Korean Weekly News - Easter Edition

Casting for the third installment of the 조폭마누라 (My Wife is a Gangster) saga has been announced, and there's some surprises. We reported a while ago that Shu Qi would play the lead, after it was long rumoured the role would go to Zhang Ziyi. But the rest of the cast was still up for grabs, so here's what we're dealing with: Oh Ji-Ho will play the gangster falling in love with Shu Qi's 'Chinese gangster's daughter on the run', and Hyun Young will play the role of Shu Qi's interpreter, with all the shenanigans you can expect. Oh was last seen in the recently concluded Weekend Drama 인생이여 고마워요 (Thank You Life), whereas Hyun Young has been infesting the airwaves and Korean theaters for the last few months without resting a minute, last seen receiving the 'most popular' award at the Baeksang Awards last April 14. The film starts shooting at the end of the month in Hong Kong, to return middle next month to Korea, for the usual Chuseok release.

Not even a week has passed since the death of the late great Shin Sang-Ok, and we're already talking about a film about his life. Actually, it's nothing out of the blue, but the death of the legendary director just sped up things. Seems like Hollywood has been interested in the life of the director (more for his past with North Korea than for his marvelous films in the South, I suppose) enough to enquire about the possibility of making a film about his life, ever since the end of 2004. Boram Films and Lord of the Rings producer Barry Osbourne signed a contract in 2004, and apparently the script for this co-production is already in the initial stages in the US. Lee Joo-Ik, president of Boram films, commented that after signing the contract with Osbourne, they met with director Shin early last year to ask for permission, which he granted. He also said that if the focus was only on his activities in the North, he probably would have refused, but since it was a film about his entire life, he eventually agreed. Osbourne commented that since the image Korea has outside of Asia is mostly related to happenings in the 50s and 60s, this will be a good chance to allow other countries to know a little more about today's Korea. Staff will be American, but the entire cast will be Korean, and although there's no details about budget or a possible release target, we'll follow this story in the coming months.

I usually don't talk about things like these, but given the little success story it's become, I'll make an exception. Scoring big at the box office two weeks in a row, Son Jae-Gon's 달콤, 살벌한 연인 (My Scary Girl) has been in the headlines for a while, not only because it has some of the best dialogue of the year, and a career making performance by Park Yong-Woo. But also for perhaps less 'romantic' reasons, but quite important in today's Chungmuro: production budget for the film was a mere 900 Million Won, which if we add the marketing bill (and it was really smart marketing, with all the hilarious trailers and parody posters) takes us to 1.9 Billion Won, more or less the budget for Dragon nostril CGI in Shim Hyung-Rae's 디워 (D-War).

Now leads Park Yong-Woo and Choi Kang-Hee risk adding a pretty good sum to their 100 Million Won running guarantee (a pop), if the film reaches the 2 Million tickets, which is looking like a surefire deal judging by this week's numbers (overwhelming winner of pre-order sales two weeks in a row, with over 35%, and most likely No. 1 for this weekend's box office too). The film has been attracting hordes of Chungmuro's most wanted target demographics, 20 something women and couples. But here's a little figure to consider: last year's report from KOFIC noted that the average production cost of Korean films in 2005 was 3.99 Billion Won, so how could they make a film like this, for 1/4 of the money? Simple: using HD Cameras makes things faster, choosing the right staff members improves working conditions, and focusing on talented actors instead of beauty or marketability increases the chances of living up to the potential of a script (especially an unique one like this). This will likely be the future of commercial Korean Cinema, even though arthouse films and star directors will go their own way. And I'd say it's a pretty positive turn of events.

Last seen (or better, currently seen) in the Daily Drama 사랑은 아무도 못말려 (Love Can't Wait), Choi Jung-Yoon has had a hard time cracking into the top of the totem pole in the TV Drama world, despite her considerable talent, as shown in the lovely 태릉선수촌 (Taereung National Village). But her new film might just change the cards a little, as she's been cast in Lee Joon-Ik's 라디오스타 (Radio Star), the upcoming comedy starring Ahn Sung-Gi and Park Joong-Hoon, from the director of 왕의 남자 (The King and The Clown). This is Choi's first film since 2004's horror 분신사바 (Bunshinsaba) and she'll star as Seok-Young, a radio PD working with Ahn and Park. The film tells the story of a former star (Park) who can't deal with the fact his days in the limelight are over, and is pretty much forced to accept a job as DJ in a little radio station, with Ahn Sung-Gi playing his manager. The film, which also stars Jang Jin regulars Yoon Joo-Sang and Jung Gyu-Soo, should start shooting in a couple of weeks, to release in theaters for the Chuseok season. More on this in the coming months, as it looks like a potential gem.

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TV DRAMA NEWS
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We really had no reason to miss 주몽 (King Jumong), MBC's great looking Historical Drama about Goguryeo founder King Jumong. After all, with a cast like that (Song Il-Guk, Han Hye-Jin, Oh Yeon-Soo, Kim Young-Cheol, Hur Joon-Ho), a writer like that (Choi Wan-Gyu) and the usual incredible work of MBC's Art Direction team, along with one of the most interesting outlines of recent memory, the show looked like a winner right from the beginning. Well, now you can add another big reason to watch the show, when it will start airing on May 8: Jeon Gwang-Ryeol has also been cast in the Drama, as Jumong's father (and here's the news, as we reported about a month ago he'd be part of the cast, but I didn't know what his role would be). Jeon made a (big) name for himself with the 2000 classic 허준 (Hur Joon), another Historical Drama written by master Choi Wan-Gyu, and this continues the working relationship between Jeon and Choi, as he also starred in 종합병원 (General Hospital) and 그들의 포옹(Their Embrace). Jeon will end up in a 삼각관계 (love triangle) with Hur Joon-Ho and Oh Yeon-Soo, who's playing Song Il-Guk's mother despite the non-existent age difference. It's less than a month folks, then the big war of Historical Dramas finally begins. I can't wait, and this time I'm not joking.

Seems like people aren't getting tired of Im Sung-Han's usual shenanigans in 하늘이시여 (Dear Heaven), so what could possibly happen... yes sir, SBS is giving us more of the same, for a while at least. Im, one of the most famous writers in the industry, notorious for starting well and ending up with something often completely different from the show she wrote at the beginning -- case in point 인어 아가씨 (Mermaid Girl) swings up and down between Bizarro World sitcom and over the top melodrama -- has been scoring big with her latest Drama (as always), so SBs has decided to extend its episodes from 75 to 81. Originally the station was supposed to start airing the Historical Drama 연개소문 (Yeon Gae Somun) from June 3, but with the big spectre of the World Cup haunting TV producers, the station decided to go the easy way. So we're getting Dear Heaven until Mid-June, then the 100 Episode Sageuk will finally start, which in some ways could even be better, as the crew will have more time to shoot before broadcast.

Remember Jang Na-Ra? You don't? Well, that's because after hitting it big with 명랑소녀 선공기 (A Joyful Girl's Success Story) [which is admittedly a lot of fun] she essentially tried to repeat the same tirade over and over, revealing she was in fact a one trick pony. But while her popularity in Korea has been touching rock bottom, as the ratings for last year's 웨딩 (Wedding) showed, she's a big star in China, where she shot a few TV Dramas as well, along with her singing career. But this time it looks like Korean companies are starting to realize her potential in the Chinese market, as Hunan TV and MBC will co-produce a sort of 'modern day Dae Jang-Geum' with the young star at its center. The show will be entitled 사랑의 요리사 (Love Chef), and produced by that Hwang In-Roi who did a magnificent job with 궁 (Princess Hours) -- although writing and acting were certainly not up to that standard. The 16 Episode Drama (70 Minutes per episode) will focus on the food just as much as the love story, and will bring back Yang Mi-Kyung from the original 대장금 (Dae Jang Geum) to play her mother, while Shawn Yue will play a Chinese cook (rest of the cast to be announced shortly). Jang stars as Gong Maeng-Jae, who majored in Korean cuisine but failed securing a job in Korea. So she moves to Shanghai to learn Chinese cuisine, and becomes friends with Yue (and maybe a little more, obviously).

If the horrible ratings and the trashing it's receiving from the press weren't enough, Yoon Seok-Ho's 봄의 왈츠 (Spring Waltz) faced more problems this week. Last April 11 actors Seo Do-Young and Daniel Henney were shooting an action scene in Sangsu-Dong, when Henney mistimed a punch, hitting Seo in the face pretty badly. Seo was rushed to the hospital, where he received treatment, and quickly returned to the set to complete filming of the episode. After that, he took other tests in the same hospital, revealing he'd need facial surgery to correct problems with his facial bones, and recovery in these cases usually takes from 5 to 6 weeks. But with just a two weeks rest, Seo can get 80% of his pretty face back to normal, so it was decided the show would just skip a week (it was later announced they'd show making of docs to replace those two episodes tomorrow and on Tuesday) and get back to normal from next week.

The sad thing was that some people in the media compared this accident to what happened last January with MBC's 늑대 (Wolf). We're dealing with someone hit by a speeding car, spending almost three months in hospital (not to mention Han Ji-Min's shock), against someone getting a decent jab in the face and learning action doesn't just mean standing there and trying to duck punches at the last moment, so it's a pretty ridiculous comparison (not to mention borderline offensive. Seo and Henney didn't risk their lives in this case). In any case, we wish a speedy recovery to Seo. The lesson from all this? Don't piss off Daniel Henney, he might mistime a punch and ruin your face. Pretty or not.

After playing legendary Admiral Lee Soon-Shin in last year's magnificent 불멸의 이순신 (The Immortal Lee Soon-Shin), and finally doing well in the ratings with his hilarious turn as a 'cute' gangster in 불량가족 (Bad Family), super-talented Kim Myung-Min is starting to raise eyebrows in the industry, which underused him for such a long time. Kim has been cast in the 20 Episode Drama 스피드 (Speed), which will air at the end of the year. The show is written by Ma Jin-Won and produced by Son Hwang-Won, the combo behind 마지막 춤을 나와 함깨 (Save The Last Dance For Me), and will also star Lee Seo-Jin as his rival. The show, the first ever co-production between Korea (CJ Mediaworks) and Turkey (STV), will feature the two in a big battle between aces of racing, with a yet uncast woman coming in the middle.

The 12 Billion Won Drama, which will mark the beginning of the 'Korean-Turkey Year of Friendship', will be partly shot in Turkey, where Lee Seo-Jin's character spent his youth and later became a renowned car racer, whereas Kim plays a president of the Turkey division of a car company (owned by daddy, I suppose). Although the premise sounds pretty predictable, there's a few key issues which might make this watchable at least: 1) the main cast is excellent, 2) it's a pre-shot Drama and most importantly 3) it's about RALLY RACING. No Formula 1, Touring Car or Indiecart... but rough and tough rally, with all the cinematic benefits coming from it. 6 Episodes will shoot in Turkey, another 3 in a yet to be confirmed foreign country (I suppose somewhere in Europe fitting with the image of rally racing. Could be Greece, Italy, or even the south of France), and the remaining 11 episodes in Korea. The show starts shooting in August, while the Korean station getting the rights to show this will be decided next month (I'd be REALLY surprised if it's not SBS).

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TV DRAMA 'SPRING-SUMMER COLLECTION' PREVIEWS PART 3
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Note: Continues with Part 4 (of 4) Next Week

스마일 어게인 (Smile Again)
SBS May - follows 불량가족 (Bad Family)
PD: 5
홍성창 (Hong Sung-Chang)
If remaking a classic from the 80s wasn't such a bad idea already, doing it in such a vanilla way is even worse. I'm actually sorry for good actors like Kim So-Yeon, Kim Sang-Kyung, Kim Sang-Joong and more, as 2004 인간 시장 (2004 Human Market) has been forgotten in just a couple of years for good reason. At least the remake of 사랑과 야망 (Love and Ambition) brought back the original writer/PD combo.
WRITER: 5
윤성희 (Yoon Sung-Hee)
매직 (Magic) was pretty much a waste of time, but 별을 쏘다 (Shooting Stars) is one of the best shows SBS has done in the last few years (even if that's not saying much). Of course she's also responsible for the completely useless 지금은 연애중 (We Are Dating Now) and that embarrassment 아름다운 날들 (Beautiful Days), so we're probably dealing with a flash in the pan, when it comes to the 2002 Drama starring Jeon Do-Yeon, Park Sang-Myun and Jo In-Sung.
CAST: 4
이동건 (Lee Dong-Geon), 김희선 (Kim Hee-Sun), 윤세아 (Yoon Se-Ah), 이지현 (Lee Ji-Hyun)
Lee Dong-Geon, or how to go from a masterpiece -- 네 멋대로 해라 (Ruler of Your Own World) -- and an hilarious comedy -- 낭랑18세 (Sweet 18) -- to a trio of 'Sergio Leone Memorial' Dramas (and a film). Why? He was in The Good [파리의 연인 (Lovers in Paris)], The Bad [B형 남자친구 (My Boyfriend is Type-B)] and The Ugly [유리화 (Glass Flower)]. As for Miss Kim Hee-Sun, I think I lost hope about her acting in... what was it, 94? And to think she worked with people like In Jung-Ok and Kim Soo-Hyun. The rest of the main cast is made of Yoon Se-Ah from 혈의 누 (Blood Rain) and Lee Ji-Hyun, who's not the 미인 (La Belle) star, but a former member of the pop group Jewelry, who's trying her hand at acting. That's like a catastrophe waiting to happen.
OUTLINE: 2
Park Ha-Jin (Lee Dong-Geon) is so unlucky: he's an orphan, a high school dropout, and he ended up in a SBS Drama. Wahhhh... that's such a horrible fate. So what does he do to change this situation? He goes after a rich 'daddy's little girl' (Yoon Se-Ah) and tries to advance in his company as a result. But then he meets Oh Dal-Hee (Kim Hee-Sun), a softball player who only plays softball 1 minute per episode, dreaming of making it big in her profession after spending her youth in poverty. Ahhh... can you feel the excitement? A softball player meets with a secretary in a cosmetics company, and they find out they loved each other when they were poor, young, and living on planet Earth. But fear not, even though we might be dealing with Bizarro World for most of the show, at least we're getting 3-4 episodes shot in Switzerland, which will certainly excite all the fans of this marvelous Korean wave. Wow!
RATINGS POTENTIAL: 6
Kim Hee-Sun is not really a ratings or box office draw; the story is as dumb as it gets; the rest of the cast doesn't look any better. I'd say 10 to 15%, but then again things like 백만장자와 결혼하기 (To Marry a Millionaire) even touched the high 10s sometimes, so who knows. Smile again? I feel like crying...
OVERALL: 4.40

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WHO THE X WOULD WATCH KOREAN TV DRAMAS?
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(BEAUTIFUL?) FRIENDS

Ever stopped a moment to think about your friends? No, I don't mean schoolmates from college, work colleagues or new acquaintances. I mean those people you grew up with, shared tragedies and immense joy with, those who always walked that road along with you. Kim Ji-Woo's latest Dramacity special 나의 아름다운 친구 (My Beautiful Friend) tackles this subject in such an honest way, even its predictable setup is easy to forgive. And if you watch it after 부활 (Rebirth), which comes from the same pen and same assistant director (Jeon Chang-Geun, who's PD here), then it ties up nicely with the same kind of narrative structure of the shocker from 2005. We're presented with an event, the characters involved with it are thrown in the mix, then through the course of the Drama (in this case a single episode instead of 24) the issues connected to that event are expanded and delved into. Using a mix of flashbacks (and flashbacks within flashbacks too) and present time, Kim slowly draws us into the reasons why this event happened, and we gradually get to know how each and every character will react to it.

Lee Jae-Ho (Park Dong-Bin) is a team manager of a big company, nearing promotion. His wife, who escaped to Australia with the kids, thinks he's merely a money-machine, and barely talks to him; Park Sang-Gu (Kim Soo-Hyun) is a journalist who's finally enjoying the popularity he always wanted, promoted to announcer on the evening news. Although his life seems pretty normal, with a wife and kids, he hides something behind his 'realist' facade; Ahn Dong-Pal (Jo Myung-Yeon) is the President of a venture company. He looks like your average, down-to-earth businessman, but he's actually a very selfish, opportunistic man. The three not only share a long lasting friendship in common, but the death of one of their best friends, Kang Chan-Shik (Choi Deok-Moon). As the investigation progresses and more details are revealed, everyone tries to blame each other, suspecting their friends for what happened.

That's the basic setup. But while the investigation -- led by Rebirth alumni Jo Jae-Hwan (Secretary Ahn in the 2005 show, much more rugged and 'everyday Joe' here) and Lee Han-Wi (Im Dae-Shik in Rebirth) -- goes on, instead of simply showing us all the hints adding pieces to the puzzle which will reveal the culprit's identity, writer Kim explores the relationships between those friends, using flashbacks from their recent past and even their childhood. We learn, for example, that Chan-Shik used to be the richest kid in school, but then went through many problems and ended up in the sad state he was when he met them again 10 years later -- which in some ways explains the 'reluctance' shown by the three 'best friends' in helping him; but the most emotionally hit by all this is Jae-Ho, who really felt close to Chan-Shik, and tried his best to help him. Through the few moments they shared before his death, he understands the value of that kind of friendship. The way Kim deals with money crashing that sense of 'friendship' is one of the most mature I've seen on a Korean Drama, not going overboard with the sentiments but also subtly interlocking the conflicting sentiments that arise when an old friend comes knocking at your door after a decade, asking for money. And when you realize things aren't like they used to be, for both.

I think I'm falling in love with Kim Ji-Woo's writing style. I still have a little catching up to do with her older Dramacity shows, and I'd love to refresh my memory on some of her past TV Dramas via new, shiny DVD releases, but her ability to capture the emotional consequences of the plot developments within her work is impressive. Sure, once again it's nothing you haven't seen before, but it's dealt with intelligence, not making Chan-Shik a saint or necessarily pointing fingers at his friends more than they deserve, as if they were 'devils'. Again, the biggest emotional and thematic undertone of her work seem to be that fine line between 'good' and 'bad' we found in Rebirth, simply divided by the desire to have more. And, just like in the 2005 Drama, the moments of bonding between characters are incredibly emotional. That last scene might very likely remind you of the last moment in Park Chan-Wook's 공동경비구역 JSA (Joint Security Area), as it has the same disarming power. It might just be that element of freshness coming when you pick up a show again after avoiding it for a few months, but this is the second Dramacity out of three I enjoy quite a bit, and again the reason could go down to casting.

Playing a slightly less 'crazy' character is nothing new for Kim Soo-Hyun, a regular of Ryu Seung-Wan films (often playing sneaky, cruel characters in his films), as he showed his range in films like 천군 (Heaven's Soldiers), but it's nice seeing him play a 'normal' person. Although Sang-Gu might easily fall into 'baddie du jour' mode, Kim gives it a realistic shade, enough to make you understand his motivations, if not completely sympathize with him. Also, it's nice seeing Park Dong-Bin play a serious role showing off his acting skills, after playing bit roles (often painted with broad strokes, especially in his many Weekend and Daily Dramas). But it's Choi Deok-Moon who steals the show. One of the top names in the theater world of Daehak-Ro, Choi often plays vicious or sneaky characters, like in Kim Ki-Duk's 나쁜남자 (Bad Guy), but he gives a very subtle performance here, without resorting to the Drama King gymnastics of Kang Seok-Woo in melo mode, or Jung Bo-Seok in some of his early melodramas. But even though PD Jeon shows a capable hand in dealing with the 16:9 HD format, with intelligent camerawork and the usual interesting use of lighting, the star here is Kim Ji-Woo.

It's impressive how many details she packed in just a 60 Minutes show, defining the characters in very simple but effective ways. And when it's time to pull heartstrings, she does so with sincerity, as the scenes in the characters' childhood show. I don't know why I ignored an immense talent like her for years, but now it's pretty obvious. Look out for this writer, she's too good to miss. And this is an excellent show, not just by Dramacity standards. I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up in my year end Top 10.

WHAT'S IN A NAME? THAT WHICH WE CALL...

Names. What would we do without them? Especially in Dramas, you tend to remember the names of characters from your favourite series, even if you don't necessarily remember their personality. I still recall Park Sang-Won as Jang Ha-Rim in 여명의 눈동자 (Eyes of Dawn) and Choi Min-Soo as Tae-Soo in 모래시계 (The Sandglass); and of course if we look at more recent dramas, the names Kim Sam-Soon and Seo Ha-Eun should be pretty familiar to fans. But those are just names, which left a lasting impression on people because of the quality of the show. What if you end up remembering the names of several characters, just because? Seems like Moon Young-Nam is trying to do so, with her latest Weekend Drama 소문난 칠공주 (7 Princesses), which just started. Of course it's a little too early to talk about the show, as the first two episodes just introduced characters a little, and set up basic hints to the major storylines. Acting seems pretty good, writing can't be judged in just two episodes but it seems the usual solid show -- from the writer responsible for 장밋빛 인생 (Life in Pink) and 애정의 조건 (Terms of Endearment)-- but something else caught my eye: the names of the characters! It's almost farcical how ironic they are, but that's another element of fun on this new show. Let's take a look.

There's a mama's boy called Hwang Tae-Ja (황태자, hwangtaeja means prince), his former-maid-turned-rich-wife and now single mother Ban Chan-Soon (반찬 순, genuine side dishes); Lee Tae-Ran is in a 삼각관계 (love triangle) with a younger guy named Yeon Ha-Nam (연하 남, yeonha nam means younger man) and another 'Prince Charming' called Yoo Il-Han (유일한, yooilhan meaning the one and only), his playboy uncle is called Gong Su-Pyo (공수표, gongsupyo, bad check)... and what would be her name in the show? Na Seol-Chil (나설, naseol, from 나서다 naseoda, butting in), because daddy wanted a boy after having a girl already (Seol-Chil's older sister Deok-Chil), so all he got was... this? But he kept trying, as having a boy seemed everything he cared about, so here's another chance. Woo Hoo! Problem.... it's another girl. Wouldn't you get mad? I sure would, and he sure did. So he called his third daughter Na Mi-Chil (나미칠, na michil, as in 'I'm going nuts'), and finally his fourth daughter Na Jong-Chil (종, jong, the end) as he couldn't take it anymore. Big sister Deok-Chil has to choose between two men: responsible and sweet Goo Soo-Han (구수한, goosoohan, meaning delightful) and divorcee Wang Seon-Taek (왕 선택, wang seontaek, as in 'Best Possible Choice'). And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

These first two eps had a few instances of 닭살 (chicken skin) inducing dialogue, and a few too many pop references which will probably fly over most non-Koreans' head (like when singer-turned-actor Lee Seung-Gi sends a message to his belle, sounding exactly like the title of one of his past 'hits'), but the veterans are hilarious, and unless this turns into Im Sung-Han styled histrionics, it should be quite a decent, breezy Weekend Drama. Still, I'm afraid of new character names popping out later...

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TV DRAMA RATINGS
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04/10~04/15

1. 36.2% 별난여자 별난남자 (The Bizarre Bunch)
Daily Drama - KBS1 [Cast: Jung Joon, Kim Ah-Joong, Go Ju-Won, Kim Hae-Sook, Ahn Seok-Hwan]
Official Website
PD: Lee Deok-Geon
WRITER: Lee Deok-Jae

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2. 35.4% 하늘이시여 (Dear Heaven)
Weekend Drama - SBS [Cast: Yoon Jung-Hee, Lee Tae-Gon, Lee Bo-Hee, Jo Yeon-Woo, Wang Bit-Na]
Official Website
PD: Lee Young-Hee
WRITER: Im Sung-Han

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3. 20.7% 소문난 칠공주 (7 Princesses)
Weekend Drama - KBS2 [Cast: Lee Tae-Ran, Go Ju-Won, Choi Jung-Won, Na Moon-Hee, Park In-Hwan]
Official Website
PD: Bae Kyung-Soo
WRITER: Moon Young-Nam

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4. 18.3% 어느날 갑자기 (One Day, Suddenly)
Friday Drama - SBS [Cast: Sung Hyun-Ah, Lee Jong-Won, Song Seon-Mi, Yoon Sung-Hoon, Kim Il-Woo]
Official Website
PD: Park Young-Soo
WRITER: Park Hyun-Joo

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5. 17.2% 사랑과 야망 (Love and Ambition)
Weekend Drama - SBS [Cast: Han Go-Eun, Jo Min-Gi, Lee Hoon, Lee Min-Young, Chu Sang-Mi]
Official Website
PD: Kwak Young-Beom
WRITER: Kim Soo-Hyun

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5. 17.2% 불량가족 (Bad Family)
Wed/Thu Drama - SBS [Cast: Kim Myung-Min, Nam Sang-Mi, Hyun Young, Im Hyun-Shik, Yeo Woon-Gye]
Official Website
PD: Yoo In-Shik
WRITER: Lee Hee-Myung, Han Eun-Kyung

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7. 16.8% 넌 어느 별에서 왔니 (Which Star Are You From?)
Mon/Tue Drama - MBC [Cast: Kim Rae-Won, Jung Ryeo-Won, Kang Jung-Hwa, Park Shi-Hoo, Im Ye-Jin]
Official Website
PD: Pyo Min-Soo
WRITER: Jung Yoo-Kyung

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8. 15.5% 강이되어 만나리 (Let's Meet By The River)
Daily Drama - KBS [Cast: Kim Yoon-Kyung, Kim Hyeok, Kim Mi-Sook, Gyeon Mi-Ri, Jo Mi-Ryeong]
Official Website
PD: Jung Sung-Hong, Kim Won-Seok
WRITER: Lee Geum-Rim

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9. 14.8% 사랑하고 싶다 (I Want To Love)
Daily Morning Drama - SBS [Cast: Kim Byung-Se, Shin So-Mi, Lee Eung-Kyung, Kim Ji-Seok, Sung Dong-Il]
Official Website
PD: Park Hyung-Gi
WRITER: Yoo Hyun-Mi

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10. 14.6% 진짜 진짜 좋아해 (I Really, Really Like You)
Weekend Drama - MBC [Cast: Eugene, Lee Min-Gi, Ryu Jin, Jang Yong, Choi Buram]
Official Website
PD: Kim Jin-Man
WRITER: Bae Yoo-Mi

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11. 13.4% 걱정하지마 (Don't Worry)
Daily Morning Drama - KBS2 [Cast: Yoon Da-Hoon, Lee Young-Eun, Kim Sung-Ryeong, Bang Eun-Hee, Lee Seung-Shin]
Official Website
PD: Han Jung-Hee
WRITER: Kim Sa-Kyung

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12. 12.9% 연애시대 (Alone in Love)
Mon/Tue Drama - SBS [Cast: Gam Woo-Sung, Son Ye-Jin, Gong Hyung-Jin, Kim Gab-Soo, Gi Ju-Bong]
Official Website
PD: Han Ji-Seung
WRITER: Park Young-Seon

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13. 12.4% 서울 1945 (Seoul 1945)
Historical Drama - KBS1 [Cast: Han Eun-Jung, So Yoo-Jin, Ryu Soo-Young, Kim Ho-Jin, Go Doo-Shim]
Official Website
PD: Yoon Chang-Beom
WRITER: Jung Sung-Hee

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14. 12.1% 신돈 (Shin Don)
Historical Drama - MBC [Cast: Son Chang-Min, Seo Ji-Hye, Jung Bo-Seok, Lee Dae-Yeon, Kim Hye-Ri]
Official Website
PD: Kim Jin-Min
WRITER: Jung Ha-Yeon

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15. 11.8% 굿바이 솔로 (Goodbye Solo)
Wed/Thu Drama - KBS2 [Cast: Cheon Jung-Myung, Yoon So-Yi, Bae Jong-Ok, Lee Jae-Ryong, Kim Min-Hee]
Official Website
PD: Gi Min-Soo
WRITER: Noh Hee-Kyung

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16. 11.2% Dr. 깽 (Dr. Kang)
Wed/Thu Drama - MBC [Cast: Yang Dong-Geun, Han Ga-In, Lee Jong-Hyuk, Park Shi-Eun, Oh Gwang-Rok]
Official Website
PD: Park Sung-Soo
WRITER: Kim Gyu-Wan

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17. 10.8% 사랑은 아무도 못말려 (Love Can't Wait)
Daily Drama - MBC [Cast: Hong Kyung-Min, Lee Young-Ah, Choi Jung-Yoon, Baek Il-Seop, Yoon Hae-Young]
Official Website
PD: Lee Tae-Gon, Kim Dae-Jin
WRITER: Jung Hyun-Jung

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18. 8.7% 이제 사랑은 끝났다 (Love is Over)
Daily Morning Drama - MBC [Cast: Oh Se-Jung, Goo Bon-Seung, Kim Young-Jae, Kim Hae-Sook, Song Jae-Ho]
Official Website
PD: Baek Ho-Min. Jo Hyun-Tak
WRITER: Kim Ji-Soo

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19. 7.8% 봄의 왈츠 (Spring Waltz)
Mon/Tue Drama - KBS2 [Cast: Han Hyo-Joo, Seo Do-Young, Daniel Henney, Lee So-Yeon, Jung Dong-Hwan]
Official Website
PD: Yoon Seok-Ho
WRITER: Kim Ji-Yeon, Hwang Da-Eun

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===============================
THE TOP RATED DRAMAS OF 2006
===============================
01/01~04/15

01. 37.5% 별난여자 별난남자 (The Bizarre Bunch) - KBS [Now Showing]
02. 36.0% 하늘이시여 (Dear Heaven) - SBS [Now Showing]
03. 31.9% 슬픔이여 안녕 (Goodbye To Sadness) - KBS [Complete] Review Coming Soon
04. 28.3% 궁 (Princess Hours) - MBC [Complete] Review Coming Soon
05. 26.7% 서동요 (The Ballad of Seo Dong) - SBS [Complete] Review Coming Soon
06. 24.9% 마이걸 (My Girl) - SBS [Complete] Review Coming Soon
07. 23.7% 그여자 (That Woman) - SBS [Complete] Review Coming Soon
08. 23.0% 황금사과 (Golden Apple) - KBS [Complete] Review Coming Soon
09. 22.3% 인생이여 고마워요 (Thank You Life) - KBS [Complete] Review Coming Soon
10. 21.3% 결혼합시다 (Let's Get Married) - MBC [Complete]
11. 21.1% 들꽃 (Wild Flower) - SBS [Complete]
12. 20.7% 소문난 칠공주 (7 Princesses) - KBS [Now Showing]
13. 20.3% 고향역 (A Place Called Home) - KBS [Complete]
14. 20.1% 굿바이 솔로 (Goodbye Solo) - KBS [Now Showing] Review Coming Soon
15. 19.9% 어느날 갑자기 (One Day, Suddenly) - SBS [Now Showing]
16. 17.9% 넌 어느 별에서 왔니 (Which Star Are You From?) - MBC [Now Showing]
16. 17.9% 사랑과 야망 (Love and Ambition) - SBS [Now Showing]
18. 17.7% 서울 1945 (Seoul 1945) - KBS [Now Showing]
19. 17.2% 불량가족 (Bad Family) - SBS [Now Showing]
20. 16.9% 신돈 (Shin Don) - MBC [Now Showing]

Sources
Star News: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Yahoo Korea: 1, 2
Chosun Ilbo: 1
Naver News: 1, 2