Beanie level: Entertainer-in-training

Excuse this off-topic post but if you ever don’t feel like watching k-dramas and think “Hm, maybe I wanna start following an awesome, fabulous rookie girl group already lauded for their performances, music, and super fun online content” then look no further than this master playlist I have made and will be maintaining for LE SSERAFIM, 5 hilarious and talented and super hardworking idols who deserve all of the love and support in the world. Just hit shuffle and no matter which video you land on you’ll have the time of your life. Thanks!

9
0

Behind Every Star has a number of problems, but I think a chief one that has bothered me lately is the casting. Despite having some A-list stars and cameos, it really feels like a B-list production to me. Many of the actors seem ill-suited for their parts and lack presence. I think some of the actors were chosen just because they happened to be in a popular project recently (and not as leads but as supporting actors) instead of for suiting their part.

Somehow, the most noteworthy performance in the show still is Cho Yeo-jeong’s cameo in the very first episode.

The script is obviously weak and quite boring, but a cast with more spark could have elevated the show a bit more.

All of this may be due in part to the director, of course. Like I said… lots of issues.

5
2

    But I just finished the finale and Kim Ah-joong is right up there for best performance. What a true star. She really has that aura.

    Also I totally shipped her and Kwak Sun-young and the show definitely missed the chance to make them a thing. Better chemistry there than with any of the men in the show!

    1
    0

    I have watched the original and a bit of the Turkish adaptation and I must say, the Korean version didn’t really click or connect with me. I don’t know if it was the 1 hour format or something else but I simply wasn’t invested in it

    0
    0

Few things in life make me feel as relaxed and carefree as the sheer stupidity of Work Later, Drink Now. Thank you, Show.

I watched them live off the land and build a cottage from wood and dirt without asking any questions, why is the fact they stopped drinking alcohol the most unbelievable thing about the season 2 premiere????? Lmaooo

6
1

The agents in Behind Every Star are so bad at their job it’s almost comical lol.

3
0

Unpopular opinion: this drama year was not any better or worse than any other year. I had a similar number of dramas I really liked and a similar number that I did not enjoy.

I would say more but I don’t want people to be mad at me 😇

12
3

    I didn’t think it was that bad either. There were some good dramas I thought. Did they supplant my top 10? No, but I added some to my top 20.

    5
    0

    Everytime I see people complaining about 2022 Kdramas, all I think is “Are you sure it is not because you have grown out of the honeymoon phase for Kdrama addiction/love?”

    1
    1

      Exactly.

      *whispers* People say it every year, too!

      1
      0

Update: Birthcare Center is fantastic from start to finish.

13
0

After becoming a student again, I thought the best way to keep healthy drama habits would be to continue to love watch everything. It would prevent me from spending too much time binging and give me structure in my drama-watching schedule.

Well, turns out that was a terrible idea. I have failed to keep up with every single show I start. Some people might blame this on dramaland being lackluster the past few months, but I don’t think that’s it. I had no problems finishing some truly meh shows before. But I figured out that with how wildly my schedule (as well as my desire to watch something) varies nowadays, it’s actually much easier and more enjoyable for me to go after already completed shows. Currently airing shows make me feel like I HAVE to watch in order to “keep up”, but I don’t have that pressure at all with current shows.

All this to say that I am 4 episodes into Birthcare Center and I cannot recommend it enough! I have had it on my list since it aired but had some weird idea in my head that it was some super serious melo and IT IS NOT THAT AT ALL. This is the most I have genuinely laughed at a kdrama for as long as I can remember! It’s only 8 episodes long and I have so much faith that it will continue to be good for the final 4. To no one’s surprise, Uhm Ji-won is AMAZING (I have adored her and her total lack of vanity ever since Spring Turns to Spring), but so is the rest of the cast.

I am not a mother and have no plans on becoming one any time soon, but I love this show putting the spotlight on new moms of all different types. It handles childbirth and childcare with so much laughter and heart while acknowledging how truly tough it is for so many moms out there. The whole “birthcare center” trend is uniquely Korean AFAIK and the show does a great job and both satirizing the ridiculousness of it and also making viewers understand why so many women would be drawn to the concept. The show does a great job at highlighting so many discussions around modern-day childrearing and reducing the stigma of so many issues. It’s not afraid to be both incredibly dumb and incredibly heartwarming.

You’ll love the prickly-but-loveable heroine, you’ll love to hate and then love her fellow moms (and birthcare center employees), and you’ll laugh. A lot.

This is the truest definition of a “hidden gem” to me. I saw practically NO ONE say a single word about this show when it first aired and am only just now seeing a couple comments here and there on DB now that it is on Netflix. I can’t believe this flew under all of our radars. This is exactly what I hoped in vain that Green Mothers’ Club would be like.

So yeah, if you’re in a slump and like women-centered shows like me, whether you’re a mom or not, give Birthcare Center a try!

And please, if you have any other hidden gens out there I should try, let me know! I would prefer something more lighthearted with a lot of heart, but I’m open to all suggestions!

Now off to watch ep 5 before giving the show a break until after final exams~

10
7

    Oh god all the typos. Excuse me I am sleep deprived and still giggling over this show.

    0
    0

    Gaus Electronics. If you can get past the first episode which has rather unappealing humour, you will be rewarded with 11 lovely episodes.

    2
    1

      I could not pass the first episode. Why so much blood? Blood is not funny 😅

      1
      1

        Yes 😅 that 1st ep needs a certain level of determination and gritted teeth to pass 😅
        If it wasn’t for @sicarius ‘s transcript of the kiss scene which sent me to IG to watch it over and over I would never have gotten past it either 😅

        2
        0

    I think it’s a great drama too and found it by chance having seen trailers of it. I loved the different types of parents it showcased. I agree I was disappointed with the Green mothers club, it wasn’t what I thought it would be and I didn’t get past a couple of episodes.

    1
    0

    Thanks for the rec! I’m indeed in a slump but this sounds like it ticks all the boxes for what I like most: awesome ladies, heart, and humor 😸

    1
    0

    https://www.dramabeans.com/members/radily/activity/1169724/

    Are you sure no one said a word about it back then? 😛

    0
    0

Ummmm, why did no one tell me how hilarious Birthcare Center is? I shouldn’t be surprised because it’s Uhm Ji-won, but ep 1 had me in STITCHES. I’m so glad I pressed play on this one!

10
6

    I loved it when it first came out but only a couple other beanie’s watched and liked it at the time. It was so weird but funny and explored things you don’t see often.

    3
    1

      It’s such a unique show! I’m 5 eps in and love it so much!

      0
      0

    It’s so funny and adorable

    1
    1

      SO adorable. Not what I was expecting at all and I love it

      1
      0

    I’m watching Birthcare Center in bits and I’m loving it. I’m currently in ep 3/4 and I like it that way. If it takes me a while to finish, I don’t mind, I just don’t want to let it go so quickly.

    1
    1

      I just finished ep 5 and am putting it on pause out of necessity (curse real life) but gosh, I can’t wait to finish but also want to put off finishing it forever!

      0
      0

The amount of dramas coming up in December is insane and I have found it impossible to keep up with k-dramas this term and so since I will soon have a couple of weeks of freedom to binge however much I want I decided to do a round-up post so I can figure out what’s airing when.

Really all I need is Work Later, Drink Now, though.

https://sunsetdramaland.wordpress.com/2022/12/01/december-drama-round-up-island-alchemy-of-souls-light-shadow-the-fabulous-more/

15
3

    The Fabulous:

    I just want something dumb and fun to watch over the holidays.

    YYYYYESSSSS!!! Bring on the dumb fun. I’ve already used up all my brainpower for 2022 and it’s only December 1.

    Nice round-up – thanks!

    4
    1

      I needed something dumb and fun so hard that I’m literally just watching High Kick and Korean dating shows. The other dramas are like anime fillers. 🤣

      2
      0

    Don’t worry.
    Half of them will be bad from the star do you will drop them soon to make room for the other ones.
    Then the half of the ones left will be a total disaster mid point so you will drop those ones too and at the end you’ll have enough time for the good ones.

    0
    0

Oh gosh. 10 minutes into Summer Strike and I already love it and our heroine this is so dangerous you guys!!

The minute I heard the OST I thought, “Is that Tearliner?? Is this directed by Lee Yoon-jung??” and looked it up just now and OF COURSE IT WAS GOSH THAT EXPLAINS EVERYTHING.

Oh gosh, show. Don’t let me down. This feeling in my heart makes me nervous.

7
2

    All I need in a drama is a depressed heroine, apparently. My catnip.

    4
    0

    Love that feeling when you guess the ost performer and you’re right! 👏🏽

    0
    0

Taeyeon is the only singer in K-pop who can make me cry within 5 seconds of singing

5
1

Hey everyone! It’s been a bit dry on the K-drama front for a bit, huh?

After seeing a beanie mention the J-drama Why I Dress Up for Love here a little while ago, I decided to give the show a try on a whim and ended up really enjoying it! It’s very cute and is all about very different people coming together and learning to understand each other, and I really recommend it. I’ve posted a review on my blog if anyone is interested!

https://sunsetdramaland.wordpress.com/2022/11/19/falling-for-why-i-dress-up-for-love/
14
5

    Mameshiba mashiba! Love this.

    2
    1

      It took me until over halfway through the drama to get what “mameshiba” meant, and I love that her mom’s dog is a toy shiba inu too 🤭

      0
      1

        Ohh i just found out yesterday that Mameshiba is a dog type, when i went to check if I remembered the phrase correctly 🤣

        1
        0

    this is one of the sweetest J doramas i have watched!!! i loved this one! and now i’m a Kawaguchi Haruna fan so i’m watching all her works….
    : )

    1
    0

    It’s so good, isn’t it?! I loved the laid-back feeling of the whole drama.

    2
    0

Trying to get back into the swing of dramas again (and into the swing of writing again?) so I wrote a short little post about Revenge of Others~
https://sunsetdramaland.wordpress.com/2022/11/10/revenge-of-others-first-impressions/
4
0

I love them more than life

1
0

Love is For Suckers seems like a pretty run-of-the-mill classic rom-com and comes across as a bit low-budget, but I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it by the end of episode 1. The leads do a lot of hard-carrying for the show, but I also like how both characters are written so far. Their shared low self-esteem is extremely relatable, and I enjoyed seeing them both be vulnerable so early on. It let me latch onto the characters when I didn’t expect to. Off to watch episode 2!

Oh, and contrary to Love in Contract, I like that this show is actually tonally consistent so far.

11
0

Hi I love Huh Yunjin

Also October 17 can you come faster please

1
0

I’ve ended my last two nights of spamming with my other two favorite groups, so it’s only right that today ends with Oh My Girl!!! I’m still not super into “Real Love” (which is surprising because for EVERY other OMG comeback if I don’t love the song immediately it grows on me within DAYS) but “Dun Dun Dance” is still charting in Melon and for good reason!! I’ve honestly loved these girls ever since “Cupid” came out and I was soooo happy to see them finally get the recognition they deserve after “Nonstop” came out!! I always love their lyrics too and I firmly believe Mimi is a genius.

8
0

Fromis’s recent release was pretty good too, but nothing will beat the absolute bop that was “We Go”!!!! Still obsessed with this song!!

4
0

I miss when summer bops exploded all over the charts every year. Ever since SISTAR disbanded, I feel that summer has been such a letdown in K-pop. There aren’t really any summer-y girl group releases that I LOVE this year, so I’ll take it back to last year with this Brave Girls bop!!

5
0

Sunmi has created such a distinctive image and sound for herself while still always being willing to do something a little bit different, and I love her for it. Also, I’ll always consider her one if the most charismatic performers in K-pop (maybe THE most)!

6
0