LOL, Samsooki - Rock on! Take the O-P-W to the next level with your own fangirl posse. :P

That Fool - the writing could use a boost, but Hwang Jung Min is fantastic...and Lee Chung Ah and Baek Sung Hyun are great secondary characters.

On the topic of dramas...I probably watch more Kdramas than anything else, though before I did watch more Jdramas. I think if Cdramas would get subbed (or if my Chinese ever improves to the point where I don't need any subtitles), then I would probably watch Cdramas more consistently. But I really like the realism and the acting is usually pretty solid since a lot of the actors have been trained. I remember the first time I watched a Cdrama and was so confused because it was nothing like Twdramas. With Twdramas, it really is true that it's a hit or a miss. And I am still waiting to be really impressed, though Angel Lover isn't too bad.

Sometimes I kind of feel like the storylines that are popular in Kdramas right now used to be popular in Jdramas in the 90s (Is this just me or does anyone else feels the same way?)

@ 98 cecee

YES! Someone else who loved 9 Ends 2 Outs (although is there a different name for it cause that one makes no sense).

While I was watching it I was squeeing all over the place and I was crazing someone to gush about it with.

Wasn't it just awesome? Did your heart stop at the hand touching scene in the hotel? So sweet!!

I did a little rewatch this week (even though I just saw it last month) and *sigh* it's just as awesome as ever. Seriously, why can't I have a best friend as amazing as Hyung Tae?

Even the secondary characters (although there weren't really any) weren't annoying. They all turned out to be amazing. I didn't hate one second of it and I was never bored.

@ 97 xiahxiri - I AM IN LOVE WITH DEAN FUJIOKA (aka Secondary Male in Miss No Good). Seriously, he's like the most beautiful creature on the planet. And his Chinese is SO ADORABLE. Just like his English. <3 (Although I've discovered that he also talks like that in his native Japanese, which leads me to believe he's just a strange but adorable person.) His blog is just as adorable as he is, too, which only makes me love him more. (He did an entire post about a trip to the zoo on his day off, complete with pictures and comments like "BABY ANIMALS! <3")

My roommate hated whenever I watched Miss No Good, though. I'd start watching, she'd hear Rainie's voice, and she'd yell "OH MY GOD WHY ARE YOU WATCHING THAT DRAMA?!" And then I sucked another friend into it for Chinese language practice, so we watched two episodes a week. I inadvertently conditioned my roommate to hate Rainie. XD;;

@100 mishane - Oops, I spoiled you. XD Sorry~~~~~~ My roommate and I used Perfect Neighbour as our roommate-bonding drama, and we spent the entire show going "No, they can't possibly end up together, he's Secondary Male! What's going to happen to make her and Primary Male get together? OMG THERE'S THE CATALYST THAT'S GOING TO MAKE THEM BREAK UP AND SHE'S GOING TO GO TO PRIMARY MALE'S SIDE AND--oh, wait, no, still together. ONE EPISODE LEFT. IT HAS TO HAPPEN IN THIS EPISODE. THERE IT IS--no, still together. YAY FOR SECONDARY MALE! Poor Primary Male.."

Yes, FTLY did get boring towards the end. Like, we all knew what was going to happen and the scriptwriter just said, "Nope. Sorry, gonna throw in another inane plot device to make sure they get separated for another while." So yeah.

I'm considering so many Korean dramas at the moment, but I honestly do not have time for this. It's a miracle I am still mildly caught up with Japanese dramas [they're short, so I can afford like 40 minutes as compared to an hour or two, if I want to stay up to date weekly]. I mean, there's Story of A Man, and now City Hall. I know that if I get hooked onto Story of A Man, all my studying will go out the window.

I really can't say I'm a Rainie Yang. I considered Miss No Good simply because I freaking love Wilber Pan, but then discovered how, um, horrid it was, and just left the thing, aghast. I mean, really? The hair and everything, and especially the way she talked. It was just too much.

I feel like Japanese drama-watching has matured my taste in dramas. I'm not sure why. And now that's why I'm into things that have substance, now. Ironic, though, because I am still obsessed with Nodame Cantabile, which gets as childish as possible.

@ Kender

You're more patient with dramas now? I find that my patience for dramas has decreased like exponentially. I now conduct like a "5-minute" test for my dramas - if it hasn't caught my attention within 5 minutes, it's not worth it. Sometimes that test is deceiving, though.

Especially now, with the proliferation of all these dramas, and with SO MANY CHOICES, you've got to come up with a good system of weeding through the junk and finding the stuff that's actually pretty good. There are times, too, where I've mistaken good stuff for junk.

@ 97 xiahkixiri

To be honest I never finished FTLY. I think the last episode I saw was Ethan coming to the island when Joe Chen was teaching.

--Rainie and Wilbur Pan being rather cute in the BTS there, too (I can’t kiss him, he’s like my brother!!! AHHHH!!!!)--

YES! I need to download the BTS just for this! How they kept giggling as they went in for the kiss?!? And they would always make fun of each other? I totally shipped them IRL, I didn't buy that whole 'friend' thing. If you're such good friends, how come your making out is so hot?!

It makes me wish there were BTS for Rainie/Mike kissing. That would have been funny. (Although I did watch some interviews with them, and they are very comfortable with each other, always teasing and all).

@ 104 Kender - May 8, 2009 at 2:17 pm

Secondary Male in Miss No Good is Japanese? Didn't realize that!

I never know these things. :(

Although I realize it now looking at his real name. I didn't know what his real name was before.

@ 105 A.

--Yes, FTLY did get boring towards the end. Like, we all knew what was going to happen and the scriptwriter just said, “Nope. Sorry, gonna throw in another inane plot device to make sure they get separated for another while.” So yeah.--

Yeah, that's what annoyed me the most about it. I'm pretty sure that's why I stopped watching.

A five minute test? I know I've watched quite a few dramas now (it's been about a year and a half now that I've discovered Asian doramas) but I don't think I could trust in 5 minutes how good a drama is. I guess it's because I'm new. I usually wait 1-2 episodes before deciding. But that's also cause I hate starting something and not finishing.

My weekend = Story of a man marathon.
Because I want to understand every last bit of that Gem bby!

@101 hjkomo -

In order for me to reach where everybody else is, my evolution has to be quicker.

I spent almost a full week as a ggot nam pretty boy and I got all sorts of "hmmm you look different" at work (at a law firm, everybody walks on eggshells to be politically correct, especially when you are talking to someone who isn't an old white male). Now I gotta explore the emo-kore side of me.

The problem is that there are no emo-kore k-dramas to watch.

Can I still watch Dal Ja Spring as an emo-rocker?

@ Taohua

YES, Cdramas are so solid. I'd voluntarily sub Cdramas for you, but I don't think I'd have the time, LOL. The acting is definitely solid. If you notice, most always the actors/actresses are all trained like from professional acting school. Like most of them [the good ones, anyway] are graduates of Central Acting Academy or something like that.

Okay, wow, I need to start cracking on studying and writing essays. LIKE SERIOUSLY. And I need to stop lurking here. LOL.

@ 107 mishane - Yep, Japanese. I don't think he's been in any Jdramas, though.. He seems to be working mainly in Taiwan. *shrugs* His accent in Chinese and English is supremely adorable, though. If he learned Korean too, he'd be my perfect man. :P

@105 A. - Haha, weird, isn't it? I think it's because I've now realized that sometimes it might take an episode or two to get going, or to introduce a character that I fall in love with (i.e. Secondary Male). Way back in my early days of drama-watching, my very first dramas (Kimi wa Petto, Gokusen, Devil Beside You) were entertaining right off the bat. I then assumed all of the good ones were like that, so when they weren't, I dropped them pretty quickly. Plus, I didn't get high-speed internet until senior year of high school, so I didn't want to waste time downloading dramas that I might hate. Now, though, I have ridiculously fast school internet, so I know that if I dislike a show, I only have to wait a few minutes until I have an episode of something else ready. ^^

@Chen Qiao En, I completely adore this girl. Someone said about TWdramas only being the last resort when there's nothing else good to watch. THe very same thing happen to me when I stumbled on Fated To Love you... It was a bore in the very beginning.. but once it picks up, it got me attached. I was waiting for the day Xin Yi would leave Cun Xi, because he's so not worth it. He made it clear to her that he's only doing things for the baby, and that the one in his heart is his girlfriend, Anna.. and there will never be a place for Xin Yi. However, his actions are different... unconsciously, his feelings for Xin Yi had grown deeper, but he'll never face up to it nor admit it. There's a sense of loyalty towards Anna, that he ends up denying what feelings he has for Xin Yi.. in the process hurting her. I hated this dude for the most part.. So it came to me as a surprise that I started rooting for him in the end. There was a point of the big switch.. point that divided the drama into two parts. In the second half, it was Xin Yi who hated his guts, and it was Cun Xi running after her, trying to win her back.. and Xin Yi too was in a struggle between identifying between love and hate... whether to forgive him or not.

The cause of the switch was too heart-breaking.. you feel for both parties.. the PEN represented something symbolic.. it was kinda ironic seeing him use it in ep 12... Cun Xi breaking down while signing the documents with it just made me break down in tears also. It's something that shouldn't really happen.

Anna was the queen of all the villain in any drama... she gets her way ALL the time and she never got punished for any of her crimes. *SPOILER* I'm appalled they even gave her a decent ending.*END of Spoiler*

I really recoommend sticking out until it starts picking up pace...

I loved the BTS.. esp when Xiao Tian (Ethan) was kicked out of the boat.. and that hotel scene in Shanghai, I can't believe she was eating kimbab (?) while doing that scene.. it was funny.. When Producer/Director told them they broke a certain rating score, it was so sweet seeing Qiao En cry out of happiness and Xiao Tian hugging her. The ending was blah.. but it was certainly about time for it to end.. everything else was nice despite the dragging.

@A.
I'm hoping Cdramas become more popular so that they'll be subbed and there has been somewhat of an upward trend lately. Maybe if they start aiming for a younger audience?

I gave up on FTYL after episode 12...it took way too long for Ethan's character to mature and Joe Chen's character to get a backbone. And I liked Baron Chen's character way too much (Ah...one of those cases where the secondary character is CLEARLY better than the main one).

I haven't finished Miss No Good, though I might. Initially Rainie's character and her voice (did they really have to do that? seriously...) got a little on my nerves, but I really liked Wilbur Pan's character...but towards the later episodes Dean's character was starting to aggravate me...so I stopped watching. Seriously, I only made it so far because of Wilbur. I was actually impressed because he was the only one that wasn't overly dramatic or cheesy.

I kind of feel like with Twdramas, I've noticed actors improving (Vic Zhou from Meteor Garden to Mars to Silence or Ming Dao from his earlier work to Prince to Frog to Angel Lover), but the scripts tend to be pretty similar or the style is usually way over the top for me to really appreciate them. Though, I do think Ming Dao is a pretty descent actor (probably one of my favorites)and I think Ariel Lin is not bad either (at least she picks a wide range of roles compared to many of her peers).

@ Kender: Dean Fujioka really is a cute thing. Awww, the blog thing is adorable!! What language is it in, though? I was getting bored in Corner with Love but I stuck around because he appeared and his and Barbie's English conversations fascinated me. =p That was such an insane drama, the first half was boring and I wanted to pull Barbie's hair, the second half was awesome. But, yay Dean. I hope he also doesn't get relegated to forever secondary male. Although, he might pull a Black and White!Kingone and go psycho killer for the next one. =p A psycho killer with pretty, prettty eyes~

@ mishane: FTLY did fizzle out near the end. It seems to be the case with all that production team's dramas, Prince to Frog and My Lucky Star, too, were awesome, but the end ep or two wasn't so great. Really did enjoy FTLY, though. And I LOVED how they ref'd MLS' main couple in it.

@ 115 xiahxiri - It's usually in Japanese or English, although he has written in Chinese (traditional characters) before. He's a little bit spastic at times.. I really want to meet him to see if he's really that weird in real life. XD You can check out his blog here: http://www.alivenotdead.com/deanfujioka

And yeah, I definitely want to see him become a primary male. He's so adorable, it's a shame to keep him as a secondary male. :/ But I think he also needs to stretch his acting skills, since his characters so far seem to be pretty similar. (But with those eyes, who cares? *swoons*

Oh, My Lucky Star.. That drama was cute, once I got past the dubbing of Yoo Ha Na. (From what I heard in the BTS, her Chinese wasn't that bad. Better than Wu Chun's in Tokyo Juliet, and they didn't dub over HIM.. o.O) Once they did the contract engagement thing, though, it started going downhill. I haven't even watched the last two episodes, because I can't see how it's going to improve. :/ ("Tian Qi" and "Ah Xing" have become my standard, generic names when I need to write something for my Chinese class, though. I just loved those names. XD)

@47 Sere

I quite enjoyed Frozen Flower. I thought it was well produced, directed and acted. I don't think I fast forwarded once, which I have a bad habit of doing. I would place it second on my list of favorite Korean movies I've seen this year, right after Nom Nom Nom.

This was probably the first movie where I felt sympathetic toward every lead character. I knew how it was going to end but I so wanted them all to work it out and co-exist.

Oh! And I watched it without subtitles so I have absolutely no idea what they were talking about. I'm basing my review completely on acting and emoting alone. It was just... awesome.

I knew going in that the sex scenes were explicit but I did expect there to be more queer scenes instead of het and I guess that's because every piece I'd read of it was about how gay gay gay the movie was. Really, it wasn't that gay. Awesome, but not so gay.

As for "too" many sex scenes, perhaps on a second viewing I'd probably fast forward through those. However at first viewing, all I could direct at Jo In Sung was, "Damn boy! You know how to work that!"

This was also the first time where I felt engaged enough to "talk" to the characters. You know, like, "Don't do it, King. No, don't do it. Nooooooo!"

Thanks for the response on Spring Waltz. I don't know about 4 eps. I will try.

Get Karl! is exactly how I thought it would be so I'm glad. I think I'm just going to be pissed if Soo Jung doesn't change. Either way, I was looking for a show that will be fun and mindless. Found it! (Story of a Man has commandeered all my other cells. Have no mental obsessive strength for anything else right now.)

@mishane
"Aw, How To Meet A Perfect Neighbor. I’ve always wanted a drama where Secondary Male gets Main Girl but I want one to surprise me with that ending but I never knew how to request it. Like, give me 3 dramas to watch and one of them has to have a surprise switch couple ending?!"

Oddly enough, this was the first time I didn't want the main lead to end up with the secondary male. Something about them just never rubbed me right.

So has anyone seen "City Hall"? What do you think? Is it work the watch?
I really liked the first ep of Smile(jdrama) but I just don't know. I think I need to wait until its done airing and go in for a marathon. Can't deal with the week to week on that one.

@Kender Loved Kimi wa Petto! And did you know they are doing a Gokusen movie? I'm intrigued. Haven't watched any of the sequels and I think that it would be in better taste to follow the manga special than a continuation of S3 but we'll see.

@Samsooki "Can I still watch Dal Ja Spring as an emo-rocker?"

Of course, just don some of Chae Rim's eyeliner (note: it's termed guyliner for you), and repeat after me -
"I'm badass, I'm smart (check the law degree), and I'm sensitive to boot.....the evidence is in my new, kickass rock ballad. Tae Bong's got nothing on me!"

@Kender
They did dub Wu Chun's voice in Tokyo Juliet (which was another drama I didn't finish)...I don't remember who though...but it was definitely dubbed.

My Lucky Star was cute and I enjoyed it...but only after I got used to the dubbing, which I agree was weird and probably not necessary. I think the plot line/style had kind of a Kdrama flavor to it though. For some weird reason it kind of reminded me of Successful Story of a Bright Girl (maybe b/c of the plot? I don't know...)

RE: k/j/tw-dramas

I like them all for various reasons.

I like k-dramas for the rom-com aspect. I think they do a great job of building up the tension. But then near the end if often drags out way too much.

I like j-dramas for unique stories, like time travel, perfect android boyfriend :), a guy pretending to be a dog, seeing the future, etc... but like others there's often not enough mushy, corny love scenes. Also they're a bit too episodic in nature so I don't get hooked as often.

As for tw-dramas, I'm from Taiwan and even I don't really like modern tw-dramas. But I do LOVE their ancient/historical ones. The production values and acting are SO MUCH better. Unfortunately you don't see a lot of English subs for them so many people don't get to see it.

As for modern tw-dramas, I think my favorite was Silence with Vic Zhou and Park Eun Hye.

And I'm really starting to LOVE mainland c-dramas. There often more unpredictable, especially the period pieces. Stuff like Love Story in Shanghai and Shanghai Bund are all really amazing. The production value, the acting, the story... WOW. Unfortunately they don't seem to be subtitled :(

@ A #74

LOLOLOL :) Those are perfect descriptions! I would love to see a pan-Asian drama and see how that turned out!

@ 120 Taohua - They did dub him? I never watched it, but one of my friends did, and she said it was him speaking.. *takes in new information*

My Lucky Star did have a Kdrama flavor, but it was still very much a Twdrama. I really did like it up until the contract relationship bit, at which point I went, "Really? You're really going to do this?" And they didn't even do it all that well. Plus, the secondary male they added in halfway through the show really rubbed me the wrong way.. I thought he was a creeper. o.o

@ 118 thisiswhyi'mbehindonmymastersthesis - (OT, but I love your name. XD) No, I didn't know! I never watched any of the sequels, either.. I thought that the first season was adorable, but having a second/third/billionth season just seemed redundant. I mean, in every episode pretty much all that happened was that she kicked ass, saved a student, and taught people some moral lessons. I enjoyed it thoroughly for all of that, but one season is enough. XD

I can see why the secondary male/main girl pairing in Perfect Neighbour might rub you the wrong way, but I thought they were adorable. I just wish they had spent a little more time on how adorable they could be together (Can I have more scenes of that man smiling? Please? My heart seriously melts every time.) instead of harping on how much his life sucks and how miserable they're going to be if they stay together. Plus, the whole mistress plot made me seriously wish I could hate him for a few episodes. (It was impossible. I really tried to hate him.) But in the end, that's what I liked about the show. No matter how OTP the main guy and main girl seemed, he still lost to Secondary Male. Her life would probably have been easier if she'd gone with the main guy, but love is irrational, and she went with the guy her heart chose. (I also wish there had been more kissing. Half the time they went in to hug and I was like, "There can be kissing now please? Or..not. Okay, hugs are good too.")

@Muffin

"This was probably the first movie where I felt sympathetic toward every lead character. I knew how it was going to end but I so wanted them all to work it out and co-exist."

Me too. Or rather, I had a nagging feeling how it would end, but I wasn't spoiled so the whole movie was like an emotional rollercoaster for me. Loved it! I was also very VERY impressed with the performances. IDK why, but I was a bit biased toward JJM and now I'm completely converted. Whoa! Seriously, he was sweet, but he could be also very scaaaaary. Very intense! I have never seen Jo In Sung before, but I'll make sure to check out his past projects.

Anyway, back to the characters. Maybe I felt a little bit more intrigued by the very complex relationship between the King and Hong Lim...and yes, I've taken the BL goggles off. ^_^ IMHO Hong Lim's betrayal was worse, than, say the Queen's toward the King. I mean, Hong Lim betrayed his King, his mentor, his friend and his lover and it was even worse because he knew how that scenario could play out, he knew he was going to be hurt and he was going to inflict pain on the King and also the Queen and yet I felt his pain: it was like he was pulled in two different directions at once and he couldn't do anything to stop that. Ok, these are just disjointed thoughts. I'm still processing the movie. *facepalm*

"This was also the first time where I felt engaged enough to “talk” to the characters. You know, like, “Don’t do it, King. No, don’t do it. Nooooooo!”

Dude, I KNOW! I did that in so many scenes especially near the end. And you can guess which one made me go "Nooo, don't do it, stop it, stop it!". I swear I felt Hong Lim's physical pain. Blimey! I think that was a first.

@Kender
My Lucky Star did start dragging towards the later half, but that usually what happens with Twdramas.

I agree historical productions from the Mainland are pretty amazing...

The first Gokusen is the best one, imho (though I'm so biased...it was my first ever drama) but since I loved the manga...so for me---the first one is the best, especially since Matsujun rocked and he had awesome... AWESOME chemistry with Nakama Yukie, imo. I watched the second one, and it was okay...but not like the first one. And I think the generation of actors in the first one are actually some of the betters actors (even the guests) in the industry today. I also loved Kimi wa petto (one of my earliest dramas)...but I am still ambivalent towards the plot line. I really would like Koyuki's wardrobe from that show...I hope I dress as classy as her when I actually get a "real" job.

@ 122 Kender

--(I also wish there had been more kissing. Half the time they went in to hug and I was like, “There can be kissing now please? Or..not. Okay, hugs are good too.”)--

I remember when I first started watching k-dramas, THEY DID THIS EVERY SINGLE TIME. Your reaction was my reaction. I'd jump from a my seat a little bit, get all excited and then sit back down dejected when all we got was a lingering hug.

Damn you k-dramas. DAMN YOU!

In other news, I'm home now and about to watch Episode 1 of Shining Inheritance (correct name?) and Episode 5 of Story of A Man (finally!!!!)!

@JASMIN.....if you can find it, one of the Open Threads discussions had a lot of really great places to eat and check out for Korea......just can't remember which one, think it was around November,,..,hope this helps......my sister and I have a deal that when we go to Korea, we're going to be total tourists and have our picture taken in front of the Coffee Prince cafe,,,,

@A I agreed with what you've said. Right on with your one word descriptions.

I watch everything, I have at least one fav drama in each. Though I know maybe 10 words of Spanish, I sometimes caught myself enjoying mindlessly some telenovella while slurping on ramen.

o my 5 tigers?! (djes, high 5!) They are the original original flower boys for me...and they can act, ALL 5 of them. (to this day, I still love the pre-moviestar Andy Lau trillion times more...)

All of them go thro their own wax and wane. Imo HK dramas reign supreme in the 80s with its influence still felt today (the original Shanghai Bund/Chow Yun Fat, the original wuxia/jinyung wave). Jdrama and Kdrama around the same time in the 90s, each carving its niche. TW dramas are very extreme, they actually have well done literature series here and there catering to MUCH older audiences as opposed to the crack 'idol' genre its now known for.

Please allow me to ramble on my new love: C drama.

C dramas r improving in such a rabid pace. It's to the point I'm so ready to declare one a masterpiece, then boom, next an improved and better drama comes out of its dust. It's way more often Cdramas r terrific than drags nowadays. It's exciting for me as I do not need the dilemma/ frustration/letdown in picking what to watch. If the premise interests me, it's safe to say now I can be guaranteed a decent ride. It has an amazing variety and depth with a great emphasis in realism (yet did not forgo the entertaining) + I've yet to see one that has a lead that can't act at all. (I did not watch Mr Wong XiaoMing and his Royal Tramp/RoCH.) They just have the manpower AND $ to make the majority of productions gorgeous, well casted, acted, directed AND scripted. They still need to improve on stylistic/artistic elements, but they r newbies in dramaland. The short end is they are so realistic, too realistic, at times the drama have too much a docu feel to them (like watching a PBS Frontline), you need quite an immense knowledge of the subject matter, be it the Chinese military, its socio-economical landscape, or its history. So there is no way, no how in the next 5 years it's going to come up with an escapist/idol drama ala HYD. Even with its vast variety, I still haven't come across a fantastically fluffy Chinese romcom.

I thoroughly enjoyed Chinese Style Divorce (Chen Dao Ming is one of THE best living actors), LoCH2008 with Ariel Lin and Wu Ge was surprising great as well. I've just started one episode on a (so not my thing) military drama 我的团长我的团... but I'm wowed! ALL the historical dramas r TERRIFIC. How I wish when I was studying Chinese history I can just watch these instead (accuracy has no significance when up against entertainment value, I don't rem one bit of what I learned all those years anyways)

@ 125 mishane - The problem is, the two are together from pretty much the middle of the show, so that's, like, 10 full episodes of togetherness with only two kisses that I recall, and only one of the kisses had any real depth. Since most Kdrama couples don't get together until the last quarter of the show, I don't get as worked up about it anymore. But in this one, I was like, "You're together, you love each other, why isn't there more kissing? D:"

I think Haru2subS are calling Shining Inheritance "Brilliant Legacy." I don't know the nuances of Korean enough to care either way, so.. *shrug* I call it either or both, depending on my mood.

I totally fell in love with the secondary male pretty much from the beginning. He's adorable. You can spot him instantly. Primary male, though.. The jury's still out on that one. :/ Lee Seung-gi is SO SEXLESS, OMG. DX

@ 125 Taohua - Seriously. MatsuJun, Oguri Shun, AND Narimiya Hiroki? *swoons* Nari is, like, my Jdrama crush. I totally bought his photobook, and I NEVER do that.

Kimi wa Petto is still one of my favourites (sentimental value~), and so far it's the only drama I've managed to get my mother to watch to completion. (She loved it too.) I'm still on a hunt for a white trench similar to Koyuki's in that show, though. Her wardrobe was awesome, and her apartment was so adorable. I think it was a good introduction into the world of dramas, but I agree that I find the plot a little iffy now.

TGIF.....this has been an up and down week but who cares I am graduating next week (3 grad ceremonies) and get to chill all summer before jetting off to Seoul

Today was such a great day I got an award from my professor for being Outstanding Preceptor of the Year, and on top of that she bought me all the books about ESL to use when I am in Korea. I loved working with her and was really touched:)

I had my Korean final and it went really well thanks to the help of my amazing Korean conversation partner....and in 30 minutes I get to go eat dinner at Takamatsu.

I am feeling very happy:)

ON CITY HALL
Disclaimer: I'm one of the biggest (if not the biggest) Kim-Sun-Ah-fan. But i'll try to be rational. Also my Korean is that of a 2-year-old kid (or even worst) so I'm not understanding more than half of what they are talking about.

City Hall feels slow at the first 2 episodes. In fact disappointing at ep1. I enjoyed all KSA and CSW moments. But what disappoints me is the fact that all their trailers/previews were bombarded with all the funny scenes combined together. Making me anticipate to laugh all throughout the episode... then finding out that the funny scenes on the trailers were all the funny scenes there is. Not that I want more funny scenes, but it just adds to the disappoinment... ok i've laughed about that scene already last week when i saw your trailer, next one please. Turned out there's nothing more to it (well, there are a few to be honest). Plus it doesn't look like a pilot episode. I've not seen as many dramas as you guys may have, but normally pilots must be good and catchy. I didn't see it in City Hall's pilot (though I might be missing it because of the language - but i believe a good drama doesn't need subtitles to be enjoyed - of course who doesn't want subs, but if it's good, even if there's no subtitles, you'll get the feelings at least).

Anyway, pace started to pick up a bit on ep3 and finally they ended with a good cliffhanger (that may or may not be related to a higher ratings on ep4).

After watching EP1, 2 and 3... i just feel "ok". Happy seeing KSA again. Happy seeing KSA acting all cute and funny. Happy about KSA and CSW's chemistry (comedic timing chemistry at least for now). Happy about the ratings (primarily for KSA because her last drama didn't do well). But that's about it. I enjoy it for the funny scenes. But nothing more.

Finally after watching EP4, i was able to get the feeling that i'm looking for in a drama. You know that feeling after watching a good drama? The fuzzy-sweet feeling? I think i was able to finally enter their world and was hooked up at last. (FINALLY! dang to slow!) And i can't believe I feel sad having to wait for EP5.
Still keeping my fingers crossed because there might be a possibility that it will slip and i'll loose connection with the drama again...

*and yup! I do like the OST too. I'm addicted now to 그래 나를 믿자

@ Kender: Okay I'm looking at Dean's blog and... *fangirl meter shoots up* He is so random and cute and random and normal! His blog posts mirror like half my LJ flist! <3

re: My Lucky Star~ I think it's the most adorable thing that ever adorbed. It's one of my favourites; the fun, cute, romantic cliche done to near perfection. Watching the BTS, I was surprised by how low-budget it was. And the actors were so cute. cold!Tian Qi I couldn't take seriously at all, he was just a cute, pouty little boy. And Yoo Hana is awesome, the 'oppa, xixie' language mixing, grabbing Jimmy around the neck when he messed up his lines. She just looked like she was having sooo much fun. I wonder why she doesn't work in korea, korea'd love her.

I think TBH, after kdramas and jdramas, I'd watch a twdrama just to watch people kiss.

@ mishane: re: mike and rainie's kissing ~ I saw BTS for Why Why Love, and I remember it was hysterical, because mike was doing his kissy thing, where he eats her alive, and then the director yells cut and they both look away. =p Not exactly awkward, just completely off-switch. I honestly wonder how a girl breathes when being kissed by mike. Watching the DBY bed scene it was like O__O IS SHE BREATHING?? I loved the in the middle of the road surrounded by cars kiss in DBY - only in a twdrama. =p

I'm going to sleep. Night all!

@69 Kender,

THANK YOU SO MUCH for your detailed and very thoughtful response to my question.

It is VERY interesting that you presented some of the key points that proponents of the new term argue: the beauty of doing cool and funky stuff during that term (study abroad even) and the advantage of just focusing on one topic. I figured when you mentioned your program that you were probably from a liberal arts college :-) .

Your response gave me a lot to think about. We are going to vote on the proposal in the fall (we tabled the discussion for this term) but after reading your response, I think I will vote for it. I think it is good to explore new ways of learning. I am worried from a pedagogical point of view -- I still don't see how one can go into depth into a topic in one month -- but I need to be more aware of how my own thinking is limited because coverage and depth are not necessarily the only ways to learn effectively. I can see this working well in the Humanities and Fine Arts divisions, but what do people do in the Sciences or Social Sciences do! A lot of astronomy, maybe? Your comment about how students use the short term courses to get done with their general education requirements does worry me. Shouldn't these intense terms be for subjects in one's major(s)? Does this term become a dumping ground for the liberal arts core requirements? It sounds like you're from a rich college which can bring in visiting scholars; what happens if the college doesn't have a large endowment?

Sorry --- you don't have to answer those questions...I am thinking out loud.

Again, thank so much for your really comprehensive response. I honestly was expecting a "Yeah, I like the term. Whatevs" kind of response, so the fact that you took the time to respond with so much care is greatly appreciated.

@ mookie

Oh. My. God. Chinese dramas are definitely rapidly growing in pace. Someone mentioned that Chinese dramas don't cater to younger audiences. There are instances where they have attempted to make "idol dramas" which are meant to cater to younger audiences, but instead they have turned out to just be flops and ways for the newly emerging "idol companies" to promote their artists. China's pretty new to all of this, so... yeah. But all I can say about the "idol dramas" are that they have been pretty crappy in quality. I think it's because they don't understand or really are good at creating that type of genre - unlike Taiwanese dramas, which just seems to chug out generic, stock "idol dramas" one after another.

Though, there has been one instance where a so-called "idol drama" turned out pretty well. But it's not really an "idol drama" at all, despite its classification - I think almost all of the actors and actresses were graduates of the Central Acting Academy, so that's saying something. Ugly Wudi, or 丑女无敌, is really really good and funny. But it's more of a daily drama, and it has like several seasons going. The story is based off of Ugly Betty, or whatever the original was.

But I generally watch Chinese dramas for their awesome historical dramas. They are just so fascinating and there's the great budgets to make everything look pretty. The cinematography, I think, has improved so much from before. Japanese dramas also have really nice cinematography, but there is definitely a different style to Chinese dramas. There's a more grandiose feeling with Chinese cinematography. Plus, I love watching the martial arts stuff. I'm like a Jin Yong junkie - I have read all of his books at least once. LOL.

Right now I'm watching 潜伏, or Lurk, with my parents. It is just so good. The acting is unbelievably solid and despite political implications or whatnot, it is very very interesting. And very good. And I love all the actors. I feel like I'm saying the same thing over and over again.

I also love Struggle, or 奋斗.

It's interesting, because usually my Chinese drama viewing experience is limited to stuff like historical dramas - it's how I'm like a Chinese ancient history junkie and stuff. The strong feeling of realism in Chinese dramas too, is definitely a plus plus plus factor. I'm looking forward to watching Huang Xiaoming's new drama with the girl in Struggle. Freaking.

Guys, stop gushing about C/TW/Thai/etc dramas please! You'll get me addicted, I just know it! I totally didn't take notes of all the dramas you recced! Nuh uh. *backs away slowly*

@ 131 xiahxiri - INORITE? I totally spent, like, a week fangirling on my LJ just about his blog. *squish*

Yoo Hana has been in a Korean drama.. I don't remember what it is, because I never saw it, but I remember looking at her Dramawiki page and thinking, "Hey, look, she HAS done something in Korean!"

And "adorbed" is now entering my fangirl vocabulary. XD

---

@ 132 Nom Kitteh - Haha, no problem! I enjoy talking about things I have experience with.

Not everything can be used for a Gen Ed, though. There are actually a few Gen Eds that you CANNOT get during May term--I've yet to see one for the U.S. Diversity credit, which is unfortunate, since that's everyone's least favourite Gen Ed to get. Sometimes some May term courses are required--I have several friends majoring in Physics who are taking a required course in experimental physics (this course is only offered in May). Even though they're trapped in lab from 9am until sometime in the evening, they still seem to really enjoy the May term as well. The course I took last May (Cross-cultural Communication) was for my major, too. Not everything can be counted for a major, of course, but that doesn't make them any less valuable. After all, aren't we going to college to become well-rounded individuals as well as to study?

May term is what you make of it, much like the rest of the year. I could spend my time doing the bare minimum of courses for my major, filling up the rest of my time with random things like Ceramics or the myriad film classes we have, but I choose to make the most of what my school has to offer, which is why I've exhausted almost everything in my major. It's only now, at the tail-end of my junior year, that I'm finding myself having to scrape the bottom of the course catalog for interesting classes, since I'm done with both my major and minor and yet still need some more 300-levels. :/

And my school is fairly wealthy, I guess, although the endowments recently haven't been as extensive as in previous years, due to the economy and whatnot. Most of the professors during May term are tenured, but the visiting professors we do have actually come from the area immediately around us. The professor for the course on Physics of Nuclear Disarmament is the husband of one of my Japanese professors (he's mostly retired now, but he used to teach Physics full-time at my university), and my current Indian dance professor is a professional dancer from the area who has her Ph.D. in classical Indian dance. We're also one of three universities in our town (there's one public state school, one community college, and then our private school), so we tend to just hire them briefly for that month--no need to provide lodging or anything, since they all live here anyway.

----

@ 134 Sere - C'mon, you know you want to watch them~ :P

@ 123 Sere

Regarding A Frozen Flower character development, I wish we had seen more of the earlier relationship between the King and Hong Lim. THAT'S the love story I wanted to see. I mean, the young King appeared to fall in love with Hong Lim at first sight. I want to know at what point were his feelings reciprocated? I want to know if Hong Lim's affections toward the King were more based upon duty and service rather than innate desire. Is that why he fell so quickly and powerfully for the Queen? *LOL* I probably should have waited for a subtitled version and perhaps I wouldn't have so many unanswered questions.

THAT scene?! THE scene?! Oh. My. God. I was so shocked! I like, lost it! You don't even see the actual deed, but the emotional build up to it, the virtual pathos dripping from every player was brutal and intense. It was acted with complete and utter perfection by all.

I like Jo In Sung and have seen several of his works. He's an engaging guy. While I may not always enjoy the production, I've always enjoyed him.

Woah, Javabeans just found this article from koreantimes.co.kr about Korea's body types inclined with alphabets as a description and the author (James Turnbull) mentioned your site & even quoted you... hmmmm, I maybe wrong, but I think Koreantimes.co.kr is a bit of a counterpart of Timesonline.co.uk or Times.com??? lol... Anyways, here's the linked to the article: http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/05/117_44576.html

Ok, so if you read this already, just ignore my post because I'm always a bit impulsive on things....cheers ^^

@ samsooki
i definitely want to take a few days and just tour the city as a local. noreabang is definitely on top of our list right after eating at a food stall and visiting a sauna. i was just chatting with my friend and told her that there are so many things that we want to see and experience and it's already starting to feel like our 2 week vacation won't give us enough time to fully enjoy everything that south korea has to offer. which could also be a good thing, that way it would give us more reason to want to go back and explore a little bit more.

@ 126 simi
thanks for the tip about previous threads. i might have to go back and do some digging. the coffee prince cafe also happens to be on our list. this whole trip actually all came about because my friends and i are also fans of the blog k-popped.com and we saw postings of the girls trip to seoul and thought we needed to make the same trek. the girls over at that blog also happened to have the cafe on their list of things to see.

we were also wondering how easy it would be to get tickets to some of the music or variety shows. i think that would just totally top off our trip if we got to go to a taping and see any celebrity in the flesh.

@ 128 Kender

I'm currently watching Shining Inheritance right now. The lead girl is ADORABLE!

The lead male looks like a little boy playing dress up.

Is the secondary male the friend that came to pick our lead girl up? He's giving off those vibes.

I'm not even halfway through and I'm liking it already. I haven't seen a k-drama do the whole Cinderella storyline. However, the lead male isn't interesting to me at the moment. Once again, it feels like a recycled k-drama hero. :( Spoiled, cocky and with emo-hair.

@mie

"just started “story of a man” and am rewatching “resurrection” as well. i really have a thing for revenge stories (fave book is “the count of monte cristo”). am in revenge story heaven. these are the best k-dramas because there’s never a dull moment and the plot is always barrelling forward."

I read somewhere that the writer of Resurrection had the Count of Monte Cristo in mind when writing the story.

I think I'm going to watch Story of a Man after it is over so I can watch the whole thing in one go with subtitles. I've been waiting for a worthwhile drama and this sounds really interesting and my cup of tea.

@ 86 Kender

"My favorite secondary guy is Prince Yul from Goong. I ended up disliking everything about Goong, except for Prince Yul."

Mine is EomTae Woong in Delightful Girl Choon Hyang. Seriously is there any contest? Ajusshi is so much hotter and interesting. Even though I knew how the story would end, I was cheering for him all the way even when they started to make him creepy and obsessive.

"That’s one reason I liked How To Meet A Perfect Neighbor, though. The show had way too much going on, but the guy I was convinced was Secondary Male actually got the girl in the end, and the main character ended up alone, and I was SO HAPPY about that because I was hardcore in love with Secondary Male, and although he was a bit of a jerk at times, both guys ended up being decent human beings."

This drama is a bit weird and unconventional but thoroughly enjoyable. I loved it to bits for its moments like when Team Jangim goes to the Bae Doo Na's house and the mom, Bae Doo Na, older sister and niece all stop eating and talking to stare at Team Jangim when he tells them he never ate a roasted sweet potato before. I can watch that scene over and over again. Bae Doo Na's open mouth, blink and stare is really hysterical.

Also the secondary male in this drama has an effeminate, delicate look and mannerism that is endearing in a puppy dog way. I personally sometimes get sick of the overly masculine nethanderthal types in kdramas. I personally don't find the wrist grabbing and dragging very sexy and in real life would deck any guy who did that to me unless its EomTae Woong.

@ 128 mishane - Isn't she cute? Her autistic little brother is really adorable too ("PIANO!"). Primary Male is Lee Seung-gi. Like I said, sexless. He's got too much of a baby face for my tastes. :/ And yes, the friend is Secondary Male. He gets really adorable in later episodes.

The show's surprisingly cute. Not terribly deep, but definitely cute and entertaining. I watched the next three episodes without subs, and I hearted it the whole time. :P

@ mookie #127

kekeke :) I completely know what you mean about c-dramas. The production values are improving with each drama. Especially the historical/wuxia ones but also the modern ones are improving as well.

I still haven’t come across a fantastically fluffy Chinese romcom.

I've seen a few that are really good... not as great as k-dramas just yet (because the tension isn't as gripping), but I still like them.

Here's two of my favorite ones,

- My Kung Fu Girlfriend ( 我的功夫女友 ) with Ma Su and Wayne Wang
- All the Misfortunes Caused by the Angel (都是天使惹的祸) with Li Xiao Lu and Ren Quan

* * *

@ A #133

But I generally watch Chinese dramas for their awesome historical dramas. They are just so fascinating and there’s the great budgets to make everything look pretty.

I totally agree. My favorite so far has to be Young Warriors of the Yang Clan. It was just perfect. Hot guys, great actors, amazing scenary, just... an epic feeling.

I mean first, you have Weng Jia Ming and Amy Chan. And then you have Hu Ge, Peter Ho, and Eddie Peng... and even the bad guys like He Jian Ze and Yuan Hong---OMG, was he charismatic---were amazing. That series was a like a fangirls dream!! :)

(And I think there's English subs for that series)

* * *

@ Sere #134

kekeke :) What really sucks though is that a lot of c-dramas don't have English subs for them :(

I really wish these companies would realize they have a much larger audience.

140 nycgrl

If you enjoy a twisted revenge story with angst, have you seen A Love To Kill, starring Rain and Shin Min Ah? Warning, it's SUPER ANGSTY but it's my number one favorite drama of all time. It may not be uber intelligent but it was the first drama that made me THAT emotional. It's like a sucker punch in the gut. I suggest watching it after you overload on sugar sweet dramas.

The revenge in the storyline is Rain's character getting revenge on Shin Min Ah by trying to make her fall in love with him so he can break her (he believes that his brother tried to commit suicide because of her). Well, of course that doesn't end well. Revenge never does!

By the way, I've heard of this Resurrection so many times! I'm a HUGE lover of revenge storylines. Where did you find it?

And I kind of agree with you on the Uhm Tae Wong in DLCH thing. I'm currently watching that now and I find him so sexy. Actually, half the time I'm yelling at my computer, "You're SO SEXY! So creepy but SO SEXY!". The funny thing is that I had first seen him in The Devil (also with Shin Min Ah!) and thought he was so ugly and actually really disliked his character, which is weird because when I started watching DelightfulGCH, I actually thought his character was ubersexxxy. Funny how that works out.

@ 139 mishane - We're going to pretend I got your number right in my previous comment. XD For some reason, it wouldn't let me edit.

@140 nycgirl - Haha, I wasn't the one who said I like Yul; that was mishane. I was totally in love with Eom Tae-woong in Choon-hyang too, even when he became a creeper. THAT MAN. *swoons*

I can't really pick a favourite secondary male off the top of my head. I tend to like them all. XD Right now, my favourite is Jun-se from Brilliant Legacy/Shining Inheritance. Prior to this, it was Joon-seok from Perfect Neighbour. (THE SMILE. I have pictures of him smiling on my computer, and I can literally sit and stare at his smile for half an hour without realizing it.) And prior to this.. Erm.. I can't remember what the drama I watched right before that was. But whatever the drama was, I was probably in love with that secondary male, too. THEY DO THINGS TO ME. <3

…open to suggestions on Dramas/Anime/Movies (^^)

I started watching dramas about a year and half ago and kinda got hooked (I know a little bit of an understatement) here is a list of the Kdramas I watched all the way through….

1. First Shop of Coffee Prince – you know
2. Soulmate- Absolutely adore, but for some reason I can’t put it first , don’t know why
3. Dal Ja's Spring- hilarious, smart, cute, ahhhh loveable (poss for girls only)
4. My Girl-ditto (sans girls only)
5. Painter of the Wind- a wonderful plot, really beautiful (and cross-dressing!)
6. Dae Jang Geum- awesome, a little repetitive but a brilliant historical drama
8. My name is Kim Sam Soon
9. The Last Scandal of my life
9. Goong - my first kdrama so it holds a little sentimental value
10. Delightful Girl Chun Hyang
11. Sweet 18
12. Full House
13. Lovers in Paris
14. Let's go to school Sang Doo!
15. Spring Waltz
16. Bad Housewife
17. Boys Before Flowers
18. 18 vs 29
19. She is Nineteen
20. Love Marriage
21. Stairway to Heaven
23. 9 end 2 outs
22. Bad Couple
24. Beethoven's Virus
25. Three Dads one Mom
26. Wonderful Life

The dramas are loosely in the order of how much I enjoyed them ±3 ranks (considering its hard to sometimes compare dramas of different genres). Almost none of them were judged with a critical eye but even some of the really terrible ones (Wonderful Life *cough*) still had their moments. Even some near the bottom of the list are really enjoyable dramas.

…oh and some Jdramas
1. Nodame Cantabile!!
2. Hana Yori Dango 1 &2
3. Hana Kimi
4. Absolute Boyfriend

… and acoupla TW dramas
1. Smiling Pasta
2. Devil Beside You
3. It started with a Kiss

I saw ppl posting about how distracting the vocal inflection of TW dramas can be and I kinda hate to say that I agree. But if the story is good enough, I’m usually on board.

I’m already watching/planning to watch the kdramas:
1. The Return of Iljimae
2. Story of a Man

As you can see I’m a bit obsessive (Must have lists!)

Java Beans,
I am a big fan of yours and absolutely love your site. (^.^) Thank you for the Soulmate endorsement. I’m a Hedhead wannabe so it was surprising (and supremely awesome!) to see “The Origin of Love” in a Kdrama.
…and the music video for today’s thread is sooo cool.

Yay Friday!

Go Big Red!

Congrats on being qoute in the Korean Times article

Eh? Wha's with all these drama talk? I haveb't watched many of them... so I guess I'm not qualified to judge them...
And thanks for telling mre that frozen flower was 'r' rated. I'll be sure not to watch it. I hate those kinds of things... Makes me so uncomfortable.

Whoa whoa what? JB was quoted in an article! Cool - did they ask you permission for these things too [you're supposed to]? LOL. But go JB! I'm sorry we sort of took over this over thread and started talking about other dramas. I'll make up for it by getting hooked on Story of a Man. :]

@ Jessica

Yes, there's a lot of eye candy in that. LOL. Don't you find though that sometimes some guys only look good in the historical getup and not like in regular clothing? It's weird - there are guys in Korean historical dramas that look really really good in historical getup but not in regular clothing. It's so weird.

@ Sere

LOL. It's okay. Now I feel like I've been sorta coerced into watching Miss No Good, despite my dislike for Rainie and her voice and her entire outfit/look and such, because Wilbur [or is it Wilber] Pan apparently is alright and plus I love that man. And I looked up the secondary lead man. Maybe I can sit through it for the eye candy... I hate when this happens.

Still little progress with my paper. Freaking. Oh, but Prom is tomorrow! I actually dread prom in the fact that it will take up so much of my time that I will have no time to study or to write my paper[s]. Life sucks. I just need to get through my last two weeks of high school and say goodbye to people I don't like and cross my fingers and hope I never see them ever again.

Speaking of secondary leads [and I know this topic came up like a couple of posts back] - I find that usually I am sided with the main lead no matter what it is. Even if he may be a jerk and the secondary lead is super nice. Unless I come into the story with prejudices. Is it part of my innate nature to support winners? LOL! There are rare moments, though, where I do like the secondary lead. But for reasons unbenownst to me - I just naturally side with him. Actually there are times when I have sided with the secondary lead, then found out the girl doesn't end up with him, and quit watching, because that is how upset I get at the girl not ending up with him. LOL.

I'm so childish.... AH! Must do homework now. For reals.

Ahh...

Just finished the first episode of Shining Inheritance (or whatever the hell it wants to be called!). I'm hooked. It's got the base of a typical k-drama but with little nuances here and there to make it a worthwhile watch.

Once again, I'm NOT a fan of over privileged male hero who is an asshole who undoubtedly will get the girl in the end. So yeah, whatever to the male lead but the female lead proves to be completely adorable (if overly cutesy at times, but she's a strong enough female character) and I'll stay for her!

However, I can already tell that I'm gonna get really annoyed really fast with our "evil stepmother".

@ Jasmin and others planning a trip to Seoul...

You might want to check out the Tourism Korea website which lists "Filming Location Tours" you can do yourself, complete with info on how to get to each site by subway. I found it here:

http://russian.tour2korea.com/ena/CU/CU_EN_8_5_1_15.jsp

It needs to be updated and some of the sites are no longer there (eg the hangover soup restaurant from Kim Sam Soon has been torn down and moved elsewhere, but nearby) but it's an excellent base to start from, and it was a lot of fun trying to track some of these places down.

You can also join an organized tour (you'll find those by googling). Here's one I found, though in the end didn't use (did the self-tour thing instead): http://www.goodtabi1.mireene.com/goods_detail.php?goodsIdx=173

I dragged a friend around on my self-organized drama location tour for two days; she's never watched a Korean (or any other Asian) drama, but by the end of the 'tour' agreed that it was by far the best way to see Seoul.

Happy travels!