Since I’ve had a lot of requests for drama recommendations following You’re Beautiful, I thought I’d put this up as its own post. I may be spotty with some of the other genres out there, but I’m ALL about the trendy drama! The following is a list of my recommendations (and some that are not recs but merely possibilities) for trendies that have a similar tone and vibe to You’re Beautiful.

I’m sure many of you have seen many (maybe even all) of the dramas on this list. But some others who haven’t racked up as many drama-watching hours may want a guide to help them navigate the many, many offerings out there.

First, we’ll start with the other the Hong Sisters dramas…

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Scriptwriters Hong Mi-ran, Hong Jung-eun

With SBS’s You’re Beautiful ending this week, I thought I’d like to take a look at the brains behind its wonderfully addicting appeal. I’ve compiled the information below from various interviews over the past few years and highlighted some of their statements about their past dramas.

In case you’re unfamiliar, the Hong Sisters are a team of two sisters who have made a name for themselves in recent years in the kdrama world, notably in the romantic-comedy genre. In five years, they have penned five hit drama series — and while the last two did not break 20% ratings, they did succeed in stirring passionate fan response and creating buzz commensurate with the others. The dramas are:

• Delightful Girl Chun-hyang, KBS 2005
• My Girl, SBS 2005-06
• Fantasy Couple, MBC 2006
• Hong Gil Dong, KBS 2008
• You’re Beautiful, SBS 2009

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So I was thinking about the ending of Witch Amusement, and of how much more I enjoyed the director’s prior two series, 2005’s Delightful Girl Choon Hyang and 2006’s My Girl. And since both of those were written by the Hong sisters screenwriting team, Hong Jung Eun and Hong Mi Ran, I naturally thought to their first series after My Girl: Fantasy Couple (환상의커플) (aka Couple or Trouble), which ended its run in December 2006.

It also reminded me of an interview with Fantasy Couple’s PD, Kim Sang Ho, which I’d read months ago and found endlessly fascinating, regarding the process of actually producing these dramas. It also shed some light on the behind-the-scenes issues that explained some of the choices they made in the drama’s storyline. It was so interesting (to me) I’d posted up the translation on soompi, so I’m reposting it here behind the cut.

SONG OF THE DAY

Fantasy Couple OST – “Want U” by Ji Young Sun [ Download ]

There are some spoilers ahead about Fantasy Couple, so be forewarned >>

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