29 posts tagged “kdrama”

Not here in Singapore!

XD I'm refering to the kdrama of that title (크리스마스에 눈이 올까요?). It's a melodrama, and I really dislike melodramas (haven't even watched the Mother of all k melodramas: Winter Sonata). Still, the story is not too far-fetched and the actors and actresses are really good (in their acting and their looks). It's not all crying and heartaches, but also filled with bits of details that can warm up your heart or make you laugh. One feature of this drama is the presence of many scenes that has no dialogue, just bg music and meaningful acting. I love those the most as it leaves room for interpretation.

Also, unlike most k melodramas, where at least one source of conflict comes from a character being a member of a chaebol (business conglomerate) family, this one doesn't seem to fall prey to this plot device. The only rich person is the female supporting lead Lee Woo Jung. But other than being slightly bad tempered and self-centered, I quite like her character. Her family doesn't seem to feature much up till now.

Basiclly, the story is as follows:

Female lead Han Ji Wan was from a small village town in Korea. One day, a family moves into the town and the male lead Cha Kang Jin is transfered into her school as a senior. Things happened and one day she indirectly caused him to drop his pendant into the river. The pendant was given to him by his father (whose identity we still don't know) and meant a lot to him. A few months later, she was confronted about her feelings for him, but she could not confess as she felt guilty for having caused him to lose the pendant. Seeing how sad she was, her brother decided to help her search for it in the river. As a result, he drowned. Later, Ji Wan found the pendant swept ashore from the river. She took the pendant with her and left home, feeling ashamed to face her parents.

Years later, they meet again by chance in Seoul. At first they were cold to each other, pretending not to know each other. But after Kang Jin confirmed that the Han Ji Wan he saw was indeed the one back from his hometown, he tried to continue their relationship. Kang Jin, being the more proactive one, gradually grew close to Ji Wan.

Things were going on fine and Ji Wan seemed to have forgotten about the sad past, and agreed to go on a date with Kang Jin. Kang Jin got called back to office during the date but left his hp behind. As Ji Wan waited for his return, she picked up a call on his hp, and it turned out to be her father, whom she has not contacted since she left home. That brought back memories of the past. Later, Kang Jin passed her some books, which turned out to be notes her brother had lent Kang Jin when he was still alive. He also asked her for the reason she left home without a word back then.

But Ji Wan didn't answer. Instead, she got Kang Jin to run an errand for her and went off by her own. Later, she was brought to the police station as she got too drunk. Her ex-fiance, Park Tae Jun, went to fetch her from the station and asked her why she got herself so drunk. Ji Wan blurted out that she had cleanly forgotten how her brother died, how he died while trying to find Kang Jin's pendant for her. This ws all overheard by Kang Jin, who had also rushed to the police station.

Superb acting, more realistic plot, good-looking cast. Go watch!

No, wait. I'll take that back. Wait till the next ep to see if this drama turns into a full fledged cliche melodrama!

Btw, I was having Christmas eve dinner at a hotel restaurant just now. There were people caroling at the lobby and they sang pretty well.....but as we ended dinner, I heard a familiar tune.

NOBODY.

OMG...like I haven't heard enough of it, on blogs, in shopping malls, on tv, EVERYWHERE, I had to hear it on Christmas eve even.

We went to do more sightseeing yesterday, with a new tour guide. She's much better I feel, in terms of smiling, friendliness, English, knowledge of good places to go and initiative. Aniwaes, we went to Lotte World, which I absolutely loved but didn't get to ride anything except for the pharoah 3D virtual show. =( It's a place to go with friends, not family. Not a family who's afraid of the smallest things. Aniwaes, I also saw the hot air balloon ride featured in Creating Destiny. XP I think it's really destiny coz on the previous tour, I walked past this shop in Insadong that was used as Yeo Jun siter's pastry shop in the show.

After Lotte World, we went to this precius stone workshop where gm bought some jewelry. Then it was to 63 Building to view the nightscape!

Pretty ne? Looks like Christmas lightings.

Not when you look properly what it's made of. Or when you're in the middle of it.

We wentto the Wax Museum next!

I'd be happier if it was Yong Ha's role instead of Yon-sama's. I didn't even watch Winter Sonata lah! But, just for fun!

=====================================================================================

Today is our last day in Seoul. And being very very afraid of the weather outside My face is starting to peel and turn into a pimples hotspot), we decided to stay indoors and shop at COEX mall. Surprisingly, I bought very little even at Seoul! Just bought two tops and some hair accessories. I tried to speak in Korean, and I think Agnes sunsaengnim would have been proud. We ended the day at the convenience store, and I wanted to buy some drinks. There, I experienced the power of celeb endorsements. I totally have no interest in the drinks offered by the store, and decided to jsut grab some orange juice and random sodas. And then, I saw it. HJL on a bottle! It was a soda, and so I decided to buy it. When the product itself makes little difference, celeb advertising comes to play. Aniwaes, it was a good choice because the soda tasted quite good. Even my non-fangirl gm says so.

The purchase I was most happy with was the YB Novel part 2 and the Comic part 2. They were both released 18th Dec, just a day ago! Lucky me!! If they had released it tomorrow, I wouldn't have been able to get it at such a cheap price. I haven't really read them (no time) but I browsed through it and realised that the Comic comprises 3 parts, and the third book will be out in Jan. T.T Below are some photos I took of the BTS pictures attached at the back of the Novel part 2.

Please credit karened.vox.com if reposted!

I guess I'm one of the minority who loved his hairstyle at the start of the drama.

It's the YB International Fan Project Message Book JGS is holding yo!

This was after the first forced kiss scene ne?

JGS at top, Park Shin Hye bottom.

Hong Gi top, Yong Hwa bottom.

I'm so gonna scan the chibi images into HQ and print them out!

Another thing...I was rewatching YB when I realised this tidbit about the star talk scene. Read the following dialogue:

고미남: 그 별은 아주 많은 사람이 좋아해주는 별입니다. 그 많은 사람 중에 저도 끼어서 그 별을 좋아해도 죄가 되지 않겠죠?
Go Mi Nam: That star is a star that many people likes. It won't be a transgression even if I join those people in liking the star, right? 
황태경: 넌 그런 것도 허락 받고 좋아하냐? 별한테 물어봐. 넌 지금 보일 거 아니야.
Hwang Tae Kyung: You want to get consent even for such a thing? Ask the star. Aren't you looking at it now?

Doesn't this echo the later episode where Tae Kyung said he consents to Mi Nam liking him?

황태경:고미남, 앞으로 네가 날 좋아하는 걸 허락해준다.
Hwang Tae Kyung: Go Mi Nam, in the future, to your liking me, I give my consent. 

I know how that scene of him giving consent, by itself, is a classic scene. Maybe it's just me, but seems like there weren't much discussion of the link between the above two scenes. It's like TK remembered their time together and gave MN the answer she needed.

Also, this link made the part where MN thanked TK for accepting her as a fan more logical. Actually I had a bit of an issue as to why MN thought that TK was giving her consent to become his fan. How could anyone be so dumb with regards to a confession? But with this link, I could see why. MN had heard TK's words as an answer to her previous question at her father's hometown. And when she asked that question, she had framed it as her joining TK's fans in liking him, as a fan.

Omg thankies hweping unni for sharing the link to the studio recorded version of 어떡하죠 (What Should I Do) by Jang Geun Suk!! It's so beautifullllllllllllllllllllll I'm gonna die. Don't have time to translate the lyrics, but here's the song. It's good enough to be enjoyed without knowing the lyrics!

From cecilia at soompi:

omg ppl
i have so much good (and some bad) news to tell!!!

let's start off with the not so good news

[1]Apparently, some 30 minutes of the last episode was edited
(this came out from the chat room on the dvd cafe with a manager)
OMG TT we can only imagine what was deleted TTT
let's just hope that alot of these uncut scenes will be included into the dvd

then some good news

[2]looks like the director's cut dvd is really going to happen
the director and the production company are keen to do it
and should be coming with eng subs as well (not sure yet)
however this will most probably only be available from korea and not overseas sites

[3]next up, there is talk going on about a real ANJell concert to be held in korea around christmas
but still in planning stages
dont konw if if's really happening

[4]also, news articles mentioning that overseas fans sent to the actors, fan letters (yes taht's us) came out a couple of days ago... nothing specific but at least it's in there

here's an article

http://osen.co.kr/news/Enter_View.asp?gisano=G0911240139
(i cant find more but apparently there's more, someone said they'll find for me and send to me)

[5]
yesterday at the ending party, a rep from the YB gall talked to HONG GI who said he was very touched by the project (and all the presents he received from them)

and now for some big news

first of all

the HONG SISTERS, yes the writers of our beloved drama have found out about our YB project and have asked for the original files to our project since they didnt get a copy of the book. We had previously planned to give the hong sisters a copy of our book and cd as well bt unfortunately Pao719 couldnt afford to print that many books then, so we only gave 1 book each to the 4 actors, 1 for he production team and 1 for the marketing team. WOOHOOO!! way to go everyone!!!

2nd of all

it seems that a season 2 is HIGHLY LIKELY. Both the director and production company also want to do it. But whether the cast is going to stay the same it's hard to say...
(this info was provided by dc gall staff)

ahhhhhh i have so much to catch up on
im about to fainttttt

tah's all from me for now!

Faints from happiness but gets reminded that rumours remain as rumours. Note to self not to hold high expectations.

It started with a simple reply to someone who requested for the original version of 어떡하죠 (What Should I Do), one of the more prominent songs in the last few episodes. So I asked her to leave an email, so I can send it to her.

Then came many replies asking me to send them as well. I decided to open a 楼, which is a thread in Baidu, to send all 3 versions of the song (Original, TV cut from ep 15 by Mi Nyu and TV cut from ep 16 by Tae Kyung) to those who leave their emails. I also asked if anyone has links to download the BTS clips, because while there were open threads for them, no one replied me the download link!

So started the crazy sending of emails.... I decided to stop at 150.

But in between, someone nice gave me the BTS links, so I extended it to 250.

But as I worked towards 250, many replied to say that they can't open the download link, on MF. Now I experience first-hand how censorship really restricts connectivity. So, I tried to attach the files separately; the reason why I didn't send as attachments in the first place was because the 3 files exceeded the 10MB limit by Hotmail. But after sending 2 emails, Hotmail said that I've exceeded the 300 emails per day limit. O.O

With the growing list of people leaving their emails on the thread, I had to turn to...Yahoo.co.jp. The one I always fall back on when I have large attachments or need to email non-English characters. Thank god their email limit is 20MB. So, I managed to send till 345楼, or, the 345 post. People are still leaving emails despite me telling them I'll stop at 345. that's already like 100 over what I initially capped!

I see many other threads with over 1000 posts and I wonder how the thread-starters manage it...

Aniwaes, the three songs are included below, for your pleasure. Love them to bits!! ARGH They should release a third OST with everything from these two versions of the song, Yong Hwa's version of his song, Jeremy's Such Good Words and stuff...I mean, they're already releasing TWO photobooks, at the end of the run!! Usually we see photobooks near the middle of a drama, right?

By the way, congratulations, YB team! Ratings broke 12 last night!!!

And, from DC Gall, the full chronicles of Jeremy's hair!

 

In celebration of Ohno's *ahem*th birthday, let's do a test!!!

Diagnostic criteria for 312.31 Pathological Gambling 

A. Persistent and recurrent maladaptive gambling behavior as indicated by five (or more) of the following: 

(1) is preoccupied with gambling (e.g., preoccupied with reliving past gambling experiences, handicapping or planning the next venture, or thinking of ways to get money with which to gamble) 
(2) needs to gamble with increasing amounts of money in order to achieve the desired excitement 
(3) has repeated unsuccessful efforts to control, cut back, or stop gambling 
(4) is restless or irritable when attempting to cut down or stop gambling 
(5) gambles as a way of escaping from problems or of relieving a dysphoric mood (e.g., feelings of helplessness, guilt, anxiety, depression) 
(6) after losing money gambling, often returns another day to get even ("chasing" one's losses) 
(7) lies to family members, therapist, or others to conceal the extent of involvement with gambling 
(8) has committed illegal acts such as forgery, fraud, theft, or embezzlement to finance gambling 
(9) has jeopardized or lost a significant relationship, job, or educational or career opportunity because of gambling 
(10) relies on others to provide money to relieve a desperate financial situation caused by gambling 

B. The gambling behavior is not better accounted for by a Manic Episode.

- As taken from my "Are You OK? Mental Health In Singapore" elective lecture notes on the topic "Addictions".

Let's do change some words to suit our purpose better:
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT: Note that the creator of these guidelines is herself a fangirl who views writing as an acceptable form of schizophrenia.

Diagnostic criteria for A.RA.SHI Pathological Fangirling 

A. Persistent and recurrent maladaptive fangirling behavior as indicated by five (or more) of the following: 

(1) is preoccupied with fangirling (e.g., preoccupied with reliving past fangirling experiences, planning the next merchandise/official release purchase, or thinking of ways to get money with which to fund fangirling activities) 
(2) needs to fangirl with increasing amounts of time in order to achieve the desired excitement 
(3) has repeated unsuccessful efforts to control, cut back, or stop fangirling 
(4) is restless or irritable when attempting to cut down or stop fangirling 
(5) fangirls as a way of escaping from problems or of relieving a dysphoric mood (e.g., feelings of helplessness, guilt, anxiety, depression) 
(6) after spending all pocket money/pay on fangirling, often borrow from tomorrow to get continue ("chasing" idols) 
(7) lies to family members, therapist, or others to conceal the extent of involvement with fangirling 
(8) has committed illegal acts such as forgery, fraud, theft, or embezzlement to finance fangirling 
(9) has jeopardized or lost a significant relationship, job, or educational or career opportunity because of fangirling
(10) relies on others to provide money to relieve a desperate financial situation caused by fangirling 

B. The fangirling behavior is not better accounted for by a Manic Episode.

SO, ARE YOU DIAGNOSED WITH PATHOLOGICAL FANGIRLING?

Two papers down, two more to go. For tonight, I will indulge in my final ・°°・(>_<)・°°・。 ウエーン episode of You're Beautiful. Episode 15, was....not as exciting as I hoped. Maybe the one week in between had washed away whatever sadness I felt during the last scene of episode 14. Instead of feeling sad for MN and TK when the scene continued in episode 15, I didn't feel much until SW came into the picture. He was standing behind MN, who was crouched on the floor crying. And he was just there watching her, like he was struggling between going to comfort her and staying hidden since he had got to more excuse to protect her, with her rejection in episode 15. It's like, she's just in front of him, but she's so far away.

I don't get the Japan shooting, really. They just needed to go overseas so that the real MN can be swopped with the fake one. I felt that that was the whole purpose of the trip. They could have made better use of it though... What I did enjoy about episode 15:

• Shinwoo FINALLY told Mi Nyu (to avoid confusion later) that he knew about her true identity right on the first night at the rooftop. Like, finally! I'm glad he finally let it out for a true closure to his feelings. There's no more what-ifs, because now she knew everything, and yet still rejected him.
• Someone saved the day by being upright and morally correct! Our poor leads got to know that the song was written for Mi Nyu's mother, not Tae Kyung's mother. YES!
• When Tae Kyung got to know that, he went into the recording studio and did what Tae Kyung would do! Force his mother to face the truth and drive some sense into her.
• Mi Nam at the airport, where Reporter Kim pulled off his coat to reveal that he is actually a....MALE! Haha! The Mi Nam back looked really nice. =P But I was quite disappointed with the glimpse of Mi Nam we saw. From Manager Ma's descriptions of him and that short scene in episode 14, plus the one at the airport of him sleeping on the airport seats, I had expected a really cool Mi Nam. How cool? Cool enough for me to go kyaaaa over although I know he is actually Park Shin Hye disguised. But what I saw was actually more kiddish and... reminded me of Mi Nyu in the episode with the supermart scenes, where Tae Kyung was imagining her saying the line that got cut off.
• The scene of Mi Nyu and Tae Kyung in Japan where she left him. Tae Kyung grabbed her hand, as all Korean leads do. But Tae Kyung, as we've established ages ago, is a twist to the typical Korean lead. So, I had expected him to grab her a second time when she let go of his hand... But he didn't. Still, I like that scene because JGS did such a good job at holding back his tears, it was heart-wrenching to watch. I think this is better than the scene where he cried after being told by his mother how much she lost because she gave birth to him.

I'm gonna get withdrawal syndromes after tonight. =(

Oh, yes, Happy birthday riida! You old man!

Ok this is like super funny.

With all the essential scenes (confrontation, a third person whom one of the pair loves, scene at the airport where one of the pair leaves and the other rushes to stop that, the near-miss) and typical k-drama background music, this would make a good korean drama. Maybe.

I read a lot of comments that Tae Kyung's sudden outburst at the end of ep 14 was too sudden and seemed too contrived, like the screenwriters wrote it in to give the plot some tension.

Actually, as I thought abit more...this situation kind of resembled the one in episode 2 where Mi Nam went to his room to apologise for puking into his mouth.

He yelled at her to leave the room, and we later realised that it was because he didn't want to be provoked by her presence into scolding her. He needed to calm down (and wash his mouth n times) first before facing Mi Nam.

Here, it's similar ne. Other than having to reorganise his thoughts (WOW! Suddenly, this girl who seems to know nothing knows everything! His mother's identity, the background of the song he was remaking, the relationship between his mother and her father....oh yeah, on top of that she's HIS daugther) alone, he didn't want to hurt her accidentally when his mind is in a frenzy.

I think that's why he asked her not to be where he can see her. He doesn't want to see her (for now, not forever).

I hope episode 15 proves my theory right!

I recently (ok a few wks ago) participated in a YB Project, and the results of that project is out here!

Basically, in response to JGS's msg on SBS's msg board (he reflected if it was because he didn't do a good job that the ratings weren't high, because he felt the rest of the cast was superb), international fans of YB got together and compiled messages to send to the YB team. What started out as a simple email idea somehow got included into a visit by Korean DC Gallery members to the set. In that blog are an account of the visit, photos of the cast with the project and much others. Go have a look!!

It's really, worldwide. Like I haven't been surprised by Arashi enough...but this is just a drama. It's not a band or grou or anything. Yet, the following is..amazing.

Once again, the power of the Internet. ORZ. I fall at your feet.

Here are the videos containing those messages.

And this is JGS acknowledging the project.

I've participated in numerous such events, to arashi, SS501, Raymond...but this is the first time I actually feel that "I was part of something that made a difference!" 장근석, 100야! Fan-service.

Oh and I it's funny how JGS actually wrote in DC Gallery some spoilers for upcoming episodes, but because he had no proof (eg a photo of himself), no one believed what he said and even told him to go play elsewhere. LOL..I've seen plenty of such messages around, and usually don't bother to click, because they're either crap or if real, things I don't want to get spoilt about.

[edit] More videos of the visit on DC (This is mainly on JGS, for the rest, click the links below the video).

 

The brightest star in episode 14...

Who do you think was the brightest star in episode 14?

For me, it was him...

who shone in spite of the sorrowful darkness that filled those few minutes,
who took over from Shin Woo to be this episode's star,
who beat even Tae Kyung's sweet (though unoriginal) kiss.

Let's recap those heartwrenching moments... 

Gomen gomen. I must have been thinking of the magic school bus, but it's not "magic bus".
It's "treasure bus" (보물버스). I'm lazy to edit it now, so do note ne!

Scene recaps from here.
Please credit karened.vox if reposted anywhere.

I think the most painful part was when he asked "why"...his voice was quivering!!

And of course, the song 참좋은말 (aka I love you). What an irony!

I translated the song, which is a children's piece. But Jeremy changed the fourth line for Mi Nam.

사랑해요 이 한마디 참 좋은 말
우리 식구 자고 나면 주고받는 말
사랑해요 이 한 마디 참 좋은 말
제르미도 그 얘에게 주고 싶은 말

이 말이 좋아서 온종일 신이 나지요
이 말이 좋아서 온종일 일 맛 나지요
이 말이 좋아서 온종일 가슴이 콩닥콩닥뛴데요
사랑해요 이 한마디 참 좋은 말

나는 나는 이 한 마디가 정말 좋아요
사랑 사랑해요

"I love you" this one phrase. Such good words.
Words that our family exchange when we go to sleep.
"I love you" this one phrase. Such good words.
Words that Jeremy wants to give to that girl.

These words are good and makes me delighted the whole day.
These words are good and makes me work keenly the whole day.
These words are good and makes my heart thump the whole day.
"I love you" this one phrase. Such good words.

I really love this one phrase.
I love, I love you.

Really, if Shin Woo surprised me with his acting chops last episode, Jeremy did the same this episode. He was acting to cry and sing at the same time. And, in doing so, he had to act that he was pretending not to cry (so that fans won't feel weird over the radio). But he did it well! Hong Ki! Are you sure you're only 19??

I really like Jeremy's positioning in this drama. We have Tae Kyung as the proud, overbearing typical Korean lead, and Shin Woo as the soft, gentle and understanding typical Korean supporting lead. Where does Jeremy fit in?

He's the symbol of simplicity. Why, he wears all his emotions on his face!

His love for Mi Nam is simple. He just loves her as he/she is, regardless of his/her gender. When Mi Nam turns out to be a girl, that makes things even easier! When Mi Nam's upset, he'll cheer her up. When he wants to have fun, he'll call her along. When he doesn't understand, he goes up to her and ask. Simple and direct. No waiting for the perfect moment, no waiting till it becomes an urgent situation. Our poor poor poor Jeremy!!!

I don't really feel good that the screenwriters seemed to be rushing everything. Let's count what was resolved/about to be resolved in the last two episodes:
1) The end of Shin Woo's secret love for Mi Nam
2) The at-long-last realisation by Tae Kyung of his love for Mi Nam
3) The end of Jeremy's once forbidden love for Mi Nam
4) The downfall of Princess Liar Yoo He Yi
5) The meeting between Mi Nam and Mo Hwa Ran (that sickoo!)
6) The result of Reporter Kim's probbing

Don't you think it's way too much? And then we have the real Mi Nam returning. His character is totally undeveloped and I doubt there'll be time to do so given that there's still so much the final episodes have to resolve. That probably means that Go Mi Nam will be a flat character whom we know little about except those little facts other characters let us in on.

I mean, a totally new band member, who Manager Ma says is totally different in character from Mi Nyu, join ANJELL. How would President Ahn react to the sudden change in personality? The fans? How would he fit in when so much has happened between his band mates and his sister? Throw in the fact that he doesn't seem to be a nice person (don't like the bad boy vibes I get from that short scene). It's such an interesting situation, but will not get fully worked on.

18 episodes would be a good length. Heck! Give us SEASON TWO! President Ahn, make yourself heard!!

Lastly, a friend requested for this so here you, lyrics to FT's quite old song, featuring Lee Hong Ki as lead vocal.