Kang Hye-jung dismayed over Ripley role
Or rather, her
lack of one.
And not for no reason, either, since
Kang Hye-jung’s role as Miri’s (
Lee Da-hae) friend/rival/foil in
Miss Ripley has failed to materialize, having been drastically cut in recent
episodes. Viewers have noticed her nonentity status and let loose a
string of complaints, and now Kang’s own agency has spoken out as well.
On the 13th, a rep stated in an interview that Kang is disappointed
that her role has been reduced to near-invisibility in the drama,
although she is determined to do her best with the remaining material.
When the drama was first announced, it was presented as a story about
four leads, rather than two leads and two supporting characters. It’s
hard to see how the drama could have scored such strong actors as Kang
and
Kim Seung-woo otherwise, given that they’re leading
material themselves. Kim Seung-woo’s character has had more weight in
the storyline, playing a major role in Miri’s rise and fall, although
his sharp decline in visibility in recent weeks has also prompted
grumbling amongst viewership.
But Kang’s Hee-joo character has all but disappeared, despite being
set up to be Miri’s big competitor. She was the light to Miri’s dark,
the girl with the happy life Miri felt she should have had instead. The
one in love with Miri’s fiancé, the friend and enabler and — one hoped —
the obstacle. She held the key to Miri’s downfall…and then, nothing.
Instead of using Hee-joo’s knowledge of Miri’s lies, the burden of those revelations have shifted to uncouth Hirayama (
Kim Jung-tae) and steely Stepmom Lee Hwa (
Choi Myung-gil),
both of whom have been winning praise for their performances. Viewers
point out that Hee-joo hasn’t merely taken a backseat, but had even less
screen time than a cameo (by
Eom Ki-joon). She could be written out and it would make no difference.
It’s a bummer, because Kang Hye-jung is a wonderful actress who
doesn’t do many dramas (she’s more known for her quirky film characters,
such as in
Welcome to Dongmakgol and
Herb), and a lot of her fans had been anticipating her return to television. Her last drama was 2007′s
Flowers For My Life,
which was lovely and insightful (still one of my favorites), but sadly a
ratings flop. (Ratings were among the lowest I’ve seen, in the 2% to 3%
range.)
I hope the
Miss Ripley experience doesn’t turn her off
television for good, though I can see why she’d be feeling mighty
disappointed in how this one turned out for her. I’d love to see her
take on a quirky and plucky leading role in another comedy — oh all
right, I just want another
Flowers For My Life. So what if I’m greedy like that?
Via
10 Asia,
Joy News,
NTN SeoulCredits:dramabeans.com