Top 5 Kdrama Countdown: Watching it all so you dont have too - January Week 3.5

 We are already three weeks into the new year (I know that supposedly last week was written as week three but I think I started the blog title on the wrong week so we are going to improvise) and it is turning into a never ending kdrama marathon because everything so far has been amazing. It is so difficult to choose only five moments to discuss so I have to admit that I combined a few into "themes" so that you can be sure to get all of what was great and watchable this week.

#5 Music, Music, Music

This week has been all about the music for me.  I tend to really enjoy the OST's of the more melo focused dramas (the whole tragic love makes for some really haunting songs).  However two new dramas have really stood out with their French and English musical focus.  Can We Love and I Need Romance 3 both have expanded their traditional drama boundaries when it comes to the OST's by adding foreign music and I have loved ever minute of it.
Can We love has thrown American music into its OST like sprinkles on a cupcake.  And thankfully they have someone on their production team who understands English since the songs all fit the mood and actions of the characters perfectly.   Their main song by Bright#1 also has a Korean version that is used in the drama but for now I have hunted down (and it was seriously hard to find this song) the English version for your enjoyment.

Bright#1 - Everyday

I Need Romance 3 has decided to go with a more French inspired OST.  It's whimsical songs bring a sense of beauty and romance to the drama that complement the very intricate dreamlike concept the director is putting forth.  Even the main Korean song by Lee Hyori has a very French/European flare that you usually don't see in an OST. 

Lee Hyori - Don't Cry

Papermoon - Peu A Peu

#4 Reverse Cinderella

There is a new drama, A Well Raised Daughter, entering our lineup for its top five debut.  I have been loving this quirky daily and its girl lives as boy storyline immensely, but this is the first time I would say it had a stand out scene.   We always see the big Cinderella moment where the girl (usually looking just average) is pampered and fluffed and dressed in designer clothes and suddenly she is the most beautiful women ever seen.  It is a concept that is done in so many dramas (especially the gender bender ones) that you can predict them with ease.  So I was very pleasantly surprised when  A Well Raised Daughter decided to go a slightly different path.  To set the scene you have to understand that Jang Ha Na has lived like a boy almost her WHOLE life.  This is not one of those dramas where she is a pampered princess who cuts her hair because of a guy, nope she is a child that is so loyal and dutiful to her mother that she literally gave up anything feminine to grow up as a man from the age of seven.  She does not have all the feminine tells that you often see and she acts, speaks, fights, and moves with ease as a boy.  So when she comes to work in her spiffy new suit it is hilarious when both of the leading men totally go blank in the head at the sight of her.  And since she in all ways but the physical thinks like a guy she is totally clueless.  It is an adorable scene in a really cute show.  I plan on doing a more in depth review of the drama in the coming week but if you are interested in watching it check out darksmurfsubs.com.  You have to register (no money required) and it is worth it to watch  the shows that only get subbed there.

Two Guys and a Guy (who is really a girl) clip

#3 The Cherry on the Drama Sundae

As usually it was so hard to pick just one moment from My Love From Another Star to put in my top five.  So since I have two at the top of my list that have something in common I decided to combine them together.  Can I just say that I LOVE LOVE LOVE the added endings in each episode.  They add that extra oomph that just pulls the whole episode together in the end and makes your heart just start crying all over again for our star crossed lovers.
In episode 11 we are devastated as Do Min-Joon tries his hardest to push Cheon Song-Yi away (for her own good of course).  His cold expression anytime she is around just breaks my heart and I was as sad as the heroine was when he coldly rebuffed her love and ordered her to leave him alone.  She walks away from him devastated but little does she know that he pauses time and comes and kisses her one more time before she leaves.  I can practically hear the squeals of fans everywhere while they watched the added bonus from this episode.

The next day in episode 12 our hearts continued to feel so many emotions as we finally were able to see what Do Min-Joon was feeling behind his stoic facade.  Rather then taking it in stride it seems he is about to emotionally burst with the agony of leaving her.  His crying is not pretty nor feels like it has been created to make him look good in a scene.  It is heavy and heartbreaking and you can literally feel his agony as he sobs out that he does not want to leave her. This scene left me crying and with a whole new appreciation on Kim Soo Hyun's ability to act.

Stops Time Kiss Clip

Devastated Clip

#2 An Epic Jump

There is nothing greater then being within the emotional grips of an awesome action drama.  And to be honest, while there have been some great dramas that have included action scenes, there has not been a lot of dramas that I would define as action dramas.  Often if a drama is all action then it loses out on the plot/writing (Iris 2) or tends to be more of an intellectual fighting (Nine, Two Weeks).  So it is with the utmost pleasure that I have discovered that Inspiring Generation (Age of Feeling) has the best of both.  You have to give credit to a show that has you so involved that you hold your breath for three minutes as you watch the young hero Jung Tae almost die from being sucked under a train jump of a huge bridge and then almost drown in a fast flowing river.   You even know that it is not going to kill him since he is the hero of the drama, but you cant help being swept into the emotions of the scene.  For those of you who are on the fence about trying this drama (whether it is because of the actors chosen, or the bridal mask feel....even though it is nothing like Bridal Mask, just uses the same sets) take a leap of faith since this drama is worth it!

Bridge Jump Clip

#1 Karaoke Kissfest

 A week ago I had not even heard of this drama.  A friend made an off hand comment about it and of course I had to check it out.  I thought it was going to be a drama about the usually three female friends in their late thirties have to deal with hard lives, relationships, and each other.  And on the surface that is exactly what it is, but i think the director must be adding in subliminal messages or something because this drama is insanely ADDICTING.  So much that I literally felt an emptiness when I had caught up with all six episodes and was left shaking and wanting more.  Since then I have tried my hardest to get all of my kdrama friends to also enjoy the addiction since misery loves company.  In episode 5 we get one of my new top kdrama kisses.  Main guy and main girl are cheering themselves up by going out to enjoy some karaoke 

(OK......pause a minute for a quick American commentary on Asian's addiction to Karaoke rooms.  What the heck is up with the need to sing whenever possible.  For such a conservative culture they sure do lose their inhibitions anytime cheesy songs and a tambourine are involved.  Personally being locked in a room one on one with a guy (even if he is not someone I am interested in ) and performing would make me break out into terror sweats and I would probably pass out.  Yet they act as if it is totally fun and enjoyable.  I just do not get it.)

 Both in a good mood after they sing and shout to their hearts content, they then get on the topic of kissing.  The main girl, being divorced, comments that she really misses kissing and he randomly suggests that she can use his lips anytime she wants.  She then takes him up on his offer milliseconds later and then he returns the favor with an even more intense kissing session.  And for those of you paying attention the song used in the scene is indeed the song listed in my #5 top things of this week.
Making out Karaoke Style Clip

Yay, we have concluded another top five and our lives have all been improved because of it.  I cant wait to find out what will be on next weeks countdown.  Will I get some yummy Kim Hyun Joong action now that the older cast is starting in Inspiring Generation, or will Empress Ki come back on top now that we are hooking her up with the Emperor?  Or will one of the dailies make its way into the lineup.  You will have to check back next Sunday for our next top five to find out.  In the meantime  sneak a peak at my recaps on I Need Romance 3 and my special post (soon to come out) that reviews the newest dramas.  Are they worth watching or should you shove them to the back of the "to watch" list.  Find out soon.

Sincerely,
Kmuse

Dramas that I am currently watching:

Potato Star 2013QR23
A Well Raised Daughter (subs are behind in relation to the filming schedule)
One Warm Word
Can We Love
King's Daughter Soo Baek Hyang
Empress KI
Lets Eat
Prime Minister and I
My Love From Another Star
Golden Rainbow
Age of Feeling
I Need Romance - Be sure to check out my recaps!
Emergency Couple 
Angel's Revenge