20100617 (Newsletter) New Dramas and Director Goo Hye Seon

Hi, KBSWORLDi Fans It's getting hot every day (at least in LA!) and the summer is finally here with more heats from the World Cup Soccer Finals in South Africa. Two weekends dramas "Three Brothers" and "The Great Merchant" came to an end in Seoul last week, which means we will have two highly-anticipated new dramas. Get ready for the excitement! Thanks, KBSWORLDi.com

Production Presentation Held for ‘Legend of the Patriots’ The KBS special drama “Legend of the Patriots”, which was made to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Korean War, held a production presentation on June 9. The war drama “Legend of the Patriots” portrays the suffering of the war itself and comradeship of people who fought side by side during the war. The drama actually had been made in 1975 and 1983 on KBS under the same titles and enjoyed tremendous popularity at that time. Cast members participated in the production presentation wearing military uniforms, so it drew attention. In particular, the highlight video released during the presentation contained vivid battle scenes of urgent and tragic warfare, and it has raised the expectations on the drama. The head of KBS Contents Department explained the meanings of the drama by saying, “The intention of producing the drama ‘Legend of the Patriots’ is to relate the horrors of the war to a generation who has not experienced the war to eventually prevent war and deliver a message of peace to them. The same dramas which were produced in the past contained the ideology, but this time, the remake drama focused on humanism.”  Production director Kim Sang Hui said, “People in different ages from different background experienced the same big and small battles together and suffered various conflicts, but in the end, they became fellow soldiers who could rescue each other and depend on each other in the drama. This is a real war drama, so any scenes of melodrama were excluded and the story will unfold by important plots.” Choi Soo Jong, who will play the main lead, the squad commander Lee Hyun Joong, said, “Every actor is acting hard, but we really acted desperately for this drama. We did our best to fulfill viewers’ expectations.” Actor Lee Deok Hwa, who will play the military division commander Park Woong, expressed his expectations by saying, “I have gotten the answer of when, how, and for what I have to die through filming this drama. The purpose of this drama is to deliver the message that war should not break out. The drama will reveal humanity.”

'All About Marriage' continues the legacy of 'Three Brothers' Another new drama is coming this weekend (in Seoul) following last week's final episode of popular "Three Brothers". And here's the introduction of "All About Marriage": "Jung-im closes down the shop early in preparation for her father-in-law’s 60th birthday. Yet, his sons and daughters are nowhere to be found, and so as her husband Tae-ho. At this hour Tae-ho is with his co-worker Suh-young, whispering loves under the curtain. Nowadays, Tae-ho has no arousal around his wife, and sees no sparks in their conversations. Suh-young, on the other hand, is a light to his dull life. As secrets can never stay sealed forever, during his sleep Tae-ho unconsciously blurts out his love towards Suh-young. After such bitter incident, Jung-im is dragged to I-dol concerts by her friend Aeh-ran, and unexpectedly ends up in a fight. Soon, the press releases news about her under the title by, “the revolting vigilant fan in her thirties!” Then Jung-im’s life falls apart as Tae-ho divorces her. Yet what she had not realized is that her life could also turn towards “good” when given just the right chance. As entertainment agency’s head Hyun-wook decides to turn Jung-im into a successful Cinderella, her life changes! Then one day, as Tae-ho turns on his radio he hears a voice, a familiar one… yes, it was his ex-wife Jung-im’s. What would happen next?"   Director Goo Hye-Seon Awarded For Short Film Popular actress, Goo Hye-seon, is proving to be just as talented behind the camera as she is in front of it!  The star who really catapulted into the Hallyu wave after playing the main female heroine in the drama "Boys Over Flowers" has won an award for the short feature film that she directed. The movie, "The Madonna (aka The Cheerful Caretaker)", was honored at the 12th annual Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia 2010 with the "Spotlight Award". This award is given to the director or artist whose project attracts a lot of attention and is found to be inspiring for a large crowd. In short, you can think of it as a popularity award for the film which garnered the most hype. Goo took to her twitter account and posted up a picture of herself with her trophy on the 13th, saying "Everyone worked hard to create this film. Let's all get together, dinner's on me!". This isn't the only award "The Madonna" has won. It also took the "Audience Award" at the Pusan Asian Short Film Festival in 2009. It was also entered into the Asiana International Short Film Festival 2009 and the Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival 2009. * Watch Goo on 'Boys over Flowers' * Watch Goo on 'Win Win' * Watch Goo on 'Invincible Baseball Team'