K-drama Dream Casting: Who Would You Choose?

A while back, Kathryn, one of our readers, sent me an email asking who our "dream cast" would be. Her ideal was a romcom staring Ha Ji Won, Gong Yoo, SSH (Song Seung Hun?), and Hee Ji Jin with a Yoon Eun Hye cameo where she plays a professional woman for a change of pace.

I have to admit that Kathryn's  selection sounds pretty enticing, and I'm not sure if I can top it. I almost emailed her back right away saying it was too hard and I could never decide with all of my favorites, but now, after spending way, way too much time imagining different pairings, I have come up with the...wait for it...


ULTIMATE K-DRAMA DREAM CAST OF ALL TIME 
(according to the completely biased Vivi)


Are you ready for this?

Here we go...

Since this is my hypothetical dream cast and I can do whatever I want, I'm going to have two main pairings because I can't choose. Think of it as interconnected stories with separate romances instead of a love square with two losers who get dumped and then pick each other as a consolation prize. No consolation prizes here! In fact, there are NO SECOND LEADS ALLOWED in my dream cast scenario. You Are All Surrounded is an example of what we're going for here. Some bromance and friendship between Cha Seung Won and Lee Seung Gi, but ultimately they're involved in their own individual romantic stories.

My two leading men would be Song Joong Ki and Ji Chang Wook. Why those two? Song Joong Ki has been a favorite of mine for a while, and Ji Chang Wook...well, let's just say I've caught a little case of Healer fever these days....

Really, I chose these two because even though they're relatively young, they both have an incredible ability to express volumes with a tiny facial expression or gesture. If you want to see what I mean, watch Nice Guy again. Half of the time, Song Joong Ki is saying one thing, but he'll do the tiniest little things with his face to express how he really feels. I don't necessarily want my dream K-drama to be a super soapy melodrama or anything (NO PEOPLE FALLING IN LOVE WITH SIBLINGS ALLOWED), but I would want to give them roles that allow both actors to stretch a full range of emotions, even if it's under the broader romcom genre umbrella. Oh, and this K-drama might become a musical where Ji Chang Wook belts some songs. I'm just tossing that in there for good measure while we're dreaming big.

So who are the lucky leading ladies? I went back and forth on this a lot, but I thiiiiiink I finally settled on Han Groo with Song Joong Ki and Song Ji Hyo with Ji Chang Wook.

Both of those actresses have an on-screen presence that pushes past the typical wide-eyed Candy girl, and I would love to see more of them. Plus, I secretly want to be best friends with both of them, so casting them in my K-drama is the first step in that secret plan (mwahahahahahahaa).

Now, because I can't just quit at 4 characters and my imaginary K-drama pocketbook is limitless and my script is so amazing that no one would ever say no, I would use Park Seo Joon as Song Joong Ki's wild younger brother (don't they seem perfect as brothers?), and Yoo Ah In and Jung Ryeo Won would be antagonists.

Notice I didn't say "villains" because they would be funny at times, terribly tragic at others, and always magnificently nuanced. You would probably walk away from the show crying buckets of tears over them and still not being sure if they're good or bad.


Add in at least one adorable little child actor who you wish you could kidnap and keep forever in real life.

 Oh, and Lee Min Ho as a murderer. A terrible, irredeemable serial killer who haunts your dreams at night. Just because it's my drama and I can. And I would like to see the fangirls squirm a little.

Via

But he also doesn't have a very big part because we're too busy focused on the other, more interesting and awesome, characters.

So that's my dream cast. I would absolutely and completely watch the crap out of that show. What's yours?

K-drama Dream Casting: Who Would You Choose?

Live Blogging the Heirs Finale

Guys, this is it.  For all of its ups and downs, Heirs was a fun community experience.  Even when it was a complete train wreck in the middle, at least we all got to laugh at the train wreck together!  Because we live blogged the Heirs premiere, we thought we would round out some of our thoughts on the final episode in the same way.  Here we go!

00.10
V: This show has turned me into Pavlov’s dog. I hear the Young Do theme song, and I’m already clutching my heart at the computer screen. CURSE YOU AND YOUR CHARISMA FOREVER, KIM WOO BIN!

I can’t help but wish, though, that they had just consummated this bromance with one last round of “Love Is the Moment.”

6.05
C: Did Young Do’s dad just make a joke? What? It’s a little late for father/son camaraderie don’t you think?

V: Yeah, waaaay too little too late. You can’t just give people strokes or send them to jail in the last episode to make us feel sad!

C: But I did feel sad though. When Tan’s dad reached out to fake little Tan….FEELS

V: Me too. Stroke + small child flashbacks? I can’t resist. But I still felt manipulated the whole time.

C: Agreed. Those writers are pulling every trick in the tear generator book.

8.10
C: Aww, Young Do is trying to make his peace with the world! Now he’s bad-boy-turned-sad-boy-turned-rad-boy, but still kind of just sad-boy, FOREVER.

9.11
V: LSKJDFFSKHLJFSJLSDFJKLFSDJKL I’m never ever going to recover from Young Do-itis.


C: Me either. They better do him right by the end of this! I FORGIVE YOU YOUNG DO! (and please marry me).

9.50
V: It wouldn’t be Heirs without some unintelligible English, would it?

C: Funny how it’s all coming full circle, even the engrish.

V: Does this mean we might get a closing cameo from Tan’s surfer drug addict thief friend?

C: PLEASE dear drama gods, YES!

11.40
C:  NO YOUNG DO! Don’t do it! They better not make him commit suicide. THIS IS NONSENSE!!!

Also, poor little rich kids. Boooo hoooo. Go cry me a river that I know you’re just going to make your servant clean up.

V: Yeah, yeah, we get it. Everyone is sad except for Eun Sang.

C: What? She’s sad for like 19 of the 20 episodes. I thought she only knew how to make one face.

V: Is that why she’s text message rubbing it in that she’s the only non-sad one now? Oh, wait, she’s STILL making her cry face.

18.40
C: It’s making me nervous that Young Do is traipsing all around trying to make amends. He better not die! And if he’s not going to die, then is this just the writer’s evil plot to make us fall even more in love with him so it sucks that much more when he NEVER wins?

V: I can’t even talk about him anymore because it hurts my heart too much. I’m just going to listen to his theme song on repeat instead.

C: That will do you no good. Nothing good ever comes from listening to K-drama theme songs on repeat. Trust me, I did it with Master’s Sun and it wrecked me, like a wrecking ball, that’s how it came in.

V: Well, the writer will just have to take responsibility for any Miley Cyrus happenings around here, then. She’s the one who wrote a male lead with the personality of a potato and matched him against this guy!

C: Yes that was so shortsighted, or genius. Not sure which, but I’m in love so I don’t even care! Young Do *V*! (*V*= the emoticon for FIGHTING!)

21:43

V: The chairwoman is wearing a Snuggie to an important meeting. Hey, at least she dressed it up with her best neck bow, right?

C: I wonder if I can pick one up at Walgreen’s. My mother would love to have one to watch her K-dramas in.

V: I don’t know, Coco. This one appears to be her most formal snuggy. It might be too fancy for casual Kdrama viewing.

C: Are you saying my mom is not classy? You know what happens when people diss each other’s mothers. We’ve just witnessed 20 episodes of it!

V: Don’t hit me with the chair, Coco! I take it all back!

C: Ok, 4 year feud averted.

V: I’m just glad I won’t be forced to rock angry Elvis hair for the foreseeable future.

C: Yes, and I am glad that I won’t have to wear 20 different ugly sweaters. Wait, why do you get to be Young Do?

V: Because Kim Tan is always the one getting his feelings hurt over “your momma” jokes.

C: Ah, ok. Fair enough.

26.00
C:  Not the DOUBLE single tear! One single tear rolling down two people’s cheeks at the same time?!? This is getting real!

V: Seriously, people, you’re killing me here! I’m thinking of starting a coffee table book entitled The Many Sad Faces of Young Do. Any takers? And it’s a TRIPLE single tear if you count the one slowly rolling down my cheek.

C: Oh no, then that makes it a QUADRUPLE single tear for my little tear running down my little cheek too!

V: It’s really hard to gaze pensively into the distance and watch the show at the same time.

C: That’s true, but this is Young Do we’re talking about, so if anyone deserves quadruple single tears, it’s him.

29:55
V: FINALLY, a Rachel and Hyo Shin scene! I have been waiting for ANYTHING that doesn’t have to do with stupid boring people and their stupid boring companies.

C: Yes! As much as I hate Rachel, I do want to see her happy. It’s only kind of her fault she’s such a heartless rich girl. Tan did her wrong, there’s no denying that!

I'd say she got the better consolation prize.

42.36
V: I feel like I should be more sad about Won’s breakup. Too bad I can’t even remember this girl’s name. I’ve just been calling her Whazzerface Orphan Lady.

C: Yeah, their relationship never felt particularly real and gripping to me. But I am sad for Won. Did he learn nothing about reckless love from Tan?

V: Well, lest we forget, everything is always all about Tan. If Won had done the same thing, they would have lost that vote (52% to 44% is close!). We can’t have poor little Tanny losing all his stuff, can we?

C: True. Someone has to take one for the team, and apparently Won chose to bear the weight of the power and greed crown!

V: One advantage of this show ending is that we never have to hear anything more about crowns or weight ever, ever again.

45.42
V: Has Young Do been carrying that bandaid around in every pair of pants since he got it? Or has he just never changed his pants? Gross.

C: I knew all the men in this show were strangely stalkerish and obsessive, but that does take the cake.

50.30 
C: WTF? Nothing changed? Another shot of Tan and Young Do long walking past each other without looking up? WAE? What was the point of Young Do’s character if he ends up with NOTHING? No girl, no best friend, no company! *throwing table over*

V: Maybe he can go for the new chicken delivery girl?

C: I thought that was what was about to happen and got really angry for a second. Like, that is not an ok cop out last minute.

V: You’re a party pooper. At least Young Do wouldn’t be forever alone, but let’s face it, we all knew this was coming from the first time he showed up. That’s why they started him out SO evil.

C: But every other male lead starts out evil and gets the girl. Just look at Jun Pyo!

V: Or, dare I say it, Kim Tan? Oh wait, he starts out kind of nice and goes downhill from there.

C: How dare you?! You’re right. He’s kind of a controlling and violent maniac.

V: Remember how in Episode 19 he said that he loves to be obsessive? Because I do.

54:27
C:  KISS, KISS, KISS! And I mean a real one now! I just really need for a normal, lovely, kiss where no one looks like they’re in pain or being forced to happen.

54.39
V: I LITERALLY LOLd at that ridiculous (and slightly creepy) lip bump.

C: That was NOT a real kiss! That was a freeze frame so that Park Shin Hye doesn’t have to ever learn how to kiss on screen.

V: At least PSH was smiling! Also, are they getting married? Also also why are they living in Tan’s childhood bedroom ten years down the line?

56. 35
V: I can just imagine the writer saying, “You know what we all need here? A recap of EVERY TIME Kim Tan and Eun Sang cried at each other!” You know, in case we forgot.

C: No, I’m pretty sure that was the abridged version. A whole recap would take 10 of the 20 hours.

V: But, you know, eighteen, and pain and stuff. So that makes it okay.

C: Oh to be young! Young Do! Our favorite part of this whole experience.

V: And Bo Na/Chan Young! (Why couldn't we cut half of the boring company stuff for more of them in the finale?)

C: YES!

Live Blogging the Heirs Finale

Live Blogging the Heirs Premiere

It feels like we've been hearing nothing but Heirs updates from the kdrama world for months now.  Lee Min Ho and Park Shin Hye in one show together! *head explodes* Even though the premise of teenagers in love has us a little skeptical, we couldn't let such a massive occasion pass by unnoticed, so we decided to live blog it, Oscars style.

You know how style journalists write commentary on awards shows as they're airing? Things like "Ooooh that dress looks like she wrapped herself in seaweed and crawled out of the ocean!" (I don't know anything about fashion actually. Is that what style journalists say?)  That's what we did here.  We watched the Heirs premiere and just wrote whatever came to mind.  It isn't the most in-depth commentary (for that, check out my drama club review on DramaFever over the weekend), but it was fun for us!

And here we go in three...two...one...

00.00-- Vivi: My palms are actually sweating. Settle down, Vivi. You’re not the one starring in this show. You’re safely on your couch in your pajamas. It’s gonna be fine.

00.10--Coco: OMG here comes some ‘90s Saved By The Bell “Best Summer of My Life” music and surfing scenes! How did they know how to reach deep into my nostalgic teenaged heart?

1.29-- C: Hey, I’m fairly impressed with Lee Min Ho’s engrish! Does this mean we are one step closer to being wed?

V:  I politely decline to comment.  He’s trying so hard!

1.42—V: It’s not a good sign when I have to read the subtitles to figure out what the Americans are saying.  So far, I feel like they’re just mumbling to cover up the fact that they probably don’t speak English at all. “Hey!*mumbling incoherently* Bye!”

C: Also I think they’ve managed to depict every stereotype of southern California ever. Can that girl get any tanner or blonder? Not to mention the surfer best friend.  

V: I feel like the model for this best buddy slacker surfer friend came from some made-for-TV teen movie circa 1992.

C: Totally dude!

1.51— V:Is this some kind of record? We’re under two minutes into the thing, and we already have a shower scene. Kim Eun Sook clearly knows what her audience wants. Why waste time?

C: Doesn’t count. Not standing in front of a mirror with steam rising. It does appear he is brooding about something, however.

3.13—V: Biggest plot mystery so far: Is Lee Min Ho sporting some lip gloss as he gazes into the distance?

C: I don’t know, but he sure looks pretty! And so, so contemplative. And probably misunderstood. And he probably doesn’t know how to love because he has never been loved.

4.15—V:Wait, what kind of second male lead hits defenseless nerds with a baseball? Ouch!

C: This is all very unexpected. My psychological frame for making sense of Kdrama things is being thrown out of whack.

7.03—V: I’m getting flashbacks of Eun Chan with Eun Sang delivering food and demanding her payment like a boss.  On another note, did she just say that she’s a second year in high school?  What does that make her—15? 16?  For my own sanity, I’m just going to pretend that she’s a sophomore in college, okay?

C: Second male lead looks intrigued by her sassiness! What the? Are you sure he’s not the male lead?

8.50--C: Now that’s what I call a second male lead. I think the writers got a little carried away with casting so much eye candy, they don’t even know what to do with them all!

V: Were people just volunteering to be in this series?  All we need is a womanizer with a heart of gold, and we’ve pretty much covered every male lead in the history of everything.  And no, Surfer Dude doesn’t count.

9.50-- C: Oh Krystal, honey, just stick to singing. Sorry, but acting is not for you.

12.47—V:Is that dream catcher going to be our terribly symbolic item for the rest of the series?  One can only hope that Park Shin Hye gazes at it wistfully at least 25 more times throughout the course of the show. (Fingers crossed!)

C: Buy me one now, Vivi! As an ancient symbol of our unending blogging friendship.

V: What if I painstakingly fashion one for you with my own two hands?  Does that make it more symbolic?

C: Only if it included strands of your hair as the webbing. Actually, that kind of just grossed me out. Please don’t use strands of your hair.

17.05—V:Not only is Eun Sang’s mom a downtrodden housekeeper, but she also can’t talk.  In the Olympics of misfortune, this woman wins the gold so far.

C: And where is her husband? We already knew the female lead has to be an orphan, so I guess it’s no shocker that he isn’t in the picture.

V: “Isn’t in the picture”?  He’s DEAD, Coco.  Because that’s what you get when you’re poor.

C: You’re right. Poor= everything is taken from you. EVERYTHING.

21.30 C: This all feels very Gossip Girl to me. Choi Yong Do=Chuck Bass, anyone?

V: YES.  So much yes to that statement. And Rachel=one of the female ones!  With the brown hair!

23.49—V: Rachel may be a terrible person (I assume), but I want her dress to be in my closet.  RIGHT NOW.

25.17—V: Serious concern: What will happen to Young Do’s super-gelled hair when he takes that helmet off?  I want to know.

C: All I know is that is definitely will not look as good as Ji Hoo’s helmet hair did!

26.0 C: Sorry but she is not as chipper about all her side jobs as Eun Chan was. In fact I’d say she’s kind of a whiner. You never saw Eun Chan crying cause someone knocked down her bottles of milk!

27.16—V: Okay, not as bad as I thought.  At least she’s 18!  But still, these people are too young to be engaged and stuff. (Shakes fist while rubbing geriatric knees) Kids these days!

30.02—V: It’s supposed to be a touching moment, but when I see “DRY CLEANING ONLY” written again and again all in caps like that, all I can think is, “REDRUM.”  Does this make me a bad person?

C: Yes! It does seem much more ominous than touching. This would be perfect to put in a trailer where you took some clips and changed the music to make Heirs seem like a Horror movie.

31.05—V: Aaaaaaaaaand there it is.  I was wondering how long it would take before we got a Park Shin Hye doe-eyed cryfest.

C: I’m afraid there’s going to be more of this than I’d like, but there’s always more of this than I’d like in all of her dramas. That, or the slightly confused and shocked face.

36.04—V: I’m sorry to break it to you, Eun Sang, but knowing the word for “subway” won’t help you much in LA.

C: And what exactly was the “Would you like people or…” phrase she was about to say? “Would you like people or trained monkeys to be your taxi driver?”

46.06—V: This may be an obvious point to make for a show called Heirs, but holy smokes are there a lot of grumpy rich people on this show. How will I decide who to hate first?

47.08—V: Apparently, Americans are the WORST.  Is this man propositioning her, or is that some terribly translated pickup line?

C: I think the producers are trying to make America seem as scandalous as possible to make sure that Koreans aren’t tempted to come here for the tan blondes and surfer dudes. They are like syrens!

51.50—V: Don’t listen when they compare you to angels.  They just want you for drugs.

52.48—V: I’m glad that in all of his time in America, Tan learned the truly important English phrases, like “dipsh-t.”

53.52— C: I just knew we’d eventually see the snotty Jun Pyo we all know and love. I’ve missed you so much!

V: Ah, their first fight!  Nobody pulls off sassy blinking like Park Shin Hye.  Nobody, I tell you.

59.46—V: A gang! That’s what you get for coming to the U.S.!  Everyone steals your bean powder and gives you money for sex and makes fun of you for being Asian!

C: And don’t forget the constant sound of police sirens! I didn’t expect Heirs to be such a morality tale, but lesson learned. Thank goodness they didn’t end up in NYC. You don’t even want to know what happens on the streets at night in this part of America!

1:00.30 C: Oh look! Here comes Edward Cullen! He even has a reddish hint to his hair like in Twilight. I wonder if he can read her thoughts too? That would be an unexpected twist the likes of the Secret Garden body switch!

1:01.02—V: When Lee Min Ho asks you to come home with him, I believe the correct answer here is a hearty “YES.”

How did you guys feel about the premiere?  Was it everything you hoped for and more?  Hard to say from just one episode, but at least it was entertaining! Comment below!

Live Blogging the Heirs Premiere

Flower Boy Face-Off: Boys Over Flowers

For our last little video from KCON 2013, we decided to ask Kdrama fans the hardest questions they have ever faced: Who would you ultimately choose to date- Jun Pyo or Jihoo from Boys Over Flowers, or the actors who play them, Lee Min Ho, or Kim Hyun Joong?

Check out the results in this amusing video.  Look for Rosie from Shine a Light Rose and her mom as they answer the questions!

I was pretty pleased with this game, so look out for more Flower Boy Face-Offs in the future!

So let's hear it ladies and gents! How would you answer these questions?

Which Flower Boy Would You Date?
	Jun Pyo
	Ji Hoo
	Lee Min Ho
	Kim Hyun Joon
pollcode.com free polls

Flower Boy Face-Off: Boys Over Flowers

Lee Min Ho Baby

Sometimes when I'm in a reverse-stalkery mood, I like to look at the Google search terms that bring people to our little blog here (Hi! Welcome!).  Most of the searches are normal k-drama things, but I saw one that stood out to me: "Lee Min Ho baby."  Since apparently multiple people are searching for Lee Min Ho baby, I immediately started to imagine what that search term could possibly mean.  So, dear Googlers, I'm going to do my very best to satisfy your search and bring you every possible meaning for "Lee Min Ho baby."  Your search is over!

Search Meaning #1: Lee Min Ho as a Baby

The internet was basically made for adorable babies.  I mean, my facebook feed probably has at least seven adorable kitten videos on it at one time (mostly posted by Coco).  Sure, adult cats are awesome, but if you make them small and baby-ish, it just adds a whole new level of emotional investment.  It should be a logical assumption, then, that if you love Lee Min Ho as a big person, you would love him extra if you got to see him as a small person.  Now, I don't personally have any photos of Lee Min Ho as a baby, but I was able to find this website that had a disturbingly detailed account of Lee Min Ho's childhood, complete with pictures.  Where did these pictures come from? I don't even want to know.

Search Meaning #2: Lee Min Ho Holding Babies

The same principle holds here as with search term #1.  If you prefer adult Lee Min Ho because looking at his baby photos steps over your creepy boundaries, you can just add a different baby to the mix, and suddenly it's wonderful, nurturing magic!  As far as I know, Lee Min Ho doesn't have a baby of his own (YET--see search term #3), but fortunately for all of you, he did an ad campaign for domestic adoptions that featured him holding adorable tiny people!  Successssssssss!

Photo Source

Search Meaning #3: Lee Min Ho's Babies

"What if I suddenly went to Korea and Lee Min Ho and I met accidentally on the street (like Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts in Notting Hill) and fell madly in love at first sight and got married and made babies?  What would our babies even look like?"  That's how I'm imagining this search term starting.  Well, thanks to www.makemebabies.com, you never have to wonder about this again! Since Coco's single (and totally available to make babies with Lee Min Ho), I decided to use her face as a sample.  This was the amazing result:

Apparently, Coco and Lee Min Ho's baby comes out of
the womb dressing like a '90s hip hop artist.  Awwwww! 

Search Term #4: Lee Min Ho's Muppet Babies

I know that I'm probably the only person who thought of this, but when I read "Lee Min Ho baby," my first thought went straight to Muppet Babies, that late '80s television show where they took Jim Henson's Muppets and basically kept everything about their personalities but made them into babies.  If this wasn't an integral part of your childhood (and it should have been), the theme song will help you understand the concept:

Now, stick with me here, but what if they took F4 from Boys over Flowers and had an entire series about them with their exact same personalities, but just made them into babies? It would be an entire show like those flashback scenes in BoF (You know--where the babies are wearing absurd three-piece suits).  BOOM.  Guaranteed money for all.

I will never forgive baby Jun Pyo for breaking baby Ji Hoo's robot.  NEVER.

The only downside to this concept is that from what I can tell, the toddler F4 were pretty much tiny little tyrants.  Unless they somehow built in a baby Jan Di character, I'm not sure how much I could handle.

Okay, Lee Minho baby Googlers, did I satisfy your curiosity? 

Lee Min Ho Baby