Even if you’re not satisfied with Ah Shui’s character arc, the harsh truth is her acting range and her billing…
Reality will not get through to edit-fu and goalpost-shifting word salad. But kudos to you for trying. The account doesn't care for spoiler tags. They want everyone to know about A-Shui and focus on A-Shui, while trying to avoid the fact that their initial comment was primarily using A-Shui to diss the screenwriters. There's only been one account so persistently carrying the torch for A-Shui.
Since Zhang Linghe and Tian Xiwei are doing so well together in currently-airing Zhu Yu ie "Pursuit of Jade", more people will be watching his dramas after PoJ. Someone should focus on that great opportunity for the actress they like as FL in a not-yet-aired drama with him.
Dear 5-March-2026-created account whose profile is still completely empty today, which episodes have you finished…
People who lurk didn't forget what happened on this page. If anyone scrolls down this page to the posts from the day the drama stopped airing in late-November 2025, they can see someone posts comments but no one engages. She has to reply to other accounts.
It takes a lot to alienate an entire page of people who don't know someone. Didn't help that someone who brought a group of people here treated this drama page like a fan page and crapped all over the drama about everything else because their favourite didn't wind up with Tang Lici, then tried to play the victim card.
If they'd bothered to listen to people like Azure who said this show is heroism-focused before the drama aired instead of insulting others and using slurs and attacking WoF because WoF has no romance tags even before the drama aired? This page constantly got all sorts of rubbish more than 4 months ago such as:
"Shame on creatives writers, production team producers and channel for [ section omitted by me due to spoilers ------------] TRAGIC SHOW MAKERS THEY ARE COMPLETE SADISTIC MENTALLY UNSTABLE THAT THEY": https://kisskh.at/755725-shui-long-yin#comment-24170962
Shitting on the scriptwriters with uncalled-for insults.
Constantly attacking this drama in different ways, such as constantly posting data that multiple people find oddly misleading, until people understood: "Ah thanks so much, yeah I thought the exchange with her wa a bit odd!"
After calling out and blocking one account for harassing me and others while that account exercised nasty names and vulgarities on other female actresses save one, getting attacked by at least three different accounts one after another calling me names and whatnot really sells the belief of sockpuppets. Edit-fu and goalpost-shifting are hallmarks of all those accounts. You can see all the vitriol in her gaslighting replies to me. Same manure, different salad dressing.
It's because of her that I ended up making a fair number of friends on this page, by the time the drama ended.
If someone still perpetuates edit-fu to shift goalposts and use word salads, no point engaging further. They can continue liking their own comments.
"the cases where unverified investigation or audit information is publicly disclosed in ways that cause an…
I believe investigative programs on Korean TV such as "Exploration Planning Straight" should be the ones to convey information since they have credibility and accountability, so the public can reach preliminary reliable conclusions. The episode that aired recently on Sunday 8 March focused on one-person agencies used by celebrities, and went in-depth for Cha Eun Woo's case.
Zapzee's recent article (not AI translated) reporting about the program is explicit about the details from the program about land purchased by Cha's Gallery ie the company set up by Cha Eun Woo which he earns income from:
[ Cha’s Gallery, the company Cha Eun Woo set up in 2019, is a family-run business. His mother is the CEO, with Cha and his sibling as directors, and his father as the auditor.
For highly-paid celebrities, paying income through their agency leads to a higher tax rate of up to 49.5%, including local taxes. However, using a one-person company lowers the tax rate to around 27.5%, depending on profits.]
[ On March 8th, MBC’s investigative program Exploration Planning Straight reported on Cha Eun Woo, who is accused of evading 20 billion won in taxes through his one-person agency.
Lawyer Kim Myung Gyu said, “We can assume the National Tax Service has already found major issues. This shows it’s not just a mistake, but active tax evasion.”...
... Exploration Planning Straight reported, “Cha Eun Woo’s income is estimated in the tens of billions of won. A tax rate reduction of more than 20 percentage points could save him tens of billions of won in taxes every year.” They also added, “The tax burden could be further reduced by saving profits in the company or using them as business expenses or salaries for family members registered as employees.”...
... Exploration Planning Straight also reported, “In July 2020, Cha’s company bought a building with a grilled eel restaurant, its land, and nearby woodland. The total area was 14,973 square meters (about 4,500 pyeong), and it cost 1.75 billion won ($1.2 million), with 800 million won ($535,260) financed by a loan under the company’s name.”
They added, “In February, the company bought more land (2,069 square meters, about 1,230 pyeong) right in front of the restaurant for 1.1 billion won ($736,000). Despite buying land the size of three soccer fields, it’s unclear what business activities are taking place at the site.”
Cha’s Gallery later changed its name and became a limited liability company. Exploration Planning Straight explained, “Unlike a stock corporation, limited liability companies don’t have to disclose or audit their finances, making it hard to know if more real estate was purchased or if expenses were properly reported.” ]
Amazon's lousiness is nothing new. I avoid Amazon.
The UK is very screwed up at this point on multiple issues, so I try not to think about that XD But I empathise with the citizens and tax wonkiness, on top of other screwed-up issues.
Absolutely - there are laws in place and that official should be punished severely. As an individual he deserves…
Buying property through a one-person corporation is not an issue if the corporation is committing activities that legally justify its status eg as an entertainment management company. Not doing that usually leads to -very-different conclusions.
Zapzee's article (not AI translated) was even more explicit about the land purchased by Cha's Gallery ie the company set up by Cha Eun Woo which he earns income from:
[ Cha’s Gallery, the company Cha Eun Woo set up in 2019, is a family-run business. His mother is the CEO, with Cha and his sibling as directors, and his father as the auditor.
For highly-paid celebrities, paying income through their agency leads to a higher tax rate of up to 49.5%, including local taxes. However, using a one-person company lowers the tax rate to around 27.5%, depending on profits.]
[ On March 8th, MBC’s investigative program Exploration Planning Straight reported on Cha Eun Woo, who is accused of evading 20 billion won in taxes through his one-person agency.
Lawyer Kim Myung Gyu said, “We can assume the National Tax Service has already found major issues. This shows it’s not just a mistake, but active tax evasion.”...
... Exploration Planning Straight reported, “Cha Eun Woo’s income is estimated in the tens of billions of won. A tax rate reduction of more than 20 percentage points could save him tens of billions of won in taxes every year.” They also added, “The tax burden could be further reduced by saving profits in the company or using them as business expenses or salaries for family members registered as employees.”...
... Exploration Planning Straight also reported, “In July 2020, Cha’s company bought a building with a grilled eel restaurant, its land, and nearby woodland. The total area was 14,973 square meters (about 4,500 pyeong), and it cost 1.75 billion won ($1.2 million), with 800 million won ($535,260) financed by a loan under the company’s name.”
They added, “In February, the company bought more land (2,069 square meters, about 1,230 pyeong) right in front of the restaurant for 1.1 billion won ($736,000). Despite buying land the size of three soccer fields, it’s unclear what business activities are taking place at the site.”
Cha’s Gallery later changed its name and became a limited liability company. Exploration Planning Straight explained, “Unlike a stock corporation, limited liability companies don’t have to disclose or audit their finances, making it hard to know if more real estate was purchased or if expenses were properly reported.” ]
Any conclusions look undeniably explicit, to anyone who watches that episode.
Former President of the North Carolina Film Critics' Association Douglas Davidson was literally gushing about BoTG (with some understandable criticisms as someone with no background with the comic), and I'm amused at the fanboy-side emerging in this essay of a review after reading his review just now: https://elementsofmadness.com/2026/02/23/botg/
He's clearly got a media background plus similar movie interests ie Christopher Nolan and wuxia films.
Enjoy the review: "Yuen Woo-Ping’s comic adaptation “Blades of the Guardians” is a rich wuxia adventure that’ll thrill you from start to finish."
The cast of "Blades Of Guardians" clearly weren't expecting so many milestones given how poorly wuxia films usually fare at the domestic box office, so when the domestic box office grossed 1.3 billion RMB by 3.38 pm this afternoon, within 23 days? The likes of Yu Shi need their staff to find higher-quality pictures of their movie characters for future milestone posters XD
Zonglan News usually reports on social issues, trending news and breaking events. They, Jinhua Evening news and Beijing Youth Daily congratulated BoTG's achievement and praised Yu Shi's performance in managing to combine humour with professional acclaim, ending with "恭喜于适！期待于适未来更多优秀作品":
The official weibo account for Maoyan Films has congratulated BoTG and confidently announced looking forward to further alterations of the milestone sketch by Xu Xianzhe, once the next milestone of another 100 million RMB is reached, also zooming in on Jade-faced Ghost Shu's ongoing change of expressions: https://m.weibo.cn/detail/5275328752124248
Xu Xianzhe worked as a Korean translator in the early days of drawing the comic, which has been adapted for this movie. I'm happy for him, and for films like "Blades Of The Guardians" and "The King's Warden" helping cinemas through tough times to fill audience seats :D
Today, Shaw Theatres in Singapore also posted on Instagram to congratulate BoTG grossing more than $1.26 million at the Singapore box office: https://www.instagram.com/p/DVvXHD8kw7w/
Sisterhood and strong female characters with goals independent of males in BoTG is a huge attraction, drawing strong praise for certain changes from the manhua such as removing all traces of romance (which is easy to do) to showcase the independence of Ayuya while also highlighting her growth. Executive co-producer and screenwriter Yu Baimei wanted a wuxia film that isn't male-dominated, and his thinking has benefitted the female actresses. Various characters such as A-Ni, Yanzi-niang, Kui Zhi, Ayuya and Peiwu Mi'er are being lauded by viewers for their uniqueness and strength, and viewed as refreshing because their characters are memorable without needing to be stuck in a romance.
Yu Shi's portrayal is one to watch, and the likes of other actors such as Seventeen's Wen Junhui are also viewed as bright lights of potential in the future of wuxia films. Unknown to many viewers, Wen Junhui has a martial arts background from his childhood! The links below are all in English :)
Who cares? Hollywood has its own people getting bitten by spider, turn into massive green giant, fly to the sun…
BoTG grossed 1.3 billion RMB more than 2 hours ago, as per Maoyan Professional Edition. I'm cackling because on weibo Yu Shi is clearly running out of photos (or his team didn't expect to have to find high-quality shots) for his personal poster highlighting box office milestones.
Less than 50 minutes ago, Maoyan Films has also posted Xue Xianzhe's sketches for the milestones while congratulating BoTG and Yu Shi and looking forward to this sketch changing yet again when the movie hits 1.4 billion RMB: https://m.weibo.cn/detail/5275328752124248
Everyone is cheering. No wuxia film of the past 20 years could expect to hit 700 million RMB or even reach this, especially not within 23 days. This movie should be allowed to run for at least three months from the date of airing.
A sequel name was officially registered by a Yuen Woo-ping company in July 2025 with the CFA. I'll dm you about the synopsis.
I haven't checked out Beyond Time's Gaze yet! Your description sounds fascinating.
Having read the novel by Teng Ping (which the drama loosely adapted to become Whispers of Fate at the point of said novel being unfinished and abandoned), I can appreciate the differences and the improvements. For me, the novel is interesting and very different from the drama, and both are up my alley.
The drama did well in terms of screenwriting, to try to give characters better outcomes and portrayals of their inner world as characters. Where screenwriters made a mistake was not removing two more characters, to add to the ones they already cut out from the novel. I previously didn't think it was a mistake and one of the two characters could be made more iconic.
I changed my opinion and believe it is a mistake because if they had removed those two characters, we would get a tighter plot to flesh out certain subplots and themes, and we wouldn't get the rubbish previously raised on social media just to improve clickbait traffic for one actress trending much lower than her contemporaries on xhs and other mediums,. The MDL drama page also wouldn't have been flooded by the same nonsense, because some fans of one actress refused to accept how the screenwriters paralleled the novel ie no CP and a ML with issues that instituted firm boundaries with a woman he didn't love.
Being harassed by at least four sockpuppet accounts but standing firm and refusing to be bullied (they had bullied other MDL users on that page, and what one hears and then sees for oneself is the ultimate reality) unexpectedly resulted in the most number of friends I have made from that page. People were very cheesed-off by one specific account and when the drama finished airing, nobody wanted to engage with any comments from that account.
Your overall approach sounds like you want a reply, so you got engagement. It's fundamentally dishonest to edit your initial comment after seeing my reply, so that you can shift goalposts to try to misrepresent my stance which responded to what you said initially. You have continued the behaviour of one specific MDL user on this page towards me, despite your other claims.
I've been clearly civil about how I disagree with you in my reply to your comment, and I was kind enough not to use spoilers there.
You had posted a comment clearly targeting the screenwriters by then using the rest of your post to give the impression they don't seem to know what they are doing. When you do this as part of your overall approach, you will get an answer from people who read the novel.
Since you want to argue now using multiple comments using spoilers also after editing your initial comment, here's my follow-up final answer to you about your non-edited sections of your comment, which I now quote:
You said: [ They clearly invented a lot of things and did not fully realize what they were doing with AS. ] + [I truly believe this is something the writers accidentally overlooked ] ->
1) You made your post focusing primarily on harping about the screenwriters overlooking things and inventing things and not knowing what they did with A-Shui. I have pointed out why you are wrong, because to do so requires knowing what is in the novel. Kindly stop shifting the goalposts to claim that the novel shouldn't be referenced. It's a bad habit. Basic failure in debating etiquette.
2) You focus on episode 35. I am referring to A-Shui in the entire drama, including episode 40. You seem to be stuck on episode 35.
I invited you to post in the Buddhism thread. Your reply includes a claim that you don't post in the forum.
You now want to play the victim card, after all your actions I have summarised here. I answered your comment as you framed it initially, and not after you resorted to editing upon seeing my answer.
Your behaviour reminds me of one account that thanked me for my summaries and then tried to convince a new user to this page that I didn't know what I was talking about, by shifting goalposts and also misrepresenting what I said while dodging my questions. This was more than three months ago. I don't like this trend of dishonesty.
None of your replies to me are in good faith, in light of your behaviour to try to mislead other people reading all this. I want people to know what I'm replying to, so no more time is wasted.
There are only two approaches for A-Shui in this drama, whereby the first approach is what was finalised for the drama at a certain point because of Gui Mudan's presence and the location and the lead-up to it. The second approach is where accountability should be the second option, as an alternate deviation from script. If A-Shui is an adult who understands accountability, confess directly to Tang Lici and be accountable for her actions towards him when he didn't know what enabled her to somehow do certain things that seemed impossible and naturally made him very suspicious for self-preservation. Anyone in his shoes would be suspicious.
But there you are with your comment under spoiler tag, jabbing at Tang Lici for his natural self-preservation instincts and the fact that his mother is his primary female influence for episode 40.
I'm glad A-Shui remembered her name and had a happy ending with the man she most needed and wanted. Her moon that brought her back to herself, her white light. She's done enough, because she was never supposed to be part of all this. Just like the novel, she's been pulled into circumstances where she is way out of her depth, she tried to cope, but unlike the novel, she gets happiness with love and joyfully radiates it in episode 40. Emotional well-being and a happy life with family is great for A-Shui.
You want A-Shui to die for someone else to be worthy as per your claims, but your reasoning doesn't add up. Tang Lici has made it clear he doesn't want anyone to die for him, which is why he also keeps taking the biggest risks and protecting people such as Xiao Shi and Zhong Chunji and Shen Langhun and Chi Yun. He also saved A-Shui at least once. How can you claim to watch this drama and not realise this?
When someone sacrifices their life, it will make people who care for them very sad to know what happened. You don't have to die to be worthy of someone. We don't speak of life and death easily, especially from those of us who understand what that feels like. That is why we cherish people and want them to understand how to cherish life and protect what they love, hence any inevitable sacrifices also respects the value of life plus how and why people are important to each other.
Found family is a theme in wuxia. Accountability is wonderful, regardless of culture and country. You should look that up.
[ I only care for the stories that is being told and the characters in the drama. ] - > Great. Honesty and humility is the best policy for learning, and that includes learning to start caring about a need to stop gaslighting people. It's terrible online behaviour.
[ I don't write in the forum, cause again I don't want to. ] -> Then why make a standalone forum post in the forum, and then edit it after I replied to you in a comment? Tsk. Given massive gaslighting towards me in your four comments plus all that transpired before that, I suddenly recall, "Full of sound and fury signifying nothing" - Macbeth by Shakespeare
Thank you for the show-and-tell that tells me everything I needed to know about your account :)
Dear 5-March-2026-created account whose profile is still completely empty today, which episodes have you finished…
Likely stuck on episode 22, from the looks of it. They refuse to accept drama-A-Shui getting the man she most needed and wanted to be with, in episode 40.
Why is someone not happy over A-Shui sharing joy and love with the man she needs the most? This is absurd. Teng Ping didn't give that to A-Shui in the novel. The screenwriters added a lovely twist to give drama A-Shui the best happiness possible, as per A-Shui's expressions and joy in episode 40. Can't fault the screenwriters for taking a cue from Teng Ping with no CP.
Dear 5-March-2026-created account whose profile is still completely empty today, which episodes have you finished…
I don't see Zhong Chunji fans gloating that Zhong Chunji is more beautiful than A-Shui in the drama, just like the novel. I don't see Zhong Chunji fans complaining that Tang Lici did not choose to kiss Zhong Chunji in the drama, which was in the novel.
I have accepted that I won't get Xifang Tao's backstory, Shen Langhun won't have more screentime despite the most wonderful thought-provoking dialogues with Tang Lici, Shao Yanping with Zhong Chunji is something I also wanted more of, and finding out Xue Xianzi's backstory with Tang Lici. Episode limitation was not yet lifted, when the drama aired.
It's absurd to constantly have Tang Lici dragged down only because some people cannot accept that drama-Tang Lici matches novel-Tang Lici in certain aspects, so I'm finally being blunt about the screenwriters following the novel in this aspect of no CP. Teng Ping wasn't going in that direction either (regardless of the novel being abandoned and paused, or the novel being finished), so is Teng Ping going to be insulted next?
A-Shui winds up with the man she needs and wants the most, and they are happy spending time with each other doing normal things while sharing joy and love. It just isn't Tang Lici. Why is this so hard to accept, if one truly wants the best for A-Shui?
DistantDream's comment oddly reminds me of Hunter2022's forum post containing an absurd claim about Renegade Immortal being similar to Whispers of Fate. That account sounds like they watched the donghua through clips, so of course they can't get it right about Renegade Immortal while carrying this odd fixation on A-Shui and Tang Lici:
Absolutely - there are laws in place and that official should be punished severely. As an individual he deserves…
[ My biggest focus though is "what is defined as crime". That is what ideally needs to change.] - What's your definition?
I'm not going to jump down your throat. I'm genuinely curious. Well, if you prefer to take this by DM, I'd understand. I'm not sure if we are still on-topic or off-topic XD
If a certain amount of jail time is combined with a financial penalty, then I agree a celebrity should not be cancelled Fan Bingbing-style. Is that better?
Absolutely - there are laws in place and that official should be punished severely. As an individual he deserves…
[ We all despise tax evaders who use loopholes to cheat the system and spit in the face of a majority of their fellow citizens who will never see such wealth in an entire lifetime but pay taxes fairly, especially if tax evaders are ultra-high-income earners such as celebrities or politicians. ] - I think we actually agree on most of this, only it's the difference in phrasing XD
I am aware of legal loopholes, due to what has been in law for ages or altered by lawmakers to benefit a privileged tier.
Using some of the legal loopholes is not evading tax. However, it is a protection of corruption. Yes, that needs to change. On the finer details of what should be altered, you and I might disagree on what the changes should be, such as inheritance tax and the details.
On the other hand, misusing the loopholes eg one-person agencies in order to pay lower corporate tax instead of higher personal income tax is classified as tax evasion to me.
I feel sorry for Fan Bingbing. But she should have known better, because she had a choice despite knowing the consequences. We're talking someone who has been made massively rich by many of her fellow citizens, and earned beyond 95% of fellow citizens which means she could have retired, and all she needed to do was pay taxes fairly. Since she has made her bed, she can sleep in it... which means she'll have to continue her career elsewhere. And she deserves it, in my opinion.
Heart says one thing, mind says another thing. In her case, my mind won. In Cha Eun Woo's case, I have no sympathy for him unless he's got hard proof that he knew absolutely nothing about all this.
And given human nature, sufficient deterrence is necessary. Those in the limelight should appreciate how they got there, when their hard work is duly rewarded. I'm a little less kind on this subject, because there are too many instances of celebrities from various countries doing so. I would prefer what I consider to be adequate deterrence.
But I can see where you're coming from, and I can agree that I would moderate my view depending on the amount of tax that was evaded. You have an understandably kinder view on this (possibly not very much kinder, depending on your definitions of a premium).
So he was found guilty because he was audited? People get audited it doesn't necessarily mean tax evasion SMH!!!
He's not legally guilty as a whole yet, except in the perspectives of a large segment of the Korean public. He simply has to choose the details of his response to Division 4's investigations and the whopping penalty from the Tax Office. In yesterday's episode of the investigative program "Straight" by Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation, they focused on one-person agencies owned by celebrities and also went in-depth for Cha Eun Woo's case.
The corporation in which Cha Eun Woo bears a 100% ownership stake and earns income from has acquired a total of 5700 pyeong of land in July 2020 and February 2025 ( roughly the size of three football fields). The address of the company of said corporation is registered to the eel restaurant which Cha Eun Woo once promoted on social media, whereby he did not reveal the restaurant belonged to his parents. One of the purchases of land involved financing through a corporate loan.
I am now interested in seeing what Fantagio is going to file while ascertaining the claims of Cha Eun Woo and his mother about the one-person agency being a legitimate company and the types of entertainment activities they are legally obliged to engage in and must substantiate (so people won't mistake the company for a paper company to cheat on income tax), and how Sejong is going to handle this for Cha Eun Woo.
I also have no doubt right now that a significant number of South Koreans are angry again, only this time the numbers are definitely bigger.
Absolutely - there are laws in place and that official should be punished severely. As an individual he deserves…
I wouldn't say it's just Koreans. I'd say people with strong East Asian heritage living in East Asia or South-east Asia feel the same way. That applies to almost everybody I know. We all despise tax evaders who use loopholes to cheat the system and spit in the face of a majority of their fellow citizens who will never see such wealth in an entire lifetime but pay taxes fairly, especially if tax evaders are ultra-high-income earners such as celebrities or politicians.
Wishing jail time and a hefty penalty for such people is a minimum civil sentiment.
That is why China totally cancelling a celebrity for tax evasion seems fair to me. But others who don't see the problems shortchanging their system and fellow citizens due to their own cultural circumstances and thinking will feel differently.
That said, I have friends in other countries who are not East Asian, whereby they also despise tax evaders whom they consider to have committed a significant amount of cheating the system. This might also be due to a generational issue where geography and socio-economics is concerned, because my friends saw how hard their parents worked to provide what we have and follow the law... So yes, I'd say a judgement call about fairness based on maturity depends on what one is aware of and subjected to.
You keep repeating “just pay the taxes” as if that automatically proves guilt. That’s not how law works.Right…
Yesterday, Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation's investigative program "Straight" aired an episode pertaining to one-person agencies owned by celebrities, and went in-depth for Cha Eun Woo's case.
The corporation in which Cha Eun Woo bears a 100% ownership stake acquired a total of 5700 pyeong of land in July 2020 and February 2025 ( roughly the size of three football fields). The address of the company of said corporation is registered to the eel restaurant which Cha Eun Woo once promoted on social media, whereby he did not reveal the restaurant belonged to his parents. One of the purchases of land involved financing through a corporate loan.
It is still unclear how this corporation has engaged in specific entertainment management activities for Cha Eun Woo. More details in the article below:
[ The program also explained that operating a one-person agency itself is not illegal. However, if a company exists only on paper and does not conduct actual management activities, authorities may consider it a case of income tax evasion. ] -https://kbizoom.com/cha-eun-woo-one-person-agency-ganghwa-land-purchase/
I shared this with some MDL users. This is interesting and unsurprising, given Division 4 of the Seoul Regional Tax Office is unlikely to screw up or make major mistakes in their investigations. I am not about to insult the intelligence and capabilities of Division 4, whose reputation is not built on cards but results.
I've heard a lot of anger from certain quarters when Cha Eun Woo first made the news. Amongst those with East Asian heritage and background living in the regions of East Asia and Southeast Asia, tax evasion by celebrities is massively frowned upon. That's almost everybody I know, and we're not fond of tax evasion due to exploiting loopholes.
But I'm not unreasonable, so I reckon a certain minimum amount of jail time (at least 2 years, and no less) plus a financial penalty is adequate instead of cancelling a celebrity permanently. That's why no jail-time but being completely cancelled in China for massive tax evasion seems fair to some, and draconian to others.
Only among international fans without that specific background criteria does Cha Eun Woo get a totally-different treatment. It also explains why a lot of people don't feel like discussing such issues frankly on international sites.
Ps. Using an AI tool can still incorporate errors. If using an AI tool, make sure you know how to fact-check it. I've had to fact-check what two people produced (one of the tools they used was Chat GPT) so while it can help with giving a different angle and/or phrasing of perspectives, I'm wary of AI such as Chat GPT and strongly advise fact-checking whatever AI tool someone is using because when it gets to more-niche topics, AI will definitely incorporate errors.
Thank you for the ChatGPT demo above. It was interesting and disturbing.
Absolutely - there are laws in place and that official should be punished severely. As an individual he deserves…
What are your thoughts on yesterday's episode "Straight" by MBC about one-person-agencies owned by celebrities, specifically going into more details for Cha Eun Woo's case ie the purchase of 5700 pyeong of land on two occasions through the corporate entity which Cha Eun Woo has a 100% ownership stake and also received earnings through said corporation):
this seems like a cover up for something but i can't prove it...
Yesterday, Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation's investigative program "Straight" aired an episode pertaining to one-person agencies owned by celebrities, and went in-depth for Cha Eun Woo's case.
The corporation in which Cha Eun Woo bears a 100% ownership stake and earns income from has acquired a total of 5700 pyeong of land in July 2020 and February 2025 ( roughly the size of three football fields). The address of the company of said corporation is registered to the eel restaurant which Cha Eun Woo once promoted on social media, whereby he did not reveal the restaurant belonged to his parents. One of the purchases of land involved financing through a corporate loan.
It is still unclear how this corporation has engaged in specific entertainment management activities for Cha Eun Woo. More specific details in the article below:
[ The program also explained that operating a one-person agency itself is not illegal. However, if a company exists only on paper and does not conduct actual management activities, authorities may consider it a case of income tax evasion. ] -https://kbizoom.com/cha-eun-woo-one-person-agency-ganghwa-land-purchase/
I am now interested to see how Sejong will handle this for Cha Eun Woo.
About Ashui's story, and something people might have missed.I know the story is not centered on romance and does…
Dear 5-March-2026-created account whose profile is still completely empty today, which episodes have you finished watching from start to finish, without looking only at clips from episode 23 onwards?
A-Shui in the novel (when the novel was abandoned, and only resumed to be finished after said novel was adapted for the drama) could never match Tang Lici and be what Tang Lici needs. Be it drama or novel, Tang Lici has heavy responsibilities and choices to face. Novel-Tang Lici does not love A-Shui and instituted very specific boundaries between them plus conditions in place for A-Shui if she wanted more than what Tang Lici was willing to give her, up until the point of the novel being unfinished.
That is when the novel was adapted for the drama, and the screenwriters created a screenplay loosely adapting the material to become WoF. They clearly understood the source material because many secondary unnecessary plots were removed, while some characters were also altered and improved and got better outcomes in the drama, such as Xue Xianzi and Shao Yanping. Liu Yan's traits were retained relative to Tang Lici. Xifang Tao's character traits were also retained and improved upon, which is why Chen Yao could give such a prolific portrayal of a character deemed valuable to Gui Mudan. I enjoyed Chi Yun in the drama more than Chi Yun in the novel, yet I recognise the dearness of Chi Yun to Tang Lici in both novel and drama. The novel is fascinating and very different, but it's also a disappointment for CP lovers.
The drama is kinder to A-Shui than the novel, because A-Shui has a happy ending in episode 40. Drama A-Shui gets what she desires and needs most. The screenwriters were consistent on this for various characters. If you want to claim the screenwriters didn't know what to do with A-Shui and imply the screenwriters didn't sufficiently know the source material, you should at least read the novel because you are obviously wrong.
How do you ignore A-Shui's happiness and greatest need, if you watch full episodes (from start to finish of each episode) for the entire drama, or at least up until episode 35? Why is your comment giving me a strong sense of déjà vu akin to one comment being almost exactly along the same lines more than 3 months ago, after a certain episode aired?
Tang Lici's story, emotional wholeness and self-fulfilment while embodying true compassion (due to the greatest woman in his life being his mother) in line with Buddhism is much better in the drama than in the novel. He makes so many friends both male and female, experiences great brotherhood, has many other experiences and receives many different forms of love, all of which complete him and make him happy in this drama.
Teng Ping is very happy with drama-Tang Lici, and she is the author of "Enduring A Thousand Tribulations" which was very loosely adapted to become this drama. She wrote a poem after the first ten episodes aired, and then composed a character song lyric for Tang Lici because of Luo Yunxi when WoF finished airing.
I would never begrudge a son's love for his mother and Tang Lici's mother being his primary female inspiration for big decisions when she has a noble character, alongside Fang Zhou being his primary male inspiration.
Evaluating the drama while aware of the unfinished novel contents and the finished novel: The screenwriters were kind to A-Shui and Tang Lici and also kept certain themes and characteristics, such as no CP for Tang Lici. Hence no romance tags for this drama, with Tang Lici having chemistry with everyone just like the novel.
Tang Lici's character becomes more noble and vulnerable as the episodes continue, and it is great that he has so many friends and allies. How about you share what you think of the strong wuxia themes in this drama, which cements Tang Lici's relationships with multiple people?
If Li Yitong had initially accepted the role of A-Shui given her standing as an actress in China, there would have been a good chance for drama-A-Shui to be different and what you want for a romance drama, including an outcome where CPs are concerned. How about you try TTEOM, where Luo Yunxi romances Bai Lu?
I look forward to your digressions on Zhong Chunji and Tang Lici's mother in the drama :D Perhaps you can also explain their influences on Tang Lici. He clearly keeps them in his heart.
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Since Zhang Linghe and Tian Xiwei are doing so well together in currently-airing Zhu Yu ie "Pursuit of Jade", more people will be watching his dramas after PoJ. Someone should focus on that great opportunity for the actress they like as FL in a not-yet-aired drama with him.
It takes a lot to alienate an entire page of people who don't know someone. Didn't help that someone who brought a group of people here treated this drama page like a fan page and crapped all over the drama about everything else because their favourite didn't wind up with Tang Lici, then tried to play the victim card.
If they'd bothered to listen to people like Azure who said this show is heroism-focused before the drama aired instead of insulting others and using slurs and attacking WoF because WoF has no romance tags even before the drama aired? This page constantly got all sorts of rubbish more than 4 months ago such as:
"Shame on creatives writers, production team producers and channel for [ section omitted by me due to spoilers ------------] TRAGIC SHOW MAKERS THEY ARE COMPLETE SADISTIC MENTALLY UNSTABLE THAT THEY": https://kisskh.at/755725-shui-long-yin#comment-24170962
Shitting on the scriptwriters with uncalled-for insults.
Drama queens giving vibes of Oh noes we are leaving we want you to notice and HOW DARE you comment on my comment hence it went under a spoiler tag-> https://kisskh.at/755725-shui-long-yin#comment-24160110
Constantly attacking this drama in different ways, such as constantly posting data that multiple people find oddly misleading, until people understood: "Ah thanks so much, yeah I thought the exchange with her wa a bit odd!"
https://kisskh.at/755725-shui-long-yin#comment-24213300
This is despite multiple posts from different people about why sources such as Yunhe fails so badly as a data source:
https://kisskh.at/755725-shui-long-yin#comment-24212052
You and others had to constantly correct misleading details in her posts (such as https://kisskh.at/755725-shui-long-yin#comment-24595202) with your explanations: https://kisskh.at/755725-shui-long-yin#comment-24601830
After calling out and blocking one account for harassing me and others while that account exercised nasty names and vulgarities on other female actresses save one, getting attacked by at least three different accounts one after another calling me names and whatnot really sells the belief of sockpuppets. Edit-fu and goalpost-shifting are hallmarks of all those accounts. You can see all the vitriol in her gaslighting replies to me. Same manure, different salad dressing.
It's because of her that I ended up making a fair number of friends on this page, by the time the drama ended.
If someone still perpetuates edit-fu to shift goalposts and use word salads, no point engaging further. They can continue liking their own comments.
Zapzee's recent article (not AI translated) reporting about the program is explicit about the details from the program about land purchased by Cha's Gallery ie the company set up by Cha Eun Woo which he earns income from:
[ Cha’s Gallery, the company Cha Eun Woo set up in 2019, is a family-run business. His mother is the CEO, with Cha and his sibling as directors, and his father as the auditor.
For highly-paid celebrities, paying income through their agency leads to a higher tax rate of up to 49.5%, including local taxes. However, using a one-person company lowers the tax rate to around 27.5%, depending on profits.]
https://zapzee.net/2026/03/09/cha-eun-woo-agency-accused-of-tax-evasion-buys-lan/
[ On March 8th, MBC’s investigative program Exploration Planning Straight reported on Cha Eun Woo, who is accused of evading 20 billion won in taxes through his one-person agency.
Lawyer Kim Myung Gyu said, “We can assume the National Tax Service has already found major issues. This shows it’s not just a mistake, but active tax evasion.”...
... Exploration Planning Straight reported, “Cha Eun Woo’s income is estimated in the tens of billions of won. A tax rate reduction of more than 20 percentage points could save him tens of billions of won in taxes every year.” They also added, “The tax burden could be further reduced by saving profits in the company or using them as business expenses or salaries for family members registered as employees.”...
... Exploration Planning Straight also reported, “In July 2020, Cha’s company bought a building with a grilled eel restaurant, its land, and nearby woodland. The total area was 14,973 square meters (about 4,500 pyeong), and it cost 1.75 billion won ($1.2 million), with 800 million won ($535,260) financed by a loan under the company’s name.”
They added, “In February, the company bought more land (2,069 square meters, about 1,230 pyeong) right in front of the restaurant for 1.1 billion won ($736,000). Despite buying land the size of three soccer fields, it’s unclear what business activities are taking place at the site.”
Cha’s Gallery later changed its name and became a limited liability company. Exploration Planning Straight explained, “Unlike a stock corporation, limited liability companies don’t have to disclose or audit their finances, making it hard to know if more real estate was purchased or if expenses were properly reported.” ]
Much better this way.
Amazon's lousiness is nothing new. I avoid Amazon.
The UK is very screwed up at this point on multiple issues, so I try not to think about that XD But I empathise with the citizens and tax wonkiness, on top of other screwed-up issues.
Zapzee's article (not AI translated) was even more explicit about the land purchased by Cha's Gallery ie the company set up by Cha Eun Woo which he earns income from:
[ Cha’s Gallery, the company Cha Eun Woo set up in 2019, is a family-run business. His mother is the CEO, with Cha and his sibling as directors, and his father as the auditor.
For highly-paid celebrities, paying income through their agency leads to a higher tax rate of up to 49.5%, including local taxes. However, using a one-person company lowers the tax rate to around 27.5%, depending on profits.]
https://zapzee.net/2026/03/09/cha-eun-woo-agency-accused-of-tax-evasion-buys-lan/
[ On March 8th, MBC’s investigative program Exploration Planning Straight reported on Cha Eun Woo, who is accused of evading 20 billion won in taxes through his one-person agency.
Lawyer Kim Myung Gyu said, “We can assume the National Tax Service has already found major issues. This shows it’s not just a mistake, but active tax evasion.”...
... Exploration Planning Straight reported, “Cha Eun Woo’s income is estimated in the tens of billions of won. A tax rate reduction of more than 20 percentage points could save him tens of billions of won in taxes every year.” They also added, “The tax burden could be further reduced by saving profits in the company or using them as business expenses or salaries for family members registered as employees.”...
... Exploration Planning Straight also reported, “In July 2020, Cha’s company bought a building with a grilled eel restaurant, its land, and nearby woodland. The total area was 14,973 square meters (about 4,500 pyeong), and it cost 1.75 billion won ($1.2 million), with 800 million won ($535,260) financed by a loan under the company’s name.”
They added, “In February, the company bought more land (2,069 square meters, about 1,230 pyeong) right in front of the restaurant for 1.1 billion won ($736,000). Despite buying land the size of three soccer fields, it’s unclear what business activities are taking place at the site.”
Cha’s Gallery later changed its name and became a limited liability company. Exploration Planning Straight explained, “Unlike a stock corporation, limited liability companies don’t have to disclose or audit their finances, making it hard to know if more real estate was purchased or if expenses were properly reported.” ]
Any conclusions look undeniably explicit, to anyone who watches that episode.
Former President of the North Carolina Film Critics' Association Douglas Davidson was literally gushing about BoTG (with some understandable criticisms as someone with no background with the comic), and I'm amused at the fanboy-side emerging in this essay of a review after reading his review just now: https://elementsofmadness.com/2026/02/23/botg/
He's clearly got a media background plus similar movie interests ie Christopher Nolan and wuxia films.
Enjoy the review: "Yuen Woo-Ping’s comic adaptation “Blades of the Guardians” is a rich wuxia adventure that’ll thrill you from start to finish."
Ci Sha definitely ran out of pictures, but never runs out of thoughtful poetic sentiments: https://m.weibo.cn/detail/5275310281198272
Sean Sun Yizhou has a lovely poster prepared, and his emojis are killing me with 😆😍🥲: https://m.weibo.cn/detail/5275312378349558
Xiong Jinyi is grateful and happy: https://m.weibo.cn/detail/5275365741694808
Wu Jing had no poster for himself, choosing to share Xu Xianzhe's milestone sketch and Kara Wai's poster: https://m.weibo.cn/detail/5275370753625400
There are no posts from some of the cast.
Zonglan News usually reports on social issues, trending news and breaking events. They, Jinhua Evening news and Beijing Youth Daily congratulated BoTG's achievement and praised Yu Shi's performance in managing to combine humour with professional acclaim, ending with "恭喜于适！期待于适未来更多优秀作品":
https://m.weibo.cn/status/5275314974622662
https://m.weibo.cn/status/5275325411885496
Zhang Yi as Pei Shiju is looking enigmatic and menacing, just like in the movie: https://finance.sina.cn/2026-03-11/detail-inhqqyvt5648714.d.html
The official weibo account for Maoyan Films has congratulated BoTG and confidently announced looking forward to further alterations of the milestone sketch by Xu Xianzhe, once the next milestone of another 100 million RMB is reached, also zooming in on Jade-faced Ghost Shu's ongoing change of expressions: https://m.weibo.cn/detail/5275328752124248
Super-cute fan art celebrating the milestone: https://m.weibo.cn/detail/5275326892480357
Xu Xianzhe worked as a Korean translator in the early days of drawing the comic, which has been adapted for this movie. I'm happy for him, and for films like "Blades Of The Guardians" and "The King's Warden" helping cinemas through tough times to fill audience seats :D
Today, Shaw Theatres in Singapore also posted on Instagram to congratulate BoTG grossing more than $1.26 million at the Singapore box office: https://www.instagram.com/p/DVvXHD8kw7w/
In Malaysia, Blades of The Guardians topped the box office for two consecutive weeks since airing in cinemas: https://www.malaymail.com/news/showbiz/2026/03/06/malay-mails-top-10-picks-blades-of-the-guardians-the-art-of-sarah-and-other-hits-you-need-this-weekend/211523
And also crossed the RM 10 million mark with more than 500,000 admissions, more than 8 days ago: https://x.com/GSCinemas/status/2028334277226811596
Sisterhood and strong female characters with goals independent of males in BoTG is a huge attraction, drawing strong praise for certain changes from the manhua such as removing all traces of romance (which is easy to do) to showcase the independence of Ayuya while also highlighting her growth. Executive co-producer and screenwriter Yu Baimei wanted a wuxia film that isn't male-dominated, and his thinking has benefitted the female actresses. Various characters such as A-Ni, Yanzi-niang, Kui Zhi, Ayuya and Peiwu Mi'er are being lauded by viewers for their uniqueness and strength, and viewed as refreshing because their characters are memorable without needing to be stuck in a romance.
Yu Shi's portrayal is one to watch, and the likes of other actors such as Seventeen's Wen Junhui are also viewed as bright lights of potential in the future of wuxia films. Unknown to many viewers, Wen Junhui has a martial arts background from his childhood! The links below are all in English :)
Wen Junhui (as Yu Ji Niu Luo) on the training he went through, prior to shooting for BoTG: https://x.com/JunPOPbase/status/2029556751704731847
Wen Junhui's thoughts about filming for the first time in Xinjiang: https://x.com/JunPOPbase/status/2029555904430154102
Wen Junhui's thoughts about working with Yuen Woo-ping: https://x.com/JunPOPbase/status/2029558290041172468
Less than 50 minutes ago, Maoyan Films has also posted Xue Xianzhe's sketches for the milestones while congratulating BoTG and Yu Shi and looking forward to this sketch changing yet again when the movie hits 1.4 billion RMB: https://m.weibo.cn/detail/5275328752124248
Everyone is cheering. No wuxia film of the past 20 years could expect to hit 700 million RMB or even reach this, especially not within 23 days. This movie should be allowed to run for at least three months from the date of airing.
A sequel name was officially registered by a Yuen Woo-ping company in July 2025 with the CFA. I'll dm you about the synopsis.
I haven't checked out Beyond Time's Gaze yet! Your description sounds fascinating.
Having read the novel by Teng Ping (which the drama loosely adapted to become Whispers of Fate at the point of said novel being unfinished and abandoned), I can appreciate the differences and the improvements. For me, the novel is interesting and very different from the drama, and both are up my alley.
The drama did well in terms of screenwriting, to try to give characters better outcomes and portrayals of their inner world as characters. Where screenwriters made a mistake was not removing two more characters, to add to the ones they already cut out from the novel. I previously didn't think it was a mistake and one of the two characters could be made more iconic.
I changed my opinion and believe it is a mistake because if they had removed those two characters, we would get a tighter plot to flesh out certain subplots and themes, and we wouldn't get the rubbish previously raised on social media just to improve clickbait traffic for one actress trending much lower than her contemporaries on xhs and other mediums,. The MDL drama page also wouldn't have been flooded by the same nonsense, because some fans of one actress refused to accept how the screenwriters paralleled the novel ie no CP and a ML with issues that instituted firm boundaries with a woman he didn't love.
Being harassed by at least four sockpuppet accounts but standing firm and refusing to be bullied (they had bullied other MDL users on that page, and what one hears and then sees for oneself is the ultimate reality) unexpectedly resulted in the most number of friends I have made from that page. People were very cheesed-off by one specific account and when the drama finished airing, nobody wanted to engage with any comments from that account.
Lurkers read. People get the idea.
I clearly state the context and behaviour that you have chosen to use so anyone who reads this knows what you chose to do, before replying to me:
1)You made a comment on this drama page, with no response from anyone for more than two days.
2) You then feel so strongly about A-Shui's role in this drama that you decided she also merited a forum post. You had not yet edited the forum post.
3) I replied to your comment.
4) You felt so strongly about my civil reply that you also had to edit your comment after seeing my reply to you, before you posted 4 reply-comments.
5) You also edited your forum post which currently still has zero engagement: https://kisskh.at/discussions/755725-shui-long-yin/148628-a-shei-s-story-in-whispers-of-fate-more-important-than-it-first-appears
6) You only deserve one answer from me.
Your overall approach sounds like you want a reply, so you got engagement. It's fundamentally dishonest to edit your initial comment after seeing my reply, so that you can shift goalposts to try to misrepresent my stance which responded to what you said initially. You have continued the behaviour of one specific MDL user on this page towards me, despite your other claims.
I've been clearly civil about how I disagree with you in my reply to your comment, and I was kind enough not to use spoilers there.
You had posted a comment clearly targeting the screenwriters by then using the rest of your post to give the impression they don't seem to know what they are doing. When you do this as part of your overall approach, you will get an answer from people who read the novel.
Since you want to argue now using multiple comments using spoilers also after editing your initial comment, here's my follow-up final answer to you about your non-edited sections of your comment, which I now quote:
You said: [ They clearly invented a lot of things and did not fully realize what they were doing with AS. ] + [I truly believe this is something the writers accidentally overlooked ] ->
1) You made your post focusing primarily on harping about the screenwriters overlooking things and inventing things and not knowing what they did with A-Shui. I have pointed out why you are wrong, because to do so requires knowing what is in the novel. Kindly stop shifting the goalposts to claim that the novel shouldn't be referenced. It's a bad habit. Basic failure in debating etiquette.
2) You focus on episode 35. I am referring to A-Shui in the entire drama, including episode 40. You seem to be stuck on episode 35.
I invited you to post in the Buddhism thread. Your reply includes a claim that you don't post in the forum.
You now want to play the victim card, after all your actions I have summarised here. I answered your comment as you framed it initially, and not after you resorted to editing upon seeing my answer.
Your behaviour reminds me of one account that thanked me for my summaries and then tried to convince a new user to this page that I didn't know what I was talking about, by shifting goalposts and also misrepresenting what I said while dodging my questions. This was more than three months ago. I don't like this trend of dishonesty.
None of your replies to me are in good faith, in light of your behaviour to try to mislead other people reading all this. I want people to know what I'm replying to, so no more time is wasted.
There are only two approaches for A-Shui in this drama, whereby the first approach is what was finalised for the drama at a certain point because of Gui Mudan's presence and the location and the lead-up to it. The second approach is where accountability should be the second option, as an alternate deviation from script. If A-Shui is an adult who understands accountability, confess directly to Tang Lici and be accountable for her actions towards him when he didn't know what enabled her to somehow do certain things that seemed impossible and naturally made him very suspicious for self-preservation. Anyone in his shoes would be suspicious.
But there you are with your comment under spoiler tag, jabbing at Tang Lici for his natural self-preservation instincts and the fact that his mother is his primary female influence for episode 40.
I'm glad A-Shui remembered her name and had a happy ending with the man she most needed and wanted. Her moon that brought her back to herself, her white light. She's done enough, because she was never supposed to be part of all this. Just like the novel, she's been pulled into circumstances where she is way out of her depth, she tried to cope, but unlike the novel, she gets happiness with love and joyfully radiates it in episode 40. Emotional well-being and a happy life with family is great for A-Shui.
You want A-Shui to die for someone else to be worthy as per your claims, but your reasoning doesn't add up. Tang Lici has made it clear he doesn't want anyone to die for him, which is why he also keeps taking the biggest risks and protecting people such as Xiao Shi and Zhong Chunji and Shen Langhun and Chi Yun. He also saved A-Shui at least once. How can you claim to watch this drama and not realise this?
When someone sacrifices their life, it will make people who care for them very sad to know what happened. You don't have to die to be worthy of someone. We don't speak of life and death easily, especially from those of us who understand what that feels like. That is why we cherish people and want them to understand how to cherish life and protect what they love, hence any inevitable sacrifices also respects the value of life plus how and why people are important to each other.
Found family is a theme in wuxia. Accountability is wonderful, regardless of culture and country. You should look that up.
[ I only care for the stories that is being told and the characters in the drama. ] - > Great. Honesty and humility is the best policy for learning, and that includes learning to start caring about a need to stop gaslighting people. It's terrible online behaviour.
[ I don't write in the forum, cause again I don't want to. ] -> Then why make a standalone forum post in the forum, and then edit it after I replied to you in a comment? Tsk. Given massive gaslighting towards me in your four comments plus all that transpired before that, I suddenly recall, "Full of sound and fury signifying nothing" - Macbeth by Shakespeare
Thank you for the show-and-tell that tells me everything I needed to know about your account :)
Why is someone not happy over A-Shui sharing joy and love with the man she needs the most? This is absurd. Teng Ping didn't give that to A-Shui in the novel. The screenwriters added a lovely twist to give drama A-Shui the best happiness possible, as per A-Shui's expressions and joy in episode 40. Can't fault the screenwriters for taking a cue from Teng Ping with no CP.
https://news.mydramalist.com/article/cha-eun-woo-lee-sun-kyun-korea-taxpayers-federation-files-complaint-over-alleged-tax-audit-leak#comment-25345968
And you're right not to like chatgpt in a conversation. You've been super-patient. Have a good week ahead!
I have accepted that I won't get Xifang Tao's backstory, Shen Langhun won't have more screentime despite the most wonderful thought-provoking dialogues with Tang Lici, Shao Yanping with Zhong Chunji is something I also wanted more of, and finding out Xue Xianzi's backstory with Tang Lici. Episode limitation was not yet lifted, when the drama aired.
It's absurd to constantly have Tang Lici dragged down only because some people cannot accept that drama-Tang Lici matches novel-Tang Lici in certain aspects, so I'm finally being blunt about the screenwriters following the novel in this aspect of no CP. Teng Ping wasn't going in that direction either (regardless of the novel being abandoned and paused, or the novel being finished), so is Teng Ping going to be insulted next?
A-Shui winds up with the man she needs and wants the most, and they are happy spending time with each other doing normal things while sharing joy and love. It just isn't Tang Lici. Why is this so hard to accept, if one truly wants the best for A-Shui?
DistantDream's comment oddly reminds me of Hunter2022's forum post containing an absurd claim about Renegade Immortal being similar to Whispers of Fate. That account sounds like they watched the donghua through clips, so of course they can't get it right about Renegade Immortal while carrying this odd fixation on A-Shui and Tang Lici:
https://kisskh.at/discussions/755725-shui-long-yin/146464-whispers-of-fate-is-too-similar-to-renegade-immortal
I'm not going to jump down your throat. I'm genuinely curious. Well, if you prefer to take this by DM, I'd understand. I'm not sure if we are still on-topic or off-topic XD
If a certain amount of jail time is combined with a financial penalty, then I agree a celebrity should not be cancelled Fan Bingbing-style. Is that better?
I am aware of legal loopholes, due to what has been in law for ages or altered by lawmakers to benefit a privileged tier.
Using some of the legal loopholes is not evading tax. However, it is a protection of corruption. Yes, that needs to change. On the finer details of what should be altered, you and I might disagree on what the changes should be, such as inheritance tax and the details.
On the other hand, misusing the loopholes eg one-person agencies in order to pay lower corporate tax instead of higher personal income tax is classified as tax evasion to me.
I feel sorry for Fan Bingbing. But she should have known better, because she had a choice despite knowing the consequences. We're talking someone who has been made massively rich by many of her fellow citizens, and earned beyond 95% of fellow citizens which means she could have retired, and all she needed to do was pay taxes fairly. Since she has made her bed, she can sleep in it... which means she'll have to continue her career elsewhere. And she deserves it, in my opinion.
Heart says one thing, mind says another thing. In her case, my mind won. In Cha Eun Woo's case, I have no sympathy for him unless he's got hard proof that he knew absolutely nothing about all this.
And given human nature, sufficient deterrence is necessary. Those in the limelight should appreciate how they got there, when their hard work is duly rewarded. I'm a little less kind on this subject, because there are too many instances of celebrities from various countries doing so. I would prefer what I consider to be adequate deterrence.
But I can see where you're coming from, and I can agree that I would moderate my view depending on the amount of tax that was evaded. You have an understandably kinder view on this (possibly not very much kinder, depending on your definitions of a premium).
The corporation in which Cha Eun Woo bears a 100% ownership stake and earns income from has acquired a total of 5700 pyeong of land in July 2020 and February 2025 ( roughly the size of three football fields). The address of the company of said corporation is registered to the eel restaurant which Cha Eun Woo once promoted on social media, whereby he did not reveal the restaurant belonged to his parents. One of the purchases of land involved financing through a corporate loan.
I am now interested in seeing what Fantagio is going to file while ascertaining the claims of Cha Eun Woo and his mother about the one-person agency being a legitimate company and the types of entertainment activities they are legally obliged to engage in and must substantiate (so people won't mistake the company for a paper company to cheat on income tax), and how Sejong is going to handle this for Cha Eun Woo.
I also have no doubt right now that a significant number of South Koreans are angry again, only this time the numbers are definitely bigger.
You can see more specific details here: https://kbizoom.com/cha-eun-woo-one-person-agency-ganghwa-land-purchase/
Wishing jail time and a hefty penalty for such people is a minimum civil sentiment.
That is why China totally cancelling a celebrity for tax evasion seems fair to me. But others who don't see the problems shortchanging their system and fellow citizens due to their own cultural circumstances and thinking will feel differently.
That said, I have friends in other countries who are not East Asian, whereby they also despise tax evaders whom they consider to have committed a significant amount of cheating the system. This might also be due to a generational issue where geography and socio-economics is concerned, because my friends saw how hard their parents worked to provide what we have and follow the law... So yes, I'd say a judgement call about fairness based on maturity depends on what one is aware of and subjected to.
The corporation in which Cha Eun Woo bears a 100% ownership stake acquired a total of 5700 pyeong of land in July 2020 and February 2025 ( roughly the size of three football fields). The address of the company of said corporation is registered to the eel restaurant which Cha Eun Woo once promoted on social media, whereby he did not reveal the restaurant belonged to his parents. One of the purchases of land involved financing through a corporate loan.
It is still unclear how this corporation has engaged in specific entertainment management activities for Cha Eun Woo. More details in the article below:
[ The program also explained that operating a one-person agency itself is not illegal. However, if a company exists only on paper and does not conduct actual management activities, authorities may consider it a case of income tax evasion. ] -https://kbizoom.com/cha-eun-woo-one-person-agency-ganghwa-land-purchase/
I shared this with some MDL users. This is interesting and unsurprising, given Division 4 of the Seoul Regional Tax Office is unlikely to screw up or make major mistakes in their investigations. I am not about to insult the intelligence and capabilities of Division 4, whose reputation is not built on cards but results.
I've heard a lot of anger from certain quarters when Cha Eun Woo first made the news. Amongst those with East Asian heritage and background living in the regions of East Asia and Southeast Asia, tax evasion by celebrities is massively frowned upon. That's almost everybody I know, and we're not fond of tax evasion due to exploiting loopholes.
But I'm not unreasonable, so I reckon a certain minimum amount of jail time (at least 2 years, and no less) plus a financial penalty is adequate instead of cancelling a celebrity permanently. That's why no jail-time but being completely cancelled in China for massive tax evasion seems fair to some, and draconian to others.
Only among international fans without that specific background criteria does Cha Eun Woo get a totally-different treatment. It also explains why a lot of people don't feel like discussing such issues frankly on international sites.
Ps. Using an AI tool can still incorporate errors. If using an AI tool, make sure you know how to fact-check it. I've had to fact-check what two people produced (one of the tools they used was Chat GPT) so while it can help with giving a different angle and/or phrasing of perspectives, I'm wary of AI such as Chat GPT and strongly advise fact-checking whatever AI tool someone is using because when it gets to more-niche topics, AI will definitely incorporate errors.
Thank you for the ChatGPT demo above. It was interesting and disturbing.
https://news.mydramalist.com/article/cha-eun-woo-lee-sun-kyun-korea-taxpayers-federation-files-complaint-over-alleged-tax-audit-leak#comment-25345684
The corporation in which Cha Eun Woo bears a 100% ownership stake and earns income from has acquired a total of 5700 pyeong of land in July 2020 and February 2025 ( roughly the size of three football fields). The address of the company of said corporation is registered to the eel restaurant which Cha Eun Woo once promoted on social media, whereby he did not reveal the restaurant belonged to his parents. One of the purchases of land involved financing through a corporate loan.
It is still unclear how this corporation has engaged in specific entertainment management activities for Cha Eun Woo. More specific details in the article below:
[ The program also explained that operating a one-person agency itself is not illegal. However, if a company exists only on paper and does not conduct actual management activities, authorities may consider it a case of income tax evasion. ] -https://kbizoom.com/cha-eun-woo-one-person-agency-ganghwa-land-purchase/
I am now interested to see how Sejong will handle this for Cha Eun Woo.
A-Shui in the novel (when the novel was abandoned, and only resumed to be finished after said novel was adapted for the drama) could never match Tang Lici and be what Tang Lici needs. Be it drama or novel, Tang Lici has heavy responsibilities and choices to face. Novel-Tang Lici does not love A-Shui and instituted very specific boundaries between them plus conditions in place for A-Shui if she wanted more than what Tang Lici was willing to give her, up until the point of the novel being unfinished.
That is when the novel was adapted for the drama, and the screenwriters created a screenplay loosely adapting the material to become WoF. They clearly understood the source material because many secondary unnecessary plots were removed, while some characters were also altered and improved and got better outcomes in the drama, such as Xue Xianzi and Shao Yanping. Liu Yan's traits were retained relative to Tang Lici. Xifang Tao's character traits were also retained and improved upon, which is why Chen Yao could give such a prolific portrayal of a character deemed valuable to Gui Mudan. I enjoyed Chi Yun in the drama more than Chi Yun in the novel, yet I recognise the dearness of Chi Yun to Tang Lici in both novel and drama. The novel is fascinating and very different, but it's also a disappointment for CP lovers.
The drama is kinder to A-Shui than the novel, because A-Shui has a happy ending in episode 40. Drama A-Shui gets what she desires and needs most. The screenwriters were consistent on this for various characters. If you want to claim the screenwriters didn't know what to do with A-Shui and imply the screenwriters didn't sufficiently know the source material, you should at least read the novel because you are obviously wrong.
How do you ignore A-Shui's happiness and greatest need, if you watch full episodes (from start to finish of each episode) for the entire drama, or at least up until episode 35? Why is your comment giving me a strong sense of déjà vu akin to one comment being almost exactly along the same lines more than 3 months ago, after a certain episode aired?
Tang Lici's story, emotional wholeness and self-fulfilment while embodying true compassion (due to the greatest woman in his life being his mother) in line with Buddhism is much better in the drama than in the novel. He makes so many friends both male and female, experiences great brotherhood, has many other experiences and receives many different forms of love, all of which complete him and make him happy in this drama.
You're welcome to contribute to our Buddhism thread: https://kisskh.at/discussions/755725-shui-long-yin/146562-whispers-of-fate-what-is-the-meaning-of-life
Teng Ping is very happy with drama-Tang Lici, and she is the author of "Enduring A Thousand Tribulations" which was very loosely adapted to become this drama. She wrote a poem after the first ten episodes aired, and then composed a character song lyric for Tang Lici because of Luo Yunxi when WoF finished airing.
I would never begrudge a son's love for his mother and Tang Lici's mother being his primary female inspiration for big decisions when she has a noble character, alongside Fang Zhou being his primary male inspiration.
Evaluating the drama while aware of the unfinished novel contents and the finished novel: The screenwriters were kind to A-Shui and Tang Lici and also kept certain themes and characteristics, such as no CP for Tang Lici. Hence no romance tags for this drama, with Tang Lici having chemistry with everyone just like the novel.
Tang Lici's character becomes more noble and vulnerable as the episodes continue, and it is great that he has so many friends and allies. How about you share what you think of the strong wuxia themes in this drama, which cements Tang Lici's relationships with multiple people?
If Li Yitong had initially accepted the role of A-Shui given her standing as an actress in China, there would have been a good chance for drama-A-Shui to be different and what you want for a romance drama, including an outcome where CPs are concerned. How about you try TTEOM, where Luo Yunxi romances Bai Lu?
I look forward to your digressions on Zhong Chunji and Tang Lici's mother in the drama :D
Perhaps you can also explain their influences on Tang Lici. He clearly keeps them in his heart.