It is so good to see Cho Jin Se (Song Woo Taek) and Kim Won Hoon (as Youtuber that CEW learns from) here in this drama, after seeing them in My Lovely Liar. Their role is of support and bit part here, but even in small roles they deliver so well! #talentedartisists! 💛💛💛
@DaliaB, as someone who has grown up hearing brother in Western and Indian context, like the way you mentioned even I was surprised when it was translated so in the subs in Asian dramas.
My first encounter was in form of watching the anime version of Winter Sonata. Though there it was okay, cause the younger sister of the FL called the ML/SML - Oppa. So in my mind I was like okay, brother or a male elder is called Oppa, same as in Indian context of Bhaiya.
But when I saw Boys over Flowers, technically my first K-drama, and FL's friend addresses her love interest as Oppa - I had a cultural shock like no other. Took me a while to research and get to the bottom of it. At that time I was not on MDL so it was all information on search engines, blogs etc.
Took me sometime to get used to it - but I guess now it is one of the most popular words in the world. Thanks to the initial Hallyu wave of 2009, Psy's Oppa that changed the world in 2012 and of course the most recent 7 Oppas that have had global recognition like no other!
Again, thanks for writing such a cute and amazing article!
Glad you liked it. Totally agree with you. The only Boys over flowers version I watched is the Thai one. This…
Hey KYJ! It is a very good article, plus like I mentioned bonds of friendship is very important to me in real-life, so some of the dramas that I have not seen - am looking forward to add them to my PTW list, given what has been shared by you and fellow co-authors!
Maybe, when I feel the urge to rewatch F4, I will try the Thai version as well. Have only seen and liked the Korean and Japanese versions - Taiwanese versions (Meteor Garden and Shower) did not work for me 🙈. Hopefully with Thai version, I am luckier!
100% agree with the friendship depicted in A Business Proposal and Reply 1988. Especially the female friendship in A Business Proposal, cause it kind of reminds my real-live girl friends, with whom I can be the same level of crazy when together, help/support each other as they do, while also giving each other space to grow as individuals (that we don't have to be joined at the hips to validate the strength of our friendship)
I am yet to watch many other dramas mentioned in the article but Boys over Flowers - Thai reminded me of my own first drama, Boys over Flowers (Korean). And not all 4 in the F4 unit, but just Gu Kun Pyo and Ji Hoo. (In fact the other 2 were good friends to each other, kind of worked in pairs I guess). Okay, it might seem not so relevant now in 2023, or biased - but this is 2016 me talking when I was smitten with the drama. Right now, I agree if you peel the layers of this drama, we see more red flags/toxic behavior than innocent romance/friendships.
But yes 2016 me - was so happy to see JH and GJP. Like in the latter half of the series as they each tried to protect the FL in their own way - they at times did not even have to communicate verbally but kind of understood each other. And I was so happy to see this - cause that is what happens with real friends. You may fight and have disagreements, but at the end of the day you are there for each other. Also your conversation does not need that many words, sometimes - or maybe you can complete each others sentences.
Like I said, rewatching this drama even I would not like it at this age - but it was one of my first K-dramas, and 2016 me was wholeheartedly rooting for this friendship, perhaps more than getting ML/SML together with FL (cause she was written badly as a character then and even now)
Theories about Bread Song - adding it as a first comment under spoiler tag. Anyone else thinks the same or has…
Is he the other Korean kid in Russia Pavel group when Ryu Si-Oh was Anton?
I kind of thought this since long, especially when his photo was revealed with Ryu Si-oh. The last episode 14 and the teaser for the next episode is making me think further on this.
Theory 1: - Maybe at some point as kids, they separated either by accident or planned. - While Anton was trained under Pavel, Bread Song joined any other group or on his own became the person he is now. - They met again at some point, where Ryu Si-Oh was going to start Doogo. - Maybe Bread always kept a lookout for Ryu, all these years after they were separated. - They kept the farce of being separate/unknown people but are actually working together - With Bread Song driving the capital through his business and monitoring the import of the sea hare business (hence he is in Busan) - in a way, Bread is helping Ryu to also separate from Pavel by helping him with the anti-dote business.
Theory 2: - Pavel separated the two of them purposely (which is why Ryu Si-Oh asks the one-eyed lady if he is at least alive or not?). - Pavel controls Ryu and Bread Song separately. They could be threatening Bread and keeping him in control to do their bidding, by sparing Ryu all these years. If he does not listen to them, they plan to kill Ryu since they know Bread has a soft spot for him. - But at some point, Ryu and Bread meet and hatch their own plan to takeover from Pavel (this is where the photo is from, perhaps and hence Bread tears it up, lest it lands in hands of Pavel). - While Pavel thinks Bread is running his scam business and providing them with funds, he is secretly helping Ryu to build the anti-dote business to overthrow Pavel someday.
Theory 3: - Pavel did separate Bread from Ryu as they were kids. - Bread is kind of their contingency plan in case Ryu/Antwon goes rogue - So as Ryu is trying to one-up Pavel, Bread therefore is there to thwart the import of sea hares at Busan, at the say of Pavel. - Maybe in the end: a) Pavel will help Ryu as he fights Namsoon and family (and both maybe die tragically instead and not at hands of the powerful women trio) b) Ryu will lose to Namsoon but she will not kill him, instead Pavel will instruct Bread to kill Ryu.
In all, my favorite character from this series - Ryu Si-Oh will have a tragic ending. It is coming but am still hoping it does not T_T
I think his acting was amazing in the scene where he had back pain from the bullying and said to baby Yul he was…
I agree - and personally for some reason I feel Cha Eun Woo acts well when wearing glasses. There is a variety show he was on - Master Key, where he is the main killer (the show is one celeb acts as a killer while others try to find clues on who-dunnit).
Also, another unpopular opinion - but I feel he shines best and is more himself when the focus is not on him a 100%. Example: this variety show I mentioned above, then another Master in the House. HE is more of himself in a setting where he shares space with other co-actors and hence seems more natural.
Also, yes the scene you mentioned - I felt the focus was on the case of bullying rather than just CEW. The dynamics of the bullies and then his hug with young Yul. and he portrayed it all so well.
Another scene - the last scene of Ep 6, when he is trying to keep the cotton candy away from Hae Na, and it shows his playful side, which by following him after so many years - I can instantly see that is how he behaves with his Astro members and BTS scenes with co-actors.
But put him in main spot- like that boat rowing and he is showing his jealous self and abruptly stands up. That scene is just so stiff and maybe that's what gave him his cardboard acting tag T_T
I wrote a lot, but I will end my analysis here :P Lest anyone says am cray-cray about him 😂But thanks for sharing your thoughts! And let's see how he shows more of his acting in coming episodes!
Ah same he is by no means a great actor but just his visuals attract you to continue the drama.. For me I can't…
I have heard so many people on MDL give mixed views, and the story makes me want to watch Rookie Historian. But am unable to cause of the FL. I know she is known as a good actress, but after watching her in Bride of Habaek - I just cannot bring myself to watch her in any other drama (T_T). Same reason why I am not able to start Run On as well that stars another of my favorite - Siwan!
But maybe sometime in future - I can try and watch it 🤞🏼 Thanks for sharing your views - maybe the power of CEW's visuals will make me cave in 😂
True Beauty - I watched it as it aired. And more than the story I think it was the social media hype of Suho vs Seojun that made it so popular. Personally for me the first half had some good comedy and cute moments by main leads and other characters. Won't recommend it 10/10 but like a 6/7 and that too again for CEW, but mainly cause of FL and her siblings' antics at times!
This is my first time watching a drama with Chris Wu and wow - I have missed a lot! But better late than never.
Any pointers where can I see more of him - maybe in a good romantic role? While I loved his tortured detective role in this show, seeing him in a romantic angle will help my delulu soul 😂
Have already seen trailers of Mom, Don't Do That and The Ghost Bride (but that is not what I want). Something that has a real romance feel or rom-com elements with him in lead role. And something recent, Autumn's Concerto is a classic but it's too old for me to get into the feels of it.
By no means is he an acting legend for me, though I know with every project he is trying his best. But every time I see him onscreen, I cannot take my eyes of him and his breathtaking visuals. Like even in the latest episode of this show 5 & 6 there were many moments where they just zoomed in on his face and I had to pause and wonder - "why are some people so lucky?"
Like man, I wish I could have 1% of his looks, things might be a little easier for me in many walks of life.
Hehe, jokes apart - he may not enamor me by his acting but for some reason, I always end up watching his new shows. Just to watch this handsome man again. And again. He truly is very handsome and while I wish I knew someone like him in my life, am so happy for him and his success!
I just can't bring myself to watch Rookie Historian, The Island where he is main cast, else I have seen all his work where he is the main, and True Beauty/Gangnam Beauty are my repeat comfort dramas cause of the story and him. Looks like A Good Day to be a Dog is on the way to become the third one!
It's not a strategy. This just happens with dramas sometimes when different sports seasons come around. Baseball…
Thanks for explaining this!
I meant the one episode per week formula, I thought they did purposely given the webtoon is great - and people look forward to the adaptation + cast.
Also, even if the games delay the airing of episode, they could make up for it by airing 2 episodes the next week.
The fact they are not doing so, means that the drama will run longer, and audience in any case will wait for it. This gives them more bandwidth to run advertisements which I think might be the biggest revenue still for dramas in general. Hence I thought it could be a strategy, given that the audience will watch it no matter what - they are not bothered by the delays or releasing 2 back to back episodes. #justmyguess
As if waiting for one episode per week, they keep delaying it cause of baseball games! While we are still anticipating it, if this repeats - this strategy might backfire and we might lose interest altogether! T_T
Here for Byeon Woo Seok playing Ryu Shi Oh. And praying with all my heart that the villain does not die/get killed.
I am just starting Ep 6 - and he is yet to have a full fledged screentime. But then am watching this show just for him, cause I know everything else cannot be iconic as the prequel.
His whole demeanor so far reminds me of my favorite K-villain, Yoo Ji Tae from Old Boy (2003 )(especially that exercising scene in Ep 5 - like holy F, am pregnant - and he has hardly been on screen for 5 minutes or spoken more than 10 words so far)
Sincerely hoping he gets a happy ending so that I can remain delulu with his character, forevermore!
2 
10 
1 
1 
1 
1 
But yeah - drama always highlights mean folks grow up to be meaner.
Also we do need our ML to face his fears, so what better than fight his past trauma-tizer?
My first encounter was in form of watching the anime version of Winter Sonata. Though there it was okay, cause the younger sister of the FL called the ML/SML - Oppa. So in my mind I was like okay, brother or a male elder is called Oppa, same as in Indian context of Bhaiya.
But when I saw Boys over Flowers, technically my first K-drama, and FL's friend addresses her love interest as Oppa - I had a cultural shock like no other. Took me a while to research and get to the bottom of it. At that time I was not on MDL so it was all information on search engines, blogs etc.
Took me sometime to get used to it - but I guess now it is one of the most popular words in the world. Thanks to the initial Hallyu wave of 2009, Psy's Oppa that changed the world in 2012 and of course the most recent 7 Oppas that have had global recognition like no other!
Again, thanks for writing such a cute and amazing article!
It is a very good article, plus like I mentioned bonds of friendship is very important to me in real-life, so some of the dramas that I have not seen - am looking forward to add them to my PTW list, given what has been shared by you and fellow co-authors!
Maybe, when I feel the urge to rewatch F4, I will try the Thai version as well.
Have only seen and liked the Korean and Japanese versions - Taiwanese versions (Meteor Garden and Shower) did not work for me 🙈. Hopefully with Thai version, I am luckier!
Especially the female friendship in A Business Proposal, cause it kind of reminds my real-live girl friends, with whom I can be the same level of crazy when together, help/support each other as they do, while also giving each other space to grow as individuals (that we don't have to be joined at the hips to validate the strength of our friendship)
I am yet to watch many other dramas mentioned in the article but Boys over Flowers - Thai reminded me of my own first drama, Boys over Flowers (Korean). And not all 4 in the F4 unit, but just Gu Kun Pyo and Ji Hoo. (In fact the other 2 were good friends to each other, kind of worked in pairs I guess). Okay, it might seem not so relevant now in 2023, or biased - but this is 2016 me talking when I was smitten with the drama. Right now, I agree if you peel the layers of this drama, we see more red flags/toxic behavior than innocent romance/friendships.
But yes 2016 me - was so happy to see JH and GJP. Like in the latter half of the series as they each tried to protect the FL in their own way - they at times did not even have to communicate verbally but kind of understood each other. And I was so happy to see this - cause that is what happens with real friends. You may fight and have disagreements, but at the end of the day you are there for each other. Also your conversation does not need that many words, sometimes - or maybe you can complete each others sentences.
Like I said, rewatching this drama even I would not like it at this age - but it was one of my first K-dramas, and 2016 me was wholeheartedly rooting for this friendship, perhaps more than getting ML/SML together with FL (cause she was written badly as a character then and even now)
I kind of thought this since long, especially when his photo was revealed with Ryu Si-oh.
The last episode 14 and the teaser for the next episode is making me think further on this.
Theory 1:
- Maybe at some point as kids, they separated either by accident or planned.
- While Anton was trained under Pavel, Bread Song joined any other group or on his own became the person he is now.
- They met again at some point, where Ryu Si-Oh was going to start Doogo.
- Maybe Bread always kept a lookout for Ryu, all these years after they were separated.
- They kept the farce of being separate/unknown people but are actually working together
- With Bread Song driving the capital through his business and monitoring the import of the sea hare business (hence he is in Busan)
- in a way, Bread is helping Ryu to also separate from Pavel by helping him with the anti-dote business.
Theory 2:
- Pavel separated the two of them purposely (which is why Ryu Si-Oh asks the one-eyed lady if he is at least alive or not?).
- Pavel controls Ryu and Bread Song separately. They could be threatening Bread and keeping him in control to do their bidding, by sparing Ryu all these years. If he does not listen to them, they plan to kill Ryu since they know Bread has a soft spot for him.
- But at some point, Ryu and Bread meet and hatch their own plan to takeover from Pavel (this is where the photo is from, perhaps and hence Bread tears it up, lest it lands in hands of Pavel).
- While Pavel thinks Bread is running his scam business and providing them with funds, he is secretly helping Ryu to build the anti-dote business to overthrow Pavel someday.
Theory 3:
- Pavel did separate Bread from Ryu as they were kids.
- Bread is kind of their contingency plan in case Ryu/Antwon goes rogue
- So as Ryu is trying to one-up Pavel, Bread therefore is there to thwart the import of sea hares at Busan, at the say of Pavel.
- Maybe in the end:
a) Pavel will help Ryu as he fights Namsoon and family (and both maybe die tragically instead and not at hands of the powerful women trio)
b) Ryu will lose to Namsoon but she will not kill him, instead Pavel will instruct Bread to kill Ryu.
In all, my favorite character from this series - Ryu Si-Oh will have a tragic ending.
It is coming but am still hoping it does not T_T
Anyone else thinks the same or has any other thoughts?
Also, another unpopular opinion - but I feel he shines best and is more himself when the focus is not on him a 100%. Example: this variety show I mentioned above, then another Master in the House. HE is more of himself in a setting where he shares space with other co-actors and hence seems more natural.
Also, yes the scene you mentioned - I felt the focus was on the case of bullying rather than just CEW. The dynamics of the bullies and then his hug with young Yul. and he portrayed it all so well.
Another scene - the last scene of Ep 6, when he is trying to keep the cotton candy away from Hae Na, and it shows his playful side, which by following him after so many years - I can instantly see that is how he behaves with his Astro members and BTS scenes with co-actors.
But put him in main spot- like that boat rowing and he is showing his jealous self and abruptly stands up. That scene is just so stiff and maybe that's what gave him his cardboard acting tag T_T
I wrote a lot, but I will end my analysis here :P
Lest anyone says am cray-cray about him 😂But thanks for sharing your thoughts! And let's see how he shows more of his acting in coming episodes!
But maybe sometime in future - I can try and watch it 🤞🏼
Thanks for sharing your views - maybe the power of CEW's visuals will make me cave in 😂
True Beauty - I watched it as it aired. And more than the story I think it was the social media hype of Suho vs Seojun that made it so popular. Personally for me the first half had some good comedy and cute moments by main leads and other characters. Won't recommend it 10/10 but like a 6/7 and that too again for CEW, but mainly cause of FL and her siblings' antics at times!
But better late than never.
Any pointers where can I see more of him - maybe in a good romantic role?
While I loved his tortured detective role in this show, seeing him in a romantic angle will help my delulu soul 😂
Have already seen trailers of Mom, Don't Do That and The Ghost Bride (but that is not what I want). Something that has a real romance feel or rom-com elements with him in lead role. And something recent, Autumn's Concerto is a classic but it's too old for me to get into the feels of it.
Any recommendations would help! 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
By no means is he an acting legend for me, though I know with every project he is trying his best.
But every time I see him onscreen, I cannot take my eyes of him and his breathtaking visuals. Like even in the latest episode of this show 5 & 6 there were many moments where they just zoomed in on his face and I had to pause and wonder - "why are some people so lucky?"
Like man, I wish I could have 1% of his looks, things might be a little easier for me in many walks of life.
Hehe, jokes apart - he may not enamor me by his acting but for some reason, I always end up watching his new shows. Just to watch this handsome man again. And again. He truly is very handsome and while I wish I knew someone like him in my life, am so happy for him and his success!
This was my original ode post to him: https://kisskh.at/profile/omo-omo-omo/feeds/jnXymhj
I just can't bring myself to watch Rookie Historian, The Island where he is main cast, else I have seen all his work where he is the main, and True Beauty/Gangnam Beauty are my repeat comfort dramas cause of the story and him. Looks like A Good Day to be a Dog is on the way to become the third one!
Not only they gave us 2 episodes but damn that shower scene of Cha Eun Woo right at the start of Ep 5 ❤️🔥🔥and that cute Ep 6 ending 💖
(Just kidding - I mean it is still a week's wait again, but am not as miffed as before 😅😅)
This week we had 2 episodes - hehehe!
I meant the one episode per week formula, I thought they did purposely given the webtoon is great - and people look forward to the adaptation + cast.
Also, even if the games delay the airing of episode, they could make up for it by airing 2 episodes the next week.
The fact they are not doing so, means that the drama will run longer, and audience in any case will wait for it. This gives them more bandwidth to run advertisements which I think might be the biggest revenue still for dramas in general. Hence I thought it could be a strategy, given that the audience will watch it no matter what - they are not bothered by the delays or releasing 2 back to back episodes. #justmyguess
I see it says watch the teaser below but cannot see it.... :/
While we are still anticipating it, if this repeats - this strategy might backfire and we might lose interest altogether! T_T
The expectations are all time high - given the cast, story and teasers!
And praying with all my heart that the villain does not die/get killed.
I am just starting Ep 6 - and he is yet to have a full fledged screentime. But then am watching this show just for him, cause I know everything else cannot be iconic as the prequel.
His whole demeanor so far reminds me of my favorite K-villain, Yoo Ji Tae from Old Boy (2003 )(especially that exercising scene in Ep 5 - like holy F, am pregnant - and he has hardly been on screen for 5 minutes or spoken more than 10 words so far)
Sincerely hoping he gets a happy ending so that I can remain delulu with his character, forevermore!