Favorite Actors and Actresses - Part 2

As promised, here is Part Two of my list of favorite Asian Actors and Actresses.  There are so many amazing actors and actresses in the world of Asian Drama, that it's very difficult to choose favorites.  However, while this list isn't exhaustive, here are a few more that I really enjoy watching.


Park Shin Hye -  While there can be no doubt that she is a great actress, it's hard to differentiate if I like her because of her acting or because she starred in so many of the dramas that I watched early on.  Because of her roles in You're Beautiful, Heartstrings, Goong S and more she will always have a special place on my list of favorite actresses.  Though her range is bigger than this, I will always associate her with the spunky female lead who will work hard to achieve her goals no matter her circumstances.  


Aaron Yan -  From his early roles on dramas like It Started With a Kiss, where he was a support character, to dramas where he was the main lead (Fall in Love with Me, Refresh Man, Just You and so many more), this Taiwanese actor is just fun to watch.  He is the kind of actor that you find yourself watching even if he isn't the lead.  For example, I didn't know who he was when I first watched It Started with a Kiss and They Kiss Again, but even though his role is small in those dramas, it was one that stood out to me and his character was one of my favorite side characters in that series.  Later on, when I saw him in Fall in Love with Me, I was again impressed at how good he was but this time in a leading role.  And a rather complex role at that.  He is definitely an actor who I think we will continue to see grow and show even more range over the years.


Im Ye Jin -  This woman is an amazing actress.  She has been in the industry for more that 40 years and is a fixture in Korean Drama.  I can't tell you how many shows I've seen her in where she plays the mother of one of the leads, but she has played many many roles in her career.  Any time I see her on the screen, I know I'm in for a treat because no matter what role she plays she embodies it and makes it her own.  She's truly inspiring!



So Ji Sub - He is a veteran actor, having been in the industry more than 20 years and his experience shows in his work.  Of his many dramas where he has been the male lead, my personal favorites are The Master's Sun (which was much funnier than I expected) and Oh My Venus (which is just awesome all the way around).  His way of taking on a role and becoming that character is interesting to watch and though sometimes his way of acting makes roles in various dramas have some similarities, he does each role in unique way as well. I always enjoy watching him. 

Yamamoto Maika  - I will admit that I have not seen a ton of her work, but what I have seen I have really enjoyed.  I much prefer her in a "good person" role as opposed to the "villain", but she seems to be able to fit either role.  I loved her in Minami-kun no Koibito: My Little Lover, which was the first role I ever saw her in.  It was such a cute show that I just adored both the main leads (see the next actor on my list).  Maika will no doubt continue to shine in the roles she is given and I look forward to watching them.  

Nakagawa Taishi - I first saw Taishi in Minami-kun no Koibito: My Little Lover, and he was great in that drama.  However since then, I have seen him in several other roles and I am continually impressed with him.  He is still quite young (only 20 years old), but he is talented.  Given his age, it's not surprising that most of the roles I have seen him in thus far are school age characters, but in the years to come, I look forward to seeing him branch out to more types of roles in the future.  I think we will continue to see him grow as an actor for many many years to come.   

 

Kim So Eun - My first Korean Drama was Boys over Flowers and it was Kim So Eun who very quickly became my favorite female character in that show.  Her portrayal of the best friend to the female lead (played by the also very talented Gu Hye Seon) was probably the most realistic role in the entire series and I loved it.  Since then, I have seen her in lots of other roles and every time, whether it's a mini-drama, a web series, or a regular length drama, she always brings a truthfulness to her characters that makes you just want to sit down and hang out with each one.  And that, in itself, is a talent all it's own.  

Park Hyung Shik -  This young man is rapidly becoming one of my favorite actors from any country and genre.  Why?  Because I have now seen him in multiple projects and every time he has taken on a role, he embodies that role in a way that amazes me and each character is very different than the one before it.  Many people seem to excel in certain types of roles, but he does a fantastic job whether it is a sidekick character (like in Heirs), royalty (like in Hwarang), a CEO (like in Strong Woman Do Bong Soon) or visually impaired piano tuner (like in Two Lights: Relumino).  His acting ability continually puts me in awe and to top it all off, he's got a fantastic singing voice too.  Indeed, Hyung Shik is going to be a force to be reckoned with for many many years to come.

There are so many more actors and actresses that I would like to list, but I'll stop for now.  Do you have a favorite you'd like to add?  Drop me a note in the comments and let me know.  

Until next time...

Favorite Actors and Actresses...Part 1

I've been watching Asian Dramas and Movies now for about two years.  I have come across many actors and actresses that I really enjoy watching.  This blog and the next one will shine a light on a few of  the actors and actresses I've enjoyed watching.  This is all just my opinion, so yours might be different, but I'd enjoy hearing your picks as well. So here are six of my favorites...in no particular order.


Park Seo Joon - This actor has real acting skills.  I have not seen everything he's been in, but I have seen several of his dramas and, in my opinion, he totally encompassed each the roles no matter how different they were from other roles he had.  Whether it's a fighter, a CEO, or a part timer, he seems to just fit into the roles and become the characters. Besides his acting skills, he's a really good singer (I love when he has a song on the OST) AND he's incredibly good looking to boot! 



Song Hye Kyo - I love watching this actress.  She brings such fun to her roles and just becomes the character she is portraying.  I first saw her in Full House and I thought she was a cute and playful character, but then when I saw her in Descendants of the Sun, I was blown away by the power as well as the vulnerability she brought to the role.  Plus, this woman has to be one of the most beautiful people on the planet.  Seriously...she is just stunning.   



Kim Min Suk - This actor is usually one of the supporting characters in dramas, but he always stands out to me.  He portrays the side characters in a way that draws attention to them and moves the story along, but doesn't overshadow the lead characters.  I am a person that gets easily bored when I watch dramas and often fast forward through some of the side character story arcs, but I find that when Kim Min Suk is playing a side character, I don't want to fast forward that part of the story.  I want to see what he does and how he portrays his character.




Ha Ji Won - I first saw this actress in Secret Garden and she was amazing in it.  Then later I saw her in Hospital Ship and once again, she was awesome.  The roles were so different, but she did them so well.  She can be feisty, she can be sweet, she can be vulnerable...her acting range is quiet vast.  She's been in a ton of other dramas as well and her experience shows.  She is great!



Lee Jong Suk - Ok, literally every role I have seen this actor in, has totally captivated me.  From the teenage roles to the adult characters, he plays them with a finesse and charisma that pulls you into the role.  Even when I didn't like the drama all that well, I would finish it because I liked his role.  He is another person who seems to melt into whatever character he portrays and you find yourself cheering for him.




Gong Hyo Jin - I enjoy watching this actress.  There is just something fun about her acting.  Don't get me wrong...she's a really good actress who plays her roles well, but there is something about her that makes watching her a treat.  I'm not sure I can put it into words, but it's there.  I have only seen a few of her dramas and of those, honestly, some of them don't rank that high on my list of shows I like, but I like her, so I will be watching more of her work in the future.  The fact that I can see more than one drama she's in and not particularly love it, but still love watching her says something about her acting ability.  One show I did love was The Master's Sun.  She is fantastic in that drama and I will probably be rewatching that drama many times.  She is coming out with a new drama in the near future and I'm looking forward to seeing it. 


As I was writing this, other actors and actresses kept coming to mind because there are dozens that I could put on a list like this.  But this is a start.  What are your thoughts? 

Until next time!  :-)

My Least Favorite Trope...

There are lots of drama tropes in Asian Dramas.  There's the one where the rich guy falls for the poor girl, the one where the main leads fight until they fall in love, the trope of someone getting hurt, sick, or drunk and MUST be piggybacked to some location, the wrist grab, and lots more.  Most of time I enjoy watching these tropes play out and lots of them really do move the story along.

But there is one that I absolutely hate.  I hate it to the point that I will often fast forward through the majority of the episodes that are necessary for it to play out.  That is the trope of one character breaking up with their significant other "for their own good".  Oh My Stars!!!!  It has to be the worst reason ever for breaking up.  Why?  Because it always entails someone not actually sharing the reason for the breakup with the other one. 

For example:

Female Lead is threatened that if they don't leave the Male Lead something awful will happen the Male Lead.  Female Lead breaks up with Male Lead without actually telling him about the threat.  Male Lead is crushed.  Female Lead is crushed.  Emotional Trauma ensues until the Bad guy gets caught and the Leads get back together anyway.

Literally the entire thing could have been dealt with with a conversation if everyone would just talk to one another.  It's not always a "villain" that's the cause. Sometimes it's an illness, or a truth that one person is trying to hide.  But it's some variation of the idea of "you'd be better off without me...but I'm not going to tell you that, I'm just going to leave." 

Why does this trope bug me so much?  I think it's is because it is the most unrealistic trope of them all.  In real life, people who care about each other talk to each other.  They go through the good and the bad together and only those who are wildly immature (like young teenagers) would ever think that simply giving in to a bad guy/girl or hiding from the one they love is going to fix an issue.  So when it is supposed to be adults doing this very thing, it's really hard to swallow.  Honestly, I don't think it would bug me as much if the characters had a real conversation about the situation before the break up.  But they don't.  It's usually one of them just drops out of sight leaving the other to be totally confused as to what happened.

Now, I can hear you saying, "Toni, it's a tv show...it's not real!!!"  That's true, and I get that, but here's the thing...most tropes have at least enough basis in reality that you can wrap your head around why it's there.  This one simply flies in the face of anything real so I find it beyond frustrating. 

I was going to list some shows that have this trope, but in the effort to not give away spoilers, I won't.  However, there are a BUNCH of them.  I was looking through my "completed" list of shows on the My Drama List site and I hadn't even gotten halfway through my list and I'd already come across 37 shows that had some variation of this trope.  *Sigh*  I said it frustrates me, I didn't say I didn't watch the shows that uses it.

So that's my most hated drama trope.  What's yours? 

Until next time...
 

Learning Korean is a Challenge...but I love it.

I'll be honest...when I first stared learning Korean, I never dreamed it would change my life the way it has.  I mean, I had taken French in High School and I enjoyed it, but it was nothing like what has happened through this language learning process.

When I first started, it was basically just trying to sing along with some K-Pop songs.  Then it turned into really trying to learn the language.  At first I was watching Korean television and movies for entertainment, then it also became a way to hear pronunciation and learn new words. I started searching for Korean Restaurants, Korean Grocery Stores, Korean books and now it's to the point that I am always on the lookout for things connecting to my Korean language and cultural studies.  Even my friends have started looking out for me.  People in my previous churches send me Korean food recipes and stories that they find.  It's amazing.  Next to my walk with the Lord, this has indeed been the most life altering experience of the life.  But why?  Here are my thoughts on that.

1)  This journey is difficult and unlike anything I've ever done before...and I am determined to succeed.  I want to be a decent Korean speaker.  I want to be able to talk with someone who's native language is Korean and be able to hold up my end of the conversation.  This can be accomplished without major financial costs, and I have the necessary tools for the job.  That means that the only thing that can keep me from accomplishing that goal is my own laziness, so I refuse to lose.  I remember a teacher telling us in one of my choral classes in college that the pieces that we had to work the hardest on to perform well, would become our favorites.  That teacher was correct and the same is true of language learning.  I have to work hard to learn and that makes the learning all the more satisfying.

2)  The language and culture is fascinating to learn.   The Korean language looks nothing like English and even it's creation is an interesting story.  (It was created by a King back many many many years ago).  The culture is full of interesting things that I find so intriguing.  Even ages are calculated differently in
Korea.  (Not sure that I like knowing that I'm even older in Korean age, but let's not think about that.)  I am constantly coming across some piece of tradition or cultural etiquette that I just love learning about.  I am still not good at Hangul (the written language), but I continue working on it and I will get it eventually.

3) I've given myself a goal.  In the fall of 2020, I will be taking a trip to Seoul, South Korea with a few friends.  As of now, I'm the only one learning Korean, so I need to be at least semi fluent before we leave.  As a part of this trip, I'm also working to lose about 100 pounds.  That's another goal that is difficult to reach, but I am determined to succeed.

Since I've given myself this goal, I found that I needed a better way to practice what I was learning as well as keep a record of what was happening, so I started a YouTube Channel called "Learning Korean, Losing Weight, and Loving Life."  Here is the thing about me...Strange and often funny stuff just happens to me, so I figured those things would be fun to share and I could practice the Korean I'm learning at the same time.  So if you are interested, feel free to check out the channel.  Most of the videos are only a few minutes long so.  I'm hoping that if any Korean speakers happen to watch the videos they will correct me when I'm wrong.

Well, that's it for now.  I'll be back with a more "entertainment centered" blog next time.  :-) 

Wait, What? A K-Pop Group without any Koreans?

Today is my day off and I decided to do a bit of internet surfing to see who the new artists are in the world of Korean Entertainment.  I came across something totally unexpected.  It's a K-Pop group that originated in the USA and has zero Korean members.  WHAT!?!?  I needed to investigate this a bit more.  So I did and what I found was fascinating and honestly a bit inspiring.

Photo Credit to EXP Edition FB Page

The name of this K-Pop group is EXP EDITION and it is made up of four young men from the USA.  As I understand it, Frankie, Hunter, Koki, and Sime all auditioned to be a part of this group in New York.  The group was a part of a documentary and thesis project for Bora Kim that was specifically to see what would happen if you formed a K-Pop group without any Koreans in it.  So, it basically started as an experiment and ended up a real thing.  How cool and interesting is that?  It sounds like a strange way to start a music group, but actually it's not that far off from how other groups started that became HUGE.  Ever heard of a little band called THE MONKEES?  Seriously...that was a band put together specifically to be the cast of a television show and they became enormously popular.  So, this way of starting a group isn't so wildly strange.

However, what makes this group so very different and interesting to me, is that while these guys are from varied places and backgrounds (Sime was born and raised in Croatia, Frankie is Portuguese raised in the USA, and Koki is Japanese who was born in Hong Kong), NONE of them spoke Korean to begin with and yet they chose to sing K-pop. AND they decided to move to Korea to do so.  That is incredibly impressive to me.  It's not easy to learn Korean (trust me, I've been working on it for quite a while now), and throwing yourself into a totally different culture, language, and country simply to follow your dream is a level of dedication that you don't often see in any part of the entertainment industry.  And the world of K-pop is not an easy world either.  It is full of people who expect and attain near perfection in their dance routines and performances.  It entails crazy schedules and demanding hours of practice.  If you simply wanted to be a singer, there are easier genres to tackle, but these guys chose to walk this demanding road and that is inspiring to me.

So, I'm going to keep an eye on this group.  I'm impressed with them so far and I look forward to seeing how they continue to grow as they blaze trails that can inspire those who follow after them.  Keep up the good work EXP EDITION!  FIGHTING!!!

Great Shows For K-Drama Beginners...

If you are new to watching Korean Dramas, it can seem a bit odd at first.  Just getting adjusted to reading the subtitles is something that can take a couple episodes to get
used to.  Plus, there are cultural differences to adjust to as well.  So in this blog, I want to give you a few things to be aware of when watching Korean Dramas and then I will give you short list of a few that you might enjoy to get started.

First, physical contact is a big deal.  It's not unusual for the main characters in a romance to not even hold hands until a few episodes into the series.  In fact, there is a term for physical contact.  It's called skinship and this refers to literally any kind of physical contact.  From hand holding to putting your arm around someone to kissing...it's all skinship.

Second, we are used to there being lots of special effects or cgi in the shows that are popular in the USA, but those are not as common in Korean Dramas.  That's not to say it never happens, but its not the norm. It is my understanding that most Korean Dramas are airing even as they are being filmed so not a lot of time is allotted for editing and special effects.

Lastly, there is often bullying of some form in the shows.  Sometimes it's in a school, sometimes it's a parent to the girlfriend/boyfriend of their child, and sometimes it's someone else.  But bullying is awful in Korean shows.  It can be cruel and sometimes hard to watch because the people are so mean...though it is rather satisfying to see them get their comeuppance in the end.  So, fair warning...

Ok, now to introduce you to a few Dramas that are good for the beginner to K-drama.  These are all available through Netflix, Dramafever.com, or Viki.com if you are looking for a place to watch them.

Let's start with a mini-drama.  These are usually only a few minutes long and are a great way to begin your viewing.  Dream Knight (available on Netflix and Dramafever) is an idol drama starring the members of the K-Pop group GOT7.  This is truly a bubblegum type show.  Somewhat silly, somewhat funny, somewhat cheesy, but that being said, I like it.  In fact, I am currently watching it for the 3rd time.  Why?  Why not!  First it is short.  There are only 12 episodes and each one is around 10-12 minutes long.  Plus, I like the music in it and the story is cute.  It reminds me of the kind of shows I watched as a teenager like "Saved by the Bell" and "California Dreams".  Just fun and easy to follow.

I loved the drama Something about One Percent.  This is a remake of one called 1% of Anything (Both can be found on Dramafever), but I like the new version much better than the original.  It's a fun and sometimes funny show about two people who get thrown together through very strange circumstances and end up falling in love.  It's such a cute show.

As for classics in the K-Drama world, I really enjoyed Boys over Flowers, Goong, and Full House. All of them are romantic comedies and all are fun.  Boys over Flowers has literally every drama trope there is within it's 25 episodes, but it will always hold a special place in my heart because it was the first K-Drama I ever saw.  Goong and Full House are both dramas that follow semi-forced marriages between couples who either don't know each other well (Goong) or don't like each other (Full House).  Goong is about a prince who must marry and the non-royal girl who it was arranged he would marry when he was born.  She has to adjust to both marriage and being royalty all at the same time.  Full House follows a woman whose goes out of town and finds that her home has been sold when she returns.  She makes a deal with the man who bought her home and all sorts of craziness ensues.   I liked both of the shows and, personally I find them all re-watchable as well.  All three of these can be found on Dramafever and Viki.

If you are looking for something with a bit more action, may I suggest Descendants of the Sun. I loved this drama and have watched it twice.  It has action, romance, humor, disasters, heroic events and more.  The four main characters are all great fun to watch...especially when they interact together, but the extended cast is top notch as well.  It was a super popular drama when it aired and I can easily understand why.  This show can be found on Netflix,  Dramafever, and Viki.

So, that's my intro to Korean Drama.  I'd love to hear what you think if you are just starting your journey to Dramaland or if you've seen these shows. 

Until, next time...



 

A Few "Truths" according to Kdrama. :-)

When I started watching Korean Dramas, there were a few things that made me pause because they seemed to be universally true in Dramaland and yet were so very different from what I was used to in Western Dramas.  I have come to love these little quirks in the shows, and I'm pretty sure I'm not alone.

1) Water is dangerous.

Watch out for the water!

 Anytime someone gets unintentionally wet, they will probably come down with an illness that will incapacitate them to the point that someone else will need to take care of them for at least a few hours.  Generally fever, chills, weakness, and possibly fainting will occur as a direct result of getting wet.  If you get caught in the rain, fall into a pool, or even get splashed by a large puddle (say because of a passing car), you are in grave danger of the above mentioned illness.  However, this does not seem to happen if the person meant to get wet.  For example, if a person goes swimming in a pool for several hours in a swimsuit...all will be well.  However, is same person falls into the swimming pool fully clothed for three seconds...illness will strike shortly thereafter.

2) Korean First Aid kits are no joke!
In most K-dramas (actually in most Asian dramas in general) someone will injure themselves at some point.  The injury is generally minor such as a sprained ankle or slight cut, but you would think that those slight injuries were major wounds based on the treatment of them.  Very often the injured person will not be able to walk if their leg/ankle/foot is even slightly sore.  Someone will generally need to carry this unfortunate soul.  However, if the injury isn't bad enough to need to go to the hospital, someone will break out a first aid kit and 90% of the time, it will be large enough that it could double as a tackle box.  I'm not sure what all is needed in a K-drama First Aid kit, but I am convinced that there is enough equipment and supplies in them that a doctor could perform minor surgery with one if it was necessary.  Most First Aid kits I have seen here in the States are rather small and generally include band-aids, rubber gloves, some sort of antiseptic ointment, perhaps some gauze and that's about it.  But not so in Dramaland:  Those kits seem to have the entire pharmacy in them.  It's truly amazing!

3)The Music is Awesome!
Prior to watching Korean Dramas I have never listened to K-Pop.  Now I'm a huge fan.  I love how most dramas have a set soundtrack so that you hear the same songs over and over.  At first I found this rather annoying because the songs would often get stuck in my head and I didn't understand why I was hearing the same ones in every episode.  However, I have discovered that if the right songs are chosen, those songs become a big part of the story and I find myself looking for them on iTunes to add them to my collection.  

4) KDrama Villains are without question the most evil people on the planet.  
I thought I had seen bad guys/girls before.  I thought I knew what to expect.  I was wrong...so very wrong.  The Villains in Korean Dramas are their own category of evil.  They don't just want to hurt a person, they want to crush them, their families, and anyone who ever smiled at that person.  Just when I think I've seen the worst person they could come up with, in will come another drama with someone who is even worse.  Seriously...did someone hurt these writers?  How do they come up with such awful people?  On the other hand, it's always such a good feeling to see the good guy/girl win over them in the end.   

I'm sure there are more things I could list, but I will stop for now.  These things are just a few of the reasons I have fallen in love with watching Kdrama.  What are your favorite quirks of Kdrama?