Tag: Korean dramas

One of my favorite Korean actresses Lee Young-ae has been recognized by the First Lady of Uzbekistan:

Lee Young-ae, one of Korea’s most famous actresses, has received a letter of gratitude from the first lady of Uzbekistan recently in recognition of a favor she did for Uzbek television viewers.

According to her agency, Ziroatkhon Hoshimova, the wife of Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, thanked Lee in the letter in June for helping provide “Saimdang, Memoir of Colors,” a big-budget K-drama she starred in in 2017, for free broadcast in Uzbekistan by donating the copyright.

The first lady wrote that she was “very pleased to hear about Lee’s role” in helping the soap opera’s broadcasting in Uzbekistan.

She called Lee’s action “a beautiful one” and that it is “more meaningful in the time of COVID-19 pandemic.”

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

While Kim Jong-un is busy hanging out with a K-Pop group his security apparatus in North Korea is busy sending people to labor camps for listening to K-Pop or watching Korean dramas:

Youngsters are being sent to labor camps in North Korea after being caught secretly watching South Korean entertainment ― including movies and soap operas ― according to sources familiar with Pyongyang.

The sources said the authorities were cracking down on clandestine viewing of South Korean media amid fears that it will harm the Kim Jong-un regime’s “ideological purity.”

The young people still risk being sent to re-education labor camps for using illegal memory cards for entertainment.

“Those who are caught are sent to youth labor-reform centers and kept there for about a year for re-education,” a source said.

In his New Year’s address, Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un underscored that “a vigorous struggle should be waged to tighten moral discipline throughout society, establish a socialist way of life and eliminate all kinds of non-socialist practices, so as to ensure that all the people, possessed of ennobling mental and moral traits, lead a revolutionary and cultured life.”  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but does anyone think that President Moon or anyone else in South Korea will speak out against this or just pretend it isn’t happening?

Via a reader tip comes this story of a Korean drama supposedly promoting Islamaphobia:

New Korean comedy-drama Man who Dies to Live has caused an uproar among netizens who have accused it of misusing Islamic values and portraying a false image of Muslims in its scenes.

According to yonhapnews.co.kr, the drama, which has been broadcasted on MBC TV since July 19, tells the story of Jang Dal-goo who travels to a fictional country in the Middle East, gets rich, receives a “count” title and then becomes a citizen under the name of Saeed Fahd Ali.

He later returns to Korea to reunite with his long-lost daughter and her husband.

The actor who plays the main character of Jang Dal-goo, Choi Min-soo, appears as a stereotypical Arab man by wearing thawb, headscarf and black robe.  (……..)

“That drama is sharing the wrong image of Islam and Muslims in general. It’s a total piece of garbage,” wrote Twitter user @mayssemgh, who also created a series of tweets on why MBC should not air the drama.  [Asia One]

Here is my favorite quote in the article:

“It’s literally just ruining Islam’s image and making fun of Muslims.”

I would say mass terrorism, ISIS, Al Qaeda, suicide bombings, oppression of women, slave markets, beheadings, etc. have done a fine job of ruining Islam’s image well before this stupid drama ever aired.

Hit South #Korean TV show Descendants of the Sun has brought in direct & indirect economic effects of ~ $880 million https://t.co/FCYiMfaX5X

— KEI (@KoreaEconInst) April 29, 2016

South Korean broadcaster MBC released these photos on Feb. 17, 2016, featuring U.S. talk show host Conan O’Brien shooting a cameo appearance for Korean drama “One More Happy Ending” a day earlier. O’Brien is on a five-day trip to Seoul from Feb. 15 to set up a collaboration project with JYP Entertainment chief Park Jin-young. (Yonhap)

Lee Young-ae fans will soon have a long awaited new drama to watch that she will be staring in.  It is hard to believe that it has been 12 years since she starred in “Jewel in the Palace”:

Hallyu star Song Seung-heon says he never dreamed he would co-star with top actress Lee Young-ae.

“I was so nervous that I made a lot of mistakes” Song told a press conference at Seamark Hotel in Gangenung, Gangwon Province on Monday. The eastern province will feature in many scenes for the upcoming drama “Saimdang, the Herstory.”

Lee will play Sin Saimdang (1504-1551), a painter from the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910) who is better known as the mother of Confucian scholar Lee Yul-gok (1536-1584). Lee will also play a double role as a modern woman, a college lecturer in art history.

The drama has been much anticipated since she starred in “Jewel in the Palace” (2003).

For her part, Lee said she wants to bring out Saimdang as a real figure, not one that is etched in the Korean 50,000 won note.

“I chose this drama so we could tackle what it means to educate children, and to look in-depth into what women’s lives entail,” Lee said. [Korea Times]

You can read the rest at the link.

https://twitter.com/dramafever/status/669213980506755072

https://twitter.com/dramafever/status/644590648868233216