Branding in Seongsu (2024)

Kim Ji Eun and Park Solomon's drama is a breath of fresh air in this cliche trope of Body Swapping

The show from start to end is engaging, chaotic, mysterious, humorous and even dark at some points making the viewers curious on what will happen next. This isn't you cliche romantic stuff where the leads swap their bodies and fall in love later on but more about two extremely opposite people with each having their own secrets, motives and ambitions.

FL's character isn't some damsel in distress but one strong, cold, bossy, ruthless and arrogant wolf who is ready to go through hell and even put others through it to get the job done. ML's character is a loud, chaotic sometimes childish guy who works under the FL and often faces the brunt of her actions. Both of their arcs end up getting interconnected with each learning to work with the Swap and at the same time going ahead to achieve their own motives.

The best part of the drama is that romance isn't forced down the throat of viewers but is kept subtle while keeping the main focus on the mystery and thrill factor of the show.

The cast especially the leads have nailed their roles. Both did justice to their own and each other's characters too. I would say it is a must watch if you are looking for something new.

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WAY too many episodes!!

Just my own personal opinion, but this show was hard for me to finish. The writer should get some kind of award for making a show with the most unlikeable characters in it. I understand that there need to be some people that we don't like in order to provide some tension and move the story along - but when that includes the lead characters, it's a problem. I couldn't root for the leads. I couldn't care about what happened to anyone. There was too much backstabbing, too much hate, too many antagonists.

The story line itself was a meandering mess. It moved one way, then it went in another direction, then decided to go into a yet another direction. Was it a mystery? A revenge story? A comedy? The body swap was messily done, and much too often. I didn't feel that the actors were able to differentiate enough when they were inhabited by the other person. To me, there is a difference between a strong FL and a B****. She definitely fell in the latter category. Once she changed a little, it was too little too late.

As for the romantic relationship, I will say that the kisses were technically well done, but I didn't feel chemistry between them. They were too cold to each other for entirely too long. Bring in the revenge factor and that makes it even worse.

One more thing, since the writing didn't work for me, I found myself inordinately focused on the wardrobe. So many short, short skirts, which seemed odd since they were always on that giant stairway. People were always looking up at the people on the stairs or the people standing on the second floor - short skirts don't work in this instance. They put the FL in a number of strange outfits. I hated the boxy, oversized, mannish suits they had her wear, as well as the patterned sweaters, belts, multilayers she wore when she was inhabited by the ML. Lomon in a suit, however, can never be a bad thing. Then, the final thing we see is him walking toward her in the most ridiculous shirt/jacket I think I've ever seen.

Not that it was ALL bad -
1) Again, technically good kisses.
2) Shirtless Lomon in episode 8.
3) The team that worked in the basement was somewhat entertaining.
4) Lomon in a well-tailored suit.

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Breathes new life to a familiar trope. excellent acting, strong protagonists

STORY: it's a perfectly mix of a romcom, thriller/mystery, office drama and body swapping. our badass but sometimes morally grey heroine is killed but wakes up in the body of heart-of-gold entry level boy, who has complicates feelings for her. together, in alternating body formations, they try to find who at work would benefit from her dying and why are they switching bodies.

ACTING: its strong suit! it's amazing how perfectly the two protagonsists act in their body AND in the other one's, you can immediately tell if it's the real Seun Ho or her in his body. the style, the mannerisms, the form of speech changes completely and it's fascinating to watch! plus Lomon is better where he's playing her.

THE ONE BAD THING: i can't believe i'm saying this in 2024, but there's homophobia. there's a gay man in a minor role who's demoted, contantly ridiculed for his sexuality and his style, is presented a an annoying caricature and is only accepted when they use him to turn profit for the branding company. disgusting. just because he's not getting attacked doesn't mean the show doesn't look down on him. do better, korea. hence my 9.5 instead of a perfect 10 rating

CONCLUSION: watch it for the pleasure of being surprised and amused.

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hmm I thought it will be more fun?

Went into this drama thinking it will be a fun casual drama but was shocked to find out there was a crime plot involved. This was actually interesting and it started out well. There was a lot of potential until coincidentally they made every suspicious person a suspect (you will understand this if u have reached this part).

The portion on the body switches was interesting and I thought it will be the reason for character development in the leads. The female lead was a strong individual who was strong headed and fierce and did not really show compassion for others. However, the male lead was the complete opposite. Although the male lead has a sudden change in personality because of something, there was no change made to the female character....until the ML turned on her...

What I liked about the plot will be the marketing strategies and ideas they came up with to establish an unknown brand. It was a new field that we dont see very often in kdramas.

Overall, this will not be a show I will rewatch as the chemistry between the leads felt in the earlier episodes was all lost towards the end...

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A villain to hate and love

NOTE: there's no real spoiler in the sense that I'm not commenting on any specific scenes that give away plot surprises/twists, but the character of the FL is so different and surprising, that that in itself, feels like a spoiler to me.

As of this writing, I've seen as many episodes as have been aired on viki, and eagerly await for more.

The thing is, I started and stopped in the middle of episode 2 because the FL's looks are jarring as is her character.

Then, for the lack of anything else that interested me, I picked it up again and started to "get" it.

So far, the FL, is really gonna be the one to hate, or love, or both, or neither. I know that sounds so contradictory, but I totally went through it all: not really caring for her in the beginning cuz I couldn't be bothered to invest any interest in her; then I really disliked her because her morals are so much in the gutter; and now, I totally love her extreme villainy, the kind you see all the time from ugly, mean, manipulative, sadistic men, and I mean ugly in the sense that they — and she — are so ugly to their core that hell is not punishment enough for the crimes of humanity they perpetrate. It's actually hard to explain but better to experience yourself.

This is the first time I've seen such a portrayal from a woman. Sure, there's lots of villainous women, but it's the usual backstabbing, scheming types of cliches. The FL here is so in your face, unapologetically bad, you start respecting her choices; well at least I do. Plus, she sorts of "humanizes" her villainy in her version of a playful, devil-may-care "playboy" type of character (just sooo like what guys do in dramas).

Now I don't know if I'm just hoping that deep down, she knows what she's doing is despicably bad, and that there's a grand plan behind her shenanigans, or that at some point she's going to be as glorious in her own special way to right the wrongs she's currently so ingloriously perpetrating.

The ML is not bad. He's the eye candy, but I like it that he doesn't lose his identity and his diametrically opposed views to the FL. In the first 3 eps that have aired so far, we get a hint of them battling it out and it's not in the senseless cliched way you might see in drama; it feels more authentic so looking forward to see what happens next.

In any case, so far, so good.

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DRAMA NI BEST GAIS. SILA LAYAN. AKU TAK EXPECT AKU DAPAT FOLLOW UP CERITA ni dari episod 1 sampailah habis. Total 24 eps, tak sampai 30 minit pun. So boleh dikirakan ada 12 eps jee. Simple. Plot tak berterabur. Cuma plot twist halamak aku tak sangka pulak dia ekkkk. And ofccc first plot twist got me like HAAAAAAA??? REALLYYYY? Scene paling aku suka is mereka tukar roh tu. Pandai betul heroin bawa watak Eunho dlm diri diaaaa. SOO COMELL! Aku suka drama ni. Tak expect yeee aku akan suka drama ni sebab eps 1-5 buatkan aku rasa nak give up and drop. kalau nak tgk, boleh jeeeeee. utk luangkan masa anda hihii.

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O melhor dorama de todos os tempos

Estamos falando de uma historia que quebra paradigmas sobre os papéis de gênero na sociedade atual, é a narrativa de uma diretora executiva que é constantemente subestimada, ameaçada, mal compreendida e perseguida por muitas pessoas por conta de ser uma mulher no poder. A cada desafio ou ameaça vencida pela Kang Na Eon, que é extremamente sagaz e corajosa, ela sai mais fortalecida- impossível não torcer por ela e se inspirar em sua tenacidade. Fala-se muito sobre a ética de trabalho quando se trata de marketing e design de marca, até aonde o dinheiro consegue mascarar o lobo vestido de cordeiro? O ator Lomon é outra grande estrela desse dorama, está em ascensão, é uma jovem estrela que ainda vai dar muito o que falar por causa de seu talento (e de ser lindo! xD) . A trama é recheada de mistérios do passado do casal principal, um suspense investigativo de muita surpresa, é cheio de reviravoltas, te surpreende de muitas formas por ser imprevisível, nos personagens, em suas ações e o que os motiva. E a representatividade de trazer a comunidade LGBTQ+ e de mulheres mais velhas à tona? É impecável . Meu top 1 de doramas preferidos

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Il mérite mieux : Branding in Seongsu, une perle ignorée...

Il y a des dramas qui passent sous le radar, injustement. "Branding in Seongsu" en fait partie... Et franchement ? C’est un vrai coup de cœur pour moi ❤️

Dès le début, le spitch peut sembler décalé (un échange de corps dans le monde du travail ? 🤔), mais c’est justement ce twist original qui donne à ce drama une saveur à part. Loin d’être juste une comédie légère, il mélange humour, critique sociale et romance avec une fluidité rare 🎯

La dynamique entre les deux leads est incroyable : Kim Ji-eun est brillante dans le rôle d’une boss ultra stricte mais profondément humaine, et Lomon (Solomon)… que dire sinon qu’il est époustouflant 🤩 Peu importe le corps qu’il incarne, il transmet parfaitement les émotions, les doutes, et l’évolution de son personnage. C’est une vraie masterclass de jeu ! 🎭🔥👌🏻

🌀 Le switch de corps, loin d’être juste un ressort comique, il sert ici à explorer les rôles de genre, les dynamiques de pouvoir au travail et même la manière dont on perçoit l’autre. Et le tout est traité avec finesse, sans lourdeur ni clichés inutiles 👍🏻

Le drama est court. Oui, il va droit au but. Mais c’est aussi ce qui fait sa force selon moi : chaque épisode a un rythme efficace, sans remplissage inutile. Pas un moment d’ennui, pas une scène de trop, juste du contenu bien ficelé et des personnages qui évoluent vite mais justement 👍🏻🫰🏻

Et puis… l’alchimie entre les acteurs, c’est la cerise sur le gâteau 😏💞 Il y a cette tension subtile, cette curiosité mutuelle, ce respect grandissant, le genre de dynamique qui fait fondre sans même qu'on s’en rende compte 🫠😅

Pour résumé, Pour ça a été un drama frais, intelligent, drôle et touchant, qui mérite bien plus de reconnaissance. Il sort des sentiers battus, et c’est exactement pour ça qu’il mérite d’être vu. Si vous avez été refroidi(es) par sa note... laissez-lui une chance, vous pourriez être très agréablement surpris(e) ! 💫✌🏻🫶🏻

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Un bel thriller romantico!

Un dramma che score velocemente con una storia abbastanza intrigante tra thriller e romanticismo con un po' di fantasy che non guasta.
La storia racconta di una sprezzante e forte donna che vuole raggiungere i suoi obiettivi e che sembra non guardi in faccia nessuno, ma poi c'è un risvolto diverso e si vedrà la sua vera natura. Poi c'è lui che sembra un semplice ragazzo imbranato ma così non sarà.La storia si svolge tra misteri e un pizzico di fantasy con scambio di anime e tutto ciò che comporta.
I risvolti thriller tiene incollati allo schermo e la storia romantica è adorabile.
Un dramma un po' insolito ma davvero carino!

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é um bom drama.

Eu amei os 2 atores principais, acho que funcionaram muito bem, foi um kdrama caloroso, fofo e divetido, pude maratonar todos os episódios numa madrugada e terminar pela manhã. Apesar dos pontos baixos no roteiro com relação aos personagens secundários que são mal resolvidos a história consegue ser divertida principalmente quando os dois personagens principais entram em cena. Eu recomendo a todos que assistam, deem risadas.
Os episódios iniciais são um pouco chatos pois todos nós viemos para ver os dois fazerem a troca de corpo, mas assim que essa parte começa o kdrama vai ganhando mais vida, parece que ele só iniciou realmente ali. Os episódios são curtos em duração, mas eu não senti que estava indo rápido demais, é verdade que muitas cenas tiveram que ser modificadas para valorizar esses 24 episódios, mas creio que a trama exigia que fossem 16, tinha muita subtrama. Após o inicio da metade do drama ele melhora, mas indo pro final parece ter uma caída. No entanto vale muito apena que você assista.

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