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Queen-maker and crew in Miss Korea’s promo posters

Posters are out for MBC’s upcoming drama Miss Korea, and mostly what I take away from them is: everybody pretty.

The posters illustrate our rather straightforward premise of turning a regular woman into a beauty queen. What’s less clear to me is how this is supposed to be such a challenge when we’re talking about Lee Yeon-hee, who’s in the fresh-faced prime of her life and one of dramaland’s noted beauties; I guess she’s playing older than her age, but surely there’s more to the hurdle?

Leading the “queen-maker” charge is Lee Seon-kyun, who assembles the team to work on Project Miss Korea, while Song Sun-mi is someone who looks after the heroine through the end. Lee Mi-sook lives up to her image playing a cold-eyed salon owner who’ll be in charge of transforming the contestant into a pageant winner.

The drama is set in 1997, and the impending IMF financial crisis has been a fixture in the drama’s plot descriptions. I’m not quite clear on how that ties in, or why this story will be set in the past, but I do hope they use the setting in a meaningful way. Or is nostalgia just the ‘in’ thing these days?

Miss Korea will premiere on December 18, which happens to be the premiere day for another Wednesday-Thursday drama, You From Another Star. Will it be SBS or MBC who prevails in the ratings face-off? The beauty queen or the movie star? Queen-maker or alien professor?

Via TV Report

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I'm pretty sure You From Another Star is going to win in the ratings battle. It stars Kim Soo Hyun and Jeon Ji-hyun. That's probably got a lot of people anticipating the drama as is.

I feel the plot for You From Another is more interesting too.

Lee Yeon is likeable, and I really like Lee Seon-kyun so I hope this drama does well in ratings.

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I've learned many things from watching K-Drama and one of them is, never underestimate Lee Seon-kyun. The guy can pull ratings. Look at Golden Time, I had to drop (Hospital of hell, not for the patients but also for the staff) and its rating was good in Korea.

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(Hospital of hell, not only for the patients but also for the staff)******

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You are totally correct. The staff was amazingly inept but Lee Seon-kyun, his usual outstanding.

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Ah, I guess we just have differing taste. I really like the alien concept, and I'm hoping for a lot of hijinks. I'm not a big fan of Kim Soo Hyun either, but I do think he has a charm to him. He's a pretty okay actor too.

I can see the greater appeal for Miss Korea though. The premise is that Lee Yeon Hee is a pretty girl who ends up training to become Miss Korea. I'm guessing somewhere along the line, she grows into a mature character and learns beauty isn't everything and doesn't get you everywhere...if that's what it's heading towards. That sounds really great actually.

I think I'll give these two dramas a try and see if I like any.

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Same here. The alien thing just seems like it starts off full of plot holes from the very beginning. Like he is 400 years old and is he probably still a virgin, and if they hook up she dies 5,000 years before he does, little stuff like that.

I am sure the writer will come up with some work-arounds, but the initial premise leaves a lot of room for things that may not make sense. But as always, I will watch at least the first 3-4 episodes.

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Agrees Kim soo Hyun that's all u hve to say IDC bout anything else u hear me LOL

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I really feel bad for Miss Korea...I am sure it is going to be an awesome drama BUT WHO ARE WE KIDDING,it is going against My LOVE FROM THE STAR.....No way in h#@$ it is going to win against a KIM SO HYUN drama....Nah, no chance.

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I don't think this story is about turning her pretty, because she's always been beautiful. It's about making her personality and poise to be Ms.Korea worthy. I think there's a lot of potential in this story, considering there are half-a-dozen beauty pageant shows in the US.

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Also, there's a lot of controversy related to plastic surgery in korean beauty pageants, so i hope there's some of that in drama also :D

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I heard that the plot line changed once they casted Lee YeonHee. Instead of turning an ugly duckling into Miss Korea quality, it's about taking a popular girl from high school who ended up in the dead-end job and making her into Miss Korea.

I personally prefer the earlier version of the story...

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I like this one more. It's got a My Fair Lady vibe to it and rather than placing emphasis on outer beauty it's more along the lines of inner beauty which is a nicer message, I believe.

But, I also feel that if the leading lady is brassy she should definitely maintain the brassiness as well and not just conform to pageantry completely. Because it's fun! And because no one is really like a pageant girl. I don't even think pageant girls are like pageant girls, lmao.

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I am not so sure about the pageant girls - go to YouTube and search for: dumbest beauty contestants
:D

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I'm kinda looking forward to this more than You From Another Star, actually. Just because I think the story has a lot of potential to be fun and light, with a touch of comedy and lots of cute hopefully!

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Does anybody feel that Lee Seon-kyun look very much to his real life buddy Uhm Tae Woong?

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It's true that LSK looks like UTW but tbh I don't think they are real life buddies. They met when they were auditioning together and became friends and LSk appeared on 1n2d as UTW's guest but LSK said this with his own lips that they rarely met and when they met, they had awkard moments and both wanted to leave.
So I think that calling them real life buddies is not very appropriate.

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They were close enough to exchange porn jokes in public. :)

http://www.dramabeans.com/2011/03/uhm-tae-woong-lee-seon-kyuns-old-online-posts-resurface/

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Sounds a bit like Miss Congeniality only without the guns and FBI agents and exploding crowns. Pity.

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Such a HUGE pity.

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And don't forget World Peace.

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Who is the other actress? I never seen any of her works.

The short hair actress I know her, I remember she's the noona in Ojakgyo Brothers.

I love the poster esp the one with that one piece swimming suit :-)

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I think she is new! Her name is Ko Sung Hee and yup, this is her first drama.

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Hmm. I hope Lee YeonHee doesn't cry in this show.

I don't really have any issues with her or her acting (although it leaves something to be desired) but when she starts crying... for some reason, I really get bothered and irritated. Like... I dunno... she smiles when she cries?? Or her face just can't contort like that? It's like, um, those sight gags where a grim character tries to smile but just ... can't. So when she cries... it looks like she just... can't. And I half-feel like throwing something at her or laughing at her and it just makes the experience awkward and weird...

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Her acting is weird....lets call is as it is....borderline terrible...she almost managed to convince me that she wasn't that bad of an actress in Gu family book...however, Miss Korea would let me know if she is bad or good...I am just going to wait a see.

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I'm so looking forward to this one.
Hope both the story and the ratings turn out great!

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I'm more excited for Miss Korea than YFAS....this one looks good and cute....
The posters are great....so creative and refreshing :-)

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Look at all that pageant hair.

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Agree with mostly everyone here that this is far more interesting and different than YFAS. Even if that drama has the whole 'alien' premise, that's probably the only thing different about it. Everything else seems like your regular rom-com. Also, I'm not into KSH, so that's probably another thing...

What I love about Miss Korea is that it's not your typical lets turn someone ugly into a pageant winner. It's more about re-adjusting her personality so she can be worthy of someone who can represent her country. And that's just an underdog story I would go for in an instant. She seems crass and ill-mannered in the promos, so their goal isn't to make her outer beauty stand out - because that's a given - it's more about how they can bring out he good inner self. I'm so into that kind of story line so definitely looking forward to this.

Lastly, I think the ratings would be super interesting to watch. I definitely don't think big stars have a huge day in ratings, even if you're JJH. Initially? Yea maybe, but in the long run, the one which the local viewers end up liking is probably going to win. This should be fun!

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i wanna give you 1000 like
I like the plot that a pretty girl has to change her personality to become a beauty queen, instead of adjusting an ugly girl to a beauty( e.g. ugly girl,...). SO i think this drama will be funny, but also moving.
In terms of YRFS, i have to said that i'm a fan of KSH and JJH, but i dun like this plot because it's seem to me that is not meaningful, and even trite.

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Agree! Love the inner beauty makeover premise much more than the outer. I hope she keeps her crassness but I also hope she gains something from the personality tweaking as well. It has the potential to be both funny and touching.

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I noticed some people who are putting YFAS on the back burner is reasoning it's because of Kim Soo Hyun, who alot of people find overrated.
I just don't get it though: why is that every single person that is thrust into the limelight and stays there for a good amount of time ends up being overrated even if his skill backs it up?
He's a good actor(with very compelling eyes), and if you saw him in his Will It Snow Days as well as Dream High, he's a really good actor for his age. To each his own, i guess. He's not the best, but that doesn't mean he doesn't deserve all the fame. It's like people are programmed to taking a dislike to actors that become too popular for their taste.
I agree though, MTES was way overrated, but lets face it, the only saving grace for me in that show when the story ended up being shallow and han ga in couldn't act to save her life, KSH's charisma as king was the only thing pulling me through. And the pretty.

Miss korea is definitely a show worth checking out because of the unique concept and the pretty stills, but Lee Yeon Hee is the weak link. I prefer Jeon Ji Hyun over her, but i'll be checking out BOTH premieres, because god knows stills/teasers/a synopsis does not give us a good indication on whether or not it ends up being good.

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Also, i don't know why but for some reason i don't see the "thumbs up" anymore. It's been like that since yesterday too JB.

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I like Kim Soo Hyun, he's got charisma and screen presence and yes he was the saving grace of the last half of Moon/Sun, I'll give credit to the child actors for the first half.

I think he deserves his popularity and all the CF he is getting etc but I don't think he deserved the 2012 best actor award over the amazing Han Suk Kyu and Shin Ha-Kyun. Those were two veteran actors with outstanding performances, Shin in Brain and Han in Tree With Deep Roots. I think

I'm looking forward more to You From Another Star mainly because I like the two main leads. I'm liking the low expectations because I'm getting sick of over-hyped dramas.

I've seen a couple of dramas with Lee Yeon-hee and I just can not stand her acting. I saw improvement in her 2 episodes appearance in Gu Family Book so here is hoping that she is capable of carrying a whole drama.

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I agree that i thought Han Suk Kyu should have won that 2012 best actor award for his portrayal of king sejong in Tree With Deep Roots. That was an amazing performance that gave me chills throughout. Often times really great actors that deserve the award moreso than someone else get shafted, so i can see where there was a misstep there. Popularity unfortunately wins at those ceremonies.

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I think most award ceremonies are based on popularity, though in Hollywood they also tend to give out what one pundit called "Sophisticated Hippy Awards" - to films that nobody ever heard of just to show that the judges are open minded.

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Even w/ the whole popularity thing the fact that KSH won it over HSK made the awards even a bigger joke than it already was.

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Um, I think those "sophisticated hippy awards" are handed to films that are the most critically acclaimed...even if they never caught on with the general American public, there's nothing wrong with rewarding them as oftentimes those art films are the most compelling, forward-thinking, beautifully constructed films the industry releases and benefit from having spotlight thrown on them.

You seem to be criticizing awards-as-popularity-contests but then turn around and scoff at "films that nobody ever heard of" and the motivations for nominating them, even though those little films are often times the most deserving and well-loved by the film community; voting for them isn't some sop for their egos.

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Yeah, KSH winning over Shin Ha-kyun and Han Suk-kyu was an absolute joke.

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I was agreeing with you until you said he didn't deserve an award over 2 veteran actors. That you've been in the game longest doesn't make you the best. Those veterans started from somewhere right? This sounds more like jealousy than anything to me because if your argument is about him being new in the industry, then it's all wrong.

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Its NOT about him being new its about Shin and Han's outstanding performance that year or did you not read. Have you seen Brain and Tree With Deep Roots yet? Compare that with KSH in Sun/Moon.
What's with the jealous comment? That doesn't make freaking sense. Why would I be jealous of him? That's really stupid and you must be one of his rapid fan-girls.

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My lack of enthusiasm for YFAS has nothing to do the actors, it has to do with the plot. As someone earlier noted, aside from the alien part, it seems like pretty much a formula rom-com. But I have been surprised by actors and plots both, several times (in both good and bad ways) so will check both.

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LSK is just gorgeous.

There are actually teasers out there for anyone who want to get a better sense of the drama.

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Ratings-wise, YWCFTS will get big numbers because of KSH and JJH. It's also Heirs' time slot successor. MK is the unfortunate inheritor of MTT's time slot AND it has an older cast. They have their work cut out for them, but Sun-Kyun is plain magic. I believe he'll pull a crowd in spite of the odds (odds being Lee Yeon Hee). I also agree in that MK sounds more interesting than YWCFTS. This is going to be interesting.

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Who knows, she might round out the SM actress improvement streak for this year. Let's see, first Sooyoung, then Go Ara and Yoona, and now maybe LYH with Miss Korea. None of them are awesome actresses, but at least now I can enjoy them on screen. I'm keeping myself optimistic that LYH will be decent.

Btw, The video teasers look fabulous.

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I don't think that the time slot successor helps all that much - if it did then Pretty Man would have rated a lot higher.

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I am also looking forward to this. It looks like the kind of breezy fun drama I need right now.

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JJH-KSH will definitely win the ratings, no doubt.

Lee Yeon Hee is like the poor man's Jeon Ji Hyun imo. Lee Seon Kyun, tho, might do wonders for this drama, despite the questionable plot.

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"LYH is like the poor man's JJH"??

I... don't know what that's supposed to mean. By no means do I like LYH - I honestly find her acting so lacking even in GFB. But... I think I'm a bit insulted for her, if I understood you correctly. She may not have half as much talent but I don't think one can categorize liking to someone's social position?

Correct me if I understood it wrong. I'm taking that comment literally although I don't know if you meant it that way :/

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a poor man's somebody/something - someone or something that is similar to a well-known person or thing but is not as good

(http://www.thefreedictionary.com/)

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Finally after all of her years in the acting business, this could be THE role for Lee Yeon Hee. She's not a good actress by any means but this could actually work for her.

I'm actually looking forward to this. Let's see how it all works out.

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I like the casts

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I think ratings wise, it will be almost a tie, but Jun Ji Hyun's drama will probably take first, because one, SBS is already on this role with their wednesday-thursday drama, and LYH is pretty (in)famous for her acting. And really, I'm excited to check it out, but then I'm underwhelmed at the beauty transformation when the woman is already beautiful and...that's an important part for me~ In fact, she looks better without all this makeup and stuff

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I hope there's at least some sort of satire or even subtle criticism of Korea's obsession with looks in here but...I doubt it. The plot being about making a pretty girl have a better personality is not really pulling me in personally. Really, really glad it's not another ugly duckling story though. They make me cringe at this point.

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yyyyeaaahh...well i'll be watching You from Another Star. other than Mr. Voice this drama doesn't appeal to me. but i still hope it does well...

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I'm actually really looking forward to this. I kinda like that they're not taking someone "plain" and turning her into a beauty queen because that's been done before. It makes sense that they'd pick someone like Lee Yeon Hee if they're really trying to win. I think there could still be a lot of hijinks with all these ajusshis fussing around her. Well, I think it could go either way.

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I'm gonna watch both of YFAS and Ms.K ~ But I'm trying non to give high expectation for them. I wish they wouldn't turn out to be boring-trite-disappointing like The Heirs and Pretty Man.

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Me too, i cant stand both films , the Heis and pretty man.

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I think Pretty Man is tons better than airs.

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Ha-ha---I mean "Heirs" (LOL, what a brain fart that was...)

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LYH did a pretty decent job in GFB so maybe w/ the right script and PD she can surprise us like what Go Ara has been doing in AM1994 (or like what Kim Tae-hee did in "My Princess or YEH in "Coffee Prince.").

The "Voice' is getting more distinguished looking as he gets older (was always a bit on the adorkable side - think Trash from AM1994 will pick up that mantle).

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I will watch this in the same manner that I watched Pasta. in that I can willingly watch these actors do absolutely nothing in regards to plot because I like them all so much.

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I think she does look like a regular woman. Maybe she was regarded as very pretty but I only saw her in GFB and she was nice and all but nothing awesome. If she was walking around on the street here she is not the girl that would make people stare at her. Sometimes you have to look at people beyond their "fame". I don't like this plot very much but I'll give it a chance if only because of the Voice. :)

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I'm on the Kim Soohyun-Jeon juhyun boat but i'll check this out afterwards.

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Lee Yeon Hee really achieved the look of Honey Lee during Miss Universe 2007. They are such goddesses of beauty.

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I subscribe to both Vicki and DramaFever, so I'm hoping it'll not be a matter of either/or for me. Both dramas sound like they might be fun, so I'm hoping I'll able to avail myself of both. Though my shallow side, ever appreciative of male pulchritude, is especially looking forward to the eye-candy that is KSH. Those lips....

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LSK looks sooooooooooooooooooo much younger !!! how is that possible ?! but I love him no matter what

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Oh boy Lee Seon-kyun looks so charismatic here(but wait,he is always charming) but here it's even more or maybe it's because i've missed him on dramas so i hope this show will rock and be witty,yeah LSK rocks when he is witty

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Plz Dramabean recap this films, i can't find engsub for it. WHo knows where i can watch and download engsub?

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"Miss Korea" in licensed on Viki's website for N. & S. America. It's also available on Dramafever.

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I'll be watching. Lee Sun-Kyun is a pleasure to watch but I was totally on board when I saw that Lee Ki-Woo was also cast...my favorite narcoleptic from "Flower Boy Ramyun Shop".

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