Kim Hyun-joo vs. Lee Young-ae

[kiparang]

As I said in another thread Lee Young-ae was not DJG producers' first choice for the role of Janggeum. They wanted Kim Hyun-joo, the very pretty heroine of "Miss Kim's Adventure in Seeking a Million," " Glass slippers," and "Sangdo(The Merchant Prince)." She was not only younger than LYA but more popular(at that time, at least) and also a veteran of several dramas in which she played a role similar to Janggeum, that is, the role of a young woman braving many hazards in life to eventual success. But KHJ for some reason turned down the role and thereby, missed probably the great role of her career.

Anyway, LYA turned in a marvelous performance but as a big fan of KHJ I sometimes wonder whether, if she had accepted the offer, she would have turned in better or worse or similar performance. Anyway, I think, with another person in the main role, the drama would have felt somewhat different. What's your view, guys?

[djanggum]

Well if KHJ casted in Sangdo, I don't think that she would work with the same director twice in a row... (The director Lee Byung Hoon directed Daejanggeum and Sangdo) ...

There is no doubt that LeeYoungAe is a better actress. I started becoming a fan after watching the movie JSA (couple years before Daejanggum). I love her natural beauty, her voice, and her kindness. I love how comparing to all the other "Haryu" stars, she remains humble yet extremely popular. You can tell when you watch her interviews: she is just herself and speaks casually and honestly

kiparang- I don't think that KHJ would have done a great job in the JG role like LYA did, because the role has to match with the actress. KHJ in real life seems to be more of a simple minded , playful person. I've watched most of the dramas that she casted in, and I personally think that she matches with the role in Miss Kim's Adventure in seeking a million. In that drama, I think she did a better job acting, and she looked prettier too.. ^^ I think that LYA matched with the role of JG, because she can relate somewhat to the character. LYA seems to be shy, yet talkative around the people she trusts. The people who work with her have said that she is very hardworking and concentrates very well. Even JJH stated that she is an admirable actress

[kiparang]

Djangeum, have you watched "Glass Slippers" and "Sangdo." in which Kim Hyun-joo played a non-comical role? She was just marvelous. "Glass Slippers" was very popular not only in Korea but also in several Asian countries where it was broadcast.

I have read an newspaper article, a rather funny one, actually. It seems that the popularity of "Glass Slippers" was so great in Vietnam that when the president of that country visited Korea couple of years ago KJH, along with So Ji-sub(one of the drama's main actors), was invited to the state dinner party honoring him by the office of the Korean president. But just before the dinner formally began Vietnamese president's entourage(such as various ministers and other high ranking officials) recognized KHJ and one by one aproached her for her signature and eventually mobbed her. A Korean official finally persuaded the Vietnamese gentlemen to return to their seats, saying that after the dinner he would see to it that every one would get her signature. ;D

No, I do not agree with you that LYE is a better actor than KHJ. The producers of DJG are no fools, they are veterans in such matters as casting. But we will never know whether she would have put in better performance than LYA as Janggeum. All we know is KHJ missed probably the greatest opportunity of her career.

[hanbok]

Ain't the actress who played Yon-seng was also being chosen as DJG?

Anyway, I read somewhere that Lee Young Ae was chosen as the lead because she can memorise those gruelling, medical lines.
Well, I wouldnt know if Kim Hyun-Joo can do the same thing.

[djanggum]

[glow=yellow,2,300]kiparang- i did watch glass slippers and i loved it. but KHJ is more "suited" for the role in the Adventure in seeking a million, because she has a bright, fresh, and comical personality in real life. She seems to be simple minded and cheerful... Glass Slippers was one of my favorite dramas back then... ^^* [/glow]

[glow=white,2,300]We can't say that KHJ """missed""" the biggest hit of her career. How can we say that, when we haven't even seen KHJ play the JG role??? People say that DJG became popular because of LYA. Maybe and maybe not, right? So that means that the drama could have been AS popular with KHJ in it, or it could have not been as popular. All I can say is: LYA did a wonderful job playing her role, and KHJ also did a wonderful job in playing her roles in her dramas. [/glow]


[glow=red,2,300]oh, and i also preferred KHJ in the Adventure in Seeking A Million, because KHJ's key point in her beauty is her beautiful smile, and since she took the role as an optimistic girl in the drama, her image turned out to be more natural She said that it was easier for her to act in the Adventure in seeking a million because she could just be herself and memorize the lines. [/glow]

[kiparang]

Hanbok and Djanggum, around the time time preparations were being made for making of DJG, Kim Hyun-joo was far more successful in her dramatic roles than Lee Young-ae was in hers. The role of Janggeum was offered first to KHJ. It was only after she turned down the role that it was offered to LYA.

I think KHJ is one of the most versatile Korean actresses of her generation. She can play any role, period. If I understand correctly, "Miss Kim's Adventures in Seeking a Million" was her first comic role and she did a splendid job there, too.

Djanggum, I did not simply say "the greatest opportunity of her career". I said "probably the greatest opportunity of her career." Because we, or rather I was/am not sure.

The producers and the director of DJG are not dummies:they are veterans and have uncanny ability in gauging people's talents or they wouldn't have been in charge of such a big production. And they knew that the best actress for the role of Janggum was KHJ.

But of course, the question of whether KHJ could have turned in better or worse performance than LYA is rather academic now. We are here because of our love of Korean dramas and movies and we want to have a little fun discussing our favorite shows, don't we? ;D

[djanggum]

wow kiparang, i take it that you are a big KHJ fan?

I just dont like it when people say that some other actress probably missed a great oppurunity in her career just because the drama was popular, and the actress starring in the drama rose to a top star because of the drama. It makes it seem like LYA did not do a good enough job or something And I'm pretty sure if KHJ is a talented actress, she will be a top star by proving her talents, no matter how good/bad the drama might be *


I'm sorry I just got a little offended when you said that the producers knew that KHJ was the best actress for the role. Now come on, we don't know what the producers really think, do we....I think KHJ became popular after starring in Glass Slippers, right? Well, now LYA is more popular than KHJ, but I don't think it's only because of DJG... She is in lots of commercials, and she was the Oxygen Lady before DJG, does anyone remember? She was kind of like the "CF Queen"I guess ^^*



My "theory" as to why KHJ rejected the offer is this:

I think that no actor/actress wants to have the same image forever. Since Sangdo and Daejanggum are both historical dramas, if KHJ casts in both, the viewers will think of the drama as a "Sangdo 2." For example, if LYA casted in a historical drama right after she casted in Daejanggum, the audience would always think of the "Janggeum" image instead of focusing on the drama plot. I think that the producers of DJG asked KHJ to cast in DJG, because they had already worked with her, and was probably pleased with what she has done. I'm not sure if they think that she is the best. After all, I'm not a mind reader They asked LYA to cast in "Suh Dong Yo" (the next historical drama)with Jijinhee, but LYA turned down the offer, just like KHJ had. I'm sorry-- is this making any sense at all? Anyways, that's just my opinion.

[kiparang]

Djanggum, I admit that I am a big Kim Hyun-joo fan although she is not the only Korean actress I admire;there are a couple of others. I was totally blown away by her beauty and performance when some years ago I saw her for the first time in "Sangdo(the Merchant Prince)," a 2001 MBC historical drama. In the drama she played the role of a woman called "Danyong, " a most enigmatic person who initially seemed to be one of many adversaries to the male lead Yim Sang-ok, the legendary 18th century merchant. Her tragic romance with Yim was one of the most beautiful and heart-breaking love affairs ever portrayed on the screen, well, at least to me, who have seen my share of dramas and movies.

I actively looked for her dramas and movies and found her performance in 2002 SBS drama "Glass Slippers" equally moving. And the 2004 SBS drama "Miss Kim's Adventure in Seeking a Million" was very funny. But although I greatly admire her I do not praise her every performance blindly;for example, I was not very much impressed with her performance in a couple of earlier movies although she looked lovely in them.

Since starting this thread I spent some time surfing the Internet looking for information on Kim Hyun-joo and Lee Young-ae and found many interesting tidbits on these two beautiful ladies.

I found, for example, that Lee Young-ae who is older than Kim Hyun-joo by seven years started her dramatic career in 1993 and played roles in various dramas and movies. But her performance never wowed anybody and by early 2000s it seemed that she was concentrating more her career as a CF model, where she was a huge success, than on her dramatic roles.

In contrast, Kim Hyun-joo started her dramatic career in a minor role in a 1998 MBC drama and got noticed immediately for her beauty and engaging performance as a young hooker. She kept getting bigger roles and finally in 2000, within two years of her debut, she got the starring role of 'Duggy' in the 70-episode SBS drama "Duggy." She was much praised for her performance as a long-suffering and kind young woman who goes through various adversity but eventually finds happiness(a somewhat Janggeum-like heroine, I would say.)

Her next role of 'Danyong' in the above-mentioned historical drama "Sangdo" wowed many viewers(including me) and obviously deeply impressed its director Lee Byong-hoon, who later wanted to cast her for the main role in the epic drama "DJG." KHJ next starred in "Glass Slippers," in which she played the role of 'Sun-woo,' an amnesiac orphaned girl who, although she later turns out to be an heiress of a big conglomerate fortune, gets into all kinds of trouble from young age. The 2002 drama "Glass Slippers" was one of the most successful dramas ever, and by now KHJ was regarded as one of the top actresses in Korea: very talented and popular.

While MBC was planning the epic drama "Daejanggeum" and thinking of casting Kim Hyun-joo for the role of JG, SBS was planning an even more ambitious project, dramatization of "Toji," the Korean literary giant Park Kyong-ri's epic novel. Now the 10-volume novel "Toji" is something like Korea's own "Gone with the Wind" and the role of its Scarlett O'Hara-like heroine 'Seo-hee'(beautiful and haughty and heiress of vast land) was a role coveted by many ambitious actresses.

Although "Toji" eventually had similar length(52 episodes vs. DJG's 53) it had longer planning period than DJG, and the role of "Seo-hee" was generally regarded as very challenging one because the heroine was not always likable(like Janggeum) and has to go through facial and physical transformation from a young woman of early 20s to a mature woman of late 50s. (LYA's JG covers the age of late teens to late 40s, but its producers early decided, probably for viewer appeal, that her facial complexion does not change very much.)

Thus it happened tjat both MBC and SBS wanted the same actress for the mega project each was planning. I do not know how much MBC offered to KHJ, but SBS eventually offered one billion one(slightly more than one million US dollars), an unheard-of amount of money for a dramatic role at that time. I don't know the exact time and the details of each negotiation, but the choice was probably very easy for her. A dramatically challenging role and a vast amount of money, plus the fact every educated Korean knows about Park Kyong-ri's masterpiece while no has heard about a woman named 'Daejanggeum.'

While preparing for "Toji," she finished a smaller project called "Miss Kim's Advenure in seeking a Million, " in which she admirably played her first major comical role. Funny thing is, in the drama she meets for the first time Ji Jin-hee, her male lead, whom she would have met in DJG if she had taken the MBC offer.

The drama "Toji" was very successful and KHJ received kudos for her wonderful performance. Its ratings received 30 percent but never the phenomenal 50 percent, which "DJG" reached.

LYA received half a billion won(slightly more than half a million US dollars) for her role as JG. But more important, she received international accolade for her performance and finally a recognition that she is more than a pretty face who earns lots of money as a 'CF Queen.'

[djanggum]

WOAH I never knew KHJ received one million dollars per show. are you sure that is correct? hmm...

Actually KHJ used to be my favorite actress So I agree with you on her beauty talent, etc.
But now I think I will have to side with LYA because her popularity keeps building on no matter how old she is. She was voted number one in korea for the celebrity who maintained his/her popularity. First she starts out as a model for magazines, (starting from 4TH GRADE ), then plays, then CF Queen, then Daejanggum, then Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, stepping on the red carpet at the Venice Film Festival, being one of the judges at the Toronto International Film Festival (i think, it was one of the three biggest ones in the world..), being the representative Louis Vuitton model for Asia (wow) and now she has a contract with Korea's leading brand- LG I admire her efforts and I've watched almost every single one of her interviews- she remains to be humble despite of all the attention that she is getting.

About MBC and SBS wanting to cast KHJ... I really think that it is because KHJ did a nice job in Sangdo. They wanted to cast KHJ to endorse their drama so that all the KHJ fans would watch it. The same thing happened with LYA. After shooting DJG, she received so many invitations to cast in so many dramas that she had to reject every one of them and ssay that she needed a break. Also with a drama called "Spring Day." They luckily casted an actress who was EXTREMELY popular 10 years ago, Ko Hyun Jung. The drama turned out to be a waste of time, but on the first show, the ratings were already at 30%! It was because many people wanted to see Ko Hyun Jung after such a long time, and also JJH (who also casted in the drama) after watching DJG.

^^^^ They wanted to do the same with KHJ. It wasn't really about her talents, in my opinion, although I admit that KHJ is a good actress... Every producer wants money and popularity in the drama/movie, and they will cast any actor/actress that will enable them to have it...

[newhere]

hi kiparang.. juz wondering in yr opinion why didnt Toji became as successsful as djg, since greater planning and budget was involved? Also was it being shown at the same time as djg in korea ie circa end 03 till early 04? In addition, am I right that LYA won Best Actress Award in 2004 for her protrayal as djg? Would appreciate if you can reply. Thanks.

[djanggum]

newhere- you are right LYA did win the Best Actress Award for playing the role as JG. ^^ Haha. Her speech was memorable because she took the time to thank every single person who helped her and her speech was very LOOONNNGGG

[lifan]

the only thing I would say, being a big fan of both Miss Kim's Adventures and DJG is that I found Ji Jin Hee and KHJ to have much better chemistry than JJH with LYA. They were really natural together. Regarding KHJ vs. LYA. I have no comment so maybe I shouldn't have post... but I do want to let you know that I enjoyed KHJ's performances in Miss Kim. When I've exhausted what I have compiled for JJH, I will check out Glass Slippers.

[kiparang]

Hi, Newhere. In the cutthroat ratings war among the three major Korean broadcating companies which broadcast more than 100 dramas per year. 20 percent is regarded as 'successful.' 30 percent as 'very successful' and 40 plus as 'phenomenal.' When the drama reaches 50 percent it becomes a 'Kukmin'('National') drama. It seems that you come across a 'Kukmin' drama once in every two or three years. "Hur Joon" was one, "Daejanggeum" was one and, if I remember correctly, "My Name Is Kim Sam-soon" was one, too. Besides planning, budget. players' performance and other factors, 'luck' plays an important part. And it looks as if the whole Korean nation gets into a kind of frenzy over the drama. It would be a marvelous feeling for all people connected with production of the drama series.

It seems, however, that SBS planned "Toji" drama as a 'prestige' project, that is, a project that is specally planned to enhance the broadcasting company's prestige. From the very beginning SBS decided not only that the drama will have the usual stuff for a mega project, that is. a lenghy planning period, a big budget and top people in every department but also a prestigious script. a well-written script based on a major literary work.

Park Kyong-ri, Grand Dame of modern Korean literature, wrote her masterpiece over 25-year period(1969-1994). The 21-volume saga covers the life of a noblewoman who was born to vast land fortune and lived during probably the darkest period of Korean history from the last years of Chosun Dynasty through Japanese Colonial Period(1910-1945) to Korean War(1950-1953). 'Seo-hee,' the noblewoman is beautiful but arrogant, and a very complicated person, unlike Janggeum. Sometimes you really hate her.

For this prestige project, SBS also decided that it would not be swayed by ratings. Well, not too much, anyway. ( Korean dramas are notorious for their tendency to be influenced by ratings and viewers' opinions reflected on their websites.) That's why SBS pre-shot twenty out of 53 episodes.

Fortunately, the viewers' reception was very good. The ratings were 25 percent overall and reached the coveted 30 percent during the later episodes. Because of its longer planning and pre-shooting period, the series were broadcast from December 2004 to June 2005, a lot later than DJG(Sept. 2003 to March 2004) So the two drama series never competed with each other directly.

Not only Kim Hyun-joo but also several cast members received accolades for their terrific performances. You could say that SBS was very satisfied with end results of their prestige project.

As for the other of your questions, newhere. Yes, you are right, partly. For her performance in Daejanggeum LYA got the grand prize in acting in 2003 awarded by MBC. Each of the three major broadcasting companies has its own award ceremonies at the end of the year. It seems that MBC gave the award to LYA even before the end of the drama.

Now, welcome to the thread, lifan. I am glad that you like KHJ's performances. She is a remarkable actress, really. She is definitely underrated here in the United States, maybe because few of her dramas have been shown here. Yes, I agree with you:both KHJ and JJH were marvelous in "Miss Kim's Adventure." I saw the drama because of KHJ but now I like JJH, too. You know what? In real life, KHJ is a down-to-earth and straight-forward person, and very likable. Like JJH. So the two would make a very good couple. It's a shame that JJH is already married. ;D

Djanggum, sure, a million dollars are lots of money. But making a drama series in Korea is a most gruelling process. You sleep only three or four hours a day. Almost without a holiday for two or three months on end (for a 20-episode series, that is, and a lot longer for 53-episode series.) In all kinds of weather. Do you know what kinds of hardship the cast of "Winter Sonata" went through while filming it? Or the cast of "Emperor of the Sea?"

So most people, when they achieve success, try to stay away from a drama series. Like Jang dong-gun, and Bae Yong-joon, although the latter returned to it recently. Because they could make money far more easily in movies and endorsements. A while ago BYJ received a cool million dollars for endorsements from a Taiwanese company. And a lot more from Sony.

By the way, the record amount of money for the female lead(20 million won per episode) set by KHJ was broken by Son Ye-jin, another marvelous actress, for her role in the drama "Alone in Love(Yonae Sidae) early this year. It was reported she received at least 25 million won(slightly more than 25,000 dollars) per episode.

Goodnight, everybody.

[newhere]

Thank you kiparang for yr detailed reply. It must have been not-so-good-luck for Ms KHJ to opt for Toji instead of djg..and for djg to become such a phenomenal success.. I wld probably understand how you feel if i am a KHJ fan like you..Anyway i'll put Toji in my to-watch list even though i am abashed to say that i have never heard of this drama before until you mentioned it here.

[djanggum]

In my opinion, I think it was good luck that KHJ played the role in Toji. If she casted in Daejanggum, then she probably would have needed some rest, like LYA did. Kiparang- you are right about the amount of effort it takes. LYA had to work for 54 episodes in DJG, like KHJ. She was stressed under the popularity of the drama and had to work even harder to maintain it. She even cried in her car at times because it was so cold and difficult... Anyways, since the main character in Toji had a complex character, it must have been difficult to play the role, and since KHJ is considered as a notable actress to many people, she must have been one of only a few to be able to do the job successfully. I guess my point is that if KHJ had not played the role in Toji, the drama would not have been popular because of a lack of a good actress... People say that actors/actresses improve greatly in their acting skills after playing a role in a historical drama. I think it's true KHJ and LYA both improved after casting in Toji and DJG. (Adventure in Seeking a Million & Sympathy for Lady Vengeance) Therefore I don't think that anyone should have pity on KHJ because she probably missed a great oppurtunity, because she is still popular, and it was her decision to reject the offer. Pity does not change the past, and I feel that there is no need for it, because KHJ is still a great actress, and she has plenty more oppurtunities ahead.

I think that regreting KHJ's decision about rejecting the role of DJG does nothing to help KHJ's popularity, but it seems as if LYA did not do a good enough job in playing the role of JG.
It also seems like KHJ's decision (which probably dealed with lots of thinking) is disregarded...