Drama Log - Blog Posts

~ Iburigurashi (Smoked Couple): Ep 1. Favorite Stills ~

~ A few weeks back, while on the hunt for a soothing J-drama, I decided to explore ‘Iburigurashi’—- the story about a young couple who spends their Sundays cooking smoked food. They learn from each other, not just through words but also through presence. 

I think the beauty of daily life is captured so amazingly in such slow Japanese dramas. There’s a lot of room for reflection, for joy, for appreciating the grace of everyday. 

This is the biggest reason why I love these shows. They are a hug to the tired mind and remind it to find happiness in the ordinary, once again.~ 🍚🍢

~ Kodoku no Gurume (Solitary Gourmet) Favorite Moments ~ Episode 4, Season 7 ~

Goro finds a Gyoza and Tanmen shop while exploring the lanes of Shimonita. 

Always smitten by the sizzle a dumpling-bum makes when placed on a hot pan and the slightly burnt, golden corn flour cage that is the pride of gyoza-lovers.

With 'When The Camellia Blooms' I Learned The Beauty Of Owning Who I Am

Early on in my drama journey, curious about having 'When The Camellia Blooms' pop up on my Netflix feed, I tuned in. (Good job, Anvi.)

The Story:

The story revolves around a small Korean town, Ongsan and its residents. A fishing county, Ongasn's citizens are mostly fishermen who pride on their freshwater crabs.  In comes a single, young mother, Dongbaek with her 2-year-old son Pil-Goo. She decides to start a new chapter of her life and opens a small bar named 'Camellia'.

We then have Hwang Yong-Sik, a junior cop who's looking for his “Princess Diana”. With a heart of gold, he falls head over heels for our Dongbaek at first sight.

What follows is not just a love story between the two, but also a thriller mystery involving a serial killer who calls himself 'Joker'. We have Dongbaek's old lover, Kang Jong Ryul, return (who's now married with a child of his own), have her find comradery in the oldest badass of Ongsan, Mrs. Kwak and see her battle stigmas around single parenthood, objectification and bullying.

Not your typical male-female-lead Kdrama, this one is about: - the power of community, 🌼 - badassery (with some FANTASTIC female characters), 🌼 - real love standing the test of time, 🌼 - female companionship, 🌼 - healing 🌼 - and the pains of growing up in a society that prescribes 'two' parents as a requisite. 🌼

Each character has shades of grey versus your typical black and white. Each one, a poignant element, without which the story would have been lacking. The drama was a thorough delight to watch. And I am sure a lot of you who've watched this can nod your agreement when I say that it is legit a world in its own.

I don't know how to sum up a possible thesis of what moved me in the show, but here are my top 6 learnings from 'When The Camellia Blooms':

1. If you love someone, tell the whole damn world about it.

My favorite trait about Yong-Sik apart from his drop-dead gorgeous confidence, is the way he keeps choosing Dongbaek every.single.time. He taught me that love wasn't limited to a three-word confession. That was just the beginning of the beginning. Love meant showing up and choosing the person I loved, every single day.

2. Bravery often comes in surprise packages.

As we see Dongbaek own the person she is, an element we least expect to find is her bravery to stand up for herself and the ones she loves when the time arises. She taught me that often, we negate certain people as 'walkovers' and 'pitiable' only to see them outgrow their thick skin and show immense courage. At such times, one realizes the futility of boxing people up with permanent labels.

3. Wisdom and maturity have got nothing to do with age.

Bare with me as I prove my point by citing the stark contrast of EQ levels between Kang Jong Ryol, a father and his 8-year-old, Pil-Goo. While the former could pass for a bratty toddler, our Pil-Goo is too wise, profound and caring for a child his age. More often than not, he is the rock Dongbaek leans upon when she's too tired to fight the world alone.

4. Community is belongingness.

That's my favorite part about Ongsan. The town's committee is a motley of women who're there for each other through thick and thin. With stay-at-home trophy husbands, we see them battle their own regressive social stigmas and come to terms with inclusivity. It is here, in this communal space that DongBaek finally finds a home away from home.

5. We all just need someone who believes in us to start believing in ourselves once again.

Sometimes, without knowing, when we're lost, somebody's belief in us can help us find our way back home to ourselves. It's that person's belief that helps us reignite the belief we need in ourselves to grow and bloom. To rest my case, I give you Dongbaek's unconditional belief in Choi Hyang-mi.

6. Every person is a universe in their own might.

Each character's narrative in the drama made me realize how each of us are a whole, separate world on our own. Our ideas, our beliefs, our daily lives are individual universes colliding with one another for brief moments in eternity.

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Credits: Images 4 & 15: dramabeans | Image 5: kdramaclicks | Image 14: coffeecaramello.wordpress.com | Netflix | Doodle App

~ I Found A Long-Lost Part Of Myself While Watching 'Meteor Garden' ~

Here's a fact: you can never get over the first drama you've watched. 

Every drama-lover I know confesses this lovingly. So, as I waited for being lovestruck yet one more time, I was drama-struck by Cupid instead.

My very first drama happened to be 'Meteor Garden’ (2018) a Chinese remake of the popular K-drama 'Boys Over Flowers'. Like the blink of an eye, I didn’t realize when I was already forty minutes into the first episode. 

That's how the drama bug got me.

The Story:

Meteor Garden revolves around the story of two Ming De university students, Daoming Si (Dylan Wang) and Dong Shancai (Shen Yue). While a typical rich brat meets a poor but badass girl, the story also pans out to accommodate a great cast of secondary characters. 

Beginning with the 'F4', Ming De's most popular boy-group starring its leader Ah Si (fierce, smart heir to the Daoming Group of industries), Huaze Lei (musical genius), Ximen Yan (tea god) and Feng Meizuo (art lover with an unbeatable memory).

There’s Dong Shancai's adorable mother and father, her best friends, Chen Qing (banana expert) and Xiao You (bubble-tea partner).

Over a span of 49 episodes, we watch Shancai and Si's unexpected love bloom, we celebrate the spirit of 'family' -- both in blood and otherwise, we cherish friendship as true as the color of a clear sky and we come face to face with a bounty of life-lessons as we fall deeper and deeper for the characters that make the show.

My favorite learnings from the drama:

1. Dong Shancai's character is a far cry from your typical C-drama heroine. She's strong, confident, boisterous and unafraid of speaking her mind. I absolutely love the way she teaches you to own who you are. To own your whole person --- your strengths, your weaknesses and to keep going exactly when you want to give up.

2. Meteor Garden celebrates love in different forms. The love between a mother and daughter, that between between two lovers, two friends, two almost-lovers-but-now-lifetime-BFFs, the kind of love that hurts because it isn't yours to claim, the kind of love that teaches you how to love with a big heart and then, the kind of love that you must let go of so that you can meet a love you deserve.

3. The F4 sum up the following sentence: find your tribe and love them hard. Their lifelong kinship reminds you that 'family' goes way past DNA and some of the best people in your life today, could have once-upon-a-time been complete strangers. They support, encourage, guide and hold each other up.

4. As a typical C-drama lead, you'd expect Daoming Se to totally own his privilege without acknowledging its side-effects. But Si's transformation from exactly this sort of person to someone who is open to changing for the better is refreshing. What blows my mind is how Si shows courage to write his own story, not the one that's expected of him.

5. While we're used to 'voicing' our opinions, Shancai taught me it's better to let your actions and virtues do the talking. Because, a pure heart may not always be a loud one but it will be seen nonetheless, since it is true to itself.

6. And then you have my favorite learning of all time: LOVE IS WORTH IT ALL.

It is worth growing into, growing for and fighting with every ounce of your soul. 

I've watched many love stories and read quite a few too, but I am unabashedly biased towards Si's pure, magical love for Shancai and vice versa.

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Image Credits | Netflix 

Image Art | Doodle Shape (Android App)