Author: Kishor
What happens when friendship, love, and ambition collide against the backdrop of 1960s South Korea? The new JTBC Saturday-Sunday K-drama “A Hundred Memories” begins with a seemingly simple love triangle between two bus attendants (played by Kim Da Mi and Shin Ye Eun) and a charming young man (Heo Nam Jun), but quickly reveals itself to be much more. With themes of resilience, dreams, and unexpected bonds, the series promises an emotional journey beyond romance. Warning: spoilers ahead! Set in 1960s South Korea, “A Hundred Memories” follows the story of Go Young Rye, a bus attendant at Cheon Ah Transportation.…
A new drama has joined the weekend ratings battle! On September 19, MBC’s new drama “To the Moon” aired its first episode. According to Nielsen Korea, the premiere of the new series starring Lee Sun Bin, Ra Mi Ran, Jo Aram, and Kim Young Dae scored an average nationwide rating of 2.8 percent. SBS’s “Queen Mantis,” which airs in the same time slot as “To the Moon,” continued its reign as the most-watched Friday-Saturday miniseries of the night. The mystery thriller kicked off the second half of its run on an average nationwide rating of 6.6 percent. Finally, JTBC’s “My…
The Korean Business Research Institute has revealed this month’s brand reputation rankings for individual boy group members! The rankings were determined through an analysis of the consumer participation, media coverage, communication, and community awareness indexes of 755 boy group members, using big data collected from August 20 to September 20. BTS’s Jimin topped this month’s list with a brand reputation index of 5,390,371, marking a 22.93 percent increase in his score since August. High-ranking phrases in his keyword analysis included “Billboard chart,” “Who,” and “Spotify,” while his highest-ranking related terms included “the one and only,” “record,” and “surpass.” Jimin’s positivity-negativity…
PREVIOUS RECAPS: Episode One // Episode Two // Episode Three // Episode Four // Episode Five // Episode Six // Episode Seven // Episode Eight // Episode Nine // Episode Ten // Episode Eleven Are you guys still with me? Even as these recaps become mostly copy-and-paste from wikipedia? I always commit to seeing things through until the end, but that doesn’t mean I have to do a great job seeing them through! The truth is, I’ve mostly stopped watching this series in favor of simply familiarizing myself with highlights — probably similar to what most of you are doing…
When Taemin released his single Veil last week, I was surprised it wasn’t paired with a music or performance video. After all, he’s one of K-pop’s premiere visual artists, with choreography and sheer star presence often elevating the songs themselves. It turns out we just needed to wait a few days before that video materialized. Of course, this blog isn’t often concerned with the music videos. I watch them all and I watch some of them many times, but I’m much more liable to enjoy the music on its own merits. When it comes to Taemin’s solo work, I have…
Japanese girl group XG are gearing up for their first full-length album next January, and given J-pop’s extended promotional period its main single has dropped a few months early. Thus far, XG’s output can usually be slotted into three distinct categories: hip-hop, dance and r&b. GALA finds a way to combine these genres into something much more ambitious. I don’t think this song is perfect, and I’ll get into why later, but I’m heartened by the fact that the producers seemed to sit down and actually say “let’s make something cool and different a bit daring.” In a climate of…
Netflix has dropped a new teaser for its upcoming romantic comedy series “Romantics Anonymous”! Based on the French film of the same name, “Romantics Anonymous” follows the love story of a chocolatier who suffers from scoptophobia—an extreme fear of being stared at—after she gets hired at a small chocolate store. Han Hyo Joo stars as Lee Hana, a gifted chocolatier who hides behind anonymity due to her crippling fear of social interactions and eye contact. Oguri Shun plays Sosuke Fujiwara, the new owner of a renowned chocolate shop whose own traumatic past has left him unable to endure physical contact.…
The new season of tvN’s variety show “House on Wheels” has unveiled a new poster and teasers! “House on Wheels” is a healing reality program that follows cast members as they travel to quiet, scenic locations in a mobile home, inviting guests to spend a day living simply and meaningfully. The new season, titled “House on Wheels: Across the Sea – Hokkaido Edition,” takes this signature concept abroad for the very first time. Longtime cast members Sung Dong Il and Kim Hee Won return, with actress Jang Nara joining as the show’s first female cast member. The newly unveiled main…
NCT’s Haechan has won his first-ever music show trophy as a solo artist! On the September 12 episode of KBS 2TV’s “Music Bank,” the candidates for first place were NCT’s Haechan “CRZY” and aespa’s “Rich Man.” Haechan ultimately took the prize with a total of 6,808 points. Congratulations to Haechan! Watch the winner announcement and encore below: Performers on today’s show included NCT’s Haechan, i-dle’s Yuqi, WJSN’s Dayoung, 2PM’s Jang Wooyoung, CORTIS, IDID, CIX, Lim Young Woong, B.A.P’s Jung Daehyun, ALL(H)OURS, AxMxP, BADVILLAIN, LUN8, PRIMROSE, A.C.E’s Junhee, Soorin, Dahye, and Youngbin. Check out their performances below! NCT’s Haechan – “CRZY”…
SBS’s upcoming drama “Would You Marry Me” has introduced the colorful family behind Choi Woo Shik’s bakery empire! “Would You Marry Me” is a new romantic comedy about a man and a woman who enter a high-stakes, 90-day fake marriage in order to win a luxurious newlywed home. Choi Woo Shik stars as Kim Woo Joo, the heir to South Korea’s oldest bakery, while Jung So Min plays Yoo Mary, a small business owner who approaches him with an unusual proposal. Kim Woo Joo, the flawless fourth-generation heir of South Korea’s first bakery Myungsoondang, isn’t standing alone. The drama has…