Hm, I hope they surprise us with something more progressive. At least there were some dramas in the recent past where there was a little more representation (baby steps, of course...).

@asiandramaniac,
Maybe chef will take a page from the Choi Han-gyul playbook to thwart parental pressure to marry... but with some kind of twist.

I'd be tickled to bits if they dared to have an OTP like the one in LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL. No fakery, just a committed relationship between two people who wanted to spend the rest of their lives together. Very moving.
http://asianwiki.com/Life_is_Beautiful_(SBS-2010-South_Korean_Drama)

... his reincarnated dead girlfriend... who is also his long-lost sister, because we can't risk a makjang deficit. ;-)

Nope, can't risk a deficit.

Also, we need at least a love triangle if not quadrangle. So the chef tasked by the reincarnated dead girlfriend/long-lost sister agent to test the recipes to make sure they are safe to eat (and of course for pictures for the book) is the son of the chaebol that owns the publishing company, only his father thinks he's still studying abroad for his MBA. He is also possessed by the ghost of the former servant of the agent, and said servant ghost refuses to cross over due to their unrequited love for her.

I think at one point the writer will get confused themselves and tell the actors to just wing it!

Aloha, @marcusnyc20 bong-soo! Yep, we're fine here in Joisy. Thanks for asking. I take it you're doing well in Queens, eh?

I, too, watched NOBODY KNOWS and 365: REPEAT THE YEAR, and enjoyed them both. I didn't comment much, but was glued to my screen, not to mention the edge of my seat.

I've also been live-watching HOSPITAL PLAYLIST and THE KING: ETERNAL MONARCH, and am enjoying both of them as well. Dang, it's good to see Lee Min-ho again. I'm getting a very nice FAITH vibe. In some respects, Lee Gon is a bit like Choi Young, but I think that he clearly differentiates them in an appropriate and realistic manner. There's more than a touch of THE KING 2HEARTS in this show, too. You'll be glad to know that Park Hoon is in it, although as of this past weekend's episodes, we've seen neither hide nor hair of him since the premiere week.

Yes, SPLISH SPLASH LOVE is a two-part drama special. With Yoon Doo-joon as King Sejong the Great. He looks great in Joseon kingly raiment. And Kim Seul-gi is a hoot. Ahn Hyo-seop (Yoo Chan in THIRTY BUT SEVENTEEN; Dr. Seo Woo-jin in ROMANTIC DOCTOR, TEACHER KIM 2) first caught my eye as Jang Youngshil -- who is listed under his official job title. The show is short and sweet. (I've been enjoying Kim Seul-gi's performance in FIND ME IN YOUR MEMORY, and got a kick out of her in PEOPLE WITH FLAWS, too. She's one funny lady, but can hit you between the eyes with the full range of emotions. I'm glad she's getting more roles.)

Thanks for the alternate title for WIND AND CLOUD AND RAIN. KINGMAKER: THE CHANGE OF DESTINY is a good title that gives a hint of what it's about. The imagery of wind and rain is a tip of the hat to the fact that physiognomy is the facial analogue of feng shui, which literally means "wind and water." Having auspicious "facial topography" is as important as selecting an auspicious site for ancestral graves, in other words. (By any chance have you already seen THE KING'S FACE? It might help make W&C&R more comprehensible. It is set in the time of the Imjin War, with Seo In-guk as Gwanghaegun holding the fort after his father and the court have lit out from the capital.)

Alas, these are the only DB articles aside from the casting news, etc., that I could find for you on THE KING'S FACE:

http://www.dramabeans.com/2014/11/kings-face-episode-1/

http://www.dramabeans.com/2014/11/kolorful-palette-bridge-to-kingdom-kings-face/

Here's the main page:
http://www.dramabeans.com/shows/kings-face/

I'll be tuning in to WIND AND CLOUD AND RAIN myself. It will be interesting to see how well our MR. SUNSHINE and NOKDU FLOWER experience will help us out with this drama. Methinks there could be some overlap with the movie KUNDO: AGE OF THE RAMPANT, which is set in 1862.

Per DramaWiki, this is a remake of the 1989 drama that is based on the same serialized novel.
https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Wind,_Clouds,_and_Rain

@pakalanapikake,
A quick update. Thanks so much for the recommendations. I watched epsiode one of SPLASH SPLASH LOVE last night and loved it. It was a pleasure to see Yoon Doo-joon again and meet Kim Seul-gi for the first time. Episode 2 is on for tonight.

I think I may have gotten out ahead of myself. I am assuming that Viki will pick up TV Chosun's WIND AND CLOUD AND RAIN because they picked up TV Chosun's two previous sagueks: GRAND PRINCE and QUEEN: LOVE AND WAR. It is not on Viki's "Coming Soon" list yet. Also it looks like WIND will air one episode a week. MyDramaList says it will air from May 17, 2020 to Oct. 25,2020.

I am A SIG fan and THE KING's FACE looka very interesting and available as is KUNDO.
Thanks again for the recommendations.
I hope I see WIND pop up on the coming soon list soon.

@marcusnyc20 bong-soo,
Thanks for the heads-up about WIND AND CLOUD AND RAIN. That's interesting about it being one episode per week. It will make for a long drawn-out watch. So far, neither AsianWiki nor DramaWiki indicate an end date. I know that certain weekend dramas air two back-to-back episodes, but I don't think they're on TV Chosun. Hmmm.

I'm stoked to see that Kim Seung-Su (Dae-so Seja in JUMONG) will be in W&C&R. He did a good job as the title character's rival. I'm thrilled to see him in another sageuk. Very princely. -- Holy moly! I just noticed that he's also going to be in MIDNIGHT SNACK COUPLE / SWEET MUNCHIES.

BTW, Heo Sung-tae will also be in W&C&R after redeeming himself in PSYCHOPATH DIARY.

Aw, I'm pleased to learn that THE KING'S FACE has some appeal because of SIG. He was very good in it, and turned me into a Gwanghaegun fangirl. It was also my first encounter with Shin Sung-rok as a villain. He scared the heck out of me.

I enjoyed KUNDO because it has a dandy cast headed up by Gang Dong-won, one of my faves. Now that I think of it, it's got a righteous army that arises from peasants who are very similar to the ones who are dying of starvation as Baek Yi-hyun makes his way home from Japan in NOKDU FLOWER. As in MR. SUNSHINE, another butcher gets picked on because of his social class.

I'm so glad that you're enjoying SPLISH SPLASH LOVE. I think my introduction to Kim Seul-gi was as Mal-soon's granddaughter in MISS GRANNY. I didn't even recognize her when I later watched DISCOVERY OF LOVE after going bonkers for Eric in OH HAE-YOUNG AGAIN. In it she plays the partner in a woodworking shop with Jung Yoo-mi, who has a running gun battle with her ex, construction manager Eric, for whose firm they fabricate interior woodwork and furniture. Your fave, Yoon Hyun-min (whom I think I saw for the first time in BEAUTIFUL MIND, which was just starting as OHYA was ending), plays the childhood buddy of one or both of the women (their mothers are old friends), who becomes their house mate because his family moved overseas or something. He's a plastic surgeon who is the business partner of Jung Yoo-mi's current boyfriend, played by Sung Joon. KSG and YHM are hilarious in this show.

Another dandy 2-part drama special you will probably enjoy: THE STORY OF HYANG DAN, which was recapped by JavaBeans herself. It is a send-up of the famous pansori CHUNHYANG (made into a beautiful film in 2000 with Cho Seung-woo in his acting debut) in a mash-up with the folk tale of the virtuous Shim Chung. It stars Choi Siwon as magistrate's son Lee Mong-ryong, and he is hilarious. Seo Ji-hye plays the title character totally straight. She is the servant of Chun-hyang, who is the airheaded daughter of a gisaeng who has designs on Mong-ryong. You'll recognize scads of actors in the cast. The music is terrific, and I laughed my butt off. Think of it as JOSEON FRACTURED FAIRY TALES. ;-)

http://www.dramabeans...

@marcusnyc20 bong-soo,

Drat! Here's the link to the HYANG DAN recaps by JavaBeans:
http://www.dramabeans.com/2007/09/hyang-dan-jeon-the-story-of-hyang-dan/

Enjoy!

@pakalanapikake,
A quick note. I took the plunge into THE KING'S FACE last night and thoroughly enjoyed episode 1. I did read @headsno2 recap before watching and that was very helpful. She mentioned Seo In-guk's action scene in episode 1 in the library and I agree that that fight scene was excellent. One of the best I have seen and I am a fight guy. It was a mini homage (for me) to kung-fu flicks.
This is my first Lee Sung-jae drama.
@fanderay's Kolorful Palete post was also very helpful. Her painting of Prince Gwanghae (SIG) waiting on the bridge is beautiful.
Thanks for all the tips. I think diving into a good sageuk and doing side research will be helpful while hunkered down.

@marcusnyc20 bong-soo May 11, 2020 at 11:04 AM

I'm so glad you enjoyed your foray into THE KING'S FACE and the DB articles on it. HeasNo2's ep. 1 recap is a treasure trove of history and background on physiognomy. I'm sure it will come in handy while watching WIND AND CLOUD AND RAIN. I agree: Fanderay's painting is beautiful, especially the play of light on foliage, and that lovely left profile of SIG standing on the bridge.

The fight scene in the library was indeed epic. Now that I think of it, I'm reminded of a similar one in QUEEN IN-HYUN'S MAN in which Kim Boong-do is also saved by a book -- until the talisman kicks in. I'm glad it floated your boat. Now I'll have to rewatch it to refresh my memory. THE KING'S FACE is the drama that put SIG on my radar and turned me into a fangirl of Gwanghaegun -- and also Yi Sun-shin.

Speaking of the admiral, if you haven't seen the 2005 movie HEAVEN'S SOLDIERS, you might want to get a load of it. It features time travelers from ROK and DPRK in search of a missing nuke who encounter the future hero, and collaborate to keep him alive during battles with invading Khitans (or was it Jurchens?!) so that he can live to save the nation during the Imjin War. The cross-border teamwork reminds me of WELCOME TO DONGMAKGOL in that respect, but with a poignant twist with regard to Yi's subordinates. There's also a dandy scene of a young ROK soldier encouraging Yi to persevere in repeating the gwageo military exam. During a respite, the moon in the sky reminds him of a famous poem the admiral would later write (which I recognized from ROARING CURRENTS). He recites it to Yi and tells him that in the future, every school kid in Korea will memorize it. It helps buck up the latent hero.

I recently was stunned to read that my first Kdrama, DR. JIN, was set during the reign of King Cheoljong, predecessor of King Gojong of MR. SUNSHINE and NOKDU FLOWER infamy. [Back in 2012, there was less historical information available online in English, or at least that's how it felt.] The upcoming sageuk QUEEN CHEORIM deals with Cheoljong's royal consort. No info on casting or when it will air as of a couple of days ago.