'Divine Hero' filming in Isles
By Jeff Chung
Next week will be an exciting one for local K-drama fans. The new series "Wish Upon a Star" begins Monday, replacing the recently concluded "Angel's Temptation," and all week an upcoming drama, "The Divine Hero," will be filming in Honolulu.
The title "Wish Upon a Star" may sound familiar because of a previous MBC network drama called "Star In My Heart" or "Wish Upon a Star," starring Ahn Jae Wook and Choi Jin Shil. The new SBS series stars Choi Jung-won and Kim Ji Hoon and the literal translation of the Korean title would be more like "Pick Me a Star," but it was renamed "Wish Upon a Star."
Here's the synopsis: Gin Red (Choi Jung-won) is the oldest of six children, each having been named a different color by their parents. Red works for an insurance company. Red's only goal in life is to get co-worker Won Gang-ha to fall in love with and marry her, but he doesn't budge. Red's carefree days come to a crashing end when her parents die in a car accident. All of a sudden, clueless Red, who's known as "Useless Miss Gin" at work, finds herself in charge of her five younger siblings. Homeless and penniless, Red decides to move in as Gang-ha's live-in housekeeper without telling him about her five siblings.
"The Divine Hero," set to air in March on MBC Korea, is slated for 24 epi-sodes. It's based on a successful comic book series. The main character, played by Song Il Kook ("Conditions of Love," "Emperor of the Sea," "Jumong"), was born in Korea as Chae Kang Ta but raised in Hawai'i as an orphan named Michael King. His destiny is to avenge his parents' murders. He is successful in business and also finds romance, but after falling hopelessly in love, he finds out his love is the daughter of his parents' murderers.
The first episode will be filmed in Hawai'i all next week and through the weekend. The remaining episodes will be filmed in South Korea. Local casting calls have already been made. Beauty Touch Production, the local coordinator for the filming, is planning to hold a Hawai'i event with the cast and crew, followed by a promotional tour in South Korea from late March to early April.
Although the series is promoted as "the first Korean drama to be filmed in Hawai'i," that is incorrect. KBS filmed a historical drama in the late '80s in the sugar cane fields near Wahi-awā, with stars Yu In Chon (current minister of culture, sports and tour-ism), Lee Hae Young and Chang Mi Hee.
"The Divine Hero" will give prime-time exposure to Hawai'i, which could result in bigger tourism numbers from Asia. Another benefit, assuming the series is a success, would be more TV or film production in Hawai'i by South Korean companies, which translates to more work for locals.
Although Korean TV budgets are much smaller than those for American shows and Hollywood films, the overall potential marketing is key, because the series could be sold and aired in various Asian countries. The series has not been confirmed for broadcast in the U.S. market as of yet.
THIS WEEK’S K-DRAMA SYNOPSES
'Smile, Honey'
Episodes 27 and 28
Tonight at 7:45 p.m.: Jungin and Hyunsu's secret dating is made public, and the two families are engaged in a feud. Sanghoon tells Hyunsu to give up on Jungin, and Geumja goes into a denial mode. Geumja returns the clothes Jungin bought her and tries to bring Hansae and Jungin back together. Tomorrow at 7:45 p.m.: Geumja tearfully begs Jungin to give up on Hyunsu. Jungin also gets down on her knees and begs Geumja for her approval. Geumja is shocked when Hyunsu disobeys her and looks in on Jungin. Jisu tries to chase Sungjoon away by showing him what could happen if he gets involved with her.
'Love You 1,000 Times'
Episodes 23 and 24
Sunday at 6:45 p.m.: Gang-ho finds out about Se-hoon's affair with Yeon-hee and tells him to end it. He also tells Eun-nim to stop being friends with her. Se-hoon's problems keep getting worse. His contractor threatens to stop construction unless payments are made. Gang-ho sees Soo-jong again and feels guilty about it. Sunday at 7:45 p.m.: Se-hoon's resort project gets deeper into trouble when the area's plan for development is canceled. Yeon-hee's mother is bent on discovering the married man Yeon-hee is seeing. Se-hoon tells Eun-nim to break up with Gang-ho.
'Wish Upon A Star'
Episodes 1 and 2
Monday at 7:45 p.m: Gin Se-yoon, the kind and gentle doctor of Rainbow Clinic, and his wife have six children: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue and Indigo. Although all the children but Red are adopted, the couple raises them all with lots of love. Red, the eldest, works for an insurance company so she can stay close to Won Gang-ha, the attorney who's been the object of her crush for five years. Tuesday at 7:45 p.m.: Se-yoon calls Chairman Jung and leaves a message that his granddaughter is alive, but the car explodes before he can finish. Red and her siblings end up homeless and penniless after their parents' sudden death. Min-kyung asks Gang-ha to show Chairman Jung's will, but Gang-ha refuses. Red manages to move in as Gang-ha's live-in housekeeper and sneaks her five siblings into the house.
'Will It Snow For Christmas?'
Episodes 7 and 8
Wednesday at 7:45 p.m.: Taejun is surprised to see Jiwan and Gangjin in a tight embrace in front of the café. Gangjin tells Jiwan he'll come to the café every day to listen to her. Taejun returns to his apartment and finds Woojung with a bottle of champagne in her hand. Thursday at 7:45 p.m.: Gangjin walks into the police station to find drunk Jiwan talking to Taejun. He's devastated when he finds out Jiwan's brother died trying to recover his necklace. Junsu and Chunhee get physical checkups together. Junsu finds out he has health issues.
