Update

So, I've come up with a list of dramas I really want to watch, on my priority list. Other than the ones I've mentioned before that I really need to watch, these are next (in order of priority):

1. Arang and the Magistrate
2. Padam Padam
3. History of the Salaryman

After I finish Queen and Girl, I think I'll tackle "Full House 2" and look at "King of Dramas" in the midst of my "studying," as in, working on my college applications, and also watch some "Running Man" if I feel like it. And maybe, if I get the chance, I'll dabble in one/some of the dramas mentioned above.

I was thinking of watching "Chungdamdong Alice" right now, but I can't seem to find episodes 9 and 10 online. Did it not air this weekend? I'm not sure... Also, I heard that KBS will only air one episode of "School 2013" this week, on Tuesday, so the episodes will be uneven.

Bridal Mask

I just finished "Bridal Mask" a few days ago, I think it was just yesterday or the day before. Anyway, it was awesome. I completely marathoned through 10 episodes, although not in the same day, because I had to take a break in between. The ending, although really sad in some aspects, was epic, just as people has said. I'm glad I got to finish it before the end of 2012. I was pretty satisfied with the conclusions of the main characters, although somehow I was expecting Mok Dan/Boon Yi to live a happy life with Kang To. I felt bad for Shunji, although I kind of hated him for the most of the latter half of the drama. I thought it was a good resolution, for him to shoot Mok Dan, the woman he loved. It was really sad how he had to kill himself in the end, and I kind of wanted Kang To to cry over him, or feel some guilt after he died, but instead, he just walked out.

Now, all that's left is "Queen In Hyun's Man," which I really want to finish before 2012 ends. I think I'll read the recap for episode 15, then watch episode 16, because I think I'll get bored halfway through 15. I think I'll at least watch "Girl K" before I have to deal with college applications. It's available on Netflix now, haha. Only one more week left till break ends!

White Christmas

I just finished "White Christmas" on Tuesday, after facing many obstacles (aka Mom and Dad) in finishing it. Really, if it weren't for my parents barging in and taking over the living room, I would've finished this drama in at most, 2 days. It was a terrific drama, completely gripping. It defines "psychological thriller." Although the last episode was really confusing, the whole drama was a very good watch.

Queen In Hyun's Man

I've just finished episode 14, and started watching a little bit of episode 15. I can't help thinking that it would still have been great if the drama ended with episode 14, maybe with a little more, an epilogue to fill that episode to 1 hour. Everything is settled now, right? And I've heard that the ending was a disappointment to a lot of people. I'm not sure if I want to go on with this...

Episode 14 was by far the most brain-wracking episode. I'm trying to get a hold of the events here, because there was a lot of scene cuts, where everything wasn't shown chronologically. I will try to organize them here.

So, when Boong Do was first shot with arrows by unknown assassins, as part of Min Am's plot, he realized all of this when he was brought back to the modern world. He told Hee Jin that he would take care of things back home, and them come back for her. When he first went back to the past, he visited the king, Sook Jong. There, he explained to him everything, and requested that Sook Jong kill Boong Do, along with Min Am, with the plan of proving to everyone that his talisman is fake. Then, he ordered his servant, Han Dong, to place his body at the specific place (next to the modern world's hospital), after he is dead. Then, it's the scene where he comes home, talks to Yoon Wol, and gets arrested by the royal investigators. He and Min Am are ordered in front of the king for an official investigation, and it is here where Sook Jong orders for him to be shot with arrows, to prove that the talisman is fake, and Min Am guilty of treason. Sook Jong calls for the doctor, and Boong Do is still alive, although it is deemed that there's no hope for him. Therefore  he is pronounced dead by the all-knowing king, and Han Dong places his body, along with the talisman, at the place. Boong Do travels to the present, and is treated by the modern doctors at the hospital, at the same time that Hee Jin and Soo Kyung are brought to the emergency room after their car accident. Then, after a few days, Boong Do escaped from the hospital, and then we come to Min Am's death sentence, where he sees Boong Do right before he is beheaded. Then, Boong Do says goodbye to Han Dong, along with Yoon Wol, and comes back to the present, probably for good.

I'm still befuddled about some inconsistencies with the time thing, but that summary above makes everything a lot clearer. I was wondering, when Boong Do goes back after escaping from the hospital the first time, it seems that everything that he's read from the Chronicles hasn't happened, including Queen In Hyun being sentenced to death, but before that, it is deemed that already happened during the 10 days that Boong Do was unconscious at the hospital. Oh well, it's probably best not to think so much about it...

Current Dramas

Queen In Hyun's Man
Full House 2
Chungdamdong Alice
School 2013
Can We Get Married

King of Dramas
I Miss You
Bad Guy
Sign
Bridal Mask

I really don't know what to do right now. I'm pretty sure I want to finish "Queen" and "House," and keep up with "Alice" and "School," but don't know what I'll do with the other dramas. I kind of want to finish "Bridal Mask," and there's a bunch of dramas I want to try... Ugh...

Other Dramas

"Flower Boy Ramen Shop" was the first of the "Oh Boy" series, but I only watched it after "Shut Up." I totally fell in love with Lee Ki Woo here. The love triangle made me squeal, and when it was obvious that Eun Bi was attracted to "Chwa" Chi Soo, I was crying along with the adorable Kang Hyuk. Another drama where the cast is so cute and lovable, and I thought that it was funny how there was the possibility of all four of the flower guys falling for Eun Bi. I thought it was really funny how there were several remarks on indigestion - oh, how embarrassingly direct the Korean people are when it comes to health, especially its very sensitive and private parts. Loved the ramen theme, especially when they showed them actually cooking the delicious ramen. Oh, how I wish a 꽃미남 라면가게 existed in real life. Guess I'll have to settle with Doodles for a while.

I'm not sure when I watched "My Girl." It was probably within this year, some months ago... Anyway, I was delightfully surprised by this drama, which I think I approached kind of hesitantly, mostly because of Lee Da Hae. She has that kind of image that makes you think she's all pretty and no acting skills. However, I was fortunately held wrong, and by the end of the drama, I found her very cute and quite adorable. Playing the role of Candy girl Joo Yoo Rin, she didn't have a lot of range as to emotions, but I thought she played her part well. "My Girl" is probably my second favorite Hong sisters drama, after "You're Beautiful," but I can't really say because I haven't watched all of them. A very quirky and funny plot, pretty good acting, enough drama and emotions as well as cuteness, and a very catchy theme song, a modern twist on Brahms' "Hungarian Dance." This drama will probably remain one of my favorites.

"Dal Ja's Spring" was another welcome surprise, where I wasn't expecting much, but got a whole boatload of goodies. Although the atmosphere is a little bit different, it is reminiscent of "The Woman Who Wants To Marry" and "I Need Romance," in that it's about a 30-something careerwoman dealing with the various aspects of her life. Whereas "Woman" and "Romance" had a more romance-centered theme, "Dal Ja's Spring" is about a vast range of things. The main plot is based on the love between Dal Ja and Tae Bong, but the drama is mainly about Dal Ja's life, where she has to balance work, love, family, and friends in her life as a 33-year-old woman. While I totally loved the romance, I was even more caught up in the heartwarming stories around Dal Ja, of the role that women play in people's lives, of being under-appreciated superwomen in real life. I actually learned some valuable life lessons from watching this drama. LOVE IT!

Review of 2012

Now that this year is coming to an end, it makes me feel like I should start doing some reviews of it. I know, this is my first time getting that kind of feeling. It seems like ages ago since 2012 actually started, and my mind is currently trying to remember all of the dramas that I watched this year. Uh...

First of all, I guess I'll start with "Shut Up: Flower Boy Band." Although it wasn't as addicting as some dramas, it was pretty great. So much eye candy... O_O  This is the drama where I thought that L was the most good-looking out of the group. I guess we really were meant to be. ; ) Heartwarming story (full of laughs and tears), beautiful directing, and a lovable and very talented cast. The bromance in this drama really killed me, both heart-breakingly and wowingly. I loved how everything wasn't perfect in this drama, and all the boys were left free to pursue their individual dreams and lives, while still connected as friends, leaving the viewer with their own imagination of what could be. Sung Joon is so attractive here, along with showing his very promising acting skills. Despite just being a cameo, Lee Min Ki played a very important part of this story, and I could feel his top star status through his role as Byung Hee.

It seems like it'll be an endless series of tvN dramas. Another drama of that station that I watched this year was "Twelve Men in a Year." This drama was very refreshing, in that it wasn't so hush-hush about the sex lives of Korean women. It was very similar to the usual 30-something career woman-romantic comedy dramas that I seem to have a fetish for. I kind of wish I'd watched this drama straight through, instead of dropping it about halfway through and picking it up a few months after. It kind of took away the momentum of watching it. The 별자리 thing was really interesting, and I kind of want to re-watch it, so I can pick up some useful advice on men of certain zodiac signs. I really thought that Mi Roo would end up with her old boyfriend, but was surprised at the end. However, I thought that the coupling was pretty cute, and how Lee Joon tried to take care of the scandal for her. : )

I didn't really get to finish "The Equator Man." At first, I was so hyped for it, or just part of it, because of LEE HYUN WOO. Oh, I would die for that guy. Not really. I really don't know how to think of this drama, because I only remember small bits of it. I thought it was pretty cute that the guy who played Bong Goo in "God of Study" was Hyun Woo's friend in this drama. Siwan of ZE:A did a pretty good job of portraying his dark character, I thought. I think I watched through most of the first half, then read over the recaps on Dramabeans. I'm still not certain how everything went, like the whole corporations revenge thing, with Uhm Tae Woong's father. Oh, now I remember... The mind games that I partly watched and partly read about. That was awesome. Very psychological.

Siwan was also in "The Moon That Embraces The Sun," one of the most hyped-about dramas of the year, probably. I absolutely loved the child actors for the first few episodes, including Kim Yoo Jung and Yeo Jin Goo. I think I watched this drama straight through, keeping up with the airing schedule. To be honest, I was kind of part of the hype, since this drama was considerably addicting, I thought. I can't remember any other parts... Oh, I think I maybe checked out the ending through recaps, and then watched it probably. I think it was pretty satisfying?

"Rooftop Prince" was full of laughs. I enjoyed it so much. It's probably one of my favorite dramas of the year. The fish-out-of-water part of the storyline was hilarious. One of the classic romantic comedy dramas, with a nice twist of time travel. The story, for the most part, was intriguing. Overall, I think it did a very good job of entertaining, for me. The ending was a little unsatisfying, because although Park Ha got her possible reincarnated guy, Lee Gak was left all alone...

"The King 2 Hearts" aired at the same time as "Equator Man" and "Rooftop Prince." At first, I had a hard time keeping up with all three. I think, in the beginning, I was up-to-date with Equator and Rooftop, while I didn't really have an interest in King. Then, after Hyun Woo left, I became more interested in King. Although it wasn't my piece of cake, I think that overall, it was a very well-done drama. I remember the story not being very interesting, or at least addicting as Rooftop, but from an objective point of view, the theme was very fresh and different. The Ha Ji Won and Lee Seung Gi pairing was spectacular, Jo Jung Seok was so adorable and a heartbreaker, the North Korea-South Korea conflict was all in all, very interesting. I think it's just that King didn't attract me as much as Rooftop did. I really want to re-watch it now, since I didn't really watch it all the way through. Especially the scenes of the Eun-bot and Princess Jae Shin. Aw, they're so cute! 

"Reply 1997" was one of the greatest hits of the year, in the Korean audience's point of view, along with mine. How can one not love it? Although I could not for the life of me relate to the time period, the drama was still very relatable, in terms of teenage struggles and the whole idol craze. It was especially interesting because it was set in a period that seemed kind of historical - I thought that learning about the trends of that time period was pretty interesting. The whole cast wowed me, including the lovable Jung Eun Ji (how can she manage to pull off looking 15 years older than her age?) and charismatic Seo In Gook. Joon Hee was just adorable, and it didn't hurt that Hoya was the one who played him. Everything about this drama I loved, from the raw storyline, heartwarming and heartbreaking scenes, impeccable directing, to the wonderful chemistry among the cast members, the little references to the idol scene in the '90s. It had a wonderfully quirky sense of humor, and I just loved the "baa" sounds whenever everything was awkward.

One of my favorite dramas of the year, "Ghost" was a thriller, both nervingly and psychologically. As a viewer, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The story was pretty addicting, with the whole mystery hinted at the beginning of the drama. It's probably the first CSI-like drama that I've watched, and I surprisingly found myself to like the fast-paced, plot-driven aspect of the drama. The story was probably the best thing about this drama, along with the directing, how the unknown parts were cleverly revealed. I especially liked how the story was centered on one main case, with the team having to solve several other cases to solve that one. I loved the notorious threesome, with Woo Hyun, Kang Mi, and Hyuk Joo (aka 미친소). "Twinkle," anyone? The "Phantom of the Opera" song will forever remind of this drama. Most importantly, this drama made me realize how dangerous the cyber world actually is in real life. Lesson observed.

I had my own taste of sweets this year, with "To The Beautiful You." Besides being Hyun Woo's drama, the drama surprisingly managed to hook me, or at least allowed me to watch it. Although I'm not a very reliable critic when it comes to dramas, I'm still very picky, but TTBY was a tolerable watch. I even got excited at times, especially with the inevitable love triangle, and Jae Hee's secret. I was totally squealing when Kim Woo Bin came on, complicating the whole love dichotomy. Other than Hyun Woo and the romance, the drama was pretty dull on the other aspects. That, and the beautifully filmed scenes. Props to the cameraman? The whole "I'm going to cheer my idol on" thing was unbelievable, I just couldn't wrap my mind around the motivation of traveling halfway around the world to make some guy jump again, like many other viewers of this drama. Ah, oh how I wish Hyun Woo had picked a better drama, or if he'd ended up with this sort, that his character be more than some lovable and adorable second lead. I'm at least glad that they changed his hairstyle in the middle of the drama. Oh, I'm melting at the thought of that crazy-hot hair.

To end this seemingly never-ending series of reviews, I will have the grand finale with "Nice Guy." Wow, what a drama. Talk about psychological. Not only is my favorite guy in the world, Song Joong Ki, in it, with his awesome acting, but it was so addicting and prone to being obsessed about. Or at least, that's what happened to me. I'm so happy for our Joong Ki - 2012 seems to be the year for him, or at least the latter half of it. :D Although a lot of sources have been remarking on how loose it is in terms of plot, I thought that, for the most part, the story was pretty believable and was at least well-constructed. This is what you'd call a good melodrama. They really did a good job of luring the viewers in with its plot, especially since it was a success in ratings. The acting was spectacular, and the Song Joong Ki-Moon Chae Won couple is lovable, in a twisted sort of way. Probably my favorite drama of the year, although mostly because of Joong Ki oppa.

Organization

"King of Dramas" - Nov. 5 - Jan. 8 (18 episodes)
"I Miss You" - Nov. 7 - Jan. 17 (21 episodes)
"Chungdamdong Alice" - Dec. 1 - Jan. 27 (16 episodes)
"School 2013" - Dec. 3 - Jan. 28 (16 episodes)
"Flower Boy Next Door" - Jan. 7 - Feb. 26 (16 episodes)

Watching Plan

Today
Running Man - Episode 123
Queen In Hyun's Man - Episode 11

Tomorrow
Chungdamdong Alice - Episode 6
Queen In Hyun's Man - Episode 12
Running Man - Episode 124

Winter Break
Queen In Hyun's Man - Episodes 13-16 (finish)
Full House 2 - Episodes 13-16 (finish)
Running Man - Episodes 120 and 121
Girl K - all 3 episodes
White Christmas - all 8 episodes

Note: Keep up with "Chungdamdong Alice" and "School 2013."
Some dramas to consider picking up: "I Miss You," "King of Dramas," "Bad Guy," "Can We Get Married," "Bridal Mask"

Update

It's been a long time, and there've been some developments in my drama-watching life, I guess.

"Chungdamdong Alice" premiered this past weekend, and although it's not as good as I hoped, it's getting to be quite interesting. I just watched it because of Moon Geun Young's supposedly epic comeback, while considering some of the holes in the plot. There was the whole question as to how Han Se Kyung, the heroine, got to attain the goal of becoming the wife of a rich Chungdamdong man. The first episode was a little slow, I thought, but episode 2 slowly gave us the story behind this sudden development of a Cinderella dream. I thought it really did a good job of illustrating the discriminating and harsh fashion industry in Korea. Most Korean dramas emphasize the value on hard work and the underdog story, but this one gives us the full reality right from the start. Although it wasn't a premiere that wowed, the story is getting more and more exciting and interesting. I'm looking forward to the next episodes!

I recently checked out the first two episodes of "Bad Guy." I thought that it was pretty good, quite interesting. The premise is something to look at especially, but I thought that some aspects of the story were a little aggravating, like the tragic death of Gun Wook's parents. The whole justification of his cruel plot has some problems, where it doesn't make sense for him to take revenge on the current Hong Tae Sung, who just filled his spot without any say in it, like him. Plus, he doesn't have that great of a life himself, as an illegitimate son to the head of Haeshin Group. You'd think Gun Wook would at least sympathize with him, but no, he doesn't seem to have a heart at all. Aside from these problems, I think there's a good chance that I will pick it up, just to see how everything happens.

I haven't had much luck with sticking to my dramas lately, as you've seen with "Sign." I don't know if it's because I've gotten a lot more critical these days, or I've just become really lazy, but that's the reality right now. I kind of started "King of Dramas" and "I Miss You" a few weeks ago, and am still contemplating on whether I should pick them up again. I've kept up with "Full House 2," but have yet to watch this week's episodes. I yearn for finding a good drama to finish...

I kind of want to check out "Queen In Hyun's Man" whenever I have time, just watch the first episode. I also want to watch "White Christmas" and the newly discovered "Girl K." In total, the three have 29 episodes. Enough to last the whole winter break, right?

Full House 2

I can't believe I'm up to episode 13 now with this drama. It's kind of like my guilty pleasure, kind of like how I watched all of "To The Beautiful You," just for the fun of it. I'll probably be checking up on it, and watch the rest of it if I feel like it. One thing I'm glad about is that they changed the wacky hairstyles in the middle of episode 12. They actually look pretty decent now, yay...

Ouran High School Host Club

So, this week, I started watching the Japanese anime drama "Ouran High School Host Club" with my friends, during our free periods. And I have to say, it's better than I expected. It's really corny and cliche in some places, but it is pretty watchable, and kind of addicting. I will never know how someone can be so attracted to an anime or cartoon character.

After watching the first few episodes, the drama really reminded me of Korean dramas, especially the high school dramas like "Boys Over Flowers" and "Playful Kiss," and that's when I realized, a lot of Korean dramas are based on Japanese manga and anime. Both BOF and PK are based on original Japanese mangas/comic books. I then realized that that's where all the main themes of Korean dramas must have come from, like the love triangle and pretty boys. I'm sure the overall Korean culture also had a part in it, but it seems that Japanese mangas had a big influence on Korean dramas. I just thought that this was interesting - I've always wondered about the roots and origins of Korean dramas.

Chungdamdong Alice

So, the hype is on for "Chungdamdong Alice," where it will air on December 1st, less than a week away. Here's one of the teasers:

This is the official poster, with all its dreamlike glory, well fit for the drama's theme:

And then, we are given some snapshots about our main character, Han Se Kyung, with some of her family photos and her impressive resume:

Update

So, so far, I've watched 3 episodes of "Sign." It's pretty good, but not as good as I expected. I think, for now, I will abstain from watching dramas for a while. I really need to focus on the SAT and college essays now. Aja!

End of Dal Ja's Spring

I just finished "Dal Ja's Spring" last night, or I think technically, it was very early today. I think I watched about 4 episodes straight? I'm not sure...

Overall, "Dal Ja's Spring" was a delightful surprise. It's one of those dramas that were popular, but haven't really received that much credit from foreign fans. I don't know why I didn't check this out before, it's totally awesome. Almost everything about it was great, from the music to the beautifully-drawn illustrations for every episode. I liked everything about it, except for the last two episodes, where I thought there was some needless dragging out. I'm sensing maybe, the drama was doing so good, they just decided to add two more episodes, and doing that, they had to change the ending. While most people online seem to be satisfied, I just thought that it could've ended with Dal Ja and Tae Bong ending up together, at the end of episode 20 and beginning of 21, Tae Bong could have just proposed to her or said "I love you" to her, and all would be good. They wouldn't necessarily have to get married, but I thought the whole Dal Ja going off to study abroad for 2 years thing was part of trying to extend the drama into 22 episodes. Other than that, I'm pretty satisfied.

If I had to describe the drama, it would be heartwarming, funny, and charming. I'm just a sucker for those rom-coms about 30-something women, like "I Need Romance" and "The Woman Who Wants To Get Married." It really opened my eyes to Chae Rim, who as just lovable as Dal Ja, and Lee Min Ki, who I couldn't help but fall in love with.

Drama Update

It is officially the start of Thanksgiving Break, and am I glad... Along with that, some drama marathons, I have to say. I've just finished the 17th episode of "Dal Ja's Spring," and here comes the angst and fighting between Dal Ja and Tae Bong, from what I've seen in the preview for episode 18. I'm still not sure what to do with the dramas that I want to see or at least check out. However, I think for now, I will just stick with the dramas I've been watching.

Current List

And then, there's the list of recent dramas that I want to watch, or at least check out (in most wanted order):

1. Sign - 20 episodes
2. Queen In Hyun's Man (인현왕후의 남자) - 16 episodes
3. White Christmas - 8 episodes
4. Vampire Prosecutor (뱀파이어 검사) - 12 episodes
5. Padam Padam (빠담빠담) - 20 episodes

Dramas of 2007

While watching Dal Ja's Spring (which is going pretty well by the way), I came upon Javabean's list of best dramas of 2007, and I noticed that there were quite a few good dramas that year. And so, I've made my own list of 2007 dramas that I want to watch, or at least check out. I kind of want to have a day where I check out the first episode of each of these dramas:

1. Evasive Inquiry Agency (얼렁뚱땅 흥신소) - 16 episodes
2. Flowers For My Life (꽃 찾으러 왓단다) - 16 episodes
3. White Tower (하얀거탑) - 20 episodes
4. Que Sera Sera - 17 episodes
5. Devil (마왕) - 20 episodes

Recent Dramas

I have writer's block right now, in the middle of NaNoWriMo. I don't know what to do. I keep on coming up with pretty good ideas, but I don't seem to be able to write about them.

Anyways, I've decided to write a post about dramas that I particularly liked over the past few months. What comes to mind right now is "Ghost," "Reply 1997," and "Nice Guy."

"Ghost" was a thriller mystery, where it was fun watching people trying to put together pieces of a very complicated and interesting puzzle. I really liked the premise and story, and it was pretty fast-paced, although it kind of dragged a little towards the end. I seem to have a preference for mystery dramas, so I want to watch "Sign" and "Vampire Prosecutor."

"Reply 1997" makes me think that I want to watch more of tvN's dramas, like "Queen In Hyun's Man." My current obsession with "Nice Guy" makes me think that I might have a fetish for certain types of melodramas. "Nice Guy" has a good combination of a thrilling plot and premise, some (sadistic) humor, and romance. It's really hard to find a drama like that these days. Here's to hoping that there will be more dramas like that in the future...

Dal Ja's Spring

It's been a long time since I've stayed up late to watch a Korean drama. And this time, surprisingly, I'm not so addicted and caught up in it. I think, by now, I've managed to find a way to keep in control of my Korean drama watching. Or I hope I do. I've been searching and searching for the right drama, something to satisfy my rom-com needs, and I've found it. Dal Ja's Spring (달자의 봄).

"Dal Ja's Spring" is about a woman in her early thirties, the classic workingwoman who hasn't been able to date seriously yet. Although she's not your typical cold careerwoman, she doesn't have much dating experience, where she spent most of her twenties focusing on her work. It's basically an "older woman dates a younger man" story, but not totally what you'd expect. It stars Chae Rim, an actress I've never heard of before, and Lee Min Ki. So far, I'm more than satisfied with this drama, after watching the first two episodes. It was just uploaded onto DramaFever, with the series completed. I'm all set for the next few days!

The past few posts was about dramas I wanted to watch and check out, but I think I've finally found the one I've been looking for. During my "search," I was thinking, if I'm going to spend some (a lot) of my time watching dramas, I shouldn't really waste that time. Before, I've been trying to be a perfectionist even in drama watching, like finishing up dramas I started but dropped, and trying to watch through old dramas that I don't really like. From now on, I've decided to completely follow my heart, since this is really a hobby, something I'm doing because I like it. I might as well stop from wasting my time watching things I don't want to.

Right now I'm watching "Nice Guy," with the last two episodes airing this week. I checked out "I Miss You" and "King of Dramas," where I think I'll try to keep up with "I Miss You" if I can. "King of Dramas," while the premise and Kim Myung Min's acting was pretty good, the story and executing really lacked and left a lot to be desired. I can get why it's not doing so hot in the ratings. "I Miss You" is pretty intriguing, and I'm looking forward to the comebacks of Park Yoo Chun and Yoon Eun Hye in the later episodes. As for "Nice Guy," I can't wait for the drama's finale, and am kind of sad that the drama is ending. I will try to stick to a schedule of two episodes per day for "Dal Ja's Spring," if I can.

Tree With Deep Roots

I suddenly want to watch Tree With Deep Roots (뿌리깊은 나무). I'll update on how that goes...

Korean Dramas of 2012

Whenever I get the time, I promise to check out "Haeundae Lovers" and "Oohlala Spouses." They seem promising, but I never got around to watching them. Let's see...

Also, "Padam Padam," "Operation Proposal," and "History of a Salaryman."

I want to finish "Bridal Mask" and "The Princess's Man." And if I'm feeling nostalgic or something, pick up "Witch Yoo Hee" and "Fashion King," and maybe "Queen Seon Duk."

Please Teach Me English

I just watched this movie, and although it wasn't really good, I realized that this was the movie that was on TV when we were staying at Aunt Chang Sook's place, in summer of 2006. I can still very clearly remember the scene where the male lead was trying to undo the strap of a woman's bikini. Never thought this would be the movie. The movie was pretty funny, but I really hated the female lead. She's so stupid, considering how she is a government official. I'd give it a 7.

Upcoming Dramas

Some upcoming dramas to look out for:
"I Miss You" (보고싶다) - November 7, 2012 (MBC, Wed-Thurs)
"Chungdamdong Alice" (청담동 앨리스) - early December (KBS, Sat-Sun)
"The Flower Boy Next Door" (이웃집 꽃미남) - January 7, 2013 (tvN, Mon-Tues)

Fashion King

Adding to my recent list of started watching, but dropped/on-hold dramas, is "Fashion King." I somehow got swept with the somewhat fast pacing of the drama, and got really excited. It wasn't until around the seventh episode that I realized that this drama really didn't come together well as a whole. There were several missing parts, mainly due to the writing. The drama just didn't make sense, or lacked any kind of chronology, no matter what kind of genre or concept they were going for. The premise and story was interesting, but it just. Didn't. Fly. Although I might pick it up sometime in the future, as of now, I don't really feel like watching through it, just for the sake of finishing the drama. That's kind of how I feel about "With Yoo Hee," where I didn't really get a sense of direction in that drama, either. I guess I'll just stick to watching only "Nice Guy." Yay!

Witch Yoo Hee

So, just yesterday I started watching Witch Yoo Hee. It's strikingly similar to "My Girl," with the whole atmosphere, and the use of a classic as its theme song. I would think that they copied it, but it turns out that it's the same director. Ha. I never knew, but I'm a complete fan of modernized versions of classical songs, like Beethoven's Fifth Symphony in "Witch Yoo Hee" and Brahams' Hungarian Dance in "My Girl." Plus, I totally loved "My Girl." After watching it, I've marked it as one of my favorite romantic comedy dramas. Totally saw Lee Da Hae in a different way after that drama. After some researching on Dramabeans, it turns out that the whole title of the drama is a play on words, like a lot of Korean dramas. While it means "Witch Yoo Hee," it can also mean "Witch Amusement," where "yoo hee" means "amusement." I never knew that! See, watching Korean dramas really does improve your Korean.

Gender in Korean Dramas

So, tomorrow, in Gender Studies, I'm supposed to do a presentation on representations of gender in the media. And, I have no idea what to show. All I know about gender is in Korean dramas. Maybe I could show that?

The first thing that I came up with is the part in Personal Taste where Jin Ho gives Gae In a makeover. It's essentially where the subject of gender is indirectly addressed, as in, what makes a woman, a woman. Now that I've found the episode, I realize that the whole makeover is called "Jin Ho's Making a Woman Project." Also, there's the whole being gay thing in Personal Taste, particularly in episode 1, with the motel and elevator scenes.

Then, there's the whole gender bender thing going on with Korean dramas. I'm not sure what I should show exactly. Maybe a transformation scene, like in You're Beautiful, or the Irene scene in Ma Boy?

And then, I'll probably end with a K-Pop video, like Kevin's female transformation on Star King. I guess that's good, right?

Recent Gender Findings

So, after I finished writing the previous post, I realized that I left some things out, in terms of the other things I wanted to talk about. I wanted to talk about "Ma Boy," the gender bender with a twist. The guy dresses up as a girl, making for a slightly different tale and series of gender hijinks. For once, the female protagonist gets to be our Irene's (Hyun Woo's) protector. Aww! I was kind of disappointed that this was only a mini drama made for the much younger audience. But it gives me hope that there will be more dramas like this...

I just finished "To The Beautiful You" yesterday. Although it was your typical high school gender bender, something about it attracted me, maybe because of all the pretty, the addicting OST (have you listened to J-Min's "Stand Up"?), or the fact that Lee Hyun Woo is in it, and they finally changed his hairstyle eleven episodes into the drama, thank goodness. I wanted to write about this before, but I never thought of writing a post about it.  "To The Beautiful You" was basically my ice cream treat to rely on throughout the week, just for fun and some laughs. However, there's one thing about it that will remain in my memory. For some reason, the part of the drama where Eun Gyul (my beautiful Hyun Woo) contemplates on his sexuality, about his being potentially gay, since he likes Jae Hee, who's a guy (or so he thinks).

There was a scene where he finally got to looking up "gay" on the web. The funny thing is, he finds that "gay" actually means a state of joy, "명랑한 즐거움," instead of its homosexual definition. He then has a daydream about what it would be like if he married Jae Hee, and there's this scene where their kid (Jae Gyul-ie, aw) comes crying to him about getting bullied for having two dads. Eun Gyul says it's a good thing to have two dads. Jae Hee comes in with a six o'clock mustache, talking about how they can wear couple shirts to their army enlistment, which is  coming soon. Ha. Then, Jae Gyul-ie asks them the big question: "Which dad gave birth to me?" That really made me LOL. And for some reason, that scene really stuck in my mind. Episode 4, almost halfway into the episode (here, around 13:30).

I thought that this scene was very unique in that, the drama approached the question about Eun Gyul's sexuality in a slightly humorous way, maybe even being gay as a positive thing, at least something not to be rejected by society. It kind of reminded me of "Personal Taste" in that way. I was kind of surprised that the drama actually bothered to include a daydreaming scene where Jae Hee and Eun Gyul get married. As you can probably tell, I totally soaked up all the parts with Eun Gyul trying to deal with his sexuality, all those innocent and funny bits melted in my heart. It was the younger, innocent version of Han Gyul's more adult angst in "Coffee Prince." It's really different from what you'd expect from a drama like this, with all of its little parts (most of them Eun Gyul's) that make up for what it's lacking story-wise.

Gender Bender Dramas

Ever since I started taking my Gender Studies class, I've been seeing things through the perspective of gender, particularly things in Korean media, especially Korean dramas. There's a lot going on there with the whole gender thing, so I decided to write a post on gender bender dramas, one of the most popular type of drama out there. The topic's been on my lately, what with "To The Beautiful You" and all.

When I first thought "gender bender," I meant, a drama where a girl (or guy, in some) disguises herself as a guy. But then, I realized it can't be limited to just that, because there're a lot of other dramas that deal with gender switches and the subject of gender in general. So, this post will discuss how gender is addressed in Korean dramas, in general.

First off, I'll start by listing some of the well-known gender bender dramas. There's "You're Beautiful," "Coffee Prince," and "Sungkyunkwan Scandal," as some of the more popular, classic gender benders. The latest addition would be "To The Beautiful You." In all of these, a girl (somewhere between her teens to her early to mid-twenties) dresses up as a guy, in order to fit in with a group of guys. The girl always has some kind of big reason for her to do this, whether it's to take the place of her brother, or just due to financial reasons. I think one important thing to point out is that, in all of these dramas, the female protagonist (who's going through the change) is described to look very feminine, and yet, she is somehow able to pull it off. There's a certain emphasis on the feminine-ness of the character, so as to remind the audience that she really is a girl. I thought that was pretty interesting.

How is this not a girl?

I would also like to point out that the writers almost always make the female character so excruciatingly stupid, the epitome of a damsel in distress. Almost always, they're found to be helpless, dependent, and a frustrating noble idiot. They always fall in love with the hero first, realizes their love is forbidden, and tries to do the right thing by leaving the hero. The most typical storyline in Korean dramas, at least in most of them. These days, I always want to kill the female character, she's made so selfless and Candy-like as possible, it's hard to see her as a person in real life. Like, take "To The Beautiful You," for example. Really, how can a girl be so clueless? At least, make the girl, who's usually really dumb and clueless, suddenly turn all self-conscious and suspicious, maybe smart even, because of the fact that she might be exposed at any time.

Then, there are those comical dramas that also deal with gender, but somehow approach it in a different way, in my opinion. Specifically, "Secret Garden" and "Personal Taste." In "Secret Garden," the main characters actually swap bodies, which make for hilarious role-playing by Hyun Bin and Ha Ji Won. The drama still has that similar Cinderella plot, the evil stepmother, the hurt heroine, etc. But what really stuck in my mind is the switching of gender roles, where the gender stereotypes are made more clear and obvious. Like, for example, I didn't notice how Gil Ra Im's voice, or 말투 sounded so feminine, until Hyun Bin really played it out, as Ra Im in Joo Won's body. It's really ironic actually, because Ra Im supposed to be this confident, tomboyish stuntwoman, but when it comes to her interactions with Joo Won, she becomes a total girl.

"Personal Taste" is very different from other Korean dramas, in that it was the first drama I watched that put out the whole gay topic out there. It used being gay as one of the main aspects of the storyline, in that Gae In thinks that Jin Ho is gay, but he's not. One of the side characters is actually gay. What was really memorable for me was how the drama dealt with being gay, in a humorous, kind of comical way. Like, the scenes where Jin Ho is involved in some behavior or interaction with someone, that makes Gae In think that he is gay. I can still picture that scene at the motel with Seulong's character and Jin Ho, and the elevator scene with Jin Ho and his gay lover (lol, Sang Joon), Gae In's friend misunderstanding, covering her kid's eyes. Although it didn't really deal with the whole being gay thing directly, I thought it was interesting how the whole title of the drama is "Personal Taste," or personal preference, which also means "Gae In's Preference."

Update

Lately, I've been struggling with Wordpress, which is way more complicated and complex than Blogger. Wow, you really need to be some kind of computer science expert to work a blog on that site. So, I've decided to create a new blog on Blogger, this time solely dedicated to blogging about Korean dramas. Yay!