After a pretty meh 2008, I was ready for the drama landscape to fire back up with 2009. And while there were a number of misses and disappointments — isn’t there always? — I was pretty satisfied with the dramas I watched in 2009. I still don’t think there were as many top offerings as, say, 2007, but I found a number of series to entertain me and satisfy my drama craving. There were a few selections early on that got me pumped for the year and things lagged during and after the summer months, but all told, I had an entertaining year.

(Okay, this is LONG. I tried to contain myself, really.)

SONG OF THE DAY

IRIS – “Empty” by Juni [ Download ]

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Read the rest of All Told, A Pretty Fun Year [Year In Review, Part 4] (7,596 words)

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Post tags: Boys Before Flowers, Cinderella Man, Dream, Heading to the Ground, Hero, Hon, IRIS, Kyung Sook Kyung Sook's Father, My Fair Lady, Partner, Queen Seon-deok, Return of Iljimae, Smile, Sons of Sol Pharmacy House, Story of a Man, Style, Swallow the Sun, Tamra the Island, Triple, Will It Snow For Christmas, year in review, You're Beautiful

My pick for Drama of the Year: City Hall.

I’ll start of with an admission.  When javabeans asked me to give my thoughts on 2009, I was pretty excited, and agreed without much thought.  After all, 2009 was the best year of k-drama watching I’ve ever had.  But then it hit me: 2009 was also the only year of k-drama watching I’ve ever had. lol. And so, even given the number of dramas as I have seen this year (probably topping 50) I feel a bit out of my league.  How can I be critique-ing with any legitimacy?  

Nevertheless, I do think a newbie’s perspective on dramas is not necessarily a bad thing - since everything is new to me, it is tougher for me to be jaded.  Like when I saw Save The Last Dance For Me (my third k-drama ever!), I spent days afterwords thinking about what it would be like to have amnesia and then a second round of amnesia where I would forget what I had promised to remember while being forgetful the first time time around…

So while I can’t do an expert review, since I’m not an expert, I can give a newbie opinion on what worked for me, and what didn’t.  First though, a little background on me so that you know where I am coming from.  Sample of pre-2009 dramas that I liked:  My Love Patzzi, Who Are You, Full House, Save The Last Dance For Me, Two Outs In The Bottom of the Ninth, and Super Rookie.  These dramas tend to mix cuteness and heart together in a way that Western television shows still haven’t figured out how to do consistently.  I think it has something to do with the soundtrack songs that act as demi leit motifs and burrow the sentiment of the drama into your heart and mind. I mean would Full House have been as good, without “I Think I” by Byul? Or how good would Save The Last Dance For Me have been, without Edward Chun’s breath-y lyrics?

And taking it up a notch, here is a sample of pre-2009 dramas I loved:  Goong, Coffee Prince, Bad Family, Dal Ja’s Spring, Hong Gil Dong and My Girl.  Even more than the first group, these latter dramas did more than just create a nice balance of cuteness and heart; these dramas created a love story so palpable and real that, if you wanted to, you would need both hands to reach out and hold onto one.  And lastly, my first and still favorite drama of all is My Name is Kim Sam Soon, which combined everything – the cuteness, heart, love story, wonderful acting and a kickass OST.

Enough with the old, however. In no particular order, here are my thoughts on 2009 (oh, btw, hit “play” for the mp3 so you get the full technicolor and sound effects of this review. if the song ends, and you’re not done reading, then just scroll back up and hit play again. hehehe!):

SONG OF THE DAY

City Hall OST – “웃어봐” (Laugh) by Chae Dong-ha [ Download ]

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Post tags: Accidental Couple, Assorted Gems, Cinderella Man, City Hall, Friend Our Legend, IRIS, Job Well Done, Kyung Sook Kyung Sook's Father, My Fair Lady, Partner, Queen Seon-deok, Sons of Sol Pharmacy House, Story of a Man, Tamra the Island, Temptation of Wife, year in review, You're Beautiful

Have you watched The Good, The Bad, The Weird? If you haven’t and the movie is available for rent in a store near you, pick it up and invite a few friends over. It’s truckloads of fun and will fit in perfectly with the fêting and feasting this time of the year. Moreover, you’ll find yourself clutching your sides because he who plays “The Weird” is so funny. Between the figurative good, bad and weird in the movie, I’ll take whoever makes me laugh the hardest.

Likewise, in a year where I watched fewer dramas but finished more of them, my favorites were the ones that made me squeal and giggle. As the months passed and it became apparent that this was going to be another so-so year, I lowered my expectations and decided a good drama need not be perfect in every aspect. All I asked was that the writing was alight (not necessarily crackling in every scene), that it worked my laugh muscles, and that it wouldn’t leave me with hives or a nauseating hangover.

SONG OF THE DAY

You’re Beautiful OST – “Promise” (A.N.JELL version) [ Download ]

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Read the rest of The Good, The Bad, The Middling [Year In Review, Part 2] (8,683 words)

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Post tags: Accidental Couple, Again My Love, Assorted Gems, Brilliant Legacy, City Hall, Hometown of Legends 2009, Kyung Sook Kyung Sook's Father, Loving You a Thousand Times, Partner, Queen Seon-deok, Smile, Strike Love, The Man Who Can't Get Married, year in review, You're Beautiful

With the year coming to an end, that means it’s time to take stock of the past twelve months (well, eleven really) in kdramas. The broadcast stations will be holding their awards ceremonies at the end of the month, and I’m working on my wrap-up of 2009′s offerings — as are some very talented (and prolific!) drama-watching fans — which I’ll post up closer to the end of the year.

But this is your turn to weigh in on what you liked or didn’t. I didn’t do a year-end poll last year (after putting one up in 2007) and people seemed to really want one, so it’s back.

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Post tags: A Star's Lover, Accidental Couple, Angel's Temptation, Boys Before Flowers, Brilliant Legacy, Cain and Abel, Cinderella Man, City Hall, Dream, Friend, Heading to the Ground, Hero, Hon, IRIS, Ja Myung Go, Job Well Done, Loving You a Thousand Times, My Fair Lady, Partner, Queen of Housewives, Queen Seon-deok, Return of Iljimae, Smile, Sons of Sol Pharmacy House, Story of a Man, Strike Love, Style, Tamra the Island, Triple, year in review

Who knew that Kim Hyun-joo could sing? She’s currently the star of the current KBS drama Partner, and now also makes her singing debut with a track for the series soundtrack titled “Promise” ["약속"].

In the drama, she plays the newest lawyer at a firm who clashes with one of its partners (Lee Dong-wook) when her idealism contrasts with his more realistic (or one might say cynical) approach to law. (Sparks fly and romance develops.)

At a July 8 press conference, Kim expressed her feelings on the experience, saying, “As someone who isn’t a professional singer, I’m very satisfied with it. I even received some praise from the songwriter.”

“Promise” goes live on online music sites on July 10, while the album goes on sale on the 15th. Meanwhile, the drama aired its fifth and sixths episodes this week.

Via IB Times

RELATED POSTS

• Partner: Episode 1
• Partner production press conference
• Stills from Partner’s courtroom
• Kim Hyun-joo puts up her dukes
• Partner casts Kim Hyun-joo as a lawyer

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Post tags: Kim Hyun-joo, Partner, soundtracks

Partner got off to its start this week, and it was kind of like I expected: flawed but fairly entertaining. Not a fabulous story, and there are some pretty big plot holes, but the acting keeps it afloat. I hadn’t realized just how much I’d missed Lee Dong-wook — but he is SO enjoyable.

SONG OF THE DAY

FT Island – “Troublemaker” [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Partner: Episode 1 (2,534 words)

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Post tags: Choi Chul-ho, first episodes, Honey Lee, Kim Dong-wook, Kim Hyun-joo, Lee Dong-wook, Lee Won-jong, Park Min-chul, Partner, Shin-yi

With less than a week left till the premiere of new legal drama Partner [파트너], the cast was on hand at the series production press conference on June 19. The drama is KBS’s new Wednesday-Thursday offering and stars Kim Hyun-joo (Insoon is Pretty) and Lee Dong-wook (La Dolce Vita).

Partner is described as showing a realistic look at the Korean legal system, although the preview stills make it seem as though there’s a strong comic bent. (I suppose we’ll have to wait and see what the tone ends up being, but with the first episode ready to go on June 24, we won’t have long to wait.

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Read the rest of Partner production press conference (403 words)

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Post tags: Choi Chul-ho, Honey Lee, Kim Dong-wook, Kim Hyun-joo, Lee Dong-wook, Partner, press conferences, Shin-yi

KBS’s Partner is readying for its premiere next week and, to whet our appetites some more, has released yet more stills from the drama, which feature its stars goofing off together on set.

Following the end of Accidental Couple this week, Partner pairs Kim Hyun-joo with Lee Dong-wook in an opposites-attract story in a high-powered law firm setting. These stills were filmed in the drama’s courtroom set, located in Paju.

Producers boasted pride in the compatibility of their leads, who have been playing well off each other both onscreen and off as they rest between takes: “It’s not just with their acting, but they’re also perfect partners in joking around.”

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Read the rest of Stills from Partner’s courtroom (82 words)

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Post tags: Choi Chul-ho, Honey Lee, Kim Hyun-joo, Lee Dong-wook, Partner

Law drama Partner really is promoting itself strongly, isn’t it? I suppose it doesn’t hurt that it’s got such good-looking actors (although, really, what kdrama doesn’t?).

Here we see some more photos of lead actor Lee Dong-wook as his playboyish, sarcastic lawyer character Tae-jo. Naturally he’ll clash with the quick-tempered but well-meaning Kim Hyun-joo, his snobbishness challenged by her down-to-earth personality.

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Read the rest of Lee Dong-wook is a playboy and a snob (66 words)

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Post tags: Lee Dong-wook, Partner

More new stills are out from law drama Partner, and feature main star Kim Hyun-joo (as an “ajumma lawyer”) getting into the boxing ring — with a middle school student.

In this particular episode, Kim’s character takes on a physical bout with disorderly young students. And no, it’s not a Dal Ja-like fantasy sequence; a producer explains that in the scene, she’s teaching a lesson to rowdy neighborhood delinquents, “and rather than scolding them with a lecture, she chooses to confront them directly.” To prepare, Kim spent a week at action school, training every day for her scene.

The drama airs its first episode on June 24, following Accidental Couple on KBS.

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Read the rest of Kim Hyun-joo puts up her dukes (124 words)

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Post tags: Kim Hyun-joo, Partner