kdmd

I am midway through and still like other shows a bit better: My Journey to You, Story of Kunning Palace, Till the End of the Moon. Quick question: I see two actors playing Song Yan, one for the face and another one for the body. !!!??? Does anyone know what is going on here? What is the backstory? The one who plays the face is known, I think, for playing this type of guy (good looking and nice on the outside, but rotten on the inside) Thank you

Thank you very much!

I didn't think PBG was a very good actor until this drama. He REALLY brought it home. The scene where he breaks down is heart-wrenching. Never seen a break down done better. EVER. The whole show is a testament to both their acting abilities. I would never have thought they could pull it off, but they did 1000%. A FABULOUS script, editing, cinematography, music as well. (He is still the better emoter, but they, as a couple brought it home.)

Those Catholic missionaries really over-achieved in the Philippines. Makes you think again about the "flash marriage" concept.

In the show, in episode 3 at about 36:40, we see Lomon being his most charming self. I literally sat up straight and rewound the show a few times to see the lights turn on in his eyes. I didn't see the shows that made him "famous," but I'll bet this part of his character gets to shine. So far I am up to episode 5 and don't see how this "cheeky sweety" characteristic can be incorporated into his role. Too sad and bad for the show. He has to be a bit low level to balance Kim Hye Yoon, so this role doesn't let him shine. I think he is very good, but there may have been others who would have been a better match to the FL. Kim Woo Bin just played an "evil" Genie opposite a psychopath. The psychopath is a type match to the Fox at the beginning. Kim Woo Bin may have been able to pull off this role with more energy. Or not. To somehow maintain the self-centered millionaire persona while simultaneously being less emotive than the FL is hard. With two Same-Same character types, I imagine this and the wide-ranging plot kept some others away from the role.

He Yu is some incredible actor! So fabulous. I am simultaneously watching My Fated Boy and Speed and Love and had NO IDEA that the ML was the same actor in each until I noticed their names by chance. He Yu managed to take on an entirely different look, feel, manner, etc. Totally different. AMAZING! In My Fated Boy, his loving gaze and emoting are incredible (I haven't watched enough yet of Speed and Love to see those scenes.). Hats off to him for his steady hard work. He should have been recognized sooner.

I understand that the actors made a decision to stay in that situation (if it is proven to be true), either through fear of being banned or maybe a no-show penalty in their contract...who knows. That said, the actors' choice to stay, does not justify the production company's poor treatment of them. For example, "they chose to stay" can be said of a vast number of victims of domestic abuse. It doesn't justify the abuser's behavior. Yes, if nobody put up with poor treatment there would be no poor treatment, but there are many factors (fear, need for money, etc.) that keep people in less than humane situations. The point is that a person or a production company shouldn't try to get-away with whatever or as much as they can get away with. Production companies need to draw a redline at humane treatment and maintain ethical and moral standards.

AI is already taking the place of actors in video advertisements. All over YouTube, you will see that the spokesperson is AI generated or an AI alteration of existing footage. Same with voiceovers; they are all digitally created now, with very few real voices.

Often there are period appropriate wigs. Guess they ran out of them for extras, or the extra chose to cut their hair in order to get/keep the job.

If this mistreatment is true, Netflix must take responsibility for the mistreatment of all the actors, including the stars who likely also had to work long, back-to-back days, albeit with less outright mistreatment.

Just as we hold responsible a company that produces products through the use of child and slave labor, we should hold Netflix responsible for the actions of the production crew AND they should never work with a similar production crew in the future. Basic care and safety (physical and emotional) of all persons associated should be written into the contract between Netflix and the production company and a thorough review of the schedule should be done to ensure that production companies are not lying about what they can accomplish in a given time period.

If we could justify any behavior in order to make profits, we could justify all types of horrors. Human decency needs to be baked into our everyday code of work ethics, and this includes not forcing all employees, regardless of their work industry, to work insanely long work hours, be on-call all the time, and so forth.

There is a never-ending push of asking people to do more with fewer resources that eventually, unless stopped, results in executives expecting to receive everything while providing nothing. Nothing including basic health, safety, and respect. I often say, "They keep asking us to do more with less; eventually they will ask us to do everything with nothing."

It is now on English Viki.

It is now on the English version of Viki.

Can't wait to see him in another lead role again. Loved "Love Unexpected" and I know that he'll do even better here. Please pray with me that this gets to air soon. I keep wondering about his representation/management. He's so cool and funny and cute. Bring it on!

I compared the astrological horoscopes of KSR and KSH (no birth times available). She is strong Leo and Cancer, he is strong Aquarius, Aries/Sag. Looked at the aspects of the planets: attraction and emotional support. This was an equal relationship from the start, with Leo/Cancer coming on strong and Aries/Sag liking the excitement of being wanted. When a Leo/Cancer person wants something, they come on strong (even if it is not that apparent to others) and are often extremely determined. KSR, after all her years in the industry, was likely to appear very knowledgable and grown up. Leos have their pride and Leo/Cancer appears to be more of a queen mother than a baby. That said, KSH has Mars in Sagittarius, so doesn't like to be tied down. He can be impulsive and if they got together again briefly in 2024 or 2025, she might have wanted to pick up where they left off while he may have just thought it was a brief moment. Theirs was a complicated and action-packed dynamic with many factors pulling them together and apart. If he said "no" to any pressure to marry, I am sure that she was devastated and angry. I am sure that he is now devastated, because, according to his chart, he is not the type to undermine others or collude with others to make things hard for people, more over, he is not the type of person who would "groom" someone. I can imagine that the agency pressured him to distance himself from her to keep the momentum going in his career. He may have succumbed to such pressure and is now filled with guilt. With sun and moon conjunct in Leo, she is not one to want to be publicly seen as weak. It may be that she was aiming to simply show him the impact of his actions on her, with only insiders knowing about it, but things went too far. All this is speculation, of course, but people are attracted for various reasons. It is not necessary or kind to paint people as being vile. Everyone has positive and negative aspects in their personalities. This is a tragic situation for all, why make it worse?

Dcinmb, Thanks for the background and the head's up regarding Kim's upcoming drama with Lee Jae-wook. Lee Jae-wook is also one of my favorites, and I can imagine that they will work well together, given they both have a natural, intuitive acting style. (I concur in his taking the role in Antique. He was made for it and must have had a blast playing the character.) I appreciate your insight!

Story of Kunning Palace and Princess Royal are fabulous dramas. Especially Kunning Palace. Zhang Ling He brings much reality and depth to the roles. I suggest you move these up to the top of your watch list.

Happy to read positive posts. All the negativity that has crept into the English MDL is terrible. I wish Chinese and Korean managers would stop paying people to be negative, or that MDL managers would STOP this. Talk only about the dramas' merits, not the stars themselves. How low can these negative people get?

The Korean version of "Nevertheless" has the absolute BEST soundtrack. I bought the CD version (with the book) that has all the songs plus ALL the instrumental background music. Totally awesome tunes, such as "Butterfly" by Junha Park (J.UNA) and "Love Me Like That" by Sam Kim. Inspiring and tender. It wraps around your head like morning-after sheets.

Few people in the comments below mention the drinking culture in Korea, second only to Russia for promotion of excessive drinking. This is especially troubling when it is mixed into work (and after work) culture. Please read up on what drinking does to one's ability to make rational decisions. If people want to see fewer of these incidents (pouring a drink on someone didn't used to be considered such a crime, more of a dry-cleaning bill and apology), I suggest that everyone work to reduce the drinking associated with both work-related and personal get-togethers.

I haven't seen the last episodes, yet, so can't comment on where the story goes, but I agree with Kyubin that Chang Wook was great and that "The Worst of Evil" is a better overall. Both are worth watching, but I have to cover my eyes more when watching "B-side."

I like Worst of Evil more, mainly because there is less violence and fewer "classic villain" characters. The Worst of Evil script is more complicated, unusual, and longer, and the love stories play a larger role. I like "B-side" very much--the script is fine and the story is basic, but good. I do think that it might be that the production company was looking to cut costs by getting two shows for one pre-production budget. They may have already found plenty of locations and had invested in all the cloths and gang-stuff needed to make it cheap to produce a second show. I don't know where the name "Gangnam B-Side" came from, but I think of it as the B-side of a vinyl 45-rpm record. The A-side is the big hit and the B-side is the secondary song that goes along with it. It seems to be a "1+1" to me (buy one, get one almost free). Note also that the term "broker" in the above article really means "pimp."

Also, it just occurred to me to let folks know, if they don't, that B-Side includes a lot of very visceral sadism and misogyny.