If nothing else its got the eye candy for sure.
Yoon Kye Sang & Lee Sun Gyun ...
I'll watch an episode or two just for them...
honestly though I'm not really interested in the plot from the description I read.
But I hope its better than I think it will be.

to be honest, I thought this was a bioflick for Kim Yana.

Maybe they're airing a special beforehand?

And call me pessimistic but Min Hyo-rin as a lead just does NOT sit well with me. It's like the drama is the Eiffel Tower missing one leg. I hope it doesn't crash!

I love Yoon kye sang so much
Opha is THE BEST^^

I am so looking forward to Triple. On the other hand, I don't want to be disappointed. Like you JB, I have to keep my expectations in check as well. Can't wait to see Lee Jung Jae in this series. I was not too thrilled with Air City...not because of Lee Jung Jae's acting but Choi Ji Woo just could not pull off her role in that drama. I was expecting her to cry buckets in the suspense/action scenes.

Crossing fingers and toes that Triple will have all the right elements to being a successful drama.

I have a strange feeling looking at these first images, like a crystal vase fell to pieces on the floor.
A kind of dull noise...
I was thrilled a few weeks ago, when I read that Lee Jung-jae had joined the cast.
Now, I cross my fingers, so the plot is really interesting, because if it is a disappointment...
It would be really hard for me to bear.
In the time ahead.

i'd rather have Kang Ji Hwan than Lee Jung Jae but if Yoon Kye Sang's in it, it's got my attention for sure. I dun have much liking for the female cast though so that makes it very iffy for me. we'll see how......

it's LSK & YKS at the end! :D:D:D
frankly, i'm going to watch this for both of these guys :p
before, when KJH was was still casted, my reasons for watching was 'triple'd indeed :p

but the pics of MHY aren't that bad either.
so here's to hoping that the drama will be to my liking :)

i think Kim Yuna will laugh at this drama.

I have a very difficult time with sports movies and/or sports dramas. It is one thing to say, "Actor X is a CEO of a well-known conglomerate" or "Actress Y is the director of international development for a global company." The actors can get into their roles without too much worry whether they know what they are talking about, so long as they can pronounce the words. I'm not looking for accuracy so much, and the slightest bit of care by the writers to ensure SOME plausability in the script is really all I ask for.

But when actors and actresses play sports figures, the bar for me is set much higher. I can probably name a half-dozen films off the top of my head where the actor/actress was supposed to be this great sports figure, and it was paintfully obvious that it was not the case, and the movie failed at least in part because of it - Wimbledon (Kirsten Dunst), Tin Cup (Kevin Costner), Mighty Ducks (Emilio Estevez), Mystery Alaska (Russell Crowe), White Men Can't Jump (Wesley Snipes), For The Love of the Game (Kevin Costner, again).... sports acting done poorly is very embarassing to watch, and it totally detracts from the movie.

And this was the case in the k-drama, My Girl, where one of the main characters Kim Sae-hyun apparently wins a prestigious professional tennis tournament and becomes the darling of the Korean sports world. But in the tennis scenes, she's basically hitting all her balls from the middle of the tennis court (no man's land... was she not strong enough to hit them from the baseline???) and generally the tennis was embarassing for me to watch. Why even show her on the court? (My Girl is one of my favorite dramas, no question, but the tennis scenes were just terrible, and very distracting for me. This should give you some idea of how good My Girl was, because it is still a favorite of mine DESPITE the tennis).

***

So that brings me to Triple.

The first pic above actually made me excited, because it showed Min Hyo-rin in good form, nice extension and balance. The second pic, however, does not. I hope that pic is just her bowing / waving to the audience afterwords. You can't always tell from stills, but now I am nervous about this drama.

Figure Skating is a lifelong endeavor for participants, and most figure skaters spend their whole lives on the ice. They are more comfortable on the ice then on land. They feel free on the ice, and they feel slow and awkward when not on skates. And those who have been around the sport or have watched the sport know the difference between good skating and bad skating, instantly.

It will be something to see, whether the figure skating aspects detract / distract from the movie, or whether Min Hyo-rin can do an adequate job (with clever editing, of course).

-Samsooki

OMG the last picture!!! I cannot wait and yet...

@sarah
"On the other hand, I’m going to make a concerted effort not to hype up the drama (anymore) until it actually airs. I don’t think I could handle the disappointment. (*sob*)"

I don't think I could handle that, either. I've been trying not to get my hopes up, but I'm failing miserably. It has to be good, dammit!

Hmm, what's the difference between a Wednesday-Thursday series and a Thursday one? Is it important? I think I'm missing some kind of reference here.

@Samsookie. Re: My girl

You know, my problem with Kim Sae-hyun was SO not tennis-related. Whenever she played, I LOLed, though. But I think I get your point! *g* I'm not much of a sport-drama fan, either, but I'll watch Triple for shallow reasons: Lee Seon-kyun, Yoon Kye-sang, who are both excellent actors. Plus, I love the writer and the director.

BTW, I finished My girl yesterday. I liked it, honestly, but the last few eps killed me. It was all angst and we only got like 3 minutes of happily ever after. I feel so cheated! :( I kind of didn't like much, or rather it felt trite and too sugary, the whole sequence in which everybody rooted for Yoo Rin and Gong-chan and knocked some sense into the grandfather. Sae-hyun's sudden change of mind made me frown. Ah well. Nice drama, though.

Wow that's a really good point Samsooki and with plenty of evidence to back it up. I agree with you mostly, but you know with today's technology and some extra careful editing, this shouldn't be too much of a problem. I mean, it's not like the entire cast of the Fast and the Furious are all professional race car drivers.

On a side note: Good thing no one has mentioned Min Hyo-rin's nose yet. Oh wait...

@Kobe
LOL

GAH, I don't want to anticipate this drama as much as I already do. :3 My best friend was a nationally-ranked figure skater before she quit to concentrate on her studies, so I'm a little apprehensive about Triple.. On the one hand, good actors! On the other hand, potentially awful skating scenes. Hopefully they manage to pull it off at least a little, or I might be forced not to watch it by an indignant best friend. >.<;;

YKS looks adorable in that picture.. And that is a HUGE bear MHR is holding. Wth?

oh finally some stills!
I thought I would have to suffer more months w/o some news (heh heh)
But then I looked at them and realized it was a figure skating drama.
I mean I always knew that it was, it just never hit me that it may actually be the main point, and thus, bore me a little since I don't care or know much about figure skating.
oh well, it's still an awesome PD/writer combo...:D

I've said my diatribes already so no more Debbie Downering for me. However, I have to say, generally, riding someone else's wave may appear harmless, but it is bad for that one person who everyone else is exploiting. (and in this particular case it's not only cashing in on her success, but adding more pressure, more expectations, more stress, more burdens on her tiny shoulders) (OK, I'll stop, I swear! No more from me.)

But I have to share these pictures because they obviously ripped the concept off from this

http://tinyurl.com/c4xvoz
http://tinyurl.com/d9sw8v

@12, Sere -

At this moment, My Girl ranks 4th in my favorite dramas list. It got bumped down to 4th because of a drama that my wife and saw and finished this past week. I'll wait til an open thread before talking about what we watched this week.

The tennis in My Girl was really not important at all (she could have been Korea's best chess or best poker player and it would have been the same thing), but they SHOWED her playing tennis, and there was no way she could even win a high school tennis match in the United States.

So I get agitated when I see things like that. Just like, if I were a professional violinist, and I saw a k-drama actor fake-playing the violin and he was holding it wrong and there was no way he could play the violin that way, then I am sure I would be completely distracted from the drama and it would piss me off.

In My Girl, they could have just shown her in the lockerroom or waving after she wins, and NOT show her actually hitting multiple ground strokes about 20 feet from the net, which makes no sense at all unless the balls are being hand fed to her by a person tossing them. And SHE is supposed to be the Sharapova of Korea? How insulting is that to Korean professional tennis players (who are so much better than that), and to Sharapova, and to tennis in general...

***

Anyway, I am agitated and nervous for Triple. I think the groundswell hype and anticipation will make this a very highly-watched drama. And I want it to succeed, and I want it to do well, and I hope the figure-skating doesn't screw it up or distract from the drama.

AND, the fact that Kim Yeon-ah won Worlds this year just makes it that much more of a phenomenon. The drama could NOT have gotten a bigger boost from Kim Yeon-ah's record breaking rampage through the World Championships....but this is a double-edged sword to be true.....

.... so now, of course, Koreans have seen what good figure skating looks like. Just a few weeks ago, Koreans were inundated with replay after replay of the best figure skating has to offer, through the world's best figure skater. And now, what will they see in Triple???

-Samsooki

I wonder if they got real figure skaters to stand in for jumping shots. Oh, we need a triple loop here. Where's the stuntwoman?

I'm more nervous about Triple's acting than the figure skating.(If anyone has seen that lame Disney movie Ice Princess, the skating parts were pretty convincing, no?) I'm not worried about Lee Jung Jae or Lee Seon Kyun. My love for Lee Hana wavers a bit whenever I think about the first few episodes of Women of the Sun (and seeing her smile like that in the third pic reminded me yet again of the unnatural facial expressions she likes to put on sometimes). Yoon Kye Sang while entertaining in WAY didn't really spark any fangirlyness in me. For me, he's lacking in the charisma department. And I don't even know what to expect from Min Hyo Rin. The biggest draw for me here is the director, Lee Yoon Jung. Taereung National Village was fantastic.

yeah, must keep expectations down. if not, cannot concentrate on studies anymore. just want to throw the mouse at the monitor. HAHA.

i just hope that the skating would be convincing enough. love figure skating...think that is one of the more graceful and romantic sports (partners in figure skating are usually husband and wife, like ballroom dancing but that's not a sport)...so if it's handled wrongly, i'd cry.

but i think all would be fine. it may not be smashing hit but it won't be too shabby, considering the director and writer team. coffee prince wor...heard enough rave reviews bout it to hope that triple works.

triple, fighting!

I'm somewhat in agreement with @20 fizzle - the figure skating is not what worries me. I havent watched Taereung National Village (which is actually a sports drama) but after Coffee Prince, I have full faith in Lee Yoon-jung's ability to produce shots that are not entirely ridiculous. Plus IMO (and feel free to disagree with me here), the actual sport in any sports drama isn't that important - the sentiments of hard work, competition, talent, dedication etc etc remain the same. The sport just provides the backdrop, but isn't usually the focus (especially in this, which is being billed as a trendy romantic drama). I'm more nervous about the storyline and to be honest, the abilities of the main actress. I have full faith in the male leads - after all, didn't Yoon Kye-sang practically carry Who Are You? on his own (OK I'm being a tad unfair - Go Ara did a pretty good job, but in the end that drama was all about YKS), and nothing needs to be said about Lee Seon-kyun, but Min Hyo-rin making her acting debut as the lead? Especially when surrounded by such wonderful actors? Talk about diving into the deep end. I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed for her though.

aww...the co-stars are so sweet! im really not into sports dramas at all, but i really love lee hana and lee seonkyun

really looking forward to this... just hope Min Hyorin can really skate >.<

@Liv Re: Yoon Kye-sang in Who are you?

Yes, omg! I mean, the storyline was nice, I liked and cared for the characters and Go Ah Ra was good (Kang Nam Gil is a veteran), but if Yoon Kye-sang hadn't acted the way he did, I wouldn't have been so eager to get past the sillyness of the premise. But then, maybe it's just me.

I really, really hope that the focus of Triple is not the sport, but the love stories.

@Samsooki
Can't wait for tomorrow and the upcoming open thread! *g* Anyway, yes, I so get your point. Ahah, when you mentioned a violinist I immediately thought of Kim Hyun Joong and Boys before flowers. I'm not even a player (like I don't know anything about violins), but one had to be blind not to see there was something foundamentally wrong with his playing.

"chess or best poker player "
You have *got* to stop making me think of things like that. I can't stop picturing her and her expressions in those roles. LOL

But seriously, the point you were making makes total sense. It would've been a lot better if no tennis sequences were shown.

BTW, you mentioned Wimbledon in one of your previous comments, and I thought the tennis sequences of that movie were pretty darn good? It was all CGI...the actors actually never hit any ball, how amusing, but they seemed believable to me and my untrained eyes. I can understand if a pro tennis player gets pissed off, though.

As for Triple, well, I think it was unintentional that the drama is coming out right after Kim Yeon-ah's wonderful performances...so maybe yes, the drama will have more expectations, but for the regular drama viewer, I think it is irrelevant? I mean, granted, now they know what good ice skating is, but -and I speak only for myself- I had expectations waaaayyy before Kim Yeon-ah.

Min Hyo Rin better get used to the comparisons! http://tinyurl.com/dbkl7h

Maybe it's just me, but I feel like Kim Yeon Ah would be a better actress than Min Hyo Rin. This is a bolder, stronger, 강한 expression: http://tinyurl.com/dakqwk

@ndegeocello: After looking at those pictures and seeing a good comparison.. eh... my expectations for Min Hyo Rin dramatically fell... I wonder how it will actually be >.<

But guys, you cannot expect Min Hyo Rin to be just as good as a professional ice skater. As long as she's *believable*, she'll be fine, imho. I mean, that's what suspended belief is there for, right?

"In the drama, Min Hyo-rin’s character is high school student “Haru,” "

Haru?!? PRIDE!!!!

"I mean, that’s what suspended belief is there for, right?"

Figure skating is on another level. You can kinda fake violin playing. You'll pick up the incongruities, but hey at least there's pleasant music and pretty surrounding around. You can definitely fake basketball. You can definitely fake sex from the forbidden pages in the Karma Sutra.

But figure skating? For a whole show? Good luck. And, I'll bet that Luxury Nose will do a spiral sequence in the show in homage to Kim Yeona . . . except a spiral sequence requires a level of balance and dexterity that you ain't going to develop after one year on the ice. So what it'll be? A clip of Luxury Nose pasted onto the ice and dragged along with a mouse pointer?

"I have a very difficult time with sports movies and/or sports dramas. "

I actually think this is the one thing J-dramas do hands and shoulder above every other country on this planet. Even if the sports action isn't the most realistic, the storylines are truly about the sport, all the cliches , fairy tale consequences, and hard luck lessons associated with it. The trick with doing a *great* sports drama is to create a hermetic seal around the world of that sport and its players, and then to run with it, whether it's a cheeky and madcap, or gritty and realistic.

FWIW, you may want to give 9 End and 2 Outs a shot. It's not really a sport drama, but it nicely weaves a little baseball wisdom into insights on 20-something relationships.

@ndegeocello,

"but it is bad for that one person who everyone else is exploiting. (and in this particular case it’s not only cashing in on her success, but adding more pressure, more expectations, more stress, more burdens on her tiny shoulders)"

But to be fair, when you have your nation's politicians using you as a prop for their campaigning, this is probably not such a big deal.

What Triple needs is a Japanese adversary. They might as well raise the spirit of nationalist pride and just do a Luxury Nose vs. Evil Japanese Figure Skater (plus minions) storyline, and then like Rocky 4, have Luxury Nose tell the Russians that we can all be friends. Yo Adrian!

@belleza

Oh, don't even get me started with the sh!t the GNP pulled off. I knew a government ad using Kim Yeon Ah would eventually turn up, but what they shoved out of their asses is utter crap. I was expecting something similar to Pak Se Ri's Evergreen commercial during the IMF crisis, but this: http://tinyurl.com/d92mhq is brainless. I want to know, which dimit(s) in the government came up with this moronic ad?

It's frightening how many people want a piece of Kim Yeon Ah and they will do anything they can to get their grubby fingers on her. The GNP, Korea University, the media, and now the entertainment industry. Not only a drama about figure skating, but even a concert held in her name. One concert used her face to sell tickets and they didn't even ask her permission. They just went ahead and plastered her face all over the posters and called it the Victory Concert to celebrate her victory at the World Championships. The worst part is the concert was held before the World Championships even started, so they were basically saying she should win. Uh, pressure much?

Everybody else is riding the wave, so why not? Those who ride the wave reap the benefits, meanwhile, the girl's shoulders are getting dragged down further and further as more people ride her wave. It's only one more person. Well, it all adds up and you wouldn't know the weight of it all because you're not the one one who has to carry all this crap.

"What Triple needs is a Japanese adversary."

NO. Don't even tempt them. Please do not go there. One of the things I can't stand about Korean culture is this engraved rivalry with Japan. I intend on being amused by the mockery of this drama, but if it pushes for nationalistic pride over the Japanese enemy, then that storyline alone gives me enough reason to hate the whole production and deem it a sh!t drama.

In my previous post in this thread, I did mention about crossing all fingers and toes for Triple to have all the RIGHT elements to being a successful drama.

Guess who hit on that element which could make or break this drama in my opinion? It's Samsooki! :-) And I had thought I could quietly sweep this apprehension under the rug till the series airs and save my comments for later.

@Samsooki. I do get your point. If My Girl had been about Tennis, the entire drama might have been a flop. The question now is : Is Triple all about figure skating? From the looks and the sound of it, it probably is. Now here is where I become a nervous wreck just by thinking about it. Take My Lovely Samsoon or Coffee Prince for examples : it is easy to fake being a professional pastry chef or barista...but then their professions isn't really the theme of the story. Professional sports IS difficult to fake even with extraordinary CGIs and clever editing. In Triple, it's about figure skating and if it is the central theme, people ARE going to be critical about the quality of the skating.

A little off topic but since Samsooki brought up Kim Sae-hyun's non-existent tennis skills and airhead actresses in the last open thread, I might as well add my comments here. For me, Kim Sae-hyun's character comes pretty close to being an airhead....never mind the tennis. Park Si-hyun, the actress...same thing.

@19 ndegeocello : I wonder if PD Lee Yoon-jung did consider using Kim Yuna as Min Hyo-rin's body double. Just checked the stats, Kim Yuna and Min Hyo-rin are both 164 cm (almost 5' 5")!! Coincidence? That is if you believe the stats. Hmmm, I have the impression that Yuna is a lot taller than that. What a treat it will be if PD can cast Yuna in!! I so DON'T want to see a Kim Yuna copycat.

Blessed Easter everyone!

I can't wait for it this to air.
Though I wonder, why is it actually titled "Triple?"

If it wasn't for My Man, I probably wouldn't be super-interested in Triple. I don't mind or care that much whether Triple was based on Yuna/Yu-na/Yeona (sorry sorry sorry) Kim's popularity, but I don't think a proper 16-episode drama revolving around figure skating can really work. Also, this was maybe the one project that had Song Hye Kyo written all over it, since she actually trained as a figure skater in her youth. (And, well, I would have looked forward to a SHK + LJJ pairing.) It's fine if they mostly invest the story as kind of a romance with some ice bits here and there, but then that kinda reflects another problem I have with the planning for this drama. You have 3 male leads that I want to watch individually . . . and then you have Luxury Nose. I'm still hoping for some boy love fun, but I don't think that's going to happen. So.

"I wonder if PD Lee Yoon-jung did consider using Kim Yuna as Min Hyo-rin’s body double. "

I sure hope not. :D Yes, in an ideal world, Kim Yuna would have taken part in Triple (and I wouldn't be surprised if she makes a token guest appearance.)

But. Dude. She has to prepare for other competitions this year as well as Vancouver next year. And after that, hell she can seriously consider that side career as Tae Yeon's vocal doppelganger or form her own supergroup Yu Na Generation. At that point, she'll be the most famous athlete in the history of South Korea, and she can probably run for President or something. Or better yet, host the "Charlotte Church Show. " OMG WTH happened to HER? :D

"One concert used her face to sell tickets and they didn’t even ask her permission. They just went ahead and plastered her face all over the posters and called it the Victory Concert to celebrate her victory at the World Championships. The worst part is the concert was held before the World Championships even started, so they were basically saying she should win. Uh, pressure much?"

Yeah, I read about that controversy (and seriously thought about going just to see Clazzi), but I also thought that Koreans COMPLETELY misread the Korean American's intent and feedback of the concert. It was all well-meaning, and for the most part WAY more focused on the WBC championships. Yuna Kim was frankly kind of an afterthought, since the promoters figured, well, why not. I also got that the Koreans weren't even happy about the major rah-rah for her prior to the skate, frankly, gave the Korean Americans kind of a "foolsih gyopo" browbeating, which I didn't really appreciate. Frankly, majority of fangoers were just happy to see her (or Mao Asada) live, especially since both have idol status in their respective countries.

In any case, I did appreciate that the Victory Concert promoters eventually took down the association since the flak was a needless headache. But, again, I thought Koreans came on way too strong with that. In terms of the pressure she feels, that's outside of her control when a country decides to make her their National Idol. I'm actually glad for her she mostly lives in Canada. At the end of the day, if she doesn't want to hear it, she can leave her computer off.

"I intend on being amused by the mockery of this drama, but if it pushes for nationalistic pride over the Japanese enemy,"

Honestly, I thought about that only after the media firestorm over Yuna being harassed during warmups by purportedly Japanese skaters. Ahhhh, that made my cold, bitter heart warm for the Michelle vs. Sasha days when that gamesmanship happened all the time. :D And, of course, there's hilarious videos from rabid fans of both athletes. It's better than the SNSD vs. WG antis! :D

"Though I wonder, why is it actually titled “Triple?”"

A lot of the top moves in figure skating involve triple combination. Triple top loop, triple lutz, triple sowchow, 3-3 combinations, etc. Also, this is probably a pun related to the fact that you have 3 popular male leads, who hopefully are not all in love with the same person. Because that's just immoral.

RE: Taereung National Village

I LOVED that series. Too bad it was so short, but I guess that's the charm in it :)

Both Lee Min Ki and Lee Sun Gyun were great in it. The biggest surprise was how cute Kim Byul was. So much so that I kinda wish she was the one that got with Lee Min Ki.

@Miss_Sandalettes,

"i watched a japanese drama related sports named “rookies” "

Rookies was kinda like GTO or Gokusen (without the sense of empowerment adults have when they lay the smackdown on snotty teens) done on a baseball field.

The one baseball J-drama romance I really love is H2, of course based on the Adachi Mitsuru manga. It starts Yamada Takayuki, who may be the best Jdorama actor of his generation (his drama Byakuyako is the one being remade into the Korean movie White Nights.) Most Japanese idol dramas are coming-of-age narratives; this one is of that type and it beautifully uses baseball and a romantic triangle to overlay that, approaching his attachments with wonderful sensitivity and nuance.

The "Japanese adversary" bit came from the high-pitched screaming battle between Korean and Japanese figure skating fans over their respective idols (Yuna and Mao are arguably the two best figure skaters in the world.) Leading up to the competition, there was a controversy where footage showed Yuna Kim being seemingly bumped by other skaters during her group's warmups prior to contest. People who follow figure skating often view this as gamesmanship, and even though it does happen accidentally, it's still regarded as very bad form. Unfortunately, the other skaters shown to do this were Japanese, and apparently this had happened repeatedly. This in turn caused a minor media storm, and basically the whole frigging country was nervous that Yuna would get cheated by other factors.

Thanks to Youtube and Popseoul, English-language antis have kinda come out of the woodwork the past year. In a way, that's a reflection of K-pop's popularity over the Internet. However, Yuna and Mao mud-slinging (and unfortunately, nationalist chest-thumping) has been going on for longer than that. I mean, we're talking about Japanese and Korean speaking FS fans flaming each other and posting agitprop propaganda . . .in English for more than a year!! Also, in a lot of general figure skating forums, you'll often have pro-Mao and pro-Yuna groups endlessly debating.

I'd LOVE Triple to tap into that. It would be shameless, but boldly so.

@belleza

"A lot of the top moves in figure skating involve triple combination. Triple top loop, triple lutz, triple sowchow, 3-3 combinations, etc. Also, this is probably a pun related to the fact that you have 3 popular male leads"

I gotta admit when I first heard about Triple -and I didn't know it was about figure skating back then- I thought the name came from the 3 male leads. But your other explanation makes so much more sense! Thanks

@Sere,

"I thought the name came from the 3 male leads."

Honestly, this is how Belleza's mind went after Triple was announced.

Kang Ji Hwan + The Voice + Yoon Kye Sang + Luxury Nose + Triple = Boy Love + Luxury Nose.

And THEN I noticed this drama was about figure skating. I'm actually not joking this time! :D I only gave that up when Kang Ji Hwan got substituted, since we can't get scenes like this

Voice: "You like my Voice?"
Kang Ji Hwan: "I like your Voice."
Kang Ji Hwan: *raises eyebrow*

Kang Ji Hwan: "Have you seen my Hong Gil Dong?"
Voice: "I have you seen your Hong Gil Dong."
Kang Ji Hwan: *raises eyebrow*

@omo
"What a treat it will be if PD can cast Yuna in!! I so DON’T want to see a Kim Yuna copycat."

This is exactly what I fear would happen. The girl is busy and has enough obligations to fulfill in the forty - fifty days she spends in Korea right now. A cameo for a drama should be the least of which she should consider.

@belleza
"And after that, hell she can seriously consider that side career as Tae Yeon’s vocal doppelganger or form her own supergroup Yu Na Generation. At that point, she’ll be the most famous athlete in the history of South Korea, and she can probably run for President or something. Or better yet, host the “Charlotte Church Show. ” OMG WTH happened to HER? "

She’s only in Korea for less than fifty days and then she’s back to Canada where she can escape this suffocating environment that is Yuna Fever. A second career in the entertainment business is enticing and plausible in her case, but judging by her interviews, she’s seems to be set on going pro after she retires. If there is any chance of ever reviving the pro circuit, I think Yuna would be a big part of that.

“But, again, I thought Koreans came on way too strong with that. “

But a line needs to be drawn somewhere. On top of exploiting her, they also gave her pressure to win and asked her to make an appearance at the concert since it was held partly in her name. When do the exploitations and these kinds of demands stop? I said before, everyone else who rides the wave doesn’t understand what kind of impact it has on her because they’re only riding it while she has to carry the heavy load

“I’d LOVE Triple to tap into that. It would be shameless, but boldly so.”

If the drama portrays a Good Korea VS Evil Japan storyline then I would lose all respect for anyone involved in this drama. However, if they treat a rivalry storyline with some thought such as depicting both sides as equals, where neither is more wrong or more evil than the other, then I might give this drama a real shot. If this drama tries to teach the online fighting between Korean and Japanese netizens is futile and meaningless, or that both Korea and Japan need to let go of their rivalry with one another, or sometimes a country can have too much pride in one athlete, or a country can give too much pressure on an athlete, then I will eat every word of criticism I’ve said about Triple and have an abundance of respect for this drama.

@ndegeocello,

"On top of exploiting her, they also gave her pressure to win and asked her to make an appearance at the concert since it was held partly in her name."

From what her camp said, I don't think she really felt that. The "Victory" part of the title was a misnomer. Remember the WBC hadn't finished either, and obviously the promoters didn't know how far the Korean team would go in the tourney when they planned it out. It wasn't intended as exploitation, and to be honest, most goers went there to see SS501, Jewelry, et al.

Again, I feel the intentions were misrepresented to the Korean netizens.

"I said before, everyone else who rides the wave doesn’t understand what kind of impact it has on her because they’re only riding it while she has to carry the heavy load"

Yuna herself said she didn't feel pressure from the Korean American audience. Again, at the time of the concert, the buzz was still about the Korean team getting into the Finals. The vibe at Dodgers stadium was incredible, like watching a World Cup match.

"A second career in the entertainment business is enticing and plausible in her case, but judging by her interviews, she’s seems to be set on going pro after she retires."

I think the hope around the international FS community is that, should she win the gold next year (and I'm definitely not saying she will or not) that she'll continue to compete through maybe the 2014 Olympics. Many figure skaters reach their competitive prime in their late teens (when their body is still well able against the rigors of the 3-3s), but the artistry continues to progress well into their 20s. She has the charisma of a prima ballerina, and it would be kind of a shame if she goes straight into the pro circuit before. That's what partially hurt American FS so much, with your Sarah Hughes and Tara Lipinskis opting out as soon as they brought home the gold.

"She’s only in Korea for less than fifty days and then she’s back to Canada where she can escape this suffocating environment that is Yuna Fever."

But I do get a sense that she feels a little homesick and dislocated from her home country. It's good that she's allowed to have a normal life though.

"If the drama portrays a Good Korea VS Evil Japan storyline then I would lose all respect for anyone involved in this drama. "

Yeah, I'm being very facetious about this. However, it would be kinda funny if they tweak the story to make one of the male leaders, you know, a SWIMMER . . . . ;)

Actually, I find the whole bit with the media asking her about a so-called "relationship" with Park Tae Hwan both extremely rude and funny. Rude because it's often asked so directly. Funny because she always has this "WTH?!?" expression when she's asked that, and then she laughs. I mean, I don't think they've met maybe a few times to do CMs and promotions.

@omo,

"This is exactly what I fear would happen. The girl is busy and has enough obligations to fulfill in the forty - fifty days she spends in Korea right now"

Yeah, I'm in agreement with ndegeocello on this. People don't realize how far your conditioning/skillset falls in world class FS (like gymastics) if you're not constantly training.

CANNOT WAIT FOR THIS DRAMA TO AIR...not only because its got an awesome cast (not sure abt the new girl) but because it is coming from one of the best directors. waiting to see some new concepts and orginial script. coffee prince was amazing and hope this will blow our minds as well.