It was a story bogged down by a messy predictable script and two lead actors with about as much chemistry as a goldfish and a tree. Throughout the first eleven episodes, we see little no character development in either of the lead actors, and then are left with so much sudden character development in the next five that it's completely ridiculous.
Though, had the story a fast enough pace and a more well rounded script the show wouldn't have been such a bore. Had they cut out all the needless parts and really gotten to it sooner, the later character development and the development of emotions would've made a whole life more sense, as we'd have had more time to see these changes. Instead, the ending was rushed and messy, and also somehow boring and skippable. This series was eleven episodes of utter waste, and five episodes of trying to make it all make sense.
The one and only redeeming quality of this series, was the second lead couple. Ji Yi was smart, down to earth, and willing to work hard, and Chang Soo was fun and cute. Together they were honestly the best part of the show, I often skipped to their parts. Their chemistry was off the walls and their romance oddly believable. I would've much rather watched an entire series about them doing cute couple things and arguing than having to watch the cringe worthy romance between the main leads.
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Cast: Uee & Sung Joon were a very very boring and uninteresting couple with zero chemistry. Everything felt so stale and "fake" between them. Their "love" wasn't believable - even to the last episode. I don't know if it had something to do with the writer, the directing, the actors themselves or the characters they were trying to portray - but it didn't work... On the other hand, Park Hyung Shik & Im Ji Yeon had amazing chemistry and their scenes together were always adorably cute^^ - I stuck with this drama just for them <3 Chang Soo (PHS) was funny, realistic, Hot and very very charismatic ;D I loved his style (hair, clothes & personality) <He had a great role. Ji Yi (IJY) was also funny, down to earth, adorably cute - she's like no other female drama lead I've ever encountered before - It's no wonder our Chang Soo falls for her ;) She makes you wonder how her brain works - she amazed me with her responses to people time and time again. I was speechless at her unconventional ways of relating to people. *Best couple award should go to them*
Music: I personally loved the OST - Train "Just a Memory" (Played once during a bicycle race between Sung Joon & Hyung Shik), Jung Yup "Dazzling Day", Kim Joo Na "I Can't Live Without You", Acoustic Collabo "Don't Do That", Park Hyung Shik "You're My Only Love", Maximilian Hecker "Summer Days In Bloom" - I absolutely loved each and every song ^-^
I won't re-watch this drama entirely - But I would definitely re-watch any and all scenes with Chang Soo & Ji Yi^^ & I will listen to the OST for a long time to come ;)
I think it's good to watch at least once - and if anything - skip-watching may be best :) I'm glad I watched it for Chang Soo & Ji Yi and the OST - so I'm satisfied & I liked the ending ;)
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****THIS DRAMA IS AWESOME****
WAS EXPECTING:
I rally thought this drama would neeever suit my taste! I was expecting a childish and stupidly already done concept, which is not. Even the role of the "evil mother" is different and kind of touching. There are not so much "clichés" as we could have feared.
LIKED :
Thruthfully speaking, I enjoyed it from the beginning to the end. First of all, thanks to the acting. I've never been a big fan of Uee and usually only crossing her face in a drama made me annoyed BUT I have to admit how her acting and Sung Joon's are DRAMATICALLY aweome. Their couple is soft and hard, it's yelling and whispering. I really liked everything that happened between them and it turned out they were really HUMANS and had feelings that I could have felt myself if it happened to me in real life.
As for the other couple, Park Hyung Shik and Im Ji Yeon are just so sweet and lovely. OMG they made me cry so much. I usually get annoyed really easily by this kind of lovey dovey couple, but they're nooot ^^ Can't do anything but love them yay!
TO DO:
Go watch this drama if your needy in terms of feeling and cliffhengers. It's an amazing one.
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Story: 7.5
As I said there are no surprises, but the story folds out well from beginning to end with a good pacing, it ends when it needs to end and things are not dragged out. The characters are also quite nicely fleshed out and you get a lot deeper into their psyche than in average dramas.
Acting/Cast: 8.5
The acting was the best part of this drama. I personally love the female lead (Uee) and although her character is written as quite one dimensional, she brings that character to life and makes you care about her. The male lead (Sung Joon) feels very bland, but I guess that is what his character is like. I wish he had been allowed to give the character more... balls. The second couple of the drama (Park Hyung Shik & Im Ji Yeon) almost stole the show. I personally disliked the female character at times (too SWEET), but in the end I actually cared more about them than the main couple.
Music: 6.0
I actually can't remember any of the songs in the OST. That is a bad and a good thing. Obviously the music did not bother me, but if I can't remember a single song it means nothing was memorable.
Rewatch Value: 5.0
I enjoyed watching this drama, but I feel I will never watch it again. There were some really cheesy, romantic moments I might want to relive, but I won't be watching the entire show again.
Overall: 7.0
I would have scored this drama a lot higher if it had something SPECIAL. For me "7" means that it's an enjoyable drama that you do not regret watching, but you will soon forget it.
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I dont know why I enjoy watching this drama despite the various negative reviews I read from many different sources. People told me that the story is boring and the progress is too slow. However, I gave it a shot and watch this drama. At first, it is because I like UEE and Sung Joon is undoubtedly an eye candy >.<
As I progress through the drama, I found myself liking it even more. I love the story and how the problems developed and finally solved. Although tbh, I skipped all of the elderly parts when I rewatch this drama, it does not mean I like this drama any less; I really love this drama.
Maybe I am weird, but I think the problem brought up in this drama is unique. Never did they come across a drama where a guy deceived the girl to this extreme. Nevertheless, I did not hate Sung Joon. In fact, I love how he gradually realizes his feelings.
My love for this drama also emerges because of the casts. They are all so good. All of them really demonstrate what is it like to be someone who is in love, heartbroken, desperate and hopeless. I smiled and cried with all of them. While most of the people who watch this drama like the second couple more than the main couple, I personally prefer the lead couple - maybe because of a personal reason. I am a logical person who is skeptical about love, looking at the main couple, it makes me think that maybe love does exist. I also love how both of them grow with love. UEE grows into someone stronger while Sung Joon grows into someone more humane. Maybe I am weird, but I enjoy the heartbreaks - especially when UEE found out about everything. I have one question tho, how can Sung Joon's stare be so deep and gloomy? I really admire his gaze; so heart-flattering <3
For the second couple, I love how they overcome their problems too. I love Ji Yeon's positive and cheerful attitude; really wish I could be that cheerful. I also love how Hyung Sik changes as he fell in love. Unlike the typical chaebol who USUALLY give up on his love, Hyung Sik fight for his love. Proud of him!
Moreover, the songs are also very suitable for different scenes. I usually do not give much attention to the songs played during various scenes. However, since the songs in this drama are very impactful, I can't help but notice how suitable they are for the scenes. Great job!
I recommend this drama for those who are looking for something meaningful. However, you guys should be prepared for some draggy business and elderly related matters tho :D My suggestion, when you watch it for the first time, watch everything. When you rewatch it, just skip those parts as you aready has a grasp of what is going on - this is what I usually do hehe.. I only rewatch this drama to re-feel the heartbreaks I felt when watching this drama; kinda weird but this is my reason :D
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The two female leads, Yoon Ha and Ji Yi were sweet as friends, very loving to each other and supportive. They might be some of my favourite female friends in a kdrama (though there were a few points that annoyed me) On the other hand I found the two male leads friendship to be unlikable the further through the drama I got, and that could be in part because of my dislike of Joon Ki.
This dislike (which I imagine was not what the script writers were aiming for) was mirrored in that of Yoon Ha's female family members. They were meant to be easily disliked, but their attitudes were hard to watch, and Yoon Ha's submission to them was a low point of the series.
That brings me to the best bit of the drama. Chang Soo. His friendship with Yoon Ha was a blessing, I found them to be highly compatible and wished for more scenes together. On the other side of that is his relationship with Ji Ya which was a lot of fun as they followed the familier troopes of rich man/poor woman in an entirely charming way. Park Hyung Shik was amazing in this.
Apart from these few hurdles it was an enjoyable drama, and I would recommend it for anyone who loves to watch dramas that are bigger than the main romance which is good because I found that this shared its focus more with other things like family and business. It wasn't as romance heavy as I would have first thought and though the last episode seemed to approach quickly it had a satisfying ending.
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The story wasn't that great, nothing new. Every episode was almost the same- same scandals, same problems. The only surprise was with Yoon Ha's brother but nothing more. I think that Uee wasn't right for this role, she didn't fit at all but maybe this is how I saw it.
Park Hyung Shik and Im Ji Yeon were the reason to continue this drama but even their story was made too sad than it's supposed to be. They had chemistry unlike Uee and Sung Joon.
The final was rushed and everything happened so fast.
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This review may contain spoilers
ugh. First, I think that the women should have concentrated on setting up their businesses and dumping their respective boyfriends who regressed to middle school with each other. All sorts of sniping and glaring and hurt feelings. I kept expecting the boys to start pulling each other’s hair and slapping each other.As for, Yoon Ha, she comes across as inept (everything she accomplished at Tae Jin was a result of work Joon Gi, Chang Soo or Yi Ji did for her) and somewhat hypocritical (e.g., criticizing the privileged for abusing their power then using her brother’s power to take revenge on those who offended her). And when the first male lead declared that he fell in love with Yoon Ha the first time they met, I wondered what the prior 15 episodes had been all about.
Finally, after all of the fuss about the brother’s disappearance, the “resolution” seemed to be almost an afterthought.
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When I first read the summary of the story, it sounded very interesting and felt like a nice change from most chaebol dramas. However, the drama did not stick to the summary for very long. Yoon Ha quit hiding her background and her part-time job before we had even reached the half way point of the drama. Anyway, the story was alright at some points, especially when Yoon Ha joined the Taejin company. If the writers didn't focus so much on the parents and siblings of Yoon Ha and Chang Soo and their issues, High Society could have been a really good drama for anyone to watch.
Oh God, this cast was awful in lots of areas. Park Hyung Sik was the only actor that did a good job throughout the drama, and I can't be biased on his part because this drama was the first time I'd heard of him. Not only is he extremely good looking, his acting skills are superb. During the scene where he was crying for Ji Yi and saying that he didn't like her, he loved her, that felt extremely genuine and I couldn't help tearing up myself. Plus, his hair is extremely fluffy and I love it. Anyway, Uee and Im Ji Yeon did do well in some parts of the drama, but they also failed a lot as well. Uee's acting felt fake during the first half of the drama, but when she broke up with Joon Gi and turned extremely badass, I started to really like her acting skills then. For Ji Yeon, it was the exact opposite. She was good during the first half, but turned fake during the latter half. And lastly, Sung Joon. I wasn't expecting much from him because he didn't do very well in his role of Yoon Tae Joo in Hyde, Jekyll, Me, but his acting hasn't improved whatsoever. He is very handsome, but that's the only thing going for him.
The music was pretty much the only decent thing in this drama. I especially love Hyung Sik's recent release of You're My Love for the High Society soundtrack. It was only played during the last two episodes, but it fitted in really well with the scenes that were being acted out, and since I had listened to it so many times before actually watching Episodes 15 and 16, I was mouthing along with the words. It's not Hyung Sik's usual sort of music, but it was still very beautiful and touching.
There is not much chance in hell that I would watch High Society again. I would only go back for Park Hyung Sik and the music, but that's not enough to convince me to go through a whole 16 hours of pointless chaebol stupidity and annoyance.
Overall, there is a lot of stuff that could do with improving in this drama. Firstly, the writers would pretty much need to rewrite the whole story to include less family problems and more of the actual character development. The director and staff would need to pick an almost entirely new set of actors to play the parts as most of them did not play their parts well enough. And lastly, they just need to make the entire drama more enjoyable. High Society was so hyped because of the amazing cast, but pretty much everyone was let down by the lack of drama.
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This review may contain spoilers
Complex Characters but an Abrupt Ending
I gave High Society an 8.5 because, at first, I thought it deserved a higher rating. The ending is decent by melodrama standards, but honestly, I was left disappointed. It just ended so abruptly and felt kind of unresolved.The story is pretty much what you’d expect from the synopsis: two women navigating love in very different worlds. Yoon Ha, the first girl, is the youngest daughter of a super-rich chaebol family, but her relationship with her family is terrible except for her older brother, who goes missing. Her mom is/was awful and abusive. Her dad was constantly yelling and treating his kids like tools for his own benefit. Then there’s Ji Yi, the second girl, who’s not rich but she is bright, hardworking, and has no idea Yoon Ha’s rich. She’s a great friend to Yoon Ha, and their friendship is one of the best parts of the show.
We also meet Joon Ki, who’s from a similar background to Yoon Ha, and Chang Soo, who first sees her in dark makeup and ripped jeans. From there, their lives intertwine.
Story:
The pace was pretty natural, and I liked that it showed everyone’s lives without overdoing it. Yes, it’s a melodrama, but it wasn’t too cheesy or unrealistic. It actually felt like these could be real people, which kept me interested. But the ending.. it was too sudden. Either they couldn’t turn this into a longer drama to wrap things up better, or they just wanted it to be a slice of life about two women finding love with all the complications that come with it. I liked that they kept the focus tight, but it could’ve been balanced better.
Acting/Characters:
The acting was good, I don’t really have any complaints. But the character development is why I didn’t rate it higher. The writers know how to get you invested, making you like or hate characters depending on the moment. I really liked Ji Yi at first. She’s sweet, bright, and her friendship with Yoon Ha is so fun to watch, how they communicate with each other is refreshing to see in a drama. But after Yoon Ha finds out Chang Soo’s true intentions, Ji Yi’s character changes. She stays friendly with Chang Soo, even after knowing what he did. it felt out of character. Many other viewers felt the same. Even acting like Yoon Ha’s overreacting, which made me care less about her and her romance with Joon Ki.
Joon Ki, on the other hand, was great. He’s genuinely in love with Ji Yi, and that makes him likable. Chang Soo, though? Couldn’t stand him after his intentions were revealed, but the writers are good at making you hate a character, then pulling you back. The same goes for Yoon Ha’s mom. I despised her at first, but they gave her a redemption arc that explained her actions a bit more.
Conclusion:
In the end, everyone’s story wrapped up pretty well. Each character learned something, and we got a glimpse into why they behaved the way they did. This was the first drama I’ve finished in a while, and I binged it in one day. If you like complex characters and don’t mind a little unresolved tension, High Society is worth a watch.
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Unfortunate Misuse of a Mostly Good Cast (with the obvious exception of Uee)
This drama was problematic due to a really weak script and a mind-blowingly bad peformance by Uee as the female lead.The reasons I rated it as highly as I did are the performances of Bang Sung Joon, Lim Ji Yeon, and Park Hyun Sik and the fact that the drama contained a storyline about parents that wasn't necessarily about their children (sometimes it seems like parents are onlyincluded in dramas in order to impact the romantic relationships of their children). Having said that, I will admit that I didn’t particularly like the storyline of the parents, I was just relieved by the fact that it wasn't solely focused on their impact on the romantic leads' romance.
I've seen other reviews that criticized the lack of chemistry between the leads, but I somewhat disagree with them. To me, the problem was one-sided; Uee should never have been cast. I was impressed by the amount of chemistry and connection Sung Joon was able to muster with a scene partner who offered nothing. I've been in that situation as an actor, and it is like working with a brick wall. It is also very exhausting. I applaud Sung Joon for making me believe in his character's interest despite Uee's ineptitude as an actress.
In fact, I enjoyed Sung Joon's subtle performance throughout this drama. From what I've seen, he has a talent for knowing how far to take his performance without pushing. I believe he is one of the best drama actors because of this.
Park Hyung Sik chaeboled as Park Hyung Sik does, though I would have appreciated a little more sweetness behind his hijinks in the final scene - he came across a little too much as if he was genuinely regretful. I also felt that Lim Ji Yeon's performance in the final scene lacked growth. Throughout the rest of he drama, however, they had a delightful chemisty.
Visually, there were some lovely moments - the scenes at the beach and at the beach house come to mind. I also think that Sung Joon was particularly attractive in this film (he appeared physically stronger, his skin was clear, and he had a great haircut).
Overall, the only way I would recommend watching this would be if you are a fan of any of the three leads that I mentioned above.
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