Don't You ... Forget About Me: Episode 3

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The left of the image shows the five core cast members of the Japanese drama Orange Days against a backdrop of blue sky and clouds with the Japanese title for the drama in orange characters to their left. The central part of the image shows a man in a blue suit holding his clenched fists to his cheek, standing next to a woman in a white top in the same pose. In front of a forest setting, from a poster for the Korean drama. My name is Kim Sam Soon. At the far right of the image, a poster for the Korean drama City Hall. against a green backdrop the Korean title of the drama in a cursive script in front of which stands a man with a megaphone addressing a woman talking on a phone and cringing from the man with the megaphone.

Continuing a nostalgic look back at OLD OST tracks from various KDramas, CDramas, JDramas and TWDramas I've watched - all released prior to 2010. This episode covers 2007-2008. Again, the Dramas are listed below grouped by year of release and sorted by the order in which I viewed them.

2007

Coffee Prince

a poster for the Korean Drama Coffee Prince and shows the core cast in black and white cafe uniforms sitting on or leaning against a bar

For me, 2007 was a VERY good year for Dramas. The first of several from then is a true CLASSIC  KDrama Coffee Prince. A very progressive romcom in many ways for its era it remains a VERY rare example of a KDrama romcom that was just that - no serial killers, no noble idiocy separations, no messy love triangles, just plenty of rom & com, with stellar performances across the board. Both the dialogue and the OST have since been referenced OFTEN in countless KDramas since and the actual coffee shop was long a tourist magnet. I don't care if you're an alien - just watch this!

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My favourite Han Ji Min KDrama before Love Scout, her strong lead role was nonetheless not the primary reason I loved this Drama. It features what is hands down an astonishing platonic friendship between the ML and 2FL. STRICTLY platonic, no romance whatsoever. Han Go Eun rocks the role and  this upbeat number perfectly captures the period the Drama is set in. 

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Poster for the Taiwanese drama They Kiss Again. Above the title in Chinese characters at the bottom of the image we see the male and female lead lying side by side on a bed facing the camera. Behind them standing with one foot on the bed is the second lead, a male holding two red cones into one of which he is shouting.

The sequel to  It Started With a Kiss this TWDrama was much less regressive than that one. Lin Yi Chen's character has much more agency, and the pairing seems much more like a partnership, although the supporting characters are if anything even MORE intrusively annoying than in the original - as hinted at in the image above. The Drama also introduced me to the word frottage.😁 Lin Yi Chen sings this theme song too  


 

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 Hataraki Man 

Poster for the Japanese drama Hataraki Man. Above the Japanese title of the drama in orange characters, we see a picture of the title character. She is in a grey blouse and is holding both hands to her head, with the first two fingers of each hand facing outward

 
I only got around to watching Japanese Drama Hataraki Man  in 2021, and the 6.75/10 score I gave indicates it was an acceptable time-pass if not particularly memorable. More memorable was the series of quirky ending musical numbers, one of which is featured here. This is another very JDrama tradition, I don't recall many KDramas with different musical/dance endings for each episode, while Quartet and Nigeru Wa Haji (Full-Time Wife Escapist) are both favourite JDramas of mine that also do  this 
 

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2008

This Japanese Drama features what remains my go-to reference example of an "awww"some single Dad-daughter pairing. The OTP are sweet together too, but I still think the "bad guys" get off too lightly for some truly WTAF level nastiness. This curiously named instrumental track is the piece that I always think of when I think of this Drama, despite first hearing it (uncredited) in a later KDrama, Personal Taste.  That plagiarism may well have depressed this Drama's director, I guess.
 

 
 
 

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 Around 40 

 
Poster for the Japanese Drama Around 40. The title is in English and Japanese at the bottom left. at the right, the lead character reclining on a couch in a light coloured suit, and behind her a large assortment of cakes.

It was 2023 before I got to watch Japanese Drama Around 40, but its score of 8.75/10 shows that I really enjoyed it. I watched it for two reasons - the lead Amami Yuki, and the theme, summed up in the title. There have been several strong JDramas built around women "around 40", a theme that has only recently started to surface in KDramas. The catchy theme song and MV here nicely encapsulate the lead character's jourrney in the Drama.
 


This trip down memory lane is nearly done. The dramatic (ha!) conclusion, devoted entirely to just one year, can be found here.


EPISODE 1
EPISODE 2
EPISODE 4

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