Honey Lee and Yeon Woo-jin as potential rom-com pairing
by javabeans
More casting movement is underway for Marriage Not Dating (formerly called Anticipate Marriage), the upcoming tvN drama which has set Yeon Woo-jin (When a Man Loves, Arang and the Magistrate) to headline: Honey Lee (Shark, Pasta) is now in the running to play his co-star, and her reps confirmed that she is considering the drama positively.
Marriage Not Dating is the drama about a happily single man whose family is badgering him to marry, and to get them to give up on their efforts, he decides to introduce them to a girlfriend they wouldn’t approve of. I’m gonna say there’s no way he could outdo Choi Han-gyul on that score, aka Gong Yoo in Coffee Prince, but I suppose he’ll give it a solid try. (Which is funny that Honey Lee should be the candidate, because as a Seoul National University graduate, traditional gugak musician, and Miss Korea, her image is pretty much set as the perfect bring-home-to-mother girlfriend.)
In the drama, the character she would play is a graduate of a rural university (so, a lower-tier school) who works at a luxury boutique. I guess that’s not good enough as wife material for our highly educated plastic surgeon hero, or so his family would believe; he presents her as the unsuitable girlfriend, and over the course of their bickering (faux?) courtship, they’ll fall in love for real.
It’s definitely an interesting pairing, maybe even a little odd—I think she’s got lots of charisma and presence, but acting-wise I never respond to her characters as much as I want to. Then again, her characters haven’t been that interesting in the dramas I’ve seen her in; I want to see her take on a sunnier role and see what she can do with a lovable type. (I have no qualms about him; Yeon Woo-jin was wonderful in Arang and the Magistrate and made an annoying character more palatable in Ojakkyo Brothers, and acts with a lot of heart.)
Marriage Not Dating will be written by the scriptwriter of last year’s two-episode Anticipate Love, and directing will be the PD of Brain and Haeundae Lovers. It’s being prepped to follow Gap-dong on Friday and Saturday nights.
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Tags: Honey Lee, Marriage Not Dating, Yeon Woo-jin
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1 mystisith
May 1, 2014 at 4:24 AM
Make it happen. First, we need more rom-coms this summer and secondly, I like that actor a lot. Whoever they cast with him can't be worst than the cardboard of WAML. Lol.
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mary
May 1, 2014 at 5:59 AM
*whispers* Elijah Lee...
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The other Kay
May 1, 2014 at 8:25 AM
OMG too funny. I seriously snorted Hahahahahaha
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CaroleMcDonnell
May 1, 2014 at 7:18 AM
I love him as well. Fell in love with him in Arang and then saw him in Ordinary Love
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coffeenlucia
May 1, 2014 at 8:49 AM
You liked his character in Arang?? Idk I guess I was always on the SatoxArang ship :P
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ravens_nest
May 1, 2014 at 12:06 PM
I think there's a difference between enjoying his character and wanting his character to be with Arang.
He was arguably the most complex character in the entire drama and I felt he was incredibly engaging. I adored him for it but I still recognized that he was a psychotic murderer who should never be in a romantic relationship with Arang.
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Tara
May 1, 2014 at 12:53 PM
Definitely agree with you...I thought Arang and Eun-oh suited each other perfectly. I felt bad for JW, but he was the third fiddle here. I did like YWJ's portrayal of JW, though.
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Lilian
May 1, 2014 at 8:17 AM
I second the need for better rom-coms. The good dramas so far for this year have been the thrillers like God's Gift and Gapdong. The rom-coms/dramas on the other hand haven't been that interesting. The last one that really interested me was I Need Romance 3.
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2 ebay
May 1, 2014 at 4:29 AM
OM... Yeon Woo-jin!
Had watched "Just an Ordinary Love Story" this morning and just looking at his profile... Wishing to see him in a drama! Hmmm... And i think it's granted!
Happy! :)
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haruka
May 1, 2014 at 4:50 AM
OMG, are you me? I was happened to see KBS World uploaded earlier episodes of the drama on their Youtube last night and it got me hooked right away and just finished watching it this morning too. Yeon Woo-jin is really great at pulling off that longing expression though, I melted whenever he's on bashful mode. I get it why he often got a line of roles with angst and solemn characterization because he really good with it. It'll be interesting to see him in much more lighter and quicker role next time. Can't wait!
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3 marie
May 1, 2014 at 4:55 AM
it seems " four sons and one daughter" gave Lee honey a completely image makeover.
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4 kristy
May 1, 2014 at 5:03 AM
Deosnt the premise sound a bit like Unstoppable Marriage?
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5 Kiara
May 1, 2014 at 5:04 AM
Love Honey Lee and I agree that she has plenty of charisma and screen presence but her characters were uninteresting. I think she is one gorgeous actress with a beautiful smile. I believe she will work well with Yeon Woo-jin. I'm definitely going to check this out.
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6 Emmy
May 1, 2014 at 6:37 AM
This is great news! I like both of them and the premise sounds adorable, cliche as it may be.
I've only seen Honey Lee in Shark, but I really liked her there. I would love to see how she performs in a rom-com! I think it's great that Yeon Woo-jin is finally getting leading roles.
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7 sartorius
May 1, 2014 at 6:42 AM
sounds like an exciting pairing... though i wish she sounded a little more undesirable...like high school graduate at age 25...hahaha.
anywhos m excited...tvn has been stepping up their game lately and all of their dramas have been good.
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8 Chandler
May 1, 2014 at 7:15 AM
Aw I'm so happy for him! I've loved him ever since Ojakkyo Brothers! It's interesting that you found his character annoying in that because though he started off so for the first ten episodes, by around 30 eps in or so he had become my favorite of the brothers. I loved how he cared after the eldest brother's son and thought the eldest brother was far more annoying a character.
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9 canxi
May 1, 2014 at 8:24 AM
I would like this a lot! Honey Lee should get some time to really shine indeed and Yeon Woo Jin is great!
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10 Uto
May 1, 2014 at 9:32 AM
Please can someone help with the recap of witch's romance. I will be so grateful
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Gidget
May 1, 2014 at 10:22 AM
If you're just looking for commentary - though not nearly a Dramabeans recap - try watching it with the timed comments on Viki.
I used that feature for the first time last night while watching ep.4. So. Much. Fun. There are a few people who seem to have a knack for comments that are both pithy and hilarious. Kinda like our beloved leaders here on DB.
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bebethao
May 1, 2014 at 10:34 AM
I agree. Those ppl are hilarious. I remenber watching Lie to Me and during this one ep, Eun hye's character falls down a hill or something. Of course her phone had no connection. Then Kang Ji Hwan's character finds her and uses his phone like nothing's wrong. What killed me was the comment during this part which were something along the lines of -- I guess we know who has Verizon and who has AT&T...me n the sis were cracking up we didn't even bother to watch the drama anymore we were just reading the funny comments..lol
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NahlaJW
May 1, 2014 at 11:31 AM
LOL xD I also loved readimg those comments years back ...but they distracted me from watching the drama itself :P
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Gidget
May 1, 2014 at 11:31 AM
LOL
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11 NahlaJW
May 1, 2014 at 11:24 AM
OMG .. Yoen woo-jin I liked him since arang ..his acting was fantastic there..Finally I'm free to watch his special drama at kbs ??
I love stories were the leads marry then fall in love afterwards ?...but this one looks great too ^^
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12 pogo
May 1, 2014 at 12:18 PM
I liked Anticipate Love and YWJ made me really feel for his character in Arang which was no mean feat, so I hope this'll be good too.
Though I must confess, when they said 'unsuitable girlfriend' I pictured a punked-out rock chick, not a university-educated (even lower-tier university is still university) girl with a job/
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13 Tara
May 1, 2014 at 1:29 PM
This pairing sounds interesting...although the plot seems a bit recycled in a way, imo.
I know Koreans value their education and all...but really, the "horror" of graduating from a "rural university"?!? At least she graduated college! Or maybe the disparity of top-class plastic surgeon and someone who didn't even graduate high school would be too far of a disparity? If it's not wealth, then it's education...gah x/
I've been a fan of YWJ since OB and AatM, and he was probably the only watchable character in WaML. I like the complexity and nuances that he gives his characters...so it'll be interesting to watch how he'll do in this leading role.
I totally agree with JB's assessment of HL...I never really cared for her characters, antagonistic or not. It'll be interesting to see if she can pull off the "underdog" female role here.
Btw, totally off-topic...but it is HL in those commercials for Dulcolax? I saw it a few times and I'm pretty sure it's her...
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14 exquisitemelody
May 1, 2014 at 5:47 PM
aww, another one to put on the list! This sounds cute. I liked him in Arang. I only saw a little bit of OB, and he was funny there. If anything...it's tvN. We should get some kisses :D
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15 dearly
May 1, 2014 at 5:56 PM
I like Honey Lee but her acting that I've seen have left me wary of her. Will probably give this a try since it'll be her first lead (Am I correct?).
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16 conan
May 1, 2014 at 10:57 PM
Yeon Woo-jin! This guy is awesome. And Honey Lee, yes totally agree. She's really magnetic but her characters haven't been able to capture that at all. Hopefully this drama will be fun and jinxy because that's the best.
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17 Mic
May 1, 2014 at 11:07 PM
The premise actually sounds kind of interesting, so I'll check it out.
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18 Arawn
May 1, 2014 at 11:08 PM
I have a problem with Honey Lee. She seriously freaked me out in Shark. When I look at her old pictures, she used to be really pretty but in Shark she looked like a character from Donald Duck comics - she really looks like a duck with those lips. And I am not saying this to be mean, I was just so distracted by her duck-likeness and overall fakeness that anything related to her acting and charm escaped me completely. :(
When I look at her pics from 2012, she looks more normal. Maybe her lips were just really puffed up after an operation and swelling didn't have time to reduce? Hopefully so...
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