Goong (2006)

I often read that this drama was too long, and I can easily understand why. But to me, the length of this drama has its place and its reason. It let the characters evolve slowly in a subtle and almost natural way. We get to perfectly understand the too leads. It also permit for their relationship to be more complicated that a simple "why don't you love me, I love you, even if at first I hated you!".

The story is actually very original, there is place for cuteness, drama, comedy, a great second female lead, and beautiful couple scenes. What's not to love ?

I gave a 9 in acting because I beleive the second male lead lacked nuance on his part, but the two leads are doing an amazing job.

Anyway it's a good drama, so go watch it ^^ lol !

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I have finished this Kdrama on it's first airing. It was quite a sensation back then. Goong has 24 episodes all in all. The setting was beautiful, you can see the Korean culture in a splendid way. The cast were also great, sound track just perfect for every scene and the palace was definitely nice. This drama was taken off from a Manhwa which is considered as the Korean comics. They have used the plot almost similar to the original story line, I say almost because as the usual way of every drama/movie makers which takes stories from books, they mangle a lot of things and change it unnecessarily. I hate it when they do a lot of changes from the original story. It ruins the original writer's thoughts.

The beginning of the show was really cute, and Yoon Eun Hye as Shin Chae-gyung the leading lady role was just funny. Her character was a normal teenage high school girl who was clumsy, a bit stupid, always smiling, getting into tons of trouble and yet has a pure heart. Her life drastically changed after meeting Shin, the crowned prince and over hearing him propose marriage to a girl. Then she was thrown into an arranged marriage with the crowned prince after finding out the marriage agreement which was done by her grand father and the king's father when they were born.

This is a show where I started liking Eun Hye as an actress. Joo Ji Hoon who played as Shin, her leading man was also gorgeous for a Korean guy, although his eyes is too squinty for my taste. I still liked his character, the seemingly uncaring guy, but deep inside he just thinks too much of others.

Kim Jeong Hoon who acted as Lee Yul (Shin's supposedly cousin who wants to take his throne away) was cute and my heart went out for him as he was that guy who had to endure an unrequited love when all he wanted was for Chae Gyung to love him back that's why he wanted to be the crowned prince. Lasty Song Ji Hyo who acted as Min Hyo Rin was just perfect. She was the girl that Shin first proposed to before getting married to Chae Gyung, she seems to be the cold girl who acted like there was nothing that could ever bother her, but deep inside, her heart is crumbling to pieces as she watches Shin fall in love with Chae Gyung little by little.

As the story progressed, there where some draggy moments that I have overlooked because the setting and music was just beautiful, and I can't just help my self but watch it even if the lines have been too redundant. The ending was gorgeous for me because of the setting once again, but story line wise it was quite bland for my taste and went way off with where the whole story was really supposed to be. It gave me a sense of confusion which I didn't really like. Although I felt this way towards the ending I am still giving it a 9 for compensating with other areas in the drama that I have already mentioned which is also essential for making this a top rated Kdrama.

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I watched Goong probably a year ago, but recently a MDL friend mentioned that I gave it a lower rating and I couldn’t for the life of me remember why I rated it that way. So, I rewatched it. While doing so I remembered why I don’t rate it very high. It has a good story, is well acted, and overall was a good drama. However, somewhere around episode 18 I was tired of it all. They should have had the misunderstandings between Chaeg-Yung and Shin under control by then and had them together facing the hardships that were thrown at them. I would have enjoyed it a lot more. I get that Shin was brought up in an emotionally cold environment, but for crying out loud, she said she liked him about a 100 times. How misunderstood can she be??? It isn’t the writing or anything like that, because it has a well thought out plot. Somewhere near the end, like episode 22 or 23, I started liking it again. I even liked the ending.

The acting is really good. I think Joo Ji Hoo does an excellent job of playing Shin. Kim Jeong Hoon also does a good job of playing Yul. I really felt sorry for his character by the end of the drama. Yoon Eun Hye plays Chaeg-Yung. I have seen everything she has been in except The Vineyard Man and she never lets me down. Song Ji Hyo didn’t really impress me. I don’t think the wide eyed stare for every emotion is acting. Chaeg-Yung’s family is great and gives much needed comic relief at times.

I like the music in this drama.

I rewatched it so I would say that you should at least watch it once. It really is a good drama. I just like dramas like Lie To Me where the romantic aspects are different.

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I've finally managed to finish this drama, after stopping and starting it again over several years. Sure, it can be cute. Eun Hye is not necessarily one of my favourite actresses, but she can grow on you. The male leads are great and the supporting actors are wonderful. Viewers will appreciate being able to experience different settings from the modern Korean high school to traditional palace life and then life in an average household, all over again. The soundtrack is lovely, although I thought one track in particular is used a bit to often, rendering its meaning unclear. Still, this drama just drags on way too long. Length works for some dramas, but the essence of this plot does not necessitate more than 18 episodes at the very most. This is not to say it wasn't a good story--merely that the producers took a solid plot and peppered it with a lot of unnecessary extras. Watching this once is enough; you can always find clips of the best parts on Youtube.

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THIS WAS REALLY PAINFUL!!!!
Let me start by saying that I started watching this show with a lot of hopes. The reviews and rating was enough to get my hopes up. Although I got few bad reviews saying otherwise I trusted the majority and I kept an open mind about the show. So let me break down for you my reasons for disappointment.
STORY: The story started nicely and considering the time of it's airing I thought the concept might not be as cliched at that time. At the very beginning I found it nice that the MCs and the supporting roles all had their ambitions and the story premises was also a bit different. Truthfully I liked it. The female lead, being a modern and young girl forced to marry a prince and made to learn their traditional ways when dealing with the fact that her husband had no interest in her and being really straight forward about it too, gave her some depth and also made her relationship with Yul plausible. She was cheerful, funny, considerate and also a strong female who knew her situation and faced it boldly. Then came the down fall. When the first obstacle came, I understood, the way they lived through it, the jealousy, the history. The story had a lot of potential and they had some supporting roles that could have played a major role like the Crown Prince's sister or may be the King and even the Queen's role had much to say than it actually did (Comparatively the Queen was much active.) As the story proceeded to 17+ episode I really became frustrated. The princess became whiny and the Yul became more stupid and unpalatable (seriously I like how Min Hyo Rin's character exited the show unlike Yul's.) At one point I found myself not recognizing the characters at all. Even Yul's mother( villain) had no depth. It felt like a new writer came along and wrote whatever he wanted. And the ending was the most confusing so much so that I watched it twice and It felt empty and without timeline. Like it was forced. It left me with no recurring feeling for the show or respect for any of the character. The whole show seems to base on jealousy and greed. I mean I thought She was pretty was cliched but I loved it and I will watch it again just to experience that bond between the characters and to see their individual identity which made them irreplaceable. Even sweet 18 had its good points even if they mostly concentrated on the MCs. I just did not feel anything here. I am still a bit confused to be honest.
MUSIC and CAST: The songs were pretty good and I liked the actors. Nice acting. They did really well despite the script. Maybe that is why this show is so famous. Event the depiction of culture and tradition was not bad.But I still won't watch it again.
I guess how they wasted the opportunity to make it something better is what got to me the most. When you already watched 17 or 18 episode you really wouldn't want to drop a show but those 6-7 episodes ruined everything for me otherwise I would have given it at least a 6 or more. :( :(

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The pacing of the story is dreadfully slow. Every dialogue is in slowmotion. Half the dialogues are utterly pointless and add nothing of value to the story. It's truly a bore to watch. At first I thought this story will start pick up the pace a few episodes in, but it kept being horrendously monotone and awful.
Sure, there were some comedic moments, and some heart racing moments, but they were all "meh". It was average, the story is dragging, i despised certain characters, which is a no-no for me if I want to keep being intrigued.
It's also dramatic for the effect of being dramatic, i hated the black and white 'villain' characters.
Gosh, I'm starting to regret watching this. But anyways,
the only thing that was worth it were those very rare moments of tenderness between the main couple. Also, their dynamics and the jealousy of the male lead. There, that was the only thing I somewhat enjoyed. That's the sole reason why I even watch Kdrama. For the sweet sweet feelings of seeing two people slowly fall in love with each other.
PS I skimmed through the last half of the series because it just kept dragging on, my what a bore! I fast forwarded it to the shin and ch scenes only, I didn't care for the rest.

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Very bad Rom-com

I just wrote one review for a drama I enjoyed a lot. And I never thought I would write a negative review but here I am.
If you dont mind watching a silly girl being despised by a despicable prince all over the drama just because you like fairy tales, you may appreciate. But if you are looking for an original plot, with misunderstandings being managed in a reasonable way, just forget this drama.
Sometimes in asian drama, ML acts as a jerk until the first third part (maximum half part) of the drama when he discovers he is in love and then we can see the « magic » taking place and he changes attitude toward FL . This is not the case, ML continues to be a jerk till the end. As she loved him & he was the crown prince, they ended up together. But I really do not think this is a happy ending.
I am just mad I did not drop this story in the first episode.
If you are a sensitive person, looking for a cute love story, this review is meant for you. Forget this one and be happy ?

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I finally got the chance to watch Goong after so many positive reviews, and I was a little disappointed. I loved young Yoon Eun Hye, who was incredibly cute, and knows how to bring on tears like no one else. I liked the rivalry between the two princes, and kept changing my mind about which prince I wanted Chae Kyung to end up with (though it's obvious who it will be). I wish more time was spent on these three, but most of the story revolved around life in the palace.

The drama within the royal family was entertaining, but many of the palace scenes seemed to drag on way too long. Some of the conversations almost seemed as if they were being spoken in slow-motion. Seeing royal tradition juxtaposed to modern life was interesting, but I would have rather seen more romance, or scheming. I guess I expected more romance, and less time spent on a depressing Cinderella story. It wasn't until episode 13 (my favorite episode) that anything really romantic happened. After a while, watching constant fighting was starting to bore me.

I think I would have liked Goong more if it were shorter, and had a little more romance. I also thought the ending could have been much better, especially yul's ending. I now see how much influence Goong has probably had on other kdrama's that I like, since I kept being reminded of them. Though i'm glad I finally got a chance to watch Goong, I am not sure I will watch this one again.

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