A Liebster Award. Kinda. [Liebster the Ninth!]

May 24, 2013March 31, 2022 | kfangurl

So this morning I woke up to a comment on the blog, from fellow blogger Indigo that read, “Hi! I nominated you for Liebster Award” and I hafta confess, my first thought was, “Uh. This is spam, right?”

Coz up till today, I’d never even heard of the Liebster Award, but had made acquaintance with enough spam to make me immediately suspicious.

I mean, sure, I follow Indigo’s (very nice) blog Between Wor(L)ds & she’s definitely legit. But I thought spiders had impersonated her by hijacking her identity or something, and posted something spammy on my blog. For serious, yo.

I’m usually a pretty trusting person. Unless it has to do with suspicious spammy spiders on the world wide web. (Ooh, did’ja see what I did there? That’s technically triple – ok, fine, double – alliteration, twice in a row!)

Anyway. I did some Googling, and found this helpful post, which explains the origins of the Liebster Award. Basically, it’s a way for bloggers to recognize and draw attention to other bloggers whom they admire and appreciate..

Y’know, share the love in a way that’s a bit more robust and (hopefully) more fun than a simple place on the ol’ blogroll.

So no, there is no panel of judges, nor real award. Being nominated kind of is your award, pretty much. Guess I don’t need to make space on my shelf, then. Heh.

[You can check out Indigo’s nomination post here]

In a nutshell, this is kinda like the “Draw My Life” tag or any other tag, except this has to do with blogging. And this comes with a number of specific rules, which, by the way, have evolved quite a bit over the months and years.

This pillow exists, & you can actually buy it if you click on the pic. For realz.

The rules that I will be playing by today are below. Or well, as much as I feel like playing by them, anyway, since there are no judges to enforce these rules after all. *meh-rong* to the fake non-existent judges.

The rules for receiving this award:

List 11 random facts about yourself.
Answer the questions designated by the blogger (s) who nominated you.
Place YOUR nominations for the Liebster Award! Nominate five (or more) other bloggers that have less than 200 followers. Make sure to notify them via comment/email, etc.
Make up a set of questions for those nominated bloggers to answer.
Display the Liebster award badge on your blog!

So ready or not, here we go!

11 Random Facts about Me:

1. My mother tongue is technically Cantonese, since this was the first language I learned to speak, thanks to being cared for by my Cantonese-speaking grandmother.

Let’s just say that I was traumatized upon going to school, when I realized that I didn’t understand anyone nor did anyone seem to understand me.

2. I was painfully shy as a child. It might’ve had something to do with the trauma of not speaking the same language as other kids.

3. I’m the eldest of 3 girls. So yes, I’m the Unnie. One of my sisters blogs too, actually.

Not about kdrama – I’ve got that covered enough for the whole family – but about beauty and wellness, with special attention to Japanese products since she’s based in Tokyo. You can pay her a visit here.

4. I love animals. Love cats, love dogs. And I have a special weakness for pugs.

Meet Cookie. She’s a girl. She’s bossy. She’s a princess. And she rules our house.

5. The children’s book I’m writing is about my dog Cookie. Well. I was writing it diligently until I started blogging. I really need to get back to it.

6. I have a weakness for high heels, and have a beautiful shoe cupboard as tall as a door frame, filled with shoes, to prove it. But I haven’t been wearing heels much at all ever since I fractured my foot last February. They’re still pretty to look at though.

7. My mother used to teach Geography for a living. I really suck at Geography. I tell her it’s because she’s taken all the Geography genes for the next several generations.

8. My birthday is 26th June, just one day after Hyun Bin’s and Rain’s birthdays. I only know this because my friend Michele has a way with dates that way. Look at my handsome almost-birthday buddies:

9. I majored in English Literature and English Language at university and took as many film courses as possible coz those were the most fun.

One of those modules was on writing film reviews and in preparation for the final exam, our lecturer told us to go watch a movie.

What did I tell ya? The film courses were the most fun! Hopefully this also means that I’m not completely stabbing in the dark here while writing reviews for the blog 😉

10. I play the keyboard. And I sing. Both not naturally well, but I’ve gotten better over time.

11. I lived in Japan for a year when I was 9, thanks to my dad being posted there for work.

I got mistaken for a Japanese kid a lot, thanks in part to the cold weather and the resulting rosy cheeks, but couldn’t speak any Japanese except to say, “yes,” “no,” “thank you,” “good morning,” and “I’m a foreigner.” Hey. I was 9 and that was all my dad taught me, ok?

Questions from the Nominator (Indigo):

1. What has been the hardest challenge of your blogging career? (e.g. getting people to comment, making headers, placing pictures side by side, etc)

Hm. While dealing with formatting can be frustrating too, I think the biggest challenge would have to be actually blogging regularly.

I don’t write about the newsy stuff, so while other bloggers can put out several posts a day sometimes, I often go several weeks without a new post. I did try to post frequently in the beginning.

Once, I managed 4 reviews in a week, but it was very stressful and I decided I shouldn’t have to suffer in order to have a blog. So now, I post when I want, on my own schedule. I like to think that what I forego in terms of quantity, I gain back in terms of quality. Hopefully.

2. “When life gives you lemons…” Then what are you going to do with them? (you are free to be as imaginative as you like)

I actually really like lemons. I used to eat them like oranges, peeling them and eating the wedges. No, I’m not kidding.

I stopped when the acid cracked my lips and made them bleed. I also like to scrape out the juicy pulp and mix the pulp of a whole lemon into a cup of plain yogurt. Delish. And did you know that a squeeze of lemon juice makes ANY salad taste better? Well, I think so, anyway.

3. What is your favourite and least favourite Asian drama cliche?

Aw. I think my favorite might be the piggy-back ride. It’s in every drama ever, but I think I’d still like to be piggy-backed by the object of my k-affection. I’m sure it feels a lot more romantic than it looks. I mean, just look at Gong Yoo and Yoon Eun Hye here, lookin’ all happy & cozy:

My least favorite drama cliche has to be the evil mother / mother-in-law / [insert any other parental figure]. Those are always so OTT. And seriously. Someone’s gotta have nice parents, right?

4. Which Korean variety show would you like to participate in?

Honestly, seeing how so many of the stars suffer so much on so many of the k-variety shows, I can’t say I actually want to be in an episode of, say, Running Man, 1 Night 2 Days, or Barefoot Friends, though I am happy to watch others suffer on those shows.

Recently, though, I watched an episode of Hwasin coz Kim Woo Bin was guesting (have I mentioned that I recently fell head over heels in love with Kim Woo Bin?) and I actually really liked the thoughtful sharing & discussion. If I had to pick one variety show, I would pick Hwasin.

5. If you had the chance to personally slap (or punch) one drama character, then who from which drama would it be and why?

Oh. Easy peasy. It’d have to be the Evil Mother in Love Rain. It was poor, lazy writing, so really, the writers are to blame. But while watching it, I really, really wanted to throttle the Evil Mother.

Blogs I Nominate for the Liebster Award:

Well. Here’s where I am going to blatantly bend the rules.

The rules say that the nominated blog has to have fewer than 200 followers, and I honestly don’t know if some of these blogs have more than 200. But then again, the old rules apparently was for blogs with fewer than 3,000 readers.

I have no clue how 3,000 readers evolved to become 200 followers. And what qualifies you as a follower? If you don’t subscribe by submitting your email address, but read the posts regularly, are you still a follower?

So I’m like, whatever. I’m going to nominate whomever I feel like nominating, so there.

In no particular order, please give it up for:

muchadoboutlove, who hosts The Talking Cupboard. Among lots of other great reads, she’s got some seriously amazing posts on Korean culture, which you should totally check out. [read muchadoboutlove’s response post here]
kakashi, who hosts The Problematic of the Unproblematic. Together with her witty minion (er, teammates), they produce the patented three-way Squee-cap for worthy shows. Kakashi also happens to be the queen of gifs. Gifs of glistening abs, shower scenes and other worthy tidbits litter the posts, so you’re in for a treat 😉 [read kakashi’s response post here]
pinkblossom and whitecarrot, who co-host Carrotblossom Patch. They cover lots of good stuff, from movie & drama reviews to teasers to kpop, and they’ve even starting podcasting. [read the girls’ response post here]
dewaanifordrama and bustered, who co-host Samsoon Down the Rabbit Hole. Check them out for thoughtful reviews, musings and first impression posts, often of current dramas. They’ve also got a kpop section.
Stephanie, who hosts Crazy for Kdrama, and who played an instrumental role in the origin story of this blog. Over at Crazy, Stephanie is queen of the frequent post, and covers newsy bits, kpop and drama reviews. Of course, her weekly KHottie posts have a serious following too.
Cherry Cordial, who hosts the Cherry Cordial blog. Cherry isn’t a frequent poster (yet?) but she’s got some gems up her sleeve. In particular, her new series, Imo & Joka Update promises to be particularly entertaining. In these posts, she will talk about her drama adventures with her niece, who is also known as The Mystical Being of Unicorns. Truly.

My Questions for the Nominees:

Finally. My turn to ask the questions! *rubs palms together gleefully* Here we go!

Of all the posts you’ve written, which one are you most proud of & why?
What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned through blogging?
If you could re-watch only one drama for the rest of time, which drama would you pick & why?
If you could have one k-related superpower, what would it be?
If your life were a kdrama, who would be cast as your co-star & why?

And with that, I think I’m about done, accepting my Liebster Award.

Thank you, everybody. Thank you. *bows*

Edit: May 27th, 2013, Liebster #2

So today, fellow blogger misscupcakees of A Fairytale World gifted me with a second Liebster nomination.

Wow. What an honor! I think it’s time to break out the champagne. Or at least, the really good quality iced Oolong tea.. Coz believe it or not, I like tea better than champagne.

I didn’t think you guys would want to know 11 more random facts about me, but here are a couple of extra ones, just for kicks.

A Handful of (MORE) Random Facts about Me:

1. I am technically the descendant of a drug dealer. No, seriously. When I studied Sociology in my first year in Uni, I had to do a family tree, and that’s when I found out that one of my great-grandfathers had actually run an opium den in China. How’s that, for a unique random factoid?

2. I might be part elephant. I remember random details from (sometimes) long-ago incidents that no one else around me seems to remember. Unfortunately, this talent isn’t a systematic one, so I sometimes forget important stuff, but remember other random details.

3. I might also be part camel. I like my water & I drink lots of it. I carry a water bottle with me pretty much everywhere I go. If I don’t get enough water, I feel dehydrated and tired.

But that’s enough about me. For more about me, let’s move on to the second set of Liebster questions.

Questions from misscupcakees:

1. What was your inspiration/motivation for starting up your blog?

I started the blog on a bit of a whim, though it wasn’t a random sort of a whim.

In short, I’ve always enjoyed writing, and have always journaled my drama thoughts. When Stephanie from Crazy for Kdrama asked if I’d like to guest on her 2012 Year-In-Review series, she also asked if I had my own blog. That’s when I thought, well, maybe I should try making one?

I poked around in the spirit of experimentation, not fully expecting to actually flesh this out for real. But now, here I am, and here we are. Funny how that worked out, eh?

For the full story, you can check out the origin story of the blog here.

2. What does drama-blogging mean to you?

I started out purely wanting to give voice to my drama thoughts, of which I had plenty.

As I’ve written more reviews, though, I’ve become more conscious of wanting to give something both to readers who have yet to watch the drama, as well as readers who’ve already seen the show.

So on the one hand, I aim to help readers make their drama decisions, if they haven’t seen the show, and on the other hand, I aim to provide a sensory & hopefully thought-provoking experience to those who have.

As a result, I’ve had some wonderful drama discussions with readers who’ve seen the show, and have had my own ideas challenged and expanded in the process.

So I like to think that that’s made the experience of watching the show & meeting each other in the review that much richer for us all. Win-win-win? 😉

3. What is the most ludicrous drama scene that you have seen?

Hands-down, that would have to be the ridiculous scene of Lee Na Young’s face pushed up into Rain’s butt during a car chase in Fugitive: Plan B. Sounds impossibly ludicrous? You bet. Did it actually happen? Yessiree.

Here’s proof:

image credit: http://kdramaguk.blogspot.sg/2010/12/kdramaguks-biased-worst.html

Who even dreams up these things?? Wasn’t it, y’know, awkward?? What does one say to your co-star after filming a scene like that? “I’m sorry?” or “Is your nose alright?” or “Your butt’s too muscular, it hurt my face?”

Was the face-to-butt scene stipulated in the contract?? I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty certain Lee Na Young did not expect to find her face in Rain’s butt when she signed on for the show.

4. Who is your all-time favourite OTP and why?

I think it would have to be Ji Hyun Woo and Yoo In Na from Queen In-hyun’s Man. Firstly, their characters overcome time and space to fulfill their love.

I’d say you pretty much can’t get any more epic than that. Secondly, they fell for each other in Real Life, so that just ups the magic of their OTP pairing. D’awwwwz.. ♥

5. If you could write up your own drama, what would the summarised plot be?

I think Jang Hyuk as Lee Dae Gil is such a badass character in Chuno. AND, I think Jang Hyuk rocks the goatee & mane of glory. So much. AND, I think he does clean up real nice in a suit. (Yes, I do have a fairly robust crush on Jang Hyuk).

So, in my drama, Dae Gil would time-travel to the present and wear a sharp suit while retaining his mane of glory. Kinda like this:

He’d learn to live life as an ordinary modern citizen by day, and prowl the city by night, fighting injustice and taking down baddies, still wielding his trusty blade from Chuno, and still wearing the same badass schmexy smirk. Swooonn~~ ♥

Can someone please make that drama? Pretty please?

Final Thoughts:

Here’s the part where I say something brilliant and original, to cap my second Liebster acceptance speech. But then, you know what they say sometimes. Originality can be overrated.

So in conclusion, saranghae, y’all.. Thanks for all the love. Really ♥

Edit: May 30th, 2013, Liebster #3

Ok, wow. Today, the lovely mary from Kdrama Laws gifted me with my third official Liebster. And this isn’t even counting the fabulously fun Non-Liebster that the brilliant Mad Dino (sunbae!!) let me be part of!

In her nomination, mary sorta-kinda-maybe mentioned enjoying my posts of shirtless men on this blog, so mary, this is for you:

You’re welcome 😉

And now that we’ve got the really important stuff settled, here are my responses to mary’s set of questions.

Questions from mary:

1. What name or nickname can I call you?

Everyone in the dramaverse pretty much calls me either kfangirl, or kfangurl, or the latest, KFG. (kinda like the KGB, but cuter, I like to think).. You can call me whatever you want. Even Purveyor of Delicious Shirtless K-Men. Heh.

2. What is your favorite Kdrama Law?

The one where every 2nd generation chaebol prince is dashing & good-looking, and will eventually fall head over heels for an ordinary girl who will, of course, reform his character flaws, and they then live happily ever after. It’s inevitable, coz it is the law.

3. If you are the answer, what is the question?

Q: Who in the dramaverse persists in writing the longest, most monstrous drama reviews?

A: kfangurl. She got sucked in and now she just can’t stop. #TrueStory

4. Plants or Zombies? Why?

Easy. Plants, coz plants are cute and nutritious and give you nice skin. Zombies are less nutritious. Or so I’m told.

5. If you were married to Lee Min Ho, why would you divorce him?

To date Gong Yoo. Or Kim Woo Bin. ♥ Yes. I have a one-track fangirl mind. 😉

I also want to say, yes, the Liebster is getting bandied about lately with increasing regularity in the drama blogosphere, and yes, it can sometimes maybe look like just a bunch of words.

But y’know what? I still like to play. Coz behind the words is a genuine affection and sincere sentiment among all the bloggers and readers in the dramaverse. And it is really cool that we’re getting to know more and more about one another as we engage in our Liebsters.

So thanks, y’all, for letting me play. HUGS FOR EVERYONE!! ♥

And with that, I’m kinda done, accepting my third & very precious Liebster. *blows kisses*

Edit: June 1st, 2013, Liebster #4

Omo! I so did not see this coming! This morning, I woke up to find that my friend Michele from Your Daily K-Shot of Hot had nominated me for my fourth official Liebster. And that’s not counting the honorary Liebster that the lovely BetsyHp & I cheerily gave each other either!

You can witness our momentous mutual award-giving if you scroll down to the comments section here. ^^

If there’s one thing you need to know about Michele, it’s that she loves Rain. Like, really, really lurves Rain. Which means that no thank you / acceptance speech (post?) that has anything to do with Michele would be complete without something like this:

I hope that was up to snuff, Michele 😉

So now, on to the questions! Thankfully, Michele only asked 2, so here we go!

Questions from Michele:

1. If a K-star (drama or pop) were to climb through your window to spend the evening with you, who would it be and why?

Well now. I have to confess that I have a completely unfair advantage when it comes to this question.

Coz I’ve been spazzing endlessly to Michele about a dream I had, where a certain someone climbed through my window and settled down for cuddles and a very lovely heart-to-heart conversation.

Yes, it was Kim! Woo! Bin! Eeeee! ♥

The thing is, I hadn’t yet fallen in love with him when I had the dream.. I actually fell in love with him after I woke up. Maybe my brain’s just slow to catch up to my heart or something.

So to answer the question, I’d like to have him climb through my window again, for more cuddles and heart-to-heart chit-chat. And this time, it’ll be even more swoony coz now I actually know that I’m completely head over heels in love with him.

In the dream, he promised that he’d come again, as long as I keep my window open. And since I’m keeping my window open every night now, I’m sure he’ll keep that promise 😉

2. If you could switch places with any female lead character, who would it be and in which drama?

I want to be Gil Da Ran in Big. I’d be less ditzy, of course. And I’d still get to be serenaded by Gong Yoo on a frying pan:

And of course, I’d get to be kissed by him too:

Swooonn~~ THUNK.

What did I tell ya? I have a one-track fangirl mind!! (see Q5 in the 3rd set of Liebster questions above)

My One Nominee:

So far, with the additional Liebsters that I’ve been so sweetly and so graciously given, I’ve avoided adding more nominees to my list, coz I kinda felt like I really should leave some worthy nominees for other nominators too.

But today, I’d like to throw that reservation to the wind (just coz I can!) and nominate my sweet friend Eye Candy, who hosts All That Drama with her partner in crime, Miss D.

I confess that I haven’t quite made Miss D’s acquaintance as yet, but any friend of Eye Candy’s gotta be good people 😉

I love spazzing with Eye Candy coz she’s got such a light and energetic vibe about her, and it totally spills out into her posts. Check out the ladies’ playground for drama and movie reviews and other interesting posts. They’re even going to start recapping soon, woot!

As for questions to answer, Eye Candy & Miss D, please scroll up to my original Liebster post and there you’ll find 5 questions waiting for ya.

Would you play nice & answer them all, pretty please? And don’t forget the 11 random facts either! 😉

[Read the ladies’ fun response post here!]

And that, folks, wraps up my acceptance speech for my surprise Liebster. *waves & bows*

Edit: June 2nd, 2013, Liebster #5

Wow. I was stunned this morning when I woke up and found that my friend missienelly from My Myooz had gifted me with my fifth official Liebster.

I’m still speechless, really. I don’t know what to say, except, how awesome are my friends in the dramaverse, to shower me with so much love? ♥

One thing you should know about Nelly is that she’s got a big heart. She was one of the first people who said hello when I first dipped my toes into the twitter-verse, and she was so warm and friendly that I felt welcome right away.

In that big heart of hers, Nelly’s got room for lots of k-loves, but I know that she’s got a special spot for Kim Hyun Joong. So Nelly, this is for you:

I hope you like it 😉

And now, onward, to Nelly’s questions. Thankfully, there are again, only 2.

Questions from missienelly:

1. What is your favorite sageuk drama? And why?

I really had to think about this one, coz there are several sageuks that I really love. I shortlisted The Princess’ Man, Tree With Deep Roots, The Moon that Embraces the Sun, The Return of Iljimae and even Sungkyunkwan Scandal (yes, this one is technically a cheat shortlist, coz SKKS is fusion after all).

In the end, I had to go with Arang and the Magistrate, coz it’s got such a lovingly detailed fantasy world, and our OTP is equally matched in terms of charisma, strength and wit. I love both Lee Jun Ki and Shin Min Ah, and they are so, so fantastic in this.

2. Did anyone complain that you’re watching too much drama? Who did? And how did you justify it to them?

Hm. Not really, no. I don’t have a husband nor a significant other (yet? at the moment?) to complain about time taken away.

When my youngest sister remarks about my kdrama watching, it’s mostly in envy coz she doesn’t have time for it herself. And my mother doesn’t complain either, since I’m the one supplying her with her kdrama fixes.

I guess this makes the second part of the question a non-issue, heh.

For those of you who do experience relationship problems caused by kdrama, though, I found this helpful lesson:

I kid. I just put that in there coz it’s Gong Yoo ♥

And with that, I’m done accepting this 5th and completely out-of-the-blue Liebster.

Thanks for being so awesome, y’all. ♥

Edit: June 3rd, 2013, Liebster #6

You know, when Orion (who hosts Orion’s Ramblings) tweeted me last night about expecting another Liebster, I honestly thought she was pulling my leg; ribbing me for, y’know, repeatedly pimping this post on Twitter for every update that I’ve done.

But this morning, when I woke up, I found that it was for realz, people. Orion did gift me with my sixth official Liebster.

And that floors me, seriously. And it rendered me pretty much speechless too.

You see, much as I enjoy Orion’s friendly wit and extreme intelligence, she terrifies me a (teeny-tiny) little bit, honestly.

Why, you might ask? Well, coz Orion is one exceedingly sharp and discerning lady. She won’t stand for any nonsense nor any bullsh*t, and is a straight-shooter who tells it like it is.

So to be gifted a Liebster from Orion is a stamp of approval that I don’t take lightly. Thank you, Orion-nim!

One of the things you should know about Orion (besides the fact that she’s a really warm person beneath the razor-sharp snark & wit) is that she has a great deal of respect for Lee Bum Soo.

So this, Orion, is for you: a little spotlight on the very talented Lee Bum Soo:

This here, peeps, is a very talented and dedicated actor, and he’s got a good bunch of dramas – and even more movies – under his belt. Definitely check him out.

And if you haven’t seen History of the Salaryman, you should totally make some time for it. It’s funny, it’s different, and it’s sometimes outright hysterical. And he’s excellent in it.

Now, on to the Liebster questions!

Questions from Orion:

1. What kind of posts do you wish you had more of in your blog or what kind of topics do you wish you talked more about and what is stopping you from doing it?

I guess I wish I could write more reviews.

I’d always intended this blog to be mostly reviews-driven, and when I started this, I imagined that I would churn out reviews covering all the dramas I’d ever seen since I got on the kdrama train.

To date, I’ve watched about 140 dramas, but as I type this, there are just 30 reviews on this blog, if you don’t count my 2012 Year-In-Review.

What’s stopping me? Time. As I’ve settled into blogging, I’ve gotten sucked into the habit of writing epic reviews which are monstrously long.

And while it gives me satisfaction to break down the working parts of a show and analyze each gear and piston, it does take a long time to write a single review. Nelly mentioned in her Liebster post that you need to put aside 30 minutes to read my reviews. Heh. So true.

And also, it takes me many, many times of 30 minutes to write one of these suckers, and I just don’t have the time to write as many as I would like, nor go back and beef up my earlier reviews which now seem sparse in comparison to my more recent ones.

Ah well. It’s too bad the time machine that took over the dramaverse in 2012 isn’t available to me.. So for now, it’s onward ho, everyone! To the future!

2. If there was a zombie/monster/alien apocalypse and you could only take 5 actors/actresses (not characters) with you to fight by your side, who would you choose and why?

This is going to be a multi-pronged approach against the zombies/monsters/aliens. First, we try to get the zombies/monsters/aliens on our side. So we start with:

Yoon Si Yoon – coz he’s great at making friends with random strangers even when he doesn’t speak their language. You would know this if you’ve seen him in Barefoot Friends. [“Poland? I LOVE POLAND!” could probably translate quite well to “Jupiter? I LOVE JUPITER!”]

Kim Woo Bin – coz he has almost alien-like features. Javabeans said so, and it’s true. He’d make the aliens feel more welcome, coz they’d feel right at home. (I still love you, Woobie ♥)

Gong Yoo – coz he’s proven that he’s friendly to all, whether they are man, woman, or alien. I figure that would make him a good alien ambassador.

Shin Min Ah – coz her charm is so universal that I bet even the aliens would approve. Plus, if it comes down to actually having to fight them, she’s a kickass, gung-ho, hands-on kind of girl.

And yes, if it does come down to that, then we’d need:

Jang Hyuk – coz he holds a black belt in Jeet Kune Do and kicks serious ass. He would take them all down.

3. Say you had a ticket like the one in ‘Last Action Hero‘. Which 5 kdrama moments would you enter and be a part of (without changing them)? You can choose movies.

I. The scene where the Eye Candy boys in Shut Up Flower Boy Band get back on stage for this performance. Watching this just catapults me into their world. Being there would be even more awesome:

II. I’d want to be part of the crowd here, in Gaksital. Without being too spoilery, let’s just say that this moment is completely stirring and inspiring, and just watching it on my screen brought tears to my (usually pretty dry) eyes. Being there would be so epic:

III. I’d want to be at the epic golf course war in History of a Salaryman, complete with epic music score and slo-mo golf-club violence. It’s too bizarre a scene to pass up the chance to live it:

IV: I loved the scene in What’s Up? where Jo Jung Suk’s character sings in the auditorium, thinking he’s alone. I’d love to be there to watch him sing:

V. This one’s not one scene in particular, but I’d like to be in any of the restaurant scenes in Fermentation Family. The food always looked amazing and the kimchi looked so exotic and mouth-watering; I’d want to be there, to actually taste it. YUM.

4. Which type of kdrama male lead/boyfriend or female lead/girlfriend do you choose? What kind of Prince/ss Charming do you go for? I’m talking character, not looks.

I want my own Choi Han Gyul (Coffee Prince), coz he would love me for who I am (even if I were an alien). And I love that he’d look at me with smitten delight, just for being me. ♥

5. Since most of us try not to swear much when we blog, but swearing is part of my culture and even way of expressing love, give me your 5 favorite/most used swear-words. You can use stars to keep it clean. 😛

This is a tough question for me, coz I actually don’t really swear much at all. Ok, maybe when I’m really, really ticked off, a “DAMMIT!” might slip out, but otherwise it’s just not my habit to swear.

I remember, though, when my youngest sister was about 8 years old and used to sleepwalk, that she once turned around, scowled and yelled at us (yes, while sleepwalking), “You fried egg!”

I thought that was hysterical and quite brilliant, so here, I give you my best attempt at a creative insult instead: “Don’t judge me for not swearing, you rotten, repugnant, insufferable monstrosity of chicken spawn. You’re fowl, I say. Fowl.“

And with that folks, it’s with a bit of relief that I close this particular Liebster acceptance speech. Coz as you’ve seen, Orion simply does not ask easy questions. Nuh-uh. But she’s awesome, as are all of you ♥

*blows kisses*

Edit: June 7th, 2013, Liebster #7

Those of you who are familiar with the origin story of this blog know how much I respect Dnoella of KDramaGuk and how much I enjoy her writing. (Hint: a lot.)

Back in the days when it never even crossed my mind that I would ever have a blog of my own, I used to stalk Dnoella’s blog for reviews of shows that I was contemplating watching, and also of shows that I’d already watched.

Coz not only does her taste seem to buck trends in the way that my own taste sometimes bucks trends, she has always been a genuine pleasure to read. Witty, insightful, expressive and often laugh-out-loud funny, her reviews have brought me so much enjoyment and delight.

I was supremely disappointed when she stopped posting regularly (Real Life can be such a pain that way), and I have greedily inhaled any and every post that she’s managed to write since then.

So imagine my delight when her Liebster post popped up in my Reader 2 days ago. I was like, “Yessss!! A new post!!”

And then imagine my complete, utter stunned astonishment when I got to her nomination section and found that she’d gifted me with my seventh official Liebster. Wow. My jaw dropped to the floor, seriously.

What an honor. And what a surreal moment.

It’s taken me 2 whole days to gather myself together enough to tackle Dnoella’s Liebster questions.

Now, without further ado, here we go!

Questions from Dnoella:

1. You are the director and I am a producer with money to throw at your dream project. Pitch me a kdrama scenario with your fantasy kdrama cast, sky’s the limit: lead actor, lead actress, supporting actor and actress, and two peripheral castmembers.

Well, y’all already know I’d like to see Dae-Gil (Jang Hyuk) from Chuno time travel to the future (see Liebster #2, Q5 above).

He’d rock the suit & mane of glory by day (so hawt), and prowl the city by night with his Chuno blade in hand and panther gaze in place. Certainly, there’d be occasion for him to go shirtless too:

He’d be searching for General Choi (Han Jung Soo) and Wang Son (Kim Ji Suk), who, unlike him, haven’t time traveled to the present, but have reincarnated their way here and therefore don’t remember him. (What, this is kdrama, right? Anything can happen *shrug*)

In line with their dreams while living as slave hunters, General Choi is now a farmer living a quiet life, while Wang Son is now living it up as the chaebol prince of a hotel-casino conglomerate (Ha).

When Dae Gil finds General Choi and Wang Son, they rekindle their bromance (one major arc of the story) and start to prowl the streets together (the second major arc), fighting baddies and taking them down together as the dream team that they’re destined to be.

Wang Son still takes care of the group’s meals, and his complaints are louder and more aggravated than ever, “What, I’m a chaebol prince now, and I STILL GOTTA COOK?!?”

Playing Dae Gil’s leading lady would not be Lee Da Hae, coz that’s been done to death already. Instead, we’d have the wonderful Shin Min Ah, who would be the feisty, strong, streetwise girl who knows Dae Gil’s secret and helps to protect him while keeping him in line.

They probably do bicker their way to romance, and I can’t find a single thing wrong with that.

Dae Gil would smirk at her, and she’d smirk right back at him, then raise her fist:

Eventually she’ll break down all his defenses, of course. Coz who can resist Shin Min Ah?

General Choi’s quiet stoic charm has always been massively irresistible to women, and this time is no exception. He will finally meet his love match in Wang Son’s no-nonsense hotel business manager, played by Kim Sun Ah:

Playing resident baddie would be Kim Gab Soo, just because he’s brilliant at being calm yet chilling:

To top it all off, we would get an extended cameo by Jung Il Woo, coz if you’ve seen the first 10 minutes of The Return of Iljimae, you’d know that he’s immortal and kicks ass even in the present:

While also rocking the modern mane of glory:

Now, tell me that isn’t the most awesome, kickass scenario you’ve ever heard? I would totally watch that drama!

2. If you could substitute yourself as the heroine/hero of any drama, who would you replace?

Does it count if I say I want to be Shin Min Ah in the drama I just described above? Coz it sounds totally awesome 😉

3. Where would you like to go on vacation (besides South Korea) and why?

Dang. How did you know I wanted to go to South Korea? Um. Possibly Europe, coz I’ve not been.. Or maybe New Zealand, coz I have been, and it was lovely.

Yeah, that sounds like a lame answer coz it totally is. My top pick would actually be to go to Korea. And eat lots and lots of kimchi. And Korean BBQ pork. Yum.

4. When you aren’t watching kdramas, what are you up to?

Besides working (occasionally), you’d find me playing music, singing, taking voice lessons. And now blogging. Oh, and taking care of Her Royal Highness, Princess Cookie (see above).

5. What is your favorite movie (doesn’t have to be K-related)?

My favorite movie of all time is When Harry Met Sally. I’ve watched it countless times, and it never gets old for me. It’s funny, witty and so well-written. And well-acted. If you’ve never seen it, you’re totally missing out.

And that, my friends, ends my acceptance speech for this very special surprise Liebster.

Thanks for stickin’ with me, through all 7 of these. You know you guys rawk ♥

Edit: June 15th, 2013, Liebster #8

I honestly thought my magic Liebster number was #7, so imagine my surprise when my sweet nominees Eye Candy and Miss D, over at All That Drama, gifted me with my eighth official Liebster.

How sweet are they, to think of me? ♥

It’s taken me 6 whole days to start on my response, mostly coz I’ve been busy working on my review of Flower Boy Next Door. And Real Life’s been hectic too. But here I am, and I’m a-ready to tackle their Liebster questions!

Before we do that, though, I thought it’d be fun to mention the ladies’ answers to my Liebster question, “If your life were a kdrama, who would be cast as your co-star & why?”

I found these really cute pix of each of their picks for co-star, each suitably welcoming from the bedroom. *cough*

Here is Miss D’s pick, Kim Soo Hyun.

Doesn’t he look all sweet and romantic, smiling over those rose petals and tea lights? Aw.

Also, I’m really loving how his features are literally changing before our eyes. He’s definitely moving from boyish to manly territory, and he’s gettin’ hot in a pretty serious way.

But, I shan’t say anything further, since in this post he’s all Miss D’s. 😉

And now, we have Eye Candy’s pick, Song Joong Ki.

Dontcha just love how he’s all lounging in bed half-dressed, in his boxers, with a box of Froot Loops??

I can just imagine him giving Eye Candy a case of the “Melt, you’re so hawt.. But seriously, Stop. Littering. The. Bed. With. Froot. Loops!!” XD

Giggle. Sorry, I couldn’t resist!

Now, onward, to the ladies’ Liebster questions!

Questions from Miss D and Eye Candy:

1. What is one feature you wish you could add to your blog and why?

I gave this question careful consideration, and my answer is: touch technology. Yep, that’s what I want for my blog.

It would be especially useful and appreciated for my K-Love Confession series, not just by me, but by all my readers, I’m sure.

I mean, seriously. Imagine being able to reach into your screen and touch this:

‘Nuff said, right?

Swoon~~

2. What were you doing before you watched kdramas?

Before kdramas came along, I watched mostly American TV. I liked watching Grey’s Anatomy, Desperate Housewives and American Idol. I also enjoyed some Oprah and some Ellen.

Now that I’ve got my plate full of kdrama, though, I couldn’t tell you a single thing about what’s going on with those shows anymore.

3. What show ending do you wish you could re-write and how would you?

It’d have to be Flower Boy Next Door, actually.

I thought about this question pretty hard, and even skimmed through my mental list of all the dramas that I’ve ever watched, just to make sure that I wasn’t giving a convenient answer here, since FBND’s fresh in my mind from having just written the review.

Even though I’ve watched quite a few shows with less than satisfactory endings, I really do think it’s Flower Boy Next Door that most deserves a differently written ending.

Why? Coz to my mind, it was pretty awesome for about two-thirds of its run, and only really faltered in the last one-third. I’d re-write the ending to make it awesome all the way through, so that I can love it as a whole.

Since I’ve written at length about what I’d like to be different about the show’s ending, you can check out my detailed answer here. I thought it’d be spoilery – not to mention repetitive – to detail everything here as well.

And with that, I’m done accepting my surprise Liebster. *bows*

Thanks, y’all, for staying with me through #8! ♥

Edit: August 15th, 2013, Liebster #9

So I really, really thought that my Liebster season was over with #8, but just the other day, my dear friend bimbobunny, who co-hosts K-Drama Wonderland with her partner-in-crime Dora, popped by out of the blue and gifted me with my ninth official Liebster.

Wow. Thank you for thinking of me! ♥

I’m extra happy to receive this Liebster nomination coz it actually marks the end of bimbobunny’s hiatus – woot!

See, I really enjoy chatting and spazzing with bimbobunny coz she’s got an infectious positive energy which I love. So when she disappeared off the face of the k-blogosphere early this year without a word of warning (wags finger at bimbobunny), I was really bummed.

So, imagine my delight when she magically reappeared the other day. Bimbobunny – found!

And then imagine how that delight doubled when she dropped the Liebster announcement on me. Bimbobunny – BACK. PROPERLY. Naise.

Oh, another thing you might like to know about bimbobunny is that she has a immense soft spot for Won Bin. So bimbobunny, this is for you. A little bit of lovely Won Bin:

Beautiful.

Uh. Where were we? Right. Liebster questions. Got it.

Ready or not, off we go!

Questions from bimbobunny:

1. What are your dreams for the future?

I want to settle into my secret superhero identity and change the world.

Stylishly, of course.

2. What influenced and made you want to start blogging?

This blog was started very much as an experiment, and on a whim at that, in response to a question that got me thinking. Sounds funny, I know. You can check out the origin story of the blog here.

In terms of influence, the design of this blog to be reviews-driven has a lot to do with Dnoella’s blog KDramaGuk.

In the sea of k-related blogs, hers stood out to me as a nicely organized collection of reviews, and I really liked that. I loved reading her reviews, and felt inspired to write my own.

Of course, I also really enjoy reading Dramabeans as well. Javabeans and Girlfriday made writing about dramas look like so much fun that I felt inspired to put pen to paper – well, fingers to keyboard, in this case – and throw my 2 cents into the blogosphere too.

3. What is your greatest accomplishment in life… so far?

Wow. This could be answered so many ways.

Today, though, I choose to answer it in the context of an actual physical adventure.

I am pretty chuffed to be able to actually say that I have climbed Mt. Kinabalu, the 20th most prominent mountain in the world. All 13,435ft (4,095m) of it.

I’m reminded how surreal it was to walk through clouds during our ascent, and then to finally stand at the summit, with a whole range of smaller mountains behind me, and a sea of fluffy clouds below me.

Check out the awesome:

If you squint really hard, you’ll see me in the picture. [Nah.. I kid. I’m not in this picture.]

4. If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be?

I’d want to be more athletic and sporty. Yeah, I know that sounds really incongruous after my answer to the last question. But honestly, I climbed that mountain mostly out of peer pressure, not because I actually love mountain climbing.

If I could change one thing about myself, it’d be to enjoy sports more. And, well, possibly be a female ninja while I’m at it:

Yes, I colored her hair blue on purpose. 😉

5. Any final words?

Only that growing up and growing old don’t have to be the same thing. So keep on growing up, y’all. Just don’t grow old.

And with that, I’m officially done, receiving my out-of-the-blue, cherry-on-top Liebster. *bows*

Thanks for sticking with me, through all nine of these, y’all.

Saranghae ♥ ♥ ♥

Edit!

For even more Liebster goodness, check out my second round of Liebsters here.

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Sabina

7 years ago

This is one heckuva post <3 ! I only found it today and read it with great pleasure 🙂

I've always seen you as the great puppeteer (like someone who just pulls the strings from behind the curtain but never takes the stage) writing reviews about our favourite shows, but now I got to learn a couple of things about you as well 🙂 I gotta say, being the great-granddaughter of a drug dealer is somehow impressive 😀 Good thing you chose the more peaceful way through life :)))

Congratulations on all the nominations and prizes you won and, even though I can't compare you with other bloggers since your blog is the only one I know, I'll give my humble opinion and say that you fully deserve them and even more 😉

Awesome post 😀 <3 !

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