#good partner

[purpleguitar]

SBS Drama Awards 2024

jang nara's emotional and adorable shout out to her co-star during her daesang award acceptance speech

[durnesque-esque]

I promise, y'all aren't going to get constant relationship spam (although if people keep asking about the ex, you might get more just to make the answer obvious), but there was a post I read somewhere (if I find it, I'll link) that's been on my mind. The gist of it was that being in a relationship should make your life overall easier. Not that relationships don't require work (they do, they absolutely do), but your partner shouldn't be increasing your work load.

Ex, if you live together, you're not suddenly doing double chores because you've become a second parent to your partner.

Last night was another show night (I run a live, interactive D&D Battle Royale show at a local bar and streamed to Twitch). My partner showed up early and just began to help with set-up.

We got done so much faster than I usually do on my own! I had the time to sit down, order, and eat food before my cast started showing up.

It was such a relief and so appreciated. But also, he's unobtrusively helpful. Times when I've said, there's nothing you can do to help but listen to me vent, he listens. He's not trying to solve my problems for me, but lifting where he can lift, listening where he can't.

Anyway, he's also cute so this is us in our matching Rumble jerseys.

[junkobato]

Upcoming Kdrama July 2024 💚

3/7: Red Swan with Kim Ha Neul, Rain. 10 episodes; melodrama, action.

6/7: The Auditors with Shin Ha Kyun, Jin Goo, Lee Jung Ha. 12 episodes; mystery, comedy.

12/7: Good Partner with Jang Nara, Nam Ji Hyun, Kim Joon Han. 16 episodes; law, comedy.

15/7: Tarot with Jo Yeo Jung, Park Ha Sun, Seo Ji Hoon. 7 episodes; horror, mystery.

19/7: Sweet Home 3 with Song Kang, Go Minsi, Lee Jin Wook. 8 episodes; horror, sci-fi.

22/7: Serendipity's Embrace with Kim So Hyun, Chae Jung Hyup, Yoon Ji On. 8 episodes; rom-com.

31/7: No Way Out: The Roulette with Yoo Jae Myung, Kim Moo Yul, Lee Kwang Soo. 8 episodes; thriller, mystery.

Shin Ha Kyun is coming back... 😍

[hoyas-big-head]

Good Partner Ep. 9

Case 09: A Half Apology

[namjhyun]

Jang Nara and Nam Ji Hyun for ELLE Korea July 2024 promoting the kdrama Good Partner.

[lamaison]

I'm sad that not many kdrama fans on tumblr are talking about Good Partner. It's so good! It's centered around a seasoned divorce attorney mentoring a new attorney who would rather be on the corporate law team.

I love seeing a story centered around female mentorship. It's also interesting to learn about Korea's marriage laws and see the show explore the problems within these laws, and how they sometimes work around the law to get the best outcome they can for the women.

[elderflowergin]

why atty jung woo-jin is so important to me (alt title: why I hope the titular good partner includes jung woo-jin too, alt title @haraxvati apologies for workplace romance talk)

If you were in fandom spaces during Sherlock, you know that people went crazy for the deductions, for how they were delivered by Sherlock on the show. Who is a terrible person to most of the people around him! The surface admiration fans feel is for the way he works and not what he does for his friends (we’re talking normal human reciprocity and not lifesaving sorts of things).

So little of romance is devoted to the opposite - women who are good at tough, unsympathetic jobs and are unapologetic about it. If you were ever a woman in law enforcement, litigation or any other job coded to be aggressive or dominant, you’d find no shortage of gatekeeping men telling you how to do your job right, and there is no pleasing anyone in this.

How to speak, how to lower your pitch, what to wear, what NOT to wear, what sort of concessions you should give to the boys in club if you want to be in the club, what sort NOT to give so you don’t look like a chump. Maybe it’s better now than it used to be. Maybe some spaces are better than others. But the outcome was the same - you never win, and someone always shifts the goalposts when you’re done. You’re too sexy, you’re not sexy enough, your voice is annoying, you’re mousy, you’re loud, you’re fancy, you’re too articulate, you’re no fun, you’re a little too much and God forbid you get angry, because no one likes an angry woman.

We don’t see this sort of criticism on the show, because Cha Eun-gyeong is successful, but it’s never far from the minds of small men, be it her boss or the lawyer her husband seeks out. And we don’t have to see more of it - her husband, who by all rights should be proud of her achievements and hard-earned reputation, weaponises her work as the reason she is no longer a mother or a woman in his eyes. Who needs to hear from a shitty colleague when the call’s coming from inside the house? He hates her success, he hates that he owes his own success to her in part at least. It’s no surprise that his girlfriend is not a fellow doctor or someone from an allied or parallel position to him - she is in an admin position subordinate to Eun-gyeong. I don’t say this to denigrate admin positions, but to point out the predictability of men like him, whose anger at not being the centre of a woman’s universe is never far from the surface.

But then there’s Jung Woo-jin, who admires Atty Cha because of all the traits that make her a good lawyer. He points out to Han Yuri that she started out doing a tough job in a time few women took it on, that she took risks and was courageous in her representation of her clients. He admires her and yes, he loves her all the more for it.

If you’re asking me why it matters what a man feels about Atty Cha’s job, frankly I don’t think it does! She’s the fulcrum of her own universe. She’s never needed anyone’s approval to do what she felt was right. But I think it bears pointing out that this is a lonely job. Clients need to be handled and protected, opposing counsel are to be suspected, and judges are to be feared. There’s at least three fronts of conflict, and here is Cha Eun-gyeong, handling it all with infinite grace. And it’s great that she can do it all, but it’d also be great if the narrative could be different, for once; if she could have friends, even lovers, potentially, who love her for all of who she is, and not just the pieces of her that are useful. It’s a fantasy, yes, but a type so specific and so underserved that it had to have been written by a woman in corporate, if not a woman in litigation.

Cha Eun-gyeong is a very good lawyer, a woman who at partner level is still working her ass off to stay at the top, and Jung Woo-jin sees that; he sees HER, and the things that make her a good lawyer are indivisible from her as a person, because they are for Cha Eun-gyeong. Which is why his admiration for her is also indivisible from his love, and it’s also why he thinks nothing of it and Han Yuri catches on immediately. Because he can’t see it, but everyone else can.

But beyond that, for me it’s the moment he bodily puts himself between the CEO (yet another man waiting for her to fail) and Cha Eun-gyeong. I think it’s easy to convey admiration privately, because you don’t lose capital from that. It’s another thing to stand up for a colleague publicly. To your CEO no less, and in front of all your other colleagues, at a time of great personal crisis for Cha Eun-gyeong. (To your CEO who is also your father, no less!). It’s telling that this unassuming man who tends to smooth ruffled feathers does not appeal to his father-boss’s ego or supplicate to secure a temporary detente; what he makes is a threat that the words being uttered are defamatory, a polite suggestion that there will be consequences for careless words, and his father absolutely picks up on it. He may pay a price for it yet, going by the conversation he has later with his father.

I don’t know why this fantasy appeals more than the other, but I think it’s in the instinctive nature of it on both sides. It’s in the way Cha Eun-gyeong - who actively distances him from her feelings, who does not open up to him by design - allows him to act as her vanguard in a deeply vulnerable moment, which in itself is an entitlement she has. It’s food for thought, a glimpse into this bond that has outlasted her marriage.

[i-got-the-feels]

good partner is directed and written by women!!!! DO I NEED TO GIVE YALL MORE REASONS TO WATCH THE SHOW

[vibes0318]

Jang Nara portrays pain in a simply poetic way.

[kojandra]

✨dramas i watched in 2024 and my ratings for them✨

May contain spoilers <3

1. A Shop for Killers, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Oh this has set the bar for 2024 already....where is next season!!! Had me hooked I didn't even realize it was a series and not a movie. Only complaint is that it needs to be longer!

2. Doctor Slump ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Watched it for the mains but fell in love with the characters. Burnout talk is necessary and I loved seeing Ha Neul's mom/family grow...as a family. The acceptance of Jeong Woo and his story was so so heartwarming and heartbreaking. I would have ate this up three years ago, but I feel like I've seen this before.

3. Flex x Cop ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Nice story that kept me engaged though a bit cheesy! A fun watch but I feel like it will not my best "fun" watch this year.

4. Queen of Tears ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ all the rom com tropes and soo hyun x ji won .....need I say more?

5. Military Prosecutor Doberman ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Decided to try another one of Ahn Bo Hyun's drama after Flex x Cop was not a hit. This was MUCH better. I learned a lot about military corruption....but something isn't hitting.

5. The Whirlwind ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 Okay, political dramas are Kim Hee Ae's THING bc this was so good. Only thing I hated was that her character was a bit weak in such crucial times....opposite of what she preached and not very girl boss of her smh.

6. Connection ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Watched it for Mi Do but oh my godddd????? A story about friendship in sick and twisted way that I can't help but love. Beginning to end...pacing was amazing, casting amazing, binged it so hard....wish I could watch it for the first time again.

7. The Frog ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (ngl i watched this for chanyeol). Did I just watch a masterclass in acting or what!? Must watch. But I am also in a thriller/murder mystery vibe this year I guess.

8. Collectors (Movie, 2020) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 no 'cause why did I like that??? A story about a corporate chairman that likes dynasty relics and a group of grave diggers that are hired to find a very specific relic. That's all I'll say. But c'mon....

9. Good Partner ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The last divorce law drama I watched was Divorce Attorney Shin, I believe (highly rec that one if you like law dramas!). Attorney Shin focused a lot on the main character's personal vengeance and this one focuses on the job itself. Justice for

10. Sweet & Sour (Movie, 2021) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Girl, just watch it. Quick synopsis: how a couple navigates a long term relationship. I thought this was gonna be fun and not that deep but oh myyyyy I was seated. Watch until the end!!!

11. Love Next Door ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Oh they're so cute. They're so cute! The last time I saw Hae-In was in D.P. and this was so refreshing. Neighbourhood friends....fall in love? Sign me up!!! Took off a star because the characters got on my nerves after a while. Seung-ho loser era was not cool!!

12. Miss Night and Day ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 Watched for Lee Jung Eun and Choi Jin Hyuk but got hooked! Fantasy drama about a 28 year old that cannot seem to pass the civil exam and find a job. She got possessed by her dead Aunt though. That's when the fun starts ;) Annoying last two episodes though....

13. Work Later, Drink Now ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ If you liked Hello, My Twenties! you will LOVE this. Loved this trio. Watch it! (Slice of life-esque).

14. Work Later, Drink Now 2 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Something different but the same magic as the first series. Love the introduction of new characters and their significance in the girls' lives. Important character development too. Fight and then make up! That's life.

15. Mr. Plankton ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Took off a star not because it was bad, but because it was so SAD. Must watch for this pairing and this chemistry. It's currently January 9th...as I'm looking through this list.....I got reminded again how sad this drama was. NEVER again.

16. Virtuous Business ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was a fun! one! I loved seeing the friend group develop. The need for a thriller sub plot in all dramas is killing me though ahhaha

17. Marry My Husband ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ binged this and honestly wTF just happened? That was so good LOL. All the characters the viewer is supposed to hate is just soooo hateable. Good on MC! For living her life!

18. The Judge from Hell - y'all I dropped it. It got repetitive :( But it was so good at the start. Not my cup of tea, I guess.

18. When the Phone Rings ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Honestly this was about to be a five star in December. I waited until the last episode aired to finish this list. Chemistry was off the charts, story was so wattpad but I ate it up, pacing was soooo good.....but..........all of a sudden there were two episodes that had their own crazy story line at the end. Using an ongoing genocide for plot rubs me the wrong way, I cannot get over that.

Dramas from this list I'll rewatch in the future: A shop for killers, queen of tears, miss night and day, work later drink now

[eveneechan]

Good Partner Eunkyung x Yuri: Opposite Attract

***

Eunkyung and Yuri described as divorce lawyer who have very opposite personality and method, but yet compliment each other and have similar principal.

Like Yin and Yang.

This got emphasis in their visual design too both Eunkyung and Yuri oftenly wear black because it's their uniform, but in some scenes, for example like in title drop scene:

Yuri wear White and Eunkyung wear Black.

Like saying how they are contrast to each other, but can be Great Partner to each other.

Another important detail that maybe not many people take noticed, interestingly Eunkyung and Yuri always wear earrings:

Eunkyung = Silver

Yuri = Gold.

Silver is symbolism of Moon, and Gold is Sun.

Also Yuri is described as warm hearted person, like a Sun. While Eunkyung is the opposite.

One of Good Partner ost have title "Talking to The Moon". I kinda believe the Moon refer to Eunkyung.

That's why I drew Sun in Yuri and Moon in Eunkyung

[purpleguitar]

Good Partner (2024)

At a time when we didn't have many female attorneys, Eunkyung shattered the glass ceiling above her on her own.

[ebsite]

Year in Review/ My Top K-Drama's of '24

Knight Flower

Welcome to Samdal-ri

The Atypical Family

Queen of Tears

Good Partner

No Gain, No Love

Flex Cop

Marry My Husband

Lovely Runner

Light Shop

Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born

A Shop for Killers

Honorable Mentions:

What Comes After Love

My Demon

Death's Game Pt. 2

GyeongSeong Creature Pt.2

Family By Choice

Captivating the King

My Sweet Mobster

A Good Day to be a Dog

Miss Night and Day

The Judge from Hell

The Trunk

Love Next Door

Completed:

Face Me

High School Return of a Gangster

The Auditors

Brewing Love

Love your Enemy

Wedding Impossible

A Virtuous Business

Romance In The House

DNA Lover

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

Shows I’m still working on ( *woof* there's a lot this year ):

Parks Marriage Contract

Like Flowers in the Sand

Impossible Heir

Missing Crown Prince

The Midnight Romance in Hagwon

Wonderful World

Dreaming of a Freaking Fairytale

Bitter Sweet Hell

Your Honor

The Frog

Cinderella at 2am

Chief Detective 1958

Love in the Big City

Killer Paradox

Hierarchy

Connection

Crash

Bad Memory Eraser

Perfect Family

The Tyrant

Queen Woo

Gangnam B-side

Squid Game Sn. 2

And plenty of others I'm sure XD

[krautundkimchi]

What is with K-dramas and the plotline of successful career women not being good mothers.

You can be any other type of mother - housewife, single, abused, even a ghost, but you cannot be successful in your career and a mother.

You damn well can be both!

Rage over...

[namjhyun]

DRAMA REVIEW | Good Partner (2024)

Good Partner is one of the best kdrama of this year. A production lead entirely by women, in front and behind the camera, that tells a really fun and interesting story that manages to grab your attention, touching on several issues, and not let until the very end.

Rating: 10/10

[strawberryshortcake-12]

episodes 8 and 9 of good partner were AMAZING people who are not watching this show are missing out for sure the way jang nara portrays her character is just so good; the scenes when she broke down when she found out that her daughter knew about the affair... PHENOMENAL also the girl who plays the daughter is such a good actress; its so sad that she had to witness her dad having an affair and not being able to tell anyone because she wanted to protect her mom this show really shows how divorce, affairs, and lies affect every single member of a family; the screenwriter clearly does not shy away from the ugly reality of cheating