SeoulFire

I’m just going to jump right into it. I feel like I’ve built up the momentum for it in the last two posts and it’s just not right. It’s the equivalent of a show’s cliff-hanging season finale or Ryan Seacrest going to a commercial break 20,000 times before announcing the winner of American Idol. So here it is: “OF THE ASIAN PERSUASION” Number Four!!

1. BAD FAMILY: I finished this show in three days!! That’s a record for me! Especially with my sorta-kinda busy schedule. I must
   

   This...

   admit that I have felt a sizable hole in American television since Fox pulled a rather heinous “My So-Called Life” move and cancelled “Arrested Development”. I have been itching for another dysfunctional family…..besides my own. While it is missing some of the brilliant writing we found in “Arrested Development” (which is hard to find anyway) it is still extremely clever and entertaining on so many levels. A well produced show with complex characters, actors with

   

   plus this....

   great comedic timing, and great writing. You know you’ve got a winner when you take the dysfunction found in “Arrested Development” and mix in the heart found in a episode-ending sentimental moment shared between Danny and Michelle Tanner on “Full House”. Complete with the warm, acoustic guitar playing in the background.  

...equals that aka Bad Family

    2.  Winter Sonata: If you know anything about Korean dramas then you know “Winter Sonata”. You basically HAVE to know about Winter Sonata but for good reason. It’s a well known fact that it practically started this whole ”Hallyu” trend. Everything that a Korean drama should be “Winter Sonata” is: Great production, great actors, great script, a lot of crying, and that one song they play over and over again to the point that you start humming it yourself (“My memory……”). That being said can we just take a moment to recognize Korean actors and their sheer dominance of the single tear? They should have a category at all of their award ceremonies just for this talent.

    3. The First Shop of Coffee Prince: Let me just start off with saying that the lead actor, Gong Yoo, is the cutest actor I have ever seen in a

So Cute!!

drama. He took his character, Choi Han Kyul, to a place where the writers didn’t even think it could go. He was cute at every turn even when he was supposed to be a jerk. I appreciate the show as a whole just because it was more adult themed as opposed to most Korean dramas where a very chaste picture is drawn of relationships. There’s nothing wrong with that but when you’re dealing with two young adults in a serious relationship is it realistic to portray them as a couple that simply kisses and gets excited when they hold hands? The show was hyped up before it came on air because the lead actress hit it big with

Me watching Coffee Prince

another show called “Goong” aka “Princess Hours” (More on that in another post) but “Coffee Prince” stands on it’s own as a great show without having to rely on one particular actor and that’s pretty exciting. Not only was Gong Yoo great but the other actors were honest with their characters and the most important aspect of all of the characters was their vulnerability that only showed through the honesty each actor put to their character. While you may not think the actors’ honesty would be important you have to consider that in many ways this “As You Like It”  slightly fraternal twin has a tendency to be ridiculous but that honesty makes it believable. Which I appreciate because there were many times I had to remind myself to breathe while watching and I would hate to know I had that reaction over something that was through and through ridiculous.  

    4. Que Sera Sera: I list this one but I have to say I was a bit biased before I even started watching it for many reasons so there was a good chance I was going to like this one even it sucked. First, the guy that produced My Lovely Kim Sam Soon produced this. Second, Eric is the male lead in the show. Who is Eric? Well, Eric is a member of the longest running boyband, Shinhwa, but now he mostly does acting. I’ve been a fan of him since the hilarious ”Super Rookie” (More on that in a later post). While a singer turned actor may sound scary he is actually pretty great. Plus…….he’s freakin cute!!! And lastly, it’s got a more mature theme to it which, as you can tell from the last title, I LOVE!! I think this is a perfect example of why I love Korean dramas so much. They are influenced so much by ”Pride and Prejudice” and reminds us at their allotted times that you cannot judge a book by it’s cover. If you do, your inner Elizabeth Bennet could miss out on your Mr. Darcy. I must warn you that it can be absolutely heartbreaking for the majority of the show. But between the tears, happiness, regret, jealousy, true love, true hate, breakups, breakdowns, and the stubborn parents to make things more difficult you can’t help but have a good time watching this. Plus the clothes they wear is completely on point. I’m sorry I had to say that……afterall I am still a girl. What girl doesn’t notice great style? 

So great!!

totally worth it. “Meteor Garden” is a modern classic as far as Asian dramas are concerned and sometimes you just have to take time to appreciate the classics. This came out in 2001 but it feels just as fresh today as it might have felt when it first came out. Honestly, I’m actually surprised that I loved it as much as I did. It has all the characteristics of a show I would try to get away from as soon as possible: bad acting, inconsistent couples, over-the-top characters, ridiculous plots, and rather frustrating storylines that keep the main couple in an on/off relationship until the very end. While all of these factors should have had me running back to my beloved Korean dramas they became the reasons I stuck around. I constantly found myself wanting to know what would happen next. This was even after I took a break from the show for a few days due to the annoyance I felt from Shancai’s (the lead female character) constant indecision and Dao Ming Si’s (the lead male character) over-the-top temper. I recovered quickly though. It’s popularity is on par with High School Musical. And just like High School Musical the studios milk it for all its worth. As it usually goes studios are still trying to copy the success of this show by doing remakes. And I love it!!!

Hana Yori Dango....Here we come!!

Previous Post Update: I FINISHED FULL HOUSE!!!! It was REALLY good. I can see why so many people loved it. The main actor is Bi (Rain). He’s huge. I mean, H-U-G-E. Not as in his size (trust me, no one could have a problem with his size. It’s hard to have a problem with size perfect. Haha. Yeah that was pretty bad. Sorry. But he is pretty hot.) but the sheer popularity of this guy is ridiculous. He’s basically the Korean Justin Timberlake. He was actually one of the performers at the closing ceremony for the Olympics this year and it was kind of a big deal. He’s trying to bring his popularity over here but not much luck yet. I guess time will tell. Although if everyone saw how truly adorable he was on this show he wouldn’t be having nearly as hard of a time. I love that he was able to be adorable while playing a spoiled actor with a bad temper. That’s gotta be hard. Major snaps for Bi!!! Although if he takes another supporting role in movies like Speed Racer again…….well we can only help him so much.

Unfortunately, it is not time for another issue of “Of the Asian Persuasion” (although it’s coming soon) but instead I thought I’d do an honorable mention. I have been watching this show religiously for the past few weeks and I just had to say something about it. There is this show called “We Got Married” and it’s what they call a variety show. Basically they pair up slightly famous people, get them “married”, then once a week each couple lives in their respective homes as a “married” couple as cameras watch them, and then at the end of the week all of the couples come to the studio and watch the edited footage together. Yeah. It’s pretty ridiculous but great all at the same time. Each couple is supposed to represent different types of couples in Korea.

The Couples (Left to Right): Crown J & Seo In Young; Alex & Sinae; Lee Hwi Jae & Jo Yeo Jeong; Solbi & Andy; Hwangbo & Kim Hyun Joong

Every week these couples get a new mission that they have to complete. It will all end with each couple having to decide if they would like to stay together or get a divorce. There are actually 5 hosts of the show that make little funny comments about the videos from the week. Three of the hosts do most of the talking then the other two hosts are two married men: one has been married for a long time and the other has been married a short period of time. They basically tape the couples Real World style except the cast is smaller, there’s not nearly as much alcohol present, and the people are funny in a ”hey-I-can-relate-to-that!!” way other than a “that’s-so-sad-and-pathetic-that-I can’t-help-but-laugh-because-you-make-me-feel-better-about-myself” way. So technically this is a Reality/Variety show. Which is a weird combination. It’s like taking “The Newlywed Game” contestants and taping a “day in the life of…..” of each contestant. That WOULD be fun though.

Crown J & Seo In Young aka The Fiery Couple: This is actually my favorite couple.

"A"!!!

 She complains, he plugs every project he’s involved in, she calls her shoes her “babies”, he freaks out if his clothes get wrinkled or his his shoes get scuffed, she whines, they find things to argue about, she’s a brat, and he does everything she tells him to do. Now I know they sound like the most annoying couple EVER and they are. But somehow together they make it work. If you watch the show from the beginning you’ll see them go from two selfish people to two people who are still selfish but display a shared give and take in the “relationship”. You have to remember that they are still entertainers and they want to keep a job so they make sure to live up to their couple type. I’m especially reminded when he does his trademark “A”!! He does it constantly!!! And she joins in!!!  They probably play it up a little but who cares??!!!! Underneath it all they seem like they genuinely like each. Do they like each other enough to keep the “marriage” going after the show? I doubt it. But you never know. If the US decided to do an American version of this show they would probably be someone like New York (Flavor of Love, I Love New York) and maybe one of her bachelor rejects from ONE of her shows. Except Crown J is not nearly as pathetic as most of them.

Alex & Sinae aka The Romantic Couple: You know the saying “Keeping up with the Joneses”? If they were a real couple, they would be the Joneses. She’s soft spoken and gorgeous while he’s sensitive and dreamy. God forbid they actually had children!! We would all be blinded by their beauty. It’s really unfair that the show has to tease us with this couple actually : ) In many ways they’re like Lois and Clark. She is always causing some kind of mischief and he always comes up some uber-romantic gesture that is almost always genius.

American Sinae?!!!

I have a hard time believing the heights he goes to impress her and even she has said that everything he does makes everything she does seem inadequate. Which sounds bad in a way but he only wants her to feel comfortable with him by being herself all the time and the more she opens up the happier he is. How much does it suck to have to watch that every week?! I guarantee anyone who watches this show with their spouse has turned to them at least once and screamed, “Why can’t you do that?! Alex did it and he’s not even in a real relationship!!!” I love this couple but they lose cool points with me because I find myself getting a little jealous when I watch them. Which I know is ridiculous but can you blame me?! Alex SINGS to her for heaven’s sake. And he’s REALLY good. REALLY GOOD. I guess he has to though since it’s his job. While it’s hard to watch them together I would pick Alex over any of the grooms on any day. He should get his own “The Bachelor” type show if it doesn’t work out with this one. Women would be falling over themselves to get to him. Me included. Even though he’s kinda short and, unfortunately for me, size does matter…..as in height ; ) I guess an American version would cast the girl that won Joe Millionaire (Zora?) and a slightly known actor who has a reputation for being pretty nice (The guy from the short lived show “Good Morning, Miami”? Mark Feuerstein? He always seemed nice : )  

*****SPECIAL REPORT******:Alex just came out with his solo album, MY VINTAGE ROMANCE (Great title). Please buy this CD. You won’t get it at your local

Awwwww.......ALEX!!!

 Wal-Mart but I guarantee you’ll get it on the internet. And don’t worry it’s totally worth it. He has stated that he would like to be known as Alex the artist and not so much Alex the romantic guy…….DON’T THEY ALL?!  And really it must be so hard to be known as the romantic guy with a voice like butta (That’s right BUTTA, not butter. Butta is better than butter. Take note.) So let’s help him be that artist by making his album sell like hotcakes!! Ok. Maybe not like hotcakes here in America (Although it would be nice.) I hope they are buying it up overseas though. I’m pretty sure he would do it for us. In fact I’m positive he would buy our albums if we put it out. Why? Because he’s ALEX!!!

Lee Hwi Jae &  Jo Yeo Jeong aka no longer a couple: She left. He hosts. Moving on.

Solbi & Andy aka The Cute Couple: This is mostly the couple you see once in a while who have known each other for so many years that it only made sense for them to get married because no one will know them like they know each other.

There's cute....and then there's too cute. This would be the latter.

 They’ll have little nicknames for each other, too many inside jokes, call each other their best friend, turn snuggling into a science, and have arguments that never amount to anything because they always end with laughter.  I like to call them ”The Gap Couple”. Whatever she is lacking he fills and vice versa. There are many times they try a little too hard to live up to their couple name but the only reason it is obvious they are is because they don’t realize they don’t have to try to be cute together, they just are. Most of the audience roots for them but I don’t see it going past the show. They could date for a while but I don’t see any kind of marriage happening. There was a really cute episode where they gave each other couple rings on the exact same day. It’s usually the guy who gives the couple rings but she lost hers and wanted to make up for it. The reactions they had when they realized they both had couple rings on the same day was classic. Just watch it if you get a chance. Very funny!!! For some reason I can’t think of an American equivalent for this couple. I think this would be the most difficult couple to find actually. Andy and Solbi had known each other before the show and they do have a natural comradery that the show doesn’t have to edit. That’s kinda hard to find in the entertainment industry considering a lot of people plaster their smiles on their faces to hide who they like and dislike. That would be the most interesting choice though. Maybe Dawn and Que from ”Making the Band”? Of course that probably won’t last all that much longer, I mean, let’s face it. They are cute but reality show couples don’t really have a long shelf life.   

Hwangbo & Kim Hyung Joong aka Age Difference Couple: I find myself slightly pulling for this couple. She’s 28; he’s 22. Yeah it’s interesting from time to time. There’s this constant awkwardness between that will

This is what they do when a spouse is absent. It's kinda funny and sad at the same time.

 more than likely NEVER go away. There are moments where they are more comfortable with each other but it never lasts. It seems this has become a trend in Korea but I don’t think the country has fully embraced it yet. The only thing that makes it work is that they are both likable people.  He’s really good at making jokes at those awkward moments and she tries everything to include him in everything that is going on. It’s not enough that they’ll stay together at the end but it’s fun to watch them now.

Ok. That’s all I’ve got for this post. PLEASE WATCH THIS SHOW!!!! It’s on YouTube. English subs and all. So you have no excuse. And you have to watch this week……the show is giving the couples CHILDREN!!  Why is it on YouTube? Don’t you know? (Insert blog title here) ZAI JIAN!!!!!!