Hi,

The Real Life Kdrama moment of the week:

Today is St. Johns´ day here, but it is also a birthday of a relative who is really chatty and sort of frustrating and all her parties end up with total drama themselves. My parents wanted me to go in their stead, but I said I have work till 5pm, when in reality I am playing hooky and cleaning house. I really really don´t want to meet this relative, sheis too mean and nasty to me. But if I ran errands, there was a chance of running into my parents, who had the day off. So I thought long and hard whether I should go outside at all. But my fridge was empty and the shops will be closed 3 days for the national holiday so... I prepared well from the start: put on some old clothes in a weird combination that I thought they would not recognise from afar, and a hooded jacket. Same neighborhood...Then I cracked my head whether to go to the supermarket first or the farmers´ market. The air was clear in the supermarket. Then I came to the farmers market to buy fresh bread and salad... and walked right past my dad! But he wasnt paying attention, airhead as he is, so I pulled the hood over my head and hid behind salad and walked more or less bravely past. You know, when people run away from someone they don´t want to see in dramas using trays and newspapers... I sneaked around the stands like a ninja and used other people & tourists´ suitcases as a cover to reach a flower shop, so I could keep my eye on him through the glass, pretending to admire cactuses. And he was right where I wanted to go, waiting in line for bread. Drat! I needed bread, so I risked everything, inched slowly and took a spot in the line, hiding behind salad again. I think the baker thought I was nuts (I wasn´t sure of my sanity myself). when my dad was leaving the shop I was glued to the wall like a gekko, But I got my bread! Saved by a hooded jacket and greens.

anyway, let´s hope there will be no "I saw a crazy person in the market who looked like you!" later when I go to St. Johns´ eve bonfire and concert with them.

drama watching: Lookout (they are sop broken and lost and I just wish for a peaceful existence for them. Cant really fit into my head "Taekie appa" being so evil and his son is a mystery. Did he really push the girl? I think I fell into a trap), Circle (how do do sci fi if all you have is a very good script), Suspicious Partner (such a well balanced drama that turns expectations on its head), The Best Hit (funny!), Woman of dignity (such derailed individuals!)

but now, let´s have a stuffed toy battle. Best stuffed toy wingman in korean dramas?

Am I the only one who is beginning to feel a drama drain? Like, I still LOVE dramas, but this year, I have been unable to finish a single drama. And even choosing one to watch takes hours of browsing. I have been watching Thai BL dramas these days.

All hail Lee Dong Gun in that red king's robe!

ALSO, can this be a safe space to talk about that sex scene from Suspicious Partner?
Why is JCW so good in sexy time scenes? After watching Healer and now SP... *fans self anytime I see JCW's face

I wasnt keeping up with SDQ's recap and comments and was conflicted over the idea that how I could like Yung more than Yeok even knowing that he has been a tyrant king. But after reading the comments in the recent recap, I'm glad that im not alone. LDG is killing it and he has certainly taken the cake from YWJ for me as I look forward to his scenes more.
Also the writers have made him more interesting. Politics in sageuks is what keeps me away from them bit this sageuk uses it so effectively that I don't skip a single scene and itsgood to see a king finally speaking up against his ministers sarcastically and confidently. Totally into this sageuk.

Circle is still good but am i the only one whose glad that its only 12 episodes because i feel like the show has loosened a bit. Maybe because the beta project world was always a little more engaging and almost all mysteries over there are solved. It is still a well done show for me even though with a bit loose ends.

Happy weekend, beanies!
Am on one week vacation * yeay * and trying to finish Ode to Joy 2. After that, I'm going to start on season 1! I know I'm weird because I started on season 2 first lol. Andie & Bao Yi Fan are my favourite now and I can't wait to see how this will end!

I'm wondering about pink. I've noticed that Fight for My Way and Suspicious Partner have a pink-coloured theme going. It's not just the advertising, but many scenes tend to have a pink filter. And for Fight for My Way and to a lesser extent Suspicious Partner, there would be scenes where all characters on screen are wearing pink clothing. Yes I understand that colour can set the tone and mood of the show - green or blue undertones effectively creates ominous foreboding. Perhaps pink signifies hope and youth, which I guess makes it appropriate for Fight for My Way. But Suspicious Partner intrigues me - it's a show with more than a few dark moments...so why so pink?

Downvotes button! I wish to know who downvotes me and I will directly ask them. Why you don't like me? Where I do wrong? Don't just press the button and then hide. It's no cool, gurls!

Jo Seung Woo!

How is it that the inscrutable Shi Mok who seemingly wears the same expression all the time, can convey those very subtle shifts and underlying emotions? I want to send all those actors who overact to learn from this man.

Wow! This has almost been a full week of dramas and I finally have time to catch up. My last test was on Monday so exams are over! This is my personal breakdown so far.
Fight My Way- Dong Man finally confessed to Ae Ra and that KISS! Since things are beginning to be settled, their relationship can fully bloom now! I hope the same goes for Seol Hee and Joo Man since they definitely both have things to figure out before then.
Circle- I'm up to episode 9 and it is blowing my mind. Where did Woo Jin go? I can't believe that Minister Park and Professor Han both succumbed to the evil temptation of the new technology. I know I mentioned it in a different comment, but it really is sad how Jung Yeon's (Byul) simple gesture of giving that little star to Woo Jin turned into a whole experimentation on altering memory.
Suspicious Partner- Yay! Mr. Bang is not dead. The only worrying part is the oxygen flowing to his brain. Also, I wonder who planted the knife in Hyun Soo's kitchen. I know Ji Wook and everyone on the team want to take him down, but who really did it. By the way, did not see that car crash coming.
7 Day Queen- Chae Kyung and Yeok are breaking my hearts. I hope they have a happy ending, although history doesn't turn out that way. No further explanation needed.
The Best Hit- I need it to come out soon. I can't wait.

Are there any Beanies going to DragonCon? This year will be my 10th year and I would love to have a little informal meet up if anyone else is down for it!

I passed my final exam this past tuesday and am finally able to spend my free time with watching dramas and such once again (dunno how long that'll last). Yay! I did manage to watch a few kdrama episodes inbetween my studies. I finished What's Up Fox just this past weekend and I loved it! The soundtrack, the storyline... LOVED IT! So I could really use some recommendations. Any suggestions?

Happy Friday, everyone! Today feels like a momentous day because it's the one year anniversary of my introduction to KDramas. I haven't looked back since, and have passed many hours in pure bliss!!

I've also watched and come to enjoy Chinese, Taiwanese, and Japanese dramas. I even took the initiative to start learning Mandarin because of the dramas (there is no option for Korean where I am).

I introduced KDramas to my sister, who finally gave in after much resistance, fell in love, and has since started taking Korean classes.

Like so many good things have happened just because of KDrama. It's spurred interest in cultures which are so different from mine, but also similar in many ways, and opened avenues for so much discussion with friends about themes and issues we come across in dramas. I come from a multilingual family, but never expected to one day be learning Eastern languages, or learning about Eastern cultures. And my sister and Drama-watching friends have something new to gush about. And then coming on here and reading recaps and comments with such insightful analysis about everything from silliness to life's issues.... Not to mention an appreciation for good storytelling, dramatization and acting, not just for its entertainment value, but for lessons to be learned therein too, and for good craftsmanship. And also an appreciation for having an alternative to seeing only "western" content. I'm gushing and it seems overmuch but it's truly been a wonderful year for me immersing myself in dramas. The whole is truly more than the sum of its parts :)

Happy Friday!

It's been a lazy week for me, as I have been recharging my energy levels after lots of real life stuff going on, which means lots of dramas, yay!

Finished Chicago Typewriter. It's funny how I seem the opposite of other beanies: I loved the first two eps with a passion, but then found my interest quickly waning post that. Possibly because books and writing faded into the background while ghosts and reincarnations became the main thing. But also just really felt it didn't deliver on some aspects like character development. I still have no clue why the two guys became freedom fighters and in the present storyline I was missing more background on Se Ju - it would've been nice to see more of his family or what happened after he left Baek's house. I'm also really missing a resolution to the plagiarism case. I know it's obvious what happened, but I still would've liked to see it, but that's probably just me. Overall I just felt like it was too emotionally driven with no basis for these emotions in real character development and the ghost hijinks mirror countless movies and shows. It's definitely not a bad show, it just turned out much differently and to be much more simple, than I had expected. Good thing: it made me really want to go back and finish SFD and Secret Love Affair sometime soon hehe ^^ And also Go Kyung Pyo being puppy-like is adorable.

Lookout - too many logic fails this week. And Soo Ji puts everyone's lives in danger yet again. I still like it though, overall the plot is good and Do Han/forgot-his-real-name continues to be really intriguing and heartwrenching.

The Best Hit - Still hilarious. That scene with the racoon costume was priceless lol. Also loving how fast the plot moves as I was afraid Hyun Jae would take forever before learning who's son Ji Hoon is and glad that they adressed the 'issue' of whether or not HJ knew JH was a trainee, because that had me scratching the old imaginary beard quite a bit.

Started Ex-Girlfriend Club and really liking it! Had been avoiding it because I think Song Ji Hyo needs some more acting lessons. But the other women and Byun Yo Han completely make up for what she's lacking and the story is hilarious so far! Only at ep 3 though, so no spoilers please! ^^

Picked Entourage back up and just finished ep 6. Not as bored as the first time around somehow? Actually found it kind of funny, so yay!

SP - still not a fan, but last week's eps were fun and I enjoyed them. Can't seem to finish the latest ep though, dunno why. Guess there's just something missing for me. Hope next week will turn out more like last week's eps, but I'm kind of worried they're going to run out of plot, 20 eps seems a bit overkill. 16 eps would've made it a more thrilling show I think.

Is anyone watching Princess Agents? I absolutely adore ancient CDramas and sageuk (all that fantasy and gorgeous costuming) , and right now, Princess Agents is my kryptonite. Even with the wonky pacing and the absolutely LAUGHABLE CGI in some places (seriously it's so terrible). The fight scene are also sometimes awful (even when allowances are made for it being a wuxia and all). But some of the fight scenes are also beautifully choreographed and reminds me of the saying that fighting is like dancing, and good soldiers will always be good dancers because the intricate moves required are similar. I am in ancient Drama heaven right about now, even with all its flaws. I expect I'll be in even more bliss when I get my hands on The Advisors Alliance.

Hello, does anyone have any good fantasy books or dramas of any languages to recommend? Or any good dramas old or new worth watching?

Thank you~~

OT week 20! I hope everyone is having a good summer so far. The weather here has been PERFECT, which means lots of sunlight and vitamin D and we live in the US where a good tan is always appreciated, so we’ve been spending a lot of time at the pool and playing golf. Hubby and I won our couples scramble this week and won a whole $20 in golf shop credit! So, after our $10 entry fee, we’re up $10! It’s the small things! AND, during our match, our friends booked our tickets to CANADA, Quebec City, Goblin country, for my birthday! We’ll be going in the Fall. I am super-duper-giddy! *SQUEEE, SQEEE, SQUEE!* Remember the scene where Eun Tak sees her room make-over? That’s me right now!

Otherwise, been watching Circle, still, and am I the only one that is kind of glad that there are only 2 episodes left? The suspense is killing me and I just want to know where this is going!

Watched the second 30 minute episode of My Only Love Song, also with the same actress that plays Byul in Circle, and she’s still yelling and grating on mine and my husband’s nerves a bit. I think we’ll drop it. I much prefer her character in Circle.

Speaking of which, I’ve been 0 for 5 in new dramas to watch with the hubby and I’ve been watching some by myself, which isn’t nearly as fun. I need help! I feel like I’ve been dropped into an all you can eat buffet of kdramas and want to try every genre, while my hubby is stuck in the dessert section. He likes the syrup-y, sweet love story. Boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, they go through turmoil that makes their love stronger, and then come back together and live happily ever after. Also, the acting has to be palatable. No yelling in high pitched, banshee-like, tones; that will make him turn it off faster than you can say, “Come on, honey, give it a chance, she won best actress for this role!” Also, no cross-dressing, girls trying to be boys. He likes the ultra-feminine, quintessential pretty girl, innocent, sweet, CANDY! You get my drift. Also, no major psychiatric undertones, as he sees this all day long and would like something where he can’t analyze the main characters or how true to life they are. You think it would be easy to find something, but I’ve not had any luck in the past 4 months. He likes slow, burning love stories too.

And I tried watching Man to Man with him and this is the conversation that ensued:

Hubby: There’s something wrong with Do Ha’s eyes, I can’t put my finger on it.

Me: It looks like she has proptosis (when your eyes come out of your head) like she has Graves’ disease. I wonder if her thyroid has been checked recently.

Hubby: Sorry, I can’t watch this, I’m too distracted by her eyes.

Me: There’s another show called Reply 1997 that just got put on Netflix; should we try that? I don’t know much about it other than the fact that it’s about high school aged kids and there’s a whole series spin off.

Hubby: You’ve being batting 0 for...

Hi Everyone!

I hope you are all doing well today. ...... I continue to enjoy everyone's comments on the Fan Walls!

Watched this week:

Whisper - Finally finished watching this! ..... Absolutely loved the last episode's nod to the writer's previous drama Punch! It was so unexpected and definitely a great surprise.

Fight My Way - Seol-hee's Dad's had the quote of the week for me with his, "Don't give your telephone number to people you need to ignore." ..... And I mentioned this in the recap comments, but I'll repeat it here ---- I think Joo-man and Seol-hee need to break up, perhaps permanently.

Seven Day Queen - Just keeps getting better and better! ..... Myung-hye though, what's really motivating her, the cause or the jealousy? I think we all know the answer to this one. ...... Those scenes with Lee Dong-gun as the king, oh so good.

Suspicious Partner - Ok, it's official, I'm on the Ji Chang-wook bandwagon! Again. ....... I have to say I'm a bit curious of the whole color scheme in this drama. Particularly the clothes. The soft colors. It's all quite interesting.

My Sassy Girl - I wanted to give this a chance, so I watched a little bit of this, but I'm afraid things are not going to work out. I think I just wasn't in the mood. Perhaps I'll try again at a later time.

That's all for now. Everyone take care and have a great Friday!

Dear My Friends is so far so good. I'm at episode 11 now and I can't wait to watch the next epis. But that must be after I finish my work tonight.

Fight My Way can wait.. after I finish Dear My Friends I'm going to binge-watch you, the epis I haven't watched yet.

Hopefully, next week I'll be able to tell beanies how good Dear My Friends is ;)

The Big Hit: (or whatever it is called) is probably my favorite right now because I laugh out loud at some point during this drama week after week.

Suspicious Partner: I'm a few behind but I find myself curious how the cheating scenario is going to play out with the friends. I actually wish they'd had the gal come back and not originally be such a witch because I think after making such a huuuuuge mistake, I understand her leaving just not her attitude when she returned. I think if I was the guy cheated on, it would be hard to day in and day out see my best friend who betrayed me. So it is interesting that I think they are trying (and succeeding) in making him (yep I really cannot remember anyone's name) sympathetic, but I actually think he should have made himself scarce for a while. He stayed close for his own regret and his own shame which is about him, not about his friend. So this scenario is an interesting story for me.

I actually find myself less interested in killers and what not than in this dynamic which I don't generally see in dramas. What to do when people you care about make a horrible mistake but really regret it? Do you forgive but never forget? Do you never forgive? Do us viewers let it slide because the best friend cheater is so sad and regretful? I like that they showed the ramifications of the cheating with the comment from our guy, " I was worried I wouldn't be enough". Being betrayed sticks with a person, man or woman.

On a happier note, the lead couple are so sweet together and knowing what they've both been through make it so much sweeter to see them together.

Whoever chose that thumbnail/pic for the Open Thread this week is awesome.

I'm really loving older dramas these days a bit more than newer ones. There tends to be a rawness there that newer ones lack. I feel like newer ones feel sanitised in a way. I'm not even talking about dramas ten years ago like Dal-ja's Spring. I recently watched Panda and Hedgehog and while there was nothing outrageous in that show, there was a scene in there that showed the OTP sharing some snuggle time. Sure, this is nothing new, and it was definitely brief, but it felt like one of the few natural aspects of a relationship that many dramas are missing dramas these days. And yes, I know that South Korea is a conservative society, but I find it crazy that I get all happy when skin-ship is done well. The only recent ones last year and this year that I think come close are 1% of Something and Tomorrow With You.

P.S. I would say that

Summer is officially here. Starting to pick figs, this year should be bountiful. Worked the Wailers concert at the oceanfront. Good time was had by all.

Watching 7 Day Queen: Lee Dong Gun is fantastic. The writer and director are keeping the story fresh. Good cast.

Wife finished Song of Phoenix C drama, so I talked her into watching the J drama Jin.

I'm watching J drama Sunshine
Hope someone subs The Advisors Alliance

I just have a random question: have you guys ever meet? Like having a db tea time? something like that? And spend time talking about dramas or actors?

I'm sensing a drama slump coming *sprinkles salt around me to guard away drama slump spirits*

Forest of Secret is my new-found delight. I've made a mental note to watch more of Jo Seung-Woo's works after this.

I've just binged through the first half of Circle and am enjoying myself a lot. I don't think Circle is heavy on the sci-fi aspects. Rather, it borrows the sci-fi backdrop to explore ethical questions. I remember someone asking why the people in Circle don't seem to be interested in Byul's long-lasting youthful look and considers it a potential miss point of the drama. Well, I haven't watched everything yet but the simple answer is that the research team in question specialise in neurosciences and obviously we can't expect them to suddenly switch their interest to genetics. I work in academia as well and if I have a chance meeting with Byul and have the opportunity to study her own language or her acquisition of a certain language on Earth there's no way I'd give her up to another scientist from another branch of science to study her, not until I've finished with my own research. Hardcore scientists who live for their research are oftentimes concerned only with what they're doing and don't usually pay attention to other things people are obsessed with outside of their own field. If the research team in the drama suddenly switch their interest to the question of immortality and long-lasting youth and beauty that would be a plot hole for sure. Just sayin' ?.

I've dropped Ruler but read from comments elsewhere that Ga-Eun has unleashed her rage onto the CP. I'd say go for it girl! She's the only one who doesn't know a thing about the CP not being the one personally executing her own father, and was in love with said person for 5 years with him hiding his true identity from her. Please don't hate on the poor girl. She has every reason to feel hatred towards him for the time being.