24 In Korean learning journey (:

Here and now

Been trying to keep a balance between schoolwork and my sanity. Today is the last day of our recess break and all I have achieved is a little work done, a few drama eps, two korean movies and a little k-studying thrown in. Watched Ajusshi (Man from nowhere) and Hello Ghost. Both are awesome movies (sorry I’m bad at film reviews) and I think Hello Ghost may fit the palate of more people.

Mad Soul Child is currently on my repeat playlist – after hearing the OST of Ajusshi.

I’m picking up alot of Korean metaphors these days and here’s a few that I particularly liked! 😀

배가 등에 붙이다 – to be very very hungry
배보다 배꼽이 더 크다

49 days is looking to be an awesome drama! But I’m suffering from post paradise ranch withdrawal syndrome. New Tales of Gisaeng is still very much enjoyable, but it’s making a sharp 180 degree turn in its storyline. Whoever heard of a drama where important people die one after another >.< and essentially turning things upside down.

Any good Korean movies recommendation? I’m not that inclined to those fluffy cute movies and horror movies are a big NO NO. ^^

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24 Comments

  • Reply
    isaberuchan
    20 March, 2011 at 5:14 PM

    I don’t know any Korean movies, 미안해요.
    Could you recommend me one? I’ve read your drama and movie recommendations, but I don’t know where to start. In your opinion, which movie should I watch first? 😀

    • Reply
      hangukdrama
      20 March, 2011 at 5:26 PM

      I’m not sure what’s your tolerance for violence/gore/explicit scenes and other controversial issues xD The ‘safer’ options will be Hello Ghost and The Classic! 😀

      • Reply
        alodia
        20 March, 2011 at 9:17 PM

        Downloading Hello Ghost now! yey! thanks for the recommendation. ^^

        @ Isabel, yeah try The Classic. It wouldn’t be called ‘the classic’ for nothing. 🙂

      • Reply
        isaberuchan
        23 March, 2011 at 10:29 PM

        Thanks to both of you~ I’ll watch it as soon as I have time 😀

  • Reply
    alodia
    20 March, 2011 at 9:11 PM

    I haven’t accomplished much schoolwork either… trying to cram all papers right now. I’m going crazy… I can’t blog nor study Korean nor watch some dramas because of schoolworks that have piled up. But to relieve stress I’m watching some movies once in a while. I can’t wait for the semester to end!

    Hmm… movies… lemme see… I’m not sure what is taste in movies (aside from the fact that you don’t like the cuties and horrors)… do you like dramas? Let me write down some for you.

    친정엄마 – my all time favorite. i’d rather call it heartwarming rather than tearjerker

    시크릿 – starring Cha Seung Won and Song Yoon Ah… thriller… i like this one too

    웨딩드레스 – another tearjerker… i’m not really sure whether this is good or bad, but the fact that Song Yoon Ah and my fave childstar Kim Hyang Ki are together, it doesn’t matter to me (it doesn’t mean it’s bad, but I’m just not sure if it’s really an excellent movie)

    마음이 – another tearjerker, also with the child star Kim Hyang Ki.

    잠복근무 – a fun movie (Kim Sun Ah and Gong Yoo)

    S 다이어리 – nice one (Kim Sun Ah)

    키다리 아 저씨 – Ha Ji Won and Hyun Bin! 🙂

    하모니 – nice one, serious theme but with some comedic approach… can be a tearjerker (Nah Mon Hee)

    영어완전정복 – fun

    조폭 마누라 – fun! fun!

    위대한 유산 – kim sun ah and lim chang jung(?)

    엽기적인 그녀 – a classic… not sure if you’ll consider this a cutesy.. ^^

    Those are some of my faves/what i can remember… ^^

    • Reply
      hangukdrama
      21 March, 2011 at 9:08 PM

      yay! thanks for all the recommendationa 😀 i usually watch movies with darker themes heh

      will try out the ones u recommend!! 😀

    • Reply
      warp3
      21 March, 2011 at 11:55 PM

      Re: 엽기적인 그녀

      This was the first Korean movie I watched (partly since so many people recommended it). It is a fairly long movie, but is quite good (for a romantic comedy anyway). It also has the added bonus of being *very* well known in Korea, thus Korean TV shows will often make references that only really make sense if you’ve seen this movie.

      For example, in two separate episodes of 패밀리가 떴다 they referenced the scene where she is standing on one hilltop yelling confessions to him on the other hilltop since she knows he can’t actually hear her. They’ve also made references to other scenes from that movie throughout the series (plus the male lead was a guest on the show twice).

      • Reply
        hangukdrama
        22 March, 2011 at 10:03 AM

        It’s time for me to dig out that dvd at home. I remember catching snippets of it but not the whole show. Cha Tae Hyun is possibly one of my top fav actors!

  • Reply
    Naarai
    21 March, 2011 at 4:31 AM

    where did you watch Man from Nowhere? Did you watch it on a website?
    I’ve been wanting to watch it but I can’t find it anywhere. =(

    • Reply
      hangukdrama
      21 March, 2011 at 10:35 AM

      it’s on youtube. i can’t remember the link but i think u can just type ‘man from nowhere part 1’

      • Reply
        Naarai
        22 March, 2011 at 9:36 AM

        ok thanks ^^

  • Reply
    mishmash
    21 March, 2011 at 10:47 AM

    Try 아주 특별한 손님. English title is Adlib Night. It’s a very slow film and some people might not like it. But it’s rather interesting to me.

    • Reply
      hangukdrama
      21 March, 2011 at 9:08 PM

      ohhh i’ve heard of this! shall put it on my to-watch list. I’m debating with myself whether to watch 악마를 보았다 or not, but i chicken out when i read a more detailed synopsis. ):

      • Reply
        mishmash
        22 March, 2011 at 11:13 AM

        I like the way the family dynamics (so dysfunctional!) is revealed. And it’s almost like you’re a fly on the wall while the family bicker about anything and everything!

        I have not watched 악마를 보았다 either. Not sure if I’ll ever get round to it seeing how my list of to-watch movies and dramas is insanely long. kekeke

  • Reply
    warp3
    22 March, 2011 at 12:01 AM

    Re: 배보다 배꼽이 더 크다

    Did you forget to list the meaning for this one? The literal translation seems to be: “The navel is bigger than the stomach.”

    That reminds me of an idiomatic usage I learned last night. Apparently 올챙이 배 (literally: tadpole belly) is the Korean version of the English phrase “pot belly”.

    • Reply
      hangukdrama
      22 March, 2011 at 10:03 AM

      oops yeah i forgot about that. it means ‘the tail wagging the dog’ in English.

      oh i didn’t know about the 올챙이 배! Thanks for sharing 😀

  • Reply
    kevin
    22 March, 2011 at 12:28 PM

    Hello

    Came across your blog on TTMIK. Very enjoyable and helpful. Thanks.

    Here’s a list of movies to check

    **Crush Blush

    Daytime Drinking

    **Save the Green Planet

    Bittersweet Life

    **Mr. Vengeance/ Lady Vengeance

    Mother

    Quiet Family

    **Breathless

    Dasepo Naughty Girls

    **3-IRON

    The Chaser

    Barking Dogs Never Bite

    • Reply
      warp3
      22 March, 2011 at 7:01 PM

      I’ve seen Bittersweet Life (and not even as part of my Korean studies, oddly enough). I need to go back and re-watch that movie either unsubbed or Korean subbed at some point.

      Is there any significance to the ones you flagged with ** in your post?

      • Reply
        Kevin
        22 March, 2011 at 11:19 PM

        The flagged ones** are just ones a recommend a little more than the others.

        If you like Bittersweet Life I would defenitly recommend checking Breathless(though it is a little heavy on the profanity)

    • Reply
      hangukdrama
      22 March, 2011 at 7:38 PM

      thanks for the recommendations!! i think we have similar tastes in movies. Have been wanting to watch crush blush, daytime drinking, vengeance series, and daespo naughty girls. I’m definitely going to check them out soon! Will look up the rest! (:

      • Reply
        Kevin
        22 March, 2011 at 11:29 PM

        Yea I just saw Dasepo Naughty Girls and though there are some bad moments I really enjoyed it overall. I think it takes a certain type a person to enjoy it.

        And just let me know if you need help getting your hands on any of these.

        I have Korean DVD versions of:
        Mr. & lady vengeance
        Save green planet

        Then the rest are backups;) stored on my MAC

      • Reply
        mishmash
        23 March, 2011 at 12:47 AM

        I love 박찬욱’s films! Old Boy (part of the Vengeance trilogy was always my favourite.)

        I really like 김기덕’s 나쁜 남자 (Warning : Can be a disturbing and not for the violence 😛 Though I think it ties with Old Boy for disturbing plot lines). He also directed 해안선 and 3-Iron. Really dark twisted films but so different from the normal hollywood fare.

        I also recommend 이태원 살인사건 which is based on a real event which happened in 1997. I think it’s 장근석’s one and only movie where he plays a ‘dark’ character.

      • Reply
        mishmash
        23 March, 2011 at 12:56 AM

        태극기 휘날리며 is one of those rare movies that makes me cry no matter how many times I watch it. One of the few movies for which I bought the DVD for too! But then again, you’ve probably seen this already.

        Another I recommend is 친구. The movie with 장동건, not the drama.

        Btw, I read reviews about 현빈’s 사랑한다, 사랑하지 않는다…didn’t get very good reviews…but am still scouring online to download it. The critics didn’t have much to say about Late Autumn either….

  • Reply
    Irene Low
    29 March, 2011 at 9:09 PM

    Wow..so many movies to watch.

    Shanna: are all these available on You Tube?

    Thanks

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