Rain. Love and Rain.

When you saw the word rain did you first think of 비 or Rain the handsome singer?  Every time I hear the  word rain I like to think of ways to twist and give it multiple meanings- often those implying a reference to Rain (actor and singer). Who doesn't put love and rain in the same sentence? A majority of you love Rain! I read friend's Facebook statuses also referencing Rain:
- It's RAINing.
- When is The Rain coming?
- Is it Rain-ing yet?

courtesy of  http://tinyurl.com/casyb6z 

Unfortunately, this post is not about that Rain. It is about rain, the watery goodness that falls so lightly or heavy at just the right moment. It's about rain and sometimes love in the rain or love rain.  Recently, I started watching the Korean Drama Love Rain. You can thank my friend for getting me sucked into a drama. I was so proud that I hadn't watched a Korean drama in months or at all this year. Something about the violin intro also heard throughout the drama caught me. Though the drama was slow going at the beginning and follows a predictable Korean drama structure that includes conflict, love, and love triangles or squares/rectangle, I made it halfway through the show. After this weekend, I will contemplate whether to continue watching.   While watching this drama, I thought about rain as a theme or dramatic element. Because the drama's title has the word "rain" in it, you would expect rain, right? Of course. Rain is used in many dramas, but this drama uses it particularly well because of the "Love Rain" theme itself.  In most dramas you will find rain during a very dramatic or what is about to be a dramatic scene. Rain may come at the beginning of a kiss. Sometimes rain pours during conflict or perhaps conflict-turned love. Look at Jang Geun Suk's character Joon look up as the rain begins to fall right when he and Ha Na are to converse about an important matter Joon has on his heart. He came all this way to see her and what?

Oh. Is that rain?

Yep. Let's run for cover.

Perhaps it begins raining during a scene in which you see your only true love of years past enter and pass through your presence decades after your last meeting.

What? Is it her? 

Am I seeing things? I need a thorough look. 

Whoa. My love? 

This is where it started. Same color umbrella. : ) 

This drama is full of love and rain.  Don't be fooled. There is plenty of pain and conflict, but that only makes the love stronger in the end doesn't it? An element of tension may linger in the air as rain falls to rescue and soften the interaction. It becomes the beginning of a significant interaction that turns to love. Love. It's time for some love rain. What are your favorite rain scenes in a Korean drama?

Let's have a listen to the "Love Rain" song. Jang Geun Suk has a decent voice! I might have to say I like this ballad for his voice! If you're not a romantic, the lyrics are a bit cheesy. For the Korean learner, the song is slow and catchy enough to learn on your own, and the vocabulary is simple.  Happy listening!

Some vocab to know:
사랑 (saran) - love
비 (pi or pee) - rain
우산 (usan) -  umbrella
가슴 (kasum) - heart
사랑비가 내려네요 (sarang pi ga naeryo naeyo) - Love rain is falling

HK

Something new... I love the sound of music.

Yes, I love the Sound of Music and much much more..

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Listening to the OST of the Korean drama called Secret Garden (시크릿 가든) .   I really like the songs, simply for the voice of the singers themselves. Listening to foreign music is a great way for me to connect to friends of  other cultures and to learn to respect  other genres of music. Also a great tool for studying foreign languages.  I may not understand the lyrics, but I can enjoy the sounds and voices of some very talented and sometimes not so talented artists.

Baek Ji Yong (백지영) sings at least two of the songs in Secret Garden. She has a large range, reaching notes most people only dream of, and wonderful control. These aspects make for a beautiful voice.  I really like her songs That man (그남자) and That woman (그여자 ).  Some of the lyrics are a bit much in regards to the romantic ballad nature. That aside,  here is "That Man".  What do you think of her voice?  

Hyunbin has a voice! Secret Garden also stars a great Korean actor, Hyunbin (현빈).  Girls swoon over every move he makes. Not that I can say the same myself as much as I love cute dimples and his sweet smile.  Though, I did fall for the guy while watching Kim Sam Soon (내 이름은 김삼순). It was one of the first dramas I watched all the way through. Anyway, Hyunbin sang a version of That Man and it's not that bad. Supposedly it's topping charts. I hope Hyunbin's voice will develop more. Looking forward to what else is in store from this sensation.

Here's the song.  

Any preferences?