Rossie

ty, I know about this source, the folder has been available since 2018. unfortunately, the files per episode take hours to download each, which I really don't have the patience for. i really hope someone will make this lakorn available for streaming again.

It takes two to tango. Most people are quick to dismiss the male part in a relationship because as you pointed out, it's 'her body, her choice'. This is bs of the finest calibre. She didn't make a baby on her own, they made it together - ergo it's not her choice to make. Legally speaking, he's got as much rights to decide whether they should keep the baby or not. I'm not even gonna dive into the morality aspect of things, cause that's a whole other story. Point is, shit happens and (more often than not) shit happens at the worst timing possible. When you've got aspirations to fulfil, a baby is not exactly what you'd want. She could go on to say that she'd still want to keep the baby and raise it as a single mother without getting in anyone's way, which is fair, but he's got a right to say that he's not okay with bringing a child to the world that will have an absent father, which is also fair. The lives of young actors and alike are constantly on full display, down to the smallest of details, and it's absolutely horrid to see how quick the rest of us are to judge and compare. It all takes one mistake and whoosh, you're out.

oof...I'm not even a fan of this guy, but why is an actor's personal life even relevant? I didn't know what the tea was about so just went ahead and read up on it after seeing all the comments here, chill your horses, I thought he killed someone or did something that entirely shattered the crystalline codices of humanity on Earth
..reminds me of the guy who played the main character in "Mask". A newbie actor starts getting recognition for his art after having played minor role after minor role, and of course the competition sees this and decides to stir up some bs because their sorry asses can't take seeing them be successful. I'm just saying, no one's perfect, everyone's got a shady side (and let's face it, his isn't even on the darker side - takes two to tango) so why cast judgment on something that doesn't even concern us? he didn't do anything morally depriving, did he torture a defenceless baby walrus? did he sell a little kid to the organ mafia? did he cut open his own mother and had her entrails spread over different spots in town. come on now... he made some choices, which granted might have been bad but 99.9% of humanity make bad choices. if you like his stuff, keep at it. no one can judge you for it.

Yeah, 8.9 is a little generous in my opinion. What carries this production is the cozy feeling you get when watching it, the side characters and their individual stories, the warm get-togethers and how everyone seems to have each other's backs in a small seaside village. Other than that there's really not much to it. The main characters are bland (sometimes downright annoying), their love story boring and cliched. A lot of cringy acting, indeed. But I wouldn't blame the actors, their characters were just written that way.

Don't see why you'd conclude that. The ending was pretty much setting the stage for a second season.

I wish there were more dramas like this, they're so rare and in between... T^T

Thank you for the heads-up. I get annoyed by the flawed 'deity' concept that seems to be a trend in supernatural k-dramas as well. This has nothing to do with forcing your beliefs on others, in fact, I feel that the personal views of the makers of the drama get forced on me. It simply is frustrating to watch a drama that takes place in a dark world devoid of hope and where everything bad that happens to the hero or heroine gets blamed on a fictional, incompetent deity. It's fine if you think a god in the sky could never exist because your life svcks (why would he make you go through shvt if he did exist, right) but don't force this on the viewer. We watch this as a form of escapism, not to have someone remind us of our shvtty existences and beliefs. So yeah, when I feel like a drama is way too biased or colored by certain beliefs, I, too, drop it. It's not worth getting myself depressed over and nobody can shame me for doing so - for whatever reason, everyone is free to drop a drama and to come here and state why without being shamed by the lot of you.

How the hell do these actresses maintain their looks, she's so gorgeous I can't even!

Dunno about the others but I clicked on this article because Nadech xD

A lot of good things can be said about this drama. The premise was absolutely intriguing, the acting impeccable, but for a drama of this calibre I can't say I enjoyed how the focus gradually shifted to lesser things. There were a lot of things that needed to be shed more light on, lines that didn't add up, bad plot devices etc. A drama like this needed a grander finale not an elusive one. The start takes you by storm, I'd expected it to at least end on a somewhat similar note. Who here started on this for the love arch for example? I personally dived in expecting to get thoroughly angered and beaten up emotionally by the palace politics (which I did, don't get me wrong). I just can't help but feel a little lukewarm about the way they decided to wrap things up. Well, anyways, just needed a place to rant. Gonna watch the movie now.
8/5

I really wouldn't go as far as to say that the above was the interpretation they intentionally went for. I wouldn't read that much into it. Let's just leave it at this being a rushed, generic, let's-not-anger-the-general-audience type of ending.

Np at all! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did whenever you decide to watch it, I'm a big Jang Hyuk fan myself :)

And for the record, this is not a romance drama despite it saying otherwise. So many real things happen that you end up not caring about who ends up with who and so on. There was not much chemistry between JH and the love interest (Park Se Young) anyway. Her acting was bland at best.

*edit: I noticed someone below wrote that JH's revenge was so satisfying and thought I'd attest to that - the ending is SO satisfying.

I'm gonna be honest with you, this is 24 episodes of pure political games and revenge, but don't let that scare you. If you're here for Jang Hyuk, he'll blow your mind away. I was awestruck by Lee Mi Suk as well. Didn't think I could watch a show like this either but there's just something about it that keeps you at the edge of your seat. Obviously, I wouldn't recommend watching this on a hot summer day. This was aired in winter and fit perfectly to a cold setting since the content is on the darker side.

For this to have been rated anything below 9, more than a dozen of people must have given it a subpar rating. What gives? I've never watched anything more brilliant, thought-provoking, gut-wrenching, convicting and harrowing, yet ultimately empowering than this.

It made perfect sense. The take-home message: most power struggles (of any kind) can be avoided if people find contentment in their placements. Neither the king nor the queen wanted to fight for what they were fighting for. They were merely doing it out of a sense of expectation. Even the vice minister admitted to the fact that he was doing what he was doing to fill out a void he had. We often play out the roles we're given without questioning where our hearts lie. Breaking free is a choice (just as staying in a role you didn't sign up for is) and can be as simple as literally turning a new leaf - or in the king & the queen's case, just focusing on each other and to hell with everything else.

S. Korea needs to realize that they've got a heavy drinking problem that needs to be addressed. They plaster on idols on every soju bottle and have them promote alcoholic beverages on TV and on the street as if it were a brand or a must-have. Which other country does this? In any other country this scum wouldn't have seen the light of day. He would have been raped and killed by other inmates.

"couple months/years later" sounds accurate xD been waiting for two years I think, gave up all hope of ever completing this lakorn. and yet, here I am, checking up on it lol

That is such a lukewarm ending. I mean I'd read all the comments about it so I was prepared, but bro, I thought they were highly exaggerated comments xD
Not going to spoil anything for anyone, just had to throw a little rant somewhere. I have to say, I'm still left mesmerized by the whole production and how this was brought to life. Very captivating story with a lot of moral and social realistic messages that could as well be applied to the modern world. I'm not disappointed by the ending, at most it's just feels a bit incoherent and confusing. Go back one episode (Viki) and I think that there would have been a cleaner ending, if it stopped an episode earlier it would definitely have made for more dramatic impact. Guess the author and the film makers just wanted to go the least troublesome route and provide an ending that'd satisfy most groups of viewers, which is also okay, but that does add a little bit of avoidable meh-factor to it all, sadly...
8/10

I came here from The Legends too. can't lie, he's a real spotlight stealer. Very nice and versatile acting! his character as well as the life he brings to his character in The Legends is honestly a bit more refreshing than Xu Kai's.