#Best Romantic Korean Drama Of All Time

[5inema]

Today we will talk about the “Top 10 Best Romantic Korean Drama Of All Time”. Which comes in the favorite list of every Drama Lover...

10. The King : Eternal Monarch

9. My Love From The Star

8. Crash Landing On You

7. The Heirs

6. Descendants Of The Sun

5. The Legend Of The Blue Sea

4. Vincenzo

3. It's Okay To Not Be Okay

2. More Than Friends

1._____________________

Read Our Full Quality Blog by Clicking on the Above Link��to Know the No.1 Best Romantic Korean Drama.

[tmzrkstan]

nct dream as teen romances.

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★warnings: maybe cursing, relationship between minors (legal).

★genre: fluff, romantic tropes, (kinda of) korean school trope.

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★Mark:

•Not just a boyfriend, also a bandmate;

•Beeing raised abroad gave him an advantage to join the band (english speaker), and of course, his ability with music;

•You and your friends found everything that were looking for to complete what became a kinda famous band in the city;

•Don't took long for you two get along and spend some afternoons with his guitar and a composition book: "You did in a few days what the music did in my whole life."

•When the relantionship became official you just couldn't separate from each other;

•The lovely looks during performances, dates in karaokes and make out sessions at the "backstage" were always present;

•"We can't be sure about the band future, but I know we're never splitting up."

★Renjun:

• The boy admired you for a long time from afar;

•When he heard from a friend that you were looking for a boyfriend he gained courage;

•He had to miss some afternoons and even morning classes in order to finish a project to win you over;

•That's why you found a drawing of you made by hand, which was noticeable the use of watercolor, and behind it, his initials;

•You soon realized who it was from and decided to text him, which led to a sleepless night with your cell phone;

•Without taking too long to return the feelings, you started dating and he nicknamed you as his "muse";

•You can be sure that your dates would always end with you taking a drawing home, whether on a small canvas or on a napkin from the restaurant you went to;

•"The best part of drawing you is being able to look at you as much as I want."

★Jeno:

•If it wasn't for the jock who falls in love with the cheerleader, I'd be lying;

•Despite his popularity, he had to struggle to get the attention of everyone on the team, which led to him crashing several rehearsals;

•He made his interest obvious when he scored a decisive point in the game and dedicate it to you in front of the whole school;

•The minute I became his girlfriend, the whole school would suffer because of you two, like the team being forced to participate in his surprises, the game being stopped for you to kiss each other at each point;

•Despite the masculine and strong exterior, inside he looked like a puppy running after his owner, he was completely passionate and silly. It's visible how he would try to help you with the cheerleading thing;

•"So, the deal is if I win the game tonight, I got a make out session for as long as I want?"

★Haechan:

•At first, no one could tell if you were friends or not;

•You competed with everything you could for years now, Hyuck knew how to make you lose and made a point of winning every time, whether in a test, sports or any activity;

•One day you got tired of it all, making it clear to him that you didn't care about it anymore, and that sent him into a fit;

•His friends consoled him that this was his final victory, but he knew well that he wanted to win you instead. Pride made him say nothing 'till the moment;

•He chased you for days and you just ran, until you had no choice when he pinned you to the wall of an empty hallway: "You really are very stupid for not understanding what I wanted all of this time";

•Sure had a lot more drama until yall finally bring fellings out and started dating, a relationship full of silly little fights and a lot of teasing on both sides, this time with some kisses, caresses and loving words in between;

•"I admit you won, look who you made fall in love with you."

★Jaemin:

•You had your reasons and he had an (toxic) ex he wanted to win back, a little gossip going around and you ended up in a fake relationship;

•The plan was doing great, everyone was getting what they wanted, or at least what you thought that you wanted;

•After weeks of "fake" dates, talking about your lives, sharing secrets and dreams, Jaemin couldn't care less when his ex showed up at his house: "Sorry, but There's no way, I'm completely in love with her."

•When he realized this, appeared the other day at school with a huge bouquet and an even bigger smile stating that dating would no longer be fake;

•You thought he could take it back later, but the kisses and declarations of love he gave you made it clear how right he was about It;

•"In the very first minute of our deal, my feelings already became real, it would be impossible not to."

★Chenle:

•It's not like anyone was really forbidding it, like arresting you at home or hiring a security guard to follow you around, but your parents made it clear that they were against it;

•His family, more modest, did not agree with the luxurious way that Chenle lived with his, who preferred that his son was with someone more similar;

•They imagined that this was going to happen, that's why they even took a while to start dating, but when they got together, there was nothing he wouldn't do for you;

•The boy was used to always getting what he wanted, and this time it would be no different, he would just have to change his strategy, like going on hidden dates, finding empty places at school and running away at midnight, it made everything harder, but more exciting;

•"You can't give up on us, it's hard right now, but I promisse I'll make it worth it."

★Jisung:

•You two been friends since the first day you can remember;

•Always inseparable, if one wasn't welcome in a group of friends then the other wouldn't even consider staying in it;

•They faced everything together, all the first experiences, like tests, graduations, parties, simply everything. Even first love, which Jisung took a long time to realize when feelings changed;

•He freaked out every time he saw some guy trying to hit on you, or when you seemed interested in another one, but he didn't want to confess and look like a silly teen that ruins the friendship;

•You're the one who had to admit you liked him first, or you'd never start dating. And everyone, including the families, loved it.

•It doesn't changed much in reality, apart from the kissing/toching and your parents no longer letting you stay alone in your bedroom for so long.

•"I can't wait to spend my whole with my best friend."

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author: Hope yall like It<3

[nanaosaki3940]

Romance Manhwa You All Should Read...

So there are a few Korean manhwa that I have been reading recently. Some are new manhwa which I just picked up to read while the others are old ones that I read before and now I'm re-reading them again. All of them are of modern-setting with the premise of high school or college romance. 🥰🥰🥰

The new ones that I'm reading for the first time -

My First Love Hate

Seasons Of Blossom

Our Secret Alliance

Just Twilight

I Don't Hate Us

Cheese In The Trap

Revelation Of Youth

Operation Name: Pure Love

The Law Of Being Friends With A Male

My Introverted Boy

See You in My 19th Life

The old ones that I've read before and now re-reading them again -

Something About Us

Positively Yours

Marked By King BS

The ones that I haven't read yet but want to get into it -

Romance 101

My Younger Brother's Friends

Rewriting Our Love Story

1 Plus 1

Villain With A Crush

This Must Be Love

Now I wanna talk about some of the Manhwa series that I recently read in the last couple of days...

Our Secret Alliance

Manhwa Status: Completed Troupe: Childhood best friends turned lovers. THE NO. 1 BEST FUCKING "CHILDHOOD FRIENDS TURNED LOVERS" TROUPE MANHWA OUT THERE💘!! PERIOD😤!!!

No, seriously. I really enjoyed reading this series, and OMG !!! Female lead Se-i Yun and male lead Jaeha Kim are so fucking adorable!!! Se-i is a cutie, for sure, and seeing Jaeha as a boyfriend in this story raised my "boyfriend" expectations to an unrealistic height...

Also warning: you'll encounter a soft, bashful male lead here... so beware!!!

Seasons Of Blossom

Manhwa Status: Completed This story has four different parts: Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. And damn, the stories are so good, y'all!!

(This is gonna be a LONG rant here btw...)

I really loved the 1st part of the series "Bomi's Flower" which is the season of Spring. The sweet female lead (Bomi Yun), one of the most popular and studious girls in school, has a little crush on the 2nd male lead (Jaemin Lee), another popular kid in school, but later finds out that her best friend/2nd female lead (Seonhui Kang) also has a crush on Jaemin. But the thing is everyone in their school ships Bomi and Jaemin together as a romantic couple. Seonhui also shows her genuine support to Bomi as a good friend if she ever tries to get together with Jaemin, but Bomi knows that deep down inside her heart Seonhui is hurting by the fact that Jaemin likes Bomi and everyone ships them, meaning her love towards Jaemin is unrequited. So to save her friendship with Seonhui and also to save Seonhui from a potential heartbreak, Bomi gets into a fake relationship with the male lead (Jinyeong Choi), so that Seonhui and Jaemin get the chance to be together... But the thing is Jinyeong is the complete opposite of Bomi. Unlike Bomi, Jinyeong is blunt, ruthless with his words, always has a straight bored look on his face, and has an "I don't give a fuck" kinda attitude. He doesn't fuck around and hates those typical high school dramas and bullshit. Even though he's a gaming otaku and only has two male friends, he's quite famous among the students; guys want to be friends with him because of his game recommendations and girls think he's really cute. Also despite the fact that he's shorter than Bomi in height, my man has balls for sure when it comes to speaking up about his mind or taking action for anything.

This story talks about how opposites attract one another, how to discover and learn new yet unexpected things, how to fall in love for the first time in life and that sweet feeling like falling in love in your youth, and how to break out of your own shell and discover a new side of yourself. This 1st part of the series will give you nothing but fluff, sweetness, and butterflies.

And then later comes the 2nd part of the series, the season of Summer aka Hamin's Flower...

Okay, this one was really tough to get through. Not because the story sucked or anything. It's because of how painful, angsty, and heartbreaking it is. In the 1st part (Bomi's Flower aka Spring), we get to know that the 2nd male lead Jaemin Lee had an older brother named Hamin Lee (the golden child of the family) who died 6 years ago by committing suicide. We don't get much info about Hamin Lee in the 1st part (other than the fact that he's Jaemin's brother) until it comes to an end and the 2nd part begins. The 2nd part opens up with Jaemin Lee and the gang bumps into a 24-year-old art college student named Somang Han who happens to be Hamin's girlfriend from high school. Through Somang's narration and flashbacks, we get to know what kind of person Hamin Lee was, how she and Hamin met and fell in love, and how he spiraled into depression which resulted in him ending his own life. And also through Jaemin, we get to know more about Hamin as a son and a brother and how their parents' rough parenting pushed him to darkness and depression. At first, when Hamin was first mentioned in the 1st part, I didn't think much about him and only felt empathy for Jaemin for losing his older brother. But after getting introduced to Hamin in the 2nd part and learning more about him through Somang and Jaemin's POV and narrations, I couldn't help but bawl my eyes out for him in every single chapter. It got even worse for me since I already knew where the story was going and what was going to happen to Hamin in the end (it was more like the Shinichiro Sano effect from Tokyo Revengers like you know who Shinichiro is and what happened to him but that doesn't stop you from falling in love with him despite him being dead throughout the whole series). RIP Hamin Lee; my heart will always go out to you, forever, always.

The 2nd part Hamin's Flower aka Summer talks about some heavy topics/subjects like - dysfunctional families, rough parenting going wrong, dealing with societal burdens and depression, losing your loved ones and dealing with the aftermath, your first tragic love story, handling regrets and dealing with your traumas, how to overcome those traumas, and finally how to let go of your past and move on with life.

Hamin's Flower left me in such a numb and gloomy state that I couldn't read the other two parts (Autumn and Winter), but I'll try to get back and read them sooner or later. Even though I haven't read the complete series yet, I'll still give out a biased statement - I really, really loved Bomi's Flower and Hamin's Flower, and these two parts will always gonna be my favs from this series (doesn't matter to me if Autumn and Winter are better than these two).

Cheese In The Trap

Manhwa Status: Completed The oldest series in this list...

This story... this story... Oh God, where should I begin?!?! I can't believe that I didn't read this until now!! This is a truly mature love story. If you read this wanting a simple light college romance, this is not for you. While there are very cute interactions between the main character and her love interests, it is a very well-thought-out and complex manga - definitely the most realistic I have read thus far. The character development is out of this world and adds a sense of tangibility to the characters that you really don't see in fiction normally. To explain, the important main and side characters in any story are always bound by rules of development to identify them as cogs in a narrative; we have underlying expectations about what the characters might do, or how they might subvert those expectations. But, this webtoon is the study of social relationships and the nature of people. You get to see that there will always be some sort of social hierarchy, that there are meanings and repercussions beyond what you expect to happen in life, and that we all have some degree of victim and perpetrator in us. We all cope and process in different ways, while also continuing and evolving in life the way we know how. Unlike anything I have ever read before.

Also, this story is under the tag of "Psychological Drama" and it's all because of the male lead named Jung Yu. God, I've such a love-hate relationship with him, y'all!! Like I love him but also hate him at the same time. He's mysterious, charming, alluring yet so damn confusing. Also, the fact that he's a sociopath with a bit of a Yandere-ish tendency in him and that he's also obsessed with the female lead (Seol Hong) in a very twisted way??? He's a walking red flag for sure, but then again not... In short, Jung Yu is a complex character and my simple brain just can't comprehend him. I also love the female lead (Seol Hong), the 2nd male lead (Inho Baek), and Seol's two best friends (Bora Jang and Euntaek Kwon). The only important side character I despise is Inho's twin sister Inha Baek (don't ask why; just go and read it for yourself and you'll know why... also I hate those bully characters too btw, just so you know...).

I Don't Hate Us

Manhwa Status: Completed Troupe: Childhood best friends turned lovers.

Another series with "childhood best friends turned lovers" troupe done right!!

The female lead (Wonsu Ha) and the male lead (Jaesu Sang) have been childhood best friends since their middle school days. They had been best friends through high school and college until one day Wonsu got herself a boyfriend. Jaesu has romantic feelings for Wonsu, but she only sees him as a friend and has platonic love for him. Wonsu then breaks up with her boyfriend, not because the guy is a cheater but because they aren't that compatible with each other, so they mutually break up and separate. Wonsu also gets separated from Jaesu because his romantic feelings for her were getting in the way of their friendship at the time, and also her relationship with her ex-boyfriend took a toll on her mentally and emotionally, so she cut off all her connection and simply focused on her studies and graduating from university. Years later, now working in a small yet growing company, Wonsu reconnects with an adult and more mature Jaesu, who now works in a multinational corporation, and that's when sparks and butterflies start to fly left, right, and center. Almost all the characters are likable, the story and the plot are realistic, and overall it was an enjoyable read for me truly.

Also warning: you'll encounter a soft, bashful male lead here... so beware!!! I mean, the fact that despite the bad boy looks and everything, he's so cute like a puppy is fucking adorable, yo!!!

My First Love Hate

Manhwa Status: On-going Troupe: Childhood best friends turned lovers

This one came out this year and so far I'm really enjoying it. Just like the previously mentioned series above, the female lead (Eunha Kang) is relatable, funny, smart, studious, strong-willed, and whatnot. The male lead (Seungmin Ha) is Eunha's childhood best friend since elementary school but they stopped hanging out with one another ever since he became a delinquent back in high school despite the fact that they went to the same school and were in the same classroom. Years later, Eunha got into a prestigious university in Seoul and later learned that Seungmin was also at that university!! Not only that, he also stopped being a delinquent for good and suddenly started dressing up like a nerdy college boy. When Eunha asked what he was trying to do, Seungmin simply replied that he was returning back to his old self again and wanted to reconnect with Eunha... But things got a bit spicy all of a sudden when a tattoo-bodied 2nd male lead named Ryu Seonhoo walked into the scene and Eunha had to tutor him for the GED test on a regular basis...

Also warning: you'll encounter a soft, bashful, puppy-like male lead AND 2nd male lead here... so beware!!!

Just Twilight

Mahwa Status: Ongoing Troupe: Strangers to friends to lovers

I won't say anything about it... JUST FUCKING READ THIS SHIT ALREADY!!!

If you're a fan of another famous manhwa series called "Positively Yours", then you'll also love this series since it's written by the same author. The female lead (Junyoung Yun) is literally my spirit animal and the male lead (Beomjin Kwon) is such a husbando material, y'all... like, just look at him!!!

That's all for now... I'll make more Korean manhwa recommendation posts again very soon!!!

My manhwa recommendation list posts - Link 1, Link 2, and Link 3.

[romancefranaticstay]

F⋆i⋆r⋆s⋆t⋆ ⋆s⋆i⋆g⋆h⋆t

This is comedy, drama, romantic serie

All members are included but its technically...

Hyunjin x reader

A new day, at a new school... In Korea. At the moment your life was upside down after the sudden decisions your parents made.

Your parents wanted to move to Korea, because it is a safe country, but they never thought about you. You knew how to speak the Korean language, okay, you know how to write it... but you had to leave everything you loved behind.

Your friends, your childhood...

It wasn't very easy to step in that airplane, it really wasn't. Your parents had to force you to go in that plane.

The worst thing first, you heard the Korean school system was pretty strict and there was a high percentage for bullying at those schools. You tried to mentally prepare yourself during the summer vacation, but there was only a week left.

Your uniform was at least decent....

To be honest, the schooluniform was pretty awesome. Because your old uniform was pretty... how an you say it... horrible... a crime towards fashion you might say.

You were actually the most scared of the students, because you were scared what they would think about you.. would they judge you because you weren't actually born in Korea? Would they judge you because you have (choose a country) roots?

Maybe they would be fascinated... yeah lets hope for the best you know!

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During the last week you tried to change yourself up a bit. And you also tried to think about other stuff in the mean time. It didn't really help the stress, but you could atleast try...

You had a lot of fun actually decorating your room. It was very cozy actually your new room, and you actually hope to get your 'k-drama' school life...(ofcourse that isn't going to happen... really not).

The last two days were actually pretty calm, your moods changed from time to time and you weren't really focusing on it. You were missing your friends back home, ofcourse you always could call them or chat with them, but its never going to be the same...

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You were laying in bed, staring towards your ceiling, and you were stressed out. Today was official your last day and tommorow was your first day. Actually you were stressed but also kind of exciting. A new school is always a bit exciting.

You went early to bed, you alreaddy packed your school supplies, you went to the hairsalon alreaddy, you did set a alarm for tommorow at 6 a.m. just to be sure,... you have done everything to be prepared for your big day...

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*beep beep beep beep*

'Dammit.' you gasped, reaching out for your heart. You slammed on your clock to put it off. Ofcourse not slamming to hard, so it wouldn't break.

You weakly stood up and went towards the bathroom.

'I am a fricking mess.' you thought by yourself. You started to brush you teeth, to style your hair, to put some 'natural-girl' make-up on and ofcourse some earrings.

You went downstairs, greeting your parents and getting your lunchbox.

'I am going to head out.' you waved. 'Bye bye.'

You took your bike and started to drive off. Looking around, just fascinated about the surroundings. It felt off, to be here. You saw some other students on your way to your school. You also saw someone who immediatly caught your eye while passing by.

A boy with big plump lips, dark eyes, and black hair. His face was just, how could you describe it, lets just call it 'chefs-kiss'. His uniform was the same as yours. So that meant you went both to the same school. You hoped that you will see him at school frequently.

You walked inside and everyone stared at you. Nobody ever saw you at this school so it was pretty normal. You also weren't from Korea, maybe thats why.

You explored the school a bit, looking around, wandering behind people. There was a big library at the school, it was well organized and actually very quiet. I know you might say: your supossed to be silent in a library, but still. Not even a single word. You couldn't hear any whispers. It was a bit weird you thought.

The bell ringed and you first went to a secretary. Because how was you supossed to know were to go?

'Goodmorning miss, mine name is I/N Y/N. I am new at this school and i never got the information where classes are or where to go.'

'Oh sweetty, i will get you all the papers and someone to show you around. No worry's!'

'Thank you.' it was a very nice old lady behind the desk. She didn't seem very old but still.

You waited for maybe 2/3 minutes when she arrived with some papers.

'Here are your classes, the number of the classroom you can find next to your lectures. I will lead you towards your classroom, okay darling?'

you nodded. You followed her into a big hallway, with everywhere classes with learning students. They were very focused. You two walked a bit further until she stopped infront of a classroom. Classroom number 705.

She knocked two time's.

'Goodmorning, i've got a new student for you.'

'Ahh, welcome miss..' he looked towards a piece of paper 'I/N Y/N.'

'I will take care of her further.' the man said to the old lady.

'Could you introduce yourself to the classroom?'

'Mine name is I/N Y/N, like you all heard. I am sixteen, i just moved to Korea maybe two months ago.'

'You can take a seat at the back next to... Han Jisung.' he pointed towards a young student.

You seated yourself next to him. He was quite silent, even tho his face shined some kind of cozy, warm type of feeling out. He wasn't very talkactive at first, but when the teacher assigned you both to do some groupwork it was laughing, pointing and angry teacher.

It all started like this...

'Hey, mine name is Y/N, by the way.'

'Nice to meet you, mine name is Han.'

'Okay lets start with it! So what do we have to do?'

'Why are you looking at me? How am i supossed to know?'

'Look i am the new student here, i shouldn't be alreaddy in the end-zone.'

'I shouldn't either.'

'Lets just look what the others are doing will you?'

'Why are they mixing something together.'

'Because maybe this is science?'

'Oh yeah, thats right. How hard can it be?'

'Yeah actually, its just mixing some stuff together.'

'Okay lets just take this.' he had a cup of purple stuff in his hand.

'Why that?'

'Because the colors of the rest are like magnenta kind of color, so we will just mix purple and blue together.'

'Thats actually smart.'

(by the way, it wasn't right.)

'Okay so... uhmmm why is it boiling?' you asked.

'Uhmmm, this wasn't supossed to happen actually...'

'O my god, its rising.'

'Oh no no no no.'

'Lucky that we are in the back of the class.'

'O no noo noo, it doesn't stop rising.'

'Oh no no no no, what are we going to do?'

'I don't know, how am i supossed to know?!'

'Why don't you know anything?'

'Wait i have a idea, just pour it out in the sink next to use.'

'You sure?'

'Yeah, yeah just do it.'

you poured it out in the sink and... nothing happend. Strange...

'You smart-pants, nothing happend.'

'See, mister smart to your service.'

you both laughed.

'You know, because you are new, we are officially now friends.'

'Thats cool.'

'So i will introduce you to mine friendgroup if you don't might.'

'Why would i?'

'They are kinda hyper-active, you know?'

'Thats okay.'

'You sure?'

'Yeah yeah.'

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You both were walking out of the class, talking and gossiping about your class-students. You two really had a connection. You both also were very loud so those students alreaddy knew you talked about them.

You saw a bench full of boys. They alreaddy turned their heads when they heard you both laughing and shouting loud. Han waved towards them from a distance. You saw a familiar face...

'Hey whatsupp guys, this is Y/N.'

'Hey.'

'Whatsupp.'

'Hello.'

'Hi-i.'

'Hey Y/N.'

'Hi.'

'Mhm.'

You felt someone staring at your body. Suddenly you locked eyes with that boy, that boy you saw on your bike.

'This are Seugmin, Bangchan, Changbin, Lee Know, Felix, Jeongin and Hyunjin.'

... His name was Hyunjin.

'Nice to meet you all.'

'So you are the new student?' Changbin asked.

'Yeah, i am.'

'So are you single?'

'I am a single pringle, indeed.'

'Your funny.' Felix smirked.

'I know.'

'Aahaaa, i know, you know, Lee Know!' Han shouted.

They all laughed but suddenly Lee Know stood up and he ran after Han.

'Oh no, here we go again.'

'What are they doing?'

'Yeah something with tissue's.'

You saw Han running away from Lee Know but Han tripped and fall into the grass. He pinned him down into the grass and putted tissue's in his mouth.

'Very interesting.'

'Its his habit.' Hyunjin said to you.

'Are they a couple?' you whispered towards him.

'They never admit it, but i think they are.'

you both giggled.

Lee Know helped Han to get up from the grass. Their hands interwining with eachother. They are very suspicious to be honest.

'Sorry for that.' Han came running towards you.

'It was funny.'

'Finally someone who finds it funny.' Lee Know commented.

Everyone started to talk about different thema's. Some were talking about their teachers and some about random stuff they saw online. You were just sitting there, next to Hyunjin. The bench was very comfortable. And the sky looked very bright today. You were observing other students when Hyunjin tapped on your shoulder.

'I forgot to ask, could i show you around maybe?'

'Oww, yeah sure, why not.' you smiled.

You both got up and started to walk around, you two, alone, without the others...

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'These are the girlsbathroom they are very neat. Don't try to hide in here when you try to skip class. They get checked frequently.'

'Good to know.'

you two walked further.

'And here is a 'secret' room.'

'If its that secret, how come you know it?'

'All the students know about this room.'

'Really how come?'

Hyunjin cheeks turned bright red.

'Its... its just a place were.' he went silent 'were, couples like... you know.'

'No i don't know.' you smirked.

'Were couples can be alone.'

'Never heard of such place's in schools.'

'Really?'

'Yeah in mine school, you just had the bathrooms.'

'The bathrooms?! Ewww.'

'I know, its disgusting.'

'Are you familliar with that concept?'

'You mean.... umm even tho its normal for teenagers... i never really had interest in that stuff... you know?'

'Yeah yeah, i understand, but why?'

'I just want to save myself for that one person.'

'I understand, you have an idea who that one person might be?'

'I don't know, but i don't want to waste myself before i met him or maybe her, you never know.'

'Yeah, you never know.'

You both smiled weakly at eachother.

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HIS POV

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I totally embarassed myself, why dammit why would i start a conversation about that kind of concept? What is wrong with me? You know just be calm, be calm, okay its just a girl.

Just a girl...

'So you like the school alreaddy?'

'Yeah its cool.'

'Cool.'

Do not ask it Hyunjin, don't you dare... don't do it, don't do it.

'So are you single?'

Dammit dammit dammit.

'What?'

'I mean, you like jingle? Like christmas jingle?'

Smooth dumbass.

'Yeah, i love christmas.'

'Me to! I love the winter.'

'Me to! Wow, you know what i love the most about Christmas?'

'What?'

'The decoration, its just so warm and cozy. Just make's me feel warm.'

'The films are also great don't you think?'

'Yeah ofcourse also the films and also the food.'

'You can't forget about the food, can't you.'

'Everything about Christmas is beautifull you know?'

'What is that noise?' she asked.

O dammit, i swear if Changbin followed use...

'I really don't know.'

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YOUR POV AGAIN

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You saw the boy named Changbin running towards you both.

'What are you two up to?'

'We litterly saw you 5 minutes ago.' Hyunjin said.

His arms were around yours and his shoulders. Hyunjin gave him a side-eye.

'Stop leaning on me-eeee.'

'StOp LeAnInG oN mE-eEeEe.'

'I don't find it funny.'

'You never searched for it.'

'Clever.'

'As always.'

The bell finally ringed. The bell almost gave you a heartattack but it was worth it.

'Yeah, i am going to mine class. Bye!'

'Do i need to bring you there?' Hyunjin asked.

'No worry's, i will find mine way.'

'Oh okay.'

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HIS POV

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yeah i messed up. I am not sure, but problably. She thinks i am weird, i feel it. I feel the spirit.

'So you like her don't you?'

'What?'

'I see the way you looking at her.'

'Is that all your basing on?'

'Thats all i need to base on.'

'Okay small-bean.'

'STOPPPP calling me short.'

'Awww, StOpPpp cAlLiNg mE sHoRt.'

i started to pinch him.

'Awaaaa, stop pinching me.'

'AwAaAa sToP PiNcHiNg mE.'

'Not funny.'

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I cannot stop thinking about her. Girls around me try to get mine attention by asking for stuff. Asking for help during art class. Trying to play with mine hair.

I don't understand, why i cannot get her out of mine head. I just met her. Her face is adorable and her little hands compared to mine. I want to hold them forever. I want to hold her face between mine thumbs. I want to feel her waist, i want... i want... i want her. With me, here.

'Hyunjinnniee, can you please help me with this painting.'

'You are so tall Hyunjinniee.'

'Please help me.'

It annoys me, i do not want all those girls, i just want her. Here with me. Is that to much to ask?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Your POV

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'Y/N?'

'Y/N?'

'Y/N?!'

'Huh what?'

'Whats the answer to question number four?'

'Shouldn't you try it yourself?'

'I tried like 20 times, but math just isn't mathing.'

'I came out 20.34'

'How did you- how?! I came out 18839.93.'

'How is that even possible?!'

'I don't know ask mine calculator?!'

'Just write off mine paper, here.'

You gave him your paper with all the answers alreaddy.

'Thank youuuuu.'

'Your welcomeeee.'

You couldn't stop thinking about Hyunjin, it was very strange. You just cannot imagine a life without him right now. Maybe thats a bit over dramatic. You only knew him shortly, so how is that even possible.

'Psst.'

You turned around and came eye to eye, to a very cute boy.

'Yes?'

'Could i borrow a pencil?'

'Sure, here.'

you gave him a pencil from your pencilcase.

'What is your name by the way.' you asked.

'Mine name is Min Yoongi and yours is...'

'Y/N, Y/N I/N.'

'Cool name.'

'Thanks, mine parents picked it for me.'

you both laughed.

You two started to have a deep conversation, about all sorts of things. He was very interesting. He never seem to be understood by the students around the campus. His story's made your heart sink and fall over again. He told about his passion about writing music, also about his friends, and funny enough, he could passiontly talk about sleeping.

After hours of talking you could tell he really liked sleeping. He liked sleeping so much, he could just stay in bed for hours. Even tho it isn't that healthy.

'You are a very interesting person Yoongi.'

'Thank you.' he blushed.

'We really should hang-out sometime's.' he proposed.

'That sounds wonderfull.'

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

AUTHORS POV

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hyunjin saw both of you smiling and talking together. His heart sank towards the ground. He never felt such a pain which wasn't physically. It was another sort of pain.

He went home with a broken-heart, even tho he didn't know you felt the same for him.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Part 2 coming soon

xoxo

Rachel

[sexlovelitpodcast]

Sex Love Lit girlies! I watched Crash Landing On You (my first k-drama) and now I have a conundrum: A) I want to watch more k-dramas, and B) No k-drama can seem to measure up to CLOY 😭 Could you put together a playlist of entry-level k-dramas for new fans that capture the CLOY magic? Bonus points if they’re on Netflix

@sliceoflifegirl thanks for the ask!

(Corinne here) First of all, welcome to KDrama land! Crash Landing on You was my second ever KDrama, and the one that really got me hooked. I’m gonna be honest, it’s a hard one to top when you’re mid emotional hangover! That said, I love this ask and recommending KDramas to people, so I’m more than happy to recommend some. My strategy here, rather than recommend something that exactly mimics CLoY (because imo, there’s nothing exactly like it), is to recommend dramas that I think are some of the best of their genre—with some aspect that might help scratch that CLOY itch ;) So, without further ado, here is your KDrama Starter Pack: 

Goblin aka Guardian: The Lonely and Great God—This fantasy romance is a classic for a reason. The set-up: 900+ year old goblin Kim Shin is on a quest to find the goblin bride to pull the sword out of his chest and finally let him die. The catch: when he finds goblin bride Eun-tak and starts to fall in love with her, he wonders if there might be something to this whole “life” thing after all. Also featured: a glum Grim Reaper, with whom Kim Shin has a top tier bromance, who has a doomed romance of his own. Goblin gave me one of the biggest emotional hangovers post-CLOY in my early KDrama days. One caveat: Kim Shin meets Eun Tak when she’s in high school, so if huge age gaps in fantasy romances give you the ick, maybe give this one a pass (in which case the fantasy romances I recommend checking out instead are Alchemy of Souls and Doom at Your Service, both on Netflix atm). (On Viki)

Mr. Sunshine—My pick for one of the best historical (aka sageuk) KDramas out there. Set in early 1900’s Joseon, just before/in the early days of Japanese occupation, this drama follows the lives of five equally compelling characters as they navigate the political turmoil of the time. At the center are Lady Ae-sin, an aristocratic lady with a tendency for dressing up as a man and sneaking around at night on missions for the rebels, and Eugene Choi, an American Marine now stationed in Joseon who escaped enslavement there as a child and has mixed feelings about the land of his birth. This one resonates with the forbidden/doomed love of people from different classes and cultures from CLOY. (On Netflix)

Reply 1988—This slice of live drama set in Seoul in 1988 follows five families who live in the same neighborhood, and especially five of their high school aged children as they grow up during a particularly vibrant time in South Korea’s recent history. Like the other installments in the Reply series, the series uses two of the main characters in the present day (or present to when it was released, anyway) looking back—which means that viewers know the Deok-sun ends up married to one of her four besties, but which one?? Still, while the love triangle mystery is fun, at its heart, this story is about community. It’ll scratch the CLoY itch for the North Korean market lady shenanigans, and a few others as well (especially if you like intense yearning in your dramas). (On Netflix)

Business Proposal—If you’d like romance of a completely different genre than CLOY, look no further than Business Proposal! In this KDrama, Shin Ha-ri goes on a blind date in place of her friend as a favor only find out that the date is with her boss. This tightly plotted romantic comedy plays with more rom com tropes than you can shake a stick at, but never sits with one so long that it gets old. The B couple is also fire, and helps move things along whenever the A couple gets into a rut. This drama also features some chaebol (rich business family) shenanigans a la CLOY.  (On Netflix)

Extraordinary Attorney Woo–If you’re in the mood for a workplace comedy/drama, look no further than Extraordinary Attorney Woo. Featuring the incandescent Park Eun Bin as rookie attorney Woo Young Woo, this legal drama features about a case per episode as Attorney Woo finds her way in the world alongside a delightful main cast of characters. (On Netflix)

Little Women—My choice for the makjang to include on this list (a genre in which extreme storylines are treated very seriously), this drama focuses on the three Oh sisters as the oldest finds that her friend who died under mysterious circumstances has left her 70 billion that a powerful political family will stop at nothing to get their hands on. Will the story always make complete sense? No. But will the stellar performances, fast-paced, genre-mixing drama, and wild cliffhangers keep you on the edge of your seat as you binge the whole thing? Absolutely. (On Netflix)

Extraordinary You—Youth dramas may or may not be your thing, but if you have the patience for the shenanigans of high schools, Extraordinary You is my top pick. In this fantasy romance, Eun Dan-Oh discovers that she is actually a character in a comic–and she’s not even the main one! While still high school appropriate, Eun Dan-oh’s literally doomed-by-the-narrative and impossible circumstances romance with Haru, another side character, is another one from my early KDrama days to stick with me just as much as Yoon Se-ri and Ri Jeong-hyeokk’s. (On Viki)

Search: WWW—Ayanni’s particular contribution to this list, this modern romantic drama focuses on intersecting lives of three women working in the fast-paced tech industry at the top two competing web portal companies. Just as interesting as each woman’s various romantic entanglement are their entanglements with each other as they put their careers ahead of just about everything else. Ayanni says she especially appreciates this one because it focuses specifically on three women (also in this genre are Be Melodramatic and Because this is My First Life). 

Happy watching--and do let us know if you pick any of these up!

[silviakundera]

I found your blog while watching for love's sake splendid drama and nice commentary from you I saw you watch chinese shows and I have a question am I dumb or because why are they so frustrating I don't know if it's because I'm used to japanese ones where there isn't much romance and this is how romance is written these days or is this a cultural thing because why every one of these I watch has such weird romantic relationships where this dude is breaking his back for her from day 1 and this dudette is out here acting like he's number 5 on her priority list?

yaassss Love for Love's Sake representation. I will never rest from reccing that drama 👏👏 you clearly are NOT dumb & have great taste 😘

for cdramas, my beloved, in my experience of watching in recent years is that there is such a wide breadth of genres & tones. There is just SO MUCH. Definitely chinese entertainment has its own tropes and way of portraying romance. And you either like or you don't. But there are many different flavors. If you feel like you were seeing the same dynamic repeatedly, it may have been bad luck.

If you prefer minimal romance, there are definitely options for that in cdramas! There are mystery/investigation dramas and wuxia martial arts dramas with little to no romance. Because of censorship the gay romances naturally are circumspect and light on the romance (see: The Untamed, Couple of Mirrors, Word of Honor, Spirealm, Guardian). Since you like Love for Love's Sake, I'd rec The Spirealm on Viki - also queer love story about a guy who enters a video game and the people he meets there become real to him; though warning it IS censored and that means the ending is more ambiguous. I can't promise you'll like it. (Semantic Error and Eighth Sense are my other 2 fav korean gay romances btw. )

There are also cdramas that do include romance but in terms of screen time the romance is like 30% of scenes and the plot & character arcs are 70% of scenes. Like in Blossoms in Adversity that I'm watching now, yeah there is most definitely romance but the FL/ML romance scenes compromise like 25% of the overall screen time. It's about way more than who she might marry.

But also in terms of cultural differences? hmm idk because I'm not chinese. I really should NOT speak like I understand their PoV. From an outsider's perspective, I have felt like there are many cdramas with overtly feminist themes - commentary about restrictions on women, the challenges of navigating through a society that can be unfair and entrenched with misogyny. (I joke and yet not that chinese entertainment seems to have 3 propaganda drums that it beats: nationalism/unification, anti-war, and feminism.) It's certainly a fact that many cdramas feature female characters that fall in love but they maintain other priorites & don't let themselves be subsumed in devotion to a man. They have romance & find love but "keep their eye on the prize."

My best guess (??) about this is that it's a rebellion against old cultural mores about women's role being subserviant to father then husband, when during imperial times a woman was expected to prioritze her husband and his family above her own wants, health, and happiness. (It was immoral to be jealous or not follow direction from the man.) Modern chinese screenwriters, both men and women, appear to be writing for an audience that will respect & support the idea of a woman who has her own agenda and maintains focus on her goals despite her love for the ML. Perhaps because this is viewed as moving away from "old thinking". idk.

I presume the target audience in china for romance dramas simply doesn't worry so much that the ML is getting loved enough & aren't as sensitive to thinking he might be at a disadvantage... They're aware society is already set up to his advatange & for much of history he would have all the power in the relationship. (He might bend now and be giving it his all, but the audience knows he can tap into more power & control at will. if she gives up control & her goals, it will be harder for her to recover & reclaim status/money/power compared to him. There are dramas I've seen that pretty much explicitly state that FL wants to earn her own status and money that is hers, thru her own efforts, not lent by him - not prestige or wealth that comes through him and thus could be taken away).

Personally I don't view this as unromantic, just the practical realities of existing in a patriarchal society. (cdramas can hit different imo because they can be blunt about how people operate based on self-interest & pettiness, the realities of classism, the ugliness of rumors, how judgmental people can be about appearances, how you can't always get justice when wronged. Reminds me of the Discworld books that were very frank about how the common people commonly are. It's not saying: this is how people should be; it's saying: this is how things are, the bitterness of life, but you can still find sweetness & meaning within it)

There's another aspect: some cdramas have male protagonists (e.g. Mysterious Lotus Casebook, Blood of Youth, League of Nobleman, Eternal Brotherhood) and some have female protagonists. If you're watching a female protagonist, as the protagonist her priorities & goals are the story driver. So her love interest will take a back seat to that even though it's a romance. He's a support role - his job in the story is to break his back for the protagonist. (A Journey to Love is an example where ML and FL share the protagonist role & you can see that in how things play out, how they each have separate priorities that don't get dropped for love.)

At the end of the day, there are plenty of cdrama romances where I ship it hard and feel a mutual love & devotion between the couple. My fav flavor is where both FL and ML have their own strengths and can be counted on to support each other. I'm not keeping score on who owes who, and neither are they.

But it's all not gonna to be to everyone's taste and that's fine. :) When it comes to international tv, if we enjoy content from other countries then it's our good luck. But if we don't...well, it wasn't made for us. That's ok.

[badass-at-fandoming]

Yuri With Women Who Know They're Queer And Are Sexy About It

I'm really happy with this yuri manga rec list I made so I'm cross posting it here :D

Syrup Anthologies - these are short story collections, and each collection centers a different theme (work, forbidden, first time). As far as I remember, none of the stories feature characters totally ignorant of her queerness. I've read these ones myself: they're very good!

How Do We Relationship? - two college students are the only lesbians in their small town. Why not date each other? Will it ever work out?

Our Teachers are Dating! - this one is a more sweet romance, but two teachers date each other, to the cheers of their students.

Love Thy Neighbor - a spicy Korean webtoon about a college student sheltering an older woman on the run from loan sharks. Drama! Messed up relationship! Could be exactly what you're looking for.

Pulse - Thai webcomic about a heart surgeon who has sex purely for pleasure's sake, without any romantic emotion involved. That is, until she meets a certain someone....

If I Could Reach You - a high school student quickly figures out her sexuality when she falls for her brother's wife.

Does It Count If You Lose Your Virginity to an Android? - this one seems more like a straightforward erotica. A high powered office worker drunkenly orders an android maid online...except the android wants to do so much more than clean.

Kill Me Now - webtoon about a hitwoman who kills a mark and "rescues" his daughter, promising the daughter that she can avenge her father when she's older. The daughter grows up and decides to emphasize the "lust" part of bloodlust. Will this toxic love overcome the cycle of revenge?

All the links go to Storygraph, which is a book review site. Best of luck on your reading journey!

[dangermousie]

Dramas for the first half of 2023

Now that we are six months into 2023, time to do one of these posts. I am gonna include both Korean and Chinese dramas, because why not and any drama I even checked out is on it.

DRAMAS WATCHED

29. Romance of Twin Flower  (China) - make it cease existing! My favorite het web novel got murdered and then had its grave spat on.

28. Dominator of Martial Gods  (China) - if MST3K still existed, this drama would be prime material for it.

27. Wanru’s Journey  (China) - acting. Try it!

26. Royal Rumors  (China) - they tried acting. But forgot to try having a functional screenplay on top.

25. The Last Princess  (China) - acting is nonexistent and the story is trash but it never aspired to be what it wasn’t and was kinda cute.

24. Oasis  (Korea) - great acting in a story with a screenplay that goes round and round fruitlessly like a hamster in a cage.

23. The Trust  (China) - the OTP in this one swaps bodies but it would have been better for everyone if whoever made this and an actual competent writer swapped theirs.

22. Snow Eagle Lord  (China) - yet another drama in which Xu Kai does his best to keep acting opposite a wooden costar and through a terrible screenplay. There is something seriously wrong with that man’s career choices.

21. Heartbeat  (Korea) - the good: it’s harmless. The bad: it’s harmless.

20. Back from the Brink  (China) - ummm the people are pretty? And if I were 10 I’d be all about this show but as is...

19. Joseon Attorney  (Korea) - slightly less fun than reading a legal treatise.

18. The Starry Love  (China) - the definition of a xianxia playing it safe and pastel; I did love the secondary couple a lot but it was not enough to save that snoozefest of a drama.

17. Chong Zi  (China) - badly acted and a screenplay that somehow manages to be both repetitive and disjointed. But I am a sucker for the shizunfucker trope so here we are.

16. Island  (Korea) - a mess but Kim Nam Gil is hot with a sword.

15. Circle of Love  (China) - rationally, a hot mess. But so entertaining and addicting and fall of make outs of epicness!

14. Lady Durian  (Korea) - makjang from the Queen of Makjang and with that scrumptious cast! This is gonna be GOOD!

13. The Forbidden Marriage  (Korea) - sweet and oddly charming despite nobody in it bothering to act much.

12. Pledge of Allegiance  (China) - the way they had to edit it likely due to censorship made it less than it what could have been but still more than most dramas this year.

11. Choice Husband (China) - delicious cliches and tropes and angst in the rain!

10. Hidden Love  (China) - to make ME of all people to care about a fluffy modern is a bona fide miracle but the two mains are chemistry machines who portray longing so well.

9. Gone with the Rain  (China) - wildly uneven but our heroine and the sexy general she eventually chooses are pure gold!

8. The Secret Romantic Guest House (Korea) - how to do youth sageuk right. Everything about this just works!

7. Alchemy of Souls: Light and Shadow  (Korea) - it has flaws but is so gorgeous and full of longing and grief and everything good!

6. Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938  (Korea) - a sequel/prequel that is almost as good as the original, how often does that happen?

5. See You In My 19th Life  (Korea) - wacky and grieving, delicate and odd, this is everything I ever want in a kdrama.

4. Call It Love  (Korea) - a truly exquisite story of trauma and loneliness and healing and love.

3. Till the End of the Moon  (China) - gloriously messy in every way this is just MORE. The ending is enraging and there are issues but when it hits, it hits so hard the rest of it does not matter - the dark characters, the dysfunctional love story, the battles, the insane visuals, the EVERYTHING of it. This is what fantasy should be like.

2. Chang Feng Du/Destined  (China) - came out of nowhere to own my heart via its story of growing up and finding love and slow organic relationship building and keeping your soul in a world of horrors.

1. The Ingenuous One  (China) - the best one, so I am gonna talk about it below.

FAVORITE DRAMA

The Ingenuous One - so impossibly solid, from acting to visuals to screenplay to EVERYTHING! Adult characters with adult issues and choices, both moral dilemmas and battles equally compelling. The love stories, the friendships, the shades of grey. This is utterly and completely adult.

WORST DRAMA

Romance of the Twin Flower - if I could make one drama cease to exist, this would be it.

FAVORITE MALE CHARACTER

Tantai Jin, Till The End of the Moon - the best character this year hands down - by turns (and timelines) unhinged monster, a contained saint, a victim of abuse trying to attain being viewed as human, a schemer, a ruler, grief personified, curiosity and monstrosity and nobility all mingled.

Runner up: Jang Uk, Alchemy of Souls - sunshine boy gone dark and grieving, but still with that same core of steel.

FAVORITE FEMALE CHARACTER

Shim Woo Joo, Call It Love - she’s damaged and impulsive and relationship-phobic and revenge driven and glorious!

Runner Up:  Shu Ya Nan (The Ingenuous One) - allowed to be tough and dark and with her own agenda and not a member of a good sect and just so cool.

NEEDS TO BE MURDERED

Han Dong Jin’s Mom, Call It Love - that woman was horrifying and the source of so much of his trauma; a real realistic monster petty in all ways except for the damage she inflicted.

FAVORITE SHIP

Gu Jiusi/Liu Yuru, Chang Feng Du - wholesome and helping each other grow and talking it out but also there is blood feeding and midnight rescues and everything. They are good but not in the least boring.

Runner Up: Woo Joo/Dong Jin, Call It Love - two wounded souls finding such slow but such amazing healing with each other.

FAVORITE SECONDARY OTP

Su Ming Yu/Ke Menglan, The Ingenuous One - there’s actually been a lot of good secondary OTPs this year (General x Fox in TTEOTM, Investigator x Princess, TIO, Rang/Mermaid, TOTNT1938) but these two owned my heart - gentleman merchant x gambling hostess ftw.

NOTP

Romance of Twin Flower - they took my favorite het novel OTP, smart and coldblooded and forces of nature and turned them into THAT?

SHIRTLESSNESS AWARD

Xiao Hong Ye, Circle of Love - guy was a terrible abuser but those pecs were the real sin!

CRAZIEST FUNFEST

Circle of Love - screenplay written by rabid monkeys and populated by a bunch of psychos but such ridiculous, irresistible fun!

FAVORITE SCENE

Tantai Jin confronting Li Susu in jail, Till the End of the Moon - the energy, the intensity, the darkness the EVERYTHING.

BIGGEST CRUSH

Li Gong Quan, The Ingenuous One - yeah whatever, I realize he’s a minor character but I loved him so much! The whole having to bring down your benefactor who’s gone evil tho you are in love with his daughter should have been a whole other drama!

BEST SCENE STEALER CHARACTER

Chen Wende, Gone with the Rain - most of this drama is not that exciting but whenever his King of Trolls hot general shows up, I sit up and pay attention. I am 35 eps deep because of him.

NEEDS A SEQUEL

The Ingenuous One - I am dying to see what happens to royal investigator and supposedly dead princess, how our OTP will travel the world, the merchant and his lady, Ten Taels and his orphans and his girl and just everything. I loved these people so!

NEEDS A DIRECTOR’S CUT

Till the End of the Moon - it was clear they cut a BUNCH in the last third to fit the ridiculous new “40 eps or bust” rule and it would flow so much more smoothly if it was allowed to breathe.

NEEDS SCISSORS TAKEN TO IT

Romance of Twin Flower - it should have been shredded into nonexistence sorry not sorry.

TOO MANY SCISSORS TAKEN TO IT

Pledge of Allegiance - this drama was good but had gaping lacunae where too many scissors were taken to it for censorship reasons; I am surprised even what’s left was allowed to air tbh but still...

TROPE THAT NEEDS TO DIE

Shrill = cute - I see it every year, I hate it every year.

FAVORITE TROPE WE’VE SEEN A LOT OF

Hot Men Whump - come one, TTEOTM alone would fill the quota but we also had CFD, Call It Love, See You in my 19th life etc etc.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

Back from the Brink - it’s based on a novel by an author whose other novels (Zhao Yao, Blue Whispers, Mulberry Song) I adore and the novelist was the screenwriter so I was so excited. But it was a juvenile, flat mess that de-powered the heroine and taught me that yeah, sometimes the writer should not adopt their work.

BIGGEST GOOD SURPRISE

Chang Feng Du - I loved the novel but the trailers were a fluffy bland disaster and I checked it out with zero expectations. However, this is a glorious adaptation, a lesson in how to transport a massive novel on screen into slim 40 eps and to account for changes in medium and stricter censorship restrictions for dramas versus books while keeping the essential vibe of the original.

BEST NON-2023 DRAMA I’VE WATCHED IN 2023

The Imperial Doctress (China) - the pining the pining by the Hot Emperor! This is like all my web novel dreams come true!

MOST ANTICIPATED

A Journey to Love/Prisoner of Beauty/My Journey to You/Kunning Palace - maybe one of them will air before the world ends.

[txt-ruby]

( 🍂 ) . . . — BELLA RUBY CRIMSON , better known as RUBY, is a korean-canadian artist under BIGHIT ENTERTAINMENT. she's the only female member of TOMORROW BY TOGETHER.

( 🪷 ) . . . — BASICS !

BIRTH NAME : Bella ruby crimson

KOREAN NAME : Seo Nabi ( hangul: 서나비 )

NICKNAMES : belle, bibi, ru (pronounced rue), nana

BIRTHDAY : 6 May, 2003

BIRTH PLACE : vancouver, british columbia

ZODIAC SIGN : taurus

NATIONALITY : canadian

ETHNICITY : korean

FAMILY : two younger sibling- twins, a sister and a brother ( 2005 )

LANGUAGES : Korean, English, French ( fluent ) ; Japanese ( conversational) ; Chinese, Cantonese ( beginner )

( 🌠 ) . . . — BODY !

HEIGHT : 170 cm (5’5″)

BLOOD TYPE : B+

BODY MODIFICATION : earlobe piercings on both ears, seven tattoos on her body.

FACE CLAIM : siyoon ( billlie )

BACK UP: dosie ( purplekiss )

( 🪼 ) . . . — PERSONALITY !

STRENGTHS : kind, empathetic, funny, considering, dedication

FLAWS : overthinking, stage fright, difficulty expressing vulnerability, anxiety, self doubt

( 🪸 ) . . . — MEMBER'S INFO. !

STAGE NAME : RUBY

AGENCIES : bighit Entertainment ( 2017 - now )

TRAINING PERIOD : 2 years and 6 months

GROUP : TOMORROW BY TOGETHER ( 2019 - now )

OCCUPATION(S) : singer, dancer, model, actress, composer, lyricist, producer

INDIVIDUAL FANDOM : gem(s)

REPRESENTATIVE EMOJI : 🫧

( 🪐 ) . . . — MISC. INFO !

dramas : our beloved summer, alchemy of souls, cheer up, twenty five twenty one, king the land, dr romantic season 3

twitter : TXT_bighit / TXT_members

private twitter : nabierlaa

instagram : txt_bighit / by.nabi

youtube : TOMORROW BY TOGETHER OFFICIAL / bynabi

( 🪻 ) . . . — MISC. TRIVIA !

ruby and her siblings had gotten out of the hands of their abusive parents when they got divorced. the three of them were sent to live in an orphanage. a year later, she came to know that all three of them were getting adopted and she prayed that it would be a good family and it did. Her and her siblings were adopted by the best people she could ever ask for. she calls them mom and dad now.

ruby made her acting debut as a side character in the 2021 drama "our beloved summer". from then on she has expanded her acting career in various other dramas and moas seem to love to see another side of their ruby.

she is absolutely adored by the boys. they would give her everything and anything she could ask for. out of all, she'd the most closest to beomgyu and taehyun.

after debut, she went to see her family back in vancouver and this time, she went with the members and oh.. they were adored by her family. all of them said that they took care of her really nice and that they were so sweet.

her original last name is not crimson and she changed it when she turned legal and crimson is the last name of her family now and they cried when she said that all her siblings were gonna change it too.

in 2021, ruby filed a child abuse and neglect case on her biological parents and after court hearings, they were officially charged with it in the end of 2021. moas praise her for her bravery and have stated that they are incredibly proud of her.

[organ-market]

Bilingual Cinema: Language and Great Representation in Media

Everything Everywhere, All at Once, 2022

One of my favorite little things about living in such a diverse American city on the West Coast is the multitude of languages flowing in and out of my ears as I commute, people watch, or even sit idly in class. Elderly Asian ladies filling a bus with the sound of Vietnamese chatter or blaring music with lyrics woven in Spanish erupting from a truck zooming down the road. While I am only properly fluent in English, I’ve found beauty in the bilingual streets of my home town and am overjoyed to see this same beauty translated onto the big screen as the movies we produce more closely reflect the diverse cultures present throughout America. 

There appears to be a growing trend of bilingual movies which heavily feature multiple languages that are baked into the infrastructure of the dialogue. No singular language takes precedence over any other as languages, dialects, and accents all flow together naturally. Americans who previously incessantly whined about subtitles are now sitting in theaters reading subtitles in The Farewell and Everything Everywhere, All at Once which took home Best Picture at the Oscars earlier this year. These bilingual films continue to push the bar of representation as people of color begin to tell their own stories using their own languages.

Stephanie Hsu in Everything Everywhere All at Once, 2022

The Daniels’ 2022 Chinese-American absurdist amalgamation of wildly varying genres, Everything Everywhere All at Once proudly features English, Mandarin, and Cantonese. The film proudly introduces us to a realistic portrayal of an Asian-American family and coaxes us into their family dynamics and larger than life sci-fi story as the movie branches off into much more imaginative territory. 

To those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of watching it, (seriously if you haven’t, go see it) the film follows Evelyn, the mother of a Chinese-American family and the struggling laundromat business she runs with husband Waymond while she attempts to reconnect with her daughter Joy. As an exclusively English speaker so much of the nuance of the film’s use of language goes completely over my head but Youtuber Language & Film has uploaded a concise little video on the film’s clever use of language which I wholeheartedly recommend checking out. If anyone wants a more in depth analysis of language’s role in the film, I’ll put a link down below.

What I particularly love about Everything Everywhere All at Once is how unashamed it is of Evelyn’s immigrant narrative. While Evelyn appears at times to be somewhat insecure about her broken English, the film never once equates intelligence with fluency; a vicious mistake Hollywood frequently makes with stereotypical Asian characters. The reason why myself and so many others connected so deeply with the film is just how honest and grounded the portrayal of this family is. Not once does it flatten the characters to the archetypes we commonly see of Asian characters in media, they aren’t the model minority or even a completely cohesive family unit as divorce looms in the back of Waymond’s mind. Despite the business of life and the film itself you can feel the cluttered love of this family throughout its runtime and I was so glad to have been able to hear the mixture of different languages that just adds to the chaos of the household.

Past Lives, 2023

I left with a well of emotions brewing deep in my gut after finishing a viewing of Celine Song’s Korean-American romantic drama, Past Lives, earlier this week. Beautifully shot and written, the romance between two childhood friends is told throughout decades as Nora Moon and Hae Sung weave in and out of each other’s lives. A mix of Korean and English is used throughout the film as Nora becomes more fluent in English after she emigrates and Hae Sung speaks almost exclusively in Korean. Director Celine Song told Polygon “...she [Nora] sounds like a kid when she speaks Korean — because she emigrated when she was a kid, and she only really speaks to her parents in Korean. So it kind of made sense that she spoke Korean in a childlike way.”  Little details like this really flesh out the characters and make them seem real, the same language logic is applied to the whole cast as they each have varying levels of fluency in both Korean and English.

Similar to Everything Everywhere All at Once, the film’s bilingualism is informed by its distinct Asian diaspora and is told through the eyes of Nora Moon who moved to Canada at the age of 12 leaving Hae Sung along with her old name Na Young behind in South Korea. When Hae Sung visits Nora in New York much later in the film, after all those decades Nora notes that Hae Sung has all these “Korean views” on everything and that she somehow feels less Korean and at the same time more Korean while being with him all at the same time.

I felt very deeply connected to Nora in this moment, neither of my parents had ever imbued in me the cultural values of my heritage. I am Vietnamese on my mother’s side and Mexican on my father’s. I find myself feeling self consciously Viet around my Vietnamese friends and self consciously Mexican around my Mexican friends but throughout it all a strange Americanized shame persists within me since my parents have been thoroughly white washed. And although it was a small moment in a nearly 2 hour film, I still can’t stop thinking about that confusing, conflicting feeling Nora described regardless.

Los Espookys, 2019

The wonderfully idiosyncratic, beautifully queer Latino comedy show, Los Espookys has spoken dialogue in both Spanish and English and often goes back and forth between A plots in Spanish and B plots in English. Created by Ana Fabrega, Julio Torres, and Fred Armisen, the show itself is about a couple of friends who decide to follow their passions and start a “horror group” performing various oddball tasks with spooky theming. In one episode they manufacture a sea monster sighting to revive tourism in a coastal beach town, in another they create a monster mascot named Bibi’s to teach an elementary class a school lesson. It is simultaneously hysterical and charmingly strange almost constantly.

Los Espookys main cast of characters consists of proud queer goth Latinos, they’re aware their infatuation with horror is a little weird but they never shy away from that and honestly love that about themselves. The only part of their identities that the main characters have trouble with is getting others around them to accept that strangeness into their lives. The show’s original ambitions were to air on a Spanish-language cable channel but when presented to HBO Latino, the team was offered a chance to bring it to HBO’s main channel to a much wider audience and, like the show’s characters, the creators had to find a way for American audiences to let that strangeness into their living rooms. Dave Itzkoff writes in the NY Times that, “...he [Armisen] wanted to create a Spanish show “that isn’t an explanation of Latino culture, that’s moving past the foreignness of it.”” 

Watching the show itself really impacted me, not only did my lungs hurt from laughing but being able to laugh along with queer Latino goths who had similar queer experiences as me was a real empowering treat. What struck me most, besides the gags, was just how natural this representation was, there are seamless transitions from the English spoken parts in America or the embassy and the parts in the fictitious Latin American country the show is set in. No member of the cast is reduced to a simple trait based on sexual orientation, race, or any other archetype, there is so much personality and life present in each character. Renaldo for example, is aro ace, loves all things horror, hates when people misspell his name, and is incredibly passionate and caring about his friends. Nobody’s sexual orientation nor accents are the focus of any one joke or define them as individuals, it is an overwhelming uplifting show and the bilingual nature of it is just another proud part of the show’s hand crafted identity.

Sr. Bibi's from Los Espookys, 2019

What I really want to hone in on and celebrate about the appearance of bilingual media is how filled with pride these works are, how lovely it is that the media we consume is starting to better reflect the colors, languages, and cultures that populate the world around us. I really can’t recommend Everything Everywhere All at Once enough but I’m sure almost everyone online has already praised it to the moon. Be sure to catch Past Lives while it’s still in theaters because it is a real treat and one of the best movies so far this year. Los Espookys is a total sleeper hit that I fell in love with from episode 1, if I get at least one more person to watch that show I can die happy. I was tempted to lengthen this post with 2019’s Sound of Metal (which I am a little more critical of) which features American Sign Language but I think I’ll save it for a later post since this one is long enough. If anyone wants to recommend any bilingual pieces of fiction whether it be movies, tv, or even games please, by all means, let me know! I’d love to hear all of your recommendations and opinions, keep it real guys.

-Ghost Emoji 👻

Links and Stuff :P

Language & Film Youtube

Past Lives Polygon Article

NY Times Los Espookys Article

[misscrawfords]

Hi, I am going to start watching k dramas, so could you recommend some good ones? Which ones do you like best?

Ooh an excellent life choice, if I may say so!

Honestly, what I'd recommend would depend on what you enjoy. My personal tastes are for:

romcoms very low angst

romances with deeper characters, a bit more realistic

thriller/spy stories, usually light-hearted, romantic subplot

fantasy, romantic subplot

For gateway kdramas, I'd recommend:

What's Wrong With Secretary Kim (romcom, a classic)

Hometown Cha Cha Cha (romcom, a few angsty moments)

Crash Landing on You (romcom... ish... angsty!)

Strong Woman Do Bong Soon (romcom with adorable female superhero and serial killer subplot)

If you like predominantly romances, I'd recommend in addition:

Her Private Life (Park Min Young (also in Secretary Kim) is basically a romcom goddess - HPL is v similar to Secretary Kim)

Because This Is My First Life (surprisingly relatable and thoughtful take on contract marriage trope)

Romance is a Bonus Book (less well known as some but just so charming if you like books and bookish people)

Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung (not usually a fan of historical kdramas and this is light on the romcom and heavy on the palace drama but it's genuinely interesting)

Our Beloved Summer (second chances romance, slow burn)

Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo (cute university sports romcom

Business Proposal (only watch when you are well-versed in romcoms - it's hilarious because it makes fun of all the tropes)

No Gain, No Love (still airing but doing something similar to Business Proposal but a bit more subtlely)

Dali and the Cocky Prince (had some flaws and some painful moments for the FL but overall excellent)

Love Next Door (still airing and I had to stop watching because it suddenly got serious and I need to know it ends happily before I force myself through the difficult episodes but really excellent up to that point - so I'm hopeful)

If you like your romcom with a twist:

Healer (another PMY drama, lots of rom but also main plot is a thriller - really excellent)

Marry My Husband (look, I just love PMY... time travel and revenge plot and swoon-worthy rom with plenty of com)

Vincenzo (the Ultimate kdrama for me - I adore it; mafia, revenge, hilarity, romcom- got everything)

My Roommate is a Gumiho (kind of forgettable tbh but I really enjoyed it a lot at the time - fantasy romcom)

Crash Course in Romance (romcom between middle aged people, crash course in the messed up Korean education system and a serial killer - IDK what is going on with this drama but overall it worked?)

Terius Behind Me/My Beloved Terius (a rather obscure one but A+ if you like spy comedy shenanigans with subtle romance)

The King: Eternal Monarch (mixed reception for this fantasy parallel universes romance but I had a Good Time)

And finally, standing all out on its own:

Alchemy of Souls Parts One and Two: just brilliant. Pure epic fantasy. I want 10 seasons in this universe and the novelisations. Should be bigger than Harry Potter.

Something to bear in mind is that most kdramas are 16 episodes and around episode 11... bad things tend to happen! Sudden illness/death/betrayal/breakup/white truck of doom... And while some of them deal with this well, others... don't. Usually it's worth getting over the hump episodes but I have to admit I have a lot of unfinished kdramas. I do keep meaning to finish them... but then another one comes along and I start that instead!

I also recommend getting onto MyDramaList to get recommendations and read reviews and find new dramas to watch as well as keep track of your watching. My list is here.

Enjoy! :D

[mystarmyangel]

[FULL TRANS] 240201 YoonA – Vogue Hong Kong February 2024 Issue Interview

February cover story | YoonA : “Love can make this world a lot warmer” Editor note: Anyone who loves K-pop will know Lim YoonA’s name. YoonA has been standing at the forefront of the Hallyu wave since she debuted in 2007 with Girls’ Generation (SNSD), becoming the most dazzling presence be it on stage or on screen, and more so becoming the global idol of many. In our February issue, she exudes limitless charms in Miu Miu’s latest wear and Qeelin’s jewellery. After all, she is the one and only Lim YoonA.  YoonA has recently once again become a hot topic as ‘King The Land’, the Korean drama that she starred in, topped the Netflix’s non-English TV chart. In the drama, she plays as the bright and cheerful hotelier Cheon Sarang, and this name means ‘love’ in Korean. This time, she poses as the cover girl for our February issue with the theme ‘love’ as well. In YoonA’s heart, what is the meaning of ‘love’? She said: “I think love is something so necessary and important in life, no matter what form it takes as love can make this world a lot warmer.” Q1: You recently starred as the female lead of ‘King The Land’ that was ranked number 1 globally on Netflix. Were there any unforgettable moments when you were filming this project? Also, can you share with us some of the behind story? What I remembered vividly the most was the super cold weather, it is especially so when we were filming for outdoor scenes, we were like fighting a battle in the cold. (Laughs) The behind story that I thought of right now was that when we were doing interview before the drama aired, I said that I hope that ‘King The Land’ can be ranked first globally on Netflix, and this wish indeed came true.

Q2: What is the one distinguishing feature you like about your character Cheon Sarang? Do you two have any similarities? What I like most is her positive and professional attitude. I think our smiles are similar.

Q3: The drama ‘Big Mouth’ was a noir genre, which was a huge contrast to the ‘King The Land’ which is a romantic comedy drama. As an actress, how do you prepare yourself when acting different characters? I would consider stylings that fit the characters, and also portraying emotions that suit the character’s personality. I will also do my research on how to best convey the character’s emotions and story to the viewers.

Q4: You first stepped into the limelight when you debut as a member of SNSD in 2007. It has been 18 years since then, looking back, what insights and growth have you gained? I do not think that I have make major transformation, my personality is still the same as before, but I have matured a lot in this 18 years. The insights and wisdom I have gained through experiences over the years have make me grown to who I am today.

Q5: As a celebrity, how do you constantly grow and improve yourself? I think that I am steadily walking forward, a step at a time. As my filmography continues to expand with each passing year, I have also continued to grow constantly, among them, there were new challenges as well as projects that are well received by the audience. I hope that in the future I would be able to welcome more meaningful challenges that will allow me to grow even more, and to continue to work hard and move forward.

Q6: What is the most memorable moment you spent with SNSD members? There was a period of time when we were really busy, we travelled to numerous places due to our global concert tour, for example going to the hot springs and amusement parks, those left me with really beautiful memories, that I would cherish deep in my heart.

Q7: How would you describe your personal styling? What is the one item that you like the most? During winter, I like to wear comfortable and warm knitwear, and in summer, I especially like wearing one piece dress, because you can complete the whole styling with just a piece of clothing.

Q8: What role does jewellery plays in your everyday styling? How do you match your outfits with jewellery? If the outfits that I’m wearing are fanciful, I would pick simple jewellery to match, and if my outfits are minimalistic, then I would use jewellery to add flavour to it. Just like what people always say, “simplicity is the best” (Laughs)

Q9: If you can say one sentence to the 17 years old Lim YoonA that just debut, what would it be? I will say, “I hope that you can continue to walk every step steadily according to your own thoughts, just as how you have been doing right now.”

Q10: What is the next plan for Lim YoonA? Are there any new things you would like to try, be it in music or acting field? Whenever I am in touch with a new project, I would always feel like I am challenging myself. I do not restrict myself in a certain field, instead I will work hard to explore every different sides of me. My next project is a movie called ‘2 O’Clock Date’, I believe that everyone would see a refreshing side of me, please look forward to it!

Source: Vogue HK Trans: mystarmyangel

[lutawolf]

Hi Dom Luta!

Hope you're having a nice day, here it's hellish weather, we're reaching max degrees.

Anyhow, read your anon ask and I have to agree, I also tend to have huge second-hand embarrassment when it comes to Japanese shows. Sometimes I also have it when it comes Taiwanese but lesser w Thai and surprisingly never when it comes to Korean BLs.

Despite the second-hand embarrassment I feel l do enjoy takara no video very much. I didn't expect it because it doesn't happen to me so often that I enjoy Japaneae BL so much because of this issue but sometimes there are exceptions like cherry magic, MPW or now takara no vidro.

I read the original manga the show is based on I have nothing but praise when it comes to show creators. It's obvious that they care about the story and want it to be the best it can be, they take time to develop characters and don't just jump into things. I also have to praise the actors. Recently I've been very disappointed with acting in some japanese BLs but here I feel like we somehow managed to check all boxes and I cannot wait to watch the rest of the show.

Hey nonnie!!!

Us too. Finally, we are under the hundreds here. Finally.

I'm the same. Japanese and Taiwanese but never Korean or Chinese.

Oh, it's so good. I'm not surprised that I'm enjoying it. Japanese really has the romantic hierarchy structure that I like. My Beautiful Man and MPW have my heart and soul. Though I thoroughly enjoy, Mr. Unlucky has not Choice but to Kiss, too.

I have not read the manga. I'm currently lost in the land of Chinese, but I have a tbr pile waiting for me when I'm found again that will include this.

I agree with all the above. There is some excellent character development, very poignant moments that aren't overdramatic. It's one of those dramas that you can get lost in and relate to.

Thanks for coming and letting me know I'm not alone in the second hand embarrassment! 💜💜💜

[suzannahnatters]

2023 was the year I disappeared down the Asian Drama Sinkhole. This year I found myself struggling with persistent fatigue that made it hard to read books, and absolutely vital to spend large amounts of time just resting and recuperating. Before 2023, in my whole life, I'd watched 3 dramas from start to end. In 2023 I consumed over 25. And I had so much fun that I've found it very difficult to interest myself in watching anything else.

I'm content with this use of my time because it's been a wonderful way to work on my long-form storytelling skills - time spent watching stuff as an author is never totally wasted. But the West makes television too, and I've spent my whole life being completely indifferent to it. All year I've been asking myself why I find Asian drama SO addictive and SO much fun compared with Western TV, which so often feels disappointing or a chore. After some thought, I've boiled it down to five basic reasons.

Structure. Asian dramas may vary in length anywhere from 10 to 70 episodes, but the vast majority of them have a discrete, self-contained story to tell. You get one season of a show, and once it's over, the story is complete. My biggest peeve with Western TV has always been the insistence on dragging a story out over multiple seasons of declining quality. The story never wraps up in a satisfying way; it just gets flogged to death. In recent years Western TV has compounded the problem by cancelling shows before their original story arc is even complete. With Asian drama, you don't have to worry about that. At least you always know you'll be getting a complete story.

Standalones. Related is the fact that Asian drama has resisted the urge to create vast IP story worlds like Star Wars or Marvel. This doesn't mean their storytelling isn't derivative - just that instead of trying to tell new stories with old characters, they're more likely to tell the same stories with new characters, which I honestly think is a more natural and creative way to do it. In an age of endless IPs, reboots, remakes, and retellings, Asian drama is making hundreds of new and unconnected stories. While many of these are adaptations of webtoons and novels, of course, to a Western newcomer the sense of novelty and variety is absolutely intoxicating.

Settings. Asian drama focuses on Asian affairs, history, and folklore. Western TV focuses on American affairs and sometimes English history; whenever it ventures beyond these limited interests it usually stereotypes them. It's not that Asian drama doesn't also have these pitfalls, but the part of me that wants to learn about the world beyond the English-speaking bits goes brrrr when it sees an Asian drama. I've long adored some limited examples of the wuxia genre in Chinese film, but now on top of that, I'm also getting Chinese xianxia and Korean sageuk and Thai romantic comedies and all the happy learning parts of my brain are lit up like a Christmas tree.

Relationships and Characters. Asian drama has a big, swoony, unapologetic focus on romance. Not all kdrama/cdrama relationships work for me, of course - wanting to stab the male lead is an occupational hazard - but Asian drama is interested in romance at a level that simply doesn't seem to exist anymore in Western media. Related to this is an emphasis on relationships of every sort - romantic, familial, platonic - and detailed, lovable character work to support them. My best guess for why Western media falls short in this area is that for decades it has been sacrificed on the altar of Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey, which sees romance and relationships as an obstacle to the hero which must be shed in order for him to achieve his goal. I'm deeply happy to have found a whole part of the world that chose to disregard this fatheaded notion.

Content. Naturally I must preface this by saying that many Asian countries do contain content that is VERY BAD and potentially triggering. Ageism, classism, lookism and sexism are all deeply engrained into Asian drama to the point that if one day I conceive a violent disgust for them this will probably be why. But that's a topic for another day. Where this benefits me, personally, is that Asian dramas don't usually push the envelope when it comes to explicit content. While the presence of such content doesn't rule out a watch for me, it does make it stressful. I just want to relax when I'm watching TV, and I don't find pervasive language, sex, or gore to be relaxing. When Western shows get an MA15+ rating, they usually go all in with that stuff, but Asian drama doesn't seem to have that urge. Explicit violence HAS kept me from watching some highly acclaimed dramas (MOVING is one example) but the vast majority of them, even when they do contain limited amounts of gore or language that get them higher ratings on Western platforms, usually keep such things brief. They are generally demure sexually, and you'll almost always find sexuality being expressed within the context of marriage (even when it's premarital) which is something that as a Christian I do find restful. Again: this is all happening within a cultural framework that ALSO contains disgusting and triggering stuff, even in the better dramas. Personally, I can stomach the insidious stuff a lot better than I can take the in-your-face explicitness of Western TV, and I'm particularly grateful for the blend of demure sexuality with a strong focus on romance: it's taught me a huge amount about creating romantic tension that goes beyond sexual tension. So there are my five completely honest and personal reasons why I've found Asian dramas to be so fun and restorative this year! One day I might write a post on the things I DON'T like about Asian dramas - but I am lazy, and I am still having fun and finding out what I do or don't like, so maybe that can wait for next year. In the meantime, feel free to hit me up for recs!

[kgyeomiex]

Thailand Drama List

My Other Lists:

- Kdrama List Part 1

- Kdrama List Part 2

Kdrama List Part 3

- Chinese Drama List

- Japanese Drama List

Taiwanese Drama List

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F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers: (First Episode Aired:) December 18, 2021 (Last Episode Aired:) April 9, 2022 (16 Episodes)

Genres: Comedy, Romance, Youth, Drama

My Opinion: As you can tell already from the list above I am someone who has watched a variety of different shows. If you are familiar with my previous list then you must know that I have watched the Korean version of Boys Over Flowers along with the Japanese one. I am currently still watching the mainland China version. . . But one thing for sure is I think this might be my favorite version of them all. Okay hear me out I was having a hard time deciding between the Japanese version and this one. Both versions of this show did an amazing job is showing the friendship among F4 and the chemistry between the two main leads. I used to put the Korean one in a petal of stool but after seeing the other versions . . . I have a lot of things I can say about the Korean one which makes it my least favorite but that will be a whole other post. Back to my review on this. I think they did an amazing job choosing the casting for this show overall and I like that there were some changes added in this storyline (Spoiler alert STOP READING IF YOU DONT WANT TO KNOW) But towards the ending, they usually have the male lead to lose his memory and another character swooping in and making him believe that the main lead loved her instead of his actual love. BUT THEY DIDN'T DO THAT. THANK GOD… but yeah let me stop this is getting longer than I anticipated. All I want to say IS GO WATCH THIS PLEASE

My Rating: 1000/10

Summary: Gorya is a simple girl who works at a flower shop. She passes an exam and gets accepted into a prestigious and luxurious school attended by the wealthy. The school is ruled by an elite clique known as the F4 consisting of four rich, handsome and spoiled boys. Gorya is the only one who stands up to their bullying, leaving all the boys in awe, especially Thyme, the group's leader. Almost instantly smitten by Gorya, Thyme romantically pursues her but she has no interest in him due to first impressions. She instead falls for his best friend Ren, However, Ren is still in love with his childhood love Mira. In all the chaos of school, Gorya can't help but find herself falling for Thyme because of his generosity to her and her family and his change of character.

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To be Continued

[dreamingsushi]

See You in My 19 Life - Overall Review

I finally just finished watching the live action of that Webtoon that I loved to pieces. Obviously, my opinion is going to be biased since I read the original story way before it came out as a drama. However, I will try my best to put it into perspective.

Plot

Even though I have some frustrations about the way the drama unraveled differently than the comic, it is a very interesting plot. Ban Ji-eum is a young woman who remembers her past life. After dying too early in her 18th life, she vows to find back her childhood friend/love interest in her next life. She transfers to the hotel he works in and as she reconnects, she’s still very much in love with him and tries to gain his affections, while working through his trauma of seeing her past self die. It’s a beautiful story aside of the romance, because it teaches how to be forgiving towards oneself, even when it’s hard. There’s a lot of growth going on, even for a character that already lived 18th lives to become more mature.

Honestly, I think that if I didn’t read the manhwa, I would have loved the story as it is. I really enjoyed the littles slices of life from Ji-eum’s past life, it was super sweet most of the time. However, I’m very disappointed in how they changed her first life, which is the beginning of everything. I feel like they went to a more fated love route, because us romantic usually never get enough of these, but knowing the real reason she was remembering her past lives in the original story makes this adaptation very… plain. But that’s my opinion. To me, the original version was just that good, that it didn’t need any changes.

Overall, it’s hard for me to rate the plot of this drama, because of my bias. I would say it would be an 8/10 if I didn’t read the Webtoon, but since I read it, it’s more of a 7/10 for. Not excellent, but not so bad either.

Acting

As a disclaimer, I have almost to no knowledge of Korean. So my notes and remarks here are based on feelings solely, as I rely on subtitles to understand what’s going on and I don’t trust them 100%.

Can we talk about Shin Hye Sun? She was wonderful. I really liked how she portrayed Ji-eum. The character was loveable even though it was supposed to be so old. She was really a natural at jumping between each sides of her personality, going back to a moment of her past lives. I liked her quirkyness. I only enjoyed a little less her acting as Su, in her first life, but I think it’s partly because it wasn’t aligned with the original story and it was pretty intense. I think she carried this whole drama by herself and I’m really looking forward to see her again on the screen.

However, I really never could agree with the casting for Seoha. Ahn Bo Hyun is… I don’t know. Too serious. Seoha is a serious character, definitely not the most joyful one since he does have a tormented past. However, I didn’t picture him as tormented as they portrayed him in the drama. And I don’t think the actor did a bad job here, his interpretation was a little bland to me at some point, but it got a little better towards the end. It was just really hard to relate to his characters emotions and I could really feel a wall that shouldn’t have been there.

I always focus on the main leads, however I really liked Ha Yoon Kyung as Chowon, she was little less cute than what I would have imagined, but it fitted really well with the drama and the rest of the casting, so I enjoyed her presence. As for Ahn Dong Goo, they didn’t give him really any opportunity to shine. There wasn’t enough room for development for his character and thus when he could have done a brilliant job, the context made it feel all the way too rushed. Which is a shame.

If it was only for Shin Hye Sun, it would be a 10/10, however I can’t rate this any higher than a 7/10 again, because there were some casting and directing errors that didn’t bring out the best of the actors.

Aesthetic

Visually it was a very pleasant drama to watch. I especially liked the past lives scenes. The ones from her first life were great, with the tinted clothes and everything. There was a lot of symbolism with the glimpses that we could see and that was so great. They kept everything simple and I feel it’s a little harder to comment on the visuals of a somewhat modern day drama, because I’m not really into nowadays clothings, where as when it is a costume drama, there’s so much details that wow me.

However, I really liked the OST of the drama. The songs were really good, especially the kind of sad one. I need to find out what’s the title for it, because that’s the kind of music that I would put on my playlist. Anyways, it was overall very well matched to the events in the drama, so good job.

This gets an 8/10 for me!

Should you watch it?

I would say… if you haven’t read the Webtoon, it’s a very nice drama. It’s cute at moment, but it’s also serious. The plot is quite original and is a nice change of pace if you want to go for something a little unusual. The story is easy to follow, the lead actress is phenomal, it would say you can’t go wrong. If however you did read the Webtoon, just be prepared for disappointment. Because it’s just really not as good once you know everything. I was thrilled to see some scenes from the Webtoon that I really liked, however… I was disappointed in many ways by the ending. It’s a fine ending, it’s jut… not the one I hoped for and what waiting for. So yeah, if you’re looking for a quick watch that is a minimum serious, this is good, but if you need to chose between the comic and the live action, go for the comic.

The whole drama is about a 7/10 for me, if that could help into making your decision. It’s a good watch overall, just not an all time favourite. See you soon!

List of full recaps

All / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12