Oh! As soon as you wrote Good Casting and Hello Me!, I knew who you were talking about.

Hmm, I did wonder what former/retired actors/celebrities did with themselves but I would've NEVER pegged going into housekeeping.

No way!! I loved Queen of Mystery. Good for her for switching career paths - always difficult. And for being so forthcoming about where she's at now!

I wondered about her. I applaud her for having the courage to change industry and try new things/work. Her family is amazing for supporting her to do what would make her happy.

Thanks for pointing me to episode 282 of Omniscient Interfering View. I enjoyed watching this one because of the interesting guests. Depending on who the guests are and what they do in their segments, the show can be either a hit or miss for me. Sometimes it can be so uninspiring.

British actor Daniel-Day Lewis took several multi-year hiatuses, without committing to return. (During these breaks, he took up woodworking and actually moved to Italy to become an apprentice shoemaker.) In 2017, he announced his official retirement, saying, "...there's something of the responsibility of the artist that hung over me. I need to believe in the value of what I'm doing. The work can seem vital, irresistible, even. And if an audience believes it, that should be good enough for me. But, lately, it isn't."

I sincerely hope he is able to rediscover his belief in the work. He's too great an artist to let his talents lie idle!

Thanks for sharing, although, iSt seems as if the return of A Jewel in the Palace may not happen.

Gong Xi Fa Cai to all Beanies who celebrate the Lunar New Year!

Xin Nian Kuai Le!

Saehaebok mani badeuseyo!

what animal is it again now?

Change - yeah yeah - i always say and it is 2024 and situation is almost the same - survived cold season. 10-15 more days to go and then buckle for summer.
I did brought few changes and then other things came too - troubles abound.

Need energy so dairy is up - so no vegan as per 2024 January.
started to see stock market daily and wow missed a few big jackpots - time to see forex market too.

Elections - too much entertainment going on. 1goes and sides with donut, other is trying to get some votes by accepting while smartly not acknowledging that side. total fun. morning 1st good thing to do is watch news.

Pak - as expected - comedy is going on. Army ruined its reputation - its image and can't control things, lost respect and made a hero out of another idiot who doesn't deserve to be so high. same as zelo boy. Neta boy in trouble but erdo boy going strong with moody boy. moody boy can teach so many lows to these guys to keep power in your hands. Then, this job is efficiently done by mark of facebook itself.

banana republics all around. enjoy the circus.

Haha so sorry about the 30 minutes of unexpected music! Did people finally just start dancing?

I think your two potential projects sound so interesting. Very taken with the idea of Joy being so small that it must be actively hunted for.

Just popping in to say I resonate with what's been happening with Ukraine. It's kind of scary to look at the last few years and think back to my history classes and go "oh, no. I reaaaaally hope history doesn't repeat itself. But things aren't looking great."

not black sloth but a black cloth btw

just noticed part of the text got cut. the phone couldnt be silenced even from side button.
and the part where I wrote that I called my mom yesterday and she was at a party and I heard her say to a coworker "see if that is my daughter, I cannot see cause I am drunk.!"

Some people have an interest in keeping other people ignorant and confused. Learning a reasonable amount of reasoning, and to know the difference between just making up interesting stories up from what little you know (which is great, if you are writing fan fic or historical fiction - but the common denominator is "fiction") - the difference between that and then actually sorting out what is factual, what is likely, whom to trust at least in general terms, and whom not ... that is part of what going to a proper school and having proper essays to write will teach kids.
I talked to a Brazilian once who told me that a factory nearby for some time had allowed the workers to gather in their building after working hours and have classes with some teacher who either worked there for free or was funded in some way by others. But after some time the factory owners stopped allowing it with some lame official excuse, while privately they had said to a friend of a friend that it caused problems with the workers, i.e. they became demanding and confident, when they felt the firm ground of knowledge and understanding under their feet.
Anyway - sending dramahugs over the ocean.

Brecht said, in the Song of Insufficiency of Human Endeavour:
"Ja, renn nur nach dem Glück
doch renne nicht zu sehr
Denn alle rennen nach dem Glück ...
Das Glück rennt hinterher!"
("Rennen nach" means to "run after" and could be translated "to chase", but the visual picture of "running after" makes sense here, because):

"You go! Chase Happiness
But don't you run too fast
'cause all of you chase Happiness
But it runs after you"

I spent so much time just writing that that now I am not quite sure what exactly I wanted to say, or why everything reminds me of Brecht today.
Maybe also because K-drama accepts scenarios that are at one time so fantastical and like, with their very loose treatment of "religion" and "gods" can be like impersonations of any ideas you might want to test ... and at the same time, so simple and schematical almost like I believe classical Commedia dell'arte has been - Brecht could have made some crazy K-dramas, serio, if he had been at the right time and place. Maybe.

I definitely am, because I want to see if Taylor Swift makes it back from Japan in time to watch her boyfriend play.

Seriously, because my Dad was a football fan, I have seen parts of every super bowl on T.V.--I think that's now 57, although after a certain point I get confused by the roman numeral numbering system The first two I only vaguely remember, but I have vivid memories of the third one. All the early ones I watched on our 12" black and white t.v.

After a while, it became a thing for me to tune into the game to watch at least 10 or 15 minutes of it, to keep my streak alive. Its a t.v. endurance contest, like watching those 150+ episode kdramas.

I get to watch the Puppy and Kitten Bowls, yay! But you couldn’t pay me enough to watch football.

Me! My father in law is a huge fan, and I enjoy watching with others. We spend most Sundays with either my in-laws or with either my mom or my dad, so I'm happy this Sunday coincides with the in laws

I only have small bowls.

Not me - it's a good day to go to Costco as everyone will be at home watching the game, so the store will be much less crowded.

I will not be. I really enjoy the snacks that are associated with it, but am not super into American football (rugby though…). I was thinking I might watch something at the other end of the spectrum - perhaps Past Lives, which I still haven’t seen.

I am all for gender equality! Women are just as capable as men, so I don't understand how this discrimination is not bothering more feminists for so many years. 🤣🤣🤣

Okay, y'all - I went to bed after Lunar New Year Eve dinner and wake up to this.

First of all, it seems like nobody read the actual article - I shared it because the full article was about how the political party is using the "conscript women too!" to pander to the misogynist incel young male voting bloc in South Korea.

This is NOT about gender equality - this move is about political opportunism by throwing women under the bus.

Second of all, interesting how Kodra only waded in to bang on about gender equality in the military when I shared this news headline, as opposed to when I shared the news headline where SK became the 14th country in the world to allow women in the military to serve on submarines. A move that clearly indicates that women have been serving in the military all along:

https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20230626000589

Thirdly, gender equality is not as simple as "if one gender is made to do one thing, then all genders must be made to do that thing no matter how unhealthy/toxic/punitive it is".

Gender equality should be partly about tackling toxic/unhealthy/punitive gender norms (including gendered housework, gendered spheres of work etc) and creating a world where things/practices that shouldn't be prescribed/ascribed to one gender or another are no longer gendered, and to replace them with new norms and practices that are healthy and functional for ALL genders with the emphasis on:
- equity and equality for women since the patriarchy has stolen and suppressed that for centuries.
- more healthy models of masculinity that includes getting rid of violence and emotional constipation as a default position for men and boys, among other things.

To take the position that all genders should be forced to do something like military conscription that negatively impacts the one gender (men) instead of looking at solutions to stop forcing one gender to do it is tantamount to "if I have to suffer, then EVERYONE has to suffer".

That logic doesn't compute.

And the people who think this way about gender equality usually have nothing to say - or a lot of objections to raise - when it's flipped the other way (i.e. anyone proposing that men should be taught and made to do what is traditionally considered "women's work").

That is all I have to say about this.

Curious to know which episode you are at in CTK? I remember people having ossies with the show in the first 2 eps but by ep 3 and 4, it was very clear that this is a completely fictional show which has little relevance to the time period they are showing it to be situated in. I haven't seen My Dearest but as far as I know, it was very faithful to the time period and the political situations of that time. So they are essentially two very different shows. As of the latest ep 7 I can confirm thay JJS is terrific here. He is may maim draw for the show but I like the story too.

After watching My Dearest and figuring Sejak was using the same time period, I was glad with the route Sejak took. Rushed through it? I'm game cause I don't think I want to sit through another variant of the torturous times.

I remember beanies sharing opinions, some leaning towards yours and some not.

But I did find beanies who were glad we skipped through Qing's drama via Lee In's narratives, quick scenes and wrapped up in the premiere.

Get Better Soon!
https://youtu.be/0bErh0mwBB8
We made this Get Better video for my big girl once when whe was ill and isolated in one room, while her little sister was pining for her in another room.
It's my little girl describing what you see, along the lines of "Oh no, what is this? She is ill, aaawwww. But look, ... " etc.

🍨🍨🍨 and best wishes for a speedy recovery!

I like the ice cream part. Wishing you feel better soon!

Do get a gallon bucket of ice cream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5W_XXOy7qRY

honest a cold feels like running a marathon.

Get well soon!! Rest up & enjoy the time to read and watch (and ice cream yummmm although my mum would never let me if I had a cold, you're lucky!! 😭)

Hope you feel better soon.

Here's my longer answer from the fan wall:

I first found dramabeans back when I relied on recaps more heavily to decide whether or not to watch something. So the first thing that dramabeans meant to me was a source for spoilers and insightful opinions on a show.

It took me several years to actually decide to post a comment. I was a very shy youth and grew up in a not-so-technology savvy home (or at least, one more reserved when it came to online communities). Still, something drove me to branch out of my comfort zone. A quick search to my oldest comment page tells me it was finals, driving me mad. And so, at the end of December in 2015, cozybooks was born.

After that Dramabeans was a land of experimentation, a place where I could try out being funny and squealing over dramas. It feels fitting that right after I made my first comment I was swept up in the beauty of Signal and spent a lot of comments giving thoughts and letting other beanies know that yes, the hype was worth it.

The more I expressed myself, the more confident I got. So much so that I now feel comfortable sharing things about myself (although I try not to give anything actually identifying away, cus internet safety). So Dramabeans became a place not only to share my love of dramas, but also other things about who I am – cooking and Lee Jong Suk and webtoons and life.

In the end, to borrow @seeker ‘s idea and a nod to the recent DB post about “comfort characters” ( https://www.dramabeans.com/2024/02/drama-chat-comfort-characters/ ) I think DB has really become a comfort place for me – one that I can always come back to and enjoy easily, even if I take long stretches away at times. Happy Seollal beanies, I’m glad you all exist!

So many pop culture-based sites degenerate into fan wars and ugliness, so what I love most about DB is that it's a community where folks can both celebrate the great things about shows while also thoughtfully critiquing their problematic aspects. I never really commented on internet sites before discovering this one because I had no interest in being drawn into toxic flame wars, but DB is such a warm community and such a breath of fresh air. I learn so many cool things, discover great new shows to check out and get to discuss things that I love but that most of the my "real life" friends neither watch nor understand. So yeah, Beanies are awesome!

This topic evokes mixed emotions: sadness due to Javabeans' last goodbye post and happiness that DB is still operational.
https://www.dramabeans.com/2019/06/community-what-dramabeans-means-to-me/

FANGIRLSHIP! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5PSlRCdlxw

this is now more than a decade here for me. and it just feels comfortable. Facebook, at some point, because mad. If I share some stuff with any weight on FB it is either people nag, or ask stupid questions, or block me or make stupid jokes. but I can have a civilized normal conservation with no spam here. it is a mature and supportive community without conspiracy theories, scams or ugly gifs. also very openminded and willing to go HOURS discussing the background of some phenomena.

Dramabeans is a community where I can discuss and share my love of dramas, something that is not available irl.

Secret Garden was a good drama, imho. I watched it in 2022, and I had a good time. I binge-watched it in two or three days. It has some of my favorite k-drama original songs. I could do without ML's horrible mom, though, and some makjang elements.

I also think fantasy k-dramas are messy and it seems the writers can't write endings which make sense. W: Two Worlds, Memories of Alhambra, Love song for illusion, Hwayugi... Even Alchemy of Souls!
Said that, my favorite fantasy drama (I don't count time-travel) is Mirror of the witch.

While kdramas vary in quality, regardless of the genre, and I think given the number of shows produced it is rare to get a stellar show in any genre, I think one problem with fantasy shows is the expectation of viewers going in. Many of the fantasy shows are based on popular webtoons. When the shows fall short of viewers expectations, they are really judged more harshly than other mediocre shows.

But you also mention Branding in Seongsu, and there I think one of the problems was (ironically) branding. People tuned in expecting a comedy, or a romance, and what they got (so far) was a kind of business parable about unethical marketing. Because it was not what they expected, and also because the male actor is not very good and the character he is playing is not very appealing (in my opinion) they shut it off immediately.

But also, in my opinion, it is really hard to write a convincing fantasy. You have to construct a kind of new world that is fun, interesting, somewhat complex, but also consistent. That is harder to do than more "realistic" genres in a way. Even Alchemy of Souls, which got off to a great start in its world building began changing its rules about soul shifting, until in the end they were whatever the authors needed to extend the plot out another 10 episodes.
I'll just end with a current example: Marry my Husband.
1. It is based on a webtoon, and commentators are always comparing it to the webtoon,and very often expressing disappointment.
2. Its fantasy rules, in this case for time travel and changing the past are vague and arbitrary.
3. Its changing these rules to extend the drama, and ultimately, whether its ending is happy or not, very few people are going to say "this was a genuinely great show." (Of course, that's my prediction, which could be my own fantasy!)

Omo, omo, omo--the snakes!

Oh my heavens that is the coolest thing!! Every so often my siblings and I are like "we should go hard one Halloween and like, literally be the cast of Avatar with intense costumes".. it has yet to happen, but when it does I will think of you and maybe ask for tips haha

Love your fanwall question about what DB means to me. Found an answer in previous post: http://www.dramabeans.com/2019/06/community-finding-fans-like-me/
I'm going down the rabbit hole to look for previous posts from DBs.

there was lots of snow here and if I had not gone to work at the wrong time resulting in having to walk around I would not have seen it because after an hour all the white had turned to brown. but I bet there will be more. in Tallinn, it always melts, it is not like the south where the snow keeps all white and clean.

🫘Beansprout🌱 for Beanie community PSA resulting in a quick turnaround.

Wow, I didn't know DB staff had a tagable Beanie profile! Following that now...

Question from a newbie -- is there any protocol about when you should/shouldn't tag them? Do they check it often? I'm sure they don't want to get spam tagged all over the place, but I can definitely think of a few times that it would have been really helpful to give/get some targeted information... 🤔

note, I started by cooking a pot of rice (sweet glutinous rice) with a little more water than usual and cooking it a little longer than necessary so that it comes out a little soupy. as per tradition, I'll be pan frying it up coated in egg tomorrow morning. Hopefully this experiment is successful.

It's good that slumps are transferable, isn't it 😁