MBC Drama Thank You 고맙습니다 (2007) rebroadcasted on AZN TV

MBC Drama Thank You 고맙습니다 (2007) rebroadcasted on AZN TV

MBC Drama Thank You
장혁 張赫 Jang Hyuk currently making his first American film with Singaporean actress Fann Wong 范文芳 in America called "Dance of the Dragon". Before before doing that, his first production post his return from his military service (along the same time as Song Seung Hun 송승헌) his comeback 16 episode drama with MBC was "THANK YOU" 고맙습니다 Komapseumnida a big hit with the Korean audiences earlier this year.

AZN Rebroadcast it this time in the 9-10:30pm slot (EST) last night. I missed the first episode again! (The first time around my sister did not like it and told me not to watch it. I was in the midst of my "COFFE PRINCE" 커피프린스 1호점 marathon at that point back in September). I am glad they are repeating it as I can watch it again.

"Thank You" is a touching Korean Drama about a troubled young man Dr. Min Gi-Suh who goes to Blue Island to escape his past. The love of his life died in his arms, he has a troubled past, but he is also a talented doctor. Her final wish was to have him apologize to a young mother and daughter for her unknowingly giving"tainted" blood donation to the little girl. There he meets the simple but pretty single mom Lee Young Shin who rents out a room to him during his stay. She struggles because her daughter is HIV positive- the very cute and optimistic 8 year old Bom. She is the daughter of her first love Choi Suk-Hyun, but Young Shin refuses to acknowledge this fact. Young Shin and Bom live with her father Mr. Lee (Lee Byoung Gook). He has Alzheimer's and gets upset if he is not addressed as Mr. Lee. Plus he only remembers Young Shin's deceased brother and wife and does not recognize Bom as his granddaughter or Young Shin as his daughter.

In this drama the arrogant Dr. Min Gi-Suh learned that his life is not half that bad. He is around Young Shin and realizes he is very lucky. Due to her positive outlook despite many life adversities, he sees the beauty of her soul. Meanwhile, her first love Choi Suk-Hyun realizes his affections for Young Shin once more after Dr. Min Gi-Suh's interest in Young Shin.
I really loved the little girl who played Bom. She was a bright light throughout the drama with her infectious smile and sunny personality. This drama is different from the tearjerker romances and crazy dating dramas. After his absence from dramas, Jang Hyuk here did an amazing job and added a mature air to his performance as the troubled Min Gi Suh. For his fans, he is still appealing as ever. Gong Hyo Jin as Young Shin does a great job. Big departure from her role in "Ruler of your World" or "Sang Doo go to School". She is not the conventional Kdrama beauty but she does have the acting chops for this role.
I am glad I am having another chance to catch this drama.

CAST:
Min Gi-suh (29) / Jang Hyuk 장혁 (Success Story of a Bright Girl 명랑소녀 성공기)
Lee Young-shin (27) / Gong Hyo-jin 공효진 (Sang Doo go to School 상두야,학교가자!)
Lee Bom (Sam-wol, 8) / Suh Shin-aeChoi Suk-hyun (29) / Shin Sung-rok 신성록Mr. Lee (Lee Byung-gook, 70) / Shin Gu 신구

More 9 end and 2 outs

More 9 end and 2 outs (MBC 2007)

The fans out there are great! Thanks to them and their hard work I have been able to appreciate a lot of Korean dramas! I have to say I am appreciative. From the English translation of Coffee Prince 커피프린스 1호점, or Coffee Prince(based on popular internet story to runaway hit of South Korea this past summer) to many websites and great fans translating the dramas into various languages/forums and websites plus doing synopsis and making MV, translating the OST. I am very appreciative. 감사합니다!

It is good to see Lee Jung Jin 이정진 stars in his first drama after his military time with 9 End 2 Outs (or better translated 2 outs 9th inning/Bottom of the ninth) with Soo Ae 박수애 . I saw him as Alex Hong as Kim Rae Won's 김래원 adversary in "Love Story in Harvard" (러브스토리 인 하버드; Rubeusutori in Habeodeu 16 episodes 2004) for Kim Tae Hee's 김태희 affections. I liked his chemistry with Soo Ae in this drama. Their interplay as friends for over 30 years. In the first episode, they both get a text message on New Year's Eve. After not talking for a long period of time, they wonder why they got message from Nam San. Then they realize their promise to each other at the end of their 20's to meet at Nam San. This drama uses baseball to describe the ups and downs of singles in their 30's.

I enjoyed this drama a lot, it is not the sad "heavy" crying dramas that I first starting watching thanks to my mother "Beautiful Days" (아름다운 날들 / Ah-reum-dah-woon Nal-deul 24 episodes 2001) or "Autumn Love (aka Endless Love)"(16 episodes 2000). I like the fact it is about relationships with loved ones and friends. The ins and outs of a variety of people whose lives are interwined.
One person did an extensive summary of the first episode which should be bottom of the 9th inning 2 outs:

http://asiandramaddict.wordpress.com/2007/08/09/9-end-2-outs-episode-1/ detailed summary of episode 1

http://www.flickr.com/photos/leejungjin_fanclub/sets/72157600582915353/ Lee Jung Jin's fanclub FLICKR site with photos from this drama

Episode titles (subbed/translated by S2):
1st Inning: 30... My youth is coming to an end at 9 ends and 2 outs
#2nd Inning: Timing
#3rd Inning: Baseball is an art of time.
#4th Inning: "title was not translated"
#5th Inning: 30...The banquet has ended
#6th Inning: "All ball players should quit when it starts to feel as if all the baselines run uphill." Babe Ruth
#7th Inning: Strike Zone (Jung Joo returns back from America)
#8th Inning: Goodbye my Major League: love that may have been my last love (Chun Hee pays off her debt. Nan Hee accepts Jung Joo's proposal)
#9th Inning: The return a player that backed out (Nan Hee learns Jung Joo lied about not making Major League, lists all the loves in Nan Hee's past)
#10th Inning: The After effect of an Injury (Chun Hee tries to apologize to Nan Hee's colleague to not sue Lotte/Nan Hee and Hyun Tae date at resort-he admits he likes her) their first kiss
#11th Inning: On the 15th of every month, there is a Civil Defense Exercise (Nan Hee avoids Hyun Tae post their vacation at the resort)
#12th Inning: It seems ike our friendship is coming to an end at the bottom of the 9th inng 2 outs (Plans to see "LOVE LETTER" with Hyun Tae but Yoon Sung Ah has returned)
#13th Inning: Reality & Wrong Intuition, Truth & Imagination, and getting poisoned
#14th Inning: The wish green grass still remembers your story
#15th Inning: Thank you super stars (Nan Hee misses Hyun Tae and not used to living alone now, she gets drunk and sees him at his home outside and she kisses him and tells him she loves him Nan Hee misses being selected as an essay writer)
#16th Inning (finale): Baseball is a game of chance.(Jung Joo makes major league, and Nan Hee and Hyun Tae start dating, receive letter from themselves at 20 Author Shin want Nan Hee as her editor)

Love Truly-진짜진짜좋아해 (MBC Korean Drama 2006)

Love Truly (aka I Really, Really Like You)(진짜진짜좋아해 / Jin Jjah Jin Jjah Joh Ah Hae)
(Japanese title: めっちゃ大好き Chinese Title: 真的真的喜歡你」

This 34/36 episode drama (depends what version AZN uses) is slated to start after Air City ends on AZN TV. (I was getting frustrated wtih AZN when they would not show which drama would come next. Finally, I can find out without having to check on the "DAY" of the new drama starting. It will debut on December 11, 2007 on the 10:30PM (EST) slot.

Eugene as Yeo Bong-soon (other drama "Wonderful Life")
Lee Min Ki 이민기 (李民基) as Nam Bong-ki (other drama "Dal Ja's Spring")
Ryu Jin 류진as Jang Joon-won (other drama I saw-"Summer Scent")

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AehDqCliz5g (INTRO clip for this Drama)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r4CeygV8hc&feature=related (PROMO clip in Japanese)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLiQ9Stegwg&feature=related (Gangwon Dialect-Eugene)

Plot synopsis from MBC website:
There’s no ‘nobody.’ Everybody is once an important person to somebody.The Life Story of Beautiful-minded People; ‘The true meaning and hope of life can be learned from ordinary people.’ What makes Love Truly different from other stories is its characters; those who work in the Blue House (Korean presidential residence). This drama introduces the viewers the place considered mysterious and tabooed in TV dramas. It also features the people working inside the most unknown place in the country. Even though the presidential residence is the main setting of the story, the main characters of the story aren’t the presidential family. The story focuses on the true residents of the Blue House; those who have always been in the very center of the history, but remained nameless for many years.

In this story, the viewers will meet the presidential cook, kitchen staff, a carpenter, a photographer, bodyguards and other workers. These people are working in the most unusual and interesting place in Korea. Nobody recognizes their hard work, but they strongly believe that the food they cook, the door they fix, and a phone call they answer can make a difference. They take their work very seriously and always do their best. The story features the simple, but noble spirit of those who love their job and work hard. Therefore, the Blue House in this story represents the workplace of the hardest working people in the country, rather than the secret and off-limits presidential residence.

Characters: (also from mbc.co.kr)
Yeo, Bong-soon (Actor: Yu Jin-EUGENE): 25 years old, cook She’s a happy, fun-loving, honest and unpredictable person. She loves daydreaming. She’s always thinking about something. She’s such a bookworm. Her little room is filled with stacks of books. She loves eating. She recently realizes that she’s a gifted cook. She used to live with her grandmother in the middle of nowhere. Since she was completely out of touch with the world, she seems like an alien to other people. She runs into problems at every corner in the bustling metropolis of Seoul. She gets carsick all the time. She speaks with a very thick Kang-won (East province of Korea) accent. For most people, it’s almost impossible to understand exactly what she says. However, it’s easy to like her. She’s incredibly diligent. She’s always on the move. She gets up at 4 in the morning as she used to do in her hometown. Her assiduity bothers Bong-ki who is extremely lazy. Soon she realizes that there isn’t much to do in the city at 4 in the morning, so she takes a job delivering milk. Her neighbors have hard time understanding her. For them, her interest in other people’s business seems unnecessary. They aren’t used to getting help that they don’t ask for. However, as time goes by, they start opening their hearts and accept her.

Nam, Bong-ki (Actor: Lee, Min-ki): 28 years old, bodyguard He’s tall and good-looking. His physical appearance seems almost perfect. However, he’s terribly lazy and self-centered. He’s such a player and he looks down on women. He’s the kind of person that people love to hate. He doesn’t want to get involved in other people’s lives. He’s a very individualistic and selfish person. He tries to avoid anything that requires responsibility. He doesn’t have any problem saying no when someone asks for his help. He doesn’t feel bad about anything. He loves shoes and collects them. He often argues with his father who isn’t happy with his being shallow. Appearance means everything to him. He’s very popular with women. He knows many women. He even categorizes them by appearance. According to his classification, Bong-soon belongs to the lowest group. He never wastes his money and time on the ‘unqualified’ women. He once fell in love with a woman. She was his high school sweetheart. However, after his girlfriend of 7 years left him to marry a doctor, he hates all the doctors in the world. He becomes the bodyguard of the president’s son, Jang Jun-won. Ironically, he’s a doctor. Bong-ki can never understand Jun-won. ‘How can a married man fall for another woman? How can any man fall for Bong-soon?’ However, protecting this man is his job. He’s confused; it seems that he’s instead protecting Bong-soon from Jun-won. He follows Jun-won everywhere; the hospital, operation room, rest room and his house.

Jang Jun-won (Actor: Ryu Jin): 31 years old, the son of the presidentHe’s always smiling. He’s as handsome as a movie star. He’s very intelligent and kind. The women in the hospital where he’s working all agree that he’s the sexiest doctor in the country. He’s generous, modest and warm-hearted. He’s very popular with his patients. It’s hard to believe that he’s the son of the president. He’s not interested in the way he looks. In truth, he doesn’t have time to worry about such things. His hair is usually messy and his clothes aren’t always clean. Judging by appearance, Bong-ki looks more like the son of an important person. Only a few people know that his father is the president. Without knowing that Jun-won has a bodyguard, people find it strange that Bong-ki is always following Jun-won. He’s been married for five years. He has a five-year-old daughter. His wife has been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease for three years. Jun-won feels helpless about the fact that he can’t do anything to make her better. His in-laws want him to get a divorce and start a new life. However, he can’t give up on his wife unless she wants to leave him.


*Characters surrounding Bong-soon*
Lee Han-sook (47 years old /Geum Bo-rah) As woman as one can be, a woman whose womanhood is stronger that motherhood, and as meek and sentimental as she can be. She is still very beautiful but was even more stunning when she was younger and was once able to become an actress and still dwells upon those days. She can sometimes be ignorant, frivolous and boastful. She has a lot of affection, which keeps guys surrounding her, but her boasting also gets her into a lot of trouble. As well, the fact that she has a lot of grudges held inside her heart causes her to have a lot of tears. Her fate tells her that if she had become an actor or something of that sort she would’ve become big, but because she didn’t go into that field she thinks that her life is filled with twists and turns. Every guy she has met has had some kind of problem, and in order to fix her fate she got married to a man with children and lots of money. Three years into their marriage, however, he died in an unexpected accident. Eventually she ended up taking care of all his children. She also loses all the assets he left her to all sorts of frauds, and the job she took in order to make a living, being an extra for different TV shows, is her current job. This job is where she met Hyun-joon’s father; a complete romantic who is 5 years younger than her and marries her despite his family’s protests, because he loves her. The son she had with him is Hyun-joon, but this awesome romantic tragically leaves her for his new love 7 years into their marriage.

Geum Soo-kyeong (19 years old /Shin Min-hee)Han-sook’s stepdaughter.The daughter of Han-sook’s second husband’s first wife, a senior in high school, who looks like she’s in her mid-twenties when not wearing her school uniform because of her stunning supermodel body and looks. A complete rebellious girl and juvenile delinquent, who transfers from this school to that school in order to avoid getting kicked out of school, her misdeeds are not done secretly but in order to drive her stepmother insane because she hates her to death. Like a child planning on how to make Han-sook’s life unbearably miserable she endlessly has her called to school and to the police department. There was a time when she opened her heart up to her stepmother; the time when she promised to take care of her and her sibling like her own children but the very same woman who promised to take care of them went ahead and got married to another young man, taking them with her. There were days when she wanted to take her sibling and run away to an orphanage but she didn’t have enough courage to actually do it. Her stepmother took her and her sibling by the hand and awkwardly walked into her new husband’s house. Soo-kyeong can not forget the feeling of humiliation she felt that day watching her stepmother laugh and flirt in the arms of another guy, forgetting about her father. She decided never to forgive her stepmother from that day on and herself for still being next to her stepmother and not being able to leave her. Soo-kyeong, cynical and cold, a girl who has nothing she wants to do or be; a girl is suffering severely from growing pains.

*Characters surrounding Bong-ki*Nam Dae-shik (61 years old /Bong-ki’s father-Jang Yeong) A character who never wears socks and wears his pants folded up all year long. A hot-tempered perfectionist. He came into the Blue House in charge of the greenhouse and has been working there as a carpenter for 30 years. He has worked there the longest and has served 7 presidents during his time there. He worked at the general affairs secretary’s office and retired, but because of his excellent work skills he was called back to work on a contract basis. He knows about every single corner of the Blue House and there is not a place in the building which hasn’t been touched by him, so his existence is absolutely needed. His one super secret is that he’s fallen in love! There is absolutely not a single feminine trait on this woman but interestingly enough every time he sees her, his heart beats. Love at such an old age... The tingling feeling, the loneliness, the embarrassments...

Lee Sang-jik (48 years old /Chief of the Blue House Guard Department-Yoon Seung-won) The best bodyguard, a man who has served 3 successive presidents. A professional with an upright nature and strong will to get things done. He is one of the bodyguards that all the juniors look up to and want to be like. He never gets mixed up with official or personal matters, in fact he’s so precise that at an unofficial occasion or event he can be fun and easygoing, but when at work he is sharp, full of charisma and a strict trainer of his juniors. His one goal these days is to train a guard to take his place. He watches Bong-ki and Joo-yeup closely and sometimes makes them compete with one another, purposely getting them upset and driving them through extra hard trainings. Out of all the butlers in the Blue House they are the most powerful but have poor economic power. He has thrown all his money into sending his wife, son and daughter abroad to study and lives a miserable life in his small single room. The fact that he lives in a small, rented room at Bong-ki’s house is his biggest secret. Because of that, he sometimes feels threatened by Bong-ki.

Kim Joo-yeup (28 years old /Blue House guard-Yoo Tae-june)Bong-ki and he entered the Blue House together as guards. He is a born student and after his training goes right to the President Guard team. He is a social climber, wanting to be the best guard, and by nature the exact opposite of Bong-ki. He is moving up with his precise judgments and will to reason in any given situation. He has the abilities, looks, and the body but his one flaw is that he has a very cold heart. He is always in competition with Bong-ki and Bong-ki in fact is loved by all the women working in the Blue House. His martial arts skills are outstanding but when in competition with Bong-ki he is always a step late and loses to him because of their differences in fighting style. Bong-ki springs at anything while he calculates every move. Though it is always him who wins in a competition with Bong-ki, his anxiety to defeat him swells inside of his heart. Joo-yeup wants to become Korea’s best bodyguard, but what is the best bodyguard? He lacks skills in dating, something he looks like he would be good at. He is the only son of a police station chief.

Kang Moon-seuk (28 years old /Blue House guard-Yoon Ji-hoo)Bong-ki’s closest colleague, he gets placed in the investigations department with Bong-ki after training. He is a lot like Bong-ki, mischievous and full of humor. He is able to play a lot of games and other miscellaneous stuff. He is especially good at singing, even better than some singers. He is in great shape and his looks aren’t all that bad, in addition to that his has great dancing skills, which gets him all the girls…at least until he starts to talk, when all his charisma comes crashing down. He grew up in the Hwang Young-jo village in Samcheuk so he has a Kangwon-do dialect. He has great love and pride for his hometown and he proudly talks about how he is the second person to really succeed, after Hwang Young-jo, from his village. He is excited when he meets Bong-soon because she is from the same town as him and helps her with everything he can. He acts as a dialect interpreter between Bong-ki and Bong-soon. He loves Bong-ki, and even though Bong-ki tries everything to get out of work, in the end he is always the one that ends up actually doing to work. While Bong-ki judges people by their looks Moon-seuk thinks that there is no one like him. His family owns a restaurant in Samcheuk. He is the first son and is known as a very faithful son.

Air City on AZN -premiered last night

I have been following the Korean dramas for a bit of time on AZN TV!

Last night, they premiered AIR CITY which I had rented last month. I will get to see it again with better subs (the English ones towards the later chapters were HORRIFIC!) Plus I will be watching it with painful commercials. I guess that is the price I have to pay.

I do like Choi Ji Woo and Lee Jung Jae. Too bad I heard it was not a hit in Korea. Then again it was against some stiff competition while it was on in Korea.

Dal Ja's Spring (KR 2007) 달자의 봄

(KBS/wiki.d-addicts)

Dal Ja's Spring (aka Spring of Oh Dal Ja) (KR KBS2- 2007) 달자의 봄 is a recent drama I caught that was broadcast during January to March of 2007. It marks the first drama for Chae Rim since her divorce from her husband. I really loved Chae Rim in this drama! It is nice to see her comedic side here as a 33 year old woman who never really had a relationship but she has a great career! She may be fumble and not be perfect, but her colleagues and people around her enjoy her warm earnestness, good heart and ever present smile and good attitude.

This drama spanned 22 episodes and it was a fun journey. I thought the episode titles were cute (see below) and the artwork used was nice. There were some homages to various movies, dramas within the drama that I laughed at such as to "Hwangjini", "Chariots of Fire", "The Bodyguard", and "Rocky" to name a few. Overall I thought the acting was solid, though I did not find Lee Min Ki (as Tae Bong) as believable. He seemed a bit stiff and not as fluid and natural as Chae Rim. Even the older generation---Tae Bong's parents and Dal Ja's grandmother and mom had some side stories which I liked. It was not all concentrated on Dal Ja and her worries.

It was good to see again Lee Hye Young as the alluring TV personality Wee Seon Joo. I remember her in "Cheot Sarang" or First Love and Papa. She has the right mix of coolness that enables her to not get hurt. But does this hide a more vulnerable heart?

I enjoyed that the drama talked about various women and their experiences especially in episode 14---"I am Not Superwoman". It is not easy being a woman whether a mom, mother in law, daughter, girlfriend, friend or work colleague. Women have many troubles and strive to overcome the many stigmas and situations that always come their way whether on the job or in their own personal lives. For Dal Ja it is her age and lack of dating experience and having a boyfriend that befuddles her the most. She wants "real love".

When two men come into her life after her disastrous dating experience with colleague and play boy Shin Sae Do (played by Gong Hyeon Jin), she is thrilled. Initially she thinks Eom Ki Joong is her night in shining armour--he is successful, handsome and knows how to treat a woman. But his past comes to haunt Dal Ja just as she is Ki Joong start dating. Her contract boyfriend Tae Bong comes in handy even though he is six younger than her.

Lately, I have noticed alot of "contract" dating or "Boyfriend for hire" as a topic favored by drama writers in the last few years. If it is not a contract, the couple "fake" their relationship until later they both have feelings with each other such as found in "Wedding", "Kim Sam Soon", "Witch Yoo Hee", "Coffee Prince" and even "Dal Ja's Spring". But I do find that element fun. It is nice to see how the couple like each other.

Dal Ja's Spring was great and I LOVE LOVED the soundtrack. It is rare that I do not enjoy the OST for a drama.

Thanks to the awesome fansubs it made the watching of this drama more enjoyable. (I like it when the song lyrics are translated too as it is not the usual case.)

(wiki.d-addicts)
Chae Rim 채림 (All About Eve) as Oh Dal Ja
Lee Min Ki 이민기 (李民基)as Kang Tae Bong
Lee Hyun Woo 이현우 (actor/singer) (Rooftop Cat/Wedding) as Uhm Gi Joong
Lee Hye Young 이혜영 (First Love/Papa) as Wee Seon Joo
Gong Hyeong Jin 공형진 as Shin Sae Do

Extended Cast
Seo Yeong Hee as Jang Soo Jin
Kil Young Woo as Tae Bong's father
Kwon Ki Sun as Yeong Shim (Tae Bong's mother)
Kim Na Woon as Go Soon Ae (Oh Dal Ja's sunbae)
Jang Young Nam as Uhm Gi Joong's wife
Lee Kyung Jin as Jung Ae (Dal Ja's mother)
Kim Young Ok as Dal Ja's grandmother
Kim Sung Kyum as Tae Bong's grandfather
Oh Kyung Soo as the department director
Kim Jae Wook as Choon Ha (Tae Bong's friend)
Seo Yeong as Hong Ji Hee

Main Characters profile:
Chae Rim 채림 as Oh Dal Ja
33-year-old promising home shopping channel managing director. She owns a house and a car thanks to a career driven life. She’s interested in men but is a disaster on real dates. She’s a professional in work but a novice in love. She begins a dreamy love affair with flirtatious coworker Shin Sedo but is enraged to find out about his infidelity. She hires a boyfriend by contract, Taebong, to seek revenge on Sedo.

Lee Min Ki 이민기 (李民基)as Kang Tae Bong
27-year-old freelancer for a proxy dating agency. He begins to pretend as Dalja’s boyfriend. It takes people time to discover his warm heart due to his outspoken character. He develops feelings for Dalja.

Lee Hyun Woo 이현우 as Uhm Gi Joong
36-year-old prospering businessman who heads an importing firm of foreign brand goods. He is polite and humble with reputable character. But he’s very possessive and hates to lose. He asks Dalja to start a relationship with him as he thought she would be comfortable and not have high expectations on love. He is aghast at her elementary dating experience but grows attracted to her more and more.

Lee Hye Young 이혜영 as Wee Seon Joo
33-year-old home shopping network show host. A former hot model, she disappeared from the public eye when she married at 29. She returns three years later as a divorcee. The talented show host, who can be fussy and particular, gets on Dalja’s nerves. She is a dating genius who knows all dating rules there are and what not. Her skills shine in making Shin Sedo as her man.

Synopsis (wikipedia)
Oh Dal Ja is a manager at a home shopping center. She is already 33 years old and is still single. And still waiting for her 'prince' to come. She has everything... money, power and success. The only thing she dreams about is marriage. Then she meets flirty guy, Shin Se Do, who seemed very nice to her. After seeing how he flirts with Wee Seon Joo (and later dumped Dal Ja for her), the beautiful host of the home shopping tv show, she seeks revenge. Kang Tae Bong , a guy 6 years younger than her and has a mysterious past, pretends to be her boyfiend and signs a dating contract with her. But then again, who is this Eom Ki Jeong that seemed to be the perfect gentleman? He's an enterprise representative who's just so perfect.. rich, good-looking, intelligent and courteous but recently separated from his wife.

Three men, one woman.. who will win Oh Dal Ja's charm? Who will end up as her 'knight in shining armor?'

Drama targeted many stereotypes in Korean society. Including older women dating or marrying younger men or single women over 30s dealing with everyday social pressures as well as working mothers juggling their work and family life.

Episode and Episode Titles (wikipedia)
Ep. 1 Things That Drive Her Crazy
Ep. 2 Can Love be Hired?
Ep. 3 A Romantic Inquiry Through a Powerful, Fated Encounter
Ep. 4 There was a Prince, indeed, However..
Ep. 5 Her Stance on Handling an Unsuitable Relationship
Ep. 6 Show Must Go On!
Ep. 7 We Need 2% Moisture In Our Hearts
Ep. 8 Lack of Love's Adverse Effect on an Old Maid
Ep. 9 The Weight Of One Brick...
Ep. 10 Sometimes...Remember That We Are Right Next to You!
Ep. 11 The Rules for Action and Reaction in Dating
Ep. 12 The Reason Why Our Romance Is Beautiful
Ep. 13 Happy Valentine's Day To You!
Ep. 14 It's O.K. Even If You're Not Superwoman!
Ep. 15 Love Saturates My Heart Like A Spring Shower!
Ep. 16 There Needs To Be Loyalty in Love!
Ep. 17 The Earnest Things That Need To Be Thrown Away While In Love Part 1
Ep. 18 The Earnest Things That Need To Be Thrown Away While In Love Part 2
Ep. 19 Living As A Man.. That's The Way It Is
Ep. 20 Living As A Woman.. That's The Way It Is
Ep. 21 People That Are Hopeless With Love
Ep. 22 Spring Comes (Around) Again, Flowers Bloom Again
Source: TNS Media Korea

í== OST == 달자의 봄 OST [2007.01.25]

01. Gi Juk Gat Eun Sarang - Lee Kyung Hwa
02. Sweet Lover - Park Hye Kyung
03. To You Mine - Pearl's Day
04. Choo Uk Eul Yul Da - So Yun
05. Nae Son Eul Jab Ah Jwuh - K-Jun
06. Na Bbeun Sarang - M.R.J (Kang Jae Hyuk)
07. Shim Jang - Eun Young
08 Impression
09 Ya-Ya-Ya
10. Choo Uk Eul Yul Da (Inst.)
11 Lively Breeze12 Surprise13 To You Mine (Funky Ver.)
14. Gi Juk Gat Eun Sarang (Orchestra Ver.)
15. Nuh Eh Gi Uk
16. Gi Juk Gat Eun Sarang (Original Ver.)

Staff
Screenwriter: Kang Eun Kyung
P.D.: Lee Jae Sang
Music: Ji Pyung Kwon

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.

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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)