Beanie level: Noble idiot

In each Lee Seon Kyun drama that I’ve watched thus far, he’s either been cheated on or left w/o love. Granted, it’s only been a few but how far back do I have to go to see this man properly romanced?

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    You know, I can’t think of anything except the truly terrible movie Romantic Island. My Ajusshi, This Week My Wife Will Have an Affair, Taereung National Village… You’re right.

    Oh, wait, Coffee Prince! He’s a second lead but he has a proper romantic relationship that ends happily.

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      But his girlfriend did cheat on him in the very beginning i remember.

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        Oh did she

        Poor LSK…

        So. Romantic Island. Although the girl was kinda an idiot. Like most of the characters…

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        Lol, that’s what I remember too! And Coffee Prince was the first drama I saw him in. Geez what a record.

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    WATCH MISS KOREA! My favorite LSK drama after My Ajusshi. The OTP is adorable but a big plus is the strong independent female lead. He’s a jerk in the first couple of episodes but the girl puts him in his place.

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      Screaming with you: WATCH MISS KOREA!

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      I’m always here for a strong independent lead! Combined with LSK, I’ll have to watch. Though holding you accountable if you’re putting it in the same league as My Ajusshi. 🧐🧐

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        Can anything compare to My Ahjusshi?! LOL it’s a different genre but I rest my case. His second best to date. 😉

        PS. She’s strong, independent, AND breaks kdrama tropes!

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    Miss Korea is good – but you’ll get what you want in Pasta. His chef character is quite a chauvinist haha.

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      I remember starting Pasta YEARS ago but could never finish it because there was literally no plot. The dramabeans community searched high and low, turned over every rock and couch cushion and still, no plot.

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        Plot is perhaps not the point of Pasta – it’s a show of watching LSK and GHJ together ：）

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I’ve made the executive decision to not watch the final episode of Hundred Million Stars From the Sky b/c nobody needs that level of pain in their life. I’ll form my own much more satisfying ending.

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    Due to my fragile emotional state, if anyone would like to recommend my next Seo In Gook drama I would be eternally grateful. Thank you, kindly.

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      Any other SIG drama can heal, except King’s Face. Personal favorite fluff is Shopping King Louis and High School King Of Savvy

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        Thank you! Which one would you put ahead of the other in terms of character development and plot strength?

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          Equally fun to watch. Character development is paced slowly for both but you will see a big difference between his start and finish. The female of SKL maybe easier to root for, but I loved both actresses for different reasons.

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            I’m going to do High School King of Savvy as the first one!

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Watching Hundred Million Stars From the Sky.
Me at the beginning of episode 2: I’m not shipping Moo Young with anyone he seems too unhinged
Me seven minutes into episode 2: Well fuck.

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    Prepare to cry. A lot…

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      Oh dear gawd i’m not ready. I blame this all on Jung So Min. I can never resist whatever drama she’s in.

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I’m so disappointed DB decided to not pick up Misty. This drama is exciting in a dark way and I’m loving how the soundtrack is interwoven with the scenes.

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    Yay! Another Misty viewer!

    It is a very good drama.

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It’s been 4 months since I’ve stepped foot into the world of k-dramas. I want something that’s more on the serious foot but not too angsty to dip my toes in. Does anyone have recommendations?

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    Hmmmm, Just Between Lovers is currently airing and so far has been beautifully melancholic without being too heavy. It definitely deals with heavy topics but does so without being makjang in any way. The characters are well-written and (so far) treated with respect by the writer. This week’s episodes were particularly bittersweet, but more on the sweet side!

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      I went ahead and read the summary. It sounds like a show that’s right up my alley. I’ll be giving the first episode a go! Thank you for the rec 🙂

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        No problem! It’s getting a lot of love from Beanies despite there being no recaps for it. If you end up liking it, feel free to join the many discussions that will surely take place on the fan wall every Monday and Tuesday!

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    What genre do you prefer at the moment?
    I can think of Heartless/Cruel City or Liar Game off the top of my head. Or White Christmas.

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      Currently, i’m game for anything as long as it doesn’t veer into the rom-com side of the genre pool (i’m trying to stay away from that for a while). I’ve actually seen Heartless/Cruel City (with the exception of the last episode) a couple years ago.

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        Hands down Forest of Secrets. Best drama of the year.

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          Yes, I was just about to recommend that. It’s serious, and not that angsty. You will love in love with CSW.

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            I saw the drama while it was airing and I fell head over heels for him and it. And then went on rampage to find all his other works only to discover that he’s mainly a stage actor 🙁 (le sadness)

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          I actually watched that while it was airing and yes it is!! It made my list of all time best k-dramas. I’m never letting that one go. It was so captivating from start to finish. The perfect trifecta of good writing, good directing and good acting. God bless.

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            Ok, then try Circle, Tunnel, Chief Kim (funny/serious and no romance), “older” shows: White Xmas as recommended above, Signal, Nine:…, Misaeng, Reply 88, Shut Up Flower Boy Band. The last two veer closest to having some rom-coms elements, but are more slice of life/friendship stories.

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Hello, darkness, old friend. It’s been a while.

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Forest of Secrets delivered everything and then some. Sad to see it go but happy and blessed to have been witness to its brilliance. Thank you show.

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So, the downvote button is gone. I didn’t feel too strongly about it one way or the other but I thought it was a good way to check people who were being vile or hateful in their comments.

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    Did not mind it much as well. I learned to deal when I got my first batch of downvotes. Since one can not please everbody. Now its gone.

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      Yeah, I didn’t care for people being downvoted just for having a difference of opinions or not liking something. I felt that was an abuse of the button. But for the comments that were just downright nasty and/or out of bounds I thought it was a great tool. I think there should be a button for that aspect. Because I’ve seen users who too freely say outrageously gross things. Oh well, the site is still growing and developing in this new user-account phase so I’m still looking forward to what edits and advancements will be rolled out.

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What’s making me incredibly happy is seeing the number of beanies who are confronting the ignorance of MWDTL and DB’s silence on the issue.

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I saw a comment about someone not liking Coffee Prince, and I’m not gonna lie, I felt a little personally attacked.

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    Aha! *cues crowd gasping* how can you NOT like it? I mean, it was kinda slow in tempo than most shows, but that’s one of its charms. I love it. It’s a classic. “I don’t care if you’re a man or an alien!”

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      It was ‘slower’ than most shows but not in a way that dragged, it was perfect for the tone and the emotional punch the show hit you with. I love it so much. Eight years after watching it and it’s still my number one. Ultimate classic. Han Kyul’s inner conflict and then his willingness to go against every social norm to be with the person he loves? Gut meet fist.

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        Exactly, I agree completely. I actually kinda miss that casual, nice, and breezy tone in K-dramas. You don’t get much of that anymore. It was very raw and real. Now everything’s zippy fast. And yes, Han-kyul was perfect. His decisions and reactions were one of the best outta all the “You were a boy/girl this whole time? You lied to me?” trope.

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          It’s also hands down the best gender-bender because of YEH’s complete commitment to the role of tomboy-mistaken-as-actual-boy. It wasn’t hard at all for me to believe that everyone mistook her gender (based on stereotypes about what a girl/boy is supposed to look and act like).

          Very few dramas do raw and real now which isn’t necessarily a bad thing since you can burn out from too much of that. I think the last super raw and real drama I watched was Que Sera Sera. That drama took me two tries to watch because it also packed quite a punch emotionally.

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            Mhm, definitely one of the better takes on the gender bender theme. Coffee Prince did a lot of things right, that’s for sure. One of Yoon Eun-hye’s best work, even to this day. She needs a kickass comeback.

            Yeah, too much of anything is never a good thing, but like you and I said, there’s not a lot of those type of real, raw, and slow toned shows anymore. It makes me miss, appreciate, and love even more shows like Coffee Prince and My Name Is Kim Sam-soon.
            Oh yes, I should add Que Sera Sera to my List.

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          I wanted to continue replying to your comment below but past a certain point the reply button disappears D:

          Funnily enough (and isn’t this ironic because this thread started with someone saying they don’t like CP), I’m one of the few people who couldn’t stand My Name is Kim Sam Soon and had to drop it. >.<

          When you say add to your list do you mean that you've never seen QSS, or, that you have to add it there as one of those raw, slower tempo dramas? Because, if you haven't seen it yet I want to give a warning but only depending on how you feel regarding warnings/precautions.

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            Haha, it’s okay! I’m glad you found a way to reply so that I got a notification that you did. Replying to comments start becoming a challenge after such long conversations, so I’m used to it.

            Oh noes! Sam-soon is such a classic, too. I remember loving it. It’s been years since I’ve seen it, but I’m sure like Coffee Prince, it withstands the test of time. I’d love to re-watch all of these oldies, but my goodness, there’s never enough time. Do you remember why you dropped Sam-soon?

            Yes, I’ve never seen Que Sera Sera. Well, depending on what your warning/precaution is… y’know what, hold that thought. Don’t tell me. We’ll talk about it when I get to watching it. I like to go in raw, if I can. Heh. I’ll add it to the list of Shows To Watch, but it’ll probably be awhile until I can get to it, though. I’ll try to remember our conversation when the time comes. 🙂

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          I’m hoping they’ll be able to figure out a way for us to directly message other beanies soon. It’ll make the site even more interactive and it’d be so fun.

          I could not get on board with Kim Sam Soon. I just could not like her character, which isn’t always necessary to continue a drama but there was absolutely nothing about her or her motivations or anything that I could get on board with. Not to mention the way Hyun Bin’s character treated her really rubbed me the wrong way. I was turned off by it.

          As for QSS, I can’t wait for when you see it, whenever that may be. It’s definitely a drama that pulls no punches and doesn’t hold back. The characters are real in the worst and best of ways. When I hear flawed and complex QSS always comes to mind. It definitely has a grittier feel to it than most kdramas.

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            Ooh, direct messages would come in handy, yeah! That’d be cool. In the works, maybe.

            Hmm… maybe Sam-soon is one of those dramas where I remembered loving it, but might feel differently if I were to re-watch it? I remember really enjoying it back then. I’ll have to re-watch some of these old dramas to see if I still feel the same about ’em.
            I re-watched Coffee Prince not too long ago, and I’m happy to report that I still love it all the same.

            Ooh, I love your description of Que Sera Sera! I like the sound of “pulls no punches and doesn’t hold back” and “characters are real in the worst and best of ways.” I’d love to check it out for myself and see exactly what you’re talking about. Maybe I’ll check it out sometime in the near future. 🙂

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          I might have to go back and re-watch MNIKSS to see if I feel the same way or if my age and experiences will change how I view it. I remember absolutely loving City Hunter and held it up as the gold standard of how to do a proper action K-drama. But, recently I re-watched it and while it’s still good, it’s not as gripping as I remember. Although, that could also be because I watched Healer right before (my official #2 right after CP).

          Make a note to come back here whenever you watch QSS! I’d love to discuss it with you as you go through it (but only if you want to)!

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            Ah, I see. Yeah, I think it’d be interesting to see how old dramas that we remembered liking (Full House, Sam Soon, My Girl, etc.) could give us a different feeling now. I’d love to dive into those and find out, but no time!

            Aw, yeah, totally! I’d love that. 😊 And I did make a note! I wrote “merisoo recommended” right next to it to remind myself to talk to you about it. 🙂 And you’ll probably see me posting about it on my wall, too, so you’ll know I’m watching when you see me mentioning you about it in the BEANIES section. Haha.

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        It’s the first drama I watched, and still my all time favourite. It’s such a beautiful story, and the emotions felt so raw and real 😍

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          It’s the second drama I watched (My first was BOF and whoa lol what a complete opposite but fun-cracktastic ride that was). And the first time I was so emotionally gripped by any show American or Korean. I was so invested in their journey and I can literally re-watch it over and over and not get tired of it. That’s why it’s still my number one k-drama.

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Forest of Secrets has cut me open, rearranged my organs and then sewn me back shut again. And I don’t mind one bit. In fact, I’m considering sending them a thank you note. What a show.

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    Oh my gosh! Let’s plan together to send them a thank you note. But how do we do it?!

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      I’m still thinking! Perhaps via complicated crossword or an article where every third word and fourth punctuation ends up spelling up the entirety of our heartfelt thanks for this glorious gift we’ve been given. LOL, our thank you has to be as smart as the show.

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        OMG that would be awesome! I am down for anything. I can totally contribute monies too. But how do we do it?!

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          Lol awww, I’m not sure. Honestly, I was speaking sarcastically about the thank you note (not about how much I absolutely love the show). But I’m sure the tVN website should have information about that regarding the show.

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I have no idea how or when I became a water maid but it’s one step closer to ‘Chep’.

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These Drama land catnip posts are turning out to be so much fun and my favorite part of checking back with the site! I love everyone’s perspectives.
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Honestly, the only Beanie level I’m trying to get at and stay at is “Chep”. Nothing else matters.
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