None for me, thank you! ☺️

I only have Uncanny Counter 2 for kdrama and definitely still on cdramas. 😃

Invitation to join a new Rewatch Party.
@WE, @FeiFei and @GB warmly invite everyone to watch with us…

Kdrama: Queen In Hyun’s Man/Queen & I (2012). It’s a time jumping show where the guy from 300 years in the past jumps back and forth to the future, and of course, falls in love.

This is another well written, interesting tale by Song Jae Jung, in 16 episodes of 45 minutes each.

Start Date: Saturday 26 August 2023 (and the next 15 Saturdays after that!)

Time in some parts of the world (at least until Daylight Savings kicks in again)
6:30am PST
9:30am EST/Caracas
2.30pm in London
3.30pm in Paris
4.30pm in Athens
9.30pm in Singapore/Malaysia/Hong Kong/Perth

All are welcome! Please let us know on this What We Are Watching in August 2023 thread if you’d like to join us. 

I’m curious about “Behind Your Touch” because it’s comedy.
Also looking forward to start on July’s dramas like Heartbeat and Not Others.
I’m kind of struggling to finish King the Land but still want to see what happens in the end.

I think i got caught up with Hidden Love this month and also wanting to rewatch Hidden Love and savour @pm3’s posts on it. 🙂 So happy you are writing on it!!

Plus binge-ing 3 episodes of Nineteen to Twenty everytime it comes out on Tuesdays. Family watching Fireworks of my Heart and occasionally catching up with Destined. Lol…It’s hard to have any much time left over for any new dramas. 😛

I’ve found to my dismay, that I have to get hold of higher definition episodes of “Queen In Hyun’s Man/Queen and I”. Being an 11-year old show, it’s been relegated to the low definition pile. Nevertheless I couldn’t resist rewatching, and was quite charmed by Ji Hyun Woo and Yoo In Na together. 😁😋

Hi again all,

I am starting out on the ‘Lost You Forever’ journey … ‘Romance, fantasy, costume and period’.

Very well received in China.

I am just two episodes in and enjoying the production (very high quality with great sets), the actors, and the story. It looks like there will be a love triangle at the heart of the drama.

https://www.viki.com/tv/40049c-lost-you-forever-s1

FL – Yang Zi – is on great form when we meet her in Episode 2. I really enjoy her. She is slightly stagey (is that the word?) but as a result she brings life and energy to the world into which we are invited. Her character’s story has taken an unexpected turn and she delivers this with aplomb!

Tan Jian Ci, one of the MLs, has quite a following… I wonder why I haven’t heard of him before.

There are 2 seasons … so not for the faint hearted. I’ll see how it unfolds.

Kalimera @Packmule3 et al!

I wish you all have to have a nice month! I am taking some time off this month. So, I will be in a mini pause. What I have already in my bucket:

– Uncanny Counters 2.
– “King The Land” that I will finish this weekend.

What August shows I am waiting for :

1. “Moving”. For Han Hyo Joo, Zo in Sung and Go Yoon-Jung. I have to add that their cast is stellar.

2. “The First Responders 2” that I want to see for Kim Rae Won. We were left in an cliffhanger in Season 1’s ending.

3. “The Killing Vote” also starts in August 10th and I will give it a try because of Park Hae Jin and Park Sung Woong. It is not a genre my fellow B.o.D’ers watch.
(More info: https://mydramalist.com/742695-national-death-penalty-vote)

4. I think that “My Dearest / Lovers” will be a pretty good Sageuk. Most likely I will watch it later on since it is a two parts show.

So, most likely I will watch: “Moving” and “The First Responders 2″…and we will see how that will go.

@Packmule… I have watched that whole segment of the story… it is beautifully told.

He is a quietly gorgeous character. He reminds me a bit of Legolas from Lord of the Rings.

And yes three male leads! A great selection – very hard to settle on a favourite!!

I am on Episode 5 and am now officially engrossed. I hope there will be minimal fast forwarding.

At Episode 5 this seems to be a very well written story. There is an earthy, bitter sweet realism at times and many well-drawn characters. Big themes about identity and disguise and life as struggle. ‘Who are you exactly?’ is one of the questions asked of the FL and could be asked of many of the characters.

All of this prevents that slightly saccharine feel you get in many Chinese fantasy dramas.

Visually, it’s great. Lovely use of music too and mix of sets and natural locations.

SPOILER

SPOILER

SPOILER

The first episode and a bit serves as historic scene setting (300 years before we kick into the main flow of action). It’s very sad. Great performances by the young leads playing 2 of the main protagonists. Lots of tragedy and sadness, loss etc

But do hang on in there… this is the necessary basis for the direction of travel of the rest of the show.

@Fern, @Kate, @Cleo
Lost You Forever sounds intriguing but the number of episodes gives me pause. I understand that it’s something like a 70 episode slow burn saga broken into 2 seasons?
@Kate, I know what you mean about looking like Legolas. The gentlemen all look scrumptious. Yes, adding more handsome to the overflowing drama pool!!

I ended up watching a Chinese Movie today, All These Years. A simple romance, simply told, from high school to adulthood with separation, and a good ending… So simple but somehow, quite fetching and the OSTs were sweet.
https://mydramalist.com/734891-so-many-years.

In the end I didn’t get good subs for Sato Takeru’s latest ‘ghost’ drama but decided it was probably better not to watch it. I heard it wasn’t as engaging as his other shows.

I’ll stick with Uncanny Counters 2 and hope to complete King The Land with some FFDing.

Hello everyone!
I plan to spend the month of August mostly catching up on older shows that I somehow missed the first time or that I enjoy rewatching because I fell and broke my ankle. I am in a cast with instructions to stay off my leg for the next 4 weeks. I have been having a tough time using the crutches so please pray for me that I can have a fast recovery.

Anyway, for August I want to check out for K Drama:
My Lovely Liar
Destined With You

Depending on Reviews/ Viewer Feedback, I will check out Longing For You: a mystery/thriller drama starring Na In Woo and available with Eng subs at Viki.

For Chinese Drama, I want to check out 2 mini dramas available ay Viki.
Butterflied Lover: By the same Director/Writer team as A Familiar Stanger
Ancient Love Song

Hope you get well soon, @Table122000. Ankle injuries are a nightmare as far as getting well properly.

Started today “Tsuiraku JK to Haijin Kyoshi (2023)”. A young High School professor falls for a suicidal student and does his best for her to learn to enjoy life more. So far it has very good points on how to deal with a gloomy, self-isolating person with strategies like looking for places and people to belong. It also shows the power of having someone that cares about the isolated person.

Yesterday I watched “Say you love me (1995)” until episode 3. Deaf male lead who is an uprising painter, upbeat female lead who is starting to get roles as a theatre actress. Probably a symptom of “Silent (2022)” withdrawal.

@Table122000, I’m sorry to hear about your broken ankle. May you heal quickly and completely. And since crutches aren’t working out for you, you may want to look for a knee scooter to buy, rent, or borrow. I’ve seen several people with injured feet using them to get out and about.

If you watch An Ancient Love Song beyond Episode 4, @Table122000, please let me know what you think of it. Maybe I lost patience with it too soon, but I dropped it at the beginning of Episode 5. Once the ML told the FL he’d stay in the past by her side, my interest flagged. The time travel element is what drew me in. I was also dubious about the ML and FL suddenly behaving like lovers when we hadn’t seen their relationship grow. They, especially the ML, went from skepticism to commitment through life and death in a huge leap.

I just finished watching the South Korean reality show 19/20 on Netflix, and thought it entertaining. Oh, the intensity and sincerity of youthful emotion! I’m glad the participants kept it a positive experience, even though they hit rough patches here and there. These teenagers who became legal adults at the stroke of midnight seemed less calculating than older participants in dating shows such as Singles Inferno.

I’m still watching (and laughing because of) the Kdrama Not Others. I’ve also stayed with King the Land, and will finish it next week. I’m interested in picking up Behind Your Touch because of Lee Min Ki. He showed in My Liberation Notes that he has excellent comedic timing. I hope this new Kdrama allows him to display it some more.

At @Fern’s recommendation I started the Jdorama Hold My Hand at Twilight (Yugure ni, Te wo Tsunagu). The characters are quirky, and I find the FL’s outspokenness refreshing. The soundtrack is also great.

@FGB, the jdoramas sound interesting. Yes the echoes of Silent still resound. I listen to the plaintive OSTs from time to time.

It’s interesting that more than just 1 or 2 jdoramas feature a person who cannot hear in them. “First Love”, “Silent” and now “Say you love me (1995)”. I suppose there must be loads of other shows dealing with other disabilities, but for me, the prevalence of deaf characters in dramas seems significant.

@GB – On a Starry Night (jdrama) also featured a deaf ML. I really enjoyed it and Silent. The two male leads couldn’t have been more different. One introverted and “silent”; the other extroverted and bold. I’m curious how the depictions by non-deaf actors have been received by the deaf community in Japan. And if there has been the same conversation about representation that we have had and continue to have in the west.

I am watching and continue to enjoy Not Others. In fact it is the first kdrama that I consider “must watch” in a while. I think it would be an excellent binge watch because of the central mystery but I like it too much to wait for the episodes to stack up. I find the mother lovable but infuriating which is exactly how the daughter feels. The goldfish poop conversation was heartbreaking and it is completely believable that a child would hear and internalize a conversation like that. SPOILER SPOILER – the dad bursting into tears upon meeting his daughter was also very touching. What a sad man he is.

My guilty pleasure is the cdrama Princess and the Werewolf – so silly and enjoyable. Beauty and the Beast (literally) with a little My Roommate Is a Gumiho thrown in. The ML from Hidden Love plays the Beast. I can’t tell if his voice is dubbed or not. Sometimes he sounds like himself and other times not.

I’m watching a kind of terrible t-drama call Trick or Love that has the most nonsensical plot and really terrible subs on Viki. It’s a woman masquerading as a man’s boyfriend so the ML can avoid having to get married. ML (Marcus Chang) from Lost Romance is why I started watching. It’s a bad weirdly addictive drama. Watch with remote in hand and thumb on fast forward.

Will join in the watch of My Lovely Liar.

@Kate – I watch dramas just like you and I like to know the plot. That’s why I like to binge mysteries because I have no patience for the reveal. (I read books the same way).

@Table best healing wishes!

Happy Birthday @HK_Lady 🥳🥳🥳

Enjoy watching. ☺️

Happy Birthday @FGB4877! 🥳🎂

Sorry, I should have included your greeting with @HK_Lady 😊

Enjoy the dramas. ☺️

August 23rd. Jung Hae In & Im Siwan. Scotland. Whiskey. I can’t wait to watch this travelogue, but I don’t know where it will be streaming (it’s being broadcast in JBTC), and there doesn’t seem to be consensus on the show’s title.

Should I say that I took a peak at “My Lovely Liar”?
Well, not a peak really since I watched back to back Episodes 1+2…😁😂

The only I will say is that the plot is promising and Minhyun is way better than AoS 2. If you wander in MDL don’t read those comments that say he needs to improve.

He is getting better in every scene. You should watch the action sequence.

And that’s all I am going to say for now… 😊

@Table122000, I hope that your ankle heals quickly and completely. 🙏 What a bother in the summer! Meanwhile, I hope that you can rock those crutches.

@Welmaris, I hope to watch the whiskey show. I think I heard Im Siwan mention it in an interview, but I forgot. Thanks for the head’s up. I’m hoping for some great scenery, too. And I’m not speaking of shallow island only.

Dear @Fern and @Welmaris, you almost force me to watch that series from the beginning 😉 .

I love both her and her real life sister Hirose Alice.

And yes, that is kind of the point about how beauty give them trouble. I think of being beautiful (or handsome) as having an eight page menu where normal folk have only four yet while the person with only four pages can still take the soul food that will nurture him or her, a bad choice of food can land anyone into an hospital for food poisoning 😉

@Table12200

I wish you a speedy recovery!

‘Lost you Forever’ – unlike so many stodgy Chinese fantasy dramas is so well told that the episodes seem to fly by.

I hope that some of you who are – understandably – put off by the length, will test it out.

I think, for me at least, it’s on a par with ‘Love of Fairy and Devil’ and possibly better.

There are elements of the LOFD dynamic although our FL is nothing like the ingenue Esther Wue character!! There are also elements of this show that remind me of one of the core Buffy the Vampire Slayer relationships (these will only resonate with Buffy fans!).

I can guess where the show will go now we are in Episode 20 – and the opening credits give big hints – which I wish they wouldn’t.

It is definitely slow burn but the level of romantic intensity is high and the scenes are so beautifully set up: under water scenes, flying scenes, a scene which evokes Botticelli’s Birth of Venus and so on.

The dialogue is consistently intelligent.

The design of the different kingdom’s and their clothing is mirrored in the different types of incidental music.

The director said that all the effects and lighting etc are focused, in this show, on bringing out character and story.

It took 183 days to film apparently.

It would be wonderful to be part of such a concerted, creative effort.

The director described her cast as ‘pure souls’…How Lovely. I assume she meant they were focused on making this all it could be and not on ego.

I wrapped up Hold My Hand at Twilight, and am glad that what I feared would happen to a character did not come to pass. I believe the scriptwriter trolled viewers to heighten tension. All things considered, I am glad I watched this show and wholeheartedly recommend it.

I had an hour or two before bedtime, and without prior desire to watch it, I thought I’d give a try to the first episode of the Kdrama Miraculous Brothers because Viki has been pushing it on my home screen. Although the plot synopsis didn’t make it sound like something I’d like, I was intrigued to see Jung Woo in a new role. I haven’t seen him in anything since he played Trash in Reply 1994. Other actors in Miraculous Brothers also caught my eye: Oh Man Seok, who played the main bad guy in Crash Landing on You; and Lee Ki Woo, who played the adorable love interest of Lee El’s character in My Liberation Notes. Getting just a taste with one episode was wishful thinking; I couldn’t stop watching.

The thing that turned me off in the synopsis of Miraculous Brothers, that the lead character takes credit for a manuscript he didn’t write, turns out to be a MacGuffin. It’s an important part of the plot, but more to get the story rolling and contribute to the momentum rather than the main focus. This is a murder mystery with supernatural elements. There are moments of comedy, so it’s not all darkness. Jung Woo plays his role with an animated face, verbal outbursts, and is combative physically (although not very effectively). Stoic, he is not.

Is anyone else watching Miraculous Brothers?

@Kate, yes, I noticed it too each time I searched for Fireworks, I’d see that Want Chu Ran appeared in 2 shows with that word in their title. Now that you’re happy with Tan Jian Ci, I’m curious about her pairing with yet another actor.

I went back to rewatch the last but one episode where I’d seen her before (the not great Love Heals/I Have a Crush on You). Wang Chu Ran wasn’t too bad in that. She made me feel for her when she ‘lost’ her beloved.

That show showcased that the actors manage slow but pretty good English in Africa.

Your review has got me a bit tempted to start Lost You Forever… but catching up with the current episodes is going to take a while. Do they air 2 episodes a day, 3 days a week?

I happened on a shorter cdrama, Exclusive Fairy Tale which is not bad. This show has a childhood friends-to-lovers premise, and promises lots of kisses when they are all grown up LOL.

The predicament remains. Too many shows, too little time or JOMO JOMO. 😝😍🧐😩🫣🤔🤭

Hi @Kate, I take it that you will be here, on this thread, to chat with about Lost You Forever?

I suddenly have 3 things I have to leave home to do today. On top of some work. I’ll see if I can fit in a couple of episodes. 🤔🤪😏😬

@GB – I will be here. If it appeals to you it would be lovely to discuss.

See how you go.

@GB – brilliant that you are up for this!

I had a hope that it might be your type of show!

Because I have watched to the end of what is available, I’ll go back and do some refresher watching from the start. That will be fun.

Today August 4 is my Birthday. Since you have been almost instrumental for me in surviving the Pandemic I just wanted to say Thank You!!!.

Never underestimate the power of having someone who cares about you and listen (reads).

Will have a little party with a friend who came back to vacation. Read you later!!!

Having finished King the Land today, and having time this evening, I decided to watch a movie I stumbled across on Viki: Memories of the Sword. It’s from 2015, and stars Lee Byung Hyun (Mr. Sunshine), Jeon Do Yeon (Crash Course in Romance), Kim Go Eun (Goblin; Yumi’s Cells), and Lee Jun Ho (King the Land; The Red Sleeve). Set in the Goryeo Period and focused on swordfighters, there’s plenty of artfully splashed blood. The storytelling was disjointed, but the cinematography captivating. It has a couple of fight scenes filmed differently than I’ve seen before: one in which the combatants move back and forth between light and shadow, with only their flashing swords seen when they’re in the dark; another fight scene is shot from a distance through heavily falling snow. For those who are in withdrawal after King the Land, you might get a bit of a Jun Ho fix watching him duel Kim Go Eun. Her character’s martial arts skills are superb; if she and Kim Shin crossed swords in battle, they might just fight to a draw.

@Welmaris are you still watching Not Others? I loved Episode 7 – so much going on said and unsaid. I found myself grinning or teary at different points.

Yes exactly! 🙌 I read comments on MDL and I was like people don’t you get it?

I knew Choi Soo Young was in a long term partnership with Jung Kyung Ho. She reminds me of Kim Sejeong in that they’re both singers and very natural actresses. And they’re both pretty but play ordinary well.

Is anyone watching “My Dearest”? it is streaming on Viki. It is a wartime romance set in the 17th century. I am a history nerd, so I already brushed up on the Qing invasion of Joseon in 1636. If you are in a mood for hanboks and heartbreak, this fits the bill. The first episode was lighthearted, but the story made a dark turn at the end of Episode 2.

@FGB4877, that sounds like a good, short drama. Many thanks for the recommendation.

Dear @Welmaris and @Fern, I get some good recommendations for Japanese Dramas in a blog called “That Japanese Drama Guy”.
His direction:

https://thatjapanesedramaguy.blogspot.com/

As for where I do watch them, I have to go to WatchAsian, my particular source has the web direction:

https://watchasian.mx/

Hope you have a good time, Enjoy!!! 😀

@SnowFlower,

I managed to watch the first episode of “My Dearest”, I will tell you exactly what I have said to my friends.

I think we are going to cry buckets with this one. I didn’t have time to watch Episode 2 but I will do so.

Stil, as you pinpointed it is a a wartime romance and not full of politics. I don’t know if there will be Chingus who would like to watch it.

Annyeong 🍰

yay to August Birthdays ✨
Thank you for the birthday greetings @GB (yes, i do have lots of shows and I added more LOL – My lovely liar, Tempted, and Link: eat love kill hahaha).
Happy bday to us, @FGB4877 – we even have the same birthday DAY!!! omg.
Thank you, @agdr03, Welmaris (i started Miraculous brothers but have not returned), Cleo, Fern, and Table122000 (hope the knee scooter helps!).

Dear @HK_Lady, Happy Birthday!!!, better late than never 😉 .

@GB, I have heard much about Lost You Forever!! I will start that sometime after finishing 2 dramas…really cannot cope more than 2 dramas at a time 😅 watching episode 5 & 6 later tonight!

I have started LY7T but at a 2 episode per day schedule as I’m watching with family. The first few episodes is funny, but it took me a while to figure out who is who because there is a lot of info to take in like LBFAD. I like FL and her very anime eyes. So huge! She is naturally cute.

OMG!! ‘My Dearest’ four episodes continues to deliver. I must admit though I knew I was done for at Épi 1, minute 10 (waterworks for me without knowing anything about the characters or plot). Beautiful scenery and heart longing. I know there’s a lot out there but….

@Kelley and @Cleopatra,

I just finished Episode 4 of “My Dearest.” I love history and historical dramas, and this one is very good so far. Episode 4 was super intense!

Sometimes I choose what I watch based on the actors. I saw Lee Byung Hun for the first time as the ML in Mr. Sunshine. He was in the ensemble in Our Blues, which I stopped watching after the first episode because I wasn’t in the mood to witness marital infidelity (not involving LBH’s character). Last week I decided to continue with Our Blues and was glad to see the potential marriage infidelity story arc was short and ended with the marriage being salvaged. I was intrigued by the role LBH plays in Our Blues: a relatively poor man who operates a mobile shop selling groceries, clothing, household goods, and hardware. Wanting to get a better understanding of the departure this role is for him, I decided to watch LBH’s iconic older work, which is what led me to the 2009 Kdrama Iris, streaming on Netflix. In its time, Iris was the most expensive TV drama ever produced in South Korea. It was the most watched show at its time, averaging 30% viewership, and Lee Byung Hun won the Daesung Award at the 2009 KBS Drama Awards.

What do I think of Iris? It does feel dated, but after the initial episodes I’m pulled into the story. It’s in the action-intrigue genre and has a high body count, not my usual fare, but so far I’ve been able to continue watching.

Some production make me laugh: for an organization whose existence is supposed to be top secret, they have everything blazoned with their logo. Did the poor graphic artist who designed their logo get eliminated in order to maintain secrecy? How can the organization stay secret when its SWAT members’ equipment, including bullet-proof vests, clearly displays their affiliation?

@Cleopatra , hi! 😍❤️

We finished mass about 2 hours ago. 🙏🏼

We couldn’t go in the morning because I had to go to the office and my boys were at school and university.

That’s nice! 🥰 I enjoyed singing the songs for Mama Mary tonight. ☺️

I am ok @Cleo 😘

How about you? You ok? 😉

LOL @agdr03! I did look around and wondered if I’d see familiar faces. Maybe a sweet lady looked like someone I know!

😂 she came from Manila yesterday. She’s staying with her friend. She went there to eat and to grab us some Irvin’s. 😋

Kalo mesimeri my friends!

@Packmule3 ❤️

@agdr03, I am okay. Currently relaxing…

@GB Unnie, I am glad that I hear from you!

@Kate, *Hugs*

Sheesh @agdr03!!! Even I who like salted egg stuff didn’t know that we had a brand called Irvin’s LOLOL. I have crispy fish skin snacks at home but they are not with salted egg. Hmmm… this puts me in the mood to go get some!

@agdr03 – I know the year has flown past! Awww….Yes, I am confident that she is in a happy place now. Thank you. Hugs back!

@Cleo – hugs too!

@agdr03, I buy any old brand if I see it, didn’t notice Irvin’s LOL.

@GB – yes. Mini Chubby is a Furball. It’s a miracle he can fly. More suitable for football

XY is sleeping on a Pearl pillow do the “Clam” seems to have those overtones…Will check at source! Haha

@Welmaris, I did enjoy IRIS and liked LBH’s performance in that drama, but I am still upset that he beat Jang Hyuk at the Baeksang awards.

I figured out what you meant, @Snowflower, after doing some online research. At the 46th Baeksang Arts Awards in 2010, Lee Byung Hun won Best Actor (Television) for his role in Isis. Jang Hyuk was also nominated in that category for his role in The Slave Hunters. The Baeksang Arts Awards eligibility period must not align with calendar years, because those two shows aired in different years.

@Good Twin, I really liked Choi Soo Young in ‘My Blooming Days/The Spring Day of My Life’. I’m glad to know she’s done well in ‘Not Others’.

@Snowflower, as I guessed, the eligibility period for the Baeksang Arts Awards does not coincide with the calendar year: it runs April 1 – March 31.

@Snowflower, I’m finishing Iris tonight: one episode left to go. I don’t think it surprising Lee Byung Hun raked in awards for his role in that drama, because his performance was a tour de force. Over the course of the show he was able to display many dimensions and emotions. I think my next show will be The Slave Hunters, so I can determine whether I agree with you, or the outcome of the Daesung at the 2010 Baeksang Arts Awards.

@snowflower, are you still keeping up with My Dearest? It’s turning into my top drama of 2023. It’s like Gone with the Wind—-but better. I hope everyone finishes up their watch list so they can join in on this one. I’d love to read your thoughts.

I am happy to recommend “Grace no rireki (2023)”.

Minako has been married for about seven years with her husband Kikuo. Some time ago she resigned to her beloved work as an Antique Furniture dealer just when she finally got her assignment as a Buyer of Antiques. At the beginning of the series she is beginning a two week holiday without her husband to mark a milestone in her life but just shy of ending her vacation in France she will find herself in an accident in France.

As part of her Testament, Kikuo will find himself in possession of her beloved Honda S-800 sport car called Grace… and her GPS travel directions in Japan for a whole week unaccounted. As far as Kikuo knew she should have been in France from the beginning… what kind of secrets the late Minako had?.

Would love to have a discussion on this Drama just to have the opportunity to share it with all of you. Minako is a female character not to be missed. It is 8 episodes around 50 minutes each.

Dear @PM3, I will let you decide 😉 .

@GB, you will be welcomed when you can join. I know things are getting busy for you 😀 .

Anticipating a big gap, I checked out two shows for later — watched a few episodes of both.

https://www.viki.com/tv/40102c-the-legend-of-zhuohua

The Legend of Zhuohua – C-drama – is a delightful mix of mystery, adventure and female feistiness in the form of a young woman determined to make it to the upper echelons of the academic world and escape unwanted marriage.

Romance, potentially, with the most powerful man in the land, apart from the emperor. He is an older man recovering from a disastrous military campaign and trying to find out what really happened. Very funny dialogue between them at times – he is frequently at a disadvantage. If you like those shows where the FL is plucky, super bright, helps solve mysteries etc you will enjoy!

https://www.viki.com/tv/40098c-you-are-desire

‘You are Desire’ is a modern-day Chinese coming of age drama which has some parallels with ‘Our Secret’ (that show starred the ML actor in ‘Hidden Love’). In this drama we have two unlikely, school desk-mates, whose eyes meet during a traffic jam (!).

Attractive leads. Intriguing story. Nicely filmed, nicely acted – good use of mood and music and humour. Adult characters, perhaps, a little thinly characterised. The actress who played Mum in ‘Hidden Love’ is in this show.

Our ML and FL both have a lot to contend with in their young lives. ML is a bit moody/James Dean with hidden talents and a nice deep voice. FL reminds me a little of the teenage daughter in ‘Crash Course in Love’ (that actress won an award for that role). Both characters have a lot about them.

It gets a BIG thumbs up from me. I was hooked after 2 episodes and I know I will watch it all the way through having dipped my toe in the water.

Oh gosh, the month has flown by and I just realized I’ve never posted anything about what I have watched, been watching, or plan to watch.

So far this month I finished:

—Durian’s Affair (crazy and disappointing ending— I think this was supposed to be multiple seasons and they cut it short. Otherwise the ending really makes no sense. But it was a fun watch until then)

—King the Land (very lightweight, not much plot, should have been 8 episodes not 16–but Jun Ho looked lovely. I FF-ed through it a lot.)

—I started an older drama, Happy Once Again, which began as a lightweight and fluffy watch, but which devolved into too much angst and weeping and “will they/won’t they” delay tactics. There was also way way too much drinking/getting hung over, which I find boring on repeat and when not essential to the plot. I dropped it around episode 10. It would have been a better drama if it hadn’t been drawn out for 16 episodes, and they had cut it to 8 or 10.
[Fun fact: if you ever saw the Conan O’Brien goes to Korea special, you saw him guest appear on a kdrama. It was this one! I didn’t realize they would actually leave that cameo in.]

–I’m Not a Robot (2017) – This one hit the spot for me. Light and fluffy, with a poignant center about loneliness. I’ve been looking for pre-2020 dramas to watch and, like Goldilocks, nothing has been just right until I found this one.

–>Feel free to let me know of your other favorite easy-to-watch dramas from pre-2020 along the lines of INAR.

I’ve started:

–My Lovely Liar – it has been slow at times but I really like the world-building here. It’s very cozy and familiar. I could see myself living in one of those apartments. And watching the ML open up to life has been sweetly moving.

–DP S1 (since it won a lot of awards and S2 came out recently), but it’s too grim for me and I couldn’t finish the last episodes of the first season.

–Destined with You (ep 1). I am not a big fan of Rowoon’s so this is not a big draw for me. I watched the first episode yesterday and it didn’t pull me in. For one thing, the bloody hand creeped me out. I did think the reference to Goblin was funny. If you all start watching it and converse about it here, I’ll give it another shot.

–Moving – This feels more like an American drama than a Korean one. The violence seems gratuitous/too explicit and was off-putting for me. I do like the teenager’s stories and how they are coping with their superpowers. I only watched the first couple of episodes so far and haven’t been eager to return, but plan to revisit it after more episodes have been released.

Maybes:

–Behind Your Touch – I don’t love potty humor but might give this a try if you all still like it after watching a few episodes.

@BethB I dropped Behind Your Touch because of the kidnapper/attempted murderer and then serial killer plots. The juxtaposition of sadistic violence against women with a comedy/romance is too jarring for me. I pondered before whether the serial killer/romance/comedy is a uniquely Korean genre? If there is going to be a murder plot – why must women be the victims?

@Kate – now that Not Others is over I am in a show desert. I started You Are Desire – the lead is very Dylan-like ( from BH 90120 😂 – dating myself ). If you want uncomplicated fluff – everlasting fairytale – is cute. Same FL as in Flying Towards You. She plays essentially the same character – happy, smiley, cute. Jun from Seventeen is ML. I breezed through it.

@FGB4877 I will check it out! I’ll report back.

@kate (and everyone else) I think you’d really enjoy My Dearest. Esp once it gets to episode 4

I started watching “Behind Your Touch” and so far I have enjoyed the comedy, but I find the pacing a bit slow. I really want the vet and detective to start teaming up and solving crimes together.

@BethB: To be honest, I’ve been using the FF button for K Dramas ever since I started watching them in 2014. Slow pacing, boring moments, etc. have ever been an issue with various K Dramas. I remember people talking about the various issues at a variety of forums, and how they FF through episodes. One comment from a post on K Drama Tips for Newbies has stayed with me: “The FF button is your friend.” It still holds true for some shows.
I also remember watching a YT video from the founders of the Dramabeans website (they did a few YT vids back in the day). It was a short video on K Drama “Black Knight” where they posted clip of an episode and then FF it.
This just to give examples that needing the FF button is not a new thing.

@Good Twin: Shows with contrast of comedy/ serial killer vibes could be a K Drama trope. I’ve seen 2 other K Dramas that use these elements in the plotline:

“Girl Who Sees Smells”: One minute it’s a cute rom com, next minute it’s a scary serial killer on the loose, then it’s a cute rom com. *Fun Fact: This was Namgoong Min’s breakout role where he showed his range. After this performance, and with the help of his stint on WGM, he went to the A List.

“Strong Woman Do Bong Soon”- One minute it’s a cute rom com, then suddenly it’s a creepy thriller about a crazy villain kidnapping women and holding them hostage in a dungeon and assaulting them, then it’s a cute rom com

@Good Twin the show recommended by @FGB now has it’s own Open Thread on BOD!

Intriguing little show…

@OAL, are you reading this thread? I hope so, because I want to let you know I’m enthralled by Our Blues. I’m finally watching it, having gotten past the first couple of episodes with a story arc that angered me to the point of dropping the show. I recall your loving Our Blues when you watched it. The stories get deeper and deeper, delving into a variety of relationships and characters.

I chose to download episodes of Our Blues onto my tablet to watch on recent trips by plane. I wanted a show that wouldn’t be visually distressing to strangers sitting near me, so no sword or gun battles with splashing blood, no zombies, no explosions, no crashing modes of transportation, etc. I thought the slice of life in Our Blues would be inoffensive and keep me from getting bored for the duration of each flight. I’m happy to be charmed and entertained by it.

I was several episodes in before I realized that the intros to the episodes are not all the same. I went back and watched all the intros I’d skipped, and am glad I did.

@OAL, Our Blues squeezed my heart in Episode 15 when it wrapped up the story arc of the twin sisters, and now in Episode 17 my tears are flowing because of the grandmother-granddaughter story arc. This show has such good writing, top level acting, and fabulous camera work. Why didn’t we Bitches pay more attention to it? Did it first air against a show that interested us more? Whatever the reason it slipped below our radar, I highly recommend it.

The actress who plays the mother of Lee Byung Hun’s character is well cast. There’s something about their mouths that makes them look like they have a family resemblance. And when Dong Seok (LBH’s character) mocks his mother’s blank stare, he nailed her default facial expression, which means LBH must’ve studied actress Kim Hye Ja well. As the show winds to a close, we see there are emotions hiding behind his estranged mother’s mask.

Hi all,

I’ve caught up now with all the 18 episodes of the ‘Legend of Zhuohua’.

It’s now top of the pops one above ‘Lost You Forever’ on WeTV. Of course, LYF has just finished so viewer levels will be tailing off… but nevertheless, it’s getting a good reception.

I like the way the story is told. There are some very interesting surprises and twists and turns with an overarching mystery informing the whole story and linking our key characters.

I would advise anyone watching this to stick to VIKI avoid the teaser episodes on WeTV. They are not teasers they are massive plot spoilers. I can only say that this show will continue to have twists and turns and reveals.

The cast is experienced and characters convincingly portrayed.

The ML is played in a restrained way by the hugely experienced Feng Shao Feng (Story of Minglan). https://www.viki.com/celebrities/17498pr-feng-shao-feng

I am enjoying the unfolding of the relationship between him and our FL who is being played with a lot of brightness by the younger actress. It is refreshing for me to see this age and experience-gap being bridged, sometimes very comedically, by our leads. It is a grown up romance rather than a heady youthful chemical explosion.

VISUALS –

Don’t be off-put by the ‘visuals’ … some viewers are complaining that they don’t fancy FSF. He will not be everyone’s cuppa! However at only 44, I don’t know if is the styling, make-up or the pulled back hair, but they haven’t been entirely kind to him in the way he is presented. If you look at his VIKI publicity shot and then see him in this show he looks drawn and tired. Arguably, he IS playing a character who is living with the long-term effects of poison – so the context doesn’t lend him that vigorous hero vibe. But I do think some of this may be unintended by the production team.

There are also minor styling problems for the FL. They have put her in this rather hat-like, solid-coloured wig. There is an unflattering, severe contrast with her skin. It looks at times like she is wearing a bobble hat. When her hair is loose and flowing or in a half up-do, it much more natural. Sometimes, too, she seems to be wearing a lot of thick stage make-up. She again – purely visually – is not being presented in as flattering a light as she might be.

Hi, Beth B. Finland Papa was recommended on one of the BoD threads and its brevity lured me in. I liked it. Not earth-shattering, but worthwhile. I liked the clues that were given before we knew the set-up.

Kalimera everyone,

@Packmule3 thank you for enthrusting threads to us! <3

I thought today was already August 30…oops. We have two more full days of August, so I jumped the gun a bit.

I’ve watched the trailers for A Time Called You and am happy to see that the old cassette tape and player are back, although I expect the music to hearken back to South Korea in 1998, not Taiwan. As we saw in Reply 1997, that time saw the rise of K-pop super fandom. Boy bands that were big in 1998 included H.O.T. and Sechs Kies. I wonder if the song chosen to bring about the time slip in A Time Called You will be a nod to Reply 1997.

I am not familiar with past work of either the screenwriter or director of A Time Called You. I hope this beloved story fares well in their hands. Since I like the past work of the three lead actors in A Time Called You, I want this to be a success. Ahn Hyo Seop set a high bar for himself with A Business Proposal, as did Jeon Yeo Been with Vincenzo. I dropped both Little Women and The Secret Romantic Guesthouse, but did think Kang Hoon played the most interesting character in the latter.

@Kate
@GB
@Packmule3

WOWOW 😀

That’s an assignment quality task then .. Feel like my English teacher just told me to persuade my classmates to read the book I loved reading last month.

For some reason the replies to my comments don’t show up in my email inbox .. so it’s by chance, if I happen to return to check the posts again, do I come across replies.

I just finished a close watch of L&P (meaning I took notes and wrote down dialogues – a first for me).

Hmmm now comes the hard part!!
How to hook you ??

Were my language seductive enough wrap and hold the contents in my thought stream .. Ya’ll would be putting the 36 slices of these multigrain episodes one after another in the toaster .. and chowing down – tonite
LOL

Kidding aside.

Lemme think and give it a try.

@Kate

Are you the Kate that left a sequence of reviews as you watched the show .. on the VIKI comments thread?

circa Nov 2022??

If you did write those .. I am in sync with your reactions ;-p

Hi @Bosuji, sadly, I am not that Kate… I like her reviews too!

Sorry we missed all your reflections when they happened.

I am not looking to re-watch L&P at the moment – never say never – but for now I have too many shows on my list.

I did enjoy it and you are making me want to go back and remind myself why – perhaps one episode!!

I also felt concerned about what it modelled for young Chinese women i.e. the woman’s love as rescuer… that taps into a lot of female tendencies to ‘love too much’ and to build relationships based on potential etc etc etc For me. it’s an only in drama land romance. Am I unfair?

But aside from that it was a good show. Our leads were very well chosen.

The comparison with ‘Just between lovers’ is interesting. We had a great discussion thread about that a year or so back. What a superb show. I felt the relationship there was healthier. But I have a misty memory of L&P so would need to defend that view!