In a special edition of  5 Things, I’m incorporating my favorite events from last week with what I’m thankful for in Kpop.  What 5 Things happened last week that makes me thankful for the existence of Kpop?  My current Kdrama crack, the return of a veteran beauty, the ending of a drama of Olympic measure, more variety shenanigans from running men, and a fake hubby that rocks.  These are the 5 things that happened in Kpop that I think were just a little bit more special than the rest and I’m thankful for it.

A Garden that’s not so Secret anymore

I can’t believed how much I am liking this drama, how much I like the characters already, and we didn’t even get to the body switching part yet.  Guaranteed, Ha Ji-won, Hyun Bin and Yoon Sang-hyun are actors at the top of their game, but to be honest I wasn’t really looking forward to the drama at all.  Luckily, I tried watching it anyway.  Other than Hyun Bin’s flashy track suits, one of my fave squee worthy scenes was the one pictured above when Ra-im is holding down Joo-won’s legs while he’s doing sit ups.  Now that view is exercise worthy.  Can’t wait to see the new episodes, I’m thankful for dramas that are better than you expected.

Hwang Bo comes back on Music Bank

In case you didn’t know, I’m a huge Hwang Bo fan.  I’ve been a fan since We Got Married, and have continued to keep track of her career.  When her comeback song “Still Beautiful came out a while back I instantly loved it.  The sad ballad seems to have so much meaning behind it and Hwang Bo’s husky voice sounded great in the song.  I had thought that she maybe wouldn’t be promoting the song when she wasn’t appearing right away on the music shows, thankfully she did just a little later.  I’m thankful for strong Korean women in Kpop who are worthy of our admiration.

On a side note, I was sad to hear that this episode of Music Bank was the last that Seo Hyo-rim and Song Joong-ki would be MCing, I loved them.  Best wishes to them both in their future endeavors.

Dr. Champ completes its run

I started watching this drama after some of the other dramas I was watching was done.  And, again it was a drama that I was pleasantly surprised with.  The concept of a doctor who treats athletes at Korea’s Olympic Training Village didn’t sound that intriguing, but the humor and heart of the show won me over.  The glimpses of Olympic caliber athletes’ physiques had nothing to do with it.  I’m thankful for rom-coms that rock and a shirtless Jung Gyu Woon… *swoons* Ok, the hot bods had a little to do with it.

Running Man hits the high notes on the high seas

If you know me at all, you know I love Korean variety shows.  X-Man, Family Outing, 1N2D… I try watching them all.  One of my current favorites is Running Man.  Did I fail to mention that I’m also a huge Yoo Jae-suk fan?  On last week’s episode, Lizzy from After School joined the cast permanently and they all boarded a cruise ship for their next adventure.  Their first game pitted one of the cast against the rest in a mole scenario, with the mole trying to stop them from winning the game.  The game was to sing lines of songs from certain artists, watch the hilarity as the mole the screws with the rest of the cast and their punishment is being hit by masked men who just happened to be their managers.  The managers must have had fun.

They also take on some boy bands, 2PM and Big Bang seem to be popular.  After failing every round, they then have to guess who the mole was…

Song Ji-hyo just pwns them, she is an actress after all.  The losers of the day were Yoo Jae-suk, Song Joong-ki, Ji Suk-jin, and Lee Kwang-su. Ah, men in hot shorts.  Laughter is truly the best medicine, and I’m thankful for Korean variety shows that let us see our favorite stars in all kinds of different situations and provide enough laughs to cure all that ails you- or at least make you feel better.

Mary’s fake shillang can sing

I’m a big Jang Geun-suk fan, but his singing skills just continue to amaze me.  This scene of him as Kang Moo-kyul in his latest drama Mary Stayed Out All Night singing in a club wowed me.

I liked the ballad “My Precious,” but it kind of reminded me of Gollum.  I wasn’t quite feeling Mary, but it’s getting better and getting me more interested in the characters and plot.  I’m thankful for talented actors that don’t dissappoint and can make their dramas better than they are.

So, those were my 5 favorite things from last week were they yours?  On this day of thanks (if you’re in the US), I’d just like to give a big “Mahalo” (that’s how we say “thank you” where I’m from =o) to all you SB readers for letting myself and the rest of the crew here at Seoulbeats share our passion for Kpop with you all.  Happy Thanksgiving!