How many similar articles are you gonna write? And I say it again - if you really want to help (someone), do it…
Actually, publicly announcing donations like this can be problematical for the doner, which is one reason why many rich people keep it secret.
Can you guess what the reason is? It should be obvious.
In case you're having difficulty, I'll tell you.
It's because they'll often be inundated with requests for money from every charity and hard up person out there.
IU knows this and does it anyway. So what's in it for her?
What do you think she gets from it? Praise?!! Really? That's worth all the hassle she'll get from all and sundry for doing it?
She's a top singer, actress and presenter. She gets paid a fortune. She's loved by millions world-wide. Isn't this praise enough?
Well, maybe it isn't. But if it isn't, it'll be obvious with her character. She will be a very vain person who is constantly after attention. She wouldn't share it with anyone.
Have you seen her show? Where she's invites fellow singers, actors and friends to sing her songs and then she sings theres?
They love her, she's very generous with sharing the spotlight. You have to be generous to do that as an actor of her calibre, too. No one likes a diva, and she wouldn't be able to produce so many top dramas without the generosity to share her scenes, rather than dominate them. Lee Sun-kyun and IU were best friends. They loved each other, partly because of the characters they played in MY MISTER (or MY UNCLE). His death devastated her.
You don't get that with selfish prima-donnas who constantly crave attention.
When making such blanket comments about celebrities who do or don't declare their charitable deeds, at the very least, find out something about them first.
I love Park Bo Young, but this is her third attempt to do something more mature and she still hasn't quite nailed it. The three attempts being Daily Dose of Sunshine, Melo Movie and Our Unwritten Seoul (I've not seen Lamp Shop) which were all worthy, sincere dramas, that were also all quite flat and unremarkable.
Each of those films illustrate Park's attempts to do something more challenging, and the performances are all very naturalistic, but they're also very flat. I think that in an attempt to show a more mature side, she's hidden everything away that made her such fun to watch. She needs to keep some of that eccentricity to bring her characters alive.
So yeah, i agree with you. She's a fabulous actress, but she wasn't as good as Kim for this year's nominations.
Kim go eun, who also played a psycho role in Price of Confession and absolutely nailed it, wasn’t even nominated…
Great examples. I think the rewards should be made to state the reason they were nominated and not others, to justify these seemingly arbitrary choices.
There is no way Our Unwritten Seoul and especially Bon Appetite Your Majesty were better than Kim You Jung's breakout performance. Bon Appetite was a paint it by numbers slapstick romcom. Fabulous leading actress, but there was nothing outstanding about it.
Park Bo Young faced a similar break out role for Our Unwritten Seoul, but actually I didn't find much between her two roles as being anything of notable worth. I love both actresses, but Park is still struggling with more mature performances, and the depth of characterisation is still not there. She's determined to do it and I'm sure she will one day soon, but Our Unwritten Seoul wasn't it. So why was she nominated and not Kim You Jung? On the face if it the challenges for both actresses was pretty similar, but only Kim showed the depth of character the role required.
Park Shin Hye is another actress i regard highly and choosing between the three of them would normally be very hard for me to do, but in this case, her role in her drama was totally unremarkable. It's done exceptionally well, but it's not a role that stretches Park Shin Hye in any way. It's a role that is fast food for an actress of her calibre.
However, Undercover Miss Hong and Our Unwritten Seoul are of similar quality, so why Seoul was nominated, but Hong wasn't, is also perplexing.
Maybe it's to do with the TV companies, who are increasingly only using their own galaxy of actors in their productions, which is deciding what series and therefore what actors are being nominated. Rather than the shortlist being fairly weighted. Who knows? But it's something that has cast a shadow over the Oscars since the award began, and there's nothing to suggest South Korea being any different.
Alhambra - such a interesting series - time to rewatch!
I'm watching Phantom Lawyer, but I've got a list of approaching a hundred mostly k dramas to watch, going back decades.
I watch a few C Dramas, but they tend to be very very long, which rule out most of them. Also rate dozens of J dramas and dramas from other places like Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand & Taiwan.
IU is pure class. She always looks elegant, her vlog shows how eloquent she is in conversation and how warm and relaxed she is, too, she's a great actress with an eye for good projects, she's generous with sharing the limelight, modest, welcoming and charming, her singing voice is fabulous, but it's her acting which is sublime. I thought she was amazing in Hotel del Luna and she blew my mind in Persona, but then I saw My Mister, and that was way beyond everything else. I've still to watch Tangerines, which was a huge hit. In my view she is probably in the top ten actresses in Korea.
"Through the actress Park Bo Young, audiences will be able to experience the process of everyday life transforming into a genre."
Something lost in translation there, maybe it was saying watch Park Bo Young transform as the story takes its toll on her character?
Whatever the meaning, looking forward to this. She's a beautiful and fun actress to watch, and is trying to take on roles which require more of a range and that challenge her appearance, such as Daily Dose of Sunshine and Our Unwritten Seoul.
That's brave. The changes can take the sparkle out of her performance, meaning that facial expression becomes much more important.
Alhambra - such a interesting series - time to rewatch!
The best shows are way ahead of anything from other countries, truly inventive and engaging, often ridiculously whacky, but still fun, like Alchemy of Souls, Glory, My Mister, and the first series of Gyeongseong Creature.
Incredible how seriously South East Asian countries takes the looney opinions of self entitled nobodies. I mean, grumbling about an actor not saying a lot, and deducing from that, that he didn't prepare for the role? Crazy.
I love K dramas, they often cover great social issues, such as feelings of worthlessness which, living in a highly competitive society, must be a terrible strain on many people. Anything which makes it easier for socially shy or awkward people to reach out and talk to someone is always worthwhile.
Korea is unique in using this trope, where the villain or villainess is given a chance at redemption and forgiveness. It is a remarkably effective plot device when used wisely. I'm looking forward to watching this if it ever comes to the UK.
Love Korean film and TV, so whenever someone in that industry dies i mourn their loss. It's a bit strange coming from a 61 year old Brit, but Korea seems to have a uniquely supportive industry (between it's actors and crew, less so from the cancel culture company heads) and the extras that the poor actors have to film to support their work really does humanise them. All those silly Netflix quizzes and those lovely chummy interviews between costars.
Korea lost a veteran actor at the very end of 2025, and now another at the very beginning of 2026. I really don't want to see another death for the rest of the year.
Ye Jin is absolutely top drawer actress, him...not so much 😃
This is a reply to all the above. I'm going to have to look out for his expressions in future. Whilst he doesn't have many, i assumed he was being subtle about it, because many Korean actors and actresses ham it up a lot because of the nature of how adults are perceived as children in many S Korean rom-coms. I was actually thinking, this makes a change! 🤣
Now I'm going to have to watch those dramas again to see if my personal bias has skewed my outlook.
Ye Jin is absolutely top drawer actress, him...not so much 😃
Not many men make top drawer actresses, tbh, but to be serious, I'd need to see him in a drama which required those long close ups, see if he can do subtle as well as dynamic.
Can you guess what the reason is? It should be obvious.
In case you're having difficulty, I'll tell you.
It's because they'll often be inundated with requests for money from every charity and hard up person out there.
IU knows this and does it anyway. So what's in it for her?
What do you think she gets from it? Praise?!! Really? That's worth all the hassle she'll get from all and sundry for doing it?
She's a top singer, actress and presenter. She gets paid a fortune. She's loved by millions world-wide. Isn't this praise enough?
Well, maybe it isn't. But if it isn't, it'll be obvious with her character. She will be a very vain person who is constantly after attention. She wouldn't share it with anyone.
Have you seen her show? Where she's invites fellow singers, actors and friends to sing her songs and then she sings theres?
They love her, she's very generous with sharing the spotlight. You have to be generous to do that as an actor of her calibre, too. No one likes a diva, and she wouldn't be able to produce so many top dramas without the generosity to share her scenes, rather than dominate them. Lee Sun-kyun and IU were best friends. They loved each other, partly because of the characters they played in MY MISTER (or MY UNCLE). His death devastated her.
You don't get that with selfish prima-donnas who constantly crave attention.
When making such blanket comments about celebrities who do or don't declare their charitable deeds, at the very least, find out something about them first.
Each of those films illustrate Park's attempts to do something more challenging, and the performances are all very naturalistic, but they're also very flat. I think that in an attempt to show a more mature side, she's hidden everything away that made her such fun to watch. She needs to keep some of that eccentricity to bring her characters alive.
So yeah, i agree with you. She's a fabulous actress, but she wasn't as good as Kim for this year's nominations.
and especially Bon Appetite Your Majesty were better than Kim You Jung's breakout performance. Bon Appetite was a paint it by numbers slapstick romcom. Fabulous leading actress, but there was nothing outstanding about it.
Park Bo Young faced a similar break out role for Our Unwritten Seoul, but actually I didn't find much between her two roles as being anything of notable worth. I love both actresses, but Park is still struggling with more mature performances, and the depth of characterisation is still not there. She's determined to do it and I'm sure she will one day soon, but Our Unwritten Seoul wasn't it. So why was she nominated and not Kim You Jung? On the face if it the challenges for both actresses was pretty similar, but only Kim showed the depth of character the role required.
Park Shin Hye is another actress i regard highly and choosing between the three of them would normally be very hard for me to do, but in this case, her role in her drama was totally unremarkable. It's done exceptionally well, but it's not a role that stretches Park Shin Hye in any way. It's a role that is fast food for an actress of her calibre.
However, Undercover Miss Hong and Our Unwritten Seoul are of similar quality, so why Seoul was nominated, but Hong wasn't, is also perplexing.
Maybe it's to do with the TV companies, who are increasingly only using their own galaxy of actors in their productions, which is deciding what series and therefore what actors are being nominated. Rather than the shortlist being fairly weighted. Who knows? But it's something that has cast a shadow over the Oscars since the award began, and there's nothing to suggest South Korea being any different.
I watch a few C Dramas, but they tend to be very very long, which rule out most of them. Also rate dozens of J dramas and dramas from other places like Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand & Taiwan.
Something lost in translation there, maybe it was saying watch Park Bo Young transform as the story takes its toll on her character?
Whatever the meaning, looking forward to this. She's a beautiful and fun actress to watch, and is trying to take on roles which require more of a range and that challenge her appearance, such as Daily Dose of Sunshine and Our Unwritten Seoul.
That's brave. The changes can take the sparkle out of her performance, meaning that facial expression becomes much more important.
Korea lost a veteran actor at the very end of 2025, and now another at the very beginning of 2026. I really don't want to see another death for the rest of the year.
Now I'm going to have to watch those dramas again to see if my personal bias has skewed my outlook.