So Why Start Another K-Drama Blog?

That's a good question. There are a lot of great ones out there, like:















So why? Well, somehow earlier this summer I stumbled on k-dramas. I think it was after I watched Finding Mr. Destiny - a great movie staring Im Soo Jung and one of my favorite male leads, Gong Yoo - that Protect the Boss popped up as a suggestion on Netflix. It looked interesting, so I checked it out.


I immediately liked the heroine, No Eun Sol, played by Choi Kang Hee. She was tough but sweet and could physically stand up for herself. In fact, the episode starts with her in high school, along with her best friend, taking out a bunch of boys who were harassing another girl. In college, she protested against the cost of tuition and was all about her education. But life after college didn't quite turn out as she hoped. In fact, finding a good job was a challenge. Pretty soon, though, she gets a call that she's been hired as a secretary. She whoops with joy at finally making it.

I did not, however, initially like the hero, Cha Ji Heon, played by Ji Sung. Our first exposure to him, he's wearing sunglasses and a face mask. He's in participating in group counseling to try and deal with his phobias and obsessive-compulsive disorder. It doesn't work out well; not only does he have to pick up the tissue his doctor dropped, but when he leaves his office, his frazzled secretary sprays sanitizer on his hands. Later at a Board presentation, his fear of crowds leaves him flubbing his presentation and upsetting his father, the company president. Returning to his office, it's evident that Ji Heon hasn't really done anything except live off of his family's riches.

Their paths collide when Eun Sol is forced to go on a company outing where's she's sexually harassed. When she objects, her boss throws a drink in her face. Later, she finds him in the bathroom, strikes (physically) a victory for all women, gives him whatfor and leaves him dangling by his necktie from a sink. Ji Heon is also at the same drinking establishment, trying to build morale among his employees but failing miserably due to his neuroses. In the hall, their paths intersect and they bump into each other (literally). Ji Heon drops his phone but because of his germ phobia, he can't pick it up, so he yells at her to do it for him. An argument ensues, only to be interrupted by her ex-boss's thugs. And then, the thing that made me love this drama: Eun Sol beats the boys up. She loses a shoe, but she beats them up and gets away.

The thugs take Ji Heon as someone she knows and exact their vengeance, which sets off a chain of events ending in Daddy Cha facing public humiliation and community service. Ji Heon vows revenge for both counts and loses his secretary in the process. His cousin and rival, Moo Won, played by Kim Jae Joong of JYJ fame, is put in charge of hiring Ji Heon's new secretary and because of her spunk, Eun Sol gets the job.

The first few episodes, Ji Heon drove me crazy, but as the story progressed, his back story of why he's so irresponsible is revealed and his chaebol attitude I could understand more. Plus, he fell in love with Eun Sol, so his attempts to win her heart (and keep her away from his cousin), while growing up in the process, made this drama a delight by the end. And about 25 dramas later, it still remains one of my favorites.

I moved on to other dramas. Some I liked - Pasta and Full House - and some I did not - like You're Beautiful and Flower Boy Raymen Shop. (Don't hate me if you like them. A lot of people do. There's just something about the main couple in each that really bugs me, character quirks that just rub me raw, and I was really mad that the second lead didn't get the girl.) But then I decided to watch Boys Over Flowers. And because I didn't have anything pressing to do, I basically watched it straight through one weekend without stopping. I did sleep and eat, I guess, but it was a k-drama marathon of the first magnitude. And so my 'addiction' to k-dramas was born.

Boys Over Flowers still remains one of my favorites, even if it could have been better. I don't think I've watched one that I've gotten quite so emotionally invested in - until my current drama, Gu Family Book. And that's what brings me up to today. At some point, I started summarizing the action for myself, and then I moved onto recapping. And since I like to write, I thought I would share my recaps with all of you.

I hope you enjoy my 'work' - I honestly find I really enjoy watching expressions, catching dialogue, and analyzing the action. I'm not so fluent in Korean yet to do it without the subs, but one of these days, that's gonna change. Still figuring out an easier way of screen capping things I watch on Hulu, so those for now are images may be from scouring the net.

Originally, I didn't want to start a series without being able to see the entire thing all the way through, since I find the cliff hangers at the end of the episodes quite addicting! But, recently, I've decided to venture into currently airing series. I saw a preview for The Good Doctor with Joo Won as the title character, an autistic savant studying to be a surgeon, and I'm really eager to watch it! It could be a downer, but judging from the preview, I think it's going for uplifting instead.

So, we're off on an adventure. Fighting!