This is an interesting poll and I find myself agreeing with most of the selections with a few deviations. Joynews polled 200 Korean drama industry insiders to vote for their best and worst dramas of 2018, which admitted hasn’t ended yet with a few more high profile dramas to air. But the poll results more or less reflect the quality … Continue reading →
It takes a combination of luck and ability to land a supporting drama role that steals the lead thunder, and to do so in an especially bad K-drama. Lee Se Young already had her first leading lady role in The Best Hit last year before she signed on as a supporting role for Hwayugi (A Korean Odyssey) but she really … Continue reading →
Even with negative zero expectations, the ending of tvN fantasy drama Hwayugi (A Korean Odyssey) still managed to suck donkey balls level of bad. It’s not the deaths, or lack thereof, it’s the terribly plotting with no emotional payoff that makes this drama such a turd. The Hong Sisters have had their share of sad endings, hello Hong Gil Dong … Continue reading →
My Lee Seung Gi has been freed! Like his character Song Oh Gong with the geumganggo magical bracelet binding him, the ending of Hwayugi feels like he’s taken off the shackles and can move on to better things but also knowing he’s tried his best. He arrived late at the drama wrap party so wasn’t snapped by the media but … Continue reading →
I’ve been girding myself for the concluding week of tvN fantasy drama Hwayugi (A Korean Odyssey) that I didn’t really process just how many new K-dramas were premiering this Saturday. Four new arrivals of different genres hit the small screen all with decent starts. On the prime time networks, KBS is finishing up long running drama My Golden Life with … Continue reading →
For a high profile K-drama like Hwayugi with a big name cast including my faves Lee Seung Gi and Cha Seung Won, it’s dispiriting that the drama is limping towards the finale weekend with what feels like no buzz. It barely squeezed into the top 5 most buzzed about dramas for February and took an inverse journey of splashy premiere … Continue reading →
The penultimate week airing of tvN weekend fantasy drama Hwayugi (A Korean Odyssey) happens to hit during the closing weekend of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. The ratings were 3.821% for episode 17, a drop from the previous episode 16, and episode 18 went back up to 5.472%. I hope next week’s finale goes back up to 6% at … Continue reading →
When I first saw the stills of male lead Lee Seung Gi for Hwayugi (A Korean Odyssey) it was a mixture of squee and meh, the ostentatious fur coat and funky v-shaped buzz cut was an odd combo. Two months later and I’ve grown to love his look for this drama, and love even more the totality of the outfits … Continue reading →
The hammer has dropped for me with this weekend’s episodes of Hwayugi. I wanted so badly to love this drama but it’s gone down the exact same trajectory as While You Were Sleeping. First episode love slowly seeping away due to a meandering narrative and a lack of growing depth in writing the main characters with the side characters the … Continue reading →
The Hong Sisters currently airing tvN fantasy drama Hwayugi finished its 6th week and at 20 episodes has another month of airing left. I hope it’s enough to wrap up all the myriad threads and continue to develop the characters more because right now all my concerns with this drama have intensified in the same way all the Hong Sisters … Continue reading →
I had two opinion changes last December with two young K-actresses that I never connected with but changed my mind after their most recent roles. The first was Chae Soo Bin in I am Not a Robot as she won me over with a very warm performance. The second and even more impressive is Lee Se Young with a supporting … Continue reading →
I really really liked this Sunday’s episode 10 of Hwayugi, the first episode I liked this month since the premiere episode 1 which hooked me solid. The ratings for the drama returned to a milestone marker with this episode 10 which hit 6.271% ratings, the first time the drama broke 6% after it fell below that in the 5% range … Continue reading →
I’m still unable to formulate a reaction to the love line in fantasy tvN drama Hwayugi (A Korean Odyssey). For Lee Seung Gi‘s recent dramas it’s always been so clear to me how I felt – insane love for the OTP in A King 2 Hearts, the female lead Suzy‘s wooden acting ruining the romantic connection in Gu Family Book, … Continue reading →
