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 ♥

31. Iris 2

Broadcast: Feb 2013 - Apr 2013
Episodes: 20, Action/Thriller/Romance
Cast:
Jang Hyuk as Jung Yoo Gun
Lee Da-hae as Ji Soo Yeon
Lee Beom-soo
Im Soo-hyang Yoo Joong Won
Yoon Doo-joon as Seo Hyun Woo
Lee Joon Yoon Shi Hyuk
Kim Yeong-cheol as Baek San

Following from the review of Iris 1, Iris 2 is a completely different cast except for Baek San (Kim Young Chul) and cameos from Park Cheol Young (Kim Seung Woo) & Kim Seon Hwa (Kim So Yeon) . The storyline of this sequel does not continue from the previous. We do not know the true identity of Choi Seung Hee (Kim Tae Hee) or get to see who killed Hyun Jun. If you watch Iris The Movie, you’ll get the see the killer at the end, and I warn you, it’s a shocker! The movie is exactly the same as Iris 1, the drama but cut and chopped to make it into the time slot of 125mins. In my opinion, it’s not worth watching the movie alone, becauseyou are going to be so confused. The cutting of the scenes are ridiculous. It’ll leave you so confused of what’s going on. Anyway, who would just watch Iris 1 The movie and jump into Iris 2, right?

This second one is about Jung Yoo-Gun, a former police officer who gets recruited by Iris and then manipulated and tried to be taken out. He turns out to be Baek San’s biological son. He is intelligent, street smart, and an extremely capable fighter so was able to survive through all the difficulties except that his brain is deteriorating when they revived his life from a legal shooting of the head.

I won’t go into too much detail of this drama because I found it bland. I’m only doing a review because it’s the sequel to the first one which I loved. It was deeply disappointed when you compare it to the first one. The acting was ok. Jang Hyuk & Lee Da Hae did an ok job. I’m not a fan of Lee Da Hae anymore. I find her facial expressions rather restricted from her many plastic surgeries hehe…

Spunky and feisty character Kim Yeon Hwa (Kim Soo Hyang) turns out to be Kim Seon Hwa (Kim So Yeon) little sister. Why did I not pick that up from the name and the personality?! I only caught on at the end when they re-united for some sisterly love.

The plot was just bland. It’s always the case that the sequels are not as good as the first one, right? I felt that the end just fizzled out. Too many sacrifices were made at the end. Why do Iris leads never get a good ending?

I loved Seo Hyun Woo (Yoon Doo Joon from Beast). He was the highllight of the drama : ) So very spunky!

I only liked a couple of songs from this drama: Davichi - 모르시나요 Don't You Know; G.O & Mir (MBLAQ) - What A Fool I Am (바보같은 나).

You won’t miss anything if you ended just watching Iris 1, and stopping there. This drama felt like spin off from Iris 1, like extra side information.

Rating: 3.8/5