Soulmate [k-drama]

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Sorry for the lack of posts the past few weeks.  School and break week had me super busy, and I decided to watch a new drama because I have a hard time finding information about this one.  Soulmate is a Korean drama series from 2006 that has been popular, but not many people know much about it.  I've had this drama in my hard drive for the past few months and had a hard time starting it up.  Korean dramas usually like to have the whole romantic fuzzy feeling cut with betrayals of best friends and such.  I was super apprehensive and the first few episodes were hard to get into because of the constant slang that had to have foot notes for almost half the screen.  But the show is all about how Koreans go about thinking of relationships and the "games" they have to play to get each other.  It focuses on different couples throughout the series and how they all have troubles and happy moments.

One of the cool things about this series, is that they use the actual names of the actors.  One two of them have slightly changed names in the series.

Lee Soo Kyung (Loving You a Thousand Times, Dae Mul)- she plays one of the main characters.  At the beginning of the series, she has been dating her guy Phillip for 5 years, and he finally proposes to her on a train.  She feels apprehensive about accepting, but feels she is really in love.

Shin Dong Wook (Stars Falling From the Sky, Money's Warfare)- he plays a music producer who doesn't believe in fate and destiny, and has never really committed himself to a girl.  He meets Yu Jin on a setup date by their parents, and feels that she is interesting enough to start dating her.

Choi Phillip (Cannot Hate You, Star's Lover)- He plays Soo Kyung's boyfriend and feels that he really loves her.  He can be cheesy, but has good intentions, until he meets Min Ae and he starts to falter in his feelings for his fiancé.

Sa Kang (Salt Doll, Our Happy Ending)- She plays Hong Yu Jin, a naive girl who is very proper and sheltered.  She is apprehensive to date Dong Wook who is much different than her, but she finds him very attractive and wants to try dating him.

Otani Ryohei (The Road Home, Love Marriage)- He plays a fashion model who doesn't believe in the whole mind tricks when it comes to love and would rather be upfront about the way he feels.   He falls for Jang Mi Ae and she feels a special connection to him, perhaps because he is one of the first men to actually care about more than just her looks.

Jang Mi In Ae (Blissful Woman, Super Rookie)-  She plays Jang Mi Ae, the hot girl who can get any guy she wants (through years of technique practice and a little pink relationship book written by a rival/friend in high school) and dates several men at once.  She is enticed by Phillip and the fact that he has a girlfriend already and sets out to make him hers.  

Kim Min Ji (there were no pictures of her online and she's only been in this show, so I had to take a screenshot from the show)-  She plays the boss of Yu Jin and Soo Kyung and has a thing for in shape men.  Min Jin ends up falling for Jung Hwan and they have quite the love-hate relationship.  

Jung Hwan (My Lady Boss, My Hero)- He plays the playboy personal trainer who feels that he knows all the moves to get the women.  Upon initial meeting he cannot stand Min Jin, but with her constant attention and even stalking they form a very unique relationship.















The guys (minus Phillip) are friends from the gym, while the women (minus Mi Ae) all work together.  Throughout the series you realize that everyone knows each other, and the concept of destiny and soulmates plays heavily into all these intertwined relationships.  The series is only 12 hour long episodes, but the last 10 are split so that one side of the episode is Soo Kyung's pov, while the other half hour is from Dong Wook's pov.  This drama is actually very funny and tackles the problems that people have with relationships such as playing hard to get or how to make a move.  There are a lot of Korean slang terms in the first couple episodes that require a bit of reading on the screen, and in the beginning I found it a little hard to keep up.  The biggest concept that they try to get across is one of my favorite thoughts that, "if it's meant to be it will happen."  I'm a big believer in that myself so it was nice to see a drama with the same outlook on love.  Many people find the ending to the series terrible, but I viewed it as you don't need to see to get confirmation.  It was kinda like how 500 Days of Summer had a hopeful ending, if you look at it the right way.  This series has definitely become one of my favorites, and with only 12 episodes it is a nice and short series that is enjoyable.

VERDICT


Characters: 4 out of 5 (The cast has all the stereotypical Korean characters to a drama, but that's what makes it enjoyable.  But each adds to the whole complete story and viewpoints on love that is needed for this series)

Story: 4.5 out of 5 (The story is really great because it is a current view on the dating game.  There were the typical cliches but how could you not with a story about soulmates?  The relationship between the two main characters has incredibly sweet moments, my favorite being one involving a day in the park with a Polaroid camera)

Irritation Level: 2 out of 5 (Of course this will occur in a k-drama, but there were only a few characters that I became really irritated with by the 10th episode.  And there are moments where you're like, "really?  You deserve happiness, don't be so self-sacrificing." But it definitely is not as bad and depressing as a stereotypical k-drama because of all the comedy thrown into the mix.

Overall: 4.5 out of 5

Loved the outlook on love that they portrayed throughout the series and how people's minds could be changed with just a few chances of fate.  The concept of a soulmate is a very romanticized thing, but this series does a good job of rounding it off with the more practical types of relationships that might happen.  There are a lot of cute/romantic gestures throughout the series that really get the "aww factor" in.  Another awesome thing about this drama is the soundtrack!  It is made up of mostly English songs and is a very unique mix of love songs.  A+ for originality in soundtrack.  Definitely try and check out this "underdog" series because it is well worth your time!

Here are some of the key songs in the series...

C'mon Through- Lasse Lindh
This is Not a Love Song- Nouvelle Vague
Oh My Love- John Lennon
Across the Universe- Fiona Apple

Personal Taste [k-drama]

I recently watched a recent Korean drama called Personal Taste.  For anyone a fan of the Korean Boys Over Flowers I would definitely recommend it to.  The main guy in this drama is Lee Min Ho who plays Jun Pyo in the Korean version.  He definitely grew on me in Boys Over Flowers, but Personal Taste further enforced my love for him.  The premise is simple.  The ever awkward main girl, Kae In, needs money to save her house from loan sharks, so she lets a guy, Jin Ho (lee min ho), live in her home because she believes him to be gay, thus having no interest in women so it would be fine for them to live together.  Unknown to Kae In he is actually straight and wanting to live in this house to discover what it is about the house that could possibly lead him to gaining a huge job for his architecture firm.











This drama has everything.  The backstabbing best friend that  has you yelling at your monitor, the misunderstandings that come with dramas, and of course, the super cute couple scenes that make these dramas so enjoyable.  As usual, the main girl is the off beat main character that typically one would find weird.  But of course they are still cute because it is a drama.  =P  Jin Ho might not be gay, but throughout the series he continually knows how to make women feels better and seems to be very understanding, just like a gay friend would be.  There are funny little incidents that lead Kae In and her best friend to think that Ji Ho and his business partner are gay and when she's drunk she usually blurts out to everyone in the room that he is gay.  Of course the best friend is an evil bitch and quite reminds me of a girl I used to be friends with.  It is key for any sort of media to be relatable to its viewers so that they feel like the situation could happen to them.  The couple sequences are completely adorable and sigh enducing and will have you keep on watching.

I try not to watch too many Korean dramas because they always make me want a relationship (haha how could you not with all these beautiful people).  Not that I wouldn't mind one, but it's just kinda sad when I don't have one and feel like I need to find one to be fully happy.  Longing for a relationship never really ends well and isn't something that I enjoy feeling.  But it does make me happy to watch couples in love, and makes me hopeful for my future.  :)  I definitely recommend this series to drama fans with the cuteness level high and the entertainment level equally matched.  Hope you find some happiness with this series.  :D  I have a great link to downloads for this series so just ask if you would like it!  I'm sure you could find it on the drama streaming sites, but I prefer to have the nice quality copies of them that I can keep to watch again someday.  =]

VERDICT
Characters: 5 out of 5 (including the bitch you love to hate)

Story: 4 out of 5 (very original storyline, but has the typical "secret" past twist)

Irritation Level: 3 out of 5 (you will find yourself getting irritated at the bitchy "friend" popping up everywhere.  I found the jealously kind of cute from the couple, but it can get wearing)

Overall: 4 out of 5 (great story, cute characters, funny situations, adorable couple)

The Perfect Kiss

Didn't want to post too many pictures in case you are wanting to see any REALLY good dramas!  Check out the earlier blog post about some of my favorites!

I noticed that in Japanese dramas, kisses are sparse and when they do happen they are much more subtle than ones we see in movies in America.  Maybe we've gotten so used to the passionate kissing in movies and shows that it doesn't really phase us.  But I think that in Japanese and Korean dramas, the passionate kiss is still something that they save for the end of the series.

Japanese dramas might not have the most amazing kiss scenes, but when they do happen, it's super sweet.  In Korean dramas, there is definitely more kissing, but each of them are just as sweet as the last.  One of my favorites is from the Boys Over Flowers (korean version) in Episode 9.  I found the video on youtube to share with those of you who have watched it.  :D 

For the big fans of Hana Yori Dango or Boys Over Flowers or Meteor Garden you 

MUST see this video.  It is no doubt in my mind the BEST fanvid I have EVER seen.  She chose "My Life Would Suck Without You" by Kelly Clarkson which perfectly personifies Tsukushi/Tsukasa or Jan Di/Jun Pyo's relationship (I haven't watched the Chinese version, cause I don't like Chinese dramas).  There might be a few spoilers, so you're warned when watching this, but I do suggest that you MUST watch this sometime in your life if you're a big Hana Yori Dango fan.  :)  

~This next section will be about my favorite one, so if you haven't seen Hana Yori Dango Final (the movie) stop here to not be spoiled!~

I noticed that in Hana Yori Dango, they kiss about once per season and each kiss is kinda just a cute peck that's held out a bit longer.  I had some of my non-asian friends watch it and they were complaining about how they rarely kiss even though they're supposed to be in love.  But of course, at the end of the Hana Yori Dango Final (movie) they have this nice tune by Arashi and at the swell of the song, Tsukushi and Tsukasa have this amazing kiss!  The way he pulled her in was just about the sweetest way to kiss someone.  :)  It makes me smile every time, because even though I know that these characters are just acting, it is still really sweet to see love between two people.

~End spoiler~

I'm such a sucker for a sweet kiss.  XD  A hopeless romantic who is still waiting for her kiss in the rain.  =P  Though if it was like the one from Boys Over Flowers like the one here, I wouldn't mind that either.  ^_~

Dramas & Favorite Actors

I have to say that I go through stages of watching j/k dramas.  That's only because it takes so long to download a series through torrents!  But I've been watching them probably for about 4 years now...and there are so many good ones!  :D  I think that Japanese ones are good because they are only 45 mins an episode and usually only run 10 episodes.  Korean ones are good because they really take the time to work on the characters and getting you to like them, but they're usually much longer and run 1 hour or more.  You start to recognize actors from various dramas and develop favorite actors/actresses.  My favorite kind of drama is comedic ones.  I can't take those super sad Korean ones where someone is crying in every single episode and it is just tragedy after tragedy after bad timing.  XD  The best ones are one that make you laugh, have good characters, and sometimes the occasional cry.

I definitely have favorite actors.  :D  How can I not with so many good looking Japanese/Korean guys?  =P  At this point i have to say my dream guy would be Hayami Mokomichi.  He's the star in Zettai Kareshi and is also one of the main guys in Gokusen 2.  There are a few other dramas that he has been in as supporting roles and a few starring ones.  He's super tall and just look at the picture... I need not say anything more.  haha.  But for anyone else who is a fan, Zettai Kareshi is definitely the best one to see him.  It's a drama about a girl who gets a "perfect boyfriend" (who's really a robot) made to her liking and conditions as a trial run...and the series is about how you fall in love.

Another one of my favorite actors is Ninomiya Kazunari.  For those of you who don't watch dramas at all, he was in the movie "Letters From Iwo Jima."  He is also part of a boy band called Arashi.  But he has a very cute quality to him.  I first saw him in Stand Up!! a drama about 4 boys trying to lose their virginity....but we is the best in Yamada Taro Monogatari.  In that one he plays a kid who is super poor, but his good looks and top marks in school make everyone think that he's very rich.  It's about how he works extremely hard to get money for his six younger brothers and sisters and scatterbrained, but loving mom.


And of course, I can't say that I love Boys Over Flowers and not like the guys in there.  =P  but I have to admit, that at first I did not find any of the guys attractive.  Well minus Kim Bum, who plays the playboy type.  But after a lot of watching and getting the personality of the guys in the Korean version, I really liked Lee Min Ho who plays Jun Pyo (or for the Japanese watchers, Domiyoji).  The Boys Over Flowers love story always makes me happy to watch.  To have someone who will love you no matter what your social standing or care what people think about you is a beautiful thing.  And I know that everyone hopes to find their one true love.  :)  There's a fan video that this girl made that has ALL 3 versions of Hana Yori Dango and the relationship between the main couple.  Everytime I watch it it makes me happy and gives me hope that I will find a guy like that someday.






My Top 10 Dramas



1. Nodame Cantabile - a music school based comedy

2. My Girl (Korean) - a girl who is very good at lyring, works with a hotel manager to pretend to be the long-lost granddaughter of his dying grandpa.

3. Hana Yori Dango the entire series (Japanese) - a loosely based Cinderella type story where the poor girl stands up to the rich elite of the school






4. Boys Over Flowers (Korean) - the Korean version of Hana Yori Dango








5. Yamada Taro Monogatari (Japanese) - a poor kid looks so handsome and is so smart that everyone thinks that he is super rich











6. Zettai Kareshi (Japanese) - a girl gets to pick out her ultimate type in a guy and ends up getting a love robot who wants to give her everything










7. My Name is Kim Sam Soon (Korean) - the "unattractive" baker girl ends up posing as her employer's fiancee to please his mother...but of course it's a korean drama so nothing goes smoothly.... =P

8. Yukan Club (Japanese) - the school's elite group acts as detectives to help solve problems in the school






9. One Pound Gospel (Japanese) - a undisciplined boxer comes across a church and meets a Sister who he falls for and spends most of his time trying to win her over.

10. Gokusen the entire series (Japanese) - the granddaughter of a yakuza boss becomes a teacher for delinquents and reforms them.  Each season she has a new class (usually it's made up of the current, "of the moment" boy-band members)