Usually i'm pro +ve December but this time things have to change and this is why +ve is not pro but just a +ve.

Cold season - Should i get a heater or not - foolish troubles that have simplest of outcome and yet you make them like climbing Everest.

15 more days to fight on - then will change more things - 1st is to get mattress, bed sheets and blankets.

January - hot food after 45 months - that's the aim for now.

Financially - -ve doesn't look good when all your hardwork is eaten by stock market.
Health - needs boost - that's the aim.

Do K-dramas reflect Korea’s current culture especially when romance is a theme? 2022 was a year where k-dramas featured many independent female leads.

Only half of young Koreans want to get married as the cost of settling down and raising children soars into the stratosphere and traditional attitudes fade According to Statistics Korea, 50 percent of young Koreans felt they needed to get married, down 1.2 percentage points from two years ago. The main reason for choosing not to marry was a lack of money cited by 28.7 percent respondents, followed by job insecurity with 14.6 percent. Statistics Korea surveys public views on marriage every two years.

A whopping 43.2 percent said they do not mind remaining single, while 3.6 percent actively avoid tying the knot. Perceptions of marriage differed according to age and gender. Only 29.1 percent of teenagers felt marriage is necessary, compared to a solid 71.6 percent of senior citizens. Among men, 55.8 percent of men still felt marriage is necessary, which contrasts with just 44.3 percent of women. Among singles, just 36.9 percent of men and 22.1 percent of women felt marriage is necessary. In 2022, the number of marriages fell while the divorce rate clicked up to 54 percent.

In the past few years, the Korean government has spent more than $150 million US to promote marriage and having children. The result has been dismal: the birth rate has plunged to 0.79. For a nation to maintain its population it needs a rate of 2.1. In comparison, the US is at 1.8 and Japan, which a decade ago was in worse shape than Korea, stands now at 1.6. The reasons are pretty clear: young people do not have the same desire to marry and have kids as their parents’ generation. On this issue, young women are 10 percent more against it than their male peers which puts mathematical scarcity in play.

Korean women have been accepted in the mainstream education and work force so many find a career as their top goal. But in a modern sense, Korea is still a very couple-centric culture. But dating and skinship includes same sex friends hanging out together without any romantic overtones. K-dramas are reflecting the country’s changing values.

Like many Dramabeans commentators, I’m caught up in the cooking fantasy that is Alchemy of Souls, as Uk tries to warm up the ice stone in his heart with a spicy blend of souls represented by the woman we’ll call “Snacksu”, and then of course Park Jin whose love is being denied until he is able to think of a creative dish that Maidservant Kim will find tasty. I think anyone who cooks for their partner (or prospective partner) can identify. Red bean meju = a recipe for desire, especially if it ferments properly. My refrigerator and side closet look like science projects, with sourdough, cucumbers, cabbage, kombucha, vinegar and yogurt in various stages of fermentation. These are the foods of love, although my wife often complains about the smell.

Thinking of Korean food, as we are so near the holidays, I conducted my usual intensive research by typing into the internet “what do Koreans eat for Christmas,” and just got a list of usual dishes, which are good, but don’t seem that special. Does anyone know if there are special Christmas foods that are traditional for Koreans?

As a third generation Swedish American, I grew up having a Christmas Julbord, a meal of diverse dishes which consists of fish, Fish, meat and Meat, with a vegetable course of potatoes and a variety of cheeses, and so generally continue that tradition. I once, partially as a joke, even made lutefisk, notorious in my family for being tasteless, soapy glop, ordering the dried fish and the lye for softening it on line. It was fine, but if there was ever a dish absolutely not worth extra preparation, it was that one. Also I had to sign a release when I received the lye, since it was a dangerous chemical, which gives one pause as a recipe ingredient, even if it was “food grade lye!” (I remember enough of my high school chemistry to know that lye is a base; the opposite, food grade sulphuric acid, might have added a better flavor to the dish!)

But back to Korean Christmas—this year for Christmas dinner I thought it would be fun to add a few typical Korean Christmas dishes to the ham and Swedish meatballs, in a classic California fusion cuisine, which is my signature cooking style if fusion means a bizarre tasting blend that only Park Jin could enjoy. So if anyone reading this has any suggestions for Korean Christmas dishes I’d appreciate it!

I have been watching Bossam: Steal the Fate, and the ost is so beautiful. Especially Angular Stones, and Long Night. Of course it helps that the lyrics have been translated in the version I'm watching and it hits me completely differently as a non-musical person.

Reading the lyrics has had me wondering about something that I know of nothing about. Are kdrama osts all written and composed specificly for the show?

Finally Friday and a weekend off! Having worked shifts during the two previous weekends, I've fallen really behind on the 2022 Roundup. I don't know if it's a good thing or not that I've watched so few Kdramas this year, but reading the Roundups of other beanies, I find quite a few shows being scratched off my future watch list and some potential gems being saved for next year.

This is the first time after 2 years of staying at home that I have a face to face class and it’s exhausting already. I feel like being with a lot of people or if there is the need to be fully engaged with people irl for a long time I’m going to be too exhausted.

A good thing is that I made it throughout the day and am now back home in my wonderful bed. Papa decorated our trees in the garden with lights in different colors to make it a lot more festive and when I opened the gate and saw them I felt truly blessed and at home. My family is really my home (though yes they drove me mad at times).

Happy weekend Beanies and keep Beaning On!
The end of the year review has been written and submitted!💪🏻 Every year it feels like a huge weight has dropped from my shoulders as soon as I have sent it in. I am far from done, though. There are still some interesting roundup prompts I want to write about, preferably also on the correct date.😅
That last part has proved to be quite the challenge. My own to-do list for December is quite modest, but inconveniently spread out to interfere with all the writing prompts and holiday preparations.😅 My parents are preparing and bringing food for the small family gathering on the 24th and hosting the bigger Christmas party the next day. As my task list is nearing its end and the festivities come closer, more of my time will be freed up to help my parents out next week. I am quite looking forward to preparing all the desserts next Friday!👩‍🍳

There are dramas which excel artistically and there are ones which simply play on heartstrings.
A year since Our Beloved Summer started airing. I was at home and was still properly immersed in dramas.
This year, away from home and family, I somehow drifted away from dramas.
I am still listening the soundtrack and the songs bring snippets of life from last year. Like a time capsule.

Regardless of how you feel bout 2022 as a drama year, the end of year poll is certainly interesting - possibly even more interesting than the drama year itself.

Engagement is down generally across the board and that has translated to the number of votes. But here I am soliciting again because - it's still a nail biter over here!

http://invisibledragon.home.blog/2022/12/07/2022-in-kdrama-the-end-of-year-poll/

While I don't want to influence the voting by pre-empting results, at the moment four - FOUR - dramas could easily and with very few votes win Best Drama. The top spot is tied with two other dramas very close behind.

So vote vote vote! If you loved a drama or have *big opinions* on something then head on over. I'm going to keep this open until a clear winner emerges. And this could really be anything.

http://invisibledragon.home.blog/2022/12/07/2022-in-kdrama-the-end-of-year-poll/

Hi beanies! I'm finally free!
College is over! yay!
Next Tuesday I'm going home and never coming back. 😆

I'm gonna miss my friends, but I'm really bad at texting (I can't do it properly) and I hate going out (traveling is like my worst enemy). So all my friends are planning their trips and asking me if they can stay at my house when they visit.
We all know it won't happen, but we like to pretend.

I happy I'm gonna see my mom and sibilings, and I'm happy I'm gonna have time to do (or not do) things. That's all I need: family and free (me) time.

I hope you had a nice week, beanies. ☺️

I wish The Law Cafe's webtoon source was translated. Recently I've seen Again My Life, Reborn Rich, and Extraordinary Attorney Woo on webtoon and all I think was I wanted The Law Cafe (Love by Law) to also be translated.