The Good:
The way the instant messages and animations are done is amazing. It is really refreshing to be able to see the texts on screen in a way that doesn't mean showing the phone screen over someones shoulder. The two mains manage to have good chemistry without even meeting, which is impressive. Kim Jiwon's character is amazing too, she does the rich family's daughter act really well.
The Bad:
The ending is the one of the two things that put a dampener on it for me. It didn't feel complete. We saw the four years later shot but it still didn't feel well rounded. If they could add a third episode with the conclusion of the story then it'd be a 10/10 drama. I'm not really sure where I stand with the morals of this story either. I mean both people are cheating on their significant others and we're just supposed to be fine with it?
Conclusion:
Watch it if you've got a spare two hours! It's definitely worth it. Just be careful if you don't like incomplete endings.
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I didn't had much expectation going in. Because I didn't thought the story will be this much addicting as it was. I waited until it had enough episodes out, before starting to watch it. And thank god that I did. Because I watched those 12 episodes in one day at a stanch. I just couldn't stop. Can't stop.
Waiting for the last four episode was a misery.
I like all the episodes. The story goes a little slow at first but the second half is somewhat mind-blowing. And then the ending. Some will say, that the end wasn't nice. They didn't liked it. But I personally think that it was perfect. I loved it.One of my favorite ending, ever.
Some time the sad-slow ends are what we need.
The story has some holes in it. It is a time traveling story and this type of stories always has some thing like this. So that was not unexpected. And because of the amount of Time-traveling drama is around right now, not many people will feel good about it. And then there is 'Signal' and I am sure a lot of people are comparing this with that one.
Don't do that. They are not same.
The story in it's self is different. Every thing was resolving around a case that starts 30 years ago. One giant mysterious case. And it's our cop's job to solve it.
But the little one around it is what I loved about it. They just didn't show you the murders but what it does to the people around that victim. They are suffering, their pain. And I loved how they honored them in the end.
Because it's always about saving life not the thrill in catching the culprit.
I love all the people in the cast. They are all new to me. But I didn't mind. They drew me in. I liked how they portrayed their characters. Specially Lee Yoo Young. Her character was smart, cold, controlling and no where near the 'sweet-innocent-damsel in distress' type and I loved that about her character. And she pulled it off with an ease.
Choi Jin Hyuk ( welcome back!! ) and Yoo Hyun Min were amazing in their roles. The little bickering and bromance (Though it should be called something else. 60 year old and 27 year old man romance'?) between them just lightened the dark-gloomy scenes a little.
Though most will complain that Choi Jin Hyunk's character had some 'issues' in the last episodes. I just want to state that no one is perfect. So isn't a character. Their flaw is what makes them different form another and special. For Kwand Ho it was calling bad guys 'Jerk'. His a 1980's cop. Cut him some slack will ya'?
Kim Min Sang. I have only one thing to say about his character and about him. This is how a ** should be like.
I am going to re-watch this because I love the love story in this drama. Yes there is one. And I am not talking about Yoo Hyun Min and Lee Yoo Young's characters.
But about Park Kwang Ho and Yeon Seok. Their longing, their pain, their love for each other is one of the best thing about this drama. That sweet little love story twirled in to the bigger story, some how complemented the whole thing. It was the motivation that both of this characters needed. And I love those type of stories.
For those who are thinking if they should watch it or not. I would like to tell you to give this a try. Trust me, you are going to thank me later.
So watch it!
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Lets get down to it.
The good: I really like the shoes theme within this drama. With a plot as common as the one found in this drama you've got to have something a bit different to help it stick out and the shoes definitely stuck out in my mind. The other woman (Manager Kim) was kind of the redeming thing for me in this drama; watching her go from crazy in love to 'you know, maybe not' was a nice change to see but other than those two facts it's just your run of the mill love story.
The bad: After watching this drama i can understand why Hong Jonghyun is usually cast for more villianous characters. Something abaout his acting just screams deviant who is plotting to ruin everything. With both characters maintaining one expression throughout the entire series it was hard to bare at some times but we made it through.
The ugly: If you love awkward kiss scenes then this is your drama. The kisses in this drama made me feel something I've never felt before and it wasn't nice. You'd get a better reaction from me by shoving two barbie dolls together. Honestly, it felt like I was intruding on a weird staged moment.
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Pros:
Seon Jae: I honestly love SJ a little too much. He is pretty much the main reason why I was watching the show lol. Anyway, why did I love his character? A. I found him somewhat relatable. He is someone who doesn't trust easily, needs a reason to open up to somebody, but once he's made a friend he's made a friend for life. B. I just love his story of how devoted he is to his mother and his mother's case. C. He's just so adorable ok! I just love how he really cares about the people around him, but doesn't like to let onto it too much, it cracks me up. D. He's just an all around good guy. He's hardworking, loyal, devoted, and the list could go on.
Kwang Ho: I really like how they made his character true to the 80s. He thinks like a guy from the 80s, which means he's a bit sexist and a chauvinist. I liked seeing the contrast of how he thought of things compared to present day. And sometimes the past was better, but sometimes they were so wrong. The show did a really good job of portraying that through his character. I also just loved his character in general. He's handsome, loyal, hardworking, courageous, and honest.
Bromance: Alright, this was also one of the main reasons why I was watching the show. I just loved the bromance between Seon Jae and Kwang Ho! How it went from hating, to tolerating, and finally to genuinely caring. It just bloomed in this real lovely way and I absolutely loved it! I haven't seen a bromance as good as this one in a really long time. I just really loved it.
Acting: Acting was on point in this drama. Wow Seon Jae, Kwang Ho, and even Jae Yi really brought their characters to life. I could feel their emotions, it wasn't acting it was living.
Feminism: Oh wow, there's some great feminist under-tones in this drama, and it's fantastic! When Jae Yi asks the police "did these women deserve to die?" I was like you go girl!
Yeon Sook and Kwang Ho romance: They had such amazing chemistry, and I just really loved how much they cared for each other. Yeon Sook was such an amazing woman, who has admirable faith in her husband. Though not the focus, they were definitely a beautiful couple. And I wish that I can have a marriage like that one day.
Emotion: This drama's true strong suit is emotion. It packs in the emotion well. A lot of crime dramas, it's simply about catching the criminal. But with this drama you really see how the killings affect people's lives. We're not just catching criminals, we're saving lives. I truly felt the emotion attached to the victims and the victims families. As much as I love Seon Jae and his story, he is not the only reason why I think this. The side cases had a lot of emotional impact too (I nearly cried during one, I never cry lol). While Seon Jae's mother's case was the highlight case, each case was important. The women that died, were people, with lives and families. And you felt for each and every one of them. Not every drama can do that, so I applaud this drama for not only caring about suspense, but reminding viewers that these are people we are talking about. And in real life, when cases like this happen, it is a person that died. Someone with family and friends, and nobody deserves that death.
Episodes 1-9 plus episodes 11 and 16: These episodes are really the strong point of this drama. There's good pacing, smart characters, humor, and touching moments in these episodes. Episodes 8 and 16 were truly amazing, and I applaud the writing and acting. They were truly memorable episodes.
Cons:
Most of these cons came out during episodes 10-15 (save 11). So really only 4 episodes, but it was enough to bother me and really frustrate me. I would say the last half of the show wasn't as enjoyable, and was downright frustrating at times.
Plot: I like to know what the plot is. I like mysteries, but not the actual plot to be a mystery. For example, God's Gift is one of the best mysteries I've ever seen. But the plot is very clear, to save main girl's daughter. This drama I wasn't sure what the plot was till the very end. Was it to go back in time? Was it to catch the criminal (future)? Was it to catch the criminal (past)? Was it both? Was it all 4? I really had no idea, and this made the drama very frustrating to watch, especially the last half.
Jae Yi: I just didn't care for her character. I didn't hate her, but I didn't love her. And if we're being real, I just didn't like the fact that she interfered so much with the bromance towards the end. I'm cruel like that though. If I have neutral feelings or disliking feelings towards a female character, and she starts to interrupt the bromance, I will start to get annoyed with her character. Even if she didn't really do anything wrong. I also found her a bit creepy in the beginning, and there's something she did I found a bit hard to get over. I don't know for the most part she was very meh for me. I mean she had some touching moments, but still. I just didn't grab onto her.
Stupid Characters: Ok, they weren't always stupid, they definitely had their smart moments. But sometimes the writers would decide to make their characters stupid to prolong the suspense. Like sorry, I don't like suspense for suspense, I get really annoyed if suspense is being created because a character is being dumb.
Ending: I loved the last episode I really did! Episode 16 and 8 are by far the best in the series! But, for real there should've been another episode.
Overall, would I recommend this drama? Sure, go ahead. It's good, and the ending episode makes it worth it. Would I call it a masterpiece or a classic? Lol no. It's good, but there are too many plot holes and facepalm moments for it to be a masterpiece. The plot was a bit too all over the place for my taste and the things that made the show amazing at first got toned down a bit in the last half (save the last episode and episode 11). But it's still a good drama and overall there's more good than bad.
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So the story was quite good, it sort of started off far more interesting than how it finished. The first half was amazing and had me sympathising with the characters and the twist of fates. The second half though was nothing like that, it was sort of like they played it safe and not much happened. I definitely would recommend this one to watch but it should be treated as a slice-of-life drama (the second half anyway).
There were a few promising plot points that I was disappointed the director/writer didn't use fully. The main one being that Doctor Seo seemed to be shown as a love interest and had a lot of screen time in the first half, but we never really learnt more about him, just how he portrayed himself. I really thought having him as a fully developed deep character in Eun Ho Won's life would have been good. Really the story towards the end was very rushed and left a few loose ends.
Despite this, I definitely enjoyed this drama and recommend you watch this one :)
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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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First of all, Tunnel is not as good as Signal, but it comes very close. Both Signal and Tunnel have their own ups and downs - while Signal has slightly better writing when it comes to the "time travel", Tunnel has more emotion to it, which makes you care more about the characters and what happens to them.
Tunnel is an addictive roller coaster ride from the first to last episode. It is full of excellent twists, acting and even some feel-good bromance. What more could you ask for?! Some people say the writing got worse towards the end, but I didn't particularly think so. The writers really did an excellent job and the ending is great as well, full of emotion.
Don't get me wrong, I know there are some flaws but this is a production meant to entertain people, and for me this is a 10/10 in entertainment value, and therefore I give it an overall 10/10. I had SO much fun with Tunnel and I already look forward to the staff's next drama, which I hope will be another thriller.
Simply brilliant!
Don't hesitate to give Tunnel a chance, you won't regret it!
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STORY:
At first, I hesitated to watch a supernatural/time-travel Korean drama because they can often be a hit or a miss, 50/50 shot. They are either terribly good or terribly bad. The problem with these kinds of fantastical/super natural element-ed dramas is that the writer either over emphasizes on the theme and over does the "drama" part of it. Kind of like trying to reveal everything way too quickly in the story and mistaken it for plot points. Either that, or a writer doesn't know how to properly use the element and just hashes a bunch of popular techniques seen before and comes out with something that doesn't make sense and again, becomes boring.
The writer, Lee Eun-Mi, did a rather splendid job at pacing the story just right and putting in the element of time-travel in the appropriate places. A week ago, I had wished that they extended the drama to 20 episodes, but I'm glad that that's not true because 16 episodes was just right for the pacing.
What I'm even more impressed about this drama though is their accurate use of the psychological side of understanding a serial killer. Lots of people often don't understand that serial killers aren't born killers, they are made and I'm so glad that the writer took the time to properly insert psychological understandings of why people kill. I even hope that this educates people who watch this drama a little bit about serial killers. Not saying that's a full course but definitely a taste. Applause for the writer to go to the legnths to do their research to display the psychological side of this drama more accurately. I've seen some pretty bad impressions and tries at psychology in Korean dramas and I will say I'm less than impressed. (Side note: I studied psychology and am still self studying to this day, so I may be more passionate about it than most, haha)
ACTING/CAST:
What a great group of casts! I have to be honest and say that I have never heard of seen the main male lead (Choi Jin-Hyuk) before anywhere until I did a little research and saw he was in Pasta but as a minor supporting character. But it looks like he's come a long way and say that this drama will hopefully help him along his career! His acting was naturally done and rarely ever thought that a line or a nuance was staged or overdone.
I also have to admit that I have never heard or seen the main female lead (Lee Yoo-Young) before either and come to find out that this is her FIRST drama! Well done Yoo-Young! Her take on the female lead was realistic, not too over the top either with the cold exterior persona and was a believable portrayal.
I have seen Yoon Hyun-Min before in the drama "Beating Again" and "Heartless City" but as the second lead and happy to see him finally getting some much deserved attention and a romantic happy ending. He definitely has talent but might not have been noticed due to previous dramas. I feel that his scripts always kind of kept him back from really stretching out but Tunnel gave him the chance to show everyone what he's got!
MUSIC:
Nothing to complain really. If anything, I thought the music selection was a little too dramatic when trying to heighten the dramatic/cliffhangers moments but other than that, I'm really not the kind of person who picks on the music unless it was an extremely poor choice.
OVERALL:
Awesome drama and recommend others to watch it too if you are interested in a little serial killer - time travelling - mystery - in the future! Haha! Another great drama produced by OCN. Will be keeping an eye on OCN now and have my sights set on 'Duel'.
Korea has always been known for their romance and melo-dramas but SO HAPPY that they are FINALLY branching out and exploring other genres! I cannot tell you how HAPPY this makes me because frankly I've been watching Korean Dramas for a good chunk of my life and with the amount of romance dramas I've seen in my life, I can safely say a lot of the romance dramas seem to borderline tacky, nonsensical, and almost hateful when you see how tragically weak and helpless the lead female characters are. By no means am I a feminist BUT I can't stand to see characters fall into the "damsel-in-distress" pit. For me, it's more a personal thing, and think it's kind of annoying.
But, I'm happy to see that writers are FINALLY giving these female leads some strength and not that fake " I'll punch you in the face, but not really because I'm just putting up a front for my fragile heart" kind of stuff. These days, writers are finally giving characters some dimensions to their personality and not just existing for the sole purpose to ruin someone's life because they secretly love them. The female lead in Tunnel was given a strong persona. Not the best effort in giving a female character some dimension, but it's a good effort on Korea's behalf at least.
I've rambled on long enough and encourage anyone who bothered to read all of this, a thumbs up! Haha!
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In the beginning I wasn't really interested in this and then people started to compare it to Signal, calling it a cheap copy of it. That made me curious though and I wanted to see it for myself. Now I thank everyone for indirectly making me watch it - because it's nothing like Signal except the time slip theme.
At first glance the synopsis doesn't appeal very interesting, especially since there are so many time traveling dramas out there recently. But once you give it some time and don't reject it right away, the story will definitely trigger something inside you. That's at least how I felt about this. I started with low to average expectations and ended up with fulfilling satisfaction.
The acting in this started really ordinary. It wasn't bad, but it didn't make me drop my jaw either. It solidly carried the story, as you might say. Choi Jin Hyuk started off quite indifferent, for example. But as episodes went by, he slowly managed to grow on me and make me sympathize with his character alot, especially in the second half. The same goes for Yoon Hyun Min and Lee Yoo Young. Both of them are actors I haven't seen before. I think it's alot more difficult to convince viewers who don't know about a respective cast of a drama and therefore don't crazily fangirl over them. In this case I didn't know about the leads and they were still able to convince me and make me enjoy this drama more than I had hoped for. The more I went into the story, the more I got entangled with its figures - in a good way.
Without telling too much, this drama also has an interesting villain who might not be someone new, but surely piques your interest and makes you excited about his character.
Objectively speaking, I would actually give Tunnel a rating of 8.5. But due to my surprise and personal entertainment I added 0.5 points to it. Hell, this drama is not free from flaws, I admit that. There were some things in the script and about some behaviors, I got angry about because it was flat-out unrealistic or stupid (excluding the time traveling thing, of course :P).
Then again, despite those minor matters, there were other things I happily accepted and which made me overlook the deficits. For example satisfying police work. Hard working officers, most times logical procedures and well done investigations. And the most important thing: No corruption! (a trope I got so tired of). It was also great at connecting and balancing crime and drama, the reason why I got so emotional many, many times while watching.
Other things I really loved were the side love stories that captured my emotions and the background music which was used so well and adjusted so perfectly that you even notice the improvement of the scenes through music while watching and listening.
There are of course also surprises up its sleeves. Some people might be able to foresee them but I also think that the drama did a good job at revealing certain already known or predicted things to its characters. And it did a good job at confusing (at least) me quite well, too. Or let's say it managed to make me think too much about possible turn of events. And no matter the outcome, that feature added completely to my enjoyment.
Cinematography did a really good job many times as well as scene flow and editing/cut. There were moments where I thought "Oh, nice! Well done!".
Conclusion of this one: Tunnel is definitely worth the watch if you are able to overlook some minor flaws. There are still many things to enjoy and be excited about. And one thing: This has one of the best final episodes I've seen so far.
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As for myself, a one time watch is more than enough.
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If you've watched "Signal" (if you haven't - what are you doing?!), you might think that the premise sounds a bit familiar, though the dramas don't have that much in common. In my opinion, "Signal" was a better crafted drama with less plot-holes/the-police-is-too-dumb moments, however "Tunnel" is still a drama that deserves a chance.
One of the things that stood out to me in this one was the main female lead, something that I've disliked with OCN's dramas are their stupid and useless female characters (though, to be honest the rest of kdramaland is no better), however, Shin Jae Yi has been the exception for me. Sharp, smart, and unrelenting, she was a great female character that held my attention alongside the male duo.
This drama's weakness comes towards the end, just like "Voice", it began to fizzle out, with too many police stupidities and too many instances of Park Kwang Ho, the main character, just yelling "bastard" over and over. It was hard for me to get through episode fourteen but I'm glad I did. The ending wasn't as sharp as it could've been, and it wasn't unique like how I would've wanted it (but I do like sad and torturous endings), but it was a heart-warming one.
"Tunnel" is not a perfect drama but it's a good addition to the ever-growing crime genre in Korean dramas. I recommend giving it a try, but be ready to be at the edge of your seat each episode, and be warned that you'll probably spend sixteen hours in front of your screen because it's hard to stop watching one you start.
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In the end I ended up skipping a lot of it just so I could finish it and see what happened to Sunny and the Grim Reaper. They had way more of an interesting story than Eun Tak/Goblin, but I was still a bit disappointed in it. I kinda wanted a drama with the King/Queen.
I don't know why I was so bored and disappointed with this drama, maybe fantasy doesn't do well for me, but then again I loved My Love From The Star.
Well at least I can say I watched Goblin, but I won't be rewatching it and I'm not interested in the specials. Damn it, I had such high hopes.
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This review may contain spoilers
I'm 2yrs late for this drama. Yay! (Cuz i normally wont watch a too famous drama while it is being aired int my country (PH) IDKY,This is one of the few dramas which I would not wish to be written otherwise. It brings you to a new place where you just gotta trust it; sit back and relax. It did not disappoint me in any way. The main leads (KSH my love) Ji hyun and the supporting casts are all perfect for their roles.
KSH acting of a poker face alien will never bore you, his voice is just perfect to sound old while in a young body.
Ji hyun's acting was just right, she did not overdo it which is amazing, The 2nd male lead's character was not pathetic which is good, the main villain actor also is very suitable for the role, Ji hyun's brother is so cool and cute, and the mother actresses are both gorgeous. And same goes to everyone else.
The location shoots; cinematography, especially the OST are all superb. This kissing scenes were surreal.
I actually liked this even better when I rewatched it. I even like it better than Goblin maybe because I fell in love with KSH deeper than I did with GongYoo, hihi.
BLOOPERS: I only knew there were extra scenes after each episodes on my second time watching this drama. lols. I hate spoilers so I would go to the next episodes right away that;s why. hehe huhu
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"AWESOME"
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