Lee Young Ae's drama comeback after 12 years is highly anticipated. And on October 30 SBS released photos that show Lee and her co-star Song Seung Hoon in costume for their upcoming sageuk, "Shin Saimdang: The Herstory."
In the photos both Lee and Song's characters are dressed in Joseon era costumes and staring wistfully off into a desolate landscape.
As was the case in Lee's last successful drama "Dae Jang Geum" aka "Jewel in the Palace," she will again play a character based on a real person. One of her characters in the drama, Shin Saimdang, was a calligrapher, painter and writer during the the 16th century. Shin Saimdang's work was so influential that she is depicted on Korea's 50,000-Won bill. Shin was also the mother of a famous Confucian scholar.
Lee will play Shin and an art historian who finds Shin's journal and unravels some of her life's mysteries. The story will shift back and forth between the present and the Joseon era.
Song Seung Hoon plays a man whose life changes after he meets Shin.
The production company Group 8 was eager to cast Lee Young Ae in the part.
"We had Lee Young Ae in mind from the outset," a Group 8 representative told the Korean media outlet Chosun Ilbo.
One reason they may have been so eager to cast Lee Young Ae is the success of her last drama."Dae Jang Geum" was the 10th highest-rated k-drama of all time, with viewer ratings of over 50 percent in Korea. In 2014 Lee Young Ae was offered a part in the "Dae Jang Geum" sequel but declined the role.
The latest press release by Group 8 said that the show would be aired simultaneously in both Korea and China. "Dae Jang Geum" was a big hit in China and Lee Young Ae is popular there as a result. Song Seung Hoon is also a popular actor in China, having recently made a film there, "The Third Way Of Love." He is dating Liu Yifei, his Chinese co-star in the film.
'Shin Saimdang: The Herstory" is expected to air in the first half of 2016.
Producer Yun Sang Ho, who directed "The Legend" and "Tamna the Island," will direct 'Saimdang: The Herstory." Park Eun Ryung will write the script.
The drama has already been syndicated through Turner Entertainment Company to China, Japan, Thailand and Singapore.
