Michelle Topham

I've been obsessed with Asian dramas for a couple of decades. I lived in Thailand for 14 years and, while Thai dramas are also fun, Korean dramas were huge in Thailand even back in the early 2000s, so I got into them then. Used to own a huge collection of them on DVD until I moved to Austria and left them behind. (Big mistake!) Have a Thai friend storing them for me, so need to get back to Bangkok at some point to pick them up :).

And yep, culture all over Asia is markedly different than what we're used to in the west. Took me a while to get used to Thai culture at first. Now I'm so comfortable with it, I prefer it to much of the west, which really is becoming a sh*tshow in so many countries nowadays.

And agree with you on the junk coming out of the U.S. - so much of it now is crammed full of the "woke" b.s. you just don't see on Asian TV. (Thank God!)

Can't remember the last time I watched an American show? 5 years or more probably, as they're just so annoying. Plus the horrible language. I swear occasionally, but effing this and effing that every other word is so unnecessary. (And don't get me started on British dramas (I'm British originally but lived in the U.S, for decades -- every character in British dramas seems incapable of putting a sentence together without f*ck making up half of it :)

As for how women are treated in Asia, in much of the more developed countries, while it may seem odd from a western point of view, women actually have quite a lot of power. Although it doesn't always seem like it at first.

Thailand, for instance, has more women in management than many western countries, and most make the same money men do.

If I was to be reincarnated (as a woman again), I would choose at least 15 Asian countries before I'd choose one in the west :) as I was treated so incredibly well anywhere I traveled in Asia.

As it stands now, I'm teaching myself both Chinese and Korean as my goal within the next couple of years is to move back to Asia, and this time permanently. And yes, it would be Thailand. I just can't stand the never-ending heat as I get older :)

It's phenomenal, isn't it (beautifully written and filmed) and the leads are perfect? Watched 4 episodes last night, and will be settling down to watch another 4 or more tonight. And don't tell me about the end - LOL.

And, it looks like Chinese dramas (and donghua (anime)) are going to be my addiction for a while. Just signed up for WeTV (Tencent Video) VIP for only $49.99 for the entire year (an amazing deal) and, Ye Gods, they have a lot of stuff.

Feel like I'm in heaven right now :)

Finish it.
I was similar. Got to Episode 36 late last year and then had it on hold. Just finished it, and it was well worth the pay off, IMO.
And I finished it by re-watching the last episode I had already watched -- filled in the blanks, and was able to finish the final 4 episodes without many questions.

Only 4 episodes in so far, but pleasantly surprised how incredibly entertaining this has turned out t be.

Hamas is named as a terrorist organization in most developed countries, and many developing countries.
When you have allowed yourself to be brain-washed by an actual terrorist organization that would kill you before they would waste 2 seconds talking to you, you are literally one of the stupidest people on the planet.
Moving on. I have zero interest in communicating with a terrorist supporter.

MBC hasn't done a particularly good job promoting it either, so it's amazing its ratings keep going up.

Yep. Extremely good and the cast is brilliant.

ROTFL. (Man, the woke really do ruin everything, don't they? ) And sorry if I'm straight and like a drama with at least one good-looking man. Sue me :)

You've been to Austria? And btw, it's not "my country". I just live there. What an idiot you are :)

One of best acted dramas of the year. Also superbly written and incredibly moving. Enjoyed every episode. It has done remarkably well in Korea too, ending last night on its highest ever rating, and remarkably well for a Genie TV/ENA drama.

Happy for the actors, directors, writer and crew. They deserve all the accolades. Absolutely superb.

You can't fix stupid. Don't even try :) -- Drama was brilliant, btw.

Says the Hamas supporter.

Likely my response too. Just finished Ep 1 and am going to give Ep 2 a go, but if it's more of the same, it's an easy drop. And I generally love slow dramas, but this one is putting me to sleep.

I usually love slow dramas but this one is putting me to sleep. Admittedly I'm only 1 episode in, but I haven't been so bored in a long time -- even while I can definitely appreciate the exceptional acting and the cinematography. Will give it another episode, but if the pace doesn't improve, it's unfortunately not for me.

No. I loved both Train to Busan and All of Us are Dead, but this one is putting me to sleep so far.

Does the direction where this is going improve as, so far, (admittedly only 1 episode watched so far), I couldn't care less about any of the people, or the plot.

Was really looking forward to it, but it isn't grabbing my attention at all.

EDIT AFTER Ep 2: Hahahaha, will probably continue watching this just because the acting is so terrible. Completely over the top and absolutely unbelievable.

Great cinematography, but most of the actors should go back to drama school.

Sorry to disappoint you. Again. But, unlike you, the keyboard warrior supporting trans without understanding any of the problems they are causing for gays, lesbians and women, while mistakenly believing defending your position means, instead of bringing actual FACTS to the table, insulting someone is the way to go , I've WORKED for gay rights organizations all over America for over 3 decades.

Anyway, moving on. Don't have time to waste on a typical extreme left-wing, badly-educated trans supporter who doesn't understand real-life issues.

And no, I won't be responding to you again. Life is too short to waste it on fools.

Every one of my gay friends (and, having been a gay rights activist for over 35 years, I have hundreds of gay friends) is furious with the trans lobby -- as they have taken over and then set the gay movement back YEARS.

The trans lobby is also destroying women's rights as men, who suddenly decide they are a "woman" (not scientifically possible), are now starting to destroy women's sports by stealing the accolades and the first places actual biological women have worked towards earning their entire lives.

(News flash: biological women are not physically capable of competing against biological men -- even Caitlyn Jenner says that, and she used to be a man in sports).

And fact: If you support the trans lobby, you are one of the most anti-woman people on the planet. And apparently sharing the same 2 brain cells with the rest of the trans lunatics.

And sure, if trans people want to pretend they are a woman or a man, more power to 'em -- it's a free world, they can do whatever they want. But don't expect the sane among us to allow them to destroy both gay and women's rights without putting up a fight.

Yep. I've yet to watch a drama that was better than the webtoon/manga.

Case in point, loved the BL webtoons for both The New Employee and Unintentional Love Story -- but the drama adaptations were terrible. Primarily because the actors they chose either couldn't act (cough: looking at you Gong Chan), or were not suited for their roles.

I rarely watch an adaptation of a webtoon I've read nowadays, as I'm almost always disappointed.

Same in most of the world. Few countries will air GL dramas outside America and a handful of European countries.
And, because of the takeover of the gay/lesbian communities by the trans lunatics which has destroyed a substantial segment of the general public's support for gays, there's also a backlash against gays right now (sadly), which makes it even less likely a GL drama would air.