ROLES (series/drama): An overview of Lee Joon Gi's acting career

This is it fellow fans of JG Oppa. It is an overwhelming experience that many of us did read the last blog JG Philippines offered for everyone. Not to mention, ideas and suggestions came. (Thank you for those who suggested!!!)

From the last blog "Roles: The Past, the Present.... and the Future", I made a run-through of the roles portrayed by our Lee Jun Ki and made it a "past" film review (since the examples I have given is more on his participation in films). Now we are not going to think of what roles he would portray in the future.. but a review of his characters in the series he had done.

We will start with the series that he was not the main character, in short "minor roles". Yep, like some actors and actresses, majority did have their little exposure on TV series/dramas before they got their own lead role.

MINOR ROLES: Cameos, Supporting Character

Courtesy of d-addicts.com

Non Stop4

This is a sitcom series that casts teen idols as colleges students with stories that depicts everyday life with their friends and families. Lee Jun Ki participated in this program as  a guest in its Season 4 show, episode 55. He was introduced by Geun Suk as his Senior in the Academic Department to Ye Seul as her date and vise versa. Unfortunately, much to the surprise of the lead characters, Jun Ki didn't like Ye Seul and instead liked the girl Geun Suk dated.

For the video clip, see: http://www.veoh.com/watch/v17207963cyWzSZ8m

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/58/
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Drama City; What Should I Do?

It doesn't seem like a minor role to me but yep, since Drama City is composed of single short story dramas (basically no in-house cast, they change the casts every week) he was given the lead role but on a day's show only. In the drama, he was living with his father while his mom is in the hospital. He doesn't get along with his dad and by having an argument, he ran out of the house to let his anger cool down using his roller blades. In a fortunate event (well I wish it is true hahaha) he was transported back to the past and learned more about how his parents met. (much like a back to the future film)

Courtesy of Yumiyo (Wordpress):
http://yumiyo.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/drama-city-what-should-i-do.jpg?w=453

Star's Echo

He is Chang Gyu on this miniseries broadcasted by MBC and Fuji TV. His role was not that defined except for being the main lead's friend. He was seen setting up a telescope for stargazing by the main lead Sung Jae, then later on chased by the lead. He is not directly responsible for the meeting (again) by the female lead Misaki and Sung Jae but if he wasn't chased by, then the magic of the leads seeing each other again would be impossible..(I think, well that's how the plot goes)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/56/Star%27sEcho_Poster.jpg

Courtesy of www.veoh.com

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/05/MyGirl_Poster.jpg

My Girl

He is always the lead's friend (well if he wasn't then it he wouldn't be a star we know right now, he is such a hardworker), He is considered a main character because of his strong involvement on the whole story but not as a lead. On this one, he falls for the lead female Yoo Rin. He is known for his role as Seo Jun Woo, Seol Gong-chan's best friend (the male lead), considered as a flirt and a son of a wealthy family (since their family is one of the major shareholders for L'Avenue Hotel. Some of the fans of the My Girl series would imagine.. why Yoo Rin settles for Gong-chan when the fact is that Jun Woo is a much better choice? I asked the same thing of course but then again that's the way the story goes.

The 101st Proposal

He appeared on this series as himself. At a party, Han Sung Ju (the female lead)  was called in by her senior to introduce to her our Jun Ki. Having talked about the radio station Ms. Han is a part of, Jun Ki proposed to be invited on the program since he was a fan of the segment where Ms. Han comforts her listeners.

FOR THE VIDEO SAMPLE: http://www.veoh.com/watch/v17207964SBYPmGe5

OK!! Now we are done with his minor roles. This time, his main lead roles! His hard work paid off! The time were he fully showcased his acting skills and attracted more viewers.

MAJOR ROLES: yey!!!

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7f/Timebetweendogandwolf.JPG

Time between Dog and Wolf

This one is a serious role he had and the first major role he received for a TV series/drama. Here, our lead dealt with one thing only.. REVENGE..although there are factors that affects his thirst for revenge (his relationship with Ji Woo, Min Gi and his adoptive father, Min Gi's dad, Jung Ho).

 For those who like action themed series/drama, well this is recommendable.

Lee Soo-hyun (Jun Ki) was a former NIS agent, the title was stripped of him because of his grudge with the intent of seeking revenge for his mother (who was killed  brutally in front of him when he was young). He then later on uses the name Kay in order to infiltrate the gang led by Mao who is responsible for his parents death.

 http://asianwiki.com/images/4/48/Il_Ji-Mae-_The_Phantom_Thief.jpg

Iljimae

Now this is the 2nd lead role given to him after Time Between Dog and Wolf. Apart from having its timeline set during the Joseon Dynasty, it was also themed for revenge but in a different way.

The story started when he was still young, named as Lee Gyeom, from a noble family (since his father was the King's brother). His father, Lee Won-Ho, was murdered due to a belief that "two suns cannot exist on the same sky" then later on forced to throw a rock on her mother just to justify that he is not related with Lee Won-Ho family. Due to the unfortunate events happened in his life (note that he was still a child back then) he acquired amnesia as he was adopted by a thief named Swe Dol.

.gif courtesy of infinitivity (tumblr)

He grew up to be Ryung. He then started to regain his memories and after that, vows to look for the one who killed his father with only an emblem design (as a clue) he saw in a sword that was used to kill his father. In order for him to do so, he hides his identity and named himself as Iljimae, who robs corrupted officials while looking for added clues on his father's perpetrator in the night.

http://asianwiki.com/images/d/d5/Hero-p1.jpg

Hero

On his 3rd lead role series/drama, He is known for his character as Jin Do Hyuk, started as a tabloid reporter named "Monday Seoul" famous for its scandals and paparazzi type articles. He did have a back story though.. His parents were killed of a hit and run when he was a child.

.gif image courtesy of: http://baby-jino.tumblr.com/

Much to his dismay, "Monday Seoul" goes out of business. But later regained his spirit because of a proposal made by an ex-gang leader, Jo Yeong Deok to put up their own newspaper company under the name Yeong Deok Ilbo, on Do Hyuk's advantage and in order to settle old scores with Daese Ilbo.

(Yeong Deok  is supposed to be interviewed by Do Hyuk when Monday Seoul was still operational and yet a turn of events happened, that delayed Do Hyuk's scoop)

In the process, they did uncover truths but with little support from the readers and yet Do Hyuk didn't stop exposing the secrets behind those officials and later on the dirty truth behind Daese Ilbo.. even to the extent of finding out that his parents didn't die because of an accident, but as a murder in a hit and run set up.

Arang and the Magistrate

This is the fourth and yet considered his first main lead role after being discharge from military service. The story was based on a famous folklore in South Korea.

Here, he was named Kim Eun Oh, who's looking for his mother's whereabouts. Apart from his personal mission, he is also have an ability to see and talk to spirits/ghosts but he hides that fact and pretends that he doesn't have that ability since he is also easily annoyed by the request of the spirits asking for favors. He accidentally met Arang (our female lead) in the woods while she was chased by a grim reaper, and again met her after Arang successfully escapes from the grim reaper.

Now with Arang knowing the truth behind Eun Oh's ability to speak to ghosts, she persuades him to help her with her grudge and even forcefully made Eun Oh the new magistrate of Miryang. In the event of Eun Oh finding out that Arang has his mother's hairpin, he teamed up with Arang for he believes if he help her, he might acquire info's of his mother's whereabouts.

.gif images courtesy of: http://paper-box.tumblr.com/post/29559023946

Two Weeks

The fifth lead role he had and for me the most interesting role he had ever portrayed. ( I know every fan have their favorite series/drama, and for me, this series have my love and appreciation. I favor this series/drama!)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/36/Two_Weeks_TV_series-poster.jpg

Named as Jang Tae Sang, living meaninglessly and formerly used as an escape goat for a cruel person just to evade being behind bars. Now, knowing about his daughter and her sickness made him change his ways and yet he was again used as an escape goat by the same person but without his knowledge.

Upon discovering that it was the same person and the fact that the person involve is afraid that Tae Sang will reveal the truth, he was then planned to be killed but later on Tae San escaped through it.

After meeting a car accident when he was about to be transported to the prosecutor's office, he escapes and as a fugitive, he needs to last for two weeks for him to be able to make it on the date of his daughter's surgery since he is the donor for her daughter's bone marrow transplant.

Whew!!! I made a lot of research on these roles, especially on his minor roles. I have to watch it in order to give you a valid role review so it did took me a lot of time to post this. It might not be beneficial for some fans but I want to share this to his new found fans (such as myself) for them to have a better understanding on the projects he took.

As an observer...

Similar plot were identified on JG oppa's major roles.. "Time Between Dog and Wolf," "Iljimae," and "Hero" have their similar storyline.. When he was young, unfortunate things happened to his parents.. and they were all murder cases. Either his mom or his dad or both of his parents were killed.

Well.. that's it for a review. Hope to hear from the readers their thoughts and suggestions.

ROLES: The Past, The Present... and the Future

YES! This day, it is something that might wake the feelings of my fellow fans, a topic that sometimes we want and we don't want to talk about.. specially if it involves dear dear Lee Jun Ki.

Oh how handsome he is!

a South Korean actor, model and singer, often regarded as a kkonminam ("flower boy") icon (line from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Joon-gi). 

Because of his portrayal as an effeminate clown in the film "The King and the Clown" that made it one of the highest-grossing domestic films in South Korea, his career rose to fame. Projects poured! series, films, tv guestings, even had a chance to showcase his other talents. And the best of all, he became famous overseas (if he didn't, we would not be able to know him at all in this state, so we should thank him for doing his best!)He had good roles in his movies and his tv series. But I was wondering, and I hope some of the fans as well... How would it be if he was to take roles that we never expected before? Would he pull it off? Would it suit him?

The Past 
(roles from his film participation)

I remember one role he portrayed, he was only a supporting character at that time, named as Dong Wan from the movie "Flying Boys", forced to join with his friends in a Ballet class then his father caught him in the act...
I never see him as a flower boy in this film. REALLY!! because his role was too comedic, (THIS IS IT!!) specially with the ballet tights scene with the leading actor and to note! he was caught red handed by his father, doing arabeque.. in his black unitard (OH YES!! He did wore a unitard in this film hahahaha such a spoiler for those who haven't seen the movie). It was amazing that he could do comedic acts that sets aside his flower boy image.

Another one that I have already talked into one of my fellow admins in JG Philippines, the film "May 18".

Of course, he did have enough exposure on this film not until the half of the movie.. I really would like to make a review on the movie because it was a wonderful yet gruesome and sad story.. if you happen to wonder what is it all about.. maybe you should see the full movie..
His role is somehow refreshing at first... in a highschool uniform he was strikingly handsome. With every smile in every scene he has (except for the part that I don't even want to mention...) you will assume that nothing bad would happen. Surprisingly, the scene that I haven't mention, clearly shows the other side of his acting skills.. 

The other roles are expected to be portrayed by him of course, Virgin Snow is one of that. (I know, I know.. handsome, cute, lovable, all wonderful words that can describe him and his portrayal with that movie).  


[Added roles] 

Just to mention a few roles on some films he participated into, such as a rebellious high school student who uses his fighting skills to train a father who would like to take revenge by beating up his daughter's tormentor. I know he did a big participation on this film and had his story to tell  too but I was too consumed with the struggles of the father and of the unfair justice to him and his daughter after the incident (sucks, the system of the rich and everything..)

Of course, I do have to mention also his role on the film "The Hotel Venus" (gonna make a review on it one of these days) where he wanted to be a strong man and dreamed to be a hitman in the future (now that is creepy, of all dreams, why should it be a HITMAN?)

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TheHotelVenus_Poster.jpg/418px-TheHotelVenus_Poster.jpg

Not so Present, but current roles (I don't consider it as a past though since it is still a fresh act after his military service).

Courtesy of Nappun (tumblr) : https://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mb1kz4rlY41qle6kpo1_500.png

He did a portrayal in the Joseon era (Arang and the Magistrate) which by the way suits him so well. Then there's Tae San (Two Weeks), a man who was wronged for a crime he didn't even do and who didn't know he is a certified FATHER because he thought his baby was gone years ago, was living yet struggling for her life because of leukemia. (That role was a kicker, knowingly that JG oppa in real life, is not even a father, and I was astonished by it, he really did a great job!)

Courtesy of ebjkk (tumblr): https://24.media.tumblr.com/1e41063a88f91323e46523b3d6f35510/tumblr_ms35usGWHy1snsg9go1_250.gif

Now what about this upcoming projects? The future roles?

I, your blogger, is not a skeptic person. I do believe he could pull off other characters as well. He did say in some interviews that he wanted to portray a character that differs from the characters he have portrayed before... Since acting is his passion and he wants to broaden his knowledge in acting, JG oppa possibly considers taking unexpected roles one at a time.For a good looking guy, these are the thoughts that I have if he ever took in characters that may shock other fans.. but we never know.. Decisions will always be in the hands of JG oppa and his team.

Please do not hate me for some roles, He doesn't even have to do it of course.

1. A completely bad person, not just an underling.. to make it short, A VILLAIN. but not just a villain of course... You know, there a lot of writers who wrote stories of villains as the main character... his SWEENY TODD photo shoot of him gave me that idea of course.  

http://fotos.subefotos.com/3e1c51530d9133e64b8b518c2de8d4c2o.jpg

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2. A Psychopath.. but of course the whole story should be sensible, Just to have an understanding why he ended up... a psychopath.

3. A King. YEP! he already portrayed a nobleman who became an ordinary man (Iljimae), then a nobleman but was considered illegitimate. (in my understanding... cursed Lord Choi's way of thinking tsk!) His more manly now so a handsome king would be good (blushing).

4. A wealthy business man, more likely a company president ,  CEO (if you noticed, the most wealthiest character he had already possesed was on Iljimae (but he was young on that account), on Arang and the Magistrate and on My Girl... so I think his wealthy level side should have gone up.


There are lots of characters to think of.. I know you have your ideas as well.. would you consider it to be portrayed by JG oppa?

#adminblogspotLara

In the eyes of a Fan (a "little" background check on JG oppa and the after effects)

A lot of us fans do know who is Lee Jun Ki / Lee Joon Gi (much better if I use JG) and I need not to elaborate it. It's just that, I am deeply concern on how people see (those who do not know JG oppa or simply do not care at all) why we do give so much effort on supporting a talented person.

Yep! if we are going to start with his biography, anyone could look up on Wikipedia or in Dramawiki or in other sites well known for writing up biographies of icons. Like his birthday and birthplace, the school he goes to, where he worked to support his financial needs, how he started as a model, etc., any fan would do things like background checking.. since they are curious of how he was when he was still a simple person and how he became what he is now.

Photo courtesy of Nora Ahmed: http://www.pinterest.com/501nora/

We do make an awe expression when we see his pictures when he was still little, the admiration of how he grew up to be a normal person, into what we know now about him, a star.

Why? because even if he lived to be a normal person, he had dreams (just like everyone of us). He made those dreams into reality, and still trying his best to achieve his goals in order to materialize the thought he had when he was still a child.

You see, it was so important for me to tell you all that, yes I am a fan, I admire him so much, but as a person, I am able to imagine, if I tried hard enough, maybe just maybe, I might be able to make my dreams too into a reality.. same for each and everyone.

gif image courtesy of Shura (tumblr)
Tae San with Soo Jin (act part on the series Two Weeks)

Every fan knew about him working as a waiter/server right? we even saw how he do it. But he did that in order to support himself financially. Clearly if you think about it, for those who supports themselves and their family financially, we are on the same league as him.. We see more of ourselves because of what he did for himself in the past. The difference that is, he worked for it harder because he already envisioned that he is an actor. And now, he is considered as one. 

gif courtesy of jgmirage (tumblr)

http://www.tumblr.com/search/lee+jun+ki

A lot of shows, interviews and write ups were already been released in order for us to know him better. Happen to know why they had a lot of it? The last part is the after effect. In every story a person had, there is a lesson to be learned.

This is what we want to convey to all JG fans out there.. JG oppa is an awesome guy, we support him, we love him, we cared for him as his loyal fans. With his passion, undying dedication, we need to make sure that we see the lessons behind it even if he shows it indirectly.. He will be more proud of us if we make him a good example of a person started from scratch and now living his dreams earned due to his hard work, perserverance.

The Story Behind: Putting Up a Fans Group, The Beginning, The Reason Behind It and the Current Activities

Now this is something that I wanted to write on.. Our Group.. The story behind it.. and what we will offer to our fellow fans.

Well, we have different stories to tell. But the main reason why we formed a group is because of our support for Lee Jun Ki.

 What others see on us is that we give him too much importance, like we are some crazy fans drooling over on a effeminate person, like he was some kind of a GOD. No no no no no! We are not like that.

Well, there are times that we show too much appreciation, love for him.. It is typical for a fan to have that. But there are a few who are far more different than what a normal person would think about us.

The entire group consists of Filipinos that appreciates JG's talents, I (your blogger) happened to be one of them. As I was looking into JG's biography, fan pages, official websites, I wonder "Where could I find Filipino fans of Lee Jun Ki, such as myself?"

JG oppa's official Weibo account

Like Weibo, Facebook is considered to be a top social website. It came to a point that I joined several groups from Facebook and yet an official Lee Jun Ki page for Filipino fans was hard to find... It took me several weeks, I found out about a page named "LEE JUN KI" with an added description (more likely from where the owner of the page lives) of San Mateo, Rizal.

It was a slow start at first but then I saw several members, (who were Filipinos by the way) much more enthusiastic than me, that requests to have a group exclusively for Filipinos. I was like, talking to myself.. "Really? That might be possible but I bet a few of us will participate on it, Lee Jun Ki is not that famous here in the Philippines."

Yes, yes, I was aware that Lee Jun Ki is not as popular as Lee Min Ho and some actors since his series/films are not yet shown here in the Philippines. Well, we did see him in the series "My Girl" but only as a supporting character.

Photo courtesy of: http://sharkreborn.blogspot.com/2012/05/lee-jun-ki-in-my-girl-2005-korean-drama.html

It is indicative for every viewers of tv series and of films that we focus on the main characters, the protagonists and the antagonists, and the story.. We see a little on the efforts of the supporting characters unless you are a film/show critic or basically a film/show lover, or you were captivated by their good looks. 

Aside from "My Girl," currently, one of our TV networks here in the Philippines aired one of his series entitled "Tale of Arang"... well for us JG fans, we always call it "Arang and the Magistrate." So it seems.. that explains why his popularity here is incomparable (for now) to some actors i.e. actor Cha Song-joo (more known as Cholo or Kwon Sang-woo in Stairway to Heaven), actor Lee Min Ho (more known for his character as Goo Jun-pyo in Boys over Flowers) and etc.

But the initiative of making an effort on putting up a fans group is not as simple as "BECAUSE WE LOVE LEE JUN KI" or "BECAUSE WE NEED HIM TO BE FAMOUS" just to give you all a reason.

We decided to gather because we believe in his talents, his dedication to his craft, his passion for every hard work and he deserves support from those who believe in him. On top of that, each and everyone of us, his fans of course, would have the chance to interact with each other, and be known that JG have fans, not just from Korea, Japan, China, but on other countries as well.

THE CURRENT GROUP/PAGE ACTIVITY

The group page's (as indicated in this blogspot's header) fast activity started March 21, 2014 and this Blogspot started March 22, 2014.

Our page theme (in Facebook) for this month is Joon Gi in dark.

We are more likely to be active in our work as we are dedicated to cater each and every Filipino fans stories from our group, as well as sharing updates about JG oppa's activity and also be considered by JG oppa's team that he has our support =)

#adminblogspotLara