During the turn of the century, a random channel surfing made me gaze at Shim Eun-ha on the telly. There I was reading subtitles to the fore. She was mesmerising, one of the most beautiful faces I have ever seen. Ko So-young also had a pretty face in that drama where they both shared top billing. But it was Shim Eun-ha who captivated on that old telly although she retired soon after from show business prior to the Hallyu wave. Choi Jin-sil, that's heartbreak personified, no need for explanation, I've written about her 10 years ago and the devastating stories about her family continue long after her death. But she was a lovely face, a refreshing presence and my heart still aches.
For almost two decades in Bacolod, the Korean presence seems to be the pulse of the city, you see them everywhere in airports, at Mambucal, at SM mall. I'll probably ask my friend Jing about her English teaching. Because we are raised trilingual in Bacolod, we could hold our own in Los Angeles, New York and definitely London. They go to our fair city (or Iloilo, Cebu, Manila, etc) and soak up our English grammar and sense. Do they study and leave? Or study and settle?
But since Netflix or was it Lil's? I got pushed back into the fray. For years, the original Flordeluna herself, Janice de Belen, fan girls on Lee Min Ho and Kpop fills Philippine arenas to the rafters. Are the millennials that well-versed with the Hangul language that they could understand all the lyrics to a Kpop song? It's not a one-way street at all, I have viewed a vlogger attend a Korean Language school so that she could watch shows without the subtitles.
In my more than a decade and a half away, I still haven't witnessed any major cultural shifts. It's still a patriarchal society. I have seen a drama where the female lead was demoted from her anchor job for being an unwed mother? I read the synopsis beforehand, the liberated scenes were straight out of late night British telly but the consequences were actually frowned-upon. I still see plots on arranged marriages. I know some cultures think that's the way to complete and utter happiness.
Just like in Philippine showbiz, I looked at before and after photos, that patrician nose surely does not conjure natural. But their skin care line is the best in the world. I seldom see break-outs or pores.
But I only ever watch Park Shin-hye dramas and she has fantastic skin.
Viki and Drama Fever are keeping me company these days. The stars I was following then, are older now, good looks fade, you see, despite all the creams and Botox. I still watch vloggers, Say and her OS team. But since I only ever marathon Park Shin-hye, I'm still limited with my choices.
