The plot is basically centered on Misako Renbutsu's character, Michiko, who is in her 20s, works in a business company as a part-timer and doesn't really know where her life is going. Her boyfriend treats her poorly, her job is on the verge of disappearing and in comes Naho Toda's character, Akko-san, to change her life. Through food. Lots and lots of food (seriously, don't watch this when you're hungry). The story goes from that starting point to a lot of different places and Michiko meets a lot of different people whose realities and lives inspire her to change her own. It's a story about finding your worth and growing through empathy. With food and children lit, which for me is a plus.
The problem for me was that the story has quite a few fast forwards and tries to cover more time spans than they actually have to develop them. For a drama with 8 episodes and 30 minutes per episode, it doesn't manage the time the best it could. On the one hand, you could say Akko-san's inconsistent contexts have a lot to do with her personality, but on the other, it can get a bit confusing.
There's consistent development throughout (mostly of Michiko) but there isn't a clear start to finish path, which may turn some people off if they're expecting a grand finale with fanfares and passionate kisses. If you're expecting chills and thrills and a lot of tension, this is not your drama, but if you're tired from a day of work and want to watch something cute, interesting, which still tells a story (and shows good food), maybe give this one a go.
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For this the acting was also well done, and the romantic chemistry between Kim So Eun and Seo Kang Joon. The chemistry between the 5urprise members was well portrayed.
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I ponder quite awhile to decide a fair rating.If you love family dramas with good cast and dont mind meddlesome mom in law. This is a good cup of tea
If you love romantic dramas of the fluffy or light hearted type u need to reconsider.
I consider a long while whether to watch or not aft readin sypnopsis because i hated third party home wreckers. But i still gave in aft watching glimpses of the drama on tv. Stephy Qi's Du la la just really draws me in. A good actress and i love her character too. She's someone who found her love and committed to starting her marriage life with husband Wang wei and juggle her career in HR. She's respectful of her mom in law but try not to be a push over. I m sold on her chemistry with her onscreen husband. Their interactions are realistic. Husband and wife who are comfortable with each other, communicate, support each other and some good natured jabs too. Once in awhile Wang wei does something romantic too. Like a match made in heaven.
Trouble comes with his mum's student, also a long time family friend who insinuated herself into their lives. My tolerance for this "xiao san" aka third party, is really low and she had a lot of screen time. Because shes also La la's rival at work.
Honestly this drama i watch 30 to 35% of total running time because i couldnt stomach the mom in law and the 3rd party. Although i must say early on i admire how La la and Wang wei worked hard for their relationship. She had insticts and was frank with her husband on this. I also love that Wang wei never jump to conclusions when the ex boyfriend appear. He had a mature conversation asking for her explanation. Ep 38 when they sat down to address how to handle their problems were also very mature n nice.
#Small spoiler-
Their marriage to me was very realistic. Initially they can overcome the meddlesome mother but when the 3rd party purposefully drives a wedge in plus difficulties at work causes too much stress and eventually a rift and loss of trust.. The break up was eventual.
##
Love the ost played at the end of the episode. I thk its sung by Stephy Qi herself.
7.5 is my generous score because as usual like most C dramas it suffered mid series problem of dragging out problems and angst. Means i skip alot.
The ending *minor spoiler alert* although wrapped up well wasnt satisfying enough.. I felt the 2 otps need another 5mins of screentime together.
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Both writer and director did a wonderful job creating a suspenseful and brain-twisting drama! A story with multiple time lines isn't easy to portray without everything ending up being too paradoxical. This drama was deep and interesting on so many levels!
COMPLEX AND ENGAGING STORY: As a viewer you feel emotionally engaged and connected with the story. You wonder, think and feel together with the protagonists. Often I was left at the tip of my sofa/chair/bed anticipating what will happen next and how the detectives will solve a case. Clues are not given immediately and there are enough twists here and there to keep the story suspenseful and interesting. As a viewer we live and think together with the protagonists on screen. Heartbreaking scenes alert!
EYE FOR DETAIL: There are so many subtle clues and details given in every episode that it feels like I need to re-watch the whole series again in order to fully grasp what was actually going on at certain moments. There are also a lot of references to aspects of contemporary Korean society: such as the fascination with celebrities who are dating or not, (unsolved) rape cases, corruption related to hierarchical relationships, etc. which added to the level of realism of this drama. For people who understand Korean, some references are really subtle and make you giggle. (I particularly remember the scene when one of the protagonists asks scoffingly whether the other likes keobchang (pork intestines) or not, however the subtitles just translated it as 'grilled meat'. Some things do get lost in translation. ;))
SUPERB ACTING: Not once I had the feeling that a character wasn't believable. Still now I believe there is still a badass detective such as Soo-Hyun and a moral hero like Jae Han somewhere out there in the real world fighting for what's right! The protagonists can make you laugh, cry and feel utterly frustrated!
I would strongly recommend Signal to everyone who's looking for great story-telling with a high sense of realism embedded in a ever-so gripping and intense drama!!! Why are you still reading this?! Go, Go! ;)
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In my opinion some of the reasons it was hugely popular was because, first of all, it was mostly viewed by middle aged women/ajumma (who often have some extra time on their hands) and girlfriends who have their boyfriend enlisted in the army (especially here in Korea). Secondly, because there are many hopeless romantics out there who all have fallen for the charismatic and ideal boyfriend Yoo Shi-Jin. ;) I wonder if a lot of straight men have watched this?! Convinced my bf to watch it with us, but he said the male leads stare too much straight into the camera which make it all too cheesy. He called quits after one episode... ;)
Pros: beautiful filming locations, handsome main leads, great OSTs
Cons: lack of interesting plot, Song Hyae-Kyo's unconvincing acting skills, awkward English, overacting, too much...really wayyyy too much product placements, too much advertisement after the drama... so sick of seeing the actors faces everywhere in the streets and on TV here!
An overall score of 6.5, for the effort and entertainment value. ;)
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I wasn't impressed with the first couple of episodes, honestly. However, I could feel something was there. Though it seemed episodic, like most J dramas, there was always a continuous, underlying plot that was always there. The more it built, the better the drama became, until epsisode 8 which was wonderful! I was a little disappointed with the final episode and how things ended, which is why I docked .5 from my score, otherwise, it would have ended up being an 8.5.
The acting didn't wow me at first. This is the first drama I have seen with Fukushi Sota and at first I thought he was stiff and awkward. That impression totally changed as I continued to watch. What I had at first assumed was an awkward and stiff actor is actually the character of Madoka. In fact, I am pretty certain that the character has Asperger's Syndrome, for everything about his character traits points to it. It is never said in the drama, but as a parent of a child with Asperger's, I could recognize it. Even if the character isn't initially supposed to be that way, Fukushi does an absolute brilliant job in portraying him that way. I am being very serious here in my praise of him. I was deeply impressed.
I was impressed with all the actors except Tsuchiya Tao. I thought she acted like a cookie cutter type. I have seen dozens of J actresses that talk, walk, laugh and over act in the exact same fashion. She did not bring anything original to the drama acting wise though I didn't particularly dislike her character or anything like that. The character herself was ok, though I just could never see any romantic chemistry between her and Madoka at all. I could see they were friends and co workers, but I just never felt any real romance between them.
I recommend this to anyone looking for a cute and fun J drama to watch. It's also a drama that I could maybe see myself rewatching at some point, which is rare for me. (^_^)
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Story - (7 of 10):
I feel that SO many dramas start off strong and instantly capture my interest, but fail to keep up that intensity at any other point. This is one of those titles that is packed with drama, but the intensity of it is quite hit or miss for me. The setup is done very well, I am instantly in love with Miss Yoo Jung Hwa and her little ones! The first few episodes setting up the rest of the drama is done so well, and it's why I found myself sobbing like a baby when tragedy inevitably struck!
Even when we're taken into the future years down the road, I was really looking forward to the characters coming together again after so much happened. How did they grow? Were they still the same, or was their spirit broken? I had questions I couldn't wait to find the answers for. But sadly, as with many dramas, the tropes seem to water things down. As the mystery surrounding the set up begin to unfold, it's turns into a whole lot of "wtf, really?" and cringing and sometimes both at the same time. I'm not a fan of time lapses unless they are truly meaningful. The show does it well in the beginning, not so much towards the end. People were out of character, and the few last episodes felt drawn out. I feel like this series could've easily been 16 instead of 20 episodes and probably been a lot better for it. I think it's above average if even just for the beginning.
Having said all of that, I truly did like most of the characters and the actors are unquestionably great. Which segues nicely...
Acting/Cast (7.5 out of 10):
Gu Hye Seon as Yoon Soo Wan - I'm sure I'm not the only one who saw her first in "Boys Over Flowers" (2009), and I felt she fit the part very well. I then saw her in "The Musical" (2011) which I found very hard to get through, likely it was the writing, I don't know, but her acting was pretty awful in that. She was also in the Taiwanese version of "Absolute Boyfriend" (2012), but it's hard to judge her in that since she was dubbed over and I don't feel like the physical acting was likely very difficult. Then I heard how awful "Blood" (2015) was (though I still may give it a chance), so I was pretty hesitant when I first started this drama. However, I feel she did a great job in this one, and while her character had me face palming quite a bit towards the end, I fault the writing more so than her acting.
(Lee Sang Yoon as Dylan Park / Park Dong Joo) - While I may have been hesitant to watch this because of GHS's performance in The Musical, " I fell for Lee Sang Yoon as Prince Gwang Hae in
"Goddess Of Fire, Jeongi" (2013)! He plays the soft spoken yet stoic characters very well it would seem. I never doubted for a moment that Dong Joo was anything but completely in love with Soo Wan (though I can't quite say the same for her - he DEFINITELY loved her more if ever there was a couple you could say one love more than the other). I thoroughly enjoyed his acting in both dramas, so I'm looking forward to seeing more!
Kim Ji Suk as Kang Ji Woon - I'm not going to go through all the actors, but I feel I HAVE to mention KJS because I've seen him in SO many dramas, and I just want to SCREAM that he hasn't nabbed a Male Lead Role and gotten the girl (at least as far as I've seen thus far), he always get that awful second lead role. If ever there was an actor that gets my second lead syndrome senses tingling, it's this guy! For his main roles, I have seen him in: Personal Taste (2010), I Need Romance 2 (2012), and Cheongdamdong Alice (2012). I've also seen him in The Vinyard Man (2006) and Sassy Go Go (2015), but those, at least to me, were more supporting roles. He was a real jerk in Personal Taste, so he wasn't really on my radar then, however, OH.MY.GAAAWD....I Need Romance 2... In love with him since! If you enjoy him as an actor, see him in that, I had second lead syndrome so damn bad (I'm usually completely unaffected since I've been watching dramas for the better part of 15 years now). I was hoping for much more from him in Cheondamdong Alice too, but he could only do so much with that character. Now that I've digressed beyond what's reasonable (lol), this is my second favorite of his dramas. Ji Woon was a bit too much of a pushover for my liking, I know there's only so much he could've done, but I don't know. I definitely felt his character Ji Woon really loved Soo Wan, but I felt like the character just didn't bring the passion!
Kim Yeo Jin as Yoo Jung Hwa [Dong Joo's mom] - I would be remiss if I didn't mention her because oh my god did she have my heart and tugged at its strings SO hard. I feel like KYJ was made for this role, I just can't imagine another actress filling her shoes! Even though I've seen her mostly play motherly roles, she just fits them so perfectly I can't even complain! I think I first saw her in "Can You Hear My Heart?" (2010), then Trot Lovers (2014), and more recently in Sassy Go Go (2015). She really was, for me at least, the heart of this show, omg, Miss Yoo Jung HWAAAAAAA! ;_;
The rest of the cast was very well rounded, though I felt Kang Ji Woon's mother could've been played by any decent "betchy mom" type actress lol I wish that age differences weren't so taboo in Korea, I mean MAAAAYBE if it's like a girl or guy wants to date someone that is old enough to be there grandparent that's one thing... but I don't think 12 or even 15 years is THAT bad. I won't say anything else, but there was a side love triangle that I really enjoyed. I also enjoyed the camaraderie between not only the 911 staff, but Hyun Jyu Ni as Police officer Cha Min Soo and Kwon Hae Hyo as Kim Woo Chul (I love this man in just about all of his roles - emphasis on Kim Sam Soon (2005).
Music (6.0 out of 10):
I think it had a nice soundtrack, it went really well with the tone and mood of the show. Nothing compelled me to spend money, but made for pleasant sound to my ear holes.
Rewatch (1 out of 10):
I almost feel like I shouldn't bother adding this piece to my reviews as a low score (for me) doesn't mean it was a bad drama. I'm not sure if it's that I'm picky, or I have a short attention span or what, but there are very few dramas I rewatch (or as I like to call it abridge ie watching all my favorite parts again). Perhaps I'd rewatch the first few episodes, maybe, if I was to rewatch any part of it, but very likely no. I wouldn't dissuade anyone from watching this series, I just don't feel it's rewatchable (though to be fair, most melos aren't).
Overall (6.5 out of 10):
Again, VERY strong beginning, but it started to lose me with all of the contrived coincidences towards the latter half. Some people were just a little TOO connected. That's why despite some really strong performances, the drama was just a little over average for me. At times I had difficulty not skipping parts that felt like they dragged and my eyes spent more time rolling back in my head than watching the screen.
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If I could summarize this drama in one word it would be this: painful.
This drama is SUPER sad so prepare a box of tissues or you'll end up getting tears everywhere. If you're looking for a drama that is realistic and sad to watch then I wholeheartedly recommend this, but if you don't like watching realistic dramas, this one's not for you. That being said, lets get to the review!Story: This story is very well written even though it does have some typical kdrama elements in it but I really appreciate how there are no plot holes and the pace is quick. A lot of people don't like the love story in this but I think it's refreshing. I don't think I could make it through this drama without some refreshing breaks LOL. I really like the character developments and I don't think In Ha is unnecessary in the drama. It's nice to see the main character have someone to rely on (thats a girl ofc lol). One thing though, the ending could have been tweaked a little better.. well I wanted some magical cure for Alzheimers but its okay I understand lol.
Acting/Cast: Min Young, as always, was great and she did a really good job portraying In Ha as Jin Woo's supporter and noona. Seung Ho as Jin Woo was amazing, I'm in love with his acting. Everytime he cried I cried and everytime he smiled I smiled. His acting is splendid and I'd like to see him as a main role in more dramas :) (happy dramas lol). P.S. he's super handsome so thats a bonus haha. Nam Goong Min as Nam Kyu Man (wow so close... a coincidence I don't think so? haha) was AMAZING as a villain. He really portrayed all sides of the villain. Kyu Man spends his whole life pleasing his father and you can really see that and his anger issues are extreme. I'd have to say he definitely did an awesome job at giving this character dimension. Kyu Man's sister was okay, nothing special about her & lastly Park Dong Ho's character was amazing. His Busan accent and his acting was very good.
Music: what? there was music? lol srry I was too busy crying...
Rewatch Value: yes. definitely. a gem. but I won't watch this when I'm depressed LOL
Overall: overall I definitely wholeheartedly recommend this drama to anyone who wants a sad, realistic drama. This drama is very realistic because in reality the rich really do overpower the poor. I watched this drama for the cast and I was not disappointed. Awesome cast and great storyline.
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The story is based of a manhwa named Goodbye Mr. Black, that takes its inspiration from the novel 'The Count of Monte Cristo'. Searching for this story led me to a lot of positive reviews. With a cast of well known actors including Lee Jin Wook, Song Jae Rim and more, the future looked bright. But as always you never know how things will turn out. A revenge themed serie is usually about the main character outsmarting his enemies and punishing them to pay them back for his pain. Love is often thrown into the mix as it is something where the main character gets his strength from to endure difficult situations. Lacking a real love story could have done wonders because it got more annoying than it contributed to the quality of the serie. After a while everything became predictable and felt dragged. Halfway through it picked up a little bit, not long before going back to it's usual pattern. You get the feeling the story is going nowhere. The extension of 4 episodes didn't make it better. They could have wrapped this up in 16 episodes. Having watched some of the actors & actresses past works, this is probably one of the most poorly written drama's in their career. Seeing their filmography they have surely acted in better ones. Lee Jin Wook's character Cha Ji Won is a smart & loyal person, that would consider taking risks in order for him to succeed. A very optimistic person. Making a return as Mr. Black after being framed by his best friend Min Sun Jae (Kim Kang Woo) he seems to have lost some of his composure & intelligence. It was like seeing him smiling and punching himself in the face multiple times although knowing it hurts. Moon Chae Won did an amazing job in both 'Innocent Man' & 'Good Doctor'. In 'Goodbye Mr. Black' her character 'Kim Swan' fell short. She was running all over the place (looking for her identity). Being the female lead you expect her to do a better job supporting Mr. Black in his quest for revenge but she had her own problems to deal with. It only lead to dragging him down. Obviously developing feelings for each other is a bad idea when planning your revenge, seeing how enemies could use her against him. In these kind of series, it always bound to happen. Her chemistry with Lee Jin Wook isn't bad yet it isn't comparable to her pairings with Song Joong Ki & Joo Won. However Lee Jin Wook is not at fault as I liked his acting in 'The Time We Were Not In Love' where he formed a nice love line with Ha Ji Won. Kim Tae Woo's portrayal of his characters in 'That Winter, The Wind Blows' & 'God's Gift - 14 Days' were great. This is probably one of his more forgettable roles since he didn't have as much influence as he had in his former works. The whole cast fell victim to a poorly written drama which is a pity because the reference material and cast were promising. Moon Hee Jung has better works on her résumé, for example: 'Missing You' (ft. Park Yoo Chun, Yoon Eun Hye & Yoo Seung Ho).
Goodbye Mr. Black wasn't atrocious but decent would have been too praising. It was okay at best. While the 4 OST's were not bad the lack of good (variety) background music, that captures the feeling of the serie, didn't do the drama any good. All that remains is an average drama with a lot of repetitive looping and predictable plot lines. Sharing the same day- & timeslot as 'Descendants of The Sun' when premiering adds up to the unfortunate stuff happening to the drama, as many people preferred the latter for a very good reason. A fair share of bad luck you might say.
Revenge is sweet when done right but that's certainly not the case with Goodbye Mr. Black.
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The Story: Let me begin by saying I was really looking forward to the show because I thought it had great potential after seeing the plot. I was almost expecting a little bit of a similar background view to Korean showbiz as was seen in 'The Producers'. but in reality it felt more like a soap. There was just too much plot put in and the emotion of the story felt lost and shallow. I get that everyone in the group was supposed to have their own background story and show growth, but the execution was sadly lacking. The writing of the script and dialogue needed a lot more depth. It was like reading a novel where the writer tells you 'so and so feels sad' rather than showing it through the the character's actions words/actions. The relationships in the between the characters also felt shallow. They showed the one scene between Shin suk ho and young Ha nuel over and over to establish the connection, there could have been more. The romance was also a stretch. Either the development should have been shown slowly over time with them spending more time together instead of the awkward glances and kindness and the fast forward to the future where you are supposed to assume the relationship had grown, or they could have just left it out. The redeeming aspect of the relationships was the bromance, but even that could have been done better.
Acting/Cast: The cast was another thing that had me anticipating the drama. I love Ji Sung and everything I have seen with him in it, I was really impressed by Hyeri in Reply 1988, and was so happy to see Chae Jung Ahn cast in a 'nice' role (I just think she is radiant). I was not familiar with the rest of the cast so I wasn't expecting much there. I don't know if it was the direction or the actors' own initiative, but there was waayy too much moping. If they had cut the minute long intense glares/gazes and super dramatic crying/ wailing/throwing oneself against walls and the floor scenes, the drama would have fit the original plan of 16 episodes and been a better drama for it. For me, this was just the beginning of the acting troubles for the main cast. I would be tempted to say that the supporting cast, esp Lee Tae Sun were more convincing.
Music: The music was great. It was the one thing I really enjoyed in this drama.
Rewatch value/overall: I think if you are a great fan of one of these actors or you like a really drama filled show with angsty looks and heartbroken glances with tons of bromance, it won't be a bad watch. I would stay very far away if you are looking: for a show that touches your heart with great acting and dialogue or a drama gives a glimpse of human nature and the harshness of reality or just really good romance. In all my disappointment I don't regret watching this 100%, but there is definitely never going to be a re-run of this for me. I apologize if someone finds this review very harsh and I know there will be many who don't agree with me, but this is the review I would have wanted to read before watching. It is my honest opinion and perhaps it will soften the blow of disappointment for someone else if they go in with more realistic expectations than I did.
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Was it worth it: Yes.
What I liked the most: The bad guys weren’t psychics. They were wrong a lot and were scratching their heads more often than not.
What I disliked the most: Ddol Bok was hella annoying as a kid. When given the option, I would have killed him. The actor did a great job, though.
Moment Meter: 1/10 – Typically I base “moments” on romance, and there wasn’t a whole lot of that in here, but a few scenes were feel-good moments even without a love line.
Other thoughts: It’s so hard to keep these Josen-era dramas interesting from the beginning to the end, but this one did a good job. There were a lot of characters and if you don’t already know the history it gets confusing at times. Every time I thought it was going to hit a lull, something exciting happened. It could have been a few episodes shorter, but it’s not bad as it is. I forgot that Joong Ki was in this when I went to watch it, so that was a pleasant surprise. Lee Soo Hyuk can also be filed under the “pleasant surprise” category. Also, keep your eyes peeled for a Yeo Jin Goo sighting.
Conclusion: It’s a solid, well-paced Josen-era drama. It kept my attention even after my favorite actor finished his part.
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Was it worth it: At times
What I liked the most: The supernatural element. Any sort of impossible or magical note in the drama is a plus in my book
What I disliked the most: Some of the behavior from Rain’s character. It was erratic and ridiculous at times.
Moment Meter: 3/10 – There were some good moments, but the content in between them watered the moments down a bit.
Other thoughts: This drama started strong, stayed good for a while, became too ridiculous to take seriously, and then picked it back up at the end. There were two separate story lines, and I definitely liked one over the other (hint: not Rain’s story line) but collectively they weren’t horrible. The “Han Gi Tak” story line was strong enough to be a drama all on its own, whereas the “Kim Yeong Soo” storyline started strong, but then really sucked in the middle. I don’t dislike Rain, but he’s not a favorite either so he wasn’t enough to save it for me. They could have done a lot more with it. Or at least made it make sense.
Conclusion: It seems like they had too much time to fill, and they struggled to fill all of that time with quality content. The times when they got their act together were good, though.
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The bad things in my own opinion are: the development of the story is quite slow its not a bad pace but there are moments that it makes you feel excited at some point but the scene doesn't meet up with what you feel it ought to be, I don't know maybe its just me but who knows right? another thing is a bit personal for me, subtitles, where are they? haha. Episode 6 is already out but I can't watch it yet since I'm waiting for someone to translate it. It's not a bad thing but I believe Make It Right is reaching countries as far as Europe, so I guess having subs would really boost its ratings.
That's it for now, I'll post another after I watched the entire show, but at this point I really look forward to it and will continue to watch. Hope this helps!
Please be reminded that I haven't watched the entire series just up to the latest one and this review only covers the half of it (since there are 12 episodes). The purpose of this review is for what to expect, I will edit this on the future after the season finale. Thanks for understanding and reading.
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Story: I really liked the plot of this drama since it's different and unique. It follows the lives of 3 gay/queer friends (Gus, Golf, Kim) and Natty, their best girl friend, who is always there to support them.
What I really like is that towards the middle of the drama it starts to appear a love line, which I really enjoyed and supported so much!
Acting/Cast: I didn't knew any of the actors when I started watching it, but I really enjoyed. It doesn't have an over the top acting but at the same time it isn't boring either.
Music: I like all kind of music, it doesn't really matter the genre or country, so I guess not everyone would agree with me. Still, I believe it has good songs through out the drama.
So with all that being said I would definitely rewatch this drama and definitely recommend it!
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