ltspada

I wanted more romance. It tap,danced around

9/10 is my rating. This is a 2022 South Korean workplace romance drama with 16, 62-76 minute episodes.

First, I provide a unique synopsis then review. I provide the synopsis because I find, when I’m looking for a show to watch, some of the synopses do not describe the series very well. So, unique synopsis is intended to provide another perspective. If you aren’t interested in the synopsis scroll down, the review is labeled.

Synopsis

On Ma-eum (Kim Se-jeong) is ready to move on to other opportunities after being injured during her quest toward Olympic glory in Judo. When Ma-eum decides to chart another path pursuing her dream job as a webtoon editor, she must hide it from her Judo coach father On Gi-bong (Ko Chang-seok). Ma-eum’s father thought they were just waiting for the injury to heal so she could get back to Judo. Having put all of of her energy into getting the job of her dreams she is not about to return to Judi which had taken such a tremendous toll on her body. But Ma-eum is facing a tremendous challenge as a webtoon editor as she doesn’t have traditional qualifications. But the determined young woman is not about to give up on her dream that easy. Her career in Webtoon creation could be short-lived though because the branch she works for is part of a larger company that is about to eliminate the webtoon platform as it is losing money. She got her chance because the leader of the branch took a liking to Ma-eum when she worked security and was willing to take a chance on her as a trainee web editor. So it is unlikely if this branch goes down that she could get another job with another webtoon company. But, when she first starts out, the fact that Ma-eun is a super fan of webtoons means she has to scale herself back from fan girling on all of the clients/authors they work with. Her over enthusiasm at first causes her mentor, Seok Ji-hyung (Choi Daniel) to scold her to be more professional and leave her own interest out of her interactions. But what seems to be a weakness at first turns out to be a strength in that she understands the authors on a deeper level. In fact, Ma-eun’s particular fan girl mojo just might be what was needed to help save the webtoon branch. Ma-eun’s wins over all the other project managers and editors with her magnanimous, personality, and boundless energy. Goo Jun-yeong (Nam Yoon-su) was hired at the same time as Ma-eum with outstanding credentials and at first cannot understand how Ma-eun is so successful while he is struggling. That is until he himself starts to fall for her charms. Can one outstanding employee save the drowning webtoon branch? Will the two opposite in personality newbies find the other half in each other?

Review

I enjoyed this start to finish even though it was not fully what I expected. I thought it would be more focused on the romance with the Webtoon platform as a backdrop, but it is actually the other way around. In terms of slice of life, it does an above average job of that. You get a deep look at how Webtoon platforms identify, support, develop and manage the artists they work with. But, if you are after a romance, you will get some of it with this but not for those of us that want the happily ever after full suite. There is a love triangle. Lots of romantic tension. But I see where other reviewers said it is like they left it open for a second season on some of those plot points. I am glad I watched it, feel like I know more about the making of the sausage with Webtoons and would recommend it to others. I might watch it again but only if someone else had it on.

Spoilers

I liked learning more about the rigors in the Webtoon world. The artists do really become slaves to their art and are producing a product. My daughter is an award-winning artist and had dabbled with online comics. She had a lot of interest in her work, so I asked her why she did not more actively pursue that to make money. I thought she could enter some contests and see if she could get signed or whatever. She told me that it is basically an artist mill. That it becomes miserable for the artists. This helped me to see a little more what she was talking about. I could see where the art would lose its joy.

I know it's a cultural, but it really bothered me that that the other newbie, Jun-yeong blamed all of the long timer Webtoon colleagues at NEON for his sister's accidental death. Yes, they let her go when she was a contractor but when a business is basically ready to go bankrupt or get bought out, contract positions are always the first to go. They did not do anything unusual. The loose association was she was out on the road early because she no longer had the Webtoon job, but it is not fair to blame others for that accident. So, that was a little frustrating. But I find it to be frequent in Korean dramas so there must be something to that indirect blame.

They danced around the romance so much, as someone who is in need of romance, I found it frustrating. She seemed to have a lot of romantic tension with the Senior Editor (her superior). I am glad they did not go that route because there felt like a huge age gap just in terms of where they were at maturity wise in the scheme of life. But, he definitely liked her like that and wound up letting go when he realized how much PD Goo liked her and that she seemed to like him back (even though she was not admitting it to herself). Which is why the soft ending with them was so frustrating. He finally confessed and she is thinking about it and they just leave it there. It was a very soft, unfinished ending to their story.

There was also the assistant web artist who really was very good and with some guidance could likely have made it. But he quit after ten years, is still around helping everyone out, but they don't do anything to advance him. I was disappointed we didn't get to see him finally make it. He said he had another dream, but we didn't even get to know what that was.



#TodaysWebtoon #KimJeSeong #ChoiDaniel #KoChangSeok #NamYoonSu

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Not a huge fan of the time travel trope but I liked this one

9/10 is my rating. This is a 2012 South Korean time travel, historic romantic drama with 16, 45-53 minute episodes. Also known under the title “Queen In-hyun’s Man”.



First, I provide a unique synopsis then review. I provide the synopsis because I find, when I’m looking for a show to watch, some of the synopsis describe the series very well. So the unique synopsis is intended to provid another perspective. If you aren’t interested in the synopsis scroll down, the review is labeled.



Synopsis



Choi Hee-jin (Yoo In-na) is a struggling actress just looking for her first big break. Little does she know her now famous ex, Han Dong-min (Kim Jin-woo) tipped the scales in the favor of her getting the role so she would rise to a level of fame where it would be acceptable for him to date her again. He is playing the King in the historical drama they are in. Fate is playing some tricks as the role she is playing, Queen In-hyun, ties back in time to a political situation time traveler Kim Bung-do (Ji Hyun-woo) was involved in. Bung-do is in possession of a mysterious talisman that gives him the ability to travel back and forth through 300 years from the Josean Dynasty. Ironically, in the past, the real Queen was deposed by a scheming concubine and Bung-do is determined she return to her rightful place. Hee-jin falls in love with the noble-born scholar and he with her and the two must navigate their feelings and work through the political intrigue of the past that has strange ties with the modern day. Will a love that has so many barriers even be possible?



Review

This one is classic. It comes up top rated on so many review lists as it has all the classic elements of a great time travel, historic romance, If you are a fan of romance then this is definitely one to include in your watchlist. It is also a great addition to time travel. It has a historical component but it does go back and forth so there is a significant amount of modern time in it too. Loved it. Would rewatch.



Spoilers



It could be sad at times. Not being able to get back to her, forgetting each other, friends dying, there were many sad events. But that is often the case with historical as so many messed up things happen in ancient politics. I thought his friend who gave him the talisman, Yoon-Wol (Jin Ye-sol) was extremely sad and wish he had saved her instead.



At first, I had serious second lead syndrome with Hee-jin”s ex Hang Dong-min (Kim Jin-woo). I felt sorry for him and thought wow they were probably really good together before. I did not think she should take him back though because he cheated and had all signs of going it again [like his flirtation with the other one playing Queen, Yoon Na-Jung (Park Young-rin)]. I thought he was funny at first and he was helping her in her career so that was a positive. But then when there was that time lapse where they all got amnesia and they had gotten back together in that timeline. He was very demanding and pushy and he showed how he really was. When she just couldn’t stay n the relationship, because of her increasing memories/dreams of Bung-do and broke it off with Dong-min, he was a violent jerk about it. I completely quit liking him at that point and I wasn’t feeling sorry for him at all. Instead I was thinking wow girl you really dodged a bullet.



I found her friend and manager Jo Soo-kyung (Ga Deuk-hee) to be extremely annoying. I get that she was her manager and Hee-jin acted like a hormonal teenage girl a lot but she could be overly non-supportive towards Hee-jin. I was really annoyed when she was pushing her at Dong-min purely for the benefit of her career, she did not act as a friend should act much at all.



#TheQueenandI #QueenInHyunsMan #YooInNa #JiHyunWoo #KimJinWoo #GaDeukHee. #ParkYoungRin JinYeSol

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A lbit of “Good Morning Call” vibes in the cold way ML sometimes interacts with FL

8.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2015 South Korean romance drama with 16, ~60 minute episodes.

First I provide a unique synopsis then review. I provide a synopsis as many series do not have a descriptive enough synopsis to really tell you what it is about to help decide to watch or not. The review is labeled as such so you can scroll to that if not interested in synopsis.

Synopsis

Lee Jung-joo (Kang So ra) and Baek Gun-woo (Yoo Yeon seok) met when they were 19, on their shared birthday, when Jung joo erroneously thought Gun woo was her twin. This established a connection between the two who jokingly agreed that she would go on to be cool and he would go from the golden boy to straying from the path. If they met in the future there was a joke about them falling for each other. Things did not follow a glittery path for Jung joo and she finds herself back on Jeju aIsland, where they first met after losing her house, her boyfriend and her job. Baek Gun-woo is a chef at the restaurant he owns “Warm and Cozy” which is adjacent to the fallen down house Jung goo was straddled with. Fate continually throws the two together and the small spark that ignited all those years before develops into love.


Review

It is a typical romance of about a decade ago. In that era, the female lead character often puts up with a lot more coldness and indifference and still comes back for more. If you put it in that context, this is a cute and heart warming romance.

Spoilers

I comtinually had to remind myself of the era as she took a lot from him as he showed continual preference for a woman that treated him horribly. At one point he said he knew the woman he had bought the restaurant for was not a very nice person. He said he liked her because she told him his mom was nit bad in the way she was with men. I thought the girl he liked was a complete jerk and loved it when the female lead told her to quit lying and pushed her out of the room. She never grew as a character and was always just an awful, lying, scheming, good digging brat.

The male lead’s father taking the rap for the mother’s crime was sad. It was sad because the father and son never reunited.Which was pointless.

It ended well. With them together, i felt like the situation with the dad was not well wrapped up but it was a minor point.

#WarmandCozy. #KangSoRa #YooYeonSeok

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Heart warming family drama with multiple feel good light romances

9/10 is my rating. This is a 2024 South Korean coming of age family romance drama with 16, 60-70 minute episodes.

First I provide a unique synopsis then review

Synopsis

Yoon Jeong-jae (Choi Won-young) is a widower who is raising his young daughter, Yoon Ju-won (Jung Chae-yeon) by himself. He owns and operates a noodle shop to support them both and often provides food to friends and neighbors as a way to show he cares. Because of his kind nature kids are drawn to him as the perfect father figure. He knows that his precious daughter, Ju won, wishes to have a sibling, particularly a brother. The perfect oppa candidate moves in upstairs and the lively and engaging Ju won sets out to win him over as her brother like figure. But the young boy, Kim San-ha (Hwang In-youp) is leading a tragic life with parents who always fight, his mother who leaves, and a sister who died too young. Still Ju won's bubbly determination wears him down and he becomes a regular at Ju won's house. When San-ha's mother leaves, his father, Kim Dae-wook (Choi Moo Sung) is also drawn into the warm family environment Jeong jae provides. Jeong-jae is such an excellent father figure he winds up taking in the child, Kang Hae-jun (Bae Hyun sung) who was also abandoned by has mother and who he only knew of through a brief blind date encounter with his mother. This group forms a family of their own choosing who is all knitted together by Ju won who doesn't allow any of the to feel left out. This is a heart warming story of people who form a strong bond despite many of them not being blood related.

Review

This is a very heartwarming family drama. I watched the Chinese version, Go Ahead, first, and it was an excellent series, but I think the Korean version subtly improved upon it. I believe you could watch either version and still get the same basic story. I liked it enough that I fully enjoyed watching both versions. If you like family dramas, slice-of-life themes, adoption or fostering stories, or if you're just a fan of romance anytime, I highly recommend this one. It's well-acted, with great chemistry between the leads, and everything wraps up nicely.

Spoilers

I liked that the South Korean version didn't focus as much on the time the male lead (ML) character spent with his abusive mother. What I didn't like about either version, though, was the concept that the mother deserved any level of forgiveness just because she was sad or because she was his mother. What she did to him was abuse. With some training in psychology, her behavior closely resembles Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). The ML's relationship with his mother was characteristic of a relationship with someone who has BPD-nothing was ever calm. On one hand, she adored him so much that she wanted him around her to the point of desperation, but she was always accusing him of things, getting angry with him for things that weren't even his fault, and being jealous of every relationship he had. She bullied him and manipulated him to stay with her. Many people with BPD have a Jekyll and Hyde personality, where they seem to have two distinct personalities. But with BPD, they flow between these personalities throughout the day. It is part of their personality to be so toxic and volatile. Having dealt with someone with this type of personality, I can say they are extremely hard to be around. I don't think their actions are any more excusable than those of a sociopath. So, I wasn't a fan of the fact that the story wanted us to accept and forgive her actions.

The romance was very believable. It was clear that the male lead never fully saw her as a sister, as he resisted whenever she brought up the idea of changing their names to make them the same. They weren't biologically related, so I thought their relationship was perfectly fine.

I loved the dads. One dad was so nurturing, and the other was a quiet strength. Any kids raised in that environment would thrive. They had all the love and support they would ever need. However, having worked with foster kids, I know they still long for their biological parents. No matter how good the family environment, there is always some level of yearning for biological parents, even if those parents were abusive. It can be heartbreaking, and I thought the series portrayed that well.

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I know I am minority here but I found it boring and filled with unlikable characters

6/10 is my rating. This is a 2021/2022 South Korean coming of age/time gap romance with 16, 60-70 minute episodes.

First I provide a unique synopsis then review.

Synopsis

Choi Ung (Choi Woo-shik) and Kook Yeon-soo (Kim Da-mi) first got to know each other while participating in a docu series in high school featuring the best student and the student with the lowest grades academically. Not hard to imagine they did not get along well which made for some very comedic moments in the series. A decade later we find out they dated for years but suddenly broke up in such a hurtful way they vowed to never see each other again. But one of their close friends becomes a producer with the production company that is still getting traction out of their original docu series. Looking for hit content, the company pressures Kim Ji-ung (Kim Sung-cheol) their producer friend, to get the two back together for a sequel to the hit docu series. But Ji-ung secretly had feelings for Yeon-soo since high school and is reluctant to draw the two back together. Still, he caves to the oressure from his work and talks his friends into participating in the project. Things have changed though as Choi Ung is now a mysterious and successful artist who has fans. Fans such as NJ (Rohn Jeong-eui) a top idol who likes the art “Go-oh” (a secret pseudonym Choi Ung does his art under) creates but also has a crush on the artist. Now that things have changed, and time has passed, will this new project bring the two ex-lovers back together or drive them further apart?


Review

If you like straight drama and slice of life, that doesn’t depict the sunny side to life, you might like this. In fact, I think most of the people that rate this very high would fall into that category. In the other reviews, I read before watching this, I saw a lot of it’s a lot like reality. The characters were well developed. The interactions were real and raw. For me I am not a fan of just straight drama, I like a little bit of comedy at least sprinkled in or at least a plot that has some levity. In general, I did not enjoy this drama. I yeah.found it boring through a lot of it and repetitive, and I wouldn’t rewatch it. None of the characters were compelling because I did not like them except for the actress. It was emotionally heavy and I felt like I was watching people be emotionally abused.

Spoilers

The number one thing I did not like about the show was Yeonsoo was just completely unlikable. The way she treated Choi Ung was emotionally abusive. First there is the Cherrie blossom thing where he wanted to go see the cherry blossoms, but she said she couldn’t find the time. But then she obviously did find the time because she had a pocket full of cherry blossoms and sprinkled it over him like there there’s your cherry blossoms. It was such a demeaning way to show somebody something they had wanted to see, but they tried to spin it like it was a romantic thing. That was a jerk move. Later they have a date day, which I had the sense they hadn’t had in a long time, and she let him think she was going to break up with him the entire day. Yeonsoo led him here and there, never asked him what he wanted to do, just kind of pushed him along. He wasn’t enjoying it because he thought it was a break up date. Then at the end of the day they have this emotional scene where she basically ridicules him for thinking they were gonna break up and then tells him out of the blue that she is in love with him. The level of emotional manipulation in that scene was hard to watch. It was cruel. But she was not the only one in the family that was an emotional abuser. Later in the series, the grandmother, Kang Ja Kyung (Cha Mi Kyung) tells him not to blame Yeonsoo because she was poor, and the grandmother taught her to be the way that she was. Somehow this convinces him that Yeonsoo’s abusive behavior is okay and he not inly accepts her back but practically begs her and says things were his fault. I found that whole thing entirely disturbing from a psychological perspective. Just because you were poor and raised to be mean as a defense mechanism does not mean being an emotional abuser is acceptable. She would even badmouth him to other people when he wasn’t around, never supported him in his art endeavors and always held the thread of break up over his head. That is living on egg shells and it is a typical pattern for a narcissistic emotional abuser. So I never wanted to see them get together. In fact I was happy any time he stood up for himself and pushed her away.

in the beginning, I liked the grandmothe. She had raised her granddaughter and worked so hard to do so and the relationship between her and Yeonsoo started out as something very heartwarming. But later in the series it’s revealed she’s not very nice to a close friend she has to the point where Yeonsoo mentions it and says she should apologize and be nicer But what really made me not like the grandmother when when she was so mean to Choi Ung about making Yeonsoo cry. She did that without knowing any details just assumed he was the villian in the situation even knowing and acknowledginhpg how her granddaughter was. Then she gives him that whole story about Yeonsoo and how he should just understand her because she raised her that way. What?

I did not like Choi Ung’s producer friend, Kim Ji Ung (Kim Sung-Cheol) as he lusted after his friend’s girlfriend not based on some deep connection but simply because he found her pretty. He also took a lot of the very limited affection of Choi Ung’s parents knowingly and yet seemed like he thought he was doing Choi Ung a favor. I wanted him and Yeonsoo to wind up together as they were both sort of crap people.

His manager/friend Gu Eun-ho (Ahn Dong-goo) was a horrible manager. He is obsessed with NJ (Roh Jeong-eui) such that he interferes with Choi Ung and NJ getting together. I wanted to see Choin Ung date NJ. She probably would not have been a long term girlfriend but she would have shown him other possibilities. She thought he was great, loved his art and was always nice to him. Rather than tearing him down she would have bolstered his career.

His parents were confusing. His mother, Lee Yeon-ok (Seo Jeong-yeon) did have the one time she took care of him when he was sick that showed some close emotional ties but that was it. His mother and his father, Choi Ho (Park Won-sang) mostly seemed to like and spend more time with Choi Ung’s friends than with him. They even left his art show early which was weird.

I disliked most of the characters so much I did not care aboit them or anything they were doing. I only liked sweet, talented, sensitive amd emotionally abused Choi Ung and NJ whi was like a breath of fresh air. NJ was the only descent person in Choi Ung’s life and he oassed her over for Yeonsoo. I did not find it credible that not one but two men would be completely onsessed with Yeonsoo.

#OurBelovedSummer #ChoiWooShik. #KimDaMi

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Starts out mildly interesting then devolves into a bore fest

6/10 is my rating. This is a 2021 South Korean romantic comedy drama (includes mystery, thriller, suspense, crime and law elements) with 16, 70 minute episodes.

First I provide a unique synopsis then review



Synopsis



Jo Yeon-joo (Honey Lee) is a slightly corrupt, mafia defeating, prosecutor who finds her life completely transformed after a significant head injury related to a car accident.  Because she has amnesia and doesn't remember who she is, when she is mistaken for her identical twin/doppelgänger, Kang Mi-na (also played by Honey Lee) she just goes with it.  Min-na's personality could not be different she is cold, demure and is the emotionally abused youngest daughter-in-law of a conglomerate group.  Her husband Han Seong-woon (Song Won-seok) married her as she does have ties to another conglomerate family so had the surface pedigree and came with business ties that made it a beneficial arranged marriage.  However, her married family treats her poorly as they believe she is an illegitimate child of her chaebol father.  The family is in for a rude awakening when "Min-na" is no longer demure or easily cowed after her injury.  Her cheating husband finds the new spin on his wife intriguing and starts to show interest in her romantically for the first time even willing to give up his mistress.  But, Seung-wook (Lee Sang-yoon) who was in line as an heir prior to the untimely death of his father, returns from the United States and wants to reclaim Mi-na who was his first love.  The two begin to independently unravel the mystery of the real Mi-na as well as the truth behind other events such as the death of Seung-wook's father.  In the process, Yeon-joo and Seung-wook begin to fall for each other. 



Review



If you are a fan of Honey Lee you might like it just to see her act in a role where she plays two characters and has a lot of action scenes. Like so many other reviewers I found this initially interesting but quickly found the story line to be slow and repetitive. The romance is lost in the fact that he is not interested in her romantically for a large part of the series. Most of the other characters are completely unlikable. I would not recommend this and would not rewatch it.



Spoilers



In the beginning of the series Yeon-joo/Mi-nah rightfully tells her doppelgänger’s family off. It was satisfying when Yeon-joo talked back forceably to Mi-nah’s monstrous mother-in-law, Seo Young-won (Na Young-hee). Mi-nah left and husd largely die to the non stop emotional abuse from the whole family but from the mother-in-law in particular. But, in the latter half she let her get away with her abuse far too often.



There was not a lot of chemistry nor romantic build up between Yeon-joo and Han Seung-wook/Alex Chang because he spent a large part of the series reflecting on, amd pining for Mi-na amd was slow to realize his current feelings for Yeon-joo.



The oldest sister-in-law, Han Seong-hye (Jin Seo-yeon) seemed okay at first but then it turned out she was a snobby psycho. It was disappointing because I thought ine person in that horrible family had been on Mi-na’s side. But no. She turned out to be the worste of the bunch.



It was kind of funny that Mi-Na’s cheating husband, Han Seong-woon (Somg Won-seok) winds up falling for the feisty Yeon-joo to the point he ditches Park So-yi (Park Jeong-hwa) but sad at the same time because he never cared about his actual wife.



The father-in-law, Han Young-sik (Jeon Kuk-hwan), was horrible to Mi-na until she became chairwoman of her family’s conglomerate. Then he was better to her but only because it suited his only very selfish interests.



Usually when there is uninteresting or unlikable main characters, there is at least some redeemable side characters. This one was not even propped up by likable second and side characters.



#OnetheWoman  #HoneyLee  #LeeSangYoon  #LeeHanee  #JinSeoYeon  #LeeWonKeun   #SongWonSeok

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Not a very likable female lead character. Has some unique aspects so worth the watch for that.

7.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2024 South Korean romance drama with 10, 60 minute episodes.

First I provide a unique synopsis then review

Synopsis

This is a story told after the initial romance occurs with the main couple and we, as the viewer, start the story when our Cinderella decides to break up with the man of her dreams.  Ha Yoon-seo (Shin Hyun-been) is practical to a fault. When she rescued her brother and herself from a physically and emotionally abusive environment, she had to grow up and take responsibility at a very young age. She worked long hard hours to put herself and her brother through school and then worked her way up in her career to be a Team Leader/Manager at a major company.  While romance has never been her primary goal in life, she falls in love with a young man on her team, Seo Joo-won (Moon Sang-min), who she at first believes is simply an office worker.  When she finds out her boyfriend of a year and a half is actually the chaebol son of the chairwoman of her company, she decides the best course of action is just to end it.  So when she receives an offer of money from Joo-won's mother Kim Sun-joo (Jin Hee-kyung) to break up with and stay away from her son, Yoon-seo takes it.  The hard knocks of a difficult life have led Yoon-seo to believe there are no fairy tale endings.  Cinderella may be happy up to midnight but what happens later, say 2 AM, when the harsh reality that she was not raised to be a Princess will set in.  But, Joo-won believes in their love and isn't giving up easily. 

Review

I am not a fan of stories told in reverse and their romance was mostly told in flashbacks.  We start with the main part of their romance having already occured.  I could get past that if the story was compelling enough for me to overcome my dislike of stories told in that manner but, for me, this one did not.  A lot of reviewers have the criticism that this drags in spots and I had that experience as well.  Still it is not horrible and I think if you are a fan of the romance genre you would want to watch it.  But, for many, I don't think it would be one to watch again and again.

Spoilers

It ends happy with all the major plot points wrapped up. 

I found Yoon-seo an unlikable character for the majority of the show.  Breaking up with someone in the height of your relationship when everything seems to be going well is very hurtful.  And her "easing out" actually made it worse.  She says later, and I thought it all along, the way she did it had little to do with him and was more so she did not get hurt.  It was odd to have such a tragic character, that had gone through so much emotional hurt, be so cold to everyone around her.  Her push pull behavior was so frustrating.  I don't know how many times I was like just knock it off already.  You are just torturing him and yourself at this point.  Quit being a coward.  It's a relatively short series but I spent a significant portion of it so frustrated with the main character.  It almost made me stop watching it, but I was interested in the second couple enough to continue or I would not have stuck around for the final episodes where it became more interesting again.  My thinking on who she was and what she did completely changed in finding out the details of her childhood.  Knowing the full details of her past explained so much about why she acted as she did.  I would not want a mean mother-in-law if I escaped abuse as a child. I understood her a little more but it wasn't until almost the end of the series. I hoped I would like her more and I did a little but felt frustrated with her to the end when she didn't find any time to help him with the wedding preparations and it hurt his feelings.  She is with someone who is sweet and sensitive and her cold personality would likely continually hurt him.  So it was disappointing that basically she is still doing it. 

While the first half of the series nearly ruined it for me, the last half saved it.  I loved the second couple that had an arranged marriage, initially thought of themselves as business partners but fell in love anyway.  Seo Si-Won (Yoon Park) perfectly played the doting older brother.  His "freedom" in his boxer shorts provided a lot of comedic moments.  It was also amusing that he could be so spot on with his younger brother in terms of how to win Yoon-seo but so clueless in his own life.  There was a point in the series where I looked forward to the parts with Siwon and his wife, Lee Min-Jin (Sojin) far more than I did the main couple. 

I thought the 2nd guy, Leo Seong-Min (Lee Hyun-woo) was the perfect foil for the icy Yoon-seo.  And I loved that they all became friends in the end and that he loved her enough to let go of his chance and help her find her way back to Juwon. 

The character growth that allowed the three Ju-won, Si-won and their mother Sun-joo to come together with the two new family additions, Min-jin and Yun-seo was heart-warming.  And the fact that it turned out to be "Cinderella" who had a hand in weaving them all together was a full circle feel good scenario.

This is a highly flawed series with a weak start and middle but that ends strong enough to save the series a bit.  The late portion of the series is really what makes it worth the watch. 

#CinderellaAt2AM  #ShinHyunBeen  #MoonSangMin  #JinHeeKyung #YoonPark  #Sojin

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Cannot stand alone well (need to watch season 1 first) . Leaves room for a 3rd season

8/10 is my rating. This is a 2024 South Korean Science fiction, Horror, Thriller series with 43-56 minute episodes.

First I provide a Unique synopsis then review.

Synopsis

The first season took place in 1945. Fast forward to 2024 (79 years later) and Yoon Chae-Ok (Han So-Hee) is working with a mysterious group of people who help locate missing persons. She thinks Master Jang (Park Seo-jun) is long departed and kept herself away, while he was alive, because of the creature inside she has barely learned to control. While pirsuing a missing person, Chae-ok (Han So-hee) encounters a man who she, at first thinks is Master Jang but how can that be? He looks exactly as he did 79 years before. But this man Jang Ho-Jae (Park Seo-jun), says he is not Master Jang and does not seem to recognize her at all. They decide to work together on cases since they have some of the same goals.

Review

It is exciting and definitely lets us know what happens with all the major characters and even some of the minor ones. It could not stand very well alone, you need the backstory from the 1st season for many of the events of the first season to make sense. I was not suprised it end with a cliff hanger. Many of the South Korean content that Netflix has does not follow the pattern of one season, sometimes two, that end very neatly. It was something I loved about South Korean series, that they did not drag it on across many seasons. So, there are all the elements there for this to go another season. It was good and they did delve into the romance more in this one. I would not consider it necessarily happy, but one would not expect something like this to be all round happy. If you watched the first season, I highly recommend this second as I feel it does add a lot of depth to the story. I don’t know if I would rewatch it as a lot depends on where the entire series ultimateldy goes and how it all ends up. I have never felt compelled to watch “Game of Thrones” again even though I enjoyed it while I was watching it because it ended so horribly in my opinion. So, I can’t say at this point if I would watch it again or not.

Spoilers

I really like Park Seo-jun as an actor. So I am drawn to things he is in anyway. He has not disappointed in this role. He is heroic and compassionate and yet tough and resolute.

There are so relatively few series like this so it is hard to be overly picky. My main critique is just the Netflix effect where they drag it on and there is no great assurance they will finish the story. It all has to do with how much money they make off it whether we will see the seasons that would finalize the story. Other than that it is very good for what it is. It has that other worldly science fiction and horror element that is more rare for series.

#GyeongseongCreature2 #GyeongseongCreatureTwo #HanSoHee. #ParkSeoJun

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My new favorite crown prince. Once he fell for her he did not waver.

9/10 os my rating. This is a 2016 South Korean coming of age historical romance with 18, 60 minute episodes. It is based in a web novel entitled “Moonlight Drawn by Clouds”.

First I provide a unique synopsis then review.


Synopsis

Crown Prince Lee Yeong (Park Bo-Gum) is awash in palace intrigue as he navigates the dangerous waters of becoming a monarch. His journey is made better with his friendship with Hong Ra-on (Kim Yoo-jung) who serves as one of his few allys and offers loyal friendship. Most servants avoid extensive contact with Lee Yeong as he is mischievious amd has the unpredictable nature of someone whose interest center in music and art. a series of unfortunate events involving debt collectors and being sold into servitude lands Ra-on in the palce seving as a Eunich. Although Ra-on has pretended to be a male her whole life, this turns out to be her most dangerous and complex ruse. As the two start to fall for each other, can Lee Yeong see through Ra-ons guise to discover he is not engaged in a forbidden attraction? Will the reason Ra-on has pretended to be male be what keeps them apart?


Review

This is a must watch for romance fans.  It has that sort of slow burn romance that is so appealing.  One of my favorite tropes is where main guy is hard to win over but once he falls for the girl, that’s it.  You do have to put up with a lot of the typical politics in Josean era historical romance with the infighting for power.  But that just comes with the territory with historical romance.  It is well paced, the romance is believable, and there are enough interesting things that happen and mysterious back story to make it all flow nicely and remain engaging.  I highly recommend it and would watch it again.


Spoilers


It ends happy in the sense that the good overcomes evil and the couple wind up together.  I see what a lot of other reviewers said about it being very rushed.  To watch 18 episodes and only get to see them be fully together in the last tens of minutes is a bit disappointing but not enough to ruin it as a very good, superior even, historical romance.

For the longest time I could not get the total fixation with Park Bo Gum.  He is undeniably handsome and just has this air about him where he seems like a very kind person.  I got that.  But I hadn’t seen anything where his acting was beyond just really good.  But this showed me why people are so invested in him as an actor.  His portrayal of Lee Yeong was nothing short of masterful.  I think he is now my favorite Crown Prince.  He was playful in a spiteful I really hate this position that was thrust on me way.  I liked how loyal his character was to all of those he cared about and the people in general.  Every aspect of his acting was spot on and his expressions and even his body language were perfect for the role. It was such a highlight of his talent for really brining out the unique aspects of a character so that they felt real. Great acting makes you feel thankful.  I am very thankful to him for the magical journey he took me, as a viewer, on with this character. 

 

The only disappointment I had in the way the Lee Young’s character was portrayed was around his relationship with Jo Ha-Yeon (Chae Soo-Bin) who later became the Crown Princess.  Although I think it is true to life in a way, I still did not like it. She falls for him basically because he is handsome and debonaire.  And that is when she starts being clingy and manipulativ, both traits I really dislike in females.  I don’t know why he wasn’t annoyed when she followed him in the marketplace.  I did not like how arrogant and entitled she acted from their first encounter and how she continued to act that way even after she found out who he was.  He doesn’t ask her to accompany him, but she follows him and essentially puts him in more danger trying to protect her while fighting the masked ninjas that attacked them.  I liked when Lee Young was like stay out of my space but then, later, he does a reversal when she manipulates him into believing she is willing to be the Crown Princess just to help him.  As a position/title but not like his spouse.  And he falls for that.  Then she proceeds to invade his space as much as she wishes even bragging that because she is the Crown Princess they just let her in to wait for him.  When he was pushing her away, he clearly told her he was already in love with someone else, but she did not respect that at all.  I do not know why when she screwed up and winded up feeding him poison that didn’t get her deposed.  Like an idiot she guilted him into drinking some tonic they had been trying to get him to drink and he almost dies.  But she didn’t act remorseful about her role at all. And she did not get deposFor the longest time I could not get the total fixation with Park Bo Gum.  He is undeniably handsome and just has this air about him where he seems like a very kind person.  I got that.  But I hadn’t seen anything where his acting was beyond just really good.  But this showed me why people are so invested in him as an actor.  His portrayal of Lee Yeong was nothing short of masterful.  I think he is now my favorite Crown Prince.  He was playful in a spiteful I really hate this position that was thrust on me way.  I liked how loyal his character was to all of those he cared about and the people in general.  Every aspect of his acting was spot on and his expressions and even his body language were perfect for the role. It was such a highlight of his talent for really brining out the unique aspects of a character so that they felt real.

 

The only disappointment I had in the way the Lee Young’s character was portrayed was around his relationship with Jo Ha-Yeon (Chae Soo-Bin) who later became the Crown Princess.  Although I think it is true to life in a way, I still did not like.  She falls for him basically because he is handsome and debonaire.  And that is when she starts being clingy and manipulate, both traits I really dislike in females.  I don’t know why he wasn’t annoyed when she followed him in the marketplace.  I did not like how arrogant and entitled she acted from their first encounter and how she continued to act that way even after she found out who he was.  He doesn’t ask her to accompany him, but she follows him and essentially puts him in more danger trying to protect her while fighting the masked ninjas that attacked them.  I liked when Lee Young was like stay out of my space but then, later, he does a reversal when she manipulates him into believing she is willing to be the Crown Princess just to help him.  As a position/title but not like his spouse.  And he falls for that.  Then she proceeds to invade his space as much as she wishes even bragging that because she is the Crown Princess they just let her in to wait for him.  When he was pushing her away, he clearly told her he was already in love with someone else, but she did not respect that at all.  I do not know why when she screwed up and winded up feeding him poison that didn’t get her deposed.  Like an idiot she guilted him into drinking some tonic they had been trying to get him to drink and he almost dies.  But she didn’t act remorseful about her role at all.  And she did not suffer any repercussions for her role in nearly poisoning the Crown Prince.

 

I don’t think there has been a 2nd male lead I have liked as much as I liked the Kim Yoon Sung (Jung Jinyoung) character in awhile.  Excellent acting.  His love and caring for the main girl was palpable.  The conflict he felt over his loyalty to his friend and family obligations was real.  He did so much for Ra-on and the Crown Prince behind the scenes and never felt the need to get the credit for it.  He was smart, and foiled so many plots.  I loved that character.

 

The other character I completely loved was Kim Bryung-yeon (Kwak Dong Yeon).  He was such an amazing martial artist and swordsman and such a loyal friend.  I was so happy he survived and that it was Yoon Sung that discovered he was still alive. 

 

I have been a fan of Kim Yoo-jung for quite some time. Perhaps it is her youth, but she brings such a whimsical feeling to every role.  When she smiles her whole face just lights up and it makes it so convincing why the men fall for her.  She is an amazing actress, and she was so good in this role.

 

I don’t think there has been a 2nd male lead I have liked as much as I liked the Kim Yoon Sung (Jung Jinyoung) character in awhile.  Excellent acting.  His love and caring for the main girl was palpable.  The conflict he felt over his loyalty to his friend and family obligations was real.  He did so much for Ra-on and the Crown Prince behind the scenes and never felt the need to get the credit for it.  He was smart, and foiled so many plots.  I loved that character.

 

The other character I completely loved was Kim Bryung-yeon (Kwak Dong Yeon).  He was such an amazing martial artist and swordsman and such a loyal friend.  I was so happy he survived and that it was Yoon Sung that discovered he was still alive. 

 

I have been a fan of Kim Yoo-jung for quite some time. Perhaps it is her youth, but she brings such a whimsical feeling to every role.  When she smiles her whole face just lights up and it makes it so convincing why the men fall for her.  She is an amazing actress, and she was so good in this role. 



They showed where Lee Young pardoned Ra-on for her “crime” (which to me is odd crime was basically being born the daughter of a rebel) so that she was able to live normally as a woman.  The Crown Princess basically had their relationship annulled.  So, he is free but there is no indication they will have any kind of public facing permanent relationship.  Knowing those royal positions, at least as they are portrayed in other historical dramas, he would normally have a wife and maybe some consorts or concubines.  But he is changing the rules so we don’t know what that means for him or for their relationship.



Ra-on’s father was supposed to be some super rebel.  Akin to the Star Wars rebels.  But he is seen talking to Kim about watching over ML.  They seem buddy, buddy but there is no clarity around what He supposedly has such dangerous ideology that everyone wants to know where his offspring is.  Some want to use her as a bargaining chip, but they made it seem as if she had some power to reunite and reenergize the rebels behind her.  But then they locate her and all they want to do is put her in hiding.  But not even good hiding.  She has lived her life pretending to be a man because they are looking for a woman.  But now they are looking for a woman that hides as a man and she goes incognito but then continues to hide as a man.  Seems like the best cover would have been as a woman.  And for cripes, change your name.  Don’t go by, in hiding, the very name of the individual they are looking for. 



The dad’s whole mystique became a nothing burger.  They find out he is alive, he has some strong words for the King, talks to the Crown Prince a couple of times, decides CP is how he wants things to be and that’s it. 

 

Huge missed opportunity in my mind to have FL be a strong swordsman super ninja.  In her circumstances, wouldn’t that have made sense?  And it sure would have been more entertaining than watching her stand there while whomever is protecting her is getting absolutely trashed.  I think the most I ever saw her do was kick a sword to the CP.  And she did try to get in front of second guy to block a sword.  But, her typical, was to stand there and just watch.  I mean tackle their legs or something.  You got teeth woman – bit them.  Throw dirt at them.  I don’t care.  But do something other than just watch the battle.  I mean she all but had popcorn. 

 

Why did 2nd guy die?  He was one of my favorite characters.  I wanted to see him join the light side.  Once evil grandpa was gone, he could have joined the CP as a trusted advisor.  But I guess the focus was on fulfilling the prophecy where one of them died young.  But come on, Kim was way more injured and he lived.  That was a bummer.  I really liked him. 

 

And we just don’t get to know about some characters.  Like the Little Princess.  Now that she told her story is she all better?  Talking?  Her boogeyman is now gone.  What about the baby princess?  She was recovered.  How is she doing?  And the fake prince.  What did they do with him?

 

Where did the king go?  ML’s father.  Did he retire?  I mean he doesn’t have a primary wife now.  She was deposed.  Did he finally get with his nice consort that ML liked who had the Little Princess? 



#LoveInTheMoonlight   #MoonlightDrawnByClouds  #ParkBoGum  #KimYooJung  #KwakDongYeon  #ChaeSooBin  #JungJinyoung

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Plot was chaotic. It could not decide what it wanted to be.

6/10 is my rating. This is a 2024 South Korean fantasy romance drama with, 16, 60 minute episodes.

First I provide a unique synopsis then review

Synopsis

Cupid’s arrow never fails. So when Cupid, Cheon Sang-Hyuk (Jang Dong-yoon) accidently shoots himself, he falls in love with a human woman, Oh Baek-Ryeon (Im Jin ah;Nana), is a veteranarian who is so physically alluring men cannot helpbut fall in love with her. But due to a curse, or maybe just bad luck, every suitor has a close brush with death which causes them to leave her. But there is a much longer relationship between the two of them than either is at first aware. Can a human and a fairy find lasting love?

Review

Disappointing. I liked so many elements of this. Liked the premise, am a fan of Jang Dong-yoon, like serial killer stories, always up for romance and find supernatural interesting. But the plot was all over the place chaotic. It was like it could not decide which one of those things it wanted to be. It was okay, not completely unwatchable but with so many better choices out there it ranks low on my list. I would not seek it out nor sit down and watch it if someone else was. I do not recommend it.

Spoilers

It ends happy in the sense the main couple get together. They even give a little after story to show they had kids and remained happy.

I liked Dong yoon’s acting. He is a great actor. I thought he made a great Cupid and a detective.

Nana’s acting was fine I just disliked the character she played. I do not like overly clingy females it is cringy. And she was super clingy. When she let the serial killer trick her I could not believe someone bright enough to be a skilled veterinarian could be that stupid. It did not fit the character. Then she gets a brain injury and just acts weirder than her normal weird.

I thought it was going to be a movie about cupid and it was sometimes. Sometimes they do the cupid thing. Then oh wait it is a serial killer thing. Oops it is reincarnation story. All of the could have worked together but the writing did not accomplish that.

Her friend An Do-ra (Gong Min Jeung), falls for the weird cupid. Then weird cupid disappears but then reappears but they don’t get back together. So why did we spend so much time on their odd relationship? And if he knows he might disappear why does he not pay up front? It was also not credible that she believed he was a Cupid so quick. That whole part of the story seemed unnecessary.

Why did the other cupids hang out with main guy? He dissolves, they all dissolve, then he comes back and so do they. What is their role with him? Never fully explained. Will the one fairy quit being a dog?

The serial killer story was interesting but it was an awkward fit with the rest of the plot.

It was a show that could have been good but wasn’t because of a chaotic script. It would shift and be all about the serial killer, then hard shift and he is on the roof shooting Cupid errors, then it’s date time. It was weird. It was like they could not decide if it was a serial killer show, supernatural story or a romance and they did not blend them well or otherwise all of that could have worked.

The whole she is my woman and he is my man was just strange. I do not know many couples that refer to their significant other that way. It seems territorial like you own the person. Do not like those terms and I am not a feminist.

#MyManIsCupid. #JandDingYoon. #ImJinAh. #GongMinJeung

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Too short to have a well developed storyline, But the cast did great and it ends happy.

7.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2020 South Korean romance drama with a run time of 57 minutes.

First I provide a unique synopsis then review.

Synopsis

When award winning film director Han Seo-rin (Jun Hyo-seong) returns to South Korea from abroad, her prodigy level success as a director means she has her pick of films and actors. But she decides to work with her childhhod friend, Cha Soo-hyuk (Choi Kyu-jin) who is now a top actor. He confessed his feelings before she left for abroad but she said she only thought of him as a friend out of fear. Now Soo-hyuk seems to have moved on with top actress, Cheon Ji Eun (Park Yun) who is co-starring with him in the film Seo-rin is directing. Have his feelings really changed? Can she remain unaffected when the man she loves, and always has, is filming a love story in front of her?

Review

It was good overall for being such an extremely short movie. It ended happy, but it was so rushed. There wasn’t much time to reflect on the happy resolution. It felt like a lot of the show was done in flashbacks, which, I am not a huge fan of flashbacks at all. If so,eone were looking for something quick, simple and that ends OK it would fit the bill. It’s not something I would seek out if I were in the mood for a good, well developed, romance. it’s worth watching if you like any of the actors although it’s hard to find a complete list of the cast it mainly just mentions the male and female leads in all the descriptions I found. I won’t seek it out to rewatch there just wasn’t enough of it to make it very good, but I don’t regret watching it once.

Spoilers

The story definitely could’ve been told in much longer format and that would’ve made it a lot better. There were so many flashbacks that became extremely annoying. It’s like just tell the story already in a forward fashion, if so much happened in the past you have to foash back every few scenes, then you should have started the story in the past. With so many flashbacks it gave a sense that a lot had happened in the past, and that was where the real love story was. So, it felt even more of a cheat for the viewer because you really only got to see a little bit of their feelings develop. They get together at the very end but it’s like the last minute or somewhere they share an emotional hug (not even a kiss) and talk about what they will call each other as a couple.

#GreenInMyHeart #JunHyeoSeon #ChoiKyuJin

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Good premise, characters well developed but has a typical soft Jdrama ending

8/10 is my rating. This is a 2018 Japanese Romantic Drama with 8, 24 minute episodes. Also known under the titles "Literary Virgin" and "A Virgin of Literature".

First I provide a unique synopsis then review

Synopsis

8/10 is my rating. Kanoko Tsukishiro (Aoi Morikawa) is an editor of literature for a prestigious publishing company that edits and publishes books for some of the top authors. She is a relitively new editor, looking to make her name in her field. She has always loved books and one of her favorite authrs is Saku Kagaya (Yu Shirota) who is currently known for writing mystery books. When Kanoko is assigned to be Saku's editor, she could not be more happy. Although he writes mystery, his original book, which made her fall in love with his work, was a romance. In fact Kanoko, who has never been in love herself at 26 years old, says her first love was the male character in Kanoko's romance book. Saku is still very popular but has hit a bit of a lull in his career and Saku is convinced he can write that next great book in the romance genre. With the goal of helping this greata author write a book you can "cuddle up with", she approaches Saku with much excitement. But Saku turns out to be a playboy who flits from one romantic interlude to the next. Having Kanoko near Saku greatly disturbs one of her work seniors, Chhiro (Masaki Nakao) who is secretly in love with the refreshingly innocent Kanoko. Can Kanoko get Saku's attention long enough to get him to write that next great novel? What is she to do when she feels her own heart stirring for the first time over the difficult to work with Kanoko?

Review

8/10 is my rating. Like Japanese dramas can be at times, this is a bit more risqué than the usual Korean dramas I watch. That being said, it does not show as much skinship (physical contact) as others I have seen with similar content. It is not a new premise, woman meets man, they do not originally seem interested in each other or compatible but slowly fall for each other. But it was entertaining watching a woman, who is a virgin still in her mid twenties, dealing with a man who is a Cassanova. It was good, kept me engaged and was overall a happy story. The ending was happy but soft in that it was not completely wrapped up. I would not seek it out to watch again because I like well wrapped endings. But for those that want a relatively quick romance, like any of the actors, or simply enjoy this type of premise, it is worth the watch.

Spoilers

The romance never fully took off for me. There were some teasers where they would seem to be getting close then something would happen to disrupt them fully getting together. For such a relatively short series thre was a lot of character development which made it even more frustrating to not see the full outcome for the characters. There were multiple love triangles going on with all the main characters and some resolution with some but not with others.

In the end it seemed Saku confessed his feelings for Kanoko through a piece of literature he sent to her publishing company, and she rushed to reunite with him because of what he said in the literature, but it ended there. That is why I said it is a soft ending. We didn't get to hear much of what he said that had Kanoko so hopeful for their reunion. I don't like things being left for my imagination, tell me the story.

The chemistry was there, the characters were developed well, the premise was intersting, and it just fell short of completing the story. It could have been a really good romance but those flaws made it more of a just slightly above average one.

#AnInnocentWomanofLiterature #AVirginOfLiterature #LiteraryVirgin. #MasakiNakao. #YuShirota. #AoiMorikawa.

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Good romance with a happy ending

8.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2024 South Korean Romantic Drama with 8, 63-71 minute episodes.  Based on the webtoon “Is it Fate” by Nam Ji-eun and Kim In-ho. 

First I provide a unique synopsis then review

 Synopsis

Lee Hong Ju (Kim So Hyun) fell in love with Bang Jun-ho (Yoon Ji-on) the last year of high school.  He is an accomplished author but very narcissistic and broke Hong Ju’s heart when he just up and left to research a novel in the middle of their relationship. At the same time she was initially pursuing Hong Ju, she was also trying to help her best friend, Kim Hye-ji (Kim Da-som) confess her love to Kang Hoo-yeong (Chae Jong-hyeop) one of the most popular boys in the school who was known for coldly refusing the many love confessions he received.  Hye-ji was too shy to approach Hoo-yeong so Hong-ju was delivering love notes on her behalf.  And Hoo-yeong was uncharacteristically accepting the notes from Hong-ju (as he had secretly fallen for her).  Ten years have passed and Hoo-yeong is back in South Korea after spending his college years and early career in the United States.  He is now an ace financial planner for a company that has interests on both sides of the ocean.  His first goal is to see Hong Ju who was his first love he very got over.  Hong Ju is now an animation producer which puts her back in contact with Junho who would like to just take the relationship up where it left off.  Hye-ji is eager to re-unite with Hoo-yeong in the hope of finally winning his heart.  Can Hoo-yeong finally get Hong Ju to realize he has feelings for her not Hye-ji?  Will Hye-ji give her narcissistic ex another chance or finally give her heart to Hoo-yeong who has stayed in love with her all these years?


Review

 I had reservations as Kim So-hyun has been hit or miss in the roles she has taken recently.  I did not like “Love Alarm” at all.  Like it almost makes me angry when I see that title I disliked it so much.  I also did not like “My Lovely Liar” at all.  When the last few roles of an actor have been premises or, particularly endings, I do not like it leaves an impression.  It makes me think they are not choosing roles/scripts I would like.  So, it was with reluctance I watched this as I was concerned it may not end well or the premise may be “off”.  With this one it was good.  It didn’t have a lot of the problems that were off putting for me in the last couple she has done.  All in all it was a pretty straight forward predictable romance.  Which I often like.  I am a romance fan.  I can see the same basic thing repeated over and over.  No huge surprises, relatively heart warming and ended well  I thought their chemistry was really good and Kang Hu Yeong (Chae Jong Hyeop) was like the perfect boyfriend/husband material.  He was so sweet to her most of the time.  .  I would watch it if someone turned it on, would not seek it out to re-watch, but do recommend it for anyone that likes this genre or any of the actors.  It was well acted and reasonably well written.  The ending is relatively happy although I would have liked to see a few things go a slightly different way. 

Spoilers

 I get that it happens, but I found it annoying that her friend, Kim Hye-ji (Kim Da-som) kept having Lee Hong-jo give Kang Hoo-yeong love letters.  I totally understood what he said, no answer is an answer.  I have no idea if it accurately depicts South Korean culture at all that if someone likes you, there is a responsibility to them.  A few love letters, okay whatever.  But the number they did, that starts to become no means no.  The fact that Hye-ji acted like she had a chance with Hoo-yeong when he came to South Korea on business was a little bit irritating.  She acted as if she had not been rejected in high school.

 Teenage girls are notoriously oblivious to when guys like them.  Some, young girls in particular, think a guy will hang out with a girl strictly for friendship.  Not that it never happens but it is rare.  When a popular guy, like he was, is hanging out with a girl, it is because he likes the girl (so rarely the case otherwise might as well say it isn’t the case).  But she totally did not get that.  Not even later when she first reflected on their time together in high school.  I thought she was rather inconsiderate of his feelings.  When he came back to South Korea and showed no interest at all in Hye-ji, Hong-jo continued to push her friend on him.  I think, at one point, any reasonably emotionally intelligent person would have known who he was interested in or, at minimum, that he was not at all interested in Hye-ji.  When she got him to come out to meet for drinks then ducked out and left him with Hye-ji it was rude.  It made me not like her character as well.  When she gave Hye-ji his phone number without asking him if it was okay, that was also inconsiderate.  “Stealing” his dream was an odd thing to do.  And it was not very realistic that someone with such a thin resume, and no real skills, would land that sort of job.  I get it is fiction, and I don’t want it to perfectly replicate reality all the time, but it has to be at least within the realm of possibility.  She was someone who cut class, did not focus at all on academics, then just walked in and got a job people with far more credentials and experience would struggle with?  Just not believable. 

 Bang Jun-Ho (Yun Ji On) was such a poor second male lead character.  I was with everyone else in the drama that said he was no good.  He had the typical personality of a narcissist.  He leaves her with no word when he should have known her past given the length of their relationship.  If he didn’t know she had abandonment issues, then he never cared to learn much about her and if he did and ignored them then he was just an unfeeling jerk.  I never got a sense for how their relationship developed and what they were like when they were together.  But he was a selfish narcissist to the end.  Kim Bok Nam (Kim Won Hae), his uncle was rather harsh with him and said look you were a complete jerk leaving her like that so just leave Hong-jo alone at this point.  So, he even had another perspective on his behavior and chose to still try to get her back.  He, as is typical with narcissists, tried to turn it around and make it about him.  “Oh you don’t feel sorry for me because look how sick I am?”  I was so glad she did not fall for it.  They did a good job with making him a completely undesirable character.  I did not think they did a very good job explaining why she was so attached to him.  We really only saw her fan girl following him, then he says this is day one basically, then them broken up.  The missing middle made it hard to understand how she had such a hard time getting over him.

 Baek Do Seon (Kim Jung Nan), Hu Yeong’s mom was also completely unlikable.  She was the typical overbearing mother who totally disregards their child’s feelings.  He never told her “look, I have loved this girl for a decade and finally have a chance to be with her.”  I did not like that she essentially won in the end forcing him to go back to the United States.  That was not a happy way for that to end in my mind.  He told her he missed South Korea and she just completely disregarded his feelings.  That is going to be Hong-jo’s mother-in-law at some point and so a happier ending would have been he or she put her in her place or the mom had an epiphany.  But neither of those things happened.  The whole here’s my credit card thing was just bizarre.  It was a pride/pity thing and maybe that is what they were trying to show as revenge when she spent it on the convenience store items.  I don’t know.  But that was not what it accomplished.  It was like why did you spend on it?  It actually made you look lower.  Like you were accepting her pity.  Or just after money.  Why didn’t you reject it with dignity? 

 So, Hong-jo surprises him and she is going to the USA with him.  But, only with the leave she cobbled together.  So that means she has to go back and he will still be in the USA for an indefinite amount of time.  I mean I like she didn’t give up her job and all that but stay or go.  You love each other then one of you need to fully commit one way or another. 

#SerendipityEmbrace  #KimSoHyun   #YoonJiOn   #KimDaSom  #ChaeJongHyeop

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Cute family movie. Simple. Predictable. But not in a bad way.

8.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2008 Soith Korean comedy drama movie with a run time of 108 minutes.

First I provide a unique synopsis then review

Synopsis

Nam Hyeon-soo (Cha Tae-hyun) is enjoying his 30 something life with some remaining fame from being a teen idol turned radio show host. He revels in his single bachelorhood. His talk show is enhanced by the story of a young woman named Hwang Jeong-nam (Park Bo-young) shares stories of her life as a young single mother who hopes to meet her biological father. Little does Hyeon-soo know that when he is encouraging the young mother to bravely meet her father that he’s encouraging her to meet him himself. It is all rebuild when Jeon-nam shows up at Hyeon-soo’s place with her young son, Ki-dong (Wang Seok-hyeon) in tow. Hyeon-soo at first vehemently denies she could be his daughter until Jeon-nam/Jae-in tells him her mother’s name and it turns out it was his first love and a woman he had intimate relationships with (Jae-in was originally using her deceased mother’s name but starts going by her own name). Despite her father at first discouraging her lest the scandal around her birth be revealed, Jae-in realizes her dream of becoming a singer. With public exposure, Ki-dong's father Park Sang-yoon (Im Ji-kyu) finds Jae-in. Hyeon-soo slowly realizes that he actually enjoys being a father and grandfather. Despite his early worries, when it is discovered he has a child and grandchild it does not have the career ending consequences he feared.

Review

If you’re looking for a quick watch, mostly feel good family drama, then this fits the bill. One of my favorite aspects of this is the relationship between the grandson and grandfather. There is no strong, romantic component to it. It’s good particularly if you take it within the context of the time frame it was produced. I would not seek it out to rewatch it, but I would watch it if somebody else had it on again. I recommend it for those that like any of the actors as it is enjoyable to see them acting at younger ages. It ends happy and is happy through most of the show..

Spoilers

I am such a fan of series. I am often to say with movies. It would’ve been better if it had been done in a series format there was so much that could’ve been into deeper. I would’ve liked to have seen more on the relationship that developed between the daughter and father, never portrayed them having a super relationship. He seem to grow to really like her, but they were never those warm fuzzy moments where they talked about how they felt about each other.

Spent a lot of the movie being frustrated with the mail lead because he was so concerned about optics. I know that’s the reality a lot of times when someone finds out they have a child they didn’t know about particularly after was verified. I was like dude you have an actual daughter and a grandson, it would’ve been best if he had found a way to bring it out to people and let them know a positive way

I also really wanted to see the daughters career takeoff even more than it did. It was like OK. You got to sing a little, but it didn’t really show her game thing or anything like that that would’ve made it even more enjoyable.

I love that there was some focus on the grandson and the grandfather‘s relationship because that was super cute. What was he probably my grandson to accept it it came out, but he never really touted it himself. That would’ve made it a level better.

#ScandalMakers. #ChaeTaeHyun #ParkBoYoung #WangSeokHyeon. #ImJiKyu

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Good for what it is., intense but ends happy.

7.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2011 South Korean action, sports, romance drama with a run time of 106 minutes.

First I provide a unique synopsis then review.

Synopsis

Jang Cheol-min/Jang Marcelino (So Ji-sub) was an ex boxer who had given up on happiness in life. He was working multiple low level jobs and just getting by in life. Everything changes for him when Ha Jung-hwa (Han Hyo-joo), who is a tenant in the building where he is working as a security guard, comes to the security booth to find a friend who used to work there. Jung-hwa was going to watch a movie with her friend so she starts spending time and watching shows with Jang in the security booth. A tragic accident blinded Jung-hwa so she enjoys Jang’s patience and willingness to describe what they are watching. Feelings bloom between the two and Jang now has a reason to improve his life. There is someone he wants to protect. So, he goes back to the fighting world but this time he takes on the more dangerous and intense sport of mixed martial arts. There is more money to be made in that sport and he wants to make enough money to support them both. A condition that Jung-hwa has requires expensive surgery and Jang elects to do something really dangerous to earn the money for Jung-hwa’s surgery. Will he succeed? Can the young couple have a promising future?

Review

Other reviewers indicated this was a heartwarming story with some violent and bloody parts. It has strong “Rocky” vibes with a little bit of “Fight My Way” mixed in. It is easy to understand how two people who have faced so many challenges in life would be drawn to each other.

For what it was, it was good.  I don’t often watch movies just because I feel movies are too short to really develop the story.  It was still true to some extent that there would have been a lot more depth to the story if it had ran over episodes rather than in movie format.  Based on other reviews, I was super concerned it would be a blood fest and was not sure if it would end happy.  There is blood, but it is about what you would expect from a boxing or mixed martial arts show.  Nothing too excessive.  Another thing I could not tell from other synopsis and reviews was whether she was actually blind. She is blind.  It seemed like she had an ability to see light and shadows but it was so limited she was fully blind. They meet and fall in love when she is blind.  The content would make you worry about the ending but it does end very happy.  I might watch it again and would recommend to others.  Just have to be aware that it is a movie that is very representative of the period in which it was produced.

 Spoilers

Because it was movie length there were so many things I wanted to know that were not covered.  What happened after he was stabbed in Thailand? After he was stabbed, next we see him he is back in a hospital in South Korea a couple of years later.  Without knowing those details, the viewer must just assume someone found him and rescued him and he spent a long time recovering before returning.  But I was curious what happened and I think it would have explained more why he was away so long and then showed up a couple of years later still recovering. 

#Always #SoJiSub #HanHyoJoo

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