Remember that “web toon drama” called SETI (Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence)? The fantasy series by a manhwa writer released its first two episodes online this week, and the interest has been very high. (Watch below.)

The series is comprised of short segments a little over a minute long that feature Seo Hyo-rim (Job Well Done) and SS501 member Kim Kyu-jong. SETI mixes live action with a “manhwa world,” which is achieved by mixing live photography with enhanced illustrations in the background. In the first three days of its release, the first installment drew in more than 600,000 views, with word of mouth reportedly traveling fast.

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Read the rest of Web drama SETI is a hit (178 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 13 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Kim Kyu-jong, Seo Hyo-rim, web drama

Once again, I’m thrilled to have Dahee Fanel guest-posting her thoughts on a drama — in this case, KBS’s recently ended Wednesday-Thursday drama Accidental Couple, aka Just Looking aka That Fool. It’s always a pleasure, Dahee! –javabeans

 
SONG OF THE DAY

Judy Garland – “Over the Rainbow.” [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Accidental Couple: A review (1,658 words)

© Dahee_Fanel for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 50 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Accidental Couple, Baek Sung-hyun, guest bloggers, Hwang Jung-min, Kim Ah-joong

I found MBC’s Monday-Tuesday drama Queen of Housewives [내조의 여왕] to be a pleasant surprise, as I hadn’t had any expectations for it. At first glance, it’s possible to dismiss this show from its unexciting synopsis and a cast that may be solid but not quite buzzworthy.

But no, Queen of Housewives is light and funny, and easy to watch. I breezed through the first four episodes in no time, and find myself wanting to keep going. I do have a few issues with it, which I talk about below, but on the whole find this series pretty enjoyable.

A couple things: This covers Episodes 1 through 4, but it isn’t a proper recap. Also, I don’t think I’m going to do individual recaps for this series, but I may decide to weigh in periodically, if I keep liking it.

SONG OF THE DAY

Queen of Housewives OST – “여우랍니다” (I’m a fox) by Lee Soo-young [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Queen of Housewives (MBC) (3,127 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 77 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: episode recaps, Kim Nam-joo, Lee Hye-young, Oh Ji-ho, Queen of Housewives, Sunwoo Sun, Yoon Sang-hyun

So, what’s airing these days?

After a popular phenomenon of a drama ends, people tend to wonder, What next? Even if you haven’t been watching Boys Before Flowers, maybe you’re wondering what else is out there.

So here’s a rundown of all the dramas currently airing, and a list of those to keep an eye on as they beginning premiering soon. I can’t speak for every single drama out there, but I’ve tried to provide most of them with a short description and/or personal impression.

SONG OF THE DAY

Fly to the Sky – “Song For You” from their latest (and last) album, “Decennium.” [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Currently airing dramas: A roundup (1,878 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 106 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Cain and Abel, Cinderella Man, City Hall, Friend, IRIS, Iron Empress, Ja Myung Go, Queen of Housewives, Return of Iljimae, Six Months, Sons of Sol Pharmacy House, Story of a Man, Swallow the Sun, Triple

Caveat: This isn’t a proper recap. It’s not even a proper review. After catching the first few episodes, I wasn’t intending to write about SBS’s new Wednesday-Thursday drama, Cain & Abel, but I got a lot (a lot!) of emails from people asking what I thought of it and requesting recaps.

The thing is, I didn’t know how I would feel about Cain & Abel going in, but was expecting one of a few scenarios: to love it or to hate it. To be drawn in right away or turned off right away. To be impressed or to be disappointed.

What I did NOT expect, however… was to be bored.

SONG OF THE DAY

Cain & Abel OST – “미련한 사랑” (Foolish love) by G (So Ji-sub) (he’s the rapper) and Chae Dong-ha [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Cain & Abel: First impressions (1,752 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 96 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Cain and Abel, Chae Jung-ahn, episode recaps, Han Ji-min, Shin Hyun-joon, So Ji-sub

2007 was a rich year for drama-land. There was something for everyone, whether your tastes ran toward dark thrillers (Devil), intense dramas (White Tower), heart-warmers (Thank You), off-the-wall eccentrics (Mixed-up Investigative Agency), trendy fare (Coffee Prince), romantic comedies (Dal Ja’s Spring), and so on.

2008, on the other hand… not so much.

Every drama has its good and bad points, but it’s a lot easier to decide how you feel about one when those qualities are expressed in the extreme — i.e., very good, or very bad. When everything is a muddle in the middle, though, it’s harder to draw the lines.

That’s why in contrast to last year’s “Best” and “The Rest” designations, this year I don’t really distinguish “good” versus “bad” — or even “favorites” and “hated dramas” — and can only grade on a spectrum. I call that spectrum “MEH” with the extreme poles representing “generally watchable” and “generally unwatchable.” It’s just been that kind of year.

SONG OF THE DAY

Painter of the Wind OST – “색” (Color) by JOO [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Finding Merit in the Mediocre [Year in Review, Part 4] (4,967 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2008. | Permalink | 75 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: A Star's Lover, Beethoven Virus, Bulhandang/Robbers, East of Eden, Gourmet, Hong Gil Dong, I Love You, Iljimae, Love & Marriage, On Air, One Mom, Rivals, Strongest Chil Woo, Tazza, The Last Scandal of My Life, The World They Live In, Three Dads, One Mom, When Night Comes, Who Are You?, year in review

The K-drama world rolled into 2008 still riding the high that was 2007, a year in which a startling number of quality dramas were made, and enjoyed. Maybe it rolled in too fast. It ended up getting smothered by the waves of its previous success. In fact, you could say that it even got hit on the head by a stray surfboard, and sunk to the bottom of the ocean.

Depressing enough intro for ya?

But seriously, 2008 was a dark year for the K-entertainment industry, with not only dramas, but also movies suffering and generally showing poor quality. And not only that, but the economy went kablooie, and we suffered a sobering amount of tragic K-celebrity news.

Personally, this was a supremely frustrating year for a longtime and devoted K-drama fan like me. Before this year, I always gave dramas the benefit of the doubt, and would usually watch at least a certain number of episodes before I passed judgment on them, and decided to continue or discontinue watching. But this year, with every stomach-churning dud, I became more and more impatient, and started going through drama episodes like a vulture searching for roadkill. And boy, did I find a lot of roadkill.

I’m pretty sure 2008 was a record year for me in terms of abandoning dramas. And to think that I used to be the girl who would finish every drama she started, no matter how bad or how boring they were! But the older I get, the less patience I have, and the more critical I become. Besides, I’ve now realized just how precious my time really is. I don’t want to waste it on useless pap, thankyouverymuch.

Still, despite all that, there were a small handful of quality dramas this year. None of them quite matched the heights of some of the dramas of 2007, but still, any kind of quality was more than welcome in this gloomy year.

SONG OF THE DAY

La Dolce Vita – “사랑 꽃” (Love Flower) [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Dahee Fanel’s 2008 Review [Year in Review, Part 3] (4,255 words)

© Dahee_Fanel for Dramabeans, 2008. | Permalink | 57 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: A Star's Lover, Beethoven Virus, East of Eden, guest bloggers, I Love You, Iljimae, Kingdom of Wind, La Dolce Vita, My Sweet Seoul, On Air, Rivals, Spotlight, Strongest Chil Woo, Tazza, The Painter of Wind, The World They Live In, When Night Comes, Who Are You?, year in review