October k-drama 2012 haul

I know that I'm kinda late with the whole k-drama haul and that some of these dramas have actually finished airing about a month or 2 ago. But nevertheless, here is my end of October review on the dramas I've watched so far ....

Bridal mask (also known as Gaksital).

It is a 28 episode drama based around Korea during the 1930s, during the Japanese colonial era. The story overall is about a guy name Lee Kang-to (his name changes to Lee Young/ Sato Hiroshi) - who is a rising star in the police force who works with the Japanese police (even though he is Korean) and is against the Korean freedom fighters. His initial aim is to catch Gaksital (also known as Bridal Mask) - who is a mysterious freedom fighter. A twist in fate causes Lee Kang-to to change his perception of the Japanese and become a freedom fighter.

MY OPINION: I personally like this drama a lot. It did to me drag on a little too much, but the overall storyline was pretty good. Even though it was mainly about the Koreans trying to gain freedom from the Japanese, there was also a love story line between Lee Kang-to, Kimura Shunji and Oh Mok Dan (name also changes to Boon-Yi/ Esther). The ending is quite sad, in my opinion (trying not to give away too much) but my overall rating for this drama is a 8.5/10

Ghost

Ghost is a 20 episode drama that is based around a police cyber investigation squad. It is mainly based around the hidden secrets of the cyber world.

MY OPINION: This drama to me, dragged on wayyyy tooo long. It did focus on the cyber police squad's position and what they did, BUT the main story line just went on way to long OR had appeared way to late into the whole drama. It is a good drama if you are into the whole cyber investigation type dramas :) My overall rating for this drama is a 7/10

Time Slip Dr Jin

This is a 22 episode drama based around the Joseon Dynasty period. It is based around a neurosurgeon called Jin Hyuk. He gets this mysterious power that allows him to travel back into about 150 years. While back in the Joseon period, he starts to treat people using his 21st Century skills by adapting to the lack of medical equipment made available. And like the saying, you shouldn't mess with the past, his actions starts to interfering with the course of history. 

 

MY OPINION: I will admit, this drama isnt for those who have a weakness for surgery. Through this drama there were scenes of actual operations that Dr Jin performs (using props of course). There were a few times that I actually had to cover almost half the screen (only letting the subtitles appear) because the operation scenes were just to horrible to look at. The storyline was ok, it mainly talked about Dr Jin's attitudes towards helping others and also about government power. I would rate this drama a 7.5/10

 

Panda and Hedgehog (also known as Ms Panda and Mr Hedgehog)

This drama is a 16 episode drama that is based around a patisserie who became a orphan at a young age and has a prickly personality (hence the name hedgehog). He meets a girl named Panda who owns a cafe called Cafe Panda. The cafe isnt going too well, until she meets hedgehog who helps her makes the cafe a success.  

 

MY OPINION: It is a sweet drama. Firstly, after watching a few episodes, I fell instantly to the cakes and sweets that we produced. It made me want to stalk a Cafe here in Perth that had the same cakes as the ones in this drama. Secondly, the sweet and lovely storyline of meeting your first love after 15 years :) and also establishing the saying 'No matter how far you go, home is always there'. There wasn't much of a big storyline apart from starting small and then aiming high. My overall rating for this drama is a 8/10.

To The Beautiful You (also known as Hana Kimi/ 

For You In Full Blossom)

This is a 16 episode drama. It has the same storyline of the Japanese version of For You In Full Blossom and Taiwanese version - Hana Kimi. Slight difference is that Goo Jae Hee comes to the boy school to help Kang Tae Joon - who is the high jumper - that is suffering from a career break down after his mother died when he was participating in the Olympics

MY OPINION: This drama is no different from the Japanese and Taiwanese version. It also had significant events that were the same in both the other versions. For example, the 3 dorm competition and the Miss Idol competition. I personally dont think that this drama didnt have the random quirkiness and sitcom personality like the other 2 version. It was more plain and simple and very similar to the romantic comedy type dramas. I would rate this drama a 7.5/10


So that's it for my latest updates on the dramas I've completed so far. At the moment I'm watching a 32 episode drama called May Queen - which I'm liking at the moment; Ohhlala Couple, Five Fingers and Innocent Man.

So until next time, take care xx

Time to say my goodbyes ...

They say that

"Relationships are like glass.  Sometimes it’s better to leave them broken 

than try to hurt yourself putting it back together.”  ~Unknown 

For me, it's hard to leave "them" alone and say my goodbyes. But I guess its about time to leave "them" alone and say my goodbyes. I enjoyed every moment of it. I can't believe that I'm actually doing this. For months and months, I've always had to wait for "them". Reguardless on the amount of studies I had, I will wait! But now it's clear to me, I have to be the first to let go.

Watching "them" has kept me company. Without out "them" I don't know what I would do. *sobs*. But don't. you worry, I will be back, much stronger than ever! So here it goes;

Goodbye K-dramas, it's been nice watching you. 

Did you actually think this was a break up blog? lol. Naaa ... its a farewell to K-dramas that are currently airing and those who I have to pause mid way during the airing episodes. The reason is just simple. Uni studies =__=". I'm pretty much studying constantly this semester. Maybe it's because I have only one semester (after this) until I FINALLY graduate :) :) :).

So, I'm going to put a hold of any k-dramas, reguardless on how much I wanna watch them for a few weeks. That may also mean blogging too. So farewell and goodbye (for now!!!!)

Korean Drama Haul

It seems like forever since I've done a Asian Drama review .... I think my last one was just before I left for my 3 month holiday in Vietnam.

So anyways; instead of doing a single blog post/ entry for each drama I might as well do a quick review of the ones I've finished.

Queen In Hyun's Man

If you haven't seen "Rooftop Prince", it has a similar story line. The main male character traveling hundreds of years ahead of time to save or complete a mission. Most people would say that this drama is the same; whilst others state the complete opposite. To me, personally, you can argue anyway you want. They are both good dramas to watch. I would rate this drama a 7/10 because it was entertaining to watch but they did emphasis the lead female actress as a 'dumb blonde' - which is quite similar to Rooftop Prince with the male lead. lol

Fashion King

The drama is basically about the corporate/ business world in the fashion industry. It shows how a simple low life person (with a talent in re-creating outfits) becomes one of the leading fashion business. It also emphasize on how money can not buy love. It's basically a good insight of the corporate world. I would rate this drama a 7.5/10. This is because, I found that the drama kept coming back to the same place after about 1 or 2 episode later

King 2Hearts

This was one of the dramas in which I was curious to why they called it 'King 2Hearts'. And basically the answer was that it is about the King having to have 2 hearts; 1 for his nation and 1 for his family and love. This drama shows various issues that a King has to face in both the political side and his personal side. There have been mixed reviews on concept of the drama. One main reviews was that it was based on the unification of the North and South regions of Korea. I would rate this drama a 8.5/ 10.

The Moon That Embraces The Sun

This was another drama which I was curious about the title name. I won't answer it this time because you actually find out the reason after about the 8th episode. :). I would have to applause to the teenage actors and actresses for the first half of the drama. They set the storyline really well. Instead of the flashbacks that constantly appears in normal dramas, this drama sets the storyline before the 'adult version' of the teenagers appear. I felt they played their parts really well. I would rate this drama a 9/10.

Rooftop Prince

It was a pretty interesting drama. It had it's funny moments and sad moments as well. What I liked about the drama was the 'power rangers' colours they used to differentiate the sub-actors. I would rate this drama a 7/10.

The Wedding Scheme/ The Marriage Plot

So we have all heard it before with Asian parents; plotting some kind of arrange marriage for their kids etc... and this is quite similar. Well it doesn't suggest the idea throughout the drama, but after watching it, you realise that the whole point of having the other tenants being all males was to (at least) have one daughter fall in love with them. I would rate this drama a 7/10.

I am currently watching; I Do, I Do; Bridal Mask; Ghost; A Gentleman's Dignity, Time Slip Dr. Jin and Big.
I will post a similar post like this in a few weeks. So stay tune :)

Scent Of A Woman - 여인의 향기

Scent Of A Woman - 여인의 향기 is a 2011 South Korean drama which stars Kim Sun Ah (as Lee Yeon Jae), Lee Dong Wook (as Kang Ji Wook), Uhm Ki Joon (as Chae Eun Suk) and Seo Hyo Rim (as Im Se Kyung). It is a romance type drama.

The synopsis of this drama is about a single, unmarried woman, who is timid named Lee Yeon Jae. She has been working for this travel company for 10 years, owned by Kang Chul Man (Kang Ji Wook's father). While she has been working for the company, she had been falsely accused of stealing a ring from Andy Wilson. To make things even worst, she is diagnosed with gallbladder cancer and has about 6 months to live. With sexual harassment at work, she gets the courage to quit and resigns. After her resignation, she decides to take a well earned holiday (to Okinawa, Japan) and embrace the 6 months she has. 

During the vacation, she buys new clothes and flies 1st Class, then she meets her dream man, Kang Ji Wook. He is a rich man, but is lifeless until he meets Lee Yeon Jae. Together, they embark on a series of misadventures but funny and sad :(. It is almost half way during the episode, Kang Ji Wook helps Lee Yeon Jae complete her bucket list.

MY REVIEW: My review on this is that it is a lovely story. The beginning of this drama was a bit dry but as the drama went on, it got slightly better and I got used to it. The dance 'tango', to me, had a hidden message. Both lead actors never knew what love was. The say the 'tango' is the dance of love. So when both characters learnt the tango it was like they were learning to 'love' aka slowly falling for each other.

I would give this drama a 7 out of 10. The underlying message of this drama is to live life to the fullest because you don't really know when you gonna die. This is highlighted at the end of the drama. If your the type that is into the romance drama then I would recommend this drama.

Lie To Me 내게 거짓말을 해봐

Lie To Me (also known as Try Lying To Me or previously known as Sweet Scandal) is a 2011 Korean Drama. It stars Yoon Eun-Hye (as Gong Ah-Jung) and Kang Ji-Hwan (as Hyun Ki-Joon).

So the bases of this drama is about a girl names Gong Ah-Jung who tells a lie that she is married to Hyun Ki-Joon (who is the CEO of World Hotel). Then a string of lines starts to emerge.

 

Gong Ah-Jung is a employee of the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, who mistakenly makes a lie that she is married to Hyun Ki-Joon, to her friend - who had married Gong Ah-Jung's first love crush. After a series of events, they both agreed to pretend to be married for his career sake. But things get more complicated when Hyun Ki-Joon's little brother, Oh Yoon Joo, and his ex-finance returns from France.

My REVIEW:
This drama reminds me of the other Korean drama 'Full House' where write up a contract and pretends to me a married couple. But in the end they fall in love. So nothing new =__="
The plot line to this drama is really boring at the start and I would have to say the ending climax would have to be the only good part in this drama. The rest of the drama is just dealing with the lie but as one lie is told another is unveiled. Which causes a string of lies.

I would rate this drama a 7 out of 10. Because I found this drama quiet boring to watch but it slowly gets better after a few episodes.

My favourite scene would be when Hyun Ki-Joon goes to give her the necklace again and says that it [the necklace] hasn't been opened [from it's case] since she rejected him the first time. So he hoped that this time around it can be opened again. And so she accepts him and sends him back the case with a note saying yes but he doesn't realise this because the case was sent back to him - making him think that she rejected him again :):):)

My Princess 마이 프린세스

My Princess is a 2011 South Korean drama which stars Kim Tae-Hee (as Lee Seol) and Song Seung-Hun (as Park Hae-Young).

So is is bascially about a college student Lee Seol, who finds out that she is a princess and is the great grand daughter of the Joseon Dynasty's Emperor, Emperor Sunjong. She meets Daehan Group, Park Hae-Young, who is in-charged of her education and proper princess etiquette. He is drawn to her after sometime but finds himself in a situation where the girl her likes is about to take away his inheritance IF the monarchy is restored.

My REVIEW:

This drama has a very similar storyline to the Disney Movie 'The Princess Dairies'.  Both having the female lead unknowing that they are Princesses. I would give this drama a 8 out of 10. Because it was more of romantic comedy drama. Lee Seol's character is a fun lovable character who uses her purest of heart to make a decision. Even though she was brought up as an orphan, father died when she was young. she always believed that he would come back to her. At the beginning of this drama, we find that Lee Seol is a  childish person BUT she later develops self-confidence and strength (with Park Hae-Young guidance).

One of my favourite scene is when Park Hae-Young asks her (cause he is confessing to her) " Why can't you be just my Princess and not the people's Princess?" ... Ohhhhh ... Soooo kawaii :):):)

49 Days - 49일

49 Days (also known as Pure Love) is a 2011 Korean Drama. Which deals with a forbidden romance, trust, faith and fantasy.

So the synopsis of this drama is; Ji-Hyun (portrayed by Nam Gyu-Ri) lives in this 'perfect life'. She has both loving parents and all her friends all admire (more like envy her) and also is engaged to her fiance Min-Ho (portrayed by Bae Su-bin). With Ji-Hyun living in a fairytale life, there is always someone living in a complete opposite world. In this drama, there is Yi-Kyung (portrayed by Lee Yo-Won), who is distraughtover the death of her childhood friend/ boyfriend accident (in which he died). With this, she attempts to commits suicide and tries different drugs to  ease her pain and loss.

 

 

 

However, one day, on the anniversary of her dead boyfriend, Yi-Kyung attempts suicide by walking on the busy road (with in coming traffic and is the same spot how her boyfriend died). But suddenly someone pulls her back. But at this moment Ji-Hyun, who was driving near by, fails to hit her breaks and then crashes into a truck (which has stopped in the middle of the road). Only moments later she sees herself walking out of her car (unharmed). She is then shocked to see an ambulance carrying her body away. She looks around and noticed that there is a man on a motorcycle who can also see her. The motorcyclist is the Scheduler (portrayed by Jung II Woo) - Scheduler is what we call the angel of death now days, apparently T__T

 

 

So anyways, Ji-Hyun follows her body to the hospital as the paramedics attempts to revive her body. At the hospital she sees the Scheduler again and watches as the Scheduler takes away a dead's person soul away. He tells her that it's not her time to die yet and she is given a chance to recover from her vegetable state. The condition is that she must gather 3 pure teardrops from 3 people who truly love her apart from her family within 49 day. She instantly thinks that this mission would be easy. Of course the 3 people she thought of was her husband/ fiance and her 2 best friends. In order to gather the pure tears, she takes over Yi-Kyung's body (who is the reason why she is in on this mission - kinda like a revenge thing I think).

 

 

Ji-Hyun gets Yi-Kyung a new day job (cause Yi-Kyung is currently working for a night time supermarket) at a resutrant owned by her high school friend Han Kang (portrayed by Jo Hyeon Jae). It's kinda ironic that his resturant is called 'Heaven'.

As the days goes by, Ji-Hyun's memories starts to return back to her. She remembers going to see her best friend to show off her bridesmaid dress but saw that her best friend was sitting closely with her fiance. Then she realized that getting the 3 pure tears would be much harder than she thought ... and that it wouldn't be so easy finding out that there are people who don't genuinely love her than she thought ....

 

My REVIEW:

I would give this drama a 10 out of 10. The reason for this is that after episode 1, the plot line was established well to make me want to keep on watching. Unlike some K-Drama's most of their plot line start developing to about the 2nd or 3rd episode. I really enjoyed watching this drama and I would also have to say that this drama is one of the best so far. Some of the genre's is deals with are:

Secret love: between Min-Ho and Park Seo Woo, Han Kang (who has a secret love for her since high school yet she was to dumb to realise this) and Ji-Hyun and the Scheduler and Yi-Kyung (their love was sooo tragic and sad).

Revenge: when both Ji-Hyun and Yi-Kyung work together to make Min-Ho confused to which girl he had fallen for (while Ji-Hyun is still in her vegetable state).

Family Secrets: I'm not gonna say too much on this but it is towards the end when we discover that who is Yi-Kyung's real mother is and why she thought that her mother left her at the bus station - due to a misunderstanding.

Forbidden Love: There are 2 couples which can not be together in this world. It was really sad to discover this :'( ... the script writer's were really cruel to do this to not 1 BUT 2!

This drama is basically about a journey someone takes. Because it was focus on Ji-Hyun's 49 days journey, it does emphasis on the fact that, even though we think that everyone who we call are our 'friends' it doen't mean they love us. As shown in this drama Ji-Hyun thinks that her best friends love her but it is shown that she couldn't get the the tears faster until the last few days she has left.

It also highlights the fact that is marrying the man, who you think that they love you back, really truly love you? Or is there more to this marriage than just 'tying the knot'?