Hey there
Trying to make sense of my notes from the festival. I did put down a short about the 4 days, but there is more. Some pages have gone missing while dancing so I will have to improvise. That was actually the theme of the festival this year, imrpovising and freedom. It was great, as always. Half day picking berries, half day grooving. Still wearing the wrist band, I wonder if I can wear it until next festival? Nah, maybe I go to Viljandi again. The most hilarious concert was Blind Date, where pop musicians and folk musicians were put together and had to improvise. My selected pair came in 2nd. Well, good enough.
So, now I am back working and stuff. Not many dramas I manage to see, tried to catch bits and pieces of I Remember You in Viljandi, in secret (cause my aunt would kill me for using her internet). I like it that the characters are unique and serious, not clicheś . haven´t even caught up with Teachers´ drama. Reading recaps... ah, but I did look up all scenes ith Gwi. Man, what a juicy performance. Soo Hyuk is literally sucking the role dry. Mentions of bad editing is worrying me. Editing is supposed to reinvent the material, not kill it. It is such a shame with all the effort from the actors. Soo Eun has a really... powerful presence despite the short time she is on screen. I wish they gave her more substance.
More closely keeping an eye on the changing drama trends. Seems like ahjumma actresses are on the rise. But I am getting tired that all they can do to give actresses a position of authority is to make them cops. Cmon. There are so many positions where you can stand out and be fervent and independent. We see very little of different professions in dramas. If they are not cops they own galleries. If not that, she is a reporter or anchor in TV. If not that, she is a politician. But you don´t have to be high-up to have authority. You can have respect based on who you are and how good you are at your field...
So I am thinking, female inventor, archaeologist, industrial designer, historian... well, I know, professions are not the main thing in dramas, but you can build something more unique around them. 20 again looks very promising in that an ahjumma is rediscovering herself not because of a guy, but because of herself. What will she become? Can we all restart our lives?
Any ideas based on this?
Oh, arborist is a very cool, but dangerous profession. It gives me chills seeing a frail girl up in a 35 meter tree that could be all rotten inside and break any moment, with a big chainsaw. Leaves quite an impression. There can be heroes in any field.

K dramas:

Scholar, My Beautiful Bride, Ghostess,Last, Dream High andMidnight Diner.

J movies: Princess Jellyfish,
My Pretend Girlfriend

J dramas: Ramen Loving Girl and Inconvenient Benriya

Friday already, is it? Has been a busy week or two, I haven't had much time to watch shows, even less to participate in the discussions here. I'd like to apologise to those whom I still owe answers to their respective questions/posts.

Oh My Ghostess
I'm probably the only one, but I was very disappointed with the 8th episode, especially after the extremely promising 7th episode: Very lazy, uninspired writing; poorly designed throw-away characters and character assassination just for plot devices. I really hope it's just a temporary slump (in the way of the beach episodes of "Marriage Not Dating", for example).

High Society
So frustratingly disappointing as a whole. I liked many aspects of this show, but the utter lack of focus on what the show-runners actually wanted to do with it made the show pretty much unwatchable.

Hello all:

Having made it through a super-icky Heat Wave, I now find myself longing for winter. Oh, winter, i long for you!

Dramas:

Mask -- well, it's over. Not bad. I wish they'd shown the Big Bad's motivation all along. Loved the time jump. Also wish they'd shown what happened with Loan Shark guy aka "Ahjusshi Bad Hair Piece."

I Remember You -- I really hate to see children suffering. And thinking of Min's suffering -- although Min is all grown up now-- just is so hard. Yep, this drama is hard to watch right now. So feel for the brothers.

Scholar -- Well, once again I tried to watch it. And I couldn't. Athough I love LJK and LSH. Two or three problems: First, it feels like cosplay to me. It feels like folks just walking around being costumed and doing style over substance. As if the writer knows the actors are pretty and is depending on their looks to keep us interested. Second: there is a heck of a lot of sitting around talking and not doing anything (except posing.) Movies move, dramas are about dramatics. Not sitting around talking to one's self. Three: for all the vampirisms, it doesn't really feel vampiric at all. It could be just another sageuk. Where is my worldbuilding?

Oh my ghostess!-- Oh my goodness! What a great drama! Lovely, sweet, romantic, well-rounded, well-written.

Last -- Ooh the Japanese "fight" drama with a plot. Liking this.

My Beautiful Bride -- Wow! Joo Hee's become Do Hyung's protector! There's a twist. And now financial revenge is in the mix? ooh, monetary machinations! Bank guy does banking. Love it.

Assembly was okay but I haven't returned to it since epi 2. Just not pulling me in. Perhaps because I --foolishly-- believe I already know what will happen.

High Society -- Well, it ended. It was sweet. Fluffy. Nothing new but likeable.

Gag Concert made me so happy with its Meditation gag. And I'm erally liking the Beautiful Punishment sections. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmQs9Bu2rag&feature=youtu.be

Have a great weekend, all.

Hi Everyone!

I hope you are all doing well today!

Melting in the summer heat here. Truly unbearable. ....... I can only imagine what KCON is going to be like in this weather! ...... To all of those attending, definitely have fun but stay hydrated!

Watched this week:

Mask - I still have fun with this. ...... Mi-yeon, truly deserves to be as miserable as she is.

I Remember You - I think about it before I watch it ..... I think about it after I watch an episode. ...... It's doing so many things right.

The Time I've Loved You - Decided to watch 2 more eps of this, so now I've watched a total of 4. ...... I've read a lot of the comments/complaints so I know where it's headed. ....... Based on what I've watched, I've concluded that Won and Hana act as they do because on some deep level they don't want to mess things up. Perhaps subconsciously, they've subscribed to the notion that a real girlfriend/boyfriend relationship and especially marriage, are where things go awry and die, specifically love and passion. ....... If this is a real fear for each of them, can you blame them for not speaking up or being so indecisive? Better to keep what you have than to lose it all, might be what they're thinking. ....... The frustration viewers are expressing (which is clearly understandable), may very well be on purpose ---- in an attempt by the writer to convey the underlying angst the characters are feeling, as they intellectually understand that they're stuck in place yet are fearful of moving forward.

Hwajeong - Totally behind on this, but I watched parts of a couple of episodes. ...... Since I totally skipped some episodes, I completely missed where Kyosan turned into a baddie or if he was a baddie all along.

That's it for now. ....... Take care everyone and have a great Friday!

Happy OT all!

THE TIME WE WERE NOT IN LOVE: Finally, mercifully dropped this thing. I was in the middle of watching Ep 9 and I just. couldn't. take. it. anymore. I have no idea why I was trying to force myself to finish this. Perhaps b/c I was so excited about Ha Ji-won's return. Or perhaps b/c I was really excited about the premise (not having seen or even heard about the original before it was announced). I really wanted to like this one, but it was a little bland and off putting from the start for me. Then I kept reading the comments talking about the original so I watched it, and I think that was my mistake. After the awesomeness of the original, it was like impossible for me to enjoy the watered down K-version. But I tried to persevere. Now I'll just read the recaps (thanks HeadsNo2!) and if the finale looks promising enough perhaps I'll watch that. Otherwise, good luck to everyone else who's sticking it out and/or enjoying it.

Thankfully there's OH MY GHOSTESS--which I am enjoying immensely. I really love the improvement in Na Bong-sun’s personality. She was so easy to write off and overlook when she was just a quiet painfully shy and apologetic background character. And even though I don’t think Jo Jung-suk is getting a lot of props, I love his portrayal of Chef too!

With TTWWNIL out of my drama-watching line up, I decided to check out an older drama I’d heard good things about. So I started watching ALONE IN LOVE with the lovely Son Ye-jin and Kam Woo-sung. I am really liking it. It feels like a movie instead of a drama, which makes me a bit in awe of how they manage to do that episode after episode. It’s a 2006 drama but it doesn’t feel old at all. It’s a definite winner!

First time I catch an Open Thread in the beginning! I usually come here when there was more than 50 comments. How are you all?

I was originally planning to give a break from dramas, but I'm currently watching That Winter The Wind Blows (I'm on episode 6). I know, I know, I should have watched it before. My story with this drama is kind of curious. I watched its first two episodes two months ago and I remembered I didn't finish it, so I thought "Why not keep watching?". The cinematography is so beautiful. One of the most beautiful I have ever seen. The cast is also great. I'm happy because I had dropped three dramas before I started to watch it again.

I watched entirely j-drama Mondai no aru restaurant. In one word: brilliant. Really, really well written and with a powerful cast. Realist in its writing and acting. Almost perfect, because there is no perfect drama (ok, maybe Misaeng).

I also started Angry Mom. I have only watched 2 episodes, but it seems promising. I will probably take a long time to watch it. It is my intention, actually. My classes start on Monday and I need to watch the smallest amount of dramas possible, so Angry Mom is my drama choice for August-September (maybe -October too).

I actually think that taking too long to watch a drama with more than 12 episodes is good because you pay attention to the details. I ended up being a fan of dramas like Reply 1997 and Shut Up Flower Boy Band even though I wasn't liking them while I was watching sometimes. Internet teaches us to marathon dramas, which I don't think its right.

I'm also thinking about making a blog about dramas, or a tumblr. But I don't know yet, since I have no patience for tumblr anymore, I guess.

Have a nice weekend!

So sad Mask ended, but what an ending it was!!!

In contrast to my comment about Eun Dong's ending last week , I was satisfied with the last episode. Not just bc of the "happy ending" but bc the writer saw fit to close all the loops and complete the story.
-The villain got punished (they could have done more, IMO, but I'll accept the outcome)
-The whole story was revealed. I felt sad for Eun Ha's father. I mean, to learn about his daughter's fate in such a manner is just cruel.
-I have mixed feelings about the sister's outcome. She was emotionally fragile, stupid, meddling and quite needy for love. But I didn't see a need for her life to end. Maybe a failed attempt would be enough. IDK. Issues of suicide are tough, I never understood the psychology behind it. Ultimately it helps no one, really.
-Total cuteness at the end, with the little someone :)))) Could not stop grinning. They were such a cute trio!!!

I don't know what else to watch now. I went back to watching the Three Musketeers, quite enjoyable actually.

Strange week. I almost hesitate to post this, because I have to be careful, but I think this is a fairly safe place to confess—I have some grandkids we are not allowed to see. I'm not going to go into it, but 2 weeks ago a common friend got to see them and my granddaughter contacted me for a message chat (of 3 sentences) before she had to leave. I am thankful to read that she is doing well and still remembers us fondly. (I love her—will always love her—and hope & pray someday her mother's heart will soften and allow us to be a part of her life.) HOWEVER, one of my memories with her was the 2 of us watching “Inyuasha” (sp?) together and eating popcorn about four years ago when she was allowed to have regular visits. I also gave her a DVD set of “Rooftop Prince” one Christmas, so I'm hoping we have the love of foreign movies/tv still in common. I just emailed her the web address of my latest cartoon. I hope her mom hasn't shut down her internet accessibility. And I hope she sees the shout out I published for her in my toon.

Who knew me drawing freelance for DramaFever would make it possible for me to communicate with her?

http://www.dramafever.com/news/k-toon-convenience-store-clerk-vampire-episode-3/

is the address of my latest K-Toon, Convenience Store Clerk Vampire.

And I want to thank all the drama beanies who suggested casting for this (my latest) toon.
I listened to you, 4D, and put Kang Ha Neul in as the 2nd lead. (Really, this was all you. I never even thought of him, but then I found the best (and easiest) actual photos of him that I photo shopped into the P-Mart.

And thanks to Redfox, for suggesting Park Ki Woong—who I cast as Man Soo's cousin. (And who had a cameo in episode 2.)

Thanks again, guys!
(And the biggest kick of my “cartoon career” was when I read a frustrated comment on facebook of a young woman whining because she'd googled “My Brother, the Flower Boy,” the title of one of my toons, looking to locate it, thinking it was a real drama, and she couldn't find anywhere to watch it. (“I tried hulu, allkoreandrama, and viki, and nobody's got it.”)

Poor girl. That's because it doesn't exist, except in cartoon form.

Can you believe it’s the last day in July?

I am keeping pace with My Beautiful Bride – *spoilers* I am totally on Team Jin Sook and women – their back-atcha style of putting to use the best of everything they’ve learned over the years to take down the very ones who used and abused them, well even Do Hyung’s gotta be impressed. When the trunk of the black sedan opened to give Glove the ride of his life, I jumped up and shouted “Fighting!” What is Joo Young’s turdy brother going to do when he finds out she is alive and well when he’s been dancing on the table tops of his new insurance-purchased restaurant? Mother Moon, crafty and talented, is pulling the strings of Seryo Construction and the bank, but to what end? And those are just the relatives. I look forward to my front seat view as Do Hyung takes every last one of the Shadow-y sharks down in UDT style revenge.

Has anyone seen Abnormal Summit ep 53 with the six new panel members plus six of the original members? I was impressed with Yuta from Japan, the youngest by far at 20, he held his own in soccer and discussion. I’m not sure about the other five, yet, if they will gel with those already on board. I have all but given up hope on subs for Where Is My Friend’s Home, the spin-off of AS.

The Genius season 4 episode 5 – amazing game and strategy. I’ve been surprised every episode this season by who gets eliminated. Hyunmin is one of my favorites. Jungmoon memorized the first 100 decimal numbers of pi. For Fun. It was the secret pattern for the game. Wow.

High Society – how many ways can the words love, reality, deal with, and me, myself, and I be used to express one’s position in chaebol land?

I Remember You - a very sad episode.

Looking forward to Infinity Challenge Music Festival rehearsal clashes and fits this week.

:-(

My initial post got stuck in moderation & I have no idea why. It's been 20 minutes or so & it still hasn't shown up here. I wonder what causes this issue.

I Remember You/Hello Monster - This has risen to number 1 for me. Good in every area. Even the music is appropriate and good for each scene. All characters consistent and growing or growing on me no matter how 'bad' they are. I love how the story just keeps building on itself to give more richness to the viewer. No wasted time or wasted characters. The genius psychopaths are to die for... if only we could have them dissecting every convoluted kdrama crime crime Heheheh! There would be such amazing intellectual exchanges with a clear path mapped out as to why and how a perpetrator did or would do something and in a most deadpan and unemotional way. Seo In Gook is just so good.

Oh My Ghost(ess) - I'd like to have the removal of the need to possess someone so that we don't have possession, but still get resolution for both ghost and host. I'm waiting impatiently for tonight's installment.

Mask - ****SPOILERS **** Well it was a sloooow wrap.... and is it weird to say this?... but I felt there was TOO much fan service! LOL. It was mainly OTP as filler in the last 2 episodes with bouts of Mi Yeon vascillating between threatening and pleading or whatever it was she was doing. And Seok Hoon still trying to appear as a big, bad something.

Because of Mi Yeon, the ending was not sweet but bitter-sweet. And I am not convinced that if Mi Yeon alive could not persuade Seok Hoon to turn himself in, that Mi Yeon dead and guilt was enough to change his mind. The OTP were great, but I'm glad it's over. I started to cringe and FFD or walk off when they began to do sugary personal stuff for each other. Too cheesy. If ever I choose to re-watch, it will be with FFD to OTP moments and only to those moments up to episode 18. All the rest of the show can safely be forgotten, with no regrets. The ending with the kid was nice though... the kind of ending some of us hoped for in Healer but it ran out of time. Mask if it had nothing else, had too much time!!!

Midnight Diner - ****SPOILERS **** It did not really hit the warm-hearted vein in the last 2 episodes (5 and 6). Although the acting was OK, I could not relate to or commiserate with a parent who refuses to allow his child to experience grief and help her through it. I feel it's a cop out that the adult may claim to be protecting the child from pain, when he is actually a coward and protecting himself from hurting.

Similarly I cannot support the main protagonist in the last episode or the theme that it's OK to eat as much as you want of what you want, because you only live once (or something like that). The reasons for the dieting were lame and shallow, except for the part where it was in memory of the friend. I felt that good health should have been the reason for self-control, and self-control should have been exercised for it's own sake!!! But... no....

The Time I Loved You/The Time We Were Not In Love - I only want to say 3 things: 1)it's too...

Hello Beanies!!

This week has been a long week!

Mask - I didn't watch last week's episode because I couldn't take what was going on and I watched the last two episodes, huhuhu what happened, SHOW??????

I Remember You - One of the two favorite shows I love this season! The pace, the cast, the sub plots! We all had guesses who was who when the show started but the revelation wasn't overdone! It was just done right!

Oh!My! Ghostess - This week's episode will be interesting and I need to know more about Sung Jae, it's time!

Hello everybody !! Hope you're all well !!!

Mask: I'm so happy with the ending , though I feel like it could have ended with just 16 episodes. Soo Ae is really beautiful, I don't know why I didn't realized it when watching A thousand day or queen of ambition.

The Time I’ve Loved You: I'm beyond frustrated with this drama !!!!! I cannot stand Seo-hoo, I despise this rich douchbagy guy, stubborn man-child attitude so bady OMG !!!! Was the character that annoying in the original version ? And Hana... Girl, you need to take a break, drop both of these guys and find yourself !!!
The only reason I'm still watching (while skipping up big chunks from time to time) is because of LJW, not that I'm a huge fan, but I do find the way he play Won pretty good, and he annoys me the least.
New Writer -nim(s) what in the world are you trying to do with this ?!!!

Hey OT people! I'm in London for the sole objective of catching the final days of an exhibition at the Victoria & Albert museum. I'm kind of an Alexannder McQueen fangirl and it was a LOT to take in all at once, and to my great embarrassment I ended up feeling slightly emotional at the end. Wanted to go again today but the jet lag has finally caught up with me so it's out of the question until I get a few more hours of sleep.

As for dramas - I finished High Society before getting on the plane, and it did absolutely nothing to move me from my original opinion that it was a Nice Guy knockoff that got way too big for its britches and intended to do a Grapevine-ish social commentary, but without any of the self-awareness, humour or, for that matter, good acting.

Scholar Who Walks the Night - Despite its cheesiness, sloppy writing and obvious flaws, it remains weirdly addictive. That's not a result of writing, but the actors pulling through despite everything - especially Lee Soo-hyuk and Lee Yubi, whose characters on paper would irritate me to death, but who somehow (mainly through superhuman levels of charm and chemistry) keep them watchable. I hope to god they get better roles in the future. (and can Yang-sun's father bite it soon, please, she needs some impetus to be something other than a damsel in distress and he's pretty much useless).

I'm crashing now, good night (or good late afternoon to London beanies) everyone!