No clowns allowed.
I treat kdramas, cdramas and doramas like visitors I temporarily invite into my head space. If they’re a drain on my patience and mental energy, I give them a boot to the backside. You see, as I grow older and my time become more finite, I must be selective in the company I keep and prioritize who/what matters for me. I don’t need a circus in my life.
That’s what happened to my April guests.
I was excited for “Yumi’s Cells 3” and “Sold Out on You” to take up residency on this blog, but after viewing the main characters in action, my tolerance for their dramas swiftly shrank to zero.
Admittedly, the novelty of the cells in “Yumi’s Cells 3” has long worn off for me. But although the cartoon characters could still elicit a chuckle here and there, the noona romance in this Season 3 annoyed me to no end. As I said in my First Impressions write-up, Yumi is in already her mid- to late- 30s.
I thought you followed the series, @WEnchanteur? 🙂
A quick google-search supplied the facts. Yumi was 32 years old in Season 1. She dated the first guy for over a year. (Let’s assume she had a little healing period of a couple of months after their break-up.) Next, she dated the second guy for just shy of two years. Then, she went on a dating hiatus for 3 years.
If we do the math, that’s AT LEAST 6 years’ worth of water under the bridge.
So tell me, how is she 38 years old and still unable to navigate her dating life?
She has now fallen for a third guy who’s most likely as young and green as she was when her dating troubles began. Is she stuck on stupid? Does she have a Peter Pan complex or what? Doesn’t she want to grow up and be with adult men?
Since I have no patience for Yumi’s arrested development, I showed that kdrama the door.
Next up on my April list was “Sold Out on You.”
At first, the heroine struck me as the female version of a stereotypical car salesman: pushy and aggressive. Okaaaaaay. I cut her slack because sometimes being a “go-getter” can come off as off-putting.
However, by the end of Episode 1, her self-entitlement was on full display. For me, her rude treatment of the “poor country folk” (aka the hero in disguise) revealed her true personality. Sold out on her? Hmph! She’s the type to sell him down the river.
That’s why I also sent the kdrama packing. The heroine here is beclowning herself like Yumi.
With these two guests out, I can host new guests, hopefully good ones.
1. The Scarecrow
This series began on April 20, but I shelved it because of work. The story gives “Signal” vibes, though, as it alternates between 1988 and 2019 timeline and it involves a detective who was investigating a serial murder case in the late 80s. The case remained unsolved for more than 30 years until modern DNA technology revealed that the real murderer had already been locked up in jail for yet another murder.
The drama is based on a real cold case in South Korea.
But what I intrigued me about this show is the scarecrow on the side of the road as the detective drove back to his hometown. It had a sign on it, “If you don’t turn yourself in, your limbs will rot and you’ll die.” It’s the eponymous scarecrow.
Cast: never heard of them. Park Hae Soo and Lee Hee Joon
Episodes: 12
Start Date: Monday, April 20
Airs on Mondays and Tuesdays
Where to Watch it: Viki
Network: ENA
2. My Royal Nemesis
I’ll just peek because I’m still watching “Perfect Crown.” Besides, I don’t really like the lead actor here. If the plot and his face irk me, I’ll give the show the heave-ho, too.
Blurb from soompi:
“My Royal Nemesis” is a romantic comedy starring Lim Ji Yeon as Shin Seo Ri, a struggling actress who is suddenly possessed by the spirit of a notorious villainess from the Joseon era. Heo Nam Jun plays Cha Se Gye, a ruthless chaebol heir who is known as a “monster created by capitalism.”
Source: soompi
Cast: Heo Nam Jun (ugh! THAT guy from “A Hundred Memories”) and Im Ji Yeon (she’s new to me)
Episodes: 14
Start Date: Friday, May 8
Airs on Fridays and Saturdays (hahaha. Same timeslot as “Perfect Crown”. Byeon WooSeok >>>> Heo Nam Jun
Where to Watch it: Netflix
Network: SBS
3. The Wonderfools
This is all you need to know. The show’s poster says, “Lovable misfits will save the world.”
Cast: Park Eun Bin (“Extraordinary Attorneyy Woo”) and Chae Eun Woo (that handsome guy from “True Beauty”)
Episodes: 8 (I expect them all to drop on the same day)
Start Date: Friday, May 15
Where to Watch it: Netflix
Network: Netflix
As for cdramas, I’m trying to get my game on for “Pursuit of Jade.” I stopped after Episode 12 and can’t find time to watch 28 more. Where can I steal 28 hours?
I hear Yang Yang has a series coming up.
I’ll try “A Splendid Match” with Ren Min and Ci Sha because I want to see if the male actor Ci Sha has finally come to his own. He was the second male lead in “Forever and Ever.” He played the trusted attorney of Ren JiaLun’s character who was secretly infatuated with Bai Lu’s character.
What about you? What guests have you invited in your home this month? Do remember that old Turkish adage, “When a clown moves into a palace, he doesn’t transform into a sultan. Instead, he turns the palace into a circus.”
Hi pcml3! I throw a lot of shows off the back of the bus too, about a 5 to 1 ratio.
Scarecrow: Oh! Good! I was wanting to watch Scarecrow but needed encouragement.
Lim Ji Yeon (Royal Nemesis) — I am totally on this actress’ side. She doesnt have rom-com FL looks (no rosebud lips?). cast over and over again as earthy/coarse. She has done every other genre, action, thrillers, mostly the 2 or 3FL. I havent seen most of them.
She was INSANELY wonderful in the Tale of Lady Ok, and quite cute in the movie Revolver. I hope this goes well.
@ibisfeather,
I seem to be in the mood for detective dramas nowadays. I skimmed through Episode 1 of “Light to the Night” starring one of our faves here on the blog, Dylan Wang, and liked it, too. This is lighter than “The Scarecrow” and there appears to be a supernatural element to it. As usual, the number of episodes (28) is the stumbling block for me.
Lim Ji Yeon is a tabula rasa for me; I have no preconceived notion of how she would/would not act. I can’t say the same thing about her co-star, though. lol. In the three shows that I’ve seen him in, he played a stick-in-the-mud, passive, dull sort of guy. The female costar would be called on to light a fire under him.
I cant seem to plan my cdrama watching, shows sort of drop from nowhere.
However there is one I can see, that I bet will be a sleeper hit, You Are My Fated Lover. Miles Wei is the ML and the director was the editor for Healer back in the day.
Miles was a complete astonishment in Flourished Peony, a powerful actor.
(Flourished Peony was the horse I rode in on and if anyone doesnt know what to do with themselves, go watch it. It was wonderful, both parts)
oops wrong Healer, obviously.
Despite Yumi’s lack of maturity, I’m enjoying the show though. Left with the last episode to finish when I have time.
I thought ML here is kinda unexpected which is prob what the audience wants?
I’m still watching Perfect Crown as it comes out. Loving IU’s character as Huiju and can’t wait to confirm who is behind all the attempts at assissnation. Reading @pm3 and @GB notes but not much to add on my side.
Watching a Chinese drama called Epoch of Miyu.
MDL syonosis goes like this:
“On her 10th wedding anniversary, Xu Mi Yu realizes her perfect marriage is a facade and files for divorce. She starts anew as a room attendant at the Purong Hotel, where Ji Feng, now the general manager, returns to his roots. As they face professional challenges, their support for each other grows into romance, leading to personal happiness and the transformation of the hotel into a Shanghai landmark.”
Anyone watching this? Lots of embarrassing moments but I also want to see FL rise about it all.
Watching Veil of Shadows with hubby on 1.5x cos it’s just too slow on 1x. Very interesting storyline but confusing. I keep forgetting who is who.
Watching on air:
We Are All Trying Here. Amazing, brilliant. Romance and tears.
Light to the Night. Still love Dylan and Pan Yueming is too cool.
A Splendid Match. Ren Min is such a brat. enjoying the first 2 eps.
Happily watching off-air:
Swooning over Rise of Phoenixes. 30 eps down, 40 more to go.
Phantom Lawyer. YYS is a treat in a wedding dress, girls afternoon out.
Wanting to watch: Straight to hell. Dorama.
Sudden urges to watch:
the never-watched Hwarang.
the never watched Six Flying Dragons.
the last rewatch of the about to be pulled from the Netflix catalogue, Something in the Rain. A milestone. Even if my favorite of JHI/Pan Ahn Seok is One Spring Night. I am such a fuddy-duddy.
Forgot Planning to Watch, but with crossed fingers:
Royal Nemesis. Im Ji Yeon is an overlooked talent.
I am behind on all dramas I am interested in. The Scarecrow sounds promising. I do like a good mystery, but I am not sure if the serial killer story line is right for me.
Currently watching The Murky Stream, a rather bleak sageuk.
I will be playing my piano pieces (all inspired by kdramas) in a solo concert soon. I am nervous and excited at the same time.
@snowflower! Wow all the best for your solo performance! Do tell us how it went 🙂 may you enjoy playing it and that your audience will enjoy the music thoroughly! It would be so cool to listen to these ost played live.
@SnowFlower, I’m so excited for you!! Congrats on having a solo concert. May you ‘break a leg’ (and not your fingers!!)! 😂🎼🎹
@pcml3, just dropped Light to the Night in favor of Scarecrow. I am not certain what the director was doing with the Hong-Kong setting and the golden filters but I got really confused by the switching between 1997 to 2015 without any clear visual changes beyond messier hair for the leads. I need more help with complicated plots than that.
Will try it again another time. I have nothing against sad post-industrial landscapes. Born in the Rust Belt here.
Cdrama romantic refinement to the max!
Splendid Match today:
Jin Zhao and young Master Chen at the Cunshan Academy, in the pavilion, meaningful looks and calligraphy compliments!
for fun,
The mdl article today on the Baeksang Awards is really easy to read and fun.
Lee Chae Min got Best New Actor, Hyun Bin got Best (old) Actor.
@Pm3: my response to the call.
YES! I finished YC3.
What I think:
– It’s good.
– However, there wasn’t a HUGE comedy situation like in S1 and S2.
– She gets married. BUT, she shouldn’t have hesitate, but rather think that her biological clock just give her a few small years to make a baby.
– At this point, the high concept is overdone, and anything coming from the cells feels like something we already watched ten times. So it’s better it takes only 8 episodes rather than 14 to concludes.
– Of course, various good moments in the drama, and good feeling during 2 last episodes.
– We can sens that even with this kind of story, SJJ (and team) keeps to think about a drama in terms of “hooks”, or “twist expectations”. So, she writes it with the same mindset than her previous dramas. Many “hooks” in scenes, and cuts, letting use to want to see how it will resolves. Many “unexpected” moments.
– But also, few “tells don’t show” for situations we expect to see it, like the painful apologies that the ML should do to the other annoying writer. It had to be shortened to the extreme.
I just set up PINOCCHIO for the REWATCH PARTY.
Anybody else?
Hi @IB, you mean you have found the link to the drama, ‘Pinocchio’? That reminds me that I’d better check if I have it!!!
Hi GB! I just put it on my watchlist for viki, started the 1st ep, and put the link to the mdl page on my list there for easy access.
I know you put the new schedule for Pinocchio somewhere, but somebody asked and I cant remember where. Can you repost here?
@GB, I am excited to see some of the great older supporting actors listed on the Pinocchio cast; but especially thrilled to be able to watch the toasty Kim Young Kwang again.
One of my favorite overlooked actresses, Im Ji Yeon, has finally gotten her big break, I hope!
Royal Nemesis has taken off in popularity on Netflix.
Hi @IB, oh… who asked for our schedule? Everyone’s welcome to join us:-)
I did not post it yet, but since you mentioned it, I’ve done it up and here it is below.
PINOCCHIO REWATCH PARTY
Pinocchio is a 20-episode series and as it’s a long series and there are weeks I know I will be ‘brain-fogged’ or unable to come online, I’ve inserted 4 breaks. Let me know if you feel you need more breaks.
These are the proposed dates for the rewatch that bring us all the way to mid-November!!!
Episode 1 – 6 June 2026
Break – 13 June 2026
Episode 2 – 20 June 2026
Episode 3 – 27 June 2026
Break – 4 July 2026
Break – 11 July 2026
Episode 4 – 18 July 2026
Episode 5 – 25 July 2026
Episode 6 – 1 August 2026
Break – 8 August 2026
Episode 7 – 15 August 2026
Episode 8 – 22 August 2026
Episode 9 – 29 August 2026
Episode 10 – 5 September 2026
Episode 11 – 12 September 2026
Episode 12 – 19 September 2026
Episode 13 – 26 September 2026
Episode 14 – 3 October 2026
Episode 15 – 10 October 2026
Episode 16 – 17 October 2026
Episode 17 – 24 October 2026
Episode 18 – 31 October 2026
Episode 19 – 7 November 2026
Episode 20 – 14 November 2026
Finished some major projects and binge watch The Epoch of Miyu. It’s a mature urban romance. Nothing too strange and a classic take of a woman who starts from the bottom, working as a room anttendant, after divorcing her cheating husband. I love the actress, Zhuzhu, she is 42 and is like fine wine. This is no idol drama. She pairs with Wallace Chung who, I have never watched in any drama before. He’s 51 but looking so fine, except they can’t seem to style his hair neat enough. I get that they might be going for the Hugh Grant messy hair look but I was mildly bothered by that messy hair, couldn’t they tidy that bunch at the back a bit?
It was a good watch. I wanted to see how they dealt with all the “enemies” and also how the leads got together.
EXTREMELY JEALOUS of all the IQiyi subscribers who will get to watch The Heir, that costume drama about a tribute-ink-making family, which starts tomorrow. No sign of it showing up on Viki.
I am trying to make myself feel better by setting up to watch the Miles Wei (Wei Zhe Ming) modern drama, You Are My Fateful Love which will also start soon.
But somehow….ink and brocade…
@grace
I have been investigating the world of fine gentlemen from Hong Kong due to being smitten with Chen Kun in Rise of Phoenixes.
So I have been looking at the various groupings of actors/directors/leads among what I can find on Viki.
The Sword and the Brocade looks good, have you watched it?
WAATH
the quality of the writing has really tipped over to the point of ‘be there or be square’ — it is astonishing.
I started “my royal nemesis” because in short, the character is Jang Ok Jung, but gone in the future. The drama doesn’t waste time to show her life before, as everybody knows her story in Korea. Just the name was changed to “Kang”. The drama is funny for now, I’m ending episode 1.
Dear Friends, how have you been? Being basically a J-Dorama watcher nowadays, my tastes haven’t been aligned with you all.
That does not mean I don’t miss!
@SnowFlower, you will be fantastic! As a female band teacher in a Japanese movie [I think it was Ueno Juri’s Band Teacher character in “Yell for the Blue Sky” (2016)] said, “practice will never betray you”.
@GB, it is always a pleasure to read you! I forgot the “Imaginary Cat” watch.
@Grace, I didn’t finish “Perfect Crown”… but the scene where Hui Ju makes the female students that threw her eggs scared for their lives while passing her arms over the shoulder of one and stroke the hair of another made me think… she will raise the kids well.
Now maybe I am a sadist ;D .
It is also a pleasure to read you both @Ibis and @WEnchanteur.
Have been watching “Miss Pilot” (2013) about a lovely if slightly dim Izakaya daughter finding her passion as an ANA (All Nippon Airways) pilot. I am at episode 9 out of 11. It goes through the training phase for said role. The flight portions fascinates me, the human ones… not so much.
That is not to say that there isn’t any love or thought on the script, it is just basically an ANA Pilot recruitment tool. Even the plot twists follows that philosophy. Once you understand that, basically all the inside logic fits.
Currently rewatching “AARO” (2024), a procedural involving seemingly supernatural cases. The first five episodes are OK, by Episode 6 a whole new layer is opened which makes for a more interesting viewing.
Tried to get into an Asadora after ending “Hiyokko”. Chose “Carnation” (2011). By Episode around 13 I couldn’t stomach a certain character (it is well written for its purpose – so it is a matter of taste) so let the Dorama go. Just like you, dear @PM3, I am becoming more selective in what I do with my time.
Hope to read you all soon!
Sorry, made some typos last night. I miss you all, but my tastes nowadays diverge from yours.
Will also do my best to make some reviews of the actual Shows I finish.
Read you all soon!
Hello @FGB, it’s good to know that you’re keeping up with watching jdoramas. Yes, please do post your reviews of shows you’ve watched, if it has a strong human interest element as well as a mystery to solve, I may be tempted to try it too.
I used to be a completist when it came to drama-watching, however after enough frustration over time wasted on stuff I could not appreciate, I’ve become selective and willing to drop shows pretty quickly, so welcome to the show-dropping club!
@FGB, thank you! The concert went well. I will have another one in the fall. Better start practicing now!
I am catching up on dramas. I finished Low Life and The Murky Stream. Currently watching Undercover Miss Hong. Interested in Perfect Crown, We Are All Trying Here, and Scarecrow.
Just checking…
Hi @IB, I can read you here. Fingers-crossed for all future posts!!!
I started We Are All Trying Here. One minute I am annoyed, the next I am a sobbing mess. There are so many memorable quotes, I have to pause and process.
We Are All Trying Here finished up today. It was splendid.
I talked back to the screen constantly; I had to close the door so no one could hear me.
Crying and laughing sure, but giving the characters advice? It was embarrassing.
I REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY loved it.
But it does take a bit of fortitude, just like life does.
@Ibisfeather,
I have watched 7 episodes of WAATH. I am mesmerized. I am looking forward to finishing it, and then rewatching.
Just started the Scarecrow. Thanks to @pcml83 for the idea.
Not a romance,and more of a police procedural than a thriller.
Looks like a good one, not too outre.
Similiar to the Nordic policiers of the last decade.
Except, so far, the ML isnt deeply alcoholic and depressed.
And it has finished airing, so it is ready for a hot day’s indoors-with-the-blinds-half-closed-binge.
I watched the first two episodes of Perfect Crown and I am ready to drop it. I find the FL obnoxious and manipulative. Does the show get better or should I just read the recaps?
@Snow Flower, to your question on Perfect Crown, my response is that because it was meant to be light and OTT, it never bothered me so I watched it to the end and liked that all main characters were developed. They improved and were thoroughly likable. 🙂
Here we are at the fill-in part of the end of the month!
Apart from A Royal Nemesis still going strong, and a super-adorable little Li Yun Rui modern cdrama (Dazzling) just starting,
nothing else on the romance front.
Personally I believe that the veteran supporting actors are the absolute heart of kdrama’s perfection. So, for anybody who likes action-comedy and doesnt mind spies, gangsters and your basic punch-up, Fifties Professionals is replete with pleasures.
oof.
When big production cdramas suddenly land on N-Flx or viki, it feels like a huge bird, thump! Wings flapping, dust settling!
So — Ashes to Crown starts tomorrow (1st of June here, 2nd in China) — director Yang Long and FL Chen Du Ling, from The Glory my favorite melo-tragic cdrama, and ML Zhou Yi Ran from 12 Letters.
June is here!
See you all on WAWW June!
About Ashes to Crown, My instincts all say that this is the modern chinese theatre tradition, international and deeply national, that this is the training from the capital’s acting schools.
If you like classic cdrama, this is a great watch (and only 24 eps!!!). Great plot, great acting. It does actually have a strong romance, which surprised me, so I am putting that out there for anyone who is still reading this very thin thread..
I looked up the last gameshow question on the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon and found this in Wikipedia:
“Bacon is the subject of the trivia game titled “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon”, based on the idea that, due to his prolific screen career covering a diverse range of genres, any Hollywood actor can be linked to another in a handful of steps based on their association with Bacon. The name of the game derives from the idea of six degrees of separation. Initially, Bacon was dismayed by the game but the meme stuck; eventually, he embraced it, forming the charitable initiative SixDegrees.org, a social networking service intended to link people and charities to each other.
The measure of proximity to Bacon has been mathematically formalized as the Bacon number and can be referenced at websites including Oracle of Bacon, which is in turn based upon Wikipedia data (and formerly from Internet Movie Database data). In 2012, Google added a feature to their search engine, whereby searching for an actor’s name followed by the words “Bacon Number” would show the ways in which that actor is connected to Kevin Bacon. This feature is no longer active.
A similar measurement exists in the mathematics community, where one measures how far one is removed from co-writing a mathematical paper with the prolific and itinerant mathematician Paul Erdős. This is done by means of the Erdős number, which is 0 for Paul Erdős himself, 1 for someone who co-wrote an article with him, 2 for someone who co-wrote with someone who co-wrote with him, etc. People have combined the Bacon number and the Erdős number to form the Erdős–Bacon number, which is the sum of the two.”
Interesting , I had no idea of this connection. I knew of the play and the movie from the 90s, I think, but I did not know The Expression had been further popularized. I don’t think he was in the movie , but maybe he was.
Hi @MM, it took me a long moment to realise that I’d posted the above on the 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon (6 DoKB) in this WAWW thread… I meant to post it on the Pinocchio thread but it does not matter.
To those who are wondering what I’m referring to… in Pinocchio, Dal Po (our hero) enters a Game Show that asks General Knowledge questions, and one question was about this ‘thing’ where people are supposedly somehow linked to each other much more closely than one would expect.
I’d never heard of it before.
Yes @MM, I checked if Kevin Bacon knew about the trivia game before it was ‘created’ using his name. Chat GPT tells me:
“As far as the public record shows, the creators of the game did not ask Kevin Bacon’s permission before inventing and naming it. The game was created in 1994 by three students at Albright College after they noticed how many actors could be connected to Kevin Bacon through films.
Kevin Bacon’s initial reaction was actually negative. He later said that he disliked the game at first because he thought people were making fun of him. However, after meeting the creators and seeing the good-natured spirit behind it, he came to embrace the idea. He even wrote the introduction to their book about the game and later launched the charity initiative SixDegrees.org, inspired by the concept.”
I liked that in the end he embraced the concept and did something good using it.
@GB! Great post. Thanks. I had no idea and I dont have the excuse of not-my-country. My nose was buried in work then.
Since Pinocchio 2 isnt up I wanted to mention that the show is quite topical for me here, and that I am admiring, as always, the way real human drama is how kdrama works through those complexes of feelings.
In Ah’s fantasy relationship with her mom irked me as does her idealism about TV journalism. I begin to realize that in that arty inside-outside way the story helps some of us work through our feelings about corruption and politics and truth.
I was watching a recap of an interview with one of the hosts of a venerable sunday cable news show, whose boss actually pressured him and his news team not just to slant a story politically but to obfuscate actual facts. He stoutly proclaimed that “without journalism there is no democracy”.
It makes me think abt the history of yellow journalism here, where the titans of the gilded age actually owned the first nationwide o(often viruylently populist) newspapers, whose personnel eventually wrested moral control and turned on their bosses to expose urban miseries and corruption.
In Pinocchio as usual all of our (the audiences) separate feelings stemming from the history of the media and journalism in our separate homes are exercised and somewhat exorcized by a story of the human heart and inner moral compass. How does she eweigh and combine all those elements: other journalists and their bosses, the usual incorruptible Korean youth of the Hallyu fiction and that glory of Kdrama, the family torn apart and mended? We get to watch.
Hi Ibisfeather I also noted the quote “without journalism there is no democracy” when I was reading about this journalist. Yes Pinnochio is very topical.
cdrama alert for rakuten viki watchers!
First Jasmine has been picked up by viki for tomorrow!
Bai Lu and ChengLei. I am very excited to see Lin Mu Ran again (little Sui brother in POJ), main cast.
My Royal Nemesis: Drop at Ep4.
After a nice episode 1, it was really weak after.
+ the plot doesn’t progress, repeatitive situations and encounters.
I’ll try Wonderfools. From my french drama team, they say it’s good.
Wonderfools is short and sweet.
I am bore by Perfect Crown.