Can We Please Talk about This? (SPOILERS)

If you're not caught up on Pride and Prejudice and dislike spoiler-y things, go ahead and stop reading now  or just skip to the postscript. If you ARE caught up, we need to talk about this scene:

ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? *Rage punches nearest thing that is not a human or a cat*

Now under normal circumstances, Choi Jin Hyuk is pretty swoon-tastic, and I quite like both his character and the romantic buildup in this series so far. That being said, surely I can't be the only one who felt that there was nothing--nothing swoon-tastic about this scene, right?

Both from a logic perspective and a romance perspective, this is bad writing. Her character is trying to decide if he murdered her little brother, and THIS is his response? Ok, let's break down alllllll of the reasons why this is a terrible idea:

1. If you don't want her to think you're a murderer, perhaps instead of accosting her, you could explain what really happened that night. You're supposedly a genius prosecutor, right? Isn't offering a plausible alternative a thing?

2. She thinks you are a murderer. How is invading her personal space against her will going to make her feel more comfortable?

3. She lost her brother, and it has obviously caused severe emotional and psychological pain for both her and her family members. It's not an appropriate setup for a pickup line.

4. MURDERERS CAN KISS PEOPLE TOO! Cut the "What's your heart telling you?" nonsense. I know that gut feelings can be legit. But serial killers who seem like nice people while their freezers are full of human bodies are also legit.

/endrant


P.S. While we're on the topic of consent and rape culture and all that stuff, can we talk about something that happened today? Okay, so yesterday, I was asked to write this article about Park Shin Hye and her awkward kissing, which I did. I meant it as nothing more than a lighthearted joke about something that comes up every time she's in a new drama.

As anticipated, the hardcore PSH lovers came out in full force, which initially didn't bother me much. I didn't mean it as an insult to PSH, and I'm pretty sure I didn't insult ALL of South Korea, as one commenter claimed. But then I came across this rant on Tumblr, and, as someone who takes feminist issues in K-dramas pretty seriously, I thought it merited some discussion. Forgive me for hijacking my own post.

The author's points about director input are valid. I never meant to imply that Park Shin Hye and Park Shin Hye alone is responsible for all wide-eyed kissing in Korea. She is, however, one of the most well-known actresses who embodies the trend, which is why I chose her. I think that the double standard between male and female acting in dramas is an important discussion. I don't necessarily think that having a set of GIFs poking fun at PSH making the same face over and over and over in all of her dramas undermines that discussion.

I also don't think that director input means that PSH has NO control over how she acts in romantic scenes. Yes, her characters are socially awkward, but there are ways to be awkward and also express attraction at the same time. I would know. I'm one of the most socially awkward people I've ever met.

Just because I poked fun at her kissing also doesn't mean that I don't understand the difference between actor and character. In fact, it's because I believe that PSH isn't the same person she plays on-screen that I feel comfortable commenting on it. She has built an entire career around one type of character, and she consistently chooses to play that character. I'm hoping Pinocchio will be different, not just for her as an actress, but for the world of K-dramas in general. When one of Korea's top actresses consistently plays the role of the meek, wide-eyed girlfriend, it perpetuates that ideal.

I want PSH to be able to kiss better, not because I think that she should want to jump on any hot guy who happens to be her costar, but because if PSH can demonstrate female desire as a positive thing, maybe other actresses can, too. It's not about her becoming a "blow up doll to service your favorite actor"; frankly, it's the opposite. When she stands there, petrified and still as a board, all while the music in the background makes it out to be one of the most romantic scenes in the show, that, to me, suggests that women should hold still and take it. If her characters feel uncomfortable being kissed, they should reject it. If they want to be kissed, it's okay to express it. And yes, I also have major, major problems with that closet kiss in Heirs. And basically everything else Kim Tan did in Heirs.

Again, this is obviously a problem beyond the scope of just Park Shin Hye as an actress. After all, PSH can't exactly kick Lee Min Ho in the nuts and run out of the closet if that's not what the script says. It's a writing, directing, AND ACTING issue, but a humorous article didn't seem to be the place to tackle that whole can of worms. Maybe I got too carried away in my snark (which, I admit, I tend to do), but I dunno. A least poking fun at the problem has opened a conversation.

This doesn't need to be a feminist-off here. We all clearly have similar goals for gender representations in K-dramas. We just approach it in different ways.

New Dramas: Pride and Prejudice, Birth of a Beauty, and Mr. Baek

New drama time! New drama time! New drama tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiime! *Jazz hands*

Can you tell I'm a little bit excited about getting a new crop of shows? In case you can't tell from my incredibly sporadic (read: nonexistent) blogging of late, I didn't have time to pick up any of the dramas in the last round. Plus, none of them really grabbed my attention. But now life isn't quite as chaotic, just in time for a new set of shows! Thanks, universe!


I checked out Pride and Prejudice, Birth of a Beauty, and Mr. Baek. Realistically, I won't be able to keep up with all of them, but I haven't been able to make up my mind on which ones I'll watch yet. Here are my thoughts so far:

Pride and Prejudice

An ensemble cast! My favorite!
Image via

What it's about: A genius ace prosecutor (Choi Jin Hyuk) and a hardworking rookie prosecutor (Baek Jin Hee) end up on the same team years after they dated. Romance, mystery, corruption, and pretty much everything else you would expect from a legal drama ensues. And no, despite what the title implies, it has no relation to Jane Austen, though they do have a little nod to the book in the second episode.

Initial thoughts: As someone who has watched more than her fair share of Law and Order marathons on TNT, I feel qualified to say that the case-of-the-day format here isn't the most compelling I've ever seen. It's fine, but I'm hoping they move to the central mystery and drop the procedural style soon. 

But who even cares about plot when you have Choi Jin Hyuk? I wasn't enthralled with his character in Emergency Couple, but for some reason, I can't stop watching him here. It's not like his character is that interesting, so I don't get it. Is it the suits? Is it his melodious voice? Am I really that shallow? Quite possibly. His banter back and forth with Baek Jin Hee is delightful to watch.

This is my first time seeing Baek Jin Hee in anything. Is it just me, or does she look a lot like Yoon Eun Hye from certain angles?

You all see it, right? I'm not just making things up?

I like her character fine so far, but I really wish she would stop running around in high heels. Just stop and take them off. Please.

I want to pat the second male lead on the head and give him a cookie.

Birth of a Beauty

I know that this is completely hypocritical given my feelings about the premise,
but I have massive hair envy. Don't hate me.
Image via

What it's about: An overweight woman (Han Ye Seul) finds out that her husband is cheating on her and goes to a genius (Joo Sang Wook) for help transforming herself. She undergoes massive plastic surgery and then vows to get her revenge.

Initial thoughts: When I first heard this premise, I wanted to smash my face into my keyboard. It sounds pretty similar to the premise of 200 Pounds Beauty, which I really didn't like. I know the movie is popular, but sorry, I can't get behind this one. The movie seemed pretty confused, and it kept sending mixed messages about body image. (Be true to yourself! But if you're sad, you should get pretty, and it really will fix all of your problems.) 

Still, I gave the show a chance, and while it's too early to say how it will handle body image issues, it has some promise. The first episode was a big hot logical mess, but once they got past that initial hurdle, it settled down into enjoyable romcom territory. 

This show wouldn't work at all with the wrong leads, but Joo Sang Wook and Han Ye Seul have some crazy chemistry together. That's pretty important because I hate pretty much ALL of the other characters right now. Like if I were in a room with all of the secondary characters and had the chance to give one and only one of them a terrible wedgie, I would be paralyzed with indecision. Ok, so that's a pretty specific scenario, but it encapsulates how I feel.

Mr. Baek

Image via

What it's about: A 70-year-old hotel owner (Shin Ha Kyun) is a complete Scrooge (no, really, there's a hilarious sequence of him bathing in gold in his tub). Due to a meteor/fate (?), he suddenly ages backwards into his late 30s. There's also some corporate intrigue and stuff going on if you're into that sort of thing.

Initial thoughts: This show may be worth it just to watch Shin Ha Kyun make grumpy grandpa faces. I don't know how long they can play that card, but seriously, this casting is perfection. The show itself is a bit too slapstick for my usual tastes, but he's clearly having so much fun hamming it up that it works somehow.

I haven't seen any of Shin Ha Kyun's other stuff, and he isn't completely handsome in a traditional flower boy (flower man?) way, but he has some interesting charisma that makes me want to keep watching.

Although I'm loving his acting, I'm really glad that we're done with the old man makeup portion of the show (for now) because that makeup made him look 102, not 70.

Lee Joon actually looks like his son, so that casting was pretty great, as well. I feel completely ambivalent about Jang Nara's character so far. She's basically as Candy-like a character as you will ever see. I guess she has a mom so she isn't an orphan, but it's all pretty familiar territory for anyone who has seen more than a handful of dramas.

Conclusions

So far, it looks like Dramabeans won't be recapping any of these shows (aside from the first-episode recap they did for Birth of a Beauty), which means I need to find people to discuss the episodes with me. People of the internet! Please come talk with me! What are you watching? What should I keep watching? I think I'm in for Pride and Prejudice for sure, but I can't decide with the other two! Hellllllllp meeeeeeeeeeeee.

Where to watch

Pride and Prejudice: Viki, SoompiTV (formerly Kdrama.com), and DramaFever (premium users only)

Birth of a Beauty:  SoompiTV, DramaFever, Viki

Mr. Baek: DramaFever

Emergency Couple Korean Drama Review

Source

Warning: This review is pretty spoiler-y. We can't keep our mouths shut. You've been warned!

Vivi: I’m really glad that Coco and I both watched Emergency Couple because I was waaaaay more invested in it than I had any right to be, and I needed someone to text about it in the middle of the night.

Coco: And I needed someone to talk to about how cute baby Gook was! Seriously, was he not the CUTEST baby in the world?

Vivi: YES. But I thought you were going to say you needed to text someone about how cute Chief Gook was. Because that happened too.

Coco: I’m pretty sure that was YOU. Although I do agree that he was very cute, it was you who did most of the second male lead pining.

This happened every week. Multiple times a week.

Vivi: Yeah, I did. I don’t understand how you were able to watch it without rooting for the second male lead. Are you even human? 

I’m serious. Are you a robot?

Coco: A Choi Jin Hyuk-loving robot!!! I admit that I was on on the first male lead’s side the whole time. That largely had to do with the behind the scenes footage I saw of him laughing and joking with Ji Hyo. They were so freakin adorable together (as cute as the Monday Couple comprised of Ji Hyo and Kang Gary on Running Man, I dare say!) So I was patiently waiting for his character to grow up and act like a man and for her character to finally settle into her confident self.

Source

Vivi: And my love of Chief Gook was mostly tied to his scruff and the fact that he was socially awkward and emotionally constipated. In other words, if I had a Kdrama patronus, it would be him. You’re right about the character growth, though. A lot of people complained about the leads at first, but I appreciated that they had plenty of time for gradual growth.

Coco: Yes, I was pleased with the growth of these characters. It felt natural, and they all became legitimately awesome people.

Vivi: Yeah, everything felt pretty natural, except for the last few episodes. Song Ji Hyo suddenly baking fortune cookies from scratch and throwing herself at the man made me throw up in my mouth. (And if you run up multiple flights of stairs, of course your heart will be beating hard. You're a doctor! Pull it together!) Also, “I hate divorced people?” It’s like they suddenly realized they only had three episodes left and finally noticed that all sane people loved the second lead.

You know what else was a well-developed character? This cat poster. Behold its glory.

Coco: My complaint at the beginning of the drama was that the female lead was too passive and incompetent for me to love her, but she quickly proved herself and developed the self confidence that had been drained out of her after her terrible divorce. The male lead also gradually stood up for her and came to respect and admire her for real reasons, unlike many other Kdrama characters where I continually ask myself, “Why does he/she like him/her?” (Kim Tan and Eun Sang in Heirs, I’m talking to you).

Vivi: Completely agreed about the respect. I was thrilled that she didn’t stand for it when he tried to force himself onto her, and they included a few episodes where he had to learn to take the relationship on her terms. Unlike you, I liked her from the beginning. She wasn’t really incompetent. From the very beginning, she would do things right, but no one else took her seriously. I think the fact that the character was played by Song Ji Hyo also helped. She as a person doesn’t really strike me as a wilting flower, so I was willing to wait for plot development. I don’t watch Running Man, but I might start.

Coco: Running Man is the best btw. But yes, I love that he had to figure out how to have a mature relationship, and it was too bad that she went over the top in trying to convince him that she truly loved him back at the end. It is sad that they kind of threw the “I hate divorced people” at the Chief as a device to make him less of a good match, but I did really like him with Ji Hye. I just loved her from the beginning with her cool and collected demeanor. I was happy that they alluded to them ending up together, although I wish they would have done more with it than the awkward airport scene. I mean, if I were her I’d be like, “That’s it? A ‘come back sometime’ is the best you can muster during a dramatic airport scene?”

Vivi: I actually kind of loved that. It was so fitting to his entire personality. If the writers had done more with that relationship earlier, I might have expected more, but if he had run to the airport and suddenly started making out with her, it would have been weird. Like sexytimes CPR weird. Or clown music during a hostage scene weird.

Coco: Sexytimes CPR was one of the most awkward scenes of any Kdrama ever. Especially since it fell on a commercial break so it immediately repeated and made it twice as long. Eww.

Vivi: Seriously. It was like I couldn’t stand to watch it, but I couldn’t look away, either. MAKE IT STOP! Speaking of that scene, this show wins for most fakeouts ever. I’m not happy about it, show! If you show someone moving in for a kiss, you’d better mean it!

Coco: But wouldn’t it have been sadder if he actually did kiss her and then she rejected him? At least their relationship didn’t progress that far. But why did she go visit him at his cabin? That was kind of a mean trick when she already knew she wasn’t done with her ex-husband.

Vivi: That was a big complaint for me. It was like the show wanted to pretend that he never even confessed his feelings. Every time I thought they might let the relationship go, they just kept adding in something heartbreaking like that stupid cabin and stabbing me in the heart. And hello, letting him see them making out at the bus stop???? I hate them.

Coco: Ok, can we talk about the side characters for a minute? I totally love her sister and brother -in-law. Yes, she was a total pain in the butt at first, but the way they kept intervening with their relationship was really funny. And they spawned the cutest, funniest creation on God’s green earth, Gook.

Vivi: I wasn’t crazy about any of the parents, but I did enjoy the sister and her bumbling husband (Except for her terrible advice at the end. "Your body knew you were in love"? Nope. Your body was drunk.), and the other people in the hospital were fine. I mean, I can’t say that I was hanging on to every word Ah Reum said, but it was okay.

Coco: Yeah, I didn’t know what to do with Ah Reum. I hated her smug face so much at the beginning that even though she turned into a good person surprisingly quickly, I could never sincerely wish for her happiness. I’m glad that Yong Gyu ended up getting the girl because he was sooo adorable and sweet, but they’re kind of an odd match.

Vivi: They are a perfect match because Ah Reum’s only job was to look hot and smile, and Yong Gyu just wanted a hot girlfriend. Boom. Match made in heaven.

Coco: That’s true. Plus, she really did show that she was a good person many times over. What about the newly married couple and the pregnancy plotline? Something that did strike me over and over again in this drama was the theme of female empowerment. It was fantastic to see so many strong women in typically male positions in this drama.

Vivi: Absolutely. That storyline felt a little underdeveloped and thrown together, but between that, the double standard for divorce, and Ji Hye as a single working mother, it was a show that largely revolved around the problems women face. And at the end of the day, none of the women had ideal lives, and none of them were pushovers.

Coco: It’s so nice to see a Kdrama, or a show in general, that addresses those issues realistically and doesn’t primarily focus on the issues surrounding modern women and sex and romance like in I Need Romance and Sex and the City. Yes, sex and romance are struggles for modern women, but there’s much more than that in their struggle for equality.

Vivi: I Need Romance 3 also had an unwed pregnancy plotline, which was probably the most interesting part of the whole show (which I still need to review someday). I do like to see the emergence of more nuanced shows, though. Wait, did I just call Emergency Couple nuanced? Scratch that. There were definitely rough patches, too. Some of the tone was bizarre. Some of the plot elements jumped forward at the end. The mother drove me insane. But even with the stuff I didn’t like, I was waiting for each new episode, which is something that hasn’t happened in a while.

Coco: True, is had its struggles, and sometimes it seemed a little slow (mostly because I don’t love medical dramas so I would rather fast forward through those scenes), but I was also waiting for new episodes and sometimes got way too excited and then sad when I realized it was actually Thursday and not Friday like I thought. Overall, I highly recommend this drama for its talented and fun cast and their great chemistry, not only as couples but as an overall ensemble as well.

What did you guys think of this show? Did you stick with it past the rough start? Comment below!

Where to watch Emergency Couple

DramaFever

Viki