Hello
안녕하세요
(Annyeonghaseyo)
こんにちは
(Konnichiwa)
你好
(Ni Hao)
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Imitation is a 2021 idol drama written by Choi Sun Young & Kim Min Jung and directed by Han Hyun Hee.
The series aired between May 7th - July 23rd 2021, and contains 12 episodes.
Main Cast:
Jung Ji So as Lee Ma Ha
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Lee Jun Young as Kwon Ryok
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Park Jiyeon as La Lima
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Jeong Yunho as Lee Yujin
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Supporting Cast:
Lim Na Young as Shim Hyun Ji
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Kim Min Seo as Yu Ri Ah
Danny Ahn as Ji Hak
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Kang Chan Hee as Lee Eun Jo
Ahn Jeong Hun as Han Jae Woo
Yuri Park as Bang Do Jin
Kim Hwi Young as Kang Lee Hyun
Choi Jongho as Yoon Hyuk
Oh Hee Joon as Koo Dae Kwon
Lee Su Woong as Kim Hyun Oh
Park Seong Hwa as Nam Se Young
Choi San as Son Min Soo
Shin Soo Ho as Tae Geun
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Gong Jung Hwan as CEO Park Jin Man
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Lee Tae Hyung as Department Head Kim
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Shim Eun Jin as Byun Jung Hee
Yeon Si Woo as Annie
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Jo Jung Chi as Kim Ha Seok
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Kim Ji Sook as Eun Jin
Nam Jung Woo Go Ba Wi
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Choi So Yoon as So Yoon
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Lee Hwi Seo as Tae Ri
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Imitation is based on the webtoon of the same name by Park Kyung Ran.
In October 2020, it was announced that the popular webtoon Imitation would be made into a television series with Jung Ji So, Lee Jun Young, Park Ji Yeon and Jeong Yunho in lead roles.
In March 2021, it was announced that the series would be moving it's 1st air date up from late May to the beginning, in order to fill the empty time-slot left by the indefinite postponement of the drama Dear M.
As part of the drama's promotional campaign KBS created social media accounts on Instagram and Twitter for Shax, Sparkling and Tea Party, posting photos, interviews, and other special content related to the characters, as though they were real groups. Additionally, the actors portraying members of Shax and Tea Party were slated to perform and be interviewed on Music Bank in-character promoting their singles "Malo" and "Show Me" respectively. Shax later cancelled due to a staff member testing positive for Covid-19 on the show Kingdom: Legendary War, which some Shax members were participants.
You won't be surprised to find that I loved the songs from the show.
Malo - Shax
Call Me (8282119) - Omega III
No Answer - La Lima
Show Me - Tea Party
Diamond - Sparkling
If We Were - Ma Ha
Amen - Shax
Constellation - Imitation (Shax, Tea Party, Sparkling & La Lima)
After her dreams of debuting as an idol are dashed due to a tragic incident involving the former member of her group at her entertainment company, Lee Ma Ha supports herself by impersonating the solo singer La Lima at cheap events. She and the members of Omega III are given a second chance at stardom when Ji Hak, the former manager of the famed boy group Shax, recruits them to rebrand as his new girl group, Tea Party. Ma Ha suddenly finds herself thrust into the spotlight, using her La Lima impression to gain Tea Party attention from the public - both positive and negative.
Ma Ha repeatedly encounters Kwon Ryok, Shax's most popular member at various idol events. Despite his successful career, Ryok is still haunted by the disappearance of group member Lee Eun Jo during a concert three years prior.
While initially annoyed by Ma Ha, he develops feelings for her and they start a secret relationship that puts their careers at risk. Lee Yu Jin, Ma Ha's close friend and fellow idol, notices their budding romance and determines to protect Ma Ha from Ryok and lead his own group, Sparkling to dethrone Shax as the top boy group in the industry.
From watching Kingdom: Legendary War, I took the plunge and decided to watch this series because I knew members of both ATEEZ and SF9 were in the show, I'd also seen some clips through Viki's social media pages and thought it looked like a show I would enjoy and I wasn't wrong.
I read that Imitation wasn't as well received in Korea as it was globally and my personal opinion on that is because in Korea, it's a little too close to home and it shows the darker sides of not only being a trainee but also being an idol, I've never made it a secret to how much I love and enjoy listening to K-pop music, but I hate how the idols are treated. They have to have a squeaky clean image, often have to act a certain way and are often promoted as their fans being their partners, so when idols do announce marriages etc, "fans" tend to get nasty and demand that member leave the group. This show highlights that with how Ma Ha and Ryok have to keep their feelings and relationship a secret in order to not ruin their careers. It also highlights how difficult it is to actually debut in the industry, and how bad some companies can be, as well as highlighting mental health and suicide.
This is my first time watching Jung Ji So in a drama and I loved her as Lee Ma Ha, I really felt for Ma Ha and that shows how well Ji So played her, you could see how desperate she was to debut as well as re-debut, to the point that she went on a reality show to interest to Tea Party, even if it meant she got bad publicity for herself.
While this was my first time watching Lee Jun Young in a drama, I did start the series wondering why I recognised him, and it was because he had previously appeared in one of Laboum's M/V's. I loved him as Kwon Ryok, he comes across as being cold and that he's better than others, but the more we get to know him, we know that it's just a wall that he has put up and he's really warm and caring and will do anything for his members, even if it means sacrificing himself.
This is the 2nd time I've watched Park Jiyeon in a drama, the first being Dream High 2, I loved her as La Lima. like Kwon Ryok, she comes across as cold and at first seems like a bully, seeing as she likes to make fun of Ma Ha, but they quickly seem to become close and La Lima becomes someone that Ma Ha can rely on and turn to. She is also protective of the trainees that are in the same company as her, which shows, she's not as cold as she comes across as.
For his first lead role Yunho did amazing as Lee Yujin, he has a strong desire to debut and at first it seems his main reason to debut is so that Ma Ha will notice him and see him more as a man than just a friend, something Ma Ha never seems to notice. He becomes jealous of Ma Ha and Kown Ryok's friendship and relationship, and desires to knock Shax from the top to prove he's better.
I really felt for Lim Na Young as Shim Hyun Ji, she seems a really quiet young woman, that has a secret crush on Yujin, and because of this it eventually forms a rift between Ma Ha and Hyun Ji. You can tell she's scared to do things on her own because she doesn't have the same confidence as her friends and members, which makes her question her role in the group.
The only people Kim Min Seo as Yu Ri Ah seems to let her guard round is her friends and members Ma Ha and Hyun Ji. She's cold towards the Shax members as she can't see why they would try to get close to them as they seem to give off a vibe of them being superior to others. Ri Ah slowly builds up her confidence with creating music with the help of Shax member Lee Hyun, which helps her to slowly open up and lower her guard.
I think Danny Ahn did an amazing job as Ji Hak, you could really tell that he wanted to right his wrongs, from when he was a manager for Shax, and I think watching Tea Party as a group and watching the members as friends, makes him realise how wrong he had been in the past and how he failed in his role as a manager to protect his artists.
We often see leaders of K-pop groups take the heat and flack for their members and Ahn Jeong Hun brought that to life as Han Jae Woo, his priority is Shax, so much so at first we see him reporting everything to their CEO, as the show continues, we see him realise that Shax is nothing without the members and takes his role more seriously and stands with them instead of against them.
I loved Yuri Park as Bang Do Jin, he was definitely the comedy relief for such as serious show, I loved his bromance with his fellow members Yoon Hyuk. I loved him being the foreigner of the group and often being confused, his one liners were spot on for his character.
I loved Kim Hwi Young as Kang Lee Hyun, Lee Hyun comes across as cold, even when around his members, he definitely has resting bitch face, which often made me laugh. He becomes interested in Ri Ah when he hears her sing, which we see softens him a little.
I absolutely adored Jongho as Yoon Hyuk, I loved his bromance with Do Jin, they were definitely the comedy duo for this series, he often had me laughing from his one liners and savageness as the maknae of the group.
Even though we don't really see much of Kang Chan Hee as Lee Eun Jo, I think his character really highlights how being an idol can affect your mental health and how it can really push you off the edge, especially when no one will support your decisions and felling the guilt of those decisions.
Lee Su Woong as Kim Hyun Oh is your typical I better than you all character, he doesn't really get on with his Sparkling members and sees them as competition, especially Yujin. He also seems to hate Kwon Ryok as he sees him as the reason why he didn't debut in Shax. He later gets himself into trouble and finally sees that Yujin isn't his competition as he and the rest of Sparkling stand by him and protect him.
I loved both Seong Hwa as Nam Se Young and San as Son Min Soo, they seem to be the dynamic duo of Sparkling and are often seen together. I think they both did an amazing job, even in supporting roles.
How do you know an actor is great, when you hate their character and that's what you got with Gong Jung Hwan as CEO Park Jin Man. I've previously seen him in Cinderella and the Four Knights. He's the typical power hungry CEO and will do anything to make sure he keeps his artists within his grasp.
I love that this drama brings to light the more serious side of K-pop, whether it's showing us how fans rule over K-pop idols, or showing us and bringing light how hard it is for trainee's to actually debut, I think these are things that are taboo when it's comes to K-pop. I also love that some of the cast that were bringing this to light are actually K-pop idols.
If you haven't then I highly recommend imitation, while it's a show for entertainment, it has a darker and a very real message hidden within, a message that should be talked about more.
Have you watched Imitation?
Were you a fan of the cast?
Did you enjoy the plot and script?
Have you read the webtoon?
Let me know in the comments below.
See you soon!
안녕
(Annyeong)
さようなら
(Sayonara)
再见
(ZaiJian)
Bye
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