Chapter 7

"Since you're American, I heard you have to be twenty-one to drink there. Even though we're in Korea now, are you sure it's okay?" In the Chinese restaurant on the streets of Mapo District, after watching Lee Jung-hee pour himself some soju, Park Dong-jeom playfully teased him.

Lee Jung-hee rolled his eyes with a smile. On the way there, the two had chatted happily, and Park Dong-jeom had asked him many questions about TV drama production, which he answered well. This made Park Dong-jeom even more satisfied with him, and naturally, their relationship grew closer.

Therefore, Lee Jung-hee casually said to Park Dong-jeom, who called himself an uncle, "Uncle, in my family, I started drinking soju when I was five. Besides, I'm Korean too!"

The United States allows dual citizenship, and according to the current Nationality Act in South Korea, dual citizens must choose one nationality before the age of 22. Lee Jung-hee was only 18, so he still held dual citizenship in both the U.S. and South Korea.

Park Dong-jeom understood this, so he just smiled. However, he suddenly looked at Lee Jung-hee and asked seriously, "Jung-hee, tell me, why are you so confident about the ratings for 'Blue生死恋' (Blue生死恋)?"

Then he turned to look at Zhang Dong-guo and said, "Don't tell me this is entirely the decision of Director Zhang. I can feel that Director Zhang respects your opinion a lot, and that's your good fortune!"

Hearing this, Zhang Dong-guo just smiled and said nothing. Lee Jung-hee couldn't just make something up, of course. Besides, he couldn't say he was a reincarnated person, especially since that seemed to have no effect on this TV drama.

Therefore, he could only try to give a convincing answer: "Director Park, if I said I was 100% confident, that would be a lie. However, I believe in my abilities and judgment. Also, I didn't write this script casually. It's a carefully crafted and meticulously polished script that I believe is excellent, based on a thorough study of Korean TV dramas here...

It has a twisting plot and a deeply moving, tragic love story. If everything goes as I envision, with attractive lead actors and beautiful scenery, all of this will form the perfect foundation for its popularity..."

Park Dong-jeom was no young man; he had seen too much. Although what Lee Jung-hee said seemed reasonable and appealing, it was only superficial and not enough to make him ecstatic.

Of course, it wasn't entirely ineffective. After all, Lee Jung-hee's reputation as a prodigy added some points. So, Park Dong-jeom raised his glass and clinked it with Lee Jung-hee's, drank it in one gulp, and slapped the table, "Well said! I hope this TV drama becomes a hit, just like you do."

South Korea implemented the separation of production and broadcasting in 1991. Although this system faced resistance from TV stations and was not fully implemented, it gradually transformed and developed the entire television industry.

This was because, in the era of integrated production and broadcasting, even if the ratings and audience feedback were poor, the broadcaster would not easily cancel the drama for the sake of mutual interests. Moreover, advertisers did not have the power to decide on ad placements based on ratings and feedback after one or two episodes, or even three or four episodes (in China, advertisers place ads before the drama airs, and the results are left to fate).

The separation of production and broadcasting meant that the interests of the producers and broadcasters were separated. If the ratings, ad placements, or audience feedback were poor during the broadcast, the drama could be canceled at any time, and the losses would be entirely borne by the producers.

This shows how much pressure the producers were under, and they would strive to produce high-quality dramas. Therefore, producers now wouldn't finish the entire drama before giving it to the TV station for broadcast. Instead, they would shoot four to eight episodes first, test the waters, and then decide based on the ratings and audience feedback.

Of course, even with this approach, if the drama was too poor and got canceled, the producers would still suffer significant losses. Preparing a drama could take three to five months, or even one to two years, making the costs very high.

Therefore, Lee Jung-hee understood Park Dong-jeom's feelings. Although he wasn't an independent producer, the separation of production and broadcasting meant that his work performance would be more accurately evaluated. A poor performance would still have consequences.

Ding ling ling, just as Lee Jung-hee was about to say a few comforting words to this man who appreciated him, his phone rang.

"Sorry!" Lee Jung-hee took out his phone and nodded to Park Dong-jeom. He opened the flip cover and saw an unfamiliar number. He had a sudden thought and handed the phone to Zhang Dong-guo, then whispered a few words to him.

Zhang Dong-guo was taken aback but then nodded and answered, "Hello, who is this? I'm Lee Jung-hee's agent, Zhang Dong-guo!"

"Oh, hello!" The caller was also taken aback and then said, "I'm Gao Zuodong from TUBE Entertainment. We really appreciate Mr. Lee Jung-hee's script and would like to schedule a meeting with him..."

"This kid!" Zhang Dong-guo thought to himself, amazed at how things were moving so quickly. He said, "Oh, thank you for your appreciation. How about Friday? These days, Jung-hee is discussing a project with KBS..."

Zhang Dong-guo didn't specify the project but subtly indicated Lee Jung-hee's value. Friday was two days away, a reasonable time that wouldn't make the caller impatient or seem too eager. Moreover, leaving some room for flexibility was best.

This exchange also showed Zhang Dong-guo's social skills.

After the call, Zhang Dong-guo and Lee Jung-hee exchanged a glance and then said casually, "TUBE Entertainment is interested in your movie script and wants to talk to you..."

Lee Jung-hee had already guessed this, so he was saying it for Park Dong-jeom to hear, to boost his confidence in Lee Jung-hee.

Sure enough, when Park Dong-jeom heard this, he immediately looked at Lee Jung-hee with wide eyes. After a moment, he laughed and patted Lee Jung-hee's shoulder, "Good kid, you're really a genius! You have a movie script as well as a TV drama script!"

Lee Jung-hee feigned modesty and chuckled, rubbing his nose, "Director Park, rest assured, I'll focus almost all my energy on this TV drama..."

"Of course!" Park Dong-jeom was delighted. The call had also confirmed his judgment. Moreover, in Korea, the workload for a movie scriptwriter was much less than that of a TV drama scriptwriter. Once the script was finished, the scriptwriter could almost be hands-off.

Therefore, the conflict between the two roles was minimal.

With the good news, Park Dong-jeom's mood improved. After drinking for a while, he opened up and talked about things Lee Jung-hee and the others didn't know: "The competition between KBS and MBC has a long history. In news programs, we still have the upper hand, but in TV dramas, the situation has been unfavorable in recent years.

This year looks even worse. In historical dramas, we have 'Taizu Wang Jian' while they have 'Heo Jun.' Although we're a bit behind, it's not by much. However, in romantic dramas, they started the year with 'Beautiful Lie,' while our best is 'Heavenly Match.' 'Beautiful Lie' has already reached nearly 40% in its fourth episode, while our 'Heavenly Match' is only at 12.8%...

It doesn't stop there. In their announced plans, 'Love in the Time of Broadcasters' is a direct copy of SBS's 'Heaven's Bridge.' They haven't changed any of the main actors, including Jang Dong-gun, Han Jae-suk, and Choi Jin-sil. I also heard they've signed a contract with the super-popular male lead from 'Beautiful Lie,' Yoo Shi-won, for a drama in the second half of the year, called 'Secret.'

Add to that 'Bad Friends' with Ahn Jae-wook, 'New Nobleman' with Kim Seung-woo and Choi Ji-woo, and they're planning to dominate the entire year's market for trendy romantic dramas. Their ambition is huge, but we don't have any standout projects. Even the schedules of our most popular stars have been almost entirely taken by that damned MBC..."

At this point, Park Dong-jeom patted Lee Jung-hee's shoulder and said with a sigh, "Now, 'Blue生死恋' is our lifeline and a key project for the TV Production Department this year. Not only me, but the entire department, including the deputy president, has high hopes for it, so..."

In Korea, TV drama scriptwriters and producers have equal weight. Sometimes, a good scriptwriter can determine the fate of a TV drama.

Lee Jung-hee understood this and Park Dong-jeom's expectations. He nodded solemnly and said, "I understand, Director Park. I will do my best!"

Although he knew that 'Blue生死恋' alone couldn't save KBS's declining position in the TV industry—after all, MBC was known as the "Kingdom of Korean Dramas" and produced most of the excellent Korean TV dramas—he would take it seriously for his own sake and for the sake of this excellent TV drama.

With this thought, he suddenly had an idea and said to Park Dong-jeom, "It might be presumptuous, but I want to recommend a director I admire to you, Director Park!"

Park Dong-jeom was surprised and exclaimed, "Oh! You think Director Yoon Seok-ho is suitable for this TV drama too?"

At this, they looked at each other and laughed.

Park Dong-jeom felt that Lee Jung-hee was to his liking and trusted him even more.