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Review: Destined With You (2023)
An instant classic...for some
Synopsis: Being a civil servant is not the easiest job, and for Lee Hong Jo, its only made worse by being transferred to a team that can't stand her. Her first assignment on this team is to demolish a centuries old shrine, which is held on the private property of Jang Sin Yu, a sharp lawyer haunted by a curse as old as the shrine. Her efforts surface a spell book with a mysterious past that only she can use. In need of a miracle, Sin Yu makes a deal with Hong Jo to use one of the spells on him, in a move that ultimately sets their fates in motion. Can love bloom in cursed soil, or will they be cut red-handed?
MZ Overall: 9/10, you had me at "I am Groot"
... aaaand absolutely not before "I am Groot." Seriously, I almost gave up on it early, thank god I didn't. When I saw the love triangle blooming I stuck around and am glad I did. If you are looking for a romcom that hits all the hallmarks (past lives, love triangle, jealous ex, etc.) you are in the right place. The leads have great chemistry, though it does feel like they are sometimes off in their own little worlds. Rowoon (as Jang Sin Yu) is great at playing a love-sick character, and Jo Bo Ah (as Lee Hong Jo) is the perfect ingénue AND doomed shaman--talk about range. Definitely give it a watch, this is easily one of my top favorites of the year (right behind Love to Hate You, of course).
MZ Review: Parks and Recreation, but make it a supernatural kdrama rom-com (no spoilers)
no one:
absolutely no one:
Jang Sin Yu: ThAtS A cRiMe!!!
Ok, I got that out of my system. This was my second Rowoon drama and now Netflix thinks he's the only guy I want to see on my screen. I'm not mad at that, but I do think if his role in this and Extraordinary You (2019) are any indication, I may need a little bit more time before I can handle the brand of lovesick desperation that he brings. Not a bad thing, but much like candy you can have too much of a good thing. I will be looking out for his stairs scenes going forward, in much the same way I have cataloged Hyun Bin's elevator scenes. (It's an art people!)
This show strikes a near-perfect balance between time spent on the side characters, developing the main couple, fanning the flames with the love rivals, and hinting at the past lives of this group. Seriously well done, I did not have any complaints in this area. Really my only gripes would be the first few episodes, which really tested my resolve on supporting womens' wrongs. If it were not for the next episode previews at the end, I would not have made it past episode three. After that, it's smooth sailing with lots of laughs, drama, and suspense as the many mysteries of the show unfold. Those first eps are why this only gets a 9/10 for me though. Otherwise, A+ work!
As I sat down to write this review, it occurred to me that the setup for the show was kind of similar to Parks and Rec, if you're mainly looking at the fact that the context for the show is a municipal parks department, leading to lots of outdoor events and internal politicking. It also works in the comedy department, because both shows had me absolutely ROLLING with laughter at the absurdity of some of the stuff going on. I cannot recommend this drama enough!
AC Overall: 7/10, could've been great but
It took me sooo long to finish the show, even on 1.5x speed (thank you, Netflix). And I was so excited at first! Like MZ, I thought the first few eps were...off, but once the show fully planted its feet I fell for the silliness, especially the supernatural love-spell aspect of the drama, and the stupidity with which those entranced acted "because of it". But the show ultimately became unbalanced, and the fantasy charm faded to reveal...a few thriller episodes within a cute and silly rom-com. It's not bad, just...took a turn I wasn't looking for at the time.
Honestly, its fine if you don't take it too seriously, and don't barf at cute moments like I currently do. Solid, just know what you're getting in to. It's definitely a cutesy rom-com with a dash of thriller and pinch of fantasy.
AC Review (with miiiinor spoilers):
It wasn't all bad! I cheeeesed at Sin Yu inadvertently confessing his "love" for Hong Jo against both of their wishes, and was curious about how Hong Jo's crush on her second lead Jae Gyeong would play out considering. It was a pretty unusual and juicy love triangle at first, especially with the fantasy aspect of Sin Yu's feelings...and possibly Jae Gyeong's...but somewhere they decided to ignore the whole love-spell part of the drama and Sin Yu just--accepted his love for Hong Jo? And Jae Gyeong barely put up a fight. And and I wasn't convinced Hong Jo actually had feelings for Sin Yu, I feel like he just wore her down with pretty words and concern. And and and I just kept thinking of Legend of the Blue Sea the whole time--much better fated love fantasy drama. But alas, I got too far along to just stop.
Hong Jo's character annoyed me quite a bit. She had a way of acting shy most of the time, but would suddenly talk with her chest at other moments...it's personal, but I really dislike the demure act when it's clear it's not real. But, Rowoon as Sin Yu made up for it in the beginning. The character was played and written well; we could feel the (delicious) inner turmoil when he recognized his feelings.
Overall, this was a drama-that-couldn't for me. But I must admit, the early, fun moments of Sin Yu fighting his inexplicable love for Hong Jo were classic in itself.
#kdramareview#kdrama#k-drama#k-dramareview#kdrama review#kdrama recommendations#destined with you#but seriously why did he just sit down and say “I AM GROOT” like that like be for real
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K-Drama Review #2
Goblin
Aired: December 2, 2016 to January 21, 2017
Episodes: 16
Note: Rating is only based on my opinion which rates from 5 as highest and 1 as lowest.
Plot: 4
Story was interesting due to how a Dokkaebi (goblin) and Jeoseung Saja (grim reaper) co-exist to the present world and how Ji Eun Tak became the goblin's bride as well as, will they have their happy ever after?
Themes and Tones: 3
Fantasy themed dramas also pique my interest due to the incorporation of Korean Folklore which shows their beliefs and superstitions that has been pass down from generations.
Acting and Characters: 5
Characters are well portrayed and did justice to their role. Switching to past and present of Gong Yoo and Lee Dong Wook are also commendable due to the emotional dark past and naive personality at the present.
Direction: 3
Storytelling was sometimes too fast and also too slow which makes it conflicting and suspenseful to watch.
Score: 5
Original Sound Track (OST) was posted above to relieve moments on the drama. Beautiful is my favorite song on the Original Sound Track (OST) which was covered by many artists, one of them is BTS Jungkook and was translated to English version. Round and Round had the most impact for it was the opening song which makes the viewers anticipate each episode.
Cinematography: 5
Production Design: 5
Same with the period dramas, fantasy themed dramas are well detailed particularly with inclusion of Korean folklore. Costumes, props, set design, environment and filming location really sets the mood of the scenes.
Special Effects: 5
Fantasy dramas seems really believable due to special effects, main special effect in this drama would be the unseen sword of the goblin aside on the effects made on the buckwheat field and the display of superhuman powers.
Editing: 4
Cuts per scene transition was consistently flow but sometimes due to the teleportation powers of Kim Shin, scenes were a bit confusing due to the immediate shift.
Pace:3
I feel that some of the scenes were a bit dragging especially on the love story of Kim Shin and Ji Eun Tak, while Grim Reaper and Sunny were also interesting but not much exposure was given that makes it suspending to viewers for their chemistry was also nice.
Dialogue: 4
The conversations were simple and realistic on the present world which makes the viewers adapt while for the flashback scenes, it was confusing on how the words are contextualized for international viewers to understand such Korean Folklore same with the Korean history on period dramas.
Overall: 4
Korean Folklore is an interesting topic to know same as the Korean History but it was nice to have knowledge this thru these medium instead of reading books which was way to hard and time consuming.
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Special File No: School-2017-EPs-1-&-2
Appearing before the Dramacourt: School 2017 Eps 01 & 02 ***If this is your first time browsing The Drama Files, please read The Rules section first for our reviewing and rating system*** This is a one-time special review. We will not be reviewing the whole show. (more…)
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#2017 kdrama#comedy drama#cute#cute drama#cute k drama#cute kdrama#cute korean drama#drama#drama recap#drama review#dramarecap#dramareview#family drama#family kdrama#fluff kdrama#friendship#friendship drama#friendship kdrama#funny drama#funny kdrama#gugudan#hakgyo 2017#han joo wan#han sun hwa#humor#humour#학교 2017#학교 2017 analysis#학교 2017 comments#학교 2017 recap
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#DramaReview: Go Back Couple (2017)
Salah satu K-drama (yang menurut saya) bagus tahun ini berjudul Go Back Couple. Ide ceritanya sebetulnya sederhana yaitu tentang sepasang suami istri (Ma Jin Joo dan Choi Ban Do) yang sudah menikah selama 14 tahun memutuskan untuk bercerai karena mereka merasa tidak bahagia ketika mereka hidup bersama. Ternyata setelah mereka memutuskan bercerai, entah bagaimana caranya mereka terlempar kembali ke college days; waktu mereka pertama kali bertemu dan jatuh cinta satu sama lain.
Selama nonton drama satu ini, saya berkali-kali ketawa dan menangis terharu. Wkwk iya emang lebay nonton drama aja sampe terharu tapi gimana ya memang ceritanya mengharukan. Karena selain mengangkat cerita sepasang suami istri ini, drama ini juga mengangkat cerita tentang hubungan anak-orang tua dan persahabatan sama teman-teman kuliah. Ya cukup relatable buat saya yang freshgrad ini haha.
Yah, walaupun secara logika ga mungkin ada kejadian kembali-ke-masa-lalu gitu, tetap ada nilai yang bisa saya ambil dari drama ini salah satunya: betapa pentingnya komunikasi produktif sama pasangan. Masalahnya Ma Jin Joo dan Choi Ban Do selama pernikahan mereka cuma tentang cara komunikasi satu sama lain. Ma Jin Joo ini tipikal perempuan yang kalau kesel akan diam, sambil diam-diam berharap suaminya bisa menebak kenapa dia kesel, berharap suaminya minta maaf lalu menyelesaikan masalah mereka. Tapi Choi Ban Do juga tipikal laki-laki yang nggak peka sama kode-kode dari istrinya, jadilah dia bingung kenapa istrinya ngambek dan harus bagaimana menghadapinya. Miskomunikasi tersebut akhirnya menumpuk jadi kekecewaan di masing-masing pihak dan akhirnya ketika dipantik oleh isu ‘Choi Ban Do selingkuh’, Ma Jin Joo melayangkan gugatan cerai. Selesai sudah pernikahan mereka.
Semua kesalahpahaman dan miskomunikasi itu akhirnya terungkap sedikit demi sedikit ketika Ma Jin Joo dan Choi Ban Do terlempar ke masa lalu mereka. Walaupun awalnya mereka mengelak untuk jatuh cinta lagi pada satu sama lain, ternyata hati mereka nggak bisa bohong: masih ada cinta disana. Walaupun Ma Jin Joo bukan perempuan sempurna, bukan istri dan ibu yang sempurna, tapi dia pasangan terbaik untuk Choi Ban Do. Begitu pula sebaliknya. Akhirnya mereka kembali ke masa kini dan memutuskan untuk tidak jadi bercerai. Mereka pun memperbaiki pola komunikasi satu sama lain untuk menghindari kesalahan yang sama.
Satu hal yang akhirnya saya pelajari, mungkin cinta adalah buah dari kecocokan jiwa, yang harus terus dirawat oleh perilaku saling menghormati dan saling memahami satu sama lain. Membangun komunikasi dengan pasangan adalah salah satu bentuk ikhtiar untuk terus menerus membangun kesamaan frekuensi dan kecocokan jiwa masing-masing sehingga rasa cinta itu tumbuh menyubur walaupun usia pernikahan dengan pasangan sudah tidak muda lagi.
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Review: Crash Course in Romance (2023)
Cute, nothing groundbreaking
Synopsis
Choi Chi-yeol is a celebrity...math instructor at The Pride Academy, where only the best of the best get first-class tutoring. Nam Hae-e has been studying on her own, but wants to join her top classmates at this hagwon/after school program, so her banchan restaurant-owning aunt and adoptive mother, Nam Haeng-seon, signs Hae-e up for Mr. Choi's uber-popular class. The Nams become further entangled with Chi-yeol when he discovers that the only food he can stomach is the banchan from Haeng-seon's shop.
In the midst of all this are the mothers of the top students, pulling strings and conniving to get their children the best possible preparation for their future college admissions processes.
MZ Overall: 7/10, definitely enjoyable but my heart wasn't in it
This drama aims to give you the same warm and fuzzy feelings you may get watching Crash Landing on You (2019), but something was just.... missing for me. I can't quite put my finger on it; the chemistry between the main leads was there, the lovable side characters, the thrilling side story, all of it. And the setup is just delicious: Haeng Seon's food is the only thing Chi Yeol can eat. He literally needs her to live! So all in all it's a solid drama. It's heartwarming and strikes a perfect balance of funny and dramatic moments. Definitely worth a watch!
MZ Review (spoilers)
Choi Chi Yeol opens his eyes, blurred by the combination of his fever and encroaching hangover. His dream girl, the one he can never have, looks upon him lying on the bed with concern that turns to surprise as Chi Yeol casually utters "Oh, you're in my dreams again." There is a pause as Chi Yeol decides how his dream would proceed. He reaches out to the specter of Haeng Seon, and as he caresses her arm he pulls her closer to him on the bed. He speaks again to his vision: "Let's be together, just this time." Slowly, with intention, he lifts himself to steal a kiss.
SWOON!
Now you have read the singular most romantic part of this drama, so do you really need to watch it? Maybe, actually. This scene is so good to watch. But they really make you work for it in this drama, let me tell you!
With chemistry like this, I'm really not sure why I didn't like it more. If I had to guess, I'd say that while all the major elements are there, some of the characters just aren't. I will admit that it's at least partially since I'm coming off of Love to Hate You, but I couldn't stand the way that the moms were all made pretty one-dimensional, to the point where you would think they have never had another thought in life beyond what seat their child was going to get in their academy. I understand that they are trying to portray a lot of complicated dynamics in a short amount of time, but you would really think that the moms are the villains in this story, not the broader society that creates the need to stress over exams like they are life or death. If this weren't enough, they are constantly criticized for their attempts, even to the point where it is suggested that it's their fault if their husband cheated on them, that they deserve it for some reason.
To this point as well, I couldn't stand the scene where Sun Jae asked his mom if she was happy with her life, since she wanted it for her sons so bad. You would literally think she had never thought of this question. UGH. Don't get me started on the other moms. If there was a Bechdel test for tests (instead of men) this show would barely pass. If it included tests and banchan, well, lets just say Hae-e did better on her reading midterm, and she turned in a blank test.
Anyway, the other thing that bothered me was how Jae Woo's character was barely more than a plot device the entire time. We are laughing at him, not with him. And we feel bad for Haeng Seon when she has to pick him up from jail because he was beaten up by someone while trying to get a waffle. He was primarily someone everyone else acted on, which is a pretty stereotypical way to portray someone with autism/Asperger's. While he is included in many of the touching moments of the show, I can't help but feel like he wasn't written as an actual person.
I guess beyond these two critiques, the show was pretty good. The main leads have incredible chemistry, but even they are sometimes upstaged by the drama going on with Sun Jae and Hae-e. Frankly, this show could have been about them and I would not have been mad.
Alls well that ends well, and the endings for each of the characters were more or less satisfactory, despite the lack of character development. I'd say I was really sad about Mr. Ji, but when I considered that he like, murdered people, I got over it. I also didn't like how things ended with Hae-e's mom, but that storyline was going nowhere fast anyway.
AC Overall: 7/10, meh--got boring at the end
I started off liking the show; characters were likable, and the plot development began beautifully, kept you guessing enough to keep you watching. But once everything was resolved two-thirds of the way in, the show really started to drag for me and I was no longer as interested in the characters or the new little plot developments they brought in for shits and giggles (I, for one, was not laughing). Honestly, I almost didn't even watch the last episode because I. just. stopped. caring. So, Crash Course had a promising start, but like too many dramas, ended flat. Crashed, if you will. Should've been a 12-episode series.
And, it's really not a crash course in romance, but in Korean high school student life? The romance took a backseat most of the time. Might as well have been about the students, with the main romance as a side plot.
AC Review (spoilers)
Let's start with the romances: the main was fine; Chi-yeol and Haeng-seon had good chemistry and a good romantic arc. Enemies to forbidden lovers to actual lovers--I enjoyed the I'm-the-single-aunt-not-the-married-mom secret and Chi-yeol's pining because of it. I was so here for the melodrama between those two! And then, it ran it's course with me right as Hae-e confessed the truth--didn't drag too much imo. But once they actually got together, I checked out. Fair to say I wasn't really there to see lovey-dovey-ness between those too. And to be fair, there wasn't tooo much of it anyway. The romance I was more invested in was Hae-e's; I really liked both Sun-jae or Seo Geon-hu for her, especially since a little friendly competition never hurt anyone (wink). Although...she really kept both guys waiting until the bitter end! And then we have Jae-woo and Haeng-seon's friend/employee Kim Young-joo, which I have mixed feelings about. On the one had, I guess it's good that someone with autism/Asperger's was depicted with a little romance, but it felt like it was thrown in carelessly. Left me wanting to have seen that development a little more? Idk.
The suspenseful plot was what really kept me watching. I knew something was up with the assistant Ji Dong-hui/Jeong Seong-hyeong early on, and was satisfied with how it played out, but once everyone knew he was the culprit behind the (successful and attempted) murders, I also checked out. Actually, even before everyone knew. Once I knew he was the culprit I was just kind of...waiting for everyone else to figure it out. And when they did, it marked the end of the drama for me. Sorry to say, but I didn't even really care for Hae-e to wake up once they didn't actually neeeed her to implicate him. Yikes.
Furthermore I do not understand why they had Hae-e's mom Nam Haeng-ja show up! It was from then that I knew for sure...it's time to give up bc where was that going??
But the students! The stars of the show; the pressure that they faced in preparation for college admissions was heartbreaking to watch and also a reminder of the realities of competitive students vying for the limited spots meant to "guarantee" a "good" life. Me, I appreciated the warning: pressure does not always make diamonds. And maybe diamonds are not worth the risk. Sun-jae's brother Hui-jae becoming a shut-in, Su-a having hallucinations, one of the kids fainting in the hagwon--hell, committing s*****e after having realized your parent went so far as to cheat to force your success...all very real and should be taken as a cautionary tale.
All in all, Crash Course was okay, pretty good even--until all the questions were answered. But hey, that's the point of a crash course? Everything after was a little unnecessary.
#kdrama#k-drama#kdramareview#k-dramareview#kdrama review#kdrama recommendations#crash course in romance
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Review: Love to Hate You (2023)
A rom-com for the 2020s
Synopsis
Yeo Mi Ran is a woman of many talents. She's a street-smart fighter, a sharp lawyer, and a notorious pick-up artist. She only uses her powers for good though, so when she crosses paths with the famous actor Nam Kang Ho, she can't help but make him fall all over her (*wink wink*). Though they are both determined to believe that the other is intrinsically evil based on their gender, they are forced to fake date when Kang Ho's career is put on the line. Will their prejudices keep them apart, or will love prevail?
MZ Overall: 10/10, so fun, WHY was it only 10 episodes!?
I knew in the first 5 minutes I was gonna love this show. Something about seeing Mi Ran break up with a guy when she catches him cheating WHILE SHE IS ALSO BEING CAUGHT CHEATING is so... right. I'll admit I was a little shocked to see how quickly things were progressing between the leads, but when you realize it is only 10 episodes, it does make a lot of sense. My only gripe is that I wish it was longer! There is a ton of physical comedy which the actress portraying Mi Ran, Kim Ok-vin, nails. If you want something that will get you actually laughing out loud, this is your show.
MZ Review (spoilers!): If I had a nickel for every time my favorite drama had the main female lead be a stunt double, I'd have two nickels - which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice, right?
I'll say off the bat that I decided to watch this show because Netflix told me that the main female lead was a stunt double. My alarm bells started going off because one of my top favorite dramas of all time is Secret Garden, where the main female lead, Gil Ra Im, is a full-time stunt double. I said to myself, "self, you need to watch it... just in case." In case of what, you must be wondering. Well, me too... Just in case...
...Anyway, one thing about me is I'm going to make everything about Secret Garden. I definitely enjoyed this drama because it works so well just as it is (which AC will be able to tell you in her review). But I saw a commentary recently that pointed out its faults as a commentary on misogyny that really got me thinking about rom-coms as a genre. I disagree with the author on a lot of points, but I realized that a key difference in our disagreements stems from where our analytic focus is. That is, I'd argue that our focus as (re)viewers should be on what Yeo Mi Ran and the women around her are doing, not on Nam Kang Ho and the himbo CEO Do Won Jun. If we look at how both main male characters develop, all we are going to see is misogyny because that is pretty much all they are able to do. Patriarchal society does not allow for men to develop a critical consciousness about gender dynamics as much as it does not allow for women (and queer people, for that matter) to participate in its systems equitably. The game is rigged!
I'm not going to sit here and say that the show is unproblematic or that the author of the commentary is completely wrong. But I think there is a reading of this show that takes into account how it uses the rom-com genre as a vehicle for feminist commentary that is at least self-aware, though not necessarily subversive. This makes me bringing up Secret Garden perfect, because it is a near-perfect foil for Hate to Love You, though both are squarely within the rom-com genre.
You see, Ra Im, who is a full-time, life-long stunt double in Secret Garden, spends her life being pushed around on film sets and pining over the director of their action company. She is in relation to three other women: her roommate/best friend, her "love rival," and Kim Joo Won's mom. So at least two are adversarial, and for the best friend's part she does her best to make sure she helps Joo Won in his quest to harass Ra Im into a relationship.* Obviously we've come a long way from when this was made in 2010, but if we look at the same sort of character set up for Mi Ran, we can already see important differences. For instance, they set Mi Ran up with a Barbie-esque range of skills and jobs, from crime-fighting ability to lawyer-ing. The organizing impulse behind most of what she does is a strong sense of justice, especially when considering gender-based inequities in society. Her core set of women includes her best friend/roommate, her mom, and her first client (who was also the reason that she got hired at her firm at all). All of these relationships are based in mutual respect; when Mi Ran does encounter women she disagrees with, such as her "love rival" and Kang Ho's fan group, she is not there entirely as Kang Ho's lover, but as someone who is trying to be herself and have a relationship. She goes out of her way to not be defined by her relationship to men, though over and over we see that this is inevitable, even for someone as savvy as her.
The key imagery that makes this comparison between shows made 13 years apart is around when the female lead gets a serious injury (because of course this has to happen). Gil Ra Im, in the very first episode, is robbed of agency in her decision to go to the hospital for her arm, instead whisked off by Joo Won. She is belittled by him and her stunt director for not being more careful or for looking out for herself and her health. This is supposed to be the romantic part, because oh look, both of these guys like her so much that they are getting mad at her. Swoon? When we look at Mi Ran's case, it's almost inverted. Firstly, rather than her injury being a complete accident (which Ra Im's was), she intentionally put herself into the fray when she saw a (potentially fatal) accident about to happen. When she took a fall and was taken to the hospital, she was heralded by everyone for saving so many people. Well, everyone but Kang Ho, whose ideology did not account for a woman being able to make a decision. But instead of being able to whisk her away wherever he wants to take care of her, he has to beg her to stay in his room to look after her. So here, the romance comes from hearing him over and over try to argue that he should be there to look after her after she saved his life. Swoon!
I'm not going to continue these comparisons, but my examples speak to how the creators of Hate to Love You are (presumably) using the moments that are expected in these dramas as points for reorganizing the power dynamics between men and women. Ultimately, its goal is not to say that rom-coms in general are problematic, but that there are a lot of dynamics that are. I mean, the leads still end up together, and we still have a lot of the same beloved shows of affection that are characteristic of rom-coms. I think Hate to Love You just does so in ways that poke fun at the expectations rather than subvert them entirely.
I think the ending brings together a lot of the societal-level commentary. For example, Mi Ran, far from regretting her decision to date a lot of men, fully tells someone off saying that at least she did her due diligence in finding someone she really likes rather than trying to make it work with someone she didn't trust. We even see that at the end, she doesn't "learn a lesson" that what she did by dating a lot of men was wrong. Rather, she learned that public opinion is more often going to rule in favor of patriarchy than not. This is even seen in the final scene with Choi Soo Jin, her client, who comments that there were more reporters when she was being accused of cheating on her chaebol ex-husband than when her name was ultimately cleared. So the commentary on misogyny, rather than pointing at the interpersonal level between Kang Ho and Mi Ran, is actually pointing at the societal factors that organize relationships between men and women.
This got a little meta, so I'll conclude by saying the key point: This rom-com is not about men. They are there, they are problematic, and they are (regrettably) in charge of many aspects of life. I think this drama has done a really good job of creating a hilarious commentary on all of that, while highlighting Mi Ran's relationships with other women. While the men in her life may view her as "not like other girls," she herself is a staunch defender of womens' wrongs, as much as their rights.
*This sounds harsh but I really (really) love Secret Garden. I can be critical and still love it!
AC Overall: 9.5/10, so fun!
UGH! It's been a long time since I enjoyed a kdrama THIS much. I, sorry to say, had forgotten kdramas could *actually* made me blush and laugh OUT LOUD--often! I had to stop myself from bingeing the whole thing So. Many. Times. It was short and sweet, full of funny moments and a romance I actually rooted for?! It's good from first to last ep, and from the cast to the production to the direction, everything was *chef's kiss* damn near perfection. There was such attention to detail in the scenes and camerawork, I just...AND Teo Yooooo! So so good in this (as in everything else I've seen of his--officially a fan). Truly a "modern" kdrama rom-com, updated to better fit today's viewers' appetites while still employing the tropes we know and love. If you want a more mature enemies-to-lovers, relationship contract, and a not-so-typical female lead, give it a shot!
AC Review (spoilers)
I feel like I don't have much to say, MZ really nailed the whole this-is-not-perfect-and-it-was-great-two-things-can-be-true-at-the-same-time-thank-you-very-much thing I had planned, and the connection to Secret Garden that I didn't recognize has only strengthened my views of this drama. One of the things I liked about Love to Hate You was the theme of respect that ran throughout: Mi Ran sought to bait disrespectful boyfriends who were cheating on their partners, her friend Shin Na Eun demanded Do Won Joon respect Mi Ran after seeing the contract (and because of this Won Joon respects Na Eun), Kang Ho repeatedly said how much he respected Mi Ran as a person, and then there's public opinion/respectability politics...the list could go on. For me, what made the romance so pleasing was Kang Ho's fully realized attraction to Mi Ran--more than the basic I-like-you-because-you've-cured-me, or you're-not-like-other-girls feelings he starts with. He actually sees her for who she is and loves her for it (and played so well by Teo Yoo, his emotions were palpable and portrayed in a different way from what I'm used to from male leads in kdramas). SWOON!
My cringe moment: the talking and touching Kang Ho does while Mi Ran was thought to be asleep TWICE was...not cute. Did not appreciate that. And yeah, more could've been done to subvert and blah blah blah....but you get what you come for, and many come to kdramas for those tropes, right? Not a huge deal, and--this drama is a step in the right direction?
#kdrama#k-drama#kdrama review#k-dramareview#kdramareview#kdrama recommendations#love to hate you#secret garden
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Review: Start Up (2020)
I’m obsessed!!!
Synopsis
At 12 years old, Seo Dal Mi is the youngest of two sisters growing up in a small apartment in Seoul when her dad decides to quit his job and start a business. Fed up with his dreams of being a CEO and the unstable life they lead, Dal Mi’s mom divorces her dad and takes Dal Mi’s sister, Won In Jae, with her when she marries a rich entrepreneur. Dal Mi’s grandma, Choi Won Deok, decides to step in to make sure Dal Mi isn’t isolated by asking Han Ji Pyeong, an orphan she is helping, write letters to Dal Mi under the name of Nam Do San. Fast forward 16 years, and Dal Mi is ready to pursue her dream of being a CEO at a start-up. She just needs to find Do San, who she lost touch with years ago but believed to be rich and successful. Won Deok, knowing that the Nam Do San of the letters wasn’t real, enlists Ji Pyeong in helping her find him so Dal Mi isn’t disappointed. When they unite, the real Nam Do San falls in love with Seo Dal Mi immediately, but he isn’t exactly the Do San of her imagination, let alone that of the letters. How will they work out their complicated pasts and follow their dreams?
Overall: 9.5/10, would recommend!
Wonderful characters, beautiful scenes, and a great ratio of funny to pure drama, I am pressed to find things I didn’t like about the show. The love triangle is so interesting, mostly because for the majority of episodes our heroine doesn’t even know its a love triangle. Both leading men are entertaining in their own way, and their relationship dynamics were perfect. The only reason I take off points at all was the ending, but even then it wasn’t so bad that I couldn’t enjoy it. I would definitely recommend it and probably will be watching it again! If you like a show with two leading men you can’t decide between, try While You Were Sleeping (2017) or 100 Days My Prince (2018) if you like that dynamic but toned waaay down. Note that this isn’t your run-of-the-mill second lead syndrome, but a genuine conflict because of your love of all the characters and just want them to be happy.
Review
It is extremely rare for me to root for both of the leading men of a drama, especially when one of them is an outright jerk most of the time, yet here I am. Nam Do San and Han Ji Pyeong are evenly matched when it comes to character development, yet Ji Pyeong is at a clear disadvantage from the start in terms of Dal Mi’s love interest. This is played so so well up until the last 3 episodes, which is were I docked .5 points (hint: TIME JUMP). Despite this, following the ups and downs of Seo Dal Mi’s quest to make her and Do San’s company, Sam San Tech, a success was a heartfelt and shocking journey. You are rooting for her and the team the entire time, and her triumphs feel so much better given the things she has to endure.
There are a few unexpected storylines in this drama, which add several layers of investment in seeing Sam San Tech succeed. Seeing the supporting characters having their own moments and conflicts about working together adds so much to the story without feeling disjointed. The team feels more like a little family than co-workers, which makes the ending so much better AND worse. Definitely give it a watch!
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Review: Crash Landing On You (2020)
There are some shows that completely ruin your life and some that improve it so much you can’t remember what your life was before it. This is both of those. For one of us...
Synopsis
Yoon Se Ri is a successful CEO of a cosmetics company in South Korea, and was chosen over her two brothers to take over their father’s conglomerate. Ri Jeong Hyeok is a captain with powerful connections in the North Korean army. When Se Ri gets caught in a freak storm while she is parasailing near the 38th parallel, causing her to land on the North Korean side, Jeong Hyeok is the one that finds her and unwittingly helps her out. But how is she going to get back to South Korea and take over the family business? This is just the beginning of a love story for the ages, complete with feuding family members, romance, and... gardening.
MZ Overall: 11/10, I can’t rewatch it until I forgot what happened that way I experience it new all over again
This is definitely a must watch for any k-drama fan (even AC sort of liked it, which says something). It is truly an emotional roller coaster, and it has you wondering what the outcome will be the whole time. If you love strong side characters and/or a great second leading woman, you will especially love this show. It has plenty of fun cameos and references to other k-dramas, if you like that sort of thing (I do). This is one of the few that I do not rewatch often because it is so special to me, I want to try to recreate the feelings from watching it the first time. That isn’t really possible, but a girl can try.
MZ Review (No Spoilers)
So funny story with this one is that I watched the first 30 minutes of the first episode of this drama when it first came out, decided it wasn’t worth my time, and moved on to something else. I returned to it in quarantine because, why not? Turns out, in a surprise to no one, I judged it too quickly and this is one of my top favorite dramas ever!
When I first watched this, I thought it was going to be super sad, which I wasn’t into at the time. I was obviously too quick to judge, and upon actually watching it I realized that, while it does have really sad, emotional moments, it is balanced out with humor, action, and suspence. I would not say that any one thing characterizes it until the end, when it definitely leans more melodrama. But that is to be expected with these shows (I think).
The thing I enjoyed most about this show, as AC also points out, was the side characters. I did really enjoy the main couple, but more on that in a second. The side characters brought this show from being a straightforward romance into an all-around show about love. For example, Jeong Hyeok’s fellow soldiers, who help him hide Se Ri, are a beautiful example of a chosen family and stark contrast to Se Ri’s family life in SK. Over time, they grow to love each other and the arc over time is so sweet, I found myself getting really emotional during their scenes. The NK town ahjummas were also wonderful in a different way, demonstrating that women in these shows don’t have to be just out to get each other all the time but actual human beings with feelings and interests and flaws. All of the characters, no matter how small of a role, felt complete to me in ways that side characters often don’t. Not to mention the second leading couple was one of the best I’ve ever seen. I would not go so far as to say they were my favorite couple from the show, but I would say that Seo Dan was one of the best second leading women in any kdrama ever.
So more on the main couple: my first thought is that this was by far Hyun Bin’s best role, which I believe is because he isn’t really acting. I try not to ship real-life people, but Hyun Bin and Son Ye Jin being a couple is just... *chef’s kiss* One day I will finally post my analysis of Hyun Bin, king of elevator scenes, but until then suffice it to say that my relationship to the works of Hyun Bin is.... complicated. I L-O-V-E Son Ye Jin though, and I thought this was definitely a good role for her. AC is not the HB aficionado that I have (unwittingly) become, so in my *expert* opinion I thought he was great in this role. His stoicness belies his true feelings for Se Ri, which makes the scenes where he starts to let on to his feelings that much more sweet. Above everything else, I loved that Se Ri was able to find someone she trusted whole-heartedly, which I was really hoping for her to find.
The ending was......... the worst part for me. I won’t spoil it here, and its not really a bad ending per se, but its also not a good one. I guess no show can have everything?
Anyway, in sum, I love this show and you should watch it! We (I) named this blog after something in the show (I won’t say now, but hopefully you’ll get it when you watch).
AC Overall: 7/10, watched for the hype, liked it enough to stick around
Took me a while to watch this one because it seemed so romantic and sad, but I’m glad I did--Netflix previews don’t do it justice. Was it the best drama of 2020? Not for me, but I definitely see why everyone loves it. Was it good enough to watch to the end? Yes yes and yes. Although I laughed where some people cried, I still enjoyed Crash Landing thoroughly, and did not expect to like the non-leads as much as I did. What made me watch was all the hype, and what kept me watching were the sides and overall okay, but realistically? wth is gonna happen with the leads? oh this is for shits and giggles? got it lol. I recommend if you can suspend disbelief, like fated relationships with a little melodrama and tragedy. With some comedic moments in between.
AC Review (Spoilers)
One of the things I liked most about this drama was not necessarily the high-production as MZ makes it seem (she literally said, and I quote, “I thought you’d like it because it’s well-done...”--I pretended not to be hurt by that comment), but it was the humanity of it all! The narrative about North Korea, at least where I’m from, is dominated by negative, doom-and-gloom, there-go-the-crazies language that I’ve always taken with a grain of salt, so it was really nice and a pleasant surprise to see North Koreans depicted as real people outside of the politics surrounding their country. Ri Jeong-Hyeok’s subordinates and the women of the village were the best part of the drama. The fellow kdrama enthusiast was an especially nice touch too! The camaraderie as a whole was heartwarming, and I think a positive step in the right direction in depictions that don’t dehumanize ~the other~.
The main romance, however, left me wanting more tbh. I’m still trying to piece together why I, for most of the show, just didn’t have any feelings towards them, but I think part of it was just Jeong-Hyeok as a character. I wish he was more emotive (this may or may not be Hyun-Bin’s fault, don’t get mad at me MZ). I like a stoic guy...to a point. But this guy? Literally a robot. I believe him as a soldier, but a pianist?? Are you sure??? Every time he actually smiled it felt so awkward to me, and for the majority of the eps I kept wondering if he actually liked Se-Ri. And during the romantic scenes I. felt. nothing. It actually got to the point where, by the time the goodbye-forever-but-not-really-bc-it’s-a-kdrama embrace happened or whatever, I was DYING of laughter at how ridiculous it was. I guess they just lacked chemistry for me. Especially for people who are now dating irl.
Which brings me to the next thing--in real life, there is no way everything could have possibly played out the way it did. And I just couldn’t suspend enough disbelief to not have that in the back of my head from the moment the crew went looking for Jeong-Hyeok in SK, on. Which is also why the romantic parts became more comedic to me. Sorry y’all. Even the Switzerland stuff did nothing for me, and it usually would? I’m a sucker for fated relationships but this one was a no-go. Love Se-Ri though, she was plenty emotive and a “boss” who is also not reliant on that being her only personality trait, and really developed throughout the eps. But was still able to handle her god-awful family when she returned. She had decent depth, just not enough for both of them ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
One romance I did like, however, was the second leads, between Seo Dan and Gu Seung-Jung (despite his face putting me off for some reason I can’t explain, ever since Waikiki tbh. Like his mouth-region does something uncomfortable to my brain. Can’t help it). I felt like it was more realistic, and, dare I say, I like that he died?! Not that I wanted either Jeong-Hyeok or Se-Ri to die, but--their romance was more...palpable for me, and sometimes irl you don’t get a happily ever after, you get a tragic ending. I especially appreciated that Seo Dan found someone other than her unrequited first-love, who honestly made more sense for her than Jeong-Hyeok ever did. And Seung-Jung was not afraid to share his feelings once he recognized them, and didn’t push it too much. Their romance was a slow burn that actually made me feel something.
And, I must admit, it is a well done drama. The production is really good, which, while not a deciding factor for whether I’ll like a drama *coughcough* MZ *coughcough*, was a pleasant bonus that had me consciously going, “wow, this is really well done”. I laughed at the stupid jokes and interactions between the comrades, enjoyed the hate-love second romance, and rooted for Se-Ri, obviously. And there were enough plot lines and side-characters to keep me interested even though I didn’t like the main romance. And now I see bbq•chicken literally EVERYWHERE.
Give it a chance, and don’t trust Netflix previews. They’re shit.
P.S.: I swooned every time Lee Sin-Young spoke. Had to be said. Only reason I can forgive them for not giving Kim Soo-Hyun more screen-time.
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Review: She Was Pretty (2015)
It isn’t all bad, but I was hate-watching it at the end.
Synopsis
Ji Sung-Joon and Kim Hye-Jin were childhood friends turned first loves, only to be split up early on by Sung-Joon’s family move. Though they keep in touch for a while via letter after he leaves, they eventually lose touch due to Hye-Jin’s family circumstances. Fifteen years later, Sung-Joon attempts to meet up with Hye-Jin, only for him to walk right past her thinking she is someone else during what should have been a touching reunion. Embarassed about the ways she has changed, Hye-Jin decides to ask her conventionally beautiful friend Min Ha-Ri to pretend to be her to meet up with Sung-Joon. Though they all thought that the lie would end there, it turns out that Sung-Joon is Hye-Jin’s tough new boss at the fashion magazine she was recently hired at. Kim Shin-Hyuk, a writer for this magazine, picks up immediately on the secrets that Hye-Jin is hiding, and befriends her to find out more. Love square ensues.
Overall: 5/10, and all 5 points are because of Shin-Hyuk referring to Hye-Jin as “Jackson” over a hilarious accident from their initial meeting
I had really high expectations for this drama considering it has two of my all-time favorite actors, but I was disappointed on many counts. I only watched it until the end because I had gotten through the majority of it when I really gave up. If you love experiencing second-male lead syndrome or want an example of a show that doesn’t turn the girl friends into enemies over a guy, then here’s your show. If not, then you might want to pass. My Lovely Sam Soon (2005) has a similar dynamic (simply: rom-com where girl considered “unattractive” falls in love triangle with attractive/rich boss) and has way more heart, in case you were looking for that sort of thing.
Review
I knew going into this show that the premise was cringe, and I recognize it is my own fault for deciding to watch. That being said, I LOVE Park Seo-Joon and Hwang Jung-Eum, so I decided to give it a chance. Good acting and thoughtful character development can often overcome weird plots. I would say that this show has some character development, just not in the way I would have thought/hoped.
Unquestionably, the best part of this drama is the relationship between Shin-Hyuk and Hye-Jin. They are good friends, even though his antics to befriend her at the beginning are immature. Him falling in love with her was a sweet experience, it didn’t feel forced on either side, and his gift to her (and the company) at the end was a pretty big sacrifice on his part. I loved seeing him develop as a character, and was sad about the ending with him. Additionally, Hye-Jin and Ha-Ri’s relationship was great to watch, although I’ll say that I was mainly concerned about how they would play out the parts where Hye-Jin finds out Ha-Ri has been seeing Sung-Joon. I was scared they would have a friendship breakup, but it turns out much better than that. She is a true friend and I loved seeing that portrayed here. The scenes were Shin-Hyuk and Ha-Ri meet up were also funny and sweet, but ultimately don’t go anywhere.
My main gripe with this show (and probably with many others tbh) is how terrible the leading man is. Him more so than others, in my opinion. While he can be forgiven for not recognizing Hye-Jin at the meet up, he can’t be forgiven for calling her stupid and unattractive at the beginning of their working relationship. First of all, RUDE. Second, unprofessional. Third, he is mad at her for HIS PROBLEMS. In theory, she would have no idea who the other Hye-Jin is, yet you are mad they have the same name????? Get a grip dude. Anyway, this is never properly addressed. I get the point is that they fall in love for themselves, and didn’t need to have been childhood sweethearts or whatever, but he really took it too far with how much vehemence he showed towards her and never apologizes for it. In related commentary, the larger issue with his character is that he thinks he can just swoop in and push everyone to be “most” and save that branch of the magazine. A little communication could go a long way though, which is lost on him until the very end. I did not want to see him succeed, but I am glad about the ending for the group overall.
Given how much air time they give the relationship between the main leads, the secondary characters don’t really make up for the rest of the show. Which is a shame, because there are some great secondary characters here. I guess I’m glad I’ve watched it, but I certainly won’t be revisiting or recommending it anytime soon.
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Review: Secret Garden (2010)
Pride and Prejudice, but if Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy switched bodies halfway through the novel. Alternatively: Boys Over Flowers for people who don’t like kidnapping plots.
Synopsis
Gil Ra-Im is the only woman member of a professional stunt team; Kim Joo-Won is the CEO of a mall owned by his grandfather. Their initial meeting was the result of a misunderstanding, but Joo-Won continues to pursue Ra-Im, for reasons unknown even to himself. An encounter with a strange woman in a forest in Jeju Island seals their strange fate: they have mysteriously switched into each others bodies and need to figure out how to fix it. Hilarity ensues.
Overall: 10/10, I’ve seen it at least 5 times now, please send help
Easily my second or first favorite drama, but not necessarily for the ~quality~ of the show. For the most part it is light-hearted and funny, with characters that are hard not to love. The main plot is straightforward and easy to follow, and while the side plot with Oska doesn’t add much to the overall story, it still adds to the overall experience. That being said, if you’re watching for amazing visuals or anything other than cheesy romance, you will be disappointed. And when I say cheesy I mean cheesy. Think of that video with the guy who put cheese in a fondue fountain that ended up attacking him. That is what you are getting with this show: whacked in the face with cheese, but in a way where you wouldn’t mind trying again. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a must-watch for anyone.
Review
If you’ve heard of this drama, you might have heard about the body-switching between the main characters. Indeed, this is the cause of the main conflict between the leads. What may surprise you (or not, I’m not a particularly discerning viewer) is that they don’t actually spend that much time on the body switching elements. Or at least, as much as you might expect. This gave the show a lot of room to focus on other, equally important things, like Oska’s (Joo-Won’s middle-aged washed-up Hallyu star cousin) attempt at reviving his career through trying to hire a young, unknown singer-songwriter Han Tae-Sun (played by Lee Jong-Suk) to write his songs. Absolutely necessary!
This show had by far the best second woman lead of any drama, whose arc rivals only that of Prince Zuko’s in Avatar: The Last Airbender (if you know, you know). Big claim for someone who as only seen like, 30 dramas, but this is a hill I am willing to die on (short some very conclusive evidence). Yoon Seul just knows what she is worth and is not willing to compromise on how a potential partner would treat her! I have to stan.
My only real problem with this show is how they treat Tae-Sun, who is canonically gay. I won’t spoil anything here because I think you should watch it. I will say that while his character isn’t exactly tragic or a plot device per se, he also isn’t.... not tragic or a plot device. Hard to say unless you watch it for yourself.
Definitely watch!
#secret garden#kdrama#kdramareview#K-Drama#k-dramareview#i downplayed how much i love this show but i reeeeeeeeally love this show
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Review: True Beauty (2020) Episodes 1-5
MZ reads the webtoon, AS does not, and we’re watching it together. You should too!
Synopsis
Im Ju Gyeong is a high schooler who likes horror comics, heavy metal music, and spending time in the local comic book store. She is bullied by a group of students at her school because they find her “ugly”, which leads Ju Gyeong to her wits end. When she moves to a new school, she decides to change her life around by using makeup to cover her bare face. Her new “goddess” level looks bring her a lot of attention, though not without a lot of stress. Her complicated relationships with two of the best-looking guys in school (and mortal enemies), Lee Su Ho and Han Seo Jun, doesn’t exactly help. Can Im Ju Gyeong keep her secret, and what will happen if she is found out?
MZ Overview: 8/10, so far so good!
As a questioning yet avid reader of the webtoon, I was interested to see how it was going to come to life in a drama. Pretty much only the premise and a few key plot points have been the same, which was pretty much expected. Some of the characterizations have changed, most notably Su Ho and Su Jin’s. On one hand, I love what they are doing with Su Jin’s character so far and hope that they continue on this path for her. On the other, Su Ho has become more rude and irrational than he is in the comic, which have made him hard to like-- especially compared to Seo Jun. However, I’d definitely still say I’m enjoying watching it and that I am looking forward to what is next! I’m mainly looking out for the romance between Ju Gyeong’s sister and teacher, but the whole thing is pretty good.
AC Overview: 7/10, so far so k-drama
As some one who has not read the webtoon, I was interested in the premise. The first two episodes or so started out with a lot of emotional drama (á la bullying and suicide), but it lightened up a little once Ju Gyeong switched schools and got close to Su Ho. And Seo Jun’s voice! *swoon*. The boys are boys--kinda mean, with lots of uncalled for comments from Su Ho, but if you keep reminding yourself that they’re in high school it (mostly) makes sense. I’m not team Su Ho because of these comments (which I hear are not true to the webtoon), but I’m not team Seo Jun either because--at least by this point--it doesn’t seem like he genuinely likes Ju Gyeong. But, it’s still a fun watch, especially if you drink every time Ju Gyeong makes a fool out of herself. I’m curious to see how the romances develop, and what happens between Su Ho and Seo Jun. Love love love the side characters, especially Su Jin and Ju Gyeong’s sister. Can’t wait to see more of them too!
#true beauty#kdrama review#kdrama#K-Drama#k-dramareview#su jin is the best character#su ho#seo jun#ju gyeong
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Review: School Nurse Files (2020)
If you enjoy watching someone running around doing magic without really being sure about what is going on, this is your show.
Synopsis
Ahn Eun-Young is the school nurse at a high school built on land with a gruesome history. Fortunately, Eun-Young is able to see “jellies” which are left by human emotion, some of which are leftover from the origins of the location. Using her arsenal of jelly-fighting weapons, she and teacher Hong In-Pyo attempt to save the students and the school from certain destruction.
MZ Overall: 7/10, would watch again; I’d recommend it if you want something ~weird~ and fun
This show is short (6 episodes) but straight to the point. While it can be slightly hard to follow at points, it’s still really fun. The way the jellies are animated is so pleasing to me that I would honestly watch it again just for that.
MZ Review
I knew I was going to watch this as soon as I heard the premise. It was everything I expected--no more, no less. The animations, the acting, and the story were great, the only thing I felt could have been better would have been having a longer story! The episodes are mainly anthological, which was what was confusing at times. if they had had more episodes, I think this could have been avoided in a way. It was a fun time all around!
AC Overall: ~idk~/10, would watch again high
Super short, super weird drama that would probably be amazing high. Not necessarily off weed (unless it’s sativa-heavy i guess? idk i don’t smoke), but maybe mushrooms? or LSD? Psychedelics. What I’m trying to say is that I understood nothing, but the colors were pretty when sober--so it’d be an experiencetm on a psychedelic. Or if you’re into gooey, neon-colored orbs bouncing around when sober.
AC Review
Not gonna lie, MZ dragged me into this one. If I had (accidentally) clicked on it on my own, I probably would have stopped watching after the first ep. But, I was vaguely interested in where the drama was going and MZ was really into it so I said, “Why not?”. I honestly don’t remember much...
It might be worth noting that I previously hadn’t necessarily liked Nam Joo-Hyuk as an actor--he seemed too young and naive for me--but in this drama he did well playing an older soul. I almost couldn’t believe this was the same dude from Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-Joo, Cheese in the Trap, Bride of Habaek, etc. His performance convinced me to not avoid dramas with him in it now, and I’m so glad that he got out of that role, even if only for 6 episodes.
It’s worth mentioning that Mr. Mackenzie, the English teacher played by Teo Yoo, was my favorite character. He was great on screen, and I really wanted to see a lot more of him (I will be on the lookout for more dramas with him, trust me). He was so convincing, and (don’t tell MZ this--though she probably definitely knows--) I stayed for him tbh. His character is interesting and mysterious and kinda cute.
Overall, give it a go when high. Or if you have an inner child.
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K-Drama Review #1
Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo
Aired: August 29, 2016 to October 31, 2016
Episodes: 20
Note: Rating is only based on my opinion which rates from 5 as highest and 1 as lowest.
Plot: 4
Story was interesting due to how Hae Soo from present time transported to the Goryeo era and be trapped between seven (7) princes and how can she return to the present time.
Themes and Tones: 3
Period drama was really impressive to watch, all details are well made which makes viewers interested and it was also a way to foreign viewers to understand Korean history.
Acting and Characters: 5
Characters are well portrayed and did justice to their role. But due to them being many on the story, some of them weren't given appropriate exposure for their character to grow on the story.
Direction: 3
Storytelling was impressive due to the shifting of emotions per episode but the ending seems lacking so still wishing for a next season.
Score: 4
Original Sound Track (OST) was posted above to relieve moments on the drama.
Cinematography: 5
Production Design: 5
All scenes are well detailed that makes you want to come to South Korea and visit them and make us believe it exist even it was just a studio. Costumes, make up and prosthetics seems realistic which adds feels on the scene particularly the old fashion make up used that time.
Special Effects: 4
Fight scenes on period dramas really amazes me due to the details and somewhat choreography sequence particularly the sword and horse scenes. (Some actors really undergo training before doing such scenes to make it realistically.)
Editing: 4
Cuts per scene transition was consistently flow aside to the lacking ending.
Pace:3
Due to many characters, I feel that some scenes were fast and limited for others and while slow and concentrated more on the main characters.
Dialogue: 3
Due to diverse satoori (regional dialect) in South Korea and I was an international viewer, it was hard to differentiate them but when heard it can interpret different feelings on the scene.
Overall: 4
Ending was lacking due to the missing scenes that may conclude better that ending which makes me and some others wish for another season.
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Review: To All the Guys Who Loved Me (2020)
The leading man is a lowkey villain for a majority of the show, but everything is fine in the end. This show is also known as “Men are Men” and for good reason.
Synopsis
Seo Hyun Joo is a dedicated webtoon PD who often goes the extra mile (or 10, or 100) to make sure her writers deliver quality work on a timeline. While her own dreams of being a webtoon writer have been quelled, she still brings passion to her work and is considered one of the best in the business. When her writers get her fired right as she was up for a promotion, and possibly her own webtoon, she is suddenly left looking for a job. Her adoptive younger brother Park Do Gyeom violates his contract as a webtoon writer with the same platform so they can be a package deal somewhere else. Enter the secretive Hwang Ji Woo, the CEO of a pharmaceutical company looking to enter the cultural goods market by way of creating a new webtoon platform. He hires both of them to build it from the ground up, but it is unclear why he would want to do this and why he wants Hyun Joo specifically. As Hyun Joo and Do Gyeom seek answers, all they get is more questions.
MZ Overall: 6/10, wouldn’t watch again but all the side characters/storylines are great
This is one of those shows that has great side characters but leading actors with eh chemistry and a weird relationship dynamic. The main reason I watched it to the end was for an explanation of their past lives. Between the side characters and the plot, what the main drama lacks is made up for--just not enough that I would want to watch it again. The ending is sweet and we finally see a different side of Ji Woo, but too little too late. If you like this then you will probably love Kill Me, Heal Me (2015).
MZ Review
I started watching because I was intrigued by the past lives storyline and a young Hyun Joo’s proclamation of never wanting to get married. My great question of course ends up becoming “well, does she get married?”. I won’t answer that for you here, but suffice it to say that it is satisfying. My second, arguably more important, question was “what is going on with these past lives?” There is no satisfying short answer, you’d really just have to watch it to find out. I will say that it is pretty well done and the main drama around the past lives was what kept me watching.
Well, that and Hyun Joo’s friends. Each of them get a small story line of their own, and I was just as if not more invested in some cases in those. I love a rom-com where the friends aren’t there to either to make the leading lady feel bad OR be a plot device. This show really delivers in that respect, and I would almost be tempted to watch for them again. My favorite was definitely the friend who was dating her ex-husband AND a man 8 years younger than her, with both of their knowing consent. Of course, it isn’t that neat and simple, which makes it all the more fun to watch. There truly was not a disappointing moment with Hyun Joo’s friends.
I have a lot of small gripes with this show that add up to me not really enjoying it as much as I could--CEO Hwang was the one who caused most of them. This was primarily because of his complete and total inability to communicate with anyone about anything (until the end of course). We see how capable Hyun Joo is the entire series, and yet he continues to make the same mistakes of their shared past. Sigh... We don’t see another side of him until the last two episodes, which also hurt since he could have been like that the entire time??? Siiiiiiiiiigh. At least he (kind of) redeemed himself at the end. And hey, maybe him acting that way was the point, but if so I did not appreciate it.
I’d say give it a watch, but know you are in for a lot of frustrating moments between the main leads.
AC Overall: 6/10, wish it was more about the sides
By the time I got to around episode 10, I had emotionally given up on the show. Like MZ, I was intrigued by Hyun Joo not wanting to get married and stayed for the past lives and the side characters. CEO Hwang was so frustrating throughout the show, and the villian was strong--until she gave up completely way too early in the series. Honestly, the show would’ve been more enjoyable if it focused on the side characters a little more and CEO Hwang was just as lighthearted as Hyun Joo throughout.
AC Review (Spoilers)
Men are men, amiright? Let’s talk about the main male leads: CEO Hwang and Do Gyeom. The former pissed me off most of the time because he was so manipulative when he didn’t have to be, and I was annoyed at the latter for even liking Hyun Joo in the first place. The CEO I could justify a little because his actions remained true to his character throughout the past lives, and through the episodes (barring the last two). But Do Gyeom?? I’m usually not a fan of I’m-in-love-with-my-sister-who-isn’t-biologically-my-sister-even-though-we-grew-up-like-siblings storylines, and this is no exception. It seemed like he was just confusing Hyun Joo’s maternal care for him for romantic love, and, well, men are men I guess. I did appreciate that he wasn’t pushy after confessing, and could’ve done a lot more to cock-block CEO Hwang. And he was honest and didn’t jump into a relationship with Seo Yoon either. So, I respect him for at least that.
Hyun Joo was great--Hwang Jung Eum is a good, consistent female comedic actress, and she played this role perfectly. She and her friends held the show on their backs (men are men--lol last one I promise).
Speaking of them, her friends! This show could’ve been a real gem had it been more like Hello, My Twenties or Hospital Playlist and followed each of their storylines more equally. The past lives thing was cute but played out, and the friends went through some interesting situations alongside Hyun Joo and CEO Hwang’s mess. Juggling your ex-husband and a younger man? Under-appreciated housewife with career woes?? Infertility scare??? Yes please! All this plus Hyun Joo figuring out her views on marriage would’ve made for a great friendship or slice-of-life show, especially for viewers going through similar things.
Also, the villian was weak--another reason why the show should’ve just been about Hyun Joo and her friends. Kim Seon Hee was supposed to be the cock-block Do Gyeom couldn’t be, yet she folds once she--wait, why did she fold?? One minute she’s trying to bring both CEO Hwang and Hyun Joo down, and the next she’s depressed because CEO Hwang called her out and blamed her for their deaths in the past life? Un-be-lievable. At least her daughter was consistent--Seo Yoon didn’t fall for her mom’s tricks, and gave Do Gyeom her best effort despite her inexperience. She was good to watch. I just wished she didn’t end up becoming Do Gyeom’s PD and grew into her own a little more.
Overall, there were so many good things in this show that weren’t the main lead’s romance or the villain, that I wish it had just gotten rid of these storylines, or at least minimized them to focus more on the other ones. The last two episodes gave us a taste of what the show could’ve been, which made them both satisfying and depressing. Give it a watch if you like, but maybe while multi-tasking?
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Review: My Secret Romance (2017)
Short and sweet, one night stand turned full-blown romance
Synopsis
Cha Jin-wook, the son of a CEO, meets Lee Yoo-mi, the daughter of an erotic film actress, at a resort. They hate each other based off of multiple bad first impressions, but end up by the beach drowning themselves in a bottle of wine. In a moment of passion they have a one night stand in Jin-wook’s car, and Yoo-mi leaves before Jin-wook wakes up. Three years later, they meet again at a company where Jin-wook is CEO and Yoo-mi has been hired as a nutritionist.
AC Overall: 8/10, would watch the first few eps again with some soju
I binged this drama over a weekend. Very lighthearted and funny rom-com, with a side of sex-related shenanigans, which I appreciate because it can be rare in a kdrama. Classic from enemies to lovers and rich guy poor girl story, with the added awkwardness of having had a one night stand years ago. Honestly, the one night stand aspect was the reason I wanted to watch it, and I stayed for the shenanigans that ensued because of it. The plot isn’t very complicated, so its perfect when you don’t want to focus too hard. Also, Sung Hoon is gorgeous.
AC Review (Spoilers)
So like...I think I liked this drama because I really needed something dumb, funny, and random to watch. At the time, it definitely fulfilled all my needs. Is the plot surprising? No. It follows every classic kdrama trope ever. But is it silly? Yes, and I enjoyed that. Jin-wook is on his dumb shit 90% of the time and I’m here for it. In the back of my head the whole time, though, was the thought that the reason he hates Yoo-mi in the beginning is because he got ridiculed by the early morning ahjummas about how the sex probably wasn’t good--but I managed to overlook that enough to keep watching. The romance happened kind of fast. It was almost like there was a switch that was turned on and all of a sudden they were having a romantic dinner, but it was forgiven because I didn’t care too much how it progressed. But I still don’t understand why he had to keep the bra padding? Was it that traumatic for him? Male egos 🤦🏾♀️. But he cute so he gets away with a lot. Both of the leads’ acting was meh but the chemistry was really good.
The second leads were appreciated, especially Jung Hyun-tae, the book-bar owner. He actually considers Yoo-mi’s happiness and grew to be okay with her and Jin-wook’s relationship. I appreciated that he didn’t throw himself at her or try to prevent their relationship in a cliché way. The female second lead, Joo Hye-ri the announcer, however, did the most--but I wasn’t mad at her. I actually started to feel sorry for her toward the end, though not sorry enough to excuse her sabotaging the relationship. Usually I don’t like when second leads get together, but it seemed natural, and I ended up rooting for Hyun-tae and Hye-ri to be together in a casual way. And they didn’t get together until the very end, which was a plus.
The ending was predictable, and the last few episodes really did drag on, but not enough for me to not watch. The plot of the little brother Dong-goo being mistaken as the son was actually kind of hilarious, I liked it. The will-they-won’t-they was frustrating, especially when their one night stand became public and Jin-wook didn’t have the balls to go after her. But of course, they end up together in the end, and we even got to meet the mom, which was sweet.
The side characters, specifically Jin-Wook’s assistant Jang Woo-jin and Yoo-Mi’s coworker Kang Je-ni were who I LIVED for. Their little romance was so funny, and I wish they had shown more of it.
Good light drama to watch when you want *proper* kiss scenes, if you can get over the male lead being a man™. (I know there’s more to be said about this drama in terms of social commentary, but it’s so lighthearted its not even worth it)
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Review: My Girl (2005)
I'm not quite sure why they call Yoo Rin a "con artist," but other than that this drama is sooo enjoyable.
Synopsis
Joo Yoo Rin is a tour guide living on Jeju Island who has lived in many different places with her dad, who is a compulsive gambler. When the loan sharks that her dad has borrowed from to fund his habit show up to collect, they begin to go after her for their money. In the ensuing chase, she nearly runs into a car driven by Seol Gong Chan, the heir to an upscale hotel chain, who was in town to check on their resort. One thing leads to another, and after Gong Chan realizes that Yoo Rin speaks Japanese and is a pretty convincing liar, he hires her to pretend to be his long-lost half-Japanese cousin, who was widely believed to be dead when her family was caught in a devastating earthquake. The arrangement starts off fine, though slowly but surely the two “cousins” begin to catch feelings for each other, despite the fact that Gong Chan is dating Kim Se Hyun, a Korean tenis star, and that as his long-time friend Seo Jeong Woo attempts to capture Yoo Rin’s heart. As Yoo Rin and Gong Chan try to keep their secret under wraps, their growing feelings and their friends’ and family’s meddling begin to derail their lies. Will they be able to be together, or will their lies keep them apart?
Overall: 10/10, would watch again
This has to be one of the cringiest love triangles (squares?) ever written, but not so much that you can't get into it. As someone watching in 2021, this show actually holds up pretty well, with the obvious exceptions of style (hindsight is 20/20). If you want something funny, dramatic, and sweet, this is your show. Even though the ending takes a while to wind down, the final scene is so funny that you almost can't help but leave on a good note. What's Wrong with Secretary Kim? (2018) or Full House (2004) would be excellent follow up shows, though for different aspects of this show.
Review
I am slowly but surely making my way through the top k-dramas of the 2000s, so I knew My Girl would be a must. What I didn’t know was that it would actually hold up so well. It has all the essentials: main leads with awesome chemistry, a solid group of likable side characters, a secret that can’t be easily revealed, and meddling second leads that you don’t like enough to root for but you don’t dislike enough to not feel bad for their plight. I was expecting way more melodrama and leading-man-pining-over-second-leading-woman, which of course we do get. I felt that this show didn’t dwell on it as much as others from the same time (My Lovely Sam Soon (2005) and Full House (2004) being the first examples that come to mind). There were many funny scenes between the main leads, and Jeong Woo was always there when Gong Chan was going back to Se Hyun for whatever reason, so our Yoo Rin was never left out in the cold for long.
What’s more, it actually has an interesting storyline, and knows that it is doing something different from what might be expected. I kid you not, there is a whole scene where they make fun of a potential plot, which was also the theory I had for the show. I am so glad that they didn’t do that ending, but the ending that we did get was extremely drawn out. As I pointed out in my True Beauty post, I HATE time jumps. This one had a bit more going for it because it made some sense to have distance, but it really came out of nowhere. I would have preferred that they didn’t have it, but at the end of the day the show ended nicely. Besides this, my only other semi-complaint about the show is that Se Hyun’s character was so indecipherable. Not in a good way where she is acting in a particular way and we are trying to figure out her motivations, but that her motivations are all over the place and lead to her acting in weirdly conflicting ways. They try to give her some scenes where she shows her inner conflict that leads to her actions, but ultimately if they were trying to portray someone with inner and outer conflict, they should have just given her more screen time. Then again, I say this knowing that my favorite second leading women have all had pretty clear cut motivations with trajectories that lead them to a happy-ish ending. That said, I’m still not over how they did Seo Dan in Crash Landing on You (2019), but that is a post for another day!
This show is definitely worth a watch!
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