Here is your Open Thread, which is here for you to chat about anything you want, whether it be drama-related or not. Nothing’s off-topic here! Spoilers may be rife, so proceed accordingly.
This week, Hollywood icon Clint Eastwood, accused an Austrian news publication of publishing a "phony" interview with him. He said he never granted a recent interview with the publication or writer. He called the contents false. Many speculated that it was another AI generated article.
The publication admitted part of the charges. The reason why this interview was "phony" was not because Eastwood never said any of those things; it's just that he did not say any of these things recently. In fact, some of the quotes were attributed to old interviews dating back to 1976. The problem was the article presented the quotes as a new interview. The publisher retracted the story. ”The article was formatted as an interview, not a portrait. This was intended to create the impression that it was a new interview.”
The circumstantial evidence remains that the writer used AI or an archive program to pull old quotes to create a 95th birthday “interview” for his employer instead of reaching out to actually scheduling an interview. People’s opinions can change over time, especially more than 50 years ago. It is another black eye to traditional journalism.
Or ... wouldn't it be AI or scissor journalism getting the black eye, once again proving that without some source criticism (or critique?) we will be served chewed-up, misleading nonsense that in the best scenario aren't lies, but for sure will feel chewed up and spit out, because it is.
So I was just reading a post elsewhere about ChatGPT actually replacing human friendships for many people. So not only is it taking our jobs, it's also taking over our personal lives and relationships, by becoming therapist, friend and confidante.
I guess he thought it was okay since Clint Eastwood once performed a whole conversation with an empty chair, live. Not the chair. Not as in "the chair was alive" but as in "performed on stage in front of an audience of actual people plus a lot of cameras".
Beanies, things have been relatively quiet around here. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, we all go through phases of engagement, but I miss chatting sometimes!
So I was thinking: is anyone interested in doing a community watch? As far as I know we haven’t done one since the fan wall, but I think it would work on this open thread too. Is there anything that folks have been meaning to watch but haven’t gotten to yet? An older classic that you want to revisit with some fresh viewers? A comfort drama for our turbulent times?
I have actually recently watched the first episode of Shining Inheritance! 😄 (Inspired by the chat about favourite drama lists. 🙂)
My problem is... time. I'm behind with nearly all shows I want to watch. 😭
(So I'm worried I can't commit...)
I also just finally finished reading the original web novel: The Promotion Record of a Crown Princess
There was So-o-o-o much politics in that ... it was a bit hard to get through, honestly. Very different form the Drama. I want to see Shin Hae-sun in that role again together with someone!
I agree. I am trying not to complain all the time but it just isn’t the same. The most comments are for what people have watched but the comments have decreased noticeably since their decision to restructure the site.
I would be interested in a communal watch provided it isn’t one of those older and particularly sexist dramas filled with screaming chaebols, over-entitled men (and women) and infantilised characters. Sorry, a tall order but I will sit out the watch without complaint if my tall order isn’t realistic!
Yes to a community watch. My preference is not horror or fight-fests though. Open to suggestions, though it would be good to have a few weeks warning before we start, to give me time if I have to switch streamers to access it.
How could it be organized?
I think there is beginning to be enough for at least a small group watching Mr. Queen, and if we agreed to start in a week or two, we could gather everyone interested. But WHERE would the group watch "meet"?
Should we make a very long thread in "Open Threads" each week of the (re)watching?
Or should it be at the end of the recaps for those episodes?
I was thinking we'd comment in the Open Thread each week? But I also like your idea of commenting in the recaps themselves - it would make it easier for other Beanies to find later if they are ever interested. But maybe we'll just post a little reminder in the open thread with a link to the right recap?
Checking things out: I think recaps would work for Mr. Queen, but if we do Bossam, the hangouts already have a LOT of comments, so we might want to do it mostly in the open thread just for loading times and multiple page annoyances.
Ok, Beanies! Let’s plan on Mr. Queen to start (and maybe Bossam after that?).
Logistics:
1. Where should we chat? We could chat on the open thread each week, or the “hangouts” which exist for each pair of episodes. The hangouts were pretty popular, so may have second-page-issues which would be annoying if we’re trying to respond to one another, or we can all just use the second page trick (which I already forget) to help us navigate. I’m kind of leaning toward commenting in the hangouts so that a. It’s easier for other beanies to find later and b. We don’t have folks seeing a discussion of the drama happening and chiming in with (accidental or on purpose) spoilers. We could definitely announce which episodes we’re chatting about in the open thread to encourage people to go over there for the conversation.
2. When should we start? The dramas are flying thick and fast these days so I don’t think it will get easier as we go on, but I want to give people a chance to plan a little and start with us. What is reasonable?
3. How many eps at a time? Two per week like a normal airing schedule? Three? Should we get wild like Disney and do some big chunk at the beginning? (Mostly kidding on that last one.)
4. Are we wecapping or just commenting? We might not need any kind of summary if we are using the already existing hangouts, but I’m certainly open to it.
I say Hangouts - though second page issues may still exist.
Since some people are already watching but holding it waiting for us, I suggest starting in max two weeks, not waiting too long.
An unequal number of episodes will probably be annoying, since they are often composed to fit two and two so 2 or 4 ep. per week.
Just let me know. I too want to know how many episodes per week. One is probably easiest, but we probably want to do more than that. Also Mondays and Tuesdays are probably the best days, there is always a dearth of dramas at that point.
@kafiyah-bello I think two might be the happy medium between what people have time for but not drawing it out too much. And if we use the hangouts, they are organized in pairs of episodes so it makes sense for that too.
I think making time to watch on a Monday or Tuesday is reasonable, so maybe we should start commenting on Wednesday? Pretend it is a M-Tu drama and the recap drops the next day?
Should we start next week, or is that too soon for people? We could announce in the open thread that is coming up in a couple of days, get a solid tag list together, and then start watching as soon as the weekend dramas are over at the beginning of next week? Comment starting on Wednesday? (Very open to suggestions)
Whoops, for whatever reason I wasn’t notified about being mentioned here! 🧐🤨 Sorry! (I’m wondering, does it have to do with the number of tags… or is it just a random bug… 🤔)
Anyhow! 😃 I’m in, two episodes/week sounds doable, and I can start next week for sure. 🤩 Will try to join you guys in the recap discussion! *Wheeeeee!*
Just putting together a tag list. When, after tomorrow's Open Thread, more people want to join, everybody add them.
When you tag people, remember to include your own tag, so that people can copy it off each other and nobody falls off by accident.
I hope that the tag alerts will actually work, even if Dorotka and Sonai tell us the system is unstable.
Yes, please tag me, too! I’ll at least try to squeeze it in. Besides the hilarious MR QUEEN, beanies mentioned SIGNAL or BOSSAM - STEAL THE FATE to be good options for a community watch. I‘d be in for either of these 🥳
Politics - as every1 can see real life proper fun - two guys fighting on social media - drama cup going on
Greta is on another voyage - hehe
let's see how things go next week
SUMMER - if shows its beauty then will cause lot of trouble - that much heat has to go at some place and such storms often r big - 300mm in few hours is huge at any place - n u can't even keep this water - so water troubles continue.
So, @db-staff, sorry to be repetitive but it would be possible to :
1) Rebuild the button that let us see the last comments.
2) Fix the bug about the referral of the notifications. When there are more than one page of comments, the notification sends me at the beginning of the first page of comments, I need to find myself where someone answered to my post.
3) Would be possible to put under Currently RecapPing, Recently Completed and Next recap a new one : Hangout (of airing dramas). Because it's hard to find them if they don't have a lot of comments.
I also mentioned the notification glitch more than once but it is still not fixed yet. I feel like no one is taking care of the site’s IT issues these days. So I gave up.
My vote for N#3 too. Or as @midnight said, please show us the index page, so we can find not just recaps, hangouts but other posts too.
I agree, noone seems to be responding/upkeeping the IT which makes me scared- if noone is watching it, the whole site could become open to malicious attacks and failure.
New drama hangouts for For Eagle Brothers are still being generated, but they are not being put under the drama discussion tab. We have asked for this to be fixed a lot of times, but have not even got a reply, let alone get it fixed
3) On the sidebar under "CURRENTLY AIRING," you can click on the drama's name and find its Drama Hangout.
Now for my unpopular opinion: 😅
I think Drama Hangouts are unnecessary. If a drama is not being recapped, Beanies can post their thoughts in What we’re watching. Yes, you may never be able to find your comment again, but if you remember a part of your comment, you can always google it, which is no different than how comments used to get lost on the Fan Wall. Some Drama Hangouts have zero comments (Spring of Youth, Shark – The Storm).
I agree with #1 and 2.
I use drama hangouts for dramas that I am watching. It's much better and simpler than having stuff scattered in WWW. It lets those of us watching to find each other and have some community. So I want drama hangouts to continue. So what if some of them have zero comments?
Hangouts can be quite engaging with all kinds of theories and comments about characters/the storylines. I think Dear Hyeri was a great example of an active hangout.
The introduction of a weekly hangout for the Weekenders was requested once beanies started to engage in discussion about them. It has been noticeable that some of the regular weekender watchers have not commented for some months now.
I noticed some hangouts start active but then become echo chambers with one person commenting or no one and some never have any activity. I wondered if that’s about the lack of interest in the drama or not being able to easily locate the hangout.
I firmly believe that the site engagement will never be as much as it was before 2017 (with no fanwall) because it is practically impossible to find anything if you are new, and a chore if you are a veteran.
Yess that Comments button would solve so much, and promote interaction! I know there's a bookmarking workaround for it, but it's just one extra step. I already see engagement has fallen off since they dropped the fan wall, and removing the latest comments section has made it worse for me.
Happy first Friday of summer, Beanies! As of today TPOB has officially ended (and yesterday restarted on Zhejiang TV - further testament to show's success), but that does not mean we're about to suffer from lack of content anytime soon – EB2 will depress entertain for 2 more weeks, then ADWAD is coming too (rumored to get license next week and air in late June), plus continuation of Carnation 5.0 coverage and other interesting things. Word on the streets that TPOB cast, crew AND novel writer will have a big celebratory dinner this weekend, good for them is so. And, of course, next week LYN packs his bags and goes to Italy to escape everyone's trolling over TPOB love scenes (heard rumors about Spain as well) for his newest variety show – let's hope he'll have a good time and won't get lost as it's his first abroad trip in 6 (!) years)))
Let's start with a fresh stage performance from last weekend – BeijingTV's 618 Summer Music Festival (a bit confused why it wasn't held at 6.18), where modern day Wei Shao, I mean, LYN looked as regally and expensive as one can (majestic cape by Tony Ward), coated in gold from head to Loubutins (neck glitter took me out – another beyond the fandom fetish unlocked). He performed two songs and sat for an interview where everyone cheered, squeeled and threw highly embarrassing questions about spicy scenes at cringing “lord Wei”. Oh, darling, it's only the beginning of your misery! First song was his own - “Ask heaven” (WORD OF HONOR OST). Guess it's too iconic now by itself to be held back by show's BL ban struggles, good for us, because he always sounds great by singing it – lost of practice and all... Sadly, official upload comes with a terribly butchered sound, so I've had to make do with news channels reposts. At least it's HD and sounds OK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_XyC9JdPio
And emotional cover of Andy Lau's “Destiny in the next life” (has there ever been more wuxia/xianxia-coded title? probably not lol), including VCR of Yuning's drama roles in the background. Concert being held at a giant stadium naturally caused some sounds issues, but for this song they were mostly fixed, thankfully. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zur7qJVU6gE
Back to Carnation, which means more music! You already know this one – Chen Li's “Galloping away”, which I just found out has an ~official~ English title “Cursory glance” and still trying to process wtf that even means... Sounds great as usual nevertheless. Btw, The Cuirass is apparently from fashion designer Demon Zhang (now that's a striking western name!) who has a whole collection of these... armors. Perfect choice for the guy who likes to slay people both on drama battlefields with his sword and irl with his fashion. Don't see him agreeing easily to their cheeky offer of making another one based on his own, uhm, measurements))) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wK0OPL8p4zI
More slower bangers with Mao Buyi's “Talk” - literally can also mean “pillow/sleep talk”, which is probably where this extra sultry vibe comes from. Arrangement is interesting, but feels a little messy? I think they should've polish it more, tempos clearly don't match well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eL0dngR6ydU
And Tiger Hu's “Stars” (he put it as BGM when reading fan letters at his latest birthday, so now the whole fandom collectively sobs over this song, heh). Idk why I'm getting emotional along with him... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXuJCFXCBWA
And, to end on an energetic note, dance rock medley: Niko Sun's “Chinese people” + Jeff Chang's “Going too far” + Zhang Jie's “World”. Latter is especially famous – it's like a go-to BGM for badass action fan-edits (I have an example of it, look below). Look how happy he is here, roaring and dancing along! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUGSkojb3vQ
Compilation of TPOB achievements metric for bragging purposes))) On a serious note, I'm very happy for everyone involved, they worked hard and overcame so much to get there! https://x.com/ForCdrama/status/1930156242577829901
Wei state avengers - cnetz words, not mine! I call them Metal 6^^ - combined with “World”. Spoilers up to Ep30, I think. Sword throwing move already developed its own rabid fanbase, bless! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MkUskGfbUo
Speaking of rabid fanbases – you should've seen the utter insanity TPOB caused on sns, esp TikTok and local XiaoHongShu aka LittleRedNote, making this shy gremlin the newest sex symbol of cdramaland. No kidding - Tencent's Weibo straight up calls him “daddy”... I still cannot quite believe what I'm witnessing rn, but no complaints, get that long overdue thirsty worship, ge! You sacrificed all your screen innocence at once, but it was worth it! Wei Shao the hot bad bitch edit – spoilers, duh: https://x.com/amm_anyama/status/1928692419853431074
P.S. Special request from the class – production special of TPOB (you can turn on machine subs, they'll give a general grasp of what is being talked about). Gotta say, I'm VERY impressed with show's visuals – Han dynasty fashion has my all heart now – and how much of sets they actually built just for the drama with moderate budget: https://x.com/AJLYN456/status/1930451395423154553
We are a long way from a year ago when they were dressing LYN off the rack. The Tony Ward cape/black satin shirt, cumberbund, pants and obviously custom tailored. Awesome.
So, if I am understanding you right from what you are reporting, with TPOB, LYN went from a well-known and admired performer to an international star. I think that is what those numbers speak to.
The last clip...I'm assuming that is TPOB Director speaking about his vision for the show and how he organically allowed the story to be something more than the novel. I couldn't catch all the dialog there, but that's fascinating short piece. TPOB is an awards magnet at this point. Kudos to all in this now classic cdrama production.
Thanks for posting the X links!
I feel so happy vicariously when people rise above stupid preconceptions and online bullying :) Jung Jun Won being the other... Talent can't be held down.
This was my first real period drama that I've actually sat through, and watching the BTS video was quite eye-opening. Loved seeing the costume details and fabrics especially! Wish they'd have a longer version of it.
@cliosservant1846 his new stylists team are doing amazing: from what I see he still picks most of wardrobe himself, but all these fresh-out-of-runway designer pieces surely cannot be found in offline stores during casual shopping sprees, someone else has to do the research and request/approve them. And hair/makeup are simply the best he ever had.
More or less. He already gained certain appreciation (local and global) as an actor during AJTL and to a lesser extent TSOPG, but TPOB elevated his general image to heartthrob territory, not just "that tall guy who sings well and can kinda act, but is not really swoon-worthy". Should've dropped that shirt earlier, ge! We could've had an iron-hard argument in your defense during worst times!^^
I've seen bits of proper translation, still waiting for full coverage. Basically PD said they were extra worried since Han dynasty dramas are currently rare/non-trendy (I think the last big one was LOVE LIKE THE GALAXY, which had severe controversy over its aesthetics), so additional effort was put into costumes, sets, ceremonial and overall vibe. Also they feared that more heavy on melo adaptation will scare idol drama viewers away while (it's implied) "serious" drama crowd won't spare the show a glance at all because of unsophisticated source material.
Awards? Hmm... something from Tencent and Weibo is quite possible. Couple/popularity trophies are usually bought reserved for biggest fandoms, but who knows?
The "can kinda act" thing is over. TPOB and SZE put that to bed.
I'm still learning a lot from you and others, and from building a cdramas-watched library. But I gotta say, rankings and ratings aside, this drama has legs and it will hold up over time. A good story speaks to the human condition. The characters are relatable, the drama has humor, the pacing is good, a lush production/look -- all of it speaks to dedication. Plus, it handily beat the Tencent no-PR barrier and the cancel culture (so it's an underdog winner). IDK what the rest of the year looks like, but I honestly think this one is a cdrama classic, a keeper that will be rewatched over the years.
What I'd like to see down the road is a demographic breakdown of its audience, IE by age group etc. LLLG is a great drama, eminently rewatchable, and appeals to a big swath of the audience. TPOB is similar to that, more so than DAFENG. This director has a bright future.
I've seen multiple people categorizing TPOB as a healing drama. That's one way to put it. Reminds me a little of LOVE OF THE DIVINE TREE earlier this year that also featured ML with hardcore (and rather earned) genocidal urges gently coaxed into more peaceful lifestyle through understanding, care and love. Great niche, if you ask me)))
Speaking of no-PR barrier - if ADWAD is really coming at the end of this month, iQiyi better to start moving their stingy bums asap.
I feel like Weibo and perhaps Douban too might include such info in their metrics somewhere... I'll look it up.
As for now it seems PD hasn't signed for a new drama yet, but there are rumors about it being a high budget historical one, forgot the details.
Thanks for all the information and updates, as always.
I hope it's true Liu Yuning is coming to Spain. Not that I think I can come across him, Spain is so big... but... It would make me happy to know he is here :)
I'll tag you once I know more about his little Eurotrip route))) For now it's only confirmed he's departing next Tuesday and will travel and film for 11 days - plenty of time to visit 2 countries, methinks.
Wherever he'll go, hopefully he will ran into local fans there because man seems to REALLY struggle with comprehending the fact that they exist... Let him see the truth with his own eyes!
He's going there as part of variety show with stupid title WOW THE EARTH. They already filmed pilot episode in some China province, forgot which one. The concept seems to be about traveling and tasting local food, but that pilot episode fancams also included him singing in a huge choir (eh?), so it must've been more complicated than just strolling around hot tourist spots and snacking. Or maybe not and they were singing for food, idk))) If he has time, he'll probably squeeze something else - amusement park visit? - in between, but for now I don't know more.
So this is actually hysterical - plenty of his celeb friends watched the drama and commented on its spicy footage: THE TRUTH S3 Jin Jing recorded a song clip praising his abs, singer Mao Buyi and actress-comedian Li Xueqin (Xiaotao in drama) watched the bed scene in their shared talk show (MaoMao's deadpan comments!), singer Zhang Bichen is a hardcore fan/shipper of the drama and constantly texts Yuning her feedback lol, that one gala he sang at during show's run was all about interviewers asking him questions etc. I expect this buzz topic to last quite a bit to his horror)))
Fans feedback is all over his sns anyway, he regularly grumbles about anything thirsty he sees there. And now that his team is also stalking twt hashtags... whoops.
I'm finding myself downgrading some of my favorite dramas in my rankings after rewatching :( This time around I had a lot less patience (haha) with Hospital Playlist S1. I don't like the music except Met You By Chance, found many of the episodic medical stories too weepy-wail-y to sit through again, and really noticed the specific moral stances being pushed on difficult topics. Lots of FFing. Happily I still love all the hospital staff characters, both major and minor.
Also found the philosophical musings in Romance is a Bonus Book a bit treacly this time and FFed them all. Maybe it's just my current mood...
Yeah, I think I'll start doing that now too. I am rewatching more than I expected given how many are still on my unwatched list, and it's interesting to see which ones survive the extra scrutiny!
My Hubby had a camera from the outside on the fledglings, when they left the nest. I have now gotten hold of the footage and ended up making three small videos out of it;
one just as it was (5:36 min.): https://youtu.be/r_2NAO5eIbE?si=amCXByANVFlLod0Z ,
one close-up (also 5½ min.): https://youtu.be/nTCNW4CgDhw?si=Nhot5YUKnQeBspqm
and a shorter clip with subtitles of two fledglings fighting in the door (1:57 min.): https://youtu.be/BtoeuLXqgkE?si=aRIzG6V6nAcwuxuV
Also a New Great Tit Couple have decided to move in on top of the empty nest, and she has been equipping the nest with a bit of fresh material; some moss and some hair from ... I thought maybe a child that had their hair cut in their garden? she used only one day for the moss though, as opposed to the nest under her where Ms. Tit spend at least three days getting the moss just right before starting with the hair.
This new one has only been working two days, and tonight she has decided to sleep in the nest. I wouldn't be really surprised if there was an egg there tomorrow. Her hubby was there and fed her a bit already yesterday, which he usually wouldn't do before the she had finished laying as many eggs as she wanted. He must be a really nice husband!
Here are the clips of her checking out the nest: https://youtu.be/AWUSSACMw00?si=KFmy53CgY8TC4ukX
And here she is working through the day with moss: https://youtu.be/yx6VjKjg_ik?si=urhARkfuNjP2QcaV
My daughter and I have been reading "Silverborn" in the Nevermoor series over the last 8 days and ended today. That's around 600 pages. It was a great book. But when will the next book be out? Inquiring minds wants to know!
My fledged daughter came home and cooked for us today, enjoying the home budget and making delicious food, and serving drinks, for which reason I am a bit extra "tired" 😉 . She brought her best friend that everybody here likes too. I am so glad about that - otherwise, when would we get to se her, too?
I'm glad you did!
It's just so much more fun when someone else is enjoying it, too.
And as for the more edited ones, the embarrassing many hours used to place silly speech bubbles right likes to be for someone to chuckle 😊
I've been recovering from jetlag all this week and that isn't going as well as it usually does, partly because I have a lot of work to catch up with and partly because the dog - much as I love the furball - is in the habit of singing the song of his people at some point between 3am - 4am.
Sigh...
In other news, I've been catching up with THE HAUNTED PALACE at a fairly brisk pace. A couple more binge watches and I should be caught up. It's seriously entertaining!
(B) THIS WEEK IN KOREAN WOMEN'S NEWS
1. Young South Korean women help propel liberal candidate Lee to victory
Young women in South Korea voted in droves to help new liberal President Lee Jae-myung win the June 3 election, reflecting the entrenched gender divide over politics in the country, where more young men backed conservative candidates.
Around 58 per cent of women voters in their 20s and 57 per cent in their 30s voted for Mr Lee of the Democratic Party, a joint exit poll by three broadcasters showed, mirroring the 2022 presidential election, while a majority of their male peers picked Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party and Lee Jun-seok, another conservative candidate.
Young women led the charge against former president Yoon Suk Yeol, who was ousted in April by the Supreme Court after being impeached over his short-lived imposition of martial law, triggering the snap election.</i?
2. Women helped oust South Korea’s president. Now they feel erased by elections.
Women were the face of the protest movement that brought down South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol this winter, one of the most remarkable moments in the country’s young democracy.
But now that it’s time to replace him in snap elections Tuesday, women are completely absent from the ballot.
For the first time in 18 years, all of South Korea’s presidential candidates are men, and none has placed gender equality at the forefront of their campaigns. Analysts credit this to a growing backlash against the country’s feminist movement, particularly among young men.
So, I watched a drama with the worst rating on MDL, 5.8/10.
Looks like a calamity?
Turns out it's one of the best classic drama.
"Fashion King".
An acting feast!! All 4 main actors are excellent, but special mention to:
- Yoo Ha In, a role sticking to him so strong.
- Shin Se Kyong, perfect role for her too.
Excellent script. Maybe around episode 16-18, could be shorter, like two episodes to cut among the whole 20 episodes.
AND... a CRAZY awesome ENDING !!!!
This petition was re: plans under the defeated President Yoon. I’m not sure where it stands now that there’s a new, less anti-women’s rights President. @9tailedvixen will know!
![[Rate and Review] Hunter with a Scalpel](https://d263ao8qih4miy.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/HunterWithAScalpel_reviewb.jpg)
![[Drama Chat] Dramas that should have stopped at one season](https://d263ao8qih4miy.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/dc_squidgame3.jpg)
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1 welh
June 6, 2025 at 5:02 AM
This week, Hollywood icon Clint Eastwood, accused an Austrian news publication of publishing a "phony" interview with him. He said he never granted a recent interview with the publication or writer. He called the contents false. Many speculated that it was another AI generated article.
The publication admitted part of the charges. The reason why this interview was "phony" was not because Eastwood never said any of those things; it's just that he did not say any of these things recently. In fact, some of the quotes were attributed to old interviews dating back to 1976. The problem was the article presented the quotes as a new interview. The publisher retracted the story. ”The article was formatted as an interview, not a portrait. This was intended to create the impression that it was a new interview.”
The circumstantial evidence remains that the writer used AI or an archive program to pull old quotes to create a 95th birthday “interview” for his employer instead of reaching out to actually scheduling an interview. People’s opinions can change over time, especially more than 50 years ago. It is another black eye to traditional journalism.
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DK-Drama 🍉🚑🌎 Space Cadetting and Nest Boxing 🗽🍉
June 6, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Or ... wouldn't it be AI or scissor journalism getting the black eye, once again proving that without some source criticism (or critique?) we will be served chewed-up, misleading nonsense that in the best scenario aren't lies, but for sure will feel chewed up and spit out, because it is.
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Procrasti-NationFirstCitizen
June 6, 2025 at 7:22 PM
So I was just reading a post elsewhere about ChatGPT actually replacing human friendships for many people. So not only is it taking our jobs, it's also taking over our personal lives and relationships, by becoming therapist, friend and confidante.
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DK-Drama 🍉🚑🌎 Space Cadetting and Nest Boxing 🗽🍉
June 9, 2025 at 7:58 AM
I guess he thought it was okay since Clint Eastwood once performed a whole conversation with an empty chair, live. Not the chair. Not as in "the chair was alive" but as in "performed on stage in front of an audience of actual people plus a lot of cameras".
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2 Unaspirated
June 6, 2025 at 5:29 AM
Beanies, things have been relatively quiet around here. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, we all go through phases of engagement, but I miss chatting sometimes!
So I was thinking: is anyone interested in doing a community watch? As far as I know we haven’t done one since the fan wall, but I think it would work on this open thread too. Is there anything that folks have been meaning to watch but haven’t gotten to yet? An older classic that you want to revisit with some fresh viewers? A comfort drama for our turbulent times?
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Dorotka
June 6, 2025 at 6:08 AM
I have actually recently watched the first episode of Shining Inheritance! 😄 (Inspired by the chat about favourite drama lists. 🙂)
My problem is... time. I'm behind with nearly all shows I want to watch. 😭
(So I'm worried I can't commit...)
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Unaspirated
June 6, 2025 at 10:39 AM
Very understandable. I definitely have a long backlog too! But I could be persuaded to ignore all of that to stir up some community!
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Dorotka
June 6, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Hmmm, you sound very persuasive... 🤔🙂
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Midnight
June 6, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Shining Inheritance! 🤩
(This new Write a review, no spoilers please, feels so weird when we're not on a recap page...)
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Dorotka
June 6, 2025 at 2:33 PM
It was fun!! And I completely forgot that the second female lead is Moon Chaewon! 😂
(Yes, totally went 😁 Through I get it is probably technically demanding to have a different text for a different discussion.)
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Dorotka
June 6, 2025 at 2:42 PM
*weird and *Though, of course 😂
WEnchanteur
June 8, 2025 at 1:23 PM
So good classic, getting huge rating in Korea when airing.
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DK-Drama 🍉🚑🌎 Space Cadetting and Nest Boxing 🗽🍉
June 6, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Mr. Queeeeeeeen!
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DK-Drama 🍉🚑🌎 Space Cadetting and Nest Boxing 🗽🍉
June 6, 2025 at 1:52 PM
I also just finally finished reading the original web novel: The Promotion Record of a Crown Princess
There was So-o-o-o much politics in that ... it was a bit hard to get through, honestly. Very different form the Drama. I want to see Shin Hae-sun in that role again together with someone!
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Unaspirated
June 7, 2025 at 4:49 AM
It’s been on my watchlist for a million years but I’ve never made time for it! I think this is a great candidate!
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DK-Drama 🍉🚑🌎 Space Cadetting and Nest Boxing 🗽🍉
June 7, 2025 at 4:55 AM
Please, please, pleeeease!
DancingEmma
June 6, 2025 at 5:15 PM
I agree. I am trying not to complain all the time but it just isn’t the same. The most comments are for what people have watched but the comments have decreased noticeably since their decision to restructure the site.
I would be interested in a communal watch provided it isn’t one of those older and particularly sexist dramas filled with screaming chaebols, over-entitled men (and women) and infantilised characters. Sorry, a tall order but I will sit out the watch without complaint if my tall order isn’t realistic!
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Neolttwigi
June 6, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Yes to a community watch. My preference is not horror or fight-fests though. Open to suggestions, though it would be good to have a few weeks warning before we start, to give me time if I have to switch streamers to access it.
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DK-Drama 🍉🚑🌎 Space Cadetting and Nest Boxing 🗽🍉
June 7, 2025 at 8:14 AM
How could it be organized?
I think there is beginning to be enough for at least a small group watching Mr. Queen, and if we agreed to start in a week or two, we could gather everyone interested. But WHERE would the group watch "meet"?
Should we make a very long thread in "Open Threads" each week of the (re)watching?
Or should it be at the end of the recaps for those episodes?
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Unaspirated
June 7, 2025 at 11:30 AM
I was thinking we'd comment in the Open Thread each week? But I also like your idea of commenting in the recaps themselves - it would make it easier for other Beanies to find later if they are ever interested. But maybe we'll just post a little reminder in the open thread with a link to the right recap?
Checking things out: I think recaps would work for Mr. Queen, but if we do Bossam, the hangouts already have a LOT of comments, so we might want to do it mostly in the open thread just for loading times and multiple page annoyances.
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DancingEmma
June 7, 2025 at 7:22 PM
Mr Queen! Count me in.
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Unaspirated
June 11, 2025 at 5:33 AM
Ok, Beanies! Let’s plan on Mr. Queen to start (and maybe Bossam after that?).
Logistics:
1. Where should we chat? We could chat on the open thread each week, or the “hangouts” which exist for each pair of episodes. The hangouts were pretty popular, so may have second-page-issues which would be annoying if we’re trying to respond to one another, or we can all just use the second page trick (which I already forget) to help us navigate. I’m kind of leaning toward commenting in the hangouts so that a. It’s easier for other beanies to find later and b. We don’t have folks seeing a discussion of the drama happening and chiming in with (accidental or on purpose) spoilers. We could definitely announce which episodes we’re chatting about in the open thread to encourage people to go over there for the conversation.
2. When should we start? The dramas are flying thick and fast these days so I don’t think it will get easier as we go on, but I want to give people a chance to plan a little and start with us. What is reasonable?
3. How many eps at a time? Two per week like a normal airing schedule? Three? Should we get wild like Disney and do some big chunk at the beginning? (Mostly kidding on that last one.)
4. Are we wecapping or just commenting? We might not need any kind of summary if we are using the already existing hangouts, but I’m certainly open to it.
For now I’m tagging everyone who seemed even slightly interested, but let me know if you’d rather I didn’t!
@ceciliedk @dncingemma @sonai @dorotka @mazarin
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DK-Drama 🍉🚑🌎 Space Cadetting and Nest Boxing 🗽🍉
June 11, 2025 at 7:28 AM
I say Hangouts - though second page issues may still exist.
Since some people are already watching but holding it waiting for us, I suggest starting in max two weeks, not waiting too long.
An unequal number of episodes will probably be annoying, since they are often composed to fit two and two so 2 or 4 ep. per week.
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Kafiyah Bello
June 11, 2025 at 7:54 AM
Just let me know. I too want to know how many episodes per week. One is probably easiest, but we probably want to do more than that. Also Mondays and Tuesdays are probably the best days, there is always a dearth of dramas at that point.
Unaspirated
June 11, 2025 at 1:35 PM
@kafiyah-bello I think two might be the happy medium between what people have time for but not drawing it out too much. And if we use the hangouts, they are organized in pairs of episodes so it makes sense for that too.
I think making time to watch on a Monday or Tuesday is reasonable, so maybe we should start commenting on Wednesday? Pretend it is a M-Tu drama and the recap drops the next day?
Unaspirated
June 11, 2025 at 1:37 PM
Should we start next week, or is that too soon for people? We could announce in the open thread that is coming up in a couple of days, get a solid tag list together, and then start watching as soon as the weekend dramas are over at the beginning of next week? Comment starting on Wednesday? (Very open to suggestions)
DK-Drama 🍉🚑🌎 Space Cadetting and Nest Boxing 🗽🍉
June 12, 2025 at 6:57 AM
I say YES
DK-Drama 🍉🚑🌎 Space Cadetting and Nest Boxing 🗽🍉
June 11, 2025 at 7:32 AM
@kafiyah-bello @mmmmm
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Unaspirated
June 11, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Oops, thank you!
mmmmm
June 11, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Yes, please tag me when you decide to start!
JH LOVES KDRAMA
June 11, 2025 at 10:36 AM
I watched Mr Queen last year and LOVED it! I would love to do a rewatch and join in!
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Unaspirated
June 11, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Excellent, I will add you to the list!
sonai
June 11, 2025 at 11:25 PM
Whoops, for whatever reason I wasn’t notified about being mentioned here! 🧐🤨 Sorry! (I’m wondering, does it have to do with the number of tags… or is it just a random bug… 🤔)
Anyhow! 😃 I’m in, two episodes/week sounds doable, and I can start next week for sure. 🤩 Will try to join you guys in the recap discussion! *Wheeeeee!*
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Dorotka
June 12, 2025 at 7:27 AM
I didn't get the notification either! 🙋♀️
Just got here thanks to my random check of Last Comments. 🙂
I will see if I manage to join actively (end of the school year here 🥴), I will at least cheer on you, Beanies!
DK-Drama 🍉🚑🌎 Space Cadetting and Nest Boxing 🗽🍉
June 12, 2025 at 10:44 AM
Just putting together a tag list. When, after tomorrow's Open Thread, more people want to join, everybody add them.
When you tag people, remember to include your own tag, so that people can copy it off each other and nobody falls off by accident.
I hope that the tag alerts will actually work, even if Dorotka and Sonai tell us the system is unstable.
@ceciliedk @dncingemma @sonai @dorotka @mazarin @unaspirated @kafiyah-bello @mmmmm @jhonsberger
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sonai
June 7, 2025 at 8:58 AM
Yes, please tag me, too! I’ll at least try to squeeze it in. Besides the hilarious MR QUEEN, beanies mentioned SIGNAL or BOSSAM - STEAL THE FATE to be good options for a community watch. I‘d be in for either of these 🥳
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Unaspirated
June 7, 2025 at 11:32 AM
Ooh, I'd love to watch Bossam too! Another one I'm confident I'll like but haven't had time for yet!
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Dorotka
June 8, 2025 at 2:56 PM
I paused it about half way and haven't had time yet to finish it. Would probably join then.
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TwoCentsWorth
June 11, 2025 at 7:48 AM
Count me in for Bossam as well. It's one of those gems I somehow never got around too.
3 cat-cric-kat
June 6, 2025 at 5:45 AM
Weather - hot - yeah yeah
Rain - drizzle - ahh - humidity - 75%
seems like thailand seeing all monsoon cute attitude
Asia - monsoon will pay attention in late june n 2 weeks of July
more energy - bigger storms - summer for you.
Europe - 1 side too much rain - other side no water - oh ho
Summer boost can make europe sweat a lot
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cat-cric-kat
June 6, 2025 at 5:53 AM
Politics - as every1 can see real life proper fun - two guys fighting on social media - drama cup going on
Greta is on another voyage - hehe
let's see how things go next week
SUMMER - if shows its beauty then will cause lot of trouble - that much heat has to go at some place and such storms often r big - 300mm in few hours is huge at any place - n u can't even keep this water - so water troubles continue.
YOUTUBE - getting frustrating - what's with d ads
WEB platforms - frustrating - what's with d ads
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4 Kurama
June 6, 2025 at 5:54 AM
So, @db-staff, sorry to be repetitive but it would be possible to :
1) Rebuild the button that let us see the last comments.
2) Fix the bug about the referral of the notifications. When there are more than one page of comments, the notification sends me at the beginning of the first page of comments, I need to find myself where someone answered to my post.
3) Would be possible to put under Currently RecapPing, Recently Completed and Next recap a new one : Hangout (of airing dramas). Because it's hard to find them if they don't have a lot of comments.
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Healer’s
June 6, 2025 at 6:23 AM
I also mentioned the notification glitch more than once but it is still not fixed yet. I feel like no one is taking care of the site’s IT issues these days. So I gave up.
My vote for N#3 too. Or as @midnight said, please show us the index page, so we can find not just recaps, hangouts but other posts too.
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Kurama
June 6, 2025 at 7:43 AM
4) Hire Healer's!
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Midnight
June 6, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Second this
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Healer’s
June 6, 2025 at 5:42 PM
😂😂😂
Midnight
June 6, 2025 at 1:51 PM
https://www.dramabeans.com/about-old/tag-index/
In the meantime, bookmark the link.
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Healer’s
June 6, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Thank you!!
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Neolttwigi
June 6, 2025 at 8:13 PM
I agree, noone seems to be responding/upkeeping the IT which makes me scared- if noone is watching it, the whole site could become open to malicious attacks and failure.
New drama hangouts for For Eagle Brothers are still being generated, but they are not being put under the drama discussion tab. We have asked for this to be fixed a lot of times, but have not even got a reply, let alone get it fixed
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panshel
June 6, 2025 at 3:16 PM
3) On the sidebar under "CURRENTLY AIRING," you can click on the drama's name and find its Drama Hangout.
Now for my unpopular opinion: 😅
I think Drama Hangouts are unnecessary. If a drama is not being recapped, Beanies can post their thoughts in What we’re watching. Yes, you may never be able to find your comment again, but if you remember a part of your comment, you can always google it, which is no different than how comments used to get lost on the Fan Wall. Some Drama Hangouts have zero comments (Spring of Youth, Shark – The Storm).
I agree with #1 and 2.
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Midnight
June 6, 2025 at 3:42 PM
3) Sometimes the hangout isn't in the drama's drop-down menu and I still end up using the tag.
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panshel
June 6, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Oh, no, not in its drop-down menu; I meant under "RECAPS." I also use tags, but the drama's tag; I seldom use the "Drama Hangout" tag.
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Midnight
June 6, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Yes the drama's tag.
Neolttwigi
June 6, 2025 at 8:16 PM
I use drama hangouts for dramas that I am watching. It's much better and simpler than having stuff scattered in WWW. It lets those of us watching to find each other and have some community. So I want drama hangouts to continue. So what if some of them have zero comments?
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Kurama
June 6, 2025 at 11:43 PM
I think Hangouts are practical to discuss about a drama we like and we can write spoilers. I don't use WWW in the same way.
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Reply1988 - 🍊Mother Bean🍊
June 7, 2025 at 4:02 AM
Hangouts can be quite engaging with all kinds of theories and comments about characters/the storylines. I think Dear Hyeri was a great example of an active hangout.
The introduction of a weekly hangout for the Weekenders was requested once beanies started to engage in discussion about them. It has been noticeable that some of the regular weekender watchers have not commented for some months now.
I noticed some hangouts start active but then become echo chambers with one person commenting or no one and some never have any activity. I wondered if that’s about the lack of interest in the drama or not being able to easily locate the hangout.
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Midnight
June 7, 2025 at 4:52 AM
I firmly believe that the site engagement will never be as much as it was before 2017 (with no fanwall) because it is practically impossible to find anything if you are new, and a chore if you are a veteran.
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Kurama
June 7, 2025 at 4:53 AM
I forget there are hangouts for the dramas I watch 😅
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Procrasti-NationFirstCitizen
June 6, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Yess that Comments button would solve so much, and promote interaction! I know there's a bookmarking workaround for it, but it's just one extra step. I already see engagement has fallen off since they dropped the fan wall, and removing the latest comments section has made it worse for me.
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5 Gikata
June 6, 2025 at 7:24 AM
Happy first Friday of summer, Beanies! As of today TPOB has officially ended (and yesterday restarted on Zhejiang TV - further testament to show's success), but that does not mean we're about to suffer from lack of content anytime soon – EB2 will
depressentertain for 2 more weeks, then ADWAD is coming too (rumored to get license next week and air in late June), plus continuation of Carnation 5.0 coverage and other interesting things. Word on the streets that TPOB cast, crew AND novel writer will have a big celebratory dinner this weekend, good for them is so. And, of course, next week LYN packs his bags and goes to Italyto escape everyone's trolling over TPOB love scenes(heard rumors about Spain as well) for his newest variety show – let's hope he'll have a good time and won't get lost as it's his first abroad trip in 6 (!) years)))Let's start with a fresh stage performance from last weekend – BeijingTV's 618 Summer Music Festival (a bit confused why it wasn't held at 6.18), where modern day Wei Shao, I mean, LYN looked as regally and expensive as one can (majestic cape by Tony Ward), coated in gold from head to Loubutins (neck glitter took me out – another beyond the fandom fetish unlocked). He performed two songs and sat for an interview where everyone cheered, squeeled and threw highly embarrassing questions about spicy scenes at cringing “lord Wei”. Oh, darling, it's only the beginning of your misery! First song was his own - “Ask heaven” (WORD OF HONOR OST). Guess it's too iconic now by itself to be held back by show's BL ban struggles, good for us, because he always sounds great by singing it – lost of practice and all... Sadly, official upload comes with a terribly butchered sound, so I've had to make do with news channels reposts. At least it's HD and sounds OK:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_XyC9JdPio
And emotional cover of Andy Lau's “Destiny in the next life” (has there ever been more wuxia/xianxia-coded title? probably not lol), including VCR of Yuning's drama roles in the background. Concert being held at a giant stadium naturally caused some sounds issues, but for this song they were mostly fixed, thankfully.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zur7qJVU6gE
Back to Carnation, which means more music! You already know this one – Chen Li's “Galloping away”, which I just found out has an ~official~ English title “Cursory glance” and still trying to process wtf that even means... Sounds great as usual nevertheless. Btw, The Cuirass is apparently from fashion designer Demon Zhang (now that's a striking western name!) who has a whole collection of these... armors. Perfect choice for the guy who likes to slay people both on drama battlefields with his sword and irl with his fashion. Don't see him agreeing easily to their cheeky offer of making another one based on his own, uhm, measurements)))
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wK0OPL8p4zI
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Gikata
June 6, 2025 at 7:25 AM
More slower bangers with Mao Buyi's “Talk” - literally can also mean “pillow/sleep talk”, which is probably where this extra sultry vibe comes from. Arrangement is interesting, but feels a little messy? I think they should've polish it more, tempos clearly don't match well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eL0dngR6ydU
And Tiger Hu's “Stars” (he put it as BGM when reading fan letters at his latest birthday, so now the whole fandom collectively sobs over this song, heh). Idk why I'm getting emotional along with him...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXuJCFXCBWA
Lyrics translation if you feel like joining the cryfest:
https://x.com/Just_Lice0304/status/1929514209047617868
And, to end on an energetic note, dance rock medley: Niko Sun's “Chinese people” + Jeff Chang's “Going too far” + Zhang Jie's “World”. Latter is especially famous – it's like a go-to BGM for badass action fan-edits (I have an example of it, look below). Look how happy he is here, roaring and dancing along!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUGSkojb3vQ
Bonuses:
sparkling vampire gegeshiny lord Wei in photos – that cape is really something, wow))) Love that he's posing with more confidence these days.https://www.tumblr.com/heymeowmao/785102543774728192/liu-yuning-x-618-summer-music-gala
Carnation 5.0 preparation vlog, where you can see LYN's naturally messy hair and bare face, cute:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4EPTWE3shg
2 TPOB leads interviews – his alternative to 500 warhorses was... something. Practical gifts ftw!
https://x.com/LiuYuningIntFC/status/1929453226568622584
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Gikata
June 6, 2025 at 7:26 AM
“Happy wife, happy life” lmao – could've been show's entire tagline)))
https://x.com/LiuYuningIntFC/status/1928779936581693860
Poster photoshoot
clownery- so where are the pics?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wjpg2dAOJ4A
One more – SZE calling herself “tiny backpack” lol:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4uW4bfftLA
Compilation of TPOB achievements metric for bragging purposes))) On a serious note, I'm very happy for everyone involved, they worked hard and overcame so much to get there!
https://x.com/ForCdrama/status/1930156242577829901
Did I also mention that he gained over half a million new fans on Weibo only? And at least a million more everywhere else? Now I did)))
https://x.com/ForCdrama/status/1930533860887887977
Wei state avengers - cnetz words, not mine! I call them Metal 6^^ - combined with “World”. Spoilers up to Ep30, I think. Sword throwing move already developed its own rabid fanbase, bless!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MkUskGfbUo
Speaking of rabid fanbases – you should've seen the utter insanity TPOB caused on sns, esp TikTok and local XiaoHongShu aka LittleRedNote, making this shy gremlin the newest sex symbol of cdramaland. No kidding - Tencent's Weibo straight up calls him “daddy”... I still cannot quite believe what I'm witnessing rn, but no complaints, get that long overdue thirsty worship, ge!
You sacrificed all your screen innocence at once, but it was worth it!Wei Shao the hot bad bitch edit – spoilers, duh:https://x.com/amm_anyama/status/1928692419853431074
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Gikata
June 6, 2025 at 7:27 AM
P.S. Special request from the class – production special of TPOB (you can turn on machine subs, they'll give a general grasp of what is being talked about). Gotta say, I'm VERY impressed with show's visuals – Han dynasty fashion has my all heart now – and how much of sets they actually built just for the drama with moderate budget:
https://x.com/AJLYN456/status/1930451395423154553
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Gikata
June 6, 2025 at 7:27 AM
@kiara, @jillian, @zindigo, @isagc, @wonhwa, @seeker, @mochakat9, @wishfultoki, @cliosservant1846, @nivar
Gikata
June 6, 2025 at 7:28 AM
Come on, DB, let me tag people!
Clios Servant
June 6, 2025 at 9:45 AM
This is a great Friday post @gikata. Thank you.
We are a long way from a year ago when they were dressing LYN off the rack. The Tony Ward cape/black satin shirt, cumberbund, pants and obviously custom tailored. Awesome.
So, if I am understanding you right from what you are reporting, with TPOB, LYN went from a well-known and admired performer to an international star. I think that is what those numbers speak to.
The last clip...I'm assuming that is TPOB Director speaking about his vision for the show and how he organically allowed the story to be something more than the novel. I couldn't catch all the dialog there, but that's fascinating short piece. TPOB is an awards magnet at this point. Kudos to all in this now classic cdrama production.
Loved the Daimi spots. Little darling.
Procrasti-NationFirstCitizen
June 6, 2025 at 7:31 PM
Thanks for posting the X links!
I feel so happy vicariously when people rise above stupid preconceptions and online bullying :) Jung Jun Won being the other... Talent can't be held down.
This was my first real period drama that I've actually sat through, and watching the BTS video was quite eye-opening. Loved seeing the costume details and fabrics especially! Wish they'd have a longer version of it.
Gikata
June 6, 2025 at 10:36 AM
@cliosservant1846 his new stylists team are doing amazing: from what I see he still picks most of wardrobe himself, but all these fresh-out-of-runway designer pieces surely cannot be found in offline stores during casual shopping sprees, someone else has to do the research and request/approve them. And hair/makeup are simply the best he ever had.
More or less. He already gained certain appreciation (local and global) as an actor during AJTL and to a lesser extent TSOPG, but TPOB elevated his general image to heartthrob territory, not just "that tall guy who sings well and can kinda act, but is not really swoon-worthy".
Should've dropped that shirt earlier, ge! We could've had an iron-hard argument in your defense during worst times!^^I've seen bits of proper translation, still waiting for full coverage. Basically PD said they were extra worried since Han dynasty dramas are currently rare/non-trendy (I think the last big one was LOVE LIKE THE GALAXY, which had severe controversy over its aesthetics), so additional effort was put into costumes, sets, ceremonial and overall vibe. Also they feared that more heavy on melo adaptation will scare idol drama viewers away while (it's implied) "serious" drama crowd won't spare the show a glance at all because of unsophisticated source material.
Awards? Hmm... something from Tencent and Weibo is quite possible. Couple/popularity trophies are usually
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Clios Servant
June 6, 2025 at 11:05 AM
The "can kinda act" thing is over. TPOB and SZE put that to bed.
I'm still learning a lot from you and others, and from building a cdramas-watched library. But I gotta say, rankings and ratings aside, this drama has legs and it will hold up over time. A good story speaks to the human condition. The characters are relatable, the drama has humor, the pacing is good, a lush production/look -- all of it speaks to dedication. Plus, it handily beat the Tencent no-PR barrier and the cancel culture (so it's an underdog winner). IDK what the rest of the year looks like, but I honestly think this one is a cdrama classic, a keeper that will be rewatched over the years.
What I'd like to see down the road is a demographic breakdown of its audience, IE by age group etc. LLLG is a great drama, eminently rewatchable, and appeals to a big swath of the audience. TPOB is similar to that, more so than DAFENG. This director has a bright future.
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Gikata
June 6, 2025 at 1:20 PM
And very literally so!)))
I've seen multiple people categorizing TPOB as a healing drama. That's one way to put it. Reminds me a little of LOVE OF THE DIVINE TREE earlier this year that also featured ML with hardcore (and rather earned) genocidal urges gently coaxed into more peaceful lifestyle through understanding, care and love. Great niche, if you ask me)))
Speaking of no-PR barrier - if ADWAD is really coming at the end of this month, iQiyi better to start moving their stingy bums asap.
I feel like Weibo and perhaps Douban too might include such info in their metrics somewhere... I'll look it up.
As for now it seems PD hasn't signed for a new drama yet, but there are rumors about it being a high budget historical one, forgot the details.
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Isa is always time travelling
June 6, 2025 at 1:24 PM
Thanks for all the information and updates, as always.
I hope it's true Liu Yuning is coming to Spain. Not that I think I can come across him, Spain is so big... but... It would make me happy to know he is here :)
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Clios Servant
June 6, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Isa, you are a wonderful sprite! I hope it happens.
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Isa is always time travelling
June 6, 2025 at 1:51 PM
So nice of you! 🤗🤗🤗
I'm always fantasizing about running into some of my favorite Asian actors 😂
I know I'd never dare to say a word, though.
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Gikata
June 6, 2025 at 2:14 PM
I'll tag you once I know more about his little Eurotrip route))) For now it's only confirmed he's departing next Tuesday and will travel and film for 11 days - plenty of time to visit 2 countries, methinks.
Wherever he'll go, hopefully he will ran into local fans there because man seems to REALLY struggle with comprehending the fact that they exist... Let him see the truth with his own eyes!
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Isa is always time travelling
June 6, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Do you mean he will be filming something in Europe?
Thank you in advance! 🤗
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Gikata
June 6, 2025 at 4:10 PM
He's going there as part of variety show
with stupid titleWOW THE EARTH. They already filmed pilot episode in some China province, forgot which one. The concept seems to be about traveling and tasting local food, but that pilot episode fancams also included him singing in a huge choir (eh?), so it must've been more complicated than just strolling around hot tourist spots and snacking. Or maybe not and they were singing for food, idk))) If he has time, he'll probably squeeze something else - amusement park visit? - in between, but for now I don't know more.🌸 Seeker 🌸
June 14, 2025 at 6:49 AM
Huh, why is "everyone's trolling over TPOB love scenes"!? Oh! I hope he goes to Spain and maybe uri @IsaGC might run into him. 😍
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Gikata
June 14, 2025 at 7:22 AM
So this is actually hysterical - plenty of his celeb friends watched the drama and commented on its spicy footage: THE TRUTH S3 Jin Jing recorded a song clip praising his abs, singer Mao Buyi and actress-comedian Li Xueqin (Xiaotao in drama) watched the bed scene in their shared talk show (MaoMao's deadpan comments!), singer Zhang Bichen is a hardcore fan/shipper of the drama and constantly texts Yuning her feedback lol, that one gala he sang at during show's run was all about interviewers asking him questions etc. I expect this buzz topic to last quite a bit to his horror)))
Hopefully!
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🌸 Seeker 🌸
June 14, 2025 at 7:27 AM
Well the "attention" is well-deserved I would say. If I had Yuning's number I too would constantly and happily send him feedback. 😅😂
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Gikata
June 14, 2025 at 7:37 AM
Fans feedback is all over his sns anyway, he regularly grumbles about anything thirsty he sees there. And now that his team is also stalking twt hashtags... whoops.
6 Kurama
June 6, 2025 at 10:17 AM
Kaoru Hana wa Rin to Saku will be adapted in anime and will air on Netflix on the 5th July!
It's interesting how this manga is a shonen and not a shojo. It's a good thing for the animation, they often get a better production.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FcVJxxPWh4
She doesn't this voice in my head... I will have to be used to :p
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7 roko
June 6, 2025 at 11:26 AM
I'm finding myself downgrading some of my favorite dramas in my rankings after rewatching :( This time around I had a lot less patience (haha) with Hospital Playlist S1. I don't like the music except Met You By Chance, found many of the episodic medical stories too weepy-wail-y to sit through again, and really noticed the specific moral stances being pushed on difficult topics. Lots of FFing. Happily I still love all the hospital staff characters, both major and minor.
Also found the philosophical musings in Romance is a Bonus Book a bit treacly this time and FFed them all. Maybe it's just my current mood...
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Midnight
June 6, 2025 at 1:59 PM
That is the reason that very rarely a show gets on my favorites list before rewatching.
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roko
June 6, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Yeah, I think I'll start doing that now too. I am rewatching more than I expected given how many are still on my unwatched list, and it's interesting to see which ones survive the extra scrutiny!
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8 DK-Drama 🍉🚑🌎 Space Cadetting and Nest Boxing 🗽🍉
June 6, 2025 at 1:37 PM
My Hubby had a camera from the outside on the fledglings, when they left the nest. I have now gotten hold of the footage and ended up making three small videos out of it;
one just as it was (5:36 min.): https://youtu.be/r_2NAO5eIbE?si=amCXByANVFlLod0Z ,
one close-up (also 5½ min.): https://youtu.be/nTCNW4CgDhw?si=Nhot5YUKnQeBspqm
and a shorter clip with subtitles of two fledglings fighting in the door (1:57 min.): https://youtu.be/BtoeuLXqgkE?si=aRIzG6V6nAcwuxuV
Also a New Great Tit Couple have decided to move in on top of the empty nest, and she has been equipping the nest with a bit of fresh material; some moss and some hair from ... I thought maybe a child that had their hair cut in their garden? she used only one day for the moss though, as opposed to the nest under her where Ms. Tit spend at least three days getting the moss just right before starting with the hair.
This new one has only been working two days, and tonight she has decided to sleep in the nest. I wouldn't be really surprised if there was an egg there tomorrow. Her hubby was there and fed her a bit already yesterday, which he usually wouldn't do before the she had finished laying as many eggs as she wanted. He must be a really nice husband!
Here are the clips of her checking out the nest: https://youtu.be/AWUSSACMw00?si=KFmy53CgY8TC4ukX
And here she is working through the day with moss: https://youtu.be/yx6VjKjg_ik?si=urhARkfuNjP2QcaV
My daughter and I have been reading "Silverborn" in the Nevermoor series over the last 8 days and ended today. That's around 600 pages. It was a great book. But when will the next book be out? Inquiring minds wants to know!
My fledged daughter came home and cooked for us today, enjoying the home budget and making delicious food, and serving drinks, for which reason I am a bit extra "tired" 😉 . She brought her best friend that everybody here likes too. I am so glad about that - otherwise, when would we get to se her, too?
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DK-Drama 🍉🚑🌎 Space Cadetting and Nest Boxing 🗽🍉
June 7, 2025 at 4:51 AM
If you want to browse the whole lot of videos and gifs, it’s these links: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDd6HkVxYgYJSuIbOl6tmsa5DoKqvfml-
and
https://imgur.com/a/titmouse-da-house-2ADX4sT
and https://imgur.com/a/nest-box-great-titmouse-2025-april-may-fGUFoiH
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bbstl 🧹
June 7, 2025 at 10:04 PM
Thank you, enjoyed them all!
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DK-Drama 🍉🚑🌎 Space Cadetting and Nest Boxing 🗽🍉
June 8, 2025 at 3:12 AM
I'm glad you did!
It's just so much more fun when someone else is enjoying it, too.
And as for the more edited ones, the embarrassing many hours used to place silly speech bubbles right likes to be for someone to chuckle 😊
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bbstl 🧹
June 8, 2025 at 11:09 AM
I pay much closer attention to birds now after seeing your videos. Congratulations on another successful year for your Great Tit families!
DK-Drama 🍉🚑🌎 Space Cadetting and Nest Boxing 🗽🍉
June 8, 2025 at 7:50 PM
That made me really glad to hear! ❤️
9 9TailedVixen Loves Hanging Upside Down
June 7, 2025 at 7:52 AM
NOTES FROM 9TAILEDVIXEN'S 1ST WEEK OF JUNE 2025:
(A) LIFE NOTES
I've been recovering from jetlag all this week and that isn't going as well as it usually does, partly because I have a lot of work to catch up with and partly because the dog - much as I love the furball - is in the habit of singing the song of his people at some point between 3am - 4am.
Sigh...
In other news, I've been catching up with THE HAUNTED PALACE at a fairly brisk pace. A couple more binge watches and I should be caught up. It's seriously entertaining!
(B) THIS WEEK IN KOREAN WOMEN'S NEWS
1. Young South Korean women help propel liberal candidate Lee to victory
Young women in South Korea voted in droves to help new liberal President Lee Jae-myung win the June 3 election, reflecting the entrenched gender divide over politics in the country, where more young men backed conservative candidates.
Around 58 per cent of women voters in their 20s and 57 per cent in their 30s voted for Mr Lee of the Democratic Party, a joint exit poll by three broadcasters showed, mirroring the 2022 presidential election, while a majority of their male peers picked Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party and Lee Jun-seok, another conservative candidate.
Young women led the charge against former president Yoon Suk Yeol, who was ousted in April by the Supreme Court after being impeached over his short-lived imposition of martial law, triggering the snap election.</i?
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/young-south-korean-women-help-propel-liberal-candidate-lee-to-victory
2. Women helped oust South Korea’s president. Now they feel erased by elections.
Women were the face of the protest movement that brought down South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol this winter, one of the most remarkable moments in the country’s young democracy.
But now that it’s time to replace him in snap elections Tuesday, women are completely absent from the ballot.
For the first time in 18 years, all of South Korea’s presidential candidates are men, and none has placed gender equality at the forefront of their campaigns. Analysts credit this to a growing backlash against the country’s feminist movement, particularly among young men.
https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2025/0602/south-korea-elections-yoon-gender
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bbstl 🧹
June 7, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Thanks for these links, very interesting reading
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10 WEnchanteur
June 8, 2025 at 1:28 PM
So, I watched a drama with the worst rating on MDL, 5.8/10.
Looks like a calamity?
Turns out it's one of the best classic drama.
"Fashion King".
An acting feast!! All 4 main actors are excellent, but special mention to:
- Yoo Ha In, a role sticking to him so strong.
- Shin Se Kyong, perfect role for her too.
Excellent script. Maybe around episode 16-18, could be shorter, like two episodes to cut among the whole 20 episodes.
AND... a CRAZY awesome ENDING !!!!
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Kurama
June 10, 2025 at 10:38 PM
Oh, I align with the ratings. I didn't like this drama. Yoo Ah-in was good, Shin Se-kyeong was bad and the end was the worst.
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11 DK-Drama 🍉🚑🌎 Space Cadetting and Nest Boxing 🗽🍉
June 9, 2025 at 3:35 AM
If you haven't seen this: We can support the resistance towards reactionary governmental anti-feminism via Amnesty. Who better to ask than Dramabeans?
https://www.amnesty.org/en/petition/save-gender-equality-ministry-in-south-korea/
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bbstl 🧹
June 9, 2025 at 8:20 AM
This petition was re: plans under the defeated President Yoon. I’m not sure where it stands now that there’s a new, less anti-women’s rights President. @9tailedvixen will know!
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DK-Drama 🍉🚑🌎 Space Cadetting and Nest Boxing 🗽🍉
June 9, 2025 at 11:55 AM
According to this, which is from May the 16th after Yoon's presidency ended, the plans to abolish the gender equality ministry are still on.
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DK-Drama 🍉🚑🌎 Space Cadetting and Nest Boxing 🗽🍉
June 9, 2025 at 11:56 AM
Uhm, according to this: https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/society/20240516/un-commission-urges-korea-to-withdraw-plan-to-abolish-gender-ministry
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9TailedVixen Loves Hanging Upside Down
June 9, 2025 at 9:17 PM
Pardon my language but:
WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK IN THE FUCKING HELL IS THIS PATRIARCHAL NONSENSE?!
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bbstl 🧹
June 10, 2025 at 10:33 PM
I’m so tired of this. Thank you for the updated info.
DK-Drama 🍉🚑🌎 Space Cadetting and Nest Boxing 🗽🍉
June 11, 2025 at 7:22 AM
Summa Summarum, signing Amnesty's plead to save the South Korean Ministry of Gender Equality (link in post above) is still relevant.
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12 DK-Drama 🍉🚑🌎 Space Cadetting and Nest Boxing 🗽🍉
June 12, 2025 at 7:02 AM
Are other people having trouble with viki.com?
I was going to watch the end of Haunted Palace and it won't let me!
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