Ratings based on 0 – 5 with 5 being the best. First score is now much I enjoyed the drama. The second is how well, I thought it was written.
Movies
Man From No Where, 2010 - The movie stars Won Bin as a mysterious, solitary pawnbroker and Kim Sae Ron as a little girl who befriends him. When the girl’s mother steals a package of heroin from a drug gang, the gang retaliate by kidnapping the little girl. The pawnbroker reveals himself as an ex-special force agent with a violent past and he takes the law into his own hand to in order to rescue the girl. The story isn’t all that original and the villans seem like caricatures at times, but the slick and stylish fight choreography, the fast paced sequence of actions and strong acting from Won Bin and Kim Sae Ron more than makes up for it. The violence is on the level of Kill Bill so, not for the faint of heart. (5/3.5)
Mother, 2009 – Another Won Bin movie, but this is really a vehicle for the mother actress, Kim Hye Ja (Queen Mother in Goong). She plays a widow living in a small town with a mentally disabled son, Do Joon. One day a high school girl is found brutally murdered and the police arrest Do Joon with only circumstantial evidence. The mother, convinced that her son is innocent searches for the real killer. This movie is a combination of murder-mystery and psychological-thriller with a bit of horror mixed in. The pacing is a bit slow, but not enough to lose the viewer’s interest. Kim Hye Ja puts on an amazingly haunting and scary performance in portraying the mother who will do anything to save her son. The ending was surprising and the last scene which is a repeat of the first scene with the added context of the movie is heart breaking. (4/4)
You’re My Pet, 2011 – Korean adaptation of Japanese Manga Kimi wa Pet about a career woman who takes on a human male in need of a home as her pet in exchange for housing and food. The premise is ridiculous to begin with, but the movie makes the story even more preposterous. Poor adaptation of the story plus bad directing, choppy editing and bland acting puts this move in the D category. In short, don’t waste your time. Here’s a more detailed review. (1.5/1)
Dramas
Beethoven Virus (21), 2008 - Du Ru Mi (Lee Ji Ah) is a city council worker by day and an amateur violinist at night. She’s in charge of the concert for the city’s cultural festival. When a crook embezzles all the money, instead of revealing the truth, she creates a ragtag orchestra with a bunch of amateurs of varying talent, including police officer/trumpeter/really a music genius Kang Gun Woo (Jang Geun Suk). She hires Maestro Kang Gun Woo, yes same name, (Kim Myung Min) who has a reputation for being a tyrant-like perfectionist to conduct. He agrees as a challenge that a great conductor could make even a bunch of misfits sound good. There is the requisite love triangle and tragic illness leading to deafness (at least it ain’t cancer). I watched because I had just finished You’re Beautiful and loved Jang Geun Suk’s portrayal of Hwang Tae Kyung. Kim Myung Min’s the one to watch here, though I really never warmed up to the Maestro Gun Woo character. (3.5/3)
Best Love/Greatest Love (26), 2011 – Gu Ah Jung (Gong Hyo-jin of Biscuit Teacher) was the lead singer of a popular girl group 10 years ago. After the group broke up, she’s had some bad press leading to a negative image. Now, she’s not even on a C-list. She does what she can to support her ne’er do well family by doing radio interviews and celebrity variety shows. Dokko Jin (Cha Seung Won of Athena, City Hall) is an A++-list actor with a matching ego. Through some convenient coincidences and incidents, their lives get entangled. High jinks ensues as the ego maniac falls in love with a D-list has-been-idol. Second male lead, Yun Pil Joo played by Yoon Kye Sang is adorable as dorky doctor who’s also in love with Ah Jung.
The acting is stellar and the fun, laugh-out-loud moments are plenty until about episode 10. Then, the story gets plodding and the problems repetitive enough where I stopped caring about how the rest of the drama unfolds to get to the OTP. You know how the drama is going to end so why bother slugging through the rest of the “crap.” (3.5/3.5)
Boys Over Flowers (6), 2009 – High school romantic comedy (rom-com) about chaebol heir, Gu Jun Pyo played by Lee Min Ho and a working class girl, Geum Jan Di played by Gu Hye Su, who wins a scholarship to his high school after saving a boy from committing suicide. Jun Pyo is the leader of the F4 gang, four of the most popular and influential boys in the high school. He’s childish, spoiled and a downright mean bully when one considers that he instigated the almost suicide. Plus, he’s got this horrible curly hair. Why on earth the down-to-earth Geum Jan Di falls for him is something I didn’t get the entire series. This is the first time I rooted for the second male lead, Yoon Ji Hoo played by Kim Hyun Joon. At 25 episodes, the series was way too long and I only watched to drool over Kim Hyun Joon, wooden acting and all. Thank goodness for Netflix so I was able to fast forward through the eye-rolling scenes. For really good review and episode recaps, head over here. (3/2.5)
Biscuit Teacher and Star Candy/Hello My Teacher (20), 2005 – Na Bo Ri (Gong Hyo Jin of Pasta, Greatest Love) is a 25-year-old woman and a high school drop out. After receiving her GED, Na Bo Ri’s old high school hires her to essentially be the watch dog for the school owner’s troubled step-son Park Tae In (Gong Yoo of Coffee Prince fame). She doesn’t mind because she gets to work with her old crush, art teacher Ji Hyeon Woo, who’s also Tae In’s step brother. Tae In’s initially resentful, but gradually falls in love with Na Bo Ri. The show started off with a light, almost quirky feel, with the “legend of Na Bo Ri”, but winded up becoming darker drama about teenage growing pains and first love angst. I enjoyed the series overall, but I didn’t like the last three episodes and how the One True Pairing (OTP) occurred. Overall stellar acting by both leads. (3.5/3)
Can’t Lose (22), 2011 – 30-something-year-old lawyers fall in love at first sights, get married, then divorces as the initial love wears off and their differing personalities clash. Only after the divorce do they realize they still love each other and need to figure out how to make the marriage work. Veteran actors Choi Ji Woo (Stairway to Heaven) and Yoon Sang Hyun (Secret Garden, Take Care of the Young Lady) play the couple and the performances are solid, but I never fully bought into their love story. I love Yoon Sang Hyun, but this is my least favorite role for him. In fact, Yun Hyung Woo annoyed me most of the series and I secretly hoped Lee Eun Jae would pick her ex. With the couple’s conflict still unresolved at 15 episodes and 3 more to go, I stopped caring. It took me another month to get through the final episodes. To be fair, production problems with the follow-up drama (Me Too, Flower) caused the extension. I’m just grateful that it was only 18 and not the initial 20. (2/2.5)
City Hunter (13), 2011 – Is this a revenge thriller or a rom-dram-com? I watched the series after reading rave reviews from Dramabeans, but I didn’t love it so much. I thought the series had a bit of an identity crisis. The first episode started off dark and dramatic with political intrigue galore. Then it switched to light-hearted tone bordering on goofy. Then the series went all dark again with a shocking death that jarred me. Throw in two lead actors looking like high school students playing adults: (male) MIT graduate with a Ph.D who’s also an expert in guns/gadgets/martial arts and (female) a level 5 judo expert/presidential body-guard. If you can suspend disbelief and have zero expectations, you can still enjoy the drama. The characters are endearing, and if not endearing at least well acted and the story is engaging. (4/3.5)
Coffee House (15), 2010 – I watched this drama for one reason only, Kang Ji Hwan (KJW) and ended up loving the drama due to the acting, the quirky tone and the interesting style in directing/editing. Kang Ji-hwan plays an unconventional male lead, weird and sometimes unlikable, but he makes it work. There’s, too, the atypical characters, the non-chaebol hero, the non-dumb/poor/doormat female lead. In fact, I love that she’s smart, successful, and independent. If you’re new to K-drama, believe when I say that’s sadly atypical. Of course, the second female lead plays the sorta dim, not successful working class/poor character. But at least she’s not the evil/vengeful second lead female! There are flaws, but overall, I really enjoyed this drama. (4.5/4)
Flower Boy Ramyun Shop (24), 2011 – Yang Eun Bi (Lee Chung Ah), a 25-year-old recent college graduate trying to become a teacher gets entangled with 19-year-old high school boy Cha Chi Soo (Jung Il Woo of Take Care ), who happens to be the son of the biggest food conglomerate and the owner of the high school she’s interning. Choi Gang Hyuk (Lee Ki Woo), 31-year-old “genius chef” enters the mix as the new owner of Eun Bi’s father’s old ramyun shop. He reinvents the shop as Flower Boy Ramyun Shop and hires “pretty boys” including Cha Chi Soo and Eun Bi. Both man and boy falls for Yang Eun Bi. Does Eun Bi go for the steady, warm, reliable man or does she go for the immature, but on-so-hot boy who makes her bubble over and possibly burn? For the first time ever, I was conflicted who to root for… the grown up in me wanted the man, who’s really cute and appealing in so many ways, but when the boy turned on the hot, wow, it was smokin’ hot. I don’t find Jung Il Woo or Cha Chi Soo physically attractive so it really says something about Jung Il Woo’s acting skills that he made my heart thump and thump and thump. Wowzer. (4.5/4.5)
Goong/Princess Hours (23), 2006 – Story is set in modern-day Korea where constitutional monarchy exists. An ordinary girl (Yoon Eun Hye) becomes a princess bride to the Crown prince due to promises made by respective grandfathers. It’s a marriage of convenience, for the bride to save her parents from bankruptcy and for the prince to ensure royal succession. They eventually fall in love, but not without incredibly long and boring political intrigues instigated by former Crown Princess and her son. The drama starts off promising, Eun Hye is adorable, the set and the costumes are gorgeous, but at 24 episodes, the drama ran much too long. The problems between the prince and princess became repetitive. I watched 16 episodes and had to make a few months off before I could finally finish the rest of the episodes. (2.5/3)
History of the Salaryman (28), 2012 – This is a drama that defies genres. Part comedy, part mystery with romance and corporate drama thrown in, the only thing missing is fusion saeguk. The story line as well as the lead characters are original. Still on episode 8 and loving.
Hong Gil Dong (16), 2008 – I actually feel pain when I think about HGD. I watched for KJH and he was wonderful. So were most of the supporting actors. The drama is about the legendary Korean “Robin Hood” and it started out light and fun mixed with some quirkiness. I mean it is a saegeuk (historical dramas) with flying bandits who also hip-hop/belly dance before fighting. Lots of humor, low-brow and otherwise, and fun fights. Then about 3/4 into the drama, the writing got bogged down by political intrigue, not of the fun kind but the boring, boring kind and the show lost me. I feel pain because it was so good, it has such promise of good times and then it just went deep, deep south. Like a fun date where you’re anticipating some good times, but who got drunk, then passed out, who you feel some responsibility for, but you have no idea what to do with him or her. I just didn’t get the last 4 or 5 episodes and I hated the final. H-A-T-E-D. I was very surprised that Jang Geun Suk played the Prince . I only knew him from the You’re My Pet photos where he looks like part puppy and part girl. Who knew he could do the dark hero thing? (3/3)
Lie to Me (14), 2011 – Chaebol meets working class girl *rolling my eyes* I didn’t have much expectation for this drama because 1) it has been panned pretty much all over the k-drama review land and 2) I didn’t find the male actor cute on the photo, but it was on Netflix and I could watch it on my iPad, sold! Thank goodness I watched it because I discovered and fell in love with Kang Ji-hwan. I don’t really understand why so many people hated the drama. There are other dramas that are badly written, full of cliches, etc. Perhaps the expectations were too high due to the top lead actors? There is a a review that is positive and she does an excellent job of explaining why I loved this drama. I am starting really hate the separation of the main leads in the last episodes… I guess it is another common k-drama device. (3.5/2.5)
Me Too, Flower (25), 2011 – At first glance, the synopsis for this drama seemed uninteresting. A rough and tough policewoman meets and falls in love with a chaebol hiding as a poor parking attendant seemed especially boring, too compared to the fun premise behind Flower Boy Ramyun Shop on air at the same time. Me Too, Flower turned out to be one of my favorite drama of all time, in some ways more addicting than FBRS which I also enjoyed very much. The chemistry between the two lead actors, Lee Ji Ah and Yoon Shi Yoon was off the chart despite their great age gap. Yoon Shi Yoon started off unbelievable as a 30-year-old entrepreneur with his baby-face, but acted the heck out of his role and had me 100% convinced by the end of the drama and turned me into a fan. This drama isn’t so much about plots along the way as it is about the relationship between the two characters. (4.5/4)
My Lovely Sam Soon (8), 2005 – another chaebol meets poor girl, except this time, she’s fat, not-so-pretty and old (30). This is actually a really good drama, lots of humor and touching moments, etc, but I am getting a little tired of the arrogant, mean rich boy/man falling in love in spite of himself to a poor woman/girl, starts out abusive but is redeemed in the end. I mean it is hard to understand why these woman fall for these guys in the beginning, they are so freaking rude, mean, arrogant, etc, you know? But, in spite of all that, I really loved this show. But unless you’re anorexic, you will feel incredibly fat watching this… the lead address is considered fat by Korean standards and she’s probably a healthy size 2 – 4. (4/4)
My Girl (17), 2005 – watched because it is highly rated, but I never fell in love with the main couple or the drama. The romance between 1st and 2nd male lead to the female lead wasn’t convincing to me, especially in the beginning and I never felt the chemistry. I can’t stand clingy 2nd female leads that just can’t let go which is one of the reasons why I loved Protect the Boss SO MUCH… anyhoo. Also, what was up with the main female’s sideway buns? Lee Dong Wook is cuter here, maybe because he’s younger and his lips are a more natural color. (2.5/3)
My Princess (5), 2011 – Chaebol (rich man) meets poor woman who’s actually a princess. Arrogant rich man falls in love with poor, lower class woman in spite of himself, is mean and rude to the girl in the beginning to fight his feelings but the girl likes him anyway… so maddening! I watched it because the chemistry between the two leads were ubber fantastic that they made even the ridiculous plots more believable. The middle episodes are quite boring and repetitive. If you have Netflix, watch there so you can fast forward through them.(3.5/3)
Pasta (27), 2010 – A new chef (Lee Seon Kyun from Coffee Prince) takes over an Italian restaurant and fires all the female employees, except for one kitchen assistant (Gong Hyo Jin) who manages to stick around despite multiple attempts by the chef to fire her. She manages not only retain her job, but win the chef’s heart. There’s not much to the story, but the two lead actors have incredibly cute chemistry. In fact, Gong Hyo Jin who’s played opposite the adorable Gong Yoo and the manly Cha Seung Won had the best chemistry with Lee Seon Kyun. The drama’s is like cotton candy, not much substance, but easy to swallow. (3.5/3)
Playful Kiss (7), aka Mischievous Kiss, 2010 – another high school rom-com starring Kim Hyun Joong from Boys Over Flowers starring as the lead arrogant male Baek Seung Jo that female Oh Ha Ni has a crush on…going on for 4 years. Oh Ha Ni female lead character is cute, but her obsession over Baek Seung Jo’s in spite of being constantly rejected and ridiculed got incredibly annoying. Please get some back bone! Also, I’m starting to see a disturbing pattern in the lead female characters being slightly dim/dumb/not good students. And I wish the character had developed and matured more earlier and not just at the last episode. I watched mostly for Kim Hyun Joong… he’s only 25 so I feel a little wrong having a crush him. Would only watch if I can fast forward through painful scenes. (3/2.5)
Protect the Boss (12), 2011 – The drama starts with stereotypical lead characters, a chaebol and a poor dumb girl, but all the other cliches gets thrown out the window. Most of the characters including the second leads are adorable. I especially love that the second female is not evil/wicked/scheming one dimentional character who can’t “get over” the other guy. Unfortunately, around ep. 14 or 15, the drama started to tank with slow-moving ridiculous and contrived plot devices to keep the OTP apart. The greater the rise, the harder the fall. When something so promising tanks, it hurts even more. I would skip after ep. 15 and watch the final episode for closure. (3.5/3.5)
Rooftop Prince (30), 2012 – Joseon-era prince time-travels to modern-day Korea, meets modern-day doppelgängers of his dead princess wife and her sister. Part murder-mystery, part comedy. 7 episodes thus far have been solid. Drama works when the story revolves around the whole fish out of the water scenarios, but the drama becomes trite and boring when the inevitable “evil” second leads and their stories come into play. The female second lead is all that I hate, completely bad without seemingly any reason with no remorse whatsoever. You just want to b*t#ch slap her. But overall, the good so far outweighs the bad.
Queen In-Hyun’s Man (31), 2012 – Another Joseon-era character time travelling to modern-day Korea, but a different take and style from Rooftop Prince. Only 6 episodes so far, but so cute!
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More when series is complete.
Scent of a Woman (11), 2011 – Chaebol meets poor sick girl (*sigh*) but at least he’s not super arrogant/rude and is probably one of the most likable chaebol male characters out in drama land. The first drama where I didn’t find either male leads attractive. I know some people think Lee Dong Wook is hot, but I’m not one of them. I find him weird looking with his bulging eyes and the red lips. Anyway, really likes most of the drama, but then it got into some tired drama plot devices (mean evil father, 2nd evil for no good reason female lead, stupid self-sacrifice) which lowered my rating. (3/3.5)
Secret Garden (9), 2010 – Chaebol meets poor girl who’s a stuntwoman and some body switching magic thingy that results in hilarious scenes, but in the end doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. This show has turned me into a Hyun Bin fan though… 5 years has really matured him. And who knew he could be so hilarious? Fun to watch, liked the ending, but even this drama had some slow, omg please pick up the pace moments that I’m starting to realize that all dramas have. The show also made me wonder if Korean mothers are really that scary and so grateful that I’m NOT married to a Korean. (4.5/4)
Stairway to Heaven (1), 2003 – The first K-drama I saw, believe it or not b/c of D who’s “American” co-worker got hooked while channel surfing and gave him the DVDs to watch over the summer. We got hooked as well, staying past midnight to get through the series. In retrospect, way too much melodrama and some ridiculous plot lines, basically a hot mess or in Korean, makjong. Girl and boy are besties and destined for each other except mean stepmother, evil stepsister and misguided stepbrother (who’s also in love with the girl) get in the way. Years of separation before they finally find each other again, only to be thwarted yet again. Throw in a hit-and-run, amnesia, blindness, sacrificial suicide and cancer. (5/4 at the time but if I watched it now, probably 1/1)
Take Care of the Young Lady/My Fair Lady (19), 2009 – personally I don’t really get the Yoon Yun Hye craze. I don’t find her particularly pretty in the dramas though she does come across pretty in CFs. Finally a rich spoiled FEMALE chaebol meets poor man who becomes her butler, but again, another female that’s not that smart or particularly good at anything, why oh why? I don’t know why this drama was badly reviewed. Personally I didn’t find it that bad. I really liked Yoon Sang Hyun (Oska in Secret Garden) in this drama, but thought the 2nd leads were wasted. (4/3.5)
The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince (4), 2007 – light-hearted rom-com set in a coffee shop, with good pace to the story, cute 1st and 2nd leads. In the end fell in love with the main hero, the coffee prince himself, but found the heroine a da bit annoying. Hated that the last episode, the main couple was separated for a couple of years and din’t get much screen time together when their interactions are what makes the drama. (4.5/4)
The King 2 Hearts (29), 2012 – The description of a black comedy about a modern day South Korean King forced to marry a North Korean Spy is so deceptive. This drama at the heart is about the making of a king from a man and the growth of an immature playboy to a ruler worthy of ruling his people. And throw in some action, North-South and international intrigue, a megolmaniac villain, cute bromance, romance and characters so wonderfully written and played that they will stay in your heart forever. Starring Ha Ji Won from the Secret Garden and Lee Seung Gi, but Lee Seung Gi stole this show hands down and turned me into a fan with his performance. Click here for more detailed review. (4.5/4.5)
The Woman Who Still Wants to Marry (10), 2010 – finally a story that’s not about a rich boy meets poor girl… I needed the break. Older woman (34) falls in love with younger man (24). There’s opposition from the man’s mother, but much more realistic (I think unless Korean mamas are really K-drama crazy) opposition, no screaming, no hitting, no crazy evil plots to keep them apart. Enjoyable show without too much drama. Actually liked Kim Bum in this role whereas I thought he was a bit ridiculous in Boys Over Flowers. (4/4)
You’re Beautiful (18), 2009 – I watched because it was highly rated and it wasn’t a chaebol meets poor girl, but didn’t have much expectations and winded up loving it the most out of all the dramas I’ve seen thus far. Girl pretends to be her twin brother to join an idol band, falls in love with lead singer. Now that I watched or tried to watch a few more Hong Sister drama, I find this the most watchable. Not only did I finish the series, but I didn’t have to take a few weeks off during a mid-series slump! (5/4)
Daily Dramas
Likable or Not (2), 2007-8 – Found the drama while channel surfing and got hooked. It was back in the days when I didn’t have the second kid and more time, but it was still a lot to keep up at 172 episodes. Now that I’ve been exposed to weekly dramas that wrap up their stories in 16 – 20 episodes, I would never be able to watch a daily like this again. But I enjoyed it at the time and I really liked one of the lead couples. (4/4 at the time, but probably more 3/3 now)
You are My Destiny (3), 2008-9 – This was the next drama after Likable or Not. Again, I didn’t know any better and it was was fun for a while, but having to watch everyday, 178 episodes got to be too much. I quit at episode 163. Really loved the main at first couple, but all the makjang and the repetitive nature of the conflicts got to be too much. After watching Likable and Destiny, I wondered if Koream mamas are truly that scary. Even though I didn’t finish the series, I think I watched enough to give this rating. (2.5.2.5)
