Tuesday, January 26, 2016

New Artist Alert:// IMFACT

Star Empire, home to ZE:A (which if I am not mistaken aren't even together at the moment, with members in the military at the time of this post.) and Nine Muses, has brought us a new batch of boys to possibly wreck some bias lists. A series of Youtube videos have been uploaded to help introduce the boys to all of us fangirls and fanboys alike. Members lines range from 93' to 98'. I feel that the intro videos for each member does well in displaying what each person brings to the table. My only hope is that they debut with the same amount of appeal or more.

They just released their debut single "Lollipop", an upbeat tune that you can't help but dance to.



Meet IMFACT:

JiAn


LeeSang (aka my Mr. Right Now Bias.)


JeUp


TaeHo


UngJae


Video Source: IMFACT Youtube Image and Information Source: IMFACT Official Website

Friday, January 22, 2016

Happy Birthday January Week 4!

22

Jinseok (SHU-I)
Jun (U-Kiss)
Lee Won Jae

23

Kwak Seung Nam (Indigo)
Song Geum Sik

24

Kim Min Suk
Song CHang Ui
Sung Woong
Youngjae (B.A.P)

25

Junho (2PM)
Kim Jin Soo
Sakurai Sho (Arashi)

26

Hyungjun (SHU-I)
Jung Chan Woo (iKON)
Kim Dong Bum
Kim Jae Joong (JYJ)
One Shot (SMASH)
Seung Hyun
Yooseung (M.Pire)

27

Choi Jong Won
Im Ho
Lee Byung Joon
Park Sang Myun

29

Ahn Se Ha
Hyde (L'Arc-en-Ciel)
Park Hoon Jung
Shin Ji Ho

30

Baek Hyun
Baek Sung Hyun
Cha Hyun Woo
Gunwoo (MYNAME)
Lee Seo Jin
Oh Man Suk
Park Joon Suk
Poppin Hyun Joon
Woogoon (Tritops)
Yoo Ha Joon

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Review:// Kill Me, Heal Me


Kill Me, Heal Me is a 20-episode medical mystery/romantic comedy about a chaebol son with multiple personalities who gets treated by a first year psychiatry resident. Cha Do Hyun (Ji Sung) loses a year of his childhood memories after traumatic events splinter his mind into several identities. Because of his position, his condition cannot be revealed, and strangely enough, he's only responsive to Oh Ri Jin (Hwang Jung Eum), a psychiatrist with no experience with Dissociative Identity Disorder. Meanwhile, her twin brother Oh Ri Ohn (Park Seo Joon), is a mystery writer digging into Cha Do Hyun's history, but it seems he already holds a big secret.


The Good:  Ji Sung gave a brilliant performance, assigning different facial expressions, voices and body language for each personality. He inspired empathy for each, and sold every scene he was in as believable, touching and entertaining.

Although the chemistry between the leads was a bit lacking at first, it warmed up in the second half and improved through to the end.  Cha Do Hyun and Oh Ri Ohn's "bromance" was spectacular and worth watching over and over.


Oh Ri Jin and Oh Ri Ohn have a warm and funny sibling relationship, though there is a sad and poignant side to it that adds another layer of emotion to the overall story.

The action and intrigue unfolded in an interesting and well-paced manner. Though somewhat predictable, the storytelling still created a sense of curiosity as to how it would all be revealed and resolved.

The Bad:  There didn't seem to be much research done for the medical aspect of the drama. It was more a romantic comedy with a medical theme, since psychology didn't play a part in the actual handling or treatment of Cha Do Hyun's condition. And although I didn't expect it to be very realistic, the resolutions that came about completely devoid of psychological input were not satisfying, and I was left feeling like all the loose ends were not tied up.

Oh Ji Rin was completely unbelievable as a psychiatrist. She was extremely annoying for the first ten episodes with her histrionic shrieking and the disingenuous, condescending tone she took at times. She was too clueless and easily flustered to have the mind or training of a psychiatrist, and it pulled me out of the story for more than half of the episodes which was a big disappointment.

Despite that, there was a lot of emotion built up in the story which ignited expectations for a ending that was at least as engaging as one of the many endearing scenes. Though many viewers might be satisfied with the conclusion, it was just lukewarm for me. After laughing and crying with these characters for 20 hours, I expected an ending with a little more intensity.

Awards:  Kill Me, Heal Me's Neilsen rating  averaged 10.1 nationwide, and 11.1 in Seoul. Ji Sung, Hwang Jung Eum and Park Seo Joon received a slew of awards at the 2015 MBC Drama Awards where Kill Me, Heal Me was Drama of the Year.  Additionally, Ji Sung and Hwang Jung Eum won the 2015 Daum Best Couple award, and at the 10th Seoul International Drama Awards, Hwang Jung Eum was named Outstanding Korean Actress and the drama won for Excellent Korean Drama. The touching soundtrack won for Best OST at the 8th Korean Drama Awards.

Interesting Notes:  Ji Sung and Hwang Jung Eum played opposite each other in the 2013 suspenseful crime melodrama, Secret Love.  Hwang Jung Eum and Park Seo Joon went on to star together in She Was Pretty which aired later in 2015.


Friday, January 15, 2016

January Birthdays Week 3!

15

Ilgoon (Tritops)
Im Sun Taek
Jun K (2PM)
Lee Jin Woo

16

Chae Jin Gun
Jay (BTL)
Kim Sung Hoon
Lee Min Ki
Seungkwan (Seventeen)
Sunghak (Big Star)

17

Hwan Hee (Fly to the Sky)
Kang Chan Hee
Kang In (super Junior)
Kiseop (U-Kiss)
Lee Soo Ho
Lee Young Ha

18

Hyun Woo (24/7)
Kang Dong Won
Park Sang Wook
Yoon Moon Sik
Youngwoo (Sweet Sorrow)

19

Park Joon Seo
Park Kwang Jung
Yamamoto Yusuke

20

Jung Woong In
Kim In Kwon
Kim Jin Geun
Kim Jung Hoon
Park Won Sang
Suwoong (Boy's Republic)

21

Andy (Shinhwa)
Baek Kwang Doo
Jin Won
Kang Seung Yoon (WINNER)
Kim Yoon Suk
Yoo Gun (OPPA)

Saturday, January 9, 2016

MV BREAKDOWN:// GIRIBOY (기리보이): Hogu (호구)

Don't let the cuteness fool you.


In this colorful video, GIRIBOY is a man who is in love with a rotten girl. It tells a tale of a man who is being...
"sucked dry"
"eaten alive"
and treated like a "personal atm/(piggie) bank"
...when the girl that he loves is using him whenever she needs something. The video and lyrics go well in a quirky and cutesy display of someone who has turned into a "sucker for love". GIRIBOY tells the story so vividly and it's only right to have a video that can convey it visually as well.

The tempo is pretty mellow and allows for relaxed listen. The colors, while vibrant, are not overbearing. It sounds like a feel good song but the lyrics kindda speak otherwise.

Check out the MV below GIRIBOY(기리보이): Hogu(호구) (Prod. by Fisherman of wybh) (Feat. BrotherSu(브라더수)). *pinches Giriboy's cheeks*

Thursday, January 7, 2016

Happy Birthday January Week 2!

08

B-Joo (Topp Dogg)
Jung Jae Gon
Lee Chan Ho
Lee Yi Kyung
Yongseok (Cross Gene)

09

Jo Sang Gun
Jung Dong Hyun
Kim Jin Hoon
Park Sung Woong

10

Aoora (AA)
Brian Joo (Fly to the Sky)
Choi Won Young
Han Joo Wan
Kim Hee Won
Kim Hyun Sung
Lee Jo oSuk
Lee Ki Chan
Park Sang Hoon (Melo Breeze)
Song Seung Hwan
Yoon Sung Hyun

11

Baek Chan Ki
Kim Young Kwang
Seo Woo Jin
Seunghoon (Winner)

12

Baek Min Hyun
D.O. (EXO-K)
Shim Hyung Tak

13

Duhwan (CHAOS)
Jinhwan (Sweet Sorrow)
Jung Moon Sung
Lee Seung Ki
Park Jin Young (JYP)
Park Young Rok

14

Hwang Hyun Joon
Jung Woo
Kai (EXO-K)
Kim Hye Sung
Kim Hyung Kyu
Kwak Min Suk
Shim Yang Hong
Park Yoon Jae
Yun (Lunafly)

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Review:// Oh My Venus


Kim Min Ho (So Ji Sub) is a rich chaebol son who has been moonlighting as a physical trainer in the United States. He meets Kang Joo Eun (Shin Min Ah) on the way back to Korea, and his life becomes entangled with the overweight, former beauty. Though she has physical problems, and Min Ho has emotional scars from a traumatic childhood, they each have strengths that the other needs to heal.

The Good:  This drama contained a veritable laundry list of every cute thing a drama should have. The leads gave amazing performances, watching So Ji Sub be shocked and cute and frustrated was the ultimate fangirl dream, there was a trademark kiss, sexy workouts, an adorable three-way bromance, a cute chubby kid, the stern but caring assistant, the stereotypical date full of cute activities, warmth and fuzziness, and a handmade gift (of course). Even the soundtrack is cute and upbeat.

Though the plot basically revolved around a fat girl getting skinny and reclaiming a happy life, it was nice that health over appearance was stressed. More important than Min Ah looking better, were the results of her blood test and physical examination. Min Ho repeatedly tells her that good health is pretty and sexy. The drama also conveys that becoming thin and beautiful doesn't automatically bring happiness.

Jang Joon Sung (Sung Hoon) and Kim Ji Woong (Henry) gave endearing bromantical performances as the MMA fighter and manager working with Min Ho. They were such a pleasure to watch, I want them to have their own spin-off drama. Though Joon Sung did have a sub-plot, more time could have been spent on it, in addition to further developing Ji Woong's character. Though they weren't cultivated to their fullest potential, the fact that they were so lovable as to make me want more of them is still a good thing.



Oh My Venus was captivating enough to be marathon worthy up to episode 14, with anticipation for the problems that would arise in the home stretch. Although they dropped the ball in the last three episodes, in my opinion, the final scene was so perfect, it made up for it.

The Bad:  Some might like a feel-good drama from start to finish. I prefer to have a decent amount of pain and strife to maximize the impact of the sweet scenes. There was lots of potential for conflict to be developed, but it was all diluted, and negative situations were quickly cleared up. The biggest obstacles they faced were themselves, and because it was all their own choice, there was no question that everything would be resolved . 

Im Woo Shik (Jung Gyeo Woon) and Oh Soo Jin (Yoo In Young) represented one of the main sources of conflict in the drama, but their relationship with each other was portrayed as a bit depressing to the point where you have to wonder if there was ever any spark between them. It was sorely underdeveloped to begin with, which made them difficult to relate to as the drama progressed.

The last three episodes started to drag with continued happiness and lots of flashbacks. Where the story could have had more tension and meaning (and attention to the side characters) all the way to the end, it was filled with slow paced feel good moments. There were about a dozen scenes that could have been the happy ending. Despite my love for all the characters, I was ready to rate this drama a seven, until that final perfect scene bumped it back up to an eight. With better writing, it could have been a ten.

Oh My Venus received an average Neilsen rating of 8.7% nationwide, and 9.5% in Seoul. Yoo In Young received a Popularity Award at the 2015 APAN Star Awards. So Ji Sub won for Best Actor at the 2015 KBS Drama Awards, where Shin Min Ah won for Excellent Actress in a mini-series, and together they received the Best Couple award.

Friday, January 1, 2016

Happy Birthday January Week 1!

01

Choi Min
Jean Paul (BTL)
Kang Sung Jin
Kim Da Hyun
Kim Suk
Lee Doo Il
Lee Suk
Lee Won Jong
Park Doo Shik
Sung Min (Super Junior)
Yoon Gun (Brown Eyes)

02

Jeongmin (Boyfriend)
JinHong (AA)
Jung Sung Hwa
Kim Shi Hoo
Kim Sung Won

03

Dong Hyuk (iKON)
Jo Hwi Joon
Lee Bum Soo
Lee Wan
Sungwoo (F.I.X.)
Yang Seung Pil
Yoo Hyo Joon (Every Single Day)

04

Yoo Hae Jin

05

Huh Gak
Hwang Dong Joo
Jang Kwang
Kim Sa Kwon
Lee Do Young
Yoseob (B2ST)

06

JB (JJ Project, GOT7)
Kwang Hoon
Mithra (Epik High)
Park In Hwan
Kim Kyu Jin

07

Hong Jong Hyun
Howon (HITT)
Lee Hyo Jung