Austin's Choice - Korean Drama : 8. Worlds Within

“Worlds Within” was produced by a Korean drama dream team. One of Korea’s best drama writers, Hee-kyung Noh, teamed up with director Min-soo Pyo and two of Korea’s favorite stars, Song Hye-gyo and Hyun Bin, to produce a first-class drama series. It’s the story of a drama production team and their everyday lives and relationships, and the story unfolds in an understated yet heart-touching manner. The drama focuses on the beautiful love story between Junyoung and Jio (played by Song Hye-gyo and Hyun Bin), and their realistic yet powerful emotions struck a chord with many viewers.

Drama Information Director: Min-soo Pyo Script: Hee-kyung Noh　 Starring: Hyun Bin, Song Hye-gyo Broadcasting Company: KBS Airing Period:October 27, 2008 through December 16, 2008 Website: Click Here (KOR)

Synopsis When Junyoung, a director, joins the drama division of a broadcasting station, she finds herself working with Jio, a senior director and her former boyfriend. When Junyoung breaks up with her current boyfriend, Jio confesses his true feelings for her, and they get back together. Meanwhile, Gyuho Song, an established director in the broadcasting world, begins a risky romance with Haejin, a young yet fearless actress. As well as these love stories, the drama paints a compelling picture of the professional lives of directors, scriptwriters and actors. Cast Ju Jun-young performed by Song Hye-gyo　 She joins the broadcasting station to fulfill her professional ambition of making a drama. Her passion for work gains her recognition from her colleagues and seniors. At work she appears quite confident and is undaunted by her mainly male colleagues. Although on the outside she is frank and direct, Jun-young is actually quite sensitive and gets hurt easily. At work, her meticulous nature sometimes hurts the feelings of her colleagues, and she is still naive when it comes to relationships, often, unwittingly, hurting her boyfriend's feelings. However, she has a sweet and warm-hearted personality. Jung Jio performed by Hyun Bin　 Jio is a gifted director who makes good productions that get high ratings. He is passionate and serious about his work, as well as being warm hearted and considerate of others, which has made him an idol among the junior directors in the company. He enjoys other people’s company and is always surrounded by people. Although his ambition was to become a film director, he gave up his dream due to his family’s financial situation. Instead he joined a broadcasting company and finds fulfillment through making dramas with heart-warming stories. At times he still pines for first love, Yeonhui. Song Gyu-ho performed by Eom Gi-jun　 Smart and stylish, Gyu-ho is one of the broadcasting company’s star directors. However, he is the selfish, ambitious type who would do anything to get a higher rating and is often given the cold shoulder by his colleagues. He has a cold and proud personality, and he doesn’t bother making friends. Although Gyu-ho often finds himself always at odds with Jio, he actually likes him. Gyu-ho’s character changes during the drama, influenced by his romance with the young, sweet actress, Haejin. Main Locations Jingwansa Temple Before breaking-up due to pressure from Gyu-ho’s father, Gyu-ho and Haejin take one last trip together. The scene where the two lovers share their pain and tears was filmed at Jingwansa temple. This was also the filming location for one of Hyun Bin’s previous dramas, the very popular <My Lovely Samsoon>.  Jingwansa temple is famous for its small yet beautiful temple, the stonewalls that line the mountain trails, and the dark green foliage that surrounds the temple garden. Visitors can follow the path past the temple to enjoy trekking on Bukhansan mountain. Jingwansa temple is home to female Buddhist monks, and it also runs a temple stay program for visitors. Wondang Horse Farm This is the place where an accident involving one of Jio’s camera crew was filmed. Jio’s ambitious drive leads him to film in this location, despite his unclear eyesight, and the head cameraman ends up getting injured. Despite this unfortunate event, this location is in fact an incredibly beautiful spot. Beautiful slender white poplar trees line the road that leads to Jingwansa temple. Some 40 dramas and commercials have been filmed in this area, these include <The First Shop of Coffee Prince> and <One Fine Spring Day>. The farm is spread out across rolling fields and visitors can watch the horses leisurely grazing in the meadows. Since the farm is only 30 minutes distance from Jingwansa temple and both are on the outskirts of Seoul, they make for a good day trip. Walking Slowly (Neurige Geotgi) The first scene of this drama takes place in front of a café called Walking Slowly in the Cheongdam-dong area of Seoul. In the scene, Jio is filming for a drama with his fast-moving camera crew. Walking Slowly café is a popular spot for filming due to its serene design and the scenic ginko trees that line the road in front of the café. This café serves “slow food” and caters to food lovers and the health conscious. Wine and tea are also served.   Information & written by KTO