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Open Thread #416

 
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Happy Friday!
This is Korea drama awards(KDA) night.
Darn! Kim SooHyun(Producers) got the grand prize.
Best actor and actress awards went to Lee JongSuk
(Pinocchio) and Kim TaeHee (YongPal). I think Yong Pal
Plot change took the chance for award away from Joo Won and gave it to KTH. Best drama award went to MiSaeng.

I am upset for Ji Sung, but this has been tough year to
win because there have been a few good dramas/acting.

Maybe that is why Kim SooHyun got emotional with his win?(I thought about mother power. Like many stars, KSH thanked his mother. I remember to read that he started to learn acting when his mother sent him to acting school hoping he can get over his shyness when he was young)

Talking about KDA, I wanted to look back past year award winners.
Grand prize:
2007 Kim Hee-ae(Mrs.cop) My Husband's Woman
Yoo Dong-geun(What's with my family) Yeon Gaesomun
2008 Kim Myung-min Beethoven Virus
2010 N/A N/A
2011 N/A Secret Garden
2012 Kim Nam-joo My Husband Got a Family
2013 Lee Bo-young I Can Hear Your Voice, My Daughter Seo-young
2014 Kim Soo-hyun My Love from the Star

===
Best Drama:
2007 Jumong
2008 Mom's Dead Upset
2010 The Slave Hunters/Chuno
2011 N/A
2012 My Husband Got a Family
2013 My Daughter Seo-young
2014 My Love from the Star

I liked most of them (except I didn't finish Yeon
Gaesomun, and I wasn't keen on Mom's Dead Upset), but I want to mention how much I enjoyed My husband got a family/Unexpected You.

MHGAF aired right after Ojakgyo brothers, and right before My daughter SeoYoung. Even though I enjoyed all 3 dramas, I particularly enjoyed MHGAF. This drama is so delightful.

(spoiler?) The leads are husband and wife couple in their 30s. Wife/Female lead is a PD in a drama production company, so show makes fun of some drama related stuff (King of Drama moments, hilarious). There are Twenty Again moments, and Reply 1997 moments also. There is a chaebol's son whom people don't believe even when he says who he is (and nobody cares). heh. One daughter is consultant in a plastic surgery clinic and of course this will have some
funny scenes. And husband is the best who always takes his wife's side over his parents.
So many funny moments (though not completely all funny unfortunately). The show also has great cameos including male and female leads' real-life spouses.

Just best Ajumma drama. I enjoyed this long show(58 eps) without feeling boredom (if you can pass episode 1). I can't bet my mother like someone, still I bet you will enjoy this show if you like this kind of genre.

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why did Chanyeol from EXO get the rookie award?? what about Yook Sung-jae or Ji-soo?

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Really? Is it for his movie (about grandpa-grandma or something like that, I think)? Is that already airing?

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He won for their web drama EXO Next Door. Looking at past nominations, it seems they always nominate some idols... and Sungjae wasn't able to attend the event, so probably why he didn't get it.

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KDA is just as trashy as other award shows.
The winners somehow are the weaker (or the weakest) in their categories. Seriously Kim Tae Hee got Top Excellence Award?? And Kim Soo Hyun won against Ji Sung/Yoo Dong Geun/Cha Seung Won/Joo Won??
I don't hate Kim Soo Hyun, in fact he's endearing and at least can act. But objectively, his acting level is still not quite on the level of veterans.
And of course #JusticeforJiSung. I think I need to create that trend on twitter. :)

If somehow Ji Sung doesn't get Daesang on MBC Drama Awards, people would seriously put backlash on awards shows.

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Completely agree.. KSH winning against Ji Sung/Yoo Dong Geun is a real travesty. I honestly feel embarrassed on behalf of KSH.The fact that yongpal won screenwriter make it even more cringeworthy. this is popularity award at its worst.

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I agree, I loved Kim Soo-hyun in Producer but that wasn't even close to Ji Sung's brilliance in KMHM. #JusticeforJiSung indeed.

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Their selections have become so ridiculous that I'd probably be ashamed to win an award from KDA if I was an actor. lol

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Just want to say I recommend MHGAF/Unexpected You ~all the time~ because even for my roommate daunted by the sheer episode count, it works its magic of everyone having respectably engaging plot and characterization in a show that's about the long-lost son always showering affection for the main character who didn't count on this extended family to be her neighbors. I do have to find the time for KNJ's two other shows but this complete package of a show has to be my utter favorite out of everything I've watched.

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They've stopped subbing "Queen Insoo" on Viikii because all the subbers got annoyed by people pestering them for subs as soon as possible!

I am very sad that people won't be able to experience this drama but I do want to note how much I appreciate subbers and everyone involved in getting dramas ready for English-speaking audience!

Need to catch up on "Six Dragons". Any good so far?

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Too bad about Queen Insoo. (I have rough translation that I did on each ep. if anyone is interested. As you can tell, my English is lacking - watching too many k-dramas is bad for your English skill. heh.)

So far so good on Six Dragons. Didn't pull like Dae JangGeum or QSD yet. Need some background knowledge on history to watch this I think, even though it is not historically correct in detail. I watch for KMM and the writer for now.

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Also watching 6FD for KMM & the writers.

Maybe those drama awards should be called the Buzz and Money awards, given to whoever generates same?

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I'm really sorry to hear that about Queen Insoo, as I was excited that it was finally going to be legally available. Hopefully, it will get picked back up as some point - I know subbing a 50 episode sageuk is a challenge and I'm extremely grateful for the folks who are willing to invest the time in it.

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That is the problem with Viki, they aren't using paid subbers so the titles can take a while even if they're for a show that Viki is pushing. On the one hand I think their subtitles are generally better to Dramafever's and editorially speaking they're not dumbed down/homogenized, but they can be slow if the show doesn't rivet the attention of the subbers.

I recently noticed that the MBC America app on my Samsung smart tv has quite a few recent shows with subtitles, some of which Viki had before but also My Spring Days which neither they or DF had. In fact, the app had Splendid Politics added while it was still airing which was kind of a first. So now I'm checking it regularly to see if they add anything else really new.

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MBC has a YouTube channel also, but subbed shows are pretty spotty, not near as good or up to date as the SBS YouTube channels.

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KBS World TV is really good as well. They're on youtube and they have so many subbed shows. Their hold back is only a week now.

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From the Viki page: ..We have lost several good translators do to them quitting because of the negativity of viewers who think they should receive instant gratification..." https://www.viki.com/tv/28083c-queen-insoo?q=quee

I read a few of the comments from viewers, and have to say I cannot really blame the translators.

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I don't blame them either.

I dropped my Viki Pass and started using other sites more because I got tired of the rudeness and I'm just a viewer. There's no excuse for treating volunteers like that.

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Main reason I keep my Viki pass is because they have a ROKU channel so I can watch on the big screen.

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That is sad to hear, I was wanting to watch that show. I completely understand subers getting annoyed though. It's sad, but so many people are spoiled now with subs coming out quickly (especially for korean dramas. Chinese and especially japanese are still slower thus people are sometimes a little more understanding).

Especially for shows that are airing. Seeing comments always asking "When is the next episode out?!!!!" when the episode hasn't even aired yet on top of no thanks is annoying, even for other viewers.

I am so thankful for all the subbers that are working hard. Sure it can be annoying to see subs suddenly stop, but that is still the right of the suber.

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As a subber, I don't get annoyed when people post that they are waiting for the subs. It makes me feel like someone is actually reading my work. Just imagine doing all that work and having no one watch the show.

If people are offensive, the channel manager can delete their comments, both in the comment section and in the video. I know they do it all the time, although it can take a while because they aren't on there 24/7.

As for stopping to sub, I know some people feel they should be "interested" or "like" the show. Me, I commit to the show, even if it ends up being a mess. And I actually prefer the 50 episode shows because I can master the vocabulary and can sub more quickly.

The way Viki works is there are subbing teams. They can be clique (clickee?), so it can be hard to get on a good one where everyone does their part quickly and doesn't complain. And as a moderator, it can be hard to build a team and bring on new subbers (people who are new to subbing). Personally, I think Viki could have a Subbing School like they have the Segmenting School. It could have certifications in certain genres, so people could standardize on translation vocabulary. I guess the Segmenting School was built by a volunteer, so if there is to be a Subbing School, that would have to be built by volunteers too.

I do worry about the business model of using only volunteers. It doesn't seem like it can grow as quickly as Viki brings in shows.

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Hi ktiep, thanks for providing insight into the work of subbers. Volunteers or not, people are investing lots of time and effort and should be appreciated. Recently, the drama site I frequented went through an upgrade and the service was interrupted intermittently with missing or broken episode links here and there for over a week. It was then that I realise how much things have been taken for granted. I was fervently hoping for the service to be restored all the time and was so worried that they might call it quits and drop the service altogether. So users generally don't see the value of the free service being provided until it gets disrupted or discontinued. Also, when passionate subbers do a great job, their effort should be greatly appreciated too. I have come across subs which might have been generated by automated translation, it was very bad with broken English translated fully out of context. For example, Police officer Kim became "the Golden Police officer"!!! Half the time I was guessing what was going on and ended up not being able to enjoy the show. :(

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a subbing school sounds like a great idea! I'd forgotten you subbed, btw. Do you know what you'll be subbing next?

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Happy OT Everyone!

In the last few months, as I read comments about the chemistry or lack thereof between OTPs, 2nd leads, bromance,... I've been coming to the conclusion that:
* chemistry is not a straightforward thing
* natural romantic chemistry is not common
* acted romantic chemistry only works some of the time ie the actors are good and consistent about it or they can get tired and become inconsistent
* other kinds of chemistry can get mistaken for romantic chemistry.

So I got to asking myself some questions, and thought you might like to play along, based on the question, “Have you had times when most others were raving about the OTP’s chemistry and you did not see it?” Yes / No?

So here’s a fun quiz ( 7 questions broken up) ... enjoy!

Romantic Chemistry in a drama (what is it?)
1) Chemistry is how romantic the couple look on screen and how they make us feel about their relationship. True or False?

If your answer is True, please elaborate _ _ _
If your answer is False, how would you define it? _ _ _

2)Do you think recognising Romantic Chemistry is subjective ie regarding the same OTP some viewers say yes, some say no and both are right?
a)Yes it is subjective. It depends on the viewer, if it feels right to him, then there’s chemistry. However, if others say there is no chemistry, it does not matter because to that one viewer the OTP worked.
b)No, chemistry is visible or even palpable ... everyone should be able to sense it or else it does not exist in the show.
c)Subjective but at least there should be 50% or more viewers who feel that there is chemistry, then it can be said that the OTP has chemistry.
d)Other thoughts _ _ _

3) Chemistry must be based on some genuine feeling between the OTP or else the viewer will not be convinced of it. True or False? Feel free to elaborate.

4) Chemistry is something that can be portrayed by good actors regardless of how they really feel about each other, ie they can convince us that they are in love even if they hate each other’s guts in real life. True or False? Feel free to elaborate or give egs.

5)It is possible to mistake friendship chemistry, sibling chemistry or just happy colleague chemistry as Romantic Chemistry. True or False? Feel free to elaborate or give egs.

6)It’s possible for viewers to have wishful thinking, ie, we want the couple to work out and so we interpret their togetherness as being full of chemistry, but it’s just wishful thinking. True or False? Feel free to elaborate or give examples.

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Quiz on ‘Romantic Chemistry’ continued...

7) Couple Chemistry Rating
I picked a purely random and subjective list of kdramas, while leaving out many that did not come to mind immediately. Of this list of couples, who do you feel have one of these types of chemistry.... you can combine the codes for eg. “GN 50%” means there’s some genuine chemistry, or “AC lots but CG” means there’s lots of Acted Chemistry but it Comes and Goes.

Sorry it’s complicated! (I was going crazy trying to come up with graduated responses) :D My answers are below.
Codes
50% - some degree
0% - no chemistry, they did not even try
Little – less than 50%
Lots - more than 50%
GN - genuine chemistry ie they may be/have been fond of each other in real life
AC - acted chemistry ie they are good in acting as lovers
FP - friendly/professional chemistry
SB - sibling chemistry
CG - comes and goes ie now you see it, now you don’t
NO - no opinion

Feel free to add your own couples.

(All About My Romance) Shin Ha Kyun-Lee Min Jung
(Angry Mom) Ji Soo-Kim Hee Sun
(Cantabile Tomorrow) Joo Won-Shim Eun Kyung
(City Hunter) Lee Min Ho-Park Min Young
(Coffee Prince) Gong Yoo-Yoon Eun Hye
(Fated To Love You) Jang Hyuk-Jang Na Ra
(Full House 1) Bi-Song Hye Kyo
(Goong 1) Joo Ji Hoon-Yoon Eun Hye
(Healer) Ji Chang Wook-Park Min Young
(I Hear Your Voice) Lee Jong Suk-Lee Bo Young
(I Remember You) Seo In Guk-Jang Na Ra
(I Remember You) bromance Seo In Guk-Park Bo Gum
(Kill Me Heal Me)Ji Sung-Hwang Jung Eum
(Kill Me Heal Me) Park Seo Joon-Hwang Jung Eum
(King of High School Savvy) Seo In Guk-Lee Ha Na
(King 2 Hearts) Lee Seung Gi-Ha Ji Won
(Lie To Me) Kang Ji Hwan-Yoon Eun Hye
(Mary Stayed Out All Night) Jang Geun Seuk-Moon Geun Yong
(Mask) Joo Ji Hoon-Soon Ae
(Mask) Yun Jung Hoon-Soon Ae
(Master’s Sun) So Ji Sub-Gong Hyo Jin
(My Beautiful Bride) Kim Mu Yeol-Go Sung Hee
(My Girl) Lee Dong Wook-Lee Da Hae
(My Love Eun Dong) Joo Jin Mo-Kim Sa Rang
(My Love From Another Star) Kim Soo Hyun-Jun Ji Hyun
(My Princess) Song Seung Hun-Kim Tae Hee
(My Spring Days) Kam Woo Sung-Choi Soo Young
(It’s OK That’s Love) Jo In Sung-Gong Hyo Jin
(Oh My Ghostess) Jo Jung Suk-Park Bo Young as Soon Ae
(Oh My Ghostess) Jo Jung Suk-Park Bo Young as Bong Sun
(Pinocchio) Lee Jong Suk-Park Shin Hye
(Playful Kiss) Kim Hyun Joong-Jung So Min
(Protect the Boss) Ji Sung-Choi Kang Hee
(Reply 1997) Seo In Guk-Jung Eun Ji
(She Was Pretty) Park Seo Joon-Hwang Jung Eum
(She Was Pretty) Park Seo Joon-Go Joon Hee
(Smelly Girl) Park Yoo Chun-Shin Se Kyung
(The Time I Loved You) Lee Jin Wook-Ha Ji Won
(Twenty Again) Lee Sang Yoon-Choi Ji Woo
(Warm & Cozy) Yoo Yeon Suk –Kang So Ra
(Yong Pal) Joo Won-Kim Tae Hee

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This is a coincidence I planned to ask about chemistry too though my question is very different. :)

I find it hard to answer your questions because of my own concept of chemistry. After all those kdramas more and more I'm thinking chemistry needs a reasonable story, a good director, nice dialogue but above all at least decent actors. Does this cover a reply for all the questions? :)

For instance I really like Shin Min Ah, Gong Yoo, Gong Hyo Jin, Kim Sun Ah, Yoon Eun-Hye. I don't think they really had bad chemistry with anyone so these days I'm thinking bad chemistry is just an excuse for bad actors.

There are a few exceptions for the bad actors sometimes. I personally think Lee Dong Wook is one of those horrible actors but when everything works well like in My Girl he can just be dragged into having good chemistry. There is also the opposite, I like Hyun Bin but everything was so silly in Jackyl that not even him could make any chemistry out of nothing.

Making it short :) most of the times, it is just two at least decent actors doing their jobs.

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Thanks @ Lixie

The objective of my questions is to get an idea of what chemistry is. I'm seeing that it means different things to different people, or maybe it's a different viewpoint between the ones behind the scenes from the ones who are watching.

However I understand where you are coming from, and it's one of the questions that did pass through my mind. Reading all the shared view points is going to keep my brain occupied for a bit! LOL.

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I think a distinction can be made between talented acting, being able to inhabit a character and being able to portray that character's uniqueness for the viewer and an actor with a charismatic screen presence. Both are appealing, but the viewer expect less from the latter.
Si Won is an actor with great charisma. He seems very comfortable on screen and that warmth extends out to his acting partners. So far his roles seem to exaggerated versions of his self, which are very entertaining.
A talented actor does need a good writer and director to make the most of his craft. There is only so much they can do with shallow characters and poorly written scenes.
Seo In Guk is an actor who has improved significantly with his recent works. Contrasting the roles in "I Remember You" and "High School King of Savy" is a demonstration of his expanding range. He seems comfortable and able to connect with both lead actresses despite very different roles. A good actor can transmit his chemistry and make you believe it.

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@ Kbas

Thanks for bringing this up. It was something I only thought about superficially, but it sounds like something interesting to be explored. :)

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@ Kbas

I've taken the ideas you mentioned here and am turning it into a discussion comment on the next OT which will be out soon! Thanks for the ideas!

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Geez this is a long list!

Okay.... here goes...

50% – some degree
0% – no chemistry, they did not even try
Little – less than 50%
Lots – more than 50%
GN – genuine chemistry ie they may be/have been fond of each other in real life
AC – acted chemistry ie they are good in acting as lovers
FP – friendly/professional chemistry
SB – sibling chemistry
CG – comes and goes ie now you see it, now you don’t
NO – no opinion

Feel free to add your own couples.

(Angry Mom) Ji Soo-Kim Hee Sun Who cares?
(Cantabile Tomorrow) Joo Won-Shim Eun Kyung Lots
(City Hunter) Lee Min Ho-Park Min Young Unimportant
(Coffee Prince) Gong Yoo-Yoon Eun Hye Lots
(Fated To Love You) Jang Hyuk-Jang Na Ra AC
(Healer) Ji Chang Wook-Park Min Young AC
(King of High School Savvy) Seo In Guk-Lee Ha Na GN - but as friends
(Mask) Joo Ji Hoon-Soon Ae GN, Lots
(Mask) Yun Jung Hoon-Soon Ae Little
(Master’s Sun) So Ji Sub-Gong Hyo Jin 0%
(My Love Eun Dong) Joo Jin Mo-Kim Sa Rang AC
(My Love From Another Star) Kim Soo Hyun-Jun Ji Hyun AC, GN - as friendly colleagues
(It’s OK That’s Love) Jo In Sung-Gong Hyo Jin Who cares?
(Oh My Ghostess) Jo Jung Suk-Park Bo Young as Soon Ae Ick!
(Oh My Ghostess) Jo Jung Suk-Park Bo Young as Bong Sun Ick! part deux
(Pinocchio) Lee Jong Suk-Park Shin Hye AC, Lots
(Playful Kiss) Kim Hyun Joong-Jung So Min CG
(She Was Pretty) Park Seo Joon-Hwang Jung Eum Little
(She Was Pretty) Park Seo Joon-Go Joon Hee 0%
(Smelly Girl) Park Yoo Chun-Shin Se Kyung AC
(The Time I Loved You) Lee Jin Wook-Ha Ji Won FP
(Twenty Again) Lee Sang Yoon-Choi Ji Woo Little
(Warm & Cozy) Yoo Yeon Suk –Kang So Ra GN - but as friends
(Yong Pal) Joo Won-Kim Tae Hee 0%

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Hi Growingbeautifully!

I haven't watched many of these dramas - some I dropped off because I got bored after a few episodes. But for the ones I completed, here are my two cents for what they are worth:

(Cantabile Tomorrow) Joo Won-Shim Eun Kyung - FP
(City Hunter) Lee Min Ho-Park Min Young - >50%
(Coffee Prince) Gong Yoo-Yoon Eun Hye - LOTS!!!! Smoking HOT!!!
(Fated To Love You) Jang Hyuk-Jang Na Ra - AC - HOT!!
(Full House 1) Bi-Song Hye Kyo - >50%
(Goong 1) Joo Ji Hoon-Yoon Eun Hye - LOTS!!! HOT!!!
(Healer) Ji Chang Wook-Park Min Young - LOTS!!!
(I Hear Your Voice) Lee Jong Suk-Lee Bo Young - LOTS!!!
(I Remember You) Seo In Guk-Jang Na Ra - CG maybe AC?
(I Remember You) bromance Seo In Guk-Park Bo Gum - LOTS!!! Definitely more than 80%
(Kill Me Heal Me)Ji Sung-Hwang Jung Eum - LOTS!!!
(Kill Me Heal Me) Park Seo Joon-Hwang Jung Eum - AC
(King 2 Hearts) Lee Seung Gi-Ha Ji Won - LOTS!!!
(Lie To Me) Kang Ji Hwan-Yoon Eun Hye - >50%
(Mary Stayed Out All Night) Jang Geun Seuk-Moon Geun Yong 50% AC convincing
(My Love From Another Star) Kim Soo Hyun-Jun Ji Hyun AC
(My Princess) Song Seung Hun-Kim Tae Hee NC Close to 0
(It’s OK That’s Love) Jo In Sung-Gong Hyo Jin AC closer to CG
(Oh My Ghostess) Jo Jung Suk-Park Bo Young as Soon Ae AC - Meh Close to 50%
(Oh My Ghostess) Jo Jung Suk-Park Bo Young as Bong Sun AC - Meh close to 50%
(Pinocchio) Lee Jong Suk-Park Shin Hye >50%
(Playful Kiss) Kim Hyun Joong-Jung So Min - LOTS!!!
(Protect the Boss) Ji Sung-Choi Kang Hee - Some Chemistry, say 50%?
(Reply 1997) Seo In Guk-Jung Eun Ji - GC
(She Was Pretty) Park Seo Joon-Hwang Jung Eum - Little
(She Was Pretty) Park Seo Joon-Go Joon Hee - A little
(Smelly Girl) Park Yoo Chun-Shin Se Kyung - AC close to 50%
(The Time I Loved You) Lee Jin Wook-Ha Ji Won AC (not really convincing)
(Warm & Cozy) Yoo Yeon Suk –Kang So Ra >50%
(Yong Pal) Joo Won-Kim Tae Hee - CG Maybe close to 50%?

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Also I just wanted to add, my personal perspective of Chemistry is that indefinable thing that makes me go crazy about the couple on screen. It either works or it doesn't. When it works, it convinces me that the couple belong together and makes me root for them to make it despite all odds.

When the Chemistry is very hot (or smoldering as I may say?) then I can't get the couple out of my mind long after I've finished watching the drama (even years afterwards). I think of them when I'm doing daily chores, driving the car or even at work. When the Chemistry is lukewarm, then I don't care whether or not they wind up together and the drama becomes forgettable. When the Chemistry is practically non-existent, I end up cringing and feeling bad for the casting director because that's a huge faux pass in my book.

An example of smoldering chemistry is Yoon Eun Hye with Gong Yoo (Coffee Prince) or Yoon Eun Hye with Ji Joon Hoon (Goong); or Ji Sung with Hwang Jung Eum (in Secret). Their performances were unforgettable, like two halves of an onion. Fitting perfectly. On the other hand, Ji Sung-Choi Kang Hee (Protect the Boss) was lukewarm. I ended up liking the drama, but I could never love it. But Choi Kang Hee with Chun Jung-Myung (Heart to Heart) practically gave me a heart attack the gazes they gave each other were so scorching!

An example of a pairing that left me stone cold was UEE and Sung Joon in High Society. I cringed for the casting director. They were NOT good together. At all.

Chemistry on screen could be very different from real life and has little to do with talent. But its so elusive and difficult to qualify that you just have to watch them together on screen to know if a couple has it and in what degrees they exhibit it.

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Thanks so much @Adal for your detailed discussion on chemistry. You've put into words for me, the thoughts that have been coming on and off as I watched shows and read comments that got me wondering.

I've wondered if chemistry was a 'thing' that could be noticed, engineered, destroyed or whether it happened automatically. It seems to be a nebulous thing ... both evident and imputed, natural and created, and encompassing very many factors. It seems it can be known and yet remains a mystery. What a wonderful paradox! :)

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I'm afraid I haven't seen most of the dramas you listed since I'm pretty new to K-drama but I believe chemistry is a very subjective thing. There are many OTPs that people see chemistry between them but I don't eg I still don't see the romantic chemistry between Song Jihyo and Byun Yohan in Ex-Girlfriend's Club.

There are some actors/actresses who are so good that they have an instant sizzling chemistry with their co-stars like Gong Hyojin because they are able to bring their co-stars into the needed mood or dynamism/tension needed in the scene. There are also some actors/actresses who aren't exactly good but they are so engaging or they have such a charming charisma on-screen that you can't help but go aww, no matter who they are paired up with in the show. I can't think of anyone in K-drama land (probably Byun Yohan) but I see that in two Hong Kong actresses, Aimee Chan and Eliza Sam. Their acting is raw and overbearing at times but they are so adorable that they draw the audience to their characters' romance and interactions with other characters.

Yoochun and Shin Sekyung is a very good example of the chemistry I love in shows - they look good together, their scenes are adorable as hell and they genuinely have fun with each other so it translates to the screen.

Another couple I've been in love with is Jang Nara and Seo Inguk in I Remember You, even though their chemistry is kept strictly to within filming but I love seeing them together (HEIGHT DIFFERENCE IS HELLA ADORABLE) and also the way Inguk stares at her with amused fondness. It just makes me go awww, even though I know the chemistry isn't really there because it's just the idea of cool and logical Lee Hyun falling for someone that I'm in love with.

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Hi @ Clesias
Thanks for sharing your take on chemistry. A lot of it is in how we as viewers see it and feel it, for whatever reason... I believe, if the couple had a good friendship, something of that could come through to us and we could sense their chemistry. Conversely I also believe that actors are able to make us believe that they have an attraction for each other that we might translate into chemistry. So yes, it is pretty much as you say as well. :)

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As a director, I find chemistry is a very tricky thing. Some pairs have it and some pairs just don't and it often has very little to do with overall acting talent. Oddly, it also often has very little to do with how the actors feel about each other in real life. I've had actors who were actually dating who had very little chemistry in a dramatic context, and actors who hated each other who were throwing off sparks left and right when placed in front of an audience. Finding pairs that "click" is often one of the biggest challenges (and unknowns) of casting.

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Thanks @ wonhwa

This is an interesting discussion. So in your experience some people just have it and some don't. Then, I suppose it is not a subjective thing from the audience's point of view, but a 'something' that is objectively there or not there?

Therefore, can I say it follows that the casting process takes this into account, and the actors/actresses in auditions have to read/act their parts with each other in order for you to tell who will work as a couple and who won't?

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I personally always try to have actors who will be romantically paired in a show read together during the casting process to see what happens, and it's often quite surprising which pairs end up working best. That being said, there are some performers who are better at generating "chemistry" with partners than others, and very talented actors will normally find ways to make their interactions with their scene partners compelling and interesting even if there isn't initially a lot of "buzz" happening. Of course, just because I find a pairing exciting doesn't mean that every single audience member will react the same way. Audiences bring their own biases (and hormones) to the table, and their perceptions of "hotness" and "chemistry" will always have a strong element of individual preference.

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@ wonhwa

Thanks again.

If a couple have that spark naturally, can it be spoiled by or detracted from by some other aspects of the production? Perhaps this is less so in theatre since so much effort has been put in at rehearsals. But I'm thinking of @Lixie's question (Comment 20), and perhaps it's more to do with TV dramas .... but do you think great chemistry can be sabotaged by a bad story?

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This is my experience, too.

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I agree with your perception on acting. I always thought rehearsal is an essential element in any sort of performance and it's obviously that K-ent, in terms of TV production, spend minimun time on rehersing any scene for various reasons.
My question is exactly like @GB's. Is it possible for a good actor to elevate bad writing and/or poor production quality and vice versa? Because, as @Lixie put it in her comment, perhaps "bad chemistry" is just an excuse for bad (or inexperienced, if I may add) performers.

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@kalel

The short answer is yes. Although good actors can do more with bad material than good material can do with bad actors. :-)

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@Growingbeautifully

Even the best actors are going to struggle with a terrible script, but they can make a flawed script better, sometimes dramatically so (look at a performance like Jang Hyuk's in Chuno where he took a role that didn't have tons of development on the page and made it absolutely mesmerizing). And bad actors can certainly sabotage good writing, as tons of terrible Shakespeare productions will attest.

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I've noticed that some actors have the ability to convey attraction - but that it isn't always reciprocated in a pairing.

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1) True, I need to see some 'spark' between them that I can define as romantic feeling to accept their relationship

2) c, I think the OTP need to have some chemistry for audience to accept them. But whether or not they recognize it is quite subjective. (e.g. some people think they saw a potential romantic chemistry between Song Hakyung and Ko Namsoon in School 2013 when the drama only give us a tease about them)

3) True, at least they need to find some attraction as a character to work on it.

4)False, if it just some awkwardness in real life, I think they can still doing okay. But if it come to the point of hate, it will be hard to act all lovey-dovey however good their acting were.

5)True, since accepting chemistry between character is pretty subjective, there is some possibility to mistake a really good friendship as a romantic chemistry or vice versa.

6) This is so true. It's usually happened a lot when the drama never really focused on romance part (e.g. Ghost, School 2013, vampire prosecutor) or when there is a really strong contender for our OTP (personally it applied to several High Kick series OTP)

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@ gadis

Yes, my lay person's view is similar. However re-reading the perspectives of others, is making me adjust my understanding of this elusive thing called chemistry. Have you read the other comments here? If so, what do you think? So you agree?

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(1)
"look on screen" -> No.
"how they make us feel about their relationship" -> Yes, that is the essential aspect of romantic chemistry (or any chemistry between two characters).

(2) [a]
Yes, it is highly subjective. (See (1): "how they make us feel ...")
Romantic chemistry is based on a contract between the show runners and the audience. Each member of the audience has his/her own concept of romance in general and in respect of the show.

(3)
I don't understand the question. By OTP, do you mean in-world or out-of-world here? Usually, the OTP are the characters that form the "breeding pair" of the show. By "genuine feeling", do you refer to the fictional feeling between the characters? Or are you referring to the actors/actresses who play them?
If the former, when are fictional feelings are supposed to be genuine?

(4)
Yes and no. There are actors/actresses who can create romantic (or other) chemistry with everyone and everything. There are actors/actresses who are not able to do that. That doesn't mean the former are good and the latter are bad at their acting jobs.

Two great actors who are in love with each other don't necessarily have great chemistry on screen.
Two mediocre actors who hate each other might still display immense chemistry.

(5)
Of course! Just like in real life, the different kinds of love relationships are not disjoint. They are all based on the same fundamental substance (some researchers believe they are all based on parent-child-bonds ... squick).

In mainstream media, show-runners try very hard to keep it "clean", of course, and only use a little bit of teasing (incest teasing in family dramas for example) when they believe it save. They try to stick to certain well-established romantic formulas and symbols. That doesn't stop certain members of the audience to swoon over intense friendship or sibling relationships, of course (see (2)).

(6)
One of the easiest way to produce chemistry is through positive disposition of the audience towards an actor/actress.

Instead of going through the hard work of creating chemistry between your characters, it's much easier to seduce the audience directly and make them believe that what they see on screen are the sparks flying between the characters -- while, in fact, those are the sparks flying towards the actor/actress from the other side of the screen.

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>Yes and no. There are actors/actresses who can create romantic (or other) chemistry with everyone and everything. There are actors/actresses who are not able to do that. That doesn’t mean the former are good and the latter are bad at their acting jobs

That was exactly about what I was going to ask. In think I kind of disagree. Do you think good actors capable of bad chemistry if they are not being sabotaged by a stupid story? :) Are bad actors capable of having good chemistry if they are not being pushed into it? Examples? :)

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First, creating chemistry is just one of many tasks an actor(both genders) might have to do his/her job. On top of that, it is something that depends a lot more on other people than the actor(s) involved.

There are some people who lack very much in the acting department, but they have a natural skill to create chemistry. Jack Nicholson for example made a career simply with his "chemistry" ability, long before he picked up any kind of competitive acting repertoire.

On the other hand, there are a lot of fantastic and well-rounded actors who are completely at the mercy of their writers, cameramen(both genders), cutters, sound editors and so on when it comes to chemistry. In fact, that is the norm.

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Yes, of course they have to do a lot more than create chemistry with other cast members. It's odd that this whole chemistry discussion never once crossed my mind while I was just watching western productions. I think it was only after the drama discussions that this became something I began to pay any attention.

I laughed about Jack Nicholson, it's a good example, he has that kind of aura that attracts everything around him so it makes up for a lot.

I'm still kind of curious, who would be those great actors who are so dependent on the other factors and not so good on producing chemistry on their own?

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Yes, of course they have to do a lot more than create chemistry with other cast members. It’s odd that this whole chemistry discussion never once crossed my mind while I was just watching western productions. I think it was only after the drama discussions that this became something I began to pay any attention.

Well, K-drama as a genre is built around romance plots (with only a few exceptions), and those romance plots are very generic. Romantic chemistry is much, much more important here than in almost all genres of western productions.

I’m still kind of curious, who would be those great actors who are so dependent on the other factors and not so good on producing chemistry on their own?

Well, many big-acting actors have trouble with it, Leonard Gary Oldman or Al Pacino for example.
A great full-fledged actress with chemistry limitations: Natalie Portman.

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@ Jon G.
The question was:
"3) Chemistry must be based on some genuine feeling between the OTP or else the viewer will not be convinced of it. True or False?"

And you response: "I don’t understand the question. By OTP, do you mean in-world or out-of-world here?" - Yes I mean the 'breeding pair' in Real Life.

"By “genuine feeling”, do you refer to the fictional feeling between the characters? Or are you referring to the actors/actresses who play them?" - I refer to the latter the actors/actresses and not to the characters, however I feel you've answered the question in your response to 4).

I find your take in 6) very thought-provoking. Can I re-word it this way: the show makers have to seduce the audience into loving the characters so that we will impute that they 'love' each other and appear to us to have chemistry? Is this what you're saying?

If so, how does liking or approving the characters lead us to feeling their chemistry? Or do you mean we only feel our chemistry towards them and we mistake that for their chemistry? (LOL. Am I confusing myself?)

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(3)
Okay, I see. In general, "genuine" feelings don't help at all. Depending on the acting techniques and the genre, it might even disturb the actors' deliverances.

(For some actors, however, it works the other way round. They have a rather immersive acting routine and the constant chemistry they create through acting gets to them, to the point where they believe they are in love.)

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Personally as a writer I need my love-line to work more on a narrative level, so unless there is a palpable awkwardness b/t the actors then I don’t even bother to analyze “chemistry” since when everyone brought it up they seemed to be speaking of 50 different things. Unfortunately, it’s rare that dramas move beyond the staged cues that symbolize love, like ballads, spinny cameras, and slow motion, so even narrative grounding isn’t something I see often. For me story comes first, so a love-line alone won’t make or break something for me.

I agree with Jon G's definition of chemistry. It is highly subjective. For instance, some people think proximity=romance.That's why we get a lot of silly “oops-I-fell-and-landed-on-your-lips/in-your-arms” passing for romance. Considering that this is the standard people buy into, romantic chemistry doesn't have to be based on genuine feeling, or even good acting. A lot of it just stops at directing/editing choices and the script.
Yes, it's possible to mistake good other chemistry for romantic chemistry.

I think the only type of chemistry that isn't really subjective is comedic chemistry, that has to be funny or die. Good actors who are also funny can just feed off each other and create that atmosphere for laughs. Good scripts and editing can definitely contribute, but funny actors can still be so in terrible shows, and editing, if it’s too heavy-handed, can take away from that. Personally, I can overlook romantic chemistry if the funny is genuine.

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High School King of Savvy:this is a good example of comedic chemistry, and also the narrative selling the romance where it seemed off even for some viewers.

KMHM: Ji Sung & Hwang Jung Eum: friendly/professional, romantic chem. came and went imo, they had narrative grounding, plus great comedic chemistry
Park Seo Joon & Hwang Jung Eum: friendly/professional and comedic which some people inferred as romantic

King 2 Hearts: Lee Seung Gi & Ha Ji Won the one-upmanship was funny, so they had comedic chemistry but the actual "serious" love-line was both narratively and romantically tedious

Mask didn’t have romantic chemistry b/t those pairings. They relied on narrative and direction...maybe Yun Jung Hoon and wifey: the kiss at the beginning and the twisted dependency was done well

My Beautiful Bride: Kim Mu Yeol & Go Sung Hee: Their relationship was awkward/hesitant/polite/what have you, but this was intentional and fit the narrative. They also had little shared screen time so I think this is a different case altogether. Either way it worked narratively.

It’s OK That’s Love: Jo In Sung & Gong Hyo Jin- Lots, helped by acting more than narrative given the uniqueness of the characters

Oh My Ghostess: Jo Jung Suk & Park Bo Young as Soon Ae he had genuine affection for her cuteness I think. As Bong Sun their romance had narrative gaps here but the acting still sold it.

Chemistry is definitely a combination of things, I guess that means it's what a viewer picks up on that is subjective.

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Thanks @ maskedamyoozr

This is very insightful. Comedic chemistry could explain why so often couples that shouldn't work out, seem to get away with being couples.

I like what you say about narrative grounding. Would you then agree that as per @Lixie's question (Comment 20), that the narrative could kill the chemistry?

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I don’t think so, if the actors have it they have it. I think bad editing/directing could kill it more than writing. The only way a narrative could kill chemistry is an ethical misstep. What counts as an ethical misstep is subjective too though. And it isn’t so much that characters can’t misstep, but it depends on whether the narrative tries to excuse/whitewash/romanticize it. Sealed With a Kiss comes to mind, I didn’t get very far. But I did like Lee Jun Kai, basically the same story (blessedly shorter), but the chemistry was more palpable. *Spolier* and the narrative didn’t let him off the hook for his abuse, he died at the end after being beaten to a bloody pulp. Wait I take it back then, dragging stuff out could kill chemistry, because it gives you time to contemplate all the things that don’t make sense, so the sweetness is less satisfying when it finally happens.

For kdrama examples, Secret Hotel lost its way narratively, but Yoo Inna and Jin Yi Han had great chemistry, even if he was totally inept at wooing ex wifey like a grown ass man, and the entire separation explanation made them both seem incompetent. Or Heart to Heart, where they really shouldn’t have been dating, they still had great chemistry. The script disappointed with the reveal near the end, but it felt right when the two leads were together.

Alternatively, if the characters aren’t likeable due to the narrative then yea, narrative can ruin chemistry because viewers no longer care either way, but only if they are supposed to be likeable. I didn't watch The Time We Weren't in Love, but from comments, it sounds like that's what happened there.

I’ve totally confused myself now, but in short, yes and no?

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@ maskedamyoozr

Thanks! I'm beginning to see a bit of a pattern coming from all the answers here.

Yes, in The Time We Were Not In Love, the dragging out of the relationship killed the good feeling for the couple and somehow eradicated much of the chemistry (or the little that they had). That was a narrative blunder. In the end I did not care what they did.

I agree that I was so aghast at the disappointment of My Secret Hotel because I so wanted the leads to be together so much more in the show, to have taken every opportunity to spark and get closer, but at every turn, we were denied. And yet, it says something about the 2 of them together, that in spite of the frustrations with the show, I cared that they did get together in the end. :)

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I am so, so very tired, so I honestly can't answer coherently to any of the questions b/c I can't keep my thoughts straight x_x

So, just a few thoughts. I'm not a writer but I love books and comics, and have grown up watching anime, shoujo/romances included of course. I've always thought that for these reasons, I always place character chemistry first, by a wide margin, so I often end up loving a couple people didn't like that much b/c they apparently didn't have enough chemistry. I find that actor chemistry usually boils down to something very subjective, and at least in kdramaland, it often translates to 'they look so good together' (however, I'm not saying it's always the case). For example, you see stills from a drama before it has aired, nobody has seen actors interact, or you see cf photos where they're standing beside each other or something, and people are raving about the sizzling chemistry? For me actor chemistry is usually seen in the vibes they give off, mostly visible in how they act around each other/interact, probably how comfortable they are with each other, or how good they are at selling it,or at selling attraction. Those stills I mentioned - in the vast majority of the cases all you can see is how they look together. Or maybe I'm just bad at reading these things, dunno. But without interaction, for me it's like looking at mannequins, and all I see is people going gaga at how they look.

Anyway IMO character chemistry and the narrative build-up behind it is often overlooked, and that's what makes it or breaks it for me. And I'd also mention character compatibility, but that's extremely subjective and related to personal preference. A wonderful example I saw recently - potato star, yeo jin gu's char and na jin ah worked wonderfully for me, I adore them to bits (and I just can't resist - for anime/manga lovers - hak x yona <3). I also loved the couple in yoon eun hye's take care of young lady, which everybody hated for "lack of chemistry", which I couldn't relate to since they really worked as characters for me. Then a famous example which didn't work for me at all b/c of the character level and in spite of the actors' chemistry - QIHM (I'm gonna get stoned for this). I could also never understand all the raves about Secret Garden's chemistry, both character and actor level. And I'll just mention this since it's a very special example - the best actor-chemistry as I define it that I've seen in a kdrama was cha seung won and kim sun ah pairing in city hall. They're wonderful, charismatic actors on their own, when placed together, they're unmatched.

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Hi @Liang

Thanks for responding to the questions eventhough you are tired. I hope you found it interesting and not debilitating! :D

I wanted to gather the perspectives of anyone from all walks of life, so whether a person is a writer or not does not matter in the least.

"For me actor chemistry is usually seen in the vibes they give off, mostly visible in how they act around each other/interact, probably how comfortable they are with each other, or how good they are at selling it,or at selling attraction." - I believe the same in that a still may suggest the possibility but the interactions or just being physically in the same scene will confirm or disprove it. On the aspect of "selling attraction'... I'm coming to think that although there is such a thing as natural chemistry, a lot can also be 'manufactured' or worked at, but if either can convince, that is what matters for the viewer. Also, 'manufactured' chemistry sounds like hard work. :)

"Anyway IMO character chemistry and the narrative build-up behind it is often overlooked, and that’s what makes it or breaks it for me. And I’d also mention character compatibility, but that’s extremely subjective and related to personal preference." - I'd say chemistry is the spark of interest and attraction and then whether the relationship actually becomes convincing, requires the narrative build up and a least 'a show of' compatibility. :)

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I would have given up if it were debilitating ;) Yes, I understood that but I wanted to emphasize it b/c I have a similar perspective to maskedamyoozr in spite of not being a writer.

I agree wholeheartedly with your second statement, it holds true for fiction in all types of media, not just tv. As for the first - if a still suggests "possibility" (as opposed to something that is true in a more tangible way), isn't it actually wishful thinking on the part of the observer because they think that the couple look good together? IMO a still doesn't suggest anything, but as I said, I have reason to believe I might be kind of blind to it.

I have to confess that I'm a really avid theatre fan and am used to seeing schooled, fantastic actors all the time, so my ideas about acting might slightly differ from someone who just watches tv or rarely goes to theatre.I don't think that 'manufactured' chemistry is hard work, it's an actor's (using it for both genders) job to convince us of *anything* that the script requires, chemistry included. Now, there are all kinds of actors, some are incredibly natural (as in so thoroughly convincing and giving off the vibe that they're like the character in real life - on stage it's much more obvious than on tv), some are also fantastic, but they're not that natural, and you know they're acting. Some (the best ones) are great in all roles, some shine more in particular roles, some are great at generating chemistry with everyone (and everything :)), some are great at other things. I'm absolutely convinced that a really all around fantastic, and especially natural actor can easily fake it like everything else and pull the partner in, even if the partner's acting ability is inferior. However, since chemistry with people is a 2way street, and as I said there are all kinds of actors (*especially* on tv), excelling at various things, my guess is that usually the best chemistry is displayed by actors who 'click' in terms of acting style. You may hate someone personally, but on a strictly professional level you might be very compatible, or vice versa, or you might like em and be professionally compatible. I remember watching an interview with james marsters (aka spike from buffy) where he explained how much he loved working with the actress that played drussila b/c their acting styles meshed so well and they totally played off each other. Needless to say, they had wonderful chemistry. I'm not saying all of this is necessarily true, but I have seen such incredibly convincing actors and I can't believe that it's much more difficult for them than anything else. As for 'natural' chemistry - since every person has people they click well with generally speaking (the good friends you like to hang out with, it's chemistry), and those that just can't work as really friends, it seems logical to me that natural chemistry exists too. Sometimes there's no chem at first but it develops after a while. I guess it's...

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*had been debilitating (grammar >.>)

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the post was cut off - I guess it's the same for actors.

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Thanks so much @Liang

I'm so glad to have your interesting and noteworthy take on chemistry. Having read and thought about it, I can see better the points brought up by yourself and the others here. I am more in agreement with many points made and anyway, I was asking for clarification to begin with, so I am happy to say, that much has been clarified.

One of the conclusions which should have been obvious from the start (for me) is that what goes on on stage, in dramas and movies or any performance is actually life re-enacted, therefore the 'rules' of some parts of life as in the 'rules' of how people have chemistry or how others view it, have parts of it that are also similar to normal RL chemistry and people interactions. The additional thing would be that because it is a performance, there is also a job for the actors and show producers to carry out, so they would have needed to create the right environment and brought together the right people to create something like chemistry. It is not just a job and it is not just natural but the complex mix of many things. :)

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My answers:
1) Chemistry is how romantic the couple look on screen- True. I love the flutter feeling they give.

2) Chemistry is subjective -No doubt.
3) Chemistry must be based on some genuine feeling between the OTP- I'd like to say True, but I know it is False. Ages ago I read about an interview with Jang DongGun. When showed two kiss scenes he did- one when he first debuted which looked awkward, and the other done much later which looked hot, he said he felt fluttered doing those scenes during his earlier times, but later he just became too technical. So I think with experiences, actors can look cool and hot in romantic scenes without really feeling it.

4) Chemistry is something that can be portrayed by good actors- True. See answer on 3).
5) It is possible to mistake- True.
6) It’s possible for viewers to have wishful thinking -True. Like perfect second male leads in dramas- Sometimes they are so perfect that you want them to win the girl, even though you know that will not be the case.

7) Couple Chemistry Rating- I usually don't feel as much chemistry as others think.
Actually I was thinking about the OTP chemistry when on Last week OT, people talked about romance reunions. So far My favorite couple was Kim RaeWon and Kim TaeHee in Love story in Harvard. I don't know how I would feel if I watch the show again now, but when I watched it first time, I was just speechless how great their chemistry felt. I have watched many more shows after that over the years, but I've never had same feeling about the couple like when I had watching that show.

But then again, there are actors/actresses who became real couple after the show. This means they must have had great chemistry on screen-like (even though they may no longer items)
Hyun Bin and Song HaeKyo (The world within)
Eugene and Ki Tae-young (Creating destiny)
Yeon JungHoon and Han GaIn
Nam SangMi and Lee SangYoon (Life is beautiful)

You mentioned that Gong Yoo said he was always a little in love with his co-star. I think Gong HyoGin said something like that too.

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Thanks @fan!

You know I also wonder about first impressions. Maybe the first few romances are more likely to strike as more deeply. I too wonder, if I were to go back to watch past shows that I thought had chemistry, whether I'd feel the same. The thing is even we change with time and the same thing will strike us differently in different circumstances of our lives.

Which leads me to think that as the viewer, a lot of it could be subjective, but not all of it. There might have been something that we latched on to first, and we built up the idea of romance around it. It can even come and go with the same couple over the course of one show and over the course of several shows... ie Lee Dong Wook and Lee Da Hae had sparks in My Girl, but not in Hotel. It's more complicated than I ever imagined it!

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1) Chemistry is how romantic the couple look on screen and how they make us feel about their relationship. True or False?

False. There's a certain intangibility to chemistry that makes it hard to pin down, but at its root, it boils down to this - am I interested in seeing these characters interact? If the answer is yes, then the actors have chemistry.

It's not about romance, I really don't think romantic chemistry is totally separate from friendship chemistry for instance. They may actually overlap quite a bit.

2) option c.

3) Chemistry must be based on some genuine feeling between the OTP or else the viewer will not be convinced of it. True or False?

Genuine feeling between the characters, right? I would say yes, but then there are dramas where a male lead has looked and felt far more compatible with another woman despite the story steering him in the direction of liking, say, a first love type.

4) Chemistry is something that can be portrayed by good actors regardless of how they really feel about each other, ie they can convince us that they are in love even if they hate each other’s guts in real life. True or False? >/i>

True. Gone With The Wind and The Notebook were two famous cases where the leads could not stand each other during the process of filming (Vivien Leigh's 'swooning' is actually a reaction to Clark Gable's halitosis). And yet, those two are among the top romantic movies of all time.

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@ pogo

Thanks!

I think I should have re-phrased my question 3 to make it easier to understand.
"3) Chemistry must be based on some genuine feeling between the OTP or else the viewer will not be convinced of it. True or False?" - was supposed to ask, if the actor and the actress had to at least like each other...but you answered that in 4)

You said "Genuine feeling between the characters, right? I would say yes, but then there are dramas where a male lead has looked and felt far more compatible with another woman despite the story steering him in the direction of liking, say, a first love type." - This I will take to mean that actually the actor and the other actress were probably the ones with the chemistry together. I've thought about this too... if chemistry can be 'produced' and 'acted', then why is it ever lacking or why does it appear between the 'wrong' couple?

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@GB - I really don't think chemistry can be 'manufactured' to the degree where it's convincing, but I do feel like some aspect of each actor has to react to some aspect of the other actor, and react genuinely.

I DON'T mean in a romantic way, and it isn't the most elegant phrasing, but as I pointed out, it doesn't need the actors to like each other at all, just to connect to a small degree as actors. It's totally intangible, but if it's lacking, all the backhug scenes and ~meaningful glances~ in the world won't create chemistry where there is none. People have got very angry at me on this thread for bringing up Lee Min-ho and Park Shin-hye as an example of this, but they're a classic case of two very attractive actors trying hard to sell their coupling but not succeeding (and I called it right after seeing their ad for Etude House together).

sometimes the writing and setting can also help or hobble actors. Like i thought Lee Jun-ki and Lee Yubi had fantastic, sizzling chemistry in episode 2 of Scholar Who Walks the Night when her character was not behaving like a cartoon, but she got written into a box with such limited capabilities as a character that by episode 16 I was taken aback.

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@ pogo

I believe I understand what you are saying. In the myriad ways that aspects of personalities mix and either sizzle or mildly sputter or fall flat, I am coming to believe that both the interactions of aspects of each person which brings forth 'something undefinable' as well as an ability to produce and convey that something by acting can contribute to what we call chemistry. IE from the comments here, it's possible for chemistry to come from one or the other or both together. Whether it is convincing then, is the subjective part, and that will depend on the viewer. Thanks! :)

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this seems fun, and i would like to participate...

(1) true. i think chemistry, not just romantic chemistry, but chemistry between actors and characters in general is how the actors portray the characters in such a way that viewers care about the characters and their emotions and their relationships.
in a way, it seems to be this intangible factor really, because as much as actors work really hard to have it, they sometimes just don't have it unfortunately.

(2) d. to an extent, chemistry is general and visible to everyone. but it can also be subjective where some viewers see it more clearly because of their own biases and way of looking at the characters and relationships as well as the narrative as a whole.

(3) genuine feeling between the OTP as characters? like these characters should be truly feeling emotions of like or love to each other?
i think chemistry can be sometimes found through genuine feelings of one character even though the object of his affection do not reciprocate such feelings. i mean, that's why there is second lead syndrome, right?

(4) true, in a way. i think good actors can portray part of the chemistry regardless of their real thoughts and feelings. for instance, there are good actors who can effectively show they like or love another character. however, there are times that no matter how skilled these actors are, they cannot properly convey this elusive feeling of romantic chemistry as a couple. it's like you can see it intellectually and logically, but there seems to be something lacking emotionally with the connections between the characters that their pairing does not seem to work well.

(5) this is a complicated question but i think there are actors who have explosive chemistry with each other that even though they are supposed to play friends or siblings or work colleagues, their chemistry elevates whatever that relationship is to something more. like, they shouldn't be the OTP but they become it by sheer palpable chemistry.

(6) to an extent, this could be true. like i said, chemistry seems to be one part general and one part subjective. in a way, chemistry is something actors bring to the table but in a way, it is also something viewers see through their own interpretations. perhaps this is why some people can swear on a couple's chemistry whereas some people just can't see it.

(7) i'll skip some couples...
Full House 1 = GN and AC Lots
Goong 1 = AC Lots
Master's Sun = AC Lots
My Girl = AC 50%
My Princess = AC and FP
Oh My Ghostess = GN and AC Lots in both couples
Warm and Cozy = AC 50%

anyway, i think chemistry in general, including romantic chemistry, is based on many factors:
- the writing
- the characters in particular
- the actors
- the viewers
- other factors such as directing, etc.

some actors are great on the romantic chemistry one way, like they can perfectly convey liking another character, but they can't convincingly show being part of a lovey-dovey...

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CONTINUATION...

some actors are great on the romantic chemistry one way, like they can perfectly convey liking another character, but they can't convincingly show being part of a lovey-dovey couple.

some actors just have it with most other actors and in everything they do.

some actors are skilled in acting but lacks chemistry with their co-actors. some actors are mediocre in acting but they have explosive chemistry with other actors.

chemistry can be helped by how the viewer understands and accepts the writing, how the viewer sees the characters (favorably or unfavorably), how the viewer sees the actors (lots of goodwill for the actor that can transfer to the actor's character, or indifference or dislike for the actor that can transfer to the character), etc.

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Hi @Anne
Thanks for taking the time to play! I hope you had fun.

"(1)... is how the actors portray the characters in such a way that viewers care about the characters and their emotions and their relationships. in a way, it seems to be this intangible factor really, because as much as actors work really hard to have it, they sometimes just don’t have it unfortunately." - Yes, I've come to the same conclusion.

(2) d. - Same here, after reading responses on this thread. It is subjective from the viewers' point of view, much of the time.

(3) "... i think chemistry can be sometimes found through genuine feelings of one character even though the object of his affection do not reciprocate such feelings. i mean, that’s why there is second lead syndrome, right?" - True, I forgot about this. Even without reciprocity, there could be some one-sided chemistry and so much heartache on the part of viewers LOL!

(4) true, in a way. i think good actors can portray part of the chemistry regardless of their real thoughts and feelings. ...however, there are times that no matter how skilled these actors are, they cannot properly convey this elusive feeling of romantic chemistry ... something lacking emotionally..." - this is the bane for the producer, especially in the middle of the show when actors can't be switched and it becomes evident they are not going to work out.

(5)" ... there are actors who have explosive chemistry ... though they are supposed to play friends or siblings or work colleagues, their chemistry elevates whatever that relationship is to something more... by sheer palpable chemistry." - this is very interesting.

(6) "to an extent, this could be true. like i said, chemistry seems to be one part general and one part subjective. ... this is why some people can swear on a couple’s chemistry whereas some people just can’t see it." - this is the conclusion that I've come to as well.

And as to the rest of your points, yes, I agree. I began with wondering how come I did not see chemistry when others said there was fantastic chemistry, and now after reading the thoughts of those here, I'm seeing why and understanding it better. I am grateful to everyone who has answered my questions, it's been a lot of help and a blast! :)

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Hello! I am very tired and English is not my first language, so I hope you can forgive my mistakes.

Some points that I noticed about chemistry:

*Does not depend on the skill level of the actors.* I've seen horrible actors regarding acting skills that had chemistry and good actors who had none. I also have seen actors at very different levels acting as a couple and some had chemistry and some didn't at all.

*Does not depend on the script nor the direction (if they are good or not it's irrelevant) or anything.* The chemistry depends on the pair of actors themselves. One actor can have chemistry with an actor and none with another.

I realized that when I watched a show where two actors were a couple and they had a LOT of chemistry, although several aspects of the show were awful (particulalrly the writing and the directing).This opinion was virtually unanimous among the public. Years later they made another show together, but they were not a romantic pair, actually they didn't even met each other in the show. These 2 actors had no chemistry with their respective romantic partners according to a large portion of the public. Then they met in the show, but people could only comment about how they acted together for about 4 minutes and had more romantic chemistry together than with their respective romantic partners throughout the show.

Another point that proves to me that chemistry does not depend on the plot is that I've see couples acting bad plot lines who had great chemistry, but other couples with a better, well constructed and coherent story line had 0 chemistry.

* It does not matter how the actor feel in real life about each other* They could hate each other and have chemistry or like each other a lot, but have no chemistry.* I remember one case where 2 actors (lovers in real life) who were acting as couple in a show and the public said they had no chemistry at all. Actually, the public was rooting for the couple to separate and the male character to get together with the rival of the female lead. LOL

*Not everyone will see chemistry* I consider that a couple have chemistry when they make me feel really invested in their story and love, and I care about them like I would do for a real person. Plus, if I can feel the the sexual attraction it really helps because it gives more veracity.

If most of the public also thinks the couple has chemistry, then the director made a good choice

Hope I made sense. XD

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Thanks @Marina, I understood what you wrote perfectly and I'm inclined to agree. :)

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Not commented in a while. Happy Weekend everyone

who is watching what this weekend

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omg I am actually early. Thank you, Queen In-hyun's Man for keeping me up all night...I seriously cannot sleep until I know how this all ends and it better be happy..pls.. On to currently airing dramas.. Twenty Again is just amazing and it's friday guys! Loving She was pretty as well..tho not as much as 20 Again..its just that good. :)) Also its been 2 years I have been addicted to dramas and I have watched roughly 100 dramas..I made a list but I know I am forgetting a few.. Anyway! Have a wonderful weekend!!

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QIHM is really good, right? I miss Kim Bongdoo. He is such a rare character in k-dramaland. So nice, lovely, smart, and resourceful.

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He is now the man to beat.. I seriously can't think of any other lead male characters that were just this good from start to finish... I think I might love him..aha. I have been known to declare my love for fictional characters and he definitely deserves it. :)

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When you finish QIHM, I'd love to know whether you find it a "happily ever after" ending or not. I'm watching K-dramas for three straight years now and I have a very short list of series that have a similar finale. *no spoilers, @ Lizzie*

+1, for @gadis, too. I agree. The writer gave us one of the most brilliant (if not the smartest) time-travellers I've ever watched on TV.

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oh my god. were they trying to murder us?? I am happy with the ending, but I still feel all out of sorts because of everything else...seriously this drama was trying to kill me. Boong-do might be one of my favorite characters ever.. So glad I stumbled onto this one when I was figuring out my list. :)

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Any good rom-com suggestions? Having k-drama slump right now. just watching She Was Pretty and Twenty Again. Skipped Yong Pal even with Joo Woon as lead.

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I usually come here http://www.dramabeans.com/about/ratings/ whenever I need a fast drama fix..since these ones are all completed already. and if you haven't seen Queen In-hyun's Man do it now! ;))

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QIHM is one of my all-time favorites! Here are the dramas I've watched and liked:
- Secret Garden
- QIHM
- Coffee Prince
- Rooftop Prince
- Emergency Couple
- Arang and the Magistrate
- My Girlfriend is a Gumiho
- I Remember You
- Oh My Ghostess
- All Go Hye Jin's dramas except Biscuit Teacher (can't find it anywhere)
- King 2 Hearts
- MNIKSS
- City Hall
- City Hunter
- Padam Padam
- Good Doctor

Dramas I watched with some Fast Forward help:
- Lie to Me
- Heirs
- Scholar Who Walks the Night
- Fated to Love You
- Flower Boys Ramyun Shop
- Ex-Girlfriends Club
- Marriage Not Dating
- Jekyll, Hyde, and Me
- Angel Eyes

I've read so much mixed reviews about BOF so would probably hold off on that.

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Biscuit Teacher and Hello My Teacher are the same. You can watch it here.

http://www.gooddrama.net/korean-drama/hello-my-teacher

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good rom-com are usually around the early 2000s, like:
- sweet 18
- full house
- goong, princess hours
- delightful girl chun hyang
- hyang dan (only 2 episodes, and great music)
- soulmate
- smile you
- 1 percent of anything

a lot of people like the following so you might want to try them:
- twenty years old (only at 2 episodes, or 4 episodes depending on if you're counting the cable version or the web version)
- you from another star
- wonderful love
- answer me 1994
- answer me 1997
- brilliant legacy

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I love love love QIHM! And Kim Boong-do!

Enjoying both Twenty Again and She Was Pretty too.

I think Twenty Again is an overall better drama and has a more cohesive and logical narrative story, but I love how over the top She Was Pretty is in some ways. Like Choi Siwon's Shin-hyuk (who is my fav character) does an excellent job of going slightly overboard with his silly antics but not enough to make it unbelievable or turn the viewer off. I think he is really going out w/a bang before he heads off to the military.

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I’m having hay fever whole of this week, feeling rather lethargic and difficult to concentrate, so I’ve not been watching much of anything, just the 2 weekly episodes of Twenty Again, 4 episodes of Midnight Diner and movie If I Stayed.

Those of you watching Twenty Again would have been pleasantly surprised by the fast unravelling of things and the confession of love by Hyun Suk in Ep12, so now we are left with seeing how No Ra breaks free from the grasp of narcissistic Woo Chul who scraped his divorce plan out of jealousy and spite. Midnight Diner is refreshingly light and easy to digest, it is good for a change. At least, it helped me recover from the fatigue caused by the crazy drama chase of watching episode after endless episode. I like Kim Seung Woo’s role in the MD series, it reminded me of him in Hotelier years ago as a reticent but highly dependable Mr. nice guy. This is a big contrast to the roles he played in movies such as I am a Dad, cursing and swearing and acting tough. Considering the stark contrast between the lovey dovey K-drama and the blatantly blunt k-movies, like for example, those directed by Kim Ki Duk and Park Chan Wook, which are quite morbid and emotionally disturbing for my appetite, I often wonder which one depicts the Korean society more closely and realistically? I’ve diverted, coming back to MD, I really like the heart-warming narration of KSW in linking the customers’ order to their live stories and emotional state. Of course, the food looked very appetizing too! For instance, in Ep 1, the expression of those customers who were savoring “grilled rice cake with seasoned seaweed” made my mouth water irresistibly. On impulse, I rushed to a Korean grocery shop in town the next day to buy some frozen rice cakes and packets of grilled laver. Though I could only make-do with off-the shelf “steamed rice cakes with grilled laver”, it still tasted awesome! Yum!!! :)

With the amount of time I spent on watching k-drama nowadays, I hardly have any time left to watch Western movies or series, unless they are strongly recommended by my workmates or I just happen to see them on TV or when someone lends me the DVD. So this is how I got to watch If I Stay, and my only comment is all K-drama lead actresses are qualified to win the KDA best actress award when compared to the acting of Chloë Grace Moretz. Sorry Chloë, I know tear jerkers are not that big in the West, and she is very young, ok, so this explains why she could not even deliver a decently good cry considering that in the movie she lost her whole family overnight in a car accident. So conclusion is, I rather spend time watching some k-movies instead.

By the way, I think there will be lots of discussion of the KDA 2015 results here, I’m boycotting it as LJK was not being nominated, it felt like SWWTN was being ostracized, though it is not considered an awesomely excellent drama overall, but still, it is not that bad to the...

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cont'd... extent that the performance of the whole cast and crew was being denied entirely so as to not even deserve a single nomination.

Daylight saving started here this week so I’m posting earlier and can’t hang around much longer, I’m getting very sleepy, will be back tomorrow morning.

Have a nice weekend everyone! :)

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Happy Friday Beanies!! I disappeared for a bit and took a kdrama break. Tomorrow is my birthday though so I decided to treat myself by watching two new shows:

Sassy Go Go So far this is exactly like the trailer and there haven't been any surprised but I'm still enjoying it. I really have a soft spot for Eunji. I'm still a bit concerned though with N's character. There aren't a lot of episodes so we will see how they handle him.

Six Flying Dragons I guess I'll attempt another 50 episode historical drama (only made it to episode 25 of Hwajung). So far so good. There are a lot if people I'm excited about seeing in this show and it's already filled with interesting plot lines. I look forward to it....although I still could have done without the pugs.

------

Village is the one I really wanted to try since it seems so different from the usual fare. I admit I'm not big on horror - but I do love thrillers so I'm thinking this could be a win. Unfortunately it's not showing on any if my sites yet.

Anything really good airing now that I should catch up on?

I'm also trying to finish up the shows I was watching before I took my sudden drama break: Oh My Ghostess, Hidden Identity, I Remember You, and Night Scholar. Any I should prioritize or ditch?

I'm going to the Big Bang concert this weekend for my bday. I'm definitely excited! Hope you all have fun plans as well.

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Happy Birthday @4D! ?

It sounds like you're going to have a whale of a time.

I feel you've pretty much chosen the good shows to watch. For the one to marathon the first half anyway, I'd recommend Twenty Again over all. And of the list you mentioned, I really liked I Remember You the most, so I'd recommend that. Cheers! ??

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I also have similar problem with N's character. I don't know whether Hadong is supposed to be rather flat or is that some acting problem from the actor. It's quite disturbing in eps 2, especially when he told Yeondoo he can't told her about Hajoon's problem.

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4D -

Happy Birthday!

Have a great time at the concert.

I Remember You was a very good drama. Great performances from the main actors.

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Happy birthday weekend!

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Happy Birthday weekend 4D! Jealous for the concert, hope it is a lot of fun for you!

I have yet to start the new batch of dramas, probably will this weekend. I am looking forward to Six dragons though. i love a good historical drama And need something else than dong yi to rewatch :P (just dreading all the potential political discussions)

Also: I remember you is definitively worth the watch!! I haven't seen the others though.

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Happy Birthday!

Have fun at the BB concert!

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Helllooooo beanies!

Finals are coming to end this dreading semester so I'm just enjoying Twenty Again and the rest will be just recaps. Will catch up on them next next week.

Btw, who's watching WGM? I know it has evolved a lot compared to the first season but I'm currently enjoying the two couples(KSY<3KSY and KYW<3OMS) both couple are different but I love the flutter feeling they give.

Sad that Twenty Again will be ending soon and.according to the comments for Sassy Go Go, it's just a typical HS drama..... Thinking on what drama to watch next hihi

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Romantic Chemistry in a drama (what is it?)
1) Chemistry is how romantic the couple look on screen and how they make us feel about their relationship. True or False?

If your answer is True, please elaborate. True... to me chemistry exists if I can feel for the couple and I can accept that they are meant to be together.

2)Do you think recognising Romantic Chemistry is subjective ie regarding the same OTP some viewers say yes, some say no and both are right?
I'd say c)Subjective but at least there should be 50% or more viewers who feel that there is chemistry, then it can be said that the OTP has chemistry. If it's just a few, then maybe it's wishful thinking on the part of a few. But it's hard to say. Maybe a majority of people all wish for a couple to get together and so insist they have chemistry? LOL! Come to think of it, I'm not sure.

3) Chemistry must be based on some genuine feeling between the OTP or else the viewer will not be convinced of it. False.... if the romance is well acted, the chemistry will shine through. However having some genuine regard definitely helps.

4) Chemistry is something that can be portrayed by good actors regardless of how they really feel about each other, ie they can convince us that they are in love even if they hate each other’s guts in real life. True.

5)It is possible to mistake friendship chemistry, sibling chemistry or just happy colleague chemistry as Romantic Chemistry. True. Sometimes a couple looks so good together, I'd like to think it's romantic but it isn't

6)It’s possible for viewers to have wishful thinking, ie, we want the couple to work out and so we interpret their togetherness as being full of chemistry, but it’s just wishful thinking. True.

I recall that there was one interview with Gong Yoo and he said that for him, he was always a little in love with his co-star for as long as the show lasted, and that's why he was convincing. But this might not be the case for many.

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My Couple Chemistry Rating

(All About My Romance) Shin Ha Kyun-Lee Min Jung = AC lots
(Angry Mom) Ji Soo-Kim Hee Sun = FP 50%
(Cantabile Tomorrow) Joo Won-Shim Eun Kyung = SB and AC little
(City Hunter) Lee Min Ho-Park Min Young = AC and GN little
(Coffee Prince) Gong Yoo-Yoon Eun Hye = AC lots
(Fated To Love You) Jang Hyuk-Jang Na Ra = AC lots
(Full House 1) Bi-Song Hye Kyo = AC 50% and SB lots
(Goong 1) Joo Ji Hoon-Yoon Eun Hye = AC lots but CG
(Healer) Ji Chang Wook-Park Min Young = AC lots
(I Hear Your Voice) Lee Jong Suk-Lee Bo Young = GN , 50% and AC lots
(I Remember You) Seo In Guk-Jang Na Ra = FP lots and AC little
(I Remember You) bromance Seo In Guk-Park Bo Gum = GN lots
(Kill Me Heal Me) Ji Sung-Hwang Jung Eum = AC lots
(Kill Me Heal Me) Park Seo Joon-Hwang Jung Eum = SB and AC little
(King of High School Savvy) Seo In Guk-Lee Ha Na = FP
(King 2 Hearts) Lee Seung Gi-Ha Ji Won = AC 50% and SB lots
(Lie To Me) Kang Ji Hwan-Yoon Eun Hye = GN little and AC lots
(Mary Stayed Out All Night) Jang Geun Seuk-Moon Geun Yong = AC 50% but CG
(Mask) Joo Ji Hoon-Soon Ae = AC lots
(Mask) Yun Jung Hoon-Soon Ae = AC lots
(Master’s Sun) So Ji Sub-Gong Hyo Jin = AC 50%
(My Beautiful Bride) Kim Mu Yeol-Go Sung Hee = AC 50%
(My Girl) Lee Dong Wook-Lee Da Hae = AC lots
(My Love Eun Dong) Joo Jin Mo-Kim Sa Rang = AC lots
(My Love From Another Star) Kim Soo Hyun-Jun Ji Hyun = AC little and GN little
(My Princess) Song Seung Hun-Kim Tae Hee = AC 50%
(My Spring Days) Kam Woo Sung-Choi Soo Young = AC lots
(It’s OK That’s Love) Jo In Sung-Gong Hyo Jin = AC lots
(Oh My Ghostess) Jo Jung Suk-Park Bo Young as Soon Ae = AC lots
(Oh My Ghostess) Jo Jung Suk-Park Bo Young as Bong Sun = AC 50%
(Pinocchio) Lee Jong Suk-Park Shin Hye = AC lots
(Playful Kiss) Kim Hyun Joong-Jung So Min = AC little and SB 50%
(Protect the Boss) Ji Sung-Choi Kang Hee = SB
(Reply 1997) Seo In Guk-Jung Eun Ji = AC lots
(She Was Pretty) Park Seo Joon-Hwang Jung Eum = SB
(She Was Pretty) Park Seo Joon-Go Joon Hee = FP
(Smelly Girl) Park Yoo Chun-Shin Se Kyung = AC lots
(The Time I Loved You) Lee Jin Wook-Ha Ji Won = AC 50% but CG
(Twenty Again) Lee Sang Yoon-Choi Ji Woo = AC 50% and FP lots
(Warm & Cozy) Yoo Yeon Suk –Kang So Ra = SB and AC 50%
(Yong Pal) Joo Won-Kim Tae Hee = AC little and FP

:)

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Just to add (Arang & the Magistrate) Lee Jun Ki-Shin MinA = AC lots and FP lots :)

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What is AC/FP/SB/GN/CG?

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Hi @mems

Please read comment 3 and 3.1 for the details but briefly the codes I'm using to rate chemistry in couples in kdramas:
Codes
50% – some degree
0% – no chemistry, they did not even try
Little – less than 50%
Lots – more than 50%
GN – genuine chemistry ie they may be/have been fond of each other in real life
AC – acted chemistry ie they are good in acting as lovers
FP – friendly/professional chemistry
SB – sibling chemistry
CG – comes and goes ie now you see it, now you don’t
NO – no opinion

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Good Evening OT:
Wish you guys a happy weekend. I'm still waiting for the English subs of The Village. do you know any site that has the subs on?
Yongpal: God knows how much I suffered until I finished watching this drama. the last 2 episodes I alternated between watching and reading the recaps hahah. but finally it's over and we got a happy ending I guess!

She was pretty: ep7 was the best episode since this drama started at least for me. the interaction between Hyejin and soeng-joon was great. Ha-ri should redeem herself asap or else she'll forever be the worst friend in kdramaland. the ending of episode 8 was confusing and with no previews for the next episode I guess we'll have to wait and see what'll happen and how would people at At Most will react to the change mwahahah.

TwentyAgain: Just waiting happily for the next episodes.

there are too many dramas that I missed out this year as it was my last semester in university and I need motivation to start marathon them *Sigh*

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Hi Everyone!

I hope you are all doing well today.

Been away from the OT for a bit as I've been dealing with visiting family members.

Behind on all the drama-watching. But I've managed to sneak in a few episodes of Hwajeong and Yong-pal here and there.

That's it for now. ........ Everyone take care and have a great Friday!

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Hi Korfan!

Hope you had a good time with your family!

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Manin -

Hi! ..... to be honest, I'm quite tired! There's simply been a lot to do and not enough hours (or help!).

I think I need an assistant, or a "team of people", like in the kdramas! *laughing*

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Korfan:

Aww that's a shame! Hey, if you pay me I'll happily be your assistant ;)

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Nice to see you.

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Carole -

Thanks! It's nice to see you too!

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Hello beanies..

-SASSY GO GO: I enjoy this as a light and breezy watch with a lot of fast forwarding whenever the principal and powerful mom show up on my screen. It's such a cliche trope that I can guess what they are talking about without really watch the scene. So far I love all the student's interaction. Even the two-face SooAh who is the big bully in this drama is quite fun. But maybe that because Yeondoo is not your typical victim who will go cry in a corner, wishing for her knight to save her. It's satisfying to see her talk back and being ballsy. Now that everyone have their own reason to join the cheerleader team, I think we'll get our fun next week.

-SHE WAS PRETTY: Everyone finally fall for their respective half and start taking action. I love some and hate some (Seriously, what is wrong with you, Min Hari? You want to ruin your friendship with your Wifey just for Sungjoon who doesn't even know the real you??). And what's with the sudden makeover? Seems like there are some time jump in the end of eps 8.

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@ gadis

It's a good thing that Sassy Go Go is a short series. I feel that with the simple premise and the nice couple vibes it will work very well in 12 episodes. I'm surprised by how much I like it.

She Was Pretty with the preview... I don't really think there was a time jump. I had the impression that Sung Joon sending over that picture of the bearded onion tilted her choice in favor of going back to Most and in making the most of herself immediately. I need to watch the whole episode to be sure, though. Also she might not have wanted to delay with ensuring that she had a job, since she saw her father's situation, so since we see her back at Most, it would have been sooner rather than later.

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@ growing beautifully

Please remember to use the notation before including details on a recent episode some of us may have not yet had a chance to watch.

I appreciate your enthusiasm but allow the rest of us the chance to watch the plot unfold through our own eyes.

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The Merchant Gaekju 2015 Glad that the subs are coming out faster now. Plot is getting interesting with the adults and Jang Hyuk is daebak as usual. Can't wait for the next episode!

D-day The special effects are stunning here, though the hero with curly hair hasn't really gotten into me yet.

The village Will wait for more episodes to be available before starting this. Love thrillers !

Six Dragons Not sure if I want to start a 50 epi drama. Is it good?

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@ prettysup

Between Merchant and Six Dragons, I feel that the latter is the better show. It riveted me from the beginning whereas Merchant did not make me want to go on to Episode 2. Of course things may change... there are soooo many episodes to go after all. But yes, I'd say, give Six Flying Dragons a shot.

I felt the same way about D-Day and am wondering if the characters can make the show decidedly watchable, since besides the CGI, nothing much else does.

I too love suspense and mystery and by extension, thrillers, so I'm watching Village raw. I am delighted that although my Korean is sooooo little, I could gather enough from the acting and the scenes to know what was going on, which probably means the acting was good and the scenes were well presented. :)

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I agree that The Merchant was a bit slow at the beginning, but things really get moving from ep 6 onwards!

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1)Best news ever for today for me: KimTaeHee won an award for Korean Drama Awards. As a loyal fan of hers, I am definitely proud she made it? ???

2) Just finished watching She Was Pretty epi 8. Will HyeJin really transform herself on next epi? Or is it only her dream or imagination? Lol?

3)Yeah it is weekend and time to watch for Twenty Again. I have been missing Prof Dimple for many days?

4)I just want to talk about drama I Have A Lover. I dunno how many of you here watching it, but I really really like KimHyunJoo simply because of her superb acting? I mean I am not following her personal life, but whenever I see her in a new drama, I will surely watch it. She is definitely a definition of real actress who doesn't have a huge fanbase, but her performance is tip top.

Back to this drama, I am afraid where this drama will be going. I feel anxious whenever Haekang meets her ex husband, their facial expression,the way they look to each other. Err they really give me feels. I just want HaeKang to recover her memory soon, because I don't want that nice lawyer to be so hurt later. I was jump in joy when KangSeolRi, the mistress tasted her own bitter medicine. She slowly to feel the uneasiness, and the best thing her love is one sided. I will never have any sympathy for her ✋

5) saw few pics of KimSoEun with EXO Xiumin. When I heard this web drama just for endorsement, I am OK with KSE here.? just I hope for XiuMin's fans not to hate KSE so much. She won't steal him from u guys lol? I will never understand this fandom. Anyway just hope they have fun working together. ?

6) I am waiting for Village Secret of Achiara to release subs but there is still no subs???

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sera -

Is I Have A Lover good/interesting?

While I haven't watched any episode of the drama, I did catch a glimpse of it a couple of weekends ago, while changing channels on tv. ...... I've been curious about it.

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korfan,

I would recommend u to watch first two episodes, and jump to epi 10 above. Why? Forgive me to give some spoiler, first 10 epi was all about a cheating husband, an ambitious wife and a pure -innocent like young woman who is actually not innocent because she becomes that husband's mistress. This drama is about infidelity. Some may not like it, but as for me I am totally in with this plot. Haha ? Just bear in mind, this is 50epi and surely will be a long journey. But i still has a hope they will lesser it, because the rating is not doing really well.

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sera -

Thanks for the info on the drama! I appreciate it.

I do find the 50-episode count for a drama about infidelity a little too long, but then again who knows what other ideas the writer is exploring in this story.

Thanks again.

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korfan,
You are most welcome dear ☺

The first 10 episodes were about infidelity and it totally made us viewers hated the husband and the mistress. But after heroine loss her memory, and she now having her carefree life, we now started to see how her husband reminiscing their past memories and how her husband actually loved her. The thing is they failed in their marriage not simply because of the mistress, but because they already had broken relationship, they failed to communicate with each other. But their heart still love each other. 50 episodes sure will be a long journey for this plot, so they add another plot that I hope it worth it ?

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Regarding She was Pretty, I saw a BTS photo (not sure if on Twitter or Soompi Forum) that suggests otherwise :) I'm actually hoping it is, because I love her fuzzy messy hair :D

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elric, I have 50-50 feeling. I want to see her new transformation. OK will check BTS photo later.

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hi sera,

actually feel the same way about kim hyun joo after watching her in WHTMF, weekend drama, then i realized she mostly does long dramas:( watched few episodes of IHAL and really hated the husband, so i stopped watching it. but i do read OT every weekl at DB so hopefully you'll have updates on upcoming episodes. will look forward to your mini-reviews, perhaps? thanks!

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Hi bugs_bunny

Hopefully I will be able to ? I will be glad to do it ?

Agreed that she mostly doing long drama. I first discovered her as a sister to LeeMinHo in Boys Over Flower. I found her so cool and made me want a sister like her. Lol? I still didn't watched her every single works, because she already have many in the past. Lol. And most of her drama are long and it requires commitment to finish it?

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Still not watching much.

Have watched 3-6 of D-Day, I like some of the characters but the lack of realism gets to the point of ludicrous. Like ep. 6 SPOILER, when our hero – i.e. one of the few capable doctors of the hospital in the midst of a national emergency – decides he'll be the one to go to the blood bank, because a) everyone else is too coward b) they apparently don't have non-medical staff at the hospital that could be doing this (there must be porters, ambulance drivers etc)? Said hero becomes action hero who does flying tricks on a motorbike (with the help of a ramp that magically appeared). END SPOILER I could go on and on, but let's just say it's disappointing that this drama is barely different from other medical dramas, when it could have become something completely unique.

Watched an episode of She Was Pretty only to be reminded why I am not watching this. Question: so people in SK all have fancy smartphones on which you can switch between calls and take notes with a pen (etc), but they don't do internet banking?

Watched ep. 1 of Village, am neutral on this so far. It's not bad, but it's also not pulling me in to watch it.

Also finished a jdrama, Nakuna Hara-chan, which I began a couple of years ago, but then subs stopped after 2 episodes. It's fully subbed now, and quite lovely. It's about 30-something woman that feels out of place in the world and only enjoys drawing mangas (as a hobby, not as a mangaka). Then, one day one of the characters of her manga falls into the real world.... It's a very "META" story (lots of back and forth between the real world and a manga world), quirky and quite entertaining and lots of great characters. Do recommend. Something I didn't realise when I watched this two years ago: Suda Masaki plays the younger brother (why am I not surprised he's in a quirky story like this?).

Also finished Boku no Imouto (with Odagiri Joe & Nagasawa Masami). Some of the characters were quite frustrating at the beginning, but it got better and better as they became less extreme. Although I would have liked a slightly different ending (which is not what I would have said half-way through the drama), I do kind of like that J-dramas don't shy away from open-endedness.

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Hi alua! I know you watch a lot of jdramas and I was thinking if maybe you have any good melos or romance to recommend? :)

My first drama was Soredemo which as very sad and also beautiful, it should not be easy to find anything that good.

I don't like romance when there is too crazy humor in the mix like for instance Nodame didn't make any sense and to give kdramas examples, Modern Farmer and Sassy Go Go are quite boring shows for me but I love more realistic comedy.

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There's not much that is as good as Soredemo, Ikite Yuku!

Arifureta Kiseki (romance) & Wakamono Tachi (romance & family) are two very solid dramas, as is Kaze no Garden (family), all with some of Japan's best actors.

Kare, Otto, Otoko Tomodachi; Tokyo Wankei; Rondo and Nagareboshi are all romances, but deal with some darker issues as well (domestic abuse, cultural prejudices, illness, etc). But I'm guessing you may have seen many of these already (I've recommended them before)?

I need to go back to Last Friends and Woman (the latter has the same writer as Soredemo, Ikite Yuku) as well.

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Thanks alua!

No I haven't seen those yet because after the punch that was Soredemo a friend led me to Coffee Prince and then I became completely into kdramas. I'll check and give them a chance!

After a lot of people here talked about Date I tried it and loved it so much, it had so many things I've wanted in kdramas. Logic in the narrative, consistent characters, good acting. This makes me think I need to try more of them to make up for the silliness I still enjoy in shows like She Was Pretty.

I have seen the first ep of Wakamono Tachi and enjoyed it, I think it will be a keeper. I also loved another which seems to be a very simple story Kingyo Club and started XXXholic.

Thanks for all the recommendations! :)

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I LOVED Kingyo Club. I thought the leads had great chemistry.

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@Lixie

Kingyo Club and XXXHolic are both great – I've recommended them before.

@aafa83

It's such a simple drama – I'm guessing it must have been really low budget – but it's surprisingly good. The leads were great – I hope to see more of them (in fact, I have seen Jingi Irie in a few other things, usually in very small roles but hopefully he'll get better offers as time goes by). Yoshikawa Ryo was cast to perfection too (and was such a real character – there's always one classmate like this!).

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To continue the downhill slide of D Day, I expect in ep7 that a "biker gang" (on motor scooters) will attempt to steal drugs from the hospital and be stopped by one of the pretty doctors who also just happens to know Kung-Fu.

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LOL. I think it would be Taekwondo though – though I think that would be more realistic than Hyesung's motorbike stunt!

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lol

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They're filming by my house again! This time it's Riders, in the little antique cafe next to the park and across from the rent-a-bike kiosk. I didn't get a chance to see who was inside the building, but they had a sign on the front of the staff bus saying which drama it was.

And in non-drama-related stuff, my internet friend is visiting from Amsterdam! She knows absolutely nothing about Korea and doesn't watch dramas, so she's completely clueless about everything and is constantly texting me for info. It's fun for me because I get to live vicariously through her excitement and it reminds me a bit of my early days here.

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Stopping by with October greetings! (*spoilers post*)

Maybe it is unfair to compare The Merchant: Gaekju 2015 and Six Flying Dragons, but it kind of just happens since I have to work hard to keep the right child actors playing the future main characters in their right stories. While 6FD has captivated me in two episodes, I can’t say the same after 5 eps of Merchant 2015. Both are plenty Korean history gory and whose-in-power absolute when it comes to heads rolling. That could play a large part in why I’m generally not a sageuk fan in the first place. Even Jang Hyuk likely won’t be able to hold me to the entire 36 (gulp!) episodes of Merchant 2015. On the other hand, the grand cinematography of 6FD and the sweeping pace is captivating and it is a better story all around. Identifying first and second dragons (so far) at the end of an episode where each emerges as a prominent power is clever.

Sassy Eun Ji GoGo – she is so perky! Then the cutting: things got very serious.

She Was Pretty – leave it to a kdrama to work in the brightly flowered rural work pants and rubber boots somewhere in the story. I really love our four leads. Ha Ri has gone where no “husband” should go, but I am a unconvinced of her motives. Only Editor Kim has his head on straight enough to step up to the plate as the involuntary relationship-sorter-outer which, gosh, if people did that in RL, wouldn’t that be helpful? Oh, right, but the problem people (you know who you are) actually have to DO their part in untangling the mix-up that shouldn’t have been. Little onion face has more expressions than our short-fused boss, and may serve as an effigy that gets its roots ripped out if our low pressure chief editor isn’t careful. I should mind Hye-Jin’s makeover, which I guess means the playing field is now level, because I object to the basic premise that she is hiding who she is because she doesn’t feel that she grew up into the beauty that is deserving of the handsome man her childhood friend grew up to be. But we’re only half way in (or out) at 8 episodes, and I am actually looking forward to how the writers work out the relationshipwrecks.

Date special: “You got luscious with that anemic woman, didn’t you?” The jdrama Date originally ended on a fine note as it was, but what a nice little surprise all wrapped up in a bonus drama special package that presents relationship contracts on a whole new level. I love Ann Wantanabe. “Japanese wolves are extinct.” Hmm, something I’d never given a thought to before.

Because It’s the First Time – I was expecting a short 15-minute episode, but it ended up being four 15-minute chapters to make a much fuller story than I anticipated. Minho is always on my good side, but I’m already feeling stressed for the burdened 20-year-olds. Between Ha Ri and Song Yi, it looks like short hair is the new trend.

Dropped Don’t-Day.

For those who miss Roommate, you can catch Ryohei and Hyung Joon on 2D1N this week, and Happy Together...

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>Date special: “You got luscious with that anemic woman, didn’t you?” The jdrama Date originally ended on a fine note as it was, but what a nice little surprise all wrapped up in a bonus drama special package

What is this special about? I loved Date but I don't like behind the scenes specials, I liek to keep the illusion intact and know nothing about the production and the actors.

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It's not a behind-the-scenes special, but rather it continues the story. It's like a two hour movie that follows the drama.

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Great! I'll find it! Thanks so much owl for talking about it and alua for explaining! :)

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It's funny that you like Date but not Nodame! I would put those in a similar "whacky" category. How do you feel about Love Shuffle? It's rom-com, the premise is bizarre (shuffling partners) but more on the realistic than mangaesque side.

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I have heard about Love Shuffle! Another that I'll give a try!

It's odd I don't find Date whacky at all, I find all characters very relatable and realistic, maybe because I know people very similar to them. :)

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Oh, I find them relatable but they are certainly exaggerated. It would be a riot to meet someone like Yoriko in real life.

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I cant find the Date Special on my regular website! In a panic! Where did you watch it?

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I think either gooddrama or dramacool (I think the latter).

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Hi Lixie,

I don't think you'll be disappointed with the Date special, it is very well done.

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It must be, that drama was great for me. The other day I was watching Princess Jellyfish and one of the actors is the main guy from Date which made me remember I've been missing Date.

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Ahh you havent watched The Merchant ep6, many viewers got won over after that episode.

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I'm watching it today and I do hope it wins me over!

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Waiting for the leaves to change color here. Then it'll really feel like Fall.

Finished Marriage, Not Dating. It had some seriously laugh-out-loud moments, crackling chemistry between the leads, and as GF put it "there was a cohesion in the writing and directing that was palpable, in that we were made to feel all of the right beats in all the right ways, which is actually rare." One of the best parts of the drama for me, for sure.

Waiting on subs for The Village. Maybe this will be the drama to turn me into a MGY fan.

I watched a cute little (only half an hour!) Thai movie called The Library, where the male lead leaves notes for the pretty librarian in every book he checks out. They barely speak more than 10 words throughout the whole movie, but the beauty of it lies in what's unsaid and what's felt through actions, not words. It was quite moving and unexpectedly funny at certain moments.

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Hi everyone!

I just finished GAKSITAL! I'm so late on this but I'm here now, so... I'm a mess. I watched all the BTS clips, re-read the recaps (and comments). And I'm screaming Gaksitaaaaaaal in my head while my heart is thumping and I just can't get over the awesomeness of Joo Won and Park Ki Woong. And that ending! Omg!

So I still have about 25 must-see dramas in my list. I just started Story of a Man. I've read that this is one of the good ones. I don't know yet even at Episode 4.

And finally, Twenty Again new eps tomorrow! Yipee!

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Congratulations @Chesens on completing Gaksital! You're made of sterner stuff than me! LOL. I suddenly find myself having so much to watch that shows which I do not find so compelling are put on the back burner... and Gaksital is one of them.

Wow, 25 more to watch and counting? Enjoy! :)

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Hi @GB unni!

It's actually because I only have Twenty Again to follow these days... So I've got lots of time to spare.☺️

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I recently finished Gaksital as well and had exactly the same reaction. It's been a few weeks and I still can't stop thinking about it. Possibly the best KDrama of all time. Oh, and I want to have Joo Won's freedom fighting ninja babies.

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@Jill

Have you seen Gaksital Making #68? It'sin youtube. (Sorry I don't know how to put a link here)

And the shooting of the final episode?

Daebak! Daebak! Daebak!

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Hello Beanies!

I was also thinking about chemistry in dramas so I also have a question. My own concept of chemistry was kind of explained on the third post. :)

Do you think good actors capable of bad chemistry if they are not being sabotaged by a stupid story? :) Are bad actors capable of having good chemistry if they are not being pushed into it? Examples? :)

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@ Lixie

I'm no expert but re-reading your question put TTILY and Yong Pal into my mind immediately. I'm taking what has been discussed above ie, an actor and actress, and I don't mean just good ones, could actually pull off some great chemistry, but somehow they don't. Possible reasons that this could be (my guesses):

* show failed to get the audience to care enough for the couple
* camera work or editing was faulty
* the actor and actress were tired out by the live shoot system :)

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What is TTILY?

Yong Pal is such a crazy story I feel it would be almost unfair to ask for any chemistry. :) The romance arc was so rushed. Having said that I could also say that I love Joo Won but I find he almost never has good romantic chemistry and I don't know how much of that is his fault. So maybe I can still consider him to be good but lacking in the chemistry department.

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TTILY = The Time I Loved You (or The Time We Were Not In Love) too much of a mouthful! :)

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TTILY is the same as YP for me. :) The story itself was so badly written I don't think I can blame the actors, though I'm really not a fan of Ha Ji Won.

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Yes to both. As a director I've worked with actor pairs who were great individually but not especially compelling together, and I've also worked with pairs who were much less technically skilled, but had great chemistry. I will say that talented actors are often better at finding ways to "generate" chemistry than less skilled ones, but simply casting two excellent actors is no guarantee that you'll end up with sparks flying. On a related note, there is also often a disconnect between "screen presence" and talent. Some actors are incredibly charismatic but not necessarily great actors (the rock star phenomenon) while others are much more talented but don't "pop" off the screen to the same degree.

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Thank you, very interesting answer, I'm always curious about casting choices, they take so many things into consideration. I also like that you talk about screen presence versus talent, I think many times people get these mixed up.

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Hello all:
It is so beautiful outside! It’s one of those fall mornings where the ground is inexplicably wet and leaves are just fallen everywhere. I suspect there was some great windfall somewhere, and somewhere nearby is a farm with apples strewn on the ground.

Life is good, still battling fibro and sleep but stories are going well. I got appointed as a judge in an international writing contest and so I’ve been busy reading good, bad, mediocre, and great stories. One story actually made my heart leap with joy..after ploughing through some pretty horrible stuff it was so inspiring to read something so good!

Dramas:

I started watching She Was Pretty and am really loving it. When our heroine had the makeover, I thought…uhm, there might be more here than the switch/lie story. Not really liking Ha-Ri’s “2 months deadline,” sick tummy, and meds-taking. Seems like the writer’s doing way too much to make us excuse her. Heck, I think this girl would be trying to get the guy even if she weren’t possibly ill. Although I disapprove of her actions, I don’t dislike her. So I don’t see the need to set up the redemption arc.

Six Flying Dragons: Loving this. Am happy with the kids section. Love our little female warrior. And scheming evil old guys….I have been waiting for you! And apparently, I’ve also been needing gravitas and swashbuckling traitorous fops.

All About My Mom: Liking this as well. And just as I said, “If Mom comes around the corner and says ‘Get those lips off!’…well, Mom came around the corner and pretty much said as much.

Gonna try to get to Glamorous Temptation and Merchant. Waiting for The Village.

Anyone watching All is Well? I really liked it but the pregnant girl is so scheming I’m not sure I’ll be able to endure all the stress she’s gonna cause. What's happening on it? Anyone recapping it?

Plans today: to watch The Piper and Planck Constant. Maybe also Memories of the Sword, Alice in Earnestland, and Secret Visitor. Will see.

Have a great weekend, all!

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"It is so beautiful outside! It’s one of those fall mornings where the ground is inexplicably wet and leaves are just fallen everywhere. I suspect there was some great windfall somewhere, and somewhere nearby is a farm with apples strewn on the ground."

I miss seasons, here in Florida all we have is hot, hotter, and hottest, right now we're still in hottest. I hate hot but alas I have no way to leave so all I can do is be jealous.

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LOL. Over here we have hot or wet and/or humid with haze, more haze, less haze, too much haze. Buildings around 100 metres away have literally disappeared from sight with wind shifts. Not as bad as the London fog used to be? Thankful for blessings!

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It's beautiful here too. After spending the summer in a smoky haze, it's great to be able to see the fall colors under a blue sky. Oh, and we have snow too.

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I loooooooooooooooooove weather! Al kinds! Especially wind. I think I could like Florida for a week, though. When it gets really mean and cold up here.

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All About My Mom: Liking this as well. And just as I said, “If Mom comes around the corner and says ‘Get those lips off!’…well, Mom came around the corner and pretty much said as much.

I like All About My Mom too. I can't wait to see her go post-kiss crazy this Saturday. Sometimes I get into the stories about the kids and forget that the show is really about the mother. Oh, and the show is trope heaven.

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I'm thinking San's dad is probably the sly-looking oppa of our heroine. Coz, ya know... kdrama... the world is very small. And yes, trope abundance galore.

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Carole -

I'm a little bit envious of your Fall weather. It's yet another heat wave where I'm at! 95 to 98 F forecast for today!! ..... It's October and I see pumpkins in the store .... but no Fall here!

Congrats on being picked as a judge!

I'm looking forward to She Was Pretty and Six Dragons. They sound quite interesting.

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We had a heat wave before fall came. Horrible. I whined all week about how much I hated weather. ;-)

Yes, it's fun judging. This is the second time I've judged in an intl writing contest. The last one was for some student writing and wow, the plagiarism! I ended up googling lines from all the stories. This is for regular writers from all over. So I'm more trustful this time around. So far so good. Although there was this one short story that was so frickin pretentious I would've slammed the writer if I was allowed to. But yeah, we aren't allowed to insult writers. Ah loss that. Must vent elsewhere.

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Carole -

Oh wow, the judging sounds intense! But what a treat to discover a real gem, if there is one of course, among the many submissions. ...... I can appreciate that the judging is a rigorous process, as it should be. Hang in there!

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I finished Vampire Prosecutor and wow! I hope that they will make a Season 3 to resolve cliffhangers. I am interested in The Village but I think I will wait on it a bit. Rewatching Marriage Not Dating in honor of Han Groo's engagement. Really enjoying it for the second time.
Still enjoying Moon River over on Viki and I'm very excited to see that the Thai version of Playful Kiss has now begun. It's called Kiss Me and is available on Viki. Apparently they ae having problems finding Eng subbers so the subbing is going slowly. I wish I could help out but unfortunately I don't know Thai. Anyway, looking forward to watching the episodes as I really liked the Full House Thai series and this is made by the same production company with the same main stars.

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Viki seems to be having a lot of trouble lately getting the less popular shows subbed. They might have to start actually paying subbers like DramaFever does.

I am seeing some shows there that have been licensed for months with little or no subs, and some current shows that are several episodes behind.

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Yes, I've noticed that too. I'm not sure what the official relationship is between Viki and subbers, but they do seem to be getting a lot of shows and then having problems with subs.

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I've seen the first 4 episodes of Moon river. Enoying the show so far!

Oh I'll see if i can check out Kiss Me. I like how different countiries and cultures try to tell that story. Thai version of Full house was soo goood! I might rewatch that next!

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Yes, this Thai version has some interesting changes. I saw a BTS interview with the director and they mentioned they were working with the script writer on how to make the main female lead more appealing/sympathetic to the audience and they decided to give her a backstory where she had an accident as a child that caused her to have a head injury and some brain damage and memory loss which is why she has a low IQ.
Also, in this version the 2 leads apparently knew each other as children in this version which gives some context to the male leads behavior.

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Does anyone know where I can watch Beauty Inside eng subbed?

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I have decided to follow in the steps of Joey Tribbiani of Friends and wander through the halls of my apartment building yelling hot girl.

Twenty Again- I don't know why and frankly I don't know if I have but I might have dropped this. The thing is while I'm watching I love it, but I just can't get excited to watch it, right now I'm stuck on episode 10. I guess something subconsciously just isn't clicking for me.

Cheer Up- I refuse to use the other name as it provokes a violent reaction in me. I loved the opening week Jung Eun-ji is wonderful and I think there's signs that Kim Yeol is already and probably always was interested in Yeon-doo. In a literal sense not romantically as in he genuinely finds her and her friends interesting because they live like actual people and not the mindless drones the rest of the students are. I've seen people complaining about originality but really if you really look you'll realize there's only 10 at most original stories in the entire history of mankind and every other story since is a rework or combination of the original stories.

Cheo Young 2- We the subs appear to be stalled after episode 5 but I really like it so far. Even if there is no explanation for why Na-young is still around and why she can suddenly leave the station and possess Ha-yoon.

D-Day- I love it despite it's flaws, aftershock anyone. The subs for episode 6 on viki are taking awhile, I wish I could speak Korean so I could help, guess I'll just go back to being patient.

I like to shout crazy things when I'm alone like. "Puppies eat people."

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She was Pretty
I'm really, really glad this show made up its mind about what kind of show it wants to be early on (prior to the last episode, that is), which seems to be rare these days.
Now instead of plot, we get cow shit, and that's a good thing.
It's not my kind of show by a long shot, and I can drop it without any bad feelings, because I know there is an audience out there and they will be thoroughly happy with it as it stands.

D-Day
I'm disappointed, because this show is not what I wanted it to be. Yeah, I know, my own fault. Still, huge budget, great cast, preproduced, premium cable, and all they come up with is this B-movie-flavoured cliche-fest.

Twenty Again
Suspended it two weeks ago and couldn't get into the mood of picking it up again.

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Sounds like you are in the same kind of "Bleh/Meh" moment that I am about the current crop of dramas. Even 20 Again is not holding my interest much any more. D-Day just watching for the WTF moments and to see how many tired cliches they can pack into one episode.

Seems like everything that I am actually watching is not because it is all that good, but because everything else is worse. So far one of the most mind-numbing season for k-dramas in quite a while.

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<Still, huge budget, great cast, preproduced, premium cable, and all they come up with is this B-movie-flavoured cliche-fest.

That about sums it up. I'm not sure why I'm so entertained watching it though. I just kind of want to see what silly idea they come up with next.

Similar feelings about She Was Pretty Too. Pretty fluff rom-com, but not for me – just not my kind of humour because I find it too contrived. Shovelling cowshit? When they had smarty-phones to do internet banking with? A work ID (so replaceable!) is her "most precious thing" ever just we can get a laugh out of her kissing the thing that lay in dung?

But, yeah, I do get it's a certain kind of humour that plenty of people do enjoy.

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I know I'm not the audience for She Was Pretty but now I'm totally into it.

I keep wanting to know how HyeJin became like that, why could she not behave like the almost normal person she was in ep 1, why would she sacrifice this dream job so easily every second.
I keep wanting the hot second lead to be less goofy, for her to at least acknowledge his attention, which would be just natural since she is not used to this by a mile.
I keep wanting to understand the bipolar SungJoon who might or not might have an eating disorder and his past. I know show doesn't care and won't explain any of that, the jokes, the push and pull and future angst are the goals.

What does that make me, maybe I'm still the audience for this show even if I'd like so much to rewrite the whole thing? :)

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I agree about D-day and SWP.

DD has nice special effects but is absolutely unrealistic when it comes to anything to do with disaster management (as many people have said, where the eff is the military?! And their helicopters?). I'll keep watching it for the characters, and see if I can ignore the stupidity about the setting and circumstances for long enough.

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Happy friday!

Norway is cold cold cold! Ground is frozen ("let it goes" gets played on repeat by my head") and most of the time the frost stay all day. Snow is creeping down the mountins. And it's safe to say that Winter is indeed coming, right around the corner. But the last 3 days the sun has been shinning, and the sky has been cloud free (though cold) which has been nice as I was working in a kindergarten this week. :)

Dramaland:
Healer so I finally got to see this show. OMG! This was so awesome! I a happy i could marathon it all, how did you guys all go through watching it live?! Also liked the use of music and free running in it. And love that we didn't get any evil second leads mixing up. Plus the romance was so cute. Also Ahjumma! you are the best!

Scent of a Woman rewatched this show again. For the tango scene. Always for the tango scene.

Question: When you rewatch shows, what is your motivation to do so? Specific scenes? Loving the entire drama? Certain characters? What?

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Hi @ Manin

Congratulations on completing Healer! I'm so glad to see that you enjoyed it thoroughly. It is still my penultimate favorite show. I still love the music and listen to the OSTs and I re-watch bits of the show from time to time. How did we survive? Some of us watched it as it aired, then again raw and then again subbed and then kept on hogging the recap threads and re-watched like crazy. LOL! Until today.... the comment count is still growing on the Healer Ep 20 thread, but the chat is desultory now and about other things as well. Do feel free to drop in and leave a comment.

As for your question.... I re-watch when I want to be sure of something, when I liked that particular scene or that particular actor's expression or the characters' interactions. Those are the times I go for specific scenes. :)

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Hi Growingbeautiful

It was such a good drama indeed. I feel sad I couldn't be part of the live watching squad, however it was very nice to know that the next episode was right there!

That's interesting. I tend not to think so much over the actors expressions, but some of my favorite scenes has to do with character interaction indeed. And the Tango scene in Scent of a woman. That's where I really felt the chemistry among the leads, and everything. Haha maybe it was actors expressions indeed :p I just love what that particular tango scene represent.

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Question: When you rewatch shows, what is your motivation to do so? Specific scenes? Loving the entire drama? Certain characters? What?

Sometimes I watch the entire show again and I get different things from it. Other shows, I just watch my favorite scenes. I can usually find them on YouTube. I think I do that because it evokes the same emotions in me as the first time I watched. Lately, the dramas have been meh, so I have found myself going back to some oldies but goodies for my fix.

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ktiep:

Yeah I have also mostly rewatched shows lately (also had to do with finishing my dissertation and thus not allowing myself to get hooked on something new.)

Would you ever rewatch a show just for that one favorite scene? since you mention how you usually just find the scenes on youtube. It made me curious on whether you'd feel that was a waste or not.

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I'm finally watching Healer.

It's hard to wait in between Twenty Again and She Was Pretty--needed something to hold me over during the lag time. It felt like enough time had passed from all the fandom & madness during its run so I started it. I finished Ep 3 last night and so far I'm not seeing what all the uproar is about. Does it pick up soon?

It's not a bad drama--it's v. watchable so far but I'm confused as to why ppl went so crazy over it!?

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Elle:

Hmm, you might have if you still personally had the feeling that it was going to be good, and are then feeling let down. However i also feel like it is a show you either love or you don't. It sees like there is less of a middle ground with it.

Personally I really enjoyed the show. Its not always perfect. But it is good and enjoyable.

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Just rewatched Healer....

Why was the rating so low? It has been bugging me. I know it is not the best drama ever and we all like different cups of tea. But I really think it is way better than average. Why do you think it was not popular? Anyone know if it did better outside South Korea especially in China and Japan?

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CC

hmm, I am not sure. Like I answered Elle, I have a feeling it's a drama that you either love or don't. It's also not a straight rom-com, nor is it just action. So it sorta falls inbetween the different categories that people sometimes pick between.

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Thank you so much, Manin. It was such a buzz here for beanies. I am just thinking about the cast and the writers.

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Manin -

Hi! .... You're back home!

I want some of your cold weather. It's still too hot where I'm at, even though it's Fall. Another heat wave is forecast for today!

You watched Healer!! Yay!!! ...... Glad you enjoyed it.

Regarding rewatching something, I think it varies. Sometimes it's a particular scene, sometimes it's a particular actor/actress, whatever mood I'm in I suppose.

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Korfan:
yes I am! Been working as a substitute in a kindergarten with an amazing view this week.

I'd happily send you some of the cold though. i get so frozen always.

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Manin -

That's great! Have fun at the kindergarten!

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Hi Manin-
I rewatch for a few reasons. Rewatching a whole show because it was so good or to catch what I missed because the first time I was just staring at the handsome lead, really. Rewatching episodes because they were standouts for feels and/or performances. Mostly I rewatch because it feels like getting to visit with old friends, it's so warm and comfy and I'm glad to see them.

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bbstl-

That is a nice description of rewatching, seeing them as old friends. :)

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It's always the right time for my BFF Sam Soon ?

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hi Manin! Norway sounds beautiful, and the way you describe it makes me think it must look like the scenery of Frozen.

When you rewatch shows, what is your motivation to do so?

I can't believe I am about to admit this, but - as reference for fanfic-writing.

Or maybe if I feel like there are details I appreciate better on second watch. (this was the case with Misaeng and the jdrama BORDER).

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Hi Pogo

I wish I could post the picture I took earlier today. I have only seen frozen once, buut from what I remember i have to say it is pretty much Norway/scandinavia that is in the movie (the real life costumes that inspired that worn by Kristoff is a lot more colourful though).

I still have to watch BORDER. I haven't seen Misaeng either, mostly because off my korean friend who is pertty much living that life. I remember all the things he had to do when he first started, and reading the recaps just reminded me too much of his stories to properly watch it.

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yes, from what I've read the ceremonial/royal costumes worn by Elsa, Anna and their mother feature some embroidery techniques distinctive to Norway too - nice to see a film team do so much research to get it right!

I started BORDER because of my love of Oguri Shun but then found myself reluctant to watch episodes too fast because it was so good and I didn't want it to end. And while the setting of Misaeng may seem depressing, I love the ultimate message - that ordinary life and work are meaningful and rewarding even when nothing about it is glamorous.

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Haha they have elements yes. Not always to right though ;) I love that the trolls are consistent with old norwegian ideas and drawings of trolls though ;) I do feel like they did research and picked the elements that they wanted though. (fun fact, norway did indeed export ice at some during the industrial revelution, so the "samii" of the movie doing that is true for norway, though not to the samii themselves.

Oguri Shun <3 I still liked him the most in hana kimi. There are some shows I have been wanting to see just because of him though.

Yeah I like the message of Misaeng. Sometimes a low key realistic drama is what you need.

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That tango scene is probably the hottest not a kiss scene I've seen in a kdrama. Trying to think of other good not a kiss scenes?

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Jolie:

I know right? That scene is just dreamy.
You know, right now I cannot remember any of the examples I was ready to give for other not a kiss scenes. *ponder*

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It's amazing!

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I've been wanting to watch Healer but something seems to stop me from doing so. I'm just afraid that I'll get terribly bored of Ji Changwook's face but now that I see another one recommending the show, maybe I'll start downloading one or 2 episode...

When I re-watch shows, I only watch the scenes that I love the most especially if they have a good bgm to go with the scenes. Also if I'm in need of inspiration for my writing. Like I'm writing a piece about time and space (sortish) so I've been re-watching a lot of Doctor Who episodes lol

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I rewatch mainly for the FEELS! I can't tell anymore how mamy times I've replayed the scene in Coffee Prince when Han Gyul confessed and finally 'outed' himself to Eun Chan and that kiss! Oh that kiss! Gets me EVERY SINGLE TIME!

I can name all my favorites and even recalling them now makes me giddy! My sisters make fun of me for rewatching dramas like over and over and over. Well, at least just my favorite ones. ?

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Please name at least five of your favorites? ^^ and even the specific scenes you like in each?

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Hello, chingus~ This week's a temporary reprieve from the deluge of exams so ~yay sleep at last oh wait there's dramas popping up~ ^^ Of the outings of the Big 3, I expected the sageuk to entice me but lo and behold, the cheerleading drama did. Unexpected.

Sassy Go Go / Cheer Up : I might just adore Eunji and her trademark spark in every project I saw her in (well, I did follow her faithfully minus Trot Lovers) but yes, I thoroughly enjoyed the show. Still, those dismal ratings must be ouch.

Why did Han Gong Ju have to be the cliche antagonistic grades-only parent? First post-Sunny role of hers I watched that I'm sad about.

The cutting part did resonate eerily ~of course, darling Jisoo had to play the most conflicted one~ and I hope the show treads that storyline with sensitivity. No kidding though, all that eye-smiling of flirt machine Lee Won Geun had as much serious effect on my logic discernment (ended up watching an often brains-shutting-ridiculous makjang over last sembreak because he was in the childhood portion with Seohyun) - acting limitations aside, he's just an irristible natural charmer.

And did I mention Yeondoo's dorky but totally badass mom is the same actress playing awe-inspiring Kim Gaeshi in Hwajung? I almost forgot to recover from being so taken aback seeing her be simply gorgeous in modern clothing since I've only ever saw her in sageuks; she was the nurse mentor of Jang Geum, if my memory serves me right. The chemistry with Yeol's dad isn't that bothering since it resembles I don't think a 12-ep show will delve into that much unnecessary fauxcest drama.

She Was Pretty - Hari oh my dear Hari, I've been rooting for you, even Shinhyuk was, and yet... no wonder karmic balance is working like that. I guess you must've caved in to the greed because you appreciate your wifey's sincerity a little too much it has shifted to passively-actively taking her for granted. Writernim, I actually wanted not to repeatedly feel "Oh please, stop Min Hari doing all this damage to herself" but here we are at this point.

Can't help but be torn about Hyejin's supposedly MOST-like transformation because it kind of defeats the purpose of seeing her inner beauty still emanating through. Nothing wrong about wanting the absolute best for our heroine, it's just that it bugs me how telling it is of the people around her (and the audience too), whether they take her seriously as just her usual earnest perfectly imperfect self or as someone who needs major makeover to be an actual functioning human being.

A tiny brown curly-haired pet dog is your little sister? Okay, I get the you dote on Jackson part but the analogy's uh-okaaay~ at the least. Shinhyuk's out of this world and though I would be screaming at the top of my lungs if you ever pull that spider-gift prank to me, I appreciate your heartfelt confession. Even if it...

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(con't) admittedly was said at the worst timing ever.

Petty and outright crazy antics with Shinhyuk aside, Sungjoon, I haven't forgiven you for that cruel, cruel, cruel lashing and firing (c'mon, Reporter Cha had to be the one to approach Hyejin first, you've got to be kidding me). Do better.

Hidden Identity - The show fizzled out halfway through. Intense was still met but I went straight to the finale after pondering whether I should marathon the latter half I have saved in my laptop (thank goodness I didn't) and I still got updated to what I missed because of the nifty flashback covering everything pre-finale. Conclusion felt a tad flat but have to give it to them for the final uber-cool vanishing act.

Yoona's Street - Did I stress out properly last time that I'm so loving the whole show? It's EVERYTHING GREAT I didn't know I'm asking for. The gangsters, spunky nimble Yoona and the other thieves plus the naive Kim Changman, all living and interacting, while the latter's getting more and more entangled in this underworld. Trying my hardest to pace myself but this drama sure is making me hard to resist kdramaland temptation.

This weekend? I'm covering the last stretch of Hwajung aka Probably The Part Where They Rush Everything Else. 6FD catch up will have to wait 'til this sem's over, even an enthusiast needs a sageuk break. No one has picked up The Village yet - I guess I'll scare myself with the raws first. Then maybe, continue with The Piper for the whole spookfest Saturday experience. Definitely not your Halloween person but it's October, after all.

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Yoona's Street is so awesome! That's the drama that made the most sense. I mean character-wise, their clothes, mannerisms, everything! fits well, realistically well. It's raw and beautiful. Too bad, most people dismiss it for the many episodes it has. I always feel grateful to DSS for subbing the show though I watched about 3/4 of it without subs coz I couldn't resist. lol

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I enjoyed Yoona's Street, but I certainly didn't feel the love that everybody else seems to feel for it. It was good, but I just didn't like Yoona herself. I did not think she was a very nice person at all, she had no redeeming features, and for that reason, couldn't see why anybody would chase her so diligently. Therefore, I wasn't invested in the love story, so it left me feeling a bit meh!

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Oh! A different point of view. Yeah, Yoona is not your typical protagonist which I personally like. I thought it was just natural for her to be that way considering what kind of life she had. I've always thought of her as warm and she was actually nice to the whole family and even polite to the wife even when she's always dissing Yoona.

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@Anna

Yes, Yoona's Street, despite the ensemble story-telling, relies very heavily on Yoona as the central character (maybe even more than on Chang-man who is more of a audience surrogate). And Yoona is definitely not nice, even when we ignore the ridiculous standards that K-drama imposes on female characters.

Now, I loved her character (and as a consequence, the whole show despite its flaws): Especially because her character is not just your stock K-drama Sue but a rather thoroughly designed, developed and portrayed person. However, that's my personal preference for flawed, human characters speaking.

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I agree about Ji-soo's character in Sassy Go Go, I hope the drama treads carefully there. He's clearly suffering, but it's a mistake to say he's suicidal - it's twisted logic, but he seems to resort to self-harm as an outlet for his pain, and apparently has accidentally cut himself too badly at least once before.

and Lee Won-geun is a charmer indeed. He's had great chemistry with pretty much every leading lady he's ever had, which was why I was puzzled last month when some people were implying that he's not a good enough actor for Ji-soo to be playing second lead to. (I hope we get enough Ji-soo though, I'm really not that interested in N as Ha Dong)

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Currently Watching ... a lot!!! I shock myself. Didn't I just say last week I had nothing much to watch?

Twenty Again - The show I look forward to the most of the current crop. I am enjoying the fact that Woo Chul is so inept in his personal life that he’s losing wife and son and girlfriend in one fell swoop. I feel so happily mean LOL! And that ending with dimples gets me waiting impatiently for the continuation this weekend.

She Was Pretty - There’s just a little that’s happening with lots of funny and cute and a side story to fill in the time. It’s not too bad, it’s at least coherent and has a team that works well together, has fun music, energy and camaraderie to buoy us along. The reveals look like they may be coming, but I hope it does not continue too long the matter of ‘to reveal or not to reveal’, plus the ‘to like or not to like’ dilemma. It’s ok if they’re kept brief, however I believe, the repeated ‘blow hot’ – ‘blow cold’ of Sung Joon, will get old pretty fast.

Six Flying Dragons - The one in many sageuks that has actually got me interested. I am enjoying the child characters a lot and will be sad when they inevitably grow up. It’s interesting watching how a starry eyed boy changes to become cold and ruthless, but it’s sad too.

Sassy Go Go - I did not expect to like this, but I do. Candy colored and light-hearted with a naively innocent heroine and loads of chemistry between the leads. I am looking forward to more.

Village: Secret of Achiara - One of the shows I am watching raw to assuage the stress because of the suspense and mystery. It seems to be marrying ghosts/supernatural with a mystery with many characters.

Dazzling Temptation - Also watched raw, although I’m not sure how long I’ll last out since it’s a melo and many episodes. Still, this is one time I like how Choi Kang Hee looks and I feel she may be well paired with Joo Sang Wook. I may just watch to see how much melo I can take!

D-Day - I started to watch hoping to see a different kind of show. Well I liked the CGI when there it was shown and I like some of the characters and their relationships and the fact that there’s some human interest. I would rather the politics did not play such a big part, since we get that in most shows, and I was hoping that a major disaster would sort of even out the playing field where survival and saving lives are the top most priorities for everyone and not just for the privileged. These aspects have somehow strangely been lacking (as is noted by many) so, I await more reveals of the reasons for the strained relations and hope to see some ad hoc, you know,... life saving going on???

Running out of time and energy and have on hold or am waiting for subs ...Cheo Yong 2 - Still great with girl ghost in the fore and lots of suspense and nicer team work this season.

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Hi @GB unni!

Now I understand why you can't add Gaksital to your plate! :)

I dropped She Was Pretty and haven't decided yet if I'm gonna pick up DDay and Six Flying Dragons.

I'm excited for Answer Me 1988 though.

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Hiya, been travelling a bit and missing the OT. I am keeping up with a few dramas though:

She Was Pretty--I'm wondering how people are going to respond to the makeover. And it looks like she has a personality makeover too. Will HaRi still be "the pretty one"? And is HaRi preggers? How wild was she with that other guy?

All About My Mother--I look forward to this one each week. Just normal people with normal relationships making a story together.

We Got Married--Watching for Oh-Sewon couple. I love how frank she is. He is getting used to it too. I'm also chuckling at Yang-Yeon. I wonder why WGM always get these spicy women and pair them with meh men--maybe because the women need someone who is easy going. Or maybe their told to act that way. Anyway, I'm obsessed.

Sassy, Go, Go--Tried this one, but I'm not sure I can watch another high school drama. I'm not over the real drama I experienced when my daughter went through HS.

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Interesting about Ha-Ri possibly being pregnant. I was thinking either she has ulcers due to perennial dieting or health-issue story line to exonerate her from the injustice she's doing to Hye Jin.

Sung Joon lost my vote on Ep 8.

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I got so burned with the Jae-Rim couple i'm afraid of watching WGM again.

I think Ha-Ri has some horrible illness. But preggers might be a possibility. She seems to think she has a life after the 2 months deadline. So... will see. I think heroine has had a personality makeover. She must have. I think she got so hurt by the firing that she is determined to love herself. Or maybe the new job forced the makeover on her. Was there a time jump? Is she equal to her former co-workers or promoted over them? Does this have to do with the company that wants to buy the magazine?

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Hi everyone!

I've not yet started on Six Flying Dragons or The Village, and not caught up on episode 8 of She Was Pretty (based on ep 7, Ha-ri sucks and Shin-hyuk is starting to annoy me a bit). Also the last couple of episodes of D-day, I've watched only up to 5 because no subs.

but there is Sassy Go Go, which may have lost its ratings battle but won my heart. As everyone noted, Jung Eunji and Lee Won-geun do have fabulous chemistry, enough to make me not mind that the drama resorts to the old "accidental fall" trope to sneak in some skinship for our OTP.

I said it elsewhere, but I really like how the main motivators for Yeol and Yeon-doo's choices in Sassy Go Go are their friends. In a small way, that reminds me of School 2013 even though we know Eunji and LWG are having a love line. (I rather enjoy that he's such a flirt with her. It's a change from the usual shouty jerk school prince stereotype)

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Yo! So last week I posted about me starting Ugly Alert. Well, what do you know? I'm at episode 71 now. Been getting less to no sleep for a week now. 60+ episode to go! Wooooo!

Six Flying Dragons is good but a little less than I expected. I know I shouldn't compare it to Tree but it's supposed to be a prequel and thee same team's working on it. Question is why the hell is Jang Tae Yoo PD not directing it? WHYYYYY Guess I'm gonna reminisce Tree while I wait for the story to unfold.

Just when we finally said goodbye to Jerk Joon, Ha Ri gets worst best friend award. Seriously, drama? Why do you have to ruin the best thing about your show? Amazingly enough, I'm still watching it. Probably because of Siwon. Who's gonna play those kinds of roles when he goes to the army? No other crazy eyes will do.

How's Sassy Go, Go? I wanted to watch it but didn't really feel like doing so when it actually came out.

Have a great weekend, beanies!

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Sassy Go Go is really cute and fun but has a lot of heart and a great cast (minus N).

It looks like it would be every high school cliche ever but I like that they're tackling it in terms of academic pressures and the toll that it takes on students, instead of the usual 'poor girl gets bullies because she likes rich boy'.

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Thanks for that! I guess I'm going to wait for a few more episodes and read recaps for now coz I'm not sure yet. HAHA

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Yes, I also wish they'd pulled in Jang Tae Yoo to direct Six Flying Dragons instead of the second tier guy. I loved what Jang did visually with both Painter of the Wind and Tree with Deep Roots.

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I was so excited when they said the same team of writers and directors will be working in SFD but then reports never mentioned Jang PD so I was confused. I've always remembered how visually pleasing Tree was but checking recaps of it last night made me realize how big the difference was. Even camera angles and shots were so different in comparison. If I remember correctly, Painter of the Wind is a little bit duller in colors but still beautiful and fits the drama. Tree looked like all the money was poured out for awesome cameras.

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Yes, the colors in Tree were gorgeous, especially some of the night shots. The editing is what's bugging me most in Six Flying Dragons - it's actually getting in the way of the story telling at times, but hopefully that will calm down a bit as things go along.

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There's one scene in EP1 that got me SO CONFUSED. That scene with Lee Seong Gye and Lee In Gyum and the shots they used looked like there was someone else speaking then I realized it was LIG but in two different angles.

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1. Chemistry is how a couple look at each other. One of my favourite things about Lee Min-ho and Park Shin-hye in Heirs was how they stole glances at each other and how they looked longingly at each other when they thought the other person wasn't looking. It made mey heart flutter a lot.
2. Absolutely. I believe that it's not compulsory for everyone to agree that a pairing as a lot of chemistry. So Ji-sub and Gong Hyo-jin had a lot of chemistry for some people but I didn't feel it at all. Sung-joon and Uee didn't have chemistry for some people and i thought they would make my screen combust.
3. False. I think it's possible for two people to not have any feelings for each other outside of filming and they can still make a convincing couple on-screen.
4. I don't totally agree with this. I think there has to be some level of comfort between two people for them to try acting like a couple. I can't imagine having a kiss scene with someone I absolutely detest in real life.
5. I guess for some people, but I've always been able to see where the line is drawn based on how the characters are written and how the actors portray them. An example is Taltal and Seung-nyang in Empress Ki, a lot of people wanted them together because they thought they had an amazing chemistry but I think if you look at the way the actors portray the characters, all that's between them is just a sibling-like protective feeling.
6. I don't know. But I suppose that's how ships are born.
7. City Hunter- AC that probably became GC.
Coffee Prince- GC 101%.
Fated To Love You- AC.
Full House 1- CG
Goong 1- AC.
Healer- GC 101%
I Hear Your Voice- SB.
Kill Me Heal Me- I haven't seen this yet, but based on Secret, I think they have GC.
King of High School Savvy- AC.
Honorary mention, Lee Soo-hyuk and Lee Ha-na had some amazing chemistry. AC more than 50%.
King 2 Hearts- AC.
Lie To Me- AC. Yoon Eun-hye has chemistry with all her co-stars.
Master's Sun- CG less than 50%.
My Girl- I don't remember much of this drama except that Lee Jun-ki looked so girlishly pretty. But i just finished Hotel King, so- GC.
My Love From Another Star- GC.
It's Okay, it's Love- AC that probably became GC.
Oh My Ghostess, Jo Jung-seok and Park Bo-young as Soon-ae- GC.
Oh My Ghostess, Jo Jung-seok and Park Bo-young as Bong-sun- No Opinion.
Pinnocchio- AC less than 50%.
Playful Kiss- AC more than 50%.
Protect The Boss- No Opinion.
Reply Me 97- No Opinion.
She Was Pretty- AC more than 50%.
Honorary Mention, Choi Si-won and Hwang Jung-eum- GC more than 50%.
The Time We Were Not In Love- GC 65%, AC 35%.
Twenty Again- AC more than 50%.

My Favourites not on the list.
Heirs, Lee Min-ho and Park Shin-hye- GC 75% AC 25%. I think they were comfortable with one another since they've worked together before so it was easy for them.
Angel Eyes- Lee Sang-yoon and Gu...

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This was meant to be a reply to Growing Beautifully's comment above. I don't know why it keeps coming up as a new comment, sorry about that.
....Angel Eyes, Lee Sang-yoon and Gu Hye-sun- AC 101%
I Miss You- Park Yoo-chun and Yoon Eun-hye- AC 100%.
Warrior Baek Dong-soo, Ji Chang-wook and Yoo Seung-ho- AC that might have become GC.

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@ Ek Ladhki Thi

No worries, I usually go up and down and will find posts that look like they are meant for me LOL!

Thanks for taking the time to really do the quiz. I will go back to absorb what you wrote when I get back! Cheers!

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Hello all!!
I've been checking my usual site waiting for them to pick Village but no sign of subbing. Is any site pick this drama? After so much sweetness from Ghostess and 20 Again i kinda crave for mystery (and Moon Geun Yong, ofc :p)

Just watched 20 Again raw and forever in awe of how the writer manages to keep the pace so smooth, natural and not rushed at all but yet making me pulling my hair because of never ending pull-and-push game between nora and hyunseok. 3 ep left and i'm still lovey-dovey deprived :/

Anyone around here juggling between asian and western series? I feel so guilty seeing how many series i am watching currently especially since it's fall season and comeback of many western series >.<

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I am having trouble juggling between Asian and Western series too lol I've been wanting to start on Sassy Go Go and The Village (if subs are out) but I've been too busy with Bones, Doctor Who and How To Get Away With Murder (seriously, the episodes of the new season have been insane, it's hard to keep track who has been murdered and who has been not)

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*high five!!*
Out of all shows you mention i actually follow how to get away with murder. The 1st season is so good imo. But kinda reluctant to start season 2, is it as good? I accidentally read spoiler (ugh) and now not motivated enough to continue lol. That show is seriously so good in a very frustrating way.

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Work has been crazy this period of the year so I haven't been watching new dramas (but still faithfully downloading in the hopes that I have the time to watch them ... one day).

Just asking, has anyone seen the Japanese play "Kafka on the Shore"? It's a theater adaption of the book by Haruki Murakimi and I just finished it one or two months ago. The thing is the book is utterly out-of-the-world with abundant symbolism and halfway through the book, I gave up on working out what is going on in the book but I still love it. The play is coming to Singapore and I want to go and watch it but I'm afraid that the play will not live up to the expectations. Though it will be interesting to see how the director and playwright interpret the book...

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I haven't read the book yet (though I have read quite a few others of Murakami's) but I saw the play when they brought both Ninagawa's stage adaptation of Kafka on the Shore and Hamlet to London back in May.

I can't tell you how it compares to the book and whether it will live up to your expectations, but I thought both plays were fantastic. The actors were great – Furuhata Nino was wonderful as Kafka.

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Just a reminder about all the spoilers today:

http://www.dramabeans.com/2013/07/introducing-our-dramabeans-commenting-policy/

But I do love reading all the comments here. Don't make me stop this car!

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Does anybody know if there's a Korean or Japanese drama based on the play Pygmalion?

I really adored the American TV series Selfie and have meaning to read the book version of Pymalion just to get my happy ending. But I was wondering if there was a drama that is similar to its plot.

Thank you :D

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Can someone from DB explain the new rankings that are added to the recapped episodes? What is ranked? The episode? The recap? Who is allowed to vote?
Just curious...

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Rankings: What I noticed is that sometimes after a person makes a comment, the rankings page pops up and they get a chance to vote. It is ad hoc or it may come up once in every XX number of comments, so it does not happen all the time.

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Just testing....

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