[News] Park Min-young up for City Hunter?

[News] Park Min-young up for City Hunter?
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This…is an interesting choice, if it comes to pass: Park Min-young, last seen cross-dressing in period costume for 'Sungkyunkwan Scandal', is being reported as a top contender for City Hunter, starring Lee Min-ho.

According to Park’s agency rep, she is in the final negotiation stages with the producers, as well as discussions of character development with recently added scriptwriter Hwang Eun-kyung. The rep stated that the producers are also looking favorably at Park’s casting, although this is from the mouths of her rep, so take that with a grain of salt.

Park is up for the Kaori role, who is Ryo’s partner at the PI office and eventual love interest, although Ryo starts out ogling every pretty woman who passes. He’s not exactly picky. I’m a bit surprised/nonplussed at this casting, because it just doesn’t seem to fit the original characters, although I suppose with Lee Min-ho in the lead, they’re probably tweaking the whole thing younger. (Lee’s probably a decade too young for a proper Ryo — by which I mean one faithful to the original character — which isn’t a criticism of him, but an observation of the discrepancy.)

I don’t doubt he’ll do a great job interpreting the character, but Park seems too…feminine for Kaori. I know that’s odd since she just played a girl who dresses as a dude, but if memory serves me correctly, I recall Kaori being tough, almost butch. (City Hunter fans, am I remembering correctly?) I’d have loved to see a Kim Sun-ah type in the role (though she’s probably too old for him), or a Shim Eun-kyung in about eight years.

If Park is cast, she’ll join the shoots when they begin in March. City Hunter will premiere in May.