This is a Cinderella romance where the heroine is too strong and independent to bother with being wooed by some rich guy. But then they swap bodies REPEATEDLY and learn to appreciate the other's perspective. But, of course, they face all the challenges a k-drama rom-com couple needs to face: tragic pasts, romantic rivals, evil in-laws and more! So many clichés! But so high energy and fun! And among the Best. Endings. Ever.
(And you can just ignore all the hideous, sparkly track suits. They totally became 'A Thing'.)
One minor criticism -- this drama was marketed to me for the Strong, Independent Female Lead. While mostly true and ultimately satisfying, some of the worst clichéd moments seriously detract from her character.
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What i think of the Drama:
As stated previously the story was not what captured my eyes. The typical element ” rich man, poor woman” and the “body swaping” have all been seen before. But what makes secret garden such a good drama is the characters and their developement. Each character even the small roles have a Story you get to explore. The good Thing about the Drama is that your opinion on the characters will Change with time. There is no such Thing as the evil character that will turn into a complete bitch. There are however certain Persons that apear “evil” but not in a completly unrealistic way but in a way that is understandable.
Another reason why i love Secret garden and why it is one of the only Dramas i rewatched more than once is because of the love to Details. There are so many things one gets to enjoy when watching it a second time. There are phrases that could go as Poems, paintings and references to fairytales. The set is just stunning and it has many memorable places such as Kim Joo Won’s and Oska’s house, Gil Ra Im’s place, the Action School and the place they stay at while on a trip, the Little Restaurant in the mountans and many more. The clothes and hairstyles fit the characters well and underline their characteristics.
Also a big reason to watch this Drama is the stunning acting. Ha ji won is my favourite actress of all time and in this Drama you will see why. It’s incredible how well she adapts to the character and it couldn’t have been a better cast for Gil Ra Im. Hyun Bin also fits into his role very well and the two of them interact great with each other. When swapping bodies both of them succeded in taking on each others bodylanguage which made the Drama so much better.
Lastly the OST. As you could have guessed it i love it. The Songs are easy to reconize which is really important for the Drama in my opinion. Where darker Dramas rely more on OST’s that are Fitting to the Scenes and Emotion this Drama works with repetitive Songs that will stay in your head. What i really like about it is that the same song is sung by a woman in one Scene but by a man in another one. Sometimes there might be some Scenes were you think that the song gets annoying but later you will find yourself humming the song emotionally.
Who I would recommend it to:
All in all i would recommend this Drama to almost everyone. It’s lighthearted but not to silly. It has a Storyline but also Centers around the characters. It has a soft Humor to it and beautiful romance that might be a Little cheesy sometimes but not overly exagerated. The Drama doesn’t soley rely on it’s main characters and their Story but also has strong supportive roles. There are several diffrent sort of Lifestyles clashing beside the obvious poor and rich ones. It might not be one of the deepest Dramas and some might find the bodyswapping ridiculous and not Fitting but it still is enjoyable to watch and did not bore me in the middle as it kept the Story going and progressed fast. There are moments when you find yourself crying with no Chance of Holding it back and moments when you just have to smile at the Little things you will Encounter. So i highly recommend to watch this Drama at least once.
Score:
9 out of 10
There are some Points that could be better and some Scenes and the Story is not the strongest one but it’s an enjoyable Drama with love to Details and strong Characters.
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The all story is unlikely, but I admit I watched it with pleasure. Ra Im and her sweet-sharp style were wonderful. Ju Won the same. The guy has got very difficult character, but he is male too. Appreciation for the actors! The body confusion, changing gestures.. great! Oska... I like him! a little arrogant, but he had to survive somehow. I though he wanted to steal the brother's girlfriend for a moment, but no... fidelity won.
I always know that love is the best in dramas!
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Story: This drama has a very simple storyline: rich man falls for poor woman, they were opposed by his parent(s) but they eventually have their "happily ever after". The "Cinderella story" appeals to all the romantics of the world, especially to the female viewers. We have read and watched many movies and dramas along this line. So what is new? Does throwing in a fantasy gimmick such as body swapping makes it new? Not really. Body swapping is not a new idea either. What made SG extraordinary from the ordinary? It was certainly not the story, but rather how it was told. My full brownie points go to the director for his interpretation of this story. By throwing in otherwise "cliche" albeit creative scenes, amusing lines and characters that you cannot help but fall in love with (eg: coffee froth on the lip, the sit up, the coordinated walking-side-by-side, the "New message" ringtone, Joo Won's monologue about how expensive the tracksuit is, the infamous "Is this the best?" line etc), the director turned what was otherwise ordinary to extraordinary. Without these, I believe SG would have ended up in the "Just another fantasy rom-com" pile. What I love about the entire story was the simplicity of it that turned the old into new. SG taught me that one does not need a complicated idea to make a great story; an old idea can be made into a great story if it was told from a different angle. I love the ending and the message it brought to the viewers. Thanks to this brilliant re-telling of the Cinderella story, we can now look forward to future rom-coms that will make use of the "trademark" SG scenes and lines. In this way, we know that SG has been immortalized.
Acting/Cast: I would not be able to find a better cast than the existing one. Hyun Bin successfully portrayed the arrogant and most times childish Joo Won. His acting in this drama was spot on! The fact that he was able to make me shed tears with him when he cried was the pinnacle of acting - the ability to make the viewers feel what the character was feeling. I am not a fan of him per se - he was not too bad in My Name is Kim Sam Soon but he did starred in dramas that were not so succesful either, yet in SG, he totally nailed it! Ha Ji Won as Gil Ra Im was the perfect choice for Hyun Bin's Kim Joo Won. They had such a natural and perfect chemistry that the pairing was a work of genius. I believe that for many years to come, people will walk pass Ji Won and call her "Gil Ra Im". That is how strong the impression of her character and how succesful she was in protraying Gil Ra Im. Next, I come to my favourite character- Oska, played by Yoon Sang Hyun. Oska's was an amusing and interesting character. I sincerely believe that without the excellent work by Yoon, SG would have fallen flat on its face. Oska may be a supporting character but without Oska, the drama would have lacked the necessary chemistry needed to gel all the other parts and characters together. Thanks to Yoon, Oska was a success and so was SG. The other characters, such as Kim Sung Oh as Secretary Kim, Kim Sa Rang as Yoon Seul and even the lady who played Joo Won's mother (forgotten her name!) were brilliant choices! For the cast, I award the rare 10/10 because without such an excellent cast and wonderful chemistry, SG would have turned out as a flop.
Music: SG has one of the most heartfelt OSTs around - that is if you are into ballads. Some of you may not, hence the 9/10 rating I gave it. Admittedly, I have my favourites and not-so favourites from its OSTs.
Rewatch value: This is where I admit a secret of mine. I had not rewatched SG since it ended, not for lack of disinterest, but rather due to lack of time. I have too many projects on hand now and making the time to watch a drama nowadays takes effort beyond my already busy schedule. Top that with the expectations from others that I write formal reviews of new dramas, I rarely have time to re-watch dramas (no matter how good they were) because I have to move on to the next new drama. So, I became very selective with what I watch. Unlike most drama addicts, I can forgo watching if the drama is not up to my taste. To me, SG has a high rewatch value. It is surely in my list of drama to re-watch when I get the time for it. I remember fondly all those scenes and lines from SG and hope that one day, when I get that break or holiday away from work, I will be able to re-visit it. So, yes, by all means, if you have the time, re-watch SG again. Better yet, go out and buy the whole original set of the drama. It is definitely a collector's item; one you will not regret keeping for years and years to come and one you probably can proudly show to your kids and next generation what "the good ol' Korean dramas were like in the early 21st century".
With this review, I end my thoughts about SG. All I can say, if you haven't watched it, you better do or else you would have missed an excellent drama that may well ended up as the k-drama of the decade!
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Well, let's get the imperfections out of the way first, shall we? Then we can end on an upper. ^_^ I think the main problem was that the plot didn't live up to its potential. It had so many chances to be unique, but then it would fall back onto the same old k-drama cliches. I was also disappointed that the fantasy element was underused. It could've driven the plot instead of mostly being used for laughs. And in the end there were a lot of loose ends that were tied up without really being resolved. Those were the things that bugged me.
Then why did I still give Secret Garden a 9? Because everything else about it was AMAZING! The scenery, cinematography, costumes, action scenes, and people were all really beautiful. The dialogue was well written and well performed, especially the funny bits. But the main thing that was amazing about this show was the cast. SO GOOD! I've never watched Hyun Bin or Ha Ji Won in anything else, but watching this really makes me want to. They did an amazing job with their characters and also with playing eachother during the body swaps. And their chemistry was INCREDBLE! Some of the best I've seen in a k-drama. Those two totally made the show for me. The supporting cast was also amazing. I've seen a lot of the actors before (Lee Philip in Faith, Jang Seo Won in Heartstrings, Yoo In Na in Queen In Hyun's Man, Kim Sung Oh in Midas) so it was lots of fun to see them in this. Everyone played their parts really well and were really funny. An amazing k-drama cast.
So, although Secret Garden was perfect and didn't quite live up to its potential, I still really enjoyed it. Definitely in my top 10. ^_^
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As for re-watch value, I've seen Secret Garden many times over and I've enjoyed it each time. It's one of my favorites dramas and as an added bonus the OST is fantastic!
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This review may contain spoilers
I just read the other recommendations and I just can't believe how anyone would give this drama a 4! It's one of the most epic, remarkable and unforgettable dramas in Korea in 2010 and until today.I just rewatched this drama after 2 years and even though the story, episodes and scenes are still clear in my head, it still made me laugh, cry and curl my toes and fingers. This is definitely one of the best dramas of all time.
Concentrating on their kisses, Hyun Bin kisses "hot-ly" but Ha Ji Won does not. Hyun Bin has this serious character so laughing or acting funy does not suit him but it would definitely make you laugh -- (SPOILER: Like the one when they were having dinner and he was imitating Ah Yeong while in the bathroom). Ha Ji Won is indeed very sexy while doing those action thingy. As a girl, I also cant help but fall for her charm. The other casts did very well considering that they're just rookies in the industry like Yoo In Na, the secretary, Yoon Seul and the young songwriter.
The OST is still alive until today. People still cant forget that one song that made their hearts melt --- That Man sung by Baek Ji Young. I still hear it playing as a BGM in some of the variety shows that I watch.
Rewatch Value. As I said, I just rewatched and still made me laugh and cry and melt!! :"">
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Even with funny moments and life-swapping hijinks, the serious flaws in this drama don’t support the hype; it’s simply overrated. I loved the beginning episodes. FINALLY a drama w/a strong female lead; great male lead too! What wasn’t great was seeing this strong, capable, conviction-filled woman actually give into a controlling, immature& inconsiderate jerk who rejects responsibility, blames her for everything all while he DISRESPECTFULLY PUTS HER DOWN EVERY CHANCE HE GETS (unapologetically); yet she REMAINS ATTRACTED!(wth?) Passively, continuously taking his CRUEL words & abusive/insulting/degrading behavior(i.e. manhandling). I dislike unhealthy relationships; but my greatest problem? Her cooperation w/being jerked around is INCONSISTENT with her no-nonsense persona established in early episodes. Disregarding hype, you’ve been warned.
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story is the best thing about this drama. the way story carried is awesome.
after this i watched many dramas but none of them bet this...
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Cast: 10/10 I believe they have acted out their characters well
Music: 10/10 the songs played matched the scenes,the lyrics describes perfectly what they are feeling at that moment (I fell in love with the songs so I googled them along with the translations)
Will I watch it again? Yes. It wasn't perfect but the actors were able to move me especially with the bitter-sweet courtship thing.
If you are one of those people who could easily empathize with the feelings of the characters when reading a book or watching a movie then you will be able to appreciate this show. For me this is my first time to watch the 2 lead role actor and actress and I say that they have acted the part well especially the guy. He is not your typical prince charming type but he given his personality, he would still let his pride be wounded over and over again for the woman he loves. And I also liked how the girl has slowly fallen for this arrogant prince and how hard it is for them to meet halfway due to the huge gap between their social statuses. But the scenes that really touched me the most is the guy's dedication towards the girl who is ready to give up everything of his. I think that's really romantic. Who cares about his crappy personality, I would want to be loved like that! The beginning was a bit slow but that should be the progress of the courtship between them so it's understandable. The ending was fair, not exactly a happily ever after since they haven't get the full approval of everyone. And what I liked about it is that after the sad scenes they would lighten it up right away. They won't drag the sad parts for a long time like some other dramas.
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