My ID is Gangnam Beauty

Since I was feeling kinda iffy about the amount of possible chaebol stuff in Strongest Deliveryman, I thought I'd try one that I'd been waiting to see for a while (everyone was raving about it) that had finally popped up on Netflix (it's not available in my region from Viki). My ID is Gangnam Beauty. I started it over lunch at the Grocer. Soup. Coffee. Kdrama. Anyway.

It's the story of Kang Mi-Rae (Lim Soo-Hyang), a college freshman. She's been bullied all her life. First for being fat (kids calling her Pig, chasing her, locking her in closets, etc.), but she overcame that by exercising/eating right and becoming thin...but then, in middle school/high school, for being ugly. She was called an orc and constantly teased. Consequently, she's got some serious self esteem issues (though, happily, she does have a best girl friend that has been with her through all of it). Before starting college, her mother helps her get plastic surgery to try and give her a normal life. She's pretty now but she's still shy and meek and has no self confidence.

She soon runs into Do Kyung-Seok (played by Cha Eun-Woo), who attended the same middle school and is also an entering freshman in the Chemistry department.  He's a handsome dude and all the girls are hitting on him (except Mi-Rae, who is a bit freaked that someone she knew "before" is there) but he's not at all interested in their somewhat shallow attempts to woo him. By the end of the first episode, he's saved her from a creeper upperclassman and has apparently recognised her from before, even though she looks totally different (not that we know exactly what she looked like before as it's all blurred shots or from behind a curtain of hair or closeups of poor Mi-Rae's haunted eyes). He's playing it as a very deadpan character, which I like (I have no idea why) and is obviously the forthcoming love interest. Maybe because his smile, once it comes, will feel like a rainbow? I dunno. These types of characters often appeal to me.

Obviously, there's a lot of baggage here and I'm not necessarily for Cinderella stories where it's all about oh, now I'm pretty, so life is good but I think this looks like it will be more about learning to love yourself. Because Mi-Rae definitely needs to learn to like herself. And Cha Eun-Woo has that sweetly earnest thing going for him (OMG he's such a baby -- he's only 21, though Soo-Hyang is 28 in real life). Wasn't totally in the mood for a university-aged show BUT I think this one does pass the no-chaebol test. So I think I'll give it a shot. And so many people have been raving about it on Reddit and Twitter that it seems a shame not to give it a go.

Oh! And Woo Hyun, who played Gong Shim's dad in Beautiful Gong Shim, also plays Mi-Rae's dad in this. And he's ridiculous funny. So that kind of clinched it for me.

Edit: Okay, I've watched three episodes. And answered emails. Still nothing from my editor. Ack. I'm sort of liking the show but, man, seriously, Mi-Rae has run into some absolute assholes at her school. There's the jerky creeper, but it's actually the mean girl playing nice, apparently out of jealousy, that's really the kicker. I'm not really getting her motivation, to be honest, other than that she's obviously been set up as the antagonist (that everyone thinks is nice except for Kyung-Seuk, who hasn't been taken in -- he keeps quiet and looks and sees...which is, I imagine, why he noticed Mi-Rae before). Maybe the thing that bugs me about her is why Mi-Rae can't see her for what she is...after all, she's spent her whole life being bullied and teased. How is she not recognising it when it's pretty obvious?

So...I'm really liking Cha Eun-Woo -- both character-wise and his acting -- but I wouldn't say I'm totally loving the show as a whole. Mi-Rae has a lot of climbing to do to get out of the hole that she's in and there hasn't been much movement on that part yet. She was top in her school before, so she's not stupid. Yes, there's some emotional stuntedness obviously BUT...eh, I dunno. I want to see at least a hint at growth. There's just 16 episodes. Not sure how many of those I can sit through purely on Cha Eun-Woo's character even if he is ridiculously adorable.

Edit: Hmmmmmmmmmmmm. Midway through episode 4 and the estranged/absent mom of Kyung-Seuk has appeared AND she just happens to be the lady that saved Mi-Rae from committing suicide (by jumping off a bridge) when Mi-Rae was a teenager AND she's the head of some perfume company AND she was the one who inspired Mi-Rae to pursue chemistry because she loves perfume. I mean, really.  AND the TA that's got a bit of a crush on Mi-Rae was also introduced to estranged mom. Methinks there might be a few too many coincidences in this show. Also, bitchy girl is ridiculous. She even dropped a flask that Mi-Rae was handing her (which was full of chemicals) to try and get attention. And she has nothing better to do with her life than try and make Mi-Rae's miserable? Ain't nobody got time for that at unversity. So, I dunno.

Some random observations about this one:

• The best girl friend of Mi-Rae might actually have more dialogue than the main character. She speaks in complete sentences/thoughts whereas our titular lead is often silent. 
• Kyung-Seuk is also quite a quiet character, though at least he has minute changes in expression. The lead actress seems to barely change her expression (except for the one scene where she got to go all aegyo for the first time in her life--that was a good one)? I guess that works for the character though? Still, the basic emotion she seems to convey in nearly every scene is sadness and stillness. Eun-Woo has managed to convey more with his bare hint of a smile (pleased when she asks him for a drink) or slight widening of the eyes (when he thinks his sister has actually started smoking)
• Seriously extensive use of flashbacks, often to stuff that just, like, literally happened in the show and often of the same thing multiple times. Did they need filler or something? 

Those things (plus some other stuff) is making the pace feel quite slow. Some judicious editing would be good.

To be honest, I think I'm continuing to watch because SO many people were gushing over this that I feel like maybe I'm missing something (other than Cha Eun-Woo). Hopefully it tightens up a bit.

Obviously, one of her problems is being blind.

Edit: about to start episode 6. Okay, it's getting better. The best bits are when the leads are together and not the stuff focused on bitchy girl. Seriously, very over that. And some of the secondary relationships are finally starting to be fleshed out, so that's good too (bartender friend / the TA). Liked that Mi-Rae's dad was the "stalker" rather than there being an actual stalker. Mi-Rae is also starting to show more emotion, so that's good. The actress seems fine when she's allowed to show some emotion other than "pensive." Though all the girls need to stand up to the senior boys because they're a bunch of jerks.

Edit: after episode 9. Still going back and forth on this one. "Glad" that they've at least shown that Sua (the evil bitchy girl) isn't just focused on Mi-Rae but basically every girl/every person? The slightly chubby girl started a relationship with a guy, so Sua immediately begins flirting with him. Still feel like her motivation makes no sense at all. She's not happy, so no one can be? Beauty as a weapon? I really hope they don't try to redeem her at the end somehow because there's just no excuse for someone to be such a bitch. I don't care that she's probably poor or that she might've had a bad childhood and maybe has abandonment issues. That's still not an excuse.

Kyung-Seuk is honestly one of those "too good for this world" type of characters. Somehow, he never noticed back in school that Mi-Rae's nickname was "Kang Orc" or, it seems, that he was popular. He was in some kind of bubble. He thought she was "cute" back then when he saw her dancing. He thinks she's cute now. He's actually very awkward and it's sweet. He's totally not realistic, but he's lovely.

There's family drama going on with him and his asshole congressman dad (who apparently drove off the estranged mother, partly by punching her in the nose and killing her sense of smell and then claiming that she was having an affair when she wasn't) and he's moved out but he is woefully unprepared to be out on his own.

I realise that these shows have to have adversity to overcome and antagonists. That's what makes them a story. But the parts where this show shines aren't those bits -- they feel tired and I really want to forward through them. The nice bits are in the small moments and the parts where people are relating to each other. I'm liking the development of the side relationships too.

Edit: about to start episode 13. It took until episode 10 before Mi-Rae finally figured out that Sua isn't nice. At least Kyeung-Seuk has known all along.

He tells it like it is. And, yeah, she totally is. Not that being mentally ill
makes you a bad person. She's done all that part on her own.

I like how straightforward he is. Though now we're at the part in the show where, basically, Mi-Rae's biggest hurdle to finding happiness and accepting herself is...herself. I get it. I do. But it's also frustrating. I feel like I should have more patience with her, but that's probably also me looking back at this with, ahem, the wisdom of age. Cue the laugh track.

The coverage of the supporting characters has really been up and down, like the show drops the ball and then picks it back up again and hopes you don't notice. I am happy that the chaebol-ish related stuff (Kyeung-Seuk's dad/family situation) hasn't been at the forefront. It's concentrated more on him and his sister connecting with their mom again rather than the political ambitions of the dad.

But mostly I'm ready for Mi-Rae to allow herself to be happy. And for Kyeung-Seuk to be happy too. They both deserve it. Oh, and this show makes me glad I'm not Korean. I suppose every culture has beauty issues but Korea's idol culture is a bit extreme. I'm sure I've known some people who've had plastic surgery. Seems likely. But I couldn't pick them out. I mean, I can look at some Hollywood stars and think, whoa, they really should have left themselves alone but I don't know that I'd look at the actress who plays Mi-Rae and think she's had stuff done. I'd just think she was pretty. Well, I might think she'd had something done to her lips. They're a bit oddly puffy, especially around the top lip. But I don't care.

Actually, that's one of the weird things about this show -- Sua is supposed to be this amazing natural beauty but I didn't even think from the beginning (before you knew she was evil) that she was all that pretty. A few of the other girls are much more interesting. The one who plays the freshman class rep (Eun) is, I think, one of the prettiest on the show as well as the actress that plays Mi-Rae's best friend. Oh, and what happened to her rap dreams? That's one of the things they dropped -- so early on that now I wonder why they bothered having spent any screen time on it?

Loved the parents reaction to finding out Mi-Rae was dating Kyeung-Seuk

Edit: Okay, I finished it. Overall, I'd say that I liked the show BUT there was WAY too much about Sua and her issues (bulimia, mental health, she gets a stalker who's as crazy as she is, crap childhood, etc. etc. ad naseum). Honestly, I did not care at all about her. This is likely partly because I've been through a lot of crap myself, including a bout with being fat/anorexia + a bunch of other stuff that I'm not going to go into. All of that stuff doesn't have to turn you into a raving bitch. Obviously, I'm supposed to have sympathy for her, but I ultimately don't. Most of her problems she brought on herself. If it hadn't been my first time through the show, I would have forwarded through all of those bits with her, especially the last two episodes where I really would have rather spent the time on the leads.

Or on ALL of the secondary relationships or even the family drama (and when do I EVER say that?). That's one place where this show definitely fell short. There really wasn't much of a resolution to ANY of the secondary character's stories. It was a bit too open-ended. I suppose you could argue that they were going for that -- the mom doesn't take the dad back (and why would she??), the slightly chubby girl doesn't take the boyfriend back (I don't blame her), the bartender and the girl that liked him never start anything up (though they've become close and she gives him life advice and he even introduces her to his dad), best friend and Woo-Young never get it together (though there's chemistry there and definitely feelings at least on her side)...basically, nothing gets any kind of resolution at all. Like real life often is. But this isn't real life. At least they did a better job on the main couple -- Kyeong-Seuk even mentions that where they are in the final scene would be a lovely place to come back to for a proposal some day... and it was a bit nice to see him as the one that was a bit insecure when Mi-Rae had been such a waffle through most of the episodes.

I get that there was a lot of subtext throughout about the real meaning of beauty and truth, etc. etc. Some of it pretty heavy-handed. I can appreciate that and I know that's where they were going with the Sua/Mi-Rae dynamic...two girls who have more in common than either would want to admit. But, man, I didn't enjoy that aspect at all.

So...overall it was fairly sweet. Liked Cha Eun-Woo a lot. He's still a bit stilted on some of the delivery BUT some of that might have been direction (there were a lot of those slow moving Kdrama-style scenes here that move at about 1/2 speed...I can forgive it on the scenes where they are walking as, hey, yeah, if you're walking with your crush and you want it to go on longer, you naturally slow down...but they did that with the first kiss -- as many shows do--and it makes it very unnatural and jerky.) He's young too and I imagine he'll only get better. I saw some clips of him on variety shows and in an interview and he actually seems very animated and energetic there and much more natural and silly. Of course, that's merely another type of theatre, so who knows what his personality really is. But he seems like a nice kid.

I also quite liked Eun and the best friend (why can't I ever remember her name?). Would like to see either of them in something else. Lim Soo-Hyang as Mi-Rae was better in the last half than the first half, but I can't say that she's my favourite. She was also a bit old for this role, being a 28 year old playing a 20 year old. She mostly pulled that off, but there were times I caught myself thinking it didn't work before I even looked up how old she actually is.

Anyway. Am I glad I watched it? Yeah. I'd put it middle of the road for my personal enjoyment scale. There were a handful of scenes that were really wonderfully done but also some I struggled to get through. Would I watch it again? Hmmm, probably just clips of scenes. Do really adore the actors who played Mi-Rae's parents too and wouldn't have minded more with them. So...My ID is Gangnam Beauty was worth the watch, but not in my top 5. I can see why it was hyped so much but it probably suffered for that because I expected more from it.

Strongest Deliveryman

One of the Kdramas I'd downloaded an episode of on Netflix was Strongest Deliveryman wherein it is described as "Two gutsy food delivery workers strive to overcome their socioeconomic disadvantages to achieve big goals--and bump into love along the way."

The only clip I'd seen from it made it look fairly humorous and that description definitely made it sound like there wasn't any chabeol junk in it. So I watched it while I was at the gym.

I didn't realise going in that Chae Soo-bin (I'm Not a Robot and Where Stars Land) was the main female lead. I'd only seen the guy Ko Gyung-Pyo in the little trailer clip from Netflix. So, that was a surprise. I do mostly like her (in the robot one, anyway) so that didn't necessarily put me off, even though I'd just seen her in something.

The first episode is a bit jumpy as it introduces the characters...

• Choi Gang-Soo (played by Ko Gyung-Pyo) -- a delivery guy who never stays in one location for more than 2 months, which immediately made me suspect he's searching for someone and Lo, the epilogue proved that as we see a flashback of him as a teenager when his dad died and learn that his mom had stolen all their money and abandoned them and he's planning on searching for her in Seoul to basically tell her how crap she was. He seems a nice enough character and a decent guy (chasing down a hit and run driver, for instance) but I'm also guessing that the mom might be the chaebol bitch-ity bitch we see in the first episode buying up shopping districts and putting little shops out of business + the not-very-nice mom of Lee Ji-Yoon (below). So...more chaebol crap I wasn't expecting ONCE A-FREAKING AGAIN.
• Lee Dan-A (played by Chae Soo-bin) -- a delivery girl with an attitude who is working hard to save money to get out of Korea to find new opportunities. She's tough. 
• Oh Jin-Gyu (played by Kim Sun-Ho) -- a younger son chaebol kid who's dad treats him like a loser but his older brother spoils him. So far, seems like a complete asshat, having insulted Choi for no reason. His family is apparently 3rd or 4th in line in the corporate world, so probably competing with the bitchy chaebol mom's family. 
• Lee Ji-Yoon (played by Go Won-hee) -- A chaebol daughter of bitchy mom, who has run away and subsequently been "cut off" in order to force her to come back home with her tail between her legs. She's apparently 23 but very innocent/sheltered and Choi, who gave her food and a place to sleep after he caught her eating someone else's leftover food on the street, thinks she's only 17. So, if her bitchy mom is also his bitchy mom, that makes her his half-sister. They might not be related, but that would be my guess. 

Do you see my problem? Out of the four leads, two of them have definite chaebol connections/ties and the main character (Choi) might as well. I have a bit of hope as the AsianWiki description of the show says "Story depicts love and success of a deliveryman who eventually becomes the CEO of a delivery app company." But still. 

It does seem to have some funny bits but also some downer bits. I think it is one that I will watch, just not entirely sure that now is the time. Also, the lead guy has that poodle hair that I don't understand the appeal of. 

Will update once I go on...

Edit: watched episode 2 because it was downloaded on my phone already via Netflix and I didn't want to use up any more data because little dude has almost gone through it all this month. Anyway...

Welp. I think I'm still kinda feeling the same. This one looks to be even more depressing than I thought after the first episode. Jin-Gyu is still a complete ass BUT his dad also beat him with a freaking golf club and told him to kill himself. I mean, what the WHAT. Sure, your kid might be an asshole, but who does that?? Evil Chaebol Dad, I guess. And Ji-Yoon is super manipulative, though they've framed her as someone "innocent/cute/sweet/in need of rescue" but she's able to turn on the waterworks at will to get what she wants, which makes me personally not really care for her. Dan-Ah is more sympathetic as she's got a crap family she wants to get away from but it's also hard to see her completely cutting them from her life (at least the brother...the parents seem like total idiots)...AND she's also not above stooping to blackmail (she thinks Gang-Soo is a transvestite because she found Ji-Yoon's stuff in his room and is extorting money from him). At this point, Gang-Soo is really the only wholly sympathetic one and he's a pretty prickly panda.

And, at the end of the episode, Dan-Ah comes across Jin-Gyu about to/trying to commit suicide and is saving him when they both fall into the water. We obviously know they don't die but geez, that's a downer. As is the friend of Gang-Soo who got into a car accident and is probably gonna die because he couldn't get taken to the hospital fast enough because Jin-Gyu's cronies had the road illegally blocked off for a car race. I mean, seriously. Hella depressing. Wasn't expecting that from this show based on how it was billed.

So...I might continue on with it at some point but I'll have to put on my stoic face first.

Something in the Rain

So...after not feeling like Doctors was the right fit for me right now, I thought I'd try something else. I gave Something in the Rain a try.

It's supposed to be about a thirty-something woman who's living an empty life and having no luck in love. She kindles a romance with the younger brother of her best friend. I'd seen a clip or two and I was interested in a "noona romance" (I'm old, I'm old, yeah, yeah).

So...I was about half way through and not connecting overly much with the slow pace. I know, I know, one episode isn't enough for any of these shows. I'm not even sure what it was, but I kept wanting to forward on. I thought I'd look up a bit of information/reviews on it to see if it was worth the time. And...yeah. Apparently the leads are cute together but basically, it sounds like the whole show is one big angst fest where no one wants them together (already didn't think much of her mom, tbh) and there's crap going on at her job and there's some 3 year separation thing at the end that's partly due to them not communicating.

So I didn't even finish the episode. I really just don't want another forced separation for no good reason thing. Why is that such a big thing in Kdramas? I don't get it. And, while I did think the lead guy looked fun, the female lead mainly just felt...sad. Which is, I suppose, the point. She needs some life in her life. But this isn't the type of thing I need in my life right now, so it's a pass from me. Life is too short.

Doctors

After yet another chaebol-centric Kdrama (Beautiful Gong Shim) that I didn't think had any possibility of having any chaebol crap in it, I am determined to watch something that has nary a glimpse of a chaebol in it. So I tried one on my list that sounded like it would fit the bill: Doctors. I'd seen clips where she (Park Shin Hye -- the lead from You're Beautiful but looking a LOT more feminine here) is kicking some gangster butt in the hospital she works at. She's a doctor who is supposed to have had a tough childhood but was set on the right path by a teacher.

So...after one episode...I think I'll watch this at some point but I don't think that point is now. One, I didn't realise that one of the other main actresses in this is Lee Sung Kyung (from Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Ju and About Time) and, eh, I dunno, but I just don't feel like watching her in something again yet. Two, it looks like there'll be some chaebol-ish type crap after all. Hong the teacher/doctor, played by Kim Rae Won, is the adopted son of a hospital director/owner/whatever? and there's some kind of manipulation going on there where the vice president and his son (butler dude from Shopping King Louis) are trying to take over. And Three...75% of that first episode is all the stuff that happened back to her in high school.

Which is okay, I suppose. But I was in the mood for something a) more adult and b) funnier. On the plus side, there was a cameo/small part with a bad boy Jisoo, which was fun to see. So I'll update this whenever I watch it at some point. I think it looks okay. Just not what I need right now.

A poor attempt

This is a poor attempt at a poem/song based on a conversation I was having with a friend on Twitter and I'm sticking it here so maybe I can work on it later. But I wouldn't say I'm happy with it. It needs a lot of work. But I haven't been feeling very inspired. So, here. For later.

World of Nonsense

I went about it sideways,

Like I always do.

But the world wasn’t listening

It’s a lot like you

Can’t you see --

The temple has been raided

The museums are all sacked

The living rooms are empty

And you’re not coming back

It’s a world of nonsense,

So I tried to go straight on,

Like you always do.

But the world wasn’t watching,

It’s a lot like you

Can’t you see –

The doors are all closed

The lines are dead

The windows are empty

And you’re still stuck in my head

So I went about it sideways,

Like I always do

Another year

Another birthday gone. And there's less of me (weight-wise) than there has been for the last 2 years. Still a stone to go, but better than it has been.

Today, little dude has his last interview/assessment at the IB school. It's probably 2nd or 1st on his list, so I hope he does well. Just want this to be over with, both for him and for us.

More later.

Progress...

Little man has an interview today with the school he'd most like to get into (which used to be his third choice, but he really liked the look of it when he went for the testing). So stressful. I just hope he relaxes and doesn't talk like an autobot. He can be really good when talking with adults and normally isn't nervous BUT there's been so much pressure on him with all of this assessment stuff that I think he's more freaked out than he normally would be. Hopefully it will be a nice interviewer.

In me news, the weight I lost has at least been staying off, though I haven't really lost much more. But things are shifting around and I was able to get into my (former) fat jeans and the (super) fat jeans are now loose. As well as some shirts I hadn't been able to wear in a while. My body fat percentage has gone down quite a bit too, which is good. Still a long way to go.

I did 10 minutes on the weird adaptive elliptical yesterday -- it feels like trying to run in pudding -- and another 50 minutes on the regular one that I normally do. A bit of time on the arm weight machine, but my left arm has been sore, so not much. Then I got stuck in my exercise bra because I couldn't quite get my left arm to behave...so maybe I need to stay away from that for a bit. Not sure.

The back/leg has been hurting quite a lot lately, especially in the morning and at night, but the hubby has a possible new client that has some weird pain relief thing and they are going to try it out on me. It sounds too good to be true, which is why he wanted to have me try it out. I go on Wednesday. Hopefully it does work. That would be lovely. The shooting pains have been waking me up at night pretty regularly. And today's been a bad day with it. Walked to the post office and it was painful the whole way, maybe because it's so cold today. It even snowed.

Anything else? Not too much. My birthday is in two days. I feel old and ugly. I know, I know, I'm not actually ugly. But you can't always help how you feel. And everyone needs some validation sometimes and goodness knows I don't get much of that from my husband. He's always busy somehow and if I try to give him a passing hug, he makes this face like I'm in the way.

Still no word from the editor...so I'm still on hold. I have written a few pages, but that's it.

I bought two Michel Thomas CDs on learning Korean. Used his stuff when learning Italian and it was really good. Thought it might kick start me. I should really be trying Japanese since it's FAR more likely that I'll travel there, but I've been watching a lot more Korean stuff than Japanese lately (though still doing anime with little dude). So I'm being self indulgent. Actually, I suppose it's an experiment. I've never been great at languages beyond being able to remember lots of words. If I can do okay with the CDs maybe I'll try an actual class. We'll see.

Feel rather like I'm wishing my life away. Just want to get through this week. Just want to get through the next.

Beautiful Gong Shim

The unfortunate wig and actually a scene that I really liked where she's
stuck in a crowd and uses a bicycle bell to get people out of her way.

Beautiful Gong Shim aka Dear Fair Lady Kong Shim has been on my list for a while. I'd seen one clip from it a few times where she's dating someone (and wearing a godawful wig that makes her look even younger than she is--seriously, like, 15) and some other woman tries to butt in, acting like she's a teenager that needs to go away and let the big people talk. And the guy introduces her as his girlfriend. It appealed to me because it looked funny and I'm small and people often (when I was younger, anyway, and didn't have some silver hair sprouting out of the top of my head) treated me like that.

Welp. I've watched one episode now. Erm. I think it's going to definitely have a fair amount of funny bits but, man, it's way more depressing than I thought it would be at all from the description.

Can two sisters find their own personal happiness when they get involved with two very different men? 

Kong Shim (Minah) and Kong Mi (Seo Hyo Rim) are both trying hard to better their lives and find good jobs. But their lives are complicated when they cross paths with two very different men. Ahn Dan Tae (Namgoong Min) is a human rights lawyer who was falsely accused of a crime and served time in prison. Suk Jin Soo (On Joo Wan) comes from a wealthy family. 

Can the sisters find the happiness they seek?

Does that sound sad? No, not really. What it really is so far...Gong Shim (some day I need to look up what the deal is with Korean and "g" vs. "k") is the younger sister/daughter where the older sister is successful, beautiful and doted on by the parents (especially the mom) to the point that they gave Gong Shim's bedroom to her as a dressing room. That pretty much sums up Gong Shim's position in the family. Though there's a lot of pressure on the sister because she's apparently paying all the rent with her lawyer's salary and paying down her dad's debt. Meanwhile, Gong Shim is more or less a starving artist working horrible part time jobs. The only thing she has is a rooftop one room apartment that doesn't even have a kitchen. But she's forced to rent that out when she needs money to get Italian lessons. Her dream is to go to Italy and study art there. The reason for the wig is that she's been so stressed that some of her own hair has fallen out and she's covering it up. I'm guessing it's such a crap wig because she has no money.

She winds up renting the room out to a pro bono lawyer that she (at first) mistakenly thinks is some sort of gangster.

And, here's the weird part that I also wasn't expecting (and am not thrilled about) -- that dude is probably the long lost kidnapped kid from a wealthy family. More chaebol crap. Dammit. He's also a very talented fighter, saving his (probable) cousin(?) from some drunk gangster jerks. It's another one of those things where the grandmother is fairly horrible to the guy that's grown up as her "other" grandson, Suk Jin Soo, even though the other dude got kidnapped 25 years before. It's not like it's that guy's fault, though she's blaming him for it based on something that happened at his 1 year birthday party? Doesn't make sense.

So...I'm wavering. On the one hand, I think I like Namgoong as the lawyer dude. He's got a good smile and heart already. Could watch it just to see him enjoy the simple pleasures of food. Bonus that he's around my age so I can watch it and appreciate his smile without feeling like a cougar. Cough. I am so not a cougar. Anyway.

And I'm interested in Gong Shim because she's both gutsy and vulnerable. Curious about her journey to happiness. Also think On Joo Won looks intriguing and (thankfully) nice. Gong Shim's older sister...eh, not feeling a whole lot of sympathy for her so far. Gong Shim was beaten up by the wife of the CEO of her law firm (total beeyotch) and they all act like they have no sympathy or empathy for Gong Shim at all and are only concerned about preserving older sis' job. I mean, I get that her salary is the only thing keeping them afloat, but jeebus, some sympathy would have gone far. If they'd just said, hey, what she did was horrible and she's totally in the wrong, I'm so sorry that happened to you, then Gong Shim might have gone along with a settlement thing. Right or wrong, it's the world. But by basically saying your sister's job is way more important than you, they've really stuck it to Gong Shim. I feel bad for her.

BUT...I really dunno if I can do one with all the chaebol antics right now. I might give it another episode and see. I think I'll definitely watch it, just not sure I want to watch it right now. I was really looking for something more funny than not. I need some laughs 'cause I get the feeling this is gonna be a rough week.

And I just wanna say, hey, I feel you Gong Shim. Sometimes, all I want is for someone to just be fucking nice to me. That's not asking much, is it?

Edit: Just after episode 4. I'm really enjoying Minah and Namgoong Min in this, especially Namgoong Min with his sweetly goofy smile enjoying food to the fullest. It makes me smile. So not liking the older sister. I'm sure the actress is a lovely person -- well, no, I have no idea -- but her character in this is really horrible. It's not that she's terribly evil or anything but she's that kind of person who takes what she wants without seeming to feel any twinge of conscience and has no consideration towards her sister at all. I mean, really, she's imminently smackable. Not like Evil Mom horrible from Secret Garden or Evil Step Mom horrible from The Legend of the Blue Sea but just regular awful.  Actually, I don't even want to talk about her character anymore other than to say poor Gong Shim.

Thankfully, there are enough nice moments with the two leads that I'm still enjoying it. And Gong Shim has uttered the thought that will haunt her later and doomed her to falling in love -- He's totally not my type...

Edit: about to start episode 6. I'm sure that the older sister will wind up with the cousin dude at the end somehow based on pictures but, at this point, I really don't have any interest in that storyline occurring. Big sis is finally getting some humble pie served to her after getting fired from her job (the only thing that wasn't really her fault) but I can't work up any sympathy for her. Enjoying the sort of lopsided love triangle that has developed between the three other leads. I know she'll wind up with Ahn Dan Tae but I rather like that the Jin Soo has fallen a bit for her too, even with the wig (and never having seen her out of it) because of who she is. I really want the sister to have that rubbed in her face a bit. I wish they'd let her NOT find love with him; he's too nice for her. But it's a Kdrama, so chances are...

The humour is good.

Though we've now seen in a flashback that when Dan Tae was kidnapped (not that he has any clue yet) it was with the knowledge of Jin Soo's mother at least and by a guy that works with his dad. So they were obviously in on it. Not Jin Soo, obvs. as he was only a baby and he definitely still has no clue. No idea how Dan Tae wound up with the guy who he thinks is his father. Annoyed at his "aunt" who doesn't want the father to tell the truth. I get that she thinks of Dan Tae as "theirs" BUT she should have some kind of a guilty conscience about the grandmother that's still looking for him. Anyway. Would really have rather this was just a story about Gong Shim and her unlikely love story than this chaebol junk shoved in, but the three leads are so charming that I'll keep watching.

Edit: after episode 10. At this point, both the guys really like Gong Shim, though only Jin Soo has told her so. Twice now. The first time she basically told him that she needs to like herself first. On the one hand, I like that because it's a true thing. Though, on the other, she was crushing so hard on him to begin with that it's hard to believe she wouldn't have jumped at the chance...except she was just coming off being fired by his mom for being close to him AND she's got the beginnings of some feelings for Dan Tae, so I think it works okay. Both the guys are really sweet. Heck, their cousins.

The weird thing about this show is that there's a lot more of the mystery about Dan Tae than there really is about Gong Shim. The focus is on him at this point. And, while that story is relatively interesting (it's clear now that it was the wife and her brother that have been behind everything from the beginning and Jin Soo and his dad are clueless about their machinations and will probably both be horrified when they find out), why is this called Dear Fair Lady Kong Shim / Beautiful Gong Shim? It's a bit of a red herring.

Should read: I watch too much Kdrama...truth in fiction.

Ah, well. Still enjoying it. Just not what I expected.

Edit: About to start episode 17 out of 20. Hmmmmmmm. I'm pretty over the chaebol/kidnapping/mystery that's not really a mystery but is, at this point, more of a "if we only talked, this problem would have been solved 5 episodes ago" thing. There's no surprises in it, so it just feels really, really d-r-a-w-n out. On the other hand, the scenes that are just Gong Shim with either of the guys (first lead or second lead) fly by and are lovely and fun. I'm gonna finish it but I'm also kind of annoyed that yet again, here's a Kdrama billed as a "romantic comedy" with nary a word in the description that indicates that it will be 1/2 romantic comedy about the title character and 1/2 chaebol crap about a non-title character.

Edit: mid episode 18. I'm so annoyed with this show right now. The parts that are lovely are...well, lovely. Half of the last episode was a joy -- grandma checking out Gong Shim, Gong Shim and Dan Tae sharing some moments. But the "mystery" part that's not at all a mystery has gotten to the point of fingernails down a chalkboard. And I don't think the character choices they are making for either Dan Tae or Joon Soo are altogether the right ones. And the older sister is still a pile of manipulative crap. So I'm pretty disappointed at this point. Would have been so much better if the show had been more like 16 episodes with most of the chaebol junk cut out.

No, Gong Shim, it doesn't.

Final Edit. Finished it. Very annoyed at the ending. Actually, I suppose I should say I'm annoyed at the show. They finally wrapped up all the kidnapping/contract killing/family "mystery" stuff. Am not going to go into any of it because I already had to sit through it and I don't want to re-hash it. It went on for too long. Enough said.

Then the show went that incredibly stupid route of sending off Dan Tae for a year to America (to get his father's surgery + take management courses) wherein he doesn't contact Gong Shim EVEN ONCE not even to SEND A FREAKING TEXT SAYING HE'S STILL ALIVE. Nothing. And this was directly after she'd heard he was going to ask her to go to American with him from Joon Soo BUT he doesn't even ask because he's got Noble Boyfriend syndrome and thinks it will hurt her career. So, from her perspective it would seem like he decided he doesn't want to take her with him and then he doesn't even text her for a year. Then he does get back and goes to surprise her at work but sees her with Joon Soo and gets all jealous instead of saying hello and then follows them like a complete CREEPER and thinks he sees them having a marriage meeting. So when he walks into a meeting unannounced the next day, he's acting like a jealous grouchy bastard. Gong Shim is understandably shocked. Then Joon Soo disabuses him of the notion and Dan Tae is all Oi, I'm an idiot, help me fix this and tries to take Gong Shim out to dinner.

The only good part of this episode is that Gong Shim totally flips out on him and calls him out and doesn't accept his excuses about not contacting her for a year (first, he says it was because his father was in critical condition for the first 6 months, then because he was working hard in school). Does that make sense? she asks. And no, no it does not. Unless you're on a deserted island with no WiFi, no pen and paper and no hope of rescue or your hands have been chopped off...anyway I'm glad she said it. Sigh. At any rate, he finally gets her to accept the ring he bought a year ago (and left for her to find up in the rooftop room wherein she didn't find it because why would she go up there while he was gone and had already taken all his stuff?). Frankly, at that point, I was ready for her to just tell him to Fuck Off. Him and his trying to aegyo his way out of it. Seriously. I found the whole thing so ARGH that I'd rather Gong Shim had fallen for Joon Soo during the year and wound up with him instead.

AND they stuck in a scene where older sister confesses her sins to Joon Soo (how she was only at the furniture workshop and stole it from Gong Shim because she wanted to date the heir of the Star Group and how the only reason she was there to save him from the fire was because Gong Shim had sent her) and hints that maybe she'll get her man in the end. Oof. Fuck that too.

I don't actually use the F word much. But, seriously, they really screwed the pooch with this one.

Am I glad I watched it? Somewhat. The bits that worked (the early/mid romance stuff with Gong Shim and Dan Tae AND Joon Soo) were really nice. It's definitely another one that was NOT billed correctly AT ALL. Glad that I mostly didn't have to watch the older sister "winning" and I can at least pretend in my head that Joon Soo has better taste and will never wind up with her. Will I watch it ever again? No. I wouldn't sit through all the UGH bits again. I wouldn't mind watching clips of the happy stuff, but that's it. I liked the three leads. Didn't care for the older sister at all, but also not even that actresses' portrayal. It was very one note.

I get the feeling that the more I think about this one, the more pissed off I'm going to be. It could have been really lovely.

Once a day

I had an idea for another experiment, but I'm already starting to feel like it's stupid. See, I know that I'm not an ugly person. Fatter than I have ever been (well, minus the 7 pounds I've lost), sure, but I'm not hideous or anything. But I don't like taking pictures of myself generally. Heh. Didn't really even when I was a whopping 85 lbs. in high school. So I usually don't. With over 2000 pictures on my phone, there's really only a handful of them that are of me. So I created a new Instagram account to take a picture of myself, once a day. I was going to just post pictures here, but that requires more steps and takes longer, so I thought Instagram would be better. Because, hey, all about making it easy, right?

So. Have done it like six days now. But it feels kinda self indulgent and stupid. Well, this is self indulgent too. I suppose I'm wallowing in it, yes?

Anyway, not sure how long I will keep it up. The idea was this new age-y idiocy of trying to make me feel better about myself but I am really rubbish at that. I have a skeptical heart. We'll see how long it lasts. I didn't think to make it private at first and weirdly one of my writer friends followed it so now poor Sophie is going to wonder about my mental health.

So...that picture above was taken on my way to the US Embassy to officially renounce my citizenship. It was a really weird, surreal experience. I've never been the type of gung-ho patriotic person to go Rah Rah about anything and it hasn't felt like home there for quite a long while now (especially the last couple of years, when every news article just makes me despair)...but...it was still sad. Made more so because the entire building was quiet. Afternoons there aren't busy, according to the guy I talked to -- just a handful of appointments. But the dead silence and echoing footsteps made everything feel even weirder.

I'll admit I cried a little bit that day. And I can't even pinpoint a particular reason or feeling for it, really. It was just a sad.

I Am Not a Robot

I started I am Not a Robot purely because it was the first one on my list that I came across that had 1/2 hour episodes and I only had 40 minutes to kill. All I knew going in is that it's about a guy who has some weird severe allergy to human contact and that he somehow meets a girl who pretends to be a robot (no idea why) and ultimately, they fall in love. Or, at least, that's what I've gathered.

I am a little confused after the first episode as yes, there's the guy with the crazy allergy (and he's crazy rich but also a bit crazy neurotic, though I guess that's understandable given his condition and isolation) but there also appears to be an actual real robot? There's also the girl who conveniently looks exactly like the robot (as far as her face -- but not her hair) goes. They've had a run-in, though she had a helmet on at the time, so I imagine he won't recognise her.

So...I have lots of questions now. Why does the robot look like her? There'd better be an actual reason and not just plot convenience. Like, does the scientist guy know her? What? And if there is a REAL robot, how in the world does she wind up in his life pretending to be a robot? At the moment, she doesn't even like him exactly (other than his looks), as he stiffed her on a limited edition item purchase that she camped out for. So, how exactly do they wind up in (believable) close proximity?

After just a 1/2 hour, not really sure about the characters or story yet. So I'll give it a few episodes. Production value is good though. And the leads are cute.

OOOOooooooh Checked to see if it was recapped on Dramabeans and read through episode 1 and then glanced at the beginning of episode 2's recap as well....and now I gotta watch more because Kang Ki Young is in it too. He cracks me up. Loved him What's Wrong with Secretary Kim and Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Ju. So now I'm inclined to give it even more of a go.

Edit: About to start episode 10. Oh, I'm enjoying this one. Doesn't even feel like I've watched this many episodes, it goes so fast. It has heart and comedy...both high brow and low brow. Actually, lots of physical comedy, from poop jokes to The Attack of the Mini Crabs.

Seriously, so very much fun. So, for a very brief recap, the scientist is the ex-boyfriend of Jia. The story of how she winds up pretending to be the robot makes enough sense story-wise. I mean, it's all ridiculous, but in a way that works for the story. They've managed to make all of the flawed characters (and they all have their flaws) still endearing. There's some chaebol-ish type drama...after Min Kyu's parents died in a car accident that was thankfully not in ANY WAY connected to Jia or any kind of shared childhood experiences--man, I hope that stays that way...wherein a friend of the family? uncle? not sure if there's an actual family relationship or not...tried to adopt him so as to take over the company. There's a mysterious "Madam X" that we have no idea who she is, but she's obviously been looking out for Min Kyu for a long time.

So, anyway, not going to go into any kind of play by play but really enjoying this one.

Covered in Crabs

Edit: (about to start episode 19) Oh, the feels in this one. It's going much deeper than I thought it would. It's better than I expected, though O woe at the moment. Just a couple notes, as I don't want to write a book here...sad a bit that Kang Ki Young's character is a bit of a bad guy. I had some hope as it was very obviously his dad that was truly terrible and he, as a kid, wasn't involved in the beginning of the bad blood between them. I can see why he's where he is though -- he would have been confused when Min Kyu dropped him and became antagonistic as a child and that's continued through adulthood. And he obviously has liked Min Kyu's first love (they were all childhood friends together) for a long time and there's jealousy there.

Glad that her character isn't terrible -- she's practical and while she doesn't love Min Kyu, she wants to be honest. I think she really did want to try dating him and doesn't want to just marry him for money. She was shocked when she found out her father had been sending the post cards all those years. There's at least space in the storyline for her and Ki Young's character to be, if not heroes, then at least actual friends with Min Kyu again. Hope they go that route.

Now then...Baek-gyun (the ex boyfriend scientist guy). Ouch. It's nice to see a decent character arc for him wherein he realises how many ways he did Jia wrong when they dated. He still manages to stick his foot in it a lot, however. Their relationship is actually the most hard-hitting for me -- he basically never respected her ideas or her talents and always internally put himself above her. It's good he sees it now, but, man, that all feels way too familiar and painful to me. Didn't think I'd be welling up over that. I imagine he'll wind up with Pi (the girl scientist) and they are well suited to each other.

Anyway, this one is really good. A lot more depth and higher stakes than I thought but also a lot of silly/fun moments too. I really hope it wraps up well. I really want to get to the part where Min Kyu and Jia start seeing each other honestly, person to person, rather than the deceived and the fake robot. They both deserve it and the actors are lovely together but I'm missing those early episodes where they had such simple joy in being together. There's a lot of sorrow right now.

Edit: finished it. Yeah, okay, this is my new fav drama. Good story, humour, pathos...lovely character arcs for all the characters, including secondary/tertiary ones. Even a nice little happy moment for the bumbling bad guys. All the feels. Deep, wrenching moments, but a nice balance of silly/happy ones too. Really, SO good.

Even the niece was charming and I loved watching every scene with her,
especially the ones with Min Kyu. She was perfect.

There are only two things I could ping this one on and they aren't anywhere near dealbreakers for me because all of it was so lovely. One is that the child actors they had playing the younger versions weren't nearly old enough. If it was supposed to have been 15 years ago and they are now supposed to be 28/29 years old, those kids should've  been 13/14 but they didn't look more than 10, if that. But not a big deal. The other is that they never really explicitly explained who Madam X was -- though they gave hints it was the Butler/Caretaker guy. But I don't really care. It was all so good that doesn't bother me.

I really liked Chae Soo Bin SO much more in this than in Where Stars Land (that one is still making me mad). She doesn't even feel like the same person/actor, so I'm appreciating her range (especially her comedic timing in this one). Some of the other actors, once I've seen them in multiple things, don't hold as much appeal because you see them using the same emotions in such a static way. Does that make sense? Anyway, loved her in this.

Loved her chemistry with Yoo Seung Ho too and now I'm excited to see him in My Strange Hero (which I'd added to my list but am waiting to make sure it's completed first -- but also to be in the right frame of mind for it, as it sounds like it will be more depressing). He's adorable and charming when he smiles and has a great voice that seems just a tad too deep to be coming out of him but you could listen to on the phone for hours. I really thought he did a great job with this character, especially the scenes where he was "broken" but, really, an excellent job all the way around.

Glad that Kang Ki Young's character came around at the end. I hoped he would, mostly because I really enjoy that actor. It was interesting to see him in a role that didn't call for any comedy or silliness. He pulled it off, but I have to say that I prefer him silly. That's when he's most charming to me. But I like silly.

The ending was satisfying enough -- though I really would have loved more. They did stick in his two year military stint BUT I think it works for the story as it ties back to the very beginning when he is called up and has to demonstrate his human allergy AND because it shows him being able to live a normal life. That's important for his character. It also gave time for Jia to establish herself successfully on her own, which is good too.

They did get another umbrella kiss at the end, though I really did want so much more. But that was because I loved all of the characters. Such a good show and such a good job from the actors. Loved it 100%.