o *hugs* A. I'm sooo not a history bluff before, but Cdrama turns on my more 'presentable, literate' side that I didnt know exist kekeke, Their historical dramas are soooo fine that I once read up 500 pp+ of simplified chinese (which I cant really decipher) because of a drama. but please dont get me started on Mr. JinYung. If we have pedocrushes on say Kim Bum, Mr. Jin is my ultimate geriatric dreamboat. It's too bad for the world his works are not written in the more universal language, or else JKRowlings will be just his amateur wannabe in creating fantasically imagined worlds.

@Jessica, I'm currently watching Young Warriors of the Yang Clan, it's DA BOMB!!!!! (hihi, Sere) It's seriously a fangirls' dream. What's nice about these young up and coming Chinese actors/actresses are they CAN ALL act, many r classically trained, with looks to boot, even if they r not seriously honed in their craft BEFORE they were out and about making dramas, it's a prereq they r extremely talented to even earn a role, and that's a win-win situation for us. Thanks for the romcom recommendations, will def check them out! (And Yuan Hong is mine!)

Can anyone please tell me about the f4 5 years later thing? I've spent the last hour on mnet looking for the second half and can't find it.

47 / 123 Sere
117 / 136 Muffun

Finally, someone I can share my thoughts with Frozen Flower ( too bad I am too way down). Same with muffin I saw this movie on youtube without subs. I saw the complete episodes no cut whatsoever. After 2 weeks the videos were removed. Since I am not Korean I just relied on the acting and JJM was really great. He can really act with his eyes / slight facial reactions. Not a lot of actors can do that. But hey Muffin this morning from 12:30am to 2:00am (my local time) I just so happen to check on youtube and there is already an eng sub videos of Frozen Flower. The bummer is all the episodes with sex scene betwen queen and JIS were deleted. I don't mind not seeing the sex scenes, but I do mind not seeing the other dialogues that are crucial to the story. Specially the latter part when the King saw it with his own eyes whats going on between his queen and lover. I so want to understand in English the dialogue when the King decided to PUNISH JIS SEVERELY.

I liked the movie very much, BTW the gay scenes were not deleted in youtube, how come there is discrimination, he, he, he. Heterosexual sex is deleted but gay scenes are not! Aside from great acting there are a lot of eye candies. All the bodyguards under JIS are so hottt. Even the "villain" sub-chief bodyguard.

Wow, is that even possible just having been PUNISHED SEVERELY and after a few days you go horseback riding, hehehe.

Sere, if you want to watch JIS you can watch him in "What happened in Bali" that was the first Kdrama that I saw with JIS in it. He is also in Dirty Carnival ( i might be mistaken in the title) but if I am wrong with the title, the movie I am referring to is where he plays a gangster (2006-7?). Even though JIS can really act, I am not a fan ( JIS fans don't get mad at me.)

@ mookie

Oh my oh my. So true - I rarely ever have to worry about acting problems with Chinese dramas. And the new wave of actors - there really are some that are really really good-looking. They're not as widely known outside of China, unfortunately [but, hey, on the flip side, that means we can keep them all to ourselves, LOL].

I'm worried, though. There's a late trend of some trying to produce more idol drama-ish Chinese dramas. Whenever I [attempt to] watch those, there's always a strange feeling I get. It's like something's out of place - what is realism doing in a storyline that is not very real? It's just weird and strange to watch. I'm waiting for them to hone their skills in such things before I begin to endeavor watching those things again. It just gives me a weird feeling when I watch them.

[WHY do I try to study when clearly all I really do is sit at the computer and lurk in this thread??????]

Kender -
"@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 think Friday threads makes my head spin. I'm having a hard time keeping track of who said what. Kender if you think Eom Tae Woong and Team Jang Im are hot, we have the same taste.

@mishane

"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. "

Though I have enjoyed the writer's other work like MISA and Thank You, I can't say I could get into A Love To Kill. I watched like two episodes and stopped. I can't pinpoint if it was the writing or the overall acting that fell short for me. I thought Shin Mina was pretty wooden and Rain a distraction. Also I totally don't have a sweet tooth for dramas. I like them bitter and savory in the tradition of White Tower and Resurrection.

@ 150 reluctantbutaddicted
thanks for the links!
will definitely have to take a look at them.

just have one question...are you korean or speak korean? my friends and i aren't korean and although we have learned a few korean phrases and words from watching dramas and listening to kpop i don't think we are well versed enough to be able to get ourselves around the city. do you think we will be able to do self tours without any kind of guidance? i usually don't like to travel in guided tours (did that once for a europe trip and kinda felt restricted. went back to europe and did my own touring and had a lot more fun).

Okay, so I've pretty much given up on study, even though I won't admit it - I'll "watch" something while reading my AP review book so I won't feel guilty. Right. And I keep scrolling up and down the page of the uploader's page on Tudou [where I freaking watch everything] and I can't decide what to watch.

Somebody please give me something to watch right now. I'm feeling drama-filled romance angsty. Like something that cuts the crap and gets down to the meaty romance. I don't care if it's cliched. I don't care if it's got stock romance plot devices. I don't freaking care. I just need something romance-y now.

Spring makes me angry because people hook up and I realize that I have too high standards in guys. I mean, for god's sake, why doesn't a Mr. Darcy exist for me?? Screw life. LOL.

@122 Kender
Thank you. Sadly its true. I am done with the education but the writing...not so much. K-dramas have made me lazier than I ever thought I could be:) I am planning on focusing on it more during the summer and have it done before I move to Korea. We'll see. I procrastinate entirely too much to be sane.

(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.”)

LOL. I don't usually have this issue...except in BOF. I needed more but for the most part it was fine. I'm not all about the sex and stuff on screen but I feel that for some characters in some dramas, their personalities warrant more physical expression. My usual problem is I think that people should yell, cry, or scream more. Not the irritating girly or the ass-induced kind but a genuine outburst of emotion. There are times that I feel this is important. Oddly, enough I am not this type(maybe that's why I want to see it?) but I always desire this from characters. You know a real big breakdown, crying and wailing in the street. The kind that buckles your stomach and leaves you tired in the bed for hours. Like this past week when Kim Shin(Story of a Man) is confronted by Kyung Ah, I wanted him to tear into her, but he didn't. In this situation I respected it, loved it even and found it refreshing, but usually, I'm disappointed with this result.

@138 alodia
thank you for the City Hall info. Hmm. I want to see it but I may need to wait. I don't know what it is nowadays with the 4th ep being the charm. Usually, I'm ok with that but lately... just not in the mood. I'm going to wait until the end of the summer. B.O.N. may have half the subs up by then.

@143 mishane
That's interesting about A Time to Kill. I did really like it though. I have to admit I was pissed with the ending. It was uncalled for. I felt a little empty when it ended. It reminds me of my favorite drama Crazy for You. Its odd that I don't adore it as much.

"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."

WHAT! I loved him in Mawang! I think that is the funny thing. I thought he was precious beyond belief in that show and actually wanted her to find a way to end up with them both! They both seemed to need her in a way that I can't even describe eloquent enough to verbalize.
It was actually his crazy in DGCH that made the show extremely redundant for me.I lost respect for the character. I loved him but not the character and not her silly throughout the majority of the show.

@Kender you are right...Uhm Tae Wong... there is just something about that man. I think its his intensity as an actor. If it wasn't for this I don't think that I'd love him so much. I'm still on the last ep of Nine Tailed Fox and though he only has like four lines per episode, he's my favorite character.

@my dal
that's a good list. Most I've seen as well. I'm also glad that others have mentioned the stumbling block of vocal patterns, etc of TW because this is an issue for me as well. Also quality. I wanted to watch Meteor Garden but I shied away because of how long it is. Don't know if I can stick it out. Also can I dl the eps and subs from d-addicts?
Also good future drama choices. I need the world to see Story of a Man! Completely in love with that show right now!

Last...Chinese dramas? Any suggestions? Something good, no really good and worth my time. Tell me how to watch it(legally).
****OT...Just rewatched Crouching Tiger and fell in love ago. I study religions(for a living) and its one of the best movies to dissect! My question, for those that know, the Mandarin that is spoken during the film, is it modern Mandarin as in the Mandarin spoken today or is it more ancient, set in the time period of the film?

@A, well first good luck with your AP. ^^
If we're talking about Mr.Darcy, the one and only guy that is not around in this earth! lol j/k....i love anything related to Pride and Prejudice, especially Colin Firth the BBC version!

I think with City Hall you get a little feel of Mr. Darcy in Jo-guk (Cha Seung-won). Even though the heroine is nothing like Elizabeth Bennett.

Happy Weekend everyone!

@ A #148

Oh I totally agree.

Especially when you're so used to seeing them in historical clothing and style and all of a sudden you see them in modern clothes, it's really strange.

* * *

@ mookie #151

If we have pedocrushes on say Kim Bum, Mr. Jin is my ultimate geriatric dreamboat.

LOLOLOL!

I agree, it's a pity his works are only famous is Asia. I just wish he would stop revising his books though! He and George Lucas need to join a support group :)

And I wanted to claim Yuan Hong as mine but since he's always cast as the bad guy he'd probably just cheat on me :(

I'm sorry for asking, but can someone like just flat-out explain the music video to me (though I know that kinda ruins the point of finding out for yourself)? LOL. I've watched it a ton of times by now and I STILL don't get it. (And, yes, I've tried the thing where you watch only one side and watch it twice.) I've thought about it long and hard and just can't seem to understand it! Someone put me out of my misery. :]

@ mzpakipot

I'm so weird, but... for me, Mr. Darcy is just so like fascinating. He loves Elizabeth so deeply, and what's great is that he loves her for who she IS. And he is so tortured by that same love. Have you ever watched "North and South"? There's a BBC production of it [it's based off of a book of the same name by Elizabeth Gaskell or something]. The story premise is the same, but the social commentary is geared toward the Victorian era. But seriously...

Am I like strange [or like a man-hater or something] when I love watching the guy getting tortured by his love? I don't know why, but whenever I watch that, I start sympathizing like crazy and at this point I pretty much just start obsessing over the show. It takes a lot for that to happen - usually involving a spectacular actor. Like, even if the story is pretty cliche or whatever, I am hooked as soon as I see the spectacular guy who is tortured by his love.

I mean, I'm a girl [and surprisingly feminist too], so you'd think I'd sympathize with the girl? But no, usually I find myself siding with the guy. Is this a problem of sometimes making the girl characters unlikeable in their fickle-ness and inability to decide between guys? Maybe it's that.

But seriously. Once the guy starts crying, my eyes start watering. What is this.

I might start City Hall. But seriously, I want me some Pride and Prejudice romance.

@ 149 mishane - Yeah, the evil stepmother is..well, evil. But at least her daughter (the stepsister) is pretty sweet, or at least not a bitch.

@ 155 nycgrl - "Kender if you think Eom Tae Woong and Team Jang Im are hot, we have the same taste."

If by that, you mean that I have an eclectic taste in men, then yes. XD Park Shi Hoo (Team Jangnim) is totally the love-of-my-life of the moment, and I died a little inside when I heard that Eom Tae-woong had a long-term girlfriend. XD

I didn't like A Love To Kill, either. I watched it most of the way through, because I thought Rain was surprisingly sexy as a bodyguard, but I lost interest towards the end. *shrugs*

@ 157/162 A. - Haha, studying is overrated. Much like prom. Sorry for the personal question, but do you have a date, or are you just going with friends? Going with friends is much better than having a date, in my opinion. For my senior prom, my best friend and I went on a girl-date to a local sushi restaurant, then we spontaneously decided to go to a carnival that had been set up in the parking lot of the mall. And then we went to prom, but my favourite memories of the night were the things that happened before we even got there.

I don't have any real recommendations for you, but go watch The Story of Hyang Dan. 2 episodes, jam-packed full of adorable. If you find a drama that manages to get right to the romance, though, let me know. The waiting is always the worst part. >.<

Also, I was totally about to recommend North & South to you, but then I saw that you'd already seen it. XD Have you seen Wives & Daughters? It's based on another work by the same author (and yes, it's Elizabeth Gaskell), and I really love both the drama and the novel. Actually, I recommend you read both novels. North & South is a little deep with its social commentary, and Wives & Daughters is a little long, but they're both thoroughly enjoyable for all of that.

And no, you're not weird for liking guys who are tortured by their love. I think it might be because society has conditioned us to believe that women are the ones who are supposed to feel the most deeply, so whenever we see something contrary to that in a drama or film or literary work, it tugs at our hearts. That, or we want to be able to inspire such love in a man. Something like that, anyway.

I think Uhm Tae Hwang and his long term girlfriend broke up a while ago.

Aw, no one seems to be a fan of ALTK. :( That was my first angsty drama and, like I said, it killed me. I stayed up till 4 AM to watch the episodes and after it finished I think I was depressed for 2 days. MISA was a good kind of angst but I thought ALTK topped it. I don't know what it was about it, maybe just because everything was just doomed and no one would end up happy and argh. . . .so sad. That was the first drama i bought on DVD also, but I still haven't mustered enough courage to do a rewatch of it. I know if I did, I'd be totally and completely sad again.

Ahhh. Prom. I didn't have prom. I went to boarding school and now that I've been long graduated (from high school AND college) every time I hear the high school girls talk about going to prom I get all wistful. I never had that experience. Go all out!

Someone on my FL just saw Kim Hyung Jong (sp? from BBF) in CA and I'm so jealous right now. Why can't they come to NYC, hmm? I notice when I see articles about Korean celebrities coming to the States, it's usually LA. Why LA? NYC is so much better!!!! (Don't shoot me Californians!)

@ A

Yeah, it's Friday, forget about studying! :)

Since we're on the topic of historical Chinese dramas, have you seen Wo Ai He Dong Shi with Vincent Jiao and Chen Hao?

Another good one is The Switch with Zhang Ting and also Vincent.

(If you can tell, I really like Vincent, and he's also one of the actors that looks better in historical costumes).

They're both really cute, sappy rom-coms. You should be able to find them on Tudou.com.

* * *

@ thisiswhyi'mbehindonmymastersthesis #158

Since you liked Crouching Tiger, I think you might like Young Warriors of the Yang Clan.

It's 43 episodes, so kinda long, but really, really good. Everything about it is amazing.

I'm not exactly sure where you can watch it legally online, but you might be able to get it at YesAsia. They have English subtitles for it.

But I'm not sure how good the English subtitles are because the version I purchased was the Taiwan version and they didn't have subtitles.

(If you're curious, go to google and search for "The Young Warriors megaupload"). And you can find some download links.

Also, there are 2 versions of it, one was made in 2004 and stars Alec Su and Korean actress Chae Rim. That version is ok, but not as good as the version I'm talking about. The 2006 one which stars Hu Ge, Peter Ho, and Eddie Peng.

- - -

And I think the Mandarin spoken in CTHD was more modern... I don't exactly remember, but I could understand just about everything so it's most likely modern :)

@ 164 mishane - "I think Uhm Tae Hwang and his long term girlfriend broke up a while ago."

REALLY?!?!?!?! :O *squeals* I mean..er..how sad for them? *brainstorms how to get to Korea to win his heart* (You mean Uhm Tae-woong, right? XD;;)

"Someone on my FL just saw Kim Hyung Jong (sp? from BBF) in CA and I’m so jealous right now. Why can’t they come to NYC, hmm? I notice when I see articles about Korean celebrities coming to the States, it’s usually LA. Why LA? NYC is so much better!!!! (Don’t shoot me Californians!)"

Screw both LA and NYC. What about Chicago?! Or Charleston?! I'd even settle for Atlanta or Charlotte! None of my areas get much love. ㅠ_ㅠ

@ Kender

I'm going with a date. But when it really all comes down to it, it's pretty much the same thing as going with a group of friends. [This is mean, but, LOL, having a date also cuts down on the expenses, since he fishes out the money for both tickets.]

We're going laser tagging and stuff afterwards, so I don't know. I'm thinking it'll be fun [maybe], but I know that I'm going to get a huge dosage of guilt for going and not doing homework or studying. Yes, deep down, I am a nerd. And you're right, Prom is very very overrated. Thanks to prom, there was tons of unnecessary drama going on within the girl circles [which thank goodness I was not involved in].

What's funny with prom is I was so completely lazy with it - I made my date order my flowers which were to be ordered for him, so he basically ordered his own flowers. LOL. And he's also picking them up. I am paying for the flowers though. Oh my.

I have pondered "Wives & Daughters." I hear it was pretty good, and since it's also Elizabeth Gaskell, it's another plus. But, seriously, am I masochist or something when I like watching things that I get very deeply emotionally involved enough for me to cry? And hence like to watch poor guys tortured over their loves [like Mr. Thornton or Mr. Darcy]??

@ thisiswhyi'mbehindonmymastersthesis

LOL. I am loving your, er, "name" or whatever you call it. [Mine would be thisiswhyi'mbehindonstudyingandtwopapersihavetowrite].

About Crouching Tiger. The movie, if my memory is correct, uses modern Mandarin. The Mandarin of that time period [which I believe is around Qing dynasty] is pretty close to modern Mandarin. Well, actually. I guess to be more correct, the Mandarin used is much more formal-sounding, I guess. Like modern Mandarin uses more slang and stuff, whereas they don't use that much in the movie. The thing with "ancient" Mandarin is stuff that you'd think would show up in like the ancient texts - but that stuff was never deemed as "spoken" word because usually the stuff that appeared in the books was like a different, totally complicated language, that, unless you were educated, you would have difficulty deciphering. I mean, I tried reading an ancient history text and it was difficult to decipher what the heck was going on.

If there is any real distinction between the spoken language of the two time periods, I would think that it would be a matter of pronunciation. Pronunciation of certain words change over time.

As for a good Chinese drama, hm. It depends on what you're looking for. But you could watch the new "Shanghai Bund" with Huang Xiaoming [whom my mother loves dearly to death].

@ Kender

Uhm Tae-woong

Yep. That's what I mean. I'm VERY bad with names. Don't even get me started on Tawianese names. I will massacre them.

@ Jessica

See, I bet I could study if I cut down the time I spent lurking in this thread. LOL. [Or the time I spend on style.com looking at Vogue fashion stuff]. You know, I'm so lazy I don't even know what I'm going to do with my hair tomorrow. I am so lazy. Or maybe it's because I am not at all that greatly excited about Prom. [I have a remote feeling it might turn out to be a flop.]

Chen Hao? I absolutely love her. I might check those out. Zhang Ting is in a lot of historical dramas for sure. I feel like I watched her in a lot of historical stuff. Have you watched the one where it's called Liao Zhai Hua Gu Zi? I really really liked that for some reason. And cried buckets. *SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER* Especially in the end, when she like dies and leaves the guy with the baby. *END SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER*

Okay, on a completely different tangent, I am still not over the fact that Mizushima Hiro got married. To Ayaka, who is one of my most favorite Japanese singers. It's not like I disapprove - I HIGHLY APPROVE. But like, what?! It just came to me so unexpectedly. Like a shock to my system. I was like, WHAAATT. Because, quite honestly, this was the series of events that happened leading up to this:

3 days before I found out: WAIT WHAT? Mizushima Hiro is going out with Ayaka?!?! WHAT?!?
1 day before I found out: WAIT WHAT?! Rumored that Ayaka is engaged to Mizushima Hiro because she showed off an engagement ring? WHAT!?!?!
The day of: WHAT?!??!! WHEN DID THEY GET MARRIED??! AND WHAT?!? IT WAS LIKE A MONTH AGO?!?! WHAT?!?! HOW COME I WASN'T INVITED TO THE WEDDING??!?!!?

Yeah. That was me. All that happened within like days of each other. A shock to my system, I tell you. And then like I found out that apparently melody, the Japanese singer, got married to Miyavi [who I don't really care about]. It's like people are sneaking around and getting married and not telling me [I know, because, you know, I'm just that important, LOL jk].

So there goes another eligible bachelor. Seriously. I'd planned it all out with Mizushima Hiro - he can speak like perfect English, so we'd be able to actually communicate. I mean, seriously! I even took that into consideration.

@130 alodia :

No kidding! I see your name there every time Kim Sunah's name is mentioned.

Yes, I do agree with you about City Hall as posted earlier. And about the trailers, I have stopped looking at those. They spoil all the fun. I have watched all 4 epis with Chinese subs. And then back to viikii to watch with English subs just to see if the Chinese subs are accurate enough. For the most parts, they are OK. Having said that, this drama really, I mean REALLY, needs good interpretation and translation of the funny parts, otherwise the humor will go flat.

Oh, I think epi 4 has rating is because of the pageant. Nothing to do with the cliffhanger at the end of epi 3. The pageant was a let down for me too...due to poor directing and editing and to a certain extent, the writing too.

I have already given up on CM. I was rooting for That Fool and City Hall, and up to 4 episodes each now, I have a preference for City Hall. I have exactly the same feeling as you; the addiction or wham is slowly starting to kick in. I think the writer has given enough small whams throughout these 4 epis, and you feel that you need to connect these little whams so as to move on with the story. That's why I am looking forward to epi 5. But something tells me the connection may not be revealed in epi 5. Maybe epi 7 or 8. You see how this addiction can take shape.

Totally agree with you on the OST. I have another one that I like..it's a jazzy number which I recall is in epi 2. Epi 2 has broken links now. Will have to go back to scout it out later. I thought there was a rearrangement of "Sex Bomb" somewhere too.

Hmmm....I feel totally spent and silly now.

Dude, I'm totally downloading Sandglass and Feelings at this very moment. OLD-SCHOOL KDRAMAS (and old-school Lee Jung-jae), HERE I COME. [/random]

@ 167 A. - Ahaha, awwwww. Poor guy, being used like that. :P Enjoy it while it lasts, though. I've only had a guy pay for me once since graduating high school, and that was such an awkward date that I let him do it just because I wanted to get out of there fast. >.<;;

And LOL at the sneaky celebrity marriages. I remember finding out that Miyavi got married when my LJ f-list literally EXPLODED. Seriously, everyone was just posting things like "OMG MEEVERS GOT MARRIED WHUT? DDDD:" and I was all "I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT JUST HAPPENED BUT WHAT? AND HOW DO YOU ALL KNOW THIS SO FAST?!" And then I was all "meh" when I found out he married melody, whom I really don't have an opinion about. (I have a soft spot for Meevs because he's the only Jrock musician to date whose music my Guitar God father has liked.)

@ 168 mishane - I'm sure you'll massacre them lovingly, though. :P

@ mishane

Aw, no one seems to be a fan of ALTK...

Yeah, I think I'm almost the complete opposite of you in terms of drama watching :)

Whenever I decide on which drama to watch I have a tendency to first skim the last episode to make sure the main leads get together AND it's a joyful ending.

If it's sad, or if someone dies, then I often refuse to watch it, kekeke :)

But you've actually piqued my interest a little... because initially I didn't want to watch MISA but I did in the end because everyone was saying how good it was and of course because of So Ji Sub.

And it was good, but very, very draining. Especially the few episodes where Im Su Jung was so mean to him...

Gosh, after I finished watching that I had no energy left..

- - -

There's this one really good Chinese drama that is super angsty as well, but unfortunately there's no English subs for it :(

It's called Butterfly Lovers and stars Peter Ho.

The premise of the story is that back in ancient China only men could attend school. So the lead actress (Dong Jie) dresses up as a guy to attend the school and there she meets Peter's character. They become really good friends but he remains clueless about her being a girl.

The angsty part is that she's from a rich family and he's dirt poor and so her dad wants to force her to marry this rich guy's son...

(And since this is a classical Chinese story, the ending is very, very sad...)

Anyway, sorry I'm talking about so many Chinese dramas today, kekeke :)

@ 169 A

--Mizushima Hiro - he can speak like perfect English--

Really? He killed me on Zettai Kareshi with his lips. Pretty, pretty lips.

MIZUSHIMA HIRO ALREADY MARRIED???!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
he's my current jdrama crush (the very top of the list), WHY??!! WHY!!???

@ mishane

Like hell yeah he can speak perfect English. When I found that out I was like ecstatic - now he and I could converse fine, and you know, proceed with our glamorous wedding plans, you know? LOL. If you look on YouTube, there's one where he's like filming some Kamen Rider movie and he talks to this kid [who is SO CUTE and I bet will grow up into this pretty boy some day] and the English is flawless.

Apparently he studied at an International school at Sweden or something. And hence the perfect English. But it is so perfect. I can find like nothing wrong with it. Seriously. He could've stayed single a little longer - you know, until I broke up with him. LOL.

@ Kender

LOL. That's funny. I'd figure Miyavi would have a huge fanbase [probably most likely bigger than Hiro's] that would explode. It was seriously a secret marriage. And melody's already like pregnant. Melody has a pretty voice, so I guess I like her? LOL. But then again, I don't have any of her own songs - I seriously love the song "miss you" by m-flo featuring her and Ryohei. I could listen to that on repeat all day long.

Personally, I don't think Young Warriors of the Yang Clan is representative of a good Cdrama. Once again, mostly the younger audience like that drama, so it's very popular online. On the other hand, better historical dramas like Kang Xi Wang Chao (Chen Dao Ming) and Da Zhai Men (semi-historical, WWII with Chen Bao Guo) go unnoticed.

For those interested in watching CDramas, check out Farewell to Vancouver and Black Hole.

@ 81 A.

OMG, you're watching "Lurk." I hear from my mom that it's a really popular drama right now in China, and that it has the fantastic actor sun honglei in it. I really want to watch it, but it's really hard for me to understand some parts because it's not subbed. I need to watch it with someone who can explain the parts to me :( It's sad that dramas like that get completely ignored among the non-chinese population

@ 174 A

BRB GOOGLING/YOUTUBING EXCESSIVELY!

I'm always super amazed and super awed when I find an Asian actor that can speak English, without an accent. I don't know why. It's just . . . fun.

@ A

No, I haven't seen that series because I know it has a sad ending... I mean, I don't mind if it's semi-sad (like a side character dies), but definitely not a main one...

It's one of the reasons I used to be so wary of TVB dramas because they have so many where EVERYONE dies... geez....

OMG SO SEXY SO JUST FULL OF SEX. I CAN DIE HAPPY NOW.

@ 174 A. - Suuuuuuuuuuuuch a shotgun wedding. I LOLed a lot when I saw the actual newspaper article. It's, like four lines. So, SO tiny. XD

And yeeeeeeeeesssssssssssssssss, I LOVE that song! Is there an MV for it too? I vaguely recall there being one, but I might be misremembering.

LOL, I think mishane is going to explode now. Way to go, A. :P I get the same way about multilingual celebrities. If they speak at least two of "my" languages (English, Korean, Japanese, Mandarin) with relative fluency, I'm interested. If they speak three, I'm in love. If they speak all four, then move over, honey, because they're MINE. >D

ok, shock's over...
Uhm Tae Woong, in ChunHyang i was like cheering him all the way, the first time ever i cheer for second male character (the second female was sooo meh, didn't like her at all)... he was so intense in Chunyang...

@A, i've watched the video of Hiro speaking english...
it sounded sooo sexy.. well i'm biased so... :P

@ 170 omo
hee~ i'm a regular reader here... but i'm not a big drama watcher (though i wish i have the time to watch many dramas - my to watch list is growing bigger and bigger) so I don't comment much... but if it's KSA, i have a lot to say i guess... lol

"I have watched all 4 epis with Chinese subs. And then back to viikii to watch with English subs just to see if the Chinese subs are accurate enough. For the most parts, they are OK. Having said that, this drama really, I mean REALLY, needs good interpretation and translation of the funny parts, otherwise the humor will go flat."

Thanks for the heads-up. We'll keep that in mind as we do our version at BON. ^^*

@161, Jane -

"I’m sorry for asking, but can someone like just flat-out explain the music video to me (though I know that kinda ruins the point of finding out for yourself)? LOL. I’ve watched it a ton of times by now and I STILL don’t get it. (And, yes, I’ve tried the thing where you watch only one side and watch it twice.) I’ve thought about it long and hard and just can’t seem to understand it! Someone put me out of my misery. :]"

I might be wrong, but I think the concept is that there are two individuals who are going through their individual lives, and at the point of contact between the two, it is a reflective moment like a mirror, so that you can watch an individual moving forward or backward, it is the same, like a palindrome. The interesting thing is that both women are going through a palindrome at the same time.

What does it mean? Nothing. It is just a very clever piece of filming, directing and editing.

@153 budsdiana

Thank you so much! I ran right over to watch the subtitled version. Whole sections have been deleted by now, but I throughly enjoyed what dialog I could read. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Thanks for the suggestions. I will look into those.
And Wives and Daughters is by far my favorite Gaskell! There is nothing like Roger. He's a little silly when it comes to Cynthia but got to love him! Worth the read, the watch, whatever. It was last book she wrote and published in 1865 before she died. Like Jane, she didn't complete her last book but had written enough as to have an editor/author Fred something or other finish it up for her, for they knew where she was going with it. The film version I have is the BBC version they show on Masterpiece Theater. If I'm not mistaken the screenplay was written by Andrew Davies who is masterful.

All this Darcy talk makes me want to pop in both movies simultaneously and compare Matthew McFayden and Colin Firth. The subtleties that both these actors bring to Darcy is captivating. Oh Jane look what you've done to us all!

Did I read correctly...someone saw HyungJoong? I wonder if I will see him this summer. My friend would flip! She's loving him right now. Him and a slew of others(kekee).

Thank you, Samsooki! :]

@samsooki,

"it is a reflective moment like a mirror"
Interesting reading -- I didn't think of that and have been trying to understand it from your explanation of it. It's fun, so thanks for sharing your reading of the MV!

I am curious: if it is a mirror effect, then why is one of the narratives (the one on the right) nonsensical? She showers with sugar and blows her hair with a fan. The palindromic structure would have allowed us to read both stories differently but the pieces of the story would have been the same or similar. I don't understand why one of the stories is so bizarre -- what's with the flower pot falling and the black cat? is the story about bad luck and how the girl who does the hitting should have been the one who gets hit because she's the one who had a black cat go by her (except so did the other one)?

"@161, Jane -
“I’m sorry for asking, but can someone like just flat-out explain the music video to me"
I'll give it a shot:
My reading is that they are in a time warp. The note "You Killed Me" is what the two "exchange", and in a linear time continuum, there is no way either girl could have the note because at the time they meet, the note is in the mail (both of them are putting it in the mail). It is impossible for either one to physically have the note, and yet, it makes sense within the context of the way the video is made that both of them would physically have it when they shouldn't. It's headache inducing. And pointless, so I will stop trying to make any more sense of it.

--
@Sere,
I have been wanting to watch A Frozen Flower for a while now and have been waiting to find a copy online. I sense (I don't know so don't tell me) that it is not a happy ending story, and I HATE sad ending love stories. And I am yet to watch an Asian gay love story with a happy ending. Seriously, if anyone can guide me towards a sweet and loving gay story with the story ending with the two men moving in together, adopting a puppy, and doing crossword puzzles together in the mornings, then please send recommendations my way. So, basically, I am so completely traumatized by the series of sad endings gay love stories that I just cannot handle another one, so I am stalling. But i will watch it and then give a report...one of these days.

Wives and Daughters is my fav (yes along with Colin Firth's P&P)!!! enough said (I wanna watch it now....)

@ shinhyesungluv, you have a good point. Those 2 u mentioned r creme de la creme, I wanna add Yong Zheng Wang Chao (esp if u r going to check out Kang Xi Wang Chao--the dad of Yong Zheng). But then these 3 r SERIOUS stuff, I would not recommend it as intro Cdrama (coz it's too well written and acted and it's tooo tooo dense for casual consumption) and I bet it's hard to follow if we have little of no knowledge of the historical background, I watched Yong Zheng Wang Chao WAY back and I had like a month of NOlife. I was sooo hooked and u need total absolute focus as in no pee-breaks, no food/water to really enjoy it....that's where Yang Clan fits, it has enough historical punch, action, idol crack (for fangirls), and it's well done, yet it's not insanely addictively !#$%$!^ good. I can watch couple eps, put it aside and come back a wk later and enjoy my dose. Yes, it's not THE best, but it's enjoyable, funfunfun, eye candies overload with good enough acting, directing and writing through and through.

For Yuan Kang, evil me actually hope he'll stay in his guy2 status, under the radar for me to mine/droolz over. He has this amazing talent to make deplorable characters sympathetic and human. I would never ever thought I'll feel for Yang Kang in LoCH, but he made the impossible possible.

Yes, Mr. Jin should stop his rewriting...NOW. It does not affect me since I refuse to read the rewrites, but he got those glorious books to immune him fr ever dropping fr 'my dreamboat' status.

Alodia and others, I did watch City Hall as well (ok just ep1and 2 with ff). I'll admit I'm not as huge a fan of Suna as most of you but she'll always have a sentimental spot in my heart. I only ADORE her acting in MNIKSS and I'll admit I'm not a fan of her acting and the drama 'Night'. City Hall's humor is too slapstick and tacky, I didnt watch the trailers at all, but still, I didnt laugh out one bit. She's alright, but at times I cringed when she's being a bit to cutesy. I'm sorry I'm feeling NO Mr. Darcy fr CSW's character. It was kinda watchable, but I'm dropping it, it just did not keep me fr not watching. Sorry if this is too blunt.

Hi! Sarah and all those who read this blog, including my sister, who remains a lurker to date, hehe.

May I take the opportunity to ask whether anymore episode notes on The World They Live In will be posted? I just finished the fourth episode and I am enjoying it Watching it with subtitles and then reading the episode notes helps me understand it better.

Please, please, pretty please....

@135 Kender
Oh don't tempt me! My K/Jdrama list is already huge, if I were to add more dramas...ah I don't even want to think about it. At least now, I can pretend I'll eventually watch everything.

@136 Muffin
Oh, I had written this long comment in response to yours, but...I think I went off a tangent. You see I'm *struggling* with this movie. I don't know if the way I read it was the way it was supposed to be read. Actually, I'm pretty sure it wasn't. I mean, no matter how long I ponder about this, the relationship between the King and Hong Lim seemed to me a lot more layered and complex (did I use these words before?) than the one with the Queen. See, my brain is trying to go in two different directions at once and...I kind of got stuck. That's why I came here asking you guys' opinions. I mean, on one hand, my mind tells me Hong Lim was really in love with her, but then I think of a thousands little things that lead me to believe he had feelings for her, he cared for her for a number of reasons, but was he in love? I can't wrap my head around that. IDK, maybe I needed more bonding scenes between them and the all sexin' actually worked against them for me. Don't get me wrong, I get they were necessary to show how their relationship progressed and when I analyse all this more rationally, I think, woot, girl, if this wasn't fictional, and if you were in her shoes, you'd jump him too if you guys had limited time to spend together. And yet, and yet, this is fictional...oh I don't know what I'm saying anymore. And see, I almost didn't even mention the King and Hong Lim because there's no question where they stand, but Hong lim's relationship with the Queen? That's an entirely different can of worms. See? Struggling! I've been thinking of this movie ever since I watched it. Like non-stop. That hasn't happened in quite some time!

187 Nom Kitteh Re: Happy gay-themed movies
Hm, someone mentioned No regret. It's not your typical ending (no puppies and crosswords, sorry!) and I think you can interpret in 2 different ways, but I chose to go with the optimistic one.

I loved Antique Bakery!

I checked the list of movies I've watched and...hmm, there aren't many K-movies like that, not that I know of. There aren't that many LGBTQ k-movies to begin with and happy endings don't seem the default ending anyway. Sorry. Same with Jmovies. You might want to check out Ai no kotodama and Itsuka no kimi e. Takumi-kun Series - Soshite Harukaze Ni Sasayaite has a happy ending, but 1)gah, it dealt with squicky topics so you better look around and see if it's something you'd want to watch and 2)I wasn't exactly thrilled watching it. I'd like to watch Bokura no Ai no Kanade, but I've not been very impressed with gay-themed jmovies so far.

I've heard good things about a Taiwan movie, Eternal Summer and HK movie, Happy together, but I'm so reluctant to watch. I can so feel your pain! I've watched many movies and they were forgettable, not so great visually or they ended in tragedy. You can say a lot of things about Antique Bakery or even A Frozen Flower (BTW, the BL is NOT the main theme of this movie), but they aren't forgettable.

@153 budsdiana
Oh i'm going to watch What happened in bali sooner or later. It was on my list ever since I watched Rough Cut with So Ji Sub. *G* Now I'm even more tempted...SJS + JIS? I'm sold. LOL

You should watch AKK with subs, if you can find it. If you want, i can email you the dialogue?

Thank you for all the recommendations, Sere! I am excited to find some of these movies now.

I don't mean this antagonistically, but am I the only one to not have liked "Antique Bakery"? I thought it was such a poorly made movie! It starts off light and fun -- also, there are gay characters in the movie but i wouldn't deem it a gay-themed movie -- and then got so creepy and dark. It was like two schizo movies were put together and they totally didn't compliment each other. Also, no action between the two main characters? RIP OFF :-) . I am not watching these movies to see two gorgeous men talk to each other, people!

@166 Kender

Han Chae Young is from Chicago, she should bring them hot boys here. :D

@ Sere - a word of warning on What Happened In Bali....though SJS and JIS are dreamy in it, be prepared for the WTF? ending. Another waste of money on a box-set...

Is it just me or can JDramas be too "inspirational" and non-subtle at times? Honestly, I have tried to enjoy them, but I often find myself getting irritated when the messages that gush through are just too goody-two-shoe-esque. Don't get me wrong - I appreciate meaningful messages but somehow the way they are presented JDramas just don't go down well with me.

I walk out of a JDrama feeling like I've just attended a elementary school class where I've been kindly lectured about HOW TO BE A GOOD PERSON. Love your family, be polite, do nice things, cherish your friends, and all the warm fuzzies to go along with it. I don't know. Jdrama lovers will probably disagree, but I find JDramas too didactic.

@193 Nom Kitteh

Ahem, do NOT get too excited or your hopes up. "No regret" goes into weird territory at some point so much so that I was left gaping and WTFing for about 5 minutes. If you didn't like Antique Bakery, I'm kinda scared what you might think of this.

As the Jmovies, weeeeeeell, I don't mean to be disrespectful, but I considered more like tv-movies...in that they weren't visually-stunning, so to speak *coughs*. As I said, I was very unimpressed with all the BL-ish Asian movies I've watched so far, esp the j ones.

PS: outfilms.com and asiangayfilms.com. Oh my, I've just realized the latter sounds like a porn site (*facepalm*), but I swear it isn't. They're sites with movie reviews.

@195 hjkomo
Got it. WTF ending. That doesn't bode well. :(

@196 cubit
I wouldn't call them didactic, but yeah, you are right. A friend and I were talking about this very topic and we both felt the same way. I mean, we watched Voice together (it is a CSI kind of thing) and eventually all the victims were good persons! They might have done bad things, but in the end they always had a reason and were justified. That was a major letdown! What could have been an amazing drama turned into an ok one for that very reason.

Ok I'm starting to see a pattern here. Many of the readers here are Buffy Fans, love Eom Tae Woong and love Pride and Prejudice. Is there some kind of commonality in us that draws us to kdramas?

I am like the biggest pride and prejudice fan (I have reread the book at least every other year since I was 13). I also own the BBC version of the mini series and have a P&P marathon every year when I can find a long weekend to myself. If I had to add any non-asian to my hot list it would be colin firth just for that scene where he dives into the pond and comes out all wet. How hot is that?

And yeah I love guys who struggle with their love.Nothing easily won is cherished. Isn't that one of the reasons why we watch kdramas? Because it hurts so good?

Sigh. Just so unbelievably mad right now.

Due to some bad luck and some really bad advice, I ended up missing the Korean Music Festival tonight. Missed out on the massive Gee Gee Gee sing along. Missed out on seeing Kim Chang Wan's band. Missed out on the GOD reunion. If I learn that the surprise guest was Lee Min Ho and that we got an impromptu F4 situation, or if Hee Chul pops out of nowhere to french kiss Kim Hyung Joon, I'm really not going to be a happy camper. WTH am I supposed to do with my $60 ticket now. :(

Gawd. Just so angry right now.

@nycgirl,

"Many of the readers here are Buffy Fans, love Eom Tae Woong and love Pride and Prejudice. Is there some kind of commonality in us that draws us to kdramas?"

Yup. Men with awesome hair in tight trousers. I'm sure literate snark, interesting men, and free-thinking heroines have something to do with it. But, really, it's about the men with awesome hair in tight trousers. :D

200!!!!

Bah. That didn't cheer me up either. :(