Ongoing 14/20
NiSkywalker
2 people found this review helpful
Feb 2, 2021
14 of 20 episodes seen
Ongoing 0
Overall 7.5
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 3.0

cliche story but good acting and many funny episodes

Drama is full of cliches and story lines that we have seen 100000 times.
but it catches you anyway and is watchable because of hilarious turn of the story from 5 episode and really great acting from main characters.
after 1-2 episodes I was going drop it, because it seemed only cheep story full of cliches. I thought would skip few episodes and watch only Hyun Bin and then drop, but then it become really really funny and acting from ML (Hyun Bin is amazing as always) and FL was soo good, I couldn't drop it anymore.
also OSKA's part is really good too, this character is interesting, likable, funny and acting is great too.

as for story and characters - yes, ML is bad person, really bad, there were no reasons for FL to fall in love with him. But there were no reasons for ML to like FL too, let's be realistic, he looks like God, is reach and educated guy, in real life he wouldn't find anything common with girl like FL, and what is love if there is nothing common? and FL isn't beautiful, she is interesting type of girl, but not beautiful, not smart.

It's a typical Rich/beautiful guy falls for poor girl story that is so popular in Korea... but it has a realism anyway: people and especially men want something they can't have more and more. So this is the story how random girl made rich, beautiful, coldhearted guy fall for her by constantly refusing him, and it is actually realistic story.
At the beginning she was just unusual girl for him and he was interested. He was used to different type of girls and becomes intrigued, he was used to easily get everything/everyone he wants, but he couldn't get her so it made want her more. If she had go out with him, few dates and he would lost interest, because she really isn't someone so special. but she refused so long, that he really falls in love with her... and it is actually realistic...

P.S. many people critic ML... yes, even he isn't nice person, being rich and liking it isn't sin, it is his life from born, it's normal for him and why should he look at his life as something not right? we all have our usual life, are we rich or have friends, places we love... who would refuse from everything easily?

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
bittergirl
3 people found this review helpful
Apr 5, 2012
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
The story line itself is very catchy.

The main characters are very effective doing their respective roles. It has all the essence of a good drama (romance, comedy, hardship, struggles,real love, humorous moments,and mystery) that will surely enjoy of every people loves to watch drama like me.

Favorite part of this drama is when they switch body/soul.. it is very funny how they act for their original body especially the guy.
Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
anna-ka
3 people found this review helpful
Mar 20, 2012
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
i rarely like the show. i'm very picky and impatient so i can't stand situations where it stretches for too long. but Secret Garden was a big surprise. story, acting, cast, music... everything's perfect. there's funny and sad moments... so funny you can burst out from laughter and so sad that you're eyes get swollen.
yes, i really liked this drama, it can satisfy even a very picky person, such as me.
when i read that there was a body switch i thought "ah, every episode will be just confusions till the end, better not watch it". but then i watched few ep, and BooM i was totally surprised.
so, it is must watch drama. if you don't watch it you'll die. :D

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
shianne1
1 people found this review helpful
Feb 17, 2012
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 3.0
i ablolutly loved this. it has alot of comady in it but it is full of problems and obsticals for the couple to over come. those of you who like a strong female character i recomend this to you. she is strong independant and has alot of pride. she is definatly not tipical. this drama seams very long and hard to watch a second time but i love this and it is really worth watching. the ending is also very satisfying and they are really cute. there is alot of events that shake things up so if your ready for a roller coaster ride go ahead!!
Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Rose
2 people found this review helpful
May 22, 2015
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.5
This is probably my all time favourite drama I have ever watched, I loved everything. Plot/Story was good, acting was good and the cast is great. I would so suggest the drama to anybody, I loved the chemistry the leads had and I loved all the scenes. This is a must watch and a classic :)
Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
chyl17xx
2 people found this review helpful
Feb 6, 2012
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
Secret Garden? AMAZING! I was hesitant about watching this drama at first because I thought the name Secret Garden sounded strange, but was I completely wrong alright!

The storyline is so creative, this drama has everything in it, it made me smile and laugh but it also made me cry so much! The acting is absolutely incredible, I love Hyun Bin so much! His acting was just so good, he's so talented. The chemistry between the two characters was good, and its so funny when the two are together. I was very pleased with the ending, unlike other dramas I have watched, however after watching it I could not get over this drama! Took me about a month for me to calm back down before I could watch any other dramas because I just kept watching Secret Garden MVs!

If you haven't watched this yet then please do. You will love it as much as I love it.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
SassyHdz
1 people found this review helpful
Jan 3, 2017
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 8.5
The end was beautiful. I can say a lot of things about the drama, good things and bad things, but in the end I enjoyed all the moments since the beginning. I'm going to miss all the characters and the music that I loved it. I recommend this drama :)
Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
PHope
1 people found this review helpful
May 27, 2017
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.0
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 5.0
Rewatch Value 5.0
Unexpectedly, Secret Garden is quite entertaining. Sure, the story and the romance wasn't the best of the best, and the performances were so so, but still I can understand why this drama is so popular. First of all, the drama is about a rich, cynical CEO who meets a poor stand woman who gets his interest. Their lives get even more complicated, when they magically change bodies. Okay, the magic part wasn't that good. It was a little childish at first, but it had a not-that-great explanation in the end. And the body exchange was very entertaining the first time, but the second time was just uncomfortable. The main male character was very funny, due to his character, and in the end, that was the only thing supporting the drama. For me, the twenty episodes were a bit too much; the story could have easily finish at the sixteenth or the eighteenth episode, and still, it would have been as good, as the final episode was a quick wrap up, mixed up with a few concert songs, some flash backs and family life moments. So, 6 out of 10.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
LAINAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
1 people found this review helpful
Mar 13, 2020
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 5.5
Story 5.0
Acting/Cast 6.0
Music 5.5
Rewatch Value 5.5
For a drama which is released in 2010 , it's watchable flick. Yes, it has cliches but it is cute as well. Hyun and Won pair saves the drama which has a weak story. Rich man and poor woman is somewhat the most overused scenario in kdrama but the leads help us to slowly swallow all those deficiencies. This drama made me a fan of Hyun bin and Ha Ji Won. I recommend this drama to the people who likes light dramas where you can just watch or fast forward if you feel bored without missing the whole story.
Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Camelot
1 people found this review helpful
Dec 22, 2017
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
Secret Garden is the second drama I ever watched. It quite literally saved the genre for me. Before Secret Garden all I had watched was Boys Over Flowers and while I enjoyed that drama in its own way Secret Garden showed me that korean television could be more than just a meme. I can't believe it's been almost two years since I watched it but I still remember the feelings I had watching it. To me it was perfect. Not perfect in the way that it was beyond improvement or fault but perfect in how it everything came together in just the right way every time.

First let me talk about the plot. I know many people have issues with the body swap trope, but I loved it. It moved the romance along in a quick and organic way while adding humor to an otherwise sometimes slow plot. The swaps were silly and cute. I'll never forget how confused they both were or Joo Won's constant consternation about Ra Im's love for OSKA while trapped in his body. The times the plot was slow were fitting and beautiful though. The romance was built up slowly and naturally. I believed their love story fully. It was so refreshing to see JooWon be the one that head over heels for Ra Im. So often the girl pines after our male drama lead for the entire show until he grows an emotion and admits his love, but not Joo Won. Joo Won was smitten. Remembering it makes me happy. His silly antics and ridiculous posturing (the tracksuits and situps and distraction poem) were all so cute and endearing. Even the love triangle was less annoying than the usual fair. The plot, for all its twists and turns and random supernatural rules, was cute and straightforward. They love each other. It's that simple.

As for the characters what more can I say? Gil Ra Im was nothing short of amazing. She is a total badass but also very feminine and vulnerable. Perhaps my favorite thing about her is how focused she is on her career aspirations throughout the entire drama. She wants to achieve greatness in her field, to prove to Jong Soo that she is a stunt woman in her own right. And she succeeds. She is damn good at her job and everyone but her knew it all along. I also love how this is one of the major reasons Joo Won loves her. He is not intimidated by her in any way. He thinks shes fantastic despite her rough edges. Speaking of Joo Won I love how imperfect he is. He has it all yet he's bored and broken inside. While Ra Im definitely helps him through it all, in the end he takes care of his own issues. He overcomes his pain and trauma on his own and it shows his personal growth through his love for Ra Im. They both grow so much throughout the show and it's all due to their love for each other. Of course no discussion of Secret Garden is complete without OSKA. What a ridiculous human being. I love him. Any time the plot got slow or the romance seemed about to fizzle out Woo Yeong came to the rescue. The way he antagonized Joo Won and craved Ra Im's approval was so great. The fact that the body swap had the funniest effects on him also helped with his personality development; he went from hopeless washed up pop star to supportive family member and hardworking idol. His love interest and tortured history with her also added to his character as he became more than just a gag character. He was perhaps the most well rounded character on the show.

The side characters were also a great addition to the show as a whole. Yoo In Na is my favorite actress in dramaland. Knowing her better now than I did when I watched Secret Garden I really appreciate how great this role was for her career. She was her usual sweet self and i loved how excentric Ah Young was. Phillip Lee was also a huge win on this show. He was broody and moody and his hair was pantene commercial worthy. His character acted as the third of our love triangle but not even that could ruin him for me. As one final note let's talk about Tae Seon. First of all good on Secret Garden for making a gay character that was more than his sexuality (or for making a gay character at all. Korea is notoriously bad with gay anything so this was huge). Second can we talk about how cute he was?? Lee Jong Suk really played this character so well. I cried for Tae Seon but was also so happy for him.

Overall Secret Garden was a great experience for me. The show is the reason I continued to watch kdramas and I'm so happy I saw it. It is one of only two shows that has a perfect 10 rating from me and it deserves every bit of it. The show is a kdrama classic and it truly deserves the title.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Tiori
1 people found this review helpful
Aug 19, 2017
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 10
Rewatch Value 8.5
I watched this drama in 2012 because of it's high rating but for some reason i didn't like it then though i like the ost.But I kept on wondering why the ratings were so high so I re watched it after few years.I was surprised why I didn't like it before.I happen to like and understand the characters.It's one of my favorite drama now.
Was this review helpful to you?
Completed
Saya1987
1 people found this review helpful
Sep 14, 2015
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 8.0
This Drama is most memorable for the amazing OST, Hyun Bin sparkly Jersey's and that red shoe.
what I loved about this drama is the solid cast and their performances, the lead actress is a surprising lead, you don't expect to see such a female character in K Drama, not appealing nor eye candy nor weak and vulnerable.
Hyun Bin as a lead was a brilliant choice, he played the character so well that I loved all of his scenes, every other cast member was outstanding as well.
the story is fun, heartwarming and heartbreaking as well, it remained attractive and had some unexpected twists, especially in terms of "Progression" of relationship between the lead couple and Hyun Bin and his cousin, the singer.
I don't care for the lead actress Ha Ji Won that much but she won me over.

Read More

Was this review helpful to you?
Secret Garden (2010) poster

Details

Statistics

  • Score: 8.2 (scored by 54,551 users)
  • Ranked: #1422
  • Popularity: #55
  • Watchers: 104,377

Top Contributors

31 edits
30 edits
23 edits
23 edits

Popular Lists

Related lists from users

Recently Watched By