Korean Drama

[GG]

Did a search but can't find anything relevant and I don't know if there is already a thread on this. Anyway would like to find out if anyone is watching any Korean drama/soap currently or has watched any that they would recommend me.

I know I'm late in terms of the Korean wave... have only started to follow "Glass Shoes" which is currently being telecasted on Channel 8. I like watching it but find the paste is damn slow. Why mediacorp telecasts it at late night!!! Sigh!

I recently found out Poh Kim is having a sale and it's only selling the entire set for $20 but am reluctant to purchase it as I know I'll end up fast forwarding the CDs most of the time........ haha

Can anyone recommend me not-so-slow-paste and not-so-lengthy Korean Drama (if there is any)?

[blueberry]

These are my recommendations, not sure whether you would like it or not:
1) My Love Patzzi (comedy, Jang Na Ra, Kim Jae Won, Kim Rae Won)
2) Full House (comedy, Song Hye Gyo, Rain)
3) Attic Cat (not sure what genre is this but my friend raved about this, Kim Rae Won, Jang Da Bin)
4) Success story of bright girl (Jang Na Ra, Jang Hyuk)
5) 18 year old bride (Lee Dong Gun, Han Ji Hye)
All these are around 10-16 episodes.

You want any sobfest dramas?

[littlemiss]

I am starting to like korean drama too. I have just finished Memories of Bali, currently watching Lovers in Paris, both are 20 episodes each.

[wanderlust]

i just finished stairways to heaven. 20-disc though. my sis got me hooked on it. it's not bad but korean dramas always seem to have the same story line.

name me one korean drama (that is not meant to be a comedy) that has a happy ending.

i notice that usually either one or both will die in the end? right? or they won't end up together....

i also like loving you and the autumn's tale (is that what it's called?)

[littlemiss]

Crystal, Full house has a happy ending but currently the shops are selling the boxset without mandarin dubbing.

Do give Lovers in Paris a try, though I have not finish it yet but I really like the lead actor and actress charaters in the show.

[GG]

thanks gals for the reply... I'll check those drama out.

[babysammi]

Well, usually Korean drama's are abit slow and their plot are predictable. However, I don't mind as there are so many Korean hotties acting in K-drama!!

[tarotsgirl]

Originally posted by crystal
i just finished stairways to heaven. 20-disc though. my sis got me hooked on it. it's not bad but korean dramas always seem to have the same story line.

name me one korean drama (that is not meant to be a comedy) that has a happy ending.

i notice that usually either one or both will die in the end? right? or they won't end up together....

i also like loving you and the autumn's tale (is that what it's called?)

Beautiful life by Choi ji woo and Lee byunsun has a happy ending..

My k-drama list:
Beautiful life
Winter sonata
Autumn's tale
Hotelier
Summer scent
Stairways to heaven
Into the Sun
We're dating now
Memories of bali - showing on scv now..

next on my list - Lovers in Paris, i'm sorry i love you

Favorite Mom jiang - Kwon sang woo..

[ange]

stairways to heaven is really
A good and interesting one to watch is Success story of bright girl.
The most interesting and "sob-able" one is Love Letter! If you're the sort who like heartwrecking yet sweet korean dramas,this one ranks number one!

Summer Scent was cool too.

[pinklicious]

my list

- star dreams (old kdrama starring ahn jae wook)
- all about eve (jang dong gun )
- full house (love bi and shg)
- sang doo, let's go to school (bi's first drama, never realised he could act till i watched this)
- Lover In Paris!!! (gosh this is will be my fav except i hate the ending)
- sweet 18 (my best friend is crazy over lee dong gun's character now)
- 1% of anything
- Yurihwa or Glass Flower (I hate this drama a lot. I watched it for the sake of Lee Dong Gun and the writers had to spoil his major drama role )
- Sassy Girl, Chun Hyang (i this! such a happy drama. i'm watching it now while waiting for new episodes to be out)

For good melodrama, i recommend I'm Sorry I Love You. Practically everyone I know who watched it gave

There's Fire bird (Bool S a e) which Lee Eun Joo starred. She was the korean actress that commited suicide recently.

[musicroad]

Hotelier , Autumm In My Hearts , .....

Some of the titles I can't really remember...

korean drama all about love and their music is soothing...

[twinstar]

I just missed the last 2 episodes of Memories of Bali last night on SCV.. was too tired and fell asleep..going to watch the replay later.. one of my favourite korean dramas..find this story so sad..

Sis say that lovers in paris is nice too.. ..going to be aired on SCV..

[babysammi]

Adapted from internet website:

10 Must-watched 'Classic' Korean drama:

1. Autumn Of My Heart (Song Hae Gyo, Song Seung Hun, Won Bin)

2. Winter Sonata (Bae Yongjun, Choi Jiwoo, Park Yong Ha)

3. Hotelier (Bae Yong Jun, Song Yun-Ah, Song Hae Gyo)

4. My Love Pittza (Jang Nara, Kim Jae Won, Kim Rae Won)

5. All In (Lee Byun Hun, Song Hae Gyo)

6. A Bright's Girl Sucess Story (Jang Nara, Jang Nyak)

7. Beautiful Day (Lee Byun Hun, Choi Ji Woo, Ryu Shi Won)

8. All About Eve (Jang Dong Gun, Chae Rim, Han Jae Suk, Kim So Yen)

9. Model (Jang Dong Gun, Han Jae Suk, Kim Nam Joo)

10. Tale of 4 doctors (Jang Dong Gun, Lee Young Ae)


My favourite K-drama of all time is 'All About Eve' & 'Beautiful Day'. I can't stop drooling over hunks like Jang Dong Gun & Lee Byun Hun.

[babysammi]

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF K-DRAMAS:

Funny article I found on website

1) Relationships

-The Truth? A love triangle is a MUST.


However, there are more sub-categories under love triangles.

--Two men- One woman= In this type of love triangles, all the guys are good-looking, professional, and wealthy.
The girl is poor but EXTREMELY pretty and innocent. Under no circumstances can the drama lack the girl nor can the guy be sub-perfect.


--Two girls- One man= Once again, the man is a rich heir to a massive fortune and/or company. At the very least, he is the Vice President of his father's company; always dresses in crisp suits, knows business-smarts, and is of course- handsome. Likewise, the girl is just as beautiful but POOR and innocent. The Other Girl who is about the same level as the Guy is pretty but evil and/or psychotic. For the guy, the Girl is always sacrificing herself. In the long line of K-Drama history, the Evil GIrl has never gotten the Guy.

(+Nowadays, the 2 Guys-2 Girl Love Quadri-angle is very popular, not to mention complex)

Conclusion- In the drama, the guy is always handsome, rich, AT LEAST the vice-president of a mega-conglomerate but ODDLY ENOUGH(?) he doesn't know how to be anything but KIND and LOVING toward his polar opposite: The Pretty-Innocent Girl. In one word? The Kight In Shining Armor.

On the other hand, the Girl is always poor, but spunky and inevitably GORGEOUS with a HIGH SENSE OF indepenence and PRIDE. Even though The Girl gets the Man (in the long history of k-dramas, this is EQUIVALENT TO THE BIG BANG THEORY), she always gets screwed by the Other-Pretty-But-Evil Girl in the middle.


2) Marriage


-There CANNOT be a marriage WITHOUT the interference/fierce opposition of the family.


Whether it is class differences, family problems, the marriage cannot come without a big bang in between. NOTE: The parent's opposition never lasts forever. In the end (usually 1~2 episodes before the End), they are suddenly all loving and grandmotherly without the prior b!tchiness displayed through Episodes 1~6. A story that's been more stretched out than turkey meat.

The rich family is the one that protests the wedding, the parents threaten to cut off all ties with their child and/or remove them from the family register.

In the end, they say OK.

3) The Man's Profession.

-In popular dramas, there are no middle-level management employees, no salesman, no KFC manager, and Definitly no pizza delivery guy. Their fathers are always the CEO of a huge company, and the Male Character himself is AT THE VERY LEAST Managing Director / Market Director. He is UBER-talented in his field. I wonder how many % of the world's male population fit the aforementioned qualifications. In addition, MOST of these GUYS ARE ALSO Awesome FIGHTERS.

Rich. Good-looking. Intelligent. Prestigious Family Background. Skilled. HAS COMPLETED COLLEGE AND/OR MBA ABROAD (99% IN AMERICA).

Dresses like a Model. Kind. Warm. Pure-hearted. Perfect Gentleman. CLEAN. Plays at least ONE Musical Instrument. Good at SPORTS.

LASTLY, although the origins are unknown, they ARE HELLA GOOD FIGHTERS.


4) Girl's Profession/Job.

-In this situation, it's not absolute, but MOST OF THEM work at the Guy's company and/or closely affiliated fields. Of course, the Guy ignores his seniority over the Girl and helps her out like a guardian angel. And although most of the Girls have a high sense of independence AND do everything there is, they rarely get any recognition for their hard work. To put it more specifically, the Woman's CLIMBING/OVERCOME OF SOCIAL OBSTACLES are not very important- at least not enough to focus on.


5) The Republic of Korea FIts In Buddha's Palm?!


-There are dozens of parks in Seoul (The 3rd most populated city in the WORLD). What is the likelihood of two people WITH DAY JOBS spotting each other like that? But against LOGIC and PROBABILITY, One of the Main Character always sees the other person WITH THE EVIL CHARACTER EVERYONE LOVES TO HATE. (In girl's case, they usually roll their huge-ass eyes with double-lids).

6) The extent of lovers' touching BEFORE & AFTER the conflict is resolved.

-While dating, it is ALWAYS a hug. After their conflict gets resolved, ALWAYS a KISS. There can be no IN-BETWEEN. In the earlier stages of their relationsihp, they are always hugging (no more, no less), but when the obstacle (whether its the EVIL 3rd Party and/or Evil-Crazy Parents), they start kissing EVEN THOUGH NO ONE TOLD THEM TO. Can't they kiss BEFORE and hug AFTER?


7) Cancer & Car Accidents

The main character ALWAYS dies of cancer. And they usually don't recover.
When the character gets cancer diagnosis, they usally think "that's it, my life is over." Especially when its the Girl, it's 99% likely cancer. It can't be a freak accident- no sticking a finger into the toaster, no falling off the cliff, no struck by lightning- it's GOTTA BE CANCER. And in the final stages, they HAVE to go on a JOURNEY.

They ignore little, unimportant details such as : CHEMOTHERAPY, MEDICATION, TRIAL THERAPIES, MODERN MEDICINAL CARE IN GENERAL.
Without trying, they usually end up dead.


Although the MAIN CHARACTERS usually die of Cancer, most of the RELATED characters die of car accidents.

It's true that South Korea has many vehicular accidents, but almost all of the not-quite-the-main-characters die from car crashes.

8 ) THE RICH CHARACTER's HOUSE IS ALWAYS 2-STORY HIGH.

-The Wealthy person has to live in a 2-story house. They can either live at a HUMONGOUS apartment like Tower Pellis (The Formerly Most Expensive APT in Korea, now its Hyundai I-Park -_-) Although the character can live by themselves, their family always has two stories. IT CANNOT BE 3 STORIES HIGH, ONLY 2. And even though its a huge-ass house, they never have a A/C machine (The Korean type that's shaped like a refrigerator) in the middle of summer. From the viewer's perspective, the kitchen is always to our left and the master bedroom is always to the right. The stairways is at the middle and the front door is to the right, as well.

AND THE RICHER THEY ARE, THE LESS LIKELY ARE THEY TO HAVE TELEVISIONS.

Although home theatres are the rage nowadays, it seems that the rich people don't follow that trend. On the other hand, the Girl's family usually resides in the GHETTO with long, winding roads with doors that have chipped paint.

9) The Must-Have: Slapping

For as long as I have lived, I have never BEEN slapped nor have I slapped as I have seen in k-dramas. In fact, I've never seen other people do, either. When the main character's pissed: SLAP. Unsatisfied? Slap. Fighting? Slap. Seeking revenge? Slap. [insert random emotion]? Slap.

As I watch k-dramas, I wonder if the roots of Korean culture lies within the Art of Slapping. Whatever the problem is, a good-ole slap can solve it. Currently, the REALISM of the slapping fascinates me. They hit hard.


10) The Chauffeur's NAME IS ALWAYS "KIM"/??????

It's true that Kim is the most common Last Name in South Korea, but MOST, if not ALL drivers in the drama are named Kim. Can't there be a Driver Park? Driver Choi? Driver Cha? Driver Bang? Driver Lee? Driver Lim?! There are countless surnames, yet the driver must be ?????? "Driver Kim" or else. Do many Kims work in the transportation field?!

[Gink]

I must add on to point no.7, if its cancer its leukemia. And its mostly the leading actress who got it. I am very amazed why cant they (script writers) choose other types of cancer. Oh, maybe through leukemia then you can find your real sister/brother? LOL