The way their society put pressure on people is the reason that south korea have such a high suicide rate, celebrities…
It's been six months since LSK took his life. Korea is overdue for another celeb/actor/idol suicide. I'm sure you already know Korea also has the highest suicide rate in the developed world, by far, across all segments of society. Its shame-based, hyper saving-face-is-all-that-matters, old-fashioned cultural values are in direct conflict with its status as a highly industrialized, high-tech, modern kpop/cinema/entertainment industry that is highly sexualized, just as much as in America. SEX/FUN vs. SHAME is a recipe for disaster.
The weirdest, most incoherent cultural hangup I see in Korea is the insane taboo against drugs, even ones as mild as marijuana. Meanwhile, Korea has the highest rate of alcoholism and alcohol abuse in the developed world also. Alcohol is, guess what? A DRUG!!! But you can get shit-faced every night of the week and puke in the alleys of Gangnam and it's no problem.
The way their society put pressure on people is the reason that south korea have such a high suicide rate, celebrities…
Our American celebrities tend to overdose (accidentally...?) doing drugs rather than outright killing themselves. Michael Jackson was so messed up in the head and full of self-loathing he was using propofol, a powerful, short-acting anesthetic to get to sleep and that's what killed him. It concerns me that a lot of young Korean celebs who have not died (yet) have been caught using propofol also. That is not shit to mess around with.
I hope that evil skank gets a nasty case of genital herpes.
Worth it to me for the cute chemistry between the MLs. Their acting is not the worst I've seen. It is very low budget, and the rather plain girl who plays the femme fatale is badly cast.
However, like other low-budget/poorly written/directed/marginal acting BLs that somehow move me, it has a great big heart where the big budget might have been. The shower scene is funny/goofy/romantic all at once, and the last ten minutes make having endured the first 20 worth it. Of course, without the first 20 minutes, the last 10 wouldn't have been the payoff.
It would be fun to see a short sequel to this. I'm going to rate this as compared only to other shows with extremely low budgets: 8.5/10
I got your recommendation in my message box, but did not realize it stars Hwang Jung Min until I came to this…
Jung Woo Sung is just as effective in this film, though HJM has the meatier role. You will not immediately recognize HJM given what they did with his hair. :)
JWS is the actor I first loved in "Beasts Clawing at Straws." I began to seek out his films and there hasn't been one I didn't like. He has gone from being a young hunk beefcake star to now taking on very mature, main roles and his acting is always spot-on.
This is the best, most excruciatingly powerful, non-combat war film I have ever seen. I was in knots from start to finish; the tension builds and builds and then...well, see for yourself. Absolutely magnificent direction/acting/staging/OST/everything from top to bottom. Korea outdoes Hollywood yet again. Hwang Jung Min and Jung Woo Sung are magnificent opposing forces of nature.
Good god, 10/10 (As is most often the case, the MDL rating is wildly off the mark. Ignore it.)
Goodness. It's been years since I watched the dumpster fire that is the original version of this series. I mostly remember frustration at the quality of the acting and chemistry completely undermined by the insultingly stupid, implausible, and dumb supposed complications we were asked to buy as an explanation for the long separation between these two. That still isn't entirely taken care of here, but this version is a hundred times more coherent and thus, enjoyable than the original. If you find this version first, don't bother watching the original. The director/writers totally fucked that one up.
Sam Lin especially, shines for me in this role. He is masculine, but also sensitive, and he's not afraid to open himself wide for the camera, no emotions held back. The supporting cast is excellent.
If anyone can explain for me how Shou Yi's affective disorder preventing him from emotionally connecting to people was magically cured, I would appreciate it.
The heat between the leads is real, but it's compromised by the lack of letting us see that on the screen, beyond a few very spicy smooches. For the MDL prude crowd, no, that does not mean we needed to see nasty, "explicit" sex scenes, but there should at least have been serious indications that there HAD BEEN or was ABOUT TO BE some hot sex between these two. Some clothes coming off before fade out, the two of them in bed with bare shoulders afterward, or moving about the house in bathrobes...whatever, to indicate the fire all that smoke was coming from.
I down-rated the original to 4/10 I think, based soley on the absurdity of the separation premise. This time around I'm giving this an 8.5/10. That's how much better this is than the original.
Your comment is misleading. He didn’t bang the other guy, it was just a dream! I don’t like cheating and I…
Your ESL is sloppy and thus, misleading. I am English-only and I thought the same thing until I read through your comment again. Please learn how to use commas, exclamation points, and other punctuation marks.
Finished! I am impressed with the quality of the acting/direction/production, given that this obviously was done on a shoe string. The dream trope was a downer though.
MILD SPOILERS:
I still don't trust little Jaemin. He needs to be honest with himself. If you're having erotic dreams about someone outside your relationship, and they don't fade away, it might be time for a break to stop deceiving your partner by omission and figure out what you really want.
Jaemin's character comes across to me as exceedingly passive and avoidant. He has a hard time looking people in the eye when he's talking with them, and that alone is a red flag. I think he WANTS to mean what he says near the end, but I don't really buy that he's done with the outward desires.
Anyway...pretty good little series, given its built-in limitations due to budget constraints. The actors playing Nam Yi and the outside tempter did a fine job, Nam Yi in particular. I don't think I saw one false note from him.
Why people are talking about Part 2 here? There is a different page for it. (Blue Boys Part 2 )
Because I want to. Also, if you peruse comments below, there is disagreement about there even BEING a "part 2" rather than one continuous story with no break, which is what it is.
Contrary to some other opinions here, I find S2 every bit as compelling and gripping as S1, the only difference perhaps being a bit less zing because I already know the overall setup. In every other way, I am finding this to be a remarkable, exceptional series.
Just finished S2, ep. 3. Nina broke my heart in two. :( Beautiful man, acting, and singing voice. wow. Of course, that may well have been dubbed but whatever. The actor killed it in that part.
Finished! I am impressed with the quality of the acting/direction/production, given that this obviously was done on a shoe string. The dream trope was a downer though.
MILD SPOILERS:
I still don't trust little Jaemin. He needs to be honest with himself. If you're having erotic dreams about someone outside your relationship, and they don't fade away, it might be time for a break to stop deceiving your partner by omission and figure out what you really want.
Jaemin's character comes across to me as exceedingly passive and avoidant. He has a hard time looking people in the eye when he's talking with them, and that alone is a red flag. I think he WANTS to mean what he says near the end, but I don't really buy that he's done with the outward desires.
Anyway...pretty good little series, given its built-in limitations due to budget constraints. The actors playing Nam Yi and the outside tempter did a fine job, Nam Yi in particular. I don't think I saw one false note from him.
Devastating and excellent. For once, I'm on board with an MDL rating. This show is remarkable in every way it needed to be. It delivers a powerful, brutal message about the horrors and consequences of unchecked/institutional bullying in the Korean military, which takes place from top to bottom, at every level. Though of course, it is those at the lower levels who suffer the most.
I don't watch a lot of series because most of the time there is tons of filler, conveying a story in 8 or 12 or 16 episodes that could have been told in four. Here, there was not one moment of wasted screen time. I was hooked through all six episodes.
Great acting, direction, production values across the board. Bravo.
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1 
The weirdest, most incoherent cultural hangup I see in Korea is the insane taboo against drugs, even ones as mild as marijuana. Meanwhile, Korea has the highest rate of alcoholism and alcohol abuse in the developed world also. Alcohol is, guess what? A DRUG!!! But you can get shit-faced every night of the week and puke in the alleys of Gangnam and it's no problem.
I hope that evil skank gets a nasty case of genital herpes.
Worth it to me for the cute chemistry between the MLs. Their acting is not the worst I've seen. It is very low budget, and the rather plain girl who plays the femme fatale is badly cast.
However, like other low-budget/poorly written/directed/marginal acting BLs that somehow move me, it has a great big heart where the big budget might have been. The shower scene is funny/goofy/romantic all at once, and the last ten minutes make having endured the first 20 worth it. Of course, without the first 20 minutes, the last 10 wouldn't have been the payoff.
It would be fun to see a short sequel to this.
I'm going to rate this as compared only to other shows with extremely low budgets:
8.5/10
JWS is the actor I first loved in "Beasts Clawing at Straws." I began to seek out his films and there hasn't been one I didn't like. He has gone from being a young hunk beefcake star to now taking on very mature, main roles and his acting is always spot-on.
Absolutely magnificent direction/acting/staging/OST/everything from top to bottom.
Korea outdoes Hollywood yet again.
Hwang Jung Min and Jung Woo Sung are magnificent opposing forces of nature.
Good god, 10/10
(As is most often the case, the MDL rating is wildly off the mark. Ignore it.)
Highly recommended!
Sam Lin especially, shines for me in this role. He is masculine, but also sensitive, and he's not afraid to open himself wide for the camera, no emotions held back. The supporting cast is excellent.
If anyone can explain for me how Shou Yi's affective disorder preventing him from emotionally connecting to people was magically cured, I would appreciate it.
The heat between the leads is real, but it's compromised by the lack of letting us see that on the screen, beyond a few very spicy smooches. For the MDL prude crowd, no, that does not mean we needed to see nasty, "explicit" sex scenes, but there should at least have been serious indications that there HAD BEEN or was ABOUT TO BE some hot sex between these two. Some clothes coming off before fade out, the two of them in bed with bare shoulders afterward, or moving about the house in bathrobes...whatever, to indicate the fire all that smoke was coming from.
I down-rated the original to 4/10 I think, based soley on the absurdity of the separation premise. This time around I'm giving this an 8.5/10. That's how much better this is than the original.
Highly recommended.
Feels like your standard, cheesy Lakorn. Out early.
Dropped.
I am impressed with the quality of the acting/direction/production, given that this obviously was done on a shoe string. The dream trope was a downer though.
MILD SPOILERS:
I still don't trust little Jaemin. He needs to be honest with himself. If you're having erotic dreams about someone outside your relationship, and they don't fade away, it might be time for a break to stop deceiving your partner by omission and figure out what you really want.
Jaemin's character comes across to me as exceedingly passive and avoidant. He has a hard time looking people in the eye when he's talking with them, and that alone is a red flag. I think he WANTS to mean what he says near the end, but I don't really buy that he's done with the outward desires.
Anyway...pretty good little series, given its built-in limitations due to budget constraints. The actors playing Nam Yi and the outside tempter did a fine job, Nam Yi in particular. I don't think I saw one false note from him.
Well done! 8/10
Just finished S2, ep. 3. Nina broke my heart in two. :( Beautiful man, acting, and singing voice. wow. Of course, that may well have been dubbed but whatever. The actor killed it in that part.
I am impressed with the quality of the acting/direction/production, given that this obviously was done on a shoe string. The dream trope was a downer though.
MILD SPOILERS:
I still don't trust little Jaemin. He needs to be honest with himself. If you're having erotic dreams about someone outside your relationship, and they don't fade away, it might be time for a break to stop deceiving your partner by omission and figure out what you really want.
Jaemin's character comes across to me as exceedingly passive and avoidant. He has a hard time looking people in the eye when he's talking with them, and that alone is a red flag. I think he WANTS to mean what he says near the end, but I don't really buy that he's done with the outward desires.
Anyway...pretty good little series, given its built-in limitations due to budget constraints. The actors playing Nam Yi and the outside tempter did a fine job, Nam Yi in particular. I don't think I saw one false note from him.
Well done! 8/10
I don't watch a lot of series because most of the time there is tons of filler, conveying a story in 8 or 12 or 16 episodes that could have been told in four. Here, there was not one moment of wasted screen time. I was hooked through all six episodes.
Great acting, direction, production values across the board. Bravo.
9.5/10