My Dark Eyes For U

Literally, I have become a hound for all the Firefighter Rescue genre Chinese Dramas. The Chinese have this genre down to a Science, with thrilling action, unusual romance plots, and fantastic cinematography. The Chinese have been pulling out their heavy hitter A-lister actors for the starring roles in this popular genre. The latest of this genre is Bright Eyes in the Dark. You can not get more A-Listed than Johnny Huang (Moonshine and Valentine) and Zhang Jing Yi (Lighter and Princess). The cinematography is through the roof, with contrasts and shades and camera angles. The action is quite dramatic and compelling. You totally feel the emotions of the Firefighters who really need to put emotions aside. You just can’t save everyone. There is a golden 72 hours after a disaster event where Firefighters may work without sleep to save who they can. The objective of this drama seems to be “to go bigger and better than what has been done before”. I am just getting started and have viewed the 10 episodes dropped. I don’t know yet if this one will exceed “Fireworks of My Heart”. However, I was crying in the first 15 minutes. It is a blazing “go” for me.

There is always low drama times, when the firetrucks are in the station and the drama pays attention to character building. But when the trucks roll out, the high drama action begins.

Alert ! ! ! At the end of each episode you get practical tips for surviving a fire or disaster. This is a first for a Chinese drama, that I have seen. I found the tips helpful and useful BTW.

Alert ! ! ! The Female Lead is a modern Dancers by profession. This is an occupation I have not seen covered in an Asian drama. There are modern dance sequences too.

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Undercover Relationship

Off the bat, we have a reverse trope in Queen of Tears. She is the rich guy and he is the poor lover. We start off with a kiss in the first two minutes. Kim So Hyun (playing ML Baek Hyun Woo) looks gorgeous as the New Company Recruit and Kim Ji Won (playing Hong Hae In, the Heiress of Queens Group and FL) is our beautiful rich Heiress. He is left handed, she is right handed and so are their lives. This is a very acrimonious relationship, stairs to nowhere. Queen of Tears is a Dark Comedy.

Hong Hae In met Baek Hyun Woo working undercover as an intern in her own Conglomerate. Not knowing who she was, it was love at first sight for him. This drama could well be named ‘The Impossible Heiress’ or ‘Snow Queen and the Seven Airs’. After 10 minutes of viewing, you might agree with me that this drama has “Hit” written all over it. Secretly, behind the Ice Maiden veneer, there is a woman who loves her husband and a man who does not know that. This is a painfully great story, with a stacked cast. And believe it or not, this is a laugh out loud RomCom.

I like the dichotomy of the character Kim Soo Hyun is playing. Literally, his character (Baek Hyun-woo) has two faces. He is playing his character in happy times, a time in flashbacks when he and his wife (Hong Hae-in played by Kim Ji Won) were in love with each other. In the next sceen in Queen of Years, Kim Soo Hyun is playing his present self, one jaded by life and one totally saddened by his living situation and the loss of love for his wife. Kim Soo Hyun is asked somehow to reconnect to the emotions and feelings he had with his wife at first. For this character, Kim Soo Hyun has to be bipolar or living in two different worlds. I am so enthralled by how he is pulling off these polar opposite characters for his performance in Queen of Tears. Can he find the self he lost?

What I really like about Queen of Tears is a hidden message to the World of the Married. The grass is not greener on the other side. The grass is greener where you water it.

Oh BTW. Seeing Kim So Hyun after almost a three year drama lay off (His last role was Ordinary Day 2021), you might have love at first sight (again) too. There is great cinematography in Queen of Tears. One thing that is inconvenient in Queen of Tears is the close up shooting of this drama. We have to read subtitles and try to look at faces. Since the camera person is using close in shots, that camera stays on the person speaking only a split second and then moves to the the next person speaking. The camera is moving off each person too quickly. To view the faces of the actors, I literally have to pause frequently.

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Effervescent Historic RomCom turns serious at times. Great use of ancient Korean Law.

In the second half of the Korean Drama season of the year 2023, Woo Do Hwan starred in the hit Korean drama Bloodhounds and displayed his newly sculpted fighting body. His new look is also on full display in a Korean Drama season first half sleeper “Joseon Attorney: A Morality”. It stars Woo Do Hwan and K pop Idols Kim Ji-yeon (Bona) and Cha Hak-Yeon (N).

MY RAW NOTES 💫🧲

Hot brass-sounding music is smoking in a great modern OST, which in addition has super edgy beats and great songs.

The Joseon Attorney (Woo Do Hwan) has a photographic memory when it comes to the Law Codes and he is on a course of revenge.

The open courtroom law is presented like Extraordinary Attorney Woo, but Joseon style.

The LAW highlighted in Joseon Attorney: A Morality are ancient Korean laws. Although no longer applicable in Korean law annals, you get finely tuned applications of these ancient laws being used in creative ways in the storyline. This will remind some of how this was done in the modern day Korean Drama ‘Extraordinary Attorney Woo’. Production hired a great historian to pull this off.

There is some great cinematographic risk-taking in this K-drama, exploring black and white stills and shots and stop action.

The Joseon Attorney wins cases by hook or crook to get the bad guys for his revenge. The female lead falls in love at first sight.

Joseon Attorney: A Morality, heads into a whole other intense direction in/after episode 7.

The drama starts off very good and manages to get better over time.

Woo Do Hwan is such a good actor. It is the little reflexes, facial expressions, all these little things that he does to expand his acting range.

You will definitely see the goofy side of Woo Do Hwan in some episodes. It is cute and unexpected, as he interprets his comedic lines.

Quote: “Ultimately, the law must rule over the people, not the King (ruling over the people)”.
Quote: “Are you giving me the illness and the medicine at the same time?” (Are you causing the problem and giving me your cure or solution?).

Some had been calling me about Joseon Attorney: A Morality, but I had this drama on the shelf. I decided to check the ratings and saw that it was getting 4.5-5.0 out of five. OK, what is the hype? At least you can’t go wrong with Woo Do Hwan. Also, this drama stars K-pop Idols Bona (Kim Ji Yeon from Twenty five Twenty one) and N (Yoo Ji Sun from Bad and Crazy).

I am enjoying Joseon Attorney: A Morality. It is a go from me.

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This is a bonafide discovery

I am watching Perfect Marriage Revenge real-time.

Perfect Marriage Revenge is a drama which is really outside of my comfort zone, but I thought that I would give it a try to expand my horizons. The actors are not my usual circle of friends either. However, the opulent life style and the Blue Plate fashions on display alone seemed worth the price of the time commitment. The drama is about marriage and revenge (go figure) and being clueless in Korea. Also, it is about marriage musical chairs. Nonetheless, I did find this drama enticing on a gossip worthy level. However, just when you think you have this drama all figured out, Perfect Marriage Revenge dramatically jumps into hyperspace. The drama becomes a whole other animal. It is very sexy (in a PG13 sort of way) and complicated, with a drama twist.

Don’t forget to take time to explore the fashions on display. The reason for revenge, however, will floor you. Based on a web drama, Perfect Marriage Revenge is a Romance Marriage Drama. Personally, I would call this a melodrama. While Perfect Marriage Revenge may not win awards for writing, it may win for inventiveness and acting. Right now, there is lots of Head Talk (Talking to yourself about the drama) with this one. You betcha.


Cast

Jung Yoo-Min (Celebrity)

The actors in the posse are tall.

Sun Hoon (My Secret Romance) 6’1”

Oh Seung-yoon (Blind) started as a child actor. 6’1”

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Families often are made up of blended broken pieces.

Go Ahead is a concept drama I have not seen before in any of the 200 Asian Dramas I have viewed. The premise and format is that different. This drama carves a different lane for itself in the highway of dramas. Go Ahead is a raw account of a blended multiple family dynamic, which has at its center, the best dad figure ever in Asian Dramas. If the writer really knows this person after who the character is patterned, he or she would have been privileged to have known him.

Go Ahead is such a great drama centered around family, which honors dads. If you have that special dad in your life, hug him and do a “Daddy and Me” with this drama. So many Asian Dramas have good examples of bad examples. The dad in Go Ahead is a good example of a great example.

Written by Shui Qianmo and Wang Xiongcheng

QUOTE
Neighbor Lady to this dad: “I don’t know what good things our family did in our last lifetime (for us to) meet such a great person like you in this lifetime”.

In Go ahead, there are actually two single dads with children. One dad is a stern policeman and the other sweet dad owns a soup restaurant. Each shares the financial and parenting responsibilities of this accidentally blended family. While not giving up on finding the right woman as a wife, these two dads just worked out a workable lifestyle after loosing their mates, centered around living their best life for their children. With one child, his mother just dropped him off at the door step of the sweet dad and never came back. The sweet dad just took him in. There was less stability before the fathers joined ranks. Afterwards and for the sake of the kids, the fathers worked out a workable arrangement. What is uniquely appealing about Go Ahead is that the family dynamics consist of two sons, two fathers and a daughter. Therefore, the daughter has to learn many female things on her own, without useable help from the rest of the males in the house. This is a source of laughter moments throughout the drama. The three unrelated siblings are raised like triplets. They have a bond thicker than blood.

Cast

Families often are made up of blended broken pieces.

All three actors were raised to superstar level from Go Ahead, because of the immense popularity of this show.

Trương Tân Thành or Steven Zhan plays the athletic brother who finds his little sister annoying, but would give his last drop of blood to protect her. He was dropped off by his mother and a abandoned. The dads fully accepts him as if he is blood.

Tan Songyun plays the rough and touch tomboy with big brothers. Her performance is one of the best in long time. Her comedic timing is excellent, as she portrays a youthful girl in several stages of life and maturity and she nails this roles. One brother is athletic and clueless and the other brother is sensitive and very perceptive. The girl was raised like a tomboy and is the youngest. She wants to marry her older brother.

Chinese heartthrob Song Weilong plays the genius but sensitive brother, willing to put aside embarrassment in order to learn what his baby sister needs. She is the only female in this family dynamic and he has no real clue what little girls need when mothers are absent, but he tries his best.

Each single dad developed his role and contribution in this symbiotic family arrangement. Each dad’s gifts help this blended family correctly congeal together.
Zhang Xilin and Tu Song Yan

Zhang Xilin plays the dad who really does not understand women. He has figured out that women are the opposite of men, but not much more. He willingly acquiesces, knowing his limitations. This dad acts as a wage earner and contributes cash not nurturing.

Tu Song Yan plays the dad who takes on the role of the nurturer. He holds this family together. He is in touch with his feminine side without being feminine at all. It is just that his skill sets are the most needed for this blended family to flourish.
If you were waiting for a good reason to subscribe to VIKI, well here it is, Go Ahead.

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Almost trope free, and the drama has a female CEO

Imagine a world where meat is biotechnologically generated and cultured. This eliminates the need to slaughter animals. Of course, such an advancement could solve world hunger. BF Company has hopes that in the near future all food will be cultured using biotechnology. Blood Free does not have many of my usual circle of acting friends in it. However, since it met my “Love it or Leave it” 15 minute criteria in 2 minutes, I thought it best to investigate further. Blood Free has a high technology driven plot-line. CGI and cinematography are through the roof.

I love a great romance drama. This ain’t it. However, the intelligently written story will keep you in suspense. Therefore, some should try to get out of their comfort zone and add Blood Free to their shopping list. Now for the guys. You have been asking for this Korean Drama. I think that you will enjoy Blood Free. For the girls. I know that actor Ju Ji Hoon starred in Kingdom, a drama I did not see, but wow, where did he come from?

The ML is Ju Ji Hoon (Jurisan, Kingdom) and FL is Han Hyo Joo (Moving, W:Two Worlds, Happiness).

I am excited about this drama Blood Free. The drama does not follow the usual Korean Drama tropes. The story is innovative and exciting. That acting and action are great.

A company has learned how to culture fleshly meat products and this company is poised to take over the world market. Can life be that easy? Not in a Korean Drama. I like Blood Free a lot. This drama is a total change of pace. The use of video gaming tools and drones to fight the bad guys is sure to please. CGI and Cinematography are great, with a great OST

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Managing Work and Home

Doctor Cha did not pass my 15 minute “love it or leave” test. However, this barometer does not account for dramas which have necessary set up time and/or are slow burns. Nonetheless, there was enough there to keep going with this drama. There was her husband who was a true piece of work and her mother-in-law, whose chippy son honestly fell close to tree. I found by the end of episode 1 that Doctor Cha was an undiscovered gem. Also what helped me to stick with this drama was the fact that although episode 1 only got 5 % viewership nationwide in Korea (10 % is considered a hit drama), Doctor Cha tapped out in episode 16 with a 19 % viewership in Korea. This would make it a mega hit. To be noted, Doctor Cha is one of the most melodramatic melodramas with over the top performances by most of the cast. With touches of dark humor, there is enough to entertain all in this Medical; Comedy Family drama.

Women, we all know Doctor Cha. She is that woman who unselfishly sacrifices her career and life to stay at home with the kids and slave for a thankless mother-in-law and a two-timing husband. Well, after a near death experience, now she realizes that the kids are grown and nothing is stopping her from realizing her dreams. You go girl! Fighting! I invite all to cheer on Doctor Cha, as she learns how to be empowered. It is a go for me.

Quote from Doctor Cha

Mistress of two-timing husband, upon hearing the his wife was in the emergency room with acute liver problems, which is about to cancel their secret get-a-way, “If you are that worried then just go to the hospital”.

Two-timing husband, “It’s not like she is a kid. I have a sense of decency, you know. How could I just leave you here and go (to her)?”

Actors Corner

Uhm Jung-hwa as Doctor Cha Jeong-suk—One of the founding K-pop Artist, she has been an Actress since 1990, appeared in Our Blues. Uhm Jung-hwa is a nine time Baeksang Arts Awards (plus Grand Bell) winner. She would be our Meryl Streep.

Kim Byung-chul as Doctor Seo In-ho (Baeksang Arts Award Winner for Best Supporting Actor for Skycastle)

Min Woo-hyuk as Doctor Roy Kim is a Singer, Actor, and Model (If You Wish Upon Me).

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Family friendly

Cutest little button of a Japanese series. This series is as cute as the Chinese Drama ‘When I Fly Towards You’ and very child friendly. Soya Kurokawa plays Nishikata. This young actor is kicking up a storm in the acting world, so remember his name. He has two support roles and Teasing Master Takagi-san is his first lead role. Soya Kurokawa also stars in the Movie Monster. None of these series scored less than 8.0/10. Heavens, I wish that he could speak Korean. He would make a huge crossover star. The female lead is Rui Tsukishima as Takagi. She gives a great performance too. Please don’t view this drama if you are allergic to sweetness overload.

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Some of the best acting ever.

Move To Heaven (2021) is about a cleanup business run by a father and his savant Asperger son, who takes loving care of the last remaining earthly belongings of the deceased. So much loving care is taken with the belongings of the deceased that the work assignment begins and ends with prayer, as the deceased “moves to heaven”. The loving father meets with tragedy and the young brother of the father (and uncle to the mentally challenged but high functioning son) is asked to be a caretaker to the son and help him run the business. This uncle should not be trusted even with a dead dog, let alone a mentally challenged human. However, somehow they need to make this work.

Quote: I can’t believe we’re rummaging through garbage to find garbage.” Reckless young uncle trying to find in the city dump the belongings of the deceased he carelessly threw away.

The young boy knows how to read the life story of the deceased from what others perceive as trash. I can not express how good the young actor who plays the mentally challenged youth is doing in Move To Heaven. Sometimes, you get these performances which are so good (Leo Di Caprio in the American movie ‘What’s Wrong with Gilbert Grapes’) that at no point in time do you see the actor as anything other than mentally challenged. This neat and ordered youth goes up against the abrasive slob from destruction. The drama covers the back story of each deceased character. This drama is so good. (I have a Note To The Sensitive at the end)

Actors Corner


Tang Jun-sang (Racket Boys) as Han Geu-ru just keeps on surprising me with his great performances in his dramas. He is a Baeksang Arts Awards Nominee for Move To Heaven.


Lee Je Hoon (Taxi Driver) as the young uncle Cho Sang-gu. He plays the irresponsible young uncle who only became the guardian of his mentally challenged nephew to get control of the money from his inheritance. There is a great human interest backstory for the uncle. Lee Je Hoon won several Best Actor Awards from various awards shows for his performance in Move to Heaven.


Hong Seung-hee (Navillera) portrays Yoon Na-mu, the best friend and interpreter for Han Geu-ru. She is his defender to the end. Hong Seung-hee gives a great performance.

Move To Heaven won the Asian Academy Creative Awards in 2022 for Best Drama.

Note To The Sensitive

Occasionally, there is amounts of strong cursing from certain guest characters and smoking in the drama. There are occasional boxing scenes. I will try to include Note To The Sensitive to my drama reviews.

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Learn to take care of “me”.

What does your mental health look like?

Quote: “All of us are standing on the border between normal and abnormal”. Female Lead from A Daily Dose of Sunshine.

Quote: “Psychiatry is for those whose mental immunity has been weaken. Anyone of us can find ourselves in a weakened mental state”. A Daily Dose of Sunshine

The Story

A Daily Dose of Sunshine is about a psychiatric ward nurse with a different approach to psychiatric therapy, being kind and showing empathy. I am just now getting back to finish this drama, which debut at the end of 2023. For my taste, A Daily Dose of Sunshine was stellar. The story centers around the life of a nurse in a Hospital psych ward and the many story arcs of the many patients who pass through its halls. This drama is the closest drama to another stellar Korean Drama, Chocolate (2020). A Daily Dose of Sunshine asks you to take a good look at your mental health. Before it is to late, give “Me” a little attention.

One of the most poignant scenes in the whole drama for me was when and overworked overstressed mom was admitted to the psych ward, because of pseudo-dementia caused by being overworked and over stressed. The head nurse of the psych ward is also overworked and overstressed and is facing a failure as a mom and wife. It was not until the overworked nurse had to sit down and listen to the evaluation of the overworked and overstressed out patient and the overworked and overstressed patient observed the overworked and overstressed nurse at her work that they both got it. They both finally understood their problem. When you view this part, look at the faces of each woman. Priceless. The camera shots in this scene has the patient’s face darkened out at times, so as to allow the viewer to put their face in that image. (Episode five, A Daily Dose of Sunshine).

Every story arc of A Daily Dose of Sunshine was written with great emotions and contained well researched information. The script is stellar and the acting was too. Each arc will touch your heart deeply. A Daily Dose of Sunshine get a high recommendation from me.

Quote: “Mom, why were you late?” Little daughter. “I had so many sick people at the hospital.” Mom. “But mom, I am sick too, and you are a nurse. Why wouldn’t you nurse me too?” Little daughter on A Daily Dose of Sunshine.

Quote: “That person who was always smiling . . . His smile was pitiful to me. And so my heart ached. Hurting words have a way of hurting you, no matter the occasion”. Lead Female tries to calm her heart. A Daily Dose of Sunshine


Quote: “Life’s problems are like a public train, the longer the time of travel the more passengers you take on”. Me

Actors Corner

Yeon Woo Jin (Good Doctor), Park Bo Young (Strong Girl Bong Soon), and Jang Dong-Yoon (Flowers in the Sand). All gave great performances.

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Tang Dynasty Tour (2018) Period RomCom Chinese Drama with a serious ending

The main character is Yun Ye (Played by Wang Tianchen)—Wang Tianchen’s personality is so perfect for this role in Tang Dynasty Tour. Most will fall in love with this actor.

Tang Dynasty Tour (2018) Period RomCom Chinese Drama is a Chinese drama which acts as a tour through history, like the American Movie Forest Gump.

Tang Dynasty Tour is a Time Travel drama, which takes you back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE). This is a Time Travel drama instead of a Time Slip, because there is a definite mode for Time Travel. It is an ancient ornamental hairpin.

Quote: “Water carries a boat, and yet water can overturn it”. Tang Dynasty Tour.

The Story

A radical young smart archaeologist named Yun Ye (Wang Tianchen) is warned to be careful while in an archeological dig, as they combed through buried ancient Chinese artifacts. Yun Ye ignores the warning and falls down through a compartment which seems to have no way out. Using his ingenuity, he finds an opening that opens with a woman’s hairpin. Nevertheless, Yun Ye is unaware that he falls through a time warp, which takes him back to the Tang Dynasty. He decides to stick around for a tour. Along the way, he falls in love. Since most of the Royalty in this drama are historical figures, it is fun to see how Yun Ye touches bases with history, ancient culture and artifacts, and events, like in the American film Forest Gump. Since I study history in general, I picked up most all of the references to Chinese History. Tang Dynasty Tour is scoring a 9.2 on the Chinese Streamer iQIYI, even with a very bad translation Team. The Chinese are going to get the historical references more so than most others cultures. In the same way, Forest Gump would score higher in America, because the central theme has American History.

What is unique about the drama Tang Dynasty Tour is that Yun Ye can use his brilliant mind and his vast knowledge of the future to control and guide him through, and invent different ways to live in the past. I truly enjoyed this drama immensely. There are the most complicated love triangles in Tang Dynasty Tour than in any other Asian Drama I have seen. This drama has all the bells and whistles for my taste.

The following is a quote from Emperor Tang Taizong:

“If one uses bronze as a mirror one will be able to adjust one’s dress and hat properly. If one uses the past as a mirror, one will be able to learn the principles of the rise and fall of a dynasty. If one uses a person as a mirror, one will be able to discern one’s own achievements and mistakes.” The Zhenguan Zhengyao
(贞观 政要)

Specifically for one homage to history, look for the green Chamber Pot (toilet) of Emperor Gaozu, the Grandfather (Father of the Emperor Li Shimin and former/first Emperor of the Tang Dynasty). Yun Ye is granted any gift he wants by former Emperor Gaozu. He asks for the chamber pot (toilet) of the retired Emperor as a gift. While everyone laughs at the request, Yun Ye quips that it will be of great value someday. Along the way Yun Ye introduces or “invents” a game called Mahjong, a very popular Asian game today. The Tang Dynasty was long gone by the 1800s, when the very popular Mahjong was introduce to the world. However, we get to see Chinese people circa 600 CE play the game. Yun Ye also introduces Scandinavian furniture into the Tang culture and it becomes a hit. Come to think of it, Chinese furniture at a point in time in history does suddenly modernize and takes on a seeming European look. Okay, I am over thinking things a bit.

The time period of Tang Dynasty Tour is the Tang Dynasty (618-907CE), during the reign of Emperor Tai Zong. He is a real historical person who reigned over the Tang Dynasty 626–649 CE, of the period of Zhengguan. Because Yun Ye knows how to make granular table salt, Yun Ye becomes valued and protected, like a commodity. What salt did to food historically radicalized eating. Also in the past, salt was the same price as gold. Imagine a world without salt. With his inventiveness and future know-how, Yun Ye becomes the MacGyver of the ancient Tang Dynasty world.

Quote: “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Lord Acton (1887)

Set decorations, costume designs and shoe-ware are exquisite and so Tang Dynasty These are a literal feast to the eyes. Cinematography is off the charts and the drama has a great OST. Hair and makeup are divine. There is lots of Court Intrigue and thrilling action in this drama, women in distress, valiant swordsmen, it is all there, making Tang Dynasty Tour a fun delicious adventure. The plot line of The Tang Dynasty Tour Drama does get incoherent in some spots in the back half, as a few Chinese Dramas do. Over all, Tang Dynasty Tour is a Chicken Dinner Winner. (The drama is available on Amazon Prime Video and iQIYI in 2024).

Viewer Note: Be aware that there is a bad translator for this drama, Tang Dynasty Tour.

The Rules of Time Travel.

Somehow, because of his time travel to the past, Yun Ye has thrown off the original historical timeline. It becomes disordered. Yun Ye creates a grandfather paradox. The man who should have fathered his nation in the future (being the only male left in the clan) died because of the time travel insertion of Yun Ye. If Yun Ye does not agree to father the nation of Yun, as the last man, he does not exist in the future. He must become his own ancestor if he is to go back to the future. This is a modified grandfather paradox. The paradox entertains what would happen if you went back in time and killed your own grandfather. If in time, you always killed your own grandfather, you would never have existed in the future to go back in time to kill your own grandfather. That is a paradox similar to what Yun Ye faces. To correct the paradox, he inserts himself in as his own “grandfather”.

In Tang Dynasty Tour Time Travel drama, Yun Ye changes time events. Therefore, Yun Ye is in an alternate universe where events are correctable.

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Beauty and the Beast Inside

This is another high school drama about Beauty and the Beast Inside or the girl who was teased as an unattractive beast, but made herself over into a beauty. Other Korean dramas in the same vein are True Beauty and Gangnam Beauty. For me, this Korean drama was the most believable. Why?

A shadow person is a person who lives in the dark, behind another person. The shadow can be the true you or the false you. In this teen drama Shadow Beauty, it is a story about a very popular teen beauty blogger, who is a major influencer. The blogger is a teen beast beauty, who touches up her photos to look very attractive. Problems arrive when it is found out that there is a teen on another side of town who is a doppelgänger for the teen image she creates. And things get more complex when this doppelgänger transfers to her school and takes over the influencer’s false life. Of course, the influencer can’t tell the truth about the faker, because that would also expose the influencer as a faker too. Therefore in this Korean drama, you have two shadow teens, one who is a beast who made herself a beauty and another who is a beauty who has a beast of a personality.

Shadow Beauty is based on a webcomic, "Geurimja Minyeo” by A-Heum and has 12 Episodes at 20 minutes each. The cast of characters is great and there is an excellent use of young teen actors. The drama highlights how all the main characters have hugely interesting backstories, which makes them the personalities they grow up to be. Your shadow self emerges from inflicted wounds of your childhood, which have never healed.

Quote: “(As the so called loser) I was comparing myself to unrealistic beauty standards.” The anti-heroine of Shadow Beauty.

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What is all this hype about, with WWWSK? Did a kiss make this a Kdrama classic?

“What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim?” (2018) stars Park Seo Jun as Lee Young-Joon and Park Min-Young as Secretary Kim Mi So. The drama is taken from a Webtoon by the same name.

Each person can have their personal opinions about any drama. I am good with that. However, the Korean Drama “What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim?” is about more than that ‘top five kisses of all times’, in the back half of this Korean Drama. “What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim?” is one of the deepest Korean Dramas of all times too, in spite it being a RomCom. This drama is about a mental and emotional promise which one abused child (Lee Young Joon / Lee Sung Hyun) made to another abused child (Kim Mi So). That promise was to always be her protector, in spite of the mental and emotional hits he took in life to be there for her. While the child abuse was a shared experience of two young children (kidnapped by the same abuser), the young boy just took it upon himself to handle the abuse while shielding the little girl from it. Consequently, he took on the damage this experience would eventually cause in life while he hide her eyes from the potentially bad consequences.

WWWSK does display the comedic genius of Park Seo Joon, one of the top Korean Drama actors. However, the drama also delves into what made his drama character in WWWSK become the egomaniac which he became. The drama character Lee Young-Joon was a huge egomaniac and narcissist [having Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD)]. Even though his NPD produced the most laughs in the drama, some may not know that egomania and NPD can be caused by childhood trauma. The beautiful love story which emerges out of WWWSK becomes a healing process for all, as the now “grown little boy” (Lee Young Joon / Lee Sung Hyun) can finally keep his pinky swear he made with the now “grown little girl” (Kim Mi So) so long ago.

What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim? is a play on words. Is this exclamation a question or a discovery? Is something wrong with Secretary Kim or let me tell you what is wrong with Secretary Kim. Nonetheless, this Korean Drama is a must see for every Korean Drama devotee, in my opinion.

Personal admiration: For me, this drama (WWWSK?) has one of the top five drama performances by children. The child stars are actress Kim Ji Yoo as Kim Mi So (Eun Dan Oh [Young] from Extraordinary You) and actor Moon Woo Jin as Lee Young Joon / Lee Sung Hyun [Young] (It’s Okay Not To Be Okay, Castaway Diva). Kids don’t stay kids. Go figure. Watch for the great performance of actor Moon Woo Jin playing another abused child in Castaway Diva (2023).

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The writer made a conscious effort to avoid standard tropes. Great filmmaking.

Intelligently written fresh material from the mind of a great filmmaker.


The Deal Crime Thriller Mystery

Great acting, inventive and realistically raw story about two childhood friends who on a whim kidnaps another childhood friend, who is the son of a Chaebol. Everything goes downhill after that. The drama has great information about life in Korea as a male, after leaving a mandatory stint in the Military. This ordinary life is contrasted with the life led by the rich son of a Chaebol, whom the youths kidnap. In addition, The Deal Korean Drama explores the struggles of the poor youthful friends who feel forced to commit a crime.

The Deal is on the order of the great Korean Crime SyFy Drama ‘Signal’ and the Crime Thriller ‘Through the Darkness’. The Deal engages the brain to contemplate what is moral behavior? Does the quest for money allow you to forego acting with human kindness? Does criminality only reach into the neighborhood of the disenfranchised uneducated poor? My brain did not stop working from start to well after I finished viewing.

Off the bat, the writer of The Deal made a conscious effort to make this drama (The Deal) trope free. Miraculously and remarkably, you will be hard pressed to find one trope. This in and of itself sets this Korean Drama ‘The Deal’ above the crowd of Korean Drama usuals. Besides having poor youths and a son of a rich Chaebol, the action tries hard to avoid tropes by making different choices in the action outcomes, the backgrounds of its characters, how woman deal with bad situations, and who gets their just deserts in the end. It would take its own post to explain it all. The scripted material is fresh and thought provoking. The scriptwriter for The Deal is award winning and prolific filmmaker Hong Sang-soo, who is a writer and Director. There is some cursing and some violence in this drama.

I had thought that The Deal Korean drama would be a comedy, but this drama is serious filmmaking. The Deal is a Crime Thriller Mystery. The kidnappers keep making one bad choice after another. What is the right choice to resolve this dilemma and why does greed stand in the way? As a side matter, one thing that The Deal Korean Drama makes apparent is that all who think that they have privacy in this world are sadly mistaken.

The Deal stars two accomplished young actors, Baeksang Arts nominee Kim Dong-hwi (In Our Prime) and Grand Bell Awards winner Yeo Sung Ho. The drama also stars Yoo Su-bin (DP 2). The drama is listed as PG 14. At times, there is strong language and two violent scenes that push the boundaries of PG 14.


Intelligently written fresh material from the mind of a great filmmaker.

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What societal or political messages are expressed in "Arthdal Chronicles"?

Firstly, you must know that the writers built different societies that don’t exist in our natural world for Arthdal Chronicles. These societies have totally different belief systems. One has an unusual language (Think Klingon), and each of these societies have different religions, hierarchies, customs, and metric systems for success. When I say that the writers have built these societies from the ground up, I mean it. Thus, you will have to think to watch Arthdal Chronicles, because the action is presented from the point of view of the new societies. What these new societies would think and how they would react to each situation is how the action is driven. This is not your regular Joseon adventure fantasy. Secondly, if you don’t like to think when you watch a Korean Drama, you want a simple format served in a simple way, then you need to skip this one. Thirdly, Arthdal Chronicles has a very interesting storyline.

What many of the different Clans mirror from our society in this drama is prejudice, and a readiness to destroy persons they don’t understand. Ambition is in any society, because you can’t get rid of competition. Also, what is mirrored is that technological advances give some societies greater advantages over other societies. This mirrors real life. Are you going to choose to be benevolent or do you seize the opportunity to subdue and rule? The need for land expansion is always a cause for war, historically. This is a political message presented in Arthdal Chronicles.

Let me associate some of the societies with things we might know and understand.


Nweantal Clan—A Clan with persons of extraordinary strength and speed. One Nweantal can take down 15 men. This clan is peaceable and just wants to be left alone. You don’t bother them and they won’t bother you. They have blue blood thus their mouths are blue. They have cat eyes and are born with a funny scar on their backs. Their language sounded like they weren’t speaking Korean. It sounded like a made up language similar to Klingon. If I were to associate this Clan with something I know, it would be the Klingons from Star Trek.

Arthdal Clan—From what I could see, the Arthdal Clans (Saenyeok Tribe, Hae Tribe, and Hwinsan Tribe) are the more advanced Clans. In espisode 1, these Clans commits genocide of the Nweantal Clan after a failed alliance. They are aggressive people and use their power to wield authority to achieve submission. If I would associate these Clans to something I know, it would be Mongols or (with great sensitivity meant) Caucasian conquest of new worlds.

Yiareukeu (Wahan Tribe)—These are people of the earth, who are not looking for a fight. They just want to observe their ways, express their religion, and stay away from trouble. A very superstitious lot, these are a less developed people. The Yiareukeu thought it strange when someone thought to learn to use a horse for riding. This was something they did not do. If I were to associate them with something I know, think early American Native Indians, with their closeness to the soil and the natural earth.

Our main protagonist is Eun-Sum (Song Jong-Ki). He is half Nweantal and half Arthdal. His blood is purplish blue as a half-bred. Separated from his mother early on, Eun-Sum is raised by the Yiareukeu Clan (Wahan Tribe). One interesting scene is when he came up with the idea to ride a horse. Horses weren’t used like that. Eun-Sum has a twin brother (Saya) who was stolen by a warrior of the Saenyeok Tribe. He lives among the Saenyeok Tribe. Amazingly, Joong-ki plays twin 20 year olds, Eun-Sum and Saya, and he is pulling it off, even in his late thirties.

I love this storyline in Arthdal Chronicles, as it dares to be totally different from what I have ever experienced before in Korean Dramas. If you are adventurous, like puzzles, don’t mind thinking deeply, you might enjoy Arthdal Chronicles.

Side Bar—If you are not a Star Trek Fan, you won’t know what a Klingon is, so Google search it.

Arthdal Chronicles is a great Action Historical Fantasy Drama.

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