June-July 2017 Korean Drama Reviews July 19, 2017

1. Circle/ Two Worlds

The first drama that I finished watching was “Circle: Two Worlds Connected.” It stars (Yeo Jin-Goo) as Kim Woo-Jin who has a twin Kim Beom-Gyoon who is currently obsessed with finding a woman who he thinks is an alien and Woo-Jin is trying to keep his brother balanced because he just got out of jail. Then the story splits off into the 2037 where there is a detective named Kim Joon-Hyuk who is trying to figure out how to get into this other “world” where there is no crimes and everyone’s emotions are controlled. So the episodes are split into two shared between the present and the future. There is a lot that happens and I don’t want to give anything away because I really liked this drama and I think that it is a worthwhile drama to watch.

I personally love the futuristic shows where you can explore the different situations that aren’t possible right now but I like that it makes you think. It has such an interesting mystery and story line that I was never bored and I felt like I could never get enough because they would split the episodes so it always left me wanting more. I feel like Yeo Jin-Goo is starting to get really popular in drama these days! He has such a low unique voice that makes hims sound so manly! There was also a newcomer (Kong Seung-Yeon) who is Han Jung-Yeon and I recognized her from “We Got Married” and so I was pleasantly surprised with her acting skills and I really enjoyed her performance.

I think that this drama could have done a lot more with it but it only has 12 episodes and I feel like the ending was a bit rushed or unfinished. I have to say I wasn’t that happy with the ending, it felt kinda resolved but I didn’t like the turn of events and wished for a different ending. Overall I think this is one of the best futuristic dramas that I have ever watched. I would recommend this drama I think the acting is perfect and the story is really fun ride to go on!

2. Lookout/The Guardians

The second drama that I finished was “Lookout/The Guardians”. I really wanted to watch this drama because (Lee Si-Young) who played Jo Soo-Ji was starring in it! I really like her from her past works and I think she is really cool and she hasn’t been in much lately. I was also impressed with (Kim Young-Kwang) Jang Do-Han and chose to watch this drama. This drama had 32 episodes but they were half an hour and shown back to back. So basically it still had about the same as usual the 16 episodes. This drama is about trying to fight corruption which is a topic in almost every drama it feels like! Jo Soo-Ji becomes a fugitive and this is her fight to win against the corruption. It also stars Key from Shinee and I have to say I loved his character, he is just so loveable! So this story mixes detectives, prosecutors and politicians.

I think this was a very well done drama and I always enjoyed every episode. I also have to say this drama had an awesome sound track that just fit the episodes and got you really excited. Although the last couple of episodes at the end they played a song and I still haven’t been able to find it! Does anyone know what the song is? I think that this was so interesting trying unweave all the stories of this drama. I have to say that the ending was sad so I warned you! but I would still have watched it even if I had known. It is a thrilling drama series and I think that it will keep you interested. I would recommend this drama if you like this genre, I have to warn you there is very little romance!

I think this drama did okay in the ratings and I think this drama was one that started to gain more viewers as it went along and things started heating up. I have to say the high schooler thing was a bit strange that he could basically fight with adults and do things that are a bit too advanced but I just went with it! Also I found it problematic with Do-Han’s father and what he did, he still isn’t an innocent person in the end. I understand the circumstances but yet not really. For the most part I really enjoyed this drama!

3. My Sassy Girl

The third drama that I finished was My Sassy Girl which is based off of the korean movie with the same title. I have not seen any My Sassy Girl movie or dramas or anything. I had no expectations when coming into this drama although I was expecting it to be good because it seems like that movie gets referenced a lot in other shows. The plot is that it is set in the Joseon Dynasty period and is about Gyun-Woo (Joo-Won) who is a scholar and a Princess who is quite sassy and good and getting into trouble.

Basically it seems to start off with the plot of the movie with this sassy girl causing misunderstandings and making Gyun-Woo’s life hard by getting him involved with her. It seems like at the beginning they did try to make it like the movie but it seems to stray with that and it became a much more serious drama and I found that it lacked the funny story line. Although in the original movie I think what probably worked was that Cha Tae-Hyun Jun Ji-Hyun and exceptional comedy actors and I am sure that is why the movie did so well. On the other handI do not find Joo-Won to be very funny and found him to be kinda bland in this role. I know that it seemed like people were complaining about the princess (Oh Yeon-Soo) and that her acting was to over the top and that she was annoying. I personally didn’t that it was that bad and I didn’t think that was the worst part of the whole drama.

Personally I didn’t really like this drama that much, I mean it wasn’t terrible but I found myself not being very invested emotionally in the drama. There were a lot of emotional type scenes in the drama but I didn’t tear much at all in this drama. I felt very disconnected to the characters and wasn’t that upset about the things that happened. It felt like this was a typical drama and I didn’t feel like anything special or different was brought into it. I didn’t care much for Gyun-Woo’s character it just felt very bland. I also thought the character of the head guard (Jung-Shin) was strange and it was like he was supposed to be part of a very weak love triangle. I had really hoped for more in this drama but in the end it just seemed a bit typical. I think the ratings weren’t bad for this drama so maybe I have become a bit jaded but this drama didn’t do to much for me! Compared to other dramas airing I would choose others to watch.

Dramas that I am watching and plan to watch

1.Queen For Seven Days- This drama from the first moment warns  you that this will not have a happy ending and yet there is a tiny little part of me that is hoping that it won’t end that way!

2. Secret Forest: This drama is again about corruption, prosecutors and detectives. I don’t know why but I like this drama. I don’t always understand everything that is going on and the motives of others but the actors are just so good at playing the characters that I keep coming back for more! It seems like an unlikely drama to pick up but it is really well done so far!

3. Bride Of The Water God: So I have read some of the manhwa and this drama is nothing like it, I wasn’t expecting to be so different from it! I can see fans of the manhwa getting pretty angry over this but I have to say I feel disappointed by this drama so far! I was really expecting something else!

4. The King Who Loves- I feel like this drama is getting the most hype because it stars  Hong Jong-Hyun and Im Yoon-Ah. It is about the Crown Prince, his childhood friend and a beautiful wealthy woman. It is basically about their love triangle. I hope that it won’t be to typical!

5. School 2017- This looks like a typical high school drama but I feel since I have watched the past ones that I will watch this one too!

6. The Man Who Dies To Live: So this is a family comedy drama and it stars Shin Sung Rok which is another reason to check it out! It also stars Choi Min Soo and he comes back from the Middle East to Korea and tries to reconnect with his daughter.