Category Archives: Korean Dramas - Page 2

소울메이트 (Soulmate)

soulmate

Soulmate is definitely my favorite romantic-comedy drama to date, followed closely by Fantasy Couple.  It’s only twelve episodes long, so it’s shorter than your average drama.  Nevertheless, what’s there is worth any other full drama.  While most romantic comedies center on some sort of extraordinary event that throws the lovers together, Soulmate takes a more natural approach.  It takes some lovable characters and weaves their lives together through sadness and coincidences to guide them to their true soulmates.  On a personal note I don’t believe that everyone has some soulmate out there, but the illusion is quite alluring.  I think that by dedicating ourselves to our partners we can become that soulmate we are all looking for *gets off soapbox*.  After all, everyone needs a 서울메이트 (yes, I spelled that wrong on purpose…).  If you haven’t seen this go watch it.  Now!  (Sadly it’s a little hard to find this online, but I’m sure y’all are up to it)

There’s no trailer, but here’s a song I LOVE:

Here’s my other favorite song from this series:

Here’s a great clip that, like I say on the YouTube description, I really think I would do what the main guy does:

Culture

Here’s a great clip where the main male character teaches his date how to drink soju (소주):

Here’s a fun little session where the girls break down a sentence and you learn different meanings of words:

마왕 (The Devil)

thedevil

The Devil, while very predictable, was very refreshing to watch.  While most Korean dramas are 100% romantic comedies, The Devil is a murder mystery series (without the mystery).  The music and cinematography really contributes to make this very watchable.  If you love Korean dramas and want to explore a different genre than normal then you should definitely check this out.  There’s still a love story, but it takes a backseat in this one.

All the actors are pretty good including my favorite actress 신민아 (Sad Movie).  신민아 plays a girl who has a type of psychic ability where she can see things from the point of view of people or objects if she touches them with her hands.  The story revolves around a detective played by 엄태웅 who is investigating a series of murders.  A young, aspiring lawyer, 주지훈 (Goong) keeps defending all of the suspects in the murder cases.  How are all these people connected?  You’ll have to watch to find out.  Here’s the introduction to The Devil:

Watching LOST after learning Korean

korean-daniel-dae-kim-lost

If y’all haven’t watched LOST, it’s a pretty good series.  I always heard about it, but I have never really seen it until recently.  One of my roommates asked me to translate what the Korean guy was saying.  To my surprise, they have two Koreans on the show who are main characters but don’t include English subtitles (I guess to give us a feel of what the English feel like).  The Korean guy in the part that I saw called the other guy an idiot and to go away.  I’ve just started to watch the show and I absolutely love it when I get to hear the Koreans speak.  The producers to a good enough job to make it so you know pretty much exactly what they’re saying without subtitles (though I know exactly what they’re saying ㅋㅋㅋ).  Anyways, check out LOST if you are looking for some entertainment.

대장금 (Dae Jang Geum)

dae-jang-geum

This was my first historical drama and was a great introduction to ancient Korean traditions.  If you are interested in seeing a glimpse into the life in ancient Korea this would be a great place to start.

Technically it’s based of off a real story, but that real story is not very much.  Apparently there really was someone named Jang Geum who received gifts from the king and was his doctor.  Those are really the only facts this story was based on (or so I hear).  They took a lot of creative liberty in forming the rest of the story, which is very well developed.

This is a story about love and revenge that spans generations.  Jang Geum is a very smart child who has to fight through the bureaucracy in becoming a palace cook and eventually the doctor to the King in a time when women were heavily discriminated against.  Add in a forbidden love story, hidden pasts, foretold futures, and deceit and you have one of the best Korean dramas ever.  Out of all of the dramas I have seen, I was able to feel more of a connection with the characters.  I really identified with Jang Geum and REALLY hated the villains.

Be forewarned that historical Korean dramas are very long (though it’s totally worth it).  Dae Jang Geum weighs in at about 70 one-hour long episodes so plan on watching it for a long time (it took me like half a year).

Culture Notes

Food

You get to see a lot of interesting foods that are presented to the king.  Just about every episode involves making delicious food.

Medicine

Herbal remedies and acupuncture were the methods used to cure just about anything.  Surgery was not allowed on humans (but was apparently for animals).

Royalty

There was an impressive palace system with a very distinct hierarchical system.  The king even had many concubines.

Buddhism and Confucianism

You can see Confucianism in the way the people act just about everywhere.  It seems like it was much more strictly followed than in even China.  There are also some Buddhist rituals I hadn’t seen before which I won’t go into since it might give away some things.

Confucianism led to a strong blood tie between what you can do.

Men and Women

At this time women were still a very back part of society.  They weren’t allowed to go to school or do certain jobs.

Japan

I don’t know exactly what the extent of the fights were, but there were some Japanese pirates or soldiers who attach Jeju Island.  There isn’t very much, but it is interesting to see that Korea and Japan have a long history of contention.

풀하우스 (Full House)

fullhouse

Just like my quick movie reviews, I’m doing this one because Full House was my first drama. It’s a great romantic-comedy where the two main actors start out hating each other but due to unseen circumstances are forced to live with each other. They make a great pair, complementing each other perfectly. Rain, probably the most famous male singer, plays the guy who doesn’t seem to care much about the girl and Hye-Kyo made it big through this drama with her great performance. This is a safe bet for anyone looking for a good K-Drama, I highly recommend it.
Culture Notes
Here’s a great little kids song that everyone knows. The main girl sings this out of desperation and later the guy sings it to make the girl laugh. It’s called The Three Bears.

Is the video broken?  Please comment so I can find a new copy.  Thanks!

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