2017 – A Year in K-Drama

 

Earlier on, I thought 2017 was all going to be about time travels in the land of K-drama. The year is opened with Tomorrow with You (내일 그대와), then followed by Tunnel (터널), Chicago Typewriter (시카고 타자기), The Best Hit (최고의 한방), My Only Love Song (마이 온리 러브송), Reunited Worlds (다시 만난 세계), Deserving of the Name (명불허전) and Go Back Couple (고백부부), just to name a few.

But halfway to the end of the year, 2017 turned out to be about upholding justice and deconstructing and reconstructing traditional and conservative values. From feminism, gender equality to social justice, many 2017 dramas are offering alternative perspectives to the rather demanding and exhausting widely accepted values. This probably can be seen as a means of escapism from the dreadful reality of Hell Joseon. Strongest Deliveryman in particular talks about escaping this heartbreaking living conditions.

Quoting from Korea Exposé, ”To the South Korean state demanding life, denizens of Hell Joseon answer: “The best thing for a South Korean is never to be born; the second best is to die as soon as possible. For the young South Koreans who have grown to detest their nation, the Republic of Korea — Daehan Min’guk — already ceased to exist some time ago. They now call this land Daehan Mangguk: the Failed State of Korea.”

As alternatives to the cliché love story between a chaebol and a poor girl, this year, K-drama offers love stories between the mediocre in Fight For My Way (쌈, 마이웨이) and the beautiful proletarian love in Just Between Lovers (그냥 사랑하는 사이). In the ultra-competitive dystopian “survival of the fittest” job market and education system where everything wrong about free market (crony) capitalism is amplified to its logical extreme, watching the lives of the working class commoners feels like a relief breath from the suffocating always-on-the-run life.

Age Of Youth 2 (청춘시대 2), Temperature of Love (사랑의 온도) and Because This Is My First Life (이번 생은 처음이라) argue the gender stereotypes and reconstruct conservative family and relationship values. Age Of Youth 2 even brought up issues still considered taboo in South Korea.

I also find a pleasant progress in many of this year’s romantic themed dramas, which is consent. More and more writers seem to emphasise the importance of consent and mutual agreement as K-dramas, especially in the romantic themed ones, are so used to patriarchy, and even worse, misogyny. Man grabbing woman’s hand and drags her around, man forcefully kiss woman where she eventually gives up and falls into his charm after a short resistance are some of the common scenes seen in K-dramas. Romanticising dating violence unfortunately is (unconsciously) widely accepted, that even The Korean Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) ruled out one very problematic scene in Our Gab Soon as portraying dating violence. The scene looks like a rape attempt. Misogynist.

Temperature of Love (사랑의 온도), Because This Is My First Life (이번 생은 처음이라) and again, Just Between Lovers (그냥 사랑하는 사이) came like a fresh breeze, the answers to misogynist dramas, where consent does matter, and men and women are not an entirely different breed, and  women have the initiatives and make the first moves. Without belittling the effort, the offered ideas may look slightly basic or elementary, but it also needs to come into consideration that many things are taken in an extreme level in South Korea, these also include patriarchy and gender biases, and not to be left out, superficiality.

2017 also sees K-drama writers exploring new themes, like sci-fi in Circle, said to be the first in K-drama, followed by Duel; a common theme in movies, but rather rarely seen in K-drama and a prison life in Wise Prison Life / Prison Playbook (which is introduced as “Black is the New Orange” spin-off in Netflix).

If last year tvN and JTBC’s dramas dominated the top list, this year tvN’s sister station, OCN shoots to prominence with its signature crime dramas. OCN even pulled off a hat-trick with Tunnel, Duel and Save Me.

No drama really stands out this year, which makes it more difficult in compiling the list. Having said that, there are so many good, even great, dramas with varied themes that are really worth to watch. So, here are the top 10/11 of 44 dramas I managed to watch in 2017.

Exploring Young Female Adult’s Life – A Work In Progress : Age Of Youth Season 2 / Chungchoonshidae 2 (청춘시대 2) (2017)

 

Age of Youth is back, but sadly Kang Yi Na (Ryu Hwa Young) has left the house, which is quite a shame because her character stood out the most and she had the most complex problems in the previous installment. She still makes several appearances in the show, but her story is no longer as significant as before.

With Kang Yi Na’s departure, Belle Epoque welcomes a new member of the share house, Jo Eun (Choi A Ra), a tall and quiet girl, the complete opposite of Kang Yi Na. Almost mistaken for a boy, Jo Eun’s presence brings in pseudo-homosexuality topic into the drama, though like most of its Korean drama predecessors, the subject never really came to maturity. The only difference is if in other dramas, most characters are mistakenly perceived as other genders or to have different sexual orientations, thus making the others questioned their own sexual orientations when they found themselves falling for the misunderstood person, in Age Of Youth 2, Jo Eun and her friend, Ahn Ye Ji (Shin Se Hwi) are depicted as having an ambiguous same-sex relationship where the line between romance and friendship was rather blurred. At least at first.

Faithful to exploring the lives of female young adults, writer Park Yeon Sun is consistent with her stand on feminism, gender equality and sexuality. All subjects are still conveyed in light and heartwarming everyday life stories, blending young adult’s banalities with the more serious issues, from first loves, break ups, family problems, friendships, platonic relationships to overcoming post sexual harassment trauma. A transition from teenage life to adulthood.

The show is definitely not impeccable. There are flaws and illogical plots here and there, but even so, the show still manages to deliver its solid standpoints without losing the fun, warmth and sincerity.

2016 – A Year in K-Drama

2016 had been a year of K-drama for me. Of the 137 K-dramas aired in 2016, I gave in to 33 of it. Thirty three… that’s like… a huge waste of time *sigh* I feel I missed one drama still, Memory. I’ll probably watch it sometime soon.
[Update] “Memory” is a nice drama. Both Lee Sung Min and Junho did deliver, but the drama is definitely not as solid as other tvN’s dramas will be mentioned in the list.

Mostly popular for its romantic comedy clichés, tragic melodrama or over-the-top family conflicts and never ending feuds, much like its counterpart in the cinema world, K-drama is at its best when it touches subjects with sincerity and genuineness (that of course applies to basically any kind of work of arts).

Of the 137 K-dramas, I passed the daily and weekend dramas which are mostly equal to our daily sinetron. Think of dreading love story which includes conquering abusive mother-in-law’s (to her daughter-in-law) love, betrayal, all sorts of illnesses, from sudden nosebleed to amnesia you name it, the daily and weekend dramas have them all. But once in a blue moon there’s family drama like “Five Enough” which is just sweet and simple (still with a bit of touch of silly and unreasonable but tolerable conflicts, of course) like the good ol’ TVRI’s family dramas.

2016, for me, belongs to Jo Jin Woong. Underrated oftentimes and mostly played supporting roles, 2016 finally saw Jo in two strong leading roles. Early in 2016, Jo played an upright and morally conscious but heartbroken Detective Lee Jae Han in Signal and in the second half of 2016 he came back to small screen transforming into an uptight and ambitious, rough-spoken but a soft-hearted family American television series’ Entourage. And in between, he starred in the highly anticipated and critically acclaimed “The Handmaiden”, a Park Chan Wook’s mesmerising erotic fantasy/thriller.

So I guess it’s only fitting to start this list with one of the dramas he starred in this year, Signal.

Next >

A Small Thought on tvN’s First Awards

tvN just held its first tvN Awards as a celebration of its tenth anniversary on October 9, 2016, and by far it’s the best Korean awards in the Korean entertainment universe I have ever seen. It’s fun, cheery, loose, laid-back and unpretentious, in contrast with other Korean entertainment award shows which mostly are stiff, awkward with dead airs here and there, look scripted and unprepared. Not to mention the corny jokes which a lot of times are offensive.

Substance over style

Much like its dramas, tvN Awards doesn’t rely on fame and sensations (I’m looking at you DotS & Song-Song couple 👎), instead it relies on contents, hence the Content Grand Excellence Award (Daesang). Substance over style. The thing is, tvN has a lot, I mean a loooooooooooottttt of great contents (I’m referring specifically to its dramas). 2016 alone sees more tvN’s (not just good but) great dramas then the three largest national TV networks (KBS, MBC, and SBS) have combined (and it’s not even the end of the year yet); such as Signal, Reply 1988, Dear My Friends, Memory and The Good Wife. Though that doesn’t mean that its dramas are not famous and sensational. They are. But you know what I mean.

Having said that, that doesn’t mean that all tvN dramas are impeccable, but the ones that stand out are carefully planned and conceived, resulting in complex yet relatable issues with many characters are thoroughly developed and not just the leads. With a wide spectrum of themes, tvN dramas manage to keep itself away from having too many clichés, especially in the romcom department, where Cinderella-esque stories, second-lead problems, never ending misunderstandings, amnesia and other unfortunate events, etc are the norms.

This is just a rough assumption. As pointed out by my friend, Ninin, probably because tvN is a joint venture developed by Fox International Channels and CJ Media, the media’s contents feel a bit more liberal than the ones in other TV stations (especially those of the big three) and it has more freedom in exploring themes and issues. It doesn’t shy away from sex-related themes and seems to be more progressive in terms of they convey (probably) the least conservative values; such as hierarchy and stereotyped gender roles. In the sea of sickening gender biased K-dramas, most tvN dramas feel like a breath of fresh air. 

I don’t believe in any awards as I think almost none is fair and objective. Some are even used for political statement or propaganda (hello Oscar and Argo!). But in tvN Awards’ case, it doesn’t seem to focus on coming out with “The Best”. Instead, it plays it fun and unpretentious, despite having so many great dramas which makes it really hard (at least for me) to debate or argue about winners. You can hardly go wrong with anyone or any show as almost all of them are (almost) equally good.

From Soompi, here is the list of the winners, which I personally am excited for Jo Jin Woong as he is for me stood out the most in this year’s dramas.

Content Grand Excellence Award
“Three Meals a Day – Fishing Village Edition” (Variety)
“Reply 1988” (Drama)

tvN10 Acting Grand Excellence Award
Jo Jin Woong (“Signal”)

tvN10 Variety Grand Excellence Award
Lee Seo Jin (“Grandpas Over Flowers, “Three Meals a Day”)

tvN10 Actor’s Award
Lee Sung Min (“Incomplete Life (Misaeng)”)

tvN10 Actress’s Award
Kim Hye Soo (“Signal”)

Variety Icon
Lee Soon Jae, Shin Goo, Park Geun Hyung, Baek Il Sub (“Grandpas Over Flowers”)

Content Award (Drama)
“Incomplete Life (Misaeng),” “Dear My Friends,” “Rude Miss Young Ae,” “Nine,” “Another Oh Hae Young,” “Signal,” “Oh My Ghostess,” “Reply” series

Content Award (Variety)
“Three Meals a Day,” “__ Over Flowers” series, “New Journey to the West,” “SNL Korea,” “Roller Coaster,” “Martian Virus,” “The Genius,” “Problematic Men,” “House Cook Master Baek”

Made in tvN (Variety)
Son Ho Jun (“Three Meals a Day”)
Kim Seul Gi (“SNL Korea”)

Made in tvN (Drama)
Seo In Guk (“Reply 1997”)
Seo Hyun Jin (“Another Oh Hae Young”)

PD’s Choice
Lee Je Hoon (“Signal”)
Jung Sang Hoon (“SNL Korea”)

Best Kiss
Seo In Guk and Jung Eun Ji (“Reply 1997”)

Best Chemistry
Park Bo Young and Kim Seul Gi (“Oh My Ghostess”)

Best MC
Shin Dong Yup (“SNL Korea”)

tvN Asia Award
Park Bo Gum (“Reply 1988”)

Rom-Com King/Queen
Eric (“Another Oh Hae Young”)
Seo Hyun Jin (“Another Oh Hae Young”)

Special Acting Award
Sung Dong Il (“Reply” series)

Trending Actors
Ryu Jun Yeol (“Reply 1988”)
Hyeri (“Reply 1988”)

Scene Stealer Award
Ra Mi Ran (“Reply 1988”)
Kim Sung Kyoon (“Reply 1988”)

Two Star Award
Jo Jung Suk (“Oh My Ghostess” and “Youth Over Flowers”)

Comedy Award
Ahn Young Mi (“Comedy Big League”)
Yang Se Hyung (“Comedy Big League”)

“Slave” Award (“Hardworking Entertainer” Award)
Kwon Hyuk Soo (“SNL Korea”)
Lee Se Young (“SNL Korea,” “Comedy Big League”)

Perfect Attendance Award
Kim Hyun Sook (“Rude Miss Young Ae”)
Lee Young Ja (“Taxi”)

Rekap Singkat Drako Paruh Pertama 2016

Tahun 2016 ini mungkin frekuensi saya nonton dan jumlah drako yang saya tonton meningkat tajam. Dan sejauh ini, saya bisa bilang kalau tahun 2016 adalah tahun yang seru banget buat drako. Variasi temanya juga lumayan banyak. Gak melulu romcom.

Nah, buat paruh pertama 2016 ini, drako terbaik (versi saya tentunya, walaupun belum tentu yang disebutkan adalah favorit juga) disapu bersih oleh lini Jumat-Sabtu saluran tvN. Berdasarkan periode tayangnya:

Reply 1988 (응답하라 1988) (tayang 6 November 2015 – 16 Januari 2016)
Ulasan lengkapnya sudah pernah saya terbitkan di sini .

 

Signal (시그널) (tayang 22 Januari – 12 Maret 2016) – Currently watching
Banyak yang menuliskan kalau drama ini berdasarkan pembunuhan berantai di Hwaseong, Gyeonggi seperti film “Memories of Murder”. Saya bilang antara ya dan tidak sih. Pembunuhan berantai Hwaseong cuma salah satu kasusnya. Semua kasus yang ditampilkan berdasarkan kasus-kasus kejahatan yang tidak terpecahkan. Signal juga mengingatkan akan film “Frequency” yang pake medium walkie talkie untuk berkomunikasi dengan masa lalu, tapi karena Signal berdasarkan kasus-kasus di dunia nyata, ini sama sekali nggak terasa seperti menjiplak

Walaupun Lee Je Hoon dikritik karena aktingnya diangap lebay, tapi doi tetep oke kok. Masih relevan dengan feel dramanya. Dan walaupun Kim Hye Soo sama bagusnya, Jo Jin Woong is the scene stealer for me, though. Paduan karakter yang emosional, canggung tapi keukeuh dibawain pas banget sama Jo Jin Woong. Cakep lah.

 

Dear My Friends (디어 마이 프렌즈) (tayang 3 Mei – 2 Juli 2016)
Yang ini ulasannya masih sekedar berupa niatan, entah kapan mau mulainya.

Selain “Reply 1988”, DMF adalah drama lain yang sukses bikin mewek hampir di tiap episode-nya. Sangat menyegarkan menikmati gerombolan nenek-nenek lucu di antara lautan muka licin yang terobsesi dengan kemudaan. DMF nyikat abis feminisme banal ala “Sex And The City” yang ultimate goal-nya ternyata cuma ngejar kebahagiaan ala Cinderella dan pangeran pujaan hati. Rrrr….

I love all the casts, but if I have to pick, my favourites would definitely be Na Moon Hee & Lee Kwang Soo. Kwang Soo ini sebenernya aktor watak yang mumpuni (one of the best in my personal opinion), sayang kemampuannya ini ketutupan image Running Man-nya yang bodor.

Kalau sesama cowok ada istilah bromance, mungkin di DMF harusnya ada istilah buat ibu & anak. Gimana Min Ho (Lee Kwang Soo) memperlakukan emaknya (Kim Hye Ja) bener-bener bikin meleleh.

Sedangkan karakter Moon Jung Ah (Na Moon Hee) ini mengingatkan saya pada wawancara Joni Mitchell di Woman of Heart and Mind. Dia bilang salah satu alasan kenapa dia (sempat) memutuskan tidak mau menikah adalah karena dia gak mau jadi kayak maknya, seniman terpendam yang setres karena gak bisa melakukan apa yang dia mau terjebak dalam beban ke-istri-an dank ke-ibu-annya. Cita-cita Jung Ah adalah jalan-jalan keliling dunia bareng Hee Ja (Kim Hye Ja) ala-ala Thelma & Louise.

The Good Wife (tayang 8 Juli – 27 Agustus 2016) – Currently airing
Ini harusnya masuk paruh ke-2 sih ya, tapi secara di perbatasan masukin aja deh sekalian. Saya pilih ini lebih karena faktor rapih. Ya produksi ya akting, terutama Nana (After School) & Yoon Kye Sang (G.O.D). Dua-duanya berawal dari anggota idol group. Kalau Jeon Do Yeon & Yoo Ji Tae ya udah lah ya, secara mereka emang aktor kawakan. But Nana is the biggest surprise for me.

Untuk cerita sebenernya biasa aja. Kadang greget kadang biasa aja, tapi tetap konsisten. Sepertinya juga cukup patuh pada versi US-nya.

Nah, dari paruh pertama drako lini Jumat-Sabtu-nya TvN, cuma “Memory” yang gak ketonton. Mungkin saya akan coba ngintip nanti, apalagi yang main Lee Sung Min.

Lanjut ke drama lainnya. Di paruh pertama ini saya juga suka:

Marriage Contract (결혼계약) – MBC (tayang 5 Maret – 24 April 2016)
Cuma ada satu kata: UEE!

UEE is probably the best idol turns actor so far. Saya dulu gak suka banget liat UEE, mukanya aneh, kebanyakan oplas kayaknya. But I’m a fan now. Turns out she’s a really great actor. Di atas kertas harusnya Lee Seo Jin sama UEE gak pas, tapi justru chemistry mereka dapet banget. Beda umur yang jauh juga gak bikin dropshay (not that it matters).

 

 

Uncontrollably Fond (함부로 애틋하게) – KBS2 (tayang 6 Juli – 8 September 2016) – Currently airing
Yang ini saya gak bisa jelasin kenapa, apalagi dengan segambreng elemen Makjang tumplek bleg di sini. Alasan yang paling kuat mungkin chemistry Kim Woo Bin & Suzy yang pas, di luar akting yang kadang-kadang rada lempeng. They just work.

Eh tapi gak secemen itu juga kok. UF juga kadang-kadang nyentil isu sosial bahkan politik. Kayak di episode 12 si Choi Ji Tae (Lim Ju Hwan) nyikat bapaknya dengan bilang, “Is romanticising violence for convenience and ruining their livelihoods for the sake of the majority what you call justice, Congressman?” Dwar!

 

Master: God of Noodles (마스터-국수의 신) – KBS2 (tayang 27 April – 30 Juni 2016)
MGON ini adaptasi komik Guksuui Sin. Ceritanya sebenernya biasa aja, tapi sinematografi & musiknya mungkin yang terbaik di paruh pertama 2016. Rasanya gelap dan gambarnya udah kayak buat film bioskop. Di aspek itu, MGON jadi salah satu favorit saya bersama “Heard It Through The Grapevine” (SBS – 2015).

Six Flying Dragons (육룡이 나르샤) – SBS (tayang 5 Oktober 2015 – 22 Maret 2016)
Saya gak pernah suka Sageuk (drama sejarah) sebenernya. Tapi 6FD ini baunya revolusi banget, rasanya hampir kayak “Les Miserables” versi Korea, walaupun gak sampai bikin mewek-mewek. 50 episode 50 episode deh gue pantengin. Untung ada Byun Yo Han mai laff hahaha. Oh ya, Byun Yo Han ini juga salah satu aktor watak yang itungannya baru. Sayang doi juga tergolong underrated, walaupun kadarnya gak separah Lee Kwang Soo.

Wanted (원티드) – SBS (tayang 22 Juni – 18 Agustus 2016)
Wanted ini plot-nya ketat dan akhir setiap episode hampir selalu gak ketebak. Walaupun gak se-natural Signal dari segi akting tapi Wanted sama-sama bikin tegang cyin!

Beberapa drama lain yang saya ikutin hanya karena… cowok-cowoknya (yes, forgive me for the female gaze).

Oh My Venus (오 마이 비너스) – KBS2 (tayang 16 November 2015 – 5 Januari 2016)
OMV sebenernya bisa jadi tayangan yang lebih feminis deconstructing the female body image, apalagi di Korea Selatan yang terobsesi dengan S body line. Sayangnya OMV entah memang tidak berniat ke sana atau sepertinya cuma setengah hati melakukan itu.

Goodbye Mr. Black (굿바이 미스터 블랙) – MBC (tayang 16 Maret – 19 Mei 2016)
I stayed for Lee Jin Wook though the story was crappy. Still, nothing is crappier than… I’ll get to that later.

Lucky Romance (운빨로맨스) – MBC (tayang 25 Mei – 14 Juli 2016)
Ini juga romcom gitu aja sih. Ceweknya makin lama makin gengges, tapi ditahanin deh demi Ryu Joon Yeol. Oh right, another rising aktor yang bunglon juga

Doctors (닥터스) – SBS (tayang 20 Juni – 23 Agustus 2016)
Sayangnya Doctors gak bisa jadi sebagus Emergency Couple. Padahal drama dengan latar belakang medis bisa banget ngangkat banyak isu kemanusiaan, sosial & politik, tapi kayaknya Doctors milih untuk setia di jalur romantis aja. Jadi suka gak ada gregetnya. This one, I stayed for Kim Rae Won. Well, the other actors are kind of fun to watch too.

And the worst drama (probably ever) goes to…. *drumroll*

Descendants of the Sun (태양의 후예)! – KBS2 (tayang 12 Februari – 14 April 2016)
Drama ini sumpah jeleknya alaihim salam. Dari episode 1 udah gak sreg sebenernya, tapi ditahan-tahanin sampe episode 3. Setengah jalan episode 3 muak yuk dadah babay rasanya pengen lempar laptop.

Gak ngerti banget kenapa drama ini meledak banget, rating tinggi, blab la bla. Gue lebih curiga ini adalah hasil strategi marketing gila-gilaan dengan promo lebay yang bilang drama ini akan jadi drama yang “ter” di tahun 2016. Song Hye Kyo emang itungannya A-list, tapi kayaknya Song Joong Ki belum segitunya deh sebelum ini. Apalagi dibanding Lee Kwang Soo & Byun Yo Han, aktingnya gak ada secuil ujung kukunya cyiiin. Kalo ngomongin cakep juga masih ada segambreng aktor lainnya yang cakepnya aujubilah. Jadi beneran gak ngerti fenomena Joong Ki dan Song-Song couple ini, yang gak ada chemistry-nya pulak.

Ceritanya sampah (seperti drama sebelumnya dari si penulis ini, The Heirs). Si Kim Eun Sook ini kayaknya seneng ide semacam ini, ‘style over substance’. Yang penting gayanya keren doang.

Yang paling bikin muak sebenernya karena drama ini pretentious tapi super banal & superficial. Latar belakang militer cuma dipake buat hiasan. Kedalamannya aja gak ada, apalagi mau ngomongin political view, yang saya curiga suka dipake sama si Eun Sook buat, again, gaya-gayaan (just checked the synopsis of “City Hall” & “Lovers In Prague”). Musuh mereka pun tipikal bentukan barat, US to be exact.

Yang bikin jijik ada adegan di episode 3, segerombolan anak-anak mengais-ngais area di sekitar base camp si dokter-dokter ini, terus satu anak nemuin minuman plastik lama dan diminum. Loncatlah si dokter cantik super kinclong ke luar sambil bilang itu kotor dan menyodorkan snack bar-nya. Dan merubunglah anak-anak lain dengan muka cemong-cemong mengemis snack bar ke dokter kinclong yang kemudian diomelin tentara kinclong Joong Ki yang bilang “jangan lo kasih kalo lo gak punya buat semuanya”. Cefuk! Antara pengen ngasih jari tengah atau jambak rambut dua-duanya gak ngerti aku harus bagaimana.

Kayaknya adegan itu yang bikin gue beneran berhenti nonton ni drama dan gak sudi nengok-nengok lagi. This is a remake of classic 80s Hollywood’s American heroism.

Lanjut ke paruh ke-2 tahun 2016.

Dari akhir paruh pertama menuju ke awal paruh ke-dua sepertinya dunia drako lagi kelimpahan drama-drama bagus. Musim ini aja saya lagi nonton 7! Yang 5 sama ok-nya (termasuk Uncontrollaby Fond, Wanted & The Good Wife) yang 2 so-so lah (Doctors & Second To Last Love (SBS, tayang 30 Juli – 18 September 2016)).

2 lagi yang jadi favorit di luar 3 yang udah disebutkan di atas adalah:

Age of Youth (청춘시대) – JTBC (tayang 22 Juli – 27 Agustus 2016) – Currently airing
AOY cerita tentang dunia sehari-hari cewek-cewek kuliahan & their personal struggles. Dari sekedar naksir cowok, gaya pakaian, komunikasi, sampai sexual objectification, female sexuality. AOY sebenarnya cukup kental berbalut feminisme, tapi disampaikan dengan cara yang sangat halus. Sampai sejauh mana konsistensi mereka, kayaknya harus nunggu sampai drama ini habis tayang.

Oh ya, ini kurpen tapi saya juga suka pasangan-pasangan di AOY ini; Han Ye Ri – Yoon Park, Hwa Young – Yoon Jong Hoon (walaupun ini judulnya bukan pasangan. So far) & Park Hye Soo – Shin Hyun Soo.

W: Two Worlds (더블유) – MBC (tayang 20 Juli – 8 September 2016) – Currently airing
Drama fantasi seru tentang 2 dunia nyata dan manhwa (komik). Efek visualnya udah kayak film aja. Ceritanya seru tapi curiga masuk ke tengah akan lebih banyak unsur komedi romantisnya. Semoga nggak. Yang paling gak tahan buat diliat adalah… muka-nya Lee Jong Suk! Duh udah lah mukanya gitu, aktingnya kayak pose melulu lagi. Semacam mannequin kalo kata temen gue.

Menanti di paruh kedua 2016:

My Wife’s Having an Affair This Week (이번 주, 아내가 바람을 핍니다) – JTBC (rencana tayang Oktober 2016)
Baru dengar berita beberapa hari lalu, drama ini remake dari drama Jepang dengan judul sama. YAAASSS!!! Lee Sun Gyun & Song Ji Hyo adalah 2 aktor Korea kesukaan saya. Sayangnya sama kayak Lee Kwang Soo, kemampuan akting Song Ji Hyo ketutupan image Running Man-nya. I’d love to see how she’ll improve being paired with Lee Sun Gyun. Laff laff laff!!!

Entourage (안투라지) – tvN (rencana tayang Oktober 2016)
Remake dari Entourage US, yang saya gak tonton juga. Tapi yang ini pasti saya tungguin. Main casts-nya… laff! Seo Kang Joon, Jo Jin Woong, Lee Kwang Soo, Lee Dong Hwi. Waini!

Goblin (도깨비) – tvN (rencana tayang Desember 2016)
The casts are to die for! All are my faves. Gong Yoo & Lee Dong Wook in the same frame? UBER LAFF!!! Matik aja eke mak! Ditambah Kim Go Eun, can it get any better? Sayangnya penulisnya adalah si Kim Eun Sook yang demen nulis drama pretencious & superficial macam DotS & The Heirs (I promised myself not to rant but there I go again). Story looks questionable too.

Dari Asianwiki:

“Dokkaebi (Gong Yoo) needs a human bride to end his immortal life. Meanwhile, the Angel of Death has amnesia. Somehow these two meet and live together. They see off those who have passed away and are now leaving this world.” Rrr…

Tapi tapi tapi… gak mungkin gue ngelewatin muka-muka ini *siap-siap tabung oksigen*

Jealousy Incarnate (질투의 화신) – SBS (rencana tayang 24 Agustus – 10 November 2016)
JI akan gantiin Wanted yang akan selesai masa tayangnya minggu depan. As if Jo Jung Suk & Gong Hyo Jin are not enough reason, they have to add Go Kyung Pyo to the casts line up. Laaafff banget! Preview-nya sih unyu banget.

After the Show Ends (연극이 끝나고 난 뒤) – tvN (tayang 2 Juli – 20 Agustus 2016)
Just found out about it. Trus browsing-browsing belum ada yang punya subtitle-nya 😦 Konsepnya keliatan agak ngebingungin, sedikit mengingatkan pada WGM. Tunggu sub aja deh cyin!

On the Way to Airport (공항 가는 길) – KBS2 (rencana tayang 14 September – 3 November 2016)
Not really a fan of the casts, tapi ini dari sutradaranya “Emergency Couple”, gimana mungkin gue sekip-in?

Blow Breeze (불어라 미풍아) – MBC (rencana tayang 27 Agustus 2016)
Hadeuh tapi ini family drama 50 episode, tapi lagi, ini Son Ho Joon sama Im Ji Yeon. Dilema.

Cinderella and the Four Knights (신데렐라와 네 명의 기사) – tvN (rencana tayang 12 Agustus – 1 Oktober 2016)
Yang ini hanya karena ada Lee Jung Shin (CN BLUE) aja sih di dalamnya.

Our Gab Soon (우리 갑순이) – SBS (rencana tayang 27 Agustus 2016 – 12 Februari 2017)
Cuma mau liat reuninya SoRim (Song Jae Rim – Kim So Eun) couple LMAO

Saimdang, Light’s Diary (사임당, 빛의 일기) – SBS (rencana tayang 1 Oktober 2016 – 8 Januari 2017)
Again, not really into Sageuk, but I will check it out just because it’s Lee Young Ae’s. Dia terakhir muncul tahun 2005 di film Sympathy For Lady Vengeance, trus ilang. Then there is the gorgeous Song Seung Hoon. Yuk cus!

Jauhan lagi di 2017 udah ngekerin:

Tomorrow With You (내일 그대와) – tvN (2017)
Dari premisnya seperti remake The Time Traveler’s Wife, tapi belum tau juga. Belum ada sinopsis yang nongol di media. Whatever. It’s Lee Je Hoon FTW!

The Package (더 패키지) – JTBC (2017)
Tadinya cuma tau ini bakalan ada Jung Yong Hwa (CN BLUE). Eh tapi begitu cekidot Asianwiki ada Yoon Park juga. Count me in!

Fiuh! Panjang juga ya ternyata ni daftar. Yak sekian rekap drako paruh pertama tahun 2016. Will be back with k-drama recap at the end of the year. Fighting!