2007 was a rich year for drama-land. There was something for everyone, whether your tastes ran toward dark thrillers (Devil), intense dramas (White Tower), heart-warmers (Thank You), off-the-wall eccentrics (Mixed-up Investigative Agency), trendy fare (Coffee Prince), romantic comedies (Dal Ja’s Spring), and so on.

2008, on the other hand… not so much.

Every drama has its good and bad points, but it’s a lot easier to decide how you feel about one when those qualities are expressed in the extreme — i.e., very good, or very bad. When everything is a muddle in the middle, though, it’s harder to draw the lines.

That’s why in contrast to last year’s “Best” and “The Rest” designations, this year I don’t really distinguish “good” versus “bad” — or even “favorites” and “hated dramas” — and can only grade on a spectrum. I call that spectrum “MEH” with the extreme poles representing “generally watchable” and “generally unwatchable.” It’s just been that kind of year.

SONG OF THE DAY

Painter of the Wind OST – “색” (Color) by JOO [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Finding Merit in the Mediocre [Year in Review, Part 4] (4,967 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2008. | Permalink | 75 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: A Star's Lover, Beethoven Virus, Bulhandang/Robbers, East of Eden, Gourmet, Hong Gil Dong, I Love You, Iljimae, Love & Marriage, On Air, One Mom, Rivals, Strongest Chil Woo, Tazza, The Last Scandal of My Life, The World They Live In, Three Dads, One Mom, When Night Comes, Who Are You?, year in review

The K-drama world rolled into 2008 still riding the high that was 2007, a year in which a startling number of quality dramas were made, and enjoyed. Maybe it rolled in too fast. It ended up getting smothered by the waves of its previous success. In fact, you could say that it even got hit on the head by a stray surfboard, and sunk to the bottom of the ocean.

Depressing enough intro for ya?

But seriously, 2008 was a dark year for the K-entertainment industry, with not only dramas, but also movies suffering and generally showing poor quality. And not only that, but the economy went kablooie, and we suffered a sobering amount of tragic K-celebrity news.

Personally, this was a supremely frustrating year for a longtime and devoted K-drama fan like me. Before this year, I always gave dramas the benefit of the doubt, and would usually watch at least a certain number of episodes before I passed judgment on them, and decided to continue or discontinue watching. But this year, with every stomach-churning dud, I became more and more impatient, and started going through drama episodes like a vulture searching for roadkill. And boy, did I find a lot of roadkill.

I’m pretty sure 2008 was a record year for me in terms of abandoning dramas. And to think that I used to be the girl who would finish every drama she started, no matter how bad or how boring they were! But the older I get, the less patience I have, and the more critical I become. Besides, I’ve now realized just how precious my time really is. I don’t want to waste it on useless pap, thankyouverymuch.

Still, despite all that, there were a small handful of quality dramas this year. None of them quite matched the heights of some of the dramas of 2007, but still, any kind of quality was more than welcome in this gloomy year.

SONG OF THE DAY

La Dolce Vita – “사랑 꽃” (Love Flower) [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Dahee Fanel’s 2008 Review [Year in Review, Part 3] (4,255 words)

© Dahee_Fanel for Dramabeans, 2008. | Permalink | 57 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: A Star's Lover, Beethoven Virus, East of Eden, guest bloggers, I Love You, Iljimae, Kingdom of Wind, La Dolce Vita, My Sweet Seoul, On Air, Rivals, Spotlight, Strongest Chil Woo, Tazza, The Painter of Wind, The World They Live In, When Night Comes, Who Are You?, year in review

How should one convey bad news in writing? By creating a buffer first. Avoid traumatizing your audience with the bad news all at once, but instead cushion the blow so that you can maintain goodwill. That textbook approach (business communication, by the way) would be dandy if the crop of 2008 dramas I watched was anything like the stellar quality of 2007. But no, this was a harvest to make one downright grumpy.

This time last year, eight dramas vied to be in my Top 3. Even the ones that disappointed weren’t half bad and at least I finished them. Not this year. I picked up around twenty dramas and dropped at least fifteen. “Dropped” is putting it mildly. I ran from some of them like a kid fleeing an apparition: hands in the air and hair standing on end. As the year wore on, my patience wore thin and my grumpiness increased.

So, no, I can’t use the buffer approach when reviewing this year’s dramas. Hedging doesn’t work for this grumpy cookie. I will present to you the worst dramas first, followed by the so-so ones, and then the few gems of 2008. Even though the year was overcast and gloomy, the sun broke through the clouds occasionally and when it did the effect was glorious. Let’s get the bad news out of the way and we can enjoy the good stuff, shall we?

SONG OF THE DAY

Jin Yi-han – “This is the Moment” which he sang (live!) in Episode 3 of Who Are You. [ Download ]

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Read the rest of A Grump Reviews 2008 [Year in Review, Part 2] (4,881 words)

© thunderbolt for Dramabeans, 2008. | Permalink | 87 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Beethoven Virus, Bulhandang/Robbers, Conspiracy in the Court, East of Eden, Gourmet, guest bloggers, Hong Gil Dong, I Love You, Kingdom of Wind, La Dolce Vita, On Air, One Mom, Rivals, Strongest Chil Woo, The Last Scandal of My Life, The Painter of Wind, The World They Live In, Three Dads, One Mom, Who Are You?, year in review

Won Bin — who’s kept a low profile in recent months (years, even) — surprised everyone by showing up to the set of The World They Live In to lend some moral support for his former co-star, Song Hye-gyo, and the staff of her current drama.

The series had been filming at one café in the Apgujung neighborhood of Seoul’s Kangnam district when Won Bin made a surprise appearance. As you may know, Won Bin and Song Hye-gyo had starred together in 2000 in the early Hallyu hit melodrama Autumn Fairy Tale, back when both were early in their careers. They’re currently represented by the same management company, and Won Bin is said to be good friends with the drama’s director, PD Kim Kyu-tae. One source said that Won Bin’s presence livened the atmosphere and encouraged them as they worked.

With a month left in the drama and the ratings down in the single digits (hovering around 5%), The World They Live In is at least being recognized for the quality of its writing and production, as well as Hyun Bin’s acting growth.

Via Star News

RELATED POSTS

• “World” gets a music video
• The World They Live In: Episode 1
• First look at Won Bin’s “Mother”
• The house that Won Bin built

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2008. | Permalink | 27 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Song Hye-gyo, The World They Live In, Won Bin

First of all I would like to thank Javabeans for allowing me to continue the recaps.

I wanted to continue the recaps because I believe this drama is worth watching. It may not be as dramatic, funny or have lots of action like other dramas but it has that reality touch. The couples act like real couples and the characters all have different problems that we sometimes face. I do admit that sometimes the episodes can get a little boring but the story is still good. So folks lets give this drama another chance because it deserves it.

I’ll start on episode 6 now.

SONG OF THE DAY

The World They Live In OST – “Lalala… Love Song” by As One, which is a version of the series theme song. [ Download ]

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Read the rest of The World They Live In: Episode 6 (2,331 words)

© Mararu for Dramabeans, 2008. | Permalink | 54 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: episode recaps, guest bloggers, Hyun Bin, Song Hye-gyo, The World They Live In

The World They Live In is getting trounced in the ratings, but it’s still putting out a music video, perhaps in an attempt to raise its profile. (By the way, I’m working on getting guest recappers on board to take over the series, so if we’re lucky things may get back on track soon.)

Ballad singer Sung Shi-kyung is currently serving his civic obligation in the military, but he’ll have an indirect hand in the music video — he sang the OST song it’ll feature, “연연” (”light and beautiful”).

The reason I’m skeptical of the MV as a last-ditch promo tool is because it doesn’t sound all that interesting: merely clips comprising Ji-oh and Joon-young’s love story (that’s Hyun Bin and Song Hye-gyo, for non-watchers out there) from the episodes that have already aired. With the singer away in the army and the two leads not adding new footage, this may just as well be a fan vid.

The MV will be released at the end of this month and featured on the show’s official homepage.

Via My Daily

SONG OF THE DAY

The World They Live In OST – “연연” by Sung Shi-kyung [ Download ]

RELATED POSTS

• It may be their world, but I’m no longer with it
• The World They Live In: Episode 5
• The World They Live In: Episode 4
• The World They Live In: Episode 3
• The World They Live In: Episode 2
• The World They Live In: Episode 1

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2008. | Permalink | 13 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: music videos, singers, The World They Live In

All right: After the third time trying to get through Episode 6, I think The World We Live In recaps are toast. Sorry, folks! I really thought I’d be able to stick it out, but a combination of not feeling the series, mixed with a general ennui, has convinced me that any recaps forthwith would be half-assed, and if there’s something I loathe, it’s half-assery.

It’s too bad, because I really, really enjoyed the first two episodes. I liked 3 & 4 a little less, but enough to continue. Alas, I liked 5 & 6 even less, and I don’t see this series picking up in a way that would re-engage me at this point. Some scenes are very well-written, but they come interspersed with some real snoozers.

If someone is interested in picking up the rest of the series, I’d be happy to post the recaps. But first, is that something you’d care for in the first place? (Multiple selections are enabled.)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2008. | Permalink | 79 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: bloggy, The World They Live In