It recently dawned on me that I’ve been blogging away (randomly) without once honoring the drama that transformed me from a passive watcher to an active discussion participant.
A year ago, I would have done ten successive posts about this drama. Alas, I think I overdid the love and backed off lest people started to think I was a crazy freak. By jove, it has been too long, I think I’m ready to talk about City Hall.
City Hall is my undisputed favorite drama of 2009. It’s going to be a cold day in hell before it falls off my top 10 list in any way shape or form. But what I want to discuss about this drama is to hold it up as my Whoa Drama.
What is a Whoa Drama, you ask? A Whoa Drama is that one drama where as you are watching it, your mind continues to be blown as you start to see K-dramas in a hitherto different light.
You love what you are seeing, and with each successive episode you love it even more. Afterwards, you can’t do anything more than to think about it all day long. And it may or may not spur you to delurk on a forum or call everyone you know to make them watch it so you can talk about it with them.
Maybe at that time you think you are watching the best thing ever committed to small screen, and later you concede maybe it wasn’t, but at the end of the day, you simply loved it more than you recollect loving anything you’ve watched.
City Hall is my Whoa Drama – it changed for me the perception of what a K-drama could deliver that I craved (a mature, sexy romance in a feel-good story with fantastic actors).
I had watched over a dozen dramas by the time I started watching City Hall, but it was City Hall that taught me to pay attention to all the details and inspired me to critically analyze my dramas (or at least attempt to).
I love City Hall to bits, and someday I will do a proper review of it. For now, this is my shameless attempt to feature a post on City Hall and share some gorgeous screen caps of my favorite drama couple of all time – Kim Sun Ah and Cha Seung Won.
I loved their chemistry, I loved their development as a couple, and their happy ending literally made me so happy I think I floated around for weeks on end, having their fictional bliss blend into my real world. If that is not a Whoa moment, then I don’t know what else is?
With that said, what is your Whoa Drama?
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My "Woah Drama" is Alone in Love. I've seen it three times now, and my love for it grows deeper with each watch. I've been watching K-dramas since 2005 and never really felt the needed to purchase DVD sets of anything mostly because, well, I'm stingy. ahahah. I mean, there were definitely k-dramas that I loved, but not enough to own. But after seeing AiL for the third time, I wanted the box set and promptly ordered it online. For me personally, that says a lot. Man, I really love that show!
I discovered Kdramas when I discovered Rain, so the first ones I ever watched were A Love to Kill, Let's Go to School, Sang-doo, and Full House. None of these made me fall in love (and one made my want to spork my eyes out).
My Woah Drama is Coffee Prince; after that there was no going back for me. When I fall, I fall hard. And forever! :-)
On that note - does the koala household have the DC of Damo? Worth it? No? 70 extra minutes of bliss?
So, yes...Damo.
Not the first, in my top 3, watched it easily 3 times, adore every freaking second and cry like a babe every time.
I LOVE your definition of a Whoa Drama!
A Whoa Drama is that one drama where as you are watching it, your mind continues to be blown as you start to see K-dramas in a hitherto different light. You love what you are seeing, and with each successive episode you love it even more. Afterwards, you can’t do anything more than to think about it all day long. And it may or may not spur you to delurk on a forum or call everyone you know to make them watch it so you can talk about it with them.
Mine would have to be Ruler of Your Own World. A pal downloaded for me the blurry 100MB version because that was the only version available at that time. I loved the drama so much I watched it twice, even though I couldn't even see the faces of the characters clearly! I became friends with the guy who fansubbed the drama and kept hounding YA Entertainment to release ROYOW with English subs. YA eventually did, hurray!
ROYOW changed all my kdrama expectations and made Winter Sonata (my first drama) look utterly superficial and silly. It will forever be in my all-time Top 5. My goal is to recap ROYOW one day. I've watched it four times and will never tire of it... ever.
Thanks so much for this post!
Ha, I (sorta) hounded the girl on YA's facebook page to have them release Chuno but she said it was too expensive but they MIGHT someday. So basically it aint gonna happen.
Instead they consider releasing crap like Punch, Star's Lover, or Princess Lulu! I guess they can get SBS shows cheap. I told them to consider Green Rose instead.
My WHOA drama - MISA and MISA forever.
A drama which made me appreciate K-melodramas.. Autumn Tale what? Winter Sonata what?
I have no idea why I came so late to this party. I have two Whoa dramas. MISA and then Resurrection. To me they broke the mold of what I expected from kdramas and made me fall so hard I felt I couldn't breath. Makes my first drama Winter Sonata look like my first crush which seems so insignificant when you know what real love is.
I suspect Comrades will do the same.
my whoa dramas of course is city hall. i love it very much, i see it many times over one year. it change me so much, and m whoa actor is cha seung won, he is so handsome and cool. i love csw.
To date, it would have to be City Hall ! I second your doing a proper review of it. ^^
My Name Is Kim Sam Soon would always be special and will always top my K-drama list on almost all categories I can think of.
BUT, my Whoa Drama is indeed CITY HALL!!! With reasons stated (word for word :) ) by the ockoala already.
Thanks for coining this term. I now will not feel bad because I will not have to compromise City Hall as my number 2 drama anymore. It is now my Whoa Drama! ^^
City Hall upped the ante for me for kdrama after Kim SamSoon. I loved the cinematography, lighting and the script. Of course, the actors were wonderful, too.
Looks like Secret Garden will be another winner. The Mayor (which Mi-Rae replaced) from City Hall was the VVIP pervert in Secret Garden. :)