Once upon a time, in a galaxy far far away...
A friend at college sent me a link to a Korean drama(essentially a television show for those who don't know) on Youtube. Now, I'd seen plenty of raving and pretty pictures over Asian dramas on LJ, via
dangermousie, occasionally
alexandral, and a few others. But I was completely ignorant of the whole concept, and frankly thought that the only people(oh dear. is this going to sound racist?) that watched them were people who were actually Asian and could therefore understand them/were in the culture at least. I also had an antipathy to watching anything subtitled as in my limited experience with foreign films it decreased the enjoyment greatly, and besides, how could Asian cinema/television be so good and not be widely known/at least heard about by everybody? Those were some of the vague thoughts swirling around in my head. So, in case any on flist are also under that wrong impression, here are some things to know:
a) I am thoroughly American/Westernized - don't speak a word of Chinese, Mandarin, Korean, Japanese, or any variation thereof
b) I tend to be very picky with films/television - I don't watch soap operas and I don't watch junk
c)I didn't think anything could be good enough to be worth watching for long periods of times with subtitles either
d) Asian dramas are some of the best - often most well-acted, certainly most romantic and heartbreaking and compellingly human - cinematic/television productions I've ever seen.
So, if you're not already watching, what are you waiting for? There's a plethora of sites online where you can find almost any drama you want for free - join the hallyu movement and become a westerner who bows down and adores Asian television. :) (p.s. *cough, mysoju.com)
What I've seen so far:
Taiwanese movies:
Secret-stunningly good, one of the most beautiful movies I've ever seen, very lyrical and oddly, reminded me a lot of Somewhere in Time
Linger
Taiwanese dramas:
Meteor Garden
most of Romantic Princess
Devil Beside You
Korean movies:
200 Pounds of Beauty-good movie, very Bridget-Jones-ish, bittersweet ending
Virgin Snow, a delightful film with an gorgeous actress who looked exactly like a Japanese Summer Glau
Korean dramas(in approximate order of when I watched them):
Full House
Goong/Princess Hours/Palace
The First Shop of Coffee Prince
My Girl
most of:
My Name is Kim Sam-Soon/My Lovely Sam-Soon
Snow Queen
Linger is what I watched most recently-
The (poorly worded) synopsis from Wikipedia -
"Dong (Vic Zhou) was dating Fan, but was infatuated with Yan (Li Bing Bing). Dong suddenly dies in a fatal car accident, and Yan is badly affected. She relies on medication to escape from the reality and her true feelings toward Dong. Three years pass, and Yan takes advice from Dr. Yuen (Roy Cheung) to finally relinquish the medication. She starts seeing Dong repeatedly in her dreams and begins to suspect that her encounter with Dong is real. At the same time, she realizes that she is slowly falling in love with Dong. At last, Yan frees her true self to Dong and he fades away gradually as they both defeat the affliction within their hearts."
I warn you - it looks better than it is. Could have been an amazing movie, but they had it all backward. :( How are we supposed to care about a couple when we're given no background. The last half hour was amazing, but most of it should have come at the beginning of the film. Beautiful and almost classic image at the very end. Overall mediocre, in spite of its potential-filled premise and the presence of the gorgeous Vic Zhou :(
pretty pictures from it-
It's worth watching once, mostly for the ending, however.
dangermousie, occasionally
alexandral, and a few others. But I was completely ignorant of the whole concept, and frankly thought that the only people(oh dear. is this going to sound racist?) that watched them were people who were actually Asian and could therefore understand them/were in the culture at least. I also had an antipathy to watching anything subtitled as in my limited experience with foreign films it decreased the enjoyment greatly, and besides, how could Asian cinema/television be so good and not be widely known/at least heard about by everybody? Those were some of the vague thoughts swirling around in my head. So, in case any on flist are also under that wrong impression, here are some things to know:
a) I am thoroughly American/Westernized - don't speak a word of Chinese, Mandarin, Korean, Japanese, or any variation thereof
b) I tend to be very picky with films/television - I don't watch soap operas and I don't watch junk
c)I didn't think anything could be good enough to be worth watching for long periods of times with subtitles either
d) Asian dramas are some of the best - often most well-acted, certainly most romantic and heartbreaking and compellingly human - cinematic/television productions I've ever seen.
So, if you're not already watching, what are you waiting for? There's a plethora of sites online where you can find almost any drama you want for free - join the hallyu movement and become a westerner who bows down and adores Asian television. :) (p.s. *cough, mysoju.com)
What I've seen so far:
Taiwanese movies:
Secret-stunningly good, one of the most beautiful movies I've ever seen, very lyrical and oddly, reminded me a lot of Somewhere in Time
Linger
Taiwanese dramas:
Meteor Garden
most of Romantic Princess
Devil Beside You
Korean movies:
200 Pounds of Beauty-good movie, very Bridget-Jones-ish, bittersweet ending
Virgin Snow, a delightful film with an gorgeous actress who looked exactly like a Japanese Summer Glau
Korean dramas(in approximate order of when I watched them):
Full House
Goong/Princess Hours/Palace
The First Shop of Coffee Prince
My Girl
most of:
My Name is Kim Sam-Soon/My Lovely Sam-Soon
Snow Queen
Linger is what I watched most recently-
The (poorly worded) synopsis from Wikipedia -
"Dong (Vic Zhou) was dating Fan, but was infatuated with Yan (Li Bing Bing). Dong suddenly dies in a fatal car accident, and Yan is badly affected. She relies on medication to escape from the reality and her true feelings toward Dong. Three years pass, and Yan takes advice from Dr. Yuen (Roy Cheung) to finally relinquish the medication. She starts seeing Dong repeatedly in her dreams and begins to suspect that her encounter with Dong is real. At the same time, she realizes that she is slowly falling in love with Dong. At last, Yan frees her true self to Dong and he fades away gradually as they both defeat the affliction within their hearts."
I warn you - it looks better than it is. Could have been an amazing movie, but they had it all backward. :( How are we supposed to care about a couple when we're given no background. The last half hour was amazing, but most of it should have come at the beginning of the film. Beautiful and almost classic image at the very end. Overall mediocre, in spite of its potential-filled premise and the presence of the gorgeous Vic Zhou :(
pretty pictures from it-
It's worth watching once, mostly for the ending, however.