made them happy, people who touched them. As written into the script, 'Getting to know celebrities is harder than getting to know aliens.' While I meet and see celebrities often, I don't really know them. So I talked to them a lot." But Kim was quick to clear up any mistaken speculations about the true identities of her characters. "I couldn't just write it out the way it was," she mused. "So, to make it a bit more fun, I made it more theatrical. I was really worried that this might start up rumors about who these characters are based on. But you won't know who it is. I expanded upon and revised the characters." But, though these characters aren't based on any real celebrities, an all-star cast promises to make them larger than life. Actress Kim Ha-neul, 30, who starred opposite Kwon Sang-woo in the hit flick "My Tutor Friend" (2003), will be playing the diva actress, Oh Seung-ah. And veteran actor Lee Beom-soo, 38, who won audiences over in the hit SBS drama "Doctor Bong" (2007), will be playing her manager. Hallyu star Park Yong-ha, who was Bae Yong-joon's rival in "Winter Sonata" (2002), will be playing the arrogant SBC producer, Lee Kyung-min. And actress Song Yoon-a, 34, who starred opposite actress Kim Hee-seon in the SBS drama "Mister Q" (1998), will be playing the feisty TV scriptwriter, Suh Young-eun, who gets under producer Lee's skin. Of her role as diva extraordinaire, actress Kim said, "My character was brought up by a really tough manager. And that experience scarred her ... That's why she is so harsh. "This role is really different from the previous characters I've played," she added. Co-star Lee discussed his approach to his role: "My character is not just a manager; he is more like a young boy with a lot of dreams." Judging from the preview screening of "On Air," both Lee and Kim promise to bring strong, colorful characters to the screen. And co-stars Song and Park may be hard-pressed to keep up. With four top stars playing the title roles, and a hit producer-scriptwriter duo, "On Air" is destined to live up to expectations. But viewers will have to wait till March 5 to get the first installment of what promises to be yet another blockbuster. "On Air" airs its first episode on Wednesday, March 5, at 9:55 p.m. on SBS. By Jean Oh