"The Grand Chef" had it's influence

I've watched most of the Korean drama series, "The Grand Chef", and there is a lot of cooking in this series. The love of cooking and the different things you can do with food is very much highlighted. I defy anyone to watch this series at length and not want to get into the kitchen and whip up a meal. It also makes me want to try kimchi. lol

I was thinking about how little I cook, not because I don't know how but because when you make one dish it lasts several days. Then you're left eating the same thing over and over. If I had more mouths to feed then perhaps that wouldn't be the case. Also, it just seems so expensive to cook from scratch. And then I was thinking about the few dishes I know how to make - so it's kinda boring eating my food 'cause it's the same stuff I always make.

So I went on the internet and looked up different recipes and saved them in a word document. I then went to the supermarket and bought the ingredients for 3 differnet dishes. It came out to a lot of money - to be fare about $20 of the stuff had nothing to do with the 3 dishes and $10 was for things that I'll be able to use again in another recipe (olive oil, flour, etc.). One of the dishes I am making is American Chop Suey - only because it reminds me of mom. I remember her making that - it's not like it's the tastiest dish you ever had but it's good and it brings back memories. The other 2 dishes are scalloped potatos and pork chops with mushroom cream sauce. We'll see how that goes. I actually think mushrooms go better with beef - we'll see how it tastes with pork.
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Pinch Me I Think I Am Dreaming

I randomly keyed in "Korean Movie Rental" into google and found this site that rents out Korean dramas like Netflix! Maybe I'll suspend my Netflix subscription for a while and use this service for a while. YIPPEE!! It costs $30 a month for unlimited DVD rental - 3 at a time. It's more then Netflix but at least I'll get my dose of K-dramas! Of course I may have to bring my laptop home to watch them since they might have a code on it - blocking it from being played outside of Korea, but it's worth it. ;)
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Korean's Different Approach to Male Fashion

I can't believe what they made "my" Kim Jeong Hoon (aka John Hoon) wear in this fashion show! I guess it's been kinda obvious that male Korean fashion is a little more in touch with it's "feminine side" from watching the k-dramas (they even have clear mascara catering to men) - but geesh... The white suit at the end isn't so bad - esp. since you don't notice the knee-high white boots over the pants.

Check it out and see it for self - somebody on YouTube.com put together a slide show of he things he wore.

Running Out of Korean Dramas to Watch

Sad, but true, I think I'm on the last Korean drama (K-drama) that Netflix has to offer. ::sigh:: I just got through watching "Goodbye My Love" and the last one I'll have to watch (see photo) is "Shoot for the Stars". I'll have to join some K-drama 12 step program to be weaned from my addiction.

I had e-mailed Netflix a while back with a list of suggested titles for them to buy. Maybe at some point I'll see an increase in K-dramas?? The problem is that K-drama DVDs are so expensive - that's probably why they don't have too many. On YesAsia.com they cost anywhere from $95 to $150 just for one series - and YesAsia.com is probably the most affordable way to buy K-dramas.

I wish they had carried more that featured Kim Jeong Hoon (aka John Hoon) - he's such a cutie. :) And I know he's done a lot of K-dramas. I've searched him on YouTube.com and a lot of people have posted segments from these dramas. Only problem is no English subtitles in these postings. :(

One interesting I noticed about the K-dramas is when any of the few shows that had a white person in it they were an obnoxious person who didn't speak Korean and was giving the Korean person a hard time for not speaking English, as if they expect all Koreans to be able to speak it. I guess this means that it's not uncommon for English speaking people to live in Korea and not speak the language. But why would you move to Korea and not make a concerted effort to learn the language?

I think I am going to start working my way through Korean movies and see how that goes. lol But it's not going to be easy 'cause most of the movies Netflix carries from Korea are horror, action or period movie/martial arts ones. We'll see how it goes.

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Guide to Korean Culture

I found this website that explains certain things about Korean culture so that Korean dramas would make more sense to non-Koreans. Thought I'd share it since I am writing up reviews on so many Korean Dramas:

NAMES
Koreans write their surname (family name) first, followed by their given name. No comma is used to separate the surname from the given name.

Most Korean surnames consist of just one syllable, but a few contain two syllables (for example, Sun Woo). The top ten Korean surnames are: Kim, Lee (Yi/Rhee), Park (Pak), Choi (Choe), Jung (Jeong/Chung), Kang (Gang), Jo (Cho), Yoon (Yun), Jang (Chang) and Im (Yim/Lim). Other popular Korean surnames include: Ahn (An), Han, Go (Ko), Goo (Ku), Oh, Noh, Shin, and Yoo (Yu).

Korean given names usually consist of two syllables, which may be hyphenated when romanized. The given names for male members usually have one syllable which is the same syllable used by all male members of that generation in that family. For example, in the Korean drama "More than Words Can Say," the names of the three sons were Jang-su, Tae-su and Min-su.
Korean women retain their maiden surname after they get married. They do not use their husband's surname since family surnames are reserved only for people with blood ties.
People with the same surname who come from the same ancestral hometown are not allowed to marry each other. This is because they are considered family members, even if they are only distantly related. Consequently, when people are attracted to a person with the same surname, they typically will ask for that person's ancestral hometown right away.

Children usually use the surname of their father. Many Koreans will insist that they be called by only their surname until they get to know you better. This can lead to confusion since more than 20% of the Korean population have Kim as their surname and 15% of the population uses the surname Lee. So if you call for a person named "Kim" in a crowd, many people will think you are calling them.

SONS
As highlighted in "Mothers and Sisters," sons are more desirable than daughters in a traditional Korean family. If the family has more than one son, the oldest son is expected to take care of his parents when they age. Sons are also expected to produce grandsons to carry on the family name to the next generation. Daughters, on the other hand, are valued less since they become part of their husband's family and are required to serve their husband's parents once they get married.

In real life, however, parents are becoming more concerned with the health of their newborn child, rather than the sex of the child. Whether they have a baby boy or girl, most parents are happy if the baby is healthy. Also, in real life, many daughters still care for their own elderly parents even after they get married. So Korean parents are finding out that daughters are just as valuable as sons.

Read about the changing attitude towards the need to give birth to a son, in a 10/30/07 JoongAng Daily article at: joongangdaily.joins
.com/article/view.asp?aid=2882126.

PROPER ETIQUETTE
Respect must be shown to elders. Younger people do not address older people by their given names. For example, a girl addresses her older brother as "oppa" and older sister as "onni," but may address her younger brother or sister by their given names. A boy addresses his older brother as "hyong" and his older sister as "nuna." In an episode of "Mothers and Sisters," Kyong-bin (the #4 child in the family) was scolded by his mother for calling his older sister (the #3 child) by her given name.

The next time you watch a subtitled drama, listen for when a younger sibling calls an older sibling. The subtitles will show the given name of the older sibling but you will hear oppa, onni, hyong or nuna being said instead. Girls sometimes call their boyfriends "oppa."

When identifying a person's position in the family, a woman is identified according to her relationship to the dominant male in the family. For example, in "Mothers and Sisters," the women are introduced to others according to their relationship to Kyong-bin. For example, Yeo-kyong is Kyong-bin's sister, the sister-in-law of Kyong-bin's mother was introduced as Kyong-bin's aunt, and Seung-lee was referred to as Kyong-bin's twin.

Showing disrespect for elders on TV is considered very bad for Korean society. In August 2005, KBS was punished by the Korean Broadcasting Commission for airing a scene in a drama in which a daughter-in-law slapped her mother-in-law in the face.

Direct eye-to-eye contact when talking is considered rude and impolite. Notice that when Joon-hwi talked with his father in episode #2 of "Pretty Lady," he avoided looking his father in the eye even though he disagreed with what his father was saying.

Since age is important in determining hierarchy, it is not uncommon to ask someone their age when they are about the same age as you.

Kissing in public is not as common in Korea as it is in the U.S. In many of the older dramas, when a couple kisses, it usually means the relationship is very serious and will likely lead to marriage.
When receiving or passing something to another person, good manners dictate using two hands instead of just one hand. For example, when tea or soju is poured, the person who does the pouring uses two hands and likewise, the person holding the cup holds the cup with two hands. Also, when a younger person drinks with an older person, it is good manners for the younger person to turn to the side so as not to face the older person while drinking. You may also notice that if the younger person is drinking with his right hand, he will place his left hand on the right side of his body under his right arm. I've been told that this custom originated in the olden days when Korean clothing had very wide long sleeves that draped down when the arms were raised. To avoid having the sleeve get in the way while drinking, the left arm would swing to the right to hold the right sleeve in place while the right arm is used to drink.

SOJU
Soju is a sweet Korean liquor made primarily from potato, with an alcoholic content of about 20-25%. Other Korean alcoholic beverages include makkoli (a rice brew) and maekju (beer).

RED INK
Red ink is permissible when using a chop (name seal). Do NOT use red ink when writing a living person's name, however, since red is associated with death. Red ink is used to record a deceased person's name in the family register and also on funeral banners to drive off evil spirits.

UNLUCKY NUMBER
Number 4 is an unlucky number for Koreans since it sounds like the Korean word for death (sa). For this reason, some buildings do not have a fourth floor. If the building does have a fourth floor, the elevator may show the fourth floor as "F" instead of "4".

KEY MONEY
One method of renting real property involves "key money." When renting an apartment, the tenant pays the landlord "key money," which is something like a large security deposit, for the landlord to invest. The landlord keeps the investment income instead of receiving monthly rent from the tenant. When the tenant moves out, the landlord returns all of the key money to the tenant. That is why, in the drama "Pretty Lady," when Suri moved out of her apartment after her mother died, she received a large amount of money which she dutifully turned over to her father and step-mother when she moved in with them.

FOOD
All Korean meals--breakfast, lunch and dinner--include rice, kimchi and a variety of other side dishes, which are all served and eaten at the same time. You can eat the foods in any order and in any combination. The spread is quite elaborate compared to American standards since variety is very important.

The rice, either steamed white rice or rice cooked with grains such as barley and millet, is served in individual bowls for each person. The side dishes, on the other hand, are served family style with everyone eating directly from a common dish using their own spoon or chopsticks. Several varieties of kimchi (pickled vegetable spiced with chili pepper and garlic) are provided. Soup is also served at most meals.

One thing to remember when eating Korean food is never blow your nose at the dining table. Doing so is considered very rude. If the spiciness of Korean food makes your nose run, excuse yourself from the table to go to the bathroom to blow your nose.

Korean meals are eaten with a spoon and chopsticks which are frequently made of stainless steel. Unlike other Asians such as the Chinese and Japanese, Koreans use the spoon rather than chopsticks to eat rice. Koreans also do not usually lift the rice bowl off of the table when they eat.

IMPORTANT BIRTHDAYS
The first and 60th birthdays are the most important for Koreans. The first birthday is celebrated by placing the child, dressed in traditional Korean clothes, in front of a table with food and objects. The child is urged to pick up one of the objects. Depending on which object the child selects, one supposedly can foretell the child's future. For example, if the child picks up money, he will be rich. If he picks up a book, he will be a scholar. If he picks up food, he will be a government official.

The 60th birthday represents the completion of a zodiac cycle and is celebrated by family members offering the birthday person food, drink and best wishes for a long life.

BECKONING
To signal someone to come using hand motions, Koreans point their palm downward (instead of upwards) and then motion their fingers like we do. Japanese also point their palm downward when beckoning.

NO TIPPING
Tipping is not practiced by native Koreans in Korea. However, tourists are expected to tip for tourist-related servies (for example, travel guides expect to receive a tip from foreign tourists). In tourist hotels, a mandatory 10% service charge is common.

EASY MONEY
The South Korean government will pay you W1,000,000 to W5,000,000 for each North Korean spy you report.

HOMES
Due to the freezing winter climate, most Korean homes do not have many windows or doors. Ondol, a heat-radiating network of pipes under the floor, is used to warm certain rooms in the house. Originally, ondol involved circulating exhaust fumes from the kitchen range through flues under the floor. However, since carbon monoxide poisoning could occur if cracks developed in the floor, modern ondol systems instead pump hot water through the pipes to heat the floors.
Since heat emanates from the floors using ondol, Koreans sit and sleep on the floor to take advantage of the warmth. Traditionally, the floors are covered with lacquered paper which turns yellow with age. Nowdays, the floors are covered with linoleum, and oil (rather than charcoal) heaters are used to heat the water.

This week on Netflix...

Stained Glass, Disc 4: Gi-Tae was getting overbearing in the last disc and was starting to suspect that there might be something going on btw. Yuichi and Ji-Soo. Which caused him to be even more overbearing in his pursuit of Ji-Soo. But in this disc - Gi-Tae has gone full blown Glen Close in Fatal Attraction. Right down to the scene of turning the light on and off alone in a dark room.

First he starts by having his sister invite Ji-Soo out for dinner and then he "just happens" to show up with Yuichi. Trying to force his sister and Yuichi into being a couple and trying to force Ji-Soo to see him as a love interest. But when that doesn't work he employs the help of his sister to break up Yuichi and Ji-Soo - so she plants a story in the paper that she is dating Yuichi. Hoping Ji-Soo will see that and get really upset, it doesn't work. Gi-Tae takes to waiting outside her apartment when she goes out with Yuichi. Showing up places he knows she will be. She tries to let him down gently - but it only makes him more determined to get her to change her mind.

Yuichi has to go back to Japan soon since that is where his company (the one he is heir to) and family are. He proposes to Ji-Soo in a grand fashion with a romantic gesture. But the scene ends with them in each other's arms and her having not given an answer. Later on she accepts his proposal. Gi-Tae gets more desperate so he waits at her door again after a date with Yuichi and demands she gets in the car. He drives her off to some desolate area to plead once again for her to be with him. When she declines he threatens that if he can't be with her then neither can Yuichi. It kinda seemed like he was implying he was going to kill her or himself - but I guess I was wrong. Instead he seeks to ruin Yuichi's car insurance company by starting one of his own and taking Yuichi's employees.

A side story going on is it's becoming increasingly evident that Gi-Tae's mother arranged the death of his half brother. Thus making way for Gi-Tae to be sole heir instead of the black sheep of the family that they want to send abroad to never return to Korea. The fiance to the dead half-brother suspects foul play because how the accident came about was a scenario out of character for her fiance. So she investigates the matter on her own since the police have already ruled it an accident. The mother finds this out and gets visibly nervous everytime she gets an update on the young girl's investigation. It doesn't appear that she suspects Gi-Tae's mother involvement yet.

Princess Hours, Disc 2: Shin and the crown princess Chae are still getting on each other's nerves and adjusting to the fact they are now married. Despite the fact the situation isn't perfect - Chae finds that she is starting to have feelings for Shin. At one point she thinks he's listening to his discman so she confesses that while she knows he still holds feelings for his ex and would likely rather be married to her; the thought of her not being married to him makes her feel miserable. Chae later finds out he didn't have a disc in the device and heard everything she said. She was very embarrassed.

Shin has a birthday party on the royal private island. Shin's friends thought they'd have a good laugh at the Chae's expense by speaking English to her. All Chae can do is stand there confused - wondering what they're saying. Shin's ex comes by and tries to defend her - telling them to stop. Suddenly, in one breath, Chae answers the 3 questions Shin's friends asked her in English and then walks away. Basically showing them up because she figured out what they had said to her in English and then answered the in English. At the gift ceremony everybody got Shin these expensive gifts, Chae chooses to (instead) make him a gift by decorating Shin's house shoes in a traditional design. Shin's friend's skoff at the gift and Shin just kinda stares out not knowing what to say. Later on he's sitting alone admiring the shoes and tries them on.

During the course of the episode Chae gets upset about Shin treating their marriage as a bargaining tool with his parents in front of her. And he reminds her that she only married him for his money. She gets extremely upset that he implies she's a gold digger and compares herself to some character in a tv show. Shin feels bad about the argument after the fact and wonders what she meant re: her tv show reference and asks his assistant to let him view it. This showing that he's also starting to have some hint of feelings for Chae because is seeking to understand her. Yes - normally that would not be a showing of interest but if you know Shin's character - it is.

At one point Chae and Shin have to go to some function together - as they're getting ready Shin really starts to look at her in a different way. He becomes more attracted to her. During the function they comically dance together (wasn't supposed to be funny - Chae just can't dance).

An important side story in this show is Shin's aunt is intent on having his cousin returned to crown prince and take Shin's place. Yul lost being crown prince after his father died and Shin's father became king. There are other reasons, but that doesn't come out until later on in the series. At this point Yul (Shin's cousin) is only going along with it to make his mom happy after all the suffering she's gone through. So in an effort to start the ball rolling on ruining Shin's public image - she employs the help of a tabloid editor to have people throw eggs at Shin when the press is busy taking photos. When this happens, Chae makes a vast effort to block Shin from being hit by the eggs.

Shin was humiliated and spent a good part of the day alone in his room. After speaking with Yul, Chae decides it's her duty as his wife to go see Shin and try to cheer him up (Shin witness Yul and Chae talking on the porch). Yul warns against it - stating she'll only put him in a worse mood, that it's better just to leave him alone in this scenario. But she goes anyway. As she goes to look for Shin in his room he comes from behind her. He says he is glad to see her - that he knows everybody else will stay away for fear of making his mood worse. But the fact she came makes him feel better. Now being how Shin is - any sign of warmth is major on his part.

Stained Glass, Disc 5: Well I'm almost to the end of the series - only one more disc after this one. This was a very eventful disc. It started out with Gi-Tae giving up on his revenge on Yuichi by ruining Yuichi's company and falls into a deep depression. He was bed ridden due to his depression - so his mother appealed to Ji-Soo to go see him to help him feel better. But Gi-Tae threw her out of his room. Yuichi and Ji-Soo are still going strong and looking forward to moving to Japan and getting married. Gi-Tae decides to enter into a marriage of convenience to move on with his life and forget about Ji-Soo.

Yuichi sets up a meeting btw. Ji-Soo and his father since he intends to marry Ji-Soo. But when his father walks into the room and sees Ji-Soo he becomes very rattled and upset. The same seems to be happening to Ji-Soo. We later find out that Yuichi's adoptive father is actually Ji-Soo's birth father. It turns out Ji-Soo's mother lied when she said her father died - he actually abandoned his Korean family to start a family with this other woman in Japan. Ji-Soo breaks off the engagement with Yuichi pretending it was due to the fact his father didn't approve of the marriage and he was very rude to her. Yuichi tries very hard to convince her to change her mind, but she won't. So his final ultimatum was to ask her to meet him at the church to marry him - just the 2 of them. If she shows up - they marry and go to Japan. If she doesn't then he'll take it as a sign and move on. Needless to say she doesn't show up.

During the course of events Gi-Tae's sister inadvertently finds out that Yuichi's father is actually Ji-Soo's birth father when she snoops in a package Ji-Soo got from her father. Ji-Soo's father sent Ji-Soo every birthday gift he bought for her but didn't send - as proof that he was always thinking of her while he was away in Japan. Gi-Tae's sister quickly shares this information with Gi-Tae and he gets excited because now he sees this as his opportunity to be with Ji-Soo. So he meets up with Ji-Soo but this time he takes a much less aggressive approach and the two of them seem like the friends they used to be prior to when Yuichi came to town.

The disc ends with Yuichi in a car headed to the airport to return to Japan. He takes out his and his father's seperate hotel bills. He notices in his father's bill that he sent a package to Ji-Soo - that's when he starts putting 2 and 2 together. How Ji-Soo has the same last name as his father's Korean name and a bunch of other things. He realizes his adoptive father is Ji-Soo's birth father and yells for the car to turn around. And that's when the disc ends.

It was mentioned in the show that Yuichi and Ji-Soo could get married because even though they're not blood relation -they have the same father and it wouldn't be morally right for them to get married. I also read in one of the Netflix member reviews that everything ends suddenly to avoid scandal. So I guess I am not going to be happy when I finish watching disc 6 next week. But we'll see what happens!

As for the side story of Gi-tae's mother having his half brother killed - it seems that the dead son's fiance is on to Gi-tae's mother and knows she had something to do with her fiance's death. So Gi-tae's mother leaves the country to avoid getting in trouble. So we'll see how this all turns out next week! THE FINALE!

This week on Netflix...

Princess Hours, Disc 1: I have watched this entire series already but I liked it so much the first time that I wanted to see it again. I was wondering if I would enjoy it as much the second time - since I already knew what was going to happen. Fortunately, that was not the case - I still enjoyed watching it.

I know I already posted regarding what this drama/comedy is about. But just to recap - it's about supposing Korea had a constitutional monarchy (as England does). And the story revolves around an arranged marriage between Crown Prince Shin and Chae-kyeong (a commoner). The marriage comes about as a result of a promise the late king made to his best friend (Chae's grandfather). Shin and Chae don't get along at first but they grow to like each other as time progresses. What gets in the way of that is Shin has always been a loner and doesn't know how to express himself. And while, at times, he's able to clue her in on how he feels - he often pushes her away unintentionally. He also struggles with her friendship with his cousin Yul because Yul makes it plain that he wants to break up the marriage so he can be with Chae. Another problem is Shin's ex who wants to get him back - though Shin never expresses wanting to be with her. But he still considers her a good friend.

Brenda is watching the series for the first time - she doesn't like Shin. I don't think she understands Shin's jealousy over his wife's friendship with his cousin is a sign that he's developed feelings for her. Which excites most viewers - but causes Brenda to greatly dislike him. We'll see what she thinks as the story develops.

Monarch of the Glenn, Disc 1: Just to break away from my preoccupation with Korean dramas - I decided to 'mix it up' and start watching a British series. I periodically forget that I don't generally like modern day British dramas. Love British period shows/moves and some of the comedies are fun to watch. But modern day dramas couldn't be more boring. I could barely get through the first episode and chose to turn it off. I guess you win some and you lose some. The first episode, at least, was about a son returning to his rural home where they had this beautiful manor. He went back because his father hand a minor accident - whom he doesn't get along with. In returning he finds out that his parents are deep in debt and he was willed the manor a while back but was never told. ZzzzzzzzZzzzzzzzZzzzzzzzzz The characters have nothing engaging about them - not sure how they could hold anybody's interest.

Stained Glass, Disc 3: Netflix has some sort of conspiracy against me - I wanted to receive 2 discs this week but they only sent me 1. It seems these Korean dramas are in great demand and had to be shipped to me from out of state.

The thing about these dramas is that you know that everybody is going to live happily ever after... eventually. But still the story is woven in such a manner that you're still on pins and needles when there is an obstacle in the couple's way and relieved when things seem to be going their way - despite knowing the inevitable outcome. What is also great is the story takes twists and turns you can't predict. They also develop side stories that are part of the main story but also have their own thing going on. What starts off as a snow ball of a storyline turns into a huge boulder as the story goes on - more things get added, drama builds and you just love it.

So when I left off in disc 2 Ji-Soo (girl) and Yuichi (boy) had just embraced and were kissing passionately. I foolishly thought that this meant they'd start to be in a relationship. But when I started watching disc 3 she pulled back and felt he was only interested in her due to pity. Gi-Tai (boy) is still being overbearing with his pursuit of Ji-Soo. He realizes that Ji-Soo has feelings for Yuichi but thinks he can force the issue and make things come his way. Ji-Soo and Yuichi have several moments where they enjoy each other's company and you know they want to be together but things with Gi-Tae just get in the way.

In an effort to break up the tension of the 'love triangle', Ji-Soo moves out of Gi-Tae's family's house. Around that time Gi-Tae finds out his half-brother died in an accident and now he's no longer the black sheep of the family. His father asks him and his mother (as Gi-Tae was the product of his father's infidelity to his wife) to move in and to have Gi-Tae take over the company. Gi-Tae is happy because now he thinks he'll be worthy of Ji-Soo since he's a rich heir like Yuichi and he might gain favor with Ji-Soo as a result. Like the thick headed dope he is - he's wrong.

I can't really do this show justice - because there is so much going on. Not to mention the bits going on in the side stories. But I am loving the story and can't wait to see the unexpected twist and turns this story takes.

Netflix Presents.....

Every weekend I watch my Netflix movies - primarily Sunday mornings because I get up so early (6:30-7am) as dictated by my body. I'd sleep in later but that's when I wake up and can't get back to sleep. So I usually pop in my DVDs and watch. Thought I'd share my little critiques.

The Year of the Dog - This is a 97 minute PETA commercial that misses the mark regarding what it sets out to do. It's obvious that the makers of this film wanted it to be about a woman who loses her dog, to which she was very attached to. Through a series of events she becomes involved with animal rights activism which involves: stealing from her boss to support charities, ruining her in-law's 4-5 fur jackets and bringing her 6 year old niece to a slaughter house to "scare her straight" regarding eating meat which brings her niece to tears. In the end she feels she's found her niche in life as an animal activist and quits her job and rides off into the sunset happy that she's found her purpose. I don't know if it's Molly Shannon's acting, the script or both but they just made activists look completely nuts.

My Little Bride - About a 16 year old girl and a 22 yr old man who grew up together as a result of their grandfathers being so close. The grandfathers had always said they'd be in-laws one day but they both had sons. So the grand kids are asked to participate in an arranged marriage because the grandfather isn't in good health and he really wants this. The family is kinda reluctant and the kids refuse to do it. So the grandfather comically fiddles with the heart monitor controls to "scare" them into getting married for his sake. Which works. Long story short, they end up finding they actually do care about each other and it's a love match. The pairing just seemed a little creepy to me. That aside - it was as good as any American romantic comedy you see.

Stained Glass, Disc 2 - Really liked it - have 4 more discs to go! About these 3 kids who meet in an orphanage (Ji-Soo [girl], Gi-Tae [boy] and Yuichi [boy]) and what transpires when they become adults. (see post about Korean dramas to see premise of story) Fortunately they don't drag out the 3 of them getting together and realizing Yuichi isn't dead. And am really glad that they didn't drag out Yuichi stepping aside so Gi-Tae can be with Ji-Soo - even though she has never claimed any romantic feelings for Gi-Tae. At the end of the disc, Ji-Soo and Yuichi engage in a passionate make out session and Gi-Tae is being sent to study abroad by his father (whose company he works for). The show is really, really good - can't wait for the next disc!

My Korean Drama Obession

This is part of the reason why I like Netflix so much - you're tempted to try things you normally wouldn't at a video store due to the per video pricing. Netflix has this feature where they suggest movies you might like based on prior ratings you've submitted.

The first movie I took a chance on was "Save the Last Dance for Me?" which is about a rich heir who loses his memory as a result of being injured in a robbery. Then he gets taken in by a father and his daughter who allow him to help out with the running of their inn until he is able to remember who he is. The daughter and heir fall in love and end up getting engaged. The heir ends up bumping his head again and remembering who he is - but forgets about the father/daughter at the inn. He returns to his old life while she goes searches for him. She ends up taking a job in Seoul where the heir works hoping he'll remember her, etc. There's this big love triangle that ensues and there is a lot of romance, action and suspense. It's hard to describe the entire plot without writing "a book" about it. But trust me - it's very engaging and leaves you waiting by the mail box for the next DVD.

The next bit of fodder for my addition came in the form of "Princess Hours" which imagines what it would be like if modern day Korea had a monarchy the way they do presently in the UK. I discovered this through Netflix's recommendation vehicle also. I've come to find out that this tv series was a raging hit all over Asia a year or so ago. And they were even considering a second season, despite the fact Korean shows rarely (if ever) have a second season. Apparently they are not like Americans who want to keep a show going as long as possible. They're dramas (aka k-dramas) are more like mini-series in that way. This show is packed with humor, romance and suspense. The main story is really about this girl who participates in an arranged marriage which her grandfather and the then King agreed upon. She did this to save her family who was deeply in debt. The crowned prince ends up being this kid Shin who she happens to not get along with in school. As the romance blossoms - Shin's ex and his cousin Yul seek to break the relationship up as Shin's ex wants him back and Yul has fallen for the newly anointed crown princess. A lot of scenarios ensue and it's just a really great story!

The drama I am watching now is called "Stained Glass", so far I have only seen disc 1 of 6. The story is about these 3 kids who meet in an orphanage when they were kids. One of the boys gets taken down stream in a river and is presumed dead. But, in fact, was discovered by a Japanese couple as he lay lifeless near the river. Being that the kid doesn't remember his name or where he lives (though remembers his friends) the Japanese couple take him in and raise him as their own. The girl and other boy grow up as close friends. But it is obvious that the boy wants a romance with the female lead. The girl unknowingly meets the boy who had been taken down the river as kids. A death she mourns even as an adult. It certainly seems they are setting things up for their to be a romance between them. And, of course, I am sure there'll be a love triangle. I really like it and can't wait for the next DVD.

I don't know if I am doing these shows justice. But if you like drama/romance then you will love these. Just give them a shot! There are only a handful of these Korean dramas on Netflix. It's going to suck once I've reached the last of them. :(