Ha Ji-won and Ha Jung-woo’s sweet courtship in Blood Merchant
by girlfriday
Aw, I can’t wait to see this pairing onscreen — Ha Jung-woo’s second directorial feature Chronicle of a Blood Merchant has released its first set of production stills in preparation for a January premiere, which offer a peek at the first date between Ha Jung-woo (Kundo: Age of the Rampant), who also stars in the film, and Ha Ji-won (Empress Ki), who plays his wife. I know the movie is described as a human comedy, but I really didn’t expect it to be this light and cute, and now I’m really looking forward to watching it.
The film is an adaptation of the Chinese novel Chronicle of a Blood Merchant by Yu Hua, which takes place from 1950 to 1980. The adaptation is described as an uplifting, humorous tale, and sets the story in 1960s Korea where it follows the life story of a man who sells his blood to support his family in times of need.
Ha Jung-woo stars as the eccentric hero who has no money to his name and no plans for how to improve his lot in life. But he does have an epic silver tongue and an indomitable spirit — once he latches onto someone, they always give in, and he manages to live by his wits alone just by fast-talking his way through everything. He manages to win over the prettiest girl in town this way, and they get married and have three sons.
The central story is about the events in the hero’s life as he hits a rough patch and faces true poverty, and the things he goes through to support his family. The production boasts a crazy talented ensemble cast of supporting players, which doesn’t come as a huge shock since Ha Jung-woo is directing. (I mean, who hasn’t he been in a movie with?) Kim Young-ae, Sung Dong-il, Kim Sung-kyun, Jung Man-shik, Lee Kyung-young, and Jo Jin-woong costar, and Yoon Eun-hye is making a special appearance.
Chronicle of a Blood Merchant will premiere in theaters January 15.
Via Wow TV
RELATED POSTS
- Ha Jung-woo to star in Park Chan-wook’s Agasshi
- Movie Review: Closer to Heaven (2009)
- Yoon Eun-hye cast in period film Chronicle of a Blood Merchant
- Ha Jung-woo’s band of outlaws runs rampant
- Movie Review: The Berlin File
- Ha Jung-woo directs new feature co-starring Ha Ji-won
- Ha Ji-won leads trio of badass fighters in The Huntresses
- Jeon Ji-hyun considers her next project with A-list team
- Empress Ki’s new posters and preview
- Ha Jung-woo’s new thriller The Terror Live
Tags: Ha Ji-won, Ha Jung-woo
Interview with Kim Yoo-jung
Hello Dramabeans series
![[2022 Year in Review] The Bean Count](https://www.dramabeans.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/beancount_2022.png)
Required fields are marked *
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
1 Rachel
November 22, 2014 at 4:41 AM
Wow what a cast! Really looking forward to this. Like the throwback aspect of it too.
Required fields are marked *
2 Shitty Hunter
November 22, 2014 at 4:52 AM
I misread Ha Ji-won as Ha Woo-jin.
Curse you Korean names for being so similar to one another! And Ha Woo-jin for being so good in Liar Game... ugh.
Required fields are marked *
3 Daphne Joan
November 22, 2014 at 5:20 AM
TQ gf
Is the girl in green scarf yoon eun hye acting,
I read she had to be heavily made up with her facial look.
Required fields are marked *
Rachel
November 22, 2014 at 6:05 AM
Interesting observation. You may be right.
Required fields are marked *
hany
November 22, 2014 at 7:45 AM
No the girl in the green scarf is still Ha Ji Won. Yoon Eun Hye's role is a fat lady in this movie. Ha Jung Wo is inlove with YEH's character eventhough she becomes really fat. I remember YEH saying in an interview that the makeup for this movie gave her really bad skin allergies cause they put stuff like glue on her skin as well.
Required fields are marked *
Daphne Joan
November 22, 2014 at 7:53 AM
she (yeh) also his wife (first wife !) if i read it correctly and had children too !.
Required fields are marked *
Daphne Joan
November 22, 2014 at 8:39 AM
observing again, the woman with red clutch beg could also be
yeh acting.
Required fields are marked *
hany
November 22, 2014 at 8:51 AM
lol nope that's also Ha Ji Won. Look at the bottom pic...the wedding picture. The girl holding the red clutch and the bride are the same person Ha Ji Won.
In the book, YEH's character was already married to someone else. In the book, YEH is only Ha Jung Wo's first love.
Daphne Joan
November 22, 2014 at 8:58 AM
the blouse collar don't look the same.
hany
November 22, 2014 at 9:19 AM
YEH's pictures are not released yet in these set of pics if you go to daum all these pics name are listed under Ha Ji Won and other casts no YEH yet. YEH's role here is very little.
Daphne Joan
November 22, 2014 at 9:27 AM
tq
4 Jw
November 22, 2014 at 5:27 AM
The original Yu Hua novel was downright depressing, although still marvelously breathtaking and beautiful. I wonder how they decided to make it into a light and cute human comedy though.
Required fields are marked *
achiara
November 22, 2014 at 11:42 AM
after being fooled one too many times, I learnt to never totally trust the genre of a korean movie so despite this one being marketed as a comedy, I wouldn't be surprised if it had emotionally heavier parts to give it substance and depth
Required fields are marked *
RyeBlossom
November 22, 2014 at 7:09 PM
I wonder if Korean producers think that the only way they can sell a movie or a drama, is by categorizing it as "Comedy".
The rating of a silly-light rom-com is many times much higher than a drama showing at the same time, but less fluffy (even if the cast is much better, writing more intelligent, etc.).
It is always surprising to see what gets categorized as "Comedy".
I guess it's the equivalent of "Family" movies in the US...
Required fields are marked *
tieuyeunu
November 22, 2014 at 4:31 PM
Agreed. I red this and the authors To Live which also had a movie starring gong Li back in the 90s.
I swore I'll stay away from his works in the future. But since they are making this a comedy and the little snippet of a trailer I saw was pretty light hearted I am giving it a go.
Though if you cast this many talented people, I'd expect there to be a lot of heavy scenes.
Required fields are marked *
5 Mandy
November 22, 2014 at 5:45 AM
This looks really really sweet! I'm already loving the pairing and the cast is stellar. From the looks of it, we already have 2015's first big hit!
Required fields are marked *
6 whitewire
November 22, 2014 at 6:23 AM
Anything with Ha Jung-woo in it will pull me in its ship!
Ha Jung-woo, such a fine ahjusshi if u ask me.
He is MIGHTY ADORABLE!
Missing him in dramaland, but love is love. Won't ever leave his side! Never! I'm so happy, real excited, for this!
Required fields are marked *
7 Sua
November 22, 2014 at 7:00 AM
Ha, is it just me or did the lady with the green head scarf remind anyone of Ha Ji Won in her Empress Ki role of Ki Seung Nyang?
Required fields are marked *
bomchi
November 22, 2014 at 7:22 AM
Isn't that scarf girl, Ha Ji Won herself?
Required fields are marked *
8 Lc
November 22, 2014 at 7:22 AM
My only thought when looking at the stills were - how could Ha Ji Won be sporting dyed hair when the setting was in the 1969s?
Required fields are marked *
museofmanymasks
November 22, 2014 at 7:53 AM
I don't know if it had been introduced to Korea or not but hair dye had already been invented. And since the Korean War had already taken place, the country would've begin experiencing western influences so its not as glaringly inaccurate as it would be say, if the movie was set in Joseon.
Required fields are marked *
RyeBlossom
November 23, 2014 at 12:58 AM
Hair can be dyed brown/orange/red with henna. The exact color depends on the henna, the color of the hair, and how long it's left on the hair.
I don't know if they had henna or something similar in Korea, but there might have been something there even before hair dye was what you can find in a supermarket.
Required fields are marked *
piggybackrider
November 23, 2014 at 5:44 PM
It almost silly to comment on this point, but: archeological evidence shows humans have used plant colors etc. to dye their hair for more than 100.000 years. Artificial dye was invented in 1800s, more than a century before 1969.
Required fields are marked *
9 backspace
November 22, 2014 at 7:33 AM
Stills looks cute! HJW and HJW!
Required fields are marked *
10 museofmanymasks
November 22, 2014 at 7:56 AM
This looks good. I am hopeful, but a little nervous because I did see his directional debut (Fasten Your Seatbelts) and was underwhelmed. But I think this has a better chance of being awesome with this cast and a pre-established framework for the premise.
Required fields are marked *
11 Lyna
November 22, 2014 at 11:17 AM
When I see this pair I just automatically remember the award shows with them that result in Ha Jung woo cross country walk lol
Required fields are marked *
12 jensredshoes
November 22, 2014 at 11:46 AM
I cannot wait for this! But, of course I'll have to ... for a long long time. Sigh.
Required fields are marked *
13 kanz
November 22, 2014 at 12:30 PM
The first still, anyone has TWTWB cotton candy kiss flashback? Hehehe
The cast is so good to be wasted on this movie. So I hope the movie will come out good.
Required fields are marked *
14 Fun-Lugha
November 22, 2014 at 1:48 PM
That is one hell of a wedding photo ha ha!
Required fields are marked *
15 coffeenlucia
November 22, 2014 at 2:09 PM
That first picture is so adorbs. Love Ha Ji Won.
Required fields are marked *
16 gala
November 22, 2014 at 6:24 PM
Where'd Ha Ji Won find the fountain of youth? She looks exactly like she did in Love so Divine and that's about a decade ago!!!
Required fields are marked *
17 Marilynn
November 22, 2014 at 8:27 PM
The fingers and hands can tell the age, you can't hide it.
Required fields are marked *
18 flamethunder
November 22, 2014 at 11:13 PM
Can't wait for this. I miss Ha Ji Won on screen.
Required fields are marked *
19 Anonymous
November 23, 2014 at 1:44 AM
Hope the movie will be a great hit for both.I already miss HJW in dramaland.I would love to see HJW and HB in drama or movie.The best OTP ever.
Required fields are marked *
20 pogo
November 23, 2014 at 3:36 AM
I don't know why I expected this to be a sageuk, but it does look interesting and the cast alone is reason enough for me to watch.
Required fields are marked *
21 HopesDD
November 23, 2014 at 11:51 AM
The only bad thing about this, is that Ha ji Won's movie premieres on the same day as Puppy's movie, they won't attend each other's premiere :'(
Why??? I wanted to see them at least in the same event!
Required fields are marked *
22 Julie Begseng
December 26, 2014 at 6:15 PM
Sigh....Loving me some Hajiwon and Hajungwoo...Wishing this time that I too live in Korea so that I can watch this film on it's opening date. It's gonna be a great movie.
Required fields are marked *