SNSD in Review (Last Part : Repackage Album Opinion)

Sunday, December 18, 2011
SNSD is now done with The Boys promotions. SM is now churning repackage album after repackage album like there's no tomorrow. I'm going to voice my opinion on the numerous repackage albums.


Mr.Taxi 3rd Album Repackage 
Release Date : December 8, 2011






-Comes with 12 postcards, 1 randomly selected photo card, and 1 poster
USD $24.99 (with poster)
-Will contain new images

CD Tracks:
1. MR. TAXI
2. The Boys
3. 텔레파시(Telepathy)
4. Say yes
5. TRICK
6. 봄날(How great is your love)
7. My J
8. OSCAR
9. Top Secret
10. Lazy Girl(Dolce Far Niente)
11. 제자리걸음(Sunflower)
12. 비타민(VITAMIN)
13. The Boys(English ver.)


Notice anything new in the tracklist? No? Well, because there's NO NEW TRACKS. AT ALL. The only difference was Mr.Taxi was now track number one instead of The Boys. Oh, and there's The Boys in English, which you can buy on iTunes anyway.  Well, good job milking money SM. Good job.



SNSD in Review (Part IV : Live Performances)

Now I'm gonna review SNSD's live performance for this promotion. First up : The Boys


They actually sound good, and the dance is coordinated as well. I especially love Seohyun's voice here. Taeyeon always sound good, but Seohyun is gorgeous here. Sunny is a bit weak, and her voice tend to crack. But big surprise : Yoona sound halfway decent here. They all look gorgeous, but I hate that blond highlight on Tiffany, and the hat. Besides that, all the other costumes are fierce and I like it.


This is the remix version of The Boys that SNSD performed at Mnet Asian Music Awards. I love it. The girls break into a kick-ass dance halfway through and start singing in English. The costumes are gorgeous as well.

Overall, SNSD performed The Boys 18 times for the usual music shows and 8 for other music shows that I know of. Lately they all seems tired and lack the energy they give off in the beginning of the promotion though. SM, let the girls rest.


SNSD in Review (Part III : The Album)



Okay, now I'm going to review The Boys album. The tracklist is this :


  1. The Boys
  2. Telepathy
  3. Say Yes
  4. Trick
  5. How Great is Your Love
  6. My J
  7. Oscar
  8. Top Secret
  9. Lazy Girl
  10. Sunflower
  11. Vitamin
  12. Mr. Taxi (Korean Version)
PS : The Boys English Version and The Boys English Version instrumental are not a part of the album and can only be bought on iTunes.


The Boys was reviewed already in the previous section, so I'm gonna start with Telepathy.


Not a fan of Telepathy. The Telepathy is pronounced Telepassi (it's the hangul pronunciation). It's a perfectly ordinary pop song, and the girls didn't sound very good either in here. I'm getting bored at the song already.


SNSD in Review (Part II : MV and Title Song)

Now I'm going to review the MV and title song The Boys, both in Korean and English with a special bonus in the end.

First up : MV Korean version


The MV begins with a shot of Yoona being gorgeous, then the members slow motion shot with flower petals dropping on them. It's cheesy, but the dresses are gorgeous. And then the MV change place to one of the place SM loves so much : a white square room. And they dance in it. Good job SM, for recycling the place you used so much on your MV. I love the costumes, I love the fierce dance. I specifically love the part when Yuri drop down to the floor. The dances are great. But dear SM, why did you mess with Taeyeon's hair so much? First there's the two-tone hair on SNSD's Japanese promotion, and now three-tone-hair? And the ugly curly hair from the teaser picture? Besides Taeyeon though, everyone looks gorgeous.

Now let's talk about the song. It's different from SNSD's previous catchy songs no doubt. The first time I hear it, I didn't like it. But without me realizing it, I had put The Boys on repeat on my iPod dozens of times. It's different, with some girls rapping, but I like it. I can do without the overabundance of Jessica's part though, but it'll do. I wished all of the songs on their album is as fierce as this. The MV put special sound effects in the song though like 'wuush' or 'swish' like they did on Super Junior's Mr. Simple. SM, why did you do that? Don't you see that it's cheesy? But besides that, I quite like it.


SNSD In Review (Part I : Teaser Pictures)

First up, I'd like to review their gorgeous teaser picture. SNSD, and other K-Pop idols in general, tend to use different concept for every album or mini album. SNSD have used mannequin, marine, cheerleaders, dark, spy, taxi driver concept, and some other I can't recall. From all of that, I love their photos from the Japanese album the most, because it's like a fairytale and the girls are gorgeous in it. This teaser is as gorgeous as that, but more fierce.


First up is Taeyeon. It's easily seen in here that the concept is some kind of Snow White. Taeyeon is holding an apple, with a Disney Princess-like dress. Taeyeon is one of my favorite SNSD member. I love the concept, but not liking the hair. The curly hair is not good for her.


Sunny is usually full of aegyo, so this is a welcome change for her. She's cute but fierce at the same time. I love the dress, and it can easily be seen that the concept is Little Red Riding Hood. I love this look on her.



SNSD In Review (An Introduction)



I love SNSD. That's not a secret. They're one of my favorite girl groups. So I was looking forward to their 3rd album like everyone else, because I'm expecting something different for them. With the end of the year approaching, I think it's interesting to take a look back at their latest promotions.

I'd like to review the latest SNSD endeavour, starting from the teaser pictures, the MV and title song (both English and Korean), the album itself, the live performance, and lastly my opinion on their numerous repackage albums. Enjoy :)

Breaking Dawn





Waktu tayang : November 18, 2011
Waktu menonton : A couple of weeks ago
Hal paling berkesan : A hot Jacob Black, an unexpectedly sweet romance.


Well, I've had the pleasure of watching Breaking Dawn last week and surprisingly, it's not as bad as I thought it's gonna be. Mostly because the overhype about the "Awesomeness that is the twilight saga OMG LIKE SO HOT SO AWESOME" from teenagers everywere and the over-negative hype from the rest of the world that I found myself dreading watching this and thought that it was gonna be really bad.

Well, count me surprised. It's actually enjoyable.

First, the first thing that I noticed even early on in the movies are the amount of prettiness in it. The shots are pretty, the locations are pretty, Robert Pattinson is unbelievably pretty, Kristen Stewart (usually I HATE her, but not here) is surprisingly very pretty and enjoyable to watch, and Taylor Lautner is manly with his newly grown 4 o'clock shadow beard (not pretty I guess, but close enough).

So, putting aside all the prettiness, how's the movie? Well, it's actually really enjoyable. How? Let me tell you.

First let's start about the plot. The Breaking Dawn novel has the most ridiculous plot I've ever read in my life, and it's unnecessarily long. So how can they translate THAT to an enjoyable movie? Truthfully, I don't really know the answer to that. It's just is. The plot is as ridiculous as ever. I mean, baby vampire? Come on! But strangely the movie come across as heartwarming in some scenes and romantic in other. I'm not sure a guy would enjoy watching this, but girls probably will. I watched this with a bunch of my girl friends, and we all enjoyed it, laugh and giggle at the honeymoon scenes, and touched by the romantic scenes.

As I mentioned before, there are a lot of pretty shots. I especially love the scene where Jacob is sitting on the beach and there's a wide shot of the sun shining on the ocean. It's so pretty. And the locations are very pretty. The wedding is pretty, and the island where Edward and Bella spend their honeymoon is also very pretty.

The actings are getting better. The chemistry between Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart here is sizzling great, MUCH better than the previous movies. Maybe because now they're dating in real life? I'm usually so irritated by Kristen Stewart's acting, but I find it decent here. And Pattinson also did an OK job, even though for the life of me I can't figure out why Pattinson's acting is awesome in other movies but kinda meh on the Twilight series.

I'll be honest here : the plot is minimal at best. When I first heard that Breaking Dawn is gonna be broken down to two parts, I'm like WHAT! The story in here is basically Bella pregnant with Edward's baby. That's it. So why do I find myself enjoying it?

This is, to me, a movie designed to be watch by girls. We will get satisfaction by watching this, will imagine our lives as a married women, and the director knows that. That's why they put a scene of shirtless Jacob and shirtless Edward. To explain the attraction to a guy is difficult because our mindset is different.

This is a movie where nothing ever really happen. The plot development is minimal, even the romantic ones. But I found myself enjoying it. Probably because girls dreamed of marrying someone like Edward. Probably because it's so pretty, with shirtless guys everywhere. I don't quite know the answer to that.

If you're a girl, there's no harm in watching this. You'll be entertained at least. For guys, skip this movie. Seriously. Except if you want your girlfriend to talk about marriage and how they long for a guy just like Edward or Jacob. This is a friendly warning :)

PS : This is a spoiler, so skip it if you'd like. I'm so disturbed by how AWFUL that CGI of Bella's baby. Even the scene where she's all grown up is done by obvious CGI. This is a high budget movie. You can't make one good CGI baby? And better yet, USE REAL BABY. Why use CGI for a perfectly normal baby?

PPS : After watching this, I get the sudden urge to reread the Twilight saga books. And I remember now why Harry Potter and Twilight is so much different. Harry Potter is a fully visualized world with great detail and there's always something happening. Twilight, meanwhile, is all talk. Seriously, it's all talk of how perfect Edward is and nothing's happening. For a book with 400+ pages in it, there's a serious lack of action and plot in it. I was entertained by the romance the first time reading it, but the reread made me realize that Stephenie Meyer is truthfully not a very good writer. BUT I have to give her props for starting the boom of paranormal (vampires, werewolves, fairies, angels, mermaids, etc) teenage books. Even though a lot of those books are crap and I much prefer Meyer's writing. I guess she's an OK writer but she's NOT good enought to be in the same league as J.K. Rowling, J.R.R. Tolkien, or C.S. Lewis. Not even close.

Dream High




Waktu tayang : 2011-Jan-03 to 2011-Feb-28
Waktu menonton : June 2011
Hal paling berkesan : The songs and dances. The cameo. The simple but sweet story.


To be honest, when Dream High first came out in March, I have no interest at all to watch it. The first reason is because at the time, I am not a fan of kpop yet. The cast of this drama consist of an (almost) entirely idol-centric cast, and I don't know who the hell was 2PM, Miss A, T-ara, or IU. So I have no interest in watching this drama. The second reason is because one of my friends said that they didn't like the drama because it's too high school centric and didn't put a lot of emphasis in romance. Seeing as I'm a big fan of romance, that little advice put me off this drama.

And then surprisingly, in June, circumstances led me to become a fan of kpop, and specifically, a fan of 2PM. I knew that two of 2PM members, Taecyeon and Wooyoung, was a cast of Dream High. So finally I bring myself to watch it, if only because I recognize almost all of the cast now, except for the lead, the only non-idol main cast in this drama. I have no expectation of this drama at all. I only expect some good songs from the idol, and that's that.

Surprisingly, I found myself enjoying this drama immensely.

The drama starts with Go Hye Mi (played by Suzy from Miss A, who's only 17 and gorgeous), a rude girl and your typical mean girl, if only because she's got everything : the looks, the talent, and the money. She's a daughter from a rich household, she's been accepted to Juilliard by special admission, and she's gorgeous. The only thing lacking is her attitude.

Unexpectedly, or perhaps expectedly for a kdrama veteran, her family face bankruptcy and she is forced to let go of Juilliard. Her dad's loan shark then forced her to attend Kirin Art School, a school that produce many idol debut and pop singers. She is horrified because she thinks that pop music is beneath her, but she has no choice. But she got a lesson of her life when she failed the admission test and her best friend Yoon Baek Hee got in instead. When the director of Kirin Art School (played by Bae Yong Jung) accept three extra people to Kirin Art School through special admission though, Hye Mi got another shot at the school.

And the drama evolved then to a high school musical drama, like Glee, Fame, or perhaps August Rush. It's a familiar setting and we all know it well. But the drama is executed so briliantly that even though it's familiar, I found myself enjoying the journey so much.

Go Hye Mi is then joined by the other high school kids that makes up the other lead casts. There's Yoon Baek Hee (played by T-ara's Eunjeung. This is her second role in a drama after Coffee House, but I didn't watch Coffee House actually. I watch her on We Got Married though, and she's adorable) playing Hye Mi's former-friend-turned-enemy, and there's Jin Gook (played by Taecyeon from 2PM, also on his second drama role after Cinderella's Sister. I didn't watch that drama either because I hate melodrama. Taecyeon is insanely hot here like always, and the drama never let us forget it with a shot of Taecyeon with no shirt on. HOT) playing Hye Mi's love interest and classmate. His story arc is interesting because he is actually the son of a high senator, but when we first glimpse him, he is living in the street. And the other love interest for Hye Mi is Song Sam Dong (played by Kim So Hyun, the only non-idol cast in Dream High, but BOY he sure can sing) a country boy with a noticeable satoori accent, a genius and a musical prodigy even though he's really just an innocent boy. His story arc is big and interesting, even though it's a bit mellow for my taste. The last two is Kim Pil Sook (played by IU so very adorably and cute. The cuteness just about kill me) and Jason (played by Wooyoung of 2PM. I'm not a fan of Wooyoung originally, but after watching Dream High, count me as a fan). They are dubbed the milk couple by the watchers, and they are so very adorable. Kim Pil Sook is a girl with a golden voice but a fat body, and Jason is a talented boy who knows he's talented and think that just because of it, there's no need to work hard. The six of them is the lead in this drama.

The premise is actually very classic. It's very familiar like every music based school movie there is. But it's done right and the conflict is good. But what I like about this drama is the character driven story. This drama is about the characters. Their growth, their journey to success and their trials and tribulations. They all face obstacles in their lives. They face troubles. But by overcoming it, they become someone that they can be proud of. That's a positive message that I can get behind.

The drama is shot very gorgeously, with great lighting, great effect, and great picture. You can tell that the camera is very good and they put a lot of thoughts into the production because the shot is very beautiful. The production value is through the roof. There are a lot of great song, performance, and dance as expected, and they all had a high production value. I love the songs.

In the acting department though, it's not mindblowing but it's not noticeably bad. It's just passable. I actually thought that Suzy gave a good performance despite the criticism. At first she is cold and without facial expression, but the writer manage to make that into a story and she's getting better and better with every passing episodes. Kim So Hyun is heartbreaking, emotional and just plain great. He is a real actor though, so it's to be expected. Taecyeon though, is really flat for me for whatever reason. He's OK, but I can't feel his emotions. IU and Wooyoung is so very very adorable as a couple and that makes me a little bias for them so I can't really judge the acting. Interestingly, Bae Yong Jun the veteran actor deliver his role with flat line. And strangely enough, he look like he just got a botox or something with the way his skin looks.

There are a lot of pairings in the drama, but strangely enough I can't feel emotionally for the lead pairing, Hye Mi with Sam Dong or Hye Mi with Jin Gook. I can't feel their chemistry frankly, and I hesitate to say it but maybe it had something to do with their lack of acting skills. What I do adore though, is the IU and Wooyoung pairing, or the milk couple. I can't say enough about how I love this couple. They are so adorably cute,from start to finish, and I love love love them. I found myself impatiently waiting for the next episode just to watch the milk couple scene. They are very adorable. But one thing this drama can do, is keep us guessing. Usually, in the first episode, you can guess who's the heroine gonna end up with. This drama made us guess until maybe the 14th or 15th episode because both love interest in the love triangle had their share of screentime, lovey dovey scene, and they both have a good side or a bad side in them. It's hard to guess.

One last thing I love about this drama is the amount of pop culture reference and cameo in them. There's a parody of Boys Before Flowers complete with a background song of "almost paradiiiiiiiiise", there's a parody of Cinderella's Sister complete with Yesung's "If it's not you, it can't be anyone else". There's a lot of pop culture reference with Wooyoung and IU singing 2PM's Heartbeat, 2AM's Can't Let You Go Even If I Die, even a cover of SNSD's Genie, and a lot more. It's especially garnered towards JYP Entertainments artist, with posters of Wonder Girls and JYP and Joo playing a role themselves in the drama. And there's tons of cameos, mostly on the JYP Entertainments artist part. There's Nichkhun and Chansung from 2PM, there's 2AM and Miss A, and a lot more cameos I didn't catch. It's a brilliant tactic on JYP's part because he can promote his artists at the same time, but it's done wonderfully and not cheapfuly so it can be enjoyed.

For those of you who love kpop, this is a must watch. For those of you wary because of the amount of idol stars in this, don't worry. The drama is enjoyable despite the somewhat lacking acting skills of the cast. It's not too noticeable. And for those of you who are prejudiced because of this drama's status as a high school drama and idol heaven, try watching it first. You might be pleasantly surprised.

Fireworks

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Waktu tayang : May 13 - July 9, 2006
Waktu menonton : High School
Hal paling berkesan : Nothing. Nada. I have completely forgotten what this drama is about.

Another one of Han Chae-Young's drama that I watch solely because of Han Chae-Young and drop it shortly after. This is when I realize that I didn't really like Han Chae-Young. What I like is the character of Chun-Hyang, not the actress.

This is gonna be a very very short first impression review because one: I only watch the first episode, and two: because I can't even remember that one episode. And the DVD stop halfway through the episode.

Shin Na Ra (Han Chae Young), a woman who is almost thirty welcomes her boyfriend of seven years back from his business trip. During their dinner, he tells her that he not only had an affair but fell in love with another woman. Thus their relationship is no more. To make herself feel better, Na Ra drinks a large amount of alcohol and unknowingly dropped the ring her ex-boyfriend gave her into a random stranger’s cup. The stranger, In Jae, drinks the shot without seeing the ring and both of them end up in the hospital.

To support herself, Na Ra pretends to be her 20 years old sister in order to work as a cosmetic clerk at Mi Rae (the woman her ex-boyfriend fell in love with)’s shop but fate has brought In Jae to the shop to. Thus began their surprising journey of love, where In Jae is in love with Mi Rae too.

If you can't already tell, that's me copy paste-ing the plot summary from drama wiki to make this review seem longer. I can't remember the drama really, but because I made a vow to review every drama I've seen no matter how little, well, here I am reviewing.

But there's nothing to review since I don't remember the story even one bit. What I do know now is I don't really like Han Chae-Young.

Princess Hours


Waktu tayang : January 11 - March 30, 2006
Waktu menonton : High School
Hal paling berkesan : The cute teddy bear. The cute Yoon Eun-Hye. The hot hot kiss.

This a an amusing drama, at least for me. When I was in high school, it was huge. Most of my friends watched this. It's second to only Full House for popularity with girls. I said I loved it like all my friends, but the truth is I didn't. I like it enough, but I didn't love it. Why?

Because half of it is damn boring.

This drama is set in an alternate 21st century Korea where the country is run by a royal family, instead of democracy. The prince, Prince Shin, needs to find a bride as soon as possible because his father is very ill. Shin then proposed to his girlfriend, Hyo-rin , but she refused in order to pursue her ballet career. Shin is then forced to marry a girl that his grandfather had intended for him, a commoner called Chae-kyeong, which incidentally also went to the same school as Shin.

The conflict here is, as always, the classic contract marriage and how two people who hated each other come to love one another. It's classic as classic gets in KDrama, but I like it a lot. It's a cliche for a reason : people enjoy it. The romance was cute, and the kiss was hot hot hot! (A refreshing break from all the cold and flat kiss KDrama seems to have). So the premise of an alternate korea was new, the romance was hot, what's boring about it?

Partway through the drama, something else took over : royal politics. You see, apart from the romance, there's the conflict of whether Shin will take over his father as king. I forgot to mention another character, Lee Yul and his mother, who was once the Crown Princess before the death of her husband, the older brother of Shin's father. And it all goes downhill after that. I don't know if it's just me, but I DON'T like politics sprinkled in my romantic drama. I ended up fast-forwarding a LOT of scenes. I'm just as surprised to realize that the politics scene is actually a LOT. So I ended up watching only the romance scenes which I rarely do. I tend to try to appreciate movies and tv series for what it is, and unless it's really boring, I never fast-forward them.

Well, this drama is one of the really boring type I guess.

It's a shame, because I like the romance a lot. Yoon Eun Hye is adorable as Chae-kyeong, and this is actually the drama that shoots her to mega stardom. I like every ending of the episodes too, where they show us adorable teddy bears reenacting memorable scenes from that episodes. If only the politics were toned down a bit.

This drama is actually based on a manhwa (Korean comic books) called Goong, and it's not even half-finished the time this drama aired. I wonder if the degradation of story quality halfway through this drama is because of it. Nevertheless, I think that the romance is well worth it to watch. It's adorable and hot at the appropriate place. Just get your remote ready for some fast-forwarding.

PS : Hyo-rin, Shin's ex-girlfriend and Chae-kyeong's love rival, is played by Song Ji-Hyo, a well-known girl if you follow Running Man (a popular korean reality show). I adore her now, but I hate her then (because of the role). If you're a fan of Song Ji-Hyo, check out this classic drama.

Spring Waltz


Waktu tayang : March 6 -May 16, 2006
Waktu menonton : High School
Hal paling berkesan : Beautiful Austria.

Hmm this is gonna be a very short review. This is the last of the "Season" drama, after Autumn In My Heart, Winter Sonata, and Summer Scent. And I guess me and the director's sense of story just don't click because I didn't enjoy any of the director's previous works. The only one I watch from start to finish is Winter Sonata, and that's just because it's kinda my first KDrama.

For Spring Walts, the only episode I watch were the first. Why is that? Because I just found out AFTER watching the first episode that this drama is actually one of the "Season" drama. Seeing as I'm not a fan of any of them, I decided to skip it.

The first episode is actually not that bad. It's gorgeous, it's set in Austria, and there's classic music. I can't remember the storyline. What I do remember is the two leads are actually childhood friend or something, and some circustances set them apart. They met again in Austria, but didn't recognize each other. And that's really the scope of my memory of this drama.

I feel kind of guilty actually for abandoning this drama after just one episode, but watching a drama is an at least 16 hours commitment, and why commit to something you sure won't like? It's no fault of the episode though. It's gorgeously shot, and Austria is beautiful. There's even the very handsome Daniel Henney from My Name is Kim Sam Soon in here. But all that glittery and sparkly promises just can't interest me because of one thing and one thing only : this won't be a romantic comedy. This will be a melodrama romance.

So I'm sorry for abandoning this drama. But for anyone who can stand melodrama, I predict that this melodrama is gonna be a decent one. Sadly, it's just not for me.

A Love to Kill


Waktu tayang : October 31 -December 20, 2005
Waktu menonton : High School
Hal paling berkesan : How intense this drama is. And the WTF ending.

Ah. Another one of dramas that I watch solely because of Full House. Full House is the reason I watch any kind of dramas starring Song Hye Kyo and Rain without knowing whether they're good or bad. In the case of this drama, well... let's say it's well produced at least.

One thing that bugs me immediately after I start watching it is how depressing the drama is. There's barely any laugh at all. And I'm not the kind who like to watch depressing things. I hate sad endings, I hate mean villains, I hate negativity in my dramas, movies, books, anything. I've had enough negativity in my own life thank you very much. So I've had my reservasions from the start, but decided to try it out hoping it gets better with time.

Well, it's not getting any happier, that's for sure.

The story is this. Kang Bok Gu, played by Rain, seeks revenge for the accident that puts his brother in a coma. His brother fell off from the rooftop because of a broken heart caused by his ex-girlfriend, Cha Eun Seok, an actress (played by the adorable Shin Min Ah). For the revenge, he applied as Eun Seok's bodyguard to make her miserable and realize the damage she's caused to his brother. But unexpectedly, they gradually begin to fall in love. But their love is a forbidden love because Eun Seok is the girl who made his brother now lies in a coma.

The main theme here is revenge. From the start, we know that this is not gonna be a feel-good drama. I don't know what came over me when I decided to watch this drama. Rain came, I guess. This is a really depressing drama from start to end. The tone is depressing, the songs is depressing, the love story is depressing, everything is depressing. It's rare for me to finish this type of drama nowadays, but back then my experience of KDrama watching is limited so I watch anything that I can get.

I give this drama one thing. It's beautifuly shot, with beautiful OST. I love the sad and gorgeous songs, every single one of them. I love many of the shots they take in the drama. It's gorgeous.

What I didn't like though, is the melodrama. I can't stand this kind of things, and I guess because of that I can't judge this drama properly. But seriously, there's too much despair and sadness in this drama. Rain did a passable job, and Shin Min Ah is adorable. It's a pity that we can only see them both sulking and being sad all the time.

And one really really major flaw for me is the ending. Seriously, WTF? If that's not a WTF ending, I don't know what is. I can tolerate sad endings even though I'm not a fan, but what I can't tolerate is weird ending and lazy ending. The ending is just.... WTF. You should see it for yourself. Major minus point in my book.

Well obviously I didn't enjoy this drama. But just the fact that I finished this drama indicates that there's something compelling deep inside the drama that I even found myself finishing this. I can't recommend this drama for all honesty, but if you're curious of the WTF ending, or you're a fan of Rain or Shin Min Ah, give this one a try. I can't guarantee anything though.

My Girl



Waktu tayang : December 14 2005 - February 2, 2006
Waktu menonton : High School
Hal paling berkesan : Cute love story, handsome Lee Dong Wook, great script by the Hong sisters.

The second of Hong sisters drama. I enjoyed this very much when it first aired, and I didn't even know about Hong sisters and their script gem until much later. It's a feel-good rom-com, with good writing and good acting. It's all around enjoyable.

Ju Yoo Rin (Lee Da Hae) is a tour guide who can speak many language. Seol Gong Chan (played by the very handsome Lee Dong Wook) is a director of a hotel. He needed a translator as soon as possible and ended up hiring Ju Yoo Rin temporarily. When his grandfather suddenly wish to see his long-lost granddaughter before he dies, Gong Chan hired Yoo Rin to act as the granddaughter just so his grandfather can be happy. Over the course of the fake family thing though, they both began to fall in love (as expected).

This is actually a pretty straightforward rom-com. Simple premise and a simple plot. Amazing how far good writing can take you. The writing of the Hong sisters shines through once again, with their dead-on sarcasm, cute pop culture reference, and lovely banter between the two main leads. It all combines to be an enjoyable drama. Not too groundbreaking, but it's fun, heartwarming, and familiar.

Lee Da Hae is not as gorgeous as she is now, but she's cute and the display of her aegyo is not too much of a disturbance. The hotness that is Lee Dong Wook is SO hot here, that I'll willingly overlook the small flaws in this drama. There's even a cameo from the previous Hong sister drama, and it's cute and a lot of fun.

I had a lot of fun watching this drama, but there are still some parts that I fast forwarded (not a lot, mind you) I enjoy Chung Hyang a great deal more than My Girl, but I enjoyed this drama a lot too. It's so familiar though and nothing new is added to the genre. The writing shines though. And for that alone (maybe with a dash of Lee Dong Wook) My Girl is a drama worth watching.

Sassy Girl Chun Hyang


Waktu tayang : January 3 - March 1, 2005
Waktu menonton : High School
Hal paling berkesan : Classic Hong sisters.

Let me tell you a little bit about the Hong sisters. They are a pair of sister who is a scriptwriter to a lot of really excellent KDrama. Their work include the excellent Sassy Girl Chun Hyang which I'm gonna review now,My Girl, Fantasy Couple, Hong Gil Dong, You're Beautiful, My Girlfriend is a Gumiho, and the newest one, The Greatest Love. I watched 5 of them and not only did I like it, I love it. The only one that I won't watch is Hong Gil Dong, because of its sad ending, and I'm gonna watch Fantasy Couple as soon as I have the time.

The Hong Sister become a writer whose work I'm guaranteed to watch. But back then, I didn't know about the Hong Sisters. But I fell in love nonetheless with their debut drama, Sassy Girl Chun Hyang.

You see, after the Full House frenzy, I didn't found any KDrama that I really love, so I am a little bit tired of watching mediocre drama.

And then came Chun Hyang. It is a breath of fresh air, a delight to watch, and it's heartwarming and funny. In short, I was hooked.

It's the story of Chun Hyang and Mong Ryong's love story. Chun Hyang and Mong Ryong is kinda like the Romeo and Juliet of Korea in terms of legendary love story. It is a classic love story that's been filmed over and over again in korea. But Sassy Girl Chun Hyang took a different road. They didn't make a sageuk drama, but a modern drama instead. They took a classic premise and make them modern and entertaining through the writing and setting.

In this drama Chun Hyang (Han Chae Young) and Mong Ryong started out as high school kids. Through a misunderstanding, they ended up forced by their parents to marry. The premise is actually really cliche. Marriage contract or relationship contract is a plot that has been rehashed over and over again on kdrama. But just as the case with My Name is Kim Sam Soon, if the writing and directing is excellent, then the cliche plot will still feel fresh even without new premise.

Their love story took them through high school, college, and then real life as they went through trials and tribulations in the form of love rivals. There's the two love rivals as usual, and then there's money problems. One thing I don't really like about this drama is the evil love rivals. They're really evil, and I hate that part in a drama. But seeing as it only follows the original story, I can look past that a bit.

What I love most about this drama is the vibe. It feels down to earth and heartwarming. I like the cute romance too, but the romance kinda felt flat sometimes. It's too cute and not enough hotness. And the kiss, urghhh. No sizzling romance there. Han Chae Young basically just sit there like a doll. I like it, but not loving it.

I love the pop culture reference. There's a parody of Full House and some other dramas I didn't catch. These pop culture reference will be a staple in subsequent Hong sisters productions, but this is the first one and it's really fresh.

Not enough hotness aside, I enjoy the drama very much. So much in fact, that I rewatched it four times. I watch this drama first on the TV, and the on VCD, and then twice on DVD. It's a cute and well written drama. The romance is cute too, but maybe just not enough hotness. This is the start of the succesfull Hong Sisters streak, and worth watching for that reason alone.

My Name is Kim Sam Soon



Waktu tayang : June 1 - July 21, 2005
Waktu menonton : High School
Hal paling berkesan : Everything. The cute romance. Hyun Bin. Kim Sam Soon. The delicious pastry. Daniel Henney's good look. Everything. Just see it for yourself.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this drama. I watched and rewatched it countless times. It's my absolute love. I fell in love with the romance, the chemistry, the food. I fell in love with Hyun Bin and Kim Sun Ah. If I'm asked to mention three kdrama that I absolutely love, I will mention this drama, Sassy Girl Chun Hyang, and My Girlfriend is a Gumiho as my favorite. In short, this drama to me is amazing. And it seems it's not only me who thinks that way. This drama has earned the title classic, and at the time of the showing, has garnered 50% rating. That means 50% of korean household watch this drama. That is amazing, but very well deserved for this drama.

The drama told the story of Kim Sam Soon (played by Kim Sun Ah, who gained a lot of weight just for this role), a chubby french patisserie who is down on her luck because her long term boyfriend cheated on her on christmas eve. And even more, she just lost her job. What could possibly be any worse? Well, She soon got another job at a french restaurant. But her handsome boss is a jerk and her jerk of an ex boyfriend who's getting married with someone else still disturb her with an offer to cheat. Not to mention she needs money to keep her house because of some problems. When circumstances led her boss, Jin Heon (played by the handsome Hyun Bin) to offer a pretend relationship in exchange for money, how is she to say no?

Marriage contract, pretend relationship, and everything similar to them is an overused premise in kdrama. But Kim Sam Soon made it fresh. Maybe it's the combination of great writing, great directing, great acting, and not to mention the eye candy. Both the people and the food looks great and pleasing to the eye.

I fell in love with the character of Kim Sam Soon, with her struggle to get back up and his strong sense of living. Her chemistry with the boss is sizzling. Jin heon is your typical bad boy at first, but Hyun Bin play the part to perfection and I'm mesmerized by the character.

The other character is also good. Jin Heon's former girlfriend's character, Hee Jin, is not portrayed as evil. She is actually quite good and complex, and I like it. The part of Hee Jin's doctor who had a crush on her is played by Daniel Henney, a Korean-American actor who is so handsome and gorgeous that you cannot help but wonder how can anyone be so good looking. Unfortunately, he can't speak any korean so his dialogue is entirely in english and his acting is not that good either. But he is an excellent eye candy.

I love that in this drama, there's no evil character. Everyone behave like they were for a reason, and the reason is entirely logical. The jerk ex boyfriend is a coward, very much so, and it shows. So we can't be mad that they did what they did. It's all in the characterization and the writing that this drama really shine from all the rest. They gave reason for every action, for every scene. And this drama had a heart.

I love My Name is Kim Sam Soon. It's my absolute favorite drama. It's full of heart, the writing is excellent, and everything about it is great. If I could just recommend one kdrama for you, it's this one.

Only You



Waktu tayang : June 4 - July 24, 2005
Waktu menonton : High School
Hal paling berkesan : Han Chae Young? Honestly I have no idea.

I don't think that I have the proper qualifications to review this series, seeing as I only watch the first episode. What I'm attempting here though, is a first impression writing. I'm gonna try to write about my first impression of this series.

Why did I watch this series in the first place? Because of my absolute love for My Sassy Girl Chun Hyang, and seeing as Han Chae Young, the actress that played Chun Hyang, is the lead actress here, I figured I'd give it a try.

But it turns out I am bored and not intrigued with the premise at all that I end up dropping it with just the first episode.

Eun Jae (Han Chae Young) was a stubborn and head-strong girl who had a passion for cooking. She did not have any interest in going to college and with the help of her high school friend, Jung Hyun Sung (Lee Chun Hee) ran away to Italy to enroll in a cooking school. Jung Hyun Sung who loved her dearly went along with her.

Han Yi-Joon (Jo Hyun Jae) came from a wealthy family. He travelled to Italy looking for his mother and there he ran into Eun Jae, who had also been seeking the same person to learn the secrets to making great pasta. She comforted Yi-Joon, who was distraught over his mother's remarrying, and they ended up making love. Yi Joon left Eun Jae the next morning over some misunderstanding. Eun Jae became pregnant and had no choice but to give up her dream and to return to Korea.

6 years later, Eun Jae was working in low paying restaurant jobs, Yi-Joon started to take over the operations of his family's business, and Hyun Sung was working as a chef for one of the restarurants owned by Yi-Joon and managed by Ji Soo Yeon (Hong Soo Hyun). Hyun Sung was good with Eun Jae's son and he was helping out Eun Jae's whole family financially as they had fallen on hard times. Yi-Joon found out that he still had feelings for Eun Jae as they ran into each other when he was looking for a new chef for his restaurant. The dramatic tension unfolds as the four main characters worked out their feelings for each other.

Honestly, the synopsis in the above passage is taken from my research of this drama. I only watch the first episode so I can't really tell you the whole plot. This is not a bad drama I guess, I just don't like the premise. It's absurd and illogical for me somehow. And watching Han Chae Young in this drama, I realize that my absolute love of Chun Hyang is not because of the actress, but because of the writing.

I can't really say much about this drama. From my first impression though, this is a completely ordinary romantic kdrama. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing is up to you.

Princess Lulu


Waktu tayang : July 27 - September 29, 2005
Waktu menonton : High School
Hal paling berkesan : The cute dresses I guess.

I have the DVD boxset of this drama. So why can't I recall the story of this drama? I guess it's not very memorable, and even back then I'm struggling to watch it. The sign that I am not that impressed with a drama is when I don't have the sense of urgency of finishing a drama. And I don't have one when I'm watching this drama. I don't even remember whether I've finish watching this drama or not.

Go Hee-Soo is an heiress of a large corporation company. She has always been that rich sheltered girl. In a weird situation, she met Woo-Jin, a playboy and another heir for a large company. They did not know the identity of one another at first, and they got close when Woo-Jin help Hee-Soo to see the real world outside the world that her grandfather has created for her. Later, they met again and their identity's finally exposed. It's no big secret that gradually they fall in love with each other.

The reason why this drama is not memorable is this : it's boring. Sure, the plot is the same cliche thing. But they can't turn the cliche into something enjoyable, like Full House. It's just tiring to watch because it's so boring. It's without charm and the conflict is boring. I watch it because of Kim Jung Eun, who play Hee-Soo. And it's not even because I like her. I knew very few Korean actress back then, and because of that from the few I know I always try to watch their other movies. After watching Kim Jung Eum on Lovers in Paris, I figured there's no harm in trying to watch it.

It's not bad, it's just boring. The conflict is not interesting, Kim Jung Eun's acting is bland. She tried to be cute but failed. Overall, too bland and boring for my taste.

Wonderful Life



Waktu tayang : March 7 - April 26, 2005
Waktu menonton : High School
Hal paling berkesan : Nothing. Not because it's bad, but I literally cannot remember.

This is gonna be a short review because of my lack of passion for this drama. It's not because I don't watch it, because I do. It's because it's not my type of drama. This is a drama about a child, about family. For some reason, I don't particularly like KDrama about family. And I watch this because at the time, I am in a KDrama frenzy because of Full House, and I basically watch any KDrama that I could get my hands on.

The premise is this. Han Seung Wan, on the way to meet his girlfriend, bumps into a young woman named Jung Se Jin. They accidentally switch passports, which caused them to spend time with each other. After they separated, Seung Wan discovered that his girlfriend presumably cheated on him. So then Seung Wan and Se Jin finds comfort in each other and it unexpectedly resulted in a one-night stand. They both move on with their lives until Se Jin finds out that she's pregnant. They decided to marry each other for the sake of the child, with a promise that they'll divorce in five years.

Obviously there's a lot more conflict than that, with the standard four people romance (each have their own rival) and the emergence of illness storyline. But I can't recall them because I skimmed this drama. I fast forward the boring stuff and only watch the interesting stuff. But there's not much interesting stuff for me to watch, because I'm not a fan of family drama. And this is a family drama.

Looking back, it's not that bad. It's actually kinda good-ish (maybe). But it's just not my cup of tea and I ended up not liking them.

Full House



Waktu tayang : June 14 - September 2, 2004
Waktu menonton : High School
Hal paling berkesan : The beautiful Paris

It's impossible to review KDrama without mentioning the classic : Full House. This drama is the favorite drama of a lot of people and with good reasons. It's very enjoyable. In fact, I've watched it more than five times due to the reruns but I still enjoy it every time. Maybe it's because this is the first rom-com KDrama that I watch from start to finish. The last KDrama that I've watched fully is Winter Sonata, and it's a melodrama. I almost generalize KDrama for tear fest, but thankfully Full House came and it got me hooked to KDrama. Not to mention the leads, Rain and Song Hye Kyo, are not that bad looking either.

The story is this. After coming back from a trip abroad that her friends paid for, Han Ji Eun (Song Hye Kyo) finds out that they did so only to sell her house while she was away. She returns and finds that her house is now being owned by the famous actor Lee Young Jae (Rain). Through a string of events, they ended up signing a fake marriage contract. Ji Eun will pretend to be married to Young Jae for six months, while they both live under the same roof. After six months, she will get her house back. Gradually they began to fall for each other. But not before many interesting and amusing thing happen to them.

The premise is actually really cliche. I mean, love contract? That has been done dozens of times on KDrama. But the fact is, Full House is the pioneer of that premise of drama. Every drama after it is copying while Full House is genuine. The standard four people lead also can be seen here. Two main leads, with both lead having someone who loves them. It's very cliche, but it's cliche done right. Full House is very enjoyable mainly because the lighthearted nature of the drama and also the cute chemistry of the couple. Their chemistry is not of sizzling hot chemistry, but of a cute and comfortable relationship. It's a delight to watch.

I have to mention one spoiler thing though. The kiss at the end is absolutely flat and anti climatic. I mean, at the end of the sixteen episode of romance and the kiss is this flat? I keep wanting more. More sizzling romance. It's true that their romance is a cute and comfortable romance, but if only there's some sizzling chemistry there also.

Watching it again all these years later, I can see that Full House is not really that special, plot-wise. But it's still very enjoyable and fun to watch, even though it didn't offer anything new. It's the perfect drama to watch when you're sick, just like eating your comfort food.

Lovers in Paris

Saturday, December 10, 2011


Waktu tayang : June 12 - August 15, 2004
Waktu menonton : High School
Hal paling berkesan : The beautiful Paris

I actually like this drama. This is a typical cinderella story but it is done so well that the drama become very enjoyable and fun throughout the whole run. Not to mention the use of Paris in the beginning and ending of the drama is beautiful.

Tae Young, the protagonist of this drama, is a writer and she lives in Paris. Through chance, she met two Korean man in Paris. One is Sang Hyuk, when her bicycle breaks down. Sang Hyuk is intrigued with her and they become best friend. The other is Gi Ju, a rich ... something (I forgot his occupation) when he accidentally wreck her friend's stall. Through a string of events which I forgot exactly what, he asked her to be his fake fiance. After that, the drama resumes when the three of them is back in Korea. Tae Young then find out that Gi Ju is actually Sang Hyuk's uncle. With both of them being in love with her, the conflict building is unavoidable.

This is actually a really cliche drama, Poor girl meets rich guy. Girl's friend who is in love with her. It's all been there, done that. But it managed to be enjoyable and fun, even though it's actually nothing special. I can't remember details of the plot, and I can't remember the ending. I thought that the ending was a typical happy ending, but looking around in some forum I found out that it's not. I honestly didn't even understand the ending that much so I assumed it's just your typical happy ending.

I don't have a lot to say because for me this drama is really nothing special. I watch this soon after I finished Sassy Girl Chun Hyang and the latter is superior in every way. It's more fun, more enjoyable, brighter, and overall greater than this. Lovers in Paris' rating actually touch 50%, and that's really a lot. The drama is very famous in Korea, but I just plain like it. I think this is a good rom-com drama, and it's enjoyable. But I've watch dramas that are better than this.

Shining Days




Waktu tayang : February 11 - April 1, 2004
Waktu menonton : Junior High
Hal paling berkesan : The WTF ending. Bukan memorable tapi WTF. I even forget the storyline.

I hate this drama with a passion. And yet, I can't recall the story. I just can't. I hate it, but it's not memorable to me. Because I can't recall even one bit of the plot, let me tell you what I do remember. It's a melodrama. Melodrama generally involve a lot of soap opera-like conflict and I HATE those. I only watch it because it's airing on Indosiar at the time and I don't have anything to do. And there's Song Hye Kyo in it. This drama is aired after Full House became so popular after it is aired on Indosiar, and I loved Full House then. And I love Song Hye Kyo. She is really really beautiful.
But for the life of me, I just hate hate this drama.

I recall that I did watch most of the episodes but I missed a few. It's confusing then that I can't recall the plot even one bit. But I remember the one thing that I hated the most : the ending.

This drama involve love triangles, as usual. I remember that Song Hye Kyo's character had a childhood friend, and for the sake of this review I look it up and it is played by Ryu Seung Bum. He is not good looking and the character is uninteresting. This is the typical very nice childhood friend who loves the main character but in the end the main character never end up with them. The trope 'Girls love Bad Boy' had never been more used than in KDrama. And then there's the bad boy himself, played by Jo Hyun Jae. From the synopsis that I read, he is some kind of runaway and he stayed at the girl's house due to some accident. I remember that I love this character. The bad boy character really really got through and I'm really rooting for this couple.

And then the ending come where Song Hye Kyo, who loves Jo Hyun Jae, didn't actually choose him in the end. She ended up with the nice guy because she felt sorry for him. I mean, WTF? I know that maybe some people consider this a step from the norm because the girl didn't end up with the bad boy in the end, but I actually like this trope. And the nice guy is so bland, totally uninteresting, and not that good looking either. I hate the ending.

I forgot the rest of the drama but I remember the ending because I HATE it with a passion. Maybe it's just me, but the ending totally ruined it for me. Hate this drama, and Song Hye Kyo is not that pretty in it either. Hate her hairstyle in the drama. Overall, my subjective speaking told me I hate this drama. But for everyone else, this is a bland and totally missable melodrama. There's a lot better drama out there.

Winter Sonata



Waktu tayang : January 14 - March 19, 2002
Waktu menonton : Junior High or Elementary school.
Hal paling berkesan : Beautiful beautiful snow.

Winter Sonata is my mom's favorite drama. She loved loved loved it. She even had Bae Yong Jun's poster on the wall. She played the OST nonstop. She had a boxset edition of the DVD. And Winter Sonata is actually the first KDrama that I remember finishing, because of my mom. And seeing as this is a melodrama tear fest and generally is not my kind of thing, I ended up liking it to a point. It's the most prominent drama that jump start the Hallyu wave, and it's wildly popular.

The story starts when the main character is in high school. Joong-sang (Bae Yong Jun) is a new student at the high school. He moved to the town to find his biological father. He met a fellow student, Yu Jin (Choi Ji Woo), through chance. And they fall in love, no surprise there. He suspect that his biological father is Sang Hyuk's father, a fellow student and Yu Jin's bestfriend, who's also secretly in love with Yu Jin (no surprise there). But then he found out that her mother is actually just friends with Sang Hyuk's father, and she is actually in love with Yu Jin's father. Believing Yu Jin to be her sister (what's with this korean fascination of pseudo incest plot by the way?) , he went away to the city but remember at the last minute that Yu Jin's waiting for him. He decided to go back to give a last goodbye, but an accident claim him and everyone believe that he was dead.

Fast forward ten years later, and Yu Jin is celebrating her engagement with Sang Hyuk. On the way to the engagement party, he saw someone resembling Joong-san and chased him. She never really gotten over the death of Joong-sang. And then she found out that the person is actually Lee Min Hyung (Bae Yong Jun, with brown hair), her friend's boyfriend, there to attend her engagement party. The resemblance is uncanny though, and she can't get over that fact. When they're forced to work together to build a winter resort, they gradually fall in love all over again.

Of course there's still a LOT more conflict. Illness, opposing friends and families, Min Hyung's biological father and past, and a lot more. The truth is I hate this type of drama. I prefer a drama that is centered on the conflict between two people's love story and not about other unrelated stuff. But because this is the first KDrama that I finish, and my mom's love for them, I ended up surprisingly liking it.

Bae Yong Jun is great as Joong-sang/Min Hyung. He can portray the difference between both character. Joong-sang is quiet and cold, and Min Hyung is outgoing and happy. Both are clearly portrayed, and the viewers can see the difference. Choi Ji Woo did a passable job with her role. Too much crying for my taste, but maybe that's the script's fault, not her fault. The others did a passable job too.

This is actually the second drama in the Season series. It consist of Autumn in My Heart, Winter Sonata, Summer Scent, and Spring Waltz. Whereas Autumn in My Heart is filled with brown tone, from the scene, the autumn leaves, to the character's clothes, Winter Sonata is filled with winter tone. It takes place at Winter so there's snow everywhere. The clothes are white and black, sweaters and jackets. But the snow scene are absolutely beautiful. There's actually a tour to see the scene's location in Korea, as the movie Hello Stranger portrayed.

Overall, this is my favorite from the Season series. Note that it didn't count much because I only watch part of Autumn in My Heart, only the first episodes of Spring Waltz, and didn't even bother with Summer Scent. But this is actually somewhat good. I like it even with all the melodrama around, but I didn't love it.

Autumn in My Heart


Waktu tayang : September 18 - November 7, 2000
Waktu menonton : Junior High?
Hal paling berkesan : Song Hye Gyo and Song Seun Hoon. Gorgeous.
NB : Sorry about the low quality of the poster. I can't find better ones.

Autumn in my heart, or Endless Love as they call it in Indonesia, is actually the pioneer of the 'Hallyu wave' as they call it. It's the start of the popularity of korean drama. It's the first popular korean drama aired in Indonesia, and to many, it's the introduction to korean drama. And yet, I didn't watch it. Well, I watch it here and there, bits and pieces. But it never really attracts me. The first reason was because this is a melodrama, a tear fest. It is filled with tears, illness, separation. It's just too exhausting for me. And the second reason was the premise. I mean, pseudo incest? Really?

The story is this. Two siblings, Yoo Joon-Seo and Yoo Eun-Seo, is very close. Veeery close. They are the children of a rich professor. And then Eun-Seo got into an accident, and in the aftermath of the blood transfusion, they discover that they are not siblings after all. There's been an accidental baby switch in the hospital. Eun-Seo is actually the daughter of a very poor and very troubled family. So then they decided to switch the children back and cut all ties to one another. I mean, after raising a child for 15 years, you suddenly cut all ties to that said child and just switch them back as easy as that? Really?

Years pass, and both siblings are now grown up. They meet again through chance and become close, then fall in love. But they pretend that they are just a close sibling to everyone else. Eun-Seo even calls him brother. But certainly it's not a melodrama without conflict. The parents were against them, Joon-Seo's girlfriend threatened to commit suicide, Won Bin (I forgot his actual name in the drama) tried to get close to Eun-Seo, and then there's the illness of course. Leukimia. All in all, there's a LOT of crying in this drama. It's exhausting. And let me tell you a spoiler. They died. They both died. How great. I didn't even bother finishing this one and I just ask someone else about the ending.

I love korean drama, but I hate this type. Melodrama type. It's all tears and illness. Why do you want to watch something that is so filled with tears? I watch it here and there on TV, and I don't like what I see. The three main leads, Song Seun Hoon, Song Hye Kyo, and Won Bin, are now great stars. They made their debut here. Even Han Chae Young from Sassy Girl Chun Hyang fame, and the very talented young Moon Geun Young made her debut here too. It's no doubt that this is a memorable drama. But maybe it's for all the wrong reason. I didn't enjoy this one bit.

PS : This drama is actually part of an unrelated series of drama. Others were Winter Sonata, Summer Scent, and Spring Waltz. They all portray a different season tone. Autumn in My Heart portray Autumn with its brown scene, brown clothes, and brown everything. The four dramas all share similarities besides the tone though. All were melodrama tear fest, and I'm not a fan of them. But they're wildly popular.