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.
[ Download ]

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Read the rest of The Year in Review, Part 1: The Best of 2007 (3,995 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2007. | Permalink | 59 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Coffee Prince, Dal Ja's Spring, Flowers For My Life, Mixed-up Investigative Agency, Que Sera Sera, Story of Hyang Dan, year in review

“To my precious you
who brightened up my life
I invite you to my funeral”

 
SONG OF THE DAY

Sang Sang Band – “Say Goodbye” [ zShare download ]

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Read the rest of Flowers For My Life: Episode 16 (Part 2, FINAL) (2,246 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2007. | Permalink | 84 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Cha Tae-hyun, Flowers For My Life, Kang Hye-jung, Kim Ji-hoon

There’s so much I want to say about this last episode, I didn’t know how to fit it all into a post. So I decided not to worry over what to leave out and just break up the recap into two posts.

I really can’t say enough in praise of Flowers For My Life. It’ll be a long time before I see a drama as good AND as satisfying (so many times you get one without the other). It was both meaningful but entertaining.

What I found particularly notable about this final episode was, for one that deals so directly with death, it wasn’t sad. It wasn’t self-pitying. And it wasn’t depressing. I was pleasantly surprised to be left laughing for most of the episode.

(Random) SONG OF THE DAY

Nell – “안녕히 계세요” (Goodbye) [ zShare download ]

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Read the rest of Flowers For My Life: Episode 16 (Part 1 of 2) (1,765 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2007. | Permalink | 15 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Cha Tae-hyun, Flowers For My Life, Kang Hye-jung, Kim Ji-hoon

I was a little hesitant to watch the last two episodes of Flowers For My Life, because I felt I had to prepare myself adequately for the sadness. Also, I wasn’t sure I was ready to say goodbye to such a wonderful, superlative drama. But I needn’t have worried; I’ve seen the end of the series, and (no Episode 16 spoilers here) I can say it doesn’t sink into tragedy or melodrama. In fact, it takes an upturn.

I cried, of course, but it was a satisfying cry, and not out of sadness but poignance. To me, Episode 15 was as close to perfectly satisfying as you can get, with the exception of Episode 16 which was even better.

(Random) SONG OF THE DAY

Mot (못) – “Heaven Song.” Mot is not a band everyone will like. They’re a little weird, a little eclectic, a little off the beaten path. But Mot might be just the thing for people who like moody, dissonant music. This is one of their less-weird songs. [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Flowers For My Life: Episode 15 (2,300 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2007. | Permalink | 16 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Cha Tae-hyun, Flowers For My Life, Kang Hye-jung, Kim Ji-hoon

I hope the delay for this summary doesn’t suggest that this episode wasn’t good. Flowers For My Life is a wonderful drama and it’s going straight to the (almost-)top of my all-time favorites. You know, I’ve seen a lot of dramas in marathon sessions after all the episodes have already aired, and when you watch a batch of episodes at one time, you’re more likely to overlook flaws, or be forgiving of them. You’re not really given much time to think over a storyline before it’s time to watch the next installment.

Some dramas might be good in marathons, but don’t hold up on an individual basis — Witch Amusement comes to mind. Actually, that series might have been a lot better in one sitting with the fast-forward button. But I think the best dramas are the ones that are great week-to-week as well, because it’s a far more difficult thing to sustain interest over months at a time without bleeding viewership — every week is an opportunity to lose an audience if you don’t keep the quality up.

To me, Flowers For My Life is one of the latter kind — not only do I enjoy it week to week, but every episode leaves me feeling like I’ve just witnessed something remarkable. (And I have.) If you haven’t seen Flowers, you’re missing out. And if you have seen Flowers and didn’t like it, well, we can still be friends. Just maybe not the blood-swapping, speed-dial-programmed, oath-swearing variety.

(Random) SONG OF THE DAY

Nell – “Good Night” [ zShare download ]

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Read the rest of Flowers For My Life: Episode 14 (2,568 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2007. | Permalink | 23 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Cha Tae-hyun, Flowers For My Life, Kang Hye-jung, Kim Ji-hoon

What a great episode. I cried practically all the way through it, but it was a good cry. The satisfying kind. So many great conversations, and lots of great acting. And, as always, gorgeous cinematography.

(Random) SONG OF THE DAY

Rumble Fish – “Smile Again.” [ zShare download ]

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Read the rest of Flowers For My Life: Episode 13 (2,428 words)

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Post tags: Cha Tae-hyun, Flowers For My Life, Kang Hye-jung, Kim Ji-hoon

Thankfully, things lightened up a bit this week! As much as I’m enjoying Flowers For My Life, last week was starting to bum me out because it was starting to get sad. At least we have a lot of sweet moments between Ho Sang and Hana here, and I think I’ve figured out a way (in my head, that is) that this series can end logically but satisfactorily.

(Random) SONG OF THE DAY

As One – “I Won’t Cry” [ zShare download ]

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Read the rest of Flowers For My Life: Episode 12 (2,317 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2007. | Permalink | 13 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Cha Tae-hyun, Flowers For My Life, Kang Hye-jung, Kim Ji-hoon

Oh, and this episode tells me her name is actually Lan, not Ran (the Korean letter used doubles for both “l” and “r” and I don’t know Vietnamese to have guessed Lan). But I’ll stick to Ran for now to stay consistent.

(Random) SONG OF THE DAY

K.Will – “사랑은 좋은 거” (love is a good thing) [ zShare download ]

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Read the rest of Flowers For My Life: Episode 11 (2,090 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2007. | Permalink | 16 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Cha Tae-hyun, Flowers For My Life, Kang Hye-jung, Kim Ji-hoon

Ah, Flowers For My Life, you keeeeel me. So many great moments in this episode, and the ending sequence was wonderful.

I’ve said this many times before, how I don’t care about ratings, but this is utter travesty. The last episode garnered ratings of 3.3%, and that’s just wrong. It’s criminal. How can utter pedestrian crap be consistently rating upwards of 20%, 30% percent, and leaving gems in the dust at 3.3%?

It’s disheartening, and all we can do is send the cast and staff our best wishes and hope they aren’t too downspirited about it, as the Korean fans are doing on KBS’s Flowers forum.

Well, anyone who’s still onboard can enjoy the bittersweet thought of being part of a small, exclusive club of people who get that Korean dramas are more than recycled love polygons and showcases for great wardrobes at the expense of fresh stories. Flowers must just be ahead of its time. When I started watching, I thought that it was amazing that kdramas had advanced to this level, but I guess they haven’t. Flowers is just waiting for the rest of the country to catch up.

(Random) SONG OF THE DAY

Mot (못) – “나는 왜” (why me), because it seemed fitting to pair an atypical band with an atypical drama. [ zShare download ]

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Read the rest of Flowers For My Life: Episode 10 (2,332 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2007. | Permalink | 42 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Cha Tae-hyun, Flowers For My Life, Kang Hye-jung, Kim Ji-hoon

Whenever I read an article about the reason for the Korean Wave/Hallyu‘s recent popularity, there’s a mention about the focus of family in kdramas that set it apart from their more sensational, sexy Western counterparts. While not all kdramas are family-related, there often are very strong family undercurrents, even when the main story is about crime, about the workplace, romance, whatever.

It’s not exactly a drama, but there’s an episode of the sitcom Nonstop 5 (episode #244) that shows a perfect example of what I mean, in a bite-sized, 20-minute package. Watch it after the jump.

SONG(s) OF THE DAY

G.O.D. – “To My Mother” (어머님께): This one’s a repost from the mother-related Flowers For My Life episode. [ zShare download ]

Tim – “To My Father” (아버지께) [ zShare download ]

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Read the rest of Korean Dramas & Family Relations (1,292 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2007. | Permalink | 38 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Bad Family, Dal Ja's Spring, Feelings, Flowers For My Life, Nonstop 5