Drunken hijinks and piggyback rides in youth drama Hwarang
by girlfriday
New character teasers and stills for KBS youth sageuk Hwarang set the stage for bromance, romance, and hijinks galore, as we learn more about our three main characters: Park Seo-joon (She Was Pretty) as a quirky and fearless warrior, Park Hyung-shik (High Society) as a faceless king who hides among the people, and Go Ara (You’re All Surrounded) as a Silla-era Candy who works aaaallll of the part-time jobs to survive.
The coming-of-age drama is set 1500 years in the past, and centers around a group of beautiful Hwarang warriors-in-training, who will someday become elite bodyguards to the king. Unbeknownst to them, the king joins their ranks and trains as one of them, and his personality clashes with the odd but fearless leader of the pack, igniting a fierce rivalry between them.
Park Seo-joon’s teaser introduces him as “dog bird” (one syllable away from “son of a bitch”), and his teachers describe him as an utter wacko who is sometimes like a dog, and sometimes like a bird, and also ignorant, unstoppable, and a little strange. In a cameo, Lee Kwang-soo (Entourage) asks him why he’s so fearless, and Park Seo-joon replies that fear is for those who have a lot, while he has nothing, and therefore nothing to fear. But one day he runs into Park Hyung-shik, and the captions tell us that he finds a new goal in life. As the king hides in the shadows with a mask on, Park Seo-joon raises his sword and cries, “I will try fighting. I will try enduring. So don’t hide and come out to fight, you pathetic bastard!”
In Park Hyung-shik’s teaser, he overhears a man mouth off that the king’s face has never been revealed because rumor has it that he’s actually a eunuch and an utter moron. The king wanders the streets freely since no one knows his face, and one day he meets a group of Hwarang warriors and soon becomes one of them. He’s described as spirited and bold, and he says in voiceover, “The people don’t worry about the country, but a country where the king worries about the people… Don’t I have to try walking it, to be able to walk the road of a king?”
Go Ara’s character is half-royal, half-commoner by birth, but in her teaser we see that she works all sorts of odd jobs to make ends meet, and is called “the goddess of part-time jobs.” She grabs the chance to work in the Hwarang training facility when she sees how much silver is being offered, and ends up doing everything from kitchen work to medical procedures. She has repeated run-ins with Park Seo-joon—a drunken encounter in the street, and another where she jumps on top of him and demands to know where he got his clothes. She seems to recognize something about him, though she thinks to herself, “Your eyes, your nose, your mouth—there isn’t one thing that looks like him. Who are you?”
The teasers tell us to come find out on December 19, when Hwarang premieres.
Via Sports Chosun
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Tags: Go Ara, Hwarang, Park Hyung-shik, Park Seo-joon
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1 Andechi
December 5, 2016 at 8:08 PM
Paek Seo Joon....!!!! *faint
I just wish the overall story and directing are up to the anticipation and expectation.
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2 mindy
December 5, 2016 at 8:20 PM
Hmmm, these teasers aren't doing much for me. But one thing I've realized this year is that lots of dramas that weren't initially on my radar turn out to be gems and sometimes the ones you look forward to turn out to be duds.
I was really looking forward to Goodbye Mr. Black and Lucky Romance this year, but both turned out to be mediocre to bad. Similarly, many of my highlights of this year such as Page Turner, This Week My Wife Will Have an Affair, Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo, and Goblin were ones that I was hardly paying attention to during their promo period (and even preparing myself to dislike in the cases of Fairy and Goblin).
So maybe Hwarang will surprise me despite my loss of interest. You never know!
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salmon poke
December 5, 2016 at 8:52 PM
Omg agreed... I wasn't paying attention to weightlifting fairy or goblin but they turned out to be such gems... On the other hand I was really looking forward to goodbye mr black and it was such an epic letdown zzz. Hopefully this turns out to be a light, breezy and fun show!!
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3 Just_Alee
December 5, 2016 at 8:20 PM
Why do korean seems so obssesed with candy heroine with multiple part-time jobs???
Anw... So many beautiful boys.... Hopefully the story is good enough.
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Rose
December 5, 2016 at 8:46 PM
Because a lot of Koreans live quite a rough and difficult life, so it is understable that a portion of them Will like fairytales-like story that will reward heavily a-hard working-high deserving-woman, because it is how it should be in reality. The undeserving should be punished and The deserving should be rewarded but when you come from a poor background, you have no connections, no matter how much you are willing and working, you will not succeed in gaining the social reward you would expect although Korean society like most of societies nowadays is based on a hurtful myth: meritocracy. It creates a lot of pent-up frustration and sense of injustice. But it is not just a Korean thing, basically whenever the discrepancy is too big between your reality and what you could have expected or the social gap a
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Rose
December 5, 2016 at 9:00 PM
... Is just .a bottomless pit, some people will just love a good " the good guys win and the bad guys lose story", so it is not surprising that most of the time the bad guys are just pure evil and have no layers of depth about them. Really because who cares about the "poor rich" ? That is why a lot of korean-candy-type-stories sell extremely well in other countries that just have nothing to do on a cultural basis with South Korea, like arabic countries or some latinos coutries, and that you will find in countries where life is so very hard, produced the same type of candy stories. As ridiculous as it looks like, by rooting for their Candy, by seeing her vanquish her devil ennemies, it is a bit of them who win too, a bit of hope for the tomorrow that will inhabit them, may be it could happen to them too, because Candy does exist, she has multiple faces, multiple stories, multiple colors, live in multiple countries. All of this people are Candy, and Candy is hope.
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Dee Em
December 5, 2016 at 9:57 PM
Wow. I was all prepared to hate on the whole concept of Go Ara being "just another Candy", but damn, this completely changed my perspective.
I think this is one of the things that is so great about the Dramabeans community- we introduce new concepts and ideas, change perspectives, and gain a better understanding of things.
GO BEANIES!
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Eman Resu
December 5, 2016 at 10:03 PM
+1
Satisfying reply.
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Rozen
December 5, 2016 at 10:09 PM
I am from Arabic country but i don't recall that the dramas about candy girls, the dramas about couruptions or ambitious heroines or hero, rich people and their wealth, or domed heroes. Some lost love stories, families, I've only seen the candy girl concept in kdramas.
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darcyM
December 5, 2016 at 10:50 PM
We are all Candy.
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Wag-a-muffin
December 6, 2016 at 4:58 AM
darcyM, your comment made me think of Spartacus. I see a Candy girl in trouble, about to be arrested/taken away/flogged/ by the powerful evil guys and a bunch of young women all stepping up and saying, "I am Candy." "I am Candy!" "I am Candy!" etc. and the bad guys are so confused that they let everyone go.
(My new mantra will be, "I am Candy!" And only beanies will know what I mean.)
Dee Em
December 6, 2016 at 6:26 AM
WILL THE REAL CANDY PLEASE STAND UP
Kichi?
December 11, 2016 at 12:27 PM
@Dee Em ..Lol
Just_Alee
December 6, 2016 at 1:32 AM
Thank you for the explanation.... I learn a new thing everyday from fellow beanies... Hehehe
Your comment makes me realizes, every countries have their own favorite hero/heroine... My country turns out liking cinderella's type hero/heroine, and stories where the good is very good (to the point of stupidity), while the bad is very bad (to extreme level).
Korea (well coz right now I am only watching korean dramas) loves candy heroine, chaebol hero, bad parents/family (who always burden you with huge debt) and first-male lead always get the girl thing...
It would be great to know what types of hero/heroine that are favorites in other countries... :)
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Mitchikimchi
December 11, 2016 at 12:31 PM
I came to this from today's post ,I love how you've justified the candies !
I mean ever since boys over flowers ,such characters annoyed me ,and I usually watch the drama for the other elements ,but I know that sometimes subconsciously I feel like if she can do it ,I can too ,like somedays when I'm feeling down ,the candy character in the drama I'm watching actually inspires me
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missDVM
December 6, 2016 at 3:40 PM
This is seriously such a satisfying answer. Thank you so much!
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Lil
December 6, 2016 at 3:43 AM
What's a candy?
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mindy
December 6, 2016 at 4:41 AM
The Candy archetype comes from a Japanese manga of the same name, I think it is from the 90s. It basically described a super hardworking, upbeat heroine who works her butt off. She is similar to Cinderella. Despite her poor circumstances, she is never downtrodden. She meets a really rich guy (usually a big heartless jerk at the start) and they fall in love... Eventually. This probably souds familiar to you because it has influenced lots of Korean dramas, especially from a few years back. Since Kim Sam-soon our drama heroines have gained quite a bit more variety and depth, but the basic premise is still present in some dramas today.
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mindy
December 6, 2016 at 4:53 AM
I mentioned this in the Goblin thread, but these tropes don't always have to be bad things. In fact, they are tropes for a reason. Of course we get tired of seeing them EVERYWHERE sometimes, but within the context of some stories they just work really well.
Someone mentioned a Harry Potter comparison in the Goblin thread. The main character coming from a bad family life is a commonly used trope, but in cases like Harry Potter it works to give readers immense satisfaction. Seeing a young boy marvel at a world he never dreamed of and receive the love he had been deprived of his entire life... When done well, that stuff is GOOD. It is a similar situation with Goblin's heroine.
When used in the right way, even overused tropes can be satisfying and even fresh (like Shopping King Louie)!
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nami2
December 6, 2016 at 9:44 AM
Just wanted to correct you on something... Candy Candy is a manga from the 70s, not 90s (original run~1975-1979) Otherwise, I very much like your analysis and wholly agree with it :)
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mindy
December 6, 2016 at 8:43 PM
Ohhh thank you! :) I don't know where I got the 90s from!
4 Quiet Thought
December 5, 2016 at 8:51 PM
Doesn't look like there is gonna be much depth or acting in this one, but I can sit and watch Go Ara make goofy faces for an hour at a time, no problem!
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Lord Cobol (Kdramas, like water, flow downhill)
December 5, 2016 at 9:29 PM
+1 She's the main draw.
Otherwise... rarely has so much hype persuaded me that a show will be so mediocre. But I'll give it a try anyway, just in case.
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5 Bluemoon
December 5, 2016 at 8:53 PM
I really hope this drama is good. Love the leads.
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6 Nadila Nadila
December 5, 2016 at 9:10 PM
Hyung sik is prettier than Go Ara in these stills
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Kiara
December 6, 2016 at 7:53 AM
Really? they all look like drags to me. I think Go Ara is one of the most beautiful actresses in her age group. Love her beautiful eyes.
I hope she has better chemistry with these boys than than that one movie with Yoo Seung-ho. That was a snooze fest from beginning to end.
I think this comedy suits her better.
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7 Eman Resu
December 5, 2016 at 9:55 PM
This looks fun to me.
I like Park Seo Joon. Saw him in She Was Pretty and thought he did well. He's a pretty boy that isn't *too* pretty, if that makes sense. Some pretty boys veer too close to feminine territory for my personal tastes. He doesn't (to my eyes).
Not familiar with the other male lead.
Funny thing. I've never actually seen anything Goo Ara's been in. I have this vague feeling she's popular, right? What's the general consensus on her? Is she a good actress?
She looks goofy and cute here. I'm kinda digging it.
Probably doesn't hurt she's so pretty. I do like things that are pretty. ;)
Anyway. Seems promising. I'll be excited to see it.
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garcia_marina
December 6, 2016 at 7:33 AM
go ara was funny in reply 94....check it out, you'll enjoy it :-)
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LoveSeoInGuk
December 7, 2016 at 12:36 AM
If you want to fall in love with Park Seo Joon even more..his best was witch's romance! He was his best there...I didn't care much for the female lead but the drama was so good you can overlook her age. His chemistry with her was also great! I would highly recommend.
Hyun Sik is also a good actor. Watch What happens to my family? Its a lengthy one but well worth the time. All the characters are great and HS in particular.
Will watch the drama for these two and Go Ara,,,
Don't care much for the rest of the cast.
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nami2
December 7, 2016 at 1:44 AM
This! OMG, I feel like I could have written this comment myself...Witch's romance is the drama that introduced me to Park Seo Joon's greatness. He had sizzling chemistry with Uhm Jung Hwa despite their large age gap...loved this drama (still have a fond spot in my heart for it).
Secondly, I love Hyungsik as well, he is very good and have seen his potential since his mini-series Sirius (he was playing Seo Jun Young's teen part) That's why he deserves every bit of his success (him being cast alongside Park Bo young as the male lead and also this drama) and believe me I'm not into K-pop, at first I didn't even know/realize the guy was an idol lol.
And cherry on top, I have noticed you're a Seo In Guk fan...I'm one too, Shopping King Louie is my fav drama for this year. Omo, it seems we share the same (good) tastes :)
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LoveSeoInGuk
December 7, 2016 at 3:41 AM
So glad that our thoughts are similar!! Seo In Guk did it for me with Reply 1997! He is my all time fav in Korean Dramas! No one has and will ever will match up to my love for him...He is one of the most versatile actors and Reply 1997 stands out as one of my top favorites ever!!
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nami2
December 7, 2016 at 1:54 PM
My first encounter with Seo In Guk was in 'High School King of Savvy' (yeah rather late, shame on me :( ...but better late than never), he won me over with his puppy eyes. Since then, I've caught up with all his works and even his variety shows (I can't get enough of him, he's so talented)...I already dread the day he will leave for army (he said next year, I'm not ready), I'm already preparing the hashtag #WaitingforInGuk, it's how desperate I am! lol
Eman Resu
December 7, 2016 at 8:40 AM
"If you want to fall in love with Park Seo Joon even more..."
---
I'm a straight male, so I won't be falling in love with him anytime soon haha. Unless something wildly unexpected were to happen with my sexuality lol. *shrugs* ;)
But I do like him as a male lead quite a lot!
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Eman Resu
December 7, 2016 at 8:44 AM
Now that I look back at my comment, I could see how I kinda gave mixed signals.
My "Some pretty boys veer too close to feminine territory for my personal tastes. He doesn’t (to my eyes)" line kinda gave the wrong idea didn't it?
Alas...
;)
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8 Loolu
December 5, 2016 at 10:07 PM
"Goddess of part time jobs"? Now they're just over exaggerating! lol! I've been tempted to work several part time jobs but will I get a title for it?! Ha! No one got time for that!
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gem28
December 6, 2016 at 5:02 AM
The sad truth, "If you're a Goddess you'd probably never need multiple part time jobs"
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9 ⭐ Sera The Ms Temper ⭐
December 5, 2016 at 10:24 PM
Not a drama that i am looking forward to but will catch a glimpse to see those eye candies.
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10 sfgirl
December 5, 2016 at 10:25 PM
Flower boys and their beautiful skin. *sigh* Color me jealous!
I have been jealous of Park Hyun-sik's beautiful clear skin since high society..
I watched the Shinee episode of knowing brothers today and all the 5 boys were glowing. I guess Minho and Hyun-sik can have an idol pretty skin face off.
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11 sharreb
December 6, 2016 at 12:14 AM
i said i probably wouldnt watch Weightlifting fairy when the promos were running and right now its one that i enjoyed the most out of the korean dramas.
I thouught Moon Lovers would be epic- then i become epiclly disappointed with the trajectory and the ending.
so anything is possible. Hwarang might have its pluses.. we shall see but probably not watching it as it airs- im happily binge watching Princess on Lanling and Princess Weiyoung.
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12 alasecond
December 6, 2016 at 12:53 AM
Is this year of sung dong il..?
reply 88
scarlet heart
hwarang
legend
dear my friends
k2
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korfan
December 6, 2016 at 8:28 AM
Exactly. The man is everywhere!
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Archer
December 6, 2016 at 9:01 AM
And I think he's immune to the famous Reply Curse...
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LoveSeoInGuk
December 7, 2016 at 12:42 AM
I was recently re-watching My Girlfriend is a Gumiho and Sung Dong Il was in there too...as funny as ever. He has a matchstick between his lips, runs an action school and his silly love story... he's hilarious. I loved him in Reply 1997 and though he's such a great actor!!
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13 potatodrama
December 6, 2016 at 1:10 AM
This drama keeps growing on me. I had no expectations whatsoever, and still don't have, but it seems it's gonna be a fun ride.
I think I'll full enjoy this.
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14 ki
December 6, 2016 at 1:45 AM
why do i feel like this drama is like moon lovers 2.0 when it comes to not knowing, feel-wise, what it is going for? it seems to walk a line between being a modern day rom-com thing and also a saeguk.
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15 merrym
December 6, 2016 at 1:54 AM
Wow how to watch this as I'm not a Park Seo Joon fan even a little...
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16 Bili Bala Pabo Bara
December 6, 2016 at 2:56 AM
Omg do we have to have a candy characterised by part time jobs even in seguks
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17 kitkat
December 6, 2016 at 4:48 AM
Am i the only one who low-key shipped the characters of park se joon and go ara in reply 1994? really glad that they will share the same screen again :)
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garcia_marina
December 6, 2016 at 7:37 AM
park seo joon was in reply 1994? i never knew that ...
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annflln
December 6, 2016 at 9:01 AM
did they?
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nami2
December 6, 2016 at 9:53 AM
Aren't you confusing him with Yoo Yeon Seok? (Chilbongie)
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LoveSeoInGuk
December 7, 2016 at 12:45 AM
Your confusing him with Yoo Yeon Seok who is currently in the airing drama Romantic Doctor and Teacher Kim. He is not Park Seo Joon. YYS played Chilbong in Reply 1994..
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18 Hayley
December 6, 2016 at 5:46 AM
I don't mind the candy who works a thousand different jobs, but sometimes i would like to see a candy who isn't literally on the rainbows and happiness train 99% of the time. I mean... i don't want to see a heroine who's a legit buzzkill but as if these chicks are happy all the time. I sometimes would like to see a heroine who is slightly more in the dumps. I can relate a lot more to that.
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19 Midnight watcher
December 6, 2016 at 7:01 AM
Anyone get a hint of Na Jeong from Go Ara's character?
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20 garcia_marina
December 6, 2016 at 7:23 AM
go ara is goddess of part time jobs ....and park so jun was master of part time jobs in witch's romance :-)
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mindy
December 6, 2016 at 7:33 AM
Omg, you just reminded me of the great role reversals in Witch's Romance. :) Parts of that drama irritated me (THAT STUPID EX OF HERS!!! He was so boring and kept coming back!) but I did enjoy how it reversed the gender roles. That's one of the great things about many noona romances.
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garcia_marina
December 6, 2016 at 7:38 AM
i agree with you hahha
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Flightey Gazelles
December 6, 2016 at 8:48 AM
Witch's Romance was the drama that introduced me to Park Seo Joon and I enjoyed it immensely.
Lol @ your reaction to that ex! My sister preferred him because she loves mature and stable guys and felt the other though sweet, was too young with no future plan. I disagreed but let her be.
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bbstl 🧹
December 6, 2016 at 2:24 PM
No way, someone seriously preferred the Polar Bear? To Park Seo Jun? It never occurred to me that was even possible ?
That guy was so stable he barely moved.
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21 Sua
December 6, 2016 at 8:09 AM
Any of my Korean beanies know what 음악감상 is by any chance?
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Beanie Meanie
December 6, 2016 at 10:02 AM
According to Bing Translate, 음악감상 means "music appreciation".
...or maybe not... LOL
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mary
December 6, 2016 at 12:00 PM
Wow... my guess is close. Music thank. Haha
Thanks for answering, Beanie (not) Meanie!
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22 annflln
December 6, 2016 at 9:03 AM
Idk
I didn't get the 'saeguk feeling' from those three.
I might be skipped this one. I'm having bad post-moonlovers vibe.
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23 nami2
December 6, 2016 at 9:21 AM
To sum it up, I'll watch it for :
1)Park Hyung Sik
2)Hyungsik
3)Hyungsik
4)...
5)...
6)...
7)...
8)...
9)...
10)Park Seo Joon
:D
Trio poster is better than their solo ones, a lot better...(minus Go Ara who looks a bit weird on it)
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ferily
December 6, 2016 at 2:18 PM
Yessss, park Hyung sik!!<33333 I found out about this drama when I heard he was going to act in it~ I am sooo excited for this drama and been waiting to see hyungsik<3 While a lot of ARMYs are watching this drama for Taehyung, I'm just like hyungsik<333 and Minho ^^
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24 chingu
December 6, 2016 at 10:43 AM
Sounds like a lot of fun!
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25 bbstl 🧹
December 6, 2016 at 2:33 PM
*sigh* OH, just a few moments of Park Seo Jun's voice and now I guess I'll be able to get past the godawful wigs after all . . . ??? yeah, I'm easy that way.
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26 Iona
December 6, 2016 at 3:48 PM
It's been a while since She Was Pretty, so at least I'll check it out when it's out. Btw that "he grabbed her on the waist & rode off" just reminded me of Hae soo & Wang so's first meeting. I still miss Wolf every day... *sobs*
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marimari
December 7, 2016 at 7:14 PM
That show forever ruined kdramas for me. Until they pair them up together again to makeup for that terrible angst, I won't be able to move on.
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27 Sinta
December 6, 2016 at 4:09 PM
Hul go ara is so pretty ?
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28 marimari
December 7, 2016 at 7:11 PM
I'm impressed. This is actually the first time in kdrama history where the female lead outshines every single one of the flower boys. (Ok, IU held her own in Moon Lovers) But not one of the guys here rock that mane of glory. Not one. They all look like they're in drag. What's going on???
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pollyanna
December 7, 2016 at 9:22 PM
Comment was deleted
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pollyanna
December 7, 2016 at 9:23 PM
Comment was deleted
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