TUNE OF THE WEEK: CNBLUE “Can’t Stop”

yong hwa 3If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, you’ll know that I’ve had a thing for CNBLUE for a very long time. Jung Yong Hwa was the bunny I happily followed down the rabbit hole that led me into the wonderful world of all things Hallyu, CNBLUE’s albums were the first K-Pop albums I ever bought and the boys of CNBLUE will forever be at the top of my bias list. That being said, it only makes sense that their latest release, “Can’t Stop” would win this week’s music spotlight.

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HALLYU ZOMBIE DRAMA REVIEW: Bride of the Century Episodes 1-2 (1/2)

Annyeong chingus and welcome to yet another edition of “Hallyu Zombie Drama Review!” I’m super excited to introduce this particular review to you for two reasons… First, because  this drama is one I’ve been dying to watch for months and this week it has FINALLY started to air (squee!) and second, because two amazing ladies have agreed to join me on this particular drama reviewing endeavor. Who are these lovely ladies, you ask? They are none other than Shai from k-dramacentral and Tanya from HallyuKnow? *round of applause* You can find all three of us writing for our individual blogs as well as writing for some of DramaFever’s more recent Drama Clubs. *hooray!* And now that the introductions are over, let’s dig into these first two episodes, shall we?

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FRIDAY NIGHT DRAMA: Secret Garden

Every once in a while, it’s good to look back at all of the dramas you’ve watched over the years and pull out one that, while a little dated, is still just as fantastic as it was the first time you watched it, which is exactly what I’ve done this week. For those of you who have seen this drama before, you can attest to its greatness and to those of you who may be new to the wonderful world of K-dramas, this is a classic, you won’t want to miss. So, without further ado, I present to you, for your weekend drama marathoning pleasure, Secret Garden.

 

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TUNE OF THE WEEK: BTOB “Beep Beep”

February has proved to be a difficult month when it comes to deciding which song to feature in my weekly K-pop spotlight, not because there’s been a shortage of new music but because there’s been so much, I’ve had a tough time trying to narrow my favorite down to just one. This week, the tune that won out, over all the other contenders, is BTOB’s latest release “Beep Beep.”

Untitled

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HALLYU ZOMBIE DRAMA REVIEW: Emergency Couple Episode 7 (3/4)

Oh Jin Hee hugs Gook Chun Soo

Hello, Hallyu Zombie Emergency Couple fans. I’m Karen and it’s my turn to give a fresh, new take on this week’s episode of Emergency Couple. As my partner Zombie Mamma mentioned, only one, new episode is broadcast this week to allow the Emergency Couple staff more time to improve the quality of future episodes. That change is okay for me as I have more than enough topics to talk about this week.

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KeopiTalk reviews Topp Dogg’s “Arario” MV: “It’s the Joseon version of “OOAK” meets “No More Dream”

Welcome chingus to the very first edition of “KeopiTalk,” a new segment in which my friends KpopKolorado, missienelly and I get together and chat about the latest and greatest K-Pop MVs. We’ve decided to kick off “KeopiTalk” with Topp Dogg’s most recent release “Arario” and we’ve love for you to join us so let’s get to it!

group shot 1

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HALLYU ZOMBIE DRAMA REVIEW: Emergency Couple Episodes 5-6 (2/4)

Are you ready to take off your doctor's coat

Welcome back to Karen’s portion of the Hallyu Zombie Emergency Couple Drama Review, episode five and six. This week, Tanya started us off with some ridiculous situations. I found this week’s episodes really interesting, but I found Oh Jin Hee’s (Song Ji Hyo’s) honest and true excuse to be a doctor disappointing and unbelievable.

Oh Jin Hee - I don't have the right skill or attitude to be a doctor

I can’t believe Oh Jin Hee’s real reason to become a doctor is to experience what it’s like to be a doctor because a doctor is somebody special and she’s a nobody. At first, I thought she was joking when she told her ex-mother-in-law, Yoon Sung Sook (Park Joon Geum) her reasons, but then, when she repeated the reasons of her true intentions to Dr. Gook Chun Soo (Lee Pil Mo), I was devastated. Jin Hee’s motivations are so shallow. Surely, I don’t believe it. If that was true, she wouldn’t do all she could to help her patients. She could have merely sit back, watch the show, and let her ex-husband and fellow intern, Oh Chang Min (Choi Jin Hyuk), handle the mess of a patient’s death. All those sticky notes she had in her medical book and all the effort she put in to become a doctor is way too much effort to make me believe she simply wanted to be a doctor, but not play the part. Then, Zombie Mamma, Tanya, and I could have been doctors too, though who knows if we can all get through some medical books and still retain all the knowledge that one needs to become a doctor. I know for sure that my eyes will glaze over. I’m just trying to prove that it takes more than a mere effort to become a doctor and I believe Jin Hee got this far because she is interested in becoming a doctor and saving lives.

Gook Chun Soo - If you have time for this, go out there and see one more patient

Dr. Gook’s wise response was really touching to me. In fact, I respect his honest response to Jin Hee’s confession, which sums up my feelings as well:

Then did everyone become a doctor to cure sick people and save the world like Jesus? Are you saying that only the people with the right intentions can become doctors? Are you saying that their intentions are never swayed by their lives? That kind of perfect idealism doesn’t exist.

Professor Ahn - Then let's make sure that the tracheotomy was performed by Oh Jin Hee

Meanwhile, contrary to what I said in my first Emergency Couple review, there are politics in the hospital after all when Jin Hee is the one to be dismissed for the death of a patient while Chang Min’s job position remains safe. We can’t escape the political madness in every hospital drama!

Im Yong Kyu - There is definitely a mysterious world that we don't know about

Honestly, with all these clues becoming obvious that Jin Hee and Chang Min have some type of relationship that goes beyond one of colleagues, Dr. Gook is still questioning everything. Even their fellow interns already speculated Jin Hee’s and Chang Min’s mysterious relationship and it’s only a matter of time before they all figure it out.

Oh Chang Min - I told you to stop

Chang Min needs to step up as a man. He still disappoints me very much when he doubted that Jin Hee might harm his mother when Jin Hee went into the VIP room and when he failed to stick up for Jin Hee in front of his mother. Yet, if he didn’t care about Jin Hee, he wouldn’t have lied about performing the tracheotomy only to lose his job, which he spent many years pursuing. I really can’t root for him too much.

Yoon Sung Sook - I haven't accomplished any of my goals yet

Chang Min’s mother, Yoon Sung Sook, should have became a doctor herself if she’s so obsessed with doctors. Honestly, she needs to get her priorities straight. Being rich does not automatically bring happiness. Why is she pursuing such unrealistic goals? She wants a high society-ranking woman like “Jessica” Han Ah Reum (Clara) to become her daughter-in-law and she wants Chang Min and Han Ah Reum to represent her pride as doctors in order to match up with the rest of her family. She even knew that her rich sisters didn’t visit her after she collapsed in the hospital and that the joke is on her when her former daughter-in-law, Jin Hee, became a doctor. As a bonus, Jin Hee thoughtfully saved Sung Sook’s life. Furthermore, because of her schemes, Sung Sook already lost her husband’s heart. He didn’t bother to visit her at the hospital either.

Oh Jin Ae - It won't be damaged much even if I live this way

This week, another new character is revealed and she is Oh Jin Ae (Jun Soo Jin), Jin Hee’s sister. She is really rude, but also ignored by the family. I don’t know whether to scold her or to feel pity for her. Initially, I was really mad at her for stealing her sister’s wedding ring and pawning it for a guitar. Honestly, since Jin Hee says that Jin Ae is older than Han Ah Reum, Jin Ae should be old enough to get her own job to support herself. She’s not a teenager, but it’s because she is still dependent on her sister that there is still hope that the family can reunite again. Jin Ae seemed to be the forgotten child. What took so long for Jin Hee to find Jin Ae anyway when Jin Hee could have just made a couple of phone calls at any time to check on Jin Ae’s whereabouts? Or is Jin Hee giving her sister some space?

Dari - Who's Gary I'm Dari Dari - No we shouldn't I'm God's substitute driver

Lastly, it’s cameo hunting time. Dubbed the “Monday Couple” from the ever-popular Running Man variety show due to their hinted relationship, Gary, who is one-half of the hip-hop duo, Leessang, reunites with his Running Man teammate, Song Ji Hyo, in episode six of Emergency Couple. In her drunken state, Jin Hee mistakes Gary for Gary while showing him her godly hands, but Gary assures her that he is Dari, God’s substitute driver who is hired by Dr. Gook to escort her home. Dari has a feeling he will see her again on Monday because why? Because, they are the Monday Couple on Running Man, of course!

 

There is more drama sure to come as Zombie Mamma takes over with her thoughts for part three of the Emergency Couple Hallyu Zombie Drama Review series. Check back soon!

Oh Chang Min trying to look inconspicuous

 Be sure to check out our blogs for more dramatic fun!
Zombie Mamma | Hallyu Know? | Wehaiyo!

 Emergency Couple:

Episodes 1-2: [Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4]
Episodes 3-4: [Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4]
Episodes 5-6: [Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4]

HALLYU ZOMBIE DRAMA REVIEW: Emergency Couple Episodes 3-4 (1/4)

Oh Chang Min and Oh Jin Hee look at each other

Welcome back to the Emergency Couple review, episodes three and four with Karen, who is reviewing Emergency Couple each week with Zombie Mamma and Tanya. If last week’s introductory episodes were incredulous, then this week’s episodes are bound to be more interesting because of additional background information on our main characters. Unfortunately, there are still some ridiculous plot lines that bother me.

Chang Min

Last week’s episodes ended with Oh Jin Hee (Song Ji Hyo) shocking a suicidal patient and her ex-husband and intern colleague, Oh Chang Min (Choi Jin Hyuk). Immediately afterwards, almost all medical personnel rushed to Oh Chang Min’s side. What about the suicidal patient? He was never seen again nor did I see anybody treat him. I thought it didn’t make sense to focus all the energy on Chang Min and not the other patient. Even the patient who was accidentally shot by the suicidal patient had more screen time than the actual suicidal patient. Was the suicidal patient’s life not as important as the other patients? I had unresolved feelings about that mini story. In fact, the nurse said the drunkard, suicidal patient was discharged afterwards. Shouldn’t he go to the police station?

Oh Chang Min - Why did you set this up on your own

Once again, I have my doubts about what intern life is really about at the hospital. From what I learned from the drama, interns are lucky if they even have one hour for lunch because they never know when an emergency can happen and they are summoned. How much sense does it make to leave the hospital to go out for lunch and on top of that, a blind date? Even worse, Oh Chang Min’s blind date was supposed to be fellow intern, Han Ah Reum (Clara). Chang Min is so obedient towards his mother that he didn’t have any common sense. Is it that hard to change the blind date to an evening time after interns get off of work? Profession aside, a lunch date isn’t really enough time to get to know somebody anyway. Han Ah Reum’s family should have known that it would be quite impossible for Han Ah Reum to go to this lunch date when she is an intern at a hospital. The lunch date was doomed to fail from the beginning.

Gook Chun Soo - What's strict Are you going to keep eating when someone's dying

I really like Dr. Gook’s (Lee Pil Mo) response to an intern taking lunch during an emergency. Even with his buried pain, he’s becoming quite the comical character from his expressions to his view on hospital life.

Jung Joo Ri - Leonardo DiCaprio who sketched this

Actress and comedian Jung Joo Ri has a few cameo scenes as the person who attends the blind date in Han Ah Reum’s place. The way Jung Joo Ri looks at art is basically how I look at art. She mistakes the artist’s name (but, thankfully corrects herself) and criticizes the man’s hairstyle in Leonardo da Vinci’s famous drawing of the “Vitruvian Man.”

Han Ah Reum - How can this happen in Korea

In a way, I love that Han Ah Reum is from the United States or at least has a western mentality. I get to see how she reacts to Korean culture. Foreigners such as I would learn a lesson or two about how to assimilate into Korean culture.

Oh Jin Hee - In Korea if the age gap is more than 5 years

I am intrigued by what Oh Jin Hee said about referring to others who are more than five years in age difference by name. My Korean husband, however, says it really depends on the situation, but either way, I would feel more comfortable referring to my colleagues by surname if I were working in a hospital.

Han Ah Reum - No makeup on the face with unkempt hair

On the other hand, I feel that Han Ah Reum is so rude. I hope her behavior doesn’t reflect badly on all Americans. I would never make fun of other people’s age and their insecurities. The way she bullied Oh Jin Hee was such a turn-off to me that I hope Chang Min never falls in love with her.

Oh Tae Suk - They could have had a happy life together if you just let them

On a positive note, I have a better understanding on why Oh Jin Hee became a doctor. She has been supported by Oh Chang Min’s father, Oh Tae Suk, all along. I believe Oh Tae Suk had been burdened by the guilt of his wife separating Oh Chang Min’s marriage to Oh Jin Hee so Oh Tae Suk decided to secretly support Oh Jin Hee’s path to become a doctor. I find Oh Tae Suk and Oh Jin Hee’s relationship very sweet even though they can no longer meet due to the awkwardness of their relationship. Perhaps Chang Min’s father will take the Vice-Director job at the hospital after he learns of Jin Hee and Chang Min’s fateful working relationship.

Yoon Sung Suk Oh Tae Suk fight

On a side note, the way Chang Min’s parents fight seems to be way more vicious than Chang Min and Jin Hee’s martial fight, yet Chang Min’s parents are not divorced.

Oh Chang Min - So if there is any problem I'll take responsibility

Lastly, I will talk about the Emergency Couple love gauge. Finally, the drama gives me what I want when Oh Chang Min shows a bit of concern for Oh Jin Hee when they found out that their patient, whom they performed tracheotomy on, had died. As they both tried to take the blame, Oh Chang Min was more forceful in protecting Oh Jin Hee, but I will have to wait until next week’s episode to find out what exactly will happen. Previously, Chang Min hated Jin Hee so much that he would rather be shot by the suicidal patient than be saved by Jin Hee. Will protection turn into love again?

Check out our blogs for more dramatic fun!

Emergency Couple:

Episodes 1-2: [Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4]
Episodes 3-4: [Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4]

HALLYU ZOMBIE DRAMA REVIEW: Emergency Couple Episodes 1-2 (4/4)

Zombie: So it seems we’re all in agreement that the first episode of Emergency Couple wasn’t nearly as awesome as maybe we were all hoping it would be. Maybe it’s because we’re all married that we don’t find a hugely gianormous fight between our OTP all that funny; especially when said fight brings about the end of a marriage.

if looks could kill

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HALLYU ZOMBIE DRAMA REVIEW: Emergency Couple Episodes 1-2 (3/4)

Emergency Couple

Welcome to the Emergency Couple review with Zombie Mamma, Tanya, and Karen. My name is Karen and for the next ten weeks, my partners and I will be sharing our thoughts on the newest episodes of Emergency Couple. Our thoughts will be simultaneously and exclusively posted on each of our blogs: Zombie MammaHallyu Know?, and Wehaiyo! You can find our latest updates on either of these blogs. All three of us are Dramafever Drama club reviewers for the Dramafever website, but decided that we would review this drama independently.

Oh Chang Min Oh Jin Hee at the wedding

What I am anticipating in the Emergency Couple drama is the chemistry between actor Choi Jin Hyuk, who plays Oh Chang Min and Song Ji Hyo, who plays Oh Jin Hee. When I first heard of the story line for Emergency Couple, it sounded very similar to the story line of the 2011 SBS drama, Paradise Ranch. The two main characters of Paradise Ranch are played by Shim Chang Min, who is most famous for being one half of the TVXQ band and actress Lee Yeon Hee. Their characters married young against their parents wishes, but divorced soon after. Years later, they meet again and fall back in love by the end of the drama. Paradise Ranch was the first full drama I watched on the Dramafever website, but the story line left me so disappointmented and worse, I felt that there wasn’t enough chemistry between Chang Min and Lee Yeon Hee. I sincerely hope that Emergency Couple does not fall into this trap. I can deal with a bad story line, but I don’t think I can handle another chemistry-lacking couple.

Oh Chang Min - How can you do this to me

Emergency Couple is the third Korean medical drama I am watching. I have watched the 2007-2008 MBC drama, New Heart, which focuses heavily on the medical part and I have watched the 2013 KBS2 drama, Good Doctor, which has an equal dose of medical and love in the drama. By the way, if you haven’t already, I have reviewed all episodes of Good Doctor for Dramafever so feel free to browse through those reviews as well. So far, Emergency Couple seems to be the type of drama that focuses more on love than the medical part. We don’t get any political bickering at the hospital as seen in Good Doctor and there is no hint of any staff member who has familial ties to any hospital administration executive as seen in New Heart.

Oh Chang Min - She threw urine on this handsome face

Still, with a third medical drama under my belt, I should be more familiar about how a hospital works, but I don’t. I am still very surprised at what an intern life was about. How are interns different from resident doctors? I notice that all interns go to work and leave at the same time. I wonder if the residents take over after the interns go home. Why didn’t they go home in shifts like residents do? I understand the interns of team four are assigned to the emergency room for three months, but what are the other departments? I would have liked to know the name of the other departments. I was also extremely surprised when Oh Jin Hee poured a bag of a patient’s urine on top of Oh Chang Min’s head, exposing him to contamination. I work in a medical-related field so I know that this is definitely a very dangerous thing to do. Who knows if the patient had any kind of infection and the urine actually got into Chang Min’s eyes. He would need to go to an eye washing station and report the incident to his supervisor immediately as well as get medical treatment as needed. Jin Hee would have lost her job immediately as she did it on purpose and Chang Min would have to deal with the medical consequences. This is never something to ever joke around with because everyone has a right to be safe at the workplace. Chang Min could not simply go to the bathroom and “wash it off.” I am very bothered by that scene as it was a reckless move by interns who should know better.

Han Ah Reum - I really hate the bullying culture in Korea

On a related note, I am disappointed that, like the plot of Good Doctor, there is bullying going on in this drama as well. Jin Hee’s first day was not only tough because of her mistakes from the previous night, but because all her team members wanted her to quit the hospital because she looked old and unreliable. I have low tolerance for people who judge other people without spending the time to understand the other person. Even the chief, Gook Chun Soo (Lee Pil Mo), tried to fire Jin Hee on the first day without giving her a chance to work. On that note, I felt sad for Jin Hee, especially after she removed her medical diplomas and placed them in her desk drawer instead. What a way to knock someone down. On the other hand, why couldn’t she tell Chief Gook the reason why she wanted to be a doctor? That’s really suspicious. In a way, I am not sure if she should quit or not quit because of that hesitation.

Oh Chang Min Oh Jin Hee look at the mess

So far, I cannot take sides on this love drama war. Chang Min and Jin Hee equally annoyed me and I don’t see a reason to take either side. Jin Hee seems to be such a weak character who is physically and emotionally influenced easily. Chang Min’s words are so poisonous and his character is very selfish. As a married woman, I found their famous fight scene so dramatic. No matter how angry I am, I would not take my anger out on such expensive items. I guess they didn’t show Chang Min and Jin Hee hitting each other because otherwise, the audience would be too shocked and uncomfortable with domestic violence. From what I see, both sides have their faults and I wonder how they will fall back in love within one year at the hospital. I expected Jin Hee to be more competent as an intern since she obviously worked hard to get where she is, but she messed up a simple thing like a blood draw, making me lose some of my faith in her abilities.

Oh Chang Min - How did you know I was in the hospital

Those suffering from an Heirs drama withdrawal will experience a bit of deja vu because actress Park Joon Geum is playing Choi Jin Hyuk’s mother again, only this time she is his real mother and Jin Hyuk seems to be a mama’s boy.

Yoon Joo Sang - Kids these days call it a mental collapse

Yoon Joo Sang, who I will always affectionately remember as Shin Sang Duk from the 2013 SBS drama, I Hear Your Voice, makes a cameo appearance as Chang Min and Jin Hee’s wedding officiant. Actress Jun Soo Kyung also makes an appearance as a hospital director who flirts with Chang Min.

Oh Jin Hee shocks the patient and Oh Chang Min

Since we ended with a ridiculous plot line where a suicidal patient had easy access to a security guard patient’s gun, Jin Hee shocked the suicidal patient and Chang Min with a defibrillator, which was a bit comical because I don’t know if her facial expression at the time meant that she enjoyed it or not. I think, at this point, I can’t take the medical part too seriously so I better enjoy the romantic comedy parts and that’s exactly what I signed up for. 

Look for our upcoming collaborative chat about episodes one and two soon, exclusively on our blogs.

Zombie Mamma | Hallyu Know? | Wehaiyo!

Emergency Couple:
Episodes 1-2: [Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4]