Beanie level: Water maid

Beanies! Life advice. Don’t make real life decisions based on dramas. Also known as don’t go to law school because of a drama titled law school. When you’re dying as a 1L, Kim Bum will NOT be there.

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What do you do when life gets stressful but you can’t watch dramas typo destress?

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    I do something physically challenging, that gets me out of my head. For some reason, moving, sweating, and being in my stretch zone helps me a lot. Also, meditation, laughing with friends, seeing something beautiful (art, sunset, flowers – whatever it is you like) can recharge me too.😊 Hope you find something that works for you!

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      Thank you. I think this is a good reminder for me

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    Wash the dishes or bathroom.
    Nothing better that a dirty bathroom and some music to break free from all the stress.

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    Baking. I found baking quite therapeutic. You really need to follow the recipe carefully, so it reduces the capacity of my brain to think about other things while preparing ingredients, following the recipe, and washing all the dishes.

    Cleaning some dirty places works, too. But it’s still difficult for me to take the first step, as it’s easier to postpone cleaning. It’s very rewarding though to see that dirty thing cleaned.

    Or playing with your pets. Being with loved ones. Crack some dad’s jokes.

    But everything boils down to go to the root cause of your stress and try to deal with it. If you deal with it the right way, your stress will go away pretty soon.

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    Hope that things are better for you soon.

    Sometimes active things help, sometimes it’s about slowing things down so choose what works best for you and your mood.

    Slowing down your breathing can calm your physiology as can deep muscle relation both of these have apps that can help you to complete the task.

    Trying to tune in to your senses can help to calm your nerves. So find your happy place by:
    listening to calming music or sounds of nature,
    access scents that calm or lift the mood,
    touching something soft or having a hug from a trusted love one soft cuddly pets are great for this,
    looking at nature or going out into it by going for a walk depending on your location covers sights, smells and feel of the sun, wind or rain.
    Taste can be eating fruit, drinking calming herbal tea.

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does anyone else get hurt when someone you’re close to says they don’t like a drama you love? My sis said she didnt like Dali and gamjatang (i dont even love it that much) and I almost cried. lmao

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    lol happens.
    But I get more sensitive when I’m watching my kdrama with someone and they just act distracted/ don’t pay attention.
    For me that’s a “wth” moment.

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      None of my cats ever paid much attention to any of my kdramas, but then I never joined in their birdwatching, so it’s ok.

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      that actually makes me angry

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        When they start watching stuff on their cellphone I swear…

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          My sister this this and it pissed me off! Why? Such a nice drama I was watching. It was also recommended on DB!!! Lol

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            IKR? I literally try to act like a regular human being (not screaming, not constantly talking, not laughing at loud like a monster) to not ruin their experience but they can’t even look at the screen?

            One of my friends had the audacity to ask me what was happening. He was literally on his phone the whole time, I only told him “you would know if you were paying attention”.
            The worst part is that when I tried to watch the show alone (I moved the laptop), he was like “hey, I’m watching”.
            He’s on my death note. 😂😂😂

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            🥲

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      Same here. Even more when we (I mean my husband and I) are watching k-dramas, because we have to keep looking at the screen ir order not to miss a thing and read all the subtitles.
      If he picks his cellphone, I know he is going to miss something. I care less when we are watching something in English or Spanish because at least we listen and understand, even though we are not looking at the screen for a moment.

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        I have to say that when I watch kdramas with my brother, he concentrates on the subtitles and often comments they go by too quickly. And he rewinds (only occasionally at important parts). So watching them with him is okay that way.

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          My husband says the same. Sometimes we have to stop in order to read. Wow, two days ago I was watching an episode of “At a distance, spring is green” and I had to stop three times during a very fast monologue.

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        Exactly!
        When did they learn korean?
        I’ve been watching kdramas for years, and I only understand a few things if I don’t read the subs.

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    Do you find it hard not to explain Korean drama things though when you watch with a novice? Cuz I want them to love what I love or “get” what they might not get. But at the same time I really hate it when, say, a history buff friend or family member explains stuff they know while Im watching with them.

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    I even get hurt a bit (or maybe a lot lol) sometimes when people don’t watch shows i really like

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kang ha neul has impressed me in every single thing since misaeng. a gem.

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    Truly a gem of an actor. He is one of a very small number of actors that has a very keen eye for good projects. And fame doesn’t destroy him. It’s just a by-product of what he does.

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      He is never typecast, and doesn’t shy away from taking interesting roles. A very interesting and talented actor, indeed.

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        He’s so dynamic. Only a few actors really do this for me. One is Jo Jung Seok

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I’m really loving asking beanies questions. Responses are so thoughtful.
It’s hard to tell if certain elements of a drama are good. How do you know when editing or directing is good? Examples?

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    This is a loaded question because it really depends on the watcher. I think that universally, everyone would agree that the editing, cinematography, and direction were done extremely well in My Ahjussi. The way they used hues of black, white and grey, lighting and framing to tell that entire story was masterful. Then the sound editing was just amazing. The silence, the sound of just he snow crunching, or just the ML’s voice cutting the snow. Sent goosebumps down my spine. And the soundtrack was also amazing. Then the acting on top of it all just was icing actually. But good actors are better with good direction and I think both Jang Ki Young and IU benefited from good directing. I’ve not like them any better in any show since this one. (You can fight me on this.)

    Mr Sunshine is another masterfully directed show. Every scene is a painting. The editing was as good as any show I’ve ever scene.

    If you want to learn more from beanies about cinematography and framing, and how they tell the story, the comments on Because this life is our first talks a lot of this. That was also a good example of good editing and directing. Some debate that the writing suffered in the last 2 episodes.

    Goblin, my favorite, had good directing, cinematography, and framing too. The set director made that show for me—and Gong Yoo. 😆

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    @sicarius
    @leetennant
    Could write a thesis on this.

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    Personally I don’t really pay attention if something is good, but when it’s bad that’s when I start to notice…it’s like I can feel there’s something wrong with what I’m watching, it becomes distracting, and I then assume it might have to do with the production aspects of a show (more than the acting or the story itself).

    Not a super thoughtful answer, I’m afraid, just something I realized some time ago about my watching experience xD

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    This is hard to answer succinctly, because it’d probably be like an entire year in film school lmfao, and actually covers a lot more parts to filmmaking than you think.
    So I’m going to ignore the first question for now (mianhae) till I either have time to expand on it more in depth- or if you have any finer tuned questions, that might help narrow down not giving you, as @ally-le said, a thesis, lmfao. (because I would do that… pfft)

    If you want examples of shows that are well directed (and therefore well edited), two of my personal favourites in the last few years are ADAMAS and You Are My Spring, and some older ones that still hold up 10 years later, are Tree With Deep Roots and White Christmas.

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      Oh yeah, White Christmas. I think the only reason it’s still on of my top dramas is how it was directed and edited. It kept me enthralled the entire time—even when the story was all dialog.

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    I’m not an expert in edition at all, but I know that a bad edition can make a drama even boring, while a good edition keeps you engaged.

    Misaeng, which I finished last night, has a very good editing.
    Now I’m watching The Nokdu Flower and the battles are very well directed/edited too.

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    As Sic said, this could bring one or a thousand thesis around, but also, as Ally said many times is just a subjective impression.

    When do I feel directing is good? Hints: a so-so actor does a remarkable job in a drama and then turns to so-so; despite the writing being weak, you still find the drama investing; the pace the drama has just feel adequate. Examples? Stranger/Forest of Secrets (both seasons): giving the fact that the script was gold and the cast was perfect, the directing was perfect by both directors.

    When do I feel editing is good? Sound or image is when you can hear silence (as Ally said My Ahjussi is amazing here) and the transitions between scenes feel so natural and smooth.

    When do I feel cinematography is good? When colours are part of the story. An example? Kairos with its subtle differences to show the time gap, My Liberation Notes (it was filmed during winter and yet you could feel the suffocating heat of the summer), The Red Sleeve (same cinematography director as Kairos).

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beanies, shows that you loved at first and then were actually terrible upon rewatch? just watched suspicious partner and it was sooo bad lmaooo. Ji chang wook was not good in that

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    I have yet to rewatch any drama but I have had recommendations of some older dramas where the tropes are just so bad its hard to for me to watch for my first time so I guess they have been remembered with rose tinted glasses.

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      honestly not rewatching might be the best course of action

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    I really liked Chocolate in my first watch. I guess it was the right time, right mood thing. But upon rewatch, I really disliked the relationship between the OTP. I think the FL completely lacked agency when it comes to her relationship with the ML. Other things in the story held up in the rewatch though, just not the OTP.

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      there are so many dramas upon rewatch that I question why the leads are together.

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    I’m like that too. I mean when I rewatched, not only I find good stuff, but I start to find flaws including bad acting and more often bad editing.

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      bad editing is my pet PEEVE! omg, a throwback to personal taste. truly throwing up just thinking about it

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    Secret Garden. It was one of my first dramas, I watched it when I was 13? 14? and I LOVED it. Rewatched it a year ago… yeah, it was not good.

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      I watched secret garden when I was also around the same age and was obsessed. Revisited when I was in college and some plot points was just harassment clothed as romance. LMAO. bad for everyone but the cast was magical at the time

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    In my case I didn’t like Suspicious Partner in the first place, so…
    I only rewatch dramas I am fond of, but I can tell you I know there are dramas I will never rewatch because I can see what a trainwreck is there. I just want to keep my good memories.

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      Ya know the writing is suspicious partner is so sloppy, so I understand not liking it at first. What kills me is that the premise is solid, and the show wouldn’t have been bad if they had tightened the plot and characters just a bit. Maybe not casted ji chang wook. I felt like he was pretending to be a lawyer.

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    I’m scared of rewatching Love Story in Harvard because of this. I was supposed to rewatched it like 9 months ago lol

    To answer to your q, yes: Blood, She was Pretty, Goblin, Pinocchio (I just didn’t like the romance, I think the rest is fine).

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any beanies have quotes from kdramas they’ll never forget/use in real life?

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law school deserves a season 2. I think about this often. If they can’t write it, I will. The script will be ready within 2-3 months. easy.

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Doing a little drama reflection. Beanies, what year had the best run of kdramas? Like back-to-back jewels? I think it was 2017 for me. Because this life is my first, forest secrets, tunnel, goblin etc

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    Agree about 2017 being a great drama year! There was basically a stretch starting from Healer in mid-2015 to the end of 2017 that was an awesome drama period.

    We had Reply 1988 and Six Flying Dragons in 2015-16 and then so many gems in 2016 and 2017 – Another Miss Oh, W Two Worlds, Weightlifting Fairy, Signal, Love in the Moonlight, Oh My Venus, Jealousy Incarnate, While You Were Sleeping, Chicago Typewriter, etc.

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      I got into dramas in 2016-2017, so I would heartily agree with these.

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      ooooo yes! the 2015-2017 stretch was amazing!

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    Looks like a lot on my watchlist or have watched list are from 2017.
    Prison playbook
    Fight for my way
    The best hit
    I am not a robot
    Live up to your name
    Good manager
    Strong woman do bong soon
    The liar and his lover

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      Yup!!!! exactly. I watched some of these later but the fact that they all were made in the same year was kinda wild.

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    2018 was my pick in recent memory. That was the year that brought us My Ajusshi, Live, Life on Mars, Just between Lovers …

    https://www.dramabeans.com/2018/12/2018-year-in-review-editors-picks/ I am disappointed that Live didn’t get a mention.

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    2015 dec to 2016 feb – cheese in the box, six dragons, reply 1988.. there were more

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Y’all! I’m okay with 25-21 ending. heedo chemistry with yurim was much more intense. I would screech everytime they were on screen. kim tae ri is the queen of my queer heart. I LOVE HER.

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Hi, beanies! In the most recent drama chat, I was shocked at how many popular dramas everyone genuinely disliked or found overrated. I am curious about people’s current top 10 dramas. care to share?

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    1. Goblin
    2. Forest of SecRets
    3. Moonlight Drawn By Clouds
    4. Circle
    5. Coffee Prince
    6. My Ahjussi
    7. My Country
    8. Mr. Sunshine
    9. Bossam
    10. White Christmas

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    I’m a sucker for slice of life dramas.

    1. Reply 1997 / 1988
    2. Misaeng
    3. Secret Love Affair
    4. Age of Youth 1 and 2
    5. Six Flying Dragons
    6. Healer
    7. Missing Noir M
    8. Someday or One Day (Taiwan)
    9. The Longest Day in Chang-An (China)
    10. Twenty-Five Twenty-One

    Kingdom is quality good. So is D.P. It’s just that I’m not emotionally invested in them.

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      I didn’t put it in my list because it isn’t kdrama, but Someday or one day is one of my alltime favourites. Just listening to the tape song brings me back the feels. I don’t even know if I’m up to watch the kdrama remake, because the original is so perfect

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      I LOVE your list. I really wanna watch secret love affair and six flying but my heart might break. A sageuk and melo rip.

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    Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo
    Healer
    My GF is a Gumiho
    Reply 1988
    Our Beloved Summer
    Twenty Five Twenty One
    Hometown Cha Cha Cha
    Hospital Playlist (S1 > S2)
    It’s Okay to Not Be Okay
    School 2017

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    Misaeng
    Live
    Dear My Friends
    Just Between Lovers
    Extracurricular
    Reply 1997
    My Ahjussi
    Healer
    Into the Ring
    Twenty Five Twenty One

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    Scent of a Woman
    What’s Up
    Wild Romance
    Brilliant Legacy
    Jealousy Incarnate
    Chief Kim
    Go Back Couple
    Lookout
    Deserving of the Name
    Wok of Love

    I had to leave out a few to make the top 10.

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      To clarify, these are shows that I can easily rewatch (and have done so!) a hundred times and still love them more than anything.
      I guess I should make a separate list of shows that I consider perfect or exceptionally great but I can’t or don’t rewatch them much or at all..

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        Ok, here is that list:

        Nokdu Flower
        Class of Lies
        Nobody Knows
        365 Days
        Doctor John
        Bubblegum

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          Nobody knows has been in my watchlist for a while now. Class of lies was good too, but I wasn’t really in the right mood when I watched it, so I got distracted way too often and ended up missing loads of bits. Shame, what a waste of Yoon Kyunsang! Had I only known that he wasn’t going to make dramas in the last 3 years 😭

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        Interesting! I don’t know some of these. But I LOVE what’s up. All of my faves. I will I think it has kim ji won and Jo Jung seok. Amazing show. Thank you for helping me remember I love it

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    Your request made me go have a look at mydramalist, and realize that the dramas I rated higher aren’t all my current Best 10, and that I’ve kept in my memory some others I gave lower ratings to. Memory is a funny thing, but I’m sticking to the dramas that I remember enjoying the most instead of the ones I considered “best quality” 😅
    In no particular older:
    Chicago Typewriter
    Secret Love affair
    Just between lovers
    Into the ring
    Happiness
    D.P.
    Nokdu Flower
    Yumi’s Cells
    Watcher
    Healer

    Special mentions to: Signal, Mystic Popup bar, Just Between Lovers, A piece of your mind, Kingdom, Extracurricular, Sweet Home, School Nurse Files, Rebel: the thief who stole the people

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      Nokdu Flower, Class of Lies, and a very few other ones are in my opinion perfect. But I don’t ever count them in my top ten. As I have a habit of rewatching shows many many many! times, my top shows are the ones that I can watch a hundred times and still love them. I think I should make a separate list for Shows I Consider Fantastic But Don’t or Can’t Rewatch…

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        I have yet to finish Nokdu Flower. I don’t know why. At this point, I’d have to start is over and get al the emotional pull from it again.

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          It is too powerful at times. I needed lots of breaks to step away and breathe.

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      Someone has a thing for YAI and I’m not looking at anyone in particular…

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        Comment was deleted

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        YAI was my gateway crush into kdrama, does it show? 😋 💚
        (for a moment I misread “has” for “had” and was clutching my pearls – I never forget my crushes, he)

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          I totally understand you, after I watched SFD, my next dramas were Chicago Typewriter and Secret Love Affair…. An you know I am also devoted to my crushes.

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    In no particular order:
    – Forest of Secrets (Season 1 and 2)
    – Six Flying Dragons
    – When the weather is fine (I know this is not the best drama, but it’s my comfort drama, the one I go back again and again).
    – Another Miss Oh
    – Hot Stove League
    – The light in your eyes
    – Misaeng
    – Our beloved summer
    – Coffe Prince
    – Just between lovers

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      This is indeed a perfect list. I love every single one.

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    My Ajusshi
    Just Between Lovers
    Healer
    Marry Me Mary
    Chicago Typewriter
    The Best Hit
    Hotel Del Luna
    Prison Playbook
    Mad Dog (because Woo Do Hwan)
    Matrimonial Chaos

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      Haven’t seen mad dog! Should I watch it?? I love action, procedurals and slice of life.

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        It’s insurance fraud investigators with mystery and a found family ensemble vibe. Some of us really enjoyed it. If you love Woo Do Hwan you shouldn’t miss it.

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The couples ability to switch from enemy, to partner in crime, to friend to confidant to lover is actually amazing and its all because of Jeon Yep Bin. What a queeeeen!!!!

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Okay. let’s talk about Vincenzo and Chayoung. First, the plot of this drama is completely irrelevant and honestly so is the comedy. The funnies were funny but Chacenzo is bae

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Watching Forest of Secrets for the first time and WOWOW. How did I AVOID this drama for 4 years? Its sooooooo gooooood. I am on episode 7 and I have not felt a drama rush like this since forever.

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    The recaps were pretty fun to comment on too! We tried guessing who the murderer was and came up with so many convincing theories -most of them got proven wrong in the following ep or so but it only increased all the fun.

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      I am having so much fun reading the comments!! Beanies are sooo creative and funny.

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    It just gets better

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    Yaaaaaaaay!! One of the best!

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    It only gets better. Enjoy!!
    Even rewatching is simply fantastic even when you know what’s going to happen!

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    Best kdrama I’ve ever seen, really.

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    Welcome to the Club of the Fans of the Greatest Kdrama Ever.

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      It really is!! I am on episode 9 and losing my shit. I’m just in awe really.

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Can someone recommend a kdrama trivia site? Or maybe even db staff would consider throwing something together. I mean all I do is watch dramas and because I love school, I also want to be quizzed.

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Is the cliff in Mr. Queen PPL? If so can they stop, cause I ain’t buying it.

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    I was like, yeah
    It’s been a while CLIFF OF DOOM🙄😂

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      We all know the cliff never kills anyone. It’s not man enough, unlike TOD

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        It is well known that in historical dramas, the cliff is the Cliff of non-Doom.

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          It magically save lives 🤣🤣🤣🤣
          So I guess it needs to learn from ToD?

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            Actually, in the great kdrama tradition, they’re long lost twins who’ve made two very different life choices. Doom, or not to Doom, ‘twas th3 question…

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I really liked RUN ON. I liked it because it was fresh and all the characters were real but honestly I didn’t really feel anything. I guess it didn’t go for emotional which is refreshing.

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    but I didn’t FEEL anything. AT ALL. It had no plot which is great because kdrama plots are overrated anyway. But isn’t the point of kdramas emotion (or catharsis, love, or family, or fear) or something. Isn’t the point to remind me that I am not just packaged matter waiting for inevitable combustion? Maybe its the drama, maybe its me, or maybe its the pandemic. Everything is too dry.

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      I felt the same way. Enjoyed it while watching but it definitely won’t stick with me and I won’t be thinking about it a few weeks from now.

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      It’s always interesting how differently people respond to dramas. Run On gave me all the feels. It’s been a long time since a drama hit me this hard.

      I think I’m alone in this, but to me, it had a plot lol, albeit a slice of life kind of plot.

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        I’m the same – I truly did not expect to have it hit me so hard, and it was definitely a delayed reaction because I think I’d coasted along for at least 6-7 episodes before I started getting really into it.

        I love threads like this because it just goes to show that there is so much stuff out there that resonates or doesn’t, and why that is, and how great that in this world of dramas we can all find something that works for us.

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      Same here. I did not feel the need to finish an episode in one sitting. It is…nice..

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    I’m glad to see someone else feel the same way. I really enjoy it while watching, but I can’t imagine I will either go back and watch or even remember it much in the future.

    But honestly, with the world a swirl of drama, it was kinda nice to just coast along in this world.

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      But it’s also why I’m only on episode 12 because I feel no urgency to watch, so I forget about it. And, it’s the only drama I’m watching right now.

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    I think I’m at ep 4 now (you see I always forget how many eps I have watched this one each time) and still I don’t feel much if not anything. It’s to the point it almost feels refreshing that I don’t actually feel anything about it. 😅 For me, it’s still a weird drama even in my second attempt at watching. It’s like watching a documentary where two people have different ways of communication and tried to understand one another. I am learning some new things and liking it a littleeeee bit more and more though.

    In a nutshell, I’m watching this as a documentary. One good thing about it is that I realized that people have different ways of communication and it’s nice to work together to understand each other.

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I’m not gonna lie. I don’t understand the conflict in runon. I’m on episode 9 but to be honest, it seems like its the same conflict throughout. I think its miscommunication but is spoken about weirdly

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    It’s about translations and communication. Although Mijoo may be a great translator, she can’t communicate very well with SunKeong. Everyone has communication issues, not just between foreign languages but in each other’s language. And yea, it’s the dominant theme.

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Hi, beanies!! Happy Thanksgiving! Grateful for this vibrant community. Also, I started matrimonial chaos and Chief Kim. For some reason, neither is clicking. I want to stick with one. which one?

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    I’ve only seen Chief Kim but it’s one of my favorite kdramas. If the comedy is what’s not clicking then you might not like it.

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    Haven’t seen MC, but I have heard good things.

    I liked Chief Kim, but it does take some time to get used to everything. It’s a hilarious show, though. Namgoong Min’s character in that show is really great and his bromance with Junho is top notch.

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    I loved both. I see Chief Kim as more fun. Matrimonial Chaos is the one I want to go live inside because of the the strong women and gorgeous filming. I tend to see Matrimonial Chaos as appealing to those over 30 and it’s much more realistic.

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I really love Start-Up (the more youthful version of search www). However, I almost don’t believe Suzy. The character is great but I can feel the acting and it’s really frustrating.

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    I’m with you. Everytime I watch Suzy in a drama, I always try to replace her in my head with other more talented actresses that could portray her characters so much better. I like her as an idol and think she has a great personality, and while she has improved somewhat, it bums me that the roles and projects that she has gotten don’t go to others that are more talented.

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