Beanie level: Loan shark with a heart of gold
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    LOL actually prob the most creative thing they ever did tho disgusting. I had 4 people at once share it in the Facebook group for Korean Culture Club.

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      Apparently NK had threatened to do this in retaliation over the pamphleting by 2 defector organisations over the last few years but weirdly they have taken their time to do this bonkers retaliation. The ROK tried to stop this orgs from sending balloons with anti NKn material but they repeatedly flouted the ban. It is now criminalised in SK.

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I like knowing which actor/s turned down roles which then went to another actor/s, the role/s became iconic and the rest is film history.
So who do we think turned down the role of Sunjae? Was it always written as a super-tall character or that came later? Assuming the former, the field is somewhat narrow:
1. Rowoon: Very tall and then an active idol.
2. Cha Eunwoo: Tall and an idol.
3. Ahn Hyoseop: Very tall and trained as an idol for a while.
4. Seo Inguk: Tall-ish and a singer too.
5. Seo Kangjoon: Tall and also a singer.

GWS though I am glad BWS got it.

Who else fits the bill?

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    There was quite a fiasco when Kill Me, Heal Me was announced. So many famous actors accepted/were announced and then dropped out/denied. One of them was Hyun Bin, who dropped out and immediately accepted Hyde, Jekyll, and I, and caused quite a stir because the story of the 2 dramas sounded very similar.

    It had caused so much speculation that maybe the script is that bad, or there’s backstage drama. When Ji Sung accepted the role it was so near the airing date that he went straight from announcement to filming his scenes.

    Moral of the story, Hyde Jekyll and I, and Kill Me Heal Me aired at the same time. KMHM and Jisung bacame overnight sensations and HJaI became a completely forgettable drama not worthy of Hyun Bin.

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      Thanks for taking the time to share this. I had no idea! I always expect that this kind of info not to get out in the KD circles given the sensitivities butI like knowing this!

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        I guess it usually doesn’t get out. That is probably why it was very weird and starting to feel like a scandal back then.

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      yes, with KMHM not only Jisung himself but each persona he played became a celebrity in its own right really. almost like they got separated from the actor and started a life of their own

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    I think Kim Hye-Yoon being chosen pretty fast, Rowoon wasn’t a choice. The drama reminded too much Extraordinary You.

    The writer did True Beauty, so I wonder if she wanted to work with CEW or Hwang In-Yeop again. I think HIY would have been a better possibility after his success in True Beauty as a second lead.

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    My bet is Cha Eun Woo.

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    Seo Inguk is the best actor out of this bunch imo, but he’s almost ten years older than Hyeyoon.

    Hwang Inyeop can also sing and he was in True Beauty.

    It really could’ve gone out to so many people since it took three years.

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Things that I have noticed and appreciated about LR apart from my central concerns
1. Sol’s clothes and shoes: They have appeared to be comfortable in the different phases of Sol’s life and thankfully haven’t followed some of the more absurd trends like minis in clearly cold outdoors and stilettos (with a few exceptions). Instead, stable high platform shoes were used poignantly to allow Sol to launch the make out sesh that was heard around the world. Or should have been.
2. I am grateful that with the exception of Sol’s annoying brother, there were no awful screechers. I could deal with Sol’s mum getting annoyed occasionally and raising her voice as it was no where near a screech.
3. As I think Fiyashady mentioned previously, thankfully there were very few distracting PPls probably because the advertisers didn’t think LR would be worth their while. This was such a breath of fresh air and it made getting immersed in the story much easier.
4. No chebols and their hideous, entitled heirs. I really enjoyed their absence.
5. Anything else anyone can add?

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    Wise words!
    + Everyone being human beings not black or white creatures was a fresh air too. we had jealous inhyuk in 1 of TLs and a good Friend in a different one because circumstances were different.
    We had pure oxygen (😅) in 1 TL but a very pro BF in another 1, a die hard fan in 1 TL and a busy working woman ignorant of idols and music in another TL, etc….

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    Relatively few drunken scenes compared to other recent shows – and those were mostly confined to a few episodes, and the worst of them is called out by the FL as the bullying, outmoded, dumbass behavior it is.

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    3 and 4. I’m so thankful for the absence of PPLs and chaebols and fights of power.

    And thanks so much for the comedy (but a few things which should never have made the cut). I have stayed for the comedy, not for the romance, not for the drama, not for the “thriller”, not for the actors.

    And the OST is really good 🤩

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    That the comedy is actually laugh out funny. Except for the brother and friend scenes.

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      This show would have been better without them. Their time should have been time to make the SML a more complete character.

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        Absolutely. They just make me cringe. It is to Song Geonhee’s credit that he has imbued Tae with so much charm and has made him captivating in probably no more than an hour of the drama if we added up all of his scenes. It would have been so good if the above wasted times could have been used to give Tae depth as you noted.

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I love LR (I wish I had called it “Pick up Sanjae and Run” from the beginning) despite its shortcomings because of how good the actors have been and how emotionally and deftly they have elevated a script that has been quite pedestrian at times.
However, given the enormous popularity of this drama outside SK – according to Viki – and having punched above its weight domestically, there must have been many teenagers and young women who are watching this or will come to see it at some point. I wanted the message to be about Sol’s life, hopes and aspirations as well as love for Sunjae as in real life – unlike in swoony KDs – young girls and women need to be nurtured to become strong and independent, reminded constantly that their lives and safety matters and that the world doesn’t present many Sunjaes who will be self-sacrificing.

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LR Ep1: Is the young woman with Sol at the concert venue in the OG timeline (17:36 mark) the runaway teenager in the two subsequent timelines? It kinda looks like her.

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    No, she’s a different actress. Also, Sol would’ve recognized White Padding Jacket if she were her friend.

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I wish LR’s focus had been on making Sol happy and live a safe, fulfilled and meaningful life. Because I’m a romantic at heart – there I said it – I try to resist the pull of fictional self-sacrificing narratives for women because they are so often culturally and socially prevalent and interwoven into the stories we hear, watch and even tell ourselves.
I recognise that in LR part of her happiness was meaningfully centred on Sunjae given his place in her life but the other part of Sol’s trajectory has not been developed adequately and has been subsumed by the centrality of Sunjae to her life. I wish it was different.

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    I stopped watching after one and half episodes so I can’t comment on what happened after that, but one of the reasons I dropped the show was that it already clear by the end of episode 1 that Sol had based so much of her happiness and sense of identity around Sun Jae and this was before she’d even actually met him. That just felt sad and slightly delusional for someone in their 30’s.

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      I hear you. Given her accident and loss of mobility though, I could empathise with her attempt to become hopeful about life in a society which didn’t accommodate people with disabilities. The fact that she managed to reengage with the world -even if focused largely on Sunjae as a fan -was worthy of interest to me. I just wanted so much more from the story than it delivered. But, unlike you, I stayed on as I liked the actors if not the trajectory of the story.

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    Totally agreed. We only saw her at work, sending scenarios to Seon-jae and bickering with him. If we were given more insights into why she chose to be a movie director, watched her handle more work, learned about her individually, it would have been more interesting.

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I’m not into copaganda but Tae sensitively, kindly and empathetically questioning the runaway teen was my other fave scene from ep 14. Why is Song Gonhee so good in LR? A question for the ages.

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    It seems we have to create the Song Geon Hee Fan Club in DB, the same way we started the Kang Hoon Fan Club a year ago 🤩

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      Isa! We absolutely should. @lapislazulii, @enriquequierecagar.
      May he be a good person (always my wish) and continue to act with dedication, sincerity and charm.

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        He seems to be a really nice, humble and approachable person. That’s something essential for me to start a Fan Club 😊

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          Should have remembered to include our resident thug noonim, @elinor. Of course as we are not saesengs, we are all chill and shit!😂

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            Oh, I’m chill as —- as a fan, although that man is 🔥. I’d love to see him in an ML role next time round. I have a glass of wine and a rewatch of episode 14 lined up tonight.

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            I find it fascinating how Song Geonhee turned Tae into a compelling, interesting and incredibly charming 2L character. We still don’t know so much about him and unlikely to know. Was the role crafted and written in depth or was it given depth, nuance and charm to spare? I always wonder what is the balance of this alchemy which often moves us in a multitude of ways, makes us laugh and occasionally pull our hair out. I appreciate and understand the collaborative process which involves the efforts of hundreds of other people who should be celebrated and rewarded but so often the result never takes flight. When it does like this, it is pure joy.

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            @dncingemma on your comment about how you find it fascinating that he did give so much depth to a 2L character, I agree!! I thought the same lowkey about him in Joseon Attorney – tbh both him and the 2ML in this show were quite compelling and sometimes more interesting than the leads. Likewise, I’m also grateful to the script team that created these characters with the potential for nuance in the hands of a good actor!

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        Hear, hear! I’d so sign on to this club for a lifetime membership!!

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    Such a sweet young man!

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    Yep. I’m a fan of the character and the actor. I think he was in Missing

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I really enjoyed the scene with the two teenagers asking Sunjae to get them cigs, not recognising our thespian, making him irritated/flustered and giving Sol the opportunity to have that lovely KHY laugh at his expense. It was so.much.fun to watch them bicker and not do bad angsty stuff as in the ep that shall not be named!

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    That was one of my favorite scenes too. If this was another drama/story… One where she really doesn’t want to work with him (because she doesn’t know him yet)… I would love that couple.

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      It was so much fun. We should have had much more of that kind of interactions!

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    Sun Sol always light up the screen. The scenes where Sun tries to *impress* Sol are almost always too cute as Sun invariably fails. But he wins when he doesn’t try anything. 💖

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“Burning Sun: Exposing the secret K-pop chat groups – BBC World Service Documentaries”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EEp1q_iMYc&t=35s

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    Sigh Hara 😞

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      I watched the entire thing. My heart breaks for Hara. 😭

      Anger for how nothing seems to change and the perpetrators are free.

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        I’m not surprised nothing seems to have changed and the perpetrators received such light sentences, but yes, my heart also hurts for the direct and indirect victims 😢 Even JJY, who seems to have received the “heaviest” sentence, has already finished and fulfilled his jail sentence (5 years) and was recently released.
        I say I am not surprised that nothing has changed, because no change nor reform nor any help seems to be given to those in need and whom were and are suffering the most even after a peak in celebrity suicides (e.g. Hara, Jonghyun) and drug cases in recent years despite many other celebrities coming out to speak and share about them or have been caught doing illegal drugs but ppl in Korea don’t seem to see it as the possibility that maybe the drug users are also crying out for help as much as those whom chose to end their lives, because drugs in Korea is very seen as a black and white issue, which ironically, is the thing hindering people from getting or giving help and reform uuggghhh

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          Exactly. It is woeful.
          And, the two brave female journalists who are featured in the BBC documentary and have suffered because of their work exposing these abusers.

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        And, almost all returned to some kind of performing. My stomach turned when I watched the documentary, and afterwards saw a clip of that revolting criminal Seungri recently giving the finger and uttering an expletive directed at his detractors. These vile individuals are free and Yoo Ahin is being persecuted and prosecuted. It is really the upside down world.

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        This site is largely terrible but has been featuring excerpts from the BBC documentary and focusing on a “where are they now” with the perpetrators. This alleged perp was in LR playing the arrogant swimming rival: “Burning Sun Chatroom” Actor Lee Cheol Woo Found In “Lovely Runner” — Close Friendship With Byeon Woo Seok

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      Incredibly sad for sure.

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Human rights commission urges Korea to raise awareness of LGBTQ rights” : https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20240517050573
“ Discrimination and hatred must no longer be tolerated in our society. We reaffirm that it is the non-negotiable responsibility of all of us to defend the dignity and worth of human beings and uphold the fundamental values of democracy, which are respect for diversity and human rights. The NHRCK will continue to work to ensure the human rights of LGBTQ people.”‘

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“Court refuses injunction on medical school expansion
S. Korea to have first med school quota hike in 27 years, medical sector to appeal court decision” : https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20240516050735

I would like to know much more about the opposition to the quota increase.
As a teacher though, I fully understand the consequences for increasing the student numbers, especially in a resource intensive discipline such as Medicine. There is little information about whether or not the publicly funded Medical Schools will have any significant increase in funding and other resources. It will be stressful and difficult for the academic and clinical staff to teach many more students (divided among the Medical Schools) without any additional resources.

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    I’ve talked about this. It’s way more complex than what you see on the surface. Let me see if I can find the thread.

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      You did Ally and I meant to tag you but forgot. Thanks for trying to find your earlier comment.

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I don’t remember whether or not this has already been mentioned by any Beanie but “Bitter sweet hell” will be coming soon to Viki (in my region and hopefully to your’s as well).

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“Pledis Entertainment Come Together For A Wedding Worthy Of A K-Drama — SEVENTEEN’s BSS Create “Chaos” In The Best Way”: https://www.koreaboo.com/news/pledis-seventeen-staff-kdrama-wedding-bss-manager-bss-causing-chaos/

I didn’t know who they were but now like them enough to listen to their music because of the joy that they brought to that wedding. Just watch the clips in the article!

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Q: Do good actors benefit from joining – even as a temp – a well-known variety show? https://www.soompi.com/article/1661290wpp/kang-hoon-confirmed-to-join-running-man-as-first-interim-member

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    It’s best if it is temporal, imo.
    Running Man was okay for Song Joon Ki’s career, but I don’t think his friend Kwang Soo can say the same.

    I see him promoting movies sometimes, but he keeps playing the funny character over and over again.

    I’ve seen actors get in those shows and then they never go back into acting again.

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      Thanks T. I instinctively thought that might be the case but appreciate knowing your view based on the contextual info which I lack.

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        depends.. on popularity of the show..

        I would actually argue that Kwang Soo benefited.. he got meaty, character driven roles in movies and dramas.. he wasn’t a leading actor but post popularity he has investors willing to invest in his projects big time

        Kim seon ho benefitted, In woo benefitted, Song joonki also benefited… once his drama became a hit is when he dropped the show

        Variety shows enable society wide recognition for up and coming artists

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Life imitates art? Alleged political pressure in the reshuffle of prosecutors.
https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20240514050599

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Women’s bodies have been globally policed by religions & cultures from the time immemorial but it never ceases to amaze me that even in conservative KDs, a male nipple is shown for an extended period & the world doesn’t cave in. But the idea of female cleavage is earth shattering and destabilising. What it must feel like to be a powerful, entitled and wealthy male in this world. I will never know that kind of privilege.

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“ LLG] Unseen inheritance: Trauma of transnational adoption ‘trickles down’ to adoptees’ children”.

https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20240512050121

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No doubt some of you will enjoy this article on touring the “QoT” locations. Promise not to cry too much? Or at least less than KSH?
https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20240509050840

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If you have 15 minutes to spare, Dr Ruha Benjamin’s Spelman 2024 Convocation address is so worthwhile: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_12_E3LAeg

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