It’s time to rev our engines for the dramas this month.
1. Our Blooming Youth
Cast: Park HyungSik (“Happiness”) and Jeon So Nee
He’s the Crown Prince with some mysterious curse (illness?). She’s only surviving member of her family. Her whole family was massacred, and as the lone survivor, she’s blamed for tragedy. Talk about blaming the victim….
Episodes: 16
Start Date: Monday, Feb 6
Airs on Mondays and Tuesdays
Where to Watch it: Viki
Network: tvN
A much-anticipated drama because of Park HyungSik.
Fans of “Alchemy of Souls” are hoping that this drama will fill the void left when Season 2 ended last month.
I’m lowering my expectations because the screenwriter’s previous works either didn’t grab my attention or rubbed me the wrong way. Her previous works are:
“Lovestruck in the City”
“Romance is a Bonus Book”
“Because It’s the First Time” (not to be confused with Jung Somin and Lee MinKi’s “Because This is My First Life.”)
“I Need Romance”
There’s something about her perspective on love and relationships that doesn’t sit well with me. I’ll have to think about it some more….
2. Call It Love
Cast: Kim Young Kwang (“Hello, Me!”) and Lee SungKyung (“Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo” and “Sh**ting Stars”)
Episodes: 16
Start Date: Wednesday, Feb 22
Airs on Wednesdays and Thursdays
Where to Watch it: Disney+
Network:
This is a complicated relationship.
Lee SungKyung’s character has a father. Her father has a mistress. The mistress has a son. The son is Kim Young Kwang’s character.
That’s it for me because I have to catch up on “Alchemy of Souls,” “Brain Works,” “Kokdu,” “Island” and “Crash Course in Romance.”
What about Chinese dramas?
Quite a few cdramas showed up on my viki list. They were mostly historical/costume dramas, like:
My Sassy Princess
Choice Husband
My Uncanny Destiny
I noticed that the heroes have remained the same strong-but-silent type. But the heroines have become increasingly annoying know-it-alls. I don’t know whether these screenwriters are aware that while it’s laudable that they no longer create dumb and naïve heroines, their smart and strong female replacements have abrasiveness as a common trait.
Of course, when the hero kisses her, she becomes putty — and potty, lol — in his arms.
Note the kiss angle of the couple from “My Sassy Princess.”
Cdramas reflect the gender role attitudes of a society, and I find it interesting to watch the evolution of the norms and stereotypes. A couple of years ago, I couldn’t stand watching these costumed dramas because of how weak-assed the heroines were. Now, it’s the opposite: I cringe at how bad-assed the heroines are. I’m sure the screenwriters will figure out a happy medium.
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I’m transferring @Table122000’s and @nrllee’s posts here.
reposting @nrllee’s comment here. –pm3
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We’re well into February now so what’s on my viewing list
– Our Blooming Youth (Park HyunSik in princely Hanbok)
– Island (part 2) – truly annoyed that the powers that be decided to dice this up so randomly into seasons like this – part 1 had only 6eps. I only just got into it and then it abruptly ended 🤦♀️
Finishing off
– Interest of Love – a real downer so don’t watch this if you’re already depressed 😂
– Trolley – political thriller which is gripping and keeps hold of your interest with each turn.
reposting HK_Lady’s comment here. –pm3
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What are we watching in FEbruary BOD’s???
I finished YOU ARE MY HERO and loved it.
I am in the middle of GO GO SQUID. loving it. full of laughs and giggles coz they’re so adorable. I was reading @PM3’s highlights but it stopped at Ep 15. waaaahhh
Excited for Blooming Youth.
I kind’a saw the preview for FEb dramas. I have my eye on CALL IT LOVE. maybe i need to watch ISLAND S1 coz there’s ISLAND S2. hmmm
reposting Viva’s comment here. –pm3
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Hey @Cleo @HK_lady, I’m waiting for Blooming Youth too!!! Park Hyung Sik ✔️ crown prince ✔️ nice costumes ✔️.
I am also watching Meet Yourself. Such a comfy watch. Very relaxing. Currently at ep 12.
reposting @Table122000’s comment here. –pm3
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For February, I am watching Blooming Youth. Park Hyung Sik is one of my favorite actors and the plot sounds interesting. The screenwriter is very hit or miss for me (mostly miss) so I am a little apprehensive… please be good, show!
Depending on viewer feedback and reviews, I might check out these dramas:
Love to Hate You
The Heavenly Idol
Call It Love
Otherwise, I am catching up on older dramas. Jut started C Drama Rom Com “Hi Venus” and I am enjoying it. So refreshing to have a Female Lead who acts and sounds like an adult! Yes, there are hijinks, but the characters come across as more relatable somehow. The writer is the same as for the drama “Meet You.” I’m also watching “New Life Begins” and I am enjoying that as well.
@BethB K Dramas from the last year I enjoyed were “A Business Proposal” and “Once Upon A Small Town” I will also recommend C Mini Drama “A Familiar Stranger.” It is 8 episodes total and one of the best dramas from 2022 in my opinion. Make sure you watch it at Viki or Huace Official YouTube for the best subs.
reposting @BethB’s reply to @Table122000’s post here. -pm3
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Thanks for the recommendations—I’ve seen both of those kdramas and like them (except the drunk sex scene in BP). I will check out the short(!) C drama.
Otherwise I decided to try watching some classic kdramas, starting with Another Oh Hae Young. But I’m not that wild about it so may drop it at episode 7–unless someone here suggests I keep going because it gets so good. I’m finding the ML actor kind of a dud, who only seems to know how to convey anger/guilt.
I am watching two classic melodramas, “Winter Sonata” and “I’m Sorry I Love You.” I am swimming in a sea of tears, ugly sweaters, and cozy scarves. I just finished a rewarding rewatch of “Because This Is My First Life.”
@nrllee,
Noted your warning on “Interest of Love.” I’ll skip this for now.
I’m not so wild about the title “Our Blooming Youth.” It sounds like a curse. As you know, in English, the word “blooming” can be used as an expression or interjection like “bloody,” “stinking,” or “effing.”
That’s a bloody disgrace! = That’s a blooming disgrace!
It’s our stinking youth! = It’s our blooming youth!
He’s an effing idiot! = He’s blooming idiot!
lol.
Kdramas I’m watching
1. Crash Course on Romance – still so fun!
2. Strangers again – divorce lawyers were once married to each other and navigating their post married life in the same company. Intriguing because at this point I’m not sure if they will get back together or be with their potential partners. It does highlight some married life issues, esp theirs and other characters in the show.
Cdramas I’m watching
Because of @kate’s recommendation of scriptwriter Wang Xiong Cheng’s dramas, I started
1. Go Ahead and am hooked on this one!!
2. Hi Venus
3. Meet yourself (going to soon after I finish 1 & 2)
Now that @pm3 has reservations about Our Blooming Youth, I’ll wait a bit before watching it. On that note, that got me slightly confused with a cdrama that I’m interested in called “Blood of Youth” not to be confused with “Our Blooming Youth” though it is can be rather interchangable …anyone started on it?
Thanks, @pm3. Glad to see you back to posting: we were getting a little worried about you.
@BethB: For Classic K-Drama I will recommend: My Lovely Sam Soon (2005), Beautiful Days (2001).
For Older K-Dramas: My all time favorite rom-com: Marriage, Not Dating (2014)
As for Another Oh Hae Young, I actually liked the second half of the drama better than the first half, which I found slow-going. I think many viewers found the flawed lead characters refreshing. Another plus for many viewers at the time it came out was the passionate love scenes with both FL and ML participating freely. Finally, a OTP who actually seemed to enjoy kissing each other and expressing their love for each other unreservedly! There are some very nice sweet moments between the 2 leads as well. Of course, all of this happens in the 2nd half of the drama so if you can make it past Ep. 9 I think it gets better. But that is just me.
Hi Ladies,
Happy February and thanks for the recommendations and warnings. After finishing the Forbidden Marriage (A++) I started trying to watch several things including the C-drama Choice Husband. It was ok but I did find it very long and unnecessary in many episodes which I expect now for classic C-drams. And I still have some questions about the ending which was wrapped up in the last episode.
I may go back “find yourself”, am watching “stangers again” and will give Kokdu another try but I gotta say, “if I fall asleep before midnight while watching” that’s generally not good sign. I have tons on my watch list so may start some of those.
Wow — some of those titles listed brought back a wave of nostalgia man!
@My Lovely Sam Soon- if nothing else, watch for the very young, chiseled and almost fey Hyun Bin (but I didn’t fall in love with our dear HB until Secret Garden much later, when he was so much better)
@Beautiful Days – Love this one, Lee Byun-Hun & Choi Ji-woo were luminous in it. and watch out for the very young Shin Min-nah
@Winter Sonata – everyone watches this for Bae Yoon-joon (I don’t get the hype, but oh well I was a kid then)
The “sweater weather” in this part of the tropical world is still very wet and cold. So I for one, am trying to watch more cheery shows!
Currently watching – Crash Course in Romance (Ep7 telecasts tonight).
It’s somewhat amusing as I am also casual-watching “Where the Camellia Blooms” (2019) concurrently, and the real-time comments for live watching “Crash Course” often veer into laments about how the rom-com genre has been ruined by weird murder-mystery subplots since 2017 LOL.
I wonder if anyone here feels the same way?
will try Go Go Squid since more than one person here has recommended it 🙂 Likewise, will avoid “Interest of Love” cos I don’t wish to be depressed (not with the rainy weather here)
@packmule3, I think there is some controversy connected to The Interest of Love. I sense that it is more isaeng than romantic melodrama with a bit of feminism, class distinction, misogyny thrown in. It is a workplace drama set Ina bank where stereotypes abound. Women, especially those without connections are verbally degraded as is the FL, played by an excellent Moon Ga-young in a complex adult role. While she is very competent she cannot get ahead because she lacks connections and is sexually harassed by her boss who expects her 5o entertain clients. She did not go to university as ND has to a c t very circumspectfully in order to survive in this world. She has a talent for art that is little known.
Her colleague, a university grad on a promotion tracl, played by Yoo Yeon-seok who redeems himself after HPL takes a liking to her but is not able to act on it thanks to the transfer of his college acquaintance who sets her sights on him. she is from an upper clas fa mily while he isthe priduct of a single mother home and his mother owns and runs a day spa frequented by Mi_gueyong’s mother. MG tries to buy YYs’ affection by giving him an e xpensive suit and a car. Anyway, Amy’s character begins a relationship a township with the contra t security guard who is studying for the police exam. Their different social statuses also doom the relationship. For m e, what this is ultimately about is Su-6eong, MAY’S character finding personal fulfillment ous8de the constricted setting of the bank and society’s expectations for ger life. All of the main leads are subject to expectations of sex, class,educati9n, etc. The drama Canberra claustrophobic but the topics it broached makes it very topical. Will our FL and ML end up together-on some levels I hope not unless both are brave enough to break social and 0rofessional norms. Nevertheless, at this juncture I hope our FL finds success and happiness on her own terms. Disclaimer: There is much more to this drama but if you view it from the perspective of the social issues it addresses you’ll end up rooting for the FL. Inaddition the drama is not for everyone. I did not find the second FL sympathet8c in the least. She was manipulative and used her status and money to get what she wanted and sabotaged others to do so. There is a side 0lot that sho we s how she too is a prisoner to her class but n evertheless she also uses it to her advantage. There are also lots of parallels in the drama, so there’s a lot to chew on. 5his is no romp and it truly can cause discomfort. Howeve4, I found it compelling and exasperating and would recommend it for anyone .oozing for a think piece,
On a personal note, my love of K Dramas, movies and other Asian content along with discussions here have been a source of great respite. This it helping me get through the medical rollercoaster my husband and I have been on.i want to thank you all for your concern and kindness and th best immersive discussions anywhere.
@Packmule3 – really enjoyed your February round up!
I was really interested in what you wrote about the weak to ‘bad ass’ pendulum swing with Chinese heroines. I remember the worst example which @Fern and I briefly discussed on our YAMH re-watch. This was ‘Oh My General’ with Sandra Ma as a military diva and her ML as a foppish man about town who danced beautifully. I don’t think either of us finished the show. Sandra Ma brought her usual stylish performance to the part but it was hard to care about their relationship.
https://www.viki.com/tv/35829c-oh-my-general
I enjoy the fun of the polarity between the leads of shows… that’s a good aspect of ‘Meet Yourself’ btw… our heroine is both smart and feminine so there is lots of yin yang enjoyment with our very direct and masculine ML. I don’t enjoy exaggerated feminine silliness… unless in very small doses for fun cuteness.
I binge watched ‘My Uncanny Destiny’ – it is a diverting romp with a naughty sense of humour – lots of slapstick – and if you watch with medium to low expectations is entertaining.
The female lead although improbably pretty to be believed to be the male heir to the kingdom does a great job of pivoting from her role as Lord of ??? kingdom (can’t remember the name) to the young woman who loses her memory and can’t remember her history and is falling in love with the person she is supposed to assassinate.
They manage to allow her to be a more feminine character by allowing her story this detour.
A final thought re ‘My Uncanny Destiny’ – our FL channels a male leadership vibe when she is in Lord of the Kingdom mode and it even seems to possess her when she has flash backs to her royal identity… they don’t manage to get the integration of leadership and the feminine expressed in this show.
At some point I’ll double check to see whether her leadership style evolves as a result of her time being allowed to be a woman and falling in love etc etc. It’s
a colourful fun show so I doubt they will have gone for anything too nuanced.
@OAL there’s something seriously wrong with how the writer views love in IOL. I thought it was going to be a rational exploration of the complexities of love but it’s not. Instead it’s turned out to be the most misguided portrayal of what love is. None of the relationships depicted are healthy bar the one between SS and his mom. Who in their right mind decides that if they think they should break up with someone that sleeping with another person is the right way to do it? So that you don’t actually have to do the hard yards of actually breaking it off (so cowardly) but instead, the other person (who finds out about your infidelity which you conveniently broadcast) makes that decision for you? The whole 14eps thus far has been a painful depressing watch. I find the FL particularly frustrating with her cryptic replies, her dishonesty, her tantrums, her inflexibility when dealing with all her relationships – whether it’s with her parents, her friends or her lovers. I am not rooting for FL at all. I dislike her character immensely because she’s inherently selfish. She leaves a trail of devastation when she makes her decisions in life, caring little about the repercussions of her actions. I especially dislike how she strings along the men in her life and leaves them hanging. She never gives them complete closure when she ends a relationship because she ends it in the most unconventional way. It’s no coincidence that Madame Bovary is mentioned in the beginning as a book that the ML was reading. FL is Madame Bovary. Unpredictable, beautiful and her perceived unattainability is irresistible to men. As a mother I would tell my son to drop her like a hot potato and run far far away from her. She will only bring him heartache and pain. It’s been a grind for me to finish this. I fast forwarded many of the long pining scenes in ep14. But we’re at the final stretch now so I will finish it for completeness sake.
So @packmule3 you’re not missing anything if you don’t watch this drama.
I’m currently watching ‘Goodbye my Princess’ (alongside other viewing commitments).
https://www.viki.com/tv/36177c-goodbye-my-princess
There is also a director’s cut on Viki.
It is a costume melodrama based on a successful novel. There was huge fan pressure to get it right on screen and apparently the fans were delighted in the end with the transition.
It was an expensive production apparently.
The director wanted a well-known good looking actor to star. The unknown actor she considered for the ML wasn’t considered good looking enough to play the role. Then he auditioned and won the part by convincing the director that he had the charisma to do it. He is a gifted young actor and embodies his roles really well and becomes very attractive in the way he depicts characters.
It is a complex story to set up – so the early establishing episodes are a wee bit confusing but you gradually work out who people are and what their characters and plans are.
There are two interesting MLs… both of them play an ambiguous role in the FL’s life – that’s putting it mildly!! The main ML is a character shot through with ambiguity…
There is a fantasy element – a river of oblivion – this comes into play from the opening scene which foreshadows something that happens as a key plot development around 12 episodes in to the story.
The show was so popular that the director produced a special epilogue film so that fans could see their leading couple in a modern day setting.
It’s more of a sad story than a happy story – so not one to watch if you need cheering up. There is comedy as well as melodrama.
I am enjoying it.
@nrllee, we see this drama so differently. It 8s how people experience novels. I see our FL as a person who is an overachiever who will ever get what she deserves because of class distinction. S,,orea is his n ly stratified and not a meritocracy.Chaebols and their families rule. Our FL has to seek her own agency. The bank hierarchy see how’s society here. We view this so differently and th a t’s what makes the world. I think that we saw how opinions played out in 21 25. Same here. I will watch this to the end to see what happens but I suspect that it will not be a standard love story. The title can be misleading. My guess is that she en5olod in colleg3 or art school. The good thing is that the a c ting is great. Moon GA Young has br9ken free of her student roles and by dint of the controversy surrounding her part hasbroken into more nuanced see ork. YYS does ambivalence well and the second leads encourage some degree of sympathy. I thought t h e second female lead was a. P rigiledg3d manipulator while others thought she was kind. So we agree to disagree-tye beauty if BOD.
@Empress New Clothes, I don’t understand the hype about the ML in “Winter Sonata.” He does have impeccable taste in scarves though. I like the music and the snowy landscapes, and I am curious about ML’s true paternity (this is a melodrama after all.)
I am much more invested in So Ji Sub’s character in “I’m Sorry be I Love You.” So handsome, so brooding, so doomed…
I am curious about “Our Blooming Youth” too.
I’m behind on everything, due to someone’s suggestion to check out Georgette Heyer books. I’ve been browsing 2D1N on YouTube. The new director is very clever and inventive with games. The bit where everyone gets a different age and must change their use or not use of honorifics was hysterical. Na In Woo is really shining here – becomes a bit of a gangster. He makes the eldest, Jung Hoon feed him and scolds others so that he’s now known as Boomer In Woo.
@Fern I think it’s hilarious that they refer to IW as a Boomer. I believe the term is Kkondae? They think his mannerisms and speech is outdated, old school. I think that’s probably why I have taken a shine to him. It’s funny that the older Hyungs call him out for acting “older” than they are. 😂
Recently completed:
Meet yourself—a very pleasant watch. The friends death story was done and included beautifully well.
Dropped:
Strangers Again- I like Kang So Ra and since this is her first drama since getting married and having a baby I wanted to watch and give my support. I do the same for a male that’s returned from his military duty and it’s their first drama back.
Anyway, this is just not good. I only watched the first episode but I could already tell the ML had some stupid reason for getting the stupid divorce and that’s just a no go for me.
Currently watching:
The interest of love—the acting is fine. I’m glad I’m watching just to learn more about the hierarchy in the banking/loan business. The character arc I find most interesting is the second female lead. She’s rich and kind and navigating relationships with others along with her privilege. How to be rich, benefit from being rich and having opportunity, and how that affects the people in her life. Sometimes it’s easier on everyone to stay in your own circles.
Crash course in romance- had no desire to watch this since from the casting list it looked to be a noona romance. Decided to give it a try since there’s been so many positive reviews and I wanted some comedy.
It really is funny and entertaining and they’ve done a great job balancing the story and highlighting the life of a parent and student in South Korea and why it’s so important to do well in their studies. I also like how they touched on what a teacher in the public school deals with. They’re trying to do their job well but they don’t get paid as much and are also in charge of govt paperwork and other “extra” tasks while the private tutors are getting paid loads of money and have time and assistants to really come up with specific testing curriculum. I’m interested in the mystery but not invested.
My big problem is the casting of the female lead. As an actress she’s fine. The issue is that she’s basically 50 and she looks it. Which wouldn’t be a problem except that the character is written to be someone in her 20s 30s and as stated in the show, not old enough to have a daughter in high school. Which make sense since she’s raising her niece. However, this actress looks very much like she could be her mother and even looks older than some of the other mothers. So I’m left scratching my head. Fortunately, we have made it to episode 7 and only now has romance between the main leads even come up but still it’s something that I’m finding annoying.
Plan to watch:
Our blooming youth- I’m not expecting much. I find the ML very attractive and I loved Happiness but 20 episodes is a lot and I HATED what I saw of lovestruck in the city
Love to hate you-
It’ll be on Netflix so easy for me to download and watch. Haven’t seen either lead in anything or anything my the screenwriter so I have zero expectations.
Heavenly Idol-
Will likely drop but will check out. The ML was the SML in the business proposal and the female lead is the girl who was friends (kind of. She was the class president) with eun tak in Goblin. I think her face is unique.
Call it love-
And then oasis will start at the beginning of March.
I’m taking it easy and doing my own relaxed rewatch of a couple or 3 shows.
I finally looked up the director and writers of Kokdu and realised that the writers are probably more on the newbie side, hence I’ll be keeping expectations low. Of the director’s works… only 3 of which I sort of watched/dropped… I gather he’s into a bit of sci-fi/fantasy/supernatural in much of his work. He does not direct relationships all that well, I feel. I find the the style, direction or execution of a character being interested in another, unusual, inadvisable or out of the normal, when I do watch at all. Perhaps that what makes them singular, but not necessarily in a positive way.
Nevertheless, I give show-makers more than one chance to engage or even surprise me.
Re-watching Meet Yourself for the life’s advice that’s sprinkled in here and there, and to give me a sense of the warm and cosy as I navigate a busy stretch on a few fronts.
The Rewatch of Memories of the Alhambra continues strong and good every weekend. Still more to notice and discover in that show.
@birdie007 that was the main reason why I didn’t start Crash Course – the FL. I couldn’t understand why they would cast a 50yo lady to play someone much younger. It wouldn’t have been a problem if she didn’t look her age but she does? KyungHo who plays the ML is 39yo in reality (so in theory they are but 10 years apart in real age) but he has a young face? When I see the pair of them together, it looks like she could be his mom? So the whole romance thing just didn’t feel right for me as a result? I couldn’t bring myself to watch it as a result. Too unnerving.
O…is it 20eps for Our Blooming Youth? I thought it was just the usual 16. That’s long for me then. Thanks for the heads up. I will start it and hopefully there’s enough there for me to sustain my interest to the end, if not I may well fade out…. I need something lighter for a change. The current dramas I am watching are depressing and dark.
@nrlee
It’s truly baffling. If they were determined for this actress to play the role, why not revise the script? If I were that actress, I would’ve made the request or turned down the role. If anything, now I think she’s aged herself even more for future parts because we are all paying attention. And I don’t have a problem with her being 49 in real life. The problem is, she looks all 49 years. And then there’s the line that says “wow. She doesn’t look old enough to have a kid in highschool”. It’s so blatantly wrong I almost think we were being trolled. They dress her well but even her hair and makeup aren’t helping things. It’s just a real bummer because she’s a great actress and never should’ve taken this part and there’s another actress that could’ve done just as good of a job and it would have been an A drama for me.
BUT, with all that being said, if you just kind of blur out her face and/or pretend it’s some other actress, it’s a fun drama. There’s mystery and serious parts but also parts that make you laugh out loud. Most definitely worth your time especially after watching something more depressing.
@birdie007 it would’ve worked if they chose a different ML. Someone with an older looking face. KyungHo just looks young. He also has the mannerisms of someone young so when you put the 2 of them together it just looks wrong. I know we shouldn’t be so harsh (we’ll be accused of ageism) but it matters. Especially if they are getting her to play someone younger. It wouldn’t have mattered if she were playing someone older or someone close to her age. 🤷🏻♀️
@birdie007 and @nrllee,
Am loving Crash Course but can relate to the questions you raise.
I have been telling myself that our FL has had a tough life – which she has with the financial pressures on her etc and family responsibilities – and it has caused her to look more mature than her years. So that’s my backstory for dealing with the ‘visuals’ issue.
I’ve not encountered the actress before – she is clearly a super actress who produces a very warm, well-rounded performance.
I’ve been following the discussion surrounding the actress Jeon Do-yeon in Crash Course on Romance. It is so interesting to me that we have all been conditioned to view older actresses as mothers, grandmother’s,all Round ahjumma but heaven forbid, not romantic leads in works involving younger men.We watch the likes of men who can be twenty years older romance ingenues. Many of the men look older but nevertheless it’s okay. We have all become prejudiced against women who are older who attract younger men. There’s a word for it and a disparaging one at that, cougars
We cringe when we think of real life couples with reverse age diffeences like the newlyweds Gong Hyo Jin and Kevin Oh, when male actors marry much younger women. We don’t dare to celebrate it, In Hollywood, a female actor suddenly becomes a mother to an actor of the same age. It is as if our ovaries dried up when we reach thirty. This attitude needs to change. Few actresses get the plum romantic roles when they reach thirty. People like Meg Ryan mutilate their faces when they are no longer America’s Sweetheart. You rarely see the great Meryl Streep or Diane Keaton in a romance, but if they are they’re paired with wizened actors like Jack Nicholson.
So I get the discussion about the great actress, Jeon Do+yeon and her elderliness but don’t accept it because it is fueled by perceptions that have been drummed into us by the film industry over the years, and in some ways makes “older” actresses seem almost pervy. It is a prejudice that is anti-woman. And I look at Jeon Do-yeon and I think she took this role because it was a chance for her to do something lighthearted and as actors say, to stretch her wings. Perhaps she was cast to create a female fantasy of an everywoman who attracts a fertile male. She definitely can keep up and excell in the physical work of this drama. And I suggest that if you get the chance, watch her in the movie, A Man And A Woman where she plays opposite Gong Yoo. There are some erotic scenes with them together that are fantastic. And he is a younger manwjo took the role to play opposite her.
Perhaps, we might consider that the male lead was miscast in this drama. I’m sure kung Kyung-ho did not want to miss out on the chance to share the screen with Jeon Do-yeon(who is the equivalent to a Meryl Streep in South Korea).
I say this all because BOD is the home of great thinkets and I needed to offer a different take on these perceptions. As mostly women I think we need to stop sabotaging careers of our acting counterparts whose only fault is that they are getting older.
.
Hi @Kate, Our actress appears mainly in movies and is on par with Meryl Streep in the States. She is a multi-aeard winner and won the best actress swardy at Canned. As I just posted, check out A Man and A Woman, where she plays opposite Gong Yoo. The film is erotic but ultimately a heartbreaker.she hasn’t done many Dramas.
I like your backstory for her role in this drama. I also like that they put malapropisms in her mouth. In this role she has also proven she can do comedy.
@OAL – because we are having this discussion, I’m just reading up on her – and looking at a film she’s in playing a single mum and assassin! : https://www.soompi.com/article/1565147wpp/watch-jeon-do-yeon-is-a-single-mom-by-day-and-legendary-hitman-by-night-in-bold-kill-boksoon-teasers
So …she was the second Korean to receive a best actress award at Cannes!
I read somewhere that both leads are playing against ‘type’. I haven’t seen any of the ML’s work either before but she seems to play quite striking characters.
@OAL my prejudice extends also to much older men paired with really young actresses. One reason why I didn’t quite get past a few episodes of Mr Sunshine. Lee Byung Hun was so much older than Kim TaeRi. I couldn’t stomach the 20year age gap. And LBH looked so much older as well. It just felt wrong. It’s just my personal preference when it comes to viewing dramas.
I wonder too if there were social perception problems about having her play the Mum or be in a Noona romance with our ML… The star teacher falling in love with the mum of a pupil might have created problems of acceptability… I don’t know.
They have very carefully avoided that situation in the plot with quite an elaborate back story to make it the case. That is despite quite a vogue for Noona romances in K drama land.
If ML was an older character perhaps that would not have allowed the type of ‘K idol’ character they wanted him to be etc etc etc
Just reflecting out loud here…
@Kate, Wow. Jeon Do-yeon has had quite a career. One of her Dramas was the Korean version of The Good Wife. She is a big deal. I think about her costar Jung Kyung-Ho and think of Hospital Playlist. I liked his character in that drama but was disappointed with the drama.i like that he has had a long term relationship with a favorite, Choi Soo-young. He is not one of those actors who hides these things. I like that he does comedy in this drama and enjoyed his dance turn in the first episode where they were evoking the movie Kingsman. He does rock haberdashery. In this drama, he is well dressed and she is made deliberately frumpy. I think the styling adds to the cognitive dissonance so many are experiencing.
@nrllee, I hear you. Me too.Fred Astaire comes to mind-yuck. I just think that in the film industry older is the norm for men but somehow women who play older romantic ahnummas get burned.
@Kate, There are noona Dramas and noona Dramas. For example, Son GeNin and Nung HAE in. She looks sooo beautiful. In noona Dramas in K Dramas the noonas generally are drop dead gorgeous
So hay, a younger man wouldong for her. But in this one they make our FL look plain. I think it was intentional.
@OAL – the point re her frumpiness is striking me too as I look at pictures of her in femme fatale mode in earlier dramas! Yes. Styling does add to the equation.
Agreed on the Noona point… do you mean ‘Something in the Rain’/Pretty Noona who buys me lunch? I adore that show…
Re styling again …in ‘One Spring Night’ they brought back the same actor and paired him with an actress who was meant to be the same age in the show. But they styled this actress so frumpily that she looked older in relation to him and it felt less believable than the SITR relationship
@Kate,Yep it was Something In The Rain. What straight guy wouldn’t fall for SYJ. And you’re right in One Spring Night. We know how pretty the FLooks in reality. Romance Is A Bonus Book also has a pretty noona, who in that drama passed for younger. It is so much about the styling. I was watching Curtain Call with Ha Ji Wan and Kang HaNeul
She looked fantastic. The same could be said for Gong Hyo Jin in her pairing with HaNeul in When The Camelias Bloom. It worked and the drama was very popular and won awards.
I looked at the trailer for Do Yeon’s next show and she looked infinitely better so yeah let”s call it the frump factor that creates this cognitive dissonance.
@OAL, I gave up on Curtain Call despite being a Ha Ji Won fan – but not because of her performance or styling. She looked great.
Loved Romance is a Bonus book! You are making me want to revisit Something in the Rain and Romance is a Bonus book…! I’ll have to put them on my to watch list!
I also loved the start of One Spring Night – great initial chemistry between our leads for the first few episodes…but yes, I think in order to convey a character who had become so sensible and resigned to life she was closed off to passion, they styled her in a way that didn’t frame that very pretty actress in the best way. There are some wonderful aspects to that drama too and I’ve re-watched it a number of times.
@oal I can understand your argument. I think the best way I can clarify is that for me, when an actress or actor does not look like the age they “should” be according to the script, it makes it harder for me to immerse myself in the drama. Sometimes it’s done well or at the very least, not completely distracting Kim Da Mi in Our Beloved Summer and Jang Na Ra in Go Back Couple. Those are roles where there’s present day and past scenes. There’s Kim tae Ri whose only role was that of the younger counterpart in 2521 and I thought she was perfect for the part. There’s also instances where the male must play a high school student eg hwang In Youp in true beauty—I had no idea he was in his 30s while watching.
I think Jeon De Yeon is an excellent actress. My issue is that when I’m hearing the lines of the screenwriter, I picture a hard working youngish looking girl who too early had to end her professional career, take care of her disabled brother and become a mother to her niece. The characters comment that she doesn’t look old enough to have a child in high-school. When she’s at the jail she’s offended when he calls her ahjumma (which I guess most people are?) When she’s with the other mothers, I would like to see her looking out of place not just for her scruffy appearance but if she looks younger it would FOR ME seem more impressive for her to hold her own and exude the same/more wisdom and experience the other mothers have.
I think the problem could’ve been easily solved with a script revision. They shouldn’t mention her looking young and maybe add more along the lines of him being attracted to an older woman and lean in to the noona aspect. Or just completely leave out any comments on age and how they look and let it be completely ambiguous. Because, FOR ME, it is glaringly obvious that she’s older than the ML. and as the role is written, KKH fits the part perfectly.
I do hope I explained what I meant clearly and didn’t dig a deeper hole for myself with my ignorance.
#birdie007, You did a great job in explaining your point of view. I agree with your comment about the script. It should have been changed to imitate the age references. That only brought confusion. I, as mentioned in other comments thought they styled the to make betoom def and frumpy.bwhat were they thinking. And you make a good point about flashbacks and the use of the same actors.in present and past days. A lot of time it does not work. Not all actors can play their younger selves.i think because flashbacks are used exte no surely in K Dramas and age is such a huge part of Korean culture that Dramas and movies have to be hyper careful when using their dadts.
Kalispera Ladies,
What I am watching:
1.”Crash Course in Romance” and I am enjoying that very much.
I hear you @OAL and I don’t mind at all Jeon Do-Yeon being the FL.
I understand what you are describing and it is a reality not only in Hollywood but everywhere. I started watching it because of Jung Kyung-Ho, but JDY’s acting is superb indeed. I don’t find her lacking at all.
Since I am more focused on acting performances these days, I find that she is so effortlessly portraying her character in subtle ways and that is inspiring for me.
2. “Kokdu – Season of Deity.”
After watching the first 4 episodes it is getting better. I will write more on the Open Thread about it.
3. “Decoy / Bait”. It is a two part show on Viki with 6 episodes per part. Next Friday are the two last episodes of Part 1.
It is a psychological thriller that has do with crimes and scamming people. Since I like this genre I am eagerly to find out what is going to happen next. Jang Geun Suk is back and although I haven’t watched him in another show, I really like his portrayal! He is intense.
I know that many of you don’t like this genre. Those who do, give it a try!
What I will start this February: Definitely “Our Blooming Youth”!
I am waiting for Park Hyung Sik! It is good to have him back!
February shows that I have on my radar to watch:
1. “Love to Hate You” that it will come on Netflix 10/02.
All episodes will be out at once.
2. “Taxi Driver 2” on 17/02
The Taxi gang is back! Except of Esom, who had scheduling issues and couldn’t participate.
3. “Island 2” on 24/02
We need to find out how the story will end!
P.S. There is also The Heavenly Idol on 15/02 with Kim Min Gue, but I am not that sure about starting..
Hi @Cleo, thanks for giving the starting dates of the shows. I want to watch Island 2, of course, but I’m not sure if I’ll start exactly when it airs.
It’s a pity I’ve no time to watch shows like Decoy… I don’t mind that genre. I may binge watch it some time after the first Part is done.
I’m glad you also feel that Kokdu is getting better. I’ll see you on that thread!
@GB, We are faced with so many choices early this year that it is hard to choose. Amazon is offering more and Viki keeps adding new and classic content. Netflix, us an easy choice.I have Disney+ but am disappointed with their K Drama choices in the US. I’ll reup Apple for the new season of Pachinko. I read the book and lived the first season with Korean, Japanese and English subs.
@OAL, so true. So much to watch, so little time!!! I’m sure my drama to-watch list will still be long even in my later twilight years LOL.
It requires great strength of mind and discipline to keep down the number of shows, or to continue with current, addicting ones, when there’s stuff to do that one would like to procrastinate over. It’s safer to not start!!! 🤪
@Empress New Clothes (love the name) – the romance with the murder subplots is weird. The juxtaposition of an otherwise engaging romance with a homicidal maniac – why? Strong Woman, When the Camellias Bloom, While You Were Sleeping, Kiss Sixth Sense to name a few.
I just watched Dream of Splendor because I liked the FL from Meet Yourself. She is stunning in the historical costumes and styling. She also has loads of chemistry with the ML. Historical dramas are not my favorite genre but I thought it was highly watchable. I really liked the ML from DoS and will look for him in other dramas. I tried to watch him in Healer of Children but the subs were bad,almost unintelligible, and his styling was bad. Bad hair and bad suits!
After reading the discussion here, I am going to start Crash Course in Romance. Will at least start Our Blooming Youth because of PHS. Also watching (slowly) the Knockout – Chinese drama about a police officer taking on a gang and corruption. Apparently this show is hugely popular in China right now.
@Cleopatra I will check out decoy. Sounds intriguing.
@Snow Flower: yes, the scarves & college preppy glasses LOL. And yes, the parentage issue will get ambiguously melodramatic and angsty :p
@Good Twin: I wonder why too about the rise of this curious genre mash-up. Maybe they are gunning for cross-appeal & widening fan base, or the ever present threat of a serial killer is meant as a great plot device to throw our OTP together in tight hairy situations (forced teaming or dramatic rescues?)
Crash Course in Romance: They just upped the ante over this weekend after Ep8!
But yes, initially the visual dissonance of the character backstories bothers me because it flies in the face of logic (she is obviously meant to be younger than him in the story c.f. their flashbacks to 12 years ago at her mum’s cafeteria). That dialogue line about her being so young for a student’s mum is total BS.
I would rather Show have a dialogue line about her looking older /more haggard /frumpy than the other kids’ mums cos the rest of them Tiger Mums are essentially rich housewives / women of leisure(barring Sun-jae’s lawyer working mum). Whereas Nam Haeng-seon is for all intents and purposes virtually a single mum running a business, and raising a kid (her niece IRL) while being a caregiver to her Aspie brother.
I can live with that. It is way more convincing for character design and relational dynamics between FL & ML. I can also live with a noona romance — but be honest and stop throwing us duplicitous lines like “wow, she looks so young for a student’s mum!” Bullocks.
Nonetheless, really charming and fun to watch 🙂
@EmpressNewClothes, I don’t know why your posts keep being flagged as “to be moderated” or “spam.”
I’ll check it later.
@OAL, personally, I don’t think it’s an ageism issue, but a gaslighting one. If there had been no comments like “she looks too young to have a daughter”, or if there had been lines acknowledging her age and mom-ness, it would have been fine. I think it’s ok for a 40-year-old man to romance a 50-year-old woman. They’ve got enough worldly experience to know what they want in a relationship, so if he likes an older woman, or if she likes a younger dude, it’s just *whatever*. It’s just icky when the truth is not presented as such, when they try to pass off an older actress as 15 years younger than she is. It’s just a bit disconcerting. In the flashback, they looked to be about similar ages too.
Despite that, it’s still a fun watch, murderous slingshot shooter notwithstanding. The young ones’ high school hi-jinks are fun (sour Su-ah excluded).
@birdie007, yep! I agree with your sentiments! Thank you for saying it so clearly and succinctly!
I’m currently watching Crash Course in Romance, Superstore, Cunk on Earth, and First Love on Netflix.
A bit late to the game, but after the first episode of First Love, I think it’s something I cannot binge on. There’s something about Japanese dramas that can bring a lump to the throat. I don’t know how to describe it, but it’s a show you feel, not watch. There’s just so much melancholia in the unsaid and undercurrents, that putting words to it feels like doing it a disservice.
Cunk is fun. I first saw her on YouTube shorts, and it’s amazing how the scholars keep a straight face at her tangential irreverence.
Crash Course in Romance is something I wish I could drop (you kinda know what’s going to happen next), but somehow keep coming back to weekend after weekend. Maybe it’s on a magic slot (or maybe it’s the way it’s presented and acted). *shrugs*
@L, Crash Course in Romance engages on a number of levels
We have the food-a great K drama trope The high school students have personalities and stories. The competitive Moms with their chat rooms present their own stories. The lawyer and heg delinquent son present their own set of problems. Of course, there is also the trope of how our leads met tangentially when they were young. We have our competition teachers along with jealousy and backstabbing. And now we have a weak love triangle with the blind date pianist. Oh, and I need to mention the autistic brother and our sidekick friend. We have a lot of ways to enjoy this drama, even if we’re not totally on board with the main romance(although I am).
@SnowFlower, The: Crash Course, Here is a case that some script editing was in order. Had this not been written with comments about the FL’s youthful appearance, the controversy would not exist. It would be a moons drama with the ML falling in love with the FL even if she is not conventionally attractive. That would be refreshing. I will say that she is quite athletic and her running scenes are very impressive-,I don’t think they’re CGI.
@packmule3: oh dear, I hope I don’t end up in your spam folder LOL. I recently tried to write you asking for the password for AOS Season 1 protected posts but alas, to no avail. Maybe it went into spam folder too!!
@Birdie007:
1) Totally agree; your suggestion to lean the other way works too (i.e. we follow the script as-is, and cast an actress who looks scruffy and younger than the other polished & privileged rich mommies, but who can more than hold her own as the proverbial “old head on young shoulders”.
I think someone like Ha ji Won or Gianni Jun will do nicely — they are both very athletic IRL, young-looking for their ages, and have proved (in previous roles) they can look scruffy and get physical if they need to LOL
2) If casting Jeon Do-yeon is a non-negotiable, then they need to revise the script, scrape that misleading line, and retcon their flashbacks to mum’s cafeteria (where national athlete daughter in team blazer looks OBVIOUSLY younger than struggling teacher-wannabe mugging for his Civil Servant exams).
3) JDY has high pedigree when it comes to her acting creds (Cannes, here’s lookin’ at ya), so I do feel she is under-used in this show. Her ML, on the other hand, is luminous. That metro-fey dude has such soulful eyes I tell ya!
4) I actually enjoy the middle-aged romance — the nuances, stakes angst, and vulnerabilities in that territory are just very very different from, say your salad youth 20’s, with nary a concern. Some parts are so real they are painful to re-watch (when the pretty young and rich pianist visits with posh snacks for eg)
5) LURVE his therapist & therapy sessions. That whole set-piece is great interpretation for comedy. I seldom see such sly /cheeky subtleties in a therapist on screen. She looked like she was barely suppressing her chuckles watching her client go into his “I am a moral person ok!” dramatic monologue lol
Kalimera @Good Twin!
If you check Decoy let me know!
Kalimera Unnie!
I thought it would be wise to post the dates! I have found a page on FB that had grouped them all together!
Yes, you need to check “Decoy” when you have time! I think you will like it! The acting is superb!
Kalí méra or perhaps closer to kaló apógevma my dear doesaeng Cleo, from my part of the world.
Wow, you have time to keep up with watching CCIR, Blooming Youth, Decoy and Kokdu as well?
Unnie,
I don’t know how I am going to deal with all of these. 😅
Thanks goodness, Decoy Part1 ends this Friday.
I will watch according to taste. I didn’t have time to write on Kokdu’s thread yet but I will do so!
@Cleo, I know what you mean. I also go according to my mood. When I need to rest, but still want to do some simple processing… I turn back to Meet Yourself just for fun and relaxation. The rewatching and commenting on it is happily stress-free.
Unnie,
There are days that I watch nothing at all and there are days that I just want to see what it will happen to CCIR. Decoy has suspence, so I might watch the episodes back to back. Other days I am checking AoS 2.
The truth is that Our Blooming Youth has intrigued me. We shall see…
BTW, have you watched Blood of Youth? Ella made a FMV and it peaked my interest.
I’m still loving CCIR despite my brain having to keep calculating their ages to see if it makes sense. If FL is cast as a 35yo it does feel like she’s not quite that age…and I agree with @OAL on the script writing that if they had not said that she is youthful, then all the complaints would not have happened. Plus they style her kinda way too down to earth such that she looks older than her mother counterparts who should be 5 to 10 years older than her in the drama. Maybe it’s the hair?
@Cleopatra, can you share the link for the Blood of Youth? I watched AvenueX raving review on it and it got me curious.
Kalimera @grace!
Here is the link you have asked!
https://www.viki.com/tv/39092c-the-blood-of-youth
https://mydramalist.com/683119-shao-nian-ge-xing
Correction: Asked FOR*
@L,
“Cunk on Earth” Ep 1 is hilarious. Thanks for suggesting it.
I don’t know how she could be so irreverent with her deadpan face. If I was her invited guest, I would be in stitches at her oddball questions and weird non sequiturs.
But a few of the things that she said — like how hieroglyphics resemble emojis, and how awkward it must have been to watch wrestlers wrestling naked in the ancient games — have crossed my mind before.
Prof Hedley of Cambridge (timestamp 21:17) had a yummy voice. And he couched his response to her ludicrous question in a very philosophical way. Good job.
The Chinese expert (timestamp 23:33) had a twinkle in his eyes when he answered her. He found her amusing. I think he missed her question on whether China had a roof. She asked, “And do we know if China has a roof? Is there a great roof of China?”
I would have answered, “Yes. Illegally.”
China took occupied Tibet and Tibet is generally considered the roof of the world because of its geography. Most of the region is in high elevation (about 3 miles above sea level) and Mt. Everest is between Tibet and Nepal. So yeahhhh. China has the great wall in the north, and the roof in the south.
@pm3 I’m not sure if you have any travel coming soon, but I just saw Love between fairy and devil is finally available to download on US Netflix-Just fyi
@packmule3 and @L, Cunk is so funny. I get this actress, Diane Morgan, mixed up with the one who played Jen in The IT Crowd, Katherine Parkinson; similar look and deadpan humour.
The IT Crowd is from 2006, so it’s an older sitcom now, but the IT jokes were perfect for the time. –Still catch it every now and then. The actors have since gone separate routes, mostly keeping us laughing.
I finished Another Oh Hae Young and ended up liking it. The ML actor got better—probably because his character widened his emotions beyond guilt and anger. I appreciated seeing a mature relationship and their hot kissing scenes! What I didn’t like and finally FFed through was the romance of his brother and the convenience store cashier. I’m so glad I have the FF button to zip through silly side stories that add nothing to the plot. I also FFed a little through the noona romance. Maybe it’s because I’m getting older or because I’ve now watched a lot of kdramas but more and more I have less patience to sit through what are essentially time filler storylines.
Thanks to everyone for the discussion above on CCIR and the disconnect between the age of the actress and the age she is supposed to be. I’d be fine if this was supposed to be a noona romance, but I agree that it’s jarring when there is dialogue that talks about how she looks too young to be a mom—not true! Maybe if they dress her up better at some point it will be less of a disconnect.
I started Our Blooming Youth and really like it so far.
I stopped Kokdu because I found the first two episodes kind of boring. If you all end up loving it I’ll revisit it.
If I have time I’m planning to finally continue AoS.
@Snowflower, I’ve long been meaning to rewatch Because This Is My First Life, and your comment above finally got me to do it. First Life was one of the shows I watched early in my Kdrama fandom. Watching it now with greater familiarity of the actors’ other roles and of South Korean culture in general has made me aware of how delightful this show truly is!
My February watchlist includes:
Crash Course in Romance – I am loving Jung Kyung Ho’s comic turn in this. His physical humor with deadpan face remind me of the legendary Buster Keaton.
Our Blooming Youth – with fingers crossed that the screenwriter maintains, or improves on, the quality with which she started.
And I’m going to give these a try:
Love to Hate You – I am not familiar with the work of this screenwriter, director, or any of the main actors. I’m hoping to be pleasantly surprised.
The Heavenly Idol – After seeing Kim Min Gue in a main role in A Business Proposal, and support roles in Snowdrop and Because This Is My First Life, I want to see if he’s got the chops to carry the first male lead.
If I’ve got time on my hands while waiting for new episodes of current dramas to be released, I may watch another of screenwriter Wang Xiong Cheng’s shows. I’ve recently watched Meet Yourself, Hi Venus, and The Day of Becoming you. Next on the list, working backwards chronologically, is Go Ahead, which on MyDramaList has the highest rating of all his works.
I have a question for @Packmule3 and other Bitches: If you were to list the Asian dramas you could watch multiple times, what would they be?
Mine are:
An Incurable Case of Love
Because This Is My First Life
Coffee Prince
Crash Landing on You
First Love: Hatsukoi
Goblin
Healer
It’s Okay to Not Be Okay
Kill Me, Heal Me
Love between Fairy and Devil
Love in Time (China, 2022)
Meet Yourself
My Mister
Reply 1988
Someday or One Day
The King: Eternal Monarch
The Master’s Sun
You Are My Hero
Yumi’s Cells 1 & 2
Some of these I might only want to watch a second time, and some I could watch over and over.
@Welmaris, I like rewatching. Some of my recent rewatches include:
30 but 17
Live Up To Your Name
Because This Is My First Life
My Mister
Nokdu Flower
Money Flower
The Slave Hunters
Dramas I am thinking about rewatching:
Reply 1988
The Crowned Clown
Healer
Currently rewatching: I’m Sorry I Love You. The waltz theme has been haunting me for years.
@Welmaris
Thanks for your inspiring list. Some I have yet to see but hope to.
Agreeing with you on these: Others I may not have seen yet.
CLOY
Goblin
Healer
Reply 1988
I would add for complete or favourite scenes rewatch:
An Incurable Case of Love (Koi wa Tsuzuku yo Doko made mo)
Happiness
Melo Is My Nature (Or Be Melodramatic)
My Liberation Notes
Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo
Search: WWW
Strong Woman Do Bong Soon
You Are My Glory
@Welmaris,
“Incurable Case of Love” (or “Love Lasts Forever” in this blog) is a drama I can watch all over again. It’s just 10 episodes.
I’ve been looking for another fluffy and innocent Japanese romcom just like it. But no luck. 🙁
Hi there @pkml3. Please open the next Kokdu thread for episodes 5-8. And I’m sure you’ve probably scheduled the thread for MOTA as well.
Many thanks!
🍨 🧋 🥧 🧃 🧁 🥤 🍰 ☕ 🍪 🥛
Got it, @GB!
Great question @Welmaris!
All of these I have watched multiple times:
Secret Garden
My love from another Star
Descendants of the Sun
Love 020 (film and tv show)
Something in the Rain
Suspicious Partner
OOh yes…looking at @Fern’s list… how could I forget
Moon Lovers Scarlett Heart Ryeo
and
Strong Woman Do Dong Soon ?
@Welmaris – I’ve only been watching k-dramas since January 2020, but these are dramas I have already rewatched:
– Goblin
– Crash Landing on You
– Shopaholic Louis
– (parts of) 1% of Something
– (parts of) The Greatest Love
These are dramas I might watch again in the future:
– Legend of the Blue Sea
– Bossam Steal the Fate (though probably just the first half)
– Something in the Rain (with the early soundtrack turned down low)
– The King Eternal Monarch
– 30 But 17
– Yumi’s Cells
– The Forbidden Marriage (but not until I am not watching any historicals at the time)
BTW “2521” and It’s “OK to Not Be OK” are both in my top tier of dramas, but I’m not sure I could watch either of them again—it might be too traumatic!
Hi @BethB, you one of the rare viewers who approve of ’25, 21′. I liked ’25, 21′ a whole lot, but I agree, it’s not a show I’d watch again. The same might be said for ‘Our Beloved Summer’ despite its happy ending. I felt the ML suffered too long.
I do enjoy all the couple scenes of ‘1% of Anything’ despite the poor production quality, and I can happily rewatch many scenes of ‘Goblin’.
I find that I also prefer to rewatch quite a bit. I miss too much on first viewing to fully appreciate the work that goes into many productions.
Rewatches – what a great question! My list:
CLOY
1 Percent of Something – would love to see this remade with better fashion for the ML
The Heirs – whoever did the casting was a genius! It wasn’t until I watched it the second time that I saw that older brother actually sacrificed his happiness for the younger brother he resented.
You Are My Hero
Princess Hours (with a lot of fast forwarding)
Love in the Moonlight
Ooh just had a thought – can we get “a business proposal couple” in a remake of 1 percent of something? 🔥
Here I thought 1% of Something was my guilty pleasure. I didn’t think it sophisticated enough to include on my list, but remember it with fondness. And I still enjoy the OST. Maybe I will rewatch it after all.
As for current watching, Love to Hate You was released Friday–all episodes–and I couldn’t tear myself away. I have finished the first four episodes and can’t wait to get back to it. The pace is fast. The feel of the show is like a manhwa. The characters are over the top, yet not too much. In real life I wouldn’t agree with a self-appointed crusader using violence to take down bad men, but I can see how the script uses the FL’s street fighting and sense of righteousness to move the plot along logically. And I admit: watching the martial arts scenes is fun. The whole show has a fun feel, at least as far as I’ve watched.
@Welmaris – bingo – was just about to poste about Love to Hate you!!
Great fun, pacey, silly, addictive, the plot gets more interesting as you go along.
Recommended if you need a change of pace.
Episode 2 very funny.
@Cleopatra, thanks for the link!
On rewatches, off my head, I would want to rewatch
You Are My Glory
Crash Landing On You
Reply 1988
Love between Fairy and Devil
Who rules the World
Business Proposal
18 Again
Vincenzo
But….I have so many ongoing shows to watch, I wonder when I will ever rewatch! There must be a tipping point.
Anyone watched The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House on Netflix? The bgm is so soothingly nostalgic and pure. It is a little slow but I love immersing in the soothing atmosphere. The is a kind of innocence about the two girls, some subtle romance of the older maikos loves.
Oh and what drew me was….the beauty of the food, makes you hungry seeing her prepare the food. especially when I love japanese food and cook it so often, one of the dishes Tonjiru is something I cook regularly because it is so hearty and warming to eat.
Hi @Kate, Just came down with Covid but am lucky to be taking Paxlovid and what’s even better I can’t do much except watch dramas. I started Love to Hate You. This so far is a bingo for smart comedy.I love the FL. I was thinking of watching this in tandem with the divorce lawyer drama, Strangers Again.
As for rewatches, I love The Greatest Love-Gong Hyo Jin and Cha Seung Wan (my first K drama crush); Romance is a Bonus Book for a dip into the pitfalls of returning to work and trying to seem younger, the joys of longtime friendship, a deep dive into publishing, a great noona drama and the k drama coincidence and Hyena-Kim Hye Soo and Ju Ji-hoon super great sexual tension, fun battle of the attorneys and some fun plot twists. And my one go to movie, Mood of The Day with the wonderful Mood of the Day with the wonderful Moon Chae Won and Yoo Yeon Seok before he lost some cred in HPL. I also read that he made some disparaging comments about MCW’s body (I guess he thought he was Adonis).The movie still makes me happy. And speaking of MCW, I have to add Flower of Evil, she went toe to toe with the great Lee Joon GI.
So, I’m making Lemonade and being a long distance caretaker (they won’t allow me into his rehab facility with Covid) by making phone calls. So I have at least five days of pure K Drama bliss. And my symptoms are mild and improving. And I get to read BOD!🤩🍕🇰🇷❤️🌻
@Old American Lady, I hope your COVID symptoms stay mild and you don’t have a rebound once you finish your course of Paxlovid. Take it easy and take care of yourself.
I couldn’t sleep well last night, so after about three hours I gave up and treated myself to a bowl of congee, then fired up Episode 5 of Love to Hate You. This show makes me laugh. In one scene the ML is talking to his manager while standing outdoors. The lighting is dim and the background is a grey wall. Then the ML mentions there’s been a change in a long-standing problem, and suddenly there’s sunshine. The camera angle switches so the background becomes lush green landscaping. Birds are chirping. It’s like in The Wizard of Oz when Dorothy opens the door of her house, which a tornado has dropped in the Land of Oz, and the scene goes from black and white to Technicolor.
I am not familiar with the creative forces behind Love to Hate You. I haven’t seen any other drama written by Choi Soo Young, although I have heard of My ID is Gangnam Beauty. I haven’t seen any other dramas directed by Kim Jung Kwon. I haven’t seen any other dramas by the production company Binge Works, a subsidiary of SBS. But these three have done an outstanding job putting together Love to Hate You. The attention to detail is outstanding. I just watched a scene in a members-only club where the FL is a guest if Manager Do. He pours her a drink, and it’s Johnny Walker Blue Label. That’s expensive stuff!
Hi @OAL – that’s a bore for you but glad you can take Paxloid!
Really glad you are enjoying Love to Hate You. Smart comedy indeed.
I like the FL and the ML grows on you by Ep 4 I think. He’s very sharp/observant which I like.
Lots of fun twists and turns – fizzing!
I also agree with @Welmaris that the martial arts scenes are fun. When our ML and FL are sparring together… great … what a way to get to know one another.
Am on Episode 5 and anticipate completing the show this evening!!
@grace, I watched the Makanai drama. You are correct – it was soothing. It moved slowly, but I couldn’t stop watching until I was done. Yes to the food as well.
I hope that you get well very quickly, @Old American Lady and that those test results turn positive quickly, too. Meanwhile, enjoy your dramas!
@,Welmaris,I’m on episode one and just live the references to Michelle Yeah, BL dramas, and all things martial arts
The potato scene made me howl. I also liked the movie FL who wouldn’t wear the make up because she was gearing up to get a make up endorsement but had to do product placement. And the Johnny Walker Blue. That would be the highest end product placement except when they show car logos like Maserati. I think the great thing about this drama is how one can watch it on multiple levels. They know how to pick them at Netflix.
There is one controversial show on Netflix; The Interest of Love. I think people went into it looking for a romance when, in fact, it was a social issue drama covering topics like privilege and sexual harassment. When viewed from that lens it all makes sense. I think about 2521 and see this as similar. Netizens thought the female lead was narcissistic and the second female lead was kind. My view is the female lead had no privilege, kept her job through competence but had to put up with lots of indignities. When she liked someone a college grad, he was then taken by rich girl second female lead, who was buying his affection and tacitly threatening the FL’s job if the ML didn’t live her. There were lots of power issues in this drama and it will need to be watched from this perspective. So if any BOD viewers watch this, think of it as not a romance. I think it’s realistic.
And congee sounds so good. We used to go to a restaurant in Lower Manhattan called acongee Village. They have great congee but also a full menu of great food
Hi @OAL, I trust you’re on the mend from Covid and that your husband is managing well while you take care of yourself. Rest a lot… some people really take weeks to recover their strength. They feel fine one day and the next they’re flat out again. I still keep you both in my prayers.
We missed you yesterday at the MOTA rewatch, but it’s better for you to be resting well. Enjoy your dramas!
Hi @GB, I missed the rewatch because the paxlovid gave me an incredible night’s sleep and I woke up an hour after the rewatch. But after two days nomore fever but Covid cough. I have to do an intervention at my husband’s rehab facility where he is not being 5aken care of. On Monday I go to war.
On a happier note I am getting wonderful distraction from Love To Hate You. I enjoy how clever it is and I enjoy all of the main actors who I’)) add to my list of follows.
BOD has been a great source of comfort and joy. Thank you so much.
Oh dear @OAL! May your cough vanish soon and may your battle be successful and not too stressful! Fighting!!
@GB, Fighting for sure. Thank you for the encouragement. I needed it.
@OAL – that is tough – having the pressure of taking on the medical care situation for your husband. As @GB says – fighting! Thinking of you now and your husband and his care.
Episode 9 of Crash Course in Romance – so good! The plot is great and warming up with each episode.
I am always struck too by the excellent work of supporting actress Kim Sun-Young – leader of the scary helicopter Mum’s group and such a subtle actress even when playing one of the antagonists in the show. She really gets under the skin of the characters she plays.
I do love a man in a thick cream sweater …resonant of Hebridean island life… some great examples in ‘Love to hate you’ and ‘Crash Course in Romance’.
Looking unsuccessfully for pics from both – but they dress actor Yoo Teo so well in ‘Love to hate you’. I was initially more drawn to the very handsome second male lead – but he started to look a bit dishevelled as the plot continued and the character drank too much.
The ML in Crash Course really rocks the cream, thick knitted sweater look in episode 10 – am scouring internet for pics and will return when I find.
Kalispera!
So Crash Course in Romance is brilliant! I am so happy that I am watching this one! Those last two episodes were amazing. I am glad we had this conflict and it moved the Romance forward!
To answer to @Welmaris’ question. I haven’t watched that many kdramas like some of you, yet I am rewatching the following when I don’t have the mood.
1. The King: Eternal Monarch. This is my top show. I have rewatched this gazillion times and at times I am only watching the episodes with my favorite scenes.
2. The Red Sleeve Cuff. I haven’t rewatched it all, there are some scenes like their reunion that I am rewatching. I cannot watch yet the last two episodes for obvious reasons. I still remember how much I cried last year…
3. Alchemy of Souls. These days I am rewatching Part 2.
4. Six Sixth Sense. I mostly like to watch Episode 6 for specific reasons.
5. Crash Landing On You. I like specific scenes to watch from here. Especially the scene with Captain Ri’s parents…I laugh every single time with the grimace his father does.
6. Detective Black. I tend to rewatch specific episodes from here as well.
7. Happiness. In its one year anniversary I was rewatching specific scenes as well.
8. Start Up, Healer, Goblin, W. We have rewatched those and I am grateful for that. It’s been a while that I haven’t revisited them but I might do if I feel the urge.
9. Chocolate. It is a healing show. I have fallen in love with it not only because it was partly filmed in Greece, but also from the story itself.
10. Oh My Venus. It made me laugh and cry a lot. I watched it after the first season of the Taxi Driver. Last year I was revisiting it more often.
There are more shows I have watched and rewatched back to back like:
It’s okay to not be okay.
@Grace you are welcome! BTW, Decoy is a must for all those ladies who like psychological thrillers! Along with Beyond Evil! Another favorite of mine!
@Kate I really want to watch “Love to Hate You”. My friend told me it was brilliant paced!
My dear @OAL I do hope you are feeling better. Sending hugs and I do hope that Covid will go away soon! I am glad to read that you are taking pavlovid.
@Kate, Loving these two dramas and finding the MLs very attractive and given great styling. Am enjoying Jung Kyung Ho in a fairly comedic role and find that he is very dapper here. I liked him in HPL but like him more here.i was unfamiliar with Yoo Teo but am impressed by his performance. They also style him quite well and he is quite be.ievable as a major star.
@Cleopatra – the montage at the end of the 6th episode if Kiss Sixth Sense is so beautiful along with the OST. I cried the first time I watched it. I think it perfectly captures the joy of new romantic love. If a single scene could get an award for the best – this would be it for me.
Thanks for recommending Love to Hate You – her dancing during her job interview in the second episode still has me chuckling!
I finally read all the discussions on “Crash Course in Romance” here, and found a lot of resonance of my thoughts here. So I won’t repeat them. I still find it a heartwarming drama, with interesting social issues mixed with romance. I liked the comment above on why most Kdrama rom-coms seem to have murder mystery plots built in, I’ve actually wondered why too..LOL. One of the reasons I liked “The Business Proposal” last year was because it was just a rom com.
@packmule3
Considering how many of us here are watching “Crash Course in Romance”, would it make sense to add an Open Thread on thar? We are on episode 10 now (I haven’t watched 9-10 yet), so we are a little over the half way mark. Maybe we can have one thread for eps.1-10 discussions and one more for the rest. I would love to discuss more with everyone who is watching it here😄 Of course if you are okay with it😊
I’m also watching “Our Blooming Youth” which looks interesting so far. The posts above have made me curious about “Love to Hate You”. It’s short and all episodes are on Netflix already, so can watch on a weekend in one sitting!
I agree with the comments on “Another Oh Hae Young”. I had watched that drama around a year back and remember enjoying it because of the sensible and mature romantic relationship.
Kalimera @Good Twin!
From “Kiss Sixth Sense”, I love the scene where the ML asks the FL about the future / birre. That sequence is very powerful that leads to the scene you are describing.
I am glad you enjoyed “Love to Hate You”. I want to binge watch it after all those psychological thrillers I am watching…LOL
@OAL – agreed on all your points. I wasn’t familiar with the actor playing the ML in ‘Love to Hate You’ either. I found that his attractiveness grew on me as the show progressed and as our understanding of his character developed. He is very likeable in the role.
Yes, all our MLs are very well styled indeed!
@Good Twin – yes the interview dance was hilarious… and then the two people carriers full of lawyers practising their routines for the party that night!
And the dance routine practice at the law firm later? Hysterical!
Wonderful spoofing.
And a karaoke re-hash of what must be a very popular song in Korea – ‘I am the best’ because it is the same song that Song Je Jin let her hair down to in ‘Something in the Rain’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MM5oqn8VKS
ps In that brief extract I must issue a ‘Stand by Your Man’ tune warning for those of you still triggered by it… haha!
When I play the youtube link having done a search it plays fine but doesn’t seem to play when I try and go in from this page.
Posting an alternative link in case people want to enjoy this scene again: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=7po3xlnTcRk
I have completed Payback and Hated to Love You. Can’t believe I went through the latter… ffwd towards the end series like crazy…kekeke….
I am thinking of finishing Kim Nam Gil’s Through The Darkness, The 2 seasons of Missing: The other side. Tried Ep 1 of the quirky Crash Course in Romance – could not finish the first episode. JKH is brilliant though. Just that I am seeing Kim Jun Wan of HP all over again. Maybe I’ll pick it up again sometime…. 😛
Waiting for release of Big Bet 2, The Glory S2 (next month), and Island S2 for a full marathon of both seasons.
Happy Valentine’s greetings from Taipei dear friends! It’s been awhile since I’ve posted here, and I have missed this group. I haven’t joined the discussions since I’m not watching the dramas that are currently being discussed here.
After I finished Love is for Suckers in November, I took a break from watching dramas. I wasn’t drawn to any of the new Kdramas that were out then, and even though I have a list of older Kdramas I want to watch, I began a few new commitments the end of last year and didn’t feel the “need” to watch dramas. When I used to work at my demanding job, I watched Kdramas to unwind and reward myself for my hard work. I’d watch Kdramas while eating instant noodles and cinnamon buns. Now I don’t feel the “need” to watch Kdramas, eat instant noodles and cinnamon buns although they still bring me joy. 🙂
In December I watched an episode of the Jdrama First Love, but wasn’t compelled to continue, despite loving the city (Sapporo, Japan) the drama is set in.
I’m currently watching crash Course on Romance and think it’s heartwarming, funny, positive, entertaining, thought-provoking and really well done. I’m enjoying all the subplots and think the director and actors are doing a fantastic job. The lady who wrote the drama wrote Weightlifting Fairy and our leads are veteran actors.
Roh Yoon-Seo, who plays Kim Yoo-Jung’s best friend in 20th Century Girl, is really shining in her role as the high school daughter of Jeon Do-Yeon. I’m glad she is getting the attention she deserves. She debuted in Our Blues last year and is a Fine Arts student at Ewha Womans University, a top university in South Korea. Crash Course on Romance is only her third work so I’ll be on the lookout for this rising actor who has both beauty and brains.
Glad Grace, L, Empress New Clothes, Kate, Old American Lady and others are watching it as well. I started watching it four days ago and caught up to episode 10 where we are now since it’s that good. I’m really picky with what I watch, and usually only watch one drama at a time. If I don’t think a drama is good, I’ll drop like a hot potato even if I’ve watched a few episodes since time is precious and I don’t want to watch dramas I don’t enjoy.
It’s too bad others are writing it off because of the casting, since Jeon Do-Yeon is acing her role and there is definite chemistry between her and Jung Kyung Ho. She does look her age (50), but JKH he turns 40 this year and he looks pretty old in the drama as well. Agree with Empress New Clothes about your views on the casting.
To address the issue of the paring and their perceived age difference/noona romance, I think if the writer didn’t include the line “She looks young to have a daughter that age” and instead had her daughter tell Jeon Do-Yeon’s best friend something along the lines of, “Mom’s only in her thirties, but she’s worked so hard taking care of me and running the banchan shop, she has aged and seems tired despite telling us she has a lot of energy,” then that issue would be solved.
I agree with Old American Lady that our society seems to have a bias against older women (or older-looking women) finding love or dating younger men. Ageism is an issue in life as well as on screen, and we rarely have female leads in rom-coms who look like they are over 45.
Once you start watching the CCIR, you’ll find there is definitely chemistry between our leads. They both look way over age 35 or so, the age they are “supposed” to be around in the drama. We need to suspend our disbelief when we watch drama, and if we can accept people being reborn, switching bodies with others, being monsters or animals in another life, crash land in North Korea, I’m not sure why people can’t accept the casting.
Some themes and issues it addresses:
-sacrifice for one’s family
– kindness given to strangers
– education and the competitive nature of the testing culture in South Korea (toxic Skymoms are some of the villains in the drama)
– parents’ involvement in their children’s lives
– friendship (parent-child, high school students, teacher-student, best friends)
– forgiveness
– society’s views on single parents, school drop-outs, neuroatypical people
– definition of “love” and what it means to find love as a middle-aged person
– having “grit” and being true to one’s values
– overcoming challenges by changing your thinking
Love how it shows the male lead getting therapy because he knows he needs it, it normalizes therapy. The ML is the sick and frail one, a reversal of the “damsel-in-distress.” The FL takes him to see a Chinese doctor and holds his hand during his acupuncture session and she beats him in handball and foot volleyball. They are friends first and truly care about each other before moving toward romance. He’s the one that first confesses. He makes both a public and private confession to her and tries to protect her from getting hurt with his revelation.
I’m really enjoying it, maybe even more so than Hometown Cha Cha Cha and A Business Proposal, both of which I really liked as well. I hope more people give it a chance. It’s a slice-of-life “comfort” drama that is also a rom-com with a tinge of mystery.
I’m waiting for Dr. Romantic 3 which will air from April 14 to June 3. That will be the first Kdrama my husband and I will watch together live, so I’m really looking forward to it.
Dear Packmule3, Nrllee and other admins here, do you think you will consider having discussions of Dr. Romantic 3 here? If anyone hasn’t watched Dr. Romantic 1 or 2 yet, please watch it. The Dr. Romantic series are my favorite medical series and I can’t recommend them enough.
Have a great week friends! Stay warm and safe!
@Hatlady I appreciated your thoughts on Crash Course in Romance. Glad to find another CCIR fan here!
I’m hoping @pm3 will start a separate post on the show so we can put our thoughts and comments about it there. (I think I figured out who the murderer was a few episodes ago, but it’s something we could still discuss there).
@Hatlady- great review of Crash Course…Thank you!
Quite a few of us are watching and enjoying.
It is top rated in Korea too… 13% approx of viewers. https://leosigh.com/crash-course-in-romance-episode-10-earns-biggest-audience-yet-no-wonder-after-that-kissing-scene-eh/
@Hatlady, I’m with @Kate and .ove your review of Crash Course In Romance. Who would thunk that a math teacher could be sexy. And again want to recommend the Korean movie, A Man and A Woman with Jeon Do Yeon and Gong Yoo. You’ll never look at a Finnish sauna the same again. Lots if romantic tension in this film. JDY plays both plain and glamorous here.
On another note, had they styled our ML with facial hair, he would have looked older, but then they couldn’t do the homage to Kingsmen in the first episode.
And I’m on board for Dr, Romantic 3. They get 5omreuse the set for Doldam Hospital that was also the hospital in It’s Okay To Be Not Okay and we get to see the wonderful Han Suk -kyu who just blows me away.
@Hatlady
Can I echo @Kate and @BethB in saying how much I appreciated your thoughts on ‘Crash Course in Romance’?
After my last year’s favourite heartwarming drama ‘Extraordinary Attorney Woo’, this is my next go-to feel-good drama 🙂
Like many others, I found the FL frumpy at the beginning and looking older than Jung Kyung Ho who absolutely nails Choi Chi-Yeol’s outwardly charismatic and energetic vs. inwardly insecure and physically weak persona. I find the episodes funny in some parts yet poignant in others, I really like how the story brings together two unlikely and yet silently suffering protagonists who discover similarities in themselves which are not apparent to anyone else (and not even to themselves till later episodes). In spite of her not being conventionally beautiful, delicate or with glowing skin like all other kdrama FLs, I realize the FL grew on me because of her very uniqueness and awkwardness (which is similar to EAW which I referenced before).
I agree with you in how the gender roles are reversed here – the hilarious way in which the FL lifted the ML up when she was drunk after hearing the good news of her adopted daughter’s admission reminded me what a contrast it was to the usual scenes of the ML piggy-backing a drunk FL on his shoulders which we normally see in kdramas. The same goes for the hand-holding during acupuncture scenes which you have pointed out.
Just like you, I like the serious underlying issues in Korean society this drama talks about – the over-indexing on education and private academies coaching rich kids, the pressure put by parents on children causing mental traumas, and society’s views on ‘single mothers’ which forces our FL to act as her niece’s mother and basically sacrifice her own dreams.
Thank you for sharing the viewership Korea ratings too, @Kate. We are into the second half of this drama and we finally had a kiss which always makes me happy :). After that heartfelt confession during the interview from CCY, I was happy to see a mature progression of their relationship. I’m still very worried about all the external forces working against them (the militant moms, jealous classmates etc.). I could have done without the murder sub-plot but I’m not complaining, because the direction and acting are both engaging in this drama.
I’m glad there are so many of us here who are enjoying this drama, and I can discuss with you all 🙂
@OAL
Thank you for the recommendation on Jeon Do Yong with Gong Yoo movie. I’ll see if that can be found subbed somewhere.
@Hatlady I am not an admin of this blog. Packmule runs the show. I was only given the job of screening newbies when we were deep in a fan war brought about by the viewing of HP. And that process was done outside the walls of this blog. Since then I am back to becoming a “commoner”. 😂. So you’ll have to ask Packmule about Dr Romantic 3. Maybe just one Open Thread (like Interest of Love)?
Is anyone watching the forbidden flower?? It’s with jerry yan. Age gap with an older male. It feels very old school but the colors and OST are drawing me in. I’m on episode 7 and it’s strangely addicting. I already recognize one song from the kdrama while you were sleeping but the show is actually reminiscent of a jdrama???
@birdie007, I’ll give it a try because of Jerry Yan. And I like that it’s only 24 episodes.
I dropped A Dream of Splendor after 13 episodes because I couldn’t accept torture as part of the entertainment package. When the FL told the ML that he’s a nice person and that those he tortured and killed had it coming, I was out of there.
@birdie007, I’ve watched the first five episodes of The Forbidden Flower. The FL is obsessive, a stalker, lies easily, and traps others into lying for her. Even children shouldn’t be given a pass for such behavior, and she’s a young adult. She may be cute, but her behavior is toxic. She is not naive: she’s aware her pursuit of the ML is out of bounds. The show wants us to pity her because she’s ailing physically and being sheltered and controlled by her mother. Unfortunately the ML has gone from being confused by her to half-heartedly resisting her to toying with her.
I checked, and although I may not agree with it, the age of consent in China is fourteen, so no laws are being broken by these two if the relationship continues. But what is legal and what is wise are two separate issues. This show’s intent is to explore the repercussions a May-December couple will face. I expect to be uncomfortable watching; if I’m not, I’ll think the show hasn’t properly done it’s job.
It’s interesting to be watching a show with such a theme right now with the current news of Leonardo DiCaprio and his latest girlfriend. He’s 48 and she’s 19. In The Forbidden Flower, we’re told the FL character is 20, but the actress is 24. Jerry Yan is 46, and the character he’s playing is pegged as middle aged without a specific number being mentioned (yet). The difference between DiCaprio and Xiao Han is that the former serially seeks out young women, whereas the latter has been single a long time when he finds himself relentlessly pursued.
It’s also interesting to compare this show and the age gap between leads with the discussions going on about the leads in Crash Course in Romance. Complaints are that Jeon Do Yeon, age 50, is old for the FL, a character of an age supposedly too young to be the mother of a high school student. She’s also older than the male lead actor, Jung Kyung Ho, age 39, by 11 years. Although it is the job of actors to pretend to be something they’re not, viewers are having trouble letting this age difference go, especially since the woman is older than the man. Would The Forbidden Flower be impactful if the male lead were 11 years older than the female? I think not, because we are conditioned to accept men being older than women as the norm in a pairing.
Gotta run. I have to attend a Zoom meeting in a few minutes. Would love to hear your thoughts, @birdie007.
@Welmaris, I always had issues with older male leads romancing younger women. I loved the idea of the original Sabrina, but couldn’t stand tosee Humphrey Bogart romancing Audrey Hepburn.in the second iteration Harrison Ford was far more palatable with Julia Ormond because he looked younger. We are also conditioned to view older women with younger men as somewhat pathetic, with the younger man, probably not interested in physical relationships with women. See The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone. In K Dramas, we recently saw Son Ye-jin and Jung Hae-in paired in the noona drama, Something In The Rain. The pair were actually shipped because our female lead I s the source of universal male fantasy.And Romance Is A Bonus Book, a version of the idea of the American series, Younger, was viewed as palatable because our FL is so beautiful. However, in the case I f Jeon Do-yeon, who can look quite beautiful in her various roles, was saddled with some bad dia.ogue and frumpy styling,while our ML was made to lookvery attractive and stylish. A l though K Dramas frequently have older women/younger male pairings, those involve people whose looks don’t mirror their actual ages. S. Korea is known for skin care and plastic surgery so economically, the Noonan drama makes sense in encouraging commerce, another example of soft power. Another example is When The Camelias Bloom with Gkng Hyo Jin a d Kang HaNeul, so popular and award winning. So Crash Course In Romance could have done right by the exceptional jeon Do- eon.
@OAL, agreed. You know how with children, people are divided into other children, grownups, and ancients…well, in my view from the other end of the age spectrum, people are divided into babies, youth, and fellow old fogies. In my eye, Jerry Yan looks darn youthful.
I’m on episode 9 and still watching—-I’m not completely sure why though. I know I enjoy the beach setting and the music.
I find age gap romances with the older male/younger female more palatable when the FL might be young in age, but she’s wise beyond her years and acts more maturely than what her age would suggest.
The screenwriter for this show also wrote Dating in the Kitchen and I didn’t mind the age gap there and thought it was done very well.
for this show, the screenwriter is adapting a novel (was dating in the kitchen also a novel?) (i think I read somewhere the girl might’ve been even younger in the book but they made her 20 for the show) they’re heavily leaning into her childlike ways. She’s been shut in and sheltered by her mom, she dresses very Victorian-childish for sleep attire and dresses like a preschool child when she’s out of the house. When she does wear the pretty sundresses, it looks like a child playing dress up. I could look past all of that if their interactions weren’t so silly. I’m hoping we are reaching the end of her time being so childlike and once she leaves for school she will mature and it will change their dynamic. Although —-spoiler—he already gave in to his bad intentions so, whoopsie daisy.
And since we’re mentioning age gap romances, I find that for the stories of older female/younger male the dynamic is done best when the female doesn’t have to take on the “mother” role to her younger male partner and also when there isn’t the issue of the female being much wealthier than the young male so it doesn’t veer into gigolo territory.
I have not seen when the camellia blooms or something in the rain so I’m not sure how those are but I’m very much enjoying crash course into romance—Although I do wish they wouldn’t have tried to convince us she “doesn’t look old enough to have a teenager” and maybe didn’t dress her in that awful poinsettia looking sweater vest over the Victorian neck top. MY EYES
,@Welmaris, LOL, At this stage of my life is that they all look like babies.I hate that when I enjoy the MLs I feel downright pervy. Fifty year olds could be my children.
So I’m going to suck it in and enjoy Jerry Yan and think that Dylan Wang could be my grandson.
@OAL, I’m a bit too young to have a 50-year-old child, but actor Jerry Yan, at age 46, could be my son without my having been a child bride. Gong Yoo was born the same year I was married.
@Welmaris, I’m a septugenarian so lots of these guys could be grands because if you look at the onset of puberty in women, I could have been a child bride. Freaks me out but I am realistic. I also live in a time warp because I do most things late.My son is in his mid thirties. So I was ‘young” by experience longer. Anyway, at least Hong Yoo never was a flower boy.
Re the cast of Crash Course… I have just realised where I recognised our FL’s best pal from…Lee Bong-ryun was also in Home Town Cha Cha Cha as the owner of the seaside fish restaurant.
So she’s gone from a seaside fish restaurant to an urban side-dish take away!
She’s a gifted actress in any case.
Anyone else think that the clues are getting quite strong in relation to the murder mystery in Crash Course?
Perhaps you are all there already…But I think I twigged what is going on.
People who have got to Episode 10 today of Crash Course will see that things are well beyond the clue stage.
Personally, I could do without the murder sub-plot… but I guess what is happening is just another obstacle in the happiness of our chief protagonists and the central teenage characters.
It does keep the dramatic charge running through the narrative.
Correction *Episode 12* is the latest episode to stream on Netflix.
@kate I had begun to suspect and my suspicions were confirmed when he threw the phone in last weeks episodes. I haven’t gotten around to watching this weeks episodes…I think this one may end up being a DNF, I’ve lost interest for the moment. I’m still trying to work myself up to starting Our Blooming Youth but I’m not feeling it. This week I’m looking forward to the release of The Starry Love on VIKI and the premiere of Call it Love.
@birdie – aha! You were ahead of me.
Yes, I will watch Crash Course to the end but I found my interest slowing a little because of this sub-plot – one plot too many.
I’ll be interested to know what you think of either of those new shows.
I wasn’t able to get into Our Blooming Youth – but may revisit in a few weeks.
I’m in re-watching old favourites territory at the moment.
Three-Body
This 30-episode cdrama series is based on the first novel in a trilogy ‘Remembrance of Earth’s Past’ written in Chinese by Liu Cixin and translated into English. It is the first Asian novel to win a Hugo Award for Best Novel.
This Cdrama deserves a review and I’ve watched a couple of reviews of this show which give it super high marks. However when it comes to my review, I’m a little stuck. On the one hand this was a superb piece of work. It deserves the accolades. On the other, I found the pacing too slow in the beginning, the tone too ominous for too long, the Sci-Fi subject matter heavy and not too accessible.
And yet, I stayed with it, …something about it got me coming back to it even days later to find out more, and it got better and it was amazing at the end. It was rather compelling in it’s own slow way throughout, but the last 6 episodes just blew me away and gave me much to think about and much feels of the uncomfortable kind.
One thought that came to me was that if one is looking for an easy, light watch, then this show is not for one (at least not now). But if one can take the darkish tone (show is literally deliberately not brightly lit as well, but what we need to see is visible) and consider some serious questions, there’s much to think about, to surprise one, to get one feeling. The show explores philosophy, sociology, human psychology and the treatment of subjects is deeper than just surface level.
The rest of the books are going to be adapted as well, I believe. I hope they get made into a series by the same director and script writer. Somehow I prefer not to read the books. I want to be surprised by the show.
My rating: A-
@GB – sounds really interesting. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
I am enjoying lighter fare at the moment but may find this show useful for my work!
Update on CCIR: I enjoyed it until the last couple of episodes (11/12) and then it seems to have (de)evolved into a murder mystery–that isn’t all that mysterious. It certainly doesn’t add anything to the romance, which I think should be center stage. There was also a very uncomfortable scene with the 2FL and the brother in the latest episode (since this isn’t on a specific post about the show, I won’t go into details, to avoid spoilers). I’m not excited about finishing it now, so I’m not sure I will still recommend it.
Hello there, dear @Kate,
Hmmm watch ‘Three-body’ for work? One of the questions raised is to do with morality ie the treatment of life, human and otherwise. There is stress on environmental issues, but ultimately the morality is non-religious, and verges on or goes into the amoral.
The scientific aspect (and maths), is to do more with physics, astro-physics, nano technology, and more. We don’t have to know and understand these in detail, but I hear that the books go into them quite a bit, while the show spared the viewers. Still it was deep-ish stuff and was not just a quick touching of the topics.
The religious aspect, was more to do with how human beings may view an intelligence far above our own, and how we might react or respond. It was an interesting exploration of ourselves, our place on earth and in the universe.
By all means, pick up this show if you’re in the mood for something weightier and able to surprise.
@GB – aha! I am intrigued…I’ll put this on my ‘to watch’ list.
@Kate, I’m glad I piqued your curiosity. It’s definitely a show well worth the watch, but one has to be patient. The pay off comes at the end, when I believe just about everything was explained, and somehow sounded plausible!!!
@birdie007, I dropped The Forbidden Flower because I was turned off by the character of the female lead. She was too manipulative of everyone around her, and unrelenting in her pursuit of the male lead despite his repeated attempts to dissuade her. I wanted to yell at her, “He’s an introvert! Stop poking him! Stop getting in his face! Stop invading his alone time!” The character of the FL’s mother was also hard for me to swallow. Her meltdown while trying to discard her deceased husband’s mementos was drama done badly…so badly that I almost wanted to laugh.
Annyeong,
I am currently enjoying “The BEauty inside” 💗
@HK…Lady, Are you watching the drama or the movie? The concept is the same where the lover becomes a different body but the execution is very different
The movie is star studded. I actually like the drama better but the inate recognition of the liver somehow seems to become perverse in the movie (e.g., child, old man..you’ll get the point).The concept however the recognition of the actual person inside the different bodies.But the drama keeps the actual person around and changes her body once a month. No matter what to me they are both disconcerting.
Hi 👋 Everyone!!!
I’ve been away for so long 🤪 at least it feels that way.
Hope everyone is doing well. Here in rainy California is colder than usual. I’m actually watching Kokdu, but I’m behind and probably wont add anything just yet.
Stay safe 🙂
,aCarolina, Hope all of your severe weather brings your reservoirs and your agricultural communities and any and all of your watersheds much needed water to last you years.California can be paradise and is a state of powerful beauty but it is subject to things like widespread fires, high winds and even droughts. You all deserve a break. from boring NYC that hasn’t seen an inch of snow all winter
Just testing out ‘Lovers in Prague’ an early (2005) success by Kim Eun Sook starring Jeon Do-yeon who won the Grand Baeksang for her performance.
The incidental music is reminiscent of ‘Secret Garden’ which came a few years later of course.
Will report back. Perhaps some of you have already seen it?
Some of the incidental music in Episode 1 is in fact exactly the same incidental music that was used in parts of Secret Garden.
So the writer must enjoy linking her works with use of sound track. I wonder where else this music shows up.
.
@Kate, Lovers in Prague is on my very extensive watch list. There are just so many great Dramas out there with years of history and new ones coming every day. I’ll be interested in your reviews to help me move it up on the list. I use three streaming services , Netflix, Amazon and Viki. There is a lot of overlap. Being here and knowing that the subs can be different could make me crazed if I sought perfection but I’m not that much of a fanatic. I’m seeing dramas like Mr. Queen on Netflix that I watched on Viki ages ago. It just goes to show that Asian content has become a profit center for Netflix in the US market. One drama that I’ll be watching is My Mister, maybe because of Liking IU and I’m looking forward to seeing Jeon Do-yeon in her single mither assassin role(where she hopefully will not be frumpy). Here’s to a plethora of riches in dramaland.
@OAL – we have similar taste! I am really enjoying the start of ‘Lovers in Prague’ – it’s shaping up nicely – but I’ll report back when I am further on.
I really enjoyed My Mister too,
Yes, I’m going to watch Jeon Do-yeon too in the assassin role! Here’s to a restyle! She’s more glam in “Lovers in Prague” too.
@Kate, I also love Lee Sun-kyun, having first seen him in Pasta. The “discovery” of so many great writers, directors, designers, actors and different cultural points of view make this whole adventure so fascinating. Because we’re global it’s fun to see the various cross cultural influences while appreciating the individual cultural differences. Sageuks, westerns, martial arts, opera are a few that come to mind. It also seems that the S. Koreans have an affinity for things Spanish and Latin American. A lot of Asians, in general, are beautiful ballroom dancers(would love to see them remaking the Astaire,/Rogers and Gene Kelly movies or how they would do the classic, Singing In The Rain (because like the movie there is so much clever in the K format). Have you also noticed that so many foreign dramas recycle the potter’s wheel scene from Ghost.
And, I’ll sound like a broken revord-check out A Man and A Woman(Korean movie)with Jeon Do-yeon and Gong Yoo. In an interview he said he did the movie specifically to act with JDY. Their pairing works so well. The movie is a slow burn and not to spoil it, is a tearjerker and emotionally complex. Finland plays a major role in the movie and if you like symbolism, you get lots to sink your teeth. I originally watched it for Gong Yoo but came away from it thinking about so many themes.it is not a romp.
The Starry Night is a pretty great watch so far. About a female ob/gyn and a younger “death cleaner.” Not subtle on the life and death theme – but so well done. The ML is deaf – which seems to be a theme with Japanese dramas these days. He is guileless – says what he is thinking. The dialogue is really good. And @OAL when they’re death cleaning they come across some classic adult videos and I think (not certain) that one of the DVDs was A Man and A Woman!
@Good Twin, what platform did you find The Starry Night on? It sounds interesting.
@Fern – it’s on Viki but the full title is “On a Starry Night”.
@OAL – I wondered why I hadn’t seen the first Male Lead before or recently. Apparently he was killed in a car crash in 2017. Many many tributes were paid and this one was apt in view of the role he plays in ‘Lovers in Prague’:
“Another Twitter user in Seoul praised his kindness saying: “The movies that Kim Joo-hyuk chose shed more light on his female leads than other actors. The films themselves were good but [what’s more inspiring] was his determination to continue choosing such [unique] scenarios.”
He was/is such a natural actor and plays a down to earth cop so well in “Lovers in Prague” (he won an award for his performance). His character was pitted against a wealthy prosecutor who was played by another rather gorgeous actor: Kim Min-Joon.
I am really sad to discover this just now. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-41812778
The show is very good in places – captures your heart – and a bit laboured in other places. But the performances of the leads carry it. I’d recommend giving it a go and seeing if it speaks to you.
@Kate, what a sad story! I definitely will up Lovers In Prague on my watchlist. The story of this actor’s kindness and the fact that he promoted his female costars speaks volumes. Looking forward to seeing this talented man who was gone too soon.
Ah — yes @OAL – he’s worth watching.
As I continued watching On a Starry Nighy it gets a little weirder with lots of eccentric characters – but the fundamental story about found families is sweet.
@Good Twin, thank you.
I guess we’ll need a new thread for March!
Thanks to a Netflix suggestion, I’ve found a Japanese TV show that’s good for filling in spare hours here and there. It’s called Midnight Diner, and each episode is a complete story. There are five seasons, but I see only two 10-episode seasons carried in my Netflix region. So far I’ve watched the episode entitled Tan Men, and found it entertaining. I look forward to seeing other stories, but don’t feel pressure to keep up since each episode stands alone.
I haven’t forgotten. The March thread should come out tonight.🙂
Bless you. This month has gone by so quickly. I’m skipping February watches and going straight to March.
I hope that you are well and thriving.
@Packmule3, I’m not sure if it is just me, but I’m not seeing the March thread despite your saying it would be coming out the night of February 27. I hope all is well with you.
Here is my round-up of the dramas I have watched in February. I’m noting them here, late in this post, because I realized that each one takes a critical look at different aspects of Korean culture.
(In addition to Our Blooming Youth, which is ongoing, I finished or started the following):
–Love to Hate You (all episodes out at once). This was a surprisingly fun show that also looks at the double standard for women in SK. (An actor dates a lawyer with a lot of sexual experience and it’s considered a horrendous scandal there, with his fans demanding he break up with her).
–Crash Course in Romance (finishing next weekend). While there is a surprising pairing at the center of this show, its real focus seems to be on the insane amount of pressure that high school students are under to show their competence and competitive edge. For example, it shows students in an after-school academy who often take additional classes until at least 11pm, and mothers screaming at them to study more and do better on tests. When one son complains to his mother about her heartlessness, she tells him, “Don’t you understand how critical and cruel this culture is?” Yikes!
–Heavenly Idol. I just started this one. It is a light watch (something I can fold laundry to) that doesn’t take itself too seriously. At the same time, it takes a critical look at idol lifestyles (e.g., idols’ meals having restrictive calorie counts; idols unable to form any kind of relationship, however innocent, with the opposite sex). It also shows that in celebrity culture, anyone can be good or bad depending on how they are portrayed in the media. Case in point: a holy man/high priest, who comes from a different world, is portrayed as the bad guy on a reality show because that is the role the producer has decided for him.
@BethB, I agree with your comments on all three shows.
I’m watching Heavenly Idol with a bit of trepidation because the screenwriter, in building a world around a high priest of a fictitious faith, may not have a well-thought-out theology underpinning the glimpses we see of religious practice. When Lembrary did the contract with Woo Yeon Woo, swearing on Redlin, neither party was fully aware of what they were agreeing to. Woo Yeon Woo was not familiar with the Redlin faith, so was acting without understanding. Lembrary completed the contract without hearing the additional clause Woo Yeon Woo tossed in at the last second. I have trouble believing such a contract be considered valid by a righteous deity…although we don’t know enough about Redlin to say that righteousness is one of her attributes. We do know she and her adherents stand in opposition to Ma Wang–who sows discord, fear, and death–so she’s supposed to be the good one.
Thanks for the alert, @Welmaris.
The March thread got stuck in the queue. Sigh.