Sungkyunkwan Scandal

Review: Sungkyunkwan Scandal

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

Light, frothy, fizzy fun, Sungkyunkwan Scandal is perfect for viewers who are new to sageuk and feel intimidated by period / historical settings.

Dressed in Joseon robes but possessing a fresh, modern, rom-com sort of feel, Sungkyunkwan Scandal is easy to love, even for the sageuk noob.

Helped by a breezy, ear-wormy OST and a pretty great cast, SKKS manages to pack a lot of fun – and heart! – into a zippy, peppy package.

Plus, everything – and everyone – is just so darn prettyyy.

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Dropped: I Miss You

| kfangurl

To be honest, I didn’t expect to write about I Miss You. After all, the drama’s been over for a while, and it’s been literally months since I dropped it.

But my dear friend Michele requested this post, and since I basically bailed on her when we’d agreed to watch this drama together, I feel like I owe it to her, y’know?

Now, I like to think of myself as a pretty decent friend. And I honestly *pinky swear!* thought that since we’d be watching this together, that my commitment to her, combined with her encouragement, would be enough to keep me on this boat through to the very end.

Uh. That so didn’t happen.

After 14 episodes, I just could not bring myself to watch another hour of this drama, and I bailed, leaving poor Michele to soldier on without me (I’m still sorry, Michele! And, I still won’t watch this show! 😛 ).

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Pocketful of Sunshine!

| kfangurl

Good mornin’, Sunshine!

You might’ve seen the Sunshine Award making its rounds in the k-blogosphere lately. Well, today it’s my turn to join the sunshiny fun!

But first of all, let’s get some context. (You guys know how much I love my context!)

I did a bit of poking around, and found that the Sunshine Award is given to bloggers who “positively and creatively inspire others in the blogosphere.”

D’aw~ That’s so nice, isn’t it?

Thanks to Snow of The Drama Corner for nominating me as a positive inspiration!

Now, let’s get down to business, shall we?

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Dear kfangurl: What is it about bromances that make a kdrama great?

| kfangurl

Today’s question is brought to us by Bakazen, who asks:

Dear kfangurl,

What is it about bromances that make a kdrama great? I just recently finished watching Doctor Stranger and realized 2 things: LJS is a good actor and I really didn’t like this drama. So why did I finish it? Because I was hooked by the bromance tease between LJS and PHJ.

My personal theory is they work well as substitutes for the sometimes overwhelming lack of affection we see between couples. Guys in bromances show affection, love, solidarity, joy, connection & (dare I say it) skinship!

Nothing warms my heart like one of the F4s coming to a bros rescue, the F44s teasing each other or the leads in School 2013 (LJS & Woobie) saying how much they missed each other’s friendship.

Besides, I rarely get that hooked into the female friendships (major exception, Noh Eun-seol & Lee Myung Ran from Protect the Boss). What do you think?

Bakazen

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Year In Review: 2013

| kfangurl

In in all, I’d hafta say that 2013 has been a big k-year for me. My biggest k-year ever, since I got on the k-train in 2007. After all, this is the year that I:

– experienced what it’s like to take care of a blog;

– discovered the awesome allure of Kim Woo Bin;

– went to my first fanmeet, ever;

– organized my first squee-fest (fun!)

and

– faced my first existential crisis as a blogger. (I survived. It’s all good.)

The downside of all that, though? I watched the least amount of drama, ever, since I got on the drama train.

Tsk. The irony, right?

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Best Kickass Imaginary Dream Dramas, Ever!

| kfangurl

Do you have a Dream Drama?

Y’know, like in your head, you have the Perfect scenario, the Perfect male lead, the Perfect female lead, the Perfect second leads, and the Most Perfect story arcs, Ever? The kind of idea that makes you go, “OMGGGG I WOULD WATCH THAT DRAMA!!!!”???

Where if you could have it your way, this drama would be filmed and produced, stat, and immediately given a time slot on a Korean network, so that the entire dramaverse would be able to inhale the awesome, in unison?

Well, I and the ladies on this blog certainly have a few of those, and not only am I gonna share those awesome scenarios with you today, we wanna hear about your Perfect Dream Drama too!

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

| 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!)

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Review: School 2013

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

An earnest, honest high school drama that isn’t just about high school.

Pulsing with teen angst on the one hand, yet also dealing with more universal issues on the other, School 2013 is about growing up, and about friendship, hope, love and loyalty. Things that all matter, whether you’re a teenager or an adult.

A wonderful, engaging watch that manages to overflow with heart, in the midst of the angst.

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What Makes Drama Crack Stay Fresh / Turn Stale?

| kfangurl

DC1So today Stephanie posted on her blog Crazy for Kdrama a post titled Second-hand Crack. In it, she describes her experience re-watching Smile Dong Hae, and finding that it just wasn’t as cracktastic the second time around.

That really resonated with me, coz as some of you may know, I’ve been marathoning Beautiful Days for review, and that review’s been taking a while to actually get written.

The reason is pretty much the same as Stephanie’s experience with Smile Dong Hae. I’d loved Beautiful Days on my first watch, and had devoured it pretty quickly.

Fast forward several years, and now that I’m watching it for the second time, I still find it pretty engaging, but it’s just not as cracktastic as I had first found it.

Which begs the question: What exactly makes drama crack stay fresh / turn stale?

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Review: The Princess’ Man

| kfangurl

TPM1

THE SHORT VERDICT:

Grand, lush, well-made, well-acted, well-written & well worth watching.

Every detail in this drama is thoughtfully put together, from the characters’ dialogue, to the themes & motifs, to cultural & historical references.

Very tightly & seamlessly produced and executed, there is an excellent balance between the action in the story and the emotional development of the characters and their relationships.

Engaging, romantic and thought-provoking. And a gorgeous OST just ups the magic.

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