Weighing In on May KDramas...

About a week ago I was thinking that all the dramas that had premiered in May really had not delivered as I thought they would.  Most May dramas have reached half-way points, with a few exceptions, and it was not until the couple of days that I started getting addicted like crazy to dramas that I had thus far been ignoring and brushing off as duds....boy was I wrong...

Romance Town:

Pleasantly Surprised.  Right up with Baby Faced Beauty I thought Romance Town would not be that great.  Probably because they were airing against Yoon Eun Hye, a Hong Sister Drama, and Lee Min Ho....what else would I have thought?!  That's a lot to go up against!!  Now though I have discovered Romance Town and I am absolutely smitten.  Never in my life did I think I would like Jung Gyu Woon. I tried watching Dr. Champ multiple times but kept getting distracted by JGW's spock ears.  While they are still kind of distracting, it is outweighed by the cute this show delivers.  I just love the OTP of this drama...there is just so much great chemistry happening in May kdramas....Casting Success!

Baby Faced Beauty:

Oh Baby Faced Beauty...I thought that I would hate you the most.  I checked out this drama when it first aired but nothing really stood out to me about it.  I read a lot of comments that the story does not start to fully bloom until around episode 4 but I never really went back to it...until three days ago...  This drama is currently one of the best airing!!  I think part of why I became so enthralled with it is because of Choi Daniel.  I loved him in Cryano Dating Agency, which was one of the reasons I decided to check this drama out in the first place.  His acting is absolutely charming in this drama.  At first I thought it would get old and annoying really fast how much he followed Lee So Young around EVERYWHERE!!!  Yet,  my annoyance never came because Choi Daniel was just so cute in every scene with Jang Na Ra.  A final comment is that, I don't have a list, but if I did have a list for best confession scenes, I think I would include Choi Daniel's car confession scene, it simultaneously had me giddy with the cute and heartbroken at the angsty-ness of it was well.  I'm so excited to see where this drama goes...especially after episode 10s cliffhanger...

Lie to Me:

I don't have too much to say about Lie to Me.  I find a lot of humor in how this drama has probably broken onto everyone's Top 5 Best Kdrama Kisses list.  I agree, though there was something about the Coca Cola product placement that distracted me from greatness that was that scene...Sad...  At times this drama has been addicting and at others it has not.  Right now I am in the state of its not addicting but I am still following it.  I think these two have great chemistry, which makes the show enjoyable to watch but compared to the other dramas airing right now it is near the bottom of my list.

The Greatest Love:

Yep.  I think I have finally found the Hong Sister drama that is greater than You're Beautiful.  I feel scared saying that but with every episode of Best Love I find that to be more and more true.  I have not seen all Hong Sister dramas but I have seen a few and I enjoy how this one takes a different approach than the other ones I have seen.  I loved from the beginning how their emotions were laid out on the table right away in the drama.  I also never thought I would enjoy an older OTP but I've am totally on board with it.  This is the first drama that I have seen Cha Seung Won as a lead in a romantic comedy.  I always took him to normally play Athena similar characters because he fits that type really well.  Sticking with the common theme of this post, Cha Seung Won really surprised me and is so great in a romantic (well -ish) role that I might check out City Hall now.  I'm really hoping Best Love continues to deliver the awesome up until the very end.  Hong Sisters, Fighting!

City Hunter:

I'm going to be a bit prideful and say: I knew it!!!  When everyone thought that this drama would suck, I had a feeling that it would be awesome...and from my own subjective view...I was right! <End annoying pride here> Then again I could end up being totally wrong since we are only to episode 4, with 16 more episodes to go...that is more than enough time for the writers to screw the story up royally, so eventually I might be biting my tongue for having so much faith in this drama.  At the moment though, I love it.  Its the first action-ish drama I have watched and I am enjoying it so much--which may have quite a bit to do with the fact that Lee Min Ho stars, what a great perk.

Ripley:

I do not think I will be able to get into this drama, unless it surprises me like Romance Town and Baby Faced Beauty have but I have never really been able to get into dramas that are heavy on the angst/melodrama genre.  I have no doubt that unless something goes extremely wrong with the writers that the drama will turn out to be a very fine quality drama.  Plus, I have struggled to enjoy anything with Lee Da Hae in it since My Girl, which is unfortunate since Yoochun looks great in it.


I'm not one to comment much on structure and storylines, etc.  I pretty much go off of how I respond emotionally, even if the story does suck and nothing makes plausible sense.  Though, I do not think that is the case for the May KDramas airing right now...all I know is that I have been pleasantly surprised and addicted to the majority of these dramas and cannot wait to see where they go next and how they conclude.

Upcoming KDramas

Who is pumped for a potentially awesome summer of kdramas?!?!?!  Here is a look at what dramas I plan on watching during the last summer break I will ever have...

Baby Faced Beauty: May 2 (18 episodes)

The story of Lee So Young, a 34-year-old woman who's saddled with family debt and only has a high school qualifications, but dreams of becoming a fashion designer. Her youthful appearance is her only advantage; she is mistaken for a 25-year-old university graduate and subsequently lands her dream job when she's hired by a fashion design company, where she meets Choi Jin Wook, a man who looks more mature than his young age.

Lie to Me: May 9 (16 episodes)

Gong Ah Jung, a level 5 Ministry of Culture official, gets entangled in a web of lies when she mistakenly lies that she's married to Hyun Ki Joon, a hotel manager from an affluent family. Their relationship is further complicated when Ki Joon's ex-fiancée and a close friend of his brother's, Oh Yoon Joo, reappears in his life.

**Kind of a dry summary…check out Koala’s for detailed character summaries.

Best Love: May 4 (16 episodes)

Ae Jung is a female band member who is already over the hill. When she enters a variety show to pretend marriage with the top star Jin, she gets entangled in a love triangle along with her ex-bandmate Kang Se Ri. Yoon Pil Joo is a doctor of oriental medicine who has no interest in the entertainment industry but meets Ae Jung by chance and falls for her.

City Hunter: May 25

This doesn’t even need a summary…its LEE MIN-HO!

You’ve Fallen For Me: June 29 (16 episodes)

Lee Shin is a university student majoring in modern music.  He is the vocalist of band "The Stupid" and also plays the guitar.  He is known for his good looks and his strong passion for music, but is in reality a cold person who is uninterested in non-music related things and has no dreams nor plans for the future.  Shin initially likes Jung Yoon Soo, a dance professor at university, but this all changes when he meets Lee Kyu Won.

Lee Kyu Won is a bright and outgoing student who was born into a prestigious family and is majoring in traditional Korean instruments, especially the gayageum. Kyu Won's grandfather, Lee Dong Gun, is one of the top 3 traditional musicians of his age, and his biggest wish is to have his grand-daughter trained to become a traditional music prodigy in 10 years' time. Trying to live up to her grandfather's expectations, Kyu Won immerses herself in training and becomes a university student who knows nothing besides traditional music. As Kyu Won's friends are fans of "The Stupid", she was forced to go to the band's concert with them. There she saw Lee Shin performing live, and is immediately captivated by him.

****KDRAMA I AM MOST EXCITED FOR!! My roommate and I are so pumped Shin Woo gets another shot at getting the girl J

Romance Town: May 11 (20 episodes)

The story of domestic help who work for rich households. No Soon Geum is one of these housekeepers; despite the master-maid heirarchy, she's bold, fearless, and unafraid of doing hard work in order to support herself. As a child, Soon Geum had dreamt of living a grand life in a Cinderella story, complete with her own white knight, but that dream had faded as reality took over. However, she reaches a turning point in her life when she is hired as a maid for the rich and handsome Kang Gun Woo.

Ripley: May 30

 

Two men fall in love with a woman whose life is a complicated web of lies, propelled by her greedy desires that stem from an unfortunate childhood.

**Probably the drama I am least exited for…I’m checking it out because of Micky but for some reason I just feel like there will not be much chemistry between him and Lee Da Hae.

Dream High ep 16 - Ending

The ending of Dream High is something that I just cannot pass commenting on.  To start off, my first reaction to the ending was disappointing, not that it was a bad ending, but because I was hoping for the generic fairy tale ending where my favorite couple gets together.  (Side Note: I commented in a previous post how I refused to let myself get into this show because there was no way Sam Dong and Hye Mi would get together—I am forever indebted to this drama for shifting gears from Jin Gook to Sam Dong because it was AWESOME!)  Yet, for 36 hours after the finale aired I found myself constantly going back to the ending of this drama because while it was full of angst and hurt my heart with every time I watched it—the ending was quite frankly GENIUS! 

For years I wanted to go to film school before my desires finally shifted a couple of years ago but every so often I see a film or a compelling scene that revives that old passion and drive I used to have to want to work with film—the ending of Dream High is one of those scenes.  Therefore I am going to do a play by play of what I enjoyed about the execution of this ending. 

We will start off with the revelation of who ended up being K.  I love how the drama slowly demonstrates to the audience one by one who is not K until it comes down to K either being Sam Dong or Hye Mi.  I loved the revealing shot where Sam Dong sets down the photo of his Kirin High buddies and we discern for ourselves that it is Sam Dong by the presence of his tuning device right next to the K medal.  In terms of the sound I love the steady pulse as we enter backstage of the grammies and how the background music slowly fades to silence almost as if they are providing us with no distractions from determining who K is.  (Side note: I just love scenes where we transition from sound to silence and then sound again...it gives so much more intensity to the scene)  We slowly see Sam Dong slip on the pendant and I just love how gold this guy is, perfectly matching the K pendant. 

The sound of Sam Dong’s conversation with Hye Mi then comes in before we can even see them or know when and where their conversation is taking place.  I really love how suspenseful this ending is in determine what Hye Mi’s fate is because at this point we technically do not know if Hye Mi is with Sam Dong as K or if she has stayed behind to pursue her own career, or heck she could have even ended up with Jin Gook and we just have not seen it yet.  (Side Note: As I write this I am watching a version without subtitles so I will not be bothering with a line by line interpretation since I sadly don’t know Korean)  I also like how we have a close up of Sam Dong intently staring straight ahead and then when we get our next shot we get the feel that he’s remembering this last conversation with Hye Mi instead of giving us a jump shot to him since his dialogue had come first.

Hye Mi and Sam Dong have their back and forth sad conversation about whether or not Sam Dong should go.  I totally love Hye Mi’s transformation throughout this show.  I despised her at the beginning of Dream High and loved Baek He until she went crazy.  I never expected Hye Mi’s character to have such a journey and it was so awesome and a satisfying surprise to see her story unfold.  I don’t remember exactly what dialogue comes in this scene but I love the moments where Hye Mi averts her eyes from Sam Dong, it just demonstrates how hard it is for her to mediate her feelings for him but at the same time she wants him to pursue his dream and not let her get in the way of it.

Unfortunately I have many inconsistent screencaps with what I am describing
but I promise she does look away!

Sam Dong then walks away from her and we see the clutched hand of Hye Mi before we cut back to the present and Sam Dong starts out unfocused and as he walks closer his stoic face becomes clear and centered within the shot.  I JUST LOVE THIS SHOT…I don’t know why—I just find it visually stunning.  On top of that we have the sound of the crowd cheering in the background helping us to build the anticipation along with the sweet music, which also helps.  The flow of the music just goes so great as Sam Dong walks slowly up the stair step by step as he is about to perform.  I think the choppy shots of the dancers on stage also help to make this sequence visually stunning (I’ll use this term a lot—I have an inability to think of any other way to express it).  I like how Sam Dong takes out his ear piece passing it on to the stage crew member.  I also just don’t know how I feel about Sam Dong’s last line being in English…for some reason its weird for me…probably because I speak English and just would not expect that.  It’s a pretty sweet last line though.  “Are you sure?  Are you ready to go?” “I always am.”  Props for the confidence Sam Dong!!

Sam Dong steps up to the hypothetical plate (love the positioning of the light in this shot as well) and then he flies.

To be honest upon first seeing the freeze of him in the air was really weird and I didn’t like it but once again as I have watched it over and over again I have come to love it and its one of my top 5 shots in this ending sequence. 

We then transition from Sam Dong to Hye Mi’s own performance.  I really enjoy the parallels between the two careers.  Sam Dong has obviously ‘made it big’ as he performs overseas and his career is all about the artistic and flashiness of performance versus Hey Mi who seems to have had a successful but smaller and more reserved career as she gives her 100^th concert in a simple dress, on a simple stage, with simple lighting, and in attendance are her fellow Kirin classmates.  PLUS! Did anyone else notice that the same lighting that lit up Sam Dong before his performance is also the same light in the next shot with Hye Mi…CONNECTION!!!  And it hits them in the exact same way in both shots.   

Once again this screencap is a big inconsistent but those of you who have
seen it know that there is a similarity in the framing of them and the light.

Hye Mi then starts singing Only Hope from A Walk to Remember and as we get farther into the song we get a flashback to the beginning of the series when Sam Dong chases after Hye Mi on the bus and she lies to him and tells him that she likes him.  Hye Mi’s singing ends and we once again return to years earlier where the roles have turned and its Hye Mi’s turn to chase after Sam Dong leaving on a bus.  Don’t you just love it when series do reversals like this?  ^_^ 

This time around though feelings have changed and both characters have grown…there is no longer any lies or fakeness (is that a word?) from either side.  Hye Mi catches up to the bus and Sam Dong eagerly opens the window for her.  She slips the pendant on around his neck and then the Sam Dong-Hye Mi shippers finally get their kiss.

Those of us who have seen A Walk to Remember, let’s be honest, this scene is twice as heartbreaking because we have seen A Walk to Remember and the associations we have with this song and that heartbreaking ending carries over into Hye Mi’s rendition and at least for me, gives me the sense that this separation is permanent with no hope because the ending of A Walk to Remember is a permanent separation.  With that comment aside though I really love how the sequence of the ending was set up, we know that they are not together far before its over but they money shot (a.k.a. the kiss) was left till the very end, which served as a satisfying ending shot that shows us how far they have come, how they have completely switched positions, and how their feelings for each other are solidified with a parting kiss and a really (great) intense stare between the two.   

The biggest debate going on in my mind after I first saw the ending was whether or not I found the series worth buying anymore…As with all of my initial reactions to this ending, this was just one more opinion that changed with time.  Dream High was awesome and I think that it rose on my awesomeness scale through such an amazing and visually stunning ending.  Thanks for reading my ridiculously long blabbering :)

My Princess Thoughts: Episode 8

So I have decided to comment on My Princess…its my newest crack addiction…and my roommate (and most likely only reader) really wants me to post something new.

I am enjoying the direction of My Princess. The chemistry between the two leads is absolutely AMAZING! How did I really never hear about Song Seung Hun before?!?! How could so many websites dedicated to K-pop hide his beautiful face for so long?! SHAME!!!

<-----I mean look…at…him!!!








Comments:
Many of the reviews/recaps that I have read of this show have discussed how the political/restoring of the monarchy plot means nothing to them and is rather dry. I completely agree, which is why I have no intention of commenting on it because (1) when I watch the episodes I skip through all scenes not Hae Young/Seul and (2) who honestly tunes in every week to watch that?
What made me sad about this episode is the lack of doing anything with the kiss from the previous episode. The show spends the first 20 minutes focusing on the events leading up to the conference, which could have honestly been summed up in 5-10 minutes…leaving more time where the writer could have written us some more Hae Young/Seul time. But like I said there is no mention of the first kiss and I have a very hard time believing that Seul does not remember the kiss.

And the moment when Hae Young tell Seul to step down as Princess so she can return to her family…as well as to him was completely, heart wrenchingly (is that a word? It is now….) romantic but at the same time it does make much sense since Hae Young really has not made his emotions totally clear thus far.

We will have to see how next week goes but I also have a hard time believing that Yoon Joo would just flat out reject G’pas command to marry Hae Young…I predict some kind of ‘but’ attached to that last line that will eventually lead to her agreeing to marrying him. The road cannot be made this clear and easy for Hae Young and Seul quite yet.

Random Thoughts:
1. Though I am not really a big fan of the actor that plays Jung Woo…he is absolutely adorable in 18 v. 29, which I am currently watching

2. This is something I have just wanted to express for a very long time…or since Dream High reached its 3/4 episode. I like Dream High but all I will allow myself to do at this point is read the recaps about the show. Why? Because for the first time ever I am not shipping the OTP (Hye Mi/Jin Gook)…Hye Mi/Sam-Dong is WAYY better…anyone only reading the recaps can see that the real chemistry is between those two...I do not even have to watch the show to know how great their interactions on screen are together. (Or maybe I am just smitten with Kim Soo-Hyun because that is also extremely likely)

He’s just sooo adorable ^_^

Year End Review

Aw...its that time again, for the year end reviews.  I love reading these because I get a little more insight into certain dramas I had hesitated to watch.  I think the drama I will be checking out next is The Woman Who Still Wants to Mary based off of what AKP and Javabeans have written about it.  If you haven't yet I would check out their year end recaps...

Javabeans
http://www.dramabeans.com/2010/12/a-year-of-surprises-and-disappointments-year-in-review-part-1/
Koala's Playground
http://ockoala.wordpress.com/2010/12/22/a-koala-reminisces-2010-year-end-k-drama-reviews/

My Korean Drama Ratings

My obsession with Korean Dramas only started in August so I have completed relatively few dramas. I have also picked up on the fact that I am EXTREMELY picky when it comes to kdramas, but I am always up for recommendations. ☺ I figured my ratings on the few dramas I have seen would be the best way to get through that awkward starting-your-blog stage…
(Disclaimer: These are solely my opinion ratings…all but one I would recommend to others but personally I did not enjoy them as much as the rest of the world seemed to)

Boys Over Flowers: 7.5 (I have nothing new to say about this drama, only that when you hear people say its addictive as crack—they’re right!)

Buzzer Beat: 7 (This only Japanese Drama I have watched completely. I tried to get through Hana Yori Dango but the over acting from their version of Junpyo annoyed me so much!)

Coffee Prince: 8

Goong: 7.5

My Girl: 7.5

My Girlfriend is a Gumiho: 8.5 (Hoi-Hoi!)

My Lovely Sam-Soon: 6 (I feel like I would get the most heat for my opinion on this drama…I thought parts of it were enjoyable but for some reason I just found the main actress to be really annoying)

OBGYN: 7

Playful Kiss: 8.5 (Watching it again I can really see the criticisms of this drama but I’m sticking with my original rating after my first viewing of it)

Shining Inheritance: 5 (This is where I get picky…I understand why people like this drama but the ‘feel’ of it was too much like a soap opera for me)

Stars Falling From the Sky: 8 (The kids got me through it till the romance picked up)

Sungkyunkwan Scandal: 9 (First historical drama I liked and could get all the way through)

The Man Who Can’t Get Married: 4 (I watched this mainly for Yoo Ah In…actually only for Yoo Ah In…and I was highly disappointed in the way this drama concluded)

You’re Beautiful: 9 (One of my most prized possessions is my pig-rabbit!)

Mary Stayed Out All Night: 6 (The plot was totally repetitive but the amount of romance between the OTP was soooo rare for kdramas)

Secret Garden: 8 (SOO good, I do understand everyone's criticisms of how the writer totally copped out in the end but the show was still enjoyable)

The Woman Who Still Wants to Marry: 7


My Princess: 9 (My opinion of this drama may change over time but coming off of my Hae Young/Lee Soel high, this drama totally stole my heart over the last eight weeks)

Dream High: 7

49 Days: 7


Que Sera Sera: 8 (After I was done watching I had two very random thoughts, 1. That. was. intense. I felt like it was something to be watched with your partner and then discussed afterword...it reminded me a lot of the film Closer & 2. Whoever casted should be fired...the only beautiful person in this drama was Eric)


Baby Faced Beauty: 8 (Daniel Choi is sooo adorable!!!)


Lie To Me: 5


Romance Town: 9 (Crack drama...plot was not awesome toward the end but the OTP was great)


Best Love: 8


City Hunter: 10 (Perfection.)

Currently Watching:
Spy Myung Wol
Heartstrings