Tuesday, August 31, 2010

KNG: Japan has so many different faces

   Kim Nam Gil (Queen Seondeok) who is called "the actor you want to meet the most in Asia" came to Japan for "3rd Japan-Korea friendship Fest". As he is right before his mandatory military service, the activity outside the country meets with some obstacles. Korean Government allowed to it just because this is a cultural event and he was granted the posssibility to participate in it.
Thanks to this "miraculous visit", we had the chance to talk with him, before press conference, about his character Bidam he played in Queen Seondeok, his impression on Japan, and his activity as a charity volunteer, despite unbearable heat.

KNG... again, and again...

***crawling back all on her four, with teary eyes and raw palms, in dust and sweat*** 
Forgive me, Master, I did not hold for a long time.
Dammit, I need to practice more on my strong will. No, not even for you, Namgil-nim! These are my last 2 posts as for today! But since I found that, I think it would be nice to share the translation, cause it's funny (the original, not the process, actually). I let my imagination fly so the translation may not be word-by-word (I hate those), but transposes what's necessary.
Ekhem...
Kim Nam Gil, who left his fans in an inconsolable sorrow by sudden army enlistment, recently returned with the fashion gravure. He may be a bad guy, but he showed us some irresistible charm of the homme fatale in "AD HOC" magazine photoshoot. Urban elegance is based on his strong charisma that makes the air vibrates. The catalogue that conceptualized his homme fatale look for Fall/Winter 2010, has developped classic military style and mixed it along with manly British nuance, but with modern elements. This all created a vintage impression of an autumn look filtred by the urban look. (2010/08/20(Fri) 11:21)

김남길: few videos

You know, lack of anything to do will kill me, so this is the last thing for today, and I'm back to the stuff I need to do. Because, no matter how adorable is this mindlessly staring at KNG, I have my own responsibilities. Eh, stupid life.
Plus yes, I hate his tan now. I know it is the result of all his hardship during those 4 weeks, but it's not that good for the health.
Lose it, love.

Monday, August 30, 2010

김남길: 내마음 2

Pictures from Aug. 24th.
Source: Read here^^
Some more below.
It's about finishing the 4-week training.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Drama Fall Shines in Rainbow Colors

Jang Hyuk dropped out of Secret Garden.
And here my anticipation ends. I really wanted to see him in it. But since I found the plot somewhat not alluring at all, maybe it's for the better? But Jang Hyuk, don't let me wait too long!
So I need to make another list, and it seems like during my absence, some life-altering drama has been decided.
What stays:  
Daemul (The Substitute) with Ko Hyeon Jeong, maybe because of the plot, maybe because of the leading lady. After seeing her as Mishil, I'm sure she can pull off everything.
Chosun Police 3: because it's a bit period. Plus I really need to shake off Jeong Ho Bin as Munno and see him in another role (I hate, hate, hate Munno!!). First season was the best cause it had Ryu Seung Ryong^^
My Happy Home: Because of Kim Hye Su.
Freedom Fighter, Lee Hoe Young: because I like history, especially fighting for freedom. This drama starts today, has 4 episodes in total.
Athena: Goddess of War: because there is no Lee Byeong Heon in it. This is sufficient.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, two dramas I'm dying to see:
Mischievous Kiss: because I want to teach my furniture some tricks, and maybe when they see another wooden table "acting", they will pick up some? I will not stop mocking Kim Hyeon Jeong, I will not, I say my undying pledge, on my dead cat's honor, on blood of my heart, on mountains of this world, on oceans depths, that may claim me if I do! 
Mary Stayed Out All Night: because it is another idol drama, another stupid, shallow plot, hollow characters, and tons of gyuliner in use. We will get a rock-star (we had a pop-star) that is murky, oops, I meant to write mysterious, saturnine, obscure persona (probably guy, but I guess the subplot will be on his attempt in a sex-change). Damn, I'm so waiting for this. Jang Keunsuk in the main role (probably, nothing's too sure yet, but the plot must appeal to him). Ah, ah, a water for my mill... uhuhu!!

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Korean new movies ^^

First, the one I've been anticipating the most for few months already. Because of the director and because of one of the cast. Those who know who they are don't need further explanation. Those who don't: No Regret (2006). Judging from the trailer, it looks like a tense movie. Let's hope it will be better than his latest Short!Short! I think I posted about this movie some time ago, but just in any case one more time^^... Ufufu.
Break Away
Directed by Lee Song-hee-il 
Cast: Lee Yeong-hoon as Kang Jae-hoon
So Yoo-jin as Lee So-yeong
Jin I-han as Park Min-jae
Lee Tae-yeong
Plot:
Abandoning their military post, three soldiers escape together for different reasons. Among the three deserters, Jae-Hoon escapes to see his mother who is on her deathbed from a terminal cancer, the troublemaker Min-Jae escapes to take revenge against his girlfriend who betrayed him and the rookie named Dong-Min escapes unable to bear the constant assaults of his seniors. As the search party closes in on them, Dong-Min commits suicide from the overwhelming pressure. With no way out, Jae-Hoon and Min-Jae struggle to escape the situation with the help of Jae-Hoon’s love interest, So-Young.(asianmediawiki)

SEOUL DRAMA Awards 2010: update

And we are back to the place we left. The voting is now over, and sadly, Lee Seung Ki has greatly over 20 thousands of votes. probably from Chinese viewers and fans. Not that I'm this clever, I just read about almost the hysteria on My Girlfriend is Gumiho, so naturally, everything will follow. Eh, Namgil-nim...

The Seoul International Drama Festival will be held from Sept. 1 to 10 and the final award ceremony will take place at KBS Hall, September 10th, and will be broadcasted live on MBC. If anyone captures this, you will get it the moment I get it. But with MBC, you can watch it streaming.
Chuno and Queen Seondeok were chosen as the representatives of Korean Wave (hallyu), as well as IRIS, and their stars, respectively Jang Hyuk (assa!), Ko Hyeon Jeong, Lee Byeong Heon.
A total of 172 dramas from 43 countries submitted their entries to this year's SDA, the largest to date.
 More here.

Remote place of seclusion

   Yup, that was where I spent last 3 weeks without internet. Do I regret it? No regret^^
I polished (more appropriate would be: honed, hehe) my tongue, I watched some dramas I wanted, I watched some news on TV, I showed SHINee MVs to my mum who liked it.
So no, no regret.
And since I'm dumb, as we all know it even too well, I forgot my camera. All pics taken with mobile, so the quality is so-so.

Queen Seondeok - Who is Who


            To all: this is my own, private take on this drama, written after re-watches (OK, truthfully, from 21st episode, mehehe), so it includes my own personal feelings, and I do not care about opinions of others. This way, you are entitled not to care about my opinion as well. I was thinking about writing a separated insight into one of these characters, but this could prove me speechless.
This drama is not perfect. It has many flaws (I am not talking about the CGI effects used in the battles scenes, but some huge screenplay nonsense as well), many annoying characters, and way too many episodes. This all could be done nicely in 50 episodes. Still, this is one of the best dramas I watched. I enjoyed the show, I was angry, frustrated, I cried, I laughed and I trembled in sheer terror. This is how I watch movies/dramas.
After episode 50th, everything went awry, it looked like if all the crew was fighting each other over the ending and final shape of those doomed characters.
Queen Seondeok ruled the following years: 632-647, and according to some stories, she remained unmarried, and according to other sources, she had two political spouses. Whatever the truth is, it is a solid, proven fact she was a remarkable character, very strong and independent. I was hoping that drama would include the famous episode with Tang envoys and the paintings of peonies. But I didn’t see it. They could do it instead of extended, boring Kim Yushin’s battle of Gaya honor. They jumped 10 years from one episode to the next regardless.
            The truth is, I was addicted to this drama back then, I started to watch it from the 6th episode and I quickly watched missing 5. From then, I was waiting every Monday and Tuesday for new episodes. Around the end of a first half, I had enough. The actions were swift in the first 15 episodes, but then they just protracted all movements. If it was any other drama, I would most likely give up, but it was a period drama and my first watched almost “live”. Therefore, I wanted to continue no matter what. And I’m glad I did.
So much for my personal attachment.

Friday, August 27, 2010

NNK = Neo neun ket

OK, because NNP means Neo neun pet, I decided to twist it a bit. Just in case of any copyright infringement, mehehe.
Read on your own risk, but I do hope it's not boring^^
Names of the persons are full of hidden meanings:
Jebi: Violet (as sumire)
Minam: ee... actually everyone knows the meaning of it
Ryeon: Lily (as yuri)
Moon Jagi: moonjagi means a doormat
Ki Myohan: kimyohan means queer, strange


Dramatis personae:
Jebi: our female protagonist
Minam (stage name: Peach): our…umm, let’s say male, protagonist,
Ryeon: female friend of Jebi
Moon Jagi: Jebi’s boyfriend
Ki Myohan: ex of Jebi
Lots of annoying characters and gap-fillers, unused here, but usually overused
Stage:
Some big city, not important, more details unnecessary cause it’s a big allegory.
Time:
Spring – summer
                                                                        Prelude
            On days like this usually only small signs can point out that some calamity awaits. Things like those are most likely neglected, or treated as not important, and thus overlooked. Ominous signs are reserved for Doomsday. And no, the first episode of the drama with acting furniture is not THAT sinister sign of the approaching Apocalypse. Nevertheless, it may signify something. But the feeling creeping around the ankles like a heavy, dense fog, reaching higher and immobilizing with terror is that kind of sign. There is this suspicion of some bad luck coming our way, and even in the middle of a tropic heat, we can feel a glacier melting down our spine. It can of course be a true glacier in Switzerland, eventually someone (in)voluntary put a cone of ice-cream on our back.
Today was this day Jebi thought everything went awry from the beginning, when she tried to put on her skirt she bought last month. It was too small. It shrank! It’s always clothes’ fault. Always. But even that couldn’t stop her from trying to put it on, but then a button, this small, vicious button, just popped out and landed exactly in the middle of her cup of a black coffee. It’s not like she was a fan of a black coffee, she forgot to buy some milk, and the last one she bought was sour as hell. If Hell has a taste. No wonder, expiration date was set to the last week. She should be grateful that it didn’t walk out from her fridge on its own, but this very morning Jebi had no time to think about the secret life of sour milk.

Thursday, August 05, 2010

Kim Nam Gil: ... my military duty.

   This is my last post before my own duty. I will be back with interviews translated and maybe some other goodies.
As for now, some pictures to share.
I'm not going to turn this blog into one-man only, and flood it with pictures. I don't really care. I post those I want, not all I want. It's not a website.
But if I could create a website... I would not. I'm not that kind of fan. Not a fangirl, not to mention.

Take Off

   If you're not into ski jumping, just ignore this post. But if you are into Ha Jong Woo, like yours truly, watch this movie.
The main axis of this movie is completing the first national team of ski jumpers. While watching Winter Games in Nagano back in 1998, I had no idea about the hardship those guys went through.
The movie is based on the true story with dramatization and characters just for the film. As always.
 First we have a Korea-born man (Ha Jung Woo) who returns to his homeland after years in the US. He was adopted when he was 7. He carries with him the embitterment and he secretly hates the woman who sold him, and the country that didn't want him. Overpassing his personal tragedy, he decides to jump for Korea (he was in the US National Team of alpine skiers).
Then we have an ex-junkie, but talented sportsman (Kim Dong Wook), who is unaware of his non-existent boxing skills, and challenges whoever and wherever. Womanizer (unsuccessful) and hot tempered (successful), he is the exact opposition of calm and focused . Then we have the son of the restaurant owner (Choi Jae Hwan), who is abused by his father and in love with Chinese girl working illegaly at the place. Last, but not least, we have two brothers, the older (Kim Ji Seok), calm and closed, taking after his retarded younger brother (Lee Jae Eung) and grandmother.
All those young men face their military duty, and without them, lives of their families would be hard. So they are tempted by a coach (Song Dong Il), who offers them a parole from the army.

Music^^

Just instead of me. I will try to add more files to the folder today, so you can browse it freely.

Wednesday, August 04, 2010

Bad Guy: 나쁜 남자 : A Successful Guide on How to Ruin Yourself Before Others

   I don't think I will sleep tonight. Or again, I don't think I will have a nice sleep. OK, lets don't overdramatize, I will sleep anyway. There are two solutions: either Gun Wook fakes or he really went crazy. If it's the first one, and from his last gaze in the end it looks like, I don't wanna see him die tomorrow. I mean, I know they planned it for him, but please, pretty please, kill Mrs. Shin. Yes, please kill that b*tch! If not, I'm available and I will do it for free.
Update after watching last episode: August 5th: Assssssaaaa!!! Let her rot in the worst jail ever!!
I did not expect that kind of ending though.

My place^^

OK, I have to cool down after watching episode 16. In the meantime, I would like to present some pictures of the close neighborhood I live in. I live in a quite big city, but I decided to put up those pics instead.
I'm not that good in taking pictures, I like it, and I'm developping a more deep feelings towards it, but still I'm not good at it at all.

Tuesday, August 03, 2010

Bad Guy: 나쁜 남자 : Pictures

Yes, SBS, I took it from your website. Yes, I learned how to do it just because the right-click doesn't work on your pages. It is all for entertainment purpose and for presenting the outside beauty of one man. Cause he presents his inner beauty himself better than anyone, any description, any picture.
That reminds me...
Keunsuk actually did some benefit photoshoot? "Beautiful eyes"?? I know more beautiful eyes. I know more expressful eyes.
Someone just told him to do that to calm down enraged Westerners? Nope, it didn't help. I still see it as a mere prank. He can say what he wants, but he lost the quality that makes a good actor out of a mediocre one. We don't talk about great actors now, sorry. He was happy to stand in front of camera? Of course we know it, Princess, this is all that makes you happy. So stay there.
And for love of Orion, stay THERE not in some stripping bars where are you heading or stages of Asia.
And I feel like rhyming...
There was this boy, his name was Keun Suk
He always wanted get famous so bad.
For his recent actions wanna hit him with rock
And I returned to my previous lad.

A lad not dressed up like gaysha or clown
A lad not showing his recent fetishes.
A silent one like silence that's close to a dawn
A cheerful one as garden that flourishes.

Umm... I lost my inspiration, song has ended. My daimonion is slacking off lately. He never was so smart anyway...
Nevermind. The pictures I was talking about. So, "why did you put Jae Wook as a head picture?", some may ask, and they will have the right to ask that.
I don't know. Cause it was a vertical picture?

SEOUL DRAMA Awards 2010

   That's it. They asked for it. I wrote the second mail, this time not asking for clarifications, but demanding the response. Whatever kind of. What are my points?

1. If you plan to go public, make sure "the public" will be entitled to participate in the activities. If they go with online voting, they should THINK about the whole world. You know, the world does not end on Jejudo! They made English version of the website, good, that means it is made for whom? For Koreans that prefer to cast a vote in English website than in Korean? Give me a break! 
And if you went public just to show how good you are with creating a website (yes, you know C++, I see, oh, that's great...) put a big banner reading: NO EUROPE/WORLD. That way we could just back off.

2. If you plan to kill two birds with one stone, it's better to make your oven bigger. Because sometimes the killed bird is not a sparrow as you expected but a herron. Then what? Put it on the stick? If you make a winning lottery of some kind, it's better to give a choice whether someone wants to participate in it and have a chance of winning something or not. I don't care! I don't want to win anything. (On the second thought, let me think... cozy room with a veranda for watching the moon, a bottle of wine (or a box)... not that bad...). I want to vote, for my mental health sake!

3. Stop screwing with Europe! I know, Asian culture and dramas/movies are not the same pulp as Hollywood ones, they are different (what a discovery, come on, I want a Nobel Prize!), and may be not everyone's cup of (green) tea, but hell, there are people who watch them, who love them, who buy them! We decided to give dramas a chance (even me, and I was strongly biased), and we demand the equal treatment! OK, we know, there never be an equal treatment, cause we are here, they are there, but at least try to understand our point of view. Korean fans are disappointed that their actors do not meet them in fanmeetings once a week? Kiss my Western a*s. This is the only answer I got for your whining.

4. At least answer when someone's writing. It's the principle of a good behavior. If not, trust me, sooner or later our wrath be upon you.


Who is now winning? Lee Seung Ki. Good that voting is not for the Best Actor, but for the Most Popular Actor. If it was the former, it's obvious who should win. I had even no idea who Seung Ki was until Baeksang Awards in March. So I watched 5 episodes of Brillian legacy. THIS is the rival of Kim Namgil-nim?? Oh, pleeeze... Just give me a rifle, I wanna shoot some squirrels! And third one is Lee Byung Hun, and if I know my luck, or Kim Namgil-nim's, I'm sure this will turn out bad. I have no idea who's more unlucky even. This doesn't look good.
But with recent scandal of LBH... hehehe... yess, poor, poor boy. The hell I feel pity! I feel no empathy whatsoever.

Update: OK, I got the response, I know everything now. I explained on DA^^

Monday, August 02, 2010

폭풍전야: Lovers Vanished: Behind The Scenes

   Taking this movie home with me. In case of sleepless nights and as a safe place to run into. Like in this movie would be anything safe. As I wrote, I haven't seen such a great movie in a while. And reading/watching the interviews, or watching "making of" is like breathing the same air they were breathing. There is something alluring in watching how some scenes were made. I find it really hard to be a great actor. This is a hell of work. I don't know if I could forget about 20 people around me and act like that. To show your raw emotions, to behave like you actually ARE the person you play.
Love scene in Lovers Vanished was really bitter. And shot in a way that is different from many Korean and Western movies. Camera was static, focusing only on the faces of Su In and Mi Ah. Very emotional, fateful moment. And really hard for actors. To show love and passion doomed by the actions they were victims of.

Sunday, August 01, 2010

Bad Guy: 나쁜 남자 : why I love it...

... despite all of its faults. The reason is simple. Actually it's without a reason. It's just a feeling.
I have no response from Seoul Drama Commitee. When I will, I will let you all know what is the progress in dealing with ignored fans in Europe. OK. maybe my mail was a bit harsh, but damn, I was so frustrated because of us who can't participate (all I know is that even without filling, the voice is valid), so I wrote it. But maybe they work on it.
Here is one of the reasons I'm stuck with this drama and the reason why I'm taking it on my well deserved, but not too much anticipated, vacations.
I guess, I could recharge my batteries better with you/DA than with my family, but as I wrote, filial piety is something I gained from asian culture through all these dark years of studying.