88

Her Legend pre-empts its own premiere by releasing first episode online

When I first heard of JTBC’s new drama Her Legend, I read the description of a poor and plucky Candy-girl who works her way up in the luxury handbag world and filed it away in my head as “that purse drama.” Little did I know that the drama would actually be overrun with handbags; it’s like the I Do, I Do promos all over again, only we’ve swapped one compulsive shopper’s vice for the other. Not that I would know anything about that. Ahem.

Here we have posters and more teasers (watch the first preview here), featuring Choi Jung-won as our heroine, Jung-soo. When her mother dies, she is taken to live with her uncle’s family (the uncle is her mother’s brother). But the aunt resents the burden, and Jung-soo’s cousin (later played by Sohn Eun-seo) seems jealous and spiteful.

When another woman sees Jung-soo being abused by the aunt, she steps in and decides to take the girl to the States with her, at which point Bratty Cousin steps in and says SHE wants to go instead. Huh. That’s a convoluted setup. So the cousin ends up “adopted” by that woman instead, and appears to grow up in relative luxury.

Anyway, then the ladies grow up and meet again, when Bratty Cousin is upgraded to Bitchy Cousin. Now they’re both working with handbags, and enter the chaebol prince (Kim Jung-hoon), over whom I am sure the ladies will fight. It might be a one-sided fight though. Is anyone else getting Bachelor’s Vegetable Store tingles from this whole thing?

So those are the two previews above. However, in case you want to get the jump on the show early, you can actually catch entire first episode (below). The show hasn’t officially premiered yet—that’s next week—but the producers have for some reason decided to stir interest by uploading the whole premiere online, which… is a tactic. Is it a smart move? I ask that as an honest question.

I suppose it’s one way to grab people’s notoriously fickle attentions early, because next Monday is premiere day for Good Doctor and there’s also the new tvN ghost-romance-melo Who Are You to contend with. It’s shrewd in that sense. But doesn’t that also mean that you’re enabling people to get away with skipping the premiere when it airs on TV and thus handicapping your potential ratings? Fans may not care about ratings, but they’re the lifeblood of the TV industry, and there’s such a big hoopla about premiere numbers in particular. Oh well, maybe they know what they’re doing.

Her Legend officially premieres on Monday, August 5.

Via Asiae

RELATED POSTS

Tags: , ,

88

Required fields are marked *

veeeeery interesting.

for whatever reason though, the video is not working for me (i'm in the US)

0
4
reply

Required fields are marked *

me too (US)

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Below is the link to Choi Jung Won Fan Page. Choi Jung Won is portraying Kelly Nam of Helianthus. It is living biography, and some adaptation of Japanese drama. It is authentic Korean designer story. So, Sarah, please visit:

http://www.facebook.com/CJWFP

You will find certain story that may be interest to you. ^^ Cheers.

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

Sorry, it should read it is a living biography and it is not a Japanese adaption.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I guess it might be a good move? Even though they may lose out on the first episode ratings, when it helps with all the ensuing episodes' ratings, it could be well worth it.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Thanks for the info, javabeans! ^-^

Ah... this feels like every other fashion-y, Cinderella kdrama. .-. Not too interested, and... is that the same guy from Witch Amusement? o.o Hurrhurr.

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

One thing that might make this one different is that it is supposedly a (more or less) real life story of the Helianthus brand http://helianthusseoul.com/home-en.html

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I am so sick of fashion-mad dramas :b

Time to find a new pet profession, dramaland! (There must be some other advertiser to throw money at you? I'd even take a spate of racecar drivers at this point.)

0
33
reply

Required fields are marked *

I'm with you on this. Yellow Pages people... Plenty of ideas and opportunities. ;)

0
25
reply

Required fields are marked *

You would think so at first, but given that this is Korea, I just don't see a girl being cast as something like a super-engineer, race car driver, construction worker, or any of the other 34,000 professions. (not sure why Korean girls are smart enough to be doctors but not some other high-tech field?).

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

The Echo of Her Voice

Orphaned by a freak sewer line explosion when she was still a teen, poor-but-plucky Soo Min is trying to keep her dead father's plumbing business from going under even though her first love is singing.

Will her big chance for love AND success come when she wins an opportunity to replace all the pipes in YG Entertainment's Headquarters?

What will handsome young Manager Choi think of the pretty girl in overalls he surprises in the men's room late one night? Could that really have been HER voice he heard echoing down the stalls?

Tune in on Mon/Tue nights in September to find out!

0
23
reply

Required fields are marked *

HILARIOUS! Nice one! That sounds so real, and also would be a great parody comedy. Does Korea do those? Could someone point me towards one?

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I would watch that :D

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Add a double life as an idol façon Flashdance and I will tune in. Or a superpower Magneto-like. Convenient for the job.

0
3
reply

Required fields are marked *

No, no, the superpower goes to the Janitor who can find what you've lost, if you'll only let him put his hands on your ass.

But Plumber Girl can totally do a FlashDance, if you really wanna go there. Not sure how sanitary that water is...

0

You sound hilarious. But, CJW is actually portraying Kelly Nam of Helianthus. May be it is good to be less judgmental and view it with an open mind.

0

Oh I don't have any preconceived notions about the show, I was just responding to Mysti's wish for a job out of the yellow pages.

0

You forgot the debt collectors chasing after her, so she has to win a singing contest to pay them off :)

0
4
reply

Required fields are marked *

Can't reveal EVERYTHING up front...

0

I did NOT reveal everything - for example I left out the part about her breaking her high heel on stage, falling down, hitting her head and getting amnesia.

0

Well of course because the exam for the amnesia is what reveals the brain tumor.

0

The love rival girl will be along the lines of Ice Cream Girl from Protect the Boss, or Do Yeon - that was her name, right? - from I Hear Your Voice.

Not QUITE as awesome as Jin Sook from Cruel City...and definitely in the frenemy-ish zone...but a nice girl at heart who can't do anything REALLY mean. Her arc will cover coming to terms with her family's wealth and whether or not all IS fair in love and war.

The hook for her will be that in every way, she IS the standard K-Drama second lead...and tries to act like they do, but somehow can't quite manage it and does the right thing at the last minute, complaining the whole way.

0

JoAnne~

Since it's a K drama; any ass grabbing. would have to be accidental. A J drama featuring a butt grabbing janitor would work

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

I was hoping to get it on a cable channel, John. Late night.

0

EXCELLENT! But don't forget the birth secret -- she's actually the daughter of YG Entertainment's president, but was kidnapped by the childhood boyfriend of the president's mistress who . . . died in childbirth? To avoid being caught, kidnapper plumbing daddy raised her in the sewers, far from view of the public. What Soo Min really wants to do is sing, but is it only going to be a *pipe* dream?

0
2
reply

Required fields are marked *

".. is it only going to be a *pipe* dream... OMG :D

0

OMG THAT'S what I was searching for...I knew there was something I wanted to say and I couldn't put the words together! You're effing brilliant!

0

LMAO ::bows down to JoAnne:: i would totally watch this drama! and then grandpa TOP can make a cameo :D

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

JoAnne, you rock! I can't resist this, so:

Gruel City - A dark gritty drama about an ordinary girl who goes undercover to find the gruel killer who murdered her grandma and stole her prized gruel recipe. Filled with sizzling claypots, sweaty abs, smokey stoves and stained aprons, this drama is not for the faint-hearted....

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH Oh, I love you so much

0

Hmmm.

Could do without the manager, because I'm guessing he's rich and capable, which will leave with yet another 'poor, lower class girl / rich, chaebol guy' story? Sick to death of those to...

0
3
reply

Required fields are marked *

No no no we can break the mold - THIS manager came up through the ranks as a trainee. He was a newly debuted idol but a freak accident in a bathroom with a wet floor when a pipe burst cost him his dancing future, and so he became a manager.

The love triangle comes in when a girl trainee (secretly the daughter of YG President) falls hard for Mgr-nim and angles for him to manage the group she will debut with - in America - so for the manager, the question is does he finally get a winning group (and a rich girlfriend) or does he opt for true love and the occasional midnight call about a backed up toilet?

There'll be some best friends, too - a guy who sells knock-off sunglasses over near the Army Base, and a girl who nannies for a rich family and sells all the hand-me-downs they give her.

0

Okay, this sounds better...

Now, what kind of love rival is the girl trainee? I need details on that before I can commit...

0

Sorry, had to reply here because there is no reply button for the comments that come after this.

OMG, you guys are hilarious! Love this! :D

0

:D

As much as it tends to get a bit old, there is a reason for that - Korea, rightly or wrongly - has a reputation as the most over-the-top fashion mania of ANY country in the world, and there is a lot of truth in that. Since most Korean dramas seem to be aimed mainly at women, I think that fashionista shows will be around for quite a while.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Can we add High School dramas to this as well! Dramaland needs to not only discover other professions besides chefs and fashion, as well as discover that you could place a youth drama in college/university!

0
5
reply

Required fields are marked *

I think in both Japan and Korea, high school dramas are WAY overdone. I could maybe live with that if they had any real sense of being realistic, but 90% of them have only one of two themes (sometimes combined) - bullying in some form, or high school band. Apparently nothing else ever happens in J/K high schools.

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

lol don't forget sports !! :)

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

There's a reason why youth dramas are not situated in colleges/universities. Colleges/universities are by nature not inclusive, so the cast of characters are much more limited in terms of socio-cultural or socioeconomic background. They wouldn't feel all that different from a workplace drama, I suspect.

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

I think they could feel substantially different from a workplace drama, it's just that Korean drama writers need to come up with a wider range of stories.

I can think of some Japanese college dramas that worked well. Orange Days is completely college set. Tatta Hitotsu no Koi isn't (and, indeed, there isn't much focus on the college aspect), but it is a take on bringing characters from two different socioeconomic backgrounds together (those who go to college, those who immediately work in manual labour). And, of course, there's Nodame Cantabile, which is set at a specialised college.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

what's up! was a nice drama based in college..though way....................... underrated!!

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Don't know what to do with this one. Seems like it might be sort-of interesting but at the same time I have my reserves. We'll have to see the reviews.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

another one for my long list for panda eyes moment! i liked her in stars falling from the sky & kim jung hoon since gong drama, so i'll surely watch this! then the good doctor with my heros joo sang wook & joo won

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I am a huge sucker for Cinderella stories (even though I am a guy - even more weird..). Not sure why, maybe it is because I keep wanting to see at least one of these shows that does not feature an air-headed zombie doormat girl as the lead.

I loved Cheondamdong Alice, even though it was not that popular here on DB. But I am not sure I see that happening here, too early to tell.

Just as an aside, in the next episode of I Summon You Gold, the twin sister finally shows up :)

0
2
reply

Required fields are marked *

(About ISYG)yupp... finally!!!

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Hi Wind: You may want to be less judgmental and watch this one. It is based on true story. Kelly Nam is a 32-year old upcoming, going listing Helianthus CEO. CJW is portraying her. It is an authentic Korean drama.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

All American dramas are about cops, lawyers, and criminals. Except for the ones about monsters and the people who hunt them.

0
3
reply

Required fields are marked *

Not all - there is Family Guy ... Well, I guess that would fall into the criminal class...

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I'd rather take Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Walking Dead, Mad Men, House, Dexter, Firefly, Band of Brothers, Battlestar Galactica, The West Wing, etc. than most K-dramas, but that's just me.

I watch sometimes for the Tree With Deep Roots, and the occasional turn-your-brain-off drama, but if all I can ever watch on my TV are K-dramas, no thank you.

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

There is no comparison between most kdramas and western TV shows. The styles are totally different, best in their own ways.

If a viewer is looking for something he can relate to, K dramas(esp rom com ones) would be a better choice for him. When were you able to completely/believably place yourself in the shoes of a character from shows like Game of thrones, Vampire Diaries, Revenge, Gossip Girl, Walking dead or such? At least I was never!!

In the same way, for a person who wants to get a feel as though he has been transported to a whole new world, then I'd say, American shows do a better job at that.

And offcourse there are exceptions on both- FRIENDS, How I met you mother which make it easy for us to relate and City Hunter, Gaksital, Boys Over Flowers(Lol), The Princess man, which are more on the action/adventure/fantasy side (Yes BOF does come on the fantasy side).

So IMO, both cannot be compared. And yes, if given a chance to choose between GOT(American) and BOF(Korean), which are both my favorite shows, I would get confused. That's how incomparable they are.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

So the mother gave up her daughter so she could live with a stranger in the states? And the mother of the year award goes to... Not her. This already seems ridiculous and also very familiar. I'm getting so many vibes here. I'm just gonna stay away.

0
3
reply

Required fields are marked *

See my note above about how this is supposedly a real life story. (Well, as real as things ever get in Korean dramas...).

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Maybe I am weird, but there are times when I would rather watch a REALLY bad series than a mediocre one. I find some of the totally awful ones funny in themselves - kind of like watching old 1950's B science fiction exploitation movies. They are so bad, they are funny.

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

I agree with you there. A really bad drama is more entertaining than a boring mediocre one.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Wow this sounds so terrible...and I will admit, I'm a sucker for the plucky female leads (yes, I know....I'm one of the only ones who loved Brilliant Legacy and Baking King) BUT even I think this is going to be tres terrible....

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

hi kay! always wanted to say hi haha. this drama looks pretty blah already but the fact that it's on jtbc gives me some hope in it.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

The poster already has me yawning...
Why does every other Kdrama have to be Candy vs Bitch with chaebol prince? Don't Korean ajummas get tired of this setup?

0
5
reply

Required fields are marked *

Candy vs Bitch + Rich Chaebol prince (occasionally princess) is a main fixture in k-drama since... like forever.

I would guess that the ajummas are fantasizing that it is THEIR daughter that gets the prince. Of course those on the Chaebol Prince side are not happy, but they don't watch these dramas anyway.

0
4
reply

Required fields are marked *

A Jaebeol is rich (Well, the Jae part. The beol is faction or group)... so it's redundant to say "Rich Jaebeol." Just like saying Fujiyama Mountain.

Just pointing it out.

BTW, it's properly spelled in Korean as 재벌(財閥) making the romaja Jaebeol in Revised Romaja.

ethlenn.blogspot.com/2011/01/chaebeol-how-to-eat.html

재볼 and 채볼 aren't words in Korean. You can chalk it up to crazy systems of Yale of McCune for the confusion. (And I'm not even counting the Chinese-derived romanization system which is even more nuts.)

0
3
reply

Required fields are marked *

I am never sure which to go with when it comes to the English (or Romanji) spelling. Apparently even translators get confused, as in YTBLSS I have seen the Soon Shin part also shown as Sun Sin.

Not quite as bad perhaps as trying translate Japanese to English and then back again, but it often seems like even the standards are not standard.

With Chaebol (or Jaebeol) You are obviously correct, but in English discussions it is often treated simply as "big conglomerate". My Korean is just about at the level of what a 1-year old baby is at best. Even my Japanese (which used to be pretty good) has deteriorated to about the 2nd grade level from long disuse.

0
2
reply

Required fields are marked *

Technically it's the difference between Yale, McCune and Revised.

BTW, It's Romaji for the Japanese. Romaja for the Korean. "n" nashi.

McCune came first, but it was a wacky system using diacritical markers, which meant that when you dropped them, it made no sense.

Then it was Yale, but that only stuck in the US. This also has issues.

Then it was Revised, which was when the Korean government finally stepped in and corrected it by actual sound.

Despite the revised, I prefer revised with one slight change, changing the u to an oo sound, which makes more sense. Since "u" meant different things in Yale and the McCune system. It clarifies.

I object to the "Sh" since there is no "sh" sound in Korean. Mostly, I think it's added so it doesn't look like "sin" But the pronunciation is closer to seen (short ee) No shin (as in your knee) the ss sound is also not an sh, but a stressed s. As in stressed, princess, etc. "sh" is lazy pouty girly speaking, like saying "de" for "Ne". I'd rather have an accurate representation of the sound...

0

@KimYoonMi - I get what you mean about the 's' sound, the sound in 'Shin' is more sibilant than the average English-speaker's 'sh' sounds, but transcribing it as 's' doesn't give an accurate phonetic representation either - if anything, it's closer to 'ssh'

And getting the n/d sound into romaja is a little tough too - I can pronounce it just fine since it's nearly identical to sounds used in my own native language, but the only way we represent that sound is 'nd' or 'nn', and that is not accurate, in my language or Korean.

0

JTBC has pre-empted a number of their shows such as Heartless City and Can We Get Married.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Everything is a cliche nowadays but we still watch them. Isn't that why we're all here? Because we can't get enough of the Jandis and Jun-pyos and their crazy makjang lives?

There is always hulu and netflix to watch CSI, Bachelors, or Mad Men but here we are. Here to stay, along with the tropes we have come to love. And hate. But that's a love to hate.

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

To be fair, most American dramas are just as bad about being "real" - they just emphasize different fakyness (is that a word?).

NCIS is one that I watch, knowing full well from my actual experience just how incompetent they really are in real life.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Seoul has the world's first handbag museum, the Simone Handbag Museum (not sure I'm allowed to link, so will just mention the name). (Although there is a larger collection in a museum in Amsterdam.) It includes workrooms for budding designers, I hope this show is able to show some of it!

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I'll try to keep away from this drama if only because of the handbag envy I am sure I will experience.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I'm just staring at Kim Jung-hoon's suit and thinking to myself 'Are those squares too big to be considered checks?" *shudders*
I've always thought 'Put a guy in a suit and you can't go wrong' apparently you can.

0
3
reply

Required fields are marked *

hehehe. Maybe they were trying to save money by using the executioner outfits from a sageuk that aired earlier. :D

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

On the other hand Park Yoon-Jae looks good in his suit. :)...

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

This suit is giving me flashbacks to Fashion King, as Lee Je-hoon's character practically lived in them. *shivers*

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I saw the first poster and thought it was kang sora xD
but i agree with everyone who's saying that pretty much all fashion dramas failed big deal.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Not a huge handbag design fan since I make my own clothes, etc. Making a handbag does not have to cost you a few thousand dollars. It's easy and cheap.

Probably not watching this one and going for Master's Sun.

0
2
reply

Required fields are marked *

I can't speak for handbags or other fashion, but a few years back somehow an actual in-house cost breakdown for a shoe got leaked (or probably stolen by a disgruntled employee, I think it was from Chanel), and the materials and labor were around $80 for a (about) $1500 pair.

Of course that does not tell the whole story, many of those high fashion brands spend far more on marketing and advertising than they do on actual material costs.

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

Please check out Helianthus website and read how Kelly Nam builds her company, before starting to comment as if you know all about generating revenue and material costing. ^_________^

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Er the checked suit is awful. Just call me if they kiss like cable dramas shows.

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

If you think the suit is awful, you should perhaps look at some of the posters. He even wear a woman scarf!!! >.<

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

"When another woman sees Jung-soo being abused by the aunt, she steps in and decides to take the girl to the States with her, at which point Bratty Cousin steps in and says SHE wants to go instead. Huh. That’s a convoluted setup. So the cousin ends up “adopted” by that woman instead, and appears to grow up in relative luxury. "

So....this drama takes place in a world where you can just take someone's child?

0
2
reply

Required fields are marked *

You obviously don't watch enough Korean dramas to know how the real world works. What I learned from Korean dramas is that kids are pretty much interchangeable, you can trade them off or swap them out, leave them in orphanages to be adopted by rich parents, send them to America (though they will always come back barely able to speak English after living there from age 2 to 27), etc. etc.

In addition to that, every rich old guy has anywhere from 1 to 4 mistresses, and all the illegitimate kids live in the same house, except for usually a daughter that was left in front of a church, to be adopted by an ex-gangster fisherman who just also happens to be a Master Chef in hiding.

You really need to keep up with these things... :D

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

LOL so true

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I really like Sohn Eun-seo. I hope she gets better roles in her next drama. Why does she always get saddled with the jealous-sabo-biatch roles? Sigh.....

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Sounds dry and boring to me.

I love Kim Junghoon (I was obsessed with him and despised Shin--Shin, not Joo Jihoon--), but I'm not interested in his recent dramas (even some says I Need a Romance is good).

Son Eunseo is actually a quite great actress, but she keeps getting bitchy roles which prevents me from liking her

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

What a boring ass set up.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

This drama might look boring, but all of your comments sure made this thread interesting :D

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Is it just me, or does she look like she's about to steal that bag in the first pic?

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

When I see her all I can see is Pal Kang. That was a great drama!

This one seems interesting. I may check it out.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

i don't know why people even bother having bitchy second female leads. The male leads never look at them or care, so where's the tension?

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *