İyi Seyirler Dileriz.
School 2013 (2013)
학교 2013 / School 5
(Dec 2012 – Jan 2013)
who’s in it
Lee JongSuk (High Kick 3, I Can Hear Your Voice)
Kim WooBin (Vampire Idol, Gentleman’s Dignity)
Park SeYoung (Faith)
Ryu HyoYoung (Greatest Love)
Jang NaRa (Baby-Faced Beauty, My Love Patzzi)
Choi Daniel (High Kick 2, The Musical)
Uhm HyoSup (Golden Time, Nine: Time Travel 9 Times)
Kwak JungWook (Queen SeonDuk)
Lee YiKyung (Nine: Time Travel Nine Times)
Lee JiHoon (Lee SoonShin is the Best)
Choi ChangYeob (Faith)
Jun SooJin
what’s it about
The question posed: is school merely a building of stone and mortar created to drill book knowledge or is it an organic womb that should nurture and guide kids in more than just test scores? School 2013 follows the blood that is shed when a school system intent on profit fights against its own teachers and students, creating an environment bent only on survival. The drama is a collection of stories about teachers, administrators, parents, and of course, the students caught in this pressure cooker.
The entire cast is a fairly long list of people but the chief figure is played by Lee JongSuk. He is an underachieving young man who spends most of class time asleep. He’s a kid of few words, a lone wolf cub, but despite his standoffish demeanor, he is mostly well-liked by his classmates. While outwardly meek, there is a self-possession about him that irritates the class bullies Kwak JungWook, Lee YiKyung, and Lee JiHoon, and the three make daily harassment of Lee standard practice.
This is where teachers Daniel Choi and Jang Nara come in. Not only do they try to defuse Lee JongSuk and Kim WooBin’s seething student war, but they also try to solve the many other tough personalities resident to Class 2-2, and in doing so, walk the line between being teachers and guardians. How invested should teachers get in the personal lives of their students?
commitment
16 episodes + Special
Be sure to watch the talk show style special. It was a totally weird and awkward talent show kind of thing, but the behind the scenes clips of the drama filming was enjoyable. For one, we got to see how cold the entire cast was during the shooting. What’s with KBS and their refusal to heat their sets? Remember Dream High and the huge fogs of breath throughout the show?
network
KBS2
director
Lee MinHong
Lee EunBok (Dream High)
screenwriter
Lee HyunJoo
Go JungWon
first impressions
I never intended to do a full review. In fact, I had already posted a blurb months ago in my Bite-Sized Reviews section, which went something like this, in brief:
“ Enjoyment Factor: 6/10
The underlying argument in education philosophy was interesting, but the tale itself often took easy shortcuts, as it was overburdened with a huge cast of young people with too many problems and only 16 eps to sort it all. The show was at times completely engaging, other times profoundly dull, and in the end, turned out School was mostly only interested in the bromance between Kim WooBin and Lee JongSuk. Specifically, what was most obviously not present was a more thoughtful development of the female student leads. Overall, an imperfect but enjoyable boyhood schoolyard romp powered by some fun glower power.
”
But lately, I’ve been feeling pretty warm and fuzzy with a lot of overflowing good will toward dramas and felt like enjoying some gangster-lite tales + a Lee JongSuk, thanks to current enjoyables Heartless City and I Can Hear Your Voice. So I went back and rewatched a few dramas, including School 2013, which lead to some refreshing new feelings on my part.
My second verdict for this drama: I don’t necessarily disagree with what I wrote earlier this year, as I still think the show was too short for all the serious problems these kids faced and wrapped too quick/handily, and I still wish the two main female students had been given more time, but I was clearly in a bad mood about something when I first watched it.
Warning: it is quite possible that below is The Longest drama review I have ever written on this site. So much for the quick in my ‘quick and biased’ tag. On the bright side, it’s a totally positive review.
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Operation Proposal (2012)
Operation Proposal
프로포즈 대작전
(Feb – Mar 2012)
who’s in it
Yoo SeungHo (Warrior Baek Dong Soo)
Park EunBin (Queen Seon Deok)
Lee HyunJin (You’ve Fallen For Me)
Go KyungPyo (Standby)
Kim YeWon (Flower Boy Ramyun Shop)
what’s it about
In general, people don’t usually adult themselves into the career they fantasized about when they were kids—astronauts, movie stars, pro-ballers—it’s not necessarily failure, simply the process of growing up. Some probably do get bitter about the loss of their youthful dreams, but for most of us, life goes on, we adapt, we get wiser, and we find contentment in new dreams. After all, in the real world, the story is not often a storybook fairytale—one does not marry their first love, one does not become mega filthy rich, nor does one become Angelina Jolie, and for a certainty, one does not get to do complete re-edit of their life. Is the happiness we have in our ordinary lives less meaningful than the one we had once dreamed up? Are there different measures of happiness? When we don’t get the big dream, are we settling for a lesser living? What does it mean to ‘correct’ a life’s path…isn’t the one we take ultimately the one we should be on?
In present time, Park EunBin is about to marry Lee HyunJin, and they are a young couple happily in love. But here’s the rub, almost everyone, including her own parents, thought she would actually end up marrying her childhood best friend Yoo SeungHo. Actually, even Park EunBin and Yoo SeungHo thought they would be marrying each other. So what happened? If the love is still there between them, which it appears to be, why is he the best man, and not the groom?
What went wrong, and in this case, where in the timeline does Yoo SeungHo need to go back to change it? “I’m glad you never liked her, otherwise I would never have stood a chance,” Lee HyunJin tells Yoo SeungHo on wedding day, and it is a misimpression Yoo SeungHo is determined to correct.
When Yoo SeungHo gets a mysterious visitor who offers him the chance to go back in time to try it different, to find and fix the wrong that separated his path from Park EunBin’s, he goes for it. This is a young man who regrets so many of the decisions he’s made in his younger days so he accepts the supernatural ticket into the past. Except, can he really change it? Yoo SeungHo takes the long way through time to learn that perhaps the key to happiness may not be about changing an event in the past, but changing the person he is in the present. In sometimes dizzying excursions between past and present, we learn the story behind two friends who never had the confidence to pursue their dreams, much less the guts to pursue the one they loved.
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Wild Romance (2012)
Wild Romance
난폭한 로맨스
(Jan – Feb 2012)
who’s in it
Lee DongWook (Scent of a Woman)
Lee SiYoung (Poseidon, Playful Kiss)
Kang DongHo (Twinkle, Twinkle)
Im JooEun (What’s Up?)
Oh ManSeok (What’s Up?)
Hwang SunHee (City Hunter)
Jessica (Girls Generation – idol member)
Lee BoHee (I Live in Cheongdam-dong)
what’s it about
Bumbling Lee SiYoung is defined by two things, her job in private security and her rabid love for professional baseball team the Blue Seagulls. She has moppy hair, wears no makeup, dresses like a male elementary school student, and tends to be really meek unless it has to do with judo or the Seagulls. She does not turn mens heads with her outstanding beauty, nor does her awkward personality translate into adorable.
Lee DongWook is the scandal-ridden, temperamental star of the Red Dreamers, the hated rivals of the Seagulls. The man has had some emotional hardships in his life which has made him withdrawn and unfriendly. In fact, he’s Kang DongHo’s biggest headache, the operating manager for the Dreamers. Also significant, Lee DongWook is still nursing a broken heart; his ex-girlfriend is played by Jessica (of premier female idol squad Girls Generation).
One day, when Lee SiYoung gets into an unfortunate altercation with Lee DongWook (she tosses him to the floor at a karaoke bar), it gets recorded and uploaded onto the web. The story grows legs and it becomes a huge publicity nightmare, especially when it becomes known that Lee SiYoung is an enthusiastic member of the anti-Lee DongWook fan club. To avoid further public embarrassment, and a possible legal wrangle, she is pressured by her own boss and the operating manager of the Red Dreamers to agree to an unconventional method of managing the scandal: become Lee DongWook’s bodyguard.
This is how she becomes her biggest enemy’s private security detail. When a very real stalker begins to target Lee DongWook and everyone in his life, Lee SiYoung must put aside her personal feelings and do her job—but can she protect her heart in the process?
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You've Fallen For Me (2011)
You’ve Fallen For Me
넌 내게 반했어 / Heartstrings
(Jun – Aug 2011)
who’s in it
Jung YongHwa (You’re Beautiful)
Park ShinHye (You’re Beautiful)
Song ChangUi (Life is Beautiful)
Kang MinHyuk (You Who Rolled in Unexpectedly)
Lee HyunJin (Operation Proposal)
So YiHyun (Gloria)
Im SeMi (Hooray for Love)
Woo Ri (Crime Squad)
what’s it about
Welcome everybody to a college populated by hot young
Park ShinHye is a traditional music major here, her specialty the gayageum, an old school Korean string instrument played by plucking, not strumming. She is the pride and joy of her famous grandfather, an authority in gayageum circles, and he wants the next generation of his bloodline to become just as well-known and respected. Our girl’s committed to her music, absolutely, but she’s no stuffy bore, she’s very personable despite her hard-working nature and has a quality circle of fun-loving friends who together form a traditional music quartet called the Windflowers.
Park ShinHye is not usually one to get involved in campus civil wars, but because of her love for all things responsible and traditional, she finds herself caught in a fight to defend the honor of traditional music against the too-cool-for-school campus hunk Jung YongHwa, a contemporary music student, and also the lead singer of a popular rock band called The Stupid. This boy appears to be ambivalent about everything but three things: his music, his family, and So YiHyun, the ballet instructor he has a wildly inappropriate one-sided crush on. Then this new girl enters his world and starts yanking on his strings, working up something that feels like an emotion when all he wants to do is play music and love the ballerina…will he be able to hold his cranky ground when faced with the full on cuteness that is Park ShinHye?
Oh right, there’s also some much ado about nada regarding a campus musical production Song ChangUi has been recruited to bring to glorious fruition, and that’s where supporting leads Lee HyunJin and WooRi play a part, but grievously little. There is also some university politics and parental boohoo subplots, but it is all sooo not worth mentioning.
commitment
15 episodes (originally planned for the standard 16, but due to a car accident that involved Park ShinHye in week four of broadcast, only one episode aired, and the show decided to end its run early instead of going to 17—thankfully, for I cannot imagine how they would have stalled for another 120 minutes
network
MBC
director
Pyo MinSoo (Full House, Coffee House)
screenwriter
Lee MyungSuk
first impressions
An obvious lack of depth and variety in the writing plagued this show from the opening: gimmicky, shallow, hurried, and let’s not forget to mention the dreaded foreshadowing of student-teacher l’amour (blech). I had some lofty expectations, a side effect of having loved Your Beautiful too much and having foolishly tried to associate two wholly unrelated projects together just because it carried the same star power. My own fault for being greedy, so I quickly adjusted my frame of mind. I wasn’t completely loving the story presented, but I was going to go with the flow and stay open to it. Fortunately, the direction of the show was helmed by a man very comfortable in light romantic comedies with narrow plots, a director with a good track record for coaxing cute out of even the slimmest margin of story. The feel and look of the drama was stimulating on the senses, the soundtrack felt the right amount of breezy and catchy, and all of the cast seemed well recruited for their parts. Ah, yes, the people were going to be this drama’s greatest asset. We were given a little bit of everything.
The gorgeous idol: Jung YongHwa
The respectable actor: Song ChangUi
The energetic fresh face: Im SeMi
And, of course, a popular leading lady: Park ShinHye
Plus, as extra fan service: Kang MinHyuk
With these young stars clearing the path, how bad could it fumble?
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Padam Padam (2012)
Padam Padam
빠담빠담... 그와 그녀의 심장박동소리 /
Padam Padam…The Sound of His and Her Heartbeats
(Dec 2011 – Feb 2012)
who’s in it
Jung Woo Sung (The Good, The Bad, The Weird-film, Athena)
Han Ji Min (Rooftop Prince)
Kim Bum (The Woman Who Still Wants to Marry)
Kim Ji Yoo (Mom Has Grown Horns)
Na Moon Hee (I Believe in Love)
Jang Hang Sun (Crime Squad)
Choi Tae Joon
Kim Joon Sung (The Lobbyist)
what’s it about
If the opportunity to hit a “do over” button was offered to you, would you—no, could you—change a singularly life changing moment for the better? Where precisely does destiny end and free will begin?
Jung WooSung plays a guy who has been in prison for 16 years and according to him, unfairly so. He was not a thug when he went in, but by the time he is freed into the real world, he has become a variation of one. He has grown into a socially stunted and frustrated man-child. He is filled with both wonder and anger at the changed world, being estranged from it and wanting to belong. However, he does have a more pressing goal on his mind: clearing his name. Unfortunately, his enemies also have a purpose: keeping him silenced forever.
Kim Bum is a fellow inmate released at the same time, and it is quite possible the young man is a certifiable nutjob, although a harmless one. He believes with all his heart that he is Jung WooSung’s guardian angel—and that’s literally, as in he wants to literally earn his wings so he can finally fly to Heaven where he rightfully belongs. He believes his purpose for existence is to make sure his best friend Jung WooSung is safe and happy.
When our hero returns to his hometown with his nutty angel sidekick tagging along (who is hell bent on kicking up some emotional dust), this ex-con’s past, present, and future collide in dangerous and wonderful new ways, including falling in love with a beautiful local vet played by Han JiMin. Even with his own personal angel fighting by his side, Jung WooSung is faced with an unlikely proposition: is it possible for a mere man to do the impossible and defy the course of his life?
commitment
20 episodes
network
jTBC
(Lately, just like the trend here in the States, it seems like all the really good shows aren’t on the major networks, but on cable!)
first impressions
Wow.
Visceral, chaotic, gritty, violent—and elegant. Very, very elegant. Padam was both ugly and beautiful at the same time...or rather, more accurately, it found beauty in the ugly? After the first few episodes, I genuinely felt that I had stumbled onto something truly unconventional, a show deftly guided by someone with a very specific vision for the show. This didn’t feel like a kdrama at all, it felt like a film. The basics of the premise had all been done before, you know the drill, a tough guy released from jail stumbles along in violence until he finds true love, which reforms his whole life. To be honest, going into Padam, I felt like I had already seen this one many times over. I did not believe that this one could surprise me or engage me in any new way.
Even after only the second episode, I knew in my gut that I had been so very wrong, this drama was different. The uniqueness wasn’t in the setup, but in the craftmanship, like the difference between products generically produced for mass consumption, and ones designer, stitched together with detail and skill. Padam seemed to understand the rules of this kdrama genre, and it knew the right threads to use, but it also clearly established from the onset that it was going to try its damnest best to be different and daring in its delivery.
My initial thought was that this kdrama was weird, confusing, and far too heartbreaking in its portrayal of life…the protagonist felt like a violent maniac, the second guy was a delusional loony who thought he was a supernatural entity…on top of that, it was littered with an ensemble cast of broken personalities that were thorny country bumpkin folk, and let’s not forget, all of them were involved in some wacky festering crime mystery, too. But, oh what the hell, even though I was afraid the story direction would only end up breaking my heart, and even though the ‘fantasy’ aspect of Padam scared the hell out of me, I could not dismiss this one.
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Mary Stayed Out All Night (2010)
Mary Stayed Out All Night
매리는 외박중 / Marry Me, Mary!
(Nov – Dec 2010)
who’s in it
Moon Geun Young (Cinderella’s Sister)
Jang Geun Suk (You’re Beautiful)
Kim Jae Wook as (Bad Guy)
Kim Hyo Jin (I Am Happy)
what’s it about
Moon GeunYoung plays Mary, a 24 year old whose life is pretty hard—the usual drill: debt brought on by a troublemaker father and caught in a dead-end situation—but she’s a glass half full kind of gal. Even though she’s forced to take a break from college because she can’t afford tuition and is struggling to find a job, she keeps her spirits up. Cute and bubbly, with thick, flowing hair even a mermaid could envy, she’s a lovely breath of fresh air. She’s the kind of fresh air that makes for an enjoyable main character. Of course it helps that Moon GeunYoung can, well, act.
When she accidentally bumps Jang GeunSuk to the ground with a car fender, there’s a feeling that kindred spirits have been reunited from another lifetime. He’s an unsigned but rather popular
Both characters are breezy and affable, and Jang GeunSuk plays the kind of happy drunk who gives away hugs-for-free as fan service (he should go on the road and do that for charity, he’d make a lot of money). He’s a lover, not a fighter. The two take to one another rather quickly in friendship, in fact. They are opposites in mindset, but similar in cuteness. They seem to attach pretty mutually and perfectly together, like a kitten and puppy who don’t know better yet, but can sense the other’s trustworthiness and become inseparable. Come to think of it, Jang GeunSuk and Moon GeunYoung do spend some quality bonding time barking and meowing at one another, which is probably the most adorable flirting technique ever invented.
You may be wondering why two people who have befriended one another for less than seventy-two hours would undertake a 100 day fake relationship? Obviously, it’s a Dad troublemaker thing. Her debt-ridden father wants his daughter to marry perfect (read: rich) stranger Kim JaeWook, who on his end, is agreeable to his own father’s arranged marriage demands just as long as he gets the investment money for the new kdrama he’s producing—think non-suicidal version of his rich kid Hong TaeSung role from Bad Guy. If you inferred that the comparison is to imply that he’s dreamy, you are correct. Also, fella doesn’t seem like a bad guy. It is interesting to note, actually, his is the blueprint of the more typical kdrama principal. Had the dice rolled differently...had this been another kdrama...if it wasn’t Jang GeunSuk on the other side, it would be too easy to see the story going a different way.
Closing the proper quadrangle, we have a famous actress (the character), Kim HyoJin, who has been cast in the drama Kim JaeWook is throwing together…and this actress also happens to be Jang GeunSuk’s ex-girlfriend, a relationship that both parties are still not completely over…seems she lost him when she was just starting her career climb.
Everyone is interconnected. As I said, a proper kdrama quadrangle!
(what’s it about initially posted Nov 10, 2010)
director
Hong SukGoo
screenwriter(s)
In EunAh (Goong, Hon) – Eps 1-10
Go BongHwang (18 v 20) – Eps 11-16
commitment
16 episodes
network
KBS2
first impressions
Without a doubt, this drama would never have worked without the combined star awesomeness of Moon GeunYoung, Jang GeunSuk, and Kim JaeWook. Another necessary and welcomed ingredient? Their characters were all so interesting, apart and together. It made every minute of the show enjoyable. If the plot seemed rather convenient, you would be right, but in the history of most crazy kdrama plots and the things parental units have done in their efforts to manipulate their children, for me this one doesn’t really rank. Call me crazy, I didn’t find it all that ridiculous. In the minds of these flighty characters who seemed to live in a strange logic-free land, their solutions made perfect sense—for them. Obviously, not for us. On the other hand, who knows? If I had to drop out of school because loan sharks were banging on my door, I suppose I could marry two hot men as a Get Out of Jail card. I would. I really would!
Jang GeunSuk ditches the mean charisma he had in You’re Beautiful and nicely transitions into a happier costume, a John Lennon-Julian-Casablancas-y charm…a little high on life, a little drunk, but a serious musician, serious thinker. I’m speculating on that last part, but there seemed to be some hints that there was depth under all that leather and hair. As for Moon GeunYoung, she was perfect as the Daddy’s Girl who had been forced to put her youth on pause because of her home situation. A carefree person she ain’t, not because she doesn’t want to have fun and be free, but because she can’t. She finds escape through tv. She’s very relatable in that way.
There is an instant believability in her connection with Jang GeunSuk’s character as well as Kim JaeWook’s, the latter being an overly polite but distant sort of fellow, the kind of guy who offhandedly tells an aspiring singer who promises to continue working hard: “Don’t try any more—for people without talent, it doesn’t matter how hard they work.” Worse, he doesn’t see why that would be an inappropriate thing to say to a dreamer. He’s that guy.
My initial thoughts on this drama, very simple: I LOVED IT. Everything about it. It was exactly what I had expected...but way better. In truth, I had a slight fear that it would be awful, there was a fifty-fifty chance that it could be. Sometimes putting so much star power in one basket works against itself, but this one was a pleasant surprise. Everybody’s best charms were put to good use. It’s the kind of drama that understands what it is to be a kdrama…why fans get obsessed...it’s fun, a bit hipster…totally beyond reason…but it has set up a typical (popular) type of kdrama cliché that forces all the lovable leads to be constantly in the other’s breathing space…pushing each other out of comfort zones. And that is the best kind of drama. If the situation does not feel especially natural, that’s ok, I can live with that, because with all this forced time together, the characters can at least progress in their affections naturally.
Besides, I’m confident these actors can deliver silly in a way that will be both salient and palatable.
(first impressions initially posted Nov 10, 2010)
wildcard
Insanely popular trendy stars = double-edged sword.
In other words, the big names in this one were both a benefit and liability for this hair-tastic little drama. With rising young talents like Jang GeunSuk (JGS), Moon GeunYoung (MGY), and Kim JaeWook all gathered on one roster (all golf-clap recipients for their acting and their pretty), Mary had accumulated quite a fortune, but with that wealth also came a downside: the rabid kdrama base anticipated a greatness Mary could never have possibly achieved.
In comparison, fellow 2010 winter offering Secret Garden was a similarly hyped show because of its bucket list of stars, some of the hottest mega-sunbaes (seniors) in the biz. The fact that Ha JiWon, Hyun Bin, and Yoon SangHyun’s wacky drama didn’t completely crash and burn from its top heavy load still impresses me. Lots of big stars in one show can mean high mountains, but also carries a higher risk for bigger missteps and sometimes...an epic fall. Luckily, Mary wasn’t an epic fall, only a partial rolling down the mountain...maybe an ankle sprain, too, but in a kdrama, that’s not nearly as bad as it sounds. Truly.
We can have all the faith in actors we can hold in our devoted hearts…but they are just one component in a complicated endeavor. This drama was the very definition of a double-edged sword. The poor thing did indeed benefit from the glowing dazzle of its stars, but the writers definitely felt the liability of trying to manage them. It became clear that they did not know how to properly spend all the gold they’d collected.
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Sungkyunkwan Scandal (2010)
Sungkyunkwan Scandal
성균관 스캔들
(Aug – Oct 2010)
who’s in it
Micky Yoochun (music group JYJ)
Park MinYoung (OBGYN Doctors)
Song JoongKi (Unstoppable High Kick)
Yoo AhIn (Strongest ChilWoo, Antique Bakery – film)
SeoHyoRim (Good Days When the Wind Blows)
Jun TaeSoo
what’s it about
Let’s travel back to the Chosun (Joseon) Dynasty where we will visit the bedrock of what is now one of South Korea’s longest standing institutes of higher education: Sungkyunkwan. This voguish saeguk spin reinvents the rough and unjust days of yore into a more vibrant, young and happening place to visit, although still full of injustice. It would be like cleaning off the unsanitary grime of medieval England and refashioning historic Oxford University as a hip place of modern fraternity-like collegiate land, imagining its scholars young, gorgeous, and free-spirited, but dressed in traditional 13th century garb. Basically, we have a context ripe for some good old fashioned fun in anachronism.
The story follows four, well actually, five Sungkyunkwan students—three nice ones, one angsty, and the last only pretending to be a boy—aiming for greater knowledge in the way of Confucianism, but mostly studying to learn the ways of politics to serve as a government official.
Park MinYoung plays the squeaky clean 19 year old [wo]man (refined in both face and moral fortitude) who has been forced to shelf her womanhood in order to work at a bookstore/book lending shop as a male scribe. This particular tome house also happens to be an underground cheat factory that sells services to Sunkyunkwan students trying to pass the entrance exams, among other things. She’s got photographic memory, beautiful calligraphy and is blessed with a mind racing with sharp wit and adaptability. When financial debt comes due (what else?) and the care taking of a sick younger brother threatens to undo her family, she grudgingly agrees to pimp out her mad scholarly skills to be a test-taker for rich kids who don’t cut mustard but still want to attend the venerated school. Park MinYoung is an “educated girl” during a time period when such a phrase would be considered an oxymoron. As her mother reminds her, being literate can prove to be poison for a girl in Chosun.
When fellow Sungkyunkwan hopeful who also happens to be the only son of a high ranking politician, played competently by veteran idol Micky Yoochun, realizes what kind of genius-level smarts this fellow scholar Park MinYoung has in his/her head, the young lord does everything in his own righteous power to get him (who he doesn’t realize is a her) into Sungkyunkwan. A little about Micky’s character: he’s a guy who’s moral compass is made of mettle insusceptible to corruption.
In a way, both Park MinYoung and Micky Yoochun are similar people, you see, as they both carry dear their narrow ideas of right and wrong, but for the moment, only one has the luxury to move chess pieces. And if life were truly a game of chess, Park MinYoung is the rook that Micky Yoochun uses all his cleverness and pull to move forward. He makes happen what he thinks should unfold regardless of her wishes. This is how our heroine ends up joining the all-male fraternity of scholarship…and begins to wonder if this might be her one chance to try an existence that resembles that of a real life, instead of just getting by as a doormat for the privileged.
Coincidentally, these are Micky Yoochun’s thoughts as well. What is most intriguing about his character is this staunch belief that being born “noble” does not automatically translate to being a “nobleman” nor a good human being worthy of esteem—he believes this despite having a silver spoon already firmly situated in his own mouth. He values intelligence, honor and strength of character. Basically, he’s nothing like his peers. He’s Chosun’s version of a lefty-leaning bleeding heart liberal...in a room full of conservative rightwings.
Things get stickier when she becomes dorm buds with this very idealistic, if a bit chilly, young nobleman. Certainly the fact that he’s also handsome will eventually pose a problem as well.
I must take time to introduce the rest of the Sungkyunkwan boys, as neglecting to do so would be completely unforgivable:
Song JoongKi:
Loved him! This flirty and affected gently bred man thinks life is a grand spectacle. He’s a wolfish peacock who plays at being insouciant very well, but beneath the veneer of easy smiles and cavalier malice is a man of careful attention and supernatural perception. He is first to suspect that Park MinYoung may not be so much a feminine boy, as just female. He likes games, takes pleasure in toying with the less intelligent around him...but more than that, there is a definite sense that when the game eventually stops, there will be a man beneath who does care about the world, perhaps even very much so. Ah, and Song JoongKi is almost as pretty as Park MinYoung...which never hurts.
Jun TaeSoo:
The entitled war minister’s son, Jun TaeSoo, is the student body prez of Sungkyunkwan and a man who likes the status quo. For him, campus is not a place to learn enlightenment, but the practice ground for proper management of the lower class. To him, Sungkyunkwan is where the powerful gain the know-how and the way-to of keeping the weak and disenfranchised in their proper place. With an uncanny twin-like similarity to his famous sister Ha JiWon, this young man’s glower was intense. Acting chops must also run in the family as he was a convincing moral derelict.
Yoo AhIn:
If I loved Song JoongKi’s playboy infidel, let it be known that I worshipped Yoo AhIn’s rebellious drunkard. Holy hot banditry—overload on the awesome factor. It is probably not too big a spoiler to reveal that Park MinYoung also inherits this bad boy as her second roommate, a somewhat hooligan-ish cynic played by Yoo AhIn, another unique-minded student who bends against the wind. He is described in delight by his Sungkyunkwan peer Song JoongKi as a “crazy horse,” and judging by the fact that he already has a nickname, he appears to be an upperclassman. These types of ultra-cool mysterious characters are always scene stealers despite the small doses in appearance, but more than that, Yoo AhIn simply reeks of charisma. He is First Guy material but somehow only ends up in supporting roles. Either way, he owns this role, as he always seems to give a proper delivery of all his characters, silly or serious.
A couple more screen shots of Yoo AhIn because he is all that and a bag of rice:
director
Kim WonSuk, Hwang InHyuk
screenwriter(s)
Kim TaeHee
commitment
20 episodes
network
KBS2
first impressions
When done right, fusions are great fun. If done right. Most are not. Here’s the good news: there’s precious little to hate about this drama! It’s a flirty class act. And trust me, I’m as surprised as anyone else to be writing that sentence. We’ll see as the show goes on, but so far, it appears this drama isn’t interested in making a mockery of an esteemed institution, on the contrary, there is great deference afforded for Sungkyunkwan. Instead, Scandal is using the cast of fresh young faces to create the mass appeal but keeps the story set for a more serious direction. Yes, it does take liberties and it is a brightly colored comedic take on history, but it also has a great deal of honor, like the characters in the show.
Park MinYoung plays a girl already a master at her masquerade so we don’t waste time waiting for her to get acclimated to her role as a boy, which is key to getting the viewer on the right foot with this drama. It makes it easier to accept her entry into Sungkyunkwan. She’s a pro at pretending manhood, she’s had long practice at hiding her true identity. Her family situation is a typical sob story, but manages to be touching anyway, mostly in part due to the actors. Park MinYoung takes her job as a boy with dire gravity, because it is a dire lie. The character never forgets that it is a matter of mortal consequence for her, so we do not forget either. It is a comedy we are watching, but we believe that for the character, life is no joke.
All the characters, lead by Micky Yoonchun, are struggling with a philosophical question that has no answer: can honor and power co-exist? The answer is grey and I like that Scandal has decided to use that as the focal point of the story, not depending only on romantic chemistry to carry it through. There appears to be an actual story here. Hurray! And enjoyably, some witty dialogue that befits a tale about scholars. In addition to the strength of all the youthful main characters, the supporting roles filled by senior actors also lend great credit to the show. There is actually quite a bit of plot going on behind the scenes and that makes this drama not just fun, but engaging.
As with every drama post-Boys Over Flowers that features a quad of handsome boys and one lucky girl who gets to be loved by them, this faced comparisons to BOF pre-airing, but this show is nothing like the 2009 Hana Yori Dango Korean adaptation. That’s all that really needs to said about that topic, I believe.
I was very hesitant about this one initially, but after its debut, I felt an instant affinity for all the characters, and you know, carry a big torch lit with complete and utter devotion to Yoo AhIn, so I can see myself getting very obsessed with Scandal if it keeps up the good work...hopefully its ratings will also look upward.
And last but not least, the cinematography in Scandal is so very rich and pretty. There is a nice tone and ambiance about the whole drama. For example, see below. How gorgeous:
(first impressions initially posted Sept 3, 2010)
wildcard
Yoo AhIn (henceforth Yooey for this review) and Song JoongKi (JoongKi).
I don’t think all that many of you would come to fisticuffs with me over the assertion that I’m about to make: Song JoongKi and Yoo AhIn were the hooks that held the choice bits of meat in this drama. I know, that’s kind of a gross association, but they did hook viewers in and they are hunks of Grade A. Heh. Without the two, I doubt Scandal would have been as successful in its delivery. They came aboard with more acting experience than Micky Yoochun and Park MinYoung (the main couple) and both actors became integral to providing the heart and acting credibility that kept this show from veering off too far into freshman fluff. Shows like this are meant to be fun, but only advance to being good when the acting is able to hold it all together. As likable as Yoochun and Park were as characters, I did not think either actor to be strong enough to have carried this show. The solid performances by the supporting leads, their “seniors” in the drama, both in character and in terms of acting experience, were greatly to their benefit.
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Smile You (2009/2010)
Smile You
그대, 웃어요
(Sept 2009 – Mar 2010)
who’s in it
Lee MinJung (Boys Over Flowers)
Jung KyungHo (Time Between Wolf and Dog)
Choi JungYoon (Bad Couple, Attic Cat)
Lee ChunHee (Family Outing S.1 – member)
Lee KyuHan (My Lovely SamSoon, Que Sera Sera)
what’s it about
When new bride Lee MinJung’s family goes unexpectedly bankrupt, she literally gets ditched on the side of the road in her wedding dress by her rich husband Lee KyuHan. Needless to say, the soon-to-be-annulled couple never make it to their honeymoon. Her useless and now impoverished family find themselves moving into their longtime chauffeur’s home, a strict patriarch who is determined to make good people out of the spoiled family of four. Well, actually, they are a family of five as Lee MinJung calls Choi JungYoon her older sister, a beautiful doctor who is everything opposite in regards to her family members. For one, she is responsible and steadily employed. Lee MinJung, however, thinks her big sis is a major stuck-up brat, but the rest of the world thinks the female doctor is the epitome of conservative class.
Speaking of beautiful big sis Choi JungYoon, there is this super nice and awesome guy who has been madly in love with her since his college days. Mechanical engineer Jung KyungHo comes back from his studies abroad to find the entirety of Lee MinJung’s family cramped into his grandfather’s house…one of these new tenants being his loooongtime crush Choi JungYoon! He can’t believe his good fortune! But instead of quality time with his dream girl, he finds himself distracted, occupied and all around annoyed by the troublesome and meddlesome Lee MinJung.
At a hefty 45 episodes, there is a lot of plot movement, including issues within the family. Notable mention, Lee ChunHee and Jun Hye Jin have a charming side story.
director
Lee TaeGon
screenwriter(s)
Moon HeeJung
commitment
45 episodes
network
SBS
first impressions
I don’t have very much to say as far as initial thoughts go…except that I LOVE IT! There is nothing earth shattering about this cute family drama, and I can already tell I’ll be woefully tired of some of the characters in this extended cast, but TRULY the cutest couple award goes to Lee MinJung and Jung KyungHo. I would be hard pressed to name [off the top of my head] actors that are as lovable as these two, as individuals or as a matching set. This one is going to charm the hell out of me, I just know it. It is just one of those rare dramas that gets a body smiling right out of the gate.
(first impressions originally posted Jan 15, 2010)
wildcard
1) The astounding natural beauty and pluck of Lee MinJung
2) The “will you marry me, oppa!” appeal of Jung KyungHo
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Playful Kiss (2010)
Playful Kiss
장난스런 키스 / Mischievous Kiss
(Sept – Nov 2010)
who’s in it
Kim HyunJoong (Boys Over Flowers, SS501 - member)
Jung SoMin (Bad Guy)
Lee TaeSung (The Woman Next Door)
Lee SiYoung (Birth of a Rich Man)
what’s it about
Isn’t it every girl’s dream to find herself conveniently installed in her dream guy’s home? During long hours of cohabitation, the girl would exhibit so much charm and verve that Mr. Perfect will eventually come to realize that she’s the real deal and fall for her—they would break fast together...walk to school as a couple...share the same warm toilet seat, that sort of thing? Well, this drama is that fantasy come true. Jung SoMin has been majorly crushing on the smartest [and hottest] boy in school Kim HyunJoong for the better part of her academic career. But now with graduation just around the corner, she realizes time is running out and she may have to part ways with him without ever having confessed her love.
Jung SoMin is a quirky girl who lives life in an alternate universe of daydreams and spends more time creating sci-fi in her head than studying for her college entrance exams. Most of these fantasies center around Kim HyunJoong. Unfortunately for her, Kim HyunJoong is a self-declared hater of dumb girls—she being the prime example of the kind of girl that turns him off.
When a mini-earthquake decimates Jung SoMin’s new but poorly constructed home, her father’s best friend from childhood adopts them into their house. The twist? That friend happens to be Kim HyunJoong’s father! Whether this aloof dream guy wants to or not, the two seniors are now forced to spend plenty of quality bonding time together...
director
Hwang InRoe (of Goong films fame)
KimDoHyung
screenwriter
Go EunNim
commitment
16 episodes (about 10 episodes too long)
network
MBC
first impressions
A few things to get out of the way:
1) I felt like I was watching a poor Princess Hours sequel...really, teddy bears again?
2) The writing feels immature and only halfway developed...what’s with all the boring fantasy sequences that seem to go on forever?
3) Last but not least, the drama was actually worse than expected.
Honestly, it does make one realize that it’s no easy thing to make a decent drama. The cosmos needs to tilt, the stars need to align... it’s a magical dessert that can’t be made simply by following the obvious recipe:
Delicious Fun Well-Made Kdrama Cake
Ingredients
1 - idol
1 - perky female lead
1 tbsp - chirpy music
2 - overexaggerated second leads
1 cup - fantasy sequences
1 egg
1 scoop - silly parents
Directions
Beat together in a mixing bowl. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Let cool and serve.
But, as we all know, there is no such thing as sure hit.
In tv show building, like baking, there needs to be some sort of yeast to make the dough rise...in this case, the yeast missing would be the omission of a cleverly writ script. There also needs to be some measure of intuition from the directing to make it all blend well. Otherwise, you could end up with a lumpy cake, or a lumpy drama.
Everything about this show was too perfectly choreographed, as if following some preset formula, from the dialogue to the situational comedy. It was so forced that many of the scenes felt awkward and misdelivered. Some early lowlights (instead of highlights) include a painfully gross and silly scene with a pervert flasher out to wow some young girls, a particularly awful Matrix spoof, a boring ballet sketch...oh, who am I kidding? Practically all the fantasy sequences were too long and total duds.
The only truly well-written character appeared to be Kim HyunJoong’s mother, who was both delightful and heart-warming as a woman who was lonely after having two overly capable and distant sons. She has always wanted a daughter, which she has found in Jung SoMin’s cheerful character. It was somewhat refreshing to have nice parents pop up in a kdrama for once, and as far as matchmakers go, this power blogging mom was adorable to watch.
I don’t have much else to say lest I risk being murdered by SS501 fans, but despite all my misgivings, I see myself finishing this one. I am, however, praying every night that the writing improves. Hopefully there will be more to the story than just the advancement of a crush. There’s still hope...
To sum, Jung SoMin seemed cute and Kim HyunJoong was his usual attractive self, and his acting was passable. So basically, the actors seemed okay and fitted for their parts, it was everything else that felt unstable. I must be a real sucker because even though I disliked 90% of this drama after the first couple of episodes, I couldn’t help but want to keep watching that remaining 10% that spoke to the little girl in me who has always loved the stories about awkward girls who win the noble prince’s heart by sheer determination and character. Ya know? As a commenter so perfectly put it, this drama was both torture and guilty indulgence in one ridiculous package.
Really, when I saw this drop dead gorgeous smile play across Kim HyunJoong’s face after two hours of his scowls...damnit, I knew I was a goner.
Bad or plain stinking horrible, I don’t think I cared, I wasn’t going to be able to resist watching this drama.
(first impressions originally posted Sept 5, 2010)
wildcard
Will Kim HyunJoong’s hot idol popularity save this drama from the depths of its writing black hole? Will his adorably lopsided smiles soothe away the ills of a plot-lite tale? For some, yes. For others, specifically non-Kim HyunJoong fans, get ready to lose some IQ.
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Prosecutor Princess (2010)
Prosecutor Princess
검사 프린세스 / Prosecutor Mata Hari
(Mar – May 2010)
who’s in it
Kim SoYeon (Iris, The Grand Chef)
Park ShiHoo (Iljimae)
Han JungSoo (Chuno)
Choi SongHyun (Birth of the Rich)
Park JungAh
what’s it about
Kim SoYeon plays a newbie prosecutor in the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Just as a side note, South Korea’s Prosecutor’s Office is not to be confused with the procedures of the District Attorney’s Office in the U.S. legal system (if, of course, your frame of reference is like mine and coming from this side of the ocean). In Korea, qualified prosecutors are appointed to office after completing a two year training course in acquiring their law degree; they are civil servants who participate in an investigative judicial process that includes fact-finding and sentencing. They are not too dissimilar from an American district attorney, but they hold far more authority and influence than their U.S. counterparts because unlike in the States where there are grand juries for evidential review and a trial by jury—the right to be judged by a panel of one’s peers—is a constitutional right, there is no true system of juries in South Korea, although their judicial system has recently evolved to allow for special civil participation.
Back to our heroine: she’s gorgeous, fashionable (well, expensively dressed anyway) and completely self-absorbed. She’s not so much an airhead as a shallowhead. As she points out early in episode 1, she has a rather high IQ and is quite the clever femme fatale. She’s got a good-sized brain, but she chooses to utilize it for fashion and frivolity rather than waste it on the duller side of life.
Now, at her new salaried job, which appears to be more an act of prestige-climbing for her father than any true passion for justice on her part, she’s a bright pink flamingo in a field of monochromatic ostriches. These dedicated and hard-working birds don’t like her skimpy and expensive feathers, nor do they care for her lack of consideration for their more humble lifestyle, and most especially, they can’t abide her brand of work ethic, which comes across as thoughtless and lazy. The problem is, every Kim SoYeon action is motivated by selfish instant-gratification and not only is she unable to see anyone else’s point of view, but her me-me-me world is narrow and insulated. Her talent for self-justification is a defensive barrier that her coworkers are unable to break down.
The lead prosecutor in the office, also a love interest, is Han JungSoo, the hunky ab-licious actor who played General Choi in recent KBS saeguk blockbuster drama Chuno. He’s drawn to this carefree new recruit, but his reasons may be one of nostalgia, more of a face thing than anything else, as she resembles someone from his past. Another man with ambiguous interest in the affairs of Kim SoYeon is a well-to-do-lawyer played by Park ShiHoo. He’s got one interfering eye on Kim SoYeon, and while he’s charming enough and full of flirty smiles whenever she’s around, it is unclear whether this interest a good thing or reflective of a darker twist yet to reveal itself.
What will become of our red Audi-driving fashionista prosecutor when she learns that in the real world, people and laws aren’t black and white, but shades of heather and sadness, a color scheme not found in her vocabulary much less her designer bag?
commitment
16 episodes
network
SBS
first impressions
Between the frantic tempo of the character introductions and the cartoonish depiction of the female lead, I somehow missed the part where I was supposed to find these people interesting. This feels like a Legally Blonde revisit without the original’s wit, charm or heart. Like the main character’s wardrobe, there is too much color and no proper application of all that rich hue. The show and its prosecutor princess are only funny in theory and not actually very fun to watch. Instead of a thoughtful establishment of all the main players and their roles, for our first meeting with the cast, we are given a cheaply contrived scenario surrounding a pair of Grace Kelly inspired shoes, a setup that turns out to be equal parts unamusing and nonsensical.
For all the brightness and exaggerated comedy in the drama, I found it all surprisingly boring. None of it felt very new, not the characters, not the possible romantic entanglements. Kim SoYeon’s character, likewise, feels a little too much, too obvious, and too cliché. After the first few hours, it’s easy to figure out the core clockwork of all the personalities involved, but a little more difficult to tell if I will ever love any of them.
I’d be neglect if I didn’t mention the campy theme song that pops up frequently, like a punch in the face that yanks me right out of the moment. Prosecutor’s Wednesday/Thursday rival Personal Taste has been beleaguered with criticisms regarding its editing and obtrusive use of music, but frankly, Prosecutor far surpasses Taste when it comes to abusive employment of obnoxiously cheesy songs that chase after scenes instead of highlighting them.
I was bored and disappointed.
Ok, with all that negativity out of the way (I know, I know, harsh criticisms indeed for a show that is only trying its best), I’m going to discuss some of the positives. Kim SoYeon is an interesting leading lady. She has character and intelligence ingrained in the very mien of her face so it’s credit to her that she is able to passably portray a character who doesn’t think twice about donning Playboy-ish bunny ears and prancing around in tall, black hooker heels while drunkenly crowing out bad karaoke. She has moments of genuine sass and likability. Right now, the cartoonish nature of the entire drama is creating distraction, but once the glitter settles, I’m hoping her character will develop into something less Mariah and more Meryl.
Both men seem well-cast for their parts and there is mystery enough to allow for plot movement. Whether or not that movement will be forward or sideways remains to be seen but I’m tentatively trusting. Also, the extended litter of side characters and their stories could turn out to be potentially engaging tentacles.
The initial start isn’t a complete train wreck, but close. The early episodes feel like a bratty young child acting out for attention. I’m disappointed but I do believe that this drama has in its cast the talent to survive the uninspiring start. I genuinely believe that if the good actors stay the focus in this drama, despite my reservations, Prosecutor has a very good chance of developing into something substantial. I look forward to finding out...
wildcard
Do you like shows about zeroes who become heroes?
Who knew this was gonna turn out to be an Ugly Duckling drama? I certainly hadn’t expected the story to pull out the “she wasn’t always this pretty” card part way into it and make me feel sorry for this bratty rich girl! Okay, okay, it wasn’t so great a surprise that the leading lady was eventually revealed to be a likable person considering the classy actress playing her, but still, the ugly duckling gimmick was a clever way to re-introduce and re-define the character in a drastically different light without completely undoing her already established character definition.
“In this world, there are two types of women: fat and skinny, competent and incompetent—women who are loved by their husbands, and women who are disregarded. Don’t be like your mother, HyeRi.”
These are the words of wisdom passed from mother to daughter, and it gives a fairly good summation of the deep rooted self-esteem issues going on within Kim SoYeon’s character. Obviously I do not agree with such a simplified version of the way the world’s men categorize women, as I believe that a worthy man will always prefer a gal with brains than one without, but it does touch upon a serious issue in the world where women seek self-worth in diets and plastic surgery. I once read an article—about China and Asia—discussing the extreme and dangerous lengths women will go through to attain an ideal type of “beauty,” one that is mostly socially constructed, i.e. skinny and tall. The article talked about women undergoing a potentially maiming surgery that cracks their shins in order to place metal rods so that they can become taller. Anyhow, the finer points of that particular article are way too serious for this review and this drama, but my point is that this sort of cynical view of the way women internalize the pressure to be “beautiful” isn’t a completely inaccurate assessment of society’s love for the pretty people.
Without a doubt, Kim SoYeon is definitely one of the pretty people but this drama wants us to remember that adults were once children, and sometimes adolescence can be a kind of hazing ritual that will leave a scorch mark on the insides of a body for a long time, regardless of how drastically time matures a person on the outside. It asks us to take a second look beyond the pretty face of this seemingly shallow woman and see the timid girl inside. What brought her here? What made her strong? Is she really a ditz or is it an act of self-defense?
It was around that 5th/6th episode mark when the show finally gave us some history and favorable advancement in Kim SoYeon. This is when the character became plausible for me. The early episodes were difficult to get through, I didn’t understand the character and I didn’t like her…she felt too much like a person concocted from bits and pieces of other shows. Luckily, that turned out to be the point. As in real life, snap decisions can be made about the people we meet but after getting to know a person, we may learn that there’s more to them than meets the eye.
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Personal Taste (2010)
Personal Taste
개인의 취향 / GaeIn’s Taste
(Mar – May 2010)
who’s in it
Son YehJin (Alone in Love, Summer Scent)
Lee MinHo (Boys Over Flowers, I Am Sam)
Kim JiSuk (Chuno)
Wang JiHye (Friend, Our Legend)
Im SeulOng (2AM – member)
what’s it about
Son YehJin plays a woman who is having the worst week of her life—the kind of week that would make a normal person like you and me wither away in defeat. Her new business venture in furniture-designing is a failure. Her boyfriend has been sneaking around on her with her friend of 10 years, who by the way, is a mega biatch. Her assistant tries to have sex with her while she’s drunk and this same twerp has stolen $10,000 from her and put her home up as collateral with a loan shark, a beautiful manor that is an architecturally significant accomplishment by her father. She’s bankrupt and heartbroken. Her one non-backstabbing friend assures her, in a bit of foreshadowing, when one steps out of a crappy car, a Mercedes will drive up. Well, she just says a new car, but...turns out, Lee MinHo, a gifted architect from a small, struggling firm does in fact drive a nice car, a Benz. He himself is a Mercedes Benz, actually, as we learn he’s a pretty decent guy with good work ethic and a sense of responsibility. I suppose this makes Son YehJin’s ex, played by devilishly hot Kim JiSuk, a BMW—Bad Man Walking.
Son YehJin and Lee MinHo’s co-habitation begins when her lack of finances force her to accept him as a tenant, which she allows despite the fact that he’s a man because prior run-ins with him have incorrectly lead her to conclude he’s gay. But why does he want to sublet a room in her home? Well, it’s all business. He needs to study the design of her home in order to win a large contract for a project that could be the savior, or death, of his entire firm.
commitment
16 episodes
network
MBC
wildcard factor
Four beautiful leading actors/actresses, lead by the incomparable magnetic duo of Son YehJin and Lee MinHo. Need I say more?
first impressions
I didn’t really have a problem with the premise, the situation outlined was extravagant, but a *fairly* plausible one. What didn’t work [initially] was the chemistry between all the characters. It was a lot like flat soda, slightly fizzy, but a bit lacking in bite. To be honest, I thought Son YehJin was subpar and didn’t stand out amongst her lively costars. Fortunately, Lee MinHo reminded us quickly why he was the breakthrough star of Boys Over Flowers (acting-wise) by effortlessly shaking off all the pressure he must have felt in this first attempt to shed Goo JunPyo. He did a credible job playing the more modestly contained architect and proved to be the best part of the Personal Taste introduction. Kim JiSuk (BMW) continued to impress here with his acting presence, as he did during his ab-tastic turn in Chuno as the playboy slave hunter.
I looked forward to continuing this drama more than any other that was airing at the time (including Oh! My Lady) but despite my positive reaction, I felt this one had the higher chance of failure because of the great foundation provided…and therefore the greater expectation. On the other hand, a solid base meant it had a higher chance for greatness as well. After the first few episodes, I thought the characters needed to rise beyond the cleverly arranged plot and find more heart. Son YehJin and Lee MinHo needed to find a way to defy the beginning awkwardness between them and find their mutual fizz, so to speak. If these two couldn’t convince us of their couple-mojo, despite all the interesting character setups, this show was likely to fall short of expectations.
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Oh! My Lady (2010)
Oh! My Lady
오! 마이 레이디
(Mar – May 2010)
who’s in it
Chae Rim (Powerful Opponents, Dal Ja’s Spring)
Choi SiWon (Legend of Hyung Dan, Super Junior – member)
Lee HyunWoo (Dal Ja’s Spring, Attic Cat)
Park HanByul (Couple or Trouble, Freeze)
what’s it about
Chae Rim plays a divorced single mother unable to make ends meet after losing a job that didn’t pay so reliably in the first place. With no source for steady income, she finds herself out on the streets. She’s forced to send her daughter to temporarily live with her douchebag ex-husband (who clearly has money even though the first words out of his mouth are “I have no money to give you!”). To scrape by, she provides housekeeping services and lands a gig managing the pad of A-List star but F-Quality actor Choi SiWon, who can be described as a celebrity only slightly less narcissistic than his own reflection.
When Chae Rim is presented with a rare opportunity to score a decent, stable job at Lee HyunWoo’s production company trying to put together a new musical, she’s willing to do anything. In a lucky stroke of fortune (as fortune tends to be defined as something lucky), this company desperately requires a Top Star to lead their new production…and their first choice is someone Chae Rim knows personally. Well, not someone she knows so much as someone she’s definitely had contact with (of the vacuum-whacking variety). If Chae Rim can get bad-acting but insanely popular Choi SiWon to take the lead role, she’ll get the internship—or so goes the president’s offered deal.
Fortunately this may not be such a bad professional pairing after all because horrible thespian he may be, turns out the actor is a pretty decent singer, as evidenced when he showcases his voice (and abs) at a fan meet and concert (for us in the real world, no real surprise there as Choi SiWon is a part of idol mob Super Junior in real life).
Things really go awry when Choi SiWon and Chae Rim get a shocking surprise from the actor’s first love (well, the longest he’s ever dated anyone anyway, according to his friend)...and it’s delivered right to his doorstep...and it’s the kind of problem that cries and demands lots of love.
commitment
16 episodes
network
SBS
wildcard factor
Choi SiWon was surprisingly really great here as the egotistical actor that wasn’t completely the vain oaf he appeared to be on the surface. Now, I use the adverb ‘surprisingly’ only because of his relative lack of experience in acting, not because I’d expected him the fail. Well, okay, maybe I had a healthy dose of skepticism. Can you blame me? Pretty boy idols in dramas can be a hit or miss venture! For my own safety, I won’t go into further detail or point fingers elsewhere. Although, in a way, I suppose Choi SiWon had already been sorta vetted when he starred in Legend of Hyang Dan. Anyhow, he was a gigantic log of good-looking that ambled around on your screen…he was especially pleasing to enjoy in HD glory, I must say. What a darling little beauty mark he has on his nose.
And trust me, the next thing I am about to write is not penned lightly: he carried this entire disaster of a show on his shoulders all by himself.
Thank gawd they were very wide, capable and hunky shoulders.
first impressions
Oy, a dark-haired handsome younger man and Lee HyunWoo were duking it out for ChaeRim’s affections—again? I had to give myself a cheek-smack to forcibly cast off the formidable shadow of Dal Ja’s Spring otherwise I worried I wouldn’t be able to give Lady a fair shake. Not to mention, I’d just finished another wonderfully done younger man/older woman drama called The Woman Who Still Wants to Marry and felt a tad wary of rebounding into another one so soon.
On the other hand, if it’s a good drama, it’s a good drama and I can watch the same story done a thousand times over—if done well.
When starting this drama, another concern for me was the similarity of the initial chords strung by Lady to the drama it replaced in the SBS time slot, Stars Falling From the Sky. The latter being one that I was not able to eek to the finish line. Generally speaking, the concept was this: an unlucky woman with no real marketable skills or credentials finds work as a housekeeper to support child(ren) and self while trying diligently to succeed at a job she’s underqualified for but impresses everyone with her gumption and thereby inadvertently wins the affections of the tightly-wound and rich/handsome benefactor…etc, etc. To-ma-to, to-mah-to. But what Lady had going for it that Stars lacked (from my perspective) was the loveliness that be Chae Rim. I wasn’t sure if this character was going to be a good vehicle for her, but I knew this age-defying actress was capable of making this kind of role work.
Speaking of age-defying, seriously, did she find the Fountain of Youth? She looked fab. A little on the too thin side, but still passably 5 years younger than her actual age!
Ultimately, Choi SiWon felt like he could be a good foe for Chae Rim, but I remained only cautiously optimistic because it wasn’t outstanding in its first few episodes. I wasn’t impressed by Lady after the initial tour of the setup, but the second episode was much better than the first and with more characters to come, things seemed positively bent. Also, I loved Chae Rim enough to forge on and keep the faith! I sent lots of positive thoughts and encouragement to this drama.
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