Review#2: Who Are You: School 2015 (Characters Review/Analysis)

Annyeonghaseyo(hello) everyone! Hope you got a wonderful Saturday going on.

For the second review blog post, our drama topic would be one of the best school series: Who Are You School 2015. I just finished it recently so my delight and excitement is still on the road!

Credits: Who Are You: School 2015 kdrama poster

Basic Info:

Genre: Mystery, Romance, School/Youth

Highlifght topic: School Bullying

Viki Ratings:9.4

Starring(Main Casts): Kim So Hyun, Nam Joo Hyuk, Yook Sungjae

Here's the MV Trailer for this drama: (These trailer is the best way to undestand the focused concept of this drama rather than the summarized plot provided).

Summary plot:

Set at a prestigious private high school in Gangnam, Seoul, South Korea. Eun-Byeol is a popular student at the private high school. She goes missing and returns, but she has lost her memory. She tries to find out the truth. 
(By: MyAsiantv)
My Personal Rate: 9.2/10  Episodes watched: 16(completed)
REVIEW:

Credits: Pinterest

This drama fits perfectly for students and school community. It gives an insight and awareness of the issues of school bullying and outcasting of students. This drama features school bullying in a serious and deep tone that makes you empathize with both the victim and the bully in different views.
Acting: This one is the first thing I want to praise with, in this drama. The twin sisters(Lee Eun Bi and Go Eun Byul) have contrasting personalities and these roles are played by only one person:Kim So Hyun. She totally slayed her acting. Her body language, voice tones, and the look in her eyes; you can automatically distinguish who's role is she playing with in the scene. She also played the dramatic scenes really well since you'll really feel the melancholy mood and tension with just one teardrop coming from her eyes.

Credits: Pinterest

(Lee Eun Bi being bullied) Credits: PinkMarshMallowBlog

(Go Eun Byul confronting a bully) Credits: Tumblr

Characters: 
My favorite character is Go Eun Byul who plays a prickly, secretive, brave and well-rounded character in this drama. Her contrasting personality from her twin sister makes it more exciting since she's the one who always protects her and she's the character whom you'll be afraid to go against with.

Credits: Tumblr

Credits: YoonMin.tumblr.com

Credits:Yoonmin.tumblr.com

Credits: Yoonmin.tumblr.com

The character of Gong Tae Kwang is also a fascinating and well-played character in this drama: being a happy-go-lucky and reckless student with sufferings from the problems of his household. I also got a very bad Second Lead Syndrome because of him. It's sad that he has never played a role where he ends up with someone(even in the drama Goblin, he still ended up being a loner, lol)

Credits: Viki

Credits: Dramabeans

Another character that amused me is Cha Song Joo. She plays Go Eun Byul's best friend. I like her loyalness and understanding towards the struggles that her friend is going through. Her own struggles in this drama feature how she chooses between loyalness or betraying a friend for her dreams of becoming a model/artist.





The character of Lee Eun Bi, the main character is a developing character althroughout the drama. Her journey of being a victim of bullying makes her stand up for herself as she encounters suddenly an unfamiliar life where she has friends and a family to support her. Sometimes, I face-palmed myself for her weaknesses but later on, I love how she develops gradually and realistically.

Credits: Pinterest

The character of Park Min Joon is also an interesting and realistic character. He portrays being the class president of the class who is hardworking and smart. He struggles with his mom's pressure towards his academics, leaving him feeling overwhelmed. His character's story eventually led to a life lesson that school grades aren't the most important as a student, but the passion you have on what you do for it to have a purpose.

Credits: Giphy

Credits: DramaBeans

Moreover, the school teacher's character named Kim Joon-Seok is also one of the supportive and best characters in this drama. He played a very supportive and parental teacher. I love how he treats his students like his own children (such as scenes where he's the one who initiates to go to the police station when his students got into trouble.)

Credits: The Fan Girl Verdict

The antagonist of this drama played her role impressively! You'll know it once you feel that vexing and furious urge to come after her in the drama. You'll know it once you asked yourself "God, is he/she even human?". Yup, the character of  Kang So Young really fired up my nerves in this drama. She played the role being the school bully(one of the worst I've ever seen) who's about to get her own taste of medicine. I like how they humanized the antagonist with regrets and own struggles in her own household.

(Kang So Young devilish smile) Credits: Dramabeans

(Kang So Young realizing her mistakes and learning a lesson) Credits:vb.eqla3.com 

Lastly, I want to include the character of Seo Young Eun. I know she's just a supporting cast in this drama who only appeared on really few episodes. But for me, this character really touches me the most.  Her character portrays an outcast who tries to make friends with being the pocket-money kid who spends a lot for her accompanies. She's aware of her behavior but she keeps doing it for she's content and in need to have friends.

SOUNDTRACKS:
I really enjoyed this drama's OST (Original Sound Track) entitled 'Reset' by Tiger JK. The lyrics of it(well, according to english subtitles since its a korean song, lol) completely suits the theme of the drama and sets an appropriate mood on scenes.
EDITING:
I just want to give credit on how great the editing skills are in this drama to make it look like the twins(played by one actress) are two separate people.

(How they edited this scene) Credits: Radio Kpop Replay)

Overall, this awesome drama is worthwhile watching. It's deep, relatable and meaningful. This drama doesn't only focus on victimized students of bullying, but all the struggles of different kinds of students in general. Personally, I learned a lot from it, especially from the character's life principles(Highlight: Go Eun Byul).

Credits: We Heart It

So that's it for now, folks! Hope you like this review. See you on the next blog post! :) Annyeong! (bye)

Drama Recommendations: Part 3

Hi there! Welcome to the third part of Drama Recommendations. 
This blog focuses on the genres of: School, Psychological/Medical and
Historical/Time Travelling Dramas! 
School Dramas
I love school dramas. Sometimes, it's because I find it funny how there are a lot of scenes in these kinds of dramas where the students are more admirable and senseful than the teachers/adults! Like when the adults can't catch up about the true stories behind bullying or something. 
Another reason is that, you can relate to it. Even the teachers and parents can. These dramas won't just focus on the school life of teenagers but also their lives in their own household. What these dramas all have in common is that they tend to develop and discover the young people's strengths and weaknesses for them to be their true selves. 
So as I stop the preaching (I apologize), let's get into these great school dramas to watch! 

Who are You: School 2015: My Rate= 9.2/10 Interesting attribute: Twin sisters(with much personality difference) that were separated from the past collide again in the future. This drama has a great bullying-awareness theme that portrays the struggles of students to fit in a school.

Sassy Go Go: My Rate= 9.1/10 Interesting attribute: This drama follows the lives of five students as they struggle to keep up at their school where academic elitism turned into a vicious environment.

Credits: Dramabeans

Dream High: My Rate= 9.6/10 Interesting attribute: This drama follows the lives of six students in Kirin high school of arts. They all have the dream of becoming K-pop idols. As they take on their  journey towards stardom, they develop and discover their own strengths and weaknesses.

Cheese in The Trap: My Rate= 9.6/10 Interesting attribute: This romance and thriller drama came from a webtoon series with the same title.This drama focuses on the lives of a group of university students, especially the complicated relationship of the two main characters. The male lead is intelligent and successful but with dark side of his personality(he sometimes plays psychopathic tendencies and struggles) while the female lead is a hardworking student.

Psychological  and Medical Dramas
A more mature and deep genre are psychological and medical dramas.  What I like about these storylines, is that you gain knowledge while you get entertained. Psychological dramas help you to learn how to deal with different types of people, not just the ones with mental problems. Medical dramas helps you learn more about your body and even what to do when you or someone encountered a certain injury(as an example).
 However, my tip for you guys when you watch medical dramas, never watch it while eating! Trust me. You don't want to see detailed processes of surgeries while eating your favorite pizza.

Kill Me Heal Me: My Rate= 9.9/10 Interesting attribute: I love this drama! There's a lot of interesting and unique qualities of it so I'll just focus on the best ones. The male lead has MPD(multi personality disorder) in which he struggles with his seven personalities. The female lead, on the other hand, is a first-year psychiatrist. 

Dr. Frost: My Rate= 9.1/10 Interesting attribute: The main character is a psychology professor and a bartender at night. With his excellent psychological abilities and with help of an assistant, they help solve crimes. Each episode of this drama follows one different crime or psychological stories as its theme. 

Doctor Stranger: My Rate= 9/10 Interesting attribute: This medical drama focuses on the main character's struggles and challenges to adjust and seeks acceptance in a new place(since he moved from North to South Korea). He also struggles relating to the mystery of some girl who looks so much alike with his past love interest.

Doctor Crush: My Rate= 9/10 Interesting attribute: This romance and medical drama follows the life of a gangster and prickly girl who changes her life direction to become a doctor upon meeting her mentor/teacher. They parted ways but later on, meets in the future and develop romantice feelings for each other.

Historical Korean and Time Travelling Dramas

Credits: Pinterest

Korean History is interesting. When I've watch a historical korean drama for the first time, I thought it would be pretty boring since I won't be able to relate to it. But in the end, I find myself enjoying and learning something from it. Here are some great historical dramas worth it to watch:

The Moon Embracing The Sun: My Rate= 9.5/10 Interesting attribute: A love story of a King from Joseon Era and a female shaman. The female shaman is supposed to be the King's crown princess when they were young but the odds made by the enemies led to her  execution. But she survived and evade death and lived as a shaman. 

Credits: KoreanDrama.org

Empress Ki: My Rate= 9.5/10 Interesting attribute: This drama focuses on the story of an amazing girl who rises from nothing to be an empress of the Yuan Empire.

Splash Splash Love: My Rate: 9/10 Interesting attribute: This drama is about a love story between a girl from the future and a man from the past. It is pretty short drama(containing only two episodes) but worth watching. What if a senior high school girl goes through a time travelling portal to go back in the Joseon Era? She is mistaken for an eunuch when she got to ancient Joseon as she serves the King privately. 

Queen In Hyun's Man: My Rating= 9.3/10 Interesting Attribute: The male lead who is a scholar from the ancient era travels 300 years into the future using a talisman(which protects/saves him whenever he's about to die). He met and falls in love with an actress who plays a role of Queen In Hyun in a TV drama.

Rooftop Prince: My Rating= 9/10 Interesting attribute: Similar to the drama 'Queen In Hyun's Man', this drama also have the concept of time traveling. The male lead who's a crown prince in the Joseon Era travels back to future as he finds himself discovering incidents that connect the past to the future through reincarnations.

Credits: KoreanDrama.org

That is it, for now, folks. See you in the next blog post! :)

Credits: Couch Kimchi

Drama Recommendations: Part 2

Welcome to the second part of Drama Recommendations! We'll be focusing on the genres of Romance/Fantasy and Girl to Boy Dramas. 
These genres will focus on Romance/Fantasy and Girl to Boy Dramas.

Romance/Fantasy Dramas
I like dramas with a little pinch of fantasies. Of course, it always depends on whether the visual effects are good and how it can connect to the real world sometimes(like metaphors). Sometimes, when reality disappoints you, you can sometimes find yourself creating your new fantasy world. It's not childish, in my opinion. In fact, it will only be childish if you let it devour you to get blind on reality checks. Fantasies are always just there when you want to escape or play your creativeness on creating another world. And Korean Dramas on that genre can help you with that! :) 
So here some of the good ones for you to indulge!

Goblin: My Rate= 10/10 Interesting attribute: Basically, all of it actually! But for the sake of preview; An immortal goblin, A grim reaper's lost identity, Reincarnations and the Deity's plan for the main characters. 

P.S. Even though this drama's first few episodes are a bit slow on the storyline, don't give up on this! Trust me.

I Hear Your Voice: My Rate= 9.3/10 Interesting attribute: The main lead has a supernatural ability of hearing/reading people's inner thoughts just by looking at them through the eyes. Also, can he protect his love from a killer who wants to take revenge?(also a thriller drama)

My Love From Another Star: My Rate= 9.9/10 Interesting attribute: An alien who's left by a UFO when visiting earth, is forced to stay on earth for 400 years. Just when he's finally about to get back in three months, he falls in love with a famous actress.

Pinocchio: My Rate= 9.6/10 Interesting attribute: The main female lead has a rare Pinocchio syndrome (fictional) which means whenever she lies, she hiccups. This syndrome makes it hard for her to achieve her dreams of becoming a reporter(sometimes, she needs to lie as a technique to find out the truth).

W (Two Worlds): My Rate= 9.8/10 Interesting attribute: (also a suspense drama) The male lead is a main character of a webtoon series. But the webtoon creator wants to kill him. As he reveals the truth of seeing between two worlds (the webtoon world and the real world), will he stop his fate of getting killed? The webtoon creator's daughter tries to help him for this. 

The Legend of the Blue Sea: My Rate= 9.3/10 Interesting attribute: A mermaid and a con artist's love struggles and the revealing truth of reincarnations of past odds and tragic fates.

Strong Woman Do Bong Soon: My Rate= 8.9/10 Interesting attribute: The female lead admires being ladylike as every man are attracted to often, but her supernatural power of extreme strenght hinders her to be like it as she hides her ability.

Girl to Boy Dramas
I'm not into these kinds of dramas that much because the concept itself sometimes isn't that close to reality. But these dramas are worth giving a try because of their interesting storylines.

To The Beautiful You: My Rate: 8.5/10 Interesting attribute: In order to help her idol, the female lead disguises herself as a boy and enrolls at the same all-male high school his idol is attendimg to.

You're Beautiful: My Rate= 8.7/10 Interesting attribute: Because her twin brother can't participate to join the famous band due to an accident, the female lead needs to cover up for him which means she has to pretend being a guy with the talent of music for his brother's dreams. 

Coffee Prince: My Rate= 8.7/10 Interesting attribute: The female lead struggles to find a good paying job since she's the breadwinner of her family. When she got mistaken for a man because of her looks and got hired to work in a coffee shop full of men, she finds herself accepting the offer.

So that's it for now(again) folks! Stay tuned for the third part of this blog topic that focuses on the other genres you might like.

Annyeong!(goodbye)

Credits: Giphy

Drama Recommendations: PART 1

These are some of the best dramas I've watched, organized in its own genre. I won't describe in detail each of their plots but I'll give my own rating for it and provide some of its interesting characteristics( based on their story plots) that left me stuck with the drama.
For now, the genres to focus on this blog are: Action/Mystery and Thriller/Suspense and RomComs! 

Romance/Comedy (RomComs)
Let's say your day didn't really go well. You didn't pass the test you've been studying hard on. Or maybe when you looked up outside, a flying pigeon randomly decided to have number two(you get the picture). So you came home and try to calm your nerves. You wanted to laugh and do something relaxing. Well then, Romcom K-dramas are there for you. 

She Was Pretty: My Rate= 8.9/10 Interesting Attribute: What if your childhood crush and friend from the past doesn't recognize you because of your different looks today? 

Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo: My Rate= 8.9/10 Interesting attribute: A tomboy female weightlifter's first encounter of love/infatuation and a male swimmer's struggle on fighting back childhood trauma(that hinders him in doing well in his sport).

Action/Mystery and Thriller/Suspense:
After watching some light dramas to boost and relax your mood, it's always a good choice to switch into a genre that is deep and thrilling. Here are some great thriller and action dramas that might suit your taste!

Healer: My Rate= 9/10 Interesting attribute: The main character's job in this drama is an illegal mercenary who works under the alias 'Healer' with his own tracker sidekick.

Bad Guys: My Rate= 8.5/10 Interesting attribute: A psychopath serial killer, a mob gangster boss, a hitman and an aggressive detective: Four Badass Characters to fight against crimes. 

Liar Game: My Rate= 9.5/10 Interesting attribute: A money game that involves wits and psychological war. (This drama is also a psychological genre) The main character's innocence and honesty are tested in trials to survive the game where everyone must deceive each other.

City Hunter: My Rate= 9/10 Interesting attribute: The main character's revenge for his father's death. 

Descendants of the Sun: My Rate= 9.5/10 Interesting attribute: Incompatible love struggles between a soldier and a doctor and nature conflict during a rescue mission in Urk, Netherlands. 

Missing Nine: My Rate=9/10 Interesting attribute: Well known-Artists and staffs are stranded on an inhabited island (survival). As the main character returns back, she loses her memory and she tries to remember all the happenings on the island in order to find those missing nine people stranded with her.

So that's it for now, folks! See you for the next part of this blog topic!