Thanks for this interesting article. Out of the dramas you mentioned I only watched Misty and Mr. Sunshine and I agree that they had strong female figures that can be easily remembered. I would add Choi Yoo Jin of the drama The K2 who was quite outstanding. Strangely strong women figures impress me more than strong male figures which are more common in any nationality fiction so I always remain notably and happily impressed by them.
I am not a great Taiwanese drama watcher and I started this one by chance. I have to say that there was an aspect here that really bothered me which was the aggressiveness of both the male leads, sometimes even physical (no I never watched lakorns and never will). The story itself wasn't bad although I admit that at one point it kept on going round and round and repeating the same situations. The star of the show here was definitely Ke Fei whose bubbly personality gave colour to the whole drama. I liked the ending here although it took far too much angst to get to that point.
This drama was a suffering watch for me. Not because of the cheating aspect which in the broken relationships shown here made total sense, but because of the guilt trip which the two female leads were shown to experience throughout the story. The message that I personally read between the lines was that married WOMEN should never cheat whereas it's bearable if it's the husbands cheating...indeed there was no real harsh judgment from society for Jung Woo, but all the fault and shame of the cheating relationship was given to Ji Eun by everyone around her and her own self. As far as Soo Ah goes, no by no means she was allowed to find her own happiness as she was a mother of two and she should have remained so for all of her life, a mother and a housewife (exactly how her husband had treated her for so many years!) and never a woman. Again...huuge guilt/shaming trips going her way for 15 episodes! I have to say my favourite episode of this drama was the last one...where everyone finally found their own selves and happiness. It's a pity it took so much suffering and shame to reach that point. There is no way I will watch the Japanese original of this drama as I am sure it is much heavier going than this one.
This article describes exactly what I think about this drama, thanks for writing it so well!! And yes, I was skeptical after the first few episodes on whether I would carry on and enjoy watching it as I wasn't sure I enjoyed the mix fantasy/reality, however as it unfolded I was totally involved and I am really loving it now. It gives me real Goblin vibes and it's really fun to watch so far.
What a fantastic drama!! I have to admit I was skeptical when I started it as it sounded like a boring plot taken from a US original. However starting from the very first episodes I was litterally blown away by the story, the photography and most of all the acting! I really enjoyed the Korean setting where the isses between North and South were the focus of the story and the great feelings (of many different kinds) that they manage to show so well in their dramas. I knew Ji Jin Hee was a good actor and here he was incredibly believable and fascinating in his role. This was a masterpiece for me and definitely amongst the best dramas of 2019 so far.
As always, dramas that deal with the Japanese occupation of Korea deeply touch my heart as they are generally extremely sad and distressing for all the suffering that this population went through during that historical time period, but at the same time they show the strength and perseverance that they had in trying to fight back a nation that was much stronger and overpowering than them. This drama started out a little bit choppy in the first few episodes but afterwards it became really involving and extremely interesting both for the plot itself but also for the fantastic cinematography, settings, costumes and acting. It's a full 10 for me and I highly recommend it.
Interesting and fun drama about three very strong and independent women. I appreciated the carreer/friendship part more than the various romances but in any case an enjoyable and original watch. I learnt a lot about search engine sites and I hope reality is not as it's shown in this drama.
Wow, all I can say is that this was an amazing saeguk. Very dramatic and touching and so beautifully acted and written. Definitely one of the best dramas of 2019 so far. Higly recommended if you are not only looking for romance but for a deep, intense moving story about how weak people can become strong through their beliefs and willpower.
This was a pleasant and relaxing watch although I wouldn't say the story got me particularly involved. Yes it was interesting to see how the relationships within a group of friends from high school evolved up to their adult years but I was impatient during the first half dedicated to the high school years as I wanted to move quickly to the adult part! I enjoyed the way everything seemed natural and almost like slice of life dramas although I hated how the female lead always whispered when she spoke and let the words out very slowly. In any case not bad but I wasn't blown away.
As many viewers have stated this drama is very similar to Something in the Rain with its very slow pace, repetitive music, troublesome taboos in Korean society, and grown up adults having to discuss their life choices with their nosy parents. However I was drawn to watch it till the end even though it had these flaws and I really can't pinpoint the exact reason. Yes the acting was good but nothing to write home about, and also the chemistry between the main leads was not particularly realistic. I am not sure if I will want to watch any future dramas with the same writers and directors as they seem to like repeating themselves. It's a 6.5 for me.
this is not a tale. you should understand that in real life everything is different. and this drama really expressed…
First of all I am proudly 55 years old and I don't need anyone to tell me to grow up!!! I am well aware this is not a tale and for your information in Korean romcoms characters change just as much as in Chinese dramas. Just because we have different views about a drama there is no need to be aggressive and offensive. I will keep my own idea on this drama and you can keep yours. I am sure you are much younger than me so maybe you need to grow up and learn how to communicate with people in a polite way.
Thanks for this article which shows in a clear way how ratings can be different whilst peacefully discussing the different points of view. I am always interested in opposite opinions in particular when I really liked a drama and others didn't...it often makes me wonder if I missed something or understood something wrong whilst sticking to my original judgement.
Loved your article...and I have to say that female badasses are my weak spot...I will always cherish a drama with a strong female lead. Which is why I watched Secret Garden and King2Hearts more than once...Ha Ji Won can really play a strong female lead, but all the other ones you mentioned were just as cool!!
This was a typical laid back type of drama which reminded me a little of Boss and Me as far as relationships went. I appreciated that most conflicts were solved in a peaceful manner which is what I like in Chinese modern day dramas. Strangely I preferred the side couples to the main OTP as I felt they had more chemistry. Especially towards the end I didn't enjoy the female lead's character as much as she became superficial and a self centred. In any case on the whole it was a relaxing watch with an interesting story.
This was an enjoyable and fluffy romcom which I needed to watch as an 'in between' of other types of dramas. If my rating was related only to the plot it would be quite low as many parts didn't make much sense to me. However the acting of the whole cast and the chemistry of the OTP here were very good and I had a nice time watching it and laughing at the comedy parts. I am a fan of Kim Young Kwang and although I prefer him in more serious roles, he did a great job here as the main lead.
Wow, what a great article!! I really enjoyed reading it and nodded at every choice that you made (well except for Mad Dog and KaitouYamaneko which I didn't watch). I agree that these were all Bad Boys with hearts of gold. :)
As far as Soo Ah goes, no by no means she was allowed to find her own happiness as she was a mother of two and she should have remained so for all of her life, a mother and a housewife (exactly how her husband had treated her for so many years!) and never a woman. Again...huuge guilt/shaming trips going her way for 15 episodes!
I have to say my favourite episode of this drama was the last one...where everyone finally found their own selves and happiness. It's a pity it took so much suffering and shame to reach that point.
There is no way I will watch the Japanese original of this drama as I am sure it is much heavier going than this one.
However starting from the very first episodes I was litterally blown away by the story, the photography and most of all the acting! I really enjoyed the Korean setting where the isses between North and South were the focus of the story and the great feelings (of many different kinds) that they manage to show so well in their dramas.
I knew Ji Jin Hee was a good actor and here he was incredibly believable and fascinating in his role. This was a masterpiece for me and definitely amongst the best dramas of 2019 so far.
This drama started out a little bit choppy in the first few episodes but afterwards it became really involving and extremely interesting both for the plot itself but also for the fantastic cinematography, settings, costumes and acting. It's a full 10 for me and I highly recommend it.
I enjoyed the way everything seemed natural and almost like slice of life dramas although I hated how the female lead always whispered when she spoke and let the words out very slowly.
In any case not bad but I wasn't blown away.
However I was drawn to watch it till the end even though it had these flaws and I really can't pinpoint the exact reason. Yes the acting was good but nothing to write home about, and also the chemistry between the main leads was not particularly realistic.
I am not sure if I will want to watch any future dramas with the same writers and directors as they seem to like repeating themselves. It's a 6.5 for me.
Strangely I preferred the side couples to the main OTP as I felt they had more chemistry. Especially towards the end I didn't enjoy the female lead's character as much as she became superficial and a self centred.
In any case on the whole it was a relaxing watch with an interesting story.