Same, Stage! While most viewers felt like the pilot episode was slow, I already loved it right off the bat! I felt Huang Yu Xuan’s pain. I was with her in her every step of getting over her grief 😭😭😭😭 And how she never really got over it 😭😭😭😭😭 Ep 2 hurt so good!

So far, I’m not a fan of the second female lead at all and I’m hoping they don’t focus too much on Joon-young’s relationship with Jung-kyung. I also don’t like the luthier (what’s his name again?) very much. I’m hoping my opinion of these characters change.

yeah! I mean if you want to pursue it as a career, winning competitions are important for people to patronize you. Not everyone who studies classical music enters a competition. Most of my music conservatory friends end up teaching music, work in music/sound production/ or go into a completely unrelated career path. Only a few really become soloists, and most of them enter numerous competitions to build up their resume/experience and to gain more supporters. Patrons are important in the classical music world.

They are important for those who want to become soloists, but it’s a very unforgiving and critical environment. If you don’t get an award you could end up feeling like a failure after months of practicing. The fact that he was doing it for prize money would increase the pressure even more.

If what we are seeing is true, I am so glad I didn’t study music in Korea. I hate the way people think musicians are disposable once they’ve reached a certain age or their abilities are “in decline”, kind of like their idols. In my country nobody would ever turn up their noses at someone who got 2nd place in the CHOPIN COMPETITION of all things. He’d have a lifetime award here, and be a very sought-out teacher while still giving recitals. Maybe Koreans start the competition business too young?

Hi there! Yes, I did watch A Thousand Goodnights. The scenery was spectacular. I am sold on Taiwan. Just waiting for the lockdown to be lifted to start planning my next vacay 😀 But I did not find the drama itself as good as I would have liked. It had good material, but maybe drama length was a factor. You picked out the best parts about it, i.e., insightful chunks of wisdom, majestic and sweeping landscapes, and nostalgia for a different time.

Did you like I, Myself? I thought that is the best I have seen of this kind so far. I think Yong Jiu Grocery Store fits into this genre as well. I tried live watching that but didn’t stick around till the end. I need to revisit to see if it holds up to the ‘I, Myself’ standard I have now set 🙂 I don’t know of any other shows like this, though! Do let me know if you come across any such, as I will too.