36. The Good Doctor

Broadcast: Oct – Dec 2013
Episodes: 20, Medical Drama, Romance, Comedy

Cast:
Joo won as Park  Shi On
Moon Chae Won as Cha Yoon Seo
Joo Sang Wook as Kim Do Han
Kim Min Seo as Yoo Chae Kyung

Joo Won. What more can I say? I’m a big big fan of this guy. He is talented. His acting performance never disappoints. He is flexible in the roles he chooses. He can dance and sing. 

This drama, The Good Doctor where he plays a mentally challenged (savant syndrome and a developmental disability bordering on autism) genius who doesn’t function 100% normally in society. He stutters at times and can’t talk properly, but has the memory of genius and his medical knowledge is astounding, even more so amazing than specialists in the field of paediatric surgery.

With difficulty and the help of an old mentor/friend, the chief of the Sungwon University Hospital, Park Shi On manages to secure a 6 month internship as a resident in the paediatric ward. Things do not go smoothly as he is criticised and bullied because of his “abnormality.” At the same time, people are at awe with his genius ability to diagnose medical conditions and his phenomenal memory.

We see his character develop over time, discovering the feeling of love for his colleague Cha Yoon Seo. Due to his warm, kind and caring personality for his patients, the people around him learn to love and embrace him.

There were many scenes which were quite amusing. There were many scenes which were sad and touching. It’s nice to see in the end Cha Yoon Seo accepts him as a love interest.

The drama mainly focuses on the different scenarios of saving patients, and at the same time the life of Park Shi On, how he affects the people in his environment with his love and kindness. Park Shi Oh is truly an inspiring character.

Joo Sang Wook plays the chief surgeon. His appearance is cold and authoritative but deep down he is gentle, kind and righteous. I liked him in this role.

Park Shi Oh, this character who appears to look retarded is a very difficult character to play. Casting  Joo Won in this role was the right choice. He pulled it off well, and very convincing as well. Outstanding performance once again by Joo Won.

The OST: I Am In Love 사랑하고 있습니다 by 2BiC (투빅); How Come You Don't Know?
모르나요 by Kim Jong Gook (김종국); Love Medicine 소독약 by Joo Won.

I enjoyed this drama. It was sweet, entertaining and I was touched by characters and the storyline.

Rating: 4/5 ♥

35. The Heirs

Broadcast: Oct – Dec 2013
Episodes: 20,  Romance, Comedy, Drama, School

Cast:

Lee Min Ho as Kim Tan
Park Shin Hye as Cha Eun Sang
Kim Woo-Bin as Cho Young Do
Kang Min Hyuk as Yoon Chan Young
Choi Jin Hyuk as Kim Won
Kim Ji won as Rachel Yoo
Krystal Jung as Lee Bo Na
Kang Ha Neul as Lee Hyo shin
Park Hyunk Sik as Jo Myung Soo

When I saw the promotional poster for this drama, I thought “such a young and beautiful cast.” I know Lee Min Ho will do great in whatever role he is cast in. Park Shin Hye, not too sure. I’ve always thought her acting was mediocre. The last drama I saw her in “Flower Boy Next Door” was so bad, it’s not worth writing a review as I rated it below 4. However, she did a good job in this drama. Her acting is improving.

As with all Kdramas, too many coincidental occurrences. Eun Sang goes to California to look for her irresponsible older sister who has jibbed both her and mute mother of money sent to her as school  fees. Not only did has she dropped out of school, she is broke and working in a café and living with an American guy who doesn’t treat her well. The two sisters have a full frontal confrontation near the beach in front of the café. Kim Tan happens to be joining breakfast at the café and views the entire scene.

Eun Sang’s sister runs off and Eun is stuck in Cali with nowhere to go and no money. Kim Tan feels sorry for her and was probably attracted to her beauty, takes her in at his luxurious beach house. Yep, the guy is a rich boy from a super-rich family. Attraction is built already from the start. Two very different people, one a rich boy and the other a very poor girl.

Not wanting to rely on a stranger, Eun Sang calls her bestie Yoon Chan Young who happens to be in Cali at the same time. They both return to Seoul, Korea together. Kim Tan was disappointed that she had left and wondered when they would meet again.

Kim Tan returns home to Korea because he wanted to see his older step brother and mother. Because he is the child of the second of wife his father took in, both he and his mother are mistreated by the first wife. His older brother Kim Won is cold towards him all the time as he fears that Kim Tan is the favourite son of his father and would eventually inherit the family company.

Life back in Korea gets interesting as Kim Tan goes back to School. His best mate, Cho Young Do during their younger days is now his number one enemy over some misunderstanding due to miscommunication regarding Young Do’s mum’s abandonment of him. There’s many scenes involving bullying etc which is portrayed typically of rich Korean private schools.

Funnily, Eun Sang’s mute mother is the house maid to Kim Tan’s family. Because of little or no money, the mother had moved into the house to stay working as a maid full time. Eun Sang had no choice but to also move into the house with her mum. They both lived in small room in the maid’s quarters. It was only later that Kim Tan found out she was the maid’s daughter and was actually living under his roof.

Things get even more interesting when Young Do falls for Eun Sang. The conflict between Young Do and Kim Tan worsens. Young Do sorts of bullies Eun Sang playfully but really is only looking out for her. Kim Tan is very protective of Eun Sang and comes to the rescue all the time.

The drama climaxes and is very exciting, but then just kind of stops there. It didn’t really have a final conclusion, but just pacifies out and ends like that. It’s a nice happy ending but I was expecting more. The storyline is so similar to Boys Before Flowers, but I have to say BFF was much better in how things panned out.

This drama was full of eye candy, good looking guys and gals. It’s about relationships between family, between lovers, between friends and teenage school life. The chemistry between Eun Sang and Kim Tan was electrifying. Some scenes were so strong it was heart wrenching. The scene where Eun Sang left with the mum and Kim Tan found them in living in the country side.  The bullying scenes were intense.

I was never a fan of Kim Won Bin. After this drama, I started noticing him. I first saw him in “To The Beautiful You.” Although, he only had a cameo there. He plays the bad boy very well.

Love the OST. So many good songs: Love is by Park Jang Hyun & Park Hyun Gyu of Bromance (박장현 & 박현규 of Bromance); Moment by Lee Chang Min; Biting My Lower Lip 아랫입술 물고 by Esna (에스나); I'm Saying 말이야 by Lee Hong Ki; Only With My Heart by Lena Park (Park Jung Hyun)

I really enjoyed this drama. It portrayed that teenage life/love can be so dramatic and intense. Only in Kdrama.

Rating: 4.5/5 ♥

34. My Love From Another Star

Broadcast: Apr - Jun 2013

Episodes: 21,  Romance, Comedy, Fantasy, Melodrama, Thriller

Cast:
Jun Ji Hyun as Chun Song Yi (28, top actress/university student)
Kim Hyun Soo as young Chun Song Yi / Seo Yi Hwa
Kim Soo Hyun as Do Min Joon (alien/university professor)
Park Hae Jin as Lee Hwi Kyung (28, youngest son of S&C Group)
Yoo In Na as Yoo Se Mi (28, supporting actress)

The plot sounded interesting before watching this. Jun Ji Hyun and Kim Soo Hyun as lead actors were appealing. I love them both.

Chun Song Yi is a nationwide famous actress who captivated all men’s hearts. She is clumsy, a bit blurred and downright obnoxious at times, but oh so beautiful. She worked hard to be where she is today, but definitely her beauty contributed to a major part of her success.

Do Min Joon, a very young university lecturer has been on this earth for a very long time, and has seen society change and the environment change over hundreds/thousands of years. He is tired of seeing repetitions and generations change over and over again. He’s bought land and accumulated a fortune of wealth over his time on earth. He wants to go back to where he came from. Wherever that may be, alien land where all the aliens are extremely good looking!

Coincidentally, Song Yi and Min Joon bumps into each other in the elevators and they both happen to live next to each other in a very luxurious apartment. The beginning is a bit frictional and the two don’t seem to like each other much. The annoyance between them grows into love.

Min Joon uses his powers to save Song Yi several times when she is in trouble. Song Yi is the target when she overheard a conversation between her friend’s brother and his lover. When that lover dies, the police are investigating whether she is the suspect as the deceased was a rival of hers. However, the killer wants her dead in case she says something which may lead the police to him. The killer being a wealthy chaebol didn’t want to be caught.

Best scenes from the drama for me was the scene where the car slides near the cliff end with Song Yi in it and Min Joon appears out of nowhere and stops the car from falling. Another scene is when Min Joon reveals everything to her and makes her slide back and they kiss passionately. So romantic ^^

When the killer has been caught, the problem now is that Min Joon is fading away because he has been using his powers to intervene in human relations. He now doesn’t want to leave earth that fast as his love for Song Yi grows.

The drama ends with him flitting from his alien land to earth and staying on earth long stints of time to be with Song Yi.

I loved this drama. It was so romantic, and full of fantasy. It was like a dreamland. Very kdrama plot. Out of this world. At times funny and very entertaining.

OST: My Destiny by Lyn; Goodbye 안녕 Goodby/Hello by Hyorin; Tears Like Today 오늘 같은 눈물이 by Huk Gak.

After this drama, facial paper masks and Chimek (Korean combination of the words chicken and beer) became very popular.

Rating: 4.9/5 ♥

An American Version of "My Love From Another Star?!"

Apologies, I have not posted anything for a while. Been busy with life and work in general.

When I read this article about another American remake of a Korean drama, I was like “oh no, please do not ruin it.” However, they are getting the creator of the original series, Park Ji Eun, to be one of the  executive producers alongside Bomi Moon from HB Entertainment, which produced the Korean version.  The screenplay will be also adapted by experienced drama writers Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain (CW's The 100, 666 Park Avenue, The Vampire Diaries, Dollhouse). A sigh of relief there. “Boys Before Friends” the remake of “Boys Before Flowers” was disastrous. We do not want a repetition of this.

I’d be interested to watch this since it sounds quite promising with well know people behind it.

I’ll write the review for “My Love From Another Star” very soon.

33. Jang Ok Jung - Living In Love

Broadcast: Apr - Jun 2013
Episodes: 24, Historical/Romance/Melodrama
Cast:
Kim Tae-hee - Jang Ok-jung
Yoo Ah-in - Lee Soon (later King Sukjong)
Hong Soo-hyun - Queen Inhyeon
Jae Hee - Hyun Chi-soo
Lee Sang-yeob - Prince Dongpyeong
Han Seung-yeon - Choi Suk-bin[10]
Sung Dong-il - Jang-hyeon
Kim Sun-kyung - Queen Myeongseong

I didn't rate this drama too high, but have decided to write a review on it because I love the leads and I thought the roles were played very well.

I love Yoo Ah In and Kim Tae Hee. There were certain scenes that were very touching and it stirred my heart. Don't you just love watching dramas that stir something in you?

Jang Ok Jung was a poor slave's daughter who had a talent for fashion and apparel. She wanted to make enough money so she could buy back her mother who was a slave to a nobleman. Her mother was mistreated by the wife of the nobleman. However, every time she was successful in earning enough money or having a successful fashion parade, something would happen to turn it into a failure. This was the doing of her uncle. Her uncle had an agenda to keep Ok Jung in Joseon (as Ok Jung wanted to escape with her mother to China), and to manipulate her to help him take revenge on one of the highest ranked court officials of the Western Faction. His daughter was killed because of that official and he wanted to use Ok Jung in some way to seek revenge. 

Ok Jung ran out of ideas to earn money and eventually had to succumb to his uncle's wishes. He helped her enter the palace as a sewer in the apparel department. There she meets King Lee Soon whom she thought was the head security guard for the King as that was the disguise he used while he was roaming the streets of Joseon. Ok Jung had met the King numerous times outside of the palace through many encounters believing he was just a normal person working for the King. She had fallen for him and he for her. 

When she discovered that he was the actual king, she was shocked and felt betrayed. How can a mere ordinary daughter of a slave girl even think of being with a King? Lee Soon didn't care about her status and did everything in his power to elevate her to concubine status and eventually to Queen status. It was not an easy journey. Ok Jung had to fight with the Western Faction and Queen Inhyun to take the place of the Queen. She had a son with Lee Soon which secured her position as Queen later on.

Later though, she was knocked back down to Concubine status due to a discovery that she had tried to poisoned herself and had made it look like Queen Inhyun tried to poison her. Because of this treacherous act, she was given the death sentence to drink poison. In the drama, she had a choice to escape with Chi Soo (childhood friend who loved her) but in the end refused, went back to the palace to die as she didn't want the king to be dethroned. She died in Lee Soon's arms.

I'm not a fan of dramas with kings and queens. I find them rather cumbersome and troublesome. Not a fan of the Joseon puffy costumes either but some of the outfits were pretty alright at the fashion parade.

I didn't like how Ok Jung dropped her fashion career to be tied to a king and then the whole story was about securing the status of queen in the palace. Her love for the king and her greediness turned her into a uncompassionate person. I guess that's what it does to you if you seek to climb those kind of status. What a waste of talent. It was unfortunate that she was in love with the king and unfortunate that she lived a terrible life to have to get to where she was. An option could've been that she left with Chi Soo and lived a life of peace and happiness but I guess she didn't love Chi Soo enough and didn't want to do that to the King.

It is quite an unfortunate love story. This version of it favoured Jang Ok Jung. The history books seemed to depict her as someone greedy, someone lacking compassion and only wanted power. I thought it was a nice touch and a bit of a different spin to the original stories. Well, who knew what happened in history books? You only read what's written on paper.

Yoo Ah In was very fiery as the king. He was seen as someone who was only devoted to one woman, that is Ok Jung, but in the history books, he had many wifes and took in many concubines. Yoo Ah In played the role well. Such a young, talented and good looking guy. 

Kim Tae Hee, a few years Yoo Ah In's senior played her role well. Even though the age gap was there, the love was strong. The on screen chemistry wasn't very strong but some scenes were cute. Scenes such as Lee Soon visiting the apparel department and rubbing fingers with her, the scene where he caught her from the back and the scene where he jumped into the water to declare his love for her. I'm a sucker for romantic stuff like that.

The OST was pretty good. Loved quite a few songs from this drama:  Zia -  (지아) - 꿈에서라도 Even In My Dreams; Page (페이지) - 사랑에 살다 Living In Love; Lee Soo Young (이수영) -닿을 수 있나요 Will It Reach You; Lee Jung (이정) - 벙어리 Voiceless.

Not a bad drama. If you don't like unhappy endings, don't watch this. I've seen Yoo Ah In in SKK Scandal, Fashion King and now JOJ. Why does he not get the girl? The difficulties that arises due to circumstances, class and power were major struggles, but the love between the two was undoubtedly very strong. Though, we all know that love does not conquer all.


Rating: 3.3/5

Boys Before Friends - American Version of Boys Before Flowers?!

OMG, they are going to make an American version of Boys Before Flowers. I've seen the Japanese version (Hana Yori Dango), the Korean version (Kkotboda Namja) and bits from the Taiwanese version. Off course, the Korean version is the best because the Korean cast are the best looking and the acting is awesome, except maybe for Geum Jandi's who needs to polish up her acting a bit more. It was my first Kdrama and I absolutely loved it. It was what started me to an addiction to Kdrama and which lead to this blog and my Pinterest boards. 

An American version?? I think they could possibly pull it off but everything else that is Asian would be lost and it'd probably turn out to another The O. C series. Hmmm, I'm a little bit skeptical. Nevertheless,  I'll watch it to see how it fares compared to the Korean & Japanese version. And no doubt, I'll do a brief review here as comparison.

American versions of Asian dramas/movies have been ok but it really depends on the actors if they can pull through. The Departed starring Leonardo Dicaprio, Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon & Mark Wahlberg was a success because these are famous seasoned actors. I still think the HK version Infernal Afffairs is better but the American version wasn't too bad.

Here's some information on the American Boys Before Flowers series. This post will be TBC once I've seen the drama. Stay tuned...



Post comments
I just watched the first episode of this. It was terrible. The female lead is way too old to be a high school student. The school seems like a isolated warehouse with only a few people. The acting is very D grade. The props are pretty bad as well. The music is ok. Zoey's passion is dancing and yet she isn't that good at it. The tuning volume of the audio is not very good. When it comes to the dialogue, you can barely hear what they are saying, then when the dance music comes on, it's extremely loud. Zoey is quite a feisty character as compared to Geum Jandi from the Korean version who is a bit comical, lovable and spunky without trying to be.

Watching this made me re-visit the Korean drama again. Such an awesome drama. I don't think any other version or future version can beat the 2009 Korean one (unless they make another Korean version, if that ever happens in the future and will have to see). The casting, the acting, the plot, the props were just awesome in combination.

This American version gets the thumbs down from me. I'm not even going to bother watching anymore episodes.

32. Gu Family Book

Broadcast: Feb 2013 - Apr 2013
Episodes: 24, Romance/Comedy/Action
Cast:
Lee Seung Gi as Choi Kang Chi
Bae Suzy as Dam Yeo Wool
Yoo Yeon Seok as park Tae Seo
Sung Joon as Gon
Lee Yoo Bi as Park Chung Jo
Lee Yeon Hee as Yoon Seo Hwa
Cho Jin Hyuk as Koo Wol Ryung
Jo Sun Ha as Dam Pyeong Joon as (Yeo Wool's father)
Lee Sung Jae as Jo Gwan Woong (Villian)
Yoo Dong Geun as General Lee Soon Shin

Lee Seung Gi in another gumiho drama? This time he is the gumiho himself, half werefox, half human. Born from a human mother and a werefox father. 

Abandoned by his mother and left floating in a box on the river, Kang Chi was found by a nobleman who owned a prestigious hotel inn. He was raised by the nobleman under the care of the head servant of the hotel inn. Kang Chi was mischievous, hot tempered and curious, but an upright and moral young man. The only thing that kept him staying human (not showing his monstrous werefox side) was the bracelet he was wearing from his guardian angel, an old man who knew his father and kept watch over him as he was growing up.

The inn gets taken over by a corrupt and villainous traitor Jo Gwan Woong who sold state secrets to foreigners. The nobleman who took Kang Chi in is killed by the villian's hand. The family is thrown into chaos. The daughter of the nobelman is sold into a brothel, and the son is manipulated to help Gwan Woong if he wants to see his sister stay alive.

Kang Chi sides with General Lee Soon Shin to build modern and advanced ships with guns and missiles to fight off foreigners. Together, Kang Chi, Lee Soon Shin and a secret group protecting Joseon from foreign invaders fight off Gwan Woong.

Lee Soon Shin saves Kang Chi's life from Gwan Woong, and under his instructions takes residence at the Dam Martial Arts school under the tutelage of master Dam. Master Dam has a daughter Dam Yeol Wool who is a master of archery and martial arts. She befriends Kang Chi, and yes they do eventually fall in love. Yeol Wool does get to see the ugly, monstrous side of Kang Chi when he gets angry when the bracelet is off, but still loves him nonetheless, if not more. Funnily, without the bracelet, the only thing that can control Kang Chi's anger and prevent him from changing into the werefox is Yeol Wool's love for him.Several times he is outcasted by others for what he is. The only one who truly loved him and believed in him was Yeol Wool.

Kang Chi does meet up with his dead father who has returned to be a blood sucking demon since he was unable to become a human because Kang Chi's mother betrayed him long ago. I won't go into this too much as the first episode is about his father and mother. I found it a bit odd that, when they fixed their relationship, the father leaves him. Wouldn't they want to grow their relationship as father and son?

The mother comes back also since being saved by the Japanese merchants. She comes back seeking revenge on Gwan Woong who ruined her father and her life. She was also sold into the brothel at a young age but managed to escape with Kang Chi's father's help. Kang Chi was also able to meet up with her before she later passed away. I found it odd also that they chose another actress to play the mother at the later end of the drama. The mother was first played by Lee Yeon Hee (from Ghost).

Dam Yeol Wool gets shot by one of Gwan Woong's men, trying to save Kang Chi. They do get to spend some time together before she passes away. The death scene was by a river side which could be romantic, except it was her final death bed :0

Kangi Chi didn't go looking for the Gu Family book to become human. He continues to be half human, half werefox. He learns to control his human and werefox side so he doesn't change at the whim of anger. He lives on generation by generation until the present day, modern times. It shows that by 422 years later, he becomes a president (of a company? it wasn't too clear from the drama, or the actual president?). And as people recarnicate, he meets up with Yeol Wool, Gon, Lee Soon Shin in this life time. Their roles have not changed but have updated to go with today's times. He had to wait 422 years to meet her again! Whoa, that is true love for you.

I loved this drama. There were a lot of very funny scenes here. Suzy Bae's acting has improved and she was quite pretty here. The gorgeous green eyes that Kang Chi had every time he turned into the werefox, I thought was really nice, minus the claws and extra hair. Leung Seung Gi is a great actor.

OST: Lee Sang Gon 이상곤 - 사랑이 아프다 Love Hurts; Suzy 수지 - 나를 잊지말아요 Don't Forget Me; 4Men 포맨 - Only You 너 하나야 - loved this song, best song from the drama.

Rating: 4.8/5 ♥