Fashion Face-off Friday: Facial Hair

Well, folks, it's been about a million years since we had one of these fashion face-offs.  Our face-off of rich ladies went to Joo Won's mom in a landslide.  I heartily agree with that decision!

For this week's face-off, I have decided to break from the norm.  We usually cover trends that appear frequently in kdramas, but this time, I wanted to look at the lone wolves fighting against the pack.  And that's why I've chosen facial hair.

It wasn't until fairly recently that I noticed the consistent lack of facial hair on most kdrama leads.  Even in historical dramas (which I have excluded here for consistency), half of the men look like someone glued a few strands of fur to their chins and called it good.  I don't know if Korean men just tend to grow patchy facial hair or what, but I wanted to let those few guys who weren't clean-shaven have their moment in the spotlight.  I couldn't find any good full-on beards, so it's just goatees and shadow-staches for now!

Sorry, Yoochun.  You're not fooling anyone.

Now, I know that facial hair isn't everyone's cup of tea.  Personally, I can appreciate a decent amount of scruff.  In fact, I once based an entire Halloween costume--including sewing myself some neon green pleather pants--around my husband's innate talent for growing Wolverine-like sideburns.  I also tend to let mustaches slide because my husband thinks they are hilarious.  Exhibit A: His face in its currently mustachioed glory:

I know what you're all thinking.
How can so much awesome happen on one face?

In addition to spicing up boring family Christmas cards and making small children cry, facial hair can also make for some excellent jokes:

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Ok, ok, I'll stop now. If I have one weakness, it's mustache-related puns. Maybe it's because I share a birthday with Chuck Norris?

Let's meet our proud contenders!

Contender 1: Jo Guk (City Hall)

Cha Seung Won as Jo Guk was the one who reminded me that kdrama men can actually grow hair on their faces.  Maybe the drama writers only let it slide because of his status as a smarmy politician, but whatever the reason, he works that goatee for a full 20 episodes.

Contender 2: Tae Woong (The Snow Queen)

I haven't actually seen this drama, but I stumbled on a poster for it and decided it belonged in this battle.  I was genuinely surprised at how a little bit of stubble can transform ole baby-face Hyun Bin.

Contender 3: Han Yi Soo (Shark)

Shark pictures have been popping up all over Pinterest since the show started, and I swear that the characters are either crying or gazing into space in every. single. one.  Keeping in character, Kim Nam Gil rocks what I like to call the "sad stache."

Contender 4: Kim Hyun Jun (Iris)

Don't let the faintness of the facial hair fool you--a little bit can go a long way!  Lee Byung Hun actually has one of those faces that looks like it needs a mustache.  Even when he's clean shaven, I can see the ghosts of mustaches past dancing on his upper lip.  Besides, we all know that mustaches, when combined with a sweet pair of shades, have been scientifically proven to help you shoot people better.

So out of the few kdrama leads who actually grew their own scruff, who pulled it off the best?  Are there any of them who look better when they aren't clean-shaven?  Vote below!

Who Wore Facial Hair Best?
	Jo Guk (City Hall)
	Tae Woong (The Snow Queen)
	Han Yi Soo (Shark)
	Kim Hyun Jun (Iris)
pollcode.com free polls

Kdrama Posters: The Message They Didn't Mean to Send

One of the reasons we wrote some of our recommendations posts is that it can be really difficult to sift through all of the dramas out there to find one you really love.  While I usually rely on reviews from bloggers who seem to match my tastes to help direct me to new dramas, I have to admit that I'm also really heavily swayed by advertising.  A great drama poster can push a show to the front of the line, while a ridiculous one can sometimes prevent me from starting something I might otherwise really enjoy.  Sometimes, the posters are so random or poorly planned that I have to wonder what advertising executive signed off on it in the first place.

With that in mind, here are some of my favorite random kdrama posters:

1. Shark

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What it should be about: A man with some sort of brain injury is very sad, so a nice lady lets him drool on her breasts for comfort. Then she is also sad.  They are both very, very sad.

I have seen this picture popping up all over Pinterest, but I just can't get past this poster to give it a real chance. 


What it's actually about: (from Wikipedia): "Han Yi-soo (Kim Nam-gil) narrowly escapes death and loses his father because of the owners of Gaya Hotel Group, the family of Jo Hae-woo (Son Ye-jin), his first love... 12 years later he returns to Korea with a new identity and carefully plots to avenge his family."

So at least I was right about the sad part.  Good job, advertisers!


2. Twelve Men in a Year

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What it should be about: With the help of a gigantic book/magic carpet, Cupid helps a sassy Korean girl discover the wonderful world of reading!

According to the movie poster, this show should be something like Wishbone, just more Korean.  And maybe with a love story. Now that I mention it, that sounds like an awesome premise for a show!  And probably better than the actual premise, which I quit after one episode.

What it's actually about: (from Dramawiki): "Na Miru, a twenty-nine old woman, starts a dating column and dates twelve men for each astrological sign in the calendar."

3. Full House, Take 2

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What it should be about:  A cross-dressing Golden Girls impersonator is torn between his split personalities: a nice college student named "Danny" and a rich, permed playboy named "Alfonso."

What it's actually about: (from Drama wiki) "This series pivots around a hapkido teacher Jang Man-ok (Hwang Jung Eum) becoming a stylist of top idol group TAKE ONE, composed of the perfectionist Lee Tae Ik (No Min Woo) and a free yet kind guy named Won Kang Hwi (Park Ki Woong) and getting into a romantic relationship with them."

Sooooooooo, that lady in the middle gets to be the stylist?  Somehow, that doesn't sell me on the show.


4. Secret Garden

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What it should be about: A Korean businessman almost dies and wakes up as Mary Poppins.  He falls in love with his "charge," and they use his new powers to fly to Bavaria!

What it's actually about: (from Wikipedia) "The drama tells the story of love story between Gil Ra-im (Ha Ji-won) and Kim Joo-won (Hyun Bin). Gil Ra-im is a poor but proud stunt woman who has supported herself since her father's death. Joo-won is an arrogant and eccentric CEO who maintains the image of seeming perfection. . . . A strange sequence of events results in them swapping bodies."

5. You're Beautiful

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What it should be about:  A ragtag gang of angels kidnap a grumpy man.  They teach him all kinds of useful things, like how to shoot lasers out of his hands and that he shouldn't wear tunics over suits.  He returns to earth a better man.

What it's actually about: (from Wikipedia) "Go Mi Nyu (Park Shin-hye) is a sister-in-training. Her twin brother, Go Mi Nam successfully auditions for the musical band A.N.JELL but is forced to leave for the  United States to correct a botched plastic surgery. Mi Nyu is approached by Mi Nam's manager to pose as Mi Nam while he recovers. . . . Mi Nyu enters the group A.N.JELL and meets its members: Hwang Tae Kyung (Jang Keun-suk), Kang Shin Woo (Jung Yong-hwa) and Jeremy (Lee Hongki)."

This is another case of a series that would have been better off just following the poster instead.

Which K-drama advertisements have left you scratching your head?