thoughts: Dream High 2 (Korean) -- Ep. 2: First Impression follow up

So, okay... There are specific reasons why the random musical numbers worked in the first Dream High. And now there are less specific reasons why the random musical numbers aren't working as well in (specifically Episode Two) of Dream High 2.

Let's start with the latter:

It starts off rather cutely. First we have the 'Trouble Maker' music over while OZ President is explaining the new rules to all of our Kirin students (the non-idol status ones). Basically he's going to forbid anything related to having fun, which pretty much would kill the mood of an arts school created for the sake of breeding future entertainers. But I'm sure OZ Agency has already got in mind what they're going to do with the original students of Kirin anyway -- the good ones may get to stay, but for the most part, Kirin has just become another branch of OZ for the sole purpose of letting their pet idols continue practice, training and have a place to stay. It's more business-oriented than it really is a place for youngsters to fulfill their dreams, so this will probably be a point that is addressed in coming story progress (if we get there). I thought the musical number for this was kind of neat; of course, it was also a bit strange, but in a more comedic sort of way. The OZ President and his assistant are doing a little twist on an MV-like number with dancing included. So I went with it -- it didn't cost me anything and it got its point across.

But then we enter into the second random musical moment in Episode Two... and somehow, we go a little overboard. And to be totally honest, I thought it was cute... the first part of it. The Kirin students welcoming the idol group with a little MV-style performance of T-ara's Roly Poly. It was pretty ingenious because it is a means of presenting a random music number in a 'musical drama' type fashion that suggests that, yes, Dream High is a musical drama after all. And it pays tribute to both T-ara members who are part of the Dream High franchise, Jiyeon and Eunjung. And it was cute.

But then it just kept going...

Onto yet another music video-like rendition of a song with our JYP's character Yang Jin Man in center stage.

And then even more continued musical numbers, fake microphones, different stages, backgrounds and dance numbers included.

It got annoying fast and the next thing I know, I'm sitting with my chin propped on my hand wondering what was actually going on and whether or not I'd stepped into a whole different series. There was no point going across except for "Extremely Long Welcoming Ceremony Comprised of Mashed Musical Numbers in MV Format." I was okay with the first part of it; I really DID think it was really cute. And I would have been okay with the part where two members of HershE sang back to the Kirin students. But any more than that and we find ourselves asking: "What the heck? What's the point in all of this b.s.?" Because unless those musical numbers served another purpose, it was just plain silly and a waste of time. We could have gone into more story development with those wasted five to ten minutes.

I mean, right now I'm dying for some more of the developing self-conflict that Hye Sung has been given: her pursuit of a dream that she might not be able to accomplish because she doesn't have even the basic talents to back her up. I found myself wondering, "Aww... So what's gonna happen to her?" In standard "Fight For Your Dreams" genre, we hope that something will happen and Hye Sung will either get an epiphany and suddenly have a better singing voice so that she can fulfill her dream. Or we hope that the story will come up with some other form of dream she can pursue in the same category so she doesn't feel like she's lost out. Or are we going to dash all those dreams altogether and just wonder whether or not she'll end up picking up a completely non-related dream and end up going for that?

I'm interested in what'll happen to Hye Sung in that aspect. Dream High 1 had given us a bunch of already pretty talented kids who just needed a chance to debut. Everyone from Jin Gook to Jason had decent singing chops and dancing talents, and even Sam Dong, the country bumpkin, ended up being a musical prodigy. I'm interested in seeing how Dream High 2 will deal with Shin Hye Sung's lack of musical basic skill and whether we'll be able to cultivate her from a talent-less dreamer into a top star. But in Episode 2 I wish we would have had a little more development and see some more emotional insight rather than just presenting the situation and then letting it roll right over. Give us more story so that I can care more about Hye Sung than the little that I care about right now (which doesn't really amount to much, honestly).

Instead, all we get is a whole lot of "let's dump all the characters' issues into a pile after the silly extended MV and try to go somewhere with it in one hour". And so I'm confused as to whether or not Dream High 2 really cares to show us what's significant in a more eloquent way, or if it's confused as to what conflict it wants to make use of first.

Because the only other aspect of this series I care for so far is truly the budding love line (or lack thereof, presently) between Hye Sung and Yoo Jin. I'm under the impression that these two will be the main couple already. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it because the promotions as well as the chemistry makes it quite clear. Yoo Jin is already showing signs of care (and possibly more?) towards Hye Sung, because if a guy like him didn't care about a girl in his school, he wouldn't be making such a strained, concerned expression about her well-being. He's already shown signs of annoyance at her fangirl love for JB, and then he goes and offers her his sleeping corner when she can't get back into the dorms. If he really DID find her that annoying, he wouldn't care that Hye Sung's dreams had just been shattered; he'd just jeer at her for picking up a dream she can't possibly fulfill. It's getting somewhere already, the love line, and it's cute enough for me to get little smirks in here and there.

And so because of that, in my mind, this series has just been downgraded to standard rom-com set-up with nothing much else to look forward to aside from our main couple coming to terms with their feelings, and then a few randomly scattered side plots to propel the story forward. It just so happens that this rom-com takes place in the Dream High alternate universe with music, talk of dreams, and the like.

And so, at least I'm liking the two main characters even if I don't care a lick about the rest of the kids in this school (except maybe Jiyeon, but that's because I'm being biased). I'm glad that these two have great chemistry together and that, as I'd already mentioned in the first impression post, we're not averse to showing a sillier, less elegant side of Kang Sora as Shin Hye Sung (cue random seance scene gone bad). It's also a plus that Jung Jin Woon is showing the world that even idols can present good enough acting skills for you to follow him through; coupled with Kang Sora, I'm not at all worried for the fate of emotions being tied in with both their respective stories as well as their love line. They're delivering just fine, even if not the best (at the very least better than the rest of the idol/actors in the series).

And that's about it.

I mean, I see the main conflict... but it's like all I really see is a recapped summarization of it. Jung Jin Woon is carrying his half of the character conflict really well, and so despite Jin Yoo Jin being a pretentious prat, I'm sailing in his camp because I'm feeling HIS dilemma. On the other hand, JB... I see his point. However, since I'm not sure how I'm supposed to feel for this guy, his character does not make a very convincing, passionate, self-confident argument. And then what it ends up coming down to is that I really just DON'T care about the conflict at all now. Although I DO see the potential of it now that the idol group has moved in with the underdogs and maybe some light will be shed between one side and the other with Hye Sung propelling a possible "make up and get along" movement? I don't know, I'm just making random predictions, but this is the typical course of action for a lot of set-ups like this.

Which is why I'm not excited about it.

But I'm still holding out that Dream High 2 is just starting off on rocky footing like the first Dream High had done. Despite the fact that I was hooked immediately to Dream High 1, I will admit that it wasn't the best of build-ups, although by the time Episode Two of the first Dream High rolled around, we already had some foundation to work with: the Misfits class, the more emotionally deep rivalry between Baek Hee and Hye Mi, the love line developments, a more convincing anticipation of our Underdogs' dreams, and the side love line with Jason and Pil Suk...

Right now, in Dream High 2, I'm not exactly sure I know WHAT I'm looking forward to seeing aside from the love line (because, and I repeat, even the central conflict between the two leading men does NOT entice me). I'm hoping that JB can contribute to his role a little bit more; he has a cute little scene wherein he's scared to death that someone has found his questionable CD with possible adult-rated material on it (yes, I blanked at that one too, but it WAS extremely hilarious in a silly way; and Kang Sora's expression is great upon discovery of what the CD has on it) and he plays that role rather well. But give him a lot of angsty emotion and the like and I'm head-desking (if everyone thought that Suzy was unable to emote, at least HER character role was written to actually BE robot-like and emotionless). JB is a well-thought out character with a great central conflict and some interesting little personal quirks that can be seen in hindsight; but JB as an actor is just not grasping that part of the role very well. Which is disappointing because I WANT to know how he's feeling and what he's thinking.

But let's do some back-tracking to my intended point of this article to begin with: the musical numbers.

In Dream High 2, Episode One, the musical numbers made sense. Two stage performances, one street performance, a random serenade... In Episode Two, the musical numbers were cute... But what the, huh? The extended music video was lost on me. Completely.

In Dream High 1, I don't think I had a problem with ANY of the random musical numbers. The auditions were purely a talent contest so singing was a must; same goes for the examinations. So they weren't really random since Kirin Arts School in the first Dream High really was a school that tried to cultivate young talents for the entertainment world. Even the random street performance by Sam Dong and Hye Mi was cute and served a purpose -- the kids were lost, needed to find a way back to their hotel, needed money for taxi fare and food, and so they did what they did best: they sang and performed on the street for money. I mean, it would have been a lot cooler had the series allowed an acapella performance for that, but I bought it anyway because it was fun and cute (and didn't last for twenty minutes). The random dance off that happened afterwards was... well, it was random, but it was also really cool and ALSO served a purpose. I mean, as much as I love Sam Dong and Hye Mi, they really were trampling into the Japanese street performing group's turf to begin with and so the dance off wasn't too bad.

Some of the musical numbers may not have made sense; but for the most part, they were actual musical numbers performed by our kids in the series rather than like that long-drawn out mash of music video in Dream High 2, Episode 2. The musical performances in Dream High 1 may not have all been purposeful, but at the very least, they were presented in a way that made sense to me. The street performance of SNDS's Genie by our Misfits was golden! The school showcases were pretty nice to watch, and otherwise, the only other random musical number that I remember from the first Dream High was in the beginning when Hye Mi sang 'Only Hope' while trying to go to the bathroom out in the middle of nowhere (because no matter what, I wouldn't be able to carry a tune very well if I was taking a dump).

Dream High 2 is only into its first few episodes, and I guess it's still too early to give it so much grief. But the fact is, if this weren't part of the Dream High franchise and hype, or if it wasn't a sequel or if it were some other series altogether with no connection to Dream High... I might have already checked out of it. I understand that a lot of people are saying: give it some time to get better. But really now, with so many other series airing in the next few weeks and so many other series currently airing that I haven't gotten to, do I really have time to waste on a series that's not going where it had promised to go in the first place?

Nonetheless, I will admit that for the mere fact that I'm waiting on Hye Sung to have her dream realized and for the resident love line, as well as even for hope that Jiyeon's role will become more significant with time, I'm sticking with Dream High. I just hope I'm not putting too many false hopes into this; and I'm also really doing my hardest not to make too many comparisons, but damn if it isn't a difficult task. And so I apologize for not being more objective, but then again, did anyone really expect the comparisons NOT to be made in the first place?

I will say that I liked some of Dream High 2's "behind the high school idol" concepts, such as the entertainment news at the beginning of Episode 2 interviewing the OZ kids, HershE and Eden, about transferring to a new school. It incorporates things like this rather well only because I'm sure this is how things are in the entertainment world anyway. I also like how Ri-an's (Jiyeon) conflict is coming about too: the fact that she has wanted to become an actor, does not have the skill for it, and so debuted as a singer in order to short cut into acting, but is getting her opportunities dashed because her acting skills are NOT improving. And so this ties into the same boat with Hye Sung's desire to be a singer, although not having the vocal chops to make it happen. At the same time, JB is shown as wanting to be a "true" musician rather than an idol who dances along to techno-style music with flashy lights in the background -- he wants the talents that Yoo Jin has, but lacking that, he takes the short cut to stardom as well to try getting there.

It's a great concept that I wish the story would just jump into rather than dragging out so much build-up detail for two episodes straight. A lot of things could have been cut, down-sized to Episode One, and then we'd be able to start the heart of the story line and the conflicts in Episode Two. I would totally be less frustrated.

But I guess, to be fair to the Dream High franchise overall, I admit that there's a big difference between one series over the other. My mindset, walking into Dream High 1 was of the bored and "Do I really want to watch this teeny-bopper dribble?" type of thoughts. And so it was surprisingly satisfying when Dream High 1 ended up being such a great sixteen hours worth of cracktastic fun. My mindset walking into Dream High 2 was of a more expectant type akin to "Yay! Dream High, redux! More musical fun!!" crossed with "Let's let the glory of Dream High continue one!" with a dash of "I hope all this hype lives up to its expectations." And so unfairly, I might have actually expected a whole lot more of that grandness and glory that I had not expected from the first Dream High.

However, it still doesn't deny the fact that, even by the end of Episode Two of the first Dream High, I was already feeling the heart that it had; whereas in Dream High 2, I'm really wondering where that heart went, which DOES make things a little disappointing.

***

Related articles:
first impression: Dream High 2

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thoughts: Special Affairs Team TEN (Korean) -- first impression follow up

To finish off my thoughts for Episode One of this series, here is a short and sweet rambling of what came to be.

There will be few SPOILERS, but to ruin the entire experience with ANY form of big giveaway would be cruel, in my opinion. So proceed with caution, but I assure that the ultimate conclusion to this first murder case will NOT be discussed in this article. This is assuming that I give anything away at all.

It's beyond my own expertise or even my own abilities as a blogger to even start forming my opinions about how ingenious this entire first episode fell together by the end. So this is a fairly crude throw-together of some thoughts I managed to come up with.

I'm under the assumption that this will be a one case per episode type of series. So, for one, I'm glad that there will be multiple criminal mysteries to follow through; and secondly, I'm at the edge of my seat in anticipation for the next episode and its accompanying crime thriller mystery. Oh... here's a plead to those who can make things happen to have English subtitles for this series appear quickly for my own excited pleasure! Because after polishing off the rest of Episode One's murder mystery, I'm just taken aback by the insanely gripping, edge-of-my-seat excitement that the rest of the series is promising.

There's little I can really mention about this particular murder case without completely giving it away (which would be cruel even for spoiler standards). But I will say that it was a truly thrilling and wonderful experience for me to be able to guess and think as the entire case unfolded itself before my eyes.

The story opens up (to add onto what I've mentioned already in the first impression article) with two murders and a missing persons case.

Case #1:
A man has taken a dive off a cliff where a sign stating "Suicide Prohibited" hangs ominously (and uselessly, I might add since, really, what's the government gonna do to someone already dead if they break that law?) as police crowd around to work the scene. Detective Baek Do Sik immediately clues in that this was not a suicide, but a homicide and so let the investigations begin.

Case #2:
A woman is found dead in her own apartment, a murder mimicking a case that had taken place nearly seven years prior. Her hands and her face has been taped by common industrial-use green tape and her fingers have been cute off as she lays in a gory pool of her own blood. This case is being reviewed by a board of law enforcement as it brings into play what they have dubbed the Tape Murder Case. Yeo Ji Heon, an expert professor who used to be a detective with undeniable ability has been brought in to help investigate the case, partnered up with rookie Park Min Ho.

Case #3
A woman has gone missing, reported in by her fiance. Detective Nam Yeri is brought in to find this woman, and using her expertise in psychology, begins her investigation. What she learns is that things haven't been going too smoothly for the engaged couple and that the missing woman has been conducting some secret activities out of character from her normal dealings.

When all three cases begin to converge together into one, and all three sides realize that they might be looking for the exact same person, the ultimate intrigue begins to unfold. The murderer of victim number one, the murderer of victim number two, as well as the missing woman from the third case... all the evidence starts pointing at an obvious connection between the three cases.

What's going on with this scenario? Where is this new evidence leading me? Maybe this is what happened? Each new truth had me dropping gasps and excited deductions about the murder case. And then there was the deeper emotional stigma of what had been going on behind both the victim's and the murderer's eyes. One sister dead, one sister missing; a set of twins separated after being adopted into two different families. A darker secret about their origins than would have been expected. There were lost speculations about motive and even new, heartbreaking discoveries about the sisters themselves.

The dead woman in Case #2 turns out to be twin sister to the missing woman from Case #3. The dead man from Case #1 happened to be the step-brother-slash-sexual-partner of the dead woman in Case #2. Everything starts to fall together and we start to wonder what might have happened to the missing woman from Case #3. Is this really part of a serial murder case of the Tape Murder from years before? Could it be a copy cat case? Did the other twin sister kill both victims?

How does the death of the step-brother come into play? And what about the scene of the sister's murder? Why doesn't the re-enactment add up? What are we missing? And what kind of darker secrets does she hold that might have propelled the entire mystery in the first place?

How could a simple, two-hour episode touch upon something so delicate, and make you feel so much from repulsion, to anger, and even sadness?

As the case developed, I found myself enraptured in the fact that my own speculations might be right. And when they turned out the way I thought they would be, I was so giddy with excitement. However, when the ideas turned out different, I was still amazed at what ended up being the truth.

You know that feeling you get when you're just holding your breath waiting for that new twist to inspire you to keep watching and wondering? And then when a new development occurs, it hits you so hard that you're actually silly ecstatic about how things turned out? And then you sit back and literally clench your fists because you know that this isn't the end and that more secrets are yet to be revealed?

This is how I felt watching the entirety of this first episode, the first murder case. The copy cat Tape Murder Case, if you will, that takes what seemed to be a simple crime mystery and turns it into a much more intriguing psychological battle of reasoning, wits, and deduction.

I'm just sad that I cannot form anymore words on this mystery lest I completely ruin the experience for anyone else.

Nonetheless, the story telling and the criminal case wasn't without its faults; the episode wasn't completely perfect, really. There were moments when enough evidence was given so that you had an idea what was to come in the end even before the characters could find their resolution. And then there were certain aspects that required a bit more suspension of disbelief. There were moments that made you wonder how it contributed to the overall murder mystery or even to the series itself. Each new turn, however, DID manage to keep you guessing.

I had immense fun just watching these first two hours of the series and I hope that the rest of it will follow in kind.

The team will be forming next episode, I assume, and what I love more than a gripping story line is the character relation dynamics. Four completely different types of investigators coming together to solve the most perplexing, brutal cases known. I know I mentioned that I'm not too keen on unnecessary side plots for a series like this (since it would take away from the fascinating criminal mysteries), but now that we've set up a pretty good direction and foundation for the series proper, I wouldn't mind seeing how our team of four, newly formed detectives will go about among each other. If they worked together so well without even meaning to, coming together from three different starting points, how well will these guys work as a unit, focused on one destination?

I am totally, totally excited! (I've no other way to describe this series, sadly.)

Here's crossing my fingers and hoping that things continue as smoothly as they are now.

***

Related articles:
first impression: Special Affairs Team TEN

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news: 2012 and some random things

So... 2012...

I'm a day late as it is now midnight on January 2nd, but it's okay. Nothing is supposed to make sense anyway (not even this post). The banner was long overdue for a change. Due to the holiday season and lots of work hours, I ended up with Slack-itis and made use of Yeo Woon for two months straight. No harm done, really since Yoo Seung Ho is very pretty and Yeo Woon is the embodiment of awesomeness.

My intention had been to utilize a Flower Boy Ramyun Shop banner... Again, Slack-itis hit pretty hard.

Anyway, as was stated in my 2011 Reflection post, the coming few months will end up a bit slower than what has been going on in the past five months. My obsession phase is starting to simmer into a mere "K-dramas are a natural part of life" type of thing now. I've decided that if I don't want to resent blogging about K-drama as well as K-drama itself, I should just post whenever I feel like posting. Because otherwise, we go on a two year hiatus which is now going on three years.

There are a lot of new series in 2012 that I'm anticipating (as noted by various news related posts in the past few weeks) and so we'll be hearing about all of that. Articles I have already written will find their way into publication when I finally get myself together and start working on them (or rather finishing them with pictures).

Two specific articles will be worked on (much like I'm "working on" that 'Dedicated to Running Man' page) as I have intentions of posting more than just thoughts on drama series. The third part of my 2011 Reflections may take a little longer to publication. Included in the "I need to get these done" category will be the intro info articles for Flower Boy Ramyun Shop and Me Too, Flower!, the latter of which will also be getting an ending and overall review as soon as I finish watching the rest of it (at the edge of my seat in anticipation because the series has taken a better turn for the ending episodes and there are still no English subtitles yet). I plan on starting Color of Woman now that my Real Life hectic-ness has simmered away and I'll have more time to work on this blog, so anticipate a first impression post soon.

A new series will be chosen to watch soon as well and it might end up being Dream High instead of a battle between one of the Jung Il Woo projects and the only other Yoon Shi Yoon work I've been considering. Although I DID start watching High Kick Through The Roof without any impression on whether or not I'll actually continue. I tried watching the first High Kick sitcom and really couldn't get further than the first episode because nothing really made much sense to me. High Kick Through The Roof has set up a better premise with more bearable antics than I'd seen in the first High Kick. Once again, the unanticipated battle between Jung Il Woo and Yoon Shi Yoon for my affection... Yoon Shi Yoon is winning out on this one though.

Back-tracking, since there is a Dream High 2 in the making and I kind of enjoy Jiyeon of T-ara since her days in God of Study, I feel it would only be right if I watched Dream High first. My parents seem to be enjoying it quite a bit and keep commenting on how "these young kids are pretty good at singing".

Anyway, that was just a brief update for what's in store, but I make no promises. I really DO have a lot of drama series on my list that I'd love to finish watching, but somehow it's just so hard to get around to everything.

2011 End of Year Reflection -- Part 2

So after reading other end of year reviews from other bloggers who are more familiar with the K-dramaverse, I came to the conclusion that I am really a green newbie in this arena. I'm a whole lot more forgiving about certain drama series than others and I realized that I understand the situation. Where I stand with Hong Kong drama series is the same as where all the veteran K-drama netizens stand with their Korean entertainment -- tired, picky, grumpy, seen that, been there, why isn't there anything more refreshing?, and so on and so forth... It's like there's a want for new blood (or something like that).

HOWEVER, I will not refute the fact that I am a very simple person and that any television viewing experience can easily become entertaining for me. Case in point: I watched Taiwanese Idol drama Brown Sugar Machiatto and actually enjoyed it despite its total lack of a story line or great acting. It was funny, it was cute and it had the element of The Cute and The Pretty. I got out of it what I had expected going into it: A whole LOT of FLUFFY.

I'm not professional enough to determine whether or not Hong Kong drama series are on par with Korean drama series, or if they're better or worse. In my opinion, they are by far NOT as great as the few K-dramas I've watched in the past five months (then again, it could be because of the refreshing new experience I got watching them). I won't a hundred percent say that Korean dramas are worlds better than the stuff that TVB (main HK TV studio) churns out because I HAVE already encountered few series that were somewhat questionable. And as for TVB, it has its moments where a gem is created; this is not a regular thing though. I have in mind a handful of personal favorites from TVB that I loved deeply, but then there is also that ocean of series that really just stunk and survived on loyal viewership. I mean, for the Cantonese speaking population, TVB is really all there is because their competing TV studio doesn't quite make the cut.

And so maybe this is why I've come to my K-drama obsession so quickly -- there are a lot of refreshing plot devices, great actors, beautiful settings, and a whole new culture to experience. The humor is quite different than Hong Kong's humor and, by far, the people are a LOT prettier (men included). TVB has its crop of great actors and actresses (few of which I find attractive, and yes I CAN get superficial), but they are often led astray by crappy story-telling and poor direction. And while I've always loved TVB, I know that they COULD stand on par with K-dramas (the ones what aren't trying too hard to BE K-dramas with their perpetual dramatic cliches or the ones that are more serious than senseless -- yea, lately, TVB has developed a need to try imitating the K-drama trend of angst and makjang, but they don't quite do it right).

Basically what I'm saying is that like the K-drama veterans, I'm a grumpy TVB viewer -- more demanding, less forgiving, extra pissy at the poor quality of recent dramas being produced. I'm not saying that were a K-drama veteran to start watching series from Hong Kong that they would be giddy with excitement, but I'm saying that because of my grumpiness, the fresh new Korean culture has been quite attractive for me, personally.

Nonetheless, I have my few classic favorites that may not be the best series in the world, but they definitely hold memorable places in my heart. This will be left for a later post at a later time wherein I walk down memory lane and recount the various series from Hong Kong which have captured my heart for good (meaning that I would definitely re-watch them again when I'm in the mood and still enjoy them fully). For now, we'll focus on the more significant K-drama obsession at hand and discuss briefly my experiences with K-drama in this year of 2011. First of all, I'll note the few 2011 drama series I've watched for this 'Part 2' of the End of Year Reflection. Because my ramblings have ended up getting rather long, I will follow up with a listing of all the K-dramas (including series from other years) that I've watched and how they rank for me (including the ones from 2011), and then include any other little blurbs about K-drama that might seem significant, for 'Part 3' of my long-winded-ness.

So without further ado on my extremely extended introductions:


2011 Dramas
I will be listing them in order of my viewing of them.


Heartstrings

Following the first Korean drama series I watched in 2011 (You're Beautiful) I followed through quite quickly with Heartstrings (aka You've Fallen For Me). I'm superficial when it comes to romantic comedies or any type of story line based on romance; Park Shin Hye and Jung Yong Hwa were charming in You're Beautiful and left me with that aftertaste for more of them. When I find a particular actor or actress who interests me, I search for other projects said actor or actress may have had in the past or will have in the near future (that's pretty much how I roll sometimes). And so imagine my contentment when I found out that they would be teaming up again in another series, nearly two years after their first collaboration. And better yet, I had just gotten into K-drama in 2011, which, omigod, ended up being the year that their newest series was due to be broadcast. A week or so after I officially finished viewing You're Beautiful, I climbed onto the Heartstrings bandwagon like the rabid fangirl that I am.

I've stated before: Heartstrings is really just a simple love story set in a youthful world of a college campus. It was fun and amusing in its own rights and I thoroughly enjoyed the most of it. Being one of the first K-drama series that I touched, the concept was fun and refreshing for me (because I'd just dropped off of a long line of shoujo manga and the like with bubbly, bumbling idiot female protagonists in every corner). Lee Gyu Won (Park Shin Hye) is a young woman who is anything BUT a bumbling idiot female protagonist; she's got zest, sass, ambition, dreams, and most importantly, she's got the charms of Park Shin Hye. And I loved that she was such a practical, down-to-earth type of young woman as the lead of a romance drama.

By all rights, Heartstrings really is as simple as a simple love story with side dishes of youth drama incorporated. The reason why it was fun was because it was about young people. The reason why it was heartwarming was because it showed a nice love line that made you smile at every and all antics. From Lee Shin (Jung Yong Hwa)'s development from jerk-face to perfect boyfriend to the build-up of our 100th Anniversary University Musical Performance, everything was just simple and fun.

And so it's rather unfortunate that the series ended up finishing on a rather lame note. Could it really have been that the production team was strapped for time after that unfortunate accident? Or was the series already starting to decline in its attractiveness? I don't know if there was really a way to tell. But one thing is for certain, the series really ceased to entice after the love line officially got its main couple to pair up; when Lee Shin confessed that he liked Lee Gyu Won, the story seemed to lose all of its steam after that. What was left was the anticipation of how the musical performance would pan out -- but even that ended up settling on dead weight (because we don't even get to see the entire performance).

Heartstrings is an entertaining series if you enjoy youth romance and lots of good music. For the most part, it didn't quite make it to the ending in a tightly wrapped package with a pretty bow on top. A lot of significant side plots were created and then resolved forcefully because it seemed like time was running out. However, as one of the first series I watched in my K-drama viewing experience, it's actually a rather memorable one.


City Hunter

Action, adventure, romance, revenge, justice, comedy (and angst)... With all of these genres packaged delightfully into an entire series, City Hunter ended up being one of my favorites for this year (and overall of most of the K-dramas I've seen total). Based on a manga of the same title, its only unfortunate downfall was advertising that connection as its selling point; because from what I found out among netizens, the Korean drama series itself was nothing like the beloved manga. I'll never know the difference considering I won't be enticed enough to read the original manga, but from what I ended up experiencing off of City Hunter... I'm not sure I really care.

As a series that starts off with suspense, action and a revenge plot to build its basis, City Hunter easily became so much more. I could go on about City Hunter; in fact I'm sure I did and ended up rambling on for far too long. City Hunter was my first Korean drama love. From the heroic and kickass hot Lee Yoon Sung (Lee Min Ho) to the spunky and fearless Kim Na Na (Park Min Young) along with the underappreciated, but beloved Kim Young Ju (Lee Joon Hyuk), this series boasted a lot of great story telling, direction and pacing, beautiful scenery and zippy camera angles as well as deep characterizations. The basic plot of hunting down five different baddies, one after another was also a really intriguing follow along -- although as I had mentioned in my discussion, I think I would have liked it more if the viewers could see the investigation more on Lee Yoon Sung's side, not knowing who the next target would be until he's revealed so that we could play detective too. Nonetheless, this wasn't just a series where you were intrigued by the suspense in the story line and awed by the action sequences; this was also a series where even the characters become relatable in such a way that you become invested in their plights -- even the supporting characters had background and lives of their own.

On top of all of that, character relations were quite complicated, but at the same time full of juicy detail and delicious excitement. You became attached to the love line, you "aww-ed" at the Yoon Sung/ahjusshi guardian/son relationship, you held your breath at the father-son struggle and intrigue, you grinned giddily at the potential bromance between secret hero and public defender, and then you cried for the hero's inner struggles and horrific revelations. And on the side, you had fun with all the side characters who lent to the growth of our hero. Everything about City Hunter hinged on Lee Yoon Sung's every action and reaction, but all of his actions were based upon his interactions with the rest of the world.

City Hunter is like crack for the K-drama addict's soul. It's not a perfect drama, but it really hits all the marks perfectly when you allow it to suspend you into its world.


Scent of a Woman

I really don't know what I can say about Scent of a Woman. It was a nice journey, to say the least, but in the end, the beauty of the series can easily be replaceable by any other melodrama masked as a rom-com about a dying woman's journey. Did I like Scent of a Woman? Yes. Will I remember it six, maybe seven months from now? I'm not sure the answer will be a positive one. Was there anything memorable at all about Scent of a Woman? Yes. Did I really care for most of them? Not really.

Uhm Ki Joon was a great asset to the series as the socially awkward, yet loving and caring doctor and friend to our heroine, and in fact, he's the only character who actually stood out among the rest. The beautifully shot scenes and the lovely soundtrack might be a factor that can be noted, but I may not be able to successfully detail why. Lee Dong Wook and Kim Sun Ah had great chemistry with all of their passion and breathtaking sensual-ness zeroed in on their tango scenes. As individuals, however, I'm not sure I would really say that they stand out.

Lee Yeon Jae's refreshing take on a dying woman's last few months of activity was actually rather nice, though. Instead of being melancholic, she chose to face her world and make the most of her life. Instead of waiting out her days until death, she chose to live until she died. There has been speculation about some of her actions: 1) Why didn't she just tell her mother about her cancer? It would have been less of an issue if she had just been honest? 2) Why did she choose to fall in love when she knew she was dying? It was unfair to Kang Ji Wook that he had to go through the pain of losing a loved one. Again.

While these thoughts had crossed my mind as well, I can't a hundred percent say that I'm resentful towards Lee Yeon Jae for all of this. For one, how easy is it to tell your own mother that you're dying; especially after she had already had to suffer through a husband with terminal cancer. Lee Yeon Jae's fear should be understandable; not everyone is a self-less noble who knows immediately what would have been the right actions to take. Maybe it would have been better if she'd told her mother earlier; but we don't know that that's a fact.

Secondly, everyone is entitled to live their life in their own flair until the day they die. Does a dying woman not have the right to fall in love? Lee Yeon Jae was acting selfishly, but she was giving herself a chance to be alive for once in her life. I can't completely condemn her for following her heart. Honestly, people were born to die; today I could get hit by a car, tomorrow you could fall off a building or have a heart attack. This is life. Knowing these things, we all still continue to live anyway. What makes anyone else's lives any different from a dying cancer patient's life? One happens to be shorter than the other, but by how much?

It's a controversial subject, I know, so I'll leave it at that.

Scent of a Woman was one of those experiences wherein it's awesome and exciting and touching, all at the same time while you're in that moment. I will agree that the meddling chaebol device was pretty much frustrating and unnecessary. There's no need for more angst when the main female lead is experiencing a natural angst of her own already. Setting all of that aside, the series itself wasn't too bad. But just as soon as the excitement is over... well, it's simply over. That's how Scent of a Woman felt to me: it came and went and now it's just a distant memory that I may or may not recall when in reflection a long time from now.


Warrior Baek Dong Soo

We all know how I felt about Warrior Baek Dong Soo. So let's make this short and simple because its not the prettiest picture I've ever painted (with words). I love action, adventure and martial arts combat. I love a good Chinese wuxia themed series. I love watching the "incompetent fool" to "seasoned hero" progression. And I love the side plots of romance, honor, brothership and justice. This is what Warrior Baek felt like to me as I cruised through each episode, one right after the other. It was an adventure in a world where there is no full out Black and White and where even the publicly acclaimed "evil" side has its own codes of honor and may not necessarily be the straight up "evil" side.

Baek Dong Soo (Ji Chan Wook) was the arrogant, unskilled brat turned great hero. He had a lot of unique, immature, cheeky moments during his younger (?) intervals of the series. It was one of those devices wherein it's only fun because you get to follow the brat as he matures and "levels up" through obstacles of heart, mind and physical training. These are the things that make up a great hero progression story line. And along the way, you get to meet all of his interactions: a love line, a brother-in-arms, an honor code, a master, an alliegance to a leader...

And it was ALL there in Warrior Baek Dong Soo.

But somehow, the progression hit a nice little snag as well as multiple time skips (which I realize were employed to force a new plot twist and a new story arc per each time skip). The obstacles became mere anecdotes that were never elaborated and the side plots for supporting and/or second main character growth hitched on the side of the road. While we continue to follow the protagonist and antagonist pair, the rest of the world started to simmer slowly until everything just boiled away without a trace and we're left with a scorched pan without even understanding why (the fire was turned off too quickly yet everything STILL disappeared).

Warrior Baek Dong Soo ended up a chaotic mess of "we're not sure where this story is taking itself, but we REALLY want to go from A to Z as we skip around some letters, leave others out and then also include some symbols and double digits." It got REALLY messy. Because as the viewer, you KNEW where the story line was leading, but when it never got to its intended location and instead detoured a few times before getting onto the wrong track or just simply falling off a cliff, things just started going terribly wrong.

I enjoyed Warrior Baek Dong Soo if only for the opening scene and the glory of Yoo Seung Ho's Yeo Woon. The bromance wasn't too bad either, but that's a moot point when the ending came into play. The setting was beautiful, shot with gorgeous background scenes accompanied by a score of wonderful music numbers and insert songs. And to be fair, the direction was also done very exceptionally well. It was the story line that pretty much broke it for Warrior Baek: lost story arc conclusions, incomprehensible build up, strange plot twists that lead nowhere... And the romance? Don't even get me started on the pathetic love lines.

The only reason I would ever rewatch this series, I think, would be for the action sequences (which were merely decent, at best), Yeo Woon, and the great Choi Min Soo. Was it memorable? Yea. Unfortunately it was memorable for all the wrong reasons, which doesn't make it a good thing.


Lie to Me

I am hesitant to talk about this series because I may end up ranting off onto an entire ten pages worth of Lie to Me hopes and disappointments. To be brief, as many would point out, it isn't easy to take an overdone cliche and turn it into a refreshingly unique story. The contract relationship has been done to death already, but we still love this device because (like my favorite cross-dressing love) it has potential to spiral into all sorts of amusing fun and delight.

Lie to Me had two great things going for it: Yoon Eun Hye and Kang Ji Hwan. In fact, I considered watching this series only because of Yoon Eun Hye and finally picked it up and sat through it because of Kang Ji Hwan. And so, as I have mentioned time and time again, I really, really, REALLY tried to like this series. I kept giving it more and more chances and I kept making up excuses for it.

Fact was, when all a series has is a premise without a well thought out story line, you end up like all the unfinished rom-com stories I have ever started writing -- you lose sight of where it is you SHOULD be going and come to a road block. But in the case of Lie To Me, we climbed over that road block and tried to force our way through the unfinished construction so that we can get to the other side of the bridge. And so you see only the road leading into the mess and the small strip of concrete on the other end. In the middle, it's just chaotic and unconnected and you wonder why you even bothered to travel this disheartening distance that the workers have no intention of fixing.

And THAT was Lie To Me in all its disappointing glory. On the off chance that such a series had been created for a two-hour movie and had cut out all of that awkward mess of scattered plots in the middle, I think the story would have fared a whole lot better and we would still be able to get out of it the fluff piece with Yoon Eun Hye and Kang Ji Hwan, but with more optimism and more forgiveness. I'm more forgiving when it's a movie with time restraints that creates the excuse of having no time for development of more plot -- Lie To Me could have totally used something like that.


Flower Boy Ramyun Shop

This is the newest drug on the market; it's like crack boiled into the soup base of its ramyun delicacies.

I'm not quite sure that I can completely give justice to the greatness that is Flower Boy Ramyun Shop without taking up five or six separate posts (just like I've been doing for the entire month). There is just so much about this series that makes it such a symbolic, unpredictable, unique piece of work filled with what javabeans likes to call the "Trifecta" of great drama creation: story, direction, and acting.

I've been in awe of the editing, the pacing and the smooth transitions from one mood to another from the first episode onward. There has been over-the-top hilarity which eventually slides into more melancholic mood swings which then throws us for a loop with some heartwarming moments. And never once have I ever felt awkward watching these scenes play out; okay, maybe once, but it wasn't really a big deal and it still worked even if it was only slightly awkward. But for the entirety of Ramyun Shop's greatness, I'm willing to overlook a few flaws here and there.

As for the story and the writing -- I don't remember the last time I've been this satisfied with every direction that a series has been taking since day one. My true love of this series has mostly to do with the fact that, while it employs a lot of common tropes and cliches, it doesn't drag them out into exhaustion. We start up one plot device as a short story arc and then we resolve it within two episodes (or less) and then we move onto another one. And as most would have never believed possible, each little story arc helps to progress the main story line forward as we watch the series' characters grow. On top of that, the attention to the smallest, most trivial details had me so impressed: from Ba Wool and Eun Bi's Coca Cola substituted for soju drinking scene, to that darn Pororo blanket that Daddy Cha ended up becoming jealous about, and also Chi Soo's continued vanity for his physical appearance.

I will admit that the main basis of the story line isn't exactly readily picked up by viewers who don't fall into Ramyun Shop's addictiveness immediately. Is it about a makeshift family banding together to run a little ramyun shop? Is it about a noona-dongsaeng romance? Is it about our spoiled, rich brat's development into a more normal, compassionate human being? Or maybe we're actually following the self-discovery of our main female lead as she learns to accept herself for who she is. Ramyun Shop is all of these items mixed together, I would say, and so, so much more. It might sound like a chaotic mess of a story line, but when it all comes together, everything falls right into place.

What takes the cake for Ramyun Shop is one factor whom I've been doting on since the moment he started becoming a temper tantrum of immature man-child: Cha Chi Soo played by the ever awesome Jung Il Woo. To talk about this guy, both actor AND character could take days because there is just so much love going into my impression of him. But there is no doubt at all that, if City Hunter was the crack that started me in on my K-drama addiction, then Jung Il Woo's Cha Chi Soo will be the supplier who's giving me the means to continue my addiction -- and happily at that. Of all the 2011 series I've seen (which are few) Cha Chi Soo is definitely my pick for favorite character, hands down.

I think the only unfortunate set back about this series (as if there really were a set back) is that in order to love it, you have to be sold on its comically created over-the-top world. Once you've entered it with all the love you have, there is really no turning back.


Me Too, Flower!

There was a quirkiness to Me Too, Flower! that had drawn me into it. It could have been the non-standard character roles of a cheeky and easily tempered heroine, a sardonic and also cheeky hero, or even the asshole of a shrink (also cheeky) who was delightfully likeable at the same time. Maybe it was The Pretty (a Yoon Shi Yoon young'un trying to act like an ahjusshi who's pushing thirty with all of life's experiences and who drunkenly points at little Jo Maru and calls the kid "Baby" when obviously he's the one with the eternally baby-looking face). It could have been the well-written recaps at Dramabeans by orangy911 which allowed me to understand the premise of the series before I even started watching it.

The idea of the female protagonist NOT being a bubbly dimwit, but on top of that having an easily tempered personality and possible mental instability was attractive -- her depression and sense of self-worthlessness is also a nice area to explore since all rom-com female leads have always been the standard bubbly, cheerful type of bunny sunshine optimism. The male protagonist with a dark past is an overdone cliche in a lot of stories I've read, so that part wasn't as intriguing -- however, the willingness of Seo Jae Hee to break down and show his weakness to Bong Sun was a refreshing concept from most recent episodes.

No matter what it was that had me watching Me Too, Flower! doesn't matter anymore. What mattered to me was that I was sold and I was hooked. Of course, I DO admit that the extremely non-standard hot kissing scene (though forced into the story line) did sort of motivate me to start watching the series from beginning to its current status.

To be honest, everything about Me Too, Flower! had been going alright -- in fact, I might be brave enough to say that this series is one of the better ones I've seen in a while. There were a lot of obvious editing issues when certain sequences ended up presenting a bit awkwardly (such as the forced kisses, which were also forced kissing scenes) but they were happily overlooked for the bigger picture. There is a lot to explore concerning the human mentality of emotions, and when your biggest enemy or rival happens to be your own self-conscious, it gets a little more enticing. I mean, who needs actual, physical human love rivals when Cha Bong Sun's own emotional instability starts rearing its ugly head against her chance at a happy love line? Of course, I will admit that I'm very forgiving in my drama series viewing (just like I've been quite forgiving about Seo Jae Hee keeping secrets even though I know that Bong Sun has every right to be upset with him for a long time to come).

The only unfortunate turn out of this series so far, however, is that it's starting to fall into a more standard rom-com progression, utilizing all the frustrating cliches that we love to hate. Noble Idiocy takes a swing, and even though it didn't last long, it still hurt. And now we're seeing the rise of the "evil female love rival" who'd been simmering in creepy possessiveness from Day One of the series and then subjecting one of the more potentially likeable side characters into that resentful chess piece position. We have a "Project: Break-Up the Happy(?) Couple" on the horizon (and I use the term "happy" loosely just because this couple really has more inner demon struggles than even any love rival can supply). Why another standard cliche that will only end badly for everyone involved? And then the other issue of our psychiatrist making the moves on his patient; while I like seeing the main male lead get all worked up and jealous over his girl, I really hope that our lovely Dr. Park will only remain as a good friend and lend an ear rather than try to worm his way into the fluffy romance.

And now finally the all aggrieved BIG MISUNDERSTANDING plot device, which leads into more little misunderstandings, which eventually build into "all the reasons why our main couple cannot be together even though they're hopelessly in love".

Needless to say, I'm getting frustrated, but I still want to see how the rest of the series pans out.

To put it simply: I'm a sucker for fluff. I know that the current angst and frustration is anything BUT fluff, but by golly if the main couple didn't have such crazy, goosebump inducing fluffy romance montages when they were happy together! I haven't been this giddy about a lovey-dovey couple in a LONG time, and at the risk of turning the series into a monotonous dribble of cute, lovey-dovey fluff and nothing else, I am really, really shooting for seeing more of Seo Jae Hee and Cha Bong Sun just amping up the adorable sweetness. In all honesty, this is what's keeping me glued to Me Too, Flower! right now: the rekindling of the love line after a frustrating non-break-up and The Cute factor. Jae Hee and Bong Sun just seem to fall into place together after they could finally admit their feelings for each other; it's only unfortunate that they suffer from a common relationship cancer (of sorts) called "Lack of Communication" thus leading to "Lack of Honesty" which will eventually develop into "Lack of Trust." If only they could climb over that barrier and be The Cute that this couple can manage, then I'd be extremely ecstatic.

What I wouldn't give to have a female lead NOT have the heebie-jeebies whenever her boyfriend gets force-kissed by a persistent home-wrecker. Then again, it wasn't like Jae Hee was trying that hard to resist; I mean, how much of a force is Kim Dal anyway? It also doesn't work in his favor that he's currently 2 for 3 on secrets kept and NOT revealed by himself to his girlfriend -- can't expect a girl to give you trust if you haven't exactly been very convincing.

Looks like this ended up becoming an update on my opinions of this series... Must learn to shorten ramblings in the future. My apologies... With few episodes left for me to watch, I've been struggling about writing more discussion articles to follow along with Me Too, Flower!'s progress.

On a side note, I'm not opposed to getting rid of the string puppeteer, Miss Creepy Possessive Representative, which would solve so many problems, so that our couple can focus on working out their own inner demons (which will probably take another five extra episodes to fight about) to bring the originally quirky and non-standard story line back on track.


Girl K

What can I say about Girl K? It was action-packed, it was dark, it was moody, and it really was just an adrenaline rush of excitement. It was carried by great atmosphere and acting and housed a spectacular break out performance by Han Groo in her first ever role in a drama series. It was everything you could have ever asked for in a story line following a teenage assassin. For all its brief glory, Girl K was an absolutely addictive watch carried from beginning until the end in fast-paced action and the strength of raw emotions.

And to be totally honest, I see Girl K more as a three-part extended movie rather than a three-episode mini-mini-series. Because Girl K reminds me of the action-packed, young girl kicking ass as an assassin movies (none of which I can recall right now). And I think its success is truly the abruptness of its crammed story arcs. And so I disagree with a lot of netizens that Girl K should have been a lot longer in order to elaborate on the little side plots that revealed themselves: the could-have-been cute high school love story, the revenge plot, the high school girl moonlighting as a trained assassin basis...

As it is, it gave you small bits and pieces of temptation and then left it there for you to interpret as you liked it. And it concluded rather nicely without too much dead space filled with unnecessary detail.

Because essentially, Girl K follows, more than anything, the revenge-motivated actions of our teenage assassin; once that's over, there's nothing else left for her. From the moment that she is set on avenging her mother, she has been able to see nothing else and so I'm almost too glad that her revenge was executed early and we give her a chance to rekindle a reason for continuing on with her life in the form of the BIG BADDIE, her biological father. This was a story arc that gave her reason and allowed her to continue on as well as allowing the viewers a hopeful open ended conclusion to Girl K's short three episode run.

There is one thing I DO agree with, however, and that is that it would be nice to see a sequel which would utilize our Girl K and her skills for some other reason. Maybe these three episodes could have been a prelude to a longer running episodic drama series in the near future, setting up Yeon Jin's training and knowledge of the darker aspects of the world, and then catapulting her into a young high school (or college, I guess) student moonlighting as an agent of some form.

I can see that happening and I would jump on that bandwagon pretty quickly.


Protect the Boss

I first picked up this series right after I completed Heartstrings. I watched the first episode and then I dropped it because it didn't quite pull me in. In fact, I never even really finished the entire first episode those few months back. After watching a movie that had Choi Kang Hee, I considered picking up Protect the Boss once more, but that was merely a flitting thought. And then I read about the raving of Kim Jaejoong's break out performance and saw a lot of the hype going around about how Protect the Boss was such a great series. It even got an extension (which doesn't always mean it's a good thing) but which means that the series was so popular that the production staff felt inclined to continue the hype by tacking on three more episodes.

So far, I've finished the first three episodes, and I must say, I'm quite sold on this world. I think I've been hovering around so many formulaic rom-coms in recent years that I grasp onto any chance that a drama series is NOT a typical romantic comedy with all the typical romantic formulas. I'm also a sucker for kick ass strong female leads, and so when No Eun Seul opens the series with a "gang fight" during her high school years, I wanted to like Protect the Boss. Why it didn't hook me in the first time around, I don't know. But I'm certainly intrigued by it now and am willing to sit through it despite all the mixed feelings that netizens are harping on about.

So far, I'm sold. Every character is so non-standard (ever since Me Too, Flower! I've been using this description too much, methinks) that it's actually pretty refreshing. Everyone seems to have an awkwardly insane (term used true to definition rather than for sake of slang complimenting) quality about them. No Eun Seul is already quite plucky as the fighting, easily tempered female lead with half a brain; Cha Ji Heon is the typical arrogant second (or third, I guess) generation chaebol son who has his OCD-laced, child-like tendencies of immaturity wielding the other half of that brain. Then there's Cha Moo Won who is like the omnicient gentleman, confident and reliable, but strangely turns sixteen years old in mentality at all the right(?) times when faced with Cha Ji Heon's own immaturity. Finally, Seo Na Yeon... well, let's just say that she's not that refined and classy young lady with that true to form holier than though attitude that most female love rivals are known for (nor what I'd expected). Instead, she's still the arrogant rich chaebol daughter, yet houses a much more comedic and screechy (causing my WTH blinkiness) unstable personality of a twelve year old brat who must resort to telling herself that she is "an educated person" so that she won't rush across the room and rip another girl's hair out.

Current impression of what I've seen so far: I'm liking it. I will continue to watch it. Because as outrageous as these characters seem to have been created, I kind of like the dysfunctional world they encompass. Cha Ji Heon's family also gives me that WTH vibe as well, but in a good way.

At risk of being flamed by JYJ fans, however, I DID want to mention that I'm not quite seeing the "breakout performance" of Kim Jaejoong -- yes, he performs decently, but it doesn't really seem as outstanding as everyone is making it out to be. Maybe I'm just not seeing that charm, or maybe he's being overshadowed (severely) by Wang Ji Hye's Seo Na Yoon, whom I am extremely loving as opposed to her role as Kim In Hee in Personal Taste.

***

And so there you have the 2011 K-dramas that I managed to watch within the past five months. While Me Too, Flower! has recently finished airing, I haven't had the chance to finish it yet, but I will be looking forward to the end (and hoping that things turn for the better). I will finish watching Protect the Boss fairly shortly as well as I'm quite enjoying the strangely weird characters; unless something else comes around to entice me, this will be the next series I finish. I make little mention about Tree With Deep Roots only because I haven't been following it even though I saw the first episode; everything I wanted to say about that first episode is included in my first impression post, so I would just be on repeat if I talked about it here too.

Soon will be Part 3 of this End of Year Reflection. It is unfortunate, however, that there's a possibility it won't be posted until after the new year. This is what happens when I'm drowning in ramyun, flowers, and laziness.

thoughts: Flower Boy Ramyun Shop (Korean) -- the final showdown (sort of) and overall thoughts

This article contains spoilers, but mostly opinions; proceed at your own risk.

꽃미남 라면가게 - Kkotminam Ramyeongage

Jung Il Woo as Cha Chi Soo
Lee Chung Ah as Yang Eun Bi
Lee Ki Woo as Choi Kang Hyuk
Park Min Woo as Kim Ba Wool
Jo Yoon Woo as Woo Hyun Woo

Kim Ye Won as Kang Dong Joo
Ho Soo as Yoon So Yi
Kim Il Joong as Coach Seo
Joo Hyun as Cha Ok Gyun (Daddy Cha)
Seo Bum Suk as Director Go (Daddy Cha's secretary)


On an entirely serious note, the last episode wrapped things up rather well, in my opinion.

Episode Sixteen brings a heartwarming atmosphere of holiday cheer amidst the lingering after effects of Chi Soo's Noble Idiocy from last episode. On top of that, Kang Dong Joo is preparing for her wedding (half-heartedly) and the resoluteness of Eun Bi's broken heart is beginning to take a toll on the boys of the Ramyun Shop. At the Chasung Palace, Daddy Cha laments over Chi Soo's depressed behavior as his faithful secretary comments that this was exactly what "Madame" did every day and every night before she left them. (I think perchance Chi Soo isn't so much caviar as he is, maybe abalone or king crab, which can be eaten with rice or ramyun just fine.)

Outside of actully recapping the entire episode with random thoughts about particular scenes, I'm not sure how best to go about this particular article. And since girlfriday has already done a stellar recap of the last episode over at Dramabeans (much better than I could ever do), I'm opting for a more chaotic and scattered formula for this post. I've taken notes of particular scenes that have piqued my interest and will simply comment on them. And so the rest of this article about the last episode might seem a little bumpy, but that's how I'm rolling for it this time around.

Also, beware mass screen capping. I give my apologies now, but you've been warned.

First of all, I fairly like the opening of the last episode with a Holiday cheer atmosphere, which immediately pans to our boys laughing hysterically at some sort of black and white Christmas(?) movie. It gives us a bit of a calm lull before the storm starts to hit in the ensuing rest of the episode. It also coincides nicely with our Christmastime viewing experience. On that note, Merry Christmas to all in this online community! This post had been meant for publishing a day earlier, but unfortunately, real life priorities will always come up first.

My next comment is on the parallelism symbolizing the "fated to be" relationship between Chi Soo and Eun Bi. This is what I've come to conclude about it: For a series that is chock full of symbolism at every turn, analogies of the most unpredictable kind, as well as a phantom premise based on the ideas of "Fated" and the like hovering in the background as shadows ("bells ringing when you're with your true love") this parallelism doesn't really bother me as much as it would have in another romance story line. For another series, this type of parallel symbolism would have actually been kind of tacky. I feel this way only because I'm guilty of doing the exact same things whenever I've tried writing my own rom-com: I always try really hard to throw out dormant, yet blatantly obvious reasons why our main couple is "meant to be together." From every action and reaction to having the two always being at the right place at the right time or doing the exact same thing at the exact same time even in two different places... This is how I've come to see my own writing of a romantically linked pair -- "god-given" justification for why they were meant to be together.

And the parallelism in Flower Boy Ramyun Shop that has been occurring between Chi Soo and Eun Bi (in this last episode and in other prior episodes) have given me this type of insight. However, the truly gratifying part of all of this symbolism in Flower Boy Ramyun Shop is that, depite all those idealistic hints in the background, we still take the dealings of Fate and throw them all out the window. The idea is there, but our characters don't resign themselves to it. From the moment that Chi Soo first steps out of his caviar bubble to try being ramyun, I realized that the so called "fate" that everyone keeps going on about wasn't going to be the problem. And to top it off, Eun Bi's final decision on her love life is a direct attack on who everyone (herself included) thinks she should be together with: Why does she choose Chi Soo? Because she loves him and it's as simple as that and no other reasons (Fate included) need to be her deciding factor. She just knows that she can't seem to be happy without him.

This also brings me to the ending rescue sequence that totally reverses everything known for being a static convention in rom-coms. While our Prince "Chapunzel" (as coined by girlfriday with me hooting in laughter upon reading the name) resigns himself to a more mature stance of noble sacrifice in order to save the Ramyun Shop, Eun Bi finally decides to take fate into her own hands and goes to find him. And I like that she has finally realized her own desires and has chosen to go and retrieve her lost love rather than be resigned to stick by what she had believed to be the fate of her and Chi Soo's relationship.

Now, is it strange that I found Eun Bi's outburst from the bathroom after a bout of constipation, declaring the un-okay-ness of Chi Soo's sacrifice in her angry tone, plunger in hand, looking like she's about to fight the world, kind of touching? I was really clapping and cheering and all sorts of satisfied that the duration of depression and Noble Idiocy lasted all of ten to twenty minutes before someone decided to take things into their own hands. And then the rescue scene wherein Eun Bi rushes to Chasung (plunger still in hand like a battle sword) was totally hilarious, especially when she started to accumulate followers starting with Ba Wool and Hyun Woo who chase her from the Ramyun Shop, then Chi Soo's posse who decide to join in, and finally the neighborhood ahjummas who are reveling at how Eun Bi has more Flower Boys following her around.

Then at Chasung, the dream sequence rescue rears its ugly head -- Eun Bi climbing a set of stairs to get to Chi Soo ends up tripping over her dress, which flashes her to the dream she'd had in the beginning of Episode Fifteen. Except in that particular case, she felt helpless as she was taken away by the palace soldiers and Chi Soo watched on, completely useless as he didn't want to "wrinkle his clothes". In reality, however, Eun Bi chooses not to resign herself to that kind of fate; the dream didn't have to happen in real life too and so she rips her dress into a shorter length, throws it and her shawl at the pursuing Chasung security staff and continues on.

What really took the cake for me was when Eun Bi confidently announced that she would gladly take responsibility for Chi Soo (a total role reversal if there ever was one). She would continue to date Chi Soo at the risk of Daddy Cha bull-dozing the Ramyun Shop as well as kicking his son out onto the streets without a dime to his name. Eun Bi's response (as taken from the Drama Fever translations): "His bare body, I'll live very well with it." This was in response to Daddy Cha's confirmation that he would strip Chi Soo bare and penniless if Chi Soo chose to leave Chasung and be together with Eun Bi. While the translation at Dramabeans makes a lot more sense in that Eun Bi declares that she will "take Chi Soo's broke ass and support him", I found that I kind of liked the more hilarious (and suggestive sounding) translation from Drama Fever, if only because it was funnier and more "rawr"-worthy. I'm strange like that, I know.

Eun Bi attacking her ex-boyfriend in the face with her used plunger was also a nice little detail that I don't think felt too extra. And I agree with girlfriday that it was hilarious how he was brought back for a mere millisecond just so we could see that moment of satisfaction -- I'd always wondered what happened to him after that entire music store debacle and whether or not he'd make another appearance. I'm totally happy with this short fix of violence (disgusting as it was).

What I'm really hooting about is that entire role reversal though, because for the past couple episodes, I've been in a bit of a fit over Eun Bi's passiveness in the entire love line. She has been rather dormant and easily pushed around, not once taking any action on her own to get what she wants. She'd been spending a lot more time just over-analyzing the entire situation, only to come up with a bag full of "what ifs" which always end up leaving her in a rather poor state. But this last episode really reaffirmed my respect for her kick ass personality that should have surfaced a long time ago. And so I loved that Eun Bi is the one running to take Chi Soo away from his caviar prison, and I love how Eun Bi openly declares that she will take care of Chi Soo (I guess as the older and questionably more experienced party in this couple), and I love how she charges in and grabs Chi Soo by the wrist and drags him out of his castle. And then I also love that she is the one to initiate the "happily ever after official couple kiss" that conclusively stamps Cha Chi Soo and Yang Eun Bi as official lovers.

For once in a rom-com, the man isn't the one who fixes all the problems for the couple to get back together. For once in a rom-com, the girl is the one who initiates all the dragging, declarations of love and responsibility, and kisses. It's only unfortunate that this is the only episode wherein all this role reversal awesomeness happens. And it's also not such a bonus that Eun Bi did get some help from her Pillar Husband in order to move forward to retrieve her Prince (though it was a bonus on Kang Hyuk's part).

There are just too many more swoon-worthy scenes in this last episode that ended up getting me excited and giddy, but if I chose to mention them all, I might go on forever and I still need to do an official wrap up of my opinions (unless I separate and make a whole different post for those, which MIGHT actually happen considering how much I've rambled on already). I might as well have just recapped the whole darn thing.

And so I'll mention a few other items and try to be brief about them:

Firstly, Chi Soo's maturity was very much welcomed. When he recited the same words that Eun Bi had said (reflecting from the very first episode) about how you cannot change love, I thought it was a very meaningful circular conclusion to his growth. At the same time, even after the time skip was employed, I'm also glad that some things still didn't change for Chi Soo: when he ends up enlisting into the army, he chooses to be stationed somewhere else (not with his usual posse whom all also enlisted with him) because he'd get to keep his hair the way it is. Chi Soo's vanity is one to be reckoned with, but I don't blame him.

Next, Kang Hyuk's presence has been one in which I feel love and sadness towards. There is very little noted about Kang Hyuk in this last episode, but each of his scenes shows his true form as the caring and loving, good man that he's always been. From urging Eun Bi to look into her heart, to helping her out of the mass crowd of protesters at Chasung and equiping her with running shoes so she could better save her Princess "Chapunzel" (girlfriday I am STILL chuckling about that coined nickname for our Chi Soo), and finally walking away with the grace of a hero and a lonely wanderer, but leaving with that adorable, teasing pettiness of:

"While you and Chi Soo are living in bliss, I am sure I will drown my sorrow in booze, and with the help of many other women... I'm sure I'll slowly mend my loneliness as I pass along as the bad guy... While I go on cursing you."

He's so cute and he's so great and he's still always thinking about Eun Bi first. And much like Eun Bi, there's really no way to describe what I really want to say to him or about him. I DO want to include that, when he started laying down to take a nap in the middle of Chasung, even though it was his strategy to trip pursuing security staff, I found that I had missed seeing his lazy, always sleeping moments from earlier episodes. Despite being in love with Chi Soo the entire way through, there's a special place in my heart for Kang Hyuk that doesn't even do justice for his greatness; but it's there and makes me remember him as the dear Pillar Husband who always looked out for everyone else except himself.

And then finally, a comment on side supporting characters I have neglected to talk about since I started blogging about Flower Boy Ramyun Shop. Kang Dong Joo (Eun Bi's best friend) and their old volley ball coach (whom I only know as Coach) have been weaving their own side story in and out of the main love line for a while now. While I have made little mention about them, I will comment that I've thoroughly enjoyed seeing that our little makeshift family, the little love triangle as well as the entire conflict about "caviar vs rice" still has room for a smooth transitioning into the lives of our supporting characters, even if very briefly. Ba Wool and Yoon So Yi's love line has been an ongoing comedic flair, but when Dong Joo and Coach began exhibiting signs of romantic connection, it was a surprise, but not an unwelcome one. And it was rather interesting to see between the rest of the chaos.

I have to say though, for the few scattered instances of Coach and Dong Joo's side love line, it was rather deep and meaningful. And so when their love line came to a conclusion, I totally got giddy and hooty with excited laughter. When Coach shows up on the day of Dong Joo's wedding only to re-enact one of my most favorite scenes in one of my most favorite movies, Love, Actually, I almost died. And to top it off, even with some of the placards being questionable in romantic aspects ("But I know all the plastic surgery you had done five years ago" along with a picture of the chubbier Dong Joo during her high school volley ball years) the entire scene was just so sweet and so touching that I was OMG-ing like a teenage school girl and clutching my chest in an attempt not to fall over.

Can I say that this was probably the BEST EVER conclusion to a supporting couple side romance? I LOVED IT!

As I already said, there were just so many aspects in this one last episode that I just enjoyed to death. But to keep going on would just require me to copy and paste girlfriday's recap and just put in my own personal comments at each scene she talks about.

In all honesty, this has been one of the few more perfect, more complete endings I've experienced in K-drama since I've first started watching them about five months ago. The only other one was from My Lovely Sam Soon -- the only difference is that Flower Boy Ramyun Shop's ending for the main couple was slightly more finite than the one presented in Sam Soon. However, both had their own charms and despite the "I wish this series could go on forever and ever" mentality that I typically get, I'm fairly content with the ending for Ramyun Shop.

On a side detour about the employed standard time skip device, I don't think it really bothered me as much as other time skips have done in the passed. In fact, I really don't like time skips, because they're always a means for a series to find a way to wrap up the ending which always turns out pretty awkward. The time skip usually happens because we want to separate the couple for whatever reason, which typically isn't the best one in rom-coms. However, in Ramyun Shop's case, the time skip didn't feel forced at all. Using the army as a means to separate the couple for two years which will give Chi Soo the chance to grow into a less squicky age (in order to calm the masses of controversy in viewership) and hopefully a more matured young man was a pretty good ploy. Enlisting in the army is a requirement in Korea for young men and it's not like it was a forced reason that could have been resolved with a little more tact and communication (unlike the Noble Idiot break up of a man who doesn't want his girlfriend to stay in Korea and miss out on an opportunity to become famous because he needs to have wrist surgery). While the age gap hasn't really been an issue for me (I mean, no matter what, there will always be a six year gap between the two), this time skip army enlistment worked to satsify squickiness of viewership.

Also, I think it might have been a means for Daddy Cha to utilize his last strike of punishment for disobedience -- and to tell Chi Soo that even if the boy chooses to leave Chasung, they are indeed still father and son and this is something that, as his guardian, Daddy Cha can exert power over. It's like a "Fine, you can have your own way in your love life, but you are still my son and so I'm at least going to do something still within my power to lay down my authority and to tell you that I'm still upset with you." And so Chi Soo's American citizenship is forfeit and now he's off to army training. Petty as this may be (if this is indeed Daddy Cha's mind set) I think it works and remains in true character to the series.

So... Time skip and then closing voice over as well as final, standard rom-com reunion... it all falls into place pretty neatly.

I DO appreciate that while we see a "happy couple getting together in the end" conclusion, the rest of the supporting characters, side stories, etc., are fairly open-ended. Daddy Cha may still be his typical misguided, piteous, weak-willed, lonely man who's actions all story long were propelled by that bad experience he had with his love for Chi Soo's mother. If he had suddenly grown happy and understanding, it would have seemed forced. In the end, he's still the big ol' softy of a father who dotes on his only child, treating him like diamonds and fragile glass statues.

Ba Wool's relationship with Yoon So Yi was still in a rocky spot wherein she continues to drag him along while she goes on dates with those "an oppa I know" casual boyfriends; you want him to either give up on her or do SOMETHING to change his course. But the fact is, this time around isn't the Kim Ba Wool and Yoon So Yi love story, and Ba Wool is the one who chooses to continue seeing Yoon So Yi despite knowing that she's seeing other men. This relationship could go in all sorts of directions, and a simple forced kiss is still not the conclusion for them. The open endedness of it was actually rather satisfying. Ba Wool still has a long road to go if he continues to be stuck on Yoon So Yi (whom I've long ago grown out of that hate/hate impression for and am just biding my time for her own maturity to kick in because I just don't really get her and I'm tired of trying to analyze her). If Ba Wool had been given a happily ever after, whether with Yoon So Yi or a newly employed love interested, then we would have fallen into that dreaded "Couple Curtain Call" that I hate so much and the series would have been awkward... and tacky.

And then there was the Hyun Woo and his own possible start of a Chi Soo/Eun Bi restroom meeting, in reversal -- a potential new love line that doesn't need to be elaborated on, but with all sorts of possible hijinks to ensue in an imaginary new story line that we don't ever have to see to be content with.

On another side note, I really do like that Ba Wool and Hyun Woo have grown a very simple bromance relationship with each other. Where Ba Wool started off being annoyed with Hyun Woo, it's nice that the two of them ended up being close (even if Ba Wool won't admit it) and that by the end of the series, they're still working with each other even though the Ramyun Shop is no more. This is one of the many wonders of the Ramyun Shop bringing two complete strangers together, who probably would have never even bothered to acknowledge each other in any other setting.

Finally, I know that a lot of people are really distressed over the conclusion that Kang Hyuk ended up with. I feel bad for him too and throughout this last episode, I really kept wishing to the gods that, maybe we can overlook societal taboos and maybe Eun Bi could just be with BOTH men? I know that's a really bad desire, and for the first time ever I'm actually condoning a two-timing relationship, but still... when you've seen all that Choi Kang Hyuk has done for his Wifey and you've seen how even SHE has no idea what can be said or done for Kang Hyuk to make things better... I just really, really want something significant for him.

I want our Pillar-ssi to be happy too and watching him walk away from that Ramyun Shop with welled up tears in his eyes was heartbreaking.

However, I'm actually kind of glad that we didn't get a complete "Couple Curtain Call" just for his sake. I want Kang Hyuk to have a romance of his own, maybe sometime down the line in his life; now is NOT the time for it to happen, though. To me, the idea of making Kang Hyuk find another someone to love at the end of this series would have been tactless and too rom-com standard for me to have enjoyed it. It would have also terminated any possibility of an open-ended conclusion to this particular side story, which cuts off all possibilities that Kang Hyuk may get his own story in the future (even if a sequel would also be kind of forced). Over all, however, I DO like that Kang Hyuk's ties to the story line ended up being so much more than just a love line with Eun Bi. He was also connected to a little brother, the Ramyun Shop, as well as the two little Flower Boys he took in to work for him. His presence isn't limited fully for the sake of Yang Eun Bi and her romances and he also helped Chi Soo with his growth as well.

The ending to a romance story line doesn't necessarily always mean that EVERYONE must find a significant other within the allotted time that the story line takes place. Love isn't the only thing to life. While Flower Boy Ramyun Shop was set in a more comedic, almost comic book like fashion, the conclusion was more realistic than a complete wrap up of happy endings. And so rather than being a romantic comedy as its only calling card, Ramyun Shop also gave to us a journey of growth by both Cha Chi Soo as well as Yang Eun Bi. Chi Soo learns to mature and become a human being worthy of others' love and care when he learns to love and care about others. Eun Bi learns to accept herself as who she really is without trying hard to fit in with the norm -- Yang Eun Bi is Yang Eun Bi, and despite the fact that she's returned to the respective societal norm of taking the civil service exams again, she has found herself as Yang Eun Bi.

Finally, the Ramyun Shop's closing was a sad one. I really DID hope that the makeshift family could have remained together forever. I really wanted Daddy Cha to withdraw his redevelopment plans and save the little building. I wanted Kang Hyuk to continue running the Ramyun Shop with the boys and Eun Bi. It would have been a Fairy Tale happy ending and it would have satsified the masses; because the Ramyun Shop has become a significant place in everyone's hearts.

Am I sad that it had to close down? Yes. But is it something that I can accept? Yes. Because as much as I loved what the Ramyun Shop represented for our little Flower Boy family and Eun Bi, its closing was in tune with the rest of the series' conclusions. The Ramyun Shop, became a certain special time and place for the five people who worked there and will always remain as a beautiful memory. The Ramyun Shop brought everyone together to share special moments; but even with the Ramyun Shop gone, life still goes on. Maybe viewers would have been happier with a Ramyun Shop success ending scene -- but that would have been forced and a an ex deux machina ending. Chasung isn't going to withdraw redevelopment plans that have always been in action just for a moment of love for his son; that would be unrealistic.

Was I satisfied with the ending? Yes. Was it a good one? Definitely. Was it the best? I don't know if I could answer that. Simply put, the wrap up for this series did NOT leave me unsatisfied and it did NOT leave me wondering or yearning for anything that was untouched. Instead, despite its finite-ness, there is still the possibility of a renewal or a follow-up. Would I do something like that to Flower Bow Ramyun Shop? Probably not -- again, it might end up being too much and too dragged out. But would I pass up any chances to see some more love-dovey, chaotically comical sweetness between Chi Soo and Eun Bi? That totally wouldn't bother me. Do I want to know how Ba Wool dumps Yoon So Yi and finally finds himself a girl to care about him enough to only see him? Of course. Do I want to witness Hyun Woo's newly blossoming possible love line? Yea. And as for Kang Hyuk, what about his own love story? Honestly, does he really need one? I wouldn't refuse it, but at the moment, it would be too much, plain and simple. More fininte conclusions for everyone would have been nice; but it would really have been too much and too dragged.

As a whole, this series and this story is done.

And you know, I really, really loved it. Every conclusion fell into place almost too perfectly. And when I say almost too perfectly, I'm not using a sardonic tone; I'm totally sincere. I don't think I would have changed anything.

The series overall was like crack-tastic fun. But I don't need to say that too many times. I've doted and swooned and riled and I've gone on and on and on about Flower Boy Ramyun Shop so much that I'm starting to wonder when I'll tire myself out. Of a lot of drama series I've seen in a long time, this has been one of the better and best ones and with such a satisfying ending (although I know a lot of netizens would beg to differ) to me this was probably the best series I've seen all year (or within the five month time span I've been watching K-drama).

I know that I'm still a K-drama newbie, but I'm not a story book or rom-com newbie. I know what I like and I know that my own opinions and standards and values differ immensely from a lot of other people. I think a lot of people would be surprised to know that when Flower Boy Ramyun Shop first started broadcasting, I wasn't even going to look at it twice. And then when I finally started watching it out of curiosity, I thought it was good fun, but that was about it -- and since it was fun enough, I chose to continue watching it. And even as the series progressed into mid-series, I honestly didn't hold much love for Cha Chi Soo's arrogant, spoiled brat lifestyle and his less than insightful non-compassion for other human beings. And I really DIDN'T care for Choi Kang Hyuk either -- the creepy vibes were up because of his claim on Eun Bi and the house, living with her without her knowledge. It got me wondering which one of these guys would actually be decent enough for boyfriend material: the lazy stranger who shows up most awkwardly, or the asshole of a second generation chaebol who can't seem to stop making life hell for everyone around him.

And so it's kind of a wonder to me that this series ended up sticking to me, growing on me, reeling me in to its deepest recesses and then finally just becoming an addictive drug I couldn't stop coming back to. I'm not even sure when I started loving Ramyun Shop so much, but it happened.

Ultimately, I think what drew me to the chaotic mess that was Flower Boy Ramyun shop had to do mainly with its refreshing non-standard navigation through standard plot devices. As I've stated before, I like that the entire series rushes by in a zippy way, introducing one story arc and resolving it almost immediately. I like how common cliches are employed to help the story line progress, but a fairly unpredictable twist is set in to give Ramyun Shop's story line its own individual sense of style. I especially love the series' sense of attention to detail; sometimes viewers notice the strangest little things that may not have anything to do with plot progression, but adds onto the setting and the atmosphere of particular scenes. It shows that the writer and the production staff might have been thinking about the direction of this series on the viewers' side of the screen and asking themselves what little details and what random questions will a random viewer come up with or notice.

For instance, Ba Wool's Miss Teddy Bear new girlfriend having her own little bottle of yogurt while he partakes in some lamenting about Yoon So Yi on the other side of the table. There was also the Coke shot scene wherein Eun Bi pours Ba Wool shots of Coca Cola for him to drown his sorrows in as a replacement for soju (which I assume is a no-no for nineteen year old high school students in Korea?); it parallels the past when Eun Bi's father poured her milk shots to teach her how to make those satisfying "soju facial expressions" that female leads like to make in almost every rom-com. And then there's the ongoing Pororo protective blanket that Chi Soo has grown attached to, which ends up worming its way back into the last episode upon Chi Soo's dip into depression because of his Noble Idiocy. Even at the end when Chi Soo goes to reunite with Eun Bi, he claims that because he's "Chwa" he can't be coming out to see her in a tacky army uniform; it's so in character with Chi Soo's personality despite his matured growth.

The little details of Ramyun Shop are just so finely tuned that I can't help smirking every time I notice something that otherwise could have been missed.

Flower Boy Ramyun Shop, from its quirky characters to its use of strange analogies and symbolism, leading into a very finely presented emotional center, made for one of the better romantic comedies, maybe even one of the best, that I have been exposed to in a long time (or maybe ever). With great acting, story telling and direction, the only setback of Ramyun Shop (as I will be repeating in a later post) is that in order to love it, you really HAVE to be drawn into its comically created, over-the-top world. And once you're in, there's absolutely no turning back.

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Related articles:
first impression: Flower Boy Ramyun Shop
thoughts: Flower Boy Ramyun Shop -- mid-series
thoughts: Flower Boy Ramyun Shop -- episodes 9 and 10
thoughts: Flower Boy Ramyun Shop -- shipper status update
thoughts: Flower Boy Ramyun Shop -- the end is near
thoughts: Flower Boy Ramyun Shop -- finale on the horizon

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