Same here.

So imagine how I felt several months ago when I randomly opened my tv to some random korean channel and saw him in the family reality show. He was so normal and sweet with his child. But my brain can't compute, his image from Return is too strong

Yeah, after a while, they all look the same. It's reduced to Good Old Guy, Bad Old Guy, and Useless Old Guy.

@yyishere, it's at the beginning that I have so much trouble and try to sort them by the embroidery on the red robe: Crane guy, Phoenix Guy ... argh, I can't think of more examples now ☹️

Hear, hear, @bbstl and @yyishere YY, re: differentiating herds of Joseon ministers!

To spare my sanity, before a show airs (whether sageuk or not) I usually prepare a cheat sheet based on AsianWiki's mugshots, and add rank/job title and family relationships. DramaWiki often groups supporting cast by family or organization, so I sometimes refer to that as well. I also check HanCinema.com for its helpful extended cast lists, which often give actors’ photos and names as well as roles. I haven’t been as diligent lately about reviewing filmographies for earlier roles I may have seen. The practice has actually been very helpful in jogging my memory and recognition of performers. It went by the wayside last year when I was live-watching way too many dramas simultaneously. At any rate, I include this cast data in my log entry for each show so I can update it on the fly. It has been very helpful as an enhanced dramatis personae.

I don’t have the inability to read and understand the chyrons that I've been noticing in NOKDU FLOWER that give the titles/ranks and then the names of characters in larger print. Sometimes they are completely ignored in the subtitles, other times they are spelled out. I've started making entries for “Uncredited Roles” in my cheat sheet by romanizing the names of newly-introduced characters and comparing them to the cast lists on AsianWiki and DramaWiki; I hope to see them turn up in later cast updates, especially when it comes to cameos. Aside from the royal family's titles, Joseon court titles and ranks are pretty much beyond me, although I occasionally recognize one when I hear it. I was thrilled to finally learn Lee Kyu-tae's rank (Left Commander) after all this time in one of last week's episodes.

Nerdy Aside: If I were more OCD, I would input the hangul chyrons into Google Translate to see what pops out. Oh, wait. I’m going to give it a stab after I obtain hangul keyboard stickers. (I’ve tried referring to a keyboard chart, but it’s a pain in the butt. I want to watch Kdramas, not fight with my computer.) I’ve already installed the Microsoft Korean IME for Windows 7 following the instructions on Korean From Zero’s website a couple of years ago, and took it for a clunky, if successful, spin. Installation instructions for Android and Mac were still pending the last time I checked.

I watched this week’s premiere episodes of DESIGNATED SURVIVOR: 60 DAYS. I've been adding the names and job titles to my cast list cheat sheet as they pop up in the subtitles, or I hazard my own guesses. Luckily, I recognize many of the actors in this show, including Woo Hyeon’s cameo as the chief of protocol. Heo Jun-ho is basically the Chief Royal Secretary, with a couple of subordinate Royal Secretaries – and a swoon-worthy Royal Writer of Speeches who was traitorous Prince Jinpyung in CROWNED CLOWN’s Joseon timeline. No wonder he looked vaguely familiar.

@pakalanapikake
😮, or as Samsoon's sister would say, omo yip! So the real problem in my inability to differentiate between 20 lookalike Ministers of the Left and Right is that I'm too lazy? Holy cow, I feel like I real piker that I'm just "watching" dramas! You are AMAZING. Do you manage all this online or do you have notebooks filled with all the shows you've seen? I'm blown away.

I started Designated Survivor as well, but only one so far. Why can I tell these guys apart when they're all in dark suits? 🤦🏻‍♀️ Maybe it's the lack of hats 🤔

She is amazing, isn't she? My mouth fell open, and stayed open reading your post, @pakalanapikake. I am currently watching a miserly one and only drama, Perfume. I love it. It makes me laugh, it makes my cry. It keeps breaking my heart, and I don't even know how it's going to end. But if a show makes me cry and breaks my heart, it means I love. I've sat dry-eyed, and stony-faced through so many dramas lately, some barely within 10 minutes of watching, to decide, I can't stand this drama. The girl can act. But I'm not crazy about her. The guy sucks. I hate his hair. I hate his acting.

I watched a few episodes of Designated Survivor. Kiefer Sutherland was good. But I was too lazy to continue.

Part 1 of 2

Errata: PakalanaPikake July 3, 2019 at 2:53 PM

I don’t have the inability to read and understand the chyrons that I've been noticing in NOKDU FLOWER that give the titles/ranks and then the names of characters in larger print. Sheesh!

@bbstl, @yyishere,

Hey, guys, there’s no right or wrong way to watch Kdramas. You enjoy yourselves, and that’s really all that matters, isn’t it? I was a technical writer and translator in my past life, so I guess I’m still in anthropologist mode or something. The mad Kdrama documentor. Writing it down helps me remember what I watched. If you haven't already guessed by now, I'm certifiable. Over the hill and around the bend. ;-)

Despite the gyrations I go through to get a handle on herds of geezers in court regalia, there are still many of them I can't keep straight. I consider myself lucky if I can remember the main ones by peeking at the AsianWiki mugshots, which I nearly always have open in another tab while watching. But that doesn’t prevent my li’l ole perfectionistic self from trying.

I make notes in a Win7 Notepad text file that I can quickly and easily search. I clone a fresh copy nearly every day, and fanatically save changes as I write. I started it in early 2016 when I first joined DramaBeans. It is sized to 5-6 inches wide and 2-3 inches high so it doesn't obscure too much of my laptop screen. It's very convenient for transcribing notes and nifty bits of dialogue as I watch.

I tag the main entry for a film or drama with a preceding asterisk (e.g., *NOKDU FLOWER, *DRAMA SPECIAL: MY HAPPY HOME, aka *HOME SWEET HOME) to differentiate all the other instances that crop up in saved reviews, DB posts, recap comments, etc. I include alternate titles, which are especially prevalent among older shows. Searching on the *TITLE doesn’t even have to be in uppercase, and it works like a charm. To get to current shows, I jump down to the bottom of the file.

Entries include my impressions & synopses, links to OSTs posted on my fan wall, background research, transcriptions of dialogue I enjoyed, and other odds and ends that strike my fancy. I often include copies of casting news, premiere watch articles, and reviews and commentaries that interested me enough to make me tune in. Owing to the ephemeral nature of websites, I save online articles and their URLs for my own reference.

- Continued -

Part 2 of 2

My Kdrama log has grown to nearly 13MB, but it's not solely my own writing. It includes the enhanced cast info I compile. New additions to be watched go near the top of the file, and are dated. I move them to the bottom of the list as I watch them. I keep tabs on the episodes I watch by date/time, raw/subtitled, and streaming site.

Nowadays I compose most of my longer recap comments, etc., in LibreOffice Writer documents. That enables me to monitor the 3,000-character limit so I can split essays into acceptable lengths. Composing on the full page is much easier for editing and proofreading prior to posting.

ROFLMAO at the prospect of Blue House denizens running around in winged caps. ;-) In episode 2 of DESIGNATED SURVIVOR: 60 DAYS, there’s a cute scene of the young Protocol Administrator helping the Acting President to put on his jacket after they have swapped clothes. Acting Prez freaks out a bit. It looked for all the world like Jeonha was being dressed by his eunuch!

I haven’t seen the original, but I liked the Korean flavor of what I’ve seen so far. I hadn’t watched the original versions of SUITS or LIFE ON MARS. I enjoyed both of the Korean remakes, especially the latter, which was epic.

-30-

@yyishere,@pakalanapikake
Well, just shut my mouth! Why isn't there a jaw-dropped-open emoji, anyway??? I'll have to make do with this one 😮

Just scrapped bits and pieces of my jaw off the floor, and helped to vacuum yours off, too @bbstl . I found an emoji 😲 but it looks wrong, somehow. It's supposed to look awed, but it's looking crazed instead. @pakalanapikake You make me want to save files now...I'm the worst organizer ever, but you're just amazing, and awesome...*bows in homage like of those old geezers whose face you can't place.

Doctor Idol.
He sings to his patients.

@yyishere maybe he can be a Geeenius Idol, but he just wants to doctor people.

You missed an e, it's Geeeenius doctor. It's 4 e's.

He's an absolute wiz when it comes to cryosurgery.