I wasn't sure how I felt about Kwon Sang Woo before this but I enjoyed his character a lot. He plays an honorable son, prosecutor and a loyal, steadfast friend. He's hot headed, prone to fight and often very funny. Go Hyun Jung is wonderful, as always. I like her so much. She has such range; from What's Up Fox to Queen Seon Duk (Evil Misil!) to Dae Mul, she is an undeniably great actress.
This is one drama that uses its side characters well. They all orbit around the leads in believable ways. They are necessary to the story and not distractions, which if you have ever read any of my reviews, you'll know this kicks up a drama's rating for me.
At 24 episodes, I felt the pacing was just fine. It took me a long time to finish this but I blame the springtime glut of obsessive fare like Greatest Love and others for stalling me on this and not a lagging storyline. This drama is worth your time if you are into politics and more adult storylines. It's written well, directed well and most of all, acted well. There is some strange editing at the end/beginning of some episodes but they always clean up the story during the hour.
I'm giving it an 8 over-all. My Re-watch value is low. Not because I didn't like it but because I'm more apt to watch light romantic fare over and over rather than a long political drama.
Again, this drama is worth it if you like political stories or if you are a fan of the leads. They do a great job in this drama.
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I liked it because it gave me a more detailed (albeit) fictitious view into Korean politics. A lot of the other political dramas I've watched just didn't go into so many varied aspects of a "rise to power." The female lead was great. She played "strong female" really well. She was a woman who did it all. Mother, wife, teacher, girlfriend, President. Wow. How can this not be an interesting drama? Not silly President either. Her roll is smart, classy, well defined. There's no makjang here. Just good content. Watch for the absolute mayhem that broke out during the Bill voting session. It was so realistic, I wanted to watch with my mouth hanging open in shock and ROTFL at the same time. It's a well written, very well directed drama.
I believed every roll completely. The character growth of the 2nd male lead is fantastic. He was something else again. (I admit..I'm still a little twisted on how he evaded some pretty devious things he did. He was very wicked but he almost seem to have been rewarded). I'm not in total agreement with how he ended but, oh well.
The romance is deliberately low burning and (for this drama) it's completely appropriate. Trust me. It's simple, tasteful and mature. It suited very well. Whatever chemistry was needed between the OTP was there. That's all I ask for, however, the "Ajumma" label got old (no pun). He needed to just call her by name after the relationship was established.
The way this story was told was stark and real. The supporting cast are veterans and all were super! The action scenes were good and everything wrapped up nicely.
I tend to only rewatch RC or Med. dramas, so it's unlikely I'll watch this again but if you love politicals, It's very re-watchable. I would definitely encourage a watch of this drama. It's really very good.
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Acting: All the actors were incredible, and completely believable. I love how all of them were so committed to their characters at all points of the story. The chemistry between the main leads has been questioned in some other reviews around the web, but I found them to be really well matched. The side characters were perfect as well, flawed even if well intentioned, and overflowing with an abundance depth. I’ll ascribe that to good script writing as well as good acting.
Plot: I’ve always been a fan of politics, and watch shows like Designated Survivor and Madam Secretary, so political dramas are very up my alley. I know this isn’t the case for everyone, so if you don’t enjoy politics, this may not be good choice since it is centered around that. The romance, family interactions and friendships are really pushed to the background. Be that as it may be, the main romances in this drama are really well fleshed out despite the short amount of screen time and the proper depth of emotion is conveyed. I appreciated that the drama was written to allow bittersweet endings and messy emotional situations that are present in real life. It made the story feel more real, even if it was sad and left you wishing things had worked out better.
This is an older drama, but it didn’t feel like it at all. It still feels incredibly relevant today. This drama really pulled at my heart in a lot of places. It is one of my favorite dramas, not just kdramas, of all time. I’ll defiantly rewatch and recommend this to others.
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You have to be Mentally Tough?
Daemul flies under the radar for its political tropes. Asian lovers who do not mind a heavy dose of politics would appreciate this compelling drama of one women’s rise to power from humble beginnings to the Blue House. The director, Kim Cheol Kyu, did a remarkable job that one can get a glimpse into the brilliant director’s mindset through his later works. The camerawork is shoddy at times, but the cinematography is all around beautiful. Actress Go Hyun Jung was high off her success in the exhausting project of Queen Seon Duk. I was curious to hear about this show when it first aired as it was yet another political show I would see her with a gripping story. All of her characters and it might be redundant; she can pull off a substantially different role each time. At the time, this show was a rating success.One thing I find repeats throughout K-Dramas are the Romantic relationships can sometimes tend to bog down the screenwriting. The romantic relationship kept in the background, not overpowering the main story. A person who takes the twenty-four episode journey will realize that hard work, building relationships, true to one's values are distinctive and reputable. I found out modern politics is not for everyone because it takes able-bodied and cunning schemes to get ahead.
Final Rating: 7.92
Rewatch value is low for me, as I do not think I can view this decent show again for a while. I first watched this back in 2010, but three days ago I, watched this again for the second time.
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