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dangermousie · 8 months

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Pre-Joseon Sageuks: a Biased and Incomplete List

So, as promised way earlier, a post on pre-Joseon sageuks that I’ve either watched or plan to watch so am aware of them. I am sure there are others but here is what I got. Obviously my takes on them are subjective blah blah blah.

Jumong - arguably the Daddy of all Traditional Sageuks, this one ran for over 80 episodes and had insane ratings. It follows the rise of the mythical founder of Gogureyo tho it takes fantastical elements of his story and changes them for historically plausible ones. It’s very long and very meaty and politics/battle heavy and has a large cast of complex characters (including pretty nifty women and a LGBTQ supporting OTP) but it is anchored by the incredible performance of Song Il Gook as the titular character as he slowly but believably grows from nothing to a hero if at the cost of losing his marriage.

The King of Tears Lee Bang Won - this is basically a half and half beast as (you can tell by the title), it’s set in the last days of Goryeo and early days of Joseon. The time period covered is the same as in My Country and Six Flying Dragons, but this is the most traditional take of them all, even more so than 6FD. Not a single pretty face in the cast (tho Joo Sang Wook is a mighty fine man, emphasis on “man”), this is for the real fans of traditional sageuks. I enjoyed it a lot but if you want to check out pre-Joseon sageuks but have mainly watched youth sageuk stuff before, you should probably start with another drama on this list.

The Great Seer - set in the reign of King Gongmin, the last proper king of Goryeo (his son King U is technically the very last but there are questions as to his status), this is for those of you who want to watch Ji Sang in a sageuk. It’s centered around seers but don’t expect mysticism, this knuckles down to politics.

Shin Don - hi there, another story set in the reign of King Gongmin! From the title, you can tel it centers heavily on the powerful monk who ruled for the King at one point. This has been on my to-watch list forever because this appears to devote a decent chunk of its time to Gongmin X Noguk and I am dying for a proper drama for those two. This is from 2005 so if you do watch, keep that in mind in terms of visuals etc. That cast is lit!

Bicheonmu - this is sort of cheating because it’s pretty much set in China but it involves Koreans so. It’s a drama take on the same story told in a pretty awesome movie. Tragic love, battles, young Joo Jin Moo etc. i am very fond of it. This said, find and watch the Chinese version, Korean one was shredded.

The Iron Empress/Empress Cheon Chu - set in Goryeo, this was another of women ruler centric dramas that had a mini popularity peak in late 00s/early 10s (a trend I wish continued.) it got overshadowed by Queen Seonduk but by all accounts is a solid drama. It’s on my list but I haven’t watched it yet.

The King’s Daughter, Soo Baek Hyang - by the writer of The Rebel and My Dearest. Have I got your attention? Another woman centric ruler tale set in Baekje. Yes, there is a love story. That cast is great, to boot. I have started and liked what I’ve seen but got sidetracked. Need to get back to it. Before you look at the ep number and faint seeing the number 108, keep in mind that the eps are half an hour long so it’s an equivalent of a normal 54 ep sageuk so if you can watch eg Empress Ki, you are good with this.

My Country: The New Age - Lee Bang Won but make it gay. OK, I kid, sort of (not really) but this is smart and passionate and heartbreaking. If you want a wide scope or lots of politics, probably not a take for you (Six Flying Dragons is RIGHT there), but if you want an intense, emotional tale, come right in!

Six Flying Dragons - to me, this is THE drama about Lee Bang Won. It’s smart and emotional, deals with politics and has heart. It has a large cast of characters I got invested in, OTPs that will blow your mind etc etc.

Faith/The Great Doctor - if you are a fan of old school shoujo like Red River, Basara or Fushigi Yuugi, this or Moon Lovers are your best bet on this list. A time traveling tale with other fantasy elements about a modern day plastic surgeon who ends up being kidnapped into Goryeo during the early days of King Gongmin’s (hi!) reign by a tormented, oath bound warrior played by Lee Min Ho at his hottest (and playing historical General Choi Young. Do RPS at your pleasure), this one is one of my all time favorites.

Seodonyo/Ballad of Seo Dong - I am actually currently watching this one tho I haven’t been posting about it. Set in both Baekje and Silla, this is an angsty love story with a side of politics. It’s filmed in 2005 and looks accordingly but if you don’t mind dated visuals, this is pretty great!

Emperor of the Sea - set in Silla and Tang, this was a huge hit and deservedly so. Our protag is a slave and gladiator and a great naval hero. This is grim and smart and epic. It’s from 2004 so once again, if dated visuals are no-go, skip, but if you want a great story and performances, this has your name on it.

The Kingdom of the Winds - an epic cursed prince narrative, our ML (Song Il Gook at his sexiest) rises from abandoned prince and slave and abused assassin to general, royal and king, sparing time for an angsty delicious love story with an enemy princess. This has serious sageuk bits AND the best shoujo tropes in the business, plus enough whump to keep anyone happy.

Gye Baek - Lee Seo Jin, another sageuk stalwart, stars as the title character in this tale of a Baekje commoner, war slave and general. This is grim but glorious.

Soldier/God of War - this is a traditional war-centric sageuk and grim as hell. Another slave to general tale.

King Geun Chu Go - this is on my watch list; it’s about a warrior king of Baekje. Haven’t seen it but heard good things.

Ja Myung Go - smart and unrelentingly tragic, featuring Jang Ryeo Won and Jung Kyung Ho as doomed lovers and Park Min Young in an evil role, this is great and has deeply flawed characters in the very definition of doomed by the narrative tale.

Arthdal Chronicles - this is obviously a fantasy but the tale of prophesied twins, magical priestess, wars and mysticism is clearly set in a pre-Joseon in terms of aesthetics world.

Alchemy of Souls - like Arthdal this is pure fantasy but also like Arthdal, a lot of its styling is pre-Joseon so on this list it goes.

Moon Lovers/Scarlet Heart Ryeo - ok I think if people have heard of only one drama on this very long list, it’s probably this one. Modern time traveling heroine ending up during the reign of Goryeo’s King Taejo, in the middle of his sons’ fight for the throne, having an epic but doomed romance with shoujo catnip tortured bad boy Lee Jun Ki.

Shine or Go Crazy - if you want a more historical take on Moon Lovers succession fight but still with plenty of hotness, angst and doomed romance, come right in. This baby stars Jang Hyuk, so you know it’s bound to be good. I actually started it and enjoyed it but got sidetracked. Need to get back to it. Fun fact: while Moon Lovers was hugely popular internationally, domestically Shine or Go Crazy (they aired around the same time), did much better.

The Legend/The First King’s Four Gods - for a long time this was my favorite kdrama of all time and is still probably in my top 10. Ignore the odd first episode, the rest is perfection. Expensive and wonderfully written, this was Bae Yong Joon’s last drama before he retired to rest on his pile of money (if you are young, you probably don’t remember what a big deal he was, bigger than all the Hallyu stars nowadays put together. He basically was singlehandedly supporting the kdrama industry at one point), but what a worthy way to go out. It’s an epic Goguryeo fantasy tale of a prophesied prince coming into his own, with such amazing characters and relationships and OTPs and battles and points about destiny versus free will. It is everything and I kinda want to rewatch now.

The Blade and The Petal/Sword and Flower - ostensibly a star-crossed Gogureyo love story, this really is more about politics. It’s a mixed bag. The visuals are insane but Uhm Tae Woong, while always solid in modern dramas, is out of place in a sageuk (in QSD Kim Nam Gil stole his thunder; there is nobody to do so here but that doesn’t help him.)

Queen Seon Duk - probably the most famous entrant into female power sageuks, this was a mad hit and centered on the titular character’s rise to power and fight for the same with her female nemesis Mishil. If you want love stories, angsty fighter Bidam propelled Kim Nam Gil to stardom as he stole the leading man mantle from Uhm Tae Woong.

Empress Ki - currently rewatching this. It’s set in the waning days of Goryeo but takes place mainly in Yuan. Still, the FL is Korean and a lot of the story revolves around one of her suitors’, a deposed Korean king, attempts to get his land back. As you can tell by my rabid posts, this is a great drama - politics, romance (I ship FL and the Yuan emperor like mad), murder, dysfunction and everything good.

Hwarang - it’s so brain dead it might as well be a brain-eating amoeba in drama form but it did give us both Park Hyung Sik and Park Seo Joon before they made it big in drama world. It’s terrible tho, stay away.

River where the Moon Rises - I have such a love/hate relationship with this drama - I loved the beginning, with our tormented assassin heroine slowly being warmed by the loyal rustic ML with his own trauma. And then Ji Soo’s bullying scandal happened and he was replaced by Na In Woo, aka the actor I like least from any country in all my close to two decades of watching dramas. I tried but I simply couldn’t and I am still mad. This said, if you don’t share my NIW allergy, it’s probably worth a watch.

The Great King’s Dream - if you liked QSD and can’t get enough of the period but want an even more traditional tale, you can do worse than this drama. I liked what I saw but this baby is 70 eps and lacks Bidam so I peaced out. Maybe I will get back to it sometime, but probably not.

Jeong Do Jeon - as you can tell by the title, centers on JDJ and the last days of Goryeo. Not really my bag (time period been done plenty in other dramas and I don’t have that much interest in JDJ) but supposed to be solid.

My Only Love Song - a short silly mess but still probably better than River (which tells the same story) because it doesn’t have NIW.

King Gwanggaeto the Great - 92 eps. I can’t!

The King Loves - delicious love triangle (that goes ALL ways), angst, prettiness, a side of bodyguard romance. What’s not to love in this Goryeo tale?

ETA: this post was so long that when I tried to tag every drama I mentioned, tumblr told me you hit the tag limit of 30 tags no more tags for you. Oh well, sorry dramas that ended up I tagged!

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habitual-sadness · 22 days

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Seong Chunhyang, Shin Sang-ok, 1961

#Seong Chunhyang #Shin Sang-ok #1961 #Seong Chun-hyang #성춘향 #1960s #SK Cinema #South Korean Cinema

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junkobato · 6 months

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Upcoming Kdrama November 2023 ❤️

1/11: moon in the day with Kim Young Dae, Pyo Ye Jin, On Joo Wan. 14 episodes; fantasy, romance. trailer

3/11: daily dose of sunshine with Park Bo Young, Yun Woo Jin, Jang Dong Yoon. 12 episodes; medical, drama. trailer

8/11: vigilante with Nam Joo Hyuk, Yoo Ji Tae, Lee Joon Hyuk. 8 episodes; thriller, psychological, action. trailer

18/11: secret playlist with Kim Hyang Gi, Shin Hyun Seung. 8 episodes; romance, youth.

20/11: a bloody lucky day with Yoo Yun Suk, Lee Sung Min, Lee Jung Eun. 10 episodes; thriller, psychological. trailer

24/11: my demon with Kim Yoo Jung, Song Kang, Lee Sang Yi. 16 episodes; fantasy, rom-com, action. trailer

24/11: boyhood with Im Siwan, Lee Sun Bin, Lee Shi Woo. 10 episodes; action, thriller, youth.

24/11: the story of Park's marriage contract with Lee Se Young, Bae In Hyuk, Yoo Sun Ho. 12 episodes; historical, fantasy, romance. trailer

27/11: tell me you love me with Jung Woo Sung, Shin Hyun Bin. 16 episodes; romance, melodrama.

What do you mean there is a new drama with Im Siwan coming soon?! 😍

*REBLOG FOR UPDATES*

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littlegingermochipie · 2 years

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zukaang | rajamandala | राजमण्डल | 羅闍曼荼羅 devdas, chigo, lengger lanang and layla-majnun inspired tale

the day zukō was born, agni bestowed him with a single eternal flame, everlastingly alight inside the gentur lamp which he would carry along with him everywhere he went. no one could extinguish and light it back at will except the one who’s destined to guide his fate, as prophesied at naloni mitoni.

after his genpuku as the successor of ōzai tennō, zukō accompanied azhura in attending durga puja and seren taun, hosted by baginda bhumi at the central port of canggu. the siblings then reunited with maiko and tài linh, who became patrons of entertainment in northern manjung.

their seventh generation of tawaifs featured the esteemed amrapali, whose swara and abhinaya effortlessly enamored kaldera royals. as she danced, not only did she take everyone's breath away, but also the life of every kindled flame in the room. then, when she lit them back with gentle sway of her hands, zukō knew that she's the one.

realizing that his son had set his eyes on a mere yìjì, ōzai warned the prince that he might be deceived by outlanders witchery, but zukō insisted that he trusted agni's sacred will. he continued to chase the tawaif in unquenchable desire to know about her more, unaware that the fate he would thread on was to become a madman, lost in utterly blind love which turned into the purest form of devotion.

because amrapali was, in fact, not merely a dancer and disciple of buddha. she was bodhisattva kannon in her avatar form－a man named āng, awakened in rana pota lake as the only living sky dweller. his kin were mercilessly wiped from existence milennium ago by zukō's ancestor, souzan tenshi, who begun the conquest of rajamandala.

āng's crimson henna, drawn by performers of tide drifters; adinda katara and kakanda saka, covered his distinguished irezumi, while his voice was trained to move even the most hardened heart by paduka běifāng and a hia haru, the stone wielders. together with his beloved shrivijayans, the avatar would liberate the victims of war under ōzai's tyrant rule.

however, it was out of āng's prior knowledge that he would possess karmic ties with the very son of his own enemy through vortex of conflicted, mortal feelings. willingly bestow thousands of blessings to zukō's thousands of prayers, he would, but even as the emanation of god, āng still could not simply pull the strings of fate as he selfishly pleased.

by the will of sang hyang widhi, āng was destined to succeed in ending the misdeeds of fire breather’s forefathers, but at the cost of his heart falling forever in unfulfilled love. for he knew, that even though zuko took the role of mirabai to krishna, their wish to be united would be granted only in death like that of layla and majnun.

for @zukaangweek third day prompt: sacred/possesive

#zukaang #kataang #sokkaang #realistically sad ending #religiously good ending #(majnun) loving god through his creation (layla) and the notion of their virgin love is the most powerful agape of all #both agni and kannon testing the earthly beings (like shinta in agni pariksha and chigo with monks) is the red thread here for zukaang #the original trio of the gaang in troupe of court entertainers planning to overthrow villains is absolutely hot #you can take the aang/water siblings tag platonically or as or spicy as you want 👀👌#yep the namings - titles - endearments - lyrics/poems - places - terms here is mostly from south - southeast - east - western asia #obligatory zukaang bollywood au that went overboard because my brain wont shut up #this is also a tribute to the iconic lgbt dancers lengger lanang god i love their graceful presence so much #aang fanart #zuko fanart #katara fanart #sokka fanart

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wlwcatalogue · 2 years

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youtube

A Gay Girl's Guide to Korean Musicals (with English subtitles!)

People often associate musicals with male gayness (both onstage and off) but there's stuff out there for female-oriented queers too! It's just harder to find, which is why I put this video together despite not knowing Korean.

This list isn't comprehensive and I deliberately chose musicals with either queer female characters or gender-free casting (i.e. female actors playing male roles), except for Bernarda Alba, which is special as it’s by far the largest-scale all-female production with 10 characters. Obviously there are many Korean musicals out there which don't meet these criteria and are still of interest to the queers, but I wanted to highlight these in particular as they are, apart from Rebecca, not as well-known. I highly recommend checking out @koreanmusicals for more information on Korean musicals generally!

Note: Again, I don’t understand Korean and relied heavily on machine translation and the original lyrics for licenced productions, so any errors in the subtitles or explanations are mine. Corrections are very welcome!

At-a-glance list:

1. Lizze (리지)

2. Midnight (미드나잇)

3. Rebecca (레베카)

4. Pirate (해적)

5. V Ever After (V 에버 애프터)

6. Frida (프리다)

7. Red Cliff (적벽)

8. Bernarda Alba (베르나르다 알바)

More details, including links to the sources, under the cut!

1. LIZZIE (리지)

Photo source: NewsCulture

A. “If You Knew” (네가 안다면)

Actor: J-Min/제이민 (Alice) Video source: Oh! J-Min 오! 제이민

B. “Will You Stay?” (있어줄래?)

Actors: J-Min/제이민 (Alice – main vocal), Yuria/유리아 (Lizzie) Video sources: 서울문화투데이TV, OSEN TV, 톱데일리 Top Daily, 더인터 (clip 1, clip 2), PlayDB, TongTongCulture

C. “Sweet Little Sister” (소중한 내 동생)

Actors: Kim Ryeowon/김려원 (Emma – main vocal), Jeon Sung-min/전성민 (Lizzie), Lee Youngmi/이영미 (Bridget), Kim Suyeon/김수연 (Alice) Video sources: PlayDB, TongTongCulture

2. MIDNIGHT (미드나잇)

Photo source: 666PICTURE

A. “The Future Comes A-Knocking” (그날이 찾아왔어)

Actor: Yuria/유리아 (Visitor) Video source: 정숲

B. “Everyone’s A Devil, Now and Then” (누구나 악마죠 때로는)

Actors: Jang Bo-ram/장보람 (Visitor), Ju Da-on/주다온 (Woman), Jang Yoo-sang/장유상 (Man), Park Seon-young/박선영 (Player 1), Jina Esther Baek/백지나에스더 (Player 2), Kang Daewoon/강대운 (Player 3), Hwang Ji-sung/황지성 (Player 4) Video sources: 빚, 라디우스, 탄수화물 섭취량과 행복도의 상관관계

3. REBECCA (레베카)

Photo source: EMK Musical’s official Facebook page

“Rebecca” (레베카)

Actors: Ock Joo Hyun/옥주현 (Mrs. Danvers - main vocal), Lee Ji Hye/이지혜(Protagonist) Video source: EMK MUSICAL

4. PIRATE (해적)

Photo source: comet7423_PIC

A. “I Won't Let You Go” (가만 안 둬)

Actors: Kim Ee-hoo/김이후 (Anne Bonny), Kim Ryeowon/김려원 (Mary Read) Video source: KONTENTZ PLANNING

B. “All of us and the dreams we don’t remember” (우리 모두의, 기억나지 않는 꿈)

Actors: Kim Ee-hoo/김이후 (Anne Bonny), Kim Ryeowon/김려원 (Mary Read) Video source: MN CAM

5. V EVER AFTER (V 에버 애프터)

Photo source: Amor_pic

“Hunt” (사냥)

Actors: Kim Ee-hoo/김이후 (Lehwig – main vocal), Hwang Hannah/황한나 (Frantzschez) Video source: 컷콜 찍는 먼지

6. FRIDA (프리다)

Photo source: NewsCulture

“Hummingbird” (허밍버드)

Actors: Jeon Su-mi/전수미 (Diego/Reflejar), Kim So-hyang/김소향 (Frida) Video source: PlayDB

7. RED CLIFF (적벽)

Photo source: L0VE_pearl

“Southeastern Wind” (동남풍)

Actors: Lim Ji-soo (Kong Ming, aka. Zhuge Liang), Lee Geum-mi/이금미 (Zhou Yu), Kim Su-in 김수인 (Lu Su), Choi Ha-neul/최하늘 (Xu Sheng), Lee Yongjeong/이용전 (Zhao Yun, aka. Zhao Zilong), others Video source: KBS 11’s 국악 한마당, episode 1256 (aired 27 Apr 2019)

8. BERNARDA ALBA (베르나르다 알바)

Photo source: Screencap from livestream

“Prologue” (프롤로그)

Actors: Jung Young-joo/정영주 (Bernarda Alba), Lee Youngmi/이영미 (Foncia – main vocal), Hwang Seok-jeong/황석정 (Maria Josefa), Jung In-ji/정인지 (Angustias), Kim Hwan-Hee/김국희 (Amelia), Oh So-yeon/오소연 (Adela), Baek Eun-hye/백은혜 (Magdalena), Jeong Sung-min/전성민 (Martirio), Kim Hieora/김히어라 (Young Handmaid), Kim Koo-hee/김환희 (Handmaid, Prudence) Video source: THE MUSICAL

OTHERS

Amadeus (아마데우스)

El crítico (비평가)

Unchain (언체인)

Jane (제인)

Orphans (오펀스)

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