Showing posts with label Shin Mina. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shin Mina. Show all posts

Friday, 27 March 2020

Korean Drama - Chief of Staff 2

Hello
안녕하세요 
(Annyeonghaseyo)
こんにちは 
(Konnichiwa)
你好
(Ni Hao)

Google Images
Back in November I posted about Chief of Staff, this time I'm posting about Chief of Staff 2, which if you haven't guessed is the second season of the South Korean drama, written by Lee Dae-il and directed by Kwak Jung-hwan. Like the first season, the series aired on JTBC and contained 10 episodes, airing from the 11th of November and concluding on the 10th of December 2019.
Season 2 saw cast returning to reprise their roles as well s new cast members.

Main Cast:
Lee Jung Jae as Jang Tae Joon
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Shin Mina as Kang Seon Yeong
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Lee Elijah as Yoon Hye Won
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Kim Dong Jun as Han Do Kyeong
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 Kim Kap Soo as Song Hee Seop
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Jung Woong In as Oh Won Sik
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Jung Man Sik as Choi Kyung Chul
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Park Hyo Joo as Lee Ji Eun
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Jo Bok Rae as Yang Jong Yeol
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Supporting Cast:
Kim Hong Pa as Jo Gap Yeong
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Lee Chul Min as Kim Hyung Do
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Ko In Beom as Seong Yeong Gi
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Yoo Sung Joo as Lee Chang Jin
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Jeon Jin Ki as Lee Gwi Dong
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Jun Seung Bin as Kim Jong Wook
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Do Eun Bi as No Da Jeong
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Check out the trailers for season 2.


I have to say I was impressed with the OST's for the second season too.
Kim Yong Jin - The End

Ben - 한숨만 (Deep Sorrow)

The One - 놓을 수 없다 (Can't Let Go)

The second season of Chief of Staff. The real political players behind the spotlight take a dangerous gamble. Super adviser Jang Tae Joon heads towards the peak of power and fiercely struggles for survival.
Jang Tae Joon worked as the chief aide to lawmaker Song Hee Seop, he now returns as a lawmaker and achieves the height of his power.

As expected as soon as season 2 hit Netlfix, I was there ready to get the series watched, and like season 1, I was hooked from the very start. While the politics continued to keep me confused, I did find it a lot easier to follow with season 2.
Lee Jung Jae again blew me away with his acting, I was really conflicted about his character when season 2 started, even with how the first episode starts, from season 1 I learnt that the first few scenes we see come from an episode later in the series, so I was excited and scared of how we got to these scenes further down the line. I honestly don't want to say too much about Lee Jung Jae's character as he's a major player in season 2 and don't want to give anything away about the plot or how the series ends for his character.
Shin Mina again brought to the forefront how badass her character is and I love that she takes in Han Do Kyeong to be part of her team, knowing and believing in his abilities, while others look down on him because of his lack of experience. Her fight in season 2 continues, not only to remain in power for other women, but also her fight to find out what happened to not only her chief of staff but also someone she clearly held close to her heart as a good, close and personal friend. I also love that even though she is conflicted when it comes to Jang Tae Joon, she agrees to continue to help to destroy their main enemy, at times you can see she wants to help because she still has feelings towards him but also because you can tell at times she still sees him as an enemy and knows how his mind works, and can keep herself one step ahead of him.
I came to like Lee Elijah's character in season 2 more than I did in season 1 as she seems to act more upon her own head than her heart. While she is still loyal to Jang Tae Joon, she does what she thinks is best when she thinks he's taking on more than she thinks he is capable of on his own. I love that we also get to see her open up more towards people and showing her softer side more.
I think out of both seasons we get to see Jim Dong Jun's character grow the most, while he still remains sweet and still has some naivety, he becomes more self-assured in not only what he wants for himself, but also when it comes to getting things done at work, making sure him and the rest of the team are one step ahead of the Song team.
Kim Kap Soo again is remarkable in his role, throughout season 2, I was hoping he is eventually taken down because of how evil he is. This time round we see just how evil he can be, no matter who they are, how much higher in power they are, he continues to make sure he remains where he is. I was a little hopeful when we got to see his armour break slightly when it came to Jang Tae Joon, but sadly that tiny bit of hope is soon gone.
Another character development I was surprised with was Jung Woong In's character, I was not expecting to see his character soften up at any moment, but season 2 really showed how easy everyone could control him as the main chink in his armour was his family, season 2 saw him battle whether he continued to help Song, or help take him down.
Season 2 brought in some new characters, and I thought those characters were great additions to the series.
I thought Jung Man Sik was amazing as Choi Kyung Chul, I loved that he was always true to his morals and always fought for what was right.
I thought Park Hyo Joo brought some more comedy to the show as Lee Ji Eun, as well as being another badass female, I loved that even though she was hard on all of her team, especially Han Do Kyeong, you could tell she also believed in what he was doing and often pushed him harder to get him to realise he was onto a winner. I think her character was what we needed as viewers as she still second guessed at what Jang Tae Joon was doing, which I why I think she made Kang Seon Yeong also make sure she was either at level pegging with Jang Tae Joon or one step ahead, as she never kept it secret that she just didn't trust him and wanted to be given and shown a reason to believe his words and actions.
I have to applaud Jo Bok Rae as Yang Jong Yeol, he had me on the edge of my seat throughout the series. I just couldn't guess whether he was a spy or actually trying to help. This for me is again something that was needed for this season, as it kept you on the edge of your seat and had you second guessing what you thought.
I couldn't help but applaud as the final episode came to an end as it seemed to close everyone's stories, showing us how they're doing now. While I do think it was the perfect ending for the show, I also think it leaves a little opening for there to be a 3rd season, if they wish to either continue the story or make a new one.

Have you watched season 2 of Chief of Staff?
Did you like new character additions?
Did you like the plot for season 2?
Let me know in the comments below.

See you soon!


안녕
(Annyeong)
さようなら
(Sayonara)
再见
(ZaiJian)
Bye

Sunday, 17 November 2019

Korean Drama - Chief of Staff

Hello
안녕하세요 
(Annyeonghaseyo)
こんにちは 
(Konnichiwa)
你好
(Ni Hao)

Google Images
Chief of Staff is a South Korean political television series, written by Lee Dae-il and directed by Kwak Jung-hwan.
The series aired on JTBC from June 14th and finished on the 13th of July 2019, the series also streamed through Netflix. It was announced that the second season premiered on the 11th of November 2019, through JTBC and Netflix. Season 1 contains 10 episodes with a run time of 60 minutes, season 2 will also have 10 episodes.

Main Cast:
Lee Jung Jae as Jang Tae Joon
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Shin Mina as Kang Seon Yeong
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Lee Elijah as Yoon Hye Won
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Kim Dong Jun as Han Do Kyeong
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Jung Jin Young as Lee Seong Min
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Kim Kap Soo as Song Hee Seop
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Jung Woong In as Oh Won Sik
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Im Won Hee as Go Seok Man
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Supporting Cast:
Kim Hong Pa as Jo Gap Yeong
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Lee Chul Min as Kim Hyung Do
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Ko In Beom as Seong Yeong Gi
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Yoo Sung Joo as Lee Chang Jin
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Jeon Jin Ki as Lee Gwi Dong
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Jun Seung Bin as Kim Jong Wook
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Do Eun Bi as No Da Jeong
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Park Myung Shin as Yeo Sook Hee
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The first script reading for the drama  took place on the 26th of March 2019, in Nonhyeon-dong, Seoul.
The series is Lee Jung Jae's small-screen comeback after 10 years.
Check out the trailer below.

The two OST tracks were also amazing.
Chen - Rainfall

Kim Jae Hwan - Black Sky

Jang Tae Joon graduated from the Korean National Police University and worked as a detective. He wanted to gain more power and decided to work in the National Assembly. Now, he is the chief aide to a four-time lawmaker. He has excellent intuition, a cold-blooded decisiveness and a strong desire to win. He was able to place his lawmaker in the position of the party representative, but Jang Tae Joon has high ambitions.
Meanwhile, Kang Seon Yeong is a first-year lawmaker who got elected through proportional representative and is a spokesperson for her party. She worked as a lawyer and hosted a current affairs TV program prior to becoming a lawmaker. She is ambitious and does her job well.
Kang Seon Yeong and Jang Tae Joon are also secretly dating, can they keep their relationship a secret in the world of politics.

I can honestly say when it comes to politics, I'm completely clueless, I decided to watch this drama solely for Shin Mina and Kin Dong Jun, I started the series completely clueless and ended to series completely clueless, especially with the politics, the main thing was that I was hooked and I couldn't wait for season 2. I may have been left confused at time but Chief of Staff didn't fail at making me laugh as well as having me on the edge of my seat, holding my breath and really pulling at the heartstrings.
This was my first time watching Lee Jung Jae and I was blown away with his acting, I was expecting the character development that we got by the end of season 1, I've definitely gone into season 2 with a lack of trust in Jang Tae Joon, I know we've been asked to trust him in his decision and he's still trying to finish what he started in the first season, but I can't help but seconds guess his actions which shows his performance is believable and realistic.
I love how bad ass and confident Shin Mina's character is, she's one of the few women of power in mainly a mans world and fights with all her might to get what she desires and what is right. We also get to see her vulnerable side on 2 occasions, one when she has to deal with feeling guilt from another lawmaker and friend's death and another when the public goes against her, when they see her as promoting abortion after helping a young mum-to-be, when her life was in danger. I couldn't help feeling heartbroken and crying in her final scenes of season 1, I also feel like I'm on the same mindset as her when it comes to Jang Tae Joon.
I can't help but feeling that Lee Elijah's character allows her feelings for Jang Tae Joon, cloud her judgement as at times it's like she blindly follows what he requests. I did notice towards the end she does seem more regretful for some actions, when she is faced with Han Do Kyeong, who believes good things can only come from good deeds. She seems to be more reserved with other people, but you can see her grow and open up more when it comes to Han Do Kyeong.
I wasn't surprised when Kim Dong Jun's character turned out to be sweet and naive, he wants to be someone that others can admire and look up to, like Jang Tae Joon is and was someone he admired. I believe Tae Joon wants Han Do Kyeong to take his own path and not take the same steps he did, he wants Do Kyeong to be the positive fight if he needs to be the negative. I love that Han Do Kyeong starts as a naive character but quickly gets that fire in his belly to fight for whats right, no matter who he has to fight against.
This is my second drama with Jung Jin Young, the first being Sketch, Sketch he seemed to be more on the bad side, where this time round he's part of the side fighting for whats right, I definitely liked his role more in Chief of Staff than I did in sketch, I can't really say much about his character because I don't want to reveal any spoilers but be ready to be shocked and have tissues nearby.
Kim Kap Soo and Jung Woong In's characters are your typical bad guys that will do anything to take down others to remain in power, whether it's illegal or not. They both portray their roles really well and I hope we eventually see their downfall.
One of my favourite characters is Im Won Hee's character, he adds some comedic value to the show as well as being strong and serious when Kang Seon Yeong needs him.
The cast really works well together, which I think is why I'm hooked on a drama that I know nothing about it's premise. The final scenes, really had me shocked and it also made me wonder how far Jang Tae Joon would go to make sure he had more power.
I can't wait to see how it all unfolds in season 2.

Have you watched season 1 of  Chief of Staff?
Did you like the casting and the plot?
Let me know in comments below.

See you soon!


안녕
(Annyeong)
さようなら
(Sayonara)
再见
(ZaiJian)
Bye