#somewhere out there kang gil-young is like

[ohyka]

listen.

LISTEN.

[justfangrlshit]

[The Guest spoilers ahead.]

The Guest is a horror thriller from OCN and it's kinda amazing. It has a lot of violence and gore in it so if that puts you off, I'd suggest you dont watch it. It also has a lot of violent exorcisms, and they can be a bit disturbing as well.

If you don't have a problem with these themes, you have to watch this show because it is sooo good. The story follows a psychic, Yoon Hwa Pyung, a priest, Choi Yoon and a detective, Kang Gil Young as they try to free people possessed by demons controlled by a dark spirit called Park Il Do. The three are connected by a tragic event 20 years back that killed each of their families. Now, tortured and aimless, Hwa Pyung is determined to find Park Il Do and end his violence.

First of all the plot is pretty great, there's a lot of suspense and intrigue. They don't waste time on unnecessary scenes and the story moves pretty fast. It follows the theme of demons being evil but humans cultivating evil among themselves without any help as well. Till the end there are parallels and the whole story comes together only in the end. The side stories are tragic and I love how it all slowly ties together into the main story. Also there is no forced romance. The three leads have amazing chemistry together and I'm glad they didnt mess that up with unnecessary drama.

Another aspect that stood out to me were the characters. All three of them are brilliant. They're all so different yet equally in pain, and soo lovable. Thrillers have a tendency to not give its characters any arc outside the plot of the story, while this is kind of true for the Guest as well, it's still enough to absolutely love the 3 of them. Even the side characters are adorable. Of course this makes it hurt even more when everyone starts dying. Seriously I was basically screaming throughout most of the episodes to stop hurting Yun Hwa Pyung, the poor boy goes through so much. The acting is brilliant as well. Especially the evil politician lady, she was soooo creepy in the best way. The leads also. The end was so amazing, I loved the plot and the execution but the characters really give it a different level of pain. I was aching when the show ended.

Like I loved how Hwa Pyung is this cute goofy guy who likes kids and jokes around, yet at the end of the day his only real priority is to get rid of Park Il Do. It's so wholesome to see his mindset change from killing whoever to achieve his goal to doing anything to protect his 2 friends.

And Gil Young is sooo cooool. And badass. I low key have a crush on her. It's so cute to see her get annoyed and come barging in to save her dumb boyfriends.

Also Kim Jae Wook is so beautiful you can just watch this to thirst over him in that outfit. Also I love his character. I may have been crying over Yoon ever since I started this show.

And. The OST. Is fucking beautiful. "Somewhere" is just pain and I haven't stopped listening to it since I finished watching. The music is perfect, so is the lighting. No matter what the setting was, everything was just the right amount of creepy.

The Guest has a good plot, amazing execution and acting. It's one of those things you can't forget and stays with you after it's done, a little haunting and painful.

[overthinkingkdrama]

hello could you recommend some Korean movies please?

Certainly! I don’t know what kind of movies you’re looking for, so here are all the movies that I’ve rated 9.0 or better on My Drama List:

King and the Clown: A strong contender for my favorite Korean film of all time, King and the Clown is a homoerotic story about Gong Gil and Jang Seng, two clowns with only have each other to depend on, who’s lives suddenly take a turn when they are brought to the palace for insulting the king with their act. They are thrust onto a political stage they are horribly unprepared for, when the sometimes violent, sometimes child like king becomes obsessed with the beautiful Gong Gil. The movie features some amazing performances, notably by a very young Lee Joon Gi, and plays out like a Shakespearean tragedy. Only watch it if you won’t be needing your heart for at least the next day or two. (Dramafever)

New Trial: Based on a true story, this is a drama about a disenfranchised young man who’s life is totally destroyed when he’s convicted of a murder that he didn’t commit and spending 10 years in jail. An ambitious lawyer who got into the profession for the money, discovers his case and decides to help him win the right to have a new trial. The strong performances from Jung Woo and Kang Ha Neul  and the bond that grows between their two characters are both excellent reasons to watch. (Viki)

The Handmaiden: Lesbian. Gothic. Horror. Romance. This is an adaptation of a novel called Fingersmith by Sarah Waters originally set in Victorian England, transplanted into Japanese occupation era Korea and directed by virtuosic director Park Chan Wook. This might be one of the most visually stunning films I’ve ever seen, and the central performances from Kim Min Hee and Kim Tae Ri especially are incredible. I will warn you that the movie is not for the squeamish, and contains very strong sexual content. Don’t watch it with your parents. (Amazon)

Battleship Island: An ensemble movie about a group of 400 Koreans and their attempt to escape from Hashima island, a Japanese forced labor camp. This is a movie about WWII war crimes, with all that implies. It’s very dark, oppressive, but is a very well put together movie that sometimes doesn’t feel like it focuses on individual characters as much as groups of people and how they respond collectively to cruelty and abuse. Difficult watch. Great movie. (Amazon)

Always: This is my go to movie melodrama. One of the first Korean films I ever watched and still one of my favorites. So Ji Sub plays an reformed ex-con and former boxer, trying to go straight and get his life together when he unexpectedly meets Han Hyo Joo’s character, a blind woman who appears in the tollbooth where he works to watch television dramas with him. It’s just a really good romance with great chemistry between the leads. (Dramafever)

Anarchist from Colony: This is another occupation-era movie that focuses on Japanese war crimes. Unlike Battleship Island, this film is often very comedic in tone, even as it deals with dark themes. In order to divert public attention from the massacre of 6,000 Koreans after the Great Kanto Earthquake, the Japanese government tries to manufacture a subversive plot to assassinate the Crown Prince, and settle on Park Yeol as their patsy. He sees this as an opportunity to bring attention to the anarchist cause and along with his comrade and lover Kaneko Fumiko turns the prison and the trial into a media circus. I really can’t recommend this movie enough. It was such a rewarding watch. (Viki)

The Wailing: I don’t usually enjoy straight up horror movies, but this one really stuck with me after I watched it. Enough that I had to go back and watch it again. In an isolated village a series of distributing and mysterious murders begin the spread fear and paranoia. A police officer begins to investigate, but can’t ignore the apparently supernatural nature of the crimes. His own family soon becomes a target. This is a movie that isn’t about who the monster is or why the bad things are happening. It’s about the nature of primal doubt itself, and how uncertainty is what really terrifies us. (Netflix)

Hope you can find something you like somewhere in that mess. Happy watching!

Jona