Long weekend!! I'm excited, lots of fun stuff planned this weekend. Hey Javabeans, I was just wondering if you made all of the banners at the top of your pages yourself? They're pretty good! How many do you even have?

Planet Bboy opens up at the Landmark Nuart Theatres (Santa Monica) today! but only for one week....if anyone enjoys that stuff, it's finally being shown in the US and it's directed by a Korean American....

http://www.planetbboy.com/
http://www.landmarktheatres.com/market/NewYork/SunshineCinema.htm

Happy Easter everyone. I'm going to church this morning and then I'm working later. I heard there are 3 to 4 hour line ups at the border because Canadians want to go shopping!!

My weekend isn't that exciting as I've got to finish a 20 page paper. Oh well, only 3 more weeks to go before I'm done classes, then I'm taking Korean and working with a personal trainer. I must be a glutton for punishment.

This weekend marks the end of my Spring Break. *sighs* It's already "spring" and yet, here in good ol' Tacoma, WA, the weather wants to be cold. Oh why must this be so!? I love the rain but I don't want to freeze in it.

My spring break is ending this week as well. I don't want to go back to school because then it marks approximately 6 weeks left until final exams! I'm still in high school :( i want college to be here!
Well, other then hibernating and catching up on what it means to just relax, I've also been satisfying my kdrama obsession. (currently catching up on B&A Plastic Surgery)
Thanks for the Hong Gil Dong recaps, they really keep me sane.

Edit---
I really like this band! I can't stop hitting the replay button! Where did you learn of them?

Wow, are you guys all students? Talking about Spring Break, makes me feel old lol :) I am going to enjoy the nice long weekend with my family :)

Mostly waiting for family to come by for Good Friday dinner. Though I finally saw that Japanese movie, "Like a Dragon" with Kitamura Kazuki & Gong Yoo in it. Lemme tell ya I'm kinda disappointed. I know it was a minor role and all but damn, Gong Yoo's character didn't do anything really.

Though I loved the scene when he's there with Arakawa Yoshiyoshi recommending guns to the to kids.

Oh and the scene where Kitamura Kazuki drinks the energy drink.

Holy cuteness~~ did anybody else see cutie pie Ji Hwan dancing to tell me? Made me giggle like a thirteen year old~~ㅋㅋㅋ (and I still am.....)

I'm impressed with the fact that you even had one session with a personal trainer. I've been wanting to join a gym; but given the fact that I barely make it to my basement to lift weights, etc, I figure it would be more fruitful to literally flush my money down the toilet.

Anyway, I have a question I've been waiting to ask you. Have you watched Snow in August? I wanted to know your interpretation of the ending.

Oh and I've been meaning to tell you that your blog is great. I discovered it back in December 2007 and I became hooked. I was actually late to work one day, because I'd stayed up late reading your older entries the night before. By the way, since it is clearly your fault, you owe me $30 in docked pay for my tardiness. LOL. Thanks for all the info and all of the laughs. Wow apparently the open thread made me go crazy and I had more to say than I thought.

Just wanted to tell you that your blog is awesome! It's one of the webpages that I come visit everyday. I really enjoy the songs that you put on many I have never heard before until now. Especially the English ones **since i'm not Korean I don't really understand it haha! Do you have any other favorites that you would recommend?

Hmm, spring break is almost over. I've procrastinated and have not written a single paper. Oh well, what matters is that those papers will be done by the time the Professors want it- I will have those papers ready together with the humongous circles around my eyes cause I stayed up all night writing them. Are any of you fellow college students procrastinators like me? Fess up.

STUDY STUDY for my exam coming up soon. =__=
Im so tired....need to get this done so i can at least have 2 days to relax.
Happy Easter everybody....crack some eggs and go SPRING SHOPPING. heehee

hey java beans, i've always loved your choice of music.
what other indie music do you listen to?
i know you like deathcab, but they're far from underground now, =D

I was wondering if you had heard or read anything about a report that said
Lee Dong Gun's brother was killed in a dispute in Australia over a staring incident- yes - I read it, and it was what i would consider a reliable source on the WEB. and that the incident will most likely pull him out of a series that he is currently in the production stages for...
Lee Dong Gun (2nd male lead in Lovers In Paris)
not HIM - but his brother who was in Australia at the time...

Have you heard anything, dramabeans?

Discovered your site by accident while surfing the net for information on Coffee Prince last year. Have been visiting your site almost daily since then. Love it. Love your dry wit and comments on Kdrama. I am not Korean but loved watching Kdramas. Currently enjoying your re-cap on Hong Gil Dong. Do you know where I can watch this with English subtitles? Thank you.

feifei -- The WithS2 crew are subbing this show. You can find the show over at D-addicts

Shibuya-kei (and anything bossa nova-ish) is the best. Cornelius, Cibo Matto, P5, FPM, etc. Anybody who likes Clazziquai (not S-kei but somehow associated with it) may want to give this genre a shot.

About the murder . . . unfortunately, this could bring up race issues between Chinese and Korean, since this will be a high profile situation. It already is doing that at popseoul.

Hollywood Bowl 2008 . . . new list came out this week, and so far they have SuJu, Wonder Girls, Lee Hyo Ri, Oak Ju Hyun, Tae Jina, Eru, Fly to the Sky, and SGWannabe. I assume Brian's going to MC again. Last year, I thought Fly to the Sky and Epik High did the best among the under-35.

Current musical obsessions . . . Babyshambles, and My Bloody Valentine at Coachella

i read the news about lee dong gun's brother on popseoul.. i think i'm shocked bc i like LDG so much.. i can't imagine what he & his family are going through..
honestly i never knew there was that much tension bw koreans & chinese.. i'm korean & i have a lot of taiwanese & chinese friends.. i guess things are different outside of the states?
it's sad to hear.. but have a blessed good friday & easter everyone..

Hey Sarah, since you're into Death Cab, have you ever tried the Secret Stars? Shoe In and Some Sinatra are great and I think they did a cover of a Death Cab song once (or maybe it was the other way around, my memory is terrible). Some Sintra is on their myspace site. Geoff Farina sounds a little like Chris Walla.

About LDG's brother's death, I highly doubt it was race driven. People get drunk around the city at night and they go around searching for trouble. Usually, it's safe if you're in a big group or you avoid them but I guess LDG's brother was unlucky. World Square (where it happened) tends to get dangerous at night because of all the volatile drunks.

marcel,

I imagine this past year has been truly a nightmare for LDG. Also I wonder how this affects Han Ji Hye, and whether there is any kind of friendship between them left so that she can help him through this.

I mean, this is the very nightmare scenario every parent fears when their children go abroad.

I hope LDG's-brother-incident won't affect his upcoming drama with Kim Sun Ah. I've been waiting for Suna's comeback after My Name Kim Sam Soon and had always been disappointed for about 3 years now.
1. The first project that she accepted amongst many offers after the "phenomenal" My Name Is Kim Sam Soon, which is "Thursday's Child" had been shelved and eventually given to another actress and was changed to "Seven Days". Could have been a great outlet for Kim Sun Ah's acting prowess after MNIKSS. Too bad, many things happened, including her being sued by the production staff.
2. Eventually after a long wait, "Girlscouts" came into the picture. Not a totally exciting project for her. But better than nothing. Seems enjoyable too. Supposed to be shown this April but was moved to June.
3. DaeMul was given to Go Hyun Jung. Although it was not "officially announced" that it was offered to Sun Ah, she was still included in the list last year by the Korean media.
4. Finally, something exciting came up when "When It's At Night" (밤이면 밤마다) was announced a couple of days ago.
Then something bad happened with LDG... =.= I really hope this will not affect their project nor it would cause any delays. That's the least thing that Sun Ah needs at the moment.

first time in an open thread...hehe
just have to share my thoughts about Kang Ji Hwan..i first saw him in the series "Be strong Goem.." something..i forget the title..didn't watch it coz it's too long...anyway, i love his smile, and he just looks good...but i didn't follow any of his drama though..until Hong Gil Dong..and while waiting for subs, I'm currently watching Capital Scandal...he's acting is great here...he can pull of a dramatic and funny scene..the dancing too and the flirting haha..of course in Hong Gil Dong the action!

I'm busy hunting easter eggs on Fluff(friends)!

belleza,
i feel so sorry for him.. i just saw the news articles and their family photo.. it's horrifying.. i can't believe something this terrible happened to him.. it's such a tragic loss..

Read of the loss ...sincere condolences to LDG and his family so tragic, so sad...the year so far has been horrid for him..*sighs*

@marcel,
Amen to that.

@Alodia,
Yeah, Seven Days (which BTW has been optioned to be remade as a Hollywood flick) ended up going to Lost's Kim Yun Jin, and it did well at the box office. And to be fair, that's probably a better choice since Shiri kinda molded Yun Jin's image as the tough chic you don't mess wit. I also felt the same with DaeMul, and IMO it was probably a honor just to be associated with the ultra A-list tagged to that project. (Though, yes, a rom-com with Sun Ah and Kwon Sang Woo basically writes itself. Guaranteed hit if you can afford the bill.)

Thing about Sun Ah is her whole career has been a struggle. Coming back from Yesterday. Coming back from MNIKSS. And in fact, her comedic style was partially molded from her struggles acting and talking like other Koreans. Those experiences also give her a different philosophy from other actors. Other actors (like Song Hye Kyo) want to prove they can do different roles and challenging films. For her, the biggest joy is doing something she's loved for and making crowd pleasing films.

@rika,
Kang Ji Hwan is kind of the Hugh Jackman of K-drama. He was a successful musical theatre actor (Grease) before he crossed over to TV, where the money was better. As a result, he's a bit older than other actors with comparable TV experience. He can act really broad; he act really small, straight from the eyes; he can sing; he can dance. He can't keep Jang Geun Suk from confusing wounded gravity with tedious self-absorption, but that's another rant . . .. :D

Since you are all Korean drama fans, I was wondering if you also like watching Japanese dramas.
I think Korean productions are more giving to their audience and fans since their websites are filled with information (sometimes there's even an English version), with lots of official photos and wallpapers available for free download.
It's not the same with Japanese (and Taiwanese) dramas and I find that somewhat frustrating.

@Crystal,

Some of it has to do with Korean internet culture, which is the most developed in the world. Regular awards shows hand out prizes reflecting the Netizen community, and KBS will shape their future programming and casting around Netizen opinion. And this also spreads into Asian American culture too -- I think there's more pop culture blog sites covering K-pop than there are for C-pop and J-pop [I]combined[/I] Koreans have taken enormous pride in spreading their pop culture all over Asia. It's the equivalent of Scotland suddenly become the cultural center of the UK.

I still like watching J-dramas, but even in Japan, their popularity has significantly declined due to the over, over-emphasis on idol actors/actresses. If you're an actress of over 25, you're over the median age for a female lead in a J-drama. If you're an actor of over 32, you're over the median age. That said, the popularity of J-drama have increased significantly among the Netizen community, and it's kinda moved KBS to program in a more original original direction.