Are you...Jealous?!?

     Many things seems unattainable for Pyo Na Ri  (Gong Hyo Jin from Master's Sun & It's OK That's Love). She tries to be the best weather girl possible but she has to humiliate herself just to barely stay on the air.

     And if that isn't enough she does any odd job needed for the station in order to make ends meet for herself and her younger brother, Pyo Chi Yeol (Kim Jung Hyun - 1990).  

     Across the water Lee Hwa Shin (Jo Jung Suk from What's Up? & Oh My Ghostess) is an overseas reporter in Bangkok awaiting to be called back home after his time in exile.

     Fortunately for him his television station is trying to promote the anchors and reporters to boost ratings and get a better selection of incoming candidates for their job postings. 

     The station sends a small crew to shoot Hwa Shin for the promo spot. What he doesn't know is that the woman who's had a 3 year crush on him will be part of this group! (Yup it's Na Ri... Omo!)

     Na Ri is trying her best to be of assistance to Hwa Shin but she can't help that she irritates and angers him. (What is his deal?) 

     She is in charge of getting him ready for the shoot, per the Director's instructions, and Hwa Shin is not agreeable to any of their foolishness! (Does he NOT want to be part of the promo?)

     But in their tug of war with his white shirt Na Ri cuts him! She tries to tend the wound on Hwa Shin's chest..(Yowza!) Na Ri takes her time feeling his chest and is puzzled by what she finds... 

     As the day goes by Hwa Shin is met on set by his best friend - Go Jung Won (GoKyung Pyo from Flower Boy Next Door & Tomorrow's Cantable). They catch up and reminisce. And then Na Ri finds them.

     Na Ri is captivated by Jung Won. Not only is he young, handsome, and rich but he gave up his seat on the airplane for her when they were flying together on their way to Bangkok!

    Hwa Shin sees this close interaction and immediately gets jealous! So much so that he takes Jung Won away from the set...and Na Ri. (HA!)  

     Back in Seoul Na Ri accidentally meets up with Hwa Shin as they are both headed to work and she takes advantage of the opportunity and feels him up again!  

     This second more careful examination confirms what she thinks she knows is happening to Hwa Shin.   

     Hwa Shin is finally fed up with Na Ri's antics! He grabs her and pulls Na Ri behind a TV in the lobby of the station where they both work.

     Hwa Shin demands an explanation for all the touching and groping that she has done to him and states that if she still likes him that this was NOT the way to show it! (Arrogant much?)

     Na Ri tries to explain that she doesn't like him and he doesn't believe her...until she explains why she has been feeling his chest all this time...   

      Jealousy Incarnate is a story that is relatable. Whether you've ever felt jealousy over a friend, lover, or crush we have all been on one side of this coin or the other.

     And the beautiful complication of a possible fatal disease has all the earmarks of KDrama fun! (It gives me the feels!)

     Director Park Shin-Woo and Writer Seo Sook-Hyang created many memorable scenes where love is given deeper meaning and weight because of the pain that the characters have to endure.

Can a Monster have a Beautiful Mind?

     Every good story has a monster to fight. We the viewers need to see the leading man or woman defeat the odds and slay their particular dragon!

     But what happens when a story twists within itself and gives the monster a leading role in the heroine's tale?

     First, we meet Dr. Lee Young-O (Jang Hyuk Park), the cold arrogant neurosurgeon, who most definitely does NOT play well with others...

     It is devastating to be on the receiving end of his brilliance...and ambition!

     To balance Dr. Lee Young-O calculations is warm hearted Patrol Officer Gye Jin-Sung (Park So-Dam).

     Officer Gye has a very clear sense of right and wrong but she tends to believe in the general goodness of people.

     But don't underestimate her level of commitment...she always gets her man...

     At the hospital there's an opening ceremony that gets crashed by a very upset individual...

     Is this a crazy person or does he know what's REALLY happening at this seemingly benign hospital...?

     As the disturbed man is being taken care of by security Dr. Lee Young-O makes an even more absurd statement!

     He tells the celebrity speaker that he only has moments to live! (but no one believes him!!)

     After Officer Gye left the hospital she had more questions than answers! 

     And while contemplating her next move she witnesses something so evil that she is devastated by the truth and she begins an investigation that throws her onto the biggest roller coaster ride of her life!

     At the hospital Officer Gye meets up with Dr. Hyun Suk-Joo (Yoon Hyun-Min) who is working in the ER and is trying to revive the guy who Officer Gye found!

     To complicate matters Dr. Hyun Suk-Joo is Officer Gye's personal doctor...since she was a teenager and she has a MAJOR CRUSH on him...(unfortunately the show never really explores this...?)

     Officer Gye is dumbfounded when told that the patient she rescued of the street has died!!!

     It wasn't until much later that she began to suspect the new doctor who had operated on the patient...Dr. Lee Young-O! (Oh NO!)

  Beautiful Mind is the story of a man who fought to prove that he wasn't a monster...

     But Director Mo Wan-Il and Writer Kim Tae-Hee (Monstar) make us doubt his humanity at every turn!

     I also want to give a shout out to Bernard Park (Park Nak Jun) of JYP Entertainment for creating a wonderful and memorable OST for Beautiful Mind!

     This story was well told and my only critique is that Jang Hyuk Park as Dr. Lee Young-O was a little too well played. He was so cold blooded that I hated him through most of the drama! Why would I want him to win?

     The viewers had no "good guy" to root for! There was nothing but bad guys or good guys turned bad guys for most of the show...

     I felt that Officer Gye was being fed too many clues without her properly finding out WHAT was going on!! 

     It's unfortunate that this great premise unfolded as it did. The ratings were so poor that the original 16 episode drama got sliced to 14! 

     I don't think the extra two episodes could have undone what the story had already become...

We Will be Remembered as Descendants of the Sun!

     I have been an avid Asian Drama Watcher for more than 4 years (my Husband can attest!). 

     And in that time there have been some favorites (Boys Over Flowers, Lie to Me, Master's Sun, Scent of a Woman and A Gentleman's Dignity) that have deeply stayed with me and I have re-watched all of these series to the point of memorization! 

     The stories I'm most drawn to are a balanced mixture of romance, sarcasm, sassiness, great writing and sincere acting. 

   The latest KDrama that has done this so magnificently has been Descendants of the Sun!

     Yoo Shi Jin (Song Joong Ki of Sungkyunkwan Scandal) and Seo Dae Young (Jin Goo of Ad Genius Lee Tae Baek) are brothers in arms who keep the peace...any way they can..(OMO!)

     *Interesting side note...this drama was filmed shortly after Song Joong Ki finished his military service!!   

      Sigh... Even on vacation Shi Jin and Dae Young have to right wrongs and catch criminals! 

     Whenever these two are left to their own deices they always get into some kind of trouble! (HA!)

     They were having some fun at the shooting range in an arcade when they catch Kim Ki Bum (Kim Min Suk of Doctor's Crush) as someone yells "Thief"!

     It's funny how they messed Ki Bum up and then they tried to fix him!

     As Ki Bum was being taken away by the ambulance he stealthily took Dae Young's phone as the dynamic and very handsome duo made sure that the thief survived the crash...

     ...I doubt that the stolen phone will come back and bite him...right?

     At the hospital Ki Bum meets Kang Mo Yeon (Song Hye Gyo of Hotelier) who is impressed and appalled at Ki Bum's condition...

     Ki Bum does everything possible to leave; so Dr. Kang takes his phone to make him stay...but it's not HIS phone!!

     Ki Bum knows that he's in trouble but he has to escape the hospital! 

     Not only is Dae Young going to want his phone back but there are worse things in store for Ki Bum...

     Shi Jin and Dae Young make their way to the hospital to retrieve Dae Young's phone but what they find is Dr. Kang...and her suspicions that they are the people Ki Bum is running away from...(how did this get soooo complicated?!?)

     Dr. Kang kicks Shi Jin and Dae Young out of the ER and they go hunting for Ki Bum...

     Dae Young, as an ex-gang member, knows the many pitfalls and wrong turns a person can take so he decides to take Ki Bum's side and stand up for him as his brother.

     What an unbelievably well written twist! Up to this point we hadn't really seen Dae Young's vulnerability and caring for another person! (WOW!) 

     I wonder where the story will go from here now that Dae Young has added Ki Bum into their brotherhood...?  
   

     ...ugh...After the fight they all go back to the SAME hospital!

     Dr. Kang is now convinced that Big Boss/Shi Jin is at the center of her patient's new bruises and broken body...

    You would think that after covert operations and a violent street gang Sergeant Major Seo Dae Young would never have any mortal fears...


     ...that is until confronted with his true love First Lieutenant Yoon Myeong-Ju (Kim Ji Won of Heirs)!

     As one pair of love birds prepare to fight a war another start their romance...

     After Dr. Kang Mo Yeon alibied Captain Yoo Shi Jin with the CCTV footage of the fight to save Ki Bum he asks if she could tend to his wound...?


     She believes he is faking and mocks his pain only to be embarrassed by his real need of medical attention! (HA!)

  As Mo Yeon re-stitches Shi Jin's cut they discuss how he got this and other wounds.

     Shi Jin flirts with Mo Yeon telling her tall tales of his bravery and she smiles and calls him on his lies!


     They are cute together and the sincerity for each other is heartwarming!

     Descendants of the Sun is a search for love regardless of what life may throw at you! It teaches about patience and forgiveness and letting go. 

     Writers Kim Eun-Sook and Kim Won-Suk created a realistic halfway point between an action and a romcom and I enjoyed the melding of these two worlds! 

     But the writing was consistently enhanced by the breathtaking cinematography of Directors Lee Eung-Bok and Baek Sang-Hoon. The directors rose to the challenge of the Writers and told the full intertwining stories that moved through so many lives...

Weirdness Brings Us All Together...It's Okay, That's Love...

    Most human beings are in the search for love. Whether or not we achieve this elusive state of happiness has a lot to do with the people we surround ourselves with in our daily lives. 

     ...and making sure that our mental health is always working hand in hand with our hearts.

     Jang Jae Yeol (Jo In Sung) is a famous novelist and radio DJ. He writes about the darker aspects of the human psyche. 

     He's had plenty of chances to view the dark roads of humanity...just ask his brother... 

Hyung (Yang Ik Joon) Crashes the Party!

     Ji Hye Soo (Gong Hyo Jin) is a psychiatrist who shares a house with her mentor Jo Dong Min (Sung Dong Il) and a younger waiter Park Soo Kwang (Lee Kwang Soo)...who has a form of Tourette syndrome. 

     Their house is always in disarray and all the housemates thrive living in chaos. Yet, the one thing they do not lack is love.

     Sometimes it's tough love...but it's love.    

It's Complicated...

     Jae Yeol has weird sleeping arrangements and his girlfriend of 3 years Lee Pool Ib (Yoon Jin Yi) is frustrated and doesn't understand him! 
  
     It's easy to betray the one you love if he won't let you in. Jae Yeol won't lower his barriers for anyone ...not even Pool Ib. 

You didn't SEE that Coming?

     There are many cases that come to the hospital where Hye Soo works. Usually it's people who want help and work through their psychological problems.

     Other times patients come in who are standing at the edge of a great abyss and they are crying out to be helped. 

     Hye Soo has her own psychiatric issues and hopes to one day overcome them. Until then she helps those that she can.

The Doctor is IN!

     Hye Soo and Jae Yeol meet because they are on a tv talk show together! He's there to promote a new book and she is there to offer clinical psychological insight...

    What a ruckus they caused! 

     The sparks that where flying as they argued their points were visible!

     It probably didn't help that Hye Soo had caught Jae Yeol looking down the shirt of the lady that put on his makeup! (Gotcha!)

     As Jae Yeol makes his final (smug) point and promotes his book he winks at the audience and sees Han Kang Woo (Do Kyung Soo (D.O.) from EXO).

     Kang Woo is a "writing dongsaeng" that Jae Yeol is mentoring.   

The Fight is ON!

     After the tv show Hye Soo and Jae Yeol bump into each other at a nightclub and he tries to talk to her and she is not having it!

     They are quickly interrupted by Hye Soo's patient who gets violent with her.

     They both help subdue the patient and get injured as a result. Jae Yeol hopes that by helping Hye Soo with her problem patient he will be one step closer to being intimate with her.

     Nope!

     Hye Soo still treats Jae Yeol with professional courtesy and Jae Yeol becomes angry and sullen.

     Jae Yeol has an opportunity arise and he takes it to the next level! (Ha)

The Beginning...?

     "It's Okay, That's Love" delves into the psyche of what love means in all its facets. 

     Love for your friends, love for yourself, love for your job, and love for your partner.

     Love is never smooth and steady (especially not in KDramas). It is a very bumpy road to travel and Director Kim Kyu-Tae with the help of Writer No Hee-Kyung share not only their talents in this series but their love of their craft!

Will You Bend to My Personal Taste...?

     Sexual orientation can often be considered a taboo subject and many misunderstanding can happen if questions are left unanswered. 

     For one architect, Jeon Jin Ho (Lee Min Ho of Boys Over Flowers), letting people believe he's Gay is the only way his company can survive! 

     What he didn't plan on was meeting Park Kae In (Son Ye Jin) and having to continue the charade...when he obviously doesn't want to. 

Trying to get rid of Na Hye Mi...

     Kae In is an artisan furniture maker, accident prone, and has great difficulty in love. She is a human welcome matt letting the world step all over her...(sigh) 

     This does not deter her from trying to achieve her own happily ever after but she gets discouraged at times (even though she tries so hard!).

She is a MESS!

     Kae In meets Jin Ho through unfortunate circumstances (ofcourse) and believes that he has sexually assault her on the bus!

     Jin Ho cannot deny it fast enough and is troubled to have met such an unfortunate person as Kae In! 

Meet Cute...?

     One of the good things in Kae In's life is her boyfriend Han Chang Ryul (Kim Ji Suk of Cheer Up!)! He is a successful architect and heir to his Father's (Ahn Suk Hwan) construction business (also Jin Ho's business and love rival).

    Kae In's naivete in dealing with Chang Ryul is elevated as she misinterprets his words and actions as he tries to break up with her. (Ugh!)   

...is he going to propose?!?!

     Entering in the Seductress role is Wang Ji Hye as Kim In Hee! She is beautiful and destructive. Not just of those around her but herself as well...

     In Hee grew up with Kae In as sisters in the same house! Which Kae In's Father Park Chul Han (Kang Shin Il of Lie to Me), who is a famous architect and Professor, drafted and built. 

     So it is a great shock as Kae In walks into her sister-friend's wedding to see In Hee marrying her boyfriend! (Oh NO!)

BETRAYED!

      Personal Taste takes viewers on a hilarious ride through misconceptions, assumptions, and the hard truths about love.  

     Directors Son Hyeong-Seok and No Jong-Chan with the help of Writers Lee Sae-In and Kim Hee-Ju let us discover, through cinematography and the emotions displayed by these talented artists, that love finds a way through. Maybe not as you wished but definitely worth the sacrifice.

Will You be my Perfect Girl?

     As web dramas take over our airwaves like "DramaWorld", (an English/Korean mashup) there are those who are creating a whole new way of looking at the KDrama phenomena!

     Christian Lee and Jason Chan from BANANAMANA Films develop English scripts for Asian Dramas! They are a Singapore based production company and have won more than 7 awards internationally!

     Just like "DramaWorld", BANANAMANA Films' "Perfect Girl" was picked up by VIKI! Christian and Jason took their multi episode series and converted it into a hour movie...!

The Girl...

     Jason Chan, along with being one of the creators of "Perfect Girl", also plays the leading man Stan.

     At the beginning of the film we come to find Stan alone and unloved. Not because he hasn't had a chance at happiness but he has been in love with Jenny (Khaleila Hisham) since their high school days.

Meet Cute

     It's been years since Stan has seen his crush Jenny and he still finds himself tongue tied and awkward in front of her...but he can't seem to forget (things that make you go mmm?).

Making a Plan?

     Social situations seem like a foreign language to Stan so he sets out to remedy his lackluster love life by doing what he's best at... calculating information to its best end result...

                                                                       ...Jenny.

Their Past...

     Yet, Jenny still remembers when Stan would write her love letters. A well spring of thoughts that sprung from Stan's heart in the hopes of winning Jenny's. 

     Love filled papers just for her... but as he stood in front of her...nothing. 

     Stan and Jenny's portrayals are funny, warm, and heartbreaking (like all good KDramas) and the series is well put together from alpha to omega and everything in between.

     BANANAMANA Films weaves an intimate tale of two lovers and what they face to be together... not just from the outside but from within!

     Christian and Jason still have many more stories to tell and recently they have been working on a pilot named "BangBang Club". 

     In 2016 it was nominated for Best Editing and Best Score at the Indie SeriesAwards and won a Remi award at the Worldfest - HoustonInternational Film Festival!