Hi Cynurse

@6 So you are also from Pinas, kumusta ka? I so totally agree with you, I stopped watching Kdramas on local TV dubbed in Tagalog because the voice talent can be so annoying. The lead actor sounds like a whiny man/child. Distracting from the character supposedly being portrayed.

Weather is still very hot but al least now we get showers (light rains) in the afternoon, cools down the temperature.

Whenever a Korean who has never been to the Philippines asks me if we have four seasons like in their country, I always reply, yes of course. We have hot season, very hot season (March to 2nd week of April), wet season and very wet season (June July). The big difference is that the four seasons interlap each other unlike in their country its in chronological order. We average 26 typhoons a year, here typhoons are named in alphabetical order, so if by December we are still in letter "P" for example, that means we are below average. In the same token if its only October and we started naming our typhoon with a letter "a" that means we surpass our average.

So far have'nt had a typhoon for 2009.

@38 cecee

I agree with you totally. Que Sera Sera was a great series (although I found it a bit hard to get into the first episode, but after that it is really well done.) Eric Mun really impressed me as an actor ( I didn't even know at that point that he was a singer.) The movie, "The Classic" was really, really good...makes you laugh and CRY! (Another great movie:"When I turned 9")

@100 I sincerely apologize. I used the word because I felt it best described what I knew of the story. I didn't use it for its negative connotation. I wasn't sure what type of disability it was. I wasn't by any means trying to offend. Its one of those words like "retard" I suppose. I work with the mentally retarded and I have no problem with the word, for its a reality, but when others use it as a ridicule or a pun its very angering.

I am happy to hear though that it was a success and the Bambino didn't make you cringe with disappointment. I guess we all get that way when our culture comes into question. Like I said I haven't seen either but I hope to in future.

@sere,

I think what bothered me about Bambino was, well, the foods were kinda easy. Pasta is usually on a menu because it's low cost, high profit, and well kinda low effort for a trained chef. The trickiest part is making the pasta al dente with all the chaos around you.

@Rachel,

"Do the cast members of korean dramas usually get their script at the last minute(let’s say about a week before filming). I mean, wouldn’t it be kind of harsh on the actors and actresses?"

Toward the last 1/3 of the show, it's the norm. It's called "live shoot", which is similar to how daytime TV is done in the States (though usually it's 2 weeks before the official shoot day.) The Iljimae final was finished only a few hours before the actual airing time. You don't get a lot of rehearsal time, and if there's a lot of rewrites, you can visibily pick up the character being tweaked. Many actors, such as Jeon Do-Yeon and Im Soo Jung, talk about how they struggle nailing down their TV characters as opposed to film because they only get so much time to rehearse, converse with the director, and nail down the take.

@103 thisiswhyi'mbehindonmymastersthesis
It's ok. I honestly wasn't mad at you. I was just stating a fact...or rather, I was letting you guys know a pet-peeve of mine. ;) Sorry, it's still a touchy topic for me so maybe I didn't make myself clear in my haste to reply. ;) But honestly, no harm done.

@Belleza
I know what you mean. The kind of pasta they served was bland for a top-notch popular restaurant (eh, I can do it myself!). Plus they showed always the same 3 recipes, boooring! Pasta can be tricky and very original (just think of how many combinations -traditional or otherwise- there are just for dumplings) if done well. I would have liked to see Bambi fold some tortellinis, maybe even create something very unique (say pasta dough flavored with cacao, filled with fish. FYI, that's an honest to god recipe I saw on tv a few days ago and it looked...eccentric, but oddly yummy). They didn't show that and that was a pity. I would've liked the drama to be a bit more daring, but I guess Italian food was...exotic and strange enough for the average Japanese? hmm

Hi Everyone! An-Nyung!

Okay, so my wife and I just finished Super Rookie about 10 mins ago.

You can look at my list (above, @22) of recent dramas that I have seen.

Without a doubt, Super Rookie had the HAPPIEST ending of all the dramas that we've watched so far. Happier than Coffee Prince, more fun than Full House or Goong, happier than Choon Hyang or even My Girl.

My wife and I both CHEERED LIKE CRAZY during the last episode. My wife and I were giving each other "high fives" and yelling "MAN SEH!!!!!!!"

Okay? If you want a happy ending, and you want to cheer and be silly, then watch Super Rookie.

You know what? I don't care if its silly or unrealistic or whatever. The bottom line is that it made me feel good, I cared about the characters, and I was so happy for everybody in the end.

-Samsooki

@66 - Yep, I buy my DVD sets from yesasia, dvdasian, amazon.com, mostly. I hope I will be able to find authentic versions of all the ones I want to watch, and not the bootleg or low quality copies.

@76 - Jessica, my wife and I usually watch dramas with the English subtitles on, but we don't really read the subtitles unless there is a word we don't know. But, even "official" and "authentic" English translations can be wrong. I get a little annoyed when the English subtitles are just a loose translation - I usually say something like, "YA! That's NOT what he/she said!!"

@77 - Kobe. We didn't buy Snow Queen, but we have it because we have NetFlix and Netflix has a lot of Korean dramas and movies too. So far, we've just seen a few episodes, so we don't know what will happen yet (the competitor student commited suicide and Hyun Bin is like a bum now, a few years later, that's all I know.

But if it IS sad, someone has to tell me quickly, so I will stop watching it and just send it back to Netflix!!!

@83 - budsdiana. I collect the DVD sets because then I can lend them to my wife's parents and then to my parents, and even to my sister and my friends. For instance, I bought TWO sets of MNIKSS and BOTH DVD sets have already been loaned out. My sister has one set, and a friend has one set. I learned about mysoju.com a few weeks ago, but the quality isn't so great. Hard to watch it on a computer, and if you blow it up to our TV, it doesn't look so good either.

@89 - CyNurse, yeah, we are kind of spending a bit of money on k-dramas. BUT, on the other hand, we rarely go out to eat for dinner and I save money in other ways in order to sacrifice so that we can buy the k-dramas without regret. Some people play golf ($100+ per round), some people spend money at restaurants or at bars, and some folks, like us, we buy k-dramas and then watch them with friends and share them with our families/friends.

****

We are now waiting on Sweet Spy to arrive from YesAsia.com, and then I guess the next one will be Soulmate.

THREE CHEERS FOR ERIC MUN! Awesome job in Super Rookie.

-Samsooki

It looks like its gonna rain here in Perth. cant wait for final eps of bbf..... so much suspense. Australia really doesnt have enough variety in their dramas... so boring...

@ Bonnie
I totally agree with you!!! I'm @ Melb now
the dramas are really boring...they keep repeating the same things....
CAn't wait for Park Yong Ha's "Man's Story" or maybe should be called " The Slingshot"...
fighting Park Yong Ha!!!

--Figure Skatin Talking--
Rachel Flatt -- She was incredible in her routine, and her stamina was just amazing.. She left some of the toughest combinations at the end of her routine, but she stuck them as if it was the beginning. She felt the music, the transitions were beautiful, her spirals were tight, and her holds through the ice were Kwan-esque (I think she's being coached by Caroll.)

Mao Asada -- Mao's performance reflects story of the past season. And that story has been about her nerves. Her jumps are still the best in the world (first to do 3-3s), the height, balance, and ease of the landing. Her blade work is still the best in the world, and her spins have such incredible lightness that it's as if feels improvised, as if she's almost rushing it. But, her nerves are always on show and when she couldn't land her triple, it was over. And you can see her gasping toward the end trying to finish the performance.

Joannie Rochette -- Actually I thought she had the best choreography. It was detailed, expressive, and it enabled Joannie to demonstrate a maturity of expression that was mostly lacking from everybody else. She didn't land cleanly, and her triple turned into a double.

Miki Ando -- OKay, I thought the US interpretators were too harsh about the lack of artrisry in Miki's program. Her personality is unusually fiery for a Japanese figure skater, and in that sense, I thought she did well enough to convey the music. In any case, she stuck her jumps

Kim Yuna -- I've already yapped about the Kim Yuna Experience, and tonight was frankly not her best (a triple becoming a single.) But STILL. She not only had the best program tonight, the highest score ever (and breaking 200 by a very, very wide margin), but tonight after a whirlwind of a year where Yuna finally was healthy, felt comfortable in her growing body and started beating Mao regularly in competitions, she was officially coronated as the World's Greateste Skater. And not only that, The Kim Yuna Experience was officially coronated as The Greatest Show on Ice.

Where much of ice skating before is a combination of martial jumps and appeals to the crowd and flourishes adjunct to the music, Yuna's artistry has an otherness about it. As she gets mature, it grows more deeply felt without being emotive. It is not so much about joy, as it is about the sensual pleasure. And, yes, there's a slightly erotic quality to her interpretations, as if she is feel the music course through her body and in turn giving her power to propulse through the jumps. Therefore it's not conventionally graceful; it's forceful, full of weight, power, and again pure pleasure. Not lightness but power, not merely command but an ineffable pull from audience toward performer.

At any case, from now to next February, she officially is the leader by which all the other competitors will have to raise their game. But, more than that, the figure skating world is already speaking of her in terms of potential greatness, of changing the artistic and technical expectations of figure skating, of redeeming this crazy scoring skating system.

@ Bony & Wollie

I've lived in Melbourne for almost 25 years and I find Australian TV shows one of the worst in the developed world. I don't think I have ever watched anything homegrown that I have enjoyed.

Thank god for K-dramas!

Last Figure Skating Post. Promise!!

First. For us Yanks, here's the medal podium ceremony that wasn't shown on NBC.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNjKFrPkJY0&fmt=18

(big night for Canadian skating in general too. Been 20 years since a Canadian female skater has landed a medal. And of course, Yuna Kim is coached by Brian Orser and her programs are choreographed by David Wilson. And I mean, really, the two best choreographed programs were easily Rochette's and Kim's)

Yuna Kim's Long Program
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TiCV5HESQk

WG's "Nobody" on ice
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeNwrD7zMKY&fmt=18

These are from the "Angels on Ice" shows that Yuna did with Johnny Weir. (Johnny is such a sweetheart!! I love the chemistry between them.)

WG's Nobody on ice. The children skaters were extra cute.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oe6ujPlqHaA&fmt=22

Her side career as "that skater who sounds like Tae Yeon" (never. had. vocal training?!? )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NujnPBFCQ_c&fmt=18

@Samsookie. Ahaha, omg, I thought you meant the jdorama Rookies *headdesk* I've added Super Rookie to my list, thank you VERY much! It really does sounds like something i might like. Oh hey, keep sharing with family and friends, that's such a sweet thing you and your wife are doing! I wish I had a relative just like you. Fighting!

@ Kobe
I've watched a few seasons of "Mcleod's daughters" and that wasn't so bad. True, it went downhill, but the first few seasons were addicting.

To all of u guys, do u know where i can watch BBF online with english subbing? I have tried viikii and mysoju, but it didnt work for me. FYI, I live outside US. Thanks for ur help.

@nanun
Have you tried crunchyroll.com, dramacrazy.net or veoh tv?

@s:
veov is not available in my country (i dont know why, maybe bcoz the piracy thing). i will check crunchyroll and dramacrazy. Thanks S:)

Samsooki - I already received my copy of Bad Family and it seems authentic as far as I know. Watched it already and while the subs aren't perfect, the quailty of the picture was great. Professional looking box set unlike my copy of "Full House" where the dvd's & plastic box looked like they were self-printed off of a color printer and I paid waaaaay more for it on Amazon. Hope this helps!

B020, thanks for the update.

I got my copy of Full House from DVDAsian, and it came in the light mauve (like a really light purple) hard box. This is the official US release version. The version you got looks to be a bootleg copy.

Amazon.com doesn't actually sell Full House, I don't think. They merely advertise that you can get it from various sellers like "megavdvds" or whoever. If I am not mistaken, the rainbow colored box cover from megavdvds is practically entirely written in Chinese, another dead-giveaway that its not authentic.

As for getting "Bad Family" drama series from ebay seller i_eat_you_eat for $16.95.... this is really problematic for me.

1. I would bet money that the version being sold isn't an authentic, authorized DVD version of Bad Family for release in the United States. There is no way that an entire drama series will only cost $16.95.

2. That means its a boot-leg copy, with sloppy English sub-titles, made on someone's computer and then burned on DVDs and sold as Region 0 (or Region Free) encoded DVDs.

***

Unfortunately, I can't find the Bad Family DVD set anywhere. I don't think they released an official version for Region 1. And, it is highly, highly unlikely that they will do so now, years after original release.

So, what to do? Buy a pirated, unregulated copy of something that isn't being released anyway, or watch it online or buy the Region 3 DVD and then watch it on my home computer and not have any English subtitles at alll......

-Samsooki

Hello everyone!

I'm new here and quite surprised that there are so many ppl who loves kdrama. I see some ppl who have seen more dramas then I have. I'm Korean, and though I visited some countries for trip, I have never lived in other countries...I've heard there are ppl who likes kdrama in the world, but seeing the 'living proof' is very interesting. For me, it's quite nice to read posts about familiar things with quite difficult English - for me - . I added this site to my favourites.

oh, and if you are fluent in Korean (although the chances are low), I recommand this site (http://10asia.co.kr). It's a good site where good and famous critic write about Korean pop culture. Sections like '10 lines' (e.g. - http://10.asiae.co.kr/Articles/view.php?tsc=002001000&a_id=2009030908593581251)are popular.

What I really loved kdrama was 'L'heure entre chien et loup(The time of dog and wolf)' but I see nothing of it. It broadcasted in the same time with 'Coffee Prince' so it wasn't popular that time but there are a lot of ppl who has mania for it so check it.

HI there,
I'm new here and I wrote a message and it says it's uploaded but i can't find my thread. Do you see it?

Oops! It seems like it takes time to be uploaded :$. I had no intend to write three threads once at a time...i'm a bit ambarassed. So let me inform you one more good site. For someone who interested in Korean music, there is a good db. It shows covers, albums, and very short explanation of artists. (http://www.maniadb.com) You'll find 'IT', whatever it is.

JY:

Welcome, I hope you visit this site often and leave messages.

I hope you will also share your thoughts about various Korean dramas and also about what you think other people in Korea think.

Where are you from in Korea? Your English is quite good, where did you learn to write so well? What Korean dramas do you like (other than Time Between Dog and Wolf)?

-Samsooki

Samsooki:

Hello ;) I was waiting someone to reply me! haha. I'm in Seoul. Thank you for the good words about my English. I like studying foreign languages, and I learned Chinese, French, Japanese too. However I can't speak those since I learned them only for a semester, but I can speak English because I've learned that more than 10 years. I was nervous to write here in English since I haven't speak or write in English for about 2 years , so I know there IS some mistakes which I can't notice. But for now, I'm flatterd :D

I actually don't watch dramas or movies a lot. I rather have an interest in music and books. Anyway I 've watched some dramas like other people in Korea, and what I liked is: '변호사들(Lawyers)', '열여덟스물아홉(18 vs. 29)' '바람의 화원(The painter of wind)'. First two are quite old ones, and the last one is the lastest (for me) . 'Boys Before Flowers' was a big hit in Korea, but many people didn't like its childish settings and storyline. They do love BBF but still feel ashamed of it at the same time, and they wish it not to be sold in foreign countries. However I discovered - from this site - everybody is watching it at the same time we watch the show. It was very funny for me.

Like you love kdrams, Koreans love wacthing japanese /American/British/Chinese dramas. My sister loves gossip girl. Now I feel like I'm a global citizen! :P