#nam haeng sun

[missfinemess]

I feel crash course in romance added too many of plots at the ending like murder + hae mom drama + sun jae's mom drama + sua's illness + sua's mom drama and I think that's why episode 15 feels weird because the entire show we were focused on the main leads and then suddenly we have so many subplots popping in all at once that the main leads romance got a little sidetracked. but then I am not complaining about the amazing amount of serotonin we got from chi yeol crushing on haeng seon and the peaceful rom-com that we enjoyed in the beginning

I feel if the drama had a few more episodes rather than 16 ep being the last if it would go on till at least 20 eps then they could have resolved everything smoothly than it being rushed ( and Iwe would've gotten more of chi yeol x haeng seon + hae e x sunjae x geonhu because I am not ready to let this end so soon )

[lafilleestmorte]

I was SO sure that ccir was going to join my kdrama favourites list but the last two episode were honestly such a fumble. I put it right next to extraordinary you because both shows really had the most nonsense endings possible, given the attention to detail and quality of writing in the episodes leading up.

I henceforth propose a list of things I would have liked to be different:

(spoilers under the cut)

1. WHY DID HAE-E'S BIOLOGICAL MOTHER COME BACK. I literally did not care about her, and we had already explored Hae-e's feelings about having been abandoned in the earlier episodes. This sideplot occupied so much of the last few episodes when that same time could have really been used to flesh out the development of the other side plots so it makes me frustrated. I did end up appreciating the mother's story but it was so last minute and took away from the other stories in a really big way

2. Sua's family. Their endings were so!!! underdeveloped I don't understand how they thought they could get away with that. I liked the scene where Sua tells her mom to get a divorce, because her mom starts to realise that she is mature and not some child to be protected and coddled. At the same time, we don't get to see Sua go to therapy and overcome her anxiety and actually mature emotionally. We don't see her mom face any consequences or revelation regarding all of the BULLSHIT she put so many people through. Including her husband, who she actually did neglect. I think Sua's father had an interesting potential in having been neglected and treated shittily by his wife and acting out in turn. He was quite a socially aware character from the start and I wish they made him out to be more complex than some rich dude throwing a hissy fit. I don't like that her mom got off scot-free and still boasts about Sua

3. Sun-jae's family. what in heck. I don't even understand what happened there. You can't expect anyone with braincells to accept that his mom just GAVE UP on pushing her sons' educations when that's literally been her personality for the entire show. Even if the court case made her realise her faults, it's not enough to warrant a complete 180 with no supporting development. I liked the idea of the parents connecting over the issue and becoming more supportive of each other, but that would only make sense if they spent!!! time!!! showing it to us!!! I would have liked for Sun-jae's mom to realise (like Sua's mom) that her son's actions were coming from a place of maturity and awareness, and for her to apologise. I think Hui-jae going to the military was a good choice, but the vacation was quite forced. I'd also have liked!!! for the mom to have a scene with Hae-e

4. NAM HAE-E (and friends). if the previous point with Sun-jae's mom making up with Hae-e and Sun-jae happened I might have appreciated them getting together a little more. But it feels like they were just shoved together because they didn't have time to give either of them a more fulfilling ending. Sun-jae is sO MUCH MORE than some idiot who is obsessed with Hae-e. Seeing his family issues be solved would have been more important (and satisfying) than seeing his love life solved. When it comes to Sua, I imagined her bursting into tears when Hae-e woke up (because she still doesn't know that it was Donghui that did it) and then trying to become friends with Hae-e. I really liked that it was Geonhu instead that reached out to her!!! He's the friendliest so it makes a lot of sense and I really like the sense of ease between the two of them. I don't know/care about the implied romance though. Finally this last bit. is a tad personal. but we were this || close to getting aroace!Hae-e who rejects everyone and does not date if they had left it at the dinner scene I would have been the happiest girl alive. maybe danji was my aroace queen all along

5. JI DONG HUI. genuinely what the hell. He was my FAVOURITE character for the first ten episodes, even after I started suspecting him of being the killer. My friends thought that it was a cop-out to have him commit suicide, but I disagree, because I genuinely cannot imagine him having to go against Chi-yeol so it was either that or him being dragged into prison screaming 'i did it to protect you!' while Chi-yeol watches in complete shock. But if they were going to go down the suicide route then WE NEED TO SEE CHI-YEOL GRIEVE. Dong-hui was genuinely a huge contribution in getting him this far in his career, and Chi-yeol must have really loved him. I mean, that was the only person he felt close to and had contact with for almost SIX YEARS. I was interested in seeing Chi-yeol process his grief and betrayal and regret in a more prolonged way, because they spent that long making the audience attached to and invested in Dong-hui's character. idk when I saw Hyowon driving the car something in me broke.

I have a singular positive, which is that this was the first show where I never got bored or annoyed with the leading romance. They were so cute and loveable until the end and I really enjoyed watching them

[survivalistghost]

Love love love the cute men choi chi yeol proudly defending his crush, seo gun ho and lee sun jae bonding over fighting for the girl they love instead of being enemies

But

Love the pathetic men choi chi yeol lying on the ground with his belt in hand and holding haeng son’s hand at the doctors and seo gun ho teasing sun jae over mogu mogu give me 123 more please

[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.

[wherethewhumpthingsare]

Crash Course in Romance (일타 스캔들 ) (2023) Whumplist

Whumpee: Choi Chi Yeol (최치열)  Portrayed by: Jung Kyung Ho (정경호)

Synopsis: After retiring from her career as a national athlete, Nam Haeng Sun now owns a humble side dish store. Her cheerful personality and boundless energy catch the attention of Choi Chi Yeol, a popular and hardworking private instructor known as the "1 Billion Won Man." Despite his reputation, Choi Chi Yeol has become increasingly aloof and irritable due to his growing success. As Nam Haeng Sun embarks on a new career in the private education field, she unexpectedly finds herself drawn to Choi Chi Yeol. Though they have very different teaching styles, their shared passion for education brings them closer together. As they work alongside each other, they begin to discover a deeper connection that blossoms into a romance (mydramalist)

Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Rom-Com

Where to Watch: Dramacool.com 

Note: This one just finished airing last month. Although it doesn’t have a lot of intense whump, I had to make a list because I love Jung Kyung Ho. I’m working on another list for a drama he starred in and will post it soon!

TRIGGER WARNING: S*icide

SPOILERS AHEAD!

Episode 1: hallucinating (31:11); food making him sick (not shown, but heard a little) (35:00); trouble sleeping, lying in a sleeping bag instead of the bed (46:15); nervous, looking tired, listening to evil comments about him, almost passing out (49:50); in hospital due to sleep-deprivation & malnourishment (53:19); shoved to the floor, chased (55:30); tired, afraid to eat, teary eyed (1:11:00)

Episode 2: in therapy (16:40); criticized, told he looks thinner, hallucinating while driving (54:10); shouted at, arguing, grabbed & pulled, almost struck by a marble (1:11:11)

Episode 3: overhearing people talking about him twice, lonely (35:00)

Episode 4: getting sick after eating (off screen), looking ill, lethargic, hallucinating (50:00), exhausted, asked if he's ok, taking meds, teary eyed, feeling guilty (56:00); struggling to teach due to exhaustion (1:00:00)

Episode 5: shaken about the death of one of his students (21:00); depressed, not sleeping (25:50); drunk, helped to walk (1:10:00)

Episode 6: half-sleep, helped to walk (26:45); angry, cleaning bloody cut on his hand (37:30)

Episode 7: falling & spraining his wrist, ice held on it (26:10); getting wrist examined, told he's been neglecting his body (1:02:40)

Episode 8: angry, punching & threatening someone (20:00)

Episode 9-13: none

Episode 14: intense argument with colleague (41:40); scared (1:12:13)

Episode 15: teary eyed, witnessing a s*icide (21:30); love interest helping him be able to eat (32:00)

Episode 16: none

[stopaskingme]

what I really appreciate about the ccir finale is that they fleshed out the slice of life for our favourite characters post time-skip because they know we've gotten invested and we want to know how everyone is doing.

I love that we got to see hae-e, sun-jae, dan-ji and geon-hu getting drinks. I'm glad we got to see sun-jae's mum in her new office. and unpleasant as she was, it's was a nice surprise to see sua-a's mum more fulfilled in her job in private education.

we got nam family shenanigans, we got haeng-seon studying, chi-yeol continuing life, we got several scenes of them acting cute.

I'm so glad they let us say goodbye properly to these characters.

thank you for a good time, ccir!

[gigglyramblings]

Ranting about the current state of rom-coms in kdrama land

I can't help but feel a little frustrated with what Crash Course in Romance could have been and what we have a weird mishmash of romcom and murder mystery that just doesn't work. I have no proof of this but I feel like the writer went to the studios with the rom-com aspect where a traumatized celebrity math teacher gets a found family in the form of a warm-hearted banchan store owner and her little red tag family but the studios were like this is good but if we were to greenlight it, we would like you to add some murder to it and now hence we have this a show that is still enjoyable at times largely thanks to the great performances of Jeon Do Yeon and Jung Kyung Ho but could have been so much more if they put more emphasis on the found family aspect instead of the murder mystery aspect which is by far the show's weakest link. Like why don't we have more scenes of Jung Kyung Ho's character Choi Chi Yeol bonding with Nam Haeng Sun's daughter Nam Hae Yi? They could have developed such a cute father daughter like relationship! Instead, we have the screen time taken up by a murder mystery that feels like it was written by an elementary schooler.

Also, normally it would be a great thing that a drama is getting high ratings but honestly I wish the ratings for this drama weren't as high because I feel like studios will take the wrong lessons from this frustrating trend of every rom-com having a little murder mystery needing to continue when it's the exact opposite! We need more plain rom-coms kdramaland!

I know we've gotten Love To Hate You recently but that show really wasn't for me and I feel like it wouldn't have been such a fan favorite if we had more recent rom-coms! Love To Hate You in my opinion is one of those shows that needs to learn the concept of show don't just tell. It's so badly wants to be a feminist drama but without actually putting any of the work in order to be one. It will raise good points but never explore them any deeper. It's like Kim Ok-vin's character is from a recent modern feminist romcom but everyone else's character is from a k-drama romcom of the early 2000s. It's only thanks to Yoo Teo's performance and natural charisma that his character is even tolerable. And don't get me started on the second leads even Kim Ji Hoon's glorious mane couldn't stop me from fast forwarding his scenes with the second female lead.

I know Business Proposal really screwed up its ending and thus dampened people's love for it but I rather get another Business Proposal than another Love To Hate You even though undoubtedly Love To Hate You had the better ending.

Kdrama Gods please give us more fun rom-coms without murder! 🙏

[unicornsdestiny]

The functional relationship of our love!

Okay well the title first of all has my heart and the whole episode had me giggling and blushing fr except the hui jae part for which im sure Mr. Ji sure has some connection because him being cold towards haeng seon isn’t quite justified tbh

THE TEXT CONVO, THE HUG, CAR SCENE, FEED ME THE FOOD, THE I CAME TO SEE YOU BEFORE I GET BUSY AND WHATNOT

The way chi yeol went after he got to know the truth didn't waste a single second, he was waiting for that moment to run to his love.

Really satisfied when nam hae e took Mr popular or Mr poopular's phone and switched off the live. You slay girl. She was super courageous to tell the truth so her aunt could live her life rather than having to take care of her and jae woo.

Oh our boy geon hu kinda confessed and I'm super torn between sun jae and him but i hope to see more of those 4's friendship

In and all this was a super fun episode waiting to see more of the murder plot and our star couple:)

PS: please give haeng seon's best friend some handsome guy she deserves it too!

[rye-views]

Crash Course in Romance. 일타 스캔들. 7.7/10

I would recommend this show to my friends. I wouldn't rewatch this show.

I always recognize Lee Do Hye despite her always having minor roles. Lee Sang Yi's character is so random.

Hae E is pretty. Jang Young Nam has always been pretty.

Wow I felt amazing when Haeng Seon got the 100th spot for the classes. Chi Yeol's speech about wanting to have his students be as passionate as him is admirable. That would get me as a student. Sun Jae and Hae E's karaoke date is cute. I want to have that kind of simple fun at karaoke. I love how Hae E catches on quick to the situation with Chi Yeol and Haeng Seon. I also like her interactions with Chi Yeol and how just kind it is. I love that Jae Woo loves Chi Yeol. Yeong Joo is such a good friend. She's also so funny and amusing, especially when talking about romance. Dan Ji and her mom are both fun friends. Dan Ji is also a good friend. Hae E's friends are so loyal. I love and respect it. I do enjoy Su Ah's mom's reaction to her husband cheating. The Jae Woo and Young Joo plotline is cute. Sun Jae's reaction to the cheek kiss is soo cute

Wow, can you imagine having a solo piano recital. You're that good? I would fall for Geon Hu if I were a high schooler. Hae E is an ideal daughter and Haeng Seon is an ideal mom.

What even is Chi Yeol's car's side mirror thing? Chi Yeol has two fridges and no food, why?

I hate the waffle-making part-timer's boyfriend. Su Ah's parents treating her so princess-like kinda disgusts me because of her general attitude in response. Su Ah in general disgusts me. But, the situation is also kinda sad.

I thought it was sad when Sun Jae cried on Hae E.

Memorable Quotes: "음식을 남기면 죄다."

[drama-suggestions]

Rom-Com Dramas

Extraordinary attorney Woo (2022) (16 episodes)

9/10 rating on MyDramaList and 8.7/10 on IMDb

Extraordinary Attorney Woo is the story of Woo Young-woo, an autistic lawyer raised by her single father. She graduates at the top of her law school class and obtains her first job at Hanbada, a large Seoul law firm. Her intelligence and photographic memory help her become an excellent lawyer, but her communication is initially seen as odd and awkward. She also encounters people who are prejudiced against her and others with disabilities, such as her fellow colleague Kwon Min-woo, who often tries to sabotage her. Her approach is often unique and helps resolve cases in unexpected ways.

2. Business Proposal (2022) (12 episodes)

8.7/10 rating on MyDramaList and 8.1/10 rating on IMDb

Shin Ha-ri goes on a blind date with Kang Tae-moo, CEO of Go Food, but it goes awry when her date turns out to be Kang Da-goo, the chairman of Go Foods parent company. Young-seo tricks Ha-ri into meeting Tae-moo at his request. Ha-ri lies to Tae-moo and bribes him into pretending to be his fiancée in exchange for 800,000 won per date. Despite feeling betrayed, Tae-moo still loves Ha-ri and they become a couple. Young-seo moves out of her father's house and finds out that she is now Sung-hoon's neighbor. Sung-hoon is upset with her for deceiving his boss, but eventually realizes his growing affections for Young-seo and they get together.

3. Crash Course in Romance (2023) (16 episodes)

8.5/10 rating on MyDramaList and 7.8/10 on IMDb

Nam Haeng Sun, a former national athlete, now owns a side dish store and is attracted to Choi Chi Yeol, a popular and hardworking private instructor known as the "1 Billion Won Man". Despite his reputation, Choi Chi Yeol has become increasingly aloof and irritable due to his growing success. Nam Haeng Sun embarks on a new career in the private education field and discovers a deeper connection with Choi Chi Yeol. However, their relationship is not without challenges, as they must learn to confront their own shortcomings and trust in each other's strengths. It has a satisfying ending that resolves the issues of the characters.

4. I’m not a Robot (2017) (16 episodes)

8.4/10 rating on MyDramaList and 8/10 on IMDb

Kim Min-kyu lives a luxurious but isolated life due to a severe allergy to physical contact with other human beings. Jo Ji-ah is trying to create businesses based on her inventions. KM Financial owns the Santa Maria team headed by professor Hong Baek-gyun, who has secretly created an advanced humanoid robot called AG3. To convince Min-kyu not to sell the team, Baek-gyun sends the robot to him as a demonstration, but it short-circuits and Baek-gyun asks Ji-ah to pose as the robot, giving the team time to repair Aji 3. Ji-ah impersonates Aji 3 and Min-kyu falls in love with her, believing she is the robot. He is disturbed by this and "reboots" her, erasing the robot's memory. Baek-gyun then replaces Ji-ah with the real Aji 3, and Min-kyu discovers Ji-ah's deception and nearly kills him. Ji-ah confesses her love to Min-kyu and they rediscover their love. Aji 3's secret cache is hacked, revealing Min-kyu's illness, which is used to attempt a take-over of KM Financial and complete the sale of the Santa Maria team and Aji 3. Min-kyu manages to thwart the attempt and restores Aji 3 to the Santa Maria team. 2 years later, the Santa Maria team successfully launches a new robot and Min-kyu and Ji-ah are happily living their changed lives.

5. True Beauty (2020) (16 episodes)

 8.3/10 rating on MyDramaList and 8.5 on IMDb

Lim Ju-Kyung is a high school student who has been discriminated against by her family and bullied by her peers in previous school due to being perceived as ugly. She masters wearing makeup and quickly rises to fame. Su-ho is a student of Class 2-5 in Saebom High School who is popular for his handsome looks and being the top of his class. His dysfunctional family and a tragic incident from a year ago have turned him into an ice-cold boy who hates being the center of attention. He is formerly best friends with Seo-Jun and shares Ju-Kyung's penchant for horror comic books. This series, which has an entertaining bromance, explores Ju-Kyung's life and her aspiration to become a cosmetologist.

[korelist]

CRASH COURSE IN ROMANCE // KDRAMA DİZİ YORUMU

UYARI : Yazılar genel olarak spoiler içerebilir. İçermeyedebilir.

İmdb puanı: 7,9 Benim puanım: 8

Drama: Crash Course in Romance (English title) / Ilta Scandal (Korean title)

Hangul: 일타 스캔들

Director: Yoo Je-Won

Writer: Yang Hee-Seung

Date: 2023

Language: Korean

Country: South Korea

Cast: Jeon Do-Yeon, Jung Kyoung-Ho, Roh Yoon-Seo, Oh Eui-Sik, Kim Mi-Kyung, Lee Bong-Ryun, Jang Young-Nam, Shin Jae-Ha

2023 (59th) BaekSang Arts Awards - April 28, 2023 Best New Actress (Roh Yoon-Seo)

Hospital Playlist ile hayatımıza giren Jung Kyoung-Ho için izleme listemizin en üstüne çıkan bir dizi olsa da bence bir tık hayal kırıklığıydı. Bütün oyuncular çok başarılı olmasına rağmen hiçbiri birbiri ile uyumlu değil gibiydi. Nam Haeng-Seon(Jeon Do-Yeon) ulusal bir atletken ailesine bakmak için sporu bırakmış, kendine bir garnitür dükkanı açmış orta yaşlı bir kadındır. Kızı/yeğeni Nam Hae-E(Roh Yoon-Seo) tek meşgalesi ve odağıdır. Erkek kardeşi Nam Jae-Woo(Oh Eui-Sik) ise yetişkin bir erkek olmasına rağmen asperger sendromludur. Ablası evden kaçınca yeğenine bakmak zorunda kalmış, bir süre sonra anne-kız olmuş ve öyle hitap etmeye başlamışlar. Liseye giden ve üniversiteye hazırlanan Hae-E, annesini zorlamamak için dershaneye gitmeyi teklif etmese de okulda oldukça başarılıdır.

Choi Chi-Yeol(Jung Kyoung-Ho) ise ülkenin en iyi matematik hocası olarak nam salmış ekranlarda tanınan bir yüzdür. Bu kısım biraz abartılı gelse de bu şekilde uygun görülmüş. Bir matematik hocası adeta bir idol gibi anlatılmış. Her davranışı takip ediliyor, yanlış bir şey yaparsa manşet oluyor falan, garip. Son derece ciddi, mesafeli sadece şov amaçlı cringe davranan bu matematik öğretmeni de kendi içinde sorunları olan bir adamdır. Uyku bozukluğu yaşamakta ve yediği hiçbir şeyden tat almamaktadır.

Haeng-Seon, kızını iyi bir üniversiteye gönderebilmek için dershaneye yazdırmaya karar verir. Chi-Yeol ise yiyebildiği tek şeyin Haeng-Seon’un mezeleri olduğunu fark eder. Bu şekilde bir araya gelen ikilinin yaşadıkları dizinin konusunu oluşturuyor. Dizideki romantizm dozu yerlerdeydi. Fiziksel çekim buz tutmuştu. Hae-E’nin okulda yaşadığı minik romantik anlar ana karakterlerinkinden çok daha tatlıydı.

Dizinin ağırlığı ise annelerdeydi. Dizide ana karakterimiz ve onun annesi hariç bütün anneler inanılmaz itici karakterlerdi. İtina ile her model anne terörünü yansıtmışlardı. Sert anne, ilgili ama titiz anne, pimpirikli anne, takıntılı anne, ilgisiz anne… Kısacası anneler kafayı çocuklarının üniversiteye girmesi ile bozmuştu. Sürekli ders çalışsınlar; yemesinler, içmesinler, gülmesinler, konuşmasınlar, dikkatlerini dağıtacak hiçbir şey olmaksızın ders çalışsınlar. Yalnızca bizim başrol annemiz kızı ne ile mutlu olacaksa onu yapmasını istiyor ama bir yandan da diğer çocukların imkanlarından eksik kalmaması için uğraşıyordu. Onun annesi Jung Yeong-Sun(Kim Mi-Kyung) de zamanında ufak bir restoran işletiyormuş. Dizilerin kadrolu annesi Kim Mi-Kyung’u görünce mutlu oluyor insan.

Valla dizide yine geçmişe dayalı bir tanışma hikayesine dayandırsalar da ikiliyi bir türlü yakıştıramadım. Adam zaten belli bir yaşın üzerinde yetişkin hali vakti yerinde popüler bir karakterken, kadın ondan büyük ve paspal bir tarzı olduğu için çok daha da büyük görünüyordu. Zaten büyük kadın genç adam durumu vardı bunu saklamadılar ama yaşları da büyük olunca hiç olmamıştı. Tek eksik buydu. Fazlası ise dizideki seri katil mevzusuydu. Bir anda seri katil çıkıverdi. Başka bir dizi  ile crosover yapmış gibi oldu. Sanki yanlış bölüm açmışsınız gibi düşünün. Bir gizemler, göndermeler, benzetmeler falan yapıldı. Ama her dizi izleyicisi, yani,  ilk defa dizi izlemeyen herkes, katilin kim olduğunu ilk 5 dakikada anladı. Anladık yani. O yaratılan gizem de katil mevzusu da gereksizdi.

Toparlayacak olursak, tek düşündükleri nasıl olduğu önemsiz bir şekilde üniversiteye girsin diyen anneler. At gibi yarış halinde hiçbir sosyal aktivitesi olmayan bunalmış gençler. Üniversite sınavı ile insan değerlendiren bir sistem. Annelerin çocuklarını yarıştırmasının yanında kendi aralarında da yarışıyor olması. Usulsüzlük, soru çalma, özel öğretmen gibi illegal çözümler. Ve alakaya maydanoz katil. Dizinin konusu bu. Bu anlamda başrol kadın karakterini çok beğendim. Kendi başarısızlığından bir başarı hikayesi yaratmış kızının da başarısız olmasından korkmayan ve ona da bu özgüveni aşılamış bir karakterdi. Güçlü, kendinden emin ve hayatın ne getireceğinin hesabını yapmayan sağlam bir kadın. Bunun yanı sıra iletişimi güçlü, kızına da zaman ayıran ve sosyal becerileri için onu destekleyip teşvik eden bir yanı da vardı.

Kısacası izlenebilir ortalama bir diziydi.

OST:

Ha Hyun Sang - Alright

Raven Melus

BAŞKA NELER VAR ?

FOTOĞRAFLAR

[missfinemess]

here are the doodles without subtitles

[ulkaralakbarova]

After a deadly earthquake turns Seoul into a lawless badland, a fearless huntsman springs into action to rescue a teenager abducted by a mad doctor. Credits: TheMovieDb. Film Cast: Nam-san: Ma Dong-seok Yang Gi-su: Lee Hee-jun Choi Ji-wan: Lee Jun-young Han Su-na: Roh Jeong-eui Lee Eun-ho: Ahn Ji-hye Kwon Sang-sa: Park Ji-hoon Teacher: Jang Young-nam Tiger: Park Hyo-joon Yeon-su: Seong Byeong-suk Madame: Jung Young-ju Ju-ye: Lee Han-joo Director Choi: Park Sang-hoon Director Oh: Ahn Seong-bong Ju-ye’s Father: Jeong Gi-seop Ju-ye’s Mother: Kim Young-sun Western Grandfather: Sin Sin-beom Western’s Mother: Hong Yi-joo Film Crew: Production Design: Jo Hwa-seong Sound Supervisor: Kim Suk-won Editor: Nam Na-young Special Effects Supervisor: Jung Do-ahn Adaptation: Ma Dong-seok Lighting Director: Song Hyun-suk Director of Photography: Byun Bong-sun Production Sound Mixer: Jung Gun Producer: Choi Won-ki Makeup & Hair: Nam Ji-soo Special Effects Makeup Artist: Pi Dae-seong Digital Intermediate: Lee Hye-min Production Design: Park Gyu-bin Original Music Composer: Kim Dong-wook Editor: Ha Mi-ra Martial Arts Choreographer: Heo Myeong-haeng Writer: Kim Bo-tong Executive Producer: Byun Seung-min Martial Arts Choreographer: Yoon Seong-min Original Story: Kim Dong-gyun Adaptation: Kim Chang-hoon Writer: Kwak Jae-min Executive Producer: Choi Byeong-hwan Special Effects Makeup Artist: Seol Ha-un Props: Kang Shin-hong Key Grip: Lee Hyun-gyu Special Effects Supervisor: Im Jong-hyeok Line Producer: Choi Su-im Visual Effects: Yuk Gwan-woo Movie Reviews: Chris Sawin: The film features some hard-hitting and explosive action sequences that will rightfully cater to fans of the genre. The battle in the basement of the apartment building, where we see Nam-san use a shotgun to blast his way through some of the doctor’s ‘enhanced’ individuals, is a total exhilarating blast. Ma Dong-seok has been a powerhouse for most of his career post Train to Busan, but he sends people flying whenever he throws his fist or pulls the trigger. _Badland Hunters_ also has to break a record for most decapitations in a film. **Full review:** https://bit.ly/bdlndhntr MovieGuys: Badland Hunters does something things well, others just passably. Action is wall to wall and well choreographed.Special effects are excellent. Characterisations are solid if predictable and the acting is not to be sniffed at. However, the story is unremarkable, with a climax that feels, well, anti climatic. In summary, an okay but hardly exceptional watch, that would have benefited from more creativity on the storytelling front. Ritesh Mohapatra: “Badland Hunters: A Visually Striking Action Spectacle with Narrative Shortcomings” In this post-apocalyptic action thriller, Badland Hunters, while suffering from a repetitive and clichéd plot and uninteresting characters, excels in stunning hand-to-hand choreography and scintillating action set pieces. The film benefits greatly from the expertise of its veteran stunt coordinator turned director, known for his work on Train to Busan. Commendable world-building, visionary concepts, and excellent VFX are hindered by conventional writing. The short, crisply edited runtime avoids unnecessary elements. Don Lee’s exceptional portrayal of Nam-san, with exhilarating action sequences, overshadows the film’s narrative weaknesses, making it a guiltily satisfying popcorn-worthy entertainer, particularly for adrenaline enthusiasts. Instagram & X @streamgenx.

[justmesitinginthecournerofmyroom]

Rom/Com turned Murder Mystery

I'm watching this Korean show called "A Crash Course in Romance," and it is so ridiculous (this has spoilers if you care).

TW: Suicide and murder

All the adds/previews I saw for it on Netflix were these cute little scenes between Nam Haeng-Seon (Side dish restaurant owner) and Choi Chi Yeol ("star" teach of math at a private after school academy). From the outside it looked like just your average meet-cute/meet-ugly show, where they go from hating each other, to slowing getting to know more about each other, and then falling in love. The official description of the show is:

"A woman with a heart of gold navigates the cutthroat world of private education when her daughter tries to join a celebrity math instructor's class."

Like, that seems like a normal show, implying that the bigest problem is going to be snooty, rich parents who don't care about anyone else (and yes the show is full of this), but it also has the most insane and wild side plots.

Before the show even starts there was the death of Nam Haeng-Seon's mother.

Then the death of a past student of Choi Chi Yeol (by the way they set up her death to imply that he slept with his student, even though he didn't. It was iffy for a while if I'm to be honest). Her death spurs her mother to push her younger brother to do better before she kills herself. When the police arrive they arrest the brother because they though he pushed her, before he was acquitted by the supreme court.

Fast forward several years, we meet all the characters again. In the second episode we see a kid killed on screan, and they don't talk about it for the rest of the episode (I haven't finished the show yet). Like, exCUSE ME, but what about the CHILD?!

Then we learn learn that the killer is Lee Sun-Jae's (Nam Hae-yi's beast friend) brother. He just goes and kills people like nothing happens.

The we see him kill another person, on screen, with blood and everything. It's like, "Hello, what happened to my Rom/Com?!!?" The worst part is that the show continues on like a regular Rom/Com in between, and doesn't address any of the murders longer than ~15 minutes at a time.

After a few episodes, we have anther on screen killing. At this point I want a show about the investigation rather than the Rom/Com. I know they have scenes of the detective working the case, but still.

What I'm trying to say, is that you should watch this show because it's bat shit insane, but also not at all how it's advertised in anyway.

[idontwanttowhy]

Review: Crash Course in Romance (2023)

Cute, nothing groundbreaking

Synopsis

Choi Chi-yeol is a celebrity...math instructor at The Pride Academy, where only the best of the best get first-class tutoring. Nam Hae-e has been studying on her own, but wants to join her top classmates at this hagwon/after school program, so her banchan restaurant-owning aunt and adoptive mother, Nam Haeng-seon, signs Hae-e up for Mr. Choi's uber-popular class. The Nams become further entangled with Chi-yeol when he discovers that the only food he can stomach is the banchan from Haeng-seon's shop.

In the midst of all this are the mothers of the top students, pulling strings and conniving to get their children the best possible preparation for their future college admissions processes.

MZ Overall: 7/10, definitely enjoyable but my heart wasn't in it

This drama aims to give you the same warm and fuzzy feelings you may get watching Crash Landing on You (2019), but something was just.... missing for me. I can't quite put my finger on it; the chemistry between the main leads was there, the lovable side characters, the thrilling side story, all of it. And the setup is just delicious: Haeng Seon's food is the only thing Chi Yeol can eat. He literally needs her to live! So all in all it's a solid drama. It's heartwarming and strikes a perfect balance of funny and dramatic moments. Definitely worth a watch!

MZ Review (spoilers)

Choi Chi Yeol opens his eyes, blurred by the combination of his fever and encroaching hangover. His dream girl, the one he can never have, looks upon him lying on the bed with concern that turns to surprise as Chi Yeol casually utters "Oh, you're in my dreams again." There is a pause as Chi Yeol decides how his dream would proceed. He reaches out to the specter of Haeng Seon, and as he caresses her arm he pulls her closer to him on the bed. He speaks again to his vision: "Let's be together, just this time." Slowly, with intention, he lifts himself to steal a kiss.

SWOON!

Now you have read the singular most romantic part of this drama, so do you really need to watch it? Maybe, actually. This scene is so good to watch. But they really make you work for it in this drama, let me tell you!

With chemistry like this, I'm really not sure why I didn't like it more. If I had to guess, I'd say that while all the major elements are there, some of the characters just aren't. I will admit that it's at least partially since I'm coming off of Love to Hate You, but I couldn't stand the way that the moms were all made pretty one-dimensional, to the point where you would think they have never had another thought in life beyond what seat their child was going to get in their academy. I understand that they are trying to portray a lot of complicated dynamics in a short amount of time, but you would really think that the moms are the villains in this story, not the broader society that creates the need to stress over exams like they are life or death. If this weren't enough, they are constantly criticized for their attempts, even to the point where it is suggested that it's their fault if their husband cheated on them, that they deserve it for some reason.

To this point as well, I couldn't stand the scene where Sun Jae asked his mom if she was happy with her life, since she wanted it for her sons so bad. You would literally think she had never thought of this question. UGH. Don't get me started on the other moms. If there was a Bechdel test for tests (instead of men) this show would barely pass. If it included tests and banchan, well, lets just say Hae-e did better on her reading midterm, and she turned in a blank test.

Anyway, the other thing that bothered me was how Jae Woo's character was barely more than a plot device the entire time. We are laughing at him, not with him. And we feel bad for Haeng Seon when she has to pick him up from jail because he was beaten up by someone while trying to get a waffle. He was primarily someone everyone else acted on, which is a pretty stereotypical way to portray someone with autism/Asperger's. While he is included in many of the touching moments of the show, I can't help but feel like he wasn't written as an actual person.

I guess beyond these two critiques, the show was pretty good. The main leads have incredible chemistry, but even they are sometimes upstaged by the drama going on with Sun Jae and Hae-e. Frankly, this show could have been about them and I would not have been mad.

Alls well that ends well, and the endings for each of the characters were more or less satisfactory, despite the lack of character development. I'd say I was really sad about Mr. Ji, but when I considered that he like, murdered people, I got over it. I also didn't like how things ended with Hae-e's mom, but that storyline was going nowhere fast anyway.

AC Overall: 7/10, meh--got boring at the end

I started off liking the show; characters were likable, and the plot development began beautifully, kept you guessing enough to keep you watching. But once everything was resolved two-thirds of the way in, the show really started to drag for me and I was no longer as interested in the characters or the new little plot developments they brought in for shits and giggles (I, for one, was not laughing). Honestly, I almost didn't even watch the last episode because I. just. stopped. caring. So, Crash Course had a promising start, but like too many dramas, ended flat. Crashed, if you will. Should've been a 12-episode series.

And, it's really not a crash course in romance, but in Korean high school student life? The romance took a backseat most of the time. Might as well have been about the students, with the main romance as a side plot.

AC Review (spoilers)

Let's start with the romances: the main was fine; Chi-yeol and Haeng-seon had good chemistry and a good romantic arc. Enemies to forbidden lovers to actual lovers--I enjoyed the I'm-the-single-aunt-not-the-married-mom secret and Chi-yeol's pining because of it. I was so here for the melodrama between those two! And then, it ran it's course with me right as Hae-e confessed the truth--didn't drag too much imo. But once they actually got together, I checked out. Fair to say I wasn't really there to see lovey-dovey-ness between those too. And to be fair, there wasn't tooo much of it anyway. The romance I was more invested in was Hae-e's; I really liked both Sun-jae or Seo Geon-hu for her, especially since a little friendly competition never hurt anyone (wink). Although...she really kept both guys waiting until the bitter end! And then we have Jae-woo and Haeng-seon's friend/employee Kim Young-joo, which I have mixed feelings about. On the one had, I guess it's good that someone with autism/Asperger's was depicted with a little romance, but it felt like it was thrown in carelessly. Left me wanting to have seen that development a little more? Idk.

The suspenseful plot was what really kept me watching. I knew something was up with the assistant Ji Dong-hui/Jeong Seong-hyeong early on, and was satisfied with how it played out, but once everyone knew he was the culprit behind the (successful and attempted) murders, I also checked out. Actually, even before everyone knew. Once I knew he was the culprit I was just kind of...waiting for everyone else to figure it out. And when they did, it marked the end of the drama for me. Sorry to say, but I didn't even really care for Hae-e to wake up once they didn't actually neeeed her to implicate him. Yikes.

Furthermore I do not understand why they had Hae-e's mom Nam Haeng-ja show up! It was from then that I knew for sure...it's time to give up bc where was that going??

But the students! The stars of the show; the pressure that they faced in preparation for college admissions was heartbreaking to watch and also a reminder of the realities of competitive students vying for the limited spots meant to "guarantee" a "good" life. Me, I appreciated the warning: pressure does not always make diamonds. And maybe diamonds are not worth the risk. Sun-jae's brother Hui-jae becoming a shut-in, Su-a having hallucinations, one of the kids fainting in the hagwon--hell, committing s*****e after having realized your parent went so far as to cheat to force your success...all very real and should be taken as a cautionary tale.

All in all, Crash Course was okay, pretty good even--until all the questions were answered. But hey, that's the point of a crash course? Everything after was a little unnecessary.

[kdramaladies]

We would like to thank everyone who participated in our 2023 Year End Poll last month! Thank you to those who voted, promoted the event, and also liked/reblogged our top 10 gifsets.

If you missed the Top 10 sets we posted during the last 10 days of 2023, or would just like to support them again, please check out our event tag #KDLYEAREND23. We will also be listing the results for the Top 20 under the cut.

Please also check out our new desktop header featuring our top 3 winners by @orangesyellow, mobile header by @natahjikio and icon by @haeyeongs featuring our #1 voted character of 2023.

We hope your 2024 is off to a good start, and looking forward to another year of our favourite kdramas and ladies!!!

1) The Glory: Moon Dong-eun (Song Hye-kyo) 46 2) Moving: Lee Mi-hyun (Han Kyo-joo) 45 3) Twinkling Watermelon: Yoon Cheong-ah (Shin Eun-soo) 44 4) Crash Course in Romance: Nam Haeng-seon (Jeon Do-yeon) 42 5) Alchemy of Souls 2: Jin Bu-yeon (Go Youn-jung) 38 6) Revenant: Gu San-young (Kim Tae-ri) 36 7) Moving: Jang Hui-soo (Go Youn-jung) 35 8) King the Land: Cheon Sa-rang (Im Yoon-ah) 34 9) My Dearest: Yoo Gil-chae (Ahn Eun-jin) 33 10) Twinkling Watermelon: Choi Se-kyung/On Eun-yu (Seol In-ah) 29

11) Daily Dose of Sunshine: Jung Da-eun (Park Bo-young) 27 12) Call It Love: Shim Woo-joo (Lee Sung-kyung) 25 12) See You in my 19th Life: Ban Ji-eum (Shin Hye-sun/Park So-yi) 25 13) The Glory: Park Yeon-jin (Im Ji-yeon) 20 14) Crash Course in Romance: Nam Hae-yi (Roh Yoon-seo) 19 15) Crash Course in Romance: Kim Young-joo (Lee Bong-ryun) 17 16) The Uncanny Counter 2: Do Ha-na (Kim Se-jeong) 15 16) Love to Hate You: Yeo Mi-ran (Kim Ok-vin) 15 17) A Time Called You: Han Jun-hee/Kwon Min-ji (Jeon Yeo-been) 13 17) Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938: Ryu Hong-joo (Kim So-yeon) 13 17) Doctor Cha: Cha Jeong-sook (Uhm Jung-hwa) 13 18) Mask Girl: Kim Mo-mi (Lee Han-byeol, Go Hyun-jung, Nana) 12 18) The Glory: Kang Hyun-nam (Yeom Hye-ran) 12 18) The Good Bad Mother: Jin Young-soon (Ra Mi-ran) 12 19) Doona!: Lee Doo-na (Bae Suzy) 11 19) The Good Bad Mother: Lee Mi-joo (Ahn Eun-jin) 11 20) Alchemy of Souls 2: Kim Do-joo (Oh Na-ra) 10 20) Heartbeat: Joo In-hae (Won Ji-an) 10 20) See You in my 19th Life: Yoon Cho-won (Ha Yoon-kyung) 10 20) Not Others: Kim Jin-hee (Choi Soo-young) 10 20) Call It Love: Shim Hye-seong (Kim Ye-won) 10 20) My Lovely Liar: Mok Sol-hee (Kim So-hyun) 10

KDRAMALADIES YEAR END POLL: Favourite Female Drama Characters of 2023

Welcome to our (hopefully!) annual year end poll! Vote for your favourite female characters from dramas in 2023, and at the end of the year we will announce and celebrate the top 10 most beloved characters with some gifs, and feature the top 3 in our blog’s desktop and mobile themes.

vote here

polls are open until December 10, 2023 at 11:59PM PST

results will be announced in the last week of December

the options are sorted alphabetically by title

only dramas set to complete by the start of the voting period has been included (dramas ending in December or January will be included in the following year's voting period)

if there are series or characters we missed, there is a write-in option at the bottom of the poll

if writing-in, please make sure to include the show title and the character or actress name

Happy voting! Please feel free to reblog this post to promote the poll to your friends and followers!