İyi Seyirler Dileriz.

After School Bokbulbok - 2013 Güney Kore Dizi izle




Dizi Konusu: Kim So - Eun adindaki liseli bir kiz okulun mühim takımı kalan  " Bokbulbok takımı " ne katilmak amaçlı bir çağrı alir. Bu olaydan hemen sonra o birçok  " olaganüstü olaylar "  yasamaya baslar. Her kısımda tamamlamasi gerekli olan bir  " vazife " i vardir. Bununla beraber So Eun normalde ürkek karakterinden çikarak parlak bir kisilige bürünecektir .

 

 

 

A KDRAMA RECOMMENDATION =)Heartless City (2013)

JTBC
Monday -Tuesday
Aired May- July 2013
 
I am back from my hiatus and practically hitting my head against December, so naturally I am thinking back on all of 2013’s dramas, which makes me totally remember how much I freakin’ deakin’ loved Heartless City, which then leads me to this very moment where I make yet another post demanding, begging, pleading with other drama fans to give a my favorite drama this year a chance.

Cops.
Drug Dealers.
Betrayal
Revenge.
Gangster glorification.
Violence.


If you are intimidated by any of the above, if you are hesitating because romantic comedies are more your thing—DON’T. If you are hesitating because in the past you’ve been horrified by the horrible that most drama action thrillers are—DON’T. I would recommend this to someone who has never seen a kdrama in their life. That’s the kind of non-exclusive appeal this crime thriller carries in its DNA.


It has a real story to tell. It has nuanced characters that have layers upon layers, attachments upon attachments, secrets upon secrets. It’s exciting. It’s epic. It’s beautiful. It’s moody, and it’s fun—as it is fun when watching something written, filmed, and acted so well. This is one of those unbelievably rare ones that is lovingly modeled after a very specific western style of filmmaking and storytelling...and actually succeeds!

The Main Players


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Diary | Marry Me Yoo AhIn!

I’ve pretty much knuckled off my watch list most all currently airing kdramas except for Master’s Sun. It is the start of the US tv season, after all. Busy times! Well, and I am just busier in real life, too. Yet, I have still been glued to Korean variety shows. To truly embrace the wacky sense of humor Koreans have, one must watch their variety shows. Dramas only reveal a fraction of their twisted humor. They are a work of art, these competition style reality shows, the goal often being to most deliberately and creatively inflict misery and humiliation upon their biggest stars. A-Listers want to be tortured this way, if you can believe it! Most recently, we had three Big Bang members mud-rollicking on Running Man, and I mean rolling, swimming, and cavorting around in a for realz outdoors swampy mud. This be no fancy spa treatment, this be squeezing mosquito poop out of your ears type of mud. In the same episode, we learn that Seungri can jump rope like a rabbit on steroids, and we get an eyeful of Mr. Perfect GD being absolutely adorable when revealed to be not so perfect at something—that ‘something’ being the ability to jump rope on a floating water mat. He has to have at least one flaw, I guess. ; )


If that isn’t Running Man fantastic enough, Yoo AhIn guests the following week!!! And he is so darn cute the whole time, and frankly, a pretty good sport considering...

“ AhIn-ie Goodbye~ ”
Costars for upcoming film Tough As Iron Kim HaeSook and Yoo AhIn get their variety on in this makjang rich-grandmother-inheritance themed episode. It’s official, my world is rocked. Yoo AhIn dunked, duped, and delicious. I fell in love a little bit more. Fashion King made me forget how much I loved you, and I wasn’t so crazy about Jang Ok Jang either...but this made me remember my undying devotion for you. Seriously, the range of emotions that crosses his face—fear, shock, disbelief, surprise, confusion—when his ejection chair malfunctions...I nearly died from laughter. While KwangSoo, his partner, goes flying into the air and crashes into the water behind him, Yoo AhIn sits there, all dry, looking at the empty space beside him in total confusion. Comedy gold!


And, by the end of the episode, we also learn that our handsome Yoo AhIn can cook. OMG, MARRY ME! To see the actor diligently and confidently giving orders on how to prepare their chosen dish and intently mixing his (I’m guessing) delicious marinade was to fall in love. OMG, MARRY ME!


Soooo...
Who missed Kang DongWon? I did! I did!
Who loves Kang DongWon? I do! I do!

src: mydaily
Hawt damn! I am salivating. He be a mysterious agent that goes by X. Shin MinAh be a sexy femme fatale named Mia. The film be called The X and it’s gonna be unveiled at the 2013 Busan International Film Festival next month. It’s some agent double cross action film, but honestly, I don’t care about the plot, I’m in! Jeon Woochi the Taoist Wizard was a plotless crazy fantastical exploration of Kang DongWon’s big screen charisma, and was fricken’ awesome despite its lack of logic, and one of my favorite K-films. OMG, HAVE AN AFFAIR WITH ME! (Since I already tagged Yoo AhIn for marriage)

Dramas and drama-ish show I talk about after the jump: WIN, Master’s Sun and Good Doctor.
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Diary | The Girl Who Cried Wolf

Any other drama followers watching YG’s competition style documentary “WIN Who Is Next” on MNet chronicling the path to stardom for two YG trainee groups? At first I was only mildly interested in the show due to the Big Bang connection, but it is turning out to be quite the enjoyable fascinating. It’s like watching Dream High 3: The YG Hip Hop Battles. Drama fans, of course, will recognize Kang SeungYoon from High Kick 3, where he charmingly portrayed the country boy who dreamed of being a South Korean president.


It follows eleven insanely talented young men split into two groups consisting a mixture of rappers and singers, Team A and B, competing for a chance to debut under YG’s royal banner. It has human interest, it has suspense through various competitions, and above all, it is a glance into the real world trials of what idols endure to stand on a stage. Since idols frequently pop up in dramas, I say this is another fun dimension to the K-world to explore.
 
The rappers, from left to right: Bobby & leader B.I. of Team B
and Lee SeungHoon & leader Song MinHo of Team A
After years of rigorous practicing, these two teams are *this close* to finally achieving their dreams...how will they endure this final lap to the finish line? You couldn’t script this kind of heartbreak and dedication. It is my Friday must-watch non-drama drama. Granted, not a romantic comedy (haha) but definitely a dramedy.

Song MinHo (A), Kang SeungYoon (A), B.I. (B), Bobby (B), Nam TaeHyun (A)
These kids are fun to watch...and oh, the dancing and swagger. We can see why the YG artists are always such a cut above. I think it must be a base requirement to be overflowing with attitude to join this agency. And now that I have established favorite characters artists, I am invested. Unfortunately, they happen to be across teams.  I think I’m in for a heartbreak. Ha. Why do only one of these groups have to debut? I think kpop needs all of these kids. Come on, YG, don’t be shy, unleash them all on the world! I doubt anyone would mind.

Next week, Big Bang’s GD and Taeyang will be making cameos an appearance to coach the young ones.


Come on, how awesome and perfect is it that GD is wearing a Sex Pistols shirt? Be still, my heart.

Dramas I talk about after the jump: Master’s Sun (eps 11-12). If you haven’t watched Master’s Sun yet, don’t read on. Major ass spoilers ahead...because major ass things went down!
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Diary | Funny Mathematics

I stumbled across a Korean language aid thingie on the KBS World Radio site here. It appears to be a tool aimed to encourage foreign fans to visit Korea and has conversational tips about surviving while in country, such as going through airport customs.
It’s kind of amusing to sift through and is a cool idea, I dunno how helpful it is in actually teaching anyone anything though. The lessons are delivered in your selected language, be it English, French, or Dutch.
*

First stills of Park ShinHye in Heirs were released, these from a shoot done last month in a Gangnam wedding hall. Staff complimented Park ShinHye on her natural ability to shine even when she’s doing nothing more than washing dirty dishes in rubber gloves and a head rag. Word. The girl is adorable. Her smile lights up a hotel kitchen. If I wore this outfit doing dishes I would look like...wait a minute, sometimes I do wear an apron and rubber gloves when doing dishes...=/ And let’s just say I look less like a dishwashing fairy and more like a sudsy gremlin. I’m always up for another spin on a Cinderella story, especially with the lovely ShinHye. Heh. I feel like I have been waiting anxiously for this one all my life—definitely since casting was announced. The only thing missing is Yoo AhIn.
I don’t know if I’ve ever written this anywhere on my blog but my dream pairing is Park ShinHye and Yoo AhIn. I will just die the day that happens. DIE. With that train of thought, I’d always wanted to see her paired with a more rough, hardy male lead (admittedly, the picture I posted up there doesn’t really communicate a tough Yoo). I love Lee MinHo, I really, really do, but he’s on the urbane side of the spectrum. Is it wrong of me to already harbor a teeny tiny wish that Kim WooBin be her fated? I dunno, I think his edgy charm would jive well with Park’s clean one. Ok, sorry. I’ll be happy with just having this massive cast of, what is the phrase, “in trend” stars collected in one show.
*

Okay so a few steps away from kdramaland, there’s a strange battle going on. I do not know how this happened but...my current favorite kdrama and my forever favorite rapper are duking it out...on the music charts! WTK! According to Instiz, the music tracking chart that tracks music tracking charts (yeah, I know how funny that sounds), Yoon MiRae’s tender ballad Touch Love is #1, with G-Dragon’s Who You? at #2, his Black at #3, and his Crooked at #4, then Hyorin’s Master’s Sun crooner Driving Me Crazy retaining strong at #5. Then G-Dragon pops up again at #10 with Coup d’Etat. So six out of the top ten slots are occupied by these two juggernauts. I am not sure what response is appropriate. Yay, I love Touch Love I’m glad it’s at the top! Or, G-Dragon should be at the top, damnit! Or probably, more reasonably, I’m so thrilled both are doing so well.

How did the (currently) blond kpop prince find himself competing in a heated battle against a ghostbusting couple for the number one spot on an album sales list? He must be scratching his head while in his posh YG music studio, too. It is a strange and awesome thing to see these two unlikely but insanely great entities pretty much taking over the charts. Heh. I think GD should make a cameo on Master’s Sun as himself, I dunno, doing a fan event at Kingdom Mall?

Onto THE DRAMA on everyone’s mind:
See above. This is the face of a man who just forgot his numbers. Master’s Sun (eps 9 & 10) is the only drama I chat about after the jump. But I am pretty sure I am going to start Good Doctor this week. I have plans. I got derailed this weekend by Aaron Sorkin’s much improved season two of Newsroom...marathoned seven episodes in one sitting. *shamefaced* Yes, I sat at home and watched seven hours of tv. Sheesh!
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Heartless City (2013)


Heartless City
무정도시 / Cruel City
(May – July 2013)


--Spoiler Free Review--

who’s in it
Jung KyungHo (Smile You, Time Between Dog and Wolf)
Nam GyuRi (49 Days, Life is Beautiful)
Kim YooMi (Enjoy Life, Country Princess)
Lee JaeYoon (Ghost, Just Like Today)
Yoon HyunMin (Still You, More Charming By the Day)
Choi MooSung (I Live in Cheongdam-dong)
Son Chang Min (Horse Doctor, Man of Honor)
Go Na Eun (Assorted Gems) 

what’s it about 
For a show like this one, built on violence, suspense, and misdirection, any summary becomes too much summary because even a half morsel of information ends up giving everything away.

The bones of this drama, however, is simply about a police task force created for the sole purpose of bringing down a shifty criminal network that has been flooding massive amounts of soul-sucking drugs into Seoul. That is the spine of it, but there is so much more to the tale than the basic promise of cops going after drug dealers. There is blood, heart, brains, and a whole heaping mess of beautifully filmed gore, gristle, muscle…basically it’s a cinematically riveting organic explosion about the darker side of human nature as told from the point of view of a criminal underworld and a legal system that behaves no different than the people it chases. It is a modern story with old themes, ones as old as Rome, about the redemption of devils and the corruption of angels.


Lee JaeYoon plays the detective chasing and Jung KyungHo plays the man being chased. Nam GyuRi plays the innocent caught between two worlds. That’s all you are allowed to know until you watch it, the show will reveal the rest. That’s all you should want to know if you have any interest in watching this one. Trust me on this, Heartless is not the show you should indulge your need for spoilers, as part of its hypnotic quality is about going in blindfolded and tied, being tossed completely innocent into this stylish romance with the dark side. 

commitment 
20 episodes

network
JTBC

director
Lee JungHyo

screenwriter
Yoo SungYeol

music
Nam HyeSung
Amazing soulful music in this one, and perfectly constructed for the show. There were so many layers that it fit so many aspects and themes. Hints of jazz and blues, sometimes even carnie, and all parts emotional.


photography
Choi YoonMan

The look of this one was all vintage style, atmospheric, and a personality of its own. Practically black and white…without actually being filmed in black and white.

first impressions
What’s the date and time? I may have to notarize this moment.

It is possible that I have just begun watching the hands-down coolest, sexiest, most awe-smacking, well-produced drama served up to a kdrama audience in recent memory. Can a person tell they are living a momentous historical moment even before that moment passes? Absolutely I’m going overboard, but that’s how much amazement I have for this one, and how impressed I am by the first few episodes.

Not all the main characters have been introduced yet, in fact, a few only catch minutes of airtime. The ones we do meet have little direct interplay with the wider net of players as yet. They exist in their own corners of Seoul. Still, we already know that they are all insidiously interconnected, whether by circumstance or by people. The showdown we all know is coming already feels epic. We feel it looming ahead like the iceberg that must have seen the bloated tanker Titanic approaching. We know some of these characters only by their aliases, but what will happen when we know their true names and their true faces? How will they be revealed when their costumes are stripped away and the truth of the person inside is laid bare?


This world is a winding clock, and the players in it the gears grinding along…and it is not a natural world in which they exist, not a world built for surviving.

And as spectators, we all hold our breaths knowing that someone or something—pure and hot—is about to come along with a hammer and smash its constant simple logic to smithereens, offering us a glimpse into the chaos and complexity behind the movement of lives. 
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Diary | Crossing Imaginary Lines

If there are two things I love, it is kdrama and GD, and both are rocking my world right now. Unfortunately, I was not in LA, but of course saw the performances coming out of KCON 2013. G-Dragon rawked it, effortlessly cool, the right balance of hip hop and kpop. I always love the urban, chill version of him onstage.
Can’t wait for the rest of his album to drop! But he DID drop Pt.1, plus the intro MV Coup d’État, and both are ah-mah-zing. I love the layers of visual explosion that always accompany his videos. In Coup d’État, he’s talking about his money, his fame, and all his badassery, but the video takes the promise of world domination even further, beyond the realm of music...into a Gothic mind warp...to give us witness to G-Dragon overthrowing underlords, too?
His vid is all dark fantasy, a landmine of symbolism, an homage to himself and his already notorious legacy, a high concept extravaganza that is both surreal and evvvil—in the best way. Is he the king of the kpop underworld now, too? Yes, he is! If there is a kpop scene among the demented and decaying, I am sure this would be the version of GD reigning there. Either way, he makes it clear he won’t be kept imprisoned by chains of any kind, in the real world or a fantasy one. People can shoot at him out of fear of the unknown, but he’ll only rise up stronger, and knock down the wall with a pebble built of his indomitable will!
What makes GD such a fascinating artist is his aggression against conformity, his willingness to experiment with music beyond borders and into the crazy. Sometimes to iffy results, but mostly toward awesome. And there is no doubt the madness is his own, it is that original and bizarre. I think that is why he also appeals so much to international fans, his independent spirit, full of vigor and color, but not in a way that feels formulaic or contrived by a machine. He’s genuine. This is his vision, his world, and we’re just marching to the beat of his empire. Man, this autumn promotion period is going to be great. And is it just me, or did Jiyongie just drop Jung KyungHo’s hip hop soundtrack? Well, providing a killer drug dealer from a Heartless City can have an inner rap groove...

Ok, I’ma stop gushing about GD. I won’t apologize for it though!

Dramas I will spoil after the jump: Master’s Sun (Eps 7-8). I am still watching Who Are You, but I have little to say on it, other than Kim JaeWook continues to be a handsome spectral figure. Oh, and I had to officially drop Goddess of Fire. I hit my tolerance. Sorry, Bummie, I guess your cloak of fake flowing locks isn’t shield enough from the cracking pottery logic of your show.
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Diary | JiSub OPPA!

I wanna touch So JiSub, too...  
Judging by this SBS interview here (sorry no Eng subs, if anyone has subbed links, please share!) I’ve come to realize that Gong HyoJin and So JiSub are their characters in real life! She’s all wild and free spirited and flirty and he’s all cutely flabbergasted, “Woman, you are weird!”  The sum of this couple is this: Poke, poke, tease, tease, and lots of giggling!
Haha. They are utterly adorable together. I smell love in the air. It could just be my allergies, but my nose tingles with the scent of hearts and flowers and butterflies.
For example, when the interviewer asks after JiSub’s rep for being reserved, HyoJin chirps that yes, he’s very reserved, which is why she’ll always be the one to go over and make him talk to her! To which JiSub quickly agrees that he was quite surprised by her open manner and how easily HyoJin just chatted him up. He compliments that there’s something very comfortable about her. (Which is true, that is exactly her acting style. She doesn’t have the broadest range, but she’s always pretty lovable. And her charms have never been as well displayed as it is in this show.) The host does ask if this is their first project together, which they confirm. HyoJin tosses out with a mischievous grin that she’s been waiting. JiSub volleys back that he’s been waiting too. And they go on this way for the whole interview! Trying to outdo each other on the flattery and complimenting, if you can imagine the cute overload!
When JiSub comments on how cute and lovable her acting is, she rebuts by revealing to the world his extreme chivalry, that he actually bought her a fan because it was hot. The host cooes that he’s such a mannerly man, which embarrasses him so JiSub says it was because he was hot. She wittily quips at his deflection, “A one plus one event?” This causes him to explode in laughter.

More fangirling over JiSub and HyoJin after the jump, and Master’s Sun (Episode 5 and 6) will be the only drama I yap about and spoil. It was the only one I managed to watch this week.
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I Can Hear Your Voice (2013)


I Can Hear Your Voice
너의 목소리가 들려
(Jun – Jul 2013)


who’s in it
Lee BoYoung (My Daughter SeoYoung, Ecuator Man)
Lee JongSuk (School 2013, High Kick 3, Secret Garden)
Yoon SangHyun (Secret Garden, Queen of Housewives)
Kim GaEun
Lee DaHee (Birdie Buddy)
Kim HaeSook (Childless Comfort, Life is Beautiful)
Yoon JooSang (IRIS 2, School 2013)
Jung WoongIn (Ojakgyo Brothers, Coffee House)


commitment
18 episodes

network
SBS

director
Jo SooWon

screenwriter
Park HyeRyun
(Dream High)


what’s it about
Lee DaHee is the privileged daughter of a respected but cold-hearted judge. Lee BoYoung, the heroine of this tale, is the daughter of his maid. When the two un-friends accidentally witness a maniac attempting to kill a man and his young son, their lives become permanently bonded. But it is the kind of bond built on distrust and rivalry, not any kind of survival-pact type kinship. When Lee BoYoung bravely steps up to testify (although she retro-believes her act of honor had been foolish), she succeeds in sending Jung WoongIn to jail, thereby also succeeding in becoming the target of his hatred and revenge. Whether by coincidence or by cruel design, Lee BoYoung eventually grows up to become a bristly, somewhat disliked public defender, while her nemesis Lee DaHee becomes a highly respected prosecutor.

Lee JongSuk plays the teenager version of the young boy saved, and he has a big secret. During the brutal events of his father’s murder, he develops an uncanny ability to hear people’s thoughts when looking into their eyes. As he describes it, the world is little more noisier for him than for other people. The headphones around his neck are not for trend’s sake, but his small defense against a constantly whining population.

Ten years have passed since Lee BoYoung’s testimony sent Jung WoongIn away to prison, and Lee JongSuk has had no contact with her, but not for a lack of trying. He has always wanted to find his savior again. When he finally does, thankfully, it’s just in time to help her as the crazy evil Jung WoongIn has been released from prison and is gunning for the woman who had been the cause of his incarceration. Lee JongSuk attempts to keep the vow he made as a little boy to the older girl who had selflessly testified on his behalf: I’ll protect you.

Also, Yoon SangHyun plays a fellow public defender who dorks his way into Lee BoYoung’s heart. As far as the dynamic between these two adults go, it’s not bad—think Clark Kent and Lois Lane, but attorneys, not reporters. Oh, right, no superpowers, either. Although now my comparison is getting confusing because technically I guess Lee JongSuk does have a superpower...ok, nevermind. Moving on. At a skim, an exceptionally serious sounding thing. In reality, more a funny and sweet rainbows and sunshine romcom, with only the occasional dark cloud to keep the story going.
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Diary | Bright Bright Taeyang

First off, some Very Important People bizness: congrats to Big Bang on their 7th anniversary! Has it really been seven whole years the world has been blessed with Big Bang? And happy belated birthday to G-Dragon! Clap-Clap for Seungri’s comeback—boy’s apparently got something to say! Weeee. Since I mentioned 2/5 of the group, I’ll do the rest: movie star TOP, stay healthy and injury-free please, Daesung keep doing your silky sexy thang over there in Japan, and Taeyang, you continue making random dancing appearances on variety shows when 2NE1 promotes. You are a ray of sunshine, aptly named you are. Ok, End Dorkiness.

Next, because I simply lack the self-control to restrain my need to ogle and drool, after all, I am a fangirl caught in the throes of obsessive love right now. Here’s my babe Jung KyungHo in pictures a lot less murderous:
Click on images to enlarge.
Thank you: SURE, GRAZIA, & URBÄNLIKE
Well, a lot less Seoul gangster murderous, but no less killer on a fangal’s eyes. Yes, I’m afraid this compulsion to adore KyungHo may go on for a while…but look at him! Can you blame me???

Dramas I will talk about and spoil after the  jump: Master’s Sun (until Ep 4). And some more thoughts on The Blade and the Petal (up to Ep6), and Who Are You (up to Ep6). And also, the craziest thing I saw this weekend: Kim WooBin fighting killer female robots.
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Diary | I Heart Kim Bum

My first rambling thoughts post...
A sad summer cloud has been following me around. I really really REALLY miss my KyungHo-filled Mondays and Tuesdays. I want the poor actor to rest and heal from his back injury, absolutely, but I also don’t know how I’ll stand the rest of the year without any hope of seeing him again.
*sniffle*
In fact, I haven’t quite gotten over Heartless City’s dramatic conclusion yet either, definitely not enough to write anything about it without getting too emotional. Even thinking about it in relation to how much I miss Jung KyungHo makes me feel morose all over again. 

I am, however, almost done with my I Can Hear Your Voice review. Almost...

One last thought about Heartless City. One of the happier things I took away from the show: makgeolli is sexy when sipped out of wine glasses. LOVE IT. This milky and sweet humble farmer’s chug got a bump up in style courtesy of some Seoul gangsters. I totally plan to drink it out of big wine glasses next time I have a post-murder party. Or maybe it’s not the same feel if not held by the sexy long fingers of Jung KyungHo, who definitely has the sexiest hands I’ve ever seen.

I’m not really sure why I drew milk and a canister of flour next my mug of imaginary coffee above. Not really a natural pairing that...let’s just pretend I drew a cookie there instead. Why the pictures anyway? Don’t diary pages have a lot of doodles, as a general rule?

So, what is this corner? I haven’t really indulged in much rant fangirling on my blog outside the lines of my drama reviews, but I do personally enjoy it when other bloggers share their developing thoughts about what is going on in the K-universe, so I thought I would try it myself. Like everyone else, I do secretly lurk on other drama blogs like all the time. I’m too self-conscious to comment on posts, but I love reading.

Also, I noticed my drama reviews were getting longer and longer and that needed to be solved. I thought perhaps releasing some of my drama thoughts beforehand might do the job.

Dramas I will ramble about and spoil after the jump: The Blade and the Petal (I have watched until Ep3), Goddess of Fire (until Ep11), and Who Are You (until Ep4).

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School 2013 (2013)

School 2013
학교 2013 / School 5
(Dec 2012 – Jan 2013)


who’s in it
Lee JongSuk (High Kick 3, I Can Hear Your Voice)
Kim WooBin (Vampire Idol, Gentleman’s Dignity)
Park SeYoung (Faith)
Ryu HyoYoung (Greatest Love)
Jang NaRa (Baby-Faced Beauty, My Love Patzzi)
Choi Daniel (High Kick 2, The Musical)
Uhm HyoSup (Golden Time, Nine: Time Travel 9 Times)
Kwak JungWook (Queen SeonDuk)
Lee YiKyung (Nine: Time Travel Nine Times)
Lee JiHoon (Lee SoonShin is the Best)
Choi ChangYeob (Faith)
Jun SooJin


what’s it about 
The question posed: is school merely a building of stone and mortar created to drill book knowledge or is it an organic womb that should nurture and guide kids in more than just test scores? School 2013 follows the blood that is shed when a school system intent on profit fights against its own teachers and students, creating an environment bent only on survival. The drama is a collection of stories about teachers, administrators, parents, and of course, the students caught in this pressure cooker.

The entire cast is a fairly long list of people but the chief figure is played by Lee JongSuk. He is an underachieving young man who spends most of class time asleep. He’s a kid of few words, a lone wolf cub, but despite his standoffish demeanor, he is mostly well-liked by his classmates. While outwardly meek, there is a self-possession about him that irritates the class bullies Kwak JungWook, Lee YiKyung, and Lee JiHoon, and the three make daily harassment of Lee standard practice.
As if his conflicts with the local class jerks weren’t headache enough, when a new tough guy transfers into their school, Lee’s world gets rocked to the core. You see, Kim WooBin isn’t just any new punk on the block, he’s a blast from Lee JongSuk’s mysterious past, and this old ‘friend’ brings the walls of Lee’s carefully constructed image of ambivalence crashing down. When a past comes knocking with bloodied fists, wanting an accounting of all the wrongs done, is it for better or worse? Does one face it, or run away?

This is where teachers Daniel Choi and Jang Nara come in. Not only do they try to defuse Lee JongSuk and Kim WooBin’s seething student war, but they also try to solve the many other tough personalities resident to Class 2-2, and in doing so, walk the line between being teachers and guardians. How invested should teachers get in the personal lives of their students?


commitment 
16 episodes + Special

Be sure to watch the talk show style special. It was a totally weird and awkward talent show kind of thing, but the behind the scenes clips of the drama filming was enjoyable. For one, we got to see how cold the entire cast was during the shooting. What’s with KBS and their refusal to heat their sets? Remember Dream High and the huge fogs of breath throughout the show?

network
KBS2

director
Lee MinHong
Lee EunBok (Dream High)


screenwriter
Lee HyunJoo
Go JungWon


first impressions
I never intended to do a full review. In fact, I had already posted a blurb months ago in my Bite-Sized Reviews section, which went something like this, in brief:


“ Enjoyment Factor: 6/10
The underlying argument in education philosophy was interesting, but the tale itself often took easy shortcuts, as it was overburdened with a huge cast of young people with too many problems and only 16 eps to sort it all. The show was at times completely engaging, other times profoundly dull, and in the end, turned out
School was mostly only interested in the bromance between Kim WooBin and Lee JongSuk. Specifically, what was most obviously not present was a more thoughtful development of the female student leads. Overall, an imperfect but enjoyable boyhood schoolyard romp powered by some fun glower power.

”


But lately, I’ve been feeling pretty warm and fuzzy with a lot of overflowing good will toward dramas and felt like enjoying some gangster-lite tales + a Lee JongSuk, thanks to current enjoyables Heartless City and I Can Hear Your Voice. So I went back and rewatched a few dramas, including School 2013, which lead to some refreshing new feelings on my part.

My second verdict for this drama: I don’t necessarily disagree with what I wrote earlier this year, as I still think the show was too short for all the serious problems these kids faced and wrapped too quick/handily, and I still wish the two main female students had been given more time, but I was clearly in a bad mood about something when I first watched it.


Warning: it is quite possible that below is The Longest drama review I have ever written on this site. So much for the quick in my ‘quick and biased’ tag. On the bright side, it’s a totally positive review.
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Revenge of the Short-Legged (2012)

High Kick! Revenge of the Short-Legged
하이킥! 짧은 다리의 역습 / High Kick 3
(Sept 2011 – Mar 2012)


who’s in it
Yoon KyeSang (Greatest Love, Triple)
Suh JiSuk (Gloria, Manny)
Kim JiWon (What’s Up)
Park Ha Sun (Dong Yi, Ad Genius Lee Tae Bak)
Lee JongSuk (I Can Hear Your Voice, School 2013)
Kang SeungYoon (singer)
Krystal Jung (More Charming by the Day, f(x) member)
Ahn NaeSang (Monstar, Wonderful Mama)
Yoon YooSun (Queen SeonDuk, Giant)
Baek JinHee (Jeon WooChi)
Julien Kang (High Kick Through the Roof)
Lee Jeok (singer)


what’s it about
In a distracting gimmick, this High Kick story comes to us from the perspective of a somewhat dislikable omniscient narrator played by Lee Jeok, who recounts the story of how he met his wife, who remains a mystery until the very end. Thankfully his character presence is small. The occasional wife-searching anecdotes aside, the story really follows the bankrupt Ahn family after they move in with their maternal side in-laws, the Yoon brothers, played by matured handsomes Suh JiSuk and Yoon KyeSang.

When the Yoon/Ahn family discover an underground tunnel connecting their house to their next door neighbors, the family befriends the household next door consisting of three women and one Julien. And from there the sitcom loopdiloops begin in typical High Kick fashion: bathroom jokes, blockhead uncles, drunk buffoonery, some vomiting, tutoring sessions, adult/minor romances, pretty punks, annoying patriarchs, etc.

FYI, this one seems to derive its name from the idea that the taller cast members are in battle with the shorter cast members. Intentionally, the men are mostly the tall ones in this show, so it’s really about the men being spun around and yanked about by their shorties—I use that word in the hip hop vernacular, so I am talkin’ about all the pretty ladies.

Another FYI, if you loved this show, might be best for you to skip this review. You’ve been warned.

(I mean, I have some nice things to say, but if you are a diehard fan, I’m just saying, you might get a little miffed at me.) 

commitment 
123 episodes

network
MBC

director
Kim ByeongWook
Kim YoungKi
Jo ChanSoo


screenwriter
Lee YoungChul
Jo SungHee
Hong BoHee
Jang JinAh
Baek SunWoo


first impressions
Annoying, annoying dad. Wow, can a dad ever be so annoying? What Ahn NaeSang’s character taught me in the first 10, then 123 episodes, was that there is a very definite line between hapless and hateful. After I forcibly told myself to get over it, ignore the man, only then was I able to enjoy this one—a little. But it was a HUGE obstacle for me.
I sorta endured through it, although with a lot of furious snacking for distraction. Oh, he is sooo annoying. Yum, nacho cheese Doritos. Ok, I’ll keep watching and munching. Hateful characters designed with the sole intent of being stingy and petty are really difficult to just put out of mind, especially when they are never out of sight. Junk food was a necessary comfort that helped me through the watching of this show..

wildcard factor
Thankfully, the younger people tended to be likable, and made up a good sizable chunk of the cast.

gave up

snoozer moments
To be honest, I found a lot of this drama snoozy. I had some serious tunnel vision going on, focusing my love on only a few characters.

soju guzzling (angst factor)
Ahn NaeSang spent a lot time hiding from creditors and causing trouble. You could almost say he single-handedly made me miserable.

Kim JiWon spent all of the show majorly crushing on older Yoon KyeSang...and that also made me miserable.

So most of the angst during this show...was by me.
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