Perhaps you’ve seen that Glossary link in the menu to the left, languishing in neglect with nary an update. I decided, what better way to update than to expound upon those familiar kdrama terms and concepts in a Glossary Series? Because while longtime drama lovers may know exactly what a chaebol is, why pojangmachas rule, and why makjangs induce eye-rolls, sometimes we toss around these Korean terms freely without explanation. And we suspect (we being myself and girlfriday, of course!) that some people are left in confusion.

Hence: the Dramabeans (Extended) Glossary. First up in this ongoing series is that ubiquitous, loaded term that we see in practically every drama ever: “Oppa.”

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Read the rest of Glossary: Oppa (1,416 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2010. | Permalink | 167 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Bad Guy, Cinderella's Sister, Coffee Prince, My Girl, Triple

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)

© 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

Done! Finally!

I’m pretty conflicted about Triple‘s end — part of that has to do with the plot, but it’s more to do with the drama as a whole. More on that below.

SONG OF THE DAY

Triple OST – “짙은 바람” by Sub [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Triple: Episode 16 (Final) (3,780 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 33 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Kim Hee, Lee Hana, Lee Jung-jae, Lee Seon-kyun, Min Hyo-rin, Song Joong-ki, Triple, Yoon Kye-sang

I admit I approached Triple recaps with a bit of a “Let’s get this over with, sigh” attitude, but rewatching this episode reminded me of all the little touches that I enjoyed about it. I’ve been meaning to finish off this drama for ages, and never entertained the idea of dropping it. (Whereas, in contrast, I had to actively throw up my hands in frustration with My Sweet Seoul and A Star’s Lover because I just couldn’t keep going.) I feel bad about the delay because Triple is such an inoffensive show, and there are things I quite like about it, but I do think there are some fundamental issues that hindered it from being more — more memorable, more substantial, just more.

SONG OF THE DAY

Triple OST – “사랑은 지고 달빛은 빛나고” by Low-End Project [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Triple: Episode 15 (1,932 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 18 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Lee Hana, Lee Jung-jae, Lee Seon-kyun, Min Hyo-rin, Song Joong-ki, Triple, Yoon Kye-sang

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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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

2009 was supposed to be the year of the sports drama revival, and it has had its share of sports-themed series, with at least another still to come. Unfortunately, they’ve all tanked.

The two currently struggling on the air are SBS’s fighting drama Dream, which has settled around the 4% mark for the bulk of its run, and MBC’s soccer series Heading to the Ground, which kicked off with a 7.2%, which dropped to an inauspicious 5.6% for its second episode and heads into its second week today.

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Read the rest of Sports dramas struggle to stay in the game (577 words)

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Post tags: Dream, Heading to the Ground, Strike Love, Taereung National Village, The Last Match, Triple

Two more episodes left…

It’s almost odd how Triple is nearing its end but doesn’t feel like it’s winding down. Perhaps that’s because it’s already so meandering to begin with, and I don’t mean that as an insult. It’s that this drama is SO slice-of-life that you almost don’t see an end in sight, because there’s no neat wrap-up for these stories. It’s like we started the drama mid-scene, so we may as well end it similarly and let the characters continue living out their everyday lives. This quality is, in my opinion, both Triple‘s asset and its liability.

SONG OF THE DAY

Lee Seon-kyun – “소년” (Boy). This is Lee Seon-kyun’s re-recording of the 1993 Yoon Sang song originally sung by Kim Hyung-joong of EOS (original version here). I actually like the other version better as a song, but I do love Lee Seon-kyun’s voice in just about anything. [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Triple: Episode 14 (1,938 words)

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Post tags: Kim Hee, Lee Hana, Lee Jung-jae, Lee Seon-kyun, Min Hyo-rin, Triple, Yoon Kye-sang

Only three more episodes to go…

I was watching this episode, again really pleased with the visual palette, the acting of Lee Jung-jae and his interactions with Min Hyo-rin, the cute and resilient Poong-ho, and the lovely music. And those attributes just irritated me even more with the story, because Triple really, really deserved a better plot. It has everything but story, but unfortunately, that’s really the only one thing that’s essential.

SONG OF THE DAY

Triple OST – “Feel Alright” by Zitten [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Triple: Episode 13 (2,151 words)

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Post tags: Kim Hee, Lee Hana, Lee Jung-jae, Lee Seon-kyun, Min Hyo-rin, Triple, Yoon Kye-sang

It’s funny how I’ve actually enjoyed watching the individual episodes of Triple — and found myself smiling through a few scenes in this one, for example — but in the larger context, it all kind of blurs together. How can something be pleasant and yet also dull? Or be refreshing and yet fail to make any sort of lasting impression? It’s a curious contradiction.

SONG OF THE DAY

Triple OST – Zitten – “Because” [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Triple: Episode 12 (2,906 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 26 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Kim Hee, Lee Hana, Lee Jung-jae, Lee Seon-kyun, Min Hyo-rin, Triple, Yoon Kye-sang

Triple is ending this week, and while I’ve enjoyed watching it, I’m finding that I’m in no rush to finish it. I think it’s because it feels like this series has been treading water for a while now. Yes, I understand that it’s a less-plot-driven, more slice-of-life sort of drama, but slice-of-life dramas still have to go somewhere. This meandering is both Triple‘s charm and its weakness; on one hand, it IS refreshing to watch relationships unfold without necessarily knowing exactly how the ending will turn out. On the downside, however, this is still a television series on a broadcast station that relies on the attention of its audience to stay afloat.

SONG OF THE DAY

Sung Shi-kyung – “Baby You Are Beautiful” [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Triple: Episode 11 (2,870 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 38 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Kim Hee, Lee Hana, Lee Jung-jae, Lee Seon-kyun, Min Hyo-rin, Triple, Yoon Kye-sang