Entries in the 'Coffee Prince' Category

First-date dramas



I was thinking how I’ve been watching lots of first episodes of dramas these days, but haven’t found anything to dive into since the end of Who Are You? It’s starting to feel like going on a string of disappointing first dates — measuring up expectations versus performance, anticipation versus letdown, etc.

You know, there’s that date you’re really looking forward to, so you get dressed up and put on your heels and makeup and count down the hours, and he turns out to be a total dud. Or the date you agreed to because it was easier to give the guy your number than to try to invent an excuse not to because those excuses always come out embarrassingly half-assed — like you say you don’t have a phone and then it rings, or something — but then you end up having a good time.

I didn’t exactly intend to go off on an extended metaphor, but when I thought about all the recent dramas I’ve caught, they all seemed to fit (more or less).

SONG OF THE DAY

G.O.D. - “Falling” [ Download ]

First dates, by which I mean… >>


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44th Baeksang Arts Awards


Best Actress winners Yoon Eun Hye (drama), Kim Min Hee (film)

The 44th Baeksang Arts Awards were held in Seoul on April 24, handing out top honors to the films and television programs of the previous year.

Big winners included films The Chaser and Forever the Moment (aka The Best Moment In Our Lives); Yoon Eun Hye won for her trend-setting turn as Go Eun Chan in last year’s smash drama Coffee Prince, while War of Money took home Best Drama.

SONG OF THE DAY

MC Mong - “옛날 옛적에” (Once upon a time) from his recently released fourth album. [ Download ]

 
Full awards list for the 44th BAEKSANG AWARDS >>


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From pretty boys to figure skates

The adorably apple-cheeked director with the resounding belly laugh — Coffee Prince’s PD Lee Yoon Jung, that is — is taking on her next project: a figure-skating drama for MBC titled Triple.

The drama may not be that much of a stretch for her; prior to hitting it big with Coffee Prince, Lee Yoon Jung directed the Olympic-sports-themed short series Taereung National Village, which also showed her trademark ability to mine small moments out of big events and highlight emotion with a humanistic touch.

The drama will likely air near the end of the year as a Wednesday-Thursday series, and centers around 18-year-old figure skaters who aspire to success in a competitive field. The drama’s currently searching for its young female leads, and will cast till the end of the month.

Despite not having named its writer(s) or set its cast, you can be sure you’ll get a few things out of a Lee Yoon Jung drama: lots of poignant moments and a great soundtrack featuring lots of Western artists amidst indie Korean ones.

Via Star News

SONG OF THE DAY

Bluedawn - “보옴이 오면” (When spring comes). If you recall, Bluedawn had a prominently placed song in episode 9 of Coffee Prince in that key nighttime beach scene. [ Download ]

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The Year in Review, Part 3: Dahee Fanel’s drama round-up

the-year-in-review-part-3-dahee-fanels-drama-round-up

[And now for Dahee Fanel's comprehensive take on the past year! --javabeans]

First of all, I’d like to bow my head in deep gratitude to Javabeans, the highly esteemed writer of this blog, for inviting me to post a few thoughts here. I hope she won’t regret her decision after reading what I have to say, hehe.

2007 was an interesting year, at least for me, particularly when it comes to Korean dramas. I’ve watched dramas on a regular basis since I was old enough to walk and talk (I am, after all, Korean), but I’ve never undergone such a transformation in terms of how I approach dramas as I have in the past couple of years…although I suppose you could argue that it’s turned me into nothing but a picky bitch. (But weren’t you always a picky bitch, Dahee?)

Still, despite my pickiness, I managed to watch quite a handful of dramas this year, although I certainly didn’t manage to finish them all (blame school and the crappy work that some PDs and writers dish out, putting off viewers like me). In fact, I watched so many, I can’t possibly talk about them all here. So I’ll just pick a few notables and dish out some kudos, as well as one or two boos. Because boos are just as fun as kudos, if not as well-received.

DAHEE’S SONG OF THE DAY

Jo Kwan Woo - “천년애” (chun nyun ae), from the soundtrack of the drama The King & I. [ zShare download ]

In which I am embarrassingly long-winded


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The Year in Review, Part 1: The Best of 2007


A month ago, I asked y’all, How was 2007 for you? I was thinking of the year-end wrap-up I would be writing, and wanted to see how you thought the dramas were this past year. I’ll be rolling out my year-in-review posts over the next few days (because one post just isn’t enough!).

I also am THRILLED to be presenting a couple guest bloggers, Thunderbolt and Dahee Fanel, whom I’ve asked to join me in this 2007 retrospective. (I’ll be putting up their reviews in the following posts.) Not only are these ladies extremely well-versed in the art of Ye Olde K-Drama, they’re both also chock-full of witty, interesting, opinionated insights about ‘em. We’re also not afraid to contradict each other and are perfectly fine with having dissonant opinions. I hope you’ll enjoy their thoughts as much as I do.

As an added plus, they’ve both seen a bunch of the dramas I missed, so we’ll be able to cover a wider breadth of material. As none of us could be accused of brevity, between the three of us, we’ve have got 2007 covered. Possibly a couple times over.

SONG OF THE DAY

Bubble Sisters - “사랑을 찾아서” (Looking for love) from the OST of Mixed-up Investigative Agency.
[ zShare download ]

Let the rambling begin! >>


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More awards for Coffee Prince

Glad to see that the actors aren’t the only ones reaping the praise for one of the biggest dramas of the year, and the biggest romantic comedy overall. Which is only apt, since a tremendous amount of its success is owed to its behind-the-scenes magicians, who are if not MORE important than the stars, then surely just as.

To that end, Coffee Prince director and producer Lee Yoon Jung was selected as one of two award winners by the Yoido Club of broadcasters (made up of the main players in the broadcast industry), which is headed by KBS vice president Lee Won Gun. The other winner is Jang Young Chul, writer of the large-scale KBS historical drama Dae Jo Young.

The award ceremony takes place on the 11th (in Yoido’s 63 Building, which should ring a bell for some drama-lovers as a common Seoul setting). The jury committee explained their reason for selecting PD Lee: “She has explored new ground in making a miniseries with her fresh sensibilities and directing technique.”

Source: Newsen

SONG OF THE DAY

The Melody - “Crazy” [ zShare download ]

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