This was what I call a 'head emptier' type of drama, in the sense that it was enjoyable and helpful to empty my head and relax whilst watching it. Infact the plot itself was nothing original or different so it was pretty obvious that the writers didn't make any particular effort to write this story. Indeed what kept the whole drama going was the great chemistry between the leads and the good acting of the cast in general, but it's definitely not enough for me to give this drama a high rating. I hope both leads will choose their next projects with more sophisticated plots .
Someone recommended this drama to me and only when I finished it I realized it was shown three years ago. In any case it was an amazing drama, with a great story and fantastic acting. It's always painful for me to watch stories concerning that time period which was so violent and harsh towards so many people, however this story was so clever that I tried not to dwell too much on the parts that were particularly sad. The cast was all new to me and they did a great job. I read below that some were not too happy with the female lead's character and performance. I have to say that indeed sometimes I wondered why she didn't think of the possible consequences of her actions but I then realized that her personality was such that she put her heart before her brain. This drama is highly recommended and I hope something as good as this will come out again soon.
Wow, what a great list! I generally don't watch movies as they are too short compared to dramas, but I am really willing to watch all three movies you recommended. Thanks very much indeed.
This was an enjoyable drama for me mainly for the original theme which concerned politicians. I liked the way the writers described in a funny, light and enjoyable manner something that in reality is quite serious like political corruption. Siwon here was very good but also the remainder of the cast and I have to say that I laughed a lot in some parts as the comedy was witty and very natural. All in all I recommend this drama for some fun and entertainment.
This drama was involving from start to finish mainly because of the great writing and acting. Indeed most of it was all about how cleverly one would outwit the other until the final result of great revenge was reached. The shadowy settings and the yellow lighting sometimes bothered me as it was all a tad too dark for my eyes but I understood the purpose of it giving the right feeling of the prison atmosphere. I would have preferred that everyone who did whatever illegal act during this drama ended with some kind of punishment or repentant behaviour but this only happened for the main culprit. In any case on the whole it was an interesting and entertaining watch.
This was a very original drama. I liked the setting of the world of paparazzi as it was all quite realistic (well, maybe not as heavygoing with the blackmailing as it was shown to us) and most of all very well acted. I agree with other viewers about the fact that some aspects of the story were not properly explained at the end and that the pace was much faster in the first half of the drama, however the story made sense and there was a lot of character growth mainly concerning the two leads. Both Han Ye Seul and Joo Jin Mo were very good here and I hope to see them in more projects in the future.
I was satisfied with this saeguk as it had a very simple and traditional plot. The story was straightforward and with nothing particularly striking which is what I liked about it as it felt like watching an older saeguk of a few years ago before they became too modernized and started mixing genres. The cast was pretty good and in particular Jung Il Woo whom I had never seen before.
When I first started watching this drama I thought I was watching a copy of Yanxi Palace as there was a lot of the same cast and the story seemed pretty similar. Thankfully as the story progressed it took a completely different turn and it became more involving. What I appreciated most here were the feminist undertones very well represented by many of the female characters who openly complained about not being treated or considered at the same level as their male counterparts no matter what high position they were in. This was also pretty obvious in the triangle story between the three leads where the two males only considered the love they had for Hao Lan as secondary towards reaching their main goals. On the whole I enjoyed the plot, the settings and costumes and the performance of the cast although I always hope for better endings which seems to be an impossible feature in Chinese historical dramas.
Interesting article, thanks for writing it. The three Korean actresses you mentioned are all pretty good despite not being trained which is really to be admired.
Thanks for this article. Out of the ones you mentioned I appreciated the most Queen for Seven Days which was indeed an amazing romantic drama. Of the Reply series I preferred the 1988 version on the whole, not so much for it's romantic aspect but for the great cast and acting. I never watched Go Back Couple or Marriage Contract and I might do so one day.
Thanks for this article. I started watching Kdramas in 2011 and was also quite fond of oldies but I have to say that I am really thankful many of these clichès have almost completely disappeared as they were indeed quite chovinistic and old fashioned. Slaps (with water or not) still remain however and they quite bother me most of the time.
Wow, what a great article! And yes I totally agree with you that villains with layered personalities and who show some 'good' in them are much more fascinating and entertaining than those who are evil with no shades just for the sake of it. Indeed Gwi and Nam Goong Min mentioned below really do fit into this category and there are many more luckily. Whereas I noticed that in traditional type of saeguks villains tend to be just that (I am thinking of the current Prince Milpoong in Haechi for example) which is a pity.
Thanks for writing this article. I agree with everything that you wrote, indeed everyone here is doing a great job and I also started watching it for Kim Nam Gil who is proving to be amazing at comedies like we saw in his drama before this one Live up to Your Name. Unfortunately I had to drop the Fiery Priest as like you said the plot was really clichè and only the comedy parts weren't enough to keep me interested and involved. I am glad to read that ratings are going up in Korea and I hope to see more and more of Kim Nam Gil in whatever future dramas he chooses.
On the whole this was a different Chinese historical drama for me because of how slowly the story was developed. If one is patient enough to hold on through the whole process of growth of the female lead I would say that it becomes very rewarding. I just found out that the writers also wrote The Battle of Changsha which explains the extremely detailed and realistic type of storytelling. I enjoyed the OTP very much indeed even if for a good part of the story I really had no idea that they would become as such. The whole cast here did a really good job and overall it was a pleasant watch.
I decided to watch this drama because of all the good opinions I read about it. I have to say I was not expecting it to turn out into such a madhouse. I admit that I was drawn to watch all the episodes because it was so crazy that I always wondered what they would do next so I will give credit to the writers for that. However the story was full of clichès and typical Korean style exaggerations (I hope to never see Shin Eun Kyung again as I couldn't bear her overacting) and the ending was rather nonsensical so my rating can't be much higher than a 7.5.
Woow...yes I love sword fights too, which is one of the reasons why I am so fond of Asian historicals. I am less interested in wuxia/fantasy fighting were they fly around as I prefer more realistic settings but on the whole all the sword fighting is fascinating for me so thanks for this article. Ps. If you haven't watched The Rise of Phoenixes I highly recommend it, I watched it before Ming Lan and it completely bewitched me.
Wow, thanks so much for this great article. When I first started watching saeguks (and also other Asian historical dramas, i.e. Japanese and Chinese for me) I was hoping that they would help me to understand more about the real history of these countries. Indeed your article made me realize that in fact I was learning about history through fiction which is extremely satisfying for me. Luckily I watched most of these dramas and thoroughly enjoyed them too.
Out of these I have watched Come Back Mister, Beautiful Mind and Falling for Innocence and I agree that they were all great dramas. I will keep in mind some of the others you suggested for future watch. ;)
Indeed what kept the whole drama going was the great chemistry between the leads and the good acting of the cast in general, but it's definitely not enough for me to give this drama a high rating.
I hope both leads will choose their next projects with more sophisticated plots .
It's always painful for me to watch stories concerning that time period which was so violent and harsh towards so many people, however this story was so clever that I tried not to dwell too much on the parts that were particularly sad.
The cast was all new to me and they did a great job. I read below that some were not too happy with the female lead's character and performance. I have to say that indeed sometimes I wondered why she didn't think of the possible consequences of her actions but I then realized that her personality was such that she put her heart before her brain.
This drama is highly recommended and I hope something as good as this will come out again soon.
The shadowy settings and the yellow lighting sometimes bothered me as it was all a tad too dark for my eyes but I understood the purpose of it giving the right feeling of the prison atmosphere.
I would have preferred that everyone who did whatever illegal act during this drama ended with some kind of punishment or repentant behaviour but this only happened for the main culprit.
In any case on the whole it was an interesting and entertaining watch.
I agree with other viewers about the fact that some aspects of the story were not properly explained at the end and that the pace was much faster in the first half of the drama, however the story made sense and there was a lot of character growth mainly concerning the two leads. Both Han Ye Seul and Joo Jin Mo were very good here and I hope to see them in more projects in the future.
The cast was pretty good and in particular Jung Il Woo whom I had never seen before.
Thankfully as the story progressed it took a completely different turn and it became more involving.
What I appreciated most here were the feminist undertones very well represented by many of the female characters who openly complained about not being treated or considered at the same level as their male counterparts no matter what high position they were in.
This was also pretty obvious in the triangle story between the three leads where the two males only considered the love they had for Hao Lan as secondary towards reaching their main goals.
On the whole I enjoyed the plot, the settings and costumes and the performance of the cast although I always hope for better endings which seems to be an impossible feature in Chinese historical dramas.
Unfortunately I had to drop the Fiery Priest as like you said the plot was really clichè and only the comedy parts weren't enough to keep me interested and involved.
I am glad to read that ratings are going up in Korea and I hope to see more and more of Kim Nam Gil in whatever future dramas he chooses.
I just found out that the writers also wrote The Battle of Changsha which explains the extremely detailed and realistic type of storytelling.
I enjoyed the OTP very much indeed even if for a good part of the story I really had no idea that they would become as such. The whole cast here did a really good job and overall it was a pleasant watch.
However the story was full of clichès and typical Korean style exaggerations (I hope to never see Shin Eun Kyung again as I couldn't bear her overacting) and the ending was rather nonsensical so my rating can't be much higher than a 7.5.