My 2 cents worth on Kdramas
So, earlier this year (2018) my 12-year-old granddaughter turned me on to Kdramas.
Started out with ‘Boys over Flowers’ in January and we’re still arguing about which one of the guys Jan-Di should have ended up with….Gu Jun-Pyo or Yoon Ji-Hoo. Since I’m a sucker for the whole Soul Mate thing (been married to my own soul mate for over 30 years) and Ji-Hoo became my favorite right from the start, I actually wasn’t too happy with the way things turned out in the end.
But that’s all beside the point and the only thing that matters is that it only took this one series to get me completely and absolutely “hooked” on Kdramas.
Since Kim Hyun Joong became my first favorite as Ji-Hoo, I started looking up other parts he starred in and came across 'Inspiring Generation’. Wow! What a difference! The character of Shin Jung-Tae is just about as opposite of Ji-Hoo as it can possibly get. But I guess that’s what makes a truly great actor, and Kim Hyun Joong was simply amazing playing the part….even though it bothered me to see that handsome face getting beat up way too much.
But then it was also 'Inspiring Generation’ where I found what would become my next favorite…Song Jae Rim, in the character of Mo Il-Hwa.
I can’t quite pinpoint what it was that endeared me to that part, but of course I had to once again look for other Kdramas, featuring Song Jae Rim. And that’s when I came across 'Moon embracing the Sun’ with Song Jae Rim as the King’s swordsman, Woon.
Absolutely loved Jae Rim in that part and still do, even after having watched the entire series about a dozen times by now. I also liked Song Jae Rim in 'Goodbye Mr. Black’, even though his wasn’t a main character role, but didn’t care much for the part of a hitman/killer Mr. Kim he played in 'Two Weeks’ since I really don’t like my favs playing “bad guys”. Of course, watching 'Two Weeks’ made me find another new favorite…Lee Joon Gi
Okay, so I just said I don’t like my favs playing “bad guys”, but the main character, Jang Tae-San, isn’t really a bad “bad guy” and if that story doesn’t tear up your heart, then you better check if you still have one.
I actually had to do something I usually NEVER do…about half-way through the series I had to watch the final episode to see how it turns out, just so my old nerves could take watching the rest of the story. Yeah, I know…terrible, isn’t it? Don’t worry, I got more than an earful about it from my granddaughter, and I promise to never do it again! ;)
But while I thought that it could not possibly get any better than Lee Joon Gi’s performance in 'Two Weeks’, I quickly found out that I was wrong when I watched 'Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo’ next. OH, MY…!!! Not only is Joon Gi with long hair pure eye-candy (to me at least), but he absolutely nailed the part of Prince Wang So.
Ladies, how many of you were ready to strangle Wang So’s mother with your bare hands. I definitely was! And what’s the big deal about that scar? I guess it’s because Princes had to be “perfect”, but come on… Scars are just proof that you were stronger than whatever or whoever it was that tried to kill you. And apparently back then the phrase “chicks dig scars” was unheard of. And also apparently I’m not the only one who wasn’t happy at all with the way the story ended, considering there are numerous fan videos on YouTube with different, happier endings. I got more than just a little upset with Hae Soo for leaving Wang So. How could she not see that he was trying his best to NOT become some blood-thirsty tyrant??
Anyway, after only about 3 days of some serious editing work, the final episode in my own DVD collection of 'Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo’ has a much happier ending now…many thanks to Daria Zyuzina who created the wonderful fan video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oj0r9zE5Le8) where Wang So finds Hae Soo in the future. And like so many other fans, I’m also still hoping for a Season 2 with this kind of scenario.
On another note to 'Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo’… aside from the despicable character of Queen Yoo (Prince Wang So’s mother, who treats him like s**t), my other least-favorite character is Prince Wang Yo (Wang So’s biological brother, and also a son of Queen Yoo). However, while I hated the character, actor Hong Jong Hyun did an excellent job portraying the mean, spiteful, conniving 3rd Prince. But if you’re like me, you would much more enjoy seeing Hong Jong Hyun in the role of Wang Rin in 'The King in Love’
or, even better, as Seo Chan Hwi, the vice-commander of the Royal Guard in 'Jeon Woo Chi’
(that is, if you can get into things like wizards and magic and tolerate some occasionally slightly over-done special effects of people flying through the air and such…BUT at least in 'Jeon Woo Chi’ ONLY the wizards have that ability, unlike in some of the Chinese dramas where seemingly anybody can have such super-human abilities…if you ever watched 'General and I’, you might understand what I’m talking about… I couldn’t make it past a trailer that had a fight scene between Chu Beijie and He Xia, but that’s just me, I guess).
As far as wizards and magic are concerned, however, I did very much enjoy the ones in 'Mirror of the Witch’ aka 'Secret Healer’ and my favorite character there ended up being the Taoist Yo Gwang, played by Lee Yi Kyung.
Don’t ask me why, I just found him adorable (maybe because he was so awkward, dealing with the girl Soon Deuk who clearly has a crush on him). SPOILER ALERT – 'Mirror of the Witch’ has a rather bitter-sweet ending!
I want to get back to Lee Joon Gi for a moment since I just finished the 'Lawless Lawyer’ series….which is an excellent nail-biter and I had to seriously restrain myself NOT TO watch the final episode first again. If you’ve seen it, tell me is it just me or did you think too that Joon Gi looked too skinny in that series? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying at all that he looked “bad” in any way and his performance was awesome as usual…I just felt that he looked like he’d lost a whole bunch of weight and “celebrity life” was taking its toll on him. Kind of worries me, because I would definitely like to see him in many more future performances.
I still have some Lee Joon Gi binge-watching left over for now, since the only other movies and series I made it through so far were 'Iljimae’, 'Arang and the Magistrate’, 'Gunman in Joseon’ and of course 'The King and the Clown’ (which was way too sad for my taste). But most likely 'Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo’ will always be my absolute favorite and I’ll keep hoping for a 2nd season…even though that will probably just remain wishful thinking for myself and many others, but we can always hope, right?
Some of my other favs I’d like to mention would be Kwak Dong Yeon as swordsman Kim Byung-Yeon in 'Moonlight drawn by Clouds’ aka 'Love in the Moonlight’
and he also played an excellent part as young Shin Jung-Tae in 'Inspiring Generation’.
Then there is Seo In Guk for his outstanding performances as Prince Gwang-Hae in 'The King’s Face’
and also as Lee Hyun / David Lee in 'I Remember You’ aka 'Hello Monster’.
An excellent yet unfortunately somewhat overlooked performance of Kim Jae Young as Moo-Yeon in ‘100 Days my Prince’
And last (for now) but certainly not least is Jung Il Woo whose sad role as Prince Yang-Myung in 'Moon embracing the Sun’ cost me plenty of tissues,
but required even more of them in 'The Return of Iljimae’ (even though it has a happier ending for Jung Il Woo’s character)
I’ll probably get “yelled at” for saying this, but I honestly have a hard time deciding whom I liked better…Lee Joon Gi as Iljimae in 'Iljimae: The Phantom Thief’, or Jung Il Woo as Iljimae in 'The Return of Iljimae’. (Sorry, Joon Gi, but be assured that you’ll still always be my #1 fav).
So, thanks to my granddaughter, back to some more binge-watching…hey, I got to blame someone else for things not getting done around the house, right? ;)
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