This has been an exceptional year for kdramas. Just ask Kim Gab-soo, if you can catch him in an idle moment, that is. The man appeared in ten dramas this year, a number that is mind-boggling in itself and one which is bound to make Bae Yong-joon’s fans wail.

But it isn’t just the sheer volume of Kim Gab-soo awesomeness that we could feast on that makes 2010 a heady year. No, for me it was how many dramas were jostling for first place that makes this year especially exhilarating. Not since 2007 have I seen such quality or liked so many dramas in a span of just twelve months. Altogether I watched more than twenty but will exclude from this year-end review the ones that I dropped or put on hold after 1-3 episodes. That leaves me with fifteen dramas, arranged from least-liked to the one that owns my heart this year.

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Read the rest of Heady with a chance of ho hum [Year In Review, Part 3] (9,579 words)

© thunderbolt for Dramabeans, 2010. | Permalink | 145 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Chuno, Coffee House, Comrades, Dr. Champ, featured, Giant, Jejoongwon, Joseon X-Files, Mary Stayed Out All Night, My Girlfriend Is a Gumiho, Oh My Lady, Secret Garden, Sungkyunkwan Scandal, The Woman Who Still Wants to Marry, Wish Upon a Star, year in review

What a fascinating roller coaster of a ride this year has been. There were many disappointments (most of which I stopped watching halfway, because Life Is Too Short For Bad Dramas (copyright Gangsta Kitteh and hjkomo)), but also so many unexpected gems that shone with a light that proved impossible to stifle. Maybe it’s just the swan song before an untimely death, but in 2010 at least, K-dramas had their moment of rebellion and glory. And I. Am. Ecstatic.

The following are divided between long dramas and short dramas, and are in alphabetical order.

SONG OF THE DAY

Comrades OST – “친구여” [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Finding the gems among the stones [Year In Review, Part 2] (7,162 words)

© Dahee_Fanel for Dramabeans, 2010. | Permalink | 174 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Chuno, Cinderella's Sister, Comrades, Drama Special, featured, Gloria, Joseon X-Files, My Girlfriend Is a Gumiho, Pasta, Sungkyunkwan Scandal, year in review

It’s December, and you know what that means around these parts: Time to reflect on the past year and see how the dramas stacked up! And boy, were there a lot of them.

As in previous years, I am planning a multi-part series (with special guest bloggers, natch!) to wrap up the year, which we’re busily writing up now — keep your eyes peeled in the coming weeks! If you want a refresher on how previous years have gone, here’s this handy tag to take you right to them.

But before we tell you what we thought about the dramas of 2010, this is YOUR turn to weigh in and vote for your favorite shows, couples, bromances — and, yes, your big disappointments — in what we’re calling the Beanie Awards. They’re in your hands; give ‘em out with care!

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Read the rest of 2010 Beanie Awards: Vote for your favorite dramas of the year (1,194 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2010. | Permalink | 679 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Bad Guy, Baker King Kim Tak-gu, Chuno, Cinderella's Sister, Coffee House, Comrades, Daemul, Dong Yi, Dr. Champ, featured, Giant, God of Study, I Am Legend, Jejoongwon, Joseon X-Files, Mary Stayed Out All Night, My Girlfriend Is a Gumiho, Oh My Lady, Pasta, Personal Taste, Playful Kiss, Prosecutor Princess, Road No. 1, Runaway, Secret Garden, Sungkyunkwan Scandal, The Woman Who Still Wants to Marry, Wish Upon a Star, year in review

The Seoul International Drama Awards were held on September 10 and hosted by KBS, awarding the winners from a pool of 172 entries from 43 countries.

Sort of an odd list of winners, I thought. (I mean, Chuno alongside The Last Days of Lehman Brothers alongside NCIS?) Not that there’s anything wrong with any of those projects, but who’d've thought they’d ever make it to the same awards show. Random.

But no matter: On to the winners!

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Read the rest of 2010 Seoul International Drama Awards (672 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2010. | Permalink | 103 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: awards, Cha Ye-ryun, Choi Su-jong, Chuno, Gu Eun-ae, Han Ji-min, Jang Hyuk, Ji Hyun-woo, Kim Ji-hoon, Lee Chae-young, Lee Seung-gi, Nam Gyuri, Oh Ji-eun

Chuno has taken a very serious turn, and I was extremely surprised by what happened in the last episode. It is as if PD Kwak gathered together all of the Chuno writers, and announced, “Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I think we can make Dae-Gil’s life even more brutal…” and then all of them started chanting in unison, “blood, blood, blood…” If you don’t know what happened in Episode 14, I suggest you hit that recap first (wonderfully written by thundie), and then come back here.

SONG OF THE DAY

Long Long Way To Go – by Def Leppard [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Chuno: Episode 15 (3,470 words)

© samsooki for Dramabeans, 2010. | Permalink | 53 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Chuno, Jang Hyuk, Lee Da-hae, Lee Jong-hyuk, Oh Ji-ho

Hi, I’m thunderbolt and I’m the last of the 2009 year-end reviewers writing a Chuno recap. That means there are five of us recapping what many believe will be crowned Drama of the Year. Some detractors, however, think Chuno is more joke than jewel. Varying opinions aside (and it is not unusual to feel conflicted about the drama’s merits and flaws, changing one’s mind from episode to episode or even frame to frame), there is no denying we are looking at some truly outstanding production values.

As this is my first recap for Dramabeans, I must warn readers that my recaps have been likened to grandmothers’ tales, filled with digressions and make-believe. Also, my inability to think or write linearly (read: “As It Unfolds”) means my comments are scattered everywhere. Don’t send a ferocious slave hunter (eyes blazing, dagger pointing sideways) after me because of that!

SONG OF THE DAY

Return of Iljimae OST (Yearning) by Bae Hae-sun. I recently finished The Return of Iljimae and can’t stop thinking about it. I’ve chosen two songs whose titles and lyrics match the scenes being recapped.
[ Download ]

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Read the rest of Chuno: Episode 14 (5,758 words)

© thunderbolt for Dramabeans, 2010. | Permalink | 53 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Chuno, Han Jung-soo, Jang Hyuk, Kim Ji-suk, Lee Da-hae, Lee Jong-hyuk, Oh Ji-ho

While I wouldn’t get too excited yet, there is a lot of talk and speculation over the possibility of a Chuno Season 2, given the intense popularity of the drama, which ended this past week.

A representative from Chuno‘s production company, Chorokbaem Media, gave interviews to the press on the 26th saying that they have discussed the possibility of airing a Season 2, although nothing has been confirmed yet. A different representative from the broadcasting side confirmed that they are looking favorably at the matter, but that nothing had been decided.

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Read the rest of Will Chuno have a Season 2? (437 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2010. | Permalink | 40 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Chuno, drama production, sequels

Well, this is the episode! It took 10+ years, thousands of miles, scores of drawings and over a dozen episodes, but this interminable story line of near-miss after near-miss has finally come to an end. Dae-Gil has found his beloved Un-Nyun. But this Un-Nyun is not the beautiful and carefree slave girl of Dae-Gil’s memory. No, this runaway slave has gone and turned herself into a noble woman named Hye-Won and on top of that, and on this day of discovery, she is marrying someone else. On this day of days, Hye-Won is dressed in her wedding finery and is marrying another runaway slave – former General Song Tae-Ha. A day late and a nyang short, Dae-Gil takes out his blade.

SONG OF THE DAY

“Here Without You” – by 3 Doors Down [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Chuno: Episode 13 (4,082 words)

© samsooki for Dramabeans, 2010. | Permalink | 55 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Chuno, Jang Hyuk, Lee Da-hae, Lee Jong-hyuk, Oh Ji-ho

Last episode we see that at long last, Song Tae-Ha’s men have been reunited at the Sleeping Buddha statue at Un-Joo Temple. They greet the Crown Prince Seok-Kyeon with reverence and a determination to see this conspiracy through to the end. All of these men of Song Tae-Ha have given up their lives to this cause. And Un-Nyun is awed by their unwavering commitment in the face of slavery and dishonor – maybe there is more to life than running away from slavery. Meanwhile, Dae-Gil, Choi and Wang-Son are less than a few miles away, maybe 10 minutes. Could this be the episode of meeting, or will PD Kwak yank our chains for another episode?

SONG OF THE DAY

“Nothing Else Matters” by Metallica [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Chuno: Episode 12 (3,246 words)

© samsooki for Dramabeans, 2010. | Permalink | 57 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Chuno, Jang Hyuk, Lee Da-hae, Lee Jong-hyuk, Oh Ji-ho

Rumors of plastic surgery seemed to incite anti-fans.

At this question, Lee Da-hae immediately pushes on her nose to make a “pig-nose.” It’s a gesture that shows her feeling of being wronged and also asserts her innocence.

“Actually, I haven’t had excessive work done as people think. [Laughs] Do you want me to show you my childhood pictures?”

A week later, her manager sent me “certified photos.” They are of her as a baby and in grade school in a children’s musical choir group.

Then what are those pictures floating around on the Internet?

“Ah, I’ve seen those. It’s from the 2001 Miss Chunhyang pageant. I was in my second year of high school then. I was the youngest of the contestants, and I had a lot of baby fat. The shots came out kind of strangely. [Laughs]”

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Read the rest of Drinking interview with Lee Da-hae (Part 2) (817 words)

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© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2010. | Permalink | 61 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Chuno, interviews, Lee Da-hae

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