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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Is Business Proposal an outstandingly written Korean drama or just so so run-of-the-mill?
Business Proposal is a very well written Korean drama. If you did not get that, each person has his own taste, but I think that you missed something. Many seem to have missed the intricate nuances from this great concept drama. Business Proposal is a real-time parody of the melodrama being viewed by the grandfather on the television at the same time the Korean drama we are viewing is running concurrently. As the grandfather watches the over-the-top melodrama on Television, the real-time action of the drama Business Proposal becomes more over-the-top, while parodying that action seen on TV. I have not seen this concept in a Korean drama. Do you understand how hard it is to write two dramas in one and intertwine them seamlessly into one cohesive drama (like with Extraordinary You)? This was not a run-of-the-mill drama. If you did not catch the parody of the TV drama being acted out real-time in the main drama that you were watching, you might want to watch this drama again with a different lens.The girl in the TV melodrama the grandfather is watching does not get the approval of the rich TV parents, because she is the daughter of the owner of a fried chicken shack. Not only is the lead female of Business Proposal the daughter of a fried chicken shack owner, the lead female even takes the name of the lead character (Shin Geum-hui) as a pseudonym from the TV drama the grandfather is watching. Also the rich son wants to marry for love and wants to be free from parental control and choose the person he loves. The grandfather exclaims, “It is hard to get married these days”.
Secondly, Business Proposal has several reverse Korean drama tropes or tropes formally acted upon by the male lead which in this drama is acted upon by the female lead.
The female lead holds the umbrella over the male lead first. The female lead kisses the male lead first, but calls it an accident. This is when the male lead asked if his mouth was a light pole that she could just run into by accident? The female lead was the one escaping abroad in the break-up instead of the male lead trying to escape the relationship through break up and moving abroad. The female lead pinned the male lead to the wall, instead of the reverse, all adding inventiveness to the story. I thoroughly enjoyed the Korean drama Business Proposal and it was in my top five for the year 2022 for its acting, editing, all star cast, and comedy relief. Some may want to give Business Proposal a second look.
Whenever you see the TV melodrama the grandfather is viewing, please look for that action to be played out in real-time action in the main drama in scenes to come. If a Korean drama speed is going too fast to read subtitles and view the action, there is no shame in stopping the action and reading the subtitles then rewinding the drama to view the action again. Sometimes, the action does go to fast and I don’t have a problem using the pause button.
Whenever I want to convince a nonbeliever that Korean dramas are the way to go, I use the Korean drama Business Proposal. Viewing this drama always makes a new Korean drama convert. Because of the top notch hilarity in the drama, you may want to clear space around you for rolling all over the floor before viewing, however.
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It is impossible not to like this drama. Don’t wait to binge this one.
The Impossible Heir Business Life Mystery Romance DramaWhat Universe are people living in, who would give Impossible Heirs a very low rating? It is almost like I am asking myself “Are they looking at the same thing I am viewing?” The Story is intense, edgy, realistic and exciting, with great music and fashion. It has an unpredictable storyline and is well written. I see Impossible Heir in the top three for the season, based on its fine technical criteria and quality of the acting. The angst between the two leads is incredible. The Drama Twist sets Impossible Heirs apart from other dramas. Am I being punk’d? See if you can disregard the low scorers so that you don’t miss out on this great drama series.
A lone teenager named Han Tae-O (Lee Jae-wook, Alchemy of Souls) drifts into town. This town is where his mom is from. There is a great mystery shrouding who he really is and what are his true ambitions. He is appalled at how the whole town kowtows to the local Chaebol and his family. Han Tae-O has a run-in with the teen son of the Chaebol. The son is Kang In-Ha (K-pop from U-KISS Lee Jun-young, Weak Hero Class 2) and you have not seen this amount of testosterone hit the TV screen in a while. Nonetheless, these two eventually become friends in the weirdest way. Han Tae-O’s focus is on some unproclaimed mission. He meets a girl (Hong Su Zu), but she is not part of his master plan. However, both friends become rivals for her affection.
I am sitting in my chair viewing the first two episode saying to myself, “Oh Boy, this is really good”. The Impossible Heir is one to keep on the radar. It has just started (2024), but I am truly excited. The plot is upper level storytelling, on the order of Reborn Rich. So far Lee Jun-young is stealing the show. However, I am sure that as the meatier parts of the story unfolds Lee Jae-wook will make his acting statement. The story covers about 12-15 years of life. I will have to see how this one turns out. Clear up some head space for this drama too. You will experience lots of Head Talk. The Impossible Heir is on Hulu.
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Cha Eun Woo, Yes!!!
Based on the Naver Webtoon of the same name by Lee Hey.To be honest, my first thought was to pass up this one, because the premise sounded boring and stupid. However, I saw that A Good Day to Be a Dog was running a rate of 9.8/10 from the viewing audience, so I took a chance. This drama has a stacked cast and is surprisingly good, bad premise and all. The story is about this teacher who turns into a dog at night if a guy kisses her, but returns to normal in the morning. While this did not sound good on paper, I am likening the series, based one its beginning episodes. It is hilarious.
And it’s a cute dog that steals the show.
Cast
Park Gyu-young (Celebrity, Dali and the Cocky Prince), Cha Eun Woo (Rookie Historian, True Beauty), and Lee Hyun-woo (The Liar and His Lover, Moorim School: Saga of the Brave).
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Twinkling Watermelon is absolutely the best drama of the year for me.
Main Actors—Ryeo Un (Secret Romantic Guesthouse) and Choi Hyun-Wook (Twenty five Twenty One, Weak Hero Class 1)Twinkling Watermelon Youth Music Life Romance is a great concept drama.
A hearing little boy has deaf parents and a deaf older brother. He speaks to them through sign language. When they move to another neighborhood, the boy begins to be mentored in music by a music shop owner. The boy is uniquely aware of sounds, living in his family’s deaf world and he uses his hands to communicate. The shop owner chooses to teach him the guitar. This is a perfect match, because the boy must use his hands with the guitar to speak the language of music, the same as using his hands to communicate with his family. The shop owner discovers that the little boy is a musical genius. You get these rare finds of a drama which concentrates on a unique story. Twinkling Watermelon is a concept drama about Youth, Music, Life, and Romance. This is a youth driven music drama, but it will appeal to all ages. I am totally impressed. It is a high Yes to add this drama to your drama list.
There is a huge plot redirection in the drama, Twinkling Watermelon. I am totally surprised that no one has blabbed and let the secret out. The redirection knocked me for a loop. I will have to write up a spoiler later on. This can’t stay a secret long. I am watching real-time. For bingers, I would suggest to start this drama ‘Twinkling Watermelon’ and view the 5 episodes posted already, then you can binge episodes 6-16 later. It appears that no one was given advance notice, by what I have read so far. However, some want to be the first to tell the secret. With 5 episodes posted, many won’t keep the secret long. In addition, so many others do not understand what a spoiler is. Twinkling Watermelon may tap out to be one of the best Music Life Romance Korean Dramas ever.
The boy is a coda. That means that he is the only one in the family who can hear and speak.
Quote: Music is the only legal drug.
Sign hung in the father’s restaurant: No need for words.
Cast
Choi Hyun Wook—This role is in his wheelhouse, playing a creative dare devil who falls for the rich chick. He is so good in this drama. He overwhelms his scenes. Many have touted the acting talent of Choi Hyun Wook and I am one of them. He will not disappoint you.
Ryeo Un—He gives a breakout performance, which many will be talking about.
Seol In A—She is a veteran talented Actress and once again gives a great performance.
Shin Eun-Soo—This actress is a newcomer and she is a little shinning star. Shin Eun-Soo is given a difficult role, which I will not spoil.
Is it acceptable to use the word ‘Deaf’? Yes, most of the Deaf community do not shy away from this word.
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A Sensual Love Story
Hongrang (whonglang) is an excellent Mystery Action Thriller Romance Drama. Hongrang carries a twist that defies plot twists. There is fire red Ambient Music with lyrics or Gentile Ballards for this excellent OST, which also has a great dramatic score. The music pushes the boundaries. There is great cinematography, with beautiful visuals. Hongrang is about a long lost son who disappeared years ago, who suddenly shows up in the village to claim his inheritance. Who is he really? The mystery evolves into a sizzling love story. The pace was quick and perilous, making the viewer feel that the principal characters are continuously in danger. That action was thrilling (There is sword fighting). Hongrang has a really heinous villain. It would be a spoiler to name this person, since there are twists in the storyline. Hongrang is excellently cast, with everyone pulling their weight. The cast is anchored by Lee Jae Wook (Extraordinary You), Jo Bo Ah (My Strange Hero), and Jung Ga Ram (Love Alarm). They all gave great performances.Personal note: I have defended Jung Ga Ram since his first lead appearance in Love Alarm. He gives an excellent performance in Hongrang too, playing the second lead. Jung Ga Ram’s acting showed such maturity and emotional range, as did all the principal actors.
Recommendations
Similar Korean Drama—Kill It
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Every Breath You Take
RainKissed Fate (2025) is a wonderful Chinese Melodrama which has the sauciness of the Korean Drama ‘Perfect Marriage Revenge’. This drama is about an Heiress (Bu Yan played by Chen Fang Tong), who has a one night stand with a Boxer (He Yu Chen played by Dai Goa Zheng), then she drops off the scene. When Bu Yan turns up pregnant with twins her family disowns her and kicks her out of the house. She is a strong woman and in spite of these issues, she builds a highly successful business. However, one of the twins gets leukemia, which sends her searching for the father for help.RainKissed Fate has the VIKI translation team named “How to Reclaim a Daddy”. The drama is a very sultry and a tantalizing romance drama of the ‘Heiress and the Boxer’. There is so much frisky physical contact between these two actors, you will stay up all night long to finish. RainKissed Fate is like the sensual Korean Drama ‘Nevertheless’, but still in a PG 13 kind of way. It is lots of fun with lots of visuals and heart throbbing action. There are 30 episodes, but each episode is less than 15 minutes per episode for this Chinese Drama Short. The Chinese are leaning towards Shorts this year. You can binge Rainkissed Fate in no time. This is the type of drama which will get you hooked to Chinese Dramas. You will look back and say, “This was my first one”.
Shorts are a new wave for Chinese dramas. Shorts have a short episode count and/or shortened time periods per episodes of under 20 minutes each. Grab popcorn and an air conditioner (required). You will need both.
Applying medicine is a love ritual.
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Is this drama a pandemic creation of the writer? Our tangerines.
If there was a new Baeksang Arts Award category created this year for the Best Achievement in Acting for the whole cast, then ‘When Life Gives You Tangerines’ would be the first winner in my book. I was a skeptic going into viewing this drama, determined not to be easy prey, because of the high ratings all around that this drama was getting. ‘When Life Gives You Tangerines’ won me over the hard way. This drama earned it. Male Lead Park Bo Gum’s compelling acting as the quiet but powerful Yang Gwan-sik is so good that it freezes you in place. In the past, I have found IU’s acting performances to be immature. However, she showed up big time in every scene as the bold and daring Female Lead Oh Ae-sun. Let us make this harder. IU also plays her own grown daughter Yang Geum-myeong. She is the eldest child and only daughter of Ae-sun and Gwan-sik, who has the opposite personality. Other child actors played this role of Yang Geum-myeong as young children. Since ‘When Life Gives You Tangerines’ spans three generations, the audience experiences a total cast change as the decades are handled in flashbacks and flash-forwards. The chronological narrative of the story is interrupted, as multiple timelines are visited or revisited.There are a lot of balls bouncing in each fully loaded episode, but writer Lim (Im) Sang-choon maintains a consistent and congruent flow of this masterful storyline. She remains in complete control of this epic story. Very few actors get the job done, staying in character, perceiving the flow of the overall storyline and understanding how each character must develop in a cohesive manor, without a great director at the helm. Writer Director Kim Won Suk pulls the best out of each actor.
I found this a bit of interesting history and irony. Lim (Im) Sang-choon is the writer of ‘When Life Gives You Tangerines’. She took a rest from the Film and Drama Industry for an extended period during the COVID-19 Pandemic. This new drama was released six years later. Is this brilliant masterpiece of art the result of her sheltering in place?
‘When Life Gives You Tangerines’ is a metaphor for experiencing sour setbacks. It is equivalent to the English saying "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade". This expresses a positive outlook one might take on when facing the travails of life. While I did not personally interview anyone, I know that the world was served up many lemons (or tangerines) in 2019, at the advent of COVID-19. Many resilient souls around the world found ways to make lemonade during this time period, or Sweet Tangerines (if you are from Korea). During this time, the writer Lim (Im) Sang Choon had all the time in the world to create a wonderful story, which starts in 1951 and spans three generations. The story is said to be inspired by an actual couple who lived on Jeju Island in South Korea.
Six Degrees of Separation
Writer Lim Sang-choon
Lim (Im) Sang-choon is the screenwriter for ‘When Life Gives You Tangerines’. She won for Best Screenplay at the 56th Baeksang Arts Award for the drama When the Camellia Blooms 2019). Also, Lim (Im) Sang-choon was nominated at the 54th Baeksang Arts Awards for her screenplay for Fight My Way (2017). She writes under a pseudonym, keeping her personal information very private.
Few people claim even to have met Lim (Im) Sang-choon personally. Lim (Im) Sang-choon is shrouded in mystery. This helped peaked the curiosity of IU, when she get a phone call from Lim (Im) Sang-choon about joining the project. Actress IU and writer of ‘When Life Gives You Tangerines’ Lim (Im ) Sang Chop met secretly during this time and went over the script. IU was asked to play the main female lead in this drama. IU has revealed that she would forever cherish this meeting. Production for the Netflix project began in March 2023 and concluded February 2024. The World Health Organization declared to the world on May 5, 2023 that COVID-19 was no longer a world health emergency.
(Writer) Director Kim Won Suk
Writer/Director Kim Won Suk co-authored the Korean Drama ‘Descendants of the Sun’ (2016), which won Best Drama. He was nominated for Best Writer for this drama as well. Kim Won Suk also wrote The Queen’s Classroom (2013), Man to Man (2017) and wrote Payback (2023). As a Director, Kim Won Suk won a Baeksang as Best New Director for ‘Sungkyunkwan Scandal’ (2011) and Best Director for ‘Misaeng’ (2015). He was nominated for a Baeksang as a Director for ‘My Mister’ (2019) and for ‘Signal’ (2016). It was on the set of ‘My Mister’ (2019) the Writer/Director Kim Won Suk met actress IU, who appeared in the drama as the Female Lead. Between 2019-2025, Writer Director Kim Won Suk wrote the Korean Drama Payback (2023) and concluded the project ‘When Life Gives You Tangerines’.
Actor Park Bo Gum
Park Bo Gum did put out Record of Youth in September 2020. After this production, even Park Bo Gum went silent in the Film and Drama Industry until the 2025 drama release of When Life Gives You Tangerines. Park Bo Gum’s chose to complete his Military service, serving from August 2020 to April 2022. After his release from the Military, Park Bo Gum told the public that he would take a rest from the Film and Drama Industry, which he did untilhe was offrered tge male lead in ‘When Life Gives You Tangerines’.
In earlier years, Park Bo Gum and IU met during a commercial shoot for a noodle advertisement in 2012. In addition, Park Bo Gum briefly appeared in IU’s Drama The Producers. Their 13 year friendship helped add the organic feel to their performances in When Life Gives You Tangerines.
Actress IU (Lee Ji-eun)
Actress IU (Lee Ji-eun) also took a break from the Korean Drama world after 2019. However, IU did appear in The Movie Dream in 2023 and appeared Korean Variety shows. IU has had nine Baeksang Arts Awards nominations with two wins. These are Most Popular Actress for My Mister (2019) and Most Popular Actress for Broker (2023). Actress IU (Lee Ji-eun) is nominated this year for Best Actress in a TV drama. It would be her first win in this category is she is successful.
When Life Gives You Tangerines is a Coming of Age Life Romance Drama that is resonating in so many different circles. Life has its travails, but you can still approach life in a positive way, is a central theme. The drama offers Healthy Relationship of Main Characters, Supportive Male Lead, Family Relationships, Parenting, and Multiple Timelines.
It is rare for a drama to still have a 5/5 rating of general Internet users after its run completion. Ratings usually drop a little, as more people add their voices. When Life Gives You Tangerines is still drawing 5/5. Descriptive words like “A Masterpiece” is being thrown all over the place. Are American Awards like Academy Awards (Oscars), Golden Globe Awards, and Screen Actors Guild Award and Emmy Award possible?
When Life Gives You Tangerines has garnered eight Baeksang Arts Awards Nominations (The next nearest is six). The Awards Show was set for 5 May 2025. All nominations are still pending. When Life Gives You Tangerines secured nominations in the categories of Best Drama, Director, Actor (Park Bo Gum), Actress (Lee Ji-eun), Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, New Actress, and Best Screenplay. This drama is a Netflix original. When Life Gives You Tangerines tops the latest Gallup Polls.
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You want some of this?
4 minute read
The ‘Weak Hero Class’ Korean Drama series is popular amongst the youths of the IPad Gamer Generation (Generation Alpha 2013-Present) , Zoomers (Generation Z 1997-2012), and The Millennials (Generation Y 1981-1996). These are the frontline generations who faced bullying in school, as a way of life (About 14% of students consider suicide, because of Bullying in School). Generation Y (1981-1996) was one of the earlier generations to be bullied under public notoriety and thus saw much legislation introduced, aimed at stopping bullying in schools. However, bullying persisted even up to 2019 when bullying in schools saw a noted increase. Nonetheless, since then bullying in schools has been on the decline. Why this change?
To be noted, Weak Heroes are emerging as a sub population in the schools. Weak Heroes are those who were once the targets of bullies, being considered weak (simps). Now some are emerging as strong weak heroes (sigmas).
Terms of Endearment
Simp-Some one who is overly submissive, or desperate for interaction with the Sigma class.
Sigma—Strong Alpha males of the hierarchy class, often the bullies.
Beta males—A male who is perceived to be weak and unimpressive.
Now these Beta Males are emerging as the Silent Beta Males who are becoming the Weak Heroes. This is a rising phenomena of necessity, but it is working, as Weak Heroes are silently taking control away from bullies. Possibly as a result, bullying is on the decrease. Weak Heroes are not just a sub-genre of Korean dramas. It is a message of reaction and taking control. That is what makes this sub-genre so popular with multi-generations.
Weak Hero Class 2 is the next in the series of Beta Males becoming the heroes and it has already scored big world wide in just 2 days after its release. How many different ways can you tell this story and keep it fresh? They have managed big-time to do so with Weak Heroes Class 2. The new characters are so profound. Returning is the original Weak Hero Yeon Si Eun / Gray Yeon (played by Park Ji Hoon). We find him as a transfer student to a “Last Chance” High School. He is coming in with much street cred, as students find out about his notorious past.
Yeon Si eun befriends a new simp named Seo Jun Tae / Eugene Gale (wonderfully played by Choi Min Yeong) who wants to fight back. Joining the posse are two more new characters, two basketball players with mean Martial Arts skills. They are the new school sigmas. Ko Hyeon Tak / Alex Go (wonderfully played by Lee Min Jae) is noted for his high kicking ability and 360 kick turns. He is subdued and unpolished. However, the shining star, the character most all will love is the loud, larger the life big personality, but skilled Martial Artists Park Hu Min / Ben Park (expertly played by Ryeo Un). One villain of the court is the strong arm and psychopath Geum Seong Je / Wolf Keum (convincingly played by Lee Jun Young). The second villain is a Study Genius with the highest IQ and best Martial Artistry Na Baek Jin / Donald Na (Played calculatingly by newcomer and K-pop Idol Bae Nara). He is just like Yeon Si eun, but on steroids. Na Baek Jin makes the best nemesis, confronting our anti-hero Yeon Si eun, beating him at his own game.
It is usual that the second installment is not as good as the first. I am shocked and surprised at how good this second installment is. The storyline is so tight and congruent with Weak Hero Class 1.
Weak Hero Class 2 is a drama about bullying. There are a lot of fight scenes with a lot of pummeling. There is cursing and smoking as part of the story mapping. This drama is not for everyone.
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Families often are made up of blended broken pieces.
Go Ahead is a concept drama I have not seen before in any of the 200 Asian Dramas I have viewed. The premise and format is that different. This drama carves a different lane for itself in the highway of dramas. Go Ahead is a raw account of a blended multiple family dynamic, which has at its center, the best dad figure ever in Asian Dramas. If the writer really knows this person after who the character is patterned, he or she would have been privileged to have known him.Go Ahead is such a great drama centered around family, which honors dads. If you have that special dad in your life, hug him and do a “Daddy and Me” with this drama. So many Asian Dramas have good examples of bad examples. The dad in Go Ahead is a good example of a great example.
Written by Shui Qianmo and Wang Xiongcheng
QUOTE
Neighbor Lady to this dad: “I don’t know what good things our family did in our last lifetime (for us to) meet such a great person like you in this lifetime”.
In Go ahead, there are actually two single dads with children. One dad is a stern policeman and the other sweet dad owns a soup restaurant. Each shares the financial and parenting responsibilities of this accidentally blended family. While not giving up on finding the right woman as a wife, these two dads just worked out a workable lifestyle after loosing their mates, centered around living their best life for their children. With one child, his mother just dropped him off at the door step of the sweet dad and never came back. The sweet dad just took him in. There was less stability before the fathers joined ranks. Afterwards and for the sake of the kids, the fathers worked out a workable arrangement. What is uniquely appealing about Go Ahead is that the family dynamics consist of two sons, two fathers and a daughter. Therefore, the daughter has to learn many female things on her own, without useable help from the rest of the males in the house. This is a source of laughter moments throughout the drama. The three unrelated siblings are raised like triplets. They have a bond thicker than blood.
Cast
Families often are made up of blended broken pieces.
All three actors were raised to superstar level from Go Ahead, because of the immense popularity of this show.
Trương Tân Thành or Steven Zhan plays the athletic brother who finds his little sister annoying, but would give his last drop of blood to protect her. He was dropped off by his mother and a abandoned. The dads fully accepts him as if he is blood.
Tan Songyun plays the rough and touch tomboy with big brothers. Her performance is one of the best in long time. Her comedic timing is excellent, as she portrays a youthful girl in several stages of life and maturity and she nails this roles. One brother is athletic and clueless and the other brother is sensitive and very perceptive. The girl was raised like a tomboy and is the youngest. She wants to marry her older brother.
Chinese heartthrob Song Weilong plays the genius but sensitive brother, willing to put aside embarrassment in order to learn what his baby sister needs. She is the only female in this family dynamic and he has no real clue what little girls need when mothers are absent, but he tries his best.
Each single dad developed his role and contribution in this symbiotic family arrangement. Each dad’s gifts help this blended family correctly congeal together.
Zhang Xilin and Tu Song Yan
Zhang Xilin plays the dad who really does not understand women. He has figured out that women are the opposite of men, but not much more. He willingly acquiesces, knowing his limitations. This dad acts as a wage earner and contributes cash not nurturing.
Tu Song Yan plays the dad who takes on the role of the nurturer. He holds this family together. He is in touch with his feminine side without being feminine at all. It is just that his skill sets are the most needed for this blended family to flourish.
If you were waiting for a good reason to subscribe to VIKI, well here it is, Go Ahead.
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This is a dark light comedy romance drama
“Plankton includes plants and animals that float along at the mercy of the sea's tides and currents. Their name comes from the Greek meaning "drifter" or "wanderer."” DictionaryMr Plankton is a very artsy drama, which is well cast and well written. The cinematography is through the roof, with brilliant subject framing, great camera angles, and great lighting. The OST is American Melancholy.
The objective to be answered with this story line is so evident in this quote from Mr Plankton.
“Why do tragedies keep happening to those who are already suffering?” Male Lead
This is the story of two tragic lives who come together, circling in the same universe. It is great film making. With all this brilliance, one problem for me is the loads of cursing in the beginning.
Mr Plankton turns into a light comedy later on. This is not evident while viewing episode one. I don’t mind tragedies. This drama is a darker comedy, however. Mr Plankton has so many of the elements I love in a good drama. It checks a lot of boxes. There is some powerful acting in this drama. I could nominate both leads, Lee Yoo-mi and Woo Do-hwan, for a Baeksang Arts Award. I think that Woo Do-hwan may get a nomination for his performance, though.
Mr. Plankton is written by Jo-young who penned ‘Its Okay Not To Be Okay’. Even before finding this out, for me the drama had ‘Its Okay Not To Be Okay’ written all over it.
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Almost trope free, and the drama has a female CEO
Imagine a world where meat is biotechnologically generated and cultured. This eliminates the need to slaughter animals. Of course, such an advancement could solve world hunger. BF Company has hopes that in the near future all food will be cultured using biotechnology. Blood Free does not have many of my usual circle of acting friends in it. However, since it met my “Love it or Leave it” 15 minute criteria in 2 minutes, I thought it best to investigate further. Blood Free has a high technology driven plot-line. CGI and cinematography are through the roof.I love a great romance drama. This ain’t it. However, the intelligently written story will keep you in suspense. Therefore, some should try to get out of their comfort zone and add Blood Free to their shopping list. Now for the guys. You have been asking for this Korean Drama. I think that you will enjoy Blood Free. For the girls. I know that actor Ju Ji Hoon starred in Kingdom, a drama I did not see, but wow, where did he come from?
The ML is Ju Ji Hoon (Jurisan, Kingdom) and FL is Han Hyo Joo (Moving, W:Two Worlds, Happiness).
I am excited about this drama Blood Free. The drama does not follow the usual Korean Drama tropes. The story is innovative and exciting. That acting and action are great.
A company has learned how to culture fleshly meat products and this company is poised to take over the world market. Can life be that easy? Not in a Korean Drama. I like Blood Free a lot. This drama is a total change of pace. The use of video gaming tools and drones to fight the bad guys is sure to please. CGI and Cinematography are great, with a great OST
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What type of time travel drama is Marry My Husband? How good is this Korean drama?
Marry My Husband is a time slip (Time Travel) drama.This is a story about a woman in her forties. Her husband in Marry My Husband is a real loser, a real piece of work. Her best friend is having an affair with her husband and she is dying of cancer. The heroine of the story then is killed by her husband. Right before her death, she time slips into the past, back ten years. This information is not a spoiler, because all this action takes place in the first 15 minute. (Time Slip: Having no apparent means of traveling through time).
Quote: “The living should go on living. You are going to die anyway”. Best girlfriend explaining why she cheated with her with the husband of the heroine.
Marry My Husband is a great time slip Korean Drama, which is from a web novel and serialized Webtoon by the same name. In this drama, the Time Slip (Time Travel) is not just used as a cab ride to the past. Marry My Husband is trying to observe present assumptions about time slip (time travel). Our heroine is thrust back in time. While in the past, she attempts to change small details about her future miserable life that leads to an untimely death. However, she is not succeeding at making even very small changes. Her course for the future seems fixed and doomed to repeat itself. The heroine appears to have entered the crack of a parallel universe where changes to the future is not possible. The events keep readjusting itself to preserve the original outcome to preserve the past. This eliminates paradoxes. Changes to the future is assumed only possible when entering the open time loop section of the past or the open time loop of the wormhole. When changes are made, this sets up an alternative universe in the future which is different from before (A wormhole is a shortcut through time).
Even though the heroine may not be able to change her future, she reckons that she might be able to get someone else to substitute into her misfortune. Maybe she could get someone else to marry her no good husband, before it is time for her to do so. That way she will change her own time vector, because hers is now occupied by someone else. WOW! Whether the idea follows the science or not, this unique idea tries to address what to do if you don’t fall into the correct wormhole.
This substitution concept idea of Time Slip (Time Travel) is uniquely different from any time slip (time travel) ideas which I have explored thus far. As the Korean drama Marry My Husband progresses, we will see if she is successful with the time substitution idea. I am surely good for the ride though. It is a go for me for the Korean Drama Marry My Husband. Our heroine gets a second chance at second chances.
I think that Marry My Husband is going to be a major hit.
Cast
Multiple Baeksang Arts Award winner Park Min-young (Marriage in Contract), Na In Woo (River Where the Moon Rises), and Lee Yi-kyung (Welcome to Waikiki).
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This is a bonafide discovery
I am watching Perfect Marriage Revenge real-time.Perfect Marriage Revenge is a drama which is really outside of my comfort zone, but I thought that I would give it a try to expand my horizons. The actors are not my usual circle of friends either. However, the opulent life style and the Blue Plate fashions on display alone seemed worth the price of the time commitment. The drama is about marriage and revenge (go figure) and being clueless in Korea. Also, it is about marriage musical chairs. Nonetheless, I did find this drama enticing on a gossip worthy level. However, just when you think you have this drama all figured out, Perfect Marriage Revenge dramatically jumps into hyperspace. The drama becomes a whole other animal. It is very sexy (in a PG13 sort of way) and complicated, with a drama twist.
Don’t forget to take time to explore the fashions on display. The reason for revenge, however, will floor you. Based on a web drama, Perfect Marriage Revenge is a Romance Marriage Drama. Personally, I would call this a melodrama. While Perfect Marriage Revenge may not win awards for writing, it may win for inventiveness and acting. Right now, there is lots of Head Talk (Talking to yourself about the drama) with this one. You betcha.
Cast
Jung Yoo-Min (Celebrity)
The actors in the posse are tall.
Sun Hoon (My Secret Romance) 6’1”
Oh Seung-yoon (Blind) started as a child actor. 6’1”
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