First Pictures from the Secret Garden Concert

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• "...where her character actually has more than three distinctive characteristics aside from kind-hearted stunt woman with self-esteem issues."

  i hear ya on that one.

  i'm kinda glad it's ending - loved the beginning but now i'm losing steam and that great love i had for joo won pretty much died after seeing that he just... doesn't change. but then again, i've still to catch up from 17 onwards so hmm...

• What's up with track suit? ... :) Thanks for the up date.

• World's Within is a sort of 'slice of life' in the production world. Having experienced film & tv production work, I can say this drama is realistic. The characters, rivalries, egos, last minute work, super tight production schedules that no ailment or accident can be an element of excuse, etc. I almost went crazy when the last 4 episodes I was watching did not have proper subs! I must have searched and googled for months to find comprehensible subtitles and detailed recaps. No recap but still I'm glad because my search led me to dramabeans and koala's playground. World's Within is a drama within the drama, behind the scenes. I really recommend it.

  • I totally agree. I adored The World They Live In (aka World's Within -- I never got why they used such a weird English title when the literal translation was much more evocative and correct), but I do have to admit it lacks a lot of the makjang umph that keeps stories like SG going. Still, it is a pretty realistic slice-of-the-kdrama-world-life, and everyone feels very real. You don't completely like the heroine because she's self-centered, the hero doesn't always say the right thing at the right time, and mostly everyone is just human. I loved it. Hyun Bin is awesome (of course), Song Hye-gyo matches her role really well, the rest of the cast is good, and the characters act like real humans. I think it's one of the most underrated dramas of 2008.

    • agree with you both! WW is one of my fave-of-all-time drama cos in terms of dramaland, it's pretty realistic and the characters feel very human. it was definitely underrated (and the low ratings didn't help to make people watch it, i think) but whatever it is, i personally find it pretty damn good.

    • ""I think it’s one of the most underrated dramas of 2008.""
      Totally in sync with you on that. Binnie really rose to the occasion with his acting chops. The ratings were not good too, same as M3. Maybe, some survey or research should be done on what type of shows exactly will appeal to the ahjussis&ahjummas [since they make up 60% of the audience? correct me if I'm wrong] that will raise the ratings??
      BTW, SNSD also quoted that their fav drama at that time was Worlds Within and the fact that it was realistic.

    • yeah, i too like world within..actually i feel bad for the drama in terms of ratings..i love romantic scene in this drama..so real!!
      one of the prove, the drama still not appeal audience even though have well famous writer, director and actors!!

    • I hesitated to watch it at first, but once i started I loved it!! Its really different from other dramas. Its very realistic, it really feels you got out of the drama and went behind the scene. A drama where the crew are the heroes. How much they work to produce something, and the relations they have with one another. Characters are ALL very realistic. They feel so very human.

  • I can say that I fully appreciate "slice-of-life" dramas, and the goddess who pens the most exquisite such dramas Noh Hee Kyung, is one of my fave scriptwriters.

    Her Goodbye Solo is permanently on my top-10 list.

    http://ockoala.wordpress.com/2010/07/12/goodbye-solo/

    However, I ran to get WW after I finished GS, and even with a heart brimming with excitement to watch more of NHK's amazing writing on screen again, WW was an uninspired drama up to ep 4.

    The problem is 100% with the PD - he does not intuitively understand NHK's mastery of balancing dramatic constructs with breathing humanity. His camera is all engaged in the action, as opposed to unobstrusively capturing the motion. When I saw the same PD's work on Coffee House, it's kinetic vibe worked there, but CH nonetheless gave me a raging headache.

    GS would have been a failure in his hands as well. I vow to finish WW, or perhaps get a hold of the shooting script to read the story. I have no problems with what that drama means to convey, the story, or the characters. I hated the directing, so much so it saps away at NHK's words and makes it disappear into the heavy-handed approach.

    WW needed the same type of PD as GD - with a very introspective camera work.

    • Aah! Ockoala, you are obviously a serious drama buff. WW, for me was my first KDrama, some 2 odd years ago. Was randomly surfing the TV, came across the first episode (it was fate!) and stopped cold because of Binnie!! Squeee! This from a woman who until then had never watched a single K Drama. I had watched 3.5 Tw Dramas, thanks to ARJoe and ISWAK. But I saw WW, and not having any background in what K Dramas were meant to be, I totally loved this slice of life drama. It helped that the leads were so beautiful and there was loads of kissing! Imagine my disappointment when I started watching more dramas, and realized that kissing was NOT the norm in K Dramas. Damn! I felt cheated. But I hung on, watched a replay of MISA, died a thousand deaths with that, and that's it! I'm hooked to KDramas, and by extension to a lot K culture by extension. I blame Binnie for the fact that I don't talk to my kids and hubby anymore.
      On a different note, love your blog and your take on whatever you write about.

    • ockoala,
      Like you, I've been stuck on the earlier episodes of WW for ages now. I agree that the PD's style of WW doesn't sync well with NHK's writing. Sometimes, the directing felt like it's too "excited" and all up in your face, so to speak, when it should take a step back to let the characters breathe in the quiet, introspective moments.
      Since Hyun Bin is going to off to military service soon (*tear*), I want to want it through before. If you're game, I'd love to have you as a WW watching buddy.

    • typo... (sorry)
      should be "I want to *watch* it through"

    • I got stuck at the beginning of WW, too. Then pushed through up until episode 11 and now I'm stuck again.

      My first issue was that it was boring to me. I liked the story but something in the pacing was obviously not holding my interest. Also, if I were spazzy over the OTP I'm sure I would have finished it just to see what happens. But I wasn't feelin' them.

      Binnie was so gorgeous in it though, that I will have to finish at some point.

    • I first watched The World They Live In when I was but a wee, young dramaling, very new to the whole kdrama scene, so perhaps that's why the directing didn't bother me. Or at least, I don't remember it really bothering me much, but then again I haven't seen it in a while. Still, from what I do remember, I think you have a good point. Perhaps if my more jaded and experienced self watched it now I wouldn't like it as much. But then again...Binnie is a pretty big draw. ;)

    • Wow... Captain... I am in awe with your explanation. Kind of profound, you are definitely our analytical Guru when it comes to Kdramas. Hats off to you!!!

      Wow..

• I just finished watching episode 19 SG in raw. Now waiting for sub. Wishing SG will give us happy ending. I did cry so much along with HB & HJW already in epi 17&18, even in epi 19 when JW told about how did RI father died. SG is a emotional drama. But for tonight ending I hope for positive ...... "Happy Ending".

• I have been having difficulty watching World Within past episode 1. Every time I begin to watch the drama again, I just don't get any further. I am going to make it my mission this year to watch the whole drama; especially now since it is on HULU.

  I fell in love with KW and RI and I was on a roller coaster of emotion watching this wonderful drama. I'm glad though that the drama is ending, the actors have been suffering in the bitter cold weather, outside and inside. They also look very tired. Congrats to the whole production team and actors for making such a wonderful, memorable drama, and thanks to them for putting in 150%.

• SG may not have been loved by some...but I SOOOOOO LOVE IT TO BITS!!! Maybe its a little "too fairytale-like"..but that has been the premise all along. Beforehand we've always known there'll be soul-swapping & the like, & yet I find that all the loose ends have slowly being explained...+ its a KDRAMA afterall!!!
  The fact that Kim Eun Sook & other KDrama writers like the Hong Sisters have been able to make incredulous concepts/ideas & turn them into great dramas...really amazes me no end!!!
  Koreans have upped the ante in drama-making to a whole new level & I'm so proud to be a KDrama addict, just like most of you reading this comment!!!
  Love SG..Binnie,HJW & KES for giving us one of the best dramas this year!!!

• Deanna and Jewels, I love you and I agree with both of you 100%!!! Thank you for posting those wonderful words, especially here!! SG was an awesome drama and everyone involved needs to be commended!!! I will miss the sparkly track suits!! LOL

• I've been off the Secret Garden wagon for a while now, only got as far as far ep.2. But once I heard this news, I've bumped SG way up on my to-watch list because of SYJ's cameo because she's one of my fav actresses.

  Also, news reports have revealed that top star Son Ye Jin will have a cameo appearance in tomorrow’s episode 20 as well (I think I know which actress will be starring on Kim Eun Sook‘s next drama – just kidding!)
  Has that been the pattern? eeps! I hope not.
  Thank you for adding the "just kidding".

• omg.. this drama is my all time favorite! the one i couldn't stand was M3.