Annnnnnnd another year comes to a close.

Big thanks to our recap minions HeadsNo2, gummimochi, and kaedejun for sharing their reviews with us and joining the spirited discussion for the Editors’ Picks this year. There wasn’t even any hair-pulling, and only one person lost an eye! It’s been a great year for K-dramas and an even better one at Dramabeans because of all our readers, so thanks to you guys for making this community what it is. Okay, enough mushy stuff.

And the winners are…

SONG OF THE DAY

Queen In-hyun’s Man OST – “내 남자, 김붕도” (My Man, Kim Boong-do) [ Download ]

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Read the rest of 2012 Editors’ Picks [Year In Review, Part 6] (4,080 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2012. | Permalink | 315 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Answer Me 1997, Arang and the Magistrate, Big, Dr. Jin, Fashion King, featured, Gaksital, History of the Salaryman, Nice Guy, Padam Padam, Queen In-hyun's Man, Rooftop Prince, Shut Up: Flower Boy Band, The King 2 Hearts, The Moon That Embraces the Sun, year in review

If there’s anything that Santa has taught me over the years (other than a musical mnemonic about single-malt scotches), it’s that Christmas is a time of giving. Dramaland gives us so much throughout the year, that I thought it was finally time for me to stop being a grinch and give back, out of the goodness of my heart. *waits for credit*

So this year I’ve made a Christmas list, and every drama I’ve watched this year is on it. Because everyone deserves presents. Yes, even you, Show.

 
SONG OF THE DAY

The King 2 Hearts OST – “Hang-ah’s Dream” [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Dramaland: The gift that keeps on giving [Year In Review, Part 5] (8,856 words)

© girlfriday for Dramabeans, 2012. | Permalink | 138 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: A Gentleman's Dignity, Answer Me 1997, Arang and the Magistrate, Big, Faith, featured, Gaksital, I Do I Do, I Miss You, I Need Romance 2012, King of Dramas, Nice Guy, Queen In-hyun's Man, Rooftop Prince, Shut Up: Flower Boy Band, The Chaser, The King 2 Hearts, The Moon That Embraces the Sun, To the Beautiful You, Vampire Prosecutor 2, year in review

My first year-end review!

I was so excited for this opportunity that I decided to watch as many dramas as I could in preparation this year, and all but forced myself to doggedly stick with obvious train wrecks because I figured, “Hey, at least it’ll give me something to write about.”

If I learned anything, it was that I should never do that again. That’s a life lesson every drama viewer should learn early in their infancy, so I’ll just chalk it up to some late blooming on my part. Ergo, take some of these review choices with a grain of salt and (hopefully) not as a pure representation of taste.

This was the year for time traveling heroes, questionably nice guys, single-minded kings, guardian angels, reapers, rockers, brothers, heroes, and hanbok-wearing chickens. Not every year has a bandwagon, but 2012 sure did; there was more time traveling than you could shake a stick at. And for most of those offerings, you’d be shaking that stick pretty angrily.

Since hindsight is 20/20, I’m riding out this year’s trend by posing this question to each drama: If I could turn back time, what would I do differently?

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Read the rest of If I Could Turn Back Time [Year In Review, Part 4] (7,565 words)

© HeadsNo2 for Dramabeans, 2012. | Permalink | 154 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Arang and the Magistrate, Big, Dr. Jin, Equator Man, Fashion King, featured, Gaksital, History of the Salaryman, Love Rain, Nice Guy, Oohlala Spouses, Operation Proposal, Padam Padam, Queen In-hyun's Man, The King 2 Hearts, The Moon That Embraces the Sun, To the Beautiful You, year in review

Looking at the buffet table of 2012, I’m left in awe at the vast array of possible selections before me. The sheer number of choices is growing every year and I feel like I have to taste-test the premiere and make a quick decision of whether to keep digging in or move on. Sometimes you don’t just know for sure until you’re left with the aftertaste.

And because some dramas that fall within the same genre can have unique flavors, I’m using a Taste O’Meter to assess this year’s dramas. Was it sweet, sour, bitter, salty, or savory? Maybe more than one?

Like any “Thanks to…” in a good Kpop album: My unending thanks to javabeans and girlfriday for the opportunity to let me write about what I love; to HeadsNo2 for the squee-fests and love of makgulli; to kaedejun for the laughs, hugs, and love of Oppa; and last but not least, to YOU GUYS for being awesome readers. I put in a good word for y’all with Santa but he may have used my note as a coaster instead. Or a tissue.

The series below include the ones seen in its entirety, listed chronologically(ish):

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Read the rest of A Variety of Flavors in 2012 [Year In Review, Part 3] (4,403 words)

© gummimochi for Dramabeans, 2012. | Permalink | 130 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Answer Me 1997, Arang and the Magistrate, Big, featured, Full House Take 2, Gaksital, I Do I Do, Marriage Plot, Nice Guy, Operation Proposal, Queen In-hyun's Man, Shut Up: Flower Boy Band, The King 2 Hearts, To the Beautiful You, Vampire Prosecutor 2, year in review

Review extravaganza time!

I know: Already? It feels like just the other day I was killing myself to corral all my thoughts in coherent fashion in a monster review of 2011′s dramas, and already it’s time to lose sleep wrangling my thoughts together for 2012. Time sure flies when you’re having fun, or old. Guess which one I am?

These days I shy away from blanket statements like “This was an awesome year” or “This was a terrible year.” Dramaland has been putting out so much material that all the nuance gets sucked out of a flattening statement like that. If anything, 2012 was the year it overflowed with variety—so yes, there were terrible shows, and there were awesome shows, and there were shows every step in between. But thanks to the explosion of cable programming—aided by the launching of not one, not two, but four new cable stations boasting big drama lineups—there was just about something for everyone.

 
SONG OF THE DAY

Shut Up Flower Boy Band OST – “Jaywalking” [ Download ]

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Read the rest of 2012: Something for everyone? [Year In Review, Part 1] (9,584 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2012. | Permalink | 260 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Answer Me 1997, Arang and the Magistrate, Big, Color of Woman, Dr. Jin, Dream High 2, Faith, featured, Gaksital, History of the Salaryman, I Do I Do, Ma Boy, Nice Guy, Oohlala Spouses, Queen In-hyun's Man, Rooftop Prince, Shut Up: Flower Boy Band, Standby, The Moon That Embraces the Sun, Vampire Idol, Vampire Prosecutor 2, year in review, You're Here You're Here You're Really Here

With his drama Arang and the Magistrate wrapped, lead star Lee Jun-ki has been keeping busy by giving lots of interviews. And I mean tons. He’s everywhere!

Since Arang was his first project out of military service, naturally this is a common thread in all of the interviews. Lee Jun-ki explained why he picked it, which was one of the first scripts he saw in the consideration process: “It was a pretty unusual drama, and I wondered whether it would seem improbable, or perhaps childish. Would this ‘fairy-tale-like drama’ connect in today’s grim, urgent world? At first, I considered it with indifference. But amazingly, it kept catching my eye. The plot was really fresh and imaginative, and I couldn’t put the script down.”

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Read the rest of Lee Jun-ki: On army, acting, and Arang (2,832 words)

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Post tags: Arang and the Magistrate, interviews, Lee Jun-ki

It’s time to say goodbye, and the finale of Arang and the Magistrate ties up our ends in a nicely complete way. Truths are uncovered, tears are shed, and things come full circle to give us just the right dose of closure while keeping the door open for our future.

SONG OF THE DAY

10cm – “이제.여기서.그만” (Now. From here. Enough) [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Arang and the Magistrate: Episode 20 (Final) (5,449 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2012. | Permalink | 455 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Arang and the Magistrate, featured, Lee Jun-ki, Shin Mina, Yeon Woo-jin

The end is nigh and everyone’s paths converge in the big showdown. It’s a nail-biter from the start, and it looks like the tension won’t let up until tomorrow’s finale. Just the way I like it. We finally get some answers of the non-cryptic variety (Gasp!) and our hero faces the toughest decision of his life. It’s okay, Eun-oh. Only the cosmic balance of the entire universe is riding on it. No pressure or anything! *shakes fist at pretty old fogey*

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Read the rest of Arang and the Magistrate: Episode 19 (3,440 words)

© girlfriday for Dramabeans, 2012. | Permalink | 220 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Arang and the Magistrate, featured, Lee Jun-ki, Shin Mina, Yeon Woo-jin

So adorable. It’s finale week for mystery fusion sageuk Arang and the Magistrate (*sniff, sniff*), so I thought a nice detour backstage would help us all prepare to say goodbye. Unless you’d like to remain in denial; denial’s not so bad. Here’s a boatload of stills from the set of the show, with everyone from hero to reaper to demon hell-spawn… looking utterly adorable and blowing my mind. On what other set would you want to pinch someone’s cheeks and say, Who’s a widdle king of hell?

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Read the rest of Behind the scenes of Arang and the Magistrate (232 words)

© girlfriday for Dramabeans, 2012. | Permalink | 149 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Arang and the Magistrate, Han Jung-soo, Lee Jun-ki, Shin Mina, Yeon Woo-jin, Yoo Seung-ho

So much good stuff today, packed with development and intensity. A few ends get tied up so we can turn our attention to the big ramp-up to next week’s finale, and I’m glad of it: We could use the time to confront the Big Bad and address the numerous mythological mysteries still to resolve, of which this drama has plenty. The mythology is also this show’s forte creatively, so I’m happy to direct my attention to that. And the romance, of course, which is inextricably linked to that mythology. ‘Cause I’m still dying to know how this universe and all its rules are going to allow our couple their happily ever after. Because they’re getting a happily ever after, right? I’m sure of it. Don’t contradict me.

SONG OF THE DAY

Ben (Bebe Mignon) – “오늘은 가지마” (Don’t Leave Tonight) [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Arang and the Magistrate: Episode 18 (4,030 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2012. | Permalink | 412 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Arang and the Magistrate, featured, Lee Jun-ki, Shin Mina, Yeon Woo-jin