Amastris Dratwka

Well, when Yu & Sam or the others bring it up, the translators indicate they say “countrified”. Sometimes when 1 or the other gets excited/emotional in their speech, it slips out.

I’m American, my native language is English & my 2nd language is Japanese, & I just recently started learning Korean. My limited understanding of the “sound” of Chinese comes from first having college friends from Hong Kong, Singapore, & the Philippines + my 1st Asian dramas being TW-dramas, Cantonese/Hokkien, then lastly C-dramas for “std” Mandarin. I have my own ‘listening’ preference myself, but I only know a few words here and there & don’t speak the language so what I’m saying is entirely from what others have told me.

The thing about Taiwanese Mandarin that I often hear is that zh, sh, & ch retroflexes are much more softer sounding. Mainlanders will think it’s ‘cute’ when spoken by a female, but consider it effeminate & unmanly for men to speak this way. Much like the difference between British/American/Australian accents, and even the regional accents within those countries, mainland Northern accent is considered the most sophisticated and precise, like how Brits think their London accent is the most proper English.

Especially with Yu’s accent, these aspects of the difference are discussed off-camera between the WBL actors. more than I’ve ever heard before. In an interview, when Sam’s “accent” came through, he even professed to have a “manly” voice. It’s come up because mainlanders have been bringing it up on forum boards regarding the drama as well. I think this is why, for this show, this topic is discussed much more than you’ve ever heard regarding these differences.

I know many Chinese believe that Taiwan is a part of China, pushing this idea through the UN & WHO but Taiwan, to this date, remains its own nation with its own laws.

Taiwan is the first Asian nation to have Same Sex Marriage as a law. When it passed, although Taiwan has laws against surrogacy, they require LGBT partners to have at least 1 of the partners biologically related in order to adopt. Without surrogacy, they’re unable to have kids. Thus, many went outside of Taiwan in order to get around the ban. [https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3843318]

By the May, 2020, advocacy groups and the fact that Same Sex Marriage had been the law of the land for a few years, caused a political push to introduce NEW law in support of surrogacy despite opposition from religious organizations who are anti-gay:
[https://www.ucanews.com/news/church-concerned-as-taiwan-moves-to-legalize-surrogacy/87931]

As it stand now, in Taiwan, the law is still being discussed in committees. The whole purpose is to protect the rights of all parties involved and not make this into a cottage industry:
[https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2021/02/25/2003752820]

WTF? 70% of Taiwanese speak Taiwanese Hokkien aka Taigi and it is one of the official languages of Taiwan. Mandarin is spoken in this drama because they’re selling it to China, via Tencent Video. Sam & Yu even discuss Taiwanese *accents* in their interviews, where Chinese fans call it sounding like “hicks” along with the fact that Yu intersperses Japanese in his dialogue.

If you’ve ever watched the TW-Drama ISWAK or ‘Drunken to Love You’ you’d have known this.
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwanese_Hokkien].

=/ I haven't liked anything Jung Hyun Jung has written as much since 2015. I don't think she's ever written an historical either, but I could be wrong. I hope she picks up her writing and makes this as good as her earlier stuff. I hate for him to comeback to a poor plot.

You forgot Taiwan. I understand that. I've made over 17K edits to the database myself. It was more a rhetorical statement.

The point I'm making is that the movie she is nominated for was written by a Korean-American professor for U of Utah campus in Incheon, South Korea. The film itself was produced by Christina Oh, along with Dede Gardner, & Jeremy Kleiner from Plan B who produced, along with NetFlix, Bong Joon Ho's 'Okja' released in 2017, 2 years before he made 'Parasite'.

Again, this goes along with the idea that 'Okja', which is Korean/American produced through NetFlix, has less Korean actors, as well as on-set crew working on it than 'Minari' did, but isn't listed because it's 100% American produced. This means that actors like Youn Yuh Jung's filmographies aren't complete is the main theme here. I'm just putting out the thought is all.

On a side note, Plan B Entertainment's Pitt, Gardner, & Kleiner's foray into Asian content is such a blessing for Koreans. They've helped open doors that should remain open in the future, and for good reason. ;)

Is the only reason this movie isn't listed on MDL because it's American produced?

The artwork and everything about it makes you feel like you're a part of the drama somehow. If you are a huge fan of the drama, it still a nice collectors item. As for me, I was already attending Korean language classes at the Korean American Cultural Center in Irvine, CA before these came out. It was a great way to study.

Oh, TYVM for sharing the link. It just goes to show how little we really know about the process, and making a lot of snap judgements based on the very *little* bit we've known. This here clearly shows that Shi De wasn't the *only* one aggressive in this scene. These 2 were literally creating raw art, and you may not like the content or topic, but it's still freaking great acting.

Ah, well if you prefer to get them from Amazon, here's the link:
[https://www.amazon.com/KDrama-Okay-Youngs-Fairytale-Finding/dp/B08GPJDL2F/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=Finding%2BThe%2BReal%2BFace%2B(1x%2BChildren%27s%2BBook)&qid=1616099858&sr=8-5&th=1]

Do you live in a country that blocks imports from South Korea?
They are available through Amazon.
I bought them from this South Korean online distributor. They sent it to me via DHL and I got the books in less than 2 weeks time. [https://www.harum.io/products/it-is-okay-to-not-be-okay-novels?_pos=1&_sid=cbe56fc06&_ss=r]

I actually have the physical copies of the 5 children's books she wrote 1) 악몽을 먹고자란 소년 - The Boy Who Grew Up Eating Nightmares; 2) 봄날의 개 - Springtime [Cheerful] Dog; 3) 좀비 아이 - Zombie Child; 4) 손, 아귀 - The Hand, The Monkfish; & 5) 진짜 진짜 알굴을 찾아서 - In Search of the Real Face. Inside, each book includes Ko Moon Young's autograph. They are so beautifully crafted. There are people who have posted their unboxing of these books on YouTube, if you want to see what they're like.

My collection also came with 2 books of 'It's Okay Not to be Okay' full script written in 2 Parts. I've been studying Korean and I thought it would help me with learning to read and write. ;)

I'm talking MDL only since I'm referring to the drama, about this drama, within the context of the MDL comments. You can see it at the top to the side of the drama's listed rating. It tells you how many MDL users indicate they were/are at one point watching this drama, how many users gave it a rating, what their overall rating is, and how many people have posted an official review. It's not anything surprising or new. Just scroll to the top of the page and look for yourself.

Oh wow thanks for this.

His statement, "[GSD]is not just a normal seme in a seme/uke-type relationship...isn't that type of idol-drama, or super sweet shipper-producing-type that everyone wants to see...GSD is a living and breathing person--he has his flaws..strengths..stupid side..smart side..the way I see WBL..never considered it male/male drama..the drama is the most important thing..how everyone sees the love story that is in this drama..." --I'm utterly gobsmacked by this.

THIS IS IT!
I think this is the reason so many are having a visceral [i.e. sudden emotion rather than from thought or deliberation] to this drama. This is what I've been saying & thinking. These actors are making these characters as real as can be, and so invested in them that their flaws can really make someone feel uneasy by it. It's like if you came up on someone's private interactions and eavesdropping on them. It's a feeling of voyeurisms that can give you a sense of uncomfortability if you have triggers to the content. ;)

Hmm.. Interesting.

I get that you're not watching any makjang anytime soon, but for me, I enjoy a good makjang when I'm in the mood. When the actors & acting is good, it can be so satisfying to feel the emotions it generates within me, good or bad. I appreciate the sensationalism of the genre, and that's why it exists and still a popular style in Asian drama-land. To each his own.

With regards to the totality of season 1 & 2 of this, I wouldn't even call it makjang. Hell, it's not nearly as bad as the concepts conveyed in both seasons of TharnType. Anyone who can get through TharnType and rate it over 6 shouldn't have any issues with this drama. Anyone who can get through TharnType 2: 7 Years after watching all the other ThanType material and give it over a 6 should being **loving** THIS drama. Even I dropped that drama at episode 1. Talking about flawed characters. No one has actually been raped, badly beating, kidnapped, gaslighted, or terrorized here.

I'm wonder what's so much more flawed here, than the other, when so many people watched TharnType. Put it this way: So far, on MDL WBL S1 has only 12K viewers & a 8.5 rating, while TharnType has 26K viewers & a 8.2 rating. You don't hear all the drama about TT like you are here. Now we're in S2 and only 2 episodes in and the hate for WBL S2 is real, if you read down the comments. So far, for WBL S2, there's only a little under 8K viewers with a 8.6 rating, while TT S2: 7 Years of Love has 14K viewers and a 7.7 rating. Speaks volumes. The demand for perfection from Taiwanese producers of BL material is real. No one puts that kind of pressure on Thais!! Why?!?! Because you expect slap/kiss & rape sequences! When the Taiwanese PDs show you the audition tapes and the aggressiveness of the characters that was portrayed from the start, to expect it to be different is asking too much. If you do NOT ask the same from Thais because of the expectations, it's silly to do it here.

I'm just saying that the **few** viewers that are watching should give the drama the time to unfold before passing judgment. We don't know what kind of **healing** we'll be conveyed. We haven't gotten the previews to make that determination. At a minimum, if you bothered watching TT at all, you should give this drama the same level of respect.

Wow. The more I hear the more I appreciate him as an actor. He really thought through everything to do with this character and has strived to make it his own it seems.

Touche as why I said "2" not "1".

I never said the audition was the sofa scene. I said that it was a synopsis in which Sam & Yu could adlib. There are aspects of both scenes in this audition clip. In my view, none of it was toned down, it just was incorporated into it all, and based on how they handle themselves, and how impressed the PD was with their versions of the characters, when it came time to film, they felt comfortable enough to allow them to actually do improv, as in the sofa scene.

Results Entertainment also posted a small clip showing Sam & the Acting Coach going over how he'll do the sofa scene, and the bts of filming the portion where Sam's sitting out front of the house. The PD seem very pleased & proud with the process since they're giving us all this extra footage on their IG.

Whether or not this drama is good makes no difference to me. I simply refuse, as much as possible, anything released on MGTV.

Mango is the absolute worst for international fans:
1) the cater mainly to Chinese fans,
2) whatever subs are provided tend to be poor quality,
3) anyone telling you they suffer from 'copyright' issues on their YT channel is being misleading. If you use the app, you don't get issues, but you'll also not get translations. They leave translations for international fans to their YT channel.

Their YT channel is their own. Mango owns the rights to their dramas, period. That means, whatever they post to the YT channel is under their own copyright. The point about this is **why do they mute sound to portions of their drama episodes for those posted on the YT channel. It's obvious. They're blocking the background OST from the show. My assumption is that they don't want anyone ripping the OST music for pirating or some such nonsense, but the entire thing is ridiculous and makes the YT channel episodes practically unwatchable.

And that's why I'll avoid a MGTV broadcast, regardless of how great the drama is and how much I'd actually like to watch it, UNLESS, someone pirates the episode from the app, translates it, and posts it.. but then again, that's all illegal, so it just puts you in a bind now, doesn't it?

Sam does not have Yu in a choke hold, Yu has his forearm against Sam's neck in order to keep him from coming closer, and Yu's physical position during this interaction during the audition is no different than his exact positioning in episode 2. It was familiar to him, and in the audition you see who ended up sprawled on the floor. Stop making issues where there were none. They muted it for a reason. At the end of the footage you can hear some of the dialogue they gave, and yes, it's in the description by the PD for Result Entertainment. They were given merely a synopsis of what the scene should be about, for the audition, and they were told to improvise it so they could see their what their chemistry was like. Result PD stated that their chemistry was off-the-charts from the start, and felt the 2 had already developed into their characters at this point.

Amazing!! Results Entertainment posted Yu & Sam's audition footage. My understanding was that Sam didn't want the fans to see it, but they released it anyway. Note that when they did this scene they were only given a synopsis of what the scene was about regarding meeting again after 5 years and asked to do their own interpretation of it.

After seeing this footage [https://www.instagram.com/p/CMejrdogjHD/] I believe I understand now why they allowed Sam & Yu to do the 2 infamous scenes that have caused many comment wars in the manner they did it. Based on any of the criticism & negative comments Sam has gotten over things, I realize the motive for Result Entertainment to post this despite his protests. My final statement about the last "controversy" is, Shu Yi, at no moment in time, is a pushover & unable to protect himself.

Lastly, this season, including Pei Shou Yi & Yu Zhen Xuan, is about broken men with broken relationships, trying to work out their emotions, hoping to eventually heal themselves. The characters are meant to be flawed and emotional. It was meant this way from the start, as you can see in the audition tapes. If you want your characters, especially your protagonists, to act perfectly in every situation, including while drunk & impaired, and to be demi-gods, or saints, maybe this isn't the drama for you. You're only getting flawed characters here, and any expectations otherwise will surely be a disappointment to you.

I get that you're on a crusade.
I get that you think your views are the only correct views.
I get that you think that any actor that used alcohol on set for a scene where they're acting drunk was because they had issues with alcohol and devastated them in the future.

How about I add the actresses Nicole Kidman, Sandra Bullock, Stockard Channing, & Diane Weist??? I don't think you can claim them to be bad actresses, right? You can't claim that they ALL didn't have illustrious acting careers, right? I don't think you can refer to them as having problems with drugs or alcohol that has affect their lives or their careers, right? Well, these four ladies got drunk on tequila when they all decided to make real margaritas for their party scene in the movie 'Practical Magic'. Why did they decide to do this??? Stockard Channing stated, "I think one of the hardest things to do is a fun, raucous party scene. By take 28, it is very hard to keep that up. I think it [spiffing it up with a drink] worked."

I get that you think that what these ladies did was unprofessional and that it should have destroyed their lives and careers and made the movie a disaster and everyone to consider them unprofessional and horrible actresses.

I get that you think that Francis Coppola was an awful Director with an horrible idea to film Martin while he was actually drunk. That won't stop people from believing that 'Apocalypse Now' is one of the greatest films ever made. For Coppola to have been nominated for an Oscar for Directing it as well as it getting a nomination for Best Picture and the English nominating Sheen for Best Actor for his role in it at the BAFA. Nor did it stop over 100 film productions, afterward, from him being considered professional enough for them to hire him in them.

I think Sam will be just fine...

But by all means, continue your crusade.