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Secret Garden korean drama review
Completed
Secret Garden
0 people found this review helpful
by Otiose
Apr 9, 2026
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 9.0
Story 10.0
Acting/Cast 6.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 10.0

An Unpolished Gemstone from 2010

I gave it a try because I noticed this was an earlier work by the same screenwriter who wrote 'The Goblin' and 'The Glory'. Despite some rough edges this show has a very likable natural charisma.

This came out in 2010-2011 and is a Cinderella story with a supernatural angle thrown in. Note that the supernatural side doesn't get revealed until well into several episodes. It then drops away and only reappears much later. It works.

Some of the commentary in the dialogue was seriously blunt talk about class differences and issues with marriage between the humble classes and the elite few. Later Cinderella stories I've seen toned it down from what's here.

The bad is the acting (or perhaps we should blame the directors?) which at times is horrible with the actors screaming out lines and bellowing (and to top it off when they shriek the sound cracks or breaks - poor quality sound). Very off-putting. And then even my first time through the rough transitions and dropped or mishandled threads are very noticeable. What saves the production, as flawed and dated as it is, is it has a lot of heart. I found myself ignoring the bad acting and getting so engrossed in the story that the full hour episodes flew by.

Given this came out in 2010 and the screenwriter later followed up with such polished work as Goblin and Glory (among others) it seemed often that there were story twists and scene situations that she was experimenting with and that later were used by her (and other screenwriters) very successfully in better executed productions.
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