Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung

Wow... I have not posted on this blog since 2016, and my last pop-culture entertainment post was actually in 2015! FOUR years! Well, I guess I finally have some time, both in the chronological sense and also mentally, after finishing internal medicine residency and geriatric medicine fellowship to sit down and blog about recent dramas I've been watching. Of note, I've never completely stopped watching Asian dramas or Asian shows in general, but just never had time or energy to blog about it. I've always found Asian shows to be therapeutic, and now I'm excited to also dive deeper into my thoughts with blogging.

I was initially drawn to this new Korean drama, currently airing in Korea and on Netflix (oh how times have changed just since 2015 when Asian dramas airing live on Netflix wasn't a thing yet!), admittedly because of Cha Eun-woo (My ID is Gangnam Beauty, which, by the way, is an amazing drama deeply reflective about today's beauty standards and how they destroy our society - highly recommended) from K-pop idol group ASTRO. I loved My ID is Gangnam Beauty so much that I just have positive feelings towards any actor from that production and would likely support and try out any of their subsequent projects.

Anyway, we are 4 weeks into the show and episode 7 just aired with episode 8 airing in a few hours in Korea. I am here writing about this show mostly because I'm confused and feeling torn about this show. I was initially going to tweet about it (follow me! @karebearnoona) but quickly realized I had way more screencaps and thoughts than would be acceptable on stan Twitter.

Okay, so re: my confusion. What is this show really about? I can't decide, and it seems Show also cannot decide. Is it supposed to be a Historical Romance with all the love triangles and squares? Or Historical Drama documenting the difficulties of being the first women government officials? Or Historical Political with all the usual court cronies scheming behind everyone's backs? There are too many plotlines going on at once, and that's okay, but they are not tightly woven, only loosely related to each other, and the pacing is super slow. I'm okay with it right now, but I just wish Show would hurry up and choose its identity. I feel like only then can it come into its own and really make some impactiful statements.

First Impressions: Divorce Lawyers (Chinese Drama)

After an extremely hectic 3 months, I'm gradually getting back into my drama and variety show game in terms of both watching and blogging. I'll be updating in the next week with some quick thoughts on some shows I've recently picked up (Divorce Lawyers in this post, Orange Marmalade, The Girl Who Sees Smells, Warm & Cozy) and some closing thoughts on Healer and Roommate.

If there ever was a pop culture oxymoron, here it is: Divorce Lawyers is a good mainland Chinese romantic comedy. (Not to be confused with the Korean drama, Divorce Lawyers in Love, which I have never watched and haven't heard about much either, but as far as I can tell, the two are not related.) I know! It's crazy! But it's true! And not only is it a good drama, it's a very good drama. I first chanced on this show on my recent trip back to China. Because there's nothing for me do at my grandparents' house, my mom and I often kick back to whatever we can find on TV, which are extremely rare moments, so I treasure times like this even when there's nothing but insipid war dramas on TV. But this time, we happened to find a show - this show - that was actually really funny, endearing, and enjoyed by both my mom and I.

2014 Year End Review of Dramas

Better late than never (at least relatively in time for Lunar New Year??) - here's a mess of thoughts on a smattering of dramas that I enjoyed and kept me company through some of my hardest times in 2014.  (Just to clarify, I'm only talking about dramas that I haven't covered in other posts. So, other dramas that would've made the cut are Healer, Misaeng, and I'm So Smart.)

Healer: Mid-Series Thoughts

Alas. This post has been a long time coming. I only hope I can recall all my thoughts and do them and this amazing drama justice.

(Note: These are my thoughts - no summary, sorry - on episodes 1-14, so definitely spoilers ahead.)

There are those dramas that speak to your mind - on the intellectual level, like the recently finished Pinocchio starring Park Shin-hye and Lee Jong-suk. Then there are those that get your heart - about those basic human wants and emotions we've all felt at some point. This is the crux of Healer, and I think what is drawing such an explosive online attention. Because let's face it, at the end of the day - heart >>> head. Put that in a world with intrigue, scandal, and high stakes, and it's easy to see why it's such a captivating watch.

People Who Mistake Impulse for Love (Song Translation)

Sometimes, your life just sucks. And you don't want to analyze it. You don't want to talk about it. You just want to curl up in your bed and just be. This drama did that for me. It's called I'm So Smart (我叫郝聪明 - the English translation is a play on words of the original Chinese title, which I will explain in another post). I loved loved this drama, but because it's a web-drama, it didn't get much publicity in either mainland China nor the international online community. As such, I'm going to do a review of it, and maybe even a recap if I feel ambitious enough. But, small steps right? First, a teaser of sorts - the ending theme song replete with a music video including scenes from the drama and a translation of the song. It's really sweet in both the melody and the lyrics - it's actually been receiving a lot of plays on my phone ever since I watched this drama almost a year ago in early 2014 (!!!).

Misaeng Episodes 3-4: Striving towards a complete life

I knew it. I couldn't stay away. Misaeng returns with more uplifting episodes in its second week while staying true to its realistic portrayal of everyday struggles in the workplace, this time with more tangible lovely parallels from baduk. I love that the story doesn't stagnate or linger on Geu-rae's sad, unlucky lot in life, but moves on to unfold more of his story...

A first look at Misaeng (Incomplete Life): A story that everyone can relate to

Misaeng (Incomplete Life) premiered this past weekend on tvN in their Friday-Saturday slot. And I'm obsessed. I'm excited. I'm in love. I wasn't even going to blog about this until the end, but here I am. This contemplative but compelling look at office life and just the realities of modern day struggles is hitting all the right notes with me, from the writing and directing to the music, cinematography, and of course acting.

Plus Nine Boys: Series review

This is my first time doing this. So bear with me.

Plus Nine Boys is a 2014 Korean drama series that just finished airing on the cable network TvN finishing at 14 episodes after getting its length axed possibly due to a mixture of low ratings and plagiarism accusations. I wanted to review it because not only did I like it a lot but because I feel it could have been so much better if it had more episodes to grow into.

Spoilers ahead! I warned you!