Korean Dramas

[sumire]

Aug 20, 2015 15:06:41 GMT -4 sobe said:

On a shallow note, I just could not with the second lead's (the ex-fiancé) face. He was not good-looking enough for me to put up with his character's bullshit.

Ha! After Friday's episode, my mom said, "Why does she have to date this clown? Couldn't they at least give us some eye candy?"

Speaking of judging actors' looks--The Privileged (a.k.a. High Society). For a show revolving around two young men and two young women, the stars are... less attractive than I'd expect. The poor girl is totally pretty, the rich guy is sort of cute (until they pointed out his weird ears, and now that's all I can see), but the poor guy and rich girl are really not that hot. The rich girl, to me, looks like she's had either too much plastic surgery or not enough.

I've been watching the broadcast of The Mask off and on, which unfortunately means that there are maaaaassive chunks of plot that I don't understand. I'm very touched by the main couple finding comfort and trust in each other amidst all the scheming, though.

ETA:

Since Joowon's my favorite, the chances were good that I was going to like Yong-Pal, but it is legitimately entertaining.

Ooh, I just found out that that's one of the new series the Korean station is airing (as "The Gang Doctor") starting next week. I'll make a point of watching it.

[sumire]

Okay, Yong-Pal/The Gang Doctor. Since I'm coming off a run of nobly-suffering self-sacrificing protagonists, I really like how proactive and cool the gang doctor is. Episode 3 gave him the crappiest makeover ever, though. (Yes, let's take a handsome guy and spend a lot of money to dress him like Urkel.) I get a kick out of how much Coma Woman's ultra-high-tech hospital room looks like Perceptics Room at the Scientology Super Power Building.

I'm also watching Mrs. Cop, which was probably shot immediately after Heard it Through the Grapevine, since the actor who played the tutor on HiTtG didn't even have time to grow out his bangs. But weirdly, costar Kim Min-Jong looks exactly like he did as the morally-ambiguous cop in A Man Called God, which ::checks wiki:: was made five years ago. I love seeing a rough-and-tumble female protagonist in sloppy clothes and non-makeup, and she has a great relationship with her team, but ye gads, there is some stupid, stupid police work driving the plot of the early episodes.

We're also getting a series with the English title "Oh No! My Mother-in-Law is My Niece Now," which I kind of want to watch for the title alone. (It's in an inconvenient time slot, though.)

[sobe]

Sept 11, 2015 5:32:54 GMT -4 sumire said:

Okay, Yong-Pal/The Gang Doctor. Since I'm coming off a run of nobly-suffering self-sacrificing protagonists, I really like how proactive and cool the gang doctor is. Episode 3 gave him the crappiest makeover ever, though. (Yes, let's take a handsome guy and spend a lot of money to dress him like Urkel.) I get a kick out of how much Coma Woman's ultra-high-tech hospital room looks like Perceptics Room at the Scientology Super Power Building.

I'm also watching Mrs. Cop, which was probably shot immediately after Heard it Through the Grapevine, since the actor who played the tutor on HiTtG didn't even have time to grow out his bangs. But weirdly, costar Kim Min-Jong looks exactly like he did as the morally-ambiguous cop in A Man Called God, which ::checks wiki:: was made five years ago. I love seeing a rough-and-tumble female protagonist in sloppy clothes and non-makeup, and she has a great relationship with her team, but ye gads, there is some stupid, stupid police work driving the plot of the early episodes.

We're also getting a series with the English title "Oh No! My Mother-in-Law is My Niece Now," which I kind of want to watch for the title alone. (It's in an inconvenient time slot, though.)

Re: Yong-Pal. What I like about this series is that, for me, it's unpredictable. Or at least it has tweaks on common kdrama tropes and timing (not that it doesn't use some of the kdrama cliches sometimes). The pace has moved a lot faster than I expected -- like, I never would have anticipated that someone would figure out and exploit his secret identity so soon. I thought we'd get a few more episodes of underworld action. The makeover was super terrible, except for the hair -- the new short and swept-up haircut was great. I don't know why the bangsy look is so popular there.

Fair warning: episodes 7-8 slow down and get a little schmoopy, and it's totally ok to skip episode 9, but that seems to be the calm before the storm, as things have since picked up again quite a bit from episode 10 on.

Apparently, SBS wanted to extend Yong-Pal by four episodes, from 16 to 20 episodes, but production team held firm and turn them down. Which is the right decision; the extension would've made the middle section even draggier. And, they only preshot about 3 episodes, so they've been live-shooting two episodes a week for a while now. I've read that since Joowon's in like 90 percent of the scenes, he's basically on set around the clock and had lost about 15 pounds through the first 10 episodes. The Korean live-shooting practice seems totally bananas.

I've been wanting to watch Mrs. Cop, but I can usually only handle one or two kdramas at a time, and I just started watching My Princess, too. But Mrs. Cop is on my list.

"Oh no, my mother-in-law is my niece now" is probably the greatest show title I've ever heard.

[Deleted]

I just watched the first 8 episodes of Twentry Again, about an almost divorcee who goes back to college after getring pregnant in high school and dropping out to get married.

Lee Sang Yoon is the high school friend who had a secret crush on her and is now one of her professors. He's still holding a grudge, and is very petty, but it's a fun petty. She also has a petty husband, but he's getting his comeuppance soon!

[sobe]

Man, I'm pretty disappointed that Yong-Pal lost so much steam halfway through. The first six episodes were really compelling. But slowed way down with the calm-before-the-storm interlude at the church. It picked up when they went back to the hospital, then went super melodramatic with the revenge business. The finale, as with so many finales, was pretty WTF. Yong-Pal was pretty neutered by that point. I wish they had let him be more of the badass we saw in the beginning.

I did like that the couple talked to each other like adults. Lack of communication usually drives me bananas in kdramas. When he was trying to talk her out of her revenge at the dinner table, they both laid out how they felt and didn't dismiss the other's feelings. But maybe there was too much of a good thing; the later episodes were too heavy with the talking and revenge machinations and schmoopiness and too light with the action. A prequel about Yong-Pal running around with the gangsters would be much more entertaining.

Now I'm in the middle of Oh My Gostess and it is cute as hell. Park Bo Young is so good. She really captures the spirit, so to speak, of the ghost that possesses her. And the actress playing the ghost is pretty great, too. Please don't let this show go to shit.

[Deleted]

I started Happy Go Go/ Cheer Up, and I like it so far, but I love high school dramas, especially if they wear unforms a lot!

I liked Park Bo Young in Hot Young Bloods, so I'll give Oh My Ghostess a shot.

[sobe]

Nov 12, 2015 21:20:32 GMT -4 @livingfortheweeken said:

I started Happy Go Go/ Cheer Up, and I like it so far, but I love high school dramas, especially if they wear unforms a lot!

I liked Park Bo Young in Hot Young Bloods, so I'll give Oh My Ghostess a shot.

I wasn't quite convinced by the first episode, the ghost character was a little abrasive. But episode two sold me (the ghost comes off as more fun and sweetly exuberant) and its maintained the cuteness for the subsequent episodes I've watched.

[sumire]

Aug 25, 2015 4:51:54 GMT -4 sumire said:

Aug 20, 2015 15:06:41 GMT -4 sobe said:

On a shallow note, I just could not with the second lead's (the ex-fiancé) face. He was not good-looking enough for me to put up with his character's bullshit.

Ha! After Friday's episode, my mom said, "Why does she have to date this clown? Couldn't they at least give us some eye candy?"

I was dubious about Six Flying Dragons since that guy, Yoon Gyun-Sang, is the only guy I know in it, but OMG, in tonight's episode (#5), he's adorable as a mighty warrior who is as dumb as a box of rocks. I'm still not suuuper-invested in the show, but ep. 5 was great.

I'm still watching almost nothing but Korean dramas on TV, and I keep starting to post here, but I have a hard time corralling my thoughts and actually finishing a post, so I'll just leave it at that for now: Lousy pianist boyfriend from The Time We Were Not In Love, unexpectedly a highlight of 6FD.

[Deleted]

I inhaled the first 8 episodes of "Oh My Venus" then had to wait for the series to finish.

I watched the first 4 episodes of "Cheese in the Trap" and now I have to wait and watch on Mondays and Tuesdays. It has a School 2013 vibe, bit it's so good.

[sobe]

I put off watching Descendants of the Sun, but two episodes in -- I get why it's a huge hit. They have romance, medical drama, military action, lighthearted bits. There seems to be something for everyone. The leads are really appealing and attractive, too. (I felt the same way about the first third of Yong-Pal before the lost steam, but I hear DotS is holding up well? It's pre-produced, so there's consistent quality and no late-game network interference/rating shenanigans.)