Gu Family Book Final Episode 24 Review

Bae Soo Ji (Suzy) as Dam Yeo Wool and Lee Seung Gi as Choi Kang Chi

So, before this drama began airing, I was thinking Lee Seung Gi + Gumiho = LOVE because my all time favorite drama is My girlfriend is a Gumiho which he stars in as the male lead. After watching the first 5 episodes of Gu Family Book, I wasn't convinced of Suzy and Seung Gi as a couple, and I was getting bored of this show. Overall, I am glad I got encouragement from my tumblr followers and finished this drama because it was damn good entertainment. It's not the best supernatural infused drama out there, but it has some redeeming qualities.

30 Day Kdrama Challenge: Day 9

Day 09: Your Favorite Line/s by a Male Third Wheel

Lee Hong Ki as Jeremy

I felt so bad for Jeremy in You're Beautiful when he was rejected by Go Mi Nam (Park Shin Hye). My favorite lines from a male third wheel character happened after he found out Mi Nam is actually a girl, but she still doesn't like him. Of the three guys that liked Mi Nam, Jeremy was the only one who went a majority of the drama thinking she was a guy. He cared about her no matter her gender, but was admittedly relieved when he discovered her female identity. See my favorite quote of his below. Watch You're Beautiful subtitled and free on DramaFever

Gu Family Book OST

Gu Family Book is a fusion of many different drama genres. It's a combination of Saguek, romantic comedy, action and adventure, supernatural, girl mistaken as boy (for a few episodes), and melodrama. I plan on discussing this drama more in depth for my final review next week, but for now, I present you with the beautiful OST. The songs features in this drama capture its epicness quite well, and they add sweet romance to already emotional scenes. This OST is separated into 8 parts with 2 special albums as well. Click on the links below to download the music. Enjoy!

Album info

Artist: Various
Language: Korean
Genre: OST
Release Date: April 8th - June 18th 2013

New Taiwanese Drama: Love Around Episode 2 Review

George Hu and Annie Chen

Well, I am currently writing for the Shark and Love Around Drama Clubs on DramaFever's blog. If you want to get the low-down on the 2nd episode of the new Taiwanese drama Love Around starring the swoon-worthy George Hu and the adorable Annie Chen, visit the post here.

30 Day KDrama Challenge: Day 8

Day 8: Favorite Line(s) by a Female Lead Character

Moon Chae Won as Seo Eun Gi

Oh god, I'm getting choked up just thinking about this scene. My favorite lines from a female lead character are the ones in Seo Eun Gi's monologue during episode7 of Nice Guy. The scene I'm referring to happens after Eun Gi breaks free from her house imprisonment to confess her love to Ma Ru who was beaten upon Jae Hee's order. In that moment I forgot that I was watching a scripted TV show. I felt as if I was witnessing someone pouring out their heart with complete sincerity. Eun Gi was seeking love so desperately because of the lack of affection from her father that when she found Kang Ma Ru, she let her guard down and become completely vulnerable. What a great scene. Watch Nice Guy (Innocent Man) subtitled and free on DramaFever

30 Day Kdrama Challenge: Day 7

Day 7: Your Favorite Line(s) by a Male Lead Character

Honestly, I am not good at remembering lines and quotes (especially when I am reading it instead of hearing it), so I will talk about a drama that had a lot of good lines in it. I think Lee Min Ho's character Jeon Jin Ho had quite a dew funny lines in Personal Taste. Both times I have watched this drama, I LOLed during the scenes when Jin Ho was teaching Gae In (Son Ye Jin) how to be a woman. She is such a hopeless slob, and he is such an uptight prima donna that he has to use some brutal tactics from his "gay" arsenal to instruct her.
Watch Personal Tase subtitled and free on DramaFever

30 Day Kdrama Challenge: Day 6

Day 6: Your Favorite Song From a Kdrama OST

I think my favorite song from an OST, for right now anyway, is "Winter Love" by The One from That Winter, the Wind Blows. I also LOOOOVE Shin Min Ah's "Sha La La" from the My Girlfriend is a Gumiho OST. There are so many, though, that it's hard to pinpoint just one. It really depends on my mood. I also really love the opening and closing themes of the Taiwanese drama Summer Fever, both of them are performed by Gui Gui.

30 Day Kdrama Challenge: Day 5

Day 5: Your Favorite Female Third Wheel Character

Lee Min Jung as Ha Jae Kyung in Boys Over Flowers
source: alvaroyreyes.blogspot.com

Lee Min Jung is an awesome comedic actress. Her character Ha Jae Kyung in Boys Over Flowers is my favorite female third wheel. Jae Kyung was tough, spunky, and, in some ways, the girl version of Goo Joon Pyo. Even though she grew to like Joon Pyo and also wanted to be loved by him, she gave that up in order to unite him with the girl he loved, Geum Jan Di. She was jealous at times, yes, but she never became the psychotic girl who would do anything to win the guy.

Watch Boys Over Flowers on DramaFever subtitled and free

Join me in the 30 Day Kdrama Challenge heckyeahtumblrchallenges.tumblr.com

30 Day Kdrama Challenge: Day 4

Day 4: Your Favorite Male Third Wheel Character

Park Ki Woong as Won Kang Hwi in Full House Take 2

Ahhhh! I absolutely fell in love with Park Ki Woong while watching Full House Take 2. The male lead, No Min Woo's character Lee Tae Ik, was prickly and a complete diva, but Kang Hwi was sweet, funny, and caring. Even though this entire drama was quite ridiculous and Kang Hwi had the weird story lines involving the rich Chinese family that adopted him and the blindness, I couldn't help but root for him. Also, I think Park Ki Woong is cute enough to pull off any hair color, and I loved him as a blonde. I gathered way too many screencaps of him from this drama, so I shared a few of them above.

Watch Full House Take 2 on DramaFever subtitled and free.

Join me in the 30 Day Kdrama Challenge heckyeahtumblrchallenges.tumblr.com

30 Day Kdrama Challenge: Day 3

Day 3: Your Favorite Female Lead Character

Lee Yoo Ri as Seol Yeon Hwa

I just watched Ice Adonis (Yellow Boots) a few weeks ago, and it quickly flew into my VVIP drama list. One of the main reasons for that is the female lead character Seol Yeon Hwa played by Lee Yoo Ri. In this 108-episode-long melodrama Yeon Hwa is framed for murdering her finance's sister, sent to prison for 8 years, and just generally beaten down. I won't post any spoilers here for those who haven't seen it (and I encourage you to watch it if you haven't), but once Yeon Hwa begins her revenge against her very evil stepsister, she is so awesome and bad ass that you really won't even care what guy she ends up with. She doesn't need a guy to protect, she just needs some friends to support her. Join me in the 30 Day Kdrama Challenge heckyeahtumblrchallenges.tumblr.com

I mean, look at this picture? Isn't she gorgeous like a princess? Anyway, you can watch Ice Adonis on DramaFever subtitled and free.

30 Day Kdrama Challenge: Day 2

Day 2: Your Favorite Male Lead Character

source: en.korea.com

Lee Seung Gi as Cha Dae Woong in My Girlfriend is a Gumiho is my favorite male lead. I promise I won't use Gumiho during every day of this challenge, but it fits during these first two. Anyway, Dae Woong is cute, funny, and genuine. Even though he was afraid of Mi Ho at first, as any sane person would be, he was never an awful jerk like some Kdrama lead males can be. Also, he was a spoiled grandson, but throughout most of the drama he wasn't rich which separates him from other male lead characters as well.

George Hu and Gui Gui

Another male lead I want to add is George Hu as Lin Ming Kuan in the Taiwanese drama Summer Fever. *Melt melt melt* He is so gorgeous. But he is also kind, loving, and smart. Notice how my two favorite male leads aren't rich assholes? Yeah, I know this kind of disqualifies every other Asian drama male lead, but my heart tends to sway stronger toward these guys.

Watch My Girlfriend is a Gumiho and Summer Fever on DramaFever

Join me in the 30 Day Kdrama Challenge heckyeahtumblrchallenges.tumblr.com

Kdrama Giveaway! [CLOSED]

This is my first blog giveaway, but I am excited about the prize package that I put together for a lucky follower. They are cute and silly items that I think a drama fan will really enjoy to have in their collection.

Prizes include:

A couple's set of the replica bullet shell necklace as seen in City Hunter.

A cell phone strap version of the pig rabbit doll from You're Beautiful.

A replica of the "kissing star" necklace from Boys Over Flowers.


















UPDATE I received all of the items, so the pictures above are what the winner will get! That's me in the second one, I look cray because it's about 90 F in my house today, so I'm dying. The necklaces are next to my Lee Min Ho calender for a special touch.

1. You must follow or be following me on tumblr. Click here to view my tumblr page
2. You must either reblog the identical post to this on tumblr (click here) or comment here. If you comment here you should include your tumblr URL in the comment so I know who you are. If you reblog and comment on this post, you will be entered twice and have a better chance of winning. You can reblog multiple times to be entered more as well, but don't go crazy. I will use random.org to generate the list of names, and I will go down the list if the first winner doesn't respond.
3. The winner must have an open ask on tumblr so I can let you know that you have won.
4. I will ask you to provide me your address so that I can ship the prizes to you (this giveaway is international so anyone can enter).
5. The winner must respond within 24 hours of when I message them, or I will proceed to the next name on the list.
6. No giveaway blogs.
7. Entry closes 11:59 PDT on July 15th 2013.

I am going to have a giveaway later this summer for a prepaid 3 month subscription to DramaFever, if all goes well with this one.

30 Day Kdrama Challenge: Day 1

I was browsing on Tumblr, as I do, and I came across someone's post about their 30 Kdrama challenge. I've seen posts about these challenges before, but I never really thought anything about it. Tonight, though, I have decided to proceed with the challenge. Yes, this means I will publish mini posts every day for 30 days in accordance with the challenge.

If you want to join me, I will be using this challenge from heckyeahtumblrchallenges.tumblr.com. I will also post my daily challenge on my Tumblr.

So here we go...

Day 1: Your Favorite Kdrama

Shin Min Ah and Lee Seung Gi
source: me!

Well, my favorite Kdrama is still the very first one that I ever watched, My Girlfriend is a Gumiho. It is comedy, tragedy, and romance in perfect harmony.The lead actors and secondary actors play their parts just right, and the whole drama gives off a radiant sincerity that I was (almost) instantly attracted to. I was baffled by the intensity of my emotional attachment to the characters, and I regret nothing. I am glad this is the first Korean drama that I watched because it encouraged me to watch more.

Watch My Girlfriend is a Gumiho on DramaFever

Upcoming 2013 Korean Dramas

Well, we are almost halfway through the year, and it is basically summertime. A new batch of Korean dramas just started, including: Shark, I Hear Your Voice, Nail Shop Paris, Dating Agency: Cyrano, Monstar, and Hearltess City. In this post, though, I want to mention a few upcoming Kdramas that I am looking forward to. As we all know, everything must come to an end, but in the Korean drama world the end of one means the start of a possibly amazing new drama.

Kyung Soo Jin
source: koreandrama.org

Eun Hee

Links: AsianWiki, Han Cinema
Cast: Kyung Soo Jin (Shark) and Lee Jun (The Slave Hunters)
Begins: June 24th, 2013
Thoughts: It basically sounds like hundreds of other Korean dramas involving birth secrets, a jealous girl, and a love triangle. I liked Kyung Soo Jin's acting as the young Hae Woo in Shark, so I am considering watching this drama, but I am not 100% sold just based upon the information I found so far.

Moon Gun Young
source: viki.com

Jung Yi, the Goddess of Fire

Links: AsianWiki, Han Cinema, Couch Kimchi
Cast: Moon Gun Young (Cheongdamdong Alice, Mary Stayed Out All Night) and Lee Sang Yoon (Life is Beautiful)
Begins: July 2013
Thoughts: This is a sageuk about the first woman who worked with ceramic in the Joseon era. It sounds like it could either be incredibly boring or epic and interesting.

Kim Jae Won
source: soompi.com

Scandal

Links: AsianWiki, Han Cinema
Cast: Kim Jae Won (Can You Hear My Heart, May Queen) and Jo Yoon Hee (Nine, Lie to Me)
Begins: July 2013
Thoughts: It could be interesting. The plot is set around Jae Won as a detective who finds out his father kidnapped him. I will try it because I like Jae Won, hopefully it's better than the last drama he was in, May Queen.

Lee Jun Ki
source: photucket

Two Weeks

Links: AsianWiki, Han Cinema
Cast: Lee Jun Ki (Arang and the Magistrate, My Girl) and Kim So Yeon (IRIS 2, The Great Seer)
Begins: August 2013
Thoughts: It sounds right up my alley. It's going to be about a man who is framed for murder and finds out he has a daughter with leukemia, and he spends two weeks trying to save her. I think Lee Jun Ki will be great in a role like this. I am looking forward to it!

Sung Dong Il and Lee Il Hwa
source: facebook.com

Answer Me 1994

Links: Drama Beans, AsianWiki, Han Cinema, The Drama Corner
Cast: so far Sung Dong Il and Lee Il Hwa (the parents from Answer Me 1997)
Begins: Fall 2013
Thoughts: Answer Me 1997 was one of the best dramas of 2012, so I think many drama fans are excited about what the sequel will be. So far there is no definite information, but it looks like it may start airing this fall.

Lee Min Ho and Park Shin Hye
source: vingle.net

The Heirs 

Links: AsianWiki, Han Cinema, DramaFever Blog
Cast: Lee Min Ho (Boys Over Flowers, Faith), Park Shin Hye (You're Beautiful, Flower Boy Next Door) Choi Jin Hyuk (Gu Family Book, Panda and Hedgehog)
Begins: Fall 2013
Thoughts: I need more Lee Min Ho in my life. I have been listening to his album My Everything, but I need some visuals too. One thing I'm skeptical about is that this drama may be about rich high school students. Lee Min Ho is older than me, and I don't think he looks old, but he can't pull off acting as a high school student anymore. We'll see...

Please comment here or contact me via email in the side bar and let me know about any other upcoming Korean, Taiwanese, Japanese, etc. dramas that you are excited to watch.

The Liebster Award

Instructions:

List 11 random facts about yourself.

Answer the questions designated by the blogger (s) who nominated you.

Place YOUR nominations for the Liebster Award! Nominate five (or more) other bloggers that have less than 200 followers. Make sure to notify them via comment/email, etc.

Make up a set of questions for those nominated bloggers to answer.

Display the Liebster award badge on your blog!

11 Random Facts About Myself

1. I have 4 dogs: a Scottish terrier, poodle mix, a lhasa apso, poodle mix, a Chihuahua, Yorkshire terrier mix, and a jack Russell terrier.

 2. While watching Kdramas and writing for this blog take up a lot of my time, I do have a full time job that steals me away from Kdramas. I was just promoted, and it is stressing me out. I will continue to use Kdramas as a therapeutic tool.

3.  I love Korean cars. My first car after I graduated from high school in 2007 was an ‘07 Hyundai Elantra. I just upgraded to a 2013 Elantra Limited. It’s red, has heated seats, leather interior, sunroof, navigation system, basically it’s my dream car.

4.  I live in a small, redneck-infested town not far from Portland, OR. I have lived here since I was 8 because I moved back in with my parents to save money. At this juncture, I don’t really have any plans to move out. In fact, I started a rose garden in my parents’ yard.

5. I used to be an American TV addict before I started watching Korean shows. Some of my favorites include: One Tree Hill, BH 90210, Gossip Girl, Parks and Recreation, 30 Rock, Revenge, The Real World, Friends, Seinfeld, etc. there are too many to list them all.

6. I LOVE Kpop right now. A side effect of my Kdrama addiction is a less severe Kpop obsession. SHINee is my favorite. I get that they are all really flamboyant young boys, and it’s a bit weird. I can’t help but love the music and choreography, though.

7. This summer I am all about “billowy” tops. Any time I am out shopping with my gay BFF, I always get really excited when I find a flowing shirt, especially if it’s colorful.

8. I went tanning in a tanning bed twice because I wanted to try it once before I die. It was awful. The bed had a weird chemical smell, and I was burnt for days.

9.  I love Lavender and rose plants. I have a garden with 6 different types of Lavender and 8 different colors and varying types of roses. They look beautiful and smell great.

10. My fuel is Red Bull. I know it is probably killing me, but when I drink a 20 oz, you wouldn’t believe how many episodes I can watch in a row!

11. I have 3 tattoos: a unicorn on my left calf, a cockatiel on my right calf, and quotation marks on my feet. I want to get my unicorn colored in someday, and I want to add more to my feet tattoos.

My Nominations

I don’t really know if my nominations all fit within the parimeters, but I love these blogs and I am going to go with it:

http://leeminhosnoona.tumblr.com/ She probably has more than 200 followers, but it’s Tumblr so it’s different

http://www.youtube.com/user/divaandthediamonds My blogging buddies started a vlog group on YouTube. They are funny and adorbs.

https://www.facebook.com/shimseoulmate?fref=ts She has more than 200 followers, but once again, I love her blog so I’m foregoing to rules.

http://ahoneylust.blogspot.com/ She writes about movies, TV, fashion, everything!
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTTwmCLjuQEKg3e5kv8KqFA He is hilarious and insaaahn.

http://monika-leeminho.blogspot.com/ She always posts about Lee Min Ho, and that’s something I love to see.

http://kenyaqueen.blogspot.com/ She has already been nominated, but I love her blog. She has great insight and ideas about Korean dramas.

Questions I have for the bloggers I nominated

1. What are you currently addicted to/ obsessing over?

2. Where is the last place you travelled to by plane?

3.  What is your favorite thing that you have posted as a blogger?

4.  Do you have any weird talents?

5. Tell me about your best friend.

Questions from Kenyaq

1. Why have you chosen to blog?

I had so many feels from watch Korean dramas that I needed to get them out somehow. It’s my therapy J

2. What's your favorite way to pass time?

Watching TV and/or shopping. Watching TV and shopping at the same time refers to shopping online, of course.

3. If you could go ANYWHERE in the world, where would you go?

Seoul would be amazing, but I’ve been wanting to go travel around the Mediterranean countries for a long time.

4. What's your fondest memory?

Hmmmm… I remember my childhood fondly overall. There were times when things were difficult, but I love my family and we are a pretty close group of people compared to some families, I think.

5. How do you express yourself apart from blogging?

I guess through my garden. It’s so relaxing, but it requires physical work so I have to put myself into it and concentrate.

6. What type of music do you listen to?

Kpop and American pop music. I also like some Indie music too. The Kooks are my favorite band.

7. What's your ideal date?

First we would go to dinner at a fancy restaurant and I would order filet mignon and lobster with a vintage wine pairing. After that he would take me to pick out a Fendi purse… wait, am I gold digger all of the sudden? Probably.

8.  Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Moved out of my parents’ house, at least half of my student loans paid off, and I will have a white Scottish terrier.

9. If you could describe yourself with a color, what color would that be and why?

Purple. I’m not really sure why I would be that color, but I just love purple.

10. Do you believe in global warming?

Yeah, it seems legit to me.

11.   If someone gave you a box with a push button in it and pushed it, you would receive 10 million dollars for FREE but the catch is that once you pushed that button, someone somewhere in the world you don't know would die. Would you push that button to receive 10 million dollars...why or why not? Not judging you haha...

I’m going to be honest, I wouldn't push it. I love money, but I wouldn't feel happy to have all of that money and know that someone died because of me.

Questions from KDramaGuk

1. You are the director and I am a producer with money to throw at your dream project. Pitch me a kdrama scenario with your fantasy kdrama cast, sky’s the limit: lead actor, lead actress, supporting actor and actress, and two peripheral castmembers.

See my post The Perfect Korean Drama

2. If you could substitute yourself as the heroine/hero of any drama, who would you replace?

I would totes be Yoo In Na as Choi Hee Jin in Queen In Hyun’s Man. Wouldn't it be cool to meet a hot guy who time traveled because it was destiny for you two to meet? Also, he sold an ancient sword to buy her a car and those two are an amazing couple outside of the drama. I’m jelly.

3. Where would you like to go on vacation (besides South Korea) and why?

Vegas because I love the big drinks, LA because I love the beaches in SoCal, Puerto Rico because it looks like paradise, and I would love to go to Italy to eat a ton of Italian food.

4. When you aren't watching kdramas, what are you up to?

Mostly working. I take escalated tech support calls and do other boring cell phone provisioning junk. Other than that, I lay in bed with my puppies, work in my garden, or hang out at Target with Warren.

5. What is your favorite movie (doesn't have to be K-related)?

That’s a hard one. I love movies. I took a few movie courses in college, but my favorites aren't weird or artsy. I love Bridget Jones’ Diary, A Knight’s Tale, Pride and Prejudice, and Rear Window.

Shark Episodes 1 & 2 Review

Top left: Yeon Joon Seok as young Han Yi Soo, Top right: Kyung Soo Jin as young Jo Hae Woo
3rd row left: Kim Nam Gil as Han Yi Soo, 3rd row right: Son Ye Jin as Jo Hae Woo

I am starting off the month of June with the new Korean drama Shark (aka Don't Look Back: The Legend of Orpheus/ Hangul:상어 ). What attracts me to this drama is the revenge plot. I have recently become a fan of revenge melodramas because of their utter lack of restraint in pulling out all the stops for drama (hello makjang!) and the often complicated story lines. Shark seems to follow along with the same dreamy aesthetic of I Miss You and That Winter, the Wind Blows through soft camera lens filters and muted color palates while featuring a more aggressive revenge plot like those present in Ice Adonis and Innocent Man.

So far only two episodes have aired, and they were mainly back story focusing on the two main leads Han Yi Soo and Jo Hae Woo when they were teenagers. I think they did a great job casting for the young actors because they actually look pretty similar to their adult counter parts. I Miss You didn't succeed in this aspect, but I think Shark has. In fact, I really like Kyung Soo Jin (she was Moon Hee Joo, Hee Sun's older sister, in That Winter) who is pulling off Son Ye Jin's laugh and smile very well.

The back story so far reveals that Hae Woo's grandfather and father are both evil and deceitful rich men who own a luxurious Hotel (here we go again) and have entangled Yi Soo's family with their issues. We, as viewers, aren't privy to all of the mysterious details of Yi Soo's father's involvement yet with Hae Woo's family or the full extent of her grandfather's apparent con that has fooled all of Korea, but the little information that has been revealed is enough to guess where this drama is headed. Yi Soo became a prosecutor in order to reveal the truth to clear his father's name and seek justice for his father's death. And, based on the fact that his own sister didn't recognize him when he appeared at Hae Woo's wedding means he's been gone for many years while studying law abroad, I assume. It seems he is about to reappear in their lives and wreak some havoc.

Now, the main couple appear to have many obstacles to overcome before they can be together, but when Hae Woo asked Yi Soo what he would do if she disappeared, he seemed pretty serious about looking for her until they were both dead. It's still too early for me to be excited about this couple, but I love the idea of Son Ye Jin and Kim Nam Gil together so I am hopeful. Overall, I have a good impression of this drama so far. It fulfills everything that I am currently looking for in a Korean melodrama: a hit-and-run accident being framed on someone else, a smart and attractive person seeking revenge on evil rich people, a twisted story line involving wide-sweeping and long-running deceit, and an ill-fated romance. Here's hoping it keeps the momentum all the way to the final episode.

Watch Shark with English subtitles on DramaFever.com