This review may contain spoilers
I'm not going to say anything differently that hasn't already been said about this beautiful, brilliant little masterpiece out of South Korea, but like always, I will be adding in my two cents. Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo was so much more than that of a BL genre. Instead, it taught us a valuable lesson of persevering, standing up for one's self, it's okay not to be perfect, letting go of the past, and moving on towards a better future. It taught a lot of others things as well, but I feel like that was what the majority of the series wanted us to learn.
Let's Dive In.
I have pretty good experience with Hwang Da Seul's series in the past, and which she is great at doing hurt and love and lust and any other feeling that'll make you emotional. She handled this BL with grace and care and love, and it's very noticeable throughout. The first thing that I can point out that I loved is the cinematography. The colors, the gradient, the lights and the darks. So stinking pretty, right off the bat. Then we're introducing to Dohoe, brooding and miserable, compared to the bright light and ball of energy that is Juyeong. Opposites attract trope? Yeah. I'm seated. They both had their own version of trauma, one that Juyeong was immediately trying to protect Dohoe from, with his of trauma taking the back burner. Once they grow older, it's so evident how much hurt Dohoe experienced from that place growing up. You can feel so much anger and regret when he has to go back to the house, it's insane actually.
I think one aspect that annoyed me quite a lot was the back and forth between the leads as grown ups. They broke up and got back together like two times within a span of just an episode. Also, there's some disconnect to them as adults, mostly because of Juyeong still being the same and Dohoe having this like "I'm a grown up" act. But even after all of that is resolved, I still didn't feel much for them. They remind me of the couple that will enviably break up again, but for good. I also like the subtle shift of their lives compared to when they were children. Dohoe driving expensive cars and living in an upscale apartment with a good job while Juyeong is a taekwondo instructor, living in a small apartment who has to drive around in a van. I also don't really understand why Juyeong becomes close to Dohoe's dad and even is heartbroken when he dies. I think maybe because that was still a piece of Dohoe, and by being with his dad, he felt that he could be close to Dohoe; maybe also he was a sorry old man that didn't know how to take care of himself in anyway. Either way, that kind of threw me off too.
This series had so many plot twist, and with each one, my jaw was on the floor. Dohoe lying about going to college, Juyeong finding out about it and feeling guilty, Dohoe being the one to call the police, Hyeonho knowing the truth but still keeping his secret. Crazy, crazy stuff.
Rating:
Story: 8.5/10 - very intriguing. The romance was just the cherry on top, but the story was so interesting and just got better and better.
Acting: 9/10 - so, so, so good!
Music: 7/10 - didn't pay attention to it, but I did realize that most of the songs were in english!
Recommendation Value: 8/10 - definitely recommend! It's kind of sad, so I don't think this is the series for everybody, but the romance is adorable, and also Lee Sun looks great shirtless.
Let's Dive In.
I have pretty good experience with Hwang Da Seul's series in the past, and which she is great at doing hurt and love and lust and any other feeling that'll make you emotional. She handled this BL with grace and care and love, and it's very noticeable throughout. The first thing that I can point out that I loved is the cinematography. The colors, the gradient, the lights and the darks. So stinking pretty, right off the bat. Then we're introducing to Dohoe, brooding and miserable, compared to the bright light and ball of energy that is Juyeong. Opposites attract trope? Yeah. I'm seated. They both had their own version of trauma, one that Juyeong was immediately trying to protect Dohoe from, with his of trauma taking the back burner. Once they grow older, it's so evident how much hurt Dohoe experienced from that place growing up. You can feel so much anger and regret when he has to go back to the house, it's insane actually.
I think one aspect that annoyed me quite a lot was the back and forth between the leads as grown ups. They broke up and got back together like two times within a span of just an episode. Also, there's some disconnect to them as adults, mostly because of Juyeong still being the same and Dohoe having this like "I'm a grown up" act. But even after all of that is resolved, I still didn't feel much for them. They remind me of the couple that will enviably break up again, but for good. I also like the subtle shift of their lives compared to when they were children. Dohoe driving expensive cars and living in an upscale apartment with a good job while Juyeong is a taekwondo instructor, living in a small apartment who has to drive around in a van. I also don't really understand why Juyeong becomes close to Dohoe's dad and even is heartbroken when he dies. I think maybe because that was still a piece of Dohoe, and by being with his dad, he felt that he could be close to Dohoe; maybe also he was a sorry old man that didn't know how to take care of himself in anyway. Either way, that kind of threw me off too.
This series had so many plot twist, and with each one, my jaw was on the floor. Dohoe lying about going to college, Juyeong finding out about it and feeling guilty, Dohoe being the one to call the police, Hyeonho knowing the truth but still keeping his secret. Crazy, crazy stuff.
Rating:
Story: 8.5/10 - very intriguing. The romance was just the cherry on top, but the story was so interesting and just got better and better.
Acting: 9/10 - so, so, so good!
Music: 7/10 - didn't pay attention to it, but I did realize that most of the songs were in english!
Recommendation Value: 8/10 - definitely recommend! It's kind of sad, so I don't think this is the series for everybody, but the romance is adorable, and also Lee Sun looks great shirtless.
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