If I were casting Korean Hanadan...

[dangermousie]

You know that rumor I posted earlier about Korean version of Hana Yori Dango?

They are going to cast whoever they are going to cast, but what is the harm of a little fantasy casting?

So here is my ideal cast, behind the cut, with visual aides and reasons. They are all much too old btw, but hey, let’s pretend this is being made in 2002 or so :P



Makino Tsukushi: Han Ji Min (Capital Scandal, Yi San, Resurrection)



Why: She is short and as CS demonstrated, has prior experience at punching future OTP in the face ;) I have only seen her in CS but she came across as someone who could do bossy and spunky, brainy and yet clueless and someone who could be enormously endearing and a bit dogmatic.

Domyouji Tsukasa: Jo In Sung (Dirty Carnival, What Happened in Bali, Spring Day, Piano)



Why: JIS is actually the first person who jumped out at me when I read about kdrama Hanadan. And not just because his role in Bali was basically that of a more grown-up, more messed-up Domyouji. JIS is very good at playing both an arrogant rich person and someone craving for love and angsting straight into your heart, at the same time. He can play dangerous, and can play adorable, and can play a total dork. He can do crazy intense and yet has a wonderful sense of comedy. I’d definitely pick him. The fact that I find him crazy hot doesn’t hurt.

Hanazawa Rui: Hyun Bin (Snow Queen, My Name is Kim Sam Soon, Millionaire’s First Love)



Why: He is pretty enough to be Rui. Seriously though, after seeing him in SQ, he is someone who is very good at playing someone very quiet, and a little odd, and no matter what, with a basic elegance down to his finger-tips.

Nishikado Soujiro: Jae Hee (Delightful Girl Chun-Hyang, Witch Yoo Hee, 3-Iron)



Why: Because I want Jae Hee in any fantasy drama casting? Seriously though, he is very pretty, and can do the casual flirt thing very well, and can come across as both kind and inapproacheable. And is also fun. I’d pick Kang Ji Hwan, actually, but he is a bit older than the rest of them, so no.

Mimasaka Akira: Kim Jung Hoon (Goong, Witch Yoo Hee)



Why: for filmi_girl, plus he is awfully pretty. And maybe that way they can get a discount on opening/closing theme song ;)

Yuki: Sung Yuri (Hong Gil Dong, Snow Queen, One Fine Day)



Why: She has this fresh-faced, almost naïve spunkiness I indentify with the character.

Shizuka: Kim Tae Hee (Nine-Tailed Fox, Love Story in Harvard)



Why: Because seeing HB and her on screen together would be prettiness explosion. Only in my version, they’d end up together for good a la the anime. Oh, and she can do sophisticated very well.

Comments

[melonfusion.livejournal.com]

I've not seen Hana Yori Dango, so I don't know anything about these characters, BUT! I'm watching Resurrection right now and Han Ji Min is fantastic in it. The material's pretty heavy, so most of what she'd playing is sad and stoic, but they have a lot of flashbacks to happier times and she does bossy and playful really well.

kind of OT: Is Dirty Carnival good? I want to watch something with Jo In Sung, but not What Happens In Bali.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Dirty Carnival is one of the best Asian movies I've ever seen, but if you don't want to watch Bali because it's depressing, I recommend staying away from DC. It made me want to slit my wrists. He plays a small-time mob enforcer whose life ain't great and gets worse as the movie progresses. An awesome kissing scene, though.

Bali is really really good! :) I plan to watch a few more of his dramas that have a happy ending though and will let you know if they are decent.

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

I love your cast - I have always been a fan of Rui's character and Hyun Bin could be soooooo good at this. And poor Yul gets to have a girl (or many?)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Poor Yul gets to have lots of girls, which is only fair :P

And Hyun Bin would make such a good Rui. Can't see him as Domyouji at all. Whenever I've seen him play loud or in-your-face-jerkish, he never comes across as very convincing, as if his heart isn't in it :) The only kdrama actor I love that I can imagine even less as Domyouji-type is Bae Yong Joon :)

[boycottbananas.livejournal.com]

I like the fact that you didn't pick Eun Hye for Makino, even though I like her. XD;;

And Kim Jeong Hoon! :3 I can't really see him as Akira, but that'd be cool anyway. Lol.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I don't have a good sense of Akira, other than playboyish and hot, and he was both in Witch Yoo Hee, so that was good enough for me :)

[lesbiassparrow.livejournal.com]

Han Ji Min does an excellent punch in the face. And she was also very good in resurrection playing a much different but very determined character so she has a good range.

I notice you didn't put down Ireland as one of Hyun Bin's roles. Shame!

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Is Resurrection good, btw? I.e. I know it's good, but is it something I'd like?

I notice you didn't put down Ireland as one of Hyun Bin's roles. Shame!

I know, leaving off such a masterpiece! I guess my love for fake!Irish harp playing terrorists blinded me.

[lesbiassparrow.livejournal.com]

You would probably hate it as it has the other man from My Delightful Girl as a good guy. I thought it was okay enough - nothing spectacular and I did rather like the whole slowly unwinding revenge. In that it was a bit like Mawang.

I bet Hyun Bin wants to forget about Ireland too. I still can't believe the heroine went for her hideous birth brother over him.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I bet Hyun Bin wants to forget about Ireland too. I still can't believe the heroine went for her hideous birth brother over him.

What happened at the end? Did she really stick with incest?

[lesbiassparrow.livejournal.com]

I gave up around episode 4 or so but I read some spoilers that suggested that she did get with the brother but I am not sure if it ended with them still being incesty.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yikes.

[joonni.livejournal.com]

Yes, han ji min! That makes sense.

But I worry about Domyouji's role because of the hair. Jerry and Matsujun both had funny hair. Will JIS be able to pull it off???

As for Shizuka, I find her KTH too cute for the role. Someone a little older perhaps.

Weehee, this is fun! Fantasy-casting!

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I would rather anybody they cast got rid of awful manga hair. They can skip manga accuracy for once :)

[lain7.livejournal.com]

Kim Jung Hoon! *glomp*

Hanazawa Rui is the hardest role to cast imo. I've only seen Hyun Bin in Kim Sam Soon, so it's hard for me to see him as Rui. How is Snow Queen for a drama?

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I love KJH and this way poor Yul, as alexandral pointed out, gets lots of girls.

Snow Queen is one of my top 10 kdramas, and the only 'terminal illness' one I like (that's not a spoiler, it's clear from beginning heroine will die). Hyun Bin is awesome in it, as a quiet, withdrawn, guilt-ridden genius mathematician. He is very very gentle but not weak at all. His character was my 'drama bf' for quite a while.

It has a fast pace and beautiful cinematography.

This is an unspoilerish, summary-ish post:

http://dangermousie.livejournal.com/699834.html

[lain7.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I watched ep 1 and you're right: the cinematography is stunning.

Unfortunately, the storyline that interests me ends with the BFF in just one episode. :(

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

The BFF thing was, I confess, the slashiest thing ever :)

[walkwithheroes.livejournal.com]

Love the cast list! Sure, everyone may be a bit old for their roles - but I don't care.


Han Ji Min is the perfect Makino. She has that sweetness in her, but she's also tough. And, she enjoys punching her OTP. :)



Jo In Sung is born to play Domyouji, 'nuff said.


Hyun Bin, the guy does moody!emo!angst very well. Plus, he just elegant. Also - I get a kick out of the fact that in SQ, he and SY were the OTP, and here they wouldn't be.


Jae Hee is looking good, isn't he? He can do that quiet cool. Plus, he does the flirty thing very well. And, somehow I adore the idea of he and SY as an OTP.

Kim Jung Hoon. I'm not sure about this one. He was awful in WYH. But then again, that was just an awful show. He was great in Goong and in Fog Street. And to be honest, Akira never seems to do much but flirt with older women and crack jokes with his best friend, Soujiro. So, he
can stay in the cast.


Sung Yuri as Yuki is love. She can be sweet and lovely and loyal. And to me, that's Yuki in a nutshell. Plus, did I mention that I love the idea of her and Jae Hee as an OTP?


Kim Tae Hee as Shizuka? I've never seen her in anything, so I'll take your word for it.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

WYH was a waste of such an awesome cast *gnashes teeth* And yeah, Akira doesn't really do much.

KTH isn't the world's greatest actress but she can be pretty and elegant which is basically all Shizuka needs.

[filmi-girl.livejournal.com]

It was also a wasted premise! I loved the first few episodes where Yoo-Hee was still a flaming bitch...

(Also, Kim Jung Hoon!!!!!!! YAY!!! He'd have those totally adorable sisters. That would be way cute.)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I am OK with just pretty colors and the cast running around cutely, but so wish WYH was better :(

[walkwithheroes.livejournal.com]

WYH was godawful. It's like the writers didn't know what to do. I personally believe they started doing drugs about a third way through the show.

Akira's pretty, but he's a character is very very one dimensional.


Shizuka is pretty and elgant, but no she only sometimes does stuff.

[janlake83.livejournal.com]

i would love it if hyun bin was rui since i think he can pull it off..... and jae hee and kim jung hoon would be great if they played akira and soujiro......

i'm not sure about tsukasa and tsukushi..... but i am still somewhat excited to see their take....

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I hope whoever they get is good!

[janlake83.livejournal.com]

i hope so too... and i'm hoping that the writing is also good.....

[booknerd14.livejournal.com]

i love your f4 casting, minus your domyouji just cause i have no idea who it that is. i don't anybody else you cast either, but your f3 is perfect in my opinion. only prob now would be the age to make the characters. i don't buy anyone of them as highschool students.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

To get any half-decent actors they'd have to set it in college, IMO (though even then my ideal picks are too old, would have been right if this was filmed 5 years earlier). Oh well

[carviangli.livejournal.com]

OMG..your ideas are similar to mine...but I don't know about a few of them-interesting though?

I'm a little undecided about the korean version...as long as it isn't dragged out or too angsty I'm all for it:)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I like aaaangst but yeah, am excited to complete the 'set'

[stillingfleet.livejournal.com]

it's amazing how they can redo the hyd premise over and over again and i'll STILL be jumping to watch it. =D i really hope that they have a korean versh too to complete the set!

and i had exactly the same guy in mind for soujirou, although my vote will always be for yoon eun hye for tsukushi. then again, i've never seen the girl you recced act, so i wouldn't be able to judge really!

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I really hope they get good actors/writers. YEH could make a good Tsukushi.

[fivil.livejournal.com]

I highly approve of this. Though isn't Yuki the character who starts out friend-to-Makino and ends up developing into a really annoying one? No wait, that's Sakurako. Don't even wanna think about casting her. XD

Hyun Bin fits the Rui Principle perfectly.

Also, I scrolled down after HJM to see JIS and wow, I haven't seen him in anything (Bali is so not my kind of drama) but omg, I just had this feeling they would be *amazing* together. Their looks match. How tall is he? :P

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yup, they won't have to worry unfulfilling the Rui principle if they cast Hyun Bin :)

Bali is so not my kind of drama

He is going to be in a movie you are going to highly approve of though :) He and Joo Jin Mo play gay lovers, in an upcoming 'flower store,' a period epic where they are a bodyguard and a king respectively. Mmmm.

According to drama wiki, JIS is 185cm, which would make him 25cm taller (!!!!!) than HJM which is perfect. I checked, because I remember Kang Ji Hwan being super-tall and towering over HJM, and according to drama wiki, JIS is even taller.

Now, I know the whole 'profiles exaggerate male height' thing, but even if you substact a few centimeters or even a few inches, that's still plenty, and after watching him in various things, he is VERY tall, and sort of towers over everybody (there is this scene in Bali where he is on an escalator with Ha Ji Won, and she is a step above, but he is still taller than she is).

Plus, despite the crazy-intense stuff he seems to pick to do lately, he started out as a comic actor, and has awesome comedic timing.

[fivil.livejournal.com]

He and Joo Jin Mo play gay lovers, in an upcoming 'flower store,' a period epic where they are a bodyguard and a king respectively. Mmmm.
That does sound good. Kmovies are usually unimpressive plotwise but that will be interesting just so see how it plays out.

And that's good re: comic timing because Domyouji totally needs to be hilarious. Even if sort of unintentionally so, like Jerry in MG. XD

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

My problem with a lot of kmovies is that they try to cram a kdrama's worth of plot into two hours :P (Millionaire's First Love or Bichunmoo, I am looking at you). Some of them are excellent though: The Host, Dirty Carnival (with JIS, btw!), the King and the Clown, Shiri. Let's hope this will be in the latter category, though at the very least, it will be definitely pretty and sort of like LOTR fanfic: pretty guys with swords making out with each other :P

Domyouji totally needs to be hilarious. Even if sort of unintentionally so, like Jerry in MG. XD


Oh God. Now I am remembering Jerry's dorky dance outside that store. LOL. Yeah, JIS can be very funny. I mean, he managed to be funny in Bali, in some spots, and that's a feat.

[fivil.livejournal.com]

Yeah, in a lot of movies I just don't get enough feel for the characters and who they are; they just are, and that's it. Especially romantic comedies which is generally my favourite kmovie genre. I think this is why I never got into watching Korean movies like I got into Indian movies. There's not enough there, and most movies are just hopelessly mediocre.

I think the whole character is kind of a ridiculous dork. And once you realize that, you begin to see his charm beyond the sadistic, spoiled rich kid exterior. It's great.

[shinystory.livejournal.com]

It's kinda wonky if they set this in high school. This cast works if they are at least college sophomores.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

To be fair, this is only my fantasy cast. They could obviously set it in high school if they find various age-appropriate people. but I do hope they set it in college because that opens up the casting a lot. Now, I still think most of my choices would be too old anyway (JIS? He is 27, which I would normally consider young enough to play a college student, except he's been playing older than his age for years. Ditto Hyun Bin) but it would still give them more possibilities than a high school setting.

[shinystory.livejournal.com]

To be fair, this is only my fantasy cast. Sorry I sounded too strong. But yeah, it seems the actors we know and like are really much older for this kind of thing.

I kind of think they've half a mind to cast undiscovered talent for this. Like they did "Goong." They are the same people who did "Goong," right?

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Oh, you didn't sound too strong! Yeah, all the actors we like are too old! And too famous too. Oh well...it is the Goong people so hopefully they will cast well.

[village.livejournal.com]

I actually really like the idea of KJH as Rui, myself. He's actually kind of perfect for the character the more I think about it. Hot but unapproachable (at first anyway). More of a "Vic Zhou" Rui than a "Oguri Shun" Rui, if that makes any sense.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Hmmmm, is he a good enough actor though?

[grey-fuzzy.livejournal.com]

I never thought of Kim Jung Hoon as Akira... slkjnd; that could totally work. I could maybe even see him as Rui, if he fine-tuned his Goong angst skills a bit.


Actually I just want to see him in general *pulls out Goong*

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I want to see him again, too. I wonder when that Chinese drama where he is the lead coming out.

[prettierdanpink.livejournal.com]

I don't know that much about Korean actors/ actresses but these are familiar faces (except for the one you chose as Makino) XD

Hmm, I think Jo In Sung is perfect as Domyouji. I love him in Bali! Wait, he's more like Jerry Yan's Dao Ming Si instead of MatsuJun's Domyouji XD I'm not sure about Kim Jung Hoon as Akira though. But oh well, he does not have much of a role anyway XD LOL~ And Kim Tae Hee is so pretty too! :D

I hope the setting is in college, not high school. :P More like Meteor Garden (they're in a university if i'm not mistaken?) than HanaDan :D

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yeah, JIS would be more like DMS than Domyouji in Hanadan2005. But that's OK. I really hope they set it in uni, too...