Dae-han-min-guk! - S.Korean Dramas

Yes, I'm an Asian Drama lover, parochial to all things Korean :] The jig is up!
Don't stand to close now! Or i just may birth a love for it in your OWN heart! Don't believe me? try me! Sit with me through ONE episode and you'll see!

I love Korean culture, their movies, shows, music, fashion, language and possibly food, I'm not sure yet i haven't gotten much chance to try it...

Finally i was able to find a good friend willing to watch dramas with me, something that happened after her friend went to Korea and watched Boys Over Flowers/ Boys Before Flowers

Based of the Japanese Manga (later turned J-drama) Hana Yuri Dango!

Check out the F4-Japan!

(May actually watch the jdrama someday it looks REALLY good!)

Short conclusion on this kdrama? What i loved? the AMAZING commandeer between our Flower Four, well done. I don't think I've ever run across a better portrayed friendship in a Korean Drama. And though BOF is not up there in my top five favorite Korean Dramas, when i finished i,t it did leave me missing the boys, in fact i almost bought a shirt with their beautiful faces!

F4-S.Korea!

I mean look at those precious boys! How could i resist?! May still get that shirt!.

So after we watched BOF together a group of her friends in the States and herself and I sitting in her apartment bickering happily <3 i thought Hey! Up for another? Only i FIVE star drama this time!? (i give BOF three stars at best)

And Lo and behold, we watched the current Creme of the crop:

Secret Garden

IF you do not like the Korean Dram Secret Garden...then it's okay it's cool i guess it's not for everybody....

This drama has plot, amazingly choreographed fight scenes, beautiful sets and DON'T even get me STARTED on the actors MIND blowing performances!
Hyun Bin as Main Male Character(MMC) : Kim Joo Won and Ha Ji Won as Main Female Character (FMC) Gil Ra Im?! You wont know what hit you! But I won't do a full review now, i wouldn't be doing this amazing kdrama justice and i would never want to do that! Let me know if you're interested in me doing one though :)

I will say this though, I haven't seen chemistry like this since Ariel Lin and Joe Cheng in my favorite Taiwanese Drama (and first Asian Drama i ever watched, how LUCKY am i?!)

It Started With A Kiss

Based on the popular Japanese Manga Itazura No Kiss (later turned Anime)

Since this is the original if you're a Japanese Manga and or Anime lover it's a fun experience...

They recently made a Korean adaptation known as 'Playful Kiss/Mischievous Kiss'
which i happen to hate. If given the choice watch 'It Started With A Kiss'. Looking at the posters alone should tell you the amount of work put in. Just the facial expressions on Taiwanese actors Ariel Lin and Joe Cheng draw you into a deeper story. That peered with the accurate portrayal on the poster of Ariel's character trying to 'paste herself next to him and fit into his life' while Joe looks unimpressed with a kind of 'really?' look at the camera as apposed to the Korean actors who have a very...er....what should i even call those looks? plastic expressions?
Also, Korean Dramas and Taiwanese Dramas are two VERY different experiences, for this amazing story the Taiwanese did it best. (Sorry Korea but you failed me on this one)

Well That was a very unintentionally lengthy post about Asian Dramas and what they mean to me which brings me to The Point!


The Korean Drama: Hello My Teacher
Korean Name: 건빵선생과 별사탕 / Geon-bbang-seon-saeng-kwa Byeol-sa-tang
Also Known As: Hardtack Teacher and Star Candy / Biscuit Teacher and Star Candy
Number of Episodes: 16
Broadcast network: SBS
Broadcast period: 2005-Apr-13 to 2005-Jun-02
Air time: Wednesday & Thursday 21:55

My friend and I and some MORE awesome people shall be watching this together...i hope!

Viewing Schedule

Episode 1 – 21^st August
Episode 2 – 28^th August
Episode 3 – 4^th September
Episode 4 – 11^th September
Episode 5 – 18^th September
Episode 6 – 25^th September
Episode 7 – 2^nd September
Episode 8 – 9^th October
Episode 9 – 16^th October
Episode 10 – 26^th October
Episode 11 - 30^th October
Episode 12 – 6^th November
Episode 13 – 13^th November
Episode 14 – 20^th November
Episode 15 – 27^th November
Episode 16 - 4th December

. Feel free to join our viewing experience! :D

Now i leave you with a little slice of Korean culture by way of my favorite Korean Boy Group Big Bang as they demonstrate their shout and peered dance for the 2010 Fifa World Cup, ENJOY!

Earth Hour 2011 : It's Personal

Here's a fun fact: "We live in a global community. Never mind the moral implications — when an environmental catastrophe creates millions of refugees half-way around the world,..." You're going to FEEL it from your comfy sofa honey.

"When earth gives up there will be no bail outs"




I was talking to someone today when i suddenly remembered what i thought to be an extremely fun fact. So, i proceeded to share. I gasped "Today is Earth Hour Day!" i exclaimed and my friend looked at me and shrugged "So" she replied "It's not like it make's a difference, less people using means more for me"

Now my friend was probably just poking fun at my excitement but that statement really made me reflect. As i sat there i thought to myself "Oh my gosh...people actually believe that....!" You know? Much like the saying "It's Happy Hour/five o'clock SOMEWHERE" as a reason to have an conduct a frowned upon action; in the case of the happy hour an incredibly early drink, in the case of my friend people's quickness to believe that their small contribution to reducing climate change is fruitless

Have we considered carefully the dangers of climate change?  Has it sunk in that this means more rapidly spread disease for us to face at our children's' bedsides? That it means more flooding? That it means more drought? That it means more hurricanes?!

Do those things matter to you?

The argument may be but is it enough? my one solitary action? it is not enough my one solitary action....My answer is this: Alone we will not make a difference. Together? We will DEFINITELY make a statement.

This earth has provided me shelter, food, entertainment, comfort and all the essentials PLUS extra! Earth. Is. Worth. It.

I want to be a part of that shared voice!

*****

Sources and good reading:

So climate change...interested in what are the dangers?

What IS Earth Hour?

"The technologies that will help us decarbonize energy are developing, but they need a push — and that will only happen if we keep climate change near the top of our political agenda. Earth Hour, Earth Day, Earth Year — we'll need it all." ~Time: Read more

Snazzy Jazzy Poetry Night at the Grenada National Museum

*****

I’d been invited before. In fact, the Writer’s Association of Grenada (WAG) of which I am presently the Vice President,  has also been invited to read poetry at the venue.

On this Friday in question, I finally made it. I stopped being a hermit and went out! I couldn’t have picked a better way to break that vicious homebody habit either.

Now, as a person who dabbles in various bits of artistry myself, writing, (zomg really?  I know my paints from my pens pretty all right....a poetry and Jazz night? Oh yes please! 

I wasn’t let down either. 

The music was just as intoxicating as I thought it would be. The band members played almost like we, the audience, weren’t even there! As though it was just them, their instruments and their friends having a Friday night jam session in a room where the lights were low and the music, could glide across the area and then bounce back to you so that it filled every corner of available space.

I loved how the crowd was so diverse too, there were tourists, poets, local art museum curators, business people who had finished for the day, students looking for a ‘lime’, (decreolize: hangout) and musicians, just to name a few. 

One musician, a newly arrived Peace Corp. Member by the name of Sean, was called up in fact, to perform impromptu on his guitar. All the peace corp. members on island were celebrating Peace Corp. 50^th Anniversary just next door and had trickled in to observe afterwords.

Sean sang a classic American hit: Sweet Caroline and then hit us with a sweet sweet back in the day hit by the Back Street Boys, my favourite band back in my teens so you know I was pleased!

Sean Park - last week's audience guest guitarist

I was so pleased in fact, I had to go again. They have it only on the first Friday of every month.

Have I express how impressed I am with the saxophonist? His playing, is so impressive, enhanced ten fold by his deliverance! For most of the song he is seated. Until, he suddenly stands and belts out a high note via instrument. Tilting his head back, rocking slowly forward then. 

I look forward to these moments the most because they don’t seem like they’re just done to show off but because he’s really going at it!

Speaking of going at it, the second time I attended, there was this guitarist who was lost in the music, he and his guitar were having an intense, heated conversation that we in the audience were privileged enough to witness.

Deep Guitar Guy

Toward the end of the night, he let us join in that conversation too, by way of urging us to clap to the beat while they played. We did, boisterously. 

The room came alive with music and a love of it. There even came a point in the night when a woman became so overwhelmed with rhythm, she stood and danced to the beat of the drums and all the other wonderful instruments on stage: sax, keyboard, flute, harmonica, steel pan. I can’t name them all by memory…

Let me just stop for a minute to say that I find there is nothing like the heavenly sound of steel pan music. I’m not particularly interested in it during carnival and so but when it plays soft music it seems to caress the air and convinces me that angels have steel pan as back up for the days when their harps need tuning… 

This week The MC (Sax Man) singled out another known artist in the crowd and called on him to ‘come on up’ not Sean this time, don’t know if this new young man was a tourist but he was wearing a white shirt that heavily resembled a ‘I heart NY’ t-shirt, which for some weird reason I thought was hilarious and I chuckled when I saw it! I guess cause I haven’t seen one of those in years, it’s like a classic or something isn't it?

He did go ‘on up’ and I enjoyed the song he played on guitar the most that night.

The week's guest guitarist

But he didn’t stop there, I observed him not return to his seat but take an open place next to the guy on the drums who, quickly took him under his wing and got him acquainted with the beat. I admired this guy, what a terrific creative attitude!

I had been late, having spent most of my evening chatting at the art gallery with Maryse and her little docile doggy Noisette (NuNu), from both of whom I learned so much! 

After that I filled my time with taking pictures on the carenage at dusk, meeting up with my old college drama director Mr. Amen, whom I haven’t seen since he migrated, and who knows what else, before I made it!

So this time I missed the poetry portion :( but it shall not happen again! 

What’s sad though is that they have little to no funding. There is a little basket at the door where patrons are kindly asked to donate how ever much is possible in efforts to keep this going and I urge anyone who goes to spare them some, however much is up to the value of your experience. 

Keep in mind though, this is fuelled by us the people, our little donations ensure this keeps happening. Too many artistic avenues have disappeared here in Grenada because of lack of founding…

I applaud whomsoever had the idea to do this for going ahead with it, also the band, for always delivering a soulful performance.

More of The Band

A. Belfon on the Sax and also MC for the night

*****

It was a great night, an opportunity to be surrounded by art, positivity and a love of both. Needless to say, I think they’ve made a permanent visitor of me.

Maybe even...a performer? ;)