Kim Woo Bin

Review: Our Blues

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THE SHORT VERDICT:

An earthy, charming slice-of-life drama that manages to add up to more than the sum of its parts – even after taking into account its impressive star-studded cast, AND the gorgeous backdrop that is Jeju Island.

Show’s omnibus approach makes each character come to popping life as we delve into their story, and by the end of our journey, it feels like we’ve come to know an entire community of good people.

Our cast is excellent, all putting in performances that feel pitch-perfect and down-to-earth, and their chemistry is so natural across the board, and feels so genuine, that it’s easy to believe that these people have spent many years of their lives together.

Feels a little meandering at times, but is absolutely worthwhile.

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Dear kfangurl: Can you talk about celebrity dating culture in Korea? [Interview with VOGUE India!]

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This is another slightly different Dear kfangurl post, you guys.

After my last interview with VOGUE India about the male gaze vs. female gaze in kdramas (more details here!), Hasina Khatib (@thejoblessjourno on Instagram), who writes for VOGUE India, reached out to me again.

This time, she asked if I’d be willing to talk about celebrity dating culture, for an article that she was writing, which features Hyun Bin and Son Ye Jin‘s wedding.

I said yes, and you can check out the article, where she quotes me selectively, here!

At the same time, similar to the last interview, there was a lot that I said, that didn’t make it into the final article, so with Hasina’s permission, I’m sharing the actual interview questions and answers here with you guys.

The only difference is that I’ve added images to make this more reader-friendly. I hope you all enjoy! ❤️

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Dear kfangurl: How has your fangirling changed over the years?

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Leslie writes:

Hi, KFG. I just finished Dinner Mate, a B movie that was easy to watch with some good heart-string pulls, but was about 3-4 episodes too long.

Most of all it was a vehicle for a mature Song Seung Hun who is as beautiful (at least) and charming as ever. I say this even though it’s the first SSH drama I’ve seen! But I checked and, sure enough, he was your first entry in Pure Pretty, so I almost feel like I knew him when. 😆 Nice photos. 😅 Thank you for your delightful “reference” material, which stands the test of time.

The movie and my, ahem, research prompted me to take a stab at a question I’ve been percolating for a while, but haven’t been able to get to the heart of. The simple question is, has your fangirling changed over the years? Some details follow.

I notice that both of your KLoves and Pure Pretty features were first posted about 7 years ago, and there have not been many new entries for a while (although there continue to be new comments, so, still relevant!)

Are any original entries gaining or waning in your affection? Would you add any new KLove and Pure Pretty interests to the list, and have your criteria for the same changed over time? What role does fangirling play in your enjoyment of kdrama today? And not to complicate a good ogle, but does consent culture impact how you think about fangirling at all? It’s a lot. 😬

So, seriously, KFG. I know you’re super busy these days with all the right priorities for the blog, so please answer at your pleasure and your leisure. I’m rather satisfied with just being able to articulate my curiosity and interest. Thanks!

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Dear kfangurl: Can you talk about actors and their nicknames?

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So, full disclosure, this post isn’t inspired by an actual Dear kfangurl question, but because Dear kfangurl is where all the lists on the blog live, I figured this would be the best place to put it.

This post is inspired by Beez and Trent, who recently had a conversation on my Kill Me, Heal Me group watch announcement post, where they discussed the nicknames of various actors and actresses.

I thought that would make a fun post, where I could share what I know, and you guys can share what you know, and together, we can paint a fuller picture together!

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Dear kfangurl: How do you choose which dramas to watch?

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Might I spy with my little eye.. a drama that’s worth watching..?

Beez writes:

Dear Kfangurl,

I need help! I know my K-bloom isn’t totally off the rose but I feel as if it’s hanging on by only a couple of wilting petals. I’m not tired of Kdramas but I find I can’t easily decide what to watch these days.

At this stage in the game, where my biases (actors that I watched in ANYthing they starred in next) are getting older so filling less leading roles, I find myself with less that I’m interested in watching unless the synopsis snags me with a unique subject matter or hobby or career/lifestyle that I’m interested in.

So how do you (I’ve noticed you’ve become more selective) choose the shows that are worth your busy time?

For example, I see you reviewed My Unfamiliar Family. I haven’t read your review yet because 1) I never read reviews of shows I have no intention of watching and 2) I never read reviews beforehand of a show I intend to watch.

So looking at the synopsis on AsianWiki for My Unfamiliar Family – sounds like a total snoozefest.

And I learned to never rely on video teasers as they are totally random and can set me up for disappointment when a teaser is hilarious but the show turns out to be a drama and vice versa. So, how do you decide what’s up next to, not necessarily review, but to watch?

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Is The K-bloom Off The Rose? [My evolution as a drama viewer]

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Yes, I know that’s not a rose. I’m going to pretend it’s a rose.. apple. 😉

Some time ago, a remark by long-time friend of the blog Beez got me thinking.

Basically, we were talking about how I’d dropped The K2, despite Show serving up a whole lotta shirtless via a gloriously nekkid fight scene. Beez then said, and I quote, “Wow. Kfangurl, I think the K-Bloom is off the rose for you.”

Essentially, Beez felt that even though the OTP in The K2 had been uninspiring, that Ji Chang Wook‘s chemistry with second female lead Song Yoon Ah had been so sparky and sizzling, that if that hadn’t been enough to hold my attention, then, well, I must not be as taken with kdramas – or perhaps dramas in general – anymore.

This got me thinking about my evolution as a drama viewer, and what’s captured me each step of the way, and I thought you guys might perhaps find this interesting or relatable, and so here we are.

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Review: Search: WWW

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

A dark horse of a show that took a tiny bit of getting used to, but eventually surprised me by sneaking under my skin to grab my heart in a big way.

Search: WWW truly is a rarity in Dramaland.

First of all, it’s women-centric and puts the spotlight on the relationships among our main female characters, which in itself is a big plus.

But even more surprising than that, is that while each of our 3 main ladies has her own loveline with a perfectly matched love interest, those romance arcs never take centerstage in our narrative, even at their most melty.

Instead, the romances are positioned as just one aspect of our women’s very full lives. Seriously, how refreshing and cool is that?

Thoughtfully written, solidly directed, and brimming with consummate performances by the cast, this is one drama that I won’t be forgetting anytime soon.

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Review: One Spring Night

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

A romance that manages to feel real and raw, yet sweet and aspirational, at the same time.

Even though our characters are flawed and sometimes even a little unlikable, Show manages to also make them brave enough, and sweet enough, and considerate enough, that our lead couple feels thoroughly worth rooting for, both separately and together.

While our story doesn’t ever achieve cracky levels of engagement, Show more than makes up for this, with its deft exploration of characters and relationships, while putting some very healthy relationship dynamics on display.

Despite feeling a touch slow in terms of its plot development, Show manages to feel thoughtfully satisfying all the way to the end.

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Flash Review: The Best Hit

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Y’know, I will always think fondly of the year 2012.

It was a pretty great drama year, serving up a good number of shows that I truly enjoyed, like Arang and the Magistrate, The King 2 Hearts, Gaksital, and Padam Padam, among many others.

On top of that, 2012 was also the year I decided to try my hand at the whole drama blogging thing – and hey, look at where we are now, eh?

But. There is one thing that I kinda hold against 2012.. coz 2012 is the year that time travel took over the dramaverse.

Suddenly, it felt like time travel was everywhere. Queen In-hyun’s Man, Rooftop Prince, Faith, Dr. Jin, and even Operation Proposal all got in on the time travel action in 2012, with varying degrees of success.

Let me just say that there’s nothing inherently wrong with using time travel as a concept, but honestly, it now kinda feels like time travel has become the Trend That Will Not Die.

For the record, I’m not hating on The Best Hit. In fact, I even rather enjoyed this show.

It’s just that the whole time travel thing here feels particularly gratuitous – almost pointless, even. I personally feel that this show didn’t need the time travel conceit, to tell the slice-of-life, found-family story it wanted to tell.

In fact, Show might’ve been better off just picking one time period and staying there. A pretty novel concept these days, I know. 😉

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Dropped: School 2017

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I’m admitting defeat, you guys. I know that lots of folks found this show enjoyable and even kinda cracky, but 11.14 episodes into this one (yes, I actually calculated that, just for funsies), I’m throwing in the towel. I guess I just.. don’t get it?

Even though Show served up a range of ingredients that ought to have appealed to me – student struggles, teacher struggles, friendships, crushes, a heroine with a backbone, and even a star-crossed bromance plus a hottie whose visuals are right up my alley – I just couldn’t get into this one.

Try as I might, I just couldn’t seem to care about any of it.

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