Beanie level: Entertainer-in-training

Some random and bizarre highlights from the worst first episode of a drama since Melting Me Softly. You weren’t exaggerating Beanies, Bride of Habaek is pretty well unwatchable.
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    It’s a confection of horrible writing and direction. I kept watching it hoping that it would get better but it didn’t

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    It’s the naked-est kdrama I’ve ever seen.

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    Oh habaek…. *a very long sigh*
    What made me live-watch this? NOBODY KNOWS….

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    I admire your dedication to prove that beanies’ claim about unwatchable dramas are no exaggeration. I hope you still have your sanity intact by the end of this.

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    I think it’s even worse for those that read Yoon Mi-Kyung’s manhwa. The show is so loosely based on the original that it made a worn out fishing net look solid. I still soldiered through hoping they’d come in with a rescue team of writers at some point, but silly me!

    I seem to recall reconciling it in my head as a fever dream of the manhwa author.

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    Oh yeah, I remember the pig! I did actually watch the first episode of this when it was airing, but I literally can’t remember anything else.

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    this was godawful. godspeed to you.

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    Why is there a pig? 🤔

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    Mary is looking pretty good right about now, isn’t she?

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    How did I miss you were doing this?

    Abort mission! Stop! I lived watched this drama (?) Loosely put together string of words and flailing actors and really really really laughable special effects, with some plots points randomly scattered to fall with a dud. This doesn’t even have the fun of watching the eyes of the actors as they slowly realize they are in a “very bad drama.” Nope, in this one they all just know from the outset that all hope is lost. I don’t even remember if TOD makes a much needed appearance.

    My only excuse for watching this is it was airing during the worst of my insomnia period. I was insane.

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      🤣🤣🤣

      Yes, this. All of this. Everyone involved knew from the first episode they were stuck in a bad drama. The actors already look like they regret turning up to the set that day. The producer clearly threw it to the composer to try to make the first episode less tedious and they tried their best to liven it up and make the running around seem comedic but nothing could save it.

      Kat and I made it through one episode and I’m not sure if we can endure more.

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      Why are you trying to take away my fun? She needs to see how much better Mary Stayed Out All Night is compared to this one. I’m afraid if she drinks through Bride of Haebek she’ll just fall asleep though.

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    As a little kid, I had read the manhwa and it was great (atleast the drawings were very very beautiful), plot I don’t remember much so I wanted to watch this and it turned out to be so bad that I would rather listen to Savina’s OST on loop for 16 hours.

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Wow, guys, Bride of Habaek is NOT GOOD right from the beginning.
In a laboured, tortured \”we didn\’t realise this script sucked, what do we do now\” way.
@katakwasabi and I may not make it.

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    I was surprised you guys were even trying. So daring!
    For your own sanity, leave fast.

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    I made it to episode 10. You can do it!

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    this is the kinda bad drama that one needs to live-watch. You get 5 days in between 2 episodes to forget the memories, the 1 leisurely hour while the episode airs can be used to do chores or homework (exactly what I did). Also, you don’t seem to notice it’s 16 hours of utter crap when it’s fragmented and spans over 2 months.

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      NOW I understand how some beanies have been able to tolerate watching terrible shows to the end! Thank you for explaining it so clearly! I honestly didn’t get it because I don’t live-watch shows.

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        The pleasure was mine to reveal this little drama-hack. Now next time you see a train wreck disguised as a drama, live watch it to enjoy the ‘so bad it’s good’ or ‘so bad that it’s not watchable’ dramas.

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          No😂 thank you but no😂 I will continue to watch one finished show at a time, and dropping any occasional train wrecks like a hot potato

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      So true. I might’ve made it to four if I tried to binge it.

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    WOW. I’m impressed you made it far enough in to at least know that. If I remember right, I think I kept watching for some reason thinking it just had to get better…
    sigh – the torture I’ve put myself through. It’s okay if you don’t make it through!!!

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Indicate below if you want @katakwasabi and I to watch Bride of the Water God over several excruciating sanity-testing weeks.
And if you want to join in…
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    Yes please! I hope you can do a reaction video or post here in db about it.

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    Do it 😄 I’ve had this drama on hold part way through for ages (or, less charitably, I totally dropped it) but you never know, I might jump back in.

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    I made it all the way through thanks to the set design, the cute cups I wish I could get my hands on and a few of the songs. You can do it!!!

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      Me too. I loved her house and a few of the songs. The first eps were actually amusing and then it went nowhere, it’s that kind of drama I keep remaking in my head as it goes.

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    It’s not too horrible, just a lot of wasted potential.

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    Omg, I couldn’t even do one episode. Nothing is good about this drama.

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      But go right ahead. I need something to laugh with/at right now!

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      I tried really hard to watch. I wanted to watch because of Nam Joo Hyuk, but I suffered from the second episode curse. It was impossible to watch.

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      The house, the cute cups and the nighttime date setting were good. That’s at least an hour of good. I’m a little worried about @leetennant‘s state of mind, but it’s for our amusement so…

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    Pffft, please don’t do that guys. Heirs nearly killed you both.

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      I can’t believe I’m the first person to say no – clearly, I’m the only one wondering what the cost of this will be on your sanity 😂

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The third and final round is here
The Very Big End of Decade Korean Drama Poll
http://invisibledragon.home.blog/2020/08/01/the-very-big-end-of-decade-korean-drama-poll-final-round/

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    I will admit that in the best category I rated some dramas that I have not watched based solely on Mindy’s opinion of them.

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    Done! Definitely curious to see the results.

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    Done!

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    It was the hardest 5 mins of my life trying to rank my fav babies and also trying to be objective about the best kdrama, like woman, I know you love Healer to bits (maybe even a little bit more than your hubby) but there is no way it is better than the masterpiece that is My Ahjussi or even Forest of Secrets, right???

    #thetoughlifeofkdramafan

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Since we’re doing this, let’s do it

How like me are you?

10% – I’m Not a Robot
10% – My Ajusshi
10% – Forest of Secrets
10% – Sky Castle
10% – A Piece of Your Mind
10% – I Hear Your Voice
10% – Circle
10% – My Fellow Citizens
10% – Healer
10% – Avenger’s Social Club

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    20% 🤣
    It’s ok. I can’t aspire to be like Dame Judi. Or LMH’s coat.

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    40%

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    Oh my God only 10% and it’s Hwang Shi Mok

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    35%. My main problem with these lists is that there is just so much I haven’t seen. I’m still a toddler in dramaland :).

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    30% (I still need to watch FOS, Sky Castle, and Circle)

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    I haven’t watched a bunch of these. I can say that I despise I Hear Your Voice and Healer though. Conversely, I adore I’m Not A Robot, Forest of Secrets, and A Piece of Your Mind.

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      I’d be interested in why you despised IHYV and Healer.
      I did a post on IHYV if you felt the urge to comment on it
      http://invisibledragon.home.blog/2020/05/15/nostalgia-watch-i-hear-your-voice/

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        I don’t remember much about IHYV other than the fact that, like Pinocchio, I felt it didn’t do justice to the main female character.

        For Healer, I just found it dreadfully boring. I hated the contrived backstory surrounding first the childhood acquaintance of the mains, then all the stuff surrounding the reporter and his brother’s cold war of sorts and the secret the brother was trying to keep. It just felt very over the top. I also remember thinking PMY’s character sometimes seemed like a bit of a pushover, although idk if other people will agree with this description.

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        Also, 10/10 for using the word “pulchritudinous”. I once used the word “pulchritude” in a conversation with my mom and was promptly called condescending. I still maintain the word “pulchritude” is great, although I also love Latin phrases (“vel non”, “a fortiori”, “arguendo”, “pro tanto”, etc.) and French phrases (“soi disant”, “bien pensant”, “trahison des clercs”, etc.).

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          I love the word pulchritudinous but have never had the chance to work it into a conversation unfortunately. Weirdly enough, I need to use it quite a lot when writing about Korean dramas.

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            The word always comes to mind when I see a picture or watch a scene in watch a man with abs is shirtless. I think it’s because I originally learned the word from a tumblr page back in the day which just posted pictures of shirtless muscle-y men. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ The people who tell you the internet – or, more specifically, social media – don’t teach you things are wrong.

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    60% matched, but if I include the two which are in my ‘yeah I enjoyed it’s list then we got 80%!

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    40%

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    80% – but I haven’t seen I Hear Your Voice or My Fellow Citizens (yet). But the rest are some of my faves, esp. Circle and Avengers Social Club.

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      Two soulmates!

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        This…exercise(?) is making me realize that if I watch a drama to completion, I probably like it, and that I rarely finish dramas I dislike (anymore)…but I’m also going off the strictly “I did not hate this drama i.e. I remember the main plot points and/or characters of this drama and I’m not having a negative emotional reaction” standard, and not “These are in my top faves!” when adding up. (Does that make sense? It’s 2 AM here, I should be sleeping. I’m a bit loopy.)

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          I’m getting to this stage: I don’t have to hate a drama to drop it. If I don’t like it, I just drop it. I see no reason why I must complete it. So my viewing history acts as an automatic filter.

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    20%

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    40%.
    I haven’t watched I hear your voice, Circle, Avenger’s Social Club.
    I didn’t like My Fellow citizens (I fnished the second half by FF) and I’m watching Healer right now for the first time. I’m loving it, but still on episode 6.

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    I have a 30% match for dramas I enjoyed.

    I am aware of your deep love for INAR and APOYM, but we diverge there. 😀

    I dropped SKY Castle like a hot potato in four eps. And haven’t watched IHYV, Circle, MFC (on my list!!, probably next up) or Avengers Social Club (this has never ever shown up on my radar! – must investigate further).

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    Damn, 60%! I didn’t expect that!

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    60%, but I haven’t seen the other 40%

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    40%. I see some titles which are forever on my watchlist though.

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    20%. I have yet to complete Sky Castle. And liked a few more but not in my top10

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    40%

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    30%. It could increase to 50 if I’d watch Circle and FoS.

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    30% lmao but I haven’t seen 60% of it and we just don’t talk about Circle, you and I hahahaha

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Kfangurl has done me the amazing honour of publishing a piece I wrote on Greasy Melo

https://thefangirlverdict.com/2020/07/19/guest-review-greasy-melo-an-alternative-lens/

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Saya\’s nailed it as usual

https://dramasoverflowers.net/2020/07/06/diversity-in-dramaland-k-dramas-and-racial-stereotypes/

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    Loved the articles she linked!

    I’m wondering what the actor who played the Nigerian man thought about doing this scene. I read that he’s the father of Han Hyun-min, a young model who’s become quite popular in South Korea. Hyun-min has spoken out a lot about his hurtful experiences growing up biracial in Korea, and I also wonder what he thought watching this scene (and the drama as a whole).

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    Eye-opening piece, thanks & good job @saya
    What you said about k-drama being made for intl or domestic audience, I feel that it’s even more important to get correct representation when the target is domestic, since for some, it could be the only avenue they learn about the outside world or a different culture.

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Instead of wasting everyone’s time on a repetitious foray into conversations about Backstreet Rookie I instead wrote this rant on it. This is my first and final say on the matter. I’m now hiding until it goes away

http://invisibledragon.home.blog/2020/06/23/backstreet-rookie-the-drama-that-should-not-exist/

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    Credit to @gem28 whose screenshots I pilfered.

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    That was a great write up and beautifully stated.

    When I saw all the people commenting here about the racism and how we need to have a sense a humor…well, can’t say it surprised me.

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    I knew nothing about the manwha so I didn’t know what the fuss was about but what you described seems very trashy. I would never try to defend the dreadlock guy. The relationship between the leads however seems to have been changed from the original. In the drama she is 19 when she meets him and she kisses him like a prank and against his will. When they meet 3 years later, he is 29 and she is 22, she tries to get a job in his store because it seems she is trying to get to know him. I’m not saying it’s not a bad show but believe it or not I didn’t consider it to be weird like Goblin, I mean the fact she is stalking him so much time later is weirder than the age difference. Anyway, sorry if you didn’t want to know any detail about the drama itself.

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    Those screenshots were hard to look at. It was a terrific blog, LT. You said it all.

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I’m still not sure why Korea created my own personal circle of Hell and then went to the trouble of placing me in it.
But finally it’s over.
This hell’s torment at least is not eternal
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Where Your Eyes Linger turned out to be quite good overall

https://mydramalist.com/profile/ChinguMode/review/80243

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    It should have been a full series on tv.

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    I want to watch this drama but every time I go to Vicky it gives me problem 🙁

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    Maybe it will be the first of many other attempts at korean BL? I was quite surprised at how many nice moments they managed to put in the first six episodes even if the pace was rushed.

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    Oh, I still need to finish this…will read once I do!

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    That’s pretty high praise coming from you! I’m a music person too, and yeah, the music was all over the place. The leads did well here, their chemistry was amazing—which usually happens in BL’s in general for me. They but CRAP if I didn’t fall for Kang Gook by the end of this. Geez, how he’s styled at the end made me SWOOOON. Good thing I was already lying down. When Taejo said, “whoa, you got more handsome,” he took the words straight out of my mouth! 😆

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I’ve made the call for Wi Mary’s father. And her wannabe future father-in-law as well…
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    UGH I hated her father so much I can’t watch him play another character without hating him. It took me years to like Lawrence Fishburne after he played Ike Turner.

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    🤣 I’d like to see ToD have a shot first.

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Extended: Round 2 of my Best and Favourite Poll is still open and taking votes

http://invisibledragon.home.blog/2020/05/05/the-very-big-end-of-decade-korean-drama-poll-round-2/

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I hate to break it to Mary but I don’t think she’s in the genre she thinks she is…
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Another 14 episodes of Bohn freaking out over his boyfriend interacting with other human beings and Duen freaking out because his boyfriend wants to touch him?
No thanks, one was enough.
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🎶My Precious🎶
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    Noooooo! (I knew you’d get some mileage out of this drama.) I have a huge grin on my face every time I imagine you watching this. See, you’ve made me soooo happy.

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    Did I forget to mention this drama has almost every trope and is full of misogyny?

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      The sheer volume of tropes is kind of amusing (i’m waiting for the TOD to cause amnesia, also the birth secret). But the misogyny is a bit hard to take.

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Not to make any other comment on Marry Me Mary but this song makes me laugh so hard. I can’t stop imagining Jang Geun Suk as Gollum on stage intoning “My Precccciiiioussss”.



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Remember in 2019 when we were like, \”Wow this is a bad drama year, there\’s both Abyss AND That Melted Icecream Show. Poor naive, innocent us.

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I\’m thinking of pitching a drama about an actor from a very powerful and wealthy family who uses his family\’s money and connections to buy his way out of sexual assault charges.

He then buys his way back into the industry but is eventually taken down by an international cadre of radicalised drama watchers hired by female actors who\’ve been forced to work with him.

The title is United Unnis.

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    Wait, wait, I know who can play the actor!

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    Woah I need the second part to come true asap. Why does money rule over freaking everything? I checked a while ago probably the Burning Sun **it pieces were also trying to reduce their sentence. Not even all of them were caught anyway.

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    Can it please include a happy ending with the death of misogyny?

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    Yes please. I need this really badly.

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It’s about time I binged this classic, don’t you think?
I was chatting to Samsooki on Twitter the other day and realised I’ve never seen My Name is Kim Sam Soon and it’s a classic.
Going in…
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    Oh boy.

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    Look forward to your comments. I am not a super-fan of either of the leads (watched only 1 of KSA and 2 of HB, to be fair), but there’s a lot of cross-referencing to MNIKSS in City Hall which got me curious.

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      I’m a huge fan of KSA but could take or leave Hyun Bin (plus I have that twitch that developed during MoA when people used THOSE WORDS). I was in the mood for a classic kdrama but hopefully not one with the elements that annoy me. So far (episode 2) it’s good and I enjoy it.

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    Samsooki’s recaps of City Hall are awesome, btw. They’ve considerably enhanced my viewing experience of the show. Please let him know when you chat with him next!

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      They are. I’ve only read the first two so far and they add so much to my understanding of what’s on screen.

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        Sorry that is to say Samsooki’s recaps of Kim Sam Soon are great and have considerably enhanced my viewing experience. I think I binged City Hall at one point without reading the recaps. Maybe I should dive into them as well.

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    Be prepared.

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    I am a super fan of HB, KSA and the show ❤️❤️❤️ I know you will watch it with a sort of historical perspective, knowing that it’s fifteen years old. It broke a lot of the rules of kdrama at that time, introducing one of the first non-candy heroines and one who Had a career (and didn’t look like a fashion model).
    I didn’t think anything could raise my opinion of the show and the Samsooki came along with his recaps. Heaven. 🌈
    Gosh, I hope you will like it!

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    It was my 1st kdrama and I loved it but I don’t know if it stands the test of time… Good luck!

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    She should have ran away with Daniel Henney

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    Ah. This is why.

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    Lord bless you.

    Actually, except for the ML being written as such a *insert expletives* I rather enjoyed it.

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      I’m still not convinced she doesn’t slip cyanide into his almond pastry at one point but at least he’s less likely to be murdered than Secretary Kim’s husband…

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Some people have asked about my cameo in Eternal Monarch today.
I am not responding to questions about this at this time.

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