Adventures in Asia

Do I have time to watch a Korean drama? No. Do I have slightly more time recently than usual? Yes. Was this one worth it? YES. I had a few reservations about “I Am Not a Robot” (2017) at the beginning. First, I wasn’t a fan of the shorter episodes (30 minutes each) and didn’t recognize the channel, and thus thought it might be a cable show – which didn’t seem promising. Second, it was clearly a rich-guy-falls-for-poor-girl story, which is a bland trope in dramaland. However, it was recommended as “cute” by a friend and ranked highly online, so I decided to give it a shot. I quickly discovered that though the episodes are shorter, there are 32 of them, which allows for 16 hours of drama, which is a normal season. Also, the acting was excellent and overall quality of the drama certainly wasn’t lacking. As for the trope, I’ll dive in to that later. The story is something like this… Kim Min Kyu is a wealthy, successful chairman of a financial company with ...

Ah, I haven’t reviewed a Korean drama in ages! It’s good to be back to watching the best genre of TV in the world. I’ve been sick recently, so I’ve had plenty of time to watch, and chose the well-reviewed “Moonlight Drawn by Clouds,” also translated “Love in the Moonlight.” “Moonlight” is a historical drama set in the Joseon era, in which a girl disguised as a man is recruited as a eunuch in the palace, the Crown Prince hopes to teach his little sister’s secret admirer a lesson, and the King is constantly manipulated by the sly nobles of the court. The Prince’s only friend is his cool, butt-kicking bodyguard, though he quickly becomes entangled with his new “eunuch.” The grandson of the most conniving noble family also finds himself attracted to the effeminate eunuch, who only has eyes for the Prince. And behind it all is a foggy back-story of a failed rebellion. This drama aired in 2016 and has eighteen episodes, plus a nineteenth behind-the-scenes-and-highlights episode....

Wow! Hard to believe it’s the ONE YEAR anniversary of me posting my random thoughts about Korean TV and living life in Asia on this blog! I was to say a huge THANK YOU for taking the time to read my sporadic posts! In celebration of One Year, let’s play a game: Name That Korean Celebrity! Below are some of the famous faces I see on a regular basis while I’m picking up groceries, eating out or shopping. Can you identify them?? (See answers at the end of the post.) 1. Some dastardly handsome cardboard cutouts at KFC, who happen to have magical powers. 2. You know you want this adorable stuffed animal from Caffee Bene. 3. Nothing like a Chinese Pizza Hut. 4. Happy Lunar New Year! 5. Stylin' with some potato chips! 6. Chocolate... Ooh ooh... 7. More chips! This time, tomato flavor! 8. I scream, you scream, we all scream for Oppa! 9. I'm starting to see a chip trend here... ...

“My Lovable Girl,” “My Lovely Girl,” “She’s So Lovable,” “You Are Cute for Me”… Whatever this drama is called. Rain’s new drama. That one. Yeah, I watched it. For the noobs that may be reading this, I’ll give a brief explanation on Rain. Rain is pretty much the first South Korean actor/singer to gain huge international success. He debuted in the kpop world in 2002, and since then has used his stage name Rain as a pun in as many album/song titles as possible. His most famous music video has got to be “Love Song,” which involved him body rolling shirtless. The album, Rainism, was deemed inappropriate for listeners under the age of 19 for being so shmexy. The term “chocolate abs” became rabid among kpop fans around this time. Rain has released a lot of music and done multiple dramas and movies, but the only other Rain drama I’ve seen is “Full House” (2004), which I unfortunately decided to marathon when I was sick last spring. Unless you actually like soap operas, I don’t recomm...

My glorious return to romantic comedy kdrama was rather anticlimactic with the oh-so-predictable “ Flower Boy Ramyun Shop ,” so for my next drama I watched cop show / romance “Who Are You” (2013). Plus, one of the leads is 2PM’s Taecyeon, whom I hadn’t seen since his singing and dancing days in “Dream High.” Good to see you again, T! “Who are you?” Police officer Yang Si Ohn wakes up after a six-year coma with no memories of the day she fell unconscious. Assigned to the Lost and Found Unit, she starts working with T, er, Cha Gun Woo. Since waking up, she as the ability to see ghosts, conveniently of people who’ve been murdered, which results in her solving closed cases. But the ultimate mystery still looms: What happened that day six years ago? Who is the handsome spirit with sad eyes who occasionally appears? This drama is a brilliant combination of mystery, suspense, action and romance, with a side of ghostly heebie-jeebies. The plot was downright delightful (especially ...

I enjoyed Lee Seung Gi’s performance in “You’re All Surrounded” so much I looked into another of his dramas, “King 2 Hearts,” and when I learned the lead actress was Ha Ji Won (Gil Ra Im from one of my all-time favorites, “Secret Garden”) I was sold. And the cast did not disappoint. “King 2 Hearts” is set in a world where the nation of South Korea has a constitutional monarchy form of government. From the get go, the stage is set for conflict when North Korea and South Korea attempt to join a global military competition as one team. To complicate things further, the King tricks his little brother, the slacking and arrogant Crown Prince, into joining up as a Southern representative. The team leader for the South side is the head of Royal Security, Eun Shi Kyung. The team leader for the North side is beautiful Special Forces officer Kim Hang Ah. Naturally, a romance buds between the snotty Prince and the kick-butt Northerner. The villain of the show is Kim Bon...

Oh, would you look at that, another amazing Korean drama that aired in 2011! My housemates and I just finished watching “Lie to Me,” directed by Kwon Hyuk Chan (who also directed “Secret Garden”) and starring Yoon Eun Hye (of “Coffee Prince”) and Kang Ji Hwan (of the tragic “Hong Gil Dong,” which I’ve been advised to never watch). Basic premise: a white lie hits gossip central, and after a series of ridiculous and hilarious events it becomes mutually beneficial for two strangers to pretend they’re married. The fake bride is Gong Ah Jung, hardworking yet hot mess civil servant (meaning she works for the government). The fake groom is Hyun Ki Joon, perfectionist and wealthy hotel heir/owner (I mean, what kdrama male lead isn’t?). Side characters include Hyun Ki Joon’s adorable little brother and classy former fiancé, and Gong Ah Jung’s first love and vicious frenemy. “Lie to Me” starts as a romantic comedy and develops into a full-fledged romance. Midway thr...