KDrama Review: Emperor of the Sea

“Emperor of the Sea” is based on the Choi In-Ho novel of the same title. The drama focuses on the life of Jang BoGo (? – 846) who dominated the East Asian Sea and international trade during the Shilla Dynasty (676 A.D. – 935 A.D). The drama features Jang BoGo’s growth from slave to Ambassador of Cheong Hae-Jin.

Ponder Angst – I was very frustrated with the amount of lonely staring that went on in this series. Maybe it was just because I had never been exposed to Korean Ponder Angst and it was a culture shock for me. Jang Bo Go looks out at the ocean. Jung Hwa looks out at the ocean. Yeom Moon looks out at the ocean. Master Lee looks out at the ocean. Madame Jami looks at a wall from her table of doom. Awful. 5 points.

Love “ – “ Angles – It’s a Quint. Jang BoGo loves Jung Hwa. Jung Hwa loves Bo Go. Other chick loves Bo Go. Yeom Moon loves Jung Hwa. Bo Go has baby with Other chick and feels a great deal of affection. 20 points.

Sizzle – Song Il Guk as Yeom Moon not only sizzled in this series, the man was on fire. He lit up the screen for me. I woke up in the middle of the night to watch the next installment of the series just so I could see what would happen to Yeom Moon next. Song Il Guk is solely responsible for my k-drama obsession. I have yet to find a character that entranced and captured me the way the tragic Yeom Moon did. 50 points. Yeah, that's right, I said 50. If you say anything, I’ll give it 10 more.

Physical Intimacy – Well, again, since my k-drama cherry was popped on EotS, the lack of physical intimacy made me nuts. I have since gotten used to this really endearing quality in my Korean dramas. This time though, I wanted something more than hands to touch, and I barely got that. Jang Bo Go’s and Jeong Nyeon's wives get pregnant, so we know that at least 2 couples consummated their relationship, so I give it 10 points.

Tragic Heartwrenching Disease and/or Character Death from Same – If I go into all the heart wrenching tragic death on this series, I’ll start to cry and spoil the whole thing for anyone who hasn’t seen it. This series devastated me even though I had read all the spoilers and I knew what was going to happen. 20 points

Going to the Beach – Ding ding ding ding ding ding ding! Bonus Round! The e-ville Madame Jami kills herself by walking into the ocean. Yessssss! 15 points!

Emperor of the Sea gets 120 points and for me, that was really on target. I watched this series out of boredom and on a whim. Figured I’d give it an episode. I fell in love with all the characters in the series; I rooted for them and I cried for them. The end devastated me.

I haven’t watched the series full through since though. It’s not the kind of drama where you get a warm fuzzy feeling; there is dread throughout now. What the show did do was to introduce me to a fascinating culture, it put me in touch with people I otherwise never would have met – I’ve made friends all over the world because of this series and it’s characters.

I think that’s what has made this series the most special for me.

Kingdom of the Winds

As far as I know, Song Il Guk's management company, Barunson, has yet to officially announce his participation as King Damushin in "Kingdom of the Winds", even though word has it that he is already in China filming this KBS' sageuk.

Actress actress Choi Jeong-Won [최정원] has been slated as one of Damushin's concubines, and actress Oh Yoon-Ah [오윤아]will play Damushin's wet nurse. Jeong Jin-Yeong and Jeong Tae-Seong have also been cast; I just don't know in what capacity yet.

KotW is a popular graphic novel, or manga, foundation: Korean history; genre: fantasy. It has also been made into the pay to play multiplayer online role playing game NEXUS: The Kingdom of the Winds (Korean:바람의 나라), alternately known as Nexus TK or simply Nexus. The game is currently run in the US by Kru Interactive.

I'm a tool enough to check out the graphic novels, old enough not to be interested in the game.



http://kr.news.yahoo.com/service/news/shellview.htm?linkid=16&articleid=20080614184028360b6&newssetid=83

information provided by the inimitable dramaok

Excedrin PM Glooblie

Feel foggie this morning, thanks for asking. Yeah, I'm still not feeling 100%, but I'm a lot better than I was Tuesday night. Low grade fever, really sore, just felt all around junky. Stayed in, hit the couch, fell asleep early. I didn't really have much in the way of cold medicine to take, so I just let it fuss its' way out of me.

Yesterday it hurt to talk but as the day wore on, I felt better. I feel still better today; just logie like I took 2 Excedrin PM last night. Except I didn't. Blaaaaah. Taking Buddy out for a walk helped though; it's a lovely bracing 53 degrees out this morning. This went a long way toward waking me up.

Thoughts of taking a sick day yesterday were banished early since I had to cover for my colleague. I would have missed some vigorous e-debate with my pen pal regarding, of all things, parents that feel entitled to take sick time when their kids are sick. Somehow it descended into a rant about the flat tax and his mother - I don't know - I didn't say he was rational.

So in to work, must get on the treadmill tonight; I've missed it.

Crossword

Guest Blogger and I do the Washington Post crossword puzzles. She is much better at the game than I, with a mind more on point and agile than I have ever had. I admire this. I generally just sit next to her and say, "Yep, yep, that sounds good," bobbling my head up and down. I will occasionally be "on" and get a few answers, but usually, nah. It's still fun. She does them in pen. When I note that this is the hallmark of a confident albeit arrogant individual, she interjects that, no, doing the New York Times crossword puzzle in pen is the archetype of the arrogant. I suspect she secretly does these in pen as well. Not because she is arrogant, but because she is brilliant.

To try to keep my hand in the game as well as in an effort to stave off the Alzheimers I'm certain will inevitably settle in, I do the occasional generic crossword puzzle on my own. I can go slowly this way, using pencil with a large eraser. Since it's getting harder and harder for me to see the words without additional ocular intervention, my nose is pressed pretty closely to the page. And I never do the Washington Post Crossword puzzle on my own. I did that once and the reaction from Guest Blogger was akin to a wife learning that her husband just slept with a much younger more naturally blonde woman.

So it was in the execution of one of these generic crosswords that I became flummoxed. The clue was KEEP _ _ _ _ (persevere). I got a few of the down answers and came up with :

A _ IT.

I got the down clue, which was TSAR, making the answer ATIT. It took me a while to realize that the answer was KEEP AT IT.

Coming Down With

I woke up this morning feeling like there was junk in my throat. It occurred to me that I might be coming down with something, but I pushed the thought away; I hadn’t been near anyone who was sick. I shrugged it off.

Not shrugging it off so much now. Tonsils still feel junky, up through my nose, my head hurts and my shoulders are starting to ache. Some people soldier on, “I feel fine,”. Yeah, no, not workin’ for me. Big baby. Huge. I want DayQuil, NyQuil, ibuprofen, ginger ale, a box of tissues, a cold pillow, a fan on my face, blanket covering the rest of my shivery fever-y body. I want a thermometer within reach so I can take my temperature whenever I want. I want the television on and I want to watch DVDs. I want tea, chamomile if I have it, and a hot bath (a hot bath cures all things).

Might just be allergies. We’ll see. I got no problem taking sick time.

Meggie

This is my daughter doing a solo at the one act at her high school.

The Hakawati – by Rabih Alameddine

I bought “The Hakawati” two months ago after reading a write up on it in The Wall Street Journal. I read it during my lunch hour at work and it has been an enjoyable two months ~ I’m going to miss this book.

A hakawati is a middle eastern story teller and oh, what tales we are told! The foundation of the book is the story of Osama al-Kharrat and his struggle to come to terms with in relationship with his father before his father passes away. We learn about Osama’s siblings, parents and antecedents. Peppered in between Osama’s struggle are stories of old. We are treated to stories of Fatima and her battle with the jinn Afreet-Jehanam and their subsequent and passionate love affair, of Fatima’s son Shams and the son of the emir Layl, of Baybars, of Taboush, of Abraham, and my two favorites Othman and his beautiful, strong, wise and crafty wife Layla.

I’m slowly gaining a little insight into the Korean culture through all those k-dramas I watch. The Korean culture is different and charming and sweet. “The Hakawati” offered me, after “The Red Tent” and “The Kite Runner”, some tiny insight into the Middle Eastern culture; one that is magical and real and lusty. Some of it was a little weird for me, but it didn't ruin in the telling.

I barely even realized that a tapestry that was being woven around me. I got confused trying to remember all of Osama’s family, who fathered whom, which wife was feuding with which other one’s aunt. It was told in sort of a conversational style that pulled me right in, felt real and kept me invested. But by the end, after all the magical tales were told, I realized that through the stories I grew to love, alongside the characters for whom I supported and ached, the thread of the hakawati continued through the ages. The thread uniting grandfathers and fathers and sons and nephews and cousins and sisters and mothers and aunts and grandmothers. The thread bringing life to their stories and richness to ours. Osama realizes it too, he understands in the end that he really does know his father and he will enjoy telling the story of his father for many years to come.

I liked it, a little weird, but yeah, I liked it. I think I will read it again; high marks. It is recommended.