Kim Hyun-joo vs. Lee Young-ae

[kiparang]

Yes, Djanggum, it was KHJ's own decision to choose "Toji" over "Daejanggeum." She has none but herself to blame if she missed what may turn out to be the greatest opportunity of her career. But she has not shown any regret over her decision, and she seems to be quite happy that "Toji" was very well received. Anyway, she is a very optimistic person, and still quite young. We, fans of KHJ and LYA, should be very happy that both "Toji" and DJG turned out very successful.

Besides, as I said in the beginning, I started this thread to have some fun discussing 'what ifs' in connection with this marvelous drama series. ;D

[hello kitty]

Actually, I think the character "Won Hay" is similar to the character "DJG". Both encounter difficulties in their lives yet managed to overcome without losing their own selves and their persistance, kind-hearted personalities.

I haven't watched too many K-dramas, but "Glass Slippers" and "DJG" are my favorites...
watched "Glass Slippers" first, then became addicted to it then "DJG" came along...I sorta forgot "Glass Slippers" and turned addicted to "DJG".

Anyways, I think both KHJ and LYA are talented actresses and are both of their fans

[passerby]

kiparang said:

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.

Hi there, it's been a long time since I last set my foot on this board. Good to see that lively discussions are still going on here.

Just to provide a couple corrections to what you said:

1. KHJ was *not* more popular than LYA before DJG. You will find my words to be correct if you just ask around your Korean friends. In fact, this leads to my second point..

2. LYA was not offered the role of DJG first *not* because she's less popular or suitable for the role than KHJ, but because top stars like LYA are usually reluctant to accept a role in historical dramas as they're too long and physically challenging. So when the director and writer made the offer to LYA, they didn't expect her to accept it, but she did to their delight and surprise. (I'm quoting what they said in their interviews)

I do think though KHJ is a good actress and she would have done a decent job if she had been cast as JG. But I suppose the whole drama would have felt quite different.

[mill]

kiparang,i have searched the net too and i think it is unfair to say that Lee Young Ae's early dramatic career never wowed anybody. It's true that her first tv role didn't pan well with the critics but she have received various awards and prizes, which i never saw in any of KHJ's profile (or are her profiles incomplete?). Here are LYA's awards, if you bothered to research more before making a sweeping statement: 1994 SBS Best New Actress, 1995 Popularity Prize,1996 MBC Outstanding Actress, 1997 SBS Best Actress, 1998 SBS Best Actress, 1999 KBS Drama Awards Popularity Prize, and of course, the more commonly known 2004 MBC Grand Prize for Drama. Her first film was admittedly a flop but, she redeemed herself with her role in the box office hit Joint Security Area in 2000. Then in 2001, she won as Best Actress for One Fine Spring Day in the Pusan Film Critics Award. And in 2005 she won as Best Actress in the Sitgest Int'l Film Fest and also in the Blue Dragon Awards for her breakthrough performance in Sympathy for Lady Vengeance. I have no comment, however, regarding KJH or her acting because i haven't seen any of her work, though i know she has acted in 7 dramas and 4 films in the past. As for the what ifs for the role of Jang Geum, well, I have only to look into Young Ae's eyes and know that she is Jang Geum personified.

[DJG Fan]

LYA = DJG

No matter what...LYA embodies the character of Jang Geum. LYA did an excellent job and rightly so ...everyone in Asia adores her very much for being Jang Geum!

LYA really deserves all the accolades and a huge round of applause! A job well done

LYA is extremely loveable and the sweetheart of many asian people...in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

[kiparang]

Thank you, everybody, for bringing this thread back alive. I started this thread to have a little fun discussing what ifs of this great drama. Seems that we are back in business.

First of all, mill, I am very sorry to say this but LYA did not "redeem herself with her role in Joint Security Area," as you claim. In fact, JSA was a big commercial and artistic success 'despite LYA's presence in the movie.' Her performace in the movie has been almost universally panned around the world.

I will quote a couple of the reviewers in the imdb.com, the popular international movie website.

"The only flaw I can offer is the clear mis-casting of Lee Young-ae as the neutral major..."(Jang Il-jun from Boston, MA)

"The character Sophie was totally unnecessary as I found her part to be a big nuisance."(Peter07 from Seoul, Korea)

"The performances by the lead actors were excellent. It is a pity I cannot say the same about Lee Young-ae...(Akira-36 from New Zealand)

But LYA's acting ability must have improved a lot after JSA because she got good reviews for her role in "One Fine Spring Day." and last year's "Lady Vengeance."

Passerby, I do not retract my earlier statement that KHJ was more popular than LYJ around the time "DJG" was in the planning stage. At that time she was far more 'bankable' in dramatic roles, at least than LYA. After all, all of the three dramas she starred in("Duggy," "Sangdo" and "the Glass Slippers" were a big success. especially "the Glass Slippers."

It is no wonder that she was director Lee Byung-hoon's first choice for the role of Jang-geum. He directed her in "Sangdo." and found out in person that she is a superb actress. (It was also in "Sangdo" that I began to wonder about this beautiful actress who had 'Garbo-like' aura.) Obviously, to the director Lee and DJG producers, the role of Janggeum was tailor-made for KHJ because it was somewhat similar to the role she played in "Glass Slippers" and "Duggy." That is, the role of an optimistic young woman who tries to find success and happiness in life despite many obstacles.

But as I said earlier, KHJ opted for a far more challenging (and financially lucrative) offer from SBS: the role of the heroine of the literary masterpiece "Toji," a beautiful and haughty aristocrat who lives the darkest years of Korean history.

To tell you the truth, I don't know whether LYA was even the second choice after KHJ rejected the role of Janggeum. She was not in a drama series since 2000. And she seemed kind of too old to play the role of a heroine who is a young kitchen maid during at least half of the 54 episodes. I am pretty sure that the director/producers felt some 'risk' casting LYA in the role.

Anyway, the role eventually went to LYA. But during the first half of the series, if you remember, LYA was not the most popular player of the drama: Yang Mi-kyung(Han Sang-kung Mama) was. It was only after death of Han that LYA became the most popular player.

I am not saying all this to downgrade her performance. In fact, I came to like her after watching "DJG." And I am happy that "DJG" and LYA are very popular in Asia and other countries around the world. I just want to contribute correct information to this thread.

By the way, I have many friends in the Korean entertainment industry. In fact, I was the senior vice president of a medium-size entertainment company(movie production/import of foreign films) in Korea for about five years before moving on to the publishing world.

[passerby]

kiparang said:

Passerby, I do not retract my earlier statement that KHJ was more popular than LYJ around the time "DJG" was in the planning stage. At that time she was far more 'bankable' in dramatic roles, at least than LYA. After all, all of the three dramas she starred in("Duggy," "Sangdo" and "the Glass Slippers" were a big success. especially "the Glass Slippers."

You also need to take into account other fields such as film and TV commercials when you assess the popularity of a star (at least in Korea). As you mentioned, LYA was absent from TV dramas since 2000, but by 2003 she had grown big in the film market after the huge hit of JSA (it's a fact that JSA boosted her reputation as a film actress big time, regardless of the controversy over her acting in it) and firmed her status in the film industry through the moderate successes of her subsequent films. More importantly, she was literally the hottest star in the TV advertisement market during that time, a crucial indicator of a star's popularity in Korean entertainment world. In fact, even before 2000 when LYA had her last TV series before DJG, she was still more popular than KHJ.

I don't know the exact details of how the casting was done (no one does, in fact), but precisely because of her absence from TV for the past few years, the casting of her in DJG became a hot issue. I remember reading somewhere that casting of the rest of the roles, which the producers were having difficulty with, went smoothly after LYA was cast in the leading role (an advantage you get when you have a big star cast in the drama).

You can find evidences in the biennial poll for the most popular actor/actress conducted by Lee's PR, a renowned marketing and research firm in Korea. I couldn't find all the records that I had once seen, but here are a couple of tables for the year 2000 and the first half of 2003 (before DJG):

cfs6.blog.daum.net/upload_control/download.blog?fhandle=MDh3Y2xAZnM2LmJsb2cuZGF1bS5uZXQ6L0lNQUdFLzEyLzEyMDEuanBnLnRodW1i&filename=1201.jpg

www.leespr.co.kr/data/¿©ÅÅ03.bmp

and a news article on the poll result for the 1st half of 2001:

news.naver.com/news/read.php?mode=LSD&office_id=020&article_id=0000058521§ion_id=102&menu_id=102

You can see that KHJ is missing from all of the above lists, while LYA has consistently remained in the top ten. In fact, I'm kind of surprised that you are not aware of these results (or the general public's sentiment, for that matter), having actually worked in the Korean entertainment industry yourself.

[kiparang]

Now, passerby, I don't know where you got this weird idea that Kim Hyun-joo was "not" director Lee's first choice for the role of Janggeum. Nearly everybody in the industry knows. Even I , who left entertainment business many years ago and now live in the U.S., know it . And some of the general public in Korea know it because it was reported by a couple of reputable daily newspapers around the time "DJG" began to gain popularity in Korea. (At that time I was staying in Korea for about a year.)

To refresh my memory I googled in Korean "Kim Hyun-joo, Dae Jang-geum" and found out there was an article after all these years that says KHJ "kosa-haedda" the Daejanggeum offer "because of previous commitments." Now "Kosa-haedda" suggests KHJ was offered not just once but several times and each time she declined politely or even pled to be excused. It seems that Director Lee and DJG producers were absolutely convinced that they needed KHJ's participation for success of "DJG." Indeed, why not. About the reasons for their belief I explained enough times already.

If you are not still convinced I do not know how to continue this dialogue. If you live in Korea, ask any knowledgeable person in the industry or an insustry news reporter or the Korean version of Askjeeves or Korean Dear Abby or whomever. Come back after that.

As for "KHJ's being more popular than LYA, I retract it. I did not say it in the original statement. I only hinted that KHJ was highly regarded acting ability-wise. She debuted in 1998 and within two years she got her first starring role in a drama. After that no one in the industry have ever doubted her acting ability. Which was not the case with LYA, who, though she was older by seven years and debuted in 1993 and was a big CF queen, had ups and downs in acting department. No wonder that LYA was considered only after that KHJ declined the offer.

By the way, the same article I googled out tonight regarding KHJ and Daejanggeum also reports that Kang Seong-yon, KHJ's actress pal, also declined the role of Keum-young and the role went eventually to Hong Rina. Kang Seong-yon is the actress who recently got big because of her role as Yonsan-kun's concubine in "the King and the Clown."

[passerby]

kiparang said:

Now, passerby, I don't know where you got this weird idea that Kim Hyun-joo was "not" director Lee's first choice for the role of Janggeum.

You seem to have misread my post. I did not deny that KHJ was offered the role of JG before LYA. I was only refuting your statement that KHJ was more popular than LYA at the time of DJG's casting (or ever).

I did say this: "I don't know the exact details of how the casting was done (no one does, in fact)" because there were a few different rumors about who else were offered or considered for the role other than LYA, some of which were denied by the director. It seems to me no one really knows the truth 100%, as is the case with most affairs in the entertainment world anyways.

kiparang said:

As for "KHJ's being more popular than LYA, I retract it. I did not say it in the original statement.

I wouldn't have entered the discussion if you hadn't said it. Anyways, good to know that you take it back. I was just pointing out that it wasn't true, that's all.

[young joo kim]

hey! I'm Korean, who live in England, and i saw her film lots of times and it not that fun you know...
palace story is much more fun ~~~~~~~~

[Irene]

i only want to all people remember,this case is same with Kim Hee sun,but now is Kim Hyun-joo.
for you all to know,a long2 time ago kim hee sun was the frist decision actress play in endless love but she regret it,and Song Hye gyo the new commer is come to broadcasting area,and i belive you know,Song Hye gyo became the famous actress in that area,

and for the other exemple same.Kim Hee Sun,you know Winter Sonata ( bae Yong jun,Choi Ji woo ) YES! Kim Hee sun is the frist actress decision to play Winter sonata but she regret it,and you know because winter sonata,right know we hear about "KOREAN WAVE" the main actress and actor is so famous. and how about kim hee sun?finaly she can play good drama ( Sad Sonata ).
and the last is Smile Again with Lee Dong gun

but it only exemple for this case,maybe when we think back,what will happen when Kim hee sun play all the big hit drama?are the drama is will big one?who know????or maybe we never hear about korean wave,and korean drama not be super fenomenal.for you to know korean drama right now is very global,and for the korean actress to.

so i think plzz don't judge anyone before you know the end.like you say about Ms Lee Young ae,when she play at DJG.maybe for the KHJ fans i knwo your feeling,known your actress cancle play the big hit drama.such as DJG.but for the KHJ fans will you guaranted if KHJ play in DJG she will BETTER than Ms Lee Young ae???you don't know right?
or maybe DaeJangGeum can't be national drama...oh yes i remember Dae jang geum is the favorite China President drama.

and the FACT is Ms Lee Young ae play in Dae Jang Geum is very Good,maybe superable.when she can remember all the medcine or the recepie.and for her acting you know?its very good.for the actress before it was retired in showbiss ( darama,movie ).

and maybe for think ...
Dae Jang Geum is Ms Lee Young ae....~i belive you all hear about it BECAUSE of Ms Lee Young ae,Dae Jang Geum like this.
soo?

but for the KHJ,if you belive you can better play than Ms Lee Young ae,soo....proff it!
don't look back .... why i don't play became Dae jang geum,or if i play i will be like Ms Lee Young ae right know "famous".don't be like that,
but proff it you can better,maybe with your next drama or you get a some spokeperson product.because some product will never recruit not good actress,like her personality,because became spokeperson is became the product.it presented.

so....PROFF IT!

[kiparang]

Contrary to some lay persons' belief that the matter of casting remain shrouded in mystery, the industry insiders almost always know what is going on, expecially in big projects like Dae-janggeum. Success of their own projects, thus their survival in business, depends on casting right persons so they are constantly on alert on availability of appropriate stars and other lesser actors/actresses.

The selection process does not depend on so-called popularity poll and the industry insiders have their own strict standard: the star's acting ability and their own gauge of his or her real popularity, which in many cases is quite different from the popularity poll. (The popularity poll is very often swayed by frequency of the star's appearance on TV commercials.) That is why DJG director and producers very much wanted Kim Hyun-joo in the first place, and why SBS offered to her an unprecedented amount of money for a dramatic actress for "Toji"(a cool one million US dollars.) (Shim Eung-ha, the popular and enigmatic actress and the first choice for the poject retired unexpectedly a year or so before.)

If the star of first choice declines the offer, in many cases it is because of prior commitment to other projects or it is because he/she thinks the project is not appropriate for him or her. Or the monetary payment is not sufficient or in some cases he/she thinks he/she is incompatible with (or even dislikes) the opposite
lead.

But generally there is no shame in being the second choice because you never know what the project might bring eventually. I heard the same is true in Hollywood.

Some industry insider recently documented the first and the second choice(or the third choice) of various major drama series in recent years. And I excerpted the portions that the US crowd may recognize. (The first one is the star of first choice.)

"Winter Sonata" Kim Hee-sun>Choi Ji-woo

"Emperor of the Sea" Han Jae-suk> Song Il-kook

"Damo" Lee Jung-jin>Lee Seojin, Lee Seo-jin>Kim Min-joon

"Daejanggeum" Kim Hyun-joo>Lee Young-ae

"My Name is Kim Sam-soon" Choi Jin-sil>Kim Sun-ah
Han Ye-seul>Jeong Ryeo-won

"The Immortal Yi Sun-shin" Jung Joon-ho>Kim Myung-min

"Summer Scent" Kim Hee-sun>Son Ye-jin

"Autumn in My Heart" Kim Hee-sun>Song Hye-kyo

"Full House" Jung Woo-sung>Bi
Jeon Ji-hyon>Song Hye-kyo

"Miss Mermaid" Chae Si-ra>Jang Seo-hee

"Toji" Shim Eun-ha>Kim Hyun-joo

"Super Rookie" So Ji-sub>Eric Moon

"Lovers in Paris" Bae Yong-joon>Lee Jung-jae>Park Shin-yang







"

[LeSLie]

Hi kiparang. Seems like whatever comments the other people will post here you will defend your side remarkably.

To stop this (whatever this may be), LYA is LYA and KYJ is KYJ. But for these past years, I have TO proven myself that LYA is the best among the veterans or should I say one of the best. If you search the hancinema website in the news section, LYA is the 3rd MOST Bankable Star in Korea as voted by 12 Most Influential Producers in the industry. I also think that when you go to Korea right now and ask people roaming around about who's popular between the two and most respectable between the two, there's no doubt LYA will win.

Kiparang, this endless disscusion won't stop unless you will make a conclusion about this topic.

[kiparang]

LeSLie, I think you somewhat misread me. If you read my posts from the very beginning you will realize that they were never about who is more popular(especially now). I just wanted to correct some boarders' misconception about the DJG producers' original casting intentions.

And also to bring some light to the career of the marvelous KHJ, who has been kind of underrated in the U.S. because all her shows were produced by SBS(except one by MBC). So that K-drama fans here would be encouraged to see her performance if there is a chance. (By the way, the first part of "the Glass Slippers" has just been released by yesasia.com.) That's all.

[kiparang]

Eight Who Made a Big Breakthrough in Career through a Drama in Which They Were not the First Choice.
(Please see my posting on July 29 containing the first/second choice list.)

Lee Young-ae("Daejanggeum"):Everybody knows how LYA, whose acting career was controversial, if not moribund, made a big splash through DJG and went on to become a super star all over Asia.

Choi Ji-woo("Winter Sonata"):This pretty lady who was about to call it quits because her career was going nowhere got her first break in the drama "First Love" and went on to star in the popular drama "Beautiful Days". But her really big breakthrough came when she starred instead of Kim Hee-sun in "Winter Sonata" which was a smash hit all over Asia and particularly in Japan where it was insanely popular and opened a new chapter between Korea-Japan relationship. It brought her fame and fortune(huge endrosements for Korean and Japanese
corporations and one big French cosmetic company.) According to a recent Japanese poll, she is now the most popular Korean among the Japanese, ahead of "Yon-sama" Bae Yong-joon, who seems to be hated by Japanese males as much as he is loved by Japanese females. ;D

Kim Myong-min"(The Immortal Yi Sun-shin"): Kim who toiled in minor roles year after year finally got a big, big break with the role of the most beloved military figure in Korean history after the popular Jung Joon-ho("I married the Mafia" and other hits) declined the offer. The Chicago crowd knows well what a remarkable performance Kim put in in the drama.

Song Il-kook("Emperor of the Sea"): A late-comer to the entertainment business, Song got a really big break when Han Jae-suk("Glass Slippers" and "All about Eve") had to leave abruptly for military service. Song got very, very popular in the role of Yeommun and soon after was cast in the role of Jumong in the mega-drama "Jumong". This historical series is currently the most popular drama in Korea, having reached the coveted 40% in ratings.

Son Ye-jin("Summer Scent"):Son made an impressive debut in the drama "Delicious Proposal" at the tender age of 19. But it was in "Summer Scent" that she made a deep impression on the Koreans' national consciousness wth her sweet and chaste persona. She leapfrogged to two superbly made movies "The Classic" and "A Moment to Remember." in which she acted brilliantly. She was paid the record-breaking 25 million won per episode for the recently concluded drama "Alone in Love." She is one of the brightest stars right now not only in Korea but in whole Asia in terms of beauty, acting ability and popularity.

Song Hye-kyo("Autumn In My Heart" and "Full House"):Song first attained stardom with "AIMH", the drama which attained great popularity all across Asia, really the first Hallyu(Korean Wave) drama. In "Full House" she showed the viewers including me what a marvelous actress she is. In both dramas and "Winter Sonata" Kim Hee-sun was the first choice. For god's sake, what was KHS thinking?

Jang Seo-hee("Miss Mermaid"):This pretty actress was a successful child and juvenile actress but did not get a break with an adult role, suffering all kinds of humiliation, until she reached thirty. "Miss Mermaid", in which she was the second choice and in which she put in marvelous peformance in the role of a young woman determined to avenge on her father and his second family for the wrongs he inflicted on her and her mother who was shocked into blindness when abandoned by him, was a 100-plus-episode daily drama whch mesmerized Korean (and later, Chinese) viewers night after night. Enchanted Chinese have kept offering big bucks ever since for starring roles in various dramas.

Jang Nara("Success Story of a Bright Girl"):Can you think of a simple country girl with quaint accent(think Ozark) who has a big dream of becoming a brave princess in shining armor on a beautiful horse and rescuing a handsome prince in distress? That is what Jang Nara is in the drama set in present-day Korea and she alternately outraged and charmed the male lead and the viewers so much that it has catapulted this multi-talented plain girl into super-stardom. Not only in Korea but also in China where she is huge.

Well, there may be others but that's all I can think of right now.