Also, I'm not sure if others share the same sentiment as me, but the main character 'Ho Goo' became almost unbearably soft and wimpy, although viewers already know he is soft and wimpy from the poster of the show alone. In my opinion, it gets to be a little too much for me nearing the end of the series, but if that doesn't bother you, then power to you. The rest of the cast is great though, and their acting was very good as well. UEE, Im Seul Ong, Lee Soo Kyung's performances were pretty good, and the supporting role cast was nice as well.
Music is okay, nothing to write home about. Didn't evoke or add much emotion to the scenes. Couldn't really find myself listening to it outside of watching the show, which is a big sign for me for whether or not an OST is good.
I wouldn't watch this one again for sure.
Overall, the series is a nice one-watch, but you may find yourself forgetting it exists about a week later.
Besides Ho Goo, the cast is a plus. Music is meh. Go ahead and watch this one boys and girls.
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Now for a serious note, this show touched on some serious issues that I don't often see in this type comedic melodrama. I won't reveal the issues in show because I don't want to ruin it for others. I think it was handled well in the show but it would have been nice to see more about those issues and coping and acceptance for people that deal with these issues. The show skimmed the surface of these issues but at least it was talked about. I was so pleasantly happy with the ending, at least they didn't leave a bunch of unanswered questions and the ending was a good one. I don't expect a happy ending for everything but I do expect that all issues, topics and relationships are cleared up. So YEAHHHH!!!!!! Great job on the show.
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Full of heart!
I ALMOST turned this off in the second episode, because I found the FL so unlikeable. I'm so glad I didn't!!! This was a lovely show that totally gave me all the feels. I thought the storyline was very original and the writers did such a good job of keeping some mystery throughout and changing how we feel about the characters. Some you start out hating and then grow to love. There was quite a bit of physical humor (noodle legs after a kiss is all I'll say) that didn't take away from the story. The parents in this show were different than the majority of Korean dramas. Plus, you can never go wrong with family and friend dynamics.ACTING/CAST: I thought the whole cast was excellent, but I'll speak to just a couple. Uee as Do Do Hee - Hated her character at the beginning, she seemed so angry and miserable all the time, but was we got to know here better, it all made sense. You could really feel her loneliness, and it was a joy to see that she wasn't as put together as originally thought, especially when we were treated to flashbacks. Choi Woo Shik as Kang Ho Goo - this is a young man that has the most beautiful baby face, and he knows how to use it. He was so expressive. His love was almost palpable, love toward everyone in his sphere, but especially for Do Hee and the baby (cutest baby ever, by the way!). In Seul Ong as Byeon Kung Cheol - a character that you love to hate, but you may change your mind as time goes along. Powerful and successful, yet so insecure, this character had a lot of hidden depth and provided a lot of comic relief as well. Lee Seo Kyung as Kang Ho Gyung - Ho Goo's twin sister - I don't like aggressive females, and she bothered me quite a bit at the beginning, but she redeemed herself as well. The actress played her with so much heart.
This show tackles some serious issues, and does it without becoming melodramatic. The script addressed beauty standards, pregnancy stigma, physical and sexual abuse, sexuality, and the double standards that are involved in each thing. There were times that not a lot was going on, but watching the characters develop and the overall sweetness (in a good way) was so enjoyable, I didn't need to fast forward.
The music was innocuous and fit in well, as evidenced by the fact that I can't really remember the music.
I probably won't watch this again, only because my list of shows to watch is so long, I probably won't get through it in my lifetime.
After watching a few mediocre shows, I was so happy to see something that had me so engaged in the story and invested in the characters.
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It's a no for me, dawg
It took me forever to muster the strength of will to finish watching this show, and that is *never* a good sign.This drama was just SOOOOOO FREAKING LONG! If they'd cut out all the unnecessary dragged out parts, it would have been half as long and probably twice as good. They had nowhere near enough story for a 16 episodes drama.
Do Hee was so mean for such a majority of the story. And don't even get me started about the whole thing with Ho Goo's sister and the (frankly stupid) misunderstanding Kang Chul had. That's a prime example of a plot idea that didn't have nearly enough meatiness to it to get stretched out over 16 hours of run time.
Also, either the type of humor they wrote into the show wasn't my cup of tea or things have changed a lot since 2015, because I just didn't find most of the bits that were supposed to be humorous even remotely funny. I thought they were cringy and grating.
I think this story would have worked better in a movie format.
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This review may contain spoilers
Feeling super conflicted about this drama
I just finished Hogu's Love (2015) and wow do I feel conflicted about this drama. It tells the story of the unlikely romance between Ho Gu, a loveable self described squid (someone who just drifts along in life), and Do Do Hui, a beautiful woman who is a medal winning competitive swimmer.The parts of this drama that worked were wonderful but the parts that didn't work were so bad that they almost ruined the whole thing.
What Worked:
1. The Female Lead: I loved Do Do Hui because she's a FL that you don't often see in Kdramas: at the start she's cold, harsh and aloof but as you get to know her you understand why: people are always treating her as an object of desire or trying to get something from her and she doesn't have anyone in her life who she can trust. I've seen people say they hate her which is kind of a bummer because she's one of the most complex and interesting FL's I've seen in a long time
2. The Second Male Lead: Byeon Kang Cheol was a fantastic character who got saddled with a shitty storyline. I still loved him because he was kind of ridiculous but he grew a lot over the course of the drama, evolving from a vain lawyer living a sterile and lonely life to a person who enjoyed eating raw squid and soju and singing at the noraebang with friends. The actor did a fantastic job playing him.
3. Supporting Cast: Hogu's parents, his friends, Byeon Kang Cheol's parents and his secretary were all terrific and added a lot to their scenes.
4. Creative Storytelling and Humor: There's a lot of slapsticky humor which is normally not my kind of thing but I loved most of it. There's also a lot of creative fantasy sequences and one epic scene where high school boys brawling over a naked drawing of the FL fall into poses from famous paintings. Hogu's squid meltdown (you have to see it to understand what I mean) was another epic moment.
What Was So-So
1. Ho Gu was a frustrating character. Sometimes he was sweet and adorable and other times I wanted to strangle him because he kept being presumptuous and sticking his nose where it didn't belong. It was especially galling when he did things without asking Do Do Hui first. I will say it got better as the character evolved and matured. His final reconciliation with Do Do Hui was lovely.
What Didn't Work At All
1. The drama brings up serious issues like sexual assault, abortion, single motherhood, suicide, slut shaming, etc. The problem is it either deals with them perfunctorily (for example, leaving the assault trial for the very end of the last episode) or really poorly (very negative messages about abortion which I did not need to see when the US has abortion access being destroyed). There's also a major Coffee Prince-esque storyline that played is he or isn't he gay for the entire drama and it's wildly insensitive. I kept shouting at my screen JUST LET HIM BE GAY, GAWD.
2. Ho Gu's sister was manipulative and a raging asshole with a violent streak and I never liked her.
Do I recommend you watch this?
Maybe. You'd have to be willing to overlook a lot, esp. the gay identity storyline, but the characters are mostly wonderful and the relationship between Ho Gu and Do Do Hui is incredibly heartwarming. I tend to drop dramas very easily but this one hooked me from beginning to end and that's saying something.
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STORY: 10
I don't want to get into the story to much, but I guarantee you that this is probably the most unique story in the world of kdramas that also sheds light on a very interesting and very important social message that no other kdrama has ever delved into. Basically, for an extremely adorable drama, it has some very strong criticism about contemporary social beliefs about...stuff. YOU"LL FIGURE IT OUT AFTER A COUPLE EPISODES.
CHARACTERS: 9
You will fall love with the MC. Period. You will also fall in love with his love interest. She's sort of like the typical "tough on the outside, soft in the inside" female character, but what makes her different is that there are so many things that you'll learn about her that will make you have great respect for her. There will never be a time when you hate. You're going to end up rooting for this girl til the very end. Actually, that applies for every character in this show...but most importantly--you'll really enjoy the chemistry between all the characters. Like. That is a fact.
MUSIC: 7
It's very fitting for the drama.
tl;dr watch the first 3 episodes, and if you're still not hooked by then, just drop it, but know that you're missing out on a very refreshing, extremely memorable story. Heck, I made an account just to write this rec.
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I expected some stupid rom-com and cliché drama to fill the time and not to think too much. Instead I watched a wise, a bitter-sweet story, surprising, amazing, touching and heartwarming. I laughed and cried in the same time, because it shows a completed life with innocent first love, up and downs, guilt, hope and real problems in relationships.
Why I love it:
I love it because of two faces of twin-sister (Lee Soo Kyung): the beauty one with perfect make up and eloquent, and the other one: warm, friendly and ugly. Her character is captivating and her relation to twin-brother is the most cordial and warm that you can see in dramas.
I love it because of excellent story. It’s socially involved and touches problems that could concern every girl. The story is about love that must struggle and overcome difficulties. Ho Goo who isn’t clever and quick-witted but his sincere and innocent overcome the fear and uncertainty of Do Hee.
I love the baby. (Isn’t the littlest and cutest baby in kdrama?)
I love every character, everyone eventually grew up. They stole my heart for good. The life that isn’t easy becomes worth to live.
I love Ho Goo, played by Choi Woo Shik. He is praised for his dark role in “The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion”, but here as naive, sweet boy is seductive and charming.
I love wonderful love story, or better to say love stories, because emotional adventures of the lawyer Byun Kang Chul (Im Seul Ong) and twin-sister are twisted, tricky and funny! Is it possible to love BOTH male leads? It happened to me.
Why I don’t like it:
...well, there is no single thing I do not like. But, wait, it is one: drama is too short, I wish I could meet my lovely protagonists for 100 ep.! I miss them already.
Music is extraordinary: Vivaldi, Russian ballads and marches, and Korean optimistic vibes – create unique atmosphere.
Drama is really amazing! Of course I’m not going to be objective, it isn’t a drama to be cold mind and objective! I give 100, it’s the rating scale that is wrong.
If you like ambitious drama with important problem to think about, or you want to see optimistic story about overcoming the difficulties of life, or you want to fall in love with Choi Woo Shik – watch this drama!
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A great drama, which only flaw is that the romance lacks a bit of passion. Watch! Just watch!
THE STORY
In my opinion, all good dramas are character-driven, which is why Ho Goo’s Love is good. There’s no storyline per say in the show. Sure, we can say it’s the story of a loser who meets with his first love and tries to win her over. But that’s not it. It’s the story of a guy who thinks he’s a loser and consciously plays the part, and the story of a girl who thinks she’s a loser but chooses to pretend she’s not, and how they come to trust in themselves and go for what really matters to them in life. Their personalities, their issues and their attempts to deal with these problems drive their relationship and the entire drama forward. That's character development at its best. That's a great drama.
All characters are fab and remain coherent from beginning to end (hence the drama also is coherent from start to finish), but what’s also great about this show is the script. Among so many great things, I thought it was amazing how everyone in the show ends up realizing, at some point, that they’re Ho Goo (fools). We’re all fools, especially in love. It’s fresh, it’s light (even when a serious, dark matter’s in play), it’s fun and relatively realistic. It's complete.
The downside to this drama is that the writers put out innovative plot possibilities, but by the end decided to play safe and give the type of closure that’s more conventional to Kdramaland. Also, I’m going to say it as it is, there could have been more skinship between Do Hee and Ho Goo, or more intensity (aka “passion”) in the relationship. While the show’s great, it’s not emotionally gripping, and I think that’s one of the reasons, especially since they put a lot of emphasis in the premise on the fact that Ho Goo had never been romantically involved. It’s a shame, but hey, the drama’s so good, I’m not even going to complain.
THE ACTING
I want Choi Woo Shik! Can’t I have him? He’s cute ok, but he’s also such a great actor! Uee’s acting has me conflicted, because I don’t think it’s bad, but it doesn’t always convince me. Anyway, it wasn’t an impediment to the show, I still loved her character the most out of all, so I’d say she did well. Seulong was awesome! But all the cast did well.
THE MUSIC
Funny, I just ended the show and I can’t think of what the OST was like…well, it wasn’t bad at least! I’d remember that!
REWATCHABLE VALUE
High. Very high.
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Firstly, I really enjoyed the storyline. The kind, loveable nerd/dork who is also able to stand up for himself instead of taking all the crap that's thrown at him was very refreshing to watch. I can't say I'm happy with the verdict of the incident that happened (without spoiling - hopefully) but honestly this was very realistic in my eyes as not everyone is able to get the justice they deserve.
Not a huge fan of UEE's acting but in this one she's watchable. Woo Shik's interaction with the baby was beyond adorable. It was also refreshing to see siblings who cared about each other instead of the cliché siblings who hate each other or are always trying to outdo each other and the same goes for parents who are actually happily married and still love each other. The two male leads were fantastic and I felt they truly worked well together from enemies to friends. I loved the bromance and I think this is the first time I've liked both first and second leads. I loved the geeky friends as well but unfortunately they disappeared not long after the time jump.
I really got caught up listening to the music that played during the drama but because it was really playful and cute and I loved the little squid cartoons that was shown at the beginning of each episode.
I highly recommend this drama to those who love a nice cool, laidback, romcom. Normally, I can tell what will happen next in a typical drama but almost all of my guesses were wrong in this drama. I suppose there's a first time for everything XD
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This review may contain spoilers
Hidden Gem
9.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2015 South Korean romantic comedy drama with 16, 60 minute episodes. Also known as A Pushover’s Love and a Fool’s Love.Kang Ho-gu's (Choi Woo-shik) main fault is he is the nice guy who often gets "friend zoned."
By misreading all the signals, he is no stranger to heart break. In direct contrast there is his twin sister Kang Ho-kyung (Lee Soo-kyung) who is a love them and leave them, dating expert.
Ho-gu's equally awkward friends, Kim Tae-hee (Choi Jae-hwan) and Shin Chung-jae (Lee Si-eon) are the last people he should be asking for dating advice, yet he often does. Do Do-hee (Uee) was the bad girl/dream girl in Ho-gu's high school and is now an athlete on the Korean national swimming squad. An overall outstanding athlete, still she cannot do better than Silver in the Asian games. Ho-gu was the bullies' errand boy in high school and, like most of the boys in the school, had a crush on Do-hee who considered the godess of the school. And, like many of his classmates, he only goes to his class reunion in the off chance Do-hee will be there. To his surprise, Do-hee remebers him and, feeling nostalgic, asked Ho-guispend some time with the girl of his dreams and thinks they made a connection. They part with a promise to see each other again at Christmas. Do-hee has a secret that led her to want a reckless night, she is pregnant and the babies father wants nothing to do with her. Can this unlikely couple find love in the most unexpected place?
I was pleasantly surprised just how funny this was. There were several scenes where I was just giggling uncontrollably. I like just about everything about this cute romance. Ho gu was such a nice person and it was easy to see how people were so drawn to him. Spoiler alerts**I was surprised even after reading the synipsis that she was pregnant. Do-hee is the national dream girl and was a goddess in high school but she was not all into that. She liked the quiet, considerate boy who loved comic books as much as she did. I thought their timing of how she got pregnant and the fact that she started loving Ho gu in high school was perfect. His relationship with her baby was beyond cute. I really liked his spunky sister and her undying crush on her first love. At first I was not a fan of the arrogant and seemingly mean Byung Kang chul (Lim Seul-ong). His doubts about his sexuality and hilarious conversations in his head made him one of my favorite characters. In many Korean dramas when a parent starts beating their adult child in front of friends, the friends may take the hits for them but not actively stop them. In this one they did. I also liked when Do-hee protected Ho-gu from his sister. It was also unique that Kang chul told his parents he was an adult and it was his apartment so they needed to basically knock before entering. It was amusing that once his high school friends figured Kang chul was all bark and no bite they adorably took over his space. He was lonely without even realizing it. I loved this. Not talked about much so it is like a hidden gem. The only slight thing I did not lije was they separated for a bit as is true in so many dramas. I always fell it unnecessary. Highly recommend this heartwarming drama.
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Titular Character nailed it
●FIRST IMPRESSIONKdrama always had tons of layers to its story. Initially, they will make you curious and with each episode, it gets more and more intense, suspenseful, and enjoyable loaded with humor and romance.
●PLOT VIEW
This drama had touched on some social issues like the single mother, same-sex relationship, rape in a delicate way. Although rape is touched superficially it makes me go teary-eyed. The life of a single mother trying hard to regain her lost status was commendable. But the most commendable is HO GOOS LOVE. There is a quote and it fits here perfectly “I Respect Any Man That Can Heal a Heart He Didn't Break and Raise a Child He Didn’t Make”
Ho Goos to stay beside the woman he loved, since school days even though everyone considered him a fool because of his name but he stays true to his love and follows what his heart says. Supporting the Do-DoHee and in every decision but also guiding her to the rights and wrongs is what made this story so special. Because in this love story ML is shown weak having a soft heart while FL is shown strong but has a feeble heart. They both were made to complete each other.
●ACTING
>Choi Woo Shik nailed his role as the titular character. I have always seen him doing comic characters but this drama showed what he can do. He evolves as a compassionate and silent romancer. He showed the character maturity which no one had seen.
>Uee as DoHee was strong physically but still needed a hand in the crowd. She portrayed the vulnerable girl nicely.
>Gang Chul was one of the fun persons to see and his dilemma towards HoGoo was humorous. He also had growth from mean to good person.
>Ho Gyeong is was a ticking bomb for me. Her one action almost changed the fate of these characters. And why be so biased about one look. Everyone looks pretty.
●MUSIC
It is nice but not memorable IMO. BGM was great although.
●REWATCH
I would love to see the goofiness of Ho Goo and his compassionate love. all of the Ho-Goo parts is actually is worth rewatching.
●APPRECIATION
>The animation scenes were precise.
>Ho Goos drawing book, he drew exceptionally well.
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