Tag: Kim Namjoon

Review: Dear My Friends

Posted July 7, 2022 by Rowena in Reviews | 0 Comments

Dear My Friends

Starring: Go Hyun Jung, Go Doo Shim, Kim Hye Ja, Park Won Sook, Na Moon Hee, Youn Yuk Jung, Jo In Sung
Year Released: 2016
Number of Episodes: 16
Genre: Drama, Family, Romance
Country: South Korea
Where I Watched It: Netflix
Recommended By: Kim Namjoon

Park Wan is a translator who is constantly pulled by her mother, Jang Nan Hee, to hang out with her elder friends, Jo Hee Ja, Moon Jung Ah, Oh Choong Nam, and Lee Yeong Won. The plot revolves around the friends’ twilight years as they are rediscovering themselves through relationships and family, the struggles they face due to their old age, and their life journey that they share with Park Wan in the hope she would write a novel about them.

RM recommended this drama and though I normally wouldn’t have chosen to watch it for myself, I’m so glad that I gave it a try. This was one of those dramas that kicked you in the gut and made you sit up and take notice of yourself and your own life. There are life lessons in this one that spoke to me, as a person who has had to take care of aging parents. It’s never easy and your parents will have you wishing for peace at every turn. Watching this show made me remember the many times that I drove my Mom and her friends around while they laughed and had the best time. I never wanted to drive them but I always had the best time while I was with them.

This group of old ladies was no different from my crazy Samoan Mom and her friends. They were always getting themselves into some trouble or other and always calling me to come and pick them up. So I empathized with Park Wan. Wan was battling emotional baggage all fronts. From leaving her boyfriend back in Europe, to her running all over South Korea picking up and cleaning up her Mom’s group of friends messes, Wan lived a very busy and emotionally exhausting life. Add to that everything else that pops off during the course of this drama, my frustration with Wan’s character slowly turned into admiration as each episode passed.

The Story

The story follows an older group of friends as they live their lives. Each character is going through something different but equally relatable. They’re all growing older and some are dealing with neglectful children, declining health, being fed up with their spouses, and loneliness. Each character brings something different to the table and through it all, you grow close to each and every single one of them. From each of the different women in the friends group, to their kids, and mostly, to Wan. Wan was the kid that was there for all of the old ladies and she had a special relationship with each of them. They were family to her and she was there for them the same way that they were there for her. The story is woven pretty tight and before you know what’s what, you’ll be hooked.

The Cast

A huge chunk of this cast was familiar to me but the ones that weren’t, are familiar now. I adored each and every single one of these characters from main to supporting and I thought that each of them really shined and did a fantastic job bringing their characters to life. I cried and I laughed, and I felt all of the feelings because these actors and actresses are really good at their jobs. Not too long after I finished this show, BTS came to Las Vegas and I swear I saw my favorite halmoni at the airport after the concert. I was struck mute after seeing her rush from the car on the street to the airport. She was there with two young kids that I assumed were her grandkids but I had the biggest smile on my face because I loved her character in this show so much.

Final Thoughts

Overall, this drama was a great one. It has everything that I love and adore in a show. A charming cast, stories that come to life with every episode, and some life lessons that I apply to my own life. This show made me want to be a better daughter to my Dad. It made me glad for the time that I spent with my Mom and her friends when she was alive. It also made me want to listen more and talk less. My Dad is full of stories from his life in Samoa, to the beginning of his life here in the States, and I’m determined more than ever, thanks to this show, to make sure that I record those stories so that I can keep the memories alive for our future generations.

Through Wan and all of her old lady friends, we are treated to a heartwarming drama that will leave you appreciating the people in your life and want to hug your older relatives closer and tighter before they’re gone. You will feel all of the feels in this drama and you’ll be glad that you watched it when all is said and done. I definitely recommend.

The OST

Final Rating

via GIPHY

4 out of 5

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Eye Candy Friday: Kim Namjoon

Posted September 17, 2021 by Rowena in Features | 4 Comments

Eye Candy Friday is something that I’ve been doing since I first started my personal blog way back in 2003. That first personal blog is long gone but I’ve never really grown out of the eye candy phase. I’m always up for some eye candy. Whether it’s a character from a book (male or female, I don’t discriminate), a character from a movie or TV Show, if I loved them and want to gush about how much I loved them, you’ll find them here. Thanks for coming along for the ride.

This week is a repeat feature and I wanted to feature this particular guy because he celebrated his birthday a few days ago and I just felt like featuring him again. Here’s what I wrote about him in my previous post on him and it still stands now so I’m going to repeat it all here.

Every member of BTS is special but RM, he’s just a smidge more special to me because of the heavy burden he took upon himself at such a young age. He led 6 young boys (a few, who were minors at the time) from South Korea into an uncertain future with a company that was on the brink of bankruptcy. He was just a baby himself but he worked through problem after problem between both the company and the boys and between the boys themselves.

He worked tirelessly to lead his team through obstacle after obstacle with a big ol’ chip on his shoulder. He made mistakes, he learned from them and he faced them head-on while making sure to acknowledge them and truly learn from them. He led his team through interview after interview in different countries all over the world, because he was the only person that could speak English but English was still his second language. He stood his ground and made a place for himself and for his team in the industry and through it all, he was still incredibly humble.

He is a great role model for younger generations, but even for older ones too. I love that through everything he’s been through, he’s still just…Namjoon. He’s incredibly patient and you can see the love that he has for his team and the love that his team has for him and that is why I’m featuring him today. He’s just…the best and I’m so glad that he didn’t give up because we are all blessed to have RM in our lives.

Until next week…enjoy!

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The BTS Listen: RM

Posted June 9, 2021 by Rowena in Features | 4 Comments

I started listening to BTS albums from the beginning of their musical journey and this series will feature my thoughts on each of those albums. There are a lot of albums but there is also a lot of solo work that I’m interested in covering here on the blog so I decided to just name this feature, The BTS Listen because I’m an organization nerd and things need to be well organized for me or I get itchy.

I’m completely caught up on all of BTS’s albums so I’m moving on to their solo work. I’ll go in order of release date and go through their Soundcloud and just listen to all of them. I’m ready to listen to the music that shapes each member. They’re all so different as solo artists than who they are in the group.

This week, I’ll be featuring RM’s first solo mixtape album. Let’s go to it, shall we?

RM

Release Date: March 20, 2015
Track List: Voice, Do You, Awakening, Monster, Throw Away, Joke, God Rap, Rush, Life, Adrift, I Believe
Favorite Song: Do You
Favorite Line: Yeah man i told you that im a monster, That why i be rappin non stop, I do want your hands at the concert, Want your fuckin damn erry hands at the concert,
Hit me

RM is the debut mixtape by RM. It was released on March 20, 2015, with “Awakening” serving as the mixtape’s title track.

There are eleven tracks on this debt mixtape that RM released back in 2015 and I’m ready to dig right in. My favorite rapper in the group is Suga but that’s more because his style of rapping is the style that I vibe with the most. I do really enjoy both RM and J Hope so I’m looking forward to working my way through their solo stuff. Starting with RM’s solo debut, RM.

This solo album kicks off with a track called Voice. While reading the lyrics and listening to the song, it sounds like a self-reflection song. RM is remorseful about some regrettable past actions and I felt it. I even cried a little listening to this one. I like it. Immediately following Voice, we get Do You and that song is fan-freaking-tastic. The beat, the lyrics, RM did his thing on this one and I also really enjoyed the music video.

Awakening is the next song and I think it was the perfect title for that song. The lyrics, the tone of the song, and the beat? Yeah, it all felt like we were witnessing RM’s awakening and I was here for it. Another fantastic song. Next up is Monster and oooohh RM is a mother fucking monster for this one. He is straight talking his shit and I love it. Listening to this song, reading the lyrics, and remembering his history makes me admire him all the more.

Throw Away is the next song and it’s got a rock feel to it. It’s very aggressive but still very good. It’s probably my least favorite song off the album but not because it’s bad, I just really like the other songs so far. Next up is Joke. Okayyyy RM. We get it, you are really good at what you do and to all of them haters out there who gave him shit when BTS was just getting started? Haha, I wonder how dumb they feel now? I’m glad that RM got to get all of the stuff off his chest because my guy was mad mad at everyone. I’m not mad though because he produced some great songs as a result.

God’s Rap is a hidden track that isn’t on Soundcloud so I didn’t listen to that one even though it’s the seventh song on this album. I’ll find it eventually and listen to it. Following that song is Rush featuring Krizz Kaliko. I really like this song. I liked hearing their different styles of rapping and the song is overall a very catchy song with a good beat and great lyrics. A winner for sure.

Life is up next and it’s a slower song that is mainly about just that…life. I enjoyed the slower vibe of this song though it’s not one of my favorites on the album. Adrift is another slower song where RM does a little of that sing rap that Drake and J Hope does. I’m used to hearing J Hope do this but I did really like hearing RM sing a little bit while still rapping as well. The last song on the album is called I Believe that features the rest of the guys and this song is different from what I’m used from BTS but it was great and I enjoyed it.

RM has evolved as an artist over the years so he’s not as angry as he was in both BTS and his earlier solo songs. You can tell that he’s learning from his mistake during the making of this album and he’s trying to do better, which is all anyone can ask for. I’m glad that he’s a lot more comfortable in his skin, in his fame, and in his music. This was a great album from beginning to end and even though I didn’t love every song, it was more of a preference thing than the songs being mad. RM is really good at making music and I hope that we get a lot more music from him because I loved this and look forward to hearing more.

Final Thoughts

Loved It

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Eye Candy Friday: Kim Namjoon, RM from BTS

Posted February 19, 2021 by Rowena in Features | 2 Comments



Eye Candy Friday is something that I’ve been doing since I first started my personal blog way back in 2003. That first personal blog is long gone but I’ve never really grown out of the eye candy phase. I’m always up for some eye candy. Whether it’s a character from a book (male or female, I don’t discriminate), a character from a movie or TV Show, if I loved them and want to gush about how much I loved them, you’ll find them here. Thanks for coming along for the ride.

This week, I’m featuring Kim Namjoon, but known as RM from BTS. RM is the last member of the group that I’m featuring here on the blog. I saved him for last because this guy is the most special of all members and you save the best for last. Every member is special but RM, he’s just a smidge more special because of the heavy burden he took upon himself at such a young age. He led 6 young boys (a few, who were minors at the time) from South Korea into an uncertain future with a company that was on the brink of bankruptcy. He was just a baby himself but he worked through problem after problem between both the company and the boys and between the boys themselves.

He worked tirelessly to lead his team through obstacle after obstacle with a big ol’ chip on his shoulder. He made mistakes, he learned from them and he faced them head-on while making sure to acknowledge them and truly learn from them. He led his team through interview after interview in different countries all over the world, because he was the only person that could speak English but English was still his second language. He stood his ground and made a place for himself and for his team in the industry and through it all, he was still incredibly humble.

He is a great role model for younger generations, but even for older ones too. I love that through everything he’s been through, he’s still just…Namjoon. He’s incredibly patient and you can see the love that he has for his team and the love that his team has for him and that is why I’m featuring him today. He’s just…the best and I’m so glad that he didn’t give up because we are all blessed to have RM in our lives.

Here are some of my favorite RM moments in gifs..

Until next week…enjoy!

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