I love to see unconventional storylines. Korean dramas have really come a long way. Having Lee Sung Kyung's character play a professional weightlifter really pushes the envelope on typical Korean Drama themes. Watching the main character grapple with her desire to excel in her sport and appearing feminine proved to create great character development. The love story between Lee Sung Kyung and Nam Joo Hyuk's characters is sooooo very sweet. The cast is pretty young, so acting is still pretty green. I think it fits the tone of the drama through. Overall, this drama is pretty "SWAG"!! You should certianly try it!

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Toire no Pieta explores how humans react to death. The story follows Hiroshi a 28 year old window washer who has just received word that he is dying. The movie follows him as he watches what those around him resort to to provide some solace to the pain of one’s impending death. Through these experiences, Hiroshi becomes acquainted with Mai, a loud brash high school girl who feels like there is nothing to live for. Through their limited interactions they end up both leaving quite an impact on each other.
I found this movie very poetic and subtle. I did enjoy watching it.  It is a lovely human drama exploring how we impact each other. The tone is very subdued. I disagree that this drama is a romance. I found this movie pretty touching. Though I think it is worth the time to watch it, I don’t think it can compete with the more acclaimed movies in this category e.g. If Cats Disappeared from the World (2016), Departures (2008).

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Cruel City is a masterpiece of a drama. It is a moody, dark and oh so sexy drama the plunges its viewers into the world of crime. From the very first episode the shock value will pull you in and keep you reeling until the very end. While the beautifully choreographed action scenes initially caught my attention, the complex story the drama weaves kept me watching. Jung Kyung Ho's performance as the dangerous and suave Doctor's Son is mesmerizing. This is by far Jung's best performance. His character is enigmatic, intense and at times ruthless. The drama follows Doctor's Son as he navigates his relationships in a city where you can trust no one. While the drama focuses mostly on the crime world, this drama delves into aspects of friendship, trust, loyalty and love. The love story is understated and restrained which suites the tone of the drama quite nicely.

The cast of characters is vast where it is sometimes difficult to keep track of all of them and their ever changing allegiances. This can sometimes make things confusing. I'm curious to how much is remedied by a second run though.

The music and score for Cruel City are remarkable and poignant. The ten track OST is phenomenal. This album flows amazingly well from one track to the next. While Wound, Butterfly and Everyday stand out as beautiful lyrical tracks, the instrumental pieces are surprisingly evocative and striking as individual tracks. My favorites are Memories of the Past, The Man, Undercover and The Night. Undercover reminds me so much of Time from Hans Zimmer's Inception.

Cruel City is an amazing creation where everything: the setting, the cinematography, the vibe, the tone and the score feed into the dark and surprisingly beautiful kill or be killed world. The characters are complex and have truly dynamic story arcs. The story telling is tight and well woven. Though the drama is dark and sometimes jarring, I think the story and cast of characters set it well above the rest. I can certainly understand why it is so highly revered as a beautiful, poetic and tragic story.

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I FINALLY finished this drama!! I Hear Your Voice is a great story and drama. The story is deep and has a great premise where the male protagonist can hear people's thoughts if he looks into their eyes. I hear your voice spends a lot of time exploring the when and if it's always right to tell the truth. The lead couple has amazing chemistry. I am not normally a fan of noona dramas, but this drama is a bit of an exception. Where this drama loses out is its pacing. It may be the legal genre or just the way the story was weaved, but this drama has a leisurely pacing. If you tend to gravitate toward dramas that are fast paced, you may need a little dedication to finish. Hang in there though, this drama is worth it!

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This drama took me by surprise. I really thought the whole premise with dissociative identity disorder would be way to gimmicky for a drama in 2015, but Ji Sung does an amazing job with all the different roles and personalities he played. His acting in this drama really illustrates an amazing range. It's incredible how the viewer can fall in love with all of the protagonists personalities even ones that make limited appearances throughout the drama. Additionally, I loved the relationship between Oh Siblings, Oh Ri Jin and Oh Ri On. Their friendship is infectious and side split-tingly funny. Kill Me, Heal Me has a perfect balance between laugh out loud funny and uncontrollable tears. This story's pacing is FIRE!! If you like dramas that keep you clinging to your seat, you should definitely give this drama a try.

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So the original manga for Hanazakari no Kimitachi e is one of my favorite graphic novels of all time, thus I have some pretty high expectations. It took me five years to get over my bias to even consider watching this remake. Though the original drama has a much more fantastical and comical tone, it starred a moody Oguri Shun and a memorable Ikuta Toma performance that honestly saved the show. The remake stays pretty true to the original work which I can appreciate ... I am not very familiar with the young cast, but they pulled off the high school drama pretty well. I particularly liked how they portrayed Sano's feelings. His growing love for Ashiya is made much more apparent than other Hana Kimi adaptions. This drama attempted to add another dimension by creating a school closing theme that flowed throughout the entire drama. To be honest, it was a little gimmicky to me and was a mild bother and detractor to the main storyline. If you have any interest in the story and have seen the other adaptions, I do think it's worth it to watch.

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Soulmate follows the intertwined story of six adults and their experiences with love and relationships. Most of the episodes are split into parts one focusing on the female and male protagonist respectively. This framework adds a very nice artistic choice to the drama. It makes for a very unique viewing experience, but it can make the episodes fairly lengthy at times. I do wish that the two main leads got a little more screen time together. The drama sometimes gets a bit bogged down with the supporting characters stories. This drama has an amazing soundtrack with songs from Lasse Lindh's "Come'on Through" and Peking Laundry's "Don't Turn Away. I believe this drama was the start of Lasse Lindh's popularity in South Korea. His music is still featured in popular kdramas. Overall, this is such an impressive and unique storyline.

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Lee Joon Gi's Performance is Incredible

I LOVED the second season of Arthdal. Lee Joon Gi has killed it with his portrayal of Eunseom and Saya. I am so very proud of him.

Though there has been a lot of skepticism around this second season changes including a change in the director, the recasting of two lead characters as well as many of the supporting cast, and a change in streaming platforms, I am so relieved with the direction and quality of the series.

Arthdal is proving to be quite the epic fantasy tale. I am in love with the world-building and how the story explores lore and prophecy. Its portrayal of motive and power has been truly fascinating.

My biggest gripe of this season is Shin Sae Kyung’s performance of Tanya. Her portrayal was quite underwhelming and lackluster. Is this how she always acts in more historical dramas? Her performance pales in comparison to the performances of Jang Dong Gun, Kim Ok Bin and Lee Joon Gi. Kim Ok Bin and Lee Joon Gi have some of the best scenes together. The onscreen chemistry is off the charts.

The ending felt rushed, but that was expected considering the scale of Arthdal. Overall, season two still kept the quality up, even when it resolved its plot lines in the most predictable ways possible. This was a fun world to jump into!

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I really wanted to love this drama, since I was trying to catch up on Nam Gung Min dramas. Though it has a cute setup, I don't think this drama was ever able to live up to its potential. I never did grow very fond of the characters and became quickly apoplectic with all the noble idiots.

I really tried to like the title character Gong Shim, but due to her childish personality, her lack of fashion sense and that wig ... it just wasn't cutting it for me. I did find it amusing that the drama is called "Beautiful Gong Shim" yet the main story has nothing to do with her. She could have been a side character with her own side quest, and the drama could be named "Beautiful Dan Tae."

This story is supposed to be about a girl finding herself, leaving to love herself and to teach beauty is what's on the inside. Yet, this drama is mostly about the convoluted story about a kidnapped child and contrived family politics ... ugh!!!!!! I cannot recommend this drama. I am surprised that I was even able to finish it ...

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Omo, omo, this couple is going to be a fan favorite. Min min and Bong Bong are just too precious. Their love is what drives this drama forward, keeping everyone watching ...
This drama is by no means perfect. There are a few plot holes, and the drama has the tendency to focus too much on secondary characters. Even with these shortcoming, the romance in this drama makes up for it.
This drama is truly fresh and new. Featuring a peanut size King Kong as the lead protagonist. Park Bo Young will steal into your heart. Park Hyung Shik's performance as a snarky chaebol keeps delivering the SASS. His love and obsession with the surprisingly strong protagonist will keep you grinning from ear to ear. What are you waiting for?! Go Watch It!

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In contrast to many of the reviews out here, I found The K2 pretty interesting. Yes, it's a little convoluted and tries too hard, but it was reasonably watchable. It is no masterpiece, but it is still pretty evocative. Sung Yoon Ah's Choi Yoo Jin makes a striking villainess. She is able to portray this truly evil persona all the while bearing her vulnerabilities. Her performance is quite impressive and kept me very intrigued throughout the drama.

I picked this drama up purely for the casting of Ji Chang Wook. His acting will not disappoint. His character, Kim Je Ha is super cool and steamy, and has a fatal flaw as a soldier for hire. I truly think if you are a Ji Chang Wook fan, this is a must-see.

If you are watching this for the romance, I probably wouldn't recommend it. Ji Chang Wook and Im Yoon Ah have some cute scenes together, but the romance seems more like a supplementary after thought.

My interpretation of The K2 is a modern day fairy tale set in the world of politics. It often tries to be overly complicated and political. Everyone is seeking revenge and pushing their own agenda in an amoral political environment. To watch this drama, one has to be very liberal with their willingness to suspend disbelief ... The drama itself is pretty far-fetched ... Everything considered, I'm still glad I watched this drama.

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I am in LOVE with Park Bo Young!!!!!!! The range that she is able to portray from the shy, quiet Bong Soon to the outgoing and brash ghostess is extraordinary! The female acting strength in this drama is remarkable! Kim Seul Gi's character will steal your heart away! Her energy is infectious and moving. At first, I was kinda skeptical of Je Jung Suk's as the male lead, but his performance and transformation slowly warmed my heart. His chemistry with Park Bo Young is palpable.
Not only are the main characters lovable, the supporting cast add so much to the story. The drama does an excellent job giving all of them enough air time without taking away from the main storyline. In particular the restaurant boys added non-stop laughs to this drama, keeping this drama extra fun and light! "CON-GRA-TU-LA-TIONS!!"
The story has great balance and pace. It precisely weaves romance, comedy, supernatural, and suspense together. This drama is perfection!!!! I highly recommend this drama! Please watch it!

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A cute drama takes its stab at modern relationships. Though I only read the first few chapters of the original manga, the drama kinda misses the mark with the tone of this story. I wanted someone different to play the lead protagonist ... I felt flumpool's Yamamura Ryuta was a little too cute and green to play Namami Ryu. Also, the drama has a pretty rushed pacing and what loses out is the lead couple's chemistry. Throughout the drama, I kept asking myself why is the female protagonist still getting jerked around by the moody, confidence lacking coward ... That being said ... the last two episodes surprisingly spoke to me. This drama was okay, just okay.

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Both Oguri Shun and Ishihara Satomi do an amazing job in Rich Man, Poor Woman. Though this drama does follow the arrogant, prodigy male protagonist dramatically changed by a driven but down to earth female lead, I feel like the business setting and the lead actors really bring something new to this fairly popular framework. I started watching this drama for Oguri Shun but continued to watch it for Ishihara Satomi. Her character is so relatable and inspiring. As a side, Iura Arata's character a very interesting dynamic to the drama. I watched this drama after my college graduation. This drama should be very relatable to students approaching graduations and/or those still job hunting. Miwa ended up doing the theme songs for this drama. Both "Hikari e" and "Napa" are very good. "Hikari e" seemed extremely popular in 2012. I strongly recommend this drama if you are looking for something uplifting and encouraging.

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