Romantic (in the Objectivist sense) Korean TV series

Re: Adam Reed’s post 103325 of 5/15/22

Dae Jang Geum. (Only the 18-DVD original, which is no longer distributed because of objections from CCP and other censors.

How does China+ censor South Korean TV? Is Dae in English or English subtitles?

/sb

Here is my list of Korean TV series I watched and can recommend. They are all historical. I placed them in order and in two groups based on my evaluation of them. Almost all of them are available on Viki.

Strongly recommended:

1. Six Flying Dragons
2. Secret Door
3. Haechi

Not as good as the ones mentioned above but still worth watching:

1. Moonshine
2. The Moon Embracing the Sun
3. Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung
4. Rebel: Thief Who Stole the People
5. The Merchant: Gaekju
6. Bossam – Steal the Fate
7. King Maker: The Change of Destiny

/sb

Re: Adam Reed’s post 142177 of 5/17/22

Another Korean drama is When the Camellia Blooms.

What’s written below I do not believe is a spoiler. I use no names and I do not use terms like “he” or “she” that could make the connections more easy. There is just one particular comment on a character’s goofiness that might be easily spotted though. I try to explain it as broad and vague to details as possible. Just giving an evaluation of the moral development within the show, without mentioning any details.

On the surface it seems rather inane, but the way it develops is very nice. Especially how conflicts are resolved between the characters and between the love interests, the development of the main character, the changes in thinking from previously held bad ideas to good ideas, and one particular character who has a very positivist/optimist outlook on life, but that is coupled with a realist perspective of the evil and problems of the world, which makes this character seem particularly objective in regards to life, though has a sort of goofy nature. The goofiness seems to arise from an overwhelming joy.

What’s also particularly nice is the way values are treated: the recognition of values and the pursuit of them. And how ultimately every value can be maintained and pursued. And that there are no conflicts with values. This last point is particularly poignant and in the development of this it gets quite frustrating, but the frustration becomes worth it in the end. 

What is interesting is that at first it seemed the characters were mediocre, but this is just in regard to their positions in life, which actually are not marks of mediocrity. You won’t see people with huge careers or giant ambitions (a couple only). But the moral compass and moral development of the characters take on a very meritorious perspective. 

Though quite below the surface, dishonesty is developed as a pointless and meaningless task. I noticed early on that there was a lot of dishonesty, and lots of run-of-the-mill dishonesty like white lies to others and to one’s own self. Though no one explicitly talks about it in the show, what occurs near the end is that it is more-or-less realized that no one had to be dishonest at all. Each character who was previously dishonest or at least made one dishonest comment, came to see that honesty could have been fully embraced from the start. That it only complicated things more and became ultimately fruitless. And if you watch for it, the honesty to self development is quite nice to witness. 

Evil is also portrayed as a contradiction to life, as fruitless, as petty, but recognizes that evil can have actual effects if ignored or not sufficiently extricated. 

/sb