Mrs Boo - 30 Lifer Crisis

It has been a while since I have reviewed any k-drama, although I have watched quite a number of them. Something always came up and I just couldn’t find the time to write, and by the time I had time, I had forgotten half the story, moved on to another drama, or lost that initial fervour to give a 2-cents worth review.

Palace “Goong” or Princess Hours has been spared the above fate because both Mr Boo and I are crazy over the show’s soundtrack which is playing on a daily basis in our brand new car (Is “Perhaps Love” a great song or what??). It was also while watching this drama that I cemented my determination to learn and master the Korean language, so I have now more or less memorised the Korean alphabet and also started learning some basic words and Korean curses and insults - haha.

There is this Goong craze going on around the region. It is infectious, and I am one of the infected ones. Already our local tv is broadcasting the drama in prime time slot (just one month after I completed the series on VCD), and whenever I can, I try to catch it (again). It is currently one of the highest rated shows in my country, and currently my biz partner is also hooked on the VCDs that I have lent her. Internet boards are filled with pages and pages of endless discussions, youtube videos of anything related to the series abound. And guilty as charged, I know because I have been surfing!!

Goong’s producers hit a goldmine in translating a cult Manhwa (”comics”) series onto TV. The premise is scintillating. If you love “Jewel in the Palace”and “Full House“, you would LOOOVE Goong because it combines the elements of a traditional, historical setting with modern contractual love. For history buffs like Mr Boo and moi, it is an interesting supposition of “what ifs”, ie what if Japan did not conquer Korea and the Choseon monarchy survived till this day? How would the monarchy have evolved? How different would it be from the Japanese monarchy, or the British?

This modern monarchical setting thus allowed Goong’s producers to let their imagination (and expenses) go wild, and I would give them full marks for their glorious set designs, props and costumes. It made the viewing so much more colourful and intense. Money well-spent I would say.

Nevertheless, once you strip the story down to its very basics, well then, what we have is a VERY TYPICAL Korean drama, with a done-to-death love story, ie two young - VERY YOUNG persons (Crown Prince, Lee Shin and Commoner Princess, Shin Chae Gyung - CG in short henceforth) forced to marry even as they have their own dreams and loved ones, and after much fighting and making up, they realise that they have fallen for each other despite all obstacles, and ta-da, they live happily ever after. Of course, since the series is 24 episodes long, there is also a sub-plot involving some imperial politics of the evil ex-empress trying to regain the throne for her son, Lee Yul, who is also yearning for the love of CG, but really, at the end of the day, who cares! Give me more cute and romantic scenes of Shin and CG anyday!

Perhaps for a change, let me start with my grouses regarding this series:

1. Because our main characters are all still in high school, suffice to say, watching the show, especially their schooling antics, made me feel VERY OLD. Of course, much younger viewers will beg to differ and ask me to retire to my rocking chair instead of writing asinine reviews like this.

2. Imperial politics are lame - nothing like the detailed and conniving plotting in “Jewel”. They are more of a distraction from the main storyline rather than anything else. By the middle of the series, I am getting impatient with the “dragginess” of the show, and I have to suffer until Episode 23 before the BIG Declaration and Kissing scene (Ooo la la!). Cut the damn thing to 16 or 20 episodes, make it snappy, because I don’t want to hear the Emperor or Empress or Empress Dowager moaning incessantly about basically nothing - Is the Emperor really dying? He looks fine to me.

3. Illogical characters - Look, I am not trying to nitpick, but the swiftness in which Min Hyo Rin (Shin’s first love) morph from ambitious ballerina (”I can’t be Crown Princess, I cannot give up my lifelong dreams!”) to scheming Korean version of Camilla Parker boggles the mind. (”I cannot accept her ie CG as your wife” - duh, too late sucker.) And of course, Lee Yul suddenly decides to destroy his entire reputation by taking on the blame for his mother’s plots defy logic. But I suppose we are not suppose to care right? Right?! No logic = good show.

Now, having vented my frustrations (which is really not a lot), what I LOOOVE about Goong:

1. The two leads Shin, played by yummy newbie Joo Ji Hoon, and CG, played by cutie pie Yoon Eun Hye. Like all other successful dramas, a combustible chemistry between the key lovers is essential. Likewise here, you CANNOT help but root these two young urns in their meandering quest to true love and marriage. Ji Hoon as the cold, princely Shin is a perfect foil for the oh so cute and bubbly Eun Hye (like Rain and Song Hye Gyo in “Full House”). They are so good together in all their scenes, particularly the kissing ones!! that you cannot imagine them partnering anyone else.

Sigh, doesn’t Shin and CG make a gorgeous and cute couple? But damn, we would not see this pairing anytime soon, as they would not be appearing in Goong 2 (sob, sob, sniff, sniff). Why???? I see so much more potential material for exploration - the maturing of young love, parenthood perhaps, yada yada - tsk, tsk. Legions of Goong fans are vastly disappointed to say the least. Fame came way too fast for the 4 leads, hence they probably did not feel the need to follow up with another season to cement their status.

2. The second leads, Lee Yul, played by Kim Jeong Hoon and Hyo Rin, played by Song Ji Hyo, despite their not so great acting, are good eye candy that fit into the overall setting of the show. If you can’t really act, you better look good right? Don’t ask me why, Kim Jeong Hoon consistently remind me of a young Leslie Cheung (yep the dead, gay HK star), and he’s really quite cute, though not as cool as Ji Hoon.

3. The other minor characters, like CG’s family and high school friends are quite a funny bunch as well, providing much comedic relief even as the leads become more and more depressed as time passed.

4. Did I mention how much I love the sets? Also it tickles my funny bones to see the imperial servants decked out in modern finery but spouting classical language, and comparing that to what I see and know from other historical Korean dramas.

5. “Fish out of water” scenes - How CG tried so hard to adapt to palace life in the first few episodes was a complete hoot.

6. And did I mention I love the soundtrack?! The title track “Perhaps Love” fits the love theme to a “T”. I swoon everytime it comes on, like when Shin puts on the shoe for CG at the palace party. It puts you in the mood for love, baby!

7. Costumes - it is almost like playing Barbie Doll. CG’s “princess” clothes and shoes are to die for.

8. All the Shin and CG scenes - when they slept together in her old bedroom, frolicking at the beach, their “consummation night”, their hot and passionate kisses - right on!

For all the girls, no matter how old we eventually become, I believe, even as we become grandmothers, in our heart, we will always harbour the fantasy of being swept away by a REAL prince (of course a handsome, make that drop dead gorgeous and charming one), becoming a true princess, and live happily ever after. Goong taps into those dreams, and allows us to live vicariously through CG for 24 episodes, so that we can sigh and be happy for her and WITH her, even as reality is so very far from the fantasy.

Rating: 4.5 boos out of 5 (Alas, no matter how much I love the show, it does not speak to me as much as My Lovely Sam Soon does - generational gap! ) BUT 5 boos out of 5 for compulsive, addictive TV!

I read a review before I watched the series. The reviewer gave it 3 stars, and I was reluctant to give it a shot, after watching so many great shows in recent weeks. Two reasons that made me gave this a shot: 1) I have about run of series to watch (those I Want to watch anyway); 2) This show featured prominently two of my favourite Korean actors - Rain and Lee Dong Gun. Some nice pics for us to salivate over our heros before I dive into the review…..

Alright people, enough, let’s wipe your drool and get on.

Synopsis: Cha Sang-Doo, played by Rain, is a single father caring for his terminally ill 7 year old daughter, Bori with his good for nothing uncle. In order to pay for Bori’s medical expenses, Sang-Doo works as a full-time gigalo, conning rich old women of their money. One day, Sang-Doo met his high school sweetheart, Chae Eun Hwan, played by an insipid Gong Hyo Jin, who is now a high school teacher and engaged to a pediatrician, Kang Min Suk, played by Lee Dong Gun. Min Suk, coincidentally, happens to Bori’s doctor in charge (well I guess he has to be, otherwise there will be no drama to tell, right?). Added to the quadruple relationship is Bori’s mother, Han Se-Ra (Hong Soo Hyun), who allegedly had a one night stand with Sang-Doo, gave birth to Bori and dumped Bori to Sang-Doo to raise, but always harboured notions of marrying Sang-Doo despite the fact that he only loves Eun Hwan.

Told in flashbacks, we came to know how close Eun Hwan and Sang-Doo were in school, and how, Sang-Doo, a popular dude from a rich family, accidentally killed a man trying to retrieve Eun-Hwan’s deceased father’s mementos and set off a chain of events which led him to be sent to a deliquent centre, kicked out of school, separated from Eun-Hwan, and his foster parents left him alone to fend for himself after his release. And therefore his current pathetic state was all thanks to Eun-Hwan!

Suffice to say, the lovebirds, after seeing each other again, realised that they still loved each other, but of course they encountered numerous obstacles in the form of fiancee, mother of his child, Bori, his criminal/gigalo life, etc. And since the problems seemed so insurmountable, what do the producers do? They conveniently killed the lovers off so that they could be together in death!

I have a problem, no, two Huge problems with this show.

First off all, the very uneven tone of the series. What started out as a comedy (from the flippant title and the VCD cover shots) when Sang-Doo and his uncle plyed their trade, and Sang-Doo making a fool out of himself trying to ingratiate himself back into Eun Hwan’s good books by enrolling into the high school she was teaching etc - the producers/writers have a sudden change of heart and suddenly everything descended into a gloomy love tragedy in the last few episodes, with a stereotypical “death is the answer” ending.

The lead actress, Gong Hyo Jin, is neither pretty nor has any semblance of spirit nor fire in her. She is over skinny, looks totally plain and has zero charisma. Her character in the show is weak and whiny. She is constantly bullied by her students and comes across as a well-meaning but totally ineffective teacher. It boggles my mind how she can have two hunks fighting over her - like harlow!?!? Is she the only woman left in South Korea?! Are you blind or what? And the fact that Sang-doo (aka Rain) has basically dumped his whole life down the drain, because she is the true love of his life, makes this series so hard to swallow down. Get Choi Ji Woo, Song Hae Gyo, someone else for goodness sake that is more worth the sacrifice!

Honestly the saving grace here is Rain’s acting. This being his debut, he is totally impressive in conveying all the moods and emotions of Sang-doo as the troubled young father, and the besotted lover. When he has to shave his daughter’s hair when she has to undergo chemotherapy, his grief is overwhelmingly real. Compared to his acting in “Full House” where he did much less, his role as Sang-doo is meaty and he carried it off well. Unfortunately, no matter how good he is, he had zero chemistry with the female lead. In fact, he has the greatest chemistry with my darling Lee Dong Gun - their fight scenes are hilarious. They should consider doing a “Brokeback Mountain”! Hehe.

Rating: 3 boos out of 5 (all credit to Rain and Lee Dong Gun! If ONLY they found a better female lead!!)

I never thought I would find another show to match, or God forbid, Overtake, Full House’s brilliance.

I never thought I would find a Korean drama that speaks so much to the woman on the street (ie women like me), and depict a romance that is at once so grounded in realism, yet with doses of the whimisical and the ridiculous, both combining to create a story so sweet and deeply heart-breaking. In terms of storyline and stereotypes, it is so atypical of all the dramas I have seen (and boy have I seen A LOT), and yet, the show could not be more entertaining, more gripping, and totally unforgettable. I rushed through all 16 episodes in a week, and have panda eyes to show for it. Barely a day after completing the series, here I am writing a review (and I have three other dramas to review before this!).

First, a quick Synopsis:

Kim Sam-soon (played by a superb Kim Sun Ah), a plump spinster hovering at the edge of 30, and desperately wanting to get married, gets dumped by her bastard two-timing boyfriend on Christmas eve. She wails her heart out in the Gents (an unfortunate mistake), mascara running all over her face, and meets for the first time Hyun Jin Heon (played the hunky dory yummy Hyun Bin - more on him later), who is a rich (what else?), slightly immature but with a whopper of emotional baggage - owner of a French restaurant, Bon Appetit. By chance (or fate), Jin Heon has just lost his pastry chef, and Sam-soon is a talented baker having honed her skills in pastry capital, Paris. Soon, Sam-soon is working under Jin Heon, and the two cross swords on a regular basis.

Jin Heon, who hasn’t gotten over being “dumped” by his girlfriend Hee Jin (or so he thought) after a car crash 3 years ago, is on the perennial escape from match-making sessions forced onto him my his domineering mother, President (what else?) of a hotel chain. In desperation, he coerced Sam-soon to become his “girlfriend” in exchange for lending her some money and the two of them become inextricably closer, physically and emotionally. Just as their “pretend relationship” is turning real, Hee Jin (played by Jung Ryu Won) returns from the States with dishy doctor Henry Kim (played by a gorgeous Korean American Daniel Henney) following behind (the perfect and undemanding suitor). The story was that Hee Jin left for the States to seek treatment for her advanced intestinal cancer so Jin Heon and Hee Jin briefly reconciled. But Jin Heon soon realises both he and Hee Jin have changed over the last three years and that he has unwittingly fallen in love with Sam-soon, much as he would like to deny ever falling for an “old fat spinster”. After several twists and turns (including the return of the scumbag boyfriend and objections from both mothers), they finally got together - in love, dating, but not married (as Jin Heon’s mother still objects to their relationship right till the end). Hee Jin returns to the States with Henry, and although not expressedly stated, looks as though she might reciprocate his feelings for her after all.

There is a minor subplot involving Sam-soon’s liberated and divorced sister’s affair with Jin Heon’s Master Chef, which provided an interesting and realistic commentary on the mindset of the modern 21st century Korean (and possibly Asian) woman.

Ultimately, the drama is mainly about Sam-soon’s coming of age story - as she braces herself for life at 30 (very much the same reason why I started this blog in the first place!). Sam-soon finds true love, but not the marriage that she has been craving for, she starts out her own bakery business with her sister and is still struggling towards the close of the story (sounds so familiar right?!!?), she learns to accept herself - her “plumpness”, her horrid name, and continues to live her life independently and according to her own beliefs.

All in all, a very simple, straightforward story, but told to stunning effect.

Where do I start with this review? Let’s begin with what the show DOESN’T have:

1. No pretty, skinny, tragic, martyred heroine
2. No failed engagement party and/or suicidal fiancee
3. No terminal diseases (actually one, but the character was already recovered right at the start)
4. No quadruple/multiple relationships (only small triangles…)
5. No impossibly chaste and “pure” but utterly passion-less romances (be realistic - if two people are deeply, passionately in love with each other, can they only be satisfied with only a chaste kiss or two re: Winter Sonata?!)
6. No convoluted plotlines (you are my half brother or my father betrayed your father and all that nonsense)
7. No grand “happily ever after” or tragic “separated forever” crap.

So, what Does the show have?

1. A well, no superbly-sketched realistic heroine - plump (in comparison to all other anorexic female characters), old (she’s 30!), coarse and straight speaking from an ordinary (but not tragic) background, with a country bumpkin name which she absolutely hates - all in all - a common girl/spinster with a bundle of insecurities but with her own strengths as well - like many of us really!! Takes no crap and stands up well for herself!

2. The “other woman” aka Hee Jin whom we can admire. Hee Jin’s sunny disposition, her inner strength in conquering her illness, her quiet acceptance that Jin Heon is no longer in love without going into multiple hysterics, suicide threats and meaningless plotting to snatch her man back, earn many, many brownie points from me. At last, a realistic and dignified portrayal of the other woman.

3. A plot focusing on the relationship development between Sam-soon and Jin Heon. Thanks to the lack of nonsenical plot developments, the director could showcase the on-going dynamics between the two lead characters - how they met, clashed, why and how they fell in love ultimately, if grudgingly, and how they progressed after they got together, which gave us an indication how they may fare in the future after the end of the show. The audience gets totally involved and invested in their developing relationship, and it makes for addictive entertainment.

4. A slice of real life and no holds barred take on modern relationships - everyone is having pre-marital sex, not that I am condoning that, but it is great to know that both Sam-soon and Jin Heon (and Hee Jin and likely Henry for that matter) are not chaste virgins. After all that pent up emotions and frustrations, they better get on to finding an outlet for them! Maybe because TV always needs to be “family-friendly” but making a deeply in love couple exchange a chaste peck or two, or worse just “passionate embraces” just smack of falseness. In this show, Sam-soon and Jin Heon have sex - with hilarious scenes of Jin Heon trying to buy a condom (well, at least they practice safe-sex), Sam-soon’s sister having one-night stands with the chef, Hee Jin and Jin Heon also apparently getting it on before she left him 3 years ago (some vague mention of her trying pregnancy tests). The kissing scenes are utterly yummy, and totally satisfactory and to-die-for romatic to this couch potato here.

5. Accurate reflections on the mindset of single woman, be they divorced, widowed, broken up, etc. Some viewers have compared the show to Bridget Jones’ Diaries, which is also about the ups and downs faced by single women. In fact, the drama can be considered a chick-flick, since women dominated the story here, and mainly strong women to that effect - Sam-soon, her mother and sister, Hee Jin, Jin Heon’s mother and her weird secretary, Jin Heon’s restaurant manager and even his cute little niece. Even the bunch of waitresses working at Jin Heon’s restaurant, Bon Appetit, are forever chasing after the elusive perfect love and marriage, and there was a classic scene where they were discussing 10 key reasons why they cannot find the perfect and single male.

There are so many laugh-out-loud, and heart breaking moments that I will be hard pressed to identify my favourite scenes. But some of them are:

1. The opening episode when Sam-soon and Jin Heon first met each other - Sam Soon looked absolutely hideous! Even I, as part of the female fraternity, was completely put off by her! That the actress pulled it off so easily was genius.

2. When Sam-soon and Jin Heon found themselves in toilets next to each other at the restaurant, and Jin Heon ran out of toilet paper, and was at the mercy of Sam-soon’s torture. Simply hysterical! Top rate toilet humour.

3. When Sam-soon, trying to forget Jin Heon, went on a hike to one of the mountains in Cheju. Having over-estimated herself, she was swearing and cursing as she laboured her way to the top, and Jin Heon’s subsequent appearance at the peak. Funny and touching at the same time!

4. Jin Heon, in a bid to get rid of Sam-soon from his mind, tried to unsuccessfully throw away her stuffed toy pig (see pic above) that was left at his house. In a fit of complete frustration, he kicked, slapped and strangled the poor pig - Hyun Bin never looked cuter!!!!

5. Jin Heon’s love declaration for Sam-soon in the toilet where they first met (toilets played a big part in this drama!) - funny, romantic, yet very real at the same time. Don’t we all have grand visions when and where our first love declaration will take place, and it never turns out the way we wanted it to be?

6. Sam-soon and Jin Heon’s dating scenes - Sam-soon had 7 grand plans of what she wanted to do when she started dating, e.g. making out at the movies, getting Jin Heon to declare his love for her in a bus full of people, buying couple rings etc - these are absolutely priceless!

7. Jin Heon meeting Sam-soon’s mother for the first time - how Jin Heon tried to win his future “mother-in-law”’s heart which descended in a mad-cap karaoke routine. Hilarious.

8. Sam-soon’s “talks” with her dead father - the first time when she was trying to get over Jin Heon after Hee Jin’s return was heart-rending. The second time, towards the end of the show when she was happily settled with Jin Heon (actually, after they DID IT), yet tearfully confessed to her dad her fear that her current happiness will be short-lived, was touching.

9. All the kissing scenes! In particular, the first kiss in the restaurant after they spilled their guts out to each other, and the atmosphere was absolutely electric! Hubba, hubba!

The actors:

All of them did excellent in this series, in particular kudos to Kim Suh Ah. As the titular character, Kim really brought out the heart and soul of Sam-soon, and the fact that she was really the same age as Sam-soon made the character all the more believable and sympathetic. Much has been made about the fact that Kim put on 8 kg to play the role, and her willingness to “uglify” herself is admirable. Nonetheless, the comestic changes shouldn’t take anything away from Kim’s consummate acting skills. In fact, if you observe closely, Sam-soon in the show is not really “fat” - in fact in many scenes her legs are really slim, except that she is just slightly rounder around the face and arms, and the producers fit her in baggier clothes. Neither is Sam-soon ugly, except for the hideous permed hair, she is actually quite pretty. So why do we get the assumption that Sam-soon is such a loser? Besides other characters harping on it, it is Kim’s body language that conveyed the Sam-soon’s insecurities. And that simply, is excellent acting.

Hyun Bin has shot up through the ranks to one of my all time favourite Korean heartthrobs. At a tender age of 23 (why are they all so bloody young?), he portrayed a 27- year old Jin Heon very well indeed. The first impression that all Hyun Bin needed to do was to smirk, show his dimples (my gosh, those dimples!), and generally look good is false. Because of his age and privileged background, Jin Heon was still in many ways immature, and this played off well against a more mature and experienced Sam-soon. Yet Jin Heon was also tortured by the fact he had caused the death of his elder brother and sister in law in the aforementioned car crash. The way Hyun Bin portrayed how Sam-soon got under his skin and melted his cold exterior was very believable, and also his conflicted feelings towards both Hee Jin and Sam-soon. And his sweetness and devotion after he and Sam-soon got together was just ….. to die for. His wardrobe in the show was also awesome. The man is a walking fashion show. Whoever thought a man in white suit, pink shirt and white shoes would look anything but GAY? Drool, drool….Mr Boo, can you wipe off that puddle on the floor?! (By the way, my mother, who has started watching the drama, thinks that Hyun Bin is not very good-looking. Tsk, tsk!)

This is both Jung Ryu Won’s and Daniel Henney’s first drama, and both of them did well too, in particular Ryu Won who pulled off the “other woman” role very well indeed, as discussed earlier. Daniel Henney was like a male “vase” in the show, like a greek god put on display for people to drool over and admire, but have little else to do. Not much emoting required on his part - all he needed was to look “blur” (when people are conversing to him in anything but English), and tender (towards Hee Jin). He’s very cute indeed, but as Hee Jin said in the drama, he does not make my heart race like Hyun Bin.

Interesting observations:

Is it too far-fetched that stud muffin, well-to-do and younger Jin Heon would ever fall in love with a woman like Sam-soon?? Some netizens commented that the entire scenario is too fairytale-like, and such things do not happen in real life. My take on this? If My Lovely Sam-soon is fantasy, than Full House is myth!! Honestly, if these circumstances do happen (as in the story) to throw such a couple together - things CAN happen. Men, whether they are good-looking or not, when young and immature, are shallow and like only pretty young things. Some men, both the good-looking and the not, do eventually grow up and realise that looks are NOT everything (like Mr Boo - but that is another story). These men, when their feelings/emotions are engaged on all levels, can fall in love with someone society deems to be “inferior” to them, as in the case of Sam-soon and Jin Heon. I have seen handsome men with plain wives, slim men with fat wives or girlfriends, and I have also sometimes wondered why (like all shallow people). Why do they choose their current partners when they can obviously do so much better? Is he after the girl’s money or has some other ulterior motive? But THAT is the wonder of love, and this gives hope to all of us out here, who would like a prince to rescue an ugly duckling. Sam-soon broke through Jin Heon’s cold exterior and made him laugh, Jin Heon discovered Sam-soon’s strengths and found her “motherliness” comforting - all in all, a good recipe for LURRRVE, baby.

Rating: 5 out of 5 boos (I would give it 6 out of 5 boos if I could!! Standing Ovation! Encore!)

Yes, I’m still alive - would you believe it?!? And even better, I have time to watch and complete a new Korean drama series - in exchange for 3 big ulcers in my mouth for keeping late nights. Thankfully, the show was quite worth my pain.

“Save the Last Dance for Me” (STLDFM) has all the typical Korean weepy ingredients:
1. Undying love (but of course!!)
2. Memory loss - not once, but twice for Hero Kang Hyun Woo!!! (Cue: Winter Sonata, Stairway to Heaven, and God knows what else…)
3. A failed engagement party and a wailing/suicidal fiancee (obviously NOT the Heroine)
4. A Hero who is… ta-da!… the only heir to a multinational business conglomerate (but then again, poor heros may not be as attractive to practical women like us…)
5. A Heroine who is of a different “class” to the hero, and thus Hero’s parents who obviously try to give her tons of money to make her leave the hero (ultimately unsuccessfully).
6. A quadrangle love to remind us that the hero and heroine are extremely attractive and have determined admirers….

Thankfully, what is missing here are cancerous cells invading into some part of the Hero/Heroine’s body, and either one dying a painful, lingering death, thereby separating the lovebirds for all eternity (pass the tissue box please).

Synopsis: Rich boy Kang Hyun Woo (Ji Sung) wanted to pursue his passion for photography. His tyrannical dad wanted him to take of the reins of his multinational company of furniture/funishings (blah). They quarrelled, and he ran away and got into an accident, and lost his memory for the first time. He was rescued by Ji Eun Soo (Yoo Jin) and her father. Eun Soo’s dad owns a quaint bed and breakfast motel called “Dream Garden” . Eun Soo and dad brought Hyun Woo (now known as “No Memory”) to stay with them. After a year, Eun Soo and Hyun Woo fell in love and got engaged. Back home, Hyun Woo’s lovelorn fiancee Yoon Soo Jin (Lee Bo Young) refused to believe he was dead. Hyun Woo’s tutor and friend, Kang Tae Min (Ryo Soo Young) who was actually plotting the family’s downfall for revenge, had taken over the reins of the company. By chance, Tae Min discovered that Hyun Woo was still alive and tried to get him killed. Instead Hyun Woo got himself into another knock, regained his past memory but lost his memory of his time with Eun Soo! Duh. He returned home to his rightful place with his family and fiancee, while Eun Soo, who by this time had lost her dad to illness waited for him for another year. By chance, Eun Soo visited Seoul and met up with Hyun Woo again, and determined to get him to remember her, chose to leave “Dream Garden” and work in his company. Hyun Woo, despite not remembering Eun Soo and was disturbed by the fact she kept insisting he was her lost love, fell in love with her against his will. Alas, by this time, his fiancee Soo Jin refused to let him go and threatened suicide, and Tae Min also fell for Eun Soo, and was working hard to bring the downfall of Hyun Woo’s company. The lovers held steadfast to their love, and towards the end, Hyun Woo recalled his time with Eun Soo, but alas, in what I felt was an unnecessary plot twist, she was knocked down by mistake by Tae Min, became crippled and decided to become a martyr and leave Hyun Woo. Obviously Hyun Woo continued to look for her for another year (what a bloody waste of time), found her, and the happy (but swift) ending finally materialised….

Despite the seemingly “typical” story plots, STLDFM is actually quite refreshing and straightforward, and much more “realistic” in tone. What I like:

1. Eun Soo’s grit - she is no teary and weak wallflower ala “Choi Ji Woo”, who would faint and crumble at the slightest obstacle. When her dad passed away, and Hyun Woo disappeared, while heartbroken, she continued to manage “Dream Garden” on her own. Even when she was bullied by her colleagues at Hyun Woo’s company and left to freeze on the rooftop, she did not fall sick the next day like typical heroines, and I give scriptwriters credit for resisting to make her into the tragic heroine stereotype. Eun Soo is an independent and resilient character, and is confident of Hyun Woo’s love for her but unfortunately towards the end, she became irrational and martyr like by leaving him because of her injury!! Stupid scriptwriters….!

2. Hyun Woo’s character changes - Ji Sung played him very well, in his role as a nobody, nice boy next door with no memory, then later as the dashing capable son of the big boss. There are many gratitious shots of him with his shirt off, and he has a totally droolsome body. Ji Sung also handled Hyun Woo’s tumultous feelings over his memory gaps very well indeed.

3. Lack of emphasis over “class differences” - thankfully there was only two scenes of Hyun Woo’s family trying to buy Eun Soo over with money, and getting her to leave him.

4. Soo Jin, the other woman - likewise in “Full House”, the producers have wisely not chosen to make Soo Jin an evil woman, but actually a likeable and artistic lady who is just totally and madly in love with Hyun Woo for a long long time. So you actually understand her reasons for plotting to keep the two lovebirds apart, and even when she resorts to suicide.

5. The love story between Hyun Woo and Eun Soo - very straightforward, by the 3rd or 4th episode, they are already deeply in love and got engaged. Both Ji Sung and Yoo Jin have a nice and easy chemistry, and you could believe in their love for each other throughout the years and the numerous obstacles.

Other nonsense:

1. I spent a good part of the series wondering if Yoo Jin has undergone any plastic surgery. There is just something about the shadow around her cheekbones that is totally distracting. At certain times she looks very pretty, and other times, she is very plain. I have gone to check on her on the Internet, and there are photos of her which I can’t recognise at all! (i.e. very slutty and vampy, as opposed to her sweet girl image in STLDFM).

2. The two leads have two nice kissing scenes in the show - which fortunately is not the chaste peck on the lips kind. But I cannot help but feel that they should have more kissing scenes at certain other parts of the show, like during their final reunion or something, but I guess Korea is still very much a conservative society. Oh well!

Not as brilliant as “Full House”, but definitely worth the 25 hours of my precious time!

Rating: 4 boos out of 5 (deducted for unnecessary plot twist in the last episode)

Here are some nice still shots of the drama…… (Notice that most of the photos are of my latest Korean hunk, Ji Sung! Pity there will be no shows coming up for him in the next two years as he is now in the military service!)

I was in Seoul in October last year. My Korean friend, knowing that I was obsessed with Korean dramas, told me then that there was a very good series currently showing in Korea called “Full House”, and that it was very funny. Now, this friend of mine, she absolutely hates all the domestic Korean soapies (they are way too weepy for a modern Korean woman like her!), so for her to say that “Full House” was a good show, and that everyone was rushing home after work to watch, caught my attention. I have been on the look-out for the drama to hit our shores ever since.

So finally, after the longest wait, I got my hands on a dubbed version less than two weeks ago. I will cut right to the verdict - IT IS FANTASTIC!!! WONDERFUL! BRILLIANT! [Spoilers ahead]

It is everything the last series I watched, Beautiful Days, was not. It is hilariously funny, the leads are wonderfully natural and have perfect chemistry with one another. The plot is interesting and not too convoluted, focusing mainly on the growth and development of main characters, with a happy ending that is just spot-on and most satisfying. Perhaps I have been watching way too many tearjerkers, and this is just a breath of fresh air. Lovers in Paris came close, but Lovers had a vague ending which I disliked, and that spoiled the whole show for me.

Synopsis: Han Ji-Eun (played by Song Hae Gyo) is an aspiring writer living in a beautiful house by the beach (nicknamed “Full House”) which was built by her late father. Her two best friends, having landed in financial trouble, plotted to have her house sold to current popular actor Lee Young-Jae (played by Bi or Rain), who has been evading a series of scandals. The two crossed paths during a trip to Shanghai and from then totally rubbed each other the wrong way. Young Jae is in love with his childhood friend Kang Hye Won (played by Han Eun Jung) but she in turn was in love with another childhood friend Yoo Min-Hyuk (played by Kim Sung Soo) - yes, we cannot avoid those multiple-orgy type relationships. In a brash moment, both Ji-Eun and Young Jae decided to enter into a contractual marriage so that Ji-Eun can “work” as a maid and get back her “Full House”, while Young Jae is able to get some respite from scandals as well as to let Hye Won to be with Min-Hyuk (or so he thought). Despite their frequent quarrels and fights, both Ji-Eun and Young Jae are unable to fight off their attraction to one another. However, just when their marriage may move on to become a “real” marriage, Hye Won, having been rejected by Min-Hyuk, wants Young-Jae back. Min-Hyuk also fell in love with Ji-Eun, thereby obstructing the path to true love. The scandal regarding their contractual marriage also threatens to explode and hurt Young-Jae’s budding career. Can Ji-Eun and Young Jae, despite their differences and numerous obstacles, confess their feelings for each other and stay together for good? YES, YES and YES!!!!!

10 things I absolutely love about this show:

1) Perfect chemistry between Ji-Eun and Young-Jae: they are just so funny together. True opposites in both physical appearances and characters e.g. one is extremely untidy (the pint-sized one) and the other is a fastidious nut (tall and hunky). They are just a pair made in heaven. Both young, the bickering couple is like two squabbling teenagers, and their antics are true comedic moments. In contrast, their quiet moments are so touching and heart rending it makes me want to cry. By the end of the show, I was literally yelling at the screen, “Tell her you love her, you FOOL!!!” because I want them to be together!

2) Great plot: The premise of the show is obviously contrived (an alternative Cinderalla meets Prince Charming), and the meaning of “Great” here is not in the same degree as “Great” in Jewel in the Palace. For a romantic comedy, a great plot will hit all the right spots with the audience. The bickering, if kept on for too long will become boring and even grating, but the producers wisely kept the show to only 16 episodes. The pacing is kept up, and the sad moments are not dragged out and thus kept their poignancy. The concentration on the two leads playing house makes their falling in love all the more believable. There is no BIG Evil Third Party, both Hye Won and Min Hyuk are realistic characters and they don’t come up with sinister plots to break the leads up, and when they realise that Ji-Eun and Young-Jae are truly in love, they step aside gracefully.

3) Complementary sidekicks and other characters: Because it is a relatively short drama, there are no other nonsensical side-plots running concurrently to distract us from the main story. These characters including Ji-Eun’s idiotic friends who betrayed her and sold her house, and Young-Jae’s cute and loving family all contributed to Ji-Eun’s and Young-Jae’s progressive relationship. In particular, Young-Jae’s family, comprising of granny, dad and mum and their interactions with Ji-Eun are very heart-warming and funny. For once there is no stupid family standing in the way of true love unlike 10 zillion other Korean shows.

4) Classic moments: There are just so many of them I don’t know where to start. The one that had me laughing out loud was their “honeymoon” bedroom scene (I believed it was in the Phuket Banyan Tree!!!!!) when they fought over each other for the right to sleep on the luxurious king-size bed. Another was when they were stuffing each other with sushi while pretending to act as a loving couple in front of reporters. Other classic moments included both Ji-Eun and Young-Jae performing the “3 bears” in front of the family and each other, and many other scenes when they are hurling insults at each other, calling each other “birdbrain” (him to her) and “weirdo/pyscho” (her to him).

5) Tender and/or heart-breaking scenes: Though not that many, these are well acted out and filled with aching poignancy. One of my favourites was when Young Jae stood Ji-Eun up on a “date” (they had started to fall reluctantly in love) when he rushed over to comfort Hye Won and she stayed up late to wait for him to come home. When he finally returned and she demanded an explanation, he got defensive since he felt guilty (some artistic license here cos I can’t remember the exact script):

YJ (shouting): I never told you to wait up for me! Why are you so stupid? Who told you to wait so long for me?
JE (hurt and indignant): You stood me up and you’re calling me stupid? Where did you go? Did you go and see her?
YJ (angry and defensive): What business is it of yours? You are not my anyone!
JE (tears in her eyes): Whatever we have right now, it means nothing to you?
YJ (pausing, then ground out): Yes, whatever we have right now, it means nothing to me….you mean nothing to me.
JE (taking in a deep breath, and staring back at him, tears rolling down and saying in a quiet and dignified manner): I understand. From now on, you, and what we have here, will mean nothing to me as well.

My GOD! Is that heartbreaking or what!!?!? Trust me, the scene went better than what I wrote above.

6) Superb and well directed ending: A lot of good dramas, not just Korean, fall into the trap of a rushed or weird ending. I get extremely frustrated when this happens, and it happens a lot. Sometimes, like in the case of Beautiful Days, it seems that the director has forgotten that he has only that much time to conclude the series, and therefore the ending is so abrupt. Others like Lovers in Paris, went for an “unconventional” ending, which meant nothing at all. Do directors really think that audience don’t care about endings at all? It doesn’t matter if the ending is sad or happy, loose ends should be tied up properly. If it is a happy ending, I want to see how happy the couple is, especially if they spent the last 15 episodes apart! I want to know they are truly living happily ever after! I want to see them doing mudane things and enjoying each other’s company after the final love declaration! Full House made me very, very happy to have sacrificed my sleep and sat through the entire series. I gave a standing ovation in my living room after the credits came up.

7) Rain the actor: He is not Bae Yong Jun for sure. I don’t really know how to describe him - he has such a small boy’s face (ok, he’s only an innocent 23). Small slit eyes (and they are not even symmetrical!) which disappear when he grins a cheeky or boyish grin. (I told Mr Boo that with the Korean Wave, his looks have increased in market value since he also has small and droopy eyes.) But such a gorgeous body!!! Tanned, tonned and not overtly muscular. Tall and lithe. And he stripped often enough in the show for me to drool over his body. Meow! His looks grow on you. And I give him props for acting his role so very well. When he is blustery he is all macho crap, when he is romantic and in pain I want to hug and comfort him! (And my pedophilic tendencies rear their ugly heads again!) And he says the cheesiest lines so very well and makes my heart fly to the heavens. His final declaration to Ji-Eun goes something as such:

“I love you Ji-Eun. The seas and skies may disappear, but I will still love you. It may be the end of time, and my very being may explode into a million pieces, I will still love you.” Corny? Yes! Romantic? Yes!

And now, sigh, I am a fan. I just went to buy his CD!

8) Song Hae Gyo the actress: I never did like her in the previous shows I have seen, including Autumn in My Heart, Hotelier and All In. She was way too weepy then, and she still looked so young and childish to be a mature and lovelorn leading lady. But she was well-casted in this role as a shrewish, independent and strong young woman. Many Internet denizens commented that they never knew she had a funny bone in her, and I agree!! In fact, I think she should just do comedy from now on! She is absolutely perfect for it! And she looks absolutely luminous in the role. I think she has been hard done by the previous dramas. She is also the perfect foil for Rain.

9) “Full House” itself: In the show, “Full House” stands for “a house filled with love and romance”. According to Internet writings, the gorgeous house by the beach was specially built for this show for the grand price of US$1,000,000. It is so beautiful with its spiralling staircase, floor to ceiling glass windows, fantastic views, garden, porch - good lord, anyone can easily fall in love in such a place! I want to buy it and live with Mr Boo (although he is nothing like Rain….)!! How much is it?? I think I would be a retiree before I could even afford to live in something like that!

10) Great soundtrack: What is a good show without a good soundtrack - think Winter Sonata. Then again, there is hardly any Korean drama, even the relatively bad ones, that has a bad OST. All the songs and music fit the mood perfectly.

As I continued watching Full House, I kept changing my ratings for the drama. I started out giving the show 4 out of 5 boos, gradually moving up to 4.25 and then telling myself I would raise it up to 4.5 if the ending was well-done. However I thought to myself, what great flaws are there since it fulfilled my key criteria of providing me great entertainment? Am I fair to compare this to Jewel in the Palace when they are in totally different genres? So in the end I decided: for a romantic comedy/drama, Full House Gets Full Marks!

Rating: 5 out of 5 boos!! (A first ever!)

First off, apologies for the delayed update. Now that I have quit the company and going full-on into my business, life has become even busier than ever! Once the shop is opened in early September, I have a feeling that blogging will become a luxury rather than a daily activity - so I must apologise to my readers out there beforehand.

Let’s dive straight into the review: Beautiful Days. Shown in Korea in 2001. Apparently set record ratings back then.

God, where do I start?? I have seen better dramas than this. Beautiful Days is the typical sappy and soppy Korean love drama where tears flowed freely from key leads in practically ALL scenes which are sufficient to flood an entire nation. There is NOTHING unexpected or unpredictable about the storyline, the main characters are just stereotypes from other movies and dramas but placed in different settings and circumstances. Now we have:

1) The beautiful, understanding self sacrificial virgin Kim Yeon Soo (played by Choi Ji Woo), an orphan who is such a paragon of virtue that you feel like slapping her awake so that she could be aggressive and animated for once. Cries beautifully, and meant to tug at the heartstrings of male and female viewers. She is so giving to her spolit “sister” from the orphanage, and such a dormat to the love of her life, you wish she would just die soon. (Heroines like this always die - don’t you know?!!? Ah - but there is a “twist”.)

2) The rich haughty hero who is hard on the outside but marshmellow on the inside, Lee Min Chul (played by Lee Byung Hun). Obviously he fell head over heels in love with Ms Virgin, and decided she was the love of his life and he would discard all previous notions of not wanting to get married ever (poor rich man had an unhappy childhood, you see). He is also very tender to his spolit sister, and those two “sisters” were the common thread that pulled the hero and heroine together.

3) The gentlemanly suitor who composes and sings romantic songs to serenade the heroine, step-brother of Lee Min Chul, Lee San Jae (played by Ryu Si Won). Cried his heart out when heroine rejected his love and opted to go with the rascalian hero (it certainly doesn’t pay to be a SNAG in Korean dramas - they want BIG STRONG MAN WHO HIDES HIS EMOTIONS!). Turned into a “baddie” midway through the series, but repented in the end (he IS afterall a SNAG).

4) The headstrong, spoilt, but determined “sister” (term used loosely here) of Yeon Soo, Kim Sae Naa (played by Lee Jung Hyun). Loved San Jae but love was unrequited. (Again, Korean dramas are very unforgiving to headstrong and independent women - they live in the Dark Ages you see). For much of the show, hated Yeon Soo with a passion (yay!). Ambition was to be a singer, and finally fulfilled her dreams (you go girl!!).

As you can already see, like ALL Korean romantic dramas, there is no such thing as a “triangle” relationship, but a multi-orgy type love fest, the more complicated the better. I won’t go into details on the plot because it is much too complicated for my poor brain to take in - suffice to say, people are related, but it turns out they are not, and then they become enemies, yadda, yadda. However there is an interesting nugget which I picked up from the Internet. Apparently, like all sacrificial virgins, Yeon Soo contracted leukemia and the script called for her to die. But apparently this caused an uproar among viewers who, sick of unhappy endings in so many shows, wanted to see the hero and heroine live happily ever after. And so the producers scrambled to create an abrupt happy ending for viewers.

My top 5 main grouses:

1. Sae Na, when she finally attained her dream of becoming a singer, was always, singing and performing that same ONE SONG throughout the series, and wearing the same stage outfit, some horrendous red cape decorated with roses. Surely at least getting her to sing another song and wearing another outfit (for variety’s sake) won’t kill?

2. How the scriptwriters love to extend and protract tragic scenes and keeping happy moments to the bare minimum (because logically speaking, they cannot be crying 24/7, right?). The show should not be called Beautiful Days, But Crying Days!

3. Abrupt jumping of plot (trying to smooth over taboo subjects?) - when San Jae’s mother committed suicide, nothing was shown of the lady trying to commit suicide, nor the discovery of her body, nor any overt discussion between the leads afterwards that YES, she did indeed kill herself. This is only lightly hinted in one or two sentences, and the fact that she obviously DID not die of sickness!

4. The old folks - the senior citizens of the series are such bad actors, you want to throw eggs at them everytime they were onscreen. I suppose, producers wanted them there so create more misery for the younger actors - “the sins of the father is now descended upon the son”!!

5. The very weak ending. Seemed like though the producers were unhappy that they were forced to show a happy ending, and did so grudingly (as punishment to viewers perhaps?). They showed so much agony, crying and misery among all the key characters over Yeon Soo’s terminal illness that stretched over several episodes, and the “happy ending” was just 5 minutes long. And they expect viewers to be satisfied with that!?! This is honestly one of the worst “happy” endings that I have ever seen.

Rating: 3 out of 5 boos (If you want something brainless, and to cry your heart out for carthatic therapy)

For those of you interested in knowing more about the Han Wu Di drama (in addition to what I have already provided in my earlier review), particularly the historical background and plot synopsis, please refer to Mr Boo’s site (see link on right column).

Mr Boo has been inspired by my marvellous and well written (ah-hem) reviews, and obviously, being the historian of the house, feels that he can do a much better job than me….! (Hrumph!)

Never did I think that my first review of an Asian drama would be a “Made in China” historical drama. Lest you think I am snotty or unnecessarily biased, let me explain. First of all, I watch mostly romantic Korean dramas (crazy about them in fact); Second, while my Mandarin abilities are not as pathetic as that of my fellow citizens, I really can’t understand classical Chinese, which is spoken throughout these historical dramas. Third, “Made-in-China” dramas are really long winded and harp too much on nitty-gritty details (no thanks to their convoluted history), and emphasise too much on speech ie character development rather than action (Where is “The Gladiator” when you need it?). Worse, for the earlier dramas, there were hardly any sex, romance or scandals, but aging and ugly politicians (Where is Bae Yong Jun when you need him??), manouerving each other trying to get the upper hand (I presume), and spewing classical Mandarin and poetry. Eew! Imagine sitting through 50 episodes of that. For the record, in my 30 years so far, I have only completed ONE Chinese drama - that on Emperor Yongzheng of Qing Dynasty. (Btw that was a good show.)

The reason why I even sat through 58 episodes of “Han Wu Di - the Great” (actually I think I missed the first 10 episodes because I refused to watch due to the above reasons) was because Mr Boo bought the damn thing. Mr Boo is my exact opposite when it comes to drama appreciation. He LOVES such historical dramas, particularly those on Chinese history. Mr Boo is a history teacher and a history fanatic himself. He is like a freaking walking encyclopedia on Chinese history. If you need any dates for the last 3000 years, you can ask him and he’ll tell you off the cuff. (Note: I have read Chinese history for one module during my university days, but as far as my knowledge goes, it’s almost zilch.) Mr Boo also understands all that classical Chinese mumbo-jumbo, so he acted as my translator while we watched this show.

Some historical background to all ignoromus out there: Han Wu Di or Emperor Wu (name: Liu Che) of the Han Dynasty reigned from 141 - 87 BC (I hope I got the dates right, otherwise Mr Boo will spank me). He was one of the longest reigning emperors in Chinese history (third only to Kang Xi and Qianlong), and the most prominent during the Han Dynasty. He was credited for fighting and finally driving the nomadic Huns (barbarians or “Xiongnu”) from China’s borders, who have been invading and pillaging Han’s border towns for a good 60-70 years, and ushering a period of peace. His incessant and vast military campaigns earned him the reign title “Wu” which means “military” or “fighting”.

The series started from Han Wu Di’s birth, when his father “Han Jing Di” still reigned, to when he ascended the throne at 16 until his death at 70. The drama traced how circumstances, internal and external politics mold the man to become the Emperor he was, why he was so obsessed with the singular idea of eliminating the Huns in his lifetime, how he used and discarded people around him (family, wife, generals) to achieve his aim, and finally dying a sad and lonely man. It is a fascinating and fairly accurate study of a great man, although Mr Boo, picky as he is, points out that there were certain “artistic licenses” carried out, and that some events were not historically accurate. In any case, all that politicking in court (after you wade through the mumbo-jumbo) is actually riverting stuff.

I admit I was hooked after I started watching it with Mr Boo. These productions are no longer as conservative as before, with sex and scandal galore (an excuse for actresses to bare plenty of skin). There is still hardly any hint of romance, practical beings my ancestors are, using sex and marriage in exchange for power or as a diplomatic tool for peace. While there are still a lot of long winded conversations (some snore-worthy), there are also plenty of war battles. These battles are no “Troy”, some of the scenes are also laughable, especially when diluted red juice pretending to be blood spurts and splatters out of chopped heads.

What works are the level of detail and care that have been put into making this drama. Chinese productions have always been very strong in historical dramas. After years of watching inaccurate historical series from Hong Kong, it amazes me to see that the real costumes of Han dynasty are actually very similar to Japanese traditional costumes, with the women made up like geishas! Obviously, the ancient Japs have stolen their fashion ideas from the Han people.

Another key success factor for this series are the leading actors, particular the one acting as Han Wu Di from his early 20s until his death at 70. With his regal bearing, one cannot doubt that he is but the “Son of Heaven”. The actor (whose name I forgot) also manages to convey a wide range of emotions and is sarcastically funny on occasions (that is if you understand classical bitching techniques). As the focus of the entire series, he carried his role very, very well indeed.

Now that we have completed this series, Mr Boo is trying to get me to watch another one (on some dumb general). But I think I need a break from all this heavy stuff, and watch some fluffy Korean romance soon.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 boos (if you need someone to do translation), 4 boos (if you understand what they are talking about)