#fangirl for Cha Young Jin

[teafiend]

I came to Beyond Evil with biased eyes, and surprisingly, despite how amazing the show was, from the cast/performances, characters, writing, plot/twists, cinematography/visuals and a few of its OST tracks, those biases were still at work, and the show did not manage to engage my tears and/emotions as anticipated. Besides my personal biases at work, I think the intense plot/twists were quite a bit of a distraction in terms of emotional investment (for me). I was on my metaphorical toes in terms of who could be involved, and was hesitant to pick favourites until at least more than halfway through the show. While the first half was fantastic in its twists, I could enjoy the second half more, when it was much clearer what’s up and it was more about the journey towards the ending.

(A rewatch would likely result in more emotional investment in the characters and show, but am mostly interested in my rare pair fanvids from the show at the moment).

I was watching the final leg of “Nobody Knows” while marathoning BE, and while BE is undoubtedly the superior production and show, I find myself “liking” Nobody more than BE at times. (NK is a great show too but from more “objective lenses”, BE is certainly on a “higher level”). Just goes to show that being able to invest in a favourite character(s) made for a very different viewing experience. And I prefer that NK had more slow, quiet character moments which were not upended by another twist, unlike BE. The pacing for the plot twists in both shows were solid but the turns in BE had more urgency, which made for better suspense and thrills, locking in interest for more. As a thriller/mystery, BE truly aced in the writing and direction, but I simply preferred NK for its periodic small, calm moments.

In a way, I would say BE is similar to “Nirvana in Fire” for me. A magnificent story/production/show with memorable characters, performances and writing, but could only at most engage my mind and a minor part of my heart, not consume it.

Perhaps I felt some of the dramatic scenes in BE were made for the shock/twisty factor, so the “melodrama” felt more forced to me. I know these type of scenes and effect work with many people, just unfortunate that I don’t often derive much emotional poignancy from them. Often, they just felt cheesy. This is less a criticism of the choices taken by the show than an indictment of my own preferences. (Or maybe I just have less tears for shows like these nowadays).

Shows like “Signal” and “When the Camellia Blooms” were major tearjerkers (heavy blues for a period too) for me, while “Missing”, “Nobody Knows” and “Beyond Evil” were quite mid. I expect the shows were also written and produced/shot with certain desirable emotional effects in mind, and certain elements resonated more with me than others, through no fault of the writing, characters and/or performances.

Despite my own feelings - or lack thereof - for these particular shows, there are no doubts that all are fantastic productions worthy of the time spent on them. With regards to BE, while I didn’t “feel” the hype, I certainly did get why it received the praises it did. The storyline, performances/characters etc were quite mind-blowing, and the twist and turns kept me glued to the screen even when I found some of the interactions between the characters a tiny tad tedious.

As for the finale, I definitely enjoyed Nobody’s more than BE because NK gave more time for a satisfactory peace at the end for its main protagonist (and side characters). BE did show a satisfactory “epilogue” of sorts too, but I wished it was a bit longer.

Could not deny that “climatic scenes” don’t work their magic all that much on me nowadays either, but that’s really a me problem. After all, even the much touted climax for “The Guest” (a favourite) did not resonate with me as much as the small, mundane character moments did (which I have rewatched numerous times vs the ending). Most significantly, I suppose, is the much more pronounced bias I have with shows nowadays. Men-fest, their pain/conflicts and “bromance” bore me to no end, unfortunately, and I would venture to say that that was likely the biggest problem with NiF and BE for me, in terms of emotional receptivity. Without that few outstanding - and beloved female characters - in both shows, i.e. Consort Jing and Yoo Jae Yi (and the few others), they would not have managed to engage a part of my heart.

Hence the reason for my “preference” for Nobody Knows. Cha Young Jin has all my love and following her journey of justice and “healing” was satisfying. Yoo Jae Yi (and a lesser extent Oh Ji Hwa) captured my attention and emotions in BE, but they are not the main characters, resulting in little emotional engagement. All the characters in both shows were memorable and fascinating, but you simply love who you love.

All said, Nobody Knows and Beyond Evil were both amazing shows deserving of their accolades, and I was very glad to have completed both (in time to welcome 2023).

(Looking forward to a few days of fangirling and simping over Cha Young Jin and Yoo Jae Yi ❤️‍🔥⭐️)

[cloudedhues]

hi! May I ask u if you watch kdramas and if u have any favs? I honestly love reading your thoughts on games/series so I was really curious. Hope u have a great day💕

hi hi! yes i do! mostly on netflix and not a whole lot bc kdramas are a hefty investment and im a creature of habit who rewatches my old shows until im sick and desensitized 😌 no particular order here…

crash landing on you: baby’s first kdrama during the pandemic that really started it all for me and my mom. which made me appreciate it less as a show and more as a great bonding experience as she swoons over hyun bin and i swoon over son ye jin. im in the minority who likes the ending. it was a nice realistic touch that grounded the usual third act melodrama level of heightened emotions in kdramas

it’s okay to not be okay: idk what else hasn’t been said but the style, the artistry, the performances, the soundtrack, the family dynamics, how well the fairy tales serve as a thematic basis for each episode 👌👌👌 i love love the individual character developments more than the romance. sometimes they infantilized the heroine at the second half but she’s still one of my favorite kdrama characters

vincenzo: i can take or leave the romance but regardless the leads’ “this is my worse half” dynamic makes the show. their rapport w their plaza neighbors is also hilarious. vincenzo as a character is fun but too cool for me to be attached. cha young though belongs to my list of favorite kdrama characters (you can see a common theme here that im partial to female characters who are assertive w varying levels of unhinged and/or moral grayness)

her private life: fake dating’s not my absolute favorite but no one has topped the chemistry of these actors. the first time they kissed i felt like i needed to turn off the tv to give them privacy lmao what really sells their relationship is how obviously they’re delighted by each other, how they establish intimacy based on their work, and the fact that he loves fangirling over her fangirling. i wasn’t a fan of the third act twist but they still reign as the best romance here

age of youth: technically my first kdrama (i just didn’t finish the second season) and i invested heavily into the narrative when i watched as a college student. i can take or leave the romances but the friend group is unmatched and the only reason to watch. season one >>>> season two all the way

run on: the second couple are EVERYTHING. i didn’t fully appreciate during my first watch until i finished and learned that this kind of slice of life, slow paced and character-driven stuff is my vibe exactly. any time im doing chores i pull up a random ep in the bg bc it feels like im just casually doing parallel play w a friend

hotel del luna: love the premise, love the ending except for the very last moment, didn’t love the romance or the hero necessarily, but i love the heroine so much i couldn’t leave it out. her backstory and relationship with the not!second lead compelled me to finish and tbh they’re the emotional core of the whole thing

my liberation notes: my friend calls this a depression simulator kdrama 😂 but this had as much heart as a ghibli film to me. best part was the ensemble who had very real flaws and emotional relatability supported by a script w depth more human than pretentious. this rly was a show that you had to earn but when you did, it was well worth it

hometown cha cha cha: small town slice of life basically the ultimate comfort food kdrama 💖 save for like two eps each one hits so well. has the second best romance and the best ensemble here although it does dip too much in sentimentality for my taste at times. but it wouldn’t be what it is without it

special mention to cheese in the trap…which i didn’t finish lol so i can’t speak on the quality of that but lil closelyknit lore facts the webtoon it was based on featured in my blog for a good number of tumblr years some time ago

[korelist]

HER PRIVATE LIFE //  KDRAMA DİZİ YORUMU

UYARI : Yazılar genel olarak spoiler içerebilir. İçermeyedebilir.

İmdb puanı: 7,7 Benim puanım: 8

Drama: Her Private Life (English & literal title)

Hangul: 그녀의 사생활

Director: Hong Jong-Chan

Writer: Kim Sung-Yeon (novel)

Date:  2019

Language: Korean

Country: South Korea

Cast: Park Min-Young, Kim Jae-Wook, Ahn Bo-Hyun, One, Kim Bo-Ra, Park Jin-Joo, Kim Mi-Kyung

  Hiçbir şeyi dert etmenize gerek olmadığı pamuk şeker tadında bir dizi izledim. Yormayan, üzmeyen, gülümseten kalbinizi ısıtan bir diziydi. Sung Deok-Mi (Park Min-Young) bir müzede küratörlük yapan 30larında güzel, akıllı ve disiplinli bir kadındır. Ama özel hayatında herkesten gizli bir idolün fanatik olarak hayranı olarak mesai yapar. Cha Shi-An (One) için oluşturduğu fan sayfası internette çok popülerdir.  Hiçbir konserini, etkinliğini, seyahatini kaçırmayan, paparazi gibi fotoğraf makinesi elinde her yerde onu takip eden hareketli bir yaşantısı vardır. Müzede patronu kendi kızının fan girl olması nedeni ile konuya oldukça tepkili olmasından bu kimliği gizli tutar. Ancak patronu belli nedenlerden dolayı görevi bırakınca Sung Deok-Mi’nin tesadüfen birçok kez karşılaştığı Ryan Gold (Kim Jae-Wook) yeni müdür olur. Ryan Gold bir süredir resim yapmayı bırakmış, eserlere bakma süresi eserin değerini belirleyecek kadar büyük bir sanatçıdır.

Dizinin daha başında tek hoşuma gitmeyen şeyi bende en başta söylemek istiyorum. Suratınızı gülümsetecek, hoşunuza giden bir sahne izlerken bir anda o sahneyi taraflardan birinin hayal ettiğini gösteriyorlar. Yani atıyorum, çocuk gidip kızı öpüyor, hadi canım diyorsunuz bir sonraki sahne aslında kız hayal etmiş. Bir çeşit hevesini kursağında bırakma gibi olmuş. Bunun dışında dizi ile ilgili sevmediğim hiçbir şey olmadı.

Park Min-Young ve Kim Jae-Wook bence çok yakışmışlardı. Kim Jae-Wook’u ilk defa izledim, hatta sonrasında da hiç dizisine denk gelmedim ama beni hiç rahatsız etmedi. Sanki sürekli seyrettiğim ve beğendiğim bir oyuncu gibiydi. Park Min-Young ise daha önce ve sonrasında birçok kez izlediğim bir oyuncu. Aslında oyuncuyu beğeniyorum ama bir süre önce baştan aşağı estetikli olduğunu öğrendikten sonra biraz ön yargım oluştu. Estetiğe karşı değilim ama zannedersem “My ID Gangnam Beauty” dizisindeki gibi bir değişim söz konusu olmuş. Belki o yüzden bana biraz sahte gelmeye başladı.

Dizinin en başındaki fangirl muhabbeti sonlara doğru baya azaldı. Önünde sonunda biteceğini düşünürsek, azalması normal geldi bana ama çok eğlenceli olduğu için biraz daha görseydik dedim. Gerçekten bu kadar fangirl’ü olduğun bir ünlüyle tanıştığı ve onunla zaman geçirdiğinde daha komik ve heyecanlı sahneler izlemek isterdim. Onun yerine yaşına uygun, olgun ve profesyonel sahneler izledik. O da güzeldi.

Senaryo gerçekten izleyiciyi rahatlatmak, kafasını boşaltmak, mutlu etmek için yazılmış. Gereksiz dramlar, entrikalar, ikici adamlar/kadınlar, yanlış anlaşılmalar, tripler hiç yoktu. Romantizm açısından tatmin olduğunuz, sımsıcaktık bir hikaye anlattılar. Bir noktada “çocukluktan tanışma” klişesine girip çıksalar bile uzatmadılar. Hatta inanmazsınız finalde zaman atlamasını bile o kadar naif yaptılar ki, ruhumuz duymadı.

Yan karakterlere de değineyim; herkes konu içinde güzel yer edinmişti. Kimse fazlalık gibi değildi. Ahn Bo-Hyun’u Sung Deok-Mi’nin üvey kardeşi Nam Eun-Ki rolünde izledik. Sempatik bir roldeydi, sonlara doğru daha fazla rolü olmasını isterdim. Müzenin ilk patronu Eom So-Hye rolünde Kim Sun-Young oynuyordu. Oyuncuyu bir çok yerde izledim bura da bambaşka bir karaktere can vermiş olması enteresandı. Fan girl kızı Cindy rolünde ise Kim Bo-Ra vardı. Başlarda itici gibi gelse de sonradan onu bile sevdik. Çünkü dizinin kimyası bunu gerektiriyordu. Ve en önemli kişiyi atladım. Tabi ki, dizilerin kadrolu annesi Kim Mi-Kyung! Bu dizide de Sung Deok-Mi annesi Ko Young-Sook olarak karşımıza çıkıyor. Bir süredir görmemiştik, özlemişim.

En akımda kalan sahnelerden de minik bahsedip noktalayayım yazıyı; birincisi, maalesef hayal görüyormuş sahnelerinden biri olduğu için büyük hayal kırıklığı yaşadığım bir sahneydi. Ryan, Deok-Mi’nin evine girmek zorunda kaldığından gözlerini bağladığı bir sahne vardı. Koltukta yakınlaştıkları gözleri kapalı öpüşme sahnesi aşırı romantikti. Gerçekten olmamış olması kalbimi kırdı. İkincisi, Ryan’ın fangirl muhabbetini öğrendikten sonra çok olgun karşılayıp, doğum gününde jest yaptığı sahneydi. Ve son olarak üçüncü sahne ise, Deok-Mi’nin babasının taş koleksiyonu yapmaya neden başladığını anlattığı sahneydi. Gerçekten üzücü bir hikayeydi. Bonus olarak da ikili arasındaki “senin mutluluğunu resmetmek istiyorum” şeklinde geçen diyalog romantizme damgasını vurdu.

 Raven Melus

BAŞKA NELER VAR ?

FOTOĞRAFLAR

[suave-alpaca]

[livingwithkdramas]

HER PRIVATE LIFE FINAL REVIEW SPOILERS DUHHH

 Let me start with, THEIR CHEMISTRY OMG THEIR CHEMISTRY IS ON FIRE HERE!!! All those who watched the drama, let’s admit it we stayed for deok mi and ryan. Its been a while since I’ve shipped a couple so bad because I’m not really the type to ship actors together, the last i felt that was with bo young and ye jae wook in a poem a day.

Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way let me just talk about some negatives first. I didn’t like eungi, no offence to bo hyun, i don’t think he’s neccesarily a bad actor but the script really didn’t do him justice. It was as if the writer threw eungi in just because they needed a jealous second male lead to make the leads fall in love or something. Its actually really uneccesary, the only redeeming factor about eungi is the fact that he didn’t actually really get super angry once deok mi was like “i dont like you” and he moved on slowly but eventually and I liked the way he made friends with dain, but ultimately dain’s character felt like a plot device as well though she did seem more 3 dimensional compared to eungi even though eungi got more screentime.

Another thing I didn’t particularly like was also the ending. I didnt actually hate the angst that much especially the one with ryan’s mom i think that was well written for what it was but why is there always that stupid childhood connection thing, it could have worked if it was more mentioned in passing but i found it weird that deok mi somehow never remembered deok su for all these years in her life and she never questioned that void in her memory before as well. But she moved on abit too quickly for my liking , yes deok su has been dead for very long, but it just didnt feel right to see her move on so quickly. More specifically about the ending was NOOOOO I WANTED SIAN TO KNOW THAT DEOK MI WAS RTS that would have been so much fun to see sian most likely fanboying over her and just that would have made my inner fangirl very happy.

Last thing, while cindy was more or less just foil at the beginning that was the character that had the redemption arc or development arc of the show it just felt abit weird to me that she moved on from being a sasaeng fan so quickly like i thought that would be a thing for a while but she kind of just stopped. Which i thought could have been further explored since this is afterall a drama about FANGIRLS, it would have been niced if she was somehow tied back to it maybe appearing on accident in the PD’s documentary that got him kicked out of the house.

Now on to the good parts

Firstly PMY and KJW stylist’s deserve a payraise with their outfits like their couple outfits were so pretty, it wasn’t directly matching but they complemented each other really well. And that scene where he proposed both of them were wearing all white which was amazinggg!! and speaking of style UM SO HYE style was just ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh mazing in a weird funny unique yet somehow stylish way.

and also can i say how much i love seon joo and seung min like that couple is soooooooooo cute tooo, the way they fought, the way they made up felt much more real and sort of served as a grounding point to prevent the very very fluffy main couple from actually being overly fluffy plus i liked that ju hyeok got abit of a story line, i thought he was just going to be a comic character breaking cups but he actually wasn’t and isit just me or did he stop breaking cups by the end of the last episode?

The paintings are also really good someone please tell me who painted them cause i think the art style is really pretty.

All in All, i started the drama because of the fangirl but the only reason i completed the drama was because of the chemistry between the cast, the writing itself was nothing amazing, maybe average or even below average but the way music was used and the directing as well as editing especially in the earlier episodes helped to make me hold on to this drama and finish it!

If you read this far thanks for reading a rant until next time!

[kalena-henden]

Kdramas continue to rule my world as I have completed my 40th kdrama. Though I did make time for a few other shows. This is a wrap up of what I’ve been watching since September.

finished or caught up with: 

Navillera - An elderly man decides to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a ballet dancer with the help a young troubled ballerino. I laughed through the first half and cried through the second half. Beautifully moving story. As former (amateur) ballet dancer, I completely understand the peace and joy that ballet can bring. There have been no other forms of dance or exercise that have fully captured what it gave me. Loved this!

Reply 1997 - My least favorite kdrama so far. I watched this solely for Seo In Guk. He’s actually great in this. I was just not crazy about the story. Everyone was kinda awful. The parts about fangirling and fanfic writing were so accurate though. lol 

Goblin - I am fully onboard the Gong Yoo and Lee Dong Wook train now. Their bromance on the show and in real life is everything. So many great laugh out loud, fish out of water moments but also some powerful reveals that made me sob. I eventually warmed up to the romances in the second half. It’s a really well crafted story. I already rewatched it.

Coffee Prince - Yes, I needed more Gong Yoo. hehe I was shocked how many shirtless/wet shirt moments there were for the coffee shop boys in the first half. This show is a little edgier than some of the more recent kdramas I’ve seen. I was here for the friends to lovers romance. There were some things I wasn’t crazy about (like how she kept her secret for too long) but I loved the coffee shop team vibes. They were so supportive of each other. 

The Great Shaman Ga Doo Shim - This short webseries starring Kim Sae Ron and Nam Da Reum about high schoolers who fight an evil spirit that kills struggling students was so cute. It lagged a bit towards the climax but I still had a fun time. Also, the chill OST ‘Run to You’ by Kwon Jin Ah became one of my most listened to songs of the year.

Start-Up - This is a modern day Cyrano story set in the fast paced tech start-up world. It’s interesting to see the string of puppeteering that characters are caught in. Han Jipyeong (our Cyrano) is made a puppet by Dalmi’s grandmother, who in turn makes Nam Dosan into his puppet to then become the puppeteer of Seo Dalmi. Nam Dosan is also a puppet of his parents. With this long string of deception, Dalmi and Dosan struggle to find their agency in the first half because many of their actions are being covertly manipulated by what others want from them while trying to overcome their childhood trauma. Too often this made their personalities seem paper thin. While Han Jipyeong fails to realize his true desire for a family until it’s too late due to his insecurities and self-reliance born out of his own childhood trauma. The final episodes cut the strings; untethering the characters to pursue their dreams in relationships and business. **SPOILERS** It was clear to me, though apparently not to others, that while Han Jipyeong doesn’t get the girl, he does become part of the family which is what he truly wanted. Though it would have been nice if he had been paired up with the SFL whom he seemed more suited. And a surprisingly happy ending since Cyrano stories are typically tragedies.  Overall, I enjoyed this story.

Squid Game - Visually stunning and well acted. The tension of the games was fantastic but the story often lost its way when they were between them. I liked it but didn’t love it. 

Hometown Cha Cha Cha - Now my 2nd favorite kdrama of all time! A sleepy seaside village explores everyday traumas and how to work through them with humor and heart. So many great characters (especially female ones) but Shin Min Ah and Kim Seon Ho's fantastic performances standout as our lead romance between two broken people trying to find healing. Blown away by their acting. I felt it all. 

Tale of the Nine-Tailed - Lee Dong Wook and his charisma carried this show. While I liked the characters, they mostly fell flat due to the story. The best part was the relationship between the brothers. 

Touch Your Heart - Lee Dong Wook and Yoo In Na reunite in this adorably cheeky romcom. Sometimes the other characters slow things down, but the main couple are so darn cute. A fun watch.

The Great British Bake-Off - This show brings me so much peace and joy. Happy to see my faves Crystelle and Chigs shine. 

Suspicious Partner - A law student is falsely accused of killing her ex-boyfriend and is defended by her former prosecutor boss leading to much comedy and romance as they work together to search for the real killer. The first half is strong with the fun, romance, and mystery but gets bogged down in the second half with too much will-they-or-won’t-they nonsense and stretching out answers to the murders for too long. I still liked it.

Strong Woman Bong Do Soon - Park Hyung Shik is so darn perfect as his rich chaebol character absolutely adores our leading lady though he tries to act cool about it and constantly fails. Park Bo Young is good as our strong woman but is too often bogged down by not being able to get over her first crush and fear of using her powers. The humor wasn’t quite up my alley. I don’t find meanness funny. If it wasn’t for Park Hyung Shik, I probably would have dropped it.

Happiness - Han Hyo Joo and Park Hyung Shik are the slow burn, mutual pining, marriage of convenience, battle couple of my dreams. I love them! They lead a fantastic ensemble cast that makes you feel everything in this crazy virus quarantine. It’s easy to dwell on all the horrible things shown that people do in trying times but in equal (and quieter) ways you also see all the wonderful things people do to help and care for each other. It’s the beautiful dichotomy of this morality tale.

Secret Royal Inspector Joy - Of course, I needed more Ok Taecyeon in my life. The humor was hit-or-miss for me but the sincerity of the characters and the dramatic arc had me hooked. Excellent squad goals and Lee Joon Hyuk as the Crown Prince had me wishing he was not just a guest star.

Crash Landing on You - Sorry, y’all, but this was a bumpy ride for me. I put it off because I knew how beloved it was. I started it this summer and it was okay. Captain Ri was an immediate fave but it took a very long time to warm up to everyone else. It was really slow and I got bored alot even during parts I liked. And I kept getting spoiled on social media right before the next interesting part. Honestly, the epilogues were some of the best I’ve ever seen and would favorably change my entire perspective on an episode. I dropped it around episode 12 but was determined to finish it before the end of the year which I did after Christmas. It was still slow but I enjoyed it more. And the last 2 episodes were great. I don’t think this will ever be a fave but I understand why it is other peoples. My big takeaway is don’t watch things until you’re ready and if possible watch it with someone who already loves it. Those two things I think would have helped improve my experience.

The Red Sleeve - Lee Junho and Lee Se Young were fantastic in this saeguk! I was on the edge of my seat with all the mystery, court intrigue, slow burn romance, and action. I was a little mad at Deokim withholding showing her love after they got together but otherwise it was a great story.

Just Between Lovers (Rain or Shine) - More Lee Junho! *grin* Also, happy to get more Won Jin Ah, whom I enjoyed in Life. They were perfect as a pair of victims who were rescued from a shopping mall collapse ten years earlier and are still dealing with the fallout in their lives. A sweet and sad healing romance. 

Shopping King Louie - Faves Seo In Guk and Nam Ji Hyun star as a clueless chaebol and a clueless country hick respectively in this fish out of water, blind leading the blind, over the top comedic adventure to learn how to live life and fall in love. This was so crazy and there were some characters who irritated me. But I really liked the character development for everyone and it became a big found family by the end. Cute romance too.

The Expanse - An excellent final season. The right amount of nostalgia, politics, character growth, tense action, and humor.

Hot Stove League - This sports drama kept me on the edge of my seat as the new general manager who has never worked in baseball tries to rebuild a failing franchise into a championship team. A great ensemble piece. Namkoong Min and Park Eun Bin lead this motley crew as they slowly win over everyone to their winning strategy. So many great mini-story arcs within the larger story. Everyone gets time to shine.

Let Me Be Your Knight - Another idol drama starring Lee Junyoung, whom I also liked in the idol drama, Imitation. Due to financial issues, a long lost twin impersonates her sister to become an in-house doctor to a kpop star dealing with sleepwalking. It has enemies-to-lovers, contract co-habitation, mistaken identity, over-the-top humor, past traumas to overcome, secret dating, squad goals, etc. The first couple episodes set-up a pretty wild premise to get to the co-habitation but then the story has a good development arc. I really love the relationships between the band members and with the FL. Also, every bandmate gets their own motivation/storyline and the music is good. I've had the song "Beautiful Breakup" on repeat for a month.

Our Beloved Summer - I really enjoyed this second chance romance which is not usually my cup of tea. It was well done and I loved the characters. One thing that bothered me though is how all of the secondary characters had little to no character development or agency outside of how they related to the main couple. Everything was in service of the main couple’s relationship. This is not necessarily bad, it was just a story choice. For me, I would have liked the side characters to have their own true development arcs too. The OSTs are excellent on this as well. V’s Christmas Tree is definitely on my playlist.

currently watching:

Outer Banks - One episodes left!

Nadiya’s Time to Eat - Happy to see the Bake Off winner again and learning a few food tricks and tips.

Abyss - After two episodes, I put it on hold. I do plan to finish it but I have discovered I’m generally not keen on Park Bo Young’s stuff prior to DAYS. 

Young Lady and Gentleman - My first 52 episode family kdrama (aka primetime soap). The cuteness and romantic tropes have me hooked but the drama drama drama of certain characters does grate on me. I’ve even used the 10 second skip button repeatedly through certain scenes and not missed anything truly relevant. But I’m going to see this romance to the end.

The Silent Sea - Gong Yoo and Bae Doona lead this sleepy space adventure. I have 3 episodes left but if it wasn’t for the leads I probably would have dropped it.

Ted Lasso - Last weekend, I watched the entire first season in one sitting while I smiled and laughed the whole time. Such a fantastic show. Can’t wait to watch S2!

[kdramaxoxo]

Who are your all time favourite kdrama female leads/characters?

I love my strong ladies!

Give me sass, give me emotional strength (not to be mixed up with fighting strength), give me workplace competency, give me a lady who wants to break boundaries!

Favorite K-Drama Female Leads

Goo Se-Ra (Into The Ring): Finds workplace ordinances just as sexy as her secretary boy toy. Knows she’s hot.

Choi Ae-Ra (Fight For My Way): A literal crybaby, but bounces back so she can take over a “Man’s Job”. Recognizes strength in all ladies whether they want to be an MC or a mother. Adorable pout.

Chae Song-Hwa (Hospital Playlist): Badass in the workplace, cannot hold a tune, brings all the boys to the yard (by yard I mean campground because that’s where you’ll find her).

Chae Young-Shin (Healer): She can’t open cans but she isn’t afraid to fight you about it. Master of the reverse wrist grab and dinosaur advocate.

Cha Hyeon (Scarlett) (Search:WWW): Hard on the outside, so so soft on the inside. I just wannna hang out and watch dramas with her, but she’s probably busy running a large company or something.

Moon Soo (Just Between Lovers): Soft girl with a huge heart. She saw Gang Doo and said “that one, a Good Person,” and I’ve never been the same.

Eun Dan-Oh (Extraordinary You): She’s a smol, magical & sassy powerhouse hellbent on changing fate. Every time she puts her hair behind her ears I just...and her romance with Haru? She named him. An inspiration to extras everywhere!

Ji Won (Flower of Evil): Half of the Power Couple of 2020, Ji Won knows who her honey is. Willing to fight (physically and mentally) for her family, and isn’t jealous that her daughter likes daddy better. Side note: I’m thinking of naming my next pet Chagi cause of her.

Sung Deok-Mi (Her Private Life): Dedicated fangirl, smitten fool. Genius museum curator, and I’m confident she’s a good kisser too (so is her gorgeous partner -- Wanna bet?)

Han Seo Woo (A Piece of Your Mind): A super soft braided cutie with a very strong will. Loves music, big fluffy beds, programmers who show up in her studio unannounced, and his deceased-first-love’s friendship. You did read that right.

Im Jin-Woo (Be Melodramatic): A talented writer who’s not afraid to ask the hard questions and look an adorable fool. She is melodramatic, and a lot smarter than all of us.

Gil Nak Won (Come and Hug Me): A trauma baby who protects her own. 100% loyal, 100% loving, 100% brave. 50% of the perfect couple.

Soo Ji (Because This is My First Life): Ride or die friend who for some odd reason likes Chairmen Ma. Bra hater in charge of her own destiny, fighting back against The Man. 

[veryfantasticstudent]

Mothers in Her Private Life (2019)

or Motherhood Pvt Ltd. A Publicly Traded Corporation

Spoilers!

Her Private Life is a 2019 Korean drama based on Kim Sung-yeon’s novel Noona Fan Dot Com, starring Kim Jae-wook and Park Min-Young in the lead roles. The show follows Sung Duk-mi (Park Min-young), the talented and dedicated Curator at Cheum Museum of Art, who has a secret that no-one at her work place must know about—she is a k-pop fangirl and fansite master The Road to Si-an. Trouble starts to brew when Duk-mi’s paths cross with Cheum Museum’s new Director, Ryan Gold (Kim Jae-wook), both as The Road to Si-an as well as in her role as the headstrong curator of the Museum. A rumour that Duk-mi is dating idol Cha Si-an (ONE) further threatens to dissolve the boundaries between Duk-mi’s work and private life.  

Image from The Asian Wiki           

Her Private Life was my first k-drama, and it took me a while to get to this even though a friend has been asking me to watch them for at least a year now. I decided to watch this show because the premise seemed familiar enough from anime and manga like Ore no Imouto Ga Konnani Kawaii Wake Ga Nai and Kami Nomi zo Shiru Sekai (The World God Only Knows). The show’s initial episodes follow the typical pattern of shows on fan culture: the censure and ridicule fan communities face, the struggle as well as joy of keeping up with one’s favourite music, games, TV shows, what-you-have-it alongside one’s daily life. Her Private Life is an easy-going romantic-comedy with bright production pallets, stunning outfits and make-up for its entire cast, and a wonderful OST list; it reeled in (G)I-DLE for the title track “Help Me” and also features songs by Ha Sung-woon, IN2IT, and Davichi. I did not think the show would go beyond the cute-sy and slightly contrived incidents that bring Duk-mi and Ryan’s together. I am happy to say I was wrong.

           While the first half of the show focuses on the will-they-won’t-they angle, the second half picks on a very interesting strand: motherhood. There are a lot of mothers, biological and adopted, in Her Private Life. We see some of them while others are only present in the background, but this fabric of various mothers ties together the different characters in this show. We have Go Young-sook (Duk-mi’s mother), Lee Seon-ju, Editor Nam Se-yeon, Director Eom So-hye, Artist Lee Sol, and Ryan’s adopted mother—who never makes an appearance on the show but is an important part of it nonetheless. All these women have a different relationship with motherhood; they struggle through it in different ways as their male counterparts do not actively participate in child-rearing[1] or the domestic sphere--what is “private” must be managed by the woman. Inept men fail women and also trample the future of children in the process. In Her Private Life, the so-called domestic sphere mixes up with business when women rear children as a community and also become breadwinners.  They are left alone to balance responsibilities both the domestic and public spheres, and can only rely on each other to look after their children. By exploring motherhood through the different mothers peppering its story, the show quietly states the feminist maxim “the private is the public” to throw out gendered division of labour. 

Young-sook and Seon-ju are “traditional” mothers, and it may seem that there is nothing new about them. While the two women never meet on screen and discuss their lives, they have much in common; they spend much of their time with their children and derive pleasure from motherhood. Despite being married to men who are at least physically present, Young-sook and Seon-ju have to take much of the burden of parenting on their shoulders. 

Image from Manga and Anime Maniac

Young-sook is an efficient and loving mother of two, Duk-mi and Duk-su. She also takes Nam Eun-gi and Heo Yun-jae/Ryan Gold, a supposedly abandoned child, under her wing. In the course of the show, she acts as a mother to Kim Hyo-jin, the Museum intern struggling with an insensitive with her own mother, Director Eom So-Hye. Young-sook receives little support from her husband except finances. Being a mother to five children at different points in time, Young-sook is a super-parent. Young-sook’s role as a nourishing caregiver to all these children ensures that they becomes well-adjusted individuals in the course of the show. Her affectionate rearing in the domestic sphere becomes the backbone on which single mothers like Nam Se-yeon can earn their livelihood in the public sphere. She is the glue who binds families together.

Image from Go K-Pop

Seon-ju, like Young-sook, shares a thorny marriage with her husband and practically raises Geon-u on her own. A “modern” mother, insofar she owns and manages a café, Seon-ju is self-sufficient when it comes to money. Her husband, Kim Seung-min is rarely available for the emotional support that Seon-ju wants in her marriage, and he remains busy with his work life. In the beginning of the series, it is only for the sake of her child that she stays in her marriage. Seung-min further alienates Seon-ju when he helps produce a documentary film called “Obsessive Fangirl of the 21st Century”, hurting Seon-ju who is a fangirl herself. Seung-min insists that his work is separate from his family life and thus Seon-ju should not be disheartened by the documentary; work life is separate from private life, a distinction that we can only draw in the case of gendered division of labour. Seung-min even tries to justify his contribution to the documentary by saying that he did it so that he could transfer to a variety show and be able to spend more time with his family. Seon-ju refuses Seung-min’s excuses, Seung-min apologises to Seon-ju for thinking that he could work on a documentary that portrayed fangirls in a negative light while also respecting Seon-ju’s life as a fangirl; their reconciliation only happens when Seung-min lets go of the constructed binary between a public sphere where one works and the private sphere of domestic life.

Editor Nam Se-yeon and Lee Sol are the two career-driven women in the show who raise their children, manage their domestic sphere by “giving them up”. Se-yeon is still single during the events of Her Private Life because few men her age seem to be compatible with “ambitious” women—a gaslight-y way of saying they are intimidated by her success. When Eun-gi was born, Se-yeon was desperate enough to consider leaving him since she could not rely on Eun-gi’s father to support her. Only a woman, Young-sook, steps forward to help Se-yeon in her time of need and allows her to move forward in her career. Women must hold the fort in both the public and the private sphere.

Image from MayRealm

Meanwhile, Lee Sol raises Yun-jae/Ryan on her own even as she toils to make it debut as an artist. Lee Sol loses her son when she is knocked into a coma after a car accident. Although Lee Sol is not able to find her son until she meets him as Director Ryan Gold of Cheum Museum of Art, Lee Sol’s lost son finds love and warmth first in the family of Young-sook and then in the Gold family. The accident damages Lee Sol’s hand enough that she can no longer be an artist and pursue her career. Again, it is Young-sook who initially takes care of Yun-jae. Even though she must later give him up for adoption, Young-sook steps in as a mother to prevent Yun-jae from being traumatically orphaned on the day Lee Sol met with her accident. Young-sook is a kind of a “middle mother” who willingly nurtures Eun-gi and Yun-jae in a way that they can cultivate strong and healthy bonds with their parents and themselves.

Motherhood, however, is not the sole test of these women’s characters or moral sense. In portraying the efforts these women put into all aspects of their life, Her Private Life does not offer any judgement on who is the better mother “and, thus the better woman”. Even though Young-sook is the super-mom, she is also the only mother in the show who loses a child. Her youngest, Duk-su, passes away in a car accident. There was nothing Young-sook did to “deserve” it and nothing she could have done to prevent it. She is not rewarded for being a super-mom, and the other mothers on the show are not censured for choosing to run businesses or pursue a career. 

Perhaps the only mother Her Private Life condemns is Eom So-hye, who is not a bad mother but an insensitive person in general. So-hye cares little for her employees at Cheum and often makes life difficult for her daughter, Hyo-jin, even if it comes from a place of trying to prevent Hyo-jin from engaging in sasaeng-like (stalker) obsessive behaviour. Young-sook’s advice to So-Hye is not just advice for becoming a better parent but becoming a better person by listening to the needs of other people. Though So-Hye remains the drama queen character of Her Private Life, by the end of the show she is no longer the obnoxious person who wishes to boss everyone around.

Without introducing an element of “karma” or what-comes-around-goes-around for the different motherhoods—traditional or modern, involved or a little aloof—Her Private Life gives breathing room to motherhood. Since men cannot support them emotional or financially or both, women step outside their houses to take on the roles of breadwinners while balancing the role of caregivers. Women divide roles according to their strength and not their genders, and advance in their careers and raise well-adjusted children without the need for a patriarch to guide them.

[1] We do not know what relationship the Golds share.

[malaysiankpopfans]

tvN Asia’s Upcoming Romantic Comedy Her Private Life

Unfolds the intriguing love relationships among characters

MALAYSIA, 4th April 2019 – tvN Asia’s latest 24-hour express drama – Her Private Life – starring Kim Jae Wook and Park Min Young, will premiere on tvN in Asia from 11 April (every Thursday and Friday) at 9.45PM (GMT+8) in Singapore and Malaysia, and at 8.45PM (GMT+7) in Indonesia.

The production team recently released a relationship map of Her Private Life characters. As a talented and sophisticated curator of Cheum Museum of Art, Sung Duk Mi (Park Min Young) handles every task with her excellent intelligence at work. She is always described as sharp and brainy at work. Surprisingly, she is one of the avid fangirls of the popular idol Cha Shi An (Jung Jae Won a.k.a. One) and devotes her time off work to run a fansite for him. After work, she undergoes a stark head-to-toe transformation and turns into a professional photographer for her beloved idol. Duk Mi enjoys her life as a fansite home-master a lot and keeps her double life in secret, especially from her harsh and prickly director Ryan Gold (Kim Jae Wook) at work.

The unique romance kicks off when Ryan catches a glimpse of Duk Mi’s private life. In order to get closer to Duk Mi and see her true colors, Ryan transforms himself into a newly minted fanboy in the fandom, to unfold more and more secrets of Duk Mi’s double life. Love sparkles between them when they come into contact with each other in the fandom.

Apart from the main love line between Duk Mi and Ryan, the secondary male lead Nam Eun Gi (Ahn Bo Hyun) has an equivocal relationship with Duk Mi. Eun Gi is a warm and considerate man who always stands by Duk Mi and takes great care of her meticulously. Regardless of being friend-zoned by Duk Mi, he still continues to dedicate all his heart to his long-loved girl. The intriguing love triangle between Duk Mi, Ryan and Eun Gi becomes one of the highlights of this highly-anticipated fandom drama.

In addition, another fansite person-in-charge Lee Seon Joo (Park Jin Joo) will engage in the fandom together with Duk Mi, which enriches this romantic comedy with friendship.

Her Private Life will broadcast on tvN in Asia from 11 April (Every Thursday and Friday) at 9.45PM (GMT+8) in Singapore and Malaysia, and at 8.45PM (GMT+7) in Indonesia.

The drama is paired with English, Chinese, Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Indonesia subtitles.

[vanilla-cream-vn]

Presentation

Title: Her Private Life

Native title: 그녀의 사생활

Number of episodes: 16

Genre: comedy, romance

Country: Korea

Aired on: Wednesday and Thursday, one episode for each day

Aired: 10.04.2019

Where to watch: Viki, Fastdrama

It was based on the web novel entitled Noona Fan Dot Com by Kim Sung Yeon.

Synopsis

Sung Deok Mi is a talented currator in the Chaeum Gallery. She is hardworking and got some respect from her colleagues. However what they don’t know is that she actually lives a double life. At work she is the reliable employee but once she goes home, she is ShiAnIsMyLife a fangirl. Deok Mi is a fan of Cha Shi An, she even has a blog dedicated for him.  Ryan Gold is an American Korean who once was a famous painter, yet one day he announced his retirement and no one knows the reason behind it. Back to Korea, he is now the new director of Chaeum Gallery and works with Deok Mi. 

What do I think?

Actually, I didn’t think it would be my taste because I found the beginning quite boring but when I reach the third episodes, I loved it so much!!! It is a relatable drama, like Deok Mi we can be fan of Kpopstar, we liked our idol’s posts to support them, we tend to give them some gifts to encourage them… Anyway, everybody can recognise themselves through Deok Mi.  Plus, it has some sweet and smooth moment between the two main characters. Like her previous drama, Park Min Young portrayed a cute young lady with a funny side. 

It’s definitely a drama that I would recommend to you if you want some sweet and good drama for this spring. 

Here is one of the OST, you can find it on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/0O5sEO1Uu8t5Yc8sf3CLWr

................................................................................................................................

（￣□￣）Be careful, it can contains some spoilers, so if you don’t want you can switch this part!!（￣□￣）

                                                     Characters

Actor/Actress: Park Min Young

Character’s name: Sung Deok Mi

Job: curator

More informations: Deok Mi is a devoted fangirl who manages to lead a double life. She is not only an exemplary employee she has one of the biggest Shi An’s fansite. She loves to take photos especially her bias photos.  Her father is a rock hound and her mom is a fan of knitting. Due to her father’s bankruptcy Deok Mi had to give up her chance to study abroad despite her mother’s willing.  She decided to move out from her family house to pursue her fangirl activities. Her home contains plenty of Shi An’s photo. Because of Cindy, she had to begin a fake relationship with her boss.

Actor/Actress: Kim Jae Wook 

Character’s name: Ryan Gold

Job: director of Chaeum Galley

More informations: Ryan was an orphan adopted by American parents. He comes back to Korea to become the new director of Chaeum Gallery and to know more about his past. Because his past is the related to the reason why he can’t paint anymore.

When he first met Deok Mi, he didn’t really like her. Thanks to some circumstances, he started to like her.

They first met in America.

He has an allergy of coffee this is why he used to order Latte with only milk.

Actor/Actress: Park Jin Joo

Character’s name: Lee Seo Joo 

Job: coffee owner

More informations: she is Deok Mi’s best friend. Like her BF she is a fangirl of Shi An.  Seo Joo is married and has a son too. After giving brith to her child, Seo Joo cant’ recognize faces well.

Actor/Actress: Ahn Bo Hyun Character’s name: Nam Eun Ki Job: Judo trainer

More informations: Eun Ki and Deok Mi grown up together. He was raised by her parents because her single mother couldn’t properly take care of him. However, her mother will go and see him, she even gives some money to thank Deok Mi’s mother for helping her raising her son. In the past, he once was a Judo medalist but now he is a judo trainer.  He loves Deok Mi but it is a one-side love. Eun KI never confessed to her since he cherishes their friendship and doesn’t want to lose it.  

Actor/Actress: Hong Seo Young Character’s name: Choi Da In  Actor/Actress: Hong Seo Young

More informations: like Ryan, she used to live in America. She has some hardships with critics about her art, but Ryan still supports her and advise her to not care about that. Like Nam Eun Ki, she loves her friend but still not confess to him since she didn’t want to lose their friendship. 

Actor/Actress: Kim Bo Ra Character’s name: Cindy/Kim Hyo Jin  Job: intern at Chaeum Galery

More informations: Hyo Jin is the former’s director daughter of the gallery. She also is a huge fan of Cha Shi An. Like Deok Mi has a blog about her bias. She actually start to work at the gallery to know more about Ryan-Deok Mi’s relationship. She even create a blog about them and her suspicions about the couple.

Actor/Actress: ONE

Character’s name: Cha Shi An

Job: member of White Ocean

More informations: he is a famous singer who has an interest in art. One of his favourite fan photos is from ShiAnIsMyLife. He lives in the same building as Ryan. Two of them seems to be closer and closer.

[milkbts]

♡ Disclaimer  ♡ Words: 3k

My Letterboxd - I rate movies  My TVTime - I rate K-dramas and any series that I watch.

♡ Context:

A Korean Odyssey (Hwayugi) is a romantic comedy & fantasy tv-series loosely based on the Chinese novel ‘Journey to the West’. 

♡ Main Cast:

Lee Seung-Gi as Son O-Gong, Cha Seung-Won as Woo Whee & Oh Yeon-Seo as Jin Sun-Mi

♡ Description:

The drama is about Son O-Gong and Jin Sun-Mi who meet under strange circumstances. Jin Sun-Mi has been able to see ghosts her entire life. When she was younger, she tried to help a demon king recover a precious artifact but instead, accidentally lets Son O-Gong out from his invisible house in the middle of the woods when he tricks her to do so as only a human can free him. Jin Sun-Mi, a naive child, becomes punished from this by being given the title “Samjang”. Jokes on both of them though as they meet again because of a deal they made long ago, but, you’ll have to see for yourself.  

♡ Ratings: IMDb (8.4/10), MyDramaList (8.4/10)  ♡ My Opinion: 9/10 -This drama was really good actually and I’d recommend it to anyone. (I started watching this with my friend as it’s our favourite pass time at sleepovers - so if you’re looking for a good time, watch this.) -Good acting -The story is good and I never found it slow or boring

♡ Context:

Age Of Youth (also known as Hello, My Twenties!) is a coming of age and romance drama. 

♡ Main Cast:

Season 1 - Han Ye-Ri as Yoon Jin-Myung, Han Seung-Yeon as Jung Ye-Eun, Park Eun-Bin as Song Ji-Won, Ryu Hwa-Young as Kang Yi-Na & Park Hye-Soo as Yoo Eun-Jae

Season 2 -  Han Ye-Ri as Yoon Jin-Myung, Han Seung-Yeon as Jung Ye-Eun, Park Eun-Bin as Song Ji-Won, Ryu Hwa-Young as Kang Yi-Na (only for special appearance), Ji-Woo as Yoo Eun-Jae & Choi A-Ra as Jo Eun

♡ Description:

Age Of Youth is about five female housemates who live together at the Belle Epoque. While strangers at first, they are able to bond and connect over the traumas they experienced while growing up and face challenges together. There are two seasons and some character changes in the second season.

♡ Ratings: IMBd (8.3/10), MyDramaList (8.8/10)

♡ My Opinion: 7/10 -I did really like Age of Youth and I think it’s a good drama for you to start watching if you are new to dramas.  -I give this drama a 7 out of 10, only because I’ve seen better ones suited towards my tastes. -Good actors but annoying they changed so much

♡ Context:

Black is a romance, thriller, fantasy, & comedy K-drama. 

♡ Main Cast:

Song Seung-Heon as Black & Han Moo-Gang & Go Ara as Kang Ha-Ram

♡ Description:

Black is the story of a Grim Reaper who is ordered to track down his partner who escaped to the mortal realm. In the process of this, he meets Kang Ha-Ram who can see the shadows of death despite being a mortal woman. This complicates things especially after he finds a case from 20 years ago and falls in love with Ha-Ram in the process. Supernatural rules against involvement in human affairs were meant to be broken, right?

♡ Ratings: IMBd (8.2/10), MyDramaList (8.3/10)

♡ My Opinion: 9/10 -One of my favourite K-Drama’s and I highly recommend this to anyone. -It gets a bit dark at times though so I suggest having a light comedy to watch afterward. -Good actors and they have nice chemistry in my opinion -Story is easy to follow

♡ Context:

Blood is a rom-com, action & suspense K-drama. 

♡ Main Cast:

Ahn Jae-Hyeon as Park Ji-Sang, Ku Hye-Sun as Yoo Ri-Ta & Ji Jin-Hee as Lee Jae-Wook

♡ Description:

Park Ji Sang is a doctor who works in the best cancer research hospital in the country. He is a great doctor because of his knowledge of the human anatomy and he’s a vampire... Despite him seeming cold and unfeeling, he has a soft heart and has experienced the inner pain of wanting to be close with people but without knowing how. He has very high morals and believes highly in the sanctity of human life so he suppresses his thirst for blood to save human lives; Unfortunately, he isn’t the only vampire and not all of them agree in his way of thinking. Among his colleagues is Yoo Ri Ta, a hotshot physician who entered medical school at the age of only 17 while simultaneously being the niece of the chairman.

♡ Ratings: IMBd (7.1/10), MyDramaList (7.5/10) 

♡ My Opinion: 8/10 -It took me a while to finish this drama but I lose interest quite easily so it isn’t anything to do with the quality of this drama. -My original interest in this drama came from the actress Ku Hye-sun as she was one of the main characters in Boys Over Flowers (next review). -The chemistry between the main actors, Ku Hye-sun and Ahn Jae-Hyun is really good (and they’re married in real life!). -This drama handles romance and everything pretty well however if you’re looking for a drama with a lot of fangirl moments then I suggest something else -(but this did have some good romance moments).

♡ Context:

Boys Over Flowers is a romance & a very, very dramatic drama.

♡ Main Cast:

Lee Min-Ho as Koo Jun-Pyo, Ku Hye-Seon as Geum Jan-Di, Kim Hyun-Joong as Yun Ji-Hu, Kim Beom as So Lee-Jeong & Kim Jun as Song Woo-Bin.

♡ Description:

At a famous high school for the incredibly rich, this love story is focussed on Geum Jan-di and the members of F4 - a gang of 4 handsome and rich men lead by Gu/Koo Jun-pyo. Jan-di is a poor girl with a poor family. She gets rewarded for a good deed and gets the chance to attend this high school. Here, she meets the infamous F4 group and is joined by Jun-pyo who is a spoiled heir to world-leading conglomerate ‘Shinwa’. Their love story travels from Seoul to New Caledonia to even Macau.

♡ Ratings: IMBd (8.1/10), MyDramaList (8/10)

♡ My Opinion: 8/10 -My friend and I watched this drama together as it’s said to be the OG K-drama, it’s like the orientation to the world of Korean Dramas.  -Many reviews hated it but this drama was fun to scream at when the characters made poor decisions -This made me cry (not surprising as a lot of these have made me cry) but this one is the most memorable to me because of the good times I had watching it; so I recommend this drama to anyone who firsts asks me for K-drama recs.   -Starts off slow but once you get into it you’ll have the time of your life.

♡ Context: 

Click Your Heart is a mini-series and romance drama.

♡ Main Cast: 

Kwon Mi Na as Mina, Baek Ju Ho as Ju Ho, Kang Cha Ni as Cha Ni, Kim Ro Woon as Ro Woon & Lee Da Won as Lee Da Won.

♡ Description:

Mina is a high-school student who must choose between an athlete, an ‘intellectual’, a ‘loner’ and a dancer. The episodes set these meetings up and you can click an episode that follows on from that - the episode you click is a different guy that she can choose, so you can literally Click Your Heart.

♡ Ratings: IMDb (6.6/10), MyDramaList (7.4/10)

♡ My Opinion: 6/10  -Good if you wanna experience what a k-drama is like -Too short for me and I prefer normal dramas -Quick to watch though -The acting wasn’t that bad

♡ Context:

Dream Knight is a romance/fantasy drama which centers around friendship.

♡ Main Cast:

Song Ha Yoon as Joo In Hyung & Got 7 - JB (himself), Mark (himself), Park Jin Young (himself), Jackson Wang (himself), BamBam (himself), Kim Yu Gyeom (himself) & Choi Young Jae (himself).

♡ Description:

A young girl called Joo In Hyung who suffers from her past has her life turned around when she unexpectedly meets a group of mysterious men.

♡ Ratings: IMDb (6.8/10), MyDramaList (7.5/10)

♡ My Opinion: 6/10  -Same as Click Your Heart to me honestly -It’s more of a friendship drama and a coming of age drama in my opinion -The acting isn’t too bad -Good for a quick watch & if you are just starting watching dramas and don’t know what genre you like yet 

♡ Context:

Good Morning Call is a Japanese Drama based on the manga series “Guddo Moningu Koru” by Yue Takasuka. Good Morning Call is a romance, friendship, and coming of age drama.

♡ Main Cast:

Fukuhara Haruka as Yoshikawa Nao & Shiraishi Shunya as Uehara Hisashi

♡ Description:

A young girl called Nao decides to stay behind and live by herself when her parents leave to inherit her grandfather’s farm in the countryside. When she moves into her new apartment, she meets Uehara, a popular- super hot boy who goes to the same school as her. They realize they have both rented the same apartment and when they go to the company it’s unexpectedly closed down and the rent has gone up dramatically. Nao and Uehara decide to live together as flatmates so neither of them has to go home.

♡ Ratings: IMDb (7.9/10), MyDramaList (7.8/10)

♡ My Opinion: 9/10 -One of the first dramas I watched and I really loved it -It’s dramatic, romantic and both actors have good chemistry. -There are now 2 seasons on Netflix & the second season didn’t disappoint. -It had fangirling worthy moments and moments to make you really feel for the characters. -WatCh tHiS 

♡ Context:

Mischievous Kiss: Love in Tokyo is based on the manga Itazura Na Kiss by Kaoru Tada. Mischievous Kiss is a romantic comedy Japanese drama.

♡ Main Cast:

Yahagi Honoka as Aihara Kotoko, Furukawa Yuki as Irie Naoki & Yamada Yuki as Ikezawa Kinnosuke

♡ Description:

At a high school entrance ceremony, Kotoko falls in love with Naoki whilst he gives a speech. She decides to confess her feelings via love letter. Unfortunately Naoki - a popular boy everyone is in-love with - turns her down saying “I don’t like dumb women.” One day Kotoko’s house is completely damaged by a meteorite and the house will not be re-built for a while, Kotoko’s dad decides to stay with a friend who happens to be Naoki’s father...

♡ Ratings: IMDb (7.9/10), MyDramaList (8.1/10)

♡ My Opinion: 8/10 -One of the first dramas I watched -It has 2 seasons and I liked it because of the build-up in a romance between both characters -Naoki’s character is cold which is literally my favourite kind because I know he's a softie -Kotoko and Naoki have good chemistry & the acting was very good in my opinion -The story was NEVER boring for me, the writers had really fun ways to make the story go along so I applaud them for that & recommend this drama (it’s very dramatic, VERY).

♡ Context: Noble, My Love is a romantic comedy K-Drama.

♡ Main Cast: 

Sung Hoon as Lee Kang Hoon & Kim Jae Kyung as Cha Yoon Seo

♡ Description: 

Kang Hoon is the CEO of the world’s largest company ‘D.O.L’. One day, he is kidnapped and escapes from his kidnappers but is badly injured. Luckily, he passes out in front of an animal hospital. Yeon Seo (veterinarian) finds him and attends to his wounds.

♡ Ratings: IMDb (7.1/10), MyDramaList (7.9/10)

♡ My Opinion: 7/10 -Most k-dramas have something dark going on behind the love that happens but this drama doesn’t -Many reviews I read were against this drama but my friend and I adored it because of how simple yet entertaining the story-line was. -It has good fluff moments and is good if you don’t like dark subjects in your Korean dramas or tv in general -A good drama to watch after an intense one :)

♡ Context:

Oh My Ghostess is a romantic comedy with supernatural elements including the food genre.

♡ Main Cast:

Park Bo Young as Na Bong Soon, Kim Seul Gi as Shin Sun Ae, Jo Jung Suk as Kang Seon Woo & Im Joo Hwan as Choi Seong Jae

♡ Description:

Bong-sun is a shy young woman who is possessed by a confident ghost of a lustful virgin. Bong-sun works as an assistant and has a crush on her boss. She makes a deal with the ghost as her grandmother was a shaman so from a young age she has been able to see ghosts. They agree that the ghost will help Bong-sun get her boss’s attention if she helps her pass over to the after-life before her time runs out.

♡ Ratings: IMDb (8.2/10), MyDramaList (/10)

♡ My Opinion: 8/10 -Was difficult for me to get into but I thoroughly enjoyed it -It has cute moments & the acting is great -Basically just watch this 

♡ Context:

One More Time is a romance and friendship drama (also known as The Day After We Parted)

♡ Main Cast: 

L as Yoo Tak & Yoon So Hee as Da In

♡ Description:

Yoo Tak is the leader and vocalist of an indie band called One More Time. He’s been maintaining the band for around 10 years but they haven’t acheived their dreams yet and aren’t getting any younger. Yoo Tak begins to take for granted his friends and girlfriend but a young grim reaper has something to say about that. She puts him in a time loop and he has to continue living the same day over and over again until he learns what is really important.

♡ Ratings: IMDb (6.8/10), MyDramaList (7.7/10)

♡ My Opinion: 8/10 -I liked the angst and sadness in this and the life lessons in it -The acting was really good -It isn’t boring and it’s quick to watch -The ending confused me but I liked the deeper meaning :)

♡ Context: 

Strong Woman Do Bong Soon (also known as Strong Girl Bong Soon) is an action, comedy, romance & supernatural k-drama

♡ Main Cast: 

Park Bo Young as Do Bong Soon, Park Hyungsik as Ahn Min Hyuk & Ji Soo as In Gook Doo

♡ Description: 

Bong Soon is a young woman who is kind, honest and has superhuman strength... Her family has been gifted Herculean strength from birth to be used for the greater good. If the power is abused it is taken away. While standing up for herself to a group of gang members, Ahn Min Hyuk - who has never trusted the police - witnesses the entire ordeal and asks Bong Soon to be his bodyguard. She agrees and the two fall in love, but the world has different plans in mind for the pair.

♡ Ratings: IMDb (8.3/10), MyDramaList (8.8/10) 

♡ My Opinion: 9.5 -I like the chemistry between the actors in real life AND in the drama. They make a good team. -The balance between all the fluff and romance with the danger is really well done -This is one of my favourite K-drama's  -Watch this Drama if you want clear skin and a new love for yourself

♡ Context:

Switched is a Japanese supernatural and suspense drama

♡ Main Cast:

Tomita Miu as Umnie Zenko, Kiyohara Kaya as Kohinata Ayumi, Kamiyama Tomohiro as Mizumoto Koushirou & Shigeoka Daiki as Kaga Shunpei

♡ Description:

A suicidal teenage girl swaps bodies with a popular girl in her class - but she has no intention of switching back.

♡ Ratings: IMDb (7.2/10), MyDramaList (8.2/10)

♡ My Opinion: 7/10 -For a drama that isn't suited to my tastes, this one really impressed me. -The acting it takes to be able to pull off a successful bodyswap is extremely difficult and the actresses acting in this drama is immaculate. -This has a lot of angst, considering the suicide references, but is a good drama. -This J-Drama has only been given a 7 out of ten because of the plot (which is still great but not my type) but the acting I'd say is the best here.

♡ Context:

The Girl Who Sees Scents (also commonly referred to as The Girl Who Sees Smells & based on the webcomic 'Naemsaereul Boneun Sonyeo) is a romantic comedy with supernatural genres.

♡ Main Cast:

Park Yoo Chun as Choi Moo Gak, Shin Se Kyung as Oh Cho Rim & Nam Goong Min as Kwon Jae Hee

♡ Description:

Officer Choi Moo Gak lost his younger sister to a serial killer and lost his ability to taste, smell and feel any pain whatsoever. Oh Cho Rim, the only witness to the murder case, lost her memory but gained the ability to see smells.

♡ Ratings: IMDb (7.3/10), MyDramaList (8.1/10)

♡ My Opinion: 9/10 -Damn actor Nam Goong Min is hot -The serial killer is also a great fucking idea -The acting is decent and the actors have great fluffy moments -This drama was so addicting for me which is why it has such a high rating -I also really appreciated the ending, something that doesn't usually happen with me and dramas. -This is a must watch

♡ Context:

The Great Seducer (also known as Tempted) is a friendship and romance Melo-k-drama

♡ Main Cast:

Woo Do Hwan as Kwon Si Hyun, Joy as Eun Tae Hee, Moon Ga Young as Choi Soo Hi & Kim Min Jae as Lee Se Joo

♡ Description:

The Great Seducer depicts rich young men and women in their twenties who discover their feelings of love for one another while playing a dangerous bet involved with love. Kwon Si Hyun makes a bet with his friends that he can seduce Eun Tae Hee, who believes that people who are swayed too easily by love are stupid. After Tae Hee meets Si Hyun, her view of love changes and Si Hyun's heart becomes less ice-cold. Secrets become hard to keep as Si Hyun falls deeper in love with Eun Tae Hee.

♡ Ratings: IMDb (7.1/10), MyDramaList (7.6/10)

♡ My Opinion: 10/10 -I LOVE THIS DRAMA SO MUCH OKAY -MY FRIEND AND I STARTED THIS TOGETHER I LOVED IT -THE ACTING IS SO GOOD AND I LOVE WOO DO HWAN AND JOY (red velvet) -Joy's acting has improved a lot and her character is lovely and relatable -The drama is literally my aesthetic and the toxic friend groups and angst of this drama is what I thrive off -Watch. This. You. Cowards. -I could write essays upon essays about this, but tumblr won't allow that...

[entrechasecafes]

Kdrama | Sky Castle

Deixa eu limpar um pouco a poeira aqui…

E depois de um milhão de anos, tive vontade e inspiração para escrever um post!

Bem, a falta de saúde também contribuiu para essa falta, infelizmente.

Mesmo que seja por um momento breve, a inspiração tem nome e motivos (inúmeros por sinal): o drama mais querido pelas bandas coreanas ultimamente, Sky Castle!

♪We all lie. tell you the truths sometimes we laugh and easily lie. Alright. it’s a.. it’s faker♪

Comecei pela curiosidade, tanto do tema - e pelo trecho que vi - quanto para saber o motivo de ter tanta audiência na Coreia. Fui vendo sem grandes pretensões, mas não sei quando me vi agarrada ao drama e as histórias dessas famílias e devorei tudo que tinha até aquele momento!

Com um roteiro maravilhoso, o drama aborda temas difíceis, com personagens igualmente complexos: não tem nada simples nessa história!

E a história conta sobre a vida de algumas famílias do condomínio(?) chamado Sky Castle - um pouco de teoria aqui: o Sky viria do acrônimo SKY, que se refere as três universidades mais prestigiadas e concorridas da Coreia: Seoul National University, Korea University e Yonsei University (mas a história não é sobre elas, então voltamos ao drama): famílias aparentemente perfeitas, com pais bem sucedidos e filhos caminhando para serem tão bem sucedidos quanto os pais... Mas será que realmente são perfeitas assim? Logo no primeiro episódio nós começamos a perceber que não é bem assim.

Os pais tentam a todo custo fazerem com que seus filhos entrem na melhor universidade de medicina para que com isso continuem seus legados, mas será que vale tudo mesmo para isso? Será que é o melhor mesmo para seus filhos? Será que é o que eles querem para suas vidas?

Ao trazer estes e outros questionamentos, somos levados a conhecer as alegrias e dissabores de cada uma dessas famílias:

Família da Han Seo Jin

Seo Jin é casada com o cirurgião ortopédico Kang Joon Sang e eles tem duas filhas: a Kang Ye Seo (a primogênita) e a Kang Ye Bin. Eles vivem uma vida de sonho, mas também tem seus segredos. A Seo Jin luta com todas as forças para ajudar sua filha a entrar e se formar na universidade de medicina, algo que é o grande sonho da Ye Seo.

E com isso nem sempre joga limpo...

Família da No Seung Hye

Seung Hye é casada com o professor de direito e ex-promotor Cha Min Hyuk.  Juntos eles tem três filhos: Cha Se Ri (a mais velha) e os gêmeos Chae Seo Joon e Ki Ji Joon. Vemos problemas nessa família ainda no primeiro episódio e no decorrer do drama os problemas vão se aprofundando mais e mais. Ao mesmo tempo vamos vendo o desenvolvimento deles e ô família legal! Seung Hye <3

*tirando o professor Cha que é chato, mas tão chato, que a única coisa que nos resta é rir da chatice dele rs

Família da Lee Soo Im

A Soo Im é escritora de livros infantis, casada com o neurocirurgião Hwang Chi Young e tem um filho, o Hwang Woo Joo. Essa família  tem um profundo sentido de dever e sempre ajudam e se importam com os menos favorecidos. Mas isso por vezes também trás alguns problemas... Uma coisa interessante é que eles não escondem que nem sempre se deram tão bem: a relação foi melhorada com e tempo e muita conversa.

Família da Jin Jin Hee

A Jin Jin Hee é casada com o cirurgião ortopédico Woo Yang-woo e tem um filho chamado Woo Soo Han. Eles são o alívio cômico da história, sempre que aparecem é impossível não se divertir com eles. É também a família menos problemática: quer dizer, eles tem problemas sim, mas nada tão cabeludo como nas outras.

Lee Myung Joo

Também temos a família da Lee Myung Joo, formada pelo marido Park Soo Chang e com o filho Park Young Jae. No decorrer da história vamos descobrindo mais sobre essa família e seus problemas.

Para além das famílias temos uma outra personagem igualmente importante para esta história: A  Professora Jo.

Kim Joo Young aparece na história como "professora particular" para alunos que querem entrar nas melhores universidades. Ela mesma que escolhe a dedo quem vai ensinar, não passando de 2 estudantes por vez para que com isso tenha o aproveitamento de 100%: todos passam com as melhores notas.

Coloquei o "professora particular" entre aspas porque os métodos dela não são exatamente de professores comuns, por assim dizer. Aos poucos vamos descobrindo quem ela é, o que quer e como faz as coisas acontecerem. O que posso dizer sem soltar spoilers é que dá medo - e muita raiva também.

♪Shout it out. What you want for the world Money, Honor, Beauty Everything you want Play with a mask to hide the truth People cheat each other. right?♪

Por onde começar a falar sobre este drama? Porque quero falar sobre tudo ao mesmo tempo! Não consigo controlar o fangirling, porque fazia tanto tempo que uma história não me empolgava dessa forma!

O roteiro... Queria fazer um texto que coubesse numa página inteira do tanto que gostaria de comentar cada cena, cada detalhe dele! A fluidez de uma cena para outra, os diálogos e questionamentos que davam socos na nossa cara, as cenas sem diálogo algum mas que mostravam tanta intensidade quanto se tivessem dito mil palavras... O humor que salvava a gente depois das cenas que nos sugavam... Tudo isso de forma tão natural. Essa história que poderia ser tão clichê e mesmo que em momentos tenha usado algum, conseguiu desenvolver tão bem e de forma inesperada. Os personagens foram tão bem desenvolvidos, tão cheios de nuances que poderiam tanto nos irritar quanto fazer sentir pesar em questão de minutos. Humanos e por isso imperfeitos. Mostrar essa imperfeição humana foi uma das coisas que mais me pegaram nessa história: o ser humano não é uma coisa só e por vezes vamos fazer coisas não sejam as mais corretas, mesmo que a nossa intenção seja para algo bom, porque isso também faz parte de cada um. E que claro, cada ação tem sua consequência.

O debate principal sobre o sistema de ensino coreano foi o mais profundo que vi até o momento nos dramas. Mostrou de forma tão enfática e por vezes crua também, como é tão competitivo e duro com as crianças, em como isso afeta o psicológico delas. Cheguei a ver alguns comentários de gente que se identificou muito com essa história, o que a torna mais próxima do real também.

E essa história é com famílias ricas, imagino como deva ser com "famílias comuns"...

Uma coisa que achei interessante foi o drama apontar alternativas, não tentando impor exatamente alguma coisa, mas sim mostrando que há vias - e com isso teve gente que não gostou do final, mas eu gostei muito e achei bem coerente tanto com a realidade dos personagens, quanto com a história em si. Ver os personagens refletindo sobre suas escolhas, mudando a postura para certas posições, tomando decisões que podem não ser as melhores... Quer coisa mais humana que essa?

E esse roteiro não seria tão impactante se não tivessem os atores certos para o interpretar!

Que elenco, QUE ELENCO!

Ver atores como estes sendo valorizados numa história como esta, é tão significativo. Não é sempre que podemos ver coisas assim na dramaland então, quando acontece, a gente precisa enaltecer fortemente!

Alguns atores eu já conhecia de outros dramas, o restante foi a primeira vez que os vi e nossa, todos conseguiram me impactar demais neste drama! Foram tantas, mais tantas cenas que queria levantar e aplaudir de pé pela interpretação! Todas as atrizes principais foram maravilhosas, merecem prêmios de melhores do ano e não tem para ninguém!

Deixo aqui meu agradecimento em público pela "descoberta" da Yum Jung Ah - onde você estava que nunca havia te visto? - , da Lee Tae Ran e da Oh Na Ra; também agradeço poder conhecer mais e com isso passar a admirar mesmo a Yoon Se Ah e a Kim Seo Hyung. Só desejo que venham mais trabalhos tão bons quanto este, porque todos merecemos vê-las atuando e tão bem.

♪Is this really true? Is this really true? Is this really true? Is this really true? Is this really true? Is this really true?♪

Só não conhecia um ator dos que fazem os maridos e todos foram tão bem! O chato do professor Cha seria insuportável de ver se não fosse a interpretação tão boa do Kim Byung Chul - não tem como você não rir das caras e bocas dele! Jo Jae Yun divertido como sempre; e os charmosos Jung Joon Ho e Choi Won Young esbanjando talento também. Muito obrigada a todos. 

A parte mais nova do elenco não fez nada feio e só manteve a bola alta. Quero destacar a Kim Bora, que já conhecia pelo drama Avengers Social Club, mas neste ela conseguiu se sobressair ainda mais - só para não passar em branco, quero dizer que eu gostei muito da Hye Na -; a Lee Ji-won que quebrou meu coração em várias cenas da Ye Bin e o Chani, que venho achado promissor desde Signal - espero que ele evolua do melhor jeito, porque tem algo a mais nesse garoto, escute o que estou dizendo.

Quero bater palmas também a direção e produção desse drama, foi tudo tão bem feito e com um cuidado tão grande! Isso com um orçamento menor que vários dramas da tv a cabo nos últimos meses.

Todos os envolvidos estão de parabéns! Audiência merecidíssima!

Precisam ganhar prêmios neste ano senão vou protestar lá na Coreia!

Mesmo que não tenha conseguido transmitir neste texto nem um terço do que eu senti com este drama, quero dizer que ele entrou para os meus favoritos - talvez até da vida. Recomendo com força!

♪We all Lie♪ Sky Castle OST ➻ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdDfuWJc9dA

Sky Castle, só... Obrigada por tudo!

Disponível nos fansubs: Subarashiis, Start Fansub e Star Dramas Fansub

[themorningcatch]

Dana’s Korean Drama Favorites

Special thanks to the Bogum to my Taehyung, Jazzie Rivera, for ruining my life via KDramas

CHICAGO TYPEWRITER ( 시카고 타자기) From April to June 2017

Network: tvN

Number of episodes: 16

Cast: Yoo Ah In, Lim Soo Jung, Go Kyung Pyo, Kwak Si Yang, Joo Woo Jin, Yang Jin Sung

Kilig* Factor: Satisfactory. It’s there but not too in-your-face. Seju is just a total tsundere but it’s perfect because (spoiler?) it’s every fangirl’s dream to meet their idol and be able to peel back all their layers and see them for who they truly are. There’s just enough strain between them that makes you root for them but there’s also some solid, cute couple moments that I may or may not have re-watched because huhu when will I ever???

Drama Factor: SO. MUCH. ANGST. I LOVE IT. Since the plot revolves around a tragedy they can’t figure out, when more of the plot is revealed, there is so much upheaval of emotions on their part, which also affects the audience. Not too mention the main cast’s acting is no joke. Absolutely captivating. Every episode feels heavy loaded, especially the last parts. This drama made me tear up again and again because one, there’s just something about past lives that really get to me and two, the lines (thank Jin Soo Wan) and their delivery just hit home so hard. 

Love Triangle Factor: This triumvirate’s affection for each other is the only Kdrama love triangle I will recognize. Their friendship is so special and it LITERALLY transcended lifetimes. The main cast’s chemistry is endearing like they’re all going through so much but they still have each other’s backs. And you know what, I love how Seol didn’t have to pick. I mean, she sort of did, but she didn’t really. Those two boys were both hers and they knew it. Sigh, now I want to be their friend. 

Notes: it really isn’t a surprise that Chicago Typewriter is my favorite drama because the characters are writers/avid readers; there is a touch of supernatural in the plot which is always good in my books; there is amazing acting. I honestly couldn’t get over how well they did it (especially Ko Gyung Pyo who is now one of my favorites); there is a balance between sad and light scenes, all while letting the story progress; and there are really cute moments without it feeling like fan service. I just love this show. I finished it at 4 AM after no sleep and I was physically and emotionally exhausted but at the end, it made me want to sit down and write and work because that’s the kind of storytelling that I want the world to be filled; stories that make people want to claim their roles as heroes in their stories. And heroes they are, this unforgettable trio. The only thing unrealistic about this is that Seju lives in a mansion. Like, I get that he’s a writer and he’s famous, but a mansion? Really? That’s doubtful.

Rating: 10/10 (will watch again!!!)

*(The Filipino word “kilig” is untranslatable but the best description is “the feeling one gets when they experience something romantic” or “that heart fluttering feeling”; whichever suits your fancy.)

W: TWO WORLDS ( 더블유) From July to September 2016

Network: MBC

Number of episodes: 16

Cast: Lee Jong Suk, Han Hyo Joo, Jong Eu Gene, Lee Tae Hwan, Park Won Sang, Cha Kwang Soo, Kim Eui Sung

Kilig Factor: Hyo Joo and Jong Suk have impeccable chemistry and Song Jae Jung (bless her heart) doesn’t let that go to waste. There were times when I would pause the episode just to let what I saw sink in. I thought, “HOW CAN TWO PEOPLE LOOK THIS CUTE???” Some scenes were so kilig, I almost cried. Sure, it was defo fan service for all us thirsty, lonely hoes, however, it is duly appreciated. Many times I would finish an episode and just want a boyfriend because dammit, Lee Jong Suk. Some moments are a little cringe-y when you think long and hard about whether really people do that, but I’m not complaining. I’m perfectly fine with it. 

Drama Factor: Like all good dramas should, the endings that W episodes go through crush my heart. Ultimately, it was just begging for a happy ending. I didn’t think that a sci-fi/rom-com plot was capable of making me upset but I guess that’s the charm of W; that even with loss, confusion, mystery, yearning, and all those painful adjectives, you still sit tight and grip the seat to watch it all unfold. For me, W has one of the best endings ever, a satisfying close, like a sigh of relief. To be honest, when I think about W nowadays, there’s this phantom ache in my chest just because there were scenes when I just thought, “The writer did THAT.” So word of warning, watch with detachment and if not, just be careful.

Creativity Factor: In the span of 16 episodes, W managed to scissor multiple plots and be stitched together and still not confuse the hell out of me. I think that is a plus for creativity. More often than I expected, W’s story line felt different each time a problem began. It’s an absolute roller coaster with a bunch of tropes that sometimes it felt like watching a whole other show. I personally enjoy that. It felt like an adventure, although exhausting at that. But sometimes, it does do something ridiculous that reminds you, this isn’t real anyways but I forgive that for entertainment’s sake. 

Notes: Not entirely a stunning show, but a unique and imaginative one. No other drama has quite left the same impression W did with me. This was the drama I recommended the most to people. It was about creation and art as well so that appealed to me. I love the bits where Song Moo would be sketching and whatever he did started translating to reality. That must’ve been hard to shoot so I commend the director as well. W also felt quick to watch as the plot moved without dawdling too much. It was quite unrealistic and intense but still, incomparable. As for the romance, Yeon Joo and Chul = OTP. 

Rating: 9/10 (when will my life become a drama???)

GOBLIN: THE LONELY AND GREAT GOD ( 쓸쓸하고 찬란하神-도깨비) From December 2016 - January 2017

Network: tvN

Number of episodes: 16

Cast: Gong Yoo, Kim Go Eun, Lee Dong Wook, Yoo In Na, Yook Sung Jae

Kilig Factor: At first, I seriously didn’t like them because of the age difference and it was little weird that Eun Tak called him “ahjussi.” Later on, I got used to it and as their love story progressed, the more I got tangled with it. I absolutely can’t forget the part when it would rain and Eun Tak would cry hysterically and she had no clue why. That was such a powerful and poignant scene for me. Gong Yoo and Kim Go Eun are incredible actors. They could convey such deep emotions from their characters and still retain parts of that when they become quirky. With the Sunny/Grim Reaper pairing, it felt a little dragging and draining by the end, to be honest. However, there’s this certain yearning I can’t remove that I want them to end up together. I think their relationship boosted Goblin/Eun Tak’s by showing a contrast. The kind of drama with romantic scenes that made me squeal out loud. 

Drama Factor: I think there were only a few episodes I didn’t shed a tear over. The writing has this fragrant poetry structure to it that just appeals so much to a hopeless romantic like me. I know people don’t talk that way in real life but there’s just a beauty with a good string of words that can support an otherwise mediocre scene. Also, a very, very good cast. There was a lot of crying but it didn’t feel overwhelming (for me) because of how it was delivered. I think Goblin is a show I would watch if I ever doubted the supreme lightness love can bring after a dreadful storm. 

OST Factor: Unforgettable. There’s a reason that Goblin’s is one of the most famous. The roster of performers in that OST is unbelievable. It’s so well chosen, especially once it’s edited as the background for a certain scene. There’s also so much to choose from that the songs post-Goblin binge watching don’t feel sickening; more nostalgic than anything. The OST by itself captures the sweet sadness of Goblin’s story and that’s a pretty good feat for a musical score to achieve. 

Notes: Goblin was the very first Korean drama that I’ve watched properly and voluntarily. I was just really curious at first but then the cinematography, the music, the acting of this show absolutely blew me away. I think I cried majority of the time because I couldn’t believe I was watching such a well written show with representation of people who looked like me! (Asians!!!) I think that like the show’s theme of first love for the 900 year old Goblin, this was the perfect drama to show me how great K-dramas have become, and maybe I’m being eye roll worthy but it felt a little like finding a first love. I have nothing but fondness over Goblin and its clever story full of fate and twists and childlike innocence amidst the dark past they all share. And loneliness is something that is so palpable to me and seeing it suited up like this, made my heart clench and have hope. It’s wonderful like that. 

Rating: 15/10. Just watch it. It’s worth your time. 

REPLY 1988 ( 응답하라 1988) From November 2015 - January 2016

Network: tvN

Number of episodes: 20

Cast: Hyeri, Ryoo Joon Yeol, Go Kyung Pyo, Park Bo Gum, Lee Dong Hwi, Sung Dong Il, Lee Il Hwa, Ryoo Hye Young, Choi Sung Won, Kim Sung Kyun, Ra Mi Ran, Ahn Jae Hong, Kim Sun Young, Yoo Jae Myung, Choi Moo Sung, Kim Sul, Lee Min Ji, Lee Se Young

Kilig Factor: Of course I know most people don’t fall in love with their neighbors that often but this one is an exception. Romantic love wasn’t the main theme for this show however it still came through. And yes, I may be super biased when it comes to Park Bo Gum and Go Kyung Pyo and yes, them just smiling can get me riled up already BUT the love triangle presented towards the end is pretty decent and the falling-back-in-love trope with two characters is realistic and enjoyable enough. I’ve never seen a character demonstrate that kind of attitude (fiercely and stubbornly choosing their career over a relationship) before so it was quite interesting for me. There were little moments where they would reveal that this character actually liked this character, or did this for this character that would just have me punching a pillow, kicking, and screaming because dammit, that’s cute. I think it could have been better though, but as Reply 1988 isn’t solely focused on that, it’s good enough. 

Drama Factor: Okay, compared to Reply 1988, my crying in Goblin was a dripping faucet. This show had me bursting like a waterfall. It was in all those moments that felt real, so, so real, I couldn’t help but weep. It was superb how Lee Woo Jeong wrote this show with tenderhearted conversations and the absolute unfairness of life that everybody can relate to and have such an awesome cast enact it in the messy times of the 80′s and translate into something a girl like me could deeply feel. Towards the end, I cried at every episode (there was always just something that hit me so much!) and it was the kind that would start as a sob and just progress then on. Inside Reply 1988 were lessons and experiences that everybody has felt or will feel or is trying to forget that universally is the same but in a different packaging. This show, to me, is the epitome of a Korean drama, unashamed and so emotional.

Food Factor: To be honest, there were far too many times Reply 1988 made me hungry. From clams to ramyun to kimchi pancakes to fish-shaped bread, they ate everything. I do appreciate it though because it exposed what Korean culture is like and how families have a good meal with each other as an act of love. I find the putting-meat/egg/vegetable/whatever-into-someone’s-bowl gesture as a unique and  simple way of saying you favor someone. I also saw how important food is with the plot because as they go through changes, their food changed! When they were poor, they complained about side dishes. When they got older, the food they ate became different. When something good happens, there’s a whole feast. When watching this show, beware of the scrumptious dishes. I’m still looking for tteokbokki these days. 

Notes: First of all, the set design team is amazing. I didn’t feel the whole Ssamundong late 80′s vibe at first but then it felt a little like home after so many hours of looking at it. There’s a lot of things I want to complain about this show, especially how it didn’t resolve properly. There were so many things left hanging! So many relationships unexplored! So many people’s endings swept aside! I didn’t feel like it got the ending it deserved. However, this was such a heartwarming drama. I haven’t seen such a raw presentation of this kind of suburban city life anywhere and it was familiar to me. I also loved how in an episode, things will happen and at the end, there was actually one unifying theme for all of that. I can say nothing more about Reply 1988 other than it did feel like I was growing up with these kids and I was part of their rag-tag bundle of troublemakers. That’s the most important part, I think, to have your audience feel like they were a part of it all. It means art has done its job well.

Rating: 7/10. A little disappointing but still great. 

(this took me forever to make but it was fun. i might make a part two. maybe...)

[suave-alpaca]

Cha Young Jin + fangirls

[nhatlynguyennln]

Park Min Young, Những người bạn trai hoàn hảo, và nhiều hơn nữa: Những gì cần xem sau cuộc sống riêng tư của cô ấy

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Park Min Young, Những người bạn trai hoàn hảo, và nhiều hơn nữa: Những gì cần xem sau cuộc sống riêng tư của cô ấy

Nó không mất nhiều thời gian để chúng ta bị cuốn vào thế giới của fangirling, White Ocean và Ryan Gold. Cuộc sống riêng tư của cô ấy đã là bộ truyện được đặt tiêu chuẩn cho anh chàng hoàn hảo của Lọ RẤT cao. Trên hết, chúng ta có Park Min Young xinh đẹp và nam chính thứ hai rất đẹp trai Ahn Bo Hyun. Với tất cả những điều tuyệt vời về bộ truyện này, nó không có gì lạ tại sao chúng tôi lại rất thất vọng khi bộ phim kết thúc. Nếu bạn đang tự hỏi bộ phim truyền hình K nào sẽ xem bên cạnh để lấp đầy khoảng trống trống rỗng đó trong lòng, thì đây là một vài gợi ý dựa trên những điều chúng tôi yêu thích về Cuộc sống riêng tư của cô ấy. 1. Park Min Young trong tất cả vinh quang của mình Nó rất nhiều chính thức. Bất kỳ loạt phim nào mà các ngôi sao Park Min Young tham gia đều được đảm bảo là một hit. Bạn có thể gọi đó là may mắn hoặc bạn có thể gọi nó là một ý thức tốt khi biết một kịch bản hay khi cô ấy đưa ra một kịch bản, nhưng bất kể, cô ấy là một viên ngọc quý. Cô ấy không chỉ chọn những vai tuyệt vời, mà cô ấy còn thực sự đóng vai các nhân vật bằng khả năng diễn xuất tuyệt vời của mình! Nếu bạn đang tìm kiếm một liều thuốc khác của Park Min Young, đây là một vài gợi ý.

Ngôi sao Park Min Young cùng với Lee Min Ho trong bộ phim tình cảm đầy hành động này về một chiến binh được đào tạo, người đang ngụy trang cho một chuyên gia CNTT trong Nhà Xanh. Cuối cùng anh gặp và yêu một vệ sĩ tên Kim Na Na (Park Min Young), người cũng làm việc tại Nhà Xanh. Hai người đến làm việc cùng nhau để trả thù.

Park Min Young là vàng trong bất kỳ vai trò nào. Cô ấy có rất nhiều sự quyến rũ và khả năng để làm cho bất kỳ nhân vật nào trở nên sống động. Trong thành phố Hunter Hunter, cô ấy có thể trở thành một vệ sĩ khó tính trong khi vẫn là một nữ chính đáng yêu.

Câu chuyện cũng tuyệt vời khi khiến bạn muốn xem tập tiếp theo. Nó có sự cân bằng hoàn hảo giữa hành động và lãng mạn!

Một bộ phim truyền hình K kinh điển khác có sự tham gia của Park Min Young xinh đẹp của chúng ta là trộm Sungkyunkwan Scandal. Sageuk cổ điển này kể về một người phụ nữ tài giỏi và xinh đẹp tên là Kim Yoon Hee (Park Min Young), người cải trang thành một người đàn ông để tham dự Đại học Sungkyunkwan. Cha cô đã qua đời và cô tự mình làm điều đó để thành công.

Park Min Young là tuyệt vời trong loạt phim này với vai Kim Yoon Hee. Cô ấy trẻ hơn trong loạt phim đặc biệt này và bạn thực sự có thể thấy cô ấy tỏa sáng trong vai trò này. Nó cũng mất khá nhiều vẻ đẹp để có thể cởi bỏ quần áo nam truyền thống!

2. Kim Jae Wook, kỹ năng diễn xuất nghiêm túc Nếu bạn là một người hâm mộ K-drama nghiêm túc, bạn sẽ biết rất nhiều vai diễn chiết trung mà Kim Jae Wook đảm nhận trong suốt sự nghiệp diễn xuất của mình. Anh ấy luôn luôn là nam chính và anh ấy luôn luôn đảm nhận vai trò rom-coms, đó là lý do tại sao vai diễn của anh ấy trong cuộc sống riêng tư của cô ấy rất đặc biệt.

Nếu bạn thực sự muốn thấy khả năng diễn xuất của Kim Jae Wook, thì vai diễn tâm thần Mo Tae Goo của anh ấy trong bộ phim hành động đầy tiếng nói hành động chắc chắn là một trong những điều mà có thể bỏ qua. Điều làm cho màn trình diễn của anh trở nên lạnh thấu xương là sự đẹp trai và lôi cuốn của một kẻ giết người hàng loạt thực sự có thể như thế nào.

Làm thế nào chúng ta có thể quên vai trò của anh ấy là người dẫn thứ hai đeo trái tim trên tay áo, Park Jung Woo? Nếu bạn đang tìm kiếm một thứ gì đó nhẹ nhàng hơn và không quá đáng sợ, thì bạn nên gặp anh ấy trong vai trò này!

Ngôi sao tình yêu của ngôi sao nổi tiếng Seo Hyun Jin và Yang Se Jong trong một câu chuyện về một đầu bếp phải lòng một nhà văn. Nó có một câu chuyện nhỏ ngọt ngào về tình yêu từ cái nhìn đầu tiên, và nếu bạn biến thành người dẫn thứ hai lãng mạn, thì bộ truyện này nằm ngay trên con hẻm của bạn. Nhưng bộ phim này cũng rất hay nếu bạn muốn xem Kim Jae Wook là Jung Woo hoàn toàn xứng đáng ngất ngây.

Bạn thực sự có thể cảm nhận được tình yêu anh ấy dành cho Lee Hyun Soo (Seo Hyun Jin) và bạn cũng có thể thấy sự quyến rũ mà cô ấy nhìn thấy ở anh ấy mặc dù thực tế là trái tim cô ấy nằm với người khác. Anh ấy toát lên sự quyến rũ đến nỗi bạn sẽ tự hỏi tại sao Hyun Soo lại không đến với Jung Woo.

3. Mùa hè cảm thấy lãng mạn. Cuộc sống riêng tư của cô ấy là một chuỗi hoàn hảo để gọi trong thời tiết mùa hè và dẫn đến kỳ nghỉ hè. Nó có tất cả những rung cảm nhẹ nhàng và hài hước thực sự thiết lập giai điệu cho thời tiết tốt. Nếu bạn đang tìm kiếm để tiếp tục mùa hè này cảm thấy lãng mạn, có một số bộ phim truyền hình K và phim khác mà bạn phải xem! Bộ phim đáng yêu này là một câu chuyện về tình yêu đầu tiên. Phim còn có sự tham gia của Kim Young Kwang và Park Bo Young, hai người đẹp gặp nhau ở trường trung học và yêu nhau. Ngay cả sau vài năm làm bạn, luôn có một mối liên hệ giữa họ khó có thể phủ nhận. Mọi thứ trở nên thú vị khi Hwang Woo Yeon (Kim Young Kwang) nhận được lời mời đám cưới đến đám cưới của Hwan Seung Hee (Park Bo Young).

Hai cái này có thể dễ thương đến mức nào? Ngay cả với sự khác biệt chiều cao lớn, họ có rất nhiều hóa học. Ngày lễ cưới của bạn là một bộ phim tình yêu đầu tiên hoàn hảo mang đến sự rung cảm mùa hè ấm áp đó. Youllll yêu sự tự mãn từ Seung Hee (Park Bo Young) và Woo Yun (Kim Young Kwang) ấm áp nhưng lãng mạn. Nó là một trong những bộ phim dễ thương nhất mà bạn sẽ xem vào mùa hè này!

Một ngày nắng Nắng là một bộ phim truyền hình ngắn với sự tham gia của So Ji Sub và Kim Ji Won. Nó một loạt về hai người độc thân đến đảo Jeju cho các mục đích khác nhau. Họ băng qua những con đường và thấy rằng họ thực sự kết nối với nhau. Từ thời điểm đó, hai người bắt đầu cởi mở với nhau. Bộ phim này là bộ phim truyền hình K chữa bệnh hoàn hảo cho mùa hè. Nó có một sự yên bình về nó sẽ nghiêm túc chạm đến trái tim của bạn và có bạn liên quan đến cả hai nhân vật chính. Youllll hoàn toàn đồng cảm với So Ji Sub là Kim Ji Ho, người thất tình và cũng sẽ bắt nguồn cho anh ta tìm thấy tình yêu trong Kim Ji Ho (Kim Ji Won) – vâng, hai người có cùng tên trong truyện. Đó là định mệnh!

4. Người bạn trai hoàn hảo Hãy để Lành là thật. Ngay cả trong thế giới hư cấu của phim truyền hình K, đôi khi cũng khó tìm được người bạn trai hoàn hảo. Kể từ khi cuộc sống riêng tư của cô ấy lên sóng, đã có rất nhiều tiếng vang xung quanh Ryan Gold (Kim Jae Wook) và cách anh ấy là nam chính hoàn hảo nhất. Ở đó, rõ ràng có rất nhiều lý do là tại sao anh ấy lại hoàn hảo đến vậy và chúng tôi rõ ràng sẽ nhớ anh ấy. Nhưng trong trường hợp bạn cần một số bạn trai hoàn hảo khác của người Viking thì kinh ngạc, đây là một vài gợi ý. Cuộc gặp gỡ giữa các ngôi sao nổi tiếng Park Bo Gum trong vai Kim Jin Hyuk và Song Hye Kyo trong vai Cha Soo Hyun. Hai người gặp nhau lần đầu khi ở Cuba, nhưng khi trở về Seoul, họ nhận ra rằng Soo Hyun thực sự là ông chủ mới của Jin Hyuk. Hai người cuối cùng bị cuốn vào một cơn lốc lãng mạn và ở đó LỚN là một tàu lượn siêu tốc của cảm xúc.

Park Bo Gum trong vai Kim Jin Hyuk là sự hoàn hảo thuần khiết. Với bối cảnh mê hoặc của Cuba và sự quyến rũ tự nhiên mà Park Bo Gum từ bỏ bất kể nhân vật nào anh thủ vai, nhân vật của anh là người bạn trai hoàn hảo. Anh ấy không chỉ kiên trì và thấu hiểu Cha Soo Hyun, mà anh ấy còn cho cô ấy không gian khi cô ấy cần. Anh luôn ở bên để lắng nghe cô và luôn đặt nhu cầu của cô lên trước nhu cầu của anh. Anh tặng cô những thứ chu đáo thay vì những thứ đắt tiền, đảm bảo rằng cô biết anh luôn nghĩ về cô.

Nhưng tất cả chúng ta đều biết rằng, không chỉ có nhân vật hoàn hảo như Park Bo Gum, một người bạn trai hoàn hảo ngoài đời thực.

Go Dong Man (Park Seo Joon) và Choi Ae Ra (Kim Ji Won) đóng vai hai người bạn thân nhất, những người đã trải qua mọi thứ trong cuộc sống với nhau. Họ ở đó thông qua thời gian tốt và thời gian xấu. Nhưng điều khiến Dong Man trở nên hoàn hảo, bên cạnh việc anh luôn ở bên Ae Ra, là anh luôn dành cho cô không gian để khóc và là chính mình.

Anh cũng không ngừng cố gắng giúp Ae Ra đạt được ước mơ trở thành phát thanh viên. Anh ấy đúng là fan hâm mộ lớn nhất của cô. Anh cũng biết khi nào cô cảm thấy hụt hẫng và sẽ bỏ mọi thứ để đến bên cô và khiến cô cảm thấy tốt hơn. Anh đặt ước mơ của cô trước anh và đó là điều ngọt ngào nhất. Ngôi sao của tôi là Gangnam Beauty Ngôi sao của ngôi sao Im Soo Hyang trong vai Kang Mi Rae và Cha Eun Woo trong vai Do Kyung Suk, hai người bạn cùng lớp thời thơ ấu. Họ gặp lại nhau ở trường đại học, nhưng Kyung Suk nhận ra rằng Mi Rae là một cô gái mà anh biết từ thời trung học. Cuộc đuổi bắt? Mi Rae đã phẫu thuật thẩm mỹ và trông hoàn toàn khác so với trước đây.

Điều khiến Kyung Suk khá hoàn hảo là cách anh ấy đánh giá cao và thích Mi Rae trước khi cô ấy phẫu thuật thẩm mỹ. Anh nhớ rằng lần duy nhất anh có thể mỉm cười ở trường trung học là khi anh nhìn thấy cô nhảy múa ở trạm xe buýt. Anh nhớ từng chi tiết khi nói về Mi Rae và nói rõ rằng anh có tình cảm với cô.

Một cảnh đặc biệt nổi bật là khi Kyung Suk không có tiền nhưng vẫn muốn đưa Mi Rae ra ngoài, vì vậy anh chắc chắn rằng cô đã lấy xe

[kdramaxoxo]

‘Her Private Life’ - A K-Drama Review

About This Drama: Rom com centered around a museum curator with a secret fangirl hobby, and her new boss who used to be a famous painter. Get ready for tons of funny fluff, romance and wholesome feels.

--SPOILER FREE REVIEW--  (however, it IS rom com with standard tropes so I will be talking about those)

The Good Stuff:

Great Characters: What a fun group of unusual characters! Park Min-Young shone as an ahjumma with an idol obsession and honestly...RELATABLE! Her best friend (played by Park Jin-Joo who i adore) and her were so much fun to watch - I was in LOVE with their friendship!  Cha Shi-An was so sweet and made the perfect idol, and all of the gallery’s co-workers were great. Her mom was a bit rude at first but her dad collecting rocks for a hobby? So. Cute. And let’s talk about Lion: Funny, gorgeous and a #lesbianally!

CHEMISTRY: Wow. What an amazing K-drama OTP: supportive, communicative, loving and soft, you’ll die watching them hang out together! Their kisses were soooooo (!!!). I love how they start off as “enemies-lite” so there’s that tension at first, but once that’s over it’s ALL FLUFF ALL THE TIME.

Story Telling: Aside from a bit at the end, the pacing of this show is great with lots of funny and wholesome moments. There are conflicts, but no traumatic destruction of any relationships, which is a change from the standard fare. No one gets hit by a car and there are no evil chair persons. People have fights but they work it out. It’s a super easy watch, but if you like lots of tension, misunderstandings and broken heart k-drama tropes, you might not like this show - there is literally none of that. 

Heads Up: If you love pining, tension and angst, this show is not for you. It is very similar in tone to ‘Why Secretary Kim’ in that it’s funny and cute with not a lot of tension overall. If you get bored once a couple finally stops pining and gets together, you might think it’s a slow watch during the 2nd half. That isn’t to say there is NO pining or deep feelings - there definitely IS. It’s just done in a sweeter style which I personally love.

The Bad Stuff:

WORST Love Triangle Ever: I’m really not into Love Triangles but I’m not instantly put off by them, since they CAN work. But I don’t think there’s a single person who watched this show that liked the second lead for Sung Deok-Mi. He was very childish towards their relationship, liked her for literally 20 YEARS but never told her (until of course she likes someone else - ICK.) I mean, if you can’t do it then, why bother now? It was pretty frustrating to watch and kind of uncomfortable.

Childhood Friends/Orphan Trope: My biggest gripe was episode 14, where they all of a suddenly jam a childhood friendship/orphan plot into the story (I mean, what drama DOESN’T have this?). I know it’s based on a novel, but it felt forced and very random. The show could have been 2 episodes shorter by removing that, and it would have been a perfect A+.

OVERALL: I loved ‘Her Private Life’ and will probably watch it again next year! While it had a few silly plot-lines, overall it was a super fun with some of the best kiss scenes in any drama (just sayin’, you know...if you care about those things... :P )

Rating: 9/10