Uncertain Indecisiveness: Pamela's Top 5 Kdrama Actresses

Really, please ignore this post...It's gotten me nowhere...Like the title of the post implies, I'm uncertain about this topic, and I still haven't made a final decision on this list...(I don't want to delete this post, though :P) I'll probably make another post another time when I come up with a better list. :)

It's happening - the anniversary of my venture into the Korean Drama life vacuum is supposedly happening. The anniversary of my birth is definitely happening, but that's not nearly as important.

Now, for the next few weeks - as I can only post these "Top [insert standard countdown number here]" lists so frequently and for so long - I will be making lists that countdown different aspects of my Kdrama experience. Who are my top actresses? Actors? What are my favorite OSTs? In the end, what is my favorite drama? (That last one's going to be difficult, let me tell you. There will be a few tears shed.)

But let's start with actresses. You probably won't agree with the positions these females hold on this list. Heck, I'm not even sure if I agree with them. Between the 26 dramas I've completed and the 5 I'm currently watching, though, I will try to conjure up a list that makes sense.

5) Gong Hyo Jin

Master's Sun (2013)

Gong Hyo Jin likely deserves a higher spot on this list. I'm aware of that...If I had had more exposure to her besides through Master's Sun, she probably would have a higher spot. I enjoyed her in Master's Sun...once I got past my preconceived notions concerning the drama and actually started enjoying it and her. (This wasn't until around episode 5 or 6.) Gong Hyo Jin has remained in my mind more than other actresses with a modicum of a chance of being on this list, at the very least.

I promise, Gong Hyo Jin, to view more of your projects so that my only opinion of you isn't one that has been forgotten over the seven-and-a-half months since Master's Sun's conclusion...I will eventually fulfill this promise.

4) Park Shin Hye

Flower Boy Next Door (2013)

In contrast to industry veteran Gong Hyo Jin, I have seen three of Park Shin Hye's dramas: Flower Boy Next Door, Heirs, and You're Beautiful. The improvement I saw in her acting ability when I watched You're Beautiful after having seen the former two are part of the charm I see in her. Also, Park Shin Hye has been shown to convey joy, sadness, bubbly-ness, sass, and exasperation - on the screen, she can pretty much do anything but kiss.

3) Ha Ji Won

Empress Ki (2013-2014)

Ha Ji Won is in the same situation as Gong Hyo Jin, as I have also only seen one drama featuring Ha Ji Won...Judging by her performance in Empress Ki, I have a feeling that I will enjoy (very, very enthusiastically) her other dramas. She has the glaring, the smiling, the sobbing, and more mastered. (Ha Ji Won is also has a pretty good chance of being bumped up the list later on. :) )

2) IU

You're The Best, Lee Soon Shin (2013)

On the other hand, I have seen all of IU's dramas (and as she's primarily a singer and thus is only in three dramas, it isn't surprising that I have.). I would put her as my favorite, but that would be submitting to my intense bias for my awesome and adorable unni. (By the way, she's turning 21 right now if I take into consideration the 13-hour time difference...WAIT, so I technically have the same birthday as IU?! O~O)

1) Jin Se Yeon...ish

Five Fingers (2012)

You know, I'm not really certain as to why I'm giving Jin Se Yeon the number-one spot...Part of this is due to my IU bias, but there's also the dislike a lot of the online Kdrama community seems to have for Jin Se Yeon...But she's only 20. For a 20-year old, she's doing fairly well. And I actually like her. She may end up falling to a lower spot on this list later on, but I'm going to give her support because I can. 

The actresses on this list are not evenly matched. I have seen three dramas each that include Park Shin Hye, Jin Se Yeon, and IU. I have only seen one Ha Ji Won and one Gong Hyo Jin drama, so the odds are kind of unfair. After I get more acquainted with these and other actresses, the list will likely change. I'm only seventeen, after all; there is plenty of time for me to expand my horizon of Kdrama female interests.

There's also the issue of experience. The top 3 actresses on the list have varying experience. Ha Ji Won is a little less than two decades older than me, and has had time to perfect her craft. IU turns 21 the day after my birthday, and has had more musical experience, but her acting experience consists of her being adorable. Jin Se Yeon just turned 20 back in February, and Doctor Stranger - which she is currently starring in - is her fourth drama as a main lead. IU and Jin Se Yeon have more to learn, but I find them enjoyable and with potential, hence why I rate them so highly. I guess you could say they're my favorite unni actresses, and that Ha Ji Won is my favorite ajumma actress. (Or mega-unni, if that's how you'd prefer to look at it.)

We may not agree on my choices, but thanks for stopping by, anyway! 

(By the way, this is my fiftieth post! *cue celebratory dance*)

-Pamela

(Update: June 21, 2014 - I've since asked my unnis over at Operation: Kdrama Chat about why it is that people dislike Jin Se Yeon so much...She isn't that skilled of an actress, and I'm not sure what it is that gets me to like her, but I like her. She likely won't stay at the position she's at, or maybe as she hopefully improves her acting skills, she'll return to the position she currently holds. Really, I don't know who my favorite actress is. :P)
(Update: July 2, 2014 - You know, maybe I should put Park Min Young on this list...I'm currently rewatching City Hunter with my next-door neighbor - it's her first drama - and I'm seeing her in A New Leaf...I don't think I'd be as apprehensive about this list if Park Min Young was on it instead of either Park Shin Hye or Jin Se Yeon...Eh, I'll figure it out. Sorry...)

If you want to see the list as it's in development, here's the link to the list I made on mydramalist. :)

Friday the First: Flower Boy Next Door

Why, hello there, Drama of Cuteness.

When I decided to watch this in the middle of the year, I wasn't sure whether it would be good or not. The reviews I had read had said that Flower Boy Next Door was difficult to watch (KDramaFighting! compared the drama to exercise) and that it was boring. 

I thought otherwise. I'm part of what I guess is the majority, apparently, as a result. Flower Boy Next Door is adorable (well...not necessarily fangirl-moment-inducing adorable, but laughably so). I found it easy enough to watch to almost ignore the faults in the last few episodes.

Summary (from Viki):

Dok Mi is a young woman with a comfortable routine - every morning, she wakes up and spies on her good-looking neighbor, Tae Joon, from her window and voyeuristically copies his morning routine. Unable to face people, Dok Mi works as a freelance copy editor with as little interaction with the outside world as possible. But her comfortable, predictable existence comes to a halt when her peeping is discovered by Enrique, Tae Joon's younger brother who returns from a year in Spain and moves in with him. Suddenly, Dok Mi finds herself surrounded by a menagerie of young, good-looking neighbors who will not let her live her life in solitute. Jin Rak, a web comic writer who lives next door with his drawing partner, Dong Hoon, is intrigued by Dok Me and develops a new web series about her. Watanabe, an aspiring chef, also moves in on the same floor. Will these pretty boys allow Dok Mi to return to her reclusive lifestyle or will they force her to come out of her shell?

This actually could have been someone's first Kdrama. Back in November, I was talking with one of the sophomores at my school, and she decided that, since I bring dramas into the conversation so often, she might try one. This made it to the final three, but her first drama - when she gets around to watching it *glares* - will probably be Soul...

Anyway, let's move on to why this could still have a chance to be another person's first drama...

1) The female lead is cute.

Even if you don't think she's cute, she's relatable, at the very least. Come on, admit it; deep down, you know you're alike! Loners unite!

2) The male lead is cute.

There are two types of people:
those who laugh at this scene for its adorable humor;
and those who laugh because of how uncomfortable they
now feel.

For some viewers, he is like frosting that has way too much sugar. That's how sweet and adorable he is. Kawaii. To. The. Max.

But there are two male leads, so I might as well throw in a picture with Kim Ji Hoon in this category...

3) Almost everyone in this drama is cute...

...and relatable. (Sleep, must you be so elusive?)

Sometimes nonsensically so. (Hello again, Kim Ji Hoon.)

4) The humor is mixed in with the cuteness to make for natural fits of giggling.

Idiocy and sarcasm make for great laughs.

As do arguments.

5) The female lead curiously spends her days wearing her winter coat, isolated in her locked apartment. Her observations about herself and about relationships are interesting, to say the least.

Metaphor Overload.

6) Honestly, this drama is filled with fluffiness upon fluffiness.

That's really the main thing I have to say about Flower Boy Next Door. Besides the emotional analysis the script brings to the drama, there really isn't much else to say, to be honest...

If you want an overwhelmingly sweet start, Park Shin Hye, Yoon Shi Yoon, and the rest of the cast may be a fitting choice.

Disclaimer: Pamela is not responsible for any arguments, addictions, loss of social lives, increased understanding, or ridicule that may result from this post.

-Pamela