"Three Days" Leads But "A New Leaf" Establishes A New Order
"Three Days" continued to lead the ratings Wednesday night with 12.3 percent of the viewers, up 0.4 percent from the last episode. In the15th episode of this political thriller, Park Yoochun sacrifices himself to save the president, a man he has often wondered whether he should trust. But he is a secret service agent and that's what agents do.
Arriving in second place was the new drama "A New Leaf."
"A New Leaf" concerns the character Kim Suk Joo, played by Kim Myung Min. Kim Suk Joo is a soulless mercenary lawyer who loses his memory and has to reinvent his life. Only this time around he has a chance to do it right. That creates problems with the people in his life who thought he was doing things right all along.
It was Kim Suk Joo's transformation that held special appeal for actor Kim Myung Min, who starred in the dramas "King of Dramas" and "Beethoven Virus," as well as the films "The Spy" and "Deranged."
In the 18-episode courtroom drama, the character develops amnesia and has to reexamine everything he previously believed. Making that character come to life was an anxiety-provoking challenge the actor could not resist.
"Every time I encounter a demanding role that has a lot to be explained and expressed, I get anxious about whether I will be able to pull it off, but at the same time, I feel an urge from inside to challenge myself," he told the Korea Herald.
To prepare for the role, he watched courtroom dramas, spoke with lawyers and attended trials. While real courtrooms are rarely as dramatic as those portrayed in dramas, he is striving for authenticity with a side of excitement. One of the biggest challenges in fulfilling the role is learning the required legal jargon. It requires a lot of practice.
"There is no easy way to do it," he said. "I just practice until I get it right."
The MBC drama also stars Park Min Young, who appeared in "City Hunter" and "Sungkyunkwan Scandal." She plays a legal intern in Kim Suk Joo's law firm. Kim Sang Joo plays the CEO of the law firm. Chae Jung Ahn is his fiancée. Odds are he is not too happy about a lawyer who changes his priorities from making the firm lots of money to defending poor underdogs. And his fiancée may not appreciate his possible downward mobility.
The drama earned 6.9 percent in the ratings, which placed it ahead of "Golden Cross" at 6.6 percent.
