Arrived in Seoul pretty late. Decided to do the convenience store thing for dinner. I checked banana milk, triangle gimbap, & ramen off my list of things to try once.

#WhooshTravels #Korea

#kDrama #WhooshReview

*** Love Your Enemy ***
(2024 - Viki 12 1:10 eps)

[!!CW!! Synopsis & non-spoilery review.]

A trope-filled romcom about rivals since birth. They meet again at their old school as teacher & admin. The old relationship battles begin again.

Both MLs were great, but FLs fell flat. The saving grace in this drama is the backstory. Both of the young leads are fabulous & their chemistry can be felt!

It had a lot of potential, but every storyline seemed to miss the mark & it feels like they pulled problems out of a hat to fill space. Fun cameos & FL's grandpa is a great character, with a couple of his own storylines but neither end up being what they should have been. The love triangle is handled well & there are some funny moments if you aren't looking for reality.

It did make me interested in Ju Ji Hoon's other work & I will be on the lookout for those young actors.

https://mydramalist.com/763553-love-on-a-single-log-bridge

#LoveYourEnemy #사랑은외나무다리에서 #JuJiHoon #주지훈 #JungYuMi #정유미 #KimYeWon #김예원 #LeeSiWoo #이시우

@buca @ronsboy67

I've only seen the Korean. How is the Chinese version?

@ronsboy67

Oh! I started tearing up just seeing this shot - and I saw this about a year ago!

Definitely one of the saddest!

#kDrama #FatedToLoveYou

Since we have so many new people in kDramaLand, I thought a round of "What are You Watching?" might be interesting.

*** Currently Watching ***

Watchparties:
- When the Stars Gossip (airing) some of the most unusual scenes I've ever seen in kDramas - loving it so far
- The Imperial Coroner (#cDrama) very funny & interesting
- Love Scout (airing) very lovely, but slow on the plot??

- Check in Hanyang (airing) funny, then slumpy, then oh wow - they didn't!
- Empress Ki : excellent in so many ways, but also tortuous (very slow watch for me)
- Where Stars Land: good, interesting about the airport, doesn't know how magnets work, lots of staring into eyes.

#kDrama

What are you watching?

How is everyone starting the new year - drama-wise?

*** Watch Parties ***
- The Imperial Coroner: great #cdrama funny & interesting.
- When the Stars Gossip: (airing) just watched the 1st episode - so funny & strange

*** Airing ***
- When the Phone Rings: 1 eps to go - lots of mystery has been fun

- Love Scout: Just watched the 1st eps. - very engaging

- Check in Hanyang: binged 1st 4 eps. - pretty funny (running a Joseon resort like "King the Land" sort of thing)

*** Others ***
- Empress Ki: slow going because I just know it's not going to end like I want it to.

- Eulachacha Waikiki 2: stupid humor, but on a Kim Seon Ho quest - good when there's too much tension elsewhere

- Where Stars Land: on my Chae Soo Bin (When the Phone Rings) quest - interesting to see the workings of the airport.

#kDrama

For the mothers who do so much:

"Dear Mrs. McCallister,

In 1990, I was about the same age as your son Kevin, and he and I were on the same wavelength—that is to say, I judged the hell out of your parenting. Poor Kevin. The youngest of an indeterminate number of kids, with an antagonistic older brother, a creepy uncle, nasty cousins picking on him in his own home… and a mother who couldn’t give him the time of day."

https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/a-letter-to-kevin-mccallisters-mom

@KDramaQn

I just finished episode 3 & I'm hooked too. It's so bizarre!

#kDrama #TheTrunk #트렁크

@buca

Também só temos quatro episódios! Estou em #kDramaCurrentlyAiringHell.

“The Trunk” é proximo. Continuo vou vendo “The Penthouse” e “Empress Ki”, mas às vezes há algo novo que me chama a atenção.

PS: Peço desculpa pelo meu português. É divertido praticar.

2024 has been a great year for kDrama!

Currently obsessed with: "When the Phone Rings"

Almost any mystery & I'm trying to figure out the clues. But this one even has my watchparty friends in a flurry to figure out what's happening.

Very interesting mystery & great chemistry!

#kDrama #WhenThePhoneRings #지금거신전화는

2024 End of the Year Drama Challenge

Day 1 - Which types of dramas do you prefer?

Korean almost exclusively because I'm working on learning the language.

But for genre, I don't have a favorite. KDrama has made me love horror, slapstick, makjang, slow burns, sad endings & more.

The most important thing to me is a good story and good character development which impart wisdom in some form.

#EYDC2024 #kDrama

@buca

I see it as a continuation of the "contrast" theme. Many of the scene changes show you the opposites - fancy food/instant food, lonely people/people surrounded by loved ones, busy/bored, successful/failure & the story also shows peoples' lives being contrasts too - poor dad/rich dad, loved dad/lonely dad, accomplished yet lonely mom/loved yet unfulfilled mom.

Her brother was sick as a child and given special treatment because of it. She's always been jealous of this. Then she was sick & no one knew, so not only did she not get special treatment, but judgements about her taking time off work were harsh.

Throughout the series, the contrasts come up and hit the characters with realizations about their lives.

I was surprised by the cancer at first too, but it works as part of emphasizing the contrasts.

#kDrama #LoveNextDoor #엄마친구아들

#kDrama
Cinderella at 2 AM
(2024 - 10 1:05 eps)

A rich chaebol son with a poor office worker who is older & has had responsibility for her brother since leaving her parents behind as a high schooler. This has made her pragmatic. When she finds out her young boyfriend is the 2nd son of the company owner, she knows the relationship is unrealistic. When mom offers money to break up, she takes it.

Good acting, good OST, nothing extraordinary in set design, cinematography, or costuming. There were a few gems of wisdom in the writing, most was lackluster & predictable. The brothers were great together & the 2nd couple was very cute - they stole the show. Good fluff, with some occasional unexpected depth, but then a little disappointment because those hints of something more never came to fruition.

https://mydramalist.com/756753-cinderella-at-2-am

#CinderellaAt2AM #새벽2시의신데렐라 #ShinHyunBeen #신현빈 #MoonSangMin #문상민 #YoonPark #윤박 #ParkSoJin #박소진 #WhooshReview

@liztai I adored it!

#kDrama
Unlock My Boss
(2022 - Netflix, 12 1:00 eps)

A surprising delight! The title & synopsis do not do it justice. The CEO of a tech company is missing, but his soul finds its way into his phone, which an out-of-work actor finds. The CEO/phone convinces him to be the acting CEO & to help him find out what happened.

The CEO has a little girl & the maid, the butler, the secretary, the new CEO, & the bodyguard develop such amazing relationships with the child & each other. Just a bit of romance, sweet found-family relationships, & bromance raise this drama from a regular mystery thriller to an experience looking at what responsibility means & what we would do for family, society, & our morals. It also brings up questions about AI & its uses.

The leads were great, but a shout-out to Kim Sung Oh. This is the first darker role I've seen him in & he was so perfect.

https://mydramalist.com/707565-unlock-the-boss

#UnlockMyBoss #사장님을잠금해제 #ChaeJongHyeop #채종협 #SeoEunSoo #서은수 #ParkSungWoong #박성웅 #WhooshReview

#kDrama
Sweet Home - Season 1
(2020 - Netflix, 10 0:52 eps)

Another great action (with gore) horror series. It focuses on 1 apartment's inhabitants as some people become monsters. We see psychological struggles (child abuse, bullying, suicide) in the characters. The monsters, though mostly unique, seem to have a theme & can be funny in a dark way. The acting is superb & the cast worked well together.

At 1st we are introduced to many characters & deal with flashbacks, which can be confusing. Surprisingly, in 10 eps, we see a lot of char. dev. & feel something for these characters. With this star-studded cast, you never know who will survive the entire series, so dangerous situations are scary & intense. Questions about being human, compassion & empathy are brought up.

https://mydramalist.com/34064-sweet-home

#SweetHome #스위트홈 #SongKang #송강 #LeeJinWook #이진욱 #LeeSiYoung #이은래 #LeeDoHyun #이도현 #KimNamHee #김남희 #GoMinSi #고민시 #ParkGyuYoung #박규영 #GoYounJung #고윤정 #KimGabSoo #김갑수 #KimSangHo #김상호 #WhooshReview

@dikgelukkig

I loved "Perfect Marriage Revenge," but I haven't see any of the others you mentioned. I'm going to have to look them up.

#kDrama

@Missrdevine @dikgelukkig

An English version of "Perfect Marriage Revenge?" Is it named something different?

It's been a while since we asked that all important question:

What are you watching??

Me? I'm watching:
with Watch Parties:
- Korean Odyssey: my favorite zombie ever & why I went looking for more Lee Seung Gi
- My Sweet Mobster: too adorable

- Bring It On, Ghost: just 1 eps, but fun!
- Dr. Romantic Season 3: great continuation
- Sweet Home: ack! horror! So intense! (luckily watching with @EllenInEdmonton or I might not be able to sleep)
- My Dearest (it's kind of been on hold - I know I'm in the minority, but it just seems to be dragging... Someone give me some motivation to continue.)

I was thinking that since I can't get interested in "My Dearest," I might start "Missing Crown Prince" so that I have an historical in my rotation?

#kDrama

@liztai

I love the kDrama, kPop, & Korean Language learning groups here in the Fediverse - such a nice group of people.

Thank to all of you who make it great here!

#kDrama #kPop #Korean #LanguageLearning