Warning: Verbal Diarrhea Ahead!

Recently, my parents and I finished watching 쩐의 전쟁, which translates to War of the Pennies. It's a refreshing Corean drama, one that doesn't follow the typical storyline.

For those that don't know, most of the popular Corean dramas out there follow a formula: Boy A meets Girl A. They fall in love and have happy happy times together.  This is the first phase

However, Girl B wants Boy A and there is a Boy B who wants Girl A too. Through some sort of misunderstanding usually created by Boy B and Girl B, Boy A and Girl A stop seeing each other. Thus, the 2nd phase is filled with longing, miscommunication, misunderstandings, and generally unnecessary drama. It also drags out reeeeeeeallly for too long. Not much plot action happens in here, and this second phase is usually the longest. It usually takes up about 75-80% of total screentime.

The third and final phase is the resolution. This happens in the last episode, in the last 10-30 minutes. Boy A and Girl A get back together and live happily ever after, to the annoyance of Boy B and Girl B.

But War of the Pennies is different. It's not that it's not sad. There are scenes that made even my stoic father's eyes water. It's just that the plotline is more realistic. Life is filled with ups and downs, with laughter and tears. War of the Pennies is brilliant in that it made me cry just as easily as giggle. I never once questioned the plot, nor was it all that predictable as well.

I guess I'm getting ahead of myself. I should first tell you a lil bit of the intro plot of War of the Pennies, eh? =)

Park Shin Yang plays 금나라 (Geum Nara) which literally translates into "Gold Land". His life, however, doesn't seem to be as auspicious as his name. His father decides to borrow money from a loan shark for his failing business and ends up being buried in debt. The interest payments are so hefty that eventually, he is bankrupt. Loan sharks in Corea are hardcore, sending goons to pester Geum Nara's family. They break up his sister's wedding and hound them so much that Geum Nara's father eventually commits suicide by slitting his wrists with a credit card.

Geum Nara ends up losing everything - his girlfriend, his mother, his father, his respectability, and his job. Eventually he ends up on the streets, homeless and destitute and trying to keep his sister from selling herself in the Night Clubs in that area.

After losing everything to loan sharks, he finally decides making money is worth working with the ones who caused him so much misery. And so the story continues after he decides to make war against the pennies. :P

Anyway, if you have a chance to watch it on YouTube or download it somewhere, you should. There is never a dull moment in this series. I never thought to myself that I was wasting my time, and truly you count the hours until you can watch the next episode. :)

In case you can't understand Corean, he introduces why he is singing in his van. He explains that he has had a bit of a sore throat for the last week or so, and he is on his way to perform at a concert. In order to do that, he needs to warm-up his voice and this is a recording of him doing so in the van.

Even without great acoustics or audio equipment to adjust his voice, he sounds fabulous! =)

If you guys know of any other fantastic live performers, please let me know! I'm always looking to expand my musical collection.

[aka Coreans Rock @ Karaoke! =)]

I don't know if you guys are familiar with Kim Bum Soo. He's this freakin' awesome live singer. Seriously, the guy sounds exactly the same if not better while performing live as he does on CD. (You can't say that about many singers these days... *cough cough* Paris Hilton *cough cough*)

While watching the past couple of seasons of American Idol, I had to admit there were some great voices, but I wondered why there weren't more of my peoples. I mean, we love to sing soulful, sorrowful songs and we can do it marvelously with our mellifluous voices.Case in point, Kim Bum Soo. Go watch his "Bogoshipda Live" video on Youtube. You won't regret it.

The lyrics are also so romantic and poetic. Here are the Lyrics in Corean. Might do a translation later if my brain cells are capable... :P

Title: 보고 싶다 - Missing you

아무리 기다려도 난 못가 바보처럼 울고 있는 너의 곁에
상처만 주는 나를 왜 모르고 기다리니 떠나가란 말야
보고 싶다 보고 싶다 이런 내가 미워질만큼
울고 싶다 내게 무릎 꿇고 모두 없던 일이 될 수 있다면
미칠 듯 사랑했던 기억이 추억들이 너를 찾고 있지만
더 이상 사랑이란 변명에 너를 가둘 수 없어 이러면 안되지만 죽을만큼 보고 싶다

보고 싶다 보고 싶다 이런 내가 미워질만큼
믿고 싶다 오는 길이라고 너를 위해 떠나야만 한다고
미칠 듯 사랑했던 기억이 추억들이 너를 찾고 있지만
더 이상 사랑이란 변명에 너를 가둘 수 없어 이러면 안 되지만
죽을만큼 보고 싶다 죽을만큼 잊고 싶다

The only thing constant in my life, aside from my constant crushing on bad boys of any race, is RiceBowlJournals.com. I think it's a community I keep coming back to time after time, and it calls to me for some unknown reason. If you haven't been on it, check it out, especially the forums.

(Carlos, if you read this, do I get anything for shamelessly plugging RBJ? =D hehe)