Tag: Gong Yoo

The Wednesday Five: K Movies I Love

Posted December 7, 2022 by Rowena in Features | 0 Comments

I’m a list person. I have a list for every single thing in my life from a to-do list, a list of books that I want to read, a running shopping list, and in the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing different k-entertainment lists that I’ve been keeping track of. You’ll be seeing my top 5 lists of stuff like my current celebrity crushes, my favorite k-drama female protagonists, my favorite k-drama male protagonists, my to-be-watched k-dramas, and you know, stuff like that.

This week’s Wednesday Five will feature five K-Movies I Love. I’ve watched quite a few Korean Movies and the movies listed below are my favorite of the bunch.

1. Midnight Runners

Where to Watch: Viki
Starring: Park Seo Joon, Kang Ha Neul, Sung Dong Il

This movie was hilarious as hell. Like, I really, really loved this movie. I laughed out loud so much that I watched it three more times in the same week. I just couldn’t get enough of it and just thinking about it now brings a smile to my face so if you are in the mood for something fun, definitely give this one a shot.

2. Twenty

Where to Watch: Viki
Starring: Kim Woo Bin, Lee Jun Ho, Kang Ha Neul

This is another fantastic comedy that had me dying the entire time that I was watching it. I laughed from the moment it started to the very last scene. There is much to love about this movie and the friendship between the three main leads was just fantastic. So much love this for this movie.

3. Little Forest

Where to Watch: Amazon Prime
Starring: Kim Tae Ri, Ryu Joon Yeol, Jin Ki Joo

I watched this movie just a couple of weeks ago and really enjoyed it. The movie itself moves at a slow pace but I enjoyed that about the movie. Kim Taeri leads this movie and her character was interesting to me. You can tell that she’s going through something and returns to her hometown to heal and seeing her journey from the lost girl she was when she returned and seeing her figure her shit out day by day was a nice, enjoyable watch and it brought me a lot of comfort with all of the shit up in the air in my own personal life right now.

4. Seobok

Where to Watch: Viki
Starring: Gong Yoo, Park Bo Gum, Jo Woo Jin

Two of my faves head up this movie and I enjoyed the heck out of the entire thing. I’ve watched this one a couple of times because it was just a good watch. I liked seeing both Gong Yoo and Park Bo Gum on the screen together and the story was just one that was easy to fall into and I liked it so much.

5. Silenced

Where to Watch: Netflix
Starring: Gong Yoo, Jung Yu Mi, Kim Hyun Soo

I wouldn’t say that this was a movie that I absolutely loved because of how dark it is but it was a compelling movie. It was a movie that broke my heart and made me so angry but I was glad that I watched it and it’s one that I recommend everyone to check out.

what are some of your favorite k-movies?

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The Wednesday Five: K-Drama Romances

Posted July 20, 2022 by Rowena in Features | 0 Comments

I’m a list person. I have a list for every single thing in my life from a to-do list, a list of books that I want to read, a running shopping list, and in the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing different k-entertainment lists that I’ve been keeping track of. You’ll be seeing my top 5 lists of stuff like my current celebrity crushes, my favorite k-drama female protagonists, my favorite k-drama male protagonists, my to-be-watched k-dramas, and you know, stuff like that.

This week’s Wednesday Five will feature My Favorite K-Drama Romances. When I say k-drama romances, I don’t mean k-dramas that are romances. I’m talking about the romance between two characters in a k-drama. I hope that makes sense. I’m a romantic at heart and will sniff a romance out of everything that I consume so I’m always shipping characters together. Today’s list will be on the k-dramas that made me swoon so hard. Check out my list which is in no particular order.

1. Fight for My Way

My Drama List | Viki
Starring: Park Seo Joon, Kim Ji Won, Ahn Jae Hong

I’m not sure what it is about these two but I absolutely adored their friendship that led to more romance. They were just a lot of fun and their romance had its fair share of dramatics but also had a good amount of swoonworthy moments. Watching these two best friends fall in love with each other was so much fun and just super sweet. I’m a HUGE fan of this drama and an even bigger fan of the romance in this k-drama.

2. Goblin

My Drama List | Viki
Starring: Gong Yoo, Kim Go Eun, Lee Dong Wook

This one might be a little controversial because of the age difference between the main leads in this drama but that didn’t bother me so much because nothing happens between the two while Eun Tak is in high school. Even when she’s grown up, Kim Shin is steadfast in his refusal to date her. She’s his goblin bride and you can tell that she’s very dear to him but the way that he watched over her, cared for her, and took care of her made their slow-burn love just that much more endearing to me. I ugly-cried so much throughout this entire drama but the romance was just *sigh* so stinkin’ good. One of my favorite love stories of all time.

3. Strong Woman Do Bong Soon

My Drama List | Viki
Starring: Park Bo Young, Park Hyung Shik, Ji Soo

Oh goodness, I think this is the romance that I go back to re-watch the most. These two had such great chemistry and they brought their romance to light so freaking well. The way that Min Hyuk loved her on his own for so long before she finally wises up and realizes that he’s the one for her, not Gook Doo. The payoff here was so sweet. I just melted at every turn of this romance because I loved it so much.

4. My Roommate is a Gumiho

My Drama List | Viki
Starring: Jang Ki Yong, Lee Hye Ri, Kang Ha Na

I’ve only seen Lee Hyeri in one other k-drama (the guest star in Record of Youth doesn’t count) and I loved her ass so much. She just has this vibe that I adore so I went into this drama for her but came out, a huge fan of the romance between Woo Yeo and Lee Dam. A lot of my love for their romance was the chemistry between the two actors but I loved the fantasy behind it all as well. They worked through their issues together and I loved that Lee Dam, no matter how things looked, trusted in her love for Woo Yeo to get through everything. Woo Yeo didn’t deserve Lee Dam a lot of the time but he always did better and through it all, I never doubted his love for her. So their romance was one that I cheered for most earnestly.

5. Happiness

My Drama List | Viki
Starring: Han Hyo Joo, Park Hyung Shik, Jo Woo Jin

I adore both of these actors so I was looking forward to the two of them starring in a drama together and they did not disappoint. I loved this friends to lovers romance and I gotta tell you, Park Hyung Shik plays the smitten best friend really well. I loved seeing Sae Bom fall in love with Yi Hyun and I loved seeing Yi Hyun protect and love Sae Bom on his own, quietly until she caught up to him. The way that they were a true team that loved and protected each other against everyone and everything just made me love their romance so much.

So what are some of your favorite romances in k-dramas? Share them in the comments!

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Five K-Drama Actors that I’m Crushing On

Posted July 21, 2021 by Rowena in Features | 4 Comments

I’m a list person. I have a list for every single thing in my life from a to-do list, a list of books that I want to read, a running shopping list, and in the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing different k-entertainment lists that I’ve been keeping track of. You’ll be seeing my top 5 lists of stuff like my current celebrity crushes, my favorite k-drama female protagonists, my favorite k-drama male protagonists, my to-be-watched k-dramas, and you know, stuff like that.

This week’s Wednesday Five will feature my top 5 k-drama actor crushes.

My tastes in celebrity crushes sure have changed since I was younger. I’ve always had a celebrity crush that my poor best friend, Theresa, had to listen to me gush all over all the damn time. My celebrity crushes used to be like Paul Walker, Justin Timberlake, Jordan Knight from New Kids on the Block, haha and just very American guys. These days, you’ll find me crushing and watching all kinds of Korean dramas because of any one of these guys. Also, my celebrity crush lists when it comes to k-dramas change almost weekly. I discover new k-drama crushes all the time so don’t be surprised if you see another one of these posts with a completely new list of crushes.

So, here’s today’s top 5 list. Here is my list of celebrity k-drama crushes.

Check it out.

1. Park Seo Joon

Filmography: Itaewon Class, She Was Pretty, Fight My Way, What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim, Midnight Runners, The Divine Fury

Park Seo Joon was my very first k-drama crush. I watched Itaewon Class in less 24 hours and then proceeded to binge-watch everything that I could get my hands on that starred this fine ass man. I’ve still got some stuff of his to watch but I either can’t find them to watch (legally, anyway) or the storyline isn’t my normal jam so I’ve gotten distracted by something else. I can’t wait for his next project, whether it’s a movie or a drama, because I hella miss watching him in stuff. After months and months of not seeing him in anything new, the little bit that he was in Record of Youth, had me acting like an excited school girl with a crush so seriously, I love this guy.

2. Gong Yoo

Filmography: Goblin, Big, Coffee Prince, Train to Busan, The Suspect, Silenced

While Park Seo Joon was my first k-drama crush, Gong Yoo was my introduction to the world of K-Entertainment. I watched his movie Train to Busan and was like, “Okay, I want more of this. I don’t mind the subtitles and plus, that guy is foine. More of that, please.” And that was that. After discovering k-movies and then after that, k-dramas, I have yet to watch a full American show from beginning to end. So yeah, this guy is responsible for my deep dive into all things Korean entertainment so of course, he’s on my celebrity crush list.

3. Park Hyung Sik

Filmography: Suits, Strong Woman Do Bong Soon, Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth, The Heirs, Juror 8, Two Lights: Relumino

I’ve been crushing so hard on this guy, ever since watching and LOVING Strong Woman, Do Bong Soon. I thought he was such a great character and his performance was fantastic. I also thought he had great chemistry with Park Bo Young. He’s such a good-looking guy but he’s also a great actor. I loved him in Suits, and I really liked him in Juror 8. From what I saw of the show, he was great in Hwarang and he rocked his long hair wig a lot better than Park Seo Joon did. Haha.

4. Lee Je Hoon

Filmography: Move to Heaven, Taxi Driver, Where Stars Land, Signal, Time to Hunt, Collectors

Lee Je Hoon came onto my radar after watching Time to Hunt and what’s funny is that I hated his character for getting his friends in so much trouble. So when I was looking for a suspense drama to watch and came across Signal, I almost didn’t watch it because I was still mad at him from Time to Hunt. I’m glad that I went ahead and watched Signal because I loved him in there and that show led me to Taxi Drive and Move to Heaven. I have loved him in every single thing that I’ve watched of his and I’m looking for more to jump into. Where Stars Land and Tomorrow with You are on my list.

5. Jang Ki Yong

Filmography: My Roommate is a Gumiho, Search: WWW,My Mister, Born Again, Sweet & Sour, The Bad Guys: Reign of Chaos

Jang Ki Yong is my latest k-drama crush. I just recently discovered him when I started My Roommate is Gumiho but I’ve also discovered that he’s been in some dramas that I’ve watched, I just didn’t know who he was and he didn’t play big characters. I can’t believe he was the same guy that I hated in My Mister. He plays the immortal loner role extremely well and I was all out in love with him in every single episode of My Roommate is Gumiho, even when he was being an immortal weirdo. I’m looking forward to digging into his back list as well. Damn, he’s foine as hell!

Do you watch K-Dramas? Who are some of your k-drama crushes right now?

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Review: Goblin

Posted September 17, 2020 by Rowena in Reviews | 2 Comments

Male Lead: Gong Yoo
Female Lead: Kim Go Eun
Secondary Leads: Lee Dong Wook, Yoo In Na
Also Starring: Yook Sungjae, Hwang Seok Jeong, Go Bo Gyeol, Jo Woo Jin, Lee El, Kim So Hyun, Kim Min Jae, Park Hee Bon, Jung Hae In, Kim Byung Chul, Park Hyung Hye, Yeom Hye Ran
Year Released: 2016
Number of Episodes: 16
Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Romance
Country: Korea
Where I Watched It: Viki
Recommended By: TikTok
Watched it For: Gong Yoo, Lee Dong Wook, Kim Go Eun

Is it better to live forever or to finally be able to die? Kim Shin (Gong Yoo) is a decorated military general during the Goryeo Dynasty who is betrayed by the jealous king he served. When Kim Shin is faced with death instead of honor after fighting a mighty battle, God turns Kim Shin into a goblin instead, tasked with protecting certain people from the life of misery. But immortality is wearing on Kim Shin, and he longs to find the prophesied human bride who can set his soul free.

Kim Shin becomes accidental roommates with Wang Yeo (Lee Dong Wook), the grim reaper who ushers people’s souls into the afterlife. Kim Shin’s nephew, Yoo Deok Hwa (Yook Sungjae), is a rebellious chaebol heir whose family has been caretakers of the goblin for many generations. Ji Eun Tak (Kim Go Eun) is a high school senior whose mother was saved from an accident by Kim Shin 19 years ago, and ever since then, she has been able to communicate with the dead. Sunny (Yoo In Na), the owner of a chicken restaurant and Eun Tak’s boss, crosses path with Wang Yeo and becomes smitten with him.

Can Eun Tak be the true “goblin bride” with the power to release Kim Shin from his eternal misery? “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God”, also known as “Goblin”, is a 2016-2017 South Korean drama series directed by Lee Eung Bok. It is written by Kim Eun Sook, who also wrote the very successful dramas: “Heirs” (2013) and “Descendants of the Sun” (2016).

Oh man, this show. I wanted to see this show because I saw so many videos of people recommending it on TikTok (my For You Page is all Korean dramas, all the time) but also because my love of all things Gong Yoo demanded that I watch it. And boy am I glad that I did because holy shit balls, this show was fucking good.

This show follows our fellow Goblin, Kim Shin, who was wronged in his human life that his soul cried out in agony and vengeance. When he’s given the chance to avenge his family, he takes it. In return, he becomes an immortal Goblin who has to protect people from a life of misery. As decade after decade living as an immortal Goblin, protecting strangers from life, starts wearing on him, he starts searching for his Goblin bride. His Goblin bride is the only person that can set his soul free. He has to find her, get her to agree to be his bride so that she can pull the sword that only she can see out of his chest and end his immortality.

Nine hundred years later, he finds her and she’s in freaking high school. LOL. She’s also immature, naive, and living a hard life. Her mother died when she was just a kid and she never knew her father so she’s sent to live with her mother’s sister, who resents the hell out of having to take care of someone else’s kid. When she meets Goblin, she is immediately drawn to him. He’s a lot older than she is but they still strike up a friendship anyway. Goblin becomes a guardian like presence in Eun Tak’s life and she comes to rely on him a great deal. Along with Goblin, Eun Tak gets a Grim Reaper in her corner and together with Goblin and Goblin’s nephew, she gets a family to love and support her but it comes with a lot of work and some chaos.

There’s a lot going on in this show and I was here for it all. From Goblin’s complicated human life, to seeing the way that he spends his immortal days saving people from bad decisions and hard times, to the love that blossomed over the years with Eun Tak, to his budding bromance with the Grim Reaper, to the secondary romance between the Grim Reaper and Eun Tak’s boss, to all of Eun Tak’s ghost friends and their struggles, to the complications when everything starts falling into place and you’re left looking like…

There’s no denying that Gong Yoo is a gorgeous man and there’s also no denying the fact that I wanted to watch this show for his fine ass but though I came into this one strictly for Gong Yoo, I developed a love for Kim Go Eun, Lee Dong Wook, and everyone else. The writing on this show was fantastic and the actors did such a great job of portraying their characters in a way that made me connect with every single one of them. I was on board with everything. I cried happy tears, ugly cried sad tears but through it all, there was nothing but love. The ending had me ugly crying like it was nobody’s business and though I’m put back together before the absolute end, when we’re back in Canada, I felt it was a little rushed. Still, this show was amazing and it’s easily in my top 5 Korean Dramas of all time. I definitely, DEFINITELY recommend.

Listen to the OST

Final Rating

4.75 out of 5

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DNF Round Up: Big, Tempted, & Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth

Posted September 16, 2020 by Rowena in Reviews | 0 Comments

The DNF Round Up is a round-up of the books, movies, and k dramas that I did not finish in the last little while. Sometimes it’ll be a list of all books, all movies, or all k dramas and sometimes it’ll be a mix of the three but if I didn’t finish it, it’ll be featured here. I need the reminder because I be forgetting a whole lot of shit and I’ll start dramas or books that I quit without even knowing. This is my effort in fixing that.

Male Lead: Gong Yoo
Female Lead: Lee Min Jung
Secondary Lead: Shin Won Ho
Also Starring: Bae Suzy, Baek Sung Hyun, Jang Hee Jin, Shin Ji Soo
Year Released: 2012
Number of Episodes: 16
Number of Episodes Watched: 11
Genre: Contemporary, Fantasy, Romance
Country: Korea
Where I Watched It: Viki
Recommended By: Gong Yoo
Who I Watched It For: Gong Yoo

18-year-old Kang Gyung-Joon’s spirit suddenly finds itself in the body of 30-year-old Seo Yoon Jae. Seo-Yon-Jae is a successful doctor and engaged to high school teacher Gil Da-Ran. Gil Da-Ran just so happens to be the teacher of 18-year old Kang Gyung-Joon. More problems ensue when 30-year-old Seo Yoon Jae falls in love with another woman.

I should have read a blurb about what this drama was about. I only started watching it because it stars Gong Yoo (because, *swoon*) but ugh, I hate student/teacher romances and this one plays with that trope. I didn’t enjoy it, at all. So our main character is Gil Da Ran and she’s a teacher. She’s engaged to a doctor that has gone cold on her. She’s trying not to think about what that means but he keeps blowing her off so one day, while she’s out for a ride with one of her students (yeah, seriously), she gets a call from her fiance, who wants to meet with her so bad that he’ll come to wherever she is. She tells him where she is and he makes his way to her. While she waits for her fiance, the student leaves and the student and the fiance get into a car accident together and their souls swap. Haha, it sounds ridiculous but I was hooked by this part. So, one of them dies but their souls are still trapped in the other body. So the fiance’ is in a coma in the student’s body and the student is alive and well in the fiance’s body and Gil Da Ran helps the student navigate his life as a 30-year-old doctor even though he’s a 17-year-old high school student. I forget what exact age he is but he’s around that age.

Once they started developing feelings for each other (the student and the teacher), and Gong Yoo’s adult character started turning into a complete douche, I tapped out of this one. I’m not on board this teacher and student love crap and I wasn’t on board with Gong Yoo’s fine ass being a dickface. Haha, yeah that’s why I’m not going to finish this one. Nope, not me.

Will I Go Back and Finish It?

Nope

Male Lead: Woo Do Hwan
Female Lead: Moon Ga Young
Secondary Lead: Joy
Also Starring: Kim Min Jae, Jeon Mi Seon, Han Sunhwa, Joeng Ha Dam, Yeon Woo
Year Released: 2018
Number of Episodes: 32
Number of Episodes Watched: 1
Genre: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance
Country: Korea
Where I Watched It: Viki
Recommended By: Woo Do Hwan
Who I Watched It For: Woo Do Hwan

Kwon Shi-Hyun bets his life on a dangerous game to seduce Eun Tae-Hee. His target is 20-years-old and believes people that are swayed by love are pathetic. After Eun Tae-Hee meets Kwon Shi-Hyun, her view on love changes.

I started this show because of Woo Do Hwan. I had just finished Save Me and adored him in that show so I wanted to keep the Woo Do Hwan party going. Unfortunately, the immature shenanigans that he gets into with his high school friends pissed me off pretty early on so I stopped watching it. I just wasn’t in the mood for teenagers being little shits and ruining people’s lives though I know that Woo Do Hwan’s character grows into a decent chap in the end. That’s why I stopped this one but I’m really interested in seeing Do Hwan in a main lead role so I’ll definitely be back for this one…I’m sure of it.

Will I Go Back and Finish It?

Maybe

Male Lead: Park Seo Jun
Female Lead: Go Ra
Secondary Lead: Park Hyung Sik
Also Starring: Kim Taehyung, Choi Min Ho, Do Ji Han,Choi Yoon Woo, Seo Ye Ji

Year Released: 2016
Number of Episodes: 20
Number of Episodes Watched: 2
Genre: Historical, Romance
Country: Korea
Where I Watched It: Viki
Recommended By: Park Seo Jun
Who I Watched It For: Park Seo Jun

An elite group of young men called Hwarang discover their passions, love and friendship in the turmoil of the Silla Kingdom.

Can you believe that I DNF’d a Park Seo Jun drama? Yeah, I can’t believe it either. But, I did. I wasn’t in the mood for a historical drama and the first couple of episodes of this one were low key boring. All Seo Jun’s character did in the episodes that I watched were yell and fight. When I watched this though, I didn’t know Park Hyung Sik so I didn’t even appreciate him in this. AND V from BTS is in this show too and I didn’t even meet him yet so I know that I’ll be going back to finish this one, I just don’t know when. There’s a great cast for this show so how could I not go back and finish?

Will I Go Back and Finish It?

Probably

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