@doozy

jdorama rec: Zettai Kareshi

@ cecee

Go for Mister X's (WITHS2's) awesome subs. They can't be beat.
He even translated the Latin. :D

4 eps aired so far. 3 are subbed, and the 4th is coming soon.
We are not worthy...

Have you guys heard that Group 8 bought the rights to create a Korean remake of Gokusen???

@ b020

Korean culture is infused with Confucianism...so blood ties are extremely important. There's even a commonly used proverb, "Blood doesn't lie."
If Gramps were here, he could give you a dissertation on it. ;)

@ Samsooki

"Now I have to write my Binnie in Space drama series, because LDH fans over at Soompi have been waiting for it. My initial casting idea was to have LDH be Binnie’s love interest, but maybe I will have LDH also be evil and have evil Kang Ji Hwan and evil LDH going up against good guy Binnie and good girl Nam Sang Mi…"

So, now you are including KJH....and he's evil...hehe

I'm really curious -- where are you guys watching all these dramas?! I'm not soo new at this BUT I really only watch them as the appear on our Korean TV channels. I know there's some sites to you can go online to watch but waiting for it to buffer takes forever. And of course, I've been known to purchase the box sets (latest acquisition; Beethoven's Virus). You all must be uber rich or giving up some necessities in life (like food?) in order to pursuit this drama craze! :o)

@Samsooki
I thought it was only me! I get so flustered at embarrassing moments that my palms get sweaty, my heart palpitates and if its too bad I might have to leave the room for a minute or two. Its sad and rather embarrassing in its own right:)

@Kender never heard about your dance...did you do well? I hear that those kind of practices go on for hours and hours to buikd up endurance. Anyway, enjoy your rewatching, Kimi wo Petto is on my rewatch list too. I was really intrigued by that show.

And after last week's mention of Hong Gil Dong I went back and watched it. That show is one of my favorites. Sung Yuri was wonderful in ep 11/12 when YN sees GD again after their separation. They definitely get the Sweetest Love Story Award in a fusion sangeuk or historical series.

For those watching That Fool/Accidental Couple, I hope that you are enjoying as much as I am. This show is so different from what I thought it was going to be and I am so pleased. I am ejoying it so much that it has kept me very occupied while I wait on my fresh supply of Story of Man subs. Hwang Jung Min's portrayal of postman Goo Dong Baek is precious and priceless. Anyone not watching this drama and want something light and sweet without the bitter taste of an angst driven storyline? Pick it up and take a peek at Goo Dong Baek! So worth it!

TGIF!

It was the 20th anniversary of the TianmenSquare massacre yesterday, June 4th. I was just old enough to have very vivid memories of watching it unfold on TV....went to demonstrations with 1, 500, 000 ppl in crowded heat July, Hong Kong, 20 years back. It was the first time I've cried for reasons not fully conscious to myself.

I just thought as a semi witness of the atrocities, I'll have to put it down somewhere 'safe' and I've chosen JB's blog. It disheartened me when my mom warned me not to discuss it publicly for fear of any repercussions of what-ifs. As calm and resilient as my parents, I knew they had lived through the cultural revolution as youngsters and they were never the same, there was a constant well-hidden fear of the CPR, but it was never mentioned. It is really precious to have the level of openness in discussions, tolerance of diff thoughts and viewpoints and comradery here.

Most of us have very vivid images/memories of 911. It doesn't matter where you were that day, that moment, but when we witnessed thousands of innocent lives lost, we grieved. I'm an American, yet I felt almost less of a person to be not as affected as others. It was a while later when I realized because I've seen this before on June 4th 1989, and what's worst that was a government's calculated, systematic bloody approach to 'take care of' a student's demonstration... with tanks and bullets, to this day it was absolute denial, not even, June 4th 1989 doesn't exist. For 911, the culpit is clear, we can blame a public enemy. The massacre though, mothers of the dead were under house arrest as of yesterday. Thousands died unarmed...in the middle of that night...with the only premonition being the sudden lights out of the public square. To the CPR, was it the fact that it happened in pitch dark, with the excuse of the demonstrators being against the absolute doctrine in vogue of the regime... and citizens of their own can just vanish fr existence just because they have to halt a student demonstration? I rem the dawn of that day, soldiers were ordered to wipe off the blood and clean up the bullet holes....I saw an image of that, as if it was just another army drill. And we're not even supposed to ask where the blood came fr? Or was it blood?! What else did the bullets and tanks destroyed that night, huh?! It was an outrageous and hideous, cowardly crime, yet with the blatant ban of any info, it was a forgotten civic unrest at best.

My heart is still heavy when I realized how little humanity was/is worth, given how a powerhouse economically China is now. And it is disgusting to know that $ can really make the world turn a blind eye.

@6 Kender - I loved Frog Prince and Devil Beside You - both really fun TW dramas I can rewatch random episodes from. Have you tried Fated To Love You? It's really good too!

@9 langdon813 - ooh how are you liking Black & White? My friend keeps trying to get me to watch it but Vic Zhou has never really done it for me so I haven't.. Besides Brilliant Legacy I have also been following the jdrama Atashinchi no Danshi, which I am absolutely loving. I really like Horikita Maki and Mukai Osamu so it's been a fun ride...

@42 doozy - d-addicts always has pretty good quality video and subs - that's where I get all my DLs. As for jdorama recommendations, I'd definately say the Hana Yori Dango series is pretty darn excellent. Yes Matsujun is no Lee Min Ho, but i absolutely adored Inoue Mao's Makino as well as Oguri Shun's Rui. Madame Domyouji is pretty fierce too... Also, the Gokusen series, though has a very repetitive storyline each season, is always a fun and easy drama to breeze thru. It's interesting to see how many of those faces have been launched from the classroom background of Gokusen into leading roles (Oguri Shun, Matsujun, Hayami Mokomichi, Mizushima Hiro, Miura Haruma...) I'd also recommend Meichan no Shitsuji and Nodame Cantabile - just watched those 2 a few months ago and LOVED them.

@46 Jihwan - ME TOOOOO... i love the bae soo bin character so far...even if he is a lil too perfect haha.. (i've only watched 3 eps so far but hello MR. PERFECT much!??!) i see no appeal with the lee seung ki character. maybe he'll show his appeal later on, but unless BSB turns all stalker crazy, i am Team BSB!!

@53 That Guy - WHAT?!?!? Sigh... I don't know about that.

@Samsooki - I have yet to finish Last Scandal. I started watching it awhile ago (before her tragic passing) and have not been able to finish it since.. Maybe because it was her last project, but I just can't get myself to watch her alive and acting so happy on screen you know? Does that make sense? However, I have to say that while I was watching it, I really enjoyed it and will one day finish it as it is sitting on my laptop waiting for me haha..

@56, Nea -

My sister and I both have a REALLY hard time watching embarrassing moments of other people.

Like, I invited my sister and her husband over for dinner, and after dinner we were just chilling and watching TV and a gameshow called Password was on. And William Shatner and Aisha Tyler were there as the celebrity players. And Shatner was just...... awful. His clues were terrible, and he was passing instead of even trying. Meanwhile, Aisha Tyler was so awesome, she was nailing the game and she had like 5/5 right and Shatner was struggling to get even one right.

I was so embarrassed by Shatner's inability to play Password that I hid my face behind a pillow and I looked at my sister and she was doing the same thing!!! Meanwhile my wife and my sister's husband were both laughing and enjoying Shatner making a fool out of himself.

I have no idea why it is so hard for me to watch things like that. I just want to leave the room, hide for a little bit. Maybe it is genetic, since my sister and I both have the same issue, or maybe it is because of the way were were raised? A Korean-American 2nd generation thing? Hard to say....

***

That scene where YiNok wakes up, finds the foundation beam to be still warm, and then rushes out to see HGD walking away slowly, that was pretty awesome. That night, I shortened my iPod playlist from about 44 korean ost songs, to just one song (the "If" song by SNSD Taeyeon) on infinite repeat.

LOL.

TGIF!

It was the 20th anniversary of the TianmenSquare massacre yesterday, June 4th. I was just old enough to have very vivid memories of watching it unfold on TV....went to demonstrations with 1, 500, 000 ppl in crowded heat July, Hong Kong, 20 years back. It was the first time I've cried for reasons not fully conscious to myself.

I just thought as a semi witness of the atrocities, I'll have to put it down somewhere 'safe' and I've chosen JB's blog. It disheartened me when my mom warned me not to discuss it publicly for fear of any repercussions of what-ifs. As calm and resilient as my parents, I knew they had lived through the cultural revolution as youngsters and they were never the same, there was a constant well-hidden fear of the CPR, but it was never mentioned. It is really precious to have the level of openness in discussions, tolerance of diff thoughts and viewpoints and comradery here.

Most of us have very vivid images/memories of 911. It doesn't matter where you were that day, that moment, but when we witnessed thousands of innocent lives lost, we grieved. I'm an American, yet I felt almost less of a person to be not as affected as others. It was a while later when I realized because I've seen this before on June 4th 1989, and what's worst that was a government's calculated, systematic bloody approach to 'take care of' a student's demonstration... with tanks and bullets, to this day it was absolute denial, not even, June 4th 1989 doesn't exist. For 911, the culpit is clear, we can blame a public enemy. The massacre though, mothers of the dead were under house arrest as of yesterday. Thousands died unarmed...in the middle of that night...with the only premonition being the sudden lights out of the public square. To the CPR, was it the fact that it happened in pitch dark, with the excuse of the demonstrators being against the absolute doctrine in vogue of the regime... and citizens of their own can just vanish fr existence just because they have to halt a student demonstration? I rem the dawn of that day, soldiers were ordered to wipe off the blood and clean up the bullet holes....I saw an image of that, as if it was just another army drill. And we're not even supposed to ask where the blood came fr? Or was it blood?! What else did the bullets and tanks destroyed that night, huh?! It was an outrageous and hideous, cowardly crime, yet with the blatant ban of any info, it was a forgotten civic unrest at best.

My heart is still heavy when I realized how little humanity was/is worth, given how a powerhouse economically China is now. And it is disgusting to know that $ can really make the world turn a blind eye.

@24: try http://www.koreanfilm.org:D

@57 mookie -

On my wall in my office facing away from the entrance to my office, I have the tank guy picture framed. On it, the caption reads "5 juin 1989 place tian an men." Every night when I leave my office, as I walk out, I tap the picture to remind me that heroes and brave people who fight injustice aren't just in dramas and stories, but are real.

HGD is a favorite drama of mine now, but the mystery tank guy who stood in front of a column of tanks with nothing but a shopping bag and more courage than an entire nation, is my favorite hero.

#61 (Me)
Fantastic!! Those goldfish ratings are hilarious- and exactly what I needed to look at a TON of films in a clean way. A million thanks. (now if we could get dramabeans to put in a few comments...)

- Max

@55 carolf - Jun 5, 2009 at 2:38 pm

"I’m really curious — where are you guys watching all these dramas?! I’m not soo new at this BUT I really only watch them as the appear on our Korean TV channels. I know there’s some sites to you can go online to watch but waiting for it to buffer takes forever. And of course, I’ve been known to purchase the box sets (latest acquisition; Beethoven’s Virus). You all must be uber rich or giving up some necessities in life (like food?) in order to pursuit this drama craze!"

Just so you know, there are sites out there that have compiled a ton of k-dramas, able to be watched for free and all you have to do is click. Places like mysoju.com and viikii.net. However, at least mysoju.com has big issues, because they compile k-drama streams, but they don't do the subbing, and they don't care if they are directing viewers to sites that rip off the work of subbers that is being used without permission.

I would google mysoju and then read why people are upset with them, and see if viikii.net also has the same issues. You might also try dramafever.com and soompi.com. Both soompi and dramafever have permanent links at the top of this page, on the left hand side. Also check out the fansubber's site WITHS2: http://withs2.com/.

If you have netflix, you can also check them out. netflix has a large collection of korean dramas and movies.

Finally, you can buy cheap DVD sets which are bootlegs on ebay, and you can buy legit authentic DVD box sets from places like yesasia.com, dvdasian.com, hanbooks.com, even amazon.com.

i am about to start my new job soon...yeah...the girl i currently work with is so annoying...when i change my work hours, she follow suite..when i ask for vacation, she told me she asked first...then she called me on my day off and said she was applying for the same position, i don't even know how she got the info....i "inform"her that the position is internal and not open to public at all and that shut her up....ugh..anyway..sorry about the rant...safe weekend to all!!

Somebody once recommended Majo no Jouken here and I took interest in it thanks to their description. Thank you! It really is beautiful...just can't forget it.

I don't like scenes where people are embarrassed or lie a lot (and therefore put themselves in dangerous situations), either. It's very uncomfortable to watch...maybe it's because I unconsciously put myself in their places each time.

Up until yesterday, I somehow had the impression from what others have mentioned that Meteor Garden wasn't nearly as good as the two re-makes. So I didn't ever consider watching it or even just checking it out. Well, tripping on videos of it in youtube last night gave me quite a different impression! I'm so putting it on my list now.
Shows that I shouldn't always take someone else's opinion for gold. That reminds me of a cafe in our town. When it appeared, there was already an established pub/cafe where everyone went and the new one seemed shabby, odd. I heard from some friends that a couple of their friends had visited it and thought the food was bad, prices high and waiting times long. So I simply didn't even go there once, until one day about a year later I wanted to and it was gone already, bankrupt. Afterwards I heard from my own friends that the foods were actually delicious and prices lower than at the other places in our small town. I still feel stupid and regretful.

Two more weeks, two more exams! I have to be a good girl now, unlike before the last exam when I didn't even study because I had to watch one more and just one more episode of MnJ. Luckily this time it didn't bite me in the backside but I'm not taking any more chances, haha.

@55 carolf - mysoju which is kind of a hit or miss. they do have most of the dramas upped but there are lots of broken links as well. I prefer dramacrazy.net - normally when i go there their uploads and subs are of pretty decent quality. also, dramacrazy recently started their own subteam, so some of the dramas come directly from them and they post up episodes pretty quickly. What I do like about dramacrazy is that sometimes they'll post the raw episodes up first so people who are feening to just watch it without subs can, and then once their subs are done they'll reupload it with the subs.

@60 mookie I was glad to read your post. I vividly remember watching in tears for three days on CNN what happened in Tiananmen in '89. I'd been to the PRC three times by then and was scheduled to go that year as well, which I did just a couple of months later. On the way to Harbin, I passed through Beijing and actually went to Tiananmen. Not many tourists, as you might imagine. It was really amazing to see that except for some marks here and there, there was virtually no visible evidence of the terrible events that had unfolded on the spot so recently. Spotless.

In Harbin I recall talking with a young woman who asked me questions about what happened, since many in China had no real information.

And now among their other "projects," the Chinese government is demolishing the old historical parts of Kashgar (Kashi) and there is barely a ripple in the mainstream news. :(

@58, lovenyc52

I'm enjoying Black & White precisely because of my crush on Vic Zhou! :-) It's not reasonable, I can't even really explain why I love him, I just do. The last episode I watched broke my heart (a plot point that I did NOT want to happen did, in fact, happen) but my devotion to Vic remains steadfast no matter how over the top he may be sometimes. I'm embarrassed to tell you how many times I've watched MARS!

@67, stee

Meteor Garden is the first BOF version I saw, so I'm partial to it, although I've seen all 3. The relationship between the four boys in MG seemed really genuine and sweet. Plus, Jerry Yan is a really good cryer.

Actually, I think I just discovered another big reason why I love Kdramas so much...I've always been a sucker for a manly man who cries for love.

TGIF x a million!
Got a sore throat and congested beyond belief head/nose
And I got 4 days of school left =] mostly just finals though.
So all I need are some kdramas and ice cream and a blanket for the weekend! (Although I should be studying for next week...)
I watched the first 2 episodes of Sons of Sol Pharmacy house, and I like it so far, but I'm not sure if I want to commit to its 50 epidsodes.. I always find the short dramas (20-25 eps tops) the best..

Forgot to mention...I now have a big ol' girl crush on Kim Sun Ah. I just remembered seeing videos of her with Rain on YouTube when he invited her to tango with him. She was kind of reluctant and nervous and completely adorable...but at the time I didn't have a clue who she was. Gee, guess I'll have to watch it again. The things we do for love, I swear. ;-)

i LOVE black and white, though its a bit grimmer than my usual taste, but i mean with vic zhou and his humour, i could watch anything. I really loved him in wish to see you again, and i love him in black and white at the moment.

brilliant legacy is killing me, i HATE watching vids without subs but for BL i cant seem to wait! so im not going to download until haru2 subs release the subs so i wont keep on ruining it for me. and YEAY it got extended, ijust hope they wont extend the dramatic and hit your head on the wall parts of the drama, but the cute and BSB filled parts =D

im currently trying to watch older dramas, but im stacking up the new ones like strike love, that fool, job well done (love chae rim), story of a man (though i saw up to ep9) the city hall, and queen of housewives. i started bad family, its pretty funny, though the story isnt deep enough yet, im on episode 5, i hope it gets better, but ive read that it does so ill stick to it.

@71 Jihwan - oh ya i know they link from other sites too. I just find that their links are less likely to be broken and the subs and video quality dramacrazy links from are sometimes better. But this could also be the videos I'm searching for on one site versus another. However, dramacrazy did just start their own subbing team so i was assuming that they were uploading those subs directly to their own site instead of linking from another site.

@60 Vivid are my memories from 20 years ago - was it really that long ago? I remember watching the TV reports, the horror and utter disbelief that something like that could occur. I was probably too young to comprehend what and why it was happening. But to this day, 20 years, I still can't comprehend it.

Tank Man has become a symbol of what one individual can do. His bravery and the selflessness of his action at such a dangerous time. He may forever remain nameless but his one solitary act will forever be remembered.

May time reveal the truth. It cannot come a moment too soon.

xiaoSxin,

please do tell about your experience in nyc.

there's a short article in the nytimes on things to do in koreantown in manhattan that came out yesterday:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/07/nyregion/07koreatown.html?_r=1&hpw

@carolf #56
you can also try crunchyroll which has an agreement with MBC and carries great k-dramas like Coffee Prince, Jumong, Soulmate, Who are you, etc.
ajaaja.com let's you download k-dramas for free, they have a wide selection. they also post which dramas are not subbed, but most are subbed by WITHS2 which you can link. Dramafever is another great site.

@doozy#43
kimi wo petto, liar game, hana kimi and love shuffle are also some great j-drama. d-addicts has a list of recommended j-dramas as well. try veoh for downloads as well

Others may have been lucky to have JPN/CHN/KOR dramas broadcasted in their local or cable stations. However, there are many Asian drama fans that have been relying on fansubbers for years. Back when D-addicts just started, it was a small community.. relying on very few fansubbers to create subs.. as the community grew, more fansubbing groups were formed, WithS2 is among them. Back in those days, SARS were fighting bootleggers selling fansubbed dvds through ebay.

But the convenience of fast advancing technology has created the biggest threat so far.. streaming = mysoju and dramacrazy. Dramacrazy seems even worse as they (directly or indirectly) formed their own army to upload videos using difficult names.. making it hard to search.. as well as slapping their own logo on the videos. Not only that, fansubbers have consistenly requested their videos to be withdrawn from streaming sites as well as dramacrazy.. but dramacrazy ignores them and pretends they're doing fansubbers a service by "promoting" and "advertising" the fansubbing group.

It's sad that it has come to a point where some fansubbers are closing themselves up from the public.. becoming a more "exclusive" group in fear of endangering themselves with someone else streaming their work. I was freaked out when timelessubs suspended their releases, kinda pulled out of D-addicts, even moderated access to their blog and releases.

http://d-addicts.com/forum/viewtopic_73982.htm
http://d-addicts.com/forum/viewtopic_66651.htm

OK after my previous (1st?) serious post in this blog, back to my usual nonsense.........

Hmm this Open thread really covers a wide number of topics, where shall I start...

Re: Taiwanese Dramas - Prince Turns To a Frog el al
PTTF was one of my 1st forays into TW dramas. At the time thought it was totally exaggerated but very cute. Probably not in my list of favs now - but still have warm feelings towards it. Also had 183 Club playlist then!

Magicians of Love - Thought it might have been along the same cute/fun vein as PTTF. OMG how wrong was I! It was totally haywire - wanted my money back on that one. Not helped by my desire to attack Ming Dao's eyebrows with tweezers.

Meteor Garden - was really late to the MG bandwagon, watching it 5 years after it first aired. But could totally understand it's appeal. Having subsequently watched the other adaptions, each brought a different level of appeal. Loved Jerry and Vic!

MARS was one series that impressed - also you could see the improvements in Vic's acting.

It Started With a Kiss - too cute! One of my favs. Have not caught the sequel. Loved the OST too. Come to think of it the lead female character reminds of HGD's Yi Nok! Xiang Quin was sweet, stupid (oh so stupid!) but endearing in her love for Zhi Shu. The supporting cast were very funny.

I FINALLY watched Delighful Girl Choon Hyang last week and LOVED it. It may be my second favorite kdrama to date, following Coffee Prince. And I'm pretty sure that the love/marriage contract is my favorite plot device. Between 1% of Anything, Choon Hyang, and Full House it's just tons of fun.

Speaking of which, is anyting keeping up with That Fool/Accidental Couple. I'm about 7 or 8 episodes in and I'm not sure about it yet. While the main character Dong Beak is adorable, I can't find a redeeming quality in any of the other characters. I thought the manager was cool but she's been pretty shady lately and the younger brother would be alright if he didn't cry so much. But I'm having trouble rooting for Dong Beak and Ji Soo to get together. She spent a good five episodes being super mean to him. And not charmingly mean like in Full House of Choon Hyang but "My Secret Boyfriend Let Me Down Again So I'm Going to Take it Out on You" mean. Which is pretty confusing because that doesn't give us much of a reason to believe that dong Beak is really falling for her and it doesn't give us much of a reason to believe in her relationship with Kang Mo because he's obviously a jerk and a coward.

But the last couple of episodes have improved just enough to get me to stick with it... I was just wondering what other people thought...

Samsooki,

You better start writing about the battle between evil KJH/LDH against the good HB/NSM right away! LDH can play evil for sure, cos she's taken on such a role before. But KJH? hmmm... that will require some imagination, altho I'm pretty sure he'll be able to do so given his talent and acting ability..

Please drop in the LDH/KJH thread with your fic soon! (I lurk in both threads most of the time)

Hello to all my fellow City Hallers! I just have to say EP 13 is the most fun so far. Though I was a little taken back by Jo-guk's acting cute(but he was still funny as Mi-rae) and i like the way he acted so jealous of Dr. Tak, talking back and forth. The sad back hug was very romantic. Anyways, enough about my ramblings about that...ey! what's up with the concept of BAG as a gift? Is it tradition to give BAG/Purse to your GF?

hey, thanks for all the hints and helps on where to feed the drama craze! you guys are great! this hobby has the ultimate criteria of "sharing and caring"

I just wanted to spread the love of this following video. It's of actor Yoon Sang Hyeon, most recently in Queen of Housewives, singing The One's 보낼 수 없는너. Amazing. I never knew he was so good. I actually like his version better than the original, and the original is already great.
Any comments?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_nFO0ZEMIg&feature=channel_page

correction, it's episode 12! I must be thinking forward to episode 13, it's driving me crazy! *toinks*

@84 Z
"is anyting keeping up with That Fool/Accidental Couple. I’m about 7 or 8 episodes in and I’m not sure about it yet. While the main character Dong Beak is adorable, I can’t find a redeeming quality in any of the other characters...But the last couple of episodes have improved just enough to get me to stick with it… I was just wondering what other people thought…"

I am watching this show faithfully and I love it! DB was the reason I kept coming back but I felt that there was a redeeming quality in JS. By the ep you are referring to, JS really picks up as a character you like(or I hope so). I'm not one to tell someone to continue watching a show more than 2 eps and definitely not beyond the 4th if you just aren't into it, but being that you've kept watching, I would say don't give up yet. JS changes or reveals to be more of someone who's been closed off, not someone that is completely hateful or hateable. They've shown 12 eps now and I am growing sad that its actually going to be over in 2 wks.

I also understand your concerns about the manager and I really didn't like her and I'm still holding back on my overall approval but I think that she's just someone that wants to keep things very professional. Its not that she doesn't care for JS or that she wants to rule her or has weird loyalties to KM, its really about the job at the end of the day and not confusing personal feelings or desires with that.

Good luck! Hate that you aren't loving it like the rest of us. Let me know how it goes:)

@85 ripgal,

I always get torn when I write treatments and stories, because the characters are usually bigger than the stories, meaning that sometimes bad things happen to good characters and I can't stop what will happen, and other times, good things happen to bad characters, and again, I can't stop what will happen.

The way that I learned how to write, basically, you create a story by creating characters and then letting them do whatever it is that they would do if they were sitting next to you. They are real, and so you really can't control them. They do whatever it is that they do. All you can do is control the initial setting and initial circumstances, but once you give life to the characters, they will do what they do, and my job as the writer is just to describe what I see as it happens. Sort of like a reporter.

If you create a character like a rugged and lonely bounty hunter, Binnie, who sees himself as being cursed and not really deserving of anything, then you've created a force of nature and then all you do is describe what he does. I throw in a gentle and sweet younger sister, Nam Sang Mi, and then now Binnie has to reconcile how he lives with how he can protect her. I add parents who were betrayed and killed by Kang Ji Hwan, his former foster brother, then now, I give a strong reason for living - to get revenge for the spilled blood of his parents. And finally, I can throw in obstacles like being captured by slavers and sold to a slave plantation where a rich yang-ban family live like royalty, where the arrogant and dangerous Yoon Kye Sang and the fierce and independent Lee Da Hae are the heirs to the family's wealth, and then put Binnie and Nam Sang Mi in the slave plantation as the newest slaves, bought off of a slave ship.

But after I've laid it out, the dialogue and the action that follows really has nothing to do with me, and sometimes, when you create a story like this, I find that I really hate what happens, because sometimes bad things happen and sometimes good things happen, but to the wrong people. It can be really upsetting, after you've invested scores of hours to create something, only to find that the characters you thought up in your head end up permanently hurt or lifeless.

If I really care about the characters, then I can get pretty upset if I find out that the love story turns out to have a tragic ending, or that Kang Ji Hwan turns out to be too smart, too ruthless, too terrible, and my whole world is destroyed by Kang Ji Hwan's capacity to cause pain to others.

Anyway, I will try to write a treatment this week, and we'll see how it goes. I really hope there will be a happy ending in my story - if it ends up like a certain fusion sageuk I just saw, I will be kind of upset. hehe.

as the protector of his sole reason for not killing himself, his younger

@88 Sammi510 -

Wow, that was seriously good.

I think he surprised the people behind him, they were sitting so still and upright and I don't think they really knew he was going to do what he did.

I gotta find me that song now. hehe.

lol recently addicted to something and didn't read korean entertainment news for about a month or 2 already..now trying to catch up everything....

To 88 and others:

I absolutely LOVE Yoon Sang Hyun!!!
I also never thought he sang so well but he is AMAZING!!!
When he sang "Never Ending Story" for Queen of Housewives, a whole bunch of Korean ajummas were saying how he sang better than Lee Seung Chul.
I don't know about that but hes amazing anyways!!!
TOTAL FAN! Any other fans out there???

Oh!
All the Dramas on Dramafever.com are english subbed.

@71
Love Black & White as well and not just because of Vic but because I think it is awsome. And as to the plot point you did not want to happen, I am absolutely sure that it is just a ruse to protect you know who's identity and not really true.

Nor for something completely different:
Among all the news from stars who joined the army, there has been nothing on Kim Jae Won. Does this mean he is not doing well? Has anybody read something on him on the net?

It is raining over here and additionally this is not a free weekend but I have "grammar" courses both today and tomorrow - sigh...

Everybody enjoy your weekend!

Hi Sarah -

Are you sure you will not reconsider watching Brilliant Legacy aka Shining Inheritance? I am up to ep. 9 and am HOOKED and loving it! With A Man's Story winding down, Strike Love getting some episodes chopped, won't you PLEEEEEEEEASE reconsider? Would LOVE to read your point of view on this one. PLEEEEEEEAAAAAAASEEEEEE??????????????????????

Have a great weekend and a great time on your trip!

@ samsooki

As a fan (groupie) of Kang Ji Hwan, have you seen the movie
Rough Cut/ A Movie is a Movie? You will love KJH there, I am not a fan but a fan of So JI Sub, the other male lead. When you get to see this movie, hope you become a fan of So Ji Sub, too.

About "If" song in HGD. Me too when I first watch HGD last Jan-Mar 2008 (when it was shown on TV in my part of the world, I was so in love with that song that I overdosed on it. At that time I can't wait for Weds and Thus to come so I can watch HGD, specially that last 4-5 episodes. Unfortunately for me my father passed away last March 5, 2008 so I could not watch the remaining episodes on TV. Therefore, I always associate the song "IF" to the death of my dad.

My favorite scene is when Sung Yuri and KJW embraced for the "last" time inside the "barn?" because they are not allowed to see each other anymore (or so they thought). TOTALLY A TEARJERKER. Enjoy HGD if you have not finished.

@96, AnitaLotti

I really hope you're right about that plot point NOT being true; the thought that it might be a red herring did occur to me but I'm a little afraid to get my hopes up!

Something really funny to me; the guy playing Hero and the man playing the Director are father and son in real life, and they look exactly alike. I've noticed that in the scenes they share, they're rarely shown in the same frame. I guess it would be too obvious that they have the exact same face (except for the Director's little moustache)!

@ Samsooki

I've made it to Ep 14 of MNIKSS and am still loving it. I think it's gonna be an all-nighter; I can't leave town without finishing it!

Samsooki,

Such a great insight on how you make-up your stories with the help of your fav actors and actresses. No worries, just let your imagination and creativity flow with the wind.. since you already have a hard time choosing over Binnie and KJH (you gonna give him a nic name or what? Hwannie?), it doesn't really matter who wins in the end right? As long as the the pacing and writing's good (which I believe it will be), bring it on! ^^

===

Has anybody seen Memories of Murder by Song Kang Ho and Kim Sang Kyung, directed by The Host/Mother's director Bong Joon Ho? I just finished the movie a while ago, and I was soooo blown away by it! Bong Joon Ho's a darn amazing director I must say, no wonder The Host received so many praises. I really can't pinpoint in exact words right now... about the beauty of this movie, despite it being a thriller/investigation movie. I need to think and reorganise my thoughts.. Anybody seen this movie?