astromantic

毎日grind, 毎日rhymes

Tag: k-dramas

  • Day 13: Yearly Review (2013)

    Day 13: Yearly Review (2013)

    Winter
    Mahoro Ekimae Bangaichi
    Nakuna, Hara-chan
    Shotenin Michiru no Mi no Uebanashi
    Saikou no Rikon
    Sharehouse no Koibito

    Spring
    Cheap Flight
    Doubles ~Futari no Keiji~
    Last Cinderella
    Soratobu Kouhoushitsu
    Nine: Nine Times Travels

    Summer
    Double Tone
    I Hear Your Voice
    Yamada-kun to 7-nin no Majo
    Master’s Sun
    Two Weeks

    Autumn
    Ando Lloyd
    Glass no Ie
    Hana no Kusari
    Medical Top Team
    Koi
    Miss Korea

    Realizing now that I never got the opportunity to talk about some of the dramas I watched last year, but I think doing one of these towards the end of the next year is perfect timing. HAH. (more…)

  • Day 12: A Mildly Disappointing Drama

    Day 12: A Mildly Disappointing Drama

    I know I can’t talk about Ando Lloyd (BIGGEST disappointment) again, so I’ll just talk about Medical Top Team (MBC / 2013). Also known as Medical Top Turtlenecks.

    This TV miniseries follows the journey of creating Korea’s best multidisciplinary medical team and the stories of doctors inside. Characters who have different hurts and dilemmas struggle as they get to work together and gradually learn that healing a person is healing oneself.
    MBC Global Media

    Not a very inspiring summary, but I remained cautiously optimistic. My reasons for adding it to my fall ’13 list were Joo Ji-hoon (my number one oppa) and Jung Ryeo-won, who had an amazing year in dramas the year before. Episode 1 was pretty decent, and I immediately took to Kwon Sang-woo’s Park Tae-shin! He wasn’t too cool for school, just a doctor with a heart made of vanilla ice cream and rainbow sprinkles. While I was intrigued by his heart (at the beginning, anyway), Medical Top Team definitely lacked in the heart department.

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  • Day 11: Best Directing

    Day 11: Best Directing

    When it comes to directing, sometimes I look at musical direction (improperly placed music can really kill a vibe), but was I just looking for an opportunity to post beautiful shots? Maaayb…yes.

    [lightgrey_box]Slightly image heavy.[/lightgrey_box]
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  • Day 8: A Drama I Started But Can’t Finish

    Day 8: A Drama I Started But Can’t Finish

    There are so many reasons why I leave dramas unfinished; sometimes there aren’t any subs available, and sometimes they’re being streamed at sites I don’t care for. In rare cases, they’re just shows I need to give a second chance to — I thought I was going to hate PRIDE because I hated hockey. Fortunately I thought wrong, and you should all watch it because it’s wonderful! Hockey is still 100% whatever though. While the list of dramas I’ve left unfinished is somewhat lengthy, none of them bother me as much as these three:

    Yae no Sakura” (NHK / 2013)
    Arang and the Magistrate” (MBC / 2012)
    Deep Rooted Tree” (SBS / 2011)

    Common factor: they’re historical dramas! Jidaigeki or (fusion) sageuk, it’s not happening. It’s a big miracle that I was able to get through the second season of JIN, because while the political intrigue was really interesting at first, I started getting bored. BAKUMATS-WHO?
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  • Day 6: Favorite Character I

    Day 6: Favorite Character I

    What would Anthony Kim do? Well, he’d probably nominate himself as my favorite character, maybe even the BEST character in any drama ever. It wouldn’t be a stretch! Maybe it’s cheating to talk about a character/drama I’ve already spoken about, but I believe it is my earthly duty to spread the gospel of Anthony Kim/”King of Dramas” as much as possible.

    Kim Myung-min is a force. Not even that, he’s a vortex! Starring in a drama with my number one ahjusshi crush means you have to act or be out-acted. How is it that the positively delightful Jin Yi-han was reduced to someone so milquetoast in “A New Leaf“? Add Kim Sang-joong* to the mix and the poor guy never stood a a chance. Dat gravitas…

    However, King of Dramas (SBS / 2012) was fortunate enough to feature a gripping story told through the eyes of a plucky drama screenwriter and charismatic/ruthless producer who started from the top. Then the bottom. (NOW WE HEAH) Not only that, you had an amazing supporting cast that made you laugh, laugh some more, and feel all sorts of warm and gooey on the inside. I appreciate that Anthony Kim/Kim Myung-min was allowed to be so distinct/quirky in his own way without completely overwhelming others — they all had to bring their A-game, which was way more comfortable to take in than watching Kim Sang-joong and KMM steamroll over everyone else by just breathing. I mean, all Kim Sang-joong did was talk and furrow his eyebrow, but dammit if he didn’t do it well.

    But I digress. The reason we have gathered here today is not to talk about how great KoD is (a drama about making dramas, how perfectly meta!), but to extol the magnificence that is the charismatic and riveting Anthony Kim. If at this point you’re still doubting yourself, allow me to explain why I love Anthony Kim. HINT! It’s not just because of the suits.

    Anthony Kim gets up in your business.

    INBIZNESS01 INBIZNESS02

    He’s not a businessman, he’s a business… MAN.
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  • Day 4: Recently Finished

    Day 4: Recently Finished

    This was a drama rife with problems from the jump. Plagiarism aside, my first issue with IOIL was Jo In-sung’s face. Is that irrational? Some might say yes… either way I was gonna have to get used to it real quick because I’d be seeing it up close very often.

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  • “My favorite Korean movie is F4.”

    f4
    A girl I tutor not only revealed to me that she watches Korean dramas, but she also precisely summarized her favorite one (“F4”) for me. I mean — “at the end she fell in love with the boy in the curly hair even though she like[s] the red hair boy.” That accuracy…

    Kids are getting started on the drama game early these days.

  • assorted notes on dramas

    assorted notes on dramas

    AKA straight from Twitter, not proofread!!

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  • Summer ’13 (fin.)

    fin-00

    Woah! This felt like the longest summer season ever. I’ve been watching dramas quite steadily every week, but it was like things went on and on and only now does it feel like things are finally coming to an end. The wait before the autumn season is going to be unbearable.

    Spoilers for Two Weeks, Yamada-kun to 7-nin no Majo, Master’s Sun, and a handful of other dramas. (Tread lightly.)

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  • Summer Sampler (2013)

    woman-01

    It’s still upwards of 100°F here, so I guess I can still talk about the dramas I’m checking out this summer! Even though I was doing a lot of sampling, it looks like I’ll be sticking around to watch… everything. Haha.
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