Beanie level: Entertainer-in-training

One spring night

This shows had some of the best characters and some of the worst characters you could encounter in life 🤐.

The old fathers keeping talking about marriage of their kids without their kids. The man who got dumped but still go ask his (never-to-be) father-in-law to set a date for the marriage 🤧.
The husband (then divorcee *phew* !) who assaulted his wife, planning to use his future (but then turned out never-to-be) brother-in-law for his loans.
The father who arranged his daughters’marriage for his connections and work benefits.
Those people till the end were so sure of themselves, never accepted the facts. It was frustrating during the first eps, but then it was some kind of dark humor, like really human can go that low 😳 *big sigh*

The main couple, both had their flaws but they talked, trusted each other. Had some apart time but not like the usual noble idiocy.
I liked the fact we saw their relationship evolve throughout the whole show.
The main couple’s friends were such nice friends, with whom they could talk and get advice or different point of views from.
The pharmacy’s boss bluntly telling the truth to male lead to make him fight for his relationship and not having regrets later.
The ost were used a bit too often, but I loved the soft rock ballad vibes so couldn’t complain 😆
One instrumental bgm reminded everytime of “Heard it Through the Grapevine”, both shows are different but share some similarities with the couple facing on the difficult life they chose.

10
4

    Loved this. The relationship between the sisters and mother were unique, especially that moment the mother stands up to the father. I love everything Jung Hae-in is in. Can’t praise him enough for this role as a single parent.

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    I also watched this gem recently and felt dramas like this is a breath of fresh air from the mainstream plays.

    The director is the one behind Heard It Through The Grapevine and A Wife’s Credentials which I like. His another work The End of The World was one I dropped due to heavy workload at that time but one I would go back for sure – not least for its COVID-like tale.

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      thanks for the reco’ 🙂 , I added A Wife’s Credentials to my to-watch list. I already watched Heard It Through The Grapevine some years ago and loved it. The End of The World might not be my cup of tea, also covid doesn’t help ^^’.

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    I loved the sister’s bond. The youngest made every scene she was in. I liked that the female lead didn’t leave her boyfriend for another man but because it wasn’t going to work. Jung Hae In was *chef’s kiss* as usual.

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A thousand goodnights (Tw-drama)

This show was a mix between slice-of-life, ensemble drama, traveling show while dealing with different life situations.
All of those with a slow pace and many aerial shots of Taiwan 🤩.
Episodes started with quotes from Chi PoLin (a \”Taiwanese documentary filmmaker, photographer and environmentalist\” credits to wiki).
The last episode credit had also more quotes from him.
Apart from some draggings, this show was nicely done. I watched the drama from time to time over the past few weeks, so 20eps and slow pace wasn\’t a matter to me.
I loved the characters, loved how unlike other dramas, some relationships worked without noble idiocy.
Out of all relationships, my two fav\’ were the step-brother/step-sister relationship and the main couple relationship.
The main couple didn\’t have kiss scenes or so many cute scenes like in a rom-com. They build their relationship slowly, loved the mutual understanding, trust and care they had for each other. I totally agreed with a character describing them as becoming partners in life.
This show reminded me of 1n2d, how it showed different locations in Taiwan, different traditions but also the people living there and their history 🤗.

Thank you show for being like a warm, comforting and soothing hot beverage those past weeks, for reminding me that hometown is really a special place.
Thank you to the beanies you recommended this show before.

6
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Hannari Girori no Yoriko-san (Jdrama)

@wishfultoki thank you for the recommendation 😘
I watched this drama today and enjoyed it 😀 !
It\’s only 4 episodes…and each episodes is only 23 minutes long, very nice for a change !
I enjoyed the slow pace of the show.
The characters might be common but were still nice to follow. The little boy\’s jealousy was so cute 😂.
Last but not least, so this is just a Kyoto PPL , right ? Loved the sceneries, the little facts about this and that, the food displayed and explained 🙂 .

3
2

SuperBand S2 goodbye post 😭

I have to thank again @snowy 😘 for letting me know that SuperBand got a new season
Watched ep1 to 3 and then live watch each week from ep4 onwards 😋
Like s1, s2 isn’t subbed but since it’s a music variety show it’s still very enjoyable w/o subs

There are some changes compared to s1 : some judges changed, there are now female contestants and changes of the format of later eps to come up with final teams.
Among the changes of judges, Yoo HeeYeol and Lee SangSoon had so much chemistry together, it was fun seeing them reacting and talking about the performances 🤗.
It was also fun how other judges asked Lee SangSoon whenever there was a particular guitar used 😆.
Female contestants, wow, they were so strong on technical sides or coming up with ideas. It was nice to see mixed-gender teams throughout the shows, even though male contestants were still the majority.
When the final teams were set, they went on vacation and there was a special ep for it. It was a break enjoyable with fun activities or acoustic music played.

There were so many strong contestants, just like s1. Some of them were already well-known or even professionals, but it was the occasion for them to work in a different way and interact with several musicians.
I’m pretty sure that, just like s1, many dramas OST will be featuring some contestants of this s2 . All teams were nice 🙂 !

One of the highlights of this season was the band CrackShot. They all passed the auditions ep, which no band succeeded as a whole in s1. That showed that each of them was a strong musician or singer.
Their cover of 난 괜찮아 [I’m fine] (Korean’s cover of I will survive) in ep4 astonished everyone. Everybody from judges, contestants, HyunMoo MC and viewers (me included) became their fans or at least look out for their next performances.
The energy from that performance : my pick from the season.

Poco a Poco was another fav’ 🤗, 4 guitars team, more on the acoustic side
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPtpn9UmrQ0

The final ep was emotional, some contestants from s1 were there and even performed, but now it’s time to let go and say goodbye …till season 3 I hope !

Jtbc, many thanks for that season 2 💝!
Loved it to pieces, loved to see so many performances, so many music lovers, so many reactions and all the smiles on the contestants, the judges and the MC’s faces while enjoying music 🥰
My cheeks hurt from smiling, my eyes were sometimes wet and my heart was filled with warm memories and songs 😌

5
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    Oh my gosh, someone else watched Super Band! I loved it! I watched the first ep out of curiosity then got hooked on it then binged all of Season 1. So sad I won’t get to see them on Mondays any more. Hope the groups go on Immortal Songs a lot!

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A piece of your mind
(some peace for the mind 😌)

12eps are so nice, not too short, not too long 🙂

Loved the slow pace, the neighborhood, the homestay, the studio,…, the characters (ok some were annoying but that’s part of the story).
The “let’s take some time apart” wasn’t due to noble idiocy, it was in line with the character .
The way they played the piano for each other, that they play the other’s piece for their parents to listen to, no genius music skills involved (well total opposite but so lovely 🥰️).

Don’t know if I’d want to try to talk to myself-device though, might fear what will come out, or that I’d be out in the world with no control other than on/off button 😬.

Both leads were so well written and so different from usual leads we get in drama.
So many hugs, it felt so warm 🤗🤗🤗.

I might have forgotten other things I enjoyed, but finishing a drama with smile on the face, a calm heart and a peaceful mind says it all 😌.

(also FL you shouldn’t go and sleep at other’s house without permission, enter just because door’s open 😂)

Thank you @bebeswtz for recommending this drama 😘, I enjoyed it , was expecting slow pace but also got many giggling moments 👌

Leaving my fav’ Ost, Elaine has such a nice voice 🙂
🎵say , you’ll be alright🎵

13
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    Makes me want to go back to it…

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    I rewatched recently and I agree with everything you wrote, except for the 12 episodes, I wished they didn’t cut it.

    This drama is hidden gem!

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      I started the first episode but fell asleep, so never picked it back up!

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        It’s about grief, so not an easy thema but they adressed it very well. The first 2 episodes can be confusing but otherwise everything is really good.

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        I was in need for slow pace, this doesn’t work all the time or for everybody, hoping when you’ll be in the mood for it , you’ll give it a second try 🙂

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      Thankfully I have APOYM to teach me how to deal with the grief of them cutting four episodes from APOYM

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      oh I didn’t know it was cut , makes sense since 16eps is the usual length for Kdrama ^^’.
      They managed to finish it nicely even with the cut 🙂

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        Sadly the ratings were low and TVN not being JTBC, they decided to shorten it to 12 episodes.

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    I’m still upset they cut the drama short. We deserved all 16 episodes. APOYM is a rare masterpiece.

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    I love this drama so am always happy to see it pop up on the wall. So glad you liked it too, it’s so underrated.

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a proper recording of “Like a star” that featured on SuperBand s1 (@kat23)
sharing this instrumental piece 💞 inspired by the movie Your Name 🙂

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When The Weather Is Fine
aka when the timing is fine , picking the right drama out of several ones on the to-watch list

Loved the characters, the book club, the village landscape, the slow pace/life, nice ost and many more aspects
(could have a bit less drama but well it wasn’t too overwhelming compared to others)

With much delay, thanks to those who recommended it last year 🙂

10
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    A beautiful healing drama 🙂

    5
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    The little sister was one of my favorites.

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    It’s just one of my favourite dramas ever and the OST is my healing music whenever I need to calm down or I have a migraine. Rewatching is even better. So happy you watched and enjoyed this underrated gem.

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Mr. Fighting (C-drama) – final thoughts

Synopsis says it\’s a story about different people helping an unknown actor in his career.
I started this drama and watched ep after ep without being convinced by the actor\’s arc 😅.
In some dramas, you\’d root for the lead to achieve his dream but here I was ok since ep1 if it didn\’t work out…

However I stayed for the ensemble characters, the slice-of-life and slow pace of the drama 😊.
I liked the fact that we followed the characters and not just the male lead.
It had funny moments, it had sad moments, it had dull moments, it depicted the lives of different people with their qualities and flaws.
It had its flaws but I had a comforting time watching it on a daily basis 🤗.

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7

    Even though most of the times I end up not watching the shows you recommend, I still enjoy reading your reviews!

    Also, Hi kudo!

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      And.. forgive me for not keeping my promise to drop by Discord, things got kind of crazy!

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        hi Azzo 🙂 , no problem, I’ve also added many drama reco’ to my to-watch list since Jan. 2021 but lately I’m into variety shows haha (a Chinese one and then njttw team doing Spring Camp *whispers* you can watch that one, still on going with 2 eps left for next week).
        Drop by on discord when you can, you can just lurk, no need to participate or just say hiandbye 🙂
        Stay safe <3 !

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          I’ll probably start lurking on discord, see I’m no fun in real-time 🙈

          Oh, maybe I will watch that show, now that Kwang-soo left running man (which I’m still crying about, btw, my head hurts from all the crying 😭💔) I hope it’s funny!

          You too, Kudo. Though the situation here is going from bad to worse.. the cases of Covid19 just sky-rocketed this week, so we’re expecting another full lockdown!

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            “I’m no fun in real-time ” same hehe.
            Many are commenting about RM, you can talk on discord with other RM fans with wet eyes this week 🙁 .
            I’ve gotten my first dose of vaccine yay ! but still being cautious and still will after 2nd dose , thanks anxiety lol .
            What another lockdown O_o !
            Here’s situation is improving a bit, but they’re already talking about another wave for Sept. October if we can’t get everyone to get vaccinated and if summer, well be summer like last year, some enjoying holidays and forgetting social distancing *sigh*.
            do lurk on discord 🙂

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          I talked with my sister about RM today, some more crying was involved 🙈

          Oh, good for you, Kudo, that’s great news. How are you feeling?

          It’s getting worse here 😭 It’s so scary, even worse than when this whole thing started. We have 3 confirmed cases of Mucormycosis (black fungus), We have no idea how that happened, all the flights to India and Africa are stopped, people are panicking!

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            I got a sore arm for a day or two and that’s it 🙂 , I’m fine right now (except it’s starting to get hot😆, summer is here ).
            I checked the black fungus , it’s scary! They haven’t talked about that side effect on the news here (or I missed it).
            a big *hug* for you , hoping things will calm down 🙏

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Our song 我们的歌 (C music show) – Recommendation post

This show has 14 eps (most of it are subbed on YT, the last 2 eps are New Year special “bonus” ep not subbed).
Quoting MDL
“This variety show pairs up new Chinese singers with popular and well-established Chinese singers that have been singing for years to bring you a new version of classic award-winning songs. At the same time, they will compete with their performance.”

What I like about this show compared to music shows I’ve seen is the concept of pairing a junior singer and a senior singer.
The junior singers are already well-known so it wasn’t stressful as other competitve show with debut as the goal.
I enjoyed the performances and got to know many Chinese singers 🥰, also meaningful since it was the last show of one of the senior singers.
The junior singers learnt a lot from their senior singers, but it was also the case the other way around, seeing different duos trying different styles 🤗.

The teasing between senior singers 😆, each duo facing the same hot potato vote or comment after a performance : junior hoping the senior will save them from this : it worked..sometimes 🤣.
Junior singers saying things like “my grandmother is a fan of yours”, oops you just hurt senior singers 🤐.
Near the end, there were more scenes of “team building”, funny games to decide the order of the performances, I really enjoyed them 👌.
I started the show for the music but also to see mischevious Zhou Shen. I was served, even more since the senior singer, Hacken Lee, he was paired with was also funny and laid-back 😁.

Thank you @bebeswtz for the recommendation 😘 and @peony for the subs link 😘.

It’s time to say goodbye to all the senior singers, the junior singers and the MC : people loving music 💕.
Sharing one of my favorite songs from the show 🙂

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    Our Song was the best😍
    I was also grateful that it introduced me to so many senior singers at once so effortlessly and even made me fall in love with all of them, it was like a crash course! It was a very heartwarming show to watch indeed.
    Did you go through dailymotion or yt towards the end, Kudo?
    Nica said ep 13 subs are bit wonky and she’ll put it up soon, still not there. I guess she’s too busy ☹️
    If I ever hear of updates I’ll let u know!❤
    There are behind the stage clips too, but the fan who subbed them was not like Nica and just subbed Sean’s parts and whomever was directly talking to him at the time.
    As a result the 50% of the entire thing became confusing and useless. If you want link for that lemme know, his discussions with Na jie are intact thankfully and they are so cute! Sean trying to bribe Na jie with his homemade cookies lol.

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      I watched up to ep11 on YT, switched to dailymotion for ep12.
      Thanks for the offer but I already watched ep13&14 raw on YT , went back to the 2 (?) parts subbed on dailymotion .

      This show was great indeed 🙂

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        Waah you loved it so much you watched it raw!😄 Admirable, pengyou!

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    Sounds like an adaptation of Korea’s Immortal Songs?

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      No it’s not…. “Immortal Songs” is new artists singing older songs (classics), but “Our Songs” isn’t just about reinventing oldies and classics, but there’s a mentorship aspect to it what with pairing a new/younger singer with a senior singer and the added element of mentorship and actually spending time with each other as a whole as the cast/participants of the show…. Much, much more deeper in meaning and the bonds built between the singer than those who participate in “Immortal Songs” who don’t really get to know the other participants and are off on their own in practices, and don’t actually spend time to get to know the other participants to learn and feed off of each other as people and as artists in their craft

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    Thanks for the recommendation @kudoran! I discovered Liu Yuning in the THE LONG BALLAD (recommended if you have time). I’ve been watching clips from “Our Song” but didn’t know it was subbed.😄

    I recognize Zhou Shen from OSTs. A very special voice indeed.

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    I watched this last night. I loved this trio. 😭

    The melody that they sing at 3:00 is very famous. It’s from Dvorak’s “New World Symphony” (2nd movement). It was later given words in the song “Goin’ Home”. Here’s a link of the Dvorak: https://youtu.be/pHyN3izk38c

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Marvelous City 奇妙之城 (C-documentary) – final thoughts

This show is available on YT with eng subs 😀 .
It has 6 eps of 45mn-1hour long.
Each ep has a celebrity introducing their home town or the city.
There are two residents of the town sharing their job or hobbies and how they see the life in that city, how the people are, …
The format of following 3 different persons put me off sometimes but it also gave different point of views on the same city.
The show is easy to watch and the format isn’t too long, nice way to travel around China ^^

Sharing the link to ep1 below

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Drama recommendation – Hikaru no Go (Cdrama)

After seeing good reviews of the drama and knowing it’s based on a manga (haven’t read the manga but wanted to feel the manga vibes again), I started it earlier this month and enjoyed a LOT the ride it was 🥰.
Hikaru no Go is a mix of slice-of-life and youth drama with the game of Go as background.

There were many characters, with 3 being “main” Shi Guang, Chu Ying and Yu Liang. Among those three, there was 2 duos Shi Guang – Chu Ying and Shi Guang – Yu Liang.

Shi Guang was the lead, we saw him as a child then as a teen and young adult. We followed his journey in the world of Go with one of the strongest teacher Chu Ying.
He was immature, playful and boastful, but he also was a genuine friend, he grew up and started to understand his mom’s love and worries.

Chu Ying was such a colorful character. He was a good friend or a big brother, a good teacher/master, sometimes a parent figure with a proud smile on his face. He also could be a whining child or a moody one. One thing that didn’t change was this genuine love and passion for Go (though TV became a bias😂).

Yu Liang was the lonely one among those three. I was glad to see him interacting with other young players 🥺 and even more glad that he didn’t go the bad guy road, which could have been the case in any usual drama.

As much as I liked Shi Guang – Chu Ying duo, I knew it had to end one day. Shi Guang gained a lot of experiences and had the security of having a friend nearby 24/24, however imagining him talking loud to the air in public wasn’t that healthy.
There was also the fact that one day, he’d have to have his own signature game, walking on his own.

Shi Guang – Yu Liang duo : the twin stars of Go like a master said in the drama. Their rivalry/friendship/respect for each other was one of the highlights of the show. I was served as a fan with the last ep and the Pair Go/cohabitation situation 😆.
I can’t write about all the characters but there were family members, friends, rivals, person who inspires you, amazing teachers at the go club or at the temple (that other shameless teacher at school changing sides), …

Another highlight of the show were all those eyes filled with stars/hearts as characters talked about their passion the Go game 🤗. Some characters tried to become professional Go players, a tough competition to be able to live their passion.

Thank you show from the bottom of my heart : for the characters, for the storytelling, for making me laugh, cry and also for some throwbacks to the years around graduation or just my current situation with expectation vs reality pov.
Goodbye Chu Ying my fav’, goodbye Shi Guang & Yu Liang : Go isn’t played alone, shine bright dear twin stars 💫


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    Ah!! I just finished this a few days ago too (after it stayed in my to watch list for months ><)!! So so lovely, my light during these past few dark days 🥺🙈

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    What a beautiful review, Kudo! And so perfect. I love that you loved it! And I hope many more people do. It’s a story of such positivity and passion and joy and friendships and growing up, that a lot of people could do with in these times. Thank you for your post and your lovely gifs that made me relive my enjoyment of this show. ❤️❤️❤️

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    Juck :tears: I see him in a different light now because of Hikaru No Go.

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    I haven’t watched anything for months now but you make me want to watch this with your review!!!

    It sounds so heartwarming!

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3 meals a day Mountain village – Recommendation post

I loved that season SO MUCH 🥰!
The girls (Yeom JungAh, Yoon SeAh and Park SoDam) had great chemistry together but also with all the guests 🤗.
Didn’t know what to expect of a female cast season, turned out it was even more relatable and funny😂.

I loved how they would just dress casually, go out to greet staff when they overslept, despite some messy hair and puffy eyes.
JungAh was the biggest surprise, she was startled at first being the chef but then proved that she cooked so well🤩.
The fact they often cooked way more than needed was so funny 🤣. (won’t blame them since I kinda do the same, cooking a small amount doesn’t feel right)
The jump rope challenges were great and funny. In the end Na PD got himself into troubling, he really never learns : watch your mouth in variety shows 😋!
Having watched Gochang season quite recently, I was glad to see the same context here : doing some work to get paid and then buying ingredients with the money.
(But two guests just brought ingredients bypassing the rules 🤭)

The guests were all very nice. Have to mention Jung WooSung & Oh NaRa. The former being so rare in dramas and varieties 🥺, the latter being the perfect addition for SKY castle fans like me 🤩.
Would gladly watch another season with the same cast 🥳, Na PD pretty please !

11
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    Their season just might be my favorite and I hope they come back for another but with their schedules, it might not happen anytime soon.

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    I haven’t finished watching this season yet but I love them! I hope they can bring them back for another season.

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    This season was great. They are like the cool older sisters you needed in life.

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    Jung Woo Sung in a variety??!! Will find and watch it.

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      he was the first guest, he was in ~2eps 🙂

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      He is the co owner of the agency the ladies are clients of.

      It was pretty genius on his part to make an appearance.

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Youn’s Stay – Final thoughts

Without current elephant-in-the-room-19 we should have had Youn’s Kitchen s3 😩.
Adaptation made way for Youn’s Stay, offering foreigners in S.Korea the chance to stay in hanok and taste traditional Korean food.
I was glad when I read the news about this season, was curious about what kind of dynamics WooShik would bring.

Overall it is a nice season, the food was gorgeous and the hanoks were pretty🥰.
A diversity of foreigners : different ages, countries, backgrounds. They were families, couples or just friends travelling together.
It was nice to see the cast back and WooShik intern didn’t disappoint me, he bacame my fav’ in this season 🥳.
He was doing many little tasks here and there, picked up guests, guided them, made the staff laugh, played pranks and so on 🤗.
Yumi and SeoJun were so professionals in the kitchen 😎!
However seeing Mrs Youn not that much in the kitchen and looking tired more often than in Youn’s stay hurt. I doubt we would have another season with her.
We saw SeoJin but at the same time I wondered what he was doing, like the tasks he did wasn’t that much time consuming 😅.
The cast had some funny moments together but the show had a this-is-job/we’re tired vibe sometimes, not the best when you’re watching a show to relax and forget work.

Last but not least, Yumi’s portrait 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣!

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    You touched a crucial aspect of what makes these variety shows click. First and foremost, the cast and crew have to love the show before we audience do. This is especially the case of varieties that feature the amateur actor-turn-show host type cast as opposed to the Yoo and Kang professionals.

    And as such, there’s a limit as to how many seasons you can have the same cast again and again.

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Where Are We Going, Dad ? Season 5 (C variety show) – Final thoughts

Started this season since it’s on YT with subs (rare for some C-shows)…and it got Deng Lun 🥰, he’s the only one being an “intern dad” in the show
Had a nice surprise when I recognized Wu Chun (TW actor) I hadn’t seen in years (K-drama hole happened 🤐)

I took me 2 eps to get familiar with the concept and with the families.
Then I enjoyed it a lot and watched it at normal speed, only skipping the ppl ad 😂.
The dads and kids each have their personality, their qualities and their flaws.
Some kid would cry more easily than others, some would try to kiss others …not to the girl’s dad liking🤣
The games were sometimes silly just like any variety shows I like 🙃.
It was also very nice to see glimpses of China’s various landscapes, villages and traditions.

Thank you show for being funny, relaxing and comforting 🤗.
Saving this cute little song on my wall (it has subs) 😃

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My Heroic Husband (Cdrama) – Final thoughts

Last year, when I first heard of that drama, I thought it’d be a comedy, seeing many actors from Joy of Life I was even more looking forward watching it.
I live watched it and discovered it had comedy parts but also more serious stuff …that explained it was actually a season 1 and no a drama on its own 😕.
Overall, it was a nice drama. The humor was similar to JoL’s one but less good.
The serious stuff wasn’t my cup of tea and I don’t know if I’ll watch the s2 or not.
As for the main couple, some scenes in early eps happened too early for me to believe they truly love each other and that impression kinda lasted for the entire drama 😅

Last but not least, the academy for matrilocal husband and its members were my fav’ 🤗😂
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Drama recommendation : Dae Jang Geum (aka Jewel in the Palace)

This drama is one of the oldest entry on my to-watch list.
I often watch variety shows and over the years I’ve seen many mentions of Dae Jang Geum when some authentic or hard/slow cooking were shown.
I decided to finally take time to watch this drama and wow that ride of 54 eps had many ups and downs for our lead.

I started this drama for the cooking scenes, I was curious about how they’d show cooking in the Palace during Joseon.
I was served on that part but how surprised was I when this drama turned out to be a revenge drama :
following a little girl entering the palace to revenge her mother’s death but many years later becoming the first lady physician in charge of the king !

Since this is a sageuk, there were villains and as you can expect they were a pain in the neck and gave me high-blood pressure many times 😖.
I enjoyed the episodes where the villains’fall finally started and I enjoyed even more that our female lead make them fight amongst themselves, without involving herself that much.
As for the people on our heroine’s side, I was glad there were quite many of them 🤗, from different background, also acting sometimes for the comic relief needed (more details in comments).
Regarding the love story, I kind of prevented myself from having hopes (Yanxi Palace left some scars) but as I watched the last eps, I started to think that maybe there was a chance 🥺…
I enjoyed how the drama ended, the fact that JangGeum was still trying to find more ways to heal and save people, the fact that she had a family, the fact that her friends in the palace were safe from palace politics during a new king reign 😌.

Me joining another site cut down some of my watching time, to keep up I watched some parts at x1.5speed 😅, it wasn’t that distorted since they talk quite slowly in sageuk.
I always returned to normal speed for the ending song though, loved it 🥰.
@peony and @bebeswtz thank you for checking on my progress and Peony thank you for the information shared 😘.

I wrote “Drama recommendation” since I gave it a perfect score, but at the same time, I know that considering its length, its age (it’s a 2003 drama) and the story itself (and well its flaws, nothing’s perfect) this drama isn’t for the majority of Beanies.
So if you’re a sageuk lover, if many long episodes do not scare you and if you’re curious about medicine or cooking during that time, then I’d recommend you to watch it.

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    After 54 episodes, I need to write a few lines more to say goodbye to some characters :

    Jang Geum : a tough girl, she had many ups and downs but followed till the end hers and her teachers principle : do not use food for bad purpose. She would put her life on the line to save others or to stick to her principles. She broke down sometimes 😢 but had people who got her back 🤗.

    Min JungHo : a constant supporter for Jang Geum. He wasn’t only the love interest of Jang Geum but also a scholar who wanted to change things, someone who believed in her when she didn’t. He was ahead of his time like her 😎 “put the right people at the right place, no matter if they’re a male or a female”.

    Jang Geum’s adoptive parents : the two actors were familiar faces so I liked them from the start. As the story unfolded, I got attached to them, they might have seemed only focusing on money (esp. the mother), but it felt realistic, at the end of the day, you need something on the plate. The father afraid of his wife and so talkative was alway a comic relief 🤭, the mother nitpicking about every pence was also the first one to worry about Jang Geum entering the palace and then her love interest. She talked to her like a mother, reminding her of her conditions, preparing her to some heartache that could happen 🥺.

    Yeon Sang (Jang Geum’s best friend) : aw, ever since they were children, she was with Jang Geum. She had such a nice character and that even when she became a concubine. Her constant worries and prays for her friend, her full trust in her when she was pregnant , a strong friendship like sageuk knows how to depict them 🥰. When she almost died while giving birth , I just broke into tears, the 3rd time I cry due to that drama.

    Lady Jung : a little girl who thought the palace was a shiny place, then spent all of her life within its walls. Villains picked her to act as a puppet, but she had a stong character and put food first, it shouldn’t be used for palace politics. She was like a grandmother to Jang Geum and YeonSang 😌, a teacher to lady Han, her death made me cry .

    Lady Han (Jang Geum’s mother’s best friend) : her way of teaching wasn’t the smooth one, her personality wasn’t the best one to survive in the kitchen nor to be highest kitchen lady ,but she managed to save her friend, she managed to reach one of the highest position, she managed to guide and help her friend’s daughter, chose to give a false statement to save her 😟. Her death was the 2nd time I cry in the drama ,it hurt because Jang Geum lost a mother figure, but it also hurt because out of the characters, I relate the most to Lady Han’s personality and that made me care for her even more.

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    Lady Min and Lady Min’s disciple (the one who ate often in the kitchen): their characters could be made only for comic relief purposes, but there were a bit more to it : during such times, the fact that they only wanted to live a quiet life was quite challenging. They did try to be well perceived by the different people in charge but they kept their personal judgement and never did bad things to gain favor. The scene where they stayed outside pleading for forgiveness followed by them taking some rest sums it up : let’s play along villains but not at our knees expense 😋.

    Jang Geum’s lady physician teacher : another familiar face that suprised me. A tough teacher and lady, she taught many things to Jang Geum regarding medicine of course but also how lady physician was treated. Her bickering with Jang Geum’s adoptive mother was one of my fav’ in the 2nd part of the show 🤭.

    Shin Bi (Han Ji Min) : was surprised to learn that Han Ji Min was in this drama, enjoyed seeing her and also her character who was a trustworthy colleague and friend for Jang Geum 😄.

    Head eunuch : his friendship with Lady Jung was adorable, we saw him here and there , he caught red-handed Jang Geum’s adoptive father a few times but let him go since he knew he wasn’t a real threat. He had quite a tricky position, the closest to the king, to the power but at the same time he couldn’t act when he knew what politics were played behind the scenes. He remained loyal to the king, he helped Jang Geum when he could, he stayed that character nodding with eyes smiling when he saw people genuine about their work 🥺.

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    This is the show that was my gateway to Kdramas. I remember it being super popular in my country; literally everyone was talking about it. It was dubbed and broadcasted in one of the main channels and it was a talk of the town that year.

    Seeing this brings back so many good memories. I didn’t know I would miss it this much. 🥺

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    A classic.

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    So glad I got to know another bean who watched and loved DJG🎉🎉🎉🤗🤗🤗
    Really, not enough compelling long sageuks like that these days.
    Gaah if I start I won’t be able to stop..but here we go haha
    This holds a special sweet spot in my heart because it was the first ever long Kdrama and also Sageuk I properly watched.
    The 1st thing that hooked me in to Korean history and in extension: sageuks was…the palace uniforms lol! All color coded! I had never seen anything like that before and it appealed a LOT to my ocd, and it lead me to finding out more about the meticulous 5S ranking systems of East Asia which still impresses me to this day. I found and started following lots of history meta blogs because of this and as a result ended up learning loads more…so in short, as you can see, DJG put the base to the Mega Asian period drama fangirl Peony you see today 😁.
    Jang geum- Utterly human, realistic character. Flawed, had a hard time sometimes following her principles but never stooped to the villain’s level and ultimately stayed true to herself and her beliefs. Remember that scene where she was *thisclose* to accupointing Lady Choi on neck? And gave the most threatening foot massage ever to Geum-young? I still remember those scenes vividly.
    Min Jun-ho- Do you know he was the hearthrob across all the hallyu wave-d countries back then? He was just the perfect supportive, understanding, kind and always loving partner that anyone would dream of. Sometimes our Lan Wangji from TU reminds me of him haha. It’s one of the best character types out there that sadly seems to be reserved only for the second male lead that dies too early in the Kdramaland, more often than not. (Thankfully Cdramaland seems to have them as their MLs comparatively more often, a reason I got attracted to Cdramas despite me disliking lots of factors like the slow pacing)
    Do you know they filmed a kiss but Lee Young-ae asked the pds to remove it because it’s simply unnecessary? That to believe their mutual admiration and respect to each other we don’t need to witness a kiss. Hearing this in the early days of kdramawatching was quite the impression on me, and to this day, I’m the rare type of fangirl that absolutely do not require seeing kisses to believe in intimacy😄 I do not mind whether there are kisses or not, talented actors and well matched characters will always conjure chemistry out of thin air.
    Lady Choi- Kyeon Miri is a queen of killer glares and eye-acting. Wow. I really liked her as a villain and even felt sympathy at times, compared to Geum-young.
    Lady Min and Chang- They had hearts of gold that were always in the right place even though they had to do what they had to for surviving.
    The Queen- I loved her. Smart and sensible and I also thought she was beautiful in an unusual way😊
    The two male doctor-teachers and also the Jang-deuk(?) Nurse- Jang geum was so lucky to have such fair and level headed teachers in her life. Loved all 3 of them.

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      And Kudo? Play the cooking sound track as background music when you cook! Speedy and lots more enjoyable and looking cool guaranteed! 😆

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        I love sageuk for the ost and the costumes. Like you said, I liked the numerous palace uniforms, it changed from sageuk where they don’t focus on palace life and uniforms seemed like the same 😆.
        I read about the kiss scene deleted and it wasn’t necessary, their hugs felt so real, touching and raw, I’d rather see their hugs scenes than a kiss scene.
        Also I like more time spent on their family life and their little girl, than slow mo kiss scene with cliffhanger when kiss don’t happen😒.

        Her accupointing Lady Choi was stressful, glad she did nothing harmful.
        Min JungHo at times seems unreal, too good to be true that’s part of why I thought they weren’t going to end up together.

        The two male doctors were nice , but I kinda didn’t like when her teacher was so against her willing to take revenge (ok I know , it’s bad, but he didn’t say there was an exam…).
        I remember he was the one who got her taste back though.
        The Queen was a nice character but her trying to kill the other prince and using JG for it was a big no 😬 ,she redeemed herself afterwards but at least wasn’t such a pain like the king’s mother *sigh*

        “Lady Choi- Kyeon Miri is a queen of killer glares and eye-acting” so true !

        oh I should try that next time, cooking while listening to the song , thanks for the idea 😄

        (and wow such a reply, you love it a lot 😋)

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          I always love me some palace Sageuk where they put actual thought and effort to even the most unimportant things like servant uniforms😍 Korea doesn’t seem to do this often unless the story is focused on a palace servant (Jang Ok jung live by love did this but the costumes were the only good thing about the drama lol)
          I’d like to think naturally kind people like Min Jun ho exist somewhere in the world rather than cold hearted rude Rich boys who suddenly to a 360° after meeting the love of their lives haha🤣 I have seen such women. I sure do hope there are men too. The world needs more of them🙏
          I was ok with the teachers. It’s the classic traditional asian “observe, fail this moment and learn life lessons” teaching style haha. Certainly rage inducing and hard to understand at times but under wise teachers who know what they are doing might produce excellent students.
          Oh yeah the Queen did that right? I’ve forgotten that part. Well, at least looking at all the selfish, too annoying or too soft and candy, 1 dimensional Queens we often see in Sageuks, this lady certainly was a welcome change. She felt like an actual real queen who would’ve existed back then. At least she was in desperation to save her own child, and in the end turned away from the evil.
          Oh yeah Queen Dowager became pure pest towards the end!
          Lol I certainly love it a lot! I don’t watch many dramas but the ones I do I only watch if they offer me longlasting memories, otherwise not worth the time.
          Sorry for writing essays on your post lol😆

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    “Onara onara aju onaaaaa”

    The sad slow version of this always made me emotional.

    Glad you enjoyed the drama! I certainly had high blood pressure at some points too.

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Finally took time to read the posts of Love, February 2019 (better late than never 😅)
Thank you to all Beanies who wrote back then (I\’ve upvoted some old posts hehe 🙂 )
and thank you @hotcocoagirl for organizing it 🙂

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A hobby that I love : jigsaw puzzle

🤨 a weird look is often what I get when I say I like doing jigsaw puzzle.

But why do I love them ? when some people see them as a struggle or something boring.
I think the main reasons would be :
– it\’s helping me dealing with anxiety. Organizing the pieces, looking for pieces one after another, having an achievable goal,
something with one and only one answer possible, a task that perseverance will overcome no matter how difficult it is.
– it\’s a \”me time\” : time to think about several things, time to daydream or a karaoke time 🥳
– a companion, when calling my relatives , when listening to the news, jigsaw puzzle is better than doing those things while staring at the wall 😅.
– and some magic I can\’t explain, I just know I love it 😁

I caught myself several times staring at my ongoing puzzle with a smile on my face.
Just staring at it from afar and feeling ok or a bit better, knowing that right there if I needed it, I could escape to somewhere else.

It isn\’t always easy, I sometimes spent hours ending up with only 2 or 3 pieces put at their right place but I still love it.

Here a few jigsaw puzzle moments, maybe some puzzlers will relate to :
– this excitement when opening the bag
– taking a piece with some singular pattern and knowing exactly where it belongs
– trying a few times putting two pieces together …when the first try was a dead end and you know it but still try again 🤦
– trying to put a piece at some place but suddenly realizing that it\’s somewhere nearby you didn\’t notice
– finishing a section but having a single piece hole in it , that\’ll stay like this until you finish the other section with similar colors
– losing faith, looking at the pieces and thinking no piece would fit there, then eating your own words when filling the empty spot : phew 🤣!

To my jigsaw puzzles that I love so much that it took me a few years (and a pandemic) to dismantle in order to redo some of them 😅🥰

Love, February

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    When I was a child I was fascinated by the giant jigsaw puzzles my grandfather was able to do. I loved his expression while searching for a piece and his smile while talking about it. Thanks for this, Kudo Ran ☺️♥️

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      You’re welcome 🙂
      “his smile while talking about it” aw , glad it brought back happy memories 🙂

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    I love jigsaws. When I was a teenager/young adult we would do them as a family every summer holidays – there would be a 1000 piece puzzle sitting out on a table and everyone would just do a bit as we went past.

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      my family isn’t into jigsaw puzzles and it’s only been a few years I’ve started them but I hope I’ll have some puzzle-family time one day 🙂
      “everyone would just do a bit as we went past” everyone contributed , that’s nice 🙂

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    I went through a phase as a kid where I would ask my parents for a jigsaw puzzle every year for Christmas. We would then work it together in that time between Christmas and New Year’s. Sometimes I would stay up late after my parents went to bed trying to conquer that one difficult section. Good memories :).

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      “I would stay up late after my parents went to bed trying to conquer that one difficult section”
      oh that just one piece before I stop, then another, then another…., totally relatable 😆
      what good Christmas memories to cherish 🙂

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    We’ve been doing puzzles at my home this pandemic. Cathartic when you get that one piece you’ve been searching for!

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    I love this 💗.

    Talking about puzzles, it wa something my father used to love when I was a kid. I remembered that he would sit in a room, all alone, to try to find the correct pieces for some part of the puzzle he was trying to complete, I, so small, would go in there, sat with him and tried to help (but didn’t succeed 😂) and would leave the room sometime after that to play with other things.

    I’m thinking about buying a Lego set for Creators lately. Have you tried Lego?

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      “tried to help (but didn’t succeed 😂)” aw😊, I’m sure he enjoyed your presence and help 🙂 , a piece that doesn’t go there is a test already done , so you helped him reduce the possibilities 😉

      I haven’t tried Lego and they’re quite pricey compared to jigsaw puzzle, maybe one day I’ll try, let me know if you try them 🙂

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      @kudoran Awww ☺️.. you’re so sweet with “a piece that doesn’t go there is a test already done , so you helped him reduce the possibilities 😉” This is a very positive and heart-warming way of viewing the incident.

      I haven’t tried it either, but since it should help increasing the ability to concentrate I’m thinking about buying it for my family. I think the outside world is very distracting nowadays -even in research it says that an ordinary person’s attention span has been reduced to only 8 seconds a time. Lego is VERY expensive in my country so I’m thinking of buying it from another country; now you just gave me the other idea – perhaps I should go with jigsaw puzzles first. 😉

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        I did a paint by number once, it’s quite affordable and has similar positive effects like puzzles 🙂 , but for a family activity puzzle might be more practical.
        My attention span decreased too, me reading again is my way of trying to restore it and also to have some off-screen time.

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      I love both puzzles and LEGO.🤓 Puzzles are definitely more cost-effective, but if you are interested in buying Lego, I often look on eBay (even local Facebook markets). There is a risk of incomplete sets, but most people will verify this in the details. There is also an international community of Lego fanatics that buy and resell from each other on BrickLink (it used to be independently run but I think it was recently taken over by a company: https://www.bricklink.com/v2/main.page). However, it may not end up being cheaper because some sets are often treasured as collector’s items. But you can see if buying from someone more local to you might allow you to save some money.😊

      I like the Creator sets because there are 3 builds in one set, but it’s usually one particular build that is the “best” (uses up most of the pieces in the set). If you trust me to help you irl, and you find a set at a price you like in the UK, I will happily help you!🙂

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        Awwww @mellowarmadillo I so appreciate this. ☺️ I don’t want to burden you so I’ll check this link first and see if I can get ones at the cheaper price compared to the ones in the shops in big department stores here. It’s unbelievably expensive if I get the ones from there.

        This is so insightful and such a big help. Thank youuuuu dramadillo. 🥺 You and Beanies here are so kind ❤️

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    Puzzles are fantastic!

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    I think I’m too impatient to be able to sit through something like that.. I’ll probably won’t be able to sleep and have to complete the whole puzzle in the same day, not being able to will, for sure, give me anxiety!

    I do enjoy helping my nephews with some pieces but that is as far as I can go, LOL!

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      on the contrary, I often take my time so that the puzzle lasts longer ^^’

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\”To my love of reading that I’ve lost but hope to find again,
To my lost love without which I always feel empty\”
— I wrote those words a year ago during Love, February.

I want to thank you all again 😘 because last year I\’ve read 16 books and listened to 9 audiobooks,
all of that thanks to your stories, your recommendations, I\’ve found back my love of reading and it helped me during that crazy year of 2020.

My current book has many thin pages, is a bit heavy but has one of my favorite character ever :
Hercule Poirot: The Complete Short Stories will keep me company during February 🤗.

To my lost love which came back and filled me up 😌

Love, February

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    Poirot 🥰

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    I’m so glad you were able to make a return to reading. Here’s hoping 2021 will be that year for me.

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    I went back to reading when I watched Romance is a Bonus Book. 😊 I guess we’re on the same page.

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    Aw! This is so sweet! I’m glad you wrote about it last year and that it helped you find your lost love, books are always there waiting to be picked, enjoy!

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Drama recommendation
Nigeru wa Haji da ga Yaku ni Tatsu Ganbare Jinrui! Shinshun Special!
(We Married as a Job – New Year’s Special)

This drama special is a 2-hours long ep , sequel to the 2016 serie. I actually watched the original serie recently (last year) so story and characters were still fresh in memory and I have to say this special is one of the best sequel I’ve seen 🤗.
They revived the vibe of the show, the characters were true to themselves and they even dealt with new subjects like parenting, parental leave but also covid outbreak and its consequences.

I thought I’d have some relaxed time watching the two leads but it was more than that, a little journey with funny/happy/sad/inspiring and relatable moments 🙂
And they made the little dance again 🥰

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