15 K-Drama Dream Pairings: Secondary Couples That Deserve OTP-Status

written by soomp via soompi.com

Our 5th Soompi 15th birthday gift post: I can’t remember how I came across the talking cupboard, but it was one of the first blogs that I frequented when I started really getting into K-Dramas a couple years ago. I felt like we had the same taste in beautiful young men (Joo Won, Yoon Shi Yoon, Song Joong Ki) and as a new fan of sageuk (historical dramas), I really loved the fascinating posts about hanboks and fashion accessories in K-Drama. Enjoy! -soomp

====

Hello! I am muchadoboutlove, a blogger at the talking cupboard. I’ve been an avid drama watcher since I was young, thanks to my father. Korean drama is my latest obsession and the blog was created to become my drama watching diary. Soompi is one of the earliest sites I frequented when I first got my very own internet connection and it’s the first forum site I’ve ever registered with under the name kaeruchan (that is my nickname back in secondary school). It’s not too much to say that I got to learn so many things and meet amazing people through the wonderful site that is Soompi. For their 15th anniversary, I feel so honored and flattered to be given this opportunity to write for Soompi.

Have you ever encountered a couple or pairing in a K-drama or a K-movie that wasn’t the OTP (One True Pairing) or the main couple, but you loved this couple as much, or even more than the main couple? I have a few, or indeed, a handful of these pairings that I really wish to see again, paired together in a drama. Since these actors and actresses, who were once second leads, rose to become the main leads nowadays, it can be hard to see them meet again in dramas, but a fan like me can dream… right? Other times, I feel like I’m not getting enough of the main couples because I just love them so much, and would like to see them paired up again. 

I present to you, My 15 Dream Pairings from K-Dramas and a K-Movie…

• Jung Il-woo & Moon Chae-won

These two were the second leads for My Fair Lady/Take Care of the Young Lady (2009), starring alongside Yoon Eun-hye and Yoon Sang-hyun. I have to admit that I never thought that their characters Tae-yoon and Ui-joo would end up together. They keep chasing after the main couple but just like the other dramas, the pairing of Kang Hye-na and Seo Dong-chan are destined to be together. So Tae-yoon and Ui-joo are left behind, but they are not wasted, thank God. I love the hint of a new romance between them at the very end of the series, but I’m not easy fan when it comes to satisfying my drama imagination. That’s right, I keep waiting for them to somehow find their ways together again in a drama, but this time as the main leads. Both Jung Il-woo and Moon Chae-won are awesome when it comes to sageuk, so I really want to see them act together in a sageuk one day!

  

• Eom Ki-joon & Seo Hyo-rim

Some of you might remember them from Scent of a Woman (2011) as the seconds leads to Lee Dong-wook andKim Sun-ah. But before that, they were the second leads in Worlds Within/ The World that They Live In (2008). They were super cute there, mostly because Seo Hyo-rim’s character Hae-jin managed to melt the cold exterior of Director Song Kyu-ho (Eom Ki-joon). So I was super excited when they were cast together in Scent of a Woman. I was hoping to see their interaction in that drama, but nothing. Nada. Nothing. But it was quite logical, considering how evil Im Se-kyung was and dorky Poopy Seok didn’t need the torture to keep up with the fox. Dear directors, please pair these two together again! I want to see their chemistry and friendship one more time…

  

• Lee Min-ho & Yoon Eun-hye 

Believe it or not, both of them were in a drama together but sadly, it was just a cameo for Yoon Eun-hye back then. She made a short appearance in Personal Taste (2010) as Jeon Jin-ho’s ex-girlfriend/college junior. It was such a short scene but that left me craving for more of this pairing. Is it too much for me to see these two beautiful people together in a project again?!

• Song Joong-ki & Seo Hyo-rim

I think this couple had it all: from a drama together, to MCs and even a couple pictorial. They were even rumoured to be dating back then! Song Joong-ki and Seo Hyo-rim were the MCs for Music Bank before they were cast together inSungkyunkwan Scandal (2009). Their scenes together were not that many, but I fell for them after the first time where Gu Yong-ha and Ha Hyo-eun officially met. It might be because of Yong-ha’s playboy nature that I found them so compatible back then. It’s a sad thing that they didn’t end up together in the end, but one can always wish for another reunion in the future, right?

  

• Lee Seung-gi & Moon Chae-won

The young, wild, and carefree couple in Shining Inheritance/Brilliant Legacy (2009). Time sure flies so fast and I couldn’t believe that Moon Chae-won was the second lead for quite a few numbers of dramas. I loved Seung-mi before she joined the evil side together with his mother and her high school romance with Hwan was just adorable! Maybe it was just a one-sided crush, considering how Hwan treated like a little sister at times. Actually, I think that Seung-gi has had good chemistry with all his co-stars so far, but it won’t hurt to anticipate how these two will play out as a couple if they are cast together in the future…plus, they’re already close friends with each other!

  

• Moon Geun-young & Park Jin-woo

These two are probably the cutest pairing because I first saw them in the movie My Little Bride (2004) as high school sweethearts although Bo-eun was dating Jung-woo after she married her husband. Of course, they didn’t end up together but they met again in the drama Painter of the Wind (2008). They were rivals in the drama, but the highlight was the scene where Yun-bok disguised herself as a gisaeng and Hyo-won was attracted to her. I blame their chemistry that made me going gaga over them until today and that scene remains as one of my favourites in the drama.

  

• Park Shin-hye & Jung Yong-hwa

My confession: I really loved Mi-nyeo and Shin-woo in You’re Beautiful (2009). I really did. So when they didn’t end up together, I was among the thousands of fans that wished for Park Shin-hye and Yonghwa to be cast together again in another project. So when they joined Heartstrings… okay, I was really excited, but decided to check out the drama after it finished airing. These two are sure precious in their own way, gaining so much love from the fans who gave them the name Dooley Couple. Both of them repeatedly denied any rumour about their romantic relationship and said that they’re just friends, but that stint of giving flowers in Baeksang Awards for two consecutive years can’t be something ordinary…hehehehe. Instead of another drama, I want them to be featured in a couple pictorial for a magazine, because I love Korean magazine’s spreads.

  

• Kim Bum & Kim So-eun

Awww…so many fond memories of them. Aside from the curls of Gu Jun-pyo, another thing that reminds the fans ofBoys Over Flowers (2009) how much they loved the drama is probably the Soeul Couple, taken from their characters’ names So Yi-jung and Choo Ga-eul. Although they were the secondary couple, they had to overcome their own problems in order for them to earn their happy ending in the drama. Oh, remember how the playboy Yi-jung impressed everyone with his saxophone and he also gave Ga-eul a makeover? There were some memorable scenes of them in the drama that didn’t seem to satisfy the craving of the fans that wished to see them again. They did some CFs together, but is it enough? No, I still need this pairing to happen again!

  

• So Yi-hyun & Kim Ji-suk

The newest secondary pairing in this list, they were in Cheongdamdong Alice (2012). I didn’t find either of them to be likable at the beginning of the series and by the end, I found them sort of pitiful. I symphatized for their characters and because of the tiring game of push and pull between the main leads, these two were some sort of happy pill amidst the problems surrounding the main OTP. They didn’t have any hint of getting together romantically at the end of the drama, but the friendship between the characters gives off some sparks of the chemistry that could have been there. Come on, I never saw both Kim Ji-suk and So Yi-hyun in any main roles, so it’s about time to see them shine! Bring them together..who knows, the results might be better than what we expected?

• Yeo Jin-gu & Kim Yoo-jung

Child actors also deserve some love, so I just  have to include Yeo Jin-gu and Kim Yoo-jung in my dream pairings. They were together in Iljimae (2008) as the child version of the main couple and in The Moon that Embraces the Sun(2012), their status were elevated, from child version to the teenage version of the main leads. Both of them are growing up really well, be it in their looks or their skills. Who knows, maybe we’ll get to see these two as the real main couple in several years’ time?

  

• Park Shin-hye & Baek Sung-hyun

The examples of child actors that have grown up but never left the industry – Park Shin-hye and Baek Sung-hyun were the younger version of Choi Ji-woo and Kwon Sang-woo‘s characters in Stairway to Heaven. I can’t really remember how they were in the drama, but seeing that both of them have grown up really well, I’m anticipating to see how their chemistry will turn out to be after all these years.

  

And the few exceptions I’m willing to make, because these main couples are just precious to me:

• Kang Dong-won & Ha Ji-won

It would be interesting to see this couple to team up with each other again. They were the main and only couple for the movie Duelist (2005) and boy, their chemistry was just amazing, enough to make me cry for the perfection. I only watched this movie for the first time in 2011, but I could see why people are still crazy over the movie. Both of them are  A-list stars, but it won’t be too much to ask for Kang Dong-won and Ha Ji-won in a movie together again, right?

  

• Yoon Eun-hye & Joo Ji-hoon

This pairing were the main leads in Goong/Princess Hours (2006) but they still hold a special place in my heart. Joo Ji-hoon and Yoon Eun-hye are my first OTP and they are the first couple I ever shipped so faithfully, because the drama itself was and still a drama that I treasure so much. They were the people who taught me how to be a delusional fan, shipping an imaginary pairing in a drama. Lee Shin and Shin Chae-kyung has got to be one of the best couples with best chemistry I’ve ever seen in a K-drama, and because of that, I would be really happy to see them in a drama again. I won’t be choosy and if someone wants to put them together in a movie, I’d be more than grateful to have my original OTP again!

  

• Lee Seung-gi and Shin Min-ah

Ah, the Hoi-hoi couple. I was so crazy over them back in 2010 and one of the reasons why I joined Soompi back then. Stalking the forum of My Girlfriend is a Gumiho was my daily routine and this couple was just lovely. Who could hate these cutie pies?! I still love them to bits and even if I have to wait for several more years, I’m willing to do so if I can see them as a pair again. 

  

• Moon Geun-young and Joo Won

This is just a random pairing I came up with at some point. I realized that both of them have the same surname and they are of the same age. Interesting. They have never met in a project that I’m aware of, but since both of them are still young, it’s worth the wait to see how these two strong actors will fare out in a drama together.

There, there….my 15 dream pairings that I’d like to see again as the main couples in dramas, or better, movies. So, Soompiers, what about your dream pairings? Is there any actor and actress in your mind that have or never worked together and you’d like to see them being paired in a production?

Last but not least, Happy 15th Anniversary to Soompi!

Why Korean Wave or Hallyu Now Taking Europe

It is no wonder if Korean Wave/K-Pop is now spreading across Asia and beyond as far as Europe. As a K-fan,  I have experienced the charm of Korean music and dramas. It is rather addicting and once you listen and watch, you will be hooked as I am. I am not Korean, but it is a huge leap for Asians like Koreans to be noticed and applauded and recognized by those big countries that have been enjoying the spotlight ever since. With their awesome performances, great songs, amazing choreographs while dancing and singing, beautiful faces and elegant wardrobes, and of course, their beautiful dramas, it is not surprising why people adore them and non-Koreans started following them.

I read this article from The Guardian, one of Britain's largest news authorities on Hallyu's significant rise and impact in the west.

-mslee1107-

credit: http://www.guardian.co.uk

Bored by Cowell pop? Try K-pop

Korean pop music – driven by soap operas, not reality TV – is beginning to make serious inroads in the west. Live magazine contributor Edwina Mukasa joins the crush at the front

Hysteria … Girls' Generation. Photograph: Toshifumi Kitamura/AFP/Getty Images

The biggest surprise at last month's MTV European Music awards didn't come from the outfits chosen Lady Gaga, or that weird naked man roaming around the stage. In fact, the most unexpected moment arrived towards the end of the ceremony, when the winner of best worldwide act award was announced. The winners of the fan-driven award were Korean group Bigbang, who won 58m votes to beat Britney Spears. This was the one act that night most viewers wouldn't have known.

Bigbang's victory shed light on the rise and rise of Korean music across Europe. Korean pop – K-pop for short – has become one of South Korea's most notable exports in recent years. Paul Han, co-founder of the South Korean pop culture blog Allkpop.com, defines the style as "fun music, with a fusion of many genres" – it takes in electro-driven bubblegum pop; sometimes it's sprinkled with semi-nonsense English lyrics; sometimes there's an added R&B sway. Its audience is largely female, from early teens through to late 20s. "K-pop, I think, is personality," says the Korean-Canadian singer G.Na. "It's very melodious, very easy to sing along to."

Since Allkpop.com launched in 2007, Han has seen a consistent growth in its European readership, reflecting K-pop's spread from its homeland. "When we first opened our blog, the Europeans made up maybe 1% of the readers," he says. "Now it's close to 25%." That spread has been noticed by the big corporations: iTunes started selling K-pop to European audiences early in 2010, and Google is planning to set up up a K-pop channel.

This past year has already seen several major K-pop events in the west, with the SMTown World Tour – featuring Super Junior, TVXQ and Girls' Generation – selling thousands of tickets for shows in Paris, Los Angeles and New York. SHINee played the UK's first ever K-pop show at the opening of the London Korean film festival earlier this autumn, and at the start of this month the Brixton Academy in London hosted the United Cube Concert, with a bill made up of acts on the Korean label Cube Entertainment, with fans paying up to £65 a ticket.

The spread of Korean pop culture – a phenomenon nicknamed hallyu, or Korean wave – has been driven by TV, but not by the reality shows that are breeding grounds for UK manufactured pop. Instead, drama has been the vehicle to bring K-pop to new audiences. The process started with What Is Love All About, which was shown on Chinese state TV in 1997, and which sparked a wider interest in Korean TV and music across east Asia. At the same time, the Korean boy band H.O.T. (which stands for High-five of Teenagers) found a big audience across the region with hits We Are the Future, Candy and Warrior's Descent. They had been put together by the SM Entertainment company in 1996, and their success – they even had their own brand of soft drink at their peak – provided a template for future K-pop bands. Their international success was followed by BoA – the female artist Kwan Boa, whose stage name stands for Beat of Angel – who sold 1m copies of her Listen to My Heartsingle in Japan in 2001.

The big breakthrough, though, came with the show Winter Sonata in 2003, which was shown in Japan, Taiwan, Thailand and the Philippines. With the rise of YouTube, subsequent dramas were able to spread further in a second Korean wave – Boys Over Flowers, launched in 2008, now has dedicated viewers around the world, both through the web – with fans uploading and subtitling episodes – and on TV stations as far afield as Kazakhstan and Peru. As Jae Kim of the Korean TV network MBC explains: "Before the internet, many fans had very little access to K-pop. You only would really have access by visiting Korea. The internet created accessibility." Now countless fan sites draw attention to every piece of news, now matter how minute, from Korean TV and music.

K-pop has benefited from the rise of these dramas, because music is a key part of these shows. SHINee's Stand By Me, for example, featured heavily in Boys Over Flowers. Key songs are repeated in Korean dramas, giving them exposure every bit as potent as a video in heavy rotation. When SHINee played in London, for example, though Stand By Me was not included on their setlist, it was repeatedly played through the PA to deafening cheers from fans who'd travelled from across the UK and Europe to see the band. Those fans in Leicester Square testify to the power of the TV dramas in drawing them into the music, and to the fan-driven nature of its spread: "A lot of my friends were watching [the show] You're Beautiful, and suggested that I watch it and listen to [the group] F.T. Island, and it just started from there," says 17-year-old Londoner Jessica.

The result, according to a survey conducted by the Korean Culture and Information Service, is that there are an estimated 460,000 Korean-wave fans across Europe, concentrated in Britain and France, with 182 hallyufan clubs worldwide boasting a total of 3.3m members.

The Korean Connection, based in Paris, is a hallyu fan club with 4,000 members, established with the backing of the state-run Korean Cultural Centre, which arranges K-pop club nights, dance classes, and trips to Korea, and spreads the word about K-pop through social networking sites. Maxime Paquet, its president, sees K-pop's strength as being its refusal to stand still. The average K-pop event, he says, is "close to what we can call 'total entertainment' … K-pop is not only music, but a complete show. K-pop groups are managed by smart entertainment companies that invest a lot in artistic innovation. Every month, new groups appear and disappear."

K-pop's fans use the internet as if they were a campaigning group. When the SMTown tour's sole Paris date sold out in minutes this summer, fans organised a flash mob in front of the Louvre to demand a second date be added, with Facebook and Tumblr communities adding their voices to the mix. Freya Bigg, who runs the UK-based blog UnitedKpop.com,helped organise similar flashmobs in London's Trafalgar Square to demand shows from her preferred K-pop acts. "They're a great way to get the attention of the Korean media – it shows the dedication of fans here in the UK. They're also a great way to connect fans and find more – imagine thinking that you're the only fan around and then you see a flashmob in town."

The level of hysteria now the K-pop acts are finally coming to London is comparable to any X Factor live show. "United Cube London means so much to me," exclaims a breathless Li Suhaimi, from east London, who says she's followed the band Beast – on the Brixton bill – "through several time zones. I've travelled to Seoul, Thailand and Singapore to see them."

So, how does K-pop grow in the West from here? Can it make the transition from being an internet-based phenomenon, with a self-selecting if hugely active fanbase, to crossing over into the mainstream media? Was BigBang's win at the European Music awards the shape of things to come, or just an indication of how well-organised those fans are – in short, was it K-pop's Belle and Sebastian at the Brits moment? Simon Hong, the CEO of Cube Entertainment, the label whose bands came to London a couple of weeks ago, is optimistic but cautious: "The show in Brixton is a good opportunity for this part of the world to get a glimpse of our high-level artists in Korea. But there's a lot more work to be done, so K-pop is just on the starting line."

A New K-Drama for me-Flower Boy Ramyun Shop (꽃미남 라면가게)

It's been a long time since I watched a K-drama...been busy updating this page that I have no time to watch. The other day I was watching Showbiz Korea on tv and I saw this portion where Jung Il Woo and another two Korean stars were being interviewed for their tv series which is Flower Boy Ramyun Shop. Seeing how they interact on tv which was cute, of course, with Il Woo there, I just find myself wondering and curious about their series. The teasers were somehow funny and very modern and my interest on K-drama was once again triggered. It was said that it was being shown on cable simultaneously I think in Korea. [if I'm not mistaken]

Haven't got time to take a peek yet but I immediately got on line and searched for FBRS and found my way here... Flower Boy Ramyun Shop (꽃미남 라면가게)

Release Date	October 2011
Genre	Romantic Comedy
Network	TvN
About	English-based fanpage dedicated to Jung Il Woo's new drama, 꽃미남 라면가게 follow us on twitter http://twitter.com/FlowerBoyRamyun

Description	Flower Boy Ramyun Shop / 꽃미남 라면가게 (Kkot-mi-nam Ra-myeon-ga-ge) This romantic comedy deals with "pretty boys," who with good looks and individuality, operate a ramen shop with lively college girls and experience the happenings of daily life. # Genre: Romantic Comedy # Director: Jung Jung Hwa (정정화), Pyo Min Soo (표민수) # Screenwriter: Yoon Nan Joong (윤난중) # Production Company: CJ E&M # Broadcast network: tvN # Episodes: 16 # Broadcast period: 31 Oct 2011 - 20 Dec 2011 # Air time: Monday & Tuesday 23:10 KST # Official Website: http://tvn.lifestyle...drama/handsome/
Plot Outline	The drama will have 16 episodes and it is the story of good-looking and unique men and their stories that revolve around the ramen store they run and also the female characters Jung Il-woo plays a chaebol in a food product conglomerate, whereas Lee Ki-woo will play a “genius chef” who comes to Korea from Japan. THE CAST Jung Il-woo - Cha Chi-soo (차치수) Lee Ki-woo - Choi Kang-hyeok (최강혁) Lee Cheong Ah Ye Won Kim
Schedule	Opening October 31 | Tuesday-Monday at 23:00
Starring	Jeong Il-woo 정일우 as Cha Chi-soo (차치수); Lee Ki-woo as Choi Kang Hyuk; Lee Cheong Ah

Website	http://cafe.daum.net/ilwoostory http://www.hancinema.net/korean_drama_Fl...

I think I will again start on this new drama/romantic-comedy and of course will share my thoughts about it.:))

My Princess (K-Drama)-my review

It has been weeks since I last watched the final episode of My Princess, starring Song Seung Hun (Park Hae Young) and Kim Tae Hee (Lee Seol).





I did not write my thoughts about this drama soon after I finished watching it, maybe because I am a bit disappointed by the story. Yes, the characters were played nicely, there was no mistake about that. The two Korean stars were great, but the story did not hold my attention after watching the latter part. For me, it was somehow dragging. 


During those times I already started watching another K-drama which was a hit in  Korea. So, comparing those two stories, definitely, I like the other one. I finished it first before I let myself watched the remaining episodes of My Princess.


Anyway, I am glad that in the end, PHY and LS became a couple despite the issues regarding PHY's inheritance and LS's being a Princess.


I think the drama lacks  good soundtracks. The songs were not that catchy. So, I think that if they had come up with a great selection of music, it will be more memorable.


Well, this is just my opinion. Still, I am glad that Kim Tae Hee and Song Seung Hun had partnered in a drama. Hoping they will have a chance in another drama in the future.

Playful Kiss BTS 5

성시경Sung Si-Kyung - 너는 나의 봄이다 (Secret garden OST)

another great soundtrack from Secret Garden...

Playful Kiss the Making Part 4!

Credit: The Joongjoong

kathy's bench



Watching Secret Garden for the 2nd Time

School vacation starts early this year, so it means my time is more flexible now. Will have more hours to kill, after doing some errands and finishing work the soonest possible time.

Listening alone to soundtracks of this drama is enough to miss Kim Joo Won and Gil Ra Im. Really love the music "That Man" , and whenever it was played, I felt my heart squeeze for the both of them.

Watching it for the second time, I concentrate even more and feel the lines to understand the drama and the characters, especially, Kim Joo Won.

A rich man falling in love with a poor girl. This is the fact that he could not accept fully at the beginning of the story. Is it so hard for a rich man to be in love with a common girl? Is that how our society is?

Anyway, what makes this real is the fact the KJW's Omma acted the same till the very end of the story. I guess, there are really mothers of her kind, who will not accept the fate of her child when it comes to love. Rich has to be married to rich...whatever happens.

Well, for now I will enjoy the rest of the drama, where KJW and GRI switched place.
So funny, I can't help but laugh:))

Just want to add that Oska and Yoon Seul's love story is also beautiful...

below are the beautiful soundtracks...