Kwon Sang Woo

Here's my take on some Korean Stars, the ones I look up for news from time to time.

I have never forgotten "Stairway to Heaven" Kdrama and the leading lady nor the leading man, I would sometimes search them up on line to see how they are doing.

Kwon Sang Woo - the leading man, much to my delight has already gotten married. Has 2 kids. Though I was saddened to read that a lot of people in his hometown bashed his wife online before, I can never really understand that. It's their life, we might not like who they choose but who is perfect in this world anyway?  But am happy to know that he stood by his wife, and defended her. Though it did cost him his stardom, his fan dwindle and he lost a lot of endorsement, but he is doing ok now. Am glad that he has passed, 10 years later, he is reunited with his former leading lady Choi Ji Woo again in the Kdrama Temptation.  


Here's a few articles I think worth reading.

Pain Conference and about his wife.

Interview on him and news about his wife.

Son Tae Young breaks her silence.

Touch Your Heart (진심이 닿다)

If you are suffering from Withdrawal Symptoms because of "Goblin: The Lonely Great God" Kdrama, you can follow it up with this Kdrama, starred by Lee Dong Wook and Yoo In na.

TOUCH YOUR HEART

Image from moviedb.org

It's a 100% guarantee that this will uplift your spirit. 😁😁

Here's a fan work on their 2 drama collaboration.

The drama is about an actress who lost her fame due to a scandal and in order to make a comeback, she is forced to do training in a firm, to learn and be familiar with the work of a Lawyer for the drama she wish to participate.

The story is light and enjoyable, and in my opinion, is exactly the role they played at the ending of Goblin. So it feels like a continuation of the love story of our beloved King Wang Yeo and Queen Kim Sun.

Also the second couple in this drama are quite cute also. 

Aldub The Phenomenon Love Team

So here is another blog about the Aldub Love Team.

I have stopped watching TV for almost a year now, ever since I got hooked on YouTube, there was no need for a TV. Not until I found out about "Aldub". My older sister was always talking about it, and told me how funny the KalyeSerye was. So I decided to give it a try one afternoon and watched it. Hahaha! Wrong move on my part, after just watching 1 segment, I was hooked. Wally, Jose and Paulo was totally hilarious, couldn't stop laughing at their antics, and the story the producers and writers where trying to weave for Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza was not only interesting but what really made me appreciate it all, is Lola Nidora's teaching. Which as most has mentioned it seems the generations of this age have forgotten. It was good to hear those teachings again and letting a guy court a lady in the most Filipino Culture way.

And what fascinates me is their fans, how they can break records and create history. This is a first for the Filipinos to break the international media while the two haven't even left the country yet to promote. It is history in the making.

Now Maide Mendoza is considered as the 3rd fastest growing celebrity in Tweeter next to Kathy Perry and Taylor Swift, and she is only 3 months old in the industry.

Their fans has already broke the FIFA World Cup Tweeter record at 41 Million Tweets in just 1 day. And not to mention the fans are still growing.

Alden Richards has been in the showbiz industry for more than 4 years and has climb his way up to being one of the good leading man of GMA 7 Kapuso star. He has his own fans already but never like this.

Now both are quite astound as how things are turning out. Best of luck to the both of them.  =)

Here it the official page of Eat Bulaga. Click on the icon.

Sly And Single Again or Cunning Single Lady (앙큼한 돌싱녀)

Ae Ra, a young pretty girl who is a daughter of a small restaurant owner, meets Jung Woo a Engineer
student who was reviewing to take the Civil Service exam, the two got married and lived a contented life, so Ae Ra thought. But on their 100th day Wedding Anniversary, Jung Woo suddenly announced that he had quit his job to purse a business in Software Application, without consulting his wife. So four years has passed and Ae Ra carried the burden of providing for their everyday needs as Jung Woo tries to sell his ideas but with no luck. Until Ae Ra finally files for divorce as she buckled from the strain of keeping both of them afloat for so many years. Fast forward to three years after the divorce we see that Jung Woo is a self made businessman leading a Social Media application firm which is being used by all South Koreans called DonTalk. And ironically this idea was given by his ex-wife while they were still married.

Ae Ra after learning that Jung Woo's success decides to pursue her ex-husband in order (not to gain money but) to hear an apology and thank you from Jung Woo.

Cast and Characters:
Lee Min Jung is Na Ae Ra (the first time I saw her was in the Kdrama Big) the leading lady
Joo Sang Wook is Cha Jong Woo (this is my first time seeing this guy) the leading man
Seo Kang Joon is Gook Seung Hyun the second leading man (also my first time seeing this guy).

*Spoiler Alert!*

My opinion for this Drama...... totally love it, it's very nice to see though they bicker like old couples, the chemistry is still as strong as they first meet.

The flashbacks to their past was such a nice window to see how the two interact in their earlier days.

And what was delighted about this show is, the second lead is not that handsome compare to the leading man so no contender here. hehehehe!!!! Plus to me, the husband still treat his wife with love even though he tries to hide it.

The couple look totally perfect in their wedding pictures!

They really look good together.  =)  I sooo soooo adore them.


And a few glimpse just how sweet the husband is to his wife, here's a few sample:

1. Jung woo sending love notes to his ex-wife while they are in a meeting.

2. And sending her a secret wink at the end of the meeting. Hahahahaha!!!!

3.  While meeting Ae Ra in the elevator, sneakingly moved to the back to grab hold of her hand behind her boss.

4. Meaningful looks being past to each other only the two of them can understand.

As to kissing scenes, for this drama, the couple was only seen 2x kissing in the whole 16 episodes. So watch for it.

All in all, this show filled my heart with much warmth.

Some beautiful quotes from the drama.

"The reason why wives like receiving anniversary gifts, not because they are expensive gifts. Through that one item, remembering that day, and for preparing that gift, she's thankful for her husband's heart who was thinking of his wife.The thing that makes a wife the happiest is her husband. A husband's heart." - Ae Ra 

“Trust is like a piece of paper: once it’s wrinkled, it can’t become perfect again.” - Jung Woo

“Is marriage something you’re forced to do? Marriage and divorce are decisions. I’ll take responsibility.” - Ae-ra, comforting her mother.

So before I end this blog, a sneak peak with the OST from the drama.

   


I totally recommend this Kdrama to watch.  =)

Personal Taste(개인의 취향) and Coffee Prince(커피프린스 1호점)

So here's the two drama with a very nice story and ending, but has a similar theme. - A misunderstanding of the other person's love preference but falling in love with that person anyway even if he/she is gay or lesbian. And willing to be anything to be by that person's side.

It because of these that actor or actress shot to stardom. Very good story telling and unforgettable dialogue.
I have to hand it to the actors for showing the complex feelings in handling the role. They were very well played. So here's the roll call:

A. For Coffee Prince
a. Gong Yoo - Leading man. Not so handsome guy, but he will grow on you the more you watch the drama, very good acting in showing the conflict of emotions of a playboy falling for a man.

b. Yoon Eun-hye - Leading lady. She was the reason why I watched the drama in the first place, already knew her from Princess Hours and i like her acting. But it was quite nice to see her in a very different role.


B. For Personal Taste:
c. Lee Min Ho - Leading man. I thought this guy was all looks, but it's good to see he can act and very well. You can vividly see the emotion a person is going through with his delivery of scene and lines. This guys is not too hard to like as he already has the looks.

d. Son Ye-Jin - Leading lady. My first time seeing this girl in this drama, but her acting is quite cute and adorable.

And bravo to the story/scriptwriter of these drama.

Personal Taste - Kim Hee-ju
Coffee Prince - Lee Jung-ah and Jang Hyun-joo


Below are some of my favorite scenes:

The basketball game:

The love triangle between Eun Chan, Han Sung and Han Gyul




And a summary of the emotions that our main lead went through



And so far, this is my all time favorite of a couple getting back scene



The popular "game over" kiss:




And what's totally funny is this scene:




Same concept, different takes on the subject matter but nicely written.

Faith (신의)

This is one Kdrama that has a good storyline and good ending, for my opinion that is.  =)

taken from fanpop

What interested me with this drama was off course it was historical base, and that I heard that some was quite surprise at Lee Min Ho's look at the end of the episode. But what really got me hooked was watching this couple:

taken from Jooni

King Gongmin and Queen Noguk, the way their relationship develop is quite endearing, it is my first time seeing this two but I am totally engross with their acting, they portrayed their characters well and they look good together.  =)

I looked up King Gongmin's history and was delighted to read that it was documented that the King loved his Queen, the sad part was when his wife died due to childbirth he lost his mind. King Gongmin never married again after Queen Noguk passed away.


Here's a few things I spotted while watching this drama:

1. The King (played by Ryu Deok Hwan) and Queen (played by Park Se Young) - as I mentioned before the dynamics of this two are quite played well.

2. Dr. Jang Bin! His character is one I also adored who never showed any weakness even when there is a disease or poison he could not cure, he was very poised and will try to make a way to solve the problem, so I was totally sad when his character was taken out, I read that the writer had to do that coz of some copy rights issues, you can read it all here -> jooni.com

And there was another news, Phillip Lee who played the character needed an eye surgery, so I guess there are more than 1 reason why his character was taken out. Eye surgery here -> dramabeans.com and thatmanlp

3. Woodalchi  Daek-man played by 윤균상. Cute and funny guy but ever trustworthy. I like this character also.

I search for some info on this guy on the net but it seems there isn't much, I think this is his debut.


Scenes that really made me cry:

1. When the young King Chungjeong dies in Choi Young's arms due to the poison he drank to save him. And Choi Young had to stab him so he won't feel the pain of the poison.

2. When Queen Noguk and King Gongmin lost their baby due to the herb's given by Gongmin's shrewd uncle Duk Heung.

It's nice that the drama really incorporated the depiction in line with their history. So even though the lives and story most of it in the drama are fabricated, we can learn a little bit about some historical facts while watching it. This is definitely one of my favorite Kdramas.

And if you are not Korean, you're probably unfamiliar as to who the characters are in the Korean History so here is some background history on the characters in this drama:

1. King Gongmin ang Queen Noguk relationship was documented as very close and took them really a long time to conceived. So he was advise to take a 2nd wife, but he refused. When his wife died of complications on childbirth he lost his mind.  He did succeed in releasing Goryeo from Yuan ruling. And began reforms in his government and reclaiming some of the Goryeo provinces with the help of General Choi Young. 
    - His  high official Jo II-shin tried to take over the government but General Choi was the one who thwart it.
    - He preceded King Chungjeong who was only 12 years old, the boy king was later on killed.

2.  Choi Young belongs to a noble family, as in the drama, he is a descendant of Choe Yoo Chung, the Grand Scholar of Jibheyonjeon, the Royal Academy. And follow his father's sayings: Treat gold as if they are rocks.
    - He was greatly favored by King Gongmin.
    - He was later on defeated by Yi Seong-gye (one of his Generals) and beheaded.
    - It was said that he loved his wife very much, who's last name is Yoo and would not leave her side. And they are buried side by side. Further info and a video clip can be found at Faith facebook.

My thoughts:

In order to play the game, you have to have something of value which the other person really wants and to win it, it must be something that they badly need.

If a person sat on the King's Chair, is he a King? But if nobody trust the King, is he still a King?

Quotable Quotes:

But He knows what sense of shame is. That is why I chose him. I decided to protect him before he becomes dulled by the sense of shame. - Choi Young, on why he supported the King (Faith).

You asked me to teach you how to fight.
A King is not the one who should fight. A king is the one who should have people. I'll do the fighting. - Choi Young (Captain of the King's Body guard-Faith)

And before we end this, here is the picture of Lee Min Ho in an older version.  Enjoy.  =)

Marry Him If You Dare/Mirae's Choice (미래의선택)

I was searching the internet for any latest drama of Lee Dong Gun, and was delited to learn that he has a drama with Yoon Eun-Hye, so off course I watched this Korean Drama irregardless of the ending.

The start of the story is really interesting and curious, it made you want to keep watching because of the mystery behind the future Mirae going back to the past, what exactly happened that made her want to go back and change her future?

The second leading man is not so bad either, Jung YongHwa who just started his acting career as he is the leader of the CNBlue band, I think this is his third Drama so far and to compare it with the previous drama his acting has gotten better in this show.

The Lee Dong Gun has a different character here, first time I saw him in a bad manner sort of way guy, though I am unsure if it fits him, so far he has not lost touch with how he can portray his role. As this is his first Drama after 7 years of hiatus.

So Yoon Eun-Hye plays the past Mirae.
Lee Dong Gun plays Kim Shin the supposed future husband of Mirae
and Jung Yong-Hwa play Park Se-joo the billionare who fell in love with Mirae.

*Spoiler Alert!*

So here's my little opinion on the show, I love that they I got to see Mirae in a wedding dress with Kim-Shin at the start of the show.

Both look really lovely together.  And I love the couple's flashbacks!

from Mwave site

And how this flashbacks also made me curious as to what exactly happened to them, why her future self is so adamant to change it.

I love the interaction between Mirae and Kim-Shin, but you tend to love the second lead more due to how he takes very good care of Mirae. As he was always at Mirae's side when she is down and always say the right kind of words to her. Hehehehe!!! I guess that is why they are called second leads huh?

I love how little gestures and skinship between Mirae and Se-joo is soo meaningful to Se-joo shi.

I also liked how the story portrayed the two boys, and the second lead wasn't that too clingy or hard headed. Also the second leading lady wasn't too meddling in the relationship but helped keep the suspense as to the future Mirae.

I specially liked this portion at the revolving glass door, really suspenseful as to who she chose to met.

Due to the parallel universe theory, unfortunately the ending has some loop holes, I would have preferred if one of the agents narrated what happened in the end and showing us pictures of past Mirae and future Mirae.

I liked that Yoo-Kyung had a very good career ending and does not need to relay on a man to pull her out of poverty. And Kim-Shin having to get out of the contract with NTN without paying a cent to them.
But I think Se-joo has a poor ending as we do not know if he can manage the YBS after he gets back.

Wrap up of the story wasn't that good.

So this is my alternate ending.  Purely made by my imagination ok?


At the end, when Mirae is back to her current time and universe, an agent came by to give her the pandora box (instead of her digging it up). And told Mirae that it was from herself from the alternate universe.

As she opened it we see a picture of  Mirae with the baby and Se-joo with Mirae together.

A happy ending on both parallel universe. Wahahahahaha!!!!

Getting Hooked on Kpop and Kdramas

Lately I've been watching a lot of Korean Dramas and loving the songs from Korea, specially their love songs, the lyrics are very meaningful and refreshing.  I've been wondering why Kdramas appeal so much to a lot of us. And I've thought of the following:

1. They convey a lot of our feelings, specially the ones that we hide or wish to hear. So here's a few I have come across from watching too many Kdramas:

This was from the Kdrama "Youre Beautiful", the 2nd Leading Man scolding the Leading Man.

2. I specially love their dialogues, or how they piece events together, sample is the mysterious Key in the Kdrama BIG :

*Spoiler!*
No one knew what it was, KKJ thought it was the key to the newlyweds house, only to found out it wasnt, realizing the truth, he hid it from Da Ran, not wanting her to know as she will get hurt. Unfortunately, as Da ran was riding with her parents she listen to their conversation (I luv their dialogue).

Mom: If he often visited our house, there would be no need to share.

Which gave Da ran a flash back about the black tea which she read in Yoon-Jae's celphone - "With that, we don't need to half it anymore, right?"

Da-ran (asking Mom): If a person goes in and out of the house often, what do we need to give them?

Mom: Then should I give son-in-law a key to our house?

BANG! and that pieces the puzzle on the mysterious key that Yoon Jae had.

And the next is the scene KKJ and Da-Ran running towards the apartment of the other girl and the two of them fight at the door.

KKJ telling her - "handle it properly then!"
Telling her to be tough and have the spine to face the other girl.

KKJ showing how much his concern for Gil Da Ran.

3. While watching the drama, I can't help notice the songs they will be playing, and that got me hooked to listening to Korean musics, and learning the meaning only makes me want to sing the song. =)

Though not all Kdramas have a happy ending or good wrap up of the story, there are still a lot of decent genre of stories you can choose from. The summary and reviews you can find online for any Kdramas is readily available online so I think it's not so hard to chose which Kdrama to watch. Just google it. =)

Enjoy!

Gong Yoo (공유)

My Personal take on this guy.  =)

I forgot where I got this image from. Pls leave a comment
if you are the owner

The first time I saw this guy was a few years back, I think sometime in 2007 from his Korean Drama - "The First Shop of Coffee Prince" and the only reason why I watched it was because of his partner Yoon Eun-hye. Which I find the girl rather pretty, when I first saw him in that show I was a bit disappointed as he was not that handsome for me. But as the story progress, I realize he really portrayed his role well and is really a good actor, showing emotions like it was real. By the middle of the show, I admired the guy, then when the drama ended I found out he was already entering the mandatory military service required for all men in Korea. So I forgot about him as it would take them 2 years to finish this task.


Fast forward today, I was watching some Korean Drama's again and while I was researching the net, his latest film showed up in my search which  is - "Dogani" or "The Crucible" and was released in the international market with the title changed to "Silenced". It was quite a heart wrenching to see even with just the Trailer.

taken from tumbler site

Due to the Korean response to this film, it made me research more on the subject. And after what I read and saw, it made me admire the guy more, was he not only has very good acting skills but his principles is also commendable, as I watch a lot of his interviews and read a dozen articles, though this is only a minimal glimpse of  his inner self, at least it was good to know he has a good personality and so far is behaving well as an actor.

What really draw me in was how well he can carry his role, though he does not have that overall handsome face, but because of his acting it will really win you over.  So this got me started watching some of his older movies and drama's. And surprised! Surprised! It seems even the first time he debuted in front of the camera his acting skills was already good.

I've been watching his movies a lot lately, any of his drama that I could find online, just to see this guy act. And it made me realize the older he gets the more handsome he looks.

He is also known to always have good chemistry with his leading ladies, in one of the interviews I saw, he said he tries to make his co-star as comfortable with him as possible. Maybe that explain why he has good chemistry with them on screen?

It's good to know he has already an International base fan. So I guess we will be seeing him more or I'll be seeing him more online. Hoping to see his upcoming film, his very first action film - "The Suspect" .

So here's a few link if you guys can't get enough of him also.

Facebook - Gong Yoo Fan page Global

He isn't on any social media sites, as there is a lot of impostors out there, so you can't email him or give him messages on tweeter.

For a full listing of his appearance in TV, Drama and movies, click here -> Soompi forum

There is also an address where you can send your message to him. So good luck!

By the way if you are interested in reading the news on the Dogani movie you can view it here -> Soompi.


So far the following are the ones I have seen:

1.  Love Manipulation: Cyrano (2013) - cameo appearance episode 9

from beatusCorner

This is only a cameo appearance, and it is quite short. Don't expect to see him all the time in this series.

2. Big (2012) - He played the lead role, the story is quite amusing, and the plot is kinda nice but the they did a bad wrap up for this K Drama unfortunately. You might not be satisfied with the ending.

Total of 16 Episodes. This is also the first Drama role he played after his mandatory service in the Army. He was speaking a few English line in this Drama.

3. Finding Mr. Destiny (2010) - Played a major role in this Movie though the focus of the story is more on the girl. But the plot of this story is quite good. I'd recommend that you watch it.



4. The First Shop of Coffe Prince(2007) - Leading Man, this is the Drama that took off his career and solidify his image as a Leading Man.

from LittleMisshoo

17 Episodes, very good plot on the story and ending is quite cute.

5. Ryu Ga Gotoku - A film adaptation of a Video Game, this is a Japanese film by the way, His role here was a South Korean Hit Man, and he appeared I think near the end of the film. First time I saw him sport a gun.

He was not speaking in Japanese when he was saying his lines. He was speaking in Korean language.

6. One Fine Day (2006) - Played the Leading Man, the plot is nice - he became siblings with the girl due to their parents getting married, but due to a accident they both became orphans and was placed in the same orphanage but was adopted by 2 different families so got separated. Though they did find each other eventually after 15 years, it was still not easy to be together. Ending is good with this story. He had some very long line speaking in English in this Drama. Total of 16 Episodes.

from Hancinema

7. She's on Duty(2005) - He played a mysterious guy in this Movie, the story is good but it didn't explain who he was working for, very funny and has a good ending. The story does not focus on him but more on the leading lady. But the best part is he did a lot of action moves here. And said a line in Japanese.

from Asian Drama Aficianado

8. Hello Teacher (2005) - Also known as Biscuit Teacher and Star Candy. Finally given a lead role (his first after always appearing as supporting cast), he was the problem child - story focuses on him and the Teacher. Plot of the story is very nice, love the ending of this Drama. I don't find the leading lady pretty here. Total of 16 Episodes.

9. S Diary (2004) - In this movie there are 3 leading man, in the sequence of the story, he is the 3rd love of the girl, the movie is about the girl's journey on love and finding her self.

From scratch-strain

10. Spy Girl (2004) - Played the leading man. A very funny movie about a spy who was looking for an agent that embezzled the government money, and while in undercover duty met a college young man who had a huge crush on her. Very nice story and nice ending. But the story focuses on the girl.

from Hancinema

It was good to see that he had a pretty leading lady here.

11. My Tutor Friend (2003) - He played a supporting role here, the main leading man here is Kwon Sang Woo and the reason why I watched the movie, I was quite surprise to find Gong Yoo here. But the story plot is funny and ending is funny.

He has a few more earlier drama's, but mostly it's supporting role. I haven't gotten around to watching his more early exposure to the Entertainment world. Having a hard time finding English Subs. =)