An intro clip and first stills from The Duo
by javabeans
Here’s our first look at MBC’s new fusion sageuk drama The Duo, which has released a few stills from the set of its poster shoot (at bottom). Above, we have character shots of our four main leads, taken from the drama’s first teaser video, which was also just released. (Watch below.)
Dressed in black and wearing a weapon strapped to his back is our hero Chun-doong, played by Chun Jung-myung, who’s a righteous bandit. Always a fun kind of character; the heroic bandit is principled, but operates on his own standards of ethics, and that should make for some (hopefully) interesting character development.
We’ve seen this familiar archetype in characters like Hong Gil-dong and Iljimae, to name the most famous examples. Chun-doong is the nobleman’s son who is switched at birth and instead grows up a poor man.
His identity-swapped counterpart, Gwi-dong, is played by Lee Sang-yoon and grows up a nobleman despite his origins as a slave. As an adult, he’s a police chief — oh, har, get it? The man who should’ve been the lawman is the outlaw, and the outlaw should’ve been the officer… (groan…)
K-dramas, you’ve surely never met a poetic reversal you didn’t like to beat into the ground, have you? It’s like Sandglass crossed with East of Eden, but with a dash more cheese. (That doesn’t mean it’s bad — you just can’t out-epic Sandglass, which practically defines the term. Or Eden, for that matter, which gathers all its story, logic, and acting chips and cashes ’em in at the epic table.)
But no, we’re not done with the symbolic contrasts just yet, because then there are the ladies to contend with: Han Ji-hye is Dong-nyeo, the woman who gets caught in a love triangle between the two men. She’s the daughter of a village schoolteacher — pretty, bright and clever. Seo Hyun-jin, on the other hand, is the neighborhood tomboy Dal-yi who pines after Gwi-dong and later becomes a gisaeng.
So we have one man on either side of the law, and one woman on either side of the social divide and perhaps — since we’re talking about Korean dramas with their obsession with purity — also on the virtue divide.
Above is a clip with some of the cast members, which will probably take a moment to load. (The songs, you may recognize, are Humming Urban Stereo’s “Insomnia” and “Salad Day.”) In the clip, the actors introduce their roles and make silly puns on the title to describe what the drama is about.
Below are the stills from the drama’s recent poster shoot, which featured approximately 100 extras.
The drama will be a Monday-Tuesday series airing after Queen of Reversals, and premieres on February 7.
Via Sports Chosun
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Tags: Chun Jung-myung, Han Ji-hye, Lee Sang-yoon, Seo Hyun-jin, The Duo
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1 safa
January 19, 2011 at 5:46 AM
I think I'll take a break and go watch to Beethoven virus and the White Tower .. I miss Kim and seriously harshact :)!
This response to appease my angry husband of addiction drama ... And hyun bin!
I hope that will ba good show
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YM
January 19, 2011 at 11:37 PM
Right?? Though I liked Secret Garden I wasn't sitting anxiously every week for the show...just for Hyun Bin. LOL. Shallow, I know but what can you do when the man sucked you back into k-drama land when you tried to quit? Ughs. Life without Kim Ji-hoon and Hyun Bin. I will be a mess the next 2 years.
I actually want to see this cause I need a break from the crazy rom-coms and the family dramas!
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2 Tisha
January 19, 2011 at 6:04 AM
can't wait for this drama...CJM!!<33
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3 Sere
January 19, 2011 at 6:44 AM
Awww, Yoon Yoo-seon was so cute in the clip. When she realized she still had the earmuffs on? *giggles*
I kind of like the premise even if we've seen this kind of story before.
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4 snow
January 19, 2011 at 7:28 AM
i kind of like chun jung myung's look in that first picture (top left). suitably hot and intense!
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swui
January 19, 2011 at 8:32 AM
Really? But I prefer him clean cut...he looks like a boy in beard here....My brain cannot accept this look on him...
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snow
January 19, 2011 at 8:44 AM
yeah, i think that shot of him was pretty good, he didn't look half as bad with the moustache as i'd feared. maybe i'll feel differently once the drama airs and i see him in action in period garb, but for now this is okay.
i find he looks more boyish if he's clean-cut. the moustache usually adds a touch of maturity to the look.
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swui
January 19, 2011 at 9:28 AM
LOL. It's the other way around for me...I'm not into his beard thing in the pic...but maybe I'll change my mind once I see him in action.
Men in sageuks almost always have moustaches or beards....
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SteamyBun
January 20, 2011 at 11:03 AM
I agree! Finally I get to live out my dream of seeing CJM in sageuk dress, and he looks HOT. I like the hair too.
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5 Cam
January 19, 2011 at 7:47 AM
Of course! (I agree with #3 Sere) Yoon Yoo Seon look so adorable when she wore her earmuffs, lolz. (SMH)
Wow, this pictures of Duo seem very gooood to me but very interesting. ^_^
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6 Chris
January 19, 2011 at 8:35 AM
Any ideas on where they are filming?
I have 3 weeks to spare in Korea. I won't mind a peek - that is if people are allowed.
I'll be very quiet, promise.
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7 diadda
January 19, 2011 at 8:56 AM
sexy beastly PIE! It is so wonderful I might cry!
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8 Kristal
January 19, 2011 at 9:01 AM
I'm sure Dahee and all the PIE (aka Chun Jung Myung) fans are excited! :)
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9 Alvina
January 19, 2011 at 9:42 AM
I just had a flashback to the first episode of What's Up Fox and Chun Jung Myung's scruffy face lol.
I can take him seriously as an actor but never as a manly man... he's too cute :P
I'll look out for this one but historicals arent really my thing :/
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10 neways
January 19, 2011 at 10:20 AM
groan...why han ji hye...i would've looked forward to this drama if it weren't for her casting...
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11 doozy
January 19, 2011 at 10:28 AM
I'm really hoping that The Duo will steer away from cheesy and overt symbolism and be a good show. Looking at the pics, though, I'm not really digging CJM's facial hair coz it's partly obscuring one of his biggest appeal, his baby face and adorable grin.
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12 more
January 19, 2011 at 10:49 AM
WOW Another Historical drama *rolls Eyes*
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fionnula
January 19, 2011 at 2:10 PM
To be precise.... another fusion drama *rolls Eyes*. Historical dramas can be quite intense and have very good story lines. Now getting a good fusion drama is much harder - the only one I can really think of as truly excellent is The Return of Iljimae.
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lucia
January 19, 2011 at 11:50 PM
I'm fan of historical drama but admittedly for The Duo, so far either plot and characters description sounds overly used, I'm kinda skeptical. But MBC rarely fails to deliver great historical drama, so we'll see. Maybe the cinematography/acting can cover the plot/characterization.
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13 Purpleclouds
January 19, 2011 at 10:58 AM
He's so average, why is he the main guy again? Didn't like him in Cinderella's Sister. He was kind and nice like a plain friend.
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Anon
January 19, 2011 at 1:01 PM
Have you seen him in any other drama other than Cinderella's Sister I loved him in What's Up Fox but I personally don't think CS is the best drama to judge him from....
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Kristal
January 19, 2011 at 2:27 PM
Yeah watch What's Up Fox! He's adorable in that.
he is good in Goodbye Solo too but if you like zippy rom-coms I would go with Fox.
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14 tehhee
January 19, 2011 at 2:27 PM
LOL the dad from secret garden is here!
that boosted my up 10% of my chances of watching this xD
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15 ditdut
January 19, 2011 at 4:21 PM
Chuno flashback. Unyun/Hyewon and Sulhwa, plus Daegil and Song Taeha.
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16 Jenju
January 19, 2011 at 5:49 PM
PIE! I love you I do!
But is it wrong that I'm not really that excited about this?
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