Tag Archives: Korean dramas

Poetry, Writing

Our Blooming Youth

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(Poem 251 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

“Confucius told his disciple Tsze-kung that three things are needed for government: Weapons, food, and trust. If a ruler can’t hold on to all three, he should give up the weapons first, and the food next. Trust should be guarded to the end: without trust we cannot stand.” – Baroness Onora O’Neill

https://images.app.goo.gl/2e3cEvwWiB9oASsKA

Ghosts casting curses, hiding
behind every false smile of those
who claim to be loyal, will poison
trust and hope until all faith dies.

The only way to prove innocence
is to leap into the arms of fear,
give yourself permission to endeavor,
and outsmart evil with persistence.

The truth will win out when you
refuse to give in to the superstition
that strives to steal your joy with
lies that discriminate and demean.

Only by lifting up the oppressed
who cry out for mercy and plead
to be vindicated by righteousness,
can you free yourself from the curse.

@Home Studio – 251st poem of the year (After watching the Korean drama Our Blooming Youth.)

Lee Jong-jae, Our Blooming Youth. Park Hyung-sik, Jeon So-nee, Story & Pictures Media, 6 Feb.—11 Apr. 2023.

O’Neill, Baroness Onora, “Without Trust We Cannot Stand (Excerpts from the Reith Lectures, 2002)” University of Cambridge, Trust & Technology Initiative, http://www.trusttech.cam.ac.uk/perspectives/technology-humanity-society-democracy/without-trust-we-cannot-stand

https://images.app.goo.gl/oXUM9NrWR3TMvMuy6

Poetry, Writing

The Red Sleeve

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(Poem 250 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

https://images.app.goo.gl/AEKne1LC2D85dgqV6

In times long ago in the
Joseon era, all the maidens
who belonged to the King
wore red cuffs on their sleeves.

To be raised in the palace or
brought in by virtue of family
connections, proof of talent,
or as a favor, meant honor.

It was a privilege to empty the
bedpans of royalty, endure the
abuse of the upper class, serve
the needs of those of higher rank.

And if chosen as a concubine,
she should feel grateful that
her body, her mind, her virtue,
and her life will never be her own.

@Home Studio – 250th poem of the year (After watching the Korean drama The Red Sleeve.)

Jung Ji-in, The Red Sleeve. Lee Jun-ho, Lee Se-young, Kang Hoon, WeMad, Npio Entertainment, 12 Nov. 2021—1 Jan. 2022.

Poetry, Writing

My Dearest

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(Poem 249 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

(At the beginning of the series.) https://images.app.goo.gl/TBVDoMZHe5YgNMwK7  https://images.app.goo.gl/dUFyreACvk9uV5Qo7

She’s selfish and high maintenance,
flirtatious, rude, and self-centered.
Her vanity is unmatched, and her
intentions immature and materialistic.

He is a womanizer, intent on remaining
unmarried and able to sow his wild oats.
His loyalty is only to himself and wealth,
and never becoming burdened by love.

With time and travail, the realities of
war, loss, separation, and the ordeal
of survival, she grows into a woman
of substance, and he, an honorable man.

@Home Studio – 249th poem of the year (After watching the Korean drama My Dearest.)

Kim Seong-yong, My Dearest. Namkoong Min, Ahn Eun-jin, MBC, 9ato Entertainment, 4 Aug–-18 Nov 2023.

(At the end of the series.) https://images.app.goo.gl/bdmUkA2SMwYtvapu7 https://images.app.goo.gl/NsNfnaKYvrEqAzJs5

Fiction, Poetry, Writing

The Nine-Tailed Fox

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(Poem 28 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

AI Generated image I prompted on Gencraft.com https://gencraft.ai/p/S4odom
https://images.app.goo.gl/vKYMtHnNCf8Zar6Y8

The nine-tailed fox
thinks it’s undignified
to disguise himself,
but will if the situation
warrants camouflage.
Subtle subterfuge is
more his speed, slick
acts of cunning that
leave the victim confused
and questioning the cause.
He finds humans dim-
witted, lacking in pure
essence of the divine
nature he’s sworn to
protect, but accepts
that they have a place.
And until they learn theirs,
he’ll scheme and deceive,
entrapping them with sly
trickery out-maneuvering
their attempts to one-up
fate with inane arguments.
His only weakness is
kindness, and his inability
to refuse reciprocity, for
debts of favor must be
repaid, but beware his
devious recompense.

@Home Studio – Inspired by my Korean Drama Tale of the Nine Tailed – 28th poem of the year

Tale of the Nine Tailed. Directed by Kang Shin-hyo and Jo Nam-hyung, Performances by Lee Dong-wook, Jo Bo-ah, and Kim Bum, Studio Dragon, 2020.

Runner ups for the AI Nine-Tailed Fox photos to accompany my poem:

Fiction, Poetry, Writing

Mongwoo (Drizzle)

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(Poem 22 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

AI Generated image I prompted on Gencraft.com https://gencraft.ai/p/LQbxbF

This person so intrigued
the Crown Prince
that he nicknamed them
Drizzle in honor of his
favorite weather.

Friendship born of intellect,
shared sensibilities, and wit
creates the game board on
which all future maneuvers
rely, regardless of gender.

The game is set, the stones
properly aligned, the trash
talk spoken in earnest,
and thus begins the falling
in love one move at a time.

@Home Studio after watching the 1st 2 episodes of the Korean period drama Captivating the King – 22nd poem of the year

In the Joseon era in Korea, they played a board game called Baduk (Go) an abstract strategy game with pieces called stones. Mongwoo is the Korean word for drizzle and the nickname given to the opponent by the Crown Prince because it drizzles the first time they play against each other.

Captivating The King. Directed by Cho Nam-guk, performance by Jo Jung-suk, Shin Se-kyung, and Lee Shin-young, C-JeS Studios, 2024, Netflix, https://www.netflix.com/watch/81742990?trackId=255824129.

Runner ups for the AI drizzle photos to accompany my poem: