Idols Open and Close Social Media Accounts

It's hard for me sometimes to keep up with the comings and goings of K-Pop idols on social media. It seems at times that they come and go as they please like the ebb and flow of a tide.

Since my biases are mainly FT Island and CNBlue and sometimes I like to blog about Super Junior, I mainly stick with them. But there's so many more idols out there, trust me. In the past I've blogged about how FT Island bassist and vocalist, Lee Jae Jin, had closed his Twitter account for apparently no reason. Not too long after that, both lead vocalist Lee Hong Ki and Leader and lead guitarist Choi Jong Hoon had both opened up their own Instagram accounts.

Slowly, but surely, idols are reaching out to more of their fans through social media. So it came as a surprise that Heechul (aka Heenim or Hee Dictator) of Super Junior mysteriously closed his own Instagram and Weibo accounts.

But with every closure, two more must open. Hmm, I think I heard about that somewhere? It's like the Hydra myth where you cut off a head and two more grow back. Same concept.

So, following that vein, and of course my biases, FT Island's Lee Jae Jin and Choi Jong Hoon let fans know through their Instagrams that they have opened up Weibo accounts. Follow them both at "JamesJin" (Jae Jin's) and "ChoiJongHoon90" (Jong Hoon's). I definitely liked Jae Jin's stab at an Anglicized name. The name, "James" suits him and is still very close to his original name.

Follow, follow, follow, these two handsome cuties. And don't forget to check out Jong Hun for updates on his new drama, JTBC's "Heroes", where he will play the lead role of Choi Hee Yeol.


Credit: Lee Jae Jin and Choi Jong's Instagram. Choi Jong Hun's image courtesy of @ftnorinori (as stated on original image.)

Review: TvN's Emergency Couple

Song Ji Hyo as Oh Jin Hee and Choi Jin Hyuk as Oh Chang Min

I've been taking a break from blogging to deal with overall general craziness at work and family. And also to try to get a handle on my personal life. And I came to a realization one day that lives are just one big K-Drama.

I've been watching a drama called, "Emergency Couple" (응급남녀; RR: Eunggeubnamnyeo; lit. "Emergency Man and Woman") starring Song Ji Hyo (Palace/Princess Hours) and Choi Jin Suk (Heirs, Panda and Mr. Hedgehog).

If you haven't seen it yet, please beware that there will be spoilers in this post.

Song Ji Hyo and Choi Jin Hyuk play a divorced couple (Oh Jin Hee and Oh Chang Min) who meet up again while they are interning as doctors at a hospital.

Marriage Minefield

As you can imagine, the marriage leading up to the divorce was a mess and really tough to handle. So when they meet up again, the encounter isn't very pretty. Both absolutely hate each others guts for various reasons. And then to find out that the other had made it through the tests to be a doctor and that they were going to be thrown together on a daily basis, well, that just made it even more uncomfortable.

Add in extra people as side love interests to make a couple of love triangles and the usual family dynamics- Chang Min coming from a very well off family of doctors and Jin Hee coming from a rough and poor family background, and you've got your K-Drama.

Lee Pil Mo as Chief of Emergency Medicine, Gook Cheon Soo, scolding the newest group of interns in his ER.

As the drama unfolds (and it's still unfolding as of this post) the negative aspects of their past relationship starts to fall away and they begin to see each other in new light and acquire a new found respect for each other. As the animosity drops away, their feelings of attraction for each other grows stronger again. However, the effects of their past marriage and the current playing field (new love interests for each one) throw serious doubts on whether or not this love is real or just a passing infatuation. For instance, Jin Hee, sweet and naive Jin Hee, can't even fathom that explosive Chang Min, who had actually initiated the divorce and basically left her rather abruptly, could even have any feelings for her. And if he really does, how can she be so sure that he's changed?? And why now when there's an honorable and honest guy waiting for her??

On the flip side, Chang Min, after several scenes of reflecting over his feelings for Jin Hee and fighting feelings of jealousy over his competition, Chief of Emergency Medicine, Gook Cheon Soo (played by Lee Pil Mo), he finds that his ex-wife has matured and blossomed into the woman he just can't live without. (Huh, go figure.) And it was he, not Jin Hee, who was the bad apple in the relationship.

So here's what I'm struggling with now.

Are there any second chances?

Oh Chang Min, a gentleman?

If someone who you gave your all to, someone you loved with all of your heart, turned out to be a complete jack's arse. And after so many years, after walking away, or coming to terms with walking away, they tell you that they have changed or that they will change. Would you believe them?

Would you be as generous as Jin Hee and say all the hurt you've caused is in the past? Strong enough to tell that person that you want to move on? Or would you give them another chance, and risk that things will go back to the way it was before?

Would you believe in the fairytale, that everything will work out in the end?

Flashback of Jin Hee and Chang Min 

At what point do you cut your losses and start over?

See, some people think that K-Dramas are all fun and silliness. And yes, some of them are. Some are purely meant for entertainment purposes. And there are some that speaks to you. Some that you will connect with, cry over, talk about over lunch.

For me, I'm beyond connecting with this drama. I'm really interested in this drama (even though there's another drama, Bride of the Century with FT Island's Lee Hong Ki in it that I would love to watch), and I relate especially with Jin Hee. There's a lot of hurt in her character. A lot of fear. And a lot of maturity in her character. Chang Min's character gives me hope that maybe people can change. Maybe some people do reflect on their bad actions. (Yes, I know it's only a drama.) But at the same time, it really made me think. Would you continue to be by someone that you've had a lot of negative history with? (even if not all were negative) Or do you cut your losses and start over? Whether it be with someone in the future, or alone, would you be strong enough? Thoughts like these run through my head as I watch Jin Hee and Chang Min's scenes together.

K-Dramas like this make you think. No, they make you evolve. How you handle the evolution is really up to you, I guess.

Who will Jin Hee pick? Will she believe that Chang Min's changed? Or will she go with the gruff, yet honestly lovable Chun Soo?

We will have to wait and see...

Source: Dramabeans

Chang Min acts on his feelings to hopefully win Jin Hee back

Happy Birthday to Jung Yong Hwa and Lee Min Ho!

Selcas of CNBlue's Leader Jung Yong Hwa and Actor Lee Min Ho

Fans take in a deep breath...and now scream "Yong Hwa-sshi wa Min Ho-sshi saengil chukka habnida!" Do you think they heard it??

Yong Hwa and Min Ho Taking the Mic

Both of these cuties celebrate their birthday on June 22nd. Actor Lee Min Ho is older at 26 and CNBlue's Jung Yong Hwa is slightly younger at 24.

Yong Hwa celebrated his birthday a little earlier with Boice's in the Philippines.

If you see them online, drop them a line to wish them happy birthday! You can find them on Twitter at @CNBlue4 and @ActorLeeMinHo.

Peacoat Styles

Source: Drama Fever

Updated Review: TvN's Flower Boy Series

Caution: May contain spoilers for those that haven't watched these dramas.

I was actually staying far away from anything that said "Flower Boy" in the title after watching "Boys Before Flowers" and "You're Beautiful". To me, anything that came after that was just following the trend.

And then, I heard TvN was putting out a series of dramas aimed towards the teen/young adult audience. I thought, "Oh hell no.." I saw recaps of "Flower Boy Ramyun Shop" come and go. News hyping up "Shut Up Flower Boy Band" piqued my interest, but not enough to watch. Then I started see wallpaper of Park Shin Hye and Yoon Si Yoon, and I thought, "Oh, geez, why not already?" It starred "Go Minam" and "Kim Tak Gu" so how bad could it be? Well, I am going to be absolutely honest in saying that what I thought would wow me, didn't. And the one that I just dismissed, I loved. Go figure.

Flower Boy Ramyun Shop
The first drama in the "Oh Boy!" series. It was about a hard working and down on her luck young woman named, Yang Eun Bi (Lee Chung Ah), who is at a point in her life where she has decide what she really wants to do. One day, she attends a fair being in held at her college and bumps into a handsome man. They converse briefly, she out of pure friendliness, he out of irritation. She spots her boyfriend across the way and goes to greet him when she realizes that he isn't alone. It turns out that he had been cheating on her while she was faithfully waiting to spend time with him. They lash out at each other and she's dumped. To save face, she exclaims she already has someone else, too and runs to get into the car of the handsome man she met earlier. They drive off a midst water balloons being hurled at his car by her ex's furious girlfriend. He takes her to the river and isn't too nice to her as he scolds her for basically being a fool and leaves her there.

She studies to be a teacher and lands a job at a local high school where she bumps into spoiled pretty rich boy Cha Chi Soo (aka as the handsome guy) played by Jung Il Woo. He was a HIGH SCHOOLER! She realizes this and spends pretty much most of her time there avoiding him. But alas, opposites attract and because of this they get into so much trouble. She comes to many points where she is almost fired, especially after physically disciplining him in front of his class. She is saved from doing anything further from a man claiming to be her HUSBAND. None other than "He Was Cool" actor Lee Ki Woo played Choi Kang Hyuk, the man Eun Bi's father promised her hand in marriage and left the family's ramyun shop to. And from there the love triangle was born.

After being fired from her teaching position finally, Eun Bi brings the ramyun shop a facelift with Kang Hyuk. Chi Soo joins them in order to be closer to Eun Bi along with a couple of other handsome faces from the neighborhood.

In the end, lovable and absolutely handsome, Choi Kang Hyuk, the one that Eun Bi turns to in time of need, crying and helplessness...doesn't get the girl. Go figure. She ends up with formerly spoiled, and eight years her junior Cha Chi Soo.

And that was the last straw for me. I loved that this showed the whole senior-junior relationship between an older woman and a younger man. That spoke reality to me. But Jung Il Woo's character was so over the top overbearingly selfish and childish, it felt really overacted. And that really killed my appreciation for this series. The love triangle was cute. They had pretty good looking actors, especially with Lee Ki Woo, so that was  great. But I could not enjoy it because of Cha Chi Soo. Sorry Jung Il Woo fans.

Flower Boy Next Door
The third installation in the "Oh Boy!" series. Portrayed a reclusive young woman name "Go Dok Mi" played by Park Shin Hye. She stays sequestered in her apartment, away from the world. She takes joy in viewing the outside world through her one window and her binoculars which she uses to spy on her neighbors. One day she gets caught by gamer "Enrique Geum" played by Yoon Si Yoon (Baker King Kim Tak Gu). He storms over to her apartment intending to break down her door only to be cut off by her neighbor, "Oh Jin Rak", played by Kim Ji Hoon. Through some intentional and chance meetings, Enrique gradually breaks down Dok Mi's barriers. He finds out she suffers from a traumatic event in her high school years where she was mistakenly ridiculed for having a relationship with her English teacher. The culprit was her former best friend who was jealous of Dok Mi and wanted to have the English teacher. (She was planning on sleeping with the teacher after graduation) Dok Mi never recovered from that until Enrique came along and healed her and eventually healing her heart. Despite of his feelings for Dok Mi, Jin Rak lets her go and Dok Mi and Enrique live happily ever after.

The good about this was that it had some pretty decent looking people. And the traumatic event Dok Mi was suffering from was different from what I've seen in other dramas. The bad? Dok Mi. And at times Enrique. And Dok Mi's best friend. Dok Mi just moped and moped and moped. It got tiring, it slowed things down, and got boring after a while. Enrique was so bubbly. Too bubbly. At times it worked, and sometimes it didn't. So much sunshine was blinding after a while. And the best friend? I have to say, not evil enough. Yeah, she was devious in high school. But as an adult, the was just annoying. Always getting in Jin Rak's face trying to get him to notice her. Not doing much else to Dok Mi except pretend to still be her friend. Sorry, didn't think she was necessary.

Shut Up Flower Boy Band
This was the wild card. The one I least expected to find anything interesting about. This came out on top to me. It spoke to me. Maybe it's because I'm a musician and I can relate to some of the stuff they went through, I dunno. But I will watch this again.

This was the second installment in the series and focused on the trials and love of a group of punk high school kids who happen to have good looks. It's too much to put all the characters in prose, so here's a breakdown:

Sung Jun- Kwon Ji Hyuk (guitarist and leader)
L/Kim Myung Soo- Lee Hyun Soo (2nd guitarist, the Ice Prince. Member of K-Pop group INFINITE.)
Lee Hyun Jae- Jang Do Il (drummer, mysterious and soft spoken member, son of a gangster. Drummer for K-Rock Indie group, Mate)
UPDATED 6/27/13- Found out that two members of Mate are currently in service with the army and have decided to disband as of March 2013. Lee Hyun Jae has been picked up and will be debuting in Japan under the group "Eden". 
Kim Min Suk- Seo Kyung Jong (keyboardist, mama's boy)
Yoo Min Kyu- Kim Ha Jin (bassist, playboy and resident hot head. Got this role by winning a reality audition show.)
Jo Bo Ah- Im Su Ah (the Muse, daughter of a businessman that goes bankrupt. Rookie actress.)
Jung Eui Chul- Yoo Seung Hoon (school shining idol and leader/keyboardist for arch rival Strawberry Fields)
Kim Jung Min- Bang Woo Kyung (faithful groupie who has a crush on Ji Hyuk)
Kim Ye Rim- Ye Rim
Kim In Seo- Yoo Hae Ri (CEO of HR Entertainment and Seung Hoon's sister)
Ma Dong Seok- Shilba/Teacher Silva (Teacher out to get the pretty boys and manager)
Kim Hyun Jun- Park Pyo Joo (Strawberry Fields bassist and resident spoiled brat)
Kwak Jung Wook- Jung Maro (Strawberry Fields guitarist)
Jung Jin An- Jo Deo Mi (Su Ah's best friend)

Whew! You got that??

The story starts off with a band called "Eye Candy" performing at an underground club. They are interrupted in the middle of their set and have to scatter in different directions in order to escape the police. This set the look and tone of these group of guys as devoted musicians trying to play their music, but because of this they are not accepted into every day society.

The guys group up later on their way to school where they are apparently once again in trouble. (Again, the whole not accepted into society bit.)  As luck would have it, the high school these guys attend is being shut down and they are told by their teacher that they will be shipped off to another high school. When the boys get their letters of transfer, all are relieved to find out that they will all be attending the same school, Jung Sang High.

But oh boy...when they get there, they are in for a surprise. Jung Sang is nothing like the high school they went to. It's clean, dignified and prestigious looking inside and out. It looked more like a "resort" than a school as one of the members pointed out.

The boys try to fit in, but being that they are a little rough around the edges, of course they don't. They clash with the administration and the other students. Drawing scorn and pity. They are called out to a Battle of the Bands (for a practice room?) by a rival group, Strawberry Fields, who is led by the school's golden boy, Yoo Seung Hoon.

As luck would have it, or rather bad luck, Byung Hee is killed after being hit by a truck late one night after being beaten by school mates. This throws Eye Candy into deep depression and it was unlikely they would continue. But what kind of story would that be if that were the ending? They managed to practice, record a demo for a competition Byung Hee had signed them up for and stood united. Unfortunately, right before the performance, Byung Hee's "muse", Im Bo Ah, runs into a bit of financial trouble and loan sharks come after her at the high school. (Her bank executive father was hiding under disgrace after going bankrupt and the loan sharks came after her since they couldn't find her dad.) Her knight in shining armor turns out to be Kwon Ji Hyuk, who takes her out of school right before the performance and thus forfeiting Eye Candy's chance at winning the Battle of the Bands. Sigh, never that easy.

Eventually, the group forgives Ji Hyuk. But the damage is done. Since Eye Candy didn't win the battle, they are once again looked down upon.

Ji Hyuk finds out that Byung Hee had entered them into a competition at a music festival and the band prepares feverishly for it.

The day of the big music competition arrives and the members are pumped that they would finally be able to perform Byung Hee's song to the world. All the members are there except for Hyun Soo, who is running late after picking up his sister and dropping her off at home. As he rushes off to the competition, he is almost struck in the crosswalk by a van who is driven by pop idol Ye Rim's manager. He hurts his hand, but picked out the glass and continued to hurry on to the competition barely making it in time. As Eye Candy took the stage, the crowd cheers and are soon in a frenzy. Just as the guitar solo begins, Ji Hyuk notices that Hyun Soo is bleeding all over the frets of his guitar. He grabs Hyun Soo in a hug to stop him and hustles him off stage before resuming the song onstage. The onlookers and judges were puzzled, but put that aside.

Again, as with the practice room, Strawberry Fields wins the competition. Impressed with Eye Candy's performance, the CEO of HR Entertainment has the idea to put a video of the group on their website along with the video of Strawberry Fields and see who fares better.

People's Choice went to....Angu Jonghwa or Eye Candy!

As a result of the numerous views online, Eye Candy's popularity grew, eventually dwarfing Strawberry Fields. And the members begin to reap the benefits of their fans new found love, they are offered a contract to produce their first single. They eventually earn the respect from their peers and the administration at Jung Sang, but of course, there were pressures that go along with fame.

As they struggled under the attention, they learned that friends will not always be on the same side. Love sometimes had to be sacrificed, but the love of music will always be something to fall back to.

Lee Hyun Jae as Drummer Jang Do Il

Infinite's L as Guitarist Lee Hyun Soo

Sung Jun as Leader Kwon Ji Hyuk

I really loved this drama. It wasn't too frilly and it showed, at times, a more serious side (dealing with death, abandonment, fighting, heart ache) than most dramas with teens. The cast was wonderful. Rookie actress Jo Bo Ah did fine in her first leading role. Sung Jun, Lee Hyun Jae and L of Infinite were definitely something to write home about. All gave varying depths of emotion to their characters showing different sides. Sung Jun as Kwon Ji Hyuk showed such aloofness and torment at times, I felt bad for him. Lee Hyun Jae's Jang Do Il showed showed that even drummers can be a lead and snag a girl at the same time. And Infinite's L showed such dark anger, he certainly played the role of "Ice Prince" well. The entire group was certainly multidimensional and showed lovable characters. (Even Yoo Min Kyu as the temper flaring Kim Ha Jin.)

This is a drama I would definitely recommend watching. For me, I am re-watching it. Yes, the guys were that good looking and the cast was that talented.

And in case you're wondering, yes, the guy did get the girl. =)

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these pics. Rights go to their rightful owners.

Hulu Adds More Shows

I posted earlier that I prefer Hulu over Netflix for Korean dramas and K-Pop, and here's another couple of reasons why.

They are constantly updating their dramas. Every time I go on there, which is quite frequently, they have something new. Plus, they have channels specifically for Korean dramas and K-Pop like Dramafever, SBS, MBC America, KBS. For instance, they just added Show Music Core, M! Countdown and Inkigayo.

Awesome, totally awesome. And these shows are subtitled, for the most part. Absolutely awesome!

Still watching Hulu!

K-Drama Stars in Honolulu!

Hyun Bin

Our local newspaper, the Honolulu Star Advertiser, reported that Korean Drama stars Hyun Bin and Bae Yong Jun have been spotted near Waikiki dining at Doraku Sushi and shopping at Ala Moana Center.

Hyun Bin has made quite a name for himself with dramas such as "My Name is Kim Sam Soon", "The World We Live In",and "Secret Garden". Bae Yong Jun, although absent from the K-drama scene for a while, is famous for his roles in "Hotelier" and "Winter Sonata".

They are possibly in town for the festivities surrounding the 110th Anniversary of Koreans immigrating to the U.S. But I don't think anyone would fault them for wanting to come to warmer weather since the temperature in Korea is ice cold right now.

Bae Yong Jun

Does anyone out there have any photos or sightings of them or any other Korean stars in Hawaii? If so, can you please share?

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser (if the whole article doesn't show, it's because you need to be logged in as a subscriber. Yes, totally lame.)

Photo Credits to the rightful owners.

Merry Christmas from the Fab Filorean

Wherever you are, whoever you may be...

Merry Christmas to you and your families!

May your holiday be filled with joy, love and laughter. And appreciation for life itself. (And of course k-pop and k-dramas too)

Catch ya later!

Seolhyun Will Play Jung Shin's Girlfriend

Photo credit FNC Entertainment and AllKpop

I seem to remember not even a year ago, that a waif like girl by the name of Seolhyun graced an FT Island music video with her grace and style. (She was Lee Hong Ki's girlfriend in "Severely"). She played a young, aspiring dancer that was supposedly killed in one version of reality. Hong Ki goes back in time to try to prevent that from happening.

Fast forward to months later. Now, Seolhyun, with her newly debuted girl group, AOA (Ace of Angels) is working hard for their fan's appreciation. She's practicing hard and singing her heart out. And the group has a couple of singles under their belt to prove their worth in the industry.

Soon, Seolhyun will be flitting onto the screens of viewers all over again as it was announced that she has been cast in the drama, "My daughter Seoyoung". She will join CNBlue bassist, and fellow agency member, Lee Jung Shin on set and will play his girlfriend!

She's stated: “I’m really happy to be cast in ‘My Daughter Seoyoung’ because I watch it all the time. I worked really hard during the audition because I really wanted the role and I’m really happy because I got good results. I’m nervous because it’s my first drama, but I feel safe because I’ll be with Jungshin sunbaenim. He’s a big strength. I’m going to work hard and practice a lot.”

She was certainly charming in "Severely". Let's see if she can continue that charm onto TV to help this drama succeed.

Source: AllKpop

Song Review: FT Island's "Stay With Me"

My third installment in a series of reviews on the songs off of FT Island's "Five Treasure Box" that came out last month.

The gist of it: This sounds like a K-Drama in a song. Woman loves man, but man is ignorant of her feelings. When woman decides to move on with her life, all of a sudden the man realizes he can't live without her, but it may be too late to hold onto her. Real, selfish love. Would you stay in this type of situation? 

Breaking it down:

This is an upbeat and a real "driving" song. When I say "driving", I mean that it's constant drum beats mixed in with the frantic strumming of guitars. 

My take on it: The instruments really go well with Hong Ki's voice. Together, the mood of the song is frantic and almost desperate. They both say, "don't go!".

Lyrics below.

 English Translation:

It’s so dark, it’s so cold, your eyes that are looking at me right now
I can’t touch you, I can’t hear you, I can’t feel anything

I guess I was surprised because I couldn’t see you
All day I cry, get tired and wake up
What do you want me to do? I said I can’t – I can’t let you go now

I was happy but I was happy alone
I didn’t know that you were hurting
I was in love but I was in love alone
I can’t do it, I can’t let you go
Stay with me

My throat is drying up, I am suffocating and I can’t stop my tears
Please don’t go, please stop – I am in pain and crying

I was happy but I was happy alone
I didn’t know that you were hurting
I was in love but I was in love alone
You said you loved me, that you have no one but me but now you feign ignorance
I loved you and I am missing you and I’m waiting for you alone
Stay with me

(Break)

Yes, I didn’t know but I wanted to hold onto my selfish love so I left you alone

I was happy but I was happy alone
I didn’t know that you were hurting
I was in love but I was in love alone
You said you loved me, that you have no one but me but now you feign ignorance
I loved you and I am missing you and I’m waiting for you alone
Stay with me

Romanized:

Neomu eoduwo neomu chagawo
Jigeum nega nareul boneun nunbit

Manjil su eobseo deureul su eobseo
Amugeotdo neukkil su eomneunde

Nollasseonna bwa neoreul mot bwaseo
Haru jongil ulda jichyeo kkaego

Eotteokharago an doendajanha
Ijen bonael su eopdajanha

Haengbokhaesseotji na honja geuraetji
Mollasseosseo neoneun apeungeol
Saranghaesseotji na honja geuraetji
Andoegesseo bonael su eobseo
Stay with me

Mogi meeowa sumi makhyeowa
Heureuneun nunmul makji motago

Gaji mallago meomchwo dallago
Naega apa ulgo itjanha

Haengbokhaesseotji na honja geuraetji
Mollasseosseo neoneun apeungeol
Saranghaesseotji na honja geuraetji
Andoegesseo bonael su eobseo
Saranghandago nabakke eopdago
Haetdeon nega moreun cheokhani
Saranghaetjanha geuriwohajanha
Neo hanaman gidarijanha
Stay with me

Geurae na mollasseosseo igijeogin nae sarangeul
Japgo sipeo neol honja dun sigan
(Break)

Haengbokhaesseotji na honja geuraetji
Mollasseosseo neoneun apeungeol
Saranghaesseotji na honja geuraetji
Andoegesseo bonael su eobseo
Saranghandago na bakke eopdago
Haetdeon nega moreun cheokhani
Saranghaetjanha geuriwohajanha
Neo hanaman gidarijanha
Stay with me

Source: KPopLyrics.net

Super Junior's Siwon Shows Kindheartedness

Super Junior's Choi Siwon surprised his soon to be daily family (for the next few months anyway) with cake and drinks for the actors and production staff on the set of his new drama, "King of Drama".

This Soldier of Light is too much! And I mean that in a good way. Who wouldn't be charmed by such a personality like his?

If I were working on set, I would sure be grateful and at the same time would look forward to working with this kindhearted fella.

Anyone notice that this is a trend among stars? Give presents or serve meals to well-deserving and hard working staff. Such great appreciation. (Rarely hear about this in the States) Although, I haven't heard of a star begin to take care of the cast and crew at the beginning of production. Brownie points for Mr. Choi!

I'm currently enjoying watching "Faith" with Lee Min Ho, but I'll be sure to tune in to watch Siwon in this drama when it replaces "Faith" in November.

Source: AllKpop

Actress Kim Haneul Bullied as a Child

I've been writing a bunch about FT Island recently so I decided to take a break. Tonight I read an article on AllKPop about Kim Haneul.

Kim Haneul is one of Korea's top actresses, but that's not what caught my eye. What caught my eye was that she was opening up about some bad experiences as a child.

She revealed in an interview that she had been bullied a couple of times in elementary and junior high school.

She had tried to get closer to kids, but when she tried to, kids would ask why she was staring at them. I'm thinking there was more that they said thant that, but it didn't come over in translation. She became so withdrawn, ate alone at lunch, and didn't want to talk to anyone after those incidents.

Eventually, she transferred schools and was able to make new friends.

Why am I writing about this? Cause I was a victim of bullying and I know a couple of others who were bullied when they were younger.

Kids are so innocent. Sometimes they forget their actions hurt other people. Some may do it intentionally, like pull hair or take personal things away.

It's not cool. It wasn't cool then, and it certainly isn't cool now.

Bullying is a problem in schools all over the world. We need to realize when someone needs help, realize our actions may have scarring effects. And always remember the Golden Rule about doing to others as they would to you.

If you or another person you know love to bully someone, let Kim Haneul serve as a reminder that the person you may be bullying could very well be the next star, country president, or even your doctor, one day. And wouldn't you be crap out of luck if you ever met them again layer in life?

On Set Life

I once again lived two lives.

One as a production crew member and the other as an actress.

Granted this time I was only an extra. But all in all, I was just like everyone else.

I had to check in, get my wardrobe checked to make sure I had the appropriate attire and the colors that I had on didn't blend too much with everyone else.

Instead of hair and make-up, I proceeded to wait for my scenes. I was led on set by a production assistant, given my instructions and then cues. The PA would say "rolling" and then.... "action!" At which time I would begin my scene with everyone else.

Then, there's the wait while the director reviews the footage. From there it's either more waiting, or re-setting to the first position.

And.... Repeat a hundred times. No joke.

The director will try many different combinations between actors and/or extras before finally yelling "cut!" and then... You set for the next scene. Repeat this past paragraph 4 times and them move to the next location. It was like this for 12 hours a day.

These actors and actresses are awesome. It takes talent to be in a spot. You have to wait for hours and you never know when they will want you.

After hours of waiting, you get to your marker and play your role. It's very hard to go from cold to enthusiastic or pessimistic, depending on your assigned role.

After a 12 hour or more day, you get to do it again the morning.

Still think its fabulous? Like I said in a previous post, it's hard work. I wouldn't exactly recommend to just anyone.

Good luck to anyone who tries.

Netflix vs Hulu Plus for K-Dramas

I am going to go out on a limb here and just assume others have been in my situation.

I am currently debating whether or not I want to reinstate my Netflix membership or not. Why? I simply am not happy with the selection on Netflix. Especially when it comes to Korean dramas.

I think it's been especially, pardon my expression, "sucky" the past year as they moved away from blockbuster movies to TV and drama series. Granted it's been because they lost their partnership with Starz (I believe) but I have my doubts on whether or not this was a good move.

But, I digress...I can go onto a totally different tangent on just their movie selection alone. I want them to have more K-Dramas! And not just the older titles, but current titles as well.

Netflix has been a bit of a thorn in my side when it comes to K-Dramas. They have well-known dramas, but some dramas do not have all of the episodes. For instance, I was thrilled to see that they had Lee Min Ho's drama "City Hunter" and Song Seung Hun's drama "My Princess". But when I went to watch them, there was only half of the episodes listed. Now, they have the full list of episodes ready to watch. But my pet peeve was when I wanted to watch them, they weren't available. And this was after the dramas had been complete for some time. Netflix also has hiccups in their service where it takes quite a while to stream movies or dramas. My experience has been that Netflix would stream for 12 seconds then stop, then stream for 5 seconds and then stop again. Very, very difficult to watch. I have never experienced this with anyone else like YouTube or Hulu.

Speaking of Hulu, I am currently exploring Hulu Plus. I just started my trial the other day. I have to say that I am impressed so far. Not only do they have the older K-Drama titles, but they have newer ones like "My Name Is Kim Sam Soon" as well such as "Time Slip Dr. Jin" and "Baker King Kim Tak Gu". I will note that "Dr. Jin" has not finished airing yet, or may have just finished, but all of the episodes up until this point have been posted on Hulu ready to be streamed. They stream from Drama Fever and have pretty much everything that Drama Fever has, and just within the last year alone, I know that they have grown quite a lot in their selection.

However, I have a slight annoyance with Hulu. I am not sure if this will go away once I have membership, but every program, TV series or movie I have tried to watch has what they call "limited commercials". This is something that I never experienced with Netflix. I hate it. I hate it that YouTube does it, and I hate it that Hulu does it. I hope there is a plan that let's me remove commercials, for a good price of course.

So, the jury is still out on both of these services. But frankly, without the good movie service and the fact that I would use either service to watch K-Dramas, I am leaning more towards.....Hulu Plus.


By the way, can anyone who reads my post tell me if they can read any of my current posts? I usually post daily, and I think there may be something wrong with my site. Please help me?

Time Slip Dr. Jin

Also known as just Dr. Jin, this medical historical drama seemed interesting in that it blended modern with the old.

A modern day doctor, Jin Hyuk, played by Song Seung Hun, travels back in time to the Joseon Dynasty.

Trying to keep out of trouble, Dr. Jin tries to blend in as much as possible. However, situations arise where he is called upon over and over to save lives.

What gets me is that Dr. Jin is a modern day doctor, but he's somehow slipped into the past where there is no such thing as needles, IV's, clean workstations and proper medicine.

How does he deal with such archaic methods? He introduces them!

For instance, when the people in ancient Seoul are plagued by viruses and infections, he makes penicillin and administers it to the people. Oh, heck no! What would Fleming have to say a hundred years later when he introduces it?

Then Dr. Jin performs surgery using knives and cutting tools not invented until much, much later. Need an I/V? He just pulls the rubber out of his bag and tells someone to craft a needle and get him a glass jar.

When faced with the possibility of a time paradox, he doesn't stop. He keeps on administering medicine and introducing new medical methods to help heal the ill. (Removing tumors, treating poisoning by pumping the stomach, etc.). It's getting to be a bit much.

Now, this drama is almost at an end and I am only through watching half of it. But every time I watch an episode I see another problem with Dr. Jin introducing things that shouldn't be introduced yet. I am interested in seeing how this all plays out, but gosh darn it, it is darn right frustrating. I mean, come on! Can't he see that he's changing history?

The fact that I like this drama enough to keep watching it is very disturbing as I normally don't like historical dramas. But, as frustrating as it is, it's still entertaining enough for me to be able to shout at the computer.

If you want to join in my K-drama frustration, look for it on sites like dramabeans.com, mysoju.com or dramafever.com.

Dr. Jin/Song Seung Hun, if you weren't such eye candy, I don't think I would give you much notice.