The Problematic of the Unproblematic

There is a lot that IRIS2 isn't good at, but product placement (and throwing people off bridges) isn't one of these things. In fact, I am pleasantly surprised by how unintrusive PPL is in general, especially when compared to some other recent shows like Nice Guy or Cheongdamdong Alice (and I hear That Winter The Wind Blows went a liiiiittle over the top as well). Sure, IRIS2 has it all: the cars (KIA, of course), the café/restaurant (Paris Baguette), the electronics (Samsung, Canon, Nikon), a tire company called Hankook who has their logo on the NSS trucks (?) ...  ... and it also has a weird white bike. I noticed the weird white bike first in a restaurant scene in episode 5, when I still had hopes that IRIS2 could be a really cool show. In that scene, Jung Yoo-Gun (Jang Hyuk) meets with his lover Ji Soo-Yeon (Lee Da-hae). And there are random bikes hanging and standing around. And I mean really random. How many random bikes can you spot? The next noteworthy scen...

How far I've come since I started to watch KDramas about 3 years ago. I can read Hangul with ease, I even understand a fair bit of Korean, I love soju and kimchi, and I know many, many, many Korean actors and actresses by face and name. However, I'm a complete beginner when it comes to KPop. I do not own a single KPop CD and if I come in contact with it, it's through OSTs of dramas or some random YouTube video I watch (Or Facebook, where I have a few friends who are absolutely smitten with Onew, whoever that is). Not surprisingly, therefore, I was majorly challenged by the various idols that appear in Level 7 Civil Servant and IRIS2 combined. Who is this? And this? And this?? Oh, this is perfect! Let them compete with each other! Idol battle!!!!! YAAAAAYYY! --- However. I have dropped L7CS long ago and try not to suffer too much when watching IRIS2. So, this is the last drama battle between the two shows. Haha, the shortest drama battle ever! --- Yoon Doo-Joon of Be...

You're a young trainee. You work your butt off because you know at the end of the day you'll be a star.   You'll try stand our from all your group mates... And your song will be on everybody's lips.... BAD BOY by BIG BANG BAD BOY by Mighty Mouth ft. Soya BAD BOY by Wonder Girls BAD BOY by Son Dambi BINGEUL BINGEUL (Round and Round) by Big Bang BINGEUL BINGEUL (Round and Round) by Crayon Pop BINGEUL BINGEUL (Round and Round) by Nami BINGEUL BINGEUL (Round and Round) by T-ARA BINGEUL BINGEUL (Round and Round) by U-KISS BINGEUL BINGEUL (Round and Round) by YB No! No! You're not with a company that churns out robo idols You're with YG!! Where you'll be allowed to show your individuality and sing original songs FIRE - 2NE1 FIRE - SHINee Oops. No? Ok. You're a musician in the western world, sneering at the kpop music factory. Your industry celebrates the individual and has unique concepts!! and your songs will ...

It's been a while since the release of the short version (2 months, in fact), but haste makes waste and Rome wasn't built in a day. Plus, Yoo Seung-hoo is now no longer among us (only for two years, fortunately), and Park Shin-hye is busy scuba diving and stuff. If you've missed one or the other, and/or have a crush on So Ji-sub, this is a must watch (just don't worry about the content). And: Yoo Seung-hoo does indeed look a bit like a younger version of So Ji-sub, don't you think?  This is a partially subbed version (switch on with the cc-tab) (What is it with Koreans and their fear of letting someone go abroad to work? Long distance relationship sometimes work, too, friends! Just saying!) Do you want more So Ji-sub? Then watch this:  (thanks ‏ @NewKDramaAddict for pointing it out ^^)

... especially when you have a husband like mine

Happy Friday, dear friends and enemies! (What, I have those?! Impossible!) I'm still very busy with RL stuff. Yeah, there's a major conference coming up, for which I need to write not one, but two papers (one is done, now on to the next!); there's a special issue I'm editing, and acceptance letters need to be send out PRONTO (i.e. next week); there are 4 reviews to be written (two papers, one research proposal, one book); one master thesis to read and grade; and a 1-pager to be written for a discussion forum. Yeah. Sorry if you are not at all interested . Oh well. Drama wise, I'm slumping. The only current show I'm watching is IRIS2 , but not because it is good. I watch it because I promised I would. In fact, this show is one of the worst I have seen in a long, long time. The only good thing about it is watching it with some Twitter friends, like Orion. The stuff that comes out of these Twitter interactions (especially when I'm not there, methinks...

When I went shower (+ bath) scene crazy and scored big thanks to YouTube, I also found quite a lot of shower scenes that I simply cannot place. But I'm sure that the combined brain power of KDrama lovers will succeed! Who can name these dramas? Unknown Shower Scene 1   Identified! by various commentors as Thank You (2007). Jang Hyuk! Unknown Shower Scene 2 (most likely) identified! by lili as Bae Soo Bin in Temptation of an Angel (2009) Unknown Shower Scene 3 (most likely) identified! by lili as Park Hae Jin in East of Eden (2008/2009) Unknown Shower Scene 4 (Probably) identified! by Anonymous and Anonymous (who seems to be enz) as Delightful Girl Choon Hyang (2005). So this would be Uhm Tae Woong. Unknown Shower Scene 5 Identified! by kopytko (with the help of latteholic) as She is Nineteen (2004). So this is Yoon Kye Sang? Unknown Shower Scene 6 Identified! by kopytko as Love Story in Harvard (2004/5). This is Kim Rae Won, wh...

Someone...not to mention any names....calls me the Queen of Melos.  While I would argue with that description (I would say I'm the Queen of GOOD Melos) there is some truth to it.   Give me a well-written melo that I can sink my teeth into, that causes me to love and hate and cry and long and want to pull my hair out - in essence to FEEL - and I'm in heaven.  And right now my melo of choice is Queen of Ambition (Yawang). For those continuing to read, there will be NO SPOILERS. I was looking forward to this drama for two reasons - Su Ae and Kwon Sang Woo.  Both are accomplished, mature, serious actors. At at more than half-way through, this show and their acting have not disappointed. Ha Ryu is the good hearted person who supremely sacrifices himself to help the woman he loves, until he can take no more. I believe KSW was once called the king of tears, and it really works to his advantage here. Su Ae is perfect as Da Hae, the woman we love to hate. Charac...

You might have guessed that I really, really, really want Kim Ji-hoon to pick his next drama project. Like, yesterday. Not that I am missing Flower Boy Next Door - the show had its time and it was good but it is also good that it is over - but I do miss the feeling that came with anticipating the show. Two special episodes have aired (or is it one in two parts?), which I haven't yet seen. I'm sure they are sweet and everyone is gorgeous. And then ... there is Kim Ji-hoon going to a movie premier with Park Shin-hye! OMG! They have always been rather busy tweeting each other and they are keeping this up even after shooting for FBND has ended. It is sweet ... and a little bit suspicious?!  Oh! This is fun!!! Who can name all the celebrities?! Check your Hallyu-knowledge! Kim J-hoon and Park Shin-hye are adorable together. I really hope they actually ARE together!  This is what she tweeted:  "아 머리아퍼ㅠㅠ 오늘 진락씨랑 영화데이트했어요 ㅇㅅㅇ 3D안경쓰고 신났음"  (which equals ...

Will this do instead of a review? ^.^ Dear friends, I am too lazy (or should I say unmotivated?) to write a long farewell post for this show. So many bloggers have already written reviews, good and excellent ones, so you don't need me to write another good one. I'll just do a bad, lazy one then, ok?  The + Let me just say that I enjoyed the show, mostly, for its quietness and its portrayal of normal, everyday people. I also liked it because its episodes were only 45 minutes long. Seriously, KDrama in general would hugely profit from shorter episodes. I liked the way it was shot (especially the subdued colors) and I really liked making gifs, because there were so many funny and cute scenes. It was a veritable gif-fest every Monday and Tuesday! I liked Park Shin-hye's natural beauty and her acting. Though I am nothing like her character, I appreciated the way it was written, and the way she was allowed to change and get over the hurts of her past. I also liked lov...

It is my birthday today! Yaaaaaaaaay! I love my birthday. I used to be one of those people who think they have to be depressed on their birthdays, but that was before I realized that birthdays are definitely not sad occasions. They are here to celebrate: Celebrate life, celebrate yourself, celebrate your friends, celebrate your family, celebrate whatever you can! It is worth it!  To get even more out of it, I start celebrating my birthday at least one day early. If necessary, I take a day off work. This year, I am particularly lucky because my birthday is on a Sunday. After celebrating for at least 36 hours with very little sleep, I am now beginning to show signs of exhaustion. No wonder, at my age...  Anyways, his is what I ate and drank on this awesome birthday weekend! I had Jjajangmyeon for lunch on Day 1 of the celebrations. Oh man, that stuff was good ... I'm going back soon for lunch. My husband had Maeuntang (or something like it ... it wasn't super sp...