Secret Love Affair: Journey to Oblivion & Back

I’ve mostly kept silent here about Secret Love Affair during the show’s airing, although I did manage some brief incoherent gurglings about about music and mahjong and whatnot on my tumblr.

I didn’t feel I had much to add at the time because there’s been alot said about this show by many others. And the part of me that’s lazy was largely content to read what they had to say, so much of it beautifully written and thoughtful.

But now that the show is done, my blog would be remiss without committing to words a few things bout this show, one that I’d been anticipating so eagerly and had made bold predictions about.

I won’t talk about whether those predictions came true here, I’ll save that for another day. But I do want to talk about my strange and exciting journey with SLA. It was above all, a entirely new live-watch experience, and one that at the end of the day, was as rewarding as, if not more so, than the drama itself.

Yoon Shi Yoon Enlists, & Other News: the OCDrama Digest 15th-28th April

Hi all, I took a week off  from writing these because I hadn’t had much time of late, and I was wondering if it was even worthwhile to continue doing them. But for now I’ve decided to go on if only because it keeps me on my toes. One slight change to the schedule though: I’ll post these on Mondays from now on instead.

1. Yoon Shi Yoon joined the Marines today, and the sound of crushed fangirl hearts echoed throughout the world. The lack of fanfare though, is class I gotta say. And at the back of all our minds we’re asking ourselves, who’s up next? Yoo Ah In, Jang Geun Seuk, Lee Seung Gi, and Choi Jin Hyuk are but a few of the boys rumoured to be enlisting this year.

Girls, we need to support each other during these difficult times. Let’s make ourselves available as marathon buddies okay. It’s a poor substitute, but what can do you? I’m up for a watch of Me Too Flower soon. Anyone care to join? 

The OCDrama Digest 24th- 31st March: Secret Love Affair Edition

Friends, I’m late for this so I’ve decided to cheat and combine a few things and do the digest a little differently this week. If you aren’t watching Secret Love Affair there will be nothing here of interest I’m afraid. Sorry!

For the rest of you, keep calm and carry on.

[mild for episodes 1 -4.]

1. Episode 5 Preview

So it looks like cohabitation is in the offing, along with a pained back hug, just in case we forgot that this is truly a Kdrama. Sophisticated does not mean it can’t be makjang, right?

2. Why so sexy?

We’ve entered week two of the drama that’s been fogging up my glasses with nothing more than some spirited piano playing and online chatting. Being the  professional lurker I am, I’ve seen words such as “absorbing”, “heady”, “intriguing” used to describe Secret Love Affair. The best yet described the experience of SLA as something akin to“swimming in sex soup“.

That’s right, sex soup. 

The OCDrama Digest 10th – 17th March

Folks, I’m in a state of inertia. The weather, the haze, the general state of affairs is making me feel disconnected from myself. I’m not exactly sure what that means, but I’m hoping salvation will arrive soon.

1. Secret Love Affair held a press conference and unveiled a 21-minute preview that sent shockwaves through the dramaverse. Okay, fine it sent shockwaves through me. I understand if you’d rather not be spoiled and didn’t watch it, but when it’s presented to you like a poisoned apple on a silver platter, you bite and suffer the consequences. So now I gots the SLA fever. The drama starts tomorrow on jTBC and my body is ready.

Dramafever is subbing this, and if the subs don’t cut it, I just…well, lets think happy thoughts.  For now, I’ll leave this here of Yoo Ah In and Kim Hae Ee for you to start the week off on a good note.

2. Is anyone tuned in to God’s Gift? I watched the first 4 episodes and I’m taken aback by how unpredictable and nail-biting it’s been. I did not expect to be on the edge of my seat this much. And I certainly did not expect to feel so satisfied in seeing a mother be so brave but so reckless. I love that Lee Bo Young’s character gets her hands very dirty (and very bloody). I am worried though, that the drama will sacrifice logic and emotional truth for the sake of keeping up it’s relentless pace but for now, this is a small quibble. And Cho Seung Woo is wonderful to watch in the role of a former detective turned sidekick. Definitely one for those who enjoy sussing out clues and speculating outcomes.  

3. I mentioned last week about the controversy over a CL solo track ‘MTBD’ that allegedly contained a sample from a Quranic verse. After a formal complaint was lodged, YG pulled the video off Youtube and uploaded an edit without the offending sample, but there’s no news if the track will be pulled from the physical albums and digital downloads. I think this has cast a shadow over 2NE1’s comeback album and more importantly, the ire has left a bad taste in many mouths. I suggest reading jandoe’s articulate take on this for more.

4. I’ve been dipping my toes deeper into the murky waters of K-pop only to discover that the term is a bit of a misnomer. I’m used to (semi)well-defined musical genres and sub-genres and that’s just not the way K-pop seems to operate. In any case, I was happy to discover this interview with Crying Nut, a pioneering punk rock band who are, strangely (or maybe not to savier folks) playing at the K-pop showcase at the music festival SXSW in the US alongside Jay Park, Nell and Hyuna. Ask A Korean! wrote a run-down of the night here.

5.  Speaking of K-pop, I’ve been sussing out a fascinating and exploding form fan outreach called the reaction MV. I was in a midst of writing a whole post about it but inertia, remember? If you don’t know what this is, it’s fans uploading videos of themselves reacting to K-pop MVs. It’s a exhibitionist fangirl/boying, and it’s great fun. This duo called Kspazz are one of the best I’ve found. They have a hysterical mix of salacious commentary, endless enthusiasm and spasmodic flailing. If you only have five minutes of spare, start watching at the 5:00 mark to 9:00 :).

Have a great week ahead!

Secret Love Affair Drops 21-minute Preview: …And I Get Goosebumps

I have never regretted my inability to understand Korean more than this moment. I apologise that I cannot offer you any credible translations of this lengthy preview. I have only these random observations to offer:

• The teaser devotes most of it’s time to a scene in Hye Won’s (Kim Hee Ae) house in which Sun Jae (Yoo Ah In) plays for her in what appears to be an audition. Sun Jae is nervous, and appropriately youthful. I was afraid he’d come off much older and closer to Yoo Ah In’s real age. I needn’t have worried. He’s got this. Kim Hee Ae is commanding.
• Sun Jae’s playing moves her to tears. Then they also play together. It’s intense. They struggle to catch their breaths, post-coital-like. He shakes. She deflects. This moment is acted so damn perfectly I want to die.