Traitor Hong Gil Dong Review

Title: Traitor Hong Gil Dong

AKA: Rebel: Thief Who Stole the People / Rebel: Thief of the People

Genre: Period, Melodrama, Romance

Episodes: 30

Broadcast period: 2017-Jan to 2017-May

Cast: Kim Sang Joong, Yoon Kyun Sang, Chae Soo Bin, Kim Ji Suk and Lee Ha Nui.

Ah Mo Gae (Kim Sang Joong) is a slave, living and working for a nobleman, with his wife and two sons. Their lives are a common slave life, and as life goes, Ah Mo Gae soon notices that being a slave not only halts his life, but limits any hope of a future besides being a slave for his two sons. Even though he is a slave, Ah Mo Gae has the mind of a business man which his owner uses for his advances, and every single time Ah Ma Gae is to be set free, the nobleman finds a way to postpone it. His sons start to realize themselves what it means to be slaves, as the oldest Gil Hyun isn't allowed to read and the youngest Gil Dong is forced to keep his opinions at bay. Soon Ah Mo Gae realizes that Gil Dong isn't just your regular child, as when he gets upset he becomes unnaturally strong. Even though Ah Mo Gae does everything he is able to, so that Gil Dong's powers aren't known to anyone, destiny has other plans and the family ends up having to run for their lives.
As a grown-up Gil Dong (Yoon Kyun Sang) has changed: he cares more about girls and how to earn easy money – much to his fathers' dismay. Ah Mo Gae on the other hand has become a leader of an outcast group of people outcasts like him, dealing with illegal trade.
Even though life seems harmonious, the tension between Gil Dong and his father has shifted, and unfortunately the noblemen have gotten an interest in the dealings and wealth of Ah Mo Gae. And soon enough their past comes to haunt them...

I was waiting for this drama the moment I had heard it was in consideration: at that time the leads weren't even chosen – but I was 100% sure I was going to watch it. This story is one of my favorite stories of Korean literature, due to its creativity, but also because of historical accuracy. Even though this isn't exactly like the original novel, it is very close to it – and the fantasy aspect is also great and fits the story perfectly. Yes, it might be different, but the moment you accept it, it becomes such a nice way to portray the strength of Hong Gil Dong. Another thing that was amazing was the lead couple: I don't remember watching a couple which fit better than these two – even though 'how' they got together might not be great, but the relationship that 'happens' is a delight to watch. The only reason it isn't a 5 stars, it because of the crying scenes of Kim Sang Joong – which you'll have to watch on your own to understand. But that is also it.
Honestly, I don't know how to not spoil anything, and how to explain how much I enjoyed it, without ruining it for you or make you over expectant, except saying: I recommend this drama.
To sum up: an awesome drama with great acting, and amazing story.

☆☆☆☆½ / 4½ out of stars

♥♥♥♥♥ / 5 out of 5 hearts

House of Bluebird Review

Title: House of Bluebird

AKA: The Bluebird’s House

Genre: Family, Human, Romance, Comedy

Episodes: 50

Broadcast Period: Feb-2015 to Aug-2015

Cast: Lee Joon Hyuk, Chae Soo Bin, Lee Sang Yeob, Kyung Soo Jin, Choi Myung Gil, Jung Jae Soon, Chun Ho Jin,

The story of a formerly wealthy traditional land-owning family, Kim Ji Wan (Lee Joon Hyuk) grew up an orphan raised by his step-mother and grandmother when his father died and his family lost its fortune. To provide for his family Kim Ji Wan swallows his pride and uses connections to join Nuga Global, a multi-national medical appliances company. Kim Ji Wan is initially grateful when Jang Tae Soo (Chun Ho Jin), Nuga's CEO and a friend of his late father, takes him under his wing. As the lives of Kim Ji Wan's family and that of Jang Tae Soo cross again long hidden secrets begin to unravel. Desperate to protect the business and reputation he has built Jang Tae Soo uses a secret that Kim Ji Wan's stepmother has kept from Kim Ji Wan and his grandmother.

After watching Naked Fireman I got really interested in the actor Lee Joon Hyuk, so of course I checked out his previous work, and it turned out he starred in a family weekly drama, which I’m really into lately. Unfortunately, I got disappointed by his acting in this one. It’s like the director or writer had no clue of his potential and just depicted him as an emotionless guy. I have NO idea whatsoever, why they chose this character as the main lead, since the second lead couple stole the show. They had more going on (and to be honest) exploding with character development than any other character in the drama. 

Came for Lee Joon Hyuk, stayed for Lee Sang Yeob and Kyung Soo Jin. They were so passionate in their acting, and the characters where so much more interesting than everything else in this drama, they really impressed me. They kind of saved this drama for me. Plotwise it was okay, nothing out of the ordinary, so I can’t say that this one is different from all the others. Even the editing and camerawork didn’t live up to my standards.

☆☆½ / 2½ out of 5 stars

♥♥♥ / 3 out of 5 hearts

Moonlight Drawn By Clouds Review

Title: Moonlight Drawn by Clouds

AKA: Love in The Moonlight

Genre: Historical, Comedy, Romance

Episodes: 18

Broadcast Period: Aug-2016 to Oct-2016

Cast: Park Bo Gum, Kim Yoo Jung, Jin Young, Chae Soo Bin, Kwak Dong Yun, Kim Seung Soo, Jun Mi Sun, 

Hong Ra On (Kim Yoo Jung) is a young woman during the Joseon Dynasty who disguises herself as a man named Sam Nom to support herself by ghostwriting and giving relationship advice to lovelorn men. A love letter that Ra On writes for a client brings her in contact with Lee Yeong, who is the Crown Prince Hyo Myeong (Park Bo Gum), the first son of King Sunjo (Kim Seung Soo) and heir to the throne, as well as his trusted guard Kim Byung Yeon (Kwak Dong Yeon). Through a series of events, Ra On gets sold into the Royal Palace as a eunuch and is assigned to work for Royal Consort Soo Ki (Jun Mi Sun) and Princess Young Geun (Heo Jung Eun). Ra On becomes embroiled in a political power struggle with Queen Kim (Han Soo Yeon) and her father, Prime Minister Kim Hun (Chun Ho Jin), who somehow manage to keep King Sunjo in a perpetually weakened, hallucinogenic state. Prime Minister Kim is grooming his grandson, Kim Yoon Sung (Jinyoung), to take over the throne but that would put the young scholar in direct competition with his childhood friend, Lee Yeong, to become the next king. With Ra On and Byung Yeon by his side, can Lee Yeong fight the power-hungry ministers to claim his rightful place in history? 

This just became one of my favorite drama this year. 2016 has really brought alot of different kdramas, and i’m lovin’ it! And with those dramas, a lot of young, new and talented actors/actress’ are coming to the spotlight. The personal acting chemistry between Kim Yoo Jung as young, fearless and joyful Hong Ra On and Park Bo Gum as Crown Prince Lee Yeong is the heart of the drama. The youthfulness and impressive acting skills of Kim Yoo Jung ( who is only 17) interacting with equally talented Park Bo Gum (who is only 23) is a marvel that lingers in the mind long after we have turned off our computers. One thing this drama has teached me is that politics is a dirty dirty game, but our crown prince knew how to play it! I seriously loved everything about this drama, the acting, storyline, the directing and of course the OST! This is a drama I highly recommend, saeguk fan or not, this appeals to your every need ;)

☆☆☆☆☆ / 5 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥♥ / 5 out of 5 hearts

Sassy Go Go Review

Title: Sassy Go Go
AKA: Cheer up!
Genre: School, Drama, Romance
Episodes: 12
Broadcast Period: Oct-2015 to Nov-2015
Cast: Jung Eun Ji, Kim Min Ho, Lee Won Geun, Ji Soo, Chae Soo Bin, Shin Jae Ha, Kang Min Ah, Cha Hak Yun,

Set at the elite Sevit High School in Seoul, the drama follows the lives of five students as they attempt to survive in a vicious environment where academic elitism takes place. Kang Yeon do (Jung Eun Ji) is the leader of an outcast street dance club "Real King", a group of students who band together because of their poor academic performance, whereas Kim Yeol (Lee Won Geun) is the President of "Baek Ho", an elite club comprised of students from the top 5 percent. When the two clubs are forcibly merged to create a cheerleading squad, the two put their differences aside for the benefit of their clubs.

This started out really well, I fell in love with it almost instantly. Who can say no to those handsome guys! However I guess they blinded me for a moment, because after a while (not too long, after all it’s only 12 episodes) you kind of feel that the drama has fallen into a cycle. It keeps repeating itself constantly. Same problem, different characters. It was a well-produced drama, I liked the cinematography, (the school was so fancy!), all the actors lived up to their potential. There were a lot of newbies, but you couldn’t tell that it was their debut drama, I guess the standards for actors are rising in Korea :b Eun Ji did really good, I liked her very much in this drama, to be honost I’ve liked her since Reply 1997 and watches all her dramas, she never disappoints! As for the plot, it could have been better, that was the only thing that takes the drama down. Sometimes even though how good the actors are, they can’t save a boring plot. Overall, I want to recommend this, but I’ll have to warn you that the story can get on your nerve!

☆☆☆½ / 3½ out of 5 stars

♥♥♥ / 3 out of 5 hearts