kdrama - Super Rookie

official website:
http://www.imbc.com/broad/tv/drama/superrookie/

drama title:
신입사원 / Super Rookie

main cast:
Eric Mun as Kang Ho
Han Ga In as Lee Mi-ok
Oh Ji Ho as Park Bong-sam
Lee So Yeon as Suh Hyun-ah

synopsis:
jobless guy applies for position with a top company, and against all odds, makes it past the candidate selection process (computer error played a key part, as does other things like office politics). he then sets out to do his best as a rookie employee, even as the company staff in the know about the error tries to get rid of him. finally, even he finds out he was selected by fluke, but sticks on cos he wanted to support his family.

my score: 6 out of 10.
it was a pretty hard drama to watch, with the number of impossible situations against him and how he manages to get out of them. then again, who gets a 100/100 score in the job selection exam? the only way is to suspend your logic and just watch the drama.

why you should watch it:
you shouldn't even though it's Eric and it's his charisma that holds the whole drama together. Well, you might wanna watch it for Han Ga In. Lee So Yeon is excellent eye candy as well.

kdrama - Phoenix

official website:
http://content.mbc.co.kr/english/drama/04/1670417_25446.html

drama title:
불새 / Phoenix oso known as Firebird

main cast:
Lee Seo-jin as Jang Sae-hoon
Lee Eun-joo as Lee Ji-eun
Jung Hye-young as Yoon Mi-ran
Eric Mun as Seo Jung-min

synopsis:
in summary, love reversal story.

poor student meets rich girl. they fall in love but break up ultimately cos guy has too much pride, and girl cannot last in poor living conditions. after some time, girl has become poor due to death of father and takes up menial job to make ends meet, while student is now a successful businessman. nevertheless, she is still an incredible cutie and ends up having both her ex and a new rich guy going after her.



as for the phoenix bit, i am still in the blur about how it's connected to the story.

my score: 10 out of 10.
it's not too soppy, even if there are tragic scenes, and some really crazy scenes, but you feel like there is such an array of people in love, realistically portrayed. half the time you dont know who you should be rooting for. love changes everything. or does it?

why you should watch it:
the last drama the fabulous Ms Lee did before she committed suicide, which started the chain of korean celeb suicides. ok, that's not the real reason. the reason is cos all 4 main actors did a great job. even eric who was acting in his first drama. if you're a guy, you'd watch it for Ms Lee, period. she was great as a young love-struck girl and a serious older woman. and she was only 24!

kdrama - Sungkyunkwan Scandal

official website:
http://www.kbs.co.kr/drama/scandal/

drama title:
성균관 스캔들 / Sungkyunkwan Scandal

main cast:
Micky Yoochun as Lee Sun Joon
Park Min Young as Kim Yoon Hee
Song Joong Ki as Goo Yong Ha
Yoo Ah In as Moon Jae Shin

synopsis:
gender bender in ancient korea. ordinary girl wears male attire in order to support family, using her brains to help scholars at the nearby all male academy (for public office - besides, girls are not allowed to go to school) cheat. she ends up enrolled in the same school, and falling for one of the boys. who also falls for her, initially thinking he is gay (a bit like coffee prince). along they way, they form a quartet (3 boys, 1 girl) and solve school situations as well as political ones.

my score: 8 out of 10.
some of the situations are really awesomely resolved. just when you think its a no-win situation, they come up with some brilliant solutions. also, while the girl is not very manly, they give the excuse that the 'guy' is girly looking and as a result, it works!

why you should watch it:
um, to see micky really act? lol. of course, there's tons of eye candy (for the girls) since the trio of guys are very good looking, and some of the other male students of the school too! but if you are a guy, all you want is to feast your eyes on that one rose. ok, i think most guys would be very attracted to the top courtesan who has a double role in this drama. but the real reason to watch it is cos the situations that come up are awesome and the resolution is even more awesome.

dorama - Ikemen Desu Ne

official website:
http://www.tbs.co.jp/Ikemen_Desune2011/

drama title:
Ikemen Desu Ne [美男ですね]
oso known as he's beautiful (japanese version)

main cast:
Takimoto Miori as Sakuraba Yoshio/Miko (role played by Park Shin Hye)
Tamamori Yuta as Katsuragi Ren (role played by Jang Guen Suk, who cameos in 1 episode!)
Fujigaya Taisuke as Fujishiro Shu (role played by Jung Yong Hwa)
Yaotome Hikaru as Hongo Yuki (role played by Lee Hongki)

synopsis:
same storyline in general as the korean original drama, but with some changes (after all 16 episodes reduced to 11) as well as some different interpretations of the situations.

my score: 5 out of 10.
very sad, cos what they cut out are all the singing and idol group issues, reducing it to mostly a romance drama. as a result, you dont feel there is an idol band, even though they followed the same concept as the korean version in using singers to act the drama (or actors who can sing).

why you should watch it:
just cos you watched the korean version and want to see what the japanese version is all about. personally, it's a major letdown. i'd rather re-watch the korean version!