I've been hearing that the world is covering in snow...yet it is supposed to be almost 80 degrees and beautiful here in Los Angeles! I guess I can't complain!

45 days until Korea and Japan! Does anyone have any suggestions of things to do and where to go?

TGIF!
And yet I still woke up too early (Chuno habit's already ingrained in my cells)...aigoo, guess it'll be at least another 3 months before I get a good night's sleep.

JB, love the new Audio Player! The previous [non-changeable] volume used to be set louder than everything else on my computer, so whenever I switched between listening to your songs and anything while I used my headphones, my ears would always go into shock. ;)

Happy Happy Friday OT peeps. My big sis leaves today...this is the last time I am going to see her for a while because next month I leave for Seoul!!!! It feels good having the whole family together again.

So I finally finished watching ISWAK 2 and it was a fun ride, but I am glad it ended. Now I want to watch Flowers For My Life as I wait for more subs from Smile, You:)

yes, there is a lot of snow. i'm from the midwest and there was a blizzard south of where i am. we got like maybe five inches of snow but we're all still driving to work/school.

@KORN - that's so cool ur going to Korea and Japan! How long are you going to be there for?

No snow in Seattle, yet.

We had to cat-sit last night... I couldn't sleep at all because of the little ball of energy. I should catch up on WISFC, but don't feel like watching something so angsty at 7 in the morning. =____= Anyway, it's Friday... YAY!

@robotmatsuri - yeah i know what u mean. WISFC sure is angsty. i haven't started watching it; i've been reading the recaps on this site and it fills me w/ emotions already

OT has come round again, where did the week go.
I've just finished the first ep of pasta and i must say that I was pleasantly surprised as i had no high expectations for it, l cant wait to get started on the second one Thank goodness the folks over at viikii are so fast.
God of study is looking less appealing to me but i'll watch the first 3 eps and see how i feel after.
The little summary that Javabeans did of the mon-tues dramas was very helpful, i'll probably end up checking out all the dramas that she mentioned. though whether i'll stick with all of them remains to be seen.

Has anybody watched Chuno yet, any first thoughts? That ones high up on my to watch list

@ mississy - My husband and I are going for 2 weeks, 11 days in Seoul and 3 days in Tokyo. We're so excited! I haven't been in 15 years and this will be my husbands first time. Wow...5 inches of snow?! I don't think I've ever been in that much snow.

It's Friday! It's Friday.....lalalalalalala Happy Friday everyone!
It snowed a little bit in NYC last night...
Chuno, my newest drama addiction, is occupying my mind at the moment.
I've only watched a few j-doramas in 2009...anyone have any recs? I like dramas such as Galileo, Pride, Nodame Cantabile..etc. Not sure if there's a genre but just any drama in the vicinity of really darn good!

@KORN - five inches of snow is nothing. we had a foot of snow a few weeks ago. but luckily i was in California. Well have a great time in Seoul and Tokyo! that's so cool ... One day i'll go there.

hi there all!!! =D
it's already friday huh? i can't feel it because i have class tomorrow!!!

first things first:

god of study's first episode literally made me fall asleep! i loaded the first 2 episodes so i could watch them continuously, but my eyes were barely open after the first episode..i guess it's just really draggy, but i really want to watch the 2nd episode because it made jb cry, so i'm really curious although i have an idea because i saw dragon zakura (3 episodes, hahaha!)..i was looking forward to a hot lawyer, but i gota say, my eyes were stolen by that hot looking delivery kid..hehehe..

as for pasta, i'm really curious, but i don't know where to watch it..i was even gona download it from d-addicts, but i can't find the subs for it..so i think i'll stick with the recaps from jb for a while..

lastly, i want to take advantage of this opportunity to thank you jb for the wonderful recaps, you're really amazing =D

have a great weekend everyone!

for you guys in the states its friday.
but for me. its 5 mins till saturday and 2 days of madness cramming of work, as i have 2 projects due next week, and one test.
this does not feel like a new year.

but i must say, dramas are a great break from work. ^^ or more like something i get distracted with.

@KORN... yay! I have 72 days 12 hrs 54 mins 40 secs (I have a trip countdown..hehe) before I leave for Tokyo. Just in time for cherry blossoms, I hope.

Comtemplating over the decision to pursue Kim Nam Gil (who happen to be in my country) or not ....Mmmhhhh???? To be or not to be, that is the question...

@ 8, coffee princess
"Has anybody watched Chuno yet, any first thoughts? That ones high up on my to watch list"

First thoughts on Chuno -

AWESOMESAUCE

WE ARE NOT WORTHY!

SLEEP, WHO NEEDS SLEEP???

:D

@1 KORN,3 Dele & 15 Snikki - Lucky you!:-)I'm sure your trips will be fun.:-)

From the Urban Dictionary
Happy Late Year - When people are still saying Happy New Year, even though it's already a week after the new year.

A little late but wish you JB and all at Dramabeans a Happy New Year. :-)

I've been off the OT for a while, but I'm back..... Sick as a dog :(. We got a little coating (like an inch) of snow here. Not as bad as say... the two feet we got a few weeks ago. I'm already in pursuit of a bathing suit. Please Pasta, don't make me indulge in food stuff all winter long!

Hey OTers! It snowed 2 days ago, still lingers today and it's literally just started snowing again, and at sunset too. Yeppo.

SUPER excited about Chuno, I'm stalking WITHS2's sub stats page already. Not to mention waiting for ep8 of WISFC, whose plot direction is making me uneasy but the atmosphere is lovely so we're sticking with it. Kang Jin's mother is so ace, and the actress is wonderful, I rather love her. How refreshing as a kdrama parent. Do so miss the teen actors though.

So 2 days ago I found out my Korean class homework was to watch a drama/summarise in Korean/write new words. But I'm stuck for time so I'm cheating/using YAB, and I keep getting stuck rewatching bits. This drama is still gold. Ah, Shinwoo, how perfect you were back when you were untouched by unrequited feelings for a nun-in-training. I would also like to take this opportunity to sadface at the fact that they thought it would be a good idea to dye Hongki's eyebrows blonde.

I cannot believe how super-fast and awesome the WITHS2 guys are! *gives each and one of them a big virtual hug* Seriously, when I feel down or I've had a bad time, I check their page and there's always, always something new. Pasta made my day yesterday. I may have been refreshing it like mad since their latest tweet? Ahem.

And I think I'll be watching many dramas in January. *is embarassed to name them all* Too many. Wayyy too many.

@20 xiahkixiri Re: Hongki's eyebrows
WOOOOOORD!

I am very unhappy about my inability to understand Korean at this point of time.
Pasta, Chuno....both sound so good and I have time, but no subs yet

French? why did I take that language. It has done nothing for except to pile on papers and exams.

/rewinds time and decides to take korean as a college freshman

Just finished watching Queen of Housewives and I must say it was actually pretty good. I was hesitant because it's an ajhumma drama but the characters were a pleasure to watch. Yoon Sang Hyun and Kim Nam Joo were amazing and brought a lot of depth to their characters. The extension did hurt it's overall plot direction and got a little too serious in the final stretch but it was satisfying drama.

@xiahkixiri and Sera: oh my eyebrows... i kept wondering what changed about hongki's hairstyle that episode, and then it hit me, and I too was very saddened.

@KORN: it snowed a LOT about a week ago, enough to make the buses stop running. and most of it's still here, just... brown. but only in the streets! :P so the slopes should be really nice about now, and I've heard that Konjiam and High 1 are both great ski resorts. Gwanghwamun and the Hyatt Hotel are both nice for ice skating and Myungdong is awesome for shopping! So are Sinchon and Hongdae.
> http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/FU/FU_EN_15.jsp?cid=655205
hope you have fun!! ^^

@17 hjkomo
thanks, now all i have to do is find the subbed vids, they're not on viikii yet :(
if its as good as what everyone is saying it is well then I smell a new addiction coming, this won't be good for school

@ hpn88: It's still not too late. Get on it now~ :-]

@ Those of you who can read Korean and wants to read about a blogger's meeting with Park Jin-woo who wrote Conspiracy in the Court, check out this link: http://blog.cine21.com/jelakim/64210

This blog also has some good (and LENGTHY) in-depth reviews on Resurrection and Tamra the Island in addition to the reviews on CitC. Go into "포스만땅 Drama" category and browse through.

Happy Friday!

I finally got to watch the first episode of Chuno last night and it was pretty good even without understanding most of what they were saying. Maybe it's because I saw CitC too recently, but I couldn't help but compare a little. But even still, the first episode was great and PD Kwak's style is all over it. And wow LDH looked so pretty! Also LJH looked pretty hawt :)

I started watching Assorted Gems this past week...and have to admit I like it alot...but am a little frustrated with the new plot twist to bring in angst to the main relationship. Though to be fair it was needed and I kind of want Bichwi to realize that she needs to allow Young-guk to lean on her too. But I've gotta say, I kind of love the situational irony... And when do the grandmothers dance to the Abracadabra? Did I miss it?

It's been a long week... Am so glad that it's the weekend! :)

@KORN -- BTW, since you'll only be in Tokyo for 3 days, I suggest you skip Tokyo Tower, just take picures of it outside if you want. For amazing views go to the Tokyo Metropolitan Gov't. Building in Shinjuku instead; it's free!

Thank God it's FRIDAY!!!

It's been a awhile since i had a 3 day weekend off due to my work so I am making this worthwhile. First off, it's my big bro's birthday so friday night dinner is already taken. At least I have the whole day today to pamper myself by catching up on the new dramas and some that I have missed last year.

I am currently watching:
PASTA - I love the feel of the drama ( so far.. ) PLUS Lee Seon Gyun is so sexy and charismatic in his character!!

SMILE YOU - we are halfway through the series and I made a commitment to finish it because of the great first half.. it lags right now but I guess it can't be helped with long dramas.

WISFC - I happen to watch this drama because of the habit of tuning in to SBS every Wed and Thurs, since YB ended. I love Go Soo here especially the eyes!!! His stare can melt a frozen ice cream instantly!

INVINCIBLE LEE PYEONG KANG - cute and funny, every screen time of Seo Do Young is anticipated by me. Still waiting for all the subs from WithS2.

Dramas on my list to watch:
TAMRA THE ISLAND - I read a lot of great reviews on this, and watched 2 episodes so far, but I will wait until the DVD release so that I can watch the original version.

GOD OF STUDY - because of Yoo Seung Ho. I want to see how child actors mature with their new projects.. and he is talented.

SONS OF SOL PHARMACY - 49% ratings?? I definitely have to check it out. It is the commitment to brave through all the 54 episode is the the first struggle.

@xiaoSxin

Sons of sol pharmacy - no worries. It'll be a breeze! (I'm love SoSP and so I'm biased) Okay.. maybe towards ep30 - 40 the momentum sloows. But it'll start up soon enough! If you adore family centred storylines with goofy humour intact. This may be for you. Although the character developments are pretty bumpy and uneven with regards to a few characters, the warm vibe this drama gives out is worth giving a look at. Hope you enjoy it!

Georgia has been FREEZING these past couple of days, and IT SNOWED!!!! HOLY MOLY! IT SNOWED! And even though it was only a thin layer, the roads were iced over, so schools were closed. heeeeeee :)

Happy OT Friday! I've missed my daily check in for a bit now. I'm glad the holidays are over so I can get back to chatting about the things I love.

@xiahkixiri
Not to mention waiting for ep8 of WISFC, whose plot direction is making me uneasy but the atmosphere is lovely so we’re sticking with it. Kang Jin’s mother is so ace, and the actress is wonderful, I rather love her. How refreshing as a kdrama parent. Do so miss the teen actors though.

I completely agree. The first thing I did was check ep 8 and its up now in VIA. The mother, though when watching without subs I fastforward...I just love. I watched ep 10 raw yesterday and I just loved the scene between she and KJ. They are too cute. I haven't seen a drama where I liked the mother-son dynamic as much as this one. I know that she is childish and selfish when it comes to her love relationship, but up until now, she hasn't allowed that to dampen her commitment to her children and I love that.

Watched 5 mins of Chuno. I want to wait until its subbed cause I don't want to miss a thing! All I can say is...can Jang Hyuk get anymore bronze...not complaining though ;) Pasta, on the other hand I can watch raw and is adorable and too fun. I can't wait for more. Its definitely a welcome change from all the emotional turmoil I'm watching in other shows. Read God of Study recap and am holding off until the first 4 eps are subbed. I need to see for myself. I will say though, even in the recaps, "the lunchbox" scene brought me to tears.

Have a great day everyone!

@momosan,

un-Delete back the rant! i want to hear all about the kitchen details of Pasta. after all, it's a.kitchen.drama. ^^

@Momosan, I would love to read your rant on the kitchen in Pasta. I watched the first episode and while I liked the two leads, I couldn't get past that "kitchen".
I work in a very busy Italian restaurant, have for years, the whole kitchen aspect of this drama totally lost me. All I could think of was" are you kidding me?" I am usually not that picky about the details in dramas. They are dramas after all. And I am for the most part able to check my brain at the door when needed. But all I could do was laugh at that kichen set up! It totally took away from the rest of the show.
The one part that I did absolutely love though was the bit with the lobsters. That I admit made me absolutely howl! I think that I have waited on those two women before! Honestly, if you have been in this business for any length of time, you have at the very least dreamed of doing something like that at least once!
Okay, rant off. To those of you enjoying this drama, please continue to do so.

@soysauce - wow schools were closed?! I'm in MN and if we have a foot of snow, we still have to go to school. =(

I'm so hesitant at watching WISFC because it's a melodrama. I might wait til all the episodes are online first before i watch it. I just finished "Boys Over Flowers" so now i'm watching the Taiwanese version "Meteor Garden." So far so good.

@korn
if you're into the saguek dramas, go to the Korean Folk Village it's about a 45 minute ride outside of Seoul but you'll recognize everything from the dramas there.
There is also a tour bus that circles Seoul's palaces mentioned above. It's an all day pass that you can jump off and on the bus because there's about four or five palaces to see.
I'm so jealous and want to go with you!
One day, I hope to go to Jeju and climb that mountain in MNKSS

Hmm I've never heard of Assorted Gems ... will scout that one out

I haven't visited Open Thread in ages!!! *shameful*

Oh my goodness. I finished watching Tamra the Island in three days (technically, I could have finished it in two days, but I delayed that for something else)... That is definitely one of my favoritest dramas of ALL. TIME. It is so ridiculous how obsessed I am with that show - TEAM PARK KYU seriously. Where can I get a Park Kyu?! WHERE DO THEY SELL PARK KYUS?!?!?!?!??!?!

On Tamra the Island, it is impossible for you to NOT fall in love with Park Kyu, seriously. He is so Darcy-esque (the one characterization that I am complete sucker for seriously) it is ridiculous. Im Joohwan is an amazingly emotive actor - I was teary every single time Park Kyu was sad, I am not even joking. And let's not even talk about the scene where they were leaving and Park Kyu's crying like a baby - I was crying about as hard as he was. Seo Woo's Beojin is also so so so cute. But wow, she cries oh so much. LOL.

I couldn't come to like William, at all. In the beginning, I was okay with him, like there were neutral feelings for him. But as the drama progressed, I only got more and more frustrated with his character and his CLINGINESS. My goodness he was like a clingy boyfriend. At least he gave off that vibe, seriously. And then later, I'm sorry, but William seriously was directly or indirectly the cause of their troubles, which can't be helped, but was very frustrating to watch.

Anyway, I am in like withdrawal mode from watching Tamra the Island. I sort of have the urge to watch it again, but it is too soon for that. I'll watch it again when the full 20 episodes are released. Meanwhile, I've taken up Chuno - very very epic so far, and I haven't even finished episode 1. Once again, I got preoccupied with something else, which is actually... trying to learn Shinee's Ring Ding Dong dance. Learning that dance seriously makes me appreciate that group's skills more - how do they sing doing some of that?! Nonetheless, I feel out of shape and fat and everything - I feel it in my thighs every time I practice the move where they do the hip roll.

I find that I've increasingly become picky in drama tastes. It takes a lot for me to like something now, or even for me to feel very well with the drama characters - is this because I've become more mean and cynical and just rock-like? ROFL. But I find that increasingly I get annoyed with the logical fallacies in these dramas. Well, not really fallacies, but like just "flaws" really that happen within the drama. I can't help but go, "What the heck, they didn't make microSD's like 6 years ago!" (me while watching Autumn's Concerto). What has happened to me?!

Maybe I've just become more and more hard to please... Meanwhile, I can't wait for Perfect Girl Evolution starring my dearest favorite, Kame. And like 5 other Jdramas coming out with like that one that has both Kaname Jun (NOT the lead for like the 5 billionth time!!!!) and Fujiki Naohito (one of my all-time older guy crushes). Then Bloody Monday 2. And something cute with Maki and Sho. I have a bad feeling that something out of all these I'm looking forward to is going to disappoint and I'm just going to drop it.

On the other hand, I should finish some insanely long dramas that I've gotten more than halfway through but have never finished - like, Be Strong Geumsoon. I got up to like episode 120 something but never finished it. Same with the original High Kick... got up to something like episode 120 and never finished. Goodness.

Okay I'll stop. I should get back to work anyway. Looking for summer internships is such a pain in the butt - and why does my resume look so pathetic, seriously...

Friday! No snow down here in Texas for m break, but it certainly got the flurries in Oklahoma! I'm heading back to California tomorrow though for school, so I'm hoping it'll be uch warmer. I need to get back to some major working out!

I'm just watching Assorted Gems so far, up to Episode 9 and I'm really enjoying it. I've been watching WISFC, but not recently, so I've been keeping up with recaps by javabeans.

Otherwise I'm looking into seeing about applying to work at one of the summer camps out in Korea. I had a friend who went and is always talking about what the experience was. I'm thinking of being an ESL teacher for Korea already for a year, so this would be a great way to feel out the waters I think. Crossing my fingers when I start seeing the "apply for" section popping up with those.

Otherwise it's a busy, but not busy, semester I'm heading towards, with almost everyday filled. I'm hoping to get into a class I'm crashing, but if not then I guess my Tuesdays will be free. Hoping for an amazin spring semester!

@asianromance

I KNOW. Why hasn't Kaname Jun gotten a lead role yet?! He's played like second man SO MANY TIMES or some insignificant side character, which sometimes verges on the point of just being dumb (point and case: Tantei Gakuen Q, which was a drama with cute children, which was why I watched it - made me feel young, LOL, and I'm not even that old).

Perfect Girl Evolution!! January 15th is so SO far away... I want to see Kame as Kyohei! I have high hopes! It had better not devolve into something as fail as the anime. LOL. But even if it does, I will probably still stick it through for Kame as Kyohei. I can already imagine him as Kyohei already.

Happy OT everyone!

@ KORN - I just came back from Seoul 2 weeks ago and it was freezing!! Bring lots and lots of layers. I hear that since I've left they've had 25cm of snow. Sheesh! Not much to do in Seoul except eat eat eat. Some palaces here and there but really you're there to eat. As for Japan, well, that's totally different. Since you only have 3 days in Tokyo, suggest you keep it to the temples and main sights and not do a day trip out to Mt Fuji. And of course ... eat!

@ hjkomo and other Chuno lovers

I'm trying to resist watching until the subs come out. I've killed CD and WISFC with watching it without subs. But it sounds fantastic!

please excuse the following lapse of sanity:

YEA!!! IT'S FRIDAAAYYY!! *flails*

ok, we're back to normal. I blame the craziness on the fact that it actually got UP to 15 degrees today. woohoo! Well, that and I get to see Eddie Izzard in St. Louis tomorrow (and a dry drive along I-70 as well! --sooo stoked).

Hmm... looks like Chuno will be getting added to my list of "things to watch this semester instead of working on your thesis" tsk. *files it away behind "pasta"*

@43, 44, and 46: yeah, I'm in line for YNSH, too. I'm optimistic about the cast, neither crazy for nor against. I think the last thing that I really enjoyed Kame in was Nobuta, but really that's only because it was the last show with a storyline that interested me. I'm a huge fan of YNSH (which is saying something- as I'm incredibly weirded out by Hayakawa's rather skeletal figures -her chibis however are to die for), so I'm curious to see this spin on it. ^_^

@samsooki,

I'm a college freshman, so already my resume looks pretty pathetic at like 3/4 of a page. I've added a few notable HS honors and awards (stuff that won't make that section look childish, at least). I did a lot of volunteering in high school, probably about 300 hours-ish of volunteering? I guess I could add that to the "Activities" section, but I can't exactly volunteer at the same place anymore, since I've moved out of state for college. Hm.

At worst, if I don't get an internship, I could stay at school over the summer to do more research... Oh woe.