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What I’m Catching Up On — Dramas

November 23, 2016

The holiday season is in full gear with Thanksgiving for those in the United States who celebrate it. And what this means, for me, is a chance to catch up on completed, currently airing, and brand new dramas. Do you know of something I should add to my list?

The Princess Weiyoung (Chinese)

This is a lengthy Chinese historical drama on DramaFever that is being released two episodes every weekday. What this means is that I’m already behind. As soon as I saw the trailer for this drama, I knew it was going to be mine to watch. Gorgeous men and women in the loveliest historical attire – filled with drama, romance, and intrigue – who can resist?

Summary from DramaFever: Li Wei Young (Tiffany Tang) was born Princess Feng Xin Er, the daughter of the King of Former Liang. A loyal subject under Great Wei, however, Xin Er’s father is framed for treason and killed by the evil General Chiyun and Li Min Feng. Xin Er’s family and kingdom is annihilated. Escaping with her life but now an orphan, Xin Er accidentally wanders into enemy territory. There, she is saved by Li Wei Young, the daughter of the prime minister of Great Wei. Although born a noble lady, she is driven to live in the countryside by her family because she was born on a day deemed one of misfortune. Little did Xin Er know that her savior Li Wei Young is also Li Min Feng’s half-sister. Full of hatred for the enemy that destroyed her home, Xin Er assumes Li Wei Young’s identity after she was murdered. She ultimately learns to channel her hatred towards those who deserve it and become a kinder person overall. And it is exactly her wisdom and humanity that attracts towards her two very different men. Tuoba Jun (Luo Jin) is the beloved, well-educated, kind prince that is favored by all, including the king, and who falls in love with Wei Young. And competing with him is his third uncle Tuoba Yu (Vanness Wu), the cold, menacing and emotionally scarred prince that truly wants to rule the empire, and sees the intelligent Wei Young as his tool and his nephew as his rival. Wei Young, however, only has her eyes on one thing: she was not able to save her people. Between the schemes of these two men and living in enemy territory, can Wei Young ever avenge her family?

Moonlight Drawn by the Clouds (Korean)

Viki simulcasted this now-completed drama. And now it’s available on DramaFever. This has always been on my watch list (after stalling on watching it because of Scarlet Heart: Ryeo, so now that it’s migrating to DramaFever I will get to watch this highly popular Korean drama.

Summary from DramaFever: Park Bo Gum (Tomorrow’s Cantabile, Answer Me 1988) and Kim Yoo Jung (Golden Rainbow, Secret Door) star in a gender bender historical drama about mistaken identity bringing about unmistakable love. Hong Ra On (Kim Yoo Jung) has one of the most unique jobs in the Joseon Dynasty: she disguises herself as a man named Sam Nom and gives great dating advice to lovelorn souls seeking to woo that special someone. Because of one of the letters she writes to help win someone over, she ends up meeting Lee Young (Park Bo Gum). But little does she know that Lee Young is actually the future Crown Prince Hyomyung. Lee Young, for his part, also doesn’t know that Hong Ra On is a woman. With both their interests in each other intensifying, things start to get more than a little weird. And those weird things get even weirder when Ra On is sold into the Royal Palace as a eunuch and becomes involved in a political power struggle. Is this a dilemma a dating guru and handsome royalty can solve, or will the darkness of the clouds of greed and deception enshroud the love in the moonlight?

The Legend of the Blue Sea (Korean)

Available on Viki, popular actor Lee Min Ho stars in his latest drama that seems like a breath of fresh air amongst all the historical dramas. Of course, this drama is also connected to the past as a we have a mermaid from the Joseon era. The trailer looks really cute and this is definitely a must watch.

Summary from Viki: How can a mermaid from the Joseon era survive in modern-day Seoul? Shim Chung (Jun Ji Hyun) is a mermaid who finds herself transplanted to modern times. She is “caught” by Heo Joon Jae (Lee Min Ho), a charming but cold con artist who is the doppelgänger for Kim Moon, the son of a nobleman she met during the Joseon Dynasty. But in the present time, Joon Jae works with Jo Nam Doo (Lee Hee Joon) and Tae Oh (Shin Won Ho) as part of a group of highly skilled scam artists. But Joon Jae’s friend, Cha Shi Ah (Shin Hye Sun), who works as a researcher at KAIST, may be Chung’s only hope for surviving in her strange new world. “The Legend of the Blue Sea” is a 2016–2017 South Korean drama series directed by Jin Hyuk. The story is inspired by a historical tale about a mermaid contained in a short story anthology known as “Eou Yadam” by Joseon-era scholar Yu Mong In. This drama marks the last acting role for superstar Lee Min Ho before he enters his mandatory two-year military service and the first acting role for Jun Ji Hyun after giving birth to her first child. Parts of the drama series were filmed on the Pacific island of Palau and in Spain.

The Man Living in Our House (Korean)

This caught my eye for one reason: Lee Soo Hyuk. This has 10 episodes out already (so I’m very behind), but between Lee Soo Hyuk and some other favorites (Soo Ae and Kim Young Kwang), this one is going to get watched as well. This one is 100% modern era, so it will be good to catch up on in between the ever-thrilling The Princess Weiyoung

Summary from Viki: Stranger things can happen. Hong Na Ri (Soo Ae) is a proud flight attendant who suffers a series of misfortunes after her mother passes away and then she discovers that her longtime fiancé, Jo Dong Jin (Kim Ji Hoon), is cheating on her with fellow flight attendant Do Yeo Joo (Jo Bo Ah). To get her mind off her troubles, Na Ri returns to her mother’s home, only to find a handsome young man, Go Nan Gil (Kim Young Kwang), living in Na Ri’s mother’s house and running her mother’s dumpling restaurant. Incredulously, Nan Gil tells Na Ri that he is her father, having married Na Ri’s mother before she passed away! Meanwhile, Kwon Duk Bong (Lee Soo Hyuk) is a wealthy businessman who wants to help Na Ri reclaim her mother’s property so that he can develop the land. Can he help Na Ri prove that Nan Gil is a lying swindler?

Life Plan A and B (Taiwanese)

This is a complete series on DramaFever that I squeed over because I am a HUGE Rainie Yang fan. This sounds like a pretty serious drama and I welcome the chance to see Rainie Yang in action (it’s been a long time!).

Summary from DramaFever: Wei Ru (Drunken To Love You star Rainie Yang) and You Yan (Yan Yu Lin) have a simple relationship. They aren’t rich, but they still to enjoy life, even if it means eating three packs of instant noodles for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They are, however, very serious about their relationship and sincerely trying to achieve something in life while staying together. One day, opportunity comes knocking at Wei Ru’s door, as her company wants to send her to Shanghai, with both a promotion and higher pay. However, the lovely couple cannot imagine living so far together, let alone running a long-term, long-distance relationship. With so much uncertainty in their future, can the two pick the right life plan, or will their dreams shatter in this struggle between option A and B?

I have a lot of watching to do, but am really looking forward to tackling these series. Anyone want to recommend another?

1 Comment

I’m just now getting into K-Drama. I’m pretty much a newbie, so I really don’t have any to recommend. I have watched the first episode of the Legend of the Blue Sea. It can be funny, but the mermaid is pretty weird. It makes her have funny scenes though. I will say I liked it a lot better in the first couple of scenes when it was in the Joseon period. It kind of dragged in the beginning.

Allie Nov 24, 2016