@mookie,

"more on your thoughts on jejoongwon?!!? "

Just finished the first episode of Jejoongwon. Very promising start.

First off, the camera work is GREAT. Not in a "ooh look at the pretty stuff our budget paid for" way, but in a Clint Eastwood "tell your story, believe in it, and don't oversell it " way. For example, there's this awesome tracking shot that follows the lead character through the village. And this is important, because later there is another tracking shot that follow him to the outskirts of the village . . . where the new Western hospital is being built. The contrast is jarring, but it's done so matter-of-factly. Think of it like City of God -- you spend almost the whole movie in the shanty town, and then when you're taken just outside of the neighborhood, you realize that there's completely different world next door. There's great use of establishing and wide shots to give you quick assessments of how run-down or "backward" the village is, in contrast to the newest development coming in. By halfway through the episode, I really feel like I've lived in this village where the hospital will be built. Also the pans used in the interiors enhance the space of the interiors. There's a fight scene, and one you'll really notice is where he places the camera (somewhat above eye level, so that you're slightly looking down) to enhance depth perception, so that the fight scene looks "live" or "real."

Very disciplined and smart work from the direction.

The tone is mostly light at first, but not cartoony. The themes aren't new. There's strong differences of class, Japanese condescension, clash of Western technique and Eastern notion of the sanctity of body, etc. Again, nothing new -- but nothing is sledgehammered into you. It's allowed to kinda exist within the parameters of the show, and in that the gentle, warm tone of the show (truly, the show smells like fresh air and earth and optimism) beguiles you as the darker stuff quietly creeps in.

Tone grows sadder as the episode progresses, and it ends in a dark place. But what's so marvelous is the show's restraint, which reflects into the acting, music, narrative choices. Usually your underdog Korean characters have a bit of a rattler; there's an inner fire or pride that informs us how they'll overcome hardship. But not here. Park Yong Woo really nails down his character as a decent, thoughtful everyman. It's a warm, loving performance here.

I think East of Eden improved Yeon Jung Hoon as an actor, because he's in fine form here. Relaxed, charming, ambitious, casual . . . and then at the end of the episode uhhh . . . He doesn't try to go for an effect here, and he doesn't posture, which has been the case in his previous shows.

Han Hye Jin only appears very shortly. There's a bit of the Kim Tae Hee curse going on here. Her eyes beams with a cold, numbing intensity that's dissonant/inappropriate with the appearance she makes here. I hope she dials it down a bit; she doesn't need to be the future found of Paekche here, you know?

OMG! Dae Sung can really sing! and soooooooooo adorable!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JLff0H1fxg&feature=related.

OK, I'd better quit and go to bed(after having wasted 20" of silver wire, sigh...)

@ 250 belleza

I forgot you're only at Ep 2 of City Hall. Just checked dramawiki: that was indeed Tak Jae Hoon's cameo turn as the doctor oppa in CH, see http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Tak_Jae_Hoon

@ ockoala

I second and third "JWS as Linghu Chong". Also love your casting of Joe, Ariel and Jiro for LCOH. I have no idea how Ariel - being a smart girl in real life - could pull out a dumb Xiang Jiang so successfully. If she can command Huang Rong well, then she is definitely one of the best actresses of her generation. Definitely will get the LCOH08 DVD when next going to China/HK.

@ Pasta

Anyone knows where to watch this with sub???

I'm really enjoying all the discussions here but work life has been so aweful lately that I could lurk around than contributing much. Love you all.

Currently watching Boku no Imoto. It's a mystery drama, dysfunctional family drama, hospital drama, revenge drama, yakuza drama, thriller, comedy with deaths. For me, this drama really, really walks that line between being a mess of meta self indulgence and being amazingly engrossing. The transitions are abrupt, but not implausible, and Joe Odagiri plays along with finesse while staying as one character. It's just that the psychology seems utterly sham . . . or does it? You have a brother and sister who also acts out father and mother roles. Is everything we're seeing part of a continuous chain of acting out, especially by the younger sister, recycled into persistent role changing (caretaker, lover, baseball target?!?) from a unstable, dysfunctional family? Even the opening title image is dissonant with what follows.

The very fact that I can't put the into a box or four means that the show defeats genre for me, and that I have to watch this show without prejudice. Even if the show isn't very good (or maybe it is?), the watching is still very very good. Huh.

@epyc,

You may be able to watch Pasta w/ subs at viikii. That is, if it passes through the new "Translators Only" rules.

Just watched Ep 1 of Pasta without sub.... it is pretty good. The chemistry betwen GHJ and LKS is instant the minute they burst onto the scene together. The drama does have that delightful feel from Coffee Prince. I'm dying to know what they are talking about. Hope Viikii will take this up. And 'Lee Jung Do' from City Hall is in this drama too although it is not yet quite clear what his true character will be.

@ 292 belleza

Wow.....it's like....wow, speechless with happiness. And the songs starts off with my beloved robot Seung Song-heon, sigh. He even looks robotic when singing, why does he have to look so perfectly TW-idolish in looks, again, he's like Wu Zhun's hyung (have you seen Fareinheit videos, they totally look identical when singing!).

Happy happy again!

@ epyc

Knowing you've watched all the old TVB LC adaptations, 2008 LoCH is freaking awesome! Not classic, but revolutionary. It dares to violate canon (but always in little ways and never to the point where you feel completely unable to accept what you are seeing on screen). Watch it, buy it, whatever you can to get a copy of it, it's addicting.

Ariel Lin is just a joy to watch as Huang Rong - @ mookie, the scene when she's cooking for Hong Chi-gong, yeah, the dishes may not look heavenly as described, but she NAILED the scene ("Wrong. Jing ge-ge, throw it away!" I am in so loving her ever glance and head tilt).

And they are making me CARE about Yang Kang, god I never thought it was possible to give that boy shades of gray and red and blue and all sorts of heartfelt emotion. I'm going to hate on them when YK is forced to the dark side, and he will be forced, no doubt about it, this YK is the one Louis Cha refused to write, because its too complicated, he rather write a more one-dimensional alter-ego to Guo Jing.

The guy who plays YK, he's strangely very addicting to watch, his acting is, I can't describe it, he just draws your eyes to him. I can't say his the best looking YK (um, Michael Mui wins by the largest margin known to mankind on this one, TVB cast Gallen Lo as YK in the 1994 adaptation, and woah is he not good-looking), but he had this raw emotion kept in check that is simmering, whereas Michael's YK was all finesse and a deeply buried emotional turmoil.

Like I said, this version of LoCH is THE most like a k-drama I have ever seen for a wuxia adaptation.

Good morning!

@304 belleza

D you sleep?

and thanks again for the Lotte link! I LUV it.
After finishing Kikenna Aniki, I'll try Bokuno imouto, thank you for that as well. I just need somewhat OK Japanese soundtrack while working(need to practice adult manners of talking as well).

Meantime, as I'm having my breakfast I thought I can treat myself with K drama and searched for CITC. Somehow, no results. Where do you watch it, please! My mealtime is the only time for K drama for a while...

@301 Belleza,

thank you thank you. I'm agreeing with everything u've said. just finished ep1 jejoongwon, really loving the discipline fr the direction (and acting). I particularly liked that span when he's delivering the beef to the party, it's brilliant work, and it conveyed a 'Granny Liu entering the Rongguo House in Dream of the Red Chamber' to me. I'm just relieved I saw much more restraints with Yeon Jung Hoon's acting, esp in that ending scene, maybe that screen is a nec prop, but he's spot on, and gave a just right complexity of earnest grey to his character. Park Yong Woo is reminding me of KMM, even the physical resemblance, not sure if it's out of my fangirling of White Tower. He's totally pulling my heartstrings.

now Han Hye Jin.... gawd... it's almost like every time I saw her, she's falling down some hopeless abyss of glaring=acting. yes, she's just on very briefly in ep1, but the GLARE, at least KTH has the smiling eyes, which is not revolting to look at albeit inappropriate in the context of the scene, hers is of a st coldb8tch almost a sociopath-lite intense. It's very jarring to watch the scene when her character and YJH's interact with sweet (at least in intent), romantic nuances in that library and she somehow manages to smile so superficially saccharine with only her lower face muscles, while her eyes stayed calculated sternly cold... *shiver* I'm sorry, I can do without her romancing anybody. PYW/YJH bromance FTW.

@ockoala,
I did ff quite voraciously @LOCH08 later on, I have serious problems with the West and East greats acting (and lines, though I did roflmaf with the hilarity), BUT the YK/NC scenes were soo saucy and progressively intense... OMG
That actor playing YK, Yuan Hong, he has a sparkling intensity in his eyes and he's so unafraid to flaunt his easy player charm, that's bold. I find him quite a natural scene stealer, I dunno y further along the drama, my eyes r on him even when the writing geared towards the nonsensical. He reminds me of TVB Roy Lui's presence (and I find them having an uncanny resemblance).

It's actually to his benefit his look is less leading man in period pieces, more honorable nemesis/complex emotionally wounded baddie material, these roles are always so much more interesting (to watch and play) and easier to flex the acting, he had couple of very juicy roles (esp Yelu Xie in the young warriors of Yang Clan, he upstaged the WHOLE Yang Clan) which he's been allowed to steadily grow instead of say a HXM whom was shoved into leading roles way too soon due to his overrated popularity. (I'm sorry, he'll be totally in the AndyLau/LouisKoo category, they'll stay gorgeous but forever hammy). More rant: I still can't believe he played YG@RoCH and his WXB@DeerCauldron by the EXACT playbook...man, that's wayy beyond lazy even for such an attractive package.

@ mookie

"he’ll be totally in the AndyLau/LouisKoo category, they’ll stay gorgeous but forever hammy"

Mwah ha ha ha ha, you're killing me sister. Huang Xiao-ming - big giant sigh........ Such a manly, hunky package, not an ounce of craft and subtlety. You compare him to Andy Lau (Yang Guo in RoCH 1984) and Louis Koo (Yang Guo in RoCH 1994) - he's YG in RoCH 2006. Is it the curse of the Yang Guo?

He played YG like a combination of lovesick puppy and smirky playground clown. If he's even conveyed the right essence of Wei Xiao-bao, I'd eat my shorts! And HXM played Xu Wen-chiang, the iconic Bund hero made famous by Chow Yun-fat, as a lumbering slumbering piece of eye candy. I was like, poke my eyes out HXM, won't you, please?

Oh, and zero chemistry with ANY of his leading ladies, what gives? Whereas Yuan Hong, this young lad I've just discovered in RoCh 2008 - its exactly as you describe it - his intense charisma just radiates on screen, I wouldn't be surprised to hear they changed Yang Kang's story to give him more screen time. I'm very impressed, he started off a bit choppy, but by the scenes with Nianci and at Niu Family Village, he's firing on all cylinders.

And his wuxia moves are spectacular, way better than Hu Ge. He's singlehandedly making the Yang Spear Technique the *sexiest* kung fu moves I have ever seen. Wuxia is NOT meant to be sexy, it's supposed to be kick-ass. And he's making the actress who plays Nianci literally sweating with her panting after him, I swear, she's just dying to jump him. And, one more time, mookie, for our fan dreams - JOE CHENG as this version of Yang Kang will melt my eyeballs! If Yuan Hong is a 10/10, Joe would just make it a 20/10 and I would not allow my son to watch for fear he'd be burned from hearing mommy screech at the TV and try to make out with Joe on it.

Yuan Hong's natural easy player charm, as you call it, really is handed down from the Michael Miu school of player acting, i.e. natural born player. That's why MM can do hero player (Chor Leu Heung) and bad-ass player (Yang Kang) and succeed in both roundly. I have great anticipation of watching Yuan Hong in the future (may check out Yang's Clan just to see him). I've given up on HXM, and Hu Ge is just alright, and since you told me NOT to watch Chinese Paladin, I guess I'll have to pass.

Oh, and btw, my fave 1990s TVB leading man is Julian Cheung, Anita's husband. He's the boyish charm that to I just adore and want to pinch his cheeks.

Man, I love discovering new talent, I would have never meet ArJoe if my sister hadn't forced me to watch ISWAK in her Clockwork Orange way.

Oh and Han Hye-jin scares me, I watched her in Jumong, and I swear the air turned cold every time she came on screen. Please keep the Jejoonwon updates coming, mookie and belleza!

@ mookie

FYI, I read in searching more about Yuan Hong, this newbie to me, the following nugget of info:

"He wrote in his blog that he was originally offered the role of Yang Wu Lang (the 5th Yang Brother), but after reading the script, he insisted on playing the antagonist Yelu Xie (in the Young Yang's Clan). He jokingly said, "I'll bet everything I have, that as long as they don't get an imbecile to play the role, anyone will shine as Yelu Xie."

That shows me that this is one very smart and acting savvy kid. Role choosing is one of the pitfalls many actors face, as being offered the lead doesn't mean you should take. Finding the right role for your acting talents at a given time is such an inexact science.

I loved Jang Geun-soek as Hwang Tae-kyung, JGS picked the perfect role to rocket him to another level of stardom. Looks like if Hu Ge doesn't watch out, his classmate Yuan Hong is going to do a role reversal with him and get the leading man roles very very soon.

To me, Huang Xiao-ming and Hu Ge are inter-changeable in the tall, conventionally good looking leading man vibe (IMO, not a good thing), and only Yuan Hong as ever made me interested in a mainland young actor. He's a scene-stealer if ever there was one. On the k-drama side, I'm going to compare him to a Lee Cheon-hee, who is stealing the show in CitC for me, or a Bae Soo-bin in any drama he's been in. One phrase: "there is something about this guy" and you can't look away.

I rave about Ariel Lin as HR, well, Yuan Hong as YK is just getting better and better as I watch more of the drama. Better get my tissue box ready.

@ belleza 292 : yep, they sound cool in Japanese (not that I know anything, but it sounded good)... but I was a little distracted by the repeated pronunciation of Duty as Dew-dy. I'm sure my Korean singalongs over the dishes would cause a little earache, too, I freely admit.

Was that a song before it was a commercial or was it written for the commercial? It's boppy, I liked it.

^darn koalababe, u r so not being nice dangling ***JOECHANGasYK*** like one gorgeous yummy carrot at least once a day to which I have no defense.. *sigh*

my fear for Joe in YK though, he'll totally lampshade this NianChi... a only possible counterpart to a Joe's YK would be him crossdress as a NianChi in order to get some real tit for tat action btn the 2.

keke IF u still heart LoCH08 enough till the end, u'll have a BALL watching the Young Yang Clan.
First let me just point out HuGe, this YK and this NianChi (and juist to note the GuoXiang (Yang Mi) in RoCH06)...all these idols r managed not unlike a wannabe of Johnny's, they dominate the wuxia/period idol Cdrama, so there's always the kick to see all the alternate or repeated pairings jumping fr drama to drama.

Dad Yang in LOCH06 is Dad of YangClan (ie he's playing some grandgranddad of his LoCH counterpart)...whereas YK is playing Yelu Xie, nemesis of Sung empire and Yang Clan... so LOTS of fighting btn the 'father and son'...lol
Now fangirling: He has convincing and manly facial hair, some glorious braids + animal fur ...juxtaposing the Yang Clan in red flowery prints+orange and purples.. I bet he's given the costume designer plenty of his stares as well. Bear in mind he's still wet behind ears early 20s when he did the drama...but gosh, he's all animalistic SEX with his eyes (even when he's talking to an 8 yo he's sleazily kidnapped... give that baby a break, dude...) so yeah proceed with heaps of caution. Seriously, it's not a well written, convoluted drama by all means, Mr LC can finish the whole YangClan in 5 pp of one of his minor works.

Now a Michael Miu, lets face it, he's not that finesse an actor (but then IF he's stayed in the biz and got another 25 yrs under his belt... that we'll never know), but he's just BORN that handsome with that perfect nose and every bit the part of a lady killer (physically, he's my dreamboat in 5 tigers) ChorLiuXiang's weapon of mass destruction is his suave and his art of fanning a fan ala 3Kingdom's ZuGeLiang. MM looked the part just by showing up to own THE harem. All the ass kicking and the heroics of CLX were just means to the end of supplying his harem. So he's beyond competent in those earlier roles, but when he's in these recent TVB dramas....where he's playing more diverse roles... he is showing his lack of depth (but still beyond manly gorgeous...sigh....they do age like fine wine...)

I do think there's a 'curse' of Yang Guo, but it's only in the artistic growth of an actor. RoCH is arguable the most popular LC novel...even if not by headcount, the intense frenzied fangirling over the romance. And with every successful romance, the hero will be annointted sainthood, just like an Edward@twilight. Plus all these actors playing YG , the most crucial (and almost only) criteria they need is oozing natural charisma and a ravishing handsomeness, there's really not much complexity in the acting required, the plot will move him along to THE dreamboat status with some wild badboy-ness mixed in So these gorgeous boys started out as charming (non-threatening )heartthrobs.. elevated trillion folds to fangirl killing machines after this role and the guaranteed pension-esque popularity.... all that's left for them to cash it in is to show up for work constantly, they really can feed off this role for the rest of their careers

@ mookie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggA2VNeV16Y&feature=related

You're welcome. :-) Just a GREAT video, made exception by one of the best songs in Cantopop courtesy of the late great one and only Anita Mui. I dare say she died young because Leslie Cheung her male counterpart was no longer around.

Yes, to play Yang Guo of RoCH is in fact to essay the biggest loverboy to ever grace Chinese literature, second maybe to a dude is who a genuine pansy, so YG wins in my book. To play Yang Guo is a burden and a curse. Andy is still the best YG hands down.

As for the YT video above, I am lost - shipping YK/MNC this much feels like I've just betrayed every ounce of my drama-watching code of ethics. And yet, it feels so right, when Yuan Hong is on screen, I cannot look anywhere else. If Ariel wasn't killing it as Huang Rong, I'd be fast forwarding through ALL the scenes with HR/GJ.

Btw, I see a baby in the video, that means YK is going to meet YG, shit a box of tissues is not enough.

@ Kgirl

I forgot to mention that one reason I can't bring myself to watch LoCH 2003 Zhang Zi-zhong version is because Guo Jing is played by a dude who was 31, and Yang Kang by a dude who was 32! And they looked their age! Huge miscasting, GJ and YK are not yet 18 at the beginning of the drama, it's neigh impossible for me to get into their character when its like they should be playing Guo Xiao-tian and Yang Tie-xin.

I do need some adorable boys and girls to look their ages and for me to fangirl over.

＠313 momosan

Thank you! Are the file names exactly the same? That's when I screw up changing the file names...

I admit Seung Song-heon looks pretty hot in the lotte commercial though I'm not a fan. Park Yong Ha must be quite popular in japan since he got the most screen time. KJH has quite a nice voice.

@ mookie /belleza

"It’s very jarring to watch the scene when her character and YJH’s interact with sweet (at least in intent), romantic nuances in that library and she somehow manages to smile so superficially saccharine with only her lower face muscles, while her eyes stayed calculated sternly cold… *shiver* "

I didn't find her as creepy in Jumong probably because her role requires that kind of intensity but when I saw her in "Be Strong Guem Soon" I found her non-blinking eye stare coupled with her all knowing monalisa smile to be pretty creepy in a fanatical christian sort of way (sorry to all fanatical christians). Her acting and the way the writers wrote her character made her one of the most exceedingly annoying characters in my kdrama memory. Thankfully KJH was there to sweeten the experience. What a cutie.

@316 momosan

Thanks! and sorry for more questions. Does that mean I have to purchase the premium membership since the files are bigger than 1GB? have you???

I'm downloading Kouhakuutagassen right now, it's on the third day... so slow... 4GB. I don't usually care to watch this since I don't recognize half the singers. Just for DBSK and checking out Arashi's(first timers) performance.

I just can't get into work today since I've made a mistake this morning about 2am? wasted a good 20 inches of heavy sterling silver wire... So bummed out about it... For my attitude adjustment, I'm continuing on DJG. and am debating which one of Mon-Tuesday Kdrama I should reward myself to watch... Any recommendation? Pasta sounded good by JB's preview

^o PYH is huge in Japan. I bet every time the fanobasans see him, they saw a singing THE Yonsama and CJW's face melded tog on his instead.

'I am lost – shipping YK/MNC this much feels like I’ve just betrayed every ounce of my drama-watching code of ethics. And yet, it feels so right, when Yuan Hong is on screen, I cannot look anywhere else. If Ariel wasn’t killing it as Huang Rong, I’d be fast forwarding through ALL the scenes with HR/GJ.'

SEE TWIN... u snuffed out this butt of a joke side of myself I've been carefully, methodically hidden, nurtured and shameful of......near the end of LoCH08, I confess Reverend Mother: I...ff...to only YK scenes...*blashemy/shame/duck* actually more, I shipped OuYeungKe/NC later on. *sob* *but it feels so right....*
U know we 2 crazies fangirling over YK doesnt make it any right... *but it feels so right....*

@ momosan
"The secret is that CitC is at aja-aja.com and the subs are at withs2.com
Prepare to be assimilated. Resistance is futile."

LOL. But also so true! :D

@ celestialorigin

Welcome aboard the CitC ____.....(I can't think of a name for the club. Besides, CitC is too divine. No name could do it justice. ;) )

@ Samsooki
"CitC Eppie 7….

It’s almost too good to watch. I feel like I don’t deserve to be watching something so good.

In fact, I know it’s too good for me to watch. I watch CitC with a beggar’s furtive glance and burning embarassment for having besmirched a visage the likes of which have never been seen ere or since, when my eyes countenanced the dew-laden eyes of Lee Na Young. Nothing like it, absolutely nothing like it.

Have you ever seen a perfect episode? That’s CitC Eppie 7. From the gisaeng to PSG to the Queen Dowager, and every single person in between, the acting is superlative."

Reading this, I am grinning from ear to ear. :D :D :D
And just in time...hope you can finish ep.8 by tomorrow.

6 HOURS TILL CHUNO!!!

＠323 momosan

Thank you! again! I downloaded HJ split! It's already almost midnight and I have 11am appointment. I'd better go to sleep soon. Anyway, one step closer to watch.

Kouhaku wise, 88% downloaded, Yes, it's from torrent. I'll be in Japan by the time it's finished depending on my clients over there. I might leave on Thursday or Friday, I'd better call... Either case, I can transfer it to my laptop. Oh well, so much for DBSK.

@ Samsooki

"It’s almost too good to watch. I feel like I don’t deserve to be watching something so good."

Samsookie if you feel that bad, watch CitC with your hand out the window since we are having a cold east coast winter and we'll call it even-steven.

Funny how one line from an OT poster triggers a buried memory from 20 years ago. Here is JD Salinger's "Uncle WIggly in Connecticut".
----
Background: Eloise is telling her girlfriend a story about her boyfriend Walt who just got drafted during WWII and they were riding a train going from Trenton to New York during the winter.

"Well, he sort of had his hand on my stomach. You know. Anyway, all of a sudden he said my stomach was so beautiful he wished some officer would come up and order him to stick his other hand through the window. He said he wanted to do what was fair. "

*hugs* cingdoc, hope your mom and hubby r all better now. my thoughts with your cousin in law, stay strong. and it must be a relief your cousin is doing better! :)

on a much sillier fangirling note, binnieboy is rumored to be a gigilo/male escort/playboy in Manchu with Tang Wei. If this is true, I swear I'll quit rabid fangirling after for the entirety of this coming decade.

"PYH is huge in Japan."

Yup, he's a very popular balladeer in Japan. If he's not elite Hallyu in Nipon, he's very close.

When you look at Hallyu Japan, think of Song Seung Heon as the Frank Sinatra (or George Clooney) of the "Hallyu Rat Pack." In his inner circle (i.e. his brothers), you have Song Seung Heon, So Ji Sup, and Park Yong Ha. In addition, he is also tight friends with Kwon Sang Woo and Lee Byung Heon.

@Lotte Duty Free,

Huh, I just realized that many of y'all haven't heard the original version. This was actually a commercial CM for the Lotte department store in Seoul. Here's the original version in Korean.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXFVYhU4wLk

Obviously the Japanese version is meant to entice Japanese customers. The Lotte Corporation (which has branches in both Korea and Japan) owns Lotte World, one of the largest amusement parks in the world. You may recall that it was used extensively in Stairway to Heaven.

@K-pop and J-pop Fusion

Worth mentioning that when a lot of Korean singers do Japanese albums, they're doing J-pop (i.e. SS501.) They work with J-pop producers and their choreography, looks, and lyrical content are closer to the J-pop style. If you ever listened to Boa, her K-pop and J-pop are very different; her K-pop lyrics are much more sensual. Also, J-pop (reflecting rock influences) is often produced with the vocal parts not as aggressively as out in front, so you'll often be more aware of the string/guitar arrangements (i.e. the L-R ambient stuff.)

Here's SS501 covering the old Japanese standard Sukiyaki acapella (and they, like DBSK, can do strong acapella.) BTW, I think Kim Hyung Joong (not the one from BBF) eerily looks like Fukuyama Masaharu.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7PLSTxbKOo

From recent SS501's Japan concert DVD. (Wow, that's a lot of housewives :D )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0h--PE0VJKE

@cingdoc ,

Here's a personal favorite:

Gong Yoo singing the Korean (by Position) remake of Yutaka Ozaki's classic "I Love You." (Can you believe that Ozaki wrote the most famous love Japanese ballad of all time in his teens???)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYFS0_yPWqQ

"binnieboy is rumored to be a gigilo/male escort/playboy in Manchu with Tang Wei."

Oh gawd. :( Next you're going to tell me that So Ji Sup is in love with Zhang Ziyi (GRRRRR!!!!)

Anyway, I can see it now.

CC-TV NEWS:
"Premier Wen gives in to Chinese fangirls! Tang Wei unbanned in China after Hyun Bin threatens to never visit China again."

TVB NEWS:
"Song Hye Kyo to star with Tony Leung in the sequel to Lust, Caution. Edison Chen is a leading producer"

KBS Entertainment Weekly:
"Binnie and Lee Byung Hun star in Korean remake of Brokeback Mountain (aka The Good, The Bad, and The OMG!!), directed by Ang Lee. Discussions are ongoing about who gets to be Jake Gyllenhal in the tent scene. :D "

CHUNO ROCKS!!!!
:D :D :D :D :D :D

Good morning!

@328 & 329 belleza

OMG! First thing in a morning! You are giving us more (belated) Christmas presents! I've watched only Lotte duty free K-version so far plus all the extra clips of each actors! Except I couldn't find Bigbang one. Ji Sung! I've loved him since Save the last dance fro me! and he can sing!!! Rain! Awww! KJW!!!

Oh and you cracked me up on top of everything else! No I didn't mess up my computer screen like momosan above. Are you a comedy writer or something?

I luv you! Thank you.

@samsooki,

"Binnie would be Jake, I am pretty sure. Agree or disagree? Binnie is not holy, nor roman nor an empire? discuss?"

Let's test this out:

Binnie as Jake
Binnie: I can't quit you Lee Byung Heon.
LBH: That's what your girlfriend Song Hye Kyo said. Heh. I love me some me. *smirk*

Or . . .

LBH as Jake
LBH: I can't quit you Binnie!!
Binnie: Huh, I'm lactating right now. Wow. What Belleza said about you is true.

Or . . .

Kang JI Hwan as LBH as Jake
Kang Ji Hwan as LBH: I can't quit you Binnie.
Binnie: I like what you did with your hair ..
Kang JI Hwan as LBH: You like the fringe?
Binnie: I like the fringe.
Kang JI Hwan as LBH: The fringe is good?
Binnie: It haunts me.

*pause*

Kang Ji Hwan as LBh: Oh right. Script.

@ Samsooki

Was that a spoiler?!
There were certainly rocks featured in the ep, but.....
;)

@ hjkomo

Wait for me, you insane Chuno-sister (can't believe you watched it live, is this going to be a weekly event, if so, you're going to be zombie in three months time).

Watching Chuno now, without subs! Insanity overload. That, and too much sageuk + wuxia dramas on my brain. And omo, heard about the ratings! IRIS, hah!

^ ...I'd hardly call that a spoiler. ;)

There is one thing I have to mention about Chuno, though...

Leave it to Kwak Jung Hwan to...in the very first episode...
find a way to include a GRATUITOUS OBLIGATORY SHOWER SCENE.....in 1648 Joseon! :P

@ ockoala

I did this sleep-deprived insanity for HGD two years ago and somehow managed to survive. ;)

What can you do when...you try to go to bed early to get enough rest, then wake up every half hour thinking, "Is it 4:55 yet?"...then after 2 hours of that, can't go back to sleep...and so, say f*ck it...get out of bed...and watch the Happy Together New Year's special (with Chuno cast) - hilarious, btw...while waiting for Chuno to start.
I did end up going back to sleep for 2 hours afterwards, though...and somehow, I'm wide awake right now. But I bet it'll hit me like a ton of bricks tomorrow. ;)

@samsooki,

"YOU haunt me."

Hey if you're willing to be a daddy to my Ji Hoo and Jung Pyo, let's have coffee, mm kay? ;)

Bora must die, though. I don't share. ;)

@momosan,

"I was trying to explain the differences in orchestrations between k-pop and us-pop and the frequent use of full orchestral as opposed to electronic or synth came to mind. J-pop tends to go a little in between, I think."

Korean pop/rock/dance productions are closer to American stylings. Japanese pop/rock/dance are closer to the UK style. If you listen to a lot of UK R&B, you can still hear strains of Elton John and Motown somewhere in the mix. There's always a sense of the singer singing in an actual hall or room (the reverb is done more subtly, and there's often less compresion applied to the drums), and there's more use of close harmonies in ballads.

You can also interpret this as divergent interpretations of disco and 70s soul. UK/Japanese looked at that era as a marble layer cake of 4/4, close harmonies, and arrangements placing the singer within a sensual/sexual ecology. Macro as such, soul is interpreted as an idiom of rhetorical signifiers (you can even see this with singers like Ayaka and Chiriho Onitsuka -- their bravado are tied into a purpose of rhetoric, which is inherently representational.) US/Korean looked that era in terms of grooves, timing, and a certain vocal tone. Rhythm is bump; voice is grind; 70s soul and disco reflecting the familiar tension between the secular and spiritual played out against a teleological evolution in studio technology (and money.) Micro. Parallels that with K-drama, where internal presence and relationship-with-camera are emphasized over pure versatility.

I like YAB's tunes a lot, but I do wish it was mixed like a Japanese pop rock. One of the worst things that happened to American bubblegum was the Matrix producing trio (Avril Lavigne.) A lot of Korean pop rock records are mixed this way. Midrange of guitars are scooped out, so that the voice doesn't get left out. The ambient stuff (L-R) is dominated by the lead vocal , in order to get that Kayne West "lead voice harmonizing with lead voice" double-tracked sound. The drums are mixed very high, but they're recorded so dry that you lose a sense of head room. Sounds good in a club, but rock isn't played in a club.

@belleza

Ok Belleza is there a subject matter you don't know? Are you one of those people in college who majored in everything and never graduated because you couldn't decide. Also you don't ever seem to sleep. You are a true woman of mystery. Whats the 411 girl?

@ cingdoc

Godspeed your trip. Hope your mother is ok.

＠348 samsooki

LOL!

@337 cingdoc

My prayers are with you and your mom. Take care.

So much to do this afternoon. No dramas for me.

@ cingdoc-sis

Best wishes on a safe trip and a speedy recovery for mommy cingdoc. :-) We'll be missing you here, and I won't be able to go to 85c and look around waiting for someone to yell "TEAM PARK KYU! Don't go where I can't see you!"

@ hjkomo

Perfect first episode, set-up, execution, introduction. Like I said, it's a saguek crossed with a wuxia drama, seriously, can it get any better than that? And can a female human being look more beautiful and perfect than LDH? Probably not. Bummer for me and my face-creams.

@ mookie

Aside from what I just said to hjkomo (which is true), maybe it can get just a tad better (from a squeeeeee perspective) - which is a saguek crossed with a wuxia drama with idols!

I pulled this verbatim from a commenter at crunchyroll regardling LoCH 2008;

"Yang Kang's acting is perfect. Mu Nianci is, as her name says, a little "mu" or wooden, but isn't bad. Ariel's eyes are good, but lacks facial expressions (and seems to have multiple personality disorder). Hu Ge's really cute, but not heroic enough. The story's a complete idol drama... If I didn't know, I would've thought Qiong Yao wrote the story and not Jin Yong."

I don't agree completely, but I spit out my banh mi when I read the part where Qiong Yao wrote LoCH instead of Jin Yong/Louis Cha. Ha ha ha, I actually don't think its anywhere near the maudlin head-desking QY love stories can induce, LoCH's 2 love stories are so amazingly like a k-drama in depiction and presentation.

LoCH 2008 may very well be the perfect introduction for non-wuxia drama viewers to experience the glory of a LC epic drama. It's very stripped bare of all the excess details and plot that make a LC novel so rich in the read, but watching requires so much understanding to make sense of a cast of near hundred speaking parts. Here, it's the Yang Kang-Mu Nianci and Guo Jing/Huang Rong two sworn blood brothers and their trials and tribulations. Minus much of the political history lesson.

My husband has officially declared that his fave characters are Ouyang Ke (as the most loyal and smart counseler) and Wanyen Honglie ("He's a great Jin prince, and what's wrong with that he did? He loved Bao Xi-rao, that stupid Yang Tie-xin would have chosen to protect his decayed, weak and corrupt Song Dynasty or his sworn brother Guo Xiao-tian, before his wife, and that makes him not cool").

Goes to show what a few tweaks can completely alter the story. I feel like watching LoCH for the first time with virgin eyes, it's astoundingly absorbing. Stupid hubby made me stop watching yesterday at the scene when YK drags that giant boulder back into the the Jin Palace, and therein starts the battle of wits and the neverending love/hate relationship between YK and his Jin daddy. I quiver with anticipation.

I also discovered that the Chinese version of Da Jang Geum is about to start airing - The epic Song Dynasty story about the female historically referenced as the mother of modern textile weaving technique. It's called Clothing (the) World 衣被天下, with Yuan Hong as the lead, and his two ladies are Zhang Junning (she of Black & White fame as Lan Xi-ying) and Liu Xuixui (his co-star Mu Nianci). Trailer on YT looks gorgeous.

I bet you money the director of LoCH is going tackle another LC adaptation soon, and I think this director would just kill it with awesomeness if he did an adaptation of Smiling Proud Wanderer. And only with my new baby boy Yuan Hong as Linghu Chong (if he's cast as Lin Ping-zhi, I'm flying over there to castrate someone - inside novel joke, folks).

Oh, and I'm about to start Pasta, JB's recaps were wonderful, and the drama is now must see for me, rowr is all I have to say to that sizzling sexy man in that drama.

I DO NOT have enough waking hours in my day, help me......