Kat's K-Dramas: Goong Review

I debated with myself about whether I would write reviews about older dramas (and by older I mean wasn't made in the last few years). But I decided that there are some great classics out there (and by classics I mean from like 2006, haha). Anyway, this is my review of Goong (or Princess Hours) one of the most beloved Cinderella retellings in K-drama (and that's saying something, there are a lot of Cinderella retellings in K-drama).

Goong 궁 (宮)

AKA Princess Hours

Genre: Romance, Comedy

Episodes: 24

Aired: 2006-Jan-11 to 2006-Mar-30

Network: MBC

Starring: Yoon Eun Hye, Joo Ji Hoon, Kim Jung Hoon, Song Ji Hyo

Watch it on: Dramafever, Viki

Goong is a story about young love in face of tradition, politics, and intrigue. In this imaginary world, modern-day Korea is a constitutional monarchy and the Royal Family lives in a grand Palace, the Goong. The sudden death of the reigning the King throws the Royal Family in the public eye. Faced with the decreasing popularity among the public for the Royalty, a grand wedding for the Crown Prince, Lee Shin, is decided to be the best publicity move and at the same time prepare Shin for immediate succession. The intended bride? The headstrong, awkward, and sweet spirited Shin Chae Kyung that just happens to go to the same exclusive art school. Chae Kyung was betrothed to become the next Crown Princess by her grandfather and Shin's grandfather.
After 14 years of living in England with his mom, Shin's cousin, Lee Yul, appears back in Korea. Yul was the original Crown Prince before his father died when he was a child. Chae Kyung's optimistic spirit wins the heart of internally lonely, Yul. And as the Crown Prince Shin and simple-minded Chae Kyung appear to start developing deeper feelings, a series of scandals are exposed to the public right after the pair are officially announced married. Will love conquer all in a world of political pressures and marital hardships? Or will being in the spotlight of the public be too much for the young newlyweds to endure?

Main Character: Shin Chae Kyung (Yoon Eun Hye)- Sassy and adorable, she is a bit clumsy and not stylish or graceful at all. So, she is the anti-princess. However, she was promised to Lee Shin as his princess so she is forced into that life. I love that she does not want to be a princess at all. Most girls would have killed for that chance, but not Chae Kyung. It makes her a great heroine in my mind. She does have a lot of faults, like she makes a lot of problems for the royal family when she could just slow down and think about what she's saying or doing first. However, all of her flaws are harmless and mostly adorable. So I can forgive those.

Love Interest: Crown Prince Lee Shin (Joo Ji Hoon) - He is attractive, loved (by the country and girls), and cocky. So he's like the quintessential arrogant chaebol prince. It is pretty obvious that he's like this because he's young and there's a lot of responsibility on his shoulders. He wasn't originally supposed to be the crowned prince. It should have been Yul and Shin was thrust into the limelight after Yul's father died. So it's not Shin's fault that he wasn't always prepared to be the future king. However, in the beginning Shin is a bit of an a** in ways where it's hard to forgive him (obviously I did, but he goes over the top a bit in how mean he is to Chae Kyung).

Secondary Love Interest: There is a secondary love interest for both main characters. Lee Yul (Kim Jung Hoon) is the secondary love interest for Shin Chae Kyung and Min Hyo Rin (Song Ji Hyo) is the secondary love interest for Lee Shin.

Yul starts out sweet and kind. He knows that his mother is a bit scheming, but really he's just happy to be back with his family and his cousin. Then he falls in love with Chae Kyung and s*** hits the fan. Since she is supposed to marry the prince, and he used to be the prince, but now Shin is the prince. So Yul thinks to himself, "Wait a minute, she should be my princess. AND I love her and Shin obvi doesn't! So this is super not fair!"

Hyo Rin is less relatable as a character. She's just a perfect rich girl who thought she could have it her way with Shin. But when she makes the mistake of not wanting to get engaged at the age of like 17 (which is understandable) she loses him. She thinks "WTF, I just wanted to live my dream of being a ballerina AND becoming the future queen, but on my own time." Wah wah, rich girl problems #AmIRight?

It's kind of a tradition in most romantic comedies and melodramas in K-Dramas to have a secondary love interest. And while I am kind of sick of love triangles in YA books, I kind of love them in my K-Dramas. Maybe because the second male lead is usually so sweet to the main girl. Or maybe because they super duper love the girl character so much that they even encourage her to be with the main male lead because they just want her to be happy (that's what love really is!). BTW, this is not what happens in the this show (sorry 'bout it!). Yul is not a fan of Shin. I mean, he loves him kind of like a brother, but he gets jealous right quick and most of it is because he loves Chae Kyung and Chae Kyung love Shin. Oy vey, so much angst.

Anyway, on the flip side, the secondary female lead is usually a jealous and manipulative character. And I kind of hate that. There are some exceptions, but usually when the love triangle in K-Dramas involve two girls and a guy it comes out to sneaky manipulation and lots of drama! (Don't like this, but it does add to the drama part of K-dramas). This is definitely how it plays out in Goong. I personally love Song Ji Hyo, so the fact that her character stinks really upset me. But I won't hold it against anyone because with royalty comes drama and with teen romance comes drama, so really she never had a chance in this story.

Allies and Enemies:

Kim Hye Ja as the Queen Mother Park
Yoon Yoo Sun as Queen Min
Park Chan Hwan as Emperor Lee Hyun
Lee Yoon Ji as Princess Hye Myung (Shin's sister)
Shim Hye Jin as [Hye Jung Goong] Lady Seo Hwa Young (Yul's mother)
Lee Ho Jae as the Head butler Gong
Jun Soo Yeon as Escort Choi
Won Mi Won as Attendant Suh (Lee Yul's former nanny)

Chae Kyung's family
Im Ye Jin as Chae Kyung's mother
Kang Nam Gil as Chae Kyung's father
Kim Suk as Shin Chae Joon (Chae Kyung's younger brother)

Setting: An alternate reality Korea where the emperor still exists and runs as a constitutional monarchy (they liken it to England a lot)

Random Thoughts: I like alternate reality shows, I like that there are still recognizable elements of the world we live in, but it's just slightly different. Like when you ask the question "what would it be like if there was still an emperor in Korea?" I love shows that answer those random questions. It was based on a Manwha (similar to a Japanese Manga) of the same name so it has a lot of those comic elements. 

This show was adorable. It was a bit slow in the middle, and it did that thing that dramas (and animes) do where it repeats the same kind of conflict over and over again from episode to episode. However, there were some nice reveals and the character development of the two mains was great. They really grew as people and it happened in a good and organic way for me.

I like the Chae Kyung was in no way perfect in the beginning. Sometimes there are dramas where there is the bratty and conceited chaebol heir/prince and he is shown how to really feel/love by a sweet and sassy girl (cough Heirs cough). But the girl doesn't grow as vastly as the boy does. This isn't actually the case in Goong. Chae Kyung is fumbling, clumsy, and has no aspirations or etiquette. She grows up a lot in the course of the show. So by the end she is a more complete person. 

I didn't love the "bad guys" in the show. Lady Seo Hwa Young is a little too manipulative and conniving. I mean, she lived a perfectly happy, comfortable life with her son in Europe. And if she hadn't been so selfish in wanting the throne then Yul would have kept being perfectly happy too. I think that Yul deserved to be back in Korea with his family, but the way it happened obviously wasn't for his happiness. And even though Lady Seo Hwa Young presented it like she was doing it all for him, she totally was doing it for herself. (This is often a recurring theme in K-Dramas when parents push their kids to live out their "dreams" for them). 

In the end the show was a fun teen romance with some royal intrigue and alternate reality yumminess. There was family, friendship, love and coming of age all in a great drama. There were also some wonderful cultural references that spoke about traditions that have been in Korea since the Joseon period, which I loved.

Side note: This drama is apparently how G-Dragon and Seungri truly became friends, and I love anything Big Bang. So that's a glowing endorsement for Goong. Hahaha

Kat's K-Dramas: A Girl Who Sees Smells

A Girl Who Sees Smells

냄새를 보는 소녀
AKA Sensory Couple

Genre: Romance, comedy, fantasy, thriller

Episodes: 16

Aired: 2015-Apr-01 - 2015-May-21

Network: SBS

Starring: Park Yoo Chun, Shin Se Kyung, Nam Goong Min, Yoon Jin Seo

Watch it on: Dramafever, Viki

Synopsis:

Three years ago, Choi Moo Gak lost his younger sister in the "Bar Code" murder case. Since then he has become cold and insensible. Meanwhile, Oh Cho Rim miraculously survived the same incident. Since then she has lost her memory, but also gained the ability to see smells.

Also, the show is based on a popular webtoon that was in Korea (webtoons are web comics in Korea that are published on the internet only...kind of like Mangas/Manhwas in artistic style)

Main Character: Oh Cho Rim/Choi Eun Seol can see smells. It's not like synesthesia as we  know it. She can see them without smelling them. She can see them from afar, and she can see them through glass and other obstructions. This happened to her when she was a teenager around 17 or 18 and got into a car accident after witnessing her parents' kidnapping. She also lost her memory of everything that happened to her before the car accident (including witnessing her parent's kidnapping). She is adopted (and kind of hidden) by a police officer who gives her the new name of Oh Cho Rim. She wants to be able to make people laugh, so she joins a comedy troupe in the hopes of becoming a comedian.

She has sweet daydreams, like the one where she's in one of my all-time favorite Korean variety shows Running Man (It's a show that has the top stars in Korea as guests, and is all about being fun and funny. So she daydreams that she goes on the show as one of the top funny ladies in Korea. I had epic fangirl moments when I saw her on screen with Kang Gary, Yoo Jae Suk, Lee Kwangsoo and the gang).

Love Interest: Choi Moo Gak.

I kind of have a crush on Park Yoo Chun after seeing him as Choi Moo Gak in this show. He's funny, serious, brooding, and adorable all in one! He kind of reminds me of a more grown and goofy Choi Minho (from Shinee) in looks.

Choi Moo Gak had a younger sister named Choi Eun Seol whom he loved. She is not the same Eun Seol who became Cho Rim, but her fate was intertwined with Cho Rim's the night of the car accident. Choi Moo Gak's little sister was on a bus that got into a small accident. She was sent to a hospital to get treated for a banged up head. And she was murdered in that hospital. The man who murdered her was none other than the man who kidnapped Cho Rim's parents and who was trying to kill Cho Rim (who at that time was called Choi Eun Seol). Moo Gak then becomes a cop to try to catch the man who murdered his sister. Also, he has lost all sense of smell, taste, and pain. (None of this is spoilery because it all happens in the first episode).

Are you following me? Yes? No? Well it gets EVEN MORE COMPLICATED.

Allies and Enemies: Oh Cho Rim's father (it turns out) has a personal stake in catching the man who kidnapped and murdered Cho Rim's original parents. Dun dun dun!

Lieutenant Yeom Mi comes to Seoul to catch an elusive murderer deemed "The Barcode Killer" because he carves a barcode in the wrist of all of his victims, including the "fisherman couple" who are none other than Cho Rim's parents.

Then there are the three homicide cops who are kind of the comic relief and happen to be Choi Moo Gak's colleagues after he becomes a cop to catch his sister's murderer.

And another source of comic relief is a troupe of comediennes.

Setting: Present day Seoul. (Flash backs to Jeju Island about three years ago).

Random Thoughts: Oh how I enjoy shows that have only half a foot standing in reality. That's exactly what "The Girl Who Sees Smells" is, and it's super entertaining because of it. This is one of those shows where you need to suspend disbelief. To be fair, a lot of K-dramas are like that. But for this one you might need to go a step further.

First of all, the synesthesia that Oh Cho Rim has that causes her to see smells is not scientifically or medically accurate. However, they don't ever really call it that, so perhaps it is in the "magic" realm of television afflictions and just looks like synesthesia. Either way, as soon as you get over that inaccuracy, the show definitely becomes a much more fun and enjoyable ride (so for anyone planning to watch the show, I would suggest letting that go early on, it's not worth nitpicking at). The great thing is that this show is a very good character show, the individual characters and relationships are one of the best parts.

There is obviously the contrast of Cho Rim who has an extra sense and Moo Gak who has lost all of his senses. At first he is kind of introduced as a dogged, one-track-mind guy who just wants to get into the homicide division so he can catch his sister's killer. He doesn't need friends, love, or anything but justice. Cho Rim is the opposite, she is the ultimate carer. She cares about her father, she cares about the other comediennes in the troupe, and she cares about making people laugh.

So when their words collide they don't exactly see eye-to-eye. However, because of certain circumstances they need help from each other.

The best part of the show is the relationship between Moo Gak and Cho Rim (and also the relationship between Moo Gak/Cho Rim and the homicide cops). They are just so cute and sweet together.  I really loved their chemistry and the comedy they created. Also, there was always the knowing that their hidden pasts were going to come back and bite them in the butt (and so I was very concerned for them as a couple).

The show does a good job of creating interesting interactions between the characters. And I did genuinely enjoy the characters, which is probably what made it easy for me to stick with such a ridiculous show. I will say that the plot was kind of flat at times. You would think there would be more twists and turns in a murder mystery that involved mistaken identity and lost memories. However, things are revealed very quickly in the series and the path doesn't divert very much from it.

POTENTIAL LIGHT SPOILERS BELOW

POTENTIAL LIGHT SPOILERS BELOW

There were also a few facts that were left dangling. One that involved Oh Cho Rim's adopted father. It actually super bothered me, because it was introduced in such a dramatic way, but then never resoled. So I was kind of annoyed that they introduced it in the first place anyway. Also, Oh Cho Rim's adoptive father's motives for adopting her are never 100% clear. They start to give us potential answers to that question and then never follow-through.

The show had a very drawn out ending, which is not surprising for a thriller Korean Drama. I didn't hate it, but I also didn't love it. I think that this might have been due to my personal preference though. I am a fan of epilogues in K-Dramas, but I also don't like random (extra) twists and turns. To be fair, the extra twists in this show made sense. That's why I was okay with it.

All in all, a very entertaining show with a cool twists and play on the normal dramas we see. 

Kat's K-Dramas: Gaksital - Bridal Mask

Bridal Mask (Gaksital)

각시탈

Genre: Action/Adventure, Historical, Romance

Episodes: 28

Aired: May 30, 2012 - September 6, 2012

Network: KBS

Starring: Joo Won, Jin Se-Yeon, Park Ki-Woong, Han Chae-Ah

Watch it on: Dramafever, Viki

Synopsis:

Lee Kang To lives in Seoul in the 1930s, oppressed under the Japanese rule. He is a rising star in the police force and works with the Japanese police to capture “Bridal Mask,” a mysterious freedom fighter who fights for independence wearing a Korean Bridal. A twist of fate puts the role of the Bridal Mask in Kang-to's hands.
Kimura Shunji is a gentle Japanese teacher who has come to teach in Korea against his father's will. He is best friends with Kang-to and shares a loving relationship with his Korean nanny. He also falls in love with the fiercely patriotic Mok Dan, a woman who is in love with Kang-to, a twist that begins to change him into a darker person.

 

Main Character: Lee Kang To is a police officer in the Japanese Imperial Police. As a Korean person this is kind of like betraying your people since the Japanese are the brutal imperialists that are terrorizing Korea in this pre-world war 2 story. He is the ultimate anti-hero. In the first 20 minutes of episode 1, I thought that it might be impossible for me to like a character that started out so low. I actually stopped watching the show altogether for awhile and didn't get back to it until I saw Joo Won in another show where I loved him. That's how low Lee Kang To starts, I just didn't think I could root for such a bad guy. However, like any good story they gave him just enough backstory and redeeming factors that I eventually found myself rooting for his character development that I knew was to come. That's a great main character if there is one.

Love Interest: Oh Mok Dan (Boon-yi). She is a strong female character, she is solidly on the Korean side. Her father is one of the leaders of the Korean Independence movement. What I kind of found facsinating was that she and Kang To were so solidly on opposite sides that he tortured her and almost had her killed in a public firing squad! It's the most adverse beginning I've ever seen in a love story. And the show just keeps layering tons of backstory, connections, and history on top of this to make it so much more complicated then it seems.

Second Male Lead: I loved Kimura Shunji (also romanized to Choonji) in the beginning. He is a Japanese man who was raised in Korea. Because his nanny was Korean, and he loved her so much, he is very empathetic to the Korean people's plight. He starts out kind, loyal, and with strong morals. He continues to be loyal and he definitely lives by a certain code the whole time, but these things get skewed greatly over time. Shunji has a character arc that is just as wide as Kang To and that makes him a good foil to Lee Kang To's character. He goes a little far into the dark side, and I mourned the wonderful Shunji I loved in the first few episodes.

Second Female Lead: Ueno Rie's character is so interesting to me. Just a bit of background info, she was a Korean girl whose parents died. She then became a gisaeng and was noticed by Ueno Hideki and he adopted her because he respected her strong will and disdain for Koreans who she sees as abandoning her. She returns to Korea as a spy for her father and she has a goal of capturing Gaksital. But this is all complicated by her internal struggle with being a Korean who hates Koreans (kind of like Kang To, so it was interesting symmetry).

Allies: Abe is Kang To's comedic friend in the Imperial police. Along with Mok Dan's circus troupe he is the source of a lot of the humor in the show.

Kang San is the source of so much of Kang To's initial angst. He is the older brother that Kang To revered and looked up to. So when Kang San is beaten by the Japanese Imperial Army for being a part of the Independence Movement and became mentally handicapped, Kang To realized that the Independence Movement had done his family many wrongs (Since his father had also died for being a high ranking officer in the Independence Movement).

Mok Dam Sari is Oh Mok Dan's father. He is a captain in the Korean Independence movement and he shows up sporadically in the show. But he is a symbol of the greater struggle of some Koreans who wanted their country back from Japan.

Random Thoughts: This show was set during a very interesting time in both Korean and Japanese history. It's a time that they don't talk about too much in dramas/films. However, it's a very important time to talk about when looking at how Korea became what it is today.

We look at the time leading up to World War II a lot from the Western world's point of view, but almost never from the Eastern world's. So I'm really happy that this show is out there.

Also, this show is great.

Really good characterization and story telling. The character arcs of Lee Kang To and Kimura Shunji are two of the most wide-reaching changes I've ever seen. And both characters go through so many stages. I will say I think that Lee Kang To's development was more dynamic than Kimura Shunji. He kind of became flat when he became "evil." I know he wasn't actually evil, he was just blinded by his rage and need for revenge. But I wish that he could have kept some of his original kindness and empathy that he displayed. I genuinely liked the Shunji in the first few episodes, and the fact that he was able to turn into such a vengeful man was very upsetting to me (but it worked really well for the story, and I know that).

I think that the show has a very underlying theme of brotherhood (which means major bromances!). However, because it is set during a time filled with so much conflict, these relationships are torn apart. Especially the epic friendship between Kang To and Shunji. This relationship broke my heart. That two people who could have been best friends in a time of peace must be pitted against each other in a time of war (wars are the worst!). And Shunji was only more important to Kang To because he lost his brother when he was beaten by the Japanese. Now that Kang San is no longer the man Kang To knew and loved, their relationship has drastically changed. Kang To does a lot of what he does in the beginning with the desire to get the original Kang San back (which makes an eventual plot twist all that much more tragic).

One thing that I kept thinking (and this might only be me) was that it seemed really weird when all of the Japanese officers and officials were yelling about how great Japan was and how Korea was a land to be subdued, but they were doing it in Korean. I understand it's a Korean show, so they should be speaking in Korean for the majority of the time. But I the scenes that tripped me up was where it was a bunch of Japanese officials sitting in a room by themselves yelling about how great Japan was...in Korean...it just kept thinking it sounded a little odd to me in that context.

I won't say the show was always at the top of it's game. There were a few episodes that seemed to draw out certain conflicts too much. The show lags a little around episode 8-10, but picks up again in Episode 11. And again the conflicts get kind of repetative between episodes 22-25. But Looking at that pattern it seems like the writers were trying to build up tension for some big splashy episode around the midpoint and the finale. So I can understand that from a plotting/writing point of view. However, as a viewer of the show I wish they would have sped it along (also, I know that the show got an extension before they got to episode 8, so I wonder if the writers took that opportunity to draw out things and ended up stretching the plot a little thin).

Overall, great show. One of the best I've seen in a long time. It had action, it had intrigue, it had history. But most of all it had great characters and great heart. I think this might go to show that even when writing falters a bit (and the writing in the show wasn't bad, but it was a tad flat at points) the acting and characters can carry a show through the rough patches. Also the scenery and the costumes (and the art direction in general) were awesome (maybe that's because I love this time period). It was just a really well done show about a period of time that was full of conflict and strife. It took turns that I never saw coming and I was super excited to watch each new episode.

Best Episodes
Episode 6 - Best reveal/Best emotion from Kang To (Joo Won's episode for sure)
Episode 7 - Best character development episode (by the end I wrote a message to my cousin, Axie, who introduced me to the show and said "I am feeling all of the emotions right now!")
Episode 11 - intrigue, characters colliding, love story development
Episode 17 - Great character development for Kang To
Any Episode after 25  - Most emotional!

Favorite Soundtrack songs:

Goodbye Day(굿바이데이) by ULALASESSION(울랄라세션)

Judgement Day (심판의 날 - 주원) Joo Won feat Lee Jung Hyun

(This song is sung by Joo Won, the lead actor in the show)

SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!

Spoilers ahead! Do Not read on if you don't want SPOILERS!

The things Kang To has to go through to develop as a character. It's almost too much sometimes. When his mom and Kang San die IN THE SAME EPISODE! That killed me. I was bawling!

I never thought I would be sad to see Kenji Kimura die, but I felt so bad for Shunji. Also, I did not think he would die so soon. This show really yanked my emotions around.

I really enjoyed seeing how Rie would watch Kang To. She obviously had feelings for him, but it was hard for me to think of it as love for a while. She is just so cold and detached because of her upbringing. And when she collides with Mok Dan in episode 11 and gets jealous of Kang To staring at Mok Dan, it was great.

I thought Mok Dan had the perfect reaction to finding out that Kang To was her Young Master. I think it was totally believable for her to kind of flip out on him. The image of this wonderful, self-sacrificing young man was shattered when she imagined the Kang To she knows (not the one we know obvi) is him all grown up. I wished in that moment that she could overlook all the mistakes he's made and believe in him. But if she had then I wouldn't have believed her. So I thought she had the perfect reaction to the news and I give both the show and Jin Se-Yeon major props for that scene.

The reveals were great. I loved how and when they revealed to Oh Mok Dan that Lee Kang To was Gaksital. And I like that she came to her understanding of him as a person more organically. It worked really well that she found out he was her Young Master before she found out that he was Gaksital.

Also, when Shunji finds out that Lee Kang To is Gaksital I almost died! I thought for sure it would be like ten episodes of him being in jail and Oh Mok Dan trying to break him out. But that super did not happen, and I'm glad.

On the flip side, there were way too many episodes where Lee Kang To and Kimura Shunji just tiptoed around each other, the whole time wondering what the other knew. I was getting really tired of it by the end.

OMG, the ending KILLED me! I can't believe they would kill Mok Dan like that. I know that it fits in a show that's about a hostile occupation and war. But the fact that they didn't get their happy ending really upset me. I'm still upset now. I've never watched a k-drama where the two mains don't get to be happy together in the end. Lee Kang To deserved his happy ending. He lost so much to get where he was by the end, and then he looses the woman he loves?!
Why world?! (shakes fists)

However, those kinds of plot twists are what made the show entertaining the whole time. And in the end, Mok Dan's character was more important as a symbol for the two male leads than she was important for herself (Feminist PSA: this is not a lesson for women, this is the opposite of how we should live our lives). The one positive that came from this is that Kang To was able to fight for himself and for his people after this. He started fighting for his brother, his mother, and his father. Then he continued fighting for Mok Dan. Now he fights for himself and to free his people. That's the best reason to fight.

Kimura Shunji's suicide death is fitting for where his character ended up. I found myself wondering if they knew he would kill himself and therefore chose to make him go too far so he couldn't live with himself. In the end, I like to think there was a bit of the original Shunji still in there, but then I'm conflicted because I wouldn't want that Shunji to die (even though he kind of did die, to make way for the evil Shunji). I was also really happy that Kang To didn't have to kill Shunji. it would have taken Kang To back to a dark place that he might not be able to escape if he had to kill his best friend. I wonder if Shunji knew this, and his last gift to Kang To was taking this last fatal act out of Kang To's hands. I know this is perhaps projecting a nobility to such a sad and hopeless act, but I can't help wanting there to still be something good in Shunji's character, even in the end when he's at his lowest.

So, I didn't think I would care at all about Ueno Rie's departure. She was a character I was really excited to learn about and they didn't really delve too deep into her (so sad! She was such an intriguing character in the beginning). However, they threw a hail mary pass in the end where they revealed Katsuyama loved her. I think this was actually alluded to way earlier in the show. I thought it would be corny, but their farewell scene was just so heartbreaking and beautiful. I loved it.

And the ending of the series finale was epic. Perfection! I loved that it wasn't all roses and happiness and, yay Korea is free now. Because that's not what happened. There was a long and winding path to that. But the bigger victory was that the Korean people fought back and retained their identity. And the final scene shows this big time! And all of the Gaksitals in the street were a great image to see in the end.

I like to think think that Kang To will be alright. He won't be completely whole without his family or Mok Dan, but he'll pull through all of this because he has something to fight for.

Kat's K-Dramas: The Moon that Embraces the Sun

This week I binge watched The Moon that Embraces the Sun.

And by binge watched I mean BINGE WATCHED. I couldn't stay away! I loved this saeguk drama so much. 

The Moon that Embraces the Sun

해를 품은 달

Genre: Historical/Saeguk, Romance, Drama

Episodes: 20
Aired: 2012-Jan-04 to 2012-Mar-15
Network: MBC
Starring: Kim Soo Hyun, Han Ga In, Jung Il Woo, Kim Min Seo
Young Cast: Yeo Jin Goo, Kim Yoo Jung, Lee Min Ho, Kim So Hyun 

Watch it on: Dramafever, Viki, Netflix
Synopsis:

The story of the secret love between Lee Hwon, a fictional king of Joseon, and Weol, a female shaman. Weol was born as Heo Yeon Woo, the daughter of a noble family who won the love of the crown prince, Hwon. Her enemies, jealous of her family's position in court, schemed against her and wrestled away her rightful place as crown princess and nearly takes her life. Years later, an embittered Hwon meets Weol, now a female shaman who has no recollection of her past.

Main Character: Heo Yeon Woo - a sweet, intelligent, and graceful noblewoman. She is a good daughter and sister. I liked her as the main character, but since she has some memory loss in the middle of the series her character does go through some shifts and changes (and, as you'll see below, I have a preference for the younger Yeon Woo).

Love Interest/Second Main Character: Prince/King Lee Hwon - I really loved him as the prince. He was so fun and sweet. It made me sad to see him become bitter as a grown king, but then again he was manipulated by some of the people closest to him, so his bitterness doesn't take away from his character, and actually kind of adds needed layers to it.

Secondary Love Interest: Prince Yang Myung - a great second lead. He describes himself as a "useless man." He says that he has to smile to hide things that hurt him. That characteristic really  makes me sad, the idea that someone has to use smiles to hide their pain.

Setting: Joseon Period Korea

Random Thoughts: Possibly my favorite Saeguk (so far).

Also, the first time I've loved the child actors just as much (possibly more?) than the adult actors. Seriously, this drama stayed with the child actors for six episodes and I was actually sad when they grew up (then I saw Kim Soo Hyun and I was no longer sad. Love him!)

I think that people were also super excited about Jung Il-Woo as well (Probably because he was super cute in Flower Boy Ramen Shop). But I am partial to Kim Soo Hyun, so I was so happy with the main characters. Actually Han Ga In was the only lead actor that I wasn't excited about. I still thought she did a good job in her lead role as Weol/Yeon Woo, but she didn't blow me away like Kim Soo Hyun and Jung Il Woo did.

This drama had a lot of good aspects. For me, it was interesting the whole time. There might have been one or two episodes where thing got dragged out a little more than I'd like. But two out of twenty is not bad. The fact that they took six episodes to set up the future story, yet still kept my interest, is saying a lot. I like quick backstories so I can get into the meat of a drama. But I found myself missing the young actors at times (but they did utilize some great flashbacks so I wasn't without the wonderful Yeo Jin Goo and Kim Yoo Jung for too long).

Moon didn't do anything new (e.g. a lot of the plot points and mechanisms it used to drive the plot forward have been used many times in both Korean Dramas and other stories). However, I think this was a well developed, well written drama. I don't think all dramas need to recreate the wheel, if it can do story telling well then I am good to go for 16-25 episodes. And if there is great acting and great emotion then I am super sold on a show. Like I've already said, Moon had that in spades with it's male leads.

Because this is a saeguk, there are some very Korean cultural topics that much of the plot and the drama is based on. So, prepare yourself for lots of colorful hanboks and ceremonial garb, as well as a lot of fantastical elements related to Korean shamanism.

In any KDrama with mistaken identity/hidden identity and political intrigue there are always certain elements. Some of them I love and some of them I hate. Moon used them all and I kind of loved them all. That's how awesome this show was. There was angst, oh so much of it, but it was acted so wonderfully. Especially by Kim Soo Hyun and Jung Il Woo. Seriously these guys are hotties and they can act, the total package. And Yeo Jin Goo gets a serious honorable mention for his awesome scenes, he seriously made me cry. There was also secret meetings, shady dealings, and secret missions on both the good guy and the baddie sides. These usually get too drawn out, but this time I thought there was just enough intrigue while keeping the plot moving forward. Finally, there was the dreaded self sacrifice (by Yeon Woo/Weol mostly). I kind of hate self sacrifice as a mechanism for increasing tension. But it actually worked in this series and wasn't drawn out too long.

I would 100% recommend this show. I loved it and could not wait to see what happened next. Lots of romance, comedy, friendship/bromance, and a solid plot.

Recommendations: If you liked Kim Soo Hyun as a jaded yet powerful man in Moon then try My Love from Another Star.

Bonus:

Favorite episodes: 

Episode 6 - best time jump

Episode14 - best reveal/remembering episode

Episode 17 - best romance
Episode 18 - best meta episode

Character Awards:

Most adorable - young Heo Yeon Woo
Most clueless - Heo Yeom
Biggest brat - Princess Min Hwa
Best crier - young Prince Hwon and adult King Hwon
Best comic relief - Cheif Eunuch Hyung Sun
Most evil - Tie between Dowager Queen and Minister Yoon Dae Hyung
Most pathetic - Yoon Bo Kyung

Comparing Young Actor to Adult Actor:

Young Heo Yeon Woo (Kim Yoo Jung) > Older Heo Yeon Woo ( Han Ga In) - this comparison doesn't mean Older Yeon Woo was bad. It actually just means the Young Yeon Woo was phenomenal. Seriously, I am a huge fan of Kim Yoo Jung now after watching her in this drama. I thought Han Ga In did a fine job as a kind main character. However, if she was the only actor playing Yeon Woo in this show I wouldn't have loved Yeon Woo as much as I did. Kim Yoo Jung dide a wonderful job creating a great foundation for Yeon Woo in the first six episodes.

Young Lee Hwon (Yeo Jin Goo) = Older Lee Hwon (Kim Soo Hyun) - I consider this a huge compliment to Yeo Jin Goo. I am a very big fan of Kim Soo Hyun. This could be because I watched his more recent drama, My Love From Another Star, and he was great in that. Or maybe because I liked him in Dream High. Either way, I'm a tried and true Kim Soo Hyun fan. So the fact that Yeo Jin Goo made such an impression on me as younger Lee Hwon really stuck out. He had great emotion and was so fun as a young prince in love. I think this was a great pairing of younger and older actor who met on the same level.

Young Yang Myung (Lee Min Ho) < Older Yang Myung (Jung Il Woo) - I don't think Lee Min Ho (not to be confused with the other Lee Min Ho) had a huge chance of surpassing Jung Il Woo. Jung Il Woo is a pretty great main lead (see Flower Boy Ramen Shop) so he was a pretty great casting choice for the very complicated and
handsome second lead in this show. I am always wary of love triangles, I often get annoyed quickly with second leads. But Jung Il Woo's Prince Yang Myung was just so complex, handsome, funny, and interesting. I really did want his complete happiness. And he made all the right choices (in my mind). So perhaps Lee Min Ho really never had a chance since young Yang Myung was just there to be angsty.

Young Heo Yeom (Siwan) > Older Heo Yeom (Song Jae Hee) - I didn't hate Song Jae Hee as the older Yeom, but I just loved Siwan as the handsome and beloved younger Yeom. I think it also has to do with the fact that when Yeom was younger he had a lot more substance. The older Yeom was a peripheral character that was yanked around by the people around him.

Young Seol (Seo Ji Hee) = Older Seol (Yoon Seung Ah) - To be fair Seol was definitely a side character, but I really liked young Seol and how loyal she was to Yeon Woo and the Heo family. So I was really happy that I liked Older Seol just as equally.

STOP NOW IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ SPOILERS!

SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!

I really liked the ending. I thought that it came to a climax that was worthy of the build-up. Some dramas don't do this, so I really appreciate one that does. The right people were punished, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't relish the death of Minister Yoon. He was too evil (seriously a father that can throw away his daughter because she is no longer politically useful? Worst. Ever!). I also thought that the dowager queen's death was super appropriate. She was way too greedy and got too big for her britches. The fact that her death was a quiet poisoning felt right. She didn't deserve a big death, and she super deserved to be betrayed by the horrible people she surrounded herself with.

I liked that the people who deserved to be punished were punished. There are some dramas that allow the evil people to turn it around and repent in the eleventh hour and everyone lives all happy at the end. Call me a cynic, but that's just not how the world works. Sometimes there are bad people who will never be redeemed, and they should be made to face the consequences of their actions. Young Prince Hwon said so much in a flashback. He told the old king that just because the evil people are your blood relatives doesn't mean they deserve to have their misdeeds covered up. He claims he will be a just and fair king, and he proves his younger self right. I like that the drama followed through on this claim, and it punished the people who did bad things. For example, punishing Princess Min Hwa and Chief Shaman Jang is right since they did evil things. The fact that Min Hwa was young and naive shouldn't have saved her from judgement. The fact that Chief Shaman Jang protected Yeon Woo for eight years doesn't mean she didn't curse her in the first place. They both deserved to be punished and they both were.

I also like that Princess Min Hwa wasn't immediately regretful of her actions. The scene where she tells the king she would do it again just killed me. It made me so mad at her, but it also made her a more complex character for me. Where before she had been a very two-dimensional character. I also liked that though Yeon Woo was kind to her in the end, she was firm. Yeon Woo said that she would forgive Min Hwa for the sake of the king and Yeom, not for Min Hwa's sake. Yeon Woo tells Min Hwa that she needs to take responsibility and repent so that she can come to Yeon Woo in the future and sincerely ask for forgiveness. I loved this scene. It fit both characters perfectly and showed that not everything is so easily fixed.

I was bawling during Seol's final scene. I loved that she loved Yeom. I also loved that her love for him was so sweet. She never wanted to be with him romantically, she just wanted him to be happy. It was self-sacrificing, but seemed appropriate. She was a great side character, and I was really sad that she had to die (but it also seemed like something that helped push the plot forward emotionally).

I cried even harder (if that's possible) at Prince Yang Myung's death. At first I was like "WTF?! Why is no one saving him? Why does he have to die?" But it was all explained when Yang Myung's voiceover said that if he was still around he could be used to raise more rebellions against the king. The fact that he had to die makes me mad, but the fact that he loved his country and his brother enough to die was so noble and sweet. I thought Yang Myung was a wonderful character, maybe one of my all time favorite second leads. He was really well developed and always stayed at a high level of character. 

Meanwhile, Bo Kyung's death, much like her entire character, was so pathetic. She commits suicide after being driven partly crazy by her guilt and the fact that she was being abandoned by her father and the king. While she definitely didn't deserve to be used to blatantly by the people around her, she also kind of contributed to her own fate. She knew that her father was planning to kill Yeon Woo and did nothing, she even went so far as to try to curse Yeon Woo herself. She was definitely not an innocent victim (as the Shaman says after the botched curse). I didn't think Bo Kyung needed to die, but I also see how her suicide fits her character and the story.

END OF SPOILERS

Kat's K-Dramas (Movie Edition): Pirates

I'm on a little bit of a Korean Drama kick.

So forgive me as I turn Readiculous Blog into KoRea-diculous blog (haha, see what I did there?)

Anyway, I just watched the Korean film, Pirates, and it was super entertaining.

Pirates

해적: 바다로 간 산적

Starring: 

Kim Nam-gil, Son Ye-jin, Oh Dal-su, Kim Tae-woo, Lee Geung-young, Choi Sulli

Directed by: Lee Seok Hoon

Synopsis:

On the eve of the founding of the Joseon Dynasty, a whale swallows the Emperor's Seal of State being brought to Joseon by envoys from China. With a big reward on whoever brings back the royal seal, mountain bandits led by Jang Sa-jung go out to sea to hunt down the whale. But he soon clashes with Yeo-wol, a female captain of pirates, and unexpected adventure unfolds

Random Thoughts: It's the birth of the new Joseon nation and it comes with some hardships, the main one is that the new royal seal is eaten by a whale (haha, love it). The best part is that the whale is given kind of a personality, and it doesn't hurt that she's trying to protect her little baby whale calf. So really the lesson is that we should all be rooting for the whale.

The random humor in this movie is great. I laughed out loud so many times.

Son Ye Jin did a great job as Captain Yeo Wol, the heroine and captain of the pirates. She is tough and fair, but at some times she's innately feminine (in a very Korean way). Like when she's handcuffed to Jang Sa Jung and he does very gross boy things. It's just awesome how embarrassed she is but how tough she is at the same time.

I love how dumb the bandits are. They are so clueless when it comes to the sea (e.g they think a shark is a whale and they don't believe that a whale breathes air through a nose on its back). Also, Jang Sa Jung always gets little to no respect when he tries to introduce himself as the world famous Crazy Tiger. It's so funny because he's actually a really great fighter, so he really should get more respect then he does, but he's also just a little bit of a bumbling fool when it comes to being a bandit (and a pirate). Kim Nam Gil is a great actor (he became a huge star after stealing the show in Queen Seondak), he has great comedic timing but he's also believable as a fierce warrior.

The relationship between the bandits and the pirates is also hilarious. The idea that two groups of thieves would collide is like that episode of the Flinstones where they met the Jetsons (or was it the other way around?).

Each of the characters have a past, and it comes back to haunt them over the course of the film. Rivalries are born that make the main mission (catching a whale) the least of their problems. Seriously, even the whale has flashbacks, it's awesome.

Some storylines weren't well developed. The romance is very quick (maybe too quick) to develop. And the rivalries are pretty surface. Like in the sense that I understand that there is a reason for these characters to hate each other, but I just don't feel it.

This is a movie with a lot of flash, pretty sweet action, not so much substance. But that's alright, it's a fun ride, and I still found it highly entertaining.

Live blogging my thoughts of the first 20 minutes of the movie (No spoilers, don't worry): 

Five minutes in there's an epic slow-motion rain sword fight scene! I'm sold.

Jump forward in time.

Eight minutes in there is an awesome pirate ship fight scene and an awesome heroine to boot. Super extra sold.

Woah, these pirates have no mercy.

Wait, they kind of save a bunch of slave girls, so maybe they're pirates with a heart of gold?

Also, Yeo Wol is the first mate, nice. Powerful ladies!

Sweet! A giant whale! I love whales (also, this whale was a part of the movie synopsis, so it's not a surprise). Also, this whale is so lifelike. Seriously, it's not like the lame CGI sea monsters in other movies (I'm looking at you Pirates of the Caribbean Kraken).

Another jump forward in time.

Yay! Sulli appears so quickly in the movie!

Sooo...the pirates don't really like their Captain. But they super love the First Mate.

Haha, the pirates have hilarious names (Poop Sack, Big Eyes, Sea Horse).

Dude, this captain has a giant sword, like irrationally large.

Another slow motion sword fight, this movie is seriously killing it and we're not even 20 minutes in.

I've decided I definitely want the whale to survive this movie.

SPOILERS, DON'T READ IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE SPOILERS

The end was just too convenient. Everyone evil is killed in one fell swoop explosion. The evil pirate, Soma, even kind of repents and saves Yeo Wol's life. And apparently it didn't even matter if they got back the royal seal (which they didn't).

In the end, it seems like the movie is trying to fit too much into a two hour movie. Pirates, and bandits, the founding of a new country, a man's loyalty being tested. like when Jang Sa Jung faces the new Joseon king at the end and demands that he lead the country well. That makes sense, and it gives closure to an issue brought up in the first scene (that the king is kind of weak). It's nice that the king gains a backbone due to Jang Sa Jung's words, but it just seems like a random side-story, but really it's a very big issue and should have been the main storyline.

Oh also, apparently, there's a bigger issue about how the soldiers of the king were taking women and children to gift to the Ming Dynasty as an offering. And this was really making the country suffer. Apparently this is what made Jang Sa Jung go and chastise the king since he apparently cared more about a royal seal than his people. The fact that this story line's message was not clear until the end is concerning to me and just drives home the fact that there's too much trying to happen in this movie.

Also, the romance was only slightly given closure. In a credit scene we see Jang Sa Jung and Yeo Wol looking onto the sea together. And we get to see the cute baby whale alive and well (so sad that the mommy whale died!). 

Kat's K-Dramas: Healer

So I'm going to try to review some of the dramas that I really liked watching. It'll be similar to my book reviews (so an overview of the whole series instead of an episode by episode recap).

Healer

힐러

Genre: Action/Adventure, Drama, Romance

Episodes: 20

Aired: 2014-Dec-08 to 2015-Feb-10

Network: KBS2

Starring: Ji Chang Wook, Park Min Young, Yoo Ji Tae

Watch it on: Dramafever, Viki

Synopsis:

A mysterious messenger, an online newspaper reporter who only concerns her own interests, a popular reporter who agonizes over the truth and reality.

When these three people meet, a passionate romance starts and the truths from the past and present reveal themselves to the world. This drama features young people and how they grow into real reporters.

This drama explores the world of underground business as well as journalism. It talks about how sometimes there are underground, powerful political groups that manipulate journalism for their own needs. It shows how different groups of journalists either conform or fight against these political powers.

Main Character: Chae Young Shin/Oh Ji An (Park Min Young) - She was abandoned/lost as a little girl, so she has a lot of issues about this. But now she wants to be a reporter like her idol Kim Moon Ho (a brutally honest investigative reporter who is a celebrity due to his great reporting skills). She is strong and honest and adorable, so I really like her as a main character.

Love Interest/Second Main Character: Seo Jung Hoo / Park Bong Soo / Healer (Ji Chang Wook) - So, I truly believe that Jung Hoo is the second main character and not just the love interest. Not only because he is the Healer (the whole name of the show). But because he has a past that intricately ties him into the greater mystery and he has a lot at stake in this show.

Secondary Love Interest: At first I thought that this show was going to try to make Kim Moon Ho (Yoo Ji Tae) the secondary love interest, which I would have hated since he is more of a protective older brother to Chae Young Shin. However, they don't do that in this drama (thank goodness!).

Setting: Current day Korea (with some flashbacks to the past).

Random Thoughts: Perfect balance of drama, comedy, action, and romance. I loved Healer for it's ability to find the perfect mix of these elements. It's what made the show both exciting and emotional for me. Also, it doesn't hurt that there were secret connections between a lot of the main characters that were revealed along the way. I love when a drama gives past connections (I don't care how hokey this might sound, just trust me that it's done way better in K-Dramas then in a lot of American dramas).

Chae Young Shin is a great lead female. She is not too whiney or weak. She is also not too rough and unlikable like some female leads can be (although, sometimes this works for a character, see I Can Hear Your Voice). Young Shin is the perfect blend of a strong female that still has some flaws and issues to work through. She also has a great family and support system around her, so it's easy to see why she's become such an upstanding and lovable girl.

On the flip-side Seo Jung Hoo did not have a loving family. He had a master trainer who taught him how to fight after his mother abandoned him. Oddly, his relationship with his mother is kind of good. He still goes to see her and shows her a lot of affection. This confused me for a bit but in flashbacks they explain it away (a little too quickly for my liking, but at least they explained it).

This is also a drama that seems to address a lot of the "cliches" that occur, kind of in a tongue-in-cheek way. A lot of dramas do this to try to dissuade the audience from thinking it's too corny. I've seen it done better in some other dramas, but I've also seen it done way worse. So I give the writers of Healer credit for trying and for pulling it off fairly well.

All-in-all, I waited each week for new episodes and the drama kept my interest during it's whole run. I really enjoyed the actors and the story of this drama, and I think it's a fun show to watch (especially if you're new to the whole Korean-Drama game. It's not overly steeped in Korean Culture, so it's easy to get into).

Recommendations: If you liked the mysterious past/master fighter aspects of Healer, then try City Hunter. If you liked the journalism in Healer, then try Pinocchio.

SPOILERS AHEAD. DO NOT READ ON IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ SOME SPOILERS

I like the connections and how they became more complex as the drama went on. The fact that the past with the "parent characters" keeps permeating into the present is important to the drama. It seems like there are a lot of small reveals that show how interconnected the three main characters truly are. At first, I thought the Healer was just a jaded guy who lived a mysterious life. He is a man who doesn't like connections, but the fact that he gets embroiled in a mystery that deeply connects him to other people made me really happy. I do think it's a little coincidental that he gets randomly involved in the mystery, but I don't hate that one coincidental meeting that gets the ball rolling. When you think about it a lot of stories happen because of a coincidental meeting of two people fated to meet. 

Though there are some coincidences that I thought were a little too blatant. The fact that Jo Min Ja (Ajjuma) used to work on the police force with detective that now hunts Healer is a little far fetched. The fact that Chae Young Shin idolized Kim Moon Ho, who happens to be the man who has been looking for her for years and also happens to be her Oppa in a  past life (a little too coincidental).

I like that Seo Jung Hoo comes from a very similar background to Chae Young Shin and was also abandoned like Chae Young Shin, but he has taken a very different path. It makes it so fun to see how these characters interact and how they discover their history and react to it differently.

I also really enjoyed the romance. I like the scenes where Seo Jung Hoo is following Chae Young Shin as Healer and she calls him (thinking he is Park Bong Soo) and they talk about deep feelings while he is watching her longingly. I know this seems a little stalker/creepy, but I like to think it's easily explained away by the fact that he's just doing his job (since he was hired by Moon Ho to watch over Chae Young Shin).

Unfortunately, this series was one that had an anti-climactic ending. One of those endings where I thought, "is that it?" I know that sometimes a resolution is not as high-action as you'd like, but this show is an action/thriller, so I would have expected a little bit more. To be fair, there was some intrigue and secret plans that they carried off in the end. And it was nice that our main leads got a happy ending. I just wish that there was...more...