I put up my list of top dramas without regard to their overall popularity or ratings, and I feel safe saying that my guest bloggers did so as well. But in case you’re curious to know which dramas topped the ratings charts in 2007, here are all the big ones, drawing in viewerships in the whopping 50% range.

(Are you sick of all this year-end review stuff? Don’t worry; this is the last of it! Tomorrow we ring in 2008. Happy new year, everyone!)

SONG OF THE DAY

Rossy Punky Perfume – “Heavenly You” [ zShare download ]

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Read the rest of Which 2007 dramas were the most watched? (430 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2007. | Permalink | 21 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: As Much As Heaven and Earth, Golden Age for Daughters-in-Law, Jumong, My Man's Woman

 
I haven’t seen many of the dramas mentioned (they’re mostly historical dramas, which I’ve noted is not something I regularly watch). Some of the following reasons are downright silly, but it also seems there’s a grain of truth in some of the grumblings. What do you think?

Criticism for Drama Miscasting; How Far Will It Go?

It’s time for a star news briefing. Watching the current dramas, it occasionally seems like this role and that actor don’t quite match. It’s surely discouraging to hear this kind of casting for the actors who are working so hard. However, it’s uneasy as well for the viewers watching along. Today, I’ll examine the criticism of this kind of drama miscasting. No Cut News’ reporter Oh Min Jung is on the case.

Who are these actors most recently criticized for being miscast?

(Random) SONG OF THE DAY

Jaurim – “Truth.” It’s been a while since I’ve listened to some Jaurim, but I really should listen to them more. They’re very rockin’. [ zShare download ]

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Read the rest of Miscast (1,339 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2007. | Permalink | 16 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Bae Yong-joon, Gu Hye-sun, Jumong, Kim Mi-ryeo, Kim Myung-min, King and I, Lee Seo-jin, Legend, Moon Sori, sageuk dramas, Yi San

 
Yunno, I might just have to rethink my opinion on the whole sageuk thing. And by “rethink,” I mean “start watching.”

I’ve never been a fan of historical “sageuk” dramas. The Adults In The Family watched them all the time when I was growing up, and they’re consistently solid ratings performers among Korean viewers. But I didn’t get the appeal. Maybe it was the antiquated speech, maybe it was the (generally) low production values, maybe it was a culture gap thing. Maybe it struck me as old granny dramas since my grannies watched them. Even in light of recent, well-produced sageuk blockbusters (Dae Jang Geum, Jumong, Dae Jo Young…), I’ve remained staunchly anti-sageuk.

 
(Jumong)

 
I asked my parents a while ago what the appeal of sageuk dramas were, since they both watched them, although neither are huge sageuk fans. My mother (the literary buff) agreed that sageuks aren’t very fun, but they’re familiar and reliable, stories she’d grown up hearing. My father (the history buff) had a different interpretation, and that was that they are an important aspect of Korean people reclaiming their own histories.

After all, Korea has for ages resisted its conquerors who tried to rewrite its storied, rich history, and had to fight the marginalization of its historical importance. Hallyu is a great source of pride for Koreans for a great many different reasons — there’s the simple sense of pride in a job well done, seeing such overseas popularity of domestic products — but I’ve got to think part of the satisfaction must also stem from a sense of ownership, of one’s own folklore and history, that its achievements are finally being recognized outside its own insular culture. On a more visible platform than previously, at least.

My mother watches sageuks because they’re familiar entertainment; my father watches them because they’re important. As for me……

 
(Random) SONG OF THE DAY

Leeds 리즈 – “그깟 사랑” (That kind of love) [ zShare download ]

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Read the rest of The Sageuk Bandwagon (1,059 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2007. | Permalink | 48 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Conspiracy in the Court, Dae Jang Geum, Hong Gil Dong, Jumong, King and I, Legend, sageuk dramas, Story of Hyang Dan