I am back and just around the corner as I bring you my next edition of the Wehaiyo Drive. Last week, I had family over and partied a lot, so I could not get to the computer to write down my latest and greatest thoughts.
Anyway, I have a lot of opinions to share, so I cannot wait until I show you the last two week's of the Wehaiyo Drive. Next week's Wehaiyo Drive should be exciting as well.
This week's Dramas:
1) My ID is Gangnam Beauty (내 ID는 강남미인)
Watch it on: Viki
There were basically three thoughts I had while watching My ID is Gangnam Beauty, episodes five and six.
#1) College student's Do Kyung Seok's (played by Cha Eun Woo) stare
This guy's stare is so intense. I am not sure how to react to his gaze. There are so many scenes of him being quiet and just staring (at Gangnam Beauty Kang Mirae played by Im Soo Hyang, no doubt).
#2) Social Issues
At first I thought this drama was very shallow in that we only see scenes of Kang Mirae and her plastic surgery aftermath, but the story is a lot deeper than that. It is about women trying to find confidence in themselves and they tackle the gender expectation issue in episodes five and six.
Second-year student Kim Tae-Hee (Lee Ye Rim) was teased by the male chemistry majors because they believe she is overweight. I know Asian countries have a different standard on what is considered thin, but most women in the drama around Kim Tae-Hee do not seem to believe she is considered overweight. To the men or, should I say, most men since there is a second-year student who has a crush on her, she has the image of a fat person who likes to snack, and people cannot see past her weight because every person snacks. In addition, her name, Kim Tae-Hee, reminds the men of the real life mega-superstar actress with the same name who is known to be one of the most beautiful actresses in Korea.
Another second-year tomboy student, Kwon Yoon-Byul (Bae Da-Bin) has boyish looks and tries to stand up for the women in the department whenever possible. The boys tease her that she is being harsh to them and they think of her as being moody all the time. I do not know much of Yoon-Byul's background, but it seems to me that she has the tomboyish look on purpose because she cannot stand the way the boys acts around women.
At first, freshman Class President Yoo Eun (Park Yoo-na) was jealous that the boys did not consider her as one of the prettiest girls in the class, but she learned to not care since being one of the class beauties could also mean being sexually harassed by the upperclassmen. She wanted to speak up for the ladies so many times, but she held back because she was only a freshman among the group and had little power to influence others or so she thought. Eventually, she could not take any gender bias or sexual harassment comments any longer and took a stand against her seniors. I really like her character because that is me in real life. I have to be pushed to the limit to finally confront a social problem. I am glad she eventually took a stand regardless of what the consequences may be.
#3) Kang Mirae's father averts his gazes
Ever since he found out his daughter had plastic surgery, Kang Mirae's father, Kang Tae-Sik (Woo Hyun) could not look his daughter in the eyes. Throughout the episodes, he can be seen talking, but never looking her way. I find that sad, but realistic. I think I would react the same way, at least for a while, if I found out somebody close to me had plastic surgery. It can be hard to emotionally accept somebody who has a different and permanent image even if they become prettier. I remember when my mother had a permanent eyeliner and eyebrows tattoo. I could not look her in the eyes for a long time because all I can imagine is how painful that must be for her.
#1) College student's Do Kyung Seok's (played by Cha Eun Woo) stare
This guy's stare is so intense. I am not sure how to react to his gaze. There are so many scenes of him being quiet and just staring (at Gangnam Beauty Kang Mirae played by Im Soo Hyang, no doubt).
#2) Social Issues
At first I thought this drama was very shallow in that we only see scenes of Kang Mirae and her plastic surgery aftermath, but the story is a lot deeper than that. It is about women trying to find confidence in themselves and they tackle the gender expectation issue in episodes five and six.
Second-year student Kim Tae-Hee (Lee Ye Rim) was teased by the male chemistry majors because they believe she is overweight. I know Asian countries have a different standard on what is considered thin, but most women in the drama around Kim Tae-Hee do not seem to believe she is considered overweight. To the men or, should I say, most men since there is a second-year student who has a crush on her, she has the image of a fat person who likes to snack, and people cannot see past her weight because every person snacks. In addition, her name, Kim Tae-Hee, reminds the men of the real life mega-superstar actress with the same name who is known to be one of the most beautiful actresses in Korea.
Another second-year tomboy student, Kwon Yoon-Byul (Bae Da-Bin) has boyish looks and tries to stand up for the women in the department whenever possible. The boys tease her that she is being harsh to them and they think of her as being moody all the time. I do not know much of Yoon-Byul's background, but it seems to me that she has the tomboyish look on purpose because she cannot stand the way the boys acts around women.
At first, freshman Class President Yoo Eun (Park Yoo-na) was jealous that the boys did not consider her as one of the prettiest girls in the class, but she learned to not care since being one of the class beauties could also mean being sexually harassed by the upperclassmen. She wanted to speak up for the ladies so many times, but she held back because she was only a freshman among the group and had little power to influence others or so she thought. Eventually, she could not take any gender bias or sexual harassment comments any longer and took a stand against her seniors. I really like her character because that is me in real life. I have to be pushed to the limit to finally confront a social problem. I am glad she eventually took a stand regardless of what the consequences may be.
#3) Kang Mirae's father averts his gazes
Ever since he found out his daughter had plastic surgery, Kang Mirae's father, Kang Tae-Sik (Woo Hyun) could not look his daughter in the eyes. Throughout the episodes, he can be seen talking, but never looking her way. I find that sad, but realistic. I think I would react the same way, at least for a while, if I found out somebody close to me had plastic surgery. It can be hard to emotionally accept somebody who has a different and permanent image even if they become prettier. I remember when my mother had a permanent eyeliner and eyebrows tattoo. I could not look her in the eyes for a long time because all I can imagine is how painful that must be for her.
2) Are You Human Too? (너도 인간이니)
Watch it on: Viki
As I promised from last week, I started watching Are You Human Too? in the last two weeks. I hope you all do not get too excited for my review because I already mentioned that I do not like non-human and human love stories. Therefore, it seems that I will only watch one episode at a time.
The most memorable scene has to be when actor Seo Kang Joon sees himself before the human him gets hit by a car. That really left an impact in my mind. It is fascinating to see the two Nam Shin characters look at each other.
I was not focusing on the plot too much, but I watched some entertaining scenes where the robot Nam Shin is practicing how to be the real Nam Shin in the simulation room. I wonder if I have an android version of me lurking around the corner. I would then have lots of time to blog while my android self can go to do other jobs (for money).
3) Your House Helper (당신의 하우스헬퍼)
Even though episodes are only thirty minutes long, I find myself watching only one episode at a time. Episode 2 is a continuation of House Helper Kim Ji Woon (Ha Seok Jin) and Intern Im Da Young's (Bona) seemingly unimportant life.
Ji Woon continues his house helping duties to clean up a family home, which allows the mother and father time to have dinner, actually converse, and spend time together. In a way, he is bringing happiness to other people's lives while covering up his own sorrows. We still do not know what happened to his past, but he is content living a quiet life and only responding to the call of others.
I feel bad for intern Im Da Young who clearly does not have a future at the advertising company she is working for, but she continues to work hard in hopes that her luck will change. If I were her, I would have done the same, except I would leave when it is time to leave. After all, the intern's role is to gain experience and hopefully land a job, but if the job part does not happen, at least the intern can retain the experience. I worked three intern jobs before I landed an unrelated job. Life is unexpected in many ways. Hopefully, there is a great job waiting for her around the corner.
Ji Woon continues his house helping duties to clean up a family home, which allows the mother and father time to have dinner, actually converse, and spend time together. In a way, he is bringing happiness to other people's lives while covering up his own sorrows. We still do not know what happened to his past, but he is content living a quiet life and only responding to the call of others.
I feel bad for intern Im Da Young who clearly does not have a future at the advertising company she is working for, but she continues to work hard in hopes that her luck will change. If I were her, I would have done the same, except I would leave when it is time to leave. After all, the intern's role is to gain experience and hopefully land a job, but if the job part does not happen, at least the intern can retain the experience. I worked three intern jobs before I landed an unrelated job. Life is unexpected in many ways. Hopefully, there is a great job waiting for her around the corner.
This week's Music:
The last two weeks of music took me through twists and bends of emotions. I never know what song I would be interested in listening to at the moment.
1) Red Velvet (레드벨벳) - Power Up
Of course, Red Velvet is back! Besides all the fruit innuendos in many of their songs, I am impressed with how creative they are with each song. The "Ba-Banana-Ba-Ba-Banana" part got stuck in my head for the last two weeks. There is an interesting I-vi-V#-V chord progression (I forgot a lot of music theory from long ago, so I hope this is correct!) that I find very interesting and unconventional.
At first, I thought they were just singing "Ba Ba Ba," but they were actually singing the word, banana.
2) George (죠지) and Gang Haein (강혜인) - Something
This is my favorite drama right now, so naturally, I am intrigued by the soothing song of "Something" from the My ID is Gangnam Beauty OST. It's also cool to watch Cha Eun Woo or even envision his stone cold expressions.
3) Kim Sung kyu (김성규) - Sorry (Shine live version)
Sung kyu gave such a memorable performance in his 1st Solo Concert Live event that I could not ignore him for my Wehaiyo Drive. He really does have a beautiful singing style. I wish I could go to his concert!
In this song, he is apologizing like crazy. I just feel like crying. What has he done to deserve this? My heart aches whenever he sings "hold me," "don't leave me," or "save me."
Sung kyu is in the army right now, but I cannot wait for him to come back with his amazing talent.
Next week, I want to review some old dramas and even a mini drama. I can't wait!
It seems summer is almost coming to an end and it is getting colder. Let's bring out the light jackets and embrace the upcoming season.
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