As has been the case for the past few weeks, 30 but 17 is my drug of choice. So pleased it is back on Viki. Watching these sweet peas come into their own is such a gentle, heartwarming pleasure. While I sometimes wish the revelation of Seo-ri’s identity would just HAPPEN already, I think this impatience is caused more by the show’s over-use of near misses than with a desire to see the change this realisation will cause. Honestly, there is so many lovely little idiosyncrasies about where all the characters are at right now - I would happily take another week or two of the plot treading water.

Familiar Wife has unexpectedly become my second must-watch show of the week. I think someone mentioned on Dramabeans how rewarding it is to watch seasoned actors like Han-Jin Min and Ji Sung in action, and I agree that there is something a little extra special about their performances. There’s a subtlety and pathos to their expressions that makes them so compelling. I do have a little bit of SLS, but since Won-Jin and Joo-Hyuk have spent so much time together onscreen in recent episodes, my heart is wavering a little too.

I am not going to make my regular wail (and post) of despair about My ID is Gangnam Beauty this week. Last night’s episode (#11) returned to what made this drama interesting to me in the first place: the emotional and psychological implications of living under a cloud of judgment for your appearance, and how this intersects with gender and power in society. Ack. It kinda broke my heart tbh. Mi-Rae deserves hugs. Hyun-jun is the ace of besties. Kyung-seok was marginally more interesting. Soo-ah makes no sense as a character thus far. None.

P. S. Woo-young, do not make a fecking confession to your student tonight, you inappropriate dingus. (KDS, it’s not you. It’s the character. I still have big 💕 for you.)

Even though I thought I had dropped Witch’s Love, I guess I hadn’t. It was light and cute. I would have appreciated a little more worldbuilding on the witches’ front. The couples’ chemistry was sweet if a little insubstantial.

I also sampled Ultraviolet, because I have notions of learning Polish. I swiftly realised how far I have to go. But it’s a decent procedural on Netflix. Tried The Great Doctor but Lee Min ho is in it, and no matter how hard I try, I only see “conceited jerk” when I look at him? Is it just me? Also gave Hyde, Jekyll, Me a look-see because of Han-Jin Min, but .... ehhhh... well, I was warned.

If you are not watching My ID is Gangnam Beauty- you are seriously missing out on a very good drama.

I loved most of the ending of Your House Helper. My favorite part was when it was Sang A who pulled out rings and actually proposed to her guy. It was not just because it signaled that she has finally grown up and has taken full responsibility for her life and her love but also that she understands her guy and their relationship. She knows that she has a great guy who really tries and is there for here. He has all the big things down- but is sometimes clueless about the little things. And so, at times she has to take charge, just as he has shown a willingness to take the initiative when she has not asked him to. In a real marriage the guy is not always in charge and neither is the lady. Sometimes it will be one and sometimes the other - as it should be in a true partnership of love. The key is being willing to listen to each other. Sang A now knows this- and she knows that her guy wants to marry her. So she takes charge and proposes. They are going to have a great marriage.

My ID Is Gangnam Beauty: With the loveline going nowhere, the family relationship has become my fave: mother-son, mother-daughter, and brother-sister. I love Kyung Hee's livid reaction to her father telling her the truth. "Who are you to turn my mom into that kind of person!?!" I sobbed when Kyung Hee confessed, "Oppa, you're so mean and selfish. I hate all of you. I hate Dad, I hate Oppa, I hate that woman, and I hate myself." I wanted Mom to storm into the police station and say to that trash coworker, "We're suing you for sexual harassment." I assumed Kyung Hee would join them for dinner.

It is extremely frustrating watching Mi Rae avoid Kyung Seok and Kyung Seok and Woo Young acting petty to each other like the arm wrestling. Especially because there is nothing to be afraid of with Soo Ah since Kyung Seok will never put up with her bullshit. When people at school find out Soo Ah switched part-time jobs, I hope they think she is clinging onto him.

My jaw dropped as soon as Mi Rae's parents overheard those women call Mi Rae "Gangnam beauty," and I braced myself for Dad making a scene and telling them off but turns out they have no clue what the word even means. For their sake, I hope they never find out.

Life: I've now caught up with all the existing episodes on Netflix and as a whole, I've been really enjoying the workplace dynamics and political shenanigans. But there are a couple of niggly things that I'm concerned about with 4 episodes left to go.
It felt like around Episodes 11 and 12, the show veered off into makjang territory which is disappointing. I didn't think the show which has largely been excellent doing what it's been doing really needed to do that.

As I've said elsewhere, I'm not particularly liking where the writer has taken Lee No-Eul in this show whose primary purpose seems to be that of a relationship conduit. I don't really want to dislike the character because she did a good thing meeting President Gu one-on-one and taking him around the wards, putting faces to the dollar signs. But aside from that, she's not much more than the somewhat idealistic, somewhat naive, friend and potential love interest. She also made me really uncomfortable by digging into Seon Woo's patient records especially after her non-response response. The fact that the drama hand waved her naughtiness also made me uncomfortable.

Voice 2: This is definitely my weekly K drama crack and it seems almost to be an entirely different beastie to the first series. I like that it feels more grounded, detailed than the previous one. I haven't really missed Jang Hyuk's character as LJU's cop character is bringing something a little different to the table.

I stumbled onto the third installment of Medical Examiner Dr Qin and so far it's not bad. I even like the actor playing Qin Ming. Once again, it's an entirely different cast playing the same two main characters. I dropped the second series after the third episode as there was nothing about it that I particularly liked... the actors, the format or the storytelling. I don't object to serial killing stories but to have to sit through a whole drama for 21 episodes on a single story arc without other stories interspersed doesn't appeal to me.

Had a quick look at Bloody Romance and the premise looks intriguing. Not hooked like I was with Legend of Yunxi but the female lead was a reasonably good Huang Rong in last year's Legend of the Condor Heroes.

only watching Life and Mr. Sunshine still...

but filling all other hours of the day watching the japanese reality series (now on the third installment) Terrace House... so addicting! why?? i don't know!!!

it's like the long ago MTV Real Life, but so dang POLITE, my gawd....

Boys x Girls In the City -- worst bento made for the poor Japanese/Iranian guy from hawaii -- the japanese girl made Spam Musubi without frying the spam, much less in the requisite teriyaki sauce! talk about BLEAH!

dislike the Aloha State season -- too much american "aggressiveness" and one serious slut...

I’ve never posted one of these before, but I’ve also never watched so many dramas live before! So here goes:

Witch’s Love - I finished it this week, but I was rather disappointed with the story as a whole. I found the mystery of Cho Hong’s mother and her relationship with her grandmas to be the most compelling part, and the former was pretty shortchanged. I also found the actress friend of the male lead’s really intriguing, but she never appeared again which made me sad. Hongbin was adorable as the second male lead, but his character served no purpose...
Time - It took me awhile to get really into this drama, but now I am and I’m so sad that the lead actor is leaving due to health problems. It’s hard to watch the most recent episodes and feel that some of that acting is really the truth, but I’m also looking forward to seeing Ji Hyun’s growth in the wake of even more tragedy.
Familiar Wife - If the male lead wasn’t Ji Sung, I would have dropped this drama after one episode because the marriage was so toxic and the character so irresponsible. But I’m relieved I stuck with it, because it does a great job of examining how a marriage can go wrong even when both parties love each other. The chemistry between them is excellent, yet I feel so much for the rest of the cast caught up in this timey-wimey whirlwind.
My ID Is Gangnam Beauty - My current obsession, and I can’t get enough. I have never been this keen to rewatch a drama while waiting for new episodes, and to dissect every moment that passes onscreen. I love the way the show is dealing with beauty standards and gender-based microaggresions. Mi Rae is so relatable, and Im Soo Hyang is killing it in every scene. Of course Cha Eunwoo is greener as a young and inexperienced actor, but he does so much with so little and his chemistry with her is on point. It’s also one of the few dramas where I’m invested in ALL the characters and rarely feel like a scene is wasted.

In My ID is Gangnam Beauty I really loved the scene where Kyung-Seok's father has won the Mayoral election- and returns to an empty house. The only redeeming thing about him at this moment is that he has acknowledged that it is ok for his daughter to stay with her mom. Maybe he is finally starting to take responsibility of some kind for what he did to their mother. Maybe. And Kyung-Seok will not have to leave school for a year because he has accepted his mom's help. That is actually real growth for him- because before he has always kept himself isolated (except for his relationship with his sister) and unwilling to depend upon other's. But truly, in the words of John Donne, 'no man is an island unto himself' (Paul Simon's song to the contrary was really intended to prove Donne's point) and Kyung-Seok is finally starting to learn that lesson, which he has to learn if he and Mi Rae are ever to be together.

Thirty But Seventeen: I love this drama. It's so happy and cute. I actually laugh out loud and cry. All of the characters have personality, dimension, their own personal quirks and mannerisms. I was getting so annoyed by k-dramas with leads that have no personality or very boring personalities. This is what actual 'characters' look like. The story is slowing down a bit or dragging out...but I don't care, I can watch these characters as long as it takes

My ID is Gangnam Beauty: I don't know how I feel about this one. I find it difficult to get on board with Mi Rae's 1st world problem (oh no a hot guy likes me but I'm not good enough >.> ). And Do Kyung Seok is the opposite of the characters I gravitate toward (emotionless or robotic vs. passionate or wears heart on sleeve). But I am interested in Hyun Soo A. She creeps me out. It seems like she has Narcissistic Personality Disorder, but is there more to it? I want to know why she is the way she is.

My Husband Oh Jak Doo: A simple, easy going drama with decent characters. I'm just past the halfway point and I'm wondering what they're gonna do with the rest of the story. And poor Eric...I can't help it...he's cute :3

Come Here and Hug Me: So boring. I hate it. Another robotic male lead. It's strange how a show with a serial killer can be so uninteresting. The only thing I like about it is Hyun Moo (I want to see him as a male lead next :D). I don't know if I'm ever going to get through it.

My ID Is Gangnam Beauty – Love what’s unfolding between MR and KS especially when he said that he will still wait for her. I just adore the jealous KS, haha…l enjoy watching him feeling insecure (considering his looks and all) and competing against WY. Just hoping that they will give MR and KS more sweet moments…and oh I was kind of hoping WY will end up with YB (the girl that confessed she likes him).

Still 17 – Been planning to watch this drama when it started airing but was only able to this past two days during my rest days from work. Was laughing so hard at some scenes and felt lighthearted countless times because of WJ and SR, both of them are so adorable together and their interactions are so cute. I just hope Chan will not get too hurt later in the drama.

Meteor Garden 2018 – The first in many versions that I was able to finished watching. Not so satisfied with wedding scene though…but I still love Daoming Si and Shancai…oh how I love happy endings, haha. Love the ending for Ximen and Xiaoyou and glad they showed the “endings” for all the other characters.

Yesterday since, unusual for me, I was caught up on the four dramas I am live watching I went back and picked up WOK OF LOVE at episode 23.
So up to date probably because of the recent preemptions on:
1. YOUR HONOR. I am really enjoying this show. Yoon Shi-yoon and Lee Yoo-young are great together. YSY's interpretation of the twin brothers may not be for everyone but I can't but help like Han Kang-ho;
2. THIRTY BUT SEVENTEEN. I am glad I jumped on board. This seems to be a beanie favorite and I am on the band wagon for this one;
3. LIFE. A very good drama but for me not quite as good as FOREST OF SECRETS; and
4. VOICE 2. This is a 12 episode drama so we are half way through.
I am enjoying V2 as I do most OCN dramas but I think I enjoyed the original a bit better.

A little sad that not a lot of people are watching/talking about lovely horribly. I'm so addicted right now.
Tried it out cuz I'm a SJH fan (for running man, I don't blindly watch dramas/show because of it) and stayed for a great production
I've been feeling the dry spell with kdrama so I'm glad to have found a show that sustains my interest. I love the mixing of genres.