What can I expect from the Korean Drama ‘Like Flowers In Sand’, with Jang Dong-yoon
Like Flowers in Sand stars Lee Joo-myung (Twenty Five Twenty one) and the effervescent Jang Dong-yoon (Oasis).So I am the girl who tells people not to even call her during the two weeks of the Olympics. I love all sports, even Curling. I got on the Curling bandwagon even before it became popular. ‘Like Flowers in Sand’ highlights the sport of Ssireum. The Sport Ssireum is Korean Wrestling that has roots in ancient Korea. The major holiday events of Ssireum can draw like the American Super Bowl on TV. Using Ssireum as a backdrop, ‘Like Flowers in Sand’ is a touching Sports Romance Drama about the struggles of a Ssireum competitor, who is at the end of his career. This is a decompressor drama, not very complicated. ‘Like Flowers in Sand’ gives you a glimpse into the world of Ssireum, this unique competitive sport, while continuing with a childhood romance. I loved it as a change of pace drama. I fell in love with this drama.
Actor Jang Dong-yoon put out seven works in 2023, four movies and three dramas. He is very hard working. For one of his movies, Jang Dong-yoon was the writer, director, and actor (Please Be My Ear). Jang Dong-yoon’s acting style is so boyish and innocent. He just draws you right into his performances. I would add ‘Like Flowers in Sand’ to your Korean Drama List.
Jang Dong-yoon is very meticulous about his drama work. He had to gain lots of weight for this role, which misshaped his prefect body. He said that he had to eat so much that he threw up at times. Jang Dong-yoon is a true actor and professional, who gives his all. I am impressed.
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Destined is my joy. Bai Jing Ting is my enjoyment.
Destined (2023) is a Woman in Business Period RomCom Drama. This is one of my favorite Chinese dramas of the year.Apart while together. Destined hones in on a comedy while being a serious drama. The star, Bai Jing Ting, tries his hand at comedy, while reeling in the serious aspects of this story too.
The Story
A pampered son of the richest Costume Drama Plutocrat, has a spat with the daughter of a modestly well off Merchant. The differences are irresolvable. As with happenstance, the two end up in a arrange marriage. He is a bon-vivant and she is prim and proper. This is great fodder for laughter as the two try to cohabitate peacefully. Destined stars Song Ye as the prim and proper Liu Yu Ru and Bai Jing Ting as the spoiled but kind-hearted Gu Jun Si. He begins to teach her business and she pushes him to the highest scholastic achievements. They both “better” each other has walls are broken down to expose love.
Destined is a refreshing Costume drama change. Few things produce more of an anachronism than a Comedic Costume Chinese Drama. I have not seen Bai Jing Ting in a RomCom yet, but this seems to be the year that many Asian dramatic actors are challenging themselves to try comedy. Bai Jing Ting has never given his audience the same acting performance in his dramas and this extends to his attempt at comedy. I found myself laughing a lot. Bai Jing Ting, as Gu Jun Si, utilizes body language and gestures to aid in his comedic performance and his comedic timing is spot on.
Song Yi as Liu Yu Ru plays the straight part in this Chinese drama series. She gives some of the most endearing dialogue about women in business and love, sending goosebumps up my arm. Song Yi’s demur sweetness was so right for this part. Her character, Liu Yu Ru, is portrayed as a high intellectual and a quick learner, becoming the asset to her husband and the longing of other men.
Quote: This business is about Military supplies. Confucius said, “To rule a country of a thousand chariots, there must be reverent attention to business and sincerity; economy and expenditure and love for men; and employment of people at the proper time”. Husband teaching wife what the client needs to hear. From Destined
This RomCom is a high Yes! from me.
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Watch this one for date night.
OMG! What did I fall into? This drama is exotic, provocative, and alluring. I really like this short drama. The Chinese put out short vignettes of 6-12 episodes of 12-30 minutes each. This is the testing ground for potential stars to make an acting drama statement. The drama is 8 episodes of about 30 minutes each. Does the premise make sense? Not really, but the plot-line is tied into such a neat knot, you may be willing to forgive certain shortcomings. One star of ‘A Familiar Stranger’ is Ryan Cheng. He got snatched up in a quick Chinese drama minute to more meatier parts after this good showing. Ryan Cheng also went on to star in the Chinese drama hit ’My Journey to You’ (2023). There is a wonderful posse of drama characters, which adds depth to A Familiar Stranger’. Ryan Cheng leaves Super Star dust behind him as he walks past you.The time commitment is so short, you might enjoy this short drama detour.
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A movie for those who miss someone.
A mom and her young teen daughter looses the dad of the family in death. The whole world of the young teen girl is changed, new town, new school, new people. One boy at her new school seems to annoy her. He is free to cut up, be a slacker. He has no clue why she is shy and very reserved. He learns to be patient with her. He wants to be patient with her.For those who miss someone or need a little push to cry, try this movie and know that people are willing to help, even if they really don’t know how. Please Don’t Save Me is a simple story that is built upon a Mom and her daughter and a boy who learns to give of himself.
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Great concept drama
I ended up liking this drama a lot. There seems to be no rush with the Korean drama ‘Thirty, But Seventeen’. The storyline, while being somewhat complicated, creeps along very slowly. It is about a violin prodigy who is in a horrific bus accident at the age of 17, which puts her in a coma for 13 years before she wakes up. Life moved forward in time, but she did not. I found that I did not get fully invested in the characters till past the fifth hour (or tenth episode) of the standard episodes (Each episode was 30 minutes for this drama. An hour of drama time was two episodes). The slower pace will appeal to those who like great character building. The Romance is terminally paced slowly as well. This is in keeping with the natural build up of the drama character, an eccentric, off-putting loner Male Lead who suffers from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome) and a Female Lead who has been in a coma for 13 years. She skips over from a world where she was seventeen to a world where she is now thirty. I will say that once I was invested the slow pace did not bother me at all.There is great acting in Thirty, But Seventeen, and two of the oddest characters emerge. The young curmudgeon Gong Woo Jin was perfectly played by Yang Se Jong. He nailed his portrayal and reaped the benefits by winning three post production acting awards for his efforts. Another character that was an oddity was the monotone speaking house servant, Jennifer, played by Ye Ji Won. She will be added to my list of most unusual characters in a Korean drama.
Shin Hae Sun as Woo Seo Ri and Yang Se Jong as Gong Woo Jin
Shin Hae Sun (Mr Queen) gives a great performance as the thirty year old teen Woo Seo Ri. Ahn Hyo Seop from Business Proposal was truly a standout as Yoo Chan. Most will love his portrayal of a teen falling in love for the first time. Some will fall victim to Second Lead Syndrome.
Ahn Hyo Seop as Yoo Chan
The slow character building did not hinder the story, powered with lots of flashbacks, which were very consistent and congruent with the future/present story. The many characters tell their individual stories, which all converge neatly in episode 28, where all questions are answered.
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A Gift Given Through Time
Yeo Jin Goo (Hotel Del Luna) and Cho Yi Hyun (All of Us Are Dead)In this Time Blend, two College students attend the same University and get to know each other, while using a Ham radio. One wants to interview the other, but the two can’t seem to quite meet up. It will be discovered later that the reason that they can’t meet up is that one is in 1995 and the other exists in 2021.
This is a charming Time Blend type of time travel drama. There is a definite mode for the time displacement (A Ham Radio), but there is no movement through time in the movie Ditto. Two times are blended or shared, as there is communication across time. There will be lots of head talk about the gift one person can gift to another across a time barriers. Ditto is worth the time commitment.
Talking across a divide of time.
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Even ‘Ole School Korean Dramas’ can entertain you.
The Emperor: Owner of the Mask (2017) is a period drama and will remind many Korean Drama devotees of another period drama, ‘The Crowned Clown’ (2019). There are 40 episodes of 30 minutes each. This Korean drama is well worth that commitment time of 20 hours. This commitment is a slow boil, as it builds to a loud crescendo in the back part of the drama. At times this drama becomes a little melodramatic, but by episode 20 the pace is allegro (quick, fast) as action builds to a burst. This is an ‘Ole School’ type Korean Drama.Emperor: Owner of the Mask has court intrigue, twists and turns, and several great love triangles. “To whom does power really belong?”, that is the question. It belongs to The Owner of the Mask. How that plays out is slow but great storytelling. The drama received post awards for screenwriting. Emperor: Owner of the Mask started off in Korea at a viewing audience rating of 10% for episode 1, which starts off this drama as a hit drama (10% is considered a hit drama). The drama reached a rating of 16% by the finale, with some of its episodes as high as 20% of the viewing public. The last two episodes have some issues, but these can be overlooked.
Cast
Kim So-Hyun (Love Alarm, My Lovely Liar)—She is a beast of an actress, who started off in the industry as a child actress.
Kim Myung-Soo (Royal Secret Agent, Angels Last Mission:Love)—Kpop band member from INFINITE and an actor. He does a great job in this drama
Yoo Seung Ho (Memorist, My Strange Hero)—He is also a child actor, reaching heartthrob status by age 18 years old in his memorable Korean Drama Warrior Baek Dong Soo.
Yoon So-Hee (Ghost Doctor, The Spies Who Loved Me)— She does a great job in her role.
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A fantastic epic ‘War at Sea’ movie
Hansan: Rising Dragon is a thriller movie and is near perfect all around.There have been great historic war battles which have been fought throughout history. One such war battle took place near Hansan Island in Korea, during the Joseon era in 1592 CE. Two great tacticians of War went up against each other in a chess game of wits. They were Admiral Yi Sun Sin of Korea (Played by Park Hae-il from Decision to Leave) and Admiral Wakisaka Yasuharu of Japan (Played by Byun Yo-han from Six Flying Dragons). While the Great Battle at Hansan Island was replayed out on the big screen, a great acting battle was wonderfully delivered by these two great actors playing their prospective Admirals. Those looking for the quintessential offerings of Korean Film and Drama do well to follow the movies and dramas of these two gentlemen. (Fans of Ok Taec-yeon from Vincenzo, see if you can spot him in this movie)
This decisive Battle at Hansan Isalnd took place during the invasion of Korea by Japan, and it was a Naval battle. Of course, liberties were taken with history to produce this nail-biting cinematic experience. However, from the imaginations of writers Kim Han-min and Yun Hong-gi and direction of Kim Han-min, the viewers see a perfect chess match played out at sea, accompanied by a great movie score. The movie is written from the prospective of both men and it imagines the challenges they might have faced to try to obtain a victory at sea. Hansan : Rising Dragon was a movie that took my breath away as I observed the chess match depicted in this strategic battle. It’s beautifully recreated miniature sets, cinematography through the roof, and gorgeously loud sound effects added greatly to this high quality movie. With any war victory, one pauses to recognize the loss of life as grunts are sacrificed for glory, however, this movie takes a behind the scenes look at the cost of victory.
An important quote paraphrased from the movie is “They prepared themselves for offense, but they neglected to account for defense too”.
‘Hansan: Rising Dragon’ is another movie from 2022 staring Korea actor Park Hae-il which garnered many post production accolades and awards, as did his second film ‘Decision To Leave’, which won the Baeksang Arts Awards (Korean Oscars) for Best Film for 2023 (Competing against Hansan: Rising Dragon). In addition, Byun Yo-han (Mr Sunshine) won the Baeksang for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Admiral Wakisaka Yasuharu. Much of the movie was delivered in the Korean language and the rest of the movie was delivered in Old Japanese. Byun Yo-han had to deliver all his lines in Old Japanese and he did an award winning job.
Admiral Yi Sun Sin of Korean from Bansan: Rising Dragon (Played by Park Hae-il from Decision to Leave)
Admiral Wakisaka Yasuharu of Japan from Bansan: Rising Dragon (Played by Byun Yo-han from Mr Sunshine).
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Managing Work and Home
Doctor Cha did not pass my 15 minute “love it or leave” test. However, this barometer does not account for dramas which have necessary set up time and/or are slow burns. Nonetheless, there was enough there to keep going with this drama. There was her husband who was a true piece of work and her mother-in-law, whose chippy son honestly fell close to tree. I found by the end of episode 1 that Doctor Cha was an undiscovered gem. Also what helped me to stick with this drama was the fact that although episode 1 only got 5 % viewership nationwide in Korea (10 % is considered a hit drama), Doctor Cha tapped out in episode 16 with a 19 % viewership in Korea. This would make it a mega hit. To be noted, Doctor Cha is one of the most melodramatic melodramas with over the top performances by most of the cast. With touches of dark humor, there is enough to entertain all in this Medical; Comedy Family drama.Women, we all know Doctor Cha. She is that woman who unselfishly sacrifices her career and life to stay at home with the kids and slave for a thankless mother-in-law and a two-timing husband. Well, after a near death experience, now she realizes that the kids are grown and nothing is stopping her from realizing her dreams. You go girl! Fighting! I invite all to cheer on Doctor Cha, as she learns how to be empowered. It is a go for me.
Quote from Doctor Cha
Mistress of two-timing husband, upon hearing the his wife was in the emergency room with acute liver problems, which is about to cancel their secret get-a-way, “If you are that worried then just go to the hospital”.
Two-timing husband, “It’s not like she is a kid. I have a sense of decency, you know. How could I just leave you here and go (to her)?”
Actors Corner
Uhm Jung-hwa as Doctor Cha Jeong-suk—One of the founding K-pop Artist, she has been an Actress since 1990, appeared in Our Blues. Uhm Jung-hwa is a nine time Baeksang Arts Awards (plus Grand Bell) winner. She would be our Meryl Streep.
Kim Byung-chul as Doctor Seo In-ho (Baeksang Arts Award Winner for Best Supporting Actor for Skycastle)
Min Woo-hyuk as Doctor Roy Kim is a Singer, Actor, and Model (If You Wish Upon Me).
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This was a brain twister and deep SyFy Fantasy Movie and a must see for me.
Here is a quick Korean or Chinese drama downtime moment that will only take an hour and one half of your time, but will stick to you with afterthoughts for several days after viewing. This is the Romance Fantasy movie 0.1% World. Personally, I could loop this movie over and over and not discover all that is there to take in. 0.1% World is the story about a girl and boy living on different continents. Inexplicably, they get linked to each other’s brains. They can hear each other, talk to each other and at times even move the body parts of the other. Because they live in different time zones and on different continents, it becomes a challenge to live and fashion life under these circumstances of a mind meld. Neither one wants to know the identity of the other at first. They just need to placate the problem by learning how to live with each other, sharing lives as they do, and not get in each other’s way, until they figure out how to fix the problem. Ultimately, what does this shared experience do for them? This Chinese SyFy Fantasy movie blew my mind. It invoked such deep thought surrounding their dilemma and how they chose to resolve certain issues.The stars of the Chinese film are Zhou Yi Ran from ‘When You Be Me’ (2022) and Patrick Shih from ‘Someday or One Day’ (2022). I recommend both works by both actors in addition to their collaboration in 0.1% World.
These two travel through Discovery, Compliance, to Discord in 0.1% World.
Actor’s Corner
Both actors give dynamic deliveries in 1% World. Taiwanese actor Patrick Shih often has been compared to Park Seo Joon by Netizens. He speaks fluent German in this movie, 0.1% World.
Zhou Yi Ran is also a great young Chinese actress. Her acting abilities and range of acting are fully on display in ‘When You Be Me’.
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An absolutely delightful brain twister
Be With You is an delightful, esoteric, charming movie that will totally move you emotionally. It is about the love of a man for his wife, the love of a boy for his mother, and her love and sacrifices she made for the both of them. Because this is a 2 and one half hour movie, to say any more would spoil you enjoyment and experience. This movie is surprising and deep, and well written, with lots of twists and turns. It will create a lot of head talk in you for days. You do not want to know any more advance information on this movie. Please do not look. I am so glad that I knew nothing about this movie. I picked it at random because of the Star power.Kim Ji-Hwan did an excellent job playing the son Jiho. This was the first and only acting role for Kim Ji-Hwan. Hopefully, it was not his last. Park Seo Joon makes a guest appearance.
It stars So Ji Sub as the husband Jung Woo-Jin and Son Ye-Jin as the wife Soo Ah. These two actors were a dream match from acting heaven. Both performances were so polished. The quiet moments when the two of them were together without speaking lines, really gives you a chance to study why So Ji Sub and Son Ye Jin are considered two of Korea’s best actors. ‘Be With You’ is worth your Korean drama downtime.
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Effervescent Historic RomCom turns serious at times. Great use of ancient Korean Law.
In the second half of the Korean Drama season of the year 2023, Woo Do Hwan starred in the hit Korean drama Bloodhounds and displayed his newly sculpted fighting body. His new look is also on full display in a Korean Drama season first half sleeper “Joseon Attorney: A Morality”. It stars Woo Do Hwan and K pop Idols Kim Ji-yeon (Bona) and Cha Hak-Yeon (N).MY RAW NOTES 💫🧲
Hot brass-sounding music is smoking in a great modern OST, which in addition has super edgy beats and great songs.
The Joseon Attorney (Woo Do Hwan) has a photographic memory when it comes to the Law Codes and he is on a course of revenge.
The open courtroom law is presented like Extraordinary Attorney Woo, but Joseon style.
The LAW highlighted in Joseon Attorney: A Morality are ancient Korean laws. Although no longer applicable in Korean law annals, you get finely tuned applications of these ancient laws being used in creative ways in the storyline. This will remind some of how this was done in the modern day Korean Drama ‘Extraordinary Attorney Woo’. Production hired a great historian to pull this off.
There is some great cinematographic risk-taking in this K-drama, exploring black and white stills and shots and stop action.
The Joseon Attorney wins cases by hook or crook to get the bad guys for his revenge. The female lead falls in love at first sight.
Joseon Attorney: A Morality, heads into a whole other intense direction in/after episode 7.
The drama starts off very good and manages to get better over time.
Woo Do Hwan is such a good actor. It is the little reflexes, facial expressions, all these little things that he does to expand his acting range.
You will definitely see the goofy side of Woo Do Hwan in some episodes. It is cute and unexpected, as he interprets his comedic lines.
Quote: “Ultimately, the law must rule over the people, not the King (ruling over the people)”.
Quote: “Are you giving me the illness and the medicine at the same time?” (Are you causing the problem and giving me your cure or solution?).
Some had been calling me about Joseon Attorney: A Morality, but I had this drama on the shelf. I decided to check the ratings and saw that it was getting 4.5-5.0 out of five. OK, what is the hype? At least you can’t go wrong with Woo Do Hwan. Also, this drama stars K-pop Idols Bona (Kim Ji Yeon from Twenty five Twenty one) and N (Yoo Ji Sun from Bad and Crazy).
I am enjoying Joseon Attorney: A Morality. It is a go from me.
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She fell in love at first sight and he did not know what to do with it. . . . at first.
A Date With The Future is a Chinese Drama involving the interaction of First Responders with the public. The First Responders are Firemen. My profession is considered a First Responder. While not a Firemen, I found much attention being paid to minute details, showing how First Responders save the lives of people they rescue. Secondly, and once again, Chinese dramas are charming me with their precision of movement, especially when the story is about Military-like occupations, such as Firemen in their calls for lineup.In some dramas I just really love the couple, like in the Korean drama Twenty Five Twenty One. I adore this couple in ‘A Date With The Future’. Since this First Responder genre drama came out the same year as the Chinese drama Fireworks of My Heart (2023), this drama (A Date With The Future 2023) will be compared to that exhilarating fast paced drama with lots of action. ‘A Date With The Future’ is a no frills drama, but oddly enough, it works for me in this story rich more so in character studies than action. The concentration of the story is more on the love story rather than the action. I love the characters of the lead male and female. She has been crushing on this older man since this Firefighter saved her life in a devastating earthquake when she was a teenager. Now that she is old enough after ten years, she doggedly pursues the man she fell in love with at first sight ten years ago. He stays away from this female, who he thinks is weird, because she is pursuing him non-stop. Even though he is constantly making it clear that a relationship is a “no go”, she refuses to accept that answer. He has decided never to get married and to dedicate his life to his career. She had decided that she is going to make him love her. Throw in lots of dogs and training dogs for rescue and you have a simple, but impactful drama.
Most will be charmed by the courage of this young woman who just knows what she wants and is willing to do what is takes to get the love of her life and keep him safe. The stars of ‘A Date With The Future’ are C-Pop Artist/Actor William Chan (Swords of Legends) as Jin Shichuan and new comer, Actress Zhang Ruonan (The Glory of Youth) as Xu Lai.
‘A Date With the Future’ has the usual Band of Brothers.
Also, the signature of Chinese action dramas in particular is the cinematography, like this ladder rescue from a burning High-rise by Firemen.
Now, even with Chinese Dramas, there must be an umbrella scenes.
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This Movie is a pleasant drama break.
Well, this is a bold shot at classic Chinese film making. Have a wonderfully alluring story with a soft and sweet beginning, a challenging and complicated middle and a captivating ending, all keeping you glued to your seat. Take a visit with me to the ancient Qing Dynasty and share an endearing love story.The movie The Palace begins with little girls being selected to serve in the palace as maids, as they are frightened into submission for easy training. There is much court intrigue and mischief. This is a well written simple story, which does not use sword fighting, twirls and thrills, and big movements to drive up entertainment value. The movie The Palace simply uses character study as fine art to give balance to the story, as you are drawn in and become fully invested into the lives and outcomes of the characters.
The story takes place during the peaceful reign of China’s longest serving Emperor, Shengzu or Kangxi Emperor of Qing (1654-1722), third Emperor of the Qing Dynasty. The Palace is about the ambitions of two little girls who want to control their destinies.
A caution to the viewer. This movie is rated PG 13. However, there are two racy scenes in The Palace, which should bring the rating of this movie up to a strong PG 14, but these scenes are done tastefully.
Actors Corner
Movie actress Zhou Dongyu (Under the Hawthorn Tree) as Chen Xiang, Chen Xiao as Yin Xiang (Legend of Lu Zhen), and Zhao Li Ying as Lui Li (Boss and Me).
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Once Upon A Time in the Life of a Teenager
I would rate ‘20th Century Girl’ an 11/ 10, but I guess that is cheating. Nonetheless, that is my sentiment.20th Century Girl is a School Life Romance Korean movie.
For youths (and the young at heart) who have been waiting for the most realistic High School Korean drama or movie, with a very realistic storyline, that movie is here. It only takes 2 hours of your time to watch. My only regret is that this movie was not made into a longer Korean drama instead of a movie so that I could have experienced this special gem for a longer period of time. In this movie, you get . . .
High School crush
BGF intervention
Stalking your love
Hot Guy and his Hot Best Guy Friend
Should you break the ‘girl code’ about dating your BGF’s guy?
Should you break the ‘bro code’ about even considering a girl liked by your bro?
Chasing your imaginary dreams
20th Century Girl takes place in 1999, right before Y2K, and has an intricate love relationship which will catch you off guard. This is a story about first love. It stars Kim Yoo-jung (Lovers of the Red Sky) as Na Bo-ra, Byeon Woo-Seok (Record of Youth) as Poong Woon-Ho, Park Joon-woo (DP) as Baek Hyun-jin and Roh Joon-seo (Debut role in Our Blues) as Kim Yeon-du. The movie is a ‘Must See’.
Quote: “Yeon-doo . . . remember what you said awhile ago? That if you like someone, then you can’t sleep at night. . . This is a secret . . . The food you eat becomes tasteless and listening to music makes you cry? Actually, I sleep fine at night and my food taste better than usual, and I feel like dancing when I hear music. It’s strange, though. When I think of him, my heart hurts a bit. Is this love? Then I think that I’m in love”. Na Bo-ra
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