This Is A Post. (In case you were unaware of it.)
So, exams are over. Grades are in. (I did exceptionally well, thanks for asking. *beam*) Job applications are out (though no one wants to hire me). The rest of the summer is mine to spend as I want.
And there really are two main things I do. One. Read. I will read and read and read and read some more. And then blog about it. (http://thebookwurrm.wordpress.com/) What? Shameless plugging is how the world goes round nowadays. And then dramas. Oh okay, there are also friends (a foreign concept, I don't think I have many, it's okay), ice cream (I upgraded to gelato), sunshine (I live in Vancouver, it's practically extinct here) and fun (I LOVE FUN!).
Now if you are like me and love dramas, you will realize that May is an awesome month or actually, this entire summer is awesome where Korean dramas are concerned. There are so many of them to watch. And because I am such awesome people, I have decided to write mini reviews for the ones I have watched just so you may be spared the harrowing experience of sitting through something you might not like.
We'll start with the longest running one first:
49 Days
According to me, this is one of the best dramas of the year. And I say this despite loving Hyun Bin as Joo Won in Secret Garden. Secret Garden succeeded, in my opinion, not because of the plot (which was very shaky at times and downright ridiculous at others) but because of Hyun Bin. It was his acting, his charisma, the force of his personality that made the drama a success.
(My mom's wailing like someone's dying. I checked. It was just the other team scoring. I swear, that woman and her hockey addiction...)
Anyway, 49 Days, on the surface of it, is a supernatural story involving spirits, the angel of death and tears. While there are no flamboyant personalities such as Joo Won in 49 Days, what you do have is superb writing, superb pacing and some extremely good acting. While the tropes that are common to Korean dramas are utilized very liberally in 49 Days, what sets it apart from the rest in the genre is that the author treats the audience like they are intelligent people - more than that, the author or rather the writers of the drama treat the characters in the drama as they are intelligent people. There is a progress to the story, it evolves, things are found out and resolved in timely fashion instead of focusing on the "this oppa is MINE and will always be MINE" forever.
The relationships between the characters is realistically portrayed too. I know it's difficult to believe that someone as egotistical and twisted and Kang Min Ho and In Jung exist but they do. There are layers and complexities to the drama that I appreciate. It engages the brain as much as the eyes (because there is definitely eye candy there in the form of Kang).
I think the star of this show might be Lee Yo Won of the Queen Seon Duk fame. The ease with which she slips into both personalities that she plays is nothing short of remarkable. You can actually tell which personality she is simply by the look in her eyes. That's talent, you guys. Anyway, if you haven't watched this, I certainly recommend it to you. The ending promises to be epic.
Baby Faced Beauty
I watched this last night - the first two episodes, at least. And I'm not going to watch anymore. Allow me to elaborate on this decision. (Well, even if you don't allow me, I shall go ahead anyway, hur.)
The trailer for this drama is remarkably appealing. I believe it has one of the best trailers out of all the dramas released so far. If you don't know what this is about, let me tell you. A woman, who was fired from her job (only to be replaced by a younger woman, lies about her age in order to get another job. What makes this lie believable is her baby face. In fact, people mistake her for a teenager when she is a 34 year old woman. (Good genes is all I'm going to say.) So, she uses the baby face God granted her to get a job in the field that she has wished to work in. Sounds good, right? I thought so too.
Only the reality is somewhat different.
First of all. Her hairstyle. I know she is supposed to be the innocent spinsterly kind but do you have to have such an atrocious mop on your noggin? It's horrible. It makes her look like she's from the prairies or something (no offense to those who are from there). I'm just joking. I could have lived with the horrible haircut.
What I couldn't stand is the deliberate victimization of oneself. First, you get fired for no reason other than your age. I'm sorry but that doesn't make sense. If a business is to succeed, people need workers who will work. Not who will look good. It's business. Of course if the business is in modeling, then yeah. But she works with fabrics. And when you are sacked unfairly, you go drink and then go home. To be belittled by your sister and your mother.
Her sister is the most horrible character I have ever encountered. Bad acting plus bad characterization. I suppose this is perpetuate the Cinderella theme of the drama but there's no reason for them to treat her like trash. Her sister steals a coat from the main character's temporary workplace - she is not repentant about it at all- her sense of entitlement is enough to choke the viewers. And the victim? Er, I mean the main character? She jabbers a lot but in the end DOESN'T DO ANYTHING. She lets people think she is younger than she is so she doesn't even get the respect awarded to the elders by people younger than them. SHE LETS HERSELF GET SLAPPED by this girl who is ten years younger than her.
Is it okay for an employer to slap his/her subordinate in Korea? Because dramas would have you believe it is. It would mean lawsuits here. And probably a broken jaw. Or a bullet. You never know.
The hero is not much to write home about either. Neither of them. One of them seems like he has a stick stuck up his you know where or maybe, he's constipated. Who knows? The other is clumsy, inept and generally stupid. There's only so much ineptitude that a girl can stand. I don't know what the Korean public tastes are but ineptitude? Not attractive. Not even funny after the first five minutes. Especially since he insists on blaming HIS actions on the main character who does nothing but accept it.
Ugh. This drama also makes use of the usual kdrama tropes - you know, "the beautiful woman whose aim in life is to please Oppa and kill any other woman this Oppa seems to be mildly interested" and "the taciturn hero who is unwillingly amused by the bumbling heroine." But it is all so cliche and stereotypical that rather than augment the narrative, all it does is make a person (me) roll her eyes and wonder why she's watching it.
I know that not all people are full of spunk and verve. But you have to agree with me that sitting through 16 episodes of watching a girl shaped doormat get on her knees to beg for forgiveness for something she didn't do is not a good idea of fun.
The Greatest Love
Ah. The Hong Sisters have done it again. I like this drama. I might even love it a bit. We'll see if it holds up to the Hong Sisters curse (which often occurs midway or three quarters through the drama when the plot gets shaky and things simply...fall apart or flail). I am a fan of Cha Seung Won. I mean, I seriously love the man. His City Hall portrayal was seriously wonderful. I haven't seen anything else by him but City Hall was enough to win me over. And Gong Hyo Jin, she was so likeable in Pasta. There's this sincerity in her acting that you can't help but react to. She's fun. Yoo In Na was fun in Secret Garden and though I know nothing of the second male lead, I like what I have seen of him so far.
The drama is fun, witty and has just the right pacing to keep the viewers guessing. It is also funny - but I mentioned that already. Just imagine Cha Seung Won demanding his "Panty!" if you are not convinced. So yes, the comedy is right on spot. In terms of romance, there is much more chemistry between the second lead and Ae Jung (Gong Hyo Jin) than with CSW and GHJ but that's okay. It usually happens that way in Hong Sisters dramas. Yoo In Na's character is very interesting - okay fine, she's a complete cat. That will make her journey down to earth all the more satisfying.
I don't have much to say about this except that it's fun. I like it. And if you are looking for something that will keep you giggling, this is it.
Lie To Me
Okay before we got on with this, let me just say that I fangirl both YEH and Kang Ji Hwan. Keep that in mind as I may be a tiiiiny bit biased. Or not. When I heard that the two of them were going to be appearing in a drama TOGETHER, it was like Santa had announced that it would be christmas (or the Muslim equivalent of...which would be Eid but that comes after Ramadan which is a whole month of fasting and not something I would want to do two months in a row...okay) for two whole months.
I was that excited.
I watched the first two episodes and while I certainly enjoyed them, I wasn't as impressed as I thought I would be. And this is not at all because of YEH or KJH. Or the directing. I thought both directing and acting was fine, actually. It's just that the story seems to be a pastiche? Or should I say a conflation of two or more popular dramas. The writer cut and pasted elements from other stories to make this drama. Which is not exactly a bad thing but I am looking for freshness and originality. I don't want regurgitated stuff.
That said, I enjoyed the drama mostly because of YEH's characterization. Ah Jung has spunk. She's fun, incorrigible and shameless. At the same time, she has a vulnerability to her that makes you more forgiving of her irascible side. Kang Ji Hwan's character is...well, he's typically Chaebol like so far. Except that it's Kang Ji Hwan and he's beautiful and I'd watch him sitting in a cafe drinking coffee. Haha. I'm hoping the future episodes will develop his character in interesting ways.
The plot and the pacing is likeable. It's not as awesome as The Greatest Love and 49 Days but it's not awful either. However, I am watching it for the leads and I don't know whether I would watch it with the same anticipation...fervor (?) if it weren't for them. I have hopes though.
And that's it for this issue of Nafiza and dramas. Man, I must really miss writing papers or something because I actually found this fun. Heh.
And there really are two main things I do. One. Read. I will read and read and read and read some more. And then blog about it. (http://thebookwurrm.wordpress.com/) What? Shameless plugging is how the world goes round nowadays. And then dramas. Oh okay, there are also friends (a foreign concept, I don't think I have many, it's okay), ice cream (I upgraded to gelato), sunshine (I live in Vancouver, it's practically extinct here) and fun (I LOVE FUN!).
Now if you are like me and love dramas, you will realize that May is an awesome month or actually, this entire summer is awesome where Korean dramas are concerned. There are so many of them to watch. And because I am such awesome people, I have decided to write mini reviews for the ones I have watched just so you may be spared the harrowing experience of sitting through something you might not like.
We'll start with the longest running one first:
49 Days
According to me, this is one of the best dramas of the year. And I say this despite loving Hyun Bin as Joo Won in Secret Garden. Secret Garden succeeded, in my opinion, not because of the plot (which was very shaky at times and downright ridiculous at others) but because of Hyun Bin. It was his acting, his charisma, the force of his personality that made the drama a success.
(My mom's wailing like someone's dying. I checked. It was just the other team scoring. I swear, that woman and her hockey addiction...)
Anyway, 49 Days, on the surface of it, is a supernatural story involving spirits, the angel of death and tears. While there are no flamboyant personalities such as Joo Won in 49 Days, what you do have is superb writing, superb pacing and some extremely good acting. While the tropes that are common to Korean dramas are utilized very liberally in 49 Days, what sets it apart from the rest in the genre is that the author treats the audience like they are intelligent people - more than that, the author or rather the writers of the drama treat the characters in the drama as they are intelligent people. There is a progress to the story, it evolves, things are found out and resolved in timely fashion instead of focusing on the "this oppa is MINE and will always be MINE" forever.
The relationships between the characters is realistically portrayed too. I know it's difficult to believe that someone as egotistical and twisted and Kang Min Ho and In Jung exist but they do. There are layers and complexities to the drama that I appreciate. It engages the brain as much as the eyes (because there is definitely eye candy there in the form of Kang).
I think the star of this show might be Lee Yo Won of the Queen Seon Duk fame. The ease with which she slips into both personalities that she plays is nothing short of remarkable. You can actually tell which personality she is simply by the look in her eyes. That's talent, you guys. Anyway, if you haven't watched this, I certainly recommend it to you. The ending promises to be epic.
Baby Faced Beauty
I watched this last night - the first two episodes, at least. And I'm not going to watch anymore. Allow me to elaborate on this decision. (Well, even if you don't allow me, I shall go ahead anyway, hur.)
The trailer for this drama is remarkably appealing. I believe it has one of the best trailers out of all the dramas released so far. If you don't know what this is about, let me tell you. A woman, who was fired from her job (only to be replaced by a younger woman, lies about her age in order to get another job. What makes this lie believable is her baby face. In fact, people mistake her for a teenager when she is a 34 year old woman. (Good genes is all I'm going to say.) So, she uses the baby face God granted her to get a job in the field that she has wished to work in. Sounds good, right? I thought so too.
Only the reality is somewhat different.
First of all. Her hairstyle. I know she is supposed to be the innocent spinsterly kind but do you have to have such an atrocious mop on your noggin? It's horrible. It makes her look like she's from the prairies or something (no offense to those who are from there). I'm just joking. I could have lived with the horrible haircut.
What I couldn't stand is the deliberate victimization of oneself. First, you get fired for no reason other than your age. I'm sorry but that doesn't make sense. If a business is to succeed, people need workers who will work. Not who will look good. It's business. Of course if the business is in modeling, then yeah. But she works with fabrics. And when you are sacked unfairly, you go drink and then go home. To be belittled by your sister and your mother.
Her sister is the most horrible character I have ever encountered. Bad acting plus bad characterization. I suppose this is perpetuate the Cinderella theme of the drama but there's no reason for them to treat her like trash. Her sister steals a coat from the main character's temporary workplace - she is not repentant about it at all- her sense of entitlement is enough to choke the viewers. And the victim? Er, I mean the main character? She jabbers a lot but in the end DOESN'T DO ANYTHING. She lets people think she is younger than she is so she doesn't even get the respect awarded to the elders by people younger than them. SHE LETS HERSELF GET SLAPPED by this girl who is ten years younger than her.
Is it okay for an employer to slap his/her subordinate in Korea? Because dramas would have you believe it is. It would mean lawsuits here. And probably a broken jaw. Or a bullet. You never know.
The hero is not much to write home about either. Neither of them. One of them seems like he has a stick stuck up his you know where or maybe, he's constipated. Who knows? The other is clumsy, inept and generally stupid. There's only so much ineptitude that a girl can stand. I don't know what the Korean public tastes are but ineptitude? Not attractive. Not even funny after the first five minutes. Especially since he insists on blaming HIS actions on the main character who does nothing but accept it.
Ugh. This drama also makes use of the usual kdrama tropes - you know, "the beautiful woman whose aim in life is to please Oppa and kill any other woman this Oppa seems to be mildly interested" and "the taciturn hero who is unwillingly amused by the bumbling heroine." But it is all so cliche and stereotypical that rather than augment the narrative, all it does is make a person (me) roll her eyes and wonder why she's watching it.
I know that not all people are full of spunk and verve. But you have to agree with me that sitting through 16 episodes of watching a girl shaped doormat get on her knees to beg for forgiveness for something she didn't do is not a good idea of fun.
The Greatest Love
Ah. The Hong Sisters have done it again. I like this drama. I might even love it a bit. We'll see if it holds up to the Hong Sisters curse (which often occurs midway or three quarters through the drama when the plot gets shaky and things simply...fall apart or flail). I am a fan of Cha Seung Won. I mean, I seriously love the man. His City Hall portrayal was seriously wonderful. I haven't seen anything else by him but City Hall was enough to win me over. And Gong Hyo Jin, she was so likeable in Pasta. There's this sincerity in her acting that you can't help but react to. She's fun. Yoo In Na was fun in Secret Garden and though I know nothing of the second male lead, I like what I have seen of him so far.
The drama is fun, witty and has just the right pacing to keep the viewers guessing. It is also funny - but I mentioned that already. Just imagine Cha Seung Won demanding his "Panty!" if you are not convinced. So yes, the comedy is right on spot. In terms of romance, there is much more chemistry between the second lead and Ae Jung (Gong Hyo Jin) than with CSW and GHJ but that's okay. It usually happens that way in Hong Sisters dramas. Yoo In Na's character is very interesting - okay fine, she's a complete cat. That will make her journey down to earth all the more satisfying.
I don't have much to say about this except that it's fun. I like it. And if you are looking for something that will keep you giggling, this is it.
Lie To Me
Okay before we got on with this, let me just say that I fangirl both YEH and Kang Ji Hwan. Keep that in mind as I may be a tiiiiny bit biased. Or not. When I heard that the two of them were going to be appearing in a drama TOGETHER, it was like Santa had announced that it would be christmas (or the Muslim equivalent of...which would be Eid but that comes after Ramadan which is a whole month of fasting and not something I would want to do two months in a row...okay) for two whole months.
I was that excited.
I watched the first two episodes and while I certainly enjoyed them, I wasn't as impressed as I thought I would be. And this is not at all because of YEH or KJH. Or the directing. I thought both directing and acting was fine, actually. It's just that the story seems to be a pastiche? Or should I say a conflation of two or more popular dramas. The writer cut and pasted elements from other stories to make this drama. Which is not exactly a bad thing but I am looking for freshness and originality. I don't want regurgitated stuff.
That said, I enjoyed the drama mostly because of YEH's characterization. Ah Jung has spunk. She's fun, incorrigible and shameless. At the same time, she has a vulnerability to her that makes you more forgiving of her irascible side. Kang Ji Hwan's character is...well, he's typically Chaebol like so far. Except that it's Kang Ji Hwan and he's beautiful and I'd watch him sitting in a cafe drinking coffee. Haha. I'm hoping the future episodes will develop his character in interesting ways.
The plot and the pacing is likeable. It's not as awesome as The Greatest Love and 49 Days but it's not awful either. However, I am watching it for the leads and I don't know whether I would watch it with the same anticipation...fervor (?) if it weren't for them. I have hopes though.
And that's it for this issue of Nafiza and dramas. Man, I must really miss writing papers or something because I actually found this fun. Heh.