Weekly Review Inspiring Generation Episode 4

AIGOO!!!! 

WOW
Inspiring Generation....

Where do I begin? I wasn't quite sure how this episode was going to keep the suspense rising and going for the viewer. Those feelings between Gaya and Jung Tae have changed drastically due to a misunderstanding that neither one of them was expecting. I will say that Jung Tae's father and Gaya's father are intertwined in some way, but I think there is so much more to the story between the fathers and the mothers who are both dead or so we think.

One thing I will give away about episode 4 (some what of a spoiler so watch out) we see Gaya and Jung Tae train for the fate of their futures. Gaya trains with the mysterious guy I call a samurai and Jung Tae trains to jump, well, trains.

This drama is amazing in that all these characters became related in some way, more complexed than that of the Lee Min Ho drama, The Heirs, and additional characters are added every episode. I can see in the end everyone will more than likely have it in for Shin Jung Tae and he will probably find an ally in an unlikely place.

I am feeling more and more sorry for Ok Reyeon as it is obvious she is someone Jung Tae loves but in that "you are like a sister to me way."

Shin Jung Tae does succeed in jumping a train only for some interesting events to occur where we see the Dobinoris save him with the help of another group in which they become indebted to them. Unfortunately Jung Tae wakes up and receives bad news.

Towards the end of the episode, and adult Gaya is now seen as well as the adult Shin Jung Tae.  I will truely miss seeing  Kwak Dong Yun. He was excellent in showing us how Shin Jung Tae developed to be the man he becomes bringing us to Kim Hyun Joong's Shin Jung Tae.

In the last scenes of episode 4 (spoiler) we see Kim Hyun Joong (fangirling over here) now Shin Jung Tae walk through a building beating men up the whole time. I couldn't help but be reminded of him as Yoon Ji Hoo in Boys Over Flowers and how he and F4 would always come to the rescue. Kim Hyun Joong can't help but to be a beautiful guy. I mean in this drama he is really trying to go for a tough guy, but we know him as the calm Yoon Ji Hoo. Its hard erasing all those flower boy thoughts away. Even though through his music he has had many identities. He certainly showed a rougher image with Breakdown and I know he was trying show a tough boy image with Unbreakable, but his pretty face makes us forget that image. We see a tough guy image, but we know he doesn't have a tough guy heart. This is true for Shin Jung Tae and his heart will lead him to trouble.

I am excited to see Kim Hyun Joong in more action scenes and I am excited to see more of his acting as well. I am interested to see the characters unfold as revenge and love are both apparent in this drama. I really wonder in the end will this be anything like City Hunter.

Actor Spotlight: Jung Il Woo

Jung Il Woo

As I mentioned before Flower Boy Ramen Shop (2011)  is the K-Drama that changed my life and made me the K-Drama Fan that I

Charismatic Cha Chi Soo

am today. Much of that has to do with the Male Lead Character, Cha Chi Soo, played by Jung Il Woo. Cha Chi Soo was the average male lead. (You will soon learn if you haven't already that the male lead is usually a charming jerk, that is insensitive to the others around him, but in the end is actually a sweet guy who was just ignorant of things due to the sheltered lifestyle of the rich).  I guess because I saw that Cha Chi Soo, was ignorant of his feelings as in he didn't know that it was love that he felt and he had no idea how to handle it which led to hilarious antics between him and Eun Bi. I loved his acting so much I wanted to see him in more. That is when I found Moon Embracing the Sun (2012), although this time he had the role of the second male lead and worse the 2nd son (by another woman), Prince Yang Myung (a double whammy in the Korean Drama world as far as the fate of the character) the show only added to my love for K-Drama. I will discuss The Moon Embracing the Sun thoroughly soon.

Although Flower Boy Ramen Shop and The Moon Embracing the Sun were top shows it was Jung Il
Woo's breakthrough role as the "scheduler" in the 2011 Drama 49 Days that really  proved he would be ready for his role as Cha Chi Soo and later his role as Prince Yang Myung. As the scheduler he was a modernized grim reaper who would help a young woman who was in a limbo of life and death, but wanted
to live and had 49 Days to do so in her outer body state.

In just two years Jung, excelled at portraying 3 very different characters, which shows his skill as an actor. What is similar about all of his roles is that each character has some comical aspect as it seems he is the guy who is always trying to find the light at the end of the tunnel.

He is able to be funny in one instance, then serious in another, all the while his eyes are so expressive. 

Aside from the dramas mentioned Jung Il Woo has be in many other dramas such as, Unstoppable High Kick, The Return of Iljimae, My Fair Lady, and was also in the movie My Love.

In addition to his bringing his characters to life Jung Il Woo also has had songs on the OST (Original Soundtracks) of the drama's 49 Days and Flower Boy Ramen Shop. 

Currently Jung Il Woo is in the drama Golden Rainbow alongside K-Pop and K-Drama star Uee.

For more about Jung Il Woo check out these articles:
http://www.kdramastars.com/articles/13997/20140108/jung-il-woo-transforms-as-filming-director.htm 

http://www.kpopstarz.com/articles/71789/20140103/jung-il-woo-90-servings-of-rice-cake-soup-on-new-years-for-golden-rainbow-staff-team.htm

 http://ph.omg.yahoo.com/news/golden-rainbow-jung-il-woo-becomes-an-ice-062525712.html


Do you love Jung Il Woo? Why is he your favorite actor? Which is your favorite character? Are you watching Golden Rainbow? Which of Jung Il Woo's dramas do you want to try? Let me know what you think!

Korean Drama Themes: The Flower Boys

Ultimate Flower Boys

 "kkonminam" or The Flower Boy has become a staple to Korean Drama. He is good looking, rich, arrogant, metro-sexual, tough, tall, slim, snobby, and did I mention good looking? I mean he is what I call a pretty man. The funny thing is up until I found Korean Dramas I had always liked the appearance of a good-looking guy with lots of muscles. I was the girl that liked the big football player type with a beard who was more like a bear than a flower. After Korean Dramas my tastes fell for the flower boy. It actually made me feel funny about myself as these flower boys are pretty like women. (As in prettier than me).  Although there have been many flower boy icons the best examples are the beloved F4 from Boys Over Flowers. Now I don't want to go into detail about Boys Over Flowers right now, but these guys are the ultimate example of the flower boy. Unfortunately this wasn't my first drama, but I am glad it wasn't because I would probably have more issues than I do now as this show was amazing. These guys are rich, drive NICE cars, will also kick someone's a$$ if they have to and,  they do what they want and are all in high school. I didn't know any flower boys in high school, but let's get back to my previous comment: they are pretty like women. When I talk to non-drama fans about K-Drama, I usually show them the picture above as an example of flower boys and they usually point to my bias, Kim Hyun Joong (if you aren't familiar he's the one with the auburn hair) and they say: "That's a boy?!?!" and I usually say: "Yeah isn't he gorgeous?" LOL!!! He is quite gorgeous. I was looking at pictures of Kim Hyun Joong from a few years ago and I said out loud: "He's a pretty man." 

He's pretty and that's hot!

I tell you what I don't know if its the fashion (as I would wear that fur collared coat Lee Min Ho has on) or the hair (I love the auburn on Kim Hyun Joong and I love the curls on Lee Min Ho) or if its that they are rich (when I say they own the school I mean they literally own the school) all I know is that I could just "eat them up." I laugh at myself because in America we don't really appreciate a pretty man. We have good looking guys, for instance back in his Romeo and Juliet days, Leonardo Dicaprio would have been called a flower boy, and back in the day George Clooney had women pining over his good looks (I never got it). Today there are the big stars of Twilight, Robert Pattinson

Channing Tatum

and Taylor Lautner.  Channing Tatum is good looking, but his body is not like that of a flower...boy, but then again there is Song Seung Heon and he has nice body and pretty face. Wait what was I talking about...oh yeah but in America we

Song Seung Heon

want our men to be tough guys and roughed, even the pretty ones, being pretty is ok, but being effeminate is a no- no and although the flower boys of Korea are tough guys at times, they have many effeminate tendencies that make some people raise an eyebrow. Like there is a scene in Boys Over Flowers where we see Goo Joon Pyo (Lee Min Ho) get his hair curled. Now I mean the reality is how else would he have those beautiful curls, but in America beauty rituals are for girls. According to a few article Korean men weren't always in to the flower boy trend, but now days, having good skin and a nice appearance is good for... well... business. So just as women the men have beauty rituals and they wear make-up. (Korea is the male make up capital of the world apparently)

Lee Min Ho sponsors make-up products

Being American and knowing our views on such ideas I always felt slightly odd for being attracted to these pretty Korean men, but I am sorry, I am going to have step over the silly ideas of society and go with the flower boy. I have always liked a pretty face anyway. And if that pretty face comes with random trips to the Jeju Islands than all the more merrier. For more flower boys watch, The Flower Boy Next Door, Boys Over Flowers, The Heirs, Flower Boy Ramen Shop, Pretty Man, Nail Shop In Paris. For more Song Seung Heon check out: When A Man Loves and My Princess.

Check out F4 in this fan made video 

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For More on flower boys check out these articles:
25 Ultimate Flower Boys  
http://ph.omg.yahoo.com/blogs/okpop/understanding-lure-flower-boys-050944369.html
 http://www.kdramastars.com/articles/10210/20130820/seven-prettiest-flower-boy-actors.htm
 http://mydramalist.com/article/2013/04/19/the-origin-of-the-flower-boy-trend#.Ut1EF7ROnIU
 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2204587/The-flower-boys-South-Korea-spend-beauty-products-men-world.html

What do you think about men being "pretty"? What do you think of men using make-up? Would you want to date a flower boy (yes probably)?  Who is your Flower Boy bias? 

Weekly Review: Inspiring Generation

Drama: 감격시대  Inspiring Age, Generation of Youth, Inspiring Generation: The Birth of the God of Battle, Age of Feelings

Genre: Period, Action,  Romance, Thrillers (Gangsters/fighting)

Air date: January 15,  2014

24 episodes

Where to watch: http://www.viki.com/tv/20024c-inspiring-generation-age-of-feeling

Kim Hyun Joong 2009, 2010, 2014

For all of Kim Hyun Joong’s  fangirls, the wait is over; his 4 year hiatus from drama is over. He is back on the small screen with this Action/Period piece, Inspiring Generation. More than likely I will spotlight Kim Hyun Joong as he is well known for being the calm, quiet, voice of reason, Ji Hoo in Boys Over Flowers and the mean and indifferent Baek Seung Jo from Playful Kiss, so he has had quite an influence on K-Drama not to mention K-pop as he was in the group SS501 and has had a great solo career.  For this drama he shed his Flower Boy appearance, buffed up and is showing us a new tough body image.

With just two episodes one can already see that there will be many plot twists and turns, not to mention character entanglement. 

Not a Flower Boy anymore

We first meet Shin Jung Tae (Kim Hyun Joong) as in adult in a fight that appears to be one sided. A massive fighter yells to Jung Tae, “il-eona!” (Get up!). This is when we see the fighting spirit that is in Jung Tae. We soon find out that Jung Tae actually throws the fight. He is told he must go back to Shanghai and with that the back story ensues, where we meet the young Jung Tae (Kwak Dong Yeon) and learned that even as a young man he is fearless. Working hard, earning little by little to pay for Cheng Ah’s (his sister) medicine and take care of her other medical expenses.  This is Jung Tae’s only goal at the time. We also see that Jung Tae and Cheng Ah have been abandoned by their father and their mother is dead. More on that will be revealed as the story evolves. With his friend Jjang Ddol (young) (Kim Dong Hee)  and Ok Ryeon (young) (Ji Woo)  (the girl who loves Jung Tae, but he keeps her in the friend zone) the four stay smiling while dealing with their issues. Jung Tae also meets (young) Dekuchi Gaya (Joo Da Young) a young girl who has gotten herself involved in smuggling to earn money.  She is in a very similar situation to Shin Jung Tae. It appears that Jung Tae may also like Gaya. Unfortunately due to naivety, money Jung Tae had saved was swindled in a scheme.  Fearlessly he goes to the gang (Dobinories/Smugglers) and demands his money be given back to him. Episode 1 ends with Jjang Ddol finding a bloody Jung Tae at the feet of the gangsters pleading with them telling his story about how he earned the swindled money. 

Kwak Dong Yeon

Now to be honest I wasn’t completely impressed at this point. I enjoyed the show, and I could follow along. I saw that there was something interesting going on but I was a little bored.

But...

Episode 2 sold me (without Kim Hyun Joong’s star power). In this episode we find out that the dobinori gangsters have taken Jung Tae and Jjang Ddol under their wings as it was found that there was a case of mistaken identity and someone else had taken the money. Additional characters mean additional sub-plots. There is also hard evidence that this is indeed the beginning of a love triangle between Gaya, Jung Tae, and Ok Reyeon. We also discover there is a rival gang to the Dobinori. On top of all that, there is a mysterious guy around, who saves Gaya in an epic martial arts fight scene where he says the coolest lines to a scared Gaya, who has her assailant’s blood running down her face between her eyes down her nose.

 “You probably wanted to run. You had enough time, but your feet probably didn’t move. That is fear. From now on, you will live under unimaginable fear. You have to be victorious over them all. That way you can live. Live so you can take revenge.” 

One thing that no one can deny is that the show is beautiful. The money put in for costumes, and sets were well worth it. Those who love period dramas would love this one.  So far I’ve learned about Korean Geishas in Shanghai which is a mix of three different cultures. Personally I was excited about this drama when I saw it was based on the 1930’s. I knew that meant there would be gangsters. I know that it is sort of different as I am a female who should like romantic/melodrama, but my favorite genres are gangster flicks and ninja/martial art films (with romantic sub-plots). So Inspiring Generation is right up my alley, of course I am bias as I also love Kim Hyun Joong. 

After episode 2 I am quite impressed with Kwak Dong Yeon. Of course I can’t wait for Kim Hyun Joong to return as the adult Shin Jung Tae. I am not sure if his regular fangirls will be able to handle him in this role but, many have already put out the word all over the dramasphere. This drama is perfect for men. If you have a boyfriend, husband, brother, father, grandfather, or that guy you friend zoned, grab them to go with you on the journey. I am sure they will enjoy this drama. It could possibly be just what they need to them started with K-Dramas. 

Stay tuned for updates about this drama next week. You can watch this one on: http://www.viki.com/tv/20024c-inspiring-generation-age-of-feeling In the meantime, tell me what you think of this drama? Are you a girl who loves gangsters or martial arts? What do you think of Kim Hyun Joong’s transformation?

Drama Queen with Seoul: An Introduction

Hello!!! 안녕하세요 Annyeonghaseyo!!!

I am known by many names, Danielle, Daneeyell, Miss Danielle (or Miss Daniel for some of my students who mispronounce), Miss Dawkins, Dawkins, Dani, Dani D. or Dani D. the Princess of Delaware…

… But for my fellow Drama Lovers I am: Noona (what a younger man/boy would call his older sister) or Unni (what a younger woman/girl would call an older sister).

K-Drama (Korean Drama, i.e. South Korean soap opera, telenovela) hit me hard and I fell in love. I was already a fan of all things of Asian Culture, especially that of Japan as I am a huge Power Ranger/Super Sentai fan, a fan of the Japanese artist Hokusai, and a fan/writer of Haiku. Even so I was skeptical of Koreans, primarily because of North Korea. Growing up I just felt that it was taboo to discuss Korea, North or South. A miserable stormy boring day changed all of that. Thank God for Netflix, which can at times, cure the common boring day. Somehow, I was led to Korean TV Drama. I saw many interesting titles, but one caught my attention. “Flower Boy Ramen Shop.” Flower Boy? I wondered, what could it mean to be a Flower Boy. More than that I wondered how there was something called a ramen shop. Ramen in America is not known as an entrée in a restaurant or diner (Unless you find a Ramen Shop which are around big cities). Ramen is more like an easy and cheap meal, you make at home that takes no more than 1-5 minutes. I soon found out that our packs of oodles n noodles don’t have ANYTHING on ramen made in a Korean Ramen Shop. Ramen aside I fell in love with the drama for so many reasons and learned so much about Korean Culture at the same time. 

 

I am a writer at heart (terrible at editing so be warned). I am a teacher by nature. So, when I find something that I think is great, I have to share it with the world. I have pulled my mother, my brother and others into the Drama World. Getting my brother being the hardest to impress, involved in watching Dramas, tells me that these dramas must be pretty good. I also believe that we can learn a lot about other cultures (positives and negatives). When we  learn we can use that knowledge to be sensitive to others and try to co-exisit instead of being racist or discriminating. Basically there is nothing wrong with loving our yellow brethren. (Trust me ladies and gentlemen; there are some gorgeous Asian men and women out there).

Before taking part in this blog it is important to know where you can find Korean Drama, just in case you become intrigued by any future post. As mentioned before my journey with K-Drama began with Netflix. Please take note in the fact that Netflix changes its listing every now and then. I started a drama on Netflix and the next day when I went to look for it, they had removed it. Luckily I found a website called: DramaFever (thanks to a friend who told me about it). DramaFever has a huge collection of Dramas and is always adding more. It is also a great place for K-Drama news. Of course just when you think life is peachy, someone decides the comeback drama for your favorite Korean Celeb will not stream on Drama Fever. (Seriously, I thought I was going to go nuts!)  To cure this situation I did a google search and found Viki, another website with Korean Dramas. The great thing about Viki is that there are people working to get subtitles in MANY different languages. 

I have watched many K-Dramas and with a friend’s nudge I decided to create a blog, in which, I can do the things I love (write and teach) with what I love (Korean Dramas). If you are curious, you should definitely follow this blog as I will be reviewing the old and the new, the good and the bad (although I haven’t found many bad). K-Drama Seoul (pronounced like soul) will show you a new culture and maybe you will gain a better understanding of cultures and people in general. Overall you will be fully entertained hopefully from my blog and later from actually going to one of the mentioned sites and watching a K-Drama. 

In the words of many characters from many dramas:

화이팅 Hwaiting!!! Fighting!!!!