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Open Thread #414

 
Lee Han-chul – “넌 나의 넘버원” (You’re my number one)Download ]

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so the blog is still on hold for now, but I will return to it, just that I have a research to do (for the Folklore Archives again, about the traditions connected with picking berries and mushrooms and forest)

we are also having a scandal of ridiculous measure here in Tallinn... first the mayor is suspected of corruption, then the prosecutor accidentally leaks a paper showing how they struggle to find guilt. and then the (one-legged) mayor is admitted to hospital and having a heart surgery (which is doubtful). reminds me of those chaebol dads who are rolled out of emergency roomt in a wheelchair to a press conference. well, EVERYONE is dirty. Trust no one. I only believe Fox Mulder... and even he is made up. I guess there is no one to believe, everyone is corrupt.

Funny thing is, I just wrote a story on corruption in real estate deals, removing cultural heritage signs from buildings to get permission to tare them down... and this is exactly what is happening. Wow, I feel like a fortune teller! Maybe I should have my own shop? "The Nine Tail Shaman"?

hey, now I got an idea for a drama with a gumiho who is a fortune teller and actually knows the future but decides to lie...and then try stop the disasters from hitting to prove her words.

Dramas: I am not really into You Are Pretty. Seo joon seems so uncomfortable playing the nasty type. Siwon is refreshingly goofy and dorky. and the second female lead could be my twin: get yourself in some mess to help a friend with 0 way out but a hundred ways how you can get busted, and fret off your eyebrows how to solve it without getting ALL the blame. But those moments are just not enough. even I am annoyed at HJE screeching and I don´t feel any intrigue. and tbh, it is a little boring.

Tried to return to that mermaid thing even...cause I had nothing to watch. there are occasional moments of brilliance, some imaginary sequences by the share house guys, but I just want to cut out everything else. mostly it just looks... amateur.

Question: doesn´t it feel sometimes that a drama could bequite good, if it ONLY consisted of this, or ONLY left out that? or felt that there are moments of sheer brilliance, but 89% is bs? Like, you don´t like the drama but you would totally cut out the brilliant moments and make a whole different drama?

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So, if you could have a fairy wand and change a couple of dramas that disappointed you recently, what would you do with them?

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well, for example, She Was Pretty could work well with just "People who try to look cooler than they are" or "people who wrap themselves in a web of lies and start to prefer the lie to truth", or something, theme-wise.

and if you took the "cool but uncool" and did all the slapstick in jdorama wacky style. but you know, japanese are refined in their slapstick. there is a sort of gracefulness.

haven´t really had much time for other recent dramas.
but when I tried to watch the Surplus mermaid thing again, what I felt was some parts were amazing, but had very little connection to the drama as a whole. it would have worked in a more caricature way, like Monty Python Life of Brian style, but it tried to be serious in between and ... failed.

I am not without blame... I often try to put too many different things together and cant just pick the style that works. if is difficult to leave something out. and some dramas just don´t know how to stick to the good bits. they keep going for the mediocre.

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I've been watching both She Was Pretty and Twenty Again and comparing the comedic styles. 20A is much surer with its characters and thus the comedy is almost effortless. SWP is trying too hard to be funny and is thus painful.

Can you recommend a good Jdrama slapstick comedy? I haven't seen this genre yet. I do find quite a bit in Jdramas to be very refined. I'd like to see to see it in comedy, too!

I think you're right about SWP choosing a single them and exploring it well. Because it hasn't settled into any sort of groove yet, the characters don't quite suit the situation...

"I am not without blame… I often try to put too many different things together and cant just pick the style that works. if is difficult to leave something out. and some dramas just don´t know how to stick to the good bits. they keep going for the mediocre."

Are you a writer? My advice would be to find an editor who really suits your style. It's always great to have someone who loves your work let you know when its gone a little too far!

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um, that.... not a writer, exactly, ah... I kind of don´t want to go there, I just gave an example, ok. so dont ask that, please.

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For Japanese slapstick, if you haven't watched Nodame Cantabile, it's excellent. They tried to copy the zany slapstick feel in the kdrama remake, and it didn't really work. It got a lot better once they calmed down and went their own direction. Meanwhile the jdorama worked the slapstick all the way through, and did it well.

(Nodame was my gateway drug. My brother was trying to convince me that I really did like anime by introducing me to shows he thought I would enjoy. One of those was the anime version of Nodame. When I finished it, he told me there was a sequel, but it was live action. So my first ever Asian drama was the Nodame Paris special. And somehow it spoke to me like the anime didn't. And I never looked back.)

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doesn´t it feel sometimes that a drama could bequite good, if it ONLY consisted of this, or ONLY left out that?

oh, yes. I get this urge a lot with the Hong sisters dramas, even some of the ones I like.

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+1 I always like their concepts. And there's a very nice tone, but I generally feel like they somehow miss the mark of being really good.

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If you go by the calendar today is my 30'th birthday, however I refuse to be 30 so happy birthday number 29a to me.

I'm still watching She Was Pretty, Mrs. Cop and Twenty Again but it's a slow process I just I've felt more like watching anime lately, for the first time in 4 1/2 years or so.

That sequence of scenes in episode 6 of Twenty Again where Nora, Hyun-suk and their friends were in their high school uniforms was one of my favorite things I've ever seen in a drama and possibly my favorite thing I've seen since Answer Me 1997.

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Happy 29a, Sajen!

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Happy 29a Birthday Sajen and may you not run out of alphabets for the next 100 years! :D

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Happy 29a :-)

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Sajen ~

Happy birthday !

Yesterday was my son's birthday, he too turned 30.

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Happy 29a birthday Sajen!

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happy birthday!

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Happy 29a, Sajen:)

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Thank you, everyone for the birthday wishes.

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Happy 29a, Sajen!

I know what you mean about feeling more like watching other stuff. Nothing in the kdrama scene these last few weeks has been that good. Though I think I will watch Twenty Again at some later point.

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That's my favorite scene too, it successfully bring my eyes with brimming tears. I felt so nostalgic afterwards I dug through my old school notes...the ones that are about 20 years old or more.

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Hello! Please, recommend me some dramas with strong bromances! Right now I'm in love with Baek Dong Soo and School 2013. <3

Thanks!

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I Remember You!

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Basically School 2013 and Warrior Baek Dong Soo are great examples of strong bromances!

Other strong bromances

Dramas:
1. Bachelor's Vegetable Store (another show with Ji Chang Wook)
2. Reply 1994 (as much as I'm disappointed with romance, the bromance is funny and heartwarming)
3. Full Sun (Se Ro and his hyung!)

Movies:
1. Twenty
2. Good Friends
3. Bleak Night
4. No Breathing

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The ensemble in Reply 1994 has such a strong family bond, so definitely yes for bromance!

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Shut Up Flower Boy Band
Misaeng... sort of...
Waterboys (if you are fine for a Japanese one)

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Bromance... u must watch Chuno, the slave hunter. The romance wasn't great here but the bromance between the 3 shirt-rippling guys is daebak!

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Sungkyunkwan Scandal

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Three Musketeers - it's awesome bromance time!

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Marriage Not Dating
Orange Marmalade (middle parts)
Flower Boys Next Door

currently airing: I am Sorry, I Love You (Taiwanese, with Jasper Liu - not to be confused with the K-Drama with So Ji Sub) is killing me with the bromance between a hopeless geek and an ultra suave ghost who becomes his reluctant roommate, and both love the same girl. It's basically Oh My Ghostess but genderflipped.

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Three Musketeers
Shut Up Flower Boy Band
Misaeng (Geu-rae/Suk-yul <3333)

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Sungkyunkwan Scandal is great

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A Gentleman's Dignity! It's a romcom, but the bromance between the four guys is real.

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Finished: Sandglass .

Sure was a turbulent time in Korea. Go Hyun-jung, always lovely. Choi Min-soo was a handsome fellow back in the day.

Watching: She Was Pretty . Like it so far, will watch Ep 4 later.

Waiting for Subs K: The Merchant

Waiting for Subs J: Yami no Bansosha.

This has been subbed, waiting for last 2 eps to be posted.

Manga, murder, mystery. Creepy, dark and oh so good.

Nao Matsushita and Arata Furuta are excellent in this.

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Hi John!

Yami no Bansosha has been fully subbed. You can find the last 2 on d-addict or the subber's blog.
I think wowow knows how to make dramas this genre, the good ones can be really good for me. They still can be hits or misses though.

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Gooseberry ~

Yeah, I know it's been subbed, but the whole torrents thing to get the video, it's something I'd rather not deal with, unless there's some other way to do it, I'll have to wait for the last two episodes to be hosted.

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If Yami No Bansosha is only 5 eps, then dramacool has all 5 subbed

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Trapper ~

Thanks. I didn't think about Dramacool.

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I've just watched How To Steal A Dog and I thought Choi Min Soo was kinda cool and charismatic in it even though he played a homeless man! Good film, by the way.

I cannot recommend Assembly enough. Its optimism places it diametrically opposite to shows like Armando Iannucci's brilliant but utterly hopeless The Thick of It (which, btw, makes Yes Minister look like, say, My Little Pony), but it's good to have a different and equally valid view of politics. I didn't think it was so great in the beginning, but a lot of stuff turned out to have reasons, implications and/or consequences that made a lot of sense, and also added up to a coherent argument about government. I know that doesn't make Assembly sound terribly attractive; all I can say is that the show, with its insistence on integrity and idealism, has moved me more than any other k-drama I've ever watched.

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Assembly is a great drama.I agree too that the beginning was weak and the first 4/5 episodes boring.But then it just keeps getting better and the best drama I've watched after Punch in my opinion.

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I felt so stupid in writing +1. I could agree with you, but sometimes it made me forget I watched "kdrama" and all that name implies to us foreigners.

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Did you watch How to Steal A Dog with subtitles? If so, where? I cannot find actual subtitles anywhere although numerous sites claim to have them.

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Hi Holly. The subtitled version of How to Steal A Dog which I saw was part of the in-flight entertainment during a flight to Seoul. If I want to see it again I'll probably have to wait till the DVD is released (after which I suppose the movie - and the English subtitles - might also be ripped and put online).

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Assembly belongs to a genre that seems to hold a little to none attraction for modern Korean audiences. It's not because politics and politicians have become obsolete; quite on the contrary, they are in charge of our lives and our future, depending on their decisions. The "7 things next generations have already given up" speech was NOT Korean,- it was universal. But I agree, it's not a show that international viewers can easily enjoy; especially, if they are not familiar with the genre not even on their own countries' TV.

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Assembly is a great watch! The storyline is a bit cliched, the people there is really like all the saeguk conniving ministers without the beards, and I still find it hard to believe there's only one assemblyman with conscience for the most part of the series. The cast is superb tho, Jung Jae Young is so good, his chemistry with everybody else suck me into the drama. Sad that it is over...

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@meowingme

Yes many of the characters ARE like those conniving ministers! The last drama the writer wrote was, after all, the very successful saeguk "Jung Do Jeon" (which also featured the actor who played the machiavellian Park Cheon Seop in Assembly). I suppose politicians haven't really changed that much over the centuries. I've got to agree, though, that focusing on Jin Sang-pil so exclusively did make all the other assemblymen look like rogues or cowards. Well, that assemblywoman from one of the opposition parties was pretty decent. But that's still just two decent people.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to Kim Myung Min's take on Jung Do Jeon in Six Flying Dragons. I just hope the interesting stuff does not get obscured by the pretty boys (and girl) doing anachronistic things.

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If you like Sandglass and haven't watched it, I liked "Eyes of Dawn". Healer, Faith, Daemang's writer perhaps in her masterpiece.

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korini ~

I'd love to watch Eyes of Dawn, but can't seem to find it anywhere.

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If you are accustomed to downloading, doramax and torrents. It'll be worth all 36 episodes.

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plus WITH S2 did subs for it--you can download those from their website. Just google WITH S2 and their site will come right up. As Korini says, about the only way to watch all of it, subbed, is to download it--even if you aren't accustomed to downloading, Eyes of Dawn is definitely worth making an exception. I'd also suggest getting VLC (you can download it online for free), which is ideal for playing softsubbed videos.

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Eyes of Dawn"(1991) and "Sandglass" (1995) were back to back masterpieces written by Song Ji Na and directed by Kim Jong Hak. They were the quality hit makers back in the days. Both dramas will remain as two of the highest rating drama of all time.
Can you imagine having probably more than 80% of the whole country (young and old) glued to their tv from Mon-Thurs watching Sandglass? Totally amazing!

Sadly director Kim Jong Hak committed suicide 2 yrs ago:(.
http://www.dramabeans.com/2013/07/sandglasslegendfaith-producer-ends-life/

I think Song Ji Na is currently experimenting with other genres but I hope that one day she will write another masterpiece for our generation.

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Choi Min Soo is hottest in sageuk imo.

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I'm so sad the merchant isn't subbed yet...I heard it's subbed in viki though.

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Watched first episode of The Merchant: Gaekju 2015 raw and the child actors were daebak! Refrained myself from watching ep2 and shall wait for the subs first. Can't wait for adult Jang Hyuk to appear !

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I'm waiting for both eps to be fully subbed. The child actors can be a hit or miss for me depending on the director. Since this is a 36 episode drama they might stick around longer than just 2 episodes. I hope they are better directed here than the kids from Horse Healer because some of them have been in sageuks before like Suh Ji-Hee (young So Rye) and Park Gun Tae (young So Gae).
I watched the first eps raw and noticed that everyone looks familiar from other sageuks so I'm excited about that.

Big thanks to viki for subbing it!

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Twenty Again
Nora's son does something incredibly childish. Nora comments "Aw! Finally he grew up!". Until last week, I didn't understand her. Now I do.

Virtual Bride
Disappointing final four episodes. All the fun is gone, all the stupidity remained. The female lead was great as long as there was some variety flair to the show, but an actual "K-drama romantic lead" is way out of her league.

She was pretty
Not a bad show by any means, it's just ... too many things don't seem to work together (yet?).

Ha-ri so far is the only main character that is more than just slapstick and cliches. That is either one to many or three shy.

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I still can't wrap my head around the virtual bride,
I really like the main lead love story but other, especially the corrupt mom in law make me want to re-edit the drama and removed all of her part .

Seriously I really hate her over any character I can remember, she is one of my most irritating character on screen,

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The corrupt mom character was the one thing I hated about Virtual Bride. Aside from that I loved the show, I just wish they would have carried the "fake" broadcast series on a bit further.

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I understand what they were trying to display.

You have the "borderline MiL" and the "crossed the line MiL" with their respective DiLs.

Se-Mi gets the Karmal punishment for her crime of not fulfilling her compulsory role, and achieves forgiveness by her MiL once she accepts her role.

Young-ah is the counter-design, she gives up everything, even her "marriage" for her MiL and has Karma on her side, which forces her MiL to finally concede.

The idea is very popular in K-drama: If the (blood-related or equivalently associated) villain doesn't forsake his/her evil ways, you have to make him/her do it by making increasingly painful und idiotic sacrifices.

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Hi Jon!

I'm writing just to say thanks for recommending Grapevine on a past OT, I finally gave it a second chance and surprisingly I'm quite addicted to it. :) The first episode annoyed me but the following 9 episodes were good and very consistent, I guess what I love the most is just the logic, characters behave how I expect them too, things happen for a realistic reason, nobody is perfect but no crazy villains either. The rich snobs are fools but they don't bore me like the guys from Secret Love Affair, the decent characters are nice without being frustrating like Misaeng. I love the assistants and maids, they remind of the good parts of Downtown Abbey. I love the house, wish all dramas paid that much attention to the environment. My only complaint is that sometimes it does get a bit too slow and I miss a great soundtrack. Let's see where the rest of the show goes. :)

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Great to hear!

Yes, the "servant circles" are one of the highlights.
The "House" is just a stroke of genius by the production team, they tried something similar in their earlier works, but it finally works out in full glory.

The soundtrack, to me, was one of the best parts early on. It just suffered from not enough budget for more original work for the later parts. But, sure, it is quite unconventional (Klezmer in a K-drama?).

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The household staff actually being given some real depth is one of the best parts of Grapevine. It is still one of my favorite shows from the past 2 or 3 years.

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Other shows may have had a buzzier cast and soundtrack,or higher ratings, but on the script, acting and writing fronts, Grapevine is hands down the best drama of 2015.

A lot of people won't watch it because it is just so unlike any kdrama ever before it - tonally and in story and treatment. But that's just them missing out imho.

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Pogo,

The tone is one of the main reasons to watch it...refreshing take on things. Just an all-around fine job by all involved and that house was a perfect quirky fit.

Love this drama! <3

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Virtual Bride is such a shame, they forced wishy-washy angst after hooking me up with fluff and zippy zaniness. I watched a bit of episode 10 then just on to the last fifteen minutes of 12, and I still get the story!

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Hi Everyone!

I hope you are all doing well.

Unfortunately, I can't hang out in the OT today. I have rush off because family is coming over to stay for a week and there are many things that have to get done.

However, I wanted to stop by and say "hello" to everyone.

I haven't done much drama-watching this week, but I did manage to sneak in 2 episodes of Hwajeong. That was it.

That's all for now. ........ Everyone take care and have a great Friday!

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hai...

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What? Family is Coming has been subbed for a while...

j/k. ;P

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Currently watching White Christmas and Bad Guys. I am enjoying both shows.
Also watching TW Drama Moon River on Viki. It's total fluff but so fun. It's similar to Boys Over Flowers but different enough to make it interesting. The female lead is a martial arts champion so when she takes on the school bullies she really does kick butt. It has its flaws, but there is a charm about it that makes me keep watching. There are 4 episodes a week so it moves quickly.
Was looking forward to Goodbye Mr. Black but apparently there are problems between the production company and SBS so now it's been cancelled on that network. Hope they can quickly find a new network or I guess it's not going to air.

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I just recommended White Christmas to a friend who is new to kdramas as an introduction to a whole slew of actors who show up in some of the most popular kdramas since then. Also, White Christmas has such a different plot than one might expect in kdramaland. I really liked Bad Guys, too it never let up with the suspense and action. I've never seen Moon River but your description is intriguing as I am always looking for something new to watch with a martial arts twist as a bonus~

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I don't mean to sound shallow, I really don't. But as much as I would like watching Moon River, I really can't stand the heroine. I mean as soon as I see her face, I focus on her nostrils. They are so big. Her nose doesn't suit her face at all. Does thinking that make me an evil, shallow person? sigh...

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Happy OT! Been so tired and my weekends are turning into dust.

Padam Padam - I started watching solely for the story since I was neutral on the cast. But I ended up loving them all. I love the characters and their relationships. I luffed them so much that the noble-idiocy became tear-inducing rather than irritating. It was a bit repetitive, yes, but it did not relieve any pain for me. T.T I love this bittersweet feeling and this feeling is why I'm drawn to melos like a moth to a flame.

I didn't get to marathon The Genius. It's Padam's fault! But I will. Soon. lol. And I'm planning to watch She Was Pretty and maybe D-day. Also waiting for Village and DoTS.

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Happy friday beanies!

How has your week been? I'm still feeling the after stress from dissertations and have thus been ordered to knit to get me to relax. So is my time as a newly finished student and now unemployed person. Hurray.. *huddles in corner*

Dramaland:
I remember you: Okay this one was awesome! And the music was used well to increase your unease about certain people. Loved that the romance took a second part as well. We see it developing but it doesn't overpower the mystery (or her actual job). Also awesome heroine, and cute brothers.

I need romance 2 so I finally got around to watch this one. All in all I enjoyed it. Good friendship, though the main love triangle was annoying at times. Still Lee Jin Wook <3

Angry mum started this but not really hooked. I read the recaps though so could be that I've just taken to jump to much to get the cute from them.

Variety land:
Still runnng behind, but catching up to Show me the Money 4.

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Angry mom took me 3 tries. There are moments with doube context, and some parts seem meaningless, but on 3rd attempt, if you concentrate, you get it

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I liked Angry Mom, but did find that the funny bits were good but didn't mesh well with the seriousness of all the pieces to the events that happened to the daughter's friend. So on one hand it was treated in a serious way - hence what motivated the Angry Mom, and on the other hand we had light comical moments and some of the OST was too upbeat and misplaced. I found these elements to be a mismatch. Mind you, I loved the comical parts but still the fit was odd to me. Liked the drama in spite of this.

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Yeah I also wanted it to focus more on the mother/daugher than all the other players. Like evil dad. And as much as I liked her friend and her princess things, it does take over a bit from the rest and not always balanced.

might give it another try, but think maybe it will take a bt of time.

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Hi Manin, have you seen I Need Romance 3 yet?

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No I have't! Is it worth it?

I agreed with the ending of the first one, had second lead syndrome for the second (my love for LJW aside).

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I liked it

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A lot of people liked IRY, I gave up because I have no patience for the stupid cop team trope. After You're All Surrounded and Smelly Girl I started to really avoid this. I tried the first 3 eps of IRY because I love SIG and JN but dropped it.
Can you tell me if this cop team thing continues in the drama or they change it later?

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@ Lixie

The cop team continues throughout with only 1 change at the end. I found them pretty competent though. Not dumb or dumbed down to make the main protagonist smart. They were definitely not as bad as Smelly Girl's team (well hardly any could be as bad as that) or like You're All Surrounded. They also bonded together more naturally and better in the long run.

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Thanks Growingbeautifully

I'll give IRY another try. :)

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Yeah like Growingbeautifully said the cop team continues and they are capable. The romance does not take over, and they are all actually doing their jobs. Sure there are some comic relief aspects to them, but not to the point where it ruined anything. It's definitively worth a shot.

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please do not compare I Remember You to the-so-called detective dramas who treat investigation like a joke.

Sincerely,

Yours.

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@ kamestar ,

15 plus alpha..eh

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I am quite swept away by Lee Sang Yoon in 'Twenty Again', so I did my research and realised that he has some very successful works under his belt. I went to watch the highly raved 'Liar Game', which marked my first thriller. 6 episodes in and it is SO GOOD OMG. The last drama I watched by Shin se rok was YFAS, and his performance in LG really shone a lot more as a 'villian'. I went to catch some episodes of 'My daughter Seo yong' due to LSY too hahas, and ended up skipping most episodes and parts. I can tell that it is a solid family drama, but don't have the time to sit and watch the drama thoughout - I shall do it after this semester at the end of the year hahas. OH BY THE WAY, did i mentioned that this week is supposed to be my recess week, which means that I should be studying? Quite glad that my 2 heavy content modules had the mid terms last week, or else, I would never have the time to catch some parts of 2 great dramas. Now, I have to rush my projects!!!
The thing about dramas which have finished their run on line - it is much harder to control as compared to those on air dramas which only have 2 eps per week.

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I love Shin Sung-Rok. He is another stage actor that I'm rooting for. He played Edmond Dantès (Count of Monte Cristo), Romeo, Dracula etc on stage so he can roll with a hero or villain and owned it like we've seen in some of his dramas.

I'm so excited that he is going to be in movie with the incredible Song Kang Ho and is probably going to play the villain.

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I can totally see him as Dracula...

Dang! Now I want them to do a drama with him as Dracula!

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I would like to see him as a korean version of Dr. House

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Yes!!

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I'm so glad you started Liar Game! It's amazing and I think you will appreciate Sangyoon's gruffy-teddy-bearness in 20A after watching Liar Game.

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Hello Everyone and Happy Weekend!

It's too soon to be Friday (night for me), I haven't got myself organized for Thursday yet!

I'm drowsily writing this...What I'm sort of Watching

She Was Pretty - I believe we have to laugh at this show or be annoyed. It's hard to be in between when we have the weird, loud, and big as well as the staid going on at the same time. LOL! I like the comic timing and how the scenes come one after another leading us through to each conflict. It's going to be a good build up of a tower of lies, just waiting to be tipped over. At the moment I'm still more invested in the girls' bestie friendship than in any romance.

Yong Pal - Schizophrenic is how I'd describe it.

Twenty Again - The best of what I'm watching and I'm so invested in how No Ra grows independent and confident in herself and without leaning much on anyone. May all the men folk in her life start regarding her with new eyes and respect and I hope she rises to the occasion by showing them a thing or two about treating others well.

1% of Anything - An 'old' show FFD and skipped watched just to see the early days of Kang Dong Won. If ever I needed a show which made me say, "Thank goodness we've come so far!" it would be this one! A truly uninspired soap opera whose only action was talk and wrist-grabbing. It probably covered over 200 conversations which have been in countless soap operas before and many of which were still repeated within the same show, by the same characters. The sets, camera work, editing, sound, general production value was yelling 'low value here' and much of the cast could not act or had nothing to act about. There were no great twists and little conflict, and everyone ultimately was 'good'. Yet, they were ordinarily endearing and still Kang Dong Won remained strangely watchable.

:)

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1% Of Anything seems pretty advanced - more so than many dramas these days, I feel - in one respect: the heroine and her family are completely unimpressed by Kang Dong Won's chaebol family, and the show adopts the same attitude. Another thing that struck me was how baggy KDW's clothes were then. Now it's all buff male bodies being shown off by tight shirts and trousers.

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I remember that at the time a big part of 1%'s charm was that it was so different, so quiet and sweet and character-driven. It stood out for its lack of birth secrets, trucks of doom and so on. People worked to improve themselves so others would grow to care for them. And, of course, Kang Dong Won :)

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@ bbstl

Thanks for this. So it was a break from the tear-jerking, more makjang melodramas, I take it?

Quiet and sweet it was, but also boring. It must have been a sensation in it's time. Now if it should be re-made in the same tone and style (or ala The Time We Were Not In Love), it might still work but at 12 episodes instead of 26. :)

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I thinking it wasn't a sensation at all but people who liked it tended to love it. I recall thinking that I'd never seen so much orange juice consumed ? It surely could have benefited from some strong editing.

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@bbstl, I agree that one of the good things about 1% was how unmelodramatic it was, and how many of the characters actually tried to change for the better.

@Growingbeautifully, I said 1% was advanced in one respect (which I elaborated on), not in every way. For a start, it features many of those archaic controlling parents that you and @alua mention. I would say almost all the parents in 1% (including KDW's mother, uncle and aunt) are pretty controlling, but it wasn't the heroine's parents I was most annoyed by - it was KDW's grandfather who virtually engineered the main romantic relationship just because he thought the girl was right for his grandson. The girl's parent were unusual: if I remember correctly, they interfered a lot with her love life, but were fine with a lot of other things like their children's education and career choices, and - more astonishingly - their bringing home all manner of waifs and strays.

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@ Knewbie

I was telling myself that I ought to go watch some present day soaps to see if they've improved. If 1% is advanced, then they've declined!!!

Yes, I noticed the clothes. So much more comfortable and not actually less sexy or masculine.

I believe I preferred the heroine's first and last hair styles, compared to the sleek look in the middle.

Now on to some weekend drama for comparison... which should it be? The 'mom' shows or the 'daughter' show?

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I hated the heroine's family. They were treating the adult daughter like a child, or rather, like an animal that they put in a cage. I still haven't forgiven them for favouring the creepy co-worker of hers either – and the fact that the drama did not address this issue at all. That guy was a stalker, he should not have been forgiven for any of his actions.

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@ alua

I see I'm not the only one not comfortable with the 'teacher' suitor. They kept repeating how good he was and pushing him to take care of the girl. I hated the way he looked at her. Whenever he came around, I felt so irritated on her behalf! LOL. Hence even more FFD-ing!

It was a pity the girl was so meek and such a good daughter. Actually, as a parent, I can totally understand the father's point of view. He would naturally want to protect her from making a life-long mistake. However the controlling parent thing is still very much in evidence in dramas (not so much in RL though?). And I did think that if she could have had a tinge of temper and stood up a bit more for herself, she would have been a much more interesting and engaging character.

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He was a stalker. And so creepy – when he sneakily moved into her neighbourhood! That's the sort of guy with who you'll end up having an emotionally abusive (if not physically) relationship with....

I think hoping to protect your child from a mistake is one thing (even if children ultimately need to live their own life and make their own mistakes), but locking her up in the house as they did and only allowing her to go places if escorted by a guy they barely knew – that's completely something else.

Not that I would have liked it, but they could have continually reprimanded her, they could have had a close relative escort her (though it would still have been wrong and excessive), but locking her up and giving 100% trust to someone that just suddenly appeared in their life, was just infuriating. They asked no questions at all and sadly the writers left them thinking that the creep was the nicest guy!

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@ alua

Eeewwww! I skipped so much I did not catch all that, but yeah! They never questioned him... he just was good at carrying them and being polite and that's it... he was husband material? In 26 episodes, a lot more could have been examined, but I gathered the focus was on getting the OTP married and then pairing up all the young uns. I jumped from Episode 12 or 13 to the last 2, because I could not take the sit around and talk about it scenes anymore LOL!

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Hi @GB! You're absolutely right about Yong Pal! Every week we shift from romance to medical emergency to chaebol wars and murders... I'm really hoping they can finish the show clean and satisfactory.

Anyhow I'm starting Gaksital later. Well because of Joo Woon! It's been in my MUST-WATCH list but just hadn't had the urge to start it yet. And now I do! ?

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@ Chesens

Gaksital - You're going to watch? Great! someone to 'watch with'. I stopped at Ep 7? or 8? cannot remember. I don't think I can watch every minute of it, but I'd like to see if I get anything more out of it than I do now, since so many people liked it. If you do get on it, just mention it on the OT. Maybe we can exchange notes. :)

YP - I believe to ensure viewers are happy, there is already a 'good' ending in place, however getting there is the thing. How convincing will it be to have a hero and heroine that we can root for full-heartedly within 2 episodes, is the question. :)

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I'm on Episode 2 of Gaksital. Will tell you when I reach 7 and 8. So far I'm loving it. I just find Joo Woon's acting so compelling, even in Yong Pal.

Weird because I dropped Cantabile Tomorrow because of him. Maybe because the Japanese version is one of my top favorites (like, of all time!) so it's kind of hard to replace.

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Happy Chuseok JB, GF and the Dramabean crew! I hope you are going to enjoy some yummy traditional Korean food and spend time with families this weekend. I always look forward to this time of the year too because most of my friends and neighbors are Koreans and they always invite me every year to join in on their celebration. I'm basically starving myself for the first party tomorrow evening lol.

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Happy Chuseok Kiara and to everyone else who is celebrating. We have a Moon Lantern Festival here celebrating Chuseok in quite a big way here down under.

Just watched the movie Lake House on TV last night. It made me reminisce about Il Mare, which was the very first Korean film I watched, at about the same time as JSA. Even with Keanu Reeves and Sandra, the Hollywood remake is no where close to Il Mare. I guess this is what Korean films and movies are strongest at, in delivering the emotional punch which hit the viewer spot on.

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Happy Chuseok Pebble :). Wow Lantern Festival? That is so awesome! We are just going to eat a lot then go on a diet next week lol.

I would've watched Lake House if Keanu Reeves wasn't in it, same with the Matrix (I'm terrible, I don't like him as an actor). I'd always imagine oppa taking his place lol.

It's so nice to see you here. Have a wonderful weekend:).

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Yep Kiara, I did read your posting two weeks about oppa replacing Orlando Bloom as Legolas in Lord of the Rings and Keanu Reeves in Speed, I had a hearty laugh, it was so cute of you to have imagined oppa acting in those roles in Hollywood movies!

Do have a great time celebrating Chuseok feasting with your Korean friends ^.^ It is mid spring here, so we are celebrating "moon lantern" festival instead of "chuseok".

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Correction, you were talking about Matrix not Speed, I kept associating Keanu Reeves with Speed probably it was a hit in my younger days. Well, oppa can easily deliver that too, just like his action packed Two Weeks ^.^

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So, it's been a while, everyone. How are you all doing? I've been very busy lately. My dad, younger brother and I have been house-hunting and it looks like, at least for now, that we'll be getting the house we want. It's been a long year, filled with loss and a great deal of stress and heartache, but things are finally looking up.

I've returned to watching Save the Family on KBS World's YouTube channel. They've already uploaded 90 episodes and I'm on episode 38. But beyond that my K-drama watching has been limited. I want to watch a very bright rom-com, so if anyone has any suggestions I'll be happy to hear them!

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Marriage Not Dating!

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Witch's Romance! (but skip the part where Polar Bear is around)

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Good morning!

I am liking our four leads in She Was Pretty much like I did in High Society until they couldn’t ever get past “I am angry I’m rich/I am angry I’m poor.” (For once, I actually think the body switch theme might have been the answer to sorting out things in High Society.) So far, I don't think this will crash and burn, though. The emerging backstories and family dynamics in SWP (Shin-Hyuk, who are you?? hanging out in the hotel hallway like that) are not dragging the plot down, but adding depth to the characters and what’s going on. While Sung-Joon is condescending and rude, there is a glimpse that something has perhaps rewired his brain or at least caused a short. It’s curious that very little attention has been given to the real reason why he is at Most and if the staff knew that everything was on the line, would it make them respond differently to his 3-minute attention demands.
I can even accept Ha Ri’s reasoning to decide to “stall just one more day, could it really hurt?” under the circumstances. However, it’s a frustrating double standard when Hye-Jin rightfully gives Sung-Joon a piece of her mind when he mistreats her, yet her deliberate lies to hide her identity from him has caused a vicious circle of misunderstandings that affects everyone. Hopefully, Sung-Joon won’t have to misunderstand the Ha-Ri/Hye-Jin mistaken identity game much longer given recent clues. But can they even like each other after that?

Loving Siwan Mr. Piled Up Chicken Feet Shin-Hyuk.

Park Seo Joon reminds me of Yoo Ah In these days.

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Hey Owl! It's muse. Are you looking forward to Lee Dong Wook's new drama?

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But of course, muse~ Bubblegum is an intersting title. Looking forward to Jung Ryeo Won, too - the pair should be a riot!

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Yup I'm looking forward to both of them too! No pressure intended but are you going to recap/commentate on Bubblegum?

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I AM looking for something to recap, muse, even a bit antsy. I have Vampire Detective in mind with lovey Lee Joon (who was awesome in both Grapevine and Gap Dong) and in keeping with my odd attraction to Korean vampire stories (doubly odd since I don't ever watch vampire stuff otherwise.). However, it's slated for 2016, so perhaps I will consider Dong Wookie's next drama, thanks for the nudge.

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All in a day's work! I largely attribute my recent semi-love for Lee Dong Wook because of your Roommate recaps and it would be fun to squee with you over him again.

I'm hesitant about Vampire Detective because I feel betrayed about not having a VP3. I totally get the k-vampire fascination because I avoid that stuff to except for that series.

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I was just thinking to day that nothing has satisfactorily replaced the love I had for Roommate - both seasons. Like your disappointment for not having a VP3, I feel that way about the rug-pulled-out-from-under-us with Roommate seasons 3 that was, and then was not.

Here's to finding a common squee factor again - let's do it!

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Hi Owl! Hi Muse! (New name, huh!? Lol)

I've developed a new appreciation for Lee Dong-work. Next up for me is My Girl recaps and watching the drama, I realized that I dropped the ball on him. I basically watched the drama and then never watched him in anything else until now. He's so dreamy in My Girl that I am going to have to watch some more of his dramas--although I swear Rain must have used LDW's Gong-chan as inspiration for Hyun-work in She's So Boring--they both do a lot of grimacing and the hand on the head with stink face look. It's sooo funny.

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Hey Elle! Yup, it's pithier, right? I haven't seen My Girl yet, my first LDW drama was Mandate of Heaven and I was meh about him till Blade Man. I'll have to check out My Girl then. Looking forward to your recaps!

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You must check out My Girl muse!!

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Stopping by late just to say "hi" Elle!

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much like I did in High Society until they couldn’t ever get past “I am angry I’m rich/I am angry I’m poor.”

This part made me actually snort because it's so dead accurate.

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I even stuck with HS until the last two episodes where i just couldn't. I held out wishing, wanting, hoping that UEE, Sweet Potato, chipper poor girl, and ZE:A would set aside the whole money/not money thing, but nooooo~

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How is everyone doing? Can anyone recommend me any dramas to watch lately? I'm quite new in the drama community, barely a year in, so the dramas from 2013 below I've probably never watched, other than the ones which were highly recommended. Lately there's been a drama slump, since I've not been able to get invested in any drama apart from Twenty Again. Thanks :D

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Let's see, where should we start:

Coffee Prince (definitely watch)
Bridal Mask
Goong
Answer Me 1997
Queen In-Hyun's Man
The Princess' Man
City Hunter
Secret Garden
Pasta
Dong Yi
The Legend
My Girlfriend is a Nine-Tailed Fox

^those are probably enough to get you started for now lol

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In addition...

Shut Up Flower Boy Band
Healer
King2Hearts
Empress Ki - just to ogle on JCW. You can skip the other parts.
It's Okay, It's Love
Pinocchio

You can also check out the Ratings page here in DB. That's where I get my MUST-WATCH list especially the older shows. Right now I'm watching Gaksital. Well, in between waiting for episodes of Twenty Again and Yong Pal ?

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HEALER, a must.

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Yong pal : drop in ep 5 or was it 6? ...
She was pretty : drop in ep 2

drop kdramas once again gonna go back to gotham, will return if the preview of midnight teacher looks promising ...I hope so ?

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The drought in California is real; wish that I could not say the same about the one in K-dramaland. Please do not misunderstand me; I LOVE K-dramas and remain a loyal and ardent fan. However, I am finding recent offerings neither inspiring nor emotionally engaging. Of course, there have been a few bright spots in an otherwise dull world, but my overall disappointment remains.

For me, a worst case scenario is biting into a k-drama hook, line, and sinker, happily riding the emotional roller coaster for 14 of the 16 episodes, only to have it go off the rails in the last two episodes. Do you know of which recently aired drama I speak?

I’m still torn up about the unsatisfactorily tied up loose ends in MLED, yet cannot bring myself to brand the drama a failure nor purge my affection for it, despite the maddening wrap-up.

Plenty has been written in other forums about how the ending might have been worked to end the drama on as high a note as it began and ran, for the most part. I just couldn’t pass up an opportunity to chime in one last time about a decent, heart-moving drama gone awry. Sigh.

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For some reason aka much needed holiday, things worked out that I can post here. Missed you, chingus~

Last - Manbattles? Check. Unexpected brand of comedy? Check. Slice of life from the homeless' pov? Check. It even made me like Jang Tae Ho in the end. Or maybe Nara's teeny flower garden just worked for me. But really, Ryu Ahjussi didn't have to die like that and leave Mi Joo all alone with the teddy bear, just nope.

Virtual Bride - See, 12 episodes is enough for a nice romcom. Why did I check this and ended up in a marathon? Dasom is to be lauded for willing to commit fully for some of the humor esp in the earlier episodes. Oh In Yeong grows on you and I've seen the actor playing Professor Cha as the middle son in Ojakgyo Family so it was cute. Yeong Ah's mother-in-law aside, everyone grew on me, even Haji. Go Doo Shim was doting adorably even though she tends to belittle her "fake" squid daughter-in-law.

She Was Pretty - The main reason I don't want Hari to do the inevitable and feel feelings for Ji Sung Joon is because she's literally going down the path she keeps on telling herself "isn't that bad." Dear, it will be terrible for your relationship with your beloved wife. And yet, I keep on rooting for Siwon's Shin Hyuk to be more proactive in liking Hye Jin with all her bouncing like an excited electron, especially that he had that scene where he said the view she's pretty *insert squees*

Twenty Again - I've officially added Ha No Ra to my all-time favorites, admiring her just like how that nice Sunbae of her does (he's a darling, too, I know).

It seems like the ones I start this year (Angry Mom, Heard It Through the Grapevine, Twenty Again) just because the premise seem fun tend to go further than that and be something more precious. At least. Will follow Yoona's Street as it's being slowly (and thankfully) subbed on Viki; that former criminals' house look awfully a blast to live in.

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Isn't Virtual Bride nice? Dasom actually did a good job. She makes me feel for Oh In Yeong especially when she cries. I think the last episode was cramped and rushed but I still prefer just having 12 episodes for it.

Dear, Yoona's Street is fully subbed at darksmurfsubs. The Yoona Team at viki will not finish it anytime soon. I think there's only two or three of us subbing it at the moment.

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Thanks for the tip. Might need to go into digging as I can't recall my DSS password. And good luck on subbing in Viki ^^

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Watching

Ugly Alert: Im Joo hwan continues to be one of the sweetest men in kdrama history. He reminds me of Chang-man from Yoo-na's street in some ways.

Miss Korea: Didn't really catch me when it was airing so I dropped it 2 episodes in. It really works for me though. The only flaw I can give it is that it over-stacks the deck against our underdogs. The cast sells it though because after rolling me eyes really hard I go back to being worried for them.

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omggggg is Ugly Alert good? I've been wanting to watch it since I finished Oh My Ghostess.

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I think so. I've only watched twenty-something episodes of it, but I enjoy it. It's long, but the episodes are shorter than an hour. Performances are good to decent and nothing is overtly frustrating yet but that may change later so...It's sweet, simple, and cathartic, worth a shot I'd say.

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Thanks! I'll give it a try since I don't have much to do these days.

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I watched Ugly Alert last year, and despite it's length, thought it was really excellent. I hope to watch it again someday.

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I'm on episode 85 and yes it is quite good. :)

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It's my birthday, and I got a nice lemon sponge cake for a birthday cake so I'm quite happy with it :)

but kdrama-wise, the scene is totally empty since the end of SWWTN. The only drama I am waiting for is Sassy Go Go. And today I got the opposite of a birthday present with the news that SBS is dropping Goodbye Mr Black from its lineup (NOOOOOOOO not my Moon Chae-won!!!)

Still, where kdrama fails, Harry Potter (my OG fandom) has taken over. I just woke up to the fact that Pottermore has shaken off its lame flash and general slowness, to feature new pieces of actual writing by J.K. Rowling! I had actual tears in my eyes at the anecdote about the Scottish rugby team - it's less bizarre than it sounds, really. And childish it may be, especially at my age, but I am THRILLED to find that I share a birthday with a Harry Potter character - Ollivander, no less!

Honestly, I will never have any shame about loving Harry Potter, either as a teenager or now. The books and the fandom have introduced me to so many other works, actors and generally cool things I love.

The absolutely brilliant tv show I was fangirling over on last week's OT? I ended up watching it because one of the leads had a minor role in the fourth Harry Potter movie, and she turned me into a fangirl of hers - ten years ago now!. Watching all of Terry Gilliam's movies? That happened because I knew J.K. Rowling wanted him to direct the first film, even if he didn't ultimately do it. The manga/anime obsession that led me to jdramas, and from there to kdramas? That was all thanks to recs and watching fellow HP fans fangirling over them..... in a way, if it hadn't been for Harry Potter, I would not be here on db at all. But I'm so grateful that I am.

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oh, and now I have finished The Tunnel (which is terrifying, and even more topical given the refugee crisis even though the show is from 2013), and have started on Penny Dreadful. Which is fantastic btw. Anyone who likes being creeped or scared out of their wits should definitely watch!

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Happy Birthday @pogo!

Have you been to Universal Studios? For the ultimate birthday treat, just soak in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I loved the one in Japan. I was in seventh heaven walking through Diagon Alley, watching the owls roost, oohing over every painstakingly made detail and aahing over Hogwarts inside and out. Such fun!

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no, I haven't! I would like to visit Leavesden Studios, though (where they shot the films), and I did see the trolley sticking out of the wall between the platforms at King's Cross.

I love those books. They got me through some of the darkest times in my life, and have brought me so much joy. I'm a better person for being a Harry Potter fan - how many books can one say that about?

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OPPA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

/swoon (and thank you)

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Yay~