[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 - 43 Comments →

[And now, please give your warm welcome to guest blogger Thunderbolt, who shares with us her year-end review! --javabeans]

Has this happened to you? You’re reading a book on the bus or train and all of a sudden you burst out laughing. Everyone’s staring but you can’t stop grinning. And all because that line you just read was so unexpectedly funny.

Here’s another scenario. You’re watching one of the hit kdramas of 2006 and after being entertained for the first eighteen episodes or so, you’re down to the last few episodes. And though you had been warned that it was going to be draggy from here, you had no idea how draggy. So now you’re climbing the walls. Your mood’s so foul from the plot shenanigans you want to hurl two cartons of rotten tomatoes at your TV screen.

That was my 2007. A year where I laughed and cried my way through dramas so good they made me even more of an addict. A year where I watched stuff that people were raving about and I shook my head and said, “Something’s seriously amiss with me because I. JUST. DON’T. GET. THE. HYPE.” I raved, I ranted, and just like that, a year has gone by. Here’s my “hits and misses” (how original a title, right?^^) roundup for 2007.

THUNDERBOLT’S SONG OF THE DAY

Uhm Tae Woong - “사랑하지 말아줘” (Don’t love me) from the OST of Devil. Singing must run in the family. (Older sis is the “Korean Madonna” Uhm Jung Hwa.) [ zShare download ]

And it comes with a video! Live performance by actor/singer Uhm Tae Woong:

Thunderbolts gems and head-scratchers >>

Tags: Dal Ja's Spring, Devil, guest bloggers, Legend, Mixed-up Investigative Agency, Surgeon Bong Dal Hee, Thank You, Time of Dog and Wolf, White Tower, year in review

Filed under: Drama Reactions & Reviews by thunderbolt - 55 Comments →

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.
[ zShare download ]

Let the rambling begin! >>

Tags: Coffee Prince, Dal Ja's Spring, Flowers For My Life, Mixed-up Investigative Agency, Que Sera Sera, Story of Hyang Dan, stuff I dig, year in review

Filed under: Drama Reactions & Reviews by javabeans - 56 Comments →

Last episode is here!

To be honest, I kinda dragged my feet on this one, not just because episode recaps take much more time than anything else, but because I didn’t want to face the blankness of having nothing to watch for the immediate future (and don’tcha know, avoidance always solves problems!). Plus, I feel that final episodes deserve a little more time and effort to give (good) series their proper send-offs. (Bad series can just suck it.)

SONG OF THE DAY

Oldfish - “Way to Home.” I LOVE Oldfish. [ zShare download ]

MIXED-UP INVESTIGATIVE AGENCY Case 16 (Final) >>

Tags: episode recaps, Lee Eun-sung, Lee Min-ki, Mixed-up Investigative Agency, Ryu Seung-soo, stuff I dig, Yeh Ji-won

Filed under: Drama Recaps by javabeans - 23 Comments →

What an excellent episode. By far the best to date. Episode 15 had everything — adventure, mystery, suspense, emotion, depth, and yet another well-done cliffhanger ending.

In fact, it rather felt like a mini-movie more than an episode of television because of the way it skillfully brought the tension to a head; and yet, there were still those trademark Mixed-up small moments of goofiness and wit. It wasn’t till the episode finished that I realized I’d spent the hour all tensed up in anxiety. With just one more episode to go, do our fearless friends finally find the treasure??!?

SONG OF THE DAY

Rumble Fish - “그곳으로” (To That Place) [ zShare download ]

MIXED-UP INVESTIGATIVE AGENCY Case 15 >>

Tags: episode recaps, Lee Eun-sung, Lee Min-ki, Mixed-up Investigative Agency, Ryu Seung-soo, Yeh Ji-won

Filed under: Drama Recaps by javabeans - 10 Comments →