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straydogsandsaranghaes · 7 years

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Which k drama should I watch next? I've only seen boys over flowers and weightlifting fairy kim bok joo so far, but I see you posting about all these shows and they look good, but which ones are the best? I mean I have to work so I can't watch all of them unfortunately haha

Hey! Okay, so be prepared for a huge deluge of information and incoherent babbling over the kdramas I love. This is gonna be a lot…

And thanks for asking the question! I’ve honestly been thinking about doing a totally random post about this anyway :)

So, I totally understand about the job thing, I am just insane and watch way too much tv way too fast…but with kdramas, slow and steady will still get you there, and probably it will be healthier and with the same if not more enjoyment if you don’t plow through them like a tornado as I do. Okay, so enough of that…here’s the list:

Goblin: the most beautiful, well-done, tragically happy (…so actually sad but with hope and some happiness at the end) kdrama out there….honestly, there is too much to say. The cinematography is stunning, the acting will blow you away, especially gong yoo’s and kim go eun was terrific too. This one has a really cool plot that deals with reincarnation in a super cool and interesting way. Honestly I wasn’t really a fan of the concept of reincarnation until I got to see it from the cultural perspective that’s presented in kdramas. This is half historical drama/half present day.

Scarlet Heart Ryeo (Moon Lovers): A time travel trope starts off the story, sending the female lead back in time to the Goryeo dynasty and she’s thrown into the political machinations of the many princes/sons of the first king of Goryeo, many of whom are vying for the throne: cue tragedy…honestly, this show is so good, with a stellar ensemble, but you gotta be prepared for tragedy and heart break…but you’re going to enjoy it.

AND CURRENTLY I’VE BEEN TOTALLY OVERWHELMED BY THE SUNSHINE THAT IS JI CHANG WOOK and I’ve been working through his filmography.

Healer: which is one of his best shows (and a good show regardless of whether he’s in it or not) is a fun action adventure. It’s about this guy who is a thief (nighttime errand boy) for hire, whose code name is ‘Healer.’ Ji Chang Wook is great at action BUT is on top of that, I think, a really good/enjoyable actor. And honestly, his smiles are sunshine and when he cries, it will break your heart. Basically, it’s about him and the female lead (who’s totally great too) working to bring to justice the people behind the murders of some journalists in the 90s who were murdered but honestly, I would definitely recommend this show if you don’t want something as heavy as Goblin (which, warning, is a bit slower paced than some kdramas) or Scarlet Heart Ryeo. Some other good Ji Chang Wook shows, (but not as good as Healer) are: Warrior Beak Dong Soo, Bachelor Vegetable Shop, and K2. Warrior Beak Dong Soo, is a sprawling historical drama that’s kinda long at 29 episodes, though honestly the plot sustains itself fairly well. And in Bachelor Vegetable Shop, Ji Chang Wook plays the most pure cinnamon role in the whole world who just wants to sell quality fruits and vegetables to people and make their life better (there’s honestly a ton more drama but that’s the basis, lol). K2 is a bodyguard-love story, political drama.

The Master’s Sun: This is also one of my ALL-TIME favorite kdramas. It has So Ji Sub (who is beautiful and a compelling actor) and Gong Hyo Jin (who is amazing in everything she does and she’s one of my favorite actors). Anyways, it’s a bit long (23 or 24 episodes rather than the usual 16 that the others I’ve mentioned so far are) but it’s amazing. It’s about a girl that can see ghosts after she had a near-death experience and she runs into the ceo of a company (who has a traumatic past) and for some reason when she touches him, the terrifying ghosts she’s been living with for years suddenly disappear. And through a series of circumstances, they end up working together to mutual benefit and it’s a bit of a serial sort of show (which is a bit different than the normal kdrama that just has an overarching plot). For almost every episode there is a new ghost/story and at the same time the show’s story arc also follows the investigation of uncovering the truth behind the male lead’s traumatic past. (And maybe it was just me) but some of the ghost stories definitely got me teary/sobby, but they are so compelling, and then the otp is such a great slow burn with a fantastic resolution. This and Goblin and Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo are my favorite kdramas of all time.

Coffee Prince: This is another Gong Yoo show. It’s a bit older, but just give the first episode a bit and you probably won’t notice. It’s about a girl in a Twelfth Night/She’s the man cross dressing scenario, where she gets mistaken for a boy and through a somewhat convoluted way that makes sense, ends up getting a job at a coffee place called, Coffee Prince, that only has male baristas. And honestly it’s so great, and the female lead is super great and hard working and I love her and Gong Yoo’s character’s whole inner turmoil of his attraction to her (whom he believes to be a him) is great and fun and angsty and perfect.

Other honorable mentions are: Full House, Strong Woman Do Bong Soon, Jealousy Incarnate (which is honestly this really great show about a weather girl-turn newscaster who’s in love with a male newscaster who gets breast cancer and she is the one who tells him he might have it and honestly it’s so good and interesting and deals with a lot of great stuff, k, this one’s actually a strong recommendation too), She Was Pretty (strong rec. as well), Chief Kim (about a rag-tag team of accountants trying to take down the man, it’s hilarious), Cheese in the Trap, Entourage, Hwarang, Cheer Up, Page Turner (a great little three-episode thing, Kim Ji Soo and Kim So Hyun are TERRIFIC in this), Shopping King Louis (which is light and happy, the main two are actually human puppies), My Shy Boss, Oh My Venus (Shin Min Ah and So Ji Sub are in this and their chemistry is terrrrrrific), Descendants of the Sun.

Also for a quick k’drama’ fix there are a couple movies I’ve watched which were great: Finding Mr. Destiny was kinda great, pretty light (a bit tv-movie-esque) but still strong and really enjoyable. And Train to Busan, which is the THE BEST ZOMBIE/HORROR film made in the recent past. And honestly, if horror’s not your thing, still give it a try. It’s not really mine either but I managed with this movie and it ended up being totally worth it–soooo good (and sad). Also, Werewolf Boy was great (the half that I watched) but I haven’t finished it yet.

Okay, gosh, that was SO MUCH, but that’s basically all of the good ones, although I may have missed a few here or there.

Enjoy! Please let me know how you like any of them. I’d be so happy to discuss your thoughts :)

#long post #kdramas #recommendations #sorry for the incoherent babbling

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katierosefun · 3 years

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alright babes, it’s that time of the month again!

unwarranted and unasked for things that i’ve been watching/reading/listening to in the past month that aren’t 100% star wars related, but for the sake of............[gestures vaguely] idk bro it’s my blog i’m mentally sitting on my bed and giving everyone at the sleepover a ted talk okay? okay. let’s do this. also.....long post, i was watching/reading/listening to a lot of stuff this month as a reward for....post-finals and also pre-lsat stress:

kdrama: hymn of death

god look at they

so, this was a kdrama available on netflix! it’s split into 3 episodes, each ep. an hour long, so i finished it in two days. this kdrama follows the story of a singer and a writer living in 1920s korea, back when japan still occupied the country. apparently, this kdrama is based on the real story of yun sim-deok and kim u-jin, whose tragic love story is still really popular in korea today. essentially, their love story is an affair--kim u-jin is married when he meets yun sim-deok, and they fall in love and write letters to one another in secret. things escalate, and unable to bear their lives trying to separate them, they decide to jump off a boat together, essentially killing themselves.

it’s a tragic story, and i honestly expected this to make my heart hurt--and it did. i’ll admit that i kind of wish there was more to the story--a lot of this kdrama is told in flash forwards and etc., and while i really did love the dialogue and the aesthetics and the acting (oh man, the acting), i really wish we had more narrative-wise to go on. despite that though, the actors really brought this story to life, and once again: just like...everything is beautiful in this kdrama. so if you’re looking for a korean drama to take your mind off things but don’t want to commit yourself to a 16-21 episode ride, this one is probably for you!

(also,,,so much poetry you guys. my heart.)

school 2013

“caroline your crush on lee jong suk is jumping out again” yeah yeah yeah i KNOW, so what i’ve been watching this moron’s entire filmography leave me aloneeee...but anyways, this kdrama is honestly?? pretty good? i’ll admit that i def. felt like i was going through a time machine because you can so tell that this was filmed in the early 2010′s just because of the camera angles and just...a bit of a rougher cut, but that doesn’t mean it’s still not a really wonderful story with super well-developed and interesting characters.

i’ve talked ad nauseum about this kdrama here on tumblr, and more of my thoughts can be found on my general kdrama rec post, but like...guys. it’s so good. i’m obsessed with all the characters, and this kdrama, while older, is so powerful. there’s so many heartwarming moments, not to mention the relationships between all of the students/the relationships between the teachers and the students/the relationships between the teachers (oh god......rivals to co-workers to co-parents of a class to lovers PLEASE)........it’s all just very beautiful. i think i just really appreciate how this kdrama hits ALL THE NOTES--from discussing how important it is to have a dream to demonstrating how the school system makes the lives of their at-risk students so much harder to like.......all the struggles that teenagers face because of school....bro. :’))

anyways, i really, really, really loved this kdrama. the whole cast was absolutely perfect, the soundtrack is perfect, the relationships are perfect. i recommend that everyone watch this kdrama at least once. get through the first 2 episodes--i promise things just pick up so much faster after those first two episodes, and suddenly you’ll be watching episode after episode just because you care about these kids.

babyfaced beauty

so, like i said—choi daniel and jang na ra’s wonderful chemistry in school 2013 compelled me to watch babyfaced beauty right after. like school 2013, this kdrama is a little bit on the older side—i think it aired in 2011, so that explains some of the bizarre camera angles and some older tropes that i’m not particularly the biggest fan of. basically, this kdrama follows a 34 year old woman who has to fake her age to get a job in the fashion industry. because of some mix-up at a club, her life is now intertwined with one of her new co-workers, a brash young man who’s 7 years younger. so their romance kinda starts off how a lot of older kdramas’ romance start out—with some behavior that,,,frankly, i didn’t like. because of that, i think it took some time for me to actually like this drama—at around episode 3 though, i think i found myself caring enough about at least a handful of the characters, which was what kept me going. i loved the theme about deciding to persist and follow your dream, no matter your age.

however, even though i was a little turned off by some of the behavior at the start of the drama, i was pleasantly surprised by like...the character development? so when the romance officially started, i warmed up to it super fast, and i don’t think it’s just because i think choi daniel and jang na ra have good chemistry. choi daniel’s character definitely is brash and a bit clumsy with his words, but he grows and like...is a lot more gentlemanly than i gave him credit for at first? and also, he just...i think he’s very genuine, and his absolute adoration for jang nara’s character makes me :’)) and jang na ra’s character, whom i was scared going to be too much of a wide-eyed airhead, turned out to have a lot of strength and like...a good moral compass and a steady head on her shoulders. i genuinely rooted for her the whole drama through, and i rooted for her relationship with choi daniel’s character.

so like...overall? i binge-watched this kdrama in the span of like...a week just because as soon as it gets going, it gets going. i honestly liked this kdrama a lot more than i thought i would, and i’m glad that i watched it, because it was honestly very bright and made me :’))

jugglers

they’re so fucking cute i could cry also yes my crush on choi daniel is SHOWINGGGG

okay....so i swear i was watching while you were sleeping while also watching this....i didn’t actually watch three kdramas starring choi daniel in a row....i s-s-swear..........

but simply put: i loved this kdrama. literally one of the cutest and softest kdramas i’ve ever watched, and i’ve watched quite a few. it took everything in me to not re-watch it literally right after watching the final episode, and once again: that is saying a lot. this kdrama basically follows the story of a secretary being assigned to a man who’s notorious for not taking secretaries.

not gonna lie, i kinda felt odd about watching a kdrama that included a love story between a boss and his secretary, and i of course would feel a little wary of it irl, but i think this kdrama shifts the playing ground between them so it feels a little less weird. also, it’s just impossible to not love them, just because...they’re really lovely? they’re so soft, and the cast is excellent, and the actors did a wonderful job in bringing out the genuine affection and respect between the two. :’))

but more than that though, this story is just about what happens when two people learn to trust each other. you have this story about people loving each other despite their own sad pasts and hardships. and it’s just. the softest. there’s other things that’s excellent about this kdrama too--and there’s even a storyline that i felt was a nod to choi daniel’s drama babyfaced beauty, and there’s another storyline about just...other young women who are involved in an office that often mistreats women. so i just. there’s a lot of good things about this kdrama, and i 1000/10 recommend this, especially if you just want a super soft love story featuring people who are so ridiculously in love that you feel like you’re third-wheeling constantly--

movie: the call

bro this movie messed me up

based off the 2011 film the caller, the call (2020, dir. lee chung-kyeon) is about this young woman (park shin hye) who receives a series of troubling calls from a different woman who lives in the same house...but twenty years ago. this movie is def. a psychological thriller / horror film, and there’s blood, tragedy, and also...a super negative depiction of people with borderline personality disorder, which made me ://///

there’s some really beautiful scenes in this movie--there’s this one scene that absolutely broke my heart, and idk by the end i felt like i just appreciated my family a lot more, so there’s that. i also...weirdly felt for the antagonist of the film (played by jeon jong seo), although like...again, i really hated that having borderline personality disorder was like...one of the reasons / parts that contributed to her being...a flat-out killer. like. idk. i’m very tired of these tropes.

that said though, i did enjoy the time-travel-esque element to the horror film, and the subplot was nice. park shin hye, who plays the protagonist, also really brought her a-game to this film, and she’s always been a fave actress of mine, but like...bro, i can honestly say as someone who’s seen a lot of her work, i think this is one of her best acting jobs ever. i also just...really love any horror film that’s super character-focused rather than horror-focused, and i think this was definitely one of those movies that made sure you were thinking a lot more about the characters and their pasts instead of like...the literal killing part (which, of course, def. occupies a lot of the movie, but in a different way from most, you know?).

so like,,,idk. i watched this movie, i have some issues with it, i liked it, and it freaked me out. i think fans of psychological thrillers / horror might enjoy this, but like...again, be warned for some icky rep. on the borderline personality disorder side of things. :///

loving vincent

this movie was actually a lot shorter than i thought it would be, but that doesn’t make it any less powerful. in just the span of an hour and a half, this movie goes into how a young man delivers vincent van gogh’s final letter to his beloved brother theo. in the process, our protagonist learns of vincent’s last days.

this movie is just...beautiful. you can tell the people who made this movie really love vincent van gogh, and that’s one of the best things about this film. each frame is painted too, which...just artistically wise? is nuts. the art blew me away, and again: you can just tell how much people really, really, really loved art and vincent van gogh and everything van gogh loved and stood for.

i can’t really go that much more into the movie except my heart just hurt a lot thinking about this artist who didn’t know what else to do except just. paint. and at least he was living his own truth. i’m so. agh. the music is also beautiful (the final song playing during the credits makes me :’))) anyways, i fully recommend watching this movie for anyone who loves van gogh / art / wants to get into a creative field but feels kinda lost. because this movie. this movie makes you. feel things.

podcast: greenhouse

this podcast is super cute. made by the same person who made the bright sessions, greenhouse is all about a writer recluse named rose who, in a bizarre final request from her late father, must write letters to a florist named abby.

guys. after spotify recced me me & au, i’m genuinely starting to think that my mind is being fed into some computer algorithm, because first of all, writer character named rose, also lovely literature/movie references, also this is very gay. this podcast definitely leans into the trope of “seemingly suave but also kind of sarcastic protagonist falls in love with a literal ray of sunshine”, and i’m honestly here for it. each episode is pretty short (maybe 4-6 minutes long total!), and i’ll admit i kind of wish that there was a little more buildup between the two characters, but that could just be me. overall though, i really enjoyed the podcast, and like...there are cinnamon buns and emma and beloved references, and for a baking lit nerd like me, that’s...basically my kryptonite. also, the final episode made me smile really hard. also, the piano music for the intro and outros are very pretty, definitely a mimic of period dramas, i think. so. give this a listen if you too are a romantic lit nerd.

documentary: suicide forest in japan

so...in an impulse decision, i decided to watch this 20-minute documentary after coming across this post. the aokigahara forest is infamous for the amount of people who have committed suicide there, usually by hanging or sleeping pills. sometimes people will just live in the forest for a day or two because they’re still deciding whether they want to die.

this documentary was...quietly beautiful and also quietly sad. we follow geologist azusa hayano, who gives a brief history of this forest and also the things that happen here. first of all, he seems like a lovely man, and he sympathizes a lot with the people who have come here. he guides us through the whole of the forest: from the cars still parked outside that have never been restarted since their owners left, to the walking paths, to the part of the forest that’s corded off as a warning. we see bits and pieces of the things that people have left behind: a woman’s mirror, some notes, etc. it’s all very sad, but something i truly enjoyed about this documentary was just. mr. hayano’s commentary on the lives of those who stumble in here. how we need to take care of each other. how we should be able to co-exist and the like.

there’s some more stuff that happens in this documentary, but i think i’m just glad to see something that was respectful and just. honest about the aokigahara forest. unfortunately, lots of horror movies have been made about this forest, not to mention that whole logan paul incident in 2017. i think mr. hayano said it best himself--about how like...there’s nothing scary about someone committing suicide / seeing a suicide corpse. it can’t attack you. it’s just sad.

anyways, i’m glad i saw this documentary. it’s pretty short as far as documentaries go, and it’s very quiet, and idk. i think everyone kind of deserves to hear a mr. hayano say something about how we’re not all alone.

music:

i can’t get through this rec list without mentioning olivia rodrigo’s debut album sour. i’ve been obsessed with everything she’s put out so far, but this album like...just blew me away. i’m so amazed by olivia’s powerful vocals and her wonderful song lyrics. i rambled on a bit about this album here, but i think my favorite tracks are traitor and good 4 u and hope ur ok and brutal and drivers license--honestly, they’re all very good, and i think something i just...appreciate how olivia rodrigo is able to so beautifully put words to all the difficult feelings that come with teenage angst. and, like?? i mean this in the best way possible, because like,,,olivia’s very self-aware, and there are plenty of lyrics in this whole album that nods to yeah, i know that i’m kind of being selfish / kind of petty / people probably think i’m overemotional and sensitive, but HERE ARE MY FEELINGS, DAMMIT, SO YOU BETTER LISTEN, and honestly? i’m here for it. i honestly think olivia’s going to go big and that she’s going to become a real big phenomenon, just because her lyrics are so powerful and also relatable, not to mention she has an absolutely stunning voice, and she’s only?? 18 years old?? bro. anyways, i absolutely loved this album, and i def. recommend that everyone gives it at least a listen. my only warning is that the whiplash from “YEAAAAAH I’M ANGRY AND I’M GONNA BURN SOMETHING DOWN” to “oh my god i’m so sad i’m going to lie down on the floor and cry quietly at 2 am” feelings are REAL.

i’ve also totally, absolutely caved and decided to listen to lizzy mcalpine’s album give me a minute. so, like...i’m a stubborn gal who for some reason built this wall around lizzy mcalpine just because spotify kept recommending her music to me, so i guess because of that i decided to be like “well, now i’m not gonna listen”, but then i listened to pancakes for dinner, promptly fell in love, and i’ve been mildly obsessed with her album. each song hits so hard and has so many beautiful lyrics, not to mention lizzy’s voice is just...very nice to listen to. highly recommend, because it just...good feelings, esp. if your heart’s kind of raw and you just. need music to help you put the words to your feelings.

some more music, because just...a lot of beautiful music came out this month for some reason, but:

funeral by maisie peters, feat. james bay. i’m really in love with maisie peters’ music, but i had this on repeat as soon as it came out. maisie peters has a wonderful streak for having songs about being a little uneasy about love, and this one is just def. a favorite in that genre. also, maisie and james’ voices are so lovely together. also “i want you to roll in your grave like you’re not dead / i want you to call off the whole damn funeral”...

astronomy by conan gray. this is a slower song of his, and as always, i’m absolutely taken away by his voice and his lyrics. there’s this one line about how distance is supposed to make the heart grow fonder but apparently not for us and yeah i might have lost my mind a bit.

#caroline recs #i watched and listened to a LOT of stuff this month which is why this is LONGGGG sorry!#also....#tw suicide #tw negative depictions of bpd

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