Still here?

Welcome, so I know this blog is pretty much dead right now.
However, I am still on Twitter @raycherr and will be more than willing to write a post if there are any requests. :)

Some stuff that you might be interested in: I went on a study abroad exchange semester to KAIST in Spring 2017 (exciting, right?) Here's a video montage of my stay in South Korea.

Thanks for watching.
Peace out, and I will see you all on Twitter.

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My thoughts on the Running Man controversy

Hi!
Bye!
Hi!

Wait, WHAT? Is this the new song by Bae Suzy? (I'm talking about Yes No Maybe, if you haven't heard it, the song is pretty good I must say.)

Except NOPE. I'm not, in fact from the title of this post you know this is about the SBS show Running Man that has been on air for almost 7 years now. It has been one of the most successful show that managed to gain a significant number of international fans, especially in Asia.

To tell you the truth, I love Running Man, I have been watching the episodes religiously since 2011 (yes okay I admit I missed one or two episodes here and there but...) and this is exactly why I am so frustrated with the show/production team. I'm just so invested in this show, that how they are "playing" with the audience greatly disappoints me.

A quick recap for those who aren't familiar: So the production team decided to change up the format of the show and along with it, to change up two members. That's when the controversy started, as the members were shocked to hear about the news (with Song Ji Hyo only knowing about the decisions through the media reports). The fans weren't happy, and the cast weren't glad either. They were betrayed by the production in some sense. So, the cast and production team came to a new conclusion to instead end the show in Feb 2017 with its original members. (They probably knew no one was going to be that interested to sign on to the show as a new member...) However, just yesterday, the production team reveals that the show is un-cancelled.

Wow. I know we are all so surprised and excited that the show will continue, so that the fantasy of laughing along side the Running Man members will not end so soon. I sure am stoked that I will get to watch them some more. Alas, I am not that energised by the fact that the show is continuing. Part of me feels like I have been played. This on-off relationship has got to stop! Furthermore, the "fantasy" died a little when they had the internal conflict.

Afterall, Running Man is losing its magical touch from its earlier episodes. How we love the original name tag ripping hide and seek games, or even the other thrilling escape/secret missions. Now, the show somehow seems to just blend in with the other variety shows with games that feel like torture to the casts. Feels like now, the viewers are there for the casts and not the games anymore... >< It's upsetting to see the show die down, but we were getting to the end and it was at least nice to see the show wrap up.

Now, at the point where some of us were ready to say farewell to the show and it's beautiful memories... They are back! Feels like a slap back into reality except that I was ready to let go... Argh, I love this show so much yet I can't help but not feel too joyous about the updated status.

Some extra info about the industry before I end the post: This is probably one of the only shows out there that got revived in South Korea, thanks to the awesome international community out there. :) We actually made a difference in voicing out our disappointment in the show changes and SBS heard us. Most of the time, you would have noticed slight changes in cast every time the broadcasting stations review the shows and change up their formats. One most prominent change I shall mention is from KBS's Happy Together Season 3. Park Mi Sun was a host from 2008 and she just got swapped out in 2015 when they had a change in format. ): That was pretty much just as long as how Running Man was on; so think about it, she got swapped out and there wasn't a big commotion! No international fans pushed for her return and they just went on happily with the new hosts. This was the norm! Haha so yeah, some food for thought.

That's all, thanks for reading my rambling on the current RM situation. Hope that Running Man will produce greater content from now on! XOXO
Find me on twitter @raycherr

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On the way to the airport - Episode 15 and 16 Final Review

Last episodes; last review

); Hey all, a big thanks for reading my reviews, though they were always rushed and not as consistent as I wished. Finally, we're at the last episodes, so apt with my last exams for the semester coming in starting this week...

This review, I won't dwell too much into the nitty gritty parts of the last two episodes but will mostly focus on my thoughts about this show. :)

But first, a few quick thoughts on the last two episodes:
Helpless characters - Doh Woo and Soo Ah explored their feelings in episode 15, saying that they felt helpless. This was nothing positive but I just felt that it was great that they touched on the downsides of having an affair. After all, the romantic part can't be all that happens, so while this show doesn't exactly seem too realistic, such moments make these characters feel more human.

Contrasts - I really like how the story plot is built nicely from one scene to the next. From praising Captain Park Jin Seok as an awfully generous husband to the next scene where he wants to "kill them all". This was a great contrast especially so in changing the tune of the plot, and for showing the characters' inner struggle.

Victims - Can't believe I'm saying this but my heart aches for Jin Seok... This show does great in making us feel for the "bad guys" nearing the end of the show, first Mi Jin, then Hye Won, now Jin Seok. (then again, I'm definitely gonna check out their other shows now.)

On to my last thoughts:
So "Perspectives" was a huge part of this drama, especially with affairs playing a huge part in the show. After all, like I mentioned in the past reviews, in a more conservative society, it was definitely weird to see such a theme play through much of the storyline. However, such a topic is also the reason why this show succeeded in catching attention and gave the viewers an overview on how things that were big "no-no"s could be accepted in today's society. Not just affairs, but other themes like the mother-children relationships were also dwelt into slightly.

Then the romantic parts, while I liked some of it at the start.. they did get a little draggy(especially in the first few minutes of the last episode ><), perhaps the real genre I'm interested in are the mystery related ones. Or more melodramatic ones. Pretty cinematography tho.

Use of coincidences/similar imagery - with some more subtle than others, I really liked them when I saw the similarities. E.g. the last scene at the airport. Great play onto the cinematography yet again. :)

So... You have reached the end of my final review for On the way to the airport, hope you had fun watching the show too. See you on my next post! :)

In the meantime, catch up on all posts "On the way to the airport" here, or find me on Twitter here.

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On the way to the airport - Episode 13 and 14 Review

Hi there! :) Welcome back~ Ah just a heads up, I'm breaking this review up into the different episodes this time round:

Lovely Neat sequence between Soo Ah and Hye Won's encounter at the house by the waters. It was intense and filled with tension. However, it was so frustrating to see Soo Ah's personality shine through this scene, she was just so weak and little compared to Hye Won. Who exactly was the miserable one in that scene?? She just backed off and (finally) felt all the guilt from meeting Doh Woo's wife. Remember previously at the airport, Soo Ah was still upright and angst during her phone call with Mi Jin? It was a total extreme at a different location...

I also really liked the nice similarity that Hye Won brought in at the end of episode 13, where the two guys meet. Brilliant plot.

Then in ep 14, I was super excited about Captain Park's flashback, with him slowly figuring out everything based on what others around him were trying to do. The collage of different parties talking to him was beautifully sewed together, resulting in a great sequence where the emotions were showcased. Plus, Hye Won's conversation with Doh Woo followed closely, especially in the tension arena.

So I am quite curious to see how this whole story ends, and whether there's more to Annie's story. As it feels slightly underwhelming to see her story just flow that "smoothly". ><

Alright, last review coming next week!!! 

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On the way to the airport - Episode 11 and 12 Review

Hey,

AHH ... and they both end up in Jeju??!! O.O Haiz, I really don't know what to think of this reunion since I realised that Doh Woo's the bus driver in that scene.

So finally, we get to see Doh Woo and Sook's discovery of Annie's last phone call... I kept wanting them to see the red package ever since all the packages arrived in Jeju haha.
And all these reveals, they are coming bits by bits and Hye Won just seem more like a normal girl caught up in the mess, doesn't she? I mean, it does seem like she is a victim, more than a bad guy, as we get to learn more about the whole situation. However, how she is so emotionless (admittedly, we did see some internal struggles and flashbacks) about having a daughter is still rather freaky.

"What do you want to achieve by living like this?" I think this question was an excellent one, especially in bringing the frustration of the show across. By no means do I mean it in a bad way, but as a resonating point with the viewers.
It was real nice to see more scenes with Annie Eun Woo too, as I do think she's a great child actor. :) (Hyo Eun too tbh!)

Okay, last side note, Kevin is so cool >< ;), and in a weird way I wished that Mi Jin would end up with him...

Alright, not much thoughts on the love relationships these episodes. So, I'll see ya next week! :)

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On the way to the airport - Episode 9 and 10 Review

Jumping straight to the episodes as Annie's secrets are surfacing. Though we are still not fully aware of them yet, we got a significant glimpse into her world. 

I was really shock to hear that she had to "protect both families" and had to lie in order to achieve it. Why was such a young girl enduring so much, what exactly happened and does she know the full truth too?

... obviously not, she didn't know that her real dad was already dead and she was still positive about how waiting, waiting and waiting was a good thing at times. 

Then the editing suddenly changed it's tone slightly, bringing in doubts that Hye Won might not be the bad guy... In fact, she could be the victim in this whole screwed up situation. The show also introduced possibilities of the dad as the bad guy. Why did he suddenly bring Eun Woo back to the mum? I NEED TO KNOW. 

Haha I really enjoy this mystery part of the show, feels really cool to be figuring the situation out together with the characters. 

One last part I want to touch on, which was how Soo Ah was so "crazy", not from quitting her job but from how she "dragged" her child down with her with her impromptu plans to let Hyo Eun not attend school. I guess that was her bottled up feelings? But her behaviour was unexpected and was in a way frustrating to watch. I guess that might be because we normal people don't get the luxury of just getting away from our daily routine that easily... ): However, in this drama, sigh, I accept it. In fact, I was pretty glad for the happy ending!! Them settling down in Jeju Island just felt like a little piece of this mess fell in place. :)

Alright, not that much to say this time, just enjoyed the show well. :)

I would love to hear about how you guys feel about this drama. Feel free to comment below or tweet me @raycherr and I will be back next week! ^^ Thanks for reading~

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On the way to the airport - Episode 7 and 8 Review

Hi and welcome back! :) Did you know that this is actually a show about affairs packaged in a romantic slant? 😱

Haha alright, no judgement! Let's get on to this drama~
Let me start off with my thoughts on the actors. Seeing Shin Sung Rok in this show is really interesting, usually he acts as a very stern and robotic guy, which definitely came through especially in scenes at the airport. However, seeing his relaxed state in scenes outside the airport which were plenty in these two episodes was a nice change and great to watch. After all his symmetrical face does make him look too perfect and stern, hence the evil guy roles. Here though, it was wonderful to see more expressions every now and then, yeah! :)
I really like the drastic contrast between Soo Ah and Hye Won. Innocent v.s. Complicated... The characters in this show generally have a specific role/personality which I feel are awesome. It is very easy to identify them haha.
Also, Min Ji starts to have more lines these few episodes, which is fabulous. Love her character, so real and fun. Wouldn't mind having a friend like her hahaha wait... except that she didn't stop Soo Ah from marrying a playboy hmm.

Moving on, to do a little analysis between Soo Ah and Doh Woo's affair. There is no denying it, they had a bond from Annie's incident. With the recent Ms Go's incident, there is an even stronger bond now. I can't help but wonder whether their relationship is built upon wanting to escape from reality. It feels as if they have created a safe ground when they are together. After all, they are both bombarded by many other issues that are stressing them out. Though, sigh, why do I feel like Soo Ah is the only party losing out from this relationship? ): It is so sad. Like an alternate life that is so perfect, yet intertwined in real life and not that picture perfect.

But then again, Hye Won is the definition of obviously not living a perfect life. Behaving in such a screwed up manner, this interesting character brings lots of different perspective into the show, adding on a different kind of tension.

Looking forward to the next episode when apparently Hye Won will tell us everything?! Haha I doubt so... though let's just hold it out and see what happens.
In the meantime you can catch my reviews here or follow me on Twitter here. :)

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On the way to the airport - Episode 5 and 6 Review

안녕하세요~

This intense show. I will start off by saying I really liked the scene in episode 5 where Hye Won exclaimed her situation. So much new information was provided, yet so much mystery still surrounded her. I am just as eager as Min Seok and Doh Woo to figure the whole thing out. Who is lying??? Who is Annie's real dad and "who is Hye Won"(Episode 6 title)?

That being said, the whole show is filled with so much awkwardness hahaha, not a bad thing but yes exactly what Hyo Eun said at the dining table described this show perfectly. (';

The two protagonists' relationship paints having an "affair" in a romantic light, which contributes much to the "awkward" feels, but maybe that's just me and my conservative view points haha. ><

Overall, the story line is still a very interesting one and I am for sure hooked. After all, it is always good to challenge different view points, but at the same time I am just thinking the guilt levels are at a all time high while watching the show and "Sang Yoon, why are you so charming in this drama??!!" hahaha. 

Next, another scene that I must mention is the one where the grandma was interacting with Annie. Notice the colours? Annie was in colour but the others were all monochromatic... I didn't even notice this difference up till the close up when Ms Go(grandma) was shaking Annie's hand. 

Usually, colour symbolises life. In this case, I was thinking it could mean that Ms Go felt that Annie was still alive in her heart. (Plus she mentions later that she remembers Annie wearing something colourful.) That she herself was living but actually felt less alive than her vision of Annie. In a way, living but not really living. So much brilliant foreshadowing was done as Ms Go passed away later... ):

To me, there's two main flows going on at the same time. Soo Ah and Doh Woo's relationship and Hye Won's secrets. They could have been two different movies/dramas but they are appearing together... However, I kind of like the different dynamics from the different plots intertwining. Hope this drama will keep up the great work! :)

Back next week with a new review~~ 

Find me on twitter @raycherr 

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On the way to the Airport - Episode 3 and 4 Review

So much confusion! There's still so much mystery as we go into ep 3/4. Is this a reflection of how we don't know much about each other as we make friends in our adult lives...? Sigh.

I think that Soo Ah's quote sums things up really well. "Things are complicated." 

First, we find out that Doh Woo is not Annie's actual father. Which makes it even weirder how he is so caring and "perfect" towards Annie and in life in general. Increasingly greater contrast is shown between him and his wife, Hye Won as well. Apparently, she had Annie when she was 20 and believes that she's not a good mum. Basically, she appears to be guilt driven and not easily understood by others. So psychotic! I am almost scared to find out more...

Then Hye Won says something along the lines of "her biological mother" which got me real confused. Who is "her" referring to? I am assuming it's her own mother and not Ms Go, whom I assume is Doh Woo's mum. Let me know in the comments below if you know! >< :)

Also, a flashback to the last phone call between Hye Won and Annie. Woah, I didn't catch them too well in the first two episodes. "Tell the truth", "no one will blame you"... I am still not figuring the situation out too well. >< I guess the only way would be for me to continue watching. :/

Side tracking for some off beat scenes... >< The scene in which Doh Woo and Soo Ah meets each other on the stairs(screenshot above) was so dramatic. Maybe I wasn't in the mood enough, but it was a little laughable to me. I'm apologise... 

However, the first person view in episode 4 when Soo Ah scanned Doh Woo's work room was pretty interesting. This one I quite like, as it fitted well in the story, trying to put us into Soo Ah's position to experience her emotions. 

Following, the helicam scenes through the windows were absolutely beautifully done. Ahhh just love it when technology brings about such great cinematography.

However, while they placed us in Soo Ah's view, we saw, as viewers, how we actually knew things that she didn't. For example, I didn't catch that she actually didn't know that she rubbed shoulders with Annie until now. >< But this realisation also made for a emotional poke from the show. Plus, that one flashback was brilliant and powerful. I had chills watching it again, scanning from the air stewards to the accident through the mirror.

Last stray thought, I can't really feel much love between the two couples, especially between gentleman of sydney and iron lady. ;) Not too sure, but I still feel weird seeing Shin Sung Rok playing such a "cool" character. The most personality I felt from him was when he played soccer with his daughter LOL.

And that's all for this week! Really enjoying the show thus far. New review next week~~
Click here for ep 1,2 review and here to find me on Twitter! :)

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On the way to the Airport - Episode 1 and 2 Review

Hey,
melodramas are coming back at me.

Yea.

So, this new KBS drama caught my attention because LEE SANG YOON.

Therefore, I shall blog about it hahaha, yea I saw him in Liar Game (Korea) and Sangyoon is definitely my top fave korean male actor right after Song Joong Ki. Despite my hiatus, I feel like it is mandatory to watch and just write stuff about it.

Spoiler alert! (Ep 1 and 2)

A short summary about what I understand of the show
There's two family involved, one of which includes Annie(young girl) who was overseas studying in Malaysia, while her parents Doh Woo(Sang Yoon) and Hye Won(Jang Hee Jin) are in Korea. The other revolves around Hyo Eun(daughter), who was sent overseas to the same homestay as Annie by her parents, Soo Ah(Kim Ha Neul) and Jin Suk(Shin Sung Rok). With most of the scenes happening around the airport/airplanes, this drama features Soo Ah as a flight attendance who gets deeply intertwined into the plot when she rubbed shoulders with Annie right before an accident that killed Annie. As Soo Ah and Doh Woo moved back and forth Malaysia and Korea, they got to meet each other while settling their kids' issues.
And here you go, the premiere episodes pretty much went by like that, though I'd have to say, it's definitely better if you watched it yourself. (After all, I haven't written much in a while... >< argh my summary skills)

Back to the review and of course I have to praise the cinematography. One particular scene I really like was when they had the close up of the hands. It just feels like a tug of war emotionally. Really like it. I love it when I can feel the emotions through body language. (ahhh I felt the same way when Song Joong Ki acted with his neck in Innocent Man...)

Also, the tension brought about by Hye Won! Intense! I really like Hee Jin's acting here. Though I have to say I am so confused by her character's actions, like okay I can only make guesses as to what's an acceptable way to react to a child's death... but why did she not want Annie to come back in the first place? And why is she acting so mad and ridiculous? Pretending to still be fine, pretending to think about wanting her daughter's stuff back and then asking for them to be thrown away. ): I think that there's more to the story than meets the eye, and I am anxious about what's to come.

However, other than that, it is just the really bold Air Asia product placement that catches my attention hehe.

This is not the kind of drama I usually watch, but I'll definitely give this a chance! Let's see how it goes for the next few episodes. :)

Next review will be up next week, stay tune! Meanwhile, find me on twitter @raycherr ^^

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