Yoo Seung-ho leads team of merry swindlers in comedy Kim Seon-dal 

Yoo Seung-ho leads team of merry swindlers in comedy Kim Seon-dal

The plot of Yoo Seung-ho’s new film project Kim Seon-dal sounded fun and quirky when it was first announced, but now with the rest of the cast in place, we’ve got even more reasons to be interested: Jo Jae-hyun (

is based on a folk hero with a sly streak, casting a satirical eye on society with a comedic touch. Yoo Seung-ho stars as the “best swindler in all of Joseon,” free of spirit and quick of step, while Jo Jae-hyun once again taps into his villainous side to play an authority figure whose ambitions and greed take precedence over, say, his country or his king. In one famous tale, Kim Seon-dal conned a rich man who wanted to sell river water to villagers who could get it for free, which suggests that our hero enjoys taking down people who are abusing their power in unjust ways, rather than, say, conning poor peasants of their livelihoods.

Our hero’s got to have a posse, and Go Chang-seok will play our hero’s partner in crime (aw, remember when he played Yoo Seung-ho’s father in Busan?), while Xiumin plays the youngest member of the band of con artists and the hero’s close dongsaeng. Ra Mi-ran will probably be a crack-up as a fortune-telling shaman.

Meanwhile, Yeon Woo-jin plays King Hyojong (17th king of Joseon, Injo’s son, brother of Crown Prince Sohyeon), who works to protect his people and his country against the threat posed by the villain’s conspiracy plot. Jeon Seok-ho plays the leader of the royal investigation bureau who chases our hero—who is, after all, a criminal. (I do love this dynamic often seen in sageuks where the law enforcement and the protagonists are technically at odds despite both being the “good guys” of the story—or at least, both in opposition to the villains—and watching them eventually work their way to being on the same side.) And lastly, we have Seo Ye-ji playing Yoo Seung-ho’s love interest, a nobleman’s daughter. Just don’t swindle her dad, okay? Unless he’s evil, I guess. Then you can swindle away.

I do have a soft spot for cheeky heroes who skirt the law, who are generally more fun than the stuffy principled ones. I’m not familiar with the original folk tale, but it sounds like our hero may not be primarily motivated by noble ideals; it’s just that in highlighting how he tricks people, many of whom are themselves selfish and greedy, the story shines a light on what’s wrong with the world. Hence the satire, and a sharp sense of humor.

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Tags: Go Chang-seok, Jo Jae-hyun, Seo Ye-ji, Yeon Woo-jin, Yoo Seung-ho

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This sounds amazingly fun. I hope it comes to theaters here.

Woori wangjanim~ My long time crush is back from his early army enlistment and all these news of projects he’ll be working on is making me giddy hihi

YAY! Thanks for posting about this delightful movie! Sounds like a trifecta of fun/interesting premise, good acting and eye-candy XD

Xiumin is playing Yoo Seung Ho’s dongsaeng even though he’s older irl. Baby face strikes again.

I think Yeon Woo Jin will be perfect as king. I can already see it.

This really sounds like fun but by the time it shoots, airs and gets to DVD then gets subbed….I’d have forgotten all about it.

I would love to get excited for this…except Seo Yeji. Ugh. I do not like her. I can just picture her annoying little self traipsing around. Or maybe its just cuz I’m used to seeing her playing spoiled, annoying brats…or maybe its her face that LOOKS like a spoiled, annoying brat. Sigh…idk.

I’m excited about everyone else though. After Hong Gil Dong and Iljimae, Robin Hood stories are certainly up my alley ^^

Hopefully, Seo breaks my expectations. Who knows? This one might be the turning point.

lol. i really adored her in running man, but not really in acting.

She is that noble woman who turn evil in Diary of Night Watchman right? She was not that bad, just so-so in that or maybe since everyone is equally bad, so it may affect my opinion on her acting. lmao

Jo Jaehyun! I watched him in Punch and he was DAEBAK as the antagonist. Looking forward to his acting~

I’m really not into kpop and not too happy about idols scoring huge roles just because they’re from a popular group. But then I know E.X.O. has a lot of fans so I might get torn apart just stating this opinion lol they all seem to be scoring really big roles these days as like their first or second acting gigs.

Anyway, I’m excited for Yoo Seung Ho I just want him to come back to dramaland

don’t worry, i kind of agree. Of all the boys, the one that i will always exempt is DO (after watching IOTL and Cart) but it irks me that they’re basically ALL (at least the korean ones) getting roles in high listing movies.

This is like buy 1 (Yoo SeungHo) get 3 free (Yeon WooJin, Xiumin, Seo Yeji).

sounds like US series ‘Leverage’, where “Sometimes bad guys make the best good guys”.

With Yoo Seung-ho busy in movieland, I’m definitely missing him in dramaland.

My baby Seung Ho is going to play in another sageuk this time?! Sageuk is fine, but I want to see him in contemporary drama, too. By the way, has he finished filming Joseon Magician? This noona is counting every single day to se you back on screen. I hope both the magician and the swindler will be beautiful yet strong (like Yeo Woon in Warrior Baek Dong Soo), wise and humorous character.

YOO SEUNG HOOO haha finallyyy ! Woww the movie definitely sounds excitinggg xD … The cast is fitting , couldn’t wait to see Yeon Woo Jin in a sageukkk era ! He’ll do greatt! Never watch Seo Ye Ji’s acting before , but I have seen her in RM and she’s quite fun haha

I could watch Jo Jae-hyun in movie (or a drama) playing the part of a guy crossing the street.

Can’t wait for this to be relased,such a wonderful cast and even more happy seeing YSH as a lead and with a fun character!don’t forget dramaland please!

It’ll be so cute watching Xiumin be the younger one here. I’m so happy his first movie is something I want to watch. Now I wait.

i’m an exo fan, but even i’m getting kiiiiiinnnnndddaaaa frustrated seeing exo in everything, ya know? sometimes i just want to see the actors who are insanely talented but don’t do a lot of projects. we see exo so often on music shows, variety, etc, that i wish we got some more options in cast. but Yoo Seung-ho is going to make this one ot look forward to

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