@Samsooki,

Thanks for sharing something about you and your then wife-to-be. And here I was thinking, the setting is just right for a kdrama. LOL!

@Belleza,
What?! Belleza has nothing worthwhile to say? That's a nightmare!

@JB and Sere,
I have agreed with a lot what both of you said regarding whatever have been commented so far. One has to tread carefully with HGD. After watching Sung Yuri in One Fine Day or Snow Queen, I was a bit hesitant about starting HGD but decided to give it a chance anyway. HGD did surprise me. Sung Yuri also surprised me and redeemed herself as an actor, well at least to me.

I am also surprising myself that in the last few months of reading this blog, I have come to "know" so many through their posts. And I am probably halfway across the world from where most of you reside.

I wasn't really sharing for the sake of sharing, just more by way of explanation.

K-dramas are so stylized now, and what people expect out of so-called "love triangles" in dramas is so clean cut and compartmentalized. The reality for many people, including me, is that romantic relationships have been all sorts of ugly messy greedy filled with dreams and hopes - all of which cannot come true at the same time and in the end there are no good or bad people, just stupid people who should have all had their asses kicked by more mature versions of themselves.

I think I like k-dramas because they are little pieces of fantasy that touches issues of love and life, mostly without getting dirty, mostly without permanent scars. In reality, we walk through the flower gardens and we trample dreams of others and even our own dreams without thinking. We hurt as much as we help most of the time, and at least for me, now I tiptoe through life so as to not hurt anyone, because we are all individually responsible for the wake of potential destruction we leave behind.

I just like stories of love where, whether ending in tragedy or happiness, the stories and the people are blameless.

Oh btw, I figured out what unknown drama I was referring to earlier - Temptation of Wife. I saw it again last night, and the story is exactly the kind of drama I wouldn't watch for so many reasons. LOL.

-samsooki.

@198, Sere -

How am I supposed to be cautious when watching HGD? I feel apprehensive now. With all the warnings I've received, I am now expecting a mailbomb rather than a DVD package. And we will now watch HGD from behind the sofa rather than from the sofa. :)

@ 201, Omo -

My life is no k-drama. It's just a mistake-filled journey into maturation. =)

***

Re: Temptation of Wife. I've now seen like parts of maybe 4 episodes, and despite it being the opposite of what I like to see in K-dramas (over 100+ episodes, low production values, ridiculously unrealistic plot, super evil villains, over the top melodrama), it is hypnotic and very addictive for reasons I cannot easily explain. It comes on around midnight on the korean channels we get, and even though I should be sleeping, i watch at least 10 minutes of the show.

I read the synopsis of this daily drama just now, and basically, you have this pure innocent woman who gets completely trashed by her 100% tool of a rich husband and who suffers enormous loss emotionally due to incredibly tragic events, and is repeatedly humiliated and tortured by this evil woman who stole her husband and who was once her friend, and then now it is time for the pure and innocent woman to stop being so pure and innocent and get her revenge.

Or something like that.

I think the daily drama's ratings are now near 40%, which make it a smash hit, and I think if it continues to be on, I think I will continue to sneak peeks at the show, despite it being exactly the opposite of what I would watch....

-Samsooki

@ Samsooki - Hong Gil Dong is a fusion sageuk, so die-hard sageuk watchers won't be thrilled with the slapstick comedy and modern aspects. Secondly, some people did not like the ending, while others (myself included) found it to be simply beautiful.

Probably the last post for this open thread.

@ 203 Samsooki
Agreed. I don't think anyone can go through life without making mistakes. It's all part of a growing and maturing process. Indeed, people do change usually for the better and wiser.

Re : HGD - it can be a blast if you take it the light-hearted way. But there are lots of Kang Jihwan's sensitive scenes too.

From what you have written, you might be interested in Queen of Housewives.
At the start of the drama, the characters did not marry the person they thought they would end up with. 12 epis have aired and 8 more to go...hoping for a wholesome ending. I have also found Soulmate and What's up fox? to be alright but not ones that I would re-watch. They are just a tad too radical for my conservative mind.

Till the next open thread!