Very edge of the seat, fast paced and entertaining

9/10 is my rating. Also known as "I Remember You" is a 2015 South Korean drama with 16, 60 minute, episodes. Profiler Lee Hyun (Seo In-guk;Park Bo-gum) after a case he receives triggers a memory he thought long buried in the past. Detective Cha-Ji-an (Jang Na-ra) has never stopped investigating Lee Hyun as she knows that his brother disappeared and his father were murdered
and that Lee Joon Young (Do Kyungsoo), a criminal, was somehow involved. Things are not quite as they seem and the tangle seems to gain twists and turns even as they unravel it.

Spoiler 🚨 I really liked this and it kept me engaged the whole way through. I am a big fan of the crime genre so this appealed to that interest of mine. I also like psychological thrillers and romances and it had all those elements. There were multiple serial killers and they really explore the nature versus nurture psychological concepts which I found very intriguing. I would have rated this even higher but the ending was just a tiny bit softer than I like it. Just being extremely picky but there were some elements that seemed as if it was being left open for additional episodes or even another season. But it ended well - just not with all aspects completely tied up. Some do not mind that at all so it will not diminish at all for those that like to have some pieces to ponder. It was very well acted as I have come to expect from the two leads. Their romance was "cute", heart warming and believable. I liked the interplay of the "team" that was built to track the killers. Parts were predictable but not in a bad way. But there were also a fair number of surprises. It is a great drama that I highly recommend.

Leia Mais

I enjoyed it - it was very different and that made it super compelling

9.5/10 is my rating. 2019 South Korean television series with 32, 30 minute episodes.

Eun Dan-oh (Kim Hye-yoon) has a heart condition that is terminal despite repeated operations. Despite that she is kind and hopeful that something in her life will change and her heart will last on. Her fiance, Baek Kyung (Lee Jae-wook) is the son of one her father's business partners and their parents paired the two. Eun Dan-oh's father agreed to the engagement because Dan-oh has had a crush on Baek Kyung for 10 years even though Baek Kyung can be cruel to her and does not return her feelings. Eun Dan-oh begins to have memory lapses and the sensation that she just "comes to" in various activites. As she digs to determine the source of these strange occurances, she discovers, by chance, that she is a character in a manhwa called "Secret." Not only is she in the Manhwa but she is a supporting character who must do things to aid the lead characters in falling in love. She begins to resent the role she must play and becomes determined to do things to change the story. She soon notices a boy that has no name. When she looks at the Manga she can see that he is a background character that is not even fully illustrated. Dan-oh realizes that because he is not a central part of the story he has more freedom to do things in the "offscreen" that can impact the way the plot plays out. His name is Number 13 (just number 13 alphabetically in the year-book) but, as Dan-oh begins to develop feelings for 13 (Kim Ro-woon), she give him a name. As time goes on, more of the characters discover that they are in a Manhwa and join Dan-oh in changing this up.

I started this one in October of 2019 not realizing it was still on air. I normally do not watch those that are on air as I prefer to be able to watch them all at once. 12 episodes in and I cannot wait for more episodes to post. If it continues as it is now it is going to the top of my list as one of my favorites.

Spoiler 🚨 This was good the whole way through. I love the chemistry between the leads. I like the way Baek Kung realized that she would be happiest with Ha-Ru and yet is still always there for her. It had a sort of reincarnation angle to it without really meaning to. Some may not like the ending but I got it because they aren’t real. If it were a comic book series I could see myself reading all the comics even if it just re-told the same story. I highly recommend it - it’s very unique.

Leia Mais

He's Like a Male Version of Mary Poppins - I want one

9/10 is my rating. This is a 2018 South Korean Drama with 32, 30 minute, episodes. Kim Ji-woon (Ha Seok-jin) works as a House Helper a blend of "Mary Poppins", Dr. Phil, and House Brothers. He is an organizing and cleaning expert and only takes cases where he feels like he can improve the home environment as well as his client's lives. Im Da-young (Bona) is a young woman with a very chaotic life. She is an intern at an advertising company and works long hours trying to get hired on permanent. As the only daughter of a deceased architect, she lives in the house her father built and keeps it somewhat as a memorial to him. Her loneliness and work life are driving factors in the messy state of her house. She is riddled with debt from her late father but determined to keep the house he built. Her life changes dramatically when "Mr. Kim" agrees to help her restore order so that she can take on roommates to help with her financial situation. Her roommates turn out to be a couple of old high school friends who she became estranged with. Can these women get their messy lives back on track? Can "Mr. Kim" truly work miracles?

Spoiler 🚨 I really loved this story. All of the relationships were interesting and the interplay between the characters and various story lines was compelling. There are even little household tips to pick up on and really, who wouldn't want a gorgeous House Helper to make sense of the chaos of modern life. It ended nicely and the length of the series was just right to fully tell the stories. The only slight drawback was not to see the story completely through to what happened after - but it was pretty clear where things were going so that was not a major fail point for me. I loved the central female lead. She was as kind as she was beautiful.

Leia Mais

Bristly, wealthy boss

9.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2018 South Korean tv series with 16, 60 minute, episodes.
A romance series about Lee Yoo-chan (Kim Jun-myeon) who used his genius level programming skills to become a young CEO of his company, Next In. His co-founder and Vice President friend, Min Tae-joo (Oh Chang-suk) is as warm and personable as Yoo-chan is cold and rude. Yoo-chan is a highly charismatic and successful CEO who hides the fact that he has a facial recognition disability from those he seeks to do business with. Kim Bo-ra (Ha Yeon-soo), is seeking employment and most are quickly dismissive as her near super human memory skills. However, while dismissive at first, Yoo-chan has a project where Bo-ra's skill is a perfect fit. His plan is to utilize her skill to land a big contract and then let her go. Bo-ra's goal is to get hired permanently and she has an ally in Tae-joo. Yoo-Chan has money to spare and often buys people off to appease and/or win favor. Bo-ra values more than money and calls the arrogant and snobbish young CEO to task about his values and treatment of others. Can two such seeming opposites find a path to love? Can Bo-ra show her real worth and be more than just a memory machine for Next In?

Spoiler 🚨 I expected this to be a fluffy, predictable romantic comedy and it was that in a lot of ways. Which is just what I felt like I needed after watching some heavier shows. It actually had a lot of surprising surprising depth and insight into being a human and interacting with others. it is true there is a cultural divide when someone is extremely wealthy and someone else is not. But when you truly love somebody those types of things can be overcome. I liked the interplay and development of all the characters. The romance was sweet and believable. The female lead grew and evolved as well. It was fun seeing her go from someone with no real self-confidence and no idea what she was capable of to someone who is extremely capable and determined. It is amazing and true what everyone can learn from other people. Someone who is cold and does not empathize with other people can learn a lot from someone who is kind, warm and thoughtful. That is not incredibly surprising. What is surprising is that someone who is kind, warm and thoughtful can also learn something from someone that is cold and confident. Goes to show if we were all the same that we would not grow as a people. You often hear that everyone can learn something from someone else. At times it can be hard to believe specially if you’re someone who is sensitive and kind and you encounter someone who seems to just be awful. We can probably all think of someone in our lives like that. If you think long enough about it you might be surprised what you learned. And I find that I can relate and learn something even from dramas that I think are going to be pretty surface level. I thoroughly enjoyed this one and would recommend it.

Leia Mais

Predictable arranged situation but still good

8.5 out of 10 is my rating. This is a 2016 South Korean TV Series with 16, 45 minute, episodes. It is also known as "One Percent of Anything". The male lead, Lee Jae-in (Ha Seok-jin) has to get married in order to inherit his family fortune. Kim Da-hyun (Jeon So-min) is an elementary school teacher who agrees to a six month, pretend marriage, with Jae-in to help him secure his inheretance. Will they forget they are pretending?
Spoiler 🚨 I really liked this it was just a very solid if a bit predictable romance. I like the male lead a lot and think he’s a very talented actor. I had seen him in another drama called “House Helper” and I was very impressed with his acting ability. I have not seen the female lead in anything that I know of but I thought she played the role very well. I like the way both characters evolved and how you could see them being a good couple. There was not a lot of surprise to this nor very much side story which is the only thing that has me rating it down a bit. But I would still highly recommend it and will be looking for other dramas with either of these two in them.

Leia Mais

Surprising the Age Gap becomes a Side Issue

8.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2018 South Korean drama with 16, 60 minute,episodes. It is also known as Pretty Sister Who Buys Me Food. Jung Hae-in (Seo Joon-he)
Yoon Jin-ah (Son Ye-Jin) is an unmarried woman in her mid 30s. Her mother wants her to get married but has very high standards in who she thinks is acceptable for her children. Jin-ah is in her mid 30s and is a store manager for a coffee chain. Her boyfriend breaks it off with her and she winds up bumping into her best friend’s younger brother who just returned from an oversees assignment. Jung Hae-in (Seo Joon-he), Jin-ah’s best friend’s younger brother, is a character designer at a computer video game company. He is a handsome lady’s man who can have his pick in terms of girls to date however he finds his other half in Jin-ah. At first their age gap, the fact that they grew up together, and that he is Jin-ash’s best friend’s younger brother are the issue but it quickly becomes a matter of Jin-ah’s mother thinking Hae-in, who lost his mother at a young age and whose father re-married and left the children, is not good enough for Jin-ah. Can their love survive with so many challenges?

spoiler 🚨 I liked this one to a degree. Jin-ash’s mother was particularly evil and mean but that’s not unusual in these types of dramas. I wanted her to change her mind but it never felt like she fully did. I got a little frustrated by the female lead‘s deceptions when it seemed like it would not of been hard for her to tell him the truth. He sometimes hid things from her as well and I think that made their relationship a little less believable. It was surprising to me that the age gap did not become the main thing they had to overcome it was more getting her family’s approval. I also do not like when they separate it was very sad and since the ending was a bit soft in terms of not knowing, for sure, they would remain together - the separation made it harder to believe seeing them get back together would result in happily ever after. For me a wedding scene would have been a better ending. Really good just a bit sad in parts.

Leia Mais

9/10 is my rating. This is a 2014 South Korean drama spanning 21, 60 minute, Episodes.

Oh Chang-min (Choi Jin-hyuk) was a 20 year old medical student when he met and fell in love with Oh Jin-hee (Song Ji-hyo) a dietician. They married thinking their love could withstand his family’s disapproval and their withdrawal of financial support. Chang-min gives up his goal of being a doctor and becomes a medical salesman to support the young couple. Both become miserable doing things they dislike and it puts too much stress on their relationship. They divorce after a heated battle. Six years later finds them both having gone through medical school and interning at the same hospital under a “Chief” nicknamed “The Devil”. The anger they felt from years ago has not dissipated but it seems some love remains to. Fate has thrown the two together but will their love rekindle and can they, with six years of life experience overcome the obstacles this time around?

Spoiler 🚨 I really liked this romance and found the emergency room aspects really interesting. They have a lot of medical cases that mimic things that happen in real life and it really added to the story. It’s often true that people get stuck on the a track and don’t take care of their love. Being a couple takes a lot of commitment to making things work and weathering the difficult times by always thinking of the other person. I also like the side romances and just all of the character development. The only thing that kept me from a higher rating was there were aspects of the ending that were a little soft but that’s just my own personal preference.

Leia Mais

Surprisingly good and sufficiently complex

9/10 is my rating. This is a 2010 South Korean romantic comedy drama with 16, 60 minute, episodes. It is also known as “Marry Me, Mary.”

Wi Mae-ri (Moon Geun-young) grew up in a tumultuous environment with a father who was frequently in debt and hiding from debt collectors. One day, while working odd jobs to support herself, she hits a pedestrian, Kang ul (Jang Keon-suck). Kang ul is a talented but struggling musician and reassures Mae-ri he is ok and won’t sue. Having trust issues she follows him and relentlessly persists he acknowledge he is not hurt and won’t sue in writing. Having a young single mother who was absent until she needed something, Kang ul quickly noticed a kindred soul when he realized Mae-ri’s living situation. Needing a place to stay he invited himself to Mae-ri’s and a friendship developed. While running from debt collectors, Mae-ri’s father, Dar-Han (Park Sang-kyung) runs into an old friend. Turns out it is a friend, recently returned to Korea, with whom there was an agreement for their children to marry when of age. Mae-ri's father sees the renewal of the agreement as a win win he can pay back his daughter by giving her a secure future with a wealthy and handsome husband and becoming a part of the family, his old friend will pay off his debts. His friend’s son, Byun Jung-in (Kim Jae-wook), always does as his father wishes. However Mae-ri has no intention of having an arranged marriage. Her friends and her concoct a ”fake” marriage with Kang ul just as her father counters her resistance by forging Mae ri and Jung-in’s signatures on a marriage registration. In order to persuade his daughter to do what he thinks is best for her Mae-ri’s father proposes a deal: for 100 days Mae-ri must spend time on a schedule with Kang ul and Jung-in and decide who she will marry at the end. Her father is confident she will choose steady and charming Jung-in over a struggling musician. Jung-in was promised investment by his father in his company so he is determined to win Mae-ri. Soon fake love becomes all too real and Mae-ri’s decision not so simple.

Spoiler 🚨 I liked this overall. The romance was cute and it was well acted with great character development. I so strongly liked the second guy it was really difficult to watch as I could see in so many ways that he was a better choice. The fathers were pretty over the top and I thought Wi Mae-ri’s father, in particular, was a bit heavy handed given what his daughter had put up with from him. Kang Ul’s mom reminded me of some people I have known. She was an immature mother who leaned too heavily on her son for financial support. It kept me guessing until the end and even then I was a bit surprised.

Leia Mais

Fast Paced , Action packed, compelling story

8,5/10 is my rating. This is a 2018/2019 South Korean television series, with 16, 60 minute episodes. Takes place in Spain and South Korea.

Yoo Jin-woo (Hyun Bin) is a well known handsome and successful CEO of an investment company he co-founded with college friends. He is in the process of divorcing his second wife who has caused nothing but trouble for him during their short marriage. He receives an email about a virtual reality game that is poised to change gaming future. Jin-woo travels to Spain to meet Jung Se-joo (Park Chan-yeol) who created the game in the hopes of beating his rival to buy rights to the game. Upon arrival, Jin-woo finds out Se-joo is missing. Since Se-joo is missing he learns he must buy the rights from Se-Jon’s older sister, Jung Hee-joo (Park Shin-hye). There is a problem as Jin-woo is staying in Hee-Joo’s run down hostel and held back nothing in telling her what he thought of the state of the hostel and her personally. He has to swallow his pride and convince Hee-joo. All the while he is testing the game and is learning there may be some very dangerous flaws that are deadly. He also thinks the flaws may be behind Se-Jon’s disappearance. People who die in the game wind up dead in reality and then show up in the game as murderous assassins. Jin-woo discovers this and tries to tell his counterparts at the company but they label him crazy. Jin-woo begins to play the game near obsessively to level up thinking if he can master the game he will be able to prove and expose the flaws and find the young game creator. Hee-joo feels thankful to Jin-woo as the money he paid pulls her family out of poverty. Soon gratitude becomes something more and the two develop feelings for each other.

Spoiler 🚨 This movie really had it all a compelling mystery, great cast, complex character development, an interesting storyline and believable romance. It had a lot of action and was fast paced. There were sad points and not all my favorite characters made it. I loved Hee-Joo’s younger sister, her conversations with Jin-woo were cheeky and entertaining. However, the ending left things up in the air. It strongly seems they left it open for another season. It also made it a bit sad. I would have preferred they wrap the season up and thread some elements into a subsequent season or create another stand alone that has the same central. I really liked and enjoyed this but the ending spoiled it. Still worth watching but it helps I think to know it has a very nebulous ending.

Leia Mais

A great story with lots of layers to the plot

9.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2019 South Korean television series with 20, 1 hr. episodes.

Oh Dong-baek (Gong Hyo-Jin) has always considered her life to be unlucky. Most people would consider single motherhood to be the unlucky part of her life but Dongbaek considers her son, Kang Pil-gu to be one of the few happy events of her life. Dongbaek opens a bar named Camellia in the small fictitious town called Ongsan. Being very beautiful and sweet Dongbaek quickly has many male regular customers who hope she is selling more than alcohol. The attention Dongbaek gets for her beauty makes the women of the town jealous and initially sets them against her. Despite the hardships created from being an outcast, Dongbaek manages to run her business successfully. Though not a place he would normally go one of the town sons and a very eligible bachelor, Hwang Yong-sik (Kang Ha-neul) reluctantly visits the Camellia with his work colleagues and falls in love at first sight with Dongbaek. He starts to frequent the Camellia to be near Dongbaek. Dongbaek is too busy raising her young son to give any thoughts to romance and the sometimes awkward but kind and gentle Yong-sik is not her normal type. Yong-ski is slowly winning his way into the hearts of mother and son when Pil-gu’s father shows up, does the math, and realizes that Pil-gu is his son. Dongbaek had been secretly wishing her ex boyfriend, now a wealthy baseball star, would find her. Kang Jon-ryul is surprised to discover that the girl he never quit loving gave birth to his son and vows to win her back over and gain a spot in his son’s life. Can the love that died be rekindled or is this new love what Dongbaek and her son need? Amidst this love triangle is a serial killer who went dormant for a time but is back determined to kill the one living witness Dongbaek. The mother who abandoned Dongbaek as a child suddenly reappears. And Yong-ski’s motherwho was formerly Donbaek‘s one friend and ally becomes her anti-fan when she learns of her son’s romantic interest. Pil-gu is also not keen on sharing his mother with any other man whether it be the biological father he just discovered or Yong-ski, the local police officer who is his mom’s best defense against the serial killer who wants her dead. Which love can overcome all obstacles?

Spoiler 🚨 I really liked this series. Gong Hyo-jin is a very talented actress and I have enjoyed her performances in “Master’s Sun” and ”It’s okay That’s Love” to name a few. The young actor stole the show multiple times with his vigorous defense of his mom. I loved Yong-sik he was everything a nice man should be. I enjoyed seeing Hyo-jin’s life improve and flourish as she gained friends and experienced love. Trying to solve the mystery of who “The Joker“ serial killer was added a very exciting element. I loved how the community was cautious of outsiders but had each other’s backs. It was entertaining and heartwarming. There were some sad moments but the balance was happy. It ended well wrapped up and happily. Highly recommend this one.

Leia Mais

Rare modern arranged marriage

8/10 is my rating. This is a 2004 South Korean romance movie 115 minutes in length.

The movie is about a 16 year old high school student and the boy she grew up around. Both the girl Bo-eun (Moon Geun-young) and the boy Sang-min (Kim Rae-won) really love the grandfather enough to grant his wish to see them married before he dies. Their marriage also fulfills a pact Sang-min’s grandfather and Bo-eun’s grandfather’s made with each other during the Korean War which was to unite their families through marriage. Bo-eun wants to please her grandfather but, despite the marriage, continues with her high school life by dating her crush, the school’s star baseball player, Jun woo. Sang-Min actually loves his young wife and ignores her hurtful behavior realizing she is extremely young and was not ready for marriage. Things are further complicated when Sang-min does an art internship at Bo-eun’s school and the two agree to hide their relationship. Over time Sang-min’s patience and kindness toward Bo-eun to cause her feelings of resentment fade and she remembers the love she felt for the boy that was always b her side.

Spoiler 🚨 I really liked this and thought it was cute for what it was. In movie form the story felt very rushed but I am more used to the deep character development and evolutions that occur in tv series. My mother was 15 and my father 18 when they married and I married my husband at 18 so that part was not strange for me at all. Just 35 years ago it was not at all strange even in the western world to have a young woman date or marry someone several years older. I saw Moon Geu-young in “Mary Stayed Out All Night” and enjoyed her performance in that role as well. Seeing this one cleared up why she is known as “Korea’s Little Sister“ as she did seem incredibly young in this one. I enjoyed it despite it feeling rushed.

Leia Mais

Unique in that it is about older couples (late 30s/early 40s)

8/10 is my rating. This is a 2012 South Korean drama with 20, 60 minute episodes.

The story centers around four men who have been friends since high school.

🎩Kim Do-jin (Jang Dong-gun) is handsome and after several failed business attempts also successful. He has had serious relationships in the past but is not looking for that now and is enjoying his 40‘s by playing the field. That is until he has a chance meeting with a girl who is radically different than most women in his life, Seo Yi-soo (Kim Ha-Neul). Yi-soo teaches High School kids and her devotion and mentoring goes above and beyond resulting in her turning around some troubled youth, such as Kim Dong-Hyun (Kim Woo-bin), a troubled young man that Yi-so frequently extricates from trouble. Dong-hyun has a crush on his kind, beautiful and intelligent teacher and several of his conflicts with others are, unknown to Yi-so, in defense of her. Yi-soo’s devotion to her young charges leads many former students to go on to do great things, and garners fierce loyalty and friendship from both current and past students. Im Maeri was Yi-soo’s student and is now more of a trusted friend. She also is the umpire for many of the men’s baseball games which is how she has stayed close to Do-jin’s friend and business partner Im Tae-San (Kim Su-roj. Do-Jin loses his heart to this beautiful and unique woman. However, Yi-soo has no interest in someone living their romantic life so frivolously and Do-Jin discovers Yi-soo secretly loves one of the four best friends, Im Tae-san. Not able to put his feelings aside so easily, Do-Jin finds himself in the novel position of loving someone who does not love him back and he is determined to replace Im Tae-San in Yi-so’s heart. Due to stressful events in the past, Do-Jin developed memory problems when stress so he carries a special pen that is always recording audio (this is the center of many comedic moments).
🎩Betty is Do-jin’s car. Do-Jin’s love for his car easily surpasses his love for most people.
🎩Im Tae-san meets Yi-soo's roommate through Yi-soo and begins dating her. Hong Se-ra (Yoon Se-ah) Is not only Yi-so’s roommate but also a close friend so Yi-soo keeps her feelings a secret. Se-ra is a pro golfer who has never made it on her golf skills and relies on her beauty to have some notice in the world of golf. Tae-san heads up the construction part of the architectural firm and his muscular body mixed with a kind demeanor appeals to many women.
🎩Choi Yoon (Kim Min-Jong) is a lawyer who represents his friends, as they need it, with their architectural firm. Im Meari Yoon Jin-yi) is his Tae-san’s younger sister who has had a very blatant love for Choi Yoon from a very young age. Im Meari has known her brother’s three friends her whole life and is treated like a little sister by all. She recently returned from studying abroad in America. Im Meari’s relentless pursuit and undying love has slowly chipped away at the ice that developed in Choi yoon’s heart after hus wife’s death four years before. He buries his feelings and repeatedly turns Im Maeri away to not damage his relationship with Tae-san who has made it clear he considers his sister off limits.
🎩Lee Jung-rok (Lee Jong-Hyun) is a flirt who drives his successful, rich wife, Park Min-sook (Kim Jung-nan) to the brink of divorce. She is their landlord and a huge investor in both the architectural and law firms so the friends are constantly trying to hide Jung-roc’s misdeeds to keep Min-sook happy. Jong-roc owns a restaurant and bar and it is a place where Jung-roc encounters many women,
🎩Colin (Lee Jong-hyun) is the son of the four men’s mutual love interest in their twenties, Kim Eun-hee (Park Joo-mi). Colin was born in America but comes to Korea in pursuit of his biological father. He believes one of the four friends is his father and has come to learn which one. He has chance encounter with Yi-soo who immediately recognizes him as a student and treats him as such and Im Meari who he develops an interest in.

Spoiler 🚨 I found it refreshing that this drama was around characters that were a little older than your typical drama. The central story, in a romantic sense, is really good and I could see the two falling for each other even if it was real life. It was surprising to me that the other romances the drama had a lot of focus on, that it was much harder to see how those couples fit together. The pro golfer, maybe it’s just a personal bias, but she just didn’t seem to have much depth and she seemed pretty selfish most of the time. The story includes a vague allusion that there could be reasons for selfishness and lack of depth but they never really get into it so I did not have any understanding for her character. The relationship between the young sister and one of the friends is also really hard to understand because you only really get to see him pushing her away and not what made her develop feelings for him in the first place. Ironically for me anyway I could more see her with Colin because you got to see them have a bit of a relationship. Same with the friend who has a rich businesswoman as his wife. I got to say I really loved her character. She seem brusque on the surface but did so many kind things for the friend group and for other people that she was one of the people in the drama that I wanted to see happy. So the side romances for me were not all that compelling and I found each time it switched focus to that I was just waiting for it to get back to the main couple or the friendship storyline. There were also times when things would be happening that the friends were talking about that I did not get what was going on or how it had any significance in building the characters or to any of the storylines. That seem to happen more early in the story and I was happy later on that I felt less lost on the points of something. I also had a bit of hard time with who they defined as really attractive among the friends and their romantic interests because I am not sure that everyone would find those people universally physically attractive. Usually when somebody is really attractive most people would agree.

Leia Mais

So much fun to watch I was sad when it was over

9.5/10 This is a 2020 South Korean television supernatural drama with 12, 70 minute, episodes.

At night a pop up outdoor drinking bar appears in Seol. It offers free food and drink to clientele. The bar keep, Weol-ju (Hwang Jung-eum), has a mission to resolve grudges for 100,000 people and it has taken hundreds of years but she is very close to the finish line. Only problem is at the rate it normally takes to sort out who has a genuine grudge and resolve it, her time will run out. Her loyal bar manager, Chief Gwi (Choi Won-young), uses skills he gained as a former afterlife detective to help her resolve cases. A chance encounter with a young man, Han Kang-bae (Yook Sung-Jae) that has the unique ability to have people tell him their innermost concerns after he touches them, seems to be the perfect fit for their mission.
Spoilers** I liked this one, so much. I found it interesting the whole way through. The cases they had were interesting. I liked the supernatural aspects and a love that lasts so very long. The Sung-Jae character was so nice and sweet I loved seeing him have some happy times after being an orphan. I have loved Hwang Jung-eum in everything she has played in. She is an amazingly talented actress. I was surprised how pretty she is with long hair and red lipstick. She looks pretty with shorter hair too but the long hair, was just a level up. I wasn't sure why their younger selves were played by other actors. I loved the whole concept of the mystic pop up bar. This one was magical on par with Goblin for me. It was a world I hated leaving. The only very slight detractions for me is I wish Sung-Jae had retained his abilities and just learned to control them. I also wished that Chief Gwi and Weol-ju had been able to be human because with them being supernatural and Sung-Jae not it means they will have to lose him at some point. It also felt like they could tick off the gods and just disappear sometime. I wanted to know what happened with Sung-Jae's girlfriend too after she was fighting all the evil spirits to save him. But those are all very minor points. It really ended well. If you love supernatural and unique storylines I highly recommend this. Also a couple of great love stories.

Leia Mais

Not a fan of the ending

7/10 is my rating. This is a 2019 South Korean drama with 40 episodes. Each episode is 30 minutes. Uhm Da-da (Bang Min-ah) decides to interact with a humanoid robot named Zero Nine/Young-goo (Yeo Jin-goo) as the ideal boyfriend. Da-da is a special effects make-up artist who has been burned by love to the extent that she feels her heart cannot take any more. Her past boyfriend, Ma Wang-jun (Hong Jong-hyan) is not sure he is done with their relationship but Uhm Da-da may be over the mercurial nature of human emotions and the stability of unwavering love may be more her style. Or is it?

Spoiler 🚨 I liked this series at the beginning. It was fun to get insight on the life of a special effects makeup artist. I love movies around artificial intelligence as it is our immediate future. I liked the relationship between the leads and this is one where I did not feel bad, at all, for 2nd guy. The end completely spoiled it for me as I felt like evil won the day. There is a maybe moment at the end but you really cannot tell for sure who it is she sees. I like happy well wrapped up endings. This ending is neither. I feel irritated every time I see the title or images because it could have been good but was destroyed by a horrible ending.

Leia Mais

Very predictable and just okay

7.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2006 Korean romantic comedy movie that runs for 120 minutes. It is based on a Japanese manga entitled “Kanna’s Big Success.”

Hannah King is a ghost singer for popular K-pop idol Ammy. She is overweight but has a beautiful voice. She further uses her musical talent to make money as a phone sex operator. Hannah is in love with the music Director, Han Sang-jun, and thinks he might return her feelings despite her unattractive appearance. The Director is very handsome and seems to be very nice and pays a lot of attention to Hannah. One day, when she is about to confess her feelings, she overhears a conversation between the producer and his star. Ammy played a mean trick on Hannah and Sang-jun was telling her not to do that because they needed Hanna for her voice. To Hanna‘s dismay she hears him tell Ammy that they are just using her and he doesn’t really care if she hurts her feelings just not to do it in a way that she would leave. Hannah is devastated and decides to disappear and get a complete makeover with plastic surgery. The surgeon, Lee Kong-hak, at first does not want to because it is so drastic that it would put her life in danger. Ironically, the plastic surgeon is one of Hannah‘s phone sex customers so she is able to bribe him to do it despite his better judgment. While Hannah is gone Ammy’s career flounders because while she is pretty and able to dance she’s not at all able to sing and they cannot find anybody with the same level of voice talent to replace Hannah. After a year of healing, Hannah reemerges as Jenny an Korean American from California. She decides to audition as Amy’s ghost singer again but her beauty lands her her own contract. She no longer needs to hide behind the curtain. Her change was so drastic that no one recognize her at first not even her best friend, Park Jung-Min, . At first it seems she will get everything she wants. But beauty and fame do not wind up being all she thought they would be. Does she still want the love of a guy who couldn’t love her for who she was?

Kim Ah-joong as Kang Han-na / Jenny
Joo Jin-mo as Han Sang-jun (Director and Han-na’s one sided love interest)
Kim Hyun-sook as Park Jung-min (Han-na’s best friend)
Lee Han-wi as Plastic surgeon Lee Kong-hak
Ji Seo-yun as Ammy

spoiler 🚨 I like the premise of this and found it interesting. What I wanted to see though was more of a revenge plot line. It really wasn’t that it wasn’t like she decided to have him fall in love with her and then dump him. She also didn’t elect to make it big using her beauty just to show people. I don’t know how true to life it is but it is a bit ironic that cultures can be so hard on ugly people and fat people yet equally hard when they take drastic measures to try to change it. Makes it a bit like dammed if you do damned if you don’t. I know in my culture plastic surgery is mostly accepted especially for certain professions the only thing I think there’s still a bit of a stigma against breast changes. Not as many people elect plastic surgery as there isn’t as much pressure in general to be perfect unless you’re in a job such as modeling or acting. I did not feel like it was much of a romance because it was pretty clear she would never get back with the guy and it would’ve been disappointI got if she would have. I would’ve liked it better if another guy had emerged and loved her for who she was and there was a big confession or something like that. I liked that she changed the axis of her success by being honest about her surgery and carrying her career on the merits of who she was in general. But I really wanted to see a romance and it just really wasn’t an element in this.

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