#jo hwa-jin

[rosyfingered-moon]

Mr Queen fic masterlist

Noticing an influx of comments on my Mr. Queen fics now that it’s on Netflix, so here gentle readers is a masterlist. I spent the better part of a year writing these stories, most of which are novel-length!

Are you a cheolbong truther, and wish the show would have committed to the wacky queer love story of our dreams? Or does your heart beat for the silenced Kim Soyong, who got pushed out of her own narrative? I’m here to fulfill all your fix-it needs! ❤

Mrs. Queen

Summary: She has always been good at hide and seek. A retelling of Mr. Queen from Kim Soyong's point of view.

This was my first MQ retelling where Soyong and Bong-hwan are both awake and bickering inside their mind, wrestling for control. Soyong/Cheoljong endgame; Bong-hwan is mostly around to matchmake and cause trouble like the gremlin he is.

And I, and Silence

Summary: Jang Bong-hwan can feel his mind disintegrating, and he is looking for a way back to Seoul. Suddenly Kim Soyong is back. And, as it turns out, she is already married.

The last thing Kim Soyong remembers is jumping into the lake. Now she’s back mid-story and forced to fend for herself without any memory of what has happened in the past few months. Lots of angsty pining, gratuitous Emily Dickinson references, and the birth of my most beloved crackship ByeongJin (Jo Hwa-jin/Kim Byeong-in).

The Raw Ingredients

Summary: After a miserable year in Seoul, Bong-hwan finds a way back to Joseon. When she returns everything is very different from how she left it.

We’ve got magical trans girl Bong-hwan returning to Joseon, only this time in the body of a lowly palace maid. How ever will she get to her king? Well, with a little help of cunning minister Kim Soyong, of course.

Patchwork

Summary: Sobong returns to her king.

A ficlet with the same basic premise as The Raw Ingredients but much shorter.

The White Grass

Summary: Kim Soyong discovers the hard way that her clan would do anything to ensure that the next royal heir comes from the Kim bloodline, no matter who they have to hurt to do it. To survive in the palace she makes a deal with the king. AU where Jang Bong-hwan never came to Joseon. This one has some dark and gritty dubcon sex! It’s also got a Kim Soyong who girlbosses, gaslights, and gatekeeps her way to power in a patriarchal government, and accidentally falls in love with her husband along the way.

Whatever Souls Are Made Of

Summary: Kim Soyong and Jang Bong-hwan are the same soul reincarnated. On the same night, 170 years apart, they both drown. That’s when things get weird.

In this story Sobong is just one (1) person, but with two sets of memories from two points in time. There’s some multiverse theory, library sex, and a journey of self-discovery for our dear genderfluid queen! This is my personal favorite of the bunch.

[zheniakirsikkalove]

Strangers from Hell / Hell Is Other People / 타인은 지옥이다 (2019)

[iris-sistibly]

Jang Bong-hwan found himself standing in front of Daejojeon Hall. The sky was a hue of orange, yellow and blue. There were people around him, the peculiar thing was they were dressed differently, like how people in his country dressed up during the Joseon dynasty.

His eyes scanned the entire place, deep inside he felt a sense of familiarity, he knew he'd been here before but his mind wanted to make sure that he wasn't imagining things...again. “Royal physician please hurry!” he heard a woman whose voice could probably be heard within the entire area. “Court Lady Choi?” Bong-hwan instantly recognized the voice, and he was right. He knew those people well enough to identify them by just hearing their voices. The middle-aged woman was running towards the hall, behind her was the royal physician who was struggling to keep up with her speed.

Bong-hwan’s brows furrowed, "I'm for real not in modern-day Korea am I?," he thought, then gasped when it finally sank in his mind, “Oh shit!” he immediately checked on himself. His voice hasn’t changed, hair was still short, his physique which he spent so much time at the gym to perfect was still the same, and most importantly, his thing was still hanging down there...safe and sound. Bong-hwan felt relieved, it was good to know that he was still himself, but how did he end up here once more? Did he die? or did he fall into a coma again and his soul traveled back in time?

“You there!” the lady-in-waiting pointed at him which stunned Bong-hwan.

“Me…y-you can see me?”

Lady-in-waiting Choi scoffed, “What are you talking about?! Of course I can see you!”

So he wasn’t just a mere soul or a ghost [thankfully], but why was she acting like she knew him? Come to think of it, not even the guards tried to interrogate him–a man in a strange (modern) clothing who clearly doesn’t live or work in the palace. The only person who was able to confirm his identity was the late Kim Byeong-in and no one else. The queen wouldn't be so reckless to spill the tea to everyone right?

"Don’t just stand there!" Court Lady Choi snapped him out of his thoughts, "The queen is about to give birth!"

Before Bong-hwan could even ask questions or process what the lady had said, the latter suddenly dragged him along with the royal physician. Inside, the agonizing screams of Kim So-yong can be heard in every corridor, perhaps it was an exaggeration but it was loud enough to make everyone fluster.

Bong-hwan recalled the time he found out that the queen was pregnant while he was still inside her body, thankfully he didn’t stay long enough to experience the labor pains and actual childbirth. But nevertheless he felt bad, all throughout his stay the queen shared everything to him, her memories, struggles, pain, happiness…and even love for the people around her, including the king.

Speaking of which, where is Cheoljong?

He knew he survived and successfully ousted the corrupt and greedy officials of his court. But if he traveled back to the time of their child’s birth, then that means it has only been months since he left, probably the same time it has been since fully recovering from coma.

“His majesty has arrived!” someone announced in the midst of the commotion. Everyone made way for the king, with him were Prince Yeongpyeong and Special Director Hong. Poor dude came rushing to Daejojeon Hall still wearing his pj’s…uh…sleeping garments. “My queen! I am here!” His mind was too focused on his wife to notice everyone else. Cheoljong stepped inside as soon as the doors to the queen’s room opened. The royal physician, and some of the queen’s maids followed. Worried about So-yong, Bong-hwan went in to check on her, the queen was drenched in her own sweat, and writhing in pain. Hong-yeon was wiping away her sweat while trying to comfort her, "Please try to take deep breaths, it might help you calm down your majesty," she said while in-tears. She has always had a soft spot for her.

"My queen!" Cheoljong sat beside his wife and held her hand while controlling his emotions.

“My king! It hurts so much!” the queen cried.

“It hurts me to see you in pain my queen, I may never know how hard and excruciating it is to bring another life into the world, but I assure you that I will remain by your side as I have promised.”

The queen smiled in gratitude, who would have thought that they would truly fall deeply in-love with each other, considering that their marriage at first wasn’t exactly a blissful one?

“I am sorry your majesty but you have to step outside while I help the queen deliver the child,” the physician said. Upon hearing that, the queen frantically shook her head, “No! He’s staying here! He’s staying with me!”

“B-But your majesty…”

So-yong glared at him, “Listen royal physician, the king and I made this baby together, and did everything together to prepare for this moment, so we’ll be pushing this child into this world together, do you understand?! Now if you insist on NOT letting him stay, I will skewer you and fry you to a crisp!”

Bong-hwan couldn’t help but smile. Admittedly, So-yong taught him to forgive, to help whenever he can, to have faith, and most of all, he learned to care for the people around him. Meanwhile, he taught her to stand up for herself, to never let anyone dictate or control her, to be confident about herself, and just be the badass/savage queen she was born to be. They have grown so much, and he was proud of them...of her mainly.

The royal physician sighed and gave in, “Very well, Court Lady Choi and Hong-yeon will assist me, the rest of you please wait outside. They did as they were told, but before Bong-hwan stepped out of the room he glanced at the queen, the latter saw him too. Upon realizing who he was, she pointed at him, “You…I’ll deal with you later,” she said as the doors shut.

Bong-hwan kept pacing back and forth, he winced at each time he heard So-yong push as if he was also feeling her pain, and in between she would blurt out random cuss words which she probably picked up from him. “M-My queen you’re gripping my hand too tight, y-you might break my bones!” he heard Cheoljong say.

“Hey! I spent nine whole months carrying your child, and now my womanhood feels like it’s being ripped apart and you dare complain?! I might as well break your fucking bones right now!”

“Your majesty, push!” said the royal physician, So-yong pushed as hard as she could. At the same time, Cheoljong's cries can also be heard.

“Goodness your majesty, I can see the head already!” Court Lady Choi sounded delightful and excited.

“Only the head?!” the king and queen uttered in unison.

“Push!”

“I'm gonna kill you Cheoljong!”

"My baby please make haste!"

Meanwhile, the maids, Prince Yeongpyeong and Special Director Hong also waited outside the room. The prince chuckled while he listened to his little brother suffer the wrath of his wife in the birthing bed, “That’s the queen alright.”

“Good grief, if I’m going to end up like his majesty, I might as well not marry at all,” the king’s bestfriend answered.

“Has a message been sent to the queen’s father already?”

Hong Du-il nodded, “I asked Kim Hwan to personally deliver the message to Kim Mun-geun, the old man would probably bring more gifts for the royal baby.”

“He’s going to be one spoiled child.”

“I don’t think so,” Bong-hwan chimed in. Both men looked at him, “He will be very much loved by the people around him, and he will grow into a fine, intelligent, brave and kind man who will continue his father’s legacy. His parents are good people, they will raise him well.”

Du-il nodded, "Of course they will."

In history, the son of Cheoljong and Cheorin died six months after his birth. But like his father, this child is a fighter, Bong-hwan knew this because he experienced it first hand. While still in the womb, he was faced with life-threatening situations, yet despite all that, he ended up thriving. Bong-hwan had put his faith in Cheoljong once, and he has placed his bet on the right person. The king succeeded in creating his own path, and the odds turned to his favor. If Bong-hwan is to gamble once more, he would go all-in for this child.

He didn’t know how much time had already passed, but all of their anxieties turned into elation when they finally heard the loud wailing of an infant. The maids rejoiced, Bong-hwan and the two other men were relieved. Moments later, the royal physician stepped out of the queen’s room wearing a huge smile on his face, “The queen has safely delivered a healthy little prince!” he announced.

The sun rose to its full glory. On that day, a new life took its first breath into the world, and upon his arrival came a new found hope for a brighter future. And thus, the kingdom rejoiced.

***

Jang Bong-hwan walked into the queen’s room, full of happiness and excitement. Inside were the young couple with their newborn son, the little boy was sleeping peacefully in his father’s arms, while So-yong leaned against her husband’s shoulder, holding their baby’s tiny hand. It was a beautiful moment, both parents were enamored by the boy’s charm, “He’s a handsome little prince,” Cheoljong said proudly, he then faced his wife, “Thank you my queen.”

“I should be the one thanking you, my king, for always being there for me.”

“In this lifetime and in the afterlife, I will always be with you my love.”

“As am I, now and hereafter...I will never stop loving you.”

The couple moved closer to each other, their lips barely an inch apart, their hearts beating as one. But their intimate moment was interrupted when they finally noticed Bong-hwan's presence. “Hey, how long have you been standing there?” asked So-yong.

“Long enough to witness a cheesy k-drama moment,” Bong-hwan answered, "Congratulations by the way." The queen smiled in response.

“Would you like to hold him?” Cheoljong asked, just like everyone else, he didn’t seem freaked out at all. Bong-hwan looked at Queen Cheorin (Kim So-yong). As if trying to communicate through the mind, he wanted to know what the heck was going on, why do others seem so chill with him being there? He didn’t get any answer, she just let her husband place their child gently in his arms. Bong-hwan took a moment to have a good look at his face, indeed he inherited all of his parents’ best features. "I can already imagine the number of women who would swoon over him," he jested, “Hey kiddo, let me tell you something…the first lesson you need to learn about life is–” he paused, memories of him as the queen suddenly flooded his mind, from the moment he woke up in Cheorin’s body, to meeting the people whom he had grown to love as family, and most importantly, the long and crazy journey that led them to this moment. They've surely come a long way, and it was such an incredible yet humbling experience.

And it made Bong-hwan feel more...alive.

His expression softened, he has always had a fiery personality, but now he seemed to be calmer, “...Is that it's never short of battles, at times you’ll feel afraid, sad or frustrated, there will even come a point when everything seems hopeless. But believe me when I say that no matter how crappy life can be, one way or another, you will always find something or someone worth living and fighting for, so don’t ever give up okay? I’m rooting for you little prince! Fighting!”

The boy’s parents expressed their gratitude as Bong-hwan handed the baby back to his mother.

“I’m really happy to see you, both of you once more,” he said afterwards.

“I never got to say this, but I’m glad you came Jang Bong-hwan, thank you so much…for everything.”

Bong-hwan shrugged, trying to act cool, "Oh no need to thank me, although I...never got the chance to say goodbye to you the last time, sorry about that," he said, “Come to think of it, I wonder if we’ll ever meet again?”

“You will always be a part of me, just as I will always be a part of you, well…all of us actually. Whichever timeline, lifetime, or part of the world we end up in, one way or another, we are bound to meet once more, I sincerely believe in that.”

The queen gestured Hong-yeon to come forward, the maid handed a box to Bong-hwan, “What is this? A parting gift?”

So-yong chuckled, “You can say that.”

Bong-hwan opened the box and inside was a pin, he remembered it very well, it was the same pin he used to carve out that message in the stone by the lake.

“Keep it,” Cheoljong said, “And when we cross paths again, let’s have a drinking game.”

Bong-hwan smiled and nodded, “I’m looking forward to beating you Cheoljong.”

“So am I Bong-hwan, so am I.”

***

Jang Bong-hwan found himself back in his own room in modern-day Korea the moment he opened his eyes, “What a dream,” he thought. But then, he felt something in his hand, and to his surprise it was the pin the queen gave him. A smile formed on his lips, then he started giggling, and soon enough his laughter filled the entire room, “I am so gonna beat your ass your majesty,” he said. He got out of his bed and got ready for the day, after breakfast he immediately left and drove to the place where it all began. Thankfully, there weren’t many people that day. Bong-hwan knelt in front of the stone by the lake, it had been more than a century since the reign of King Cheoljong and Queen Cheorin, yet it felt good to know that this place still exists until now. He traced his fingers along the writings on the stone, and when no one was looking, Bong-hwan took out the pin, and wrote something:

I came was here for nothing and it was epic

-Jang Bong-hwan

*

Epilogue (by: Iris)

A/N: This fanfiction is solely based on the show Mr. Queen, and has nothing to do with Korea's history.

I regret not watching the show sooner, it wasn't a light rom-com like I was expecting. Bitch every episode was intense and I enjoyed the roller coaster of emotions this show gave me. This fanfic is one of those that I spent more than a day writing bc I tbh it's just that I'm in that moment when I badly want to write something but I don't fucking know what to write.

I thought about giving Bong-hwan and Cheoljong some moments together, but I wanted Bong-hwan and So-yong to have their moment too. So being the lazy bitch that I am, I just decided to put all three of them together just to make it easier for my brain cells 😜.

[passionforfiction]

Love Is For Suckers

It had been a while since I watched a nice romantic comedy. It had a little bit of everything and there was substance in the plot. I liked the characters and their stories. The friendship between Jae Hoon and Yeo Reum feels natural and genuine. And I like the quartet of high school friends: Yeo Reum, Jae Hoon, Dae Shik and Hye Jin.

You could say this series is divided into two parts. The first one is where we see Jae Hoon's love for Yeo Reum. The friendship that he doesn't want to cross, afraid of being rejected because she is still hung up on the finance who left her. Kim In Woo returns after living in the United States for many years. He now wants to get back together with Yeo Reum. She goes back to him mostly because she keeps thinking about how they were before he left. She doesn't want to face the fact that they have both changed.

The second half of the series focuses on how Yeo Reum realizes and faces the fact that she is in love with Jae Hoon. And this happens in the process of producing Kingdom of Love 2 where he became a participant to replace a person who left at he last minute. But in this reality show will also be participating the young woman his mother made him have a blind date with months ago.

Here we are introduced to another set of characters that also caught my attention. I became invested in Ji Wan's and Chef John's story. Chef John, who had been a jerk in the first part of the series, gets to show us a different side of him that makes us forget that first side we saw earlier.

I won't go into too many details, but I liked how each character faces their sadness, difficulties and move on. I like the fact that those characters we learned to care for have their happy ending.

This is a really sweet story and I recommend it!

Poster from AsianWiki - https://asianwiki.com/Love_is_for_Suckers

[undisclosedmemoirs]

My guess? Young Ki is responsible for the accident and Sung Jun knows about it. Do Joon will eventually be out of the picture and Young Ki is going to get the CEO position in the end, so we will have to wait for the board meeting to see how that will happen.

I am not ready to see the downfall of Jin Yang Cheol. By downfall I mean going from a strong and imposing business man to a frail and weak old man. Nothing wrong with that, it's life and he has serious health issues, but looking at the preview and seeing him showing signs of dementia is truly heartbreaking (LEE SUNG MIN WITH HIS GENIUS ACTING).

I know he is not the best man around but the show really made us actually care for him a bit. All in all he is the antagonist of the show, but not really. He is an emperor who built his empire from scratch and wants someone to understand that. To understand the struggles he went through and what it takes to mantain that empire. Unfortunately, his first son and grandson can't grasp that idea, the second son only wants affection but does not have what it takes to take over, his only daugther is automatically out of the race and his fourth son was practically disowned. However, his youngest grandson does get it and their interactions are getting increasingly precious, even after knowing how ruthless JYC can be.

[jiaminying]

Korean Drama Review My Demon

Hello everyone! It has been a long time since I wrote a review. I have finished “Let’s fight ghost, Goblin, Lawless Lawyer(Dropped), The Secret Life of My Secretary(scanned through), Mystic Pop-up Bar, Forest, Flower of Evil(scanned through), 18 again, More than friends (scanned through), True Beauty, Sell Your Haunted House, The Devil Judge(scanned through), The Great Shaman Ga Doo Shim,…

[k-star-holic]

Hwang Jung-eum's own daughter is strangled, ⁇ ⁇ child birth ⁇ Fake news ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ (7 Escape)

[softplots]

MASTERLIST — female korean names !!

hi sweeties !! there are #50 (FIFTY) female korean names under the cut, they were all taken from kdramas. hope you guys like it !! please like/reblog if you found this useful !!

Park Se-Hee

In Byuel

Go Yu-Na

Kim San-Ha

Na Joo-Hee

Han Song-Yi

Lee Mi-Yeon

Jung Jung-Won

Shin Ki-Won

Kwon Na-Ra

Ah Mi

Yoon Hee

Young-geun

Yoo-joo

Heo Soon-sim

Choi Sun-ah

Shin Ki-yoon

Mi-so

Baek Na-hee

Ma Ho-Young

Lee So-Yeon

So-Jin

Lee Hyun-ji

Ah-reum

Yoon So-rim

Eun Tae-hee

Seong Mi-do

Ahn Ja-yeong

Hong Chae-ri

Eun-seo

Oh Ha-rin

Baek Je-na

Kim Ga-yeon

Seon-hwa

Son Ae

Eun Ok

Eun-mi

Kang Hye-young

Lee Yoo-ri

Choi Dong-joo

Jung-soo

Kim Yeong-chae

Jo Hae-In

Bae Doo-rae

Jo Ki-bum

Joo Wol

Yoo Young-joo

Joo Wol

Lee Yoo-jeong

Mo Jae-in

[kdramaspace]

🔁 please consider reblogging to increase our sample size

as always, if you’d like to submit a potential POTW question, you may send in your submissions here.

[whenthegoldrays]

ELLY’S PLAYLISTS

k-dramas

My Sweet Mobster

eunha x jihwan 🧸

Cinderella at 2am

yunseo x juwon 🍄

Queen of Tears

hae-in x hyun-woo 🧸

Lovely Runner

sol x sun jae 🧸

Marry My Husband

kang jiwon / jiwon x jihyuk 🧸🪩

jeong su-min / su-min x min-hwan 🧸🪩

Tell Me That You Love Me

moeun x jinwoo 💌

Twinkling Watermelon

eun gyeol x eun yoo 💌🧸

yichan x cheong-ah 💌🧸

on eun yoo 💌🧸🪩

yichan and eun gyeol 🧸

twinklemelon as a whole

my euneun au 💌

Live Up To Your Name

im x yeon kyung 💌

Crash Landing On You

jeong hyeok x se-ri 💌🧸🪩

dan x seung-jun 🧸

The Matchmakers

jung woo x soon deok 🧸

Castaway Diva

seo mok-ha / mok-ha x ki-ho 🍄

Our Beloved Summer

yeon-su x ung 🧸

Familiar Wife

ju-hyeok x wu-jin 💌🧸

Hometown Cha Cha Cha

hye-jin x du-sik

The Wind Blows

do-hun x soo-jin 🧸🍄

Hidden Love (c-drama)

zhizhi x jiaxu 🧸

period dramas

Emma, Jane Austen

frank x jane 💌🧸

Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen

marianne dashwood / marianne & willoughby / marianne x brandon 🧸🪩

The Blue Castle, Lucy Maud Montgomery

valancy x barney 💌

Mansfield Park, Jane Austen

fanny price / fanny x edmund 💌

maria bertram / maria & henry 🧸

Wives and Daughters, Elizabeth Gaskell

molly gibson / cynthia kirkpatrick / cynthia & roger / molly x roger / etc 🍄💌

North and South, Elizabeth Gaskell

margaret hale / margaret x john 🧸

john thornton / my reading playlist 🍄

Little Women, Louisa May Alcott

jo march / jo x friedrich 🧸

Poldark (TV)

morwenna x drake 💌🧸

Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare

romeo x juliet 🧸🍄

my ocs

seon-hwa x henry (Hardwick House) 🍄

kang eun-joo / han do-yoon (TEYOKEJ) 🍄

other

colt x jody (The Fall Guy) 🍄

twilight x yor (Spy x Family) 🍄

rapunzel / rapunzel x eugene (Tangled) 🪩

anna x william (Notting Hill) 🧸🪩

diana & charles (The Crown) 🧸🪩

margaret & peter (The Crown) 🧸

milo x amanda (Milo Murphy’s Law)

phineas x isabella (Phineas and Ferb) 🧸

candace x jeremy (Phineas and Ferb)

barbie & ken (Barbie, 2023) 🧸

💌 = favorite

🧸 = play in order

🍄 = needs work

🪩 = taylor swift centric

[elderflowergin]

3 K-drama moments (January edition)

1. Kim Hae-sook expressing her rage at a young Japanese officer in full satoori and banmal in Gyeongseong Creature. Until this point she has been a capable right hand to Park Seo-joon, restrained, deadly efficient and completely unshakeable. But long-simmering fears and frustrations are boiling over everywhere in Gyeongseong and elsewhere, resulting in this atypical, shocking conversation with a junior officer who sympathises with them but cannot bridge the colonial gap. Language is so significant in this genre, and it’s so visceral when Kim Hae-sook openly vents to this man in her own language, in her own dialect.

Gyeongseong Creature is a pretty dark take on human experimentation, the last gasp of colonial horrors in a dying empire and the endurance of community. Park Seo-joon (and Han So-hee to a lesser extent) have to be the heroes; nonetheless the story understands that liberation is won not by strong-jawed men who talk pretty, but by community, by ordinary people doing extraordinary things together.

Kdrama has a wealth of supporting actors and it's no different here, with Jo Han-cheol, Kang Mal-geum, the aforementioned Kim Hae-sook, Claudia Kim and lovely, lovely Kim Yoon-woo in an affecting subplot (you might have seen him as Ryang Eum in My Dearest). Hate that Netflix made this one a cliffhanger, but they got me. Now, please give us a grown up romance with Jo Han-cheol in it. Our man's earned it.

2. Jung Jin-young’s vividly joyous sex life with his partner played by Yang Mal-bok in LTNS. The astonishing tenderness of their meeting, their love story and the joy he has brought to her arid, parched life are all so well-done that I had a lump in my throat throughout the episode.

This show took atypical love and affair stories, the sort we tend to mock or criticise - the plain girl sleeping with the married colleague, the fiftysomethings rediscovering their zest for life in each other’s bodies, the married lipstick lesbian who keeps coming back into her ex’s life - and offered so much kindness and love in the writing and the framing of those stories. @drivingsideways remarked that it was so different from anything Kdrama has given us, and that is completely correct.

Esom and Ahn Jae-hong were beyond excellent as a troubled couple that maybe shouldn't have married all those years ago - people who were maybe always a little too different, and then papered over their differences with the routines of matrimony. I suspect this was all too real to appeal to the general audience and I don't think this is going to be nomination-heavy. But it deserves to be.

3. Hwa-rok running from the handsome Officer Jeong in the brilliantly written The Matchmakers. The youngest sister in the famously unmarried trio of Namsan, Hwa-rok is a very relatable babe who really wants to get married! Get a husband! Have SEX! - and manifests this through her popular erotica series. The bond between Hwa-rok and the shy, upright officer whose first introduction to her is all the erotica she writes is one of the most adorable plots on this incredibly cute show.

I have several feelings about The Matchmakers, namely that it is the rare romance I respect despite the minimal chemistry between the leads. The writing was top-notch and the lead acting didn't quite live up to it - this is not a criticism of Cho Yi-hyun or Rowoon, but rather a testament to the sheer wealth of talent in Kdrama and how accustomed we've become to actors elevating material. Rowoon surprisingly grew on me in this, with his physicality and his looks somehow making Gyeongwoonjae indelible despite his iPhone-knowing face. I might do a separate post on this yet, but it was absolutely worth the watch, and all of you were right, especially @haraxvati who bravely advocated for Rowoon's talents.

[papaya2000s]

Photo collection of kisaeng's - Part 4

All photos below have been AI enhanced for a more clear viewing (there may be some errors in the pictures), i will be listing there names in both English and Korean below the photos.

There names go from top left to bottom right.

English - Gisaeng List - Yoon Hae-hong, Park Chae-ju, Park Geum-seon, Park Gyu-wol, Yoon Oh-seon, Un Ok-jin, Yoon Wol-seon, Yoon Dan-sim Korean - 기생명부 - 윤해홍,박채주, 박금선, 박규월, 윤오선, 운옥진, 윤월선, 윤단심

English - Gisaeng List - Jang Gyeong-woo, Jang Soo-bok, Jang Mi-hwa, Jang Bok-sin, Go Yeong-wol, Go Gyu-ok, Go Seon-ok, Jang Myeong-ju Korean - 기생명부 - 장경우, 장수복, 장미화, 장복신, 고영월, 고규옥, 고선옥, 장명주

English - Gisaeng List - Song Ok-yeon, Song Hwa-chun, Go Myeong-seon, Go Yeon-seon, Yang Yu-chun, Yang Yu-seon, Yang Yu-wol, Song Myeong-jeong Korean - 기생명부 - 송옥연, 송화춘, 고명선, 고연선, 양유춘, 양유선, 양유월, 송명정

English - Gisaeng List - Song Geum-jo, Song Myeong-ok, Kang Chu-wol, Kang Hye-hwa, Seo Hye-sun, Seo Yu-wol, Woo Cheon-il, Woo Chae-woon Korean - 기생명부 - 송금조, 송명옥, 강추월, 강혜화, 서혜선, 서유월, 우천일, 우채운

[rosyfingered-moon]

Twenty Questions

@angryteapott Thanks for the tag! <3

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

35!

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

748,763

What fandoms do you write for?

Mostly television: kdramas and cdramas, and some English-language shows. The only films I have written for are Decision to Leave and Cyrano de Bergerac.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

All of them are Mr. Queen:

Mrs. Queen - A rushed fix-it that I began one day after the show ended and then published daily for two months straight. It was a super fun writing exercise bc I tried to work in as many reader prompts as possible to salvage all of our broken hearts after the horrid ending. It was also the unfortunate beginning of my haphazard style of posting first chapters with no clue what the rest of the story will be. (100k)

The White Grass- Non-magic AU. I really enjoyed writing this because 1. it's my only properly beta read story and it was sooo fun to go over things with Sarah in advance! and 2. it features a noncon scene that was really divisive and led to a lot of very interesting discussions about power and consent on Twitter. (74k)

The Raw Ingredients - Bong-hwan finally returns to Joseon, but not as a queen, but a chambermaid!! So she has to scheme her way back to Cheoljong with the help of Minister Kim Soyong. I loved writing this, it was pure wish fulfillment and lowkey I think the most hilarious way a season two could have gone (if I may toot my own horn). @lady-guts has made theeee most beautiful fanbinding of it which has made me appreciate it more <33 (41k)

And I, and Silence - Soyong wakes back up alone inside her body with no memory of what has happened and has to fend for herself. I loved writing Kim Byeong-in's pov and also Jo Hwa-jin's pov and also their freaky love story!! (99k)

Whatever Souls Are Made Of - After almost drowning Soyong ends up with the complete memories of her future self (Bong-hwan). So suddenly she is both a Joseon woman and a South Korean man and has to grapple with that. Also there's a sweeping romance crossing time and space. (61k)

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try to respond to all, because I think those connections is what makes fandom worth engaging in. Currently behind on answering though :(

What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I'm a HEA gal, but my Kingdom fic Something Rotten ends with hate sex that isn't maybe only hate but more hate than love. (Also, at least one of the main characters is gonna get eaten by zombies in the future.) I wrote a short My Liberation Notes piece called These Winter Fields where I let Mr. Gu attend Alcoholics Anonymous, but his recovery is left open-ended. Writing it felt very bittersweet to me personally, as someone who has been close to an addict.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Most of them have tooth-rottingly happy endings! But the ones that felt the most healing to me were my The Hour fic not even the rain because I had been hurting for a decade over its cancellation, and my Beyond Evil fic Splinters where I unfridged Kang Min-jeong and let her live a vibrant poly life without having to die to fuel other people's manpain. Also very much enjoyed saving Comrade Gu in my Crash Landing on You fic Allegretto, not so much for his own sake as for Seo Dan, who deserves to have everything she wants.

Do you get hate on fics?

Not really. Sometimes people have expressed disappointment. I think the most hate I got was a person on Twitter who got really upset that I wrote a ship they didn't like and in a way they didn't like, but I don't think that had very much to do with my actual fic (since they hadn't read it).

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I do! Mostly het. I think I have progressed from more tender depictions to, like, trying to hone in on the slightly weird or awkward parts of sex, and also to describe the scene more straightforwardly and let people's imagination do the work for them?

Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

A Six Flying Dragons/My Country: The New Age crossover, and a Rookie Historian/Sungkyunkwan Scandal crossover. Neither feels very crazy to me because the universes fit so well (the two former because they feature the same historical people and events, and the two latter because they are both fluffy fusion sageuks with perky heroines).

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Yes, or at least reposted without credit.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but I would love if that happened!!!

What's your all-time favorite ship?

Gotta go with Goo Hae-ryung and Min U-won because they are sooo delightful to write, really grew on me (I didn't ship them immediately), and the fandom are such lovely people!

What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

I hope I will finish all of them in time.

What are your writing strengths?

Funny dialogue! (At least I think it's funny.) Readers mostly seem to appreciate the heart-wrenching confession oneliners.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Pacing, repetitive descriptions, that classic hyperfocus on the main ship to the detriment of other characters, and action scenes. There's probably many cultural misconceptions as well, especially since I mostly write historical pieces (ranging from the Joseon Dynasty and Tang Dynasty to 1950s Britain). I try to research, but being a foreigner means that there will always be a gap.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

Since I'm not a native English speaker, all my dialogue is in another language! In the kdrama fics I sometimes include familial terms, honorifics, and other forms of address in transliterated Korean, because I think that helps remind people reading it of what the sentence "actually" sounds like within the fiction, and also maybe allows them to recall what those particular words sound like when spoken by the actors of show. It gives the appearance that the fic only translates the character's "real," embodied, Korean conversation and keeps the readers immersed. At least that's my intention.

First fandom you wrote for?

On AO3 it was for Supernatural, since 15x20 enraged me enough to finally post something. But I also wrote Buffy and Harry Potter fic on FF.net when I was a kid. Including Snape/reader inserts, which I recently told a friend about and she gave me the most repulsed look I have ever seen :)

Favorite fic you've written?

I don't actually know!! Whatever Souls Are Made Of is probably one of the best pieces I have written, but all of them are dear to me in different ways.

Tagging @drivingsideways and @comfect and @elderflowergin and anyone else who wants to do it!

[cosmosbeelover]

Photo collection of kisaeng's - Part 5

All photos below have been AI enhanced for a more clear viewing (there may be some errors in the pictures), i will be listing there names in both English and Korean below the photos.

There names go from top left to bottom right.

English - Gisaeng List - Hong Do-hwa, unknown, Jeong Geum-hwa, Jeong Yu-wol, Jo Jin-sil, Jo Ranpa, Cha Jun-pi, Cha Jeong-sook Korean - 기생명부 - 홍도화, 미상, 정금화, 정유월, 조진실, 조란파, 차준피, 차정숙

English - Gisaeng List - Gyu Ran-ok, Lim Yang-chun, Jang Yeon-hong, Baek Dal-hong, Shim Yu-wol, Oh Byeok-ok, Jin Yeon-hwa, Seok Sun-bok Korean - 기생명부 - 규란옥, 임양춘, 장연홍, 백달홍, 심유월, 오벽옥, 진연화, 석순복

English - Gisaeng List - Yoo Geum-ja, Noh Jin-ju, Noh Juksim, Noh Eun-hong, Jeon Myeong-ok, Wi Geum-ok, Wang Su-bok, Jo Jeom-hwa Korean - 기생명부 - 유금자, 노진주, 노죽심, 노은홍, 전명옥, 위금옥, 왕수복, 조금화

English - Gisaeng List - Hwang Geum-hwa, Lee Chun-sim, Moon Chae-woon, Ma Hyang-ran, Jeon Yong-ju, Byeon Il-seon, Byeon Ok-jo, Sogan 1st floor Korean - 기생명부 - 황금화, 이춘심, 문채운, 마향란, 전용주, 변일선, 변옥조, 소간일층

[consumeronionbulletin]

See You in My 19th Life (2023)

I unabashedly love this show. The actors, the characters, the way it was shot, the convoluted dramatic plot that seems to bend back on itself, it all works for me. But you have to keep in mind that this is not a romcom: it's a weepy dramedy with big romantic feels.

What worked

This cast is so great. Beautiful people acting out big feelings while telling a good story. The cinematography was excellent, restrained when it needed to be and leaning hard into the fantasy to tell the story in other places. The plot didn't always make logic sense, but the writing was very good at getting across the feelings it wants you to feel.

What Didn't Work

Some of the musical cues bothered me, especially when it tried to play up this big mystery about Kang Min-gi. (Was he a bad guy? Yes. Did he deserve his own sinister background music when he came on screen? No.) Also, there were a few logic breaks that I feel like would have been ironed out if they'd had 16 episodes instead of 12. Finally, I'm not an expert, but people who have read the webtoon it was based on were disappointed with some of the departures from the original story. None of this bothered me, because it had so many high moments.

The Performances

Shin Hye-sun as (19th lifer) Ban Ji-eum. I would die for this character. I would love to see her play a short season of the Korean version of Doctor Who, because she would nail that role. It wasn't just the moments of a beautiful person looking sad about drama, she played the comic parts well, she played the angry parts well, she was downright weird at times in a way that was unsettling, and that totally worked for this character. I now have to go back and see everything this actor has been in before now.

Ahn Bo-hyun as (sad rich boi) Moon Seo-ha. This actor was also really good. He had to play it straight and stoic through much of the series, and that could come across as wooden in some scenes, but then they would let him loose in a scene and it was amazing to watch. His chemistry with Shin Hye-sun was so good, as well.

Ha Yoon-kyung as (spring sunshine) Yoon Cho-won. I loved her in Extraordinary Attorney Woo, and this is even better. Her best role yet. The second lead couple in this was (somewhat) less emotional, and that made the slow burn more enjoyable in some ways. But I really loved the scenes with Cho-won and Ji-eum. Just as much fun to watch as the romantic scenes.

Ahn Dong-goo as (the driver) Ha Do-yoon. Somehow, this guy had to be more stoic than Ahn Bo-hyun's character, which made the moments when the emotions leaked out of him even more electric. I wish we'd had a few more episodes to get some happy romantic moments towards the end of the series, but he was still great to watch on screen and did an excellent job.

Cha Chung-hwa as (the niece) Kim Ae-kyung. She was good in Hometown Cha x 3, but I would riot if something bad happened to her character in this drama. Did I riot? Watch and find out!

Lee Si-woo as (the little brother) Ha Do-jin. A delightful character played really well by Lee Si-woo. It was always a fun scene when he showed up.

Lee Chae-min as (one weird guy) Kang Min-gi. I always felt unsettled when this guy was in a scene. In case you had doubts about the guy, he had creepy music following him around the entire series, but the actor didn't really need it.

Kang Myung-joo as (the sad mother) Jo Yoo-seon. I really loved her performances even though they were usually the saddest scenes. She had so few lines, and managed to do alot with them.

Bae Hae-sun as (evil stepmom) Jang Yeon-ok. I especially disliked her. The actor did a great job of playing a shameless, entitled backstabber. Nice to see her get a bigger role (liked her in It's okay to not be okay), even if it is as someone not very nice.

Baek Seung-cheol as (all time bad dad) Ban Hak-su. I hated this character so much, which shows the actor did a great job.

Moon Dong-hyuk as (bad brother) Ban Dong-woo. I loathed and pitied this character, overall another good performance.

Kim Si-a as (the 18th lifer) Yoon Joo-won. She did a very good job in some tough scenes. I'm always amazed at how good some of these young actors are.

Park So-yi as (the young 19th lifer) Ban Ji-eum. Very good in the episodes she showed up. Was fun seeing her onscreen opposite Ahn Bo-hyun.

Lee Han-na as (mystery girl) Han-na. They should have done more with this character or figured out how to do without her completely. They just didn't have the episode time to do her justice. Overall, an okay actor that was completely overshadowed by the other actors.

Seo-ha's Family. I'm usually indifferent to chaebol corporate nonsense, but the actors did an excellent job of making you feel like part of the family. A terrible family, that treated Seo-ha terribly. The uncle (played by Lee Hae-young) was a standout, but they were all good in their own way, including the step-brother.

The past lives. I really enjoyed the different past lives. They didn't always have alot of lines, but they still made you feel something as you got little snapshots of harrowing moments in their lives.

The bad rich boy society guys. Honorable mention. I didn't always know their names, but every scene where they mistreated Ha Do-yoon's character was still infuriating, and that was on the actors as much as the writing.

TL;DR

This show is something special. I highly recommend it if you have any kind of interest in the premise. I will definitely be rewatching it.

[dramaddict-and-proud-of-it]

Reborn Rich

Year : 2022 | Country : KR | Nb of episodes: 16

My rate: 9/10

Synopsis :

Yoon Hyun Woo is a devoted, hard-working, and loyal secretary to the Soonyang chaebol family, which runs the lucrative Soonyang Group business empire, founded by Jin Yang Cheol. During a power struggle between Jin Yang Cheol's children for control of the empire, Hyun Woo is ruthlessly betrayed and killed under the orders of an unknown member of the chaebol family. Miraculously he wakes up as a kid inside the body of the youngest member of the family – Jin Do Jun.

After he realizes what has happened, Yoon Hyun Wo plots to use his new “identity” to formulate a hostile takeover of the group – and punish the people who killed him. But, will the cold-blooded and money-hungry CEO of Soonyang Group, one who firmly believes in right of primogeniture, be so easy to win over or conquer? Will Hyun Woo be able to wrest the reins from Jin Yang Cheol's children? And what role will be played in all this by a dogged public prosecutor named Seo Min Young, nicknamed “Soonyang Group Grim Reaper”?

Main cast :

Song Joong Ki as Ji Do Joon / Yoon Hyun Woo

Lee Sung Min as Jin Yang Cheol

Shin Hyun Bin as Seo Min Young

Yoon Je Moon as Jin Young Ki

Jo Han Cheol as Jin Dong Ki

Kim Young Jae as Jin Young Ki

Kim Shin Rok as Jin Hwa Young

Kim Nam Hee as Jin Sung Joon

Park Hyuk Kwon as Oh Se Hyun

Tiffany Young as Rachel

My thoughts on this drama :

This is a drama that made we go What The Hell at the end. Like, really.

It's a masterpiece. As far as modern, cheabol themed dramas go, this is by far one of the very best. We're again dealing with some big money revenge plot but it is so well executed! Song Joong Ki aced his role. I'm still stuned by his performance.

Highly recommended if you wish to enjoy a fast paced, well built story with interesting characters.

A Favorite ?

YES