Beanie level: Eunuch in drag

Well…surprise surprise unless the star of the kdrama is a Blackpink member, Disney+ isn’t going to bother releasing it outside of the Asia-Pacific region -_-

Can I fire all the Disney + executives?

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    I fired them by dropping disney-.

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      Useless! What is the point of making Kdrama contents if they are not going to stream them here in North America?!

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    I don’t understand them. They released Snowdrop internationally a few days after it ended, so I thought that is how it was going to be. I guess not. Can’t they see the success Netflix is having with kdramas?

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      I absolutely don’t understand them at all. They now pride themselves about producing « local content ». It’s clear they think that North-Americans, Europeans and Africans wouldn’t be interested in watching this « local content » from South-America and Asia. But, in their eyes, everyone in the world is interested in watching local USA content…
      I don’t like the implication of this hypocrisy.

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    I’m asking this because I don’t know, so forgive me if I’m asking a dumb question 😅- is Disney actually making the contents or are they jumping in on things that are already being made? Because if it’s the latter then maybe they don’t have the North American rights or something? That is the only excuse I can think of.

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I was inspired by other Beanies to share my favourite kpop songs of 2021. It was really difficult to rank them (and to shorten the list down to 25 entries – as you can see I cheated a bit by including whole albums too) but here is the result:

Top 25 Kpop Songs/Albums of 2021

1. My Sea – IU
2. Right Now – Gaho
3. illa illa – B.I.
4. You’re Right – LUCY
5. I Know I Love You – TXT
6. Everest – AKMU (with Sam Kim)
7. GOTCHA! (Album) – LUCY
8. Celebrity – IU
9. Us – Moon Jong Up
10. GENRE (Album) – Woosung
11. Hey Kids Close Your Eyes – AKMU (with Lee Sun Hee)
12. Aurora – ONEWE
13. Cruel – Twice
14. Stab – Big Naughty (feat. eaJ)
15. Changer – A.C.E
16. Empathy (Album) – D.O.
17. Killing Me – Chungha
18. Hate That – Key (feat. Taeyeon)
19. Cinema – CIX
20. Dive With You – Seori (feat. eaJ)
21. Wave – CIX
22. I’m a 빛 – Hwasa
23. You Can’t Sit with Us – Sunmi
24. Fever – Enhypen
25. Attention – SHINee

Top 2021 English releases

1. Bonnie & Clyde – Yuqi
2. Down – A.C.E.
3. One Day – Monsta X
4. Anymore – Somi
5. Butter – BTS
6. The Feels – Twice
7. Flying on Faith – Chungha

This list was extremely difficult to make. There are a few songs I wish I could have included but I had to make some cuts. For instance, I really wanted to include WOODZ’ album Only Lovers Left and VICTON’s Voice: The Future is Now but alas… It also pains me that some of my favs, DAY6, Pentagon, Mamamoo, and Taemin, did not make the cut this year.

There were just too many songs I absolutely loved in 2021. I’m looking forward to what 2022 has in store for us music-wise.

What were your favourites? Do we share some?

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    If Taemin has a release he will probably be to as Advice was for me this year. That Woodz album is so fun.
    Love to see AKMU on here. Everest and Nakka have been favorites, such a great album.

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    Butter, Illa Illa, Celebrity, Fever, You can’t sit with us, Cinema were some of my favourites too 💚
    I also love Gaho, but listened more to Rush Hour

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      Wow, just checked out Twice’s Cruel. It’s a bop!

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        It really is! I wish Twice had promoted as a title track or special single for the album just so I could learn its choreography.

        Gaho is also one of my favourite vocalist. It’s crazy what he can do with his voice. I also really liked Rush Hour!

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I haven’t been able to keep up with the roundup in the past few days so I’ll just going to briefly catch up.

14. Most memorable scene.
There were many memorable scenes (and many of my picks have already been shared).
My four memorable scenes that have not seen others mention:

1. “I’m the real boss” Powerpoint presentation from Vincenzo
2. Yihyun and Saebom sleeping in their twin beds in Happiness
3. The adorable potato picking scene in Racket Boys
4.The tent scene in Lost/Human Disqualification.

15. Saeguk Special Edition: most unnecessary death.

Not from a Saeguk but every single time Taeseok shot an infected person in the head in Happiness, I would say “Well…was that really necessary?”.

19. Your 2021 crush.

I usually have crushed on fictional characters. This year, my biggest crush was Dongcheol (played by Woo Dohwan) in Save Me.

23. Best bromance / womance.

I think both apply best to the friends group in Racket Boys.

Best friendship that was neither a bromance nor womance: Dam and Jaejin in My Roommate is a Gumiho.

25.Freestyle: Most chilling performance

I am a big fan of Lee Seunggi as an actor but his performance in Mouse was a bit TOO good. I did not expect to be that disturbed from watching Lee Seunggi contemplating whether he should bludgeon a child to death with a brick…

Older chilling performance: Im Siwan, Lee Dongwook and the rest of the cast of Strangers from Hell.

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13. Drama beanies loved but you didn’t / Drama you loved but beanies didn’t.

I know Doom at Your Service was popular but it seems that the majority of beanies were also disappointed by it so I don’t know if it really applies.

I did not watch a drama that I loved and others didn’t but I must admit that although Sisyphus and Lovestruck in the City were letdowns, I still had fun watching them. I recently realized that both dramas have a hilariously bad scene involving a coke bottle attack…

I wouldn’t watch either drama again nor recommend them to anyone but I don’t regret watching them. I had a good laugh and I enjoyed Jo Seungwoo and Ji Changwook performances ( at least both dramas had a good cast).

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12. Best quote / oneliner.

Not really a quote or a oneliner but the first thing that popped in my head was:

You are our Corn Salad

It’s not Corn Salad, it’s Consigliere.

Vincenzo

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11. Secondary character that stole your heart and the show (SL, villains, kid…).

Looking back, 2021 gave us some pretty great side characters (and villains).
My favourite villains were hands down our little villain club from Vincenzo. You had a villain for everyone: the pathetic one in Seunghyuk, the chillingly calculating one in Myunghee, the hilarious but terrifying crazy one in Hanseok, and the sympathetic one in Hanseo. I never had so much fun with villains than I did when watching Vincenzo.

Vincenzo also had so many great side characters but my personal favs were the monks and ultimate Vincenzo fanboy, agent Ahn Kiseok.

Another drama with great side characters is Hospital Playlist, but is it cheating if these side characters are from 2020? Nevertheless, I couldn’t write this post without a quick mention of the sweet Uju, the wonderful Rosa and her partner-in-crime Jongsu, and my personal favourite the resident Do Jehak!

However, my favourite 2021 side character goes to one I believe is a bit underrated: Sunjoo from Human Disqualification played by Yoo Soobin. I found myself moved by his breakdown in the car. Yoo Soobin gave a wonderful performance and I just wanted to point it out.

Honorable mention: the dog in Mad For Each Other

That said, the award for the ultimate heart stealer goes to a non-2021 character. Stay tune to find out who (I’m sure anyone who has been following my Roundup can make a good guess to who it is).

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10. Best confession.

The best confession this year was simply the one I had anticipated the most: Songhwa confessing her feelings to Ikjun on Hospital Playlist 2. It’s the only confession scenes out of the 2021 contenders that I rewatched on youtube. It is also the only one that I could think of for this prompt.

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9. The oldie (not 2021) you loved the most.

I have somewhat already answered this prompt on Day 5. I watched many great oldies this year. Of all the oldie kdramas I have watched this year, I have rated Go Back Couple the highest. I had not expected to enjoy it as much as I did. It was not perfect (the ending could have been better) but it was so wholesome and one of the rare kdramas that has a not-at-all-frustrating love square/love triangle. All the relationships felt organic and relatable.

I also absolutely loved A Piece of Your Mind (Jung Haein, Chae Soobin, the soundtrack, the cinematography, and unique story <3),
Rookie Historian Goo Haeryung (The lovable ensemble of characters led by Shin Sekyung who I really liked in this role, the great friendships, Park Kiwoong as the crown prince, and the fact that it remained an “office comedy during Joseon” until the end <3),
Save Me(THE CHARACTERS! but mostly Dongcheol, the wonderful chemistry and performance by Seo Yeji and Woo Dohwan, and the effective cliffhangers),
and finally When the Weather is Fine (Lee Jaewook and Kim Hwanhee stole the show for me) and Search WWW (again Lee Jaewook, and the great female-lead ensemble, and the discussion around ethics).

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    Completely agree on LJW in Weather. I think that was one of his finest performances. Another one I really really like is when he was in Alhambra as a side character (“Marcus”, if I’m not mistaken). The character was so different from the cheerful role in Weather and that just highlights how impressive his acting ability is.

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      I cannot remember him in Alhambra for the life of me but it’s been a few years…maybe I’ll look up his scenes on youtube to refresh my memory.

      Coincidently, I watched 4 dramas with Lee Jaewook this year.
      I first saw him in Extraordinary You, then in Move to Heaven, When the Weather is Fine, and finally in Search WWW. I didn’t even look for his projects; it was always a nice surprise to see him show up in the drama I was watching. I also liked his character/performance best in WtWiF followed closely by Search WWW and Move to Heaven.

      I am definitely going to keep an eye out for his future projects. Too bad his only main role to date does not have good reviews…I almost watched Dodolalalawtv but…sigh

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        I loved that one to pieces before it all went downhill. The fact that he was only about 16 made the love line between him and the FL uncomfortable. I’m forever grateful for the reviews here that I should stop watching from ep13 onwards. I did just that, and to this day that show is one of my most adored shows.

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        Not to forget his excellent performance in the double role in What’s Wrong With My Mother-in-Law 🤭

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8. The drama beanies convinced you to watch and you can’t be grateful enough.

If I remember correctly, I had no intention of watching Move to Heaven until I saw all the rave reviews on here.

I can’t believe I almost passed this one by. Thank you to everyone who watched it first and raved about it.

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7. The OTP you didn’t think you would adore.

The only OTP I didn’t think I would adore for the sole reason that I was not even planning to watch the drama in the first place. The Red Sleeve’s premiere was postponed and I picked up Happiness just to have something to watch while I waited.

Saebom and Yihyun are possibly one of the most natural and easy-going relationship I have ever seen in a drama. I don’t have to be told that these two people are close and care about each other, I can see it. Park Hyunshik and Han Hyojoo have great chemistry (not the sizzling kind but the quiet and natural kind). I love how Yihyun is clearly in love with Saebom but he does not push her boundaries. He is happy to stay by her side in whichever way he can: whether it is as a best friend, a partner in crime, a cop buddy, or a fake-husband). Likewise, Saebom cares deeply about Yihyun.

I’m crossing fingers and toes that these two will have a happy ending. IThey deserve it.

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6. The OST you are obsessed with.

Funnily enough, the OST I loved the most this year came from one of the duds I watched.
It is Butterfly by J.UNA from Nevertheless. The whole soundtrack for this drama was definitely its best feature.

Special Mentions:
The soundtrack for D.P. but specifically Shine Your Blue by Kriz and Primary.

Older OST I was completely obsessed with: All the songs from A Piece of Your Mind.

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5. The drama that will always live in your memory.

Out of the 2021 kdramas I watched and completed so far, there are two contenders for this category.
Move to Heaven and Vincenzo for complete opposite reasons. The first one is memorable because it is the drama that made me cry the most and the second one is the one which made me laugh the most.

Some special mentions for older dramas I watched this year for the first time and that have now a special place in my heart: Go Back Couple, A Piece of Your Mind, Ashes of Love, Rookie Historian Goo Haeryung, and Save Me

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4. That mess you watched and you still wonder why.

I was unfortunate to have had watched a few duds this year. However, the biggest disappointment would be without a doubt Doom at Your Service. Unfortunately, the story and its characters were not as profound and compelling as they believed themselves to be. There were many aspects of this drama that made me rant but none more than that terrible side love triangle. I wish I could forget how these two men sat around episodes on end comparing our poor Jina to a car and prize to be won…gross.

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    The secondary triangle story was awful. I can only agree with you. That kiss because I pity you and then we fall in love… it was awful and violent!

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      You are so right! That “meet-cute” was not cute at all. Awful awful!

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I am a bit late to the party but here are the 2021dramas I have watched.

Beyond Evil
D.P.
Doom at Your Service
Falling Into Your Smile (Cdrama)
Flourish in Time (Cdrama)
Hospital Playlist 2
Lost/Human Disqualification
Mad For Each Other
Mouse
Move to Heaven
My Name
My Roommate is a Gumiho
Navillera
Nevertheless
Racket Boys
Sisyphus the Myth
Squid Game
The Greatest Shaman Ga Doo Shim
To My Star
Vincenzo
Youth of May
Yumi’s Cells

I am also currently watching Happiness and The Red Sleeve.

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Waiting for the Age of Youth 2 recap is pure torture! Why internet why can\’t you let me stream airing dramas 🙁 I need to know if the Jiwon and Sungmin ship will finally sail toward the horizon <3

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    Woah! Just read your comment after sharing the same sentiment on my wall about this ship setting sail toward the horizon! All of us expectant fans on the dock cheering them on!⛵🌅

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I am laughing so hard but I would be so much worst than them XD

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    hahahah I was just rewatching this yesterday.
    Jackson & Park Joon Hyung are always hilarious together.
    Wooyoung was a saint with them. haha

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      I just love how discouraged he was. Wooyoung sure had his work cut out for him hahaha. I thought it was adorable how hard he tried to be a good teacher and Jackson’s confused expressions were gold.

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I didn’t think I would enjoy 2D1N again after Lee Seunggi left but Yoon Shiyoon, Cha Taehyun and the rest of the cast are so delightful XD I tried to correct a spelling mistake and deleted the post :S

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    Cha Tae Hyun with his exclusive BAD LUCK in all games of chance is my favorite!!! 😀

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I have been watching Love O2O lately and I was wondering if Yang Yang is as stoic as his characters in real life. I was shock to see that he is actually whimsical and mirthful.

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    I love Love o2o! The chemistry between the leads and the story and all of it is just really good 🙂 I will say, I thought it was distracting how thin the female lead is every time she wore jeans. I’m pretty used to seeing really thin people from all of my years of tv watching plus my two years of drama watching–but I found her really distracting.

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      Same. I keep worrying about her health! It’s awful how actresses are expected to be skinny to a point that it can be unhealthy both physically and mentally. I am also enjoying the drama. It’s such an easy breezy watch.

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        I kept worrying about her health as well! I kept telling myself to stop–some people are naturally thin (I am not one of this blessed number) maybe she’s healthier than she looks. I would bury the concern when she was wearing other things but the second they put her in a pair of skin tight jeans—gosh. All the concern would come flooding back.

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    He is the exact opposite in real life! This guy is too playful and oozing with nonstop humor XD The moment he opens his mouth, you just know he’s gonna make a silly joke or something. I enjoyed watching his other interviews/guesting on Happy Camp!

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