On October 8, the 14th Pusan International Film Festival, or PIFF, opened in Busan. (Yes, the city takes a different official spelling than the film festival. Blame inconsistent Romanization.)

As the largest film festival in Korea, it drew a large list of attendees, as you can see from the long list of red-carpet walkers. It was definitely a star-studded opening night, and even included one familiar Hollywood face (Josh Hartnett).

This year’s PIFF features its largest lineup to date, screening 355 films from 70 countries, and closes on the 16th.

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Filed under: Chungmuro/Film by javabeans - 80 Comments →

KBS has planned an extension for SSPH?! I don’t know how I feel about that as I think the recent storylines have been dragged out a little too long as it is. But, overall, I’m still enjoying the show so hopefully it won’t wear out its welcome. And, if anything, it helps me feel like I’m a little less behind in my recaps. Hehe. On with the show!

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Filed under: Drama Recaps by smallfish - 15 Comments →

I gotta say, the storyline about Dad Song and Dad Oh’s history that’s developed in the next batch of episodes is probably one of my least favorite parts about this show. I thought it was a bit too pedestrian, and frankly, it’s not all that convincing (more on that after the recaps). But luckily, the other subplots more than make up for it (e.g., Sun-pung and Eun-ji’s love affair/internet scandal) and the show is still really enjoyable.

So, without further ado…

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Filed under: Drama Recaps by smallfish - 15 Comments →

Hi, I’m smallfish and I’ll be your friendly guide through the rest of Sons of Sol Pharmacy House. Thanks so much Javabeans, for giving me room to summarize, analyze and pontificate on your site!

To give some context for what I write about this series, Sons of Sol Pharmacy House is the first long family series K-drama I’ve watched. While I guess I’m technically an ajummah (having an ajuhssi to call my very own– not that I’ve been one for very long), I’ve always avoided the ajummah dramas and only ever really enjoyed trendy dramas, so stumbling on SSPH and enjoying it this much is a total shocker to me. What I appreciate about this drama is that although it includes a lot of the same K-drama cliches (love triangles, terminal illnesses, etc.), it doesn’t get mired in melodrama and still manages to stay light, funny and fresh, while incorporating a lot of the heart that I know and love about Korean families. I hope to do the series justice!

SONS OF SOL PHARMACY Episodes 17-18 >>

Filed under: Drama Recaps by smallfish - 31 Comments →

I’m terribly behind on recaps for Sons of Sol Pharmacy, and that is a grand freaking shame because I’m still very much enjoying this funny, heartwarming drama. This is such an easy-to-watch, pleasant show that zips along quickly that I feel bad about getting so far behind (in recaps, that is — I’m mostly caught up on the episodes).

Thankfully, a guest blogger, smallfish, has agreed to take over for this drama (this will be my last Sol Pharmacy post), so I hope you’ll enjoy reading her recaps! I’m actually pretty sure I’ll watch this through the end, but having someone else take over may give it more of the attention it deserves. So keep an eye out for smallfish’s posts in the future!

SONG OF THE DAY

Byul – “Kiss Day” [ Download ]

SONS OF SOL PHARMACY Episodes 13-16 >>

Filed under: Drama Recaps by javabeans - 15 Comments →