OMG. Seriously, you guys have to watch this. It has got to be the best parody mash-up ever. At least the funniest. It’s Best Pasta, a combination of Best Love and Pasta, using Gong Hyo-jin of course as the connecting thread… only what starts as a macho contest between Dokko Jin (Cha Seung-won) and Chef (Lee Seon-kyun) ends up as a burgeoning love between the two heroes. LOVE IT. They are officially my favorite new couple.

The alternaverse starts out as both guys realize the existence of the other in Gu Ae-jung’s life, asking who the other guy is and throwing childish tantrums, as both men are known for doing. So then Dokko Jin starts researching this Chef guy to see what the competition is like, only his heart starts racing, and he doesn’t know why. Chef moons over losing the girl, and meanwhile Dokko Jin shows up to La Sfera and starts stalking him, even though he’s told to get lost.

(...)
Read the rest of Best Love / Pasta mash-up, birth of a new power couple (223 words)

© girlfriday for Dramabeans, 2011. | Permalink | 191 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Best Love, Cha Seung-won, Gong Hyo-jin, Lee Seon-kyun, Pasta

I have to say, 2010 was a downright awesome year. It was the year of bromance, the year that Santa came in August, the year when guys had perms and noonas ruled, the year of the sparkly tracksuit and hoi-hoi, the year that makgulli made a comeback. But most importantly for me, it was the year I joined Dramabeans and got to know all of you. So thanks, for all the encouragement, the thoughtful commentary, the dissenting voices, the snark, and of course…the fangirling. It’s been a helluva year for this recapper, and I for one couldn’t ask for anything better for Christmas than one giant, crazy, Dramabeans family.

(...)
Read the rest of Objects in mirror are closer than they appear [Year In Review, Part 4] (8,432 words)

© girlfriday for Dramabeans, 2010. | Permalink | 153 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Athena, Bad Guy, Baker King Kim Tak-gu, Cinderella's Sister, Coffee House, Dr. Champ, Drama Special, featured, God of Study, I Am Legend, Mary Stayed Out All Night, My Girlfriend Is a Gumiho, Pasta, Personal Taste, Playful Kiss, Prosecutor Princess, Queen of Reversals, Runaway, Secret Garden, Sungkyunkwan Scandal, The Woman Who Still Wants to Marry, year in review

What a fascinating roller coaster of a ride this year has been. There were many disappointments (most of which I stopped watching halfway, because Life Is Too Short For Bad Dramas (copyright Gangsta Kitteh and hjkomo)), but also so many unexpected gems that shone with a light that proved impossible to stifle. Maybe it’s just the swan song before an untimely death, but in 2010 at least, K-dramas had their moment of rebellion and glory. And I. Am. Ecstatic.

The following are divided between long dramas and short dramas, and are in alphabetical order.

SONG OF THE DAY

Comrades OST – “친구여” [ Download ]

(...)
Read the rest of Finding the gems among the stones [Year In Review, Part 2] (7,162 words)

© Dahee_Fanel for Dramabeans, 2010. | Permalink | 174 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Chuno, Cinderella's Sister, Comrades, Drama Special, featured, Gloria, Joseon X-Files, My Girlfriend Is a Gumiho, Pasta, Sungkyunkwan Scandal, year in review

It’s December, and you know what that means around these parts: Time to reflect on the past year and see how the dramas stacked up! And boy, were there a lot of them.

As in previous years, I am planning a multi-part series (with special guest bloggers, natch!) to wrap up the year, which we’re busily writing up now — keep your eyes peeled in the coming weeks! If you want a refresher on how previous years have gone, here’s this handy tag to take you right to them.

But before we tell you what we thought about the dramas of 2010, this is YOUR turn to weigh in and vote for your favorite shows, couples, bromances — and, yes, your big disappointments — in what we’re calling the Beanie Awards. They’re in your hands; give ‘em out with care!

(...)
Read the rest of 2010 Beanie Awards: Vote for your favorite dramas of the year (1,194 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2010. | Permalink | 679 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Bad Guy, Baker King Kim Tak-gu, Chuno, Cinderella's Sister, Coffee House, Comrades, Daemul, Dong Yi, Dr. Champ, featured, Giant, God of Study, I Am Legend, Jejoongwon, Joseon X-Files, Mary Stayed Out All Night, My Girlfriend Is a Gumiho, Oh My Lady, Pasta, Personal Taste, Playful Kiss, Prosecutor Princess, Road No. 1, Runaway, Secret Garden, Sungkyunkwan Scandal, The Woman Who Still Wants to Marry, Wish Upon a Star, year in review

Seo Sook-hyang, the writer of MBC’s popular Pasta, has announced her next series, also in the romantic-comedy genre. The working title is Maids [식모들] and is set in the household of a top upper-crust family. The story unfolds as romance develops between the employer and his live-in maid, who also face off in a battle over money.

According to a rep with the production company, Olive Nine, they are currently negotiating a slot on a broadcast station schedule with the aim of getting the drama on the air later this year. (To which I ask, WHEN? It seems like we’re packed with upcoming dramas with the year quickly coming to a close…)

Olive Nine, which produced Pasta, King and I, and Jumong, among other htis, has recently settled the disputes in which it has been embroiled regarding its management rights. It hopes to get back in the mix of things with the new project, and its president stated that the company will be able to settle outstanding cast wages with a new infusion of capital this month and resume business operations.

Via Joy News

RELATED POSTS

• Interview with Pasta’s scriptwriter
• Pasta: Episode 1

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2010. | Permalink | 46 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Pasta

While Eun-jo never called Ki-hoon “oppa,” she certainly used her share of banmal with him

One of the things I find endlessly fascinating about the Korean language is the magnitude of what people call each other, and how they address one another as relationships evolve. As javabeans noted, in romantic comedies, we often squee equally over kisses as we do over the first time characters use banmal with each other. So what is banmal, and what are the rules? How can banmal be rude in one moment, and romantic in the next? Who gets to use banmal, and why is it meaningful when characters switch from jondae to banmal?

(...)
Read the rest of Glossary: Banmal (1,448 words)

© girlfriday for Dramabeans, 2010. | Permalink | 102 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Boys Before Flowers, Cinderella's Sister, Coffee Prince, Pasta

New toy! I’ve been wanting to try a podcast for ages, but lacked the technical wherewithal (and time) to fiddle around with it till now. But I’ve brushed up my techie skills and persuaded girlfriday to join me in this venture, and together we took a stab at our very first Dramabeans podcast.

I apologize in advance for moments when I get too close to the mic — I don’t think it’s TOO bad, or at least I hope it’s not, but I will definitely keep this in mind if/when we try the next one. Also, if you’ve got questions or suggestions for future editions, please feel free to leave them in the comments.

You can listen through the player below, or if you’d like to put it on your mp3 players or take it elsewhere, you can download the sucker: [ Part 1 ] and [ Part 2 ]

We hope you enjoy what we have to say!

 
Part 1: Wherein javabeans and girlfriday discuss old-school dramas, Feelings, Lee Jung-jae, recapping, cliches and tropes, the dreaded wrist-grab, women and repressed sexuality, Pasta, The Woman Who Still Wants to Marry, Kim Bum, Boys Before Flowers, relationships, and Personal Taste:

(Note: It may take a moment to load. You can adjust volume up and down with the bars on the left of the audio player.)

Part 2: Wherein javabeans and girlfriday discuss Personal Taste and Cinderella’s Sister (through Episode 12, although with very few if any spoilers for later episodes), and Sandglass very briefly:

(...)
Read the rest of Dramabeans Podcast #1 (475 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2010. | Permalink | 222 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Boys Before Flowers, Cinderella's Sister, Feelings, Jealousy, Kim Bum, Pasta, Personal Taste, Sandglass, Taecyeon, The Woman Who Still Wants to Marry

(...)
Read the rest of Pasta: Episode 11 (2,292 words)

© skimmy for Dramabeans, 2010. | Permalink | 30 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Alex, Gong Hyo-jin, Honey Lee, Lee Seon-kyun, Pasta

Squee!

SONG OF THE DAY

Clazziquai – “Part Time Lover” [ Download ]

(...)
Read the rest of Pasta: Episode 10 (2,732 words)

© skimmy for Dramabeans, 2010. | Permalink | 29 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Alex, Gong Hyo-jin, Honey Lee, Lee Seon-kyun, Pasta

Pasta OST – “운명” (Fate) [ Download ]

(...)
Read the rest of Pasta: Episode 9 (3,575 words)

© skimmy for Dramabeans, 2010. | Permalink | 30 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Alex, Gong Hyo-jin, Honey Lee, Lee Seon-kyun, Pasta