Top Korean Dramas Of 2013

Master’s Sun: Korean Drama

Year 2013 has ended and 2014 has began. What were the top and best rated Korean Dramas of Year 2013. According to several website survey done by Korean Drama fans have picked following Korean Drama Series as top Korean Drama for year 2013.

If drama ended in 2013 then is considered to be 2013 Drama list for voting. However, if a few drama that started in 2013, but will end in 2014 will be part of 2014 drama series voting to make easy voting choice.

There were about 88 Korean dramas that aired during year 2013. Some of them are obviously better and many are not. I did not even realize before writing this post and before research that there were so many Korean dramas were released. Obviously I have not seen all of them and nor I should. See below of all drama that aired in Korea on various Television network.

(Scorll Down to see Top Korean Drama Pick for 2013)

88 Korean Dramas Showed in Year 2013

100 Year Legacy (MBC)
Advertising Genius Lee Tae Baek (KBS2)
All About My Romance (SBS)
Answer Me 1994 (tvN)
Birth Secret (SBS)
Blue Tower (tvN)
Can We Get Married ? (jTBC)
Cheer Up, Mr. Kim (KBS1)
Cheongdamdong Alice (SBS)
Childless Comfort (jTBC)
Crazy Love (tvN)
Cruel City (jTBC)
Cruel Palace – War of Flowers (jTBC)
Dating Agency: Cyrano (tvN)
Empire of Gold (SBS)
Family (KBS2)
Fantasy Tower (tvN)
Flower Boy Next Door (tvN)
Glass Mask (tvN)
Goddess of Marriage (SBS)
Good Doctor (KBS2)
Good For You (MBC)
Her Legend (jTBC)
Here Comes Mr. Oh (MBC)
Hur Jun, The Original Story (MBC)
I Hear Your Voice (SBS)
I Love You (SBS)
I Miss You (MBC)
I Summon You, Gold! (MBC)
Incarnation of Money (SBS)
IRIS 2 (KBS2)
Jang Ok Jung (SBS)
Jeon Woo Chi (KBS2)
Jung Yi, The Goddess of Fire (MBC)
KangChi, The Beginning (MBC)
King’s Dream (KBS1)
Lee Soon Shin is a Best (KBS2)
Level 7 Civil Servant (MBC)
Looking Forward to Romance (KBS2)
Mandate of Heaven: The Fugitive of Joseon (KBS2)
Marry Him If You Dare (KBS2)
Maybe Love (MBC)
Medical Top Team (MBC)
Monstar (Mnet tvN)
My Daughter Seo Yeong (KBS2)
My Love, Madame Butterfly (SBS)
Nailshop Paris (MBC QueeN)
Nine: 9 Times Time Travel (tvN)
Play Guide (tvN)
Princess Aurora (MBC)
Pure Love (KBS2)
Queen of Ambition (SBS)
Royal Villa (jTBC)
Rude Miss Young Ae 11 (tvN)
Rude Miss Young Ae 12 (tvN)
Scandal : a Shocking and Wrongful Incident (MBC)
School 2013 (KBS2)
Secret (KBS2)
Shark (KBS2)
She is WOW (tvN)
Short Family (E-Channel)
Sincerity Moves Heaven (KBS1)
Special Affairs Team TEN 2 (OCN)
Sword and Flower (KBS2)
That Winter, The Wind Blows (SBS)
The Birth of a Family (SBS)
The End of a World (jTBC)
The Great Seer (SBS)
The Heirs (SBS)
The King’s Doctor (MBC)
The Master’s Sun (SBS)
The Queen’s Classroom (MBC)
The Queen of Office (KBS2)
The Sons (MBC)
The Suspicious Housekeeper (SBS)
The Virus (OCN)
Thorn Flower (jTBC)
TV Novel – Dear Love (KBS2)
TV Novel – Eun Hee (KBS2)
TV Novel – Sam Saeng (KBS2)
Two Weeks (MBC)
Ugly Alert (SBS)
Unemployed Romance (E-Channel)
When a Man Falls in Love (MBC)
Who Are You? (tvN)
Wonderful Mama (SBS)
Your Neighbor’s Wife (jTBC)
Your Woman (SBS)

Top Korean Drama for 2013:

My picks for best dramas are based on dramas that I have personally seen and liked or disliked, and has some influence by other Korean drama expert and fan forum chats. Without further ado, here are my top pick for Kdrama.

1. The Heirs:

My favorite actors Lee Mino and Park Shin Hye are both in it so I had to watch it and I would say it was best 2013 Korean drama that aired this year. “The Heirs” depicts the friendships, rivalries and love lives of young, rich heirs led by Kim Tan (Lee Min Ho) and a girl named Cha Eun Sang (Park Shin Hye). The series follows a group of privileged, rich, elite high school students as they are groomed to take over their families’ business empires. These wealthy students seem to have everything under control, except their love lives.

2. Marry Him If you Dare:

This series also known as Mirae’s choice. Set in the world of television broadcasting, Na Mi-rae travels back in time to prevent her 32-year-old self from marrying news anchor Kim Shin, thus sending her past self down a different path and enabling her to pursue the things she really wanted in life. It was great, except ambiguous ending that left me and others baffled.

3. Master’s Sun

The story line seemed unique and interesting and so was the drama. Joo Joong-won (So Ji-sub) is the stingy and greedy CEO of Kingdom meets the gloomy Tae Gong-shil (Gong Hyo-jin), who started seeing ghosts after an accident. Their lives take a new turn as they work together to deal with the terror and sadness brought about by the spirits, while delving into a kidnapping incident in Joong-won’s past.

4. That Winter Wind Blows

This series is based on the Japanese drama I Don’t Need Love, Summer. Oh Soo – An orphan who doesn’t care about anything after the death of his first love, he becomes a high-class gambler and playboy. Desperate to find money to repay a debt or forfeit his own life, he becomes a con artist who sets sights on a new target: Oh Young, pretending to be her long-lost brother.

5. I Miss You

I watch everything that has Park Yoochun, so I had to watch it. High school sweethearts Jung-woo and Soo-yeon were separated in a horrifying tragedy that continues to weigh down on them as adults. Now a guilt-ridden detective, Jung-woo has been desperately searching for Soo-yeon for years, but when he crosses paths with her again, she has already become someone else with a new identity.

6. Answer Me 1994

Going back to past (to 1994). Six young students from Jeolla Province, Chungcheong Province, and Gyeongsang Province room together at a boarding house, while attending a university in Seoul. The boarding house is run by a couple (Sung Dong-il, Lee Il-hwa) with a daughter (Go Ara), exploring kpop and Korean baseball in early nineties.

7. Two Weeks

This is Lee Joong Ki’s comeback acting series after being discharged from mandatory military service. Orphaned at a young age when his father left and his mother committed suicide, Tae-san became a small-time gangster. After getting falsely accused of murder and learning that he has a daughter with leukemia, Tae-san spends the next two weeks in a life-or-death struggle to save himself and the girl.

8. Secret

Kang Yoo Hung sacrifices her future by going to prison in her boyfriend Do-hoon’s place after he kills a woman in a hit-and-run accident. But in exchange for her devotion, he abandons her. Refusing to give in to despair, she emerges from prison a stronger woman who’s determined to make a fresh start and live differently. As story unfolds, secrets began to reveal

9. I Hear Your Voice

Goo Seung-hyun as young kid- He receives a secret ability of being able to read people’s minds by seeing their eyes after witnessing his father’s death. After Jang Hye-sung testifies in court, he swore that he would protect and guard her if he ever meet her again. 10 years later, he meets Jang Hye-Sung, now a public defender and helps her while falling for her.

10. Cheongdamdong Alice

Han Se-kyung is an optimistic girl living her life with the belief that “hard work is my strength. The Korean president of Artemis, a famous luxury brand. Although he was born into a rich family, he is estranged from his father and built his company based on his own hard work. He says he will never trust women again after getting hurt by one; actually, he desires true love more than anybody else.

Which are your Favorite 2013 Korean Drama?

January 2, 2014January 5, 2014

Which Kdrama Is Best For Beginner?

Boys Over Flower: Another Love Story Couple

When I first started watching Korean Drama was by accident and I chose the good Kdrama for expert, but not for a beginner. I watched melodrama which was slow and had many sad scenes. However, somehow, I stuck along 20 episodes of it and survived. Since then I realized that there are much more better choices of Kdramas I could have started with.

Watching Korean Drama is very different compared to American Drama and even BBC mini series sitcoms, it is very unique experience. If you are new to Korean Drama or want to experience the craze about Kdrama, then these are the dramas you should start with.

Things to know before watching any Korean Drama:

Korean dramas are 16-24 episodes long, unlike decade running series like “All My Children” or “General Hospital. That means there is finite time and end.
Korean dramas are over an hour long, without any ads or commercials. If you watch it on some streaming drama sites, they would add their own ads every 15 minutes or so, making it long (Unless you get paid subscription)
Make sure before you buy or pay for Kdrama, it has fully English subtitles, or whichever language you prefer. If you are native Korean speaker, ignore this tip.
Korean drama are slower in pace and culture is quite different compared to US or western culture and drama. Sometimes holding hands between lead pairs can take long time.
There is less importance on physical relationship. Sometimes lead pair can kiss in last episodes, or sometimes they may not even kiss despite loving such as “49 days”. Don’t worry, it will not make it dull or less romantic viewing. Believe me and other Kdrama addict fans.
There will be lot of back hugs, piggy back rides, drinking and eating food together, plenty of guy shower scene as they seemed to do lot of thinking during shower.
Storyline either be modern time, or Joseon era of past, or time traveling between old and modern time such as Rooftop Prince or Queen In Hyun’s Man.
Do not start a Korean Drama just before test, before project is due. Believe me, everything will be left as it is and drama will be finished.
You may lose your sleep, just trying to watch JUST ONE MORE episodes. I have done it plenty of time.
You may start to read Kdrama blogs and recruit other people missing out on watching Korean Drama.

Okay, now that I said what to expect, let’s move on important part such as which is the best Korean Drama to start watching. After watching Korean Drama since 2010 and watching many good, bad, ugly and all in between dramas, I can suggest and share my best drama list for new beginners to Kdrama world.

Best Korean Dramas For a Beginner:

One more thing, first episodes is always a introduction of situations, characters and it is all jumble usually for most Korean Drama. You will have to watch at least 2 or 3 episodes to really get in to drama. So, have little patience and watch 2-3 episodes at least.

City Hunter

This is best Kdrama for beginner in my opinion, as the story takes place in modern time, and has cool spy things, politics, love, revenge all rolled in to one. Of course, having a Good looking Lee Min Ho starring in it, sure helps. Based on a famous Japanese comic, CITY HUNTER is a Korean TV drama thriller starring Lee Min-Ho(Boys Over Flowers( and Park Min-Young (Sungkyunkwan Scandal) that follows a trail of revenge and romance all the way to the presidential Blue House.

You’re Beautiful

This series is about 3 guys in boy band group and one girl, pretending to be a boy in a boy band which surely leads to love, confusion and heartaches. Taekyung (Jang Keun-Suk) is A.N.JELL’s arrogant and insufferable lead singer. Guitarist Shinwoo (Jung Yong-Hwa of C.N.Blue) is too perceptive for his own good, and happy-go-lucky drummer Jeremy (Lee Hong-Ki of F.T. Island) is just plain slow on the uptake. Into the boy band mix comes A.N.JELL’s bumbling newbie, Go Minam (Park Shin-Hye). But what the fans don’t know is that he’s actually a she! Roped into posing as her twin brother, Minam has to hide her real identity. But secrets have a way of coming out, especially when her bandmates start falling for her!

Secret Garden:

Story is cute and has un-realistic plot line, but that will not matter, you will want true love life like them in no time. From shiny tracksuits to cappuccino foam kisses, the fantasy romance Secret Garden provided some of the hottest topics in 2011. Hyun Bin and Ha Ji Won bicker away in the series as an eccentric, elitist CEO and a spunky stunt woman who hate each other almost as much as they’re undeniably attracted to each other. It’ll take some magical intervention to get these two stubborn lovebirds to ‘fess up to their feelings!

Roof Top Prince:

This drama story takes places in both modern and old Joseon era times, however it is mostly in modern present time. There is re-incarnation of both male leads and female leads in both modern and olden era.

Prince Lee Gak finds himself time traveling 300 years into the future with his 3 trusted sidekicks as they are investigating murder of Princess, his wife. They would have to go through considerable challenges as he adapts to 21st century Seoul and Park-ha. Can love last when there is 300 years gap? You will laugh, cry and fall in love with Omurice, J4 (Joseon 4 guys) and lead pair’s love story.

Full House:

This was very popular series in 2004, by singer actor Rain and I can see why, it has every thing Kdrama needs, rich, good looking male lead, pretty, happy go lucky poor female lead, fake marriage contract and love square.

Female lead Han Ji-eun’s loses her house by greedy friend to Rain. She and rain makes an arrangement for her to earn her house back by working at home for him, which leads to Fake Marriage contract and confusion and eventual love. Even though I am not a big Rain fan, I like his acting in this series.

Boys Over Flower:

This is high school romance story between unlikely pair has its origin in Japanese Manga. Only reason you should watch this drama is, unless you have watched Boys Over Flower once you do not know Kdrama. While it has too much hype as most popular Korean dram, you should watch it for experience and who Jan Di and Gun Pyo are, and who F4, fabulous four guys are. Story takes place in high school where F4 are rich, good looking and bully to the core. One poor girl, stands up to them and 2 guys falls for her from F4. How their love survives between evil mom, memory loss and fiance is what makes it fun.

Queen In Hyun’s Man:

To people who complain that there are not enough hot kisses in Korean drama should watch this drama as it has many passionate kisses between the lead pair. They are dating in real life at the time, so I guess the chemistry shows up on screen. The story takes place in modern time but time traveling is also there. Male lead who is smart, considerate and adapts to modern life quickly. Love story has cute, comedy scenes are there and fun to watch, so go ahead and try it.

The Heirs:

The Heirs also takes place in high school and stars Lee Min Ho. But unlike Lee Min Ho character from Boys Over Flowers, here Lee Min Ho’s Character Kim Tan is more mature and level headed person, even though he used to be a bully in past. Kim Tan is in California in first few episodes, his English leaves lot to desire but it will not matter. Love story between illegitimate rich son and housekeeper’s daughter is shown in realistic way. Seeing screwed up lives of rich parents and kids made me feel at ease that I am not rich. Watch this series for fun viewing as it is in modern times that we can relate.

IIjimae:

Unlike other Korean Drama for beginner, this is only Kdrama that is completely takes place in olden time. The reason I picked it here but it story line is similar to Robin Hood. The hero or Iijimae robs and steal to help poor, oppressed people under corrupt lawmakers. We get to see his past story to why he does what he does. There is love from 2 girls that Iljimae has, but does he have time for it? I believe, new Kdrama viewers will love this series even though it is takes place in Joseon era.

Dream High:

Dream high is a feel-good fluff Kdrama that is fun to watch. Six students at Kirin High School have the dream of becoming K-pop idols. During their school years, they learn how to develop their singing, songwriting and dancing skills while undergoing personal growth. They also go through their love life and start to develop feelings for each other. Each one of the students has his or her own strengths and weaknesses, but they strive to debut with the support and guidance of each other. The series was so popular that there is season 2 of Dream High was made with new actors and season 1 actors making a cameos in it.

So, pick any one of the drama and start watching Korean Drama, soon you will be viewing more complex and wonderful world of Korean Drama in no time.

January 1, 2014February 20, 2014

Top Taiwanese Dramas To see

Mars: Taiwanese Drama

At first, I was only watching Korean Asian Dramas, but then a friend suggested I should check out some Taiwanese Drama that she was watching, so I started watching with here with little to no expectations. I expected Taiwanese Drama to be similar to Korean drama, but boy I was surprised, they were quite different as apples and oranges.

Chinese Drams can be broken down to Taiwanese Drama, Hong Kong Drama, Mandarin Language Drama, Cantonese Language Drama and so on. Many Chinese dramas are not as main stream such as Japanese or Korean Dram. What it means here is that finding some Chinese drama with exception of Taiwanese drama, finding drama with English subtitle was not so easy, that means non-native speaker would not be able to see it. Another thing about Chinese entertainment industry as not commercially sophisticated as South Korea and Japan in terms of Universal appeal and story line that match mass population. That not to say, there are not so great drama from China. You can see more Taiwanese Drama in my Drama list, where I have listed all drama I have watched.

How Taiwanese Drama Different from Korean Drama?

Parents are more understanding of kids and supportive, No evil Mom like Boys Over Flower
Notmany evil ex-girl-friend or boy- friend from past
If by chance there is evil person, they will be given help (example. “Just you” Taiwanese Drama)
Kiss is more than touching lips unlike in Kdrama
Usually much longer, 21-72 episodes
Much more family oriented
Male leads are less metro-sexual unlike Kdrama, where guys puts lip-gloss etc
Some Taiwanese drama are remake from Korean Drama, Japanese Manga

Top Taiwanese Drama To See:

1. Just you: (2013)

This is my most favorite drama because of cute leading pairs and message for love and forgiving that makes me feel uplifted even with a one evil character in it. Qi Yi is a boss from hell. He is worst than a control freaking dictator. He is the saboteur of office romances. Cheng Liang Liang was tasked by her coworkers to break down the boss’ defense and have him lift the anti-office-romance rule. This series is 21 episodes long.

2. Mars: (2004)

Han Qi Luo, an extremely shy art student went to the same college as Chen Ling,a popular play boy. They both are haunted by past traumatic events of their own and began to heal together slowly. However, each of them had a secret past that needed to be addressed and overcome before they could accept and love one another freely. It is deep series that talks about many taboo subject and lovely love story within haunting and sad lives they had. It has 21 episodes.

Mars Fall in Love OST

3. Love Around: (2013)

Another series of Annie Chen and George Hu after Love Now. Radio DJ Liang Xiao Shu is outgoing, straightforward and speaks up against bad guys in her radio show. After finding out her boyfriend of three months is cheating on her, she is devastated. By a chance encounter she meets Zhou Zhen who comes from a former gangster family that has decided to go straight. Zhen is gentle, gracious and upright, he encourages and helps Xiao Shu by taking on his father and working for Liang’s radio show to help her. Little does he know the seed of love has already begun to grow. This series is 21 episodes long.

Love Around Trailer: English Subs.

4. Meteor garden : (2001)

This is Taiwanese version of “Boys Over Flowers”, story takes place in college, instead of high school. Yet another adaptation of a Japanese manga. Based upon Hana Yori Dango. It’s the story of a poor girl in a rich, private school who falls in with the four richest boys in school. At first they hate her, but her defiance to them, (when no one defies them) eventually wins them over. Can they adjust to each others differences due to their vastly incompatible social status? 27 episodes long.

5. When Love Walked In: (2012)

This series stars, idols stars, Calvin Chen, Zhou Mi (Super Junior-M) and Victoria from F(X). Young, talented, and handsome Qing Yu Jiang receives orders to look for Chairman Yuan’s long lost granddaughter, Shen Ya Yin. Because of her parents’ death, Ya Yin is bitter towards her grandfather. Yu Jiang not only eases the tension between them, but he gradually enters Ya Yin’s heart. But when their love begins, Yu Jiang backs out because of his love for his childhood friend. Yu Jiang tries to find her, but fails to realize that she has been by his side all along. This series is 32 episodes long.

6. Skip Beat: (Also Known as Extravagant challenge): 2011

This Taiwanese series stars Siwon and Donghae from Super Junior. It is based on the Japanese manga Skip Beat. High school graduate Gong Xi starts working on multiple jobs in order to support Bu Po Shang whom she has one-side love. Bu PO Shang’s popularity quickly rises, eventually becoming one of the top idols in Taiwan. One day, Gong Xi catches Bu Po Shang flirting with his manager, and learns that he only used her so she can help him with his living expenses. Heart-broken and betrayed, Gong Xi vows to get revenge by becoming a bigger star than him. Gong Xi auditions for L.M.E., Bu Po Shang’s rival talent agency, and joins L.M.E.’s new-found department “Love Me”. At L.M.E., Gong Xi meets famous actor Dun Helian, who eventually falls in love with her. This series is 15 episodes long.

7.It Started With a Kiss: (2005)

Story line is similar to Korean Drama Playful Kiss but it goes in much more depth and details. After an earthquake destroyed Xiang Qin’s house, she and her father moved in with the family of her father’s college buddy, Uncle Ah Li. To her surprise, the kind and amicable aunt and uncle are the parents of her cold and distant schoolmate Jiang Zhi Shu, a genius with an IQ of 200 whom not too long ago rejected her endless crush on him. Will the close proximity give her a second chance to win Zhi Shu’s heart? Or, will her love for him end under his cold words? What happens when there is competition for his heart? This series is 30 episodes long.

8. Fabulous Boys: (2013)

This is Taiwanese remake of a hit drama You’re Beautiful. The story revolves around a fictional boy band named A.N.JELL. The new member, Mei Nan, had to go to the States to repair a botched eye job just before signing the contract. His agent came up with the idea of having his twin sister, Gao Mei Nu a nun-in-training who has to pose as her twin brother and take his place in the group and to stand in for him. The two of them grew up in an orphanage and Mei Nu, who was all set to become a nun, agreed to this charade as she didn’t want to spoil her brother’s chance of fame which would make it easier to look for their mother. The story leads to a complicated relationship between the group’s members: jealousy arises and love comes in between. 13 Episodes.

9. Love Now: (2012)

Yang Yi-ru, as a workaholic never had time for a holiday, so her family tricks in to a vacation telling she has cancer and only six months to live. It was meant to be told when she reaches the hotel room, but she does not get the letter of truth in time and really believes she is dying. When Yi-ru told Shi-de that she only has six months left to live and that one of her dream was to get married and have kids, Shi-de proposed to Yi-ru. Not knowing that Shi-de actually had met her years ago and had fallen in love with her since that time, Yi-ru accepted his proposal. Now Shi-de is hurt when truth is out in open. It has 72 episodes but worth watching.

10. Lady Maid Maid: (2012)

Xiao Jie (Nicholas Teo) is a womanizer who changes girls like the way he changes clothes. Whereas, Shu Qi (Reen Yu) is a sweet and caring girl who sees Xiao Jie as her only prince charming because when Xiao Jie was at the lowest point in her life, not only did Xiao Jie give her and her family a home to live. Until one day a child shows up claiming to be Xiao Jie’s and with this changes their whole world.. With two people from two different worlds, can they be together and have happiness? It is 67 episodes long.

11. Fated To Love You: (2008)

Xin Yi sticky note girl who is ordinary and forgettable person. She gets dumped by her boyfriend at cruise vacation she paid for and ends up in Ji Cun Xi’sroom. Cun Xi is the sole male heir to his family’s company and is on cruise to propose to his girlfriend Anna, who does not show up. Xin Yi and Cun Xi end up having a one night stand. Xin Yi later finds out that she’s pregnant and Cun Xi’s grandmother forces them to get married. Will a couple forced to marry for the sake of their unborn child find love with each other? It has 24 episodes.

12. Devil Beside You : (2005)

Devil Beside You is adaption of manga Akuma de Sourou (The Devil Does Exist) by mangaka Takanashi Mitsuba. A girl writes a love letter to a boy. The wrong boy (a delinquent) intercepts the letter and blackmails her with it. The wrong boy later turns out to be her future step-brother (and love interest). Even though they were not related by blood, who will accept this step brother-sister relationship? What is to become of their relationship when other lovers come into the picture? It has 20 episodes.

Devil Besides You: English Subtitle

13. Autumn’s Concerto: (2009)

Ren Guang Xi, a cocky law student, seems to lead the perfect life with rich parents and being talented hockey player. But in reality, his lonely life lacks joy, laughter until he meets Liang Mu Cheng,who is poor bento seller but passionate and happygoing. A harmless bet brings the two together and Guang Xi slowly changes as Mu Cheng teaches him how to give and love. Tragedy strikes when Guang Xi loses his memory. His mother begs Mu Cheng to leave him and the latter has no choice but to do so. Little does she know that she already has Guang Xi’s child. They meet after 6 six years, when he is engaged to be married with someone else.How will the couple make up for six years of lost time? Happiness, which stop do I alight at? It has 21 episodes.

14. Hana Kimi: (2006)

This was remade in Kdrama To Beautiful you with Choi Min Ho from Shinee and Suli from F(x). After watching a high jump competition on TV, Lu Rui Xi was so inspired by a jumper named Zuo Yi Quan that she decides to transfer to his school, which happened to be an all-boys school; therefore, she disguises herself as a boy to get accepted to help and inspire Zuo Yu Quan back in to game. It has 15 episodes.

15. Tiamo Chocolate: (2012)

Story is very similar to Korean Drama Coffee Prince, with Coffee being replaced with Chocolates. Vanness plays a successor of a business. His dream is to open a chocolate store and be an expert in chocolates, so he leaves his business and his family to fulfill his dream. Joanne is someone who spent her days slogging and taking up part time work. One day, she ends up working for Vanness and above all, she has to dress herself as a man for the job. It has 80 episodes.

16. Smiling Pasta:(2006)

The story begins with Xiao Shi day dreaming on her balcony, wishing for a successful love. She meets He Qun by chance. This marks the beginning of their intertwined destinies. It has love story, love contract, family and sibling relationship and great Italian cooking. It has 17 episodes.

Smiling Pasta Trailer

17. Princess Stand In: (2013)

The ugly Jin Da Hua daydreams that if she is as beautiful as Du Liang Yan, maybe her best friend Lin Guan Jun will fall in love with her. Then one day, through plastic surgery, she is given the chance to change her life. It has 21 episodes.

18. In Born Pair (2011-2012)

Two strangers, who never had much luck in the love arena, found themselves betrothed by their families. They decided to take chance on arranged marriage. They fight but slowly gave way to genuine fondness for one another. In the end, the couple discovered that true love is not to be found but has to be cultivated.

19. Corner With Love (2007)

Barbie Hsu stars as Xinlei, a rich Shanghai girl who has taken for granted all her fortune and happiness. Cook and amateur painter Chin Lang (Show Luo) is less lucky. The two cross path in metropolitan Shanghai, and with the help of Xinlei, Chin Lang finally returns to Taipei. He expects never to see her again. But as fate would have it, she shows up at his door all of a sudden – and as if that is not surprising enough – to claim the ownership of his apartment.

20. Office Girls (2011)

Qin Zi Qi is a MBA graduate who has everything handed to him because he is the future successor of Jingshi Department Store. who is working as an entry-level employee for a year without revealing his identity as his father’s wishes. Qin could not have survived the year has it not been for Shen Xing Reng’s office survival guide. Together, Shen and Qin accomplish the impossible, which is to shine on the bottom of the office pyramid.

There are many great Taiwanese Dramas, which I have yet to watch, which is your Favorite Taiwanese Drama?

Check out other Great Taiwanese Dramas: Taiwanese Dramas

December 30, 2013December 31, 2013

My Lovely Kim Sam Soon

My Lovely Sam Soon Korean Drama Review

This Kdrama Genre is Romance, Comedy with 16 episodes and aired on MBC network from June 2005 to July 2005. Main star cast are, Kim Sun Ah as Kim Sam-soon, Hyun Bin as Hyun Jin-heon, Jung Ryu Won as Yoo Hee-jin and Daniel Henney as Dr. Henry Kim. I liked Hyun Bin since “Millionaire’s First Love” and had seen Daniel Henney in “Seducing Mr. Perfect” and both are great in here as well as female leads.

Plot follows like a quite a few Korean Drama before, poor female leads is too good, gets dumped by boyfriend. She gets in love/marriage contract with rich and jerk male lead, and eventually both fall in love for real. Kim Sam Soon (Kim Sun Ah) is a baker who has a talent in making pastries and cakes. On one day, she caught her boyfriend, Min Hyun Woo (Lee Kyu Han), cheating on her and breaks up on the same night. By sheer coincidence, Jin Hun needs a baker for his restaurant Bon Appetit and Sam Soon is unemployed. Sam Soon is hired as the restaurant’s chief baker. Nevertheless, they started to have feeling for each other and Sam Soon agreed to post as Jin Hun’s girlfriend so his mother would leave him alone. Things got complicated when Jin Hun’s ex-girlfriend Yoo Hee Jin came back from the States intending to win him back.

It’s a story about a 29-year-old woman named Kim Sam Soon. Prior to turning 30, Sam Soon had basically three goals, i.e. to find love, to officially change her name to Kim Hee-jin and to run a bakery business. She graduated in Paris and was a highly qualified pastry chef, who, has the habit of baking cakes and pastries to relax. Nothing was going right for Sam Soon at the start of the story. Her long-time boyfriend dumped her for a slim, pretty, rich, and younger woman. Worst, people often laughed when she introduce herself. And she was jobless. She lived with her mother and elder sister who returned from Paris after a divorce.

Buy: My Lovely Sam Soon (English Subtitles)

My Lovely Same Soon Korean Drama Trailer

Plot in details: The story starts with Sam Soon’s series of bad luck. Her luck changed when she was offered a job as a pastry chef in an expensive western restaurant called ‘Bon Appetite’. There, she met Hyun Jin-heon who was 3 years younger than her and who was also the owner of the restaurant. Jin-heon, was not a very nice boss and often bully her.

However, forced by desperation for money, Sam Soon approached her boss for a loan. At first he flatly refused. Later he agreed, but on the condition that she agreed to pose as his girlfriend and fiance for the next few months. Sam Soon reluctantly agreed and vowed to pay him back as soon as she could. Jin-heon had his own problems. He was trying to runaway from his mother’s arranged marriage plans. He thought he could convince his mother to stop, thinking that he was already involved in a serious relationship with Sam Soon.

Gradually, Sam Soon developed feelings for Jin-heon and later confessed. Jin-heon, on the other hand, was confused especially when his ex-girlfriend, Lee He-jin, returned from the United States to continue their relationship. Jin-heon refused to admit that he loved Sam Soon and forced himself to start again with Hee-jin. At about the same time, Sam Soon’s ex-boyfriend returned and started to woo her back despite being married. He wanted to make her his mistress.

This drove Jin-heon crazy and he finally understood his feelings for Sam Soon. He confessed to Sam Soon but was too afraid to break-up with Hee-jin. Hee-jin was suffering from an eating disorder and had just recovered from cancer. Obviously, the poor woman found out and fell ill again. It worried Jin-heon but luckily, her hunk of a doctor cum friend Daniel Henny was there to support her. She decided to return to the US with Dennis but requested Jin-heon to accompany her to the US for one last time and stay for a week. Jin-heon was reluctant but went ahead after seeking ‘approval’ from Sam Soon.

Surprisingly, he didn’t return as promised. After waiting around for months, the broken-hearted Sam Soon decided to move on and start a bakery shop together with her sister. When Sam Soon was starting a new relationship with another guy, came back. He claimed that he has been sending postcards to her while traveling alone in the US. Of course Sam Soon accepted him back but the ending is not 100% happy and is a bit disappointing. If you want to know, buy the DVD la.

One outstanding thing about the drama was that Sam Soon’s character wasn’t the typical feminine roles Korean dramas often portray. In fact, she’s quite the opposite. She has bad hair, a bit fat, poor sense of fashion, rough demeanor, often uses rude language and has a really bad temper. It amazes me how an anti-hero character would grow into such a lovable one.

Overall, I’m giving this drama a high score of 8.5/10. It’s highly recommended for those who are desperate for a good laugh. It has many funny scenes that would make your eyes water with laughter. (Source: CheAyu)

This drama won a quite a few awards, such as;

Awards

42ND THE PAEKSANG AWARDS
– Best Drama, My Lovely Sam-Soon
– Best Screenplay, Kim Do Woo
– Most Popular Couple, Hyun Bin, and Kim Sun Ah
– Best Cast, My Lovely Sam-Soon

MBC AWARDS 2005
– New Actor Award, Daniel Henney
– Popularity Award, The Main Couple Hyun Bin and Kim Sun Ah
– Best Couple Award,Hyun Bin and Kim Sun Ah
– Excellence Award , Jung Ryu Won
– Top Excellence Award/ Male: Hyun Bin
– Top Excellence Award/ Female: Kim Sun Ah
– Greatest Award, Kim Sun Ah

SEOUL DRAMA AWARDS 2006
– Best Mini Series, My Lovely Sam-Soon

Buy: My Lovely Sam Soon (English Subtitles)

December 12, 2013December 29, 2013

Queen Inhyun’s Man Korean Drama Review

Rating:*** (A-)

This is nice romantic korean drama that ran from 18 April 2012 – 7 June 2012. It is 16 episodes long. Plot is not simple and keeps viewers intrigued throughout 16 episodes, it did at least for me. The story flips back and forth from Joseon era to modern korean time 2012 when the series first aired. Kim Boong-do (Ji Hyun-woo) is a noble-born scholar in 17th century Joseon era and his family’s sole survivor after they were massacred in a conspiracy. Boong-do supports the reinstatement of Queen In-hyun, who was deposed due to scheming by royal concubine Lady Jang.

Meanwhile in modern-day Seoul in 2012, Choi Hee-jin (Yoo In-na), an unknown and upcoming actress, lands her big break when she is cast as Queen In-hyun in the television drama “New Jang Heebin”. Due to a mysterious talisman, Boong-do time-travels to 2012, where he crosses paths with Hee-jin and falls in love. I like the part where Choi Hee Jin’s friend and manager keeps asking same questions to Kim Boong do as history keeps changing by the action they have taken. While I do not think Hee Jin is not the “most beautiful person in world” as she names herself in Boong Do’s cell phone but it makes me chuckle at cuteness.

Of course, there are a few plot holes towards the end of series such as why talisman changes (without giving away spoilers for those who have not yet seen it) sometimes I just take happy ending for sake of feeling romantic or good as sometimes dramas do not follow logic but they entertain us. Quote from the drama’s narration – “A chance encounter that started with a gap in time… that meeting already ended a year ago. Our reunion now is not because of a mysterious talisman written by a monk, but because of a string of memories that belongs only to us both. Now begins our second encounter. Now, I am his lifesaver. The price to pay? All he has to do is stay forever by my side.” May explain the last episode time travel via cell phone was possible, may be?

There are a few dramas that I can re-watch and this is certainly one of it. It has history, romance, mystery and of course time travel unlike in roof top prince, where time traveling was not frequent as in this one.

During filming, actors who played the lead roles actually fell in love and after much gossips and Hyun Woo and Yoon In Na admitted to be couple. I like sometimes that romantic couple I rooted for in the series were actually in love and it comes across the scenes.

Queen In Hyun’s Kissing Scene (English Subtitle)

Cast:

Ji Hyun-woo – Kim Boong-do
Yoo In-na – Choi Hee-jin
Kim Jin-woo – Han Dong-min, Hee-jin’s ex-boyfriend
Ga Deuk-hee – Jo Soo-kyung, Hee-jin’s friend and manager
Jin Ye-sol – Yoon-wol
Uhm Hyo-seop – Minister Min
Lee Kwan-hoon – Ja-soo
Ji Nam-hyuk – Han-dong
Park Young-rin – Yoon Na-jung
Jo Dal-hwan – Chun-soo
Seo Woo-jin – King Sukjong
Kim Hae-in – Queen In-hyun
Choi Woo-ri – Jang Hee-bin
Kim Won-hae – Eunuch Hong

Memorable Quotes from the Series:

Hee Jin: „Wait, don’t go. Don’t…go. If you go now, I might never see you again… Don’t go. After trying so hard to save your life, why are you treating me like this? Didn’t you say you’d be responsible for me? Why are you not honouring your promise? Don’t go…“

Boong Do: „I didn’t know it myself, but I think I just might be a player. This I admit.“

Boong Do: „But why is my letter still around? How?“

Hee Jin: „Minister Nam kept this in his possession. Last month, his descendants officially disclosed it.“

Boong Do: „How can they disclose someone else’s private letter?! It has to be destroyed.“

Hee Jin: „That letter is now in the museum. Now, you definitely can’t destroy it. Unless the museum collapses.“

Where you can watch it with english subtitle?

You can watch it on Drama Fever or buy DVD of Queen In Hyun’s Man with English subtitle on Amazon so you can rewatch, freeze your favorite scenes like I do.

If you are interested in Queen In Hyun’s Man’s Original Sound Track which is wonderful by the way, you can get it here: Queen In Hyun’s Man OST.

[English Lyrics] Queen In Hyun’s Man OST Part 3-Another Time, The Same Sky

OST: Queen In Hyun’s Man OST MV: My Man Kim Boong Do

Queen In-hyun’s Man OST
No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	“인현왕후의 남자 – Title” (Queen In-hyun’s Man – Title)		Kim Hee-jin, Nam Hye-seung
2.	“같은 하늘 다른 시간에” (Same Sky, Different Time)	Jo Hyun-joo	Kim Do-hyeong	Joo Hee of 8Eight	03:40
3.	“꼭 한번” (Just Once)	Young Jae, Min Yeon-jae	Young Jae, Bae Gi-pil	Young Jae of 4Men	03:35
4.	“그대가 왔죠” (You Came)	Jung Ho-gyu, Pabaki, Mr.Sync	Jung Ho-gyu, Pabaki, Mr.Sync	Kim So-jung	03:10
5.	“지금 만나러 갑니다” (I’m Going to Meet You)	노는 어린이	노는 어린이	Deok Hwan	03:18
6.	“시간을 넘어” (Leap Through Time)		Kim Hee-jin, Nam Hye-seung	이크거북
7.	“같은 하늘 다른 시간에 (Inst.)” (Same Sky, Different Time (Inst.))		Kim Do-hyeong		03:40
8.	“꼭 한번 (Inst.)” (Just Once (Inst.))		Young Jae, Bae Gi-pil		03:35
9.	“내 남자, 김붕도” (My Man, Kim Boong-do)		Nam Hye-seung, Park Sang-hee	이크거북

Get Queen In Hyun’s Man Korean Drama with English Subtitle

Get Queen In Hyun’s Man Original Sound Track Music

April 15, 2013January 18, 2014

Boys Over Flowers Korean Drama Review

Boys Over Flower:

I did not know the hype of boys over flower so much when I started out watching Korean Dramas so It was not my first watched nor it is my most top favorite Korean drama. So, why I am writing about it? Boys over Flowers created a Korean wave and made a culture impact that still visible since 2009, when it was first aired.

The show starts with bulling and blood in high school, where a kid is ready to die to avoid all F4’s bullying. There seemed to be no signs of law and order or good teacher, adult to stop all of these atrocities. I thought I would stop it but after watching 2 episodes I got hooked and curious enough to see the end, so I invested over 25 hours to watch this and I can say I was not disappointed. The bully and all characters grows with time and you can understand loneliness around all richness and money. F4, flower four boys are surely handsome and easy on eyes which surely helps female fan base like me.

If you are fan of Lee Min Ho, then this is show for you. The guy has charm and he makes his character alive, one can feel his pain and agony. I did not care much for the Jan Di’s character, as she hardly shows any feeling or care towards Goo Joon Pyo. I like the character played by Kim So Eun as Jan Di’s best friend Chu Ga Eul. She could have been a lead lady, she is pretty, holds her dignity while caring for a guy and is level headed.

Buy Boys Over Flowers With English Subtitles

Cast:

Koo Hye Sun as Geum Jan Di
Lee Min Ho as Goo Joon Pyo
Kim Hyun Joong as Yoon Ji Hoo
Kim Bum as So Yi Jung
Kim Joon as Song Woo Bin

Kim So Eun as Chu Ga Eul (Jan Di’s best friend)
Kim Hyun Joo as Goo Joon Hee (Joon Pyo’s elder sister)
Lee Hye Young as Kang Hee Soo (Joon Pyo’s mother)
Han Chae Young as Min Seo Hyun (F4’s best friend/Ji Hoo’s ex girl friend)
Lee Min Jung as Ha Jae Kyung (JK Group’s CEO’s daughter and Jun Pyo’s fiancee)
Lee Jung Gil as Yoon Seok Young (Ji Hoo’s grandfather)
Jung Ho Bin as Jung Sang Rok (Kang Hee Soo’s Chief Secretary)

Geum Jan Di (Koo Hye Sun)

As I mentioned earlier, Jan Di’s character confused me a bit. When I see her pictures on internet, she looks pretty but during most of the show she looked not so pretty most of time, sometimes she looked cute but never pretty enough comparing to other korean Drama heroine. She was about 25 when this series came out as a highs chooler, she was older compared to all F4s, but being small and petite worked in her favor.

I also could not fathom that why all the guys either was loving her or wanting to protect her. Her character came across as confused and occasionally heartless, especially when Lee Min Ho character did so much her and her family, she kept on thinking of Yoo Ji Hoo instead. At first shown as feisty female, who can kick ass. However, as show progresses, she becomes typical Korean cliche heroine who ends up crying a lot and not fighting much. I am not against crying females, as I cry myself at littlest thing but then again, I am not trying to pass a kickboxing champion too.

When she goes to Macau to meet Goo Jun Pyo and he breaks off the relationship, she is sad for moment and then she goes off to site seeing with Yoo Ji Hoo all around and shown smiling and happy while Goo Jun Pyo who broke off the relationship looked more pained and in love compared to her. It bothered me much and felt she did not deserve the love if she was not willing to work hard for him to show her emotion. But of course, this is modern take on Cinderella so story revolves around her and we wish for her to succeed and find happiness.

Goo Jun Pyo (Lee Min Ho)

When this drama came out, Lee Min Ho was a newcomer and this drama made him the star loved by many people in Korea and Japan. He is one of the reason I wanted to watch and find out about all hype about it.

I did not care much about his curly hair style or unique fur wardrobes that he wore. He is handsome, tall and can act just by showing his eye expressions. He made the bully character likeable. I like scenes where he spends time with Jan Di’s family, has a sleep over, makes Kim Chi and so on. He is nice guy, innocent child inside hiding behind cold, angry persona. He did well to show that, at least to me and my friend.

If you want to know more about star necklace he gives to Jan Di, see here: Boys Over Flower Star Necklace

Yoon Ji Hoo (Kim Hyun Joong)

Someone wrote that out of all F4 Ji Hoo was most beautiful! Apart from Jan Di and Jun Pyo, he had biggest part and being part of love triangle. I heard he was offered the role of Jun Pyo but he chose Ji Hoo Role instead. I can see why, his character has many things that are positive, he plays music well, he is actually one of F4, who does not take part in bullying much and helps Jan Di many times and becomes friend and protector of her over the time. I like scenes with grand father and family issues that we all face regardless of how rich or poor we may be.

He hair style and color reminds me of Kang Jun Sang of Winter Sonata and he laughs and has similar mannerism as well.

So Yi Jung (Kim Bum)

Kim Bum had a big role and it was nice to see his character of playboy who is really good guy lost somewhere surprised me. He is cute and has a nice smile, however it was hard to imagine as a playboy and heartbreaker, as he looks innocent and young to be bad. That just me, I still enjoy his character and his talent at being a potter.

Don’t they look cute Together?

I liked to side love story of him with Ga Eul that developed slowly but surely. I think these two supporting character had more love and chemistry together compared to main lead, don’t you think? I wanted to know more about them and their life.

Song Woo Bin (Kim Joon)

Woo Bin seemed more Americanized and said Yo Yo,. and Wasss up type of things. We know he is from the mob family and handsome but we do not get much know much about his life outside of F4 and friend circle. It’s too bad, it would have been nice.Other Characters:

Goo Jun Pyo’s Mom was one nasty lady, as Jun Pyo called “Old hag” (at least in english translation, I am not sure what does it mean in Korean, is it same?) She is so ruthless to break Jan Di’s family and her so her son can be married to rich. I hated her, that means she was good at acting as nasty lady.

Goo Jun Pyo sister had a small role but whenever she came, she left a impact as a loving sister who wants to do right thing and not afraid to share what she thinks. She becomes big supporter of Jan Di as well.

Jan Di’s parents are big money minded, poor parents who do not plan things well and leave kids alone more often than they should. One thing is for sure, despite all their shortcoming, they seemed like a family who loved each others, including Jan Di’s little brother.

Ga Eul, Jan Di’s best friend was cute and much more level headed compared to Jan Di. I liked how she held on to her dignity while liking Yi Jung.

Lee Min Jung as Ha Jae Kyung was likable in some sort of way. She seemed so much more fitted and similar to Goo Jun Pyo’s Character, in some other time, they might have been perfectly fit for each other but it was not meant to be for this one.

Many other supporting characters with small roles were great. While this show is not Oscar worthy in acting part, for entertaining in super duper and 100% great. As I said, I could not stop watching, it was not love story that held me but it was charm of all F4! They all wore suits, and nice clothes and looked great in even crappy designer clothes somehow.

F4: Flower Four or Fabulous Four?

Buy Boys Over Flowers With English Subtitles

Have you watched it? What did you think of it/