I watched this Drama a while ago and there is actutually a lot to say about it. At first it is one of the most beautyfull dramas i have seen so far. The acting is great and the music matches well with the scenes. I often have the problem that historical dramas get boring after a while and I see myself skipping some dialogues in order to go on to the more "interssting" parts. In the drama Hwang jin yi however this feeling wasn't there as much as in the other so i nearly watched every second of it. The only thing I didn't like that much was the sadness that you find yourself in while watching it. There are many scenes where I actually cried and that is the reason for me not to rewatch it that many times.... But that doesn't mean that it's not worth rewatching. The dances and the acting of Ha ji won in particular are sooo outstanding and in my opinion they portrait hwang jin yi soo good that all the time you get what she stands for, fights for and how great of a women she is. For all those who are interessted in Art this is a drama that leads them back to the past to discover what being an artist means.
To sum up this drama is valuable in acting, art (costumes are great) music and dancing also the storyline is interessting. The only thing you need to prepare yourself is getting a bunch of tissues ready as it gets really emotional ;)

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There rarely is a drama that has so many iconic scenes as secret garden, so it’s no wonder that it scene’s have countless parodies and are popular on variety shows. It’s the kind of drama that will make you smile and cry at the same time. Even though the plot might not seem like anything new or special it manages to stay unique.


What i think of the Drama:
As stated previously the story was not what captured my eyes. The typical element ” rich man, poor woman” and the “body swaping” have all been seen before. But what makes secret garden such a good drama is the characters and their developement. Each character even the small roles have a Story you get to explore. The good Thing about the Drama is that your opinion on the characters will Change with time. There is no such Thing as the evil character that will turn into a complete bitch. There are however certain Persons that apear “evil” but not in a completly unrealistic way but in a way that is understandable.
Another reason why i love Secret garden and why it is one of the only Dramas i rewatched more than once is because of the love to Details. There are so many things one gets to enjoy when watching it a second time. There are phrases that could go as Poems, paintings and references to fairytales. The set is just stunning and it has many memorable places such as Kim Joo Won’s and Oska’s house, Gil Ra Im’s place, the Action School and the place they stay at while on a trip, the Little Restaurant in the mountans and many more. The clothes and hairstyles fit the characters well and underline their characteristics.
Also a big reason to watch this Drama is the stunning acting. Ha ji won is my favourite actress of all time and in this Drama you will see why. It’s incredible how well she adapts to the character and it couldn’t have been a better cast for Gil Ra Im. Hyun Bin also fits into his role very well and the two of them interact great with each other. When swapping bodies both of them succeded in taking on each others bodylanguage which made the Drama so much better.
Lastly the OST. As you could have guessed it i love it. The Songs are easy to reconize which is really important for the Drama in my opinion. Where darker Dramas rely more on OST’s that are Fitting to the Scenes and Emotion this Drama works with repetitive Songs that will stay in your head. What i really like about it is that the same song is sung by a woman in one Scene but by a man in another one. Sometimes there might be some Scenes were you think that the song gets annoying but later you will find yourself humming the song emotionally.

Who I would recommend it to:
All in all i would recommend this Drama to almost everyone. It’s lighthearted but not to silly. It has a Storyline but also Centers around the characters. It has a soft Humor to it and beautiful romance that might be a Little cheesy sometimes but not overly exagerated. The Drama doesn’t soley rely on it’s main characters and their Story but also has strong supportive roles. There are several diffrent sort of Lifestyles clashing beside the obvious poor and rich ones. It might not be one of the deepest Dramas and some might find the bodyswapping ridiculous and not Fitting but it still is enjoyable to watch and did not bore me in the middle as it kept the Story going and progressed fast. There are moments when you find yourself crying with no Chance of Holding it back and moments when you just have to smile at the Little things you will Encounter. So i highly recommend to watch this Drama at least once.

Score:
9 out of 10
There are some Points that could be better and some Scenes and the Story is not the strongest one but it’s an enjoyable Drama with love to Details and strong Characters.

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