Dali & Cocky Prince

A bit annoying

First of all, rich arrogant guy & unfortunate girl. Ok, but what's wrong with female lead. Wasn't she introduced as intelligent & workaholic. Suddenly she is all sad and crying and everything gets resolve by its own. Jin ki chul revealed the video, Moo hak & tae Jin helped in exhibition. Tae Jin destroyed assembly ahn. She did nothing. When she got beaten up she did nothing. SERIOUSLY? SHE IS SUPPOSED TO BE INTELLIGENT ONE?

Overall, the story is cute & funny but characters are annoying, the secret of death isn't big too. At the end, they broke the break up stereotype.

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Good for a Korean Drama

The drama shines with realy well written characters, amazing acting and a nice spin on a lot of classic cliches. Definitely one of the better KDramas I've seen over the years.

However it has one big problem, which is a running thing in the vast majority of kdramas: It focuses to much on the Problems. At the beginning it was better than kdramas usually are in that it split the screentime more evenly, but after around a third it dropped into the usual split, where 75%+ of the time aren't spent showing how a problem is solved, or how the characters working on it might solve it . Instead thosee 75%+ is just spent to show us the problem from different angles, how it came to be etc. creating an overall negative experience while watching it.
And while this shows is still one of the better korean ones in that regard, all to often problems still just get solved out of nowhere, with maybe a 30-60 second explanation on how the solution came to be tacked on later.

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Funny and Cute with a Mystery

I enjoy this drama. It was cute, funny and the chemistry between the actors was great. The dramatic scenes kept you worry and all the twist and turns kept you wondering but then the lead characters would come a long and put a smile on your face and you would have to say "They are so cute". I enjoy the story line with all the mystery. I also enjoy that the lead male character was the not so smart naïve character instead of the female lead character. She was smart and seem naïve but you could not pull a blanket over her eyes and she was tough. The actors performance was great and very good direction until the end. I hate to wait until the last 10 minutes of the last episode to give us a happy ending and I was confuse with the ending so I watched the last episode twice to make sure I understood the ending.

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Light hearted blend of genres and likable central performances... but I just didn't enjoy it

I really wanted to like this show but it just wasn't for me. The blend of romance, comedy, melodrama and mystery didn't work very well and I felt pretty uninvested in the outcome of the story. If you like silly comedy, a blend of genres, and introverted, passive female leads this show might have more appeal for you. Give the first episode a try, it's a pretty good indication of the overall tone and quality of the show so if you enjoy it you may well like the rest of this drama.

Things I Liked
The performances of both the leads are great and they have good chemistry together. The characters of the FL and ML are both a bit different from the norm. The ML starts out brash, cocky, ignorant and money obsessed and I expected the show would give him a story arc where he would change for love, but instead they basically said he was just fine as he was. I quite liked that it subverted my expectations on this. The ML was shown to be a decent man who was pretty likable despite his flaws. The ML is consistently interested in and open about his affection for the FL and treats her well. I quite liked the bratty, spoiled politicians daughter SFL. The pacing is pretty good- the story generally progresses at a reasonable pace. The show tries to blend lots of genres, with mystery, melodrama, romance, comedy etc. whilst keeping an overall fairly light tone.

Things I didn't like
I didn't really like the character of the female lead Kim Da Li. This is partly a writing issue and partly personal preference. I just found the character exasperating. She responds to seemingly everything by walking around silently and crying a bit. I was pretty sympathetic to her not knowing what to do in the earlier episodes, but by the time she showed that she was incapable of washing dishes and taking a bus successfully I longed to slap her in the face. She is an introvert who knows nothing about anything but art and is almost entirely passive as her world crashes down around her. This will not bother all viewers, but I found the character as written hard to enjoy, despite the likeable performance by Park Gyu Young (who I think is an incredibly talented actress).

The romance also didn't really work that well for me, partly because in the scenes where their relationship evolved I felt the FLs words or actions were often fairly odd. The moment where they first kissed seemed like such a strange time to choose to kiss someone. Once they got together, the ML immediately became pathetically sappy in a way I found nauseating. Overall, the writing meant I never felt very invested in this relationship and my interest in it was pretty much just because the two central performances were quite charming and the leads had good chemistry.

The rest of the cast are mostly either comic relief or part of the villainous, melodramatic sub plots. None of the comedy was my cup of tea, but I suspect the show would be much more enjoyable for those who do enjoy this type of humour. The villains are never very threatening so the conspiracy sub plot doesn't really lead to much tension and it gets resolved with a whimper rather than a bang which isn't exactly satisfying. Many of the minor characters performances are over the top and clearly intended to be funny but I found several of them grating. The blend of genres gives the show a fairly light tone, but tended to neutralise the tension in more serious moments and left me struggling to care about what was happening.

I remember disliking the first episode but quite liking the performances of the two leads so I persevered. This was basically how I felt at the end of the show too. I didn't really like the writing and felt there were many issues with the production, but the central performances were the best part about this show. If you like the first episode, I think you'll enjoy this drama much more than I did.

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EVERYTHING'S PERFECT!!!

*Please bear with my wordy sentences (plus, my amateurish vocabulary) cuz I've got a lot to talk about X3*
Every single episode makes my heart skip a beat. "Dali and the Cocky Prince" is a feel-good drama with lots of lessons to learn from! Not only did it teach me about art and the nature of the art industry, but the drama also gave me life lessons and how we should appreciate what we already have at present time, while also helping others with a kind heart; being forgiving when need be; to never give up what you have faith in. Both the storytelling and main characters (i.e. Dali and Mu Hak) are so lovely and funny that I can't stop grinning whenever their scenes pop up! I laughed and cried together with them~ Mu Hak's family was a bit of a mess but they all cared about each other after going through several mishaps together. There's a lot of character development for them which I liked (including Chak Hui, cuz I didn't really like her at the beginning but rooted for her later on). Not to mention "Our Woo Tak-shi" XD; love him so much! He'd always be Dali's family and guardian, and I'm glad the director & screenwriter didn't add any romance line (like a crush on the FL) between them, cuz they're just so cute as they are~ Storywise..., WOW. That's all I'll say... one word.. cuz I can't describe it with just words... Everyone, YOU MUST TRY WATCHING THIS DRAMA! You won't regret it!!!
Oh and, the soundtracks in the drama are so magical, up-beat and playful(?)~ Anyways, I love them all!
I just finished watching this drama and felt extremely contented! To simply compare this drama to food, it's like that feeling we get after eating a hearty meal when being famished (the pork dishes looked really tasty which made me want to grab a bite too.. XD)

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Very cute Romance. Meh... everything else.

Dali and the Cocky Prince is a classic opposites-attract RomCom that sucked me in from the start. It's also partially a mystery which both underwhelmed and bored me. This drama doesn't take long to jump into the romantic chemistry part which I loved, and the two leads are quirky in the best way (shout out to whoever styled both character's outfits), but unfortunately, too much of the drama revolves around a mediocre corruption plot that was so uninteresting and repetitive that I was tempted to skip a lot of those scenes, at least the non-comedic ones. The best parts of this drama are when it doesn't take itself seriously.

Park Gyu Young plays Kim Da Li, a rich but odd art expert. It's my first time seeing her as the main female lead, not a supporting lead with unrequited or unfulfilled love (It's Okay to Not Be Okay, The Devil Judge), and she played the role well. It was nice to hear her show off some English fluency and really great outfits, but I did have some issues with the way her character was written. I honestly wondered if Da Li might be slightly autistic at some points. I understand that the character was meant to be sheltered, eccentric, and naive but her extremes were just too intense at times. The innocent wide-eyed blank stare that I've seen Gyu Young do in other dramas didn't help. It made her seem less cute and more "undiagnosed" or "too heavily medicated" or just waaaay off. I liked Da Li but her naiveté and stubbornness also frustrated me A LOT! Speaking of extremes, she is matched with Kim Min Jae as Jin Moo Hak who is super confident, outspoken, and stylishly tacky (although I loved his suits too). Even though his character is meant to be obnoxious, his charm and smile are what stood out the most. Maybe I'm biased because he has my birthday (#teamscorpio), but he was by far my favorite character! He played right at the line of being unapologetically cocky where it was admirable instead of annoying. Together they were a great match, and even at their cheesiest (and it gets very cheesy). They were cute without being too childish and they are what kept me watching. That's a warning to anyone who doesn't like their odd banter from the start, complete with sound effects, arguments, awkward smiles and giggles... if that's the case then you should probably give up on this drama. These are the best parts in my opinion.

There are other good performances in this drama too. Moo Hak's family (especially his Dad), the nosey Museum staff, the nosey restaurant staff, a 2nd lead for each lead, a classic greedy businessman, and a creepy rich ex... most are pretty cliché but the characters are great. My favorite among the supporting cast was Hwang Bo Ra and Moo Hak's secretary. Yes, the roles she plays are often similar (even with short hair and a suit this time), but she is always hilarious. I thought she and Moo Hak made a great team. I do think Kwon Yool as Jang Tae Jin is worth mentioning as well. I think he did a good job too, but I just wish he was a little less dull. I still don't understand why Da Li ever liked him in the first place, or why he was so enamored by her. Maybe if his character was a little creepier, or more charming, I would have been less bored by the rest of that story. Not that I blame him completely. I just think that part of the story wasn't strong enough on its own. Other characters, like both 2nd leads, and Moo Hak's stepbrother could have had slightly stronger storylines to make them feel less like filler characters, but maybe less of them wasn't so bad. I'm glad they weren't used too much to distract from the main couple. I'm glad this drama avoided drawn-out love triangles... besides the main one, which was more a third wheel plot than a real triangle.

The non-romance part of the story is filled with the usual corruption and greed tropes and involves Da Li's dad's death leaving her with a mess of bills, responsibilities, and unanswered questions. When everything starts going wrong for Da Li, instead of actually caring, I was just waiting for Moo Hak to show up. There are no real big plot twists or surprises, just characters finally realizing what's obvious. It is all resolved pretty neatly by the end, which was nice, but the love story is still all I cared about.

Would I watch this again? Sure! Because what I enjoyed the most was the main couple's antics I can see myself rewatching them and just skipping or zoning out during the other parts, Maybe that's too harsh, since some of the other characters are entertaining too, but I think just focusing on the romance would be my only reason to rewatch this. It's also a light drama, which is perfect if you're in between dramas and if you're not in the mood for something too emotionally heavy or serious.

And the soundtrack is pretty good. I didn't fall in love with any of the songs but they fit the drama's mood perfectly. The "don't take it so hard" lyric always seemed to come in right at the perfect time. I also liked the whistled version of the Habanera from Carmen.

Overall, this is a surprisingly good romance drama for what it was, and I would definitely recommend it to light romcom fans. I loved that this felt like a classic romcom, but the leads didn't necessarily follow the predictable romance drama path, even if lots of popular romcom tropes were in full effect throughout. They could have explored classism a little more deeply but that probably would have made the story too serious. Although the premise is a high end spoiled art-world elite vs a low brow hard-working nouveau riche entrepreneur it's really about making a genuine connection unexpectedly and having someone who truly will be there to support you no matter what ( a ride-or-die if you will) who seems all wrong but compliments you perfectly. The take on the art world was a bonus, and also played up for comedy in a way I thought was hilarious, It seemed to be done as a comedic love letter to the art crowd. If this drama was a painting I wouldn't call it a masterpiece by any means but it is the kind of painting that makes me smile when I see it, and that was enough for me.

Oh, and if art isn't your thing, maybe pork is? There's plenty of pork appreciation too lol! I can appreciate both! Win-Win!

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I have never seen a more genuine couple in my long history with kdramas

Dali and the Cocky Prince is really something special. I've gotten accustomed to writing reviews about dramas that don't offer anything new but are enjoyable nonetheless, but Dali is not that. It's a lot more. Sure the premise is simple and has been done before, but the execution is brilliant. The characters are wonderful, from the leads to the side roles, and they bring the story to life in a way that feels refreshing and new. They're entirely believable.

Moo Hak is an eccentric male lead, which was a really popular trope for a long time, and he's the poster-boy for that trope. He has his tacky, flashy designer suits and his expensive watch, he's extremely bad at English and he's not well-versed in common cultural knowledge and phrases. But his shortcomings are balanced out with his business savvy and his very genuine predisposition. Moo Hak is not a polite man by any means. He's rude and brash and loud, loves money, and commands attention when he walks into a room. But he's honest, more so than anyone else in the drama, and he's passionate about everything he does. Food is important to him. He runs a restaurant chain, never skips a meal and cares not only about how food tastes but also about how well it will fill his customers' stomachs and how affordable it is. And when he's passionate about something, he puts a lot of care into it. And that's just what we learn about him in the first few episodes. The characters are multi-faceted and deep, enough to feel like real people.

Dali, on the other hand, comes from a very different world. Where Moo Hak is uneducated and had a rough childhood working for his father's business, Dali comes from a prestigious family who has owned the Cheonsong museum for generations. She's well-educated and passionate about art but has trouble taking care of herself - even eating and sleeping on her own. Reality hits her when her father passes away suddenly and she's sent from the Netherlands to Korea to deal with the estate, the art museum, and the many debts her father left behind. But she's resilient and determined to take care of the museum that her father loved, even at the expense of all that she has left. To her, Moo Hak is a strange but incredibly interesting man. He makes her laugh and gives her the help that she needs to try to protect Cheonsong, even if the ways he does so are crude and frustrating to her at times.

As I said, the story itself, if you're just looking at it from a plot perspective, is nothing new. It's how it's handled that makes it special. With a drama like this, you can easily look back at your previous experience with similar stories and imagine what plot twists and dramatic turns it's going to take, and know where you're going to end up in the end. Except that a lot of those common pitfalls don't happen here. The misunderstandings, the sudden revelations, the big reveals and family please for the couple to part - all those annoying subjects crop up exactly where you're expecting them to, but Dali isn't so easy, and it's going to subvert your expectations wherever it can. Those romcom climax lows where everything is suddenly going wrong and the characters who were best buds in one episode are suddenly enemies or apart for the next two or three? Yeah, no. Dali's not about that. And that's what I loved about it. It's one of the few romances I've watched in the past several months - maybe a year? - that doesn't use those tropes to pad out the last 6 episodes, and I'm eternally grateful. I enjoyed every minute of it, from beginning to end, with no dragging in the middle.

The biggest appeal for me, though, is the relationship between Dali and Moo Hak. They're genuinely in love. They have an adorable honeymoon phase, they're honest with each other and they prove how much they care time and time again. I've watched a lot of romances. They're my guilty pleasure when I'm sick or having a rough go of things. I've seen couples turn on each other or break up for several episodes just to add drama and pad the runtime. But every time these two go through one of these things that would, in any other drama, take several hours to resolve, they work it out. They talk to each other, they work it out, and they don't let the other person go. In addition to that, we get to see a lot of shows of affection between them that you don't see often in Korean dramas - butterfly kisses and implied sex (which is getting more common but not overtly so) to name a few. I could maybe see some people being turned off by just how much and how often these two are showing affection for each other, but when I'm watching a romance, that's kinda what I'm looking for and I loved it. I genuinely believed in their relationship, and I rooted for them all the way. These two are precious.

So watch Dali and the Cocky Prince. Just do it. I suppose if you prefer mysteries then maybe it's not for you, but I don't think you'd be looking at Dali at all if that's what you're after anyway. So just give it a shot. It's funny, charming, sweet, and brightens your day. What's the worst that could happen?

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A warm story about love

Many K dramas have art and culture storyline. One of the leads the art gallery director or curator. And I personally like this type of plot. But I prefer developing romance over anything. This drama will deliver those expectations. Its refreshing, to watch.

Coming to this, drama completely focuses on developing a relationship between debitor and creditor. How they entangled themselves. How they bonded together over an art gallery. Comedy is followed and little bit of emotional seens can be seen. And yes, we do have antagonist in this drama.

First half totally light hearted, you can take your peaceful time to watch this. Then the drama picks up after episode 11. Where the real drama begins. For all those viewers who are seeking to watch a light hearted romance with not much of intense drama and crime, you should definetely watch this. Due to release in 2021, it has updated story and production is top notch.

Park Gyu Young(Da Li) does a fabulous job here. I am used to watch her as a second lead or side character but this drama does justice to her. She knocked her role perfectly. The cuteness she deplicts with a new looks of curly hair. Yup I saw something new here.
Kim MIn Jae(Cocky Prince) plays his role way better than I expected it to be. There chemistry is just so sweet. Just go for it.

Anymore, and you will get spoiler here. So I will stop.
OST are good. You can get 2 or 3 lovable songs to hear.
- The sweetest Love
- Straight
- U hoo hoo

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an absolute masterpiece

This incredible South Korean drama, "Dali and The Cocky Prince," is an absolute masterpiece. It's a captivating story that revolves around the brilliant acting and undeniable chemistry between the leads, making it a must-watch. The characters are expertly crafted, showing a remarkable journey of two individuals from entirely different worlds who come together in a beautifully harmonious way.

Dali, our strong and independent female lead, is a character that's both relatable and inspiring. Her dynamic with the Cocky Prince is utterly endearing, and watching their relationship evolve is a true delight. The sincerity and adoration the Cocky Prince shows towards Dali will have you swooning in no time.

The plot is not just intriguing, but it also maintains a perfect tempo, ensuring you're always eager to see what happens next. The music enhances the emotions and atmosphere of the series, while the costumes, especially Dali's, are a visual treat in themselves.

If you're in search of a drama that has it all - romance, humor, stunning visuals, and a heartwarming story - "Dali and The Cocky Prince" is your go-to choice. This is one show you won't want to miss. Give it a watch, and you'll be hooked from the very first episode.

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Most Underappreciated KDrama of 2021

Thanks to Netflix for suggesting this drama.
The story is not complicated... it's very heartwarming and light but It's addicting. It will make you smile and have a good vibe for a while...

Story: The plot is very simple but surprisingly not predictable... I love the characters and the story flow. The director & writers mixed romance, comedy, a little politics, a bit of mystery, friendship, and family together without making the story chaotic.
This is the 1st time that I was hoping that a series should be longer... about the ENDING... I just love it! lol

Acting: Dali (Park Gyuyoung) and Moo-Hak (Kim Min-jae) have remarkable chemistry, and perfectly pair up to deliver the feeling of true love. Kim Minjae is at another level of acting performance, showing in his gesture, tone, and facial expression. I love how he hid his feelings in the early episodes... I haven't watched Park Gyuyoung from other series, but I already admired her in this drama. She looks really sophisticated but I like her when she got a bit more aggressive than the ML .

Music: One of the best OST in Kdrama history hehehe... The music alone can make you feel in love. "The Sweetest Love", and "That's Ordinary Love", "Moon Crater" and "One Day It Will Be" are so nice... will make you smile. (Thanks Spotify.)

Rewatch Value: It's not perfect 10 coz I already know the mystery part and how they solved/faced their problems... I'll just rewatch their sweet and funny moments.

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