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Modern Farmer: Episode 1

Oh, this is going to be fun! I had high hopes (but very little information) about Modern Farmer all the way up to the pilot episode, and I’m happy to say that it fulfills all of my expectations so far. The story is simple but ripe for wacky hijinks, the characters are interesting and nicely three-dimensional, and the humor is silly without being ridiculous. I don’t think we’ll be reinventing any wheels with this show, but we’re in for some great fun and the potential for a lot of laughs, but also a lot of heart.

EPISODE 1 RECAP

“Remember, it’s better to burn out than to fade away.” -Kurt Cobain

The show throws us right into the action, as we see three young men in stage makeup and rock star clothes, running and whooping giddily through a pedestrian tunnel. They’re pushing a cart, carrying a fourth man who’s obviously drunk as a skunk and surrounded by empty liquor bottles. Meet “Exo,” a rock band consisting of four good friends who are, at this moment, late to their concert.

Keyboardist KANG HYUK (Park Min-woo) takes a call from their furious manager and assures him that they’ll be there in five minutes. Hyuk tells the dreadlocked bassist YOO HAN-CHUL (Lee Shi-on) to step on the gas pedal… namely, maknae drummer HAN KI-JOON (Kwak Dong-yoon), who’s on the ground gasping for air.

They barrel through crowded streets and accidentally hit a bump, sending the cart and its occupant flying through the air. Lead singer LEE MIN-KI (Lee Hong-ki) takes a graceful slow-mo aerial flight before crashing to earth, which finally manages to wake him up. He and his bandmates celebrate how cool he looked, until a musclebound man comes after them for knocking his girlfriend to the ground. Min-ki passes out in the cart again, the rest of the guys grab it, and they flee.

The audience is getting restless at the concert venue, but the band shows up just in time to avoid a mutiny. They’re literally holding up a still-mostly-unconscious Min-ki – but when he pries open his eyes enough to see that he’s onstage, he suddenly comes to life and shakes them off. They give a fantastic performance, as Min-ki tells us in voice-over that at that time, he had no fear and believed that he could achieve anything he desired. He tells us that they were not superstars yet, but could have been an amazing band.

Seven Years Later

Min-ki sings his heart out on an outdoor stage, but his voice narrates that now he’s only an amazing… loser. We see that he’s singing all alone onstage, to a tiny group of unimpressed older people. A trio of teenage girls show up, grouchy to see that it’s only Min-ki from defunct band Exo, and not the current kpop boy band EXO.

They grumble about the dude impersonating their EXO oppas, and Min-ki takes offense and tells them to stop “growling” (so punny), educating them that he was in a band seven years ago that originated the name “Exo” and calling EXO the impersonators. Them’s fightin’ words, and the girls take him down Matrix-style.

Min-ki drives home later, squealing at the scratches the girls delivered and sneezing from the giant bag of peppers he received as payment. HAHA. The peppers spill all over his car, and he nearly gets in a head-on collision trying to clean them up. He ends up with his car buried halfway into a pile of dirt, and a single tear falls as he wonders to himself what kind of life he’s living.

We catch up with bassist Han-Chul to see that he’s now an office paper-pusher with a weasel for a boss, and that he’s been getting frequent stomach pains from stress. He’s far from the hardcore punk he used to be, swallowing his pride to avoid conflict with his power-tripping supervisor. He can’t even find enthusiasm for music when he and his coworkers go to the noraebang after work.

Ki-joon is back in school these days but is obviously struggling, as he sports a five o’clock shadow and slams energy drinks in an effort to stay awake in class. He tanks a test and goes for a beer with Min-ki and Han-chul, all three of them feeling depressed and whiny.

Ki-joon wails that his father will make him work in his jokbal (pork hocks) restaurant if he fails another test, and Min-ki admonishes him to be thankful he at least has a restaurant to inherit. Han-chul asks them how long they’re going to live like this, and Min-ki scoffs that he’s still selling out too, playing guitar at the noraebang even after swearing off music.

Min-ki gets excited and starts to fantasize about getting the band back together, but Han-chul brings him back to earth by reminding him that they’re older now, and even Ki-joon says that any agency would rather sign on young handsome idols than a has-been rock band.

Min-ki isn’t ready to give up and says they’ll just do it themselves, but Han-chul tells him to just get a job and earn a living. Min-ki swears that he’ll never give up on music and that someday he’ll play at Carnegie Hall. ~CRICKETS~

Han-chul gets another stomach pain and Ki-joon urges him to see a doctor, but Han-chul has already been to the hospital for a checkup. He tells the guys that he saw Hyuk there, and that he was dressed like an intern. For some reason this sends Min-ki into a rage, and he yells that Hyuk is the reason they’re all like this now. Innnnteresting.

Suddenly Ki-joon directs the guys’ attention to the television, and Min-ki’s face freezes as Han-chul comments that one of the girls dancing onscreen, Yoo-na (HAN BO-REUM), still looks really pretty. He notices Min-ki’s bleak expression and asks if he’s still hung up on her, telling him that Yoo-na is out of reach for guys like them now.

Min-ki just silently gathers up his guitar and walks away, and Ki-joon tells Han-chul that he was too harsh. Han-chul hollers after Min-ki that he forgot to pay for his drinks, but Min-ki just sighs and starts to run. Han-chul turns back to the table to see that Ki-joon took advantage of the distraction and has high-tailed it in the other direction, leaving him stuck with the bill. HAHA.

Min-ki stops to rest on his way home, but when he looks up he sees a giant billboard with Yoo-na’s face plastered fifty feet high. Poor guy, it must be hard to get over a girl when her picture is on every television and street corner.

Min-ki arrives home to find his door plastered with notices from creditors, and finds himself surrounded by a group of thugs. Next thing he knows, he’s tied up and hanging from the ceiling of an abandoned warehouse, being repeatedly dunked in a barrel of water.

The leader of the thugs informs Min-ki in a soft, sweet voice that he hates long conversations and that all his answers must be five syllables or less. He calls Min-ki an idiot for not paying him and only escaping to the house next door. Min-ki blabbers that he was forced to move there, that he wasn’t running out on his debt, getting himself dunked again for using more than five syllables.

Min-ki tells the leader that to pay him, he needs to find the “crook,” and runs out of words to explain — but the leader knows he means the agency owner who ran off with the band’s money. He tells Min-ki that the agency owner has surely spent the money by now, but a panicky Min-ki asks him for a year to pay him back.

The thug leader tells his cronies that they’ll just have to operate on Min-ki, which causes Min-ki to freak out and scream that he’ll have another contract soon, in between punishment dunkings. Then the leader finds his guitar, and something about it grabs his notice. He orders his men to stop, demanding to know where he got the guitar. Min-ki answers (still in only five syllables) that he got it when he was little, and the thug leader yells at him to use as many words as he wants, but to tell him the story.

Min-ki starts to frantically word-vomit again, saying that he found the guitar on a mountain after a man left it there. He insists he didn’t know the man, and begs again for a year to pay back the loan — no, he can pay it back in six months. Still fondling the guitar, the thug tells Min-ki he has three months to pay him back. Freed, Min-ki lays on the warehouse floor and screams his frustration, until he gets a call that makes him sit up in shock.

A couple of women sit at a funeral and note that the few people here are all that are coming, since the deceased had a nasty temper. The next-of-kin hasn’t arrived yet, but one woman is sure he’ll be here soon. The other woman says that he won’t, or he wouldn’t have abandoned his grandmother in the first place after her son died and the old woman abused her daughter-in-law so terribly — I’m assuming they’re talking about Min-ki’s parents and his grandmother.

Out in the hallway a couple of men from a different memorial notice one of their flower arrangements is trying to walk away, and one of them grabs it to find a woman hiding behind it. It’s KANG YOON-HEE (Honey Lee), who gripes at the man for laying a hand on a lady and insists she wasn’t stealing the arrangement, only borrowing it since the memorial she’s attending doesn’t have any flowers. Awww, and HAHA.

She actually manages to sweet-talk the guy into lending her a flower arrangement (and folds the banner up to hide the name, hee). She gets a call that upsets her, and runs into tell the women that she has to go, now, because her cows are having a baby.

She runs out and crashes directly into Min-ki, breaking his expensive sunglasses and sending him into a rage. He demands that she pay for them, but she sobers to hear what they cost. Suddenly she asks him what his 100-meter-dash time is, and when he answers that it’s fourteen seconds she gets a glint in her eye and tells him her time is twelve seconds. She’s gonna run, isn’t she?

Yep, she runs — all the way out of the hospital, finishing it off with a vault onto her four-wheeler like an Olympic gymnast. She drives off with a quick “Sorry!” over her shoulder, leaving Min-ki to flail and fall, screaming after her as she gets away. OMG I love her already.

Min-ki collects himself and grandly saunters into the memorial room to pay his respects to the deceased. He narrates that his grandmother, who had the most generous face, also had most spiteful and harsh remarks. Despite his hard thoughts, he say out loud in a sad voice that now she doesn’t have to be criticized anymore, and that it’s too bad she couldn’t live longer.

Min-ki zones out as he waits for mourners who probably aren’t coming, and is startled witless when he’s poked by a guy who was previously passed out drunk. The guy apparently knows him and says that he grew up a lot, and introduces himself as SANG-DEUK, who lives near Min-ki’s grandmother and used to know him as a child.

Sang-deuk came to talk to Min-ki about his inheritance, which makes Min-ki perk up and become a lot friendlier. It’s not much, about 8 acres of land, but to Min-ki that sounds like enough to sell to pay off his loan. Excited, he goes a little overboard crying and wailing for his grandmother, and the gossipy women admire his love for his granny as Min-ki’s wails turn to gleeful laughter.

Min-ki and Sang-deuk visit his new land, which is pretty much a large expanse of dirt at this point. Min-ki gasps at how huge it is, completely ignoring Sang-deuk’s claims of how good the soil is for cabbage. Sang-deuk reels in horror when Min-ki tells him he’s selling the land, so Min-ki puts on a big show, whining and crying about how the land would remind him too much of his grandmother. And by the way, how much is it worth?

Min-ki’s big plans crash down around him to hear that the land is only worth a tiny fraction of what he was thinking, and wouldn’t even come close to paying off his debt. He falls to the ground and cries for real, and Sang-deuk hilariously assumes he’s grieving his grandmother.

At his part-time job back in Seoul, Min-ki laugh-cries to himself and gets put to work cleaning cabbage for kimchi. He gets smacked again for wasting it, and his boss yells that each head of cabbage cost her three dollars. She complains that the price keeps going up, and Min-ki suddenly puts the pieces together — his land is good for growing cabbage. Bingo!

Min-ki heads to an internet cafe to research cabbage farming, and discovers that the price of cabbage rises and falls in a two-year cycle, and this year is a rising year. He does some quick math and figures out that he can not only pay his loan back by growing one cabbage crop, but also make a huge profit. There’s only one catch — he can’t plant all that cabbage by himself. He needs help.

Han-chul gets ready for work and loses a button under his bed, and saddens when he sees the old guitar he’s stashed under there. He joins his parents for breakfast and we see a photo of them when they were young — apparently they were musicians, too. His mother sets down a bowl of what looks like pepper soup (yuck) and announces that from now on they only eat peppers, since Han-chul brought home the gigantic bag of them that Min-ki abandoned.

Mention of Min-ki sets off Han-chul’s mother, and she yells at him for still hanging around that jerk who ruined his life. She calls Han-chul’s younger brother for breakfast, whacking him when she catches him playing guitar.

Han-chul goes for a follow-up after his medical tests, where he finds out that his stomach pains have been signaling the final stages of liver cancer. Aw, no. His doctor doesn’t even recommend surgery as it’s far too late, and callously tells Han-chul that he’s got anywhere from one day to one year to live. On his way to work, Han-chul stops on an overpass and starts to shake, looking as if he’s considering jumping, but instead he shuffles slowly to work.

Weasel Boss berates Han-chul for being late coming back to work, and Han-chul just takes it and apologizes as usual. He has a moment on a phone call where he screams at the person on the line for not getting their yearly checkup on time, asking what they’d do if they got cancer. He’s clearly screaming at himself, and it’s hard to watch.

Han-chul takes a call and meets with an excited Min-ki, but he’s too depressed and shocked to even think about farming cabbage, of all the crazy things. Min-ki sees this as a way to raise money to produce their own music album, but Han-chul hollers at him that it’s too late. Min-ki counters that Han-chul always put the band last, and that he’s never put everything on the line for music. This seems to get through for a moment, but then Han-chul leaves with Min-ki bellowing after him.

Min-ki tries Ki-joon next, who allows that the idea might have some merit. He does point out that the market price is much higher than what the farmers actually make, but Min-ki has already thought of that. He figures they can cut out the middle man and sell the cabbage in the city themselves, so that even if they sell them at the lowest price they still make a great profit.

Ki-joon is skeptical since if it was this easy, everyone would be farming. Min-ki has no good answer for that and just yells that Ki-joon has no vision, and vows that he won’t live without a dream. He stomps off in a snit (he spends a lot of his time in a snit) with Ki-joon grumbling after him.

Han-chul and his coworkers go out to the norebang again, where he’s even less enthusiastic as before, if that’s possible. All he can think of is his cancer diagnosis, until he’s screaming on the inside. Weasel Boss demands an upbeat song and mocks him when he balks, so Han-chul narrows his eyes and agrees to sing.

He turns up the equipment and starts a rock song, and suddenly his inner rock star bubbles to the surface. Awesome. His boss calls him crazy and asks if he wants to die, to which Han-chul retorts, “I’m not crazy because I want to die, I’m crazy because I don’t want to die, you bastard!” He starts smashing things with his guitar while everyone flees the room, but he manages to grab Weasel Boss before he can escape and yanks him back in the room.

Min-ki sits at home stewing over his friends’ rejection of his grand plans, calling them jerks with no loyalty. He answers a knock at the door to find Han-chul, looking beaten up but with his old guitar strapped to his back, who tells him grimly that he’s ready to go grow cabbages. But he’s doing it for the album, and threatens to kill Min-ki if it doesn’t happen.

As they head inside, Ki-joon also shows up with his drums, but he’s got a condition — he wants to change the band name. I’d say that’s a smart idea, my friend. Min-ki reluctantly agrees, and they celebrate as Han-chul looks uncomfortable.

The next day, Yoo-na is dragged outside by her bandmate, to see a gigantic message written on a wall that says, “Yoo-na! I’ll be back with a 100 carat diamond ring to confess. So don’t look at anyone else and wait for me! From MK.” Her friend asks who MK is but she only smiles to herself, as Min-ki watches from his hiding place.

Min-ki gets home to find Ki-joon just finishing loading his car with all their stuff, and they wait for Han-chul. Ki-joon nervously asks if they shouldn’t include Hyuk in their plan, and Min-ki barks that it makes no sense to ask a rich guy to go work in the countryside. And besides, even if Hyuk wanted to, Min-ki doesn’t want him there.

We join a nurse and a patient in deadly combat at the hospital, fighting over which of them is dating Dr. Kang. Hyuk, in a white doctor’s coat, cowers behind the nurse’s station and tries to slink away, but he’s caught by another doctor and berated for causing so much trouble.

He flashes a giant dimpled grin and charms the other doctor into calming down, telling everyone in the room that his father owns the hospital and so the other doctors kiss up to him even though he’s an intern. Wow, he’s kind of a jerk. His father chooses that moment to come around the corner, but completely ignores Hyuk’s cheerful greeting.

Han-chul is at the same hospital picking up a prescription, and Hyuk spots him and literally jumps him, but he refuses to tell Hyuk what he’s up to. Hyuk correctly assumes it has something to do with Min-ki and wheedles the information out of Han-chul, decides it sounds fun, and ditches his white coat right there and invites himself to the cabbage farming adventure.

The four boys, back together again, drive out to the farm together. Hyuk’s loud singing and cheerful whooping infuriate Min-ki, and he tries to kill Hyuk right there in the car as they drive down the highway.

COMMENTS

Well, I just love it. Modern Farmer is crazy and over-the-top and ridiculous, and it’s AWESOME. As I mentioned, I went into this show purposely knowing very little but the most basic plot outline and the casting, but with very high hopes of what I wanted the show to be. And so far it’s exactly what I want, which is a drama with an impossibly silly story and wonderful characters that hits just the right humorous notes. I suspect it’s the kind of show that some may find a bit too silly… but as far as I’m concerned, the characters (so far) are already so adorable that I can’t wait to see more.

I’m a pretty big fan of most of the casting, as I’ve been a fan of Lee Hong-ki ever since You’re Beautiful, and I’m thrilled to see little glimpses of Jeremy in his portrayal of Min-ki. I think he’s very talented as an actor, and capable of a lot of subtlety and nuance. But he also has a great sense of comic timing and a wonderful way of infusing emotion into his characters. I also love Park Min-woo (and his dimples!) and can’t wait to see what he does with the character of Hyuk, who I suspect has a lot going on behind that Cheshire Cat grin. I’m less familiar with Lee Shi-un and Kwak Dong-yeon, but so far I’m finding both of their characters very interesting and I can’t wait to see more. And Honey Lee, even though she only had the one short scene, surprised me with her humor and wonderfully hilarious facial expressions.

Not that the show is all goofy situations and pratfalls, because there are moments that I’m sure are setting us up for some darker subject matter later on. Han-chul’s cancer for one, which I don’t even find to be an overused trope in this case, since it’s his whole impetus for wanting to do such an insane thing as quit his job and go grow cabbage. He only has a short amount of time left to make a mark on the world, and this is his last chance. He has nothing left to lose, and all he’s ever wanted was to make music. I kind of love that at least one of the guys has a real, serious, grounded reason for going out to the country to play in the dirt.

And even though we didn’t get much of Hyuk’s story in this first episode, I’m dying to know what happened between him and the rest of the band that caused Min-ki to blame him for their breakup and to hate him so much. I wonder if his father and the hospital have something to do with it, or if that’s just another reason the other guys seem to resent him, since he didn’t have to struggle to survive for the last seven years like they did. I can see this being a big bone of contention as the story moves forward, and I’m intrigued to learn more.

It seems like this year gave us a spring of fun rom-coms, with a summer of more serious romantic dramas. I don’t know about you guys but I’m ready for some fun and craziness, and this seems to be setting us up for exactly that, and we haven’t even gotten to the farm yet. Bring on the wacky hijinks boys, I’m ready!

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Unsee men in make-up. Unsee men in make-up. Unsee men in make-up.

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don't worry, by episode 2 it all comes off and you see cute men rolling around in dirt

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Mud facials coming!

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Lollypop...*bow* thank u thank u for recapping this. I think this is a refreshingly comic yet quirky drama that has well-fleshed out, interesting characters and has good pacing.

It's different. So far, I'm enjoying this. I hope people give it a chance. :-)

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not sure if i can continue this drama, there are too much screaming going around. i wonder if the actors get sore throat after filming the drama

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Are you kidding? Lee Hongki juggles shootings and an autumn tour in Japan at the same time:):):)

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/bow down to Hongki's throat/

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It's silly and fun, and I am way too old to watch, but I did, and I will... How can I not?

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I was surprised how comical the episode was...not funny, but just outright comic scenes like you see in japanese dramas...very interesting....I also get jdrama vibes from the other drama that just aired called Misaeng (which is awesome by the way).

Anyway, checked this out for Hong Ki and he's really killing it in this role. Honey Lee will need some getting used too - she's just so pretty I find it hard to take away the glam and get used to her bumpkin act...but overall a decent first episode!

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you should watch epi2. she's totally bumpkin there.

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omg - I peed my pants!

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Modern farmer is decent. But gotta really push for Misaeng, which is great and should be blogged by DB.

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I second that motion -- really like Misaeng a lot.

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Went and watched Misaeng based on everyone's recommendations here.

It's... awesome! I mean, dissolves me into tears and tugs at my heartstrings to no end, but loving it and hope it'll live up to the promise of the episodes that have screened.

I have to agree, both these shows align more neatly with some Japanese dramas (though dramas of two very different genres) than what you normally get in K-entertainment. I'm wondering if I can hope for no love triangle in in Misaeng. I can see there are other people interested in the female, but I'm hoping for bromance more than love rival manipulations.

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Misaeng's a 'depressingly good' drama nonetheless - BUT THIS RECAP IS FOR MODERN FARMERS. I like modern farmers.

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I watched Misaeng too! and the drama is making me cry coz it's so awesome. Shiwan's acting is quite good. Looking forward to the net episodes.

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Indeed! Cried through almost the whole second episode :'( Looks like Misaeng's picture is down in the current recapping list, so hopefully we'll see the recap up soon!

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Oh, I lost it completely watching Misaeng. That show owns me heart and soul already. So happy to see recaps are happening!!!

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Misaeng is amazing, I was expecting a slightly comedic kind of office drama but it has so much heart, and absolutely nails so many aspects of office life even for a non-Korean.

And Im Shi-wan is amazing in the lead. This role was made for him in every way. The whole cast is flawless really, now all I pray is that the drama stays this good all the way through!

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"I also get jdrama vibes from the other drama that just aired called Misaeng (which is awesome by the way)." - My sentiment too!

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review epi 2 plz!! omg!! this drama is so hilarious!

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I'm in Korea on vacation and got a chance to watch this with no subs. Proud to say I could follow the plot, even the cancer diagnosis with very minimal Korean. I really like how over-the-top and absurd the storyline is, and I may be on my way to a big Lee Hongki bias.

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Exactly the craziness I need right now =) After the end of Surplus Princess *grumble* I'm out of wacky dramas which even out the heaviness and darker themes of let's say Secret Door, Reset and Bad Guys (+ Misaeng hasn't been the most uplifting as well in the first two eps :P) so this is a welcome change :)

Though they seriously have to tone down the overacting and screaming a bit. Don't get me wrong the shouting is appropriate in some scenes but there have been scenes where I just wished they were a tad bit quieter. It didn't really take away anything from the viewing pleasure ;)

Oh and the puns^^ I cackled at all the Exo stuff in the beginning! That was just pure comedy gold xD I still applaud SBS for being gutsy enough to call the band EXO bc I knew there would be backlash from EXO-L's :D

I'm all in for the ride and THANK YOU for the recap =)

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Why did I just love it when the sunglasses break in two on Hong Ki's face and then he wears them taped together - so idiotically dumb bunny funny. i agree that Hong ki is pretty good at playing his character to the edge (Jeremy I ♥ you) - he's knows hot to be whacky "Hey! school uniforms 1-2-3..." and nearly drives me crazy but not quite by a very thinly stretched line. I hope Min Woo loosen up and has fun with his character Hyuk, although darn if he can't practically get by on those dimples alone, right LolyyPip?

Han-chul - is the dreadlocks rocker and the temp worker really the same guy? Poor thing. I am guessing the doctor read the wrong x-rays and all he really needs is some fresh country air to fix his ulcer :)

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Totally of the topic..
But will dramabeans recap Misaeng?? I want to know their opinion on this drama
I am waiting like crazy for reacp of Misaeng.. Ihave seen.. and in one word,it has totally swept my heart.

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I think someone at DB will be recapping it. There's an icon for Misaeng in the "Recapped Series - In Progress" section toward the bottom of the page.

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If you look at the 'recapped series' thing at the bottom of the webpage misaeng is in one of the boxes so very likely they will be recapping I reckon

I hope Park Min Woo does well this drama, rooting for him because of Roommate! Also Hong Ki takes me back to You're Beautiful days, happened to be my first k-drama...and look at me now...

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Agree, I actually checked multiple times after both episodes to see if it's been recapped lol it's one of those shows where multiple opinions and discussions would add so much fun to the show...

And seriously, Im SiWan is absolutely killing it as the lead!

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Oh, thank god, they will recap Misaeng..
After watching 1st two episode, I m refreshing page like crazy, just to know other's opinions on this drama..
Each and every actors are doing their best job..Though it is too early to say.

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seriously peoples, how would u like it if we go to the misaeng thread and talk dramas other than misaeng...if you want your own recap, then please start your own

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Sorry :(..
We people couldn't content the excitement.

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Fills the comedy void in my life but the lead couple is mismatched.

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Thanks a lot dear. Love love this show especially Lee Hongki.
Bring it on.

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I love it! It is so goofy and Lee Hongki is perfect for it. This is gonna be one of those dramas that you just have to switch your brain off and watch like Surplus Princess. I was really surprised with Honey Lee. She was able to pull off the country woman look and mannerisms. I hardly recognized her.

SPOILER:

I did not know that Park Jin Joo has a supporting role in this. Nice to see some Bride of the Century reunion going on. I hope Yang Jin Sung makes a cameo later on.

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Loved Honey Lee and am hoping for a great noona romance here.

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me too

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What happened to Lee Honey's teeth? Was it made to look ahjumma-ish? It looks to big. And presence of double chin is too obvious. She had good teeth when she was in Miss Universe.

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Sounds a lot like the bollywood movie, "Rock on" but without the farming!

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Just fyi, that Bollywood movie is a ripoff of two South Korean movies, Bravo My Life and The Happy Life (the latter starred a young Jang Geun-seok).

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Thanks for the recap, LollyPip!

Less than 5 minutes in and I was already dying of lulz-- ended up watching the whole episode though I swore I would only take a peek. Didn't know Hongki could talk that fast he's practically sputtering, lol (part of the reason I like his songs is that his pronunciation is so clear it's easy to follow the words). Minki ended up reminding me a bit of Miles Vorkosigan (the perfect version) and that's the vibes I got from this drama, so I will be watching how it goes on. *sighs and looks at looooong list of ongoing dramas I'm currently watching*

Also, the music-- Knocking on Heaven's Door (anyone remember that that was the other name for his movie Passionate Goodbye?), Stairway to Heaven... and Hyuk sings Seung-gi's Let's Go On A Journey in the car, haha. And did anyone notice that Yoo-na's agency was called FT Entertainment? xDDD

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Erk. The song is Knocking on Heaven's Door, the movie was Rockin' on Heaven's Door. Aigoo. Close enough though XD

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The puns are hilarious. In their FT Hangul Live Korean Lessons (27 so far, a year's worth on its way) everything if FT (FT Station, FT Ramen, FT Bus Line, FT Hotel etc.) so FT Entertainment, hey - nothing is sacred. Even ExSo - and claiming the name first - I am so yukking it up!

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Hoho *high-fives you* And nothing truly is sacred-- what with the intro to Minki as being drunk... and that slow-mo flight... I was covering my eyes with my hands and peeking through my fingers and laugh-cringing at the same time.

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Hongki did a little cover of Steelheart - She's Gone(and it sound amazingg!) before those fangirls beating the crap out of him XD

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Thanks for identifying the song! All the classic rock references. Hrhrhr. Also the EXO schoolgirls were a nice little contrast to the opening with all the girls screaming for their oppas ExSo-- same situation, different group, different reactions. XD

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FYI, the version of Knocking on Heaven’s Door they uses is by Antony and the Johnsons.

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Ohmygod thank you so much! I wondered which version this was! I love it! :)

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Lovin' the music/k-pop metas, and Hong Ki's BAAAACK!!!

Thanks for the recap, LollyPip!

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I absolutely will watch this..eventhough for me the actors are not hensome but the storyline is very funny..

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You just need too watch a couple.of ft island videos...there is no going back!

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I love this drama. it looks comedy. But I guess the story can become dark. I like the story and character. It's interesting. and I love the music in all scene. for the next episode, I wish I can hear hongki sing often in this drama.

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Oh my gosh, what a great weekend of drama riches!!! Between Misaeng, What's with this family?, and Modern Farmer I am in drama heaven!!!! Ooh, wait, I should add Bad Guys and Three Musketeers -- EVERYTHING is sooooooooo good on the weekends.

Love all the characters in MF and Lee Hong Ki is amazing!!! He's totally nailed the character and the humor. Ji Hyun Woo, are you watching? This is how you do wild, wacky, and desperate scheming! Ah, Trot lovers, what you could have been! Am hoping some trot songs get trotted out in this..just for the heck of it. But even if not, this totally fulfills my love for down home country silliness. Love, love, love all the country folks.

Thanks for recappng this.

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I have been waiting for this recap thanks LollyPip

Yey!

now my weekend is complete with MinKi

and PDY on Three Musketeers ...

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Modern Farmer was so much fun and a barrel of laughs. LollyPip, Thank you for recapping it.

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I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this. I was so caught up in the first episode that I was taken aback when it ended. I was like, It's over? But I want more, now! It hit the right note of unabashed silly over-the-top humour, with the touch of pathos that makes that kind of comedy really work. And as a set-up for the series, the first episode was just about everything it should have been. I hope the show continues to be this much fun right to the end.

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Really fun episode! Love Hong-ki's character!

The episode was fun and zany but actually had some somber moments, like Han-chul's cancer diagnosis and his scene on the bridge. Just sad. I hope he really doesn't die, that would be too sad, and I hope he can make his mark on the world like he wants to.

I'm really interested in Min-woo's character. I'm so glad he's getting more work, but I so hope his character isn't a jerk. I think there must be some reason why he left the band, and I don't think he is the sole reason they broke up. I think there's more to it, and that we'll find out eventually.

Looking forward to more! Thanks for the recap!

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Love the cast and the wackiness of the storyline.

Love Hong Ki... Glad he's back doing this comedy.

Honey Lee is just too gorgeous to be a country bumpkin.

All that cabbage growing..I want to eat some Kimchi.

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thank you for the recap!

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WOW.

I'm really surprised anyone is enjoying this. I've pretty much hated it, maybe even more then Misaeng which I felt was impossible.

I wanted so much a silly comedy right now, and Hong Ki is always so charming. I'm shocked.

What's going on with all the screaming anyway? It's so silly and old, modern comedies don't do that and none of the characters are believable. How can one of the characters of something so silly be dying of liver cancer? It's such bad taste, there is comedy in life's tragedies but this is not the way to handle it.

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I didn't have such a strong negative reaction, but I totally understand where you are coming from. I really wanted to find Modern Farmer funny and I love the setup, but it's just so loud. Every time I feel like I'm going to laugh, the crazy, over-the-top reactions go just a little too far and I'm pushed out of the moment. Don't know if I will keep watching or not....

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It's probably one of those love-or-hate things and you have just have to totally suspend your disbelief. I didn't get Surplus Princess (which some people loved), but so far this one is cracking me up.

It goes all out whacko, which I like – I'd rather they go all crazy than do things in a half-baked way. But I can also understand if people find it too much, as I've had that reaction with other shows.

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I'm usually good at suspension of disbelief, I was completely on board for mermaid princess, at least until about the fourth episode and I haven't even completely dropped TNW and few dramas get crazier than that but in MF it's like I don't know what exactly I'm supposed to believe or disbelieve.

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I lasted only a single episode of Surplus Princess.

I'm not sure what's to be believed or not (I wouldn't be surprised if Hyuk doesn't end up having cancer b/c the doctor was looking at the wrong scans), I always find with these shows it's best to try them for a week or two, and if they still don't work for you to just drop them without regret – even if everyone else loves them.

Zero regrets about dropping Surplus Princess & Marriage Not Dating, which I couldn't suspend my disbelief for!

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i put surplus princess on hiatus after the 1st episode, but i'm actually like modern farmers...it made me laugh aloud several times...but i wonder if the director is going for more a slapstick sitcom than a weekend drama though...hmmm...because the facial expressions...reminds me of Jim Carrey or John Ritter (hehe old show i used to love 'Three's Company')

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I agree with most of what's been said here about it not being everyone's cup of tea and currently seems to be made like one of those older slapstick comedies with frozen expressions and caricatures.

I'm prepared to accept slapstick and I did find parts of it funny, but maybe I'd like to have more spoken conversations and less screaming. I'll catch bits and pieces and read what you guys say, and probably come back in the later episodes to see how it's panned out. Cheers!

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don't watch it then...

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It sounds fun but where they made me doubt is in the "liver cancer" part.. i haaate when they use diseases like this! So Hyuk is sucha coward he cant leave his abusive job if it wasnt because hes dying? He was ready to spend a lifetime mopping instead of standing up for himself... thats not life either...

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http://i630.photobucket.com/albums/uu26/dramabeans/drama/2014/ModernFarmer/MFep1/MFep1-00374a.jpg

this picture alone had me laughing so hard, this looks hilarious and

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I can't wait to watch lol!

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I'm definitely watching this. Need something like this in my life atm

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I love it. Simple as that.

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i really enjoy this show and find Misaeng kinda overrated. i prob stick with MF.

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You didn't mention the most important part of the opening scene, the use of Nirvana's music. Now excuse me while I pray to the gods of awesome that they didn't pay the licensing fee to only use it once.

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Park Min Woo acting on this episode makes me want to kick him because how can you smile 24/7? makes me think whether he can act or not but in episode 2 I think I can understand why he's like that, his grin/smile is his character. So I'm looking forward for next episode.

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There is more than meets the eye. If you want to hear Min-Woo talk about the character Kang Hyeok go to episode 16 of Roommate, starting at 52 mins.

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Poor Neil Young. The line "it's better to burn out than to fade away" comes from his song "Hey, Hey, My, My...". Kurt Cobain quoted it in his suicide note, and now that's all people remember.

Of course in the context of the live-hard rock 'n roll opening of episode 1, complete with Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit", it makes sense. But still...

The two had been admirers of each other. Neil Young had been trying to reach Cobain in the days before his suicide. Young was very so shaken that he dedicated his 1994 album Sleeps with Angels to him. Because of Cobain's suicide, in live concerts he now emphasizes the line "once you're gone you can't come back".

When Young was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, he choked up at the end thanking Cobain for "all of the inspiration".

Musical trivia at this point. And I suppose what else are you going to do in the beginning of episode 1? Quote Neil Young?

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thanks...that's interesting!

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You're welcome. I learned some by reading up on this. I knew Cobain had used the line in his suicide note, and that Young was devastated, but I hadn't realized just how much of an influence Young was to grunge.

From a Rolling Stone article:

Because of his renegade spirit and unruly music, Young was hailed by a new generation of post-punk musicians as "the Godfather of Grunge."

....Young was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 by Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, who thanked Young for teaching his band a lot about "dignity, commitment, and playing in the moment." The mutual admiration between the artists resulted in the collaboration Mirror Ball (Number 5, 1995), with the Seattle superstars backing Young on his highest-charting album since 1972.

Makes sense musically and in spirit.

I think it's sad that Neil gets lost out of the quote that was co-opted from him, but I honestly don't know what the writers of MF could have done differently if they were going to use it for the purposes they intended. Ol' Neil from the hippie days just doesn't connote the same nihilistic tendencies of the cult of Cobain.

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All that aside, I'm loving this show. Think they are hitting all the marks.

To date myself even further, with all its wacky high jinks at times I saw flashes of The Monkees... with obviously more pathos mixed in.

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I love The Monkees! I just started watching this drama and am liking it so far. :)

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I just want to start by saying I loved this show. There was one thing that bugged me...and this is just me being anal retentive. Although kurt cobain did use that line ( in his suicide note i believe urgh) It is actually the amazing NEIL YOUNG that originally sang these words in his song "Hey Hey My My" I just think credit should be given where credit is due.

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Lol looks like I should of read other ppls comments first. I was in such a rush to defend Neil I didn't even glance to see if anyone else had caught this mistake. I am glad lots of ppl seem to know what the real deal is.

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my opinion of the 1st episode..
all the cast acting so well.. the story line very humor , funny.. im a primadonna & hongki biased..as we all know lee hongki is child actor so..sometimes everyone see him act overact but its so lively...

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I love this so very much!!!! It was not even on my radar.

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my opinion on 1st eps of #ModernFamer

1) its hilarious... hongki kneel on it...
2) i love this words -> Min-ki isn’t ready to give up and says they’ll just do it themselves, but Han-chul tells him to just get a job and earn a living. Min-ki swears that he’ll never give up on music and that someday he’ll play at Carnegie Hall. ~CRICKETS~
3) there is a scene that make me feel sad & touch such
Min-ki stops to rest on his way home, but when he looks up he sees a giant billboard with Yoo-na’s face , he’s tied up and hanging from the ceiling of an abandoned warehouse, being repeatedly dunked in a barrel of water, Min-ki lays on the warehouse floor and screams his frustration
4) funny part : She runs out and crashes directly into Min-ki, breaking his expensive sunglasses and sending him into a rage XD.. MinKi goes a little overboard crying and wailing for his grandmother, and the gossipy women admire his love for his granny as Min-ki’s wails turn to gleeful laughter. He falls to the ground and cries for real, and Sang-deuk hilariously assumes he’s grieving his grandmother..haha Min-ki heads to an internet cafe to research cabbage farming, and discovers that the price of cabbage rises and falls in a two-year cycle, and this year is a rising year. He does some quick math and figures out that he can not only pay his loan back by growing one cabbage crop, but also make a huge profit. (this make me keep repeat watch this episode ...dont forget his trademark when he got great ideo .... whis flliing eyes.... hahaha

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It's a refreshing start after I finish saeguk drama ^^

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