All-Time Favorite Korean Drama List

Annyeong Haseyo!!

From the greeting above, you already know what to expect from this blog entry. *fan girl wave* I've been wanting to write about my favorite Korean drama series and movies but I couldn't squeeze in a lengthy review. You know, I wanted to write soooo much about it so I need hours to do this! LET'S GO, LET'S GET IT ON! AJA AJA, FIGHTING! *eyes on my co-fan girls*

Being a fan girl of Korean drama series and movies didn't began just like that. Way back the late 90's when the gorgeous men of F4 or better known as the Meteor Garden (Taiwan) hailed the national television here in the Philippines, almost every household couldn't resist the asian telenovela craze. Wuhoo! I was in highschool back then when the Asianovela Craze started. From there, other Asian countries shared their home-grown talents in other neighboring countries, especially to the Philippines.

This entry post may include drama series from other countries that left a strong impact in my heart. Heart talaga? Haha! And definitely, no particular order. I will be posting a review for each or probably things that I can remember about the series. Some dramas were watched like a long time ago so my memory will not be as good anymore but I will do my best to do a writeup that would give justice to the films. Haha! Comments, suggestions and violent reactions are always welcome.

First on my list would be the Korean Drama that made me laugh, smile and cry countless times. Can you tell me which Korean series is the picture from? Wee.

FULL HOUSE (2004)

Rain and Song Hye Kyo really touched the heart of so many with this masterpiece. It's a cat and dog film who always ends up fighting, arguing and hurting each other's feelings but behind those petty fights is an in denial love waiting to be uncovered. Full House will be a forever favorite. I even watched this more than three times and still, it didn't fail to make me laugh. Good times, indeed! This was first aired in the Philippines by the GMA Network, and years later they made a Philippine version of this. Pretty good but still, nothing beats the original.

The OST of Full House was also amazing. Until now, I've been keeping them in my playlist in my music player and phone. It always reminds me the wonderful storyline of the series.
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GU FAMILY BOOK / LOVE STORY OF KANG CHI (2013) - NEW!!! JUST IN!

See full review here: http://chocolatestardust.blogspot.com/2013/08/k-drama-gu-family-book-love-story-of.html


PRINCESS HOURS / GOONG (2006)

 








The epitome of beauty and being handsome during those days was the Prince and Princesses of the Princess Hours. Admit it, you wanted to have that life sized bear that Ju Ji-Hoon gave to Yoon Eun-Hye. Eun-Hye played the role of an ordinary girl who became a princess. The story of the Princess Hours won't break your heart until the 14th or 16th episode, so prepare yourself for a good laugh in the early to the not-so-later episodes. You will fall in love with the characters over and over again and somewhere in the middle, you will wish you were Shin Chae-kyeong. Haha! I can still remember back in college when me and my classmates discuss the episodes during class, fan girls!! :)

Same with Full House, Princess Hours do have a beautiful soundtrack. Super love!! Enjoy!
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YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL (2009)

Honestly, I couldn't even remember how many times I've seen this drama. You're Beautiful is generally beautiful. The casts, their on-screen characters, the story -- everything! It is just so perfect. At first, I was really hesitant to watch this maybe because Jang Geun Suk looked gay or some sort of whatever but when I have survived half of the first episode, I just couldn't help it, I think I have finished it in one day. OMG. The boyband AN.Jell was a phenomenal band, the story actually revolved around them. Well, your eyes are on feast while watching this. A lot of the scenes will make you laugh, fall in love and would break your heart. Every episode is worth watching.

This is definitely one of my favorite dramas of all time! 
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ROOFTOP PRINCE (2011)

I have posted a full page review on this, so that only means it really has a great impact on me. You can read it here: Rooftop Prince Review

The happy scenes are just irresistible. From the bodyguards to the love team, it was full of passion, love and excitement. Nonetheless, I enjoyed watching it and I hope you would too if you haven't seen it yet. I can guarantee that after watching the whole series, you would feel like watching it all over again (like I did).

Well, Rooftop Prince is definitely a must-see Korean Drama!!

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COFFEE PRINCE (2007)

Another Yoon Eun-Hye series. What is not to love about her? This is actually the first series that I saw her with that short hair. I laughed a lot and cried a little. Coffee Prince was sort of a feel-good drama for everyone to see. It's light yet brings out the strong character of each cast. By just looking at it, if you haven't still watched it, you will be thinking that it is an another-gay-flick, but no, there's more to it than meets the eye! Another thing is Gong Yoo is love. Need I say more?
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SECRET GARDEN

Hyun Bin and Ha Ji Won gave me sleepless nights for this! At first, it was a bit confusing but as the story went on, a special love was seen throughout. I laughed, cried and got eye bags too. I supeeer love the twists and everything about their love. Such a beautiful love story! Must watch! :)

 


PERSONAL TASTE/PERFECT MATCH

Cheers for the brilliant actor named Lee Min Ho. I can't deny it, I'm a major fan. Hehe! Btw, I have watched almost all of his series/movies except for Faith. Anyway, this is yet another masterpiece. Personal Taste (Korean Title) is sweet, undeniably charming and packed with surprises. I love the transition! I love the roles of the characters, Lee Min Ho being an Architect (and a trying hard gay) and Son Ye Jin as a furniture maker. I love series which is related to the arts and crafts. Although there are parts of the story that is a bit too slow, well, that's pretty normal for a Korean drama. Overall, both actors were pleasing to the eyes, no dull moments!

The OSTs are to love as well :)
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BOYS OVER FLOWERS (2009)

Look at that photo!! Can you imagine other guys portraying their roles? Me, no.

Generally, Boys Over Flowers made me crazy although I've seen Hana Yori Dango and Meteor Garden before, still, BOF got me hooked up and made me suffer with those sleepless nights. Haha. Some parts may come so dragging and full of angst but the Jan Di and the guys are too charming to hate. It's a Korean Drama with lesser evil. The OST, story, actors and everything in between made me love this series to bits.

PLAYFUL KISS (2010)

See review here, newly posted: PLAYFUL KISS REVIEW
How I love Kim Hyun Joong and Jung So Min!

CORNER WITH LOVE (2007)

Sorry, this isn't a Korean drama rather it's a Taiwanese series set in Shanghai. I had really no plans of watching this before but out of boredom, I did. Well, I'm just happy I got bored because I was able to see a funny drama with lots of twists. Show Lou and Barbie Hsu (San Chai in Meteor Garden) starred in this romantic comedy. The usual, Barbie was rich and Show was poor. The love didn't develop that fast, it was slowly but surely (as they say) but despite the slow transition of the story, the love was worth it. Corner with Love was hilarious, weird yet lovable and nonetheless, worth watching.
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This quote was stuck in my brain until now: If something doesn't belong to you, you won't be happy even if you get it. - Grandma

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Obviously, I'm into Romantic Comedies. Haha! 
Happy watching What do you think? :) Thanks for dropping by!!


Anyway, here's more:
I just don't have the luxury of time to write a detailed review for each, but will do, soon!

Korean Drama:
To The Beautiful You
Save the Last Dance for Me
My Girl
Love Rain
Mary Stayed out All Night
Spring Waltz
Sweet 18
*still thinking*

Taiwan Drama:
Fated to Love You
Devil Beside You
 ISWAK

Japanese Drama:
One Litre of Tears (literally!!!)
Hana Yori Dango
Hanazakari Kimitachii

Again, thank you for dropping by!!

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Movie Review | Warm Bodies

At first, I was really hesitant to watch this movie thinking that it would creep me out, since I hate horror flicks. But when my boyfriend told me that it's quite intriguing as seen on the trailer and also when a good friend of mine said that it was full of humor, it actually changed my mind. And who would thought that I would line up in the ticket booth just to get us some tickets! Nahhh :)


I will try my best to give a decent review on this movie since all I can remember are the cheesy lines being thrown by the characters. Haha.

On the Characters:

To start it off, I love R and Julie. They are the main characters of the story. R who doesn't remember his name preferred being called R and Julie on the normal side of life, is named as that, yes, Julie. Both of them are strangers. R is a corpse (again, yes, a corpse) being caged on the other side of the world by a humungous wall built by Julie's dad to separate the contamination, infection and all the negativity corpses give to the human kind. Julie is a ghost buster type of girl. She wanted to go beyond her limits and loves to use guns to protect their man kind from the people/corpses like R. Well, she's strong, determined, killer-of-corpses by heart but affectionate. Awww. While R got no emotions, lifeless in general and doesn't even know why he's there. I mean, of course, he's a corpse for God's sake!

Story:

I'm not really sure about the history why corpses were there. I just heard in the movie about the Apocalypse. Maybe because they were contaminated by some radioactive that caused them to be that way. I don't know. Sorry! Anyway, when Julie together with her boyfriend and friends went to the other world (where R lives), they were attacked by corpses (there was R, too). While Julie's group exchanged bullets with some kind of chemicals in it, the corpse on the other hand played it brutally fair, they eat brains. Sadly, R ate the brain of Julie's boyfriend. However, R's soft side was brought about when he saw Julie for the first time -- Love at first sight, indeed. When other corpses smelled that there was a human being left in the laboratory, they sniffed (like a dog) until R saved Julie. He dragged Julie along with her and kept her safe. Sweeeeet! Warm Bodies was as sweet as candy and as mushy as marshmallows!!

R tagged Julie to his home, in an airplane. By the way, he lives in an airport together with hundreds of corpses and bonies/eys (spell check, please). R was uneasy and so as Julie. Imagine yourself with a corpse, isn't it creepy? VERY!

There are a lot of u-turns in the story that would make you sigh and wonder but all those will be covered up by the unique love story shared by both characters who were deeply in love but bounded by a huge wall both physically, mentally and emotionally.

*no more spoilers* I want YOU to watch it. Hihi.

Conclusion:


This is by far the loveliest film I saw this 2013 apart from the Twilight. I love every second of the movie, Warm Bodies. It really made a connection to the viewers. It may not be your typical Romeo and Juliet flick, but it will surely melt your hearts. It is indeed a perfect Valentine movie for couples, family, friends and even singles. I just couldn't imagine how R would survive that kind of life without Julie. *insert song* By the way, they also got great soundtracks!!! :)

Just what I have posted in my Twitter account after seeing it, Warm bodies was sweet and charming. It doesn't sell cheap laughs! Unexpectedly funny and exciting all throughout. Zombies fall in love too!

Some lines:

"R: What am I doing with my life? I'm so pale. I should get out more. I should eat better. My posture's horrible. I should stand up straighter. People would respect me more if I stood up straighter."

"R: I wish I could introduce myself but I don't remember my name anymore. I mean, think it started with an R but that's all I have left. I can't remember my name or my parents or my job. Although my hoodie would suggest I was unemployed. Sometimes I look at the others and try to imagine what they were. You were a janitor. You were the rich son of a corporate CEO. You were a personal trainer and now you're a corpse. I have a hard time piecing together how this whole apocalypse thing happened. Could have been chemical warfare, or airborne virus or a radioactive outbreak monkey but it doesn't matter. This is what we are now."

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I rate it 9 out of 10. Isn't it too close to perfect? Well, it is!

Have you seen it? Tell me what you think!!! :)

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Movie Review | When a Wolf Falls in Love with a Sheep

To make things clear, I really don't know the right title. Haha. I just copied it from the site where I watched it. Ehem. Anyway, here goes:

Genre: Romance, Comedy (slight)
Origin: Taiwan
Run time: 1 hour 26 mins
Actors: Guo Shu Yao, Ke Zhen Dong
Director: Chi-Jan Ho

The attack of the story was somewhat different. It was a very slow-moving type of film wherein you get into the details of each character one by one, very slow. It even made me skipped some parts because I find it too boring and slow. There were also parts that made me think, "Do they really have to include this/that?" It does't have any connection to what's happening. Okay, there are a lot of things going on that turning it off came into me at some point of the movie. But I didn't because at the back of my head, something is telling me, BUT WAIT, there could be more about When a Wolf Falls in Love with Sheep :)

True, even though the turn of events was as slow as turtle, it still has this great impact on me.

Synopsis:

It all started when a young boy was discreetly left by his girlfriend. The girlfriend left him a note: "off to cram school." After that, he haven't seen her again.

Days after, he left his home and decided to follow her at the cram school at Nanyang Street. It is where the story revolves. He got a job at a photocopying station/detective office. From there, he started to look for his girlfriend. During the search, he met a lot and encountered different life-changing events. My favorite parts were meeting the priest at a noodle shop and the search for Champion, the dog. But the highlight was meeting Ying. Ying was a proctor during examinations at Cram School. She run errands for the school which includes the photocopying of the exam tests. But what made her unique is that she draws a cute cartoony sheep below the test paper. Sadly, nobody notices it until Mr. Broken hearted, the photocopy guy drew a wolf and noted that she's not alone in the farm. Aww, that is when the story of When a Wolf Falls in Love with a Sheep all began :)

Go ahead and feed your curiosity! Haha.

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The movie, When a Wolf Falls in Love with a Sheep was beautiful. It is charming and heart warming. For cry babies, prepare. Hihi. It tells us that when somebody abandons us, there's always a reason behind it and that we have to accept it. Who knows, they are happier now? It may be difficult but one way or another, it will happen at the right time and at the right place. Like in Ying's story, she waited patiently and when it's time to finally let go both the good and bad memories of the past, she had no regrets because she went through the real process of moving on. No fast forwards and no trying hard moments. She fully accepted it and didn't look back. Instead, she faced it with a stronger heart and a tougher self. Ying helped Mr. Lonely guy to accept change and eventually, he also did. It was really an inspiring movie. A movie that would teach you that moving on from a broken heart may not be that difficult after all. It may take some time, but in the end, all the pain that you went through every single day will be worth it. 

I rate it 4 out of 5 stars! :)

 

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