the_sapio_nerd

A little stretched but fine.

As you're already aware of, Undercover is a remake of the popular UK series of the same name, the makers have also done immense changes in many plots giving extra essence to the major characters. This is rather a political thriller that feels like a tragedy throughout the entire thing and makes you feel sad. Absuse of power, authoritative ruling, corruption, dirty politics, etc. without the consideration of how it affects a common man's life and people's emotions are parts of this drama.

Undercover is set up in a premise where a familyman tries to save his lovale family from getting ruined by his own tragic past that he has been hiding all his life out of insecurity that the revelation can break his dear ones apart. To save your time here I suggest you read the plot in the synopsis so that I can jump to my review, haha.

Have you watched the Lee Joon Gi starrer tragic thriller drama Flower of Evil: FoE (2020) which even got multiple nominations at the 57th Baeksang? Well then, Undercover is established on somewhat similar (I would say 30%) premise. Only difference is that the given situations in both the dramas are different but also lead to a tragic result where there seems no door to get out of.

Undercover is emotionally stirring and the brewing conflict between the leads even when they're unware of eacg other's flaws, is what you call the main attraction of the drama. The emotions and beliefs of the leads will leave you worried about the fate to befall on them and their happy family. The greatest message it gives is, even in a regular and perfectly normal relationshp, situation of discovering inadvertent lies, is something hard to overcome and reconcile.

Talking about acting and cast, the cast felt so good though I personally think it could have been better; the children of the lead couple and some people at the NIS as well as in the police force and the Blue House could be better actors. But the lead duo Ji Jin Hee and Kim Hyun Joo were so powerful throughout the series and their chemistry was remarkable though it's the second time playing a couple but it was different given that the characters were intense. Ji Jin Hee has always proved his versatility by playing a number of challenging characters but in my opinion this role is the most difficult. I felt the same when he played the same character in "Move to Heaven" even though he was there in a guest role.

The core concept of this drama is the same as Flower of Evil, sometimes it felt a bit slow but manageable. Back to back tragedies are a bit triggering which might make you angry; at a point everything goes wrong back to back things happening lose the way back to their places that makes one suffocating.

There was a huge character development for both the lead characters and the way it was presented by intertwining and connecting the present time with their individual as well as united pasts. That is one job that intrigued me tbh. The story has been well written and the direction and screenplay has been done nice but let me tell you that you shouldn't expect a lot from it for we have seen similar plots before and all the political tragedies are not new to us either. It's just a story with different elements and a different way of execution that makes it interesting and kept me going.

Overally, it's not a bad show but worth a one time watch. Please give it a watch before you judge. Scoring a gravitating pitch, UNDERCOVER vaunted a solid narrative right off the bat. Coupled with a good cast, it invites you to brace yourselves for the parade of confrontations, betrayals, and conspiracies spicing up its initial displayed story.

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Your destiny is a matter of your choices.

"Yumi's Cell" is indeed an unique drama you'll ever get to witness with an entirely different approach to showcase human psychological behaviour, their relationships and their lives. This drama is an example of how the simplest of stories can be made interesting, meaningful and valuable with the use of a creative mind, and an idiosyncratic storytelling method. I naturally came here for the cast but despite a decent performance from them what kept me hooked was "the cells." The cells took over the star-studded cast, I swear.

Before anything else, let's spare some moment to praise and applause the writer of the original webtoon writer of the same title, Lee Dung Gun, who has done a very commendable job with their creative approach and analytical mind. This work will force the audience to keep everything else at one side and look up to the drama as the episode goes by.

If you see, the storyline and basic plot of "Yumi's Cell" is not anything new or of that sort but what makes it stand out on a far high level is the utilization of various kinds of 'cells' of the body; not the biological cells, but the cells representing various types of emotions, expressions and important factors of our lives. Then, the way everything has been executed with the appropriate use of science, psychology and technology, makes the entire thing even more interesting. Basically, most of them are brain cells, coordinating with the entire body and Yumi's mental health.

The drama is basically a romcom, with some "slice of life" of elements and whatever shown in here might seem silly, but my dear, these are the real-life relationship issues that every single couples go through in a dating relationship. The seemingly slow screenplay in the later half of the show, is nothing but the gradual buildup in a relationship, that we don't always see in Kdramas. The chemistry development and story progression is in fact very light and instead of the cast, the cells play the key roles here, hence it's a story of the cells portrayed through the human beings.

The Cells here are not the cells you think, these are rather tiny smurf-like cartoons or let's say human beings, playing different cells inside Yumi. Yumi, in the story, is a simple girl, living a simple life, maintaining the balance between her work and almost nonexistent personal life. The basic plot is about Kim Yu Mi (Kim Go Eun) & Gu Woong (Ahn Bo Hyun), them coming together, trying to date, ending up a relationship and then the most important part, maintaining it with their best efforts. Yes, that sums up the entire story, then what's interesting in it? It's the action of these cute little cells that narrates what exactly happens inside Yumi while all these things happen.

The justifying title shined very bright because the drama when says Yumi's Cell, it signifies solely Yumi and everything about her; It's only her who thinks, analyses, examines and makes choices for herself. The human-like cells and their convictions are what makes Yumi function as a human being and whatever happens is always a processs that relies on factors, that only Yumi has control over. The cells are in fact very humane, their actions are impetuous and has the reflection of naturalness. Though presented in the form of animation, the screenplay is realistic and relatable to a great deal. Again, the implementation has been done in such a way, the cell village and their interactions just feels like our daily lives; evoking every kind of emotions. It's infact also funny in regards of this, as in the stupid yet seemingly sensible causes behind the cells' behaviour and their responses with the given stimuli, that make it an interesting watch throughout.

The screenplay distribution between the cells and the real humans is very appropriately done, I must say. The cells, without any doubt, got more screentime than the cast, which is only fair but whatever the cast got was a perfect combination as well. The simultaneous screenplay through the live actions of the cells, showing their rapid & spontaneous response to everything, is such a cheerful and exciting thing that you keep wishing for more. Lee Sang Yeob PDnim is not a new face in the industry, but given the concept of the drama and his period of existence in the rapidly-changing technological aspects of production, he has done a very wonderful job in directing, managing and editing the entire drama and every single thing has been implemented very well.

The screenwriters, however changed for the drama, have done a good job in setting up the entire story. I can't judge their work while comparing it with the original webtoon because I haven't read it at all, so for me, their job was amazingly done and their experience actually shows from the script.

There are so many things about this drama to fall in love with and at the same time, there are few plots plus elements to get mad about. But then, while considering reality and judging from the perspective of characters, I tended to shift my way of thinking, which helped me to a great extent in understanding and relating to them. Because, irl, we never know someone very well to predict their moves and assume what they're thinking, that's basic human psychology.

Ahn Bo Hyun's effortless fashion sense was also something that had attracted me to the drama and for first few episodes I was so very happy seeing him but the biggest disappointment about the drama is the fact that, they changed it. Idk about anyone else, but I wanted Gu Woong to keep up with his looks; his long hair, his Bohemian beard, his choice of outfits, him in short pants, everything about him was so enticing, oof. I will always be mad about it TT.

A great message that the drama also served is that, every single being has some flaws and nobody is that perfect to be doing the "only right" actions all the times. We commit mistakes, hold onto it, then come to realise our actions, try to solve it, reflect on it with guilt and finally try to overcome it; this is life. Not just Yumi and Woong, it was also the major side characters like Seo Se Yi (Park Ji Hyun), Ruby (Lee Yoo Bi), Yoo Ba Bi or Bobby ( Park Jin Young), Chae Wu Gi (Choi Min Ho) and in fact the cells, all of them go through the same process. Some characters are one-dimensional and weren't much explained but again, the story is from Yumi's pov, so the side characters are what she thinks they're.

I am happy about Jin Young and Minho being here, which I was unaware of before the drama started airing; even more happy about their character arcs. Didn't except Minho to be playing such a character (you'll know what when you watch) though he's a very minor character who appears sometimes randomly; nevertheless, he also was a key reason for the happenings of the basic plot. Jin Young also is a minor character in s1 but from what I read about the webtoin in short, he shares a good amount of timing in s2 serving a major role in further in the story, hopefully.

There is no manual for dating, there's no order for the sequence of events that should happen in a relationship as long as it's meant to be. Don't force everyone into your ideals that are basically stereotypes and makes people think that deviating from it is a taboo, which in turn also affects their mental health. I said this because in the course of the drama ongoing, I've seen people complaining about the direction of Yumi & Woong's relationship and how that felt boring and honestly, it turns a lil slow from 9th episode onwards but what we should also remember that, constant failure is very real. And not everything follows as we wish them to; things not necessarily happen right the next time just because it was wrong in the previous one. This reminds me a quote from the drama "Start-up" that said, "Time doesn't heal all the wounds". I liked how the motive of the story changed from a simple romcom to a relationship progression from there, which at first, I thought would not be interesting.

Obviously, in a relationship one is more insecure than the other but those insecurities are not always from the experiences of past relationships but can also be the result of own's convictions and conclusions. It's okay to be indecisive when it comes to vital turning points of life, because it's not so easy to just clap and make choices instantly. We learn through thin & thicks over time and thar period time varies from person to person. Even in a room full of 100 people, every single one differs by 0.001% from the other and that's okay. Noone is 100% honest in their relationships, there are things that you fear to share even with the closest person of your life, assuming that might affect whatever is there between. All these things are closesly associated with our psychology and thinking process which has to vary, otherwise life would have been very simple without any pain, that is practically impossible.

The drama also throws light on One's "Priorities". Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important. When you know what's most important to you, making a decision is quite simple. But it's not the case in real. As I said, we learn things over time. Another element is courage that again reminds of this quote, "Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore." That also applies to relationships, because If you are lucky enough to find a way of life you love, you have to find the courage to live it.

The ending.... Umm yes it has a sad ending but sad endings are not bad endings and again the definition of happiness & sadness or good & bad is upon ones perceptions. It was made obvious that there'll be another season since the webtoon is awfully lengthy, but I was still praying them to wrap up though I knew what'll happen. Not like I don't want more, it's just I am very impatient and anxious to wait for a year. Anyways, I don't think the very ending was absurd and since we have another season left, I wish for good.

There could be things that won't please you but I must repeat, this drama is about the cells and not the human beings. Watching it with an open mind will surely help you like it and it'll naturally grown upon you. It's entertaining, cheerful and definitely a mood buster. For me, it was a beautiful and decent watch which I needed after watching 3 thriller dramas back to back and I am sure I loved the entire thing, especially the cells. So the purpose and goal of the story has been causally served, if you're in love with the cells. Please go for it.

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"Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are."

Sure, people can change themselves and their life, and it's good when you are trying to better yourself and prosper. But when you want to change yourself just to surpass the standards of certain someone, you end up loosing yourself, which is immensely evident.

REFLECTION OF YOU is a story of such desires and the constant urge of vengeance from someone who had pushed you off the cliff just when you were about to embrace your dreams. This is a story about two women: one who despite of her achievements, couldn't help herself in making choices and another who after loosing herself has become revengeful; both, thereby creating unavoidable consequences, that somehow drags their families into the mess. This is a story of love, desires, betrayal and revenge, as the synopsis states.

"Reflection of You (2021)" is the live action adaptation of the novel "Someone Who Looks Like You (너를 닮은 사람)", originally written by Jung So Hyeon (정수현)

Director Im Hyun Wook has done a very good job here, even as a newcomer with lesser experience; I am sure his work in his previous drama of similar genre, has helped him a lot. Yoo Bo Ra jakka-nim is a known and acclaimed face in the industry and she must be applauded for the stupendous plot development in this drama that carries several peaks and keeps the same intense throughout the series. Her method of storytelling as well as the monologue narrations and dialogue writing are all praiseworthy indeed.

Jung Hee Joo is a famous artists and essayist, married to a rich family. He got a loving husband and 2 adorable children: a highschool daughter and a 5yo son. She loves her family to the extent she can do anything for them and has to manage it along her artist life that she has built-up through passion. Gu Hae Won is a failed artist who has lost her path to happiness and changed from a happy-go-lucky girl to a revengeful woman. Both of them share a past that has ruinned themselves to different levels. The story shows their encounter after years, which involves the unveiling of the past events that has dragged them to hell and they try to bring down each other by any means. This major plot invoves many other characters involved with their individual lives and some sub-plots that is related to the main storyline, more or less.

What I loved about the production is that the script of the drama never ran out of substances. Whenever you feel like it might become boring and context-less, leading to subsequent exaggeration, the writer comes up with another enraging scenario which serves as a side dish. First episode successfully establishes an intriguing impression upon the audience, creating plentitude curiosity. In my case, I was mesmerized from ep1 to ep6 so much on my first day of watching that my anticipations was raised high. The way everything about their pasts got revealed within those episodes just so the viewers can draw the entire picture on their own, bothered me a lot as to what else they got to offer next. But I'm happy didn't go blank at all till the end. There's in fact no episode that didn't see development or was boring. The last 4 episodes become very intense, typical makjang vibes, that is frustrating and anger inducing like usual.

Jung Hee Joo (Go Hyun Jung) doesn't lack anything other than constant love and loneliness has grasped her.. She has seen the harshest of days but to her fortune, she falls in love with Ahn Hyun Sung (Choi Won Young), who always wants to remain flawless. Her family comes first to her and she's become very strong over years, despite which she's indecisive and can be easily manipulated that lands her in pickles many a times. Gu Hae Won (Shin Hyun Been) is a budding artist and was Hee Joo's teacher years back. She was a easygoing girl back then but situation and time has made her rude, arrogant, resentful and crazy for vengeance. She can now go to any extent to get her job done. She is married to Seo Woo Jae (Kim Jae Young), another aspiring sculpture artist who doesn't have any control over his feelings and can be reckless to get what he wants.

Other minor characters are Kim Bo Yun as Park Young Sun (Hee Joo's MIL), Kim Ho Jung as Lee Jung Eun (Hwain Museum Director), Kim Sang Ho as Yoon Sang Ho (Pub owner), Hong Seo Joon as Lee Hyung Ki (Min Seo's husband), Park Sung Yun as Lee Dong Mi (Hee Joo's friend), Seo Jung Yun as Goo Jung Yun (Hae Won's mother) and Shin Hye Ji as Lee Joo Young (Lisa's friend) , who are more or less good actors with experience.

Being a mystery-revenge thriller with makjang elements, this drama comprises of many important factors of reality. Loneliness being one of them, has won over almost everyone's mental health for which they choose to keep everything to themselves and be submerged within illusion. The worst part of it is not the pain inflicted by sad memories, rather the loneliness of it. Second being revenge, is a means to intrigue the viewers in here; they say, the best revenge is to unlike them who has caused the injury. But do people really believe in that? No! We are mostly who choose to avenge through damage, even so it is caused upon us. Obsession being another factor, proves once again that it in itself is a way of ruined beings to destroy themselves further. Of all human weaknesses, obsession is the most dangerous and the silliest. Also, lying being considered the worst habit of human beings, is something that can't be fixed. But we must remember, our lies catch up to us someday, somehow. Jealousy too is a factor that immensely dominate the story. The inner consciousness of one's own inferiority is something that can eat us out completely. Domestic violence, disturbances in marriage, parental love as well as negligence, bullying culture in highschool, greed, hate speech, extra-marital affairs, cheating, competition, insecurity, possessiveness, mistrust, etc are also a part of the drama.

I was worried the writer and director might forget about the few side plots that was incorporated into the major plot via the minor characters like Ahn Lisa (Hee Joo's daughter) played by Kim Soo An, Jung Seon-u (Hee Joo's brother) played by Shin Dong Wook and Ahn Min Seo (Hee Joo's SIL) played by Jang Hye Jin. Since there were long gaps before they brought forward the consequences of those scenarios, I was uncertain about them not turning into plotholes, but thankfully!

This has a set if good OSTs. My most favourite is "The Moment" by Lim Kim which is an English song that reminisces past and resonates the consequences with a sense of guilt and regret. The harmony in the track is very soothing, indeed. "Moving Away" by Savina & Drones is a lowbeat, despondent track with immense vocal works. "I Am Lost" by Lee Seung Yoon is a melancholic song about heartbreaks whose high note rhythms are enough to melt your soul. "Knocking On" by Jannet Suhh and "Midnight Sun" by Kim Kyung Hee are the other 2 tracks.

The sound production is also well done. The background scores and the OSTs have been utilized appropriately and were able to keep up the thriller plus makjang vibes throughout.

Knowing own-self is the beginning of all wisdom and can prove a great teacher. But the attempt to imitate someone else's reflection will only bring you misery and land in a horrendous & repulsive situation. What matters is the timely realization and withdrawal, followed by self-reflection and learning.

The finale week had the most dramatic consequences. 15th episode in fact laid a foundation for a superb finale episode but to my disappointment, that seemingly amazing seqence actually got wasted somehow; the peak at the end of ep15 somehow calmed down as soon as within 30 minutes of the 16th ep and the resr 1 hour of it was heading down some unknwon path. I don't wanna comment on it firmly bcs I am uncertain about the writer's intention, nor have I read the original work to be aware of it. But let me simply put it, that it might have another season, otherwise, we'll have to move on from it, considering that the drama got some plotholes. The ending sequences in the last 15 minutes have left me all confused and I have got at least 5 questions, which can be answered with another season only.

Its not new for Kdramas to have unsorted endings just to leave the audience to interprete and assume by their own but ai believe that's not the case here at all. I would have been happier if they had wrapped up the entire story within one season bcs I don't honestly see a potentially amazing drama out its 2nd part. Sure, this one is good but adding more to it will somehow feel like an unnecessary exaggeration, I think. Hoping to listen from the makers soon, I mean they should be clarifying about their intentions by now.

Overally, this is very good, if not something unique or groundbreaking but surely has different kind of moods and I thoroughly enjoyed the entire thing. It's more of a combination of mystery thriller and makjang, and not the typical frustrating makjang kinda drama. The last 6 episodes have the actual intense makjang stuffs, which might not be that sensitive. But anyways, enjoying this depends on your expectations and taste in makjang drama. For example, I am not a fan of intense makjangs so this mild dose was honestly good for me. It has it's own flaws of drawing plots and characters at few points but it's definitely worth the one time watch.

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Thrilling performance as always, oof!

I am someone who watched all 3 seasons of VOICE starting the first week of June, back to back, just because I can finish this season in real time. I undoubtedly got traumatised at points due to this but VOICE from s1 to s4 has been a super-thrilling experience all along, I must say.

Talking about Voice 4, honestly, It didn't feel as good as the previous seasons to me even though I am not displeased or something. So I am rather not that much pleased considering how amazing plot the other seasons were. Anyways, It was a good watch which thrilled me and was also frustrated because of the cult stuff features (which mean the drama served that part well).

STORY & PLOT:
The story follows the 112 emergency call centre team (Golta team) headed by Kang Kwon Joo with superhuman hearing ability and her team who move to Vimo Island Police Station with the purpose of catching a probable serial cyber killer by utilising their vacation time. An LAPD cop Derek Cho visiting South Korea on an operation joins them as the dispatch team leader due to circumstances. Together, they try solving a case and catch the serial psychpath killer with Dissociative Identity Disorder and similar hearing capabilities as Kang Center.

Just like the previous seasons, Voice 4 has one major case going on, on the background that involves a serial killer and with that there are multiple minor cases that the Golden Time Team solve which somehow also helps them in profiling the major case. One difference is, s1-3 involved brainwashing cult stuffs that were instigated by the murderer which was due to bloodlust but in Voice4 there is an actual religious cult where people are brainwashed to protect each other despite own's fault.

Personally, I am not very pleased by the story development because I had had very high expectations and anticipations from the 4th season since they've evolved through 4 years since 2017 and I feel they should have offered us something extraordinary. But I am not unsatisfied either because it was still good and me thrilled even awe-strucken by many twists and revelations. It has some really good plot devices that are worth anticipating for.

The story had a good & interesting starting and the first episode is good. It has a steady development till the end of 9th but the 10th episode felt a lil blunt at some moments but then it picked up the acceleration and ended with some cliffhangers. The lead antagonist character could have been a lot better. He somehow felt a lil less powerless and did some stupid things as well.

CAST & ACTING:
Umm... Well, we have been seeing the major cast acting since the season 1 and they are as good as before. Lee Ha Na as Kang Kwon Joo/Kang Center has always impressed with her acting and dialogue delivery. I can always witness the kind of aura in her eyes. Song Seung Hun as Capt. Derek Cho did a good job and he's definitely experienced in the industry but the thing that I noticed is he never wore his cop jacket while everyone else did. I mean we know that you're from America and very skillfull in the field but still, HAHAHA.

Son Eun Seo as Officer Park Eun Soo did good too but I think her part is a bit reduced in this season than the previous ones. Kim Joong Ki (Park Joong Ki) and Song Boo Geon (Koo Kwang Soo) are absolute eye candies for me and I have been loving them since the 1st season. I was actually surprised to see Kang Seung Yoon bcs I didn't see the cast before starting. Also, Baek Sung Hyun (Shim Dae Shik from s1) 's comeback in s4, that too as a freaking hot adult, was a delight to witness and there was definitely a solid character development for him. I was also happy to see the familiar faces like Lee Yol harabeochi and Kil Hae Yeon ahjumma in the drama.

Now the antagonist. Don't think of it like a spoiler because the production itself is openly bragging about it plus it was revealed in the 4th episode only. Lee Kyu Hyung as a psychopath serial killer with DID, did a very good job as he was given, BUT! IDK whether I am the only one or not; I think his character as the lead antagonist could have much more to do. He as the antagonist didn't seem as powerful as the serial killers of the previous seasons. The blame is to be shot at Ma Ji Won jakka-nim citing it was not a very strongly written antagonist. Anyways, I have loved his acting skills and been a fan for a long time and undoubtedly loved this too.

DIRECTION & SCREENPLAY:
I think I have already mentioned above it more or less before so let me keep it short. Voice have had amazing direction and production work since the season 1 even though they kept changing for each season. The way they edit the deja vu things or past sequences and try to connect and interpreting through the screenplay is very nice. The sound editing is apt as well that tries to have the audience thrilled all along the show. Voice is undoubtedly Ma Ji Won jakka-nim's best creation which he has been successfully pulling off to make the year's best thriller. Voice 4 for me somehow isn't as good as the previous ones, still a good show to give it a go.

ENDING:
It has a good ending. I was afriad they'll end it with a plothole or something illogical and unreasonable will happen but it was just fine, so I appreciate that. However, it felt a bit rushed starting from the 2nd half of the 12th episode. They were clearly trying to wrap up some minor plot devices so that they wouldn't have to worry about them further but that was absurd. In fact, the main antagonist was caught sonner than expected which somehow made it a bit unintersting but I think they had many revelations to do so they did rush it. In the last 2 eps, they basically tried to solve the puzzles of this season plus gave clarifications about some things which were left on hang in the s3. But again, few unexpected things happen which left me questioned. In fact, the epilogue of s3 showing a sneak-peak of Bang Jae soo (Kwon Ryul) with some mysterious woman which was expected to be answered in s4 has been extended to s5 and that thing will be the main story of next season. I am not sure what the writer is thinking but I assume they'll go for another season for sure to explain whatever they left hanging. It's A HUGE WIDE OPEN ENDING which raises plenty of questions and what happened at the very end scene is enthralling and frustrating at the same time. Won't spoil.

Anyways, they could have make 2 more episodes and give it a smooth ending by not rushing it even when they had a plan for s5.

CONCLUSION:
Overally, this season of Voice is a good thriller and definitely worthy an one time watch so go ahead and finish it. Despite some drawbacks, it was actually enthralling to watch, though I ended up with mental disturbance at some points so I had to drop it for few days and then I went back watching.

I don't how others interpreted it, but when the news about this season came, from the title "VOICE 4: JUDGEMENT HOUR" , I thought this season is a good-bye to VOICE, one of the longest running Kdrama franchise. The phrase "Judgment Hour" is something like the final verdict/decision hence implying to the end of this series. But the way it ended with the introduction of some new plots now I think I was wrong and there will definitely a next season. Well, as long as the jakkanim offers his talent and we tend to enjoy it, then why not? HAHAHAHA Let's wait for the updates from the production team.

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Either way, a waste!

Having watched the original show “Jane the Virgin”, I was, at first, a bit hesitant because I liked that. But then I thought I should check out how the Kdrama essence changes it. And I am sadly (not really) declaring that they did fail and this was entirely a horrible attempt. It was obvious to compare this with the previous but then I thought I should actually consider it as a separate show because things must have changed with given circumstances, which did happen. Either way, it did disappoint.
Developed by ‘Studio S’ & ‘Lifetime’ and produced by ‘Group 8”, “Woori the Virgin” is a comedy melodrama plus partly romcom drama, adopted from the American satire telenovela “Jane the Virgin”. Written by Jang Ah Mi and directed by Jung Jung Hwa, the drama was broadcasted on SBS TV and internationally distributed by “Viu” in limited countries. Notably, this is not a remake of the original show, rather an adaptation since all the 5 seasons from have been summed into a single season. Also, the show reunites Sung Hoon and Im Soo Hyang after 6 years who, again, happen to have debuted together 11 years ago.
Oh Woo Ri (Im Soo Hyang), daughter to a single mother and raised alongside her grandmother, is a woman in early 30s who has been virgin due to her religious beliefs. During a regular checkup, she gets pregnant due to medical malpractice at her OB-GYN clinic. To her surprise, the sperm owner turns out to be a man Rafael (Sung Hoon) with whom she had a momentary fling five years back. As she decides to keep the baby and the story follows the consequences and unfamiliar events she faces.
Lee Kang Jae (Shin Dong Wook) is Woori’s boyfriend and a detective. Other familiar faces in the story in various major roles were: Hong Eun Hee, Yun Won Kyung, Kim Soo Ro, Lee Do Yeon, Nam Mi Jung, Hong Ji Yoon, Joo Jin Mo and Yun Woon Kyung.
Plot development was the entire problem with the drama. The remake was a bad idea; they could have made a story based on the concept but they went for an adaptation, making foolish decisions. The pilot episode did its job of creating an impression at the end but the episode, as its own, was not very pleasant. However, the furtherance following that and the set of events became interesting with plenty of comic elements and revelations done for the major characters. To my disappointment, it didn’t last long; it seemed smooth till 5th but what happened in 6th and the way the episode ended, I was skeptical about the rest of the show, because it hadn’t even reached its interval.
With only the crime scandal and the main culprit left to be unveiled, everything else became stupid and not worth of watching as soon as the 7th episode started. I can’t say that the mystery plot and the investigation process kept me engaged, it’s just I wanted to know the culprit’s face even when the show had already fallen through, that’s it. It kept getting stupider and logic-less towards the ending and for my habit of not being able to leave anything unfinished, I watched 7th-14th at 3x, ngl.
Emphasizing on my opinion, once again, adaptation isn’t an easy job as it seems. Even if the audience doesn’t expect you to justify the originality, as a writer, you must be careful not to mislay the essence of what’s been presented earlier, which the debutant Jang Ah Mi jakka-nim clearly failed to accomplish. First of all, the idea to adapt a 5 seasoned show was stupid to begin with; secondly, it could have simply referred to the story and created one of their own; finally, bringing all the 5 seasons into one was where they stooped to rock-bottom.
With not being able to create something noteworthy in his almost 15 year caarrer, Jung Jung Hwa PD-nim has again failed to bring another drama to justice. The flow of direction was inconsistent, very much. Things like screenplay management, sound editing and screen editing might have been handled to par but the erratic pacing and irregular development come as annoyances. While the first half was smooth and worth the patience, the latter half becomes too rushed in order to include everything within the predetermined quota. Imo, they could have made to more episodes, minimizing the damage.
Composed by Choi Seung Kwon, the show has a total of 5 OSTs and my ‘Kdrama OST Sucker’ heart couldn’t bring itself to love any single of them. I would say ‘”I’m In Love” by Sin Ye Young was the only likable track which also fits to the drama. While “Gosh” by Jessi is a fabulous track individually, this has no particular essence to be contributed to the show. Other 3 tracks are: “Sunday to Monday” by Woody and “I’m goin’ crazy” which has both male & female versions, sung by Kim Bum Soo & Lee Young Hyun, respectively.
What I liked…
Nothing really
What I didn’t like…
# Sung Hoon’s acting doesn’t improve remarkably even though he has been acting for a while and his irregular casting should be the reason, but it’s obvious he isn’t getting many offers bcs there seems no will power to improve. He could utilize his time in taking classes. (Some of y’all will come at me foe this but fact never changes.)
# Character arcs for many were shoddy; not even the 3 leads had anything significance. Flaws make characters realistic but for a 14 episode fictional drama there were way too many flaws, provided they didn’t have a single fraction of development. In the second half, it wasn’t even funny rather ridiculous.
# Kang Jae’s character was horribly written with no particular sense. As a cop, he didn’t show any trait that would make him a good detective. The number of times he and his wit failed, implied his incompetency and also showed how incapable the police is. In short, this was so very unrealistic and had no logic.
# Chemistry between the 2 possible pairs were zero. While Im Soo Hyang did click with one showing little compatibility, pairing her up with the other was so useless and was presented with cliché elements as fillers only. The original show was convincing, but as the culture and essence have changed with the remake, the same felt extremely stupid here.
# The illogical plot devices were irritating in the sense that they did repeat few just to stall time and match the timelines of different subplots. Then, they used some just to fill the gaps created due to the removal of major events from the original show. Finally, the way of representation was choppy.
Final remarks... Overally, “Woori the Virgin” is not only a bad remake but also a poor quality show if you don’t take the original show into consoider. I came here knowing I might get bored but the stupidity and failures have made me mad. I understand the low budget is where the problems stem from but we have seen enough such cases, where makers have aced the race despite every hurdles. Since the show has way too many cons and almost no pro, I decline to acknowledge it as an average show, even. Don’t watch.

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Appreciable attempt...

The literal translation might be "shooting stars" but I still wanna call it "shitting stars" for 2 reasons: firstly, it has 똥:tong (poop) in its original title and the very fact that they've used asterisks (**) for the international title. So, even though many people say it's shooting, the intentions of the makers is very clear, huh!

Produced by "Mays Entertainment" and created by "Studio Dragon", "Sh**ting Stars (별똥별)" is a romcom plus idol-life drama. Written by Choi Young Woo and directed by Lee Soo Hyun, the show was originally broadcasted on tvN while iQIYI took charge of international distribution.

The show could be a romcom drama having the main couple at the center, surrounded by many other lovelines, but deep down, it portrays the life at Entertainment agencies, as personal managers of celebrities and members of a a PR team, all of whom are indulged in cleaning up the mess created by the stars, hence justifying the intended title.

Oh Han Byeol (Lee Sung Kyung) is the PR team Head at Starforce Ent. and a long-time close buddy to the topmost actor in Korea, Gong Tae Song (Kim Young Dae); both of them are like sworn enemies and the story mainly follows their story, as they develop feelings for each other. Kang Yu Sung (Yoon Jong Hoon) and Park Ho Young (Kim Yoon Hye) are two managers at the same agency, while Choi Ji Hoon (Ha Do Gwon) is the director. Cho Ki Ppeum (Park So Jin) works as an ent. reporter whereas Do Soo Hyuk (Lee Jung Shin) is the legal advisor to StarForce.

Other familiar faces in major roles are: Lee Seung Hyub (N. Flying), Jang Hee Ryung, Kim Dae Gon, JunQ (MyName), So Hee Jung, Choi Ji Woo and Jin Ho Eun. There are many rookie actors who did deliver well. Also, you'll see many guest roles including Kim Dong Wook, Lee Sang Yeob, Jang Ki Young, Song Ji Hyo, Moon Ga Young, Chae Jong Hyeop, Lee Ki Woo, Kang Gi Doong, Lee Sang Woo, Park Jung Min, Seo Yi Suk and Lee Joo Woon.

Plot development is average yet decent and likable. The pilot episodes and the follow-up didn't create any impression, ngl. But it suddenly became interesting from the 4th episode, idk why. The furtherance is smooth, with so many up & downs and several peak moments, accompanied by twists and revelations. Except for the first few episodes, I didn't really see it going down or dragged or exaggerated. Imo, the 13th & 14th were the ones where the show was at peak throughout, and everything is put to rest by the end, opening a smooth path for the finale week. Thr ending sequence and the finale ended in a grand way. So overally, it might not be very good in sum development, but it was nice and decent with minimum flaw and damage.

The show as an usual romcom, that too in 2022 did not require immense talent to create, however, maintaining the decent quality throughout is what should matter the most. In my opinion, the writers have been able to achieve so to a great extent, if not entirely. And provided that the writers are both debutants, they should be appreciated and encouraged for this was able to be acknowledged by a huge number of audience. It was a wise choice in their part to make it more about the "behind the scenes" workers than the stars, and also giving sufficient share to each of the couple development, adding the character goals to it.

Lee Soo Hyun PDnim who has debuted only 2 years back, has been able to create about 4 moderately acclaimed pieces and I believe this drama also belongs to the same category. His previous experiences surely has helped though this was his first romcom, unusual of his genre. The decent job in case of screenplay, screen-editing, sound editing, sequencing, etc. should be appreciated. Setup in modern urban vistas, there was no need of visual excellence, and everything has been kept simple. The extraordinary failure of cinematographic work in Africa should deduct a point from overall though.

There are 5 OSTs in total and all likable, perfectly blending to the drama and properly utilised throughout. "Shooting Star" by Nam Woo Hyun is alluring track with tranquil music describing how it feels to be in love. "How I Feel" with Kim Jae Hwan's captivating vocals has a jolly rhythm and a piece of confession. "My secret, My everything" by Sondia and Vincent Blue brings back the vibes of old K-romcom OSTs, I cry every time I listen; their harmony is everything. "Departure from a Country" by SuJu Kyuhyun is a melancholic yet alleviating song with stimulating lyrics. "Won't give up" by Choi Yuree is is a softcore track about assuring one about staying by their side and comforting for ever.

What I liked...

# Chemistry development between Tae Sung and Han Byeol was very fond, sweet and likable. Even though they get together sooner than expected, the follow-up journey was nice as well.

# The second couple (won't say who) were the cutest, I'll cry. I wish they had more screentime as couples or their prior development but I'm actually very happy that the couple existed. Let me cry again. The same goes for the third lead couple as well. Let me informq that there are 6 couples in total and each of them are uniquely heart-winning. Look forward to them.

# Park Ho Young, as a person was sweet and her acting is so adorable no matter the situation. The cheerful character she played, surely will remain in my memory.

# Kang Yu Sung, as a responsible and handsome manager did give me flutters throughout. The man is so charming, I will literally pluck stars for him. The character was well written.

# My Lee Jung Shin did shine in the show as well. Him in formal is paradise. The couple chemistry might have come very late but it was nice.

# The PR team, Manager team and the entire organization have been an amazing experience. I don't think such importance was given before? The office scenes were mixed bags of emotions, depicting various situations.

# Emphasizing mental health issues in idol dramas is common but this show did a good job in exposing variable sides of it and also throwing light upon the "behind-the-scene" efforts from the companies, which might not be entirely real.

# Dae Soo calling Yuna-yaaaa was so funny yet so pleasant, I swear. I will miss that for a while, hahahaha.

# There are more than one bromance in different forms though none of them is greatly emphasized, starting from co-stars to managers then between stars & manager and then stars and staffs, and what not. Each of them were fluffy.

# I love the very way the OSTs has been utilized in the show; not only they're good on their own, the appropriate use during the melodrama is actually well-handled. I don't usually see this as a specific point but this drama made me realize so.

What I didn't like...
# Kim Young Dae's acting was a bit off imo. Outstanding performance should be expected from a lead but I guess he was still not prepared to takeover the ML role. It wasn't bad actually, the thing is he needs more training and polishing, and definitely has the potential to become a good factor.

# Unnecessary crossovers did irritate me. The "Find Me In Your Memory" appearance was fine and relatable but the "Penthouse" one was annoyingly cringey and wasn't necessary. Def felt like a filler.

# The cinematography in 1st ep was disgusting, infact, very much overdone. No, seriously, Africa doesn't look like that irl.

# The less of the 2nd couple came to me as disappointing when I realized that even with the seemingly lees screentime, they outshined the lead couple.

Final Remarks... The pros definitely outweigh the cons: in simple, it was a good show to look forward to. Unlike a lot of people, I think it a fairly average drama with very few flaw, which makes it a decent one time watch, yet something that everyone should watch, provided that these days, old-styled romcom dramas with good production values. Go ahead.

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Ummm, it's okay if you don't watch this :3

Writing this review, I really have no idea what exactly I should talk about because the drama has almost negligible context. The low budget and the limited duration are not the problem and I get that, whatever they showed was the main plot only, but Idk what was that. But sure, this drama throws light upon few lessons in long-term relationship.

The story is about Ha Song Yi, a botanical garden curator who is a happy-go-lucky, simple girl leading an average life and his boyfriend Park Do Kyum, the lead singer of an indie band and both equally love each other. With the beginning of the story they break up and the 4 episode drama is about the aftermath of the fall out of their 5 year long relationship. They had to go on a trip together even after breakup. Additionally Seo Ji Kang is another main character who is the tour guide of the team in Jeju-do who also gets involved with the two. The destination of the story is whom does the FL ends up with.

As I've already mentioned, there not much to the story, a small plot is decorated with an average screenplay with many lackings + drawbacks and though the storytelling method is kinda nice. It's visible that the writer debuted through this drama but they needed to study women a bit more because the FL is quite annoying and immature. However she being clingy is kinda realistic because in real it's not very easy to go back to your single life from a long-term relationship.

I think the drama even with such short duration and small plotline could have been better. One or two things felt illogical. The character arcs are not well-drawn. Sometimes it was frustrating also because few things are repetitive as well. Editing is fine though. Anyways, it didn't have much scope to begin with.

Regardless, the story successfully makes you think, rationalize and resonate about few things which are vital in a dating atmosphere. One of them is transparency, the most important thing of all in dating and especially when you've been in a long-term relationship. The story portrays how lies, even told for the better of your partner can ruin your relationship. Always be open & clear with your other-half and even if it's something difficult, ask them to endure that alongside you. It's better to go through the path together than letting them know once it's over because people often feel little of themselves when they get to know of how they were not even aware of the hardship their close and dear ones were going through. What the ML did here was very wrong and given that he shouldn't have been given further chances but anyways, there's no control over one's heart. Also the 2nd ML's storyline is like a filler that didn't quite fit into the story much for me.

Overally, it's good but can't say this is even worth the one time watch. So if you wanna kill time or got nothing to watch or wanna trash-watch, this is a sweet bitter snack for you.

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10/10 for creepiness

Trigger Warning: Immense Cult Practice, Killings, Gore, Brainwashing, Terribly Scary and awfully creepy.

Cult thriller trope is not very new for Kdramas and has it's own separate fanbase but what makes HOMETOWN different is the execution and portrayal of real cult shits that might take a toll on your mind, so be careful in case you're sensitive.

HOMETOWN is set up in the fictional small rural town namely Saju (somewhere in Busan irl) in the year of 1999 with a major past of the year 1987 connected to it. Everything starts from a welfare centre that existed years ago, then a series of tragic incidents in 1987 and then in 1999 where a number of serial killings take place, all rooting to a mixtape cassette with mysterious creepy sounds.

It involves MIU Detective Choi Hyung In (Yoo Jae Myung), who has been connected to the entire event all along in his subconscious. He discovers astonishing facts related to his life while trying to get to the root of it, simultaneously dealing with his deteriorating mental health. Jo Jung Hyun (Han Ye Ri) is determined to find his lost niece who is already staged to be dead. In her journey with his old friend, she discovers horrifying truth about her past and finds herself in terrifying situations that might eat her up to the core. Uhm Tae Goo (Jo Kyung Ho) is Jung Hyun's brother and a terrorist who is prisoned for life for killing a number of people at Saju Station in 1987 by releasing toxic Sarin gas. (These ain't spoilers bcs you'll find them in the synopsis.)

These 3 actors are indeed seasoned artists with main acclaimed works & recognitions and their performance surely will surpass your standard, no doubt. Especially, Uhm Tae Goo as a psychopath,who can control mind, served his role so well that you might wish to kill him, every time he comes into the frame. Him sighing is one of the creepiest things I have ever experienced, eww.

Other than them there are also some other good actors in the major role. Choi Kwang Il as Im In Gwan is deeply involved with the cult group. Cha Rae Hyung as Kang Young Taek, Jung Hyun's highschool friend and a part of the magazine club. Jo Bok Rae as Lee Si Jung is a Sergeant and Det. Hyung In's partner. The 4 teen actress were also good; Lee Re as Jo Jae Young and Heo Jung Eun as Kim Moon Suk are major parts of the story.

I must say that this drama needs a lot of patience, even when you're an avid thriller fan, because till the last 2 episodes of this 12 ep drama, the ultimate reason of the entire event is very very confusing. The way everything is unfolded one by one, in an intricate way will make you go crazy to a great deal. For viewers, it's like solving a puzzle to reach the answer whose fragmented pieces are scattered in a disorganized way. It's like you'll have to analyze, compare and relate the information you have and group them in an order first, before you set everything into their rightful places and finally get the biggest picture on the board.

You'll have new information revealed at each episode and there are lots of flashbacks to reminisce and extract out the tiniest of detail from what you've seen till the moment. The plot development is not steady, rather scattered with many flashbacks and revelations, which are not entirely revealed at once. For a 12 episode short drama, the progression along with plot-twists and mystery divulgence is drawn very well by the writer. The writer has done a good job in presenting the character arcs of all the 3 main characters well.

I somehow felt the 6th episode was kinda slow and nothing that interesting of sort took place in there except the ending, though that episode was also filled with revelations and realizations. After binging 10 episodes in 2 goes, I was concerned how they'll wrap it up in the finale week because there were still so many things to be revealed along with the primary force behind everything. Again after the 11th episode revelation, it was a tragic feeling but also gave rise to more anxiety as to what's next but glad they wrapped uo everything without any issue. Also, the seemingly intertwined story and it's details were still to be revealed in the finale, which were surprising ngl. However, it felt a bit slow and was a lil uninteresting in the 1st half. What was more worrisome that the script might have some potholes left but glad it was all fine.

Hometown also stands out for using a different approach in cult thrillers that's Hinduism. Most of the cult dramas rely on Christianity and Shamanism to showcase cult behaviour but for the first time the makers of Hometown has dared to go for Hinduism and has even executed it very well. The ancient tradition of guru-sishya (teacher-student) was basically incorporated with pseudo-religious practises with immense brainwashing and drug abuse. Only thing that seemed funny was the symbolism of that "crossing-hand" mudra, it wasn't well explained I felt. It felt like they were trynna make a scary gesture but it was in fact very funny. Otherwise, they were able to keep up the intense and thrill till the end and I liked it.

Note: This is not insulting to neither Hinduism or the Indian tradition, rather a fictional portrayal involving pseudo-religious practices which give out alternative interpretations of any particular belief. If other religions could be used then why not this. It's not my pov as an atheist rather as a avid stan of dramas & movies and their values.

The sound production is top notch. They knew very well how to make the mood creepy with the accurate use of background scores and the cult mantras. What also accompanied in grace was the rainy weather scenario. The sound of heavy rain was a perfect feather to the thriller cap. Cinematography is also appropriately handled. Since it's a thriller that too investigative mystery and cult group story, the frame is mostly dark and shady. The camera movement focusing the objects and zooming sequences are well edited. The main prop used in here is the mixtape cassettes with creepy and chilling sounds which was the cause of all the tragedy.

The finishing sequences of the story that summed up the entire event was good enough for a decent thriller. There was no philosophy or justification to the acts done but there sure was learning. Ain't gonna say the actual reason but sure only word to describe the force behind it is an action that can be simply described by 2 words, one starting with 'r' and the other with 'v'.

Overally, Hometown surely is a thrilling and catchy watch which will keep you up till the very end. Starting from it's biggest advantage, i. e. to direction, script, production value, etc. have been taken care of well with a lot of effort. Can't say it's amazing though it's one of the creepiest but it sure is a good one in terms of cult thriller mystery. I made sure not to talk about the story a lot because idk to how to explain things without spoiling. Just make sure to remain sane throughout, haha.

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Simple light comedy sageuk.

Remember seeing the poster and telling my friend that this drama will be a no-brainer and it turned out to be exactly like that. Although I thought there will be certain amount of seriousness, which is indeed there, but even they carry the comic elements to some extent.

It has a simple story. There is a secret royal inspector who sets out on a journey to discover corruptions by the Govt. appointed officials. On his mission he encounters a lady, who due to her situations, joins along the journey. They are accompanied with 2 servants of the inspector and 2 friends of the lady. As these six people move ahead to solve different cases, they unveil tragic truths behind the crimes and corruptions made by local authorities as well as seemingly big figures behind them. As everything becomes clear, rest 40% of the drama is how they bring forward the truth and establish justice.

Ra Yi Eon (Ok Taec Yeon) is the secret royal inspector, who initially had a simple dream of making a dumpling shop and living a simple life. But due to family pressure he appears the state civil service exam to become a inspector. Kim Jo Yi (Kim Hye Yeon) is a free-spirited, quick-witted and brave lady who believes in woman independence. Oweing to her will to beat the societal norms, she strongly supports women opting for divorce, as well. Park Tae Seo (Lee Jae Kyoon) is the son of left state councilor Park Seung (Jung Bo Suk), both of them are corrupt. Duk Bong (Bo Jong Ok) is the head of Tail Island shelter.

Some popular faces in minor roles are Yook Chil (Min Jin Woong) & Goo Pal (Park Kang Sub) as Yi Eon's servants, Ra Kwang Soon (Lee Sang Hee) & Bi Ryung (Chae Won Bin) are Joyi's close friends. Cha Mal Jong (Jung Soon Won) is a trader and Park Do Su (Choi Tae Hwan) is Park Seung's son. Lee Joon Hyuk as the crown prince and VIXX N as Choi Seung Yul are guest, yet key characters.

Acting in overall from the entire cast was okay-okay. Taecyeon has come way long and his skills can be used in better way. I'm not a fan of Kim Hye Yeon, she always has the same annoying character, who only knows to cry well. Lee Jae Kyon did unexpectedly well as an antagonist, loved his acting and expressions.

I didn't really mind the plot development bcs I watched purely for the light comedy but technically it's not a steady and proper one and I think their intention was that. Introductory episodes were slow but decent. As the show progresses, the gradual improvement in premises setup and script quality, constantly grow up. It wasn't exactly good but not unlikable either. However, that lasts till 8th episode, i. e. The 1st half of the show and as soon as the 2nd half starts. Everything comes to surface by the 10th episode and the last 6 are dragged to a great extent just to fill the quota. So, things become exaggerated and repetitive in the processs. The ending was smooth and I am happy the comedy elements were retained till the end.

In another opinon, the drama should have been a 10th episode mini series and made into a good story with flawless technical aspects, even with the light comedy. There were few things of no essence, unnecessarily added to the script, regarding the individual lives of the leads, I didn't like them. Those elements made the mood of the story inconsistent and unsteady.

Director Yoo Jung Soon might not be a rookie but he's not very experienced though I liked 2/4 of his dramas. Morever, it's his first historical but given the premise of the drama and the genre, the overall execution was up to par. It could have been better in terms of representation of elements, organization and connecting of events, etc. but I don't mind since it isn't a typical sageuk.

Writer Lee Jae Yoon is in the industry for a quite a while though the only memorable drama they've written is "The Undatables" The script written by them for this drama isn't something really good but if they had intended to keep it simple and light, I think their purpose has been served. However, the potential conspiracy plotline, which is mandatory in any sageuk, didn't feel steady and engaging. The entire effort to reveal the truth has been fragmented and dispersed throughout. The drama doesn't create great impressions at any point of the story, except for the chemistry betweens the leads.

I watched till 7th episode with normal speed and was quite enjoying the light comedy but when I realized it had started becoming slower and uninteresting, I had to fast-forward the rest at 1.5×. I had intended to increase it to 2.0× later but somehow I couldn't, because it actually not that shabby and boring.

The OST composition by Dalpalan is so good I swear and there are 3 OSTs, which are very likable. He's definitely one of the accomplished composers of Korea and he knew his homework for the drama well.
"Let's Get It" by sEODo is trot track, giving a perfect mood according to the comical mood of the drama. "Need Your Heart" by ONF Hyojin is a cheerful romantic track. Kim Sawol's soulful vocals in "At the End of My Day" is very heartfelt.

Things to like in the show:

#1 Comedy elements are the best thing about the drama. The entire show is full of comedy; in fact the king and ministers were parts of it, as well. I had a good time laughing out loud. Taec was obviously the funniest, it felt like watching the real Taec through this character. All of the characters were able to deliver the comedy through their acting.

#2 This is probably one of the sageuk with least involvement of the Royal affairs. Even though all the activities are indirectly related to the Palace and there are lots of political personnel associated, I was happy that most of the runtime was shot outside the premise.

#3 This drama aslo emphasizes on Women empowerment. The FL in here is not a typical Joseon lady who's either a assassin or only the ML's love interest. She's free-spirited, educated and promotes women rights. She even supports divorce and believes in overcoming taboos set for medieval women.

Overally, "Secret Royal Inspector & Joyi" is a drama average watch: average plot, average story and average execution. It could have better in some aspects but I don't wanna complain a lot because this drama, in no way, demanded to be judged wrt the technicality though I will be fair with the ratings. It's a simple and light watch which you can binge during leisure.

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More Horror, Less Comedy, Good Lessons

Daebak Real Estate is the kind of rare Horror Kdrama which has more horror side to it unlike many other horror comedy Kdramas where even the ghosts are part of the comedy and the scenes are clearly over-edited. Some horror scenes in this were really scary. In fact, every horror scene felt intense.

About half of the story is about the basic steady plot that's going on smoothly & slowly, gradually involving more characters, one by one along with many connecting plots which are more or less related to the central story.

The story involves 4 major characters: Hong Ji Ah (Jang Na Ra), a skilled and stupendous exorcist, continuing her family business of exorcism through a real estate agency, Daebak Realty. Oh In Bum (Jung Yong Hwa), a conman disguised as exorcist who later turns into a psychic to help Hong Ji Ah. Together they discover the past about their families, that they had forgotten in the course a tragic incident. Joo Hwa Jung (Kang Mal Gum), the real estate agent at Daebak Realty. Heo Ji Chul (Kang Hong Suk), Oh In Bum's partner-in-conning who also joins Daebak Realty as a Chief.

The storyline is a good one and the direction is well-organised. One or two episodes felt a bit slow as they were just busy investing stuffs but manageable. Have some tissue paper by your side as at many instances, it will be too overwhelming because there are lots of crying scenes. Also, watch it with a minor TW because there are some triggering scenes which are obvious for a horror drama. Every character did their acting well, especially Jang Na Ra again proved her skills.

Romance part of the leads in the drama is almost zero yet some conversations seemed like flirting but who is complaining about that? Not me! Hong Ji Ah's character is cold yet very very strong but she's soft from inside too. She'll make you cry more than anything else. I can't just see NaRa noona crying. Also, my Yong crying few times made it worse for me TT.

Another thing to point out is cinematography. In most of the cases, the horror dramas hugely rely on VFX and editing even for the horror scenes to look scary but in this drama, they used cinematography to keep the atmosphere simple and look natural and at the same time give off the horror vibes.

OSTs of this drama aee good too yet it felt under-utilized a bit but I think that's fine because their intention was to keep it intense. The bg themes are thrilling and melancholic I must say. And Jung Yong Hwa's OST is definitely a catchy one.

Note: If you're expecting anything very extraordinary, you've come to the wrong place; but it's not bad at all. It's worth giving a watch because the story is definitely a good one :)

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Action thriller + Comedy feat. Tragic ending

D. P. (Deserter Pursuit) is a short Netflix Korean Drama which basically is a action thriller accompanied by comedy and shades of military life, which illustrates truth and tragedy. With 6 episodes of 50 minutes, this drama surely creates some impact on millions of hearts by making us think again about the harsh reality that negligibly changes.

STORY & PLOT:
The drama is about D. P. Officers who are a group of specific personnels in the army assigned to go out of the bases to catch soldiers who have deserted or escaped from the training camps for various reasons.

The drama involves Ahn Joon Ho, a newly enlisted guy, serving his 2 years mandatory military service, who is appointed as a DP officer to replace someone and is then accompanied by Han Ho Yul, who partner each other to hunt down the absconding military personnels. Sergent Park Bum Goo is the section chief for DP dept. Captain Im Ji Sup is newly transfered trainer for the base.

Given that the drama is of only 6 episodes with short duration, it's difficult to narrate even the gist but I will try. So In the drama, Ahn Jun Ho and Han Ho Yul can be seen going out to catch deserting officers. They have to investigate and look for traces by of the soldiers by different means, even so they had to spend money. And after catching them, they come back to the base.

Along with it, their is a main plotline that continues simultaneously which is about Private Cho Suk Bong, who escapes more than once and even commits criminal offence. The drama ends with his case which was a tragic one.

CAST & ACTING:
Well, our favourite oppa Jung Hae In plays Ahn Jun Ho and obviously he's an great actor who did his job right. This character of him also similar to what he had played in Prison Playbook, to a great extent. He never responded to violence and injustice but is passionate about whatever he's given to do. With a bad relationship with his family, he thrives to live well.

Koo Kyo Hwan plays Han Ho Yul and I honestly fell in love with his acting and how he looked in here, especially his hairstyle and accent of dialogue delivery. He's someone who can't stand injustice either but since he can't directly object it, he tries to prevent things in his own way.

Sergent Park Bum Goo is played by Kim Sung Kyun, my personal favourite and a great actor. I usually prefer him in comedy roles but he can ace any character given. His character is a morally upright man who can go to lengths to do his job, but anyways in the right way. He might be strict with his underlings at workplaces, he cares for them to a great deal.

DIRECTION & WRITING:
Direction is cool. Everything has been well executed. They did a good job in organizing and synchronization of events. There is not much to sound editing as they go bland mostly, but those subtle thriller editings and upbeat background scores at suitable places were good enough to keep the thrill going.

Writing is nice as well. Story progression and plot development is quite good. The showcase of humanitarian values in between, was a great idea. The illustration of harsh things like bullying and abuse inside the military bases leading to desertion, hierarchical competitions between higher authorities, isolation & violation, senior complexity are very well done. Corruption and the idea of hiding truth are also touched.

CONCLUSION:
I feel the drama is not just meant for entertainment or thrilling, it also asks us to look behind the scenes and think how cruel it is to go through injustice and yet having no way to escape other than escaping from life. I'm sure it'll create some impacting by making the audience think how wrong it's to bully and abuse someone who is weak. It also demands the change in system and regulations in the military laws and to create a safer environment for not just people serving mandatory military service, also for the professional army personnels.

Overally a good drama and worth the one time watch.

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Unmyeong (Fate) is a strange thing.

"BOSSAM: STEAL THE FATE" overally is not something very good but it's moderately average and worth a one time watch. But Bossam indeed is a different kind of Sageuk (historical Kdrama) and let me first time tell why you should watch it.

1. The drama's basic plot is totally new. Bossam being an old Korean tradition could be something new for the natives but it's undoubtedly unknown to the huge number of int'l audiences.

2. The first of the drama basically is a romcom-story happening in the premise of a historical period. Royalty, Nobility and system, everything is related but politics and diplomacy have minimum involvement.

3. Be it joyous or melancholic, this drama has many warm poetic moments unlike other historicals which are full of tragedy with lots of angst.

4. Whatever amount of diplomacy has been shown in the script, it is very very skillfull. And it's like there's lot more diplomatic progression than wars and fights or stunts.

5. Jung Il Woo goes shirtless in the 1st episode itself showing his bulky transformation :p (not a spoiler at all) and that's quite a sight to witness. Also, he runs a lot in this drama.

STORY & SCREENWRITING:
Bossam is set up in the premise of Joseon era and is based on a age old traditional custom. Bossam basically is the forceful abduction of a widowed woman by wrapping them inside a sack and marrying them off with a man. Even though it has politics and diplomacy, as it should've since it's a sageuk, it has equal amount of warm slow-burn romance story and basic storyline involves cohabitation and mutualism. It's about how Bossam-ing a widowed woman by secret local peddlers changes the fate and lives of all the people involved as well as influences the entire system of a nation. The plot line development is very nice till the 8th episode with a vibe of uniqueness but after that a major revelation took place which changed the entire drama and made it a typical historical Kdrama where certain influential Minister is after the King's dethronement to get hold of the power. And after 10-11 episodes things become repetitive like someone plotting treason, scheming to kill another, preparing to defeat another in courtroom, rescuing someone in need, getting caught, etc etc... All these things happened back ti back in an alternative manner hence became boring and uninteresting to a certain level. They should rather have made it a 16 episode drama without dragging the story by writing the same thing over and over again.

DIRECTION & SCREENPLAY:
Well, it is the same as I described the story writing above. The screen-editing, organization of scenes and sound editing were pretty good till the major climax of 8th episode but after that the director could not do much given the script turned typical. It ain't that bad till the end though it could have been a lot better. So I would say the entire 2nd half is still finely bearable.

CAST & ACTING:
The casting for the respective characters is actually good. Jung Il Woo and Kwon Yu Ri picked a good script and justified their characters pretty much good. Other supporting characters were nice too but the problem is with the drama characters developed by the writer. The Female Lead showed a character development to a certain extent tbh but Jung Il Woo's character went downhill with a major revelation about his past. I expected a stronger him after the twist but the character instead lost it's essence. Shin Hyun Soo's character is very very annoying; he plays an important role in all the tragedy and helps the leads many a times, however he ruins many a thing in the 1st half of the story for his stubbornness and stupid desires. The little kid Ko Dong Ha who played Jung Il Woo's son did great in whatever he was given but after first half that pretty nice character didn't have many scenes and finally became lost towards the end. The supporting roles by Shin Dong Mi and Lee Joon Hyuk were pretty funny and compatible who made us laugh at many instances. Kim Tae Woo as the King has a complicated character. He gets charged up most of the times screaming and throwing things. Lee Jae Yong as the main antagonist played his character very very well and his acting his highly commendable.

OSTs:
To be very honest, there are plenty of OSTs and all of them are very good. Most of them depict either warmness or melancholy which were produced given the storyline. Even though the story becomes typical after the 1st half, the sound editing and OST organization is good. Special mention to the OSTs titled "Love Song", "Song of Destiny",
"Along the Trail", "Collar" and "Song of Bau". I loved especially "Song of Bau" which has a touch of traditional Korean music and it's so heart touching. "Angular Stone" is a track which is melodious and catchy one. Notably, in most of these songs traditional Korean musical instruments have been used.

There is no significant work of cinematography in the drama but the camera works is beautiful at places where they intended to capture hearts with the scene's warmness.

ENDING: It is rushed. I had a hunch from the ending of 18th episode that the last 2 episodes will be rushed in order to bring the drama to an end it did happen for which I wasn't surprised at all. I am okay with how the drama ended because at least that is reasonable but again I hope they would have ended it at 16th without dragging.

To be honest, I expected them to keep the storyline and screenplay as it is for the first half of the drama where they lived a common life staying in small houses, dealing with poverty and facing the odds together and. Even the kid's to part should be have been seen more. I would have loved to see the entire drama as a modern day story happening in a historical period with least politics, that'd have been a unique thing in the group of sageuk. So I am a bit disappointed to be honest.

So Overally, the drama is not bad rather I would say it's moderately average for which I give 7/10 hence indicating that it's worth giving a one time watch. I feel they dragged the ending to some extent for which many things became repetitive but in the end they had rush IDK why. They had the potential to do better but so be it since it's a over anyways. I started it because of the high ratings that I saw in articles saying it is MBN's highest rated Kdrama in their 10 years of history. Historical dramas getting immense recognition from Knetz is actually a big deal and It indeed is the best among all the MBN dramas tbh but it could have been better. You should try watching first 6-7 episodes and decide for yourself actually.

P. S. I will simp for the first half of the show.

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Don't have high expectations; good but not the best

Sinkhole, as I had expected, is nothing sort of very wow. Sure, it's a decent one time watch that keeps you stick to it till the very end, I couldn't find a reason it broke records in South Korea.

The primary concept of the movie is nothing new, i.e. house ownership issues in modern Seoul days. The fact it being disaster survival movie plus a very powerful cast had interested me a lot but as I watched it, I ended up disappointed with it in overall.

I mean I also admit it's a decent movie but my disappointment arises from the news of its box-office records plus the cast but the movie not being anything very nice. There is a high standard of survival thrillers when we consider the Korean Entertainment Industry and their movie production quality. So I am simply saying that Sinkhole failed to meet that line. Also, it felt a lil short, as in, the movie ends even before you realize.

Different families move to a newly built five storey building with their hard earned money only to end up in a sinkhole which no one was aware of. After a few months the entire building falls into the sinkhole early morning which was very unexpected and the number of people fall into it along with the apartment are 9. So the story is how they survive the fall and get rescued in ghr end, accompanied by their back stories which are only narrated from the character.

The basic plot is short yet decent with many momentary peak points which are extremely enthralling, and somrtimes emotional. And as usual, this also has things to learn from and take a note about. Instances that makes you cry; either it touches your heart or stab it with knife, are suitably accommodated in the story. The movie starts on plenty of comedy that lasts for almost 20mins and in fact there were funny instances in between too but it's not a comedy movie, keep that in mind. The survival movie is a mixture of many emotions which were perfectly executed.

Storywriter successfully delivered an up to par work and the direction is reasonable as well; no complaints in that regard. The cinematography and VFX work definitely deserve brownie points. The setup inside the sinkhole is pretty much real to give the actual vibes and the camera plus editing work is intriguing enough to catch attention. The sound editing is somewhat dull, ngl. The screenplay is okay but screenediting is below average, like that of a pre 2010 movie.

Do I even bother talk about acting? Definitely, they are very excellent actors and justified their roles in here but given their skills and capabilities, this movie is a bad choice.

# Kim Sung Kyun as Park Dong Won, a hardworking section chief and a loving family man who saved for 11 years to buy a flat
# Cha Seung Won as Dong Man Soo, a single father of highschool teen, doing multiple part-time jobs to make the ends meet
# Lee Kwang Soo as Kim Seung Hyun, a nomad worker, always stressed about his financial and relationship status
# Kim Hye Jun as Eun Joo, a hardworking intern who gives her best but mad about the rude seniors and coworkers.
# Nam Da Reum as Jung Seung Tae, a student, not interested in schooling but cares a great deal about father
# Ko Chang Suk as the rescue team captain
# Kim Hong Pa as Department Head Seo

The ending of the movie was super overwhelming, I gotta admit. The way these people use their mind to rescue each other during extremely dangerous moments and also manage to get out of the sinkhole using their little intellect and comprehension was amazing and makes you tear up even. It ends with a mini reuinon of the survivors after years and that was a jolly closure to the misery.

FINE... SINKHOLE is definitely a good one time watch which is kinda refreshing too and best for a weekend movie slot. Don't expect too much from it but I'm sure it pleases you to some extent. Happy watching.

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An Ode to Mount Jiri and the forest rangers.

In a world of vast oceans and far-reaching land, it is important to not just remain a mere spectator and record the history, rather to penetrate the depth of it and capture the mystery confined within. Again, the possession of knowledge doesn't kill the the curiosity and mystery, instead creates more.

Jirisan is a drama that started in mystery and ended in mystery, but what a savage and beautiful truth lies in between. The great production value plus the extraordinarily amazing cast, are what made us look forward to the drama. By the end of it I can say that, I thoroughly enjoyed and engulfed those 2 elements though the entire thing couldn't totally lived up to my expectations of becoming something excellent.

"Jirisan" is set up in the premise of majestic Mount Jiri, the tallest mountain of the mainland Korea present in the Sobaek mountain ranges, on the southern regions of the country. It was made into Jirisan National Park in the year 1967 and has been serving as a major tourist spot ever since.

Jirisan, the drama, is a story of a group of rangers who have dedicated themselves to prorect and preserve the mountain as well the people associated with it. The major plot about the drama is the horrifying deaths caused by accidents that happen back to back in the premise, leading to investigation by the rangers who can't help but worry. Along with it what we see are, realistic events that takes place on mountain ranges at different timelines of a year. That includes, natural disasters affecting the mountain, maintenance of law & order on the mountain, life of people living or relying on the mountain, etc. They have also portrayed the legends & myths related to Mount Jiri,
special attractions of the nature, different religious as well as memorial spots and mysteries of the montain.

Note: Jirisan is semi-supernatural and also involves mystery, investigative thriller, violence a lil amount of dystopia. It has in fact lived upto the mystery genre and I am very much impressed with how they kept the mystery buried till the finale week. Actually, the writer throws enormous hints since 10th ep so that we can pinpoint the real culprit behind the entire tragedy but it also keeps diverting from one to other, a lot, thereby confusing the audience a great deal. Although one person becomes the primary focus, attracting all the suspicions towards themselves but not until the finale week you are answered the questions. So the writer has done a very good job in that regard, no wonder she's a legend.

One of the main elements used in Jirisan is immense time shuffling. Not that they're spontaneously continuous, but there are chances you might get irritated by it. Personally I wasn't bcs It didn't confuse me at all. So to explain you briefly, the present timeline in the drama is the early Summer in 2020, which is about 40% of the drama's runtime. The major scenario with a share of about 50% takes place from late summer of 2017 till the mid winter or the end of 2019. The rest 10% goes to the backstory of the characters, involving unfortunate events, that takes place in different timelines between 1991- 2010.

Seo Yi Gang (Jun Ji Hyun) is the best amont the Jirisan rangers and capable of everything to a extent that she's considered a legend. She has always wanted to run away from the mountain but always found her back. Kang Hyun Joo (Joo Ji Hoon), is an ex-Lieutenant at military who left the army after a sad incident on the mountain and decided to protect the mountain. Now he's a rookie ranger. Yi Gang and Hyun Joo are partners and with their abilities they brings the best out of their job.

Captain Jo De Jin (Sung Dong Il) is the chief of Haedong Branch Office who has been working there since his rookie days. Jung Gu Young (Oh Jung Se) is also a ranger at Haedong and a close friend to Yi Gang. Park Il Hae (Jo Han Chul) is the team leader of rangers and recruited at Bidam shelter. Lee Yang Sun (Joo Min Kyung) is the office control room head. Kim Woong Soon (Jung Suk Ho) is the in-charge at Jirisan sub-police station. The major cast consists of these characters who are the parts of all the above mentioned timelines. Another major character is Lee Da Won (Go Min Si) who is only there in 2020 as a rookie ranger.

Some good actors in other minor characters are: Lee Moon Ok (Kim Young Ok) as Yi Gang's grandmother, Kim Sol (Lee Ga Sub) as the Culture Centre researcher, Lee Sae Wook (Yoon Ji On) as Yang Sun's cousin, Kim Kye Hee (Joo Jin Moo) as the National Chief of Mountain Rangers and Dr. Yoon Su Jin (Kim Gook Hee) as the conservation centre researcher.

The production value of Jirisan is on another level and that's obviously because the PD-Jakka duo are highly skilled. Not just because they're the makers of several highly acclaimed dramas, the quality of this drama in terms of the technical aspects speaks very loud of it, I can assure you that. Kim Eun Hee jakkanim with her experience in the field of both dystopian supernaturals and investigative mystery thrillers, has done an amazing job in writing the entire script as well as incorporating several essentially intriguing elements into the story. The plot development was quite pleasing, if not something wow-ish. Lee Eung Bok PDnim is a very familiar name and has experiences of working in all kinds of dramas, so that clearly shows here. I'm sure the extensive time shuffling would have been difficult for the screenplay but he has managed it well.

Cinematography is an area which was stupendously managed in the drama. In fact, the immensely beautiful premise of Mount Jiri provided the team enormous scope to work on and bring the best out of it. Loved the different Kind of habitats, waterfalls, major cliffs of Mt. Jiri., the hiking routes, dense forests as well as meadows and also the frictional manmade visiting spots. The colour palettes were also well executed. For a matter of fact, they've also used both CGI and VFX in many scenes, because obviously it's not that easy to shoot thr entire thing on mountain. The VFX is literally a brownie point to the dramas quality, whereas, the CGI is a bit shabby which is quite visible, but I won't say it's that bad to cut points from the drama, so yeah!

Despite everything, I somehow find myself a bit disappointed with the music of the drama; not that they're bad but the OSTs must be able to match with the moods & vibes of a drama, which didn't happen in this case, ngl. I, however, like them as individual tracks but 60% of the entire album didn't feel like they were composed for this drama. Gaemi is a master composer and known to be one of the best music director of Korea but his skills didn't work somehow. (Note: this entire paragraph is a personal opinion so can't really say whether someone else thinks the otherwise.)

Anyways, my favs are
"Always with You" by Paul Kim
"Destiny" by Kim Feel
"Yours" by Jin (BTS)
"Stay" by O3ohn
"Little Garden| by Taeyeon (SNSD)

The sound production for the screenplay, however, is accurately done to give off the proper vibes at respective scenarios; especially for the thrilling suspense scenes plus the scenes showing Mt. Jiri's beautiful premise.

What I loved the most about Jirisan is the portrayal of the life of rangers through picturization. Their dedication towards the well-being of the mountain, while helping the people who visit the mountain for different purposes as well as preserving the natural resources that belong to it. They have accurately addressed all kinds of problems that the rangers face during work. One of those is forest fire and the ways to tackle it as well as the after effects. Another one is flood induced by heavy rain, rescue work during it and the destruction is also shown. I loved how these 2 things were thoroughly studied and picturized well by giving them appropriate runtimes

Overally, Jirisan is a good drama though it had some flaws (that is why 7.5). It was anticipated to becone one of the best because of the star-studded cast and the makers, which it couldn't be. Despite that, it's wrong it say that it's a failure. Given the production value, acting and cinematograph y, this is a fair one time watch.

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Blue is the warmest colour.

Blue indeed is a colour of warmth and as an object, is a compassionate ode to the vagaries of the heart. The emotional honesty, precision, abandon and need; all summed up within the blue, have been the greatest force of love and benignancy. Letting the blue sky meet the blue sea could lead to bedazzling consequences, opening unimaginable possibilities. "Our Blues", the drama and it's stories illustrate as well exhibit the blues of a varied spectrums of lives and the arrays to which the life can haul us to.

Produced by 'GTist' and developed by 'Studio Dragon', "OUR BLUES (우리들의 블루스)" is an omnibus-themed Kdrama created and nourished by none-other-than one of the best Korean writer Noh Hee Kyung jakka-nim. Joins her, her partner-in-crime, Kim Kyu Tae PDnim, assisted by Lee Jung Mook PD-nim as a debutant who's in fact been the executive producer of several qualitative hits. With a super-duper multi-starrer cast, the show was originally broadcasted on tvN whereas Netflix is in charge of international distribution. This also marks Kim Woo Bin's comeback drama after 6 years long hiatus and has been shot in Jeju Oil Feild, while a fraction of it has been filmed in cities like Seoul and Mokpo.

Established against the backdrop of Korea's Pureung-ri in the famous Seogwipo, the 2nd largest city on Jeju-do island or the southern part of Jeju Province, "Our Blues" is formatted as an omnibus tale of 14 characters, divided into 8 stories, told in a total of 20 episodes. While the term "omnibus" literally refers to different stories in a single book, the drama takes on characters living in the same neighbourhood who are interconnected and their path crosses on a daily basis, but the manner of presentation emphasizes only 2 of them at a time. In simple words, at a particular, time only a few characters are the protagonist of the story, having them at climax/peak, whereas others are simply extrinsic parts of their lives, coming in and going out of the scene randomly.

The drama is a true example of what you called a star-studded cast, filled not only with soooo many popularly acclaimed and skillfully talented actors but also with renowned makers who have always proved their worth. Among many, the major cast are: Kim Hye Ja, Go Doo Shim, Lee Jung Eun, Cha Seung Won, Shin Min Ah, Han Ji Min, Lee Byung Hun, Kim Woo Bin, Uhm Jung Hwa, Choi Young Joon, Park Ji Hwan, Bae Hyun Sung and Roh Yoon Seo. Special mention to the child actress Gi So Yoo who played Son Eun Gi and won hearts with her realistic acting of a 5 years old child.

In supporting cast, the familiar faces are: Kim Kwang Gyu, Nam Kyu Hee, Cho Hye Jung, Baek Seung Do, Lee So Byul, Park Jee A and Yoon Byung Hee. Again, special mention to Jung Eun Hye who played Lee Young Hee, a person with Down's syndrome, who, in real, is someone with the syndrome, and did a spectacular job. There are so many other known faces in guest roles, here and there in the show.

Rather than writing a character description, describing different stories without spoilers is a better choice. It's important bcs the drama doesn't have a particular plotline, and as told earlier, it consists of several stories.

# Eun Hi and Han Su: The wealthiest fish trader Eun Hi, who's loved by the entire neighborhood, reunites with her long-missed first love Han Su, whom she dated during highschool but grew apart due to individual situations.

# Yeong Ju and Hyun: These 2 highschool students who live in the same apartment, and been friends since childhood, secretly start dating and plan to fly to Seoul after graduating. However, an unexpected hurdle come their way, disturbing their entire wishes.

# Seon-a and Dong Seok: Thinking she's hit the rock bottom, Seon-a travels to Jeju, where she meets his first love Dong Seok, whom she'd abandoned years back. Still, uncertain about their feelings, both of them become friends again and help each other comfort.

# In Gwon and Ho Sik: Considered brothers from different mothers, Ho Sik and Ingwon had been there for each other through thick and thins, but as life happens to them, they grow apart, resenting each other for years. Now that their children are involved, they seem unable to turn away, rather fight it off.

# Young Ok, Jung Jun and Young Hee: As Young Ok and Jung Jun grow closer, Youngok's uncertainties have always bugged Jung Jun, and he's afraid of being left back. There enters Young Hee, bringing love to the city and to the relationship between the couple.

# Eun Hi and Mi Ran: The highschool duo, the rich Mi Ran and the poor Eun Hi, known as princess and maid, respectively, has always been there for each other. But there exists misunderstandings created due to own's sense, which has to be dealt with.

# Chun Hee and Eun Gi: The boss of sea Chun Hee samchun is excited for her family's comeback to Jeju to live with her. But as life becomes cruel, not knowing what's happening, she is left to take care of her granddaughter Eun Gi, who's adorable yet irritating.

# Ok Dong and Dong Seok: On the verge of death, Ok Dong samchun wishes to make up with her son Dong Seok, who resents his mother and has separated for long. As they set out on their first and last trip together, will they be able to clear the distance between them?

I do wish to elaborate a little about the topics the drama has attempted to tease and start conversations about, and doing this separately without character names, in order to avoid spoiler...... The most important element the drama tries to emphasize on is depression and related mental health issues; through a character, the drama shows how severe depression affects the lifestyle of one as well as their relationship with others. I believe it's one of those few shows, having the real symptoms of depression, that can be triggering. The 2nd most important placed is Down's Syndrome, a specially-abled person and the way of embracing them; I loved how well they have tried to draw basic notions about the normalcy of it, it was simply overwhelming.

Unprotected sex and teenage pregnancy are 2 other important elements showcased in the story, through which the writer might not have put forth the cons of it, but using it she's demonstrated the possibilities of growths in relationships and strengthening of love. Through each of the stories, the drama again, has emphasized the power of confrontation. Confronting one isn't always intended to bring down the rival, rather it provides a great mean of bringing out all the inner thoughts, helping in clearing misunderstandings. On that note, the drama also highlights greatly on self-realization and putting forward the flaws of all the character, which is follows by learning and growth, no matter their age, gender, situation and roles.

One of the many things that I loved about the drama is how they have also clearly shown that, our feelings and complexes about our friendships and other kinds of relationships are not childish or silly, because our thoughts and emotions always carry some values and could burden us to unimaginable levels. Both male and female friendships, the similarities & dissimilarities and the gravities of sentiments have also been pointed out by the writer.

Another thing I liked was the portrayal of real behaviours of the old people; as in showing how they could be irritating, annoying, demanding and adamant about anything, frequently frowning and getting afraid instantly upon being screamed on and still crawling back to their own people, etc. These are not something to really complain about but most of the kdramas do not show it. Rather calm, relaxed and postured sides are the only tools used in typical Kdramas. I hope people don't misunderstand what I am trying to convey, it's simply a way of praising how realistically the makers have presented it. On that note, the makers were able to create a typical suburb environment and bringing out typical village lifestyle and human values.

Additionally, the show throws lights upon many small to big elements like: financial mishaps, aggrandizement of love, fraudulent intentions, custody battles, love for kids, reminiscence of foregone days, secrets and lies, shades of parenting, grudges from past, holding back thoughts, conflicts in group jobs, terminal illness, accidents, being long-term bedridden, poverty, bullying, etc.

The well-crafted show is a proof that something can be fun, exciting, thrilling, emotional and touching even when there isn't much going on in our lives or even in the contrary situations. The intricate and intimate glimpses into a character's life immerse you in their very worlds, not through glamorous and flashy visuals and actions, rather a realistic and relatable presentation; totally wandering, hazy, witty and totally absorbable. The drama successfully captures tumultuous moments, all the joys and all the growing pains meshed together.

The drama marks the comeback script of Noh Hee Kyung jakka-nim after a break of 4 years, but we know she was busy creating another masterpiece yet again. With the experience of over 2 decades and a half and creating numerous popularly acknowledged slice-of-life stories, jakkanim has comeback with a piece that is unique for Kdramas. The drama itself is character driven and the cerebral & in-depth portrayals of life remains the key feature, as her usual signature. The simple yet lesser discussed topics, the elements used to narrate the stories related and the touching plus triggering outcomes from each of them, everything has been sketched with lots if care and sense, that it directly hits the core of thoughts of the viewers.

As the maker of numerous highly acclaimed and huge budget dramas with skyrocketed ratings, Kim Kyu Tae PDnim is one of the top10 directors of Korea. Using the experience of almost 3 decades, he creates stories that most of the viewers are able to live than merely relating with their own lives. The presentation is all that matters, as they say, PDnim has proved to have mastered that craft, which clearly shows. Tell me a point that you thought was off about the flow of the show? Nothing, right? From screenplay management to scenario setup, from script interpretation to scene execution, from screen editing to accessory coordination and finally the filming supervision, everything reflects on how well PDnim has understood his job of absorbing the essence of the script, it's narrative and the storytelling style intended by the writer.

Cinematography of the show, as priorly expected from the audience because of the announcement of story being primarily set up in Jeju-do, went beyond the expectations. The agricultural land of varied green accompanied by propelling huge wind turbines, the coastal vincent and deeper navy blues of the sea paralleling with the story, the mysterious yet mesmerizing bed of ocean-floor decorated with planktons, abalones and conches and the sceneries of sunset and sunrise with contrasting yellow and orange hues, everything had their own significance and provided with alluring sights to the audience. Choosing the gauge, managing the speed, setting the sensitivity with diffusing filters and adjusting to an aesthetic frame with appropriate lens, the director of photography surely has mastered the art of moving photography.

The silhouettes of single houses with rock boundaries, having flowers blossomed on them, did serve as an unusual visual elements to me. I think I can stare at them for hours and still won't get bored. The marketplace was another location frequented by the characters, a place where almost all of them crossed paths on daily basis and from our pov, every single day. It was the place where several peak moments took place and served as a buffered zone, typical of village scenarios (though the show is set up in a town). The profuse number of occupations, little details added to their jobs and their ample contributions to the trade and business of the region, even so subtly, it's been shown resplendently.

The exclusive Jeju dialect (제주방언: bang'eon) used in the drama makes it even more indulging, particularly for people like me who're into language. The larger and more conservative vowel inventory of the dialect and nouns ending with ㅁ (m), make it unique. There were few moments where the characters used pure Jejueo for which the makers have given subtitles with standard Korean language.

Putting the emotions and momentarily paused reactions in a "frame" is how they want to emphasize that how the beauty of art is more to do with the backgrounds, rather than the art itself, which implies the small yet bonny inputs into our lives.
'Building back broken houses' (Ingwon and Hosik) or parts of it signify how the living entities always require to be mended with love, care and warmth. It's always wise to restore back what we have than desiring to get what we don't have. Even when things like approach and apology serve as saviors of relationships that you want to hold onto, do it.
'Harvesting abalone and conches, together', as the hanyeos said "We move as one", tells how unity is the key to prosperity. Before the fruits of prosperity can come, the storms of life need to first bring the required rains of testing, which mixes with the seeds of wisdom to produce a mature harvest. The lives of hanyeos reflected that a lot.
'Painting walls' (Dongseok and Yeong Jun) as a sign of renewing the preexisting ecstasy of life with a different colours, as your situations suit. Painting both dreams and nightmares, with one step further, painting own's reality, might result in eternity.
'Writing down the curiosity and thoughts' instantly is a tool for many to relief their pain, more than just keeping tracks. Dairy-keeping is not as simple as it seems and turning your diary into your best possible story, could be considered a miracle. While maintaining one, when you've struck the right vein, tiredness goes. It must be an effort, thinking wrong.
'One stone at a time', for life and prosperity; rock balancing is not new in Kdramas but through Ok Dong samchun, Noh jakka has tried to present the ways to extract hope from balancing rocks, slowly and steadily.

The coming-of-age essences to the stories and the characters serve as a perfect device to nourish the vitality of the messages the writer desires to give away to her audiences. The psychological and moral growth/transition of the characters, from a point of misery to prosperity or vice versa, has been a mesmerising chronicle to witness and preserve. Personal growth and change of them, contributed by different others, signifying the importance of community life, particularly in village, where all of them are protagonists of their own stories, makes it gratifying, which is again feathered by the beautiful dialogues, emotional responses and sumptuous actions & reactions.

Composed by Choi Seung-kwon and Kim Ji-soo, there are 10 OSTs in total, all sung by very skillful vocalists of South Korea, bringing back the OST queens back to track. I love how amazingly the OSTs have been used in the drama.

# "The Last" by Heize is my most favourite which is a comforting track about the warm moments in love.
# "Remember Me " by Davichi is a melancholic song about reminiscences.
# "With You" by Jimin (BTS) and Ha Sung Woon is a softcore and mesmerizing track depicting desires and confession.
# "For Love" by 10cm is a jolly romantic track as an ode to blooming love.
# "Whisky on the Rock" by Kim Yeonji is a retro-styled song with gracious vocals is an ode to the old and care free days.
# "ONCE AGAIN" by Winter and NingNing is a song about assurance of staying beside.
# "By My Side" by Taeyeon (GG) is a melancholically healing song about regrets.
# "Bye Bye" by Punch is a mellifluous song about missed opportunities.
# "Happy Song" by MeloMance is indeed a song about happiness and hopes.
# "STAR" by STAYC is about the beauty of love, written with gratifying lyrics.

The opening theme at the beginning of each episode with aesthetic set ups, as someone picks up the record for characters meant for that episode, playing the record player and unfurling their stories, all these provided great joy and was ecstatic.

Apart from these, the drama also has many old songs, not only Korean but non-Korean along with classic jazz, that has been either used as a background, or played/sung by the characters. The 1962 Italian pop classic song "Quando Quando Quando" by Tony Renis as well as it's English version cover by Korean singer Moon Haewon (문해원) is the most mesmerizing. "Our Blues,Our Life" by Lim Young Woong is a beautiful track.

My most favourite dialogue is...
"I heard this typhoon will pass by. But again, all of them do. Just like this typhoon, everything will eventually pass by soon. Now get some sleep, Yeong Joo-ah~ I love you."

Final Remarks... And just like that, once again, another drama has made me question my worth for daring to judge it; it took a lot of efforts to put my feelings and experiences into words. Another masterpiece slice-of-life drama is OUR BLUES which will be placed in the deepest cores of our hearts and remembered, for it was beautiful, healing and profoundly heartwarming, making us to think, resonate, rationalize and acknowledge the determinants life throws at us. I would have loved if it were more, I mean, at least that's what I desperately wished for. I would like to offer my gratitude to Noh jakka from offering us another spellbinding piece of art. Thank you to each and every one involved.

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