Princess Hours (Goong)

Princess Hours might not have been one of the more popular Korean dramas like Boys Over Flowers or Coffee House prince, but it was for sure one of my favorite dramas and I've been watching it more and more recently. It was in the top 10 most popular drama in 2006. But my opinion about it is that it kind of has a mix of comedy and historical facts and twists to it too. It’s kind of like a historical fantasy drama that also adds in a sort of melodrama in it as well.

The drama takes place in modern day in Seoul, South Korea with a ruling monarch who is basically like a puppet figure in Korea, just like modern day Great Britain with Queen Elizabeth as the ruling monarch. Anyways the king and queen have a son, crown prince Lee Shin that has transferred from a royal school to a public school. He came to that school in search of being with one of his closer friend named Min Hyo-Rin, who was learning to become a professional ballerina. She rejected his proposal in her hand in marriage just so that she could achieve her dream and not be locked in a castle day and night learning castle etiquette in becoming the future crown princess. Within the school there is also a normal high school girl named Shin Chae-Kyeong. She just doesn't get why the crown prince has transferred to her school and why all the girls are just swooning at his feet and why he’s such a big deal. But the issue with this is that in the near future she is to be engaged to the crown prince because of a promise their grandparents made in the past.

So this is the event that began it all. Chae-Kyeong was just cleaning out her locker and there just happened to be a dirty bucket of water right next to her and then crown prince Lee Shin was walking by when she accidentally knocked it over and got the prince’s clean white shoes all dirty and he got all angry but in a calm and conservative way he started making fun of her. Then he lightly swung off his dirty shoes at her and put on a pair of new ones from his locker and told her to dispose of them like as if she was his servant and then she became really pissed at him and threw his dirty shoe back at him getting the back of his uniform all dirty.

She is soon brought to the castle because she receives a letter from her parents and she is then introduced to the king and queen and finally gets the memo that she is to be crown princess. Not soon after that, perhaps a couple of weeks they’re wed but not because they like each other, but because this was an agreement so they were both kind of forced into it. There also is a love triangle between the crown prince, the crown prince’s cousin, Prince Yul, who returns from England, and the crown princess. But like all Korean dramas the crown princess, Chae Kyeong, falls in love with the crown prince, Lee Shin,  but is kind of rejected at first because the crown prince still deeply likes Hyo-Rin but then she breaks the news to him that she’s leaving the country to pursue her dream as a professional ballerina. 

Then they soon develop and mutual relationship with each other, but then there’s a plot twist where the crown prince’s aunt arranges a problem to get him off the throne and get his cousin on the throne. She arranges people to set fire to the castle and make sure that everyone blames him for the incident and then is basically accused of being guilty which he’s not. But in order of everyone’s safety he is forced to leave Korea and the crown princess also leaves as well. At the end the crown prince’s cousin claims that he’s guilty in the cause of saving his mother from exile. But back to the ending of the crown prince and princess. They end up living in Omen and get married for real because of their true feelings for each other.

  

Word Count 717

Girls' Generation

Have you been catching the latest gossip of the Korean girl band Girls' Generation (SNSD) lately? To my surprise they are now currently ranked number one for being Korea's top 10 celebrities of 2014. They have been ranked number one since 2011 and they seem like they want to continue to be Korea's top 10 celebrities for quite awhile. I've been overly obsessed with this girl band for about four years now and I never though I would be finally writing a post about them! I'm very excited for their new album "Love and Peace" to come out this Christmas Eve! But my personal favorite album is the one that came out at the beginning of this year called "I Got a Boy" and one of my favorite songs is called "Gee." I could sing to that song all day long and watch they're music video for such a long time!

Girl's Generation is currently made up of 8 twenty-five year old including Taeyeon, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona, and Seohyun. SNSD was originally made of 9 girls, but one of the girls, Jessica, left because of some conflicts with the group and schedule problems had gotten in the way of her practice schedule. Therefore, while SNSD would continuing promoting their 8 members while Jessica would still work under the SM Entertainment as a solo artist. SNSD has been musically inclined and have won the interest of many Koreans since 2007. In Korea their name is referred to as So Nyeo Shi Dae or in short SNSD. The name Girls' Generation means that "The generation of girls' domination has come." 



Girls' Generation's  image has been a major impact in their rise to popularity. Earlier in their career, the group wore no makeup and dressed more politely and conservatively. They had many different props for each song and as an example of one of their earlier songs "Kissing You" they had lollipops as props during their performances and for one of their promotions for their single album in 2009 "Gee" they simply dressed in jeans and plain white T's. In 2010 while they were getting pumped up for their promotion for "Run Devil Run," the group was noted down for using a darker and sexier nickname called "Black SNSD." In early 2011, the group came back to Korea with "The Boys" with members choosing their own outfit and accessories and that helped make an impact on their individual image and it showed more of the members' own taste in style.




 John Seabrook, a reporter from The New Yorker said that "the group was a group of preppy-looking young women in skinny trousers." The New Yorker stated that the music itself isn't a decisive factor in the popularity of K-pop as a whole, and Girls' Generation in particular. But he did conclude that the group was made up of originally 9 members which showed that the efficient "K-pop machine"  can favor choreographed style over individual personalities.

(495 words)

My Love From Another Star

Tell me would you believe that an alien can understand a modern Korean woman? Do Min Joon (Kim Soo Hyun) is playing an alien in the form of a perfect human being who arrived on Earth 400 hundred years ago during the Chosu Dynasty. Apparently he arrived on Earth by accident and he couldn't get back to his home planet because the only way he got to earth was on a meteorite/asteroid. Anyways during his stay on Earth he lived under four different lives. His first life he was an ancient Korean commoner who sought for love and then his love died because of protecting him. Next he was playing a rich man who always went to casinos to gamble his money away. Then he was a study student who finally began to make friends on Earth and learned many different life lessons from his professor friend. Finally in the current day and age he became a university professor. While he lived among the inferior human species, Do Min Joon had always been cynical towards his human neighbors.

But once top actress Cheong Song Yi (Gianna Jun) moves into the same building...like on the same floor...more like next door he begins to fall in love with her and vice versa. But there is a little part I forgot to mention is that Cheong Song Yi has a lover named Lee Hwi Ki who is the son of a wealthy business owner and she also has a best friend named Yoo Se Mi who has a crush on Lee Hwi Ki but keeps it a secret from him. Then there's also Lee Jae Kyung who is the heir S&C group and brother of Hwi Ki. He seeks to silence Song Yi about a secret she knows about him. 

As the story progresses Do Min Joon soon begins to figure out that his time on Earth is coming to an end and when he tries to avoid making Cheong Song Yi heart broken he instead tries to push her away so that she doesn't have to accept the fact that he will soon be gone. 

When he does eventually tell her the truth that he is an alien, she's shocked and doesn't believe it. So he proves it to her by bringing her to a museum late at night and shows her pictures of the past few hundred years he's been on Earth and showed her some of his great achievements prior meeting her. 

When it finally is time for him to leave Earth, he and Song Yi do whatever is possible to make their memories last, even if it goes to the extent of her making a marriage proposal video for him. A few days later when they're on the balcony he leaves her without a trace and she basically looses all her sanity and goes crazy pretending he's still here. Finally after a long time he appears to her in short periods of time and she think she's gone delusional but really she has been seeing him.

At the conclusion scene he ends up staying for longer periods such as a few years at a time, but when he leaves he leaves as quiet as a mouse disappearing into thin air. But when they enjoy time together they would just sit on the balcony talk and when they would talk he would read and in the last scene he leaves but the book he leaves behind is The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. I think my favorite quote in that book was "and the rabbit arrived safely back to his destination." So let me ask the question that left me pondering throughout the whole drama, "Do you think the cross-species couple can have a future together?"

(626 words)

Why watch Boys Over Flowers? (Character Introductions)

For many of you Korean drama fanatics I'm almost positive that Boys Over Flowers would be on most of your guys' top lists of best Korean Dramas. Well for many of you who are just getting pumped to watch Korean dramas, this one is probably one of the best ones that will get you hooked on to continuing watching Korean dramas. Why is that? First of all, many young teenagers and not just young Asian teenagers but also other international teenagers love Korean guys. But first let me introduce to you what is known as the F4 group, who are constructed of four extremely rich, gorgeous and arrogant teenagers. 

Geum Jan-Di- Geum Jan Di is the daughter of a family who owns a dry cleaner store. While on a delivery she saves a bullied student from committing suicide and then soon is offered a scholarship to attend Shinhwa High School. Then not long after that she becomes acquainted with the F4 group.

F4:

Gu Jun-Pyo, Yoon Ji- Hoo, So Yi-Jung, and Song Woo-Bin

Gu Jun-Pyo (Lee Min Ho)

Gu Jun-Pyo-He is the leader of the F4 group and the heir to the Shinhwa Group, one of the most powerful business groups in South Korea. Since he is the leader of the most popular and powerful clique in school, he torments Geum Jan-di after she stands up to his bullying ways. He finds that really cute because he's never really had a person who wasn't scared of him in his life before and she was the first one to stand up to him. He then ends up falling in love with her. His family is one of the richest and most elite in the country.

Yoon Ji Hoo (Kim Hyun Joong)

Yoon Ji-Hoo- He also is a member of F4 and the grandson of the former president of Korea. Because he's very musically talented it catches the glimpse of Geum Jan-Di's attention and she soon begins to develop feelings for her. He also has a fear of driving because he was involved in a car accident that killed his parents leaving him to be the only survivor. He believes that he's not Geum Jan-Di's lover but her soul-mate.

Song Yi Jung (Kim Bum)

So Yi-Jung- F4's major playboy, as well as a very skilled potter. His family owns the country's largest art museum and eventually changes his playboy habits when he's in love with Chu Ga-Eul, Jan-Di's best friend. Though he doesn't have any romantic feelings towards Jan-Di, but does eventually grow fond of her and they become good friends.

Song Woo Bin (Kim Joon)

Song Woo-Bin- Another player member of the F4 group. His family owns a large successful construction company and also has connections to the mafia. He also befriends Jan-di just like Yi-Jung did and also becomes caring and protective towards her.  (452words)

My Lovable Girl

On my previous blog I wrote specifically towards My Lovable Girl's love triangle and parts of the plot within the character introductions, but this post will be more directed towards the summary and plots and how everyone eventually ends up being tangled in one another plots. To be honest I didn't think this drama was as good as it could have been. I felt like the story line should've been more clear and they could've made the plot a little less predictable because throughout the drama many of the events were easily predicted. But I don't know, this was just my point of view towards the drama, and I'm sure many of you would've thought the opposite of me, so I will respect each and everyone's opinion about this drama!


The basic plot of the drama is that it begins with Hyun Wook (Rain)  who is the CEO of a talent agency that trains idols and young scouts on how to become famous pop stars and celebs. He's a brilliant composer/producer who on the outside looks/seems cold heart but once broken out of his comfort zone and once people got to know him he is a sensitive and kind hearted person. He lives in great difficulty bearing the loss of his ex-girlfriend who died in a car crash that he witnessed 3 years before and still blamed himself for her death because they had an argument that he caused in the first place.


A few years after that, Se Na (Krystal Jung) arrives in Seoul in hopes of pursuing a music-composing career and meets Hyun Wook who helps her achieve it. And within that time period she begins to fall in love with him and after a while he starts to fall in love with her, but then feels guilty because of her sister's death. As the story continues we meet many different people who are associated with both Hyun Wook and Se Na. We meet Shi Woo, who is part of the great Infinite Power group, Hae Yoon, who is Hyun Wook's acquaintance but later becomes his secretary and has a secret crush for him, and Jae Young, who is AnA's best composer/producer and get's real competitive towards Se Na when she enters the company and he also take most of the Infinite Power group with him when he leaves the company after being defeated by Se Na's musical talent. (401 words)

My Lovable Girl (Character Spoilers)

So how many of you drama fanatics were satisfied with how the drama "My Lovable Girl" ended? Certainly I was in great disappointment when I was approaching the last few minutes of the final episode. I was left with just so many questions unanswered, and many of the love triangle plots still really confused me. I was really pumped when the drama was first being previewed and I couldn't wait to see a few of my favorite actors and actresses paired up together like Rain and Krystal Jung. But first let me give you all  a recap of what the whole drama series was about so there isn't confusion about things.

It probably will be easier for me to explain the love triangles before explaining the plot so here goes nothing!

Lee Hyun Wok (played by Rain) is the CEO of a talent agency who trains scouts and idols. He first appears as a cold hearted composer/producer but later as the drama proceeds we kind of see the warm hearted gentleman he becomes. He then later falls in love with Yoon Se Na (played by Krystal Jung). 

Lee Hyun Wook (Rain)

Yoon Se Na (Krystal Jung)

Yoon Se Na is Lee Hyun Wok's deceased girlfriend's younger sister who has come to Seoul in a heart of pursuing her music composing career. She first fell in love with Hyun Wok but later she discovers the past with him and her sister and then has a cold heart towards him in the last few episodes. But then at first Hyun Wok never looked to her as being his girlfriend anyways because of what happened to her sister, so he could only look to her as a friend. 

Shi Woo (Kim Myung Soo)

Popular boy band main soloist Shi Woo (played by Kim Myung Soo) later also falls in love with Se Na as well because he thought that she was a great girl with amazing potential to write and compose music. But the problem with that is that Yoon Se Na doesn't fall for all his tricks or his pretty face, so she keeps chasing Lee Hyun Wok, while he silently rejects her. He also was part of a bigger band, but then because of problems in the company he was abandoned and then became a soloist and then towards the end of the drama he rises to great fame. 

Shin Hae Yoon (Cha Yi Reun)

Then there's Shin Hae Yoon (played by Cha Yi Reun), she's Lee Hyun Wok's secretary and has been madly in love with him for more than a decade and believes that she's the only one that will make a perfect match for him. She literally goes everywhere Hyun Wok goes, but because they were kind of childhood friends he doesn't want to hurt her feelings. But she's really good at her job and is willing to do anything that gets into her way that involves her relationship with Hyun Wok even if it means to kick Se Na out of the company. 

Seo Jae Young (Kim Jin Woo)

Finally there's Seo Jae Young (played by Kim Jin Woo) who works for Lee Hyun Wok's talent agency and is the main composer of music of the company and has a crush for Shin Hae Yoon. But during the middle episodes he leaves the AnA company because he feels that he can crush Se Na's potential by making their company fail while he as he thinks is the better composer will rise in his dream while destroying hers and making it extremely annoying because he will slowly tell Se Na a secret about Hyun Wok and how he was involved with her sister's death. (590 words)

Traveling at Home is a Thing?

The main question is "HOW DO YOU TRAVEL AT HOME?" Well there are many way that you can travel at home without wasting oodles and oodles of money. First things first you got to start out with the costumes and proper clothing and depending on where you want to go try to find that specific attire that will match your place of destination. For example if I were to pretend I was going on a trip to China I would try to find clothing in my closet that would suit the culture. Below is a sample of a little kids Chinese outfit during Chinese New Year.


Other than that there's always food. If you were aiming more towards the Chinese culture, I'd probably be more of a specialist towards that because I'm not as familiar to other cultures. But again as for food you could always print out a Chinese recipe and learn how to cook it. It's okay if it doesn't turn out the way you want it to. It's just going to be you or parts of your family eating it so they won't judge you! Haha!!
But as an example you could make fried rice or crab rangoons or something to just make it feel like you're in China. But to be honest, authentic Chinese people don't even eat Chinese food we have here. Or if it's just easier for you, you could always order Hyvee Chinese.

Another way you can get the traveling experience could be renting a movie about the culture, foods, scenic areas, and so on. Even though you aren't physically there, but you are there in a mindset. You can experience almost as much as if you were traveling! It's just that traveling is a physical thing and you get to see everything like for real..but it's ok...because traveling takes time, effort, strength, ability, and willingness. (415 words)