We genuinely enjoyed all three dramas that we selected for springtime first impressions this week.
Digressions:
1:05 - "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" Part 2
1:39 - "The Umbrella Academy"
3:21 - "Love, Death & Robots"
8:36 - "Doctor Prisoner" (닥터 프리즈너) is a KBS medical (?) drama, starring Nam GoongMin, Kim ByungChul, Kwon NaRa and Choi WonYoung. The term that comes most to mind about this show is "overwrought". The ER doctor/oncologist/neurosurgeon/OBGYN played by Nam GoongMin is so very good! The rich, illegitimate, drug-using douchebag played by Choi WonYoung is so very bad! In spite of all this, we genuinely enjoyed the cheesiness. Too bad you can't watch the rest of it for 300-something days if you don't feel like paying for Viki Pass Plus.
27:02 - "My Fellow Citizens!" (국민여러분!) is a lighthearted KBS2 drama starring Choi SiWon, Lee YooYoung and Kim MinJung. It's refreshing to see a story about a married couple who have drifted apart and will have to find their way back to each other. The con artist husband versus detective wife conflict somehow elevates the whole thing to a new level of fun!
45:45 - We selected "Possessed" (빙의) on a pure whim, to be honest. It's an OCN drama starring Go JoonHee and Song SaeByeok as an unlikely team who uses psychic abilities to catch a serial killer. Despite its very meh show premise, the excellent writing and production values make it definitely worth checking out.
Next week, we are doing second impressions for the following four dramas: "Radiant" (눈이 부시게), "Touch Your Heart" (진심이 닿다), "My Fellow Citizens!" and "Possessed". Which will be our final pick for spring 2019?
Audio credits:
Jeff Russo - "The Umbrella Academy" – “The Umbrella Academy”
Woo HyeMi & Innovator – “Doctor Prisoner” – “Fearless”
Hyungdon & Daejune (형돈이와 대준이) - "My Fellow Citizens!" - Yadannatdaya (야단났다야)
Please send any questions, comments or suggestions on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@kdramamyeyesout) or e-mail us (kdramamyeyesout(at)gmail.com).
Download this and other episodes and while you're there, write us a review:
The KDMEO theme music is 'Cute', by Bensound (www.bensound.com), and is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No-Derivatives 4.0 International.
Springtime First Impressions continue! This week's theme is "flummoxed".
4:53 - The second season of "Go Go Waikiki" (aka "Welcome to Waikiki" aka 으라차차 와이키키) starts off as a major disappointment. We wish JTBC had given up on the whole enterprise when they realized that they had only Lee YiKyung to work with. Believe us when we say that we really liked his character in the first season, but he has completely crossed over the line into caricature territory.
19:56 - "The Fiery Priest" (열혈사제) is an SBS drama about a priest, a prosecutor and a detective forming a team to bring down corruption in their city. It stars Kim NamGil, Honey Lee and Kim SungKyun. It was difficult to pay attention to the corruption plot when characters are eating black bean noodles (jajangmyun, 짜장면) every other scene.
32:57 - "The Item" was an unexpected delight from MBC, starring Joo JiHoon, Jin SeYeon and Kim KangWoo. There was definitely enough tension and mystery to keep our interest, but more importantly, we want to recommend this to you based on our theory that the main villain is a secret vampire.
Next week, we're checking out "Possessed" (빙의), "Doctor Prisoner" (닥터 프리즈너) and "My Fellow Citizens!" (국민 여러분!).
Audio credits:
Cage the Elephant – “Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked”
Please send any questions, comments or suggestions on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@kdramamyeyesout) or e-mail us (kdramamyeyesout(at)gmail.com).
Download this and other episodes and while you're there, write us a review:
The “Judy reads a Viki summary” music is ‘Funkysuspense’, by Bensound (www.bensound.com), and is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No-Derivatives 4.0 International.
The KDMEO theme music is 'Cute', by Bensound (www.bensound.com), and is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No-Derivatives 4.0 International.
Springtime First Impressions continue! Horsey air kiss!
Digressions:
1:15 - "Fargo", the 2014 TV series
3:42 - "Turn: Washington's Spies"
6:44 - "Borderlands 3" news! Hype hype hype!
Some Korean terms:
다모: [da-mo] female investigator in ancient Korea; literally "tea lady". One theory of the title's etymology is that these investigators may have been recruited from tea rooms in Koryo dynasty as spies.
해치: [hae-chi] also known as "haetae" (해태); an East Asian mythological animal that was said to be able to look into one's heart and know of evil doings. For a minor infraction, it would butt you with its horns, but for an unforgivable sin, it would eat you whole.
9:40 - "He is Psychometric" (사이코메트리 그녀석) is a TVN drama starring Park JinYoung (from GOT7), Shin YeEun and Kim Kwon. We were hoping for crime solving, not high school drama shenanigans. Some of the characters were strangely callous about the fact that they were dealing with murder victims. The police officers continue to be predictably terrible at their jobs.
24:44 - "Radiant" (눈이 부시게) is a relatable drama from JTBC. It stars Kim HyeJa, Han JiMin and Nam JooHyuk. Han JiMin plays a sadsack character who has realized that she won't be able to achieve her dream of becoming an announcer, but is too afraid to abandon it. Nam JooHyuk is so much better at playing a down-to-earth character (see: Joonhyung from "Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo) than a standoffish jerk (see: Habaek from "Bride of the Water God").
38:10 - "Haechi" (해치) is a historical drama based around the succession struggles of King Yeongjo, who ruled Joseon from 1724 to 1776. This SBS drama stars Jung IlWoo, Go ARa, Kwon Yul and Park Hoon, who portray an unlikely group of people who will fight corruption and help Prince YeonIng ascend the throne. As with any historical drama based on actual people, Judy fell into a Wikipedia hole.
Next week, we're talking about "The Item" (아이템), "Go Go Waikiki" (으라차차 와이키키) season 2, and "The Fiery Priest" (열혈사제)!
Audio credits:
Jeff Russo – “Fargo” (2014) – “Main Theme”
Joy Williams, Matt Berninger and Charlie Peacock –“ Turn: Washington’s Spies” – “Hush”
GRiZ (ft. Tash Neal of The London Souls) – “Can’t Hold Me Down”
Kim HyungSuk – “Radiant” – “Be Dazzling
Please send any questions, comments or suggestions on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@kdramamyeyesout) or e-mail us (kdramamyeyesout(at)gmail.com).
Download this and other episodes and while you're there, write us a review:
The KDMEO theme music is 'Cute', by Bensound (www.bensound.com), and is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No-Derivatives 4.0 International.
It's time to check out the kdrama selection of spring 2019!
Digressions:
1:34 - "The Girl on the Train"
2:04 - "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back" at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra
4:49 - First up is "Legal High" (리갈하이) from JTBC. It's a comedy (?) starring Jin Goo and Seo EunSoo as two lawyers who are conplete opposites, but must work together to win cases. Jin Goo plays a smarmy golddigger, who is completely different from his beloved character from "Descendants of the Sun".
20:45 - "Romance is a Bonus Book" (로맨스는 별책부록) is from TVN, starring Lee NaYoung and Lee JongSuk. Lee NaYoung gave us all of the feels as a dejected woman at the end of her rope, and Lee JongSuk plays her old childhood friend who's been repressing his feelings for her. Trust us when we say that it's way better than the sparse description available on Netflix. Screw Cinderella!
41:49 - Fans of "Goblin" were looking forward to Yoo InNa and Lee DongWook's reunion in "Touch Your Heart" (진심이 닿다), another TVN drama. Judy was suspicious that this was a money grab using the two actors' popularity, but was pleasantly surprised by the humour and the cast of secondary characters.
Next week, we'll be talking about "He Is Psychometric" (사이코메트리 그 녀석), "Radiant" (눈이 부시게) and "Haechi" (해치).
Audio credits:
John Williams – “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back” – “The Rebel Fleet/End Title (Medley)”
Please send any questions, comments or suggestions on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@kdramamyeyesout) or e-mail us (kdramamyeyesout(at)gmail.com).
Download this and other episodes and while you're there, write us a review:
The KDMEO theme music is 'Cute', by Bensound (www.bensound.com), and is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No-Derivatives 4.0 International.