Kdrama: Arang and the Magistrate

Here I am featuring another sageuk drama. I'm glad it is still going strong despite having seemingly exhausted their stories of kings, heroes & heroines. Could we be seeing a new wave of sageuk fantasy drama based on folklore? (Started by 2010's Gumiho) Because of this I was inspired to read on Korean folklore, I'm currently reading Korean folktales: imps, ghosts and fairies by Im Pang & Yi Ryuk. This was translated and published in 1913! [Don't worry they are easy to read]

As much as Korean's love making sageuk drama, their international audience can't get enough either! I just found out The Moon Embracing the Sun will air locally soon via GMA [or is it airing already? I just saw the huge billboard while riding the MRT *lol*].

Anyway moving on!!! Arang and the Magistrate is set  as a comedy - melo - fantasy - sageuk drama. phew.

Based on a folklore about a female ghost named Arang whose sudden death caused her to wander and haunt the office of the Magistrate. Due to terror, past officers die on the first day they take office. It so happens that Eun-oh, the newly appointed Magistrate can see ghosts and is therefore not shocked by Arang's presence. He in turn vowed to help Arang in her quest to find out how and why she died.

Sound serious noh? NOT! Oh I can't wait till you watch the first episode. All my preconceived thoughts about Arang or Lee Eun-oh flies right out the window. Haha I love that they held back a bit on the summary. Better to be surprised than know exactly how things will play out on just the first episode.

Korean historical dramas

My readers/blogger friends are probably sick about all these korean stuff I post recently. haha ( ^-^)ゞAlthough I didn't intend this blog to be a review or fandom site, because of my lack of activities, these are all I can think of posting at the moment. *heh (^0^)/*

I finished watching a few Japanese films last month. I'll be posting about them soon. They're still in the drafts. ヾ(￣◇￣)ノ

I'm currently doing a marathon of Korean sageuk (historical) drama's. *yeah productive huh!?* I suspect this is also the reason why my laziness got worse. :/ These things can take over your life like whoah! 70+ episodes per series anyone? Though I've finished 3 dramas in less than a month? Ha! Thanks to fast-forward option! Some parts can get slow. Hello 2 minutes of slow walking in a deserted street with heart wrenching background music?! What's up with that?!

There are 4 more series left on my sageuk watchlist. Woohoo! Couch partey!~( ﾟ 3ﾟ)~♪

This post is a bit long and photo heavy so skip if you don't want to read it. (^-^)v Here I'll show you why I like watching sageuk dramas

(1) because of political conflicts and how the King/hero/lead survive them, (2) learning about other historical figures other than the main subject of the story,

Dong Yi is made larger than life in this drama although there isn't much about her in actual history. She is important only because she became the king's concubine and bore him the royal heir. I only watched this because I was more interested in Jang Hui-bin and Queen Inhyeon's story (a true story!).

Yi San is about King Jeongjo and how he rose to power, fought various political maneuverings and met 3 influential people (there might be more but only 3 were highlighted). He is also Dong Yi's great grandson! Yi San was a wise king but I feel his achievements were made possible because of other great people like Hong Guk Young (his right hand man), Jeong Yak Yong (his scientist/genius official), Baek Dong Soo (his bodyguard). I'm glad the romance is toned down in this because I don't like the girl character at all. She is so fragile and helpless.

Kdrama: What's Up!

I only watched this drama because of Daesung. I didn't know a single actor so I was feeling a bit unsure if I'm going to enjoy this. Going towards the first 3 episodes, each actor is perfect for their roles. I ended up loving the other characters more than I loved Daesung's character.

A drama revolving around music and the romance between students enrolled in the theatrical department of a university.

I'm not gonna go into a detailed review because (one) I suck at organizing my thoughts (two) it's better to watch on your own else I'll spoil the storyline.

It's 20 episodes long. The storyline had a strong beginning but dragged on a bit towards the middle. I honestly don't like watching teenage angst anymore. Maybe because I'm older now so I'm over that stage. So for me the middle part was boring & annoying. I just want them to deal with their problem and show me the juicy parts. I also didn't like how one of the most bubbly characters became gloomy in the end. That could be part of her character development though. After all the drama was about each character's journey towards finding themselves. That by the end of the series they're all changed people.

The ending left a lot of things unresolved. Which was ok in the sense that if they tied each character's story in a neat little bow it would feel quite rushed and much more annoying. So this unfinished feeling is all because they didn't resolve the other character's story towards the middle while they were dragging that other angst-y storyline. （￣～￣;）

Anyway the series is over now, after so much complaining, I still love this drama and highly recommend it! (^-^)v

Could there be a 2nd season? ¯\(ಠ_ಠ)/¯ That is still unsure :3

These are video cuts of their performances:

Kdrama: The Moon That Embraces the Sun

Since watching Dae Jang Geum I've been in love with period dramas.They're an interesting way to learn about korean culture and history (although some facts gets a more dramatic turn). I wouldn't say I've watched them all, probably only the popular ones. Some people may find it boring because the storyline are mostly serious. There are however sageuk dramas that are fictitious and those are the fun ones to watch.

One such fictional sageuk drama* is a novel adaptation written by the same author of Sungkyunkwan Scandal**.

Kdrama: Sungkyunkwan Scandal

I don't usually watch Korean dramas cause they tend to be long thus making it hard to download all the episodes. I'd run out of space! ( >.<)~ though sometimes one drama will stick out from the bunch and I'd get totally obsessed with it. Such is what happened to me with Sungkyunkwan Scandal. This was a 2010 drama but till now I still fall head over heels with it.

Sungkyunkwan Scandal is set in Sungkyunkwan University in the late Joseon era during the reign of King Jeongjo (Yi San), revolving around the exploits and love stories of four youths. When her younger brother's illness worsens and their family is in danger of being evicted from their house for lack of money, Kim Yoon Hee enters the school under his name, disguised as a boy in her desperation to support him. There, she becomes friends with the intelligent and upright Lee Sun Joon, the playboy Goo Yong Ha and rebellious Moon Jae Shin.