Alchemy of Souls 환혼 [2022-2023]

[JenL]

 

Cast:

Lee Jae Wook

Jung So Min

Hwang Min Hyun

Arin

Oh Na Ra

Joo Sang Wang

 

Plot:

The fate of these people become twisted due to "hwanhonsool" (the soul of the dead return to the living).

 

In the country of Daeho, Jang Wook (Lee Jae-Wook) comes from the noble Jang family. He holds an unpleasant secret about his birth, which people all around the country talk about. He is troublemaker. Jang Wook happens to meet Mu-Deok (Jung So-Min). She is an elite warrior, but her soul is trapped in a physically weak body. She becomes Jang Wook’s servant, but she also secretly teaches him how to fight.

 

Seo Yool (Minhyun) comes from the noble Seo family. He seems perfect with good appearance, intelligence, and strong martial arts skills. Go Won (Shin Seung-Ho) is the crown prince of Daeho. He hopes to become a generous king.

 

[JenL]

Official Trailer: 

 

 

 

Edited June 12, 2022 by JenL

[JenL]

 

 

Edited July 22, 2021 by JenL

[JenL]

@Unnie0110 @eNDe @multiloverss @purplefin @twinkler0415 I've made a thread for Lee Jae wook's new drama...no pressure to join, but if you do end up watching the series feel free to chat...and post drama news here 

[multiloverss]

1 hour ago, JenL said:

@Unnie0110 @eNDe @multiloverss @purplefin @twinkler0415 I've made a thread for Lee Jae wook's new drama...no pressure to join, but if you do end up watching the series feel free to chat...and post drama news here 

i would like to watch this drama and hopefully any issue would not affect LJW cameback drama after 1 years

[JenL]

On 7/10/2021 at 1:17 AM, multiloverss said:

i would like to watch this drama and hopefully any issue would not affect LJW cameback drama after 1 years

 

Hehe, yay! Glad to see you'll be watching. I miss LJW and so I'll watch the drama just for him. I don't even normally watch sageuks but if it's his next project, I will give it a go 

Also hoping they sort out the female lead soon. It's a shame...when DDSSLLS was filming it also had to stop filming early on due to someone catching covid. Poor LJW! It hasn't gone so smoothly on his lead role projects 

[JenL]

Looks like there will be 20 episodes, which is long for a Kdrama!

 

 

 

 

 

[Tofu]

It is but that just means more Lee Jae Wook! 

[stroppyse]

Honestly, I'm not a huge fan of any of the Hong Sisters works, however, it will be nice to see Lee Jae Wook again. Plus, I'm actually rather excited by the Lee Jae Wook-Jung So Min pairing, so I really hope that this happens.

 

As for the actress who was replaced, I'm not entirely sure what the story is, but I think the Hong Sisters can be rather particular about their actors and due to their successes, they have a lot of weight. It's pure speculation on my part that the newbie actress was deemed not quite right for the role after they started filming? I'm not familiar with Park Hae Eun, the rookie actress who was dropped at all.

 

I did notice that there is a title change in Korean from 환혼        to 반환, though the English title has remained "Return". 

 

환혼 indicates returned souls, while 반환 is a more generalized term to indicate return or restoration.

 

 

 

[JenL]

Just noticed one of the links wasn't showing...so here is PHE's own Insta post about her leaving the drama. It's a shame because she did look pretty in costume :(

 

Park Hae Eun said on her Instagram caption: "It's sad & complicated but hope for them to finish well without trouble, as everyone has good intentions. I thank the people who are concerned. The post will be take down shortly."

 

 

 

[JenL]

One of the crew members posted these shots awhile ago before I made this thread, but I'm guess this footage will now have to be reshot since the change of leads

 

 

 

6 hours ago, stroppyse said:

Honestly, I'm not a huge fan of any of the Hong Sisters works, however, it will be nice to see Lee Jae Wook again. Plus, I'm actually rather excited by the Lee Jae Wook-Jung So Min pairing, so I really hope that this happens.

 

I can't say much for the whole body of their works, as I've heard many of their titles are a hit or miss. I did personally enjoy Hotel Del Luna though and thought the ending was tied up well for a ghost romance story. 

 

I have also oddly enough seen Sassy Girl Chun-hyang which I remember liking at the time of watch...but it's sooooo dated that I would never re-watch or recommend. I also remember the second lead ahjussi to be so annoying and stalkerish to the main girl who was in high school?! 

 

I don't mind JSM, so if they do work together I'll watch. Haha, it seems like LJW will have another large age gap with his noona co-star then 

 

6 hours ago, stroppyse said:

As for the actress who was replaced, I'm not entirely sure what the story is, but I think the Hong Sisters can be rather particular about their actors and due to their successes, they have a lot of weight. It's pure speculation on my part that the newbie actress was deemed not quite right for the role after they started filming? I'm not familiar with Park Hae Eun, the rookie actress who was dropped at all.

 

I'm thinking it's all speculation now and your theory sounds plausible too since they've had big names like IU and So Ji Sub take on their roles so maybe they didn't want the leads to be newbies (LJW also hasn't been in the industry long). 

 

It seems like PHE got through the script-reading ok and they had even started filming (as shown through photos above), but then she was dropped. There was 2 types of reporting - one camp saying she was apparently a 'bad' actress and had been let go of. And another camp saying that she felt pressure as a new actress and had 'quit.' I don't think she quit, but also don't think she's a bad actress at all...

 

But she is a very very new and young actress. She's only been credited once as a side character in The School Nurse Files, so kind of a strange choice for a lead I guess given that she probably didn't have as much filming experience: https://asianwiki.com/Park_Hye-Eun_(actress) 

 

I've written my theory a few times so I'll just paste it here since I'm lazy to rewrite: 

 

I'm guessing she didn't have enough experience in front of the camera, which doesn't make her a bad actress at all, but may mean that it would be hard for them to direct her and really sucks because it meant she was asked to leave  Being an actor is more than just knowing your lines (which she was probably good at)...it's also making the right expressions, knowing where to stand and move in front of a camera in a scene, knowing where to look, conveying emotion through expression and voice, building chemistry with your co-star, whether in a fight scene or crying scene or kissing scene  I think the Directors etc might have regretted the work it would take to train her, so there was pressure for her to step down.

 

6 hours ago, stroppyse said:

I did notice that there is a title change in Korean from 환혼        to 반환, though the English title has remained "Return". 

 

Ooohhh...Then I guess they will have to change the logo too...

 

 

6 hours ago, stroppyse said:

환혼 indicates returned souls, while 반환 is a more generalized term to indicate return or restoration.

 

Thanks for taking the time to explain the meanings to us! Did I mention I've started learning Korean?  It's tricky for me, so don't be surprised if I tag you begging for homework help! 

[stroppyse]

9 hours ago, JenL said:

I have also oddly enough seen Sassy Girl Chun-hyang which I remember liking at the time of watch...but it's sooooo dated that I would never re-watch or recommend. I also remember the second lead ahjussi to be so annoying and stalkerish to the main girl who was in high school?!

 

Ooh, I've watched that drama as well, and enjoyed parts of it, though some of it was hard to get through. It was my intro into the fusion sageuk elements since it was a modern story with scenes that were throwbacks to the original Chun-hyang fable. I was really into Jae Hee at the time as well. He seems to be doing mostly daily dramas at the moment. I totally agree that it was weird to have that ajusshi so taken with a high school girl. It was also aggravating that the male lead was so taken with his first love noona who was clearly just keeping him dangling. It did have a number of funny scenes in it though.

 

10 hours ago, JenL said:

Haha, it seems like LJW will have another large age gap with his noona co-star then 

 

True, but he holds his own with his noona co-stars and makes it really work. I prefer seeing him paired with accomplished actresses.

 

10 hours ago, JenL said:

Did I mention I've started learning Korean?  It's tricky for me, so don't be surprised if I tag you begging for homework help! 

 

That's fantastic!  Let me know if I can help in any way.

[JenL]

When they haven't found the female lead yet, but have added a few more side characters...

 

Is he the trashy evil guy who is mean to the villagers in Racket Boys @mademoiselle?

 

 

[mademoiselle]

31 minutes ago, JenL said:

Is he the trashy evil guy who is mean to the villagers in Racket Boys @mademoiselle?

Hahaha yes. He's a good supporting actor.

[LF_Fans]

28 minutes ago, JenL said:

When they haven't found the female lead yet, but have added a few more side characters...

But they already put Jung So Min in the news. She was offered as female lead before. Did she accept the offer?

[JenL]

15 minutes ago, Support_Somin_n_SG said:

But they already put Jung So Min in the news. She was offered as female lead before. Did she accept the offer?

 

Ah, yes, I've heard that casting rumour, but so far haven't heard confirmation yet!

 

But there might be a more definite response now that Monthly Magazine Home has ended. I feel like actors who get late offers while they have a current drama airing often wait till afterwards to confirm or reject (so it doesn't distract from their current project). At least it's happened a few times to my notice. 

[JenL]

Looks like filming has resumed with support food trucks being sent for LJW! Does that mean Jung So Min accepted the lead?!   They stopped filming not because of covid but because there was no lead actress. But since Monthly House just finished, maybe she had signed on for this.

 

 

 

[JenL]

In case you wondered what the fans sent LJW on the set of Return  

 

 

[JenL]

Looks like Jung So Min is probably confirmed like the lead? 

 

There haven't been agency announcements, but Jung So Min mentioned working on Return in her interview? 

 

 

[JenL]

 

[Tofu]

Yay! I'm excited to see a LJW and JSM pairing. 

[LF_Fans]

New updates… seems very interesting drama.. It will be released first half next year.. 

 

 

 

[JenL]

There's some behind the scenes photos of LJW at a food truck during filming for the drama....but I don't think I can post them here since several twitter users got contacted to take it down...but this was the food truck he was standing in front of: 

 

 

[mademoiselle]

Casting news - this actor always play villain, hmm. Any news on who is the FL yet?

 

[JenL]

On 9/28/2021 at 8:25 PM, mademoiselle said:

Casting news - this actor always play villain, hmm. Any news on who is the FL yet?

 

Ooohhh interesting...

Still no official announcement on female lead, though I assume it's Jung So Min at this point since she said she was working on it in an interview? Also no other names announced.

 

I did see this very grainy photo pop up on Twitter though...haha, now we can see why he was made to grow out his bangs 

 

 

Also food truck on the set of Return for Uncanny Counter uncle Yoo Jun Sung...

 

Edited October 1, 2021 by JenL