Re Kim Sung Soo post 40 ... you can see him in Can We Love. Since he only recently turned 40, there's not much work from him yet in this age group. I loved his character in this drama even though the drama itself isn't all that great. It's okay, worth the watch if you like KSS!
There's also a family drama called My Precious You. I think he was still in his (late?) 30s, but I loved him in this role. He was so wonderful and sweet! He played a struggling single father who was at his wit's end trying to care for his kids while dealing with his crazy, unstable ex-wife. Awww, he just melted my heart here. This is where I truly fell in love with him as a man, not really as an actor (because like I said before he doesn't have much range even though he does his best).
I also really want to try Suspicious Family, but apparently it's only available in the US, on Hulu.
Lee Byung Hun despite his recent troubles will always hold a special place in my heart. Though Nameless Gangster and Ha Jung Woo spurred my launch into dramaland, LBH hooked me unto Korean cinema long before that with A Bittersweet Life in the early 2000s and again with I Saw the Devil in the late 2000s.
He will remain one of my top Asian actors forever. I love his intensity and his ability to immerse himself into his roles. He has those incredible 'actor's' eyes that sucker punch you in the chest every time. These days, his post 40 days, Lee's focus seem to be on conquering Hollywood. I wish he'd just do that on the side every once in a blue moon and focus on roles that showcase his full potential. We all know those roles will not originate in biased Hollywood.
I love Kim Sung Soo as well although he's an actor without much range.
Bæ Yong Jun, I haven't seen that much of his works, but from the few of his movies I've seen all the hype surrounding him doesn't seem undeserved.
It's been more than a year since this premiered :( Time flies and I miss this drama.
Yes, but with 108 episodes that's a huge time investment that I don't want to waste if someone ends up dead, dying or separated (which they always do, esp in historicals).
Ahjumma, I don't know who the heck you are but big up on the 'bad boy' recs. Those are some of my all time favs.…
Omo, if you know of others similar to the titles above, please do share! It's hard to find dramas with good bad boys. The ones where the characters have depth and complexity, and aren't just bad for the sake of being bad.
A few others I enjoyed: Cheap Love, Que Sera Sera, Golden Empire (not a romance), Time between Dog & Wolf.
Ahjumma, I don't know who the heck you are but big up on the 'bad boy' recs. Those are some of my all time favs. They surely made a good girl like me go bad cuz I freakin' love all of those naughty boys! haha
If he failed the damn bar how can he still practice law??? Isn't there any rule or order in South Korea???
Ok, fair enough. I stand corrected. But do you know if the same is true in South Korea? I don't think we should assume their system is anything like in America. I wasn't planning on watching this drama, but maybe I will now just to find out how exactly he became a lawyer or if he's really a lawyer at all. After all, synopsis writers have been known to mislead unsuspecting readers.
If he failed the damn bar how can he still practice law??? Isn't there any rule or order in South Korea???
According to the synopsis he's a consultant and 'labour attorney'. If he's an attorney I'm guessing he has to have some sort of license to practise, which means he had to have passed the bar. I know for sure Korea has it (the bar exam) so either the person who wrote the synopsis doesn't have a clue or something about this story ain't right. I don't plan on watching this show to find out, though.
There was a time when I vowed never to watch this series. I mean nobody loves men more than I do, but this whole 'OMG! OMG! My whole life revolves around the man of my dreams!' bs ... no woman should base her very existence on any man. It is a very bad idea.
I try to judge each retelling of a story on its own merits, but it's difficult not to compare this version to the Taiwanese version so forgive me. When I started the Taiwanese version, I was fully prepared to hate Kotoko/Xiang Qin. I mean just how do you take a woman like this seriously?
The beautiful thing about the Taiwanese version, however, was how they executed the story. Interestingly, as the character developed they slowly chipped away at my prejudice so that by the end not only did I freakin' love her, I respected her a lot too. Yes, she was a boy crazy, day dreaming ditz, but she was also quite resourceful and determined in whatever she set her mind to.
This Japanese version was all kinds of funny and cute, and I did like the supporting cast here a lot better, but it left something to be desired. The T-version was more emotionally satisfying. I was more convinced of Zhi Shu's love for Xiang Qin. Even though it wasn't beyond him to act like a jerk from time to time, I was never in any doubt that he loved the girl like crazy. Most importantly the power dynamics in the relationship became a little less skewed.
I had no such feeling in Love in Tokyo. And Naoki, while he did become a bit more expressive in later episodes, it wasn't enough for me. I didn't get that all consuming, feel-good kick in the heart feeling. I in fact spent a lot of time being righteously indignant on Kotoko's behalf. This just might be a cultural thing, the Japanese's tendency toward non expression, esp of romantic feeling, or the lead actor's inexperience at role making or both. Overall, I'm glad I watched it. It wasn't perfect, but it was good enough.
You can watch it on hulu.com if you install Hola, the free vpn extension on Chrome and put the US as your 'viewing from' country. That's how I've been able to watch it with subs. One thing to be aware of if you decide to use this method, you might feel overwhelmed by all the ads. I use ad blocker plus but it doesn't seem to work on this site.
She was absolutely not awful in Lovers!
Though people accused her character of screaming too much (that was not my impression), she portrayed the character with a lot of ... well, character. She was funny, pragmatic, sweet and strong when she needed to be. I loved her in Lovers.
Now that that's out of the way, can we please do something about the current pic? She looks so old and plastic here. Please change it.
He is AWESOME in Golden Bride! And a wonderful voice! very talented man!
I dropped by here to write the very same thing, but it's like you took the words right out of my mouth! Golden Bride is by far one of his best roles to date!
1 
There's also a family drama called My Precious You. I think he was still in his (late?) 30s, but I loved him in this role. He was so wonderful and sweet! He played a struggling single father who was at his wit's end trying to care for his kids while dealing with his crazy, unstable ex-wife. Awww, he just melted my heart here. This is where I truly fell in love with him as a man, not really as an actor (because like I said before he doesn't have much range even though he does his best).
I also really want to try Suspicious Family, but apparently it's only available in the US, on Hulu.
He will remain one of my top Asian actors forever. I love his intensity and his ability to immerse himself into his roles. He has those incredible 'actor's' eyes that sucker punch you in the chest every time. These days, his post 40 days, Lee's focus seem to be on conquering Hollywood. I wish he'd just do that on the side every once in a blue moon and focus on roles that showcase his full potential. We all know those roles will not originate in biased Hollywood.
I love Kim Sung Soo as well although he's an actor without much range.
Bæ Yong Jun, I haven't seen that much of his works, but from the few of his movies I've seen all the hype surrounding him doesn't seem undeserved.
A few others I enjoyed: Cheap Love, Que Sera Sera, Golden Empire (not a romance), Time between Dog & Wolf.
I try to judge each retelling of a story on its own merits, but it's difficult not to compare this version to the Taiwanese version so forgive me. When I started the Taiwanese version, I was fully prepared to hate Kotoko/Xiang Qin. I mean just how do you take a woman like this seriously?
The beautiful thing about the Taiwanese version, however, was how they executed the story. Interestingly, as the character developed they slowly chipped away at my prejudice so that by the end not only did I freakin' love her, I respected her a lot too. Yes, she was a boy crazy, day dreaming ditz, but she was also quite resourceful and determined in whatever she set her mind to.
This Japanese version was all kinds of funny and cute, and I did like the supporting cast here a lot better, but it left something to be desired. The T-version was more emotionally satisfying. I was more convinced of Zhi Shu's love for Xiang Qin. Even though it wasn't beyond him to act like a jerk from time to time, I was never in any doubt that he loved the girl like crazy. Most importantly the power dynamics in the relationship became a little less skewed.
I had no such feeling in Love in Tokyo. And Naoki, while he did become a bit more expressive in later episodes, it wasn't enough for me. I didn't get that all consuming, feel-good kick in the heart feeling. I in fact spent a lot of time being righteously indignant on Kotoko's behalf. This just might be a cultural thing, the Japanese's tendency toward non expression, esp of romantic feeling, or the lead actor's inexperience at role making or both. Overall, I'm glad I watched it. It wasn't perfect, but it was good enough.
Though people accused her character of screaming too much (that was not my impression), she portrayed the character with a lot of ... well, character. She was funny, pragmatic, sweet and strong when she needed to be. I loved her in Lovers.
Now that that's out of the way, can we please do something about the current pic? She looks so old and plastic here. Please change it.