My first drama of 2022! Our Beloved Summer is a drama about a couple, Kook Yeonsu (Kim Dami) and Choi Ung (Choi Woosik), who filmed a documentary in high school and ended up falling in love and dating for 5 years, but breaking up, then meeting again after another 5 years, not having moved on from each other. The drama's official genre is rom com, but it was a lot more like slice-of-life to me.
Work Later, Drink Now focuses on three ladies, Ahn Sohee (Lee Sunbin), Kang Jigoo (Eunji of Apink) and Han Jiyeon (Sunhwa of Secret), their lives and the role drinking plays in their lives.
When I heard that there was a drama focused on a female trio and it was getting rave reviews, I knew I had to watch it. Shows focusing on female friendships like Age Of Youth, Be Melodramatic and Search WWW are some of my all time favourite dramas. I also have a soft spot for Eunji because she has such a wonderful voice, and I actually watched Reply 1997 when it first came out (back when tvN was still trying to establish itself - what a long way it has come) and loved the show.
With work and studies, I have not been keeping up with Kpop very much anymore, other than random gossip from translation sites. To add on, the current generation of groups and their songs are just not it for me. They are really young, and somehow they don't quite have the spark for me anymore. The lack of live singing also severely disturbs me. Kpop had no lack of not-so-talented singers back in the day, but even they sang live!
Anyway, this year was a fantastic year for me as a 2nd gen fan, with some groups making mini reunions for variety shows like MMTG and Hangout with Yoo. Most significantly for me was the After School reunion for MMTG. Never thought I'd see the day where Kahi would be performing an AS song on stage again, and to do that with JungAh, Bekah, Jooyeon and Raina?! The ladies clearly relished the opportunity, and of course, it was a dream come true for me. Recently, Sunny Hill also appeared on Hangout With Yoo and performed Midnight Circus!
This is just a memory trip for me, where I list my favourite songs from 2nd gen - the songs that I will never skip in shuffle mode. I like many songs because I would listen to B sides too, but this is a very very select list of those that I think are close to flawless. Of course, since performances are a huge part of Kpop, my opinion is also affected by the live performances.
My Name is about Yoon Jiwoo (Han Sohee), who witnesses her father being murdered. She joins a criminal organisation and later infiltrates the police to seek revenge on her father's murderer.
By now, who has not heard of this show haha. But here goes - Squid Game is a show where 456 debt-ridden people are brought to an island to play games and have the chance to win an extraordinary amount of prize money if they win, and survive.
Move to Heaven is about Cho Sanggu (Lee Jehoon), a boxer released from prison who gets tasked to become the guardian of his nephew, Han Geuru (Tang Joonsang), who has Asperger's syndrome after Geuru's father, Han Jeongwoo passes away. Jeongwoo and Geuru run a trauma cleaning business, helping to organise the belongings of those who have passed away.