Profile: TV Show: Young Actors’ Retreat Aired: Sept 9 to Oct 21, 2022 Episodes: 8 Aired on: Friday
Main Cast Love in the Moonlight – Kim Yoo Jung, Park Bo Gum, Jung Jin Young, Chae Soo Bin, Kwak Dong Yeon Itaewon Class – Park Seo Jun, Ahn Bo Hyun, Kwon Na Ra, Lee Joo Young, Ryu Kyung Soo Sound of Magic – Ji Chang Wook, Choi Sung Eun, Hwang In Yeop, Ji Hye Won, Kim Bo Yoon Others: Yoon Kyung Ho, Kim Hye Eun
Review: Wow! I can’t believe they were able to cast all these actors for 3D2N! And got enough materials to air 8 episodes!
Love the games esp the flying chairs, although it would have been fun if the girls get to try the haunted house, flying chair and getting drenched with water too.
They were awkward at the start but definitely grew closer after a few days. I also love the tent bar and the senior actors who visited them.
Looking forward to Season 2 (i hope!)
Ps. Just realized i’ve seen Bogummy and Seojun in person back in 2019 and i’ll be seeing Wookie this Sunday 🥰
Profile: TV Show: Unexpected Business Season 2 (어쩌다 사장 시즌2) Episodes: 13 Aired: Feb 17, 2022 – May 19, 2022 Aired On: Thursday Original Network: tvN Duration: 1 hr. 40 min.
Review: Yay!! Another great season with old and new guests helping Tae Hyun and Insung manage this huge supermarket. Definitely a big step up from the cute and cozy convenience store from season 1.
They were busier this time so most scenes were them trying to serve the customers, although we still get to meet and hear the stories of the villagers. There were also more part timers per episode so less heart to heart conversations during dinner time.
First 5 episodes were centered on Insung’s friends – Kwangsoo, Woobin and Juhwan.
I’m sad the Hyunhee and Eunhyung only spent half day because they had to cut the day short. They were so funny!!
The next group of part timers were also great – Seunghwan, Kyungho, Hojun, Byungeun and Seolhyun. They elevated the dinner service with their own cooking, which gave Insung free time to chat with the guests. I love how they all came to support Taehyun and Insung.
They saved the best for last as Chairwoman Hyesoo, Gyunghye joined the two, and we even got a surprise visit from Hyojoo!! They were so nice and down to earth. Plus Kyungmin is back for his dinner live show.
Curious that majority of the guests are more from Insung’s friends/cast mates from his recent projects and just a few from Taehyun’s side. I want to see Kim Jong Kook or Jang Hyuk help them!
Wishing for season 3 please!! Maybe try a new business like a coffee shop, food truck or something totally different!!
Profile Drama: All of Us Are Dead (지금 우리 학교는) Network: Netflix Episodes: 12 Release Date: January 28, 2022 Language: Korean Country: South Korea
Plot: Hyosan High School becomes ground zero for a zombie outbreak and the kids fight their way to survive.
Main Cast Park Ji Hu – Nam On Jo Yoon Chang Young – Lee Cheong San Park Lomon – Lee Suhyeok Cho Yi Hyun – Choi Namra
Review I love zombie movies/drama and I think South Korea has almost perfected this genre. This time, the setting is in a high school and the stories are about high school kids. What will they do (without adults or parents present)?
Out of all the kids in this drama (and there were a lot of characters), I liked Cheongsan and Suhyeok the most. Well, Cheongsan first, because he is the leader – he always thinks of what to do, he was brave and was willing to risk his life for his friends. Suhyeok was his more handsome and taller sidekick who follows him and helps him beat the bad guys. i really liked their friendship, but I was disappointed that when Cheongsan sacrificed himself, Suhyeok didn’t shed a tear or looked anguished for his friend.
I also didn’t like the girls. They were pretty much useless. Everything there were zombies, the girls were just mostly hiding behind the guys except for the latter episodes. Even Onjo as the female lead was very disappointing as she was portrayed as a damsel in distress, although I feel bad that she lost her best friend, father and potential boyfriend in the drama. I was hoping Cheongsan and Lomon wouldn’t end up with Onjo and Namra, and I was actually happy they really didn’t!!
We see different reactions from the kids when faced with this fight or die scenario. Some because the worst friend like Yumi, some didn’t want to let go and save their friends like Isak and Jimin, some were willing to sacrifice themselves for their friends. I particularly loved and shed tears for Joon Yeong (in the auditorium), Gyeong Su (in the broadcasting room) and Wujin (saved his sister).
We didn’t see a lot of parents in this drama, mostly just saw Onjo’s dad, Cheongsan’s mom, Jimin’s parents who risked their lives to save their children. I also cried when the kids saw what happened to their parents and the thought that they are now orphans.
I also thought there were a lot of unexplored or unsatisfactory stories in this drama. Let’s see:
Gwinam won’t f*ing die!! There’s no explanation why he is super strong and recovers fast other than needing to have a villain in the school.
Namra was useless as a halfbie. She just served as their radar to detect other zombies. She is supposed to have special strength like Gwinam but during zombie attacks she hides behind and do nothing except in the end.
There were a lot of unnecessary deaths like with Onjo’s dad (he didn’t have to lock himself in the tennis/badminton court), Cheongsan (he seemed like the main lead but killing him off was a big disappointment, and Wujin (he had to die so that there will be a sad story for him and his sister, like he they had to kill him when they’re almost free).
There were also characters who didn’t have to be in the drama like the pregnant girl who gave birth to a baby, Jae-ik who didn’t really do anything other than get the laptop, the assemblywoman who was mostly powerless and useless in the quarantine, the youtuber, the little girl who was crying.
There were potential issues that could have added depth to the story but the writer didn’t push through, like Nayeon, who didn’t have a chance to ask forgiveness from her friends before she got mercilessly killed by Gwinam. Gwinam fighting with Cheongsan just because he didn’t want to be caught murdering the principal. Eunji, who never got her revenge against Gwinam for the sexual harrassment, although her eating her coward friend was a little satisfying.
I don’t know if they were hoping for a season 2, but they didn’t explore what happened after the Hyosan bombing, other than the kids, gathering to mourn their friends, and meeting Namra on the rooftop. Maybe I was still hoping that Cheongsan is alive.
I still enjoyed this despite the dislikes. Better if they kept this at 8 or 10 eps. Not sure about the ending but I don’t really need a season 2.
Profile: Movie: Juror 8 (배심원들) Release Date: May 15, 2019 Runtime: 114 min. Distributor: CGV Arthouse Country: South Korea
Cast Moon Sori – Kim Jun Kyeom Park Hyung Sik – Kwon Nam Woo Baek Soo Jang – Yoon Geu Rim Jo Soo Hyang – Oh Soo Jung Jo Han Chul – Choi Young Jae Cha Mi Kyung – Yang Choon Ok Yoon Kyung Ho – Jo Jin Sik Seo Jung Yeon – Byun Sang Mi Kim Hong Fa – Jang Ki Baek Seo Hyun Woo – Kang Doo Sik
Review This movie is based on the first jury trial in South Korea.
The main character is juror no. 8 played by Park Hyung Sik. At first he looked dumb because every time someone asked him for his opinion, he always didnt know what to answer. And yet he turned out to be the smartest one in the room. He was the only one who actually listened to the testimonies and analyzed the evidences. There were a few jurors who made up their minds even without understanding the evidences. They just want to get out of their jury duty. But thanks to juror 8, they all decided to investigate the case. The main judge also ended up considering the jury’s inputs.
The movie had an odd pace though. Sometimes it was serious, sometimes it was light then as usual with most Korean movies, the third act becomes cheesy anf emotional.
KDrama Dreaming 