Ender's Girl wrote:

This is the one starring Kang Ji-hwan? Well, KJH is my Kdrama man, so where he goes, I follow (and complete his oeuvre while I'm at it, lol). Will def. give this drama a go once all the subs are out. Thanks for the rec.

Yeah, he's great! Of all the actors, I'm only familiar with Park Shi Yeong for her antagonistic role in My Girl. She is really different here! I've only managed to watch two episodes because of time constraints, but so far I really like her character and Park Shi Yeong's portrayal of her. Everyone in this drama is great.

But anyway, yeah, Kang Ji-Hwan

Wynter wrote:

Tomorrow I'll be starting Personal Taste. I heard it's very much like My Lovely Kim Sam Soon, so I'm excited.

hmm...other than both being romantic-comedy, I really didn't see a connection.

Tried Dong Yi out tonight and the end of episode 6 was unexpectedly funny and entertaining. I never expected a period drama to be like this, it was great fun.

Finished ep 13 Green Rose. The agony continues. Have you ever watched a Kdrama on an apparent election night of which they seem to have very very many? That was ep 13. 1/6th of the screen was dedicated to unrelenting election results in ultra bright colors that dominated the screen... superimposed with the rippers huge Chinese subs and finally my subs above the fray...... Once again I had to up the font size and brightness to make it possible to find them in the maelstrom of competing visuals scattered around the video.
But still I cannot give the drama up until it is resolved... it's a testament to how good it is that I would continue to plod along in this endless vortex of fireworks like distractions.
BTW, for authoritarians (is this the appropriate word ), I discovered that "Any Video Converter" using the mpgII output option does a great job in rendering RMVB to MPG ableit 2 hours rendering for every hour of video.

Finished Green Rose. Lee Da Hae is now a member of my ever growing list of the most beautiful women in the world:

http://www.showwallpaper.com/external/Korean_Star/Lee_Da_Hae/Lee_Da_Hae_050026.jpg

http://www.dektube.com/files/photos/4801441f041958aL.jpg

For the guys is this the ultimate in eye candy? Just give me more dramas with this ephemeral natural beauty.

Green Rose really brings out her beauty which is a combination of her physical and vocal qualtities... so soft spoken with so much emotion encapsulated in the simplest word. Only KimuTaku can match her in this vocal talent that so many actors seek and never quite achieve.

Overall, despite the obstacles gratus Korea's penchant to scroll newsbriefs on the screen at the most suspenseful moments of the drama, despite the poor choice of vehicles for ripping the drama, despite the overbearing Chinese subs, I was mesmerized by a mostly superb directorial flow of the drama. Admitedly, there were moments when the drama dragged, portions were too slow in resolving minor points to the detriment of the flow of the major action. The ending was a bit too melodramatic but so what.... it did not degrade my enjoyment of the story.
In fairness, if I overlook the above mentioned distractions 9/10 would be a fair grade. 10/10 would be the grade if it did not drag in portions... I understand that is unavoidable to make it stretch for 22 episodes.

Skip-watched Dong Yi up to 25th episodes. It's quite slow at times, things get repeated a lot and sometimes there are flashbacks of things that happened a minute ago, but it's not bad overall, though it's not nearly as good as Jewel in the Palace. I like Han Hyo Joo but the series could be better with a more experienced actress.

Also watched first 2 episodes of Yi San. I like them very much. Probably my favourite opening episodes out of all Korean drama I have watched.

Jav_sol wrote:

hmm...other than both being romantic-comedy, I really didn't see a connection.

Now that I've started it (I'm on epi 10 now), I don't see the resemblance either. I find it's more like Full House.
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Wanna trade? My Drama List (UPDATED: July, 2013)

I just finished watching I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK the other day. Im Su Jeong
is really growing on me.
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Watching Queen SeonDeok. Being a drama about an actual historical figure it might be compared to a Taiga Dorama, but it's really closer to Chinese historical fantasy based loosely on history. Single person can defeat whole armies, fantasy fighting, all that type. Accuracy.....yeah forget about it. The major protagonist and antagonist are female, but unlike Atsu-hime, they're not portrayed in a Shirely Temple/Disney sort of way. Things don't conveniently work out for them over and over because the writers were too lazy to flesh out details; there is constant scheming, ruthlessness, and displays of intelligence and risks. As expected of Korean drama, there's the "bad boy" who's moody, always crying, and perpetually has his hair in his eyes that the protagonist falls in love with. And there's the straight-arrow, loyal, well groomed guy that loves her but is denied. Nice guys always finish last. Liking it so far, but more as historical fantasy.

Kijinnmaru wrote:

Watching Queen SeonDeok. Being a drama about an actual historical figure it might be compared to a Taiga Dorama, but it's really closer to Chinese historical fantasy based loosely on history. Single person can defeat whole armies, fantasy fighting, all that type. Accuracy.....yeah forget about it. The major protagonist and antagonist are female, but unlike Atsu-hime, they're not portrayed in a Shirely Temple/Disney sort of way. Things don't conveniently work out for them over and over because the writers were too lazy to flesh out details; there is constant scheming, ruthlessness, and displays of intelligence and risks. As expected of Korean drama, there's the "bad boy" who's moody, always crying, and perpetually has his hair in his eyes that the protagonist falls in love with. And there's the straight-arrow, loyal, well groomed guy that loves her but is denied. Nice guys always finish last. Liking it so far, but more as historical fantasy.

That fantasy aspect seems to be a trend for saeguk nowadays.

Hmmm...I'll take a fantasy with Kim Nam Gil any old time. He just gets better and better every role he plays.
Too bad just when he is on the real upswing, he has to go to military duty.

Peggy

Ep 4 of Dal Ja's Spring. A very interesting comedy romance. So now I met Park Chae Rim. I don't really care too much for the Shirley Temple hairstyle...it's a little too cutsy. But looking at some of her other pictures.... wow.
This is a nice decompression from the intensity of Green Rose. Of course as I mentioned above Green Rose is a great drama and should not be missed by any lovers of suspense and romance a la Korean style.

Hello Miss will be my next adventure with my newest love Lee Da Hae. What could be better, Park Chae Rim followed by Lee Da Hae. Rest easy my heart is big enough to love them all. And YES before you ask, my drama selection is mostly determined by the female leading lady and the quality of the video.

brad2 wrote:

Hmmm...I'll take a fantasy with Kim Nam Gil any old time. He just gets better and better every role he plays. Too bad just when he is on the real upswing, he has to go to military duty. Peggy

The price you pay living next to a belligerent neighbor that you've been at war with the last half century. He'll probably just end up being a REMF; they don't want to mess up his pretty-boy looks and draw the ire of all Korean women.

Historical fantasy isn't bad; it just needs to be done right. Like if a single man can defeat a whole army, why did he lose in battle when he had an army himself? Given the time period, fantasy is fitting. Just wish they would tone it down a little. Production-wise, it seems the Korean television industry is similar to Hong Kong/China- immature. Unlike their respective film industry(except HK which still sucks), the directing and cinematography still looks amateurish despite the lavish backgrounds and settings.

Still, I am enjoying the series.

ralphm1999 wrote:

Ep 4 of Dal Ja's Spring. A very interesting comedy romance. So now I met Park Chae Rim. I don't really care too much for the Shirley Temple hairstyle...it's a little too cutsy. But looking at some of her other pictures.... wow. This is a nice decompression from the intensity of Green Rose. Of course as I mentioned above Green Rose is a great drama and should not be missed by any lovers of suspense and romance a la Korean style. Hello Miss will be my next adventure with my newest love Lee Da Hae. What could be better, Park Chae Rim followed by Lee Da Hae. Rest easy my heart is big enough to love them all. And YES before you ask, my drama selection is mostly determined by the female leading lady and the quality of the video.

YAY! Dal Ja! My sister LUFFED this drama. It took me a few episodes to get into it but man, it grows on you fast. It keeps getting better and better.

I think I'm going to send you Personal taste, as well. I have the feeling you'll enjoy it quite a bit.
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Wanna trade? My Drama List (UPDATED: July, 2013)

Wynter wrote:

YAY! Dal Ja! My sister LUFFED this drama. It took me a few episodes to get into it but man, it grows on you fast. It keeps getting better and better. I think I'm going to send you Personal taste, as well. I have the feeling you'll enjoy it quite a bit.

Wyn chan, I totally rely on your personal taste now. It's been 100% accurate. So I'll gladly take Personal Taste.
You're right. As Dal Ja progresses it becomes increasingly addictive.

I finished Harvest Villa a couple of days ago... and boy was I sad to see it end.

http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Harvest_Villa

This one isn't a silly romantic comedy. Nor is it a melodrama, or a tragedy. It is... as they describe it over at D-Addicts, a suspense - comedy.

Oh Bok Gyu's father (who he hasn't seen since he was a little kid) dies under mysterious circumstances... and leaves him a run down apartment building. He also leaves behind the rumor of a huge treasure....

20 episodes of where's the gold, and will honest, dumb, Oh Bok Gyu ever figure out that not all these new people in his life are really his friends.

Shin Ha Kyun managed to play Oh Bok Gyu without ever making him seem like an idiot. I found myself rooting for him from beginning to end.

And my oh my, Lee Bo Young is a star.

Harvest Villa didn't replace Evasive Inquiry Agency as my favorite Korean TV show, but it went right up on the same shelf.
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Geezer wrote:

Shin Ha Kyun managed to play Oh Bok Gyu without ever making him seem like an idiot.

I personally found him annoyingly dumb in the first half of the show. But overall it was a very entertaining show to watch.

A minor complaint I have is

Click on button to reveal/hide spoiler:

that right from the first episode, they made it so obvious that Lee Bo Young's character was involved with the dad's death. So there so no surprise there.

Jav_sol

Alfred Hitchcock used to call that "the McGuffin". The big important plot point, or character flaw, that the audience knows... but the main character doesn't find out about until the end.
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Geezer wrote:

Alfred Hitchcock used to call that "the McGuffin". The big important plot point, or character flaw, that the audience knows... but the main character doesn't find out about until the end.

I see, still I would have preferred to have been "teased" at least for a couple of eps. When the show is predictable from the first ep, the 'suspense' factor and plot twists are lost. Luckily HV had good actors and a comic nature that made it entertaining.

I am watching Kindergarten Love, its a good funny drama .