Cho No!

This.is.the.most.insane.korean.drama.EVERRRRRR. And I am LOVING it.

Here are some things I have learned:

1. A mother will resort to hiring kidnappers/killers to rub out her sweet, yet adopted, ER doctor son in order to get a Neurology Center built
2. A son will cut a chunk out of his father's/hospital president's brain in order to erase his memory so he cannot approve of an Emergency Center being built instead of a Neurology Center
3. This same son will operate on his father's brain, knowing that he has his own brain tumor that gives him occasional seizures and hand tremors
4. Some hired killers will take a sweet ER doctor to a desert in China, shoot him in the head and side, but not before stealing his engagement ring
5. There is, apparently, a desert in China...somewhere
6. I love this show!!!!!
7. Sweet ER doctor, Cho-In, can do an appendectomy in a hut with minimal instruments (before being kidnapped, of course)
8. Getting shot in the head and side and being left in the desert does not kill you
9. Being shot in the head and in the side and being found in the desert with amnesia leads you to become a general in a shady underground anti-government faction of escaped North Koreans
10. Jealous brain-tumored brothers, who want to run a Neurology Center, will pretend they don't know their jailed/tortured adoptive brother and leave him lying in a prison

WHEW! I can go on and on...and I'm only on episode 6. To be continued.

Cain and Abel

Ahhhh - the first of many episodes and I'm already hooked. Two very hot Korean neurosurgeon brothers, both wanting to open their own surgical centers at the same hospital, and both in love with the same woman. Did I mention one's adopted and is absolutely loathed by his adoptive mother? Well, actually, she made a point of saying the father took him in and it looks like she's going to take drastic measures (i.e. hiring Chinese mobsters) to take him out so her natural son can have his surgical center. Now that's cutthroat! The woman of their dreams chooses the adopted one, so now they're engaged, yet researches the other one on the internet...hmmmmm. Did I mention she's a singer with a CD out and also has a bum heart? Sheesh! The father lies in a coma with a jacked up brain tumor and both brothers argue over how to proceed. Hot older brother sends hot adopted brother to China to witness another doctor perform the very same procedure. Que bitchy mom hiring mobsters, mobsters hiring an impressionable Chinese lass to tail hot adopted brother, and we have a great setup for episode 2!

Note to self: learn character names!

It's Been Awhile...Time for a New Soap!

I've started watching a very intriguing KBS drama called Cain and Abel. All I know so far is there's a bloodied-up Korean hottie trudging through a desert. More to come!

Bacon vs. Bangs

Oh what drama we've seen this week. Bacon realized Bangs was the jerk who dumped Jiy, Miae realized that Sua is Bacon's step-sister, Jiy almost OD'd on sleeping pills and on and on. WOW! This show is getting better and better. We also discovered that Bangs has a hot body - unfortunately, the camera did not pan down for further inspection. Here are my observations from the past week.

Baekho aka Bacon

First of all, how freaking cute is this actor? My oh my. He's adorable. This character has really grown on me. He still mumbles too much for my taste, but it does draw attention to his lips, which are very nice indeed. He needs to dump his flight attendant girl and rescue Danpung from that freaking psycho, Hyeonu, who is growing creepier with each episode. But back to Bacon vs. Bangs. When Bacon pulled Bangs boy out of the car and punched him, I shouted with glee. It was a pretty decent fight scene although, unfortunately, Bangs kinda beat his ass up. When's Danpung going to put it together? Gee, her coworker's face is messed up AND her brother's face is messed up. What a coincidence! I can't wait until her witch mother finds out that she's in love with Bacon boy. If she doesn't accept him, then I sure will. Yeeeaaahhh!

Seonjae aka Bangs
Unfortunately, I couldn't find any pictures of him - but I'm going to keep looking. Bacon is way hotter anyway. Bangs...is an asshole. A money-hungry, disrespectful, unfeeling asshole. At first I said...oh maybe he's being a jerk to Jiy because he doesn't want his mommy to be mean to her anymore. Unless he's a complete robot, he has quite the poker face. He acts so cold but then he went to the beach to look for her when she was missing and then got wasted and called for her after he found out she took sleeping pills. The way he spoke to his father put me over the edge. His dad basically told him to be with one he loves (and the dad hates that witch Sua anyway) and Bangs totally insulted him. JERK!! Ugh, hopefully when he's miserable with Sua, he'll go back to Jiy and she'll already be madly in love with someone else. I doubt it, but it would still be nice. If all you care about is power and greed, then you deserve whatever you get. So there!

Likable or Not - Questions of the Night

It's been awhile since I've posted - shameful, I know. I've been way too tired. Tonight it's all about questions I've accumulated over the last 50 episodes. I may have asked these in previous posts, but whatever. Here we go:

Why does everyone take the battery out of their phones when they don't want to talk to someone? Have they ever heard of ignoring the call? Silencing the ringer? Turning the phone off? Why must the battery be removed? Why? Why, I ask!

When will Jiyeong get some pride and stop calling stupid Seonjae aka Bangs Boy? Sua, for once, was right about that. Jiy needs to stop sucking down the soju and find a hot guy to make Bangs Boy jealous. And she should sell that cheap-looking engagement ring too.

What is so bad about a husband and wife showing affection? Granny almost flipped her lid when she caught Bonjour Dad and Dongi in an embrace. Of course, like a typical mama's boy, he went and apologized. Grow a set, will ya!

When will people realize that Hyeonu is a twisted psycho stalker? If I were Danpung I would be creeped out. He shows up at work, after work, at her house. I'm surprised he hasn't knocked on her bedroom door at night. And how did he get her coworkers cell phone number?

Speaking of cell phones - how did Danpung know what Sua's number was when Sua was blocking her car in the parking garage? This happened awhile back but it still puzzles me. Did Sua leave a note on the car? Do they have some kind of license plate/cell phone tracking system in S. Korea?

How stupid did Seonjae look in his suit and slippers when he met Sua's family?

Baekho/Bacon can cook. He can draw. He can sing. He can fix shoes. He can run fast. He can slice tofu with floss. He can pose as a kid's father. He can make weird faces and mumble when he speaks. This woman wonders...what else can he do well? Hmmmm. Heeeehhhh.

How did Jiy wind up with one really young aunt? Did her grandparents take a long-ass break between bed sessions?

What is the sexuality of Jiy and Jiy's dad's coworker? He mentions girlfriends, yet wears cute little bowties and prances around the office. Honey, me thinks boyfriend be needin' a boyfriend.

Alright...my eyes are officially crossing now. I'll have to finish listing these questions next time. Until the next episode!

Fast Forwarding Required

It's 9:30pm and I'm taping Likable or Not. I've found it more enjoyable to watch this way because I can fast-forward the annoying parts. As of right now, almost every male character on the show drives me crazy - they're dumb, immature, chauvinistic, wimpy mamas-boys. I find myself screaming "MAN UP...MAN UP!" at the television. Let's discuss, shall we?

Baekhu (or however you spell it) aka "Bacon":
Um...where do I start? How old is he supposed to be? He doesn't know how to work a copy machine, falls asleep at his desk and drools all over papers, whines and insults his boss, sucks down food samples as if he hasn't eaten in weeks and yet he's still employed. Ugh!!!! I was so happy when Danpung kicked him in the shins - that kick should've been higher up though. He also gets wasted over stupid things, like his mommy moving in with her husband. Grow up, loser.

Seonjae aka "Bangs Boy":
Another freaking mamas-boy pussy. He has a girlfriend, asks her to marry him, yet he won't introduce her to his family (believe he's doing that tonight though). Mama likes that bitch, Sua, and Bangs Boy is scared to upset mommy. He says his girlfriend is "just a college junior" - man, if I was that girl I'd dump him immediately. I also find his office scenes hilarious. I'm guessing alot of the dialogue is lost in the translation, but here's my imitation of one of his business meetings:

Bangs Boy: New York is called The Big Apple. People like to eat apples.
Associates: Yes.
Bangs Boy: Apples are affordable. They are healthy.
Associates: Yes.
Bangs Boy: Selling apples in New York will yield a high profit.
Associates: Wow, you're so smart.

Wow!!!

Hyenu aka Glasses Guy aka Stalker:
Perhaps there are women out there who would find it endearing if a man constantly called them, showed up at their work, and decorated the inside of their car. I, on the other hand, would change my name and address and get an order of protection. This guy is gonna snap at any second. Whenever his conquest, Danpung, mentions her annoying interactions with Bacon, Stalker gets this angry look on his face like he's gonna go on a rampage. He also looks a little young to be a plastic surgeon - maybe he'll go after Danpung with his scalpel. At least his hideous pink lab coat will make him easy to spot. Eek.

Bacon's Uncle - forget his name:
Um...lets see. He's too much of a pussy to tell his sister he got divorced and then gets thrown in jail for pushing a guy. When he gets out, this girl brings him tofu (is that customary when you get out of Korean jail?) and he scarfs it down, spitting tofu bits out all over himself. UGH!! I realized I was staring, open-mouthed, at the television in disgust. I'm beyond words. Is this a quality that Korean woman dig in a man? Yuck.

Two men have been spared - Bangs Boy and Danpungs dad (don't know his name) because he's hilarious and Bacon's step-dad because he seems like a good guy.

Whew, I feel better.

Likable Or Not

Finally, a new KBS drama that I can get into! For the two of you who might be interested, I did watch the finale of High As The Sky. It ended with Muyeong and Jisu boarding a plane for their honeymoon. Not earth-shattering, but still sort of cute.

Now, onto more important matters - Likable Or Not. I say, very likable so far. I always prefer shows with a comedic tone. Unfortunately, I'm not even close to learning all of the characters names so, for now, I'll offer some general observations:

1. Why are people on these shows always getting wasted? And over stupid little issues too. In every single KBS soap that I've watched, a person gets trashed and winds up being helped to a hotel room. This usually leads to a romantic relationship later on. Likable's been on for two weeks and there have already been three drunken encounters. One was with Baekho (wow, I remember his name!) - he got trashed because his mom (Minsook from Bizarre Bunch, whose name I think is Dongi) married some rich guy and went to live with him. This kid, Baekho, then had to live by himself. He missed his mommy so much that he went out and got wrecked. Dude...get a grip. Then, there were two drunken scenes with Sua, daughter of Minsook/Dongi's newly betrothed, who happens to be president of some big corporation called Bonjour Foods. First she gets wasted when she learns her dad's getting hitched, then she gets wasted again when he tells her to go back to college. Sheesh people - what would you do if something really tragic happened?

2. What's with the creepy guy who's into Danpung? Danpung is the main younger actress of the show and is totally beautiful. Perfect skin, perfect hair, thin...I hate her. Anyway, this weasel guy, who I think is a plastic surgeon, keeps following her around and he even broke into her car to decorate it with Hello Kitty type stuff. Um...CREEPY...and I can't remember his name. I predict that Danpung and Baekho will get together at some point. She is, after all, the one who helped him during his drunken fit.

3. Thanksgiving's not just about turkey. On last week's shows, the characters of Likable celebrated Thanksgiving South Korean style. Women were stuck in the kitchen cooking insane amounts of food (sounds familiar), women were dressed up in these puffy, colorful dresses with off-kilter bows and people were bowing in front of bowls of fruit and pics of their dead relatives. Fun times! Perhaps someone of South Korean descent can explain to me how laying out fruit honors the dead - I don't get it, but it makes for interesting TV.

Until next time...