K-Drama of the Year 2012..or NOT... my POV

Hi there....오랜만이다 (oren-manida), if you are familiar with hangul and korean drama im sure you know what that means.. for those who are not familiar.. it means 'it has been awhile'... yes, it has been awhile since the last time i wrote an entry in this blog. My reasoning? well because i was a bit busy and have no idea what to write about.huhu...

Currently im on holiday so i spent most of the time just playing guitar, reading books and watching k-dramas :)... well what do you expect from a not-so-exciting-girl like me..lol.. i refuse to use the word 'boring' on myself since last june so just bare with me...please.

Lately, I've been diligently watching every single k-dramas i got my hands on.. and Ive been following 'girlfriday' and 'javabeans' of "Dramabeans.com" you see... I just love reading their reviews & writing... fun fun fun.. I wish I could write like em'!!.. so they have this like annual k-drama polls that they do every year to see which drama is The Best Drama of The Year!!! and getting all the fans/readers input on it... And based on my last observation/visit, it seems like 'Nice Guy' is in the lead... Im not surprise by that. Because it was a Great drama... if I had not watch 'Answer me 1997' (just now finished the whole drama), I would have agree 100% with the poll results... But what can I say, I love the underdogs!!.. you dont expect anything from them and yet they gave everything that you're looking for!!.. Below is my POV on the most entertaining & exciting drama for this year.... and I'll give you a little recap on some... If you had not watch the dramas listed, you should really give it a go and consider buying the dvds the next time you stop by the dvd store :)


BEST K-DRAMA OF THE YEAR 2012. (in order btw)

1. ANSWER ME 1997.

OMG I Looooooooooooooooooooooveeeeee this DRAMA!!!! before I pick-up this drama, i read a few review and feedback and everyone was saying how GREAT this drama is and I was like 'aisshhh... what could be better than NICE GUY or A GENTLEMAN'S DIGNITY'. Honestly I didnt expect much especially with the casting, new faces everywhere and its on cable tv (tVN cable)!!!.. I was thinking 'hmmm.. so the script must not be that great that it wasnt able to get a slot in KBS or MBC or SBS???'...
Boy was I wrong... Big time!!..

I love the script... and story telling... The drama is set in Busan in 1997 so everyone was talking in Busan dialect and you can feel the YEAR 1997... every single detailed reminds you of the old days... the slow dialed up modem, the old model handphone people use (it changes along with the drama time interval, you got this HUGE looking hp in the 90s, and then as the years goes by you have these flip phones etc), not just handphones, VHS tape, Walkman, CD player..like I said just every single thing reminded you of the good old days... And I also love the fangirling theme the writers add up to the drama... just shows you how much the korean teenage girls are fanatics of their 'Oppas' lol.

But what I love the most in the drama is probably the individual characters that the writers managed to make em' unforgettable. Thumbs up to the casting!!! What a fantastic acting debut for Jung Eunji (A-Pink), might I highlight here Debut As Lead Character mind you!!!and Seo In Guk was brilliant as always..  This drama is definitely a MUST WATCH for 2012... Ive you havent watch it go watch now!!!


2. NICE GUY...

To be honest, I'm not really a fan of Song Jong Ki. If just by looking at the casting of the drama at first, before I even watch it, I just tought 'hmmm... melodrama...not really a fan.. but wait, Park Si Yeon!!.. wow havent watch her in a drama for like... forever.. might aswell give this drama a go'.... it was the fact that Park Si Yeon is in the drama that got me watching Nice Guy... I know, I Know, i know what you guys think... "MOON CHAE WOON is in it also... how could I not have considered that as one of the main factor to pickup the drama..?!!" well at the time I wasnt really familiar with her acting that much... I havent watch 'Princess' Man'.. I didnt even know she was in it and won all the awards she did!.. But hey, I am absolutely a fan now!!... Cant wait for her next drama!!..

 
If you havent watched the drama, thru and thru you will likeeeeeeee noo, not likeee... you'll loveeeee Kang Maru's (Song Jong Ki) character... and you will hate thru and thru Jae Hee's ( Pask Si Yeon) character.... and you will have a Love and hate relation ship with EunGi (Moon Chae Won).. If it werent for all these three brilliant actors playing their role brilliantly, this draama wouldnt have gotten so much love by the fans... there are definitely no other actors/actress that are more suitable to play the characters other that those three... brilliant casting!!!...

Now, the only thing that is making this drama no. 2 in this list instead of no.1 is its FINAL EPISODE!!!.. For me, the final episode of a drama is the focal point which determine whether the drama is in the bunch of GREAT K-Dramas of the year or whether it is in the bunch of Good/Enjoyable K-Dramas of the year..
Dont get me wrong, i like the final episode because the writer gave us a happy ending considering the other dramas that the wirter (Lee Kyung-Hee) did eg. Will It Snow For Christmas?, A Love to Kill, I'm Sorry, I Love You... You know what the 3 dramas have in common... Sad endings.... The ending for nice guy is okay but not as great as Answer Me 1997, you felt fulfilled at the end... if you've watched both you would know what Im trying to say... If the ending of Nice Guy was nicely  folded would I've put this drama No. 1 instead of Answer Me 1997? Absolutely YES... why because interms of the drama content and plot twisting event, Nice Guy gets it..It is among the many reason why many kdramas fan glued and have gotten so attached to this drama.. None the less Innocent Man/Nice Guy is a must watch drama for the year IMO.

3. The Moon That Embrace The Sun


Not gonna elaborate much on this and the other dramas.... But yeah I love The Moon That Embraces The Sun... I love both Male & Female leads Kim SoHyun and Han Ga In... Love the storyline and amaizing twist of plot... not really a fan of Saeguk dramas but what I really love about the drama is these two...

너무 귀엽다..so adorable

I enjoy the drama more during their youth period.. :)


4. The King 2 Hearts 

 Love the idea behind the drama. Reuniting The North & South Korea. But what interest me the most is Eun Shi-kyung character played by Jo Jung Suk. A very loyal Royal Guard. I got bored when he died lol.


last but not the least.. worth mentioning... is..
5. A Gentleman's Dignity

 I like the female all 4 female leads but not so much on the 4 Male leads. I know the writers & director are looking for someone to play the characters in their 40s but you dont actually HAVE to cast some one who is ACTUALLY 40.. maybe someone who's in their 30s??to make the drama more ALIVE. Jang Dong Gun is okay but not really a fan. But thank god he's good at acting. I mean for example look at Kim Min Jong (far right in the pic) in the drama it looks like he's dating his own daughter. So every scene involving him and Im Meari (his partner in the pic) I tend to fast forward or skip it. 
If I could change the cast.. the 4 male leads would be.....Yoon Kye Sang, Song Seung Heon, Yeon Jung-hoon, Kim Sung-soo ?? :)



MOST DISSAPOITING/A FLOP K-DRAMA OF THE YEAR 2012. (dont even bother to watch) 

1. Big

 Love all the cast... Disappointment in story telling & script writing. Surprisingly the writers are The Hong Sisters!!! The scriptwriters for great great great dramas like, Sassy Girl Choon Hyang, Best Love, My Girlfriend is A Gumiho, You're Beautiful, Hong Gil Dong, Fantasy Couple, My Girl. 
This drama is probably their biggest flop! Probably thats why they decided to call it BIG?? Big flop..


 2. Dream High 2

Probably the most anticipated drama after the very successful Dream High drama. But what a flop this sequel turns out to be. I would rather have Jinwoon & Jiyeon be the main pairing. Probably then the sequel would be enjoyable. Definitely not better than the 1st drama but atleast it would not make into my list of most disappointing dramas lol.