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meganbmooreI found out yesterday that when they made Chinese Paladin, Hu Ge was 20 and Crystal Liu was 16, and because she was 16 Hu Ge felt uncormortable in some of their romantic scenes because she was so young(even though, of course, her character was 16 and his was, I think 18-19, and it's not a huge age difference to start with-especially for the time it was set in-just the actual age) This...makes me like him more, somehow(guess it gives "decent guy" factor, I guess, though of course, I already liked him) and also explains why he seemed so much more comfortable in his scenes with An Yi Xuan, who's 2 years older than him. Just a little bit that I found interesting.
I'm also 3 episodes into the kdrama Next/Rebirth(I've seen it by both titles) Decided I needed a break from swordplay shows for a bit and...chose a drama about reincarnation where the hero was a warrior in at least 2 of his past lives. *whistles* (in my defense, there has been no sign of a sword yet and I don't think there will be, if there is, I dount there'll be much fighting) The setup is that two brothers, Ki-bum(an overly serious neuro-surgeon whose life is too controlled for his own good) and Ki-Soo(a stage actor who doesn't seem to have any real path or direction planned out) are involved with women they seem to be very compatible with. Ki-bum is engaged to Soo-hyun, a psychiatrist who specializes in sleep disorders, who he's been seeing since college, and Ki-Soo is dating Jung-Hwa, an actor in his troupe who believes in things like fate and destiny. Unknown to the four, they've been destined lovers in previous lives. The problem? They're dating the wrong people, of course(what else do you expect from a kdrama about reincarnation)
I'm also 3 episodes into the kdrama Next/Rebirth(I've seen it by both titles) Decided I needed a break from swordplay shows for a bit and...chose a drama about reincarnation where the hero was a warrior in at least 2 of his past lives. *whistles* (in my defense, there has been no sign of a sword yet and I don't think there will be, if there is, I dount there'll be much fighting) The setup is that two brothers, Ki-bum(an overly serious neuro-surgeon whose life is too controlled for his own good) and Ki-Soo(a stage actor who doesn't seem to have any real path or direction planned out) are involved with women they seem to be very compatible with. Ki-bum is engaged to Soo-hyun, a psychiatrist who specializes in sleep disorders, who he's been seeing since college, and Ki-Soo is dating Jung-Hwa, an actor in his troupe who believes in things like fate and destiny. Unknown to the four, they've been destined lovers in previous lives. The problem? They're dating the wrong people, of course(what else do you expect from a kdrama about reincarnation)
Ki-bum meets Jung-hwa when he has to take the subway for what's apparently the first time ever because his car's in the shop and Jung-hwa helps him figure out how to use his ticket and such. Jung-hwa has trouble sleeping and normally she's ok, but that day she passes out at the subway station. As she puts it, the one and only day he ever rides the subway is also the one and only day she ever passes out, so it was probably destiny that they met. Of course, he doesn't believe in such things, but while she's at the hospital, she sees that its coffee shop is hiring part time help and gets a job, and the two get to know each other.
Quick note to state the one problem I have with the show so far: When you're seeing someone and realize you're falling for someone else, DON'T TRY TO MULTI-TASK THE TWO. "They're destined lovers so it's ok" only gets you so far...
Moving on...
Both Ki-bum and Jung-hwa are clearly, while not UN-happy in their romances, not very happy in them. Ki-bum and Soo-hyun are involved because they respect each other and it's the smart thing for people like them to do, while Jung-hwa seems to be with Ki-soo more because he's a nice guy and only stupid girls pass on nice guys...in both cases, the other party is clearly more invested in the relationship, while Ki-bum and Jung-hwa seem to feel restless and constrained, which their SOs pick up on.
Worried about Jung-hwa's inability to sleep well, Ki-soo takes her to Soo-Hyun(Ki-Bum and Jung-hwa don't know he's her boyfriend's brother, and Ki-Soo and Soo-hyun don't realize Jung-hwa knows Ki-bum) and under hypnosis, Jung-hwa remembers a past life where she and Soo-hyun were childhood friends. It doesn't state the time period(I'm sure if I were Korean, I'd recognize it) but everything LOOKS about the same as Hwang Jin Yi, so I'm guessing 16th century?
Anyway, when they grow up, Jung-Hwa's father is declared a traitor and she's relegated to the servant class(shades of Damo anyone?) Because of their childhood friendship, Soo-hyun's father arranges to have her brought to their household so she can have a life as close to the one she once led as possible, and all seems well until Ki-bum comes into their life. Both girls quickly fall for him, of course, and he and Jung-hwa almost unknowingly start a clandestine courtship. However, their families arrange for Ki-bum and Soo-hyun to be engaged, but that goes south as soon as he arranges for inquiries into the accusation and death of Jung-hwa's father, and that goes south fast.
Which is where I am now. So far I rather like it...it's a bit slow the first 2(which has actually been my opinion of the first several eps of every modern kdrama I've seen... Hwang Jin Yi too, actually, which I guess makes Damo and Emperor of the Sea the only exceptions to that rule for me so far.) eps, which take place entirely in the present, but picked up the pace considerably in ep 3. I think it may end up relying a bit too much on the "otp is right" for me in the present, but I like them and so far the first past story is very good(looks like Jung-hwa is about to learn the hard way what happens when you fall in love above your station, though)
Quick note to state the one problem I have with the show so far: When you're seeing someone and realize you're falling for someone else, DON'T TRY TO MULTI-TASK THE TWO. "They're destined lovers so it's ok" only gets you so far...
Moving on...
Both Ki-bum and Jung-hwa are clearly, while not UN-happy in their romances, not very happy in them. Ki-bum and Soo-hyun are involved because they respect each other and it's the smart thing for people like them to do, while Jung-hwa seems to be with Ki-soo more because he's a nice guy and only stupid girls pass on nice guys...in both cases, the other party is clearly more invested in the relationship, while Ki-bum and Jung-hwa seem to feel restless and constrained, which their SOs pick up on.
Worried about Jung-hwa's inability to sleep well, Ki-soo takes her to Soo-Hyun(Ki-Bum and Jung-hwa don't know he's her boyfriend's brother, and Ki-Soo and Soo-hyun don't realize Jung-hwa knows Ki-bum) and under hypnosis, Jung-hwa remembers a past life where she and Soo-hyun were childhood friends. It doesn't state the time period(I'm sure if I were Korean, I'd recognize it) but everything LOOKS about the same as Hwang Jin Yi, so I'm guessing 16th century?
Anyway, when they grow up, Jung-Hwa's father is declared a traitor and she's relegated to the servant class(shades of Damo anyone?) Because of their childhood friendship, Soo-hyun's father arranges to have her brought to their household so she can have a life as close to the one she once led as possible, and all seems well until Ki-bum comes into their life. Both girls quickly fall for him, of course, and he and Jung-hwa almost unknowingly start a clandestine courtship. However, their families arrange for Ki-bum and Soo-hyun to be engaged, but that goes south as soon as he arranges for inquiries into the accusation and death of Jung-hwa's father, and that goes south fast.
Which is where I am now. So far I rather like it...it's a bit slow the first 2(which has actually been my opinion of the first several eps of every modern kdrama I've seen... Hwang Jin Yi too, actually, which I guess makes Damo and Emperor of the Sea the only exceptions to that rule for me so far.) eps, which take place entirely in the present, but picked up the pace considerably in ep 3. I think it may end up relying a bit too much on the "otp is right" for me in the present, but I like them and so far the first past story is very good(looks like Jung-hwa is about to learn the hard way what happens when you fall in love above your station, though)