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You Only Have One Life to Live, So Be Happy

This Kdrama resonated with me in a significant way. I grew up in a single-parent family visiting my dad in the summers. He would always say to me, "What I want most for you is to be happy in life. If you ever find you are unhappy, figure out why and change it." This story embodied this same wisdom from my father.

I know there were many who found fault with this Kdrama. I'm not going to disagree with any as I respect people's right to their individual opinions. That said....here is my opinion. One of the best dramas in 2023.

First, it has a great storyline. You don't have to give in to parental and societal pressures, you can forge your own path. Gu Won and Cheon Sa Rang were individuals first who knew what they wanted in life, what was important, and made decisions that represented these values. They were authentic to themselves first then came together as a couple. A representation of a healthy relationship.

Second, employees help make companies great so they should be appreciated and rewarded as such. Instead of looking as people in a hierarchal-type of existence, see people in terms of their contribution towards the end goal and reward them for hard work. My favorite scene was when the employees of the smaller King hotel were seeing the space that would become the employee lounge. Also, Sa Rang's work on her own vision and dream of a hotel. I'm so glad the writers and producers gave a space in this story to the dream of a visionary woman.

Lastly, the acting was superb. Whether comedy, drama, vicious drama, action, or heartwarming scenes between friends, family, and lovers, the acting was superb. My favorite Korean actor is Lee JunHo. As always, the commitment he gives to the profession, whether its music, acting, modeling, or just being himself, is of the highest value, is exemplary, and worthy of respect. I also add Im Yoon Ah to this category as I was blown away by her performance. Their interaction was sublime and perfect. I also want to give respect to Kim Sun Young (she was so delightfully vicious, well done!!), Kim Dong Ha (such angst at such a young age), Go Won Hee and Kim Ga Eun (BFF's forever!!), Ah Se Ha (this story would not be a story without his comedic contribution), Kim Jae Won (the perfect boyfriend), Kim Young Ok (I have seen her in so many dramas and she is superb!!!), and lastly Son Byung Ho (he gave the perfect performance for someone who has lots of regrets). The acting in this drama was top-notch.

There have been many good dramas this year...one could almost dub 2023 as the year of great Kdramas. So far, King the Land is my favorite and what I consider the best drama of 2023. Congratulations to the writers, producers, actors, and production staff for this drama. Well done!!! I hope you were rewarded in a King the Land fashion because you deserve it!!!

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A Typical Rom Com Kdrama, but Enjoyable

I've completed this series and I don't think I've change much of my opinion since posting after the first 6 episodes. I run down the pros and cons of the show.

The Pros
1. Main storyline with subplots were good enough to keep me viewing every week. Although a couple were duds as they seem to be going somewhere but then just fell flat. But for the most part, the story seemed to flow.
2. The first half of the series with the bumbling Da Reum and stiff, cold Ha Gi getting into awkward and odd situations was the most entertaining. Honestly this part was what I liked best about their relationship. Both the MLs played the awkward, comedy-slapstick bits very well, and it worked.
3. The Appello office staff was very likable and made the scenes with the full crew so enjoyable to watch. Likewise were Da Reum's two best friends and their storylines. Funny and enjoyable.

The Cons
1. Like I stated before there were a couple of subplots that really were duds and could have been left out. One was bringing back Ha Gi's first love and CEO of Han. The triangle of Chan, Da Reum and Ha Gi had finally been put to rest, then another triangle is thrown at us. I thought it was unnecessary. The storyline of catching the internal spy could have been done without the ex-girlfriend angle. And, what was with Da Reum suddenly going to Paris? Why throw that in? Second, the storyline with Cho I (???). She was the employee who we all thought was the corporate spy, but really she was just a bitch doing bitchy things. I'm not sure this storyline was necessary other than throwing the viewer off of who the real corporate spy was.
2. Da Reum and Ha Gi's romantic relationship. While their relationship was sweet, it never progressed past 7th grade. Maybe that was because 7th graders were their demographic. But it lacked passion, and they really had no romantic chemistry. Now they could be bumbling fools for days and it was hilarious, but the romance....nope.
3. Chan the Kpop Idol dates his fan. I wrote about this below, so I won't repeat myself. It was too unrealistic for me. Probably because I really don't believe Kpop idols think much about their fans beyond how much money they can get from them. I'm a tad jaded or maybe realistic in realizing all the idol adoration of their fans is just really good acting.

All in all, it was a nice Kdrama. Very typical of a classic rom-com Kdrama in Kdramaland where right triumphs over wrong, everyone finds redemption in the end, and romance is squeaky clean and sanitized. I've watched enough Kdramas to get past the unrealistic nature and just enjoy the storyline and characters, and this one did have some likable, fun characters in it that made me want to spend the evening watching the next episode.

After watching 6 episodes:
So far this is a cute and enjoyable rom com that is pretty typical for Kdrama rom coms. The cute but naive, somewhat bumbling FL is just kind of all over the place as she wonders through life and work unaware of how her naiveté has such an alluring affect on the two very handsome ML's in the drama. Yea, this is very unrealistic and would never happen in real life, but it's presented in a cute and adorable way.

Da Reum goes to work at a fashion company because it was founded by her Kpop idol bias, and it's her life's mission to forever follow and adore him. Once there, she realizes the idol is just the face of the company and in reality it is run by a workaholic CEO who is often cold and distant. The two of them are put into awkward situations, and the cold-hearted CEO begins to warm up to her bright and shining cuteness, not to mention her constant positivity....that is, when she is not being so absent minded he has to rescue her and gets hurt. It's the slap-stick comedic method of having two people fall in love. Only, there's a triangle.....the idol. Now, if this drama weren't unrealistic enough as it is.....we get to jump off a cliff into utter fantasy as the idol falls for the fan!!

At Episode 6, the FL starts to date her idol bias. Honestly, I feel this storyline is the weakest part of the drama because it's so unrealistic, and if this were the entire story, I would probably drop it. But the relationship between the FL and the cold/distant CEO is keeping me watching. These two together are really cute even if they get into some outrageous situations. But right now, the triangle storyline and the two men vying for the FL is the focus. There is a scandal brewing on the horizon, and we still need to catch the Appello corporate mole who is selling secrets to the competition. So there is enough holding me that I"m trying really hard not to be too annoyed at the idol/fan relationship happening because this.....this people....is truly fiction.

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Life is About the Connections and Relationships You Have With Others

It's been awhile since a Kdrama had me bawling like a baby, but this one did it. It will not end as you hope, but the ending is important. The entire storyline and message is a good one. Life isn't about status, money, prestige, or stuff. It's about the connections and relationships you make with others.

A very hurt boy...hurt by the stupidity and selfishness of parents...shuts down, puts up walls, and wanders through life cold and unfeeling. Only, really, he is feeling, but doesn't realize it until he is diagnosed with a fatal disease and not much time to live. Then he realizes the relationships in life that are important to him, so he pursues these relationships relentlessly. The viewer is taken on an adventure of his last days. He finds his lost love, he finds his true father, he finds the people in his life that love and care for him, and can die feeling good about his life even though he put on an act of being aimless and cold for so much of it.

Thank you to the screenwriter, Jo Young, for this wonderful and important story. The actors were amazing. This was a very emotional drama, and there were scenes that could not have been easy to film. But they were amazing, especially Woo Do Hwan, Lee You Mi, Oh Jung Se (a favorite of mine since It's Okay to not be Okay), Kim Min Soek, and Lee El. The production value was high, the story flowed well from scene to scene and kept the viewer engaged with the storyline. The filming was sublime, the scenery was beautiful, the music score was top notch. I loved, loved, loved that Alex Landi was part of the story!! I've been a fan of his since Grey's Anatomy, and I hope to see him in more dramas.

I have to give a special note about the last scene. The Jeep all alone on the highway driving into the sunset with the music playing reminded me of the See You Again music video paying tribute to the death of Paul Walker of the Fast and Furious franchise. The car he was driving heading off alone on the highway into the sunset as the music was playing. It is sad, bittersweet, but also gives a sense of closure, as the viewer senses that a life was not in vane, but complete... when one lives as they dreamed.....excuse me....I need a Kleenex....sniffle, sniffle! I highly recommend this Kdrama!

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The System Is Cracked and Broken

Just finished watching the last two episodes. The ending was exactly as I thought it would be and gave closure to these professionals who were all questioning the choices of their present careers. They didn't just settle. They risked venturing out to seek the right fit, and were happier in the end. This was a very satisfying drama. I loved the characters and I think all the actors did a top-notch job in character development. It was also realistic. Professionals do question their choices in their careers, and I'm glad to see a drama that addresses this. It's not flashy, nor sexy, but very very relatable. I loved this drama, I loved the junior associate attorneys and wish I could eat with them and discuss life.

After 10 episodes:
I've read some of the other reviews for this drama and I have to say, I think most are missing the real significance behind why I think this series is superb. Most of the reviews focused on it being a "slow burn" and the comeback of Lee Jong Suk. Okay, both of those are true. But if that is only take away you got from this series....you really missed the point. Yes, it's slow, but significant.

First, it's an excellent ensemble cast. The actors playing the junior lawyers are excellent in their respective roles, each delivering a depth in their specific characters that adds such a realistic nature to the delivered storylines.

Lee Jong Suk/Ju Hyeong - a smart, dedicated junior lawyer who has been at this job way passed the time of seeking his own law firm. Why? He became robotic to survive and was good at it. He stopped feeling and just performed. As the drama unfolds, and a past love reenters his life, he begins to wake up and assess why he keeps doing what he is doing when he is faced with representing a victim vs. representing a company with a toxic work environment and the decision is made for him by his senior boss. If you are old enough you can relate to that moment when you realize and want to have life's decisions in your own hands not someone else's.

Mun Ka Young/Hui Ji - Intelligent and idealistic, Hui Ji discovers that her attempt to do the right thing by all parties even if it causes her extra work goes in contradiction to her boss, whom she thought was also idealistic, that would have done what was easiest and most lucrative for the firm.

Ryu Hey Young/Mun Jeong - Smart, a bit of a workaholic, delivers 210% everyday, and is also the soul and caretaker of the group of junior lawyers. I think her storyline is so representative of the sexism and inequality women deal with when faced with balancing career and motherhood. Her boss did not even ask if she plans on coming back after having the baby....instead he just began to prepare to find another lawyer. Thankless behavior for giving so much of her time and her self to his practice. What an @$$hole, but so representative of the work world out there.

Kang You Soek/Chang Won - He just wants to be a lawyer and help people. But he keeps getting rerouted by his boss (babysitting a felon son of a rich client), and hitting the wall of a broken system that punishes a victim instead of the perpetrator. You can just feel his idealism and motivation crumbling around him. Not to mention he is being pressured to stop being a lawyer and take over the family business.

Im Sung Jae/Sang Gi - Smart, extremely hard-working, and able to focus on achieving the goal even if it takes him twice as long. He discovers his true desire is to teach law. However, Sang Gi is from humble beginnings and has to work to support himself and his mother. He cannot take time away to get a PhD in order to teach, because the system will only allow students to work at a PhD full time. How discriminatory and punishing of a system.

Secondly, it allows the viewer to watch as these characters are faced with broken systems and even facing the cracks within themselves. Even the translation team is called Cracks in the System. It's a story of young professionals in that point of their career where they hit the wall. The wall of reality. When they begin to question their work and contribution to it. When they wonder, "Is this all there is? Is this what I actually do? Is this who I actually am? Where is the fairness? Where is the humanity? Do I want to keep doing this for the rest of my career?" It also shows a juxtaposition between early and late beginning career professionals vs. seasoned career professionals who have made choices and now have to lie very coldly and greedily in the beds of their choice justifying for themselves their actions.

These junior lawyers seemingly have enviable careers and lives. From the outside they work in fairly successful law firms in a cool building, they are attractive and dressed stylishly, they have formed a tight bond and friendship and enjoy many meals and outings together. Two of them have even found love together. But up close, you begin to see the cracks forming as we are taken on the journey into the true nature of their work and how that work affects them personally.

I still have the last two episodes to go, and I'm assuming it will show how each lawyer faces the wall of reality in their career and what decisions they will make. Yes, it is a slow burn drama, but if you get past the lack of theatrics and see the significance of the storylines, you can appreciate the work these actors are putting into the development of their characters.

It is a very satisfying watch.

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Stupid....couldn't watch it to the end

This might be enjoyable for some, but for me it was just too full of over-acting, nonsense behavior, and adults behaving like juveniles. It would have been more realistic if a bunch of middle school and high school-aged kids handled all the roles. Wait.....they might be too mature. The FL's character borders on psychotic and disturbing while showing us every emotion under the sun from anger to laziness to deviousness in a 24 hour period, 7 days a week. But.....this is somehow appealing to the ML???? Yea......right. I barely made it through 8 episodes. Usually this is where I will begin to speed watch my way through to the end. But, I dislike these characters so much, I'm dropping it without seeing the end, because I really don't care what happens to them.

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If Death Gave One a Second Chance

When I watched this on Prime Video, all 8 episodes played as one drama. In exploring the Kdrama, I have realized originally this was broken up into Part 1 and Part 2. I am reviewing all 8 episodes together.

As a Kdrama fan, I'm surprised I missed this gem and only watched it now....clear in 2026. This drama has everything. All the emotions, suspense, twists and turns, a great love, despicable evil, enormous bravery, redemption at the end. If you are just coming to kdramas for the first time...give this one a look. I always say when people ask me why I enjoy Kdramas..."Because South Koreans are really good story tellers." Much, much respect to Ha Byung Hoon for this great story!! Genius writing in this one.

This drama has different stories for every episode. The main plot is almost secondary to the subplots playing out in each episode. But the writing is so superb that everything comes together in the end, which is so satisfying for the viewer.

The acting is amazing. This drama is full of A-list Korean actors. Park So Dam as Death...she is so good!!!...an Oscar worthy performance. Seo In Guk, Kim Mi Kyung, Kim Ji Hoon, Kim Jae Uck, Lee Jae Wook, Go Youn Jung, Oh Jung Sae, Kim Won Hae, and Choi Woo Jin from When The Phone Rings. So many wonderful actors in this drama, every episode was packed full of them and they really made the story come to life.

All I can say in the end is that this has been one of my favorite dramas to watch. I will enjoy rewatching it again and again.

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Who Hasn't Wished for The Perfect Boyfriend

A relationship angst tale with a twist. A webtoon producer is asked to try a new virtual reality world where she can find and date her dream boyfriend and then write some reviews on the platform. Jisoo plays the webtoon producer. She is good in the part, depressed and full of angst as she just broke up with her long-time love, she agrees to try this dating app because she really isn't ready to date yet.

The Boyfriend on Demand platform steals the show. She gets to date one after another perfect men, who are played by Korea's leading male actors, and go on amazing dates. In one fantasy date, the writers recreated the scene from Singles Inferno where Dex single-handedly pulls his competitors with him as he gets to the flag first. The writers had great fun with the scenes surrounding using this platform, and it was very entertaining for the audience. If you are a fan of Kdramas, and reality shows, you will appreciate the BOD scenes.

Enter the male lead, done well by Seo In Guk who gets the award for playing the most stoic character. It was at least halfway through the drama before he cracked a smile. He is attracted to the FL from afar, but you can hardly tell.

Once the two begin to attract the attention of each other, the drama begins to slow down. I still stuck with it, but the last half, after Mi Rae decides not to spend so much time on the BOD app, the storyline definitely dulls a little. Still, all in all, it is a feel good drama with a nice ending that I can recommend. For anything else, go check out the BOD platform scenes. They are hilarious and well done!

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Take 1 dragon + 1 shaman's granddaughter + 1 evil spirit = a story worth watching

I always judge on how much I anticipate the next 2 episodes dropping as to whether a drama is good or not. This was. Surprisingly. I really didn't expect it to be as good as it was.

The entire storyline stayed on track. It's about an evil spirit wrecking havoc on the royal family. The previous king, selfish and self-serving, commits a grievous sin that causes enormous suffering to a general in his military and the entire village he called home. This spirit never crossed over to the other side, but rather combined with the other villagers spirits to possess and cause death to the royal family.

Enter the granddaughter of a shaman, and her guardian dragon (who is in the form of a human) who takes on this very powerful spirit attempting to get it to cross over to the other side. Along the way, this granddaughter/shaman helps other wayward spirits cross over. Except for the spirit of the well who just wants to hang out and be BFFs. She absolutely was my favorite ghost of the series. Along the way throughout this adventure, our FL and her guardian dragon fall in love.

It's pure fantasy. It's also thriller, romance, drama, with a tad bit of comedy thrown in. I thought it was done well, with no outrageous exaggerations or unnecessary scenes to carry the storyline. It's why I couldn't wait for the next 2 episodes to drop each week. A good production that carried me the viewer along until everything culminating at the end, and left me satisfied and quite frankly wanting more of these characters. Well done to the writer, actors, and entire production crew!!!

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A really good soul-swapping storyline

I tuned in because of Kim Jung Hyun. I saw him in Crash Landing on You and thought his acting was superb. Plus, this drama received some high marks. There is a twist to the soul-swapping storyline in that Shin Hue Sun's character has both souls in one body fighting over who will dominate. She does an amazing job of acting masculine within a feminine body and during a submissive female cultural period of time. I think her acting dominated the storyline, and I was especially charmed by the "texting" she started with the King Cheoljong. Kim Jung Hyun's acting was again superb. He has range in his acting skills and will be a dominate leading man in many, many types of dramas, of which many I will tune into. Another character that held me through the drama was Cha Chung Hwa. I have seen her in several dramas, and she never fails to entertain. She is also an excellent and versatile character actress and commits herself to every part. The story ebbed and flowed, with some parts slower than others, but still carried the viewer forward to the finale. It was exciting, heartbreaking, romantic, intriguing, funny, and typical all in the right places. The only improvement I would recommend is in the music score. I think musical compositions can add so much to a storyline, but for some reason the producers did not feel that was necessary here, but I felt it was lacking. Other than that, I applaud the screenwriters, producers, directors, the main and supporting actors, and the rest of the cast for a really entertaining production....thank you!

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Gripping!!

Full of twists and turns....you think you've got the story figured out, you think it's predictable, then bam!....something unexpected changes with the storyline. This one kept me glued to the screen. Amazing writing, amazing cast, and well produced. You think you're watching a storyline about getting revenge, but it's so much deeper and more meaningful, only you won't realize it until you watch it to the very end. One of the best laid out and thought out plot lines I've seen in quite awhile. The kind of drama that has South Korean entertainment taking over the world. I highly recommend this series. Congrats to all the cast and crew on this one!!

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A Tad on the Predictable Side

Finishing Sold Out on You marks the 109th Kdrama series or movie I have watched. My review of this drama is definitely affected by this. My thoughts and feelings toward it were pretty much just...meh. But I think if this were one of the first dramas I watched, I would have enjoyed it more. When you've watched as much as I have, you understand the formula used by the writers to develop the story. That's why I stated....

It's a tad on the predictable side.

It was enjoyable, but boring. It was funny, but cringe at times. It ended nicely, but was very, very, so very predictable. If you're new to Kdramas and just starting to watch different series, I highly recommend this. It really represents why Kdramas have become so very popular.

If you're like me and you've seen quite a few of these....well, you might want to flag it, and maybe come back to it on some rainy weekend when all you can do is binge Netflix.

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Starts Out Great, Ends With a Meh

A cute, yet boring take on a transformational curse storyline. She periodically turns into a man. The problem is she is in a committed, loving relationship with her devoted boyfriend. The entire series was how they work out being in a relationship together when they never know when she will turn into a guy, and when she'll turn back.

That's it. That's all it was. It was "oh hey you're a man now...let's act awkward and sad...then we'll get used to it and gaze lovingly at each other as we begin to accept this...then an antagonist will come and turn everything into chaos...Oh hey you're a woman now...let's cuddle and hug............oooops, you're a man again......lather, rinse, repeat, on and on.

Episode after episode has some version of this. So, it got really boring after episode 4 to the very end.

There were a couple other storylines thrown in...the triad between the sister, her first love, and the woman who loved him. There was also the best friend and the guy who had a crush on her. Neither of these went very deep. The characters did strange things and were awkward around each other. These were mostly awkward and boring.

In the end, everything and everyone came together to give us a happy ending, but as the viewer, it felt very sanitized and fake. Nothing overly wrong with this drama, but nothing really great about it either. It was just meh.

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Humans Are Not Horses

This was the finale to the Squid Game series. Will the games continue? It appears the ending left the possibility of a spin-off. Many did not like the 2nd or 3rd installment of Squid Game and felt there should have been nothing after the 1st series. It's true the 1st series landed with a bang. It's almost impossible to follow that with something as good. The writer took a different approach by focusing more on the characters working the game, the pursuit by the brother of the Front Man, and the psychological toll the games had on the character of 456. I felt the writer did the only logical thing by not trying to duplicate the 1st series, but go deeper into the story of the actual characters.

I mean what can you say about a series that presents a modern-day fight to the death for the entertainment pleasure of the elite wealthy? It's horrible, but not out of the question considering we live in a world where certain people can buy countries if they wanted. It hits a little too close to home, and it's a tragedy of modern life. I thought it was done well. The acting, the sets, everything was done really well. But the story really does leave me with an icky feeling. But then this isn't a feel-good type of drama.

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A Good Treasure Finding Tale

Just a good old fashioned treasure finding story. A mystery abounds in trying to use clues to find the treasure. Along the way the ML falls in love with a helpful (and smart) damsel. There are plenty of bad guys and one sinister femme fatale who put kinks into the treasure hunting. There are twists and turns, a mystery to solve, teenage drama, overly comedic scenes, and plenty to keep you tuned in. This is good 'ol Kdrama at its finest.

Loved the actors!! The casting director really got the right actor in the right part. It is just entertainment in its purest sense. This reminds me of one of the first Kdramas I watched, and why I got hooked on Kdramas in the first place. Try it. I guarantee you'll enjoy it if you are just looking to be entertained.

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