King2Hearts: Oh My God You Thought The Dissertation Was Long Post

King 2 Hearts why can’t I quit you? There’s only two weeks left and you’ll be over.  What will I obsess over when you are gone?

So I was watching Game of Thrones. During the scene where Margaery Tyrell was navigating the logistics of trying to get pregnant when your husband the king is gay (and I guess turkey basters don’t exist)  I had a lightbulb moment. That’s the job of a queen, to have an heir. That encapsulates it.

Yeah, so now you’re saying “Well, duh, Captain Obvious”.

And then I started thinking about King2Hearts.  As one does.  Or at least I do.  All the time.

Spoilers after the jump...

Poll: What's Next?

It's that time again:  I'm looking for my next drama fix.  I put up a poll with the dramas I'm thinking about so please vote or leave a comment to give me suggestions.  


Hong Gil Dong - Looks like a lot of fun and it also looks like a good place to start with sageuk dramas.  I haven't watched a sageuk yet, so a fusion drama seems like a nice way to dip my toe in.


Rooftop Prince - It seems fluffy and light, which is a good balance to King2Hearts and City Hunter. Also, I kind of want to check it out because it's got great buzz and the current ratings bloodbath between King2Hearts, Equator Man and Rooftop Prince leaves me curious. Even though it's currently running there are only a couple of weeks left so I have plenty of time to get through the early episodes and still not run into an episode gap.


My Girl - 1. Hong Sisters  2. Lee Dong-wook.  And not necessarily in that order.


Protect the Boss - I hear it has a strong female lead and we all know how I love that.

Flower Boy Ramen Shop

I finished Flower Boy Ramen Shop and I feel kind of meh about it.  It’s not that it was bad.  I don’t feel like I wasted my time watching it.  I just feel kind of like, “That’s all there is?”

It’s kind of like when you are really hungry and someone gives you a cookie.  The cookie is great, sure,  but you really want a solid meal.  Flower Boy Ramen Shop is that cookie. 

Spoilers after the jump...

The Melody - Lalala It's Love

Today I discovered Coffee Prince's soundtrack on Spotify.  Woot!  Really, the whole soundtrack is awesome and a great place to discover bands you've never heard of.


Coffee Prince still has my favorite theme song.

Sigh! Now I want to watch it again!

Humming Urban Stereo - Hawaiian Couple

This song is a few years old and I haven't seen the movie it's from, but it's very sweet and cute and a total ear worm.

Gong Yoo. You're Welcome.

Run, do not walk, over to Dramabeans.  You can thank me later.

FBRS - Are You Kidding Me With This?

Flower Boy Ramen Shop, you almost had me but then you lost me again.


Spoilers for episode 13 after the jump...

The King2Hearts and the Monomyth

So, last time I talked about archetypes a little bit.  I have a feeling this is going to turn into a series, because the more I think about it, the more this show fits the whole Joseph Campbell Hero's Journey Monomyth.  


I'll explain what I mean after the jump and try not to make it too pedantic.  Spoilers through episode 10. 

Random Speculation

I don't really follow gossip so for all I know this is a known fact.  But it occurred to me that Lee Seung-gi has withdrawn from a lot of his projects (Strong Heart, 1D2N), so I'm wondering if he is going to do his 2 years of army service when The King 2 Hearts is over.

My King 2 Hearts Dissertation

Seriously, this post is so freaking long. I'm warning you now.  I've had a chance to think about episodes 9 and 10 and I'm having a lot of...feelings.

Please tell me that we’ve reached the Black moment.  Cos I don’t know if I can handle much darker than this.  Buckle up because this post is so freaking long I wish I could get college credit for it.

Spoilers after the jump...

It's just my opinion, but...

Secret Garden parodies will never not be funny.

My Issues with Flower Boy Ramen Shop

So I’m watching Flower Boy Ramen Shop  right now and although it has funny moments I’m not finding that I love it to the degree that others have. 

 Spoilers after the jump...

Gumiho is over. Somebody hold me...

So I’m coming down off the aftereffects of a gumiho binge.  I haven’t had such a hard time putting a drama down since Coffee Prince.  I’m surprised I haven’t O.D.ed on Lee Seung-gi’s dimple.

More after the jump...

Standby for Standby

Somebody please tell me that Standby is going to be subbed somewhere.  It's a sitcom so it's supposed to have something like 50 episodes, but it's got a really interesting cast and I like the concept behind it.  Really want to see this one!

Dude, Where's My Bus?

So Mary Stayed Out All Night.  Yeahhhh.  That drama sucked.  Which is weird because the pieces were so great. 


I even like Jang Geun-seok's hair. 




 I couldn't get this bus song out of my head:

More after the jump...

New Look

The old look was difficult to read, so I've played around with the layout.  Also, chibi-Penny looks down on us from above.  And she is judging.


So, if you feel moved to do so, feel free to leave feedback on the new look in the comments.

The King 2 Hearts

So I've finished episodes 7 and 8 and boy, what a wild ride.  I think I have whiplash. I can't remember the last time I cried so much over a drama.  


Spoilers after the jump....

Geek Post

I am a language geek.  Somewhere in the multiverse I am a linguist.  In this universe I'm just a dork with books on etymology and the history of the English language.


So, as you can imagine, when they highlight dialect differences between North and South Korea in The King2Hearts I squee like a fangirl.  I don't speak Korean, so it's thanks to awesome recappers like girlfriday  at Dramabeans that I even realize some of the nuances of what is happening on the screen.


More after the jump...

Busker Busker - Cherry Blossom Ending

This has nothing to do with anything, I just like the song.  The only thing this has in common with kdramas is that they are both in Korean.

What I'm Watching Next

The winner is....


City Hunter


Yay! Let's all give City Hunter a round of applause.

Why I'm Watching:  It's sort of a modern classic in the sphere of Kdrama.  People talk about it so much I want to see if it will live up to the hype. Also, it has a badass woman being badass. 

Hong Sisters Take on Freaky Friday

Dramabeans had an update today on the new Hong Sisters drama "Big".  The casting of Gong Yoo has been confirmed, as well as the main plotline. Instead of remaking the Tom Hanks movie, this will involve a body swap, a la Freaky Friday, between and 18-year-old and Gong Yoo's character of an adult engaged businessman.  

more after the jump...

What's Next?

I have one episode left of You're Beautiful.  So sad!  It's hard to find a drama that delivers so consistently.


At any rate, 3 dramas at a time is just about my max.  The King 2 Hearts makes it easy because it's currently running, so that's just two episodes per week.  I usually prefer to wait until the entire series is subbed, but it sucked me in with its yummy goodness. That leaves me with My Girlfriend is a Gumiho.  I'm loving that drama, but I've reached episode 8.  Right around episode 8 tends to be the tipping point for angst in many of the dramas I've seen, so it's nice to have another drama to turn too when the angsting gets to be too much.


This is kind of long, so my choices are behind the jump:

Kimbap!

That word is so fun to say, I'll say it again. Kimbap!  It practically begs you to yell it. 


So Kdramas are famous for the food porn.  It's like grocery shopping.  If you go with an empty stomach you're going to get in trouble fast. 


In Greatest Love, Gu Ae Jung makes kimbap for little Ding Dong's school outing.  Just for fun, I thought I'd try my hand at it.  For a first time, it didn't turn out too bad.  At least the little rolls held together.

Directions are behind the jump:

What? No Puppy?

South Korea is having an election today, so King2Hearts has been pre-empted by election coverage.  Noooooooooo!!!  Don't they know that I need to see this episode? 


Darn democracy in action.


The good news, according to the peeps at Dramabeans, is that we will have two, 2, two episodes tomorrow night.    Let us now say a prayer for the nimble fingers of the lovely subbers. 

Winner of the Funniest Scene in Kdramaland

You're Beautiful has killed me.  I'm dying. I'm dead.


***SPOILER****I'm watching episode 14 and they are ACTING OUT SLASHFIC!!!


Hong Sisters, you complete me.


ETA:    OMG Jeremy is a fan of his own slashfic. *Faints*  He so totally would be.

Fox Rain

This is the theme song from My Girlfriend is a Gumiho, sung by Lee Sun Hee.  She's an older singer, well out of the idol years, and I think you can hear it in the depth and emotion of her voice.

http://youtu.be/Bthzu5ySIVY Link to video on youtube.

Episode 6, The King 2 Hearts

I finally watched episode 6 last night.  Awww, Puppy is growing up!  It helps that he's co-starring with Ha Ji Won.  She's one of those actresses that makes the actors around her look better.  She has crazy chemistry with everyone.


I love this drama so much. I want to hug it and pet it and name it George.