Thank you for your explanation. I always love to learn these things.

Thank you, and sorry for my discussion below :-) TLDR if you wish.

My Korean friend told me that the family name 이 is pronounced "Lee" so that it is easier for everyone who is not a Korean native speaker. So almost all artists with 이 as their family name write it as "Lee" in English. But I know actress Lee Tae Ran writes her name as i_taeran on her instagram account.

In some other countries, there's family name (usually 1 syllable) and first name (usually 1 syllable), and then there can be a middle name (usually 1 syllable). And some people connect their middle name and first name by a hyphen, and use that 2 syllable combination as their first name for international transactions, e.g. when applying for a visa to a foreign country. I think there're several reasons to that: (1) to match with their passport and other important personal ID documents; (2) to keep their name unique, because their 1-syllable first name may be the same as someone else's; (3) other reasons I don't know of... So before you said the above, I had thought the same about Korean names and that's why I usually wrote them as 3 separate syllables.

Yes, I think I observed in Kdramas what you said above about how Koreans address one another, either by using the whole name (Lee Junho) or just the first name (Junho). But on rare occasions, I think I heard they use only 1 syllable. If I'm not mistaken, in Suspicious Partner, Choi Taejoon's character addressed Noh Jiwook (Ji Changwook's character) as "Wook-ah". Or did he say "Ji' too fast I couldn't catch it? But that is to say it reinforced my idea about the existence of a middle name in between the family and first name.

I must have heard it wrong, but I'll try to see if I can find the scene I thought Choi Taejoon said "Wook-ah". Or maybe "Wook" is simply Noh Jiwook's nickname, just like Wookie for Ji Changwook.

@claire2009 @dncingemma

http://askakorean.blogspot.com/search?q=more+korean+name&m=1

These are a series of very informative post on Ask a Korean blog you might find interesting.

I do believe a few of his notes vary a bit from what I have witnessed in dramas over 2 decades, which might be because 1. He has spent most of his life in America, and 2. Dramas aren't real life. But on the whole they are very interesting culturally and linguistically.

@midnight Thanks a lot, the blog posts are very interesting and informative.

I read in there someone mentioning people with 2-syllable surnames usually have 1-syllable first names out of respect for the Chinese tradition of using only 3 syllables for a full name. I've always been confused about actor Namgongmin's name (남궁민). Usually I would have thought Nam is his surname and Gongmin is his first name. But his dad is 남궁원 (Namgong Won), so Namgong must be their surname. If so, this is the only K-actor I know that has a 2-syllable surname.

@claire2009: Don’t be sorry! I love this kind of convo.
It is interesting though that In North Korea, the convention re ‘Lee’ being written as ‘이‘ isn’t followed. The English transliteration is “Ri”.
And, as to your query re “ Wook-ah". Or maybe "Wook" is simply Noh Jiwook's nickname, just like Wookie for Ji Changwook”, within the strict confines of who can use a first name with a diminutive/suffix added and when, this post is quite clear and concise: https://halcyon-morn.livejournal.com/31250.html?

I feel you. I am learning more about the subtleties of Korean pronunciations and the rules as I progress, and while I love it, at times my brain wants to take off and head for the hills! Korean is a hard language to learn despite the basics of Hangeul being relatively easy to understand and absorb.
One last point, the ‘g’ sound at the end of a syllable is often not vocalised so it is a soft consonant. If you listen carefully to a native Korean speaker, 한국어 원어민, you will hear how light that sound is. This post explains it well and has a useful vid: https://www.koreanclass101.com/lesson/absolute-beginner-questions-answered-by-jae-4-why-does-ㄱ-giyeok-become-ㅋ-kieuk?lp=42

@dncingemma thank you for all the links and interesting info!! You're so right about Korean being a nuanced language despite the fact that Hangul is not too difficult to understand. And although I can read the letters, when I hear something and try to write it down, most of the time some letters are missing or wrongly placed.

A pleasure! Let’s do it again soon!

Yes! For secret, hot rendezvous! Why else would they be on the stairs?

I was also conflicted about the drama and his character. But that scene! Umm, wow. Well worth rewatching till the end of Part 3. Don’t stop at the stairwell. 🤭

I feel we should direct everyone who couldn’t get enough of JJS in Captivating the King #8 right here.

@indyfan The whole episode was hot! The beginning and this end!

Y’all are making me want to rewatch the drama! Viki US recently added it (with a bizarre title ‘Don’t Dare to Dream’) and I may as well watch it.

The above video is not accessible to me 😭😭

@mayhemf Oh, I didn't know they blocked it in some countries.

I kept this drama to watch it whenever I want :p

@indyfan
Yup...a beast..he is...

P.S. Damn, even though I couldn't watch this video, I had to search episode 14 to watch it even though I am at 11 right now. On the bright side, I will watch it again later on today.

Definitely not a jerk. I was mostly conflicted about whether I wanted to ship him with the FL or not.

Part of the problem with Jealousy Incarnate is that it got extended by four episodes. It clocks in at a whopping 24 and the last four undo all the themes and growth of the previous 20. It's these that kind of ruin all the characters' development.

I guess the writers were scrambling as to how to add a full four hours of story to one that was already at 20 hours.

As a canvassing of jealousy, it was pretty brilliant but the last four episodes - well it's up to the viewer as to whether they completely ruin the drama or not. I love it but then I just pretend the last four don't exist. That whole thing where the FL comes full circle and gives up her dreams never happened - but, hey, at least it inspired Netflix's terrible English name. Don't Dare To Dream.

You're probably right - I do not remember exactly when what happened, I just remember being left with the knowledge that he was still an irredeemable A**hole who couldn't accept being with a successful woman.
The more suspicious because in "Pasta" [SPOILER ALERT] the plot is the same; the ML did his former girlfriend dirty, and he is lying to his new girlfriend too, ruining her chance to really blossom and maybe exceed him as a professional. Disgusting.
But though I preferred the SML of Jealousy Incarnate for the FL, there was a point where you'd think the ML had become an okay person, with whom she could even share professional passion.

@leetennant So, I'm on episode 15 now (and the stairwell scene is terrific). Would you recommend stopping at 20? FFing the rest, reading the recaps, or simply pretending that's the end? Life's too short for me to be a completist, especially for older shows.

It's been a long time since I watched Jealousy Incarnate but I do think all that backsliding and the ML suddenly undermining the FL and her giving up her dreams was all the last four @ceciliedk. And yes, the comparison with Pasta offers itself, although that ML was an irredeemable jerk through and through. I loathe Pasta, whereas I have good memories of JI (once I edit out the ending anyway).

@elinor See how you feel at 20, I can't remember if it's a natural ending or not because they would have known by then they'd been extended. I do remember the last 4 are obviously a scrambled add-on so if you can safely end at 20 then go for it. It'll stop you from having to see the female lead give up all her dreams for her man (blech).

But there are some lovely sensible people too in Jealousy Incarnate, like those two mothers and the guy they like ... I don't remember how and when everything falls into place with their story.
She plays the publisher's assistant in "It's Okay ..."
I guess, you will have to read the recaps to avoid the part where he signals her that what she is doing is bad, and afterwards claryfies that it's not real journalism to use herself, whereafter (in the end) he has a big scoop using his own story. Which would be fine if he hadn't just talk her initiative down. There's also the nurse, that with hardly a word is so fun everytime she appears on screen, sarcasm and disrespect for him oozing out of every pore.

The problematic ending, to me, is the postscript in the last 15 minutes or so as they dealt with the ‘happily ever after’ on life after marriage and their respective career development. That segment is presented as a humorous take, much like Western movies rather than Kdrama-like. The FL’s career development is certainly not what we audience expect and it’s honestly a sour taste after what we have gone through in the previous 20+ episodes.

However, I actually like the last few episodes. As an ensemble cast, I do think they can have two more episodes to cover more on the extended families (all the moms in this drama are so deliciously bitchy), the younger cast (who went on to become bigger stars in real life), plus the TV news crew as well as the 2ML. Best of all is the ‘song & dance’ wedding scene which is a must see - and my ‘pick me up’ clip whenever I need it.

This conversation with the Beanies prompts me to think back the other works by this writer. JJS’s character is not dissimilar from the chef in Pasta in many ways but Miss Korea has strong FLs. I’m wondering what will GHJ’s scientist will be like in the next drama.