2012 was certainly a mixed bag: I saw plenty of action dramas and then I saw fluffy dramas that made no sense. There were dramas I loved, dramas that I liked enough, and then dramas that I hated. It was a tough year for me, and I felt I had bad luck in choosing which dramas to watch this year. But it helps to appreciate all the dramas – good or bad – because there are still plenty of life lessons to be learned from them.

One of my goals for this year was to watch a drama from every letter of the alphabet – HA! Like that really happened. But in the hopes that I did, the reviews will be in alphabetical order… with life lessons in between.

SONG OF THE DAY

“Might Gonna” from What’s Up OST [download]

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Read the rest of Life Lessons from a Mixed Bag of Dramas [Year In Review, Part 2] (6,225 words)

© kaedejun for Dramabeans, 2012. | Permalink | 147 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Answer Me 1997, Big, Faith, featured, Full House Take 2, Ghost, Haeundae Lovers, Hero (OCN), I Need Romance 2012, Love Rain, Padam Padam, Special Affairs Team TEN, The King 2 Hearts, Vampire Prosecutor 2, What's Up, Wild Romance, year in review

THE END IS HERE! It’s a pretty awesome ending for this lighthearted drama, as I can’t count how many times I’ve giggled at all the cute moments, just wishing I had a Tae Sung-oppa to call my own and save me when I’m in trouble! It started off sweet, and I’m glad it ends sweetly too.

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Read the rest of Haeundae Lovers: Episode 16 (Final) (4,298 words)

© kaedejun for Dramabeans, 2012. | Permalink | 39 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Haeundae Lovers, Jo Yeo-jung, Jung Seok-won, Kim Kang-woo

This drama is about to end, but it’s not letting up on the drama! We get to see Tae Sung be all prosecutor-y, which is sort of like the first time ever in this series. Even though he was one, he acted like a detective, a prosecutor who only gets yelled at by the boss, or a bumbling undercover cop. He was a clumsy fisherman, a dolt at love, and the sweetest son-in-law. Even though he did spout laws here and there, never did we see him in a courtroom.

Until now.

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Read the rest of Haeundae Lovers: Episode 15 (3,959 words)

© kaedejun for Dramabeans, 2012. | Permalink | 23 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Haeundae Lovers, Jo Yeo-jung, Jung Seok-won, Kim Kang-woo

Haeundae Lovers gave us a woozy this week with three episodes in one week. Guess they’re pressed for time. Episodes 14 and 15 aired on Monday, while episode 16 aired on Tuesday. This was an emotional episode that just emphasizes my love of Kim Kang Woo and his portrayal of Tae Sung. It’s incredibly sad but it hits the note in all the right places. I knew this day would come, but at least it wasn’t overplayed into sappiness.

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Read the rest of Haeundae Lovers: Episode 14 (4,148 words)

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Post tags: featured, Haeundae Lovers, Jo Yeo-jung, Jung Seok-won, Kim Kang-woo

For a very melodramatic episode, I didn’t feel too bogged down with emotions. Thank you, writer, for keeping this drama light. With three episodes left, there needs to be a few obstacles to be thrown our heroes’ paths – one of them is facing their true feelings and morals.

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Read the rest of Haeundae Lovers: Episode 13 (4,143 words)

© kaedejun for Dramabeans, 2012. | Permalink | 40 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Haeundae Lovers, Jo Yeo-jung, Jung Seok-won, Kim Kang-woo

Best episode by far! I finally went through all the emotions that usually occurs within a Korean drama in one episode. I felt that this episode hit me in all the right places – it was heartwarming and funny, ridiculously over the top and maddening, and then just when I got that hopeful feeling everything will be okay, it comes crashing down all at once. Yes Haeundae 12 – you’re quite the rocky ride.

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Read the rest of Haeundae Lovers: Episode 12 (4,641 words)

© kaedejun for Dramabeans, 2012. | Permalink | 17 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Haeundae Lovers, Jo Yeo-jung, Jung Seok-won, Kim Kang-woo

For as much as I was annoyed with Joon Hyuk last week, he certainly has become less pathetic with this episode. I still have conflicting emotions about him, but I cannot deny that this man is smart and resourceful. At least, smarter and more resourceful than all the other characters here.

There is only one episode for this week, as a World Cup match has preempted the broadcast of episode 12. Stupid soccer.

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Read the rest of Haeundae Lovers: Episode 11 (3,631 words)

© kaedejun for Dramabeans, 2012. | Permalink | 24 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Haeundae Lovers, Jo Yeo-jung, Jung Seok-won, Kim Kang-woo

Cute episode! Why? Because finally our leads are being sweet with one another! I’m glad that Sora is getting over her prejudices towards Tae Sung, which always felt unfair and contrived. Tae Sung was nothing but kind to her, and he had amnesia! He never knew his real family, and no one can pick their family! But here’s to them finally acting like a cute newlywed couple.

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Read the rest of Haeundae Lovers: Episode 10 (3,827 words)

© kaedejun for Dramabeans, 2012. | Permalink | 22 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Haeundae Lovers, Jo Yeo-jung, Jung Seok-won, Kim Kang-woo

I’m starting to feel more for Tae Sung, as he’s realizing that being up top on the social stratus can be a very lonely place indeed. (No wonder our K-drama chaebols are so cold!) Poor guy only wanted to regain his memories, hoping that finding his family will do that, but he just found the wrong family!

SONG OF THE DAY

Kang Min Kyung – “Farewell is Coming” from Haeundae Lovers OST [download]

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Read the rest of Haeundae Lovers: Episode 9 (5,044 words)

© kaedejun for Dramabeans, 2012. | Permalink | 20 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Haeundae Lovers, Jo Yeo-jung, Jung Seok-won, Kim Kang-woo

The wedding! The wedding of the century! The wedding where the bride and groom are not right, but totally perfect for each other! Since we’re halfway through the series, more story is coming forth rather than the cheesy comedy I’ve been so used to in the past episodes. It’s understandable, but thankfully Kim Kang Woo is around to brighten up the day.

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Read the rest of Haeundae Lovers: Episode 8 (3,936 words)

© kaedejun for Dramabeans, 2012. | Permalink | 25 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Haeundae Lovers, Jo Yeo-jung, Jung Seok-won, Kim Kang-woo