Drama Princess

Goong (Princess Hours, Palace)

Goong was enjoyable from start to finish. It was a bit slow in some areas and it annoyed me when the characters, when confronted, wouldn't speak up and readily defend themselves (and perhaps this is expected of the Korean culture that you don't react and to hold your tongue). Each character could have set things straight right at the onset instead of dragging it out and having the truth eventually reveal itself. But for the most part, it was a charming fairy tale, well acted and left me wanting more at the end of the series (and no, not in the form of Goong S).

Upon our introduction of Crown Prince Shin, the title characted played by Joo Ji Hoon, we find that he was promised long ago by his grandfather, the Emperor, to marry the granddaughter (Yoon Eun Hye) of his close friend. At the time this promise was made, the Crown Prince at the time was not Shin's father but his cousin Yul's father who had died in an accident when both Shin and Yul (Kim Jeong Hoon) were very young. Upon Yul's father's death, Shin's father was made Crown Prince, Yul and his mother were asked to leave the palace, and Shin became second in line to the throne, with Yul now shifted into the third position. When the Emperor passed away, Shin then became Crown Prince to the throne.

When Shin's father became ill, there was a sense of urgency in the royal family that Shin should fulfill his destiny and marry, and eventually produce an heir. He wanted to propose to Hyo Rin, a girl he met through a chance meeting and whom he had a deep affection for. He proposes to her but unfortunately is turned down. She wanted to fulfill her dream as a world class ballerina and knew that she would have to give up her dreams if she said yes. With that, Shin begrudging agreed to the arranged marriage with Chae Kyung (Yoon Eun Hye) but still can't get Hyo Rin out of his mind and continues to stay close to her. During all this, Shin's cousin Yul returns to Korea after spending many years in London. 

At first, Yul was polite to Chae Kyung whom Shin was pretty much ignoring because he felt sorry for her. But eventually, his sympathy for her turned into love, even after she married Shin. Confused by Shin's behavior towards her and her best efforts to try and make their marriage work, the attention she was receiving from Yul which she expected should have come from her husband, and created more turmoil and confusion within her. She tried to be understanding of him, knowing full well that both entered into this marriage not by choice but out of honor in fulfilling an agreement made long ago. But the more he pushed her away and shut her out, the more depressed she became and Yul conveniently was there to offer her a shoulder to cry on and support. Yul was open with his feelings to Chae Kyung which didn't make it any easier for her and Yul had hoped that in time, she would come to him openly. What he didn't count on was the Crown Princess falling in love with the Crown Prince. 

In the meantime, Hyo Rin, realizing the mistake she made in rejecting Shin's proposal, began a campaign to win him back and away from Chae Kyung with the help of Yul's mother (unbeknownst to Yul). Yul's mother had other motives which not only involved restoring her son's rightful position as Crown Prince but to also gain revenge on Shin's family for being ousted from the Palace 15 years ago. Both Shin and Chae Kyung, because of their involvements with Hyo Rin and Yul, were being criticized by the media and their actions, while innocent, was being perceived negatively by the citizens of Korea which endangered the status of the royal family.

Eventually, Shin falls in love with her but doesn't readily and openly admit to his feelings for her. They have their good days and bad days and plenty of misunderstandings between the two of them. We find out later that Shin is not versed in the ways of love, however, I find that hard to believe, considering how differently he treats his wife and how he treat Hyo Rin.

If you'd like to experience Goong for yourself, you can watch it online at DramaFever.  This version of Goong is not to be confused with Goong S which are two totally different storylines and each starring different actors. Goong S is not a continuation of Goong.

Until next drama...

The Drama Princess

A Quick Post

Thought I would drop a quick line to let everyone know that I haven't abandoned the blog--it's my birthday week and I've been celebrating since last Friday! Big family get together planned for tomorrow (Saturday) so I should be back on track once again! LOL!

I'm in a major drama dilemma. I decided to watch a new drama off the beaten path and take a break from romantic comedies. I've heard a lot about IRIS and wanted to check it out. I've so far watched the first episode and a half (the half was due to the site kicking me out because it was during their peak period; if I signed up to be a member, I can continue to watch it). I decided to catch up with it and finish the second episode sometime this weekend. What an amazing drama and it started off with a bang! It's a cross between Mission Impossible and the Bourne Identity. So far, it hasn't disappointed and am looking forward to future episodes.

Continuing with my drama dilemma, I decided to watch another new drama (again, off the beaten path) and after reading the synopsis for TIME BETWEEN DOG AND WOLF, I thought I would catch the first episode and see if it's worth watching. It got good reviews and it stars one of my favorite K-actors, Lee Jun Ki. Well, I was hooked! Like Iris, it started out with a bang and I'm looking forward to watching the remaining episodes (I might end up finishing the series before the weekend is up!).  Since Iris is currently on air, and there are three episodes posted so far, I can work it into my drama schedule (LOL!) BUT DramaFever just announced that it had uploaded SHINING INHERITANCE and now I have a desire to check that one out as well! 

Has anyone out there juggled more than one drama at one time?  I'm thinking it's no different that my watching American TV. I have my favorite shows that come on at different times and days during the week, most are an hour and I usually watch no more than 3-4 shows per week. This is doable. The downside is (or the upside, depending on how you look at it), with Asian dramas, especially if the series is complete and all episodes are available for viewing, there is a tendency to want to finish it all in one sitting (which is what has happened to me in the past).

Oh well..such is the life of a Drama Princess addicted to Asian dramas.  Until next post.

Drama Princess

My Girl

MY GIRL was witty, entertaining and so much fun to watch. I initially watched this drama over a year ago and was only three episodes in when I when I decided to pick up where I left off and watch it again. I don't remember which site I had resumed watching the drama on but it had problem with its links and I searched the internet for a site with its links intact. I didn't want to skip any episodes and wanted to continue where I left off. Finally, short of heading down to Koreatown and buying the drama, I found a site with working links and happily resumed watching. 

What was I thinking when I decided to shelve it for awhile? I really enjoyed this drama. Both leads, Lee Da Hae and Lee Dong Wook are magical together with Lee Dong Wook playing the straight man and Lee Da Hae exhibiting her comic genius. Their chemistry reminded me of Lucy and Ricky Ricardo on the 60's American TV series "I Love Lucy". This drama was my first exposure to Lee Dong Wook's work and at first glance, he did not strike me as Korean. His features were too Western. I'm not complaining, though. I think he's a very good looking actor and I enjoyed his performance in this drama. I'm looking forward to seeing his work in other dramas.

Lee Da Hae plays Ju Yoo Rin, who will do whatever it takes to make money. Raised by a single father, she is street smart and saavy, yet likable and warm. She meets Seol Gong Chan, Lee Dong Wook's character, one fateful day and before she knows it, she's playing the ultimate imposter--posing as Gong Chan's long lost cousin. Gong Chan's grandfather is dying and his wish is to seek forgiveness of his estranged daughter who died in a Japanese earthquake by trying to locate the granddaughter he never met before he passes on. Gong Chan's search to find his long lost cousin has not been successful. Desperate to fulfill his grandfather's wishes, he enlists Yoo Rin to play his cousin (of course, for a price) and the ploy is successful as his grandfather's health begins to improve significantly. Other than his personal assistant, no one knows of the charade. Gong Chan's cousin Seo Jeong Woo, played by Lee Joon Ki eventually finds out about Yoo Rin but finds himself falling in love with her at the same time Gong Chan begins to develop feelings for her. To complicate matters, Gong Chan's beautiful ex-girlfriend, tennis star Kim Sae Hyun (played by Park Si Yeon) returns to Seoul after being on tour and wants to re-establish her relationship with Gong Chan. She contributed quite nicely to the love quadrangle (or is it polygon?) and I have to credit the actress for convincingly portraying her as the scheming, manipulative ex-girlfriend who will do whatever it takes to try and reel back in her man.

What's interesting here is the complicated twist of Gong Chan falling in love with his cousin Yoo Rin (and vice versa), except she isn't really his cousin, but no one knows this (except for Jeong Woo who finds out but decides not to disclose this to Gong Chan). Jeong Woo tries to use this to his advantage and confesses his love to Yoo Rin with unexpected results. The "weird" closeness between Gong Chan and Yoo Rin raises questions within the family and with Sae Hyun but each is able to plausibly reconcile it within their own minds as normal behavior. Eventually the secret is found out and you hope that grandfather will forgive both Gong Chan and Yoo Rin, as well as allow them to be together. This drama had many comedic elements that make it a joy to watch and all the while, you're rooting for them to come clean and be together.

The next time I'm in Koreatown, I'm picking up a copy to keep in my Asian Drama DVD Collection.

Secret

Aaahhh...SECRET. This Taiwanese movie is one of my all time favorites. It had a refreshing storyline with a haunting, yet beautiful feel and an awesome OST to boot!

It's a story about a gift piano student who transfers to a new school. While being given a tour of the school by one of the students, he cuts the tour short when he hears the strains of a melody being played on the piano in one of the music rooms and is drawn to investigate what the song is and the identity of the pianist. He startles the pianist when he enters the room. When asked what she was playing, she smiles mysteriously at him and tells him that it's her secret.

He is intrigued and drawn to her and as he gets to know her, he senses that there is something very different, very odd about her and the world in which she lives in.

This is a movie that you have to focus on, not just on what is playing out on screen, but what is being said so as not to miss any of the details down to the most subtle nuances. I watched it a second time and found that I missed a few key details and glad that I did.

There were a few scenes in the movie which really didn't add to the storyline and I wasn't sure why it was included in the first place. But overall, I enjoyed it immensely.

I highly recommend buying the original soundtrack to the movie, especially if you are a fan of piano music. In case you didn't know, Jay Chou is an well-known Taiwanese pop star in Asia. I didn't know this until after I had watched the movie and my son clued me in. He sings a pop ballad at the end of the movie while the end credits are scrolling on the screen.

 I searched him on YouTube and liked his music enough to purchase two of his CDs--November's Chopin and Capricorn. You can purchase his music on YesAsia's site. I believe I bought the VCD with English subtitles from YesAsia as well.

If you do watch this movie, please let me know what you think.  Until next movie,

Drama Princess

1st Shop of Coffee Prince

1st Shop of Coffee Prince was the K-drama that officially became my absolute favorite and number one on my Asian Drama list and got my friend Conjie hooked. LOL! We both loved the drama. Of course, we both agree that we would have preferred to see a different ending and it was set up, hopefully, to introduce a second Coffee Prince (perhaps Coffee Princess???). We both joined the Coffee Prince Facebook Group and have speculated on what the second Coffee Prince might be about, as well as coming up with our own interpretation.

Both of my sons (ages 21 and 18) have seen the drama some time ago and loved it. They suggested that I watch it but for some reason, I just wasn't interested at the time. I happened to be at Music Plaza in Koreatown and saw that it was on sale and decided to buy it. I knew that I'd watch it eventually and if it's good as everyone says it is, then I wanted it to be part of my Asian Drama collection.

I was watching Goong at the time I bought Coffee Prince. After finishing all 25 episodes of Goong, I took a short break and invited Conjie to watch a new K-drama with me. I've been telling her about Winter Sonata and showed her the first 10 minutes of the drama. She became interested so we scheduled a girl's "drama night" on a Friday night. It really wasn't a new drama for me but one that I enjoyed and wouldn't mind watching over again. We decided to truly make it an Asian-themed night so we picked up food from my favorite ramen place in Sherman Oaks and she contributed a bottle of sake to round out the meal!

When it came time to select the drama to watch, she suggested that we watch something that I haven't seen. I had in my Asian DVD collection Hotelier, Stairway to Heaven and Coffee Prince--all still shrink-wrapped! We settled on Coffee Prince and watched the first three episodes that night. Long story short, it took me over a week to watch all 17 episodes (Conjie finished it before I did--she pulled an all nighter and finished the remaining 5 episodes and called me the next morning to tell me that she did). What did I like about it?

1. The Entire Cast - What a wonderful ensemble of talents that came together and drew us into the world of Coffee Prince! 
2. The Two Lead Actors - I officially became a big fan of Gong Yoo (Choi Han Gyul) and Yoon Eun Hye (Go Eun Chan). What sealed the deal for me was The 12th Cup when Gong Yoo's character expressed how betrayed he felt by the people he loved. He exuded vulnerability and emotion and you couldn't help but want to reach out to him and say, "I believe in you." Yoon Eun Hye, who I had watched in Goong, gave a wonderful performance masquerading as a boy while trying to hide the fact that she was a girl. She pulled it off, right down to the swagger. LOL!
3. The Plot - I've seen variations of this theme and this works. It draws you in and keeps you intrigued. I was worried that they would draw the secret out to the very last episode and was glad that it was revealed when it did. It gave us the chance to see both go through their own painful emotions--Han Gyul's feelings of hurt and betrayal once finding out the truth; Eun Chan's regret for not having told him from the beginning where her feelings towards him became clear.
4. The Setting - I love the Coffee Prince set. It would be a place I would frequent often. Because of the popularity of the drama, up popped a string of coffee shops in Seoul called Tiramisu Caffe, in the same style and feel as the Coffee Prince shop. If I ever make it out to Seoul, I will definitely be paying a visit!
5. The OST (Soundtrack) - What an awesome soundtrack! There are a lot of American artists who have contributed to this drama as well as talented Korean artists. You can buy the soundtrack at Music Plaza at the Koreatown Mall in Los Angeles or you can order it online at YesAsia.com.

What I didn't like about it:

1. The Ending - Well, I didn't entirely dislike the ending but I wished it would have ended differently. If I hadn't seen my boyfriend in two years, I would have been all over him like a cheap suit. It should have been a more passionate reunion, at least in my humble opinion. The finale could have tied up loose ends and still give us enough rope to look forward to a second installment. And if it needed to go into a second hour, so be it. I would have like to hear about Eun Chan's two years abroad in Milan, seen her reunite with Han Gyul's family and see what gifts she brought them, get an update on the grandmother's condition, and see them quietly get reacquainted again. I have a million thoughts on this but what's great about an imagination is that we can all build our own finales and happy endings.
2. Han Yu Ju's Treatment Towards Choi Han Sung - I felt that Yu Ju did not treat Han Sung fairly and give him the benefit of the doubt or the time to sort his feelings. She was allowed to be forgiven after she walked out on him to be with someone else but she couldn't forgive him on what I thought was a very minor indiscretion? He didn't ask for two years, just some time. Was that so unreasonable?

I'm sure I'll have more to say on this topic but at least this give me a head start. What did you like? What didn't you like? Let me know. Until next post...

Drama Princess

My Very Own Stage

Welcome to my little corner of the blogging world! Every drama queen...err...princess needs a stage and the internet is the perfect place for me to share my addiction to Asian dramas! I figure that there are a lot of us out there who share this same passion and I thought, why not? I know there are other blogs out there (Dramabeans happens to be one of my favorites) but not all bloggers communicate the same and we certainly don't watch the same dramas. We all have our favorites and I figure, it's a big world out there and the stage is big enough for all of us to share!

I'm getting used to this blogging thing so please bear with me while I work out the kinks. Thanks for your patience!

Drama Princess