One Zombie, Sharing Her Love of all Things Hallyu With The World
With so many dramas having come to an end in recent weeks and a new wave just starting, things are a bit slim in the currently airing drama department which is why I’ve decided to go back in time a bit and feature one of Taiwan’s rom-coms of the summer, Love Around for this week’s Friday Night Drama.
This week not only brought with it the end to another year, it also brought the end to one of the best dramas of 2013, that always hilarious, quirky and frustrating gem of a K-Drama, Answer Me 1994.
With last week’s premier of My Love From Another Star, I thought it was only fitting to go back in time a bit and see what our new favorite bias, Kim Soo Hyun, was up to before he became the world’s most adorable alien; which is why this week’s drama is none other than the ever popular high school musical, Dream High.
If the awkward hugs and lame-sauce kisses of most K-Dramas have left you feeling disappointed one too many times, this week’s drama, Last Cinderella, is guaranteed to set all those past wrongs right.
Last night brought us the end of one of the most popular K-Dramas of the year, so it’s only fitting that this weekend’s drama to marathon is none other than SBS’s star-studded melodrama, Heirs.
Starring Lee Min Ho, Park Shin Hye, Kim Woo Bin, Kang Min Hyuk, Choi Jin Hyuk, Kang Ha Neul, Krystal Jung, Park Hyung Sik, Choi Won Young, Yoon Son Ha, Im Joo Eun, Kim Ji Won, Kim Sung Ryung, Kim Mi Kyung and Yoon Jin Suh, Heirs follows a group of wealthy, privileged high school kids as they struggle to find themselves and fall in love amidst the pressures and expectations placed on them as inheritors of some of Korea’s biggest companies.
This week brought with it the end of KBS2’s most recent time-traveling drama, Marry Him If You Dare. As I’ve spent the past eight weeks writing reviews on each week’s episodes for DramaFever, I’d think myself a slacker if I didn’t recommend Marry Him If You Dare for your weekly dose of drama.
Starring Yoon Eun Hye, Lee Dong Gun and Jung Yong Hwa (swoon), Marry Him If You Dare tells the story of the time-traveling Na Mi Rae, a young call center employee who is surprised by a visit from her very disgruntled future self. Desperate to change her fate, the Mi Rae of the future braves all sorts of peril to travel back in time, in hopes of changing the past and therefore her future. What the future Na Mi Rae doesn’t know is that once she starts changing the past, there’s no telling what will happen to her future.
I could go in to all kinds of details about the characters and plot in this drama but I don’t want to ruin the suspense for those of you who are planning to watch it for the first time. (Well, that and I’ve already thoroughly dissected this drama for DramaFever’s Marry Him If You Dare Drama Club which you can read whenever you feel so inclined.) However, I will tell you that having the chance to watch Yoon Eun Hye and Jung Yong Hwa in the same drama is 
pretty darn awesome. I’ve been a fan of Yoon Eun Hye since I first saw her in Lie to Me and (if you couldn’t already tell) Jung Yong Hwa is one of my biggest biases. That being said, I started watching Marry Him If You Dare just because I was curious to see how two of my favorite actors would interact on-screen and my fangirl side was intrigued enough to watch this drama through to the end.
As much as I would like to say Marry Him If You Dare is one of my favorite dramas, the truth is, it’s not. Once you start watching, you’ll understand why. It’s not that the show is bad (though the 4.1% viewer rating it garnered with its last two episodes might suggest otherwise) it’s just missing that something special that endears dramas to their viewers. Still, there are some lessons to be learned from Mi Rae’s antics and an underlying challenge to follow your dreams and find the courage to change your stars, which I really liked. Ultimately, that’s why I encourage you to make Marry Him If You Dare your weekend marathon. I hope you’ll come back afterwards to discuss it with me as I’m always ready to chat (or swoon over Yong Hwa) and I’d love to hear with you think of this drama. If you’ve already watch Marry Him If You Dare, I’d love to know what you think and if you haven’t, come back once you’ve finished and we’ll chat. Either way be sure to leave your comments below! Daume ddo bayo!
If, like me, you’re finding that the days standing between you and the latest episode of Answer Me 1994 seem to drag on for an eternity, I have a simple and entertaining solution for you…fill those endless days with episodes of the show that spawned Answer Me 1994, its equally hilarious and entertaining precursor, Answer Me 1997.
Originally airing on tvN in 2012, Answer Me 1997 garnered praise from critics and audiences alike, with its final episode recording, at that time, the highest ratings for a Korean cable drama. With so much praise for Answer Me 1997, I’m sure there a lot of you who’ve already experienced the joy of watching this drama but I know there are those out there (myself included) who have only just become familiar with the Answer Me world and if any of you are like me, you’re now completely hooked.
Trying to pinpoint what it is, exactly, about the Answer Me series that is so addicting, is as difficult as trying to answer the inexplicable question, “Why do you like me?” It’s nearly impossible to find a single reason why you like series, you just do. There’s something about the combination of reality, humor, awkwardness, drama, sincerity, sweetness and camaraderie that subtly draws you in and before you realize what’s happened you’re completely entranced by its spell; which is why I’m recommending Answer Me 1997 for this weeks drama marathon.
In true Answer Me style, Answer Me 1997 tells the story of six friends as the timeline moves back and forth between their eighteen-year-old selves, in 1997, and their thirty-three-year-old-selves at a high school alumni meeting in 2012, at which, one couple will be announcing their engagement. For those of you who are currently watching Answer Me 1994 but have never watched Answer Me 1997, you’re in for a pleasant surprise as you’ll quickly learn where some of your favorite elements of Answer Me 1994 originated. Love the bleating goat sound effect at all those hilariously awkward moments? It’s there. Love the baseball coach dad and the mom who cooks way too much? They’re there. Love the long-time friends who one day realize they’ve developed feelings for each other? Oh, they’re there! The humor, the pain, the friendship, the love, the sorrow, the heartbreak…they’re all there, in spades. Which is why you need to drop what you’re doing and start watching Answer Me 1997, right now. After all, what’s a holiday weekend without a little drama?
Find yourself wishing for a little drama during the week? You can join me in a discussion of the latest episodes of Marry Him If You Dare, in the DramaFever Drama Club here.
To keep my recent flower boy theme going, this Friday’s drama is the adorable Flower Boy Next Door.
Starring Park Shin Hye and Yoon Si Yoon, 
Flower Boy Next Door is the story of a shy freelance copy editor, Go Dok Mi, who spends her days locked in her tiny apartment, staring out her window at the world passing around her. Go Dok Mi’s particularly favorite view happens to be the handsome boy next door, Han Tae Joon but when an unexpected stranger shows up in Han Tae Joon’s window, things in Go Dok Mi’s little world suddenly get flipped upside down. Suddenly finding herself surrounded by a whole host of “flower boys,” Go Dok Mi begins to wonder if life would be better lived on the other side of her door.
If, like me, your week’s been a little rough, Flower Boy Next Door, could be just the drama you need to lift your spirits. It’s lighthearted fun and flower boys galore which make it an easy show to get into and is why it’s another of my favorites. (Though to be honest, I have a lot of favorites so maybe that’s not saying much…) Whatever the case may be, good week or bad, sit back, enjoy a little Friday Night Drama and I’ll see you next week!
We all know Friday nights are the perfect time to start a weekend-long drama marathon which is why I’ll be here each and every week, to supply you with all of your weekend marathoning needs. To continue with the flower boy theme from my last post, I’ve chosen Flower Boy Ramen Shop for this week’s drama.
Starring Jung Il Woo and Lee Chung Ah, Flower Boy Ramen Shop is a romantic comedy based on the relationship of Yang Eun Bi, a college student preparing for her civil service exam, and Cha Chi Soo, the arrogant heir of Korea’s largest food conglomerate who just so happens to be a high school student. Naturally, this unexpected age difference between Eun Bi and Chi Soo is the source of a lot of comedy and conflict and provides the set-up for one of my all-time favorite lines in a K-Drama…when Eun Bi innocently asks Chi Soo, “I can call you Oppa, right?”
For those of you who, like me, keep finding the age gap between us and our favorite stars growing ever larger, shows like this do wonders for our aging ego. After all, what could make you feel better about your age faster than a flower boy falling for his noona?
Of course no flower boy drama would be complete without an entire entourage of, well…flower boys and Flower Boy Ramen Shop, is no exception, which means there’s plenty of eye-candy for everyone. *Sweet!* Add to that a handsome 30-something ramen shop owner who insists on calling himself Eun Bi’s “hubby” and you’ve got a recipe for a world-class love-triangle that’s bound to have you laughing and crying before the end. If the blahs of the week have gotten you down, brighten your weekend with a light-hearted, flower boy filled drama and a steaming bowl of ramen. Cheers!
