Actor Joo Won talked about the huge popularity of his drama “Yongpal” in an interview with local media outlets Thursday. As of Thursday, the SBS drama in which the actor plays the lead character, along with actress Kim Tae-hee, hit its all-time high rating of 20 percent viewership.
“There’s a delightful atmosphere (on the set) thanks to the increasing viewership,” said Joo Won with laughter, adding, “I’m glad that the drama’s garnering popularity, yet I feel a big burden at the same time as I’ve got to meet the viewers’ expectations.”
The 27-year-old highlighted that the staff and the cast are trying hard to be sure the production measures up to the viewers’ heightened expectations.
“Yongpal” is a medical drama featuring a resident doctor who falls in love with a beautiful patient in a coma, entangled with a corporate family feud.
The star-studded drama starring Joo Won, Kim Tae-hee and Jung Woong-in airs Wednesdays and Thursdays on SBS at 10 p.m.
Model-turned-actress Stephanie Lee has garnered attention as Shin Sa A, the VIP client manager in "Yong Pal." The role is an emotionally nuanced one, which Lee brilliantly delivers with a mix of aloof sarcasm and detached beauty. While other members of the medical staff appear equipped for emergencies, she looks like she stepped off of a runway or is ready for a night on the town.
Born in Boston, Lee intersperses English words with Korean, during her screentime in the series. This lends credibility to Sa A, a character who studied medicine in Seattle before providing curated services to the Korea's wealthiest citizens.
Sa A imparts a unique angle into the drama, as a woman who is responsible for cultivating the personality and style of Kim Tae Hyun (Joo Won). While most K-Dramas feature grand makeovers involving geeky women, "Yong Pal" demonstrates that there are instances when men could use the assistance of a stylist.
The Korean publication Money Week recently profiled the rising star, whose name topped real-time searches after she appeared in the third episode of the medical drama. "Yong Pal" serves as the second role for the 22-year-old actress, who debuted in the jTBC teen drama, "Seonam Girls High School Investigators."
While she embraced a youthful spirit for the teen series, Lee delivers a chic image that is closer to her fashion-driven background for "Yong Pal."
She debuted as a model in the competitive New York market. Her credits including modeling for high-end brands like Louis Vuitton, Chanel Lanvin, and Dior. The emerging actress is currently represented by YG K Plus, a subsidiary of YG Entertainment.
Joo Won spoke up on behalf of his "Yong Pal" co-star Kim Tae Hee at press conference for the drama. The press conference took place on August 20 in Seoul.
"Yong Pal" can be considered a success as the ratings for the medical drama continue to outpace those of any other weeknight drama. Ratings reached as high as 20.4 percent on August 11, making it one of the few dramas to earn such positive domestic ratings in 2015.
And yet Kim Tae Hee's acting in the role of the imprisoned heiress Han Yeo Jin has been the subject of criticism. She played an heiress in a medically induced coma for the first few episodes but once her character woke up the criticism began. It even prompted her agency, Lua Entertainment, to issue a statement to the Korean media outlet OSEN.
"Kim Tae Hee is trying hard to show a different side of herself than she did in the past. You can say that she is completely absorbed in her new character Han Yeo Jin. She's trying to let herself go and act as naturally as possible."
At the press conference Joo Won was asked how he felt about the criticism levied against his co-star. He defended her, saying that her acting was heartfelt and he did not understand why people were criticizing her.
"I can't judge Kim Tae Hee's acting but as a partner it was very upsetting to continue to hear things like that and I felt bad."
He went out of his way to comfort her.
"When critical articles about her came out I called her to comfort her. She was very worried about the fifth episode because the percentage might drop due to her fault."
The ratings did not drop. The fifth episode reached 18 percent and the sixth surpassed 20 percent.
"I told her she shouldn't worry. I told her the percentage would make her feel confident again. So I told her the result was because of her and it was all thanks to her efforts."
Both Joo Won and Kim Tae Hee were less than successful with their last dramas. His drama "Tomorrow Cantabile" reached 8.5 with the opening episode and then later dropped as low as 4.9 percent. It was one of his rare ratings failures. Kim's last drama did rate as high as 11.4 percent but she was criticized for her acting.
"She's just like any other actress; she works hard," said Joo Won in defense of his co-star. "There might be times when she's not perfect but the same goes for all the others. This is the first time I had criticism about my partner. It wasn't a good feeling."
What do you think about Kim Tae Won's performance in this drama?
According to KdramaStars, the people behind the comic City Conquest accused Yong Pal of plagiarism. However, it…
"Yong Pal" is facing allegations that the popular drama is plagiarized from the long-running comic, "City Conquest." On August 28, representatives for the production team at HB Entertainment addressed these claims, categorically denying that the SBS medical drama is based on the comic.
In a report published by the Korean outlet Daily Sports, a spokesperson for the production refuted the allegations. "Claims that 'Yong Pal' plagiarized the comic 'City Conquest' ignore that the drama has just a small cross-section of the [subject]," said the representative for HB.
Plagiarism claims have dominated Korean Drama headlines, throughout the past year. In January 2015, the webtoon writer behind "Jekyll, Hyde and I" accused the screenwriter of "Kill Me, Heal Me" of stealing the idea to craft a character dealing with multiple personalities. The allegations were notable due to the fact that the series ran simultaneously, with "Kill Me, Heal Me" receiving critical acclaim and a larger portion of ratings than "Jekyll, Hyde and I."
The allegations against "Yong Pal" may also be attributed to its success. Representatives for "Yong Pal" cited the high ratings of the show, in the article published by Daily Sports.
"Suspicions of plagiarism are just attempts to ruin a drama that is doing well," said the spokesperson for HB Entertainment.
"City Conquest" is an on-going Korean comic that was released in 1996. In 2013, the comic was tapped to serve as the source material for a drama starring Kim Hyun Joong. However, the series was dropped by KBS and was not picked by another network, after the initial content was deemed too violent to broadcast. "City Conquest" did not receive another opportunity to air.
Daily Sports noted the differences between "City Conquest" and "Yong Pal," as provided by HB Entertainment. Several points were made by the production company, including the emphasis that "Yong Pal" is the result of written works by Jang Hyeok Rin, who was responsible for the OCN series, "Reset."
According to the article, there are numerous plot devices that are present in "City Conquest" that do not exist in "Yong Pal" including the a storyline involving Japanese gangsters and a supernatural incident involving a 10-year-old child.
Meanwhile, "Yong Pal" continues to yield the highest ratings of a weeknight Korean drama since the success of "My Love from the Star," which also faced accusations of plagiarism, when it aired in 2014.
It was revealed that the actor Joo Won lost seven kilograms (approx. 15.4 pounds) in weight since the beginning of the filming for the drama “Yong Pal.” According to an official related to the drama division, Joo Won’s weight loss is extremely noticeable.
This unintended weight loss comes from the intense filming schedule for the drama, as Joo Won appears in about 70 percent of the scenes from episode one to episode 10, which means he barely has any time to rest.
So far, Joo Won has been in the sewers, showed some amazing driving skills in a chasing scene involving cars, and jumped in the Han river from the top of a bridge, and all of these scenes have been done without a stunt double. His efforts resulted in scenes of comparable qualities to movies, but also resulted in his weight loss, as he had once gone for six days without sleeping.
His dedication has everyone admiring his professionalism, but we hope that he will also take care of himself as well!
“There’s a delightful atmosphere (on the set) thanks to the increasing viewership,” said Joo Won with laughter, adding, “I’m glad that the drama’s garnering popularity, yet I feel a big burden at the same time as I’ve got to meet the viewers’ expectations.”
The 27-year-old highlighted that the staff and the cast are trying hard to be sure the production measures up to the viewers’ heightened expectations.
“Yongpal” is a medical drama featuring a resident doctor who falls in love with a beautiful patient in a coma, entangled with a corporate family feud.
The star-studded drama starring Joo Won, Kim Tae-hee and Jung Woong-in airs Wednesdays and Thursdays on SBS at 10 p.m.
Born in Boston, Lee intersperses English words with Korean, during her screentime in the series. This lends credibility to Sa A, a character who studied medicine in Seattle before providing curated services to the Korea's wealthiest citizens.
Sa A imparts a unique angle into the drama, as a woman who is responsible for cultivating the personality and style of Kim Tae Hyun (Joo Won). While most K-Dramas feature grand makeovers involving geeky women, "Yong Pal" demonstrates that there are instances when men could use the assistance of a stylist.
The Korean publication Money Week recently profiled the rising star, whose name topped real-time searches after she appeared in the third episode of the medical drama. "Yong Pal" serves as the second role for the 22-year-old actress, who debuted in the jTBC teen drama, "Seonam Girls High School Investigators."
While she embraced a youthful spirit for the teen series, Lee delivers a chic image that is closer to her fashion-driven background for "Yong Pal."
She debuted as a model in the competitive New York market. Her credits including modeling for high-end brands like Louis Vuitton, Chanel Lanvin, and Dior. The emerging actress is currently represented by YG K Plus, a subsidiary of YG Entertainment.
"Yong Pal" can be considered a success as the ratings for the medical drama continue to outpace those of any other weeknight drama. Ratings reached as high as 20.4 percent on August 11, making it one of the few dramas to earn such positive domestic ratings in 2015.
And yet Kim Tae Hee's acting in the role of the imprisoned heiress Han Yeo Jin has been the subject of criticism. She played an heiress in a medically induced coma for the first few episodes but once her character woke up the criticism began. It even prompted her agency, Lua Entertainment, to issue a statement to the Korean media outlet OSEN.
"Kim Tae Hee is trying hard to show a different side of herself than she did in the past. You can say that she is completely absorbed in her new character Han Yeo Jin. She's trying to let herself go and act as naturally as possible."
At the press conference Joo Won was asked how he felt about the criticism levied against his co-star. He defended her, saying that her acting was heartfelt and he did not understand why people were criticizing her.
"I can't judge Kim Tae Hee's acting but as a partner it was very upsetting to continue to hear things like that and I felt bad."
He went out of his way to comfort her.
"When critical articles about her came out I called her to comfort her. She was very worried about the fifth episode because the percentage might drop due to her fault."
The ratings did not drop. The fifth episode reached 18 percent and the sixth surpassed 20 percent.
"I told her she shouldn't worry. I told her the percentage would make her feel confident again. So I told her the result was because of her and it was all thanks to her efforts."
Both Joo Won and Kim Tae Hee were less than successful with their last dramas. His drama "Tomorrow Cantabile" reached 8.5 with the opening episode and then later dropped as low as 4.9 percent. It was one of his rare ratings failures. Kim's last drama did rate as high as 11.4 percent but she was criticized for her acting.
"She's just like any other actress; she works hard," said Joo Won in defense of his co-star. "There might be times when she's not perfect but the same goes for all the others. This is the first time I had criticism about my partner. It wasn't a good feeling."
What do you think about Kim Tae Won's performance in this drama?
In a report published by the Korean outlet Daily Sports, a spokesperson for the production refuted the allegations. "Claims that 'Yong Pal' plagiarized the comic 'City Conquest' ignore that the drama has just a small cross-section of the [subject]," said the representative for HB.
Plagiarism claims have dominated Korean Drama headlines, throughout the past year. In January 2015, the webtoon writer behind "Jekyll, Hyde and I" accused the screenwriter of "Kill Me, Heal Me" of stealing the idea to craft a character dealing with multiple personalities. The allegations were notable due to the fact that the series ran simultaneously, with "Kill Me, Heal Me" receiving critical acclaim and a larger portion of ratings than "Jekyll, Hyde and I."
The allegations against "Yong Pal" may also be attributed to its success. Representatives for "Yong Pal" cited the high ratings of the show, in the article published by Daily Sports.
"Suspicions of plagiarism are just attempts to ruin a drama that is doing well," said the spokesperson for HB Entertainment.
"City Conquest" is an on-going Korean comic that was released in 1996. In 2013, the comic was tapped to serve as the source material for a drama starring Kim Hyun Joong. However, the series was dropped by KBS and was not picked by another network, after the initial content was deemed too violent to broadcast. "City Conquest" did not receive another opportunity to air.
Daily Sports noted the differences between "City Conquest" and "Yong Pal," as provided by HB Entertainment. Several points were made by the production company, including the emphasis that "Yong Pal" is the result of written works by Jang Hyeok Rin, who was responsible for the OCN series, "Reset."
According to the article, there are numerous plot devices that are present in "City Conquest" that do not exist in "Yong Pal" including the a storyline involving Japanese gangsters and a supernatural incident involving a 10-year-old child.
Meanwhile, "Yong Pal" continues to yield the highest ratings of a weeknight Korean drama since the success of "My Love from the Star," which also faced accusations of plagiarism, when it aired in 2014.
This unintended weight loss comes from the intense filming schedule for the drama, as Joo Won appears in about 70 percent of the scenes from episode one to episode 10, which means he barely has any time to rest.
So far, Joo Won has been in the sewers, showed some amazing driving skills in a chasing scene involving cars, and jumped in the Han river from the top of a bridge, and all of these scenes have been done without a stunt double. His efforts resulted in scenes of comparable qualities to movies, but also resulted in his weight loss, as he had once gone for six days without sleeping.
His dedication has everyone admiring his professionalism, but we hope that he will also take care of himself as well!