[Rearview Mirror 2020] Korean Series

And the last installment of the series is - Korean dramas. On this list there are 3 mini-dramas I somehow forgot to list on the Mini-dramas post, as well as anthologies - SF8, Drama Special, and Drama Stage. Every episode of the Drama Stage and SF8 has a separate short review on this blog, so in case anyone wants, it's easy to look for.

KBS Drama Special 2020: Stealing Sleep/While You're Away

 This was a cute little story about meeting again and learning to open up.

[Advent drama calendar 2019] Day 5: A Drama With The Most Innovative Premise

Hands down - The Boys.

TV Series Opening 37: Chuno (The Slave Hunters)

Oh, this series is still among my favorites!

Three Nights With Chunnie

   Except for Secret Love Affair, this is the only currently airing series I'm loving to bits. I'd add God's Gift Jo Seungwoo, but as much as I love the said gift, the drama does not keep me engaged as others. Proof? I still have 4 last eps to watch and somehow always find something else to do.
However, Witch's Romances started as some wicked fun, so I had to add it to the list.

The Three Days With Chunnie

I can't possibly miss Chun's new drama. I could miss it only if it was a medical one. Thankfully, it is not. According to AsianWiki, the drama takes place when "The South Korean President travels to a villa to enjoy his vacation. After three gunshots are fired, he disappears. His bodyguard Han Tae-Kyung (Park Yoo-Chun) attempts to find the President."

Where politics meet magic

   Out of frustration that I'm unable to finish what I'm writing, lack of time to do it and lack of sugar in my blood, I decided to write some of my (hardly any) thoughts on drama that lately became kinda crack for me. Let's hope I won't have the compulsory rehab when all goes wrong, but so far, The Great Seer kicks ass. Literally. Some of the character settings remind me of Gyebaek, but it's understandable, because it all falls neatly in the pattern of "Birth of a Hero", so I'm not complaining. Can't complain about archetypes anyway.

Little drama to defend myself

   Can't complain, we had beautiful October this year, and the sunshine "slightly" disrupted both my work and drama-watching. But since last Sunday one wheel of my bike almost exploded, I'm confined to the room, actually doing something. Not because I want to, I have to. *slurps coffee*

I'm trying to keep up with dramas that started last weeks, but will plunge more into it next week, I guess. So far, I put on the list The Great Seer and anticipating few more.

It takes a man to kill gumiho

If they don't get "Best Couple Award" of 2012 I don't know who will. But I will forgive you.

   I dare say that The Thousandth Man is one of those little gems that pass below the public attention because of not flaunting stars-studded cast, heart-wrenching revenge or well tailored suits that underline men's but... built. It's a fact, it had two idols as the main cast: Namslut Namstar and Hyomin (from T-tanic drama). And as much as I saw Namstar being a little nervous because of his first acting job, I like Hyomin and I don't care. This drama had me from the first episode. Normal characters (oh yeah, gumiho as "normal", nice standards, E.!), lots of funny situations, yet lots of bitter remarks that looked as if the writer had a beef with so called "real life".

Hoya's Answer to 1997

Quite big interview, provided kindly by infiniteupdates.
Really, really interesting read.

Arang and her posse

      So here I am, watching Junki's drama and worse - enjoying it to the maximum! Shin Mina acts cutsy-wutsy, but so far not to the level of annoying the hell (oops) out of me, and surprisingly, I don't cringe at Junki's acting, but I'm having - to quote Asspen ski instructor - "a good tiiiime".

Appearance of Yoo Seungho definitely helped this pervi nuna to stick to this drama as well, ekhem.

You know I'm quite shallow.

Wow, Fantastic Baby!

   This is all I have to say about this season's dramas. Of course not everything is perfect, they could have been even more meticulously done, but it's not like we're watching documentary series, right?

If someone wants to see how a society behaves or how big companies work, one should watch maybe Planete, or read some sociology articles/books. If someone expects from a drama a 100% identity with the real life, well, I have some bad news for them.

Answer to 1997 - interview

  

  Translation of the interview with PD of Answer 1997. Worth reading, seriously.

Oh, hay, Sham^^

Since our PD likes our Junhee so much, let's hope he'll make this perfect namja also a happy namja.

You have Answer to 1997?

   Let me say one thing first - I worship tvN and their dramas. I don't know how they do it, but they can bring freshness, originality, boldness and ideas main stations are shy of. I'm not saying other broadcasts don't try, but since tvN is a cable one - it has a lot more of freedom. And uses it wisely. Last year's I Need Romance's ending disappointed me, but one drama doesn't make the exception a rule. And the rule is - tvN can make series.

Friends and Foes

   George Michael sang in Star People 97: "It's a dream with a nightmare stuck in the middle" and this one sentence perfectly describes the latest mess in Gaksital. I want to say it loud and clear - I don't like the love line there. I just don't. And it's not because I don't like love story in a drama/movie/book in general. I do like it. But a proper one, when I actually can see it. If I don't feel those knots you (or maybe just me) feel while looking at some love on screen, it means I don't care about characters, and I usually have no interest in drama either.
I don't feel "love" there between Kangto and Oh "Pansy" Mokdan. This is why it's this "nightmare" in the middle of an overall great series.
With few ladies we devised even a plot for her - self-sacrifice for her "wuuv", for her country and people. Just, please, disappear. In Capital Scandal we also had a main love interest of our own Seon Woowan (Kang Jihwan), but the girl was brave and had guts! Mokdan is just lukewarm, overcooked noodles.
Enough of this, back to politics...

The Chaser

   Sometimes I don't post all what I'm watching in the sidebar, especially when I'm doing 16 episodes in a weekend (jeez, that sounds slutty, even as for me, ekhem). And I usually don't write posts about non-subbed dramas. But I decided to make a fuss about the one that ended today, so maybe more and more people would demand the subs.

The Chaser, be warned, is not a pleasant drama. 

According to asianwiki:

Detective Baek Hong-Suk (Son Hyeon-Ju) lost his 15-year-old daughter in a car accident and his wife died from shock shortly afterwards. Detective Baek Hong-Suk then searches for the truth related to his daughter's death and learns that her death is tied into a conspiracy.

Reporter Seo Ji-Won (Koh Joon-Hee) is the owner's daughter of a large corporation. She helps Detective Baek Hong-Suk to uncover the truth on his daughter's death. While covering the story, she finds out that her brother-in-law (Kim Sang-Jung), a top presidential candidate, is involved in corruption. Reporter Seo Ji-So comes into conflict between her family and the truth.

Shunji = Kangto

-To him while yet an infant Pallas gave- (…)

-Two drops of blood that from the Gorgon fell.

-And on the human frame what power have these?

-The one works death, the other heals disease.

(Ion by Euripides)

The last time any drama made me think of and dissect so much every second scene was The Princess’ Man. Both series are set in tumultuous and bloody times in Korean history, the former when Prince Suyang deposed his nephew and had hundreds of people slaughtered and the latter during Japanese occupation. Both series are tense and heavy. And both deal with treason.

Gaksital annoys k-netizens

You know I don't hold 95% of netizens in high esteem anyway, but what lately was provided by Hancinema article is just plain idiocy at its finest.

First, the article and my ramblings later.

The appearance of Kimigayo and the Japanese rising sun on the KBS 2TV drama "Bridal Mask" is in the heat right now. There was a scene where Chae Hong-joo (Han Chae-ah) sang a Kimigayo in front of the rising sun in celebration of the Japan-Korea Annexation on the episode on the 11th.

Mok-dam Sa-ri (Jeon Noh-min) planned to start a bomb while Chae Hong-joo was singing but failed when Kimura Shunji (Park Ki-woong) got a hold of it. The appearance of the Bridal Mask ruined the Annexation. Netizens say, "This is appalling, in public too", "Was it necessary?", "There would've been other ways to do this but this is provoking" and most are very criticizing about this.

Some say, "There probably wasn't another choice if they wanted to go with the flow" and more.

And now, let me feed on this amount of nonsense.

Queen Inhyeon's Man - background

   When SKKS was airing, I wrote about noron-soron hostility and court wars. The situation now, in QIHM is actually the very prelude to that situation.

Queen In-hyun's Man

   Since my friends are evil and without any mercy, plus, they're good at teasing, I started to watch this drama. No, no drama, series. Yet again, tvN proves it can make visually great series. Yet again I proved to myself I'm a "first episode" girl. I loved the first episode. I loved it.

First thing first, I had no intention to watch it, knowing it won't be full sageuk, but a hybrid one, with the motif of 'time jump'. Poster for this drama, as I wrote someplace else, was enough to put me off. Plus, both leads were not actually my cup of tea. Somehow I couldn't see them in sageuk settings, Yu Inna - because she's too doll-face, Ji Hyeonwu - because he's too tall.
Stupid reason, I know, I'm full of stupid reasons just fine.