Just started watching 'Love Song for Illusion' currently on Episode 3 and loving it so far, liking both male and female lead and the story line although typical but still able to capture my interest and I'm looking forward to watching the rest of the episodes.
Disney+ Star decided to get into streaming #kdrama over a year ago. It was a bit odd as they don’t stream the equivalent for #cdrama & #jdrama - which are bigger markets.
They also went for suspense & thriller options such as Vigilante & Big Mouth rather than romance/sageuks.
One series - Moving - has collected major critical acclaim, topping best of 2023 lists globally.
Part SciFi, part thriller, part comic coming of age, it is deeply steeped in metaphors about Korean history & politics.
A hilariously accurate representation of my taste. Mostly 😆 However, this graph is not 100% accurate as I went on a documenting spree in May last year when I joined Mydramalist and had been watching #KDramas for some time. In 2023, I watched mostly #CDramas and they were definitely not romance dramas.
I prefer #KDrama romances over #CDrama ones, so I tend to skew there. Also while I tend to pick a show for its fantasy angle rather the romance, but these shows are often are romance focused too.
From MyDramaList's 2023 year summary. This is actually a good reflection of my taste in dramas. (Note the lack of romance dramas lol and lots of wuxias & thrillers hehe.) And apparently 90% of my dramas are rated 7 or 8, and about 8% or so are 9.
The #MyDramaList Asian movie and TV database doesn't have the best minds.
Last month, they implemented a "new" rule that they will follow episode listings for #Kdrama based on how the episodes are listed in Korea.
This was the rule they cited to justify their decision to split #DeathsGame into Parts 1 and 2.
(One main staff even had the audacity to blame Korea for the confusion in MDL. Like, LOL, MDL doing its own thing is what's causing confusion in the first place!)
I told them that the best solution is to WAIT if the official source will reset the episode count back to E01.
Nope. MDL did their own thing still, stood by their own "new" rule.
The episode count was reset back to E01 for the remaining 4 episodes.
They refused to listen to my suggestion, so now, they just created a whole mess of their database and community.
Korea is not making things confusing, it is their staff that is making things confusing. All they have to do is follow the official sources, as they claim they are doing (but not).
If the official source listed the episodes like this:
S01 Part 1 E01, 2, 3
S01 Part 2 E01, 2, 3
Then we follow that and split the show into Parts 1 and 2.
Otherwise, if the official source listed the episodes like this:
S01 E01, 2, 3
S01 E04, 5, 6
Then we should follow that REGARDLESS when the other episodes were scheduled to be released/aired.
Everyone else, like TMDb, IMDb, etc., are following the official sources. But MDL wants to do its own thing, then blame Korea for causing confusion.
I called them out for one last time. If they don't fix this, then that's the final nail in the coffin: they lie about following Korea's style.
It's rare to see mid-season breaks in #Kdrama land. While there weren't any for the ones I'm watching, it did feel like we had a two-week holiday break.
So a Discord group I am part of asked - what 12 dramas will I recommend people?
So this is a list of my favourite #CDramas and #KDramas. Have you seen any of them?
He borrows someone's motorcycle to steal her purse just to mess with her and it gets her hit by a car?! Seriously?! If the worst could happen, it happens to her. Wowza.
And yet he wants God to spare her life. I'm thinking her life really supers sucks right now. I'm not sure if she'd agree to that deal. #kdrama#UncontrollablyFond
Right when Park Seo-jun's character said he was screwed, and then smiled? It made me think of Byun Yohan in Mr. Sunshine as Kim Hui-seong. That rich, handsome, charming, smarmy capable guy.
Motorcycle mechanic Han Sohee? Yes, please!
Except, I am a person who always notices hands. Finger shapes, etc. And Han Sohee has unique paddle-shaped thumbs. (At least in "Nevertheless.") The hands assembling the motorcycle and pouring the petrol do not.
The front desk guy at the pawn shop has a very eye-catching knit vest!
Is the water that those two imprisoned women drinking contaminated with that tiny monster tadpole? Blech.
I love this watching the cherry blossoms slowly bloom as an indicator of time passing.
Wi Ha-Jun playing the piano! All kinds of eye candy in here.
So, if Myeong-ja is pregnant and drinks the monster juice, does her fetus become a monster?
Ohhhh so the creature with the necklace is Han Sohee's lost mother?
I have WORDS to say to the lighting director on this show. Stop putting such harsh light/shadows on Park Seo-jun's handsome face!
This scene where they are talking about trying to get into Onseong Hospital - Seo-jun's flustered face is adorable. I heart him.
I hear there aren't a LOT of scenes with Wi Ha-Jun. I think that's good. Having those two handsome faces on the same screen in the same scene too often would be too much.
Ope, the barmaid is going to rat them out.
FACEHUGGER! "A goddess has been born!" Uh, don't mix work with pleasure, my dude.
Uh. That hand symbol? Aka "the shocker"? Is the symbol of the patriotic society? 😬🤐
"They seem to take their work as seriously as I do, right?" That sounds more like he feels inferior to their dedication and thinks he needs to step up a bit himself.
Is that amazing art deco staircase the same one used in #Snowdrop?
Tell Me That You Love Me 1x09 "Episode 9" ★★★★★★★★☆☆
I love how they presented the (1) reaction against deaf people; and (2) a parent's concern for their beloved child.
It was a very good opening for episode 9.
Another thing. They paid attention to the difference between "hard of hearing" and "deaf"; and they did not use the word "mute".
It's close to me because I have a heart for them since I was a little kid. I even studied the #FilipinoSignLanguage or #FSL in 1995/1996, and they told us this:
"We are not mute. We can speak because we have our own language, just like every human being use languages."
We need a #kdrama starring Lee Jong-suk and Kim Yoo-Jung just so that their mirror-matching moles at the corner of their eyes can combine for super powers.
Making out with handcuffs while the CCTV is off in the prison, eh? wink wink nudge nudge
WHAT IS THAT BLACK AND WHITE PLAID OUTFIT he is putting on? Chaebol fashion tends to be loud, but that is really fucking loud! Picnic blanket ass chaebol suit.
Oh ho! Option 4 of the x-rated sexy sequel is his choice?
A fake marriage is the ONLY lie they could think of to get her out of jail? Really?
If it was hard enough comprehending existing solely as the main character in a comic book, how hard would it be to find out you only exist as a SIDE character in someone else's story?
It's a bit cowardly to make his secretary/body guard give the wedding ring to her, though.
This episode had me just SMILING as they went through the lovely little loving acts a couple can do together. Tie her hair up? Snuggle in bed while reading a book together? The female gaze is strong in this one. (Not complaining AT ALL. I am 💯% for this kind of content.)
But it has me thinking about the same questionable ethics this series brings up. Before, he was a manly man with a big titted potential female love-interest, shooting stuff, and fighting bad guys. That was her dad's dream Yang Cheol. Now he's handsome, thoughtful, romantic, snuggly dude. Is he now just being the character in her book? I mean, we know he is. But there is a shallow assumption that he's doing this romantic sequel storyline of his own volition. And ... I am not convinced that is how this will play out. He is too perfect. Just like he was the too perfect manly man. Now he's the too perfect gentleman.
Thanks to folks on here who recommended the #kdrama "W". The promo image never grabbed me, so I don't know that I would have picked it myself.
It was so good!
About a woman whose father is the author of a series of comic books, "W," and how suddenly the barrier between the real world and the comic's world gets fuzzy. Somehow, she and the comic book hero fall in love?
It could have been cheesed up to the gills, but it took the storyline seriously, and in thoughtful ways I did not expect. The ethics behind character creation and plot devices?
Action, romance, sci-fi, and Lee Si-Eon being an over-the-top hubae.
(It did bother me that he kept calling the FL "noona" when, in real life, he's 5 years older than her.)
Having just finished "Moving," which also stars Han Hyo-joo, AND she starred in the excellent "Happiness," I have to add her to my list of favorite actors!
You know, one of the most interesting criticisms I heard of #KDramas this year was that it's becoming too "Westernised". (This was in some forums I've been in.) TBH, I didn't understand what they mean, but when I watched #TheVigilante, I got an inkling. It felt unnecessarily violent, gory & had little heart. It was well-executed but I just didn't feel moved by the main lead's murderous motivations.
Don't know, something feels off with Kdramas lately but I can't put my finger on it.
OK, maybe Almighty Ju really was the soul mate of Gu Won when she was younger, and somehow made a deal to get Do Do-Hee as her heir? 🤔
But it sounds like 10 years might be the general contract length, and Do-Hee has been with Almighty Ju slightly longer than that?
So far, they've indicated to not take this show too seriously. I think the play on Pok-Gyu/Fuck You with the middle finger is a big flag to the audience: this is just for fun.
Yay, I love that Cha Chung Hwa gets to be both the gravelly-voiced unhoused person AND an elegant rich lady. She plays so many great characters.
But looking her up on MDL, her character's name in this show is Noh Suk-Nyeo. Which makes me wonder if she is related to the other Noh family members?
So Gu-Won has to decide between killing the human woman he loves or regain his powers. And he was having so much fun doing couple things like dates, tandem bikes, picking up your drunk partner...
Star Jin continues to be bold-faced in how little she cares for Do Do-Hee. "Here's a container of poison I just carry around with me, as a normal person does. Take it to kill yourself during your honeymoon tonight so I can continue with my unrequited love of your husband."
Also, was that a reveal that the nephew who beat his psychiatrist up in a bathroom might be Good Actually? He's just tailing his dad?
And the cops found TWO frozen corpses in the actor's bunker? Plus the burned corpse? I still don't think any of them were the actor.
How is Mr. Perfect cousin going to beat Gu-Won now after an epic fiery save like that? Or is he going to show his true colors now (hinted in the preview for next ep)?