Reviews

I was willing to give 18 vs 29 a go because I liked the premise: a marriage in trouble and the couple trying to find their way back to each other.

Good potential for some great drama, I thought, but I almost lost my patience with this show in some of the earlier episodes.

I really did not care for the lead actress when she reverted to her 18 year old self. Talk about annoying! She got on my last nerve with all her childish antics, and I felt really sorry for her husband who patiently put up with a lot of crap from her, including losing his very lucrative acting career because of her foolishness.

I kept watching, though, hoping things would get better and it did. In the later episodes, once Hae Chan started acting her age and the action moved away from High School and into the adult world, I started to really enjoy the show. It transitioned from a teen sitcom -- which I did not sign up to watch -- to an adult drama dealing with adult themes, namely two people who love each other, but have difficulty communicating properly, trying to save their marriage.

But even though I liked their chemistry, I wasn't entirely happy with how the story was executed. I think a lot of good opportunities to heighten the tension between Hae Chan and Bong-man were squandered. Too much screen time was given to the High School scenes and the Noon/Hae Chan story arc. As far as I could see those scenes served no real purpose in driving the plot, which was to save Bong-man and Hae Chan's marriage. The story arc with Bong-man's mother was also really good, but far too brief.

I liked the acting ... for the most part. I liked Bong-man/Sang Young, the husband. He was quite handsome with a really great, boyish smile. If he lost about 10kg and got some sleep he'd have been smoking! :)

Anyway, before watching the show I read a review that claimed he was sexist toward Hae Chan, but I couldn't see where he was sexist toward Hae Chan anymore than every man is sexist toward women around the world. Sure, his character adhered to what I suppose is the cultural norm in Korea for the home and its upkeep to be woman's domain, but that hardly makes him a villain. In fact, he was just the opposite. I thought he really tried to care for Hae Chan. You could see that he really loved her. In fact, this was one of the things I loved about the show. Hae Chan was plain, but she had this amazing, famous, handsome guy who would do anything for her. She did whatever she wanted, even when he told her he didn't like certain things.

As for Hae Chan herself, I didn't dislike the actress' efforts, but I didn't like it either. Perhaps by no fault of her own, her character was annoying to an extreme. I'm not even sure 18 year olds act the way she portrayed. She kinda went overboard, in my humble opinion. She was overly bratty, immature and selfish. She gave Bong-man a whole lot of grief, even though he showed her nothing but love, patience and support from start to finish. I was frustrated and angry right along with him when she went off and did something stupid.

The adult supporting cast were the best (the younger supporting cast annoyed me -- maybe because I didn't want to watch a show about teenagers). They all did a great job, esp Hae Chan's feisty younger sister, Hae Won, Bong-man's lovelorn agent Mr. Shu (hilarious guy!), and Bong-man's grandfather the Dictator/Prince of Evil (who, it turned out, had a soft core under his cantankerous exterior).

Another issue I had with this drama is the lack of intimacy between the leads. At first Hae Chan's wariness of her husband's advances made sense under the circumstances, but as the show progressed it just got ridiculous. These people are supposed to be married and not once do they even share a kiss? Come on! Their entire interaction seemed very juvenile, like a playground crush rather than a true romance between adults. Grrr

Perhaps this is due to some sort of censorship on onscreen intimacy in Korea, I don't know, but I've noticed the same thing in other Korean dramas and some movies I've seen, and it's very frustrating. Not because I'm eager to see the actors get naked, but where this sort of activity is naturally required by the story I don't want to see adults acting like pre-teens who don't know what sex or kissing is. It makes absolutely no sense for a married couple or even a boyfriend and girlfriend (in many cases, who have been together for a long time) to just hug and hold hands and act all shy around each other.

Finally, the production value on this show was a bit low. I didn't like the format this show was shot on. Or rather than the format, perhaps it was just shoddy post production work. The picture was too bright and there was basically no colour grading. I was almost blinded by all the brightness, brightness of colours, brightness of the actors' faces and surroundings ... even when I adjusted the contrast on my TV screen.

With all that said, the show was okay. The leads had good chemistry and despite certain flaws in the story their marriage was believable. Moreover, by the end of the show, I believed their marriage would last. And I suppose that's the most important thing considering this was the question at the beginning. I could have loved this show, though, had it been done differently, technically and artistically. I don't think I'll be re-watching anytime soon, if ever.

Leia Mais

I’ve been looking forward to watching this because the story really intrigued me. And now that I’ve finished it, I felt like a large boulder was lifted from my back. It was such a struggle for me to be able to finish this one. There were lots of dragging parts that I just wanted to skip, but it’s my golden rule to never skip any part of a drama no matter how badly I want to. The drama started out good until the second time leap happened. Thankfully, the drama redeemed itself during the last four episodes or else I would not have given this drama even a score of 7.

I really like this kind of stories: about revenge, betrayals, and such. So I was really surprised to find myself disappointed along the way. The revenge didn’t feel much like revenge at all until the last few episodes. The romance was cute during the first time leap. But during the second one, it felt like everything would have worked out just fine even without the presence of Ji Won. Her character became useless. I cursed Soo Mi to death, but I’ll have to admit that her character has way more substance than Jiwon’s. But the character who really helped me endure all of this was none other than Jang Il. Yup, it’s Jang Il and not Sun Woo. Whereas I’ve always anticipated watching the bad guys go down, I really felt sympathy towards Jang Il. This character left me this feeling which is kind of difficult to explain. Perhaps you’ll know this feeling once you finish watching this drama.

The acting was great. It was nice to see different sides of the characters. The bad ones were able to send tears to my eyes, and the good ones were able to make me curse at them. I never thought Uhm Tae Woong was this good. I’ve seen him in the past, and I think I might have underestimated him then. But the actor I’d like to praise more is Lee Joon Hyuk. I’m really impressed at how he was able to flawlessly portray such complicated character. I’d love to see more of his projects when he comes back from the army. Maybe another prosecutor role, no? But he does look good as a prosecutor. Overall, the casting was okay aside from the fact that I was bothered by the age difference between Joon Hyuk and Tae Woong. They were supposed to look like same-aged, but the age difference really showed in the drama. Oh and the kids were amazing too! I’m really looking forward to Lee Hyun Woo’s projects. At his age, I’m really fascinated at how good an actor he is.

Music. Okay I had a lot of issues with this one. I didn’t like the music. It was so plain and so boring. Also, the music kind of magically fades away during the key points in the drama. I don’t know about others, but I really want hearing thrilling music during climactic points in the drama so I was really disappointed.

There’ll be only two reasons why I would decide to rewatch this. Lee Hyun Woo and Lee Joon Hyuk. Their acting was superb (and they’re the good-looking ones, in my opinion).

The story was good, but I didn’t like how they executed some parts of the story which ended up being dragging. Nevertheless, this drama is worth the watch if you can endure watching some boring parts in exchange of witnessing a beautiful once-in-a-lifetime friendship cruelly tested by painful circumstances.

Leia Mais

I just read the other recommendations and I just can't believe how anyone would give this drama a 4! It's one of the most epic, remarkable and unforgettable dramas in Korea in 2010 and until today.

I just rewatched this drama after 2 years and even though the story, episodes and scenes are still clear in my head, it still made me laugh, cry and curl my toes and fingers. This is definitely one of the best dramas of all time.

Concentrating on their kisses, Hyun Bin kisses "hot-ly" but Ha Ji Won does not. Hyun Bin has this serious character so laughing or acting funy does not suit him but it would definitely make you laugh -- (SPOILER: Like the one when they were having dinner and he was imitating Ah Yeong while in the bathroom). Ha Ji Won is indeed very sexy while doing those action thingy. As a girl, I also cant help but fall for her charm. The other casts did very well considering that they're just rookies in the industry like Yoo In Na, the secretary, Yoon Seul and the young songwriter.

The OST is still alive until today. People still cant forget that one song that made their hearts melt --- That Man sung by Baek Ji Young. I still hear it playing as a BGM in some of the variety shows that I watch.

Rewatch Value. As I said, I just rewatched and still made me laugh and cry and melt!! :"">

Leia Mais

Let me as an intro say that I did enjoy watching this short drama. But I do have some complicated feelings about it. Even though I did like it (like many people would), I also noticed a LOT of things that had the ability to be improved.

SHORT VERSION
Good story, I like that the guy is dressed as up as a girl, for once.
Acting/Cast is okay, but the girl is too young for the part I think. But I also think she was the best actor. She was the one who was best at expressing emotions while acting. And the guy who was supposed to look like a girl, indeed looked like a girlish-faced guy (with a masculine body) with a wig.
The music is kpop!:D
I enjoyed watching this a lot, but the feeling afterwards was and is a lot different. Looking back, it lacked a lot. This drama had a lot of potential, so hopefully, someone will be inspired to make something similar (and longer)

STORY
Even though cross dressing isn't original (the reason it didn't get 10 points), I have a weakness when it comes to it. And if you like cross dressing dramas, this is a must watch because we always see the girl as a boy, not opposite like in this. In this short drama, I don't find anything out of the place.


ACTING/CAST
I don't complain about the acting (I never notice bad acting while watching dramas/movies, only "over acting" - sometimes it is acceptable, sometimes it's not. The "over acting" in 'Ma Boy' by Tae Joon, fit his character, so I'm okay with it.), but I still feel that some of the cast could be changed. Even though I did like the acting of the character Jang Geu Rin (Kim So Hyun), I think she was too young for the character. 12 years old? Is that why we don't see too intimate moments? x) I missed that...

When Sun Woong (who is goodlooking *-*) acted as Irene, he lacked a lot of... femininity. He could have practiced a lot more "girly walking", for instance. (Like when Yoon Eun Hye practiced male traits, like walking, before acting in Coffee Prince.)

Last mention about the acting (it could also be the script writer). I really missed some feelings. I felt like this drama was just... a story, barely any emotions but into it. The main actress (who I complained about being a 12 year old) was the one I felt nailed it the most, actually.

MUSIC
About the music? You like kpop, right? I know I do! I have to include this somewhere: The scene when Jang Geu Rim performed Twinkle by TaTiSeo... That was... bad. She just stood there doing nothing.

REWATCH VALUE
I barely feel like rewatching dramas, because it takes a lot of time, and there are plenty of other dramas to watch. But since this is so short, it isn't impossible for me to watch it again. But I probably won't. Why? As already mentioned, this drama lacked emotions. Yeah, there was some, but I wished it was much more.

OVERALL
It felt like a mix between a drama and a movie. I really dislike Korean movies (not all of them, but most of the ones I've seen), because they seem to rush everything hastily, with no emotions (they obviously don't have time for that "nonsense"). I felt some tingling in my chest at some parts, but not that much. But it do have some very fun parts. I did like Tae Joon's character, and the two trios who root for Tae Joon and Irene.

If you're looking for a lighthearted and short drama, watch this. If you're looking for some huge "kyaaaah" and sweet moments, look somewhere else.

But it was, in fact, a cute drama.

Still giving it a 6, though. Lol. But it was close to 7, but while writing this, I somehow changed my mind. But while watching it, I would probably give it a 8, because, like already mentioned, I enjoyed WATCHING this drama. But afterwards, I don't feel anything (those dramas and movies that makes you think about them for days because it was good, those are more than good - they're great. I know dramas that I felt was okay while watching, but like masterpieces when they're done).

I hope that someone will make something similar to this, but as a drama. That is something I would watch.

Leia Mais

the story is very interesting with the brother's relationship at the hospital how one is eastern medicine and one is western medicine and like how they are rival in both medical and love. It's also very intriging about the younger brother, seung hyun's love relationship with how both girl likes him but he seems more interested in the doctor girl but he cannot abandon the girl, eun ji who he cares about a lot and especially when she needs him for his support. then there is the older brother, doo hyun who likes the doctor girl and is not very good at expressing his feeling and always feel enviness of his younger brother.
The acting was very good and intense that it made me cry when i watch the patient especially when the patient are suffering from illness, and the acting seems so real and very moving. Though there are some scene that make you scare becasue after all this is a hospital drama so it would invole seeing blood and surgery , and it is not very pleasant to look at esp. when you are eating dinner it makes you not want to eat.
the music was very moving and match well with the drama.
For rewatch all though i would like to watch it many time for it romantic comedy in it, but not so much becasue i can't stand seeing so many blood, and all that surgery and blood makes me kinda scare because personally i am very weak when i see blood

Leia Mais

The story plot is interesting b/c it deals with how love is always there, like even if you move on from that love but deep inside you always have that weakness for that previous love, ad in this case it is about first love. the main married couple both marry each other because of what they think is love, but truth is they have not move on from their first love.
The acting is very good, and it doesn't seems fake, very great acting skill that touches your heart. Each character make you sympathize with them and they feel very human and not like one of those unbelievable character. Though it does seems a bit like a romance dream but the relationship and feeling seems pretty real and you can sympathize with the character. The actors and actress suit the role very well, and not to mention they are all very good looking too.
I really like the ending music because it seems to tell of each couple not forgetting their first love and the pain and feeling they have toward each other. though they didn't really play music much throughout the drama so far, but the ending song really match the drama really well.
The rewatch value for me is pretty high because the drama have kept me laughing for the whole time. and it is like a romantic comedy drama that make s you laugh, cry and sympathize as you watch the drama.

Leia Mais

How I want to begin.

I'm a k drama watcher since 12 years ago. I have encountered so many korean drama that I almost feel sick and bored about it.

This drama is exception. It is eating my heart, soul and lingering in my mind and my body everyday. Until now.

This drama is a treasure. You have to understand the themes of the underlying hidden in the plot and story.

Many feel disconnected or stopped watching from this drama because they said, Arang has become less feisty etc.

How come they didn't understand the character of Arang Im not able to comprehend. When she is a ghost she only think of herself and her lost soul but along the way when she has becoming more human, she discovered new emotions and underlying feelings that she never felt before that make her vulnarable. Inside she is much more aware but she is strong as ever. Willing to sacrifies.

Arang and The Magistrate is a themes of finding yourself, love, death, life and human heart & memories.

It is very complicated, realistic, conflicted and complex themes I ever encountered and it is presented with an excellent portrayal of character, sizzling out of the world LOVE STORY and CHEMISTRY and a very strong, well written and well thought plot.

There is certain flaws but what they give is overcoming the flaws and explodes your emotions in the most subtle way.

It is masterpeice in my heart. A drama I will cherish for a whole lifetime. It is topped many drama that I have watched, even my classic top fav, I'm Sorry I Love You.

Leia Mais

I’ve been trying to watch Country Princess for a couple years now but had never been able to find it subbed; it previously became available on Crunchyroll so I decided to watch it right away…

Story: I knew from reading the synopsis it would be an interesting story but I had no idea all the unexpected things that were going to happen. Bae Doona’s character had more than enough of her shared tragedy I’ll tell you that. There was some subtle comedy but it really can be classified as a family melodrama. Now there were some things that I didn’t like about it though. First, the romance was written in a way that had me confused. In the beginning you think she is going to end up with one guy but close to the end you still don’t know which guy she will end up with till the very end. Another thing I didn’t like was the birth secret really didn’t have the closure I was expecting. It gets drawn out to the every end without anything really being solved. As for the ending it was okay but could have been better.

Acting/Cast: I already know Bae Doona is an excellent actress (have seen quite a few of her past works) but she was really perfect as Eun Hee. Now as for her character, she can come off as borderline crazy and sometimes off putting but when you get past all that you will see her as a tough, hardworking family girl that you can root for. The actress that played her Unni was good (not as good as Doona) but I hated her character. I didn’t feel sympathetic for her character in the end and it pisses me off she gets to keep her cushiony life after all the evil things she did to her own sister. As for the guys, they were just okay not really impressive as the girls but they both had chemistry with the ladies. I think the writers screwed up when writing their characters though. At times they were both unlikable and I just didn’t understand some of their decisions. The actress that played the mom was brilliant and although she can be seen as evil, you will feel sympathetic for her character.

Music: Not memorable but I do like that it wasn’t in your face. I hardly remember what was used.

Rewatch: Really liked the story but the characters (except for Eun Hee) wasn’t memorable so I cant say whether id rewatch this or not. It’s a possibility though.

Overall Country Princess is one of the better older dramas I’ve seen, that I would recommend.

Leia Mais

I was really into this show when I first started it. I couldn't wait for the new episodes each week. Then after awhile I wasn't as anxious about it. And then the last six or so episodes I ended up saving up and watching all in a row a couple days ago. I'm not sure what happened, but somewhere along the line Arang and the Magistrate lost a lot of my interest...

But let's start with the things I liked. I LOVED the cast! I've never watched Lee Jun Ki in a drama before, but seeing him in this really made me want to. He did an amazing job! Shin Min Ah was really good, too, especially in the earlier episodes, and her chemistry with Jun Ki was awesome. I also liked pretty much all the supporting characters. They were portrayed well and added humor and depth. I really liked the music, especially the score. Really beautiful instumentals.

I think the story is where things start to move into the gray area between Like and Dislike. The plot started off really unique and interesting. All the characters were really strong at the beginning. Then somewhere along the way things got... slow? complicated? just different? I'm not sure exactly what it was, but I gradually became disconnected from the characters and the plot. I didn't care as much about what happened to them. I was especially sad that Arang became less feisty and strong and more like the typical K-drama female lead. A bit disappointing.

But despite that, the show was still enjoyable. The visuals were always really good and I thought the ending was, too, even though it could've been more epic. Still definitely worth watching. ^_^

Leia Mais

This drama changed my views on the fact that japanese don't know how to make romance since i'd been dissapointed so much lately.It turned right back and proved me wrong.SO glad that it did

From the acting perspective it comes off pretty strong as we see everyone's beloved Yamapi putting an amazing front of this sportsman who's tryin his best for his family and his team.To score and win the championships.All he lacks is a proper drive.This thrist which can be quenched only if he forgets about everything else and focuses.He can only do that if he meets his once in a lifetime love..which he does btw..:D
Keitagawa Keiko is so pretty as Riko.I think i have a girl crush on her after this.She does her role as a violinist pretty well.
the chemistry between the leads is pretty good as i felt all the flutters that i expect to feel from a romantic drama.It wasn't an angsty drama according to me so it saves a lot of tears.It satisfied me on the romantic front.i loved loved the awkwardness of two strangers turning into friends and ultimately into lovers who are there for each other.The acting and the tranformation of these two people is so believeable.Its like it could actually happen in anyone's life if they are lucky enough.Two neighbours meeting up and their journey through love.Relistic and true to life

I wish they could have spared us the dragging end because after 8th episode it sort of lost it somewhere but came back again with a perfect end.I wished they had focused more on them staying together than on Natsuki who's the type i hate the most
as somebody said earlier its pretty much like watching a cliched kdrama.without all that melodrama stuff

Same song was repeated over and over again but i didnt get bored yet i wished they had more of such uplifting and upbeat music.If the music score had been more vast it would have been a treat.

Give it a go simply for the fresh romance it brings to the screen and how it mixes sports and love together in a brillaint blend..:)

Leia Mais

O.M.G! I think this is such a cute drama and the guys were even cuter!!! (yes, there was also some cute girls)

Anyways, I don't know about others but i really enjoyed this drama. Why 10 for everything? well...I loved it:)

In my opinion (obviously it will be different from others) the actors did a really good job. I actually felt at times as if I was there. I know weird huh.

The Story was cute and I couldn't stop going AW! all over it. It's all romance so if you don't like romance then you won't like this. But seriously, it's not action packed, or even a little comedic. Also the intro to the drama very much reminded me of the TV show FRIENDS.

The music was, is, outstanding. I love GROUPLOVE, so I definitely got enough of that. The same songs were played all through out though.

Overall it's a very well written drama and so far I can't stop watching it. I am actually taking a short break to write this right now... ENJOY THE SHOW \(^o^)/

Leia Mais

I am really surprised that I have not found more people who dislike this drama as much as my sister, our friends, and I do. It was literally THE WORST DRAMA I'VE EVER SEEN. Let me get to the why...

Story: The story overall had an okay premise, but, towards the end, they just threw in random "plot twists" that were obviously not thought about from the beginning and seemed arbitrary.

Acting/Cast: A few things to say on....this. Okay, first off, why cast Tackey-san as a BAD guy? When he smiles "evilly" he just looks like normal adorable Tackey and can not be taken seriously. I mean, I love Tackey, just....he's a terrible bad guy. Second off, why would you EVER cast Hikaru as a dealer? He's great in the range he plays, which, is just not...the "tough guy". Also, the woman? I can not get over how annoying she was. This may be due to the poor plot, but...seriously?

Rewatch Value: ABSOLUTELY NOT. (I could barely get through it the first time!) One thing. I literally got headaches every time I watched this drama and literally struggled to get through this drama.

Overall? It was TERRIBLE. It was so terrible it made me want to cry, it is literally the WORST DRAMA I have ever seen. Save yourself, don't watch it.

Leia Mais

Although this drama is about a school, it is not typical. I like this kind of psychological thriller. It is fun to try to figure out what is going on before the end.

The story is really well done. I figured out what was going on by the 2nd episode, but it didn't stop me from enjoying it. I think the only reason why I figured it out is because I like dramas like this and watch a lot of them and I read a lot of crime books. I also watch a lot of CSI (US tv series) which has a lot of this type of story. Anyway, it is well written and the ending did take me a little by surprise. The ending was the best part of the whole drama.

The acting has a lot of young eye candy stars, but they deliver. I am weary of the younger stars (the guys in this range from 22-27) that sometimes make their way into a drama because of their looks. A lot of these actors are models. However, each actor in this drama did an outstanding job portraying their characters.

The music is really well done in this drama and flows nicely with the action.

I probably won't rewatch this.

Overall I really enjoyed it and I would recommend it to anyone that likes mystery, or psychological drama.

Leia Mais