This review may contain spoilers
I watched this drama elsewhere but I would like to add in my review here. I enjoyed this rewatchable 2-episode drama from beginning to end and it left me wanting more 🙂 it was short, sweet and charming. There are plenty of funny scenes that made me burst out in laughter. It’s not just all humor as there are also plenty of serious moments and tear-jerking scenes. This drama does not waste time so do no worry about being bored.The FL Danbi is super cute and silly. Her character is what one would expect from a quirky and adorable high school senior trying to find her footing. The king is young, handsome and strong headed. Their interactions are full of chemistry and you can see how the king admires every little thing about Danbi. She is the most precious person to him. Even the queen has found friendship with her. Through modern lenses, it can feel awkward or displeasing at the king not consummating with the queen and instead falling in love with another woman (Danbi). It’s even more uncomfortable to see Danbi falling in love with the king despite her knowing he is already married- doesn’t matter if he doesn’t love the queen, it’s still cheating. But, but! It’s the Joseon period and it’s normal for a king to have many wives. And, and! This is a romcom so I can forgive Danbi for being the other woman. 🙃
IMPACTING EACH OTHER:
1) Danbi escaped her modern period feeling defeated in life. But to survive in the Joseon dynasty, she had to think on her feet and be a person of valuable contribution to the king and kingdom. It just shows that she always had the potential and she just needed to believe in herself. With the King by her side and believing in her, it brought out the best in her that she never knew.
2) The King’s determination and drive to learn superseded gender discrimination and superstition. As long as Danbi was there, he felt he could change the world. She gave him hope. I really, really liked how her hoodie with the letters L, O, V, E was what inspired him to create the characters for their first writing system. It’s like... the Hangul came from his love for his people, the future of a new Korea and his woman. I’m melting ❣️
THE CORRIDOR:
When Danbi has learned that she’s to become the king’s concubine, she ran to that (secret?) corridor that I think connects his bed room and his study room. Something about this scene felt pure and sweet. Danbi has been hiding and running away from her problems then and now. But it was with the king whom she couldn’t runaway from or hide from. Whatever the matter was, they face it together. The music in this scene was perfect. Felt like the plucking of heartstrings.
OMG THE BEACH:
I love their time together at the beach. The first time at the beach when Danbi was on the run and the king meets her there, their reunion was moving. There needn’t be any words as they stared at each other affectionately. That moment when king rushes to her and kisses her passionately, I felt like I was Danbi fluttering 😂😍. This scene reminds me of the old American film Somewhere in Time (also a time-traveling love story) where there are times words are not enough when you are standing in front of the one you love. The last time Danbi and the king were at the beach together, he held on to her so lovingly and tightly as his tears flowed down his cheeks. It’s the goodbye he dreaded. And with a couple of nods exchanged between them, he let me her go through the portal. This is where I really appreciate the camera work here to show what the king may be feeling: He stood on the beach forlorn. My heart ached for him as he promised to himself that he will find her no matter how many years it takes. This lonely stance reminds me of Wang So from Moon Lovers as he stood alone thinking of Hae Soo and promising himself he will find her in the future. Life feels long when you yearn for the one you love that cannot return to you.
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First off, it's not your typical historical Korean drama, no no. If you are tired of those "who gets the throne", "family feud" dramas about the Joseon era, this will definitely be unique and fresh. The story looks quite ordinary and familiar from the start, but it's so well written, that only 2 episodes are enough. On the other hand, I also though that the directors could've made this into a full length drama with the continuation of the story in modern days. I was familiar with the main cast from other dramas before. Kim Seul Gi will forever be one of the spunkiest, most genuine drama actresses. She brought this story vitality. Also, Yoon Doo Joon is quite a new actor that I've discovered, but I thought that he was perfect for the role. Supporting cast - all very talented, but they'd need a side story, maybe a spin off. Nevertheless, this is something that I'd rewatch again for the beautiful and unique story!
So if you ever find yourself on an urge to watch an interesting and short drama, please give this one a go. I'm sure that you won't be disappointed and that it will leave you wanting more!
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This review may contain spoilers
It's basically a shorter version of Moon Lovers : Scarlet Heart, except the ending. Because in this short drama, the leads met each other in today's world which is really satisfactory but in Scarlet Heart as they didn't show the happy ending, the pain will remain forever.The cast is really good and as well their acting.
Comedy, romance,drama, emotional every thing is there.
-- Overall it's really good directed mini drama that contains everything within the two episodes. So it's good to watch. ????
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A classic k-drama gem not to be missed !
This mini-drama is the perfect combination of rom-com, time travel, fantasy and historical . I have watched over 150 k-dramas and was in a drama slump when I found this gem on Viki. It’s a light easy watch, with brilliant story-telling weaving in cute romance, friendships with interesting historical nuggets about King Sejong and Jang Yeong-sil’s inventions.Although this drama was released in 2015 (9 years ago!), the show doesn’t feel dated, and I really had a lot of fun watching it. It was also nice to see Jin Ki-joo and Ahn Hyo-seop in supporting roles in the drama (before they became the leading stars that they are now). This drama is an oldie but a goldie. The only reason why it’s not a 10 for me is because the length of the drama (2 x 60 min episodes) was just not long enough to show more of the various relationship development . A 4 epi drama would have been perfect!
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This review may contain spoilers
I haven’t laughed this hard watching a drama in a while, and I’m very happy with the way everything was executed. The editing was sometimes a bit confusing and jumpy but not too bad. I know most of the cast in the drama except Doo Joon so overall it was fun seeing all these familiar faces in one drama. I’ve only seen Kim Seul Gi in two very short dramas, but I absolutely love her playfulness and cute acting. The storyline was overall incredible, but I can’t help but be quite unsatisfied with the way the drama ended. It was probably the best the writers could have done, but the ending doesn’t feel too happy since she ultimately left her lover and only met up with what I assume to be his reincarnated version. It’s quite sad and gives me Goblin vibes but it seems like they all recognized each other? Even then, I can’t imagine Sejong living another 30 years of his life without her by his side. Totally unrelated, but what is up with the queen’s reincarnation telling Danbi that sejong had 20 children and seduced a bunch of women? Was that real (in drama version) or a rumor? I don’t even know anymore. Anyhow, I loved this short little drama and I’m glad I watched. It just kind of hits home because the previous drama I watched had an incredibly sad ending and I wasn’t ready for that sadness in the end. Was this review helpful to you?
watched 7/22 in one go
i randomly found this super short drama and decided to watch in one go (only about 2 hours long in total). i really loved the chemistry between the main leads and even the side characters i liked, the story is unique itself since ive never really seen another drama do this kind of story and tho it is short i think of it as a movie and feel as the pacing was just right (not draggy, as 16 episodes may have been). the main character is very likable and the drama has many funny moments! and a very nice ost all throughoutWas this review helpful to you?
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Short and to the point
Watched it just because.... I was just curious how old that king was because it didn't seem ok LOL. I really like that it was short and to the point. They had some chemistry but I think it was the age different with the character.I love the ending because they met in real life and it seems as most dramas, the king passed in and was reborn and met the girl in her time.
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Fcking adorable
Shit the main characters had chemistry. They were so good together and their scenes were so real and emotive and frankly adorable. The story was great and i love how Dan Bi got the sense of purpose she never had back home. I think that adventure really changed her for the better so it was great to see. I liked the other characters too and how the king changed and became more fun and happy with Dan Bi around- oh and the kid was really cute. The end was nice though wish they had made more episodes and shown their modern world romanceWas this review helpful to you?
The comedy isn’t based on broad characters, but rather having fun with time travel and pop culture. It’s earnest and happy which makes for a lot of fun in a unique way.
The leads handle the fun and romance so you just cheer them on, no matter how ridiculous or outrageous the situation.
After bingeing so many long dramas, it’s nice to have a short and complete story in two episodes. No needless plot twists to keep things going. Watch this one for a refreshing light rom com.
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Short and sweet
This was a cute and sweet drama that would have benefited from having more episodes. The story was largely undeveloped and moved too fast.Even though I liked the chemistry between the romantic characters, there wasn't enough time to properly develop any of their relationships. I wanted to see how the king actually came up with the writing system, the romance, and the friendship between Dan Bi and the queen. The queen was portrayed as a lonely young woman who just wanted to connect with someone, so she intended Dan Bi to become her friend by making her the king's concubine. This was an odd choice, but there was meaning behind it. The writers also teased us with romantic-ish relationship between the queen and Park Yeon, but it was largely unexplored. The gender bender trope lasted for longer than I wanted just to be explained at the end that the king always knew that Dan Bi was a woman. Hence, him rapidly falling in love with her without questioning his own sexuality was justified.
One interesting thing was that many characters in the past looked like the characters in the present, but I didn't feel like there was much explanation given as to why.
Overall, this is a cute piece of fluff with a happy ending, that doesn't offer much depth because of the short length.
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