Heartstrings/You've Fallen For Me

Heartstrings Synopsis: (from DramaWiki)
Lee Shin is a university student majoring in modern music. He is also the vocalist and guitarist of the band "The Stupid." Shin is known for his good looks and strong passion for music, but in reality he is cold, lacks interest in anything unrelated to music and has neither dreams nor plans for the future. He initially likes Jung Yoon Soo, a dance professor at university, but this all changes when he meets Lee Kyu Won.

Lee Kyu Won is a bright and outgoing student who was born into a prestigious family and is majoring in traditional Korean instruments, especially the gayageum. Kyu Won's grandfather, Lee Dong Gun, is one of the top 3 traditional musicians of his age and his biggest wish is to see his granddaughter become a traditional music prodigy. Trying to live up to her grandfather's expectations, Kyu Won immerses herself in training and becomes a university student who knows nothing outside of her studies. As her friends are fans of "The Stupid", she was forced to go to the band's concert with them. There she saw Lee Shin performing live, and is immediately captivated by him.

Cast:
Jung Yong Hwa as Lee Shin
Park Shin Hye as Lee Kyu Won
Song Chang Ui as Kim Suk Hyun
So Yi Hyun as Jung Yoon Soo
Woo Ri as Han Hye Joo
Kang Min Hyuk as Yeo Joon Hee
Lee Hyun Jin as Hyun Ki Young
Im Se Mi as Cha Bo Woon

My comments:
I found the first episode of Heartstrings (MBC, 15 episodes) bland and I stopped watching by the 20th minute of episode 2 and didn’t plan to continue. Since I didn’t have anything to watch instead, so I resumed watching this drama. By the end of episode 2, just like Kyu Won fell for Shin, I fell for this drama. Shippers of Jung Yong Hwa and Park Shin Hye in You’re Beautiful (not me) will be happy for their reunion in this drama and they matured a lot compared to almost 2 years ago.

The pacing of the drama is inconsistent as it can be at times long and boring but then things can move pretty fast. I find it hard to believe by how fast (less than one episode) Shin can move on and fall for Kyu Won after Yoon Soo’s rejection because he was really infatuated with her at first. The so-called love square (is there even one?) was bleh. It’s sure that Shin and Kyu Won would end up together because there is no way that they would end up with the professor and the director. Now that would be weird and creepy! The last episode was kinda unnecessary as it just dragged the story and I wonder how much the story changed because of Park Shin Hye’s accident.

Park Shin Hye and Jung Yong Hwa’s chemistry is more evident here. They make a cute bickering and sweet couple. Who would expect Shin to turn out to be such a caring, understanding and supportive boyfriend judging from his aloof and cold behavior from early episodes. The supporting characters are adorable, especially Kyu Won’s best friend, Bo Woon, who just has perfect timing in interrupting Shin and Kyu Won’s important moments. Even grandpa despite being harsh and critical over Kyu Won, but whenever he tells his very long and boring autobiography, it’s just priceless! Every scene with the The Stupid guys and The Windflowers girls is a delight to watch.

There is nothing to rave about the acting but everyone was serviceable and I give them credit for the singing and dancing segments. The OST is really nice to listen. So, overall a feel-good youth drama about young people achieving their dreams; but honestly less addictive than Dream High.

* Opening credit of the drama

Jung Yong Hwa and Park Shin Hye from You're Beautiful (2009) to Heartstrings (2011)

The fun of misheard lyrics

I notice from work that everyone seems to be tired and easily irritated (myself included) lately so I need something to LOL. These two videos never fail to make me ROFLMAO! It's funnier if you know the group members' name...



For the following one, even with the misheard lyrics, the 'story' makes sense...haha! Kudos and credits to the uploader!



Totally unrelated, but since I'm still in City Hunter withdrawal mode, this news made me giddy and happy for about 30 minutes and then there is this and this to burst the bubble...Okay, we'll see...

Hours later, this came out! Yay, it's official that they are dating! Okay, I really have no life...haha!

Fighting, dongsaengs! Wish you the best of luck!

I Need Romance

I Need Romance Synopsis: (from DramaWiki)
This bubbly, Sex and the City-esque drama tells the story of the love lives, careers, and families of a group of twenty-and-thirty-something friends. Jo Yeo Jung is In Young, an independent, lovable woman struggling to survive in modern-day society. In this endeavor, which she tackles with confidence and grace, she's helped by friends Seo Yeon (Choi Yeon Jin) and Hyun Joo (Choi Song-hyun).

Cast:
Jo Yeo Jung as Sun Woo In Young
Kim Jung Hoon as Kim Sung Soo
Choi Yeo Jin as Park Seo Yeon
Choi Song Hyun as Kang Hyun Joo
Choi Jin Hyuk as Bae Sung Hyun
Ha Yun Joo as Yoon Kang Hee


My comments:
I can see why I Need Romance (TVN, 16 episodes) is labeled as the Korean version of Sex and the City. The setup and the characters are more or less similar to Sex and the City, even the opening theme is similar. Since this is a cable drama, so expect a racier and edgier usual rom-com exploring relationships.. So here, we have a group of three friends consisting of In Young, Hyun Joo and Seo Yeon, all three thirty-something career women having different experiences and approaches in love. Just imagine In Young as Carrie, Seo Yeon as a toned down Samantha and Hyun Joo as a balance between Miranda and Charlotte…

I absolutely enjoyed the friendship of the three ladies; they supported each other through rough times and they do crazy stuff together. However, watching this drama is a weird viewing experience in which but I didn’t really root anyone to end up with anyone. I didn’t especially like any of the characters although I felt for In Young when her shameless boyfriend Sung Soo cheated on her [again]. It’s dreadful to watch her from suspecting to confirming Sung Soo’s cheating. Sung Soo was pretty much a jerk for a major part of the drama. He wasn’t sincerely sorry for what he did and to make up to In Young, he can let her “cheat” also with two guys so that they can be even; therefore, they can be back together. WHAT?!

A lot of people are frustrated with who she chose at the end, although I’m not supportive of that ending, I can see why she made that decision. If you ask me, I’d rather she remains single like Seo Yeon. If Seo Yeon is still alone at the end, why not In Young as well? At first, I like how Hyun Joo and Duk Soo’s story started but why oh why did he have to slap her? She was being inconsiderate but that slap was just too much.

The acting was good all around. I’m happy to see Kim Jung Hoon improving and maturing as an actor and also for choosing to act such an unlikable character as his post-military project. The music used in this drama was nice and suited the mood of the drama.