Que Sera Sera has been over for a week, but its effect is not gone. ginnie and Ty sent me interviews that director Kim Yoon Chul gave after the show wrapped. There’s been some debate as to the meaning of the ending. These excerpts may set your minds at ease — it does for me. (ginnie, thanks for the links, and Ty, 글 보내줘서 고맙습니다!)

SONG OF THE DAY

My Aunt Mary - “With” [ zShare download ]

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SPOILER-PHOBES may want to avoid >>

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MBC’s new weekend drama AIR CITY promised a lot — being the return vehicles for big-time stars Lee Jung Jae and Choi Jiwoo — and its first episodes turned out to deliver. The series is laden with star power, and it looks spectacular. MBC really sank a ton of money into this production, and you can tell.

You know what Air City is? It’s like really yummy dessert that you can almost convince yourself is a decent meal, because maybe it’s got fruit in it. It’s fun, it’s fast, and it’s got a good balance of action, thrills, stunts, mixed in with some humor and hints of romance to come.

Plus, it’s also got just the slightest hint of a cheese factor to keep it from taking itself too seriously, and keep it entertaining.

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(Soundtrack) SONG OF THE DAY

Air City OST - “하루달” (haru dal) by Dong Bang Shin Ki
[ zShare download ]

Air City Episodes 1 & 2 >>

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I’m really liking Flowers For My Life a lot. It’s hard to describe the tone by comparing it to other kdramas — it’s not a melodrama. It’s not thriller, action, or family drama. It’s not a trendy drama. And it’s not even a straight “dramatic” drama. It’s hilariously funny — I find myself laughing out loud a lot — but it’s not jokey. It’s more of a witty, dry humor. My favorite!

And despite this being Cha Tae Hyun’s big comeback drama, I don’t think this is a star vehicle either. I’m not watching for any actor, but the writing and directing are so solid that I’m hooked.

It is also the first drama in a long, long time (or ever?) where I love every single character.

SONG OF THE DAY

MC the Max - “사랑이 끝나면” (If Love Ends) [ zShare download ]

FLOWERS FOR MY LIFE Episode 2 >>

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SBS’s new Wednesday-Thursday drama, War of Money (쩐의 전쟁), kicked off to a healthy ratings start in the 16%-17% range, then jumped up to above 24% for its second episode. That’s enough of a leap to be considered noteworthy. (And anything above 20% in its first week is quite a feat.)

This drama had quite some buzz leading up to its premiere, probably mostly due to the casting of lead actor Park Shin Yang, who is perhaps best known for his role in Lovers in Paris. As for me, the only actor I’m familiar with is Shin Dong Wook, from Cloud Stairway and Soulmate.

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SONG OF THE DAY

War of Money OST - “Simple Life” by Sweet Sorrow
[ zShare download ]

Not a full episode summary, but there are spoilers for Eps. 1-2 >>

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This week kicked off several new shows, and I’m still catching up. I’ve barely started watching two of the new Wednesday-Thursday dramas, MBC’s Merry vs. Dae Gu Battle (메리리 대구 공방전) (replacing “Thank You”) and SBS’s War of Money (쩐의 전쟁) (replacing “Witch Amusement”). I may or may not have more to say on them later, but a different show caught my eye — the show that seemed to premiere rather quietly on Monday, KBS’s Flowers For My Life (꽃찾으러 왔단다), which I loved.

Eccentrically funny and offbeat, this series is literally translated “I Came In Search of Flowers” but its official English-language title designated by KBS is “Flowers For My Life.” (I can only think it’s a positive sign that kdramas are becoming popular enough that more and more are coming with an English-translated title ready in advance. It saves us overseas fans the trouble of awkward and inconsistently applied names, that’s for sure.)

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SONG OF THE DAY

Crosby Stills & Nash - “Prison Song”: Used in one of the last scenes, it sets a nice mood for the quirkiness of the series. [ zShare download ]

About FLOWERS FOR MY LIFE >>

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Oh, good lord. Rain fans (and Korean media) need to calm waaayyy down.

SONG OF THE DAY

Rain / Bi - “태양을 피 하는 방법” (How to Escape the Sun) — I prefer this version to the moodier version used in the music video. [ zShare download ]

 
In case you don’t know what I’m talking about, you can watch the video clip of Colbert featuring a segment on Rain from The Colbert Nation site — the video that shows that Colbert was not in fact “attacking” Rain and “mocking” him — as the Korean media have been quick to accuse.

Why Colbert does not hate Korea. Or Rain. Or kimchee. Well, he might hate kimchee, I don’t know >>

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