4 Epic Historical Period Korean Dramas to Binge-Watch on a Rainy or Snowy Day

A rainy or snowy day is the perfect time to binge-watch an epic Korean drama (i.e. a series with 50 or more episodes). Below is my watch list for the historical period K-dramas I deemed binge-worthy. (Let's just hope the rain does not cause a blackout and there is no Internet access. LOL.)

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 1. Empress Ki (2013) ~ 51 episodes

This series is about a woman named Ki Seung-nyang, who was born into a family of low-ranking officials. At age 18, she was sent to the Yuan Empire in China as tribute. She became the emperor's preferred concubine and ultimately went from being a servant to becoming the Empress of Yuan.  It's about love, war, and betrayal. In other words, it's typical drama! Even though this epic is based on real historical figures, the relationships depicted are probably fictionalized.

Main Characters:

• Ha Ji-won as Ki Seung-nyang

• Joo Jin-mo as Wang Yoo, the King of Goryeo.

• Ji Chang-wook as Toghon Temür, the last Emperor of the Yuan dynasty

2. Dong Yi (2010) ~ 60 episodes

This series is also titled “Jewel in the Crown” and it follows the life of Dong Yi from childhood to adulthood. It is based on a real historical figure and it is a true love story between Dong Yi and the King. According to the fortune tellers, her “light” would shine bright in the Joseon Kingdom. This prediction proved to be true. But it does not mean that she did not experience trouble and sorrow.  She was a lowborn commoner and worked as a watermaid in the palace. But she became the king's favorite concubine which made her a target of envy, jealousy, and treachery. One of the sons she bore the king, died at a very young age. She bore the king another son, Yeong Jo. He was the second son of King Sok Jong and the future king of Joseon. Her life story is one for the ages.

Main Characters:

• Han Hyo Joo as Dong Yi

• Ji Jin Hee as King Sukjong.

3. Jumong (2006-2007) ~ 60 episodes

This series is about the life of Jumong Taewang, founder of the kingdom of Goguryeo, set in 37 BC. Even though the details about Jumong in the historical records are scant, the scriptwriters pieced together what their research revealed and created this marvelous epic. “Described as the son of the heavens, Jumong was the founding king of Goguryeo, which eventually became the largest dynasty in Korean history. Also known as the Holy King of the East, mythological tales of his origins mostly follow the same basic story.” (Quote Source)

DID YOU KNOW? Jumong was believed to be the grandson of the water god Habaek.

Main Character:

• Song Il-kook as Jumong

4. The Flower in Prison (2016) ~ 51 episodes

Set during the Joseon dynasty, this series follows the life of Ok-nyeo. She was born and raised in prison. Jeonokseo is one of the most horrifying prisons in Joseon. Her mother died in childbirth and the man who worked at the prison who adopted and raised her did not know her identity. She finds a secret prison cell with a mysterious prisoner. The prisoner teaches her martial arts and she becomes an intelligence agent. Martial arts is just one of her many talents. She is very intelligent and understands the law. She crusaded for the poor people who are unfairly accused under the litigation system. Her life is filled with danger and adventure. Eventually, she learns her true identity. She is s surprised as everyone else to learn that she is a princess. Her mother's enemies did not know she had been born. But when they found out, that's when Ok-nyeo faces true peril.

Main Character:

• Jin Se-yeon as Ok-nyeo

If You Don't Agree With My Suggestions, Check Out These Lists:

10 Korean Dramas Based on True Stories | MovieWeb

Top 25 Historical Korean Dramas You Will Love | KdramaPlanet

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Life Lessons: 3 Shakespeare Quotes To Live By

Many people enjoy Shakespeare more than his sonnets or his plays. These 3 quotes are very profound.

Have you often wondered if Shakespeare's pen was sharpened by his own personal life experiences or if he was just a guy who was gifted with an extraordinary writing style; was extremely witty, and just had a way with words? Most of the quotes come from plays or poems but they're not just words on a piece of paper. They do have real-life applications for all of us.

❤ 1. “Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.”

I think we all agree that this is easier said than done.

Love all? That's insane! When it comes to love, humans are very selective. That would not be so bad if when we made the choice not to love, we simply remained neutral. But many choose to hate instead. However, truth be told, if each person was told that they only had two arbitrary choices in this life - Love All or Hate All – would we not all choose love? Of course! (Unless you're a spawn of Satan. :lol: )

Trust a few? We are born pure, innocent and carefree souls. Then … life happened! If we are fortunate in life, we learned at an early age “the few” who can be trusted. But for some, lack of trust is their defense mechanism. They suspect everybody and everyone is automatically deemed untrustworthy until those people can prove otherwise. Most of the time people like this have been hurt badly by others they did trust and consequently, nobody will ever get the chance to cause them pain again. The self-defense reaction is normal. But know this. Life will be a very heavy burden if you have absolutely no other human being that you can trust.

Do wrong to none? None? You mean NOBODY? But what if ____________? Everybody has something that goes in that blank. EVERYBODY!! And for many people, their justification is always that wrong was done to them first. But in the end, one can not disagree with the wise words of Master Shakespeare. His advice simply stated is just math. “Two wrongs don't make it right.”

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❤ 2. “This above all: to thine own self be true.”

Who knows you better than you know yourself? Even the people you love and hold dear, who you trust the most and would give your heart to, don't know you better than you know yourself. If you lie to yourself and deceive yourself, without me being a mental health professional, I can predict that you're headed for a mental breakdown. Lying is a bad thing to do. Lying to yourself is the worst thing you could ever do! It will lead to delusion. Delusion is defined as an idiosyncratic belief or impression that is firmly maintained despite being contradicted by what is generally accepted as reality or rational argument, typically a symptom of a mental disorder.

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❤ 3. “The quality of mercy is not strained. It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath. It is twice blessed: It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.”

This was the first Shakespearean quote that I was required to memorize and I have never forgotten it. If you never hear another quote or read anything else written by William Shakespeare, read these words, keep them in your heart, and embrace every opportunity you get to show mercy. You, the giver, and the one who receives from you, i.e. the taker, will both be blessed.

No really! Try it! ❤
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If You Liked This, You Might Also Like:
5 Quotes from Confucius for Self Reflection
6 Einstein Quotes for Self Improvement
William Shakespeare: The Writer We Love to Write About
The Shakespeare Conspiracy Presented by Sir Derek Jacobi

Original content published via Forum Coin

A Tribute to Harry Belafonte (1927-2023) ~ Entertainer, Activist, and Humanitarian

Harry Belafonte passed away, on April 25, 2023, at the age of 96. He left an indelible mark in the history and the heart of America.

“I think America offers a dream that cannot be fulfilled as easily anywhere else in the world as it could be fulfilled here. …” ~ Harry Belafonte

• If you were preparing a list of iconic and legendary American entertainers, then Harry Belafonte would be on that list.
• If you were making a list of notable civil rights activists in America, then Harry Belafonte would be on that list.
• If you were making a list of humanitarians worthy of double honor for their good works, then Harry Belafonte would be on that list.

Harold George Bellanfanti Jr. known to the world as Harry Belafonte is a Jamaican-American singer, songwriter, actor, activist, and humanitarian. Date of Birth March 1, 1927 — Date of Death April 25, 2023. Cause of death: Congestive heart failure.

Americans from my generation (50s, 60s, and 70s) know Harry Belafonte. We know the lyrics to the Banana Boat and Matilda songs, backward and forward. Several years back (1997) there was a special program on television — “An Evening With Harry Belafonte & Friends” — where he sang many songs accompanied by fabulous singers and musicians. He performed Banana Boat and Matilda. I’m sure he knew that if he had not sung those songs, the audience would have been very disappointed.

Mr. Belafonte is known for his singing, and also for the memorable roles he has played in several films like “Carmen Jones” (1954), and “Island in the Sun” (1957). He has won numerous awards, including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Kennedy Center Honors.

In addition to knowing him as an extremely talented triple threat, i.e. he can sing, dance and act — we also know him to be a civil rights activist and a humanitarian, involved in many good works.

Giving honor where honor is due, one person referred to Mr. Belafonte as “living history”. While he was alive, you did not have to read historical events in a book because you could just talk to him since he was alive during the time and actively participated in history-making.

Mr. Belafonte has passed from living to legend now. He was almost a centenarian; age 96.

“If I’ve impacted on one heart, one mind, one soul, and brought to that individual a greater truth than that individual came into a relationship with me having, then I would say that I have been successful.” ~ Harry Belafonte

IN MEMORY OF: Harry Belafonte (1927–2023)

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I hope that his amazing talent, his fight for human rights, and his selfless charitable acts will be appreciated and remembered by Americans for generations to come.

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How to watch and stream Harry Belafonte movies

Did Alexander the Great Think He Was Great?

Alexander the Great, a historical figure that many people like to write or talk about.  Name written in history or not, every human being is just an A-O-P (“another ordinary person.”) Most ordinary people and extraordinary people usually want the same thing. To be happy.  

Do you wonder sometimes if Alexander thought he great?

Here is what you see when you look up close at this son of a king.

• He was a teenager when he started out on the path wherein he was determined to become a memorable military and political leader, whom generals even to this day study to improve their leadership skills and abilities.

Eh! Not really. His dad didn’t like him and wanted to get him out of his face, so he sent him away to fight! No matter who you are, if one or both of your parents don’t like you, that messes with your head!

• He was dead by the time he reached his early 30s.

There are different stories about his death, but if you ask me, I say his mind and body just burned out!

When you look at him up close, you may be moved to think, ‘How awful!!’

There are different stories about how he died, but how he lived wasn’t really all that great either!

By contrast to my own life.

• At age 16, I was just figuring out who I was and what I wanted to be. 1972 marked the year I graduated from high school and my first year at the University of Miami. Also, my beloved father passed away. He was taken away from me, but he never sent me away from him.

• By the time I was in my 30s, I had been happily married to the man of my dreams, with kids, for about a decade. Seems to me like Alexander the Great had a sad life and didn’t do much living at all! After 15 years of nothing but fighting and killing, maybe he was thinking: ‘This is my life? What’s so great about it?’
  

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Related or Similar Articles:
The Seven Kings of Rome
Alexander the Great: God-King or Mere Mortal?

Ten Facts About Alexander the Great (and One Observation)
Ancient Greek and Roman Statues Shown in Their True Colors

Content first published at Literacy Base on April 4, 2017.

Alexander the Great - Boogie Man or Immortal? : Joie de Vivre Magazine ~ https://t.co/GFAlxl8JQH #militaryleaders #ancientGreece #History #lifestyleblogger #alexanderthegreat #ancienthistory #myths and #legends pic.twitter.com/xRbQyboECL

— My Fox Nooze (aka Joie de Vivre Magazine) (@FoxMarks_ATX) August 31, 2019

Another of #AlexanderTheGreat's many #Alexandria's found in #Iraq with #drone #tech.#Secrets Of #Drone #Archaeologyhttps://t.co/YRUTTZPUDU

— CelebrateGreece.com (@CelebrateGreece) August 26, 2019

The Death of #AlexandertheGreat: One of History's Great #UnsolvedMysteries https://t.co/8Fym6nwyM9 via @lithub #history #Greece #persia #Babylon

— CorneliaAmiri (@CorneliaAmiri) August 28, 2019

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K-Drama: Boys Over Flowers (2009 Korean TV series) Gets My Five Stars

K-drama television series are addictive. Why? Because of their special ingredient called “adorable cuteness”.

Example and Recommendation:

Boys Over Flowers (2009 Korean TV series)

Image credit: viki.com

It’s official! My kids have decided that their mother has lost all the marbles in her head. Why? K-drama television series. Very pleased with the business decision by Netflix to add such programs into their database. Even more pleased that many of the programs are available for viewing online free at various websites.


Can’t explain my reactions. Grew up on American television. My husband got me started watching foreign films. Once my kids began subscribing to Netflix and other similar video streaming services noticed that some of them were into binge-watching. One particularly boring day at home decided to binge-watch a BBC mystery because BBC television mysteries are my favorite. From that point, binge-watching became my way of treating myself to a healthy dose of doing … The Nothing! You know. Those days when you just decide you have earned your “Goof Off All Day” reward and no serious work will be done on that day!



However, even when indulging myself in binge-watching, never lost sleep over a TV show; and certainly never really thought any series was worth watching more than once. Might watch a few particular episodes a few times more. But never the whole series!

Did I say BBC mysteries “are” my favorite? Sorry. Meant to say “were”.

• Netflix Junkie (Especially BBC Mystery)

Huh?? Duh??!!
That was how my children reacted.
– (???) What could possibly make mom choose an alternative for the BBC?

Answer. Those silly cute adorable Korean drama television series that have incredibly simple yet intricate, seemingly never-ending storylines with each episode, that leave with the thought”: ‘Gotta find out how this ends!!’

 My first taste of K-drama was a movie called “Commitment”. It was intense!!

Then my husband found a more light-hearted TV series called “Tamra the Island” It’s a romantic dramedy (drama and comedy blend) that was “Inspired by the real story of a Dutch explorer, a young Englishman discovers Kdrama in the 17th century Joseon Era”. (Quote source: dramafever)


One of the main characters was played by this tall handsome guy with the “skinny little body” whose name in the series was Park Gue, whose real name is Im Ju Hwan. I was impressed with him so search for more programs where he was playing a character.

This is where “Boys Over Flowers” comes in.

My research indicated that Hwan (Park Gue) had made an appearance in this show. Started watching the program only looking for him. Got stuck on it!! Got so stuck one night and didn’t go to sleep until about 4:30 in the morning!! Hwan did make an extremely brief appearance, after about 20 episodes. Talk about an Easter egg hunt! Anyway … glad someone realized this young man’s acting abilities and gave him the lead role in “Tamra the Island”.

Disappointed at only catching a tiny glimpse of Hwan in this TV show. However, my decision to view the entire series was filed under “Happy R&R Time Well Spent”.   Took me a few days to finish all the episodes. Will say no more because people hate spoilers. But if you like romantic dramedy, you’ll like “Boys Over Flowers”. Wonderful love story. It’s so cute!! 

Content previously published at BlogJob.com

Boys Over Flowers Funny Moments Part 1

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Why Article Writers and Bloggers Should Create a Medium Publication

I signed up for Medium over 5 years ago. My main reason for creating an account was because Medium is one of the few sites that allows republished content. YAHOO Voices used to allow it but they shut down. The difference between YAHOO Voices and Medium was that with YCN (YAHOO Contributors Network) you could earn $5 for every 1000 unique views. It was an income stream and then it wasn't! 

However, even though Medium did not pay me for my content the fact that my other content from around the web could be republished made the platform worth its weight in gold. As time went by, the site owners set up a Partner Program, so that some of the contributors could earn income from their articles. Many writers have reported that earn good money for their content. I'm sorry but I don't have any bragging rights in that regard.  But I'm OK with it. Because like I said the Medium platform offers a lot of other "extras" that are great for a struggling freelancer.

One of those "extras" includes creating a Medium Publication.  It's free to create your own publication.  You can use it for your own articles and/or invite other writers to contribute.  When I first started the publication it was just a way for me to organize all of my content.  But now other writers are happy to contribute.  I love publishing content by fellow writers.  It a way of supporting them and it's a different "voice".  

I need a better way for readers to peruse my articles.  My content dates back to 2014 and my profile shows over 300 articles.  It's not so easy for a visitor to be scrolling and scrolling and scrolling down the profile page.  But with a Medium Publication, the articles are neatly archived by Year.  When you scroll down, at the bottom of the page for your Publication there is a link to the "Archive".  Another plus, after you click on that link?  The visitor will find the "Top Stories" published or rather the content that was the "Most Read" by visitors.

Below are the Top 10 Stories published by Express Yourself! (publication started May 16, 2019) as of the beginning of March 2020.  Feel free to peruse the yearly archives as well:

• 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020

● Character Study: People and Places: Bathsheba - Adulteress or Innocent Victim?

People are quick to read the Bible story and accuse Bathsheba of enticing King David to commit sin. However, reading the account one wonders why the woman is always to be blamed when it's about sex. This article presents a character study of Bathsheba.

Story Behind a Blue Bracelet

Once upon a time, a blue bracelet from Bukan was born. Worst of all, it was baby blue. There were many others, and this was just another rubber baby blue bracelet from the batch. Well, maybe for you! But for me, a different story was about to unfold...

The Greatest Accomplishment of My Life

30 hours on an airplane with my four-year-old. I've recently achieved one of the greatest feats of my life. If there was an app that could track and rank "impossible human conquests" I'm sure this would be trending towards the top of the list.

Why The City Of Rome Still Stands Today

How an ancient general saved Rome from complete devastation "Rome has grown since its humble beginnings that it is now overwhelmed by its own greatness." Rome has stood as an important city in the world for nearly 3000 years. The ancient city gave us multiple languages, ideas, history, arts, and beliefs that spread across the planet in some form or another.

Life like a jagged arc

<

p>Filling in the spaces The obituary my sister writes a year later would remind us that my father's last year was only one year within 73. His life stretched out in a jagged arc. She made it linear, if not a jumble of identity, way better than I can, so I show it intact, whole here.

Korean Drama: TV Series: Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo (2016)

"Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo" (2016) is a Korean adaptation of a Chinese novel. Per quotes from Wikipedia: "Despite its ensemble cast, extensive publicity and US$13 million production budget, the series only averaged single-digit audience rating of 7.59% in South Korea, and was overshadowed by Love in the Moonlight (2016) .

When I Get Married, I'm Not Signing a Marriage License

I'm new to the adult world. It feels like I should still be in school, but suddenly I'm finding myself in the daily grind of a nine to five job just like everyone else. It was only a few short years...

Incredible!

Incredible! A light bulb just went off in my head. My husband at one time was studying psychology and I used to help him with his research. He took several courses but never completed his degree. (Personal reasons.)

Request to Contribute

Hello! How are you? My name is Treathyl Fox (aka cmoneyspinner) and I am the editor of Express Yourself! I started contributing articles to Medium.com in 2014; republished and original content. This year, 2019, I made several bold moves. ✨ MOVE 1: I joined the Medium Partner Program .

Why Options Ruin Everything

So, I'm sure this makes me sound pretty flighty and just a touch crazy, but science is on my side here. Christina Hammond, MS, LMHC, from her article "What is decision fatigue?" put together an outline of this strange and 'made-up sounding' phenomenon.

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Travel: USA Cities: Grapevine, Texas

In 1843, Texas political leaders and leaders of 10 Native American Indian nations signed a treaty of“peace, friendship, and commerce”, which allowed settlers to make their new homes in Grapevine, Texas. This city, which was named for its wild mustang grapes (Vitis Mustangensis), has been included on official lists published by CNN Money such as “America’s Best Places to Live” and “America’s Best Small Cities”. Probably the only two people who don’t think the City of Grapevine, Texas is a great place to visit or to live are the notorious bank-robbing duo known as Bonnie and Clyde. It’s where Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker breathed their last breath; May 23, 1934. They had it coming!

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