Tv

My Mister - 나의 아저씨 - (2018)

Based on blurbs, I wouldn't have watched this. They make it out to be some kind of office romance when it's not that at all. In this story two people, one with a crushing burden of debt and a despairing history and the other with a lifetime of choices leading him another way, become figures upon which the power politics of their company begin to turn. They do or don't survive based on how they treat each other and what everyone else around them does. Melodrama yes, but also a realistic look at people in a landscape of other people.

 


어른 - Sondia

Something in the Rain - 밥 잘 사주는 예쁜 누나 - (2018)



A hypnotic salve, and charming to boot.

Hyori's Bed and Breakfast - 효리네 민박 - (2017/2018)



Also a hypnotic salve, and a reality show to boot.

Kpop royalty, Lee Hyori together with her husband some staff and a collection of dogs and cats host guests at Hyori's actual real semi-rustic home for real on freakin' expensive Jeju island, a bucolic holiday destination off the Korean peninsula. In season one the staff is IU, in season two Im YoonA AND IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHO THEY ARE YOU DOBN'T DESEWRVE TO WATCH THIS SHOW AT ALLLLL.

Something in the Rain - 밥 잘 사주는 예쁜 누나 - (2018)

Korean dramas are weird, the best description of the genre I ever saw called them "addicting and oddly comforting", which I think is true. This one especially is like that. Western title Something in the Rain, Eastern title "Pretty Noona who buys me food" - a younger man, her best friend's brother, re-enters an older woman's life, and she, who is stuck in a particularly damaging rut, responds to his attention. And then we see what really happens next.

This drama, in my opinion, is excellent, but according to reviews it confounds audiences. It seems like the candy-sweet and joyful romance elements of the first half gave audiences the impression - me too - that we were watching one of those eventually idealised romance stories, but it turns out those elements were real - that is, they were being shown as genuine experiences, real people "in love", and we eventually had to start seeing the next part, as their real characters really dictate their actions.

In idealised romance, it is "romance" that dictates the characters actions. In this drama, it seems more like the characters are being realised. It's a challenging balance, a romance story but honoring true character. As infuriating as some choices in the story were, I couldn't help but respect them because they were the creations of so seemingly real characters.

Having a hard time explaining, so, capsule review: "my heart was warmed in the first half, I yelled at the screen often during the second half, I think the whole thing was worth it, even if it was often quite easy to drift off thinking of other things during the long takes were no one says anything."

It's great. Watch it. You'll get angry


Something in the Rain - Rachael Yamagata

The Way We Were - 归去来 - (2018)

It's 2018 and Korea is producing dramas were women come into their own and what's China doing? The Way We Were is 52 episodes of payback. A miserly kid conceives a [male] stalker's crush on a college classmate and for four years does nothing. She's smarter, richer, more attractive, and much better connected than he and has normal relationships. Obvious shengnv is obvious. She even loves his passive-aggressive shots at her better birth. WTF China? Making objectively miserable college boys the hero is how you're making money these days?

Patriarchy - not the losing game you thought it was.

 

Hyori's Bed and Breakfast - 효리네 민박 - (2017/2018)

This is interesting, if you're into that kind of thing, and I am, so...

The Netflix version and the original JTBC version seen in Korea are cut differently. The Netflix edit appears sometimes to be missing banter and the occasional piece of context. I think it may at least partly be related to music rights. The people in the show act like normal people and often have music on in the background - bluetooth to the stereo from their phones or straight-up CDs playing - and the chatting they do at those times doesn't always make it into the Netflix edit.

the more you know

Because This is My First Life - 이번 생은 처음이라 - (2017)



Cute and calm.
Enjoyable.

Mother - 마더 - (2018)



Melodramatic almost to the point of surreality but played straight

Still good though

"Kim's Convenience" very funny Canadian TV Series about Koreans and other Asians in Toronto. Lots of cultural stuff most North Americans wouldn't understand. In English.

Oh My Ghost - 오 나의 귀신님 - (2015)

延禧攻略 - Story of Yanxi Palace - (2018)

A current blockbuster, bladder-burster 70-episode drama from iQiYi, breaking viewership records in China, with an absolutely killer intro sequence which everyone should look at at least once. As for the drama itself, well I wouldn't know. There was a sudden decrease in production values when the title sequence ended and a heroine's clever social negotiation to deal with. This Confucian crap where people speak a lot and negotiate social difficulties with calm wisdom is sophistry rather than drama and watching it for entertainment is boring. This is my opinion and it bothers me because I think I may be wrong if literally millions disagree.

YMMV

延禧攻略 - Story of Yanxi Palace - (2018)



#eyebrows

Calach, I'd love to be able to watch some of these shows, but I'm not set up to do so and don't have the data. I'll have to speak to the Grandsons if I see  them.

Surprisingly, it's really easy to find these shows on streaming websites. There are a bunch of dedicated sites (that presumably make their money through advertising), but Youtube and Netflix often have complete, subtitled episodes too. A quick look through the internet suggested at least the following sites (which I can't vouch for personally, but which seem to work without registration or any particularly problematic advertising):

https://www.dramafever.com/
https://www3.dramacool9.io/
https://ondramanice.tv/

They work for me, at least. They might be blocked in Australia. But if your internet service can handle the download size and rate, then here are some testers:

https://www.dramafever.com/drama/4914/1/goblin-the-lonely-and-great-god/

https://www3.dramacool9.io/goblin-episode-1.html
https://ondramanice.tv/goblin/watch-goblin-episode-1-online

Note well: streaming video like this amounts to downloading a lot of information. If your internet account has download limits, be careful how much you watch...

Hyori's Bed and Breakfast - 효리네 민박 - (2017/2018)



Also a hypnotic salve, and a reality show to boot.

https://ondramanice.tv/hyoris-bed-and-breakfast/watch-hyoris-bed-and-breakfast-episode-1-online