K-Dramas

Summer 2023: What I’m currently watching

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1. Queendom Puzzle
I’ve been waiting for a summer survival show since Boys Planet ended a while ago. Episode 1 had such a nostalgic throwback to Hyori’s Toc Toc Toc. Excited for more to come this season.

2. See you in my 19th Life
Such a cool concept of remembering past lives and it’s also interesting how her 18th and 19th life are intersecting. Turtles definitely live a long life…

3. King The Land
I had low expectations for this but Yoona (SNSD) and Junho (2PM)’s somewhat rom com vibe has been working. It’s a silly drama that’s a really easy watch so far.

4. Heartbeat
Airing soon on June 26th, I’m already mentally preparing for this comedic drama with Taecyeon who’s actually very good at being the villian.

5. Numbers
Airing soon in a couple of days on June 23rd, I’m finally ready for a business related revenge drama since Reborn Rich. 

Other

我吃了那男孩一整年的早餐

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Finally watched this slice of life movie, getting really pumped to see Eric Chou this September in Singapore. Great soundtrack and cute movie centered around the theme of “害怕失去，所以愛沒說” There are a lot of one-sided romances in the movie and it also made me crave fantuan. As we learn from the movie 🍙  is greater🥤 My favorite character in the movie was the rapping roommate…

The grass also super green and why does every high school romance end near a train crossing…are there really that many train crossings? Check out the MV below 😉

K-Dramas

Eve

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Eve recently premiered in June 2022 and I am thoroughly enjoying Son Ye Ji’s acting and comeback on screen since ‘It’s Okay Not to Be Okay’. She pulls off this “revenge” aura so well. It’s only been two episodes but the characters are all so evil and…dramatic. It’s a little bit crazy to think that to get revenge, people are willing to plot for 10 years, pretty intense. 

Can’t wait until the two new episodes are subbed 🙂

K-Dramas

A Look Back: Dramas I “finished” in 2021

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Here are all the Korean dramas I either tried to finish or finished in 2021. The best is at the bottom 😉 #dramalife

Snowdrop – This has to be one of the slowest dramas I’ve watched in a while. I was hoping for Crash Landing on You feels since the story is based in North Korea. Think I partly only watched this because Jung Hae In was in this drama…

Melancholia – Seeing math in real life was interesting but the teacher-student relationship was pretty questionable. Do agree that problem solving is only fun if it’s an interesting problem you want to solve.

School 2021 Was initially really excited to see them tackle concepts that impact students in Korea but mostly revolved around corruption in society. The actors and actresses were all very pretty but seemed to lack a bit of substance.

 Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha – there isn’t much to say about this one since the storyline is about a woman who moves from the city to the country-side to start her dental practice. I actually didn’t even finish this one because of cancel culture from the scandal Kim Seon Ho…

Nevertheless – I only watched 1 episode of this because the drama promoted smoking, cheating, poor human values overall…smoking is the absolute worst and I can’t bring myself to enjoy even if both the actors are good-looking

Great Shaman Ga Doo Shim –  The young actors in this short 12 episode series were great, really rooting for both Nam Dareum and Kim Saeron.

My Roommate is a Gumiho – I can barely remember anything that happened in the drama besides the stereotypical story of the two main leads falling in love despite one of them being non-human. I actually quite liked Kang Hanna’s character and was definitely rooting for the 2nd female lead romance.

Doom at Your Service –  I’m a big fan of Park Bo Young but I couldn’t bring myself to get into the drama and didn’t finish. It was missing something and I wasn’t excited about the chemistry between the two main leads.

Vincenzo – One of my absolute favs from this year. This is probably the best thing I’ve watched with Song Joong Ki since his divorce and Taecyeon was a delight to watch as the evil-doer and his little bro was even more hilarious. There were subtle hints of romance but really enjoyed all the plotting of both teams. All the scenes where Song Joong Ki spoke Italian were pretty epic.

Squid Game – Such a big hit, finished in 24 hrs and in two sittings because it was so good. Then thought to myself how great a costume like this would be for halloween and was quite saddened that it became overrated. My halloween costume became the invitation card to squid game which is quite easy to make from cardboard.

Blue Birthday – This web series came up from thin air. Also another one I really enjoyed with younger actors and actresses that did so well. Also this drama inspired me to possibly get a retro camera. But good thing I didn’t, where would I even develop the film?!! Storyline was clever and the method to travel back in time was pretty cool.

That wraps it for K-dramas in 2021 for me. There were so many more dramas that came out in 2021: Penthouse series, Kingdom #2, etc. But I haven’t even attempted those. Most of the genre I enjoy are the slice of life rom coms. Here’s to a better 2022 #dramalife #2022

K-Dramas

It’s Okay to Not Be Okay – Episode 7 & 8

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5/5

I am so jealous of Moon Young in this scene. She gets a hair cut and instantly has a weight lifted off her shoulders. I desperately want a haircut… Then, she has the guy of her dreams tell her she’s pretty, not in a condescending way, not because he’s looking for something, but in a very sweet and genuine way. Why is Kim Soo Hyun’s acting soooo good?!!

I also don’t know how Moon Young deals with her sleep paralysis on the regular. I’m glad she’s got a little Mang Tae to catch all her nightmares. I’ve only felt sleep paralysis once when I first got to college and changed my sleeping schedule. It was the worst feeling ever not being able to move but you’re awake. I attribute it to my late night exercise right before bed… Never again! Sleep is too important.

It’s also super cute how Gang Tae is jealous as one of Moon Young’s fans approaches her for an autograph and photo. Of course, she has an eye out for his shiny and sharp calligraphy pen, calling it “handsome”. Gang Tae gets super jealous thinking that Moon Young called her fan handsome and stalks off after their coffee time. What is it with drinking ice Americanos every time they order coffee in dramas?

Episode 8 ends with Gang Tae finally taking his “safety pin” off. No longer holding in his emotions and really giving it to an abusive man that slaps Moon Young. Man can throw a punch…it’s even more interesting when the camera pans over that Moon Young with a rock behind her back the entire time. She drops it because Gang Tae “saves her”. If he didn’t, she was really going to give it to the domestically violent man.  And it’s just so her to respond that “It hurts” when Gang Tae asks if she’s okay. 

Moon Young’s adamant honesty about her feelings is really refreshing unlike other dramas! I can’t wait for those two to go on a trip together…and where is my freaking kiss scene..it’s been 8 episodes…

#songofthemoment

5 Star Reviews

It’s Okay to Not Be Okay Episode 5 & 6

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5/5

Gang Tae and Moon Young end up at a love motel where our female lead really takes it upon herself to make Gang Tae uncomfortable and feel guilty about calling her an “empty can”, devoid of anything real or emotions. She’s so badass for admitting her feelings so boldly and this definitely pisses off our 2nd female lead, Juri. She goes crazy from her common nice girl demeanor with Moon Young confessing boldly to Gang Tae.

There are plenty of flashbacks of Gang Tae feeling second in his mother’s love after his hyung with down syndrome. The phrase that “Moon Gang Tae belongs to Moon Gang Tae” foreshadows his own brother, Sang Tae wanting to walk his own path when the duo ends up living with Moon Young. We also find out that Gang Tae ends up almost drowning while saving his older brother, but gets saved by Moon Young.

My new favorite character is the hospital director who has extreme psychoanalyses skills. He is very curious and is trying to figure out why Moon Young’s dad has begun speaking. It’s super creepy as we still don’t know why he keeps wanting to strangle his own daughter to death. He also knows the right buttons to push with every patient and every person he encounters at his hospital.

I’m extremely excited for the next few episodes as Sang Tae and Gang Tae both start living in Moon Young’s haunted castle of a house. Can’t wait until there is more drama between our leads! 

#songofthemoment

5 Star Reviews

It’s Okay to Not Be Okay Ep 3 & 4

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5/5

Our main girl Moon Young has just the right amount of assertiveness!  I don’t know how she’s able to declare that she saw Gang Tae in her dreams. Such a boss! Love how she just speaks her mind that way. She’s even more hilarious when she asks Gang Tae if he wants to sleep with her loudly so that the rest of hospital could make assumptions about their convo. She has a way to keep him on his toes and I love the chemistry between the two!!!

Episode 3 was filled with action. I appreciate the diagnosis on why the patients act up the way they do whether their illness comes from the constraints come from parents, friends or society. It really touches on the point of why society believes mental illness is something to hide. I particularly like how this episode is able to touch on Gi-Do’s illness. Him showing up at his father’s campaign really drove it home with him wanting to be acknowledged vs. being hidden or fixed in a psychiatric hospital.

Episode 4 was emotional after Moon Young’s dad chokes her again and the whole story about Zombie Kid. Slightly depressing and gory. Again, the idea what the parents think the child needs vs what a child really wants. Moon Young and Gang Tae exchange some harsh words with one another. Even so, I really can’t wait as we are left Gang Tae looking for Moon Young in the rain (such a K-dramatic moment).

OST of the Week: Sam Kim’s Breath is soooooo good! Definitely on repeat and added to my next yoga playlist for July.

5 Star Reviews

Crash Landing on You

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5/5

Crash Landing on You is one of my top dramas for 2020 so far. It has two good looking main leads, awesome OST playlist, and a great plot! Albeit a little farfetched…but that’s what makes this romance so fun. Yoon Se Ri (Son Ye Jin) gets saved a bazillion times by Ri Jeong Hyuk (Hyun Bin) and somehow survives all the political madness of her family and the animosity between two countries. It’s also pretty hilarious how incapable she thinks Ri Jeong Hyuk is by questioning everything he does.

My favorite episodes were definitely when the whole crew was in “North Korea”. Love the concept of a simple lifestyle and how it goes against everything that happens in modern day South Korea. I’m sure people go to sleep a lot earlier with no electricity. Two of my favorite things about this world is that the pawn shop measures the value of everything by ‘weight’ and Captain Ri’s soldier group. Kim Joo Muk (Yoo Soo Bin) who is a secret K-drama fan (every can relate to binge-watching dramas) and Choi Ji Woo fan is definitely relatable.

Captain Ri is the perfect gentlemen and a wonderful main lead in every aspect, except for the fact that he’s had a fiance since the beginning of the series. This drama revolves around the fate and destiny that brought these two people together so I’m happy about the ending. Switzerland looks like a beautiful place to visit and definitely on my travel list. Who’s with me that these two should get together in real life?!

 

5 Star Reviews

It’s Okay to Not Be Okay – Episode 2

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5/5

I love this entire episode. The transitions between the real world and its fairy-tale like effects is so beautifully done. Even though some people might think that the storybooks are too grotesque, fairytales actually started out quite dark in storytelling. I’m impressed with Moon Young’s assertive nature when it comes to her company and with Seo Ye Ji’s acting skills! She really just does what she wants, so cool.

Our two main leads have an undeniably chemistry every time they look into each others eyes. We also discover the dark past of Gang Tae and his brother. How is a little boy that mature when his brother has down syndrome and his mother commits suicide… And what is this butterfly the keep on going about? I especially enjoyed it when Moon Young came to help Gang Tae and his brother in the middle of her book signing, it’s pretty awful how his brother was treated in public. It’s the best when the heroine comes to the rescue and surprises our male lead.

The relation that Moon Young makes about the red shoes she wears at the ending of the scene and how some things are meant to be no matter how much you avoid totally creeped me out. And finally what makes this episode 5 stars is the awesome ending OST (Heize(헤이즈) – You’re Cold (더 많이 사랑한 쪽이 아프대) I can’t wait til it’s out on Spotify. Definitely adding that to my next yoga playlist.

K-Dramas

It’s Okay to Not Be Okay – Episode 1

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4/5

I was excited to see Seo Ye Ji return to a new drama after Lawless Lawyer. The story-book character setting definitely drew me in and reminded me of some stop motion animation. The vibe is bit unsettling but it’s also what makes this drama alluring. The first episode dives right in to the Moon Gang Tae (our #ManCrushMonday, Kim Soo Hyun) who has a brother with down syndrome, but his brother displays high emotional intelligence as he can tell when Moon Gang Tae brings home a fake autograph signed as Ko Moon Young (Seo Ye Ji), the famous children’s book author.

Nothing seems to phase Moon Gang Tae since he’s worked at a psychiatric hospital for 10+ years. When he prevented a knife stabbing with his bare hands, I was slightly disturbed by his calm disposition. And the flashbacks of Ko Moon Young’s past was scary as hell. That being said, I was also enthused to see his partner in crime: Jo Jae Soo (Kang Ki Doong, pictured above), who played an equally comedic character in Eternal Monarch. I also enjoyed the blatant promotion of the drama in the drama with the bus-stop ad. Clever. Docking 1 pt because the episode shows a bit too much blood for my liking, which makes it gruesome.

Final Thought: Super excited about where this is going as it seems to touch on the point of mental health awareness and even in life that ‘It’s okay to not be okay’ sometimes. Definitely something I can focus on for a future intention for my next yoga practice