Secret Love Affair

Announcement: Upcoming Group Watches!

| kfangurl

Thanks to everyone who voted in the poll; 552 votes were cast by 289 voters, and Stranger / Secret Forest came out on top, with 119 votes! Looks like I will finally watch Stranger, after putting it off for so long, heh.

At the same time, some of you have let me know that the poll results were showing inaccurately for you, in terms of the shows that you voted for. I do want to make sure that the group watch features shows that you guys actually want to watch, so I’ve taken the various opinions raised in the comments into consideration, in mapping out a solution that I hope will satisfy most voters.

I did also promise Ele, that I’d use my Editor’s Choice to balance things out, if our winning show doesn’t feature a romance, because it’s true that we’re due for some romance, in our group watch.

I really hope you guys like the solution that I’ve come up with.

Continue reading →

Dear kfangurl: Why is Squid Game so popular?

| kfangurl

So, full disclosure, everyone: this question wasn’t an actual submission for Dear kfangurl; it’s just that enough people have asked this question, or a variation of it, both here on the blog, and over on Patreon, that I thought I’d attempt to answer the question.

And since Dear kfangurl is where most of my attempts at answering questions sit, I thought this would be a suitable addition. 😉

Just so we’re clear, I’m not an actual professor of Korean entertainment (is there such a thing?). These are simply my personal observations and opinions, after hanging around the Dramaverse for.. (woah) 14 years now.

Continue reading →

Group Watch: Poll!

| kfangurl

Thanks everyone, for your many suggestions, thoughts and contributions on the Group Watch brainstorm!

Lots of worthy titles were floated, and as promised, I sifted through all of them, and shortlisted the most popular titles for this poll. I also made the executive decision to add 2 wild cards into the mix, which you’ll see in a bit. 😉

Except for Hikaru no Go, Mother and Stranger, I’ve seen the other shortlisted dramas, and I do believe they are each solidly worthy of your drama hours.

Continue reading →

Dear kfangurl: Can you talk about the whats, whys and wheres of noble idiocy?

| kfangurl

Antonio writes:

Hi Fangirl,

Recently due to Noble Idiocy I abandoned the vision of a drama that I really enjoyed: Monthly Home Magazine.

Could you do a post with the list of dramas that contain this detestable gimmick?

I remember getting so mad on Clear With Passion With Me Now too and I would like to avoid investing hours of my life to be so disappointed. In the comments your readers could integrate the list and it would be a really useful service in my opinion.

Continue reading →

Group Watch: What shall we watch next?

| kfangurl

We are at the end of our Nirvana In Fire and Kill Me, Heal Me group watches, y’all – where has the time gone?!?

I hope you guys have been having fun with the group watches! I especially appreciate those of you who managed to join both group watches &/or have been active on the Open Threads. Sharing your reactions and your thoughts really makes the experience richer for everyone. Thank you for playing! ❤️

It’s time to brainstorm on what we should watch next, as a community. Here are some initial ideas, feel free to let me know what you think, in the comments!

Continue reading →

Dear kfangurl: What are some dramas where everything’s more realistic and not so pretty?

| kfangurl

Lehar writes:

Dear kfangirl ,

I was watching kdrama clips and have been wondering. They all look so pretty, even one with jobs in which there is exposure to excessive sunlight and dust look so…. clean. Its all good adding to kdrama fantasy but are there any dramas whose leads look more like normal us…with common jobs and maybe cheaper clothes?

Maybe all I am talking about is more realistic dramas out there. I liked Another Oh Hae Young in that aspect and felt I was more into the story and scenes rather than their appearances.

Thank you for your time!

Continue reading →

Dear kfangurl: Do you have difficulty seeing an actor in a different role?

| kfangurl

Elaine writes:

I have a Dear kfangurl question to ask! My question is whether you’ve ever had a problem watching the same actor in a different role, because you have such a strong impression of him/her in the first show you saw the actor in?

Asking because I just started watching K dramas last year, and i started with highly rated ones like Crash Landing on You and Healer, where the OTPs are so smashing that I was reluctant to see the actors in other shows as it would feel to me almost like they were cheating on their original OTP! Lol.

So far I haven’t “repeated” any actors besides Lee Jun Ki – I first saw him in Arang and the Magistrate and a few months later in Flower of Evil. But to me that felt ok as his performance made the two characters feel completely different. It probably helped that his Flower of Evil character was supposed to have antisocial personality disorder so has flattened emotions.

But now almost a year after watching Healer, I’m watching Park Min Young in Her Private Life and I keep getting flashbacks to her Healer performance, especially when the two characters overlap on certain traits like optimism, pluckiness and sunny smiles.

It’s probably a personal quirk but I do wonder if anyone faces this issue too! For now there are so many dramas out there that I can avoid repeats of actors but soon it won’t be an option! Ha ha.

Continue reading →

Dear kfangurl: What are some of the best drama OSTs?

| kfangurl

Shamster writes:

I’d love to hear your thoughts on dramas with the best OSTs! Just dramas worth watching because of how well the OST works- thinking Healer and One Spring Night and Suspicious Partner!

* Shout-out to MC, who’d also mentioned that she’d love me to write about drama OSTs!

Continue reading →

Flash Review: When My Love Blooms

| kfangurl

If you’re a fan of this show, let me apologize in advance; I.. did not end up loving this one.

I mean, I did like this one at first, and quite a lot too, and that’s why I kept on watching. Sadly, though, try as I might, I didn’t manage to sustain my initial good feelings towards this show.

It’s taken me the entire series to come to a conclusion as to exactly why this one didn’t work for me, which I’ll tell you about shortly.

So.. at least I tried, and at least I learned something from it? 😅

Continue reading →

Review: A Couple’s World [World Of The Married]

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

Betrayal, revenge and dysfunction are the key words that this show seems to be live by; all the characters in this drama world are painted in suspicious shades of gray, as they seek to outwit and outdo one another, for their own purposes.

This is definitely not the show for you, if you’re looking for sweet romance.

But, if you find yourself in the mood for hyperbolic animosity, or, if you’re willing to take a walk on the dark side to see the fantastic performances of the actors – especially Kim Hee Ae, who is magnificent in this – then this show is a wild rollercoaster of a ride that should keep you on the edge of your seat.

Definitely not suitable as a drama nightcap, hur.

Continue reading →