SECONDS, ANYONE?

David the cutie

As you may or may not know, I recently had an article of mine published on KCON’s blog and since it’s been well over a week now since it originally went up, I decided it was time to add it here as well. So, just in case you missed it, here’s my quick look at several of the different types of second leads found in K-Dramas.  Enjoy!

young do breaks my heart

Have you ever found yourself falling for a K-drama second lead? Perhaps you’ve come across a second so annoying you wished something catastrophic would happen, just so he/she would back off and leave the poor lead alone. For some mysterious reason, K-drama seconds have the ability to invoke feelings just as strong as their leading counterparts. Though it may be impossible to understand why we feel so strongly about K-drama seconds, it is possible to categorize them, so here’s a quick look at six types of K-drama seconds… Continue reading “SECONDS, ANYONE?”

FRIDAY NIGHT DRAMA: You’re Beautiful

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Earlier this week, I was looking back over the past few months of posts, trying to decide which drama to feature for this week’s Friday Night Drama and I was mortified to find that I had yet to say anything about one of my most favorite dramas in the whole wide world, the delightfully fluffy, idol-filled treat, You’re BeautifulSo here I sit, ready to dive into what has to be the most influential drama I have ever had the pleasure to watch… Are you ready? Continue reading “FRIDAY NIGHT DRAMA: You’re Beautiful”

Fantastically Foreign Friday Vol.2

Last week I introduced you to one of my favorite Japanese bands, ONE OK ROCK, and one of my all-time favorite K-dramas, You’re Beautiful. If you took the time to watch any of You’re Beautiful, you probably spent the last week with songs from the show stuck in your head and if you’re at all like me, you’re now wondering where you can find A.N.Jell’s album. Unfortunately, A.N.Jell only exists in K-dramaLand *waaah!*  but the three talented actors that make up A.N.Jell are also musicians which means you can get your fill of Jang Geun Suk (aka Hwang Tae Kyung), Lee Hong Ki (Jeremy) and Jung Yong Hwa (Kang Shin Woo) without having to watch episodes of You’re Beautiful every day for the rest of your life. *Hooray!* While I’d love to introduce you to the work of all three of these amazing artists at once, I feel like I would be gipping them of their time in my relatively small spotlight, so this week I’m going to focus on just one and that would be Jung Yong Hwa’s rock/pop/alternative band CNBLUE.

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CNBLUE debuted in Japan in 2009 with their first mini-album Now or Never and released their first Korean mini-album, Bluetory, in 2010. Since then, CNBLUE has released several albums and mini-albums in both Korea and Japan, all of which have met with incredible success. The band spent a good portion of this year on their Blue Moon World Tour while somehow managing to find time for both Kang Min Hyuk and Jung Yong Hwa to film for upcoming K-dramas. Kang Min Hyuk is currently starring in SBS’s newest drama Heirs (which you can watch here http://www.dramafever.com/drama/4274/Heirs/) and Jung Yong Hwa’s newest drama Mi Rae’s Choice (aka Marry Him If You Dare) is scheduled to release next week. How these guys find time to release new albums, tour and act is beyond me but they do and we love them for it, which brings me to our drama of the week but first, check out these videos from CNBLUE…


If last week’s drama and this week’s band wasn’t enough to get you hooked on Jung Yong Hwa, this week’s drama should do the trick. Starring Jung Yong Hwa, Park Shin Hye and Kang Min Hyuk (to name a few) Heartstrings follows the story of two college music majors, one majoring in modern music and the other traditional, and the sparks that fly when the two go head-to-head to prove which musical style is best. Being a fan of Jung Yong Hwa, Park Shin Hye and music in general, this rom-com is one of my favorites as it’s another drama full of great music and that classic love-hate relationship of which I can never seem to get enough. You can watch the first episode below and the rest of the series on DramaFever here…http://www.dramafever.com/drama/3934/Heartstrings/ and if after that, you still can’t get enough of Jung Yong Hwa you can watch the premier of Marry Him If You Dare here, http://www.dramafever.com/drama/4320/Marry_Him_If_You_Dare/ later this week and then join me for the newest DramaFever drama club where I and two other bloggers will be discussing each week’s episodes in-depth. Until next week…enjoy!

 

Fantasticly Foreign Fridays

As you may or may not know, I’m an adventurer. I love to explore, to visit new places, try new things and one of my biggest goals in life is to experience as much of the world as possible before I die. Of course, my desire to explore is sorely inhibited by the fact I have four little zombies at home who need me much more than I need to see the world; so I do the only thing I can, I explore the world through my computer, or more specifically through the internet. I’ll be forever grateful to Al Gore for inventing something as amazing as the internet (and yes, that was said in complete sarcasm) because now, I can see and experience things I would have never known existed otherwise. Among other things, I have discovered the fantastically amazing world of foreign entertainment and being the sole fan of such awesomeness in my own limited world, I’ve decided to share some of my favorites with you, because let’s face it, most of you probably have no idea what I’m talking about and well…that’s just sad. This is why I’ve decided to dedicate my Friday postings to introduce you to all things foreign and fantastic, so that you too can discover the joy of exploring the world that lies beyond your doorstep.

OOK 1

I’d like to start off by introducing you to one of my new favorite bands, the Japanese rock band, ONE OK ROCK. Formed in 2005, ONE OK ROCK, describes themselves as a mixture of “emo, rock and heavy metal,” and I have to say, it’s a sound I can’t get enough of. I downloaded their latest album, Jinsei x Boku = earlier this year and it’s been on my Top 25 Playlist ever since. If you’ve never taken the time to explore the world of Japanese rock, or any style of Japanese music for that matter, you’re really missing out. To prove my point, I’ve added a couple of videos from ONE OK ROCK for you to check out for yourself. All I ask is that you give them a try. Who knows, they may end up on your Top 25 Playlist before you know it.

OOR albumOOR single


you're beautiful 2

Part of the reason I chose Fridays as my day to discuss all things foreign and fabulous is because Friday marks the beginning of the weekend and the weekend is the absolute best time to marathon an Asian drama. For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, Asian dramas are shows, aired weekly in their country of origin, that typically run anywhere between 16-20 episodes (though there always shows who break the rules), usually with two episodes airing each week. Anyone with Netflix has probably come across a Korean drama or two, while searching for something new to watch without ever giving them a shot, shows like You’re Beautiful, My Princess, Protect the Boss, Boys Over Flowers, and Playful Kiss, and that’s just even more sad than never giving Japanese rock a try! The world of Asian dramas is vast and varied and some of the most entertaining shows you’ll ever watch, you simply have to be willing to give a show with subtitles a try. *And no, you can’t whine about how you hate reading your shows. Suck it up! Reading’s good for you!* If you don’t have Netflix (and even if you d0), have no fear, www.DramaFever.com has over 13,000 episodes from 60 content partners across 12 countries which means you can watch practically any Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese, Chinese and Latin American Telenova you can imagine. (And yes, I also write for DramaFever so I’m a little biased when it comes to where I watch my Asian dramas, could you tell?) With so many options, it’s hard to know where to start, which is why I’m here to help. Each week, I’ll introduce you to a new drama so you can spend your otherwise boring and depressing weekend marathoning you new favorite show.

you're beautiful 1

This week’s drama is one of my favorites…You’re Beautiful. It’s the story of a nun-in-training who’s forced to enter the all male world of an idol pop band, in order to help her brother. Written by the Hong Sisters (who are hands down my favorite drama writing duo) You’re Beautiful is as hilarious as it is heart-warming and I dare you not to like it! Find it on Netflix or watch it here…and be sure to come back next week because this…is only the beginning!

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