Wow...next year's sageuk dramas all about female rulers...interesting...will definitely tune into them and see how it goes!

I don't think SBS will have much hope if the dramas are going head-to-head. Their casting just isn't strong enough, JRW just isn't that strong an actor, plus it's sageuk.

yay! i'm happy to hear she's returning to the screen (given her cushy holdings, there's definitely less of an incentive for her to continue working unless she really enjoys it). i'm also excited to see chae shi ra and ryeo won back.

I'm looking forward to the next KBS weekend saguek starring Chae Shi-ra. I think King Sejong kinda lost me when the show featured a Anti-aircraft Grid System using firecrackers. I'm not kidding. There's fusion, and then there's "okay, that's just stupid." My mom and I LOL'd. :D

"who becomes one of the prominent heroines of Shilla times"

Die you Shilla pig!! I will rip out your livers and boil them in a vat of boiling oil!! <-- something like this was actually said by the Last Princess of Paekche, Sung Yu Ri, from 1000 Years of Love. Everytime when I think of the Kingdom of Shilla, I actually see an ex-member of FinKL flipping out and slaying a random stranger.

"I don’t think SBS will have much hope if the dramas are going head-to-head. Their casting just isn’t strong enough, JRW just isn’t that strong an actor, plus it’s sageuk."

I think the programming schedules will have Princess Ja-myung (SBS, February) and Ilimae (MBC, January) competing with each other. I'm guessing MBC won't be running 2 sageuks simultaneously, so Queen Seon-deok will probably run no earlier than March and for 60-80 episodes long term. Has the casting been completed yet?

I'm really surprised Go Hyun-jung isn't being cast as Seondeok. That's a big, big role, and I would be really surprised if the budget for this saguek doesn't exceed Yi San and rival East of Eden. Presumably, you'll have to cast another A-list for Seondeok part, one who has the presence and national reputation to play the first queen of Shilla.

Yoon Eun Hye, come on down!! :D *runs away from angry mob*

The first time I saw her, I thought she was Kim Junsu's sister.
I think their eyes and smile are similar.

Yea, I love sageuks. And with strong women roles? Bring it on.

One of the very few sageuks I've had my interest piqued hearing about.

i was so excited until i realized that is was going to be 50 episodes. come on. That's soooo many.

so many freaking sageuks.......

jung ryeo won in a sageuk?
is that a first too?

I think JRW's acting is pretty strong. I thought she was excellent in My Name is Kim Sam Soon.... just my opinion.

I LOVE Go Hyun-Jung and am so glad she is in another drama!
I dislike Jung Ryeo-won very much and can't understand how she can be cast in a lead role. She does not have good acting abilities.

"jung ryeo won in a sageuk?
is that a first too?"

Yeah, but this is a SBS fusion sageuk, and so like Iljimae and other SBS fusion sageuks, they'll be skewed toward a much younger, less serious audience (i.e. trendy romance in costumes.) The story will be a triangle between Jung Ryeo Won, Park Min Young, and Jung Kyung Ho (HELLO FELICITY!!) This is supposed to be based on a manhwa, but uhhh these "adaptations" haven't really stuck to the original yet. I'm looking forward to this one because I like JRW and JKH, and this one should be super-romantic. Just no invisibility cloaks please. :)

I really like her I hope to be able to check this one out

"The story will be a triangle between Jung Ryeo Won, Park Min Young, and Jung Kyung Ho (HELLO FELICITY!!)"

LOL. I hear ya, belleza! :) (gosh, am I the only odd one here who likes and appreciates Jung Kyung Ho? What?...I do *not* have weird taste in actors! *runs away*) Okay, I'll admit. I have a soft spot for underdog, second fiddle characters who may not be as "strong, handsome and smart" as the leading man, but are lovable in their own right and try their darnest anyway to win over the Gal to no avail (WE TRY HARDER! that's the motto for second male leads, heh!) - and Jung seems to be perpetually stuck in these roles because sadly, he doesn't have enough of a pretty face... or erm, manliness that most korean actors have. (But Jung's effeminate, sensitive charms would fit in SO well in jdorama land, don't you think belleza?! :) ) However, this new dramas sounds iffy to me....becoz 1) fusion sageuks are not really my thing and 2) Jung Ryeo Won as the main female lead - of a saeguk? Are you serious? She is really annoying to watch, tends to overact and mug excessively in front of the camera. We definitely need an actress with more subtle acting skills than her, someone who has the charisma to pull off a larger than life saguek heroine. But then again, if Sung Yuri's 'turning point' was Hong Gil Dong, who's to say that Jung Ryeo Won wouldn't achieve a similar breakthrough eh? ;)

@Felicity,

"Jung Ryeo Won as the main female lead - of a saeguk? Are you serious? She is really annoying to watch, tends to overact and mug excessively in front of the camera."

Oh I love Jung Ryeo Won! She's A LOT like my friends were in high school (even down to the psuedo-bullimia heh heh . . . sigh :( ) One way you can tell between Asian and Asian Americans/Australians/Whatevers is that the latter has the "OMG you are such a dork!! Get away from me!! DORK!" look, and the former has the "oh I see, so you like to put a straw up your nose. Haha!" look. Jung Ryeo Won does "OMG!!" at Binnie and Kim Rae Won through like half of her scenes in Sam Soon and What Star Are You From. She can't help it. She may have lived in Australia for a few years, but Australia hasn't left her. Belleza would love to do OMG!! with So Ji Sup. You know, cultural exchange. (I think the male equivalent is that Asian boys go "Hello, how are you? *smile*" whereas AZN boys go "Hey girl wassup wit you tonight?" *cocks head to side and sneers*" Or if you're Edison Chen, "Hey girl, wanna make a movie tonight?" *looks over shoulder to make sure he's escaped Triad hitman* ;) )

Normally, I'd agree with JRW and sageuks, and she's also known to struggle with her pronunciation from time to time. But SBS fusion sageuks tend to be really, really uhhh "not serious." :D (Only SBS would have aired something like 1000 Years of Love.)

"(WE TRY HARDER! that’s the motto for second male leads, heh!)"

Jung Kyung Ho: "Uhh, in this script, it says I have to be a mama's boy. An adopted mama's boy with a heart condition."
Writer: "That's right."
Jung Kyung Ho: "Sigh. Well at least I can eat this month."
Writer: "That's right. Now back in the line of Second Male Leads."
Jung Kyung Ho: "You know, I AM good looking. And I can sing. I have this smile. See this smile? C'mon writer, give me a shot."
Writer: "But are you manly? Fail!!"
So Ji Sup: "Don't worry. I die in every show I do. When you thnk about it, I am the Jeebuz of Second Male Leads. I die for your sins."

"But Jung’s effeminate, sensitive charms would fit in SO well in jdorama land, don’t you think belleza?! :) )"

Unfortunately, I can't imagine Jung Kyung Ho with shoulder length or 3-foot high hair (in Japan, your virility is defined by how your hair defies gravity or resembles a 80s Beauty Pageant contestant!) To me, his perfect fit is a HK drama. You know, handsome and good at wearing sunglasses with a toothpick in your mouth.

OMG. belleza, your zany posts are such a treat! :-)

"One way you can tell between Asian and Asian Americans/Australians/Whatevers is that the latter has the “OMG you are such a dork!! Get away from me!! DORK!...Jung Ryeo Won does “OMG!!” at Binnie and Kim Rae Won through like half of her scenes in Sam Soon and What Star Are You From. She can’t help it."

Yeah...tell me about it! I know that "OMG u dork!" look as I've lived in Aussie land for a few years myself. lol, not only Jung Ryeo Won is guilty of it, but Han Ye Seul too. :) I see what you mean. Their western-influenced 'In-Your-Face-ness' is kinda amusing and refreshing in a korean setting. (But it makes them more suitable to play certain exaggerated characters, imo). It's almost as fun as seeing Daniel Henney trying to get through to Kim Sun Nah speaking entirely in english and her replying in faux-french in KSS. Cultural exchange. Heh.

"Belleza would love to do OMG!! with So Ji Sup"

So Ji Sup: "So, wanna run away with me tonight?"
Belleza: "OMG! You get away from me...you, you, dirty stinking..Hobo!!"
So Ji Sup: Stares into the distance for 5 full seconds, with a Meaningful Hurt Face that shows Untold Suffering.
Belleza: "aww, c'mere....let me kiss away your pain and make it better".
So Ji Sup: *Traces of a smile slowly forming on his lips. Gazes intently into Belleza's eyes*
Belleza: *melts. melts.melts*

"I can’t imagine Jung Kyung Ho with shoulder length or 3-foot high hair (in Japan, your virility is defined by how your hair defies gravity or resembles a 80s Beauty Pageant contestant!) To me, his perfect fit is a HK drama. You know, handsome and good at wearing sunglasses with a toothpick in your mouth."

Yeah, that's true. JKH doesn't have the right hair to pass off for a JE boy, lol. You may be right that his clean cut looks and smaller frame would fit in HK dramas more. Timely too, HK dramas are sorely lacking in new male talents these days. None of the new actors have Chow Yun Fat's macho coolness, Tony's intense suaveness or Leslie's flirty sexiness. Thank god for Lee Jun Ki. He fits right in with Korea, Japan AND Hong Kong! :)

yey! Ms. Go in a new drama. Can't wait!!!

she's the best candidate to play Mishil...superb actress!