Weekly Wrap-up: week of 12/16 - 12/22

What a week! The world almost ended, I went to a Christmas party, I finally marathoned Answer Me 1997, and started watching a couple other dramas. I consider that pretty productive. Now, if I could just finish up my Christmas shopping...

This week's notes:

1. Blog-related: Posted a review for Kingyo Club, finally. I had it sitting on my computer waiting to be finished for the better part of six months. And it's spoiler-free! I'm so bad at those, so consider it a miracle. If you haven't watched this short little drama yet, go do it right now!

2. Newsie Information: 

• Yoo Seung-ho (I Miss You, Arang and the Magistrate), Dramaland's Baby So Ji-sub, is headed to the army after I Miss You wraps filming. Whut?! Everyone's a'buzz about this because Yoo is only 19 (20 by Korean standards). It's a smart move, of course, because he'll be enlisting with people his own age and he's at a great place in his career--too young to play the leading man just yet, but too old (and probably too talented) to be a child actor anymore--so he needs that 21-month (sob) hiatus to allow him to grow up a bit so he can come back and be a true leading man (with choco abs!). See you in 2014! [via Dramabeans]
• Kim Sun-ah (I Do, I Do, Scent of a Woman) joins the cast of revenge thriller film The Five. I don't know much about this because I watch less Korean and more Japanese movies, but it seems to be a step away from her "usual" roles, so I'm excited to see what she'll turn out. The story is based on a web comic by Jung Yeon-sik called "The 5ive Hearts" and sounds a little gruesome. Filming begins early next year. [via AsianWiki]
• Jeon Ki-sang has been hired to helm upcoming fashion-related drama Gangnam Style. Now, as I understand it, this drama will be an adaptation of a web comic called "Fashion King" but has nothing to do with this year's atrocious drama of the same name, nor the popular Psy song Gangnam Style. Well, that's a bit confusing. This announcement is particularly interesting because this is the man responsible for greatly-directed dramas like My Girl and Delightful Girl Choon-hyang (and more recently To The Beautiful You), but also all over the place ones like Witch Yoo-hee and Boys Over Flowers (soundtrack choices, anyone?). He's got the subtlety of a hammer at times, but he does quiet moments and monumental sets really well. We shall see how this comes out once filming (and casting) begins. [via AsianWiki]
• U-Know Yunho has been cast in Soo Ae and Kwon Sang-woo's upcoming drama Yawang. Check out the first stills over at Dramabeans. I'm actually looking forward to another Soo Ae series. I skipped that bucket of tears A Thousand Days' Promise that she did with Kim Rae-won earlier this year, but I like her lots, so I'll be keeping an eye out for this one. Yawang tells the story of a woman stemming from poverty who aspires to become Korea's first lady and her childhood friend who sacrifices himself for her. [via AsianWiki]

3. More excitingness over at DramaFever! In Time With You is now available for streaming. It's going to be a busy rest of vacation for me. I watched ITWY earlier this year right after it had aired, but the middle dragged so much that I ended up dropping it a few episodes before the end. It's kind of got the vibe of Answer Me, 1997 (and a similar premise, with the two leads being best friends since forever, and we even get small flashbacks from their high school years) without much of the pure awesomeness of that show. Maybe a rewatch is in order? I think sooooo...