The office hijinks played a large part in this show, as the description indicates. However, the office stuff was also kind of where its weak point lay as well. I enjoyed the burgeoning relationship between our leads, Chi Won and Yoon Yi, and the antics of their office department. They had a great supporting cast there. Lee Won Keun as Hwangbo Yul, although mostly a character I sympathized with, also had quite silly and annoying moments of aegyo because he's basically a man-child. Kang Hye Jung as his assistant Wang Jung Ae was just the mothering, loyal assistant he needed. I think they did a pretty decent job with the comedy parts of the show as well as the romance parts. There were lots of laughs and a few swoon-y moments as well. :)
The theme song was catchy - I caught myself singing it a few times.
I would say that this is a fairly decent romantic comedy as long as you don't set your expectations too high. It's cute and fun as long as that's all you are asking from it because the plot is a bit thin. I was just able to overlook that until it got down to the final episodes, and I realized that I wasn't going to get all the answers I was looking for. I would still recommend this to rom-com fans.
As far as re-watches go...I'd say there are several episodes and scenes that I'd watch again, but I don't know if I would do a complete run through again.
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Started strong ended weak
I'm going to have to come out of 'review retirement' to share my opinion of this drama. The trailers made me believe this was going to be the next "blockbuster" drama that I've been waiting for - the next masterpiece. Sadly, this show did not live up to the hype for me. The first few episodes were interesting and fun. But it gradually became a little boring and ended with plot holes for days.The actors did a decent job. Shin Hye Sun is one of my favorite actresses but she did not nail this role. Especially in the flashback scenes to her first life (and where she was 'seeing' her first life from the present). I know she's a wonderful actress, but these scenes were heavily overacted and grating. She is so much better than this that it made me think it was a directorial choice rather than her own. Ahn Bo Hyun was a bit wooden, but I found him to be somewhat similar in Yumi's Cells. I found myself much more interested in the second lead's romance (Ha Yoon Kyung as Cho Won and Ahn Dong Goo as Do Yoon). But we got a lot less of them than I would have liked.
Due to the condensed number of episodes - only twelve, a tighter storyline was really necessary. There were a lot of unnecessary things they could have cut out that didn't advance the plot at all. There were so many flashbacks that could have been cut down. The side plots could have been cut out as well - things that added nothing to the main storyline. And the plot just completely fell apart once the shaman - Min Gi was introduced. I realize that they were working off an established webtoon, but I've never seen the source material so I don't know how closely they stuck to the original story. I thought that the solution to the issues was very weak and ended up with a lot of plot holes in the end. So many things about the ending made no sense at all. Like where did she think she lived? Why was she back at her old job? Wouldn't there be OTHER people that knew her that would have asked about why she was there again? Did she just get complete amnesia? How does she forget also meeting these people in her childhood as Ji Eum? Wouldn't they have photos of them together? Why is she still wearing the couple ring and has no idea how she got it? Seo Ha approaching her like he did in the end probably would have made most women run away thinking he was some sort of stalker or crazy in some way. None of the ending made any sense to me at all. I thought she was just going to forget how she knew them before - and that could have worked. I was just extremely disappointed in how this drama played out.
The one redeeming thing from this show was the song "Star" by Colde - loved this song and I've added it to my Drama OST playlist!
Would not rewatch this and I don't think I would recommend it to anyone either. This one is a pass!
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This show started off really strong. The comedy was gold because I was laughing my butt off for over half the show. And then somewhere around the 3/4 mark the spy part of the story went a bit off the rails (convenient plot devices and inconsistencies in writing and editing), the budding romance stalled, the undercover agents started doing dumb things that would totally have gotten them caught, and the PPL was extremely HEAVY handed. I was totally taken out of the story by all of these things.
So Ji Sub was freaking adorable in this - every scene he was in with the child actors made me a puddle of "awwwww!!!"
And Jung In Sung as Ae Rin also did a good job - this was my first time watching her and I liked her. I loved ALL the characters and the actors were great. I have nothing but compliments for the acting. But the romance between the leads was only alluded to at best. So the ending was not as satisfying as I had hoped for because of that.
At most, I might rewatch some of the cute SJS/kid scenes.
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The skinship is adorable between our OTP and they were not stingy with it. (sigh!) The confession scene, as I was promised, was one of the best I've ever seen. And the moments leading up to it were heart-fluttering.
I loved the Eternal Love song which I think was their theme; however, without the backdrop of the story, the song is a little cheesy sounding. The acting was top notch, though. I'm now a fan of both lead actors and hope to see them both in something as awesome as this drama was. They both have the most expressive eyes and cute smiles for days. There are moments that you yell at your tv, but not in a bad way. I just had to warn them! *wink*
The story and characters are very layered and it all unfolds the way it should. I have no criticisms for this drama (unless it's to say that I want MORE. LOL) I will definitely be re-watching this one, as it goes into my top favorite dramas I've watched to date.
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The show wasn't a total waste of time and there were cute moments and decent music, but overall I would not watch again.
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This was my first time seeing any of these actors. I would very much like to see the actress that played Go Ho do another rom-com. I thought she was quite good. I was also taken with the main male lead. He was quite cute at displaying his jealousy for Go Ho. And I think the chemistry between the leads was believable. I didn't care as much for the second lead, as he just didn't convey any emotion in my eyes. The other side characters, vying for Go Ho's affections are interesting and keep it fun.
The music didn't stand out much, but suited the mood of the scenes.
I think this is a good weekend watch and wouldn't even mind seeing it again.
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I cannot, in good consciousness, recommend this show to anyone. I really wanted to. I was smitten with Nam Goong Min and Min Ah - those leads were the bright spot in the pile of poo this story became. (And incidentally, this is the first time I've seen either of them act. I've not seen NGM do his villainous roles, but I think comedy suits him.) The story is named after Gong Shim. However, the title character doesn't seem to be the focus of the show in the back half at all. And her sister, who is on the cover as a "main lead" - is relegated to an afterthought. Her story goes NOWHERE. Joon Soo, the other main lead, was likable, but mostly boring. The writers essentially did nothing with his character. The focus of the show ended up with Ahn Dan Tae. They described one story to us, and we got something completely different.
The ending was rushed and the last episode was completely and totally random and thrown together. I felt like they wanted to tie up a lot of loose ends, but they did not even do a good job of that. They had TWENTY episodes to finish this story. There was NO good reason that the ending should have been rushed. I feel sorry for the actors that were involved in this story. I would absolutely watch these actors do another show, and so wish that THIS story had been executed properly.
The Good:
The cast
The music
The comedic moments
The cuteness of the couple
The Bad:
The loose ends
The bait and switch story
The length
The unsatisfactory ending (happy ending, but not done correctly)
The Ugly:
Poorly executed storyline (throw it at the wall and see what sticks)
Characters backburnered and forgotten
Unending glares and stare-downs
What the Heck moments galore
I originally intended to give this drama a score of 7 because I WAS entertained and enjoyed ADT and GS so much. As my husband and I discussed it this morning, my rating dropped to a 6.5, and then by the end of our conversation I had to conclude that (as much as I hated to do it) that this story really only deserves, at best, a 5.5. Sorry show! I wanted to love you!
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As actors, Jung Hae In and Son Ye Jin did an incredible job in their roles. I really loved Seo Joon Hee (JHI) - he was so smitten and protective. (And Jin Ah needed someone to save her from herself at times). Yoon Jin Ah (SYJ), however, was sometimes hard to like as a character. She did some incredibly stupid things that were frustrating for me to watch as a viewer. And I didn't like how she wasn't always truthful with Joon Hee. While the couple lacked good communication in general, Jin Ah had a bad habit of doing hurtful things and then being cutesy to Joon Hee in order to avoid his being (rightfully) upset with her. They didn't know how to resolve conflict. Jin Ah's mother is the WORST - she is hateful and unbendingly stubborn....to the very end. She was the only character that I outright hated, so the actress rocked her part! I also enjoyed Bo-Ra's character. She made a great friend to Jin Ah - possibly even better than Jin Ah's life long best friend Kyoung Sun (Joon Hee's sister). The other characters were serviceable. I honestly think I could have watched 16 straight hours of Joon Hee and Jin Ah just being in love and happy together...without all the angst of the outside pressures.
The music - I loved the cover of Save The Last Dance For Me...even if they were heavy handed with it in the beginning (and then it disappeared altogether later in the series). It really set the tone. This drama in the beginning had the feeling of old 80's romances. (That's not a bad thing to me as I grew up in that time and it made me all nostalgic.) However, I thought that the cover of Stand By Your Man, while a good song, was an odd choice and didn't exactly fit with the narrative that was being told to us. It was also played during really inappropriate moments where it really didn't belong. I thought that Rachel Yamagata's track was beautiful and fit well with the tone the show took later.
As far as rewatch value - I've pretty much already rewatched it just because I watched raw and then again with subs. However, if I was ever to rewatch this in the future, it would probably only be up until they exposed their relationship to others and then maybe the back half of the last episode. I don't think I could go through the painful parts again, but the lovely build up of their relationship, I could probably watch over and over again.
I gave the show an 8, just based on the first half of the drama which was a total 10 to me. I probably should have knocked off more for the second half, but I can't say that I didn't enjoy the show at all. I just wanted more from it in ways that we didn't get and less from it in ways we got too much of. If you are not a fan of 'slice of life' or melodramas or artsy scenes that don't do much for the story, I would suggest that you avoid this one because I promise you will be bored. Personally I wasn't bored as much as I was frustrated by the direction (or lack thereof) that the story took. Not enough to drop it, but enough to leave me feeling a little deflated in the end. It was sort of like eating a piece of cake that was beautiful and sweet for the first several bites, then turned bitter, and only the last bite had about a quarter of the sweetness that it had in the beginning. Not *quite* enough to remove the bitterness, but just enough to dull it a bit.
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I adored our main trio and their friendship. Jang Hyuk, made the best "gangster with a heart of gold" - he didn't need to be the lead to steal the show! Lee Jun Ho and Jung Ryeo Won were super adorable together as Seo Poong and Dan Sae Woo. Their flirting and banter was really easy to watch. Doo Chil Sung's love for them both was immeasurable, and I'm happy that Poong loved his friend just as much as he loved Sae Woo.
There are some truly 'melo' and makjang things that happen in the first few episodes, but there is a nice comedy to it that kept me interested. But the downfall to this drama was that it dropped a bunch of important storylines and started to become repetitive. The cast and their chemistry is the only thing that saved this show for me and had me watching until the end. The ending was very rushed and was less than satisfying.
Music was good.
Probably will not re-watch this.
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Park Seo Joon was great in this role. I don't feel like I'm being biased, because I didn't really care for him at all until recently. He had a good character to play in this show and was charming in the role. I wasn't quite sold on Uhm Jung Hwa for her role, though. I felt that she was a bit miscast as I kept feeling that the age difference was too big between them. If it had been a different actress, it may not have felt quite so vast even if the gap was the same. I also don't feel like I am biased against her, as I actually enjoyed her in the last show I watched her in (even though the show itself was disappointing). I enjoyed the actors that played Soo Chul, Na Rae, Min Gu, the mom, and the boss. However, I disliked Shi Hoon (can't pin down a specific reason, but there are a few) and Eun Chae (just not expressive enough). Park Seo Joon was really the shining, charismatic element to this show, followed by the actor playing Soo Chul.
The music was average, nothing stand out. I watched this on Drama Fever, so I don't know if it was particular to this platform, but there was an annoying little mid-show pause where it showed UJH's character with the name of the show and a little bell sound. Like when a show pauses for a commercial and comes back. It really took me out of the story every time it happened.
It was an okay watch, but nothing really stand out or special in any way to me. I also felt let down by the ending as it felt a little bit open. I think the main characters deserved a better wrap up. I won't rewatch this.
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I have to give compliments to the casting director for the actress, Ryu Ji Eun, who briefly played a teenaged Ko Ha Neul. She bore a striking resemblance to Seo Hyun Jin! SHJ did a great job in her role as a new teacher. And Ra Mi Ran, also as usual, was terrific. I loved the whole Admissions Department cast, and several of the other teachers as well. The few students that they showed more in depth were good actors also - the characters of Jae Hyun, Yoo Ra, and Bo Tong.
This show focused mostly on Ko Ha Neul's growth as a teacher, her aim to be a 'full-time' employee rather than a 'temp', and more on the politics of the school and getting the students ready for college than any actual teaching or even any of the students. As the show progresses through the school year, Ha Neul bonds with her colleagues and with her top students. Park Sung Soon was the 'center player' at the school as the head of admissions, and Ha Neul's mentor. I really enjoyed the camaraderie between the Admissions Dept staff. As an American, seeing the differences of the school systems in S. Korea compared to schools in the US is striking. It looks to be a pretty cut-throat system both for the students and for the teachers.
The show was a warm, emotional, slice of life drama. The music was lovely, and I really enjoyed the song Moonlight by Sondia. It was really beautiful. The show has a slower pace, so just be aware of that going in, but it's got a great story. I was really surprised at how much I ended up liking this show. It had a very realistic feel to it. I would recommend it even if you don't normally like school dramas or even 'politics'.
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Blows everything else I've seen out of the water - true masterpiece
I have to thank my friend for sending me the trailer of this show before it started. I initially had no desire to see this drama as I thought that the synopsis sounded like something I wouldn't be interesting. As soon as I saw the trailer I knew I had to see this. (I even got my husband on board to watch it with me and he fell in love with the show as well.) The music was haunting and Seo Ye Ji's voice was sexy as heck. I'm in. And I'll fully admit that this was so much better than I ever could have expected. The story is one of a kind. There is something for everyone in this show. Drama, Melo, Romance, Comedy, Mystery, and Healing. I laughed and I cried. There was so much heart in this drama - it was so well-written and well-acted. Watching the main trio heal from their trauma touched my heart so much, and I also loved the fairy tale backdrop for the show was well as the episodes themselves.This was the first time I've watched Seo Ye Ji, but safe to say I am now a fan. She was simply gorgeous as Ko Mun Young. She had times where she was fierce and times where she showed innocence. The acting from all three leads was phenomenal. Oh Jung Se as Moon Sang Tae completely stole the show so many times though - he may have been my favorite character of the entire show. All three of them acted their hearts out in this. They all had scenes that drew on my emotions and brought tears to my eyes.
I have to give props to the supporting cast as well. Everyone really did a phenomenal job with this show. I have nothing but praises for all of them.
I've said before that the OST has to be really outstanding for me to take notice because I'm not much on noticing music. This show had one of the best OSTs I've ever heard. (surpasses Goblin and Mr. Sunshine which had been my two previous mentions for best OST.) Janet Suh's In Silence (and I'm Your Psycho), Lee Sun Hyun's In Your Time, Elaine's Wake Up (opening credits), Ga Eun's Got You, Kim Feel's Hallelujah - some of the best tunes from the show.
Best of all, this has been one of the most satisfying endings of any show I've watched lately. It was more than I even hoped for. It was just beautiful all the way around. I've been through a string of great shows with lackluster endings, but this show brought its 'A game' for every episode right up until the final credits of the very last episode (and Netflix even treated us to a final credit blooper reel!)
This show is a definite re-watch.
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I thought that Shin Min Ah and Lee Je Hoon had a great chemistry together and the romance was delicious to watch. But the rest of the acting for them wasn't as good as it could have been. I've seen them both do a better job, but I don't know if the direction and script played a part in how they were lacking here.
I enjoyed the story enough. But around episode 10, I was really just ready to see the ending. I did feel like they ended the show well, and wrapped up the storyline in a good way. I was worried about it around episodes 12-14. But the writers pulled through and connected the ending with the crumbs they laid out on the way. I have to give them credit for that.
The music was nice and went with the feel of the show.
I won't re-watch this, but I don't feel like it was a waste of my time. This show was decent and the romantic parts were better than the rest of the story. It was enjoyable enough, but probably won't be memorable.
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