Tag Archives: Jung Kyung Ho

O16

Time between Dog and Wolf

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(thundie: I’m absolutely thrilled to introduce my first guest blogger, ockoala, whom some of you know from the Dramabeans’ Open Threads. Please welcome her!)

For the Love of Woof-Woof:

Before diving right in, namely, to talk about one of my favorite k-dramas, I want to thank Thundie for honoring me with an invitation to write a guest post on her blog. I’ve been reading Thundie’s Prattle for almost as long as I have been watching k-dramas. Never in a million years did I imagine a day would come when I can contribute and give back to the world of k-dramas through Thundie’s Prattle. Thundie, and all the dedicated, thoughtful, and prolific writers who spread knowledge and enjoyment of k-dramas worldwide, are an inspiration to me. I am beyond excited to take a tiny step in their direction.

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T95

Smile: Episode 2

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Act Two opens, and confirms what we had suspected earlier about Jilted Bride: The woman is a grandfather enslaver.

Observe how she bawls the moment she sees Grandpa running into the police station, his face clouded with concern, his eyes barely registering his own grandson. She knows exactly which buttons to push to turn him into putty in her hands, and why not? As The Chairman’s youngest grandchild and the center of her parents’ gilded universe, she has always been precious and precocious. Imagine Grandpa’s dismay, therefore, at the sight of her now, handcuffed and frowzled.

“Haraboji… HARABOJI!!”

Covering their ears at the caterwauling, the five lizards in the station choke on their unsalted flies and scramble for cover. Their appetite for dinner similarly ruined, the cops hurry to free Crazy Woman at Grandpa’s request. As they leave, she clinging triumphantly to the old man’s arm, he is racked with guilt. At his next cemetery visit, how will he explain to The Departed One the ignominy that had befallen Dearest Granddaughter?

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T96

Smile: Episode 1

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Let me tell you about the latest offering at the Theater of the Absurd.

A 70-year-old grandpa used to be the personal driver for a man whom he fondly calls “The Chairman.” Said chairman is dead and gone, but memories of his benevolence continue to drive (pun unintended) the behavior of his former employee. If not for the chairman’s generosity, what would the grandpa have become? A hobo? But because the chairman provided for the grandpa and his family, the grandpa has sworn permanent servitude upon himself. Just look at his thrall-like behavior around the chairman’s descendants.

The chairman’s son (let’s call him Chairman Junior) treats the driver with as much disdain as he would a faulty golf club, tossing him away one day for the flimsiest of reasons. Why Chairman Junior hates Mr. Chauffeur is unclear and may never be known. In the Theater of the Absurd, there’s no need to explain anything.

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T117

Sympathy for second fiddles

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If you’re in the midst of watching Stairway to Heaven (2003) and are rooting for Han Tae-hwa (Shin Hyun-joon) to win the girl, don’t.

None of the guys in this post gets the prize they most covet: their beloved. Consider that your Wet Blanket Statement of the Week.

Not all kdramas feature a love triangle (or quadrangle). But for those that do, it’s almost a sure bet that the ones playing second fiddles will not emerge victorious. Still, that does not stop many of us from fervently hoping the tide will finally turn in our favorite second fiddle’s favor. Even after getting our hopes crushed multiple times, we still believe there’s a writer out there farsighted enough to write a different ending for the traditional loser. Haha.

This post is for all the second fiddles in our kdramas, who are left with nothing in the end but heartache. Most of the ones here I have loved ardently, a few I have heaped venom on. All of them deserve our sympathy. (Or perhaps not.)

Let’s start with my Numero Uno Detesto. (Excuse the mangled Spanish, but you get the gist.)

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