Busque: WWW (2019)

The premise had so much potential but the story did not deliver enough

MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD.

Sub par at best. And I say this with a heavy heart because the premise was so intriguing, female-centered plot with strong successful female leads is exactly what I signed up for, but they managed to waste their potential. I feel like the writers did not have enough material to create a full 16-episode story in the first place. Making a drama about the business behind the two biggest search engines in Korea is a door for endless possibilities. They could’ve done so much but they ended up reducing it to cliché events that everybody has seen already. It became boring in the middle so I fast forwarded many of the business talks, it didn’t really matter much anyway.

Tami and Morgan’s romance bored me to death. I ended up watching their scenes on either 1.25x faster or fast forwarding it. Tami did so much push and pull, it’s agitating. She always find reasons to push him away but he keeps crawling back to her like a lost puppy. If we’re being realistic, nobody with a brain is gonna be patient and pursue you while you repeatedly push them out like Tami did. Now that I think about it, Morgan deserves better than that. The age gap play a huge issue and their relationship is never gonna work out. It makes more sense for them to break up but they made them come back together just for the sake of a “happy ending”. They could’ve given Tami a permanent love interest who shares the same belief as her because, news flash, you can be in a healthy loving relationship with somebody and never have to get married, you just both have to be up for it. But I guess they would run out of story to tell. Tami’s progressiveness was just wasted away by giving her a love interest who does not share her views. And Morgan deserved somebody who can give him more than Tami can.

Song Ga Gyeong is okay. I like her character arc. She’s a morally grey character that is executed to still be likable and I ended up actually rooting for her and her ex-husband. It’s fascinating to see how their relationship started to develop much better when they were in the brink of divorce.

I found Scarlet to be the most redeeming factor of this drama. Without her, I would’ve dropped this and never pick it back up. She’s the most likable character among all. She’s impatient and aggressive, she does have anger management issues and violent tendencies but she also has a strong sense of justice and cares very deeply. She’s not afraid to speak her mind and stand up for what she thinks is right. She’s competent and flawed and I so dearly love how complex yet so simple she is. Cha Hyeon and Seol Ji Hwan’s relationship was adorable. It did drag a bit, because again, I feel like they don’t have enough story planned to tell so they need to drag it out instead of just letting them know how they feel about each other in the first place. But the development is still rewarding nonetheless.

All in all, I feel very hot and cold about this drama. It had a lot of potential and I just wish they brought out more.

Leia Mais

I'm a sucker for endings like this! the moment the car came along my heart skipped a beat thinking about what's to come~

this is like a revolutionary drama~ a full on wonderful women's world drama! I loved all of them, I'm gonna miss it though I'd LOVE a 2nd season~
+ I loved all of the female cast! every single one
+ the drama was full of interesting diverse women
+ I loved the male casts too~
+ I just loved the whole "world"
+ scarlet and jihwan are my couple of the year~

what I didn't like:
- I'll be honest, I was over tammy's character and her relationship troubles.. she started off as a confident independent woman, but throughout she became a little selfish and self observed that I was worried if the show continued she'd just push everyone away with her arrogance.
- morgan was too perfect that even Chang Ki Yong seemed to have a hard time "connecting" to his character.. he did everything else well, the cute stuff and the flirting, but other times he was too, detached?
I'll blame these two points on the fact that all writers have a problem with showcasing a steady healthy relationship because they think it'd be "uninteresting"..


my rewatch values are either a 1 or 10, but I think now that I know the ending I'd love to rewatch it~

Leia Mais

Best Kdrama of 2019

Story:
The main story line is so interesting as we dive deep into the internal workings of a search engine company. The main story line never gets boring and the side story lines and romances also give a nice break to keep the story going. The side stories of each of the main female leads are interesting and quite unique for the standard side stories in k-dramas. Even though the characters are on the older side they still send the message of youth being the time for growth and experimenting. They also touch on the ideas that life can be stressful, depressing and lonely. With the inclusion of the supporting characters' side stories they want the view to know that everyone is having a hard time and struggling in life so don't be so down on yourself, find comfort in the knowledge that others find life to be just as hard.

Acting/Cast:
The cast is amazing, the characters are all so diverse in personalities and each couple has amazing chemistry. Lee Jaewook and Ye Soojung had the strongest impact in their characters for me and stood out. Also the writing of the three female leads is amazing . The change in their relationship with each other throughout the show and their character development really allows the show to develop and proceed in the most intriguing way

Music:
I still listen to every song from this soundtrack, each song has a different message and is so beautiful. My favorite OST is Reaching Hand by Jang Beom June, his voice is amazing and the lyrics tell the listener that when you are feeling down its okay to cry. Its okay to cry until you run out of tears because tomorrow is a new day and after your done crying you'll feel better. The song encourages people accept their feels instead of ignoring them or trying to force yourself to be happy. This song is just one example of the amazing soundtrack for this series. They play this song during the sad and depressing scenes of the show which caters to the emotions of the scene but also acts as a source of comfort .

Overall:
Everyone needs to watch this show , it will change the way you look at kdrama series

Leia Mais

Yo, my dude ML got dumped 8 times, will it really last in a relation if that is the case?

Life is too short for stressful drama. Why spend all that time watching and be stressed? Don’t our lives already provide enough of that?

Summary of the series:
- somewhat Light hearted rom/biz drama; series’ romance flow was slow due the ML/FL, they broke up dumped the bro so many times, but he looks for more punishment. They would he not gotten back together is his mother didn’t passed away, so lame; if you break up in a relationship 8 times, I predict that it would not work in the long run as you will be dumped again! The 2nd FL/M couple does have a cute love relationship.
- as stated above the relation of the ML/FL is super drag, shame that the dude can’t move on
- best part of the move is the business competition and how to gain market share
- a bit of stress watching it, had to fast forward some due to the many mis-opportunities and my dude getting dump and dump and dump and dump; you look up and he is dumped again.. lol
- story really is about 3 things 1) ML getting dumped 2) business competition b/t the FLs 3) the 3rd FL finally do the right thing and stick it back to mother inlaw who owns you
- 2nd FL looks the best and has the healthiest personality
- no mystery, no deep story, just sit back and let it drag at times
- some struggles, calamity or miscommunications to cause more drama, stress/ more dumping to extend the series
- at mid-way I stop rooting for the romance b/t ML/FL, instead rooting for them to stay broken up; or date the pianist
- if you are a friend, wont you speak up and not set you pianist friend be heart broken? Where is the female camaraderie; FL is despicable at times but smart
- the supporting cast made the show more fun


somewhat fun with the business aspects with some stress series: watch only if you have time and have watched others

If you are looking for forced brutal love story with gratuitous stress/drama, frequent relation breakups, then this is for you.

Leia Mais

Strong leads, social and political issues but suffers from pacing

I generally recommend this drama, it has good leads, an interesting story and some funny bits (Seol Ji Hwan's soap on tv was so funny!! as well as Scarlett's reactions to it).

The story and the social issues mentioned in the drama might be more interesting to you if you have a bit of background info about certain things in Korea. I liked the gender swap roles and commentary, as well as the fact they tackled the thing of korean women changing their views on marriage in more recent times. Even in the western countries it's still frown upon not wanting to marry out of convictions and morals. As the FL said, she didn't believe in the institution of marriage, and I applaud this drama for tackling this. I don't know exactly how it's in Korea in terms of civil partnerships but I can imagine is not great, it's not even perfect in the western countries eventhough generally accepted. I would have liked more social commentary on the aspect of other women not wanting to marry because of the societal pressure of quitting their careers, as well as the family pressures (although I guess it can be seen a bit through Song Ga Kyung's character but I would have liked for it to be more clear). But overall I'm very happy this drama tackled the marriage thing, I've never seen any other drama do it.
Corruption and politics on the internet was also interesting. As usual, I would have liked more in-depth commentary but I'm still satisfied.
The sismance in this show is strong and I loved it, it was so cute and so much fun. Scarlett was great as a character and sometimes I wished she was the main one, but at the same time I think I got enough of her to not be annoyed she wasn't the main FL. Some of her fashionable outfits were so cute! and me saying that is a lot because I'm not usually into the trendy styles they wear in dramas. Her romantic story with Seol Ji Hwan was fun as well.
Talking about Seol Ji Hwan, I loved that he had a flip phone!!!
I'm usually not a lot into the OST of kdramas either, but I have to say this is one of the few ones where not only it was tolerable but there were certain songs I liked, especially the game one that Park Morgan makes and it's used at different points throughout the series.

Now, for the things that didn't make it a 10 for me.
Main thing is the pace, it dragged at times and it was a bit boring, mostly I think they spent too much time in certain scenes. That actually brings me to the second problem it had since I think that the scenes that dragged the most were the ones with the main couple. I totally get why the story is there as I mentioned before (and very glad it's there) BUT they dragged it way too much and the ending for the couple is not satisfactory to me. Their romance should have lasted half the show max, and they shouldn't be together by the end, the excuses given to continue together are unrealistic, no one is going to commit to a serious relationship "for now" well knowing it will inevitably end because they want different things. Their back and forth became tiresome quite quickly despite the cute scenes here and there. It would have been a lot more satisfactory that in the end the FL had met someone that matched her views, I would have been happy even with a tease at a new relationship.
The product placement in this drama is very on the face, and it broke the immersion for me every single time.
The adopted trope was also annoying and way too overused at this point. I can't care anymore because usually it's copy paste from one drama to another, especially in more modern times. The adoptive parents are great but the kid still mostly favours the biological ones because being adopted in Korea is a curse. In this case it made less sense considering he had foreign adoptive parents and lived in Australia, I think naturally and more realistically he wouldn't have had those views as ingrained in his mind. Either way, the bio mother passing away was an uninteresting dramatic filler as well.

Leia Mais

I loved the three female characters , each with a very strong personality! The plot is amazing and modern but there's one thing that bothered me : the love story between Bae Ta Mi and Park Morgan . At the beginning I really liked it but at a certain point I got sick of it and had to skip most of the scenes between them , their relationship got exageratly miserable at a certain point. On the other hand, the chemistry between Scarlett amd his beloved actor was amazing! I almost cried when he had to join the army!
Oh yeah, forgot to say that the last scene gave me sooooo much chills , I mean three bad ass women in a beautiful car with the amazing OST ( Search-Elaine) in the background = WOW

Leia Mais

GIRL POWER FTW!!!!!!

Okay. I'll start with the things that I liked about this drama.

One of the main reason why I watched this drama is because of Lee Dahee! and OMG! she did not disappoint.

I really liked how they portrayed a corporate world that is not over powered by men. I liked how they showed diversity by showing two different styles the businesses can use to approach their brand. I know this is just a drama but heck some of the ideas showed here can really be used for marketing IRL. Love those creative juices.

Also, main thing I really liked was the sisterhood of the three female leads. Their friendship/relationship may not be the smoothest one out there but hey they did make it work eventually. AND most importantly, they have respect for each other.

Now, let's go to the three main couples of the drama.

Cha Hyun x Seol Jiwan - OMG my fave couple here!!! This couple doesn't need any explanation. They were just plain adorable <3

Song Gagyeong x Oh Jinu - They are my second fave couple in this drama mainly because they did learn to love each other. They just weren't sure on how to show it. Also, Jinu my goodness I love how he pays attention to his wife no matter what. He is so attentive!!!! It's just so pitiful how they were stuck between the issues of their families. But I was hoping they would eventually get back together. For real this time.

Tami x Morgan - okay. I love love love Jang Kiyong. But this one is not really for me. I noticed myself eagerly waiting for the airtime of other couples whenever I see these two on the screen.

There was really something I didn't like with how Tami and Morgan were talking I guess??? They kept on talking in a monotonous voice that makes everything they say so scripted or unimpactful?? not sure, maybe it's just me.

Lastly, despite the story being good. The thing that really bothered me when I started watching was how some parts of the script were written. At some times, it was just too cringey. AND when partnered with a bad camera angle? it was just too much.

I seriously cringed at some parts. The cameraman or the director sure loved tight shots/ close ups. I know the actors are good looking but sometimes when they talk, I want to see their body language as well. Or Sometimes I just really wanted to see their outfits. But NOPE. You just had to make their face occupy like 80% of the screen.

Anyway, learned a lot. The drama was cute. Did not regret watching. PLUS I was surprised to see Lee Jae Wook. Loved him also :)

Leia Mais

Recommended for people interested in the media industry

I love it. It shines a new light on things I haven't seen and exposed me to perspectives I would have never thought of.

I was putting it off as I was worried that it would be another not-my-style but high rated drama. I loved that they explained some marketing/advertising concepts within the drama as well. The different uncompromising views that the characters take complement their choices to still listen to each other even when they disagree. I highly recommend it. I myself would be going back for another watch to pick up on the smaller nuances I might have missed.

Do make sure that you watch it when you're entirely free though, I couldn't turn my eyes away from the screen!

Leia Mais

in this series there the age difference but the way the it goes it won't affect at all the story I Mean who likes the noona romance will keep enjoying anyway. The start wasn't that great Honestly I got a bit bored from the first 3 hours after those three hoours the real story starts, hhmmm the romance isn't too cheese but really HOT to the point of making you sweat ha ha no no just kidding but the chemistry between the couple is damn good
I almost forgot to mention the second couple Ji Hwan and Scarlet at the beginning I didn't expected their story to have much time because ty are 2nd leads and I was hoping for them to have their own story there but again I wass wrong the screen time they had was perfect they were so cute that my heart melted
I can't pick a favorite coule because also the third couple was like go and back but their actions were justified because they love each other but doesn't show it
Over all it's really a beautiful drama may be someone can find it boring but this series targets more peoples from their 23' and over it has a background for mature people

Leia Mais

Ga Gyong and Cha Hyon theory

This drama popped up in my world a lot and I finally came to watch it. This drama really shows strong women and deep relationships. The three leads Bae Ta Mi, Sun Ga Gyung, and Cha Hyon are all businesswomen who threw away everything in the chase of success. After all of the hardships, they've been through, all three stay true to themselves and help others to achieve their goals. Just like how Bae Ta Mi brought Ah Ra and Joseph with her.

I don't really know what to say in the romance area. The main characters Cha Hyon and Ta Mi both had much younger love interests which sometimes fit weirdly but here it felt normal. You could tell the difference of what stages of life they were and their maturity. I guess that the writer wanted to portray these strong leads in a way powerful men are. Well, I just thought it was kind of refreshing seeing more "modern" relationships.

Now, my theory on Cha Hyon and Ga Gyong. So, anyone else who felt a moment between them outside the restaurant in the beginning? I first thought they were going to get together but then realized they had other plans. But in my heart, Ga Gyong was Cha Hyon's first love and that's why she sees Ga Gyong with such rose-colored glasses. However either Ga Gyong didn't know or didn't feel the same towards Cha Hyon, or she obviously couldn't follow her feelings due to her tormenting family and circumstance. The relationship that started blooming between her and Jin-Woo seemed to be one-sided (as he also points out). We thought they would have a moment but they never did. He wanted to make it work with her but she didn't feel it. So is it only because of the trauma he is connected to or is there something more? Anyone else thought about this theory? If it's true I love the representation and if not we can pretend. I guess that's the beauty of art.

In all it's a drama worth watching if not for the thought-through narrative of corruption and spying on the internet then for the relationships. And if not that, then really good OSTs.

Leia Mais

Should've listened to Soompi...

*outline*
Honestly the episodes were a little too long for my liking. This is probably one of the reasons why I didn't prioritize this drama despite the fact my friends and news sources were continuously encouraging me to do so. However, I just don't roll (?) too well with dramas that have long episodes because they end up becoming...- no, feeling a little too meaningless to me?


*analysis*
STORY : Right from the very beginning, there was a good pace to the drama and the build-up of emotions were very interesting to watch. In conclusion, from the get-go it was a really nice watch. I could see myself watching it with my mom, actually. You can watch this with anyone - friend, family, or even a partner. One thing I have really got to mention, though, is the fact that there weren't any corny scenes like you'd find in other kdramas; I actually found this quite shocking because... c'mon. Every kdrama is corny, and more so: every kdrama made from years 2016-2019 were super corny. It was a real cheesy era. Directors focused more on making love look the most ideal, instead of approaching emotions and feelings in a realistic way. The firsts the main couple (and the side couple(s)) experienced were very beautiful. I felt warm inside and this feeling carried out to the very end. I just wish the drama wasn't so lengthy, however now that I finished it it feels like I just watched a really good movie (that I won't be able to get over). The ending felt a little saddening to me because it felt incomplete, until I replayed everything that happened during the last episode - this changed my mind, and satisfied me in the end. Throughout the drama, I even imagined it becoming a webtoon - but, a shorter one; definitely. Or even a book.

ACTING/CAST : One of the best things about this drama was the acting, hands down. If anyone else had played any of the roles, it wouldn't have shaped up the drama so well. This I can say with no doubts or regrets. I especially like how Lee Jae Wook played a really nice character instead of his usual antagonist roles. The character suited him quite well. There was no character I didn't like, mainly because I didn't find any (or much) toxicity within anyone. Unlike what I usually see. Except for like... 2 characters, but they're irrelevant and they're meant to be the antagonists anyways. Every actor had a role to play, which they did very well. Usually I get tired of the female lead (in almost every drama this has happened) very easily. The reason for this is because they lack character development and they're too consistent. However, I actually found good reason for why Bae Ta Mi's character was the way she was.

MUSIC : This was definitely the best part of the drama. From the very beginning of the drama (yes, episode 1) I'd already begun searching up OSTs for Search: WWW. The music was really calming, not the usual unnecessarily upbeat, pop-py music you'd hear in other kdramas. No offense but they make me feel like I'm watching something childish more than anything. Like Peppa Pig. On the other hand, the music which showed up in this drama sounded nice to the ears throughout (no matter which track I heard next, it also suited the scenes). There was actually one instrumental that I really liked, but it was hard looking for it because I couldn't find it anywhere but I plan to continue my search for some time. (If I find it, I'll definitely drop it in the comments.)

REWATCH VALUE : It's probably very high for others, but that's not the case for me. I don't know if I'd ever come back to this drama because I felt complete when the drama ended, I didn't see any reason for me to revisit it. Sure, it was a beautiful drama but the end actually felt like 'the end' to me. So I doubt I'd miss the characters too, but we shall see in the future. Though, on an ending note I do have to say the title is beautiful. It was clearly well thought-out. You don't see the reason for the drama title until the very ending, and I literally screamed "roll end credits" when I watched the particular scene that must've inspired the name of this drama (or vice-versa).




Visit my Asian BLs Custom List to see some more of my watches and ratings !! ^.^ Including: Korean, Taiwanese, and Thai dramas # . # (Also, please vote to show your view on other dramas in the list !!)

Leia Mais

well-written women-centric K-drama and unique main plot!

I loved it but I also think it's not for everyone. If you're looking for fluffy romcom, this probably isn't it because you'll end up getting impatient over the lack of romcom scenes since it focused more on the life and work of Bae Ta Mi as a career woman in the industry—which I did end up falling in love with.

I think the overall plot is amazing and I ended up loving it more than I expected. There's just so much to commend about this, specifically in the story writing.

I initially wanted to watch this for the romcom of it (Jang Ki-yong ftw) but I stayed for the story established from the very beginning (the Netflix preview had me hooked and I just had to watch it). Amazing story writing. The characters were realistic and the story went full-circle for everyone. I didn't feel like they established something early on only to forget it halfway. Everything was closed, thankfully.

I love that everyone had a distinct character, personality, and individual screen time that made you appreciate them and actually see them as beings and not as mere side characters. Though others were probably just plot devices to push the story forward, I like that they still had depth and their own stories. All the mini arcs of the characters in the TF team made me tear up and I was so happy for everyone.

Bae Ta Mi and Scarlett's friendship is one people should aspire to have at work—someone who'd constantly support you and back you when they know it's necessary, but also challenge your decisions to your face, not shying away from confrontation and correction.

Song Ga Gyeong was also a character you can't exactly hate from the very beginning. Her backstory was established early on which made her choices make sense. She definitely had the most character development out of the three female leads.

I also want to note Na In Gyeong who switched sides in the end which helped Song Ga Gyeong win the case and so cause the downfall of KU Group. It was satisfying and fulfilling, and I love that they redeemed her character even though it wasn't really necessary.

Episode 13 was the climax and I'm glad the ending was extremely satisfying. The plot was so perfect from start to finish that I almost ended up dreading the romance subplot because I was more invested in the lives of the three women than in Bae Ta Mi's relationship with Park Morgan. ?

This was obviously a women empowerment show but I also like that the antagonist(s) was(/were) female as well. I also love how it was done in such a way that the characters were still imperfect, making them human and not mere Mary Sues, and the other character filling their lack.

A few personal preferences regarding how the individual character arcs ended:
- I hope Bae Ta Mi would've come to want to get married in the end or at least implied that she's ready to open up her heart/mind for it. I just think it would've completed her "full circle". But I also understand and like that it ended that she was still against it because it adds to the human aspect of the character that there are some beliefs that are just hard to let go.
- I hope Song Ga Gyeong would've ended up with her ex-husband, that after the divorce was official, they'd end up dating and starting over; but why they didn't also made sense and it brought a bittersweet feeling that hurt but still felt good.

My only real negative comment about this is probably, as someone with background knowledge in film, many shots were unpleasant to *my* eyes. Aesthetically, they were wonderful to look at; but technically speaking, some shots were just wrongfully directed in the sense that I hope they would've been more consistent in which side and direction characters were in each scene. One scene that comes to mind is their first meeting in the arcade wherein I had a hard time figuring out whose hands and face they were showing on the screen because the sides and direction were inconsistent with Bae Ta Mi initially being on the right but shots of Park Morgan cut into the shots also being on the right side, so the inconsistency gave me a minor *metaphorical* headache. But I still stayed.

Overlooking the technicality aspect of it, it was interestingly written and I like how it didn't give too much too early and slowly unpacked each necessary detail right at the perfect moment. It was perfectly paced and exciting. Wonderful. Satisfying.

+ I was surprised to see Lee Jae-wook become a consistent side character! I thought he was just a guest. I was so happy ?

Leia Mais