Beanie level: Loan shark with a heart of gold

KBS’s NOTHING UNCOVERED is now on Viki US’s “Coming Soon” list. Episode one aired today in SK. I guess better late than never.

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ENA’s THE MIDNIGHT STUDIO’s episode one rating of 2.107% may be the second highest rating for an ENA drama opening episode. GOOD JOB (2022)’s episode one ratings was 2.322%.

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I enjoyed the first two episodes of QOT. I am not sure where the writer is going with Beom-ja. I am sorry the interior of a Catholic Church was used to show her acting out. Disrespectful imho.

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    This is nothing, think of how shamans are shown as frauds acting in ridiculous ways in 90% of k-dramas, they need a better union to challenge their representation. Basically all things religious usually have some breach of protocol e.g. people chatting during prayers in Buddhist temples is quite common.

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      So to avoid being annoyed over the years I have generally avoided dramas with a heavy religious component for example the well regarded (with average rating of 16.1%) SBS’s THE FIERY PRIEST (and I am a fan of Kim Nam-gil). It is a personal thing.
      Lol, I already got a second dose of annoyance with the first episode of THE MIDNIGHT STUDIO.

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        I avoid anything with the occult as I don’t want to be contaminated with it and I wonder where the writer gets ‘their’ ideas from when it is literally referring to darkness personified.

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    Well… I get what you’re saying. I didn’t really have any problem with it. But I believe the scene was indeed designed for impact, so perhaps we were meant to feel she was being disrespectful (rather than the scene being so).

    But coming from a completely agnostic perspective (I’m saying agnostic because, lately, it seems many atheists brandish their lack of faith as a new faith they have to convert the world to, and I’\m not out there to start a new anti-religion war)
    IMO, churches and temples are only sets of stones and bricks put on top of each other. I imagine that, if as faith would have it, the divinity is always with its believers, the building and whatever behaviours it witnesses don’t matter at all.

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MBN’s MISSING CROWN PRINCE may be my next sageuk. Pros: Availability: MCP is now on Viki US’s “Coming Soon” list; BOSSAM screenwriters. Cons: 20 episodes may kill the deal.

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    I want to say yes to Suho but … 🤷‍♀️

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      Main leads Suho (32) and Hong Ye-Ji (22) are total blank slates for me (and add on the 10 year age difference to stir up things a bit) and MCP would a total gamble for me. Just for comparison in BOSSAM there was a 2 year RL age difference between the leads.

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        Also its supposed to be a reverse Bossam. Therefore all the more iffy.
        I have seen most of Suho’s dramas and Rich Man is a favorite of my parents. Therefore my interest in this drama. 😊

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ENA’s THE MIDNIGHT STUDIO is now on Viki US’s “Coming Soon” list. I congratulate Viki on licensing ENA dramas I just wish I would see more upcoming SBS, KBS and MBC dramas on Viki’s Coming Soon list.

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Dong Ha fans. Re @mary’s Drama Chat post “Where did my favorite actor go? Here is a trailer for Dong Ha’s (hopefully) upcoming mystery/thriller film: CORNELL’S BOX.

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Wavve’s HIGH SCHOOL RETURN OF A GANGSTER (8 eps) probably won’t be available in the US but if it should be I will check it out. I like the physicality in this trailer. It looks like it will be crazy.

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Kdramaland! LIKE FLOWERS IN SAND. That is how you make a compelling sports drama. Thank you Jang Dong-yoon, the entire cast and crew, and ENA for giving us a great 5 star production.

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    💯 ❤

    I was never was or thought I ever could be interested in wrestling but I have come to love and admire Ssireum.

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      I congratulate SANDS’s Director-nim Kim Jin-woo (also director of a favorite SUITS (2018)) who never lost sight of what this sports drama was about. The world of Ssireum wrestling.

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Jang Dong-yoon fans. Go down memory lane to the Shinsun Hospital Flashmob from tvN’s A POEM ADAY (2018). Here JDY is with Lee Yu-bi and the rest of the APAD gang. Catch JDY’s cha cha move at the end.

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    Thank you for sharing. The poor actors it’s one thing to be on set following a script its another to have to start dancing randomly in front of a crowd of real staff, patients and their families.

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      I am watching the high school cdrama THE HOPE and in episode 27 the teachers put together a rather involved music video for the students. For some reason it brought back memories of the above. I remember wondering at the time how much rehearsal it took to pull that flashmob scene off in APAD.

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    Thank you. ❤ 🫰Flash mobs are really awesome.

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    Ngl, if I had seen this back in 2018 I might never have started watching k-dramas 😂 Jang Dong Yoon though. Cute as ever!

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    He was dancing the tango in Just Dance!

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Along the lines of platonic drama friendship, how about these two (favorites of mine): Yoon Hyun-min and Jung Kyung-po from the great HEARTLESS CITY (2013) (Viki US).

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    Still THE role from Jung Kyung Ho that is seared into my brain

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    Balsa and Soo forever!

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      Baksa, you stupid auto complete!

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        Yes, yes.
        I swear there were a couple of scenes of physicality in LIFE ON MARS (2018) where Jung Kyung-ho went into Baska mode. It was almost like an homage to his previous iconic character.

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I am getting the impression that a lot of HEARTBEAT viewers (which I am one) here did not experience KBS’s DO DO SOL SOL LA LA SOL (2020) (aka DO DO)’s spectacular crash landing ending (which I did).

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    Oh, I did… and I wasn’t on Dramabeans at the time, so I had no way of venting. Lol that’s the drama that made me stop live-watching for THREE YEARS until this spring. *sigh*

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      Oh dear. I hope HB’s ending doesn’t bring on a relapse. Fighting!

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      I’ve seen both too. And like you, I wasn’t active on DB earlier. Both are terrible fails, but one was merely unsatisfactory, the other tragic. I know which one is worse for me.

      (At this point, I’ve given up non-spoiling. The fanwall is rife with clues. I can delete if this is too much, but it’s hard without being specific.)

      And I’ll also say, don’t give up. This spectacular a failure doesn’t come around all that often.

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        I agree – with all its faults, I still prefer Do Do’s ending, because he was alive and really there lol. So you think I should stick around to live- watch Destined With You with you all? Because that’s the next one I was looking forward to, but now was having misgivings about…

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          Well, if you do, you’ll have the community of Beanies there with you now!!!

          I’d like to say it can’t get worse than this, but I bet it can, unfortunately.

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          Exactly. None of this “sweet” memory/hallucination/ghost as a consolation prize rubbish.

          Since I so confidently predicted HEA right until the last 15 minutes for Heartbeat, who am I to say anything. You should listen to hacja apparently. But, I remain hopeful. Truly tragic endings are still rare unless they are signaled early (eg My Dearest). Of course, the Open Endings are just as annoying.

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            That was me, too! I was so SURE of a HEA that I kept predicting it up until the very last ep! Some, like you said, signal it early and signal it well (that’s why I’m not watching My Dearest). The open endings are sometimes worse, because they don’t provide defined closure.

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    I have not watched Heartbeat yet but I did watch Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol. I think it was my fifth k-drama and I had no words to express my frustration after the ending.
    It seems so long ago now… But it was february or march 2022 😅.

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      Look at it this way. If you survived DO DO’s ending you shouldn’t be surprised how often kdrama endings are disappointing. Every now and then a writer nails a kdrama ending perfectly and we can savor it. As an example I am thinking of MBC’s ON THE VERGE OF INSANITY (2021) (Viki US).

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    oh Do do sol sol.. wasnt this interesting from the start.. that bad landing was clearly foreseeable from mid way and hence that crash landing wasnt this hurting…
    but here this ending couldnt be imagined in wildest dreams… reason i was feeling dramagod cant be this cruel to a Vampire who had waited.to experience love n happy ending

    but i was wrong.. dramagods cruelty was just too much to handle

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    As a famous phrase goes “I’m afraid you got Do Do-ed.”

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HEARTBEAT’s 2ML is performed by musical theater actor Park Kang Hyun in his first drama series. For those who have never heard him sing (like me) I want to share this video. Thanks @solstices.

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    Thanks for sharing. This is why I love musicals.

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    This song is so beautiful!!!
    And I didn’t know Park Kang Hyun but I’ll have to watch more of him.

    Thanks for sharing.

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      You are welcome. I had never heard of PKH and when I clicked on the above video (which Sicarius had imbedded in her episode one recap) I was like, wow! What a tenor! I have been bopping around on Youtube listening to him. Tony in “West Side Story” anyone? I would love to hear him tackle some great Puccini arias. Maybe down the line in his singing career.

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    Wow! I think I just fell a little bit in love. That was so lovely. Thank you so much for posting this.

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Memory Lane. Seems some beanies have discovered ARE YOU HUMAN TOO? (2018) (Viki US). Here is a pic of the 3 Nam Shins: I (Oh Han-kyul). II (Lee Joo-chan) and III (Seo Kang-joon)

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    I’m one of the beanies who has watched it now (after being for a long time in my “plan to watch list”). I finished it two days ago 🙂

    It has many flaws but I loved Nam Shin III and Seo Kang Joon’s acting.

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      AYHT was my first SKJ drama and I loved his multiple role performance. I followed him to the excellent THE THIRD CHARM (2018) (Viki US) and his sweet performance in I’LL GO TO YOU WHEN THE WEATHER IS NICE (2020) (Viki US). I did not take in his last pre-enlistment drama GRID (2022) since is was not available in the US. His military discharge was in May so hopefully we will be getting news on an upcoming project.
      For folks who discovered the sweet SKJ in WEATHER I am interested in their reaction when they discover in AYHT for example that SKJ is very capable of being ‘nasty’.
      For the record of the SKJ dramas I have seen OCN’s WATCHER (2019) is my favorite.

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        This has been my first SKJ drama too. I want to watch “When the weather is fine” because it has been on my list for ages. SKJ and Lee Jae Wook are good reasons to give it a try, apart from the countryside setting.

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Going down HEALER (2014/15) (Viki US) memory lane. Kim Mi-kyung posted this pic with Ji Chang-wook in her Instagram account in April of 2023.

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Finally. This is the Woo Do-hwan post military drama I have been waiting for. The upcoming BLOODHOUNDS on Netflix.

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Congratulations Kim Nam-gil for being named Best Actor in the 2022 Year in Review Editors’ Picks for your performance as Song Ha-young in THROUGH THE DARNESS. The setting is late 1980s/early 90s.

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2022 RoundUp: Day 6: Best OST/BGM: Cdrama: ORDINARY GREATNESS. Terrific slice-of-like uniformed police drama. (Pictured: ML Zhang Ruo Yun, FL Bai Lu) (Vocals: Track 1: Lu Hu, 2: Jason Zhang).

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    This post reminded me that I have to start this drama soon. (Maybe as soon as I finally finished Sword Snow Stride.)

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      I watched and enjoyed SSS this year and then followed ZRY to ORDINARY GREATNESS. I had to subscribe to iQIYI to be able to watch OG. ZRY is out from under all those robes lol and giving a great performance as a rookie 22 year old cop. His real age is 34 but he is pulling it off as this young impulsive guy and a natural at police work.
      Strangely I have been comparing him with Jung Kyung-ho (who is 39) maybe because they are both thin and share a similar body type.

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        I can certainly see the similarities between the two.
        I’ve been following ZRY because of his appearance as regular guests in variety show “Who’s the Murderer” and managed to watch (or skip-watch when the drama’s plot is too annoying) almost everything he was in. I can’t wait to finally start Ordinary Greatness. It’s been a long time since he acted in modern drama.

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Does Netflix know what I check out on YouTube? I recently revisited Gaho’s wonderful OST “Start Over” from ITAEWON CLASS and when I called up Netflix on Roku ITAEWON CLASS was waiting for me. Mmm!

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@elinor. Your bts pic from ALCHEMY OF SOULS brought to mind this bts pic from HWARANG.
Of the three claimants to the throne in the 2 pics holding swords, who is holding his correctly?

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    Good job, Park Hyung-sik! At least he isn’t imminently going to hurt himself or someone else.

    I know they’re prop swords, it just cracks me up for no good reason. As does PSJ’s expression.

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      Of course with PHS being naturally ‘royal’ he would know how to safely handle a sword. With the other two guys is would be bye bye fingers.

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    Maybe PSJ is lamenting his bad hair..and PHS is just glad his isn’t as bad..

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So Lee Yoo-young will be helping Kang Ha-neul take down corrupt prosecutor Heo Sung-tae in JTBC’s INSIDER. She and Yoon Shi-yoon already did that in YOUR HONOR. From eps. 24 (my favorite scene):

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    I loved your honor and I love lee yoo-young, should I consider watching Insider? have you watched it?

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      Hi @unniunni. I am indeed watching INSIDER and loving it. It is becoming one of my favorites of the year. Episodes 7 and 8 aired last week so we are half way through. You can catch up.

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