More Coffee Prince

커피프린스 1호점



White Love Story---OST (ENGLISH SUBS)



Han Kyul's day dream of Eun Chan



Han Kyul and Eun Chan's romantic and kissing scenes throughout Coffee Prince
(wow some of the CP fans --Dotoo creation--are awesome! I wish I had their skills!)



Han Kyul and Eun Chan MV to CRAZY FOR YOU -Madonna (another fan masterpiece)



The kiss of the drama (EP 16)

This drama, I enjoyed the chemistry between Yoon Eun Hye and Gong Yoo. There is even talk about Coffee Prince #2. But I do not think without Gong Yoo it will not be good. I heard that Goong S with Se7en bombed without the original Goong cast in it. It is rare for sequels to do well without the original characters/cast members.

The music in this drama was good and the themes that are not normally dealt with in Korean dramas made. Such as Gong Yoo's character Han Kyul starts falling for Yoon Eun Hye as Eun Chan. She disguises her identity to get a job and then later just maintains the charade even while falling for Han Kyul. To everyone else, except for the other coworkers, they are all in on the charade. Even Han Kyul's cousin knows Eun Chan is a girl and is surprised that she is able to "deceive" Han Kyul.

The fact that Han Kyul has a growing attraction to another "guy" disturbs him as he knows he likes woman. But he does come to terms with his feelings and tries to be with Eun Chan as a friend/or "hyung". But he realizes he wants more and feels horrible about it as it drives him nearly insane.

I like that the side stories with the other characters are mentioned too! Such as the quiet waffle maker No Sun Ki who is in search for a woman he loves. Then there is the woman crazy Jin Ha Rim who loves to call Eun Chan "My Chan" all the time. Burly Min Yeop who is crazy in love with Eun Chan's sister Eun Sae dogs Eun Chan's every move thinking she/he is suitor to his "angel". Even the two suitors for Eun Chan's mother develops throughout the drama which I found to be funny.

There is a more modern view about couple's intimacy that is not seen alot in Korean Dramas was seen here with Choi Han Sung and Han Yoo Joo's relationship. They had lived together for a few years then Han Yoo Joo left with another man and now she wants to have Han Sung back. (All the while Han Sung's cousin Han Kyul had a big crush on the free spirited Yoo Joo). Both are in their 30's and not married but share more than the chaste kiss and hug seen in all the Korean dramas.

It is funny how the dramas are very closeted and prim but the movies are not. But I guess the television channels are aware that the viewers are concerned about the content shown.

Yoon Eun Hye 윤은혜 as Go Eun Chan
Gong Yoo 공유 as Choi Han Kyul
Lee Sun Gyun 이선균 as Choi Han Sung
Chae Jung Ahn 채정안 as Han Yoo Joo

http://asiandramaddict.wordpress.com/tag/coffee-prince/ Blog on drama--great recaps!!!!!
http://www.dramabeans.com/?s=coffee+prince (good recaps by FAN of drama)
http://www.xanga.com/coffeeprince another site to check out
http://www.coffee-prince.com/ another fan site
http://asiandramaddict.wordpress.com/2007/09/03/white-love-story-romanized-lyrics/ song lyrics (romanized)

synopsis (www.coffee-prince.com)

With a foolish mother and the need to look after her younger sister, “pretty boy” Go Eun Chan has to give up her feminine image to help support the family with multiple jobs. Because of her previous experience with Tae Kwon Do, Eun Chan has quite the bold and opinionated personality. Choi Han Kyul seems to know women well and thinks of himself as a great guy.
After accidentally being mistaken for a man by Han Kyul’s older brother, Choi Han Seong, she starts working at Coffee Prince, and falls in love with the hot-tempered owner Choi Han Kyul. Han Kyul hires Eun Chan to avoid an arranged marrage by pretending to be romantically linked to a “gay” Eun Chan. But Choi Han Kyul slowly starts to develop feelings for her, but still doesn’t believe in love. Eun Chan also starts to have feelings for Han Kyul but can’t confess that she’s a woman, Han Kyul, continues thinking that the agonized Go Eun Chan is a man. Choi Han Kyul thinks he’s experiencing feelings of homosexuality towards her, and gets heartsick. This side of him was drawn in a risky but fun way.

The part when he discovers that Go Eun Chan is a woman is shown in an undemanding way, and the story doesn’t concentrate on just these two people, but also on the other people who frequent Coffee Prince. These people are shown one by one in a natural way, and since the story isn’t just about romance but about the natural conflicts of all the characters.

커피프린스 1호점 (MBC Korean Drama 2007) Coffee Prince

Title: 커피프린스 1호점 / The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince

Coffee Prince trailer

Also known as: Coffee Prince
Genre: Romance, Comedy
Episodes: 17
Broadcast Network: MBC
Broadcast Period: 2007-Jul-02 to 2007-Aug-27
Air Time: Monday and Tuesday 21:55
Opening Theme: Lalala, its Love, by The Melody

Synopsis
The life of Go Eun Chan (Yoon Eun Hye) is not easy; she works many jobs to pay off debts and even gave up her feminine image. Choi Han Kyul (Gong Yoo) is the heir of a big food company, but his grandmother wants him to settle down, so she arranged many dates for him. After Eun Chan bumped into Han Kyul and was mistaken for a boy, Han Kyul decided to hire Eun Chan to be his gay lover in order to avoid the arranged dates. Desperately in need of money, Eun Chan had no choice but to accept. Han Kyul's grandmother also made Han Kyul in charge of a filthy coffee shop in danger of being bankrupt. Eun Chan begged to work at the coffee shop, and not long after, feelings start to spark, except, how would Han Kyul accept his "homosexuality"?

Cast
Yoon Eun Hye as Go Eun Chan
Gong Yoo as Choi Han Kyul
Lee Sun Gyun as Choi Han Sung
Chae Jung Ahn as Han Yoo Joo

Extended Cast
Kim Ja Ok as Han Kyul's mom
Choi Il Hwa as Han Kyul's dad
Kim Young Ok as Han Kyul's grandmother
Park Won Sook as Eun Chan's mom
Kim Chang Wan as Mr. Hong (ex-Coffee Prince president)
Kim Jae Wook as No Sun Ki
Kim Dong Wook as Jin Ha Rim
Lee Un as Hwang Min Yeop
Lee Han Wie as Mr. Ku (the butcher that likes Eun Chan's mom)
Han Yeh In as Go Eun Sae (Eun Chan's sister)
Kim Jung Min as DK (Yoo Joo's ex-boyfriend)

source: http://wiki.d-addicts.com/The_1st_Shop_of_Coffee_Prince

More info at http://www.coffee-prince.com

My Wife is a Gangster 2 -조폭 마누라 2003

My Wife is a Gangster 2 -조폭 마누라 2( Jopog Manura 2)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Wife_is_a_Gangster_2 (source)

My Wife is a Gangster 2 (조폭 마누라2 Jopog Manura 2) is a 2003 South Korean film. It is the sequel to My Wife is a Gangster. It features Zhang Ziyi in a minor role. She appears in a short fight scene at the end of the film.

Synopsis
Due to a lucky break, the fall doesn't kill her, but it does cause her to suffer amnesia. Luckily for Eun-Jin, she's found by Yoon Jae-Choi (Park Joon-Gyu), the kindly owner of a small-scale Chinese restaurant. She worked as a delivery girl under the name of Tsu Tsu.
Once, in a feud with Ji-hyun, Tsu Tsu fell from the roof and recovered her past memories with White Shark, who had recruited Jun Man to kill her. Jun Man became impotent when Jae-choi's motorbike accidentally hit him in the groin. Ji-hyun was later kidnapped and was being rescued by Eun-jin, but Jae-choi was stabbed in the stomach and killed. Eun-jin was saved by the 132-members of the scissors gang. Ji-hyun later joined Eun-jin's gang to fight against some Chinese illegal drug dealers.




Starring: Shin Eun-kyung 신은경 Park Jun-gyu 박준규 Jang Se-jin 장세진 (Zhang Zhi Ji cameo)


http://kmovieaddicts.blogspot.com/2006/08/my-wife-is-ganster-2-return-of-legend.html

*My mom told me that the lead actress had an accident involving her eyes while making this film.

사랑을 놓치다 Lost in Love (Korean 2006)

(photo credit: Hancinema)

Lost in Love (2006) - 사랑을 놓치다 (Sa-lang-eul Noh-chi-da)

Seol Kyeong-gu (설경구) Woo Jae
Song Yoon-ah (송윤아) Yeon Su
Lee Ki-woo (이기우)
Lee Hwi-hyang (이휘향) (mom)

http://www.lovehkfilm.com/panasia/lost_in_love.htm (a good review by Sanjuro)

I recently watched this movie with Song Yoon Ah (the drama "The Hotelier") as Yeon Su a shy girl who is secretly in love with her childhood friend Woo Jae (played by Seol Kyeong Gu). She stands idly by in the beginning of the film when he is dumped by his girlfriend.

A few years pass and they meet up again. This time she is a divorced and working as a vet in town and he is the local high school's crew team's coach. This time Woo Jae might be receptive to being together with Yeon Su. But their beginning ends up being an ending and Yeon Su finally realizes that she has held on too much. Meanwhile, a suitor (played by Lee Ki Woo) is in the wings waiting to be with Yeon Su.

The movie is very slow but the simple scenery is beautiful. I liked the important uses of every gesture and glance is fully utilized. This movie definitely keeps to the theme that with love, it is never smooth sailing. Something seems to go wrong...

Goong Mania....Photo Collages..

http://movie-tv-reviews.blogspot.com/2006/12/goong-princess-hours.html

This is the blog entry has the OST of Goong and great photos (on this page I got from there) I love the COLLAGES (credit : tanweemin.blogs.friendster.com!

Thankfully there are more creative and tech savvy fans than myself!

More Bong Dal Hee (Oegwauisa Bongdalhui) 외과의사 봉달희

**WARNING there are some spoilers here!!!!

Lee Bum Soo's first drama in 16 years of acting. He is usually a wise cracking comedian or other interesting acting roles but not a serious Surgeon as he plays here. I must say I don't really care for the haircut. I do love the scene in Episode #14 where Dr. Bong walks in on Dr. Paek giving Dr. Ahn penicillin for syphilis! (After giving a shot to the patient, he pricked himself with the same noodle --the same one on the patient with syphilis!)

I did enjoy the drama overall. I can agree with many fans loving this drama and the characters actually have stories (ie the other residents who started along with Surgeon Bong). Lee Yo Won did a great job as Bong Dal Hee. I read somewhere she got the perm and deliberately wanted to not look good as that would be more realistic. It is not unheard of those who save lives do not have a chance to be very healthy with lack of sleep, not eating well creates many health problems for interns, residents and doctors. For Dr. Bong, it is more difficult with heart situation but her hard work and determination to be a Cardiac Surgeon are commendable.

I enjoyed the transformation of the cold, blunt and rude Dr. Ahn (Lee Bum Soo) to be a bit more caring and warming up to Dr. Bong in later episodes. It is apparent especially after their stint in the country after dealing with an AIDS patient. I did not believe they had on no goggles or gloves when doing surgery on him!

Or how Dr. Bong got stabbed by a criminal whom Dr. Ahn had saved after not sharing some much needed "O" blood to Dr. Lee to save a child who got hurt by the criminal too. This stabbing really brings out Dr. Ahn's concern for Dr. Bong. But Dr. Lee was still in the picture. I thought it cute that Dr. Ahn would come by every free moment to be with Dr. Bong. But he is very awkward with girls and you can tell when he practically "barks" orders to ask Dr. Bong on a date. Everytime he thinks he did a good job after interacting with Dr. Bong he will smile to himself. It shows the softer side of him coming out. Even the usually righteous and moral doctor went against Dr. Bong's request for a different heart valve and put in a mechanical one (he admitted and apologized saying he did not want to lose her and thought of it as a man and not a doctor).

The little boy who is Dr. Lee's son is very cute! I loved his sweet smile, big eyes fringed with long lashes and his slight lisp just makes you want to hug him and pinch his cheeks. Everytime he came out, my sister and I sighed now cute the child actor was onscreen! Definitely an future cute heartbreaker!

When Dr. Lee is leaving for America, I liked how the residents hammed it up putting "We Love you Dr. Lee! Come back soon" It was written on their scrubs, very cute! Another memorable moment, Dr. Lee's first glimpse of Dr. Bong and in her "Pooh Bear" skivvies! Priceless!

The ending being three years later, Dr. Bong has a new crop of residents and she is laying down the rules. *Very cute. She and her other starting resident bump into Dr. Ahn in the hallways. Very cool ending.

외과의사 봉달희/Wegwa-uisa Bong Dal-hee)

(SYNOPSIS from www.global.sbs.co.kr)

Dal-hee is a young doctor who graduated from a lesser-known medical school than her fellow doctors and suffers from a heart condition. She starts her first year of residency at the department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery and this TV series follows her trials at work. A medical TV series that follows the lives of young doctors who deal with setbacks, deaths, patients, and tensions on the job as they grow into full-fledged doctors! Set amid the surgery department of a hospital, this is story about love and marriage among four doctors – First year resident Dal-hee, Cardiothoracic surgeon Ahn Joong-geun, General surgeon Lee Gun-wook, and Pediatrician Cho Moon-gyeong.

Dal-hee(actress Lee Yo-won) has had a frail health since she was a young girl and her condition made her want to become a doctor so that she could cure diseases. But in the first year of her residency, she undergoes a heart operation and this forces her to give up her dreams of ever becoming a doctor. She returns to her hometown where she finds work at a local public health clinic but she can not forget her lifelong dream. With little expectation, she applies for a residency at a general hospital in Seoul and she is accepted due to a shortfall of applicants. Finally, she is able to reach for her dreams again by starting her residency. But she has to complete the 100-day on-call duty in her first year and she tries harder than any other doctor to do her best but she keeps on making small mistakes that leads to serious complications for her patients. As Dal-hee overcomes the prejudices and misperceptions held against her by her peers, she finally gains the respect of her fellow doctors and completes her residency in three years. During those years, heart specialist Ahn Joong-geun(actor Lee Beom-soo) and Dr. Lee Gun-wook(actor Kim Min-joon) develop a rivalry at the hospital to become leading doctors and they also fall in love with Dal-hee. But Dal-hee’s health begins to deteriorate because of the grueling working hours at the hospital. She refuses to listen to the advice of her doctor and continues to work. Because of her health, she tries to take it easy at work but Joong-geun steps up the pressure when he finds her taking breaks. Dal-hee realizes that curing patients has made her life fulfilling and so she relies on her mental edge to keep her going at work but one day she collapses in the middle of an operation. That incident put her entire career on hold...

http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/entertainment/enter_drama_detail.htm?No=897

Surgeon Bong Dal Hee (외과의사 봉달희/Wegwa-uisa Bong Dal-hee) aired on SBS January to March of 2007.The title character Bong Dal-hee (Lee Yo-won) is an ambitious first year resident who works hard to achieve her dream of becoming a surgeon, despite her heart problem. Dr. Ahn Jong-geun (Lee Bum-soo) is a cardiologist and Dal-hee’s attending physician. They have a rocky start but begin to develop a bond as time goes by. Dr. Lee Geon-wook (Kim Min-joon) divorced fellow-doctor Jo Moon-kyung (Oh Yoon-ah) when he found out that their 6 year-old son is not actually his, but was fathered by another man before they had married. He obviously still has feelings for her but feels betrayed and hurt. Korea’s answer to the US medical drama Grey’s Anatomy, Surgeon Bong Dal-hee is centered on the lives of resident physicians in and out of the hospital. These doctors live a roller-coaster life, dealing with the stresses and joys of work, office politics as well as their personal lives.

-review about White Tower in comparison against Surgeon Bong Dal Hee By Cho Chung-un

Historical dramas have ruled TV screens since last year with all three major broadcast stations in Korea rushing to produce epic series. But recently, local TV dramas seem to have found a new flavor. Making a big jump from using stories from ancient eras, TV screens have begun to focus on the lives of professionals living in the present, such as medical doctors.MBC and SBS each began to air medical dramas earlier this month and the two serial dramas are both topping the viewer ratings chart. This is not the first time mainstream TV channels have produced medical dramas. But the latest trend, the so-called "medical drama boom", clearly shows that viewers are now turning their backs on "palpable" and "conventional" triangle love stories."Production companies started to address new subjects. This perhaps shows changes in viewers' preferences, leaning toward new subjects because they are fed up with watching melodramatic stories or comic dramas", a TV critic said.

The two medical dramas both tell the stories of struggling surgeons and their isolated daily lives in big hospitals.MBC's weekend drama "Behind the White Tower" portrays doctors' obsessions with power and success by revealing the brutal power games that unfold at a hospital recognized as the best medical institute in the country. The drama focuses on the story of a brilliant surgeon Chang Jun-hyuck who takes every possible opportunity to achieve his goal of becoming chief surgeon of the prestigious hospital.Kim Myeong-min, hero of the smash-hit KBS drama "Immortal Admiral Yi Sun-shin", takes the role of Chang, an ambitious and two-faced doctor who eventually loses his fame when he blindly disregards patients because of his obsessive ambitions.Produced by renowned Kim Jong-hak Productions, known for filming a number of successful TV series, the drama attempts to depict the doctors' lives in a realistic way. It reportedly made a huge investment in building a set that resembles a real operating room complete with medical instruments.It seems pointless to compare this drama with the medical drama "Surgeon Bong Dal-hee" aired on SBS, because the two take a different approach to telling the story of doctors.If "Behind the White Tower" tells of a series of bitter power games at the male-dominated hospital, "Surgeon Bong Dal-hee" entertains viewers with a softer story of a troublesome female doctor.Bong Dal-hee is a resident doctor, a native of the remote Ulleung Island, who is making slow progress in becoming a surgeon. Bong struggles with other competent resident doctors but it is her compassionate character that wins patients' hearts. Star actress Lee Yo-won takes the role of the pure and innocent doctor on the drama which airs every Wednesday and Thursday night.What differentiates this drama is that it contains a triangle love story and comedy, while MBC's "Behind the White Tower" takes a very serious look at power games among medical doctors. "Surgeon Bong Dal-hee" seems a bit like a Cinderella story when watching the troublesome resident doctor loved by two rival doctors, Ahn Jung-geun (played by Lee Beom-soo) and Lee Gun-woo (Kim Min-joon).Thanks to the medical drama boom, other local TV channels also started to air foreign-made medical dramas such as the smash-hit series "Grey's Anatomy" and "E.R"., the original Japanese version of "White Tower (2003)".The medical drama boom is likely to continue for the rest of the year as "General Hospital 2" is scheduled to air in March. Some filmmakers are also rushing to make films of medical dramas. "Gidam", a tragic story of doctors in the 1940s when the country was under Japanese colonial rule, featuring versatile actor Kim Tae-woo, is currently in production, sources say.

http://apdy.wordpress.com/2007/03/16/surgeon-bong-dal-hee-special/---

(source of following weblinks below)

SBS Good Morning did a one hour special on “…Dal Hee”, the one hour special consists of behind-the-scenes, ngs, and interviews. Cute scenes of Lee Bum Soo and Lee Yo Won, it’s a must watch clip for Dr. Ahn & Dal Hee’s shipper!
— 1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uu0aYXS_SIQ

— 2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vk-uc1SfuYc

— 3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylgw8FlOD58

— 4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPmtuu27U0s

— 5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEsxLxR8kHI

— 6. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3quPAnsfgqw

http://apdy.wordpress.com/2007/02/21/surgeon-bong-dal-hee-episode-11/

http://apdy.wordpress.com/2007/03/13/surgeon-bong-dal-hee-ep-17-preview/

www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUO2zD5thxU (Video meet up for date-brief)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6Cf1Z7U2G0&mode=related&search= (dating theme Bong Dal hee) fanmade video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KELWGINOwi0&mode=related&search= (kiss scene episode 17)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKO3JYHSe3Y&mode=related&search= (romance theme fanmade MV)

http://apdy.wordpress.com/tag/1-tv-dramamusic/surgeon-bong-dal-hee/ (listing of her blog entries regarding Bong Dal Hee

Cast List from (koreanwiz.org)
Cast:

Bong Dal-hee (1st year thoracic surgery resident): Lee Yo Won (Fashion 70s/Pure Heart/Blue Mist)

Park Jae-bum (1st year general surgery resident): Kim In

Kwon Jo Ara (1st year general surgery resident): Choi Yeo Jin (Sorry I Love You/One Fine Day)

Lee Min-woo (thoracic surgery resident): Song Jong Ho (Prince's First Love)

Jang Ji-hyuk (Ward 114 general surgery chief resident): Jung Wook (My Love)

Kim Hyun-bin (Ward 114 thoracic surgery chief resident): Baek Seung Hyun (Golden Apple)Ahn Joong-geun (staff thoracic surgeon): Lee Bum Soo

Lee Gun-wook (staff general surgeon): Kim Min Joon (Lovers in Prague/Damo/Someday)

Jo Moon-kyung (pediatrician/Gun-wook's ex-wife): Oh Yoon Ah (Mr. Goodbye/Someday)

Dr. Lee Hyun-tak (chief of general surgery): Park Geun Hyung (Secret)

Dr. Seo Jung-hwan (chief of thoracic surgery): Lee Ki Yeol (One Fine Day)

Professor Park: Kim Seung Wook

Professor Jung: Kim Myung Jin

Instructor Oh: Sung Woo JinSurgical Intern: Jo Myung Woon

Nurse Go: Im Sung Min

Nurse Lee: Jo Ah Ra

Emergency Head Nurse: Jun Hye Sang

Instructor Baek: Lee Hyun

Instructor Seo: Lee Jong Min

Emergency Chief: Jung Sung Woon

Yang Eun-ja (Dal-hee's mom): Kim Hae Sook (Autumn Story/Pearl Necklace)

Bong Mi-hee (Dal-hee's younger sister): Kim Jung Min

Oh Jung-min (Moon-kyung's former boyfriend): Oh Man Suk (Man in the Vineyard)

SURGEON BONG DAL HEE (SBS-2007) 외과의사 봉달희

Title: 외과의사 봉달희 / 外科醫生奉達熙 Surgeon Bong Dal Hee
Episodes: 18
Genre: Medical drama
Broadcast network: SBS
Broadcast period: 2007-Jan-17 to 2007-Mar-15 (winter 2007)

Bong Dal Hee 봉달희 (Lee Yo Won 이요원 ) is a first year resident doctor who strives to become a surgeon despite her heart problem. She works under Dr. Ahn Jong Geun (Lee Bum Soo 이범수), a cardiac specialist, and even though they don't get off to a good start, the two grow fond of each other as time goes by. Dr. Lee Geon Wook (Kim Min Joon 김민준 "Damo") divorced his wife, Dr. Jo Moon Kyung (Oh Yoon Ah 오윤아 former Model and race queen, "Alone in Love"), after he found out that his 6-year-old son was actually fathered by another man before they married. He still has feelings for her, but feels betrayed and cheated. This medical drama portrays the lives of resident doctors, their ups and downs, depicting crisis in a hospital as well as politics among its management staff.

Cast
Lee Yo Won 이요원 as Bong Dal Hee
Lee Bum Soo 이범수 as Ahn Joong Geun
Oh Yoon Ah 오윤아 as Jo Moon Kyung
Kim Min Joon 김민준 as Lee Geon Wook (Hospital Heart throb, Dr. Ahn rival back in Med School)

http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Surgeon_Bong_Dal_Hee

Random Goong (MBC 2006) musings, etc.

(photo credit: yooneunye.org)

RANDOM Goong stuff:

*blog on GOONG www.prettyscythe.net/blog/?cat=37

Official site that shows the locales shown in the Korean Drama "GOONG".
http://english.tour2korea.com/02Culture/TVMiniseries/goong.asp?kosm=m2_6&konum=1

Joo Ji Hoon (6'2) and acting fame was in Goong. Won MBC Best Actor award as his portrayal of the cold seemingly emotionless Prince Lee Shin. He was not a popular choice when he was announced to portray Crown Prince Lee Shin by many manhwa fans. Once the drama came out, they were silenced.

Song Ji Hyo (stage name 송지효, Hanja: 宋智孝) played Jumongs wife and here in Goong is the Prince Consort Lee Shin's secret girlfriend the beautiful ballerina who refuses his wedding proposal only to regret later.

Kim Jeong Hoon (part of two man band UN) known in Japan as John Hoon. 김정훈 金正勋

The bears used for each episode (end) to point out the key moments was a very clever and cute idea! I looked forwarding to seeing them at the end of each episode.

One things I do not like of Korean dramas are some of the fashions I see. Granted I am not a fashionista, but I did not care for the "long skinny scarfs" or the girly necklaces and low sweater and button down shirt combos. Not to mention the weird color palettes they made the guys wear in the drama. Uhm they are supposed to be princes, not girls! I would get distracted and my sis and I would say no guy in America would be caught dead with that scarf or necklace on. Proves to show that men's fashion in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong can seem a bit on the feminine side. I preferred the school outfits and suits much better than to some of the casual outfits the male leads had to wear.

Goong 궁 (PALACE) 宮(MBC-KDRAMA 2006)

http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Goong (photos)



I recently finally caught the 24 episode GOONG that was popular winter 2006 in Korea. I really enjoyed it alot. Yoon Eun Hye (윤은혜 尹恩惠,) is a singer/actress/model who started out back in 1999 of the girl group Baby V.O.X and gained much popularity as the lead in Goong as Shin Chae Kyung. Joo Ji Hoon is the crown prince Lee Shin (주지훈 朱智勛). Both leads did a great job! As Chae Kyung, she brought a great energy and vivaciousness and Ji Hoon played the tall, handsome silent Prince well.

What really I thought was cute were the teddy bears. I thought they were the show stealers! I also loved Chae Kyung's Prince Punching dummy! My sister thought it funny but that is what I enjoyed. When the two leads finally go past their differences and miscommunications, their kiss is one of the BEST I have seen in any Kdrama to date! WOW! (Much better than the wooden kisses I see in HK/Chinese dramas. Or better than other dramas where the leads press their lips to touch and then you get many angles of the same (no movement) kiss. Um, Hello this is a not a real kiss but more of a peck!. But one of the charms of Korean dramas is not the IN your face phyisical demonstrations of affection but more sweet, subtle and conservative (in dramas). In films it is a different world entirely!

I heard that Goong-S (totally new cast and story line) did not have as much success as Goong. I can see why Goong was popular but I need to watch it again with English subtitles. I got the gist but I think I would rather have it more clearer with the English subtitles. I did find the music very well chosen (as I do find with other Japanese, Chinese and Korean OST)! The power of music!!!!


(source: wiki.d-addicts)

Goong (궁) is based on the same titled manhwa by Park So Hee.

Goong is a story about young love in face of tradition, politics, and intrigue. In the imaginary world, modern-day Korea is a constitutional monarchy and the Royal Family lives in a grand Palace, the Goong. Story opens with the sudden death of the reigning the King. Faced with the decreasing popularity among the public for the Royalty, a grand wedding for the Crown Prince, Lee Shin (Joo Ji Hoon), is decided to be the best publicity move to improve the image of the Royalty and at the same time prepare Shin for immediate succession. The intended bride? The headstrong, awkward, and sweet spirited Shin Chae-kyung (Yoon Eun Hye) that just happens to go to the same exclusive art school. Chae-kyung was betrothed to become the next Crown Princess by her grandfather and Shin's grandfather.

After 14 years of living in England with his mom, Lee Yul (Kim Jeong Hoon) appears all of a sudden. He is Shin's cousin as well as the former Crown Prince. Everything seemed to be going normally until Chae-kyung's optimistic spirit wins the heart of internally lonely, Yul. As the Crown Prince Shin and simple-minded Chae-kyung's relationship appear to developing deeper feelings, a series of scandals are exposed to the public right after the pair were officially announced married. Will love prevail all in a world of political pressures and martial hardships? Or will being in the spotlight of the public be too much for the young newlyweds to endure?

Goong S is a drama produced by a separate production company, Group Eight (http://www.group8tv.com), and is not an official sequel of Goong (궁). Both cast and storyline for Goong S are totally different from Goong (궁).



Main cast
Yoon Eun Hye 윤은혜 as Shin Chae-kyung
Joo Ji Hoon 주지훈 as Lee Shin
Kim Jeong Hoon 김정훈 John Hoon as Lee Yul
Song Ji Hyo 송지효 as Min Hyo-rin

Chae-Kyung's family
Im Ye Jin as Chae-kyung's mother
Kang Nam Gil as Chae-kyung's father
Kim Suk as Shin Chae-joon (younger brother)

Shin's friends
Choi Sung Joon as Kang In
Lee Yong Joo as Jang Kyung
Uhm Sung Mo as Ryu Wan

Chae-kyung's friends
Jun Ji Ae as Lee Kang-hyun
Nah Eun Kyeong as Kim Soon-young
Dan Ji as Yoon Hee-soong

Palace
Kim Hye Ja as the Queen Mother
Yoon Yoo Sun as the Queen
Park Chan Hwan as the King
Lee Yoon Ji as Princess Hye-myung (Shin's sister)
Shim Hye Jin as Lady Hwa-Yong (Yul's mother)
more (http://www.imbc.com/broad/tv/drama/gung/cast/index.html)

Someday (KR drama) on AZN

썸데이

SOMEDAY is a Korean drama from OCN network (I caught an episode or two) while I was in Korea last December (2006). I found it interesting as it utilized some manga/animation in it. It was on Fridays at 11pm. I remember Bae Doo Na (Country Girl) and I like her acting. My mom says she is not pretty. I told her she was a model but being one is not only having the figure but distinctive look and she has it. She plays what seems to be cold and emotionless manga artist Hana Yamaguchi (half Korean/Japanese). Her folks left her at a young age and she lives with her grandmother in Japan. Go Jin Pyo (Kim Min Joon-also a former model) is a handsome doctor who also is a closet manga enthusiast (otaku) and big fan of Hana's work. Someone whom Jin Pyo uses to find lost patients is Lee Seok Man (lost his family in a fateful car accident). He looks for people for a living and took on the car accident's victims debts. Jin Pyo's close friend Hyo Young is a high powered business woman who does not realize her true feelings for her close, good friend until Hana comes into the picture. It is a love square (very typical in Korean dramas).

It started last week and is only 16 episodes long. I love the songs and the characters. I will have to rent it as I missed a few episodes but thus far I have been enjoying it.

========================================================
Bae Doo Na 배두나 裵斗娜as Hana Yamaguchi
Kim Min Joon 김민준 as Go Jin Pyo
Lee Jin Wook as Kim Seok Man
Oh Yoon Ah as Yoon Hye Young

Someday is about four different people's story about love.

Hana Yamaguchi (Bae Doo-Na) was a successful young cartoonist in Japan. Abandoned by her parents and brought up by her grandma, she was cold and aloof and did not believe in love which to her was only a simple biological response. When the elderly neighbourhood street sweeper died, she discovered the affection between him and her neighbour which lasted 60 years. Hana could not understand this kind of love, so she decided to trace her neighbour's footstep to Korea when she disappeared with her lover's ashes.

Go Jin Pyo (Kim Min Joon) was a doctor who was a comic book fan of Hana. He was overjoyed in meeting Hana and believed that he was in love for the first time in his life. He decided to help Hana in fulfilling her wish to look for her neighbour and enlisted the help of a private eye, Lee Seok Man (Lee Jin Wook).Lee was the sole survivor of a car accident whereby his parents and brother were killed. He carried a lot of guilt towards the parents of the other victim and did his best to help out even at the expense of owing money to the loan sharks.

Hye Young (Oh Yoon Ah) was a PD of animation projects and a close friend of Jin Pyo. she didn't realize that she was in love with him till Hana appeared.

In bringing her neighbour's love story to fruition and published in print, the process changed the lives and outlook on love for these four people.

(http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Someday- source)

When I Look Upon A Star (HK 1999) Dante Lam movie

Playbill in HK (www.kowloonside.com)

Leo Ku (Ah Kei) and Shu Qi (Kiki) (www.ilovehkfilm.com)

Last night, I watched an old romance film from HK with Shu Qi and Leo Ku. Leo Ku is (Airplane Kei) who is a hard working man who believes that is you have a life plan and work hard you will have a good life. His girlfriend played by Anita Chan (June) is in Japan and he decides to visit her. There his best friend and buddy Sam (manga artist) whom he lent money to help him with his career is taking care of his girlfriend June of six years. Unbeknownst to him, emotions and feelings have evolved in his absence while working hard in China to save money so he can plan a future life with June.

While in Japan, after suffering from heartbreak as June chooses Sam over him, Kei spends time with aspiring model Kiki (played energetically by Shu Qi) who works at coffeeshop. Kiki has an undeniable energy that radiates to others who want to be around her as she is cheerful, exuberent and fun. She proclaims to help others and cheer them up so she asks Kei, to be her boyfriend for a day. Can feelings trump reason and rational? Can a person start to love someone within six months over someone they have been with for six years?

It was a pleasant way to pass some time plus I got to brush up on my Japanese. Sam's was the worst but Shu Qi's was not bad.
=================================

(http://www.kowloonside.com/)

Directed by Dante LamProduced by Gordon Chan and Chan Hing-karStarring Leo Ku Kui-kei, Shu Kei, Sam Lee Chan-sam, Anita Chan and Eric Tsang

Designer Aeroplane Kei leaves Shenzhen to visit his girlfriend June (Chan) in Japan. Unknown to Kei (Ku), June has been swayed from him during her time living there - the thousands of kilometres between them, long-stalled communication, and the presence of best friend-turned-expat manga artist Sam (Lee) are parts of the reason. It all comes as a shock to Kei, who tries in earnest to get back the relationship. It's not working - despite Kei's warnings, a disappointed June sticks with Sam, who's attempting a free-for-all with the local girls. Kei, meanwhile, gets drawn to sprightly Taiwanese model/waitress KiKi (Shu Kei) who quickly becomes his confidant and muse. A self-proclaimed fixer of broken hearts and cure for all sadness, she asks to be Kei's girlfriend for 24 hrs before his departing flight. The condition is that she leads the way, and Kei accepts...

Once KiKi hits the screen, it's her film. Her constant energy highlights the restrained character of the protagonist and puts it into perspective against herself, Sam and June. If only for 24 hours, you start to see in Kei what June wants to get out of. And come the end of that day and beyond, much has changed in Kei - not just what he says, but how he handles himself and relates to others.

To make all this work, the Japan setting helps things further as all the expatriate characters are out of their natural home; distances, memories and differences all come into play. And the setting is used, rather than exploited, by the filmmakers to paint a very casual backdrop for the players with enough local quirks and comedy thrown in for measure. Out of Hong Kong, the actors look like they're still at home and all put in some sharp roles. Centred around Ku, all actors help build more depth to each other's characters than usually seen in Hong Kong fare. And Shu Kei is simply incredible. The film stays straightforward and pleasant while accompanying the clean visuals is a fruity soundtrack from the same folks (T2) who did the music for Beast Cops. Dante Lam and Gordon Chan prove they're not all cops, triads and gore with this remarkably gentle and insightful romantic movie.

===================================

(KOZO review on http://www.ilovehkfilm.com/)

From the guys who brought you Option Zero and Beast Cops comes this surprising romantic comedy. Leo Koo is Aeroplane Kei, an overly rational fellow who travels to Japan to see his girlfriend June (Anita Chan). He intends to surprise her, but the surprise is his. He finds out that she’s been unfaithful—and with his best friend Sam (Sam Lee), too. Heartbroken, he can only wallow in his selfish disappointment, reflecting upon what the breakup means to him. Kei finds himself hooked to Kiki (Shu Qi), a wannabe media star who hails from Taiwan. Kiki is basically one of those “magical girls,” who can light up dark moments and cure heartbreak. Kei is her toughest assignment, a thoroughly sensible human being who supplants emotion with reason—to the point of self-rationalization. Thankfully, Kiki is up to the task. She makes Kei a deal: for 24 hours, he’ll be her lover. It’s only through that arrangement that we learn more about the characters—and the more we learn, the better the film gets. Normally Chan Hing-Kai, Gordon Chan and Dante Lam use genre to disguise their agenda, but this time they don’t bother with guns and gangs to get their thoughts across. If one can get by the overdone existentialism and sometimes cloying script, then a good time can easily be had. This is calculated commercial cinema that’s fun and entertaining, and features a fabulous star turn from its leading lady. Shu Qi is truly a miracle—this girl can seemingly do anything within her age range. She has a genuine charisma that’s fitting for Kiki, a girl whose flighty nature hides only the most believable depths. Great music, sharp cinematography, and a wonderful location round out the package. This may not be the best HK film of 1999, but as a guilty pleasure it's hard to top. (Kozo 1999)

다세포 소녀 (Dasepo Naughty Girls),

다세포 소녀 "Dasepo Naughty Girls" Dasepo Sonyo

This movie defied my expectations. It is better than some I have seen and at sometimes seemed very confusing. Interesting way to pass time. Very absurb but funny with a myriad of colorful characters based on a online manhwa (Korean comic).

Fantasia Report: Dasepo Naughty Girls (다세포 소녀) Review http://twitchfilm.net/archives/007855.html

In the early going it appears likely that Lee Jae-Yong's adaptation of popular online comic Dasepo Naughty Girls - available on DVD here - might just do the impossible and dethrone Yudai Tamaguchi's Cromartie High School in the absurdly hysterical high school comedy department. Shot with a candy coated color scheme and leaping from a song and dance number featuring a fetching swarm of pink clad go-go dancers to a mass exodus for the doctor's office on news that a teacher has tested positive for syphilis to clandestine video game prostitution to ... well, you get the picture. Dasepo Naughty Girls begins as a rapid fire candy fluff spin on high school life that is every bit as absurd, high energy and sketch oriented as Yamaguchi's Cromartie, only this film boasts much higher production values.


But Korea just wouldn't be Korea if its films followed their expected arcs and over the course of its run time Dasepo finds an unexpected heart, moving from full throttle comedy with fluorishes of character to an odd little character piece sprinkled liberally with bizarrely comic touches. It is a cheery, good natured bit of work considerably less Naughty than you'd expect from a film featuring liberal doses of both transvestite and transexual characters - 'saucy' would be a better description - and more than a little different than you may expect but it is, nonetheless, a very good time. I just wish those go-go dancers got more screen time.


Plot? There really isn't much, particularly in the early going. What there is is a stack of characters, each of which are given their moments in a series of comic sketches. There is the pretty, shy girl who wears her poverty as a literal monkey on her back. There is the wealthy, ridiculously over-groomed, Swiss exhcange student. There is the cyclops, his pre-op transexual sister, the supply teacher with a fondness for frilly underpants and spanking, the transvestite mob boss, the secret Eros cult, the evil principal with his secret plans to enforce virginity and good study habits, and so much more. The film skips easily from character to character, from moment to moment, pasuing only long enough to deliver the requisite punchlines before moving on to the next scene. In the early going it is essentially rapid fire sketch comedy and as with all films of the type some sketches work better than others but the overall quality is unusually high.


As the film progresses the focus gradually begins to narrow until it eventually keys on two primary characters, with forays into other territory becoming increasingly limited. The poor girl is forcibly 'adopted' by the aforementioned transvestite gangster and the two of them together subsequently kidnapped by the secret Eros cult, triggering a string of events that gradually teachour young heroine to take a degree of pride in herself. On the flip side, pretty boy Anthony, so used to having everything he wants needs to be taken down a notch or two, a task acheived by having him fall in love first with Cyclop's transexual 'sister' Double Eye and subsequently with the terminally shy impoverished girl. Yes, the situations these characters are run through are ridiculous in the extreme but Lee is smart enough to treat the characters themselves - if not the world they live in - as real people, and the performances are strong enough that they actually work, and work well, as real people dealing with real issues that do actually effect the masses in our considerably less technicolor and relatively transvestite-free world. By gradually toning down the insanity as the film progresses - though it never comes even remotely close to disappearing - Lee may back off on the humor quotient but he greatly raises the lasting value of the piece. Continuing full out may well have yielded a few more laughs but likely would have also reduced the film to a piece of disposable fluff, funny the first time but offering little on repeat viewing, but as it is there's actually a bit of meat to dig into - not a three course meal, by any stretch, but certainly a tasty little snack.


Lee's script is a smart piece of work, the humor frequently laugh out loud funny, the pretty young cast also very talented, and the whole piece edited together with a crackling sense of style and an innate understanding of when to push things along hard and fast and when the work is better served by slowing it down and letting it breathe. The sex-comedy angle is considerably less prevalent in the finished film than was suggested in the marketing materials - if you go looking for tittilation you will be disappointed - with Lee consistently choosing to mock attitudes toward sex rather than spread flesh on the screen.

On to presentation. The Korean DVD release features a completely unique and absolutely fabulous piece of packaging. Pull this thing out in public and you will draw a crowd. Both attractive and functional, the packaging is a three part design with two thick slabs of bright neon plastic on either side of a glittering double sided DVD tray. The three pieces are held together by a single bolt at the top that hlds the neon pieces in place while allowing them to pivot out of the way so the discs can be accessed. To keep the protective pieces from swinging freely the entire package is then housed in a clear plastic slip case. I've neer seen a package quite like this before and it's fantastic.


Disc one contains the feature itself, presented in an anamorphic transfer in the proper 2.35:1 aspect ratio. You get 5.1 and DTS soundtracks and excellent English subtitles. The transfer is clean with excellent contrasts and colors that really pop off the screen. Disc two features the set of special features, none of which include English subtitles. There are the normal range of production interviews and behind the scenes reels but the interesting piece, even without subtitles, is the extensive collection of deleted scenes. When you have as many major characters as this film does you inevitably end up shooting a lot of material with each that doesn't make it in as the final focus emerges during the editing and there are a healthy assortment of those scenes included here, giving extended looks at a good number of characters given short duty in the film itself.
» Posted by Todd at July 12, 2007 09:54 AM

Ssunday Seoul (2006 KR)

(Pics credit http://www.hancinema.com,www/. ilovehkfilm.com)

Ssunday Seoul (2006) - 썬데이 서울 Sseon-de-i Seo-ul

I caught this film and did not know what to expect. The first of the three shorts (weird and even my sister was questioning my movie choosing ability) was a Korean riff on "TEEN WOLF". A poor student is constantly being harrassed at school but he and others have the "hots" for a pretty co-ed. One day he learns that he is a werewolf and must only mate with other werewolfs to his dismay as he has his eyes only on one gal. But things do look for him at the end of the short. I wished they showed a bit more of a werewolf transformation in this film.

The second one "the visitor" did nothing for me. Tried to do the pyschological horror with blood and guts and ghosts. Very ho hum for me. In fact from the banging start, this brought the movie down. A killer needs helps and goes to a house for help. But his innate blood lust causes him to kill the girl who lives there. What he does not realize that this is no ordinary house and he will receive the fate he richly deserves.

The third and final installment redeemed the film for me "the great tae poong". I liked this martial arts parody that reeked of the 1970's HK Shaw Brother's revenge flicks but in a good way. Typical you have the hero who wants to avenge the death of someone close to him (this case his father). Then he goes to a martial arts master to take him in so he can learn to defeat the killer.

This movie had its ups and downs so I think I liked #3 "the great tae poong" then #1 Teen Wolf and then skip out or dump #2 The Visitor.

Below are two reviews from two sources:



Starring:

Bong Tae-gyu (봉태규)

Lee Cheong-ah (이청아)

Ko Eun-ah (고은아)

Park Seong-bin (박성빈)

Kim Soo-hyeon (a) (김수현)

Jeon Jae-hyeong (전재형)

Reviewby Sanjuro: (www.ilovehkfilm.com)
Park Seong-Hoon makes his feature film directorial debut with Ssunday Seoul, which is pretty much a Korean take on a Tales from the Crypt/Twilight Zone-type omnibus film, albeit with a heavier emphasis on humor. Ssunday Seoul is comprised of three short "Weird Tales" with amusing vignettes scattered between them. Each story's premise veers toward the supernatural or the extraordinary, but as much promise as all of these tales possess, Ssunday Seoul fails to deliver the goods. The English title of the first main story is "Teen Wolf," which immediately draws connections to the identically-titled 1985 Michael J. Fox werewolf flick Teen Wolf and to a lesser extent, the 1957 Michael Landon film, I Was A Teenage Werewolf. Sadly, neither is surpassed by this Korean re-imagining (or should I say rip-off?).

Bong Tae-Gyu stars as Do-Yeon, a meek bully magnet who spends most of his time fantasizing about Ji-Yeon (Ko Eun-Ah), the sexy "bad girl"-type who sits in front of him in class. As can be expected from the short film's title, Do-Yeon finds himself going through all sorts of changes, including sprouting hair in weird places and developing some razor sharp fangs all on his way to full-fledged lycanthropy. Even though using the werewolf as metaphor for puberty is as obvious as it is cliché, if one considers the change of setting to Korea, it seems like a whole lot more could be mined from this well-traveled idea. To its credit, "Teen Wolf" adds a romantic twist: just as Do-Yeon learns of his heritage, he also discovers that he can only settle down with another werewolf. This revelation proves disappointing as he only has eyes for Ji-Yeon, but then again, there's something about his dream girl that's a little "off," too - a reveal that will come as a surprise to absolutely no one in the audience. When all is said and done, "Teen Wolf" is an adequate, sometimes amusing interpretation of the werewolf legend, but it falters considerably due to its lack of any substantive conclusion. What happens to Do-Yeon and Ji-Yeon? The film doesn't say, instead settling for an ending that isn't really an ending at all. Even worse, despite what looks to be the beginning of An American Werewolf in London-style metamorphosis, complete with an elongated wolf nose, "Teen Wolf" doesn't even deliver a full-on transformation scene! When Do-Yeon finally "wolfs out" he just has wild anime hair and fangs. Ho hum. Even 1941's The Wolf Mancould do better than that!

Although the second story, "The Visitor," maintains the supernatural vibe of "Teen Wolf," it's tonally inconsistent, as it is a bit too grim considering the more comedic touch of the other two stories in the anthology. The premise is simple: a serial killer (Park Seong-Bin) makes a pit stop at a spooky-looking house after his car breaks down. Staying true to his nature, he murders the young woman inside. However, he soon discovers that the family is not at all what they seem. "The Visitor" is definitely Tales from the Crypt material in terms of premise. However, as with "Teen Wolf," it's no surprise what happens in the film, and it's a shame the writers didn't play the formula more for laughs. Instead, what you have is a tedious recitation of a horror cliché - a bad guy gets the tables turned on him by supernatural forces - without any innovation whatsoever. Unfortunately, "The Visitor" ends up bringing the film down even further from its so-so beginning.

Luckily for the filmmakers, the third story is undoubtedly the strongest of the bunch. Entitled "Young Blood Tae-Poong," it stands out in a different way, since it has nothing to do with horror at all - it's a martial arts-infused revenge film. Kim Su-Hyeon plays Tae-Poong, a young man seeking the wisdom of a fabled master of the martial arts in the hopes that he will train him. His mission? To avenge his father's death! Of course, "Young Blood Tae-Poong," like the previous two stories, is a ridiculously clichéd storyline, but director Park actually gets this one right - he milks the formula for every conceivable laugh. Whether it's the exaggerated performances (Tae-Poong's memory/re-enactment of his father's death is hilarious as is his father's nonsensical true identity), the Shaw Brothers parodies, the Kill Billand Spaghetti Western references, or the general likeability of its characters, "Young Blood Tae-Poong" is what the other stories in Ssunday Seoul should have been. Short stories in these types of narratives always contain a twist, but this story is the first one that's actually a fairly funny surprise, although it makes you wish they had more time to develop the budding romance between Tae-Poong and the master's daughter (the charming Lee Chung-Ah).

Of all the films, this is the one that had the most potential to be a standalone feature film - an all-out martial arts parody flick that would put Kung Pow: Enter the Fist to shame. Ultimately, there's not enough going for Ssunday Seoul for me to give it a recommendation. However, if you're a fan of Shaw Brothers-style revenge flicks, the comic strengths of "Young Blood Tae-Poong" might be enough to merit a look. And despite the lackluster conclusion to "Teen Wolf," Bong Tae-Gyu and Ko Eun-Ah turn in fairly engaging performances. Still, the shoddiness of the scriptwriting and the over-reliance on clichés cannot elevate Ssunday Seoul beyond what it is: a passable diversion on a lazy Sunday. (Sanjuro 2006)


• The title and concept of the film is based on Sunday Soul, a popular tabloid in the 1970s, which contained gossip, strange stories, and sexually explicit pictures.

On The Road 向世界出發 (HK TVB)

*(TVB) Blurbs of Season Two of "On the Road"

On The Road 向世界出發 (there is season 1 and 2--watching season 1)

This TVB Show is very meaningful and one of the best specials I have watched from a HK show. From a Law Lan's meaningful meeting with the Pope in Italy, Law Ka Ying in Tibet about mortality and life lessons after surviving cancer, Kathy Chow going to Thailand to see what is considered beautiful, to Karena Lam's visit to some Acrobats Schools in Mainland China, or a H Yu's visit to Dubai to see what wealth can bring are among the few stories shown. I enjoyed the visitor's perspective and comments on how their lives were impacted in their experiences. But also their willingness to be so frank and honest with their emotions and sharing with the viewing audience. I was moved alot. From seeing the little kids trying work hard for their dreams to have a better life but practicing and training 12-17 hours a day, living in frigid conditions, eating a simple diet with no meat but rice soup, a bun and piece of cake was heart breaking. To Law Ka Ying going to Tibet and getting more sense of peace and enjoyment of his life after suviving cancer. Or Law Lan's strength in her faith in Catholicism and finally shaking hands with the Pope. She was fortunate to meet Mother Theresa twice in her life when she visited Hong Kong and her story was poignant when she talkd about her mom.

I can see why there was a followup to this series and now a season three is in the works!!!!

Thanks mom for having me watch this tv programme (Cantonese with Traditional Chinese subtitles).

---------------------------------------------------------------

(source wikipedia/TVB)

On The Road (向世界出發) is a TVB's travel programme. The first season started from 4 April debuting on Jade TV. It is narrated by 韋家晴 (陳志雲). In this programe, the artists travel to various parts of the world, most of them the poorer countries, giving an insight into the lives and culture of the locals. On The Road is very different from the other travel programmes you see on television which are usually about play and food. Due to the popularity of the 1st season, TVB had made a second season which debuted on 3 March 2007. 1st Season-Law Ka Ying - Tibet,Kathy Chow & Carrie Lam - Thailand, (北部)Law Lan - Vatican City,Karena Lam - China (吳橋),Ha Yu - Dubai,Michelle Yim - India,Myolie Wu - Italy and Ekin Cheng - Thailand (普吉).



2nd SeasonNicholas Tse - Cambodia,Eric Tsang - Brunei,Ada Choi - IsraelGigi Leung - China (雲南)廖偉雄 - MauritiusLiza Wang - Japan (京都)Sammul Chan - China (黃土高原)

Spring Waltz (KBS 2006) final installment of the seasonal series

Spring Waltz (aka Endless Love 4) KBS 2006

So far I am finally watching the final installment-"Spring Waltz" of a four season drama series. "Autumn Love" with Son Seung Hun and Song Hye Gyo and Won Bin started my Kdrama journey with my mom's resounding endorsement. Since then I have caught "Summer Scent" with Son Seung Hun (again) and Son YeJin. Next came "Winter Sonata" with Kdrama queen Choi Ji Woo and Bae Yon Jun (he shot to major popularity plus his scarf and hairstyle was copied alot).

I am halfway through this drama, for Daniel Henney fans, you get to see alot of him (except for episodes 2-5 when they do the background story of Suho and Eun Young). As my sis calls it, he is the Asian Clark Kent with the dorky hairstyle but he looks great in glasses. His charm and smile are well utilized in this drama. Han Hyo Joo as Eun Young is luminous. I love her very sweet and innocent smile. The young girl who plays Eun Young grew on me and I adored her. Now I am halfway through watching this drama and my sister and I like this more than FREEZE.


Yoon Suk-Ho's seasonal drama ends with "SPRING WALTZ (aka Endless Love 4)" 봄의 왈츠 (Bom-eui Wal-cheu) KBS 2006.

Seo Do Young 서도영 as Yoon Jae-ha 윤재하
Han Hyo Joo 한효주 as Park Eun-young 박은영
Daniel Henney as Phillip 필립
Lee So Yeon 이소연 as Song Yi-na 송이나

Synopsis (dramawiki)
Will the tragedy of spring be repeated years later? To escape debt, Lee Su-ho’s father escaped to a remote island where his friend has a young daughter Eun-Young, who is the same age as Su-ho. After being abandoned by his father, Su-ho sought to leave, but his mind changed after being touched by Eun-Young’s pure heart.

A series of unfortunate events ensue, and Su-ho disappears, while Eun-Young is sick in the hospital. Years later, while traveling in Austria, Eun-Young meets the talented pianist Chae-ha, a man with a cold exterior with a few words, who bears a resemblance to Su-ho. As their love start to develop, the truth unfolds… Can their love endure the harsh spring tragedy many
years ago?

(hancinema.com/dramawiki.com/)

(below source: WIKIPEDIA.com)
Series Development

Spring Waltz, a 20-episode Korean television miniseries, is a final feature of the season-themed drama series directed by Yoon Suk-ho. Although the story shares the similar code in telling stories of genuine love and childhood memories, Yoon also adds several twists and turns
into the story’s complexity. One of those differences is that the theme of the season of spring is engaged in the drama’s message more actively – the way love finds us is just like the way spring blossoms into our lives…bringing a sense of hope and gently embracing a long and harsh coldness of the winter as well as the loneliness in our hearts. Another noticeable fact is that the series is the only feature out of four season series to include overseas locations – in Austria, where the shootings have taken place around well-known tourist spots such as Hallstatt and Salzburg. Also, most of its production money has come from external sources and investments made by domestic and foreign interests. With news that the drama has been sold to nine countries including Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and others, the series has earned wide-spread attention from the media and the industry even before the series aired in March of 2006.

One of the most striking differences that this series has taken in comparison with former series is the cast. All four main characters are relatively, or almost completely, new faces who take the leading role for the first time. The casting of two main characters playing lovers – Seo Do-young for Jaeha (a model-turned actor who has appeared minorlyin few TV shows) and Han Hyo Joo for Eun-young (appeared in teenage sitcom series “New Nonstop5”), has brought a controversial yet refreshing breeze into the drama’s production. Daniel Henney for Phillip, (also a model-turned actor) who probably is the most known actor out of four, has an established acting career, through “My Lovely Sam Soon”. Lee Soyon for Inna, on the other hand, is a traditionally educated actress who has appeared in many TV shows and movies including the film “Untold Scandal”(2003). At interviews, Yoon has told the press that he deliberately has chosen to work with new faces rather than the already-established
actors who tend to be too-chiseled in their image with not enough flexibility. Working with new faces, he says, is “like working on a new painting on a new white canvas”. With that said, it still has been a challenge for Yoon to go with such an unexpected path, considering the amount of anticipation the drama has received. When the series aired in March (2006), concerns whether the new actors were capable of carrying the weight of the story have disappeared, as Seo and Han make picture-perfect lovebirds and portray their characters as if they “really” are Jaeha and Eun-young.

Exploring Fantasy of Love, Spring and Island

Spring Waltz - All rights reserved - Yoon's Color
Established for his captivating ability to bring picturesque sceneries and memorable music onto screen, Yoon takes maximum advantage of the spectacular view of Hallstatt lake overlaid with Jaeha’s sorrow and his yearning for lost identity and love. "If you truly love and miss that person, Then, love will come again when you meet that person again. Just like playing a
game of hide and seek, No matter where he/she hides or even if you can't see him/her, He/she must be waiting at some place for you. Amid the countless choas, Just like the sincere prayers of love. "The people in love will surely meet again."
~Park Eun-young (taken from episode 1 of Spring Waltz)

One of his main motifs for this series is the 'island,' a place that seems to be isolated from the rest of the world. At the beginning of the story, a father and son escape from the city and from the trouble he has caused, and end up arriving at a remote yet beautiful island of Chungsan-do. There a son – named Suho, meets a girl, Eun-Young, who lives with a single mother who happens to be an old friend of his father. Upon the father’s request, Suho and Eun-young end up living together under the care of Eun-Young’s mother. The story then unfolds into series of incidents that will change these young children’s lives forever. The director Yoon and his production crew has hunted for the perfect island settings for months, eventually deciding on few islands located in southern Cholla province. Chungsan-do appears as the site where the young Suho and Eun-young meets and reunites again as adults, whereas heart-shaped Hanuneom beach in Bigeum-do is the place for the children to share the innocent feeling of affection and love towards each other.

An island as a place, Mr. Yoon says, tends to be remained as certain fantasy in our thoughts, bringing out a sense of nostalgia that can be quite distant from the reality of everyday life. Our childhood love, similarly remains as fantasy in our memory. The story of Spring Waltz explores such fantasy of our first love – how the pure and genuine love for someone can face the reality of living with our bruises and identity-crisis, and eventually heal the painful process of forgiveness and reconciliation, just like the way spring brings us a hope.

Synopsis
The story begins with Eun-young’s plane ride to Austria, where she happens to sit next to Song In-na, who is on her way to meet her childhood love, Jae-ha. However, Jae-ha (a.k.a: Chris Y), who has now grown up to be a young, accomplished pianist in Austria, seems not pleased with meeting In-na again after 15 years for some reason. Eun-young, on the other hand, excited about her first overseas trip, bumps into Phillip (Jae-ha’s manager and best friend), who has mistaken her as In-na whom he was supposed to pick up at the airport. The four meets, each in different turns of circumstances and incidents, and their story of love, fate and destiny begins.

On her train ride to a classical concert - a gift from Phillip – Eun-young meets Jae-ha, who is also on his way to his concert. Despite him displaying his reluctance and indifference to be friendly to Eun-young, the two are immediately attracted to each other – especially for Jae-ha, because of the way she reminds him of his long-lost childhood love (and that is not Song In-na for him). After the concert, Jae-ha meets Eun-young again, but soon finds out that she is in fact Phillip’s love interest. Even with Inna by his side, and the sense of disappointment that his best friend is interested in Eun-young, Jae-ha can’t stop thinking about her. Eun-young, realizing that Jae-ha is a renowned pianist and Inna’s first love, also finds herself drawn to Jaeha time to time.

Cast
Seo Do-young 서도영 as Yoon Jae-ha (Chris Y.) 윤재하
Jaeha is a talented classical pianist of the next generation who has been closely watched with deep interests and concerns by Koreans since he won a prize in a famous concert. Even though he was brought up in a rich and enviable family under his father who is a foreign diplomat, Jaeha is a lonely person having only one friend because of his eccentric and particular personality. He is a well-mannered and dutiful son to his parents and never harms others, but his piano melody always sounds sad. He is hidden behind a veil showing his true feelings only to his best friend and manager, Phillip. He is a sad person keeping the secrets of the past that nobody knows although he has a charismatic personality and wonderful environment.

Han Hyo Joo 한효주 as Park Eun-young 박은영
Eun-young is a diligent person who works at her adoptive mother’s gimbap (Korean rolled rice) house in the daytime and sells homemade accessories and clothes at her street stand at night. Even though she could not finish her studies, she is a talented person who is good with her hands and is to be able to win the grand prize in a handicraft contest open to the public. She never loses her smile nor her dashing spirit although she lives in poverty. She has an opportunity to visit Austria from her prize winning in the handicraft contest and meets Phillip and Jaeha by fate. Eun-young who does not know of this ironic fate deeply misses Suho from her childhood.

Daniel Henney as Phillip 필립
He is the only friend as well as the global manager of Yoon Jaeha. He was born to Austrian father and Korean mother and was expected to become a promising musician during his childhood. He plays the piano, the cello, the guitar, etc. Even though there are no musical instruments that he cannot play, he gave up playing music instruments. Instead, he decided
to pursue his dream of a musician by becoming the manager of Jaeha who Phillip acknowledges as being a true musical genius. He is not only a considerate and warmhearted person who kindly understands Jae-Ha’s fretful personality but also is a romantic. Phillip is in love with Eun-young and despite knowing that she loves Jaeha, he chooses to stay by her side.

Lee So Yeon 이소연 as Song In-na 송이나
She is a capable career woman who started her career from the bottom and became the director of the planning department in a leading classical record and concert planning company by her own ability even though the company is owned by her parents. Inna is a perfect woman with remarkable beauty, wonderful background, and outstanding ability, but there is only one thing that she earnestly desires for. It is Jaeha who played the piano with her during her childhood.
She has exceptionally liked Jaeha ever since her childhood; thus, she gave up playing the piano and left for Canada to find Jaeha after he left Korea. She has a reckless personality to do so. However, she could not find Jaeha but completed her study in Art Business in Canada. She voluntarily tries to promote Jaeha’s debut in Korea after she happened to see an article of Jaeha activeness in Austria.