Friday, May 31, 2013

Heartless City/Cruel City-Now I now know who he is!!

Yoon Hyeon-min, chic and rough in "Heartless City"

Yoon Hyeon-Min as Soo

Yes ladies (and gents), he has a name!!

Former baseball player turned actor Yoon Hyeon-min is in the spotlight.

Yoon Hyeon-min takes on the role of Kim Hyeon-soo, the right hand man to Jeong Si-hyeon (Jeong Kyeong-ho) in the JTBC drama "Heartless City".  Unlike a drug dealer, Yoon puts on a dandy look and the care-free character blends in well with him even making him look sexy (understatement!).

Yoon Hyeon-min is a former baseball player turned actor. He was active in Han Hwa and Doosan for most of his early 20s and decided to act. He's been working on his base with theater and starred in "Finding Mr. Destiny" and "Bachelor's Vegetable Store".

Original Source:  etoday.co.kr and  HanCinema

Drama News: Ji Jin-hee in a Korean version of "Desperate Housewives"??

Ji Jin-hee returns in the Korean version of "Desperate Housewives" called Kind Words

Ji Jin Hee
Actor Ji Jin-hee is attempting at his first man of affair role. Ji Jin-hee is revising the offer for a role in the new SBS drama "Kind Words". Known as the Korean version of "Desperate Housewives", this drama is about housewives who are in difficult situations because of dangerous love and flingy husbands. It is produced by Choi Yeong-hoon from SBS drama "OB and GY" and written by "Can We Get Married?".

The production is done by HB Entertainment which Ji Jin-hee is a part of. Ji Jin-hee takes on the role of Yoo Jae-hak, a good looking man who owns a medium company and seems to live a complete life but roams around after meeting a woman. He takes on the role of a flingy man with a family. Meanwhile, Ji Jin-hee appeared in the cable channel tvN drama "Love Manipulation: Cyrano" and surprised the viewers. "Kind Words" will be broadcasted after "Jang Ok-jeong" in September.

Original Source: enews24.interest.me and  HanCinema

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Liebster Blog Award 2013-What is it??



Award Acceptance

 APPLAUSE! APPLAUSE!! Thank you, thank you! My twitter friend and fellow blogger, kakashi (@mydunn123) has recommended me for what's called the Liebster Blog Award. You say, what is that? Hell, I never heard of it until two days ago. You say, where's the money and the teenie-tiny statute? I say, who cares! I'm just happy that someone is reading my little blog that I just started one short month ago!!

So, the rules for receiving this award as told to me by kakashi (after your nomination) are:
  • Answer the questions designated by the blogger who nominated you.
  • Place YOUR nominations for the Liebster Award! Nominate five (or more) other bloggers that have less than 200 followers. Make sure to notify them via comment/email, etc.
  • Make up a set of questions for those nominated bloggers to answer.
  • Display the Liebster award badge on your blog!

As kakashi stated to make up my own questions and tweet my all-time favorite KDrama, instead I will do it here and maybe answer a few of kfangirl questions. I kind of like those too!

List 11 random facts about yourself.
Deerfield River, MA 2011
Arkansas River, CO 2009
 1. I LOVE rafting!! It is such a thrill! I watched a movie with Morgan Freeman a few years ago called The Bucket List. From that day forward, I was determined to write down 50-100 things that I wanted to do before I died. One of my dreams was to raft down the river in the Grand Canyon, Arizona. No, I still have not done that. These have been my practice runs since 2007 (also rafted Great Falls, Virginia and The New River, W. Virginia multiple times). I don't have pictures for every trip I've taken but let's just say my youngest daughter has been rafting since 11 years old (she's 22 now) and man it has been a BLAST!
Along the coast of Washington State in Grays Harbor
Ocean Shores, Washington
2. Its my dream to retire and live my last days along the coast of Washington! I've visited the area twice now and I'm convinced, this is where I belong. Away from city traffic, congestion, pollution and people. As this is a place where people spend their summers, there is not a lot of people the rest of the year. Just the way I want it.
3. I HATE Virginia!! If you follow me on twitter, I've been complaining constantly about the cicada invasion in my area of Stafford, Virginia! They are loud from 4:30am until 4:00pm! They are nasty looking and they are in abundance!!
George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia
4. I love my job! Working on a University campus has been wonderful; however, I despise the daily commute! Yes, the commute is so bad, I am constantly sitting in traffic tweeting about how much I hate driving every day!










Lee Jun Ki
                                                                    Kang Dong Won
5. I truly am a total fangirl for these two! I've seen everything they have made! EVERYTHING! The good and the mediocre!
6. I'm the only one in my family who watches dramas! Whether it be Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Taiwanese, Argentinean, Filipino, or Spanish! Of course, everyone thinks I'm crazy too! Why? Because I turned off cable and subscribed to a premium internet provider, just so I can stream Dramafever, viki, crunchroll, Netflix, Hulu and occasionally, DramaCrazy
7. I've been a member of twitter since 2009 but did not start tweeting until 2012! Thanks KDramas!
8. If I can't get assigned there, I'm desperately trying to get on a temporary assignment to George Mason University's future SongDo, S. Korean Global University Campus opening in 2014! Dreams do come true!
9. I watch all kinds of dramas! But I prefer crime, historical, medical and revenge melodramas. I really watch the romances last.
10. I don't like to cook but I don't mind cleaning the kitchen after YOU cook. I trained my daughters from the age of 12 to cook and then I let them take over. The only time I cook is holidays: Thanksgiving and Christmas. That's it!
11. Shhh.. On some days! Don't tell my daughter

Answer the Question that kakashi Asked

What are my all-time-favorite KDrama?
I have to answer this by genre. I really cannot say I have just "one" favorite. The minute I narrow down to one, another pops in my head to remind me why I liked that one so much and then I have to watch it again. So here is my answer, by genre, in pictures:
49 Days-Fantasy
Queen InHyun's Man-Romance
Time Between Dog and Wolf-Action
Shut Up Flower Boy Band-Musical
The Princess's Man-Historical
Golden Time-Medical
TEN-Crime
Bad Couple-Comedy
Gloria-Melodrama
King 2Hearts-Political
Vampire Prosecutor-Vampire/Supernatural
What's Up-School

Answer the Question that Tiffany Asked


UPDATE #3: Thanks for the new nod from Love Bugs Obsession. Here's the answers to your questions:

1) What inspired you to first start your blog?
I think my motivation was to cover subjects that no one else was. A lot of what I talk about, there isn't a lot on the dramas, movies and I talk about non-Asian shows as well. I'm an International person and what better way to tell people that.

2) What would you say is the hardest part about blogging?
Coming up with subject matters that are different. I'm not into K-pop (except for OSTs) and I don't follow the celebrities so it is hard sometimes to find something to talk about.

3) Have you ever encountered bloggers slump and if so how did you overcome it?
When I have a slump, I talk about something else. I always have a rant buried in my head.

4) Is there a drama character that has the same personality traits as you?
No. I have a pretty unique personality.

5) Which actor or actress do you feel is underrated or less well known?
Until recently, I would have said Hwang Jung Eun. But thanks to Secret, she is getting the recognition she deserves.

6) If you could change the ending of any drama, what would it be and why?
Ohlala Couple. Watch it and you will understand.

7) What is your favorite post that you have written?
Has to be when I compared a US show to a drama. I find myself doing that every time now.

8) Which is harder to write, drama recaps or reviews?
I avoid drama recaps because they are commitments. So I do writeup at the beginning if I really like it and a summary at the end to say whether it is worth watching.

9) Do comments and viewers really matter to you as a blogger?
No, I do it to vent and I really don't get a lot of comments but someone must be reading my blog posts.

10) If you weren't a blogger, what would you be doing instead?
Probably reading other blogs more. I find I don't read others as much except for one that I do follow that talk about a drama/movie that I am currently watching.

Answer the Question that missienelly Asked


UPDATE #2: I'm triply (is that a word?) honored with my third nomination from missienelly. Again, many thanks for the nod. Here's my answers to your questions.

1. What is your favorite sageuk drama? And why?

 The Princess's Man remains, to this date, my number one, favorite sageuk of all times. Sure, I have seen a lot of sagueks but it remains the only drama that of this genre that I have watched, repeatedly. I loved the love story, the acting and the action. Park Shi Hoo did a tremendous job and this role made me a fan. I loved this drama so much that it took weeks for me to watch anything else. I literally stopped watching dramas for about 3 weeks. It took Padam Padam and Fermentation Family to bring me back.


2. Did anyone complain that you’re watching too much drama? Who did? And how did you justify it to them?
Sure, my daughter did for awhile but she pretty much gave up. The good thing is she watches stuff excessively (Hell's Kitchen, Snapped! Bad Girls) so she knows better to complain about me anymore. Plus, we have, what I like to call "quality viewing time" where we watch Once Upon A Time, True Blood, Game of Thrones, and the occasional Movie day on the weekends.

Answer the Question that Michele Asked


UPDATE #1: Thanks for the second nomination, Michele! Well appreciated. Here are the answers to your questions.

1.  If a K-star (drama or pop) were to climb through your window to spend the evening with you, who would it be and why?

Easy, easy! Who else but Lee Jun Ki!! I would love spending one day with him just to talk about his career and why he chose it. I would like to be his friend and confidante in the future and my hopes would be for him to branch out to the US more. There are a lot of potential fans here, waiting to meet him and love him as much as we do!!





2. If you could switch places with any female lead character, who would it be and in which drama?

I would have to go with Choi Hee Jin in the drama Queen In Hyun's Man. Just to be able to experience such a great romance would be wonderful. I'm too old to be interested in such things but to live a day as Choi Hee Jin with my own Kim Boong Do? Man, I could die happy!

Do Nominate

I'm new to blogging and rabidly reading blogs! I come across new blogs, thanks to all of my twitter friends. I've met (through twitter) a lot of people worldwide and I love their opinions, whether I agree or not. But, for someone who watches a lot of dramas of all kinds, it's nice to be able to talk with others watching the same dramas and reading their thoughts. So here are my nominations:

Michele: http://kshotofhot.wordpress.com/--Because we both love Rain and we loved him before we knew he could sing!
Sweetandtastytv: http://sweetandtastytv.com/--Love her articles, especially the food ones! Next time I'm in LA, I know where to go!
OrionsRamblings: http://orion21.blogspot.com/--Even if we disagree, there is one thing that we will always agree on: Our love for Kang Dong Won!
Nelly: http://missienelly.wordpress.com/--We really do watch a lot of the same things. So we tend to share a lot of tweets weekly!!
Cherry: http://cherrybcordial.com/--Met on Facebook when I joined the KDrama Chat, now we follow each other on twitter!
Stephanie: http://crazyforkdrama.blogspot.com--Also met on Facbook when I joined the KDrama Chat. We both share a love for the drama, Gloria!

My Single Question
Why do you blog? And how often?  (I admit to being a lazy blogger!)

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Who's Excited with me?!! Lee Jun Ki's New Drama, Two Weeks Coming in August, 2013

New Drama for Lee Jun Ki

Two Weeks

Cast: 
Lee Joon-Gi  as Jang Tae-San 
Kim So-Yeon as Prosecutor Park Jae-Kyung 
Park Ha-Sun as Seo In-Hye 
Song Jae-Rim as the killer

Network: MBC (which guarantees it will be on Hulu and most likely DramaFever)
Will be shown: Wednesdays & Thursdays 21:55; replacing The Queen's Classroom

Plot:
A man (played by Lee Jun-Ki) lives his life meaninglessly. He is falsely accused of murder. The man learns that he has a young daughter stricken with leukemia. For the next two weeks, he struggles to save his daughter.

Why am I excited? BECAUSE IT'S LEE JUN KI!! I've admitted to everyone that he is my number one drama love (Kang Dong Won for movies)! I remember last year when it was announced that he was going to do Arang and the Magistrate with Shin Min A, I was thrilled! So imagine my reaction when almost a year later, they announce his return to what I feel is his best and strongest performances in the action/drama genre. After watching A Time Between Dog and Wolf; action is what he does best! Kim So-Yeon, even though I did not care for The Great Seer, I did like her performance in Prosecutor Princess, so I'm looking forward to watching their relationship develop. Park Ha-Sun and Song Jae-Rim, I know the least about them. Even though I started Ad Genius Lee Tae-Baek, I know nothing about Ha-Sun; unfortunately, everything Jae-Rim has been in, I've never finished but I won't hold that against him. As far as the relationships between the characters, stay tuned. As soon as more information is released, I'll definitely let you know.

August? Hurry up and come!!

Things that Make You Go Hmmm Moment-I Summon You, Gold! Complicated Family Relationships!!

I Summon You, Gold!
Some Seriously Complicated Relationships
by Korean Standards

**SPOILERS Galore if you are not watching**

See What I'm Watching for more information on this drama
Let's get one thing straight, I absolutely LOVE this drama!! But as I was sitting here watching episodes 13 and 14, I had this epiphany of realization: Man, these are some seriously complicated relationships! I started thinking back to all of the dramas that I've watched. From time to time, you encounter some relationships that make you think (Gloria, still the worse father ever or A Hundred Year Inheritance with the mother-in-law from HELL) but I think I've met my match with I Summon You, Gold! 
Normally, you watch a drama and there is one family you wonder about but this has got to be the first time that I'm questioning ALL of the family dynamics.  Let's start with the least offenders: Jung Family. We have Grandpa Jung and his wife, Kim Pil-Nyeo. She wants to divorce her husband simply to make her eldest daughter-in-law and her mother suffer. Yes, I'm not kidding!! This woman puts the b in bitch! I absolutely love the actress playing the mother-in-law so to see her in this role is a treat! And I thoroughly hate her!!
She is driving Shim-Du's mother, Choi Gwang-Soon out of the house because these two cannot exist in the same space (like the movie Time-Cop) and poor Shim-Du is minutes away from a complete mental breakdown! Not only does she have to contend with her mother-in-law but to add insult to injury, her sister-in-law, Haeng-Ja wants to dump the father-in-law, Papa Jung, on her lap too! Damn, that woman is selfish!
Plus, we cannot forget the son, Mong-Kyu. What's the deal with him? He sees how much his mother is suffering and dealing with the family issues but he is way, way too selfish! Damn, go to work! What's wrong with taking a job your father helps you get? Work there for awhile and then look for something else. Someone is going to have to explain this to me! I don't get what the problem is.
And now to the worse offenders; the Park Family.  This family puts the d in dysfunctional! I've seen my share of mistresses (or second wives) shown in dramas, but this is first time dealing with not one but two! Even though I dislike them both because of what they did to Hyun-soo's mother, I actually have some sympathy for Min Young-Ae (Hyuntae's mother). Not only is she basically not allowed to interact with her son (even though he does), she now is banned from having a relationship with her own daughter-in-law, Mong-Hyun by the resident 'wife', Deok-Hee.
Poor Mong-Hyun has to sneak around and lie to see her mother-in-law! Deok-Hee has already told her not to see her or talk to her. It makes no sense to me whatsoever. I applauded Mong-Hyun when she wanted to start a relationship with her but she truly is between a rock and a hard place right now. And we know she will constantly be put in this bad situation because Deok-Hee obviously rules everybody, including her common-law husband, Park Soon-Sang; a useless man who thinks nothing about pitting one son against the other!
Let's spend some time with Mong-Hee and Hyun-Soo. Why is this relationship difficult? Well, it's obvious to us viewers that Mong-Hee and Yoona (Hyun-soo's ex-wife) are related. So, the question that comes to my mind is how is this going to be resolved? 
Damn, in the drama, A Thousand Kisses, they made such a big thing about cousins marrying sisters and mother being mother-in-law to their own daughter, how in the HELL are they going to resolve one sister having a relationship with another sister's ex-husband? Here in the USA, it's probably not as big of a deal but time and time again, I've noticed that these relationships are frowned upon in the Korean culture. So I am really curious how the writers are going to get around this. This will be interesting.
 
Now let's spend some time with our favorite couple, Mong Hyun and Hyuntae. I still shake my head sometime wondering why she married a man who admits to being in love (or is he) with another woman for 5 years! 
The scenes when Young-Ae (Hyuntae's mother) and Mong-Hyun confronted Hyuntae's girlfriend were priceless. I wanted to jump into the screen and pull her hair too along with Young-Ae. She did all mothers proud at that moment and it was then that I started to like her a little bit more! The things that girl said to them was unforgivable! She was lucky it was not me because she sure wouldn't have walked out on her own two feet!
I still cannot wrap my head around this relationship between Mong-Hyun and Hyuntae; however, starting with episode 13, I see there is some hope! Hyuntae is slowly being affected by Mong-Hyun. After months of sleeping like siblings in the same bed, now he wants to sleep on the floor? Yes, Mong Hyun, I'd smile too as he is obviously seeing you in a new light!
Hyuntae's little speech during their 'date' at the lake was telling! He said he does not like complications! So now Mong-Hyun is a complication? There is hope for this relationship and I hope to see more change next week!

So what are your thought? Are you watching? If not, you SHOULD!