For those that don't know, most of the popular Corean dramas out there follow a formula: Boy A meets Girl A. They fall in love and have happy happy times together. This is the first phase
However, Girl B wants Boy A and there is a Boy B who wants Girl A too. Through some sort of misunderstanding usually created by Boy B and Girl B, Boy A and Girl A stop seeing each other. Thus, the 2nd phase is filled with longing, miscommunication, misunderstandings, and generally unnecessary drama. It also drags out reeeeeeeallly for too long. Not much plot action happens in here, and this second phase is usually the longest. It usually takes up about 75-80% of total screentime.
The third and final phase is the resolution. This happens in the last episode, in the last 10-30 minutes. Boy A and Girl A get back together and live happily ever after, to the annoyance of Boy B and Girl B.
I guess I'm getting ahead of myself. I should first tell you a lil bit of the intro plot of War of the Pennies, eh? =)
Park Shin Yang plays 금나라 (Geum Nara) which literally translates into "Gold Land". His life, however, doesn't seem to be as auspicious as his name. His father decides to borrow money from a loan shark for his failing business and ends up being buried in debt. The interest payments are so hefty that eventually, he is bankrupt. Loan sharks in Corea are hardcore, sending goons to pester Geum Nara's family. They break up his sister's wedding and hound them so much that Geum Nara's father eventually commits suicide by slitting his wrists with a credit card.
Geum Nara ends up losing everything - his girlfriend, his mother, his father, his respectability, and his job. Eventually he ends up on the streets, homeless and destitute and trying to keep his sister from selling herself in the Night Clubs in that area.
After losing everything to loan sharks, he finally decides making money is worth working with the ones who caused him so much misery. And so the story continues after he decides to make war against the pennies. :P
Anyway, if you have a chance to watch it on YouTube or download it somewhere, you should. There is never a dull moment in this series. I never thought to myself that I was wasting my time, and truly you count the hours until you can watch the next episode. :)
What can I say? I'm infatuated with his voice! :)
Even without great acoustics or audio equipment to adjust his voice, he sounds fabulous! =)
If you guys know of any other fantastic live performers, please let me know! I'm always looking to expand my musical collection.
I don't know if you guys are familiar with Kim Bum Soo. He's this freakin' awesome live singer. Seriously, the guy sounds exactly the same if not better while performing live as he does on CD. (You can't say that about many singers these days... *cough cough* Paris Hilton *cough cough*)
While watching the past couple of seasons of American Idol, I had to admit there were some great voices, but I wondered why there weren't more of my peoples. I mean, we love to sing soulful, sorrowful songs and we can do it marvelously with our mellifluous voices.Case in point, Kim Bum Soo. Go watch his "Bogoshipda Live" video on Youtube. You won't regret it.
The lyrics are also so romantic and poetic. Here are the Lyrics in Corean. Might do a translation later if my brain cells are capable... :P
Title: 보고 싶다 - Missing you
아무리 기다려도 난 못가 바보처럼 울고 있는 너의 곁에
상처만 주는 나를 왜 모르고 기다리니 떠나가란 말야
보고 싶다 보고 싶다 이런 내가 미워질만큼
울고 싶다 내게 무릎 꿇고 모두 없던 일이 될 수 있다면
미칠 듯 사랑했던 기억이 추억들이 너를 찾고 있지만
더 이상 사랑이란 변명에 너를 가둘 수 없어 이러면 안되지만 죽을만큼 보고 싶다
보고 싶다 보고 싶다 이런 내가 미워질만큼
믿고 싶다 오는 길이라고 너를 위해 떠나야만 한다고
미칠 듯 사랑했던 기억이 추억들이 너를 찾고 있지만
더 이상 사랑이란 변명에 너를 가둘 수 없어 이러면 안 되지만
죽을만큼 보고 싶다 죽을만큼 잊고 싶다
[aka Catch-up =P]
Vox is not my first home in my blogging career. Xanga is the one that took my online-journalling virginity, followed by a brief (and somewhat tepid) fling with LiveJournal.
I guess the reason why I left Xanga is somewhat akin to why I would dump the men in my life; I got bored. Something was wrong in my bones, and a gut feeling told me I wasn't happy.
Maybe I just am not meant to be monogamous, even with a blog! =P
Anyway, for those of you that knew me in my other blogging life, here are some updates.
- I left the corporate bioinformatics/research field to pursue my new passion. I am now a nursing student! Keep your eyes peeled... I may be the one giving you a sponge-bath in the future.
- I may be selected to blog about my nursing experiences for my school. Hey, all that time on Xanga helped me out! It wasn't a total waste of time at all =P
- My school also "makes" us write journal entries only readable by our clinical instructors... which I don't
object to, of course. =D I get points to do something which I normally
do for nothing! Yay~
- For once in my life, I am completely not commitment-phobic. I have been cured of my Runaway Bride Syndrome. I think. =)
- My best friend's life resembles a Corean soap opera and, although part of me is envious of all the excitement, I wouldn't trade the bf away for any of it.
- My parents bought a motel in the West Kootenays (in British Columbia, Canada), and I have temporarily relocated here for the summer.
- I'm not normally attracted to white guys, but being surrounded by a whole bunch of them has kind of turned me to the other meat. The white meat. =P Especially if they look like Chris Daughtry! (I know I'm in a relationship, but I can look still, can't I? =D)
The only thing constant in my life, aside from my constant crushing on bad boys of any race, is RiceBowlJournals.com. I think it's a community I keep coming back to time after time, and it calls to me for some unknown reason. If you haven't been on it, check it out, especially the forums.
(Carlos, if you read this, do I get anything for shamelessly plugging RBJ? =D hehe)
I will be in Seville two weeks.
I was reluctant to see this movie in the theater when it first came out because it seemed like a kiddie movie. After watching it on DVD, I can tell you right now that this movie is not for kids. There is no happy ending in this fairy tale and it is too violent for children to watch.
Academy Award Winner Pan's Labyrinth stars the sexy mama from Y Tu Mama Tambien, Maribel Verdu. She is not too sexy in this movie by the way, but that is not the point! The protagonist in this movie is played by 11-year old Ivana Baquero--Ofelia in the movie. I gotta tell you. This girl can act. She made me weep!
Set during Franco's regime in 1940's Spain, Pan shows the magic and wonder of childhood innocence and conveys the power of love, sacrifice and courage.
If you loved the Kite Runner, you will love Khaled Hosseini's new book, A Thousand Splendid Suns. In Hosseini's new book, the author allows outsiders to take a peek of what life is like in Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion, the Taliban regime, and finally, rebuilding after America's invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.
Like the Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns is beautifully written. One of the things I like about Hosseini's writing is the fact that he lets readers feel and experience firsthand what the characters go through.
Like the Kite Runner, this new book is also powerfully written. After reading his first book a couple of years ago, I suddenly had the urge to help children in Afghanistan and other war-torn countries. Likewise, A Thousand Splendid Suns opens the readers' eyes to what it is like to be a woman in an oppressive regime where women are treated as properties. I was left thinking, 'What can be done to help women like Mariam (the book's heroine) in places where being a female meant no rights, no access to education, stuck with an abusive husband, and no one else to turn to?'
Would like to see this but unable to find info on the internet re: show dates and where it is currently being shown. Leave me a comment if you know more info. Thanks.
I like The Descent. It is about this group of adventurous women friends who end up trapped inside a cave full of bat-like humans who eat people. While trapped inside the cave, the protagonist learns that her bestfriend has been messing around with her husband. Suddenly, she turns from nice girl to crazy Rambo. As Rambo girl and her so-called friend fight these monsters, Rambo girl picks up one of these huge blades that climbers use and sticks it into the slut's leg just to teach her a lesson. You'll see the blade going right through her leg. That was very nice. Rambo girl then rans off like a mad woman and leaves her "friend" behind to be eaten by the human bats. You should see it. There is a lesson to be learned. Never ever mess with Rambo.
Go watch this: http://apocalypto.movies.go.com/
Because I said so.
