Sound of You Heart Review

Title: Sound of Your Heart

AKA: Sound of the Heart / Sound of Heart / Sound of Your Mind

Genre: Sitcom, Comedy

Episodes: 5 (TV)

Broadcast period: 2016-Dec to 2017-Jan

Cast: Lee Kwang Soo, Kim Dae Myung, Jung So Min, Kim Byung Ok and Kim Mi Kyung. (and LOADS of cameos)

Jo Suk (Lee Kwang Soo) is the youngest of Jo kids, and he is living at home working as a comic artist. Unfortunately, he didn't get a breakthrough nor does he have a steady income. His older brother Jo Joon (Kim Dae Myung) works as a salaryman, and enjoys most nights at the club. His mother Kwon Jung Kwon (Kim Mi Kyung) is a stay at home mom, but has a clear mindset when it comes to money. His father Jo Chul Wang (Kim Byung Ok) is completely different in the sense that he is useless when it comes to work, and occasionally takes on jobs such as extra in movies – though he is really bad at it.
This drama is about the crazy and clumsy family, their everyday life and occasionally preposterous situations which they seem to be attracting...

I don't really know what to say about this expect it is so funny – on a ridiculous and nonsense kind of way. I can't say that I felt any storyline, or rather you could watch any episode in any order, and not feel any different or lose any context. Acting was okay, and since there are so many cameos I don't really feel like rating the acting, as many of them are comedians and such, so beside the main family, the acting is kind of in the 'beginner' stage, making it alright/acceptable. Also, the drama being less serious, everything else seems to be under the 'mediocre' level, so it's rather acceptable – both the lacking progress in story and okay acting.
To sum up: a funny and frivolous drama, and quite alright if you feel stuffed with melodrama – nice break actually.

☆☆☆½ / 3½ out of 5 stars

♥♥♥ / 3 out of 5 hearts

Father is Strange Review

Title: Father is Strange

AKA: My Father is Weird

Genre: Family, Drama, Comedy

Episodes: 52

Broadcast Period: Mar-2017 to Aug-2017

Cast: Kim Yong Chul, Kim Hae Sook, Min Jin Woong, Lee Yoo Ri, Lee Joon, Ryu Hwa Young, Jung So Min,

This drama is about a family that lives on the outskirts of Seoul. Byun Han Soo (Kim Young Chul) is the father and his wife, Na Young Sil (Kim Hae Sook) is a dedicated, responsible mother to his three daughters and one son including Hye Young (Lee Yoo Ri), Mi Young (Jung So Min), Ra Young (Ryu Hwa Young) and Joon Young (Min Jin Woong).

Suddenly one day, Ahn Joong Hee (Lee Joon) shows up at the household, and declares that he is the son of the family. Ahn Joong Hee is an actor who used to be a member of an idol group. He gets accepted into the family and begins to live with them…

This was seriously a wonderful drama, loved it from 1 to 52. Maybe this statement is based on my still hyped emotions of it, but I just feel that this one captured a really special place in my heart. Maybe because it focused so much on the family relationships, and had some sprinkles of romance here and there, however the main theme kept shining out throughout the drama. The actors did a pretty decent job; they all were expressful of their character and made you love them and hate them at times. What I mostly like about this, is that it’s not like a typical family drama were they drag the whole point till the end, no, they reveal everything in the beginning, and you just enjoy seeing the story unfold with it. I’m definitely stating another family drama soon, I get so addicted to it, because I get so much more time with the characters, and I can truly see them develop, and I think that’s what makes the whole time worth for me.

☆☆☆☆☆ / 5 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥♥ / 5 out of 5 hearts

D-day Review

Title: D-day

Genre: Medical, Political, Disaster

Episodes: 20

Broadcast period: 2015-Sep to 2015-Nov

Cast: Kim Young Kwang, Jung So Min, Ha Suk Jin and Yoon Joo Hee.

This drama is about a natural disaster striking Seoul, and we follow a group of doctors and firefighters as they are trying to help and save the citizens, but also about the social and political consequences arising due to the situation.

Lee Hae Sung (Kim Young Kwang) is an empathetic doctor doing his best for all his patients, but also a very competent one. After he loses his father in a car accident and his mother got into a coma, he accepts the ill treatment from his chief so his mother can stay inside the hospital where he works. The chief of the hospital, Mirae University Hospital, is only concerned about the reputation and economic of the hospital, which is where the two opinions collide.

Jung Ddol Mi (Jung So Min) is 3rd year resident at a university hospital in Busan, but when there was talk about moving a patient to Seoul she offered to go, on her own: wanting to meet her idol Han Woo Jin (Ha Suk Jin), who happens to be a college friend of Hae Sungs, but also someone who agrees with the chief of the hospital.

After saving a patient’s life, ignoring authority Lee Hae Sung is transferred to a smaller hospital, and at the same time, the earth starts to shake. Suddenly a crane falls into a sinkhole, and all hell breaks loose…

Hmm, I am not sure I am doing this drama justice with that type of summary, but it is incredibly hard not to spoil anything.

I personally am a huge fan of disaster stories; both movies and TV shows. Therefore, I was very excited about this when I found out about it. I also like the idea of it being about doctors and firefighters, as we usually don’t have that view – or at least I haven’t seen any with it – that shows us about their struggles and situations.

Kim Young Kwang is a very talented and handsome actor, whom I liked for quite a while now, ever since White Christmas I think, so seeing him in this character was amazing. I was afraid they would make him like this perfect guy/hero who saves the day, so I was more than happy when they showed his human side every so often. Jung So Min is one of those actresses that I can’t stand, not because she’s annoying or ugly, but because I didn’t understand why she would be acting as she is horrible at it. Made me confused about the casting. However, to be fair, the dramas she had acted in where quite bad: that said this actually shows a bit of improvement. Not that she is a favorite actress now, but she is decent and tolerable here.

The only thing that I didn’t enjoy in this drama was amount of politics involved and the feud between the two male actors, and the chief. Then again, it started with a bang; they can’t continue all the way like that.

So do I recommend this drama? Hell yes!

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥½ / 4½ out of 5 hearts

Kamji’s Verdict 

I am not sure where to start with this drama as this is an amazing drama. Probably one of the best dramas of 2015 if not the best. I could talk about how great this drama is for a long period of time, but I will try to make this review as short as I can. I really enjoyed watching this drama i'm shocked it's not popular, everything about it was fun, exciting and damn it could keep you glued to your laptop. There are some things this show has done very well, and that has largely been in the cinematography and the cast. I really appreciated the way everyone made their roles as believable as possible, and I especially loved the chemistry that came from the different characters. I really loved the relationship between the two main leads, but I wish we had seen more romance between them. In addition, like everyone else who watched this drama, I agree with the overdone enmity between the director and our reckless and skillful doctor. They could have turned it down a bit, I mean it goes on for 20 episodes! Everything else was good. Double recommended!

☆☆☆☆☆ / 5 out of 5 stars


♥♥♥♥½ / 4½ out of 5 hearts

Can We Get Married Review

Title: Can we get married?

Genre: Family, Romance

Episodes: 20

Broadcast period: 2012-Oct to 2013-Jan

Cast: Sung Joon, Jung So Min, Kim Sung Min, Jung Ae Yun, Lee Mi Sook, Kim Young Kwang and Han Groo.

This drama revolves around four couples who all have different struggles with marriage.

Jung Hoon (Sung Joon) and Hye Yoon (Jung So Min) are a young couple with their heads full of love. Even though Hye Yoon is quite temperamental, Jung Hoon loves her for it and even lets her use him as a punching bag. The two become engaged after Jung Hoon proposes, but suffer backlash when Hye Yoon’s money –driven mother and Jung Hoon’s overbearing mother face each other head on. Now the supposed love wedding ends up as preparation nightmare.

Ki Joong (Kim Young Kwang) and Dong Bi (Han Groo) are a couple of five years, but when their best friends Jung Hoon and Hye Yoon become engaged, Dong Bi wants more out of their relationship. To her surprise Ki Joong refuses her and tells her that he wants to break up. To make matters worse few days later Ki Joong decides to get married to his father’s business partner’s daughter, so that his father will invest in his restaurant. This should make Dong Bi move on, but her heart doesn’t want to let go.

Hye Yoon’s older sister Hye Jin (Jung Ae Yun) married a divorcee Do Hyun (Kim Sung Min) whom she became pregnant with after he cheated on his wife with her. Ever since they got married she had been treated as a slave, which she had willingly done until she one day finds out that he has been cheating on her with a younger model. This makes her question her relationship with him, and whether or not he really loves her.

The last couple is a two times divorcee Min Ho (Kim Jin Soo) and old maiden Deul Rae (Choi Hwa Jung), who despite their old age fall in love like teenagers, but wonder if they should even be doing that at their age.

The drama focuses on the theme whether a couple should get married, or should stay married, and how their mothers/families are a big part of the separation and the misery of wedding planning…

I don’t know if you understood the review, but the drama is quite easy to follow and if you miss anything, they are quite good to repeat themselves.

It is one of those classic Korean dramas about family feud and incredibly stubborn mothers (like amazing). There was a point where I felt so happy that my mother is as mild a meddler compared to these. Like these women are not the classic “envelope-with-money-giving-so-that-you-stay-away-from-my-child” kind of women, they seriously go all the way (minus the horribly illegal).

The cast was wisely chosen, except for Jung So Min, whom I basically just dislike, or rather she is just so unlikable. I don’t know if it’s because of her characters but she just annoys me, and is such a under average actress. Sung Joon, who I am seeing for the third time in a drama, is quite good here. His character isn’t cool or dashing, he’s really just a mama’s boy who doesn’t know how to stand on his own two feet.

But the reason for watching this is the two couples acted by Kim Young Kwang, Han Groo, Jung Ae Yun and Kim Sung Min. Besides the stories being well-written, well-acted, and well casted, the chemistry is so amazing that I couldn’t stop watching this drama. The two youngsters who fear love more than anything and the fighting couple was just perfect for me. A double thumps up.

Okay so do I recommend it? Yeah, for people who like this kind of theme, but it might become a bit heavy later though…

☆☆☆½ / 3½ out of 5 stars       
                                               

♥♥♥♥ / 4 out of 5 hearts

Kamji's Verdict

This drama was too heavy for me. I felt like quitting it halfway through, but I’m not a quitter! So I continued the drama, but hell no I’m going to watch that again. I have read other bloggers have reported hating all the characters and finding the plot draggy. However, I’ve also heard that it’s realistic and more nuanced and well made than the typical Kdrama romance. All I know is that it was too draggy and the storyline were stuck at one point for 10 episodes straight! Favorite thing was how realistic the characters felt. The bickering moms annoyed me at first, and they still did at the end hahah. The main couple… well, lovely chemistry, but the actress annoyed me as much as the mum did, so very bad! The only positive about this drama were Sung Joon, yet again the main actor rescued the drama from a total disaster!

☆☆ / 2out of 5 stars             
                                         

♥♥/ 2 out of 5 hearts 

Playful Kiss Review

Title: Playful Kiss
AKA: Naughty Kiss, Mischievous Kiss
Genre: Comedy, Romance,
Episodes: 16
Broadcast period: 2010-Sep to 2010-Oct
Cast: Kim Hyun Joong and Jung So Min.

The identical story, and complete remake of the Japanese Itazura na Kiss, except for small changes like the fathers job and the characters names. Oh Ha Ni (Jung So Min) is a ‘stupid’ student, who has a crush on the smartest (or should we say genius?) student Baek Seung Jo (Kim Hyung Joong). She is head over heels in love with Seung Jo, only the problem is that he couldn’t care less. Seung Jo is not only arrogant, but also rude and has a huge ‘fan base’ (meaning that Ha Ni isn’t the only one in love with him). After he publicly humiliates her by making and idiot out of her, Ha Ni decides to give up on him, she thinks. But as her house is caught in an earthquake, as the only house in the entire street, she and her father move into her father’s friend’s house, who happens to be the father of Baek Seung Jo.

Honestly, found it ok. I wasn’t expecting much of it; since there are two other of the same kind, but I ended up thinking it was pretty good. On the other hand, there wasn’t much ‘uniqueness’ about it; same apperent reactions and almost ‘fake’ acting – meaning the actor acted an actor, and pretty badly. The only one doing his job and making his character his own, can’t believe I’m saying this, was Kim Hyung Joong. Every other actor was pretty dull, especially the lead actress, who ended up becoming so useless that her character could have been replace by a pole. Huge minus is that everyone around her was too busy making her seem so stupied, but failed so miserably that it just felt like she was being bullied. If you've read the manga you would know that she is EXTREMELY stupid, not 'silly'. People around Hyung Joong were useless aswell, and it ended up with him trying real hard to make the drama good, but how can a romantic comedy be good, if everything else is dull.
But thanks to the splendid acting of Hyung Joong, I managed to finish, and like the drama. The storyline is the same as Itzura na kiss, and it has the same features as It started with a kiss, but different than these two, its more modern, meaning it’s easier to relate to. On the other hand if I were to choose one of the three (ISWAK, PK and INK) I would choose ISWAK, and I’m not that big of a fan.

☆☆☆ / 3 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥½ / 3½ out of 5 hearts

Jenji's verdict
When i started watching the drama i thought it was reeeaally funny, even though it was like really typical. And omg korean , how do korean come up with all these problems, its like one problem after another and it makes my stomach hurt. but in the end it was alright and i liked that it didnt just end with them getting DONT READ ANYMORE UNLESS U WANT ME TO SPOIL IT -married .
OKAY READ AGAIN. But i couldnt really like.. it was weird with like really EVIL seung jo to change to like the really nice guy . i mean it was like a whole other person when he realised his love.. Bunji says one is his love and another is his personality.. i guess.. so.. but then again the taiwanese version, which im planning on maybe watching, has like 2 seasons and in this one, the korean, everything is squeezed into 16 eps. Anyway even though it was typical and all i guess it was a nice drama still, and i dont think the girl is a bad actor i think she is okay and kim hyun joong aaahh nice seeing him in a drama again,, aaah he was so kyaaa in the end. And the mother omg she was .. hah. like she is really crazy hahaha. The ending was nice too. But it was like going back and forward all the time with seung jo and ha ni's relationship.. Fun drama.

☆☆☆½ / 3.5 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥ / 4 out of 5 hearts