More to come… Reviews may/may not be finalised and are mostly done by memory.
Historical dramas mostly at the back.
We compile a good long list of Korean dramas that we have watched so that you will be able to find something interesting to watch!
Finished but no review done: Let’s fight ghost/Goblin/Lawless Lawyer(Dropped)/The Secret Life of My Secretary(scanned through)/Mystic Pop-up Bar/Forest/Flower of Evil(scanned through)/18 again/More than friends (scanned through)/True Beauty/Sell Your Haunted House/The Devil Judge(scanned through)/The Great Shaman Ga Doo Shim/Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha/Ghost Doctor/Twenty-Five Twenty-One/Tomorrow/Sh**ting Stars(Dropped)/Alchemy of Souls 1/The Law Cafe/Alchemy of Souls Season 2: Light and Shadow/The Good Bad Mother(scanned through)/My Man is Cupid
Still watching: Castaway Diva/Revenge of Others/From Now, Showtime!/Welcome 2 life/Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung/Angel’s last mission: Love/Clean with passion for now/Memories of the Alhambra/That man Oh Soo/Cheese in the Trap (left 2 episodes)/Man living in the house (left 2 episodes)/Legend of the blue sea (left 2 episodes)
Put aside for now: Moon in the Day/Strong Girl Nam-soon(watched last few episodes)/Twinkling Watermelon/A Good Day to Be a Dog/My Lovely Liar/King the Land/Heartbeat/The Secret Romantic Guesthouse/The Heavenly Idol/Poong, the Joseon Psychiatrist(scanned through Season 1)/Delivery Man/Kokdu: Season of Deity/May I Help You/Under The Queen’s Umbrella/The Golden Spoon/Love in Contract/Jinxed at First/Link: Eat,Love,Kill/Forecasting Love and Weather/Moonshine/Melancholia/Secret Royal Inspector Joy/Lovers of the Red Sky/The King’s Affection/Police University/Sisyphus: The Myth/The Witch’s Diner/Imitation/My Roommate Is Gumiho/Doom at Your Service/Hello me/Sweet Home/Mr Queen/Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol/The Spy Who Loved Me/Startup/Tale of the Nine Tailed/Record of Youth/Alice/To All The Guys Who Loved Me/Backstreet Rookie/Kkondae Intern/Meow, the Secret Boy/Born again/Stove League/Find Me in Your Memory/Hi Bye, Mama!/Crash Landing on You/Psychopath Diary/Catch the Ghost/Vagabond/Melting me softly/Class of Lies/Search: WWW/Abyss/The best chicken/The crowned clown/Item/The light in your eyes/The last empress/100 days my prince/Devilish Joy/My ID is Gangnam Beauty/Still 17/Your honour/Ms Hammurabi/About time/Just between Lovers/Another Ms Oh/Doubtful victory/Two cops/Borg Mum/Nothing to lose/Deserving of the name/Hospital Ship/Bride of the water god/The best hit/Moonlight drawn by clouds/Doctors/Entertainer/Vampire Detective/Oh my ghostess/3 Musketeers/Misaeng/Cheongdamdong Alice/Hotel King/That winter that wind blows/Dr Frost/My loveable girl…
My Demon (2023-2024) 与恶魔有约
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Comedy
Enjoyment: 9/10 Pace: 8/10 No. of times I watched it: 2
starring Kim Yoo Jung as Do Do Hee, Song Kang as Jeong Gu Won, Lee Sang-Yi as Ju Seok-Hoon, Kim Hae-Sook as Ju Cheon-Suk, Kim Tae-Hoon as Noh Suk-Min, Lee Yoon-Ji as Noh Su-Ahn, Jo Yeon-Hee as Kim Se-Ra, Kang Seung-Ho as Noh Do-Gyeong, Park Do-Yoon as Austin, Kang Da-On as Justin, Cho Hye-Joo as Jin Ga-Young, Heo Jung-Do as Park Bok-Gyu, Seo Jung-Yeon as Secretary Shin Da-Jeong, Park Jin-Woo as Han Min-Soo, Lee Ji-Won as Choi Jung-Mi, Hong Jin-Gi as Lee Han-Sung, Kim Young-Jae as Do Do-Hee’s dad, Woo Hee-Jin as Do Do-Hee’s mom, Kim Gyu-Bin as Do Do-Hee (child), Cha Chung-Hwa as god
Click here for the review.
Sisyphus: The Myth (2021) 西西弗斯：神话
starring Cho Seung Woo as Han Tae Sul, Jung Hyun Jun as Han Tae Sul (young), Park Shin Hye as Kang Seo Hae, Seo Yi Soo (서이수) as young Kang Seo Hae (young), Kim Byung Chul as Sigma / Seo Won Joo, Lee Joo Won (이주원) as Won Joo (child), Heo Joon Seok as Han Tae San, Tae In Ho as Eddie Kim, Jun Gook Hwan as Kim Han Yong, Jung Hye In as Kim Seo Jin, Tae Won Suk as Yeo Bong Sun, Kim Jong Tae as Kang Dong Ki, Lee Yeon Soo as Lee Eun Hee, Chae Jong Hyup as Sun, Choi Jung Woo as Hwang Hyun Seung, Go Yoon as Jung Hyun Ki, Sung Dong Il as Park Hyung Do (President Park), Lee Shi Woo (이시우) as Bing Bing (Asia Mart employee), Lee Myung Ro (이명로) as Uhm Sun Jae (Asia Mart employee), Jung Ha Joon (정하준) as Uhm Sun Ho (Asia Mart employee, Sun Jae’s younger brother)
Click here for the review.
It’s Okay to Not Be Okay (2020) 虽然是精神病但没关系
starring Kim Soo Hyun as Moon Kang Tae (caregiver), Moon Woo Jin as Kang Tae (young), Seo Ye Ji as Ko Moon Young (children’s book author, antisocial personality disorder), Kim Soo In as Moon Young (young), Oh Jung Se as Moon Sang Tae (autism spectrum disorder), Lee Kyu Sung as Sang Tae (young), Kang Ki Doong as Jo Jae Soo, Kim Joo Hun as Lee Sang In (CEO of Publishing Company)
Click here for the review.
Romantic Doctor, Teacher Kim 2 (2020) 浪漫醫生金師傅 2
starring Han Suk Kyu as Teacher Kim / Boo Yong Joo, Lee Sung Kyung as Cha Eun Jae, Ahn Hyo Sup as Seo Woo Jin, Kim Joo Hun as Park Min Gook, Shin Dong Wook as Bae Moon Jung, So Joo Yeon as Yoon Ah Reum, Yoon Na Moo as Jung In soo, Kim Hong Pa as Yeo Woon Young, Jin Kyung as Oh Myung Sim, Im Won Hee as Jang Gi Tae, Byun Woo Min as Nam Do Il, Kim Min Jae as Park Eun Tak
Click here for the review.
Extraordinary You (2019) 偶然发现的一天
starring Kim Hye Yoon as Eun Dan Oh, Kim Ro woon as Ha Roo/Haru, Lee Jae Wook as Baek Kyung, Lee Na Eun as Yeo Joo Da, Jung Gun Joo as Lee Do Hwa, Kim Young Dae as Oh Nam Joo, Lee Tae Ri as Jin Mi Chae, Kim Ji In as Shin Sae Mi, Kim Hyun Mok as Ahn Soo Chul, Uhm Hyo Sup as Eun Moo Young (Dan Oh’s father), Choi Jin Ho as Baek Dae Sung (Baek Kyung’s father), Yoo Ji Soo as Ra Hye Young (Baek Kyung’s step mother), Bae Hyun Sung as Baek Joon Hyun (Baek Kyung’s half brother)
Click here for the review.
The Tale of Nokdu (2019) 綠豆傳
Genre: Historical, Romance, Comedy
Enjoyment: 10/10 at the start, 8/10 towards the end Pace: 8.5/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Jang Dong Yoon as Jun Nok Du, Kim So Hyun as Dong Dong Joo, Kang Tae Oh as Cha Yul Moo / Prince Neungyang, Jung Joon Ho as King Gwanghae, Yoon Yoo Sun as Chun Haeng Soo, Lee Seung Joon as Jung Yoon Jeo, Song Gun Hee as Jun Hwang Tae, Lee Moon Sik as Hwang Jang Koon, Ko Gun Han as Yeon Geun, Park Da Yun as Aeng Doo, Kim Tae Woo as Heo Yoon, Park Min Jung as Queen Inmok, Jo Soo Hyang as Kim Ssook
Plot: After Nokdu’s family was harmed by assassins, Nokdu disguises himself as a female to enter the village of widows to find out who they are and why they did it.
Click here for the review.
Flower Crew: Joseon Marriage Agency (2019) 花黨：朝鮮婚姻介紹所
starring Kim Min Jae as Ma Hoon, Choi Seung Hoon as Ma Hoon (child), Gong Seung Yun as Gae Ddong, Lee Go Eun as Gae Ddong (child), Seo Ji Hoon as Lee Soo, Cha Sung Je (차성제) as Lee Soo (child), Park Ji Hoon as Go Young Soo, Byun Woo Suk as Do Joon, Go Won Hee as Kang Ji Hwa, Jang Yoo Sang as Kang
Click here for the review.
Hotel Del Luna (2019) 德魯納酒店
Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Comedy, Horror
Enjoyment: 10/10 Pace: 9/10, 8/10 towards the end No. of times I watched it: 1
starring IU as Jang Man Wol, Kim Kyu Ri as Man Wol (Child), Yeo Jin Goo as Goo Chang Sung
– Kim Kang Hoon as Goo Chang Sung (child), Shin Jung Geun as Kim Seon Bi, Bae Hae Sun as Choi Seo Hee, Pyo Ji Hoon as Ji Hyun Joong, Kang Mi Na as Kim Yoo Na (high school student), Lee Do Hyun as Go Chung Myung, Lee Tae Sun as Yeon Woo/Detective Park Young Soo, Park Yoo Na as Princess Song Hwa/Lee Mi Ra, Jo Hyun Chul as Sanchez, Seo Eun Soo as Veronica, Nam Da Reum as well spirit
Plot: Man Wol becomes the owner of a guest house (later hotel) for ghosts after her loved one betrayed her and she holds great resentment.
Click here for the review.
Perfume (2019) 香水
Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Comedy, Family
Enjoyment: 10/10 Pace: 9/10 No. of times I watched it: 2
starring Shin Sung Rok as Seo E Do, Go Won Hee as Min Ye Rin, Ha Jae Sook as Min Jae Hee, Kim Shi Ah as Min Jae Hee (child), Cha Ye Ryun as Han Ji Na, Kim Min Gyu as Yoon Min Suk, Jo Han Chul as Kim Tae Joon (Jae Hee’s husband), Kim Jin Kyung as Kim Jin Kyung (Jae Hee’s daughter), Kim Ki Doo as Park Joon Yong (Yi Do’s secretary)
Plot: After Jae Hee gives birth to her child, she suffers from a hormone disorder which causes her to become obese. Because of that, she is being treated badly by her husband and she has to give up on her dream to become a model. Eventually, her husband wants to get a divorce and she decides to commit suicide and kill her husband. While she attempts to commit suicide, a mysterious deliveryman shows up to deliver a magical perfume to her. When she applies the perfume on herself, she transforms into her pretty younger self 20 years ago. Because of that, she gets a second chance in life. While finding a job, she meets E Do, an excellent clothes designer who is stuck in the past.
Click here for full review.
He Is Psychometric/ That Psychometric Guy (2019) 會讀心術的那小子
Genre: Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Comedy, Melodrama, Crime, Family
Enjoyment: 10/10, 9/10 due to creepiness Pace: 9/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Park Jin Young as Lee Ahn, Shin Ye Eun as Yoon Jae In, Kim Da Som as Eun Ji Soo, Kim Kwon as Kang Sung Mo, Jo Byung Kyu as Kang Sung Mo (young), Noh Jong Hyun as Lee Dae Bong (Lee Ahn’s best friend), Go Yoon Jung as Kim So Hyun (Jae In’s childhood friend), Lee Seung Joon as Kang Geun Tae
Click here for the review.
Where Stars Land/Fox Bride Star (2018) 狐狸新娘星
starring Lee Je Hoon as Lee Soo Yeon, Nam Da Reum as Soo Yeon (young), Chae Soo Bin as Han Yeo Reum, Lee Dong Gun as Seo In Woo, Kim Ji Soo as Yang Seo Koon, Lee Sung Wook as Choi Moo Ja, Kim Kyung Nam as Oh Dae Ki, Lee Soo Kyung as Na Young Joo, Ro Woon as Go Eun Sub
Click here for the review.
Thirty but Seventeen/Still 17 (2018) 雖然30但仍17
starring Shin Hye Sun as Woo Seo Ri, Park Shi Eun as Seo Ri (teen), Yang Se Jong as Gong Woo Jin, Yoon Chan Young as Woo Jin (teen), Ahn Hyo Sup as Yoo Chan, Ye Ji Won as Jennifer, Yoon Sun Woo as Kim Hyung Tae, Wang Suk Hyun as Hyung Tae (teen)
Click here for the review.
What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim (2018) 金秘書為何那樣
Genre: Office, Romance, Comedy, Mystery
Enjoyment: 10/10 Pace: 8.5/10 until last few episodes No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Park Seo Joon as Lee Young Joon, Moon Woo Jin as Lee Young Joon (child), Park Min Young as Kim Mi So, Kim Ji Yoo as Kim Mi So (young), Lee Tae Hwan as Lee Sung Yeon, Kang Ki Young as Park Yoo Shik, Hwang Chan Sung as Ko Kwi Nam, Pyo Ye Jin as Kim Ji Ah, Hwang Bo Ra as Bong Se Ra, Kang Hong Suk as Yang Chul
Click here for the review.
Mama Fairy and the Woodcutter (2018) 雞龍仙女傳
starring Moon Chae Won as Sun Ok Nam/ Mama fairy, Go Doo Shim as Sun Ok Nam (old), Yoon Hyun Min as Jung Yi Hyun, Seo Ji Hoon as Kim Geum, Kang Mi Na as Jeom Soon
Click here for the review.
Are you human too? (2018) 你也是人類嗎?
Genre: Science-fiction, Mystery, Action, Romance, Family
Enjoyment: 9.5/10 Pace: 9/10, 8/10 towards the end No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Seo Kang Joon as Nam Shin / Nam Shin III, Gong Seung Yun as Kang So Bong, Lee Joon Hyuk as Ji Young Hoon, Kim Sung Ryung as Oh Ro Ra (Nam Shin’s mother), Park Young Kyu as Nam Gun Ho, Choi Duk Moon as David, Kim Won Hae as Kang Jae Sik
Plot: After his father passes away and he is being forced to separate from his mother by his grandfather, Nam Shin lives a lonely life as the heir of a big corporation. As he is about to uncover the truth about his father’s death and goes to find his mother (if i didnt remember wrongly), he is knocked down by a truck. Just before he gets into the accident and falls into coma, he sees a person that looks exactly like him, an AI robot his mother (a renowned scientist) built. When the accident occurs, his mother is nearby too and sees it. She is devastated and later asks the robot to take over Nam Shin for the time being to protect his place until he regains consciousness and recovers.
Click here for full review.
A Korean Odyssey/ Hwayugi (2017-2018) 花遊記
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Comedy, Horror
Enjoyment: 9/10 Pace: 9/10, 8/10 towards the end No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Lee Seung Ki as Son Oh Gong, Cha Seung Won as Ma Wang, Oh Yeon Seo as Jin Seon Mi, Kal So Won as Jin Seon Mi (young), Lee Hong Ki as Jeo Pal Gye/P.K, Jang Kwang as Yoon Dae Sik, Sung Hyuk as Winter General / Summer Fairy Ha, Kim Sung Oh as Lee Han Joo, Lee El as Ma Ji Young, Lee Se Young as Jung Se Ra / Jin Bu Ja / Bong Soon / Ah Sa Nyeo, One as peddler’s grandson
Plot: Jin Seon Mi can see ghosts from young and lives in horror everyday. One day, she meets Ma Wang and strikes a deal with Ma Wang to give her his powerful stick if she helps him get a fan in a place Son Oh Gong is imprisoned. In the process of getting the fan, Oh Gong says that he will protect her if she frees him and careful Seon Mi makes an unbreakable contract with him that he will come whenever she calls him. Mischievous Oh Gong is finally free but goes back on his words by taking his name out of her memory. Seon Mi, now left helpless in the horrifying world again, learns to defend herself and grows up to be a successful businesswoman in real estate as she gets rid of ghosts in buildings or fulfill their wishes so that they can leave in peace. Due to her destiny as Sam Jang, her blood has a strong scent and is well sought-after by evil spirits and demons. She ends up meeting the demons and they work together for their own individual purposes and also to prevent the world from being destroyed. In order to prevent Oh Gong from eating her, she listens to Ma Wang’s “advice” and attaches a geumganggo on him which makes him love her, and obey her orders (or else he will suffer the painful consequences). Son Oh Gong is a monkey demon/god, Ma Wang is a bull demon, Jeo Pal Gye is a pig demon, Ma Ji Young is a dog demon. Winter general and summer fairy share the same body to keep summer fairy alive. Yoon Dae Sik is a demon who owns a huge and well-known cell phone company and likes to do housework. Bu Ja is a corpse that was supposed to be buried but turns into a zombie by chance with Seon Mi’s blood.
Click here for full review.
I am not a robot (2017-2018) 不是機器人啊
Genre: Science fiction, Romance, Comedy
Enjoyment: 10/10 Pace: 9/10, 8.5/10 towards the end No. of times I watched it: 2
starring Yoo Seung Ho as Kim Min Kyu, Chae Soo Bin as Jo Ji Ah / Aji 3, Uhm Ki Joon as Hong Baek Kyun, Park Se Wan as Pie, Song Jae Ryong as Hok Tal, Kim Min Kyu as Ssan Ip, Kang Ki Young as Hwang Yoo Chul, Hwang Seung Eon as Ye Ri El, Seo Dong Won as Jo Jin Bae
Plot: Min Kyu seems to have it all: lots of money, a high position in his father’s (?) company but he lives an isolated life in a big house due to human allergy. Ji Ah has big dreams of inventing things to benefit people and help them solve their problems but things are not working out for her. Her brother is forcing her to take a full time job and wants her to return the money she lent from his wife for her inventions. She eventually leaves her brother’s house and gets a high-paying part-time job from her ex-boyfriend, Baek Kyun, whose dream is to invent robots beneficial to humans. He made a robot (that looks like Ji Ah) with many functions and wants Min Kyu and his company to invest in it but a part of the robot is accidentally damaged and he has no choice but to ask Ji Ah to be the substitute to be sent to Min Kyu’s house for inspection. The relationship between Min Kyu and the “robot” thus develops.
Click here for full review.
While you were sleeping (2017) 當你沉睡時
Genre: Fantasy, Law, Romance, Crime, Family
Enjoyment: 9/10 Pace: 8/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Lee Jong Suk as Jung Jae Chan, Nam Da Reum as Jung Jae Chan (young), Bae Suzy as Nam Hong Joo, Lee Sang Yeob as Lee Yoo Bum, Jung Hae In as Han Woo Tak
Plot: Hong Joo can dream of her or others’ future but she is unable to prevent it, leaving her devastated and helpless when bad things happen. Those that were supposed to die but were somehow saved ends up having the ability to dream about others’ future as well. Hong Joo is a reporter who is afraid to return to work due to dreaming of her dying in her company’s suit. Jae Chan just becomes a prosecutor and Woo Tak is a seemingly perfect police officer. Jae Chan gives Hong Joo the hope that it is possible to change the future after he managed to save her. The three of them become friends and work together to prevent unfortunate events from happening.
Click here for the review.
Introverted boss (2017) 內向的老闆
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Family, Introversion
Enjoyment: 10/10 Pace: 9/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Yun Woo Jin as Eun Hwan Ki, Park Hye Soo as Chae Ro Woon, Yoon Park as Kang Woo Il and Gong Seung Yun as Eun Yi Soo
Zoom into characters: Hwan Ki is a mysterious introvert who works at the background at his father’s public relations company Brain as a Co-CEO with his best friend, Woo Il, who is always in public eye. Ro Woon has a cheery personality. She once worked in musicals but after her sister’s suicide, she becomes less outspoken at home, and starts to work at the public relation company to dig out the truth behind her sister’s death and to take revenge on the CEO that is rumoured to cause her sister’s death. Woo Il feels guilty for Ro Won’s sister’s death and is afraid that people will find out about it, wanting Hwan Ki to hide the truth. Yi Soo, Hwan Ki’s sister, wants to hold on to Woo Il by all means. Beneath her happy and innocent exterior, she is actually insecure, hurt, and ruthless.
Click here for full review.
Third-Rate/ Fight for my way (2017) 三流之路
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Family, Sports, Dream
Enjoyment: 9/10 Pace: 8/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Park Seo Joon as Ko Dong Man, Jo Yun Ho as Dong Man (child), Kim Ji Won as Choi Ae Ra, Lee Han Seo as Ae Ra (child), Ahn Jae Hong as Kim Joo Man, Song Ha Yoon as Baek Sul Hee
Zoom into characters: Dong Man excels in Taekwondo. However, since he helped someone cheat in a competition, he does not compete anymore and settles for a more average life as a pest control officer. Ae Ra has the potential to become a news anchor due to her talent in improvising and her passion for reporting but due to her academic results, she was rejected by many news stations and ends up as a receptionist at a department store. Joo Man seems to be leading the best life among the friends but no matter how hard he works and how good the results he obtained, he is still unable to further promote due to his lack of connection with those who are rich and have power. Because of that, he is unable to marry Sul Hee or even announce their relationship at work.
Click here for full review.
Reunited worlds (2017) 再次相遇的世界
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Comedy, Family
Enjoyment: 10/10 Pace: 8/10 No. of times I watched it: 2
starring Lee Yun Hee as Jung Jung Won, Jung Chae Yun as Jung Jung Won (young), Yeo Jin Goo as Sung Hye Sung, Ahn Jae Hyun as Cha Min Joon
Click here for full review.
Strong Woman Do Bong Soon (2017) 大力女子都奉順
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Comedy, Action, Suspense
Enjoyment: 9/10 Pace: 9/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Park Bo Young as Do Bong Soon, Park Hyung Sik as Ahn Min Hyuk, Ji Soo as In Gook Doo, Ahn Woo Yeon as Do Bong Ki (Bong Soon’s twin brother)
Plot: Great strength is passed down from the older generations through the females in the family and thus Do Bong Soon inherited her strength from her mother. Do Bong Soon is unemployed but has a passion for creating games, and her life changes when she becomes the bodyguard of CEO of Ainsoft, a company that produces games.
Click here for full review.
Hwarang: The Beginning (2016-2017) 花郎
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Historical
Enjoyment: 9/10 Pace: 9/10, 8/10 towards the end No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Park Seo Joon as Moo Myung, Go Ah Ra as Ah Ro, Park Hyung Sik as Ji Dwi/Sam Maek Jong (later King Jinheung of Silla), Choi Min Ho as Kim Soo Ho, Do Ji Han as Park Ban Ryu, Kim Tae Hyung (V) as Suk Han Sung, Jo Yoon Woo as Kim Yeo Wool, Kim Hyun Joon as Suk Dan Se (Han Sung’s half-brother), Lee Da In as Kim Soo Yun (Su Ho’s sister), Lee Kwang Soo as Mak Moon / Kim Sun Woo (Ah Ro’s brother)
Plot: The sons of the nobles (?) end up becoming hwarangs who are supposed to protect the king as the Queen wants to control them and their power. Moo Myung who lost his best friend ends up becoming a hwarang after trying to kill the Queen’s royal guard to take revenge for his friend. Ji Dwi, the faceless king, ends up becoming a hwarang to become stronger and get back his throne. He is the reason Moo Myung’s friend was killed.
Click here for the review.
Romantic Doctor, Teacher Kim (2016-2017) 浪漫醫生金師傅
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Hospital, Melodrama
Enjoyment: 9/10 Pace: 8/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Han Suk Kyu as Kim Sa Bu/ Master Kim, Yoo Yun Suk as Kang Dong Joo, Seo Hyun Jin as Yoon Seo Jung, Yang Se Jong as Do In Bum
Zoom into the characters: After Dong Joo’s father passes away, Dong Joo vows to be a doctor that can defeat the high-ranking doctor, President Do, with skills due to his belief that his father passes away as the high-ranking doctor chose to treat a rich patient instead of his father. However, he ends up doing what the high-rank ing doctor did by choosing to save a patient of high social status to climb the social ladder. Seo Jung, nicknamed “crazy whale”, is a highly skilled doctor at the emergency department who is very calm no matter the situation. Although she has a boyfriend already, she is wavered by Dong Joo and goes missing due to guilt after her boyfriend died in a car accident she was also in. Two of them meet again at Doldam Hospital after different setbacks. Master Kim was a former well-known doctor at the hospital both of them once worked at. After he failed to save his student and was rejected by the medical industry, he now holds on to romantic ideals about being a doctor. Towards the new recruits, he is critical and harsh but provides good guidance to them as the drama goes. Do In Bum is President Do’s son. Although he seems to have it all with his rich father and status, he is more recognised as President Do’s son than himself. He is skilled but sometimes lies to gain experience in operations he has not been involved previously.
Click here for full review.
Neighborhood Lawyer Jo Deul Ho (2016) 鄰家律師趙德浩
Genre: Comedy, Family, Law, Crime
starring Park Shin Yang as Jo Deul Ho, Kang So Ra as Lee Eun Jo, Ryu Soo Young as Shin Ji Wook, Park Sol Mi as Jung Hae Gyung, Kim Gab Soo as Shin Young Il
Click here for full review.
Shopping King Louie (2016) 購物王路易
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Memory loss, Shopping
starring Seo In Guk as Louie / Kang Ji Sung, Kim Seung Han as Louis / Kang Ji Sung (young)
Nam Ji Hyun as Go Bok Shil, Yoon Sang Hyun as Cha Joong Won, Im Se Mi as Baek Ma Ri
I had high expectations for Shopping King Louie with its cast and plot but it didnt meet my expectations haha. I like losing memory dramas but somehow this drama didnt make me enjoy it as much as I thought I would and the plot seems rather dull. Haeundae Lover was so much better for me. If the plot involved something like Louie and Bok Sil succeeding in creating their own brand with Louie’s capability to discern products, then gaining recognition despite not having his memory, and even managing to threaten the existence of Goldline, his grandmother’s company that his uncle managed to steal from him, it would be an interesting watch. There is just not enough conflict in this drama with the villains giving in too easily and Louie seems like a good-for-nothing that only knows how to spend money by shopping and pursue love.
Perhaps if you want to watch a rom-com drama with little evil and all good you can try this haha. Another side of Seo In Guk is being shown haha.
W-2 worlds (2016) W-两个世界
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Comedy, Metafiction, Suspense
Enjoyment: 10/10 Pace: 9/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Lee Jong Suk as Kang Chul, Han Hyo Joo as Oh Yun Joo, Jung Yoo Jin as Yoon So Hee (Kang Chul’s secretary), Lee Tae Hwan as Seo Do Yoon (Kang Chul’s bodyguard), Kim Eui Sung as Oh Sung Moo (manhwa author/artist, Yun Joo’s father), Lee Shi Un as Park Soo Bong (Oh Sung Moo’s assistant)
Plot: The drama is about two people from two different worlds-the fiction and the real world. Cardiothoracic surgeon novice Oh Yun-joo (Han Hyo-joo) goes to her father’s office looking for him and ends up being pulled into the webtoon world that her father created. In the process, she saves a dying Kang Chul, becomes a main character in the webtoon, falls in love and works with Kang Chul to get rid of the villain so as to safely escape with him to the real world.
Zoom into characters: Kang Chul is framed for killing his whole family and lives a life of misery as an outcast who cannot even mourn for the loss of his family properly. It was so miserable for him that he decides to commit suicide according to the storyline. However, the story took for a turn when he refuses to obey the command of the author and hangs on for dear life. Because of that, a new-found will grows in him and he is determined to survive and catch the murderer of his family. From then on, Yun Joo’s father is flustered that he cannot control his webtoon characters and becomes fearful of his own creation. As Yun Joo reads her father’s webtoon, she likes Kang Chul more and more and empathises with him. Her world is turned upside down when she enters the webtoon time and again due to Kang Chul thinking about her since their first encounter and she has to figure out how to return to her world.
Why you should watch: It has a very refreshing storyline where we get to learn about how fiction is made: the main plot, the rules in the fiction world and the characters. It is so unconventional and interesting to give life as well as a voice to fictional characters. Watched this some time ago but I guess I was attracted by the plot, and the cast, Lee Jong Suk and Han Hyo Joo. Was I chasing each episode? Feel that I did. Cant really remember haha…
Favourite MVs+osts: W ost ig post
Click here for full review.
Madame Antoine (2016) 安托万女士
Genre: Psychology, Romance, Comedy
As I love psychology a lot, this drama is quite relevant to me but somehow it just doesnt attract me as it is too slow pace for me and the whole drama just circles around an experiment (which involves 3 guys pursuing a girl) that Choi Soo Hyun (Sung Joon), a psychologist, conducts to prove that there is no such thing as everlasting or true love. There are many cases which makes it feel like a boring report by case since the main storyline is not strong enough for me.
However, what piqued my curiosity to start reading the recaps is when I heard of Soo Hyun’s behaviour of feeling pain when a droplet drops on his hand, likely due to past trauma despite being a psychologist himself. I like how Go Hye Rim(Han Ye Seul) is, so observant and sometimes even more effective in healing the clients than Soo Hyun who is more cold and professional. It is funny when she blabbers in French and acts like there is a spirit in her which surprisingly scares people to doing things she wants them to, and causes them to believe in her fortune telling. Liked how Soo Hyun starts to fall for Hye Rim as they start to trust each other and let their relationship grow. Funny when Hye Rim takes on the psychologist role towards the end. Felt happy at how Soo Hyun’s psychological problem is resolved totally with the help of Hye Rim. Wonder if it is true that psychologists cant heal themselves?
Jealousy Incarnate (2016) 嫉妒的化身
Genre: Romance, Comedy, News, Office politics
Randomly went to read the recaps since I have been curious about this drama for some time. It has 24 episodes and the storyline is too dry for me haha so I would have dropped it after watching a few episodes.
I thought that it is just about some news anchors, reporters, office politics type of drama but after reading the recaps, I realised that there is a sub-plot of a man fighting breast cancer which is totally unexpected… What really made me continue reading the recaps is how interesting the sub-plot is as Hwa Shin (Jo Jung Suk) furtively goes for his treatment in a clinic filled with women, wears post-operation bra after operation, uses Na Ri’s (Gong Hyo Jin) name to register for radiation appointments etc. It just feels awkward haha even though I didnt watch most of it but just read the recaps.
Looks like this drama does bring out its name perfectly as I can feel the strong and saddening jealousy (is it due to the recaper?) in Hwa Shin after introducing Na Ri who crushed on him for 3 years to his best friend and the two started dating since they have interest in each other. I wouldnt have wanted to watch that part as it is too filled with regrets and Hwa Shin further makes it worse for himself. It is funny how the best friends like the same person twice and the interesting part is that the previous girl likes Hwa Shin more even if it is a 49:51 ratio. Is it possible to love 2 people as much? The supporting lead, Jung Won (Go Kyung Pyo) actually looks more handsome than the lead, Hwa Shin, but as the drama goes I like Hwa Shin as a character more. It is fun to see how Hwa Shin has such high standard especially about his work (news anchor) which seems cool but sometimes suffocates people around him while Jung Won is quite perfect but is a “mama boy”.
Towards the end (sry for the spoiler), when Hwa Shin announces to the whole world through the news about the prejudice male breast cancer patients face and that he is a breast cancer patient, it is very cool and touching, and it neatly wraps up the whole struggle he faces, and at the same time shows that he can protect Na Ri in his own way when the whole company is spreading rumours about how Na Ri has breast cancer which will affect her future job opportunities. Liked the chemistry between the lead couple and how Hwa Shin changes from the receiving end of the love to the giving end. Dont know why Na Ri likes him with spectacles, he looks super old with them haha. Did jealousy due to his friend really sparked his feelings for Na Ri?
Mirror of the Witch (2016) 魔女寶鑑
Genre: Fantasy, Historical, Romance, Dark magic
Enjoyment: 8/10 Pace: 8/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Yoon Shi Yoon as Heo Joon, Kim Sae Ron as Princess Seo Ri / Yun Hee, Yum Jung Ah as Shaman Hong Joo, Lee Sung Jae as Choi Hyun Seo, Kwak Shi Yang as Poong Yeon, Lee Yi Kyung as Yo Kwang, Min Do Hee as Soon Deuk
Plot: When Queen Shim (Jang Hee Jin) is unable to conceive, she visits the shaman Hong Joo (Yum Jung Ah). Hong Joo’s powerful black magic helps the Queen give birth to a twin boy and girl. However, the dark sorcery comes with a price: the twins are cursed but since Hong Joo can transfer the curse to one of them, Seo Ri is abandoned and ordered to be killed. Seo Ri is rescued by the father of Poong Yeon (Kwak Shi Yang) and Poong Yeon becomes her only friend as she grows up in hiding.
Zoom into characters: Heo Joon is an illegitimate son of a noble and a slave. He is often bullied by his stepbrother because of his status. Heo Joon happens to chance upon Seo Ri’s house far in the woods and caught by Seo Ri as an intruder. They make friends thereafter. Seo Ri is unable to leave the hideout as the place protects her from activating the curse and Heo Joon keeps her company occasionally. On a festive day, Poong Yeon decides to defy his father’s wishes and let curious Seo Ri see the outside world for once. Her curse is thus activated and Hong Joo is able to locate her and send people to kill her. After a close escape from death, Seo Ri grows up as a witch with the help of Yo Kwang, all the while trying to figure out how to lift the evil curse on her. While saving Seo Ri, Heo Joon misses the departure time and his mother is killed by his stepbrother, leaving Heo Joon in grief and he plots revenge on his stepbrother.
Why you should watch: Enjoyed the plot, fantasy, the touching moments, the twists and the development of the characters, especially Heo Joon and Seo Ri.
Click here for full review.
Favourite MVs+ osts: MOTW ost ig post
Descendants of the sun (2016) 太陽的後裔
Genre: Melodrama, Romance, Medical, Action
Enjoyment: 10/10 Pace: 9/10 No. of times I watched it: 2
starring Song Joong Ki as Yoo Shi Jin, Song Hye Kyo as Dr. Kang Mo Yeon, Jin Goo as Seo Dae Young, Kim Ji Won as Yoon Myung Joo
Plot: Shi Jin, as a soldier, kills to protect lives and Mo Yeon, as a doctor, tries to save all lives. Shi Jin and Mo Yeon begin to date, but due to their jobs, their dates don’t go well. Finally, they break up after they found out that their values in lives seem to differ too much. Shi Jin takes an order to lead his soldiers on a peacekeeping mission to Urk. Meanwhile, Mo Yeon becomes upset that she fails to become a professor due to a colleague’s privileged background and eventually is sent to Urk for voluntary work. They cross paths when they meet at Urk. Will they be able to make up for their differences?
Since this drama is so popular and I am writing this review quite late, I am not going to write Zoom into characters.
Why you should watch: Because of the cast (especially Song Joong Ki)! This drama has a solid plot and I enjoyed the suspense, plot twists and thrills. The drama wraps up the job of a soldier and a doctor well and draws a nice comparison between the two seemingly different jobs that actually have the same goal of protecting the people.
Favourite MVs+ osts: Once again by Mad Clown, Kim Na Young
Click here for full review.
Remember-war of the sons (2015-2016) 记得儿子的战争
Genre: Melodrama, Crime, Thriller
Enjoyment: 9/10 Pace: 8/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Yoo Seung Ho as Seo Jin Woo, Park Min Young as Lee In Ah, Park Sung Woong as Park Dong Ho, Nam Goong Min as Nam Gyu Man, Jung Hye Sung as Nam Yeo Kyung
Plot: Seo Jin Woo (Yoo Seung Ho) has the condition of Hyperthymesia which allows him to remember almost every day in perfect detail. To prove the innocence of his father before the death sentence is carried out, Jin Woo becomes a lawyer. He struggles to prove his father’s innocence, who begins to lose his memory due to Alzheimer’s disease.
Zoom into characters: Jin Woo remembers everything clearly, including exactly how he loses half of his family after they got into an accident. With only his father and him left, they treasure each other and lead a happy life until his father is framed for murder. As they are poor, it is easy for the rich Nam Gyu Man to put the blame on his father. What makes matters worse is that Jin Woo’s father cannot remember anything about what happened that night due to Alzheimer’s disease. Park Dong Ho, a gangster lawyer who wins cases by all means decides to help defend Jin Woo’s father after seeing Jin Woo’s determination but at the last minute he purposely loses the case for his uncle who is like a father to him. Lee In Ah is a law student who believes in Jin Woo’s father innocence and supports Jin Woo when he is down. After Jin Woo’s father is convicted, they go on separate ways and she works towards becoming a prosecutor who shines light on the truth.
Why you should watch: Mainly because of the lead couple, Yoo Seung Ho and Park Min Young, and the villain played by Nam Goong Min. The first two episodes are fascinating and the perfect memory ability of Jin Woo is amazing, but if you are looking for a drama with a good and solid plot on law and crime, this may not be the one. It lives up to the name of being a melodrama with many touching moments.
Favourite MVs+ osts: RWOS ost ig post
Click here for full review.
She was pretty (2015) 她真漂亮
Genre: Romance, Comedy
Enjoyment: 10/10 Pace: 9/10 No. of times I watched it: 2
starring Hwang Jung Eum as Kim Hye Jin, Jung Da Bin as Hye Jin (young), Park Seo Joon as Ji Sung Joon, Yang Han Yeol as Sung Joon (young), Go Joon Hee as Min Ha Ri, Choi Shi Won as Kim Shin Hyuk
Plot: Kim Hye Jin (Hwang Jung Eum) was a very pretty girl from a rich family. After her family’s publishing company went bankrupt, she experienced hardships and then lost her beauty too. Meanwhile, Ji Sung Joon (Park Seo Joon) was an unattractive and plump boy with low self-esteem, but grows up as a handsome man and successful editor.
Zoom into characters: Ji Sung Joon is often bullied at school due to his appearance until he finally gets a friend, Kim Hye Jin, who is beautiful but treats him as a real friend. Sung Joon’s life changes but they soon lose contact after Sung Joon emigrated overseas and Hye Jin’s family moves house. After many years, they decide to meet again but Hye Jin stood him up after being shocked by Sung Joon’s change, and is embarrassed at her own state. Instead, she asks her best friend, Ha Ri, to become her substitute. Hye Jin finally gets a job at a magazine publishing company (The Most) but to her horror, she ends up working under Sung Joon. On the other hand, Ha Ri slowly falls for Sung Joon. Shin Hyuk is a famous writer in disguise who works at The Most for fun and falls for Hye Jin.
Why you should watch: Didn’t expect much from it at first but am really glad that I watched it. Its plot isn’t very extraordinary but it has all the fine touches to a good and heartwarming drama. At every corner, there is just enough warmth, romance, comedy. I enjoyed the romance the most haha. I thought that it is just a typical drama that the male lead is able to accept the female lead despite her appearance. However, there is more to it with a so called subplot that Sung Joon is trying to save a company. Totally a fan of Park Seo Joon now haha.
Favourite MVs+osts: You Don’t Know Me by Soyou (Sistar) & Brother Su
Click here for full review.
Orange Marmalade (2015) 橘子果酱
Genre: School, Fantasy, Romance, Melodrama, Vampire
Enjoyment: 10/10 Pace: 9/10 No. of times I watched it: 2
starring Yeo Jin Goo as Jung Jae Min, Song Eui Joon as Jae Min (young), Seol Hyun as Baek Ma Ri, Lee Jong Hyun as Han Shi Hoo, Gil Eun Hye as Jo Ah Ra
Plot: Baek Ma Ri (Seol Hyun) is a senior high student and a vampire. She attends a school which all students are human but she’s not. She has to keep her real identity hidden and acts like a common girl. However, deep inside, she holds the grudge for all people around her mocking vampires. Meanwhile, Jung Jae Min (Yeo Jin Goo) is a popular male student who will fall in love with Baek Ma Ri.
Zoom into characters: Jung Jae Min gives up music to rebel against his mother who married a vampire. He seems like a very popular and well-loved person but he actually grows up alone after leaving his mother. Baek Ma Ri is a vampire who gives up her music dream because of her identity. She does not like to draw attention to herself and just wants to graduate from the school without being discovered. Because of Jae Min’s sweet blood, Ma Ri is drawn to him uncontrollably. At the same time, Jae Min is drawn to Ma Ri’s looks and music talent. He decides to continue with music if Ma Ri joins him in the new band formed.
The best short Korean Drama that I have watched (compared to Liar Game, Surplus Princess haha). It’s been sometime since I can enjoy a whole full album of a drama’s osts and the osts in this drama is good (even though none of them are sad enough for my liking)! I also felt a slight tinge of sadness when it was reaching the end, a feeling I get when I become attached to the lead characters in the drama. It is a unique feeling to get unlike the typical satisfaction of enjoying or finishing a drama.
Favourite MVs+ osts: Whole album
Click here for full review.
Hyde Jekyll and I (2015) 海德、哲基尔与我
Genre: Romance, Psychology, Mystery
Enjoyment: 9/10 Pace: 9/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Hyun Bin as Goo Seo Jin / Robin, Park Ha Joon as Goo Seo Jin (child), Han Ji Min as Jang Ha Na, Sung Joon as Yoon Tae Joo/Lee Soo-hyun, Hyeri as Min Woo Jung
Plot: Due to a childhood trauma, Seo Jin suffers from multiple-personalities disorder. His main personality has a cold personality while his other personality, Robin, has a sweet and innocent personality. When Seo Jin tries to eliminate the circus from Wonderland due to pragmatic reasons, Ha Na fights to keep it at Wonderland. In the process, she finds herself falling for Robin but worries about Seo Jin. Can such a strange relationship work? Can a woman be in a love triangle with just one man? Jang Ha Na finds herself in that impossible situation.
Zoom into characters: Jang Ha Na (Han Ji Min) works as the master and rope walker in a circus at Wonderland, a large amusement park. She is taking over her father’s work if I am not wrong. She has her troupe to take care of and is responsible for the continuity of the circus. Meanwhile, Goo Seo Jin (Hyun Bin) is a third-generation chaebol and the CEO of this Wonderland. He grows up not trusting anyone. Robin first appears when Seo Jin tried to commit suicide and Ha Na saves him but she falls off the bridge and Robin saves her. When experiencing shock, Seo Jin transforms into Robin, a webtoon artist with a kind personality who everyone except Seo Jin’s father loves. While Seo Jin tries his best to prove himself to his father, he also has to reconcile with his childhood friend who now only has revenge in mind.
Why you should watch: Well, you can make a judgement after reading a few reviews about it. In my opinion, it is worth the time. Perhaps this drama’s goodness is affected by Kill Me Heal Me (7 personalities)? A must-watch for Hyun Bin and Han Ji Min’s fan. If you are not sick of Dissociative Identity Disorder and interested in psychology, you can try this one out.
Favourite MVs+ osts: Because of you by Baek Ji Young
Click here for full review.
Angry Mum (2015) 憤怒的媽媽
Genre: Family, School, Politics
Enjoyment: 9/10 Pace: 9/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Kim Hee Sun as Jo Kang Ja, Ji Hyun Woo as Park No Ah, Kim Yoo Jung as Oh Ah Ran, Yoon Ye Joo as Jin Yi Kyung, Ji Soo as Go Bok Dong, Baro as Hong Sang Tae
Plot: A drama about a mother who goes to school for her children who suffer from school violence. Oh Ah Ran (Kim Yoo Jung) is a high-schooler who sticks up for her bullied friend and becomes the victim of bullying in turn. When Mom hears about the school violence, she takes matters into her own hands and goes undercover as a high school student to fix the problem.
Zoom into characters: Jo Kang Ja (Kim Hee Sun) is a former Busan delinquent who got pregnant in her teens and raised her daughter as a single mom. She is willing to do anything for her daughter even though their relationship is getting more and more distant. Ah Ran is raised as Kang Ja’s sister’s daughter in a complete family. She feels hurt that her mother does not acknowledge her as her own daughter to her stepfather. To protect her best friend, she gets involved and becomes a victim of school violence too. When Kang Ja finds out and is helpless in arresting the bullies, she decides to become a student to collect evidence that the police asked for. No Ah is a teacher who believes in the goodness of the students and the world and will start to grow to a teacher who really can protect the students from harm.
Why you should watch: Liked the development of relationships among the students, Kang Ja, and Ah Ran. Liked the growth of the students, especially Bok Dong and Sang Tae, and No Ah from the start to the end of the drama. Liked the relationship between Ah Ran and Sang Tae towards the end. Enjoyed how Kim Hee Sun portrays her character, fighting her way through the drama as an admirable and uncompromising mother. Although I dislike the politics part, it is a high school drama one should not miss if looking for something fun to watch!
Favourite MVs+ osts: I love you, I’m sorry by Ali
Click here for full review.
Hello Monster/ I remember you (2015) 記得你
Genre: Romance, Thriller, Mystery, Psychopath
Enjoyment: 10/10 Pace: 9/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Seo In Guk as Lee Hyun, Hong Hyun Taek as Lee Hyun (Child), Jang NaRa as Cha Ji Ahn, Park Ji So as Ji Ahn (child), Lee Chun Hee as Kang Eun Hyuk, Choi Won Young as Lee Joon Ho, Park Bo Geum as Jung Sun Ho, Hong Eun Taek as Sun Ho (child)
Plot: This drama is a romantic thriller that centers around a criminal profiler, Lee Hyun (Seo In Guk) who previously worked as a consultant at the police department in New York. He returns to South Korea in search of his hidden memory. At the same time, he is asked to join a special criminal investigation team due to his skills. Due to his special insight, he can analyze the crime scene and the suspect at one glance. He works together with an elite detective, Cha Ji Ahn (Jang NaRa) to solve the crimes and they develop a romantic relationship.
Zoom into characters: Lee Hyun’s father, a psychology professor, misunderstands that Lee Hyun has psychopath tendency and locks him in the basement. What his father does not know is that Hyun is trying to keep his brother’s abnormal behaviour a secret. Hyun gets to know about Lee Joon Yeong, a psychopath, due to an encounter at the interrogation room. After that, Lee Joon Yeong manages to escape from jail and frees Hyun by killing his father. In the process, he kidnaps Hyun’s brother before leaving. Cha Ji Ahn becomes a stalker of Hyun after her father is framed for being involved in Lee Joon Yeong’s escape. Determined to prove his father’s innocence, she holds on to the only string related to Lee Joon Yeong: Hyun. They meet when Hyun returns to South Korea to look for Lee Joon Yeong, searching for clues about his past and ends up in her team.
Why you should watch: If you are interested in psychology and want to explore something dark you can try this. The cast acted very well and I enjoyed the drama right from the start. Liked the development of relationships between the characters and the drama’s twists that makes me suspect and wonder about who the evil villains really are.
Favourite MVs+ osts: Remember by Dear Cloud
Click here for full review.
Mask (2015) 假面
Genre: Mystery, Romance, Melodrama
Enjoyment: 9/10 Pace: 9/10 No. of times I watched it: 2
starring Soo Ae as Byun Ji Sook / Eun Ha, Joo Ji Hoon as Choi Min Woo, Jun Jin Seo as Min Woo (young), Yun Jung Hoon as Min Suk Hoon, Yoo In Young as Choi Mi Yun
Plot: A melodrama about people who live wearing ‘masks’ to hide their true identities. Byun Ji Sook (Soo Ae) has always had a hard life with her father constantly going into debt. She desperately wants to know what life is like if she didn’t have to worry about money all the time. Due to a series of circumstances, she assumes Eun Ha’s identity and begins to live her elite life. She marries Min Woo (Joo Ji Hoon), a chaebol heir who is mistrusting of the people around him. Min Woo soon becomes drawn to her sincerity and her feelings of love and sympathy. How long can Ji Sook keep up the charade and hide her true identity?
Zoom into characters: Ji Sook lives a tough life and works as a shop assistant at a department store. After getting into an accident with the loan sharks, she becomes involved in Suk Hoon’s conspiracy. Suk Hoon wants her to replace the brain-dead Eun Ha who resembles Ji Sook. In order to take revenge for his destroyed family, Suk Hoon aims to use his wife, Mi Yun, and get rid of Min Woo to take over the company and let the family live in tragedy. Min Woo with OCD and hallucinations marries Eun Ha (Ji Sook) to establish more power in the company and eventually plans to inherit his father’s company. He feels remorseful towards Eun Ha as he thought that he made Eun Ha drown. What he does not know is that his wife is being switched and his psychological illness is made worse by Suk Hoon.
Why you should watch: Liked the romance in this drama and the acting by the actors and actresses, especially Joo Ji Hoon and Soo Ae. Become a fan of Joo Ji Hoon after this drama. I looked forward to his scenes when watching the drama and the pace of the drama is good enough to make me chase after it. As long as one can hang in there until Ji Sook changes and opposes Suk Hoon, it is worth the watch.
Click here to watch.
Favourite MVs+ osts: Only one day by Lyn
Click here for full review.
Falling for innocence (2015) 為純情著迷
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Fantasy, Mystery
Enjoyment: 9/10 Pace: 8/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Jung Kyung Ho as Kang Min Ho, Lee Tae Woo as Kang Min Ho (young), Kim So Yun as Kim Soon Jung, Jung Da Bin as Kim Soon Jung (young), Yoon Hyun Min as Joon Hee,
Jin Goo as Ma Dong Wook (Soon Jung`s fiance), Choi Soo Han as Ma Dong Wook (young).
Plot: The sudden death of Kang Min Ho’s (Jung Kyung Ho) father led to his uncle taking over the company. His mother who suddenly becomes a widow and loses the company committed suicide, leaving Min Ho to fend for himself in the world. Although he inherits his father’s heart disease, he is fortunate to find a suitable heart and undergoes a heart transplant surgery just before his predicted death. However, his personality changes due to cellular memory syndrome as a result. He begins to have warm feelings and falls in love with Kim Soon Jung (Kim So Yun) who is a secretary. He then realizes the true meaning of love and happiness.
Zoom into characters: Min Ho does many cruel things just so as to get revenge on his uncle. He is about to succeed but was told that he only had one month left. As Soon Jung offended him once and her father betrayed his father, she treats Soon Jung badly and tries all means to hurt her feelings. Soon Jung’s life is at her peak and she is about to get married with Dong Wook, a persistent and honest police/detective. They may be a poor couple but they are happy. However, Dong Wook’s death turned Soon Jung’s life upside down. Dong Wook’s heart starts to beat within Min Ho instead which leads to many confusion and new found love. Min Ho who wanted to make the company bankrupt has conflicted feelings as he would be destroying what his father (who remains in his memory as too idealistic) built up.
Why you should watch: Thanks to tumblr blogger SomeWhatDiana, I who did not know what to watch managed to discover such an interesting drama. Side-noting to the trend: Nowadays, it seems like many people compare dramas to Healer and a good drama would be one that can somehow be comparable to Healer. Hence, any drama that is described as such caught my attention and this was one of them. At first, I was a bit skeptical about this drama, especially because of the posters haha but ends up liking it for its plot and Jung Kyung Ho’s acting.
Favourite MVs+ osts: Paradise by Davink Whole album
Click here for full review.
Girl who can see smells (2015) 看見味道的少女
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Fantasy, Crime
Enjoyment: 9/10 Pace: 10/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Park Yoochun as Choi Moo Gak, Shin Se kyung as Choi Eun Sul / Oh Cho Rim, Nam Goong Min as Kwon Jae Hee and Yoon Jin Seo as Yum Mi.
Plot: 3 years ago, Choi Moo Gak (Yoochun) lost his younger sister in the“BarCode Murder Case”. He has lost his sense of taste and touch eventually after drowning in depression. Meanwhile, Oh Cho Rim (Shin Se kyung) miraculously survived in the same incident and successfully escapes from the murderer’s clutches with only her name known. Since then, she lost her memory but also gained the ability to see smells. As they meet coincidentally, they found that they needed each other: Cho Rim needs a partner to perform comedy while Moo Gak needs her help to solve police cases.
Zoom into characters: Choi Moo Gak lost his only kin, his sister Choi Eun Sul, as she has the same name as the only witness of the serial murderer. After he quits his job at the aquarium, he works hard as a police to promote and get his hands on the murder cases, determined to solve them personally. Oh Cho Rim’s dream is to perform comedy to make people laugh. However, in reality, her effort is getting her nowhere and she is mostly running errands in the troupe. Erasing the most frightening moments of her memory, she now lives as the daughter of a detective who resigned to protect her.
Why you should watch: It is a quick drama with great suspense and fantasy. Liked the development of relationship between Cho Rim and Moo Gak. Enjoyed how the police solve the cases together and the hilarious scenes when the couple is doing comedy performance/ practising comedy skits. The barcode serial murder case is quite unique.
Favourite MVs+ osts: Spring Is Gone by chance by Loco and Yuju
Click here for full review.
Blood (2015) 血
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Medical, Action, Vampire
Enjoyment: 8/10 (due to the ending) Pace: 9/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Ahn Jae Hyun as Park Ji Sang, Baek Seung Hwan as Ji Sang (young), Koo Hye Sun as Yoo Ri Ta, Ji Jin Hee as Lee Jae Wook, Jung Hae in as as Joo Hyun Woo and Son Soo Hyun as Min Ga Yun.
Plot: Despite seeming cold and unfeeling, Park Ji Sang masks his soft heart and inner pain and yearns for closeness with people. He suppresses his thirst for blood to treat terminally ill patients and save lives. While he starts to fall for Ri Ta, his warm heart is activated. He also has to stop Lee Jae Wook (Ji Jin Hee), a two-faced hospital chief who inwardly harbors a dangerous ambition for power and has a talent for cruelty as he continues to undergo an inhumane research.
Zoom into characters: Park Ji Sang is a vampire doctor who struggles to become a human. With his outstanding medical skills, exceptional personal healing ability and fighting skills, he has cured many patients even at battlegrounds. While he is able to control his thirst for blood using medicine for the time being, he soon finds out that it does not work anymore. Yoo Ri Ta was saved by Ji Sang from a pack of wild dogs in the past when she lost her way in the forest near Ji Sang and his mother’s house. Her parents were killed at that time and she was the only survivor of her uncle’s conspiracies. She is then raised by her uncle and eventually becomes a talented but arrogant doctor in the hospital her father built up.
Why you should watch: The first few episodes got me chasing this drama and it kept me addicted until the last few episodes. Liked Ahn Jae Hyun and Koo Hye Sun’s acting in this drama. Unlike other vampire dramas, it is interesting that Ji Sang chooses to be a doctor which is a job that good vampires are unlikely to choose/ avoid choosing because of their thirst for blood. Loved the character Hyun Woo in this drama with his mischievous and cheery smile, and his intelligent and humorous robot. Although it is a bit too violent for me, it has enough tension and thrill.
Favourite MVs+ osts: Only One by Tiffany
Click here for full review.
Kill me heal me (2015) 杀了我，治愈我
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Medical, Mystery
Enjoyment: 10/10 Pace: 9/10 No. of times I watched it: 2
starring Ji Sung as Cha Do Hyun / Shin Se Gi / Ferry Park / Ahn Yo Sub / Ahn Yo Na / Nana / Mysterious X, Hwang Jung Eum as Oh Ri Jin and Park Seo Joon as Oh Ri On.
Plot: A romantic comedy about a third-generation billionaire with Dissociative Identity Disorder and a first-year Psychiatrist resident who treats him secretly. The “seven people” whom he created in his body began their battle to be the final dictator that will have control over his life.
Zoom into characters: Cha Do Hyun (Ji Sung) is the third generation of a chaebol family who suffers from multiple personality disorder after going through numerous life-threatening traumas. He tries to lead life normally and become the successor of the company with the help of a resident doctor, Oh Ri Jin (Hwang Jung Eum). Ri Jin herself lost some of her childhood memories which include Do Hyun. Meanwhile, Oh Ri On (Park Seo Joon) who becomes Oh Ri Jin’s twin brother is a genius writer. He has no choice but to keep his love for her to himself. He is determined to find out the secrets and stories of this third generation Chaebol and starts following him around to uncover them but unexpectedly forms an empathy for him instead.
Just a brief overview: Cha Do Hyun (the real person) is very rich and smart but lonely because of his medical condition. Shin Se Gi is a good fighter and the most dominating among all his other personalities. Most of the pain from Do Hyun’s childhood past falls on him so he is the strongest physically and mentally. 17 year old artistic and overly intelligent Ahn Yo Sub is the suicidal personality which will find all means to commit suicide. Ahn Yo Na is Yo Sub’s twin sister. She appears whenever Do Hyun is under great distress as she does not bear grudge. The only problem is that she will go around chasing idols like a crazy fan. Perry Park’s dream is to own a ship with his name on it. He enjoys making bombs and has a happy-go-lucky personality. Nana and X are personalities that are related to Ri Jin.
Why you should watch: This drama is funny when the personality changes (especially when he is Yo Na) but at the same time saddening when Do Hyun is in despair. The plot is quite solid and I am satisfied with the reason for his medical condition, at least it is for someone and not because of the trauma he faces as I had expected. When the truth is finally out, it is so heartwarming and heartbreaking. The ending wraps the drama up nicely and gives time for the different personalities to say their farewells or express their gratitude to Ri Jin. Looks like I may become a fan of Park Seo Joon after this. Haha.
Click here to watch.
Favourite MV+osts: Unspeakable Secret by Moon Myung Jin and Auditory Hallucination by Jang Jae In (Feat.NaShow)
Click here for full review.
Blade Man (2014) 钢铁人
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Action, Melodrama
Enjoyment: 9/10 Pace: 8/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Lee Dong Wook as Joo Hong Bin, Shin Se Kyung as Son Se Dong and Jung Yoo Geun as Joo Chang.
Plot: Joo Hong Bin (Lee Dong Wook) is a heartless and fearless man. He’s a smart, wealthy, prickly man who manages Global Games (if i am not wrong) and suddenly develops the ability to sprout iron. He gets this ability because of all the pain he carries in his heart, and discovers love and grows up along the way. Meanwhile, Son Se Dong (Shin Se Kyung) is a meddlesome sort who loves the hero and takes it upon herself to turn him into a real man.
Zoom into characters: Since young, Hong Bin does not have the courage to oppose his father in any way such as just asking his father why the Mathematics question has to be done that way. He does not have freedom, including choosing a girlfriend. It is unable to disentangle the knots of misunderstandings between father and son and they drifted apart. Se Dong sympathises with anyone and everyone and even takes care of a bunch of boys, squeezing all of them into her small apartment. With Se Dong’s kind heart and warm gestures, Hong Bin is able to let go of his pain and learn to care.
Why you should watch: This drama shows another side of Lee Dong Wook’s acting as his character adds a lot of humour to the drama unlike his other characters. He portrays the immature side of the character well. The fantasy added into the character makes the drama more interesting which is why I started watching. Liked the relationship between the lead couple and enjoyed the process of Hong Bin growing up to become a good man and a good father.
Click here to watch.
Favourite MV+osts: I Love You by Kim Ji Sook & Cho Hyun Young (Rainbow)
Click here for full review.
Healer (2014) 治愈者
Genre: Thriller, Romance, Comedy, Action, Mystery
Enjoyment: 10/10 Pace: 9/10 No. of times I watched it: 2
starring Ji Chang Wook as Seo Jung Hoo / Healer, Yoo Ji Tae as Kim Moon Ho, Park Min Young as Chae Young Shin.
Plot: Kim Moon Ho (Yoo Ji Tae) is a popular reporter at a major broadcasting company run by his older brother. As he tries all ways to make truth come to light, he helps people who feel wronged. He kept silent about his brother’s bad deeds towards his brother’s very own friends due to his lack of power. With people on his side and the power of media, he finally managed to do something about it. Meanwhile, with the help of Kim Moon Ho, internet reporter Chae Young Shin (Park Min Young) and Seo Jung Hoo (Ji Chang Wook), known as “Healer,” grow into real reporters.
Zoom into characters: Seo Jung Hoo, code name Healer, is a night errand guy who does any work except murder as long as the payment is sufficient. His dream is to get an uninhabited island in South Pacific (if I did not remember wrongly) and live there until he meets bold and sunny Young Shin. In order to find out more about Young Shin as requested by his client (Moon Ho), he stages as a coward reporter in Someday News. Despite being framed as a murderer and suspected to be near Young Shin, he continues to be around Young Shin on impulse. Young Shin was adopted by a gangster+lawyer after being physically abused by her first adoptive parent. Despite having breathing problems whenever she witnesses violence, she is not afraid to stand up against the bad guys and is protective towards “chicken-hearted” Jung Hoo. She calls herself a veteran entertainment reporter until she gets the chance to learn from her idol, Moon Ho.
Why you should watch: Despite it boring me when the scenes do not include the lead couple, there is a good mix of romance and action in this drama. At first, I did not want to watch it as I thought it is just another reporter related drama. Fortunately, I went to read the recaps and liked the characters for both the lead which is why I started watching. It gives great satisfaction and the ending is good! I liked how Ji Chang Wook and Park Min Young portrayed their characters, making the drama more memorable.
Click here to watch.
MV+Favourite osts: You by Ben What my eyes say by Tei
Click here for full review.
Pinocchio (2014) 皮诺丘
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Family
Enjoyment: 10/10 Pace: 10/10 No. of times I watched it: 3
starring Park Shin Hye as Choi In Ha, Noh Jung Ui as Choi In Ha (young), Lee Jong Suk as Choi Dal Po / Ki Ha Myung, Nam Da Reum as Choi Dal Po / Ki Ha Myung (young), Kim Young Kwang as Seo Bum Jo, Lee Yoo Bi as Yoon Yoo Rae.
Plot: This drama shows the journey of reporters as they learn about how news can affect people’s lives and to put in their best effort to dig out and reflect the truth. In passionate pursuit of the truth, In Ha and Dal Po later become newbie reporters at a current affairs news desk. Among their colleagues are Seo Bum Jo (Kim Young Kwang) a heir from a rich chaebol family and Yoon Yoo Rae (Lee Yoo Bi) who is once a crazy idol fan who now uses those obsessive and determined traits in her new job. While Dal Po takes his revenge as a reporter, In Ha will prove that a Pinocchio can be a good if not better reporter.
Zoom into characters: Ki Ha Myung loses both his parents after his father, Ki Ho Sang (Jung In Ki) the captain of the firefighting squad, becomes the scapegoat due to the media sensationalising the case. Ha Myung is being rescued by Choi In Ha’s grandfather in the sea after his mother jumped off the cliff with him. He feels that his brother abandoned them and decides to stay as Choi Dal Po (In Ha’s grandfather’s mentally challenged son). He is very intelligent and manages to repair the television for In Ha just to find out that In Ha’s mother is actually the MSC reporter that he hates. Because of that, he starts to treat In Ha badly even though he likes her. In Ha has the Pinocchio syndrome and will hiccup whenever she tells a lie so she has no choice but to say the truth. She has tried to stay in contact with her mother by messaging but realises after many years that her mother has changed her phone.
Why you should watch: I avoided watching this drama as I wanted to wait for it to finish producing and finish it quickly. Haha. Enjoyed the development of the relationship between In Ha and Ha Myung. Liked the relationships among the intern reporters and their seniors. The drama did not disappoint me with its intriguing plot dipped with some sadness and good acting of the casts. It just makes one want more after each episode. It was fun watching the rivalry between the two news stations (YGN and MSC) and how they train the intern reporters.
Click here to watch.
MV+Favourite osts: Pinocchio by Roy Kim and Only Person by K Will
Click here for full review.
Liar Game (2014) 诈欺游戏
Genre: Game, Romance, Suspense, Mystery
Enjoyment: 9/10 Pace: 7/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Lee Sang Yoon as Ha Woo Jin (participant of reality show “Liar Game”), Kim So Eun as Nam Da Jung (participant of reality show “Liar Game”) and Shin Sung Rok as Kang Do Young (MC and planner of reality show “Liar Game”).
Plot: This short drama is about various contestants take part in a game show with a prize of 10 billion won where contestants are encouraged to cheat and lie. The contestants who are able to cheat the others will win the prize but go into more debt if he/she loses the game. Contestants include genius swindler Ha Woo Jin (Lee Sang Yoon) and naive college student Nam Da Jung (Kim So Eun). Meanwhile, Kang Do Young (Shin Sung Rok) will play the MC and planner of this game show.
Zoom into characters: Ha Woo Jin who was once a professor in psychology is a human lie detector. He finds it interesting reading books upside down and can solve a crime just by observing the criminal. Out of revenge for his dead mother, he makes a company bankrupt and attempts to murder the CEO but failed. Nam Da Jung (like Woo Jin’s mother) cannot help but trust people. Her father went into debts and left after he invested in the company that became nothing (because of Woo Jin). Da Jung suddenly finds herself in Liar Game after returning a bag with a lot of money to the police. In order to help Da Jung win money to pay back her debt, a loan shark lackey introduces Woo Jin to her and they work together thereafter. Do Young, the MC of the show, is very sly and tries to raise the ratings of the show by all means. He is also able to control the slightest facial expression, even tricking Woo Jin at times.
Click here to watch.
MV+Favourite osts: Liar by Dear Cloud
Click here for full review.
God’s Gift – 14 Days (2014) 神的礼物－14天
Genre: Melodrama, Action, Crime, Thriller, Time-Travel
Enjoyment: 9/10 Pace: 9/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Lee Bo Young as Kim Soo Hyun, Cho Seung Woo as Ki Dong Chan, Kim Tae Woo as Han Ji Hoon (Soo Hyun’s husband), Jung Gyu Woon as Hyun Woo Jin, Kim Yoo Bin as Han Saet Byul (Soo Hyun’s daughter).
Plot: Kim Soo Hyun (Lee Bo Young) travels back in time to bring her dead child, Han Saet Byul (Kim Yoo Bin) back to life. Han Ji Hoon (Kim Tae Woo) is her husband, a human rights lawyer who is passionate about his work. Meanwhile, Ki Dong Chan (Cho Seung Woo) is a private investigator who helps her when she goes back in time. Hyun Woo Jin (Jung Gyu Woon) is Kim Soo Hyun’s first love, a detective in the violent crimes division who is helping the kidnapper but at the same time ensuring Soo Hyun’s safety.
Zoom into characters: Soo Hyun was a strict mother, active in Saet Byul’s education. Since she gets a chance to live the last 14 days again after her child passed away, she focuses on saving her child and treasures every moment with her. Once a legend in the police, Dong Chan quits his job after he thinks he shot his nephew in a case. Dong Chan while saving Soo Hyun from her suicide attempt gets the chance to time-travel to rescue his elder brother from execution. Dong Chan stood up as a witness for his brother’s murder of his girlfriend without knowing his mentally challenged brother admits to the crime assuming that Dong Chan is the real murderer. Together, the 2 people who know what will happen next try to change the future.
Why you should watch: It is really a thriller. It is fun to watch how they solve each mystery and come closer to preventing Seat Byul’s and Dong Chan’s brother’s death. It is interesting to see repeated events happening yet accompanying a twist. It is also a content-rich drama that does not focus on romance. If you like suspense, you should try it. It is a waste that the ending is so open-ended and a bit sudden to me. Liked how Soo Hyun and Dong Chan change for the better after time-travelling.
MV+Favourite osts: Because it hurts by Sandeul (of B1A4)
Click here for full review.
High School Love On (2014) 爱在高中
Genre: Fantasy, Comedy, Romance, High School
Enjoyment: 10/10 Pace: 9/10 (at the start, 7/10 towards the end)No. of times I watched it: 2
starring Nam Woo Hyun as Shin Woo Hyun, Kim Sae Ron as Lee Seul Bi, Lee Sung Yeol as Hwang Sung Yeol.
Plot: Lee Seul Bi (Kim Sae Ron) is an angel who becomes half-human after saving Shin Woo Hyun (Nam Woo Hyun) with her power. Woo Hyun lives with his grandmother and carries emotional scars from being abandoned by his parents. Despite his cold demeanor, Woo Hyun is popular in school because of his good looks and singing ability. When his best friend, Hwang Sung Yeol (Lee Sung Yeol), finds out a secret that ties them together and also develops feelings for Seul Bi, who is posing as a fellow student at their school, the best friends turn into rivals. Can Seul Bi survive first love and other perils of life as a teenager? Will she be able to protect not only Woo Hyun but also herself and become completely human?
Zoom into characters: Seul Bi who is pure at heart is an angel that loves to watch dramas. Unlike others, when she walks into Woo Hyun, she feels something strong. She does not regret saving Woo Hyun and decides not to leave him when his grandmother (his only kin then) passes away. Woo Hyun is a “narcissistic prince” who is every high school girl’s ideal boyfriend with his good looks and singing ability. Woo Hyun finds Seul Bi strange as she is unable to use a chopsticks etc. He finally accepts her as a family but ends up falling deeply in love with Seul Bi. Sung Yeol has many parents, including 2 stepparents. However, he is very lonely and neglected by his parents. He leaves a good impression on Seul Bi as he lent her an umbrella when she was abandoned by Woo Hyun. Sung Yeol becomes Woo Hyun’s good friend until he likes Seul Bi and discovers that Woo Hyun is his stepmother’s son.
Why you should watch: The first episode made me captivated and there are many twists. The fantasy in the first episode really makes one want for more. The drama mixes the high school theme with fantasy well. Nam Woo Hyun, Kim Sae Ron and Lee Sung Yeol acted very well in it, especially Nam Woo Hyun with his first drama as lead. Liked the relationships between the other high school couples in this drama. Quite satisfied with the ending.
Click here to watch.
MV+ Favourite osts: What My Heart Wants to Say – Lel ft. Linzy and Too good by Junggigo (Feat. Minwoo)
Click here for full review.
Surplus princess (2014) 剩余公主
Genre: Fantasy, Comedy, Romance
Enjoyment: 8/10 Pace: 8/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Jo Bo Ah as Kim Ha Ni / Ei Rin, Ohn Joo Wan as Lee Hyun Myung, Song Jae Rim as Kwon Shi Kyung, Park Ji Soo as Yoon Jin Ah.
Although it is short, a bit “informal” and weird (at the start and end) unlike other dramas, it becomes like other dramas after a few episodes. I thought that Ha Ni will end up with Shi Kyung just as I wanted. However, as I continued watching, the time that Shi Kyung appears seems to be a lot fewer than Hyun Myung. It is then that I suddenly realise that he is not the main lead haha… Even though Ha Ni loves Shi Kyung at first sight and they even share a kiss, Hyun Myung is more of a true love as he truly helps her and finally wins her heart. Not sure why Ha Ni still disappears even though she found true love. (sry for the spoiler) Maybe it has to be the man who started this whole thing? This is really a unique yet short drama that the person who did more gets the girl. If you want a good laugh, you can try this.
Click here for plot and zoom into characters.
Bride of the century (2014) 百年新娘
Genre: Melodrama, Romance, Family, Fantasy, Comedy
Enjoyment: 10/10 Pace: 9/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Yang Jin Sung as Na Doo Rim / Jang Yi kyung / Boon Yi and Lee Hong Ki as Choi Kang Joo. Other casts: Sung Hyuk as Jang Yi Hyun (Yi Kyung’s older brother/operations manager of Oh Sung Construction) and Park Jin Joo as Oh Jin Joo, Jang Ah Young as Lee Roo Mi and Kim Ah Young as Sung Joo Shin, family ghost.
Plot: The Taeyang Corporation is the largest conglomerate in South Korea. The family that runs Taeyang has been under a curse for 100 years. The curse began when the first bride of the family’s first son died and many others died of illness or accidents. Under this situation, a love like fairy tale occurs while conspiracies run rampant. Kang Joo is the heir to Taeyang and people who know of the curse are making good use of it to get what they want. As everyone is trying to use Kang Joo’s first bride as a sacrifice, who will become the dead first bride and who will take over her place? Is the curse true in the 1st place?
Zoom into characters: Yi Kyung is about to be married to Kang Joo to help in her family business. However, she has been having nightmares about the curse and her mother who knows of the curse decides to use Doo Rim to make Yi Kyung the last bride standing. Kind-hearted Doo Rim who needs money for her grandmother’s surgery becomes the substitute girlfriend of Kang Joo. She resembles Yi Kyung by looks and Kang Joo, the irritable person who does not care much about his fiancee, does not notice the difference. Kang Joo starts to develop feelings for Doo Rim (and vice versa) as time goes by and his father becomes fond of her. Kang Joo’s mother who believes in the curse is willing to allow Kang Joo to marry Yi Kyung as she wants to replace Yi Kyung (who will supposedly become dead) with Roo Mi who grows up with Kang Joo. The family ghost is always on the move to match-make Doo Rim and Kang Joo.
Why you should watch: The family ghost makes the drama very interesting and different from other fantasy dramas. The conspiracies happen all because of the supposedly true curse which is actually just a test for true love. This drama is also like a thriller that makes one come back for more and there are many twists. Yang Jin Sung acted very well in the many roles, portraying the different characters very well. Looks like I will also have to look out for dramas by Lee Hong Ki.
MV+ Favourite osts: What I wanted to say by Lee Hongki of FTISLAND and Into my heart by FTISLAND
Click here for full review.
Click here for Quick Picture Recap BOTC.
Angel Eyes (2014) 天使之眼
Genre: Melodrama, Romance, Family, Medical
Enjoyment: 8/10 Pace: 6/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Lee Sang Yoon as as Park Dong Joo, Kang Ha Neul as Park Dong Joo (young) and Koo Hye Sun as Yoon Soo Wan, Nam Ji Hyun as Yoon Soo Wan (young). Other casts: Kim Ji Suk as Kang Ji Woon and Seung Ri as Teddy Seo.
Plot: Yoon Soo Wan (Koo Hye Sun) and Park Dong Joo (Lee Sang Yoon) were each other’s first loves, but were forced to separate due to painful family circumstances. Twelve years later, Soo Wan now works as an emergency rescue worker, while Dong Joo is a surgeon. They meet each other again. But Soo Wan is engaged to Neurosurgeon Kang Ji Woon (Kim Ji Suk). Knowing this in addition to his obligation to Soo Wan’s father who raised him, Park Dong Joo decided not to reveal his identity to Soo Wan and go back to United States. Will Soo Wan realize that Doctor Dylan Park is her first love, Park Dong Joo? Will they end up together despite all the obstacles that they are going to face?
Zoom into characters: Dong Joo is an excellent student whose grades are eligible to become a doctor but his dream is to be a firefighter like his father. He falls in love with Soo Wan at 1st sight and secretly watches her from afar. His love changed from one-sided to two-sided after he found out she is blind and they started to have interaction. Soo Wan loves to study constellation and becomes a lonely person after she lost her mother and her eyes. Her father, a doctor, cannot bear to see her as she not only reminds him of her mother, but it also makes him feel guilty for being unable to cure her. Her life changed after she becomes part of Dong Joo’s family.
Why you should watch: Liked how the drama starts and there are many touching moments but the pace is too slow for me after they finally found each other and focus more on the emotions and romance of the lead couple. They could have gotten together much earlier yet they keep pushing each other away or hurting each other. I would have found it more interesting if they focus on the job of firefighters. It is the lead couple’s acting that keeps me going in this drama.
MV+ Favourite osts: Tears Fall by Kim Tae Hyun (DICKPUNKS) and Run To You by Lasse Lindh Whole album
Click here for full review.
Click here for Quick Picture Recap AE.
Doctor Stranger (2014) 异乡人医生
Genre: Melodrama, Medical, Action, Thriller, Politics
Enjoyment: 9/10 Pace: 8/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Lee Jong Suk as Park Hoon – Goo Seung Hyun as Park Hoon (child) and Jin Se Yun as Song Jae Hee / Han Seung Hee. Other casts: Park Hae Jin as Han Jae Joon and Kang So Ra as Oh Soo Hyun.
Plot: Park Hoon (Lee Jong Suk) is raised in North Korea to become a doctor, following his father’s footsteps. After Park Hoon becomes an accomplished heart surgeon, he goes to South Korea after tragic separation with his girlfriend. He ends up at Myungwoo University Hospital due to his good surgery skills being discovered. As he tries to adjust to his strange new life in South Korea, Park Hoon does his best to work alongside Han Jae Joon (Park Hae Jin), a Harvard graduate who only has revenge in mind while catching the eye of Oh Soo Hyun (Kang So Ra), Jae Joon’s fiancée and the daughter of the hospital director. Anesthesiologist Han Seung Hee bears a strong resemblance to Song Jae Hee, Park Hoon’s girlfriend back in the North whom he wants desperately to come join him. Can the genius doctor do what it takes to make a new life for himself and his love in the South?
Zoom into characters: Despite the struggles Park Hoon faces, he is an easy-going person who cares for the patients more than his life. He chooses patients who cannot afford medical fees or are in critical condition. Jae Hee who is later known as Seung Hee is Hoon’s lover who Hoon tries all ways to save and escape out of North Korea. He has no choice but to transplant Jae Hee’s father’s kidney into her. Jae Hee who did not manage to escape grabs the chance to go to South Korea by using Hoon and carrying out a mission with North Korean official. Jae Joon’s father was killed in a medical accident at Myungwoo University Hospital. The hospital director, Soo Hyun’s father, did not admit the mistake and chased them out, making Jae Joon lost his mother as a result. Jae Joon becomes a doctor out of revenge but falls in love with Soo Hyun.
Why you should watch: Continued watching this mainly due to Lee Jong Suk’s acting+I want to watch the good ending between Park Hoon and Jae Hee. Much to my amusement, Lee Jong Suk can smile in many different ways, which adds much liveliness to the typical yet heavy plot. Loved the competitions involved between the doctors and how Hoon always thinks for the patients and is moved by his patient’s family’s sincerity.
MV+ Favourite osts: Stranger by Bobby Kim, Meet you now by Lee Ki Chan and Promise Instrumental
Click here for full review.
Click here for Quick Picture Recap DS.
You’re all surrounded (2014) 你们被包围了
Genre: Mystery, Crime, Romance, Action, Thriller
Enjoyment: 9/10 Pace: 8/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Lee Seung Ki as Eun Dae Gu / Kim Ji Yong, Cha Seung Won as Seo Pan Suk and Go Ah Ra as Uh Soo Sun.
Plot: Eun Dae Goo (Lee Seung Ki), Uh Soo Sun (Go Ah Ra), Park Tae Il (Ahn Jae Hyun) and Ji Gook (Park Jung Min) are the new recruits in the violent crime unit at Gangnam Police Station. These rookies are neither enthusiastic nor passionate about their new jobs and have joined the crime squad for different but unbefitting reasons. They are led by an erratic and hot headed Seo Pan Suk (Cha Seung Won) who wants nothing more than to wash his hand off of the incompetent new recruits. This drama follows the journey of these young cops as they fumble, learn, fall in love and find their way to becoming people the citizens can trust.
Zoom into characters: Ji Yong with painful memory grows up in the orphanage after changing his name to Dae Gu. He goes to the police station to work with revenge in his mind and gets close to Pan Suk whom he believes caused his mother’s death. Dae Gu has photographic memory but is unable to control his emotions. Seo Pan Suk is the team leader of the violent crimes unit who forced Ji Yong’s mother to be witness and did not manage to protect her. He solves many cases and feels that there are no excuses for mistakes. Soo Sun studied in the same school as Ji Yong in the past and last saw him in school after accidentally broadcasting his whereabouts to the killer. Bold and persistent, Soo-sun applied seven times before being accepted into the police academy. She is the only female in the new class of officers.
Why you should watch: It is interesting how the police deal with the cases and the hierarchy involved in the justice system. Watched due to Ahn Jae Hyun, Lee Seung Gi and Goh Ahra. Many funny scenes involved and the drama starts off very well. I don’t think I have ever seen/noticed Park Jung-Min in dramas before but he played his role as Ji Gook very well, making his character significant and likeable with his unique phrase of “daegu daegu”. Seeing another side of Lee Seung Gi through this drama.
MV+Favourite osts: What’s Wrong With Me by San E (Feat.Kang Min Hee) and Love, That One Word by Taeyeon
Click here for full review.
Click here for Quick Picture Recap YAAS.
You who came from the stars (2013-2014) 来自星星的你
Genre: Romance, Action, Comedy, Fantasy, Mystery
Enjoyment: 10/10 Pace: 9/10 No. of times I watched it: 5
A super big hit and a must-watch! Starring Kim Soo Hyun as Do Min Joon and Jun Ji Hyun as Cheun Song Yi.
Plot: If you haven’t watched it yet, it is about an alien with many magical abilities who did not manage to return to his planet due to an accident. He remains in Earth alone for the next few hundred years until he meets the reincarnation of someone he loved few hundred years ago. He who does not care to help others started to change his own life as he saved the girl he loved one time after another. As the day he has to leave Earth reaches, he becomes weaker. Will he be able to confess to the girl he loves and survive to the end?
Zoom into characters: Song Yi is a actress with little knowledge but well-known to the people. She is arrogant and blunt. She may look tough on the outside but is easily hurt when people write hurtful comments about her online. She has a boy friend who does not give up trying to pursue her. Do Min Joon is an alien who had become a doctor, a banker… and is currently working as a lecturer. He has wide knowledge about the world and has gone for army many times in his days on Earth. People think that he is young and immature but he is actually few hundred years old. He only has one friend who is also his lawyer. He helped his friend in the past so his friend returns the favour by protecting his identity. Min Joon and Song Yi met as Song Yi moves to the same block as him and misunderstands him as a stalker.
Why you should watch: The plot is fresh with romance+fantasy+historical to present+action elements. Every moment seems perfect and I was “chasing” after each episode one by one. Kim Soo Hyun is quite good at acting sad scenes (in every drama) and Jun Ji Hyun makes scenes funny with her exaggerated acting. Both add icing on the cake, making this drama a success. The fact that Min Joon can get heart attacks (ep9,16,19) when his blood is mixed with human’s despite his magical abilities makes it more interesting.
MV+ Favourite osts: Hello, Goodbye by Hyorin and My Destiny by Lyn
Click here for full review.
Inheritors/Heirs (2013) 繼承者
Genre: High School, Romance, Comedy
Enjoyment: 9/10 Pace: 7/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Lee Min Ho as Kim Tan, Park Shin Hye as Cha Eun Sang, Kim Woo Bin as Choi Young Do, Krystal Jung as Lee Bo Na, Kim Ji Won as Rachel Yoo, Kang Min Hyuk as Yoon Chan Young, Kang Ha Neul as Lee Hyo Shin, Park Hyung Shik as Jo Myung Soo
Plot: This drama follows a group of privileged, elite high school students as they are groomed to take over their families’ business empires. These wealthy students seem to have everything under control–except their love lives. Who said being a rich high school student with high status was easy?
Zoom into characters: Kim Tan (Lee Min Ho), an illegitimate son, is heir to the Empire Group sent to study abroad in the U.S. In reality, it’s a form of exile as his elder half-brother back home, Kim Won (Choi Jin Hyuk) schemes to takes over the family business. While in the States, Kim Tan bumps into Cha Eun Sang (Park Shin Hye), who’s arrived from Korea in search of her older sister. He feels himself falling for her, never realizing that she is the daughter of his family’s housekeeper. Eun Sang has a mute mother and has many part-time jobs in the hope to let her mother live a better life. Choi Young Do who was once Tan’s best friend is a school bully who has many ways to pick on students who do not belong in this school meant for the rich. He bullies Eun Sung in school because of Tan but ends up liking her.
Why you should watch: It is a popular high school drama starring Lee Min Ho, Park Shin Hye, Kim Woo Bin, Choi Jin Hyuk, Kang Min Hyuk, Kang Ha Neul, Krystal Jung and many more. The pace for the lead couple is a bit slow to me towards the end, involving the usual battle against the rich guy’s father but it is still fun watching them at the start of their relationship. There are also other couples to look forward to.
Click here to watch.
MV+ Favourite osts: I’m saying by Lee Hong Ki and Love is the moment by Changmin
Click here for full review.
The Master’s Sun (2013) 主君的太陽
Genre: Horror, Fantasy, Romance, Comedy
Enjoyment: 9/10 Pace: 9/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring So Ji Sub as Joo Joong Won / Joo-goon, L @ Kim Myung Soo as Joong Won (young) and Gong Hyo Jin as Tae Gong Shil / Tae-yang. Other casts: Seo In Guk as Kang Woo and Kim Yoo Ri as Tae Yi Ryung.
Plot: The story is being touted as a “soul healing” drama that brings together very different types of people: one who can see and hear things that no one else in the world can and another who only hears and see things he wants to. Joong Won hopes to find the ransom (necklace) his kidnappers in the past took with Gong Shil’s ability while Gong Shil needs him to “breathe”. As Joo Joong Won starts to believe in Tae Gong Shil’s claim of being able to see ghosts and gets involved in her world, these two people will grow together in faith and in character.
Zoom into characters: Joo Joong Won (So Ji Sub) is a miserly, greedy and conceited CEO of Kingdom (shopping mall+hotel?), who measures all human relationships through money. He was kidnapped in the past and the kidnapper forced him to read books to show that he is still alive which caused his inability (phobia) to read Korean characters. He is filled with hatred as his girlfriend was involved in the kidnapping. Meanwhile, Tae Gong Shil (Gong Hyo Jin) who is able to see ghosts after an accident live in misery as she not only cannot sleep well at night, but also cannot walk around freely for fear of seeing them. Joong Won is like a life saver to her as the ghosts disappear whenever she touches him. Kang Woo is someone who has a crush on Gong Shil but is afraid of ghost related things (haha, did not expect it). He tries to overcome his fear so that he can protect Gong Shil. As time goes by, he falls in love with Kingdom’s model, Tae Yi Ryung, who is always eager to win his heart.
Why you should watch: Gong Hyo Jin acted very well such that I did not get sick of how she reacts everytime she sees ghosts. It is some time since I see a drama with So Ji Sub and his acting is still good! The ghosts are not only white but also made ugly which adds on to the frightening effect. Not sure why I am into ghost-related dramas this year as this is the third one when I hardly ever touch dramas or movies related to ghosts. The past kidnapping case of Joong Won did turn into an unexpected twist.
MV+ Favourite osts: Crazy Of You by Hyorin (SISTAR)
Click here for full review.
Two weeks (2013) 两周
Genre: Action, Romance, Crime, Thriller
Enjoyment: 9/10 Pace: 9/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Lee Joon Ki as Jang Tae San and Park Ha Sun as Seo In Hye and Lee Chae Mi as Seo Soo Jin (Tae San’s daughter).
Plot: Jang Tae San (Lee Joon Ki) escapes from an overturned police car after being falsely accused of murder. His daughter is sick with leukemia and only Tae San’s bone marrow matches hers. Tae San has to keep himself alive and uninfected until the surgery date. With the police and bad guys hot on his heels, will he be able to survive and prove his innocence? The drama spans exactly two weeks, and tells of Tae San’s desperate struggles to save his daughter who brings him courage to live on.
Zoom into characters: Tae San is a kind-hearted person who does not even reject eating his girlfriend’s favourite food even though he is allergic to it. Although he does not seem to be able to kill a fly, he suddenly forced his girlfriend into an abortion. In Hye is Tae San’s girlfriend who gives birth to his child without him knowing and raising her as a single parent. She cuts all ties with her parents as she does not want to go overseas with them. Soo Jin (Tae San’s daughter) is a bright and mature child who is determined to recover from her illness.
Why you should watch: It is a thriller and makes one excited to know what happens next. Every episode means one day past except the 1st and last episode. The action part of this drama is what makes it good! You can just skip the first episode when watching it. It is fun to watch when he destroys the bad guys’ plans. Liked Tae San’s daughter a lot and I looked forward to seeing her each episode!
MV+Favourite osts: Run by Nell
Click here for full review.
Click here for Quick Picture Recap 2 Weeks.
Incarnation of money (2013) 钱的化身
Genre: Melodrama, Romance, Comedy, Mystery
Enjoyment: 9/10 Pace: 8/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Kang Ji Hwan as Lee Cha Don and Hwang Jung Eum as Bok Jae In.
Plot: Bok Jae In (Hwang Jung Eum) plays the fat daughter of a loan shark who saved Cha Don and has a crush on Cha Don. She later goes for plastic surgery to change her looks. Meanwhile, Lee Cha Don (Kang Ji Hwan) was from a rich family. His father was betrayed and killed by his trusted subordinate and his mother was framed for murder. One day, he happens to find out the truth and a car “accident” occurs. Hence, he loses his memory and gains a special memorising ability. He thus becomes a prosecutor who loves money and meets his enemy/murderer of his father who is a high rank prosecutor. For money, he decides to help a woman (his mother) locked in the psychiatric ward to claim money left behind by a rich man, without knowing he is actually related to the dead rich man. He slowly uncovers the truth of his past and plots to takes revenge.
Zoom into characters: Cha Don grows to love money due to his family background. Cha Don has good memorizing skills after the accident. He was able to return to Jae In’s house just by memorizing the names of the shops he passed by. However, he did not want to live in Jae In’s house and decides to go to the orphanage. Despite growing up in the orphanage, he is optimistic and always trying to earn money. Jae In is a fat girl who undergoes surgery so as not to be looked down upon by others. She has good skills in handling money. Cha Don will gradually fall in love with her even though he makes use of her once.
Why you should watch: A bit typical for those that watch a lot of Korean dramas. If you would ask why you should not miss it, I think it is simply due to its ability to bind the word “humorous” and “touching” together. Watching this at first due to Kang Ji Hwan with his ability to add humour to the scenes but finds out that the plot is good! There is a twist after he regained his memory and plots for revenge.
Click here to watch.
MV+ Favourite osts: You are the love by Seo In Young
I hear your voice (2013) 听见你的声音
Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Comedy, Thriller, Crime, Mystery
Enjoyment: 10/10 Pace: 10/10 No. of times I watched it: 2
starring Lee Jong Suk as Park Soo Ha, Goo Seung Hyun as Soo Ha (child)and Lee Bo Young as Jang Hye Sung, Kim So Hyun as Jang Hye Sung (young). Other casts: Yoon Sang Hyun as Cha Kwan Woo, Lee Da Hee as Seo Do Yeon, Jung Min Ah as Do Yeon (young) and Jung Woong In as Min Joon Gook.
Plot: Park Soo Ha played by Lee Jongsuk is a character to look forward to. He can read people’s mind due to a car accident which is useful at the same time cruel to him. Some treats him as a monster. To make things worse, the murderer actually uses Soo Ha’s ability to his advantage and is constantly finding chance to hurt them after he is released from jail. As Hye Sung bravely stood up as a witness when he was young and helped catch the murderer of Soo Ha’s father, Soo Ha is grateful and promised her that he will protect her from the killer when he is released from jail in the future. He will help Hye Sung become a good public defender and has an overly enthusiastic public defender, Kwan Woo, as a love rival.
Zoom into characters: Soo Ha is a high school boy who searches high and low for Hye Sung who he wants to protect and finally finds her. However, she is not what he thinks she is. She has become a sloppy, petty and irresponsible public defender and defend the defendants for the sake of defending them. Hye Sung does not believe in the defendants and only work with evidence. Soo Ha who can read the defendants’ mind helps her change and win cases. Hye Sung becomes dependent on Soo Ha until Soo Ha gets into trouble and she has to stand up on her own feet to prove Soo Ha’s innocence. Do Yeon is a prosecutor who is Hye Sung’s friend+enemy and is actually adopted into a rich family after her adoptive father made a grave mistake as the judge for her father’s case. Although once a police officer, Kwan Woo makes a capable and enthusiastic public defender who believes completely in the defendants and has to learn a painful lesson when his defendant, Joon Gook, (after killing Hye Sung’s mother) lied to him which led to his acquittal.
Why you should watch: Another drama that I “chased”(watched faster than it can be screened). Watching this due to the attractive plot: reading people’s minds. There are many twists (trust me) and learning points in this drama. The plot is good and different due to the fantasy part. There are many different crime cases involved while Soo Ha is helping Hye Sung. It is interesting to see how the lawyers defend for each case. The child actors are very good and set the foundation of the story. Lee Jong Suk and Lee Bo Young acted well and the overly enthusiastic lawyer acted by Yoon Sang Hyun added liveliness to the drama. Lee Jong Suk’s character in this drama is amazing! You will not regret watching!
Click here to watch.
MV+ Favourite osts: Whole album Every Single Day by Echo
Click here for full review.
Click here for Quick Picture Recap IHYV.
Gu Family Book (2013) 九家之书
Genre: Fantasy, Historical, Romance
Enjoyment: 10/10 Pace: 10/10 No. of times I watched it: 3
starring Lee Seung Ki as Choi Kang Chi and Bae Suzy as Dam Yeo Wool, Lee Sung Jae as Jo Gwan Woong, Jo Sung Ha as Dam Pyung Joon, Yoo Yun Suk as Park Tae Seo, Lee Yoo Bi as Park Chung Jo, Sung Joon as Gon Yi
Plot: Choi Kang Chi is born as a half-human-half-mythical-creature and abandoned. His father is the guardian god of Jiri mountains while his mother is a human. His father saved his mother and their story began as they fell in love with each other. Little did they know their love will turn into a tragic love ending with his father turning into an evil spirit. The story of Choi Kang Chi and Dam Yeo Wool started as they were fated to meet each other by a cherry tree. Like his father, he did not manage to become a complete human as his bracelet came off before he turned 20 years old. Will Choi Kang Chi follow his father’s footsteps as he tries to obtain the Gu Family book to become human? Will their story turn out to be a tragic love as predicted by the fortune teller?
Zoom into characters: Kang Chi is a sincere but playful person who stands up for the citizens who are being treated unfairly. His life was going smoothly until his bracelet was cut off and he became a monster, killing many with his sharp claws. After that, he has to learn to prevent himself from changing into a monster when his bracelet is taken off and learn to gain other’s trust. Yeo Wool practises martial arts but cannot find a soulmate. After meeting Kang Chi, she bravely decides to follow her fate and not avoid it. She is one of the few who accepts Kang Chi as his true half-human half-monster self.
Why you should watch: I am always attracted to dramas by Lee Seung Gi! You will know why after you watched it. Lee Seung Gi’s second fantasy drama and it is still awesome! This time, he acts as the mythical creature instead. I am fascinated by the mythical and human part in this drama and the characters are developed well as the drama goes along. As one watches it, one will be drawn into it. The cutting at the back of the episodes are good and makes one feel like watching another episode. It is also a heartwarming drama with nice plot twists.
MV+Favourite osts: Whole album Love hurts by Lee Sang Gon
Click here for full review.
Click here for Quick Picture Recap GFB.
Flowerboy next door (2013) 邻家花美男
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Enjoyment: 8/10 Pace: 7/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Park Shin Hye as Go Dok Mi and Yoon Shi Yoon as Enrique Geum.
Plot: The starting is different from many other dramas as Dok Mi follows the person downstairs in the next block. Whatever he does, she follows, ranging from brushing teeth to eating breakfast. Even the time she wakes up is the same as him. Dok Mi’s neighbours are flowerboys too. One is from Japan who goes around the world to learn cuisines, another is a manhwa artist. Dok Mi is a reserved person who seldom goes out of her house. One day, she was caught spying by lively Enrique and her life changes as a result as he insists on bringing her outdoor. Enrique is a creative director who works in the game industry. They seem to have their own way of reading each others mind.
I learn that we should not always stay at home or alone. It is always good to socialise and make friends. If one is doing something to the extent that he/she does not want others to know, it is known as addiction. When the relationship between parents and children become distant, parents may blame video games. Are parents totally not to blame for a distant relationship? Video games are just for entertainment. They are not supposed to bring harm to the player. It depends on how one uses it.
Why you should watch: This was one of the dramas I finished very quickly in about 2 days. Watched at first due to Yoon Shi Yoon’s ability to act serious and “cute”/ lively. You will know what I mean after watching this drama. It was a fun drama indeed. It was good enough to keep me captivated. Fun drama about the world of writing and game industry.
Click here to watch.
Favourite osts: Ready Merry Go by Romantic Punch
Suspicious Housekeeper (2013) 奇怪管家
Genre: Mystery, Family
Enjoyment: 9/10 at the start 8/10 reaching the end Pace: 7/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Choi Ji Woo as Park Bok Nyeo, Lee Sung Jae as Eun Sang Chul and 4 children in Eun Sang Chul’s family.
Plot: After Sang Chul’s wife passed away, Sang Chul employed a housekeeper to take care of his children and make the house clean and tidy. As the rumour goes, the housekeeper can and will do anything the employer says, even murder. She can do anything such as magic tricks, juggling and even cooking food with the same taste as what their mother used to cook. Despite her cool demeanor, she helped the children and Sang Chul in many ways by giving valuable advice.
It is a drama that keeps me captivated especially at the start. Unlike the sad dramas which Choi Ji Woo acted in the past which my mother enjoyed, she acted very well in this one with a completely different character: stiff and cold. I learn some things from it. One should not give up on her dreams. One would rather give up his dreams than cheat. Family is important. A way to unite a family is when one member goes missing and they have to search for that person haha. Parents are only parents if they fulfill their duty. No matter how bad parents are, children will always see them as parents and hope for their love, care and guidance.
Why you should watch: The mysterious nature of this drama will keep one hooked onto it. The housekeeper can do anything and everything which impresses me. If you like dramas about family, then this one is for you.
Click here to watch.
MV+Favourite osts: Twilight by Yoo Sung Eun
Good Doctor (2013) 良医
Genre: Medical, Romance
Enjoyment: 9/10 Pace: 9/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Joo Won as Park Shi On and Moon Chae Won as Cha Yoon Seo.
Zoom into characters: Shi On is an autistic person who grew up being bullied by other children and abused by his own father. He later loses his brother who is the only one that gives him mental support and his mother who has no choice but to abandon him. He always dream to become a pedeatrician and has a medical talent. He causes much trouble in the hospital at 1st as he is unable to adjust to the rules and regulations. Yoon Seo is a pedeatrician who graduated with good grade and does what she thinks is right. As both do what they think is right in a different way, they will realise their goals as a pedeatrician is actually similar.
The most touching case to me is a child singer called Kim Gyu Hyun(ep8-9). He is good at high voice but gets throat infection which may hinder his singing career and make him unable to join the Germany prestigious choir which his mother is determined to help him achieve. After he goes for surgery, he may not be able to sing high notes anymore which he has been doing before he even starts talking. Actually, his dream was not to join the prestigious choir but to sing to those that really need his songs. His dreams are dashed and his mother is just trying to postpone the surgery until they reach Germany, ignoring his agony. Children do have their own thoughts which sometimes parents who only think for their children’s future may neglect.
Why you should watch: Joo Won acted as an autistic doctor very well. There are many different cases of children involved and I enjoyed watching it. The amazing part is his medical talent that he has despite his weakness. I especially enjoyed the 1st episode of this drama. If you cannot decide whether to watch, just watch the 1st episode and you will be able to decide.
Click here to watch.
MV+Favourite osts: How come you don’t know by Kim Jong Kook
Nine times time travel (2013) 九回時間旅行
Genre: Time-travel, Romance, Mystery
Enjoyment: 8/10 Pace: 7/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Lee Jin Wook as Park Sun Woo and Jo Yoon Hee as Joo Min Young.
Plot: Another time-travel drama. Sun Woo is a workaholic who ends up getting a brain tumor. His colleague, Min Young has a crush on him for many years but he did not accept her love until he discovered his illness and decided to live life in a new way. He was also given 9 chances to travel to the past as his brother wanted to change the past and bring happiness to their family again. His mother suffered a blow in the past and had dementia. His brother died trying to find incense sticks that can help the holder travel to the past for 30 minutes. As he travels to the past, he unravels a mystery related to his family that happened 20 years ago. He even treats his brain tumor in the process and died twice in his time travelling yet managed to survive.
He even made his lover into his niece after one of the time-travels. Happiness can be simple yet difficult to get at times. The definition of happiness can change as time goes. As long as we have what we treasure, happiness can be felt. To me, time-travelling may make one realise things they did not know. At the same time, most things cannot be changed and things are always back to square one. One should not always stay in the past. The past cannot be changed. One should live the present well and plan for the future instead.
Why you should watch: This drama is not really a must-watch for me but more like one to kill time. Maybe because of the time-travelling trend in 2012? I watched it simply to add one more drama into my collection. It is something like tidbits. To me, normal meals are important as compared to tidbits but they can be eaten to add joy in life. The ending was unexpected. Liked the lead couple and Sun Woo’s friend, a doctor, as well as the younger versions of the doctor and Sun Woo (Park Hyung Sik). Felt heartbreaking when looking at the shock expressions for those that realise there is a change In history after his time travelling, especially when it turns out for the worse.
Click here to watch.
MV+Favourite osts: Because it’s you by Kim Yeon Woo and Compilation of 3 osts
Five fingers (2012) 五根手指
Genre: Romance, Melodrama, Music
Enjoyment: 8/10 Pace: 8/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Joo Ji Hoon as Yoo Ji Ho, Kang Yi Suk as Yoo Ji Ho (Young), Chae Shi Ra as Chae Young Ran (In Ha’s mother), Ji Chang Wook as Yoo In Ha, Kim Ji Hoon as Yoo In Ha (Young), Jin Se Yun as Hong Da Mi, Kim Sung Kyung as Hong Da Mi (Young).
Plot: “Five Fingers” is about young people who each have their own tragedies to overcome and achieve their dreams. Yoo Ji Ho (Joo Ji Hoon) is a genius pianist with perfect pitch in the show. While he overcomes childhood scars to chase his dream, he gets caught up in a bitter rivalry with his stepmother, the rich successor to a corporation and his stepbrother, a composer.
Zoom into characters: Ji Ho is brought in by Yoo Man Se as an illegitimate child much to the anger of In Ha and his mother. Ji Ho is happy to have a family finally and gets a chance to learn how to play a piano, putting his gifted ability to full use. Da Mi desires to own a piano since young and is finally given one. However, her deaf father is being framed for murder and she has to move house to avoid criticisms from the neighbours. While In Ha’s mother pretends to be equally fair to both children in front of Yoo Man Se, she is plotting to help In Ha get all the inheritance. Yoo Man Se on the other hand, is trying to take revenge on his wife by making her hate the child that she gave birth to (thought as dead) before their marriage. Without knowing his parents’ actual motive of wanting him to be the heir to Boosung, a piano making company, In Ha bears hatred towards his parents and his jealousy for Ji Ho continues to grow.
Why you should watch: Finally become Joo Ji Hoon’s fan because of this + his new drama, Mask. This drama is really filled with tragedy and has an interesting plot line. It may be a bit long but still worth the watch if you are interested in piano, music and tragedy. Intrigued by Ji Ho’s musical prodigy throughout the drama from his ability to play out the same melody on the piano heard from another instrument to him recognising a phone and even know which number was dialed by the pitch of the phone’s keypad. Liked Ji Se Yun’s acting in this drama. Too bad there is no exactly good ending in the end for the couple.
Favourite MVs+ osts: How Painful It Could Be by POSITION and Don`t love me by Lim Jeong Hee
Click here for full review.
Rooftop Prince (2012) 阁楼上的王子
Genre: Time-travel, Romance, Mystery
Enjoyment: 10/10 Pace: 9/10 No. of times I watched it: 2
starring Micky Yoochun as Yong Tae Yong/ Lee Gak and Han Ji Min as Pak Ha/Bu Yong.
Zoom into characters: Lee Gak is a crown prince in Joseon who time-travels to solve the case after the crown princess passed away mysteriously. Tae Yong is actually a reincarnated version of him who went missing after being pushed down the ship by his cousin. Tae Yong is a good artist and falls in love with Pak Ha at first sight but unable to meet her. Bu Yong is the crown princess sister who was supposed to marry the crown prince but was unable to due to a scar on the face created by her older sister. Pak Ha is the reincarnated version of Bu Yong who lives in America after being abandoned by her step sister. Pak Ha is very optimistic and tries to help Lee Gak as she trusts him.
I feel that Park Yoo Chun is more good looking at the present as Tae Yong especially with spectacles than in the past as the crown prince. Perhaps fashion preference? Haha. I am impressed by the first drama that I watched with Park Yoo Chun as lead, Sungkyunkwan Scandal so I will continue to watch dramas with him in it. Han Ji Min acts very well in historical dramas (such as Yi San), especially with her kind looks and good appearance in historical clothes. The drama was understandable even though it switched from past to present and was displayed very well. If you love someone enough, you will always sacrifice and be considerate towards the person and think from his/her perspective. Are there people around you like this?
Why you should watch: I watched due to the mystery evolving around the crown princess death, the mystery between the sisters and of course Park Yoo Chun. It is hilarious when they first stepped into the future. They made a mess of Pak Ha’s (reincarnated crown princess sister) house as they “killed” anything that made a noise or seems to threaten the crown prince. A drama with interesting and meaningful plot+ time-travelling that one should not miss. One word to describe: fantastic!
Click here to watch.
Favourite osts: Hurt by Ali
Queen In Hyun’s man (2012) 仁显王后的男人
Genre: Time-travel, Romance, Action
Enjoyment: 10/10 Pace: 9/10 No. of times I watched it: 2
starring Ji Hyun Woo as Kim Boong Do and Yoo In Na as Choi Hee Jin.
Impressed by how adaptable Boong Do is to the modern times. He is even capable of stealing clothes or buying necessities to help him to treat himself or get him to Hee Jin. It is fun to watch how Hee Jin tries to mislead him on the use of some items, linking them to kisses somehow such as the use of a tie. It is funny when they first meet and Hee Jin deduced that he is drunk when he asks if he is dreaming. Enjoyed the process of the numerous times Boong Do changing history and coming back to the present to meet Hee Jin, the only one that remembers him. It feels that Hee Jin is alone in this as she is the only one that is worried about Boong Do and cries for him when others don’t even remember who Boong Do is.
Especially loved the sad parts towards the end of the drama when they cannot reach out to each other as Boong Do’s talisman fails to work and when they are standing back to back in different time periods sending a wave of sadness to Hee Jin. If one can endure the toughest time, a good ending is sure to come. Do not give up. As the saying goes, there is always a rainbow after a thunderstorm.
Why you should watch: This is another drama that leaves a deep impression as the events unfold. They have great chemistry. The plot is brilliant and it is different from rooftop prince as Boong Do travels to and fro between the past and present rather than staying in the present. The perspective is also different as he is not a crown prince but rather a scholar who wants to help Queen In Hyun after his family is executed.
Click here to watch.
MV+Favourite osts: Another time, the same sky by Joo Hee 8eight
King 2 Hearts (2012) 回避两心
Genre: Politics, Romance, Mystery, Action
Enjoyment: 9/10 Pace: 8/10 No. of times I watched it: 2
starring Lee Seung Ki as Lee Jae Ha and Ha Ji Won as Kim Hang Ah.
Plot: At first, I thought it would be boring as it is about politics. However, once I started watching it, I got sucked into it. In order to connect the South and North Korea, Jae Ha’s brother, the king, wants to form an army force with South Korean and North Korean and send them for an international competition. Without knowing, Jae Ha signed an agreement to be part of it. Hang Ah is part of the North Korean army. As both of them work together, they ended up as a couple to improve the relationship between the 2 countries and deal with the evil who aims to create chaos and cause harm to the South Korea royal family.
Zoom into characters: Jae Ha is an immature but clever South Korea prince who only wants to lead a fun and luxurious life. He cannot stand hardship and only changes for the better after his brother’s death. Hang Ah, on the other hand, is in the special force and devoted to the country but cannot find a suitable partner due to her army “instincts”. She is a capable leader and an unbeatable soldier. Their teamwork will help them defeat the evil who wants to start war between North and South Korea.
Why you should watch: Started watching this because of Lee Seung Gi haha, my most favourite actor! Ha Ji Won acted very well and I enjoyed watching the scenes when they bicker and fight. More to the politics side but there are many interesting scenes to look forward to and allows one to learn more about the culture of Korea. Scenes to look forward to is the bomb coincidentally placed at the track mill which the lead couple is running on due to a bet, and the competition between South Korea+North Korea and US. One will enjoy the simple romance involved.
Click here to watch.
MV+Favourite osts: Love is crying by K Will and Missing you like crazy by Taeyeon
Click here for full review.
Haeundae Lovers (2012) 海云台恋人
Genre: Romance, Comedy
Enjoyment: 9/10 Pace: 9/10 No. of times I watched it: 2
starring Kim Kang Woo as Lee Tae Sung and Jo Yeo Jung as Go So Ra.
Plot: “Haeundae Lovers” is a romantic comedy happening in Haeundae (Busan) that tells the story of Lee Tae Sung (Kim Kang Woo) who meets and falls in love with Go So Ra (Jo Yeo Jung), who is the daughter of a gangster. While Tae Sung was following a drug trafficker, the drug trafficker was knocked down by So Ra’s van. Due to a misunderstanding, Tae Sung thinks that So Ra is helping the drug trafficker escape. Tae Sung thus goes undercover at her house using a product name as his name and body builder as his occupation. On another occasion, he fights with the drug trafficker and ends up losing his memory. As he has nowhere to go, kind-hearted So Ra allows him to stay at their house and he is unexpectedly forced to be her fake husband. Tae Sung starts to change and is able lead a happy life.
Zoom into characters: Tae Sung is a prosecutor who catches criminals with such determination that he does not care about his subordinates’ health or his own safety. Even when he is getting married on that day, he is still chasing a criminal like doing a marathon. His hands are so filled with callus that no fingerprints can be found. He was adopted when he was young and became a workaholic to make his adoptive father proud. Yeo Jung’s father is a gangster and had a few followers whom Yeo Jung treats as her uncles. Their hotel is being snatched from them and her father unfortunately became someone with a mentality of a young child. Her uncles and her work hard to catch fishes to pay off their debt and hope that they can get back their hotel in the future.
Why you should watch: May not be a well-known drama but it has a very satisfying storyline and many funny scenes. It is humorous and addictive as the story is well-developed. I like dramas that involve losing memory. It brings a twist to the story. The multiple pasts and identities of Tae Sung makes the drama even more interesting. Became a fan of Kim Kang Woo after this drama.
Click here to watch.
MV+Favourite osts: Farewell is coming by Kang Min Kyung
Click here for full review.
Arang and the Magistrate (2012) 阿郎使道传
Genre: Historical, Comedy, Romance, Fantasy, Mystery
Enjoyment: 9/10 Pace: 7/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Lee Joon Ki as Kim Eun Oh and Shin Min Ah as Arang / Lee Seo Rim.
Plot: A nobleman named Kim Eun Oh comes to town searching for his mother after hearing a rumor that she is staying at the village of Miryang. He has the special ability to see spirits, but pretends he doesn’t because he gets annoyed when spirits come up to him asking for a favor. Arang has lost all her memories when she became a ghost and is unable to rest in peace until she finds out how she ended up dead. However, after appearing to three magistrates, none of them survive the fright of seeing her. When she finds out that Eun oh is able to see her, she begs for his help. In this game of supernatural stakes, Arang and Eun Oh who fall in love gradually have to pay the price because Arang has only three full moons in which to solve the mystery of her death and defeat their enemy, a fairy of Heaven who feeds on human souls.
The first episode is interesting to start with Eun Oh pretending he cannot see Arang. Although there are ghosts involved, it is more of a fantasy than horror. There are some funny parts such as Arang begging the magistrates to help her. All the magistrate are frightened to death by her as she appeared in many different ways such as half body or from the roof.
Why you should watch: It is well-portrayed and the plot is creative. It is a historical drama involving the Jade Emperor, God of Hell, grim reaper, ghosts and fairies. If one is looking for a fantasy drama that is different from the others, one can try this.
Click here to watch.
MV+ Favourite osts: Love and love by Baek Ji Young
To the beautiful you (2012) 致美麗的你
Genre: Comedy, Romance, High School
Enjoyment: 9/10 Pace: 9/10 No. of times I watched it: 2
starring Choi Min Ho as Kang Tae Joon and Choi Seol Ri as Goo Jae Hee.
Plot: A comedy romance involving a girl “infiltrating” into an all boys school to help his idol, Tae Joon, start jumping again. Tae Joon is a high jump athlete but is unable to jump after his last championship at an international competition. There is more than just a sprained ankle that is keeping him from jumping. His mother passed away as he clinched the gold medal in the high jump competition. Jae Hee who is adopted lives in the United States. She has lived her life with the help of Tae Joon who inspires her and gives her motivation so she wants to help him in return.
Wonder how people can enter an all boys school just by cutting the hair and acting like a boy. The second male lead adds colour to the drama by adding a lot of humour. Something funny is Tae Joon kisses the first person he sees after he drinks alcohol. May become a fan of Choi Min Ho and Suh Joon Young after this drama.
Why you should watch: Seems a bit like a typical high school drama with a very good start. In the first few episodes, many things happened and every moment is used well. There are funny parts in this drama such as the suitcase scene.
Click here to watch.
MV+ Favourite osts: Closer by Taeyeon and It’s me by Sunny and Luna Whole album
I miss you (2012) 想你
Genre: Melodrama, Mystery
Enjoyment: 8/10 Pace: 7/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Yoon Eun Hye as Lee Soo Yeon, Kim So Hyun as Lee Soo Yeon (young) and Park Yoochun as Han Jung Woo, Yeo Jin Goo as Han Jung Woo (young).
Plot: This drama is a melodrama that will portray a story of a teenage couple who fall in love and get painfully separated, and then meet again as adults by playing game of love hide and seek. Han Jung Woo (Park Yoochun) has been a homicide detective for 2 years and he is looking for his childhood love. Lee So Yeon (Yoon Eun Hye) is a fashion designer and often dream of Han Jung Woo searching for her…Meanwhile, Kang Hyung Joon (Yoo Seung Ho) is a cold-hearted, charismatic fund manager, who tries to take revenge on Han Jung Woo because of the troubled relationship within their family and takes care of Soo Yeon all this while.
Zoom into characters: Soo Yeon is often being physically abused by her father and becomes a murderer’s daughter after her father was framed for murder. Everyone treats her as an outcast except Jung Woo, a rich man’s son, who falls in love with her after a while even though he keeps his distance at first. Hyung Joon is a poor child that becomes affected by the older generation’s conflict for the inheritance and vows to find his mother and take revenge.
Why you should watch: I enjoyed the development in the lead couple’s relationship at the start of the drama and enjoyed Hyung Joon’s role in this drama as it reaches the end. Even though Hyung Joon only has revenge in mind, it brings the story to a greater depth. If you are looking for something to stir your emotions, you can try this.
Click here to watch.
MV+Favourite osts: Tears are falling by Wax
Click here for full review.
Click here for Quick Picture Recap IMU.
Innocent man (2012) 无辜者
Genre: Melodrama
Enjoyment: 8/10 Pace: 6/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Song Joong Ki as Kang Ma Roo and Moon Chae Won as Seo Eun Gi.
Plot: Ma Roo was such a brilliant doctor yet cannot be one as he went to jail as a murderer for his girlfriend, Jae Hee. He sacrificed his well being for his girlfriend only to be dumped by her for a rich man. He approaches Seo Eun Gi (Moon Chae Won), the daughter of the chaebol group executive in order to execute his revenge yet falls in love with her. One day, Eun Gi who loves him finds out his motives in getting close to her and decided to hit him with a car. He did not dodge. After the car accident, Eun Gi has to learn to read and write again and Ma Roo may die if he does not receive treatment. They met again as Eun Gi who has no recollection of the past finds Ma Roo who is in her photographs and Ma Roo decides to help her take over the company. When she knows of her past, what will be her reaction?
Zoom into characters: Ma Roo is an intelligent doctor and faithful to his girlfriend. After her betrayal, he has turned out for the worst and uses women to earn money. One day, he gets involved with Eun Gi after he saves her life on a plane. Eun Gi thinks that Ma Roo loves her sincerely and finds him whenever she is troubled until she finds out otherwise. Jae Hee is a reporter and Ma Roo’s ex-girlfriend who he cherishes very much but betrays him by marrying a rich man while he is in jail.
Ma Roo even places his girlfriend as a priority as compared to his sister, Choco. He did not choose to save his sister when she was very ill and choose to save his girlfriend. Not sure why he did that though. The betrayal must be very painful. If not for Jae Hee, he would have saved many people as a doctor. What a waste! Happy that Eun Gi treats his step brother well at the end of the drama. After all, he does no wrong. It is his mother that does all the wrong doings.
I learn that we should treasure our lives. Song Joong Ki plays the bad guy for the 1st time? When one acts evil, the looks change too. I did not believe that but I have come to believe it. There is no such thing as a evil looks, just that when one do evil deed, one will seem evil. It is sad to see that they love each other yet cannot enjoy moments together truly. When one loves the other, the other has ulterior motive. When one loves the other, the other finds out about the past and hates him. Quite a lot of kissing scenes especially before the car accident.
Why you should watch: Not really a must-watch to me. The pace is too slow for me but it may differ for different people. It’s the lead couple’s acting that keeps me going in this drama. Lee Gwang Soo acted fine as Choco’s boyfriend and Ma Roo’s best friend.
Click here to watch.
MV+Favourite osts: Really by Song Joong Ki
Operational Proposal (2012) 求婚大作战
Genre: Time-travel, Comedy, Romance
Enjoyment: 9/10 Pace: 9/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Yoo Seung Ho as Kang Baek Ho and Park Eun Bin as Ham Yi Seul. Other cast: Lee Hyun Jin as Kwon Jin Won.
Plot: Think that it is a common time-travelling drama? Actually it is not. The difference is after the character changes a mistake he made in the past, he will land somewhere in the future and finds himself leading a better life. However, there is one thing that he always cannot achieve, a girl he loves, Yi Seul. Yi Seul always end up marrying another guy. It is fascinating as I continue to watch every time he time-travels and becomes someone better because of that. Her wedding date is also postponed to a later date. His friends around him are also affected by him each time and their future changed too.
Zoom into characters: Baek Ho is a foolish guy who gives up on himself easily and makes Yi Seul angry by not getting her “hints”. After Yi Seul gets marry, he decides to change all the mistakes he made in the past and get a chance to win Yi Seul’s not just heart, but also the whole person. Yi Seul is actually a forgiving person but finds that both of them are just not made out to be. With Jin Won pursuing her, she gives in when Baek Ho does not make a move.
Why you should watch: A different and must-watch time travelling drama that does not travel to the past or future by few hundred years. It focuses on the male lead trying to change the mistakes he made in the past as he grows up to increase his chance of being together with the girl he loves. Liked the acting of the cast, especially Park Eun Bin and Yoo Seung Ho. A simple drama but one that touches the heart.
MV+Favourite osts: If u love me by J Rabbit
Click here for full review.
Feast of the Gods (2012) 神的晚餐
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Food, Family
starring Sung Yu Ri as Go Joon Young, Joo Sang Wook as Choi Jae Ha, Lee Sang Woo as Kim Do Yoon, Seo Hyun Jin as Ha In Joo / Song Yeon Woo
Plot: A drama about Korean cuisine. Set within the backdrop of a traditional royal cuisine restaurant named Arirang, “Feast of the Gods” depicts how two women grow as chefs through competitions with each other.
Became a fan of Lee Sang Woo after this drama. Liked how he has 2 identities and how he is an expert in cooking. Liked how he portrayed the emotional struggle of his character. Liked how he is supportive of Joon Young and helps her in her difficult times. I cant remember if he manages to end up with Joon Young but I think he manages to. Thought he is the second lead and happy that he manages to get the girl. Joon Young suffers so much hardship as she was lost when she was young and later there are problems with her hands. This drama shows that hard work pays off and environment is more important than talent. The adoptive daughter eventually wins the real daughter.
Fermentation family (2011) 发酵家族
Genre: Family, Romance, Food
Enjoyment: 9/10 Pace: 9/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Song Il Gook as Ki Ho Tae, Park Jin Hee as Lee Kang San, Lee Min Young as Lee Woo Joo, Choi Jae Sung as Kang Do Sik, Kang Shin Il as Lee Ki Chan and Kim Young Hoon as Oh Jae Hoon.
Plot: Set within the famous Korean restaurant Chunjiin, known especially for their kimchi dish. Ki Ho Tae who grew up as an orphan, begins to work at the restaurant in search for his past and meets many people that changes his life completely.
Zoom into characters: Fate brings Ho Tae, a gangster and a picky eater, to a famous Korean restaurant Chunjiin run by Kang San and Woo Joo’s father. He finds many forgotten memories in the restaurant and decides to stay to find out his past. After Kang San and Woo Joo’s father leaves in search for his friend’s son (oblivious that Ho Tae is him), Kang San decides to help out at the restaurant instead of pursuing her dream of being the chef at another restaurant. Her sister, Woo Joo, is pure at heart and is unable to understand the cruel world. Oh Jae Hoon is a lonely person who goes to Chunjiin to work to understand why his mother, the chairman of a big Korean food company, cannot let go of this restaurant.
Why you should watch: It is a heartwarming, inspiring food related drama that spins around a mystery. I really like Song II Guk’s acting since Jumong (one of my favourite long historical dramas). As his character works at the restaurant, he starts to get involved in helping people personally in the cases (cleverly too) which I take pleasure in. Rather than the heartwarming part, the part that keeps me addicted to it is the mystery revolving around Ho Tae’s past.
Click here to watch.
MV+ Favourite osts: Afraid of Love by FIX and Heaven, Earth & Man by Park Sun-Joo
Click here for full review.
Dream High (2011) 梦想起飞
Genre: Romance, Comedy, High School
Enjoyment: 9/10 Pace: 9/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Bae Suzy as Go Hye Mi, Kim Soo Hyun as Song Sam Dong, Taecyeon as Jin Gook / Hyun Shi Hyuk, Ham Eun Jung as Yoon Baek Hee, Jang Woo Young as Jason and IU as Kim Pil Sook.
Plot: Dream High tells the story of six students at Kirin Art High School who work to achieve their dreams of becoming music stars in the Korean music industry. Go Hye Mi is a student who had majored in classical music but has to give up her dream by entering Kirin Art High School to pay off her father’s debt. However, she needs to get two other students to also come to the school in order for her to enroll in the school conditionally. These two students are Song Sam Dong, who lives in the countryside, and Jin Guk, whom she accidentally meets while trying to escape from a loan shark. Yoon Baek Hee, formerly Hyemi’s sidekick, becomes her rival in school because Hye Mi betrays her during an audition to enter the school.
Sam Dong is good at singing but pretends he cannot sing due to his mother. Jin Guk is good at dancing but cannot realise his dreams as his father wants him to go overseas and study. Pil Sook is good at singing but does not have a good appearance. Hye Mi has a wide range of pitch but is too arrogant. As the few of them with weaknesses gather together, will they form a good team? Will they always be looked down by others as if they are rotten apples and never get a chance to shine?
Wanted Hyemi to end up with Jin Guk even though ending up with Sam Dong is not bad (sry for the spoiler). Love the couple Jason and Pil Sook. Despite Pil Sook’s appearance, Jason is always thoughtful towards her. It is interesting that a teacher grade the students’ singing according to how many people in the audience paid attention.
Dreams are important. With dreams, one can achieve more than they can imagine. Everyone has their own talents. One should not look down on others. Even the worst teacher can lead a group of students with weaknesses as long as he has the heart.
Why you should watch: A high school drama that consists of Bae Suzy, Kim Soo Hyun, Jang Woo Young, Taecyeon, Ham Eun Jung and IU! It is interesting and content-rich as they try to prove their talents.
Click here to watch.
MV+Favourite osts: Love high and Dreaming by Kim Soo Hyun
Heartstrings (2011) 為我著迷
Genre: Romance, Comedy, High School
Enjoyment: 8/10 Pace: 8/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Jung Yong Hwa as Lee Shin and Park Shin Hye as Lee Kyu Won. Other casts: Woo Ri as Han Hee Joo and Kang Min Hyuk as Yeo Joon.
Plot: Lee Shin is a vocalist and guitarist of the band “The Stupid.” Shin is known for his good looks and strong passion for music, but in reality he is cold, lacks interest in anything unrelated to music and has neither dreams nor plans for the future. Lee Kyu Won is a bright and outgoing student who was born into a prestigious family and is majoring in traditional Korean instruments, especially the gayageum. Due to the contrast in music chosen as major, constant arguments occur and they decided to fight it out. Lee Kyu Won lost the competition as her string broke so he had to be Shin’s slave from then on which built on their relationship.
The ghost scene was funny. Their relationship started unknowingly and ended up as they retraced their past footsteps and found each other halfway. An ending that tells a lot (sry for the spoiler). Another couple that I like in this drama is the drummer, Jun Hee, and a hardworking dancer. I wonder how the dancer, Hee-joo, survives without eating much food and doing vigorous dancing. The couple is so sweet as the drummer gets her to eat and lets her enjoy. He even helped her pass the audition when she missed it. Although Hee-Joo is hardworking, she is deemed as not having enough talent as her singing is unable to move the peoples’ hearts. Is hardworking really not enough? I suppose talent and results matter more than hard work and efforts? I am touched when Kyu Won gives up the opportunity to be lead actress in the musical and let Hee-joo do lip singing.
Music can be bring joy, can it bring harm as well? When one is into music as a career and do not succeed, should he continue or find another job to support the family?
Why you should watch: The sound tracks of this drama is quite good and the content of the drama is good with little “dragging”! This one is also about music but is different from Dream High as this is more about a musical the students plan with teamwork.
Click here to watch.
MV+Favourite osts: Whole album
Myung Wol the Spy (2011) 间谍明月
Genre: Action, Romance, Comedy
Enjoyment: 8/10 Pace: 7/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Han Ye Seul as Han Myung Wol and Eric as Kang Woo. Other casts: Lee Jin Wook as Choi Ryu and Jang Hee Jin as Joo In Ah.
Plot: An elite North Korean spy, Han Myung Wol, and her partner, Choi Ryu, infiltrates South Korea on a mission to disrupt the Hallyu Wave by kidnapping one of their top stars, Kang Woo. Despite her proficiency at her job, Myung Wol’s one weakness is her uncontrollable curiosity. Hijinks ensue when she falls in love with Kang Woo instead.
I don’t really understand why North Korea wants to disrupt Hallyu Wave. Haha. The interesting thing is the North Korea Army uses radio to communicate with spies in South Korea and army messages can be coded into normal phrases to prevent South Korean from getting any information. Liked the couple Choi Ryu and In Ah too which is unexpectedly formed. Wanted Choi Ryu to have a good ending (not saying the ending is bad).
Why you should watch: The starting was intriguing and there were many funny parts when Myung Wol tried to get close to Kang Woo using various methods under older spies’ help and guidance such as being his bodyguard, his fiancee and even a supporting actress.
Click here to watch.
MV+Favourite osts: Afraid of love by Bobby Kim and More than anyone in this world by Lena Park
Man of honour (2011) 荣光的在仁
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Enjoyment: 8/10 Pace: 7/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Chun Jung Myung as Kim Young Kwang and Park Min Young as Yoon Jae In. Other casts: Lee Jang Woo as Seo In Woo.
Plot: Jae In’s father was actually the owner of a sports clothing company and Young Kwang’s father is actually his chauffeur. In Woo’s father is Jae In’s father working partner. When Jae In’s father realised that In Woo’s father committed a crime, Jae In’s father asked him to turn himself in. As they had a quarrel in the car, a car accident occurs. Without knowing, Young Kwang’s father accidentally saved In Woo’s father instead of his boss. From then on, In Woo’s father gives Young Kwang’s father money to make sure no one knows of it and takes over the company. On their way to the hospital, the car that Jae In and her mother were in overturned due to the slippery road and they are separated as a result.
Zoom into characters: Kim Young Kwang (Chun Jung Myung) is a baseball player on a minor league team, former 4th hitter of the major league team, an innocently confident man who never stops trying his best to re-live past glories. Yoon Jae In (Park Min Young) works as a nurse’s aide and is a struggling young, cheery, bright girl who always maintains a positive attitude despite her poor background and dreams of becoming a nurse. She meets Kim Young Kwang at the hospital when he sustains injures. As they struggle to overcome their fates, they find love. Seo In Woo (Lee Jang Woo) is the future heir of a sports clothing company and also the clean-up hitter for the a professional baseball team that his father owns. He has a mental illness due to the stressful environment he is in which Jae In will help him overcome.
When In Woo had a nose injury, all the doctors treat him as he is rich while Young Kwang who sustained serious injury was ignored. Another example of reality and inequality. Young Kwang’s determination and Jae In’s optimism are something I want to emulate. Something to look forward to is the interviews and auditions carried out as all 3 of them apply/ are forced to enter a department in the company. They would have to pass each test to go to the next round. Tests include selling one’s goods to another, carrying bricks of the same worth as one’s desired salary and many others. The higher the salary, the more responsibility it comes with. One should only take what is sufficient and what they can afford. Not only objects, an idea can be sold too.
Not sure why Lee Jang Woo usually have curly hair when he is not the main lead and kind of straight hair when he is the lead. Haha. A waste that Jae In chooses to be a nurse instead of leading the company which she is also capable of. I guess one should find jobs related to our passion and interests and not one that is for the power and money.
Why you should watch: Not really a drama that keeps one glued to the screen but it lets one sees things from different perspectives. More about life than romance.
Click here to watch.
MV+Favourite osts: Who You Are To Me by Hyorin
City Hunter (2011) 城市猎人
Enjoyment: 10/10 Pace: 9/10 No. of times I watched it: 2
starring Lee Min Ho as Lee Yoon Sung / John Lee and Park Min Young as Kim Na Na.
Plot: The story takes place in Seoul, 2011. Lee Yoon Sung is a talented MIT-graduate who works on the international communications team in the Blue House. He plans revenge on five politicians who caused his father’s death with his surrogate father Lee Jin Pyo and eventually becomes a “City Hunter.” In order to take revenge, he went through tough training. He is also able to use technology to help him show the world the evil deeds done by the politicians.
After watching this drama, I become more aware of the whereabouts of CCTVs. Haha. As Yoon Sung sneak into places he should not, he always avoid CCTVs. It is a thriller and Lee Min Ho’s character is fascinating: the hero in disguise. He has to pretend he cannot fight in the Blue House during training even though he is very good at it. I am glad that he did not kill the politicians but expose their bad deeds unlike what his surrogate father would have done. The technology from the Blue House is really advanced. He can even use a spectacle to do recording.
Why you should watch: It is amazing that he can use a bag as a parachute. One will be amazed by how he deals with situations and his skills at fighting+escaping.
Click here to watch.
MV+ Favourite osts: Suddenly by Kim Bo Kyung and It’s alright by Yang Hwa Jin
Lie to me (2011) 對我說謊看看
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Enjoyment: 8/10 Pace: 8/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Yoon Eun Hye as Gong Ah Jung, Kang Ji Hwan as Hyun Ki Joon, Sung Joon as Hyun Sang Hee and Jo Yoon Hee as Oh Yoon Joo.
Gong Ah Jung, a level 5 Ministry of Culture official, gets entangled in a web of lies when she mistakenly lies that she’s married to Hyun Ki Joon, a hotel manager from an affluent family. Their relationship is further complicated when Ki Joon’s ex-fiancée and a close friend of his brother’s, Oh Yoon Joo, reappears in his life. As time goes, real feelings are at play instead. Are they able to hide their lies forever or make them come true?
Many humorous scenes are involved since both the lead are capable of lightening the mood and bringing laughter in this simple romance. It is very entertaining to watch the light-hearted romance and how they turn lies into reality. It is fun to watch Ki Joon start to “act” like they are really in a marriage and even kisses her in front of people who know Ah Jung at a housewarming gathering. I feel sorry for Hyun Sang Hee who has a crush on his brother’s girlfriend twice and does not stand a chance at all. It is fun watching Ki Joon’s secretary as the middleman and always thinks for his boss’s benefits.
Click here to watch.
MV+Favourite osts: Really want to say hello by M to M
Can you hear my heart? (2011) 是否听见我的心
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Enjoyment: 7/10 Pace: 7/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Kim Jae Won as Cha Dong Joo and Hwang Jung Eum as Bong Woo Ri.
Plot:The love story of Cha Dong Joo, a man who’s been rendered deaf after an accident but pretends he can hear, and Bong Woo Ri, a woman who’s intelligent but pretends she’s dim-witted to protect the dignity of her mentally handicapped father. He wants to take revenge on his stepfather who took over the company by killing his grandfather. In order to do so, he has to pretend he can hear. Others were fooled by him except Woo Ri who had a deaf mother.
The most interesting part is how Dong Joo pretends to be able to hear. He is able to talk on the phone with words replacing a voice. He has a watch which will vibrate when his doorbell rings, kettle water boils etc. I am touched by Woo Ri’s father’s love for his stepchildren. Even though he is dimwitted, he treats Ma Roo and Woo Ri as his own children.
Why you should watch: Romance between the deaf and a woman with a dim-witted father. Touching storyline that makes it heartwarming.
Click here to watch.
MV+Favourite osts: Can you hear me by Zia and Only you can hear my heart by Kim Jae Suk
Me too, flower (2011) 我也是花
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Enjoyment: 7/10 Pace: 7/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Yoon Shi Yoon as Seo Jae Hee and Lee Ji Ah as Cha Bong Sun.
Plot: A drama about Bong Sun with complicated family background and Jae Hee who started life from scratch without his parents. Jae Hee becomes a rich person and accidentally killed someone in the past. Bong Sun is just a low rank policeman who has a hot temper. They often have conflicts which helps the story develop.
Why you should watch: The extreme sweetness and cuteness of their love is the unique thing about this drama.
Click here to watch.
MV+Favourite osts: Dreaming by BEAST
Protect the boss (2011) 守护老板
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Enjoyment: 8/10 Pace: 6/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Choi Kang Hee as No Eun Seol and Ji Sung as Cha Ji Heon.
Plot: No Eun Seol finally gets a job as a secretary at a law firm after struggling with unemployment due to lack of qualification, only to fall in love with her boss, Cha Ji Heon, the youngest son of a chaebol family. Ji Heon has crowd phobia. Whenever he needs to present his work, he will escape after half of the presentation. People think that he is an immature and irresponsible person but actually he is not. Eun Seol will help him get rid of the phobia and improve the relationship between him and his father.
Why you should watch: Interesting story which uses the phobia as a base. Many comical scenes that makes one laugh his/her head off.
Click here to watch.
MV+Favourite osts: Let us just love by Apink
Vampire Prosecutor (2011) 吸血鬼检查官
Enjoyment: 7/10 Pace: 7/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Yun Jung Hoon as Min Tae Yeon (Prosecutor) and Lee Young Ah as Yoo Jung In (Prosecutor) A mystery investigative drama about a vampire. Prosecutor Min Tae Yeon (Yun Jung Hoon) is bitten by somebody and becomes a Vampire. Tae Yeon rejects the life of a vampire and he survives by drinking the blood of dead people and still lives as a righteous prosecutor. Tae Yeon also uses his new founded abilities as a Vampire to prosecute powerful persons normally thought above the law. A mysterious case then occurs and the evidence points to a Vampire as the perpetrator. Tae Yeon now knows that he is not the only Vampire. He also ponders why he became a Vampire and what truths may lie behind their motives.
Click here to watch.
Secret Garden (2010) 秘密花园
starring Hyun Bin as Kim Joo Won, Ha Ji Won as Gil Ra Im, Yoon Sang Hyun as Choi Woo Young/Oska (Joo Won’s cousin)
The drama tells the story of Kim Joo Won (Hyun Bin), an arrogant and eccentric CEO who maintains the image of seeming perfection, and Gil Ra Im (Ha Ji Won), a poor and humble stuntwoman whose beauty and body are the object of envy amongst top actresses. Their accidental meeting, when Joo Won mistakes Ra Im for actress Park Chae Rin, marks the beginning of a tense, bickering relationship, through which Joo Won tries to hide a growing attraction to Ra Im that both confuses and disturbs him. To complicate matters further, a strange sequence of events results in them swapping bodies. Joo Won has met Ra Im’s father in a tragic encounter which has caused him to be claustrophobic and cost Ra Im’s father’s life.
MV+ Favourite osts: That Man by Hyun Bin
Coffee house (2010) 咖啡馆
Genre: Writing, Comedy, Romance
Enjoyment: 9/10 Pace: 8/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Kang Ji Hwan as Lee Jin Soo, Park Si Yeon as Seo Eun Young and Ham Eun Jung as Kang Seung Yeon.
Plot: Lee Jin Soo made it big after writing several thriller/crime novels and establishing himself as a talented novelist. He works for Seo Eun Young, the owner of the biggest publishing company in Korea and has a long-time friendship with her. Lee Jin Soo has lots of fans and people think that he is courteous but what no one knows is that he is actually weird and sarcastic. The one who has to cope with him and his habits is his secretary, Kang Seung Yeon, who begged him for this job to become a professional instead of the below-average girl that she really is.
Zoom into characters: The more Jin Soo is polite to someone, the more the person is a stranger or someone he dislikes. He is a famous novelist but he rejects any form of publicity such as autograph signing events. Jin Soo has a sad past and Eun Young helped Jin Soo continue living by making him write. After Eun Young is betrayed by her boyfriend, she starts to like Jin Soo who knows her well. Kang Seung Yeon does not have a good job and mans a cafe. She is suddenly employed as Jin Soo’s secretary but it is just her senior doing. Jin Soo does not say much but throws away the coffee she brewed and the pencils she sharpened behind her back, even making her translate a book downstairs so that he can concentrate. After Seung Yeon finds out, she promises to become the kind of secretary that Jin Soo is keen to hire, enduring all sorts of torture and gradually becomes attached to him.
Why you should watch: It is fun to see Jin Soo’s interaction with his secretary and how he changes into someone that is more considerate towards others. It is an engaging drama due to Jin Soo’s weird character and unexpected things he may do. Liked how Kang Ji Hwan portrayed his character(as usual). I watched this drama after seeing Park Si Yeon and Ham Eun Jung as evil supporting characters that I (slightly) dislike and wanted to skip it at first. To my surprise, they can act as well as good characters too. Haha.
Click here to watch.
MV+ Favourite osts: Coffee house MV and I don’t want to know goodbye by Hwang Ji Hyun
Click here for full review.
King of baking (2010) 面包王子金卓求
Genre: Comedy, Romance, Action
Enjoyment: 10/10 Pace: 10/10 No. of times I watched it: 3
starring Yoon Shi Yoon as Kim Tak Goo, Eugene as Shin Yoo Kyung, Lee Young Ah as Yang Mi Sun and Joo Won as Gu Ma Jun.
Plot: Kim Tak Goo is the eldest son of Goo In Jong, the president of Samhwa Enterprise, a legend in the baking industry. Although he is an extremely talented baker and seemed destined to succeed his father as president, Goo In Jong’s family plotted to rob him of his inheritance because he was born to In Jong’s mistress. Tak Goo’s determination to become number one in the baking industry drives him to rebuild his career from scratch despite the many trials and tests he faces.
Zoom into characters: Tak Gu drops out from elementary school and fights his way with one thought in mind: to find his long lost mother. The amazing thing is he got a unique sense of smell which can tell when fermentation is finished so that bread can be baked to their best. He finally finds the kidnapper in a bakery and his life start afresh as he starts to wash his hands in flour instead. Yoo Kyung is Tak Gu’s first love and will break up with Tak Gu as she is blinded by revenge against the lady of Samhwa Enterprise. Mi Sun likes to bake cake more than bread. She will help Tak Gu along the way as he learns about baking bread from scratch.
Why you should watch: Will regret if you do not watch this! It is a content-rich drama with a heartwarming storyline which does not focus on romance. It will make one want for more after watching one episode as you will want to know what happens next. I enjoy watching the many tests and trials Tak Gu faces at Pal Bong Bakery where he competes to make the best bread for each test. Rewatched this drama many times! Became a fan of Yoon Shi Yoon after this drama.
Click here to watch.
MV+Favourite osts: Hope is a dream that doesn’t sleep by Jo KyuHyun
Click here for full review.
God of study (2010)学习之神
Genre: High School, Comedy, Romance
Enjoyment: 9/10 Pace: 9/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
Plot: When scrappy and abrasive lawyer Kang Suk-ho (Kim So Roo) is put in charge of the liquidating Byung Moon High School, he sees his own troubled past in the problematic students who live their lives with no dreams. He then offers to teach them and proclaims that he will get five students accepted into Cheonha University, the most prestigious college in the country. Quirky and earnest English teacher Han Soo-jung, who believes that the purpose of education is not about getting into a good college, likewise initially objects to Suk-ho’s teaching methods and motivations. Everyone calls Suk-ho crazy while the director cannot wait to sell off the school. What will become of the fate of the school and the five students?
The five students acted very well, portraying each of their stories. Hwang Baek-hyun’s (Yoo Seung-ho) parents died and he lived with his grandmother in a shabby house. He was a bad student who fights a lot but after he studied in the special class he slowly reached his goal. Na Hyun-jung (Park Ji Yeon) is left alone in a big house after her parents divorced and only come to think that she is precious too nearing the end of the drama. Gil Pul-ip (Go Ah-sung) doesn’t have a father and had problems with her mother who opens a bar and loves a married man. Hong Chan-doo (Lee Hyun-woo) moves whenever there is music and loves dancing but his rich father wants him to study abroad. Oh Bong-goo (Lee Chan-ho) grew up in a meat restaurant. His parents don’t really care about his education. The actual reason that he joined the special class was to get rid of the bullying because of his appearance but realised that he actually forgotten his promise of being a vet when his pet died. This drama really emphasises the importance of doing well in examinations. 100 marks all the time! Haha.
Why you should watch: The students always have to attend study “training” camps and the teachers have very weird and sometimes funny method of teaching them to let them improve a lot from scratch. Even mathematics can become a sports. Really touched by their determination in trying to do their best and liked how the relationship among the 5 students develop.
Click here to watch.
MV+ Favourite osts: Because I am weary by Ernest
My Girlfriend is a Gumiho (2010) 我的女友是九尾狐
Genre: Comedy, Romance, Fantasy
Enjoyment: 10/10 Pace: 10/10 No. of times I watched it: 3
starring Lee Seung Ki as Cha Dae Woong and Shin Min Ah as Gumiho.
Plot: Dae Woong is an action actor who enjoys doing many stunts. When his grandfather sends him overseas to study, he escapes and ends up in a remote temple. Cha Dae Woong then accidentally releases a gumiho, a legendary fox with nine tails that eats the livers of humans. Out of shock, Dae Woong falls down a hill and becomes unconscious. The gumiho saves his life by lending him her fox bead. When he finds out that she is a gumiho, he ends up doing crazy things to prevent the girl from eating his liver. As the gumiho loves Dae Woong a lot, she decides to become human. The gumiho drank a magic potion while Dae Woong continues to have the fox bead. Little did they know that after 100 days, one of them will have to die. If Dae Woong continues to have the fox bead, Gumiho will die as she slowly loses one tail at a time and eventually her life. If Gumiho takes back her fox bead, Dae Woong will die as his life will be sucked into the bead which will help Gumiho become human. What will they do when they find out about it?
Why you should watch: Captivating fantasy plot and good acting. Their love is very genuine, especially Gumiho’s love for Dae Woong. Will regret if you do not watch it. The first and one of the best fantasy drama I ever watched.
Click here to watch.
MV+Favourite osts: Fox Rain by Lee Sun Hee , Losing my mind by Lee Seung Gi and I love you from now on by Lee Seung Gi
Sungkyunkwan Scandal (2010) 成均馆绯闻
Genre: Historical, Comedy, Romance
Enjoyment: 9/10 Pace: 9/10 No. of times I watched it: 2
starring Micky Yoochun as Lee Sun Joon and Park Min Young as Kim Yoon Hee. Plot: Sungkyunkwan Scandal is set in Sungkyunkwan University in the late Joseon era during the reign of King Jeongjo, revolving around the exploits and love stories of four youths. When her younger brother’s illness worsens and their family is in danger of being evicted from their house for lack of money, Kim Yoon Hee enters the school under his name, disguised as a boy in her desperation to support him. There, she becomes friends with the intelligent and upright Lee Sun Joon, the playboy Goo Yong Ha (Song Joong Ki) and rebellious Moon Jae Shin (Yoo Ah In). The quartets who are from high class noblemen status, middle class noblemen status, commoner status and the lower class status will be given a task to accomplish by the king.
All 4 of them have their own talents and they work together to achieve something greater.
Why you should watch: A girl in an all boys’ school setting in historical drama. Fresh and entertaining throughout. I like how Yong Ha acted by Joong Ki insists on finding out if Yoon Hee is a girl. Jae Shin who is rebellious is also attracted to Yoon Hee’s personality. A short, light-hearted historical drama one should not miss.
Click here to watch.
MV+Favourite osts: Found you by JYJ and For you it’s goodbye, for me it’s waiting by Jaejoong
Princess Prosecutor (2010) 检察官公主
Genre: Mystery, Romance, Comedy
Enjoyment: 10/10 Pace: 10/10 No. of times I watched it: 3
starring Kim So Yeon as Ma Hye Ri and Park Shi Hoo as Seo In Woo.
Plot: Ma Hye Ri is a woman with an excellent memory and ability to focus, which allowed her to pass the bar exam with ease. Despite her talents, she is more interested in being fashionable and dislikes hard work, so she is far from being an ideal prosecutor and has doubts about her suitability for her job. Through her conflicts with senior colleagues and struggles with difficult cases, however, Hye Ri gradually matures into a brilliant prosecutor with a sense of duty and justice. In Woo is a mysterious person who plans well and secretly helps Hye Ri along the way…
Zoom into characters: Hye Ri is from a rich family and goes through torture to lose weight. Thus, she treasures her body a lot and likes to be fashionable. In Woo who leads a happy life suddenly becomes an orphan after his father is being framed for murder and his mother passed away in a car accident when they are in America. He promised himself to take revenge so he comes back to Korea as a lawyer. He plans in a way that Hye Ri will become a good prosecutor and dig out her father’s wrong doings.
Why you should watch: If you are interested in law and cases, you can try this out. One of my favourite dramas in 2010! They have good chemistry. Park Shi Hoo’s character was played well and made the drama more fabulous! Addictive revenge drama with a distinct storyline.
Click here to watch.
MV+Favourite osts: Goodbye my princess by Monday Kiz
Click here for full review.
Fugitive Plan B (2010) 逃亡者
Genre: Action, Comedy, Romance
Enjoyment: 9/10 Pace: 8/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Bi / Rain as Ji Woo and Lee Na Young as Jin Yi / Jini K.
Plot: During the Korean War, a vast amount of money disappeared. Now, some 60 years later, the money has reappeared, leading to a frantic chase across the globe. Jin Yi (Lee Na Young) is a seemingly innocent woman who has hidden motives for approaching Ji Woo (Bi), a detective. Her plans are complicated by an unexpected romance developing between them, as well as the numerous pursuers hot on their trail. Kieko (Uehara Takako) is a famous Japanese singer who also gets tangled up in a relationship with this man. Little do they know that her father Hiroki (Takenaka Naoto), apart from being a business man, is a powerful Yakuza. In this love triangle, who will finally win the love of Ji Woo?
Liked Rain’s acting in Fugitive Plan B. His character is very weird and funny even though he is good at making plans and fighting. As a detective, he seldom gets personally involved while he makes money but this time it is different. It is something like a escaping drama where the couple escapes many times from the police and the bad guys while thinking of their next step. Ji Woo is always very confident while Jin Yi is brave and calculative. It is fun to watch how their plans work and how they escape danger each time while their relationship develop.
Why you should watch: Fun and action-packed drama. Comical at times due to Ji Woo’s weird personality.
Click here to watch.
Birth of the Rich (2010) 富翁的诞生
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Enjoyment: 9/10 Pace: 8/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Ji Hyun Woo as Choi Suk Bong and Lee Bo Young as Lee Shin Mi.
Plot: The drama follows the story of a man, Choi Suk Bong, who believes that he is actually the son of a rich father and heir to a chaebol group. He searches high and low and meets Lee Shin Mi, who is actually a chaebol heir but acts nothing like one, with her scrimping and frugal ways. Although they get off to a rocky start, with her help, he struggles towards his goal of attaining wealth.
He even goes into people’s bathroom when they are bathing to see if they have the necklace his father owns. Is he looking for his father or does he just want to be rich? A scene that makes me think is the scene in the 1st episode. When two boys were at wrong, the teacher asks about the boys’ fathers. When one says his father is a policeman, he got punished. When the other says that his father is a rich man, he was not punished. Is the society so realistic and unfair?
Why you should watch: This drama makes me a fan of Ji Hyun Woo and it is portrayed well as his character makes his journey to find his father through desperate means and finally obtains success and becomes rich.
Click here to watch.
Cinderella’s Sister (2010) 灰姑娘姐姐
Genre: Comedy, Romance, Melodrama
Enjoyment: 8/10 Pace: 7/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Moon Geun Young as Song Eun Jo and Chun Jung Myung as Hong Ki Hoon.
Plot: Used to being dragged from one broken home to another by her manipulative, money-grubbing mother (Lee Mi-sook), Eun-jo doesn’t know what to make of her mother’s latest catch Dae-sung (Kim Kap-soo), the solemn head of a traditional rice wine brewery. She forms a bond with brewery staff Ki-hoon (Chun Jung-myung)and it is his betrayal that will hurt the most. However, Dae-sung’s genuine kindness to her eventually melts Eun-jo’s defenses, and she learns to trust and love her stepfather. Naive Hyo-sun, meanwhile, stubbornly seeks affection at every turn, only to slowly realize she’s losing Ki-hoon and everything else in her life to her cold stepsister. Reluctant sisters Eun-jo and Hyo-sun both experience angst and rivalry, as their polar-opposite personalities and love-hate relationship bring them through many ups and downs from adolescence to adulthood.
With warmth and kindness, one can influence the people around them. Be prepared for an emotional roller coaster ride.
Click here to watch.
MV+Favourite osts: It has to be you by Yesung and Calling out by Luna and Crystal
Mischievous Kiss (2010) 惡作劇之吻
Genre: Comedy, Romance, High School
Enjoyment: 8/10 Pace: 8/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Kim Hyun Joong as Baek Seung Jo and Jung So Min as Oh Ha Ni.
Plot: Based on the popular manga, Oh Ha Ni is a clumsy student who falls for the perfectionist, Baek Seung Jo. Oh Ha Ni is a sweet, lively and happy high school student. She has a crush on Baek Seung Jo, the smartest boy in school despite being chased loyally by Bong Joon Gu herself. When she confesses to Seung Jo through a letter, he brings it back to her, after grading it harshly and commenting that he hates stupid girls. When Oh Ha Ni’s new house suddenly collapses, her father’s friend offers for him and Ha Ni to stay with them. Unknown to Ha Ni, her father’s friend is actually Baek Seung Jo’s dad. Seung Jo plays with her by kissing her for a few occasions. Does he really likes her? As they continue to live under the same roof, Seung Jo helps her with her study and they enter Parang University together. Can Ha Ni win his heart as she continues to show affection or will she lose to an equally clever girl as Seung Jo?
Why you should watch: It is slightly similar to Boys over Flowers. If you enjoyed Boys over Flowers, you can try this which focuses on the lead couple.
Click here to watch.
Personal taste (2010) 个人取向
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Enjoyment: 8/10 Pace: 7/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Son Yeh Jin as Park Kae In and Lee Min Ho as Jeon Jin Ho.
Plot: Jin Ho needs to find out more about the design of her house so he decides to live there. In order to do so, Jeon Jin Ho who is a straight guy has to pretend to be gay to become a roommate to Park Kae In. His hobbies include organization and ironing, and he’s known for his stoic poker face. He’s a stickler for cleanliness, but he also has a talent for figuring out women’s feelings. Kae In is very trusting even though she has a habit of being betrayed. However, that doesn’t stop her from giving people the benefit of doubt and Jin Ho is no different. How will Kae In react when she finds out that her gay roommate is actually not a gay at all and that he has fallen for her?
Why you should watch: A more mature version of character acted by Lee Min Ho after Boys over Flowers. Good chemistry. Not really a must-watch to me but you can try it out if you are a fan of Lee Min Ho and Son Yeh Jin.
Click here to watch.
Road No. 1 (2010) 一号公路
Genre: Action, Romance, War
starring So Ji Sub as Lee Jang Woo, Kim Ha Neul as Kim Soo Yeon, Yoon Kye Sang as Shin Tae Ho
War story with a beautiful love story and many life and death situations. It is thrilling and frightening at the same time. Liked how Lee Jang Woo is smart and a good leader for his troop. The longing between Jang Woo and Soo Yeon is well-portrayed. They go through so much hardship to get together. It is a pity that their time together is so short. Felt that Jang Woo is good-looking haha.
Cinderella Man (2009) 男版灰姑娘
Genre: Romance, Switch
Enjoyment: 9/10 Pace: 8/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Kwon Sang Woo as Oh Dae San / Lee Joon Hee and Yoona as Seo Yeo Jin.
Plot: Dae San and Joon Hee are separated at birth as the rich family snatches the child once he was born without knowing that the mother actually had twins. Even though their time of arrival on Earth is just a few minutes difference, they lead a very different life. Joon Hee leads a luxurious but lonely life while Dae San leads a poor but fulfilling life.
Seo Yeo Jin, Dae San’s lover, studies at a fashion design school in Paris but returns to Korea after her life is turned upside down when her father dies. She is very hardworking and talented in design but faces many difficulties as she tries to make her designs accepted and used. Joon Hee has heart problem and needs to go for operation at another country. He meets his identical twin one day and decides to pay Dae San to replace him for the time being. Dae San happily agrees as he is in need of the money (for Yeo Jin I think). This changes Dae San’s life as he struggles to meet the requirement of two people’s life. As people around him starts to think that he is a swindler, will Yeo Jin still believe him as the one who went through thick and thin with her?
Why you should watch: Interesting plot of one twin replacing another just by looks and nothing else. How funny that Dae San just needs to wear a pair of spectacles and everyone is fooled. It is fascinating to watch and it includes heartwarming moments as the drama goes. Yoona acted well in this drama. Although it is not a very well-known drama with Kwon Sang Woo such as Stairway to Heaven, I enjoyed it a lot.
Click here to watch.
MV+Favourite osts: I thought you were mine by Shin Seung Hoon and I cannot mention that I love you by Ok Juh-yeon
Click here for full review.
Shining Inheritance / Brilliant Legacy (2009) 灿烂的遗产
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Enjoyment: 9/10 Pace: 8/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Han Hyo Joo as Go Eun Sung and Lee Seung Ki as Sun Woo Hwan. Other casts: Bae Soo Bin as Park Jun Se, Yeon Joon-seok as Go Eun-woo (younger brother) and Moon Chae Won as Yoo Sung Mi.
Plot: Go Eun Sung’s life is similar to Cinderella’s. After her father died, her step-mother, Baek Sung Hee, took away all of her assets and her younger brother, Eun Woo, and suddenly disappears without a trace. When the CEO of a food company, Jang Sook Ja, suffers amnesia and can’t remember who she is Eun Sung takes her in. However, Eun Sung does not know that she is the grandmother of Sun Woo Hwan, the man who she switched bags with at the airport. How will their constant bickering lead them to realize that they care more about each other than they let on?
Zoom into characters: Despite being taken everything from her, Eun Sung perseveres and works really hard to fulfill her dreams. Woo Hwan, on the other hand, becomes an irresponsible and disrespectful person as he caused his father’s death. He hates it when people says that he looks like his father or see his father through him. He also hates the food produced in the company as he feels sick of it.
Watched sometime ago. Looks like Han Hyo Joo’s character is hard to get? Bae Soo Bin plays the supporting role in both this and Dong Yi when Han Hyo Joo is involved. Haha. It is such a waste even though I don’t mind Woo Hwan ending up with Eun Sung (sry for the spoiler). Her musically talented brother was Eun Sung’s motivation until she lost him. Even though she is from a rich family, she does not act like a princess and is humble and polite. Eun Sung’s spirit is one I can learn from. Her father should not have pretended that he is dead just to claim insurance money. (Sry for the spoiler) How is he so sure that the stepmother will take care of Eun Sung and Eun Woo when she already has her own daughter, Sung Mi, who is much more precious to her? He should not have been so irresponsible and made his children suffer. He is just escaping from the problem instead of facing and solving it.
A company belongs to everyone working in it, not only the shareholders who have high rank as everyone in the company contributes to the achievement of the company. Shareholders are supposed to make decisions wisely and not just trying to take over the company. Every worker’s effort and hard work should be appreciated.
Why you should watch: Genre: Romance. It is a typical poor girl and rich guy happy ending drama with conflict but also worth watching. The casts acted their roles well. Liked how Lee Seung Gi portrays his character in his first drama as lead.
Click here to watch.
MV+Favourite osts: Love is punishment by K Will
Partner (2009) 伙伴
Genre: Law, Romance, Comedy
Enjoyment: 8/10 Pace: 8/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Kim Hyun Joo as Kang Eun Ho and Lee Dong Wook as Lee Tae Jo. The word ‘Partner’ takes a different meaning when it is used in law firm. Partners are the people who survived from the power struggle. They are executives who are on the top of the law firm pyramid. Enterprises are law firm’s partners. Law firms fight each other to become a partner of business. They struggle to be close to power and to become a slave of money. There are some lawyers who want be the partners of commoners as well. They are willing to be the spokesperson for the underprivileged. It is a story about partner; the one who is going to stay by your side and fight together in front of law.
Is there justice? Even if your family is the evil, will you defend them or fight for justice? If you are interested in law and cases, you can try this drama. Became a fan of Lee Dong Wook after watching this drama. Haha. Not only is it about law and justice, it includes a twist when Tae Jo’s lawyer family is involved in preventing the real criminals from being punished for deadly contamination of water. This case leads to the death of Eun Ho’s husband (Tae Jo’s friend as well) and many others. While Tae Jo knows that his family is in the wrong, he experiences the power struggle, helplessness, sorrow and even dilemma. On the other hand, it is not easy for Eun Ho to bring up a son as a single parent. Her goal to become a lawyer leads her to becoming Tae Jo’s assistant and eventually partner in upholding justice.
Click here to watch.
Boys Over Flowers (2009) 花样男子
Genre: Romance, Comedy
Enjoyment: 9/10 Pace: 9/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Koo Hye Sun as Geum Jan Di, Lee Min Ho as Goo Joon Pyo, Kim Hyun Joong as Yoon Ji Hoo, Kim Bum as So Yi Jung, Kim Joon as Song Woo Bin, Kim So Eun as Chu Ga Eul (Jan Di’s best friend), Kim Hyun Joo as Goo Joon Hee (Joon Pyo’s elder sister), Lee Hye Young as Kang Hee Soo (Joon Pyo’s mother), Ahn Suk Hwan as Geum Il Bong (Jan Di’s father), Im Ye Jin as Na Gong Joo (Jan Di’s mother), Park Ji Bin as Geum Kang San (Jan Di’s younger brother), Han Chae Young as Min Seo Hyun (F4’s best friend/Ji Hoo’s ex girl friend)
Plot: Jan Di is an average girl whose family owns a dry cleaning store located near the luxurious and well known Shin Hwa College. Jan Di meets the four richest and most spoiled boys known as the F4. After saving a boy from jumping off the roof of Shinhwa High School, she is admitted into the school on a swimming scholarship. Jan Di tries to avoid confrontation with the F4 at all cost because she knows what happens to those that stand against them. However, when Jan Di’s friend, Oh Min Ji, accidentally gets ice cream on the leader of the F4’s shoes, she’s forced to declare war on the leader of the F4, Goo Joon Pyo.
One of the first kdramas I watched. Liked the acting of the cast! Liked Kim So Eun in this drama. May become a fan of Kim Bum after this drama. Liked the friendship between Jan Di and Ga Eul. Liked the friendship among the F4. Liked the friendship among F4 and Jan Di. Liked the development of relationship between Jan Di and Joon Pyo. Liked their bickerings. Liked the Ga Eul and Yi Jung couple. Liked how Yi Jung portrayed his emotional struggle. Liked Joon Pyo’s sister who is cool and can deal with her brother well. Found Jan Di’s family a bit annoying. They care more about money than Jan Di.
Who are you? (2008) 你是谁 ?
Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Comedy, Spiritual
Enjoyment: 9/10 Pace: 9/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Yoon Kye Sang as Cha Seung Hyo and Go Ah Ra as Son Young In, Kang Nam Gil as Son Il Gun.
Plot: Cha Seung Hyo is an abandoned child who gets adopted in the United States and grows up to be a cold hearted person and stickler for cleanliness. Son Il Gun is a father who died, but he left things unfinished with his daughter. In order to make sure that his daughter is provided for, he controls Seung Hyo’s body for three hours a day for 49 days. He buys his daughter the things he couldn’t do when he was alive with Seung Hyo’s money. Il Gun’s daughter, Young In, is a quick-tempered girl who meets Seung Hyo during her part-time job. At first, she has a bad impression of him but she gradually starts to fall for the lonely Seung Hyo who is unable to open up to anyone else because of his bitter past. As Seung Hyo gets involved with II Gun’s affair, he starts to put himself in danger at the same time learns to show care for others.
Why you should watch: It is a very funny yet heartwarming drama with fantasy involved. Yoon Kye Sung acted very well, completely different when he is Seung Hyo and II Gun. There is great chemistry between the lead couple and one will be drawn into it. Although it is a sad spiritual drama, it is not as heartbreaking as other spiritual dramas as the main characters still await a happy ending.
Click here to watch.
Click here for full review.
Powerful opponent (2008) 强敌
Genre: Comedy, Romance, Mystery
Enjoyment: 8/10 Pace: 8/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Chae Rim as Cha Young Jin, Lee Jin Wook as Kang Soo Ho and Lee Jong Hyuk as Yoo Gwang Pil.
Plot: Cha Young Jin is the first female to ever work as a bodyguard in the Presidential resident, Chungwadae. Young Jin and Ryu Gwan Pil work as bodyguards assigned to watch over the president’s son, Kang Soo Ho. They are assigned to guard Soo Ho for 15 months. However, it is not an easy task as Soo Ho always have mischief tucked in his sleeves. With some memory loss due to a sad past, Soo Ho slowly recovers his memory and undo his misunderstanding with Gwan Pil.
Click here to watch.
Time between Dog and Wolf (2007) 狗与狼的时间
Genre: Action, Romance
Enjoyment: 10/10 Pace: 10/10 No. of times I watched it: 3
starring Lee Joon Ki as Lee Soo Hyun / Kay and Nam Sang Mi as Soo Ji Woo.
Plot: In order to avenge his mother that was killed brutally by Thai criminal syndicate Cheongbang, Soo Hyun decided to take matters into his own hands in one of his operations and cause the failure of the police operation. After that, he becomes an undercover NIS agent after staging his death. Hiding his past, Soo Hyun infiltrates the Cheongbang with revenge in mind, leaving Ji Woo behind. Under the pseudo-name of Kay, he passes through the backstreets of Bangkok. What Soo Hyun didn’t know was Ji Woo, the one he loved, is the daughter of the same villain, who killed his mother and father. While he was protecting Ji Woo secretly as ordered, he saves her and ends up losing his memory. He started thinking he was a part of Cheongbang and helped them with their bad deeds. At the same time, his job was to protect Ji Woo and they met again.
Time between Dog and Wolf mixes action with losing memory well. No matter Soo Hyun is a police or he is a part of the gang, there is a lot of action involved. Lee Joon Ki acted very well in it, displaying the many emotions his character feels from scared at first when things are related to the gang to happy when in love to hatred towards the gang to confident when he thinks he is part of the gang. He is also a good fighter. It is funny when he rescues Ji Woo the first time and Ji Woo was so shocked as she thought that he was dead. He even gets a chance to date the same girl twice (as a good guy) before and after he loses his memory (as a bad guy).
Why you should watch: Unexpected twist in the story after he lost his memory. First action drama that I loved very much! There are many twists in this drama which I enjoyed very much.
Click here to watch.
MV+Favourite osts: Foolish heart by Lee Soo
The Devil (2007) 魔王
Enjoyment: 7/10 Pace: 6/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Joo Ji Hoon as Oh Seung Ha, Uhm Tae Woong as Kang Oh Soo and Shin Min Ah as Seo Hae In. When Homicide Detective Kang Oh Soo hit a dead end in his investigation of two seemly unrelated murders, except for the Tarot cards left behind at both crime scenes, he sought help from Seo Hae In, a woman with Token-object reading ability. She revealed that the killers were different in each murder, but the victims were chosen for their connection to a death of a high school boy. Later, the cases proved to have one more thing in common: the suspects have the same defense attorney, Oh Seung Ha. Seung Ha’s defense for his clients severely shaken Oh Soo’s conviction to catch the Tarot Card mastermind. Oh Soo was reminded that years ago he had killed a high school classmate in a fight. He was acquitted of all charges and began his life anew. Now, someone has came back to revenge the boy’s wrongful death by killing those who got him off.
To me, it is a sad revenge story. As the cases unfold, more people are killed and more people are hurt. Revenge and hatred will only cause destruction to one. When Oh Soo was acquitted due to his parents’ power, they should have cared more about the victim’s family.
Click here to watch.
MV+Favourite osts: Don’t love me by Uhm Tae Woong
Sad Dramas (sad endings):
Snow Queen (2006) 雪之女王
Enjoyment: 9/10 Pace: 8/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Hyun Bin as Han Tae Woong / Han Deuk Gu and Sung Yu Ri as Kim Bo Ra.
Plot: This is about a brilliant genius at Mathematics and a girl who had an incurable illness. Tae Woong’s best friend, Bo Ra’s brother actually wanted to recommend his own sister to him. Little does he knows that Tae Woong already met his sister when both of them were trying to escape from something in life. The girl had a crush on him and they decided to meet another day. On that day, Tae Woong beats his best friend, Jeong Kyu (Bo Ra’s brother) in an international Mathematics Olympiad, Jeong Kyu commits suicide. Therefore, he loses touch with her without finding out her name until they met again at a hospital. What will Tae Woong do when he knows that Bo Ra’s brother is Jeong Kyu?
Doing this by memory as I watched it long ago. It is a sad love. They long for each other yet cannot be together. If you hope to draw out tears, you can try this drama. Watching 49 days is more effective to me. Haha. My first drama with Hyun Bin and Sung Yu Ri in it and I liked how they portrayed their characters and was attracted to Hyun Bin’s acting.
Click here to watch.
MV+Favourite osts: Loveholic by Echo
Click here for full review.
49 days (2011)
Enjoyment: 9/10 Pace: 8/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Lee Yo Won as Song Yi Kyung, Nam Gyu Ri as Shin Ji Hyun and Jo Hyun Jae as Han Kang.
Plot: A young woman named Ji Hyun was enjoying absolute bliss as she was about to be married with her fiancé, but her perfect life is shattered in a car accident that left her in a coma. She is given a second chance at life by a reaper, but it comes with a condition: she has to find three people outside of her family who would cry genuine tears for her. She thought that it would be a easy task but it is not. She has to borrow a living person’s body while she works out her way to survive. She will solve the mystery related to her family and discover the people who truly loves her.
Why you should watch: Tears drawing sad drama. Especially as it comes to the end, I just cannot stop my tears from falling. The heartwarming scenes and the heartbreaking scenes are what made this drama so uniquely sad. First spirit related drama I watched and it leaves a deep impression. I still remember that it is quite disturbing to me at that time when her soul jumped out of her body. Haha. Lee Yo Won acted very well as the hopeful Ji Hyun and the Yi Kyung that has given up on life.
Click here to watch.
MV+Favourite osts: Tears are Falling by Shin Jae
Click here for full review.
Some historical dramas to consider:
If you are looking for a long historical drama to watch, I would highly recommend Jumong, Horse Doctor and Dong Yi. They leave the deepest impression on me + I am satisfied with the endings+ there are many twists here and there + I watched them a few times without feeling sick of it. They are about the journeys of the main character as he/she encounters setback and achieve a lot to become a better them. They lose many things and have to use their wits to survive.
Legend of the Prince (2006) 朱蒙
Enjoyment: 10/10 Pace: 9/10 No. of times I watched it: 2
starring Song Il Gook as Jumong, Han Hye Jin as So Seo No and Song Ji Hyo as Ye So Ya (Jumong’s wife). Twenty years later, overshadowed by Kumwa’s sons Taeso and Youngpo, Chumong is a weak, cowardly, promiscuous prince. Exasperated, Yuhwa arranges for his training in swordsmanship and the martial arts. Chumong begins his training in a prison, where his instructor is chief jailor. He entraps himself with an apprentice priestess, missing his royal duties, and he is expelled from the palace. Chumong accidentally sets fire to the Puyo blacksmith’s workshop, betraying its existence to the Han. He is stripped of his title, and his two adoptive brothers send assassins after him. Chumong encounters three robbers, Oi, Mari and Hyeoppo, who take him in when they learn his identity. He also meets 21-year-old Sosuhno, Yuntabal’s daughter, and establishes a relationship with the Keru clan. He meets a blind old man, who tells him he used to belong to the Tamul Army; unbeknownst to him it is his father, Hae Mosu. After escaping the prison together when Taeso and Youngpo try to kill them, Hae Mosu trains Chumong in fighting and archery.
Hae Mo-su is assassinated by Taeso and Youngpo, and Chumong swears to avenge his father. Realizing that Chumong is Hae Mosu’s successor, Kumwa lets him return to the palace. During a battle between Chinbun and Lintun, Chumong is missing and presumed dead. He is found by the Hanbaek chief, whose daughter Ye So-ya helps Chumong recover before the chief is killed. Chumong is sent to Xuantu to curry favor with the Han. On his way, he is rescued by Mari, Oi, Hyeoppo, Musong and Mo Palmo. In Puyo Taeso seizes power, marries the Xuantu governor’s daughter and becomes a tyrant. He tries to force Sosuhno to become his concubine, but she marries Woo-Tae (not knowing Chumong is alive). Chumong returns to Puyo and marries Ye So-ya.
One of the best historical drama I ever watched. Content-rich and interesting plot. People’s life can change depending on the people they meet. Robbers can eventually change their life and become courtiers if they meet a person that find their worth. Hence, social network is actually very important. Who you meet may be what you will become. When people try to kill you or when faced with desperate and dangerous situations, one can mature faster and more skills can be learnt at a faster rate.
Click here to watch.
Yi San (2007) 李算
starring Lee Seo Jin as Yi San / King Jeong Jo, Han Ji Min as Seong Song Yeon and Lee Jong Soo as Park Dae Su.
Hong Gil Dong (2008) 洪吉童
Enjoyment: 9/10 Pace: 8/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Kang Ji Hwan as Hong Gil Dong and Sung Yu Ri as Heo Lee Nok. Robinhood story and many action scenes involved. What happens if you are supposed to be king and someone carve a sword and say your brother is supposed to be king instead and everyone believes so? Will you be a good king? If you become the king, the friend you know who helped you be king is against your policy? Will you kill him? Is there equality?
Hong Gil Dong is a robinhood story with many action scenes involved. Hong Gil-dong is the illegitimate son of a minister. He is very bright and smart but was told that he could not accomplish anything in this world, due to his illegitimate status. Heo Yi-nok is an upbeat, naive and carefree girl. She meets and befriends Gil-dong. Yi-nok has a past she is unaware of: she does not know that her real parents were murdered. She eventually develops feelings for Gil-dong. Lee Chang-hwi is planning a revolution, in which he tries to overthrow the king and takes his place as he believes he is the rightful king of Joseon. He coincidentally bumps into both Gil-dong and Yi-nok. He forges an alliance with Gil-dong which helps him. At the end, there is a struggle between Hong Gil Dong Group and the king as Hong Gil Dong aims to have equality among the people while the king does not.
I like Kang Ji Hwan and Song Yu-ri acting in this drama. There are also twists as Yi-nok start to know her past and she struggles to choose which side she should follow: the king or her lover. Liked how Hong Gil Dong deals with situations very cleverly. Liked how the thieves he leads have distinct characteristics. Liked the delivery boy. Really dislike the king for trying to get rid of Hong Gil Dong’s group after he made use of them to get his throne. It is unexpected that it turned out that Lee Chang-hwi is not the rightful king afterall. His family planned it. Feel slightly sorry for the present king. If he knows that he is the rightful king, he would have taken his place more seriously. Not really satisfied with the ending but you can still try it for the plot.
Click here to watch.
Iljimae (2008)一枝梅
Enjoyment: 10/10 Pace: 9/10 No. of times I watched it: 3
starring Lee Joon Ki as Iljimae / Yong / Lee Geom and Han Hyo Joo as Eun Chae. His family is framed for treason and the whole family was executed as a result. He managed to escape death and loses his memory. Hence, he is being adopted by his stepbrother’s (once) family. Character by Lee Jun Ki who left behind a painting depicting a plum tree branch to make his mark after robbing corrupted government officials to give to the poor has clever ways of going in and out of the king’s palace and disguising himself. While he robs to give to the poor, he gets nearer to the truth he has been searching for. The picture on the sword which kills his father will eventually lead him to the person who killed his father. He falls in love with the girl whose father framed his family. Park Shi Ho’s character is involved in the deed to frame the family. To prevent his son from being silenced, his mother lies that he is that family’s son. Thus, Park Shi Ho’s character becomes Eun Chae’s stepbrother. Character by Park Shi Ho, his stepbrother, will be hot on his heels as an official in that era, without knowing the person he is catching is actually related to him.
Lee Joon Ki’s role in this drama as Iljimae is very cool! The starting is really sad but it becomes a thriller after that. As Iljimae, he commits crime cleverly and only leaves a painting behind. Liked how his adoptive father teaches him how to pick-lock and be like a professional thief. The interesting thing is he has an intelligent stepbrother who is an official after his every move. Although his stepbrother misses him each time, he is still able to figure out what Iljimae did and gets one step closer to solving who did it. I feel that the stepbrothers are both very pitiful. Park Shi Ho’s character taken in as an illegitimate son (his mother saved him by saying he is that noble’s son after he was almost silenced for a deed) is very lonely and not treated like other family members. Iljimae lost his whole family after they are framed and has to try to survive on his own without getting caught. Too bad there is no good ending in this drama for Iljimae… Despite the ending, it is highly recommended!
Click here to watch.
Queen Seonduk (2009) 善德女王
Enjoyment: 10/10 Pace: 9/10 No. of times I watched it: 2
starring Lee Yo Won as Princess Duk Man, later Queen Seon Duk, Ko Hyun Jung as Lady Mi Shil, Uhm Tae Woong as Kim Yoo Shin, Park Ye Jin as Princess Chun Myung and Kim Nam Gil as Bi Dam (King Jinji and Mi Shil’s son).
Queen Seonduk will be about the life of Princess Duk Man who was later known as Queen Seon Duk, the first Queen of Silla. As the queen has girl twins, a prophecy leads to her abandonment as a baby. After an unconventional childhood in the Taklamakan Desert, Deokman eventually returns to Silla disguised as a boy and trains as a Nangdo. There, she joins forces with her twin sister and the naive commander Kim Yushin to oppose the villainous Lady Mishil, a royal concubine and high-ranking official who will stop at nothing to rule Silla herself.
Liked how the plot is as Duk Man goes through hardship which makes her stronger and a better person to oppose Lady Mishil with her bravery and quick-witted planning. She even went for a battle as a Nangdo. Duk Mun is an amazing character whose sincerity even makes rain fall on a place with drought and quick-wittedness helps her escape death many times. Kim Yushin’s skills in fighting is more on strength than tactic as he just practises hitting something hard many times without real skills. However, it does pay off afterall… I especially liked the character Bi Dam who is Mishil’s son. He is mischievous but very good at fighting and is able to fool Mishil as he is really difficult to read. Mishil is really the calmest bad guy I have ever seen. Haha. Even though the storyline is very interesting and captivating, I did not like the ending as Bi Dam betrays Queen Seonduk in the end.
Click here to watch.
Click here for full review.
Dong Yi, Jewel in the Crown (2010) 同伊
Enjoyment: 10/10 Pace: 10/10 No. of times I watched it: 2
Set during the reign of King Sukjong in the Joseon dynasty, the story focuses on Dong Yi, a water maid who gains the trust of Queen Inhyeon and later the favour of the king when he is moved by her prayers for the health of the Queen during the court disputes caused by Jang Hee Bin. Dong Yi becomes a concubine with the rank of Sook-bin and bears a son who will later become the 21st king of Joseon, Yeongjo.
Dong Yi is a sensible and intelligent girl but her family is from a secret group that helps the poor escape. The group is framed for murder of the nobles which caused her to lose her whole family except her brother’s closest friend which she calls brother. She survives on her own and finally meets up with her long lost brother. She solves many mysteries in the palace and overcomes many difficulties to become the King’s favourite concubine. This drama is on a sadder tone which makes it heartwarming.
Click here to watch.
Jejungwon (2010) 濟眾院
Enjoyment: 8/10 Pace: 8/10 No. of times I watched it: 1
starring Park Yong Woo as Hwang Jung and Han Hye Jin as Yoo Seok Ran. Jejoongwon is the first modern hospital in Korea established in the Joseon era in 1885. Yeon Jung Hoon plays a nobleman who gives up his status to enter its ranks. Park Yong-woo plays a butcher’s son who becomes a physician, while Han Hye-jin enters Jejoongwon as an interpreter but takes on medical training to become a doctor. A story of a butcher, one of the lowest rank in the society then becomes a doctor out of a coincidence his great skills at sewing and cutting. He falls in love with a girl from a noble family. I don’t think (don’t really remember) the ending is bad. It is interesting to see the butcher who cuts beef daily is able to do western surgery (cutting up a person) well due to his skills. While Hwang Jung is a caring physician, Yeon Jung Hoon’s character just wants to be the best.
There is still a social hierarchy and people think that people of the low rank have no right to learn or practise medicine. An interesting scene is when Hwang Jung does a blood transfusion to save his love one of higher status and he is surprised that there is no such thing as blood of lower status.
Click here to watch.
Deep rooted tree (2011) 树大根深
starring Jang Hyuk as Kang Chae Yoon, Song Joong Ki as teen Lee Do (later King Sejong)Han Suk Kyu as King Sejong and Shin Se Kyung as So Yi. Watched mainly because of Song Joong Ki who acted as the king when he was young but become captivated by how Jang Hyuk as Kang Chae Yoon tries to solve a case and finds himself embroiled in a massive conspiracy. I am also touched by Chae Yoon’s love for Dan Er.
Princess Man (2011) 公主的男人
starring Moon Chae Won as Lee Se Ryung and Park Shi Hoo as Kim Seung Yo. A tragic love story between the daughter of Prince Suyang and grandson of Kim Jong Seo.
Moon that embraces the sun (2012) 拥抱太阳的月亮
Enjoyment: 8/10 Pace: 6/10
starring Kim Soo Hyun as Lee Hwon and Han Ga In as Wol / Heo Yeon Woo. “The Moon Embracing The Sun” tells a love story between King Lee Hwon and a female shaman named Wol. Yeon Woo was born from a noble family. She met the crown prince one day out of coincidence and they fell in love. With her intelligence and kind heart, she was selected to became the crown princess. However, the Queen Jeonghui (Lee Hwon’s grandmother) wanted another person to be crown princess so that she can hold power in the palace. She threatened a female shaman to use dark magic to take Yeon Woo’s life. Soon after, Yeon Woo had a mysterious illness and eventually passed away. Due to her mother’s good deed, Yeon Woo was saved but with no recollection of her past. Finally, she lived as a shaman. Due to the king’s poor health, she was kidnapped and send to the palace. As a human talisman, she met the king again…
Unlike most historical drama, this story focus on shaman and dark magic, the spiritual side of the palace. I am touched by the king’s love for Yeon Woo. He only loves one girl in his life.
Click here to watch.
MV+Favourite osts: Back in time by Lyn and The Sorrow Song of Love bgm
Faith (2012) 神医
starring Lee Min Ho as Choi Young and Kim Hee Sun as Yoo Eun Soo. Other casts: Ryu Duk Hwan as King Gong Min and Park Se Young as Princess Nogook.
This drama shows the love between a warrior from the Goryeo Period and a female doctor from the present day, their love transcending time and space.
Yoo Eun Soo (Kim Hee Sun) is a 33-year old plastic surgeon in the year 2012. She was originally a general surgeon, but quickly found that it was an overworked, under-paid profession and jumped ship to plastic surgery. Her dream is to someday open her own practice. One day, Choi Young (Lee Min Ho) kidnaps her and takes her back to the Goryeo due to the need of her medical skills. Their love story spans centuries but also warring beliefs. He gave up on love to be an unflinching warrior until he meets Eun Soo and has to balance protecting the king and protecting the one he loves.
Horse Doctor (2012) 馬醫
This drama tells the story of a veterinarian in the Joseon Period as he goes through various obstacles and becomes a royal physician. Baek Gwang Hyun (Cho Seung Woo) will be the aspiring Royal Physician. Lee Sung Ha (Lee Sang Woo) will be his rival. Kang Ji Nyeong (Lee Yo Won) who has good memory would be the female physician involved in the love triangle. Jang In Joo (Yoo Sun) is a talented acupuncturist interested in Gwang Hyun and knows of his past.
This drama shows the journey of a horse doctor, one of the lowest class in the society that their lives are not even as treasured as that of a rich man’s horse, as he becomes a doctor who heals people. He has exceptional acupuncture skills and is gifted in healing people.
Short overview: Gwang Hyun’s father was framed and punished for being involved in the murder of the king’s son by his very own friend (named Lee Myung Hwan) who is also a doctor. At that time, if Gwang Hyun’s mother gave birth to a boy, he will be killed. However, if it is a girl, the girl will just become an official’s slave. In order to save Gwang Hyun’s life, a slave swapped his daughter, who Gwang Hyun’s father rescued, with Gwang Hyun. Thereafter, fate brings Gwang Hyun to this slave girl, later named Ji Nyeong. However, they are soon separated after Gwang Hyun’s adoptive father’s death which is also caused by Lee Myung Hwan. Gwang Hyun is raised by a horse doctor and learns how to treat animals after he felt the sense of accomplishment for helping to save a horse. Lee Myung Hwan becomes Ji Nyeong’s guardian after Gwang Hyun’s father is proven innocent in order to manage Gwang Hyun’s father’s inheritance.
Click here to watch.
Favourite MV+ osts: It hurts and hurts by Yaerin
Click here for full review.
Jang Ok Jung (2013) 張玉貞
starring Kim Tae Hee as Jang Ok Jung (later Lady Jang Hee Bin), Kang Min Ah as Jang Ok Jung (young), Yoo Ah In as Lee Soon (later King Suk Jong), Chae Sang Woo as Lee Soon (young).
This drama tells the story of Jang Hee Bin (Kim Tae Hee), one of the most famous royal concubines in the Joseon Dynasty who was behind the deposition of King Sook Jong’s (Yoo Ah In) wife, Queen In Hyun (Hong Soo Hyun). However, unlike the countless dramas and movies about this famous villain, this drama will tell the story of Jang Ok Jung before she became concubine Jang Hee Bin and focus on her role as a fashion designer and cosmetic maker in the Joseon era.
Liked Yoo Ah In’s acting in this drama and how his character intelligently leads the country and controls his courtiers. However, it is a waste that it did not focus on Jang Ok Jung’s ability in making fashionable clothes after she becomes the king’s concubine, making it seem more like just a fight for power in the palace.
Do give feedback! Will update as soon as I can. Thanks for your support! Hope you enjoy reading it!
Drama and Show Reviews & Recommendations 
Hi. I;ve seen some of the dramas you mention. My favourite korean dramas are legend of the winds, and city hall. Dong yi is probably my favourite character.
My favourite actress is shin Da Eun, and I hope that The Return of Hwang Geum-Bok gets subbed,
The best korean dramas I saw this year were “What happens to my family, punch (2014), and conspiracy in the court. They all got 10/10.
Angry mom got a 9.
getting an 8 were
family’s honour
dr stranger
god’s gift
it’s okay, that’s love
you’re all surrounded
RASCAL SONS
time spiral
Lights and shadows.
and in the 7’s
four sisters
punch (203)
Tanra the island
Will you love and give it away ,
The korean drama I’m watching at the moment is “Protect the Boss”
Have you any objections to me posting some reviews here.
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I am fine with that.
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.
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Thanks,
Angel eyes
8/10
The cast are excellent. I can’t really fault anybody. It’s always a pleasure to see Jung Jin-Young, one of the best Korean actors out there.
Attractive leads. But my favourite character was
the tenacious cop Cha Min-Soo played by Juan. I also liked Kim Yoon-Jung played by Park Jin-Joo.
This drama seemed to have more hugging, and songs than any other drama I’ve watched. Well, not different songs, but the same songs being played an incessant amount of times. I think the drama could have been cut by about 4 episodes. But, hey no poor girl falling in love with a rich guy, which makes a change.
Angel’s Revenge
SPOLIER
8/10
Well, we’ve seen it all before. But how many versions of Hamlet are there. It’s not the fact, there is nothing original here, but how it’s done. This is done very well. I found it totally compelling from beginning to end.
Yes, there are things you could baulk, the usual plot contrivances. But there are some nice touches too. I guess what’s important, is that you care for the characters, and want to know what what’s going to happen to them.
Perhaps the idea of a povotol character seeming to reappear was a bit too covinient, but I’ll overlook it.
As for the cast, the acting was average at best. That is except for Choi Jae-Won who was wonderful as the childlike Woo-Hyeon.
At the other end of the scale, the most irrating character was Poong-Ho played
by Lee Doll-Hyung. Well at least I found him ammoying when he was crying.
One thing puzzled me. There is a moment in one of the episodes where leading man what happened to her sister, and who is responsible. But later it’s as if that never happened.
Angry mom
SPOILER
9/10
Okay, so it wasn’t really about bullying. A nice cast, kept my interest throughout. As For the premise of a 34 year old pretending to be a student, It’s a ridiculus notion, that nobody wouild have copped it, but in order to enjoy the drama you have to accept it.
Besides Kim Yoo Jung i also liked Oh Yoon-ah, who is probably a limited actress, but willing to take on different types of roles.and So Hee Jung whose face seems very familiar, but looking at her fiilmography at places such http://mydramalist.com/people/5298-so-hee-jung there is nothing else I’ve seen her in, yet I’m sure I’ve seen her in other stuff. Acttually unless she started acting in movies and dramas in the last 5 yearts, her filmography doesn’t seem to be complete.
Athena:Goddess of war
8/10
I haven’t read all the reviews, but I read most of them. So I would say I’m in the minority, when I say that Iprefer this to Iris.
The main reasons being, I think it has better characters, and to use words the director of nts uses, it has more light and shade in storyline and acting, The best acting came came from Kim Min-Jong and the actor who the aforementioned employs
after in a very funny scene hitting him in the face a number of times. There is a delightful scene between the two of them where they try to gain information by pretending to be who they are not.
i also lliked Oh Yoon-Ah. This is the third thing I’ve seen her in, and the more I see her, the more I like her. She is not a great actress. But she is game, and wiling to try different things. She seems to like characters more than lead roles. She reminds me a bit of Cameron Diaz.
Looking at her picture on Asianwiki, she looks a lot different.
In Iris, a lot of the performances were rather one note. In this drama, at least some of the actors are given a chance to show they can do more than look very very serious.
I thought there were some terrific gunfights
Yes it has it’s faults. There were too many people being saved in the nick of time.
who the hell was oh yoon ha talking to on the phone after she had been out drinking with Soo-Ae’s character.
A major theme of this drama is redemption.
Some viewers might not like the fact that a character who they would probably prefer to be killed isn’t, and another character who it would have been nice if they had lived doesn’t.
As regards the plot about the north Korean agent from Iris.
There are also some very funny lines in this, mostly coming from the characters i said i like. The director of Nts also said something i found amusing.He says says something about NTs upholding justice, and then says “you may find that cheesy and boring” You would never hear the director of homeland security in 24 says something like that.
Regarding the special. It reminded me of the what was to me the best action scene, the one between the main villain, and another guy. in the first episode in the bathroom.
BIG
SPOILER
8/10
The two leads were great. My other favourite charactor was Da Ren’s teacher friend.
But what was the ending about.
They were supposed to have switched bodies back. But the ending didn’t show that. Maybe Da ren was so used to seeing the kkj as the older guy, that, that’s how she saw him as that,even when he appeared as himself.
Boys over Flowers.
8/10
terrific performance by the lead actress. A reviewer on dvd beaver said she was a cross between Stan laurel, and Guelita Masina. She does smile like Stan Laurel okay. Not too many scenes that brought a tear. I smiled more and cried. The level of violence in it caught me by surprise. Maybe it was the title that threw me. But then again I should have been prepared, when the series starts with an attempted suicide. I would describe as as a show about love, friendship, and the possible sacrifice of
one’s own happiness for a friends. There is friendship between women, friendship between men, even if it sometimes leads to jealousy and violence, and friendship bettween mem and women ie f4 and Jan Di. Overall it;’s a series I admired more than liked, particularly for the lead actress. The rest of the cast are ok, but no real standouts acting wise. I do wonder why only 3 of the f4 members were given decent storylines.
More later.
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I didn’t really watch Big but I know the ending is not very understandable. My sister was hoping that the lead actress will end up with the younger guy. (not just his soul)
Boys over Flowers is good! One of the first few Korean Dramas I watched. I didnt review it as it is kind of popular already.
Ya, Angry Mum was a good watch. “As For the premise of a 34 year old pretending to be a student, It’s a ridiculus notion” haha, I agree, especially when Bok Dong falls for her. I do see Oh Yoon-ah in many different dramas and roles.
Maybe I should try Athena:Goddess of war next time. Currently more into fantasy than action haha.
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YALU RIVER FLOWS.
9/10
Well this is different for the most part.
quote from d-addicts
“The first co-production between Korea and Germany, made to celebrate the 125th year of diplomatic relations between the two countries, 압록강은 흐른다 (Der Yalu Fließt) is not only a very faithful adaptation of the original (the first episode is more or less the novel’s content, while the remaining two talk about the rest of Li’s life in Germany), but also a throwback to the great period dramas of the early to mid 90s, like 카레이스키 (Kareisky) and 여명의 눈동자 (Eyes of Dawn). Its slow paced and poetic prose might feel out of place in today’s K-drama industry, so preoccupied with shallow glitz and glamour, but it’s with substance and narrative fundamentals that this drama succeed on almost all accounts, as one of the best overlooked gems of the year
“Yalu River Flows (German title: Der Yalu Fliesst)” is originally an autobiographical novel written by Korean ex-pat writer Li Mirok. Now the novel has been turned into a TV series co-produced by Korea’s SBS and Germany’s BR (Bayerischer Rundtunk). The drama portrays the life of Li Mirok, who fled to China and finally settled in Germany after fighting for Korea’s freedom while studying medicine in Tokyo during the Japanese colonial regime. The dramatic life of Li reflects the turbulent era of modern Korean and Germany history.
The role of Li is played by Woo Byeok-song, a Korean actor living in Germany, and Li’s parents are played by esteemed Shin Gu and Na Moon-hee. Its executive producer Lee Jong-han says the drama has been in preparation for nearly 30 years and it’s going to be his signature piece.”
A lot of it set in germany, where some of the german characters speak korean, and the korean lead speaks german. Heck, there is also a snatch or so of a famous irish poem.
CHUNO
9/10
favourite characters min cho bok yi, seol hwa. best performance by Ha Si-eun as Lee Sun Young, the woman with cerebal palsy. Yes, an obvious choice to make. But i think it was an extrordinary performance. 2 questions. (1) what happened to eop bok. (2) when the guards or whatever had hye won’s picture in front of the,. Even if she had some kind of disease, it was plain that it was her. it would have been better if she had worn something to hide her face. Although I guess she would have been asked to remove it. Maybe she could have pretended she had leprosy or something.
overall, a terrific drama.
CITY HALL. 10/10 (fav)
What a wonderful show.
Kim seon-ah is absolutely perfect as the mayor who never compromises, no matter what she is put through. Whether she is playing a comedy scene, drama, romance, or just being cute, she is totally convincing.
She is backed up by a terrific cast.
I do remember thinking in certain parts while watching that there was a hollywood elememt to it.
although I’m not quite where.
CITY HUNTER
SPOILER
8/10
Wow, his acting really improved since boys over flowers.
I’m not quite sure why I didn’t give it a 9 or a 10.
The cast was fine. But I suppose nobody really stood out.
Although if pressed, i’d go for the girl.
A good storyline, which for me resolved itself satisfactorily
I’m still not sure, if they did or did at the end. Yes, they met, but were they both in the car.
CONSPIRACY IN THE COURT. 10/10
SPOILER
Dialogue and story are what made this for me. The dialogue, because for the most part, it soinds like it could have come from the period the drama is set in. Although “moppet”, “shut your gob” and probably other modern sounding phrases do find their way in.
Of the cast, I found the lead actess rather limited. I see that she was also in
Chuno. But I can’t remember what I thought of her in that. Although that was 3 years later. so she could have got better. Well, I’ll try to be more specific about her performance. The scenes set in the past, when she was
a nice characer, I wasn’t convinced. I particularly didn’t buy her smile.
She was better in some of the more quiter moments. Her best scene is probably
when she has to commit a deed that she doesn’t want to. For me the best female performance came from Im Seo-Yeon, who I have decided to look upon
as the real heroine of the piece.
Of the male cast, the two leads are pretty good. But the performances I enjoyed the most were those by Ahn Nae-Sang, Kim Ki-Hyeon, and I think Park Chul-Min, if he’s the guy that Jin Yi-Han’s worked for.
Question. Why was Bae Sung-Woo’s character always smiling?
DAE JOYOUNG 9/10
SPOILER
If this series had a poster it would be say something like “The story of one of Korea’s greatest hereoes” But just as applicable would be a line spoken by one of the main characters, which went something like “Nobody remains a friend forever, and nobody remains an enemy forever.
I’ll divide my review into sections.
Performances.
I’ll give names of characters, as I’m not very good at remembering actors names. It’s too tedious to keep looking them up.
Best performance. Li Geom. (blood son of chulin and Daejo young
Usually I am more impressed by the older actors in korean costume/historical dramas. But this guy was excellent. I want to see him in more stuff.
The last king of goguryeo, whose name I can’t remember.
Wu Zeitan.
dae joyung’s father
Those for me were the best performances.
Best character and look at me performance
xui rengui
Funniest moment.
When Xui Rengui tells hongpei to take his purple cloak off referring to it as a curtain.
Most poignant scene.
The death of Geomlan.
The dialogue.
There are at least two types of dialogue here.
Professional screen dialogue, and dialogue that sounds like it was
written for a school play, or that youngsters might say when playing war games.
The battle/fight/violence scenes.
Was all that jumping up and down really how they faught in those days. As episodes wore on, scenes became more graphic.
At first that impressed me, but later I became unconvinced by how unlikely looking the blood was. It looked just too much like strawberry jam.
Scenes that kind of grew tiresome.
“Give me death your majesty” I was hoping that for once someone would actually get what they were supposedly looking for.
Daejoung (mostly) in disguise and peeering up from under his big hat.
Characters i found a bit tiresome, but I suppose I got used to them.
Heuk sodol, and the guy with the weird voice.
A fascinating story, that kept me enthrallled.
Overlong, probably.
But still 9/10
More later.
Thanks for your comments. I agree with what you said about Angry Mon.
On Boys over flowers. I have also jseen apanese and Taiwan version. I thought the japanese one was the best overall.
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Thanks for your reviews! Maybe I should consider watching City Hall and some others that you have written about..
I did watch Chuno but found it not a good watch as the lead character is just “chasing” after the girl and even ends up sacrificing for her when she runs off with another guy. Can’t really remember much as I watched it sometime ago.
City Hunter was great! Lee Min Ho made his character cool with all the action involved and it ended off well even though one of the character I liked died.
Just being curious, what is the difference between the three versions of Boys over Flowers that you have watched?
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Well, this was my review of the japanese version.
I liked this version better than the korean one.
Although I think I prefer the female lead in the K version.
The version has a more sympathetic male lead, who is also a better actor. I’m not saying he’s great, but he’s certainly more animated. In the K version, I could never understand what she saw in him. In this one I can.
This version is more wacky, but it also has it’s violent moments.
My favourite character is probably the owner of the sweet shop, especially her stories about john lennon, and a certain person who goes around in a red suit at christmas.
Funnily enough, in this version, the male lead’s hair is referred to as weird. Actually I saw nothing wrong with it. In the korean version, (unless I’m mistaken) no mention is made of the hair. Although inho, it is weird.
Note. The next winner of Miss World will be decided on a play of stone, paper, scissors.
9/10
and this is what I wrote regarding meteor garden (the taiwan version)
8/10.
Not as good as the japanese version, but preferred it to the korean one.
This is the first time, I found male the lead sympathetic, and was happy for them to get together. In the korean, and japanese version, i wondered why she would have anything to do with such a jerk. Of course he’s a jerk here, and sometimes he’s more of a jerk than in the japanese or korean versions.But overall he is more likeable.
I also found one of aspect of the bullying inflicted on Shancai or shan cai quite funny. It’s when her hands/arms get stuck to the desk.
One of my favourite scenes is when QingHe is talking 9 to the dozen to XiaoYou and she just walks off. I guess she just had enough of listening to him.
So how does the cast compare to the cast of the japanese and korean versions.
female lead
taiwan
korean
japanese
male lead
japanese
taiwan
korean
second male lead
taiwan
korean
japanese.
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Oh, I see. So the plot is almost similar for all 3?
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Hmm. you know when i watched, i expected them to be similar. But, someome said the the taiwan version was somewhat different.
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some more reviews.
DAMO
8/10
SPOILER
Beautiful performance by Ha Ji-won.
But I was troubled by the following.
(1) Why did the captain take so long to tell Jang, that Chai was his sister. Was it because he wanted him to kill him, so that he wouldn’t have to kill the brother of the girl he was in love with.
(2) Jang was too quick to believe that Chai would have been involved in the masacare of the lepers. He had spent enough time with her in the cave to know, that she wasn;t the type of person to do something like that. Even if he did believe it, it wasn’t in his nature not to have looked in her eyes before he lilled her. Obviously the idea was to make him believe he had killed her. but what happens if he ran into her afterwards. If it had been me, i think it would have been better to have threatened the life of the rebel girl.
(3) When Jang finds that Jai is alive, after he was supposed to have killed her, he doesn’t seem too surprised
(4) The ending. It didn’t get the tear ducts going. Maybe because, I knew that it was going to be tragic, But as far as I could see, she still stabs him, even after she finds out that he’s her brother. Okay. maybe, she was just too blinded with the idea of revenge against the man who killed the captain.
Anyway, here’s my ending.
The captain is not dead. He finds out that Jai has gone to kill her brother. As she delivers the death blow, he (the captain)cries out that he’s her brother. But it’s too late. She cries in aguish, and finally kills herself.
Oh, one other thing. The wuxia element. Exciting enough to watch. But in relation to Jai, because I can only think about in relation to her. Sometimes she used it, and sometimes she didn’t. Was it only effective in certain hours of the day or what? 🙂
DR STRANGER
8/10
This started off with dialogue so bad, i thought it would end up as the drama i gave the lowest rating so far to.
Episode 2, didn’t raise my hopes too much. There is a silly chase around a pillar, which I don;t think was meant to be funny. But as the show got on, it got better. It seemed to be a show that wanted to tick as many korean type dramas as possible from extreme violence to more light hearted fare, and in between. It was only as the show went, and no longer seemed to be going for extremes that it found it’s footing, or perhaps I just got used to it.
Acting wise. I thought Kang So-Ra was terrific, followed by Cheon Ho-Jin, who made a great villain. In I suppose what was the nominal female role, Jin Se-Yeon was fine. But she’s probably not as good an actress as Kang So-Ra. In the lead role, Lee Jong-Suk, came across as being one of the better pretty boy actors out there. Although I really had to use my imagination to think of him as a doctor, especially when he had that HAIR.
What I was a bit confused by, was who was the main female lead. Was it Kang So-Ra, or Jin Se-Yeon. to me it was Kang So-Ra, and the playful scenes between her and Lee Jong-Suk were some of the best in the series. Park Hae-Jin’s performance came across as being rather one note, but maybe that was the character he played.
Choi Jung-Woo could have done with toning down his performance at times.
The acting from the rest of the cast ranged from adequate to good, and better.
Oh! the actress who played the sister of one of the doctors, or whatever he was, she looked far too thin, and Kim Sang-Ho had a smaller role, than I’m used to seeing him, and it is probably the most subdued I’ve seen him, which was nice. As for Kang Tae-Hwan, was that how his hair really looks?
Two other things occurred to me-the operation scenes. Were they real? I don’t think I saw anything like that on ER. But I’ve seen that type stuff on other dramas too. Although I’m not sure from what country. We probably saw the same footage, more than once.
Finally.the constant use of the same music during sad scenes did get a bit monotonous.
Dong Yi
9/10
SPOILER
Han Hyo-joo is marvelous in the leading role.She is backed up a terrific cast. For me, the standouts
were Park Ha-sun as queen Inhyeon, Jung Jin-young as Seo Yong Gi. I
first came across this actor in Kingdom of the winds, and loved his
performance as King Yuri. It’s probably the best portrayal of a king
I’ve seen. It’s how I would want a king to be. Oh Yeon Seo as Queen
Inwon, Kim Yoo Jung playing Dong Yi as a child first spoiler Nam Da Reum
as Dong yi’s second child second Spoiler the guy who played Dong Yi’s
nemesis after the death of Lady Jang. The drama itself is a terrific
mixture of romance, political intrigue, romance, adventure, mystery and
some comedy as well. For me, the comedy was probably the weakest part.
I’m not saying I didn’t laugh at the antics of the two court musicians,
or the idiot who was obsessed with Dong Yi, But I never warmed too any
of those characters. My favorites scenes Queen inheyon’s return to the
palace Dong yi’s entry to the palace Dong yi’s return to the palace
Jung Jin-young smiling in the last episode. most moving scene-Dong yi
cradling her dead child Dong yi and Chun soo finding each other again.
I loved the tenderness of the scenes between Dong Yi and her second
son. The romance between Dong Yi and the king was very convincing. The
realtionship between the two princes’s was very well done. Yes, you
could say the drama was quiet predictable, and that Dong Yi would
always turn up trumps.But the drama was so well told, that it didn’t
matter, and yes, it is a great story. There is a lot of love in this
series. The love between Dong Yi and her two children, between the king
and Dong yI. But also between Lady Jangm and her mother, and brother.
Yes, they are the villains, but they are also willing to lay down their
lives for each other. At one point, Dong Yi says something like “Even
the most evil person hides a tender heart” At first I thought”Really”.
But then I thought about it more, and realised it was true. Heck, even
Hitler loved somebody. Although I’m not quite sure that’s what the
scriptwriters meant. Now a few things that bugged me. (1) When Consort
Chun/Choi/Dong yi’s room is being searched for the deployment records,
lady Yu,(was it her) and her two helpers are discovered by one of the
consort’s attendants. Lady Yu tells her helpers to get rid of her,
which obviously meant to kill her. Did those two girls really look,
like they could kill anybody. But leaving that aside, there is only a
brief mention of the girl’s dissapearence afterwards. There is no
investigation into it. I also thought that the drama didn’t have to go
so far as to have Dong Yi lose a child, so that the king wouldn’t have
had to execute her. Surely he could have stood his ground with the
ministers, and said “Look, I’m having the woman I love, exiled. If
that’s not good enough for you, tough luck” Highly recommended.
oh, yes. One other character, i liked
Kang Yoo Mi as Ae Jong. It’s nice to see a young person, who wasn’t a beauty.
I suspected, she might have been a comedien.
Dr Champ
8/10
good cast, particutly Uhm Tae-Woong who i will add to my list of asian actors I admire. But even the pretty boys don’t let the side down.
family’s honour
8/10
For the first 40 0r so episodes of this, I would comsider this in the main to be a rather dark drama. I thought of it as a drama about lonliness, pain, trying to connect, or being afraid to connect with other people.
The leading couple.
I look on Yoon Jung Hee’s character as someone who is afraid to move on, and really using the idea of her loyalty to her first husband as excuse not to.
Lee Hyun Jin’s character is someone who doesn’t relate really to people except on a superficial level.
How he wakes her from the dead, and she makes him a better person makes an intersting story. The teasing scenes between the two were my favourite
between these two.
Acting wise. Performances were fine, but didn’t give me the urge to seek out
other stuff they were in.
Couple 2
Shin Da Eun and Jun Noh Min
This for me was the best story of the lot, and something special. This may-december romance I found to be very poignant. He is afraid of connection , and she is longing for some. The acting by these two is excellent
I want to see other stuff they are in
couple 3
Maya and Kim Sung Min.
This for me was the least interesting of the relationships. It was nice though that the girl who was never in a relationship was also the most outgoing.
His performance was on the same level as the first couple’s, but hers is probably among the weaker perormance’s along with Lee Jong Bak and Lee Soo Min. Still, this was the only story, where I wondered for brief moments if they might break up.
couple 4
Jun Hye Jin and Lee Hyun Jin
He is okay, but she is better. and I loved it when she smiled.
couple 5.
Suh In Suk and Na Young Hee
2 good solid performances here.
The rest of the cast are fine, with the exception of Shin Goo, who is terrific.
Other comments.
I could have done without the stabbing.
I would have liked to have seen more scenes between the three younger wife’s.
I also liked the relationshp, between grandpa, and grandson, abd between
Maya, and Shin Da Eun
four sisters.
7/10
nice enough, but nothing special. Good acting overall, follows a predictable plotline
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I only remember the ending from Damo which my mother watched. If I am not wrong, she killed her brother and killed herself. That’s the only impression of that drama. I dislike tragic ending historical dramas actually even though I still watch with hope that the ending will somehow turn out good.
For Doctor Stranger, I rooted for Jin Se Yeon and Lee Jong Suk even though Kang So Ra’s acting was good. I agree with most of the things you wrote on Doctor Stranger, especially regarding the acting and scenes. It was overall a good watch.
Ya, for Dong Yi the comedy was the weakest haha. I liked the character Chun Soo a lot in this drama (slightly more than the king haha) and the drama is on such a nice sad tone at the start and so content rich.
I did watch Dr Champ but it didn’t maintain my interest for long haha. I agree that Uhm Tae Woong is good and I liked his character in The Devil Korean Drama.
I may consider Family Honour but the length is a bit long haha. I was once interested in it after seeing Park Shi Hoo’s good acting in Princess Prosecutor.
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Hi. Thanks again for replying. On Tragic endings. Well, for me, it depends on whether as tragic ending is the best ending for a show ot not. I will say. I dislike these episode endings, where it looks like someone has been killed. But in the next episode they are still alive. My conclusion now is, if it’s a leading character, and it;s the last episode, they might end up dead. But if it’s not the last episode, they provbably won’t.
If it’s a supporting character, and it’s not the last episode, it’s more than likely that they will die.
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GIANT
9/10
acting
a+
Hwang Jung-Eum+Park Sang-Min
a
Jeong Bo-Seok+Kim Seo-Hyung+Lee Beom-Soo
b+
Lee Ki-Young
b
Joo Sang-Wook+Park Jin-Hee+Yun Yu-Seon+Moon Hee-Kyeong
c
Lee Ki-Young+the cast of people working for kang-mo or gangmo depending on which translation you watch.
At times I would have given this a ten, but it didn’t quiet sustain the
quality all the way through. The music at certain dramatic moments could have used a bit more subtlety.
As in other korean dramas, some great emotionally powwrful scenes.
great villian in jo/cho pil-yeon.
most interesting character Jo Min-Woo, because we get to see both sides of him.
GIVE LOVE AWAY
7/10
I think a better title for this would have been “Letting Love go”
Anyway theere are two main issues. A family trying to get over the past, and
Two couples (young and let’s say not so young deciding to give up on love for the sake of another couple. The problem for me is that the couple who the other two pairs do the sacrificing for, are in my mind the least interesting. Now it kind of sorts itself out at the end, but not completly. So Even though that dissapointed me, I have to give it points for not having it run out completly the way I expected it to.
Bit If somebody wanted to point a finger at korean dramas, and wonder how anybody could fall for this kind of stuff, then this is the one they should use. The reasoning behind the younger couple’s giving up on love is to this
middle aged guy’s eyes just a bit silly. As another character says “idiot. moron” I have to agree with her. There are also so many coincidences, that you couldn’t fault anubody for saying “oh, come on, it’s just getting ridiculus now”
On the acting level. Well, i watched this drama for Shin Da-eun, and she is wonderful in it. Everytime she appears, she lights up the screen. She is so full of warmth and good humour, and energy, and cute as the proverbial button. You just want to put her in your pocket. But her performance here isso different than the one she gives in family’s honour. and just as convincing.
I guess the main male lead is Lee Sang-Yeob. His acting is good, but for me his charactor is a bit too much. Okay, There are scenes where he goes into his father’s room at night, and I’m thinking “Jeez, let the man sleep, for gawd’s sake” But maybe that says more about me. On the other male lead Seo Ji-seok. It took a scene where he has an argument with his mother for me to see that he was a better actor than I thought he was. Before that
his expression always seemed to be the same.
As for the other female lead Hong Soo-hyun, she is good. but on this performance at least doesn’t do much for me.
good acting overall.
GOD’s GIFT/14 days.
SPOILER
I am giving it an 8 out of 10. I was gonna give it a ten, until the last ep, where i was gonna give it a 9.then the ending made me give it an 8. If it hadn’t been so good overall, it might have went down to a 7. But leaving aside the ending for the moment, I had some other minor quibbles. (1) clues been found because someone dropped something. or knocked something over. (2) The second fight with tatoo. The first fight was a great one in the rain. I guess that’s because they had stunt people. The second fight was a bit ridiculous, although that’s probably what a real fight would be like. But our “hero” won it too easily. (3) before we knew who tatoo was, when we saw him on camera, he always made the same gesture as if to say “yes, folks, even though it’s obviously me, i’ll make this gesture with my hand for anybody who is stupid enough not to figure out it’s me.”
(4) the presidents son displays anger when someone uses the word “retard”. Yet he uses it himself afterwards.
(5) the character of the presidents son. There was too much discrepancy between how he was at the beach, and how he was when Mr and Mrs Lead approached him. It would have more in line with his character in the former, if in the latter, he was less cocksure, and more nervous.
Before I get back to the ending, i thought the best scene in the series was one of the ouieter ones. It’s where leading man sits down with ma, and his nephew, and shares a meal with them. It was obviously his way of apologising for being wrong about his brother
The ending. I’m confused. Let me see. he remembers that originally his mother rang him to say that she had killed the child. He puts the child in the river. But the police should have known how Saet died. It is said earlier on (I’m almost sure) that she was killed running away. So you could say that granny didn’t kill her either. But the second time around. he wants to take the blame for his what mother did, or didn’t do. He says he will take the blame for his mother. So what is his plan, to hide the child in the river, and then go to the police and confess. How would he get rid of the evidence of how his mother killed the child.Okay, maybe the fact, that he is a former cop might explain that.
But then he notices the child is not dead. He remenmbers the prophecy. “one of two must disappear” I’ll take “dissappear” to mean “die”, but why? The child is safe. all he has to do is turn around and walk back on dry land. But the impression given to me is
that he kills himself , because of the prophecy. If the prophecy did refer to him, and the child, i would ask, why. Why must he die, to save the little girl. If he had actually killed the little girl originally, because of a blackout, and then in the present time, decided to top himself out of guilt for what he originally did, that would make more sense to me.
But for me, it would have made more sense, if he had originally killed her, and then the second time around redeems himself by saving her. But, to save her, he has to get her out of the water. So he either has to wait, for the mother to come into the water, and take her child, or he goes to the bank with the child, gives it to the mother, and goes back into the water to kill himself. We hear a splash, which could be him, moving
out of the water, or her going into it.
But checking the ending again, the last line is “did the knight survive” so the director obviously wants us to question what happens. Sometimes i think that can work. In this case though, i think it was a mistake.
But as the drama was playing, i was thinking “movie” It came off as more of a gritty korean movie, than a tv drama. The cast were fine. The two leads were very good, but i thought the little girl was wonderful.
IRELAND
8/10
Nice drama. Good acting. For the most part it’s a straight drama. But i thought it was parodying one particular cliche of korean drama ie the piggyback ride. There are a few attempts at it, but only one sucessful one, where one of the main actors
carries the other. Now the last episode gets a bit weird. I’ll put it like this, if you din’t like the ending of “Big” you won’t be happy with this one either, and I’m still not sure whether he was her brother or not.
I was more impressed with hyun bin here, than in my name is kim sam soon. I guess, because she shows a broader range. The scenes with the ex pastor really helped.
I guess there weren’t many memorable sequences. Well if there were, I can’t remember them. Which could of course mean, they
just weren’t memorable to me. But there is one outstanding monologue sequence in a car with kim min;jeoong when she
gets some good news.it shows how good this actress is.
NOTE. The irish sequences were shot in jeju island.
IRIS
8/10
SPOILER
Well 24 hangs a big shadow over this. But in 24 as far i recall, you never saw Kiefer Sutherland crying. This has some great action sequences. It also spends more time on the romance angle than 24 would.
But it also has moments of which didn’t cut it with me
(1) When Kim Sun Hwa is shooting at Kim Hyun Joon she’s not really a very good shot is she.
As a matter of fact, a lot of people who tried to kill him are very bad shots
(2) the reason for the main character to gang up with the terrorists and attack NSS seemed weak. They had nothing to do with what happened to him. That was IRIS.
Is there something I’ve forgotten.
(3) The final confrontion between Vick and Kim Hyun Joon, More should have made on how Kim got into the place. As a matter of fact, i thought that Vick would have made sure that no one was following him. Assuming that Kim was just too smart for him, you would imagine Vick have had lots of alarms in his place. So there should have been a sequence showing Kim getting into the building. Then when he has the opportunity to kill him, or take him in, he decides to throw his gun away and kick the you know what out of him. Not only that, he leaves the gun conviently near for Vick to attempt to kill him.
(4) The confrontation where the s.w,a.t team leader pulls a gun on Kim. That was just too silly.
(5) The hostages disguised as terrorists. Well kim, and san wee were plainly being fired at. So unless a quick bit of hypnotism was done on the hostages to make them believe they really were terrorists, I don’t understand why they would fire on them.
my favourite character was the north korean female agent Kim Sun Hwa.
She was serious mode most of the time. But on the few occassions, she did smile, it was lovely to see.
My least favourite was the section chief. Where all of the other acting was minimilist, he went in the other direction. I liked him at first, but then his over the top expressions weren’t to my liking.
So why after all my complaints, do i rate the series so highly.
Well, it’s compelling. it keeps you on your toes. you want to know what’s gonna happen. That’s a big plus.
I would like to see some of these actors (i include the ladies) in other stuff, because i found it hard to gauge just how well they can act.
my favourite scene is where the section chief and others come to Choi Seung Hee’s house on her birthday. But they find her in a very bad way. I just liked the way it changed from light to dark
IRIS 2
9/10
SPOILER
Terrific. This for me is better than the original. I found myself questioning it less than that. Section chief Oh is not irrating, as I found him in the original.
Jang Hyuk is excellent as the damaged (aren’t they all) agent. But all of the cast turn in good performances particularly Lee Da-Hae as the love interest.
There are quite a lot of hand to hand combat scenes. Some better than others. The best one for me is between Lim Soo-Hyang) Yoon So-Yi.
There also some nice comedy moments, particularly a howlingy funny sequence involving a gangster/arms dealer. Well he’s listed on asian wiki as arms dealer. But he came across as more of a gangster to me.
Park sang wook is great in what is basically a cameo role as the aforementioned.
The story for me is tighter than in the original. There’s also a nice cameo at the end from.. Well I won’t say who. But the sequence ends with two women showing a bunch of guys that you can;t put a good woman down, or a bad one for that matter. It made me think “Oh, those two should have their own series together” But it would me more lighthearted than iris; maybe as two female private eyes [Smile]
sequences that made me go “hmmm”
It is obvious when Park Tae Hee how Park Tae Hee dealt so easily with
iris agents, how good she was. Yet only two are sent to tail her afterwards.
At least one great snow chase scene. Was there two, I can’t remember.
Some great fashion too, particularly Lee Da Hae’s trench coat, and Oh Yeon-Su white outfit.
Then there is Lee Da Hae’s great walk, when she enters her place of work, and the sound of her
shoes. I also liked the music.
Then there is Kim Young-Chul as Baek san. who was 60 in feburary, and whips guys younger
than him. I see he majored in physical education. Well, it certainly shows in Iris 2. What’s also
nice that he looks his age, and yet the scenes of him dealing with the enemy are totally convincing/
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Thanks for the reviews again!
I did not understand the ending for God’s gift 14 days at first but after reading your review I think I get it slightly more. I also think his sacrifice is not really needed.
Although I didn’t watch it completely, I remembered that IRIS ended off badly? (like the lead died)
What is the link between IRIS and IRIS 2? As I didn’t watch.
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Hi. This page will explain the connection between iris and iris 2 better.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iris_II_%28TV_series%29
Yes, the lead does get killed.But I didn’t know that was really the case until I saw Iris 2.
So you think my review of God’s gift helped you understand the ending a bit more.
I have to say I’m surprised, as I thought it might have the opposite effect. 🙂
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Ok thanks for the link!
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it’s okay, that’s love
8/10
Not since queen of the classroom (Japanese version),has a drama made me think the way this one has.When it started off first, i thought i might just give it a 5/10, then it veered between 6 and 7, for a long time, then 8. but I still wonder why i didn’t want to rate it higher.It’s one of the best written dramas I’ve seen. The two leads are excellent and for the most part are backed up a wonderful cast. Being specific, the punk girl isn’t really in the same league. It seems to be going in one direction, then goes in another unexpected one. Well at least for me, who hadn’t read much about it before. I don’t know how anybody who deals with mental health issues would rate this, but i thought it portrayed them honestly. It brought home to me the fact, that anyone can suffer from mental health problems, and just because you look okay, doesn’t always mean you are okay.
i see it won a plaque of appreciation at the Korean Society for Schizophrenia arch
Lee Sung-Kyung (the punk girl) is actually 24. Maybe her acting deserves a bit more credit, than i was giving her..
nice soundtrack,
In regard to the emotional scenes, from what i remember for the most part, they were done in a low key way and were all the better for it.
JUMONG
8/10.
As The title character, Song Il Gook is okay didn’t make a great impression. He was adequate, but that’s really about it. But Luckily he is surrounded by a great cast.
the best were probably
Hu Joon Ho as Hae Mo Su
Oh Yun Soo as Lady Yoo Hwa
Jun Kwang Ryul as King Geum Wa (although I dn’t know what the laughing was about.
and the guy who played the prime mininster
But most of the cast were fine.
I liked Han Hye Jin as So Seo No
and Kim Seung Soo as Prince Dae So too, and others too
At first I liked Bae Soo Bin as Sayong, and even thought he might have better in the title role. But Now I think, it was a rather one note performance. I did like the
gay relationship though.
The costumes were magnificent.
The battle scenes were the best I’ve seen in a korean costume drama. Although it was only from around ep 50 or so, that I thought that.
I’m not sure about the jumping around. If it’s for a purpose fine. but some of the time, it seemed to be just for showing off.
Some great horse riding scenes
lghts and shadows
8/10
Pros.
The series looks wonderful. The set and costume design are great.
Other things i liked in were the rehersal scenes, and you will have fun catching the movie posters. I do wonder why they are all from hollywood films, except for films made within the story. Does it reflect the state of the korean film industry at the time.
The performances of the two main protoganists Ahn Jae-Wook and Jeon Kwang-Leol are excellent.
The latter really going to town with the facual expressions and gestures
My favourites (outside of Shin Da Eun, of course)were Lee Ah Lee. I’m not quite sure of her acting ability, but she had a certain spark to her I also liked the actress playing the servant girl, Sunduok. I thought she gave a really nice natural performance. But I couldn’t find any information on her.
Then there was Kim Roe-Ha as Jo Tae-Soo, whose performance crept up on me.
Of the other females, Son Dam-bi is pretty good. She made a better impression on me, than Nam Sang-mi .
I found the most interesting character was that played by Lee Pil-mo, even if I think he’s somewhat miscast in his role.
Overall, the men in the cast impressed more than the females
Cons
I would have liked Shin Da Eun to have a bigger role.
She is the best of the younger actresess in it.
There is no real spark between Ahn Jae-Wook, and Nam Sang-mi. I would say my interest in whether or not, they stayed together was quiet low,
The resolution is a bit quick. I believe The drama was extended because of it’s popularity.
Perhaps the makers were getting bored with it.
Overall, I found lead actress Nam Sang-mi was pretty bland. Although There were a few moments where I thought that maybe if she had something more substantial, she would have impressed me more. So I’m not quiet sure, if it was her, or the role.
I gew somewhat tired of Sung Ji Roo performance. He always seemed to be overacting, or perhaps I should just say, shouting.
Mackerel run
8/10
some very wacky visual which i liked. But for me it got more interesting around episode 4, when it settled down. Although the humour doesn’t disappear completly.
I did think the second male lead was a bit too pretty for his own good.
I guess I’ll have to get used to the two guys in love with one girl. Although this
time, there is two girls attracted to one guy. Actually it could be three girls.
The four leads are all likeable, although they don’t all like each other.
My favourite characters were the tarot reader and her friend.
The lead actress has beautiful eyes.
MANNY
SPOILER
7/10
although the kids acceptance is a bit too easy,and the ending could have have had a bit more zip to it, this drama had some nice touches. I liked the fact that the lead
actress didn’t stop wearing her glasses. or if she did take them didn’t transfer into a raving beauty. On the acting front, nobody was bad, but the best performance probably came from the youngest cast member Goo Seung Hyun, and if i had a favourite character it would be Jin Seo Yun as Shin Gi Roo.
MaY Queen
10/10
The Acting
A beautiful performance by Kim You-Jung as the childhood version of the lead character. it took me a while to warm to Han Ji-Hye but I did. The two pretty guys do well. As the chief villain, Lee Deok-Hwa is excellent.But besides Kim You-Jung, the best reason for watching this is the delightful Kim Ji-Young.
The story. Well it in the early stages, it reminded me of giant. But then it goes it’s own route. If I remember correctly, Giant was more or less a serious drama, wheras this has more light and shade.
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It’s ok that’s love is on my “to watch list” haha.
For Jumong, I liked Song Il Gook’s acting though. I agree that the rest of the cast are great!
Manny is good! I haven’t finished watching it though. Liked the children parts and the lead couple.
I read some review before that May Queen’s plot is pretty typical when I was considering if I should watch. Is it not true?
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Hi. On May Qeen. But aren;t most dramas pretty typical. They all have some elements similar to one another. So I’m not quite sure how to give a decent answer to your question.
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Ok then. I should give it a try someday. Sometimes, I get influenced by other’s reviews, especially when it is bad things about the dramas.
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My Name is Kim Sam Soon
8/10
wonderful lead character, and a terrific performance from Kim Sun-Ah.
At the same, i find it a bit sad that she considers herself an old maid at 30.
Although 1t made me laugh, every time she said it.
The fact that she was considered fat is also to my mind ridiculus. I can see a reason for calling herself fat. I guess many women of even that size would consider themselves overweight. But it’s the idea that others considered her fat is more troubling.
Also on her age-30. Well, it seems she was 30 in real life, but I bet there are ordinary korean women out there of that age who would love to look that good.
So even though I liked the show. To me it preached some bad messages.
(1) being thirty and not married is tantamount to being an old maid
(2) being a little overweigh is the same as being fat.
nine times travel
9/10
Attractive leads, (although I thought she was too talkitive. But when the story required her to play more serious scenes, and she became less hyper,you might say, I appreciated her acting more. I think though the best perormance came from Jeon No-Min as the brother.
Please Marry Me
8/10
Well, i finally got around to finishing this.
Although it wasn’t my favourite drama, it did have my favourite cast of characters.
I chose it after seeing oh yoon ah in Kingdom of the winds, where I thought she was sexy as hell. But I wasn’t sure if she could really act or not. In this drama, it took me a while to see that she could.
Although she was probably the weakest in it. Her acting was acceptible, but not up to the standards of the other cast members.
But once again I found her character to be my favourite. She also has one the warmest smiles I’ve seen.
The best performances came from kim ji young as the main character Nam Jung Im
and as her father and mother in law
Baek Il Sub and Go Doo Shim.
There are some beautiful relations in particular between kim ji young’s character and Go Doo Shim’s.
my favourite moment was when
Lee Da In as Yoo Da Hye tries to get
Baek Il Sub’s character to do some vacumming.
You like characters and then start disliking
them, and vice versa.
I should also thank this drama for introducing me to Susan Boyle. I had never heard of her.
Was the drama overlong. I would say yes. But that doesm’t mean, I didn’t enjoy it.
protect the boss
8/10
SPOILERS
The acting. The two leads are good, particularly Choi Gang-Hee.
Of the second leads, I found Kim Jae-Joong, wooden at times, buit overall, he did an okay job.
The smiling to himself was overdone. But I will say that he is a very good singer.
Wang Ji-Hye is somewhat better
I had some reservations about No Eun Seol’s character. Sure it’s nice to see a female who won’t takebullshit from people. But I did wish that she wouldn use physical force so often.
Where this show scores for me is the reason I decided to watch it in the first place. ie, how it treats the drama cliches.
eg. the secatary’s who dare to speak back to their boss.
The second female who although she still cries, is a sympathetic character.
Punch
Wow, what a drama. This is full of excellent performances, that it would be unfair to pick anyone out. Excellent writing and direction. It doesn’t overstay it’s welcome. If I have any slight niggles about it, it would be that most of the drama is about someone or other getting the upper hand, which to me got a bit repitious to me at one point, but I eventually forgot about it, and concentrated on the story.
There is also how the blackbox recording was hidden. Hmm. this is a bigger problem to me. Perhaps someone could answer it. Why was he hollding on to it.
Surely if he had got rid of it, there would have been no problem.
This is not a criticism, but this drama probably uses more metaphors than any other drama I’ve seen.
Comparing this punch, and the other punch, the only place the earlier one wins is in having more likeable characters.
Rascal sons
8/10
I watched this for Shin DA Eun, and once again, she didn’t dissappoint.
Actually I might have blinkers on, when it comes to her.
I was somewhat dissapponted in how her storyline developed though.
This has some really good strong scenes. The cast os good, even if I never
really warmed to Seo In Guk either as an actor or his character.
There are 3 kids in it, all of whom must have had a bucket of cute dumped over them. but their performances for the most part are pretty natural.
Of all the pairings, the most intersting for me was that played by Lee Min-Woo and Heo Young-Ran. But they come pretty late into the story.
Beside Shin Da-Eun. my favourite character was played by Lizzie.
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Sorry. PUNCH Got a 10.
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Thanks for the reviews!
I feel that the good thing about Nine times time travel is the ending and the cast.
Protect the boss is good at the start but loses my interest after a while. I agree about the using violence part “but I did wish that she wouldn use physical force so often” haha.
What is Punch about? And what is the earlier Punch?
Do you like long series dramas? As people usually cannot stand the length of such dramas. I personally only watch if my parents watch.
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Hi
punch 2014
http://asianwiki.com/Punch_%28Korean_Drama%29
punch 2003
http://asianwiki.com/Punch_%282003-South_Korea-SBS%29
The length of a drama would only bother me if i found the drama boring or something. I don’t have any fondness for long dramas over medium or short ones.
But if I had a preferance I would rather watch dramas that were no longer that 20 episodes. But if it’s a great story, then I tend to forget how many episodes are left.
Alhough if it’s a long drama. I will probably shorter dramas as well, just so I can say I finished off some dramas.
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Thx for the links!
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Yes. I get inflienced by reviews too. I haven’t watched “heirs”
because of all the bad reviews I’ve read about it. At the same time, I’m slightly tempted to watch it because of that.
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The sandglass
10/10
An excellent crime drama. Anybody who saw seen the old b/w movie manhattan melodrama (the film john dillinger had been to see, before being shot) will recognise one of the threads running through tjhe story. I was also reminded of The Godfather. highly recommonded
Scent of a woman
8/10
Lovely drama with some beautiful performances especially from the lead actress and the lady playing her mother. What a wonderful relationship. Sometimes it was loving, sometimes they got on each other’s nerves.
I love the fact of the toupee wearing tango teacher wasn’t made a figure of fun, and that the toupee is never used for comedy purposes.
There were some lovely moments. My favourite was the dance on the beach with the elderly gentleman.
The last drama i watched was 49 days, which was very good too. but i think i preferred scent . because unlike 49, it had a good balance between great looking people, and others.
The ending was spot on
Secret
7/10
This drama looks absolutely stunning.
Hwang Jung-Eum is wonderful in the lead role. For the rest of the cast, I was
impressed by Jung Soo-Young. I’m not sure why I didn’t rate this even higher, because it was a good story. It is a serious drama for the most part, but doesn’t skimp on humour entirely. Perhaps it had a lack of really good characters.
SPECIAL AFFAIRS TOP TEAM TEN
9/10
SPOILER
Really good stories. The first one is a classic.
In the regular cast, Kim Sang-Ho is the best character and the best actor.
I think any problems i had with the series came with the last episode
Joo Sang-Wook was okay for the most part, except in the said episode where his idea of portraying arrogance is to chew lots of gum. I also wasn’t convinced by the actress playing the survivor. But i thought how the killer claimed the victim at the “fire” was very well done.
The middle two Jo an and Choi Woo-Sik were okay.
But really it’s the stories that make it
TAMRA The Island
7/10
The most impportant think to say is that Kim Mi Kyung outacts everyone else in the cast, by basically not seemimg to act at all. She is wonderful, and I’m not surprised she is considred the “empress” of the korean acting world.
What I didn’t say before, is that there are some good action sequences, and if there had been more i might have given it a higher grade
I was tempted to give this an 8, but I don’t think it was quite that good. Of the 3 main leads. I found it hard to gauge the performance of Seo Woo. Her performance seemed to be concerned about being as cute as possible. Although there were a few scenes, where the mask of cutesness completly disappeared. It was actually as if the actress was playing completly different character. This would have been through dialogue she was given. The best way i could put is that there were certain dialogue scenes, where she just seemed to deliver the dialogue in a way that her character didn’t usually say the lines.But also the lines themselves sounded more modern. It’s hard to explain.
I also found it hard to judge the performance of Lim Ju-Hwan, but less so. I guess there were moments where I thought, that he was a good actor.
Perhaps the best of the young actors was Lee Sun-Ho.
But’s that’s ignoring Kim You-Jung, who didn;t get much of a look in here, but would in her next drama Dong Yi, and prove herself to be one of the best young korean actressss out there. See also May queen.
The chaser
9/10
terrific drama is absorbing all the way. Although ostensibly a revenge thriller, Power is as much a central theme. The cast are great with some terrific characters. My favourite being Jang Shin-Young as Shin Hye-ra.
The ending is rather abrupt. from googling it looks like there was going to be a one off special, but it never happened.
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Thanks for giving me more dramas to consider!
Scent of a woman didn’t manage to sustain my interest for long.
49 days was good!
Is it worth watching Secret? I put it aside half way sometime ago.
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For me, secret was worth watching. But I believe I’m pretty easy on dramas, so you might have a different opinion.
For instance Scent of a woman wasn’t your cup of tea, but you liked 49 days. I gave them both the same grade, but I would say I preferred Scent.
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THE Devil
7.10
irish Nov 22, 2015
Terrific storyline. Well there was one part near the end where i was thinking, why is he doing that, if he wants that to be done. I also thought that in the final sequence, the two leads looked like two drunks more than what they were supposed to be.
The acting was fine. Nobody really stood out. Although it was only in the final episode or two, that i saw that the actor playing the title roll could act.
so if i was to say acting =6
story=8
total 14
divided by 2=7
The Greatest Love.
8/10.
I’ve seen Cha Seung-Won in this, City Hall, and Athena. City Hall was the best drama, but this is his best performance. Kong Hyo-Jin was a good match. As The second leads Yoon Kye-Sang was fine, but Yoo In-Na didn’t really impress me.
The Kingdom of the winds.
10/10 )fav)
a marvellous mini series (if that’s the correct term)which enthralls right from the start and never lets go. In it’s 36 or so hours, it seldom puts a foot wrong. The performances from some of the actors including female are hard to gauge in particular the two leading men, and the leading actressess ie Oh Yoon Ah as hye ap, who i nominate as the sexiest female character I’ve seen in a long time, and we never even get to see her legs. Then there is Choi Jung Won as Princess Yeon, who is full of grace and serenity. But I have no doubt that the best performance comes from Jung Jin Young as king yuri. plaudits also to among others Kim Hye Ri as as Lady Mi Yoo (Yeo Jin’s mother), and Han Jin Hee as King Daeso. yes, there are faults. There is plenty of fighting, but very little blood. At one stage, i thought a character who was being executed had survived. it looked like the excutioners blade had missed him. but no, he had been killed. when one of the main characters is killed in a rather inhumane way, and his friend has the oppurtunity to treat the instigator in like manner, he doesn’t. perhaps it’s to do with korean tv restrictions. the two leading male and female characters are not without fault. At one stage, she poisons someone, and he has a tendency at times to kill people who are no threat to him. perhaps it was just one person, i can’t temember. i see those as positive aspects of the series. When one of the lead characters dies, my heart broke. and i cried like anthing. That is one of the great strenths of korean movies and tv dramas; the emotion they can get from you, and also how they involve you in the stories. highly recommonded without reservations
The Queen’s classroom
6/10
A decent remake of the japanese original. Although it’s a while since I’ve seen the latter, i think this one is more sentimental. The cast are fine.,and it’s nice to see a korean actress in a leading role with a bit of weight on her. The performance that impressed me the most though was the actor who played Madam Oh. Was there an equivilant of the principal in the japanese version, and did we have a character displaying the reasoning behind the title character’s teaching methods. I think the japanese version was tougher. This one seemed to pander more to the audience. In the original, i believe the audience are allowed to make up their own minds about the teacher. Here, we are told that she is a good teacher. She is a more sympathetic character. The teacher doesn’t look as forbidding. She has a nicer haircut, and her features are softer. Although perhaps I shouldn’t deduct points because of that. It’s a slightly different approach to the same character. But for me the japanese actress was more convincing. Would I have given this drama a higher rating if I hadn’t seen the original. Was part of the the reason I gave the original an 8 because of the life lessons the teacher imparted. Now when i hear them again, they don’t leave the same impression on me. If I watched the japanese version again, would I still give it the same rating.
The Sons of sol pgarmacy house
8/10
This was a really nice drama with some wonderful naturalistic acting. I couldn’t fault any of the cast. As for the characters, Boksil as Boksil (you’ll have to see the drama to find what I mean by that) was my favourite. But
in the second part of the drama, i grew to like Sujin. The scene with her looking into the window of the pharmacy and seeing images of the good times she had with Jipoong is one of my favoutites in asian drama, It showed me how good an actress Park Sun-Young was by allowing her to display a range of emotions.
Warrior Baek Dong suk.
SPOILER
9/10
Thisos only the second costume drama, I managed to complete. The first being Kingdom of the winds, which I think surpasses this. Although this has some of the best characters I’ve seen in an asian drama.
Top characters
skylord. This character left the series too early. He is the most charismatic baddie, I have come across in a long time. He should have a series of his own,
Moosa Baek Dong Soo. Vicous, pathetic, funny
The queen. She looks like butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth, but her heart is blacker than night.
jin joo. She’s feisty as hell, and more interesting than who i presume is the lead female
Bubbling under
commander hong, who is as cunning as hell,
ga ok. She’s probably the first character I liked, but found others more interesting as the show went on.
kenzo-enigmatic
Yes, all bit one are baddies
It;s a while since I’ve seen four wimds, but I think this series has more comedy. It has some great one liners such as one of the characters being referred to as a male gigolo,
It also has a nice little joke. that doesn’t outstay it’s welcome concerning ears being pulled.
A major theme of the drama would seem to be redemption.
The most moving scene is where jin joo tells the pirate chief exactly how she feels about him.
The thing I’m not sure what to say without just writing. The actress playing ga ok plays the mother of a charactor who in real life is only
8 years younger than her. I think the acress playing the daughter is supposed to be playing young.
The most actorly scene, is where skylord cries over the death of the woman he loved.
Another thing I liked was the grit shown by charactors it might not have been expected of eg the son of commander hong, when confronted by skylord.
my gripe. Although Im grateful for subs, it would nice if modern speech was not in it
best action scene. Where the two male leads take on a load of bad guys.
What happens to my family
10/10
A wonderful family drama. Yes, a lot of what drives the plot is based on misunderstandings, but it’s so beauifully done, that it’s easy to forgive
any faults you might find with it.
Thinking about it, now, there are plot threads that seem to have been forgotten eg one characters gambling debts.
Of the cast Kim Hyun-Joo and Kim Sang-Kyung are terrific, especially in their scenes together.
Of the younger cast members. Nam Ji-Hyun shines the brightest, but her male counterparts don’t let the side down either.
As the protoganist, you might say Yoo Dong-Geun is excellent.
The acting from the rest of the cast ranges from adequate to good with perhaps a shoutout to Lee So-Yun. if that’s whi plays the female doctor.
see it in excellent quality at the kbs world tv channel on yt.
White christmas
7/10
Maybe I should have given it an 8.
But I’ll stick with 7.
It has a serial killer in it, but it’s not about a serial killer. In a way he/she is the least important character.
The acting is okay, nothing outstanding.
The interplay between the characters is the most interesting thing,
That’s all the korean dramas, I have reviews for. I have seen others, but no reviews.
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The greatest love seems popular but I don’t know if I should watch it.
So, for The Queen’s Classroom, is it better to watch the jap version? Actually, what motivates you to watch remake versions haha? Since they are about the same thing.
What happens to my family was screened in my country’s tv channel and it looked interesting.
I watched Warrior Baek Dong Soo because of Yoo Seung Ho but as the drama goes he ended up not being the male lead and the plot isn’t as good as the start so I didn’t finish watching.
Btw, just asking, do you blog about dramas?
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Hi.
I believe the japanese version of the queens classroom is better.
As for watching remakes. Well, the story might be the same, but that doesn;t mean a different approach isn’t going to be taken.
I’ve never given up watching a drama for good. I do somtimes watching them for a while. But would hope to get back to them.
I wouldn’t know the first the first thing about creating a website to blog. I’m also too lazy.
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How many dramas you listed here? It would be great if you give it number. People won’t confuse it as ranking since you gave ratings to each drama. Anyway, I am impressed by 17 of the dramas on this list even tough I watch more. I’m in drama withdrawal syndrom after my favorite drama ends and can’t seem to find other great or amazing drama to watch. So I check some lists to get recommendation.
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Hi, humme! Thanks for the suggestion. Because it is likely that I watch dramas from different years at different time so it will be troublesome to re-number when I add a new one in. There should be 90 dramas listed so far, excluding the long series ones. Which is your favourite drama? Sometimes I feel that way too when good dramas end.
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My recent favorite drama is Another Oh Hae Young.
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Sorry for late reply. Oh, I have heard of that drama before. I think I will try it out soon!
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A Gentleman’s Dignity.
8/10.
SPOILERS
Overall view. A likeable drama about some pretty unlikable people.
Let’s talk about Lee Jong Hyuk’s character Lee Jung Rok first
I know this guy can act. But for me, he was miscast in this role. He tries too hard to be cute, i guess, and it doesn’t work for him. But, what is it with the hair. It is kind of odd that nobody in the drama challenged him on it. But you could also say that it’s about a character, who even more than the others doesn;t want to admit that he is no longer a young man.
Still there should have been a scene where someone shouted him about that haircut..
But he was in the best scene in the movie ie the dance scene with the actress playing his wife. Well, that scene and the dance scene at the end were the best of me.
i liked the character of Hong Se Ra (Yoon Se Ah). Okay, you could say that at least initially, she comes across as superficial. But for me, she was the character I liked the best. I guess I just liked her honesty, and overall the actress was very good.
I thought the lead actress tried to force the “cute” facial expressions at times. Acting wise, she was okay, probably better in the school scenes. But I had nothing against her overall. It was also nice to see somebody in a lead role with a bit of weight on them.
For the majority of the time. i Me Ah Ri annoying.
I found her acting pretty forced at times, especially her crying scenes. But there were some brief moments when she wasn’t trying to hard, and some honesty in her acting came through. This would have been in the later stages of the drama. Her best scene for me i(SPOILER ALERT} is when she tells her brother that she is ready to go back to the states.
On the two male youth. I wasn’t impressed bu the taller guy’s performance. But I thought the one playing the son had some acting chops.
On the lead actor. Yes, he was very good. His performance was very natural, and very charismatic. But the scenes at the end where he has his hair cut differently, it makes him look about ten years older.
So I said I found some of the characters unlikable.
Well of course I’m not going to like a character who goes around cheating on his wife.
What i found cringe inducing was Jang Dong Gun’s attempts in the early part of the show to get Yi Soo’ to go to bed with him.
When Tae san finds out that Yi Soo had the hots for him, he asks Jang Dong Gun’ why he didn’t tell him, and says he would have dated her and his current crush. Really, and I hope one of them would have kicked you in the ….. But the actor overall was good, except for one scene near the end. It’s where he finds out that his girlfriend is pregnant. I dunno, i just found his facial expresions a bit contrived.
So, I guess that leaves Yoon as the only really decent guy. He tries to do the right thing. even if if it’s really the wrong thing. Another good performance. Although I wouldn’t be surprised. that the actor often plays these sensitive types.
Overall, the drama except for the two dance scenes I mentioned, didn’t have too many memorable sequences. At the same it wasn’t the usual poor girl, rich guy drama. Okay, he was probably earning a lot more than her. But it wasn;t to the forefront of the drama.
I found the music rather meh.Well, okay, maybe I had a slight liking for the one that is played during the couple’s breakup . It was a female singer. But I certainlly don’t like it enough to go hunting for it on youtube.
The other two major performances by the acressess playing Lee Jung Rok ‘s wife, and Jang Dong Gun’s first love were good.
Dramaworld
8/10
This is an affection homage more than a parody of k-dramas. it talks about the many cliches, but in a way that recognises them as part of why people love them.
It was nice to see a white character who had some acting chops. The fact that she had red hair and freckles didn’t hurt either. Personally I think We need more leads with freckles and red hair [Smile]
I thought that at times Sean Dulake delivered lines a little stiffly.
I’m afraid the guy who played lily hewson’s father was pretty bad.
Luckily he is not in much of it.
Overall I enjoyed it very much.
kill me, hea me
8/10/
Ji Sung and Hwang Jung-Eum meld perfectly together. He grabs the chance he is given to play a multitude of characters with both hands.
she is engaging. I would say both give excellent performances overall, although i could see their limations. for instance Theire
is a scene or two, where he has to portray, shock or surprise, and I didn’t find it very convincing. I found her cryying scenes to be somewhat strained.
But her smile is a delight. and she is also very good at listening.
Of the rest, I would like to have seen more of Oh Min Suk, who I thought gave the most interesting performance.
Kim Yoo Ri does very well too.
Actually one of the best scenes in the series is an argument between those two, with some very good dialogue and acting.
Witch Yoo Hee.
6/10
This is probably the most romantic drama I’ve seen. it has a very attractive young cast.
My favourite being Jeon Hye-Bin, who just exudes class.
On the older actors side Sung Dong-Il, and Ahn Suk-Hwan do good battle to see who comes off as the most eccentric. Although in one scene, the latter gets a chance to show off his straight acting chops.
The is also one song I really liked in it.
Besides Romance, food is the other mainstay.
THe Immortal Yi Soon Shin.
1010
Comrains spolers
What a drama. What a man.
Wow, I’m stunned by the quality of this drama. It goes straight to the top as the best Korean drama I’ve ever seen, and in 2nd place behind Soredemo ito yuke as the best drama.
Why. Well, there were some that niggled at me
One. Having japanese characters laugh in a kind of way, to remind us, that “Hey, don’t forget we’re the baddies here”
How are the Japanese portrayed overall. Well, first of all, they have great uniforms.
Some of the best scenes in the movie, are the japanese sections/
They are portayed as both honourable and brutal.
two. The “comedy” didn’t really work for me. This is one of my biggest gripes with
Korean historical drama. I guess what you would call “light relief characters” are a staple of thise types of dramas. I’m not saying they never make me laugh, but more
often than not they don’t. I’m referring here to Park Chul-Min. Although there are scenes when he wasn;t trying to be funny, and in some of those, you could see that there is a pretty good actor in there. There were also 3 actors who I thought of
as the three stooges, but once they, or perhaps just one or two of them, did some
straight acting, i was more impressed.
3. Characters dissapear from the drama.
4. I can’t make up my mind about the performances of Kim Kyu-Cheol,Lee Han-Wi,and Ahn Yeon-Hong. At first I thought She was rather weak, but in some scenes I thought she displayed some good acting skills.
I also wasn’t impressed at first by Choi Yu-Jeong. I just thought she was too bland.
But once she married Yi Soon shin, her performance seemed to get better.
5. Well, this is not really a fault. There are so many great performances in this, but not all of them are great all the time. I guess it’s because their characters become less interesting.
(a)Jung Ae-Ri. She portrays Yi’s mother. In his childhood scenes, she’s terrific, but later as he grows to adulthood, her performance for me. didn’t hold the same impaact
(b) Jeon Ik-Ryeong. This for me was the most dissappointing aspect of the series.
Her character as the feisty courtesan Chung-Hyang was I thought astonishing. It was my facourite character in the drama. But then basicaLLY, she stops becoming a courtesan, and her performance, well, let’s kust say, she doesn’t get the same opportunities as an actress. But for her performance as the courtesan, I believe she gives the greatest performance. Believe me, in this, that’s no easy feat
6. The beards. The beards all look at the same.
This drama has so many excellent performances in it. Besides the aforementioned, please stand up Choi Jae-Sung,Lee Jae-Ryong,Kim Gyu-Ri,Gi Ju-Bong,Jeong Dong-Hwan wonderful as the wily Yoon Doo-Soo, Choi Cheol-Ho, Lee In, showing that there are good young actors in korea and many others.
Oh, I nearly forgot Kim Myung-Min in the lead. He holds the whole thing together. He is the centre. It;s really a terrific performance. It;s only when I watch the flasback scenes, showing the difference between the older Yi, and the older, that I can really appreciate his acting.
The screenplay is terrific, with some wonderful dialogue
AT First, I thought I preferred the story before he came Admiral. But, no, the series doesn;t falter. It actually becomes more fascinating. eg, the building of the turtle ships, yi’s battle stategy, the aforementioned japanese sequences.
The Battle scenes.At first, these were okay, nothing special. But as the series
went on, they became better, bloodier.It’s as if the makers of the series became
more confident, in what they could show.
I should warn people, that this series is one of the most graphic I’ve ever seen.
That’s not something, that bothers me, but it may others. I’ll give you an example. In other korean historical series, if someody is about to be excuted for example, we see the sword coming down, and then perhaps the person lying dead.
Here, we see the blood.
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Sorry for late reply,
Oh, this list is interesting, will check out some of them when I am free.
I have heard of A Gentlemen’s dignity and Witch Yoo Hee but wasnt attracted by them haha.
Came across Dramaworld but was a bit hesitant as it is a bit strange and does not seem like a genre I would like but may check it out due to ur review.
Agree with what you wrote about Kill me heal me.
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Hi. Thanks for reading.
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Bridal mask
9/10
Slight Spoilers.
Terrific drama.
It didn’t take much to work out who the original Bridal Mask was. Well, if
you’ve ever seen any of the Zorro movies, it should be pretty obvious.
A very good cast. The story flows along naturally. I couldn’t find any
“oh come on” moments. The two male leads have some really cool outfits. Okay, their outfits ie those suits did seem a bit too modern. BuT they were as snazzy as hell thought the fight were well done, and exciting to watch.
I was glad to see that the comic character ie l as Abe was not grating, as these can be in some korean dramas.
In early scenes where Mok dan sees Bridal mask, she has a kind of ectasy on her face, as if he is some kind of deity.
Favourite characters Ueno Rie, and Um Sun-hwa
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Hello! Sorry for late reply.
Is Bridal Mask a must-watch? As many people say that it is nice but somehow it doesn’t attract me.
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No. It’s up to you whether you want to watch it or not.
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Hey Friendzzz…
if you want to watch Romantic Dramas, you Must watch Black Drama Serial. It is full of Romance.
Black Korean Drama
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Hi! Thank you for the recommendation! I do skip through for Black but I wouldnt watch it for romance but more for crime and grim.
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