@ samsooki

LOL!

The funny thing is, when my sister asked Tristan why only at Christmas, he said "Because it's gross". She tried to make him understand that it's gross ALL the time, but 3-year old's sense of logic is (at best) a little skewed.

Can't wait for similar Ji Hoonie gems in the next couple of years...and there will be plenty of them, trust me! His mission in life will be to embarrass you (consider it payback for those hats and blazers, dude)...but you get to return the favor in the teen years, so it's all good. :-)

@ samsooki

If Isolde *left* Tristan for Marke, then you are....hopeless, obviously you don't understand the concept of star-crossed lovers. You probably also think Juliet took a long nap because Romeo was behaving like a tool. :-)

Speaking of star-crossed lovers, you know, with all my nostalgia for old-school HK dramas, I mentioned Tony's crowning work, and Barbara in Legend of the Condor Heroes.

How can I forget Andy Lau's single-most amazing breakthrough drama - Return of the Condor Heroes - where Andy made EVERY single unmarried woman in the drama, and I'm sure every woman in HK watching the drama at the time, fall completely in love with him.

Perfect casting, young Andy Lau as the rebel, handsome Yang Guo - i.e. the Romeo of the wuxia world (for those not familiar with Louis Cha's work, most of them deal with themes of loyalty, greed, hubris, generational sins, power struggles, politics, all the good stuff of dramas, with some love thrown in - but Return of the Condor Heroes in the only novel of LC's that is a genuine love story from beginning to end - everything else is secondary, some hate it for the focus on the lovers, others adore it to pieces for being so unabashed that when the Mongols are about to breach the final walls, all Andy can think about is his beloved Gu-gu.

See Andy preen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkbHYP64cI4&feature=related

@ mookie and bspanda

Some goodies, I found the opening theme songs from all three chapters of Legend of the Condor Heroes. Oh, and Barbara for those not familiar with this drama, is the girl in white with long hair, NOT the mongolian princess, who is a total wet rag in the drama.

Chapter 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZSpcXg4138&feature=related

Chapter 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7m2qKb1Qvw4&feature=related

Chapter 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkYPsyd-J7Q

@149 langdon813 @150 samsooki @152 langdon813

LMAO!! Sometimes it gets so hysterical on OT, I'm laughing so hard!

@140 Taohua

Thanks. I'll give it a try since now that I discovered he directed Dil Chatha Hai(cause you mentioned it and didn't remember seeing him in it and went to look it up on Netflix). It was a good one with all my Favorite actors and actresses:D Hum... How old is he? He looks so young...

@154 ockoala

Totally agree about Andy and Return of the Condor Heroes. Definitely his breakthrough - also to this day when I see Idy Chan I think of her as Gu-gu.

And those songs - like the dramas they don't make them like the use to. Nowdays TVB seem to rely on putting any of their actor /*cough* singers from the cast upfront to 'sing' the theme songs, which after listening to those jems from Roman and Jenny reminds you how 'slapchop' (ie crappy and shoddy) the currrent crop are.

The TVB theme songs from the 1980s still run strong whenever my parents and their friends have a karoake. While I do cringe at their 'singing', don't tell but I secretly enjoy those songs. :) James Wong (RIP) and Joseph Koo were like the Lennon and McCartney for me growing up. To this day I still love their collaborations.

Here is another trip down memory lane for those who remember... and an intro for those who are curious.
The theme of The Duke of Mount Deer sung by Leslie Cheung, composed by Joseph Koo and lyrics by James Wong.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoEL54_b934

@ bspanda

Hey twin! Thanks for the trip down memory lane with Tony and Andy. The Duke of Mount Deer was at its heart a bromance story, and that's why Tony could have married 7 women and no one blinked, because ultimately he loved only Andy. And when he had to choose between Andy and his loyalty to hundreds of Qing-resistence fighters - well, he didn't choose and ran away. Classic Wei Xiao-bao move if there ever was one, and he and Andy will always have their throne room. I love the opening to the drama where Andy is beating the crap out of Tony and each time Tony gets up, he's in another ministerial outfit that shows he's advancing up the ranks. Andy loves Tony by beating him to pulp and then giving him a new title.

Tony was also the hero in the final novel of the Condor Heroes Trilogy, set after Return of the Condor Heroes, but Tony cannot shine when he's playing it straight, i.e. nice guy hero. Duke showed that Tony is only able to let loose his inner awesomeness when he's delving into the shades of gray, brown, green, the inner rainbows of an intricate character. Give him a straight arrow and Tony is just another actor.

Btw, agree a billion percent on theme songs, the ones from the 80s and some from the late 70s were CLASSIC, and the amazing true singers really added the final touches to the perfect dramas adaptations of the Louis Cha novels.

But really, non-singers need to lay off them during karaoke, especially the theme song from The Bund with Chow Yun-fat (which is the karaoke song of choice), if I hear another off-key rendition I'm a gonna slap someone.

@ samsooki

Stop making my Ha Ji-won into a Rosaline and the queen of the OPW, which Rosaline used to lure Romeo. My HJW is really at heart a Juliet.

@ockoala

Given that i am also hanjanman's twin - this might make us triplets? Oh my we truly are related - cause I was gonna mention The Bund in my prev post but thought 'nah not Louis Cha related'! That song has to be the most butchered karoake song - really how can anyone think to compete with Francis' pipes? Silly really! There are so many songs from that era that I love. For those who enjoyed James Wong - I highly recommend the compliation that was released after his death.

@cingdoc
awww Danny! While I was a Leslie fan growing up, Danny is another angelic voice that I miss. *sigh*

So sad. Finished Damo.... OMG, the sadness. It's been an hour and my eyes are still leaking. I need a hug. Preferably from Lee Min-ki. Ha. :-(

@ langdon-unni

This is from LMK, *HUGS* Don't cry, it's too beautiful for you to be so sad. But then, who am I to counsel and console, the tears are leaking from my eyes again, too. *Shakes fist at thee, oh Damo*

@ 154 ockoala

Blast from the past! Wow, thanks! I watched Return of the Condor Heroes on telly when it came out, dubbed into Mandarin. Frequently with my dad. When I should have been studying (ouch, that dates me). It was probably the first Asian period drama I followed. The special effects were laughable even then, the acting was frequently over-the-top, the editing pretty choppy - but I was totally addicted! Wow, some things never change...

@ cingdoc

I am very persuadable, so I've started watching CitC (in ep3 now). Everyone is right, it's brilliant stuff. And you're right, I can't consume it all at one go. For one thing, it moves too fast and I need to slow down to figure out -- ok, how is this related to that, and what is really going on here? Not sure it's a good idea for me to be watching this after a day's work when my brain is tired. Definitely not fluffy stuff.

So, Damo makes my 45th completed Kdrama for 2009. If you say that an average drama is 16 hours (some shorter, some longer), then that totals 720 hours; divide that by 24, and that's 30 full days I've spent watching Kdramas in 2009. One month!! And I actually think that's pretty conservative. For samsooki, who's at 50 dramas for the year, that's 33.33 days!

Plus, I've watched 43 Kmovies and a few Tdramas and Jdramas here and there as well.

Now, that's devotion! :-D

Oh samsooki, the ending isn't even sad in Damo. Seriously, I cry over how beautifiul the story is, ergo, I started crying about episode 9 and didn't stop, the ending actually made the tears stop, because I felt completed and fulfilled, like a journey that came to a restful conclusion and I had really been satisfied having experienced such a lyrical story.

Whereas in HGD, I was bopping along fine as wine, when bam shamwow pizzaz, I was blinded sided by a left hook 10 minutes left into the final episodes. And then promptly burst into tears and felt like I was gut punched in addition to the left hook. Still love HGD, but its a different beast that Damo.

Remember, HGD started off with Yi-nok falling in love with a chamber pot AND doing #2 in the river, i.e. it's silly and cute and totally toilet humor mixed with emotional and tragicomedy, so the ending is kinda.......woah sister, what just happened there?

Damo is almost like a poem from beginning to end, the ebbs and flows create the canvas by which you walk away as if you've stared ar your favorite painting at the MET for hours on end and your soul feels enriched and fulfilled.

And......ah heck with the gentle persuasion.....watch Damo or else I'm coming after you with......a giant Slap Chop wrapped in a Sham Wow.

@ serendipity

I know, blast from the past, right? Young Andy Lau was yum quadrupled. And the 1983 version of ROCH was seriously awesome stuff, negating the giant condor played by a dude in a bird suit. BTW, ROCH is probably, for a woman like myself, both a love story of epic devotion, and a horrific tale of Louis Cha throwing all his ladies in that drama under a bus. I'm torn, but in the end, just love Andy as Yang Guo.

@Samsooki
Um...like cingdoc said...you'll need couple of hankies for CitC. But it's worth it... though I'm still in pain over it (Yang Man Oh and Park Sang-gyu...wonderful wonderful acting). Though not as bad as I was over Damo...but I hadn't know Damo would be so heartbreaking. I know I may have said CitC was a better sageuk than Damo...but thinking about Damo really got to me on a visceral level. But the ending of CitC....::sigh:: it was a perfect ending and painful. You should watch Damo, and a definite must for CitC before Chuno starts (if possible :)

To all the CitC viewers
Does anybody know why the one of the scholars during the enthronement took off his hat? Was that suppose to symbolize something?

And I agree with that Lee Chun-hee did a fantastic job, but I was really surprised at how well Jin Yi-han played Park Sang-gyu. He was superb...his inner conflict was really well acted. Hmm, I really hope PD Kwak and SJS will work together in the future...that would be fantastic. Chuno starts next week! So excited!

@170 Taohua

I can't take my eyes off Jin Yi Han in CitC. In a weird reverse look-ist way, I tend to assume that pretty faces are just pretty faces, and sent to us to capitalise on their prettyness. So it's something else to watch his pretty face acting his socks off and emoting at a profound level.

So, in my trip down TVB memory lane, it jogged my memory that the 5 reigning TVB lead actors were called the Five Tigers in the mid-80s.

They were: Tony Leung, Andy Lau, Michael Miu, Felix Wong, and Kent Tong (and each guy played a lead in a Louis Cha novel adaptation, which is a sign you've been annoited by TVB). Reason Chow Yun-fat is not on the list is because, well, he was probably one or two classes above these guys and he was already a bona fide movie star when he went back and did the Smiling Proud Wanderer for TVB (kinda like Lee Byung-hyun doing IRIS). Oh, and Leslie was also someone super special and totally above the classifications, the industry knew it then, we knew it then, Leslie was just Leslie. His voice alone is just like the heavens are singing to you.

Anyways, if the first decade of k-dramas is considered perhaps the 2nd (3rd?) golden age of k-drama, its the only one I know, so I gotta start somewhere.

Who would be the Five Tigers of the k-drama world (i.e. anyone of these 5 guys can singlehandedly carry a drama and make me want to watch it, and they bring it each time, no half-assing any drama). And no, bona fide movie stars like Jang Dong-gun, Lee Byun-hyun, Jung Woo- sung, Lee Jung-jae, Cha Seung-won, et. al. can't be considered, as their starring in dramas is like fan service for us by this point.

No, I'm talking about guys I consider the top of their class in the current k-drama landscape (and IMHO, just my personal selection, so feel free to round up your Five Tigers, just call them Five Gorillas, Five Leopards, Five Cheetahs, whatever, I'm borrowing the Tiger Motif, alrighty?).

1. Kang Ji-hwan
2. Hyun Bin
3. Go Soo
4. Lee Junki
5. So ji-sub

If I can make a k-drama similar in scope to the HK-dramas whereby the epicness of the story allows for multiple male leads and multiple love story arcs, I'd have these 5 star as 5 boys who grew up together in an orphanage, then adopted away only to discover later that they are mythical descendents of korean warrior gods and they must discover each of their own power and band together to save Korea from the threat of Bae Yung-joon as the omnipotent metrosexual god of the otherworld.

And I cast these lovely ladies as their counterparts (each number corresponds to each guy) - too bad the TVB folks in the 80s were so sexist, there was never a Five Tigresses, bah humbug, but definitely Barbara Yung, Carina Lau and Maggie Cheung would have been on it.

Anyways, my choices:

1. Lee Da-hae
2. Sung Yu-ri (com'on guys, epic, right? And I'll even name this character Bora)
3. Nam Sang-mi
4. Yoon Eun-hye
5. Ha Ji-won

Can you can tell, I'm super chatty, which happens when I've been internet deprived for 3 days. Plus, I've had a re-affirmation of my love of k-dramas.

One guy *almost* made my top 5 - Jang Hyuk - but didn't because even he couldn't induce me to finish Robbers, as much as I loved him in it.

@ cingdoc

Love JIW, along with my hopes for the future Lee Min-ho, Jang Geun-seok, Kim Bum, are the younger generation and I'm not ready for these guys to be hot and heavy *just* yet. My drama (though not as swashbuckling as samsooki's space cowboy odyssey), involves lots of heavy smooching, passionate embraces, night after cuddling, and well, you get the picture. Very Coffee Prince sexting involved as these are mature men and women.

Oh, and I didn't like Junki in Iljimae, I'm in love with Junki from Time Between Dog and Wolf.

Same reason why I didn't even consider MGY. Korea's little sister? Not ready for the wrapped in a sheet morning after, even if Song Hye-gyo did it with her ex-LBH in All In at the same age.

Anyways, in case you guys can't tell, I'm also on vacation, but now completing the rest of the off time at home, aka, my slice of heaven.

@ cingdoc

Why am I not surprised your Gong Yoo would of course be cast. I love him, too, and I definitely agree with putting him in your Top 5 go-to guys. ;-)

Strange, I know more about the likes/dislikes of many of my OT friends than I do my real life friends, but then, its hard post-college to have these type of back and forth exchanges once folks move away, get married, have kids, you know the drill.

I treasure OT for creating what I consider a shared space for kindred spirits to connect and just loll about.

Random...

Anyone besides me and ockoala following Vanness Wu on Twitter?

Boy is going to gain 20 pounds while he's stateside...every few hours he tweets about food, usually of the "fast" variety, i.e. In-N-Out Burger, but always in the "holy sh*t, that's a LOT of food" category, as the twitpics will attest to. Funny!

Word on that, unni. But fear not, boy also tweets about going to the gym and church in equal measure. He lives in Taiwan now, I totally get the craving for burgers, tacos and deep fried turkeys. AC on the otherhand, another victim of the dreaded extension malaise. I'm a so can't wait for it to be over so I can put it away in the finished watching category.

Yep. Ep 13 of AC is lurking, and I know it's there, but I refuse to acknowledge it. It feels like homework at this point. I know I have to get to it eventually, but...not right now.

Suddenly I have this compulsion to watch the shower scene again...maybe that will inspire me? :-D

I should be sleeping, but having this cold for the past few days has made it difficult to fall asleep. But just read that Jay Chou is going to be a drama at least according to Drama wiki and I thought I should share...

http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Pandamen

and the picture kind of reminds me of Black & White and it has both Eric Tsang and Shawn Yue...wow...I have to say it sounds pretty intriguing...and if Jay Chou is seriously producing it, the production values might even surpass B&W.

@celestialorigin
He is the same age is Hrithik Roshan (I think they are childhood friends). On a side note...Rock On! is very different from the usual Bollywood fare, but I enjoyed it...it was unique. I would say in a sense it's very understated.

@serendipity
I know right! Wonderful emoting...but the ending. I'm still not ready to contemplate it completely yet...But yeah JYH...Seriously where is he? I feel like he has been MIA lately...and I would love to see him either in a drama or film soon.

And.....Vanness tweets about eating an Altoid to keep the ladies coming back - after the truckload of food he just tweeted about consuming earlier in the evening. Unni, you are right, we need to worry about his physique AND his finesse.

I know, right? He's a total dork, trapped in the body of a male stripper.

Word again. We're so in sync tonight. Body of a male stripper, with a heart and soul of a church deacon.

I think he actually IS a church deacon. Which, you know, good for him! Hey, I sing in my church choir, bet y'all didn't even know that about me, huh? ;-)

It appears I learn something new about you everyday. And today, I learned two new things - the church choir thing plus apparently you need/like/want a snuggie. I won't hold it against you. ;-)

HA! Well, it's COLD here! But I don't want just any old garden variety snuggie, it has to be the super-cool Weezer snuggie, in the zebra-print fabric.

@ ockoala

Drat you! You may be on leave, but I am at work, and am supposed to be preparing for a work thing next week to be run in *Mandarin*!! (Argh! My Chinese-English electronic dictionary is getting a good workout at least.) But you have tempted me to come out to play.

I agree with your list of actors. Except for Lee Junki - cute but lightweight. But then, I haven't watched Time Between the Whatsits. You recommend? Agree JIW and JGS haven't proven themselves with staying power, much as I love both. One mania hit does not a star make.

Not sure about your list of actresses. What about Kim Sun Ah? Sung Yu-ri -- sorry, but, no. Not Yoon Eun-hye either. Mind you, I should criticise; because I can't think of a better list, right now. Mind still preoccupied with men, and in particular, AndyLau Awesomeness!!!

@177 cingdoc

My friend (lawyer) laughs at me when I say "Korean drama". "You mean Korean soap opera, don't you." Er, no, I don't. Sigh. It's a lost cause. Well, she has her mind-candy (Entourage), and I have mine. At least mine expands my worldview, so I tell myself. Really, I don't bother explaining this interest to anyone. I have this (somewhat misplaced) image as an intellectual book-reading, documentary-watching type, so it's just too difficult to explain to the uninitiated. Besides, unless you know something about k-drama and are willing to drill down to details, it doesn't say anything about me. I mean, "K-drama" encompasses such a wide range of genres and tastes.

@ Taohua

I love Jay Chou's music, but have never seen him act. Is his acting any good? I kind of wish he would stick to music. Hey, you do that so well, don't over-extend yourself into mediocrity!

CitC -- You mean, you mean, it's not going to end happily ever after, with everyone smiling and redeemed and the nation set to rights? :-( Kidding, of course from the Opening Credits of Doom I know this is not heading towards a cheery ending. I'm ok with a sad ending so long as it's a sad ending that makes sense, if you know what I mean. But, no spoilers please! I'm still relishing ep 3.

Vanness -- I follow his tweets too! Fascinating, and kind of cute, how he wears his faith on his sleeve. Some do say that the whole point of Twitter is *celebrity* twitter, because what is banal for the rest of us (what we ate for breakfast), is elevated to the fascinating for a celebrity (e.g., Yamapi, "I forgot to bring my wallet when I went to the convenience store today, and a kind grandmother paid for me"!!), not just in a fangirly way, but also in a meta way (or so I tell myself).

@ serendipity

Hey there yes I did miss your post on OT #114. My reasons for why Resurrection is my #1 while the Devil is ranked slightly lower.

*spoilers ahead for people who may want to watch Resurrection or Devil*

I find Eom Tae Woong's Seo Haeun much more relatable than the characters in Devil and by that I mean the two male leads. (We will ignore the female characters since the writers did and since the women were used more as plot devices rather than real characters). Haeun is basically a good lovable guy who is dangerously close to falling off the moral precipice. Do we make that jump with him or do we hold back? We watch him struggle with this moral dilemma and we struggle ourselves whether we cross that line with him to act like a god and consequently become the devil or remain a mere mortal but not fully get the revenge we crave.

From the beginning when his character is being established, we identify with him and live through his tragedy since the viewpoint of the story is mainly his. While the injustice of his life builds as the story unfolds, we reach critical boiling point when he loses his brother and at that point we are fully onboard the revenge train with him and the conclusion we reach is everyone who has contributed to his personal loss, which feels like our loss, must die a painful death or suffer to the point of wanting to die. As each inflicter/sinner and their situation presents itself we as the viewers go along for the ride of exacting revenge until we come across Heesu and his character presents a moral dilemma for Haeun and the viewer and I at least had to stop and wonder do we or don't we cross that ethical line of hurting innocent people for the sake of revenge? Do we fall back to our basic goodness and get off the train and ride into the sunset with Eunha or do we keep on course. I found myself really struggling at this point since like Haeun I'm basically a good person but divided between wanting to exact revenge at all cost and just letting things go for my personal well being.

On the other hand the two main leads in Devil are not likable as Haeun and they have some huge character flaws which makes them more interesting character studies but at the same time the viewer can't exactly cheer for them them either and instead acts more as a passive voyeur passing judgement. These two have crossed the ethical line way before the viewer got involved and when you find out about their stories you can't help but judge them and their actions and I found myself thinking "if only they haven't crossed that line at that juncture in their life this tragedy wouldn't have happened". One or both have become corrupt and have become the devil and perhaps because neither characters are classic heroes its really hard to root for them.

Additionally, there is more mystery around the Devil therefore the rewatch factor is more limited once you know what happens in the story. There is a sense of supernatural foreboding and evilness around the story that is compelling but it is also very sick, sad and frightening which again affects the rewatch factor. How much pain and angst can one rewatch and relive?

Lastly, while I love both endings I really loved the ending in Resurrection. One of my all time kdrama favorite endings. It harks back to the theme of the drama which is Rebirth and Resurrection. Though there was a moral sin inflicted there is also cleansing with blood and sacrifice and hope from forgiveness and redemption. While some people disliked the ending I thought it was very positive and uplifting.

@190 nycgrl

Gosh, how nice to hear from you and thanks for your well-thought out reply. What a delight to read! I may have to re-watch Resurrection one day, something I had previously no intention of doing; but you're so convincing!

*mild spoilers for Devil*

I think you have described both very well. And I reckon it's down to what appeals to each one of us. I too like to journey with the character and his moral dilemmas, but somehow I didn't feel distanced with Devil. I found I was firmly along for the ride, as facets of the past were slowly revealed. And I don't have to like my characters necessarily, I just have to find them realistic and interesting. Having said which, I actually do like the two main leads in Devil. Both have qualities I admire (in addition to their flaws), and the fact that they have both made terrible mistakes in the past draws me towards them rather than away from them. Who hasn't skated close to moral disaster? Who hasn't been tempted? How many have actually given in? I felt I could easily be one of them, and I was sucked into their moral quandaries. And as the plot unfolds inexorably (one of the scariest things about Devil was how at one point you realised that no matter what anyone did or how anyone repented, the course of events had taken a life of its own), I cared about both of them and feared for their souls.

Thanks to the perfidy of J-tv, we now know that the genius of Devil was largely in the execution. Because the J-version ("Maou") was numbingly boring. The plot was pretty much the same (from what I could gather from skim-watching) but the acting much weaker (a younger cast, both leads from the Johnny's stable, what more need I say), the music unexceptional, the direction unremarkable and the editing unimpressive. Amazing how more-or-less the same plot can be so compelling in one incarnation and such a snore-fest in another. But it does corroborate your point:-- the drama relies very much on plot and once suspense is lost it is much diminished.

Nonetheless, I think I will re-watch Devil. Because I admire the acting and the plot so much, I would be keen to go back to savour every detail. True, my heart will not race or stop the way it did on first watching. But my analytical mind will be kept happily occupied. And my aesthetic meter will be ticking along nicely as well. Uhm Tae Woong's super acting! The fantastic soundtrack! Joo Ji Hoon's arresting looks and surprisingly convincing acting! (stupid stupid boy, to scupper his career).

*HUGE spoiler for Devil*

It's the only drama for which I've forked out an original limited-edition DVD box set. Once I was several episodes in I knew this was a keeper and I ordered from YesAsia. The most brilliant thing about the DVD bot set is -- it has four plastic DVD holders in the cardboard box, and as I pulled out the last plastic DVD holder to get at the 7th and last CD (so, quite far and deep into marathoning the series), out of the cardboard box fell a... red envelope! I got a REAL fright and nearly had a heart attack! It contained 3 tarot cards, with photos of each of the stars. So clever, not least positioning the envelope so that it would fall out as you pulled out the *last* DVD.

Sorry for raving on about Devil. I do get that you prefer Resurrection. But its triggered the I-love-Mawang rant in me, long-suppressed.

I liked the ending of Resurrection too. That wasn't the issue for me. For me I think it was that it took a little too long for my taste to get there.

Thanks, btw, for your word on Iris. I was bored by the first episode (been there, done that) and have been wondering whether I have been depriving myself by not soldiering on. Opinion is pretty divided, but you have cast the decisive vote. It gets relegated to the bottom of the "to watch" pile.

Okey-dokey. I'm watching the MBC Drama Awards LIVE. That's right. Me and Seoul are as one!!!

First note: Dude, apparently, South Korea also loves Kobe. Got treated to a recap of tonight's Lakers-Golden States game on MBC News. Heh heh. Nothing on Lebron tonight. WORD

Second note: Saw CMs from Big Bang, SNSD, and Kara within a 15 minute period. Wow. Had no idea LOL.

MBC Notes:

Hmm, rather strange Hwarang Opening Musical Number.
Park Ye Jin is hosting.
A lot of shots of the QSD and Queen of Housewives tables. Actually kinda weird to see Sun Woo Sun (who's playing Lee Woo Jun in current WSIC) at the QOH table. Kinda forgot about her coupling with YSH.
Kim Nam Gil and Go Hyung Jung's getting the biggest pop so far. Even larger than Lee Jung Ki.
Yoo Seung Ho's really popular
Lee Yo Won is wearing some strange massive fur dress thingie.
Mi No Ram also got a pretty good pop.

MALE NEWCOME AWARD. Jang Geon Suk and Lee Yeon Hee. Forgot that LYH's kinda disappeared after East of Eden. They kinda look good together

Winner: Yoo Seung Ho, wearing earrings too. LOVE that smile!! :D
Winner: Lee Seung Hyo. Seems exasperated about winning.

MBC FEMALE NEWCOMER AWARD:

In Soo Jeung from Soul -- long speech and she started to tear up big time
Seo Woo from Tamra -- also started to tear up

OH WEIRD seeing Kim Shing Young (funny girl from We Got Married and bunch of other stuff) all dressed up in black. Presented a Radio award to Taeyeon.

Belleza

Blow-by-blow in real time! What fun! Thanks!

(oh one more note about the Female Newcomer award. Two actresses won that out of three. The one left out was the actress from Triple. Felt bad for her, and I think so did the Soul actress.)

MBC CHILD ACTOR AWARD:

Oh yay, it's Bom from Thank You!! So, there's Seo Shin Ae, another children actress, and grandfatherly Lee Soon Jae presenting this award. Adorable!!

This award kinda reminds me of last year. Two years ago, Shim Eun Kyung won this award, and she was like the lone preteen among the other children. This year, it's Nam Ji Hyun winning this award (just like last year for East of Eden), and she's the lone tall preteen among the group. Should be noted -- Nam Ji Hyun's voice kinda sounds like a chicken, high pitched and pinched and quirky sounding.

OMG and the kids are so adorable!! And so is Lee Soon Jae.

Shin Goo (grandfather guy from Thank You, MiSa) accepted some kind of award too. Not sure what though.

Have to say . . . Lee Yo Won's look is growing on me. don't really like her hair parted that way, but she looks glamorous-y.

It's also a thrill to see Go Hyung Jung FINALLY show up for one of these things. She opted not to show for the MBC 2007 Awards, and really hasn't done an awards show in 15+ years.

@ serendipity
was about to post the same!

Thanks Belleza - although I'll probably confuse all the Lee's and the Kim's without a visual confirmation :P

Queen of Housewives couple YSH (also of My Fair Lady) and Sun Woo Sun (also of WSIC) presenting an award. (Not sure what, and I don't know the people -- non actors -- who won.)

LOVE Sun Woo Sun her outfit (perfect color against her skin tone.) They look SO good together, and they are small talking and joking as the winners are giving the speech.

Uhm Tae Woong looks GOOD tonight. Seems the guys are opting for curls and vertical hair (see Yoo Seung Ho), but UTW's just looking normal. UTW babe -- NEVER WEAR A STACHE EVER AGAIN, mm kay? ;)

Im Ju Hwan (he looks awesome -- every year, I swear, he looks younger and younger . . . ) and Min Hyo Rin (again, feel bad for her being the lone actress left out during the Female Newcomer) presenting an award. Again, not sure what award, and not sure who the winners are.

I should say. . . really nice that MBC didn't forget Tamra or Triple. Maybe they feel a little bad fro their treatment of Tamra??? (dude, they didn't even air Tamra for its MBC-D broadcast, opting to reshow Beethoven Virus. That's just mean.)

Yeah, at this point, they presented another award. And this is another actor award (with a mix of adults and kids.) Not sure what this is for. MBC Daily dramas and sitcoms are a huge blindspot for me. So . . .

MALE POPULARITY AWARD:
Sweet geezus!! Lee Jung Ki won with 59.2% (beating out Bidam, Alcheon, and the rest of the Deokman F4 lol)

FEMALE POPULARITY AWARD:
Seo Won won with 29% (wow, wanna rethink Tamra's popularity MBC, eh?)

Note that this award is a Netizen award. So, you can tell how strong Lee Jung Ki and Tamra were.