This 20 episodes drama started showing in Korea on 5 May 2011 and will end on 28 July 2011. I have started watching this online at (http://www.dramacrazy.net/korean-drama/city-hunter/) and have watched till episode 7 and it is really exciting and male lead Lee Min Ho looks so cool and dashing in the drama. "City Hunter" will debut on Starhub Channel ONE 823 on 4 July 2011, 9.05pm after "49 Days". “City Hunter” tells of the story of a man raised to avenge for the death of his birth father and his colleagues whose lives were sacrificed by the whim of five corrupt politicians. The drama is based on a popular Japanese comic of the same name by Tsukasa Hojo and stands as the prequel to it. Since it became public that Korea would be the first remake of this story into a drama, ‘City Hunter’ has been receiving worldwide attention. ‘City Hunter’ has switched the setting from Tokyo 1980 to Seoul 2011, and according to the original story structure, the protagonist becomes a city hunter and his character develops while resolving gratifying cases.
Actor Lee Min Ho (Boys Over Flower & Personal Taste) went through rough times for his first action acting ever in this drama. He plays Lee Yoon Seong, an MIT doctorate Blue House National Communications team agent, in his first action drama. Even though he got hurt on his shoulder from gunpowder debris during the shoot, he still continued filming. He was also recently involved in a car crash while filming the drama. Lee’s agency confirmed that while he was evaluated for injury, he escaped serious harm. SBS’s CP Kim Young-sub stated, “With the car half totaled, we were worried, but fortunately his injuries weren’t severe.
Actress Park Min Yeong (Sungkyunkwan Scandal) acts as his love interest Kim Na Na in the drama and Yoon Seong is a bad tempered but warm on the inside character, guarding bodyguard Na Na like a shadow and is getting wholehearted support from not only men but women viewers as well.
According to AGB Nielsen Media Research, the first episode of "City Hunter" rated 10.5%, and on the sixth episode rated 14.2%, showing increase. It looks like Lee Min Ho from "Boys Over Flowers" emphasizing his manhood in this drama has appealed to many female fans. The SBS drama analyzed the cause saying, "Lee Min Ho in "City Hunter" showing tough manhood and creating a spicy and sweet romance with Park Min-yeong has made him a romantic character and therefore getting him more popular than other actors".
The beginning of the drama shows Yoon Seong's father and his comrades being betrayed and killed by their country while on a spying cum assassination mission in North Korea. Only his father's best friend Lee Jin Pyo survived and Jin Pyo was filled with bitterness and anger over the death of his best friend and comrades and vows to take revenge on those 5 politicians who sacrificed them for their political interest. He took away Yoon Seong from his mother 28 years ago and bought him to Thailand where he trained him in shooting and martial art so that he can go back to South Korea to avenge his father in the future.
However Yoon Seong craved for a normal life and hopes to find his mother. He befriended fellow Korean Bae Shik Joong whom he rescued from a group of gangster and Shik Joong ended up working as a cook for his father. Shik Joong showed Yoon Seong a picture of his daughter Na Na who is residing in Korea and Yoon Seong falls in love with her at first sight. He looks at Na-na's picture and says, "There is someone with complexion as fair as this? She's really pretty". He talks to the picture of Na-na next to Shik Joong's bed whenever he is stressed. He talks to her picture about his emotions whenever he is frustrated at his father who wants to grow him as a harsh warrior. He started showing interest in Na Na when he met her coincidentally when he returned to Korea with his father to carry out their plans for revenge despite his father teaching him not to love anyone.
Na Na, a former judo athlete works as a bodyguard for the President’s residence, the Blue House. She will eventually be involved in a love triangle with Yoon Seong and prosecutor Kim Young Joo (Lee Joon Hyuk). The drama also marks idol pop star Goo Ha Ra’s acting debut and she will play the role of the President’s daughter, Choi Da Hye and has interest in Yoon Seong.
Choi Da Hye is a trouble maker who goes to an academy with bodyguards around her in the afternoon and goes clubbing the moment it gets dark. She is an active and lively character who doesn't like the shade of being the president's daughter and is a repeater. She made those watching laugh as she winked at Lee Min Ho the first time she saw him and made seductive poses. Some viewer who have seen her first act say, "Her acting is better than I thought it would be", "She has totally been possessed by the immature president's daughter role", "It was so funny. She's so lovable" and more.
Lee Joon Hyuk lost 7 kg for the role of a prosecutor in this drama and living up to his nickname 'sincere actor' he puts his head with the staff to create an even better scene for every scene. He describes his character as "He’s an intelligent, upright character with a strong sense of duty and responsibility. He has charisma and a warm presence.” Also, he will not get the girl, so there’s no use getting attached to that love angle, unless you like rooting for snowballs in hell."
More Pictures Of The Drama:
(Source: http://www.hancinema.net/korean_drama_City_Hunter.php )
(Source: http://www.hancinema.net/lead-cast-of-city-hunter-practice-script-reading-30407.html)
(Source: http://www.hancinema.net/lee-min-ho-exceeds-cha-seung-won-female-market-share-doubles-30571.html)
(Source: http://www.hancinema.net/city-hunter-goo-ha-ra-acts-the-perfect-president-s-daughter-30195.html)
(Source: http://www.dramabeans.com)
(Source: http://www.koreandrama.org/?p=8010)
(Source: http://spv.sbs.co.kr/nbbs/list.jsp?code=10000004316&top_index=null&field=&keyword=&page_no=1)
[Spoiler] "City Hunter" Lee Min-ho puts on a mask and swoons women
SBS drama "City Hunter" on the 15th, Lee Yoon-seong sets out to punish Member of Parliament Seo Yong-hak.
Lee Yoon-seong attacked the MP's three sons first. They had been exempted from military service through military conscription corruption but made it look like they were volunteering to enter the service. They ended up going to the army but Seo Yong-hak and the family faced the facts as the election was coming up.
Then Lee Yoon-seong sneaked in the speech hall to get his hands on the MP himself. He was going to kidnap Seo Yong-hak. He faced the bodyguards and showed fancy action. While doing this, Lee Yoon-seong put on a black mask to hide his identity.
Unlike the hat and glasses he put on in the last episode, the mask covered his face but emphasized the lines of his jaw and his eyes even more.
Viewers complimented him saying, "Masked Yoon-seong is a visual shock. Outstanding", "I thought my breathing stopped when I saw Masked Yoon-seong", "The mask makes his eyes shine more" and more.
Meanwhile, Lee Yoon-seong managed to kidnap MP Seo Yong-hak and tried to escape but was caught by bodyguard Kim Na-na (Park Min-yeong). Not recognizing who he was she shot fire at him, building the tension of the drama.
(Source: http://www.hancinema.net/spoiler-city-hunter-lee-min-ho-puts-on-a-mask-and-swoons-women-30685.html)(Source: http://news.nate.com/view/20110616n03331)
[Spoiler] "City Hunter" Park Min-yeong about to fall... will Lee Min-ho save her?
Park Min-yeong is in danger of falling to death and will Lee Min-ho save her?
SBS TV "City Hunter" drew Lee Yoon-seong (Lee Min-ho) who takes his revenge on candidate Seo Yong-hak (Choi Sang-hoon) and Na-na (Park Min-yeong), who faces danger while trying to stop this.
Candidate Seo is on TV for the presidential election debate. Lee Yoon-seong played a corrupt video of candidate Seo as he had planned on wiping him clean from society. It was a video of Seo demanding for a big amount of rights and interest to a weapons related businessman. The cast stirs and he tries to get out of it by saying he was being framed.
Na-na has the duty to guard Seo this day and she tries her best to do her job. They run into masked Lee Min-ho and prosecutor Kim Yeong-joo. Na-na tries to persuade Seo but he only turns the gun to her and holds her hostage. Thrown off stride, Na-na tries to get the better of him, but Seo Yong-hak being an ex-soldier wasn't easy. Na-na only faced the danger of hanging on the handrail and falling to death.
While Kim Yeong-joo went after Seo Yong-hak, Yoon-seong chooses to save Na-na instead. She is surprised that the person she shot at was doing that. Then the gun shot wound from Yoon-seong dripped blood onto his arm and she is even more surprised. In this dangerous situation, curiosity builds on whether she recognizes Yoon-seong or not and just feel more pulled towards this masked character.
Meanwhile, conflict between Lee Yoon-seong and father Jin-pyo (Kim Sang-joong) dawned at the end of the drama as he sees Yoon-seong holds of the revenge to save Na-na.
(Source: http://www.hancinema.net/spoiler-city-hunter-park-min-yeong-about-to-fall--will-lee-min-ho-save-her--30699.html)(Source: http://news.nate.com/view/20110617n03228)
[Spoiler] "City Hunter" Lee Min-ho and Park Min-yeong '3 step light bulb kiss'
Actor Lee Min-ho and actress Park Min-yeong gave hint of a 3-step light bulb kiss.
SBS TV "City Hunter" on the 22nd will show housemates Lee Yoon-seong (Lee Min-ho) and Kim Na-na (Park Min-yeong) kissing under a light bulb.
Taken place on a rooftop of an apartment building, the two pulled off a 3-step kiss scene without any NG's.
Lips together, the way they share a kiss as if electrocuted by the light bulb is actually like a photo collection.
Not only that, as much as they couldn't succeed in their sofa kiss, this kiss scene is causing viewers to look forward to it more than ever.
The productions say, "As "City Hunter" gets more active, Na-na's existence will only get bigger to Yoon-seong".
[Spoiler] "City Hunter" Lee Min-ho shuts up a yelling Park Min-yeong with his mouth!
Lee Min-ho and Park Min-yeong kissed under the light bulb.
SBS drama "City Hunter" showed a shot and wounded Lee Yoon-seong (Lee Min-ho) save Kim Na-na (Park Min-yeong) from falling of the handrails.
Bleeding from the wound saving Na-na, Yoon-seong comes home and drops on the floor. Worried that Na-na might be hurt somewhere, he eventually goes over to his house. She is also waiting for him outside, worried.
Yoon-seong yells at her, "Why are you out of the house this late at night?" Na-na yells back at him saying, "Why are you so late when you said you'll be here early?" The two had started living together according to Lee Yoon-seong's plans.
Yoon-seong grabs Na-na and starts kissing her. She seems surprised but she let him be. They had showed their feelings in this scene.
Meanwhile, Na-na finds out in this episode that the City Hunter who had saved her twice was Yoon-seong.
(Source: http://www.hancinema.net/spoiler-city-hunter-lee-min-ho-shuts-up-a-yelling-park-min-yeong-with-his-mouth--30851.html)(Source: http://news.nate.com/view/20110623n03802)
SBS drama "City Hunter" Lee Min-ho has gone through many different ways to disguise himself.
In the drama, Lee Min-ho transforms from a fund manager to City Hunter Lee Yoon-seong using masks, bandanas, blue and black clothes.
Lee Yoon-seong (Lee Min-ho) wore round rimmed glasses when he was going through the military corruption of Seo Yong-hak's (Choi Sang-hoon) three sons. On the other hand, when he took over Haeown Chemicals from Cheon Jae-man for the price of 100 won, he wore thick-rimmed glasses with hair split in the ratio 2:8.
When Lee Yoon-seong cornered Kim Jong-sik (Choi Il-hwa) into suicide, he wore a bandana that covered him from his next to nose in the blistering hear. He also wore a leather mask when he was being discovered by Kim Young-joo.
Lee Min-ho's management says, "As City Hunter got more and more active, we used bandana's glasses, hats and others to hide his identity. When he was revealed by Kim Young-joo, he was wearing a leather mask which the coordinator reformed herself using a biker's mask. It's one of its kind".
(Source: http://www.hancinema.net/city-hunter-lee-min-ho-s-disguise-from-glasses-to-leather-masks-31684.html)
(Source: http://news.nate.com/view/20110724n04485)
Korean Drama "City Hunter" Ending This Week In Korea
I finished watching episodes 17 and 18 of Lee Min Ho's popular drama "City Hunter" during the weekend and am completely charmed with Lee Min Ho's character Yoon Seong in the drama. I'm sure i'm not the only one who has fallen for his charming good look and sleek fighting moves in the drama ;) The drama has been getting high ratings in Korea. According to AGB Nielsen Media Research on the 22nd, the episode of "City Hunter" on 21st July 2011 rated 19.3%. This is 0.5% more than the previous 18.8% on the previous episode and it has been maintaining a steady 2-digit number. My cousin is also a huge fan of the drama and watches it every week online. She was sharing with me how much she and her friends love the drama.
Lee Min Ho's popularity is also increasing in China because of his role in "City Hunter" and in Singapore, local magazine "Her World" chose the Top 5 Korean hotties who capture and melt our hearts with just their looks and our dear City Hunter and everyone's favorite "flower boy", Lee Min Ho ranks as the number three Korean hottie. Loved for his pretty looks, perfectly proportioned features and admired for his really serious acting, he melts hearts everytime he flashes that super hot smile of his. You can read the article at (http://www.herworld.com/love-men-sex/sexiest/top-5-sexist-korean-celebs). My favorite Hyun Bin also made the top 5 list :)
Actress Park Min Young is also gaining alot of attentions acting in this drama and she looks really lovely in her role as Kim Na Na and Yoon Seong's love interest. Hopefully Channel U will also be showing the drama soon on local TV as i won't mind watching it again. I seldom watch it on Starhub Channel ONE as it is only available in Chinese subtitles and i find it easier to watch in English subtitles.
In episode 17 and 18, I was surprised by the revelation that Yoon Seong is the son of the President who had a role in contributing to the death of his stepfather. It turns out that his mother had a secret relationship with the President and had hide her pregnancy from him and ended up marrying Yoon Seong's stepfather. Episode 18 ended with Young Joo unmasking Yoon Seong and finally learning the identity of City Hunter and i'm wondering what is going to happen next.... Curiosity is also rising about the final twist of this SBS drama. On the SBS "TV News At Night" Lee Min-ho said there is going to be an amazing twist at the end. He also roused curiosity even more when he said, "No one will ever be able to guess what happens" and more.
Jin Pyo kept saying throughout the drama that he has a cruel revenge plan for the 5th person which is the President and i'm sure it involves Yoon Seong carrying out his revenge plan without knowing the president is his real father. I was hoping that Yoon Seong will be able to join force with prosecutor Kim Young Joo to weed out the corrupted politicians instead of fighting with each other but they have too much bad bloods over their fathers to work together.
The drama will be showing its final 2 episodes this week in Korea and ending on 28 July 2011. I'm hoping that it will be a happy ending and Yoon Seong will reunite with Na Na as he deserves some peaceful life after what he has gone through being treated as Jin Pyo's revenge tool. Hopefully Yoon Seong will be able to protect all his love ones to the end.
I have included some pictures below of the drama to share with fellow fans :) You can also try your luck at entering the online contest at http://www.onetvasia.com/contests/cityhunter to win "City Hunter" soundtrack and collectibles :)
(Source: http://www.hancinema.net/city-hunter-sits-in-the-throne-31639.html)
(Source: http://news.nate.com/view/20110722n02593?mid=e0101)
(Source: http://www.hancinema.net/spoiler-what-is-the-last-twist-of-city-hunter--31486.html)
(Source: http://news.nate.com/view/20110716n03073)
(Source: http://www.dramabeans)
(Source: http://www.herworld.com/love-men-sex/sexiest/top-5-sexist-korean-celebs)
(SPOILER) Thoughts On Korean Drama - City Hunter Episode 19 (updated 29 July 2011)
In my previous post, i was hoping that City Hunter Yoon Seong will have a happy ending and end up together with Na Na and not lose his love ones at the end. But i did not expect Young Joo to end up dying instead and it was really shocking when i watched episode 19 and i almost cried!!! I was reading some reviews online and alot of viewers also expressed shock that Young Joo's died in this episode as it is such a pity after he finally understand Yoon Seong's revenge and even tried to help him.
I was hoping that he would work together with Yoon Seong to catch all the baddies and i finally got my wish fulfilled in this episode when he did not arrest Yoon Seong and pretended not to know his identity in front of his boss.
He later acknowledged to his ex-wife Sae Hee that he actually feel there is a need for City Hunter to do the things he can't do within the law to catch all the baddies and he can't help but agree with Yoon Seong's method.
He actually sympathizes with Yoon Seong for being raise by Jin Pyo as a revenge tool and can understand his actions and even confronted Jin Pyo about his twisted revenge plans. I love the scene where he confronted Jin Pyo and told him that Yoon Seong's revenge can be forgiven but not Jin Pyo's for his cruel methods. He also revealed that he is aware that Mu Yeol is not Yoon Seong's father.
I'm glad that Yoon Seong finally learned the truth but the moment where he finally figured out Jin Pyo's plan was really heartbreaking and painful to realise that the father that he has always respect and love all the while has just been using him as a revenge tool against his real father!
It is really sad that the happy parts only last awhile and Young Joo had to sacrifice himself for Yoon Seong to get the classified documents which would help to clear Mu Yeol and his comrade's names. I kept hoping that he will survive and Yoon Seong will arrive in time to save him but it was too late..... it was a really touching scene when Young Joo asked Yoon Seong to forgive his father for his evil deeds. He was still concern about catching Cheong Jae Man while he was dying and told Yoon Seong where he was fleeing. I really hate this ending!!! Young Joo had finally decide to get back with his ex-wife and why must he die and in such a tragic way although also heroic...sign...
(Source: http://www.dramabeans)
(SPOILER) Korean Drama - City Hunter Finale (updated 31 July 2011)
On July 28th, SBS’s popular drama, ‘City Hunter‘ came to a close. The drama maintained its lead in viewership ratings until the end with 18.8% and 18.0% (AGB Nielsen) on Wednesday and Thursday. Actor Lee Jun Hyuk revealed how he felt about the ending of the drama. He revealed through his me2day on July 28th, “My heart was filled with so much happiness for being able to live as Korea’s Prosecutor, ‘Kim Young Joo’. Please love and watch ‘City Hunter’ until the very end. Korea is alive. Also, although I, Kim Young Joo, will be leaving, I would like it if my character always lives in all your hearts. Thank you very much. I love you, everyone.”
On July 28th, SBS’s popular drama, ‘City Hunter‘ came to a close. The drama maintained its lead in viewership ratings until the end with 18.8% and 18.0% (AGB Nielsen) on Wednesday and Thursday. Actor Lee Jun Hyuk revealed how he felt about the ending of the drama. He revealed through his me2day on July 28th, “My heart was filled with so much happiness for being able to live as Korea’s Prosecutor, ‘Kim Young Joo’. Please love and watch ‘City Hunter’ until the very end. Korea is alive. Also, although I, Kim Young Joo, will be leaving, I would like it if my character always lives in all your hearts. Thank you very much. I love you, everyone.”
The popular SBS drama "City Hunter" finally aired its series finale and wrapped up the fates of the three main characters, ‘Kim Na Na‘, ‘Lee Yoon Seong‘ and ‘Lee Jin Pyo‘. The last episode of the drama saw Lee Yoon Seong (Lee Min Ho) interfering with Lee Jin Pyo’s (Kim Sang Joong) final revenge on ‘Choi Eun Chan‘ (Chun Ho Jin).
Lee Yoon Seong was played into Lee Jin Pyo’s plan of revenge, and upon his discovery, he bellowed with sorrow and pointed his gun at his own head. In that moment, Choi Eun Chan yelled, “Stop it!”. Choi Eun Chan knew he had to stand up for his punishment and so he pushed Na Na aside, inviting Jin Pyo to fire at him, causing momentary confusion. Jin Pyo seized the moment and fired a shot at Choi, only to see Yoon Seong take the shot instead.
The surprised Kim Na Na returns fire and hits Lee Jin Pyo’s chest. After seeing the President getting ushered away by his guards and Yoon Seong lying hurt on the ground, Jin Pyo knew that this was the end of his revenge as he yells out that he is the ‘City Hunter’ and takes the rap, before the remaining bodyguards shoot at Jin Pyo, thus ending his life.
Afterwards, Na Na is seen at the airport with her luggage when she glances upon the sight of Yoon Seong. After some twists and turns, the couple experience a happy ending as the two reunite, smiling warmly at each other upon the long-awaited reunion.
Yoon Seong is then seen cruising alone in his car as it leads us to assume that he is continuing his destiny as ‘City Hunter’, and making a possibility for a sequel.
With the finale, the ending attracted much attention with controversial comments from viewers. The foster father of Yoon Seong, Jin Pyo, was hit by a flurry of shots and ended up dead.
Even though at the end, Yoon Seong and Na Na were reunited in a happy ending, but some viewers were left to believe that Yoon Seong was actually a ghostly figure. However, the producer, Kim Yong Sup, stated to TVDaily on July 29th, “Yoon Seong is not dead“.
Kim Yong Sup elaborated, “Lee Yoon Seong sustained a bullet shot in the last episode, but after much time passes, he eventually meets Na Na. He doesn’t appear as a ghost as it was actually just a time jump that we had set up. Of course, I respect the arbitrary interpretation of the viewers. However, just the fact that Yoon Seong didn’t die is strictly speaking, the definition of a happy ending. The director and writer put in the scene with this as their mindset.”
However, the last episodes of ‘City Hunter’ still resulted in the deaths of prosecutor Kim Young Joo (played by Lee Jun Hyuk) and Jin Pyo. Yoon Seong was injured by Jin Pyo’s bullet but recovered as time went by.
I'm satisfied with the ending and impressed with Lee Min Ho's acting in the drama. He has worked really hard to portray Yoon Seong's character and the action scenes were impressive! The final showdown between Yoon Seong, Jin Pyo, the President and Na Na was superb and exciting!!! I kept wondering how Yoon Seong will be able to lead a peaceful life even if he survived the showdown and does not lose his love ones as he did break the law as City Hunter. I was glad that Jin Pyo ended up sacrificing himself so that he can fulfill Yoon Seong's dream of living a peaceful life and proves that he does have fatherly feelings for him. It makes his character more real and honorable in the end and he also took responsiblity for all the crimes he had forced Yoon Seong to commit in the name of his revenge.
I did not expect that Yoon Seong would choose to sacrifice himself to stop Jin Pyo from killing his real father. By doing so, it really shocked Jin Pyo as he has been anticipating Yoon Seong to attack him to prevent his real father from being kille. However Yoon Seong had surprised and touched him with his decision to shoot himself rather then end up hurting Jin Pyo or seeing his real father being killed by Jin Pyo. I'm now hoping there would be a second season of "City Hunter" as i have enjoyed watching all the episodes :)
(Source: http://www.allkpop.com/2011/07/spoiler-city-hunter-actor-lee-jun-hyuk-reveals-his-thoughts-about-the-end-of-city-hunter)
(Source: http://www.allkpop.com/2011/07/spoiler-city-hunter-the-producer-of-city-hunter-clarifies-the-ending)
(Source: www.dramabeans.com)
(Source: http://www.allkpop.com/2011/07/spoiler-city-hunter-city-hunter-airs-its-series-finale)
(Source: http://www.soompi.com/news/soompi-drama-of-the-week-city-hunter-2)
(Source: http://www.soompi.com/news/recap-city-hunter-final-episode)
1 comment:
Fellow fans of Lee Min Ho, do take note that his drama - City Hunter premieres on Channel U today at 9.30pm and will be showing every Sundays.
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