[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

Tags: Coffee Prince, Dae Jang Geum, Dal Ja's Spring, Devil, guest bloggers, Insoon Is Pretty, King and I, Legend, Madam Ah Hyun Dong, Mixed-up Investigative Agency, My Man's Woman, Surgeon Bong Dal Hee, Taereung National Village, Thank You, Time of Dog and Wolf, White Tower, year in review, Yi San

Filed under: Drama Reactions & Reviews by Dahee_Fanel - 42 Comments →

Huh. Well now, this is unexpected: I did not like Episode 2.

I’m used to finding second episodes to be a marked improvement from the first, but rarely the opposite. It’s strange for me to find an episode 1 to be good and the following markedly less so.

Episode 1 was subtly moving, understated and poignant. Insoon’s pain, shame, hope, and fear came through in all their delicate layers; I understood her predicament and was rooting for her to pull through. I find Kim Hyun Joo playing Insoon to be the best thing about this series and also the only thing I cared for in the second episode, which just seemed… plain and typical.

I was disappointed with the acting too, because it seems everyone (minus Kim Hyun Joo) is just a hair too act-y. Too conscious, obvious. You know when you’re watching something and the reactions always come just a touch too early or a touch too late, throwing everything into slight imbalance? You don’t realize what skill it takes to perfect timing until you’ve seen it badly done. And in Episode 2, it felt like everyone was just a bit off. The acting wasn’t BAD, or overtly melodramatic, but it did remind me of soap acting in its lack of subtlety.

Oh, and I don’t care for the music/score either. It makes the series seem so… ordinary.

SONG OF THE DAY

Insoon Is Pretty OST - “언제까지나” by Chae Dong Hwa (SG Wannabe). The title translates to “However long it takes” or “Until when.” [ zShare download ]

INSOON IS PRETTY Episode 2 >>

Tags: episode recaps, Insoon Is Pretty, Kim Hyun-joo

Filed under: Drama Recaps by javabeans - 40 Comments →

Man. Another drama I like = another drama with low ratings. Should I even be surprised anymore?

Watching Episode 1 of Kim Hyun Joo’s new drama Insoon Is Pretty, I wasn’t sure if it was the kind I’d want to keep watching through the end. Quality’s not the issue; the acting is good, the dialogue is meaningful, the characters hint at hidden complexity. The lead female is beautiful and sympathetic, while the lead male is all warmth and quiet strength.

And yet it’s just so sad! Not weepy-melodramatic-tragic sad. It’s an understated sad. Quiet, long-suffering. Kim Hyun Joo’s character Insoon is in rather depressing straits right from the get-go, facing one kick to the curb after another, and you just feel so bad for her. But just as there are dramas that start off light and funny, then suddenly veer into overwrought tragedy (I hate these dramas, by the way — it feels like I got the bait and switch. I signed up for mindless fluff! What are all these emotions you are forcing upon me??), I am hoping that Insoon proves to be the opposite.

Because, when you start off with your heroine so thoroughly defeated and beaten down, a razor’s edge away from Anna Karenina-ing herself off the nearest subway platform, you can’t go anywhere but up, right? I hope so.

SONG OF THE DAY

Kio - “You Are So Beautiful.” I could listen to this song on a continuous loop (and I have). Gently pretty and soothing, like a rainy day.
[ zShare download ]

INSOON IS PRETTY Episode 1 >>

Tags: episode recaps, Insoon Is Pretty, Kim Hyun-joo

Filed under: Drama Recaps by javabeans - 33 Comments →

The upcoming KBS Wednesday-Thursday drama Insoon Is Pretty is one I’m keeping my eye on. This is Kim Hyun Joo’s (above left) comeback drama — although it bugs me that the word ‘comeback’ is misused an awful lot, thrown around to describe anything from a true comeback to merely a star’s next project (summer 2007’s Get Karl Oh Soo Jung was called a “comeback” vehicle for Oh Ji Ho, when his previous drama had only wrapped in December 2006!). Kim Hyun Joo’s last drama was the SBS series Marrying a Millionaire; she’d also previously appeared in Miss Kim’s Quest for a Billion Won and Glass Slippers. Newcomer Seo Hyorim (right) has been cast as the younger half-sister to Kim Hyun Joo’s titular Park Insoon. Her “ice princess” role was won after fierce competition in an audition process where she beat out 300 other hopefuls.

The director, Pyo Min Su, has a resume boasting some familiar titles, among them the light-hearted romances What Star Are You From? and Full House — but what catches my attention aren’t the stars or the production, it’s the story. The beautiful Insoon unintentionally kills someone and is sent away to prison — and now has emerged to face the cold judgment of the world, eventually overcoming her struggles as an ex-con to emerge victorious (not a spoiler; that’s the tagline accompanying the story description in all the media stories).

Insoon Is Pretty premieres on October 31 (Halloween!).

(Random) SONG OF THE DAY

Linus’ Blanket - “담요송 (Blanket Song)” [ zShare download ]

More on the cast >>

Tags: comebacks, Insoon Is Pretty, Kim Hyun-joo, Pyo Min-su

Filed under: Drama Casting & News by javabeans - 15 Comments →