Beanie level: Eunuch in drag

#Roundup day 22- Best cameo

Not a person, but a cameo from another show entirely.

The Twenty Five Twenty One cameos in Behind Your Touch
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#2023Roundup day 17- Oldie (non 2023) you loved the most.

It will always be Twenty Five Twenty One

No other drama felt so real
Incredible portrayal of complex and diverse relationships. This drama did an outstanding job with its portrayal of human connections. Some examples:

The fantastic 5 friend group. A group that formed organically and a group that drifted apart over time. I saw the same thing happening in my life. I called up my old friend group that drifted away due to this show.

Na Hee-Do and her mother Shin Jae-Kyung relationship. This one hurt the most because it reminded me of my personal difficult relationship with my mother.

Hee-Do’s mother, Shin Jae-Kyung and coach Yang relationship. A friendship
that fell apart and a truce over time.

Hee-Do and her father relationship 🥹. If u didn’t ball your eyes out (was it ep 10?) u aren’t human.

Ko Yu-Rim’s incredibly loving relationship with her supportive mother and father. I still get shivers at the scene where Yu-Rim’s mother gives her daughter rival, Hee-Do, the most genuine hug.

Baek Yi-Jin’s relationship with his mother and father and the weight of the world to rebuild his family.

The intense rivalry to womance of Ko Yi-Rim and Na-Hee Do.

The non romantic besties Ji Seung Wang and Moon Ji-Woong

The cute pairing of Ko Yu-Rim and Moon Ji-Woong

And finally the main heartbreaking story of Na Hee-Do and Baek Yi-Jin

Yes, I know. It didn’t stick the landing and it hurt so much. It wouldn’t have hurt so much if it didn’t feel so real. It wouldn’t have hurt so much if we didn’t care as much as we did.

I will love this show until the end of time.

And finally- probably the most heartbreaking rendition of Jaurin’s song 25-21 by Younha

https://youtu.be/FHll_CxOupA?si=WDnJWgnd6PEkmhti
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    It’s a classic it’s a gem. 💖

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    It’s a wonderful drama which I think doesn’t receive the love it deserves, just because some people were disappointed with the ending. I even know some people who hate this drama.

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#Roundup day 16- Your guilty pleasure.

The Handmaiden (2016)

I was a newly minted Kim Tae-Ri fan and started to pull up her older works. I don’t like spoilers so I purposely don’t pull up reviews or synopses. The IMDB score was high and that’s enough for me to start.

Keep in mind that I’m just getting used to the innocence of Kdramas and I love how they typically don’t need graphic depictions of sex and violence to generate intense emotions. I haven’t watched many K movies and assumed they were like Kdramas.

So here I am watching and Kim Tae-Ri stips down naked in an intensely erotic scene 🫣.
WTF

My jaw is hitting the floor by now.

I wasn’t expecting that. 😳😱🤯

Do I feel guilty? Yup
Pleasure? Embarrassed to say I didn’t not feel pleasure. ☺️
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    😱😱😱

    There is such a scene of Kim Tae-ri?????

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    I actually think this is a good movie 😅
    (And a tribute to some famous Japanese er0tIc drawings.)
    But yeah, not a kdrama innocence 😅😅
    (Kdramas and kmovies are really two completely different worlds. 😉)

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    I watched a looooooot of kmovies. im used to it. but it´s just that I prefer mystery suspense genre. in my opinion, directors who go for nude scenes… they are a bit lazy and begging for fast attention. I like it when both tension and eroticism is created by cinematic techniques only. and when instead of sex, it is the camera making love to the actors

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    This movie is the best, one of my favorites.
    And yeah, kdramas and kmovies are totally different worlds.

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      Until Netflix messed it up …. 🤦‍♀️ 🤷‍♀️

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        I think that except for Kingdom and Sweet Home, all the Netflix originals I’ve watched have have all the violence, sex and smoking other dramas can’t have. It’s like they’re trying to compensate or something.

        I’m pretty sure Suzy smoked for every single kdramaland character in those 9 episodes of Doo Na. LMAO

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#2023Roundup Day 14 Best Bromance/Womance

Moon Dong-Eun and Park Yeon-Jin from
The Glory

Look at how Dong-Eun lovingly cheers on Yeon-Jin in the cafeteria. This is just perfect woomantic support.

Listen to how Dong-Eun repeatedly enunciates “Yeon-Jin”. You can feeeel the longing and yearning for her. That love is so palpable and raw. Everything I do, I do for you Yeon-Jin. How romantic is that?

Look at how well Dong-Eun treats Yeong-Jin’s husband. It’s like one big happy family.

Dong-Eun cares soo much about Yeon-Jin that she sends a full time investigator to watch over her. What a caring friend!

If you read this far – I hope you aren’t taking this post seriously. 😜












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    Thank you for the laugh today!

    I watched this with my dad and sometimes I just randomly clap and say what Dong-Eun says and my dad is the only one that gets the joke, lol. I always mean sincerely though, haha

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I’m having a hard time getting through ep 4 of Welcome to Samdal-Ri. I wanted to love this soo bad but I’m just not connecting with any of the characters. I can’t explain why. I love the lead actor/actress, but the writing either bores or annoys me. Reverted to watching Hidden Love for the 3rd time this year to scratch that itch.

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I ate a Kopico candy today.

My second voice is asking if I would have eaten this without Kdramas. 🤔

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    Well, kdramas do have the same effect a DuJour song has (Josie and the Pussycats). LOL

    But if you like coffee in everything, I say it was all you. The real question is: did it wake you up in a blink? Did it relieved your fatigue?

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    I ate Kopiko candies recently too. But these were milk coffee flavour (quite good!). I’m sure I wouldn’t have tried them before watching k-dramas. I’m not a “coffee person”.

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    Recently, I’ve been drinking Maxim instant coffee, specifically because of K-dramas 😂😂😂 (*P.S. it’s really good!*)

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    I know I would not have tried those without K dramas. But I can’t say I felt like I missed out all those years… Fair play to all the actors for pretending this is a delicious game-changer, while I have probably sucked on socks that tasted better in my time

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Roundup day 10: Your 2023 crush.

Chung-Ah from Twinkling Watermelon played by Shin Eun-Su

Here’s an actress I’ve never heard of and had no expectations going into the show. Her brilliant portrayal of Chung-Ah without saying a single word made me a fan. At one point, most of us were screaming for more Chung-Ah screen time because her parts were the most touching. I’ll be looking for Shin Eun-Su in future roles.
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Roundup day 9: Your non k-drama recommendation.

Hidden Love

Hands down my best show of the year.
A testament that a good story doesn’t need any distractions.
No side plots. No serial murders. No amnesia, No toxic parents.
This show was so focused on the two (ridiculously attractive) main leads in the most beautiful and realistic way.
A show succeeds if it feels real and every character felt so real. The feelz from this were through the roof, the casting of the two leads was perfection, even the music/OST was memorable. I tried to think of anything I would change…nothing. Hidden Love is perfect

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My Demon Ep5
A bit crass? Yes
Hilarious? Also Yes
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    It was a great throwback to ep 1, in case some one had missed it earlier. I laughed all over again.

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#Roundup day 8 – The character who most screams for mental health care.

In kdrama land:
Doona could benefit from therapy. She’s been abused for so long

In the real world:
Sulli the real life Sulli – the idol that took her own life. On her last live interview on Persona: Sulli, the interviewer asks what she wishes for. After taking a long time to think about an answer, she answers in the most genuine manner: she wishes for a therapist and she wishes to be able to date.
I wish we could go back in time to grant her wishes.

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#Roundup Day 7: The drama Beanies convinced you to watch and you can’t be grateful enough.

Twinkling Watermelon
And Fake it till you make it

Twinkling Watermelon was teetering on my “should I start this drama” and the constant incessant Beanie chatter pushed me over the edge. Thank you beanies- I needed this push. What a lovely show.

Fake it Till you make it

I’m usually overwhelmed with the sheer number of Cdramas, plus I don’t know of any Dramabeans like site for Cdramas – so I end up watching extremely few Cdramas (analysis paralysis). Earlier this year I watched Hidden Love and I thought it was a masterpiece. Random beanie chatter made me try Fake it till you make it and what else can I say other than “Thank You!!!!” Another fantastic show that I didn’t know existed. You Beanies rock.

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Beanies- I’ve hit that magic number of likes. Please please please nobody like any of my posts.
Twenty Five Twenty One forever.
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#Roundup Day 6 – The character(s) that deserves a kimchi slap.

Ladies and gentlemen, I’ve been waiting the entire year to give one big collective kimchi slap to every single toxic parent (I honestly don’t even know what a kimchi slap is until DB, who thinks of this stuff? But I digress)

I did a count this year.
11 shows portrayed at least one parent in the most toxic way possible. Please give a 🖕to the winners. And we wonder why Korea’s birthrate is so low. Become a parent – turn into an asshole.

Toxic Parent(s)
The Glory – takes the cake as the worst mom ever. You win, now please stop
Call it Love – aaaugh
See You in My 19th Life – 🤮
The Good Bad Mother – more like the bad bad mother
Lies Hidden in my Garden – 🤢
My Lovely Liar – give me money. Aaaauuugh
My Lovely Boxer – I’m gonna punch my adolescent daughter into a boxer
Kidnapping Day – daughter or science project. Same thing
Doona – mom says you’re a “product”, now quit bitchin and get back to work
Twinkling Watermelon – slapping that ho (stepmom) never felt so good. (Counteracted by Chung-Ah and Yi-Chan as adorable parents)
Castaway Diva 2X – it’s like a contest of which Dad can impart more violence on helpless kids.

On the flip side I did a count of the number of shows with nothing but loving parents. I counted….

One

Congrats to Moving as the only show I watched the entire year with a positive portrayal of unconditionally loving parents.

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    👏 I knew there was at least one slappable candidate in every drama but didn’t realise so many were parents. 🤣
    Awesome list. Thank you for your research.

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    You bring up an interesting point – do people know which drama spawned the original kimchi slap? I just accepted that it was a thing because I’d heard about it on DB, but when did it start? I always assumed an older weekender or daily drama, but have no actual idea.

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    “Moving” was parents goal and even couples goal (a very short time for most of couples, but still)
    If I can choose just 1 parent for the most evil person ever exist it’d be “the Glory” FL mother, she was a nightmare

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    “And we wonder why Korea’s birthrate is so low. Become a parent – turn into an asshole.”
    LOL

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#Roundup day 5- OTP you didn’t think you would adore.

Ju-Won and Ji-Hee from Moving

I knew I would adore Doo-Sik and Mi-Hyun. I knew that I would adore CinnaBong-Seok and Hui-Soo. Those were the main main characters.

What I didn’t expect was probably the equally intense and most heartbreaking couple of Ju-Won and Ji-Hee. Ju-Won is practically Doo-Sik’s sidekick, and Ji-Hee is a secondary character. I loved that couple soooo much.

Runner up goes to Kidnapping Day Ro-Hee and Myeong-Jun. Those two won over my heart in the most “found family” way possible.
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    His two backstory episodes could have been their own movie and it would be one I would rewatch a lot. So so good.

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My Demon Tango Attack
Is the dumbest, silliest, most epic , pucking ferfect 5 minutes of kdrama ever. It’s the most kdramest kdrama. 💃🏻👊. Not sure how this show can top this.
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Welcome to Samdal-Ri ep2
Details matter.
I have a problem when they miss the details.
Sam-Dal is shown standing on steps at water level in this shot.
In the very next shot, she’s on a step a good 3 feet above the water level. Huh?🤔
Yong-Pil goes in for a save but he’s the idiot that doesn’t know how to swim despite a past flashback on not knowing how to swim while living on a island surrounded by water (slow learner maybe).
I’ve never seen anyone start to drown by passing out and sinking like a rock by contacting water for maybe 3 seconds.















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    Good points. The fact that Yong Pil grew up in an island and never learned how to swim will probably be connected to the death of his haenyeo mom.

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    I grew up surrounded by water but I don’t know how to swim either. I know it’s hard to understand but it happens. 🙈

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#2023 Roundup Day 4
The drama you loved but beanies didn’t and vice versa.

Doona

I didn’t just like this show- I loved it. Me and 3 other beanies seemed to love it while most beanies hated it- including the DB recap. Given the number of beanies that picked Doona for the same reason- maybe a lot more beanies loved it but were just silent about it.

Most of the hate came from a misinterpretation of why Doona was acting the way she did or why the ML acted the way he did. It took me a few episodes to get it and once I did- this empathy thing kicked in and I loved the show. Doona is a complex character- stuck in an idol world which wants to control her. She’s rebelling: smoking cigs non stop and acting out against her figures of authority. Go ahead and watch Persona Sulli to get a sense of the darker aspects of idol life and you can fully understand Doona’s rebellious nature. The ML was equally confused and he knew that she was initially using him as a toy to be discarded later.
The beauty of the show resided on both Doona and Won-Jun navigating their relationship into something meaningful. There was additional beauty on how Doona made her first real friend with Won-Jun’s ex, Jin-Ju. (Which reminds me that I probably should have given Jin-Ju a shoutout for minor character that stole the show).
Yes the ending was ambiguous, but I think the director shot enough clues to express what the end result was.
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    Oooh you’re reminding me again of why I enjoyed this series so much! I loved the segment where she was apart from the ML but thoroughly basking in the joy of her first real friendship.

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#2023 Roundup
Male Lead you will never forget

Ryoo Seung-Ryong as Ju-Won in Moving

At first he’s just a comic book super hero. Good but really nothing special.

And then it hits:

He’s a husband, and a father…and the weight of the universe comes crashing down on him. His superpower is not his supernatural strength, but his infinite capacity for love of his wife and daughter.

Ryoo Seung-Ryong 👏🏻

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#2023 Round Up
Heresy that I almost forgot this. Not a Female Lead but a secondary character.
Kwak Sun-Young as Ji-Hee in Moving. She played the role of Ju-Won\’s wife to perfection.

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#2023 Round Up
Female lead that I will never forget
Yu-Na as Ro-Hee is Kidnapping Day
I find it hard to believe that a little kid takes my #1 spot. She was a complete unknown who stormed onto the scene with a performance that was frighteningly awesome. Her ability to portray a vast range of emotions without one hint of overacting was incredible. She wasn’t “good for a kid”; she was amazing regardless of age.
Runner up goes to Han Hyo-Joo as Mi-Hyun of Moving
Her transformation from bubbly mother to “don’t fuck with my son or I’ll rip your heart out with my bare hands” was a stunner. She was the ultimate badass character.

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    Ro Hee was amazing. Such a great FL. Definitely in my top 3 of the year.
    Mi Hyun was so cool too.

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    Both such great choices. Both characters “broke free” of the usual character bounds of “kid” and “mother” respectively.

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