I just finished watching Woman of Dignity, and I must say that I was positively surprised. The drama is fast-paced and pretty interesting provided that you don't try to take it too seriously. I read it as a grotesque portrayal of the life of the rich and their dysfunctional families. The weirdest part of this show are its characters. Some of them are so ridiculous that you might find yourself wondering if anyone can really be that dumb; however, the two main characters are pretty multi-dimensional and interesting. I thought the plot was the best part of the story. It keeps moving even though almost every episode seems like the story has reached it's climax. There is a bit of a change of the focus in the story, but it's still cohesive. I had no idea who committed the crime till the very end. The acting of the two female leads is fantastic (I'm talking about Kim Hee-Seon and Kim Sun-A), and the development of their relationship is somewhat refreshing to see in a Kdrama. I thought that Seo Jung-Yeon also did a job good, and her character (Joo-Mi) was pretty well written.

I was a bit surprised reading the reviews of the show here on MDL, but it might be because I interpreted it differently than some other viewers.

Read More

This show was cute and sweet, yet annoyed me with the cliches and makjang story to no end.

The only reason why the plot moved at all was because of a series of situations where people kept missing each other, or simply didn't connect the dots. All the information, people and props were there, but the script annoyingly made the characters miss all of that due to either bad timing or not enough questions. It's so common and so overused in kdramas that I couldn't get into the story at all. I'm sorry, but if you let someone stay in your house for the night or longer, wouldn't you try to ask as many questions as possible? The story had great potential, but I feel like it treated fate in a very non realistic way. It was almost suggesting that a tragedy is not a real tragedy unless all the characters involved are a part of the tragic past. The show could have had a deeper message, but totally failed to deliver. Seo Ri's story was tragic enough and could stand on its own without all the extra details. I can't stand how shallow it all ended up being.

Essentially, I had a tough time getting into this drama. It got better with time, but the pacing wasn't all that great. I also didn't particularly care about the characters (excluding Seo Ri) until about the 1/3 of the drama. To me, that points to the fact that the writing wasn't great. The show had some really sweet moments, but the sweetness couldn't compensate for the lack of the actual plot development. The characters were lovable but a bit simplistic. Also, as much as I liked Jennifer, did her character really need to be that weird?

The best things about this show were the characters, the acting of the leads and the music. The music in this show is beautiful. The classical pieces were beautifully woven into the story. Overall, I liked Thirty but Seventeen because it wasn't too angsty and there weren't too many mean characters or meddling family members, but I expected it to be a bit better.

Read More

I really didn't like the first 2 episodes and didn't expect to like it, but the show totally won me over. That being said, I don't think it's genuinely a great show. It was just kind of an easy, fun watch.

The story is really nothing new. There is a love triangle set in a college, a rich guy, a mean pretty girl, family problems, a jerk, a lone wolf and all other tropes that typically show up in shows like that. The premise is slightly different with the plastic surgery and all, but the general tone reminds me very much of Sassy Go Go and Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo., which means: nothing new under the sun. On top of that, the show pretends that its message is that beauty is only skin-deep and shouldn't matter, yet the writing is too inconsistent to make really deliver this kind of message. For example, if we shouldn't focus on girls' looks, why is it ok that everyone, literally everyone, is interested in a super good looking male lead and completely ignores another male social outcast that resurfaces at the end of the show? The only difference between the two of them is that one is supposedly gorgeous and the other one is not. Also, it's not ok to publicly talk about the girls' looks yet objectifying DKS all the time is ok? There were a couple of more inconsistencies like that. Additionally, I didn't like how the show portrayed the vast majority of the male population at an elite college as a bunch of shallow jerks. That was kind of unfair and maybe even a bit sexists. I mean, even the secondary lead, who was a really nicely crafted character overall, was drawn to the FL purely because of her looks.

The acting very much depended on the individual actors, but I agree with all the criticism of the show that I'd read. The leads were sometimes very awkward together. I found it charming at times, but it got old. The ML was a bit wooden, and the FL looked so uncomfortable that in the beginning of the show it was uncomfortable to watch her on screen. In a way, I found it a bit refreshing, even though I doubt it was completely intentional on the part of the writers. It reminded me of Because This is the First Life. The leads were so awkward that it made it funny to watch them interact.

The music is on a cheesy side and not everybody will be a fan, but I didn't mind the corny tune that appeared whenever the leads shared another awkward moment.

With all of that, why would I give it such a high mark? Firstly, I can't explain why, but the show felt cute and fluffy, and it managed to pull me in without me even noticing in. The supporting characters probably had something to do with it. TA Yeon and Mi Rae's friend were such likable characters! There was enough variety in personalities among the college students that seeing the interactions between them was fun. I also absolutely loved the rivalry between the two guys. Many of their interactions were quite funny. The show also had a few pretty good comic relief characters, for example Mi Rae's father. This actor is gold in this show! Also, the mean girl isn't really too annoying in this show. This doesn't happen often. The other thing that was good for me was that there wasn't too much unnecessary drama in this show. Too much drama can spoil an otherwise fun production. I also appreciated seeing some more mature characters in this show such as the freshman representative who was a very reasonable and interesting character.

Generally, I seriously enjoyed watching this show despite many flaws I can point to. It will go on the list of my dramas that are my guilty pleasure.

Read More

'Black' managed to pull me out a long and deep drama slump that I've been for a couple of months now. It is not a drama for everyone, though. The story is dark, violent and gloomy for the most part. As it unravels, it gets even more creepy. Be careful if you don't handle abuse, especially abuse towards women and children, well. The script doesn't have mercy on anyone. I personally hate watching violence on-screen, yet I couldn't stop watching. I really wanted to see what is going to happen next. I thought that the pace of the show was exceptional.

Story: the writing is tight. The first 2 episodes are super confusing, but then we slowly start getting an explanation of what is going on. Almost every episode gives us a bit more information about the cruel world of everyone involved. The vast majority of the events and details in the story are connected, though some of them might be a bit far-fetched. I have to say that I am impressed with how the story slowly comes together and even small details matter later on. I haven't seen many shows that did this well. Sometimes I would yell to myself: 'of course! That's why x happened!' However, it is a paranormal romance story, so of course some of the elements that move the story forward can be a bit ludicrous. Unless you are a fan of supernatural elements, you might not really like how the story unfolds. I thought it was done very well. I liked the nice mix of grotesque and somber scenes at the beginning of the show. I wish there was a bit more of that later on.

Acting: Omg, Song, Seung Heon... need I say more? If not for the story, the show is worth watching just for his acting. The two completely different personalities that he portrays plus the development of his character... his acting is perfect. He is a great mixture of cold, charming, funny, serious, narcissistic and deep. He completely and totally stole the show. SSH wasn't the only one who gave a phenomenal performance, though. Lee El (the doctor) was very believable in her role. I really felt for her throughout the show. Many people complained about Go Ara, and I agree with the criticism. I kind of wish Lee El was the the main actress instead. In general though, acting was pretty stellar in this show. The police officers, the hospital staff, the countless people the leads meet along the way... almost all of them felt very real.

Music: Nothing that special, to be honest.

Re-watch value: I think that watching it again would be equally enjoyable, especially since all the clues left by the writers in the opening scenes would start making sense from the very beginning.

I was really NOT A FAN of the ending. It seemed like written by a completely different writer and I doubt it satisfied anyone.

Read More

Short review:

The drama is nothing life-changing, but it is entertaining. If you like funny rom-coms on a bit cheesy side with some cringe-worthy moments sprinkled in between, and if you don't mind typical kdrama cliches here and there, give it a try. The humor is a bit cringe-worthy at times and there really isn't a deeper message, but the show can be fun to watch. I would say that it's a drama similar to Marriage, not Dating and maybe Go Ho's Starry Night without the reverse harem .

Regular review:
Although the story is nothing new and the characters are very one-dimensional, I actually enjoyed this drama. It is pretty entertaining, although not everyone will be a fan of the humor in this. We have a traditional chaebol-poor girl romance with the unavoidable tragic past that resurfaces later, but fortunately gets resolved without dragging it too long. We also have a rather lackluster second lead. The main male love interest is not only ridiculously rich and capable, but also unbelievably good-looking ( though I would personally disagree with this; I mean, who came up with the lead's hairstyle in this??) and arrogant. Although amazingly popular with women, the heir to the conglomerate is a lone wolf who doesn't trust women to the point of not letting any woman ever touch him. The only woman who is by his side is his trustworthy secretary who is not only amazingly efficient, but also quite good looking. How lucky for our protagonist! I think that the main difference between this show and any other office based rom-com is the unusual way of telling the story. We meet the vice president and his secretary when they are already a very strong team and have worked together for 9 years. However, to the ML's dismay, the secretary decides to suddenly quit. This leaves the male lead puzzled and annoyed. I found the first episode to be hilarious and I quite quickly became attached to the flawed, but lovable male lead and his near-perfect office assistant. I think that the story slowed down a bit too much after episode 10, but it was still enjoyable to watch.

I didn't really care for the second lead's story. I loved the actor in 'W' and I was very excited to have him in this show, but his story was really unnecessary. I wish his character was a bit more developed and a bit less like a kicked puppy. As I mentioned earlier, the characters here are very simple. There is an incompetent secretary, a lonely and trustworthy president, a workoholic co-worker etc. Though they provide a nice background to the story, there isn't much depth to any of those characters. There are many romantic, but quite cheesy moments in this show, and there is quite a lot of bickering between the leads.

All in all, I found it to be a nice break between more intense dramas and recommend watching it when you want something to not think too much about.

Read More

This is the first time that I can't find appropriate words to review a drama I watched. My recommendation is: go and watch it. See for yourself how it makes you feel.

I couldn't decide on how to rate it for a day. There is something profoundly sad about this drama and it leaves you changed, even though the tone and the general message of it changes a bit later on. People say that it is a story about hope, but to be honest, I haven't seen hope in this drama. What I have seen is the power of people to dramatically change people's lives, be it for the better or worse. The vast majority of the characters had their life significantly influenced by other people's actions and those actions are what keeps them either going or being stuck in their lives. Then again, I do understand why some people see it that way.

Honestly, the story is about so many deep issues that there is no point listing them here. It is also very unique, even though it uses a lot of usual storytelling techniques and themes. It is a more mature drama in a way. The dialogues are intelligent and engaging, and the character development is so on point. The main story is amazing and engrossing. I also love Jun Hee's character and her story. At the same time, I didn't quite get into the brothers' side story. Also, the secondary romance in this show and the whole story of the actress wasn't interesting to me at all. Nara's character actually annoyed me here. Maybe I shouldn't even use the word secondary because, how some people pointed out, this is not a romance, although in some way I wish it was.

I can't say anything bad about the acting. All actors did a phenomenal job, but IU completely and utterly blew me away. What an outstanding performance.

Read More

I really struggled through the first 2-3 episodes, but it eventually grew on me. I mean, there are meek female leads, pathetic female leads, weirdo female leads... and then there's Nobuta. They wrote her character in such a way that sometimes even I wanted to kick her so that she would start behaving like a semi normal person, and I have zero violent tendencies in me. She was hard for me to cheer for or connect to. On the other hand, Akira's character was way over the top. I liked him, but I wasn't too attached to him. Then, somewhere around episode 5, I really started liking the characters. To sum up, the first couple of episodes, the show was a mess for me. It does get better with time and it eventually becomes really sweet, but it's only a 10 episode show, so I basically struggled through third of it.

I did like the message of this drama. It's a touching story about friendship. I recently lost my closest childhood friend to cancer and this show really triggered an avalanche of emotions for me. I didn't expect this because of how the beginning was written. I am glad I watched it, though.

Read More

Go Back Couple is the drama that managed to break my boredom with Korean dramas that has been haunting me for months now. If you like sweet, hearth touching dramas, or family and friendship dramas, this show has it all. It also has amazing cast, lovable main and second leads and a great message.

There are so many things that could have gone wrong with this drama, considering how cliche the premise was, yet the writer and the director managed to turn it into something fresh, cute and thought - provoking. It made me question what I would do if I had a chance for a re-do in my life with all the things I know now. It will probably make you think about your life or appreciate your youth, too.

Once again, the premise of the story is very cliche, considering that it's a simple time-travel drama, but the execution of the drama is not. The part of the drama that show the leads as unhappy 40 year old that feel trapped in their life made me feel their pain. The friends and the school part of the drama will probably make you laugh and be happy for the them being able to avoid the 'mistakes' of their youth, just as it made me feel. I assume that the vast majority of the people will find themselves rooting for the secondary leads for at least a part of the drama. The friendships in this drama are adorable, too. I also appreciated the glimpse at Korea in the late 1999. This part was gold. There is a perfect balance of sweet, sad, cringe - worthy and hilarious moments in this drama that makes you go back for more.

One thing that I also have to applaud the writer for is the fact that nothing in this show dragged. Way too often I find myself yawning or skipping through the middle part of most of the dramas. I often also catch myself thinking: oh goodness, just talk and figure out what's going on already! Nothing like that happens here. The show is perfectly paced and things happen and flow very naturally. I assume that the reason for this exemplary pacing is the length of the show. Since it has only 12 episodes, there are no unnecessary fillers in the episodes.

Read More

I wish Cruel Romance was easier for me to rate, but I always struggle with dramas that captivated and mesmerized me at the beginning, only to leave me longing for something more in the second part of them.

I loved the fist half of the show. The story, although somewhat ridiculous, was engrossing. The characters had enough spunk and unique features that their encounters were interesting and the sparks kept flying. The main lead might be a bit standoffish, but his demeanor and the way he treated his people and the women in general, Jin Xiu in particular, was quite charming. The fight scenes were over the top, but that also could be seen as somewhat the part of the charm. I loved the reverse harem theme that kept resurfacing and I even could kind of understand why this supposedly simple girl was so popular with men. Being related to the most beautiful woman in the entire province makes for a compelling argument as to why everyone would be so captivated by her. Even the main bad guy was interesting because you kept disliking him and then rooting for him in some capacity. This part of the story convinced me that I actually can like a good damsel in distress story with some really hot rescue scenes if it's well done. I haven't seen many shows that did that type of romance well before.

Then somewhere around ep. 24 - 25 the story got messy and somewhat predictable. The bad guys became wicked, main female lead became super annoying and the secondary female lead became wretched. The story took a turn that I didn't particularly care for. It's not that it wasn't good at all; it just wasn't as good as it was before. I skipped tons of scenes during the second part of the show and I didn't feel like I missed so much. In the end, the show fell short for me. I believe that it would have been a really good drama had it been around 30 episodes. I did re-watch a couple of the first episodes and found it enjoyable, but I wouldn't re-watch the drama it it's entirety. That why I ended up giving it a 7.

Read More

Although I agree that The Great Seducer wasn't a great drama, I wouldn't go as far as to call it a total disaster. Let me start by clarifying I have only watched the original French Les Liaisons Dangereuses. I have neither read the novel, nor watched The Cruel Intentions, so I am not going to compare TGS to Cruel Intentions. I do think that The Great Seducer was a definite step up from the French movie, though. Then again, the show did have a lot of issues.

Let's start with the acting. Mooh Ga Young (Soo Ji) was spectacular. There was so much she could have messed up when acting, but she didn't. She was shallow and evil when she needed to be, yet fragile and broken when the role required it. She was also intelligent and had some redeeming qualities. I think that she was one of the best written and the best acted female roles I've watched up to date. I would also like to applaud Kim Min Jae (Se Joo). I don't think his role was easy, but he pulled it off beautifully. I felt his pain and isolation. No wonder he fought for the only things that mattered to him in life. He made a character who was easy to judge into a character that wasn't. Kim Seo Hyung (Soo Ji's mother) also did a great job. Then we have Joy and Woo Do Hwan. I am the last one to hate on the actors, but I do think that Joy destroyed the role. If there was another actress as brilliant as MGY in her role, maybe the show would have been saved. She wasn't the only one at fault, though. Let's talk about Woo Do Hwan, whom I heard so much about after his role in Save Me. I didn't see good acting on his part. Was it the writing's fault? Was his character just so flat? Shouldn't he make me feel similar emotions that Se Joo did? If he was supposed to, then he failed. Swap those two actors for Ga Young and Min Jae and I would be totally into the romance. However, Joy and Do Hwan didn't do it for me. I couldn't even picture them as being truly in love. Finally, Shin Sung Woo (Shi Hyun's father). I love the guy since I watched The Roommate, but I barely recognized him. He looked stiff and so unnatural in this. I felt like they could swap him with a mannequin and the show would have been totally intact. I wouldn't even notice the difference.

The secondary big issue is the story. I totally and absolutely adored the first 4 episodes. I agree that they were dark and weird, but that was the charm of the show. Then suddenly, we get the puppy - eyed Shi Hyun and the weird turn in the story. It was like two completely different shows! The show somehow picked up during the last several episodes, but it wasn't enough to save the entire production. It seemed as if the writers just had an idea for the beginning and the ending, and then just randomly put several boring events in the middle. There were a lot of really weird things added to this show, too. The mother who used to be the model - what was the point of even having her there? The weird sheltered girl with a grotesque mother and the somewhat annoying friend of Joy were all fillers. That was totally changed from the original story, where the sheltered and pure girl's smeared reputation was a major plot point.

Still, I appreciate the little glimmer of hope that the change from the original ending gave us. I wasn't impressed with the ending, especially since it was so rushed and cliche, but I didn't totally hate it. Would I recommend watching it? I think I still would. There is a reason why so many people talk about this show. There is some spectacular acting and some interesting plot parts in it. Also, I thought that the depiction of the deterioration of the friendship between those 3 was done masterfully. The drama did show character and relationship development, too, even if it was more of a regression for some of the characters.

Read More

I wonder if I am the only person in the entire Kdrama universe who didn't completely love this drama. Waikiki was a funny feel good show with many likable characters and I would still recommend checking it out for yourself. It's just that for me it wasn't a masterpiece.

I liked the beginning of the show and I really liked the last couple of episodes, but I actually struggled to push through the middle part. Somewhere around 11- 16 episodes, I put the drama on hold. There just weren't enough events to really push the story forward and the funny moments weren't enough to keep me going. I didn't really feel like I need to know what is going to happen next.

I don't know why, but I wasn't a fan of the way how Dong Gu's character was written. I liked how he was supposed to be the counter balance for the happy-go-lucky Joon Ki and Doo Shik in the first couple of episodes, but I didn't like him being childish and petty around Yoon An later on. I also wasn't particularly fond of the love triangle in this show. Even though I can't deny that Waikiki has a lot of really funny moments, I found the humor to be a bit too slapstick for my taste. The bodily function humor and the rivalry between the two male leads just wasn't my cup of tea.

Read More

If you like real, a little more slice of life/ romance non-cliche dramas that do not avoid difficult topics, do yourself a favor and watch Because it's my First Life. It really is that good and refreshing.

I would totally give it a 10 if not for the last 2 episodes. The drama managed to tug on my emotions, make me laugh, deal with difficult topics and avoid cliches and the usual, cookie-cutter dialogues. People say what they think in this drama save for one unfortunate secondary couple. It is really exhilarating to see a drama in which the characters say what you expect them to say. The drama is paced beautifully and even the 'love triangle' isn't really a love triangle in this.

I also love that this drama tackles the societal problems such as starting your life without means, not having enough money even when being successful, soul-sucking jobs, having dreams vs paying bills, sexual harassment and assault and personal oddities with such a unique perspective. I appreciated exposing and talking about those things in the open. The awkward, but honest social interactions between the main couple are gold. They will make you laugh and then feel sad at the same time. This drama is perfectly balanced in this regard. It is perfectly balanced to the 15th episode, that is. After that, I feel like the writers went for the more usual plot devices, which kind of ruined it for me. I understand what the writers were going for, but I'm not sure it was necessary. This is what made me drop a star from my rating.

All in all, it is a truly unique and beautiful drama.

Read More

Let me just say that I really enjoyed this drama, but It's not easy to rate it. Firstly, it is ridiculously over the top. The humor is over the top, the special effects are ridiculous, and the characters are caricatures of themselves. There are zombies, fairies, humans that have paranormal properties, messengers from heaven, spirits and other things that sometimes just show out of nowhere. It is overacted, overplayed, overdramatic and cheesy at the same time. That being said, if you understand the genre that you are watching and take it for what it is, it is actually really enjoyable.

The story is somewhat new if you don't know the "Journey to the West" or the mythology behind it. It seems to me that some of the themes are based on folk tales and old stories, but it was all fairly new to me. I really enjoyed the fast pace of the show. While I absolutely loved the first 15 episodes, the last 5 were completely unnecessary to me. I understand what the writers were going for, I just would personally prefer if everything surrounding the priestess and the events leading to the end of the show were cut out. I think that 20 episodes were probably a bit too much.

I liked the acting, but one needs to keep in mind that the characters were supposed to overact. Lee See Young was amazing and her role was not an easy one. She made it possible for the people to love and hate her at the same time. Cha Seung Won was probably my favorite character, though. He was just the perfect amount of crazy, charming and mischievous. I liked the main couple, but the chemistry between them could be a bit better. I didn't mind the FL, but sometimes she seemed to be a bit stiff.

Some people drew parallels between the Goblin and The Korean Odyssey and there certainly were some. The bromance was kind of similar and the stories had similar elements such as the main girl having a way to call her guardian when she needed him. The major difference that I see between those two is that The Korean Odyssey did not try to take itself too seriously with it execution whereas Goblin intended to have a very serious, even solemn, feel to the story.

I was hesitating between 8.0 and 9.0 for this drama and I can't quite decide. I think the first 10 episodes would be a solid 9.0, even 9.5 for me, but since I ended up fast forwarding many scenes in the second half of the show, I settled on 8.5

Read More

It was cute and fluffy, but nothing special. Nothing in this series will ever surprise you. You know how it's gonna end and you can even predict what is going to happen and when. It's a show for rom - com lovers. The male friend guy is so amazing that you will start wondering why couldn't you ever find someone like that to rely on. At the same time, his eagerness to be just a nice guy was a bit far - fetched. I found the show ok, but just way too predictable to give it any more than 7. Also, the acting wasn't always too great and the characters felt pretty flat. It gave me the Fight for my Way vibes except that the latter gave me feels that this one didn't. Yet I finished it and it gave me a much needed pause from the heartbreak caused by The King's Woman :D

Read More

Despite some issues I had with this drama, it has so thoroughly captivated me that I can't give it any less than 10. The biggest issue I had is with packaging manipulation, obsession and the desire to completely possess someone as love. I did see pure love in this drama, especially during the initial episodes of the drama, but not from the character that we are supposed to see it. At times, it was very difficult to me to root for the "main couple" and sometimes it was even difficult for me to say who the main couple should be.

The King's Woman has a beautiful cinematography. I enjoyed looking at every scene in this show. The costumes, fight scenes and the shots in between are magnificent and often very powerful. The atmosphere is sometimes conveyed by the amount of light and the color of clothes that the people are wearing. The more carefree the characters can be, the less make up and bright colors we see. I really liked it. I also liked the music that went with it.

I thought that the story was swift and quite engrossing. I typically lose interest in shows that are longer than 20 episodes, but this one is different. Not a single episode dragged for me. In a nutshell, it is a historical drama with a love triangle (square?) type of situation, except that all of the characters involved seemed well developed and multidimensional. People change their feelings in this show because their situation changes and their motivation is governed by internal logic. Both men and women can be righteous or manipulating. This show has a high level of betrayal, revenge, possession, love, devotion, assassinations and intrigue, but people are not vile without a reason. Their motivations might be convoluted, but not impossible to understand. The show did a good job showing that in politics and in the palace you really can't trust anyone. One thing that I really liked at the beginning of the show was the balance of sad and lighter moments. Unfortunately, the show got progressively darker in the course of time. After episode 30, it becomes really dark and the viewers get the ominous feeling that things can't go right for everyone.

I can't say whether I am a fan of the ending or not. All in all, I was not surprised by it given everything we knew about the world of the King's Woman and the people involved.

I gave it a very high re-watch value because of the beauty of the shots. I already re-watched some of the episodes because I simply enjoyed seeing them again.

Read More