ltspada
This review may contain spoilers
Seo In-guk really carries the story
8/10 is my rating. This is a 2014 South Korean drama with 17 (+1 Special), 1 hr, episodes. Also known as High School King of Savvy.
High School varsity ace hockey player, Lee Min-seok (Seo In-guk) is living as a normal high school student, when his brother, Lee Hyung-seok (also played by Seo In-guk) calls him and asks for a favor. His brother has been abroad and is due to report to a new job as a Director at an IT conglomerate. Something he won't divulge has happened and he needs Min-seok to pretend to be him and fill in until he can get free and take his place. Normally that would be an impossible request but, despite the 9 year age gap, the brothers look like identical twins. Being loyal to his brother, Min-seok agrees to the farce and a colleague at the company is aware of the ruse and helps Min-seok fit in - in the otherwise alien corporate environment. Min-seok is supposed to be a puppet but turns out the young man has a knack for the type of work and starts to make a name for himself at the company, and also gains favor with the company President. Jung Soo-young (Lee Ha-na), is originally a contract employee at the company who Min-seok finds himself drawn to. He eventually falls in love with her and helps her get a permanent job with the company. His rival, Yoo Jin-woo (Lee Soo-hyuk) senses something suspicious about this mysterious new director and vows to get to the bottom of it. He is also jealous that his father seems to find more favor with this bright new director and, eventually he is also jealous of Soo-young who he also falls in love with. To further complicate things, fellow high schooler and Soo-young's younger sister, Jung Yoo-ah (Lee Yeol-eum), has already confessed to Min-seok and, despite his repeated rejections, considers "hubby Lee" her man. With so many twists and turns can Min-seok continue to fool everyone until his brother steps in? Can he overcome the age and generation gap between him and Soo-young? What if she finds out he is only in high school?
spoiler 🚨 I really liked the beginning of this. In-guk is a great actor and I just enjoy watching him. I liked how he was able to handle both roles so well. He seems so different when he played the older brother it was almost eerie the way he was able to make that transformation. He seem like a different person. Soo-young has a freshness and innocence about her that is much younger than her age and he is actually rather mature for his age In the beginning. So early on it is easy to see the attraction. Towards the end it lost me a bit when it was revealed he was a high schooler and it just felt like his character underwent a dramatic change and he suddenly seems less mature. I also found it disappointing that his hockey career ended because he could’ve went on to be very successful and then could have taken care of her even though she was older. So it started really good but the last half or so was it not quite as good. It was redeemed though in that it ended well. I’m a fan of happy endings and this one definitely had a happy ending. There were some loose ends though that I did not feel were tied up such as the brothers never learned about the illegitimate child angle and I was unsure who exactly the illegitimate child was. It also wasn’t completely clear to me what exactly the president did to Min-seok’s dad. I wanted to know what happened with the brother since Min-seok did not wind up going to Germany. I thought at one point maybe it would be revealed he was the illegitimate one and find out that Jin-woo was his brother and then he could’ve stayed on at the company and just been a very young executive. It does allude to the fact in the end that he is going to make it big because as he won some thing but I wasn’t quite clear with that some thing was. That felt pretty sad. It was good but could have been a bit better. Well acted though. Jin-woo was somewhat of a villain yet I had a very deep sympathy for him and wanted to see where his life went and wanted the relationships he developed to continue at least as friendships. All in all I liked it just had a bit of a drag point and I wasn’t a complete fan of the change in Min-seok’s character and how he was on a very successful path but then all of a sudden hockey ended and he had nothing going on at the company. Worth the watch just not one of my top choices.
High School varsity ace hockey player, Lee Min-seok (Seo In-guk) is living as a normal high school student, when his brother, Lee Hyung-seok (also played by Seo In-guk) calls him and asks for a favor. His brother has been abroad and is due to report to a new job as a Director at an IT conglomerate. Something he won't divulge has happened and he needs Min-seok to pretend to be him and fill in until he can get free and take his place. Normally that would be an impossible request but, despite the 9 year age gap, the brothers look like identical twins. Being loyal to his brother, Min-seok agrees to the farce and a colleague at the company is aware of the ruse and helps Min-seok fit in - in the otherwise alien corporate environment. Min-seok is supposed to be a puppet but turns out the young man has a knack for the type of work and starts to make a name for himself at the company, and also gains favor with the company President. Jung Soo-young (Lee Ha-na), is originally a contract employee at the company who Min-seok finds himself drawn to. He eventually falls in love with her and helps her get a permanent job with the company. His rival, Yoo Jin-woo (Lee Soo-hyuk) senses something suspicious about this mysterious new director and vows to get to the bottom of it. He is also jealous that his father seems to find more favor with this bright new director and, eventually he is also jealous of Soo-young who he also falls in love with. To further complicate things, fellow high schooler and Soo-young's younger sister, Jung Yoo-ah (Lee Yeol-eum), has already confessed to Min-seok and, despite his repeated rejections, considers "hubby Lee" her man. With so many twists and turns can Min-seok continue to fool everyone until his brother steps in? Can he overcome the age and generation gap between him and Soo-young? What if she finds out he is only in high school?
spoiler 🚨 I really liked the beginning of this. In-guk is a great actor and I just enjoy watching him. I liked how he was able to handle both roles so well. He seems so different when he played the older brother it was almost eerie the way he was able to make that transformation. He seem like a different person. Soo-young has a freshness and innocence about her that is much younger than her age and he is actually rather mature for his age In the beginning. So early on it is easy to see the attraction. Towards the end it lost me a bit when it was revealed he was a high schooler and it just felt like his character underwent a dramatic change and he suddenly seems less mature. I also found it disappointing that his hockey career ended because he could’ve went on to be very successful and then could have taken care of her even though she was older. So it started really good but the last half or so was it not quite as good. It was redeemed though in that it ended well. I’m a fan of happy endings and this one definitely had a happy ending. There were some loose ends though that I did not feel were tied up such as the brothers never learned about the illegitimate child angle and I was unsure who exactly the illegitimate child was. It also wasn’t completely clear to me what exactly the president did to Min-seok’s dad. I wanted to know what happened with the brother since Min-seok did not wind up going to Germany. I thought at one point maybe it would be revealed he was the illegitimate one and find out that Jin-woo was his brother and then he could’ve stayed on at the company and just been a very young executive. It does allude to the fact in the end that he is going to make it big because as he won some thing but I wasn’t quite clear with that some thing was. That felt pretty sad. It was good but could have been a bit better. Well acted though. Jin-woo was somewhat of a villain yet I had a very deep sympathy for him and wanted to see where his life went and wanted the relationships he developed to continue at least as friendships. All in all I liked it just had a bit of a drag point and I wasn’t a complete fan of the change in Min-seok’s character and how he was on a very successful path but then all of a sudden hockey ended and he had nothing going on at the company. Worth the watch just not one of my top choices.
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