#Lee el

[deluls]

I thought very hard on whether I should tell you this or not, but I think you should know. You know how your dad died in a fire? It wasn't your mom's fault. Aren't you a pathological liar? I mean, I know you hated your mom, but... Should I kill her for you?

The Call (2020) dir. Lee Chung-hyun

[3irons]

THE CALL dir. lee chung-hyun

[stuff-diary]

Mr. Plankton

TV Shows/Dramas watched in 2024

Mr. Plankton (2024, South Korea)

Director: Hong Jong Chan

Writer: Jo Yong

Mini-review:

As I mentioned in a previous post, Mr. Plankton was my most anticipated k-drama of the year. And, while I liked quite a few things about it, I can't help but feel slightly disappointed. For starters, both the plot and the tone are kind of all over the place. There was a lot of potential in this story, but I think the writer didn't know where to put the main focus. Also, the male lead is rather unlikeable, to the point that not even Woo Do Hwan's immense charisma can fully save him; he's definitely an interesting character, but sometimes it gets hard to root for him, especially during the first half. Still, the entire cast delivers powerful performances and the show's sense of humor is pretty funny, so the whole thing ends up being a highly entertaining experience. It wasn't the life-changing drama I expected it to be, but I enjoyed going on this crazy trip with these characters.

P.S. I used this random poster cause the official one is ugly AF.

[anotherfanaccount]

A 10/10 drama so fast after tjfh. Again another drama that I didn't care enough for and ended up letting it take over my soul.

What could go wrong they asked? Nothing. Your pillow will only be wet and you dehydrated.

Comedy in the face of tragedy will never not be top notch material. But when the actors emote and the music and scenes are compatible. It's just pressing on the button for tears.

A beautiful slice of life drama at the core. Served comedy like it was a romcom. And it was.

People found their reason for living. A drifter drifted to his destination. Another started his drifting for meaning. And another finds a shore to call home.

Found family trope where all everyone does is be mean to each other but will be screaming crying throwing up if anything bad happened to anyone.

[goblinsbriide]

[justmescreamingboutbooks]

I just finished watching “My Liberation Notes”. It has to be one of the best K-dramas I have ever watched. There is so much intimacy, not bodily but emotionally. The character development was immaculate. This is one of those rare series that leaves their effect on you without even knowing. I loved it. No relationship is perfect. No one is perfect in this series and it is so refreshing to watch something so realistic.

It revolves around the life of three siblings and their day-to-day life and how it has exhausted them. All three of them had an impressive growth.

It is a slow burn but so worth it. It is available on Netflix. Do give it a watch. If you expect too much sexual intimacy, then it is not for you (literally, there is only one kiss scene so don't expect something more). For someone who wants to watch something that will make you think, this is worth it.

[charthanry]

Liberating the Talented Mr. Gu

This is my first non-Bad Buddy post so feel free to scroll past. For I’m about to wax poetic (at length) on my latest obsession. Will attempt to keep this relatively spoiler free.

I just finished binge-watching My Liberation Notes and my ladies and my misters, this drama made me feel big, ginormous emotions. Feelings so large that they’re threatening to burst out of me if I don’t let them out. 

You know that feeling of consuming media and already missing it even though you’re still in the middle of experiencing it? Like, your heart is subconsciously preparing you for being without it. You want the episodes to both slow down so that you can savor while also wanting to find out what happens next. How seeing the opening credits envelops you like a warm embrace signaling that you’ve arrived home. This was one of those dramas for me. I haven’t felt this way since Bad Buddy ended, over a year ago. And not for nothing, but BBS inspired this entire Tumblr into existence so…. yeah.

This slice-of-life, character-driven, nearly-plotless drama was scripted for introverts like me. It trudges on at a snail’s pace with its audience urging it to hurry along and do something (insert meme of stick person poking at that thing to c’mon and do something interesting already). It puts the slow in slow burn, making all other slow burns feel like you were hit over the head at first impact. It’s sloooooowww. The characters walk slowly, they eat slowly, pour shots of soju slowly. Slow is the name of the game. Why hurry when you have no where else to be? Having said all this, what fueled my obsession was the show’s execution. Because oh boy, did this show execute.

I’ve never watched a drama quite like this one. Where the director lets a scene simply exist and breathe. Where the silence between characters is more revealing than the dialogue itself. The loudest parts in this drama were the quiet moments where the characters aren’t even looking at each other. How brave of the director to let the silence exist rather than fill it just because. The direction here is both evident yet clearly understated.

Bravo also to the incredible cinematography. Dull colors and muted tones set the atmosphere because this drama was an entire MOOD. We have close ups of subway hand hold straps, we see condensation sweating off of glassware, we feel the seasonal changes as the chill of impending winter seeps into the bones of the characters. We hear the gravel underneath plodding feet and the sliding of doors open and shut when a character reaches their destination. Who knew that the sound of two bottles of soju clinking against each other while inside a black plastic bag can be both deafening and most welcoming. How characters come together for a meal and all that can be heard is the scraping of utensils and chewing. The silence is palpable as everyone is just trying to get through a meal while fighting individual battles of brokenness.

This drama is a visual and audio feast.

The scenery is its own, living and breathing entity. We have a countryside village with fields of greens and uneven pathways of dirt that take our characters away and back home again. Rinse and repeat. We have strong gusts of wind rustling through the trees and ruffling the sheets and garments hanging dry on makeshift clotheslines. The sounds of cloyingly humid nights where you can just hear how muggy and hot it is—all of this juxtaposed by the noise and brightness of Seoul, the supposed defining mecca for success in life. 

The countless unpacking of delicious metaphors left to viewer interpretation. Underlining that the best stories are still ones that are shown and not told. How a pack of wild, roaming dogs are metaphors for freedom and imprisonment. How the subway serves as the division between the land of the living and those merely surviving. How the buzzing of an incoming text is a long held lifeline.

But more than any of this? This drama gave us the talented Mr. Gu portrayed by the incomparable Son Soek Koo.

I first discovered SSK years ago in the Korean adaptation of Suits where he played David Kim, an extremely intelligent rival lawyer and antagonist for the main lead. Think Moriarty to Sherlock but in the legal field. His guest role arc was only three episodes long but he was so magnetic and spoke perfect, impeccable English (kinda rare in kdrama-land, at least enough so that it's noticeable when it's spoken well). Fluent English that was delivered with such swagger that I quickly became a fan. It didn't hurt that the man knew how to don a fitted suit.

I next watched him in Designated Survivor: 60 Days where he played Cha Young Jin, senior advisor to the designated acting president, a meatier role that saw him on the good side of the fight. And in watching him passionately urge and support President Park's will to run the country, I learned how versatile SSK could be. Magnetic enough to take over the screen while also willingly staying in the background for others to shine.

And then along came Mr. Gu.

Mr. Gu, the neighborhood alcoholic who is shrouded in mystery. A man of very few words, but with an expressive face that conveys tomes of meaning you can’t wait to decipher. He portrays a lonely soul with hints of a dark and dangerous past. He never apologizes for who he is and even tells people: I’m a bad guy, you won’t like me when you find out what kind of person I am. Only to be met with: I don’t care. I accept you entirely.

He’s not a pretty boy by Korean standards, but there’s no denying the charisma and swagger that SSK (and Mr. Gu by portrayal) reeks. Honestly, everything about SSK is pretty average. Average height, average build, average looks—let’s be real. BUT the way he carries himself in this role… he dials the sexiness to a boiling point. Looks are fleeting…but presence? Presence can’t be denied. Both scruffy and clean shaven, Mr. Gu oozes presence. 

How does he make dirt and sweat look so damn delectable? How does he look so sexy in a sweat-soaked, oversized shirt that desperately needs laundering and an immediate introduction to an ironing board, while also filling out a cable knit sweater and an overcoat like nobody’s business? How does one look so desirable dressed like a homeless man (actual words a character on the show used to describe Mr. Gu). And damn, can this man lean on things—against a subway railing, beside a car, against a building, walking up a dark, hilly path. Body language that is an entire character, one that tells its own story. The lean while delivering his rare, lopsided smile is a true sight to behold. It’s beautiful.

And why did I watch this show hoping for glimpses of Mr. Gu in Pat’s sleeveless tees and jean short cut offs? Because arms. And calves. And a face so delicious that I yearn to slap the confident smirk right off of it. I could make a home for myself inside his cheek dimple. Dimples that rival only Nanon’s. Excuse me as I find a tissue to wipe my drool.

Make no mistake about it—when Mr. Gu is on the screen it’s impossible for me to look anywhere else. He is that mesmerizing. I grew so attached to his character that when Mr. Gu’s past indeed catches up to him, I fervently watched with bated breath hoping he comes out of the other side unscathed.

This show is not perfect. No show ever is. But for me, it does come close. I give it a resounding 9.5/10. The same rating I gave BBS, coincidentally.

I know I talked at length about SSK and his Mr. Gu, but this show features an ensemble cast of massively talented folks who all excel at micro-expressions. It’s Kim Ji Won’s most mature and impressive role to date. It’s Lee Min Ki in his least Lee Min-Ki-est role. It’s Lee El churning out a sympathetic and realistic character who yearns for love while realizing she's her own obstacle at obtaining it. It’s about the entire Yeom family existing alongside each other without ever truly talking or listening to one another. And still yet, it's in seeing each other for who we are and less of who we want the other to be. It's the idea of escaping and running from a past that we can never truly leave behind.

As much as I’ve touted the show, I understand that it’s not for everyone. The slow pacing can be off putting. There are parts that can be a slog to get through (it never was for me for what that’s worth). Some may even drop it for lack of moving plot, but man…. the journey is so wholly satisfying simply because it’s entirely relatable. These people are my people, my fellow introverts who are trudging through life one day at a time, piecing together small moments of happiness to offset their loneliness. It’s in the measurement of self-worth and finding your place in society. It’s discovering and accepting that you’re lovable.

It all speaks to me so much that after the end credits rolled, I immediately clicked replay on episode one. I never do that. Not even for Bad Buddy did I do that with such immediacy and need.

In an interview, SSK referred to playing Mr. Gu as possibly his role of a lifetime. He urged viewers to pay attention when watching, for it might just change their life. It certainly did mine. I'm jealous of any of you who are still reading that have yet to experience this extraordinary drama. If you decide to give My Liberation Notes a go, consider yourself warned, you might just catch some very big feelings along the way.

[quarter-lif3crisis]

The Call (2020)

[senelise-reviews]

My Liberation Notes (2022)

Rating: 9.5/10.0

It took me awhile to watch this one. I usually finish an 16-episode drama in less than a week but I finished this one for about 2 weeks despite having a 1-week break from work.

I have been curious about this drama since last year due to the female lead's personality which is the same as mine, who is often judged as a cool person but really is only an introverted one.

This drama has a good story and I like how the emotions were conveyed. It has a really slow-pacing halfway but that's how life is. It's really boring and it makes this drama realistic. At first, I thought I was like Yeom Mi-jeong who is really timid and does not react despite seeing everything. At some point, I'm like Yeom Chang Hee who is so materialistic and ambitious but in reality, he was just not in the right place. I also felt like Yeom Ki-Jeong who is so judgmental and desperate to find love but is so picky.

Other characters like Mr. Gu, the parents of the 3 characters, and their friends have their own stories to tell - their failures and scars.

This is what makes this drama relatable. It does not show something like people's success stories but rather, it shows how people find the right path after being lost for a long time. It's really heartwarming and like a slap to reality which is something I really need as a lost one too. Life is imperfect and this drama showed how it really is.

I don't want to give it a perfect rating because this is not for everyone. It might stress other people out. Haha.

[fewwordsmanyriddles]

[tencrownss]

Lee El

[wintercat666]

Lee El as Young-sook’s mother

Call (Kol) 2020

[diversamenteintelligente]

(via IL DIARIO DELLA MIA LIBERTA')

Il Signor Gu a Yeom Mi Jung: “Più sei debole più diventi malvagio, per questo la gente malvagia ha un lato pietoso”.

[6thdrink]

[ afterthoughts ] following | 2024

never have i wanted to know less about a person. does anybody else think lee el looks like felix?

[deathmentaal]

My liberation notes ep. 8

[secangkircoklatsusu]

"My Liberation Notes" Review: Memberikan Harapan Pembebasan Bagi Mereka yang Lelah

hancinema.net Hidup memang melelahkan, dan “My Liberation Notes” menangkap perasaan itu dengan banyak empati. Diam bisa mengungkap ribuan kata dan menyampaikan banyak pemikiran. Bagi mereka yang merasa lelah seperti para karakter dalam drama ini, pesan yang disampaikan adalah bahwa pembebasan, meskipun tidak instan, terbuka bagi semua orang. Main Cast: Lee Min Ki, Kim Ji Won, Son Suk Ku, Lee…