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The acting for the rest of the cast was at least commendable, except for Se Kyung who was mostly crying or running back to Young Gul with that expressionless face of hers.
There were too many loose ends here that half way through the drama, it felt like they were writing an entirely new script.
I feel that Jae Hyuk was one of the most believable character in this drama. He is a young chaebol with a tyrant father who beats the sh*t out of him and a typical rich mother who constantly meddles with his love life. He is a confident and arrogant businessman who wants to be at the top of the fashion industry but always stops short at meeting his father's expectations.
At least, I understand why he would fall in love with the helpless, absent-minded and doe-eyed Ga Young because he feels that with all the pressures in his life, there is one thing that he is capable of, and that is his to help Ga Young reach her dreams of becoming a top designer and in turn this gives him strength.
Young Gul, however is an emotionally unstable, struggling designer cum knock-offs factory owner and a greedy, conniving and deceitful man who feels that rich people like Jae Hyuk has the moral obligation to help him every time he is short in cash. The depiction of his character is so extreme that I don't think anybody else can pull it off other than Yoo Ah In.
The entire runaway from thugs because you bedded the boss' woman and be an illegal migrant to America part is just so crazily random that it doesn't add to anything in the drama.
I think that the fierce competition between Jae Hyuk and Young Gul's businesses and Ga Young's love would have suffice as the main reason why they want to kill each other.
Anna and Jung Ah are the worst antagonists everrr. Thank heavens for the crazy woman aunt and the sadistic rich father!
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The ending was absolutely dreadful. The characters I originally liked, I ended up hating, especially Ga Young. There were so many loose ends, and the ending just could have been constructed much better! At least the cinematography was pretty, but maybe that was because there was no dialogue.
I do NOT recommend this drama, it's a waste of time and emotion.
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In mine opinion this drama is about how money can change a person and that someone with morbid ambition is not a person to be taken lightly.
Acting is really impressive, we can actually see how the characters grow. Writers created characters that we can fall in love with them in one episode and disfavor them in the next. I could feel actual despair in the beginning of the show from Yoo Ah In, but now mine eyes see only Lee Je Hoon. His performance hit me so hard, I can really see how innocent he really is. I wish that Shin Se Kyung regain her spine in the end and choose right.
Music is awesome! One of mine favorite soundtrack. Especially "Standstill". Fashion is the main lead in this drama and it's strange as fashion should be I think ;) woman clothes are great I must admit, but as for the guys. Why do they enjoy wearing to short pants I really can't understand! Kim Byung Ok is just supporting role but he is indeed something, I can feel fashion from him, truly and artistically in his profession.
Fashion King is a very good drama with its ups and downs a long the way. Sometimes it was hard to watch it, but I'm still interested how it will end.
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It started off interesting, if cliched (your typical Cinderella-esque story)
BUT, there were more characters and storylines than the writers or the cast really knew what to do with, and in trying to do justice to all they really did justice to none.
They dropped hints that they never picked up, and generally lead the viewer to believe there was more meaning than there ever ended up being. I think it was this promise of something that led so many people to the last episode, and the utter failure to deliver that has inspired so many negative reviews.
The ending was shocking, but in a better crafted drama it would have worked. It never pretended to be a rom-com, so a nice neat happy ending was unnecessary, but at the same time it only ever played at being the kind of dark drama it tried to become at the end. In this case it felt like a cop-out, like the writers simply couldn't find any other way out of the quagmire they'd created. Like they thought the shock value alone would make everyone forget all of the loose ends, and the fact that basically every character was stripped of any respect or redeeming character traits. Like the ending alone would somehow make it profound and thought provoking.
All it did, and not just the final minutes, but the absurd pacing of the entire final episode, was highlight the flaws up until that point. The drama was at the same time repetitive and inconsistent, unbearably long and at the same time rushed, a mess of contradictions that did not work in its favor.
In the end it tries to be too many things and succeeds at none.
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This was a story about competition, greed and fear. And these actors gave us a heck of a emotional time. I've heard reviewers calling these characters bi-polar but I viewed them as desperate, willing to do anything to survive. There was no good guy vs bad guy. Both male leads did bad things and good things...they were very human. Young Gul was a tad too intense for my taste and I ended up rooting for Je Hyuk of the beautiful soulful eyes. (lol)
I admit that even I was complaining about Ga young..but she is a young character only 21 so her actions weren't unusual.
I liked it..I especially liked the ending.. it was artistic and we are all talking about it...what more could a writer want?
P.S I only gave it a 7 because I'm a rom/com type girl :)
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This review may contain spoilers
Underdog story as an old-fashioned melodrama in the cutthroat world of fashion.
Review without major spoilers:1. Fashion King is definitely in my top for romances & melodramas. It is dark, cunning, bold, toxic and complicated. I was so invested, still am, and will continue to be. I feel like I won't be able to move on for at least a week, as I keep thinking about it and listening to the OST, still fully in the mood of the drama. The beginning is straightforward and sets the tone perfectly. The story drags on, but you'll understand why if you like it or if you're ready to fully grasp the poignant message of this drama. The ending was not only gorgeous in terms of cinematography (which is also well thought-out overall) but it was in fact the apotheosis of character development. It was one of the most artistic endings I have ever seen, and it got everyone talking about it nonetheless (despite the controversy). The ending is well explained on the drama, and every time I looked back, I thought the drama was impressive. This is an unconventional story on humanity, and ultimately society. They didn't care whether anybody would love it or not, yet it managed to be popular in SK while it was airing. If you don't mind 1. a makjang-like drama with pathetic main characters, 2. unclear feelings and intentions (in this regard, the characters are rather realistic), 3. things being left off by the writers for you to decide how you feel about it, you might love the drama and the characters. You will find yourself rooting for everyone and no one. You guessed it, the characters are not written in a simple way. Also, even if the drama depicted a cruel, ugly reality, we all know that the real world can be stranger and more wicked, which again highlights how good the ending is. On top of that, I'll give Fashion King the award of the most imaginative, disturbing and ambiguous ending. It is neither completely happy or sad, but scenaristically open (= not in a marketing way like nowadays Netflix/Disney+ dramas). It gives me very mixed emotions, but I am satisfied with it because it is brilliant.
2. If the main characters themselves don't know about some stuff, why shall we? Such mystery is also part of the tragedy. Some will say that I'm not objective because plot holes/loose ends are necessarily flaws, but everything here was intended. Not to mention that loose ends are important for the viewer to feel the story and its characters live on even after they've finished watching. Not everyone gets it, but we need dramas like this, and it's not about them being loved or not. Keep complaining about the characters being unsympathetic, everything being badly written and whatever else you want, there will always be a few who get it and love it. Fashion King stayed bitterly unfair and cruel up to the very end. I truly loved the strong vibe this drama had, it remained firm and snob. To add further informations, the meaning behind the title is surprisingly quite big and there are some genius references, hints at the ending all throughout, which makes up for a rewatch.
3. You might think that I'm exaggerating, but you'll have to reach the last few episodes to realize the tragedy of this story (also explaining why it is "dark"). Like a crescendo, the conflict developed further and further until it reached a boiling point. Then it all depends on you whether you are willing to accept it or not. Those hating on Lee Ga Young and blindly defending Kang Young Gul for example, are not watching with the right lenses. But this comes down to people pretty much acting sexist and not being able to see the nuances (probably forgetting about the context too because they care about understanding the FL's feelings sooooo much), which is unfortunately typical. Ga Young is also a poor soul, give her a break. In terms of morals, she is undeniably the most sympathetic... If you're going to hate on her, at least make the effort to hate the other three harder. In fact she is the victim, she doesn't talk a lot and she has her fair share of complexity, she's not the typical perfect heroine either. If you prefer the usual cold, tough female lead character to whom you won't put some crazy labels, go watch recent romcoms.
Reminder: you can't be too naive watching this and some maturity is needed.
4. Because I have a conscience, I cannot recommend this drama easily nor talk about it publicly (well, I kind of do here, but you know what I mean). If you're of the faint of hearts, I beg you to not watch this. Yes, I'm sensitive and empathic but not in the way that I can't watch "difficult" stuff. I actually expected worse in terms of lack of communication etc and I thought it would be more of a frustrating watch overall. Indeed, I didn't really struggle watching this, instead I had a lot of fun. But that's personal. I also like crying a lot with dramas but I barely cried here, it's not really what the drama aims for. I've seen people saying they cried for days because of the ending, but from my point of view it cannot make me cry. I hope this review will be enough of a warning for you. Even outside the spoiler part, I have to prepare people as much as I can.
5. As far as I know, a lot of people have jumped on the hate bandwagon seeing it as a complete disaster. When the audience hates something this much, the majority won't try to perceive it as a good work and try to understand it. Especially since the rating is so low, it's easy to hate and be convinced about it. But I can't blame them because otherwise I too (for once), would have done the same. If it wasn't for the ending, it would be around 6.7 if not higher. But then, it wouldn't be what it is anymore. People obviously called it pointless, stupid and everything they wanted to after the ending but they are far from the truth.
6. I didn't watch it for being the lowest rated K-Drama on MDL, I just loved the cast, the poster and the premise. I also listened to one of the OST and had this gut feeling that it could only be really good. I kinda always end up defending underrated dramas without forcing myself to. By the way of course there are low rated dramas that I agree on being nothing close to masterpieces whatsoever and it's not just me trying to convince myself that every low rated drama is good. I would never take so much time for a review nor having enough substance (especially in the spoilers part, and even then I had to hold back on details because it was far too long) to make it this long if it was bad and I didn't sincerely love it.
7. I can only respect the trauma that a lot of people had to put up with. While this was a source of entertainment on my side, this was a source of suffering for others. Luckily enough for them, there won't be anything like this again. I don't think you can compare Fashion King with any drama, except maybe What Happened in Bali by the same writers and chief producer. What's for sure is that they are both unique and memorable. Moreover, this is my opinion and you don't have to agree. I can't deny how I feel and what I think, just like you can't either and have every right to be harsh, give it the lowest rating and express your opinion. I find the rating on MDL to be fair, because it serves as a warning (not only that, the drama also warns you from the very beginning in a subtle manner). Anyone who's not too naive knows very well that ratings here are not representative in terms of quality. High rated dramas can be objectively not as good as some low rated dramas and vice versa. Ratings are mostly representative of how mainstream a drama is. I admit 5.8 is extremely low on MDL but I guess that's because a lot of the viewers felt the need to express their anger by rating it as low as possible. I'll add that even within the haters of the drama, I've seen so many different opinions/interpretations and a lot of people who actually understood the message of the drama without necessarily realizing it. It also seems that some people watched it to join the hate train but couldn't assume that they enjoyed it. Another fun fact to note is that there are people who liked the ending and not the rest. In addition, if it managed to make people 1. angry 2. cry for days 3. theorizing and discussing no matter how much they hated it, that says a lot too. It's unlikely to leave you indifferent unless you want to forget about it as soon as you finished because you actually didn't care. What else could the staff ask for? They knew it was going to get a lot of backlash, and I'm sure the audience response was exactly what they expected. Funnily enough, people still watched it to the end. I understand why most would regret watching and call it a waste of time, but I couldn't be more grateful personally.
Say what you like, but to me this is a proof of the greatness of this story. I expected worse actually, because I found many positive and more or less mixed comments here and on other sites when I thought everyone would be hiding. It surprised me, especially as I sometimes see more hatred towards dramas rated around 6.9. I suppose that it's because the drama is old and not popular worldwide, barely anyone knows about it. The rating clearly plays a role as well so again I can only be thankful that it's rated this low. What's more, I found out that the korean audience liked it! The evaluation was actually pretty good overall, despite the controversial ending which led to more mixed reactions.
The rest + the review with major spoilers in the comments section:
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I just finished this yesterday. After beginning the same day. I don't know why, I don't know how... but I watched every episode sequentially, one after the other, no breaks in between... I didn't eat, I didn't shower, I didn't step out of my room. This is the kind of addictive bad, alright? I knew this was bad as I watched it. But I didn't realize that this downright sucked until I finished it.
This thing is the s***. And I'm not saying that in a good way, because for me s*** means poop. And this should be crowned for being the biggest and smelliest poop out there. Where should I begin?
1. Story: sucked, big time. What in the world is this? Someone needs to get fired. There are no words to describe how bad it was. And there were some random events... oh my God. This story is like the horrendous soup my little brother once tried to make. He had a recipe, and as he began and gave me some sips to see how it was turning out, it was good. But as he progressed making the soup, he began to add every single thing in the refrigerator to make it tastier and more original. And he failed. BIG TIME.
2. Lee Ga Young: I would've been more satisfied if what had happened to Young Gul at the end had happened to this idiot, too. Bella Swan called! She wants her stupidity back. This girl, the only thing she literally did was cry, cry, and bounce back from the two male leads.
3. Young Gul: I'm actually glad of his outcome. Am I the only one who hated him so much? His character was a complete idiot with a spark of motherf*****.
4. The clothes: this is supposed to be a fashion drama. Why in the world am I seeing so many tacky outfits? And I'm not going to use the excuse that I'm not Korean, and that that's why I'm not used to the fashion in this show. But from other dramas I've seen, where I've loved the fashion, I can come to the conclusion that there was no fashion sense in here... AT ALL. Anna was the only one whose style I liked.
5. The ending: The actual f***? I had read reviews for this, but I'd never come across the ending. So when I saw it I was laughing, shocked, amused, and mad at the same time. That was probably one of the most random things in this show.
Look, the first episode was good. I even found myself thinking that this drama wasn't as bad as people said it was.
But it was.
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Story- The beginning was great; very new stuff I hadn’t seen before and it remained that way till about half way in. Then the plot just stalled and the same repetitive situations just kept happening. There wasn’t any development or resolutions by the end. Speaking of the ending I didn’t watch it but read it and even that made me want to rip my hair out. Fortunately because I didn’t actually see what happened I didn’t lol. Still the writers had me coming back week after week and I never became bored to the point of skipping episodes or scenes.
Acting/Cast- The acting by the 4 leads was fabulous. Unfortunately for them their dialogue was so pointless, but I do applaud them for doing the best they could with what they were given. I was really impressed with newcomer Lee Je Hoon and hope to see him in a better drama next time. The supporting cast was great and served their purpose.
Music- matched the moody/dark themes of this show. It didn’t grab me enough to want to give it a listen outside of it though.
Rewatch- If the ending wasn’t so messed up I probably could have watched it again but yeah this is a no way in hell.
Overall Fashion King has an amazing lead cast but is overall disappointing in terms of development in story and characterization. Watch at your own risk!
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At first, everything seems like a normal drama. Nice actors, (the lead guy is really attractive and did a good job) and nice story... Really promising a good drama. And I really enjoy it until episode 16... Start them everything was in a opposite direction that we all excepted.
I have to say, the actress Shin Se Kyung could have done a better job. But I can't say if it was her fault or the character, Lee Ga Young, who was so weak.
The writers ruined the story (at least for me). They try to make something different from the usual. But I think they go to far... I still don't understand quite well the end.
So, if you read this and still want to watch it... Go for it! You may like it!
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This review may contain spoilers
When I begin to watch the drama I don't was agree with review but badly now i'm a little agree. The story can be so good, we have good casting, espacially I really love two boy, Yoo ah in and Lee ji Hoon.
I think the problem, for me, was not in the plot but the length of drama. From episode 12 that was repetitive and a little boring.
The acting of the character Lee Ga Young ( I don't say the actress but the characters) was a little chiant, Lee Ga young don't evolved.
The music wasn't bad but not very good like OST of other drama, it's a popular OST and I don't very like.
Oww I the end... Too bad, it's impossible !! Why like that, why ??
It is too far-fetched, not realistic enough!
So I don't want to say anymore because i'm going to post spoiler and I don't want ...
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