KBS’s thriller series Story of a Man, also known as The Slingshot, has picked up an award — the Bronze Remi — at the 43rd WorldFest–Houston International Film Festival, which has just announced its winners. The drama won in the “TV Series – Dramatic” category.

The festival is dedicated to independent works (and doesn’t accept studio projects for consideration), and the Remi is the name of the honor given in each category. (There are platinum, gold, silver, and bronze Remi Awards given to the first- through fourth-place winners.)

I don’t know much about the festival, which describes itself as “one of the oldest and largest film & video competitions in the world, with more than 4,500 category entries received from 37 countries in 2009.” I don’t think it’s profoundly important to the industry back in Korea, but it’s always interesting to see which dramas get picked up in international competitions (like Hong Gil Dong at Roma Fiction Fest). And I certainly think Story of a Man is deserving — it’s one of the sharpest, tightest-written dramas I’ve seen, plus a helluva lot of fun.

EDIT: My bad, I missed the separate report that SBS’s Painter of the Wind also picked up an award, a Silver Remi in the same category. Other winning series in that category came from Australia, Ireland, and Poland. Story of a Man and Painter of the Wind were the only two Korean dramas that won at the festival, which has something in the vicinity of 60 categories.

Via Joy News

RELATED POSTS

• 2009 Editors’ Picks: Year in Review, Part 6
• All Told, A Pretty Fun Year: Year in Review, Part 4
• A Newbie Reviews 2009: Year in Review, Part 3
• Story of a Man: Episodes 1-2

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2010. | Permalink | 37 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: awards, Story of a Man

Here we are! The last of the year-end review series.

This post is something new, but I thought it would be an interesting experiment. Although each of us reviewers has our personal favorites, which we outlined in our personal reviews, it’s a different thing to move past preference and try to be objective in a sort of Dramabeans Awards — hence, these Editors’ Picks.

We voted in rounds, first nominating all potential candidates, then narrowing them down to a small pool of finalists, then culling that to one or two picks. As a result, not all of us got picks that we may have personally felt were most fitting, but we all respected the process and the opinions that led us to these selections.

SONG OF THE DAY

Queen Seon-deok OST – “아라로” (Araro) by I.U. [ Download ]

(...)
Read the rest of 2009 Editors’ Picks [Year In Review, Part 6] (4,806 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 112 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Accidental Couple, Again My Love, Assorted Gems, awards, Boys Before Flowers, Brilliant Legacy, City Hall, Friend Our Legend, IRIS, Kyung Sook Kyung Sook's Father, Queen Seon-deok, Return of Iljimae, Smile, Story of a Man, year in review, You're Beautiful

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 ]

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

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 141 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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 ]

(...)
Read the rest of A Newbie Reviews 2009 [Year In Review, Part 3] (3,980 words)

© samsooki for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 155 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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

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.

(...)
Read the rest of How was 2009 for you? (1,304 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 410 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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

(These are short mp3 clips that you can download onto your phone IF your phone is capable of mp3 ringtones. I know some phones have size limits for mp3s — mine is 500kb — and most of these clips are under 30 seconds and in the 200kb-400kb range. Download link at bottom.)

For example:

YOU’RE BEAUTIFUL

I’m sure most of you are familiar with this soundtrack so I don’t need to post clips, but I’ll put them up just in case:

Jang Geun-seok – “말도 없이” (Without Words)

Jang Geun-seok – “Good Bye”

A.N.JELL – “Promise” verse

A.N.JELL – “Promise” chorus

(...)
Read the rest of Drama theme-song ringtones (721 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 159 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Boys Before Flowers, Coffee Prince, Goong, Goong S, My Fair Lady, My Name Is Kim Samsoon, Return of Iljimae, Story of a Man, Strongest Chil Woo, The World They Live In, You're Beautiful

Another interview with a Story of a Man cast member! Like his castmate Kim Kang-woo, I’ve previously featured an interview with Park Ki-woong, but these 10 Asia features are such great reading. (I don’t get why there aren’t similarly in-depth interviews with the drama’s actual star, Park Yong-ha! I’ve seen some really basic pieces floating around, but nothing really meaty.)

(Note: This interview was published back in April, as Story of a Man was just hitting its early stride.)

SONG OF THE DAY

Story of a Man OST – “Dear” [ Download ]

(...)
Read the rest of Park Ki-woong scores a timely hit (1,818 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 20 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: interviews, Park Ki-woong, Story of a Man

When Story of a Man began, actress Han Yeo-woon, who played Kim Kang-woo’s good-hearted younger sister, wasn’t even a blip on the radar. She’d had a supporting role playing a junior baker in My Name is Kim Sam-soon, but was hardly a household name. As Story of a Man progressed, however, she took on an increasingly significant role, and by the series’ end she was arguably a more integral character than some of the better-known actors, like Park Shi-yeon or Park Ki-woong.

Trust 10 Asia to shed some light on lesser-known (but just as deserving) talents, as they do with this interview/article on Han, which was published last month (late May), while the drama was still airing.

SONG OF THE DAY

Story of a Man OST – “이별은 거꾸로 흐른다” (Backwards farewell) [ Download ]

(...)
Read the rest of Han Yeo-woon: The face of purity (1,760 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 41 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Han Yeo-woon, interviews, Story of a Man

This article/interview with Kim Kang-woo talking about the end of Story of a Man isn’t nearly as good as this in-depth one from a while back (“Birth of a Devil”), but now that the drama’s over, I’m looking to ease the withdrawal with some more interviews with its actors. A couple more to follow soon!

“They say Kim Kang-woo really is a bad guy”

“Chae Do-woo… is truly dreadful. To achieve his goal, he can even kill. What’s worse, when he’s pushed into a difficult situation, he tells his wife, ‘Go to your ex-boyfriend and ask for help,’ without any problems. He’s a person who can’t be understood through the thoughts of normal people.”

Kim Kang-woo left the character Chae Do-woo with the drama’s last broadcast on June 9. Although the ratings were low, Story of A Man / The Slingshot had achievements that were no less than of those dramas with hit 30% ratings. One of those has to be the discovery of Kim Kang-woo’s villain.

(...)
Read the rest of Kim Kang-woo isn’t so clean-cut anymore (618 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 43 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: interviews, Kim Kang-woo, Story of a Man

Ohhhhh, what a freaking great way to go out!

I was afraid the ending wouldn’t live up to the series, especially with all the snippets of spoilers floating around… but I loved it. I can see why some might have wanted something different, but I thought it was quite fitting.

SONG OF THE DAY

8eight – “자유” (Freedom). I had a beautiful sad song picked out for the finale, but then I saw the episode and it didn’t seem to fit. [ Download ]

(...)
Read the rest of Story of a Man: Episode 20 (Final) (6,066 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 83 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Han Yeo-woon, Kim Kang-woo, Park Ki-woong, Park Shi-yeon, Park Yong-ha, Philip Lee, Story of a Man