My Shifting Opinions On K-Drama Last Decade VS. This Decade

I remembered how I wrote a post where I compared two K-Drama princesses namely Suzy Bae (this decade) and Song Hye Kyo (last decade). I just want to think about how my views on K-Drama may or may have not changed -- plus how long it took me to actually get a liking to it.

I started watching East Asian drama last decade on the early 2000s. I started with Meteor Garden which was from Taiwan -- though it was based on a Japanese Manga and Anime. I took a bit of a break from Japanese entertainment (but not really) to focus on Chinese entertainment. Then there was something REALLY NEW, yes new -- it was Korean Drama. I wasn't too much of a fan of it at first, I really just didn't like sad endings and the very first K-Drama I watched was Autumn in My Heart.

Autumn in My Heart was really what I'd call a waste of tissue of paper. It's just crazy how I watched that TV series just for eye candy than the plot that unfolded. What I did start to enjoy it for was the lack of unnecessary drama while keeping the necessary doses up and active. I still couldn't get over how Song Hye Kyo could cry so beautifully. She was more than a pretty face. She does her job well. In Full House, she really knew how to act the opposite of her character -- from the gloomy character to a crazy, spunky character that I would want to be my girlfriend! Heck, I "hated" Young Jae for "stealing" her away from me! But that one didn't build my momentum immediately either -- especially when I was watching last decade's Super Sentai for obviously dumb reasons!

I admit, I haven't been too big on Korean culture except for its cuisine and I would watch some of their variety shows subbed. But I didn't care too much about K-Drama myself. Then I started getting my taste fatigue with Japanese Tokusatsu -- I thought I was ready to move on with other stuff until I realized I just needed a break. Right now, I'm enjoying the latest installments of Kamen Rider and Super Sentai. But I still feel the need to watch some good K-Drama one way or another -- though I choose ones that aren't so sensitive or controversial either.

Suzy Bae entered the scene and I watched a few of her series either for her beauty (and she's not as pretty as Hye Kyo) or the plot (such as Gu Family Book, Uncontrollably Fond and While You Were Sleeping). Neither her acting nor her beauty stands out over Hye Kyo IMHO. But I started looking at what I should be looking and enjoying what I should be enjoying -- the PLOT and not the attractive female lead. Yes, I thought about it that I don't find some of the recent ones all that attractive but I could just enjoy the good story when there's one and admire them for their contribution. I mean, one show did teach me eye candy can't save a bad show, right?

As of right now, I feel like I want to spend more of my leisure time with new school K-Drama. But again, my opinions may shift due to several factors such as taste fatigue or what's new may be so good it overshadows a lot of the old stuff. There's really no telling what may change my opinion on K-Drama because there's always good ones and bad ones. I'm just being selective towards what I want to watch and review from both old and new. K-Drama is no different, right?

"Light The Night's" Finale (Spoilers Ahead)

SpikyTV I guess the series just kept us guessing, right? I finally got the chance to finish it after some busy nights. I was right that the killer was HANA (Esther Liu) BUT there's a twist - it was more of voluntary manslaughter than murder. Manslaughter is when one kills out of the heat of passion and that's what Hana did twice in the story. Hana had one against a client who used her and another against Sue after some unfortunate insanity attack. Hana ends up planning to hand herself over but her lover commits murder (towards a character named Chiang An) to protect her. The whole psychological thriller for me just didn't match up to what I wanted. I guess I was too used to how Victim's Game rolled out. I was expecting some real murder scheme. Instead, it was the anti-climatic manslaughter where Hana decides to hand herself to the authorities after what she did. I really still think that the finale wasn't worth too much of the wait. I was expecting something gran

I Just Finished "My Golden Life"

I finally finished My Golden Life which I was hesitant to watch. 52 one-hour long episodes? I was thinking it was easier to watch the Wuxia series that had 40+ minutes per episode such as Princess Weiyang which was quite long. A lot of episodes of My Golden Life would have a few minutes more depending on the coverage of the episode. So, I'm done and I never thought I'd actually finish it since I'm way too used to short K-Dramas. This one was rather long but it was rather entertaining in many ways. I was thinking about how Shin Hye Sun actually did well with on-screen partner Park Si Hoo. Sometimes, I'd like to joke about how they had a chemistry that looked good and felt good. Looked good? Both aren't attractive and I often joke how Hye Sun's face feels melted or how she was rightfully matched with Lee Jong Suk in Hymn of Death . Hye Sun isn't pretty but she really makes up with her good acting and likability. The same goes for Si Hoo with how he acts out hi

Just Finished "My Glamorous Imperial Concubine" (Some Spoilers)

This is another Wuxia series finished. I was having some expectations broken. The show can be full of spoilers when discussed even further. In fact, some characters are walking spoilers. If you're not ready to be spoiled - DON'T READ. If not, you can read further. I feel the show had some plot twists and turns. Besides, maybe some of the villains in this show weren't as evil as you think. Emperor Liancheng is an antagonist but dies before the show can end. Liancheng may have some idiotic obsession with Ma Fuya. It becomes even worse when Liancheng's younger sister Liansi and his younger brother Lianxi get involved. Liansi develops a crush on Meng Qiyou and even gets pregnant in the process. It seems that Ma Fuya was pregnant with Liancheng's baby but ends up in Qiyou's household after Liancheng dies. Liancheng dies doing a selfless act to save Ma Fuya. The obsessive empress Ma Xiangyun commits suicide to kill Emperor Liancheng. Emperor Liancheng's quite a

Sean Akizuki's East Asian Drama and Movie Blog

Search This Blog