niKai cafe

Sigh...

2011-11-12T23:23:00.012+08:00

My, oh my. It seems forever since I last updated this blog with an entry.

I have been pretty busy (excuses, excuses), and I have slowed down a little bit when it comes to watching Korean drama, though I do have a few that I would like to share. But nevertheless, maybe some other time, when I feel like sitting down in front of my computer and go through the dramas again.

Still, if anyone needs a recommendation on some fun dramas to watch, here's my list:

1) Baby-faced Beauty.

I had never quite understood what's the deal with Jang Nara (Wedding) that makes her a household name in China. But I adore her to pieces in this drama, about a 30++ woman who got mistaken to be in her early 20's, working in the fashion industry.

2) The Greatest Love/Best Love.

This drama is wacky. Pairing up two great actors: Gong Hyo Jin (Pasta) and Cha Seung Won (City Hall) was the best decision ever! I was glad Lee Seung Gi (My Girlfriend is a Gumiho) didn't take the role of Dokko Jin. He wouldn't be able to pull it off. Or perhaps, it would be a totally different version than what I'm digging from Cha Seung Won. The story is about a top star (Dokko Jin) and his crazy way to show his love (if only he knows it's LOVE!) to the once-popular artist Gu Ae Jung of the girl group The National Treasures. Writers: THE Hong Sisters.

And if you have extra time, maybe you can give Warrior Baek Dong Soo a chance. I haven't personally finished it myself, and the storyline is not that solid and lacks focus to me, but the cinematography is nice, beautiful and captivating, most of the time, if not ALL the time. And you have cutie Yoo Seung Ho (God of Study) and charismatic Choi Min Soo of the Sandglass fame to watch. And they play villains.

American Idol 10: Top 13

2011-03-12T09:14:00.000+08:00

The Idol show is back! I'm not an avid TV fan, and this is about the only show that can pluck me away from my computer screen. Anyway, new judges Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler are great replacements to old judges. Perhaps, because they are new, they manage to save the show from going further downhill ever since the past couple of seasons. Their point of view is relatively fresher since this is their first time so we get to see a group of quite talented and diverse contestants this year. And because of the diversity, it's kinda hard to pick a real favorite for now. One contestant is just so different from another each gives you different flavor. Nevertheless, I do have contestants or rather performances that I like and then some I like less.

And here goes my Top 13 review:

1. Lauren Alaina - Any Man of Mine

She was so much better last week, so this is kind of a let down. I was just not impressed with the song arrangement and she got some pitch problems I suppose, coz it didn't sound as smooth.

2. Casey Abrams - With a Little Help From My Friends

I liked it. It felt like he was the show-opener instead of Lauren. His voice is actually kinda rough but sexy. And he's a funny man.

3. Ashthon Jones - When You Tell Me That You Love Me

I guess America knew what they were doing when she wasn't voted into the Top 10. This wild-card pick is just OK for me.

4. Paul McDonald - Come Pick Me Up

I love his voice/tone. It was so soft yet melodic and not boring coz it's really unique. If he continues to do well and improve his pitch issue, he could well be my favorite.

5. Pia Toscano - All By Myself

She was great last week, and she was great this week too. A powerhouse that's actually good? Whatever. I'm anticipating the moment when she sings an upbeat song, if there ever will be that kind of moment. Wonder if she can pull it off. But she's definitely good with ballads.

6. James Durbin - Maybe I'm Amazed.

Let's just say, I have enough of screaming from Adam Lambert to last me a few American Idol seasons. So when he was picked as the finalist, I was a little wary. While he got that ability to go into that high pitch, I'm not really impressed anymore. I hope he doesn't become Adam Lambert of this season. I don't like screaming much. That's why I prefer Adam Lambert on the CD than on the stage. What nice about James this week though, he kind of tone it down a little bit so the screaming was not overdone and felt appropriate and just nice with the rest of the singing. I don't think he will be my favorite based on what I've seen of him so far. But who knows, if he plays it well. We'll see.

7. Haley Reinhart - Blue.

Nothing much to write home about. I'm not yet taken by her. Maybe never will be.

8. Jacob Lusk - I Believe I Can Fly

I think he's an example of overdone done right. Haha. He has his own way that you either like it or hate it. For some reason, I wasn't as appalled by his screaming as James's, even objectively speaking it was worse screaming than James'. Maybe because he was overdoing everything throughout his performance so the screaming doesn't exactly come out like a sore thumb.

9. Thia Megia - Smile.

Our youngest contestant at 15. Like Jennifer said, she sings like an angel, even though only God knows how an angel sings. It's just THAT nice to listen too. She started off quiet and then half-way going into more jazzy mood. However, like last week, it was the quiet moment that really gave her strength. I appreciated the jazzy part. It's definitely a change for her, but unfortunately that actually marred her performance a little bit. I hope we can see more variety from her where she can actually make it work.

10. Stefano Langone - Lately

I don't know what the rave was all about from the judges, coz I didn't enjoy his performance much. His voice was shaky most of the time. I think he has the weakest voice in the bunch. Surrounded by so many unique voices and powerhouses, he sounds a little too normal to me.

11. Karen Rodriquez - I Could Fall in Love

She is much more than what she showed this week. It was a little underwhelming.

12. Scotty McCreery - The River

He was being fun on stage. But while his voice is definitely unique, I'm not enjoying it much. He needs to give some range. I've yet to hear a high note from him, or did I miss it? If this keeps up, I might fall asleep.

13. Naima Adedapo - Umbrella

A worthy performance to close the night? There's movement, dancing, rapping, singing, everything. Now, if only she actually sounded good while doing them. I suppose because of all the moving going on, her voice faltered a little. It sounded weak. We'll see next week.

ELIMINATED : Ashthon Jones

Dream High

2011-03-01T22:27:00.003+08:00

Another good drama series has come and gone. Saaaa---~d. But I have to say this: I <3 Dream High! A collaboration between Bae Yong Joon (Winter Sonata) and Park Jin Young a.ka. JYP actually works. The drama centers around six students of Kirin Arts High School and their journey towards achieving their dreams in music. Bae Yong Joon makes a short appearance in the first two episodes as the Chairman of the Kirin Arts HS while JYP almost pretty much stole the show in his every scene. His character cracked me up.

Five real-life idols namely 2PM's Taecyeon (Cinderella's Sister) and Wooyoung, Miss A's Suzy, T-ARA's Eun Jung (Coffee House), IU, and one awesome actor that is Kim Soo Hyun (Will It snow For Christmas?, Giant) were casted as the main characters. Uhm Ki Joon (Worlds Within) and Lee Yoon Ji (Goong) were both teachers at Kirin Arts High School and has a funny romantic storyline.

The drama started off in the future, 2018, where a Grammy Award winner Korean Singer, K, is preparing to take the stage. The identity of K was not immediately known to viewers, though it was shown that K was holding a picture that showed six friends in high school uniforms, which were our main characters, so K could be anyone of them. The K-pendant itself was a main object in the drama, where it was given by the Kirin Arts HS Chairman to one of the students during an open audition as a good luck charm, and throughout the series we saw it being passed from one character to another, so viewers were kept on guessing as who's the ultimate owner that was the singer K at the beginning of the story.

Each of our main characters were faced with their own personal issues and we saw them overcame their problems and grew as a person and as a musician through the experience. And their relationships with each other were portrayed nicely, from friends to enemies to friends again, from secret admirers to true love, from mere schoolmates to buddies/frenemies. They might not all be together in the end, but the friendship remained and, in their own ways, they reached for their dreams and life went on.

I was expecting a silly and fun drama (even though it actually turned out to be quite heartwarming and of substance, which what made it such a good drama overall) thus didn't care much the fact that most main characters are played by idols instead of some serious actors, and true enough, while they are not phenomenal, they make it work. However, I'm grateful they casted Kim Soo Hyun to play the character Song Sam Dong, as I thought his character was the one that required real acting talent, and Kim Soo Hyun didn't disappoint. Suzy as abrasive and expressionless Go Hye Mi was also pretty effective. Taecyeon and Eun Jung who had previous acting experience in full drama series weren't so bad themselves. IU and Wooyoung, while their acting was so-so, it didn't really matter. Besides, they were just too cute together.

What matters most is that I got the ending I want for my favorite characters, which are Sam Dong and Hye Mi. Peace!

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There are two kinds of happiness in the world. One is a happiness that you realize after the fact. The other is a happiness that you feel in the moment. The happiness in the moment is so rare that they say you can live your whole life on the light that shines from remembering it. I think we’ll go on remembering this moment, today, like that kind of happiness…that we can remember for the rest of our lives, the moment when we shined. (Dream High - credit translation to girlfriday @ Dramabeans)

Secret Garden: Countdown to Finale

2011-01-12T23:54:00.010+08:00

Surely I am one of the many fans of Secret Garden who's rather anxious about the ending of this drama series. Would it be a happily-ever-after ala City Hall, or a frustrating one like Lovers in Paris, both of which were penned by the same writer of Secret Garden. The last two episodes will air this weekend. Oh, how all good things come to an end.

The drama was described as "fantasy-melodrama", which to be honest, is a little hard for me to digest, unlike the fantasy of My Girlfriend is a Gumiho, which actually was based on local folklore. The fantasy part in Secret Garden involves body-changing between the two main leads, Gil Ra-im played by Ha Ji Won (Memories of Bali, Damo) and Kim Joo-won played by Hyun Bin (My Lovely Samsoon, Snow Queen). You have to watch it to see for yourself if it makes any sense, but the idea is there. I just wish the writer took a more plausible approach. 18 episodes in, and I still don't buy it. Hopefully the last two episodes will tie all loose ends and explain all the magic that's going on.

The character setting is a bit typical of k-drama; rich boy meets poor girl. But luckily the writer managed to beef up the characters that make them rather outstanding. Of course the rich boy is a jerk, but Hyun Bin successfully makes the character his own. It will be remembered for the next couple of years when he's away for his military duty. The poor girl is a stuntwoman. I'm glad that the writer didn't make her a tomboy, but rather girly yet really cool when in action, which I believe was the very reason Joo Won got instantly smitten with her. I'm a girl, and I just fell in love with Ha Ji Won in this drama. She's really cool. I was never a fan of these actor and actress, but this drama proves to me that they are good. Especially when they have to characterize two different characters and copy each character's habits and traits rather similarly, which makes the body-changing, while illogical, a fun thing to watch, simply to see how Ha Ji Won and Hyun Bin would play that gender-bender roles.

Kim Joo-won first met Gil Ra-Im at a filming set where he mistakenly took her for the main actress, when she was actually just a double, carrying out the stunts/action scenes. Ever since then, Joo-won couldn't get her out of his mind, thus he kept finding excuses to see her, to the extent of auditioning to be a stuntman at the action school where she works.

His persistence is really annoying to Ra-Im, but Joo-won wouldn't stop until he figured out the reason why her images kept appearing in front of him. He later admitted that he's attracted to her. But he's a snob and offered her to be his "Little Mermaid", or in other words, to be his mistress. Once he's bored with her, he wanted her to disappear like bubbles. After all, he definitely would not want to take a poor stuntwoman to be his wife, when he has such high criteria for that position. And throughout the story, The Little Mermaid was a constant reference point, as well as Alice in Wonderland (this one I suppose to describe the unfamiliar and fantasy-like feelings the both characters felt since meeting each other).

To cut things short, eventually they both admitted their true feelings and fell deeply in love with each other. But as with all kdrama, a rich mom would not want a low class girl as potential daughter-in-law, and was a stumbling block in their relationship. Apart from that was the connection between Ra-im and Joo-won's past that was not all clear since he lost his memories of his 21-year-old self after a traumatic accident, that caused him to have some sort of claustrophobia, particularly, he couldn't ride elevators.

I think what's really good about this drama is the actors who played their roles well. Because in terms of editing, I thought it was fairly bad, and some plots are pretty cliché and trite. But thankfully the characters are well-developed and pretty consistent. Ha Ji won and Hyun Bin did a great job (although, Ha Ji Won as Ra-im in Joo-won's body is more interesting to watch than as Ra-im herself, which sometimes was rather meek and the same pitiful expression). Also it would be good to mention the supporting characters Seul and Oska, played by Kim Sarang (1000 Years of Love) and Yoon Sang Hyun (Queen of Housewives, Marrying a Millionaire), respectively. Their love-hate relationship is quite a nice side story and their chemistry is awesome. Kim Sarang was a third-wheeler character initially, but since it's quite plain whom she really cares for, she isn't much of a threat, and is actually quite a cute character. And Yoon Sang Hyun is in a better role and more refreshing to watch as a declining Hallyu star than his previous drama roles.

Three more days and it will be the finale. I hope it will be satisfactory or else this drama will go down quite a few numbers in my kdrama list, which would be just too bad, coz I enjoyed the comedic moments and the great chemistry among the leads and their sidekicks. Mdm. Writer, please give me an ending that would inject sense into all that you've shown us so far. Thank you in advance.

Baker King, Kim Tak Gu

2010-12-17T22:02:00.007+08:00

It was a hard decision to start watching this series. Even though the ratings were high, I also read that it was of 'makjang' variety, that is to say the story and plot is kinda over the top, exactly the kind of story I want to stay away from for a while (thus I was surprised that it turns out not so bad at all i.e not what I expected). It has 30 episodes, which are considerably longer than the normal 16-episode series I've watched. But thinking that I've survived quite a number of even longer series before (with unfavorable side-effects unfortunately) like Queen Seon Deok, My Too Perfect Sons, to name a few, I thought this one should be OK (but still, I hesitated for a loooog time). Thankfully, I caught an episode or two at KBS World (which I found out later was mid-way of the series) and thought that this might actually worth my while so I took the ride. It is indeed a good drama and I suppose, deserved the 'national drama' status (viewership rating above 40%). In short, a pretty addicting drama once you start watching.

I'm not quite sure about the year it all begins, but the story must first take place some time in the 50's perhaps, since it covers a few years before the leading characters are even born and after that it shows the year 1970++ as when one of the characters is attending university.

Yoon Shi Yoon (Highkick Through the Roof) plays the titular character Kim Tak Gu, who is an illegitimate son of President Gu Il Jong, a successful businessman in the baking industries. He has lived until 12 years old with his mother (who's hiding from the evil forces that are President's wife and his right-hand man) until she decides to send Tak Gu to live with his father. Under the same roof, Tak Gu lives with the legitimate offsprings of the President; he now has two elder sisters and one brother of the same age named Gu Ma Jun (Tak gu is a few months older). The eldest sister Gu Ja Kyung is a bit distant towards him, while Gu Ja Rim is more friendly. Gu Ma Jun (played by Joo Won) however, outright hates him. All his childhood he feels badly treated and hated by the grandmother, while the father he yearns for seems indifferent. But Tak Gu, whom the family only gets to know for short period of time, quickly gains the affection of both grandmother and father. The jealousy and animosity he feels towards Tak Gu will later grows until their adulthood. The President is especially fond of Tak Gu and decides to make Tak Gu his heir despite his illegitimate status because of Tak Gu's special ability - his keen sense of smell, which is a trait of a genius to become a great baker.

Kim Tak Gu, by a cruel turn of fate, gets separated from his father and new family, and eventually from his mother and wanders the world alone in search of her until adulthood. He meets important people along the way, learns new things of which some turns into habits, but more prominently, the kind-hearted Tak Gu has become some kind of untamed animal, using his fists all the time to solve all problems. He holds a grudge in his heart against the person who took his mother away from him. But deep down, his good nature remains and once he lets go of the past, he becomes the great person he actually is.

At the age of 24, he finally finds the clue that he believes will bring him closer to finding his mother. In order to find the man who took his mother away one night 12 years ago, he decides to enter the life of a family that runs a famous bakery in Incheon, where his target is believed to be working in. Coincidentally, Gu Ma jun also enrolls to be a trainee at the bakery under a false name Seo Tae Jo. Gu Ma Jun quickly realizes that Kim Tak Gu is the same brother he had during childhood and the hatred he felt at that time instantly comes back in full force. To gain approval from his father who is still yearning for his son Kim Tak Gu, Gu Ma Jun decides to hide his true identity and challenge Kim Tak Gu into the world of bakery. The rivalry begins anew with their lives turn upside down, left and right, high and low, and through it all come hopes, dreams and betrayals.

It's interesting to watch the two brothers, so different as night and day; Tak Gu who has nothing and lost everything but always has a smile on his face versus Ma Jun who seems to have everything but parade a scowl on his forehead. Tak Gu is optimistic by nature while Ma Jun tends to think the worst in people. Perhaps, their childhood upbringing plays a high factor in making them into what they are. Tak Gu lived with a loving mother despite a humble life but Ma Jun, who has everything at his fingertips, is a child that was forced to live a life he was not interested in, being burdened with unnecessary expectations, strict rules and not much affection. The frustration, anger, and feeling wronged by the people close to him made him cold-hearted, vengeful, and ultimately grows up into someone who can only lashes out when things go wrong or put up false bravery to cover his pain and cowardly nature.

And what would korean drama be without a love-triangle or square. Kim Eugene (Save the Last Dance) and Lee Young Ah (Golden Bride) play the leading ladies. Eugene, as Shin Yu Kyung was the childhood friend of Tak Gu. She seems like a strong woman on the outside, but is actually suffering from the memories of her abusive father when she was small. In the early days, she briefly got to know Ma Jun when Ma Jun followed Tak Gu to his hometown. Even then, Yu Kyung was able to read Ma Jun like a book. She realized straight away that Ma Jun regarded Tak Gu as a rival, and was jealous of him, and she told him that, which pissed him off. And in front of her and her abusive father, he acted cowardly and pretended to see nothing even when Yu Kyung's eyes were begging him for help. It was a 180-degree from what Tak Gu would do. Tak Gu was really righteous when Yu Kyung was beaten by his father and tried to save her by any mean possible. Needless to say, Yu Kyung has very low opinion of Ma Jun, and Ma Jun, much to his chagrin, was really affected by her words.

The three meet again as adults, and Yu Kyung, given the circumstances that occurred since the reunion, has not changed his opinion of Ma Jun. He is clearly still the bitter guy who's jealous of his own brother. Ma Jun also seems to still think of her as the annoying, pisses-me-off kind of girl, but it's funny how he keeps appearing in front of Yu Kyung. He confuses her with his harsh and arrogant attitude at one turn, and yet at another still goes out of his way to do her some good, in his ungentlemanly manner, of course. But to Yu Kyung, all that he did was in order to win over Tak Gu; Ma Jun thinks winning her would be one of the many things he wants to get the upper hand over Tak Gu, just like baking and his obsession with getting approval from his father. She is a tool for his revenge. But Ma Jun himself may have something that he's not telling her, like the fact that he is crazy about her. Only in his most desperate and frustrating moments does he ever betray his own emotions, albeit being masked by the way he confesses them, which further confuses the poor girl.

As adults, Tak Gu and Yu Kyung have moved from being childhood friends to lovers, albeit nothing much going on between them since they are apart or rather get separated most of the time. All they have are their feelings that are mutual. While Ma Jun was claiming her as his woman, Yu Kyung yearns for Tak Gu. She confesses later on that Tak Gu is the person with whom she can be herself and smile. I guess, a peace of mind. With Ma Jun, however, she senses a kindred spirit, or a shadow of herself. Just another broken person. Also, I noticed this because someone mentioned it on the internet, which I thought was a pretty sharp observation; with Tak Gu, it is always Yu Kyung who initiates a hug, like her seeking comfort within his embrace. But with Ma Jun, it is always him who grab her into his arms, like him trying to give her some comfort and assurance. I don't know if any of that carries some significance, but I think it's quite telling of who she really wants in her life.

Lee Young Ah plays the character of Yang Mi Sun, the daughter of the bakery owner where Ma Jun and Tak Gu work. If Ma Jun has a keen sense of smell, she has a keen sense of taste(bud). When Tak Gu first came barging in into their lives, Mi Sun and her 'baking family' were not very welcoming. She and Tak Gu were really on bad terms. But as time progresses, they grow closer and the way I see it, they are like best buddies. She helps Tak Gu a lot in his many problems and always by his side, which eventually leads her to harbor a romantic feeling towards him. But Tak Gu, in all his 'dumbness', always thought that Mi Sun has fallen for Ma Jun and keeps reminding her like a brother to a sister what a rotten jerk Ma Jun is.

Mi Sun actually reminds Tak Gu a lot of his missing mother. Her kindness, even the words they say are similar. One way or another, I believe he grows some kind of attachment to Mi Sun. But he cannot lie the fact that he has not forgotten Yu Kyung as the woman he loves. While slowly realizing Mi Sun's feelings toward him (he's not so dumb after all), he cannot reciprocate, thus keeps pretending like he doesn't get it.

Because of their good-natured personalities, together they create a warm and calm feeling when you look at them, which is quite unlike Ma Jun and Yu Kyung. With his vengeful inclination and her stubborn, but trampled pride, I almost worried for their endings while watching the drama. It is quite obvious that Tak Gu is going to get his happy ending. Afterall, this is a human drama to showcase that good triumphs over evil. But I was quite nervous to know what's going to happen to these two. Will they make amicable exits as separate individuals, or search for happiness together, when they themselves agree that they don't deserve to be happy after turning their backs on the people who love them.

While Ma Jun is such a vengeful kid, and his mother is someone you would love to hate, the actual two characters that I hate the most are probably the father and the grandmother. Maybe it was the culture at that time, but the grandmother was such an ass pressing the daughter-in-law for a son, and even allowing her own son to commit adultery in the hope of getting an heir. It was the most outrageous thing! She keeps treating the son's wife like a useless baby-making machine. And the way she treated Ma Jun (with the pretext of teaching him a lesson) without a trace of warmth and genuine care is just plan ridiculous and wrong. President Gu Il Jong, as a husband/father is not helping AT ALL. He just stands there looking dumb and detached like it's none of his business really ticks me off. The fact that he doesn't appreciate the people around him, like the wife and Ma Jun (and his sisters) and keep yearning for Tak Gu is so unfair. No wonder the mother and son are more than just a little crazy in the head and emotionally unstable. Of course, the mother also does quite a lot of bad things, but I think most of them are a chain of events that resulted from lack of warmth and understanding from the husband and mother-in-law. Given a different treatment, I think she wouldn't stray that far.

On additional note, when I first started this series, somehow it reminded me of the drama Bad Guy starring Kim Nam Gil (Queen Seon Deok) and Kim Jae Wook (Coffee Prince), because they both feature two "brothers" who are rivals. But after I finished watching Baker King, Kim Tak Gu, by then I was thinking to myself, 'What was the connection again?' before it came back to mind because Baker King is too engrossing that I wondered how could I even compare this great series with the mess that was Bad Guy. What's ironic is that Bad Guy was one of my most anticipated dramas of the year while I never had an inkling of initial interest towards Baker King and yet I think Baker King is everything that Bad Guy should have been but unfortunately was not i.e well-defined characters and more believable reasons for bad decisions and actions. But perhaps I'm not being fair, or rather make a premature conclusion given that I haven't finished Bad Guy (interest was lost along the way). And besides, Bad Guy is after all, a story about a bad guy, which understandable if he's not a character one can sympathize with. On the other hand, Baker King is a story of Kim Tak Gu, who is a noble character, someone you can totally root for. I may pick up Bad Guy again, and it would be good if I can change my opinion about it after I watch the whole series. But that might not be the case. We'll see.

사랑해요, 송일국씨!

2010-12-04T00:01:00.000+08:00

That Woman by Baek Ji Young (Secret Garden OST)

2010-11-30T23:00:00.002+08:00

I'm currently watching Secret Garden starring Hyun Bin (My Name is Kim Samsoon) and Ha Ji Won (Memories of Bali). Aired only up to episode 6 for now, but looks like it's going to be an awesome drama series to cap the year 2010. And along with it comes this beautiful and heartfelt song, 'That Woman' by Baek Ji Young. This song in the background while watching this drama just adds that little bit more meaning to the scenes, methinks. I've always felt that the right music/song can really help convey the intended messages to audience. Enjoy the song (lyrics can be found below - sorry if there's any inaccuracies!)

That Woman - lyrics translations with help from clairrpark@youtube

One woman loves you
That woman loves you wholeheartedly
She follows you around like a shadow everyday
That woman is laughing and crying
Just how much…how much more do I have to gaze at you alone
This love that came like the wind
This beggar-like love
If I continue this way, will you love me?
Just come a little nearer…a little more
If I take one step closer to you, then you take two steps back
I who love you am next to you now
That woman is crying.

That woman is timid
So she learned how to laugh
That woman has many stories that she can't even tell her best friend
So her heart is full of tears
That's why, That woman
You, she loved you
Because you are just same as her
Yet another fool, yet another fool
Can't you hug me before you go?
I want to receive love, baby
Everyday in my heart,
Just in my heart,
I shout and
That woman is next to him even today.

Do you know That woman is me?
You're not pretending that you don't know, right?
You really don't know cause you're a fool.

Just how much... how much more do I have to gaze at you alone
This love that’s like a fool
This beggar-like love
If I continue this way, will you love me?
Just come a little nearer...a little more...
If I take one step closer to you, then you take two steps back
I who love you is next to you now
That woman is crying.

Baker King Kim Tak Gu OST

2010-10-26T23:27:00.004+08:00

Baker King Kim Tak Gu. I recently finished this 30-episode series and it was quite a 'journey'. There will be another entry for that, but for now, I just want to share its amazing OST. I like all the songs . They have been on repeat mode in my winamp playlist for a while now. I'm practically begging myself to grow tired of it but looks like this will take a while. It's hard to tune off once I get obsessed with some nice songs. Well, hopefully you will enjoy them too~

Kyuhyun - Hope Is A Dream That Never Sleeps

KCM ft. Soul Dive - Love You to Death

(Extra - Contains SPOILERS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=st2j8ocw5kU&feature=related)

V.O.S - At the End of the Day

(Extra - contains SPOILERS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Jww5N7BIqw&feature=related)

Lee Seung Chul - That Person

(Extra - contains SPOILER: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgJF1uwSzS4&feature=related)

Bada - The Only One

(Extra - contains SPOILER: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTpJ9I4n58g&feature=related

And my favorite of all, is the one sung by Joo Won, who played the character Gu Ma Jun . I love the actor, his acting is awesome in that drama. I'm an instant fan. While watching the series, I thought, if he could sing , he would be my dream guy. Listening to him speaking, he sounded like he has a very nice singing voice, and that's before I knew he sang the OST. And then I found this out so I'm sold. It's a relatively slow song, and might not excite many, but I reaaaally am digging his soft tone. And he's so cute I want to pinch his chubby cheeks.

Joo Won - My Love

(Extra: for more Joo Won cuteness, click here ;p kekeke)

My Girlfriend is a Nine-Tailed Fox/My Girlfriend is a Gumiho

2010-10-01T23:31:00.021+08:00

My Girlfriend is a Gumiho (Gumiho = Nine-tailed fox) is the latest drama penned by the famous Hong sisters (Hong Mi Ran, Hong Jeong Eun) who also created hits like My Girl and Delightful Girl Chun Hyang. Their work just prior to My Girlfriend is a Gumiho was the series You're Beautiful, which didn't exactly get high viewership ratings officially but was hugely popular.

My Girlfriend is a Gumiho is a 16-episode series that gives a creative bend to the myth involving a creature in korean folklore called Gumiho or literally translated as nine-tailed fox. Set in a modern world, it is a story of a 500-year old Gumiho who was released after being trapped in a picture. It manipulated a human by the name of Cha Dae Woong to draw nine tails on an old picture thus broke the spell and subsequently freed it to once again roaming the world in its human form, a bewitchingly beautiful woman. Cha Dae Woong was a spoilt rich kid who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. After realizing that he had brought disaster upon himself, he tried his best to please the Gumiho in order to stay alive (according to folklore, Gumiho eats human liver).

The Gumiho was chased by a Gumiho-hunter, another non-human being, but was spared the killing after the hunter saw its human form, which had an uncanny resemblance to his old lover, whom he killed more than 1000 years ago. Through its interaction with humans, mainly Cha Dae Woong, Gumiho slowly grew a desire to become human. Gumiho-hunter told Gumiho that it was possible if a human being was willing to keep and take care of Gumiho's magical bead for 100 days, so Gumiho tricked Cha Dae Woong into keeping its bead inside his body. Cha Dae Woong, despite not knowing the real reason, was more than willing to the task. As an aspiring action movie star, Dae Woong needs the power of the magical bead to completely heal from a fatal fall so that he could proceed with filming his first ever action movie. What both of them didn't know was that at the end of the 100 days, only one would survive and lived on.

But many things could happen in 100 days. The Gumiho grew fonder of the human, and the human became less and less scared of Gumiho, even to a point that he sometimes thought the scary fox was actually quite cute!

As often the trademark of the Hong sisters, the drama was filled with hilarious situations and unexpected turns of events that kept you entertained. It wasn't exactly a solid writing, but the idea and the story itself were interesting enough to keep you going (personally I think their best work to date is Hong Gil Dong, and Fantasy Couple comes in second). In most cases, they managed to avoid cliché, or gave some twists to it, thus spared us viewers the necessity for head-banging against the wall. However, their portrayal of the relationship between Dae Woong's aunt and the action movie director was sometimes bordering on lame and over the top. But if I wasn't so keen on wanting the story to move on so I could know what's going to happen to the main couple, I probably wouldn't mind so much. A little annoyed. Maybe. Oh, well.

Shin Min-ah (The Devil) as Gumiho was perfect; appearance-wise she nailed it. Lee Seung Gi in his second leading role after the success of Brilliant Legacy was not so bad himself. Even though sometimes their acting seemed a little awkward, I couldn't quite tell whether it was intentional or otherwise. Nevertheless, I have not much complain about the overall cast.

In short, another entertaining series from the Hong sisters. If you are a fan of their previous works, you probably will like this one too. And the main characters Gumiho-Cha Dae Woong are just too cute for words. The actors have enough chemistry to make them a believable couple. Plus point, the OST is nice. It tugs at your heartstrings, whether you understand the lyrics or not. The drama series is far from flawless, but it is still one of those dramas that I would want to recommend to my brothers, and perhaps rewatch it with them while I'm at it.

Hotaru no Hikari Season 2

2010-09-18T16:59:00.004+08:00

This 11-episode Japanese romantic comedy totally throws the other drama series in this genre out the window for me (for now, that is). Even the ever favorite Nodame Cantabile has to come in second place! This drama brings back the original main cast from Season 1 Ayase Haruka (Tatta Hitotsu no Koi) as Amemiya Hotaru a.ka. "Himono onna" and Fujiki Naohito (Proposal Daisakusen) as Takano Seiichi a.ka. Buchou~.

The series picks up where it left three years ago (Season 1 was in 2007). Amemiya just comes back from her 3-year work attachment in Hong Kong and resumes life as usual as if nothing i.e the separation ever happened. She naturally goes back to work where Buchou is, goes back to the house where Buchou and she lived prior to Hong Kong assignment, lazying around at the porch and drinking beer. Life is back to normal for her.

But of course, people and things change over the course of three years, as admitted by Buchou, which leads Amemiya to ponder on what has she accomplished for the past three years when other people around her seem to evolve. But being the "Himono onna", it seems a little troublesome a thought.^^

Season 1 is all about Amemiya's awakening to love, whereby Season 2 focuses primarily on the progress of relationship between Amemiya and Buchou towards marriage. It's heartwarming to watch, and most importantly, deym HILARIOUS!

Highly recommended.

Knight and Day (2010)

2010-06-26T15:20:00.004+08:00

The movie follows Roy Miller (Cruise) as a crazy, delusional, schizophrenic, wanted man that turns out to be a misunderstood secret agent on the run after being accused of stealing a newly invented perpetual energy battery called the Zephyr to sell it to the enemy. June Havens (Diaz) gets caught in the whirlwind after bumping into him (literally) twice at the airport and so the two begins their little adventure to escape from other secret agents which consists of "incredible" journeys that we viewers don't know much about because these two love drugging each other and when one passes out, we also don't know what's going on because the story is told in his/her POV (point-of-view). Amidst running away, they have to track down a nerd teenager named Simon, the energy inventor who has run out of his hiding place to have HIS own adventure.

To be frank, I wasn't impressed by the movie. In fact, I thought it was a waste of my money. The actions and stunts were a little far-fetched and messy in a bad way, the romance lame and cheesy and almost embarrassing to watch. In any case, it was a let down. Of course, this is very subjective. No offense!

Prosecutor Princess (2010)

2010-06-18T20:52:00.002+08:00

[Ma Hye Ri is a woman with an excellent memory and ability to focus, which allowed her to pass the bar exam with ease. Despite her talents, she is more interested in being fashionable and dislikes hard work so she is far from being an ideal prosecutor and has doubts about her suitability for her job. Through her conflicts with senior colleages and struggles with difficult cases, however, Hye Ri gradually matures into a brilliant prosecutor with a sense of duty and justice.] - Dramawiki

This drama starred Kim So Yeon, fresh from her action drama IRIS. It's quite a big change for her in terms of role play. I haven't finished watching IRIS, but from what I've seen of her character, it was pretty charismatic. But in Prosecutor Princess, she comes off as a bimbo at first glance, but the actress manage to make her character (that can easily become annoying and off-putting) into an endearing and cute prosecutor princess. Kim So Yeon herself is so pretty. As for her co-star Park Shi Hoo, his acting was a little unnatural/stiff for me but overall he was OK.

To be frank, I didn't expect much from this series. It came out about the same time as 2 other dramas, Personal Taste starring Sohn Ye Jin (Summer Scent) and Lee Min Ho, and Cinderella's Sister featuring "Korean Little Sister" Moon Geun Yeong (Autumn in My Heart). I was looking forward to watching Personal Taste, since it's Lee Min Ho's first series after Boys over Flowers, but started with Cinderella's Sister first, which got me hooked for a couple of episodes. Then I waited for all three to finish airing before started watching in earnest. Even though Prosecutor Princess had the lowest viewership ratings out of the three (or perhaps because of that), I was curious of the drama. Statistically, I usually found low-rating dramas sometimes are quite a gem. Prosecutor Princess was no exception. It was way more entertaining than I expected. And of course, happy ending.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

2010-06-18T20:02:00.001+08:00

Hidden in the heart of the old city of Barcelona is ‘Cemetery of Forgotten Books’, a labyrinthine library of obscure and forgotten titles. To this library, a man brings his 10-year-old son, Daniel, one cold morning in 1945. Daniel is allowed to choose one book and from the dusty shelves pulls The Shadow of the Wind by Julian Carax. But as Daniel grows up, several people seem inordinately interested in his find. What begins as a case of literary curiosity turns into a race to find out the truth behind the life and death of Julian Carax and to save those he left behind.

You read the title and you know this is going to be one cheesy literature. The language and words used in this book are beautiful, almost philosophical. I liked the plot overall. My only complain would be how distracting the stories within the story could be. The writer tended to digress a little bit, in my opinion, which sometimes made me go backward a few pages because it simply slipped my mind what the original plot was after reading a few paragraphs/pages of background story for the characters or whatever that at times I doubted has anything to do with the main plot development. But of course by the end of the book, I didn't get totally mad or disappointed of being so many times sidetracked by the side stories because the revelations or conclusions to the mystery themselves are pretty shocking and well, quite not what I expected.

Took me weeks to finish this, but it was worth it.

The Karate Kid (2010)

2010-06-12T07:10:00.002+08:00

You've got to check this out! Though, I wouldn't recommend it to little kids, especially those who are yet able to differentiate good from bad coz I don't think they can appreciate all the lessons learnt amidst all those awesome karate or kung fu moves or whatever you call it. Don't want them to get out of the movie theater and take away only the violent parts. Oh, yes, they do get pretty violent to me.

To give you some idea (in case you haven't figured it out yet), the movie is about a kid named Dre Parker who moves to Beijing when her mother gets transferred there and is caught in trouble with a school bully when he befriends a local girl. It leads him to learn martial arts from the maintenance man (Jackie Chan) in order to survive.

It could have been a very typical story, but the movie was just too funny and witty to simply fall under that category. It was very entertaining and it's okay to laugh out loud in the movie theater because everybody else did. It's the only way to appreciate good, funny scenes, right? And what I also love about the movie is that it lets the kids be kids. Dre Parker, for example, is just what you expect from a 12-year-old. He acts all tough and smug, acting a little bit like a know-it-all, a little bit rebellious, a little bit wimpy, and he cries (wet eyes, red nose and all) when it hurts to get beaten.

I'll probably get the DVD when it's out.

The Perfect Neighbors (2007)

2010-04-25T10:40:00.007+08:00

A.K.A How To Meet A Perfect Neighbor is a pretty solid series, given the superb acting and interesting plotlines. It merges comedy with drama, as well as a mysterious murder case to solve that keeps the story engaging. I love how they develop the murder case with the police seeking evidences and trying to relate one thing to another when they seem to have no connection whatsoever. It keeps us guessing and wanting to know more.

The story revolves around the people of a quiet neighborhood, where some of its residents are working in the same company. At the center of it all is Professor Baek Soo Chan, played by Kim Seung Woo (Iris), the playboy who believes that he is every woman's man. The ladies in the neighborhood really like Baek Soo Chan and he himself really knows just the right words to say to make them all happy.

Among the many admirers is Jung Mi Hee, the widowed older sister of Jung Yoon Hee. Jung Mi Hee is really obsessed with Baek Soo Chan that she stalks him all the way to Cambodia. At the same time, Baek Soo Chan's brother from the countryside is also in Cambodia to find a bride. He sees Baek Soo Chan at the airport and attacks him and asks him to return the money he borrowed before ran away some ten years ago. Due to some circumstances, his brother decides to live with Soo Chan, and brings along with him a boy, much to Soo Chan's surprise.

Bae Doo Na (Lord of Study, The Host), one of my favorite Korean actresses played the role of Jung Yoon Hee, seemingly a good-for-nothing second daughter. Compared to her sophisticated sister, she is quite plain, and can be very clumsy. She is very much against her sister going for Baek Soo Chan because she sees nothing good in that playboy. The two of them however ended up being buddies. Yoon Hee falls in love with her boss at work, but the boss is already engaged to someone that lives in her neighborhood.

Park Shi Hoo (Iljimae) who plays the boss character is an heir of a successful conglomerate company. He comes back to Korea after his father collapses and becomes the Planning Manager. He is engaged to the Chairman's daughter under family arrangement, but is not very enthusiastic about it. He was once involved in a scandal with an actress that left him quite bitter. Though appears cold and strict, he eventually is charmed by Yoon Hee's easy-going personality.

The Perfect Neighbor is the perfect drama series. A perfect mixture of elements from friendship to family to romance, basically all kinds of relationship blend together really well. and I just love the ending. Finally a drama where the second lead got the love he as much deserves as the main lead. A different ending would suck big time. Besides, I can relate to Bae Doo Na's character and thus makes this drama even more interesting and addicting to watch.

In general, I love how the drama manages to focus on all characters and relationships to fit in a 20-episode series with depth and in a realistic manner. The story development is well-paced, and you are able to see the interactions in the neighborhood and appreciate the importance of having good neighbors. I truly enjoyed the series and would highly recommend it.

American Idol Season 9: Top 7

2010-04-22T21:01:00.000+08:00

It was a night of inspirational songs, but the night wasn't so inspiring. We were already at Top 7, but most of the performances were pretty dull by now instead of more and more exciting as the finale draws closer. But anyway, the show must go on. Alicia Keys was the mentor.

1) Casey James - Don't Stop

It was the same old stuff with Casey James. And his vocal is worse than ever. I REALLY want him to put that guitar down and show us his singing capabilities. Every week, the guitar playing is more impressive than his singing, and even that is starting to get old.

2) Lee Dewyze - The Boxer

The vocal wasn't perfect, but it did not matter because the performance as a whole was great. It was heartfelt, honest, and believable. I think Kara was right when she said Lee had his moment there. I wish he got more minutes to sing.

3) Tim Urban - Better Days

He's been quite pitch-perfect the past couple of weeks, but tonight not so much. But for some reason, I like it better than Casey's because it felt more honest. Oh, well.

4) Aaron Kelly - I Believe I Can Fly

I wish he had picked some other song. I dunno. 'I Believe I can Fly' just sounded corny. But he did well. Vocal wasn't so bad. But again, with Aaron, everything sounds old-fashioned.

5) Siobhan Magnus - When You Believe

I feel that she has been choosing the wrong songs week after week ever since the good 'Paint It Black'. This time it was no exception. Or maybe it seemed so because she just didn't deliver. She sounded better during mentoring session with Alicia Keys, but on the real night she fell short.

6) Michael Lynche - Hero

I wonder if it would be so much better for him to leave the guitar back stage. He could probably get more connected to the audience and the song without the guitar. I dunno what's going on but I didn't feel his big presence this time.

7) Crystal Bowersox - People Get Ready

It was again a solid performance from Crystal. Too bad at the end she choked on her tears so the ending was a little 'bleh'. I know the judges loved it that she showed some emotions. Besides Lee, she was the only other contestant that actually give a decent performance. Also, she didn't use the guitar!

For the result, finally Tim Urban got voted out. It's about time. And Casey was in the Bottom Two, so that should be a wake-up call and hopefully he steps up and show us something different. Shania Twain is to mentor next week.

American Idol Season 9: Top 09 Round 2

2010-04-16T22:57:00.002+08:00

The theme for Top 9 Round 2 was Elvis. The contestants headed to Las Vegas and were mentored by last season's Runner up Adam Lambert, whom to me was the best mentor so far. He was very honest and knew exactly what it takes to rock the stage. Although, not all of them heeded his advice.

Overall it was just another Idol night. Nothing really all that exciting, or particularly memorable (unlike last week's bagpiper!). Some stepped the game up, some went down, while the rest more or less showing us the same thing.

#1 Crystal Bowersox - Saved

It was a solid performance. But I was not crazy about it. It's Crystal. It's good, but I've seen it before. I wish she would let go of the guitar (or any other instruments) and JUST SING her heart out and use the stage more.

#2 Andrew Garcia - Hound Dog

It's light, it's OK. I don't have much to say about this one, and I don't really care.

#3 Tim Urban - Can't Help Falling in Love

He has a sweet voice and tone, and the song itself was nice to listen to, but I thought the performance was a little bit boring. Mentor Adam Lambert complimented on his voice and his choice of song. I wonder how much more compelling it would be if Adam were to perform it.

#4 Lee Dewyze - A Little Less Conversation

I wish he did more. While his vocal rocks, I feel like there's something missing. He kind of lacks stage presence. It's frustrating. Last week's was better, even when he's not on pitch.

#5 Aaron Kelly - Blue Suede Shoes

I like that Aaron did something different this time from what he usually does. It was more upbeat and less old-fashion, in a way. And the performance managed to showcase his good vocal range and groove, something that has been missing for a while. Or maybe it felt that way, simply because it's different this time what he did.

#6 Siobhan Magnus - Suspicious Mind

I liked the beginning, but hated the rest. I just didn't get it. Pitchy all over. But she looked gorgeous~

#7 Big Mike - In the Ghetto

Big Mike Big Mike Big Mike. Another boring performance of the night. but his vocal is perfect, as usual.

#8 Katie Stevens - Baby What You Want Me to Do

About the only performance that I truly enjoyed this night. It was full of energy and vocals were great. I personally think it's her best performance to date. I feel like she really went all out. Other contestants should do the same.

#9 Casey James - Lawdy Miss Clawdy

Didn't get it. He showed again, the exact same thing. And I still heard this struggle in his voice, really shaky when he tried to reach all those high notes, like they were beyond his capability or something. I really want to see some surprise from this guy next time.

And there were double eliminations this week because of Big Mike's save last week - Andrew Garcia and Katie Stevens. I don't have much to say about Andrew Garcia's because it's about time, I suppose. And Katie, while I may feel indifferent if she were to be voted off in earlier weeks, this time I was really disappointed, because I thought she showed some huge progress. And she actually has big vocals that I prefer more than the rest of the remaining female contestants'. And she looks like a real fun person. Too bad. It is moments like this that make me go, "Heck, Tim. No offence, but why are you still here?". I mean no disrespect to Tim, and he's really trying hard and progressing, but arrgh!

American Idol Season 9: Top 09

2010-04-08T23:59:00.005+08:00

The Top 9 is doing the songs from The Beatles. Honestly I don't know much about this 60's band, but what I do know is people listen to their songs even now. I've listened to some too, mostly because the idols from previous seasons performed them, like Let It Be, Eleanor Rigby, and Come Together.

Anyway, here's again my brief take on the night's performances. And before I forget, I saw a glimpse of Lacey Brown, yay!

#1 Aaron Kelly - Long and Winding Road

This guy is starting to get pretty boring pretty fast. Not quite a fan of his old-fashioned style of singing.

#2 Katie Stevens - Let It Be

It's a fact that she got strong vocals. While not the best of the night, definitely her best performance yet to me. Still in danger of sounding tuneless, but this one works, for now.

#3 Andrew Garcia - Can't Buy Me Love

I guess it was OK. Nothing to be crazy about. I still prefer last weeks's Forever.

#4 Michael Lynche - Eleanor Rigby

I saw a different side of him with this performance. It was alright, just that I still recall David Cook's version, which rocked my socks!.

#5 Crystal Bowersox - Come Together

I think I can see a little bit what's the big deal about Crystal Bowersox. She got it good with this performance. And I got to know a musical instrument called didgeridoo.

#6 Tim Urban - All My Loving

Let me be honest here. I know that the judges have been trashing him good since Day 1. But his performances have been the ones I enjoy week after week, no matter how simple his take on it, coz he just pick the right songs for my ears. It especially helps when I never listen to the originals so I don't make comparison. He doesn't have crazy vocals like some others supposed to have, but every week he steps up a little bit and there's always improvement. And he ALWAYS smi-----------les.

#7 Casey James - Jealous Guy

The judges love it. Simon claims it to be the best of the night. I personally thought it was just OK. As usual with James, I think he doesn't have a strong vocal, so his voice always sounds shaky to me, instead of sounding like some kind of vibrato that some great singers have (I know Shin Hyesung for one). But there's no denial how awesome he is with the guitar.

#8 Siobhan Magnus - Across the Universe

Too slow for me. Still not a fan of her voice. But I'm a fan of her personality! And I love the way she dresses up every week. She looks stunning.

#9 Lee Dewyze - Hey Jude

He's back on pitch problems, but at least he seems to be having a lot of fun. And exudes more confidence, which is a good thing.

And this week, Big Mike got voted off, but was saved by the judges. Good for him. Let's see if it's worth it.

American Idol Season 9: Top 10

2010-04-03T15:25:00.004+08:00

About the only show I'm following on TV. I did tune in to previous seasons, especially Season 7 (David Cook wins yay!) and Season 8 (Kris Allen yoohoo~) but missed out on the auditions episodes. And this season, just when I thought I wanted to be constant, what a bad year to choose to be faithful. I don't see much excitement this season, with sub-par performances and almost zero star power, and we are already at Top 10. But anyway, since I've decided to follow through, I'll keep on watching, because it's not like I have no favorite at all.

So this is a little belated, but here's my really brief opinions (of course, this is very subjective) on the Top 10 performances. The theme this week is R&B, with Usher being brought in to mentor the idol hopefuls.

#1 Siobhan Magnus - Through the Fire

What is going on? What a mess. Not much of a fan of a high-pitched voice anyway, though her really really high notes are quite something.

#2 Casey James - Hold On I'm Coming

Well, it's a very Casey-like performance. He's been pretty consistent throughout the season. there's not much of a wow factor, but I must admit he seems to enjoy and let loose a little bit more than previous performances. At least he delivers.

#3 Michael Lynche a.k.a Big Mike - Ready for Love

What great vocals but what a boring performance. No climax at all.

#4 Didi Benami - What Becomes of the Broken-Hearted

She has a unique tone, but with this kind of tone, one needs to perform impeccably for the tone to come to her advantage. This one is quite a mess. Almost tuneless, or the arrangement just doesn't work. I feel like I've listened to the original before, and I'm pretty sure it's a much better version than Didi's. And talking about unique tone, I miss Lacey Brown.

#5 Tim Urban - Sweet Love

Tim Urban is a walking miracle. How he survived week after week in a SINGING competition is beyond me. But I'm not bitter. Sweet Love is probably his best performance yet. He's in tune, at best. Other than that, it's quite painful to watch.

#6 Andrew Garcia - Forever

He keeps me (and perhaps America) waiting for toooo long. Finally a performance that reminds me of why I like him initially during the audition days. His acoustic take on the song makes it as good a version as the original by Chris Brown, if not better. He better keeps this up.

#7 Katie Stevens - Chain of Fools

What a waste of great voice. She pretty much sounds flat all the way.

#8 Lee Dewyze - Treat Her Like a Lady

The best performance of the night. Definitely my favorite. His growl no longer has pitch problems and he seems more comfortable on stage. Not yet at David Cook's level, but a vast improvement from last week's performance. His best yet.

#9 Crystal Bowersox - Midnight Train to Georgia

To be frank, I don't understand all this hype about Crystal Bowersox. I was never wowed or moved by her performance. Why Simon and other judges singing her praises is something I don't fully comprehend. Though given the disappointing others, she's perhaps the only one with consistently good vocal. Perhaps just not my cup of tea. Yet.

#10 Aaron Kelly - Ain't No Sunshine

Since his performance was placed last, I was expecting a blast. What a let-down. No energy, no passion. He shouldn't have taken this song when Kris Allen owned it last year. Or he simply should have done a better job.

So there you go, and in case you don't know yet, Didi Benami was voted off. It's a shame really, especially when her final performance for the Judges' Save was her best performance all season long. almost perfect. But hey, there are other who might need the Judges' Save, especially when Tim Urban is still on the running of becoming America's Next Top Model. Err, I mean, American Idol.

Of Words and Silence

2010-02-20T08:31:00.002+08:00

Sometimes...
people whisper to you a word or two,
that make you dare to hope and wish,
or simply make you confuse and in anguish.

Sometimes...
people say things that make you mad,
or things that make you feel bad,
or pretty sad.

Sometimes...
they don't say a thing,
just a simple look yet they make you think,
or the silence stings.

Sometimes...
you just want to say something,
but afraid of what the outcome would bring,
instead you let your heart do the singing,
or let it cry in pain.

When Spring Comes

2010-02-16T09:37:00.002+08:00

You know a drama is good when it cures your obsession over another drama. That's what When Spring Comes did to me. I watched it as part of my "Queen Seon Deok Withdrawal Program" (^_^x). I didn't exactly start it after I finished QSD. It was way before that (it's an old series after all). The first time round, I seek this drama to watch Park Shi Yeon (My Girl). I fast forwarded a lot just to watch her scenes and since I thought she was not going to get her happy ending, I was disappointed and skipped the drama altogether. I revisited this drama to watch Kim Nam Gil that played the pitiful Bidam in QSD, which was when I watched this drama in earnest. I may started out for Park SY and Kim NG, but it was Kim Gab Soo (Time Between Dog and Wolf) that stole the show for me. He always plays the resident evil in most of his dramas, except in Worlds Within, as far as I remember (I didn't watch ALL his drama). Thought he was going to be another badass character so I was pretty excited to watch. Turned out I was wrong, and it was all for the better. And I can assure you, this drama has happy endings, even for Park Shi Yeon. LOL.

When Spring Comes tells the story of Lee Jung Do, played by Park Gun Hyung (Innocent Steps), a sincere and kind man who comes from a family of legendary swindlers. He wants to become a prosecutor and lives with integrity, but finds it hard to find jobs due to his family history. He lives with his grandfather who works as a barber.

Park Shi Yeon is a detective named Oh Young Joo, who's stationed at Jung Do's neighborhood. She meets Kim Jun Ki, played by Kim Nam Gil, who is an aspiring prosecutor through a blind date. Jun Ki is attracted to Young Joo and diligently pursues her after that, even though Young Joo's response is rather lukewarm.

Lee Ha Na (Women In the Sun) is a small-time swindler Chae Ri who tries to seduce Jun Ki at a night club, but later is under the impression that Jun Ki is a poor guy, thus she changes her mind. At the same night club, Young Joo's partner, Detective Moon arrives with the intention of spying on Jung Do's father Lee Duk Soo who just came out of prison, but is sidetracked by Chae Ri, someone he has been trying to catch for quite a while.

I totally enjoyed this drama. All characters are likeable, in their own ways. I especially love the dynamic between Jung Do, Jung Do's father, and Jung Do's grandfather. They are just too cute together. Kim Gab Soo, who played Jung Do's father is such a funny character. I think he's the luckiest guy in this drama because he gets all the good lines to utter. He was actually a very bright kid, but was bitter towards life and took the wrong path. Whenever and whatever he talks, it is nothing short of philosophical. It's ridiculous to watch, in a good way. He's such a good actor, but some may stereotyped him as THE bad guy whenever he comes out in a drama . My little brother told me that he didn't like seeing his face, because he just hated all the bad characters the actor had played they just got imprinted in his head. Haha. But honestly, it was refreshing seeing him in When Spring Comes. I always anticipated what came out of his mouth next. He seriously got all the best and worthy lines.

In short, a good drama worth 5/5.

Queen Seon Deok - The Characters (Part I)

2010-02-08T23:56:00.013+08:00

Queen Seon Deok is a series that focuses on the 'villains' as much as it focuses on its 'heroes', because a strong and remarkable hero is called such because he/she faced an equally strong and remarkable nemesis. Because there is a strong opponent like Mishil, that Deokman was able to gain experience and wisdom. There are also other characters that play significant roles to both Deokman and Mishil in their quest to gain the throne. For this first part, I list some of the main characters and their brief descriptions. Please note that my descriptions of the characters are merely based on the TV series, and not based on actual historical data. Warning: MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS.

1) PRINCESS DEOKMAN
Princess Deokman (Queen Seon Deok, posthumous) was played beautifully by Lee Yo Won (Fashion 70's). Her younger version was played with great vigor by Nam Ji Hyun (East of Eden, Will It Snow for Christmas?). She was born a twin, which according to a prophecy will mark the end of the sacred bone lineage, meaning that there will be no male heir of direct descendant to claim the throne. The news of the birth of twin princesses would only spell disaster to the royal family. Because of that the King, as in Deokman's father, ordered a nursemaid by the name of Seohwa to take away Deokman and escaped from the palace safely.

She is the one character that shows the most growth in the series, as it should since this is the story about her after all. She displays the quality of a leader since childhood, with perceptive intelligence and great perseverance. Lee Yo Won has the kind of beauty that grows in you and it matures as the character itself grows. I don't understand the complains people have against Lee Yo won's acting. I thought she was remarkable, and it just improves along the way. Perhaps what people really meant to complain was how the character was developed some time during her days as Hwarang. It has little to do with her acting, because I feel that she has delivered what the story asked of her.

There were some character inconsistencies, but I think the situation called for it. She was very brave and such a speak-up person when she was a child. But that is the very innocence of childhood, given her upringing. But further growing up, she has faced several near-death events, journeyed to a new country in search of her real identity, gained foreign and new experiences, and faced the ultimate truth about her birth and her so-called destiny. As she matures, she toned down a little, which is only right. But I never see the high-spirited person in her dies away. It's always there. Waiting to be free again. Just because she doesn't scream or being loud all the time like when she was a child, or just because she showed some moments of fear and uncertainties, she's weak. Circumstances change how people behave, but not necessarily change what inside them that has been shaped since they were small. And true enough, we see again the real Deokman as she overcomes her fears and makes up her mind to fight Mishil.

The best part of Queen Seon Deok has always been the one-to-one exchanges between Deokman and Mishil. I like how Deokman, despite her lack in knowledge and worldly experience in her early days, faces Mishil with a brave front, manages to counter Mishil's attack on her beliefs, then later when she's alone, she always thinks back of their conversations and gains new understanding of things, while stay true to her principle. However, there are also times when Mishil's words create doubts in her mind, which is only realistic, especially when what Mishil says is always right. But Mishil, in a way, is a pessimist, while Deokman is an optimist. Mishil presents the state of things as facts that cannot be changed, while Deokman dares to dream and hope. And through this dreams and hopes that she gains her people.

2) SEJU MISHIL
After Song Il Gook in Emperor of the Sea, this is the first time a villain takes center stage in my eyes as much as the main character. While her scenes with Deokman are always intriguing, Mishil's other scenes have power of their own. If this drama is named Lady Mishil instead of Queen Seon Deok, it probably is still valid because this is as much a story about Mishil as it is about Deokman. Go Hyun Jung (Spring Days), who played the character was really worth all the praise. This is the first drama of her that I actually watched (I tried Spring Days but was too young to appreciate it so I couldn't even finished the first episode)

Seju Mishil is described as a real beauty and a femme fatale, and gains power and prominence during the reign of King Jinheung as the female leader of the Hwarang. She is a treasure of Shilla, but also a poison. King Jinheung, who realizes that his demise is forthcoming orders Mishil to inscribe his last injunction. He names his grandson Baekjeong (later as King Jinpyeong, Deokman's father) as his successor to the throne. According to the codes of law, Seju Mishil, and Prince Geumnyun (the King's second son) who serve the current King must relinguish all significant posts upon his death and devote their remaining days to serving Buddha. This doesn't sit well with Mishil, who's eyeing for more power. King Jinheung realizes that Mishil is in no desire to follow his injunction. He thus gives a secret order to kill Mishil. Unfortunately, the one who carries the order, Seolwon, is none other than Mishil's own lover whose devotion to her is unquestionable. Mishil then devises her own plan to assassinate the King.

After the death of King Jinheung, Mishil put attempts to gain total power by underhanded schemes to make herself the Queen both during King Jinji's and King Jinpyeong's reigns. Although fails at both attempts, by then the royal power is diminishing while Mishil's grows stronger. King Jinpyeong, who witnessed first hand the attempt to murder his grandfather, King Jinheung, is merely a puppet king, and has no power to overcome Mishil's influence. The only thing he has that Mishil has not, is his sacred bone lineage, a fact that embitters Mishil to no end. Mishil marries Lord Sejong, whom in the case of no royal successor, could be the next-in-line to the throne. Together, Mishil and her clan continously devise their way into power by manipulating their exclusive knowledge on astronomy, claiming Mishil as the Heaven's Royal Maiden. They use the so-called Heaven's message as relayed to Mishil to their own advantage, like discriminating the Gaya people and forced them to leave and relocated to a barren land with no hope for the future.

Mishil is a woman of great wits and charm. However, she is not as visionary as Deokman. She dreams of becoming Queen, but never the King. She gains people's trust and manipulate them, but never makes them dream of greater dreams. It is through her confrontation with Deokman, as well as later with Chunchu (Deokman's nephew) that enlightens and propels her to become the King herself.

King Jinheung once said to Mishil, "It is not divine providence that bestows glory upon a ruler. It is his people.He who can be blessed by people's faith, shall rule over all creation for ages to come." Mishil gained her power using this very principle. Her close followers are some of the most loyal nobles like Lord Sejong and warriors like Lord Seolwon, Chilsuk, and Seokpum, who gave their all to support her cause.

3) BIDAM
Kim Nam Gil (When Spring Comes, Goodbye Solo) played the complex character of Bidam, who was the abandoned child of Mishil from her union with King Jinji. He was raised by Lord Munno, who aspired him to be the king who would lead the campaign for the unification of the Three Kingdoms. That is, before he found out the true nature of Bidam's character in an incident where Bidam assassinated a large group of people when he was just a young boy. Lord Munno, who initially was like a father figure, distanced himself from Bidam ever since, treating him with detachment. This episode in Bidam's life is the key event that forever haunts him. Bidam, often said in the drama itself, is one daunting specimen. He added a much needed dynamic in the drama when his character was first introduced. I didn't quite like him then, though admittedly intrigued. He's too wild and unpredictable. But rapidly he turned into a character that's hard to ignore, and hard not to root for, giving me the same heartache I felt while rooting for Song Il Gook's character in The Emperor of the Sea.

This is a contradictory statement, but Bidam is actually quite simple minded, in a way. He wants acceptance, and he will do anything to achieve that. His desire, ultimately, is to be accepted by Deokman. He can be childlike. Any sign of trust from Deokman, and he's over the moon. His devotion towards Deokman is very one-dimensional, which in real life can be a scary thing. Mishil once said to Bidam, "I tried to gain the throne by gaining people's hearts. But you are trying to gain this country to gain people's heart." Unlike Yushin who turns his love for Deokman into a devotion of a subordinate towards his ruler, sharing her grandiose dream and dedicating his effort to achieve those dreams, Bidam is different. He couldn't care less about those grand dreams, the title and fickle followers. For him, those are merely means to get to Deokman's heart. What he wants is not Deokman the King, but Deokman the woman.

His ultimate downfall is his inability to trust. Being physically abandoned by the biological mother since a baby is more than enough to inflict pain in a child. He desperately wants to be wanted. He behaved the way he thought Munno wanted him to behave, to gain his approval. but Munno also abandoned him, albeit not physically, but emotionally. This feeling of being unwanted was heavy in his heart until one day he met Deokman, who was the first person to ever offer him what his was seeking - approval. Deokman seems to accept him for what he is, turning everything about him that he thought was bad into something positive. Thusly, he describes his attachment to Deokman like a duckling that just comes out from the egg and followed the first person it sees at all cost. Sometimes, he also looks like a lost puppy to me, jumping from one owner to another, hoping anyone of them will give him some shelter - from trying to gain Munno's approval, to desperately hoping for some shred of love from a mother that abandoned him, to earning the trust and love of his devotion that is Deokman. But he's scared. He doesn't know when next he will be abandoned by the person he badly wants to trust. And because of it he lost everything. A trust that is fragile, and the attempt to trust that seems futile. He's like a man who desperately wants to reach out for love, but that which forever eludes him.

I would like to quote from a book I read (though I can't quite remember the exact words) The Shadow of the Wind, that I think describes Bidam's situation: "The downside of childhood is that you don't have to understand things to feel them. By the time your mind is able to comprehend, the cut is already too deep." Indeed.

4) KIM YUSHIN
Kim Yushin was played by Uhm Tae Woong (Resurrection). He was a royal of Gaya descendant, who later became a great general and was responsible for the campaign on the unification of the Three Kingdom under Queen Seon Deok and later Kings. In the story, he was Deokman's first love, and was her Hwarang leader during the early years when Deokman's identifty was yet to be revealed. He was a very honest and sincere man, almost to a fault. But that was also his greatest strength, besides his exceptional swordsmanship.

Kim Yushin was Deokman's greatest supporter. From the moment of Deokman's declaration to be a King, he buried his feelings for her and swore to give his all to support her cause. In the story, he was almost married to Deokman's twin sister, Princess Cheon Myung, but the princess was murdered and marriage was off. His Gaya poeple wanted to see him as their King and the Ruler of Shilla. Under his influence, the Gaya warriors agreed to support Deokman's cause.

The Gaya people was his strength, as well as his Achilles' heel. The Gaya people has been heavily discriminated for almost 80 years and suffered a lot when Mishil came to power. Their hope was to see Kim Yushin became the King of Shilla and restore the glory of Gaya. Kim Yushin however made clear that he had no desire to be a King, but will continue to support Deokman. Without his knowledge, a Gaya Reformation Movement was formed under the lead of Prince Wolya of Gaya. During the reign of Princess Deokman as King of Shilla, Bidam who was entrusted by Deokman to head a special unit had discovered the existence of this reformation and had used it against Yushin to eliminate Yushin's ever growing influence and fame.

In the earlier episodes, I must admit that I was a little dissatisfied with Yushin's character. He became a Hwarang leader at very young age, and at that time he didn't show much leadership quality, most likely due to his inferiority complex over his Gaya line. Also, it was frustrating to watch him watching his subordinates being bullied and he didn't even lift a finger to stop it. He just witnessed the situation with a hopeless look. I find that a little unbecoming. Later on however, as he gained strength, and perhaps a little bit more appreciative of his own worth, he became more charming; especially after he made up his mind to forget his love and be Deokman's follower instead.

The only complain left is the way he treated his wife, a bride from the Mishil's Clan. I'm not sure what the director wanted to convey by having Yushin showing not a single drop of warmth towards his wife; that he still loved Deokman? That Deokman is the only one for him? That viewers are supposed to applause him for being loyal to his love for Deokman by treating the wife coldly? For me, it was downright disrespectful to the wife and a little bit cruel. At least, in Emperor of the Sea, the protagonist Jang Bogo was shown to treat his wife with respect and care, despite her not being the love of his life.

Anyway, that complaint aside, I think, of all people, Kim Yushin was probably the one that Deokman most thankful for. Afterall, he had been with her through thick and thin, even before they were King and subordinate.

5) PRINCESS CHEON MYUNG
Princess Cheon Myung is Deokman's twin sister, played by Park Ye Jin (Memories of Bali, Hateful But Once Again). Childhood-wise, compared to Deokman who was 'abandoned' and lived in the desert without knowing she was actually a princess, Cheon Myung's life, despite living in the palace, is probably more pitiful. At least, Deokman grew up as a free spirit, while Cheon Myung had to face Mishil and more than just her daunting presence all her life. Facing every single day is like a going to a battle which losing is a foregone conclusion. Her right as a princess was almost demolished by Mishil's power. And with her passive parents as the King and Queen (no offence) , it's really a hard life for this beautiful but sad princess.

Under Mishil's scheme, her husband whom she married at a very young age was killed in a battlefield. This served as wake-up call to Cheon Myung, who decided that enough is enough. She then secretly planned to search for the legendary Lord Munno, the powerful Hwarang of Gukseon status to gain his support to fight Mishil. It was then that she met Deokman, though at that time none of them was aware of each other's real identity. In fact, she thought Deokman was a boy.

Through a series of events, she met Kim Yushin and was the one responsible to bringing Kim Yushin and his estranged clan into the palace and gave Hwarang status to him. She also entrusted Deokman under his care, where Deokman was then trained as a Hwarang as well. Even though she failed in her search for Munno, Kim Yushin and his clan was among her early followers she gained to help fight against Mishil. She regained her pride as a princess and reclaimed her status as the Hwarang's Keeper.

At one time, the King's side as well as Mishil's had given secret orders to kill Deokman. Desperately wanted to save her sister, Cheon Myung, with the help of Hwarang Alcheon, Bidam and Yushin, convinced Deokman to leave the city with Yushin and run away as far as they could and live instead as ordinary people. During this time, Mishil's follower had successfully tracked them down and had mistakenly shot an arrow at Cheon Myung whom he thought was Deokman.

Cheon Myung died soon after, leaving behind a son, Prince Chunchu.

6) PRINCE CHUNCHU

He was easily the most annoying kid in the show. LOL. Korea's little brother Yoo Seung Ho (The Way Home, Lord of Study) played the apparently-incompetent-but-actually-a-genius Prince Chunchu, the son of Princess Cheon Myung. Upon the death of his mother, Prince Chunchu, who was brought up outside palace was summoned back home. He took an arduously long time to reach the city, much to the despair of his escorts. He was afraid of riding horses, and has a weak body, thus always asking for a rest during the journey.

Back in Seorabeol, the Deokman's side and Mishil's are both anxious for Chunchu's arrival. Perhaps, they all want to be the first to tell the story of how his mother met her death. Also, who he sided with may give advantage to one over the other as the power will be unbalance once Chunchu join the battle of will. What Deokman and her followers didn't know was that, Mishil had sent the murderer himself to Prince Chunchu and escort him back.

Chunchu had shown little remorse over her mother's death and seemingly forgiving of the whole affair. When he reached the palace, he gave Deokman a cold shoulder and instead opt to find company in Mishil's circle. He was often seen to frequent shady places with Lord Misaeng, Mishil's brother. At one point, he had shown interest in Bojong's daughter a.k.a Mishil's grand-daughter, and their marriage seemed to be just around the corner. Deokman and her followers were certain that Chunchu had fallen under Msihil's spell and was being used to achieve her goal. But Chunchu turned out to be not-so-foolish a boy after all. While everyone thought he was a pawn in Mishil's devious scheme, Chunchu was actually carrying out his own big plan.

Later in the series, Chunchu and Bidam became rivals for the throne, albeit Bidam having no intention of gaining the throne (at that point in time). By then, Bidam's influence is already huge with Mishil's loyal followers and nobles alike who obviously would want Bidam to be the next King. Chunchu, who considered himself the successor of Deokman, took Bidam as a threat towards achieving his goal. He was partly responsible for turning Bidam into a rebel by purposefully planting the seed of doubts in Bidam's heart.

Chunchu is a very smart prince. What he lacked in physical strength, he made it up with his brilliant mind. He had provided much support to Deokman and became her strength as well. He was a victim of Mishil's greed. He lost his father, his grandfather, as well as his mother under Mishil's hand, and I can sympathize with his desire for retribution for what she had done. The only regrettable thing is he carried his prejudice towards Mishil to her son Bidam.

Queen Seon Deok

2010-02-01T18:42:00.010+08:00

I can't even begin to describe how devastated I felt after finishing this long sageuk. In fact, there is still some lingering sadness whenever I think about it. I was bawling my eyes and heart out at the last episode. Even now when I listen to its OST the song "Windflower". At first, the idea of a 50-episode series (then before it was extended to 62) seemed daunting and tedious. But the first episode got me hooked, and the next 5 or so episodes later proved to be highly engaging. These episodes focused on setting the background and childhood stories, and because of that I think they were really fast-paced and thus exciting. And the child actors are excellent.

Queen Seon Deok depicts the life of Princess Deokman, who became Silla's first female ruler, from childhood until her ruling period (though you can forget about historical accuracies). If you are interested in the actual history, perhaps just google it or visit this wikipedia website: Queen_Seondeok_of_Silla. She was responsible for the foundation of the unification of the Three Kingdoms (Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla) campaign during her reign, which efforts continued after her death. Queen Seon Deok is her name posthumous.

Lee Yo Won (Fashion 70's) played the titular character Queen Seon Deok (Princess Deokman), while her nemesis Lady Mishil was played by Go Hyun Jung (Spring Days). What I love about this drama is because it's about strong female characters and their wisdom. To watch Deokman and Mishil along with their respective allies in the battle of wits and war is like going to class and learn about politics and human psychology. I like the fact that while they are rivals, they also respect each other's wisdom and be enlightened by them, instead of mindless confrontation. And I believe, because there is a powerful opponent like Mishil, only Deokman was able to grow and understand what makes a ruler.

The last 12 episodes are post-Mishil and focuses more on political reformation and relationship between Deokman and the new balance of power Kim Yushin (Uhm Tae Woong) and Bidam (Kim Nam Gil). This is when Bidam becomes the next central character alongside Deokman. One can say that this drama suddenly turned into a tragic love story, but the truth is the seed has been planted so many episodes before and earlier in the series, but only now has the time to bloom and soon perish. I commend the writers for their effort in making these last 12 episodes after the demise of Mishil as interesting as during her era, albeit from a different angle. At one look, Bidam seems like another Mishil, that blood never lies. But after a while I can say that Bidam is as far from Mishil as it can be. Perhaps, his upbringing has shaped him differently, thus despite his potential to be the next Mishil, he was hindered by his very own Achilles' heel, and that was his obsession towards Deokman.

This drama series is not flawless, but acting is perhaps the least of its problem. All actors, from main to supporting (that are worth mentioned) had given their best performance. Also, as much as acting, background music and theme songs played as important a role to bring out the emotion and connection in the viewers, and I have to say, Queen Seon Deok OST has one of the best collections. As I mentioned earlier, I still feel like bawling when I heard the song Windflower.

Last but not least, this drama has one haunting ending scene. It was a nice touch, about Deokman's dream. Most likely, this is going to be one of my more memorable endings in a drama series next to Hong Gil Dong.

Here is the three versions of the song Windflower. May you like it as much as I do.

D/L: Windflower - Ye Song [Megaupload]

D/L: Windflower - IU [Megaupload]

D/L: Windflower (instrumental) [Megaupload]

I found the translation of the song on a youtube video, credit to ppultaeangyeong for it. i'm not sure how accurate, but at least it's something:-

If I turn my back like this

If i disappear like this

I wouldn't come into bloom

If I just look at you like this

It might be good to love while closing my eyes

Without looking, I see you

Without listening, I hear you

Like a windflower which revived by your breathing

I wish to reach you but I couldn't

I wish to embrace you but I couldn't

Your fingertips reach my heart

Will you know

After a long long night?

The love smiling in tears

I wish to have you but I couldn't

I wish to reach you but I couldn't

Like a windflower which revived in your heart

Without looking, I see you

Without listening, I hear you

Getting scattered in the wind

Getting scattered into your heart.

(A/N: more on characters and memorable scenes in future posts.)

Green Rose

2010-01-30T23:16:00.004+08:00

Green Rose is a story of a man, rising from the dead to prove his innocence and restore his good name. Lee Jung-hyun met Oh Soo-ah, the daughter of SR Electronics' Chairman one night when he went out drinking with his friends to celebrate him and his best buddy getting jobs at the esteemed company. He met her again at the induction, though the fact that she's a rich girl has yet to be known. They didn't get to a good start as Soo-ah treated him with a cold shoulder (why was it again?). But their friendship, which later turned into love began when Jung-hyun saved Soo-ah from an accident. Things got all pretty for the couple, and they even thought about marriage, but that was before Soo-ah revealed her true identity, from which point things started to go downhill. At that time, her father was entertaining his own plan to set her up with his most trusted and capable young employee Shin Hyun-tae, a candidate that Soo-ah's uncle didn't quite agree. Just when Jung-hyun started to come to terms with Soo-ah's status and its impact on their relationship, he was accused of killing the Chairman's housekeeper and attempted murder on the Chairman himself who fell into a coma. On top of that, he was also charged with arson. He was found guilty of all charges and thrown into jail. Through a painful circumstance, he somehow managed to escape and left the country. And the game began.

I started this drama about 5 years ago but stopped at episode 2. I was totally taken by the charming Lee Da Hae (My Girl), but for some reason was turned off by the male protagonist played by Go Soo (To Marry a Millionare). And I read online the far-fetched story of how he rise from the dead and my interest got further down a few notches. At that time I've yet to recognize Lee Jong Hyuk (Powerful Opponents, Hello Mr. God) who played the love rival. Otherwise, I'm sure I would have stuck around for his sake.

But curiosity, and the fact that the source material was unexpectedly available at my disposal, made me picked this drama up again. I was watching (and still am yet to finish) Go Soo's latest drama Will It Snow for Christmas? and he seemed different from when he was in Green Rose. At least his walking style has changed, which was a huge plus point. I watched Green Rose with my brother over the New Year Break, and we couldn't stop making fun of his walk. He just got this really damn slow walk for someone who claimed he was a busy man. We felt like shouting to him to hurry up, you are wasting precious seconds. Next scene, please! haha. Nevertheless, despite all that - and the fact that his journey back home as a Chinese business tycoon after three (was it?) short years is just too good to be true - the drama is quite exciting, especially as the story unfolds to reveal the real murderer along with the secrets of the yesteryears that put our protagonist at the crossroad of his life. It's like watching the Hajime Kindaichi murder investigation, which never fails to amaze this humble yours truly. Besides, more than the main protagonist, his love interest and his love rival are the ones who kept me going.

I'm a huge fan of Lee Jong Hyuk. He is rarely the actual hero/leading actor in any of his dramas and movies, which is why I missed his dramas sometimes because normally the focus would be on the main male and female characters and they are the ones who are often mentioned. But if I stumbled upon a cast list and saw his name, regardless of how uninterested I am in the story or the leading actors, I'd surely give the drama a try. His acting is very solid and he got screen presence. Some of his amazing work includes the awesome no-female movie, Mr. Socrates alongside Kim Rae Won.

Lee Da Hae is simply charming. I barely know her back then, only that she was known to be a good Crying Queen in her dramas. But what captivated me in the first two episodes (before I surrendered and put the dramas behind to be resumed five years later) was her lyrical laughter and beautiful smiles. And of course, her acting was top notch. I have a newfound respect for her as an actress through Green Rose, which I thought was nothing short of excellent. No wonder Green Rose is associated with her for years after that. Even though I enjoyed her bubbly character in My Girl, and she was able to show a different side of her in that hilarious drama, I still think Green Rose is where she was able to demonstrate her real acting skill.

And lucky me, these two actors are now together (albeit Lee Jong Hyuk is again NOT the leading actor and I don't think he has any love link with Lee Da Hae's character this time around) in the hyped drama The Slave Hunters. I've yet to watch this drama and it's still airing. But I'm eager to get started. However, I'll let it rolling for a while first, wait for the subs and all, then maybe I can start. Else, I'll be frustrated waiting for the new episodes, if it's really THAT good as what most people claim it to be. Anyway, to both Lee's, fighting!

Did You Hear About The Morgans? (2009)

2010-01-06T20:59:00.005+08:00

It was fun, at times awkward (but hilariously so), and overall cute. It's what you would expect from a romantic comedy anyway, so it didn't disappoint. Plus, it got Hugh Grant.

Did You Hear About The Morgans?, or I would call it The Morgans for short, is about an estranged couple, Mr. and Mrs Morgan, who witnessed a murder and were advised to leave New York under a witness protection program. They were relocated to Ray, a small town in Wyoming under the fake identity of Mr. and Mrs. Foster. Living separately in New York, they were then forced to live under the same roof. They bickered, they hurt each other, they laughed together, and they made up, as we all knew they would. Predictable as it was, it managed to be endearing (at least to me). And it was funny how the movie seemed to poke fun at city people, but not in bad taste.

Highly recommended if you want to see something light-hearted after a day at work.

The Night of the Mi'raj by Zoe Ferraris (2008)

2009-12-24T23:10:00.004+08:00

Among the well-to-do families of Jeddah, Palestinian-born desert guide Nayir is an outsider. But when Nouf ash-Shrawi, the sixteen-year-old daughter of a wealthy Saudi dynasty, disappears just before her arranged marriage, Nayir is the man the Shrawis trust to bring her home.

Days later Nouf's body is found in a desert wadi, but Nayir's task is not over; he feels compelled to uncover the disturbing circumstances surrounding her death. His search takes him far from his natural terrain, away from the endless dunes and empty skies of the desert and into the city of Jeddah, with its oppressive monuments, foreigners' compounds and shuttered apartments. Most troubling of all, his investigations force him to work closely with Katya Hijazi, a forensic scientist. He finds himself struggling with emotions he has fought all his life to repress and with loyalties he has never before questioned: to old friends, to his faith, and to a culture in which women take their secrets to their graves.

Vivid and suspenseful, The Night of the Mi'raj is an extraordinary psychological drama and a mesmerising portrait of a society at once exquisitely cultured and profoundly claustrophobic.

It took me several days to finish this book, dedicated time spent on it mostly during the train ride home from work. It's such an intriguing book I don't want to finish it so soon. It was sometimes dark, sometimes mesmerizing, sometimes plain sarcastic yet funny. Personally, when it comes to the description and the author's interpretation of the society/community in the book, I don't know how much of it was a true depiction and how much was misleading, or misinterpretation, and how much of it was a case of generalization. But living in a community where Islam is sometimes only in the name, it's hard to imagine the other end of the extreme like was presented in this book, and how hypocritical it seemed.

Even so, Nayir was a likable character, someone who tried his best to be a good Muslim the way he believed it to be. And the author managed to make him, in his devotion to his religion, into an endearing character instead of an overbearing one. Nayir reminded me somewhat of another character Fahri in Ayat-Ayat Cinta (translated: Verses of Love) by Habiburrahman El-Shirazy, except that I like the Nayir character better because he just seemed so normal, whereas Fahri was too good to be true. Or perhaps I just prefer the central theme or the direction of one book over the other, because for me, a subtle or contradictory ideas about religion and its practices are more thought-provoking - and include a murder case to boot, is a sure win to me - rather than in-your-face lecture about the religion through tiresome love stories (but to be fair, I didn't even manage to finish Ayat-Ayat Cinta, so I actually really don't know if there's more to the story than Fahri and his many admirers).

Anyway, this is a recommended read. Just use your discretion whether to accept the ideas presented. Like a remark I read somewhere, I guess you have to take it with a grain of salt, or perhaps sand in this case

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days by Jeff Kinney (2009)

2009-12-13T19:50:00.098+08:00

It's summer vacation - the weather's great, and all the kids are having fun outside. So where's Greg Heffley? Inside his house, playing video games with the shades drawn.

Greg, a self-confessed "indoor person" is living out his ultimate summer fantasy: no responsibilities and no rules. But Greg's mom has a different vision for an ideal summer... one packed with outdoor activities and "family togetherness".

Whose vision will win out? Or will a new addition to the Heffley family change everything?

I'm loving this cute book to bits. I've heard of this Diary of a Wimpy Kid series for quite some time, but didn't really have the chance or interested enough to truly find out more about it. But the other day (my birthday really) I was browsing through the books at Kinokuniya with "30% DISCOUNT" stickers on 'em where I found this book. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days is the fourth book in the series. I was afraid I would be lost reading this book since I have yet to read its ancestors, but luckily the story was pretty independent and I was able to enjoy it so much.

The book is a diary of Greg Heffley, in which he wrote how he spent the summer vacation. From the 'luxurious' lifestyle spending time at the country club with his best friend Rowley to traumatic experience at the town pool, summer crush, a row with his best friend and a row with his dad, his anecdotes were nothing short of hilarious and silly most of the time. It's like reading about a boy who thinks he's a man and that what made his storytelling even more endearing. It was full of sarcasm sometimes Greg could be such a smart-ass. And I love the cartoons he drew to emphasize what he was talking about, as well as the "Li'l Cutie" comics he and his father loved to hate, one of the rare things they had in common, I suspect.

I'll most likely hunt down the rest of the series. But instead of buying, I'll just spend time at the book store and read 'em all. And if I find myself liking the rest like I do with this one, I'll introduce this to my niece and get her to get her mom to buy the series. Haha. Oh well, I'm afraid I can't resist to buy them myself, but not if I have other alternatives. LOL.

The Host by Stephenie Meyer (2008)

2009-12-09T22:28:00.032+08:00

MELANIE STRYDER REFUSES TO FADE AWAY. Our world has been invaded by an unseen enemy that takes over the minds of human hosts. Most of humanity has succumbed. When Melanie - one of the last remaining humans - is captured, she is certain it is her end.

Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, probes her thoughts to discover the whereabouts of the remaining human resistance. Instead, Melanie fills Wanderer's mind with visions of Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she is tasked with exposing. When outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off on a dangerous search for the man they both love.

I'm referring to the story book by Stephenie Meyer (obviously. This is redundant), not the korean movie by the same title (watched that one with my brothers and they said they felt stupid after it ended LOL). I read this book as recommended by my cousin. Apparently, it is an international bestseller, which I'm not surprised considering the author is well known for her previous works, the Twilight trilogy. Compared to the Twilight series, I personally think The Host is a book with relatively more depth.

To be honest, I didn't expect much from this book when I first started, given how one-dimensional the Twilight series could be sometimes. I was pleasantly surprised then to find that I was liking the story very very much. The alien souls or human would love to call them 'parasites' in this book were depicted as good-natured beings, which could be ironic considering the fact that they were the invaders that took human bodies as their own and suppressed the body owners' minds into the deepest corner and perhaps to non-existence i.e erased. They came to other planets after their own was invaded by evil forces. On Earth, the alien community lived a very "peaceful, dull and boring" life, as described by humans. Their news had nothing on war or tragedy, but world peace, and every story had a happy ending. They didn't even need money to get things at the supermarket because everything was free! Somehow their way of life and ideology, if one can call that, reminded me of how communism concept was, though I'm not knowledgeable enough about communism to give me the right to compare. But like I said, it just sort of reminded me of it.

The souls generally lived their lives based on their Callings i.e some are fated to be Healers (doctors), some are meant to be educators, or cooks etc. Despite them all being good natured, there was a special group of souls whose Calling was being Seekers. They could be less good natured than general souls because of their "professions". These group of souls were perhaps comparable to our law enforcers in human world like cops or something like that, though they were probably not as busy as our cops would be because none of the souls would go beyond speed limit, or committed crimes. So their true calling was, beside maintaining world peace (!) is looking for new hosts or new planets or new habitats etc. thus ensured the survival of their kind.

One of the reasons I found the book engaging was the fact that I just didn't know which character to root for. Of course, one could always be a little bias towards the protagonist, which in this case was the alien soul Wanderer. It's the secondary characters that I found myself torn. Wanderer's circumstance was one of the rare cases where the original owner of the host body a.k.a the human was unabled to be completely subdued, thus causing two minds or entities trying to take control of one physical body. While Wanderer had the upper hand most of the time Melanie, the original body owner sometimes took control and caused Wanderer to react or do things against her will or beyond her comprehension. Or sometimes feels the emotions she wasn't meant to feel. Wanderer was a mess at the beginning with conflicting thoughts and emotions, behaviors of human she wasn't familiar with, facing mistrusts, dangers and betrayals, and to her own surprise, finding love for the first time in her many lives, and with that came the understanding of what hearbreak meant. Melanie, the other entity, was a human with strong mind, that refused to give in to the invasion, screaming aloud in Wanderer's head it gave her headaches. Then, there was Jared, Melanie's lover who longed for her, giving Melanie reason to stay afloat, her little brother Jamie, who took Wanderer and Melanie as a package deal, and who could forget Ian, the human who's so kind-hearted he could be a soul himself.

As I got nearer to the final chapter, I totally dreaded it. The story was geared towards a sad ending, perhaps the noblest ending it could be or so I thought, but the kind which could leave me depressed for days afterwards. But nevertheless, I did finish the book, and I'm glad I did coz I loved it! And because of the ending, I for once was glad that we humans were selfish sometimes.

Let me end my entry by quoting the author's foreword in The Host. She wrote, "To my mother, Candy, who taught me that love is the best part of any story." I concur!

Melancholy

2009-12-02T23:15:00.002+08:00

Don't ask me what's wrong
just lend me your shoulder
and let me pull myself together
and be strong.

Don't have to mutter soothing words
All I want is your presence
Just let me know that you'll be there
no matter when and where
Like tonight

Let me cry myself to sleep
and have nightmares that cause me to further weep
I just need to cry tonight
but please be there when I wake up

Give me your warm smile then
and tell me that everything's gonna be fine
but please
just let me cry tonight.

Hu Ge

2009-12-02T23:04:00.005+08:00

I stumbled upon Hu Ge's blog while browsing thru an entry from other blog. Too bad, the language limits my exploring and understanding the contents of the blog further. He got real nice collections of photographs though. Apparently, he's an avid photographer, and a pretty good one at that. How envious. I haven't spent much time taking pictures since I left school. Feel inspired again somehow. Lol.

Hu Ge's Blog

David Cook - David Cook: My Top 3

2009-11-30T23:54:00.004+08:00

Some time ago, I used to put David Cook's songs from his 2008 self-titled album on repeat mode on my Winamp playlist. I curbed my David Cook craze for a while and tuned back into the the usual kpop stuffs. But tonight I actually felt like going into that crazy mood again. I love all the songs, really, but here I'm sharing my Top 3.

1. Permanent
He has great vocals and when a singer with vocals like his sings a rock ballad, it's just awesome. And I read somewhere that this song was actually dedicated to his brother who was dying of cancer (the brother has passed away). Makes it so much more meaningful, ain't it?
D/L: DC - Permanent [Megaupload]
Lyrics: here

2. Lie

What a sad song. Almost pathetic, really. But, hey, guess I'm a sucker for that, huh? ^_^

D/L: DC - Lie [Megaupload}

Lyrics: here

3. Come Back To Me
Well, I wish I too have someone whom I can (and want to) go back to. Nice!
D/L: DC - Come Back To Me [Megaupload]
Lyrics: here

Other tracks on the album (which actually can replace the Top 2 and 3 spots easily):
Declaration
Heroes
Light On
Life on the Moon
Barbasol
Mr. Sensitive
I Did It for You
Avalanche
A Daily Anthem
Kiss on the Neck
The Time of My Life (bonus track)

To be honest, the Top 2 and 3 aren't really fixed. I simply love all tracks. Hard to decide.

Way Back Into Love

2009-11-22T12:54:00.006+08:00

I was going through Lee Min Jung (Boys Over Flowers) thread at Soompi when I stumbled upon a Youtube video. It features Lee Min Jung with her co-star Jung Kyung Ho (A Time of Dog and Wolf) from the series Smile, You singing "Way Back Into Love" in a program called Chocolate. I thought the song sounds very familiar than recalled that it was the theme song for the 2007 movie "Music and Lyrics" starring Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore. It was one of my favorite romantic comedies that year, with witty dialogues and funny music videos from the 80's. And who doesn't love Hugh Grant? ^_^ ---(more about this movie here . WARNING: Contain spoilers!!!)

Below is the video I was talking about. This duo sing it pretty well.

And this is a cut from Music and Lyrics featuring the song during a concert towards the end of the movie.

And if you are interested, here's the song. Love it!

D/L: Way Back Into Love [Megaupload]

Enjoy!

Butterfly Lovers (2008)

2009-11-15T22:30:00.009+08:00

The story is nothing remarkably original (I know it's a remake, but still...), a plot you've seen in many other romantic films. Could have been better. Butterfly Lovers stars Wu Chun (Romantic Princess) of boyband Fahrenheit, Charlene Choi (My Wife is 18) of Twins, and Hu Ge (Chinese Paladin).

Wu Chun and Charlene Choi played two people bound to fall in love and suffer for ten lifetimes. This movie is about their 10th lives in the mortal world. Zhu (Choi) was a girl cross-dressing as a boy to enroll in an all-male Soul Ease Clan, supposedly to learn martial arts. Naively thinking that her parents had finally allowed her to see the world, she embarked on the journey to the school. What she didn't know was that it was part of her parents' plan to save her from a tragedy that's about to befall their family. On her way to Soul Ease Clan, due to an unfortunate circumstance, she met Liang who was her savior, but misunderstanding caused her to have a bad impression of him. She continued her journey accompanied by a childhood friend, General Ma (Hu Ge), who was on his way to the palace.

At the martial arts school, Zhu was assisted by her father's old friend who was a Teacher of Herbal Medicine that acted as her secret keeper. She also found out that her savior was also her schoolmate. Known as the "Big Brother", Liang was very famous and everyone's favorite. At Liang's suggestion, Zhu's classmates decided that she should be given a welcoming ceremony that involved throwing her into the river and stripping her down, which could be a huuuuge problem since she was, afterall, a girl.

How she got away after being thrown into the river is beyond me since the movie jumped to the next scene. Due to that incident, Zhu fell sick and as a punishment, Liang was ordered to nurse her back to good health. I suppose this was the point where Zhu started to have a crush on Liang and they became close friends afterwards, as you might have guessed. Eventually, they fell in love.

To cut the story short, Ma came to pick Zhu's up to return her to the family. Zhu refused to go back, but after knowing the true story as to why she was sent to the clan in the first place, she relented and went home, promising to meet with Liang again when he came to town.

All went well in her mind, until she reached home and realized that her parents were to marry her off to Ma himself. Apparently, throughout the struggles the family had to go through, Ma was the one who helped them a lot, thus they felt indebted and naturally obliged to marry their daughter to him. Thus, the sufferings of the couple Zhu and Liang began.

Generally, I found the love story itself was kinda bland, and I was unconvinced by Zhu and Liang's affections towards each other. Instead of seeing a grand love worth dying for, I saw two kids getting infatuated and that's it. I suppose the characterization and screenwriting are pretty poor. But lucky me because the reason I wanted to watch this movie was Hu Ge, and he didn't disappoint. Despite him being the antagonist, I like watching his story more than the couple's itself.

However, his character came off too strong given the overall setting of the movie. It made me feel that if only this were a full length drama series instead of a 2-hour movie, then his character (in fact, all characters) could be fleshed out further and all his actions then would make better sense and even more meaningful. What happened instead, he became a character that's overly possessive without much justification. What's needed is probably some explanation as to why Zhu was such an important person to Ma that made him feel strongly for her, which unfortunately was not really mentioned in the movie.

Anyways, despite it could have been better in terms of story-telling (and I would prefer a more fleshed out and stronger plot), I actually love the cinematography and choreography. Personally, I thought the fighting scenes were all pretty impressive. The acting generally wasn't bad at all, except that I never liked Charlene Choi's acting so I could never warm up to her character much. But really, if there's anything worth mentioning about this movie, I would say the fighting scenes and Hu Ge. Peace!

You're Beautiful - Side Dishes

2009-11-06T23:23:00.005+08:00

I would love to quote the quotes quoted by fellow soompier at You're Beautiful thread. Hopefully he/she doesn't mind. It's just that I thought they were interesting and enlightening, in a way.

QUOTE (raahmose @ Nov 5 2009, 02:24 PM)

"Love is but the discovery of ourselves in others, and the delight in the recognition."- Alexander Smith

"There is no disguise which can hide love for long where it exists, or simulate it where it does not." - La Rochefoucauld

"Love sought is good, but given unsought, is better." - William Shakespeare

"I love you, not for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you." - Roy Croft

____________________________________________

Chinese Paladin III - ending theme

2009-10-31T20:33:00.016+08:00

I'm getting into a Chinese series, Chinese Paladin III lately. It's a wuxia series, with a lot of fun and humor and highly entertaining, if you don't mind the fantasy setting, that is. Get more info here: http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Chinese_Paladin

And thanks to the subbing team, Jiang Hu Fansubs (http://fansub.d-addicts.com/Jiang_Hu) that I got the translation to the nice closing song. It's a song with lyrics that are well-fitted to the story in my opinion, which to some extend revolves around the characters discovering and getting in touch with their pasts, as well as some who are still finding it hard to let go of theirs.

Forget Time - Hu Ge

How far have I been walking silently?
Looking up, suddenly I realize
I've been backtracking all the way to the start
Persistently resisting time

The forever we've promised was broken off
Things that I hoped would not change,
have all changed
When I close my eyes tight,
only then I could see
Those scenes that were once vivid and warm

Gradually forgetting
Losing my hold on tomorrow
As I hold on tight to my longing
Coz your smiles are no more in tomorrow

Gradually forgetting
Losing sight of time
I just need to trace along my memories
To reach the depths of my mind
Even if it's only for a moment

D/L: Forget Time [Mediafire]
D/L: Forget Time [Megaupload]

Buzzer Beat - Hero on the Edge

2009-10-31T11:11:00.004+08:00

D/L Theme Song: B'z - Ichibu to Zenbu [Megaupload]
D/L Ichibu to Zenbu Ballad Version [Megaupload]
Watch Ichibu to Zenbu Music video at Youtube

An exciting summer series revolving around the world of basketball starring Yamashita Tomohisa a.k.a Yamapi (Proposal Daisakusen), Aibu Saki (Zettai Kareshi), Kitagawa Keiko (Pretty Guardian Sailormoon), and Ito Hideaki (First Kiss). Yamapi played a young professional basketball player named Kamiya Naoki for the team JC ARCS. Through the drama, I found out that Buzzer Beat refers to the instant when a player scored a basket at the final moment, which can turn a losing into a winning. The message is that to never give up till the very end. Besides basketball, this drama also shows the struggle of becoming a professional musician, specifically a violinist through the character Shirakawa Riko played by Kitagawa Keiko.

Kamiya Naoki is a very talented basketballer who received many awards and recognition during his school days. However, he seems to have lost his touch as he officially enters the professional world. He always fails to deliver at the moment that matters, both in basketball, as well as in love thus doesn't seem very reliable despite his good character. This has created a tension between him and his girlfriend, Nanami Natsuki (Aibu Saki), who works at the company who formed ARCS and is the cheerleading squad captain. Natsuki is not only beautiful, but also very capable at work and is a really nice girl. At least, that's what most people think. But the truth is she sort of has this dual personality. She has this b*tchy side that only some people know, and Naoki is not one of them. In front of Naoki, she is very sweet, understanding, and supportive, but turns a 180 degrees behind his back. Naoki dreams of becoming a national player and go to Olympics, but Natsuki personally finds his dream unrealistic and is annoyed whenever he talks about it (even though she puts on a smiling face). For her, she just wants to live a realistic life with Naoki. Naoki, in all honesty, is having some kind of inferiority complex having a very capable Natsuki as his girlfriend. For him, the current person he is at the moment is not able to make Natsuki happy, and that hurt his male pride. Thus, their own priorities and perceptions of what happiness is clash.

I like the character Shirakawa Riko, an aspiring violinist, who has an honest and straight-forward character. She knows what she wants and she takes action. Most importantly, she and Naoki are just the perfect match. I actually like Natsuki, and I think she's awesome, but Naoki is just not the kind of man for her and vice-versa. Therefore, Riko coming into the picture is most welcome. Riko and Naoki has a very fateful 'meeting' on a bus one day, though at the time they barely consider each other. Riko at least notices him for being such a gentleman, but he hardly notices her. But that 'meeting' marks the moment when their fates intertwine and a new chapter in their lives begins.

I have a new-found respect for idol Yamapi for his great acting in this series. He's definitely come a long way to be who he is. I feel that he has put a lot of subtleties in his acting this time, which really work. He's fast getting into my list of favorite J-actors besides Kimura Takuya and Hiroshi Abe. He doesn't go overboard with his facial expression (which KimuTaku, admittedly, does sometimes, and always looks 'angry', if you know what I mean. Nevertheless they both exude different kind of charm onscreen) but rather expresses his emotions through his eyes.

I also find Aibu Saki has stepped up another level as an actress. She always played a nice character before, and she actually looked fake doing that, but in here she played her b*tchy role far more convincingly than any other. Maybe she should take a more provocative role next time? Because I think that would work for her. Regardless, I look forward to her next drama. Till then.

Overall, I really love this drama. And as usual, J-drama really knows how to spice up their side stories. All supporting characters have got something to offer and their stories or appearances are just as entertaining as the main characters'. Also not to forget the awesome theme song "Ichibu to Zenbu" by the rock duo B'z. It's been a while since I last got a Japanese song on my winamp playlist, but lately this song and it's variations are being on repeat mode, playing even as we speak.

One more thing...
I just found a new interest in the form of a basketball player Igarashi Kei ^o^ . He made guest appearance in the drama series. I didn't know he was a real professional player. All I thought when he first came into picture was, "KAWAIIIIIIIIIIIIIII! >_<" hahaha. I'm talking about the player in white below.

Now, why don't we all go watch Buzzer Beat?

You're Beautiful Episode 03-04

2009-10-23T22:36:00.006+08:00

I know that the main story drivers are Mi Nam and Tae Kyung, but for me Lee Hong Ki as the cutie dummy Jeremy stole the show in these two episodes. Him and his suspicions are just ridiculously funny. Though admittedly, if I were in his shoes, not knowing the truth, I'd probably act the same way - slightly disgusted. LOL. Jeremy, as it turns out, is still having no idea about Go Mi Nam's true identity. In his eyes, Tae Kyung and Shin Woo (especially Shin Woo), treat Mi Nam in an unlikely manner befitting not of normal male buddies, plus the fact that he keeps getting weird/gay vibes from Go Mi Nam is driving him crazy. Imaginations simply run wild. Poor Jeremy.

In episode 3, the story resumes from the point where Tae Kyung confronts Mi Nam about her true gender, showing her an evidence safely stored in his handphone. Tae Kyung, having now the upper hand, obviously plans to use this revelation to rid Mi Nam off A.N.Jell. Mi Nam asks for his understanding, but he isn't giving in, thus a series of chasing around ensues as Mi Nam snatches his handphone away to delete the evidence, which then leads to a bizarre happening;

Like the previous week, the episodes are filled with scenes that simply crack you up. One particular scene sequence that I simply love is the part where Mi Nam, her manager and A.N.Jell's coordinator are playing "Remembering Idols" game. This comes about because Mi Nam apparently doesn't know much artists, not even the famous ones like Yoo He Yi (played by Uee of After School) who is dubbed as Korea's Fairy, which can be quite unbecoming when you are in the industry yourself. Their game is really cute and Mi Nam is just too adorable here.

The scene shifts to Mi Nam going to the male restroom after the game, where she's being cornered by a group of trainees she used to practice dancing with after they overheard her mumbling to herself in the cubicle about being a girl. She denies that fact, but they are unconvinced and want some prove so Mi Nam runs away. The boys run after her shouting "Go Mi Nam is a girl!" all the way. The company president hears the ruckus and asks Mi Nam if it's true. Even worse, there's a reporter nearby that picks up on the front page news. The fans who always camp at the front of the building are angry and throw things at her as they feel betrayed. Mi Nam runs with all her might and silently asking for help, and she was saved by...

Another ridiculous but significant sequence that further fleshes out their characters is Mi Nam trying her best to produce a nice signature befitting of an idol after she saw the elegance of Tae Kyung's. She brings her signature designs to Tae Kyung and asks him to help her pick the best one, but Tae Kyung snidely remarks that because she is a dumb person, that's why her signature also looks dumb. Mi Nam then suggests that he designs a good one for her but he refuses, mumbling to himself that she won't be able to copy it because his design would be too elegant for her.

Since her request is rejected, she decides to practice her signature on her own, at which time Shin Woo approaches her and lends his hand. He is rather disappointed that Mi Nam had asked for Tae Kyung's opinion first instead of asking him. Nonetheless, they work together and finally decides on one rather unique signature for Mi Nam.

What they don't know however is that despite his act of uncaring in front of Mi Nam, Tae Kyung is actually at the same time also diligently designing a signature for her (him and his thoughts are just silly). And the scenes that follow are just plain dumb, in a good, fun way (go watch and figure out. ^_^).

These particular instances, like a number of others before them, once again show how contradictory Tae Kyung's actions are to his words when it comes to Mi Nam. He sometimes surprises himself and wondering aloud as to why he acts out of character, despite experiencing time and time again that bothering himself with Mi Nam's affairs always leads him to 'dangerous' situation, or so he claims.

In the earlier episodes, it has been established that the reason Mi Nam wants to be a singer is in order to find her mother, or rather, be found out. The mother left her and her twin brother when they were very small. She believes that by being famous, their mother is bound to see them on the media somehow and will get in touch with her soon. These two episodes highlight Mi Nam's first clue of her mother's whereabouts, and end on a heartbreaking note.

You're Beautiful Episode 01-02

2009-10-18T14:34:00.002+08:00

Just when life started to get a little boring and I was having a major withdrawal from the wonderful drama In-Soon is Pretty, finally a trendy drama worth waiting for has come to air. You're Beautiful is the latest work of screenwriters The Hong Sisters (Hong Jung Eun, Hong Mi Ran) of popular TV hits such as My Girl, Fantasy Couple, and not to forget, the superbly written and produced fusion sageuk Hong Gil Dong.

You're Beautiful depicts the life of popular idol group A.N.Jell. Originally a three-member group, it introduces a fourth member, Go Mi Nam, played by Park Shin Hye (Goong S, Heaven's Tree). Jang Geun Suk (Hong Gil Dong, Beethoven Virus) played the lead vocalist Hwang Tae Kyung as well as the group leader and is a clean/neat freak. Two real-life idols complete the foursome; Jung Yong Hwa (of music group C.N.Blue) as Kang Shin Woo, and Lee Hongki (FT. Island) as Jeremy.

Even though A.N.Jell is a boyband, Go Mi Nam is actually a girl, whose real name is Go Mi Nyu, a nun. Go Mi Nam is her twin brother. Go Mi Nam is an aspiring singer, about to sign contract as the new member of A.N.Jell, but due to a bad case of plastic surgery goes wrong, he is currently receiving treatment and resting in the United States. But his manager was not about to let the offer slipped by thus he tracked Go Mi Nyu down to ask her to pretend to be him instead. Apparently they look very, very much alike. Through a series of persuasion, Go Mi Nyu was convinced and agreed to be her twin brother for the contract-signing, thinking that it was all she needed to do. Turns out that she needs to pretend for at least a month since the group promotional activities with the new member starts really soon and her twin will only fully recover after at least one month. And thus begin the dormitary life of Go Mi Nyu as Go Mi Nam with the rest of A.N.Jell members.

She is not exactly welcomed by the original members, especially by Tae Kyung. At first, the secret of Go Mi Nam being actually a girl was not known to anyone but the manager and the group stylist. But during a party to celebrate the new member, Go Mi Nyu got drunk and caused some trouble. In the aftermath of the accident, Shin Woo helped Go Mi Nam and realized that the newbie is actually a female, though he kept the knowledge to himself. Even Mi Nyu doesn't realize yet that Shin Woo knows her secret. Jeremy, although notices how girly Go Mi Nam is, was a little thick-headed to see her for what she is.

Tae Kyung, on the other hand, was giving Mi Nam a cold shoulder and was completely annoyed by 'him' to notice anything significantly not right with the new member. It was never quite peaceful between these two and one disaster after another just increases Tae Kyung's dislike towards Mi Nam, to a point where he decided that one of them should leave the dorm. He left. And it was from that particular day, a circumstance was created that led to Tae Kyung accidentally found out the truth...

You're Beautiful, as far as its first two episodes are concerned, is highly entertaining. Park Shin Hye is just perfect for her role. I've never been more impressed with her acting than now (though, admittedly I didn't watch Heaven's Tree and am not planning to). As for Jang Geun Suk, I like his early and small performance in Lovers In Prague better than any of his later works, with the exception of his decent performance in Hong Gil Dong. But that is not to say he totally fails as Tae Kyung. He does well so far, only relatively overshadowed by Park Shin Hye's on-the-dot performance. The other two are playing their roles accordingly, nothing particularly outstanding, but enough to not make this drama looking awkward and poor.

Overall, I think we can expect to be highly entertained by this series, as long it doesn't go down the path of its predecessors (Boys Before Flowers, My Fair Lady) which had the potentials to be great trendy series, only to limp towards the end and left us viewers with much to be desired.

In-Soon is Pretty

2009-10-18T01:58:00.004+08:00

D/L OST : Uhn Je Gga Ji Na - Chae Dong Ha (SG Wannabe) [Megaupload]

After a string of 2009 disappointing drama series, it's a pleasure to re-look at the list of series I've missed in the past years and discover a true gem. I've learnt long time ago that rating has quite nothing to do with the quality of a drama, or if anything, it's a very poor indicator, and In-Soon is Pretty proves this statement right yet again. The rating never got past 10% when it aired in 2007. The low rating was likely due to it competing against the rating monster at that time, The Legend starring Hallyu star Bae Young Jun (Winter Sonata). Nevertheless, I'm glad I wasn't deterred by it and picked this one up, though I have to admit that the real reason I was interested in it at all initially was due to Kim Min Joon (Damo, Ireland). And good reviews I've read from those who did watch certainly motivated me further to make this into my Watched List. This is one of the rare dramas that is quite perfect in my eyes. Good writing, good directing, good acting, and makes me have a hard time moving on to another series afterwards.

The angelic face Kim Hyun Joo (Marrying a Millionaire) played the title character Park In-Soon, who is an ex-convict. She had spent time in prison after accidentally killed another girl in high-school. Upon releasing from prison she tried to rebuild her life, seeking jobs at various places, but was faced with rejection after rejection due to her criminal record. Despite encouragement from her high-school teacher, she felt rather hopeless and extremely down to a point where she decided to commit suicide by jumping onto a train track. In the process, however, she heard someone calling her name, which returned her to her senses. It was Yoo Sang Woo (Kim Min Joon), a childhood friend who moved to Canada when they were young, though she couldn't quite recall him initially.

Sang Woo was very excited to meet her again, but In-Soon didn't share the sentiment. She was uncertain of how to respond to Sang Woo's inquiries about her life that she unintendedly lying to him about it. Sang Woo now believed she was a school teacher, which was once had been her childhood dream. One lie led to another and being an honest person, In-Soon felt very burdened by it, thus she decided to come clean and tell Sang Woo the truth.Upon knowing the truth, Sang Woo acted like the bigger man, saying that it's no big deal, though he was actually having second thoughts about befriending In-Soon and tried to run away.

At the same time, In-Soon finally met her biological mother whom she believed was dead in an accident when she was a-year old. All of a sudden she now had a half-sister. Surprisingly, her mother was very welcoming and expressed her regrets for abandoning her. In-Soon, longing for love and wanting to belong, unsuspecting, basked herself in the happiness of the new-found family. But some things are just too good to be true and In-Soon soon faced new trials in her journey to happiness and acceptance.

In-Soon is Pretty is a human drama that depicts people' emotions and prejudices surprisingly realistically that it always kept your feet on the ground. You didn't get an overly optimistic and goody-goody protagonist (although she IS a nice person, but you don't sense anything fake about it that could make you feel appalled), nor do you get an angel for a hero, but someone unmistakably human, and some characters you just love to hate because they represent what you find hate-able in society. The major lesson learnt is that, you can't always have things go your way, but what you can do is make the best of what you have while stay true to yourself.

Also worth to mention is the awesome Soundtrack. I especially love "Uhn je gga ji na", with its soft tune and meaningful lyrics that merge well with the scenes in In-Soon is Pretty. I'm not particularly sure of the full translation, but I made do with whatever was written in the subtitle and so here you go:

Forever and always
you must cherish your tears
Rest ten times and then cry once

Whenever you want to cry
laugh one more time instead
So that happiness that graze by
can come into you

Forever and always
please remember
The reason the world has sent you
This love that is like life to a certain person
It is you

Forever and always
please remember
That I am by your side
This person who is truly happy because you exist
It is me

Forever and always

Goong (Hardsubbed Videos)

2009-10-13T15:03:00.001+08:00

Goong/Palace a.k.a Princess Hours hardsubbed episodes. This is an old series, back in 2006, starring Yoon Eun Hye (My Fair Lady, Coffee Prince) and Song Ji Hyo (Some). Credits go to Goong Subbing Team for subtitles. Hardsubbed videos provided by me. Enjoy!

General instructions

1) Each episode is split into smaller parts. Download all part then join them using HJSplit.
2) Use part01 as input file in the HJSplit. Make sure all parts are in the same folder.

Golden Bride (Part 2)

2009-10-04T13:56:00.000+08:00

There are at least seven couples and various other relationships in Golden Bride. Each has its own stories and highlights and serve its own purposes in the overall plot development.. I wouldn't mention all in this entry, though it doesn't mean they aren't important.

1) Nguyen Jin Joo + Kang Jun Woo

Our main couple. Lee Young Ah and Song Chang Ui really compliment each other coz they are both the cute type, and their characters have personalities that truly match. When I first heard that the premise of this series is about an arranged marriage, I was wondering if I would be sitting through 60++ episodes of them bickering and hurt each other. Thus I was surprised and glad that they make up pretty early in the series and the story focuses more about life than silly and endless pull and push relationship by these two characters. About three years ago, Jun Woo had been dumped by the love of his life and after a traumatic experience was unable to move on. If I was previously crazy about the 'perfect' Jo Gook of City Hall, I now watched a different kind of perfection in the character Jun Woo. Even though he started off really hopeless, almost pathetic, and sometimes acted like a jerk to Jin Joo, even so one could still see that he's a kind-hearted person and the reason he pushed Jin Joo away was for her own good. As Jo Gook is perfect for Mi Rae, Jun Woo is perfect for Jin Joo. Once he came out of his bad disguise, he's truly a wonderful man. And for the first time in Kdrama, I found a male character who always got his priority straight. You know how frustrated you get when watching a drama where the male lead is so 'dumb' you wanna hit his head with a hammer. But in Golden Bride, I always had faith in Junwoo that he would do the right thing, and he hardly failed me every time.

Jin Joo was really admirable herself. Being abandoned by his father and due to her mixed parentage, she really suffered a lot growing up. It's a scary thing to venture into new culture and being around people you hardly know, but she made it through. But since she is way younger than Jun Woo (Jun Woo's colleague called her a kid wife), she can be a little naive and childish and immature sometimes. But she knows when to put her foot down on things that matter and that make her one fine lady. And of course, having a husband who is very understanding and really patient helps a lot to survive in a new place, new culture, and new challenges. I love seeing how their relationship grows. From awkward first date to disastrous honeymoon to lovely pillow talks, they were steadily becoming a real couple.As much as I'm happy for them, I also feel scared. For a couple who always depends on each other, always be there for each other, what will happen if one of them dies first? Will the other be able to move on? Looking at these two, based on their past experiences and the way they cope with them, it's kinda hard to tell. It's gonna be devastating.

2) Ok Ji Young + Kim Young Min

Ok Ji Young was the ex-girlfriend of Kang Jun Woo, who betrayed him for a rich guy (Kim Young Min) and caused an incident that traumatized JunWoo for a long time, which unable him to lead a normal life. Kim Young Min turned out to be the son of Jun Woo's mother's ex-boyfriend. Ji Young was an ambitious girl, and even if she didn't dump Jun Woo three years ago, I bet eventually they would break up because they just weren't right for each other. I don't think Ji Young would ever be satisfied with a life with Jun Woo and being together would only led to sadness and loneliness. I guess, Jun Woo just wasn't the perfect man for Ji Young. It's interesting to note that the actress, Choi Yu Jin, was in My Woman, where her character was the sister of man that got married to a woman who left his boyfriend for a rich guy too. The difference between her character now and her sister-in-law in My Woman is that, her husband, Young Min doesn't know about this particular past of hers, while her brother character in My Woman was fully aware of the fact that the wife left her ex for a rich guy which was himself, and in fact, he was the one who seduced her despite the knowledge. In case of Ji Young, everyday was like a living hell, trying to keep the secrets of her past from her new family when the Kim and the Kang families just kept bumping into each other. She was terrified because her husband believed that she was pure and innocent girl with no dirty past. Kim Young Min was very particular about this (was termed as a neat-freak by his mother-in-law) because he remembered very clearly the sufferings of his own mother when his father left them when he was young because the father couldn't forget his first love. Although the father came back and tried to atone for his sins, Young Min is scarred by it and became really particular about loving someone with no past. I don't know whether this two really loved each other, It seems to me that their love was very conditional. And when all hells broke loose, nothing could really bind them together. Throughout the series though, Ji Young repeatedly said that she loved him and couldn't live without him and tried to prove it, and Young Min himself seemed to be having a hard time deciding what he wanted, so it's probably a love-hate relationship what these two was having. I don't like Ji Young. It's ridiculous how she always thinks the worst of people's intention. At the same time, I kinda pity her. I guess it's true when she said that in her own way, she did love her husband, but it's simply wasn't the kind of love Young Min was expecting. If there's one thing I learnt from this couple is that, you don't build a relationship based on lies. And don't expect too much, you are bound to be disappointed.

3) Kang Sae Mi + Kim Young Soo

This young couple is just adorable. Kang Sae Mi is Jun Woo's sister, while Kim Young Soo is Young Min's brother. They met at a club (not exactly a place I would want to find my future husband, mind you) one night. It was Young Soo who approached Sae Mi. He had mistook Sae Mi's admirer (a friend) who was excitedly dancing and bothering Sae Mi as unwanted (though he was not necessarily wrong there) that he picked a fight with him to gain Sae Mi's attention. After punching him on the face, he took Sae Mi's hand and dragged her out of the club. Acting like he had just saved Sae Mi from a disaster, he was so full of himself that he was surprised when Sae Mi slapped him for acting like a know-it-all. He was love-struck ever since. They met again accidentally during his brother's wedding at a hotel. Sae Mi was there to take revenge on the girl that caused his brother and family much pain during the past years, after finding out that the girl is getting married to a rich guy that day. She eventually chickened out and was speeding away from the hotel and hit Young Soo's car in the process. This unexpected turn of event gave Young Soo the opportunity to pursue the girl he was unable to forget and thus, without knowing the bad ties between their families, their romance blossomed.

They faced hardship when their families opposed their relationship for reasons unknown to them. A lot of things happened and they ran away from home in the belief that their parents would soften towards them and gave them approval soon, which somehow seemed to never going to happen, as they later realized. At one point, they broke up, and Young Soo left for the States and never contacted Sae Mi in the four years he was away. I was actually OK when they broke up coz personally I think they were too young and not ready to commit, even though they love each other so much. I believe they learned from the experience and they grew up through it and because of it. The separation allowed them to focus on achieving their dreams and taught them to appreciate what they once meant to each other. Sometimes, a good timing is what we need in falling in love.

4) Kang Won Mi + Heo Dong Gu

Kang Won Mi is Jun Woo's and Sae Mi's older sister. Heo Dong Gu was once Sae Mi's stalker. He even proposed to Sae Mi with Won Mi's help. At the beginning, Dong Gu was so obsessed with Sae Mi and Won Mi was usually the one who took care of the mess Sae Mi left behind every time she ran away from Dong Gu or whenever problem arose because of these two. Kang Won Mi is considered a spinster by many and failed a number of blind dates. I found it hard to understand how a pretty girl like her got rejected so many times. Later I thought maybe I knew why. Kang Won Mi is really a cute character but she could be really absent-minded, naive and really, really clumsy. She was however very kind-hearted, almost to a fault. If anything, that was still her saving grace. During Dong Gu's lowest moment after being rejected openly by Sae Mi, Won Mi became involved with Dong Gu's post break-up antics, even pretended to be his girlfriend for a day as Dong Gu had once promised to introduce his young girlfriend to his friends before going to the army soon. Always the kind girl, she agreed to help Dong Gu and from there things just started to get more complicated. She suddenly became his pillar of support and without meaning to, she had caused Dong Gu to eventually fall for her. While Dong Gu was away doing his military training, Won Mi met a dentist through a blind date and was set to marry him. But then Dong Gu came back and pursued her in earnest.

Won Mi's mother really opposed to her being with Dong Gu. I have to admit that if I were the mother, I would probably do the same thing - Dong Gu was yet to have a stable career, and he doesn't really have a great personality to make up for his lacking in other areas, and on top of that, a dentist was pursuing her daughter at the same time.. Plus, it's not like Dong Gu's mother is accepting her either. Thus it's understandable if the mother thought her daughter deserved better than Dong Gu. But as some people say, love makes you blind. Despite realizing that Dong Gu was lacking in many areas, Won Mi had a difficult time letting him go herself. In his desperate attempt to get married to Won Mi, Dong Gu blurted a lie, saying that Won Mi was pregnant with his baby. What else can parents do when their kids had gone too far. So they got married.

But for Won Mi, living with her mother-in-law proved to be very trying. Her clumsiness always got in the way of her good intentions and caused much trouble to her mother-in-law and put strains in their relationship. Dong Gu himself was having a hard time being caught in the middle and at the same time struggling to pass his bar exam. Despite the bad happenings, deep down they really bonded together. And Won Mi, though lacking in many ways as a daughter-in-law, was one patient and kind girl. With these qualities, she was able to survive and eventually gained the affection of her mother-in-law.

5) Kang Woo Nam + Jung Han Sook

They are the parents of Won Mi, Jun Woo and Sae Mi. Han Sook was heartbroken seeing the condition of her son Jun Woo that was having the illness of the heart. She swore that there was nothing she wouldn't do to get him back to normal. She was determined to find her son a bride whom she hoped would love Jun Woo with all her heart and help him heal the pain caused by his past experience. Since finding a Korean bride was quite impossible given Jun Woo's condition, she flew to Vietnam with her husband's sister to find an unsuspecting Vietnamese bride for her son. It wasn't as easy as they thought. Due to an unfortunate circumstances involving her mother, Jin Joo, who was supposed to pick them at the airport had failed to do so, which left Han Sook and her sister-in-law on their own. Clueless in an unfamiliar country, they struggled to find their way and had fallen victim to a robbery scheme. Jin Joo gave them a very bad impression, and only when she realized Jin Joo had a Korean blood and was abandoned by her Korean father since she was one year old did her heart soften and she took pity on Jin Joo.

Han Sook met a couple of potential Vietnamese bride but she found faults in all of them. Finally, Jin Joo, after hearing from the doctor that her mother's eyesight is getting poorer and that she may go blind in a couple of years, decided to have her mother see her father before it's too late cause she knew how much her mother missed the man. She must go to Korea at all cost and so she offered to be the bride for Jun Woo. Han Sook, who was at the verge of giving up, found hope in it and took the chance.

Han Sook later confessed to her husband on why she insisted to find Jun Woo a bride. Han Sook, when she was young was also betrayed by love and thought that it was the end. But Woo Nam had held out his hand and pulled her up. They got married and Woo Nam was always there to give her support during her difficult times. She told him that because of him, she was able to forget the pain and moved on. Therefore she believed that a new person was what her son needed the most, that only a person can heal the pain caused by another. Only when he opened his heart for a new love could he forget the past one.

Woo Nam, though was not as expressive as his wife, was actually very concern about the well beings of their kids. He felt heavily responsible for not being capable enough. He blamed himself for what happened to Jun Woo, believing that if only he was more successful, someone his kids could be more proud of, Jun Woo's girlfriend wouldn't leave him.

As I watched this couple, I thought that there are many reasons people got married. You may not be madly in love with the other person when you married him/her, but somehow you become grateful to that other person, build affection, and that perhaps is as strong a tie as there could be between two persons. I don't know if I could marry someone simply because I'm grateful towards him. I wonder myself, and only time will tell.

6) Yang Ok Kyung + Kam Sang Il

They are the parents of Young Min and Young Soo. Sang Il is a successful man and was able to let his family live comfortably. He was a romantic husband and Young Soo's role model. Young Soo looked up to his father and respected him a lot. Ok Kyung and Sang Il had a long history together. Though now they seemed like a happy and enviable coulple, their relationship was not always smooth from the beginning. Sang Il was actually Han Sook's boyfriend in high school but Ok Kyung stole him away and tied him down by faking pregnancy. During their earlier married life, Sang Il was unable to forget Han Sook. Even though he and Ok Kyung already had a baby at that time (Young Min), he really hated the life he had with Ok Kyung and decided to leave home. He went to America and the family had no news of him for nearly three years. During this time, Ok Kyung fell into depression and started drinking. Young Min, although young at that time, was old enough to remember the going ons and was heavily affected by this. Sang Il came back to Korea, determined to finally divorce Ok Kyung, only to face the death of his father, who left a will telling him to do otherwise, and that Ok Kyung was the one who had loyally taken care of him when he was really sick. Feeling guilty and grateful, it was a turning point in Sang Il's life in which he decided to turn over a new leaf and save the marriage. From then on, he was a perfect husband to Ok Kyung and treated her like a queen.

7) Gun Ja + Byuk Soo

Unfortunately I don't have a picture for this couple, but I can assure you that they are the funniest and most hilarious couple to watch. Gun Ja is Kang Woo Nam's sister, which made her the aunt of Jun Woo and his siblings, and Byuk Soo is an employee at Woo Nam's company. Gun Ja was a tomboy and an old spinster who had faced a number of failures in her attempt to establish her own independence. She met Byuk Soo when she started working at her brother's company. They didn't start off good, what with Gun Ja hitting Byuk Soo hard for mistaking him as a thief, and then forced to compete with each other for a position in the company. Though this couple's story was more for a comic relief and has not much contribution in the major plot line, it's the one couple you don't want to miss. Whenever the drama turns heavy and gloomy, you can expect them to make you laugh out loud. They made the most hilarious comments and sometimes what they did is just unbelievable you gotta gave the actors credit for even managing it.

Golden Bride (Part 1)

2009-10-04T13:12:00.001+08:00

I was quite hesitant to start on this series coz it's freaking long. A total of 64 episodes. And I didnn't really know who were in it, except for Lee Young Ah coz her picture was the only one I saw whenever I came across the series on the net. Honestly, I don't remember how I got hooked on it finally. Must be total boredom that caused me to give this one a try. I downloaded the first episode and it sat on my hard drive for quite some time. Once I started, I was really curious to know more, especially since I realized that the leading actor was the cutie Song Chang Eui (Scale of Providence, Cinderella Man). But obviously Song Chang Eui became just another actor coz the story itself was the reason why I kept watching. I've never been grateful for the existence of youtube more than when watching this series. Since it's a loooong series, it would be ridiculous to download the episodes so where else could I find them? You know the answer, right?

Golden Bride is about Nguyen Jin Joo, a Vietnamese girl of mixed parentage (Vietnamese-Korean) who comes to Korea in search of his father who abandoned her and her mother 20 years ago. Her mother is steadily losing sight and may go blind within 2-3 years and Jin Joo, who knows how much her mother wants to meet her father again, decides to find the man. The circumstance which opens up opportunity for her to go to Korea is, if not extraordinary, pretty interesting. In Korea, there's a mother who's heartbreaking at seeing her son, Kang Jun Woo, cannot live a normal life due to past love experience. He is suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder that results in him unable to go into crowded places or in short, socially-challenged. If things get out of hand, he normally has difficulty breathing and fainted in unlikely places which really concerns his parents. Due to this illness, he has very low confidence and almost always stays at home.Her mother, having experience herself the betrayal of first love and knows that only a new love can heal the old one, goes to Vietnam in her desperate attempt to find her son a bride. It just so happens that Jin Joo works in a company that matchmakes Korean men with Vietnamese ladies.

Even though the story begins with Nguyen Jin Joo and Kang Jun Woo, it's fast becoming a family drama when a lot other characters are introduced and their stories evolve. Jun Woo lives with his parents, his two sisters, and his aunt, all of which get their own interesting stories for us to watch. The Kang family's fates intertwine with that of another family's, the Kim's and the series basically is about the members of these two families. Perhaps, you can also learn to appreciate the different cultures since these were addressed pretty frequently, though how accurate that would be is beyond me.

There was a nice poem at the end of the series. It's one you would love to give to your friends who just about to get married.

Now you will feel no rain
For each of you will be shelter to the other
Now you will feel no cold
For each of you will be warmth to the other
Now there will be no loneliness
For each of you will be companion to the other
Now you are two persons
But there is only one life before you
Go now to your dwelling place
To enter into the days of your life together
And may your days be good and long upon the earth.

The City Hall

2009-08-09T07:06:00.000+08:00

I don't really understand the way of politics nor am I interested in them but I do enjoy drama series that talks or deals with politics. For example, the Japanese drama "Change" starring none other than the awesome Kimura Takuya and Abe Hiroshi. And here's another one, which I just recently finished (today infact!): The City Hall.

City Hall starred the legendary Kim Sun Ah of My Lovely Samsoon (one of the more enjoyable dramas back then) and Cha Seung Won (whose only other drama of his I've watched was Bodyguard - a highly entertaining drama as well). To be honest, I wasn't interested in City Hall when it was airing for various reasons. One, I still have a lot more other dramas to catch up with that i deemed as more interesting at that point in time. Also, I was not really a fan of Sun Ah even though My Lovely Samsoon was once a favorite. And the male lead, well, let's admit that Cha Seung Won is not your typical k-drama hero. By that I mean he's not the usual pretty/flower boy that most kdrama heroes are as of late. Even though I enjoyed his performance in Bodyguard, that was a looooooooong time ago that I really had no opinion on him anymore, except for the fact that he's no flower boy that i was used to seeing in kdrama. So why did I watch it in the end?

Many thanks to the fans of City Hall, of course. I read a lot of praising and worshipping and good reviews about it in blogs. That kinda rose my curiosity. I mean, there must be something to it if A LOT of people are talking about it. So i checked out the rest of the cast and there are familiar faces playing supporting roles like Choo Sang Mi from "My Woman" and Jung Soo Young as demented girl in "Fantasy Couple". I love these two in their respective roles so I decided to give City Hall a try. One thing that i'm glad about is that my interest in this drama started after the drama has ended, which means, if it's good, I can watch the episodes as fast as I could. I really don't want to have another "Boys Before Flowers' incident when I was tortured week after week for three months to finish it because I watched it real time.

City Hall, though deals with politics, is more of a romantic comedy for me, a genre I particularly have not much against. I'm not sure if it's a drama about politics with love story as the flavor, or it's a love story with politics as the flavor, but it being a korean drama, I would think it's the latter, though love and politics mix very well in this one ("Change" for example, is what I would consider a drama about politics with love story as the topping). I started this drama without much expectation really, and I don't even know what it's all about, which worked out very well coz it left me pleasantly surprised. I do love surprises like this~

In brief, City Hall is a story about an attempt by Jo Gook (Cha Seung Won) to create a puppet mayor in Inju City under the order from the higher level, which backfires. He toppled the current mayor through a string of events, but instead of going for the obvious candidate to be the next mayor (as per tacit agreement), he somehow decided to promote Shin Mi Rae (Kim Sun Ah) as an independent candidate for the run, thinking that Shin Mi Rae is someone he can manipulate. This is the point when the story truly takes off. The slow but steady changes in all the characters, especially Jo Gook and Shin Mi Rae are really nice to watch. And their great onscreen chemistry just make it even nicer. The general story then deals with corruption and power struggle and the power of money. I think MONEY is really the keyword. You have power because you have money. You go corrupt because of the desire to have a lot of money, you suffer because of money, you become desperate because of money. Everything involves money. No matter how good you want to be, you can either be tempted or defeated by money. It's really hard to be powerful just on your own accord. Those with money are the ones who are pulling the strings. But all hope is not gone. The truth will prevail. And your defeat today may become your strength tomorrow coz you do not succumb to the temptation.

But one thing I feel bitter about, and I always feel this way watching dramas about a leader, is how cruel people can be. One day you worship the leaders, the next you abandon them. As long as they can do something for your benefits, you support them, but if they fail even once, you throw them away like old rags. You curse them, you hate them, and you don't even know the real story. Why would anyone want to be a leader, really. You'll only be under-appreciated and misunderstood. (A/N: "Hong Gil Dong" is one particular drama I feel strongly sad about the degree of loyalty of the people. When HGD was strong, the peasants all worship him like he's a god, but when HGD was attacked from all corners, they all left him to save their own sorry asses like back-stabbers. Really, being poor is not the problem. Being dishonorable is). A leader is a very lonely position. That's why you are lucky if you have that one special person who will go through thick and thin with you. And Shin Mi Rae, our main character, is one lucky lady,coz she has Jo Gook, or Jo Gook is one lucky guy to have Mi Rae by his side. In short, they are each other's strengths and companions, which is why they are perfect for each other. One couldn't have asked for more than that in life. To find that someone whom you can call a soulmate.

In the first few episodes, I have rather mixed feelings about Shin Mi Rae, the 10th grade civil servant working at the mayor office. You wouldn't expect someone like her to be a leader. She doesn't seem all that educated. In fact, she didn't even finished middle school. But even from the beginning of the story you know that she's no pushover or stupid. She impressed me in one scene, then she went and drooled over Jo Gook in another and sometimes being all silly and narcissist-like. It's really hard to say whether you like her or not. It's a character that kinda grows in you, just like how she grows in Jo Gook's heart, I guess. LOL. Throughout the series, you see her grows from someone who fights for her own benefit to someone who sees a bigger picture and fights for the people (if only they know how to appreciate it. *sigh*)

Jo Gook is a charismatic character even from the beginning. Cha Seung Won really has great screen presence. What's awesome about Cha Seung Won is he acted both comedic and serious roles to perfection. And he cries like a man! (See Shah Rukh Khan for the opposite. haha) He's like a breath of fresh air on korean's small screen. Perhaps it's time to change from pretty looking guy to someone who exudes more masculinity without overloading machocism. His character is charasmatic, intelligent and savvy, yet can be funny and silly, tough at times, yet sweet and romantic most of the time. The downside is, he's just too good to be true. Can one find a man like that outside the script? I would like to be optimistic.

All in all, in my personal opinion, City Hall has elevated cinderalla-like story to another level. The love story is almost fantasy-like, yet realistic enough for us to believe in it. It's solemn and serious when it needs to be, but never fails to crack a joke or poke fun and make the viewers laugh when they least expect it. The characters were nicely developed. And as much as you hate some of them, their immaturity, their wishy-washiness and all, I'm glad the story didn't end in such note. And don't you just love the twist at the ending (about the phonecall)? A romantic would sigh out loud. Kudos to scriptwriter. Didn't see that one coming. My advice if you want to start watching City Hall: don't be disheartened by the first few episodes. Things only get better. Enjoy the love story while taking a peek at the Korean local politics!

My Too Perfect Sons

2009-06-15T12:25:00.000+08:00

I've always loved family-oriented/family-themed dramas. They are usually funny, heartwarming, and have more variations in terms of characters and story developments, compared to those typical romance dramas where everything focuses and revolves around the main couple. My first korean family drama was probably 'Since I Met You', and the last one I had was 'As Much As Heaven and Earth'. Honestly, I don't know if they are really categorized under Family Drama, but in my drama list, that's where they are.

Recently I came across a new family drama - Sons of Sol's Pharmacy House a.k.a My Too Perfect Sons. Initially, I wasn't planning on watching this because there were no subtitles, and since it's a loooong drama, it's unlikely to get subbed by dear fansubbers. Fortunately, someone uploaded the english-subbed version aired by KBS World, so eventually I picked this drama up and put it in my to-watch list.

A few minutes ago, i finished watching the fourth episode. Frankly, this drama is awesome. It is really hilarious that I could hardly stop laughing. When I'm bored or in a bad mood, watching this drama probably will help me recover. It's been a while since a drama makes me laugh almost non-stop so it's kinda refreshing. I'm the kind of person who can laugh easily at even the simplest joke or action to begin with, so when a drama is just full of witty dialogues, funny bickering, hilarious actions and ridiculous expressions, you can just imagine me grinning, snickering, gigling or laughing hysterically like a loony. If one can get flat abs by laughing, I can laugh all day long with this drama. Though, you shouldn't laugh too much, or so the wise man says. Whatever.

Sons of Sol's Pharmacy House tells the story of four brothers and their interactions with the family, friends, and neighbors. Normally, we watch a drama about a spinster and her journey through life till she finds love. This one however is about the four unmarried brothers; less so a problem for the youngest, but he has other issues. lol.

The four brothers are Song Jinpung, Song Daepung, Song Seonpung, and Song Mipung. Jinpung, the eldest, is reaching 40 and works as a pharmacist. Daepung, the second son, is a doctor and is labelled the playboy. At the beginning of the story, Jinpung was shown having a matchmaking session while Daepung was trying his best to get rid of a clinging girlfriend, telling her lies of him being a married man with kids. Jinpung was actually on a date that the matchmaker set for his younger doctor brother but their mother manipulated the situation and sent her eldest son instead. So when the eldest son got busted (poor him coz he didn't know either what his mom did), the woman was angry and left the restaurant. Devastated, Jinpung also walked out and that's when he came across his brother Daepung who was being pulled around by his girlfriend who insisted on meeting his 'wife' and tell her the truth about their relationship. Daepung, surprised at seeing his brother, took the opportunity and ran to him, pretending he was his brother-in-law and made an exaggerated scene of begging for his forgiveness. These two brothers are very different. Jinpung is shy, while Daepung is really loud and can be annoying sometimes. These two will eventually become involved with a female lawyer. At the same time, a nurse at Daepung's workplace, Bokshil, is harboring a romantic feeling towards him, but apparently he is oblivious to that.

Seonpung, the third son, is a reporter and loves animals. He's very innocent and pure. Mipung is the youngest and a little bit of a sissy as her mother put it. Instead of studying, he loves making dolls. He likes helping with housework normally you see done by daughters, but he did it in such a way that got her mother annoyed and scolded him. But I doubt he's in any way gay. He just cherishes his feminine side more, is all. Or so i hope.

Seonpung was a boss's favorite at work, for reasons unknown. but that wasn't really a cause of envy among his co-workers coz he's really a likeable person overall. His boss set him up with a female actress to go on a date. Unbeknownst to him, the actress is actually the boss's daughter. This girl, Eunji, hated the idea, but went to the restaurant nevertheless, but with her drama costumes. She played a pregnant lady in her drama. Anticipating his reaction to her fake swollen belly, she instead was stood up by Seonpung because a bear just died and Seonpung rushed to the scene while forgetting all about the date. While I thought Seonpung is rather cold to girls and really have not much interest in romantic relationship, that however changed when I saw his interactions with the nurse Bokshil. Somehow, i think he is fond of her and that's why he sometimes got angry for no reason at his brother Daepung, who treated Bokshil rather meanly.

Mipung, being the youngest, was not pressured to go into marriage, but rather being forced to study hard and take cram schools in preparation to retake his examination. But his interest lies somewhere else. He loves needlework, specifically making and sewing toys but his mother throws all his things away and even made him shave his head. He encountered an old friend who apparently has become a father at such a young age. The baby's mother ran away, leaving the little girl under his care alone. Mipung became attached really fast to the baby Hana. He even made her a teddy bear; he did it at school to avoid his mother's wrath.

There are a few other interesting characters like the parents and grandfather of the four brothers, the parents of Eunji the actress, and recently added (episode 4) the brother (whose wife is Jinpung's first love!) and his family of Lawyer Lee Soojin. I may not be a good storyteller, and this write-up may not make this story sound as good as it really is, but if you are interested, then give it a try. It may just be your cup of tea.

I have high hopes for this drama. I hope it will keep up with the hilarious and interesting flow, and not get poorly written as it goes along. Just be something I can always rely on to crack a smile on my face.

Cain & Abel

2009-05-11T14:58:00.000+08:00

I recently finished the Korean drama Cain & Abel, which starred one of my favorite actors, So Ji Sub. Initially, I think it was some time last year, when this series was first announced, I wasn't interested in the story at all. The original plot was about the rivalry between a gangster and his brother who is a detective (go figure!). Well, we've heard and seen (or at least, I have) about this kind of plotlines all the time - in music videos, story books, dramas, that it sounded a little cliche. Thus, the slight disinterest. Besides, I wasn't really into the original cast list (except for So Ji Sub who was the only main cast who remained after the production was put on hold indefinitely for reasons I wasn't really interested to find out, since I wasn't interested in the series anyway). In the end, I'm glad they changed the plotline. Instead of going for detective-gangster brothers rivalry, they showcase two talented brothers as surgeons, who of course, fall for the same woman (as expected) before another female lead comes in and completes the square.

The downside to that however, is the whole story becomes seemingly too much given the hospital backdrop, to the point when I sometimes thought, "Geez, this is getting ridiculous". There are loopholes or inconclusive points (or maybe i just missed them???) like who treated Ji Sub's injury when he was saved from the desert, where did his seemingly heart surgery scar came from etc etc. Anyway, the main plot is about two brothers (not blood-related. SJS was adopted but their close relationship was the envy of others) who love each other, but then one goes to kill the other for the sake of building a neurology center and getting the girl. Some episodes (especially the earlier ones) got very bloody, that has nothing to do with surgery - gunshots in a desert, gunshots in a jungle, get beaten in prison, and so on and so forth. If it's a gangster series, then it's more like it. To give it credit, the drama did show, in between those bloody scenes, some interesting surgical procedures that for someone like me, looked convincing enough. Throughout the series, there were never-ending murder attempts, and that what makes me think it was too much. How far people will go because of their greed and jealousy (and stupidity!). And that when you did a bad thing once, you just have to do another to cover it up, and then another, and another. So there's really no end to it unless you said to self that enough is enough and it's time to face the music and surrender. It was a drama with beautiful execution and great acting, but I would never have expected with a hospital background that such ugly politics and deeds are done by people who are supposedly saving lives, going behind the scenes of daily medical operations. It's paradoxical. To most of them, everything is about fame and money. Being the best is not about helping people, but about getting more recognition and more wealth. It's a sickening thought.

I do praise the leads though. Like I mentioned, the surgeries look really convincing. I think So Ji Sub and Shin Hyun Joon did a very good job. So Ji Sub's character is a doctor with a big heart. Always care for others, really fun person. What's good is that, he seems to play his character effortlessly. You don't see him being nice as forced or acting. It seems real. And Shin Hyun Joon is very charismatic. As for Han Ji min, though I found her accent a little annoying (but that's really in line with her character, so what can I say), she's awesome, as always. In some of her previous dramas, despite good acting, I did have a hard time with her overall make-up and appearance, like in Capital Scandal. In this series however, I was glad that she remained looking natural and pretty. Her character, Young Ji, was nicer to look at than the supposedly prettier counterpart, Kim Seo Yeon, played by Chae Jung Ahn. Han Ji Min is really petite and her standing beside the tall and well-built So Ji Sub is really a cute scene to behold. Instead of Han Ji Min being overshadowed by his huge physical presence, these two actually complement each other. They are such a cute couple. As for Chae Jung Ahn, again she played a typical sweet and ladylike character, which is suitable for her, but didn't excite me much. I don't usually find such character appealing in real life either, so it's not really her fault.

Overall, what makes me enjoy this series, despite the hard-to-comprehend major storyline (I just still can't believe things like this could happen in reality, since this is not a fantasy series like, let's say, A 1000 Years of Love), is the beautiful execution and awesome acting. Most scenes are nicely done and very professional (compare that with crappy Boys Before Flowers. Sigh!). The side characters/stories are fun to watch. The ending was satisfactory. I mean, I don't really go what-the-heck or bleh! by the end of it so it was okay I suppose. Also, the OST is beautiful. I was very happy that the English subtitle (thank you WITHS2!!!) comes with translations to the lyrics of the songs that were being played in the background, which add meanings and feelings to the scene.

Best Newcomer

2009-02-28T14:56:00.000+08:00

I went streaming the SBS tv to catch a glimpse of Lee Min Ho (the F4 Gu Jun Pyo from KBS Boys before Flowers) during the 45th Baeksang Award ceremony, but I missed it. Good news travels fast though (thanks to Youtube and Lee Min Ho Soompi thread), and sure enough, as expected by fans, he won the Best Newcomer Award! Congratulations~ Apparently, he tripped on the red carpet, and joked about it during his acceptance speech. Hehe. Adorable. He was obviously nervous. And he looked so lost on stage initially, which made me go "Aaawwwwww~". He totally deserves the award. Boys before Flowers is far from perfect, but one can't deny that his performance was great, flawed drama editing and directing notwithstanding. Perhaps, it's not too much to say that Lee Min Ho's superb and seemingly effortless acting is one of the major attractions that's causing the high viewership rating for the KBS series. And the fact that he's good looking doesn't hurt.

And now, what's more important is 'what happens next'. Receiving recognition for one's talent and hardwork is one thing, but keeping the expectations alive is another. Are you up to it, Lee Min Ho? Good luck!

Boys before Flowers Episode 01

2009-02-24T10:15:00.001+08:00

Gu Hye Sun as Geum Jan Di (Jandi)
Lee Min Ho as Gu Jun Pyo (Junpyo)
Kim Bum as So Yi Jung (Yijung)
Kim Joon as Song Woo Bin (Woobin)
Kim Hyun Joong as Yoon Ji Hoo (Jihoo)

It was a good a start for Boys before Flowers. I’m not going to do a full episode summary or recaps because I believe they are quite a few good ones already out there so I’ll just go straight to my own ramblings.

Initially, I watched the episode without subtitles, and since it was quite heavy on information-sharing, not able to understand a word, for the most part, kind of took the fun out of it. But the second time, with a proper subtitle, I was able to appreciate it better. In fact, I think this is one drama that only gets better in my head the more I watch it. I rewatched episode 1 last night (just to kill some time, and to refresh my mind about it, of course, in order to rant and ramble about it in here. LOL) and I thought I enjoyed it more this time around than two months ago. Perhaps, the last time I was a bit more critical, since there were some expectations. But once those expectations are taken off the shelves, one can start seeing things for what they are.

Gu Hye Sun as Jandi is so much fun to watch. I totally don’t mind her exaggerated expressions. In truth I was or AM STILL a little jealous of her. She can make silly and funny faces and yet still look cute and adorable. If it were me, I would look soo effing ugly (this is not my low self confidence talking; someone actually said that to my face. Hahahaha. *sigh*).

Good scenes

I especially like the little montage of F4 when Jandi’s brother, Kang San was introducing the notorious group to his sister. To be exact, from the moment Jihoo putting on shirt, Yijung picking and putting on tie, Woobin his jacket, then Junpyo, attended by his servants, putting on his shoes (the servant did it) and ready to go. The way they showed these scenes in such sequence was brilliant in my opinion. Also, the fact that Junpyo was shown to be attended by others while the rest of F4 were pretty much on their own really signifies their gap; while they are all rich, Junpyo obviously has the biggest chunk of it.

The next favorite scene is the first Jandi-Junpyo encounter! Junpyo just smacked a cake to a girl’s face (how childish!) and as the F4 were leaving the crowd of worshippers (something is wrong with these kids. Either that, or they simply have so much free time), Jandi stood on their way, seemingly ready to give them (or rather Junpyo in particular) a piece of her mind. Unfortunately, the preach were all in her head only. She didn’t have the guts yet to stand out (she has confessed earlier to her best friend Ga-eul that she would lay low throughout high school). She’s hilarious in this scene. You could tell she’s fuming inside and mad at herself.

The turning point in Jandi-Junpyo relationship is when Jandi’s one and only friend in the elite high school, Min Ji got bullied by Junpyo. The poor girl fell and accidently dropped her ice-cream on Junpyo’s tailored made shoes. The dialogue was good. It shows just how arrogant Junpyo was;

Minji: I’ll buy the exact same shoes for you right away.
Junpyo: You, do you have more money than I do?
Minji: Excuse me?
Junpyo: Even if you did, you wouldn’t be able to. These shoes were made by craftsman in Firenze, so how would you buy me the same exact ones right away?
Minji: I apologize. Then I’ll do whatever I can.
Junpyo: Whatever you can?
Minji: Yes!

And this is when Jandi reached her breaking point and stepped in. By doing that, Junpyo finally took notice of her, and this was, albeit unintentionally, her declaration of war! I just loved it when she shoved her own ice-cream to Junpyo’s face and threw him money for the dry cleaning of his fur coat. And not to forget, the sticking of Jandi Dry Cleaning sticker on his forehead to complete his humiliation. Jandi, bravo!

Another good one is the scene when she got egged and floured by the school kids after receiving the Red Card (courtesy of Junpyo, of course). Her uniform got dirtied and they showed a flashback of his father (a dry cleaner who appreciates good clothes when he sees one) reminding Jandi to treat her uniform as an inheritance. It was funny when his father said that, but replaying that scene through a flashback at this particular moment was a little sad. Gu Hye Sun did really well throughout this scene overall. And after that, when she went to vent her frustration at the emergency staircase, the way she was mumbling about wasted food (the flour, the egg) was really what you expect from Jandi (she is someone who really appreciates/loves food you see, and can get creative with them – you’ll know what I mean when you see later episodes). In this scene, Jihoo also appeared (asking her about pancakes) and noticed her disheveled appearance. I would put this scene from this point forward under the could-have-been-better scene category, but since this is the first episode, I think I’ll let this one go. Besides, I just can’t decide whether Kim Hyun Joong is doing a mediocre job, or a perfect job. You either see it as a perfect portrayal of a nonchalant, reserved, stiff character or you see it as bad acting. For this particular scene, I’ll go first the former.

Funny scenes

The Geum Family was hilarious. Any scene with them on was such comic relief. I especially dig the father and son’s antics, like their gigs when they were celebrating Jandi’s admission to Shinhwa High, or their devastated expressions afterwards when Jandi said she wasn’t going (but of course she did attend the Shinhwa High). Their behaviors are what you call ‘like father, like son’.

The actor who played the father is my favorite Korean comedy actor of all time. Just by simply being on screen can crack me up, let alone when he utters his lines. He’s such a natural at this. I’ve enjoyed his performances in some other dramas like Hong Gil Dong and Sassy Girl Chun Hyang. The son (Jandi’ little brother) was cute to boot! I’m not sure I’ve seen his other drama before, but I heard he was a pretty good young actor.

Worth-to-mention scenes

The very first ‘Shouting at emergency staircases’. Hehe. It was a cute scene to me. Granted, the shouting-out-of-frustration thing came a little too early, in my opinion, when F4 haven’t done anything to her or anyone close to her yet. I suppose Jandi is someone who thinks about others and feel or share their pain, thus the seemingly came-out-too-early scene because she was mad at how F4 is and feel strongly for the victims of their immature acts. This is also the time when she personally met Jihoo again, after their first encounter at the woods when she got lost while looking for the swimming pool. Jihoo was sleeping at the staircase landing and got annoyed by the loud noise. Jandi was cute as she got flustered being reprimanded by Jihoo, and by the fact that Jihoo heard all her ‘curses’ and her brags about what she would do to F4 if they ever cross paths. Hoho.

Embarrassing scenes

Yijung and the French(?) chef. Thank God I didn’t vomit. He’s cute alright, but the lines he has to utter and the gestures he has to make were so cheesy and corny they are nauseating. Gah! I suppose that scene was to establish him as a real player/womanizer, which may be a crucial fact in later episodes.

Lame scenes

Going to school by helicopter, Gu Jun Pyo? That was a little over the top. And the fact that the helicopter looked so much like a toy just made it even more of a laughingstock. Ahaha. It’s funny, alright. But still… I guess they want to make this as comical as possible.

Now, I don’t even want to talk about the ‘Jihoo plays violin in the woods’ scene. While it’s acceptable if this were in a comic book, it just seems ridiculous on tv. But I understand that this scene is important to introduce that particular spot in the woods because a few important scenes will take place there (as we soon learn in the subsequent episodes). And I must admit, the woods make quite a beautiful setting.

And the scene where F4 enters the building and the sunlight (or whatever light) was shining upon them. Hahah. Alrighty, let’s not go there.

These lame scenes are… well, lame, but at least they are funny. I guess that’s the charm of Episode 1. ;)

Quotable Quotes
"Flower Four? Yeah, right. More like Fly Four. They herd around poops." - Geum Jandi, in response to Gaeul's inquiry about F4. lol.

Favorite Character of the Episode
Papa Geum! He's sooooo funny~

A Background to Boys before Flowers (Kkotboda Namja)

2009-02-23T10:00:00.002+08:00

I completely forgot about this Korean drama when it first aired in early January, despite me having anticipating it all of last year ever since the news about its production was announced. I was a huge fan of the original manga Hana Yori Dango (HYD) by Kamio Yoko, which was actually one of the first manga I’ve read when I got obsessed with Japanese comics and anime once upon a time during my college days. I remembered ordering the anime version of it on E-bay. Not a huge fan of the anime though. The cartoon was not as pretty as the drawings in the manga. No offense, but in truth, the earlier volumes of the manga also presented pretty ugly drawings, which was inconsistent with the description of flower boys a.k.a pretty boys. Thinking back, I wonder what made me pick up the comic, or even more, what made me continue reading it because usually, I read only comics with beautiful drawings. I might miss out on all the good stories out there because of the not-so-appealing art, but that was simply my preference then: beautiful arts to look at. The story itself was secondary. And HYD changed that about me.

The Manga

I guess, I’m just like any other normal girl; while the art may not be appealing, the story itself is a timeless classic, a love story between a spunky poor girl (Tsukushi Makino) and a rich, arrogant boy (Domyouji Tsukasa). Throw in the plotlines of silly yet innocent courtships, misunderstandings, double standards, cruel rich mom, love triangle (or squarepants?), sacrifices, memory loss, more misunderstandings, insecurities, and so on and so on (think of all the clichés in the old days love story and you might be on the dot of what the contents of HYD is), but don’t you love it when in the end, love conquers all? Don’t you just love to see a guy who can have (almost) everything in this world yet all he truly wants is a poor girl’ heart? And don’t you just admire a girl who may be poor, and plain, yet has strong personality and kick ass? Most of all, don’t you envy (or rather jealous) of her for having not only one, or two, but four handsome and rich boys (known as F4, which stands for Flower Four – cheesy, isn’t it? LOL) looking after her and falling for her (to varying degrees), plus the not so handsome and not so rich boys who got crushes on her (to varying degrees), and even girls who think she’s one cool gal! So what is it about this girl, really? There’s Something About Mary, er… Makino. I don’t know what it is, but I’m sure they are some of us out there who wish to be in her shoes. Hana Yori Dango may present some things that are too good to be true, unreal, sometimes too ideal, and yet that what seem to be the appeal: an escape from reality.

The romantic plot aside, I enjoy the manga because the mangaka really knows how to tell her story. She really nails the funny and over the top situations that are common in comic books. The main characters are lovable, innocent (to a certain degree haha). Makino and Tsukasa are such a cute, funny, adorkabe couple). The storytelling itself is sometimes silly, heartwarming, hilarious, whichever way made me enjoy reading through. And despite me saying it to be an escapism, it relates to real emotion pretty well. Reading it was a rollercoaster ride for me. Emotions going up and down. And kudos to the mangaka, because I truly feel that she grows with her work. The arts improved tremendously by the end of the story (a total of 36 volumes) and I may not know her, but am very proud of her on this aspect.

Live Actions, Adaptations

Meteor Garden (2001), a famous Taiwanese series, is an adaptation of the Hana Yori Dango. I love the series, at least the earlier episodes, before things get draggy. At that time, the manga was still ongoing. And then came Meteor Garden 2 (2003) that made it even worse. MG2 spun its own tale, which dedicated to the memory loss part in the manga, but took it through a long winding road, which was not nice at all. I don’t recall if I ever finish the sequel. The casts of F4 for Meteor Garden were newbies, thus acting was so-so to satisfactory (but I suppose they improved towards the end?). I don’t really consider them good looking as per F4 description, but maybe the one who played Domyouji is (according to many people, which I’m not really sure about that myself).

The Japanese made their own adaptation in 2005 with the same name as the manga (Hana Yori Dango), with Season 2 in 2007. The F4 casts were less intimidating in terms of size as compared to their Taiwanese counterparts. But they have this F4 charisma which makes them the better F4 in my regard. Plus, the acting, overall, is much better. And the story itself, with only 9 episodes (Season 1) was fast-paced yet still conveyed the important elements of the original manga, but I felt that it was a little bit on a shaky ground. Season 2 was more solid in terms of story progression, acting-wise, and overall production. I love the actress who played Makino. She was a newbie then, but her performance was really good. And she has sharp, shining eyes that give a strong aura for her character. Hanazawa Rui, one of the F4, was carried out by Oguri Shun, who take the character to a whole new level. I don’t consider him good looking, but he certainly has his charm, and it’s hard not to fall in love with his portrayal, even though I was never once considered the possibility of Rui and Makino in the infamous love triangle with Tsukasa. I was rooting for the stupid (regardless) Tsukasa and Makino all the way.

The Japanese Hana Yori Dango released its movie last year (2008) called Hana Yori Dango Final, though I’m not sure about the ‘final’ part, given the ending was a little bit open-ended for the Hanazawa Rui character. Regardless, I enjoyed the movie very much. Some say the movie was pointless, even though the scenes towards the end pretty much redeemed its value. I, personally, disregard the logic and the sense and the over the topness of the movie, and thought it was highly entertaining. The advice is to just sit back and enjoy the silliness. It’s good as a stress-reliever.

There was actually an earlier movie adaptation (Japanese) in 1995 starring Yuki Uchida. I believe this is the first ever adaptation of the manga. I might be wrong. The actor (Fujiki Naohito) who played Hanazawa Rui in this earlier adaptation, also played a cameo role in the 2008 movie.

Boys Before Flowers

Third time’s a charm, was the tagline when it was announced that Korea was going to do its own adaptation of Hana Yori Dango. The Korean title, Kkotboda Namja, loosely translated as Boys Over Flowers or Boys Before Flowers (I personally prefer the latter) is the third adaptation of the manga into a drama series. The casting took quite some time, with some ‘drama’ here and there. Kim Hyun Joong of the popular boyband SS501 was the first rumored to be joining the cast (which turned out to be true. He plays YOON Jihoo or Hanazawa Rui in the manga). Another singer, Kim Joon from the trio T-max was casted as the character Akira in the manga. The Korean name is SONG Woobin. The other two F4 characters, namely GOO Junpyo (Domyouji Tsukasa) and SO Yijung (Nishikado Soujiro) are being played by relatively new actors, Lee Minho and Kim Bum, the latter of which has given a riveting performance in MBC East of Eden. Lee Minho as Goo Junpyo was received with mixed feelings and skepticism at first by many, as he was totally under the radar. But I enjoyed his past performances i.e Mackarel, Run and I Am Sam (even though the two series were not very popular) and believe that this is one actor to look out for. He has great potential, and he proved it in the first episode of Kkotboda Namja aired 5th January 2009. And in the subsequent episodes, it seems like the Goo Junpyo character is made for him. His lover in the drama, Geum Jandi (Makino Tsukushi) is played by Gu Hye Sun, an up and rising actress of commendable performance through her dramas such as Pure 19 and The King and I.

As guided by personal taste and preference, I think the Korean F4 is by far the best fit of the original description of pretty boys. They are good looking, and the best part is, they resemble their manga counterparts, to a certain high degree, which really is a bonus for a fan of the manga like me. Acting-wise, Lee Minho steals the show with his effortless portrayal of a mean, domineering jerk with some childlike quality, and Gu Hyesun is totally adorable (some people thinks she’s over the top sometimes but I honestly don’t mind at all coz she’s so darn cute even when being exaggerated and loud). Kim Joon, despite his drama debut, proves to be a natural. Kim Bum may not reach his potential yet, given the side line role he has to play. But even with that limited space to spread his wings, I think he does a pretty good job. Kim Hyun Joong is one that’s hard for me to figure out. Often time, I just can’t tell whether he is bad acting it, or if that’s how his character is supposed to be. But there are moments where he shines and nails the scenes to perfection. It’s just that sometimes it such a shame that an important scene is ruined by bad acting. But if I were to look past that and see the bigger picture, which is the drama as a whole, despite the flaws in not only some of the acting, but also directing and editing, I can say that the Boys Before Flowers is one enjoyable drama. And the BBF mania that’s going on right now is totally understandable.