Lighthearted romantic comedy centered in convenience store

8.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2020 South Korean comedy romance with 16, 70 minute episodes.

Choi Dae-hyun (Ji Chang-wook) encounters a gang of female high school students after suffering a setback in a relationship. The leader of girl toughs, Jung Saet-byul (Kim Yoo-jung), Saet-byul tries to bully Dae-hyun Into buying cigarettes but instead steals a kiss from him. She was immediately attracted to the handsome young man who made a sweet gesture of flowers and a stuffy to a girlfriend who obviously did not appreciate it.

Three years later, Dae-hyun has resigned from the corporate world and is running a family owned convenience store. A chance encounter brings Saet-Byul back into Dae-hyun’s life and when she notices he is looking for a part timer she persistently seeks the job to be closer to the man she likes. Da-Hyun is two years into a relationship with another girl who does not see his worth. Saet-byul is determined to show she is no longer the troubled young girl Dae-hyun first met and steal his heart in the process.

Spoiler alert! I really loved the female lead character Saet-byul she is basically a street toughened kid in the beginning. Being poor is hard wherever you live and it was admirable how she sacrificed herself to give her sister a stable teen age life and start on adult hood. The sister acted just as expected when she was young but showed great character growth when she expressed to Saet-byul that she knew and appreciated what she had done for her. I liked that the younger sister was able to be successful as an idol. I liked all of both of their friends and it added a lot of interest with the things that happened in the multiple relationships. Choi Dae-hyun was perfectly sweet as the male lead character. He was responsible, stable and noble. The second guy was a gorgeous idol who was hopelessly in love with the beautiful Saet-byul he credited her deceased father for the foundation of his success and felt responsible to watch over the two girls. I did get a little bit of second guy syndrome. I loved how Choi Dae-hyun‘s family took Saet-byul in when she had nowhere to go and even later took in her little sister. It was something my parents would have done so I could identify. The love story was sweet and the two looked amazing together. Kim Yoo-jung is so pretty that she was an incredibly believable pair with handsome Ji Chang-Wook. I highly recommend this as a light hearted feel good romantic comedy.

Read More

The ending is what diminished it for me

7,5/10 is my rating. This is a 2019 (Josean era) fictional drama with 16, 60 minute, episodes.

Ha-seon (Yeo Jin-goo) leads a relatively care free life traveling around performing comedic skits that primarily make fun of the royalty. Yi Heon, the King (also played by Yeo Jin-goo) was a benign noble as a Crown Prince but became a paranoid, vicious and crazed king. He is bloodthirsty which is driven by opium induced delusions about being killed. When one of his close advisers comes across Ha-seon by a chance encounter, he is stunned to realize the clownish actor looks exactly like the king. The king has become increasingly concerned about assasination attempts and has tasked his close advisers to find a way to get him out of danger. The adviser who encountered the look alike proposes to the king that he be used as a stand in and the King is more than willing to have the doppelgänger stand in for him. Through a combination of coercion and persuasion they talk Ha-seon into playing the greatest role, that of the king, while the real king slips away to a quiet retreat. As Ha-seon becomes acquainted with palace life and gets to know the inhabitants, Queen Yi Kyu (Kim Sang-kyun) quickly steals his reluctant heart and is surprised herself to find that this new side to her husband is stirring romantic feelings for him she did not have before. Nothing could go wrong - right?

spoiler 🚨 I liked the first half of this very well I thought the male lead did an excellent job playing both the clown who was kind and the king who was bloodthirsty and crazy. I like the female lead who played the queen as she was calm and kind. However, the way the king was and all the palace intrigue reminded me of the American show “Game of Thrones“. As is often the case in Royal courts, it seemed as if everyone was out to poison or kill everyone else for the throne. In the middle of the show, there was a part where the Crowned Clown bowed down to one of the evil villains and I wound up fast forwarding because I knew that eventually he would win out and I couldn’t take watching it go on for so long. After that part it got good again and I thought “well there’s just that one part that doesn’t detract from the movie too much.“. At that point, had it ended well, I probably would’ve given it an 8.5 or possibly a 9. The show literally went down in the last episode or so when it seemed like nearly every character I liked had something tragic happen to them or someone they cared about. Then to top it off, the male lead steps down and gives the crown over to someone we were barely introduced to. After everything that he had gone through as well as all the people that supported him it seemed like a waste for him not to reign longer. The Queen also had been made barren and it would’ve been nice if they would’ve found out that wasn’t true after all. Because it felt like Ha-seon did in part step down because she was unable to bear an heir. Then they aren’t done with the tragedy because as he steps down and leaves the palace, one of the last characters that I still liked gets killed as some crazy ninjas say they are avenging the dowager queen who died a year before and we never really got to know these people to know why they would be so loyal to her even a year later. In fact, when the dowager was alive you didn’t really see her do anything all that great nor did they refer to any great things she had done in the past. Then they make you think the male lead is dead and you get to see the queen, who had stepped away from the throne to be with him, grieve for over two years. Then he just suddenly shows up and says he’s been in what would amount to a coma (how they would’ve supported someone in a coma in the Josean era is a bit of a mystery) and they have this long emotional moment. Rather than being heartwarming, their reunion felt a little bit cheesy and over done. It is a shame that it did not end better because it could’ve been a good show. This is the third TV series I’ve seen with this male lead and I have to say all three have not ended as I like them to. It is to the point where if he is in something I will likely read spoilers to make sure it doesn’t have a poor ending. If you don’t mind tragedy and like things that are a bit nebulous, you may like this better than I did. It is worth watching because a lot of the show is quite good and if you’re able to look past that middle part and the end then you may enjoy it.

#TheCrownedClown
#YeoJinGoo
#KimSangKyun

Read More

Great slice of the Fan Girl Life with a sweet romance

9.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2019 South Korean television drama with 16, 60 minute episodes.
Fangirl of a boy band by night and hard working museum curator by day, Sung Deok-mi (Park Min-young) works hard to keep the duality of her nature a secret. Deok-mi originally meets the arrogant and standoffish Ryan Gold (Kim Jae-wook) when they are opposing bidders for an art piece. He later becomes Director of the museum where Deok-mi works and becomes her "cover" when she starts dating an idol. The plot twists when Sindy, who runs a fan girl site, gets a job at the museum and has the goal of exposing that Deok-mi is dating a star. Not easy to keep such a big thing a secret - especially with embedded spies.

Spoiler 🚨 This is one of my new favorites. I wasn't too sure about this because a 30 something fangirl was a little hard to envision from the premise but it works. The characters are all very well developed and acted and you really feel like you get to know them and care about the outcome. The romance is perfectly paced, credible, and the chemistry between the two is amazing. You could really see them as a couple. I loved the ending too - so many do not end neatly wrapped up and this one did. I highly recommend this one to anyone who likes a sweet romance with that little bit of intrigue.

Read More

Good for its primary focus which is monster/horror genre

8.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2023, South Korean historical, action, suspense, thriller, horror and romance series with 10, 65-73 minute episodes.

First I provide a Unique synopsis then review.

Synopsis

Jang Tae-sang (Park seo-joon) runs a very successful Korean business in Japanese occupied Gyeongseong (later renamed Seoul) occupation. He is determined to survive in an environment that is hostile to Koreans by amassing wealth and influence as a form of protection. Known as Master Jang he is perceived as selfish and uncaring if his fellow South Korean’s plight when, in reality, he takes great care of all his friends and family like associates. If you need something in the way of information he probably knows a guy or a girl. That all changes when he is blackmailed to locate a woman who went missing. He is skilled at using his connections to broker information but this time his livelihood is at stake. His mission puts him in contact with Yoon Chae-ok (Han So-hee) who is part of a team who are experts at finding people. During the spring of 1945, lots if people are going missing after visiting, or being taken to, a Japanese run hospital. Seems more than just medicine is being practiced there, people are being used to run experiments with a violent creature.

Review

It is a great addition to the monster “movie” genre. The monster in this is terrifying and seems invincible. It has exciting action scenes, edge of your seat suspense and fingernail biting horror. If you are a fan either leads, they do an excellent job in their roles. It can be hard, emotionally, to watch realizing the Japanese did occupy South Korea and they did perform horrific medical experiments on the Koreans. It is a lens on how occupation forces dehumanize their “enemy.” The romance is there but it is not what makes the series stand out. It is complex enough I would watch it again to catch things I missed. I would recommend it highly for those wanting great monster, suspense, historical backdrop, and/or action series.

Spoilers

Prepare for a gore fest. I lost count of how many people the creature killed. I was a little disappointed that the Korean prisoners were killed indiscriminately by the monster when, later, we discovered the creature maintained enough of its original humanity to recognize its daughter.

I wonder if they misinterpreted Anthrax because that is what they said they injected the creature with that caused its horrible mutation. Then, the creature emitted bubbles of Anthrax in a “sleeping” state but it wasn’t characteristic of what we know of Anthrax. This “Anthrax” causes acid burns when it hits the skin. It did not seem like Anthrax so I wonder if it was a translation issue.

Several people betrayed their friends under torture and I liked they called it out and Tae-sang and others acknowledged it was not the fault of the victim as they temporarily lose their humanity.

I feel we never got the full back story of what kind of revenge was being exacted on Chae-ok’s mother that she was turned over for medical experimentation. There was mention of betrayal and I suspect it was also jealously on the part of Yukiki Maeda (Soo Hyun) as she mentions their association when they were younger but that situation was only vaguely explained.

The ending was mostly up in the air with the main creature still alive, a second creature having just delivered what appears to be an alien baby and Chae-ok now revived from death but infected with the parasite. It is clear there will be another season and I think there is a confirmed 2024 production date. I do not trust Netflix though so prefer a well tied up ending. WhatI love about South Korean shows is they rarely leave cliffhangers. Netflix is all about profit and leaves the endings open so, if the series does well, they can do additional seasons. A lot of Asian drama fans likely find leaving it open like that annoying.

#GyeongseongCreature

#ParkSeoJoon

#HanSoHee

#SooHyun

Read More

Cute Romance with a unique lens on a "crystal ball" way of seeing how that guy really is

9/10 is my rating. This is a 2020/2021 South Korean Romantic Comedy Drama with 10, 70 minute episodes. It is also known as "Please Don't Meet that Guy".

Seo Ji-seong (Song Ha-yoon) is a information technology engineer who works for a development company that adds artificial intelligence components to household appliances and other technology. When a smart refrigerator she is developing goes beyond its programming to not only make meal recommendations but to provide a complete background check of the person input, Ji-seong covertly tries to figure out what the gliche is and stall her boss for time before the product is marketed. As she is testing the refrigerator's AI, she uses people around her as inputs and finds out information about men in her and her friend's lives she is not sure she wanted to know. It reveals a dark secret, Ji-seong's fiancé had been keeping, and causes Ji-seong to break off their long term relationship. Fate steps in and Ji-seong finds herself crossing paths with Jung Kook-hee (Lee Jun-young) multiple times and even has occasion to work with him through a project with her company. She growns close to Kook-hee but is disturbed by his reluctance to have his photograph taken and his avoidence of technology. Having been burned in a relationship once, the secrets Kook-hee is hiding might keep their relationship from moving forward. Can Ji-seong resolve the problems with the AI and solve the mystery of Kook-hee's absolute avoidance of technology?

Overall I liked this. Usually I would think 10 episodes was too short but they were able to develop and tell the story in this number of episodes. I thought the relationship between the ML and FL was believable and they had great chemistry. I really liked Ji-seong and the fact that she was a female IT/engineer was cool because I have personally known a lot of person(s) in those fields and appreciate their analytical thinking. There are always difficulties in translating between different cultures and it was hard for me to understand Kook-hee's guilt over the fire as it was not his fault the firefighter decided to go in thinking he was still inside when, in fact, he went to a soccer game. That is not something individuals are likely to feel guilty over in US culture. I also did not see a lot wrong with Ji-seong finding out about her friend's boyfriends and warning them. She was not doing it intentionally, she was trying to get the refrigerator to simply provide menu suggestions based on a profile. She had to run it to sort the glitch. She may have ran it a time or two when not actively working on the issue and just to find out, but it would be no different than hiring a private detective at that point. I liked that she never forgave the ex boyfriend for betraying her by sharing her pictures with his friends and making comments about her body. That is not something someone who cares about you should ever do. I liked that Ji-seong's mother stuck up for her and told her ex's mother off when she tried to put the blame for the failed relationship on Ji-seong. I was disappointed when Kook-hee turned away from Ji-seong when he found out she might have dug into some personal information. It was right after she stuck up for him without even knowing the whole story. He "came around" but it still felt like a bit of a betrayal that he did not stand with her when she was having a hard time as a result of information being sent to him. Overall it was good and entertaining. Just a few, somewhat minor, "flaws" in some of the characters. It was also a unique story with the refrigerator acting like a "crystal ball."

Read More

Starts slow but good after it gets going

this 2019 South Korean romantic comedy. it has 12 episodes of around 60 minutes each.

An Dan-Te (Sung-Hoon) heads up a company that brings a management team to change things up for companies that are on the verge of going bankrupt. He is almost robotic in his actions and with his emotions. His next project is one he is reluctant to take on until he encounters Shin Yeon-Hwa (Han Bo-reum) who just so happens to be the head of development at Joybuster, the gaming company he is being encouraged to take on. A series of encounters outside of work do not put the two on the best footing so when An Da-Te shows up as the new CEO and one with no gaming experience, Yeon-Hwa is less than thrilled. The bright and outspoken Yeon-Hwa is quick to tell the CEO just what she thinks of him.

Spoiler 🚨 The first episode of this was a bit slow and failed to grab my immediate interest. I decided to give it one more episode and was glad I did. I have seen Sung-Hoon in a variety of lead roles and I enjoy watching him. He usually plays a socially adept and dashing character but in this had I not known otherwise I would have thought he was a robot. It made it very comedic to see him struggle to understand someone very full of emotions. I thought the leads had great chemistry and the surrounding characters were interesting as well. There were even some surprising plot twists. It was a great slice of the competitive gaming industry and the central plot was interesting and flowed along nicely. The ending felt a bit rushed but not so much it ruined the story. For me there were several laugh out loud moments and nothing was very sad throughout. It is a nice, feel good romantic comedy.

Read More

Comedic brilliance

This is a 2018 South Korean television drama with 20, 60 minute, episodes. Main cast:
📍Kang Dong-gu (Kim Jung-Hyun) wants to become a movie director. He is kind hearted but unlucky.
📍Lee Joon-ki (Lee Yi-kyung) He is the son of a famous actor who hopes to mirror his father’s success but is only able to land small roles.
📍Bong Doo-sik (Son Seung-won) A mostly unemployed freelance writer.
📍Han Yoon-ah (Jung In-sun) A single mother with no family or resources.
📍Kang Seo-jin (Ko Won-hee) An aspiring journalist and Dong-gu’s sister.
📍Min Soo-ah (Lee Joon-woo). A beautiful girl and famous model who is Dong-gu’s ex.

Three friends decide to go into business together in Waikiki and buy a guest house. Their business is failing until one day an unlikely source of fortune, a single mother and her baby, show up and things turn around.

spoiler 🚨 I loved this for sheer comedic appeal. It is a little like Seinfeld in that the characters do the most outrageous things. I seriously have not laughed so hard since I do not know when. There is friendship and romance and that is also great but the comedy steals the show. My daughter and I both thought it was funny so the humor spans generations. If you need a good laugh then treat yourself to this wonderful series.

Read More

Its Rowoon watchable for that alone. But it is also an interesting premise with a nice romance.

9/10 is my rating. This is a 2023 South Korean romantic fantasy drama with 16, ~60 minute episodes.

First I provide a unique synopsis then reviewyj

Lee Hong-jo (Jo Bo-ah) is a lonely civil servant who does not realize her life is about to get a whole lot more complicated. Jang Shin-yu (Rowoon) is a rich chaebol but also a very talented attorney. The two hVe very little reaskn to cross paths if fate was not at play in their destiny. Hing-jo finds that she must get a property demolished that Shin-yu owns and when she goes to discuss the matter with him itis dislike at first site. As the situation unfolds they discover they are linked through a 300 year old forbidden book that was sealed in a wooden box awaiting Hong-joo. The book seems to be some silly compilation of spells but Shin-yu knows too well the curse filled darker side of the book. Can the two lift the curse and unravel the mysteries of the past? Are they destined to be together?

Review

I started this immediately following having watched Rowoon in “She Will Never Know”. In that role, he was super sweet and very demonstrative with his affection. In this series he is serious, cold and aloof. The two roles are night and day and yet Rowoon plays them equally well showing he has exceptional acting talent. It is hard to rate anything he is in very low because he is a very handsome and talented actor.

The paranormal, quasi magical back story adds a very interesting element.

Overall I liked it and it ends happy with major plot elements resolved. I recommend it for those that like reincarnation, cold male lead who falls hard for the girl, revenge in bullies and heart warming romance. I might rewatch it some time in the future.

Spoilers*
They seemed to build a lot around the spells and spell book early in the story but then it had no great validity later on. Did the spells work or not? It was like they were going to go that direction then changed their mind.

There were several people that existed in their past life that reappeared in this one with no clear reason why they were around her in the current life. Like her psycho stalker, he was in her past life. Did that have anything to do with his obsession with her in the present? Like Kwon Jae-kyung (Ha Jun) her downstairs neighbor, he drove the incident leading to her death in the past life, in this life he is a romantic interest. Why?

The bloody red hand he had a lot of episodes with that happening early on then he just did not. Even before the curse was broken he quit having the red hand episodes. It would have been better if the characters had talked about it.

He was so dopily in love with her in the beginning supposedly because of the spell. Later when it seemed it was not a spell at all there was no real explanation then for his earlier behavior. It was out of character for him.

I liked when Hong jo finally stood up to her bully Yoon Na-yeon (Yura). I wish though Shin yu discovered more how his ex girlfriend had treated Hing jo back n their younger days. He broke up with her for cheating but I felt like he never fully understood just how awful she was. He stayed in that relationship way longer than it seemed he should almost as if he was reluctant to let go. And never stood up to his dad to say look you are being harsh with my current girlfriend but look who you picked.

For some reason there was this focus on a second couple’s romance to the extent they showed their wedding near the end of the series. Which would not have been odd except they did not show a wedding with the lead couple.

#DestinedWithYou
#Rowoon
#JoBoAh
#Yura
#HaJun

Read More

Story about the band and the music are great - the romance is "incomplete"

8/10 is my rating. This is a 2021 South Korean romantic drama with 12, 70 minute episodes. It is alternatively known as "I will Be Your Knight."

While trying to revive his band and get them topping the chart again, the stress and pressure triggers the lead singer, and genius song writer/composer of the band, Yoo Tae-In (Lee Jun-young) to have sleepwalking episodes that he had not experienced since childhood. Idol bands have to be very careful to avoid scandal and Tae-In's sleepwalking episodes threatens to create episodes that could be scandalous for the struggling band. The band's manager/CEO enlists the help of a special doctor to "cure" and monitor Tae-In's condition as a secret live in physician. Due to a mix up, it is not the world famous sleep doctor who "treats" Tae-In but her struggling twin sister, In Yoon-joo (Jung In-sun). Fate may have known what it was doin gthough as Yoon-joo seems to be just what the band needed to pull together as a cohesive unit and to heal the key member of the group. It is lonely at the top, but can these idols find love without losing all they have strived for?

I like this trope a lot. It shows that being an "idol" or just an artist in general can be a very lonely life. Famous people are still people and have the same wants and needs as others but, due to their need to avoid "scandals", it can be very lonely at the top. I really liked each of the characters in this series as they had all of the issues and problems you would imagine with a band trying to maintain their relevance. The growing pains they had and the fact that she became the thing that knit them all together was interesting to see develop. Spoiler alert* I would have rated this much higher if I didn't find the ending as frustrating as I did. It seemed that he liked her a lot more than she did him and she never fully came out and confessed her feelings for him. She was cruel to him, in a way, when it was more her insecurities than any thoughts or feelings she had. I also did not like how we followed 2nd couple for so much of the series only to have them break up never to get back together. In that case too it did not seem she loved him enough to fight for their relationship. To me the plot felt a bit "woke" like they were trying to show the women did not need the men or that they were able to make the more mature decision to preserve the career over the relationship. I am somewhat of a hopeless romantic in that I think love is rare enough, and fulfilling enough that it is worth giving up other things for. I think the only way things will ever change for famous people is if they start to draw the line very firmly between their artistic life and their private life. I think they are moving in that direction, more and more, and some are more succssful at it than others. In the end, they meet up at the house she hoped to buy, he apparently bought it and got her sister in on having her go there. But, it wasn't clear whether or not that meant they were getting together or not. I know some writers like to leave it like that, like you decide whether or not they end up together, but I don't watch shows to have to "write" the ending myself. I like neatly wrapped up and clear in terms of the relationships. This was good, the music was amazing, their chemistry was solid, but it was disappointing at the end. Still I would recommend it for the overall story, the music, and the actors.

Read More

Has some good elements but does not hold together well

5/10 is my rating. This is a Korean movie (~114 minutes run time) from 2011 that blends comedy, romance and a little bit of horror. The female lead, Son Ye-jin, plays Yeo-ri a young woman who can see dead people. And not nice, friendly dead people, but some haunting, frightening characters. Lee Min-ki is a magician who spots Yeo-ri in the crowd at one of his performances and senses something different about her. After getting the story of what she sees - he works her into his stage show in a horror magical piece that leaves audiences on the edge of the seats and enhances his magic career. Soon the two become friends, and quite quickly become more than friends.

Spoiler 🚨 Not sure if it is because I thought this was a series at first but I found that the story moved entirely too fast for me. It was really hard for me to envision them having fallen for each other because it just did not see like that much time had passed. He is willing to give up a lot and put up with a lot to be with her and I just did not get that level of connection. I am a big chicken when it comes to horror movies and I did not find this one very frightening at all. It also did not show enough of what she experienced to drive home just how horrific her life was. I would not recommend this one - I did not find it very entertaining. I also did not feel the two of them made a very convincing romantic couple.

Read More

Heart Sizzling Romance that will hit all your feels

This is a 2023 Chinese romantic drama with 25, 45 minute episodes. It is adapted from the web novel entitled “Secretly. Secretly but unable to hide it”.

First I will provide an original synopsis then review

Synopsis

Sang Zhi (Zhao Lu Si) is your typical younger sister who engages in all the standard sibling rivalry but acually looks up to and relies on her older brother a lot. Her older brother, Sang Yan (Victor Ma) brings his best friend, Duan Jia Xu (Chen Zhe Yuan) over a lot to hang out and play video games. The spirited Sang Zhi is immediately drawn to the kind and more tolerant than her big brother, Jian Xu. She asks him to help her with some trouble she is having at school and that sets the stage for a relationship of quasi sibling hood that develops between the two. He becomes like her second brother but the good brother who never torments her. Amd she is like the mischievous amd charming little sister he never had. After all she is five years his junior and a kid still in school while he is in college. As the years go by and their relationship deepens, Sang Zhi is the first to realize the feelings she has are not at all sisterly. As things develop you realize the spark was always there and these two, who have hidden their feelings from long, even from themselves, are unable to force an ending only because of their beginning.

Review

Overall it is one of the best romantic comedy dramas I have ever watched and I am currently at over 270 Asian dramas, mostly romance, watched. There is a reason the majority of reviews are overwhelmingly positive. If you like coming of age, age gap, she falls first but then he falls harder, romances this one is perfect for all of that. If you like a lot of intrigue and plot twists then this may not be as much your ideal. The chemistry between the two leads is so on point it would be easy to understand them dating in real life. Both actors are amazing and you really feel every emotion they go through.
Spoilers*
I read several reviews where people were worried that Zhao Lu Si might be in a role where she suffers as a character, that is how much people like this actress. So for those that worry about that it is not like that. She does have some scenes where she is heart broken but they more than make up for it later. So your favorite actress is not going to be in some Nicholas Sparks like Greek tragedy. It is very heart warming and she plays the role spectacularly as I am sure, if you are a fan, you would expect.
I did not feel like the age gap was large at all. I did wonder how they would transition from their brother/sister like relationship to a romantic one but it actually made sense. It was like he also had hidden feelings for her way earlier than he even admitted to himself. They were very soul mate like so it is not at all hard to envision them gravitating toward each other. Once the brother got over the fact that his best friend was attracted to his little sister it seemed he picked up on just how perfect they were for each other. This was apparent when the brother actually stuck up for them a bit with the parents by going with Jia Xu and nodding his approval in the background.
Personally I identified with the sibling relationship between the brother and sister. My brother is 5 years older than me and our relationship was much like theirs. I did date one of his friends and he dated several of my friends (I called him the friendship killer). The difference was he actually trusted his friends to date me more than someone he didn’t know. He really should not have because his friend was one of the worst people I ever dated and I only dated just that one of his friends. So I could see where it could go either way. Of course I did not date his best friend, the one he trusted acting on his behalf, I dated just a regular one of his friends. It may have been different, and my brother may have felt betrayed more, if it was his best friend. But, because my situation was very similar I could really relate to that sibling relationship and I am sure others would as well. It was a very nice part of the series to explore that relationship.
I did not get the age gap thing being an issue once she was an adult. Five years is not a huge age gap it is within most normal ranges. The girl that played the younger Sang Xi (Zhang Xi Wei) did a fabulous job but did not look 14, she looked much younger. So, it did make the age gap seem a lot larger in their younger years. They did a remarkable job with Zhao Lu Si making her look younger than her actual years by just changing her hairstyle and makeup.
There were no compelling 2nd or 3rd romances and the love triangle was not that persistent. But the romance between the lead characters was so intense none of that was needed. It would have been nice to see the brother with someone and they did drop a hint about something when he knew so much about birthing centers and that never bore out.
I think the second most heart warming and interesting relationship was between the brother and sister. He called her “Little Demon” which was so cute as it reflected that kind of playful rivalry siblings can have for the parent’s affection. She was your typical little sister and he was very much within how most older brothers are. It also reflected what I understand about the shifting view of daughters in China. There were so few females at one point because of the one child policy and favoring boys during those times that daughters actually became precious once the policy opened up. There was a part where she was having a really hard time on her internship and she just wanted her brother. But, it showed he was accepting her relationship and even embracing it when he said you have Jia Xu.
I loved what a warrior to his defense she became when anyone was “bullying” Jia Xu. He had such a hard life because of the horrible incident surrounding his father that I wanted nothing but happiness for him. When the crazy daughter of the man who was hit and killed by Jia Xu’s father threw water at him and she, without hesitation, turned and threw water right back at her I cheered. I also loved that she made it clear to him that she did not all feel the sins of the father were his own. She even was willing to combat her brother when he beat him up. I was a bit angry with her brother for doing that as well and was disappointed when they seemed to lie about him hitting him back. The cut away scene when they showed that he actually did hit him back was a perfect way to wrap that up. I was glad he did not lie to her even to protect her brother.
In other dramas I have been disappointed when the lead would be made to distance themselves because the parents did not approve so I loved that she even took her parents on for him by leaving early when their harsh words drove him away. In really good relationships, the significant other is the first person you can count on being on your side and having your back. The depth of their relationship and connection was apparent in the fact that you could see they were hurt too when the other one was hurt either physically or mentally.
There was a separation, but it made complete sense. He was going back to her hometown to set things up for their future. And neither of them were okay with it but went through it as they knew it was the best in the long run. The scene at the airport where she wanted every last second with him and he indulged her because he actually wanted it too was so cute. I loved that they did not follow the tired trope of I must go away and I am just okay abandoning you in the middle of a deep relationship. And the reason the person is going away is usually inane and you feel like yeah I get you want to do that but why do you insist on doing it now. Or can’t you just do that with the person you love? This wasn’t like that. His going was actually because he knew how important her relationship with her family was to her and there was no reason he couldn’t resettle there as he no longer had a family tying him to his hometown. He also was taking steps to make their financial future more secure. And he wanted to make her parents more comfortable with his ability to provide and take care of her. So all of the reasons he had were good ones.
The proposal scene was just beautiful. I was fully tricked by his surprise as well. It was really sweet and seeing her family there just beaming about it was very heart warming. It was clear that they fully accepted it and that he was now going to be a part of that loving family.

#HiddenLove
#ZhaoLuSi
#VictorMa
#ChenZheYuan

Read More

A solid dating reality show with a slice of dating life in the 20 to 30 age ranges

9/10 is my rating. This is a 2018 South Korean Reality Dating/Game show. There are 13 regular and 3 special, 54-102 minute episodes.

This is a dating reality show where the participants live together for one month. They cannot reveal their age or occupation but can reveal interests and other aspects of their personality. Participants work during the day and go back to the house they are occupying together in the evenings/weekends and other times off work. There are originally six occupants but two more occupants are added through the course of the show. Each night the participants anonymously send a text to the person they found most interesting and the panel has to guess who texted whom. Panelists who guess right are given a token. They act as a 4th wall, commenting on what is going on, analyzing participants behavior and interests in each other, and competing to get the most correct guesses on who is contacting whom. Participants go on dates but are not allowed to directly confess their feelings.

Panelists

Yoon Jong-shin is a South Korean singer and song writer. He is also a record produceer and is the CEO of Mystic Story. He was born in 1969 so would have been 49 when the show aired in 2017.
Lee Sang-min is a South Korean singer, song writer, record producer and television personality. He is a former member of hip hop and dance group Roo'ra. He was born in 1973 so would have been 45 when the show aired in 2017.
Kim Eana is a South Korean song writer who wrote hit songs for some of the top singers in South Korea. She was born in 1979 so would have been 39 when the show aired in 2017.
Yang Jae-woong is a South Korean psychiatrist, motivational speaker, You Tuber and entertainer. He was born in 1982 so would have been 36 at the time this aired.
Shim So-young is a South Korean stage, drama and film actor. He was born in 1970 so would have been 48 when the show aired.
Jung Jae-won (One) - is a South Korean rapper, singer, song writer and actor. He was born in 1994 so would have been 24 when the show aired.
Kang Ji-hyun (Soyou)- South Korean singer best known as a member of the K-pop group Sistar. She was born in 1992. So would have been 26 when the show aired

Participants

Kim Do-gyun - born in 1988 Korean medicine doctor. He would have been 30 when the show aired.
Jung Jae-ho - born in 1990 CEO of a startup company. He would have been 28 when the show aired
Lee Gyu-bin - born in 1993 preparing to join the South Korean public service. He would have been 25 when he show aired.
Kim Hyun-woo - born in 1985 chef and restaurant owner Joined the show in episode 2. He would have been 33 when the show aired.
Oh Young-joo - born in 1991 marketer at Microsoft. She would have been 27 when the show aired.
Song Da-eun - born in 1991 aspiring actress. She would have been 27 when the show aired.
Im Hyun-joo - born in 1992 work as an actress and was a student at Kookmin University. She would have been 26 when the show aired.
Kim Jang-mi - born in 1989 fashion boutique owner Joined the show in episode 6. She would have been 27 when the show aired.

Ages are based on when the show aired not when it was filmed and are aged where birth is considered 0 years old.

Review
All the same elements that made the first season an interesting watch are in this second season as well. I liked more of the couples in this second season and found myself way more emotionally invested. If you enjoy reality shows and those that focus on relationships you will enjoy this show.

Spoilers*

Do-gyun was one of the males I found the most interest in him finding the right one. I had to laugh when Jang-Mi's friend said if he would use some common sense or something like that as she was implying that he did not make a sound decision in how into Hyun-joo he was when Jang-Mi and he got along and had so much in common. I too felt disappointed because Hyung-joo was just stringing him along, just showing him enough attention that he thought he had a chance when he never really did. He also was not seeing the real her - she had a way of being whomever she thought that person wanted. And her cutesy and cheery persona was an act. So, it was disappointing he did not choose Jang-Mi. Jae-ho and Da-eun chose each other a lot but I had the feeling she wasn't as into him as he was into her. I really felt like they wound up being a couple just on the show and it wouldn't go very far after. Young-joo was really into Hyun-woo and I could not see what all the women found so profoundly appealing about him. He was a bit more aloof and mysterious than the other men but, at least with Young-joo I thought he was very inconsistent. He never understood why she was so upset when he chose Hyung-joo as his second for the trip at the end, but I think most women would have been bothered by it. Young-joo felt like Hyun-woo had Hyung-joo waiting in the wings and there wasn't anything Hyun-woo did that would have convinced her otherwise. I felt like Hyun-woo was a bit manipulative as he never fully committed to either woman. I think it was bad for him in the end because he chose Hyung-joo not because she was the one he really wanted but because he thought Young-joo was not going to choose him. It was apparent when Young-joo called him, choosing him, and he just looked disappointed after that. The most frustrating participant to me was Hyung-joo, the reason all the men selected her is she had this way of being whomever each of them wanted and also making them all think she was considering them. Her tee-hee laugh seemed very feigned but it sure drove the men in the house wild. Hyung-joo inserted herself in the obvious interest between Young-joo and Hyun-woo from the beginning, stepped back when he was being aloof to her, then stepped right back in when she saw the least crack. For house members were having a tough time because of what I felt were her selfish actions. But, really she was a good litmus test for how much the others liked each other. She was a wedge between both Young-joo and Hyun-woo as well as Do-gyun and Jang-mi in that she was cutesy to both men and made them think she was all into them and not just pursuing them as a trophy over the other women. But the fact that she was able to be that wedge was actually a positive for the other two women because who wants a man that let's someone who is so obviously fabricating a persona and leading them on become a barrier to a budding romance. I thought Gyu-bin was really sweet to Young-joo and she may have given him more of a chance if Hyun-woo would not have kept vacillating. I admired that he chose her and stuck with his decision.

Although I would like this show to be more than it is being a romantic at heart, it is clear that all the participants wind up viewing it as more of "the game of love" than a true "love match." I look up how and what they are doing after the show and some of them may keep in contact on a friendly basis but most of them return to their daily lives. Instagram is a good indicator it seems and some of them follow each other but there are no couple pictures that would indicate they pursued anything beyond the show. So love it for what it is, a slice of these folks lives and honest attempts to learn more about themselves while developing their dating style and romance skills. A true love match may eventually occur but it would be the exception rather than the rule. Most are going to interact while and for a short time after the show runs. If your realize that, and that it is a competitive/game of romance like situation for most, you will not be as disappointed if the couple you think would work do not wind up together.


*Deep Spoiler
Heart Signal 2 cast member Kim Hyun-woo was arrested for drunk driving in April 2018 while the show was airing

#HeartSignal2
#YoonJongShin
#LeeSangMin
#KimEana
#YangJaeWoong
#ShimSoYoung
#JungJaeWon
#KangJiHyun
#KimDoGyun
#JungJaeHo
#LeeGyuBin
#KimHyunWoo
#OhYungJoo
#SongDaeUn
#ImHyunJoo
#KimJangMi

Read More

Cinderella esque but with more depth and intrigue

9/10 is my rating. This is a 2018 historical romance with 16 (+2) 67-85 minute episodes. Alternate titles are 100 Days My Husband and The 100 Day Husband.

As the nephew of the king, Lee Yul (Do Kyung-soo) is told to keep a low profile and not do anything, such as excel in learning, that would make the king feel threatened. So, instead of studying he spends his days playing and unintentionally bullies the other kids. When Yoon Yi-seo/Yeon Hong-shim (Nam Ji-Hyun) notices Yul’s behavior, as a fellow noble, she scolds Yul for using his authority to make the other children do as he wishes. Yi-seo also teases Yul for his lack of knowledge. Yul has an immediate crush on the pretty and spunky Yi-seo and starts studying to impress her. Before the children can become closer friends, Yul’s ambitious father participates in overthrowing the royal family and killing them and all their supporters, including Yi-seo’s father who was a right hand man of the king. The intent was to kill the entire family but Yi-seo’s brother helps her escape. is the King's nephew who enjoys spending his days playing instead of studying.

10 years later Yul is a cold, distant crown Prince who is reluctantly married to Crown Princess, Kim So-hye (Han So-hee). The marriage was a condition of Vice-premier Kim Cha-eon (Jo Sung-ha) who carried out the overthrow of the former king which allowed Yul’s father to ascend to the throne. There is a lot of pressure on Yul to consummate the marriage with the Crown Princess and the current claim is he must to end the drought. His response is all unmarried people in the kingdom should become married instead. The punishment for not following the royal decree is flogging. Before Hong-shim can be punished for resisting marriage, an assassination attempt leaves Yul with memory loss and he is saved by Hong-shim’s adoptive father. To keep aging-shim from being flogged, her adoptive father hides Yul’s identity and tells the two they are affianced. Will this pretend relationship become real love?

*spoiler alert. I really liked the premise that he loses his memory and lives as a commoner. I like the backstory with the evil left chancellor and the fact that Hong-shim was also nobility that had to live as a peasant. I liked how his character develop from a cold noble to a person that wanted to be a contributor. I thought their relationship was really cute and believable and I loved her adopted father. The timing of when he discovered who he really was worked well. The only part that I found a bit disappointing was toward the end when Yi-sei was like we can’t be together because of what my brother did. I did not think that was a good reason for them not to be together and I felt like she was more using it as an excuse because she was intimidated by the fact that he was the crown prince. To me it made it as if she dId not love him enough to overcome that which conflicted with the relationship they had as commoners in the village. I also thought he should’ve insisted they be together more and reassured her when she was stubbornly insisting they would not work because of past events. I wished Yi-seo’s brother would have lived and fought with the prince to redeem himself. What he did was wrong but I did not feel there was any way he could’ve helped it. I was really happy that the king did not kill the crown princess. That was consistent with his character. The part where they finally got back together felt rushed after all they had overcome to be able to be together. I would’ve liked to have seen them together and maybe the wedding with the king there. Despite the small drawbacks it is overall a very entertaining and heartwarming story. I highly recommend it for romance, light humor, and historical components.

Read More

This was a wonderful spin on a fairytale like story

10/10 is my rating. This is a 2006 South Korean television series, with 24, 60 minute episodes. starring Yoon Eun-hye, Ju Ji-hoon, Kim Jeong-hoon and Song Ji-hyo.
a spin-off, Prince Hours, was broadcast in 2007.

The show is based on the premise and a "what if" scenario of modern Korea having retained its monarchy - much like England. The series centers around the royal family and, primarily, the lives of the young royals. Crown Prince, Lee Shin (Ju Jii-hoon) is being positioned to take on the role of Emperor as his father, the current Emperor, is ailing. This rushes the need for Shin to find a suitable marriage partner as he is on the verge of stepping into the role he has been preparing for nearly his entire life. Shin had the opportunity to select a bride of his choice, but his girlfriend, Hyo-rin (Song Ji-hyo) rejects his proposal as she knows becoming the Crown Princess would necessitate her giving up on her dream of becoming a famous ballerina.

With no other personal marriage prospects, the crown reverts to fulfilling a promise made by Shin's grandfather (the former Emperor) to his friend, to have one of his heirs to the throne marry one of his family. Shin Chae-kyeong (Yoon Eun-hye) is a commoner who is of marriage age in the line of the former Emperor's friend. Her family and her are struggling financially so she accepts the opportunity to marry the crown prince to better her families situation. However, Chae-kyeong has a long way to go in training to fill the role of Crown Princess and, eventually, wife to the Emperor. Word spreads that there is soon to be a succession in the throne and Lady Hwa-young (Shim Hye-jin) decides to return from a 14 year exile with her son. Royal matters are complex and Lady Hwa-young was actually the crown princess with her son, Lee Yul (Kim Jeong-hoon), the crown prince and next in line for the throne. However, Lady Hwa-young's husband, Crown Prince Lee Soo, died in an accident and the royals had to leave the palace based on the royal regulation which required no two Princes reside in the castle. Or at least that was the reason provided at the time (that mystery is revealed throughout the course of the series). Lady Hwa-young deploys a series of plots designed to return her son to what she feels is his rightful place as next in line.

The life of a royal is not always easy and isolation is a big problem for some. Loneliness drives Shin to develop an arrogant, cold and aloof exterior. His mannerisms are very hard for his young wife who is a newcomer on the royal scene. Her loneliness and sadness leads her to befriend Lee Yul who experienced similar loneliness in his exile. The young married couple are very different in their life approach and Chae-kyeong finds herself repeatedly drawn to Lee Yul as someone she can more easily relate to, whereas Lee Shin finds himself drawn back to his love, Hyo-rin. Having a change of hear, Hyo-rin is determined to win Shin back and is ready to give up her dream of being a ballerina to take on the role of Crown Princess. Through all the push and pull of outside forces, the young couple begin to develop feelings for each other although each is not fully aware of the other's feelings nor fully in acknowledgement themselves.

Can love grow and survive in such a turbulent environment? Scandal after scandal follows the young royals as they learn how to navigate the social realities of being a royal. Who will be next in line? Does anyone want the responsibility that goes along with the heavy crown?

Spoiler 🚨 I really liked this series. So much that I was sad when it was ending. It is a little bit Cinderella in nature - but not quite. It gives a real sense of what it might be like to be in a position, such as a royal, where you cannot think and act outwardly, as everyone else does. The saying "it is lonely at the top" definitely comes to mind. In the United States the closest thing we have are celebrities and I observe that young celebrities are subject to a high degree of criticism when really they are acting no different than a lot of young people their ages. You give a young person a lot of power and money and the chance they will make mistakes just magnifies. The love story is well developed, believable and cute. This is one of my favorites!

Read More

If you can overlook the silly slapstick elements it is season 2 enhanced

10 is my rating. This is a 2023 South Korean Supernatural Action Drama with 12, 61-74 minute episodes.

First I provide a Unique Synopsis then Review

Synopsis

This is everything season one was but with more intensity. While they defeated the evil spirits in season one as was sinisterly predicted by the level three they extracted, evil is back but even stronger. Ga Mo tak (Yoo Jun-sang) returns and is now back on the police force so arresting the host after the evil spirit is removed is easier. Do Ha na’s (Kim Se-jeong) ability to to sense the evil spirits is no longer as useful as the evil spirits have learned to see the territory and avoid it. Choo Maeok’s (Yeom Hye-ran) ability to heal makes her an emphasized target for the evil spirits who have also absorbed the ability to heal and understand the importance. So Mun’s (Jo Byung Gyu) abilities have now far surpassed that of any other counter. There is a new counter Na ro bong (Yoo In Soo) who is clumsy and oafish but has the ability to “sniff out” evil spirits. The evil spirits in the second season have the ability to absorb counter’s special abilities especially Hwang Pi kwang (Kang Ki young) who has psychokineses on par with Mun and absorbs the abilities of those counters he consumes. Gelli Choi (Kim Hieora) is his right hand evil henchwoman who is a third level with a spike globe that enhances her physical damage by causing britally deep gouges and cuts in her victims. Like Ha na, Gelli can read and erase memories. Their third evil spirit team member is Wong Li Qiang (Kim Hyun Wook) who absorbed the ability to heal but takes psychotic delight in brutalizing his victims.

A third-level evil spirit specializing in speed who scratches, stabs, cuts, and kills. She can also read and erase memories. Mun struggles with concepts of good and evil when someone he greatly admires, Ma Joo seok (Jin Seon kyu) turns evil after his wife and unborn child are murdered. With evil spirits more powerful than ever, and the lines between good and evil blurred, can the counters prevail against seemingly insurmountable odds?

Review

Could you skip two and just watch season one? About the only thing you might miss is Mun becomng even more amazing. But they are fighting new evil so it is a little bit stand alone. In my opinion it is better than season one just in terms of how much stronger and more powerful both sides have beocome. But, the silly slapstick elements incorporated in season two were a huge detractor made some determine they could do without it. It ends well and everything is resolved yet there are onvious openings for additional season(s).

Spoilers*.

I like Yoo In Soo and was happy to know he was going to be in the 2nd season.That is until they introduced Na Ro bong and his character was ridiculous. The whole dung and potty humour was too much. Ok we get it you worked with cows. And his ability to smell evil? That could have been interesting I am thinking of “The Girl Who Sees Smells” but they made it so he would put his head out the window like a dog. And he wasn’t even that great at it. He would lose track and misdirect. He was useless in the physical fights and, if anything, put the others in danger. He had the mentality of a young child. If they had left that character out the show would have been better.

They put way too much slapstick comedy style throughout the series. Reapers are a serious thing in all the other South Korean shows I have watched. The “counters” were serious bad asses in the first season. This season they trivialized their role by making it over the top silly. I mean, the main counters were still serious, but they interacted with Na Ro bong, and he was so silly that it made everything silly.

Once again Netflix deviated from the elements of South Korean drama that most fans love. Repeat after us Netflix kdramas should be one season with 16 episodes. Supernatural beings are serious characters.

One well written plot twist was when Gelli Choi discovered she could see by reading their minds when and how the counters first got their abilities. I thought “big deal what can she do with that?” Then she was fighting with Mun and realized the only way to defeat him was to steal his memory of gaining his power. She did that and it took Mun out for a significant portion of time. I did not see that coming.

From season one I really wanted to see Mun and Ha na become a couple. If anything in season two they mive farther from that. Ha na even has a side romance. The romantic in me still hopes for a season three and they finally get together.

#UncannyCounter2 #YooJungSang #KimJeSeong #SungJiRoo #JoByungGyu

Read More