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A Gift Given Through Time
Yeo Jin Goo (Hotel Del Luna) and Cho Yi Hyun (All of Us Are Dead)In this Time Blend, two College students attend the same University and get to know each other, while using a Ham radio. One wants to interview the other, but the two can’t seem to quite meet up. It will be discovered later that the reason that they can’t meet up is that one is in 1995 and the other exists in 2021.
This is a charming Time Blend type of time travel drama. There is a definite mode for the time displacement (A Ham Radio), but there is no movement through time in the movie Ditto. Two times are blended or shared, as there is communication across time. There will be lots of head talk about the gift one person can gift to another across a time barriers. Ditto is worth the time commitment.
Talking across a divide of time.
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Even ‘Ole School Korean Dramas’ can entertain you.
The Emperor: Owner of the Mask (2017) is a period drama and will remind many Korean Drama devotees of another period drama, ‘The Crowned Clown’ (2019). There are 40 episodes of 30 minutes each. This Korean drama is well worth that commitment time of 20 hours. This commitment is a slow boil, as it builds to a loud crescendo in the back part of the drama. At times this drama becomes a little melodramatic, but by episode 20 the pace is allegro (quick, fast) as action builds to a burst. This is an ‘Ole School’ type Korean Drama.Emperor: Owner of the Mask has court intrigue, twists and turns, and several great love triangles. “To whom does power really belong?”, that is the question. It belongs to The Owner of the Mask. How that plays out is slow but great storytelling. The drama received post awards for screenwriting. Emperor: Owner of the Mask started off in Korea at a viewing audience rating of 10% for episode 1, which starts off this drama as a hit drama (10% is considered a hit drama). The drama reached a rating of 16% by the finale, with some of its episodes as high as 20% of the viewing public. The last two episodes have some issues, but these can be overlooked.
Cast
Kim So-Hyun (Love Alarm, My Lovely Liar)—She is a beast of an actress, who started off in the industry as a child actress.
Kim Myung-Soo (Royal Secret Agent, Angels Last Mission:Love)—Kpop band member from INFINITE and an actor. He does a great job in this drama
Yoo Seung Ho (Memorist, My Strange Hero)—He is also a child actor, reaching heartthrob status by age 18 years old in his memorable Korean Drama Warrior Baek Dong Soo.
Yoon So-Hee (Ghost Doctor, The Spies Who Loved Me)— She does a great job in her role.
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A fantastic epic ‘War at Sea’ movie
Hansan: Rising Dragon is a thriller movie and is near perfect all around.There have been great historic war battles which have been fought throughout history. One such war battle took place near Hansan Island in Korea, during the Joseon era in 1592 CE. Two great tacticians of War went up against each other in a chess game of wits. They were Admiral Yi Sun Sin of Korea (Played by Park Hae-il from Decision to Leave) and Admiral Wakisaka Yasuharu of Japan (Played by Byun Yo-han from Six Flying Dragons). While the Great Battle at Hansan Island was replayed out on the big screen, a great acting battle was wonderfully delivered by these two great actors playing their prospective Admirals. Those looking for the quintessential offerings of Korean Film and Drama do well to follow the movies and dramas of these two gentlemen. (Fans of Ok Taec-yeon from Vincenzo, see if you can spot him in this movie)
This decisive Battle at Hansan Isalnd took place during the invasion of Korea by Japan, and it was a Naval battle. Of course, liberties were taken with history to produce this nail-biting cinematic experience. However, from the imaginations of writers Kim Han-min and Yun Hong-gi and direction of Kim Han-min, the viewers see a perfect chess match played out at sea, accompanied by a great movie score. The movie is written from the prospective of both men and it imagines the challenges they might have faced to try to obtain a victory at sea. Hansan : Rising Dragon was a movie that took my breath away as I observed the chess match depicted in this strategic battle. It’s beautifully recreated miniature sets, cinematography through the roof, and gorgeously loud sound effects added greatly to this high quality movie. With any war victory, one pauses to recognize the loss of life as grunts are sacrificed for glory, however, this movie takes a behind the scenes look at the cost of victory.
An important quote paraphrased from the movie is “They prepared themselves for offense, but they neglected to account for defense too”.
‘Hansan: Rising Dragon’ is another movie from 2022 staring Korea actor Park Hae-il which garnered many post production accolades and awards, as did his second film ‘Decision To Leave’, which won the Baeksang Arts Awards (Korean Oscars) for Best Film for 2023 (Competing against Hansan: Rising Dragon). In addition, Byun Yo-han (Mr Sunshine) won the Baeksang for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Admiral Wakisaka Yasuharu. Much of the movie was delivered in the Korean language and the rest of the movie was delivered in Old Japanese. Byun Yo-han had to deliver all his lines in Old Japanese and he did an award winning job.
Admiral Yi Sun Sin of Korean from Bansan: Rising Dragon (Played by Park Hae-il from Decision to Leave)
Admiral Wakisaka Yasuharu of Japan from Bansan: Rising Dragon (Played by Byun Yo-han from Mr Sunshine).
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Sometimes a remake drama can reach new heights.
Sometimes dramas and their remakes are just different and not better or worse. I am a supper fan of Yoo Seung Ho and Chae Soo Bin who starred in the original Korean Drama RomCom ‘I Am Not A Robot’. This RomCom had lots of laughter and comedic moments and was well acted by these two leads. The Chinese remake of this drama (with Connor Leong from Meteor Garden and Sun Qian from Take My Brother Away) was very faithful to the material, but had significant plot changes to the storyline with certain characters, however. This did not take away from the story, but some choices actually made more sense. In addition, while I Am Not A Robot played more to the comedic side of the story, Robot In The Orange Orchard played more to the SyFy Fantasy of this story.Connor Leong and Sun Qian vs Chae Soo Bin and Yoo Seung Ho
The story is about a boy (Lu Sen) who is allergic to humans (haphenphobia), an allergy brought on in part by the death of his parents at a very young age. This caused this second generation Monopoly Capitalist (Chaebol) to live in seclusion for 15 years, from the time he was 10 years old, even cooking his own meals. This meant that he had little to no contact with the outside world. Now a genius with an IQ of 159 and lots of money to burn, Lu Sen buys into an AI company which makes realistic looking Robots that he wants to test as a live-in. When test day comes, the robot breaks and the makers of the robot asks the life model of the robot to substitute in for a time as a Robot, until the real robot is fixed.
You have to buy into the fantasy fact that this isolated child-like man would not be able to tell the difference between a robot and a human and here is where for me Connor Leong shined the most. His performance was truly sincere as someone so lonely and disassociated from the world that he does not know a robot from a real human. I cried way more with ‘Robot In The Orange Orchard’ than I did with ‘I Am Not A Robot’. I do think that Chae Soo Bin was a better robot/human than Sun Qian as Yang Shan Shan, but Sun Qian did a good job with the rest of the script.
I would say to put both of these dramas on your ‘To Watch’ List and maybe do a back to back binge and let me know what you thought.
NOTES
I am a fan of the original Korean actor Yoo Seung Ho, and extremely prejudiced.
Chinese
He did a masterful job in handling this character. It looked like he didn’t even watch the original. His own take is evident in the way he approach the character in his own original way.
Orange Orchard was way more sentimental and touching, bringing me to tears often.
Connor Leong gave a very sincere performance. His approach to the character made me more readily accept that he believed she was a robot, but that he was falling in love.
Tweaks to the storylines were realistic and natural. Not prone towards comedy.
She was not a convincing robot, but was stellar in the back half when she was not pretending to be a robot.
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This was a brain twister and deep SyFy Fantasy Movie and a must see for me.
Here is a quick Korean or Chinese drama downtime moment that will only take an hour and one half of your time, but will stick to you with afterthoughts for several days after viewing. This is the Romance Fantasy movie 0.1% World. Personally, I could loop this movie over and over and not discover all that is there to take in. 0.1% World is the story about a girl and boy living on different continents. Inexplicably, they get linked to each other’s brains. They can hear each other, talk to each other and at times even move the body parts of the other. Because they live in different time zones and on different continents, it becomes a challenge to live and fashion life under these circumstances of a mind meld. Neither one wants to know the identity of the other at first. They just need to placate the problem by learning how to live with each other, sharing lives as they do, and not get in each other’s way, until they figure out how to fix the problem. Ultimately, what does this shared experience do for them? This Chinese SyFy Fantasy movie blew my mind. It invoked such deep thought surrounding their dilemma and how they chose to resolve certain issues.The stars of the Chinese film are Zhou Yi Ran from ‘When You Be Me’ (2022) and Patrick Shih from ‘Someday or One Day’ (2022). I recommend both works by both actors in addition to their collaboration in 0.1% World.
These two travel through Discovery, Compliance, to Discord in 0.1% World.
Actor’s Corner
Both actors give dynamic deliveries in 1% World. Taiwanese actor Patrick Shih often has been compared to Park Seo Joon by Netizens. He speaks fluent German in this movie, 0.1% World.
Zhou Yi Ran is also a great young Chinese actress. Her acting abilities and range of acting are fully on display in ‘When You Be Me’.
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An absolutely delightful brain twister
Be With You is an delightful, esoteric, charming movie that will totally move you emotionally. It is about the love of a man for his wife, the love of a boy for his mother, and her love and sacrifices she made for the both of them. Because this is a 2 and one half hour movie, to say any more would spoil you enjoyment and experience. This movie is surprising and deep, and well written, with lots of twists and turns. It will create a lot of head talk in you for days. You do not want to know any more advance information on this movie. Please do not look. I am so glad that I knew nothing about this movie. I picked it at random because of the Star power.Kim Ji-Hwan did an excellent job playing the son Jiho. This was the first and only acting role for Kim Ji-Hwan. Hopefully, it was not his last. Park Seo Joon makes a guest appearance.
It stars So Ji Sub as the husband Jung Woo-Jin and Son Ye-Jin as the wife Soo Ah. These two actors were a dream match from acting heaven. Both performances were so polished. The quiet moments when the two of them were together without speaking lines, really gives you a chance to study why So Ji Sub and Son Ye Jin are considered two of Korea’s best actors. ‘Be With You’ is worth your Korean drama downtime.
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This Movie is a pleasant drama break.
Well, this is a bold shot at classic Chinese film making. Have a wonderfully alluring story with a soft and sweet beginning, a challenging and complicated middle and a captivating ending, all keeping you glued to your seat. Take a visit with me to the ancient Qing Dynasty and share an endearing love story.The movie The Palace begins with little girls being selected to serve in the palace as maids, as they are frightened into submission for easy training. There is much court intrigue and mischief. This is a well written simple story, which does not use sword fighting, twirls and thrills, and big movements to drive up entertainment value. The movie The Palace simply uses character study as fine art to give balance to the story, as you are drawn in and become fully invested into the lives and outcomes of the characters.
The story takes place during the peaceful reign of China’s longest serving Emperor, Shengzu or Kangxi Emperor of Qing (1654-1722), third Emperor of the Qing Dynasty. The Palace is about the ambitions of two little girls who want to control their destinies.
A caution to the viewer. This movie is rated PG 13. However, there are two racy scenes in The Palace, which should bring the rating of this movie up to a strong PG 14, but these scenes are done tastefully.
Actors Corner
Movie actress Zhou Dongyu (Under the Hawthorn Tree) as Chen Xiang, Chen Xiao as Yin Xiang (Legend of Lu Zhen), and Zhao Li Ying as Lui Li (Boss and Me).
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Once Upon A Time in the Life of a Teenager
I would rate ‘20th Century Girl’ an 11/ 10, but I guess that is cheating. Nonetheless, that is my sentiment.20th Century Girl is a School Life Romance Korean movie.
For youths (and the young at heart) who have been waiting for the most realistic High School Korean drama or movie, with a very realistic storyline, that movie is here. It only takes 2 hours of your time to watch. My only regret is that this movie was not made into a longer Korean drama instead of a movie so that I could have experienced this special gem for a longer period of time. In this movie, you get . . .
High School crush
BGF intervention
Stalking your love
Hot Guy and his Hot Best Guy Friend
Should you break the ‘girl code’ about dating your BGF’s guy?
Should you break the ‘bro code’ about even considering a girl liked by your bro?
Chasing your imaginary dreams
20th Century Girl takes place in 1999, right before Y2K, and has an intricate love relationship which will catch you off guard. This is a story about first love. It stars Kim Yoo-jung (Lovers of the Red Sky) as Na Bo-ra, Byeon Woo-Seok (Record of Youth) as Poong Woon-Ho, Park Joon-woo (DP) as Baek Hyun-jin and Roh Joon-seo (Debut role in Our Blues) as Kim Yeon-du. The movie is a ‘Must See’.
Quote: “Yeon-doo . . . remember what you said awhile ago? That if you like someone, then you can’t sleep at night. . . This is a secret . . . The food you eat becomes tasteless and listening to music makes you cry? Actually, I sleep fine at night and my food taste better than usual, and I feel like dancing when I hear music. It’s strange, though. When I think of him, my heart hurts a bit. Is this love? Then I think that I’m in love”. Na Bo-ra
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Is Business Proposal an outstandingly written Korean drama or just so so run-of-the-mill?
Business Proposal is a very well written Korean drama. If you did not get that, each person has his own taste, but I think that you missed something. Many seem to have missed the intricate nuances from this great concept drama. Business Proposal is a real-time parody of the melodrama being viewed by the grandfather on the television at the same time the Korean drama we are viewing is running concurrently. As the grandfather watches the over-the-top melodrama on Television, the real-time action of the drama Business Proposal becomes more over-the-top, while parodying that action seen on TV. I have not seen this concept in a Korean drama. Do you understand how hard it is to write two dramas in one and intertwine them seamlessly into one cohesive drama (like with Extraordinary You)? This was not a run-of-the-mill drama. If you did not catch the parody of the TV drama being acted out real-time in the main drama that you were watching, you might want to watch this drama again with a different lens.The girl in the TV melodrama the grandfather is watching does not get the approval of the rich TV parents, because she is the daughter of the owner of a fried chicken shack. Not only is the lead female of Business Proposal the daughter of a fried chicken shack owner, the lead female even takes the name of the lead character (Shin Geum-hui) as a pseudonym from the TV drama the grandfather is watching. Also the rich son wants to marry for love and wants to be free from parental control and choose the person he loves. The grandfather exclaims, “It is hard to get married these days”.
Secondly, Business Proposal has several reverse Korean drama tropes or tropes formally acted upon by the male lead which in this drama is acted upon by the female lead.
The female lead holds the umbrella over the male lead first. The female lead kisses the male lead first, but calls it an accident. This is when the male lead asked if his mouth was a light pole that she could just run into by accident? The female lead was the one escaping abroad in the break-up instead of the male lead trying to escape the relationship through break up and moving abroad. The female lead pinned the male lead to the wall, instead of the reverse, all adding inventiveness to the story. I thoroughly enjoyed the Korean drama Business Proposal and it was in my top five for the year 2022 for its acting, editing, all star cast, and comedy relief. Some may want to give Business Proposal a second look.
Whenever you see the TV melodrama the grandfather is viewing, please look for that action to be played out in real-time action in the main drama in scenes to come. If a Korean drama speed is going too fast to read subtitles and view the action, there is no shame in stopping the action and reading the subtitles then rewinding the drama to view the action again. Sometimes, the action does go to fast and I don’t have a problem using the pause button.
Whenever I want to convince a nonbeliever that Korean dramas are the way to go, I use the Korean drama Business Proposal. Viewing this drama always makes a new Korean drama convert. Because of the top notch hilarity in the drama, you may want to clear space around you for rolling all over the floor before viewing, however.
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Is The Story of Park’s Marriage a time travel or a time slip Korean drama? I love this drama.
The Story of Park’s MarriageThe Story
The Story of Park’s Marriage begins in the later Joseon era. A complicated aristocratic young woman wants to be a fashion designer, an occupation shun for Aristocrats. Her parents arrange a marriage with another Aristocrat who has an undiscovered heart condition, which can take his life at any moment, especially if he is excited by love. She falls for him immediately, but he dies on their wedding night (action which takes place in the first episode, so this is not a spoiler). Through happenstance and a convenient body of water, the female lead finds herself time traveling to modern Korea. She is immediately confronted by her lost love, who is a Deputy CEO of a company. While this story may seem pretty bleak, her experiences and reactions to the modern world of “New Joseon” Korean is wholly hilarious and gives constant fodder for laughter, as she tries desperately to reclaim her lost love.
The Story of Park’s Marriage is well written. It is one of the most intricate meshing of what happened in the past with what is happening in the present. Like a top designer’s intricate threading of a garment, the scenes of the past are so tightly woven with the scenes of the present. The Story of Park’s Marriage is a bold mystery sewn into a RomCom. The story is a time travel Korean Drama, since there is a definite mode of time travel (a body of water). In time slips one accidentally travels through time by unknown means.
I really like The Story of Park’s Marriage. This drama gets better and better with each episode. At first, I thought that this drama would be an uncomplicated drama that would score in the high 8/10, but now for me, it is scoring 10/10. As dramatic actors are challenging themselves with RomComs of late, this is the first RomCom I have seen with Baeksang Arts Award winning dramatic actress Lee Se-young (The Red Sleeve and The Crown Clown). While actor Bae In-hyuk has played in RomComs like My Roommate Is a Gumiho, Bae In-hyuk (At a Distance, Spring Is Green and Why Her?) has been in challenging dramatic dramas as well. Bae In-hyuk is indeed a late bloomer in the acting business. His first Korean drama was only in 2019. Bae In-hyuk also has turned into a fine actor. And I must admit that the way he wears a suit is so reminiscent of Lee Jun Ho in King, The Land.
Chinese equivalent to The Story of Park’s Marriage is Miss Crow and Mr Lizard, because of the fact that falling in love could cause the death of the male lead who has a heart condition.
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Twinkling Watermelon is absolutely the best drama of the year for me.
Main Actors—Ryeo Un (Secret Romantic Guesthouse) and Choi Hyun-Wook (Twenty five Twenty One, Weak Hero Class 1)Twinkling Watermelon Youth Music Life Romance is a great concept drama.
A hearing little boy has deaf parents and a deaf older brother. He speaks to them through sign language. When they move to another neighborhood, the boy begins to be mentored in music by a music shop owner. The boy is uniquely aware of sounds, living in his family’s deaf world and he uses his hands to communicate. The shop owner chooses to teach him the guitar. This is a perfect match, because the boy must use his hands with the guitar to speak the language of music, the same as using his hands to communicate with his family. The shop owner discovers that the little boy is a musical genius. You get these rare finds of a drama which concentrates on a unique story. Twinkling Watermelon is a concept drama about Youth, Music, Life, and Romance. This is a youth driven music drama, but it will appeal to all ages. I am totally impressed. It is a high Yes to add this drama to your drama list.
There is a huge plot redirection in the drama, Twinkling Watermelon. I am totally surprised that no one has blabbed and let the secret out. The redirection knocked me for a loop. I will have to write up a spoiler later on. This can’t stay a secret long. I am watching real-time. For bingers, I would suggest to start this drama ‘Twinkling Watermelon’ and view the 5 episodes posted already, then you can binge episodes 6-16 later. It appears that no one was given advance notice, by what I have read so far. However, some want to be the first to tell the secret. With 5 episodes posted, many won’t keep the secret long. In addition, so many others do not understand what a spoiler is. Twinkling Watermelon may tap out to be one of the best Music Life Romance Korean Dramas ever.
The boy is a coda. That means that he is the only one in the family who can hear and speak.
Quote: Music is the only legal drug.
Sign hung in the father’s restaurant: No need for words.
Cast
Choi Hyun Wook—This role is in his wheelhouse, playing a creative dare devil who falls for the rich chick. He is so good in this drama. He overwhelms his scenes. Many have touted the acting talent of Choi Hyun Wook and I am one of them. He will not disappoint you.
Ryeo Un—He gives a breakout performance, which many will be talking about.
Seol In A—She is a veteran talented Actress and once again gives a great performance.
Shin Eun-Soo—This actress is a newcomer and she is a little shinning star. Shin Eun-Soo is given a difficult role, which I will not spoil.
Is it acceptable to use the word ‘Deaf’? Yes, most of the Deaf community do not shy away from this word.
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Doctor Slump is a RomCom to start right now.
Are you enjoying the RomCom Doctor Slump, in spite of its serious message about Clinical Depression? Are not Park Shin Hye and Park Hyung Sik a perfect match for this Drama?Doctor Slump 2024 ‧ Medical Mystery RomCom
Quote: “It was once said in a movie . . . that failure and defeat meant different things. Anyone can fail, but defeat was an utter fiasco usually found in legends. I was defeated”. Male Lead explains his bout with depression and his life in general.
All those who have been waiting for Park Hyung Sik (Hwarang) to give a performance like his iconic performance in Strong Girl Nam Soon, you might want to check out Doctor Slump. Firstly, since his character starts off in High School, Park Hyun Sik is back to his skinny-K-Pop days. Secondly, Park Hyung sik’s roots are firmly planted in comedy, therefore, the RomCom Medical Mystery Doctor Slump plays to his strong suit. With the combination of Park Shin Hye playing the straight guy to Park Hyung sik’s funny guy, I see a hit for me with Doctor Slump. The drama series is not all fun and play though. Serious issues, like depression among Doctors, are addressed as well. There is great chemistry between the ML and FL and the series also takes a sobering look into the world of gapjil, or workplace violence and bullying. When you are the top in your class and you hit rock bottom, the failure seems ever so greater.
Quote: “During these hard times, if you have someone who could comfort you, would it help you to get better?” Female Lead.
Doctor Slump is quaint and cute and is a go from me. Laughter is the best medicine for what ails you. I laughed a lot with the Korean Drama Doctor Slump, in spite of the heavy noteworthy message about controlling depression.
Actors Corner
Both actors (Park Shin Hye and Park Hyung Sik) can be both serious and/or comedic actors, even with the same character. They both have the acting tools to pull it off. Both have such great acting ranges too. Doctor Slump is a great vehicle to showcase the acting strengths and talents of these two acting powerhouses.
As a particular acting strength, Park Shin Hye talks with her eyes. Whole sentences are embellished and punctuated by her eye expressions. Look for what she is saying with her eyes. Mommy is back. Park Shin Hye has carved her acting lane in Korean Drama since her early teens.
As an actor, Park Hyung Sik uses expressive hand movements, body shapes and levels, and voice changes to add entertainment value to his acting. This enhances the viewer experience. Park Hyung Sik must have a very comedic voice in his head. Please pay attention to his hand movements and body shapes which creates his own sign language. This is his acting signature.
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She fell in love at first sight and he did not know what to do with it. . . . at first.
A Date With The Future is a Chinese Drama involving the interaction of First Responders with the public. The First Responders are Firemen. My profession is considered a First Responder. While not a Firemen, I found much attention being paid to minute details, showing how First Responders save the lives of people they rescue. Secondly, and once again, Chinese dramas are charming me with their precision of movement, especially when the story is about Military-like occupations, such as Firemen in their calls for lineup.In some dramas I just really love the couple, like in the Korean drama Twenty Five Twenty One. I adore this couple in ‘A Date With The Future’. Since this First Responder genre drama came out the same year as the Chinese drama Fireworks of My Heart (2023), this drama (A Date With The Future 2023) will be compared to that exhilarating fast paced drama with lots of action. ‘A Date With The Future’ is a no frills drama, but oddly enough, it works for me in this story rich more so in character studies than action. The concentration of the story is more on the love story rather than the action. I love the characters of the lead male and female. She has been crushing on this older man since this Firefighter saved her life in a devastating earthquake when she was a teenager. Now that she is old enough after ten years, she doggedly pursues the man she fell in love with at first sight ten years ago. He stays away from this female, who he thinks is weird, because she is pursuing him non-stop. Even though he is constantly making it clear that a relationship is a “no go”, she refuses to accept that answer. He has decided never to get married and to dedicate his life to his career. She had decided that she is going to make him love her. Throw in lots of dogs and training dogs for rescue and you have a simple, but impactful drama.
Most will be charmed by the courage of this young woman who just knows what she wants and is willing to do what is takes to get the love of her life and keep him safe. The stars of ‘A Date With The Future’ are C-Pop Artist/Actor William Chan (Swords of Legends) as Jin Shichuan and new comer, Actress Zhang Ruonan (The Glory of Youth) as Xu Lai.
‘A Date With the Future’ has the usual Band of Brothers.
Also, the signature of Chinese action dramas in particular is the cinematography, like this ladder rescue from a burning High-rise by Firemen.
Now, even with Chinese Dramas, there must be an umbrella scenes.
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It is impossible not to like this drama. Don’t wait to binge this one.
The Impossible Heir Business Life Mystery Romance DramaWhat Universe are people living in, who would give Impossible Heirs a very low rating? It is almost like I am asking myself “Are they looking at the same thing I am viewing?” The Story is intense, edgy, realistic and exciting, with great music and fashion. It has an unpredictable storyline and is well written. I see Impossible Heir in the top three for the season, based on its fine technical criteria and quality of the acting. The angst between the two leads is incredible. The Drama Twist sets Impossible Heirs apart from other dramas. Am I being punk’d? See if you can disregard the low scorers so that you don’t miss out on this great drama series.
A lone teenager named Han Tae-O (Lee Jae-wook, Alchemy of Souls) drifts into town. This town is where his mom is from. There is a great mystery shrouding who he really is and what are his true ambitions. He is appalled at how the whole town kowtows to the local Chaebol and his family. Han Tae-O has a run-in with the teen son of the Chaebol. The son is Kang In-Ha (K-pop from U-KISS Lee Jun-young, Weak Hero Class 2) and you have not seen this amount of testosterone hit the TV screen in a while. Nonetheless, these two eventually become friends in the weirdest way. Han Tae-O’s focus is on some unproclaimed mission. He meets a girl (Hong Su Zu), but she is not part of his master plan. However, both friends become rivals for her affection.
I am sitting in my chair viewing the first two episode saying to myself, “Oh Boy, this is really good”. The Impossible Heir is one to keep on the radar. It has just started (2024), but I am truly excited. The plot is upper level storytelling, on the order of Reborn Rich. So far Lee Jun-young is stealing the show. However, I am sure that as the meatier parts of the story unfolds Lee Jae-wook will make his acting statement. The story covers about 12-15 years of life. I will have to see how this one turns out. Clear up some head space for this drama too. You will experience lots of Head Talk. The Impossible Heir is on Hulu.
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What can I expect from the Korean Drama ‘Like Flowers In Sand’, with Jang Dong-yoon
Like Flowers in Sand stars Lee Joo-myung (Twenty Five Twenty one) and the effervescent Jang Dong-yoon (Oasis).So I am the girl who tells people not to even call her during the two weeks of the Olympics. I love all sports, even Curling. I got on the Curling bandwagon even before it became popular. ‘Like Flowers in Sand’ highlights the sport of Ssireum. The Sport Ssireum is Korean Wrestling that has roots in ancient Korea. The major holiday events of Ssireum can draw like the American Super Bowl on TV. Using Ssireum as a backdrop, ‘Like Flowers in Sand’ is a touching Sports Romance Drama about the struggles of a Ssireum competitor, who is at the end of his career. This is a decompressor drama, not very complicated. ‘Like Flowers in Sand’ gives you a glimpse into the world of Ssireum, this unique competitive sport, while continuing with a childhood romance. I loved it as a change of pace drama. I fell in love with this drama.
Actor Jang Dong-yoon put out seven works in 2023, four movies and three dramas. He is very hard working. For one of his movies, Jang Dong-yoon was the writer, director, and actor (Please Be My Ear). Jang Dong-yoon’s acting style is so boyish and innocent. He just draws you right into his performances. I would add ‘Like Flowers in Sand’ to your Korean Drama List.
Jang Dong-yoon is very meticulous about his drama work. He had to gain lots of weight for this role, which misshaped his prefect body. He said that he had to eat so much that he threw up at times. Jang Dong-yoon is a true actor and professional, who gives his all. I am impressed.
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