Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung (2019)

More than just a rom-com

I watched this as it was recommended as similar to "The Red Palace" by June Hur, a book I loved. Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung may not have stolen my heart but it was a fun watch.
We follow our titular character in her journey to find something more than marriage as a purpose. This leads her to take the civil examination for Female Historians. As result she is entangled with other court officials, politics, corrupt, decades long mystery, and the elusive Prince Dowon.

The romance in the drama seems polarizing. People either love or hate it. I wasn't a fan of the couple, but I did appreciate some of their interactions and moments. It was refreshing to see a green flag, innocent, and sheltered prince, who was a romantic at heart.

What did steal my heart, was all the side characters. The dynamics between them, their workplace shenanigans,their camaraderie, as well as their integrity towards their title as historians. Honestly, if there was a drama just about the cast of historians, I would watch it without a second thought.
I would like to thank the writers for not including unnecessary Jealousy between the female historians.

Plot wise, the drama also included small sub plots which included: discussions about western influence, manipulation of history, variolation/vaccination, spread of Catholicism in the Joseon period. It also depicted the power that historians carried through their presence, even if they themselves may not wield power.
However, the drama had 20 episodes in total. Occasionally it felt as if things dragged or did not contribute to the whole picture. If is was atleast 4 episodes less, the plot could have been more tighter.

Nevertheless, I would still recommend this drama to those looking for a romcoms, a sageuk, or even a palate cleanser.

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Spoonfed bias sociopolitics

This is one of the best examples I've came across to what I like to call a "cosplay show", it had little to no serious consideration for its proposed era. The trend continued when the drama started to get preachy from a modern society point of view while being in no position to allow it to attempt such a thing. These could have been avoided if the drama was a parody, of which, it was not. There were obvious other problems and inconsistencies too, but what stood out the most was the mundane sequences filling the biggest portion of the drama, these were a real brain rot.

What did the drama want to be? A social commentary, a political play, a profession spotlight, a slice of life, or a light romcom? It never embraced any aspect of fully committed to a theme. Whenever it tried to delve deeper, it pulled itself back up to the surface. Unsuccessful mix, regardless. There were other points to be made about the cast, chemistry, and romance but I don't feel like repeating myself.

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Cute feminist drama that I'm probably gonna rewatch when I finish writing this review

I really loved this drama. It's Cha Eun Woo's best one in my opinion, and I say this as someone who really enjoyed My ID is gangnam beauty and True Beauty.
Cha Eun woo's character is really cute and bubbly, whereas shin se kyeong's is a bit more serious which I love so much because I'm a sucker for relationships where the girl is more dominant.

The love story is cute and I love how prince Yi Rim completely respects her need to work and to be a historian who makes an impact and who tries to stop the corruption. Their chemistry definitely helps as well.

The ending is great too, I feel like I wouldn't have wanted it to end any other way :))

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A lush, delicious retreat amidst a sprawling desert

I held off on watching this drama for a loooooonnnngggggg time because of the title and its synopsis. I thought it'd be some trope-y fluffy shiz with a stereotypical "strong," forced female lead that I'd drop a few episodes in.

Boy, was I wrong.

I am still reeling from this drama and just needed to share these thoughts somewhere because I don't know what to do with myself after the last episode.

There are so, so, many good things about this drama. After a long dry spell, when I couldn't find a single satisfying drama that didn't have toxic dynamics or lackluster storytelling or flat/stereotypical/trope-y characters, this came out of nowhere like an oasis, quenching my thirst in ways I didn't know I needed, and upended every non-expectation that I had in the best way possible.

First, the writing is sublime. I rarely watch an entire drama through without skipping scenes (of secondary/side characters), but I watched every minute of this show and found myself constantly rewinding to watch certain bits again and again because of the acting. And all parts of the story actually wove into one another - no glaring ends left hanging or weird plot devices. It worked and the palace politics were all interesting to me because I somehow found myself caring about all of the people. The themes of the show are so beautifully interwoven into multiple layers throughout the show and in ways that don't bash you over the head but are subtle and moving.

Second, every character is so fully human. And I believe that's because the writer chooses to show us their humanity, the hard choices that (like us) they have to make, and their individual stories and motivations. Even the antagonist, at the very end, gets shown some of this - he's not just a bad guy for the heck of it, but the writers shows a bit of his underlying story and, as flawed as he may be, we still feel some resonance with him because we see his motivation and the humanness of it. And, ultimately, it's such a beautiful tie-in with my main takeaway from the show - that, regardless of gender, race, age, social status, good or bad, etc., we all share the same humanity. We are all simply human at the end of the day and should treat one another as such.

I can't stress how much I love the female and male leads. What a refreshing breath of fresh air to have these characters in Kdrama land. They are characters that I'd genuinely love as humans. I root for them in every scene and their character growth is so satisfying that I swell with pride for them.

With so many dramas, I always find myself wondering, Why are the leads together? In most cases, it's not apparent to me why they would be together other than simply "because the writer said so." The interactions typically consist of finding the other attractive in a moment of trope-y skinship with no real conversation or personality compatibility. But this show gave us two really amazing leads - each with their own distinct personalities, motivations, and goals - and it gave us the honor of watching a beautiful relationship unfold. They talk about things that matter to them, share their vulnerabilities, communicate honestly and openly, and support each other when they can. You can see the respect and love and care growing between them episode by episode. They genuinely have fun together and their affection is born from something organic and natural. The mutual understanding. The communication. Them being on the same page without words. Their shared values and a foundation of genuine friendship. They help one another be better people and stand by one another. They are so real and so awesome that I root for them individually and also when they choose to do something together.

I didn't know that a show could have so much heart. Truly. There were so many scenes where, there wasn't necessarily anything dramatic happening, but I would have a lump in my throat because I saw real humans who cared about one another and were showing it in ways that were true to themselves and the situation. It was so human that I got lost sometimes in the moment; I wasn't watching a drama anymore, I was just watching these people's lives unfolding.

I am already missing this drama, its incredible, tangible world and its characters. Because the show did such a spectacular job at showing us each one of their hearts and humanity (including so many of the side characters), all of the characters feel like real live people. In my heart and mind, it's as if, after the last episode, I have no doubt that the characters are still out there continuing to live their lives as fully fleshed human beings, trying to make the world a better place and grappling with real-life themes, hardships, and decisions of what that entails, but nonetheless caring for and supporting one another through it all. What an incredible honor it was to get to see a slice of their lives. And I feel like I'm a better person for it.

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This was very nice, cute, interesting, funny and smooth drama
With solid story and strong plot
BUT.....
AS USUAL .... THE END
the most weak point in Korean Dramas

For the first time I saw a drama needed 1 or 2 more episodes
The end was too rush
And there were no need for this stupid loooooong time jump
I had too many questions that I needed answers for them

Like what happened for the old king
And why they said he was fooled by his minister
Although they put this plan together

And why after all what the minister did they didn't show us what happened to him
Although I know he was executed but I really want to see him get punished

And the relation between the other historian and the king wasn't clear did they loved eachother

And did she confess about her betrayal to the king???

Why she left her work

Were open relationships at joseon age existed like this??
And was it normal ???!!!!!!

What happened to the ML
3 years were too long to say what happend to them all in 10 min.
Come on, you are really kidding

the director acts as if he waked up one morning and said:
ok guys we should end this drama today that's enough ???
Really annoying end

And for the first time I saw shin se kyung face expression wasn't fit to her role

Except these points you are going to enjoy this drama a lot ❤️❤️

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A little bit of romance, a lot of history!

I started this drama because I didn't have much to watch and it was often tagged in Noona Romance list. I have never seen a period drama Noona Romance so I gave it a chance. And, boy, did it blow me over. Not in the field of romance thought. It was a cute romance. ML's acting needs to be better though. But what I loved about this drama was the rest of the plot! The way FL fights for her Independence in personal life plus years for a professional one is simply brilliant. The misogyny she and the other women historians had to go through to keep their place. Plus, The Royal Palace drama and how historians recorded history, the protests, it was all so fascinating to see. I am so glad they didn't just focus on the romance. I don't know how historically accurate the drama is in terms of historians, western education, Catholicism, western medicine, etc. but it is a must watch!

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High Rewatch Value

This drama is truly great overall!! I must pre-face that I originally watched this show just because I am a Shin Se Kyung fan. But it wasn't just her that made this show so wonderful for me! To start, the production is wonderful. I loved the scenery, costumes, and cinematography.

For a historical drama, this show was largely light-hearted and optimistic, which I loved very much. The repertoire between the historians was funny and very heart-warming.; it almost felt like watching an office drama at times.

The acting was on point from every character. And the characters themselves were so amazing, I feel very attached to them.

Some highlights of this show to me are:

-The relationship between the leads. I enjoyed the young, lonely, romantic ML and his dynamic with the adventurous, knowledgeable, and strong FL. They both long for freedom in their lives, but in different ways.

-The Crowned Prince Yi Jin. It is hard to explain but his character was very loveable and human. His mistakes, his feelings, and his perspective all feel very natural and definitely drew me to this character!

-The ending! I will not spoil, but I often have a bit of a problem with finales of dramas. This finale still kept up the pace that the show has throughout with an ending that I found satisfactory and memorable.

I have only just finished this drama today. But I watched it in only 3 days. So I know I will want to rewatch it again very soon.

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Delightful surprise!

What a delightful surprise! I found this drama to be unexpectedly good. It was a bit overshadowed by CLOY last year and it should not have been. To me it was the sleeper that deserves any and all good attention it receives. It has been on my watch list since last year and I just completed it recently. So glad I did. I thought both leads played their roles so well. I must say that I am now a Cha Eun-Woo fan. I was not so fond of My ID is Gangnam Beauty as I felt the male lead was pretty one dimensional but he was great in this drama. As a young (20 year old) Prince he lead an extremely sheltered and isolated life. His growth as a prince and man in this drama showed that in a sweet and humorous way. The female lead was a pragmatic, intelligent , beautiful character and was played so well by Shin Se Kyung. Without going into a hugely detailed review I would highly recommend this drama. Take the time to watch it...you wont be dissapointed!

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I love this one.. after i start watching this i keep remembered love in the moon light (one of my fav drama, so i watch that again) but this drama is not good as that one .. as the story line of this drama i think they could have do much better than this.. first episode kind a boring but after that it get more and more interesting and confusing.. but the way them connect scenes are kind of lame.. really they have good story line but the end is worst.. i ecpected more than this ending..when the queen and other
loyalists of prince dowon geting ready and the way scenes are line up i actually thought their will be huge fight and intresting ending.. but sadly that end is tooooo much boring ..

As the acting all actors did thir best.. prince dowon and go hyerung chemestri is not bad i like thire love ♥️ prince dowon is too cute ? isn't he ?.. second state councillor he is really in to his character and becoze of that i start hating him and end episode that hate gone
overall good drama.. i give 8.5 stars

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One of my most historical fave!!!!

Okay, I'm also Cha Eun Woo bias teehee.
I was not expecting this drama to be sooo good, since I kinda don't like Shin Se-Kyung's acting in general. I have read a lot of negative reviews on her dramas.
Regarding Cha Eun Woo, I was not also expecting that much of him aside from his obvious over the top visuals. I've finished My ID.. and True Beauty first so when I saw this both ML & FL were so surprisingly good.

It's a mix of historical, romance, comedy and drama. It's aesthetically pleasing from the leads' visuals, the costumes and the background. Also, surprisingly in the final episode, I love that they are open to show that the FL is having sex with the ML. So liberating lol.

What struck me the most was when the FL said to the King that historians are not his enemy but they are one of his subjects as well. I cannot forget that line. So so good!

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The most unlikeable main characters I have ever witnessed.

I don’t know why they made her so damn unlikeable but at the same time, based on how they made the prince act I get it. The acting is solid , music is solid, cinematography solid, story solid. But her personality has been so damn unlikeable that even the scenes when the romance blooms has been disgustingly unwatchable. Like I said before the prince is chasing her LITERALLY the whole show. For the 1st like 10 episodes he has no other purpose and no other plot than to get the girl, so they make him act EXTREMELY thirsty and have the girl blow him off multiple times. The prince has cried 3-4 times more than her this show, he is such a puss. The romance is just so bad literally. They make her good at everything and they make the prince good at nothing and feminine. On top of that that, they make the prince chase her affection literally the whole show, no matter what she says or does literally he doesn’t care. Then she finally kisses him after he virtually begs for it and then continues to be a know it all. Her character was just terribly unlikeable and for the prince the whole time I was yelling p*ssy. The whole season all he has done is Cry , beg, ate , read, fantasize.

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