Long weekend! Woot!

Happy friday everyone!! I have something to ask for all of u. I know some of u have already discussed it in the previous open thread, but may I know who is\are your favourite k-actress\es? For me, my number one on the list is Im soo jung, I like her bcos she played her character very well in Misa and Sad Movie. And I have a soft spot for these actresses too: han ji hye, shin min ah, kang hye jung, jeon ji hyun, song hye kyo, moon geun young, yoon eun hye, sung yuri (yeah, I know, you read it right), and jang nara. How about all of you guys?

12:42am. Just got home from an evening of Korean BBQ (with some very cute waiters and some very pretty waitresses) and soju! hmmm...yum! Food was awesome! service was excellent and even though you could tell they were really busy (place was packed to the hilt) and rushed off their feet, they maintained the friendliest service! so stuffed right now but feeling very happy for the experience (my second korean bbq infact! wah...soaking up the korean atmosphere! hehehe...).

Discovered that i am really NOT good at retaining korean names in the 'ole memory! ashamed!

Finished "Last Scandal of my Life" this week. A great show, left me feeling all happy happy joy joy inside! ahhhhh...... Have started Gourmet - javabeans, you were soooo right about the food porn! Also watched Japanese drama Mei-chan's shitsuji - very funny, enjoyed it very much!

Wishing everyone a happy drama weekend!

Thanks for the Jeff Buckley remembrance. His music was certainly a centerpiece of a different part of my life as well.

hallelujah
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AratTMGrHaQ

So beautiful...

FRIDAY!!!!! It seemd like the week would never end.

I'm excited - I have a drama to look forward to now. Been a long time since I've actually looked forward to anything. Coffee Prince was the last one I think. Can't wait for Partner!

Me,

Shin min ah is a favorite actress of mine too. I loved her in The Devil and Sad Movie. Haha Sung yuri is ok I guess... I really liked Hong Gil Dong but haven't seen any other dramas with her in it. I also like Han Hyo Joo.... I'm watching Shining Inheritance now and I think she acts her part really well in that drama.
Some others are Son ye jin, kim so eun. han chae young, and kim ji soo.

Happy Friday!

This is my saddest Friday since finding your website, since I'm leaving France today, after having been here for nine months. : ( I'll always remember my time as an international student. Good song--it fits my sad mood.

@Me

I like:
- Yoon Eun Hye - She looks sincere.
- Shin Min Ah - I never get tired of her pretty face. And I love her smile.
- Kang Hye Jung - I wanna be friends with her, I think she's really cool...hehehe.
- Im Soo Jung - Even if she was once rumored to be with my Gong Yoo.
- Kim So Eun - Adorable!
And uhmm, Sandara Park. I like her candidness and she's funny too.

All these are not based on talent. I just like them. :)

happy friday everyone, sadly i still have to work tomorrow, and maybe even on sunday... long and stressful week ahead...
been listening to KimBum song non stop for the last couple of days :P

I love Jeff Buckley too, so it made me a little sad when an american idol got so much praise and credit for singing his rendition's of "hallelujah". Still, maybe more folks were introduced to him and discovered his talent.

anyone ever lived in/visited ireland? i'm flying there for a one-week vacation and would love to hear (read) some recs on MUST-DO things. <3 my first time in europe!!!

Correction: American idol contestant.

I'd like to have a male character in a TV drama who isn't messed up in the head.

I think late last night, Cain and Abel was on TV, and I caught about 3 mins of the end of an episode. So Ji Sub (소지섭) was on his knees, about to be killed by some gangster, and So Ji Sub says something like, "I have to know, before you kill me, who is the one who is ordering you to kill me" and the gangster smiles evilly and says, "_________." (name not included for spoiler sake). So Ji Sub is ROCKED, and he just cannot believe it. And then a single tear runs down the left side of So Ji Sub's face, and then that's the end of the episode (TO BE CONTINUED!!). I mean, jeez, how can So Ji Sub's character even get out of bed the next morning (if he survives). If it were me, I'd just stay in bed, all depressed, after I find out that ______ actually ordered someone to kill me... why even get out of bed at all?

Can't we have more dramas where the k-drama lead actors don't have to be all messed up in the head, because of mom and/or dad or family issues, don't have to be emotional unstable and/or somehow mal-adjusted?

Just from the dramas that I have seen, where there are true male lead character(s), here's a list of guys who were messed up in the head, usually due to parental / family issues:

a. Rain as Lee Young Jae in Full House.
b. KMM as Oh Dal Gun in Bad Family.
c. Kang Ji Hwan as Hong Gil Dong.
d. Jae Hee as Lee Mong Ryong in DGCH.
e. Ryu Seung Soo as Yong Soo in Evasive Inquiry Agency.
f. Kim Rae Won as Sung Chan / Kwon Oh Joong as Bong Joo in Gourmet.
g. Hyun Bin as Hyun Jin-heon in MNIKSS
h. Hyun Bin as Han Tae Woong/Han Deuk Gu in The Snow Queen.
i. Jang Hyuk as Han Gi Tae in Successful Story of a Bright Girl.
j. Eric as Kang Ho / Oh Ji Ho as Park Bong-sam in Super Rookie.
k. Byun Woo Min as Jung Gyo Bin in Temptation of Wife
l. Gong Yoo as Choi Han Kyul in CP.

What a list! That's like 80% of the dramas that I've seen! Maybe Lee Dong Wook as Seol Gong Chan in My Girl, and Kim Jae Won as Kang Seung Joon ("SJ") in My Love Patzzi are the only two that I can think of who weren't screwed up in the head.

Gong Chan was a decent guy, was smart, wasn't emotionally unbalanced, and was a decent fellow, right? Yes, he was a little emotionally shunted, but that's not a psychological issue, more of a personality trait. And Kim Jae Won in My Love Patzzi also played a very, very stable guy who was honest and nice and quiet and good.

So, my wish is that we will see more dramas where the lead guy is - good looking, smart, patient, good natured, optimistic, funny and tall and athletic, who doesn't have any parental issues, and who is a genuinely good guy. They make PLENTY of female characters like that. Why not make more male characters like that?

Korean guys don't have to be moody, broody, angst-ridden guys who yell and do stupid things and grab wrists and then say "sorry' a lot. Why can't the WOMEN be the moody broody people?

Jeff Buckley! how awesome. i ended my yoga class today with his version of Hallelujah. so it is nice to come home and find another Buckley jem on one of my favorite sites.
i've moved slightly away from the K Dramas for the moment, not by choice. my new computer crashed and i have to send it to tech support. but it has opened the door wider for K pop and other musicial interests. right now i am really digging Super Junior's It's You. it's addictive - like Sorry Sorry but in a softer more sweeter way. i'm seriously considering ordering the cd from YesAsia. (i would order BBF dvd too but i am not sure about the regional aspect of the dvd and if i would be able to watch it.)
randomly, i ended up watching an interview with JK Park (?) from NY1 about the Wonder Girls and the asian invasion. on the topic why it's been difficult for asian pop music to cross over in the states, he made an interesting point in what each place enjoyed to make a hit. Korea, likes the melody and the lyrics, and the States wants the groove.
when i first heard the Wonder Girl's Nobody, before i heard that they were coming to NYC, i really thought if that one song was in english it would do well here. it has the groove factor and the melody. as for a complete act, i don't know (unless they hooked up with the disney machine). at the same time, out of my small knowledge of K music, if anyone was to make it here on talent alone i would vote for Yobi to be the cross over. i heard her singing in english during WGM and just wow.

@Samsooki- i didn't get a chance before to say thanks for explaining the Korean justice system in regards to drug charges.

hello jb,

i've been following your recaps of Story of a Man, and i'm planning to watch this in the near future. But may i ask how many episodes there are? I'm gonna need to set aside some time for it if its over the regular 16-24 episodes kind of drama..

@mie- check out lonely planet's website. there is a forum on there called the thorn tree with great tid bits and information about traveling everywhere. i believe it's done by country.

"conversations that veer off-course in other posts"
guilty as charged. sorry, JB! ;)

@ samsooki
"where the lead guy is - good looking, smart, patient, good natured, optimistic, funny and tall and athletic, who doesn’t have any parental issues, and who is a genuinely good guy"
Hwang Jung Min as Gu Dong Baek in That Fool/The Accidental Couple...except he isn't the good-looking/tall/athletic lead. He's portrayed more as the fool, at first.
But Episode 8 rocked!!! Now there's acting!

Without flaws, would these characters be as interesting?

So, you watched Hong Gil Dong? Thoughts?

-----

Weather's supposed to be not too hot in LA. What's the deal? o_O

Lol Samsooki I've never noticed that about Korean guys in these dramas. That's definitely true for one of my favorite shows, Dal Ja's Spring. His family was just horrible hehe, but the show is still good :D I would recommend Soulmate to you, no one's messed up because of family issues. It's a pretty good show too, you'll get addicted

Hwang Jung Min as Gu Dong Baek in That Fool/The Accidental Couple- i agree on this one.....
the show is getting better,don't you think so?

Me,

I really like Han Hye Jin. Her chemistry with Kang Ji Hwan in Be Strong Geum Soon and with Song Il Gook in Jumong seemed so real you could feel the sparks flying off the screen!

Here's another question! What is everyones favorite non-asian drama (new or older series)? I've recently discovered Smallville and am really enjoying it!

@20 TGIF

currently i am in <3 with "how i met your mother" and "friday night lights." and i also watch every season of "dexter" quite religiously. american shows in particular are so smart and tight (in terms of plot).

my all-time fave is probably still "saved by the bell." ^^ i own all seasons on DVD, even the college years. Haha.

for those in the LA area and are interested to watch Kang Ji Hwan's new movie, 7 Grade Civil Servant, it is in MPark4's "coming soon" list...no date of the showing yet but you can check their website for updates... here's the link:

http://mpark4.com/

LOL, Samsooki, true-say. But the premise of the majority of kdramas is like that. If the guy is rich, gorgeous, cold because of his emo past, then equally the girl is poor, spunky, not that bright or supposedly not that pretty (and flat), enthusiastic and good-hearted and close to her family. That's one reason I'm rather looking forward to Brilliant Inheritance/Shining Legacy/whatever the damn thing's called. Supposedly Main Guy is an asshole for no reason other than being spoiled. Fabulous!! =p

@ mie: Saved By The Bell was teh shits! <3 How I loved that show. I haven't watched an English show in ages, but I adored the first season especially of Prison Break, and the first 2 seasons of Heroes. Also I was talking with LJ friend a day or two ago about Buffy and I'd stopped watching around season 3 with any regularity but I remembered how freaking hard I shipped Spike/Buffy. I never did see the appeal of Angel, but Spike was fantastic and Spuffy had INSANE chemistry.

Hi, everyone! I was just wondering if it was just me that started thinking, after listening to Kim Bum's song for the the BBF five-years-later-thing, that they should have had them sing to Ga Eul in the club scene instead of putting that majorly embarrassing saxophone moment - he would have totally killed!! Pity they didn't think of that! I'm totally in love with his voice and that song right now. Javabeans is right, he totally could have a singing career!

:)

@ 13 SAMSOOKI

LMAO!!! Gosh, you are funny!!! Seems like you are ranting like one of the male lead guys! LOL!!!

SAM, in reality we, females, are fickle minded, moody and broody (oh especially during PMS!).... so give us a break! LOL!