Beanie level: Wrongly accused fugitive

@kiara @sicarius
Under The Queen’s Umbrella

OK the intro is cute
11
8

    Gosh, so many cute intros lately! Thanks, kdrama! 👍🏼

    5
    1

      Sadly, I didn’t find it interesting enough and stopped watching after 10 minutes. I realised that I got turned off by all those useless princes being carried on palanquins by probable slaves and being fussed over by countless women.

      1
      1

        The drama certainly overdid the “concubines’ fates depended on their sons’ performance” thing and it ended up looking try-hard.
        They could’ve shown the patriachy in more nuanced ways but I suppose the show decided to be gimmicky.

        2
        0

    Nice! I’ll wait on your recommendation. I don’t know the writer and I wasn’t impressed with SECRET DOOR.

    1
    1

      I’ll watch few more eps. By ideal palace drama standards it’s having lots of shortcomings. By the 99%-sageuks-of-the-past-few-years standard, it seems to be ok. (Which is not a praise I suppose 😂)
      The concept is intriguing but it cannot seem to decide between whether to be full-on parody or to take a serious approach. The court scenes are as typical and annoying as ever, the dialogues are delivered over-emphasised (considering how Sageuk speech is very serious and pointed to begin with, this makes things quite dramatic)

      My favourite thing for now is that the costumes are so orderly! Everyone are neatly dressed according to their ranks, the decreasing patterns on the danguis as ranks go lower, the gold dragon pins on Queen and phoenix on consorts, and Silver regalia on Crown Prince and Princess. That pleased my ocd so much😍

      6
      1

        Thank you so much!
        Keep tagging me even if I’m not watching. You always find exciting things to share. ❤️

        1
        1

          Aww thank you kiara! I feel honoured to hear that🥺
          I watched ep 2 and I definitely enjoyed it more than ep 1, it felt like the drama is getting bit more comfortable in its niche. It’s still not there completely, though.
          I think this would’ve worked better if the setup is of a Nobleman house, not royalty
          Then all these inconsistencies that make my eyes tick would’ve been far more easily excused.
          For example, this Palace ground has no guards nor servants. Everyone just run around like animals. When stuff like that happens it gets harder for me to take the drama seriously lol.
          .
          Also, do you have a Mydramalist? Do you wanna share? 😍 I’m Peonyplumblossoms there!

          1
          1

            It’s the other way around, Peony :). Now I might watch it so we can talk.
            Unfortunately, I do not have Mydramalist. If I make an account, I’ll let you know.

            1
            0

@sicarius @kiara @eazal @wishfultoki
Look at this extremely cute song about Haechi by Ahn Ye eun!🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

4
2

    Love her voice 💚

    2
    0

    Awwww, that makes me want to grab and hug my cat (closest thing I have to a haechi)!
    Beautiful photos of the palaces and scenery.

    1
    0

RED SLEEVE CUFF ep 10

Waittaminute
Did all our girls get demoted or what. Why are they back to wearing the light green jeogori instead of the pink one with red strip?
I\’m SO confused. I thought I am a master of the uniform color code🤣

3
5

    I’m so confused about that too. They’d been wearing the pink uniforms since they were little but then they graduated from being apprentices and started wearing the green ones and now they seem to switch back and forth between pink and green. Does anyone know what the colors mean?

    1
    1

      No no, this senior pink one is bit different from the apprentice one. Senior one has a red strip along the collar.
      So I thought it’s the next level after green one. Apparently… it’s not? Or is it, and everyone who was with Crown Prince that day got demoted? Deok-im IS back to working in library and said “it’s like I’m a junior maid again”.
      I don’t know for sure. @sicarius what is happening 🤣

      1
      2

        Oh. I haven’t finished ep 10 yet. I’ll have to watch it to see which one you are referring to. I just watched ep 9 today and wow! That was an intense episode!

        1
        0

        As far as I can work out the pink and green Deok Im wears now, as a graduated court maid, do not denote LEVELS- they either indicate roles or jobs, OR are just worn at different times for unknown reasons- I can’t answer more than that at the moment, unfortunately.

        They both, this pink and green version, have cuffs, underarms and collars of a darker pink/red. They are also worn with a darker blue skirt.
        The training hanboks are a lighter pink over all, no trimmings, and have a paler more grey blue skirt.

        And no it’s not cos she got demoted, we see them both at the end of episode 6, and all throughout 7+8 as well, and I comment on them more under the former hangout thread here: https://www.dramabeans.com/members/sicarius/activity/1278213/#acomment-1278732

        4
        1

@kiara @sicarius
RED SLEEVE CUFF ep 9 meta

The half-half military seal.
I know this one from C dramas- The tiger seal. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fu_(tally)
First time I’ve seen in a Sageuk (or noticed) and it’s surprisingly simpler and nondescript. I do not know if it’s true to history, if you guys ever come across any info please share with me!🥰
Following descriptive pic is from this blog (adding for credit reasons http://tendaysofrain.tumblr.com)
7
1

    Yeah I agree that Red Sleeve’s military seal is too simple to carry such significant implication. It looks like a bland piece of wood with some writing that anyone can fake lol.

    3
    0

@kiara Dong Yi Silk Ceremony
A recap here http://abheethadiyaniya7.blogspot.com/2013/04/don-yi-episode-27.html

3
1

@kiara @sicarius
So I’ve been having Norigae and Yajin thoughts for a while.

Norigae are from Joseon, Yajin from Qing Dynasty (which brings me to- WTH is Qin silk!? It’s Q.i.n.g! I wouldn’t put it past the subbers though I guess, who sacrilegiously subbed the Ex-Concubine Yeong as “Crown Princess”. Facepalm. Ok I digress.)
Both are decorative tassel like ornaments that serve both the aesthetic purpose and the practical purpose of weighing down the cloth tie of your top of it wouldn’t…. uhh, you know accidentally come loose and flash everyone lol.

Here’s a post about Yajin https://moononmyfloor.tumblr.com/post/668497329432788992/can-you-tell-me-about-the-charms-that-women-in

Sicarius will like how they sometimes hold nifty gadgets like Swiss army knives haha
(The pics are contributed by a friend in AvenueX Discord)
4
3

    I like how across all of East Asia there is a tradition of hiding knives in women’s ornaments and accessories. I’m sure there are more examples across the rest of the world too, just like how for the European cane sword, there is also the Japanese Shikomizue. I think we should bring these all back into fashion. I want all the hidden blades.

    5
    1

      Sadly, laws these days be like: “Self defence doesn’t count lady, into the jail you go!”
      Is why I’m scared to wear my sharp hairpin in public places huhu
      Well that and also the fact someone will swipe it from *my* head and stab *me* with my own pin.

      1
      1

RED SLEEVE CUFF ep 2

Ganggangsullae
The play-dance the apprentice Court ladies were doing the night of the tiger. It looks fun and bit scary at the same time to me. I used to shake like a leaf whenever I had to step on the sturdier friends’s backs in school acrobatic drill performances lol.

9
7

    @Peony Thank you so much for sharing this video.

    1
    0

    Yes! Ganggangsullae!
    But, okay, but you know why I know this song? Because it was used in TALE OF THE NINE TAILED as a creepy backing track for the Nightmare Episode 9… I still want to know what arrangement they used in 9T because I love it, and I listened to like every arrangement I could find on Youtube just a few months ago.

    For some cool modern arrangements:
    This, with modern hip hop: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqkfpKJw348
    and also this:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGG0tU2vybI

    1
    1

      Wow what an amazing song! Thank you for sharing all the links, so cool.
      So I tried looking it up and didn’t find any except some comentors speculating it’s a variation of Ganggangsullae, which could be true but ALSO could be just that viewers recognising tonal similarities therefore instinctively linking them together.
      (There’s very lil possibility me finding anything new about a topic you couldn’t alr find haha)
      My take is that it
      1. Is a folk song inspired tune the drama made up anew.
      2. It might actually exist! Because here in my country we have versions for both of them, so why not in Korea! Haha.

      Sharing my country’s versions (directly translating here, some sentences might not make sense)

      Ganggangsullae-like one

      Kids hold hands and form a circle, dancing while singing this-
      “Milk-milk-ball, frill-frill-necklace (nonsense words)
      Where is this kid from?, bought from the Rose forest
      Dading biding dong (an imitation of the sound when people fall down, as they fall on to the floor after saying this line)

      The Gatekeeper song like one-

      Again kids form a circle, this time around one kid who is the “goat”. And there’s a “wolf” outside the circle, trying to break the handholds.
      The wolf sings “I came to eat goats, open the gates”
      The circle sings “Eat goat shit!”

      1
      1

RED SLEEVE CUFF ep 8
@sicarius @kiara @emsel
Court Lady Investigation Bureau uniform vs that of Dong Yi’s.
Also here’s a brief article I found while looking up pics? https://www.dramasrok.com/2010/06/court-lady-investigation-bureau-joseon/
9
8

Ahaha Mom’s wearing the famous “Moon Embracing the Sun” Bongjam!
I know the pins and costumes make rounds, but this one is kind of “custom”. I guess its time on the “special” shelf has expired by now�
8
1

RED SLEEVE CUFF ep 5

Book of Odes for anyone who would love to read, in English. If you haven\’t already found it🤭
https://cti.lib.virginia.edu/shijing/AnoShih.html

The poem Deok-im recites for San-

41. BEI FENG (North wind)

Cold blows the north wind ;
Thick falls the snow .
Ye who love and regard me ,
Let us join hands and go together .
Is it a time for delay ?
The urgency is extreme !

The north wind whistles ;
The snow falls and drifts about .
Ye who love and regard me ,
Let us join hands , and go away for ever .
Is it a time for delay ?
The urgency is extreme !

Nothing red is seen but foxes ,
Nothing black but crows .
Ye who love and regard me ,
Let us join hands , and go together in our carriages .
Is it a time for delay ?
The urgency is extreme !

8
2

    Can you share those original lines from the series which doek im is reciting to san

    2
    1

      Mmm are you asking for original Korean version or the original-original Chinese version? In which case I don’t speak either languages and can’t find them/type.

      If you are asking for “original lines” as in the English translation in the drama, well I’d say it’s more or less the same as what I copied here, few words might be different based on the subber’s choice of words. It also might change based on which subber did the episode you watched.

      0
      0

Grandson Yi San from “Yi San: Wind in The Palace” and gramps Yeongjo from “Red Sleeve Cuff” wearing glasses! 🤓
10
1

    That’s some good casting for both these shows.

    2
    0

RED SLEEVE CUFF ep 3

A minute detail that captured my whole heart.
Lady Seo seeing Deok-im transcribing and quietly going out to work on her sewing project.
That was quite the common occurrence in traditional Asian houses. My mom has done it too.
She’s dead tired too after a hard day at work and longs to relax in her room, in her bed but she suppresses her yawns and be like;
“Ahh, my child is studying hard. I should keep her company without making any noise”

It was SO heartwarming to see.
This drama impresses me after the long long unimpressed drought I’ve felt in Sageuk land. Lots of attention to the tiniest details, lots of care was taken to get the atmosphere correct, I feel transported.
13
0

@kiara Couldn’t help myself😆
(You’ll have to click the link to see both sides I think?)

https://www.tumblr.com/moononmyfloor/669725113106726912/yi-san-wind-in-the-palace-vs-red-sleeve-cuff

7
5

    My old favorite! I was mainly attracted by the main couple and the sly Queen Jung-sun. I was heartbroken when Han Ji Min’s character (Lady Sung) died. I didn’t bother watching the remaining eps after that TT.TT

    2
    0

    Thank you @peony!
    I kind of miss the old YI SAN.

    1
    1

      I wanted to compare princess Hawawan too but Tumblr allows only 10 pics at a time huhu
      Kiara wasn’t there a bts pic of Adult Deok im and Yi san with baby counterparts? Do you have a link?
      I want to put that together with the one from YI SAN 🤣

      1
      1

Ahh finally got time to watch Red Sleeve Cuff!
Flashbacks 🥰
14
2

@wishfultoki thought you might like!
Sharing a personal fave song-peom today!
This is an OST from the Chinese historical drama Royal Nirvana (literal translation of the title is “Crane cries Huating”, which is a reference to a story from Chinese literature where a person to be executed said, “I wish I can hear the cranes cry over (place)Huating once again.”)
On thing I really loved about this song, other than the lovely fusion melody and the vocals, is the style of the lyrics. It’s a storytelling type structure that is lesser seen compared to the far more common Verse+Chorus+Verse+Chorus style.
I loved the flow of it.
I tried my best typing the lyrics over a fanart of the drama, sorry it’s not perfect loll
For anyone who wants to listen to it: https://youtu.be/Fn1sQAIIJ8U
7
0

My thought process as I watched DICKINSON-
1. Wow this is certainly not the Emily I imagined, but that’s ok…
2. This is no period drama or biography but a cosplay…but at least they know that and are owning upto it so that’s a plus? I like me a self-aware show anytime!
3. They can honestly tone down the campy ott factor tho, it’s cringey at times. And all the adults are stereotypes, the kids are from modern teen high school dramas, and everyone are cartoonish. Also you got a black person to play a white girl’s imaginary DEATH personified??? With Billie Eilish background music??wth!
4. At least it’s charming, kinda addictive (watched the entire thing within a day, couldn’t stop), definitely has its moments…..and Emily/Sue is a gorgeous couple to look at and it all gets really heartwarming and tear inducing at times!
5. Season 2 midway I figured out what’s my problem with this. It’s not that they depicted Emily as a rebellious, effusive social being. It’s that…in some extreme episodes it gets really hard to imagine this girl came up with such deep poetry, because sometimes they make it look like she’s some shaman prophet and all the poetry is magically appearing to her, completed with abracadabra handwaving and that’s about it. Which I suppose isn’t impossible but I would personally prefer something more grounded, emotional than that?
When you read beautiful works of writers/poets long gone, you imagine someone who was deeply empathetic and in tune with life and every other happenings they describe in their works, despite being normal human beings like any other with normal human problems.
I saw that in Little Women’s Jo.
Hell, I even saw that in that brief Louisa May Alcott cameo in this very drama.
It’s protagonist on the other hand…..is a daydreaming self-absorbed girl with lofty ideals, holed up for not hours but years scribbling poetry while her parents provide for her and worry about her. So basically, hypothetically if this was the real Emily and I was a fan of her poetry and then I got to know this about her….my admiration for her and her work might even get lessened.
Ironical because this Emily experienced the very same thing after meeting her favorite environmentalist Henry David Thoreau whose family turned out to own a pencil factory.
So yeah, that was dissapointing.
They might have as well sold it as an imaginary coming of age of some poet instead of specifically Emily Dickinson. But then again they almost always play fast and loose in Western period dramas so this is probably decent, plus they wouldn’t get to use the “Wild Night! Wild Night!” or “Open me carefully” or “Sue, Forevermore” if they didn’t borrow Emily’s name, ha.
At least, like I said it was an entertaining watch.
2
3

    EDIT: Ok I straight up hate what Sue is being reduced to.
    EDIT 2: Also is not committing Adultery that hard!!!!????
    EDIT 3: After f***ing everything up for like better half of the show, a last minute romantic confession and a flower bath together is not going to feel substantial enough, because it’s just a band aid slapped on the mess!
    At least that scene was pretty.
    I don’t understand why you had to awkwardly lie under two towels after all you did tho, might as well share one!
    Mom was the most stereotypical annoying EDIT 4: mom at the beginning and ended up being the most relatable character who deserves better by the ending. Seriously she was the only one with some character growth after two seasons. Mom and maid ftw!

    2
    0

    Yeah, Henry David loses a little mystique when you realize he lived so close he went home to do his laundry and his mother made him meatloaf…..

    2
    1

Peony’s Review for 2002 Chinese movie BALZAC AND LITTLE CHINESE SEAMESTRESS
_______________
⭐How I found out about it
I discovered Zhou Xun from Ruyi Zhuan (those who know her know how terrific she is, and if you don’t you’ll discover once you see her acting, so I’ll restrain from fangirling rn haha) and on my way through her MDL profile, came across this. The title itself is the exact brand of eye-capturing which easily enticed me. Also it had Chen Kun, so this would be one of the 10(!) works they had done together. I didn’t hesitate to press play.

⭐What is it about
Two “bourgeois” boys are sent to be re-educated in a rural mountain village in China under Chairman Mao. The villagers have never seen things like alarm clocks, gourmet recipes, violins that they bring with them, and they are fadcinated at the same time condemning the outside world’s lofty ideals. The boys are put to hard work, and during free days they have to translate revolutionary themed North Korean movies to the villagers. The boys are gifted storytellers, and eventually the village is under their spell. They come to possession of a stack of forbidden foreign novels like Monte Christo, Madame Bovary, and retell the stories to the people without letting in on about the origin. One of my favorite lines in the movie: “That year, a Mediterranean breeze gushed through our mountain village.”
Soon it’s a question of whether the village is re-educating them or them the village 🤣
However the boys’ main desire is to educate the village girl they befriended, and the trio have a great time escaping into their Book Cave and daydreaming about Palaces, Frilly gowns and Sailors, one book at a time.
I will not spoil beyond that 😁

.
See below for the review and link!
3
10

    ⭐Opinion, Review and Verdict
    First of all, VERY beautiful to look at. Shot in scenic mountains and dangerous rocky pathways, and all our actors looked so unpolished and so at-home, like they actually live there. The whole thing was very authentic and refreshing.
    There’s nothing I can say about acting except that it was perfect.
    The whole movie was consistent, evenly and well-paced, and a very solid watch. Old Cmovie industry is like on an entire different dimension than Cdramas in my opinion. Not a single one of the issues I had with Cdramas were there in the movies.
    One thing I really liked about this movie was that there was ample focus given to the most trivial things, and none of those were one-time things but continuously made reappearances throughout the movie. The alarm clock was a constant presence. The “Mozart Thinking of Chairman Mao” Sonata on Violin. And of course, the influence of books.
    My mom pointed out how this movie is a joint product with France and how it felt like a hidden agenda to say that fancy French ideals affected traditional Chinese peasants’ mind and made them freer haha. Honestly that felt a bit valid at the moment (or not, the movie is based on a novel) but there was something lot deeper than that discussed in the movie. The way I interpreted it was, how humans always idealise about the things and concepts they don’t have, for better or worse. I live in a relatively “free society” with no restrictions like that of communism, but my parents’ generation were obsessed with all the Soviet novels, Marx, Lenin and so on. Meanwhile the Chinese youth back then had longed for Paris.
    You could say that the boys changed the “ignorant” peasants for better. But by whose definition? Maybe they were better off without being “enlightened” by the boys? We can argue about this for hours but come to no conclusion. The only thing that is apparent is, that when you live a specific lifestyle with specific set of ideals for so long, trying to force change on them is going to lead to unexpected and drastic results at times, for noone is fully operating on their clearest mindset in the moment but rather the “Grass is greener on the other side” mentality.
    I felt like this was the theme that ran throughout the movie. Change. How change can influence you, and you influence the change in return.
    The whole movie was quite thought provoking but never in-your-face, and honestly quite delightful.
    I absolutely recommend.
    5/5 stars.
    ⭐Where you can find it
    It’s on YouTube, nicely subbed🎊🎉🎊🎉! Might not be the highest quality but it never mattered to me😄.
    https://youtu.be/KUySDK5cpy4
    Happy watching!

    2
    0

    thank you for the review 🙂
    sounds like a nice movie ^^

    I remember the actress from one of AvenueX video, still haven’t watched Ruyi drama since the lead kinda is the villain in Yanxi that I liked a lot ^^’, it’d be interesting to watch both drama treating history from those characters different point of view, the question will I watch it this year ? is 2 years enough for another drama with that emperor I didn’t like x) ?

    1
    1

      You are welcome!
      Yeah lol same
      Bidding time for Yanxi because the FL is the megavillain in Ruyi 😆

      1
      0

    Thank you for sharing :). Sounds like my kind of movie.

    1
    1

      Always🙂
      Been wanting to make a seperate post and tag, but now that I met you here I wanted ask you and @pakalanapikake and other King and The Clown fans, have you seen “Farewell my concubine” C movie?
      If not, I highly recommend. You’ll know why as soon as you read the synopsis.😁 Also, it’s excellent.

      1
      2

        I haven’t seen ““Farewell my concubine” yet but I’ve heard good things about it.

        I’m really excited that my C-drama/movie list is growing.
        Thank you <3.

        1
        0

        I hope paka is well, haven’t seen her on the fanwall in ages!

        1
        1

          Same here. I miss her a lot. I wish I had any contact info to check on her.
          Here is hoping that our @pakalanapikake is doing well 🙏🏽.

          1
          0

    Looks like an interesting movie, Peony! Thanks for the thoughtful review! I might check it out.

    1
    1

      Yw!
      I think it’s the kind of movie you might like. You wouldn’t regret it (:

      0
      0

Song So-hee sings the Korean version of Greensleeves/Mr.Sunshine’s My Home😍

4
1

The incooperation of traditional Uighur music in this was so beautiful to the point I actually cried. So lovely.
Omg I love this show. Each and every ep I get to learn about a famous Chinese singer and a golden oldie😍. Best crash course ever.
P.s.- @wishfultoki dunno whether the song is to your taste, but you might like the traditions instruments😍😍😍

5
7

    the drumming 💖💖💖 so romantic

    1
    0

    Ahhhhhhh you’re watching!!!!!!!!!!! I am currently doing a re-watch ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

    2
    3

      Aaaa can you understand Chinese?😍 Or are you watching without subs?
      Upto ep 9 I watched from YT then 9 and 10 from daytoytwt. She’s still subbing.
      Oh the wait😭

      1
      1

      Yeah that’s where I said I watched it up until ep 8 hehe🙃
      After that I found this lovely person is subbing the rest.
      https://twitter.com/daytoy_twt?lang=en
      She’s still subbing so I’m waiting for ep 11.
      That’s so nice you can understand Chinese!😍

      1
      1

        I really hope that this show will be picked up for more seasons to come, because I really like the concept of it. Even if the original cast doesn’t return for it, it’s okay, just as long as they have the same spirit, drive, and willingness to learn and to have fun, then I am okay with anyone 🙂

        One thing I really loved (among the plethora of other things I loved about this show hehe) is how laid back everyone is in real life but is so serious and professional when it came down to business. All the seniors didn’t seem to have any ego and was not above poking fun, yet giving lots of support during the performances, of other seniors; And then you can see that all the junior singers had a really deep respect for, not only the seniors, but for each other as well. I have an inkling that the host, Lin Hai, also has a bias/favoritism towards Xiao Zhan and is always taking care of him/asking after him to see if he’s okay… Maybe because the host knows just HOW busy Xiao Zhan was at the time (he was filming a drama and this show at the same time–and possibly involved in many other projects– and both things require tons and tons of prep ahead of time… Or I just might be overly sensitive lol

        1
        0

      Yeah same!
      I felt like it was a weekly get together karoke for seniors, and a meet-your-idol-and-learn-stuff session for juniors lol😂
      It was such a heartfelt show.
      Despite having fun when it came to the actual performances they worked so hard for perfection, and even if they got eliminated despite the efforts just nonchalantly accepted it. “Ah I just came here to have fun with my colleagues, experience is what matters”
      I really really loved that. I never watch music contests but fell in love with this.
      On a side note I thought it was adorable how almost all the juniors were super polite, meek and never talked unless they were talken to lol. They would sit up ramrod straight and answer the questions dutifully when a senior talked to them😂
      And all the seniors took care of their respective juniors, it was heartwarming to watch.

      1
      0

Song So-hee colabs with MAMAMOO!😱 And I didn’t know!
They’re having a blast and look at So-hee’s Chima is cheerily swinging back and forth lol. I want one too.
And that little girl in the audience had the time of her life but she was shooketh when they came and sang right to her face😂
@wishfultoki you might like this, if not for music, just for the fun and the fact they colabed.
I’m dreaming of the day she does a piece with IU or Honey Lee. It’d be EPIC 😍

5
3