being a chaebol isn't a piece of cake
Baek Hyun Woo, a "normal" guy, is the pride of the village of Yongduri, and the legal director of the conglomerate Queens Group. Chaebol heiress Hong Hae In is the “queen” of Queens Group’s department stores. They 2 married together due to an intertwined fate. We'll get to know how things change between them while they go trough the hardship of life. Why they love each other, why they hate each other and how they reconcile. This is also the story of a chaebol's family which face scammers who want to steal everything from them, and how they defend themselves.the prior thing I really like about this drama is that it puts you in the position to rethink the way you analyzed the situation earlier. the same scenes viewed from someone else's perspective and everything shifts. I like this because life is so often like that. that's the closest it can be for me to a real story. We always end up seeing "abusive" RICH mothers who throw water and then a big envelope to the head of the shameless girlfriend of their son. This drama explain fully why these scenes are understandable.
this drama is the first for me where the description of a chaebol's life isn't romanced. the description of the chaebol's family too. and the way everything is described is damned logical and full of sens. you'll be hearing unforgettable sentences like "if someone leaves you don't bid him farewell, stab him in the back." (this definitely will stay in my mind....) and the way the story will unfold before your eyes will definitely explain why they all think this way. yes, a chaebol's family is a scary thing to encounter.
there is a lot of twist in this story, and I don't want to spoil your pleasure, so I'll just say this: the game will change at least 3 times, so if you don't really like the story be patient at least until the half of it. I want to share one scene I loved the most: the 2 families meet together while the children are mad at each other, and they are confused as if they are on the same team or not despite the circumstances, and one of them has this precious answer: we are like north and south korea. we are on the same team in the Olympics even though we fight against each other. we are together if we face the same enemy.
the chemistry between the leads is so good, and they are cute together. the writer made a very good job with cute scenes and touching dialogues. on each episode there is a 1 minute epilogue after the ending ost, don't miss it, it's very important to understand the characters.
what I didn't like:
there is some non sens (like taking a plane to the US with a real gold buddha 30cm high and holding it with one hand.... yeah).
there was no head lines about the narcissism of the villain. I'd really appreciate that writers fully explain the mental illness of the villains.
we also didn't get to know how everything began: it began with the mother of the villain, but we don't know what happened. how did she meet the family and why did she target that family among all.
the last episode was disappointing. the writer should have focused on the way to wrap things nicely, but he pushed the leads in an other complicated situation, so the last episode isn't as comforting as it's used to be.
that's a very good show though and I definitely recommend it.
when to watch: after work if you need to focus on someone else's problems.
audience: there is too much violence for under 15 people.
have fun!
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We had high expectations
Certainly the drama I less appreciated from our star Kim Soo Hyun. It is not about actors’ performances, I actually was stoned by Kim Ji Won’s acting. It was a very refreshing role for her. But the story itself lacks deepness… Of course if we compare this to recent works labeled as kdrama romances, you can find worst cases scenarios which actually got better reviews than this one but how can I say… maybe high expectations were awaited here. Kim Soo Hyun’s choices used to be better. In this series even main characters reach a point where they stop envolvinf, developping... And the intrigue and vilains are not justified at any point. It’s like, let’s put a vilain to get an intrigue… on a short notice, I’d like to see our boy in something very different from what he usually plays. Maybe a vilain ? Idk.Again my review is only subjective tho.
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Wasted potential.
Full disclosure: I made it until halfway through episode 10 before I called it quits. I started this drama having high hopes for a love story of a married couple whose relationship is on the verge of divorce, them rediscovering the reasons why they used to love each other, rediscovering their attraction to each other and then painfully working through the issues that tore them apart in the first place. By episode 10, the leads were divorced. Thus far they hadn’t any deep, vulnerable conversations about that went wrong in their marriage, they both spent the last 10 episodes doing the same dance of not communicating, having moments of attraction to each other, and then dismissing them and deflecting. Their scenes, although they started off good in the first couple episodes, quickly became repetitive - like a hamster wheel with no forward movement.This story had so much potential. I would have loved to see the main leads figuring out together how to navigate her shitty family situation, with the ML from a small farming village, marrying a wealthy heiress, and then feeling trapped in this prestigious family who completely controlled his life, his job and their marriage. I would have loved to see more development on how the FL was drawn to this innocent, upright small town man who was far removed from the kind of life she lived, and to see more of that dynamic with the pressures she was under as the heiress to this major conglomerate. I would have loved to see them explore how she has to be ruthless and cold and distant in order to survive in her world, and with such a family that she had. I would have loved to see the leads process the loss of their child, how differently they each handled grief, and how their difficulties in grieving together and was what began creating that rift in their marriage. I would have loved more emphasis on her and her husband’s journey with her terminal cancer. I would have loved more dialogue, more of a character-driven story.
Instead, all of the elements that drew me to this show in the first place got swallowed up by a menagerie of less interesting, inconsistent side characters, side plots, and filler scenes with characters I didn’t give a shit about. Her powerful, controlling family turned into a joke. The FL’s cancer diagnosis as of episode 10 felt more like an afterthought, basically just accepted by the leads and not really emphasized much. Oh, but there was some psychopathic, possessive SML who cared more about the FL dying than her own spouse. Instead of open and honest communication with the leads, we had episode upon episode of refusing to communicate, misunderstandings, pushing each other away and basically nothing getting talked through or resolved.
Perhaps these issues would have been addressed in the last six episodes, but with the leads having maybe 10-15% of the total screen time in each other’s presence (and hardly satisfying scenes at that), the hope for more resolution and better development between them stopped being worth the other 85% of filler BS with all the other side shit going on.
The show should have stuck to the simplicity of a love story between these two complex people whose love for each other over the years has been impacted by grief, controlling in-laws, fame, social status, societal pressure and differences in socioeconomic backgrounds.
The two stars I did give were solely due to the great acting with the leads.
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1Everything-in-one-pan sort of comfort food.
I was trying to work out why this one blew up and got the attention it did. And I don’t think I was the only one, I think the whole company were probably a little surprised too. So what I came up with was that they managed to find the perfect recipe for how to appeal to the maximum number of possible audiences - a producer’s dream. And how, imo, did they do it?By cherry picking from all the genres and eliminating the potential bitterness before making a judicious blend of sweetness, with a twist of out-of-the-ordinary, that is just sufficient to stimulate almost everyone’s tastebuds. It has the ingredients of a melo without excessive wailing (well it does get a bit wet though, just note the title…); a romcom without cringeworthy comedy (mostly); a makjang without full-blown psychosis (just regular hysteria); a conspiracy without frustrating mystery (but a few too many conveniences), and a slice-of-life romance (plus free homilies) without the plodding reality.
It manages to be a very clever balance of light and dark. Nothing stands out as particularly noteworthy in itself, but put together it becomes great comfort food. Somewhat like all our beloved, over-rated national dishes that tempt the foreigner into disappointment because they expect Michelin stars and it turns out to be your grandma’s cooking.
Overall, it failed to really impress in the creatively inventive/awesome stakes but it delivered a solid script; credible good characters (aside from the ML being ex-special services, puleeeeease…he would have been breakfast); dastardly bad characters and some hearty performances, especially from the leads (and a personal favourite, the shameless rum flip, Grace, played by Kim Ju Ryoung). However it stumbled on the plot front probably because it had too many chickens on the rotisserie. It worked well until about episode eleven, but then the plot began to curdle in certain areas as the focus shifted more to the melo. By the last two episodes, it was shredded and went into makjang meltdown followed by a layer cake of all the genres piled on top.
So, to sum up, if you want the equivalent of a Jamie Oliver everything-in-one-pan sort of meal, you have found it. It’s finger-licking quality with good home grown meat and veggies plus a grating of cheese. Such a thing is hard to achieve so credit to those concerned. It’s the sort of comfort food you’re happy to come home to, but not up there for a gourmet night out or a revelatory culinary experience.
‘Nuff said. There’s already at least 6 pages of “reviews”, posted well before it finished airing!
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Overhyped - Nothing New, Old Plot in New Packaging
Just another K-drama with complicated love-story amidst power-struggling conglomerate family, enemies from past & present, case of terminal illness, amnesia, accidents at the crucial point - finally happy ending with endless promises of everlasting love! The drama is the usual tried & tested K-drama formula that we have known in countless other stories, just executed with fresh casting. The lead pair & marketing efforts make this drama popular, in my humble opinion - which I respect & feel which is what made me take note & watch it. But sadly neither the story nor the characters had any depth for it to remain memorable or call it a drama worth the hype it has created.PROS:
• Pace: Easy to follow storyline, but can be seen as sluggish.
• Good cinematography & OST (especially: Crush's Love You with all My Heart)
CONS:
• Nothing new/memorable/worth rewatching as hyped (Please see below to know what is "memorable" imo)
• Superficial acting:
They have casted such talented artists but they are doing the bare minimum. None of them resonated with me as the character lacked depth, hence did not make me feel the emotions they were out to portray (except for the villain and Hae-In's brother but that was so little). Going around in social media, that everyone's been crying so much seeing the lead pair - it did not work for me. I have seen men crying onscreen, in fact this is one of the best things I applaud K-dramas for - letting the men show emotions. This is one my first drama of the ML - he's good at the whole puppy eyes vibe and cute thing - but his tears really felt fake. The only point where I almost teared up was for the ending of the grandfather (chairman of Queen group).
OVERALL:
This drama has the same old ingredients with different packaging. There is nothing in this drama, that I will quote today or 10 years later. It is a good-to-average drama, if you don't watch it, you are not missing anything in terms of remarkable work in K-drama universe. My rating is still pretty basis the mechanism I have tried building, see it here: https://kisskh.at/profile/omo-omo-omo)
WHAT I MEAN BY "MEMORABLE" DRAMA:
Read the lines below, as soon as you read it - the visual will pop up in your head, quite vividly. That's what I call the power of a good drama.
1. "Kim Bok Joo is used as shield by Jung Joon Hyeong" - Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo
2. "Let's go to the Playstore" - Goblin
3. "Gwenchana Gwenchana" - Welcome to Waikiki
4. "Samantha and Rachel" - Business Proposal
5. "All Handsome Men are my Oppas" - Kill Me, Heal Me
6. "Red Light, Green Light (Mugunghwa kkoci pieot seumnida)" - Squid Games
Then there are some shows that I cannot even say one thing cause the whole drama is iconic and a trendsetter:
Boys over Flowers, Coffee Prince, Signal, Move to Heaven, Mr Queen, Misaeng, Strong Woman Do Bong Soon etc.
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UNREALISTIC & ILLOGICAL
I am sorry but the only thing that bothers me is the unrealistic story telling and the illogical out of nowhere events..first, am i dumb or? how could she have a brain tumor removed and still look fine after surgery, no bandages no stitches no shaved hair ???! cmooon
also why would she trust Eung Seong? she could just google her name and a ton of articles will pop out of how she still loved her ex-husband and.. THE PRESS CONFERENCE !! It was on national tv and she publicly said that EungSeong threatened her like cmooon ugh
watching the last episodes feels like homework.. just so i can finish the drama :(
the main leads are the only thing that gives me patience haha
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best drama of 2024
The series beautifully captures the essence of human emotions, weaving a narrative that resonates with viewers on a profound level. The show evokes tears of both sorrow and joy, immersing audiences in a world where love, pain, and redemption intertwine. The actors deliver performances filled with genuine emotion. It's a masterpiece that leaves a lasting impact, reminding us of the power of empathy, forgiveness and love.If someone asked me the definition of love, I would say Queen of tears.
I cried until the end of the episode. It's perfect, it's beautiful, this drama is a gem.
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Justice for Kim SaeRon
He is ruined the tv show . I never watch again this kdramaWhoever supports this pedophile, may he perish with him.
Justice for Kim SaeRon rest in peace beautiful angel :(
JUSTICE FOR KIM SAE RON
Go to Hell Kim Soo Hyun.. Monster,…..
JUSTICE FOR KIM SAE RON JUSTICE FOR KIM SAE RON JUSTICE FOR KIM SAE RON JUSTICE FOR KIM SAE RON JUSTICE FOR KIM SAE RON JUSTICE FOR KIM SAE RON JUSTICE FOR KIM SAE RON JUSTICE FOR KIM SAE RON JUSTICE FOR KIM SAE RON JUSTICE FOR KIM SAE RON JUSTICE FOR KIM SAE RON JUSTICE FOR KIM SAE RON JUSTICE FOR KIM SAE RON JUSTICE FOR KIM SAE RON JUSTICE FOR KIM SAE RON JUSTICE FOR KIM SAE RON JUSTICE FOR KIM SAE RON JUSTICE FOR KIM SAE RON JUSTICE FOR KIM SAE RON JUSTICE FOR KIM SAE RON
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IT'S IN MY TOP TEN RIGHT NOW
I need to go and calm down myself after reading a few reviews and now Im gonna try to make a good one with my poor writting skills.So, even though a lot of people it's calling this drama overhyped, overrated, boring, lack of spark, a flat plot and other adjectives and trying to explain their opinion of why they gave them like 5 stars and even though I know their explanations are completely valid, I must mark them as a biased ones and it's not because I put this drama in my top 2, replacing Goblin it's because I genuinely like it.
First of all, I didn't like this drama at the beginning, just like ton of people in comments say, I stop watching it by episode 2, but I gave it a second chance, so I realize the two fisrt episodes are so slow and lack of emotion, I mean a marriage going though a crisis and the wife being diagnosed with a terminal ill, that was not for me, but after watching a few spoilers of the next episodes I decided to watching again with an open mind this time and OMG, was the best decision I made. I dare to say people who are criticism in comments are the ones who never try to stop criticism the drama.
Even if the storytelling was a little... ¿creative? Its what dramas usually are, very full of fantasy, like you all are mad because the plot wasn't what you were expecting so im gonna explain a bit of my opinions.
First of all, I gotta admit that i wasn't engaged to the drama at the beginning until up to episode 3, but after that, I was sooo engaged and waiting for it every weekend.
I guess I like the kind of dramas where there are a lot of characters and all of them support to each other just lik this drama is.
The plot was good, but it left a lot of things whitout answer, like who was secretary Nam's husband or how many children the main leaders has or if Baek Hyunwoo's sister meet her husband. I would like we would have this answers, but we just can imagine this, just like we do in real life, there are things for what we never got answer.
The characters were so good, a good love story we don't usually have in dramaland and if there where hole plots is because life is like that.
The music I've always said that a good drama must have a very good OST and this one has it. The OST was as good as Goblin, CLOY and DOTS which are my favorite dramas of all time.
The acting was SO GOOD TOO. To be honest I don't have words right now cause I've just finished the whole thing and I'm sensitive because if there is one thing that I dont like about it, was the ending, I don't find necessary that they showed us their death, 'cause for me they ended up dying in 2074, first her and then him. Well that's all I got to say. But I really love this drama, for the laughs and for tears it mades me tear up.
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Freaking Ice queen and her Plastic tears
honestly, this show left me wondering why it has so much hype in the first place.it delivered nothing of the sort. The entire plot was surrounded by a failed attempt to capture the boring family dynamics and romance which is entangled in melodrama and cliches. The fancy lead couple felt more awkward than emotionally connected. till episode 12 i actually felt no couple(married) vibes through them.. after that it was all wrapped around the tragic memory loss plot that gave that barely there true love feel to it.Rn i am so bored to even write this review so you can fathom the dept of my disappointment in this show .. anyways..
the narrative is so overwhelmed by unnecessary melodrama, meanwhile the scenes where rather strong emotions were needed, the reactions felt flat and dull. the pace of the plot was snail sped too much content and time was wasted on things which were adding no concrete substance to the story ..for example ML's father's scenes about his election campaign were extremely stupid and forced funny.
Not only this but There were literally way too many characters and side stories, making the whole thing feel messy and hard to follow. Hong Hae In (played by Kim Ji Won) finds herself caught in a whirlwind of health problems and family betrayals, which should be touching, but instead, it’s a mess of unneeded drama. first she wanted surgery to escape death then she started overreacting as soon as she heard of the potential memory loss after treatment which was so unrealistic .. i mean come on .. anyone will prioritize life over memory cause if you live you can rebuilt those memories ..but if you die memories die with you .. her character remains so damn irritating till the last min ..like she literally gives no straight answer to any question/statement no matter how serious the matter or feelings are involved she always answers in an 'as if i care' roundabout manner ... i felt even more bad for kim soo hyun , his character was so weak and unlikeable in the first half of the show and the second half was so packed with melodrama that there wasnt much for him to do other than using tear drops. his character kind of lost its spirit in all the chaos and mess. Well ..to be honest this screenwriting did no justice to his talent as an outstanding actor.
Background music was possibly the best thing ... Secondly the wordrobe ..may be not the best but still good ( IMO judge from hell has best wordrobe and styling so far)
in the end i am still not convinced by the level of marketing they did to promote this show .. or may be they knew the show is lacking at good writing so atleast lets promote it good.
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Unfortunately not really good
This is one of my most awaited drama. I have been following Kim Soo Hyun and Kim Ji Won for a while.The premise was very intriguing and the first few episodes were very promising. I thought this was going to be a slice of life drama, but it turns out to be makjang. The conflicts wete acceptable, felt like an old type of kdrama, but the resolution of conflict was kinda slow. As more episodes went by, some plots and scenes do not make any sense. The only thing that is saving the drama is the acting of the actors.
Kim Soo Hyun and Kim Ji Won delivered amazing performances and visuals. They both acted with their eyes. Park Sung Hoon also delivered, it's hard not to curse him when Yoon Eun Song behaves like a mad man.
Osts are good too and cinematography also helped. It's just very unfortunate that the plot was kinda outdated and annoying considering we have a group of wonderful and skilled actors right here.
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Overhyped
Ok firstly I wanna say this is no hate to the actors because they are actually so lovely and never fail to impress me I was just generally not happy with the storyline of this drama. I kept seeing shorts and edits on my fyp and I was so excited id looked at this website and clearly some were not impressed but I gave it a go anyway and I wish that id listened to those who wrote a review because this drama had wasted potential. There could hv been a simple good old business plot with a few twists and it would hv been perf but nah there was like fifty twists and continuous lack of communication between Hae In and Hyun Woo. They hv there good moments but there’s not enough to call it that binge worthy type moment.I’ll list out pos and negs if it makes it better:)
Pos:
The family on both sides were very understanding the fl fam yes ofc less but at the end they were generally lovely
The humour was quite good but I wouldn’t say madly enough to call the drama a comedy
Neg:
Too much twists the inside relationship of the chairman’s gf and the second ml was annoying af the drama didn’t need that further irritation.
Second male lead was too much like usually a second ml is the jealous and wants to get her type but then eventually realises his wrongs but nahhh this dude kept at it with the absolute worst methods (spoil here sorry using her memory loss to his benefit and attempting to remove Hyun Woo out of the pic) it’s vile and annoying and honestly he fr had a death wish it pissed me off so bad.
Big time lack of communication and deception both developed feelings and neither was willing to say and when it came to the ml he was so focused on wanting to divorce her he forgot everything good which would actually make them perf together and he deceived her with the whole lovey and care mood cz he knew she was dying eventually and when she found out he was upset and just spat out everything basically he told her how awful she is etc without realising her significant change in behaviour which I found was a more lovable side that I was reluctant to let go off
Overall don’t watch it there’s so many other good dramas there so dont bother with this one
I really do hope that the two actors get a chance with each other again because although the storyline was awful they worked very well together and had there been more romance and connection im sure the chemistry would shine through more:)
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