Mask Review

Title: Mask

AKA: Gamyun

Genre: Romance, Melodrama

Episode: 20

Broadcast Period: May-2015 to Jul-2015

Cast: Soo Ae, Joo Ji Hoon, Yun Jung Hoon, Yoo In Young, Hoya, Jun Gook Hwan, Park Jung Geum, Jung Dong Hwan

They say that some people has a doppelganger, and the first one who see ‘the other’ will die soon after. Byun Ji Sook (Soo Ae) has always had a hard life with her father constantly going into debt and being chased by loan sharks. She desperately wants to know what life is like if she was born into a better family and didn’t have to worry about money all the time. When a series of circumstances brings Ji Sook to Seo Eun Ha (Soo Ae), a woman from a wealthy family who strongly resembles Ji Sook, she grabs hold of the chance for a better life and assumes Eun Ha’s identity and begins to live her elite life. She meets Min Woo (Joo Ji Hoon), a chaebol heir who is mistrusting of the people around him. But when he realizes that Ji Sook is not like the other women he has met, he is drawn to her. How long can Ji Sook keep up the charade and hide her true identity?

Certainly, this has been a crazy 20 hour long yet interesting ride. First of all, the synopsis does not do any justice for the drama, but because I really didn’t want to spoil anything I kept it as minimal as possible. There is so much more going on politically, family stuff and revenge. To sum it all up, people with hidden intentions wearing a mask. After finishing it, it made me think a lot. Aren’t we all wearing a mask from time to time… Anyway hahah, I got carried away. The drama itself was really good, although it made me frustrated a lot in the beginning. The characters were so weak it made no sense, it portrayed a dark world were everything can be done with money. An over-dramatic melodrama, like serious, there were more than 5 different dramatic car chases, and two of them happened in the same episode, but I was hooked. The four main characters were all intense with a lot of hidden feelings, especially Suk Hoon/Yun Jung Hoon, he was so interesting and so despicable. One thing you can say about them all is, whether you hated them or loved them, you can’t deny what an amazing character they were. There were a lot of plot-holes for sure, but either it is strong enough to excuse them or it isn’t. In this case, it’s very close, but it was so intriguing you’ll actually be more concerned about how it would end.

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥½ / 3½ out of 5 hearts

Angry Mom Review

Title: Angry Mom
Genre: Family, Drama, Human, School
Episodes: 16
Broadcast period: Mar-2015 to May-2015
Cast: Kim Hee Sun, Ji Hyun Woo, Kim Yoo Jung, Im Hyung Joon, Go Soo Hee, Kim Ji Young, Jun Gook Hwan, Kang Moon Young

Jo Gang Ja (Kim Hee Sun) is a young mother with a daughter in high school. She lives with her husband and mother in law and works all day in a restaurant. Her relationship with her daughter is not really smooth since the daughter; Oh Ah Ran (Kim Yoo Jung) shuts her mom out. Life goes on until Kang Ja finds out that her daughter is going through a hell of physical and emotional bullying at school. The daughter denies being bullied and refuses to say anything to her mom for some valid reasons from her perspective. Kang Ja loses her cool and tries all ways to solve the issue. She meets Ah Ran’s homeroom teacher, reports to the police and even tries to bring a suit. When she realises her efforts are all fruitless; she resorts to the last measure she could think of; enrolling in her daughter’s school. Once she’s in as Bang Wol, she takes ending violence in school and finding the perpetrators in her daughter’s case on as a life mission.

Recently I have been craving school dramas, I don’t know why or maybe it’s because of the upcoming exams, but it had led me to this recently completed drama Angry Mom. Wow, this is not an ordinary school drama, it takes up issues and problems that many people decide to look at with a blind eye. It addresses real issues in the Korean school system and in my opinion school in general. I find the main lead to have a well-rounded character that keeps me interested as she struggles to protect her daughter but also isn’t so strong against the corruption that surrounds them. It hits the feels spot to watch her struggle with the realities that most mothers in the real world most likely face daily without the determination our protagonist has. The other characters are also fun to watch and fall in love with as you find them crawling into your heart slowly as their stories get fleshed out, for example the delinquent that our Angry Mom first set out to deal with – Go Bok Dong. I definitely recommend this drama to anyone looking for a school life drama with a bit of meaning and plot mixed into it.
The reason I didn't give it a full heart is because the drama surrounds alot about politics rather than the school life behind the walls. Still interesting, but not what i'd look for in this drama.

☆☆☆☆½ / 4½ out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥½ / 4½ out of 5 hearts