The Ladies of "Flower Boy Ramyun Shop"

Sep 17, 2011

Now that the pretty, pretty boys have been cast for “Flower Boy Ramyun Shop” — that would be “49 Days’” Jung Il Woo and “A Star’s Lover’s” Lee Ki Woo — we have the ladies who will join them.

Cast in the romantic lead opposite Jung Il Woo is Lee Chung Ah, which I think I’m pretty happy about. Her most recent dramas have been dailies (“Pumpkin Flower Soon Jung” and “Everybody Cha Cha Cha“) so that means that while she’s fairly well-known back at home, her profile is a bit lower for those of us abroad who gravitate more toward prime-time dramas and films. But I do recall her being cute and funny in Accidental Couple (she played Hwang Jung Min’s sister), and she was even cuter and funnier as the Korean-Japanese student who bickers with, then falls for, Park Ki Woong in “My Tutor Friend 2.” She was also in the recent Gong Yoo—Im Soo Jung romantic comedy “Finding Kim Jong-wook.”

In “Flower Boy Ramyun Shop,” Lee Chung Ah plays Eun Bi, a 25-year-old university student who’s preparing for the civil service exam, who manages the ramyun shop populated by a staff of pretty boys. Sort of like “Coffee Prince,” except the heroine’s the boss and one of her romantic interests (Lee Ki Woo) is employed as her genius chef.

Interestingly, Jung Il Woo’s prince-like chaebol character is a high school student, and heir to a food product company. I’d expected that Jung would one again be part of a noona romance (he’s 24, she’s 26), but I didn’t think he’d be that young. I suppose high school students in Korea can be as old as 20, so it may not be such a big issue, and hey — it could be as cute and appealing as the Gong Yoo—Gong Hyo Jin couple in “Biscuit Teacher Star Candy.”

Then there’s new face Kim Ye Won (who was a Vietnamese housekeeper in “Romance Town“) playing a high school teacher. She’s a confident modern woman whom the men see as prime “bride material” (ugh, that phrase); I’m gonna bet her male students think so too.

“Flower Boy Ramyun Shop” is scheduled for 16 episodes to follow “Birdie Buddy“ on cable channel tvN, premiering in late October. Eee! I’m excited.