화초서생
In terms of genre, 구르미 그린 달빛 checks all the boxes for me–historical rom-com, crossdressing (guilty pleasure don’t judge), princes who pretend they aren’t princes, and dramatic angst delivered in the most delicious of ways.
All posts filed under: Dramas
All the feels for ‘Age of Youth’
Yay long weekend! I just finished a 6 hour binge of 청춘시대 (Age of Youth). The last 4 episodes were such a rollercoaster – I think I cried in every single one. Ha. Given that I generally don’t like “slice of life” type shows–and the fact that the last Korean drama I actually finished was 마을: 아치아라의 비밀 (The Village)–I’m kind of shocked at how much I enjoyed this one. The plot is pretty simple: Five young women in their twenties share a house together. We follow their trials and tribulations as they each navigate through their lives, and grow to cherish each other (and themselves). Each character has her own inner demons (almost literally) to face and overcome. This show isn’t flawless by any means. The idea isn’t original; the writing, frankly, isn’t superlative either. There were some odd genre-bending shenanigans going on, which made me wonder at certain points whether I was watching a makjang or a mystery thriller or a romcom? In retrospect, it’s probably because the nature of each character’s inner demon is so different that we …
마녀보감 and the 3 episode test
I’ve recently gotten more impatient when it comes to TV shows. If you can’t hook me in the first 30 minutes, I’m out. My circle of drama-watching friends are a usually more forgiving, though. They do a “three episode test” for every TV show and anime they watch, meaning no matter how mediocre the first episode is, they’ll give the show at least 2 more episodes before deciding on whether to give it up or not. In the spirit of trying to rekindle an interest Korean dramas I decided to give 마녀보감 (Mirror of the Witch) the three episode test. …And, well, it’s caught my interest. Can we talk about how Kim Sae-ron is fifteen years old?! When did that happen? (Won Bin fans might remember her as his co-star in 아저씨–she was a tiny when that movie came out!). Also I haven’t seen Yoon Shi-yoon in anything since Unstoppable High Kick which was. ages. ago. God, I feel old. Anyway, let’s see if keep up with this one. I know sageuks aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, but …
Interview with Park Yoochun (Marie Claire 2015)
Given that I know zilch about what’s happening in Korean entertainment these days, it came as a mild surprise to learn that Park Yoochun (of K-drama & K-pop fame) is off to serve his mandatory two-year military service. Very soon in fact. Like, today. Or yesterday. I chanced upon this short interview while scanning Korean celeb magazines for quality reading content and – well, normally I’m rather indifferent to Yoochun but sentimentality got the better of me. I’d just resumed reading 셩균관 유생들의 나날 for the umpteenth time, which got me thinking about Sungkyunkwan Scandal, (still one of my favorite dramas to date, by the way), which made me think about JYJ and DBSK and OT5 4ever, etc. etc. I found this interview pretty funny actually because the interviewer/writer can’t start a single question without talking about how PYC is going to be gone for TWO YEARS – it’s like s/he is so desperate for Yoochun to talk about how crushed he’s going to be to give up the spotlight, but Chunnie’s having none of that. Full translated interview under the …
The thing about 책임감
Let’s talk about 상류사회 (High Society). That show should win some kind of award for creating two of the most precious side characters in a drama full of people I couldn’t care a whit about. Changsoo and Jiyi’s flirtationship is, at least in the first six episodes (and honestly I don’t see myself continuing with this show in the future Edit: I am no longer following this show), everything that Joongki and Yoonha’s relationship is not. It’s honest and transparent, a little bit silly and awkward and, golly, the characters actually communicate about their feelings and insecurities! Go figure!! Granted, I’m speaking from what I’ve seen of the Changsoo-Jiyi dynamics up till episode 6. I’m sure the writers will screw it all up with stupid misunderstandings and heartbreak and such now that all the cute is out of the way. I know their relationship is bound to have drama but it’s just a question of whether the characters suddenly devolve into frustrating idiocy or continue to communicate openly like they have thus far. Please don’t ruin this couple, 작가님! Anyway, I love this …
Interview with Lee Jin-wook and Jo Yoon-hee (Marie Claire)
I consider 나인: 아홉 번의 시간 여행 (Nine: Nine Time Travels) to be the Korean drama to end all Korean dramas for me. In a good way. It’s not my all-time favorite drama, but it hit me in a way that no K-drama since has been able to. In fact, I don’t think I’ve managed to finish a single Korean drama since watching Nine – as if I’ve been cursed by the magical Himalayan incense myself! About a year ago, there was news that Nine would be remade for an American audience which made me simultaneously roll my eyes and perk up my ears. If it ever came into fruition, I love the story line and the questions it raises enough to consider watching it. Cautiously. Anyway, this is an old piece came that out in the April 2013 edition of Marie Claire Korea, right when Nine had started to air that I translated on a whim last night. If you’re looking for something mind-bending, thrilling, heartbreaking, and suspenseful all at once, I highly recommend Nine – just sit tight …
Interview with Jo Jung-seok (Singles)
Any fans of The King 2 Hearts’ heart-melting, swooniest of swoony, squeal-worthy Eun Shi-kyung out there? I’ve been keeping an eye on actor Jo Jung-seok since I first saw him What’s Up, where he plays a nerdy kid with a great voice but terrible stage fright; all I can say at this point is GIMME MOAR. Jo’s actually a well-known name in musical theater, but this year he found his way into the the realm of TV and film and I can only hope he has plans to stay. I came across his interview in Singles magazine last month and wanted to have another go at translating longer articles, so here goes. (Disclaimer: All copyright belongs to the original writer. I’m not profiting by this translation and I can’t guarantee its accuracy.) Look! At! That! Face!
Big (first impressions)
I prefer not to write too much about dramas here, unless it’s in the context of something culturally unique and/or language-related, but seeing as my wordpress is going through a bit of a dry spell… I’ve done a couple of these “First Impression” posts on tumblr (which you should steer clear from unless you want to experience every disgusting detail of my fangirl maladies) but I thought I’d stick one here just to fill up space. Heh. Anyway, I watched the first episode of Big this morning (sans subtitles, go me!) and, yeah, here are my first impressions.
青春
I rewatched a couple episodes of my favorite Japanese drama (野ブタ。をプロデュース) with Korean subtitles recently. That was quite the experience. My brain felt like it was doing gymnastics at the Olympics. The awesome thing is that I understood maybe 85-90% of the Korean subtitles I read, while my ears also understood maybe 10-15% of the Japanese. My brain kept trying to connect the two, but the synapses just didn’t seem to be forming. Haha. Well, I’ll keep watching and see if it gets easier. I won’t write about how much I adore this drama but it is, hands down, out of all the Asian dramas I’ve ever watched, my absolute favorite. It is the perfect story of youthful earnestness, camaraderie, and life in general. And it never ever fails to makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. After rewatching it though, this part from episode 1 really stuck out. 彰：青春ってさ、いまいちよくわかんないんだよね。 修二：まあ、俺が思うに、誰もやったことのないようなことをしてみるとか。あと、挫折するまで、自分の能力を出し切って見るとか。まあ、そういうことなんじゃ。 彰：で。何やりますか？ 修二：それは自分で考えろよ。 AKIRA: Youth – I’m not really sure what that means, you know. SHUUJI: Well, to me, it’s kind of like trying to do …
Random Thought
I watched Hello Baby for a whole fifteen minutes before realizing that I was watching without subtitles. It was awesome. I still like subs even though I can usually understand the gist of what I’m watching without them. I rarely have time to watch dramas and reality shows and when I do, I want to enjoy them 100000%, meaning understanding all the dialogue and no guessing. My brain’s tired as it is. Honestly, though, I’m not sure how much subtitles are actually benefiting me because, more often than not, I hear key things being left out of the subtitles, especially if they’re subbed hastily. Case in point: Episode 8 of The King 2 Hearts. Hangah was being all cutesy in front of Jaeha, calling him oppa… … causing him to protest, “동갑끼리 왜 그래, 징그럽게?!” I remember the English subtitles left off the 동갑 part entirely, perhaps because I suppose it’s too complicated to explain that “oppa” is used by younger females to older males and not between people of the same age. Fine. There has to be some …
